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| February 09, 2008 | Saturday | Safar 01, 1429 |
Updated round-the-clock, with major updates after 10:00 PST (05:00 GMT)
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Suicide bomber kills 20, wounds 45 at ANP election rally in northwest Pakistan PESHAWAR, Pakistan, Feb 9 (AP) - A suicide bomber struck at the election rally of Awami National Party Saturday in Charsadda town of Pakistan’s North West Frontier Province, killing 20 people and wounding 45, official said ( A private said the death toll had reached 27). The blast went off inside a hall where a large number of supporters of ANP _ a secular, ethnic Pashtun group _ had gathered. Mohammed Khan, a local police official, said two policemen were among the 20 dead. Four or five children were also killed or injured, he said. Abdul Waheed, 22, who suffered burns from the blast, told The Associated Press from his hospital bed in the nearby city of Peshawar that the bomb went off as a party member was reciting verses from the holy Quran. He said he did not see the bomber. “I only heard the blast and cries and then something hit me and I fell down,” he said. Police official Khan said police had found the severed head of the suspected bomber. Interior Minister Hamid Nawaz said the attacker detonated his explosives “very close to the stage” where party officials were assembled. Afrasiab Khattak, the party's provincial leader and a prominent human rights champion, was addressing the rally but told Dawn television that he was not hurt. Nawaz said Islamic militants were threatening all the political parties in the northwest ahead of the Feb. 18 parliamentary elections. “They are against everyone,” he told Dawn News TV. It was the third suicide attack targeting politicians in the Charsadda area in just eight months. In April 2007, a suicide bomber attacked a political rally by former interior minister Aftab Khan Sherpao, killing 28 people. In December, a suicide bomber targeted Sherpao again amid hundreds of holiday worshippers at a mosque inside his home, killing at least 50 people. Sherpao was unhurt. (First Posted @ 18:04 PST Updated @ 21:24 PST)
Pakistan's atomic weapons safe - Admiral Mike Mullen ISLAMABAD, Feb 9 (Reuters) - Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, said on Saturday Pakistan's nuclear weapons were well protected and he was not worried they might fall into the hands of terrorists. Admiral Mike Mullen met President Pervez Musharraf and military leaders for talks on Saturday. He also met the official in charge of the country's nuclear arsenal, retired Lieutenant-General Khalid Kidwai. “I'm very comfortable that the nuclear weapons are secure, that there are proper procedures in place,” Mullen told a news conference. “I'm not concerned at all that they're going to fall into the hands of any terrorists.” Mullen said he was not aware of comments from a U.S. official in Washington on Friday that al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden and Taliban leader Mullah Omar are operating from Pakistan. “I haven't actually seen that intelligence and have actually not heard that statement. I'm not aware that that's a fact at all,” Mullen said. Some U.S. politicians have called on President George W. Bush to consider cutting Pakistani aid unless it restored full civil rights and did more to fight terrorism. Mullen said he would like to see conditions “absolutely minimised”. “Pakistan has been a steadfast and historic ally,” he said. “It would be important for us in the United States to continue to invest in this. This is a threat that isn't going away, it's a mutual threat and one that we together are very intent on working our way through.” Mullen also said the United States would always respect Pakistan's sovereignty and would help it when asked in whatever way it could. (Posted @ 21:12 PST)
Thousands rally as Benazir party re-launches poll bid THATTA, Pakistan, Feb 9 (Reuters) - To chants of “Democracy is the best revenge”, tens of thousands of Benazir Bhutto's followers rallied in the historic Thatta own, about 80 miles east of Karachi, in southern Pakistan on Saturday as her party relaunched an election campaign derailed by her assassination. Around 2,000 police and hundreds of private armed security guards from Bhutto's Pakistan People's Party secured the venue, a sports stadium. The size of the rally -- police estimated the crowd at over 100,000 -- dwarfed smaller ones Bhutto had held in the run-up to her murder. “She wanted to change the system and that is why the system has killed her,” Benazir's husband Asif Ali Zardari, de facto party chief, told supporters, some wrapped in red, green and black party flags and wearing hats bearing her portrait. “The system is her killer, but she knew that even if she lost her life, people like you and me would complete her mission and take revenge,” he added. Giant portraits of Benazir Bhutto, Zardari and their 19-year-old son Bilawal, who was appointed party chairman and has vowed to take up his mother's mantle after finishing his studies, hung at the stadium. (Posted @ 20:22 PST)
Musharraf launches $2.16bn Neelum-Jhelum hydro-electric project ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, Feb 09 (PPI)- President Pervez Musharraf Friday said there are indications of forward movement towards the resolution of long-standing Kashmir dispute with India and vowed that he would not let down the Kashmiris. Speaking at the launch of 2.16 billion dollars Neelum-Jhelum Hydro- Electric Project in Islamabad Saturday he said Kashmir runs in the veins of every Pakistanis and relations between Pakistan and India could not be normalized unless the dispute is resolved. He said the forward movement on conflict resolution slowed down in the past few months but now there are positive indications in this regard. President Musharraf said now there is greater interaction among the Kashmiris on both sides of the LoC which would help in taking the peace process forward. Neelum-Jhelum Project has strategic importance, President Musharrraf said and expressed gratitude for the Chinese assistance in the project. It is yet another symbol of Sino-Pak friendship, he added.. He said Pakistan has proposed extending oil and gas pipelines and rail network up to Chinese border which would be an eighth wonder. The Chinese Ambassador said Neelum-Jhelum to be completed in eight years is one of the biggest project being undertaken with Chinese collaboration. The project envisages the diversion of Neelum River waters through a tunnel out- falling into Jhelum River. The Power House would be constructed at Chatter Kalas, 22 kms south of Muzaffarabad, the capital of Azad Kashmir. (Posted @ 19:12 PST)
Police clash with protesting Pakistani lawyers ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, Feb 9 (AP) - Police using tear gas and water cannons clashed Saturday with hundreds of lawyers to block them from reaching the barricaded house of Pakistan's deposed chief justice Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry in Islamabad. About 1,500 black-suited lawyers marched on the residence of justice Iftikhar who was fired by President Pervez Musharraf three months ago. After the lawyers tried to breach the barbed-wire barricade, hundreds of police in riot gear drove them back by firing tear gas and shooting water cannons from a fire truck. They also baton-charged the crowd and beat lawyers with batons. Some of the lawyers threw stones at police. There were no immediate reports of serious injuries in the clash. Earlier Saturday, Pakistan's Bar Council announced a nationwide lawyers' boycott of courts until Feb. 18 elections _ part of a campaign to pressure the government to restore deposed top judges. Athar Minallah, a prominent Supreme Court lawyer, said the decision was made at a council convention in Islamabad before they marched on justice Iftiklhar’s house. Minallah was among several lawyers who were later arrested. Minallah, speaking to The Associated Press by cell phone from a police van, said police had manhandled him and hit him twice on the head. He complained of a headache. “I don't know where they are taking me,” he said. (Posted @ 20:26 PST)
Kashmiris stage protest to demand remains of Maqbool Bhat SRINAGAR, occupied Kashmir, Feb 9 (AFP): Scores of protestors were detained Saturday in revolt-hit occupied Kashmir as they demanded the return of the remains of separatist leader Maqbool Bhat hanged nearly a quarter century ago. Police wielding sticks beat back the demonstrators as they tried to force their way into a UN observer office in Srinagar to submit a petition asking for the UN's help in this regard. Prominent Kashmiri leaders Shabbir Shah, Sheikh Aziz and Javed Mir, who were leading the demonstration, were among the dozens taken into custody in Srinagar. “We've detained nearly 40 people for violating law and order,” a police officer said. The All Parties Hurriyat Conference asked the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in its petition “to use your influence over India in releasing the mortal remains of the beloved son of the soil.” Bhat was hanged and buried in New Delhi's Tihar Jail on February 11, 1984, on the charge of murdering an intelligence officer. Supporters say the charges were trumped up. Five years later, Kashmiris began an armed revolt against Indian rule in occupied Kashmir that has left tens of thousands of people dead. (Posted @ 17:00 PST)
Three bombers enter different Pakistani cities, warns NCMC ISLAMABAD, Feb 9 (PPI): National Crisis Management Cell (NCMC) Saturday alerted all provincial governments, chief commissioner of Islamabad and the police department that three alleged suicide bombers belonging to Baitullah Mehsud’s group have entered various cities from Dera Ismail Khan and Tank. NCMC wrote in a letter that these alleged suicide bombers can launch attack in any city; accordingly, the security arrangements should be made still stricter, a private TV channel reported. According to the NCMC letter, all three bombers have short moustaches; one of them is aged 15/16 years with blonde hair and the other is 24/25 years with wheatish complexion. (Posted @ 14:30 PST)
Three gas pipelines blown up in Pakistan QUETTA, Pakistan, Feb 9 (PPI): The supply of natural gas to Quetta power house, CNG stations and industrial units in the provincial capital was suspended after miscreants blew up the main gas pipeline at Pat Feeder Saturday morning. A spokesman of Sui Southern Gas Company said the pipeline was supplying gas to Quetta from Sui. Separately, suspected miscreants blew up a 24-inch diameter gas pipeline in Sui area of Pir Koh Loti gas field, while another 24-inch diameter gas pipeline was blown up near Kandh Kot. Teams of maintenance engineers have been dispatched and it is expected that all three pipelines will be fully operational within the next 24 hours, SSGC officials said. (First Posted @ 14:25 PST, Updated @ 16:40 PST)
Bin Laden, Omar not operating in Pakistan: FO ISLAMABAD, Feb 9 (Reuters): Pakistan rejected Saturday a U.S. official's assertion that al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden and Taliban leader Mullah Omar are operating from Pakistani territory. A senior U.S. administration official told reporters in Washington Bin Laden, his deputy Ayman al-Zawahri and others were operating out of Pakistan's Federally Administered Tribal Areas. Mullah Omar and other Taliban leaders were directing insurgency operations in Afghanistan from the Pakistani city of Quetta, said the U.S. official who declined to be identified. Pakistani Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammad Sadiq said if a U.S. official had information on the whereabouts of the wanted militants he should tell Pakistan. “If there is any actionable intelligence it should be shared with the government of Pakistan so that they can be neutralized,” Sadiq said. “You don't talk to the media if you have information like this.” He said the U.S. official's assertion was not correct. “If he was right, he would claim the bounty money, not speak to the media,” he said, referring to U.S. reward money for information leading to arrest of the militants. Pakistan did not know where the militant leaders were, Sadiq said. “If we knew, we would take action.” (First Posted @ 09:40 PST, Updated@ 12:45 PST)
6 Pakistani soldiers injured QUETTA, Pakistan, Feb 9 (AP) - A roadside bomb Saturday wounded six paramilitary soldiers at Naushki, about 150 kilometers southeast of Quetta, the capital of southwestern Baluchistan province, police said. (First Posted @ 18:40 PST Updated @ 20:24 PST)
Sindh trains 8,000 commandos to combat terrorism SHAHDADPUR, Pakistan, Feb 09 (PPI): E-Policing System has been introduced in the province to train policemen on modern lines and about 8,000 commandos have been imparted special training to combat terrorism and protect the life and property of people, DIG Training and Inspection Sindh, Iqbal Mehmood, said while addressing a passing- out parade at Police Training College, Shahdadpur, on Saturday. (Posted @ 20:20 PST)
Indian troops martyr 3 more Kashmiris SRINAGAR, occupied Kashmir, Feb 09 (PPI)-- Indian troops, in their fresh acts of state-terrorism, martyred three more innocent Kashmiri youth during an operation in Chitral-Kasbrari in Mendhar town in Poonch district, KMS reported. Separately, seven persons, including four Indian troops, were injured in a grenade blast at Gulshan Chowk in Bandipora town. (Posted @ 19:16 PST)
Open more trade routes with India: PM Soomro LAHORE, Pakistan, Feb 9 (PPI): Caretaker Prime Minister Mohammadmian Soomro Saturday called for opening more trade routes with India to facilitate export of cement and other products to the neighbouring country. Inaugurating the Passenger Facilitation Centre, Wagah (Rail & Road), he said such facilities will cut costs and help rationalise prices on both sides of the border. He also lauded the self-assessment scheme and other reforms introduced in FBR, and said these will minimise contact between tax payer and tax collector, resulting in increase in tax revenue. (Posted @ 18:40 PST)
Pakistan arrest 16 suspected miscreants in Swat RAWALPINDI, Pakistan, Feb 9 (PPI): At least 16 suspected miscreants were arrested Saturday by the security forces from troubled Swat Valley, says an Inter-Services Public Relations Press release. A huge cache of arms and ammunition was also recovered from them, it added. (Posted @ 18:35 PST)
Sports: Lt. Gen Arif Hasan elected POA president LAHORE, Pakistan, Feb 09 (PPI)- Lt. Gen (retd) Syed Arif Hasan was Saturday elected as president of the Pakistan Olympic Association (POA). Abdul Khaliq Khan was elected secretary general for a team of four yeasr at the POA general council meeting at Lahore on Saturday, says a press release. The other office bearers include: Vice Presidents Syed Shahid Ali, (IOC member), Chaudhary Mohammad Yaqoob (Volleyball), Syed Aqil Shah (Wrestling), Brig, Saleem Nawza Malik (Army), Khawaja Farooq saeed (WAPDA), Mrs, Fatima Lakhani (Gymnastics), Treasurer, Major (R) Muhammad Afzal (Volleyball). Associate Secretaries general, Lt Col (R) Mohammad Yahya (Bodybuilding), Mohammad Khaild Mahood (Athletics), Idrees Haider Khawaja (Punjab), Syed Azhar Ali Shah (NWFP), Ahmed Ali Rajput (Sindh), Mohammad Afzal Awan (Balochistan), Mrs, Veena Masood and Mrs, Tania Malik. (Posted @ 18:32 PST)
Turk parliament approves landmark headscarf reform ANKARA, Feb 9 (Reuters) Turkey's parliament approved Saturday constitutional changes aimed at lifting a ban on female students wearing the Muslim headscarf in universities, the assembly's speaker said. Lawmakers backed the amendments by 411 votes for to 103 against. (Posted @ 18:18 PST)
Obama will be assassinated if he wins: Nobel winner Lessing STOCKHOLM, Feb 9 (AFP) If Barack Obama becomes the next US president he will surely be assassinated, British Nobel literature laureate Doris Lessing predicted in a newspaper interview published here Saturday. Obama “would certainly not last long, a black man in the position of president. They would murder him,” Lessing, 88, told the Dagens Nyheter daily. Lessing, who won the 2007 Nobel Literature Prize, said it might be better if Obama's Democratic rival Hillary Clinton were to succeed in her bid to become the first woman president of the United States. “The best thing would be if they (Clinton and Obama) were to run together. Hillary is a very sharp lady. It might be calmer if she were to win, and not Obama,” she said. (Posted @ 18:12 PST)
Lebanon vote delayed for 14th time, mediator leaves BEIRUT, Feb 9 (Reuters): Lebanon's presidential election has been postponed from February 11 to February 26, Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri said Saturday, announcing the 14th delay in the vote caused by the country's political crisis. Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa meanwhile left Beirut Saturday after mediating talks that failed to yield a breakthrough. The two sides have agreed on army chief General Michel Suleiman as the next head of state, but have been unable to agree on the make-up of the new cabinet. The opposition wants veto power in the government or a three-way split that would share portfolios equally between it, the governing coalition and ministers appointed by the president. The governing coalition has rejected the idea. (Posted @ 17:20 PST)
US envoy says 'now or never' for Indo-US nuclear deal NEW DELHI, Feb 9 (APP/AFP): US ambassador to India David Mulford Saturday warned New Delhi it could be “now or never” for the India-US nuclear technology deal, saying the pact was unlikely to be offered again. “If this agreement is not processed in the present (US) Congress it is unlikely that this deal will be offered again to India,” Mulford told CNN-IBN. (Posted @ 16:50 PST)
President Musharraf administers oath of office to CJ of IHC ISLAMABAD, Feb 9 (APP): President Musharraf Saturday administered oath of office to Justice Sardar Mohammad Aslam as Chief Justice of the Islamabad High Court. The court will comprise of eight judges, besides the Chief Justice and is expected to be operational within this month. (Posted @ 14:20 PST)
G7 leaders warn of slower growth, global risks TOKYO, Feb 9 (Reuters): Finance leaders of the world's top industrialised nations put on a show of solidarity Saturday in the face of an economic slowdown and conceded that things could get even worse because of the crumbling U.S. housing market. In a communique released after meetings in Tokyo, the Group of Seven said prospects for economic growth had worsened since they last met in October, although fundamentals remained solid and the U.S. economy was likely to escape a recession. “In all our economies, to varying degrees, growth is expected to slow somewhat in the short term, reflecting wider global economic and financial developments,” finance ministers and central bankers from Japan, the United States, Canada, Britain, Germany, Italy and France said in the statement. The G7 leaders urged banks to fully disclose their losses and shore up their balance sheets to help restore the normal functioning of markets. (Posted @ 14:15 PST)
Harsh winter kills more than 750 in Afghanistan KABUL, Feb 9 (Reuters): More than 750 people have perished as a result of severe cold and heavy snowfalls this winter across Afghanistan, a government official said Saturday. The cold spell has also killed nearly 230,000 cattle, said Noor Padshah Kohistani of the National Disaster Management Commission. “Across the country, 763 people have died since the start of the winter due to cold weather and severe snowfalls,” he told Reuters. The snowfalls have destroyed more than 500 houses and damaged more than 40,000, a disaster commission statement said. (Posted @ 13:55 PST)
Local Qaeda in Iraq leader killed in raid north of Baghdad BAGHDAD, Feb 9 (AP): A local al Qaeda in Iraq leader was killed early Saturday in a police raid on his home north of Baghdad, Iraqi police said. Abu Omar al-Dori resisted police for about an hour before he was killed around 4 a.m. in his house in downtown Samarra, about 95 kilometres north of Baghdad, a police officer said requesting anonymity. The U.S. military had no immediate comment on the incident. (Posted @ 12:55 PST)
Cricket-New Zealand beat England by six wickets WELLINGTON, Feb 9 (Reuters): New Zealand beat England by six wickets in the first one-day international at Westpac Stadium on Saturday. Scores: England 130 all out in 49.4 overs; New Zealand 131-4 in 30 overs (S. Broad 3-26). (First Posted @ 10:05 PST, Updated @ 12:45 PST)
Twenty killed as avalanches sweep occupied Kashmir SRINAGAR, occupied Kashmir, Feb 9 (Reuters): Twenty people were killed by avalanches and 15 others were missing in occupied Kashmir as the heaviest snowfall in recent years brought the Himalayan region to a standstill, officials said Saturday. More than 300 people have been rescued from avalanche-hit areas, while many villages remained inaccessible, police said. Six members of a family were killed when an avalanche swept away their home late Friday in the Banihal area, 110 km south of Srinagar, police said. In the neighbouring area of Kapran an avalanche killed another family of six. (First Posted @ 09:55 PST, Updated @ 12:35 PST)
Sri Lanka military says 44 killed in north COLOMBO, Feb 9 (Reuters): Sri Lankan troops have killed at least 29 Tamil Tiger rebels, taking the two-day death toll to 44 amid fresh fighting, the military said on Saturday. “Troops killed 29 LTTE terrorists in Jaffna, Vavuniya and Mannar on Friday,” a military spokesman said. The military said it had captured a rebel-held area in Mannar on Friday, killing 12 Tamil Tiger rebels. Three soldiers had died and 15 were wounded in the fighting, it said. The Tamil rebels were not immediately available for comment. Analysts say neither side is winning as the rebels repeatedly hit back with suicide and roadside bombings and air attacks. (Posted @ 10:50 PST)
US mly reports five soldiers killed in two bombings BAGHDAD, Feb 9 (AP): Five American soldiers were killed in two roadside bombings, the U.S. military reported Saturday. Four of the deaths occurred in Baghdad and one in Tamim province, the military said in separate statements. The five were killed during operations Friday. The bombing in Tamim province also wounded three soldiers. The military gave no further information. (Posted @ 10:20 PST)
8 police killed in ambush by militants in eastern Algeria ALGIERS, Feb 9 (AP): Militants sprayed police officers with machine gun fire in an overnight ambush in eastern Algeria, killing eight, security officials said Friday. The officers were traveling in two all-terrain vehicles when they came under fire overnight Thursday outside a village, near the Tunisian border, officials said. The militants made off with the two vehicles, officials said. Another officer was killed and one injured in a separate attack Thursday in the Tizi-Ouzou region, some 100 kilometers east of the capital, Algiers, police said. (Posted @ 10:10 PST)
Failure in Afghanistan would threaten Europe: Gates MUNICH, Feb 9 (AFP): Failure in Afghanistan would directly threaten European security, US Defense Secretary Roberts Gates warned Friday as he sought to mobilize NATO allies and more especially public opinion in Europe. Gates, here to attend an international security conference, said he would seek to convince reluctant Europeans of the need to send reinforcements to fight the Taliban in southern Afghanistan. Sending French soldiers to fight in southern Afghanistan would be a “very good signal” and “a most welcome contribution” to NATO's efforts to counter the Taliban, he said. France has yet to announce whether French troop will fight in the south, where NATO troops face a resurgent Taliban, but was in talks with Canada Friday about the possibility of offering logistical support to its troops there. (Posted @ 10:00 PST)
Eleven dead in Austria nursing home fire VIENNA, Feb 9 (AFP): At least 11 people died Friday in a fire at a retirement home that housed 24 people in Egg, in Austria, the emergency services said, adding the toll was likely to rise. Five people were reported injured, while seven were evacuated to safety. Egg, a town of about 3,000 people, lies in Austria's westernmost Vorarlberg state, which borders on Germany, Switzerland and Liechtenstein. (Posted @ 08:50 PST)
Nebraska court rules electric chair unconstitutional WASHINGTON, Feb 9 (AFP): The Nebraska Supreme Court ruled Friday that the electric chair, the only method used for executions in the state, violated human dignity and therefore unconstitutional. “Electrocution's proven history of burning and charring bodies is inconsistent with the concepts of evolving standards of decency and the dignity of man,” the court said in its unanimous decision. Confirming the death penalty imposed on a man convicted for the murder of a three-year-old boy, the court said however, that he should not be electrocuted. (Posted @ 08:50 PST)
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