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| April 01, 2008 | Tuesday | Rabi-ul-Awwal 23, 1429 |
Updated round-the-clock, with major updates after 10:00 PST (05:00 GMT)
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 Muslim world needs to confront energy, food, water crises: Musharraf ISLAMABAD, April 1 (APP): President Pervez Musharraf Tuesday urged the Muslim world to optimise its potential and to collectively focus energies to avert the looming crises in energy, water and food sectors. Inaugurating the 13th General Assembly meeting of OIC Standing Committee on Scientific and Technological Cooperation (COMSTECH) he said the Muslim world faces the threat of being marginalised. President Musharraf told delegates from the 57-member OIC that “Comstech must specially focus on appropriate technologies to ensure energy, water and food security.” He also urged initiation of a dialogue with the United Nations and other forums to address the existing gap while also removing the misperceptions in the West about the Muslim world. President Musharraf welcomed the decision by the OIC summit at Dakar to restrict membership of the organisation to only those countries with a Muslim majority. Otherwise, he warned, these countries faced the risk of being marginalised and dominated by world actors. “We have to impress upon the West that extremism cannot be eliminated when economic inequalities continue to threaten national regional and global peace,” he stressed. The President also said the best way to counter extremism was to “reduce socio-economic disparities around the world.” On this occasion President Musharraf conferred the Comstech's award to Professor Ibrahim al Tayyab of Sudan in Mathematics and Professor Mohammad Mehdi Sheikh Jabari of Iran in Physics. (Posted @ 17:15 PST)  Govt to ensure supremacy of constitution: PM Gilani ISLAMABAD, April 01 (PPI): Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani Tuesday reiterated commitment of the government to ensure supremacy of the Constitution, sovereignty of parliament and rule of law in the country. Launching a documentary on late Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto he said the People's Party and its leaders Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto and Benazir Bhutto struggled and laid down their lives for the cause of democracy and rule of law and to empower the people at grass root level. The Prime Minister said the government considers media as its true opposition and expects from it a positive and constructive criticism to ensure good governance leading towards a welfare state. He paid rich tributes to late Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto who, he said, gave the country its Constitution that guarantees a strong federation and also gave the nation the nuclear programme that made the country’s defence impregnable. Other speakers included Water and Power Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf, Aftab Shaban Mirani and Dr. Azra Fazal. (Posted @ 18:18 PST)  Hoti takes oath as 13th CM of NWFP Peshawar, Pakistan, April1 (PPI) - ANP-PPP backed Amir Haider Khan Hoti was administered oath as chief minister of the North West Frontier Province by Governor Owais Ahmad Ghani on Tuesday. Earlier, he was elected unopposed as Leader of the House by the Provincial Assembly. He got 113 votes in the House of 126 members. The provincial cabinet would take oath on Wednesday. During the course of the assembly proceedings, the house slammed the recent statement of American CIA chief regarding attacks on Tribal areas without Pakistan government’s permission and passed a unanimous resolution against it. Thanking the members for unopposed election, Hoti said that his government would try to resolve all issues and problems through consensus.” We are neither extremist nor terrorist and believe in love, harmony. We do not want suicide jackets and guns, we want pen in the hands of our children”. (First Posted @ 18:18 PST Updated @ 21:26 PST) Cricket- Shoaib Akhtar banned for five years ISLAMABAD, April 1 (AFP) Paceman Shoaib Akhtar was banned from playing representative cricket for five years Tuesday for violating the players' code of conduct, PCB chairman Nasim Ashraf said. The 32-year-old Akhtar appeared before a disciplinary committee earlier Tuesday charged with publicly criticising the country's board. He was already on two years' probation for hitting a teammate with a bat. “The board has lost confidence in Shoaib Akhtar and therefore felt that his presence in the field was damaging to the Pakistan team, for Pakistan players and for the image of Pakistan cricket,” Ashraf said. (First Posted @ 15:05 PST Updated @ 18:16 PST) Cricket: Shoaib Akhtar to fight ban in court ISLAMABAD, April 1 (AFP) Pakistan paceman Shoaib Akhtar said Tuesday he will fight a five-year ban imposed on him by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) for violating the players' code of conduct. “I am deeply disappointed and hurt. I will go to court and fight against the ban,” Akhtar told AFP minutes after a disciplinary committee imposed the ban. “I was demoted from central contract 'A' category, which was very hurtful and as a reaction I said something. I have apologised to the PCB, before the disciplinary committee and before everyone,” Akhtar said. “So I thought that they would take a lenient action, but this harsh decision has effectively ended my career. I still want to play for my country,” he said. Shoaib Akhtar refused to accept PCB Chairman Naseem Ashraf's claims that he was a negative influence on the team. “Ask the captain (Shoaib Malik), ask coach Geoff Lawson and they would vouch for me. I had played with high fever on the India tour (last year), which proved my commitment for the team,” Akhtar said. “I bowl fast so I am prone to injuries, but I have given my heart, soul and body to this team. I know some vested interest did not want me to be the part of the team, but I will be back.” (Posted @ 18:20 PST) Deposed top judge presses for return, celebrates end of 'one-man rule' QUETTA, Pakistan, April 1 (AP): Pakistan's deposed chief justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry claimed Tuesday he was still the legal head of the Supreme Court and hailed the election defeat of President Musharraf's allies as the end of ''one-man rule.'' Iftikhar Chaudhry insisted his removal during emergency rule in November was illegal. The judges who refused to swear a fresh oath of office during the emergency ''claim that we are all the judges of the courts, and those people who took the oath ... are not legal and constitutional judges,'' he told a gathering of lawyers in Quetta Tuesday. He said the results of February parliamentary elections ''changed the country's culture.'' ''Who did this? This is done by you people and the people of the country. The message is clear that in future everything will be constitutional in the country and there will be no more one-man rule,'' Chaudhry said. (Posted @ 15:40 PST) Two killed in militant attack in Pakistan MINGORA, Pakistan, April 1 (AFP): Militants ambushed a van carrying pro-government tribal elders in a northwestern region, killing two tribal leaders and wounding seven others Tuesday, police said. The elders were returning to Mingora, the main town in Swat. Separately four local government officials were wounded in a roadside bomb blast in Matta, another town in Swat, Tuesday. The officials were returning to their office from a visit to the area when their vehicle struck the bomb, police officer Akhtar Sharif said. (Posted @ 14:35 PST ) Gunmen kill one soldier, wound four in southwestern Pakistan QUETTA, Pakistan, April 1 (AP): Gunmen killed one soldier and wounded four others in southwestern Pakistan Tuesday, police said. Police official Raja Fayyaz said the soldiers came under fire as they travelled through Quetta, the capital of Balochistan province. There was no claim of responsibility. (Posted @ 13:05 PST) 
Aitzaz Ahsan warns of conspiracies against Murree Declaration QUETTA, Pakistan, April 1 (PPI): President of Supreme Court Bar Association Chaudhry Aitzaz Ahsan Tuesday said that conspiracies are being hatched in the Presidency to sabotage the Muree accord. He warned that if PCO judges become a part of these conspiracies then they would face the wrath of the people and the lawyers. Addressing a Press conference, he said that restoration of deposed judges would not create any judicial crisis. (Posted @ 20:50 PST) EU presidency calls on Mugabe to stand down BRUSSELS, April 1 (AFP) - Slovenian Foreign Minister Dimitrij Rupel, whose country holds the EU's presidency, called on Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe to step down on Tuesday, warning of “a coup d'etat” if he stayed. (Posted @ 20:46 PST) US president arrives in Romania for NATO summit BUCHAREST, April 1 (AFP) - US President George W. Bush arrived in Romania Tuesday to take part in NATO's biggest ever summit involving some 60 heads of state and government. (Posted @ 20:40 PST) Four soldiers killed, 56 wounded in Sri Lanka lightning strike COLOMBO, April 1 (AFP) - At least four men were killed and another 56 injured Tuesday when lightning struck a military training facility in eastern Sri Lanka, police said. The victims were on a training exercise when they were struck in the district of Polonnaruwa, 216 kilometres east of Colombo, police said. (Posted @ 20:04 PST) 
OIC should be effective, proactive body of Islamic world: PM ISLAMABAD, April 1 (APP): Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani Tuesday emphasized the need to adopt a holistic approach to meet the internal and external challenges confronting the Muslim Ummah. Talking to OIC Secretary General, Prof. Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, at the PM Secretariat Gilani said that OIC has to re-establish its role as an effective and proactive body of the Islamic World. He hailed the new Charter of OIC and expressed confidence that this would go a long way in improving the overall functioning of the Organization and gear it to meet the challenges of the 21st century. Referring to the issue of Kashmir, the Prime Minister said that Pakistan appreciated OIC's efforts in highlighting the just cause of the Kashmiri people. The Secretary General said Kashmir issue remains at the top of the OIC agenda. He also discussed with the Pakistani leader the whole range of issues concerning the Muslims all over the world. (Posted @ 19:58 PST) As gasoline nears $4 a gallon, Congress has questions about Big Oil's big profits WASHINGTON, April 1 (AP) - Senior executives of the five largest U.S. oil companies were to appear before a congressional committee Tuesday where they were likely to find frustrated lawmakers in no mood for small talk. “These companies are defending billions of federal subsidies ... while reaping over a hundred billion dollars in profits in just the last year alone,” complained Democratic Rep. Edward Markey, in previewing the hearing. The lawmakers were scheduled to hear from top executives of Exxon Mobil Corp., Shell Oil Co., BP America Inc., Chevron Corp. and ConocoPhillips, which together earned about $123 billion last year because of soaring oil and gasoline prices. (Posted @ 19:50 PST) NATO strike kills three in Afghanistan KABUL, April 1 (AFP) -The NATO force in Afghanistan said Tuesday it killed three insurgents in a late night air strike in Panjwayi district in Kandahar province, but a government official insisted the men were farmers watering their crops. ISAF claimed the three were spotted placing home-made bombs on a road near an ISAF base but district governor, Shah Baran, insisted that the three were farmers irrigating their land. “Our investigations show that they were not planting mines. They were not Taliban; they were farmers who were irrigating their lands at the time of the bombing,” Baran told AFP. (Posted @ 19:18 PST) Network of APHC offices in occupied Kashmir SRINAGAR, occupied Kashmir, April 1 (APP) An extra ordinary meeting of the executive council of the All Parties Hurriyat Conference was held at its headquarters in Rajbagh on Tuesday. It was presided over by the Chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and attended by Moulana Abbas Ansari, Abdul Ghani Butt, Shabbir Ahmed Shah, Bilal Ghani Lone, Fazl Haq Qureshi and Shaikh Abdul Aziz. The meeting reviewed the present situation in occupied Kashmir and resolved to open APHC offices in all districts to improve its mass contact network in occupied Kashmir. (Posted @ 18:40 PST)
Global discourse on Kashmir starts in Brussels ISLAMABAD, April 1 (APP) A global discourse on Kashmir began in the European Parliament Tuesday. It was jointly inaugurated by the Chairman of All Parties Group for Kashmir, James Elles and the Executive Director of Kashmir Centre Brussels, Barrister Abdul Majeed Tramboo. The participants stressed that Pakistan, India and Kashmiris have to work more effectively on new approaches to bring about a lasting solution of Kashmir dispute. They also urged India to stop human rights violations and respect the aspirations of Kashmiris, KMS reported. Among others, Elizabeth Lynne MP, Mushahid Hussain Sayed, Farooq Siddique, Agha Syed Hasan Al-Moosvi, Iqbal Zafar Jhagra, Dr Ghulam Nabi Fai and Mehmood Riaz participated in the discourse. (Posted @ 18:38 PST) Suicide attack in Afghanistan kills two policemen HERAT, Afghanistan, April 1 (AFP) A suicide attacker blew up a car bomb inside a district police compound in southwestern Afghanistan’s Nimroz province’s Khash Rod district Tuesday, killing two policemen and wounding five, Nimroz deputy police chief Assadullah Sherzad told AFP. (Posted @ 18:30 PST) Egypt opens Rafah terminal for a day to allow in Egyptians stranded in Gaza RAFAH, Egypt, April 1 (AP) - Rafah terminal on Egypt-Gaza border has been opened for a single day to let around 350 Egyptians stuck in Gaza Strip for the past two months to return home, officials said. (Posted @ 16:50 PST) Sri Lankan military says 15 Tamil rebels killed in northern fighting COLOMBO, Sri Lanka, April 1 (AP): A fresh round of fighting along the northern front lines of Sri Lanka's civil war killed 15 Tamil Tiger rebels, the military said Tuesday. The battles broke out Monday in the Jaffna, Mannar, Vavuniya and Welioya areas, the military said in a statement. In the worst of the fighting, six Tamil Tiger rebels riding on a tractor were killed in an army attack in Vavuniya. Rebel spokesman Rasiah Ilanthirayan was not available for comment. (Posted @ 13:55 PST) At least 53 Somali would be migrants drown off Yemen SANAA, April 1(Reuters): At least 53 Somalis have drowned off the coast of Yemen while trying to cross from Somalia to the Arabian Peninsula country, a Yemeni official said Tuesday. The captain of the vessel carrying about 145 migrants forced them to jump into the sea off Yemen's southern province of Abyan to swim ashore, the provincial official told Reuters. About 92 survived and were sent to refugee camps, he said. (Posted @ 13:50 PST) 'No veto' for Russia on NATO membership: Bush KIEV, April 1 (AFP): Russia will not have any “veto” right at this week's NATO summit where the alliance will decide whether to accept new members, US President George W. Bush said Tuesday. “Russia won't have a veto over what happens in Bucharest,” Bush said at a news conference with Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko in Ukrainian capital Kiev. “And that's the right policy.” He said Washington “strongly supports” Ukraine's bid to join NATO. “Ukraine now seeks to deepen its cooperation with the NATO alliance through a membership action plan. Ukraine has made a bold decision and the United States strongly supports your request.” (Posted @ 13:35 PST) Police kill eight Maoists in eastern India PATNA, India, April 1 (Reuters): Indian police killed eight Maoist rebels in a midnight gunbattle in the eastern state of Jharkhand, police said Tuesday. (Posted @ 12:50 PST) Taliban commander detained in southern Afghanistan KANDAHAR, April 1 (AP): Police arrested a senior Taliban commander during a clash with militants in southern Afghanistan that left three insurgents dead, an official said Tuesday. The militants, led by Taliban commander Mullah Naqibullah and dressed in police uniforms, ambushed a police convoy on Monday north of Lashkar Gah, capital of Helmand province, said the provincial police chief. The ensuing gun battle left three militants dead, and wounded two policemen and Naqibullah, who was taken into custody, the official said. This is the third time that authorities have arrested Naqibullah. (Posted @ 12:20 PST) 9 Kurd rebels, 3 Turkish soldiers killed in clashes ANKARA, April 1 (AP): Clashes between Turkish troops and Kurdish rebels have left nine rebels and three soldiers dead in the country's southeast, a news agency reported Tuesday. The clashes took place over the past five days in the southeastern province of Sirnak, bordering Iraq, Dogan news agency reported Tuesday. Ten soldiers were also wounded in the clashes, it said. (First Posted @ 09:10 PST, Updated @ 12:10 PST) 75-vehicle pile up on Colorado highway: 1 killed, several injured FRISCO, Colorado, April 1 (AP): A pileup involving as many as 75 vehicles on snowy Interstate 70 shut down Colorado's main east-west route on Monday, killing at least one person and injuring several others, two of them in critical condition, officials said. A semi-trailer truck jackknifed and caused the original crash, said a state trooper. “We have up to 60 to 75 cars involved,” he said. (Posted @ 09:55 PST) Israel army kills two Gaza militants: medics GAZA CITY, April 1 (AFP): Israeli forces on Tuesday killed two Hamas militants in exchanges of fire during a brief army incursion in the Gaza Strip, Palestinian medical sources said. The gunbattle erupted after several Israeli armoured vehicles and tanks attacked east of the town of Bir el-Balah in southern Gaza, the sources said. Two members of Hamas were killed in the exchanges of fire. (Posted @ 09:15 PST) Karachi Stocks up 84.88 points: KARACHI, April 01: At close of trading, the KSE-100 index was at 15210.17, up 84.88 points. (Bureau Report) (Updated @ 14:10 PST) Forex update: KARACHI, April 01: The Pakistani Rupee was traded at Rs 63.35 to the US Dollar in the open market. (Bureau Report) (Updated @ 14:10 PST)
Founder: Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah
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