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| April 25, 2008 | Friday | Rabi-us-Sani 18, 1429 |
Updated round-the-clock, with major updates after 10:00 PST (05:00 GMT)
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 Pakistan to buy anti-terror equipment from China ISLAMABAD, April 25 (AFP) - Pakistan will purchase equipment from China to fight terrorist activity, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said on Friday. “Pakistan has expressed the desire to purchase some anti-terror equipment from China,” Qureshi told a joint press conference with the visiting Chinese foreign minister Yang Jiechi after their talks in Islamabad. He did not disclose when and what type of equipment Pakistan would purchase from China. “We expressed our great desire during the talks to build the bilateral relations to new heights,” Qureshi said. Jiechi said his visit to Pakistan “was another step towards forging even better relationship between the two countries in the fields of defence, economy, investment, energy and security.” ”Beijing will further cooperate with Pakistan in dealing firmly with terrorists,” he said. He said that “cooperation between the two countries in peaceful uses of nuclear energy is a great success, as we have undertaken some good projects in Pakistan.” ”We think that Pakistan has a right to peaceful uses of nuclear energy,”Jiechi added. Asked if China will participate in a multi-billion-dollar gas pipeline project with Iran and Pakistan, he said, “we are seriously studying China's participation in the project.” ”But we need to have more information from Pakistan side about the project,” he said. (Posted @ 20:40 PST)  Pakistan, India close to deal for Iran gas pipeline ISLAMABAD, April 25 (Reuters) - India and Pakistan are just “days or weeks away” from finalising terms for a dollar 7.6 billion cross-border pipeline to import gas from Iran following talks in Islamabad on Friday. Indian Oil Minister Murli Deora and Pakistani Petroleum Minister Khwaja Mohammad Asif held a joint news conference after discussing issues, including transportation tariff and transit fees. “We have agreed upon the fundamentals of the agreement,” Asif said. “The whole process should not take a long time, may be few days or few weeks and the agreement will be concluded.” Pipeline diplomacy is likely to be a feature of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's visits to Pakistan and India early next week. The step forward came a day after India joined Pakistan in an agreement signed in Islamabad with officials from Afghanistan and Turkmenistan for another multi-billion project to pipe gas across the mountains of Central Asia to South Asia. While construction for the Turkmenistan pipeline project is expected to start in 2010, building the pipeline from Iran is seen beginning next year, and could be finished in 2012. “We discussed the matters in a very positive spirit and have reached agreement on the principles on which we hope the project can go ahead,” Deora said. The pipeline would initially transport 60 million cubic metres of gas daily to Pakistan and India, half for each country. The pipeline's capacity would later rise to 150 million cubic metres. (Posted @ 18:36 PST) Iranian President to meet Musharraf, PM Gilani ISLAMABAD, April 25 (APP): Iranian President Mahmoud Ahamdinejad will meet President Pervez Musharraf and Prime Minister Syed Yousaf Raza Gilani Monday and discuss the multi-billion Iran-Pakistan-India gas pipeline project besides bilateral, regional and international issues. This will be the first visit by a foreign head of state to Pakistan, since the new coalition government came into power in Islamabad. The Iranian President will make an official stop- over at Islamabad Monday morning, while on his way to Sri Lanka. (Posted @ 18:42 PST)  Four killed, 30 injured as car bomb ends lull in Pakistan violence MARDAN, Pakistan, April 25 (AFP) - Four people were killed and 30 hurt when a car bomb demolished a police station in the city of Mardan in North West Frontier Province Friday, ending a lull in attacks since a new government took power last month. The blast was in revenge for the killing of militant commander Hafiz Saeedul Haq by police, Taliban spokesman Maulvi Omar told AFP but added that a ceasefire declared this week by top insurgent commander Baitullah Mehsud remained intact. Police said they had killed Haq earlier this month in Mardan when he refused to stop at a checkpost while riding a bicycle and opened fire at them. The blast early Friday reduced the police station to a pile of rubble and wrecked an adjoining hotel and several shops, said senior police officer Mohammad Akhtar Khan. “There was a huge explosion. It was an apparent car bomb planted next to the wall between a hotel and the police station and both were wrecked,” Khan said. Two policemen including an officer and two civilian workers died, while several shops were also destroyed, he said. Officials said 30 were injured, including ten police who were inside the building and were hit by shrapnel. “People are saying that a man in a Suzuki car came to the hotel, parked his car outside, ordered a cup of tea and then disappeared,” a witness said. (First Posted @ 08:40 PST, Updated @ 16:10 PST) NA adjourned sine die ISLAMABAD, April 25 (PPI)- The speaker of the National Assembly Dr. Fehmida Mirza on Friday adjourned the House sine die. Earlier, the House referred to its Finance Committee the matter of Stock Market Scandal of 2005, that resulted in seven hundred billion rupees loss to the investors in the Stock Exchanges. The adjournment means that the much-awaited resolution about the reinstatement of the deposed judges would now have to wait until the assembly is summoned afresh, private TV channels reported. (Posted @ 17:32 PST) Pakistan closing in on pact with militant's Mehsud tribe PESHAWAR, Pakistan, April 25 (Reuters) - Pakistan is close to clinching a peace pact with the Mehsuds, one of the most recalcitrant tribes in its tribal region bordering Afghanistan. “It's now a matter of days before we have an agreement. The talks are in a very advanced stage,” a senior government official involved in the negotiations told Reuters. A draft of the 15-point accord with the Mehsud tribal elders was shown to Reuters. It included a call for an end to militant activity, exchange of prisoners and gradual withdrawal of the army from South Waziristan. The draft did not explicitly say whether militants should stop cross-border attacks into neighbouring Afghanistan. But it did say Mehsud tribesmen should expel al Qaeda and other foreign fighters from their area within a month and stop their lands being used as a base for attacks. While the authorities and tribal elders made final touches to the pact, Baitullah Mehsud, who was declared as the leader of the Pakistani Taliban late last year, on Wednesday ordered his followers to stop attacks inside Pakistan. A government official described the ceasefire as part of a series of confidence building measures that will be taken before the agreement is signed. He said the government also planned to lift blockade of Mehsud territory by the military. (Posted @ 16:30 PST) Indian PM hopes to resolve disputes with Pakistan Srinagar, occupied Kashmir, April 25 (PPI):- Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh expects to resolve all disputes including the Kashmir issue with the new government in Pakistan. “I hope that we will be able to put the past behind us, and that we can move forward with a sense of urgency, not inhibited by false fears or narrow agendas,” Singh said in Akhnoor town in Occupied Kashmir on Friday. “I have been heartened by the very positive statements made by the new leaders (in Pakistan),” Singh said. India's Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjee will visit Pakistan on May 21 to review peace talks between two countries. His visit will be preceded by that of Foreign Secretary Shivshankar Menon on May 20. (Posted @ 19:58 PST) India proposes to further consolidate CBMs with Pakistan New Delhi, April 25 (PPI): To further consolidate Confidence Building Measures (CBMs) with Pakistan, India proposes to liberalise entry permit system across Line of Control (LoC), operationalise Kargil, Skardu and Jammu, Sialkot routes and increase frequency of Srinagar, Muzaffarabad and Poonch, Rawalakot bus services. In a suo motu statement in parliament, Home Minister Shivraj Patil said trade and truck services across LoC would also be operationalised. These issues would be shortly discussed with Pakistan, he said, adding measures would increase travel across LoC and enable wider cultural, academic, students and other exchanges. The entry permit system across LoC will be liberalised by bringing in features like triple entry permits valid for one year and completion of verification process within six weeks. Srinagar, Muzaffarabad and Poonch, Rawalakot bus services would be made weekly instead of present fortnightly. “'We are proposing early operationalisation of Kargil, Skardu and Jammu, Sialkot routes, increasing frequency of Srinagar, Muzaffarabad and Poonch, Rawalakot bus services to weekly from present fortnightly. We will discuss these issues with Pakistan shortly,” Patil said. He said for convenience of travellers, applications for entry permit could be made at each District Passport Collection Centre. (Posted @ 19:50 PST) Pakistan to continue moral support to Kashmiris: Mukhtar ISLAMABAD, April 25 (APP): Pakistan’s Defence Minister Ahmed Mukhtar Friday said that Pakistan would continue to extend diplomatic and moral support to the Kashmiri's struggle for their right of self-determination. At a meeting with the President of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), Raja Zulqarnain Khan he said Kashmiris had rendered unprecedented sacrifices for their just cause and eventually their efforts would lead to the solution of Kashmir issue. He said peace and stability in the South East Asia was directly linked to the solution of Kashmir issue in accordance with the aspirations of the peoples of Kashmir. (Posted @ 19:44 PST)
Chinese FM calls on Shujaat ISLAMABAD, April 25 (APP): The visiting Chinese Foreign Minister Yong Jiechi Friday called on President of Pakistan Muslim League Ch. Shujaat Hussain and discussed matters of mutual interest. Shujaat said the two countries were enjoying time-tested friendship and shared commonality of views on issues. Secretary General of PML (Q) Senator Mushahid Hussain Sayed said during PML (Q) tenure Pak-China ties had furtherconsolidated. Chinese Foreign Minister said his visit aimed at interacting with the leaders of newly elected government in Pakistan. Also present were Akram Zaki former ambassador, MNA Sheikh Waqas. (Posted @ 21:00 PST) Bus bomb kills 23 passengers near Sri Lanka capital COLOMBO, April 25 (AFP) - A bomb ripped through a crowded bus just outside Sri Lanka's capital on Friday, killing at least 23 passengers and wounding more than 50, police said. “At least 10 people died on the spot,” a police official at the scene said. “Another 13 died on the way to hospital. “Fifty two people are being treated in two hospitals,” he added. (First Posted @ 19:06 PST Updated @ 20:36 PST) Police tear gas Kashmir protesters SRINAGAR, occupied Kashmir, April 25 (Reuters) - Police in Srinagar fired tear gas on Friday to disperse several thousand demonstrators protesting against alleged human rights violations by Indian security forces. The protest came hours after Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh began a two-day visit to the troubled Himalayan region, where tens of thousands of people have been killed since a revolt against New Delhi's rule broke out in 1989. More than 3,000 people led by the chairman of All_Parties Hurriyet Conference Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, marched through the streets of Srinagar, carrying banners reading: “Stop human rights violations.” “We want freedom, long live Pakistan,” protestors shouted. Half a dozen people were injured after police fired teargas shells at stone-throwing protestors. “We ask Indians and the world community, whose graves are these? ... Human rights violations in Kashmir have increased and we will continue protest,” Mirwaiz Farooq said in his Friday sermon before leading the protest demonstration. Police said they placed four Hurriyat leaders under house arrest as a preventative measure earlier on Friday. Human rights groups say up to 10,000 people have gone missing following their arrest by security forces, and that many of the missing could have ended up in the unmarked graves. Amnesty International has also appealed to Indian authorities to urgently investigate unmarked graves in occupied Kashmir. (Posted @ 19:20 PST) Four Mujahideen shot dead in occupied Kashmir SRINAGAR, occupied Kashmir, April 25 (AFP): Indian security forces shot dead four senior Hizbul Mujahideen militants, police said Friday. “The militants were killed in separate gunbattles in northern Kupwara and Southern Reasi districts,” a police official said. Two of those killed were identified as Mohammad Ramzan Reshi, deputy district commander of Hizbul Mujahideen, and his close associate Ghulam Mohiuddin Bhat, said police superintendent Haseeb Mughal. “The duo was killed in a day-long gunbattle yesterday (Thursday),” he said. Separately, police and soldiers killed two more Hizbul Mujahideen militants during a search operation in Reasi district in the Jammu region Friday morning. (Posted @ 13:50 PST) Court dismisses writ petition seeking stay of proposed constitutional package ISLAMABAD, April 25 (APP): Islamabad High Court Friday dismissed a writ petition seeking stay of a proposed constitutional package for restoration of the deposed judges. Chief Justice Sardar Mohammad Alsam rejected the petition on the grounds that it was not maintainable as a similar application was pending with the Supreme Court of Pakistan. Neither Maulvi Iqbal Haider, the petitioner, nor his counsel M A Bhatti advocate appeared before the court for arguments. (Posted @ 17:15 PST) 
Four of a family die as roof caves in Pakistan’s Jalozai PESHAWAR, April 25 (APP): Four of a family died when the roof of their house collapsed in Jalozai village near Pabbi in Nowshera district Friday morning. A Pabbi police station official said the roof of the dilapidated house suddenly razed to ground when the family was asleep. (Posted @ 12:25 PST) Six killed in car-dumper collision in Pakistan KARACHI, April 25 (APP): Six people travelling in a car were killed when their vehicle collided with a dumper on the Super Highway early Friday, an Edhi Ambulance service official said. The accident took place at the Kathore More on the Super Highway. (Posted @ 12:10 PST) Three factory workers killed in firing KARACHI, April 25 (APP): Three factory workers were killed and six injured when armed persons opened fire on a bus of Attock Cement Ltd in Hub industrial area, 40kms northwest of Karachi, on Friday afternoon. According to police and ambulance sources, a group of six armed men opened fire on workers' bus from two sides. Injured persons were rushed to Karachi Civil Hospital as police cordoned off the area and started a search for assailants (Posted @ 19:40 PST) US air strike kills 11, injures 74 in Iraq’s Sadr City Baghdad, April 25 (Reuters) - The U.S. military said on Friday it had killed 11 fighters in helicopter missile strikes and ground battles in eastern Baghdad’s Sadr City overnight, but medics said the two hospitals in the area had received 11 bodies.They said 74 others were injured. Meanwhile, the U.S. army said on Friday that a U.S. soldier was killed by a road side bomb south of Baghdad on Thursday. Separately, gunmen shot dead a news broadcaster working for al-Nakheel TV and Radio station run by a Shi'ite faction in the Qurna area, 80km northern Basra, the station's director Adnan al-Yasiri said. On the other hand, a bomb implanted beneath a Friday prayers preacher's seat exploded in al-Raqeeb mosque in al-Julan area, northwestern Falluja, wounding 4 people including two policemen, police said. Iraqi police found three bodies on Thursday overnight in different areas of Baghdad. (Posted @ 19:28 PST) Cricket: ICC chief executive Speed asked to go on leave NEW DELHI, April 25 (Reuters) The International Cricket Council (ICC) asked outgoing chief executive Malcolm Speed to go on leave on Friday following major differences at the top of the organisation. “The ICC President, Ray Mali, and the CEO Speed have agreed that Malcolm Speed will be on paid leave from April 30 until the end of his contract term on July 4 2008,” an ICC statement from its president-elect David Morgan said. “This change of plan is the result of a fundamental breakdown in the relationship between the CEO and a number of (ICC) board members, including the president, over a variety of issues that include Zimbabwe.” South Africa's David Richardson, the ICC general manager for cricket, will hold the post until his compatriot Haroon Lorgat takes over the job at the ICC annual conference in early July. (Posted @ 19:26 PST) Cricket: Pakistan beat W. Indies in dramatic finish to U-15 final Basseterre, St. Kitts, April 25 (PPI):- Off- spinner Mirza Jamil snapped up two wickets in final over to bowl Pakistan to a dramatic two-run victory over West Indies in knockout final of International Under-15 Championship at Warner Park. Chasing Pakistan’s 219 off 49.5 overs, West Indies Windies collapsed from 72 for two to 102 for six, staged a recovery but just failed to make it. (Posted @ 19:00 PST) Cricket: New Zealand confirm three-match ODI series in Pakistan KARACHI, April 25 (AFP) - New Zealand have given a go-ahead to a three-match one-day series against Pakistan in late August, Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) announced Friday. The matches will be played at Multan on August 24 and at Faisalabad on August 27 and 30. (Posted @ 18:34 PST) Tribal villages torched in Bangladesh DHAKA, April 25 (AFP) - Rampaging Bengali settlers have razed seven tribal villages to the ground in Bangladesh's Chittagong Hill Tracts region, the rights group Survival International said Friday. The group said the villages belonged to the Jumma tribal people who were attacked after the Bangladesh army began a new settlement programme for non-tribal people in the Sajek area. “Jumma villagers, including women and children, were beaten in the attack and their belongings looted,” Survival said in a statement. “One hundred houses were destroyed and the Jumma villagers have fled into the surrounding forests. Bengali setters were also injured,” it said. (Posted @ 15:45 PST) Fighting kills 21 in Sri Lanka north, army takes church COLOMBO, April 25 (Reuters): Sri Lankan troops captured a centuries old Catholic church in the country's north two days after one of the bloodiest battles in the country's civil war, as fresh fighting killed 21 people. Military spokesman Brigadier Udaya Nanayakkara said the Sri Lankan army had taken the Catholic church in Madhu in the north west, where the fighting was now concentrated, without facing any resistance. The Sri Lankan military said fighting in the far north a day earlier, had killed 17 Tamil Tiger rebels and four solders also died in the fighting. The Sri Lankan Army (SLA) said over 100 rebels and 43 soldiers were killed and 33 soldiers missing from Wednesday's clashes in the island’s Jaffna Peninsula. The Tigers said they had repulsed a government assault, killing more than 100 soldiers and only 16 rebels died in a 10- hour fight. (First Posted @ 11:25 PST, Updated @ 14:00 PST) China to meet Dalai Lama representatives: Xinhua BEIJING, April 25 (Reuters): Chinese officials will meet representatives of the Dalai Lama, the spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism who China blames for a wave of unrest, Xinhua news agency reported Friday, citing official sources. “In view of the requests repeatedly made by the Dalai side for resuming talks, the relevant department of the central government will have contact and consultation with Dalai's private representative in the coming days,” Xinhua quoted an official as saying. “It is hoped that through contact and consultation, the Dalai side will take credible moves to stop activities aimed at splitting China, stop plotting and inciting violence and stop disrupting and sabotaging the Beijing Olympic Games so as to create conditions for talks,” the official said. (Posted @ 13:55 PST) Bush assures Mahmoud Abbas on statehood, Hamas offers truce WASHINGTON, April 25 (Reuters): U.S. President George W. Bush assured Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas Thursday that Palestinian statehood remained a high priority in his final 10 months in office despite faltering peace talks. As Bush met with Abbas at the White House to try to shore up the negotiations, Hamas formally proposed to Egyptian mediators in Cairo a six-month truce between Israel and Palestinians in the Gaza Strip with an option to extend it to include the Israeli-occupied West Bank. “The movement agrees to a truce in the Gaza Strip ... fixed at six months, during which period Egypt will work to extend the truce to the West Bank,” former Palestinian Foreign Minister Mahmoud al-Zahar, said reading from a statement. “The truce must be mutual and simultaneous and the blockade must be lifted and the crossing points opened, including the Rafah crossing point (between Gaza and Egypt),” Zahar added. (Posted @ 10:40 PST) Two Israelis killed on West Bank border JERUSALEM, April 25 (Reuters): Two Israelis were shot dead on the West Bank boundary Friday in what appeared to have been a Palestinian militant attack, Israel Radio reported. It said the bodies of the two men were discovered at their workplace, the Netzanei Oz industrial zone near the Palestinian-governed town of Tulkarm. (Posted @ 10:05 PST) 
Gas poisoning from shower kills nine women in China BEIJING, April 25 (Reuters): Nine young women in Beijing died of carbon monoxide poisoning from a gas water heater, local media said Friday. Police found the women unconscious Thursday morning in an apartment in Chaoyang district in the Chinese capital, the Beijing Morning Post said. They were taken to hospital where doctors tried to save them but to no avail. “The preliminary judgement is that the use of an indoor water heater for shower for a relatively long period of time has caused the deaths,” the newspaper quoted police as saying. (Posted @ 10:00 PST) Olympic torch relay comes to Japan TOKYO, April 25 (AFP): The Beijing Olympics torch arrived Friday in Japan on the latest leg of a worldwide relay hit by pro-Tibet protests. The chartered Beijing Olympic Airbus plane flew into Tokyo's Haneda airport at 6:00 am. Athletes will ceremonially run the torch Saturday through the central mountain town of Nagano. The torch came to Japan from Canberra. (First Posted @ 09:00 PST Updated @ 20:10 PST) Karachi Stocks up 129.84 points: KARACHI, April 25: At close of trading, the KSE-100 index was at 15434.74, up 129.84 points. (Bureau Report) (Updated @ 16:02 PST) Forex update: KARACHI, April 25: The Pakistani Rupee was traded at Rs 65.95 to the US Dollar in the open market. (Bureau Report) (Updated @ 16:02 PST)
Founder: Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah
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