afghanistan articles

Wednesday, 10 July 2013

Court sends fugitive Ogra chief on 14-day physical remand

An accountability court in Islamabad sent Tauqir Sadiq, the fugitive former chief of the Oil and Gas Regularity Authority (Ogra), on a 14-day physical remand on Tuesday.

The UAE authorities handed over Sadiq, who is accused of being involved in a multi-billion rupee scam, to a team of officials of the NAB on Monday night.

Appearing in the Islamabad court on Tuesday, Sadiq pleaded innocent before the bench, and accused authorities of mistreating him.

A car bomb exploded on Tuesday in a Beirut stronghold district of the Lebanese Hezbollah militant group that has been fighting in Syria’s civil war, wounding at least 38 people, a hospital official told Reuters.

Reports that one employee had been killed in the parking lot where the explosion occurred in Beirut’s southern suburbs could not be confirmed by hospital officials. Sectarian tensions in Lebanon have been high following the intervention of the Shiite Hezbollah in support of President Bashar al-Assad’s forces fighting a two-year revolt.

A special CBI court on Tuesday rejected the bail plea of suspended Deputy Superintendent of Police N.K. Amin in which he had contented that the charge sheet filed by CBI in the Ishrat Jahan encounter case was incomplete.

Additional chief judicial magistrate S H Khutwad of the special CBI court rejected the application, saying that the applicant had filed default bail plea within 90 days whereas, according to section 167 (2) of CrPC, the default bail plea has to be filed after 90 days and that too, in case the charge sheet is not filed.

In what comes as a major relief for Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) president Lalu Yadav, the Supreme Court today restrained the trial court in Ranchi from delivering its verdict in the fodder scam case in which Mr Yadav is accused of embezzling Rs. 30 crore from the government during his earlier term as chief minister of Bihar.

Mr Yadav had asked for his case to be transferred to a different court, alleging that Pravas Kumar Singh, the judge handling the verdict, is related to a senior minister in the current Bihar government headed by Nitish Kumar.

ISLAMABAD: Terming it a collective failure of authorities as a whole, the Abbottabad Commission Report says no Pakistani institution or individual alone was responsible for the operation, which killed former al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden on Pakistani soil.

According to a copy of the report --acquired by Geo News-- the US Navy SEALs were provided with strategic ground support/intelligence for the operation to capture world’s most wanted man.The report accuses authorities of complacency, collective failure and negligence that allowed Osama bin Laden to live undetected in the country for more than nine years and his subsequent killing by the US troops in a covert operation in Pakistan.

The new head of the opposition Syrian National Coalition said he expected advanced weapons supplied by Saudi Arabia to reach rebel fighters soon and that the Geneva peace conference “is not possible” for now due to their currently weak military position.

Ahmad al-Jarba, who has close links to Saudi Arabia, told Reuters in his first interview since being elected president of the coalition on July 6 that the opposition would not go to a proposed peace conference in Geneva sponsored by the United States and Russia unless its military fortunes improve.

Ranchi: Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) leader and chief ministerial candidate Hemant Soren may claim stake to form the government in Jharkhand on Tuesday, sources in the party revealed.

The sources said the JMM has managed to win the support of 40 legislators, and two more legislators are expected to extend their support to the party by Monday evening.

KARACHI: As many as 15 more people were killed as firing and violent incidents continued in Karachi, Geo News reported Monday.

A man identified as Zahid was killed in Sector-7 of Surjani Town, while a firing incident gulped down a political activist, Yaseen, near Kali Pahari.

ISLAMABAD: Maryam, the wife of a Pakistani al Qaeda operative, Ibrahim, has made a shocking revelation about how the global terror network chief, Osama bin Laden, once narrowly escaped unnoticed by police in Swat district.

She said that the tall Arab [Bin Laden] and his family were once stopped by a policeman in a bazaar in Swat. “They [including Bin Laden] were stopped for speeding by a policeman,” the Abbottabad Commission report quoted Maryam as saying. The report was leaked to Arab television channel Al Jazeera.
But Ibrahim very quickly settled the matter and they drove away unnoticed, she added.

UNITED NATIONS :U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon appealed on Monday for forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and rebel fighters in Syria to put down their weapons during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

In a statement, Ban said Ramadan is one of the four months on the Islamic calendar during which fighting is supposed to cease.

"For the sake of the Syrian people, therefore, I would like to call on all parties in Syria to respect this religious obligation for at least, at a minimum, one month," Ban said on the eve of Ramadan, which begins on Tuesday.

ISLAMABAD: Former Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority chairman Tauqir Sadiq, allegedly involved in a Rs82 billion scam, has been shifted to Pakistan from United Arab Emirates.

Sadiq was brought back to Pakistan by a National Accountability Bureau (NAB) investigator Waqas Khan through a private airliner, which landed at the Islamabad’s Benazir International airport here on Wednesday morning.

Afghan Officials Say More Than 20 Taliban Fighters Killed In East

Officials in Afghanistan say more than 20 Taliban militants have been killed in security operations in the country's east.

The largest operation took place in Wardak Province, west of Kabul, where Afghan National Army soldiers killed 16 Taliban and confiscated weapons, cars, and motorcycles belonging to the militia.

A spokesman for the Wardak governor said four additional Taliban were killed in a smaller police operation in the province.

Hrithik Roshan underwent a brain surgery for removal of a clot at the Hinduja Hospital on Sunday (July 8, 2013). The surgery was successful and his wife Sussanne Roshan shows "gratitude" to everyone for their "good wishes and prayers" for the star.

Hrithik, who was diagonised with chronic subdural haematoma and was admitted on Saturday evening at the Hinduja Hospital in Khar, was operated upon in the afternoon and came out of the operation theatre around 3 pm.

ISLAMABAD: The Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting, Pervaiz Rashid, said on Sunday that preparations for the all parties conference (APC) scheduled for July 12 had been completed.

He said Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Gen Ashfaq Pervez Kayani will brief the politicians on national security. He said the PML-N-led government was committed to overcoming terrorism and would send invitations to all parties for the conference.

Bodh Gaya: The Bihar Police have detained a man who they say is a suspect in the multiple blasts at the Mahabodhi temple in Bihar's Bodh Gaya on Sunday morning. Two monks were injured in the terror attack.

The police are analysing footage of the last 48 hours from about 15 CCTV cameras that are installed inside the temple. They are questioning Vinod Mistry, the man they have detained.

Andy Murray won his first Wimbledon title and ended Britain's 77-year wait for a men's champion with a hard-fought victory over world number one Novak Djokovic.

The Scot, 26, converted his fourth championship point in a dramatic final game to win 6-4 7-5 6-4 and claim his second major title.

Bollywood director Anurag Basu's Barfi! won multiple awards at the 14th International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) awards this year. The Ranbir Kapoor-Priyanka Chopra starrer bagged awards for the best film, best director and the best performance in leading role (male) for its hero.

Ranbir, whose performance in the film has been highly appreciated, was not present to receive the award and it was collected by director Anurag Basu.

"I am really missing Ranbir today. This film could not have been made without him," Basu said, after accepting the award on the actor's behalf.

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Sunday warned that the standoff in Egypt between supporters and foes of deposed president Mohamed Morsi threatened to degenerate into a civil war. "Syria is already in the grips of a civil war, unfortunately enough, and Egypt is moving in that direction," Russian news agencies quoted Putin as saying while on a visit to Kazakhstan.

Secunderabad: 12 people were killed and 14 injured after an 80-year-old building collapsed in Secunderabad in Andhra Pradesh this morning. Many are still trapped under debris, including the son of the building's owner.

The 3-storey building of the Iranian City Light hotel collapsed at around 6:30 am. Rescue teams managed to pull out 10 people from the rubble but at least a dozen people could be still trapped.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has again slammed the military overthrow of elected Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi, calling for his “immediate” release.

“Any attitude that can drag [Egypt] into confrontation should be avoided. We expect that all politicians, Morsi and the prime minister [Hisham Qandil] in the first instance, will be immediately released,” Erdogan said today during the opening of a new metro line in Istanbul.Erdogan also raised his rhetoric against the countries that have shied away from describing the takeover as a “coup.”

CAIRO: Egyptian security forces shot dead 45 activists early Monday during a protest in Cairo calling for ousted president Mohamed Morsi to be reinstated, his Muslim Brotherhood said.

“45 people were killed and a hundred others injured, many of them in serious condition,” the group's spokesman Ahmed Aref told AFP.

QUETTA: Militants on Monday torched three Nato containers in the Western Bypass area of Quetta.

According to the police, four militants on two motorcycles opened fire on the containers, causing the drivers to flee.

Police sources added that the militants then came close to the containers and set them on fire.

"Roaring flames of fire and thick black smoke could be seen from quite far away', Zainullah, an eyewitness, told Dawn.com.

Indian President, PM Condemn Bomb Blast At Bodh Gaya

NEW DELHI:Indian President Pranab Mukherjee and Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh have condemned the series of bomb blast that took place at Buddhist's Mahabodhi Temple in Bodh Gaya on Sunday.

Pranab described the blasts as "a senseless act of violence targeting innocent pilgrims and monks" who had gathered to worship at the temple dedicated to the apostle of peace, Goutama Buddha.

Nine bomb blasts in a coordinated terror attack rocked Buddhist pilgrimage town of Bodh Gaya and its famed Mahabodhi temple complex in south central Bihar early on Sunday, injuring two monks.Buddhists from all over the world visit the temple, which has the Bodhi tree under which Buddha is said to have attained enlightenment. “The holy Bodhi tree is safe and there is no damage to it,” said Bihar director general of police Abhayanand.

Afridi, Umar Akmal back as Pakistan announce squad for West Indies

LAHORE: Pakistan Wednesday axed former captain Shoaib Malik, wicket-keeper batsman Kamran Akmal and opener Imran Farhat for this month's limited-overs series in the West Indies, but dashing all-rounder Shahid Afridi was back in the team.

Selectors made four changes in the one-day team which crashed out of last month's eight-nation Champions Trophy in England, losing all three games due to sloppy batting.

Malik managed just 25 runs in three matches, Kamran scored 23 in the same number and Farhat scored four in two. Pakistan failed to cross the 170-mark in any of their games.

PESHAWAR: Two key militant commanders of the Pakistani Taliban were killed in a successful operation by security forces in Peshawar on Thursday, security officials said.

Security officials told Dawn.Com that security forces were conducting a search operation in the Frontier Region of Peshawar near Mattani when they clashed with the militants, leaving one security personnel and two militants dead in the exchange of gunfire.

Officials identified the two key militant commanders as Rooh ul Amin and Adnan alias Hurera, both belonging to the outlawed Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).

NEW DELHI: Defence minister AK Antony on Thursday left for China on a four-day official visit during which he is slated to have talks on Sino-Indian border and discuss regional and global security.

During the visit, Antony will have delegation-level talks with his counterpart, State Councillor and minister of National Defence Chang Wanquan.

Both ministers are expected to discuss a number of issues, including those related to maintenance of peace and tranquility on the border, interactions between the armed forces of both sides, and matters relating to regional and global security.

NEW DELHI: A day after CBI told a court in Ahmedabad that it is probing the role of IB officers in Ishrat Jahan case, Union home minister Sushilkumar Shinde on Thursday said those guilty of carrying out the alleged fake encounter should be punished.

"Facts are facts. Guilty should be punished," Shinde told when asked to comment on CBI's submission to the court.

Shinde's statement bears significance as home ministry officials have been maintaining that there was not enough evidence against Intelligence Bureau special director Rajendra Kumar and three others in the alleged fake encounter case.

CAIRO: The chief justice of Egypt's Supreme Constitutional Court was sworn in on Thursday as the nation's interim president, taking over hours after the military ousted the Islamist President Mohammed Morsi.

Adly Mansour took the oath of office at the Nile-side Constitutional Court in a ceremony broadcast live on state television. According to military decree, Mansour will serve as Egypt's interim leader until a new president is elected. A date for that vote has yet to be set.

LAHORE: Ulema of the Sunni Ittehad Council on Saturday declared that suicide bombing is the biggest sin in Islam, Express news reported.

As many as 50 Ulema of the Sunni Ittehad Council in a collective edict declared that killing an innocent is the biggest sin and killing of foreign guest is the worst crime. It was also declared in the edict that attacks on Mosques, hospitals, educational institute, funerals and security forces is not Jihad.

KANDAHAR: A bomb attack killed four girls attending an Afghan wedding, officials said on Thursday, blaming the attack on Taliban rebels intending to target government employees at the event.

The children, aged between seven and 12, died when an improvised explosive device (IED) detonated as they collected water from a river during celebrations in the southern province of Helmand.

“The children were at the wedding party and this morning they went to collect water when the IED exploded on a footpath,” provincial administration spokesman Omar Zwak told AFP.

Celebrations were taking place across Egypt this evening after the military chief said President Mohammed Morsi had been forced out.

The head of Egypt's armed forces issued a declaration suspending the constitution and appointing the head of the constitutional court as interim head of state.

In a televised broadcast, flanked by military leaders, religious authorities and political figures, General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi effectively declared the removal of elected Islamist President Mohamed Morsi.

By NEHA PUSHKARNA

Selling new-age Islam to Pakistan is a daunting task. For Sultan Shahin, who runs a liberal-view website with the same name, it proved to be futile.

Shahin's newageislam.com - a Delhi-based online resource on Islam - has been banned in Pakistan for being 'too liberal' as well as critical of the contemporary interpretation of the 1,400-year-old religion.

Shahin's multilingual website, started in 2008, was banned in Pakistan on June 30 this year. According to him, it was done on the directions of the Pakistan Telecommunications Authority following the website's tirade against Talibani writings.

India to take up snooping row

India will take up the contentious issue of “snooping on the Indian Embassy in Washington” by the US National Security Agency with the Obama administration at an appropriate level, a government spokesperson said.

“We have seen and studied the media reports of our embassy in Washington being amongst the list of diplomatic missions which were intrusively monitored by the US agencies.

Ishrat Jahan, 3 others killed in a fake encounter: CBI chargesheet

Ahmedabad: Ishrat Jahan, Pranesh Pillai alias Javed Sheikh, Amjad Ali Rana and Zeeshan Johar were killed in a fake encounter, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has told an Ahmedabad court in the first chargesheet filed in the case on Wednesday. According to the CBI chargesheet Ishrat Jahan and three others were kept in illegal confinement, put on tranquilizer before they were killed in cold blood on June 15, 2004.

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif arrived in China Wednesday morning on a five-day official visit, his first foreign trip since his party came to power in the May 11 general elections.

Sharif was accompanied by Chief Minister Balochistan Dr Abdul Malik Baloch, as well as Minister for Planning and Development Ahsan Iqbal and Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs Tariq Fatimi flew in a special Pakistan Air Force plane.

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court on Wednesday disposed of the petitions calling for the registration of a treason case against former military ruler Pervez Musharraf and directed the government to continue approaching the matter in light of its official statement presented to the court.

The government had in its statement said that it would proceed in accordance with the law and prosecute Musharraf for treason — after taking the political forces into confidence.

The magnitude-6.1 quake struck yesterday afternoon at a depth of just 10 kilometers and was centered on the far western tip of Sumatra island in Aceh province.Soldiers, police and volunteers fanned out across an earthquake-damaged region of western Indonesia today, scouring the debris of fallen homes and landslides for possible victims of a temblor that killed at least 22 people and injured hundreds.

The magnitude-6.1 quake struck yesterday afternoon at a depth of just 10 kilometers and was centered on the far western tip of Sumatra island in Aceh province.

The Central Bureau of Investigation will file its first chargesheet in the Ishrat Jahan case today in a court in Ahmedabad. The agency will reportedly stress that the college student and three others were killed by the Ahmedabad police in a fake encounter, and will list the police officers involved in the shooting as the accused - most of them are in jail.

Taliban attack: Three Indians killed, close shave for 50 others

The bodies of three Indian workers killed in Tuesday's Taliban attack on a guest house in Kabul are being flown home. While the families are shattered, top Indian government sources have told NDTV that it could have been much worse. Fifty other Indians were also in the same compound that was attacked; they are safe. Sources have told NDTV, however, that the attack was not targeted at Indians but at the foreign company and its links to supplying NATO.

The Indians worked at a Dubai based company's guest house. The company's personnel who also live in the guest house supplied food, water and fuel to NATO forces in Kabul.

MIRAMSHAH: At least 17 people were killed and two others injured in a US drone attack which targeted a house in the North Waziristan tribal region late on Tuesday night.

Sources told Dawn.com that the drone fired four missiles on the house near Miramshah bazaar in Sirai Darpakhel area, targeting the Haqqani residential compound and a car. The head commander Haji Shahrifullah of Haqqani, a militant network, is said to be safe, whereas 17 people were killed and two others injured in the attack.

At least six FC persons killed in a militant attack in Peshawar

PESHAWAR: At least six Frontier Constabulary (FC) personnel were killed and seven others injured when militants attacked the Kishan Ganga check-post near Frontier Region (FR), Jina Kor on Tuesday night.

Police confirmed the incident and said militants also kidnapped two security forces' personnel.

According to police, militants attacked the checkpost at 11:00 pm. A heavy exchange of fire between security forces personnel and the armed men ensued and continued till the early hours of Wednesday morning.

Egypt teetered on the brink of overthrow late Tuesday after a defiant Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi rejected an ultimatum issued by the military and at least 23 people were reported killed in clashes between his supporters and opponents.

Defense officials have pledged to intervene if the government does not address public demands and end the political turmoil engulfing Cairo.

In a speech to the nation broadcast live late Tuesday, Morsi said he would not step down and would protect his "constitutional legitimacy" with his life.

Pakistan could end the Afghan war "in weeks" if it were serious about peace, and is complicit in US drone strikes despite its denunciations of the anti-militant campaign, Afghanistan's army chief says.

In a BBC interview broadcast Wednesday, General Sher Mohammad Karimi laid bare the mistrust between Kabul and Islamabad as US-led troops wind down more than a decade of war against Taliban and other insurgents.

By closing down madrassa schools that serve as incubators of Islamist extremism, Pakistan had "unleashed" the Taliban on Afghanistan today, the chief of staff of the Afghan National Army said.

"Can't seem to win a toss," Angelo Mathews said suggesting he can't catch a break nowadays when Sri Lanka were inserted on a track that has responded to West Indies quicks better than best of butlers. Four hours later, we had the first instance of an innings in a 50-over international ending with just one wicket down. Upul Tharanga and Mahela Jayawardene made a mockery of the teams' suspicion of the damp surface with their 213-run opening, Sri Lanka's second-best stand against India. Under the pressure of the mountain of runs, India huffed and puffed past… Upul Tharanga's score of 174.

RAWALPINDI: During Monday’s hearing of the Benazir Bhutto murder case, an Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) in Rawalpindi categorically ordered the authorities to produce former military ruler General (retd) Pervez Musharraf, the main accused in the case, on July 9 before it as it adjourned the matter to the said date, DawnNews reported.

The ATC was hearing the case pertaining to the assassination of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto.

One of the accused persons in the murder, Aitraaz Shah’s application requesting bail was presented in the court, which was accepted for today's hearing.

NEW DELHI: Jamia Millia Islamia vice-chancellor Najeeb Jung was on Monday appointed Delhi lieutenant-governor replacing Tejendra Khanna while former Delhi Police commissioner K K Paul was appointed Meghalaya governor replacing Ranjit Shekhar Mooshahary.

President Pranab Mukherjee also appointed former Punjab Congress chief Virendra Kataria as LG of Puducherry succeeding Iqbal Singh while Lt Gen (retired) A K Singh replaced Lt Gen (retired) Bhopinder Singh as LG of Andaman & Nicobar Islands, a Rashtrapati Bhavan statement said. A K Singh retired earlier this year as the chief of Southern Army Command in Pune and is from the Armoured Corps.

Ahemdabad: The Gujarat High Court on Monday rejected former Gujarat IPS officer PP Pandey’s plea to quash the FIR registered against him in Ishrat Jahan fake encounter case.

The High Court, while rejecting Pandey’s plea, also declared him an absconder in the 2004 fake encounter case of Ishrat Jahan and three others.

Earlier this month, Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate of the special CBI court HS Khutwad had passed an order proclaiming Additional DGP (Crime) PP Pandey an absconder under section 82 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC).

BRUNEI: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh are likely to meet in September on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, the premier’s Special Advisor on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz said on Tuesday.

Aziz made the statement after a meeting with Indian External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid on the sidelines of the ASEAN Summit in Brunei today.

Cairo - The Egyptian army has given the country's politicians a 48 hours ultimatum to resolve the current political stalemate, further emboldening opponents of Mohamed Morsi, the embattled president, and pushing the most populous Arab nation deeper into uncertainty.

The army statement, delivered on state television on Monday, called on political groups to resolve the situation.

"The armed forces repeat their call for the people's demands to be met and give everyone 48 hours as a last chance,” it said.

Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi rebuffs army's 48-hour ultimatum to resolve the country's deadly crisis.Morsi supporters criticised the ultimatum as an attempted coup. A group of pro-Morsi parties, calling themselves the “coalition to defend legitimacy,” called for mass protests in support of the president during a late-night press conference.

A lower criminal court in Bahrain, headed by a member of the ruling family, has sentenced a 17-year-old boy to a year in jail for insulting the Gulf island's king on Twitter.

The Bahrain Centre for Human Rights (BCHR) on Saturday said Ali Al Shofa was arrested in a house raid at dawn on 12 March 2013. He spent two months in jail while under investigation.

KABUL: Seven people were killed on Tuesday in a suicide car bomb attack in Kabul targeting a foreign logistics company supplying Nato forces, police said.

A plume of smoke rose above the scene of the attack in the north of the Afghan capital, which has been hit by a series of recent suicide strikes including on the Supreme Court, the airport and close to the presidential palace.

New Delhi: Welfare Party of India today filed a PIL in the Apex court against holding of Panchayat elections in the holy month of Ramzan through its national secretary Dr. Tasleem Rahmani. In its petition WPI said that new time frame by Honble Supreme Court of India i.e. 11th July to 25th July coincide with the holy month of Ramazan which is sacred month for Muslims all over the world.

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