Passport refused to footballer due tohis father’s link with militants

Srinagar, Sep 16 (ANI): The regional passport authorities of Jammu and Kashmir have denied passport to a Kashmiri youth, sighting the reason of his father’s involvement with militants in the valley.

A Nineteen-year -old youth, Basharat Bashir, was all set to fly to Spain for the soccer training, but the news of denial of passport has crushed his dreams.

“They were (passport authorities) only telling me that your case has not been recommended by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) and FRO from police. I know they have denied me to give the passport because my father was a militant,” said Ahmad.

Bashir was among the 11 players selected by International Sports Academy Trust (ISAT) for training in Spain, but was dropped at the last moment because of non availablitiy of passport.

When contacted, the passport office authorities refused to talk about it.

Former Indian football captain Abdul Majeed Kakroo said it was injustice to Bashir and demanded the intervention of state Chief Minister Omar Abdullah in the matter.

“His father was into wrong things but now he has improved. Now, why should his son suffer for that? Why should he be denied the passport, and hurdles put in his way? On behalf of all the football players I would request the chief minister to help him,” Kakroo said.

Bashir also said that he was a year-and-a-half old when his father was arrested and was later released.

“He had become militant even before my birth,” Bashir said. By Parvez Butt (ANI)

Indian woman suspected of murdering husband chased back to Malaysia

Kuala Lumpur, Sep 10 (ANI): An Indian woman, who is suspected of murdering her husband in Malaysia, was chased back into the arms of Malaysian law by relatives of the victim.

The suspect, a 30-year-old woman, had fled with her 8-year-old daughter late last month after the brutal murder of her husband, Khalid Abdullah, a restaurant owner and moneychanger.

The woman, an Indian national, stayed with relatives in Chennai but unknown to her, her husband’s relatives also lived in the same neighbourhood, The NST Online reports.

The husband’s relatives had been following the murder case closely through online news portals and when reports that the wife might have fled to India appeared, they tracked her down to the house in Chennai.

They contacted their kin here who advised them not to harm the woman but to harass her into leaving India.

The woman is the victim’s second wife. Khalid’s first wife and children are also in India.

Unable to take the constant abuse, the woman gave herself up to the Indian authorities. The woman and her daughter arrived at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport at 7 a.m. on Wednesday and were immediately arrested by the police.

Ampang district police chief Assistant Commissioner Abdul Jalil Hassan said their Indian counterparts notified about woman’s return to Malaysia.

Jalil said the woman was being held for questioning. They would apply for a remand order at the Ampang magistrate’s court today.

The woman had sought a friend’s help on August 22 to dispose of a suitcase, which she claimed contained a stolen golden statue.

The friend and the woman drove the victim’s Nissan Grand Livina towards Bentong and threw the bag into a secluded spot off the Karak Highway. (ANI)

Nuke Sub, Aircraft Carrier in Kalam’s vision 2020 for Andamans

Port Blair (Andaman and Nicobar Islands), Sep 4 (ANI): Former President Dr APJ Abdul Kalam on Friday unveiled a vision document for the strategic development of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands by the year 2020.

Inaugurating a national seminar on ‘Security and Development of the Andaman and Nicobar islands’ here, Dr Kalam said that a 250 mw nuclear power station on one of the islands would form the core of the development programme.

Dr Kalam said the islands being a vital part of the country’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), the Andaman and Nicobar Command (ANC) of the Integrated Defence Staff (IDS) would have “enhanced significance” in the next decade.

He further said that the ANC should have bases for static aircraft carrier and a nuclear,

Dr Kalam also called upon the Armed Forces to evolve an effective security plan for underneath the sea, at sea level and in air.

“The security plan which you evolve should ensure that there is no unauthorised occupation of the vacant islands,”said Dr Kalam.

Meanwhile, Commander-in-Chief of the ANC, Vice Admiral Vijay Shankar, said that the location of these islands confers a geostrategic advantage.

“Its economic and forest potential dictates a sound security presence,” he added.

Top defence and security experts, including Deputy National Security Advisor Shekhar Dutt, former Foreign Secretary Shyam Saran and Principal Scientific Advisor to the Government of India R Chidambaram, are attending the two-day seminar. (ANI)

Queen Latifah has no plans to grab Paula Abdul’s ‘American Idol’ job

Washington, Aug 27 (ANI): Queen Latifah has denied that she will be permanently filling in for Paula Abdul on ‘American Idol’.

The rapper-turned-actress is in talks to join regulars Simon Cowell, Randy Jackson and Kara DioGuardi for a few auditions of the show.

But the singer has claimed that she won’t become the fourth judge when the talent show returns to Los Angeles for a new season.

“I don’t want to replace Paula Abdul. I feel like she is irreplaceable,” Contactmusic quoted her as saying.

Abdul quit as a judge on the show earlier this month (Aug09), and stars of the likes of Victoria Beckham, Mary J. Blige and Katy Perry have filled her spot as special guests. (ANI)

Paula Abdul heading Down Under for ‘Australian Idol’?

Washington, Aug 15 (ANI): Rumours are abuzz that former American Idol judge Paula Abdul is in discussions either to host or judge Australian Idol, Australia’s version of the TV talent contest.

The rumours came in the wake of the firing of one of the Australian Idol ‘s judges, Kyle Sandilands, who, on his radio show, had strapped a 14-year-old girl to a lie detector and quizzed her about her sex life, reports Contactmusic.

Abdul recently announced she would not be returning to her post as a judge on American Idol when the show kicks off its ninth season.

In the week since announcing her departure, Abdu has reportedly been offered to judge ‘So You Think You Can Dance’ and even appear on TV show ‘Ugly Betty’.

Now, the star is said to have been approached by the Aussie version of America’s most-watched TV talent show. (ANI)

Australians warned to beware of Rashid’s spinning talent

Sydney, June 30 (ANI): Australians have been warned of a rare talent, an exciting young leg spinner on the verge of Test selection. The tourists are to be introduced to Adil Rashid in their final tour game at Worcester on Wednesday.

Rashid, 21, is the third spinner in England’s 16-man Ashes squad, behind Graeme Swann and Monty Panesar.

He is a graduate of the England and Wales Cricket Board’s elite wrist-spinning program founded by Australian spin mentor Terry Jenner a decade ago.

Jenner has worked with Rashid since he was 13, and believes the Australians will encounter a rare talent when they play the England Lions in the four-day game that precedes the first Test, The Sydney Morning Herald reports.

“At the age of 13 he got all 10 wickets in a second XI game of league cricket, against seniors.

He’s got an amazingly talented wrist and he can bowl most of the variations and he’s got a lot of courage. When blokes give him a bit of tap he still comes back for more,” Jenner said.

Rashid is more likely to feature in the 2010-11 Ashes in Australia than the impending series, he is a stark reminder of Australia’s failure to nurture a legacy for the greatest leg spinner of them all, Shane Warne.

“In a country where they say leg spin doesn’t work, five kids out of this program have gone on and played first-class cricket – that suggests to me that we could do with a program in Australia,” said Jenner.

Rashid learnt his trade in Bradford. His father, Abdul, converted the basement of the family home into indoor nets as a way of keeping his three sons out of trouble.

He debuted for England at the Twenty20 world championships, and can hold a spot in most sides as a batsman.

The bright young leg spinner will be desperate to make an impression against a full-strength Australian team in the shadows of Worcester Cathedral. (ANI)

Former President Kalam stresses need for self-reliance in energy

Ahmedabad, May 28 (ANI): Former President APJ Abdul Kalam called for possible solutions to provide energy independence since there has been continuous depletion of fossil-material derived oil, gas and coal reserves.

He was addressing the convocation of the Pandit Deendayal Petroleum University here on Wednesday.

He wanted the graduates to work for creating a research base that could form an important partnership in the world energy platform in energy.

He said: “You have the opportunity to play the role of system energy and system management in energy independence.”

Dr. Kalam said that energy independence has got to be achieved through three different sources namely renewable energy – solar, wind apart from hydro power -, electrical power from nuclear energy and bio-fuel for the transportation sector.

Present on the occasion was Gujarat Chief Narendra Modi, who laid stress on building an organisation involving countries taking stride in solar power generation policy which could spur a revolution in power generation.

“Why can’t India take initiative and create an organisation of solar powered countries. Every country benefits from solar power. These countries can come together and prepare a corpus fund and make new avenues. This would give cheap and easy facilities for people to benefit from solar power. I believe that day wouldn’t be far when India will lead these solar powered countries,” said Modi.

To promote green and clean power in the state, the Gujarat Government is giving a thrust to solar power generation for which it is extending a slew of incentives to prospective developers setting up solar power projects. (ANI)

Paula Abdul feels like a mother to American Idol co-judges

Washington, May 11 (ANI): Although American Idol judge Paula Abdul has never had any children of her own, she never feels lonely on Mother’s Day because she feels like she is mother to co-judges Simon Cowell, Randy Jackson and Ryan Seacrest.

Abdul revealed that she had been playing a maternal figure to Cowell, Ryan, Randy and all former American Idol contestants for long.

“I’m a mother to Simon, Ryan, and Randy… and all the former contestants, you know I really play that role. That’s not a role to play actually, it’s who I am authentically,” Contactmusic quoted her as saying.

As far as having kids of her own is concerned, Abdul revealed that she might adopt if the right man came along.

“I’d love to have children with that soulmate. Adoption is definitely an option,” she said. (ANI)

Paula Abdul dismisses painkiller addiction

New York, May 8 (ANI): Singer Paula Abdul has said that she was not addicted to painkillers for 12 years, has never been drunk and never checked into a rehab.

The comments come days after the American Idol judge revealed in an interview with Ladies Home Journal that she’d battled a 12-year addiction to painkillers.

The magazine said that Abdul, to overcome her habit, checked into the La Costa Resort and Spa in California last Thanksgiving to wean herself off painkillers, reports The New York Daily News.

Now, however, she claims that the magazine got it wrong and took her remarks out of context.

Abdul, 46, told two radio shows Thursday morning that she never said she had been addicted to painkillers or checked into rehab.

“It was very stressful for me to hear that and to be quoted saying something. I never said,” Abdul told hosts on the Detroit radio show “Mojo in the Morning.”

“I’ve never checked into a rehab clinic. I’ve never been addicted or abused drugs, and I’ve never abused alcohol. I’ve never even been drunk in my life,” she said.

When hosts of the Dallas-based radio show “Kidd Kraddick in the Morning” asked her if it had been difficult to talk about her struggle with addiction, she replied, “I didn’t. I was quoted as saying something I didn’t say.”

In her defence, the stunner said the facility where she was reported to have retreated to detox is a vacation spot, not a clinic. (ANI)

Is Radio Pakistan trying to influence Indian elections?

Abohar, April 29 (ANI): A question that is being asked here is whether Radio Pakistan’s Punjabi Durbar programme will be questioned by the Indian Election Commission for conducting campaigns.

The Punjabi Durbar programmes have been making allegations critical of the United Progressive Alliance Government of India for ‘neglecting minorities’ in the country.

Everyone here is aware that India is known around the world for its multi-religious, secular and democratic set up.

People living in the border district have been witness to instances of clashes between Shias and Sunnis in Pakistan. They have also been watching the situation in Pakistan and are worried about the spread of terrorism in the neighbouring country.

“Pakistan is spreading rumours by broadcasting programmes to instigate the Muslims residing in India. People of all religions, Hindus, Muslims and Sikhs live together in India. Pakistan is trying to create misunderstanding among them.

“In Pakistan, people of same religion fight with each other. They should take care of their country first,” said Nagina Begum, Chairperson of Baba Hazirattan Muslim Welfare Committee of Bathinda.

“They (Pakistan) are trying to divert the minds of Pakistanis. Muslims in India have job opportunities, and are owners of business enterprises,” said (Retd.) Prof. Kaushal Sharma, an analyst.

Radio Pakistan should not forget the fact that India is home to over a hundred and fifty million Muslims, more than the population of Pakistan itself. Muslims in India feel safe in the country.

In India, every citizen of the country irrespective of his or her religious faith, caste or creed is equal before law. The fundamental rights like Right to Equality and freedom to practice one’s religious faith are enshrined in the Constitution of India.

Since gaining freedom from the British rule in 1947, various Muslim individuals have occupied senior most posts and made tremendous contribution to the progress of the country.

Dr. Zakir Husain, Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed and Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, have been Presidents of India.

Even the present Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh is also from minority community.

Radio Pakistan will not help candidate of its choice in the Indian elections by distorting facts. It will only embarrass its ‘friends’. (ANI)

US commander: Pakistan must do more to fight Taliban

KABUL: Pakistan must do more to “erase” Taliban bases inside its territory which are destabilising the entire region, the US commander of Western
troops in neighbouring Afghanistan said on Sunday.

US President Barack Obama’s administration has pledged 21,000 more troops to join 39,000 American soldiers fighting Taliban guerrillas in Afghanistan.

It has also stepped up attacks by drones on suspected militant bases across the border in Pakistan.

US Army General David McKiernan, who commands more than 70,000 U.S. and NATO-led troops in Afghanistan, said he was confident the new troops would bring improvements in security to southern Afghanistan this year after years of rising violence.

But he described insecurity as a regional problem that could only be resolved by a stronger effort from Pakistan’s embattled government to tackle safe havens for militants.

“There must be an improved effort on the other side of the border against these safe havens that many of these insurgent groups operate from in Pakistan,” he told a news conference.

“There are sanctuary areas that have existed for many years across the border. They feed terrorism and insecurity on both sides of the border,” McKiernan said.

“I think it is safe to say there is an expectation that the government of Pakistan must erase these safe havens so that they are not a threat to their own country and the region. They will have the full support of the international community to do that.”
Pakistani authorities bristle at any suggestion that they have been lax in battling Taliban guerrillas on their side of the border. They say thousands of Pakistani troops have died fighting militants, and criticism of their effort only serves to increase anti-Americanism and boost support for the militants.

But international concern over Pakistan’s ability to fight the militants has grown in recent months as attacks by militants have increased both in Pakistan and Afghanistan. In the latest strike in Pakistan, a suicide car bomber killed 25 soldiers and police and two passers-by in on Saturday.

Afghanistan expressed worry last week about the impact on its own security of a decision by Pakistan’s President Asif Ali Zardari to accept Taliban demands and impose Islamic law on the Swat valley, where militants have gained ground.

On the Afghan side of the border, Taliban attacks have increased to the highest levels seen since the militants were driven from Kabul in 2001.

“Challenges, generally, have increased in past years,” Afghan Defence Minister Abdul Rahim Wardak told the news conference in Kabul alongside the US commander.

“The level of enemy attacks have gone up, there are foreign combatants (in their ranks), the way they operate has become complex, they have access to better training and equipment.”

McKiernan said he would send most of the new US troops to southern provinces near Pakistan that have seen the greatest rise in instability, and he expected the influx to help.

But he said he had no power to intervene on the Pakistani side of the border. “Insecurity and instability is a regional problem and will require regional approaches,” he said.

Twelve insurgents stand trial in Yemen over Shiite rebellion

Sana’a, Yemen – Twelve Shiite insurgents appeared before a state security court in Sana’a on Monday accused of battling government forces near the Yemeni capital last year in support of Shiite rebellion in north-western the Arab country.

The men, aged between 19 and 34, faced the charges of “forming an armed gang to carry out sabotage, murder and bombing acts,” according to the charge sheet.

Prosecutors said the group were among 190 insurgents captured by security forces during the battles that broke out in Bani-Hushaish last May and continued for nearly three months.

They said the accused were fighting government forces in in Bani-Hushaish, some 30 kilometres north of Sana’a, to support Shiite rebels battling the army in the northern province of Saada.

The Saada rebels are led by Abdul-Malik al-Houthi, and are known as Houthis.

Prosecutors told the court that the defendants use heavy and light weapons in their fight that led to the killing of “a big number of army and police troopers as well as women and children.”

The defendants admitted of being followers of the Houthis group, but denied the other charges.

Tensions have been rising in recent months between Houthis and the army in Saada, near the border with Saudi Arabia, some 230 kilometres north of Sana’a.

Sporadic but fierce clashes between the Shiite rebels and the army have left hundreds of soldiers and insurgents dead since the fighting erupted in June 2004.

The fighting erupted after the rebel Shiite group, Believing Youth, was founded by Shiite rebel leader Hussein al-Houthi.

Hussein, the eldest brother of the current group leader Abdul-Malek, was killed by the army in September 2004.

Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh declared the conflict over last July.

Authorities have accused the rebels of trying to reinstall the rule of imams, which was toppled by a republican revolution in northern Yemen in 1962.

Six car bombs kill 34 across Baghdad

Six car bombs exploded across Baghdad on Monday, killing at least 34 people and wounding scores, police said, after the arrests of Sunni Arab fighters raised tension in the Iraqi capital.

A blast at a popular market in the Shi’ite Muslim slum of Sadr City in east Baghdad killed at least 10 people and wounded 65. Another car bomb blew up next to a group of labourers queuing for work, killing six people and wounding 16.

Hours later, south Baghdad’s Um al-Maalif neighbourhood was shaken by two blasts in a market, killing 12 and wounding 25.

The latest attacks underscore the challenges Iraqi security forces face as U.S. combat troops prepare to withdraw by Aug. 31 2010, with all U.S. troops due to leave by the end of 2011.

Overall violence has fallen in Iraq to levels not seen since just after the 2003 U.S. invasion, but militants still carry out large-scale bombings, especially in the capital and the north.

Preventing all car bombs in the crowded streets of Baghdad — a sprawling maze of crumbling buildings and concrete walls, housing five million people — is all but impossible.

Two other blasts shook a market area of Husseiniya, on Baghdad’s northern outskirts, killing four, and a street in eastern Baghdad, apparently targeting the convoy of an Interior Ministry official, killing one of his guards and a bystander.

“The explosion caused major damage to buildings and they even hurt some children,” shopkeeper Abdul-Jabar Saad said of that attack, which he witnessed. “God damn these people.”

SUNNI GUARDS OR AL QAEDA?

The attacks followed a week of arrests in Baghdad by Iraq’s Shi’ite-led government of Sunni Arab fighters known as Awakening Councils, or Majalis al-Sahwa in Arabic.

The Iraqi government insists it is only detaining those wanted for grave crimes, but the fighters — many of them former insurgents — fear it is settling sectarian scores.

Analyst Kadhum al-Muqdadi, a Baghdad University professor, suggested the bombs might be a coordinated strike in response to the raids, one of which sparked clashes just over a week ago between Iraqi forces and supporters of an arrested Sahwa leader.

“Any security action carries the risk of a reaction,” he told Reuters. “These could be the work of Sahwas or just of opportunists exploiting this issue.”

The Sahwas first switched sides and joined with U.S. forces to battle Sunni Islamist al Qaeda in late 2006, manning checkpoints and conducting raids throughout the country.

Many have been killed in insurgent attacks.

The Iraqi government started taking control of them late last year, but mistrust runs deep. Some of the guards complain they have not been paid for two months, although Iraqi officials say that was an administrative glitch that has now been fixed.

Sheikh Hameed al-Hayyes, a founder of the Sahwa movement, said the bombings were unlikely to be the work of the guards.

“There were bombings in Baghdad before the arrests and after the arrests … these attacks were by al Qaeda,” he said.

Baghdad security spokesman Qassim al-Moussawi also said the attacks “carry the fingerprints of al-Qaeda-linked groups”.

Iraqi and U.S. officials say a small number of the 90,000-odd Sunni guards still have links to al Qaeda and other insurgents. But the government insists they are a minority.

“Al Qaeda is trying to infiltrate the Sahwa, but I think it will not succeed, because the Sahwa have seen their crimes and brutality,” said government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh.

Bomb attacks continue on an almost daily basis in Iraq, despite the sharp fall in overall violence. The last big bomb attack in Baghdad killed 20 people in a shopping district on March 26.

Twelve insurgents stand trial in Yemen over Shiite rebellion

Sana’a, Yemen – Twelve Shiite insurgents appeared before a state security court in Sana’a on Monday accused of battling government forces near the Yemeni capital last year in support of Shiite rebellion in north-western the Arab country.

The men, aged between 19 and 34, faced the charges of “forming an armed gang to carry out sabotage, murder and bombing acts,” according to the charge sheet.

Prosecutors said the group were among 190 insurgents captured by security forces during the battles that broke out in Bani-Hushaish last May and continued for nearly three months.

They said the accused were fighting government forces in in Bani-Hushaish, some 30 kilometres north of Sana’a, to support Shiite rebels battling the army in the northern province of Saada.

The Saada rebels are led by Abdul-Malik al-Houthi, and are known as Houthis.

Prosecutors told the court that the defendants use heavy and light weapons in their fight that led to the killing of “a big number of army and police troopers as well as women and children.”

The defendants admitted of being followers of the Houthis group, but denied the other charges.

Tensions have been rising in recent months between Houthis and the army in Saada, near the border with Saudi Arabia, some 230 kilometres north of Sana’a.

Sporadic but fierce clashes between the Shiite rebels and the army have left hundreds of soldiers and insurgents dead since the fighting erupted in June 2004.

The fighting erupted after the rebel Shiite group, Believing Youth, was founded by Shiite rebel leader Hussein al-Houthi.

Hussein, the eldest brother of the current group leader Abdul-Malek, was killed by the army in September 2004.

Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh declared the conflict over last July.

Authorities have accused the rebels of trying to reinstall the rule of imams, which was toppled by a republican revolution in northern Yemen in 1962.

Kalam to launch “India Matters” in UAE tomorrow

New Delhi, Mar 28 (ANI): Former President Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam will launch the inaugural issue of a monthly magazine titled “India Matters” in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Sunday.

The visit is being held on the invitation of UAE Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research, Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan.

To be published from April 2009, the magazine will bring the latest developments in India, as well as events relating to the Indian community in the UAE.

According to a statement of Indian Consulate, the magazine will endeavour to promote and strengthen the India-UAE economic partnership by providing reports and features that would assist the business community in the UAE.

The publication is the part of a wider outreach programme of the Indian Embassy in Abu Dhabi and Consulate in Dubai. (ANI)

Zardari urges Pakistan to “move on”

Islamabad, Mar. 21 (ANI): Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari has urged the nation to forget the recent political crisis, and said the restoration of the sacked judges offers an opportunity to move on.

“We welcome all the judges to their pre-November 3, 2007 positions. It is time to look forward and build on what has already been achieved, it is time to forget the past and it is time to move on,” the Daily Times quoted Zardari, as saying.

At a farewell dinner for outgoing Chief Justice of Pakistan Abdul Hameed Dogar, Zardari said he would always bow to the judges, regardless of whether he was the president or an ordinary citizen.

“I wish to commend Chief Justice Dogar and wish him good luck in the future. My lords, you have seen me appearing and bowing before you in courts. Today, as I stand here as the President of Pakistan, I once again bow before the majesty of your lordships,” he said.

Zardari also said he had witnessed state institutions repeatedly being pushed back in Pakistan, but they always bounced back.

“It has been our vision that the institutions grow and gain strength through evolution and continuity,” he said, adding it was unfortunate that some people were critical of this view.

The prime minister, Senate chairman, National Assembly speaker, federal ministers, Supreme Court judges, services chiefs, chairman joint chiefs of staff committee, parliamentarians and several senior government officials attended the dinner. (ANI)

Jennifer Hudson, American Idol stars immortalised on trading cards

Washington, Mar 20 (ANI): R and B singer Jennifer Hudson, Simon Cowell, and Paula Abdul are among a list of American Idol stars who will be immortalised on trading cards.

As per the New York Post, U.S. reality TV bosses have signed a deal with Upper Deck Entertainment to release a series of 138 cards featuring the singing competition’s biggest stars, reports Contactmusic.

The cards will include faces of the show’s top two finalists, most memorable contestants from every season, and Idol judges Cowell, Abdul, Randy Jackson and Kara DioGuardi.

The cards are scheduled to hit shelves on April 21. (ANI)

Zardari says he was waiting for Dogar’s retirement to reinstate Chaudhry

Islamabad, Mar 17 (ANI): President Asif Ali Zardari has said that he was only waiting for the retirement of present Chief Justice Abdul Hameed Dogar before restoring Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry as the country’s Chief Justice.

“I never said that I am against Justice Iftikhar. I was only waiting for the retirement of Justice Abdul Hameed Dogar, who took oath as the Chief Justice in the Musharraf regime. Dogar will retire on March 21 and Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry will become the chief justice again in his place,” Zardari said.

“I had made it clear on March 9, 2008 after signing the Murree Declaration that no sitting judge would be disturbed. I said it in the presence of Nawaz Sharif to the media and that was why I never disturbed Dogar,” The News quoted him, as saying.

“It was a small thing, but this small thing exposed many big people,” he said.

Zardari was more concerned about some people from his own party who resigned from their ministries last week rather than his political brother Nawaz Sharif.

Zardari said the political crisis was over, but Pakistan was still facing an economic crisis and terrorism.

Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry was twice removed in the last two years was restored twice. It’s a record in the world judicial and legal history.

His first removal resulted in the launching of a movement for the independence of the judiciary, which was initiated by the lawyers, the media and the civil society. The political parties later joined this movement. (ANI)

Sharif ready to give another “five years” to Zardari if he fulfils promises

Lahore, Mar. 14 (ANI): Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz chief Nawaz Sharif has opened the door for reconciliation with President Asif Ali Zardari, by saying that he was ready to give Zardari “the next five years if he delivers on his pledges”.

“There is no need for back channel diplomacy or private and secret dialogue. I have not slammed my doors on dialogue. If Zardari showed sincerity, I am ready to give him another five years (after his tenure expires),” The Daily times quoted Sharif, as saying.

The former Pakistan Prime Minister also said that he was ready to work with Zardari as a team, if he reinstates sacked judges and fulfils his promise of an independent judiciary.

“I have no personal enmity with Zardari. If he shuns vested interest and sincerely fulfils his promises to reinstate judges and restore an independent judiciary, I am ready to cooperate with him. There is a massive trust deficit– he has to remove it,” Sharif said.

He said he was not trying to topple the government, but was only working to strengthen democracy.

He claimed that had his party accepted a ‘deal’ offered by Zardari and supported an extension in Chief Justice Abdul Hameed Dogar’s tenure, the Punjab government would not have been removed and the SC would not have disqualified him from contesting polls.

Sharif also said that Zardari sent Maulana Fazlur Rehman and Asfandyar Wali Khan to him to ‘buy time’ to consolidate his position in Punjab and at the Centre instead of settling differences. (ANI)

Murdered Malay Indian’s family has no confidence in health ministry inquiry

Petaling Jaya (Malaysia), Mar 12 (ANI): The family of A. Kugan, whose custodial death had created a public uproar in Malaysia, has no confidence in the independent inquiry to be initiated by the Health Ministry.

The Star quoted the family’s lawyer, N. Surendran, as saying that the family wants the Malaysia Medical Council (MMC) to conduct a probe, adding that the Health Ministry is biased in the matter.

Kugan’s mother, N. Indra has lodged a report last week against Serdang Hospital and Prof Dr Abdul Karim Tajuddin, who conducted the first post-mortem.

The first post-mortem report said he had died due to fluid in his lungs.

The second post-mortem report, which was conducted on the request of the family by pathologist Dr Prashant N. Samberkar from the University Malaya Medical Centre, stated that Kugan died from being repeatedly beaten.

The USJ police authorities had arrested the 22-year-old Kugan on January 14 for suspected involvement in a car theft syndicate. The police had later recovered 19 stolen luxury cars.

Kugan died a few days later during police interrogation. (ANI)