Christian woman demands removal of Buddhist statues in S. Australia

Melbourne, Apr 7 (ANI): A woman has demanded a Hope Valley nursing home in South Australia to remove decorative Buddhist statues, saying that they are “stressful” for Christian residents including her 89-year-old father-in-law.

Ruth Thompson, of Vista, has lodged a complaint with the ACH Group’s Highercombe aged care home, which opened late last year.

At least half a dozen statues of Buddha, about 60cm tall, adorn communal areas, Thompson said.

“We’re so agitated and annoyed about it … that leading up to Easter they’re still there,” she told the Leader Messenger last week.

“It’s very stressful for the older people to see this sort of thing. We are committed Christians and we don’t want Buddhist statues in our faces all the time,” News.com.au quoted Thompson, as saying.

Thompson said she was told that several others had made similar complaints when she raised the issue with staff at the home.

However, ACH Group general manager of residential services Greg Adey said there had been no other complaints from the more than 60 residents or their families.

Adey said the statues were purely decorative and would not be removed. “She’s confusing decorative Asian items with a religious message,” he said. (ANI)

Kashmir is the jugular vein of Pakistan: Gilani

Islamabad, Sep.20 (ANI): Pakistan Prime Minister Yosuf Raza Gilani is back to singing his ‘K-tune’ by describing Kashmir as Pakistan’s jugular vein.

Interacting with a group of political leaders during an Iftaar party at the PM House here, Gilani said Islamabad’s policy on Kashmir was based on Mohammad Ali Jinnah’s stance that “Kashmir was the jugular vein of Pakistan.”

Referring to the government’s recent decision to grant internal autonomy to Gilgit-Baltistan, Gilani said Pakistan’s stand on Kashmir would remain unchanged.

“I want to express in clear and unequivocal terms that this decision of the government will not bring any change in Pakistan’s principled stand on Kashmir,” Gilani said.

Gilani blamed India of neglecting the long pending Kashmir issue and said that Pakistan wants a peaceful resolution to the dispute.

“We want to resolve the Kashmir dispute peacefully and have invited India for negotiations, despite it repeatedly ignoring them,” The Daily times quoted Gilani, as saying.

Gilani said he had categorically told Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh during their meeting at the margins of the NAM summit in Sharm-el-Sheikh earlier this year that resolving the issue was very important for establishing peace in the region.

“There could be no peace in the region until the Kashmir dispute was resolved according to the aspirations of its people,” he added. (ANI)

Stop blaming Pakistan for ‘home grown’ terror plots, Qureshi tells UK

London, Sep.19 (ANI): Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi has asked Britain to stop blaming Islamabad for the ‘home grown’ terror plots against the UK.

Referring to Britain’s lashing out at Pakistan on the liquid bomb plot issue, Qureshi said it was unfair to criticize Pakistan for every terror plot hatched in Britain.

“It is easy to pass the buck, but they (liquid bomb plotters) were British citizens. They went to school here, they are part of the British system, and they live here. If they do something extraordinary is it fair that Pakistan should be blamed?” The Independent quoted Qureshi, as saying.

Pakistan has been critical of Britain’s accusations and has objected to allegations regarding it not doing enough to counter the expanding reach of the extremists based in the country’s tribal region.

A top Pakistani diplomat recently reacted strongly to Britain’s accusations regarding Pakistan harbouring extremists plotting to attack the UK.

The diplomat charged Britain of not doing enough to tackle home grown terrorists and treating Pakistan as a “whipping boy”.

“Sometimes for our British friends the truth is bitter. We have somehow turned out to be a ‘whipping boy’, there is a long history to that. The British need to search their own house,” the diplomat had said.

It may be recalled that Prime Minister Gordon Brown, during his Islamabad visit earlier this year, had said: “Three-quarters of the most serious plots investigated by the British authorities have links to Al-Qaida in Pakistan.”

Brown’s statement had angered Pakistani leadership and strained relationship between two countries, but things normalized later with President Asif Ali Zardari visit to the UK. (ANI)

HIV uses several routes to escape immune system pressure

Washington, September 19 (ANI): Researchers at the Emory Vaccine Center have shown that HIV relies upon a number of strategies rather than use any preferred escape route to escape immune system pressure.

The human immune system has the ability to temporarily overpower HIV in early infection.

Studies conducted in the recent past have shown that most newly infected patients develop neutralizing antibodies. These are blood proteins that glob onto the virus and would allow patients to defend themselves – if they were facing only one target.

However, the problem occurs when HIV mutates, and disguises itself enough to get away from the antibodies. The virus eventually wears down the immune system into exhaustion.

The Emory team’s findings attain significance as they suggest that even if any scientist succeeds in identifying a vaccine component that can stimulate neutralizing antibodies, HIV’s capacity for rapid mutation could still be a confounding factor.

Dr. Cynthia Derdeyn, associate professor of pathology at Emory University School of Medicine, Emory Vaccine Center and Yerkes National Primate Research Center, says that a single type of neutralizing antibody may not be enough to contain HIV.

“These neutralizing antibodies work really well – they hit the virus fast and hard. But so far, every time we look, the virus escapes,” she says.

During the study, the researchers took blood samples from the participants a few weeks after infection occurred, and then later as two participants’ immune responses continued.

They isolated individual viruses over the first two years of HIV infection, and tested how well the patients’ own antibodies could neutralize them.

“In one patient where we had very early samples, there was evidence that neutralizing antibody came up within weeks, and that’s earlier than what was previously thought,” Derdeyn says.

In both patients, some viruses mutated part of their outer proteins so that after the mutation, an enzyme would be likely to attach a sugar molecule to it.

Though the sugar molecule interferes with antibody attack, this tactic, known as the “glycan shield”, was not observed in all cases.

Other viruses mutated the part of the outer protein that the neutralizing antibodies stick to directly. In both patients, many changes in the virus’ genetic code were necessary for escape.

“We need to understand early events in the immune response if we are going to figure out what a potential vaccine should have in it. What we can show is that even in one patient, several escape strategies are going on,” Derdeyn says.

According to her, that means that in order to be immune to HIV infection, someone may need to have several types of neutralizing antibodies ready to go.

Seeing how the virus mutates will allow researchers to choose the best parts to put in a vaccine, she says.

The results are online and scheduled for publication in the September issue of the journal Public Library of Science Pathogens.(ANI)

Gilani rejects inking safe passage deal for Musharraf

Islamabad, Sep.19 (ANI): Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani has denied inking any ‘safe exit’ deal to facilitate former President General Pervez Musharraf’s safe passage from the country after he stepped down from the Presidency.

In an interview to a private television channel, Gilani said: “If there had been such a deal, it would have surfaced by now, as the media is very vibrant today.”

Gilani also said would be wrong to say that Musharraf has been ‘pardoned’, as neither he has been convicted by the court of law nor been ‘indemnified by parliament’.

When asked whether there is any possibility of invoking the Article Six of the Constitution against Musharraf, Gilani reiterated that he was willing to do it if parliament passed a unanimous resolution.

“I am for it. We must create history. But at the same time, we should not rock the boat. If there is a unanimous resolution, the whole nation would be together,” The Daily Times quoted Gilani, as saying.

Commenting on the Baloch issue, he said the government is preparing a package for the insurgency hit province which would include constitutional, administrative and economic reforms. (ANI)

Missing Hindu nurse’s parents’ pleas in Pak falling on deaf ears

Karachi, Sep.18 (ANI): Family members of the Hindu nurse, Bano, who disappeared from Karachi last month under mysterious circumstances, have urged the government to step into the issue and direct the concerned authorities to pursue the matter seriously to find out her whereabouts.

Bano’s uncle and the head of the Hindu Maheshwari community, Narain Das feared that her niece could have been killed or forced to convert her religion.

“The incidents of kidnapping our community girls’ have recently increased alarmingly and despite our repeated protests and approaches to the higher authorities, nothing has so far been done to protect the community members. Kidnappers have recently kidnapped several girls as young as thirteen and fourteen years old,” Das said.

The police has arrested Gulzar, who worked with Bano in the hospital, but failed to gather any substantial report regarding her whereabouts.

Gulzar has told officials that Bano has accepted Islam and married her boyfriend Jaffer, but Bano’s parents fear she has been murdered.

When enquired about the issue, Provincial Minister for Minority Affairs Dr Mohan Lal said he would look into matter and issue guidelines to concerned authorities.

“I would personally talk to the police authorities and will ensure her release as soon as possible,” The Daily Times quoted Lal, as saying. (ANI)

Workshop on use of textiles in agriculture to begin today

New Delhi, Sept 18 (ANI): The Ministry of Textiles and the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) will jointly organise a workshop on use of textiles in agriculture here today.

Over 100 delegates from various sectors like agriculture, the State Governments, agricultural universities, forest departments and institutes will attend the workshop.

The technical textiles are used in agriculture to fabricate shade-nets, crop-covers, mulch-nets, anti-hail nets, bird protection nets, fishing nets and greenhouse covers. The use of these items is very limited in the context of Indian agriculture.

The objective of the workshop is to sensitize stakeholders about myriad applications of technical textiles in agriculture and environmental engineering.

It will also create awareness amongst the stakeholders about the benefits of these items.

The workshop will also focus on various rules/legislations that need to be amended to facilitate the use of these textiles in various applications.

Technical textiles products used in the agriculture are known as Agrotech and those used for environmental protection are called Oekotech.

The major applications of Oekotech are for landfill waste management. It includes products used to prevent leakage of municipal or hazardous waste in landfills and suitable use of waste.

The consumption of these technical textiles products remains limited despite their perceived benefits.

With rapid urbanisation, the waste management has become major issue in India and Oekotech applications provide an effective way of managing the waste in an environment friendly manner. (ANI)

Musharraf power theft scandal case: Low level workers punished

Islamabad, Sep 17 (ANI): The Islamabad Electric Supply Company (Iesco) has only punished 64 junior officers for their involvement in the power theft scandal involving former President Pervez Musharraf, Shaukat Aziz and others in the luxurious Chak Shahzad farmhouses.

The big guns in the electricity department have not even been touched, according to well-placed sources.

The list of punished employees includes 35-meter readers, 14 line superintendents and 15 sub-divisional officers, The News reports.

Sources said these personnel were those who had to implement the orders of the higher-ups and no high-ranking official has been touched in the order passed by Iesco on 10-9-2009.

The official spokesman for Iesco, Ameer Hussain Chaman, when asked about the punishment, said he was not aware of any such punishments.

“I have not been conveyed any such details, therefore, I cannot offer any comment over the issue,” he added.

Sources said Colonel Umer Hayat was conducting the inquiry and on 9-9-2009 his tenure was completed and on 10-09-2009 these personnel were punished.

They say that in this power-theft scandal the higher-ups passed all the orders and the junior officers had no option, but to obey the orders.

It is worth mentioning here that Musharraf had constructed a modern house on the farm obtained for breeding poultry and vegetables, but the ex-general has been enjoying the cheapest power tariff, D-2(1) connection, which is meant for agriculture tube wells and lift irrigation pumps. (ANI)

Megan Fox’s ‘ridiculously bad’ temper

New York, September 17 (ANI): Megan Fox, 23, has revealed how she once threatened to kill her on-off boyfriend Brian Austin Green in a fit of anger.

“My temper is ridiculously bad,” the New York Post quoted her as having told Rolling Stone magazine for its October issue.

“I’ve had to say to Brian, ‘You have to go and stop talking to me, because I’m going to kill you. I’m going to stab you with something, please leave.’

“I’d never own a gun for that reason. I wouldn’t shoot to kill. But I would shoot him in the leg, for sure,” she added. (ANI)

‘Embarrassed’ Musharraf’s close aides shying away from commenting on his misdeeds

Islamabad, Sep.16 (ANI) : Close aides of former Pakistan President General Pervez Musharraf are too embarrassed and are shying away from responding to the former general’s claims that he had taken the November 3, 2007 actions only after consulting various top officials, including the then Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz and the current Chief of Army Staff General Ashfaq Kayani.

Musharraf’s erstwhile close associates find the topic as ‘too dirty’ to speak about and have been avoiding any queries regarding that by simply saying ‘no comments’.

A former spokesman of the Shaukat Aziz government, however, denied that the cabinet had prior knowledge of Musharraf’s plan of imposing the emergency.

When asked about the issue, Lieutenant General (retired) Ali Jan Orakzai said: “It’s such a dirty subject that leaving it untouched would be a better option.”

Orakzai said he is waiting for the apt time to speak on Musharraf’s claims.

“Let’s see the gravity of the subject. I would record my statement before the court in case summoned on this issue,” The News quoted Orakzai, as saying.

When informed about Shaukat Aziz’s statement that he was not consulted on the November 3 actions, Orakzai said issuing such statements from abroad is easier.

“Shaukat Aziz can do this as he is living in London. I can’t do so,” he said.

Former Punjab Governor Lieutenant General (retired) Khalid Maqbool said he has decided not to enter into any controversy related to the past events that occurred during his stint. (ANI)

‘Austerity drive may be extended to MPs after an all party meet’

New Delhi, Sep. 16 (ANI): The UPA Government’s austerity drive is expected to be extended to all Members of Parliament (MPs) following an all party meeting, according to sources.

Vice President Hamid Ansari will call an all-party meeting to decide on the issue once Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar’s returns from Rome, inside sources said.

Following the top party leaders’ much publicized economy class flights and train rides, the UPA had requested Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha chairpersons to convince all MPs to join the austerity drive.

The Chairman of the Rajya Sahba and the Lok Sabha Speaker are expected to hold a discussion on the austerity drive.

The move is to promote the austerity comes in the wake of the country experiencing a crippling draught.

The Congress party has already advised its ministers and lawmakers to donate 20 percent of their salary towards draught relief.

They have also been told to travel economy class and not hold press conferences in five-star hotels. (ANI)

Tibetans-in-exile at Leh react strongly to Chinese incursion

Leh, Sep 15 (ANI): Members of the exiled Tibetan community at Leh reacted strongly to the recent Chinese trespass into India’s border areas in Ladakh region.

Such concern was expressed by functionaries of Tibetan fora based at Leh on Monday.

Warning India of Chinese designs, Kunzang Dechen, President of Regional Tibetan Youth Congress, Leh, termed China as the biggest threat to India.

“China these days is a great threat to India. I have seen through channels…that the Chinese are entering to the border but when Tibet is an independent nation, when Tibet is in between them, China has nothing to bother even. From Indian point of view, this must be settled through Tibet and not through China,” Deche added.

Sonam Gyatso, President of Tibetan Market Welfare Association, Leh, said that if the recent developments in Ladakh are ignored by the government of India, then Ladakh would also meet the same fate as Tibet.

“The one and half kilometres incursion by the Chinese troops in Ladakh…. written at the border area in Chinese ‘Republic of China’, all these will have a bad impact on Ladakh. In Pangong Lake, first they said 45 kilometres is under China and 45 kilometres is under India, which they (Chinese) have extended to 50 kilometres and if Ladakhi government and the authorities ignore this issue then whatever happened in Tibet, the same would happen in Ladakh also since Ladakh is a very isolated region,” Gyatso added.

Officials sources have said that Chinese troops entered nearly 1.5 kilometres into the Indian territory near Mount Gya, which is recognised as the international border by India and China, and painted the word ‘China’ in Cantonese on the boulders and rocks there with red spray paint. The incursions were reported from the area generally referred in the Chumar sector in east of Leh.

The 22,420 ft Mount Gya, also known as “fair princess of snow” by the Army is located at the tri-junction of Ladakh in Jammu and Kashmir, Spiti in Himachal Pradesh, and Tibet. Its boundary was marked during the British era and is regarded as International border by the two countries.

The border patrol discovered the red paint markings on various rocks and boulders along the Zulung La (pass) on July 31 and the Chinese had entered into the area and written “China” all over the place, the sources said.

Indian soldiers later erased the text, writing ‘India’ instead.

This is not the first such reported intrusion. On June 21 Chinese helicopters had violated the Indian air space along the Line of Actual Control in Chumar region. The Chinese troops also reportedly dropped expired tinned food packets in the area. (ANI)

Popular stomach acid reducer ups patients’ risk of developing pneumonia threefold

Washington, September 15 (ANI): Researchers at Wake Forest University School of Medicine have found that a popular stomach-acid reducer, which is used to prevent stress ulcers in critically ill patients who need breathing machine support, triples the likelihood of contracting pneumonia among such patients.

Hospital-acquired pneumonia-the leading cause of infection-related deaths in critically ill patients-increases hospital stays by an average of seven to nine days, cost of care, and the risk of other complications.

“As best we can tell, patients who develop hospital-acquired pneumonia or ventilator-acquired pneumonia have about a 20 to 30 percent chance of dying from that pneumonia. It’s a significant event,” said senior study author Dr. David L. Bowton, professor and head of the Section on Critical Care in the Department of Anesthesiology.

During the study, the researchers compared treatment with two drugs that decrease stomach acid: ranitidine, marketed under the name ZantacTM, and pantoprazole, marketed under the name ProtonixTM or PrilosecTM.

Both drugs decrease stomach acid, but the newer pantoprazole is considered more powerful, and has become the drug of choice in many hospitals.

However, upon the analysis of 834 patient charts, the researchers came to the conclusion that the risk of developing pneumonia was thee times more in the hospitalised cardiothoracic surgery patients who had been treated with pantoprazole.

“We conducted this study, in part, because we thought we were seeing more pneumonias than we were used to having,” said study co-author Marc G. Reichert, pharmacy coordinator for surgery at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center.

The researchers say that their study suggests some other steps to keep critically ill patients from developing ventilator-associated pneumonia.

Bowton suggests that doctors consider whether an acid reducer is needed at all, and, in cases where it is needed, ranitidine is recommended because of the apparent decreased risk in developing pneumonia.

Doctors should stop using the drug as soon as the risk of bleeding passes – once the patient is off the breathing machine and eating, either on his/her own or through a feeding tube.

“Stopping the drugs earlier appears to be the best thing for patients,” Reichert said.

The study has been published in a recent issue of CHEST. (ANI)

We will not let Commonwealth Games suffer: Shiela Dixit

New Delhi, Sep 14 (ANI): A day after the chief of Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) Michael Fennel expressed reservations regarding the completion of work and preparations for the 2010 Commonwealth Games, Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dixit on Monday admitted that there was enough room for improvement and it is being taken care of.

“We are monitoring transport carefully, we are also looking for alternatives. But, there may be things we are unable to complete on time. But, the alternatives are being looked after by our PWD (Public Works Department) Minister, our Transport Minister, our power guys, everyone. So, we will not, from our side, let the Commonwealth games to suffer,” Dixit told media after a cabinet meeting in the national capital.

“We are satisfied, but at the same time we are also nervous. There are many things, which we know, have to be done at this time,” Sheila Dixit Delhi CM said.

Fennel has expressed dissatisfaction over the preparations of the Commonwealth Games and has sought Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s intervention in the issue.

Dixit also said that hosting the games was a matter of honour for the nation and Delhi would prove competent in hosting it, but admitted some things might not be complete on time.

She informed that Fennel had visited the Thyagraj stadium and was satisfied with the preparations. He, though, was sceptical regarding the availability of power.

“Mike Fennel did pay me a visit about a month back, he spoke to me about just one thing, he said that, we hope power will be available. So, we said, “yes it would be available”. He had come at a time when there was a power crisis in Delhi. Apart from that, he spoke about Thyagraj, saying that we have been around and we are quite satisfied,” said Dixit.

The CGF General Assembly is due to meet in New Delhi early next month to assess the work a year ahead of the Oct 3-14 games. (ANI)

When Pammie, mystery guy spent one hour in a outdoor bathroom trailer

New York, September 14 (ANI): Pamela Anderson had people talking when she attended a recent photography exhibition, as she disappeared with a guy to an outdoor bathroom trailer for almost an hour.

The hottie was present at the opening party for David LaChapelle’s new photography exhibition at the David DeSanctis gallery in LA.

“She was with a guy who plays a character in Cirque du Soleil. They were in the outdoor bathroom trailer together for almost an hour,” the New York Post quoted an attendee as saying.

The insider added: “It was a really crowded party but everyone was whispering about it. We’re not sure what was going on in there.”

Anderson’s representatives have maintained silence over the issue. (ANI)

Musharraf’s trial seekers should act rather than rant: PML-Q

Karachi, Sep.12 (ANI): The Pakistan Muslim League -Quaid (PML-Q) has said that all those people who want former President General Pervez Musharraf to be tried for high treason should come forward and take steps regarding the trial instead of just issuing statements.

“People who want to put former President Pervez Musharraf on trial must come forward and do so because the time had come for taking practical steps rather than just debating on the thorny issue,”The Dawn quoted PML-Q Secretary General Mushahid Hussain, as saying.

“Every one will be silent on one phone call from Saudi Arabia,” Hussain added.

He came down on the current Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) led government saying the country was being “run by plunderers and looters of sugar, cement and flour.”

Hussain stressed that PML-Q is the real opposition party as it was founded by Muhammad Ali Jinnah. (ANI)

US accepts Iranian offer to hold discussions

Washington, Sep. 11 (ANI): The United States has accepted Iran’s proposal to hold talks, despite the Islamic republic announcing that it would not bring its future nuclear programs on the discussions table.

The decision to engage directly with Iran would put a senior representative of the Obama administration at the bargaining table, along with emissaries from five other nations, for the first time since Obama took office, the New York Times reports.

The decision is bound to raise protests from conservatives and human rights groups.

Earlier on Friday, senior administration officials said that their expectations from the talks were extremely low.

“We’ll be looking to see if they are willing to engage seriously on these issues. If we have talks, we will plan to bring up the nuclear issue,” paper quoted US State Department spokesman Philip J. Crowley, as saying.

They added that the United States could make a case for imposing far stronger sanctions on Iran if diplomatic engagements fail.

Britain, France, Russia, China and Germany are going to be present on the discussion table, who in the past have negotiated with Iran even without the presence of an American representative.

Iran made its offer to meet in a five-page letter delivered to several nations on Wednesday.

But the letter said nothing about Iran’s nuclear program. However, this week Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad vowed never to halt the fuel production.

Within less than 48 hours the Obama administration said they would consider the offer to meet.

Even though it is unclear who will represent the US on the discussion table, but most probably William J. Burns, the under secretary of state for political affairs, will lead America.

Earlier, Burns was quoted as saying that the Obama administration had begun preparing sanctions against Iran, so that it would be ready to implement them at the end of the year. (ANI)

US accepts Iranian offer to hold discussions

Washington, Sep. 11 (ANI): The United States has accepted Iran’s proposal to hold talks, despite the Islamic republic announcing that it would not bring its future nuclear programs on the discussions table.

The decision to engage directly with Iran would put a senior representative of the Obama administration at the bargaining table, along with emissaries from five other nations, for the first time since Obama took office, the New York Times reports.

The decision is bound to raise protests from conservatives and human rights groups.

Earlier on Friday, senior administration officials said that their expectations from the talks were extremely low.

“We’ll be looking to see if they are willing to engage seriously on these issues. If we have talks, we will plan to bring up the nuclear issue,” paper quoted US State Department spokesman Philip J. Crowley, as saying.

They added that the United States could make a case for imposing far stronger sanctions on Iran if diplomatic engagements fail.

Britain, France, Russia, China and Germany are going to be present on the discussion table, who in the past have negotiated with Iran even without the presence of an American representative.

Iran made its offer to meet in a five-page letter delivered to several nations on Wednesday.

But the letter said nothing about Iran’s nuclear program. However, this week Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad vowed never to halt the fuel production.

Within less than 48 hours the Obama administration said they would consider the offer to meet.

Even though it is unclear who will represent the US on the discussion table, but most probably William J. Burns, the under secretary of state for political affairs, will lead America.

Earlier, Burns was quoted as saying that the Obama administration had begun preparing sanctions against Iran, so that it would be ready to implement them at the end of the year. (ANI)

Pak to rake up ‘K’ issue, Indian atrocities in UN General Assembly

Islamabad, Sep.12 (ANI): Pakistan is looking to rake up the Kashmir issue at the United Nations General Assembly which is scheduled to be held later this month.

According to sources, in two separate meetings held at the Foreign Office, concerned officials briefed Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi regarding both the Kashmir and Afghanistan issues.

Sources said that it was decided that Islamabad would urge the United Nations to ensure a resolution of the long-lingering Kashmir dispute on a priority basis for durable peace in the region.

“The international community would also be informed about the human rights violations committed by Indian forces in held Kashmir,” The Dawn quoted sources, as saying.

They said the Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) chief Lieutenant General Shuja Pasha was also present in the meeting.

According to a private television channel, Pakistan is also likely to take up the issue of presence of US led allied forces in Afghanistan

Islamabad has decided to inform the international community about the problems being faced by it due to the presence of NATO forces in Afghanistan, the channel reported.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani has said that resolution of the Kashmir issue is the key to establishing good ties with India and restoring peace in the sub-continent.

During a meeting with Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK) Prime Minister Sardar Yaqub Khan, Gilani said resolving the Kashmir dispute was Islamabad’s top priority. (ANI)