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Islamabad, June 6 (IANS) A Pakistani court has handed down life terms to six Taliban militants accused of planning attacks on foreigners and manufacturing suicide jackets, officials said.
The court gave the sentence Saturday.
Police had arrested the six Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan militants, including a would-be suicide bomber near Lahore in February, and seized hand grenades, explosives, suicide jackets and five detonators, Xinhua reported quoting court officials.
Lahore, Jun.4 (ANI): After the brazen attack on two mosques belonging to a minority sect in Lahore last Friday, people of the Ahmedi sect hoped that the Punjab government would take some important steps to protect the marginalized strata of the society, but it was not to be.
Amazingly, when the provincial authorities should have been dealing with the militants, who were nabbed alive during the commando operation on the Garhi Sahu and Model Town mosques, with force, they are busy in facilitating the demands of the terror mongers.
According to reports, one of the injured terrorists was allowed to use his cell phone in the hospital and the authorities even arranged a meeting between him and his family members.
The Ahmedis have severely criticised the provincial government for failing to act tough against the militants who were nabbed after murdering innocent people.
“Several terrorist attacks have been seen in the past, but none of the terrorists were treated so lovingly… none were allowed to communicate with their fellows, who then attempt to free him and manage to safely escape… God knows what they had wanted to achieve and the worst part is that they are still at large,” The Daily Times quoted Munawar Ali Shahid, a spokesman for the Ahmedi sect, as saying.
“The only option that an Ahmedi has is either to leave the country or be killed at the hands of a terrorist,” Shahid added.
The Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), which is in opposition in the province, has also launched an attack on the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) led Punjab government, saying the attack on the Ahmedi mosques was a “clear case of negligence.”
“People have lost faith in the Punjab government after the latter contested elections in coordination with terrorist outfits in Jhang and the way the authorities handled the Gojra incident makes it seem that they have an agenda against minorities,” PPP’s Lahore President Chaudhury Asghar Ali Gujjar said. (ANI)
Gunmen attacked worshippers from a minority Muslim sect in two mosques of the eastern Pakistani city of Lahore on Friday, taking hostages and killing at least 70 people, officials said.
The gunmen opened fire shortly after Friday prayers and threw what could have been grenades at two Ahmadi mosques in residential neighbourhoods in Pakistan’s cultural capital.
Sajjad Bhutta, deputy commissioner of Lahore, said at least 70 people had been killed in the twin attacks on mosques in Garhi Shahu and Model Town. A total of 78 were injured.
The death toll at Garhi Shahu was higher, Bhutta said, because three attackers blew themselves up with suicide vests packed with explosives when police tried to enter the building.
Police are still searching the area as two attackers were still at large.
Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif said the incidents would generate greater resolve to combat extremism.
“It’s a reminder to the nation that Pakistan will achieve its destiny only after we get rid of the worst type of extremism and fundamentalism,” he told a news conference. “The entire nation will fight this evil.”
He said one attacker had been arrested. Police in Model Town confirmed one gunmen had been arrested and another killed.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility, but suspicion quickly fell on the Pakistani Taliban.
“It’s too early to say who is behind these attacks,” said a Lahore-based security official. “But my guess is that like most other attacks, there would be some link to the Taliban or their associated militants.”
Punjab’s Law Minister Rana Sanaullah said the arrested attacker was a teenage Pashtun, an ethnic group making up the majority in parts of northern Pakistan and Afghanistan. This, he said, indicaed a link to the Pakistani tribal area of Waziristan and strongly hinted at a Taliban link.
“The prayer leader was giving a sermon when we heard firing and blasts. Everybody stood up and then two gunmen barged into the mosque and sprayed bullets,” Fateh Sharif, a 19-year-old student, told Reuters from Model Town.
“They had long beards. They were carrying rucksacks.”
Bhutta said a suicide vest laden with explosives was recovered from the Model Town mosque, where some attackers escaped. One fired at a television van before the area was made safe.
“He was young, clean-shaven. He sprayed bullets at our van while fleeing the scene,” Rabia Mehmood, a reporter for Express Television, told Reuters.
ATTACKS LAUNCHED AFTER PRAYERS
Witnesses said the assaults were launched shortly after prayers.
“I saw some gunmen run towards the Ahmadis’ place of worship and then I heard blasts and gunfire,” Mohammad Nawaz, a resident, told Reuters.
Stock market investors shrugged off the latest violence.
“Initially we saw some selling after the attack but investors started accumulating shares at lower levels,” said Asad Iqbal, chief executive at Faysal Asset Management Ltd adding that there was foreign buying which boosted local confidence.
The Karachi Stock Exchange (KSE) benchmark 100-share index was up 0.75 percent at 9,511.75 points at 4:05 p.m. (1105 GMT).
Ahmadis are a minority Muslim sect founded in the late 19th century. They hold unorthodox beliefs among Muslims, including that Jesus Christ survived the crucifixion and died in Kashmir. Some also believe that prophets have come after Mohammad, the founder of Islam, but that he retains his primacy.
Pakistan is the only Muslim state to have declared Ahmadis non-Muslims. Its 4 million-odd members have seen their religious rights in overwhelmingly Muslim Pakistan curtailed by law.
Pakistan, a key U.S. ally in the fight against militancy, is often the scene of sectarian violence, with militants from Sunni Muslim groups attacking Shi’ite Muslim and Christian communities.
Separately, security forces battled Taliban militants in the Orakzai region near the Afghan border in the northwest and about 40 militants were killed and 30 wounded in attacks by government aircraft in three places, a paramilitary force officer said.
There was no independent confirmation of the toll. Militants often dispute government accounts.
Government forces have stepped up attacks in Orakzai in recent weeks after winding up offensives in several other areas.
(Additional reporting by Kamran Haider in Islamabad and Faisal Aziz in Karachi; Editing by Chris Allbritton and Ron Popeski)
Gunmen attacked worshippers from a minority sect in two areas of the eastern Pakistani city of Lahore on Friday, taking hostages and killing at least nine people, a senior government official said.
“It’s difficult to confirm exact casualty figures but nine bodies have been shifted to Jinnah hospital,” Khusro Pervez Khan, the commissioner of Lahore, told Reuters.
(Reporting by Kamran Haider; Editing by Chris Allbritton and Ron Popeski)
ISLAMABAD (AP) Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Ijaz Butt has dismissed allegations of match-fixing against national team players. Butt told reporters in the eastern city of Lahore on Sunday that if any of his subordinates raises the issue of match-fixing, “he is talking nonsense.
” In a leaked video recording of an inquiry committee hearing, Pakistan team coaches raised suspicions about the performance of wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal during the winless tour of Australia earlier this year. Then-coach Intikhab Alam said that he was flabbergasted after Akmal missed a run out of Shane Watson in the Sydney test and later heard suggestions of match-fixing.
Lahore, May 20 (ANI): Reports of various intelligence agencies, including the Inter Services Intelligence (ISI), over the alleged audiotape featuring a conversation between Geo News Executive Editor Hamid Mir and a Taliban spokesman, have confirmed the authenticity of the tape.
According to a television channel, the intelligence agencies have submitted their report to Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani.
“The conversation between Hamid Mir and the Taliban militant is original and has been proved by the audiotape,” The Daily Times quoted a part of the report, as saying.
Meanwhile, Osama Khalid, son of killed former ISI officials Khalid Khwaja has said that he would take legal action against Mir and also lodge a First Information Report (FIR) against him for playing a role in his father’s murder.
“Hamid Mir instigated the militants to murder my father,” Osama said.
He also requested Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry to take suo motu notice of the incident and take action against Mir.
Osama also urged the media community to kick out the “black sheep” out of the profession. (ANI)
Lahore, May 19 (ANI): Hundreds of protesters in Nankana Sahib demonstrated outside the Punjab Governor’s residence demanding immediate action against a criminal gang, which has killed about a dozen people in the region.
Angry protestors blocked the road in front of the Governor’s House for several hours with the body of one Muhammed Shafi, who is said to have been killed by the criminal gang.
Later, on the assurance of local Member of National Assembly (MNA) Rana Arshad the mob agreed to end their protest.
Arshad assured the aggrieved family that the provincial government had already announced a head money of 300,000 rupees on the accused and that he would personally pursue the case to ensure that justice is delivered.
Shafi’s close relative Shahid Nawaz told The Daily Times that they have filed several cases against one Sarfaraz Ishtiaq, a noted criminal of the region who is believed to have murdered Shafi, but the police have failed to take any action in this regard. (ANI)
Lahore , May 19 (ANI): More than 28 Taliban extremists and two Pakistani soldiers were killed in an ambush in the Orakzai region of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) on Wednesday, officials said.
The encounter took place after over 200 Taliban attacked a security check post in the region, The Nation reports.
The death toll was hard to be verified independently as the media is barred from visiting the war-zone.
The Pakistan military has intensified its operation in FATA killing scores of militants in the last fortnight.
Several army personnel have also been killed in the offensive, which is targeted at flushing out the militants from the region. (ANI)
Lahore, May 19 (ANI): Days after the Pakistan Cricket Board’s inquiry commission’s report over the national team’s disastrous Australia tour was leaked to the media, video footage of a hearing of the commission, which shows former team coaches Intikhab Alam and Aaqib Javed suspecting wicket keeper Kamran Akmal of being involved in match-fixing, has emerged.
The video, which is said to have been deliberately leaked by some of PCB officials, shows Alam and Javed alleging that they suspected that Akmal’s shoddy performance throughout the tour was intentional, The Daily Times reports.
Kamran had dropped four catches in the Sydney Test, including three off middle order batsman Mike Hussey, after which he went on to make a century to help his team register a remarkable win in the Test match, in which the visitors were in commanding position right from the first innings.
“I have reservations over the way he missed the run out. When I saw it I couldn’t believe it. How he could miss such a big run out? I can’t say 100 percent that there is match-fixing, but I have my strong suspicions,” the video shows Javed, as saying.
“I know all about it because I was a victim of it. In 1998, I presented evidence against players but the judge who was hearing the inquiry ended the matter,” he added.
“I was flabbergasted when Kamran missed the run out. I have serious doubts about him. I have heard stories about match-fixing,” said Alam.
The video has stirred a fresh controversy in Pakistan cricket, which already has been facing myriad troubles over the past few years. (ANI)
Lahore, May 19 (ANI): Pakistan’s intelligence agencies have warned that the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) is planning to target Parliament House and other important government installations.
According to intelligence inputs, the TTP has recruited a suicide bomber named Amer Aaqa Hadifa, who is in his 20’s, to strike at important buildings.
The intelligence report said that Hadifa was last seen in the Mir Ali region of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), The Daily Times reports
Following the report, all the concerned agencies have been directed to beef up security in and around Parliament and all other government buildings in Islamabad and across the country.
Security agencies have also been asked to keep a tight vigil on all entry and exit points of the capital city and also in Lahore. (ANI)
Islamabad, May 18 (ANI): The Pakistan Sports Board (PSB) has decided to shift its proposed training camps for the upcoming Commonwealth games and the Asian Games from Quetta due to security reasons.
The decision has come after Brazilian volleyball coach Augusto Sabbtini refused to join the team for training sessions in Quetta, capital of the insurgency hit Balochistan province.
The camps would now be organised in Islamabad.
“National volleyball coach Augusti Sabbtini refused to go to Quetta with national spikers and the PSB has to reverse his decision,” The Nation quoted sources privy to the issue, as saying.
Several training camps are already underway in Islamabad, Lahore and Karachi for the upcoming 19th Commonwealth Games from October 3 to 14 in New Delhi, and the 16th Asian Games from November 12 to 27 in Guangzhou, China. (ANI)
Washington, May 18 (ANI): Former Pakistan President General Pervez Musharraf is likely to announce his future political plans today (Tuesday, May 18) during a meeting with his supporters here, sources close to him have revealed.
According to one of Musharraf’s close aides, the general would meet his supporters and regional coordinators of Pakistan First, an organisation that works to promote Pakistan’s interests in the US.
Meanwhile, Musharraf reportedly called several political leaders in Pakistan to garner support for his recently floated party- the All Pakistan Muslim League (APML).
Insiders said Musharraf telephoned several prominent leaders belonging to Dera Ghazi Khan, Sindh and Mian Muhammad Azhar in Lahore.
They said Musharraf also had a chat with former President Farooq Leghari to discuss various political aspects.
It is reported that they discussed about certain ‘disappointed’ political leaders who could join the APML.
Musharraf and some of the ‘dissident’ leaders of the Pakistan Muslim League-Q and (PML-Q) and the PML-Z are already in contact, “and some of the rebel leaders have given a green signal to Musharraf for standing in the presidential elections, The Daily Times reports. (ANI)
Lahore, May 16 (ANI): A poor Pakistani couple sold their four-year-old daughter to save the life of their 12-year-old son.
Mazari Maher and Sardar Khatoon, from district Shikarpur, sold their daughter, Haseena, to their neighbours in their native village Laki for the treatment of their son, Abdul Rasheed, suffering from aplastic anaemia.
It is a condition where bone marrow does not produce sufficient new cells to replenish blood cells, reports Daily Times.
Haseena’s mother said that selling their daughter to a neighbouring family meant the girl would be married with a boy of that family when she grows up.
The couple was shocked when a private hospital told them that the treatment – a bone marrow transplant – would cost millions.
According to the estimated expenses given by the hospital to the father, the transplant would cost Rs 1.5 million in addition to Rs 16,500 for HLA typing per person and Rs 35,000 per month for the follow up treatment.
Pakistan Medical Association Secretary General Dr Habib Soomro said there was no facility of bone marrow transplants at any government hospital.
Rasheed’s parents visit the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC) whenever his condition becomes serious and his nose starts bleeding. (ANI)
Lahore, May 16 (ANI): Former Pakistan cricket captain Younis Khan has asked the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) to lift the indefinite ban on him, saying that the allegations made against him were baseless.
“Younis is frustrated at the delay in hearing and has demanded the ban should be suspended with immediate effect,” Younis’ counsel Ahmed Qayyum told media persons after the one-man tribunal hearing his appeal against the ban deferred the case till May 29.
Younis along with former skipper Mohammed Yousuf was banned for an indefinite period by the PCB following a report of an enquiry commission which blamed them for infighting in the team during the disastrous tour of Australia during December 2009-January 2010.
Several other players, including Shahid Afridi and Shoaib Malik were also banned and fined on the basis of the enquiry commission’s report.
Except Yousuf, who retired from cricket in protest against the ban, all six penalised players have lodged appeals against the ban and fine slapped by the board.
Qayyum also criticised the PCB for the way it has been handling the whole issue, and demanded an open proceeding of the case.
“We want to argue against all those people who have accused Younis of being ‘arrogant and causing problems’, an opportunity not given to us yet,” The Daily Times quoted Qayyum, as saying. (ANI)
Lahore, May 16 (ANI): Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) chief Syed Munawwar Hasan has asked the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) led Government to initiate peace talks with the Taliban, saying if dialogue can be restarted with India then there should also be no harm in deliberations with the extremist outfit.
“If composite dialogue can be held with India again and again, why not to engage Taliban of our own country,” The Dawn quoted Hasan, as saying.
Hasan said in order to counter the immense pressure being applied by the US on Pakistan to start an offensive in North Waziristan, the government should ‘immediately’ stop using force against the extremists and try to engage them in talks.
He said that while the Swat Taliban leader Sufi Muhammad was accused of violating the Constitution, other political parties continue to defy the country’s charter with the government turning a blind eye towards them.
“ (Former President) General Pervez Musharraf abrogated the Constitution twice but instead of punishment, he was given a red carpet farewell,” Hasan told media persons here.
He also claimed that the government had scraped the peace agreement inked with Sufi Muhammad under Washington’s pressure. (ANI)
Lahore, May 15 (ANI): The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is reportedly mulling to launch a T20 cricket tournament in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on the lines of the much famous Indian Premier League (IPL), and the proposal has already been approved by President Asif Ali Zardari, who is the PCB’s chief patron.
According to well-informed sources in the PCB, the board had sent a proposal of starting a T20 tournament in association with Abdul Rehman Bukhatir’s led Bukhatir group of companies.
“President Asif Zardari has given his consent to the proposal,” The Daily Times quoted sources, as saying.
The proposed league, named the Middle-east Cricket League (MCL) is likely to be launched in October, and the matches would be played in Dubai, Sharjah and Abu Dhabi.
“The concept is the same as the IPL. The cricket league will have franchised teams around five or six who will be allowed to sign on and play overseas players,” sources added.
Sources said that efforts were on to get clearance and support from the International Cricket Council (ICC) and its member boards and try to find a window for the MCL later this year.
Bukhatir has been associated with cricket for the past many years, and is primarily known for his Cricketers Benefit Fund Series (CBFS) venture in Sharjah. The CBFS series was suspended in 2003 following a match-fixing scandal. (ANI)
Lahore, May 15 (ANI): The banned Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) may target a convoy of US
military shipment en route from Karachi to Afghanistan, Pakistan’s intelligence authorities have warned.
According to the intelligence input, the convoy, which consists of eight to ten containers, may be attacked near Dera Ismail Khan city of the North West Frontier Province (NWFP).
Following the report, all concerned security agencies have been directed to make proper arrangements for a safe transit of the US shipment , The Daily Times reports. (ANI)
Lahore, May 14 (ANI): Pakistan’s Punjab province’ Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif has rejected to approve purchasing of a new bullet-proof Mercedes Benz for Governor Salman Taseer citing austerity measures being adopted by the provincial government to cut down the expenses.
However, a special supplementary grant has been created to finance the 25 million rupees car for the governor, which has reportedly angered Shahbaz.
Shahbaz’s denial to approve the purchase of the car has also infuriated Taseer, who suggested the Chief Minister to sell off his collection of bullet-proof cars worth millions, The News reports.
(ANI)
Islamabad, May 12 (ANI): Pakistani pacer Sohail Tanvir will not be considered for selection for the forthcoming England tour as the PCB medical commission prescribed him another four-month rehabilitation programme to regain fitness for the coming domestic season.
The England tour starts from the first week of July and before that the team has to play in the Asian Cup in Sri Lanka in June.
The three injured players — Sohail, Naveed Yasin and Wahab Riaz appeared before the commission consisting to get their fitness assessed.
Sohail underwent different tests in Lahore on Tuesday, The News reports.
“He has shown great improvement but since he underwent knee surgery in Australia, he needed proper time to regain fitness. He has been prescribed a complete rehabilitation programme that would help him regain fitness required at an international level,” a source in the PCB said.
Meanwhile, Wahab Riaz has been declared fit to bowl.
“Wahab has recovered from elbow problem is has already started bowling in the nets. He has regained fitness and has been given green signal.”
Batsman Naveed Yasin has been asked not to throw a ball during the next six weeks. (ANI)
Lahore, May 12 (ANI): Jamaat-e-Islami chief Syed Munawar Hasan has said that the allegations made by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton against Pakistan regarding Osama bin Laden and Taliban supremo Mullah Umar amount to a blatant insult to the government, people and the armed forces.
Clinton had accused that there were people in the Pakistani Government who knew the whereabouts of bin Laden and Mullah Omar, and asked Islamabad to increase cooperation to capture or kill all the attackers of 9/11.
In a statement on Tuesday, the JI chief stressed upon Islamabad to protest against Hilary’s statements and also announce pulling out of this “crusade” against al-Qaeda and the Taliban, telling Washington that “enough is enough.”
Syed Munawar Hasan said former US President George W Bush had blamed bin Laden for the 9/11 tragedy without any investigation and had announced that Osama would be captured soon, dead or alive.
He said the US, despite its latest technology and resources, had failed to get hold of bin Laden during the last nine years and was now putting the blame on Pakistan only to hide its embarrassment, The News reports.
He also said that Faisal Shahzad’s drama was also staged to intensify pressure on Islamabad.
He said even if Faisal Shahzad was involved in the Time Square plot, there was no reason to blame Pakistan for an individual’s act and issue threats on this count. (ANI)
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