Weekly EHTASABI AMAL Lahore ھفت روذھ احتسابی عمل لاھور

KABUL: The Kabul government on Saturday demanded that Washington increase pressure on Pakistan to act against insurgents using its soil to attack Afghanistan, saying Afghans were running out of patience. Afghan President Hamid Karzai held talks with US regional envoy, Marc Grossman, in Kabul just days after President Barack Obama warned Pakistan there were “some connections” between its intelligence services and extremists. “The Afghan President asked Grossman to put more pressure on Pakistan so that future meetings with them should bring a positive result,” one official at the presidential palace told AFP on condition of anonymity. Relations between Afghanistan and Pakistan, long mired in distrust, have recently deteriorated with Kabul alleging that the murder of its peace envoy Burhanuddin Rabbani was hatched in Pakistan and carried out by a Pakistani. Kabul accused Pakistan of hindering the investigation and also claimed to have foiled an alleged plot in Pakistan to assassinate Karz...

SIGONELLA AIR BASE, ITALY: US Defence Secretary Leon Panetta on Friday acknowledged what has long been an open secret – that the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) deploys armed Predator drones to hunt down Islamist militants in a number of countries. The US government has previously officially declined to admit that the spy agency’s drone strikes, but Panetta – who served as Central Intelligence Agency director until taking over the Pentagon in July -made two casual references to the CIA’s use of robotic aircraft during a visit to US bases in Italy. “Having moved from the CIA to the Pentagon, obviously I have a hell of a lot more weapons available to me in this job than I did at CIA -although Predators aren’t bad,” Panetta told an audience of sailors at the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet headquarters in Naples. Later at a joint US-Italian air base in Sigonella, Panetta thanked air crews for their role in the NATO air campaign over Libya as he stood in front of a Global Hawk drone, a larger unma...

For his assistance with American authorities in the raid and execution of Osama bin laden, a Pakistani doctor helped locate the former al-Qaeda leader for the US government is facing charges of treason. Dr Shakeel Afridi allegedly attempted to collect DNA samples from bin Laden and his friends and family by way of an extensive vaccination program in Abbottabad could be killed if Pakistani officials find him guilty of treason. As tensions between Pakistan and America continue to escalate, officials in Islamabad are refusing protests from the US and are pondering putting the man to death. US officials have tried to have Afridi freed from his jail cell in Pakistan, but officials overseas have rejected their pleas. Afridi was apprehended shortly after the execution at bin Laden’s compound in early May. Without a lawyer and unable to be assisted by American authorities, the doctor is now being considered a traitor for his country. “In view of the record and evidence … the commission is of t...

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ISLAMABAD: US President Barack Obama’s warning to Islamabad over suspected ties to militants will hurt efforts to stabilise Afghanistan and fuel anti-Americanism, the chairman of Pakistan’s Senate Foreign Affairs Committee said on Friday. Pakistan is seen as critical to bringing peace to neighbouring Afghanistan, but the United States has failed to persuade it to go after militant groups it says cross the border to attack Western forces in Afghanistan. “This is not helping either the United States, Afghanistan or Pakistan,” Salim Saifullah told Reuters. “There will be pressure on the (Pakistan) government to get out of this war,” he said, referring to the US war on militancy. Obama warned Pakistan on Thursday that its ties with “unsavory characters” have put relations with the United States at risk, as he ratcheted up pressure on Islamabad to cut links with militants mounting attacks in Afghanistan. He accused Pakistan’s leaders of “hedging their bets” on Afghanistan’s future, but sto...

Pakistan lawmakers rally against energy crisis (AFP) ISLAMABAD — Pakistani opposition lawmakers and activists staged a sit-in outside the president's house on Thursday in protest at perceived government inaction over the nation's crippling energy crisis. Opposition leader Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan led a march from parliament to the presidency of some 150 lawmakers and activists from Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) and other opposition groups, an AFP reporter at the scene said. The protesting MPs staged a sit-in at the main gate of the President Asif Ali Zardari's carrying placards demanding his resignation. The nuclear-armed Muslim nation, with a population of 167 million, produces only 80 percent of its electricity needs, starving industry that has slumped in the face of recession and over three years of Taliban-linked bombings. The severe energy crisis has triggered rolling power cuts of between six to 10 hours in urban and rural Pakistan. Shouting slogans "no to corrup...

Pakistan 'crackdown' over Shiite killings (AFP) QUETTA, Pakistan — Pakistani police said Wednesday they had launched a crackdown on Sunni militants, detaining scores of suspects after being criticised for inaction over increased sectarian killings. "We have rounded up about 100 people. They are being interrogated," senior police officer Hamid Shakeel told AFP in Pakistan's southwestern province of Baluchistan, where Shiite Muslims have increasingly come under attack. Residents said police conducted raids after hundreds of people staged a protest rally condemning police inaction. Gunmen on Tuesday attacked a bus of Shiites from the minority Hazara ethnic group on the outskirts of Quetta, the capital of Baluchistan province. The death toll from the attack rose to 14 as another victim died overnight, officials said. Two people are still in a critical condition in hospital. On September 20, gunmen killed 26 Shiite pilgrims after ordering them off their bus in Mastung ...

Karachi: Impunity to those who attack journalists is hampering press freedom in Pakistan and all stakeholders including media organisations, government and civil society should join hands to devise some mechanisms for better safety of working journalists, said speakers of a round table here on Saturday. The round table discussion on ‘Impunity to those attack journalists’ was organised by Pakistan Press Foundation (PPF) at a local hotel with UNESCO Director in Pakistan Dr Kozue Kay Nagata as chief guest. Journalists from all four provinces of Pakistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir who had personally witnessed incidents of violence narrated their testimonies. Dr Nagata said she was saddened to hear the testimonies of journalists who had faced violence, intimidation and other hardships while discharging their professional responsibilities. She said the Pakistani journalists are victims of circumstances that are both local and global in nature. She said there is necessity to protect journalis...

Not too long ago, we were treated to this nifty tech demo showing gamers using a Windows Phone to control and interact with an Xbox 360 Kinect game. While that demo hasn't yet turned into a reality, perhaps we're one step closer. On Wednesday, the Windows Phone team revealed via its blog that they are working on what's called the Xbox Companion app, a free app that will let people use their Windows Phones to find and control Xbox Live content on their Xbox 360s. Ben Rudolph, who writes for the blog, tried out a beta copy of the app on his Xbox. This is the experience he described: Finding Content : Just like on your Xbox, the Xbox Companion gives you instant access to the Xbox LIVE Marketplace catalog of games, movies, music and TV shows. I used it to search “Featured Content” and pulled up the X-Men: First Class. Learn more about what you’re watching, listening to, or playing : Once I found the movie and touched the movie tile, the Xbox companion app took me to an info p...

RINAGAR: Former Azad Kashmir Prime Minister and leader of ruling Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Barrister Sultan Mehmood on Wednesday suggested holding of an intra- Kashmir conference to find a solution to Kashmir issue. Addressing a press conference at the end of three-day visit to Indian Kashmir, he said, “The issue of intra-Kashmir dialogue should be brought up as it is important for the solution of Kashmir.” He said that the world community is now showing more interest in Kashmir issue. “If they (world community) think that peace should return in Afghanistan then they have to find a solution of the Kashmir issue. Mehmood, during his visit, said that he was able to know the thoughts of Kashmiri leadership. He suggested that leadership from both sides should formulate proposals on the Kashmir issue. “My visit is a little step forward. I have come to listen and talk and I am taking a good message with me,” he added. He said that the Line of Control travel should be made smooth so that m...

Posted on September 10, 2011 Fatima Bhutto writing book on Karachi KARACHI (PPI): Blood, sword and suffering are the heartbeat of Fatima Bhutto’s literary soul. And it was fear that propelled her poetry, says the heir to Pakistan’s tragedy-scarred Bhutto family.An accomplished poet, Fatima, 29, captures love, loss and the solitude of her circumstances in her verses.”I have not written poetry for a very long time, but poetry like prose is ultimately a means of expressing what seems difficult otherwise,” Fatima, who will be in India for the Kovalam Literary Festival Oct 1-2, said in an email interview from Karachi to an Indian news agency.”Kovalam will be my first visit to south India. And I’m looking forward to seeing more of the country and interacting with new audiences and opening bridges between our cities and stories.”She won’t be reading out just from her poetry. Fatima has authored Whispers of the Desert, an anthology of poetry, as well as 08.50 am, an account of the 2005 ...

Qadri supporters stage Mall sit-in By Rana Tanveer Published: October 4, 2011 Police baton charge activists of Jamaat-e-Sunnah and supporters of convicted killer Malik Mumtaz Hussain Qadri during a protest in Lahore on October 3, 2011. PHOTO: AFP LAHORE: Tahaffuz Namoos-i-Risalat Mahaz (TNRM) activists again violated the ban on rallies on The Mall on Monday as they marched on the main road and staged a sit-in in front of the Lahore High Court in protest at the conviction and death sentence handed to Mumtaz Qadri for the killing of Salmaan Taseer. The police used teargas and fired live ammunition in the air to disperse the stick-wielding protestors in clashes near the LHC building, but the protestors stood their ground. Four policemen and 10 protestors were injured. Eight were later arrested. The protestors, about 2,000 in number, gathered at Data Darbar just before noon and then marched towards The Mall. The police confronted them at PMG Chowk to stop them blocking The Mall, but the pr...

LAHORE: An outbreak of dengue claimed nine more lives in Lahore on Monday, raising the death toll in Punjab to 152, reported Express The provincial capital has been hit hard by the fever as 139 have died in Lahore alone, while a 42-year-old woman died in Gujranwala. According to the Punjab health department, around 325 new cases of dengue fever were reported during the past 24 hours, of which 258 cases are in Lahore. The total number of dengue cases in the province has reached 13,399, out which 11,627 cases are from Lahore. On the other hand, the ongoing loadshedding in Punjab has added to the woes of patients at hospitals. Detailed plan to combat dengue: Shahbaz Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif said that a detailed plan will be formed to combat the dengue menace. For this purpose, a team of 150 doctors and para-medical staff will be sent to Sri Lanka, Thailand and Singapore for training. Chairing a meeting on combating the deadly dengue, Shahbaz Sahrif said that all resources are ...

London, Oct 5 (AFP): Two Pakistan Test players went on trial in London charged with so-called spot-fixing during a match against England last year in allegations which rocked the world of cricket. Former captain Salman Butt, 26, and fast bowler Mohammad Asif, 28, appeared at Southwark Crown Court yesterday charged with conspiracy to obtain and accept corrupt payments, and with conspiracy to cheat at gambling. The charges relate to allegations of the deliberate bowling of no-balls during England's fourth Test against Pakistan at Lord's cricket ground in London in August 2010. Butt and Asif deny the charges. The offences carry maximum sentences of seven years and two years in prison respectively. The allegations were made in the Rupert Murdoch-owned News of the World tabloid, which was closed down in July this year when it became engulfed in the phone hacking scandal. In a packed courtroom, Butt sat in the dock wearing a grey pinstripe suit and white open-necked shirt, one seat a...

By csmonitor.com What's in the agreement? The strategic agreement leaves out specifics. “India agrees to assist, as mutually determined, in the training, equipping and capacity building programs for Afghan National Security Forces ,” reads the agreement. It also carefully notes that the partnership “is not directed against any other State or group of States.” “It’s ongoing, there’s nothing new about it,” said Ambassador Mukhopadhyay. But the agreement does open up an “incremental” and “additional” level of cooperation based on what the Afghans want and the Indians can deliver, he added. An Afghan official said that the document allows Afghanistan to ask for more military aid from India. “We may not need until 2014 because NATO is already with us. But this document allows us, shows a green light,” the official said. The deal reflects the political realities closing in around Karzai: His external backers, the Americans, are heading for the exits by 2014, and many of his internal bac...