Pakistan News

Pak asks Interpol to stop 'insane' pastor from burning Quran

Pakistan on Thursday strongly condemned an American pastor's plans to burn copies of the Quran to mark the anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks and asked Interpol to stop the "insane" man from going ahead with the move.

indiatimes.com Thu, 09 Sep 2010 14:32:14 +0000

Accused in Sialkot lynching sent on judicial remand

GUJRANWALA: A special anti-terrorism court sent 21 accused in the Sialkot lynching case to jail on seven-day-long judicial remand here on Thursday. The 21 accused in the lynching case including ex-inspector Rana Illyas, ASI Waris, constables Mubarak,Tariq and 17 civilians were presented in the Anti-terrorism court II of Judge Nisar Ahmed on Thursday. Prosecutor Rana Bakhtiar submitted before the court that a special team had completed its investigation and that as the police recovered batons, weapons, tractor trolley etc from the custody of the accused, they might be sent on judicial remand. The court directed that the accused be presented in the court on Sept 16. - APP

Dawnnews.com Thu, 09 Sep 2010 14:06:30 +0000

Planned Quran burning 'despicable': Zardari

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Thursday condemned as "despicable" a US church's plan to burn the Koran on September 11, saying it could inflame Muslim sentiment across the world, a statement from the president's office said. President Asif Ali Zardari said "anyone who even thought of such a despicable act must be suffering from a diseased mind and a sickly soul," the statement said. "It will inflame sentiments among Muslims throughout the world and cause irreparable damage to interfaith harmony and also to world peace," the statement quoted Zardari as saying. "The President called for doing all that it takes to stop such a senseless and outrageous act," the statement added. - AFP

Dawnnews.com Thu, 09 Sep 2010 13:03:55 +0000

CCPO Karachi appointed DG FIA

KARACHI: CCPO Karachi, Waseem Ahmed was appointed Director General of Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) on Thursday. According to sources, the reassignment came after disagreements between Interior Minister Rehman Malik and Waseem Ahmed. - DawnNews

Dawnnews.com Thu, 09 Sep 2010 11:00:48 +0000

Roadside blast kills 10 in Kurram tribal region

PARACHINAR: A roadside bomb killed 10 people and wounded four in Kurram tribal region on the Afghan border on Thursday, a government official told Reuters. The explosion happened in Palaseen village, about 65 km (40 miles) northeast of the region's main town, Parachinar. "It was a remote-controlled bomb, which was detonated as soon as a passenger van got there," said Hamid Khan, deputy administrator of the region. Those killed were all civilians. - Reuters

Dawnnews.com Thu, 09 Sep 2010 11:00:48 +0000

Abducted UK journalist Asad Qureshi freed

ISLAMABAD: A British-Pakistani journalist abducted by militants in Pakistan's tribal areas in March, has been freed, the British High Commission said on Thursday. "Yes, we can confirm that Asad Qureshi has been released," a spokesman for the High Commission said. Qureshi was abducted in March along with two former Pakistani intelligence officers.

Dawnnews.com Thu, 09 Sep 2010 09:58:35 +0000

Blast hits residence of Balochistan's finance minister

QUETTA: At least two people were killed when a car bomb exploded inside the residence of Balochistan's provincial finance minister Asim Ali Kurd on Thursday, DawnNews reported. The explosion occurred near Quetta's Railway Housing Society area. - DawnNews

Dawnnews.com Thu, 09 Sep 2010 09:58:35 +0000

Ten killed in Kurram Agency roadside blast

PARACHINAR: A roadside bomb killed 10 people and wounded four in Kurram tribal region on the Afghan border on Thursday, a government official told Reuters. "It was a remote-controlled bomb, which was detonated as soon as a passenger van got there," said Hamid Khan, deputy administrator of the region. - Reuters.

Dawnnews.com Thu, 09 Sep 2010 07:01:34 +0000

Three drone strikes kill 18 militants in North Waziristan

MIRAMSHAH: Three separate US drone strikes in Pakistan's northwestern tribal district killed at least 18 militants on Wednesday, security officials said. Officials in Washington say the drone strikes are a vital tool needed to protect the 150,000 foreign troops in Afghanistan and have killed a number of high-value targets including Pakistani Taliban chief Baitullah Mehsud. The third strike Wednesday again hit North Waziristan, the same tribal district targeted in the previous two drone attacks and a renowned hub for Taliban and Al-Qaeda-linked militants. Dandey Darpakhel, a village five kilometres (three miles) from Miramshah, the main town in North Waziristan, was targeted twice and missiles destroyed two different compounds, killing 14 rebels. In the other attack, a drone fired two missiles which struck a vehicle, killing four militants in Amboor Shaga village of Datta Khel town, 40 kilometres from Miramshah. All three strikes were confirmed by intelligence officials in Miramshah, who also confirmed the death toll. More than 1,040 people have been killed in more than 100 drone strikes in Pakistan since August 2008, including a number of senior militants.

Dawnnews.com Wed, 08 Sep 2010 20:04:18 +0000

Spokesman of Ahle Sunnat Wal Jama'at killed in Karachi

KARACHI: Unknown assailants on Wednesday gunned down Ahsan ullah Farooqi, the spokesman of Ahle Sunnat Wal Jama'at, and severely injured his companion Naeem in Karachi. According to sources, Farooqi was returning after a press conference on target killings in Mehmoodabad when unknown gunmen attacked him in the area of Gurumandir. Farooqi and Naeem were later shifted to Civil Hospital where Farooqi succumbed to his injuries. Naeem was admitted in the hospital where his situation was stated as critical.-DawnNews

Dawnnews.com Wed, 08 Sep 2010 18:10:00 +0000

Three accomplices of Faisal Shahzad arrested

ISLAMABAD: The police on Wednesday claimed to have arrested three accomplices of Faisal Shahzad, the main suspect/accused of Time Square bombing plot in New York. Police said that arrested suspects Akhtar, Shoaib Mughal and Shahid had provided financial help to Shahzad. All the suspects belong to Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), police added. Police also claimed to have recovered maps of Time Square, Pakistan parliament building and several other sensitive installations from the vehicle of the suspects.-DawnNews

Dawnnews.com Wed, 08 Sep 2010 17:07:36 +0000

Govt bans five militant groups in Balochistan

QUETTA: Pakistan announced a ban on five militant groups operating in the restive southwest and froze their assets on Wednesday, Interior Minister Rehman Malik said. Violence has surged this year in Balochistan, which borders Afghanistan and Iran and is rife with separatist unrest as well as militancy and sectarian violence. "Today five of them have been proscribed. They will not be allowed to undertake any activity, their offices will be closed and action will be taken against their office bearers," Malik told reporters. "Their bank accounts have also been seized," said Malik, speaking in Quetta, where a suicide bomber killed 59 people on Friday at a Shia Muslim rally. The banned groups are the Balochistan Republican Army, Baloch Liberation Front, Balochistan Liberation United Front, Baloch Defaee Tanzeem and Lashkar-e-Balochistan, Malik said. Malik said any organisation using the terms "liberation", "military" or "Lashkar" (army) in Balochistan would also face a ban. The interior minister also announced that the federal government had given Balochistan's Chief Minister the authority to award police powers to the Frontier Constabulary (FC) to tackle the province's law and order situation. Malik said every law enforcement action in the province will be led by the police, adding that this involves targeted action based on intelligence inputs. He said police and FC will gather the intelligence in this regard and denied saying that there would be a Swat-style operation in the province.-AFP/DawnNews

Dawnnews.com Wed, 08 Sep 2010 16:05:06 +0000

Malik says targeted operations to start in Balochistan

QUETTA: Interior Minister Rehman Malik on Wednesday announced that the federal government had given Balochistan's Chief Minister the authority to award police powers to the Frontier Constabulary (FC) to tackle the province's law and order situation. Addressing a press conference in Quetta, Malik said every law enforcement action in the province will be led by the police. Malik added that this involves targeted action based on intelligence inputs. He said police and FC will gather the intelligence in this regard and denied saying that there would be a Swat-style operation in the province.

Dawnnews.com Wed, 08 Sep 2010 13:07:57 +0000

Two killed in an explosion near Hub chowki

KARACHI: In an explosion near Rind market in Hub chowki on Wednesday, two people died while eight were injured. The injured were shifted to Hub civil hospital immediately where two of the injured succumbed to their injuries. Those severely injured were shifted to a hospital in Karachi. Few of the injured were sent home after treatment. The nature of the explosion has not been determined yet. - Dawn News

Dawnnews.com Wed, 08 Sep 2010 12:04:43 +0000

US drone strikes kill 10 militants in North Waziristan

MIRAMSHAH: Two US missile strikes in Pakistan's North Waziristan tribal district on the Afghan border killed at least 10 militants on Wednesday, DawnNews reported. The first attack took place in Dandey Darpakhel village, five kilometres northwest of Miramshah, the main town in North Waziristan tribal district. At least six militants were killed in the US drone attack which targeted the compound of a local militant, reports said. A security official in the region confirmed the strike and casualties. In the second attack, a US drone fired two missiles which struck a vehicle, killing four militants in Amboor Shaga village of Dattakhel town in North Waziristan tribal area, 40 kilometres west of Miramshah. US forces have been waging a drone war against Taliban and al-Qaeda-linked commanders in Pakistan's northwestern tribal belt, where militants have carved out havens in mountains outside direct government control. The US military does not as a rule confirm drone attacks, but its armed forces and the Central Intelligence Agency operating in Afghanistan are the only forces that deploy pilotless drones in the region. More than 1,040 people have been killed in 122 drone strikes in Pakistan since August 2008, including a number of senior militants. However, the attacks fuel anti-American sentiment in the country. Washington has branded the rugged tribal area on the Afghan border - part of which has been hit by Pakistan's catastrophic flooding - a global headquarters of al-Qaeda. Officials in Washington say the drone strikes are a vital tool needed to protect the 150,000 foreign troops in Afghanistan, and have killed a number of high-value targets including Pakistani Taliban chief Baitullah Mehsud. Al-Qaeda announced in June that its number three leader and Osama bin Laden's one-time treasurer Mustafa Abu al-Yazid had been killed in what security officials said appeared to be a drone strike in North Waziristan. Under US pressure to crack down on militant havens along the Afghan border, Pakistan has in the past year significantly increased operations against militants in the area. More than 3,700 people have been killed in the last three years in a series of suicide attacks and bomb explosions across Pakistan, many of them carried out by the Taliban and other al-Qaeda-linked extremists.

Dawnnews.com Wed, 08 Sep 2010 11:02:58 +0000