Chief Minister Punjab Mian Shahbaz Sharif called on Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani at the Army House in Rawalpindi. Security situation prevailing in Punjab in the backdrop of last week’s serial blasts in Lahore, topped the meeting’s agenda.
Two leaders exchanged views on efforts being made by police and the army to quell militancy. CM also discussed the plan of providing counter-terrorism training to Punjab Police by Pakistan Army in his one-on-one meeting with the army chief, it was reported.
On arrival to the Islamabad Airport, CM was greeted by PML-N leaders Chaudhry Nisar and Senator Parvez Rasheed. Shahbaz said that he came to discuss the security situation in the country.
Amy Holmes, Amy M. Holmes (born in 1973 in Lusaka, Zambia) is a conservative political contributor for She has also appeared on Real Time with Bill Maher several times. Holmes graduated from Princeton University with a BA in economics in 1994. She is an independent conservative.
Holmes was born to a Zambian father and a Caucasian American mother. She was raised in her mother’s native Seattle, Washington after her parents divorced when she was three. She has co-hosted The View and co-hosted CNN’s Glenn Beck while Beck was on the road with his “Unelectable” show. Holmes wrote Senate floor statements for Bill Frist, a two-term United States Senator from Tennessee and the Republican Majority Leader from 2003 until his retirement in 2007. She is currently an anchor of a morning radio program syndicated by the Washington Times newspaper called “America’s Morning News”. Holmes is skeptical that global warming is caused by human activity.
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan News: Pakistan Muslim League Quaid-e-Azam (PML-Q) has announced to throw support for Awami Muslim League (AML) President Sheikh Rashid Ahmed for bye-poll on NA-55 constituency.
Addressing a conference alongside PML-Q leaders Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain and Senator Mushahid Hussain Syed, the AML chief affirmed that Q has assured his full-fledged support for him on the seat.
Rashid warned the Punjab government in strongest terms against rigging in polls and cautioned that he would request the Election Commission to hold the polls under the army’s supervision instead of Punjab police, if the situation demanded.
“If the Punjab government used governmental missionary for rigging in polls I will turn their politics into a graveyard,” newly charged Sheik cautioned political opponents.
On the occasion Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain declared that PML-Q would fully support Sheik Rashid to win the election, adding that his party will also run a campaign in this regard.
On Monday, The Supreme Court ordered the Election Commission to hold by-elections within two months in three constituencies of Punjab. They are NA-123, Lahore; PP-82, Jhang; and PP-284, Bahawalnagar.
Iranian opposition supporters marched through the streets of Isfahan on Wednesday, as tensions escalated in the major oil producer, six months after a disputed presidential election plunged the Islamic Republic into its deepest internal crisis since it was founded three decades ago.
Reports said that security forces armed with batons and teargas later clashed with the protesters, supporters of the late dissident cleric Grand Ayatollah Hossein Ali Montazeri.
One report said plainclothes agents used teargas and pepper gas against people who were gathering for a Montazeri memorial service to be held in a mosque in the city of Isfahan, while another said women and children were among people beaten up.
Some opposition supporters were injured and dozens were arrested, according to reformist websites, whose reports could not be independently verified. There was no immediate comment from the authorities. If confirmed, they would further highlight escalating tension The Jaras website said many demonstrators were hurt during the clashes in Isfahan, which occurred during the traditional third day of mourning for Montazeri, who died on Saturday night at the age of 87 in the holy Shi’ite Muslim city of Qom.
Another reformist website, Parlemannews, said at least 50 opposition supporters, including four journalists, were arrested in Isfahan, one of Iran’s biggest and most historic cities.
The website said plainclothes agents used pepper gas on a cleric named Adib, who it said was an ally of opposition leader Mirhossein Mousavi and who was supposed to deliver the memorial service sermon, and arrested him by the Seyed mosque.
Security forces surrounded the mosque to stop people entering, the Rah-e Sabz website said.
KUNDUZ, Afghanistan news : An Afghan senator was killed when he drove through a police ambush set for Taliban militants in northern Afghanistan on Wednesday, officials said.
Mohammad Younus — also known as Shirin Agha, or Dear Sir — was going home in the early hours when the incident occurred in Puli Khumri, capital of troubled northern Baghlan province, Mohammad Akbar Barikzai told AFP.
Barikzai said Younus, a member of Afghanistan’s upper house of parliament representing Baghlan, failed to stop at a police checkpoint set up as part of a planned ambush of Taliban militants.
“They continued to drive after being ordered by police to stop so the police opened fire,” an interior ministry statement said.
“Unfortunately the senator and his driver were killed and a third person accompanying them was wounded,” it said, adding that the ministry has opened an investigation.
The security situation in northern Afghanistan has deteriorated over the past year with government authority consistently challenged by Taliban-linked insurgents.
Around 113,000 international troops are battling the intensifying insurgency under US and NATO command, with a new strategy aiming to hand over more authority to Afghan security forces.
In the past four years, direct fire or suicide attacks have killed one senator and 10 other MPs.
Wednesday’s incident is the first in which Afghan police have killed a senator accidentally.
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan News: Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani has apologised for neglecting the Balochistan in the past.
The Prime Minister was addressing inaugural of the joint session of the parliament, summoned by President Asif Ali Zardari under article 54(1) of the constitution. The joint session of the parliament has been summoned for approval of Balochistan package.
Gilani said that Balochistan will be provided economic and constitutional rights, adding that efforts are underway to win hearts of Balochistan people.
He also said that govt is ready to hold talks with Balochistan nationalist parties.
Meanwhile, Senator Raza Rabbani while presenting the draft of Balochistan package said that FC will replace army in Sui on the demand of Baloch leaders, no more cantonments will be set up in the province, all political prisoners including their leaders will be released but dialogues will not be held with those involved in terrorist activities.
Raza Rabbani further said that all the stakeholders will be taken on board.
All operations will be halted except war against terror.
Pakistan: Anti Terrorism Ordinance 2009 extended to PATA of NWFP, President Asif Ali Zardari on the advice of the Prime Minister has approved the extension of the Anti Terrorism (Amendment) Ordinance 2009 to Provincial Administered Tribal Areas of NWFP in terms of Article 247 of the Constitution. Giving the background, Spokesperson to the President former Senator Farhatullah Babar said that the Anti Terrorism Act 1997 was extended to PATA in 2002 as per the provision of Article 247 of the Constitution.
The Anti Terrorism Act 1997 has since been amended through Anti Terrorism (Amendment) Ordinance 2009. The NWFP Provincial Government with the approval of the Governor NWFP recently decided to extend the Anti Terrorism (Amendment) Ordinance 2009 to PATA as well. Under Article 247 of the Constitution, no Act of Parliament or Provincial Assembly shall apply to a Provincially Administered Tribal Area (PATA) or any part thereof unless the Governor of Province, in which the Tribal Area is situated, with the approval of the President, so directs.
Accordingly, the President approved the extension of the Anti Terrorism (Amendment) Ordinance 2009 to PATA in the light of the decision of the provincial government of NWFP and the advice of the Prime Minister tendered under the Rules of Business 1973, he said.
was first posted on November 17, 2009 at 10:26 pm.
Afghanistan will hold a second round of its presidential election on November 7 after incumbent Hamid Karzai failed to win a clear majority in the fraud-tainted contest, officials said Tuesday.
Exactly two months on from polls that Karzai had been expected to win easily, the Independent Election Commission (IEC) confirmed that he had fallen short of the 50 percent needed to avoid a run-off against his main challenger Abdullah Abdullah. Karzai confirmed at a news conference that he would take part in the second round, calling it a “step forward for democracy”. “This is not the right time to discuss investigations, this is the time to move forward to stability and national unity,” Karzai said. He spoke alongside UN envoy Kai Eide and US Senator John Kerry, whose presence in Kabul underscored intensive Western lobbying of Karzai to resolve the weeks of political paralysis.
The announcement came a day after an inquiry by a UN-backed watchdog confirmed staggering levels of fraud in the August 20 vote, declaring more than one million ballots suspect — a quarter of the total cast. An election official confirmed that from a preliminary tally of 55 percent, Karzai’s share of the first-round vote had now fallen to 49.67 percent. According to Election Commission, the new election’s duration would be 14 days.
WASHINGTON: John Kerry, the top American Senator and architect of the newly-negotiated version of the Kerry-Lugar Pakistan aid bill which triples the non-military aid to Islamabad to USD 7.5 billion in the next five years, has said that “no conditions” were imposed on Islamabad in lieu of the non-military aid.
Terming as “unfortunate” the characterization of the bicameral legislation in some quarters in ways that are just not accurate, Kerry asserted that there is no conditionality whatsoever in the bill with respect to civilian and economic assistance that is provided.
Soon after the bill was passed by the House of Representatives by a voice vote last week, Senator Kerry had said this bill reaffirms the depth of America’s long-term commitment to the people and Government of Pakistan.
The bill, initially introduced in the Senate by Joe Biden, then in the capacity as the Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and its ranking member, Senator Dick Lugar, has seen several changes and is now called Kerry-Lugar bill as it has been re-introduced by Senator John Kerry, Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and Senator Lugar.
The bicameral legislation now awaits President Barack Obama’s signature.
KARACHI, Pakistan: Four people were shot dead, including two policemen and a child, in operation against criminal gangs in Lyari Kalakot area of Karachi on Sunday. Police captured large quantity of weapons during raid at a godown in the locality.
Police on an indication of an arrested murder accused conducted raid at a godown, during which criminals lobbed a hand grenade and opened firing at the police party, leaving two cops dead on the spot.
District Superintendent of Police (DSP) Sarwar Commando told reporters that the drug and ammunition dump belonged to the notorious Rehman Dakait gang in Lyari.
Police said two outlaws have also been killed in the shootout, adding they had arrested three accused as well.
Police have seized a light machinegun, seven Kalashnikovs, two repeaters, two pistols, grenade, eight walkie-talkies and hundreds of bullets from the godown in raid.
Firing is still continued between the police and criminals, echoing the area with the sound of heavy firing. Armored carriers and Rangers contingents have reached in the area to assist the police.
Town Police Officer (TPO) Lyari Khadim Hussain told reporters that the police will retaliate to the killing of one of their officers.
Chief Minister Punjab Mian Shahbaz Sharif called on Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani at the Army House in Rawalpindi. Security situation prevailing in Punjab in the backdrop of last week’s serial blasts in Lahore, topped the meeting’s agenda.
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan News: Pakistan Muslim League Quaid-e-Azam (PML-Q) has announced to throw support for Awami Muslim League (AML) President Sheikh Rashid Ahmed for bye-poll on NA-55 constituency.
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan News: Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani has apologised for neglecting the Balochistan in the past.
Pakistan: Anti Terrorism Ordinance 2009 extended to PATA of NWFP, President Asif Ali Zardari on the advice of the Prime Minister has approved the extension of the Anti Terrorism (Amendment) Ordinance 2009 to Provincial Administered Tribal Areas of NWFP in terms of Article 247 of the Constitution. Giving the background, Spokesperson to the President former Senator Farhatullah Babar said that the Anti Terrorism Act 1997 was extended to PATA in 2002 as per the provision of Article 247 of the Constitution.
Afghanistan will hold a second round of its presidential election on November 7 after incumbent Hamid Karzai failed to win a clear majority in the fraud-tainted contest, officials said Tuesday.
WASHINGTON: John Kerry, the top American Senator and architect of the newly-negotiated version of the Kerry-Lugar Pakistan aid bill which triples the non-military aid to Islamabad to USD 7.5 billion in the next five years, has said that “no conditions” were imposed on Islamabad in lieu of the non-military aid.
