Facebook launches video calls, group chat features

NEW YORK: Quick on the heels of Google’s launch of its latest social-networking venture, Facebook said Wednesday that its 750 million users will now be able to make video calls on the site.
The feature will be powered by the Internet phone service Skype. Facebook also redesigned its chat feature, so that the people a user messages the most often show up first.
To make video calls, Facebook users with webcam-equipped computers have to select the friends they want to chat with.
In the chat window that pops up, clicking on a small blue video icon brings up the video chat feature. Currently there is no option to video chat more than one person.
That feature is available on Google Plus, a social service that Google began testing last week with a small number of invited users.
Facebook is also adding a group chat option. This works much the same way as the group chat on Google Plus. Once you are chatting with one friend, you can click an icon to add more people to the conversation.
Facebook’s new products come after a relatively quiet period for the world’s largest online social network.
Zuckerberg, 26, said the company is embarking on ”launching season 2011.” Users can expect ”a lot of stuff coming out” from Facebook in the next couple of weeks and months, he said at an event at the company’s Palo Alto, Calif., headquarters.
Facebook updated its user count _ to 750 million users worldwide _ for the first time since last summer, when it reached half a billion people. Zuckerberg said that’s because ”we don’t think it’s a metric to watch anymore.”
Rather, Facebook is paying more attention to how much its users are sharing with one another. That number is growing at a much faster rate than its monthly user base.
Currently, people share 4 billion items, such as photos, status updates and links, every day using Facebook.
Without mentioning Google by name, Zuckerberg said that ”independent entrepreneurs and companies focused on one particular thing will always do better than companies that try to do everything.”
For Facebook, that one thing has been creating an online social infrastructure that other companies, such as Skype, can then add their own products to.
Skype has agreed to be bought by Microsoft Corp. for $8.5 billion in a deal expected to close by the end of the year. Microsoft owns a small stake in Facebook.

Afghanistan transition ‘train’ steaming ahead: UN

UNITED NATIONS: Security generally is improving in Afghanistan, making it a favorable time to transfer power to the Kabul government and hold peace talks with the Taliban, the UN special envoy to the country said Wednesday.
International diplomat Staffan de Mistura declared that Afghanistan finds itself at a “special crossroad,” despite a spate of recent attacks that have left scores dead in recent weeks.
The violence includes fighting Wednesday that killed up to 33 police and five civilians, after Taliban crossed over from Pakistan and attacked a remote region in eastern Afghanistan.
Still, de Mistura, who heads up the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan, said it is a propitious time to lay the groundwork for the next phase of governance, in which Afghanistan takes responsibility for its own security and governance.
“Transition: it’s like a train and it’s moving forward. According to every indicator I have, it is on track,” the envoy said at a meeting of the UN Security Council.
As far as Afghanistan’s overall security situation is concerned, there exists “the perception of an improvement, which is true,” he said.
Still, de Mistura acknowledged the carnage of the past several weeks, amid a continuing barrage of border attacks along Afghanistan’s border with Pakistan.
“There have been attacks in the Intercontinental hotel, many of you — many of us — have been there. It was shocking,” he said, blaming the bloodshed on ‘anti-government forces.” “There have been attacks inside the city, inside the military hospital and the ministry of defense. There have been in Kandahar for two days, in Herat,” he said.
“There is a constant attempt during the spring offensive… and the summer to try to reverse that perception by giving signals of surgical, dramatic attacks,” de Mistura added.
He said however that the Kabul government so far has held its own against the rebel fighters and “been able to handle” the onslaught.
His remarks come some two weeks after US President Barack Obama announced that he would withdraw 33,000 US “surge” troops from Afghanistan by the end of 2012, bringing total US forces there down to 65,000.
After that announcement, there was an up tick of violence in Afghanistan, including that attack on the Intercontinental, a hotel favored by the country’s elite.
In that assault, nine heavily armed Taliban militants, some in suicide vests, stormed the hotel last month, sparking a ferocious battle that left at least 21 dead, including the attackers.
In the face of such violence, the speed of the drawdown has been slammed by senior Republican lawmakers in the United States, and been met with a cool reception by US military commanders.
But France and Belgium have also announced the withdrawal of some troops from the Afghan theater, while Canada’s roughly 3,000-strong mission is due to end this week, as allied country keep wrapping up the nearly decade-long war.
De Mistura said the next step will be to ramp up efforts to hold peace talks with the Taliban, to ensure that the country is able to flourish in a climate of relative peace and stability.
“The need of a dialogue is clear,” he said, calling not only for “reconciliation,” but for “reintegration” of rebels fighting the government.

Move to hit exports: Turkey to raise duty on pet resin

ISLAMABAD: Turkey has decided to impose safeguard duty on import of pet (Polyethylene Terephthalate) resin from Pakistan for a period of three years.
The move will lead to reduction in market access for the export of raw materials to the Turkish market, it is learnt.
Technically, the safeguard duty will apply to imports of PET resin originating from all countries for a period of three years, which is extendable for another three years. However, this duty will specifically wipe out the market access for Pakistani exporters.
Pet resin is one of the leading materials for bottling carbonated soft drinks, mineral waters, juices, edible oils and personal care products and packaging pre-packed foods and meals etc.
A well informed source in the commerce ministry confirmed that the additional duty was Pakistan’s specific, as Islamabad has a share of one third in Turkey’s total imports of PET resin to bridge the domestic gap in production.
As per the Ankara decision, the source said Turkey has decided to enhance the normal customs duty from 3 per cent to eight per cent (5pc additional safeguard duty) to protect the European origin owners of the local production.
The local production in Turkey of PET resin stood at 150,000 tons, while it imports 160,000 tons to meet the domestic requirement.
Currently, the bilateral trade between Pakistan and Turkey stood at $997 million. Pakistan’s exports to Turkey stood at $640 million last year.
But of these, PET resin exports from Pakistan constitute 12 per cent share or ($71 million) to Turkey making it one of the leading exporter to Turkey.
Even the Turkish authorities, according to the source, are not considering Pakistan to be included in the list of those countries, which can qualify for availing 10 per cent duty-free quota of PET resin imports.
This indicates that the safeguard duty was directed at Pakistan, the source added.
However, an official in the commerce ministry said that the issue had been taken up by Pakistan’s ambassador to Turkey with relevant authorities to seek review of the decision.
This could be the second move of the Turkish government in a series against Pakistan’s exportable products as in March last it also proposed to impose 52 per cent duty on import of Pakistani garments, 24.5 per cent on denim fabrics and 24.5 per cent on woven fabrics.
This decision, experts say, will affect $250 million worth of exports. Pakistan’s total export of textile products to Turkey was $350 million last year.

Power plant equipment not cleared by customs

CHENGDU (China): An energy equipment provided by a Chinese company for easing electricity crisis in Pakistan has been awaiting customs clearance at Karachi for one year, officials said.
Addressing a Pakistani media delegation currently visiting China, Consul General Hasan Hameed said here that China’s biggest company DEC had sent the 315MW equipment a year ago but the customs authorities in Karachi had not been releasing it for reasons best known to them.
Because of the delay the energy sharing process was yet to be materialised, he said.
Mr Hameed said China and Pakistan were working in economic and social sectors to strengthen relations and it was because of this reason that an exhibition of photographs focusing on social and cultural aspects of the two countries had been organised in Chengdu.
The Information Officer of Sichuan provincial People’s Government, Hou Xiongfei, said that Pak-China friendship was time tested, adding that trade between the two countries would expand under the Pakistan China Trade Corporation.

Gilani hits out at US for pursuing narrow interests

MINGORA: Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani cautioned the United States on Wednesday against pursuing narrow interests that hurt Pakistan’s sovereignty and self-respect.
“Pursuing narrow interests at the cost of coalition partners and aspirations of people will be self-defeating,” Mr Gilani said while speaking at a seminar held to showcase a ‘de-radicalisation initiative’ launched by the military which it bills as an expression of its resolve to fight terrorism and radicalism.
The prime minister’s speech in English before a largely Swati gathering suggested that the target audience was not the one seated before him. Mr Gilani’s words echoed the unease in army over Washington’s moves that discredit Pakistan government and military – constricting its space of cooperation with the US. Besides Obama administration’s ‘strong-arm tactics’ employed to pressurise Pakistan into ‘compliance’, the military is also upset over the leaks by US officials, which it says cast their counter-terror efforts in a negative light.
“Pakistan’s efforts in political and military domain for combating terrorism need recognition at international level. There is a need to bridge trust deficit and allow Pakistan space to manoeuvre and contribute significantly without international pressure.”
Mr Gilani’s words in Mingora sharply contrasted with his statement, heavily tinged with diplomatese, a couple of days ago at the US embassy’s national day reception. He categorically called for respecting Pakistan’s interests and the ‘red lines’ set by it.
The red lines, formulated shortly after President Obama’s inauguration in 2009, clearly state aversion to ‘foreign boots in Pakistan’, expansion of drone attacks to Balochistan and maligning of army and ISI.
“Cooperation in counter-terrorism warrants a partnership approach, which fully accommodates others’ interests and respect for the clearly stipulated red lines,” Mr Gilani noted.
He regretted that American actions adversely impacted his government’s counter-extremism measures.
Alluding to the issue of Kashmir, he said the problem of extremism could be ‘sustainably’ addressed by resolving “longstanding political issues”. He observed that the unresolved political problems were being exploited by militants as ‘psychological tools’.
Ties with India
He used the opportunity to speak on revived dialogue with India urging it to be more accommodating to Pakistan’s security concerns.
“Pakistan views India as most important neighbour and desires sustained, substantive and result-oriented process of dialogue to resolve all outstanding issues, including the core issue of Jammu and Kashmir. We sincerely hope that ongoing process of comprehensive engagement will be fruitful. However, India will have to play more positive and accommodating role and respond to Pakistan’s legitimate security concerns.”
The prime minister said India would not find Pakistan lacking in will to write a new chapter in bilateral relations.
About Afghanistan, with whom Pakistan is locked in a fresh controversy over cross-border militant raids and exchange of mortar rounds, he reiterated his government’s commitment to “independent and sovereign Afghanistan without any external influence”.
On the counter-terrorism efforts, he said the government had enacted a Legal Framework Order ‘Actions in Aid of Civil Power’ in Fata and Pata for fighting terror.
The law was signed by President Asif Zardari on June 23, but the government has been reticent about it because of controversy over some of its clauses.
Trying to address the concerns of the detractors of the new law, he said: “In due course, it would be extended to the settled areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and subsequently to entire Pakistan through acts of provincial and national assemblies,
respectively.”
Advocating the new law, the prime minister maintained it would provide answers to a host of questions starting from requisitioning process of army in aid of civil power, prolonged detention of terrorists and, most importantly, expeditious dispensation of justice.

Kayani calls for collective response to terrorism

MINGORA: Chief of the Army Staff Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani has called for a collective response by all organs of the state to terrorism and extremism.
In his key-note address at a seminar on ‘de-radicalisation’ here on Wednesday, he said: “No single organ of the state is configured to mount a wholesome response to the challenges confronting national security.”
He asked for expanding army’s initiative of de-radicalisation. “We have taken the first step here in Swat by initiating a de-radicalisation programme, it needs support and initiative of the society, intellectuals and policy-makers to take the lead and put into effect a counter-radicalisation construct, not only to sustain the de-radicalisation effort, but also to assure a free and progressive future for Pakistan.”
APP adds: Gen Kayani said Pakistan Army, being a national army, derived its strength from the people of Pakistan and was answerable to the people and their representatives in parliament.
“Accordingly, Pakistan Army considers people’s support vital for its operations against terrorists, and believes that only the
people of Pakistan can determine the national interest and army’s role in their achievement”.
He said that Pakistan’s commitment to war against Al Qaeda and its affiliates was total and unwavering as it firmly believed in taking stern action against all terrorist groups.
The army was determined to lead the fight on terror in partnership with other law-enforcement agencies and in line with the Constitution, he added.
The Army Chief reiterated that there was no military solution to terrorism since military strategy could only provide an enabling environment. The menace had to be tackled in the domain of national security which warranted a comprehensive
response entailing synergy by all elements of national power, he added.

PML-N, MQM to work together in assemblies

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Muslim League-N and Muttahida Qaumi Movement agreed on Wednesday to work together as a ‘combined opposition’ in parliament and provincial assemblies.
“We have decided in principle to play our role as a strong opposition while remaining within legal and constitutional limits,” MQM’s deputy parliamentary leader in the National Assembly Haider Abbas Rizvi told reporters after a meeting between senior leaders of the two parties.
It was their first formal contact in recent years. Reading out a joint statement, he said the two parties had decided to “carry out a joint struggle” to solve problems being faced by the nation.
The PML-N team, headed by Senator Ishaq Dar, included senators Pervaiz Rashid and Mushahidullah Khan and MNA Khwaja Saad Rafique. MNA Waseem Akhtar and MQM coordination committee member Raza Haroon assisted Mr Rizvi in the talks which lasted more than two hours.
Mr Rizvi said the two sides had discussed the political situation, electricity and gas loadshedding, price hike, political patronisation of corruption, deteriorating law and order, poor condition of economy, rigging in Kashmir elections and misuse of government power.
Ishaq Dar said the two parties had set aside their differences and decided to work together in the interest of the country and to oppose the government through lawful and constitutional means.
“We have fought three wars with India. It does not mean that we should close the doors for dialogue,” he said when a reporter pointed out that in the past PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif had declared the Muttahida a terrorist organisation.
Mr Dar admitted that the two parties had ‘reservations’ against each other because of past bitterness, but said they had now decided to put aside these issues in the best interest of the country.
When asked about the possibility of launching an anti-government movement, he said it depended on the performance of the government. “If the government does not perform we will use alternatives while living within the legal and constitutional domain.”
The two arch rivals of the past established informal and backdoor contacts soon after the MQM decided last month to part ways with the PPP-led coalition at the centre and in Sindh in protest against the ruling party’s alleged role in the postponement of elections for two seats of the AJK Legislative Assembly in Karachi.
Leaders of the two parties recently held talks in Dubai and London. Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif and Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan and MQM’s parliamentary leader in the National Assembly Dr Farooq Sattar and former Sindh governor Dr Ishratul Ibad are in London.
Talking to reporters after presiding over a party meeting in Lahore earlier this month, Nawaz Sharif had expressed his readiness to join hands with the MQM and ‘welcomed’ it into what he called a grand political alliance “to rid the nation of the present government”.
The statement came a day before the departure of Shahbaz Sharif to London on a week-long visit amid speculations that he might meet MQM chief Altaf Hussain. A PML-N spokesman, however, said such a meeting was no scheduled.
The MQM had taken Mr Sharif’s statement positively, but said it was not ready to join any move to topple the government.
“We recognise the PML-N mandate and will definitely cooperate with it on the opposition benches in parliament, but we do not believe in plans to topple governments to achieve certain political goals,” MQM leader Wasay Jalil had said.
When contacted, PML-N Senator Pervaiz Rashid said the two parties had not discussed any plan to launch an anti-government movement or form an alliance.
He said they had basically decided to jointly press the government on key issues like delay in the presentation of accountability law and energy crisis.
Senator Rashid, who is official spokesman for the PML-N-led Punjab government, said the issue of nomination of Mr Dar as the leader of opposition in the Senate did not come under discussion because the talks were held on a “broad-based agenda” to resolve larger national issues.
Although relations between the two parties have been tense since the early 90s when a military operation was carried out against the MQM in Karachi and Hyderabad during the first term of Nawaz Sharif as prime minister, their rivalry worsened when the PML-N came out with harsh criticism of the Muttahida for supporting former military ruler Gen Pervez Musharraf.
At a conference of opposition parties in London in 2007, the PML-N had declared that it would never establish contacts with the MQM in future because of its alleged role in the May 12 killings in Karachi during the visit of the then deposed chef justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry.
Leaders of the two parties kept issuing statements against each other and on a number of occasions even used abusive language against the each other’s leaders.
Political observers term the latest ‘friendship’ a significant political development which can have an impact on future events.

Pak-Afghan situation discussed by new US war cabinet

WASHINGTON: US President Barack Obama has reviewed the situation in the Pak-Afghan region with his revamped war cabinet.
The White House confirmed that in a Tuesday afternoon meeting President Obama discussed his plans for a gradual transition of responsibilities from US to Afghan authorities with three key members of his new war team.
Two of these, the new US commander for Afghanistan and the new US ambassador in Kabul will be implementing his civilian and military strategy in the war-ravaged country.
Another key member, the new Secretary of Defence, Leon Panetta, will supervise US war efforts from his headquarters in Washington.
“The president and his team discussed implementation of the next phase of our strategy in Afghanistan,” the White House said in a statement. The talks focused on the “consolidation of the gains that have been made in breaking the Taliban’s momentum and training Afghan Security Forces”.
On Tuesday, President Obama also invited the outgoing Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Admiral Michael Mullen and Vice President Joe Biden to the Oval office as he discussed his war plans with Gen John Allen, who will take over the Nato and US command in Afghanistan, and the new US ambassador to Kabul, Ryan Crocker.

Nineteen killed on second day of Karachi violence

KARACHI: After the loss of ten lives on Tuesday in a new upsurge in violence in the city, another 19 people, including five passengers of a minibus, were killed and dozens others injured on Wednesday, taking the death toll to 29 in two days.
The violence which broke out in Orangi Town spread to Lyari, Baldia Town, Site and Gulshan-i-Iqbal areas.
Police said that armed men hijacked the minibus from Rashid Minhas Road and shot the five passengers, three of them relatives, in the head. The assailants managed to escape after dumping the vehicle in the Ziaul Haq Colony in Gulshan-i-Iqbal.In a few hours after Wednesday midnight, at least five people were killed in different parts of the city.
Police said that armed men on motorcycles shot dead two people near Met Office on the University Road.
In Garden area, two watchmen in the furniture market were gunned down in front of Madni Masjid.
At about the same time, a car came under fire and a man was killed and another injured.
A spokesman for the Awami National Party claimed that at least two of its workers were killed and seven wounded in incidents of firing on Wednesday.
Although the government claimed to have sent further reinforcements of police and Rangers to the affected areas, law-enforcement personnel failed to quell the violence.
Police claimed to have arrested 12 suspects in Orangi Town and recovered some weapons from them.

Massive dust storm engulfs US city

WASHINGTON: A massive dust storm engulfed the southwestern US city of Phoenix late Tuesday, blotting out the sun and knocking down electricity poles, local media reported.

The ABC 15 news outlet said the billowing cloud stretched 60 miles wide and packed winds of 60 miles per hour (96 kilometers per hour). There were no immediate reports of casualties or of damage to homes or businesses.

The US National Weather Service confirmed that a "very large and historic dust storm" had moved through the area, without providing further details.

Photos and videos on several local news websites showed a mountain of dust drifting over the city. The storm had reportedly passed by late Tuesday night.

This year unusually severe storms have battered the United States, which is experiencing its deadliest tornado season in six decades and has also seen epic flooding along the Mississippi River and severe drought in the south

SC seeks suspension record of Zafar Qureshi

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear the NICL case on Thursday, July 7 and has issued a notice to the Attorney General in this regard, Geo News reported. The notice seeks the record of Zafar Qureshi’s suspension along with the transfer record of the other investigating officers. 

The NICL scandal case is heard by a Supreme Court bench headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry.

During the last proceedings, the court suspended the transfer notification of Zafar Qureshi and resorted him as the investigative officer in the case.

'Transformers' fires up holiday weekend with $116M

LOS ANGELES: "Transformers: Dark of the Moon" followed the franchise's previous installments to quick blockbuster status, hauling in $115.9 million over the long Fourth of July weekend.

The movie raised its domestic total to $180.7 million in just over six days.

The top 20 movies at U.S. and Canadian theaters Friday through Monday, followed by distribution studio, gross, number of theater locations, average receipts per location, total gross and number of weeks in release, as compiled Tuesday by Hollywood.com are:

1. "Transformers: Dark of the Moon," Paramount, $115,886,050, 4,088 locations, $23,937 average, $180,651,397, one week.

2. "Cars 2," Disney, $31,629,695, 4,115 locations, $6,385 average, $122,560,310, two weeks.

3. "Bad Teacher," Sony, $17,261,534, 3,049 locations, $4,758 average, $62,707,505, two weeks.

4. "Larry Crowne," Universal, $16,098,795, 2,973 locations, $4,405 average, $16,098,795, one week.

5. "Super 8," Paramount, $9,527,129, 3,088 locations, $2,565 average, $110,070,156, four weeks.

6. "Monte Carlo," Fox, $8,588,318, 2,473 locations, $3,014 average, $8,588,318, one week.

7. "Green Lantern," Warner Bros., $7,928,176, 3,280 locations, $1,999 average, $103,616,460, three weeks.

8. "Mr. Popper's Penguins," Fox, $6,702,940, 2,861 locations, $1,936 average, $51,727,662, three weeks.

9. "Midnight in Paris," Sony Pictures Classics, $4,382,382, 858 locations, $4,172 average, $34,582,454, seven weeks.

10. "Bridesmaids," Universal, $4,354,515, 1,389 locations, $2,625 average, $153,728,880, eight weeks.

11. "X-Men: First Class," Fox, $3,617,628, 1,602 locations, $1,842 average, $139,329,355, five weeks.

12. "The Hangover Part II," Warner Bros., $2,799,390, 1,568 locations, $1,525 average, $248,651,272, six weeks.

13. "Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides," Disney, $2,629,072, 1,473 locations, $1,487 average, $234,176,965, seven weeks.

14. "Kung Fu Panda 2," Paramount, $2,086,729, 1,281 locations, $1,300 average, $157,281,396, six weeks.

15. "The Tree of Life," Fox Searchlight, $1,307,156, 228 locations, $4,686 average, $7,810,592, six weeks.

16. "Beginners," Focus, $740,568, 108 locations, $5,539 average, $2,506,936, five weeks.

17. "Delhi Belly," UTV, $701,824, 89 locations, $6,539 average, $701,824, one week.

18. "Buck," IFC, $601,336, 131 locations, $3,671 average, $1,131,831, three weeks.

19. "Rio," Fox, $542,534, 308 locations, $1,451 average, $140,575,082, 12 weeks.

20. "Thor," Paramount, $470,820, 270 locations, $1,483 average, $177,988,100, nine weeks

Govt keen to develop Balochistan: Malik

ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Interior Senator Rehman A Malik said that the Federal Government is taking keen interest in the development of Balochistan province and "Aghaaz-e-Haqooq-e-Balochistan Package" is a step forward in this direction.

The Minister stated this while talking to Chief Minister Balochistan Nawab Muhammad Aslam Raisani who called on him here on Wednesday.

During the meeting both the leaders discussed problems being faced by the people of Balochistan beside discussing law and order in the province.

They also reviewed the pace of implementation of "Aghaaz-e-Haqooq-e-Balochistan Package" announced by the government for the socio-economic development of the province and improve the living condition of the masses of the province.

They also discussed the forthcoming Federal Cabinet meeting scheduled to be held in Quetta on July 13.

The Chief Minister Balochistan welcomed the decision of the Federal Government for holding the Cabinet meeting in the provincial capital terming it a good omen for the people of Balochistan. 

Taliban again refute claims of peace talks with West

KABUL: The Afghan Taliban again refuted on Wednesday claims they had entered into talks with the West to try and find an end to the war, saying any contacts with foreign countries had only been to negotiate prisoner exchanges.
In a statement emailed to media, the Taliban also repeated their long-standing position of rejecting any negotiations for peace as long as foreign troops were in Afghanistan.
“The rumour about negotiation with America is not more than the talks aimed at the exchange of prisoners. Some circles call these contacts as comprehensive talks about the current imbroglio of Afghanistan,” the Taliban said.
“However, this shows their…lack of knowledge about the reality. It is clear as the broad daylight that we consider negotiation in condition of presence of foreign forces as a war stratagem of the Americans and their futile efforts.”
Last month, Afghan President Hamid Karzai said the United States was in direct talks with the insurgents but that talks were not at a stage where the Afghan government was sitting down with the militants.
Washington and London have both acknowledged there have been recent contacts with insurgents although former US Defence Secretary Robert Gates said he expected it could take months before any headway could be made.
But so little is known about these contacts that they have been open to widely different interpretations and any discussions that may be taking place are still not at a stage where they can be a deciding factor.
Despite trumpeting military gains, particularly in southern Afghanistan, foreign leaders and military commanders have long recognised the need for a political solution to a war that has now dragged on for almost 10 years.
In Wednesday’s statement, the Taliban said they had been in contact with “some” countries to arrange prisoner exchanges, including most recently with France for the release of two French journalists and their Afghan translator last month.
The men were seized outside Kabul on December 30, 2009 and held captive for 18 months.
France has denied any ransom was paid to secure the release of the two men, and their Afghan interpreter Reza Din. Foreign Minister Alain Juppe said revealing details of the negotiations could damage efforts to free other French hostages in Africa.
The Taliban said they were also continuing “direct and indirect” contacts to secure the release of US and Canadian prisoners.
In June 2009, insurgents captured US Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl in southeastern Afghanistan and have released videos showing him in captivity dressed in both Afghan clothing and in military uniform.
In those videos, Bergdahl is seen denouncing the war in Afghanistan and calling for the United States to withdraw its troops from the country, in what the US military has called illegal propaganda.
Bergdahl’s abduction prompted a large-scale manhunt but US officials have declined to comment whether they have tried to negotiate his release.

Gilani calls Karzai over militant raids

ISLAMABAD: Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani called the Afghan president on Wednesday to convey “serious” concern over cross-border incursions by militants, his office said.
Gilani’s telephone call to President Hamid Karzai came as Pakistani officials accused several hundred militants of crossing the border and attacking a village in the Pakistani district of Upper Dir, killing an anti-Taliban elder and setting fire to three schools.
It was the latest in a series of cross-border incidents that have fanned diplomatic tensions between the neighbours.
Also on Wednesday, Afghan officials said up to 33 police and five civilians were killed in fighting after Taliban militants crossed over from Pakistan and attacked a remote region in eastern Afghanistan.
“The prime minister expressed Pakistan’s serious concern over the activities of the militants along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, especially in Dir, Bajaur (and) Mohmand on the Pakistan side and Kunar on the Afghan side,” an official statement said.
Gilani told Karzai that the Pakistani army was “exercising utmost restraint, despite repeated cross-border incursions by the militants’ raids from the Afghan side into Pakistan.” However, “the situation needs to be defused quickly,” he said, according to the statement.
Gilani called for an immediate meeting between regional commanders to avoid further killing of innocent people on both sides.
Karzai stressed that the two countries should maintain contact and “jointly frustrate the evil designs of the militants,” the Pakistani statement added.
There are Taliban strongholds on both sides of the border, but Afghan and US officials want Pakistan to do more to eradicate militant sanctuaries in its semi-autonomous tribal belt that is used to launch attacks in Afghanistan.
Afghan officials have also said that about 800 rockets, mortars and artillery shells have been fired from Pakistan into Afghan villages since late May, leaving dozens of civilians dead, injured or displaced.
The Pakistani army denies it has targeted Afghan territory, saying that a few stray rounds may have crossed the border.

PML-N, MQM agree to join hands for ‘stronger opposition’

ISLAMABAD: Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) on Wednesday agreed to work together as a joint opposition in the National, Provincial assemblies and Senate on key national issues, DawnNews reported.
Leaders from both parties met here and discussed the formation of a ‘grand opposition alliance.’ Raza Haroon, Haider Abbs Rizvi and Waseem Akhtar represented the MQM in the meeting while the PML-N was represented by Ishaq Dar, Saad Rafique, Mushaidullah and Pervez Rashid.
A joint statement read out by Haider Abbas Rizvi said that the two parties would work together on key national issues such as inflation, loadshedding, law and order situation, corruption and AJK elections ‘rigging.’
Senator Ishaq Dar said both parties will play the part of a stronger opposition in lawful and constitutional manner.
He added that both parties had set aside their differences and decided to work together in the interest of the country.

Pak-China friendship: A deep review

When I was a kid in the 1970s, I remember Pakistan’s state-owned TV channel, PTV, used to keep playing a catchy song about Pak-China friendship.

It went something like this: ‘Pak-Cheen dosti wang woye, wang woye, wang woye, wang woye, Pak-Cheen dosti zindabad, zindabad, zindabad, zindaabaaad.’

The words ‘wang woye’ were in Chinese and were the Chinese equivalent of the Urdu word ‘zindabad’ (long live).

What amazing days they were. And what’s more, a bowl of chicken corn soup at Chinese restaurants was not only cheaper but tastier as well.

Some say that was because the Chinese restaurants used pieces from alsi/desi Pakistani murghis (chickens) and not from the ones cloned in those inhuman (and inchicken) poultry farms that sprang up across Pakistan in the late 1970s.

Meat from desi chickens being used by expert Chinese cooks was one of the true reflections of Pak-Cheen dosti(Pak-China friendship). It is the unique chicken corn soup that you can still get from Chinese restaurants in Pakistan that has made the Pak-China friendship so great, legendary, and, well, unique.

Recognizing this, the United States tried its utmost to stick a spammer in the relationship between Pakistan and China. It tried to do this by introducing the evil science of chicken cloning in Pakistan. Chicken cloning really became popular among the country’s naïve poultry farmers because it was cheaper to maintain, compared to raising healthy desi chicks.

The US Secretary of State, Henry Kissinger (also known as Ace Fernley), first visited Pakistan in 1972 right after the country lost a war against Bengali terrorists in former East Pakistan – a war, one must remember, in which the US did not help Pakistan during and which India claimed it won.

Only China came to our rescue. As the US imposed an arms embargo on Pakistan and while the Bengali terrorists were being armed by India that was being armed by the Soviet Union that was being armed by the communist wing of the elusive Elders of Zion; China sent in an army of 77,000 chefs to Pakistan who preparedzabardast, delicious giant bowls of chicken corn soup for our troops.

Most Pakistanis had tears in their eyes. Cynics said it was just the chilly sauce in the soup that made so many people become teary eyed, but the truth was, it was this beautiful gesture by the Chinese during the bloody war that made us so emotional. After all, it was a war in which so many Sunni Muslim Pakistanis of West Pakistan were brutally slaughtered by East Pakistani terrorists.

Impressed with the way West Pakistan so successfully got rid of the troublesome and useless East Pakistan, Henry Kissinger arrived for a secret meeting with Pakistan’s new premier, Zulfikar Ali Babutto. After congratulating Premier Babutto on the conduct of the Pakistan army and its people in their war against Bengali terrorists, Kissinger unravelled the real purpose of his visit: China.

Conscious of the growing relationship between Pakistan and China – and jealous of the fact that Chinese food at US Chinese restaurants pretty much sucked – Kissinger asked Babutto to help US start a dialogue with the communist Chinese regime to neutralize the global communist threat being faced by the world from the Soviet Union.

Babutto agreed and his government helped kick-start talks between Chinese premier, Zhou Ajinomoto, the Chinese Communist Party Chairman, Mao Something-Tung, and Henry Kissinger. The secret talks took place in a comfy little corner of the Great Wall of China and both parties (the third party, Pakistan, was sent on a sight-seeing tour), agreed to tackle the Soviet menace together.

It was also decided that the Chinese will share its Pakistani recipe of chicken corn soup with the Americans in exchange for 15,000 Levis bellbottoms for the members of the Chinese Communist Party.

Kissinger thanked Premier Bubutto for arranging the historic first contact between US and China, saying this has also strengthened relations between Pakistan and the US. Premier Ajinomoto of China too, thanked Bubutto saying, ‘the soup can now only get tastier.’

But relations between the US and Pakistan began to strain when in 1974 India managed to construct a nuclear device. It was a nuclear powered toothbrush. It was proudly exhibited on the Indian media by the Indian premier, Prem Chopra.

Prime Minister Bubutto promised the Pakistani armed forces that he will do anything in (and out) of his power to make sure Pakistan too has a nuclear powered toothbrush. For this he assembled a team of top Pakistani dentists, one of which was a young man called Dr. No.

Concerned about the concern of its friend Pakistan, the Chinese government sent 60,000 Chinese dentists to Pakistan. Though none of them really helped Pakistan build a nuclear powered toothbrush, they did end up putting a lot of Pakistani dentists out of work. This made Dr. No very angry and he began calling Bubutto an atheist and someone who preferred fried frogs over fried chicken. Dr. No decided to leave Pakistan and travel to Holland (after performing Hajj in Saudi Arabia).

Meanwhile, the US, through its moles and squirrels in Prime Minister Bubutto’s garden, got to find out about Bubutto’s plan of constructing the nuclear powered toothbrush. Kissinger asked China to caution Bubutto. The Chinese government did caution Bubutto – but only in Chinese.

So, obviously, Bubutto had no idea what the Chinese were talking about, and replied, ‘Yes, yes, thank you. We love you too.’ Not understanding what Bubutto was talking about, the Chinese once more sent him a caution – again in Chinese.

Kissinger was livid. He sent a message to the Chinese: ‘Why are you cautioning them in Chinese??’ Not understanding the message, the Chinese replied (this time in English): ‘Yes, yes, thank you. We love you too.’

Frustrated, Kissinger is said to have directly called Prime Minister Bubutto, warning him that the US would make a horrible example of him if he didn’t stop his programme to build a nuclear-powered toothbrush.

‘Why?’ Asked Bubutto. ‘We have teeth too.’
‘I will break those teeth if you don’t stop,’ said Kissinger.
‘Good,’ replied Bubutto. ‘Then we’ll make nuclear teeth as well.’

Only months after the conversation, a movement against Bubutto led by Pakistan’s religious parties erupted. Bubutto accused the Americans for funding the movement. The religious parties denied this and said they’d had enough of a leader who preferred frogs over chicken. They also accused Bubutto of putting thousands of Pakistani dentists out of work.

‘Look!’ said a leader of a religious party at a press conference while showing his cavity-stricken teeth. ‘Look! I can’t find a decent Muslim Pakistani dentist anymore. How can a pious Muslim like me go to a Chinese dentist? They don’t believe in God. And eat frog!’

As the movement against him gained momentum, Bubutto turned towards the Chinese for help, only to find that they were still speaking to him in Chinese. Alas, in July 1977, Bubutto’s government was toppled by General Nasim Hijazi.

But this didn’t impact Pak-Cheen dosti. In fact, not only did the Pak-China friendship remain intact, a new chapter of co-operation and friendship began between Pakistan and the US.

This was the time when the US introduced chicken cloning technology in Pakistan. General Hijazi and his partners in the religious parties at once endorsed the technology, calling it ‘perfectly in accordance with the moral and dietary dictates of Islam.’ Bubutto was hanged in 1979, but the Chinese got to know about his demise in 1988 when his daughter Benazir was elected prime minister of Pakistan.

‘Really? He’s dead? Like, gone? Wasn’t he in Libya?’ The Chinese delegation had asked Benazir.
‘He died ten years ago, gentlemen,’ Benazir had replied. ‘Where have you been?’

The Chinese delegates were surprised by the question: ‘Madam, we were helping out friend Pakistan defeat the Soviets in Afghanistan. You can still see the giant bowls of chicken corn soup that we sent on the battle fields.’

That they did. They also kept a stable relationship with the US, especially with US President, Ronald Claude Van Damme, who was also a huge chicken corn soup fan.

President Van Damme’s remarkable passion for defeating the Godless Soviets through Pakistan and Afghan mujahideen made him purposefully ignore Pakistan’s ongoing plans to build a nuclear powered toothbrush. He knew that his comrade in arms, General Hijazi, had continued the programme and also the fact that Gen. Hijazi and his supporters in religious parties were now calling it the ‘Islamic Brush.’

Dr. No too had returned to the fold, smuggling sensitive blueprints from various dental clinics in Holland and leading the group of Pakistani dentists to build a nuclear powered toothbrush.

China knew about the programme and as a friend asked all right-handed Chinese dentists in Pakistan to become left-handed and left-handed dentists to become right-handed so that the Pakistani dentists would start looking better than their Chinese counterparts. It was a great sacrifice. The Chinese also offered to introduce gold fish soup in Pakistani restaurants but the offer was politely refused by Hijazi’s government.

China again came to the rescue when after the Godless Soviets were defeated in Afghanistan, the US suddenly abandoned Pakistan and became concerned again by Pakistan’s plans to build a nuclear powered toothbrush.

US placed economic and aid sanctions on Pakistan and also stopped the sale of halal toothpaste in the United States, leaving many Pakistani Muslims living in the US using halal goat blubber to brush their teeth with. It was a great injustice. This made the Pakistan armed forces and intelligence agencies very angry and they pressurized the government to quicken the process of building the nuclear powered toothbrush. Dr. No said that the brush should now be used against Western, Zionist and US dentists as well as, of course, against the cow worshippers of India.

During the economic and political crises that Pakistan went through in 1990s – mainly due to US sanctions and, of course, due to the corrupt, unpatriotic and useless civilian leadership – China jumped in to help. In its hour of need, China sent about 10 million gold fish bowls to Pakistan. Feeling upbeat by the arrival of the gold fish bowls, Pakistan finally announced that it had made the nuclear-powered toothbrush.

The toothbrush made Pakistan a proud nation of strong, shining white teeth. Dr. No is now hailed as the father of the brush and in a noble exhibition of his love for faith, he even tried to spread Islam in North Korea by sending them certain parts with which the North Korans too could build a nuclear powered toothbrush; and brush the US and Europe off the face of the earth, yea baby!

Also, though Pakistan’s religious political parties, military, Dr. No and your neighbor still don’t like the fact that the Chinese eat frogs, they see it being Pakistan’s only true and greatest friend. Only recently this friendship was once again displayed during the terrible floods that Pakistan faced in 2010.

European countries and US might have been the first ones to send aid to Pakistan during the floods, but it was our dear friend China who actually put a smile on our faces during the ordeal by sending 10 million stuffed pandas with strings which when pulled made the pandas sing, ‘Pak-Cheen dosti wang woye, wang woye, wang woye, wang woye …’

Pashtuns: Chowkidars or noble savages?

Writer Akbar S Ahmad writes in Foreign Policy Magazine (Code of the Hill May 6 2011), about the death of Osama Bin Laden and talks about his time posted in the tribal agency of Waziristan, a part of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata). He writes somewhat glowingly about the people of the region preferred honour over a life of paying taxes. He cites the Pashto proverb “Honor (nang) ate up the mountains; taxes (qalang) ate up the plains.”

He describes the society of which he is a product off as one where “people pay rents and taxes and live within the state system in hierarchal societies that are dominated by powerful feudal, political, or military authority”. Unlike in the mountain areas, leaders in qalang societies have their status bestowed on them by birth or through economic or political means. He then expands on this arbitrary distinction between societies of honour and societies of taxes by arguing that the Military establishment is a product of the “qalang” society. He then emphasises how societies of honour are freedom loving and the importance of honouring tribal identity when developing the region.

I write with respect for Akbar S Ahmad’s knowledge, personal ties to the region, long service in the tribal areas and Pashtun belt. However, I believe his article misrepresented Pashtuns of Waziristan and the tribal belt.

He tries to justify the present situation by citing the Pashtun honour code of Pashtunwali, of “doing Pashto” as the cause for the regions backwardness. This centuries old code advocates living an honourable life which honours oneself, being hospitable to strangers, punishes ones enemies and does not dishonour others. While the code does exist today in many variations, to assume that it turns Pashtuns into people to whom the normal rules of human life do not apply is misleading. This is a classic stereotype of the “noble savage” that has been promoted for long about Pashtuns. During the time of the British Raj, the closer the British got to the Frontier the more savage the local Pashtuns got; conversely the further away the nobler Pashtuns were perceived.

In fact, within Pakistan this stereotype often co-exists with the cultural one of the “ignorant chowkidar”. The ignorant chowkidar is mocked for his poor grasp of Urdu, his lack of intelligence and lack of interest in the trappings of modern society. Neither of these simplistic generalisations are true, it is just an easy way out of understanding complex societal structures.

Traditionally, Fata was a part of the country where the Frontier Crimes Regulation applied. Under Article 1 of the Constitution, Fata is a part of Pakistan; that was governed by political agents as the government representative working through government backed Maliks and jirgas.

It exists in an anomalous situation, where locals are subject to collective punishment, arbitrary arrests and in its time, the FCR gave the political agents unbridled power. In fact as per Article 247 (7) of the constitution, the courts have no jurisdiction over the region. Under these laws, children as young as two years old have been convicted under the FCR. Jurists like the late Chief Justice A.R Cornelius in 1954 described the FCR as “obnoxious to all recognised modern principles governing the dispensation of justice”.

The FCR, was brutally effective in ensuring state control of the region, if not its development. Things have since changed radically, the constant conflict in the region and deployment of the military has shifted power away from the political agents to either the military or militant leaders. Most major decision making is now in the hands of the military the old system has collapsed.

The factors contributing to this collapse are not hard to see, a generation has been depoliticised and radicalised, large numbers of locals are working in the Middle East, the old Maliks have been killed or forced to flee. Finally we have an international brigade of people from all over the world who have created an occupied emirate in Islam’s name using the locals as cannon fodder.

Akbar Ahmad argues “They should consult the elders and utilize the jirga in order to introduce schools and health schemes within their traditional systems so that the people of the nang areas have a sense of hope for the future.”

This would be possible has the old systems existed now, they do not anymore with militant commanders ruling parts of the region. The socio-economic figures on the region are even more shocking, the literacy rate in Fata is about 17 per cent and only three per cent of the total women population. The most recent 2009-10 census reported a school dropout rate of 63 per cent among boys and 77 per cent among girls, while 54 per cent children quit schools before completing secondary education. This is easily the highest dropout ratio in the country. So how does one invest in structures that barely exist anymore?

What is really needed is radical reforms in the region, allowing political party’s to operate in the region, opening up existing roads in the region to the locals, investing in the IDPs and investing in development like the, seemingly forgotten reconstruction opportunity zones. There are precedents that are worth studying closely, the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa provincial government has successfully merged the former provincial tribal agency of Kala Dhaka into the new district of Tor Ghar (literally black mountain). They did this by working through the remnants of the old jirga system and in exchange offering large scale investments as an incentive.

While we should not forget the past; we should not allow the memories of the past that Akbar Ahmed so deftly writes about, confuse traditionalism with a generation of radicalisation. Instead of Nang versus Qalang we should recall the poetry of the late Ajmal Khattak

Leave me alone if you will
The modern (hypocritical) Aurangzebs haunt me still
I am the Pashtun of my age

The truth is there is nothing noble about being radicalised or living a life of enforced deprivation and there is definitely nothing noble in being considered a savage.

Monetary expansion up by 14pc......

KARACHI: The massive government borrowing has contributed around 90 per cent in the monetary expansion which grew by 14.24 per cent in the 2010-11 ended June 30, 2011, the State Bank reported on Tuesday.
Monetary expansion through the private sector is a requirement for economic growth, but massive government borrowing from banking system only inflates the economy as was reflected in above 13 per cent inflation rate in the last fiscal year.
The central bank in its third quarterly report for FY11, which was issued on Monday, noted the government borrowing for budgetary support, fiscal slippages and inadequate external funding had recorded over 30 per cent increase during July 1-May 28, 2010-11.
“This accounts for 89.7 per cent of the expansion in broad money,” said the SBP. The latest report up to June 25 showed that the monetary expansion was up by Rs824 billion reflecting absolute domination of the government borrowing. The government had borrowed Rs716 billion.
The Net Foreign Asset (NFA) of the banking system showed an expansion of Rs170.8 billion mirroring the comfort in the external account during this period.
However, Net Domestic Asset (NDA) increased sharply by Rs507.1 billion, said the SBP. Up to June 25, the borrowing for budgetary support reached Rs716 billion, much higher than Rs452 billion of the preceding year.
The third quarterly report, which covered the period of July-May, said while private sector business continued to utilise bank credit, there was hardly any credit demand for new investment activities in the economy.
Specifically, the growth of credit to private sector was slightly lower at 3.4 per cent during July to May 28, 2011 compared to 3.6 per cent over the same period in FY10.
The report said the working capital loans during July-April 2011 jumped to Rs144.7 billion against Rs47.4 billion in the corresponding period of FY10.
The exorbitant price increase of raw materials played a key role in the higher demand for the working capital.
“This three-fold increase in demand for working capital loans is due to the rise in raw material prices, especially of cotton, sugarcane and edible oil,” the report said.
The surge in exports increased the demand for trade loans. These loans increased by Rs68 billion during July-April 2011 compared to Rs21 billion in the previous year. The sector-wise distribution of trade loans reflects the dominance of the textile sector, which accounts for 71.6 per cent of the rise. The textile sector which boosted its export by 22 per cent during the last fiscal got highest amount as working capital.
“Both textile and sugar sectors accounted for 68.5 per cent of the rise in working capital loans over the period of analysis,

Cut in GST, FED: Consumers still paying high prices pakistan

KARACHI: Consumers await relief in prices of various packed household items after one per cent cut in general sales tax followed by removal of other taxes and duties at different stages.
All the measures announced in the budget have come into effect from July 1, 2011 but so far there has been no change in prices of general items such as soaps, toothpaste, detergents and food products. Even beverages (soft drinks) are still selling at higher rates despite reduction in Federal Excise Duty to six per cent from 12 per cent in the budget.
A beverage maker in Karachi claimed that the price of beverages in Punjab has risen by Rs5 on 1.5 liter bottle from Rs70 after the budget.
In Karachi, he said the producers of soft drinks were planning to raise the price by Rs2 to 3 on regular bottle and Rs5 on 1.5 liter bottle due to rising cost of production on account of high gas and power rates, sugar, and higher transportation charges.
He said decline in FED to 6 per cent from 12 per cent is definitely a relief due to which the beverage makers had decided not to raise the prices now.
The government has cut the FED by Rs200 per ton followed by cut in GST from 17 to 16 per cent on cement and according to market analysts it should result in price fall of Rs21 for 50 kg cement bag.
However, only few cement producers had reduced the rate by Rs6 to 10 per 50 kg bag instead of Rs21 as per taxation benefits announced by the government.
Meanwhile, commodity retailers said that so far they have got old stocks of packed items with old price tags and there is no indication from the companies for any price reduction.
The government has yet to check the delaying tactics of the manufacturers of various goods in passing the impact of tax relief to the consumers.
As Ramazan is only 25 days away, consumers had started swallowing bitter pill of rising price trend in flour, sugar, and pulses, etc.
A random price survey showed hike in flour No 2.5 rate to Rs32-34 per kg from Rs28 per kg as compared to last month, while the price of 10kg bag flour has also risen to Rs340 from Rs300.
Consumers, previously paying Rs32 and Rs35 per kg for fine atta and chakki flour, are now paying Rs36 and Rs37 per kg depending on the area.
Flour millers had been making frequent increase in the prices due to rising prices of wheat in the open market.
Retail price of sugar has also risen to Rs70-72 per kg from Rs66 per kg last month due to increase in rates by the millers.
Masur pulse No 1 quality also became costlier to Rs90 from Rs88 per kg last month, while mung (washed) rate also rose to Rs148 from Rs145 per kg. Gram pulse rate had increased to Rs73 from Rs68 while white gram rate rose to Rs120 from Rs112 per kg.

Renewed Karachi violence claims 10 lives

KARACHI: At least 10 people were killed and 29 others injured in renewed incidents of violence in the city on Tuesday. The incidents took place mostly in Orangi Town, but the tension spilled over to other parts of the city.
The day-long violence led to a ban on pillion riding till further orders.
Police said the violence was apparently triggered by an attack on Rahim Khan Swati, district information secretary of the ANP, in Qasba area of Orangi Town. He was injured in the attack and taken to a private hospital.
Pitched gunbattles continued throughout the day in different parts of Orangi. A bus came under attack in Qasba. Two passengers were killed and three others wounded.
Earlier in the day, heavy firing near Hasan Square created panic in the congested locality.
Police failed to restore calm, despite getting reinforcement from the Special Protection Group. Armoured personal carriers were also sent to the violence-hit area.
However, Rangers which recently got special police powers, were missing from the scene.
Meanwhile, MQM chief Altaf Hussain urged the government and the ANP leadership to end the violence and warned that if attacks on its supporters continued his party would be forced to launch peaceful protests.
The ANP appealed to the government to convene a meeting of coalition partners to help prevent violence.

Israel’s Barak blocks return of militants’ remains

JERUSALEM: Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak has blocked plans to hand over to the Palestinians the remains of 84 militants killed since 1967, a statement from his office said early on Tuesday.
Barak’s intervention came just hours after the military confirmed the transfer had been recently approved by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
“Defence Minister Ehud Barak ordered a halt to dialogue with the Palestinians about the possibility of transferring the bodies,” it said, indicating it was inappropriate in light of the continued captivity of Gilad Shalit, an Israeli soldier who was snatched by Gaza militants in 2006 and is still being held.
“This is to check and ensure that it is not a case of transferring bodies that it would not be right to hand over in light of the negotiations for the release of Gilad Shalit or for other considerations,” it said.
Netanyahu spokesman Mark Regev refused to comment on Barak’s intervention, and would not say whether there had been a change in the premier’s stance, although he did refer back to the military’s statement which spoke of a decision taken “a number of months ago.”
Details of the transfer were first revealed on Monday by Palestinian civil affairs Minister Hussein al-Sheikh who told AFP Israel had given the green light to return the bodies of 84 militants who were killed in armed clashes or in suicide bombings since the 1967 Six Day War.
The announcement was later confirmed by the military which released a statement saying: “A number of months ago, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu approved the transfer of 84 bodies from the Jordan Valley cemetery of enemy combatants to the Palestinian Authority.”
It said the two sides had been holding talks to determine the “execution of the transfer and its exact timing” although it did not refer to the identities of the dead.
Israeli public radio suggested many of them were suicide bombers, including one who carried out a 2003 restaurant bombing in Haifa, which killed 21 people.
The bodies are currently interred in numbered, rather than named, graves in Israel and will have to be identified before they can be returned to their families.
The Palestinian minister said a first batch of 84 would be handed over “in the next few days, after DNA checks.”
Salem Khala, a Palestinian campaigner for the return of the militants’ remains, said a total of 334 Palestinian combatants were currently buried in Israeli graveyards.

Elements other than Moonis behind my suspension: Qureshi

LAHORE: Zafar Qureshi, the suspended Additional Director General of Federal Investigation Agency, believes that elements other than those involved in the Moonis Elahi case are equally responsible for his latest predicament.
“Federal Commerce Minister Amin Fahim, Interior Minister Rehman Malik and a son of an influential person are other people responsible for the suspension,” a source in FIA quoted Mr Qureshi as saying.
“Mr Fahim and others fear that I may unearth their ‘share’ in the National Insurance Company Limited (NICL) scam while Mr Malik pressurised me to follow his instructions in future investigations,” the former ADG was quoted as saying by the source.Mr Qureshi was reinstated in the FIA after the Supreme Court suspended on July 1 the notification of his transfer to the National Police Foundation.
After assuming the office on Saturday, Mr Qureshi wrote a letter to FIA Director General Tahseen Anwar Shah, asking him to restore deputy director Javed Shah, assistant directors Mohammad Ahmed and Khalid Anees and inspector Mohammad Sarwar (transferred to DI Khan, Turbat, Peshawar and Gwadar, respectively) – to their previous place of posting (Lahore) as they had assisted him in the NICL probe.
The letter said: “The transfer of the officials in question is tantamount to violation of the Supreme Court orders. It shows mala fide intention and aims at creating hurdles in the investigation of the scam.”A copy of the letter was also dispatched to the Supreme Court registrar.
The establishment division on Sunday issued a letter to Mr Qureshi asking him to explain his position for “releasing the letter’s content to media and talking to it over the issue”. Following Mr Qureshi’s ‘unsatisfactory’ reply, the interior ministry suspended him on Monday under Rule 9 of the Government Servants (Efficiency and Discipline) Rules, 1973.An FIA official told Dawn that names other than that of Moonis Elahi had also surfaced during the investigation of the scam. “No investigator other than Mr Qureshi could lay hand on them after gathering concrete evidence,” he said.
There are reports that Mr Fahim had conveyed his ‘anger’ to President Asif Zardari over the reinstatement of Mr Qureshi and demanded his immediate removal. After that, Rehman Malik summoned Mr Qureshi to Islamabad and warned him not to create any further trouble for the government. Mr Qureshi, however, reportedly refused to ‘oblige’ his boss. “The government then had no other option but to suspend him,” the FIA official said.
The PML-Q circles are of the view that since Mr Qureshi had done all the ‘damage’ that he could in the Moonis case, he was no longer a threat to him (Moonis).
“Qureshi had interrogated Moonis for 14 days in the FIA custody and submitted a challan of his will in the banking court. Now all the witnesses have testified and an acquittal application has been filed in court. What can he do now? Will Qureshi dictate the court to give a verdict against Moonis?” a senior PML-Q leader said while talking to Dawn.
“People in the PPP have sent Qureshi packing to pre-empt his future ‘moves’,” he said.
According to the FIRs registered with Lahore office, Mohsin Habib Warraich’s company, Messrs Privilege, purchased 803 kanals from the NICL at Mauza Toor, Lahore, for Rs1.68 billion in February last year. The company allegedly sold the land without getting the property mutated in its favour.
In another case, the NICL sold the land measuring 20 kanal at Lahore Airport Road to Mohsin Warraich for Rs1.7 billion. It sold the land at the rate of Rs53 million per kanal although its market value was much higher, causing a loss of Rs915 million to the exchequer.
The FIA has arrested 13 people, including former NICL chairman Ayaz Khan Niazi. Three other accused Mohsin Habib Warraich, Amin Qasim Dada and Javed Syed are at large. An amount of Rs420 million is yet to be recovered from the accused and ‘suspects’.

Banking court judge refuses to hear NICL scam case

LAHORE: The judge of a special court for banking offences refused on Tuesday to further proceed with a case relating to financial corruption in the National Insurance Company Limited when the counsel for accused Moonis Elahi, an MPA and son of PML-Q leader Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi, challenged the court’s jurisdiction to record the statement of co-accused Muhammad Maalick under Section 342 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC).
Judge Malik Abdul Rasheed wanted to hear the investigating officer in the case before deciding on an application for acquittal of Moonis Elahi, but his counsel Muhammad Amjad Pervez and Rai Bashir insisted that the application should be decided the same day.
Arguments by the counsel and the judge’s replies turned into a heated debate.
The hearing was proceeding smoothly with arguments by Advocate Amjad Pervez in support of the acquittal application of his client. But when the judge wanted to record the statement of Muhammad Maalick, the manager of a company owned by Moonis Elahi, under section 342 of CrPC, Advocate Rai Bashir raised an objection and argued that the court had no jurisdiction to record the statement at this stage of the case. He also read out the section 342.
But the judge insisted that under the section the court could record the statement of any accused at any stage of the case.
Earlier, Muhammad Maalick said he was ready to answer any question asked by the judge, but refused to record his statement after the counsel had raised the objection.
The counsel requested the judge to announce his decision on the acquittal plea of Moonis on the basis of record available with the court and arguments advanced by them. The judge observed that the court could not take a decision without hearing FIA investigating officer Sarwar.
When the counsel stuck to their point the judge refused to further proceed with the case and referred it to the Lahore High Court chief justice for fixing the matter before another court.
The judge observed: “The counsel are trying to influence the court and, therefore, I cannot hear the case.”
Moonis Elahi was taken back to a sub-jail in an armoured personnel carrier.
PML-Q workers and supporters, including women, who had gathered outside the court chanted slogans against judiciary. They demanded release of Moonis.
Earlier, Advocate Amjad Pervez informed the court that FIA Deputy Director Basharat Shahzad, investigating officer of the first FIR in the case, had written a letter to then FIA director of Punjab Zafar Qureshi in which he said there was no evidence against Moonis Elahi.
The counsel presented the letter in the court and said that Mr Shahzad had stated that Mohsin Habib Warraich, the main accused in the NICL scam, was still at large and till his arrest there could be no progress in the case.
The FIA was satisfied with written replies submitted by Moonis Elahi in response to a questionnaire sent by the agency, the counsel quoted the letter as saying.
Advocate Amjad said that on the basis of supplementary statements of the arrested accused the agency later attributed a role to his client (Moonis) that bank accounts used for transferring the embezzled amount of the NICL had been opened and were being operated on the direction of Moonis.
The counsel argued that the investigating officer himself became a complainant against his client when there was no private complainant, adding that this showed a mala fide intention on the part of the FIA.
The judge said the court had to first decide whether the bank accounts were genuine or bogus.
The counsel said that even if the bank accounts were proved to be bogus, no case could be made out against his client.
He said all private prosecution witnesses alleged that the FIA had fabricated their statements. “Under such circumstances, the court is left with no option but to acquit Moonis Elahi of the charges,” he argued.

Sudan: immigrant boat fire, 197 people were drowned

Khartoum. . . .. . ... Sudan illegal immigrants from Saudi Arabia to take the boat fire 197 peopledrowned. Sudanese officials, immigrants fromvarious neighboring countries, the boat illegally in Saudi Arabia were being. Red Sea in Sudanwaters within the boat caught fire causing all thepeople drowned. Sudanese officials say the number of boat people on board was 197. do notknow the exact details are none

Sukkur: prisoners are not released yet by police officers hostage to rent

Sukkur. . . . ... . Sukkur Central Prison during the strife of the ten policemen hostage by prisoners is yet to be made not. Unknown persons opened fire outside the prison colony died a prisoner. Sukkur Central Jail in one prison staff and prisoners on Sunday more bitter feud that had angina and died on the stage reached a fighter. The prisoners took hostage eleven officers, including one been released. demolitions of prisoners in the barracks, the prison administration, prison Planning District police station and also participated in the operation. prqabu strife to get police on the prisoners of the shelling. sprytndnt prison ten officers hostage, according to Ms. Qazi is not yet krayajaska the three officials in emergency 6 afradzkmy are also included. The Central Forest resident colony out of jail the night air was heavy firing by unidentified detainee standing on the brake while the prison administration and prisoners died in the talks were a result bgyrktm prphncy. 

Faisalabad: The gas supply industries kuaj closed for three days

Faisalabad. .. . . . . . Ludmynjmnt gas industries ofFaisalabad under Schedule 6 o'clock this morningfor three days gas supply will be stopped.Ludmynjmnt Plan under the Department of the gasindustries of Faisalabad from July 9 to July 6, threedays will stop for gas supply. manufacturers saythe industry should tykstayl crisis that should be taken immediately to remove the normalproduction process to reduce losses locker.