AJK poll campaign ends

MUZAFFARABAD: The election campaign of 421 candidates in 41 constituencies of Azad Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly ended at Friday midnight after days of fiery speeches, fascinating claims, allegations and counter-allegations.
It was for the first time in AJK’s parliamentary history that leaders of two mainstream Pakistani parties — Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani of PPP and former prime minister Nawaz Sharif of PML-N — led their parties’ campaign, addressing rallies after rallies at different places.
Several candidates held their last electoral meetings in the evening hours of Friday.
In Muzaffarabad, PPP nominee Khwaja Farooq Ahmed held a big meeting at Upper Adda after 9pm. Mr Ahmed, whom the party has preferred over its sitting MLA, is facing former AJK prime minister and PML-N nominee Raja Farooq Haider, besides several others.
Earlier in the day, the picturesque Neelum valley was the focus of Prime Minister Gilani and Mr Sharif who addressed rallies in Kel in the upper belt and Athmuqam in the lower.
Mr Sharif, who had addressed a rally here on Thursday night, drove to Neelum valley on Friday morning. He addressed a big gathering in the town of Patikka before arriving in Athmuqam where his party has nominated former speaker Shah Ghulam Qadir.
The PML-N chief severely criticised the PPP-led federal government and urged the people “not to vote for the nominees of the rulers involved in loot and plunder”.
Terming Prime Minister Gilani’s participation in the election campaign shameful, Mr Sharif asked why hadn’t the development of Azad Kashmir concerned him over the past three years. “These rulers, who are engaged in loot and plunder in Pakistan, can give you nothing. They just want to fill their coffers with ill-gotten money.”
He said PML-N workers would thwart any attempt to rig the elections.
Prime Minister Gilani accused the rivals of PPP of promoting their personal agenda. “We don’t have any personal agenda. In Pakistan we have the agenda of Pakistan and in Kashmir we have the agenda of Kashmir,” he said.
Mr Gilani said people knew how relentlessly the PPP had fought the dictators. Its founder Zulfikar Ali Bhutto gave the Constitution of 1973 which envisaged respect of institutions, including the army and judiciary.
He said Pakistan would not let the Kashmir issue held hostage by extremists and would continue its endeavours to find a solution to the problem through a peace process.
In 1998, the late Benazir Bhutto had proposed the opening of the Line of Control to reunite the divided families, he said.
“Today every party is participating in these polls and the international community is also satisfied with the arrangements,” he said.
Urging voters to choose PPP nominees, he said he would extend full cooperation to AJK lawmakers for the development of the region.
Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif also addressed a public meeting in Bagh where he rejected a perception that the PML-N was against the army. “We are against a set of generals who brought President Asif Ali Zardari to power through the infamous NRO,” he said.
A rally held by the Muttahida Qaumi Movement on Friday was addressed by its leader Altaf Hussain on phone from London.
APP adds: With polling only a day away, parties’ flags and posters are hanging in every nook and corner of AJK, replacing most of the billboards and signboards.
Polling for 41 of the 49 assembly seats will be held on Sunday. Eight seats are reserved for women and technocrats

CJ wants effective monitoring of lower judiciary

KARACHI: Chief Justice of Pakistan Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry said on Friday that chief justices and judges of high courts were duty-bound to actively supervise the subordinate judiciary by paying surprise visits to courts.
He was speaking at a session of the National Judicial Police Making Committee convened to examine the effective implementation of the National Judicial Police. The meeting was attended by the judges of the Supreme Court, chief justices of all high courts and judges of the Sindh High Court.
The chief justice said the lack of supervision of the subordinate courts was one of the major reasons for delay in cases and ineffectiveness of lower court forced many litigants to approach the Supreme Court for relief.
He observed that the basic idea behind the exercise was to identify the loopholes in monitoring system and to evolve strategies for effective implementation of the judicial policy to meet the expectation of the litigants.
“This is the time for realisation and to account for what was to be done and what is being done. This is time to step forward and assume our roles and duties. Every step towards the goal of justice requires sacrifice, tireless efforts and passionate concern of dedicated individuals,” he observed.
The chief justice said the national judicial policy provided a path for reforming the administration of justice in the country in order to realise the goal of ensuring expeditious and inexpensive justice for all by mobilising the existing resources.
He said the policy articulated strategies for independence of judiciary, eradication of corruption, clearance of backlog and quick dispensation of justice, adding that attention was given to timely disposal of criminal cases, especially cases of under-trial prisoners, languishing in jails.
He said that corrupt practices on part of the judicial officers and the court staff had lowered the confidence of litigant public in judicial system and to curb this menace, the policy provided an exhaustive mechanism which included establishment of a cell for eradication of corruption from judiciary under the supervision of the chief justices of the high courts, monitoring the performance of the district and sessions judges by appointing a judge of high court and conducting surprise visit and inspections of the courts, establishment of a committee headed by sessions judges and presidents of respective bars to curb the corruption of court staff etc.
He expressed hope that the situation could improve if the chief justices of the high courts and their team members ensured the implementation of the judicial policy through strict and efficient monitoring.

NAB’s former bosses do not believe in their accountability

ISLAMABAD: Despite their removal from National Accountability Bureau, its former chairman and other senior officials are enjoying official perks and privileges, informed sources have told Dawn.
Those enjoying official perks include NAB’s former chairman Justice (retd) Syed Deedar Hussain Shah, former prosecutor general Irfan Qadir and NAB’s former director general (Punjab) Rana Zahid Mehmood.
“Despite receiving several letters from NAB headquarters, these officials have not returned their official vehicles and are still occupying official residences,” a senior NAB official said.
By law, they were supposed to return official vehicles and vacate official residences the day they were removed from their offices.
The sources said that former chairman Justice Shah still had two official vehicles under his use.
The former director-general for Rawalpindi and Lahore, Raza Zahid Mehmood, still has six official vehicles even though he was entitled to only one 1300CC car.
Sources also said that Mr Mehmood had also used Rs500,000 special funds from NAB’s kitty.
“He took Rs300,000 special funds from Rawalpindi region and Rs200,000 from Lahore region,” a NAB official said on condition of anonymity.
The NAB Headquarters has also received a bill of Rs55,000 as accommodation charges in federal lodges because Mr Mehmood was said to be still living in a suit in the lodges.
Mr Mehmood was appointed NAB’s Rawalpindi DG for one year on April 21, 2010, and later he was also given the additional charge of NAB’s Lahore DG. He retired from NAB on April 21, 2011, but continued to hold dual offices. Finally, he was removed from the bureau on the Supreme Court’s orders.
Similarly, NAB’s former prosecutor general Irfan Qadir is using an official car and lives in an official residence in Islamabad.
Mr Qadir, whose appointment as the PG, was declared illegal by the Supreme Court on September 1 has been still living in his official residence No-29 near Kohsar Market in F-6/3 area. Besides, he still enjoys other perks, including the latest model chauffeur-driven black Corolla car and official security guards posted at his residence

Relationship more honest now, says Obama

WASHINGTON: US President Barack Obama has said the relationship between the United States and Pakistan has become more honest over time.
In his first interview since Wednesday evening when he announced his new strategy for the Pak-Afghan region, President Obama also acknowledged that the US focus had shifted from Afghanistan to Pakistan.
“I think the focus shifted to Pakistan, in my view, two years ago. So we’ve sought to strengthen cooperation with Pakistan,” he told Voice of America, the US government’s international broadcasting service.
“Obviously, that has created tensions as well, but overall Pakistan has cooperated with us in our intelligence-collection efforts, in striking at high-value targets within Pakistan.”
Mr Obama said he believed that no country had suffered more from terrorist attacks than Pakistan, “so this is entirely in their self-interest” to combat terrorism.
Explaining his focus-shift, Mr Obama said events forced him to look at Afghanistan and Pakistan as part of a similar problem.
Pakistan’s tribal areas, he said, provided Al Qaeda and other extremists groups with safe havens from where they launched attacks into Afghanistan, Pakistan and around the world. Like his secretary of state, Mr Obama also said that he believed Pakistan had a legitimate role to play as part of the process of reconciliation with the insurgents.
He also noted that Afghan President Hamid Karzai recently travelled to Islamabad where he agreed to form a core group, including Afghanistan, Pakistan and the United States. This group would “discuss how we can proceed in this process”, Mr Obama said, noting that Pakistan not only had a responsibility but also “a deep interest in dealing with the terrorist elements that are still in their territory”.
Asked if the US-Pakistan relationship had soured, Mr Obama said: “I think what happened is that the relationship has become more honest over time.” This openness, he said, had raised “some differences that are real” and the operation to take out Osama bin Laden created additional tensions.
“But I had always been very clear to Pakistan that if we ever found him and had a shot, that we would take it,” he added. “We think that if Pakistan recognises the threat to its sovereignty that comes out of the extremists in its midst, that there’s no reason why we can’t work cooperatively to make sure that both US security interests, Pakistani security interests, and Afghan security interests converge.” Asked if Pakistan has to play a greater role against terrorism, Mr Obama said: “I think that Pakistan has always seen terrorism as either a problem for somebody else, or has seen elements of the Taliban as a hedge in terms of their influence within Afghanistan.” The US, he said, had suggested to Pakistan that not only terrorism threatened Pakistan more than just about any other country, but it also strained its relations with its neighbours and with friends like the United States.
The US had also informed the Pakistanis that if they had “direct” and “constructive” relationship with the Afghan government,
“there’s no reason for them to see the Taliban as a hedge against Afghanistan. Instead, they should see the Afghan government as a partner they can work with”.

Pakistan kills 10 alleged insurgents: official

PARACHINAR: A government administrator says Pakistani fighter jets have bombed suspected militant hideouts in a northwestern region near the Afghan border, killing at least 10 alleged insurgents.
Javed Khan says the airstrikes Friday hit two areas of the Kurram tribal region based on intelligence reports about the presence of militants.
Pakistan’s army has waged multiple offensives in various parts of Pakistan’s lawless tribal belt in order to force out al-Qaida and Pakistani Taliban fighters.

India sailors held by pirates home after 11 months

NEW DELHI: Six Indian sailors returned home Friday to a joyous welcome after being held captive for nearly a year by Somali pirates.
Huge crowds thronged the airport where tearful family members greeted the six men with marigold garlands and sweets after they landed in New Delhi.
The men were freed after a $2.1 million ransom was paid to secure the release of the merchant navy ship that was captured 11 months ago by pirates operating in the Indian Ocean.
The men were mobbed by cheering crowds and television crews as they emerged from the airport lobby. There were hugs and tears as overjoyed family members surrounded the exhausted-looking men.
”This is a rebirth for me. The joy I feel cannot be expressed in words,” N.K. Sharma, one of the sailors, said Friday as he embraced his wife and children.
A Pakistan-based organisation, The Ansar Burney Trust, had negotiated the release of the 22 sailors aboard the MV Suez after the pirates demanded nearly $30 million as ransom money. Finally they settled for $2.1 million before releasing the crew that included 11 Egyptians, six Indians, four Pakistanis and one Sri Lankan.
India’s external affairs minister S.M. Krishna said he was relieved that the ordeal of the sailors was over.
”We appreciate the timely help extended to them and sailors of other countries, by the Pakistani navy,” Krishna said.
He called for a well-coordinated global response to wipe out the scourge of piracy.
Somali pirates are holding about 26 ships and 600 crew in captivity.
Somalia hasn’t had a functioning government since 1991, allowing piracy to flourish off the Horn of Africa nation.
International militaries patrol the region, particularly near the Gulf of Aden, but pirates now attack hundreds of miles off East Africa, an area that is too big to effectively patrol.

With Afghan withdrawal, US focus turns to Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: As the US looks ahead to its phased withdrawal from Afghanistan, even more attention is being directed toward Pakistan, where Obama administration officials say al Qaeda and its allies are still plotting attacks against the West.
They argue that threat has been effectively neutralised in Afghanistan, a key justification for President Barack Obama’s announcement Wednesday that the US will withdraw 33,000 troops from Afghanistan by next summer. The US invaded Afghanistan in 2001 because al Qaeda used it as the base to launch the 9/11 attacks.
Afghanistan could take on new significance for the US as a base to launch unilateral strikes against militants inside neighboring Pakistan, an unstable nuclear-armed country that many analysts say is more strategically important than Afghanistan.
That future has become more likely as the relationship between Pakistan and the US has deteriorated following the American raid that killed al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden not far from the Pakistani capital last month.
“We haven’t seen a terrorist threat emanating from Afghanistan for the past seven or eight years,” said a senior administration official in a briefing given to reporters in Washington before Obama’s speech. “The threat has come from Pakistan over the past half-dozen years or so, and longer.”
One of the most high-profile attempted attacks against the US homeland coming from Pakistan recently was by Faisal Shahzad, a Pakistani-American who tried to set off a car bomb in New York’s Times Square last year. He allegedly traveled to Pakistan’s tribal areas and coordinated his attack with the Pakistani Taliban.
Since Pakistan effectively prohibits American troops inside the country and has been a reluctant ally in targeting militants the US deems a threat, Washington has increasingly relied on covert CIA drone missile strikes to target al Qaeda and Taliban fighters holed up in Pakistan’s mountainous border region with Afghanistan.
The US refuses to acknowledge the drone program in Pakistan, but Obama alluded to its effectiveness in his speech, saying “together with the Pakistanis, we have taken out more than half of al Qaeda’s leadership.”
But the future of the drone program in Pakistan could be threatened by pervasive anti-American sentiment and anger over the US commando raid that killed bin Laden in the garrison town of Abbottabad on May 2.
The drones are extremely unpopular in Pakistan, and lawmakers took the opportunity to demand the government, which is widely believed to allow the drones to take off from bases inside the country, halt the program.
That demand found resonance with Pakistanis, nearly 70 per cent of whom view the US as an enemy despite billions of dollars in American aid, according to a recent poll conducted after the bin Laden raid by the Washington-based Pew Research Center. Only 12 percent of Pakistanis have a positive view of the US, according to the poll, which had a margin of error of plus or minus four percentage points.
If Pakistan were to prevent drones from taking off from inside the country, the US would have to launch them from Afghanistan, an act that would further increase tensions in the region, said Riffat Hussain, a defence professor at Quaid-e-Azam University in Islamabad.
“The staging area would then become Afghanistan, which would be totally anathema to Pakistan because then you are using another country’s territory for attacks against Pakistan,” Hussain said. “That will not only escalate tension between Pakistan and Afghanistan, but it means America has declared war on Pakistan.”
The US has also made it clear that if it obtains intelligence on future high-value terrorist targets inside Pakistan, it could stage special forces attacks from Afghanistan like the one that killed bin Laden.
The raid infuriated Pakistan because the government wasn’t told of it beforehand. US officials have said they kept the Pakistanis in the dark because they were worried that bin Laden would be tipped off by extremist sympathisers in the Pakistani military.
Pakistan responded to the raid by kicking out more than 100 US troops training Pakistanis in counterterrorism operations and reduced the level of intelligence cooperation — something that could make it more difficult for the US to target militants in the country.
One of the primary causes of US frustration with Pakistan is its unwillingness to target Afghan Taliban militants and their allies in the country who launch cross-border attacks against NATO troops in Afghanistan. Pakistan says its troops are stretched too thin by other operations, but many analysts believe the government is reluctant to attack groups with which it has historical ties and could be useful allies in Afghanistan after foreign forces withdraw.
Hussain, the defence professor, said the beginning of the American withdrawal from Afghanistan and Obama’s admission that the US would support reconciliation talks with the Taliban made it even less likely that Pakistan would target militants deemed a threat by Washington.
“If you are talking to the Taliban, then you can’t expect Pakistan to go after them,” Hussain said.
Obama said he would press Pakistan to tackle the militant threat inside the country, but also implied the US would not hesitate to go it alone when its security was endangered.
“For there should be no doubt that so long as I am president, the United States will never tolerate a safe-haven for those who aim to kill us,” Obama said.

Bomb defused at Karachi’s Jinnah Hospital

KARACHI: Police said they defused a bomb left in a makeshift mosque inside a hospital compound in the country’s biggest city of Karachi, fearing it could have detonated during Friday prayers.

The police found a bag in a tented mosque in the residential colony of Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre with the live bomb inside.
“Some witnesses informed the police about a suspicious looking bag, which some unknown men had abandoned in the mosque,” Iqbal Mehmood, a senior police official, told reporters.
Speaking to media representatives, the official said that more than 20 kilograms of explosive material, including two detonators, was hidden inside a sack and was planted at the location.
He added the explosive device was similar to the ones used in the naval bus attacks earlier this year.
Another police official said on condition of anonymity that it was a remote-controlled bomb and that police feared it could have been detonated during the main Friday prayers in the afternoon.
Mr Mehmood said security was being tightened around places of worship and the city had been put on high alert. Moreover, search operations were being conducted at mosques and imambargahs across the city.

Kabul urges end to Pakistani border attacks

KABUL: The Afghan government on Friday called for an end to cross-border attacks from Pakistan, warning that such incidents could affect “improving trust and cooperation” between the two wary allies.
“The ministry of foreign affairs of Afghanistan expresses its serious concern about the continuing Pakistani artillery shelling of Afghan villages in Kunar and Nangarhar provinces,” it said.
The ministry said that Pakistani shelling killed four children late Thursday in the northeastern province of Kunar, the latest in a series of incidents.
“The Afghan government calls for the immediate cessation of the artillery fire against Afghan villages,” it said.
“The continuation of such incidents could adversely affect the spirit of improving trust and cooperation between the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan and the Islamic Republic of Pakistan.”
The border between Afghanistan and Pakistan is porous, and relations between the two countries have long been strained over the presence of militants fighting against both governments.
Both sides have made a string of claims and counter-claims in recent days.
Last week, Pakistani officials said five people were killed when several hundred militants crossed from Afghanistan and targeted civilians in the Mamoond area of the lawless border tribal district of Bajaur.
But Afghan officials denied any attack and accused Pakistani troops of killing six people in a rocket strike in Kunar, as well as other attacks in volatile Kunar and Nangarhar.
The statement came after Afghanistan’s foreign minister Zalmai Rassoul met the Pakistani ambassador to Kabul over the issue Monday. Pakistan had earlier summoned the Afghan charge d’affaires over the dispute.

Pakistan, Afghan presidents in Iran three-way summit

TEHRAN: The presidents of Pakistan and Afghanistan arrived Friday in Tehran for a three-way summit with their Iranian counterpart and to attend an anti-terrorism conference, IRNA news agency reported.
The summit to be attended by President Asif Ali Zardari, Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad comes as the United States announced that it will draw down by 33,000 its contingent of 99,000 troops in Afghanistan by the end of summer 2012.
Several hundred French soldiers have also been recalled from the country recently.
Britain and Germany, which have the largest presence in Afghanistan after the United States, have also declared their intention to reduce their contingent by the end of the year.
Iran has always been hostile to the presence of Nato troops in neighbouring Afghanistan, saying this strengthened terrorist groups such as Taliban and Al-Qaeda more than it weakened them.
Tehran itself suffers from the activities of the armed Sunni Muslim group Jundallah around its border with Pakistan and Afghanistan. Jundallah is on the United States’ list of outlawed terrorist groups.
After the three-way summit, Zardari and Karzai will attend on Saturday an anti-terrorism conference alongside Sudan’s President Omar al-Bashir, Iraqi President Jalal Talabani and Tajik President Emomali Rahmon, Iranian media reported.
Other nations will also attend the conference as observers.
Bashir is wanted by the International Criminal Court, which has issued two arrest warrants on charges of crimes against humanity and genocide in the Darfur region, where a bloody conflict has raged for eight years.
Iran, which is on the United States’ list of state sponsors of terrorism, regularly accuses Israel and the US of plotting terrorist attacks against its territory.

Rangers men to be indicted on June 28

KARACHI: An Anti Terrorism Court (ATC) fixed June 28 for framing charges against Rangers men in extrajudicial killing of a youth, Geo News reported. The court also provided counsels to four of seven accused on state expense.

Judge ATC-I, Karachi, Thursday granted time till today as last chance to accused personnel of Pakistan Rangers, Sindh, to engage defense counsel in case pertaining to shooting to death of unarmed youth at Shaheed Benazir Bhutto Park in Karachi.

The court was told today that Sepoy Mohammad Tariq, Lance Naik Liaquat Ali, Shahid Zafar and Mohammad Afzal have not arranged counsels.

Defence counsels of Sub-Inspector Bahaur Rehman and Manthar Ali, M.R. Syed and Naimat Ali pleaded the court to adjourn the hearing for seven days.

Later, the court appointed a judge for the Rangers men and adjourned the hearing.

A case (FIR 227/2011) US 302 & 34PPC against accused and then incorporated Section 7 of Anti-Terrorism Act 1997 in FIR was lodged at Boat Basin police station, on complaint of victim's brother.

According to the charge-sheet, 22-year-old Sarfraz Shah was shot at and then left to die allegedly by Rangers personnel. Rangers initially claimed youth was armed & killed in encounter.

Punjab Governor demands commission on load shedding

LAHORE: pakistan Punjab Governor, Sardar Latif Khosa has said that a commission on electricity load shedding should also be constituted, which should investigate how come the People’s Party, which in 1996 had left the power generation capacity in the country at 19,000 megawatt and who later reversed the situation by humiliating the IPPs and dragging them to the Supreme Court.

Addressing the teachers training workshop at Lahore Kennard College and later talking to the media he said this.

The Punjab Governor said that the future of Pakistan was bright, electoral politics’ statements do come normally; he didn’t think it appropriate to respond to Rana Sanaullah harangues.

Sardar Latif Khosa said that by writing a memo to the chief minister against Rana Sanaullah’s ‘Fatwa’, he fulfilled his responsibility. He said that the Punjab CM hasn’t replied to his letter thus far. Declaring some body liable to be murdered was a crime under the law and the constitution. 

New York senate prepares to vote on gay marriage bill

NEW YORK: The New York senate prepared to vote on a gay marriage law on Thursday, after amending the state assembly-approved bill at the request of Republican officials, said a legislative source.

If the vote takes place, it will happen at about the the same time that President Barack Obama gives a speech in New York at a gala to raise funds for the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) community.

"There are some other pieces of legislation that have to be finished before. It's likely to be on the floor late today," said one legislative spokesperson.

The senate, which should have recessed on Monday evening, instead have been meeting in an extraordinary session to put the finishing touches on the bill's language, designed to address legal protections for religious organizations.

The document needs 32 votes out of 62 to be adopted. Thirty one senators have expressed their support for legalizing gay marriage, an issue that has already been repeatedly rejected by the NY senate in recent years.

Sheldon Silver, president of the Democrat-majority NY state assembly that approved the original bill last week, has already announced that if the senate passes their version, the house would meet to vote on the amended text.

After the assembly vote, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, who introduced the bill, is expected to sign it into law.

If the law passes, New York would become the sixth and most populous state to approve gay marriage.

Currently, Iowa, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut and Vermont permit same-sex marriage.

States such as Hawaii, California, Nevada, Oregon, Washington DC and New Jersey offer civil unions to same-sex couples, but not marriage rights.

According to a March poll, the majority of Americans are currently in favor of allowing gay marriage, 53 percent to 44 percent

Commanders say Obama overruled them on Afghanistan

WASHINGTON: US President Barack Obama ignored military advice for a more modest drawdown from Afghanistan, his commanders said on Thursday, suggesting his decision carried risks for the war effort.

Both General David Petraeus and Admiral Mike Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said Obama's plan to withdraw 33,000 surge troops by the end of next summer was more "aggressive" than they had recommended.

Asked by Senator Carl Levin if he was prepared to resign over the war policy, Petraeus said: "I don't think it's the place for the commander to consider that kind of step unless you are in a very, very dire situation."

Petraeus, who indicated that he had received emails suggesting he should quit in protest, said: "This is an important decision, it is again a more aggressive approach than the chairman (Admiral Mullen), (Central Command chief General James) Mattis and I would have, indeed certainly, put forward.

"But this is not something where one hangs up the uniform in protest or something like that."

The four-star officer, who is due to step down in weeks as Obama's top commander in the fight against the Taliban-led insurgency and take over as CIA director, is credited by many for salvaging the war in Iraq.

His testimony in Congress provided more ammunition to Obama's critics on the right who accuse the president of endorsing a withdrawal plan for purely political motives ahead of presidential elections in 2012.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates, in an interview with AFP, endorsed Obama's plan but acknowledged that waning political support for the grinding counter-insurgency campaign was an important factor in the decision.

The "advantages and disadvantages" of a range of options were debated at three White House meetings, including "not only the situation on the ground in Afghanistan but also political sustainability here at home," Gates said.

The military's top officer, Mullen, offered a qualified endorsement of Obama's decision, telling lawmakers that he had initially favored a more modest drawdown.

Mullen said "the president's decisions are more aggressive and incur more risk than I was originally prepared to accept."

But he said that keeping more forces in place also carried risks, including enabling Kabul to become more dependent on the American military presence.

"Let me be candid, however. No commander ever wants to sacrifice fighting power in the middle of a war.

"And no decision to demand that sacrifice is ever without risk," he warned.

Both Mullen and Petraeus said the president had to take into account other considerations beyond military conditions, a clear reference to political and fiscal pressures.

The American public is increasingly impatient with a war that has dragged on nearly a decade. In a new Pew Research Center poll, 56 percent of respondents -- the highest ever -- said American troops should be brought home as soon as possible.

White House officials insist Obama's move was based on military strategy -- not politics -- and that progress on the battlefield and the killing of Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden had made the drawdown possible.

10,000 US troops to leave Af by end of the year

WASHINGTON: US President Barack Obama on Wednesday declared that the United States has largely achieved its goals in Afghanistan and set in motion a substantial withdrawal of troops. The declaration is an acknowledgment of the shifting threat in the region and the fast-changing political and economic landscape in a war-weary America. 


Obama announced plans to withdraw 10,000 troops from Afghanistan by the end of this year. The remaining 20,000 troops from the 2009 "surge" of forces will leave by next summer, amounting to about a third of the 100,000 troops now in the country. He said the drawdown would continue "at a steady pace" until the US hands over security to the Afghan authorities in 2014. 


"Tide of war is receding," Obama said, asserting that the country that served as a base for the Sept 11, 2001, attacks no longer represents a terrorist threat to the United States. In a blunt recognition of domestic economic strains, he said: "America, it is time to focus on nation-building here at home." 


Afghan President Hamid Karzai welcomed the decision, sounding confident that Afghanistan's Nato-trained police and army can take control of the country from the departing forces. "At the end of 2014, the Afghans, for their homeland, for their protection, for the security of their people, completely should be in control," Karzai said in a televised address.

Iran deputy foreign minister resigns amid pressure

TEHRAN, Iran: Iran's newly appointed deputy foreign minister has resigned under pressure from hard-liners who view him as part of a movement seeking to weaken the role of Iran's powerful Muslim clerics, media reports said Tuesday.

The dispute over Mohammad Sharif Malekzadeh is part of a burgeoning power struggle involving President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the parliament and the country's clergy. While Malekzadeh faces corruption charges, the opposition to his appointment appeared more ideological.

In his resignation letter addressed to the foreign minister Tuesday, Malekzadeh denounced his critics.

``Despite dastardly manipulations and plentiful injustices done against me, I can't accept that you suffer from unjust pressures because of me anymore,'' the official IRNA news agency quoted Malekzadeh as saying.

Malekzadeh, who has denied the corruption allegations, is an ally of the president's chief of staff, Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei.

Mashaei is sharply opposed by hard-liners who accuse him of seeking to undermine Iran's ruling system. He has been described by hardline clerics as the head of a ``deviant current'' that seeks to elevate the values of pre-Islamic Persia and promote nationalism at the cost of clerical rule.

Ahmadinejad has strongly defended Mashaei, whose daughter is married to the president's son, saying the attacks against Mashaei are actually directed at him.

Iranian intelligence and members of parliament had demanded that Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi fire Malekzadeh. Salehi had said that he would fire Malekzadeh only if he was convicted. Malekzadeh has denied the allegations.

Earlier Tuesday, 33 Iranian lawmakers signed a motion and presented it to the parliament to impeach Salehi if he failed to dismiss Malekzadeh.

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad appears to be trying to set up Mashaei, his chief of staff, or another loyalist to succeed him in 2013.

Ahmadinejad and Mashaei also have been accused of seeking to control the next parliament by manipulating parliamentary elections slated for March 2012.

In another parliamentary dispute, lawmakers on Tuesday rejected Ahmadinejad's nominee for the post of minister of sport and youth.

Twin blasts at Iraq guv's house kill 25

BAGHDAD: Two bombings killed at least 25 people at a checkpoint outside a provincial Iraqi governor's house on Tuesday in the latest attack targeting local government and security forces.

The suicide bomber blew himself up and a car bomb exploded outside the Diwaniya governor's house, 150km south of Baghdad, just as guards changed shifts. Most of the victims were security staff, officials said.

"I heard a loud blast and then another one. I opened the door and I saw white smoke and smelled the blood... I looked to the side and I saw three guards dead on the ground," said Maha al-Sagban, a resident whose house was damaged.

Television footage showed the crumpled and burnt out wreckage of a white truck lying by the remains of a guard post. Bloodied and wounded security guards filled the beds of a hospital. Muayad al-Ansary, a spokesman for the provincial council in Diwaniya, said the death toll had risen to 25 killed and 35 more were woun

Syrian troop build-up on Turkish border sparks US warning

WASHINGTON: The United States is concerned by reports that Syria is massing troops near the border with Turkey, which could escalate the crisis in the region, and is discussing the issue with Turkish officials, US secretary of state Hillary Clinton said on Thursday.

Clinton said the reported move by Syria to surround and target the town of Khirbat al-Joz just 500 meters (yards) from the Turkish border marked a worrying new phase of Syria's attempt to quash anti-government protests.

"If true, that aggressive action will only exacerbate the already unstable refugee situation in Syria," Clinton said in an appearance with the visiting Filipino foreign minister.

"Unless the Syrian forces immediately end their attacks and their provocations that are not only now affecting their own citizens but (raising) the potential of border clashes, then we're going to see an escalation of conflict in the area," Clinton said.

Syria's moves have raised tensions with Turkey as President Bashar al-Assad increases the use of military force against a popular revolt.

Clinton said she had discussed the situation at length with Turkish foreign minister Ahmet Davutoglu and that President Barack Obama had also talked to Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan.

"We are closely monitoring the situation in Syria and in neighboring countries," Clinton said.

"It is further example of the lengths to which President Assad's regime will go to repress the people of Syria rather than actually working in a collaborative way to try to resolve the legitimate concerns of the Syrian people."

The United States has steadily sharpened the tone of its rhetoric toward Assad, saying the Syrian leader is losing credibility and must either implement promised reforms or get out of the way.

Clinton said that by bringing the conflict so close to Turkey -- which in the 1990s had tense relations with Damascus over Syrian support for the Kurdish militant group PKK -- Assad was taking a dangerous step.

"This is a very worrisome development by the Syrians. They have to know what they're doing and they have to, I assume, know their own history because this is not the first time that they had a provocation that led the Turks to take action to protect their own interests," she said. 

Libya's Gaddafi considering leaving capital: Report

WASHINGTON: Libyan leader Gaddafi is "seriously considering" leaving the capital Tripoli following a blistering series of Nato air raids, the Wall Street Journal reported today, citing US officials.

US intelligence shows that the Libyan strongman "doesn't feel safe anymore" in the capital where he has ruled for over four decades, the Journal quoted a senior US national security official as saying.

However, officials told the Journal they did not see the move as imminent and did not believe Gaddafi would leave the country, a key demand of Libyan rebels who have been battling his forces in a weeks-old stalemate. Gaddafi is believed to have numerous safe houses and other facilities both within the capital and outside of it to which he might relocate.

The news comes as US President Barack Obama faces rising criticism from fellow Democrats and rival Republicans in Congress over his refusal to seek Congressional authorisation for the three-month-old military operation.

The Obama administration has said approval under the 1973 War Powers Resolution is not required because US participation in the NATO-led air war does not rise to the level of "hostilities," a logic rejected by critics.

A senior US commander meanwhile said that the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (Nato) and Libya's African allies had not adequately planned for the aftermath of Gaddafi's possible fall.

"We, the international community, could be in post-conflict Libya tomorrow and there isn't a plan, there is not a good plan," the senior US commander in Africa, General Carter Ham, told the Journal.

He predicted that Gaddafi could fall quickly, and said there may be a need for substantial ground forces in the country to preserve order.

Musharraf's former aide-de-camp commits suicide

ISLAMABAD: A former aide of ex-military rulerPervez Musharraf allegedly committed suicide by shooting himself in the head at his residence, his family has said.

The body of Major (retired) Syed Tanveer Ali, an aide-de-camp of Musharraf, was found in his flat in Sector F-11 in the heart of Islamabad yesterday. He retired from the army in 2004.

The administration of a private hospital informed police that it had received Ali's body with a bullet injury to the head.

Ali's relatives told police that they had heard a gunshot from the bathroom of his bedroom, which was locked from inside.

When they broke into the bathroom, they said they found Ali lying on the floor in a pool of blood.

Police quoted Ali's relatives as saying that he was in distress due to financial losses suffered by his private security agency.

However, a report in the Daily Times newspaper quoted its sources as saying that there was an element of mystery surrounding Ali's death.

He was right-handed but the bullet wound was on the left side of his head and the 9mm pistol used in the alleged suicide had no fingerprints, the report said.

The body was taken to the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences and Ali's family decided not to have an autopsy done, the daily quoted its sources as saying.

An army brigadier arrived at PIMS and told officials he had been tasked to move the body to the Combined Military Hospital. Officials then handed over the body to the brigadier and Ali's family, the report said.

Indo-Pak talks: Foreign secretaries discuss terror, CBMs and Samjhauta

ISLAMABAD: Foreign secretary-level talks between India and Pakistan got underway here on Thursday with foreign secretary Nirupama Rao and her Pakistani counterpart Salman Bashir focusing on terrorism and conventional and nuclear-confidence building measures (CBMs).

Even though the first set of talks between Indian and Pakistani home secretaries had focused almost exclusively on terrorism and Mumbai trials, the issue formed part of the discussions on Thursday. But in a nod to Pakistani concerns, there were also discussions on the Samjhauta Express case, where India has just filed the first chargesheet.

On Friday, the two sides will sit down for talks on Jammu & Kashmir, something that the Pakistanis are placing a great deal of importance on. Pakistani foreign office spokesperson Tehmina Janjua said the first session would focus on Kashmir.

While neither side was forthcoming on the subject of Thursday's discussions, the MEA spokesperson said, "All aspects related to peace and security have been discussed... Terrorism is an issue that is confronting both countries and has affected peace and security in both countries."

Describing the talks as "cordial, substantive and forward-looking", officials said Friday's talks would include CBMs related to J&K.

Rao landed at Chaklala airbase in Rawalpindi in the morning for the "penultimate" round of bilateral talks. While the resumed dialogue process between India and Pakistan does not appear to be the composite dialogue which India dumped after 26/11, the elements of the dialogue are exactly the same as it used to be. For all intents and purposes, this is the composite dialogue, even though it is not quite labelled as such.

Pakistan is centering attention on the J&K round, hoping to push for a solution. India is looking at a broader approach, of "reducing trust deficits" and, as Rao said, "working towards an eventual normalisation of relations".

In the afternoon, visa counselor from the Indian high commission in Islamabad Sohail Khan met the six Indian crew members of MV Suez which reached Karachi on Thursday. They will return to India on Friday. Rao said, "We want our boys back home soon." The general narrative on Pakistani TV channels through the day was about how Pakistan had come to the Indian sailors' rescue after the Indian government had abandoned them.

After PM Manmohan Singh intervened on the issue of release of Pakistani virologist Dr Khaleel Chishty from a Rajasthan jail, sources here expect that this could happen soon. Chishty has been stuck since 1992 and even now it took a prime ministerial intervention to release the ailing 78-year-old doctor.

Calling the dialogue "part of a process", Rao described the relationship as "complex" with a long history. "We need to learn lessons from that history," she said. But "the best opportunities present themselves in difficult situations," she continued, adding that she had come to Islamabad with an "open mind and constructive approach".

Earlier this week, foreign minister S M Krishna set in motion the message of caution. "Patience is something that is called for. We will have to be realistic, we will have to be positive in our approach," he told journalists in New Delhi this week.

Pakistanis see India as bigger threat than Taliban, al-Qaida: Poll

WASHINGTON: Most Pakistanis see India as a bigger threat than the Taliban and the al-Qaida and disapprove of the US military operation that killed Osama bin Laden, according to a new poll.

Although al-Qaida leader bin Laden has not been well-liked in recent years, a majority of Pakistanis describe his death as a bad thing. Only 14 percent say it is a good thing, according to a poll released on Tuesday by the Pew Research Centre.

Moreover, many Pakistanis believe the US raid on bin Laden's hideout, which was located about 35 miles from Islamabad, will have a negative impact on the already strained relations between the US and their country.

The poll also indicates that concerns among Pakistanis about an extremist takeover and support for using military force against extremist groups are slipping, but the groups themselves remain widely unpopular.

Just 12 percent of Pakistanis have a positive view of al-Qaida, down from 18 percent in 2010. Only 12 percent give the Taliban a favourable rating with both Pakistan based Tehrik-i-Taliban and the Afghan Taliban getting similarly low levels of support.

There is somewhat more support for Pakistan based Lashkar-e-Taiba group held responsible for the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks. Currently, 27 percent have a positive opinion of the terror outfit.

Results of two surveys conducted in Pakistan by Pew's Global Attitudes Project also show that Pakistani views of traditional rival India have grown increasingly negative in recent years with three-in-four expressing an unfavourable opinion of India, up from 50 percent five years ago.

When asked which is the biggest threat to their country, India, the Taliban, or al-Qaida, a majority of Pakistanis (57 percent) say India, the poll noted.

Still, roughly seven-in-ten say it is important to improve relations with India, believe increased trade with their neighbour would be a good thing, and support further talks to reduce tensions between the two countries, the Pew poll said.

Similarly, Indians express negative opinions of Pakistan; 65 percent have an unfavourable view of their traditional rival and more name Pakistan as India's biggest threat (45 percent) than name Lashkar-e-Taiba (19 percent) or Naxalites (16 percent).

Yet, like Pakistanis, Indians would like to see improved relations between the two countries and most support increased trade between India and Pakistan.

Shopping plaza in Lahore catches fire

LAHORE: A fire has erupted in a shopping plaza located in the Shah Alam market of the city   According to initial reports the fire started as a result of short-circuiting in a shop located on the fifth floor of the plaza.

The fire engulfed the entire plaza and rescue efforts are being hampered due to limited access to the area. Many individuals remain trapped inside the plaza.

Funds to rebuild Kashmir being used somewhere else: Nawaz

PATIKA: PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif said Friday that if his party got the opportunity to serve Azad Kashmir then they would change its destiny,

According to Sharif, the country is surrounded by corruption. Speaking to an election rally in Patika, the PML-N chief harshly criticized the current government and said that he had never seen such governance before.

He added that the government is not concerned with the issues that common man is facing, instead it is busy appointing its own individuals on important seats.

Nawaz Sharif said that the funds received to rebuild Azad Kashmir following the 2005 earthquake are being used somewhere else. 

Terror bid foiled in Karachi

KARACHI: Karachi police foiled a terror bid today (Friday) by defusing 20 kilogramme (kg) of explosives fitted with two detonators,

According to police, 20 kg of explosives has been recovered from a residential colony near Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC). The area is used to offer Friday prayers usually.

JPMC is Karachi's biggest government-run hospital in the city. Bomb Disposal Squad defused the device having ball-bearings, iron plates and detonators connected to it.

Acting CCPO, Karachi Iqbal Mehmood told the media that the bomb was remote-controlled. As strict security measures have been ordered for Friday prayers, that is why they were able to detect the presence of explosives, CCPO said.

Tribal army will return to take responsibility, Kayani

Reported by Chief of Army Staff General Ashfaq pruyzkyany Wana tribal tufuj will return to take their responsibilities, free from the kidney to the kudhst will be your role. He was addressing a gathering in Wana last day here. Army Chief of the coat, the cg auruanakadurh cream. Ashfaq pruyzkyany apnakam after completing the Army will leave the area. The Wana, the main street of grape base will lead to the completion of the Pak-Afghan trade,South Waziristan in the various development plans 20 billion have been spent, tribal youth kubhtryn education will be provided and sent a grlzkalj set will be. Kayani's mzydkhnathakh bahrsy the people of the area of ​​peace damage has. Army ChiefPakistan's tribal power even when the need arises, he sacrificed to Pakistan. ayaqbayly difficult time when people fought alongside the army, the army from tribal areas to curb terrorism, border security and to fulfill their responsibilities is a fully active. gryndjrgy Later, speaking to the Ahmed Zai uzyrqbayl Kayani said agurada Tank Road East Asian countries will be turprastamal trade in Wana, said Kayani's perfect peace in your According to their traditions, preserve peace in the same way that General Kayani mzydkha Gomal zam dam will generate electricity by using it right the first leader of the country whereto the prqbayly Bismillah Khan and General Kayani's turban set Wana Army Cadet College, inaugurated the new building was bnyadbhy kasng uanaanguradh highway.

Bids in the morning and evening looks, corrupt individuals and institutions Chin Chin is being applied, Nawaz Sharif

PML-N leader Nawaz Sharif has said rauٴlakut that the corrupt people in government institutions and Chin Chin is being applied, offers morning and evening looks, the economic situation has reached dangerous levels. He said that Kashmir electionsThere will be no rigging. He expressed these views while addressing a public meeting on Thursday election. Nawaz Sharif and Pakistan Abbottabad PNS Mehran base as against the national sovereignty, it seems that the Pakistan governmentand institutions do not exist and the Commission has been created because we do not recognize him without consulting the opposition leader has made. He said the Kashmiri people's right to vote on June 26 when using a master I will not, in order to bring false rejection and false slogans, Pakistan due to wrong policies of the regime is facing serious difficulties, serious trouble is going into the storm would be out of control at any time. The the last five days on a visit to Kashmir, Kashmir's cry to see the roads, an hour is fixed in three hours, my visits to be afraid of Prime Ministers of Pakistan and the federal government Profile of Kashmir are investigated by helicopters.

Somali pirates freed the 22 men who arrived in Karachi, emotional landscapes, people around the prostrate Reese

Karachi Governor Dr Ishrat Ul Ebad the Reported Allah Pak today a auramthan in srkrukyahy, Captain guardian's daughter Laila and kyagyauadh purakrdya, Thursday night gurnrhauٴs Somali pirates of qydsy release waterman MV Suez's 22-member staff aazazmyn the dinner was speaking, earlier Somali pirates of qydsy 10 months rhahukr anyualy 22 abducted Pakistan reached, including 4 U.S., 6 Indians, 11 Egyptians and Sri Lanka are among the most emotional mnazrdykhny come, PNS Zulfiqar soon Dockyard reached tuutn ryzhugyy back around the prostrate, the Governor Sindh Dr Ishrat Ul Ebad Khan, ansarbrny, abducted a large number of citizens and their families are welcome afradkaprtpak captain, guardian, along with Governor plane landed and took his daughter to embrace to apply, crying, kissed each other, on this occasion there were moist eyes of all people, freed from the afradapny family were hugging one another krruty been kumbarkbad, Laila was the promise thatbeen fulfilled. The people that come prrha was kasandarastqbal, Naval Dockyard maturation Move arm band welcome melodies, people rallied later in the Governor Dr Ishrat Ul Ebad gurnrhauٴs layagyajhan afradky aazazmyn their dinner, the occasion, he prktab Allah Almighty said that today we have a perfect test. We took the captain and guardian of the innocent on the recording that has been promised, at his meeting with the families of mguyun every eye askbar did, the Governor Sindh Dr Ishrat Ul Ebad Khan said on the recording media through the captain's daughter Wasi (MQM) Chief Altaf Hussain has directed me to solve this problem, do whatever he can. He said President Asif Ali Zardari on the issue, saying the government machinery Me Do It was my hand. Governor on this issue, Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani also paid tribute to the troops, the Governor said Arif mkyrhzrat Peace Foundation Naqvi, Malik Riaz of Bahria Town, Senator Babar Khan Ghauri, Federal Minister, Provincial Minister Adil Siddiqui, Rauf Siddiqui, Sharmila Farooqui, Senator Faisal Raza Abidi, Karachi Chambers of the members, especially members of the Federation dhydhy Aqeel Karim, Arif Habib and other financial provided assistance which was possible due to the release of mguyun. The Egyptian High Commissioner to attend the crew were over 11 Egyptian nationals. Similarly, a member of the Sri Lankan Consul General to the staff and the Consul General 6 Indian citizens were submitted, all foreign Friday morning (today) will be sent to their countries

Cartoon

Army would return after completing job: COAS

WANA: Army Chief General Ashfaq Pervez Kiyani said Thursday that the army is playing an active role in eliminating terrorists from the area and would leave the area once the job is done.

Army Chief visited Kot Kai, Changmala and Wana and inaugurated the Cadet College in Wana. He said that Rs20 billion have so far been spent on development projects in South Waziristan.

He added that the Afghan trade would receive a boost with the completion of the Wana-Angoor Adda Road.

LPG prices to be brought down: Dr Asim

ISLAMABAD: We would bring down the prices of Liquified Petroleum Gas (LPG) to ease the burden on domestic consumers, Minister for Petroleum and Natural Resources, Dr.Asim Hussain said while talking to batkhela-movies

He warned that if the LPG will not be made available on low prices forests would vanish.

The minister pointed out that Sui Southern Gas Company Limited (SSGC) and Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL) would establish LPG companies and a Rs 25 million terminal would be provided in Karachi for the purpose.

Shahrukh-Salman face-off averted in IIFA

MUMBAI: Shahrukh Khan has been limping from a knee injury lately. However, he’s not going to skip the International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) weekend in Toronto. On the other hand, Salman Khan has decided to skip the IIFA this year. 

It could have been a clash of the titans in Toronto. Ignore the alliteration, but the coming together of the feuding Khans -- Shahrukh and Salman -- looked all but imminent until one of them decided to bow out.

Shahrukh Khan is excited about returning to IIFA after seven long years. Incidentally, he skipped the event all those years when Amitabh Bachchan was its brand ambassador. And now that Big B is not longer associated with the event, Shahrukh is going to attend it despite a knee injury.

On the other hand, Salman Khan, who was the face of IIFA in Sri Lanka last year, has opted out. Whether it’s just a coincidence or a bid to avoid a face-off with Shahrukh, only Salman knows that. But the official reason is that salman is going to be busy shooting for his film ‘Bodyguard’?

“I am shooting for my next Bodyguard and it is an action movie, so yes, you people won't see me there (Toronto). IIFA will miss me this time,” Salman told reporters.

The IIFA weekend will be held from June 23 to 25.

Nawaz dismisses Abottabbad commission

RAWALAKOT: PML-N Chief Nawaz Shairf has dismissed the commission formed to probe the Abbottabbad commission stating that he was not consulted, Geo News reported.

Speaking to an election rally in Rawalakot, PML-N Chief said the Kashmir cause was negatively impacted through fake democracies.

He said that the Prime Minister was scared of the Muslim League and had taken a helicopter to arrive in Azad Kashmir. He added that the peoples mandate in Azad Kashmir was being ignored and the Kashmiri people should be aware of who forms a government and who abolishes it.

Nawaz Sharif said that his party would not allow any deception to take place during the election adding that the country was surrounded by severe problems while corrupt individuals were being appointed to federal institutions. He said a revolution would come in Kashmir and the Muslim League-N would win the constituencies in Azad Kashmir.

"Saifullah Paracha, a Pakistani prison officials continued as mysterious dyatha '

Wikileaks is continuing disclosures in a row. Sixty-four thousand-year-old Pakistani-American businessman Saifullah Paracha, who were missing three of the eight arrested were brought to Bangkok in July. Anees September two thousand four, they were transferred to Guantanamo Bay . Saifullah Paracha was to be released in two thousand six U.S. military officers in Guantanamo Bay by giving them as high risk as appropriate. Ministry of National Crisis Management Cell Director of Operations, Colonel Jacob Satisfaction lefty to visit the Guantanamo BayThe formal request for the continued detention and to ensure them, but Islamabad says Pakistanis despite these measures have not been released. Two thousand seven at the U.S. Department of Defense Analysis Report, Saifullah Paracha Al-Qaeda as a key worker and his son Al-Aziz Paracha also help in two thousand six has been charged. Wikileaks Saifullah Paracha, according to reports from the massacre twice met Osama bin Laden, while heNine Eleven mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammad's dedication to have a close relationship.

The Taliban announced the withdrawal of U.S. forces declared ridiculous

... Withdrawal of U.S. forces from Kabul,Afghanistan, the Taliban announced their armedstruggle as the comic has the extension. Khagyahysdraumaba kaamryky Taliban military statementannouncing withdrawal is only symbolic. Declaredthe year 10 thousand troops will be withdrawn fromAfghanistan, the international community and theexhaustion from the war to the American peopledid not satisfactory, the statement issued byTaliban spokesman accused the U.S. lgayagyakhhuajs received mydyaku amrykaapny aurbybnyadvictory hopes to show people the wrong warkumslsl when referring to decline. kakhnahyTaliban in Afghan solution and withdrawal of foreign troops until then, it will not, will increasinglywiden their armed struggle.

PNS Zulfiqar reaches Karachi

KARACHI: PNS Zulfiqar carrying freed crew of MV Suez has arrived in 

Governor Sindh Dr Ishrat-ul-Ibad, Ansar Burney and other high-ranking officials are waiting at the Karachi Port Trust to welcome them.

A welcome ceremony has been organized tonight at the Sindh Governor House

Osama's youngest widow to leave Pak, return to Yemen

ISLAMABAD: Osama bin Laden's youngest wife Amal Ahmed Al-Sadah, who was wounded in the US operation against her husband in Pakistan's Abbottabad town on May 2, will return to her homeland, Yemen, within days, according to media reports.

Al-Sadah, 29, was detained by Pakistan's security forces along with ten children and two other wives of bin Laden, Khariah Sabar and Siham Sabar, in the compound an hour after her husband was killed by US Navy SEALs. Sadah was wounded in the operation when she tried to cover her husband.

She along with Khariah and Siham are believed to have been questioned by US intelligence officials. Newspapers reports in Yemen and Saudi Arabia said that arrangements have been finalized between Pakistani and Yemeni diplomats for the return of Sadah and her 12-year daughter, Safiya. Safiya was also injured in the raid against her father.

The Yemen Times reported that Yemeni diplomats in Islamabad told Sadah's brother, Zakaria al-Sadah, that his sister would arrive in the coming days after the completion of legal formalities.

Sadah was married to bin Laden in 2000 when she was 17 years old. Her family said that they had not seen her since then and the only communication with her was only through the couriers. After bin Laden's killing, Sadah's cousin, Waleed Hashem Abdel-Fatah al-Sadah, told media that her family sent relatives to Afghanistan when she gave birth to a daughter and they spent a month with her.

On the final day of the visit, Waleed said, bin Laden told Sadah that she could return home with her family. "I want to be martyred with you and I won't leave as long as you're alive," the cousin recalled her saying. Sadah is believed to have told Pakistani and US interrogators that her family was living in Abbottabad for five years. She had also said that before moving to Abbottabad, they spent some time in Haripur town, about 25 km from Islamabad.

Bin Laden's two other wives of Saudi origin, Khariah Sabar and Siham Sabar, were also held at the compound by Pakistani authorities after the US operation. Both were born in Bin Laden's home town of Jeddah. Khairiah was married to the al Qaeda chief in 1985 while Siham was married in 1987

For most Pakistanis, India is threat No. 1

WASHINGTON: Most Pakistanis see India as a bigger threat than the Taliban and the al-Qaida and disapprove of the US military operation that killed Osama bin Laden, according to a new poll. When asked which is the biggest threat to their country, India, the Taliban, or al-Qaida , a majority of Pakistanis (57%) say India, the poll noted.

Although al-Qaida leader bin Laden has not been well-liked in recent years, a majority of Pakistanis describe his death as a bad thing. Only 14% say it is a good thing, according to a poll released on Tuesday by the Pew Research Centre.

Moreover, many Pakistanis believe the US raid on bin Laden's hideout will have a negative impact on the already strained relations between the US and their country . The poll also indicates that concerns among Pakistanis about an extremist takeover and support for using military force against extremist groups are slipping, but the groups themselves remain widely unpopular.

Just 12% of Pakistanis have a positive view of al-Qaida , down from 18% in 2010. Only 12% give Taliban a favourable rating with both Pakistan based Tehrik-i-Taliban and the Afghan Taliban getting similarly low levels of support.

There is somewhat more support for Pakistan based Lashkar-e-Taiba group held responsible for the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks. Currently, 27% have a positive opinion of the terror outfit. Results of two surveys conducted in Pakistan by Pew's Global Attitudes Project also show that Pakistani views of traditional rival India have grown increasingly negative in recent years

Dead medical officer's kin demand CBI probe

LUCKNOW: The last night's custodial death of Dr YS Sachan, Deputy Chief Medical Officer of Lucknow and the main accused in the high-profile murder of his two senior colleagues, has triggered a political crisis for the Mayawati government as the voices demanding a CBI probe into the case are getting louder.

Besides the political opposition, the kin of Dr. Sachan have come out publicly criticizing the Mayawati government and demanding a CBI probe into Dr. Sachan's death. Dr Sachan's elder brother DR RK Sachan said that his brother was not the kind who would die like this. He also raised fingers on the government's version that Dr YS Sachan had committed suicide. "No sucide note was found... then the authorities have changed their statement several times... no one is able to explain categorically as to what happened.. Only a CBI probe can bring out the truth," said Dr. Sachan's brother. Dr Sachan is survived by wife Dr Malti Chowdhury, also a government doctor in UP posted in Lucknow, son Sankalp and daughter Manvi.

The government doctor was in the police custody for plotting the murder of his colleagues Dr. Vinod Arya and Dr. BP Singh. On Oct 27, 2010, the Chief Medical Officer (CMO) Family Welfare, Dr Vinod Kumar Arya was shot dead in Vikasnagar's sector 14 by some unidentified assailants. Dr Sachan, who was the deputy CMO, was asked to take charge as officiating CMO till a regular appointment was made on the post. In March, 2011, Dr BP Singh was appointed as the CMO. However, he was also shot dead by unidentified assailants on April 2, 2001. Dr. Sachan was arrested on June 10. He was accused of swindling funds sanctioned under the National Rural Health Mission. The police had claimed that Dr. Sachan got the two CMOs killed because they threatened to expose him.

Dr. Sachan was found dead in the Lucknow district Jail Hospital's toilet on Wednesday evening. He was suffering from heart ailments and was under treatment at the jail hospital. His body was found hanging in the bathroom with a belt around his neck. The police is investigating how Sachan got a belt because items like belt are not allowed in jail. Dr. Sachan's death gravely jeopardized the police investigations aimed at resolving the murder of the two CMOs.

The news shocked family, friends and colleagues and swung the government machinery into action. ADG Jail, VK Gupta said that prime facie, the death appears to be a case of suicide. A judicial probe was also ordered in the matter besides a panel of doctors was selected to conduct a post-mortem of Dr. Sachan's body. Colleagues have been taken aback by the incident. Government Doctors Association, president Dr DR Singh said, "We are left numb... this is shocking."

All the political parties in the opposition have united to condemn the government over the mysterious death. "The judicial probe appears to be an eye-wash... this is only a way to hush up the matter," senior Congress leader Digvijay Singh told reporters a short while ago. Like Samajwadi party, Bhartiya Janta Party and others, Congress also demanded a CBI probe into the case.Samajwadi Party state president Akhilesh Yadav had said that Sachan was killed to "save some big fish in the BSP government." The SP has also started a state wide agitation against the total break down of the law and order and bad governance.

Abhishek and Aishwarya Bachchan are super happy

Abhishek and Aishwarya are finally going to be parents, after four years of marriage. Unable to contain his joy, the Big B had proudly announced the joyful tidings on a micro-blogging site. 

Soon after, everyone who knew the Bachchans was on phone talking with one or the other member of the family. Close friends just dropped in at Jalsa inMumbai.

"It's been crazy," Abhishek admitted late in the night. "We've all been trying to inform all our close friends about it. How do I feel? It's not sunk in yet. There's been no time. We're still busy sharing the news with our friends. The realization will come later. Right now I'm, kind of, numb. It's a big moment, yes."

As usual, the most restrained and controlled member of the Bachchan household was Jaya. Rather than get into the bustle of celebrations, she has already started thinking of practical matters.

Given the chance, the Bachchans would've liked to keep it quiet as long as possible."I guess it couldn't be kept quiet. So now you know why I've been trying to stay out of the public eye lately. It's still to sink in, really. Of course, Abhishek and I are super happy. But it is a matter of happiness for our entire family. And that makes all the difference," said Aishwarya.

Abhishek tells a great anecdote on his and his wife's unfazed attitude towards all the 'worried' queries about their parenthood. While waiting at an international airport for a connecting flight, the two were confronted by a boisterous middle-aged Punjabi woman. "So when do we hear the happy announcement?" said the woman conversationally.

Before Aishwarya could answer, Abhishek held the lady by the shoulder, "The happy announcement just happened. Your flight is ready for boarding." The anecdote typifies that complete lack of anxiety that the couple and its family felt about Aishwarya's imminent motherhood.

And now when it has happened, Aishwarya intends to quickly finish her only film on the floors, Madhur Bhandarkar's Heroine and then take a long sabbatical. 

Obama warns Pakistan, insists Islamabad keep anti-terror pledges

WASHINGTON: President Barack Obama on Wednesday vowed the United States will "insist"Pakistan fulfill its promises to counter militant sanctuaries on its soil.

"We will work with the Pakistani government to root out the cancer of violent extremism, and we will insist that it keep its commitments," Obama said in a televised speech on troop withdrawal plans for the war in Afghanistan.

Obama's comments underscored festering tensions between Washington and Islamabad in the wake of a unilateral US raid that killed Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden in his hideout in Pakistan last month.

In blunt language, Obama made clear he was ready to order more assaults against any safe-havens harboring those who aimed to kill Americans.

"For there should be no doubt that so long as I am president, the United States will never tolerate a safe-haven for those who aim to kill us: they cannot elude us, nor escape the justice they deserve," he said.

Referring to Pakistan, Obama said "no country is more endangered by the presence of violent extremists."

The US president said his government would "continue to press Pakistan to expand its participation in securing a more peaceful future for this war-torn region."

Before his speech, Obama telephoned his Pakistani counterpart Asif Ali Zardari on Wednesday, officials in Islamabad said.

The bin Laden raid humiliated the Pakistani military and invited allegations of incompetence and complicity, while Washington has increasingly demanded that Islamabad take decisive action against terror networks in the tribal badlands on the border with Afghanistan.

Apart from the operation by US special forces that killed bin Laden, Obama has overseen a major CIA drone bombing campaign against Al-Qaeda and Taliban militants in Pakistan, targeting leaders with unmanned aircraft.

Former Indian chief justice to face graft probe: report

NEW DELHI: India's home ministry has ordered revenue officials to investigate allegations of corruption levelled against a former Supreme Court chief justice, a report said Wednesday.

The ministry has called for a probe into the assets of K.G. Balakrishnan, who was India's highest ranked judge for more than three years from 2007 and currently heads the National Human Rights Commission.

The ministry's order followed a petition which alleged Balakrishnan had "acquired assets disproportionate to his known sources of income," the news agency said, citing unnamed home ministry officials.

"The petition with allegations has been sent to the secretary (of the) revenue department for inquiry," PTI said.

The home ministry's official spokesman was not immediately available for comment on the report.

A string of corruption scandals has dented the image of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's Congress party-led government and fomented outrage across Indian society at the apparent scale of graft by officials going unpunished.

The government has offered to draft an anti-graft bill in consultation with civil society activists who are pushing for tough provisions to punish corrupt bureaucrats, members of the judiciary and politicians.

India has a dismal record of bringing corrupt senior public officials to justice, with current laws requiring the government's approval before any sitting bureaucrat or minister can be prosecuted.

In six decades only one senior politician has been convicted of graft and served a jail term

Flood warning system in FATA soon: Khan

PESHAWAR: Director General FATA Disaster Management Authority, Arshad Khan Saturday informed that soon a flood warning system would be setup in FATA with the assistance of UNDP which will help minimize losses in the wake of floods. 

Talking to media persons at his office here, Arshad Khan said there was no such system of flood warning existed in FATA and it was a pressing demand of the area people after destruction by last years catastrophic floods.

He said UNDP funded flood warning system would greatly help the authorities in adopting precautionary measures in case of any flood threat.

US to withdraw Afghan surge forces by summer 2012

ASHINGTON: President Barack Obama said Wednesday that all 33,000 US surge troops will be withdrawn from Afghanistan by ‘next summer’ as a result of progress in the war against Taliban insurgents. 

In a televised address from the White House, Obama said that "we will be able to remove 10,000 of our troops from Afghanistan by the end of this year, and we will bring home a total of 33,000 by next summer."

Obama had ordered a 33,000-strong surge in reinforcements in December 2009 in a bid to turn around the troubled war against Taliban insurgents.

Rulers silent on the killing of innocent Pakistanis have admitted guilt, Imran Khan

Karachi Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Chairman Imran Khan has said that the country's honor and integrity to sell dollars in exchange for killing innocent Pakistani rulers to recognize the genocide is a crime, criminal silence. National Assembly, the Assembly's resolution does not stop soon and one count of murder and one will be taken. Sindh from the labor wing of Sher Shah bridge 3-day sit-sit the last day the participants were addressed by telephone, the picketing Monday evening was ongoing, Sher Shah bridge through which the containers are closed for three days supply. Imran Khan said that his neck crushing battle corrupt rulers who are busy earning a dollar of government apathy heady and lawlessness of the country's institutions are moving towards destruction. He would listen with open ears, pro drone nytun will stop supplying the country. The government and opposition, Nora Lee Friend Wrestling with the country's serious fun as sitting in Parliament, said that Parliament is not able to follow the resolution of this little charade to protect their property, is fighting back, previously president of Sindh PostHaq, chairman of the labor wing of the Sindh coast Subhan Ali, Israr Abbasi, chairman Labeler Wing Karachi, Sindh Information Secretary Jamal Siddiqui, bsmh Khan, Humayun Swati, Habib Khan Swati, women wing president and also addressed bit embarrassed.