Pakistan

New delhi,January 02:Three Pakistani terrorists, who have already completed their sentences and were soon to be deported home on Saturday, escaped from a city hospital after giving immigration officials the slip, police said.

The trio managed to slip out of the clutches of Foreigners Regional Registration (FRRO) officials at the G.B. Pant hospital in central Delhi.

“There were not in the custody of the police. But they were under restraint orders of the FRRO. We have registered a case and are searching for them,” Joint Commissioner of Police Karnal Singh said.

Islamabad, January 02: Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari has claimed that “certain elements” and undemocratic forces want to remove him because of his support for the rights of the people of Balochistan province.

“The (government’s Balochistan development) package is the right of the people of Balochistan and we have to implement it,” he said.

But, Mr. Zardari said, “certain elements” do not want this to happen. “Therefore, they want to remove me.”

Karachi, January 02: The UN probe into the assassination of former Pakistan prime minister Benazir Bhutto has hit a dead end as the government has denied access to the incumbent army chief and other top military generals for interrogation. The UN had appointed a three-member inquiry commission to determine the facts and circumstances under which Bhutto was assassinated on December 27, 2007. According to the terms of reference of the investigation, the UN had demanded that the commission would enjoy complete cooperation from the government.

Ialamabad, January 02: Pakistan’s government came under renewed pressure on Saturday to bring stability to the country after one of the bloodiest bombings in more than two years killed at least 89 people.

The attack at volleyball game on Friday suggested al Qaeda-linked Taliban insurgents were focusing more on bombing large crowds of civilians to inflict maximum casualties and spread terror, instead of attacking hard targets such as security forces.

Islamabad, January 02: Pakistani security officials have made an arrest by claiming the person as an agent of Indian intelligence agency, the Research and Analysis Wing from Qila Saifullah district in Balochistan.

The officials revealed that the alleged person, Abdul Salam, was nabbed during a raid on a refugee camp following an intelligence tip-off. it is meant to be that Salam is an Afghan national.

“We believe he works for RAW. He entered Pakistan via Afghanistan and hid himself in a refugee camp,” The Daily Times quoted statement from an official.
–Agencies

Islamabad, January 02: Pakistan’s interior minister rejects reports of any contract between Blackwater (now known as Xe Services LLC) and Pakistani Intelligence Agency.

Rehman Malik said on Friday that Blackwater is not registered as a security firm in the country denying presence of the notorious US private security firm in Pakistan, a Press TV correspondent reported.

“No such agency named Blackwater is working in Pakistan,” the minister told a delegation of traders and businessmen in the port city of Karachi.

Islamabad, January 02:At least 95 people were killed in a suicide bomb attack in Pakistan’s North West Frontier Province (NWFP), with many children feared to be among the victims.

More than 100 people were injured in Friday’s attack, which took place at a volleyball match in Shah Hassan Khan village, some 30 km south of Lakki Marwat town.

Mohammad Ayub Khan, the district police chief, said the bomber detonated his explosives-laden car near the sporting field where hundreds of people had gathered to watch the match.

Islamabad, January 02: The Pakistani authorities may ask their Indian counterparts to send a fresh dossier on the trial of Ajmal Kasab, as they believe the earlier one has lost its importance following the recent retraction by the lone Pakistani terrorist captured alive during the 26/11 Mumbai attacks.

Interior ministry sources said the main source of information in the dossier remained the accused, Ajmal Kasab, who retracted his confession, saying he was forced and tortured to make the statements by his captors.

Islamabad, January 02: A suicide bomber has killed at least 88 people and injured dozens more in northwest Pakistan.

The attack on Friday at a volleyball tournament in the city of Lakki Marwat was one of the deadliest Pakistan has seen in recent months.

There has been no claim of responsibility, but officials say the attack could be in retaliation to local tribal efforts to combat the Taliban.

–Agencies

Islamabad, January 01: Political forces in Pakistan want the powerful Inter-Services Intelligence agency to be placed under civilian control but the matter has been put on the backburner for the time being, President Asif Ali Zardari has said.

“The political forces want the ISI should be brought under civilian control but for the time being, this matter has been shelved,” Zardari said in an interview with a TV news channel.

He did not give the reasons for the issue being shelved.

Taliban, January 01: A Suspected suicide blast today killed three people and injured 11 others at a volleyball match in a small northwestern Pakistani town, police said.

The blast struck in Banu district in the North West Frontier Province, which is plagued by attacks and bombings by Taliban rebels.

“The blast took place during a volleyball match and according to initial reports it appears to be a suicide attack,” district police chief Mohammad Ayub Khan told AFP.

“Three people were killed and 11 others were injured.”

Islamabad, January 01: Pakistan government has denied a UN panel probing the killing of former Premier Benazir Bhutto access to top military officials, including powerful army chief Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani.

The UN inquiry commission had submitted a written request some time ago for access to senior military officials, including Kayani, former ISI chief Lt Gen Nadeem Taj and ex-Military Intelligence head Lt Gen Nadeem Ejaz Mian.

Peshawar, January 01: A suicide bomber set off an explosives-laden vehicle on a field during a volleyball tournament on Friday in northwest Pakistan, killing at least 25 people, police said.

The blast occurred near Pakistan’s tribal belt, and was the latest bloodshed to rattle the country since the army launched a military offensive against Taliban fighters in the South Waziristan tribal region.

The operation has scattered insurgents but provoked apparent reprisal attacks that have killed more than 500 people since October.

Ialamabad, January 01: Pakistan’s commercial capital nearly shut down on Friday as religious and political leaders called for a strike to protest against violence after a suicide bomber killed 43 people at a religious procession this week.

The Taliban, determined to topple the government, claimed responsibility for Monday’s attack on a huge crowd of Shi’ite Muslims and threatened more bloodshed.

The prospect of increased violence comes at a delicate time for President Asif Ali Zardari, who faces political heat because corruption charges against some of his aides may be revived.

Islamabad, January 01: Pakistan on Thursday said Indian army’s new military doctrine including scenarios such as a two-front simultaneous war with both China and Pakistan “betray a hostile intent” and a “jingoistic mindset”.

Foreign office spokesman Abdul Basit said in a statement that the Indian Army’s new military doctrine “betray a hostile intent as well as a hegemonic and jingoistic mindset which is quite out of step with the realities of our time”.

Pakistan is prepared to defend itself in the face of all contingencies, Basit said.

Islamabad, January 01: Pakistani intelligence officials say a U.S. missile strike has killed three people near the Afghan border.

The two officials said early Friday’s attack destroyed a car carrying three men in a village near Mir Ali, which is a main town in North Waziristan.

It was the second such attack in the region in the last 12 hours.

A U.S. drone missile strike on late Thursday also killed three people.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly to the media.

Islamabad, January 01: Pakistan has said that Indian Army’s new military doctrine including scenarios such as a two-front simultaneous war with both China and Pakistan “betrays a hostile intent” and a “jingoistic mindset”.

Foreign Office spokesman Abdul Basit said in a statement that the Indian Army’s new military doctrine “betray a hostile intent as well as a hegemonic and jingoistic mindset which is quite out of step with the realities of our time”.

New York, January 01: The UN has said it will extend by three months the mandate of the Commission of Inquiry into the assassination of former Pakistani prime minister Benazir Bhutto.

“Because of the substantial amount of information collected by the Commission in Pakistan and further follow up work that remains, the Commissioners requested additional time to complete their report,” UN chief Ban Ki-moon’s spokesperson Martin Nesirky said.

He (Ban) has also informed both the Pakistani government and the Security Council of the same, the spokesperson said.

LAHORE: As the entire country celebrates the New Year, a man got killed and more than 50 people were injured in different incidents across the country, on Thursday.

The government had beefed up security across the country on New Year’s Eve to prevent any untoward incidents. But a man succumbed to injuries inflicted during the evening’s celebrations in Liaquatabad area, Karachi.

Islamabad, January 01: Pakistan warned foreign forces on Thursday not to leave Afghanistan “in haste”, saying Islamabad was committed to its role as a partner to the US in the battle against terrorism.

Washington is urging Pakistan to crack down on terrorist strongholds along its border, but US President Barack Obama unnerved many officials by vowing to begin drawing down US forces in Afghanistan in July 2011.

“The decision to leave Afghanistan should be taken when the country is able to look after itself effectively,” Foreign Office (FO) spokesman Abdul Basit told.

Islamabad, December 31: Pakistan said Thursday that the US-led international forces should not leave war-torn Afghanistan until the country was strong enough to take care of itself.

“As a matter of fact what we say is that a hasty withdrawal would not be desirable,” the country’s foreign ministry spokesman Abdul Basit told a press briefing in Islamabad.

“Afghanistan should be able to look after itself effectively before the coalition forces leave,” he said.

Karachi, December 31: India sent its first sports team to Pakistan in more than a year on Thursday as a seven-member boxing team flew into Karachi to compete in an international tournament.

The boxers are the first Indian sports team to cross the border since India stalled sporting links with Pakistan after the November 2008 attacks on Mumbai, which New Delhi blamed on militants based in Pakistan.

India refused to allow its cricket team to tour Pakistan late last year, citing security fears.

Lahore, December 31: Authorities arrested a senior Pakistani Taliban commander who led the group’s network in the key central province of Punjab, where violence has been increasing in recent months, police said Thursday.

The arrest strikes a blow as militants have stepped up their efforts to wage attacks far from their sanctuary in Pakistan’s lawless tribal area near the Afghan border in response to a major military offensive there.

Karachi, December 31: At least two people have been killed and two others have been injured when militants attacked a NATO oil tanker in southwest Pakistan, officials say.

Police officials told on Thursday that unknown militants opened fire on a NATO oil tanker in Qalat area in Balochistan province late Wednesday.

The oil tanker was passing through Chaman Pass from Karachi to supply fuel to NATO forces stationed in Afghanistan.

The Pakistan-Afghanistan High Way on Chaman Pass has been closed to traffic due to bad weather, suspending NATO supply line to Afghanistan.

Islamabad, Dec 31: Islamabad has invited the Hurriyat to hold talks with Pakistan Senate Chairman Farooq Ahmad Naik and Speaker of Parliament Fahmida Mirza during their visit to New Delhi in the first week of January.

Pakistan has also invited hardliner Syed Ali Shah Geelani for the talks. Both moderate and hardline factions will meet the visiting Pakistani delegation on January 6.

However, there is an air of uncertainty over the Hurriyat visit to Islamabad, which was to take place in December.