Pakistan

Islamabad, September 16:Pakistan’s ruling PPP today denied that former President Pervez Musharraf was given a “safe exit” after his resignation under a negotiated settlement guaranteed by “international and local” stakeholders, saying that no such deal was struck.

Senior PPP leader and presidential spokesman Farhatullah Babar contradicted reports in the media that President Asif Ali Zardari had confirmed holding negotiations with international guarantors to give indemnity and safe passage to Musharraf after he stepped down as President last year.

Islamabad, September 16: Pakistani security forces Wednesday arrested a senior militant leader in the north-western Swat valley, where troops are hunting Taliban remnants.

Sher Mohammad Qasab, Taliban commander in the region’s Charbagh sub-district, was seized after he was wounded in a search operation, military spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Akhtar Abbas said.

Qasab, whose name was on the list of most-wanted Taliban leaders in Swat, carried a bounty of 10 million rupees ($121,000) on his head.

Washington, September 16: Former Pakistani president and military ruler Pervez Musharraf has denied saying that US military aid to Pakistan to fight terror was used to bolster defences against India.

Dawn News website Wednesday reported that in a statement issued in Philadelphia, Musharraf said the issue highlighted was not raised in an interview.

Islamabad, September 16: Amid criticism from the opposition of President Asif Ali Zardari’s reported comment that Pervez Musharraf quit under an agreement endorsed by international guarantors, Pakistan’s ruling PPP Wednesday denied there had been such a deal to give “immunity” to the former military ruler.

Senior PPP leader and presidential spokesman Farhatullah Babar contradicted reports in the media that Zardari had confirmed holding negotiations with international guarantors to give indemnity and safe passage to Musharraf, who stepped down as President in August last year.

Washington, September 16: Al-Qaeda is trying to seek nuclear secrets from Pakistan and it remains as dangerous as ever, Special US Representative for Pakistan and Afghanistan Richard Holbrooke said Wednesday.

“Al-Qaeda is still there in the region, ever dangerous and publicly asking people to attack the US and publicly asking nuclear engineers to give them nuclear secrets from Pakistan,” Holbrooke said at a reception hosted by the Congressional Caucus on Afghanistan at the Capitol Hill.

Islamabd, September 16: President Asif Ali Zardari’s disclosure that his predecessor, Pervez Musharraf, quit office under the terms of a deal that had international guarantors, the Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) demanded that he reveal the details of the purported arrangement.

Chaudhary Nisar Ali Khan, Leader of the Opposition, told journalists outside Parliament on Tuesday that his party, the Nawaz Sharif-led PML(N), would move a resolution in the National Assembly demanding to know the terms of the deal.

Karachi, September 16: Burqa-clad assailants armed with Kalashnikov rifles and hand grenades attempted to attack an oil terminal in southern Pakistan but were thwarted by a security guard who was gunned down as the suspects escaped, officials said on Tuesday.

The three attackers, dressed in the all-encompassing garment traditionally worn by Muslim women, tried on Monday to enter the terminal in the port city of Karachi where oil supplies arrive for the country’s largest refinery, police said.

A security guard on duty intercepted them but was shot dead by the attackers.

Islamabad, September 15: Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari Tuesday announced special remission in jail terms of all prisoners on the occasion of Eid-ul-Fitr, Online news agency reported.

Prisoners who are over 70 years of age were granted total remission of their prison terms under this new amnesty move announced by the president.

Woman prisoners above the age of 60 and males above 65 years of age, who have served at least one-third of their jail sentences, have been given full remission. The move was made on the advice of Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani, the report said.

Karachi, September 15: Police in Karachi Tuesday recovered a huge cache of weapons, including rocket launchers, and anti-tank mortars, foiling an apparent bid to carry out terror attacks in this port city of Pakistan.

The police recovered 17 hand grenades, nine rocket launchers, five anti-tank mortars, nine Kalashnikovs, and two jackets used in suicide bombings from a drain near Saeedabad police training centre Tuesday morning, Online news agency reported.

Islamabad, September 15: Pakistan has said resumption of composite dialogue with India and re-activation of joint anti-terror mechanism would go a long way in promoting pragmatic cooperation between the two countries in combating terrorism.

Commenting on a recent statement by Home Minister P Chidambaram expressing apprehensions on terror strikes being planned by certain groups in Pakistan, foreign ministry spokesman Abdul Basit said in a statement to share whatever information New Delhi has with Pakistan to prevent such acts.

Islamabad, September 15: Former president and military dictator Pervez Musharraf had resigned as part of a negotiated settlement that was guaranteed by ‘international and local powers’, President Asif Zardari has said.

“All international and local powers, which have stakes in the region, were guarantors of Pervez Musharraf’s negotiated resignation,” Daily Times Tuesday quoted Zardari as saying.

Zardari was speaking to journalists at an Iftar dinner he hosted for them.

Islamabad, September 15: Pakistan, once again, reminded India on Monday of the agreement at Sharm-el-Sheikh to share “actionable” intelligence to prevent future terrorist attacks, and urged re-activation of the joint anti-terror mechanism and composite dialogue for “pragmatic co-operation” in dealing with terrorism.

The reminder came after remarks by Home Minister P. Chidambaram about the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed planning possible terror strikes against India.

North Waziristhan, September 15: In stepped up attacks, a US drone fired missiles hitting a Taliban hideout killing eight militants, including two foreigners, in Pakistan’s restive North Waziristan tribal region on Monday.

The drone fired a missile at the hideout of the banned Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan in Turikhel village in North Waziristan Agency.

Reports said at least two of the persons killed were Al-Qaeda militants.

Media reports had said that as many as 5,000 Uzbek militants are hiding in the Waziristan province.

Islamabad, September 15: Pakistani authorities have sacked 715 personnel of a paramilitary militia in the Khyber tribal region for deserting their posts after receiving threats from the banned Lashkar-e-Islam terror group.

A total of 357 personnel of the Khasadar force were fired on Sunday while another 358 were sacked the day before.

Tariq Hayat Khan, the Political Agent or chief administrator of the semi-autonomous Khyber Agency, has said the process of recruiting new personnel will begin this week.

Karachi, September 15: At least 18 women and girls died when a crowd waiting for handouts of flour swelled and panicked in Pakistan’s most populous city, officials said.

The stampede in Karachi came during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, a traditional time for charitable acts including giving away food. Pakistan’s battered economy, combined with higher than usual prices for staples such as sugar due to alleged hoarding by producers, has made this Ramadan a particularly needy time for the country’s largely impoverished population of 175 million.

Islamabad, September 14: At least 18 women were killed and nine injured Monday in a stampede in Pakistan’s southwestern port city of Karachi during a charity food hand-out, officials said.

The incident occurred in Karachi’s Ghori Garden area, where many women had gathered to collect free flour and rice given away by a local businessman in respect of the holy month of Ramzan.

“We so far have 18 women dead and nine injured in the stampede,” said Abdullah Sheikh, a senior police officer. He said most of the deaths were caused by suffocation following the stampede.

Islamabad, Sep 14 (IANS) Former president and military ruler Pervez Musharraf left the country as part of a “deal” and would not return in the near future, Pakistan Muslim League (Q) secretary general Mushahid Hussain Syyed said.

Talking to mediapersons Sunday after an Iftar-dinner organised by PML-Q in the Pakistani city of Hyderabad, he said Pakistan cannot afford the politics of reprisal at this point in time.

The Islamabad police had Aug 10 registered a criminal case against Musharraf following the orders of Islamabad Additional Sessions Judge Mohammad Akmal Khan.

Islamabad, September 14: The US seeks to establish new military bases in Pakistan to keep the country destabilized and control its nuclear weapons, says a former head of Pakistan’s intelligence service.

In an exclusive interview with Press TV on Sunday, Hamid Gul said that Washington planned to expand its embassy and increase its security guards in Pakistan.

“There are already three thousand five hundred of them [US security guards] and one thousand more are coming,” Gul said.

Baluchistan, September 14: At least four people have been killed in a landmine explosion in southwestern Pakistan, as violence continues to take its toll in the conflict-riddled country.

The explosion occurred in Baluchistan province on Monday, after a bullock-cart hit a landmine on the road, killing two women and two children.

Two others were also wounded in the incident, a district police spokesperson told Press TV.

No group has yet claimed responsibility for the attack, but the police believe it might be linked to the province’s powerful Bugti family.

Islamabad, September 14: A suspected US missile attack in Pakistan’s lawless north-western region killed at least four militants Monday, an intelligence official said.

The strike targeted a vehicle believed to be carrying Taliban fighters in the North Waziristan tribal district near the Afghan border.

‘Four militants were killed and at least five others were wounded,’ a local intelligence official said on condition of anonymity.

It was not immediately clear whether any high-profile target was engaged in the assault which took place at around 6 a.m. (0100 GMT).

Islamabad, September 14: A suspected US missile attack in Pakistan’s lawless north-western region killed at least four militants Monday, an intelligence official said.

The strike targeted a vehicle believed to be carrying Taliban fighters in the North Waziristan tribal district near the Afghan border.

‘Four militants were killed and at least five others were wounded,’ a local intelligence official said on condition of anonymity.

It was not immediately clear whether any high-profile target was engaged in the assault which took place at around 6 a.m. (0100 GMT).

Islamabad, September 14: A missile fired from a suspected unmanned U.S. plane slammed into a car in a Pakistani tribal region close to the Afghan border on Monday, killing four people, intelligence officials and residents said.

The apparent American strike was the latest of more than 50 in the region since last year aimed at killing top al-Qaeda and Taliban leaders. Last month, the head of the Pakistani Taliban was killed in one such strike.

Islamabad, September 14: India and Pakistan are likely to start their stalled composite dialogue through backdoor channel diplomacy to resolve outstanding issues, according to a report on Sunday.

The government is considering to assign responsibilities of backdoor diplomacy to former foreign secretary Riaz Mohammad Khan, the Online news agency reported citing reliable sources in the Pakistani foreign ministry.

Islamabad, September 14: Pakistan’s Interior Minister Rehman Malik said on Sunday that the Taliban commander in the north-western Swat valley had been surrounded and would soon be captured.

The statement came as 13 Islamist insurgents and three paramilitary soldiers died in two incidents of violence in the neighbouring tribal region that borders Afghanistan.

Maulana Fazlullah, supported by hundreds of fighters, rose in rebellion against the government in 2007 to enforce strict Taliban- like laws in Swat, a scenic mountain district 140 kilometers from the capital city, Islamabad.

Islamabad, September 14: The former President, Pervez Musharraf, has said the military aid the U.S. gave Pakistan for the war against terror during his tenure was used to strengthen defences against India.

Gen.(Retd.) Musharraf admitted that he had violated the rules governing the use of the military aid, but justified his action, saying he had “acted in the best interest of Pakistan.”

He did not want to compromise on Pakistan’s interests, he said.

In an interview to a news channel, he said he “did not care” whether the U.S. would be angered by his disclosure.