Syed Shamshad Haider: 2013-10-20

Saturday, October 26, 2013

TEHRAN: Gunmen killed at least 14 Iranian guards on the Pakistani border, in a rugged area used by drug traffickers, prompting Tehran to retaliate by hanging 16 "rebels," reports said Saturday. The ambush on the porous border happened overnight in the southeastern province of Sistan-Baluchestan, home to a large community of minority Sunni Muslims, unlike the rest of Shiite-dominated Iran. "Fourteen border guards were killed during armed clashes in the region of Saravan, and five others were wounded," the official IRNA news agency said, citing what it called an informed source. The unnamed source identified the gunmen as "bandits or rebels opposed to the Islamic republic". In retaliation for the attack, the Iranian authorities said that they on Saturday executed 16 "rebels" held at a prison in the region. "Sixteen rebels linked to groups hostile to the regime were hanged this morning in the prison of Zahedan in response to the death of border guards in Saravan," Mohammad Marzieh, attorney general of Sistan-Baluchestan, was quoted as saying by Fars news agency. "We warned the rebel groups that any attack targeting civilians or members of the security forces would not go unanswered," he added. Deputy Interior Minister Ali Abdollahi said that the guards had been killed during the ambush set by Iranians who were "members of hostile groups". He added that "three soldiers have been taken hostage and taken to the other side of the border in Pakistan," without giving further details. The region has seen bloody clashes over the past few years and officials say that more than 4,000 police officers and soldiers have been killed in three decades of fighting with drug traffickers. Iran is a major transit route for drugs that originate in Afghanistan and is trafficked across its territory, with much of it bound for Western countries. People smugglers also use the route to traffick illegal immigrants to Europe, via Iran and Turkey. The Islamic republic says it is fighting a deadly war against drug traffickers who make up half its prison population. But Sunni militant group Jundallah (Soldiers of God) has also launched attacks on civilians and officials in Sistan-Baluchestan, including a December 2010 suicide bombing in the city of Shabahar that killed 39 people. The Iranian authorities hanged 11 suspected members of Jundallah at Zahedan prison in December 2010 in response to the deadly bombing of the Shiite mourning procession in Shabahar. Jundallah, whose leader Abdolmalek Rigi was hanged in June 2010, has been waging a deadly insurgency in southeastern Iran for almost a decade. The group says it is fighting for the rights of the ethnic Sunni Baluchis who make up a significant part of the province's population. (AFP)

Saudi women's driving kicks off without arrests

RIYADH: Saudi activists said more than 60 women claimed to have answered their call on Saturday to get behind the wheel in a rare show of defiance against a ban on female driving in the ultraconservative kingdom. Saudi professor and campaigner Aziza Youssef said the group has received 13 videos and another 50 phone messages from women showing or claiming they had driven. She said they have no way to verify the messages. If the numbers are accurate, this year's campaign is the most successful effort yet by Saudi women demanding the right to drive. Youssef said they have not received any reports of arrests or women being ticketed by police. A security official said that authorities did not arrest or fine any female drivers on Saturday. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media. However, there have been a few roadblocks along the way. Youssef said she and four other prominent women activists received phone calls this week from a top official with close links to Interior Minister Prince Mohammed bin Nayef, warning them not to drive on Saturday, the day the campaign set for women's driving. She also said that "two suspicious cars" have been following her everywhere all day. "I don't know from which party they are from. They are not in a government car," she said. Though no specific Saudi law bans women from driving, women are not issued licenses. They mostly rely on drivers or male relatives to move around. Powerful clerics who hold far-reaching influence over the monarchy enforce the driving ban, warning that breaking it will spread "licentiousness." A prominent cleric caused a stir when he said last month that medical studies show that driving a car harms a woman's ovaries. The kingdom's first major driving protest came in 1990 when some 50 women drove their cars. They were jailed for a day, had their passports confiscated and lost their jobs. In June 2011, about 40 women got behind the wheel in several cities in a protest sparked when a woman was arrested after posting a video of herself driving. The atmosphere appeared more tolerant this year and state newspapers for the first time have run near daily commentary on the issue. Reforms made by the monarchy since the last 2011 driving campaign may have readied the deeply conservative nation for change. Changes include allowing women to sit on the national advisory council and a decision by King Abdullah to permit women to vote and run in municipal elections in 2015. May Al Sawyan, a 32 year-old mother of two and an economic researcher, told The Associated Press that she drove from her home in Riyadh to the grocery store and back. Like other female drivers defying the ban in Saudi Arabia, Al Sawyan said she has obtained a driver's license from abroad. "I am very happy and proud that there was no reaction against me," she said. "There were some cars that drove by. They were surprised, but it was just a glance. It is fine ... They are not used to seeing women driving here." In the run-up to the Oct. 26 driving campaign, Interior Ministry spokesman Mansour al-Turki warned that anyone disturbing public order would be dealt with forcefully. That same language was used in charges levied against a female driver in 2011. Women have been posting videos almost daily of themselves driving since the campaign's website was launched in late September, enraging conservatives in the country who accused the government of not doing anything to stop them from flouting the ban. In one incident this month, two women were pulled over by police who made them sign a letter stating they would not drive or be in the car with a female driver. Their husbands were called to pick them up. Ultraconservative clerics, angry that the government is not cracking down harder, protested earlier in the week against the online petition campaign, which claims to have more than 16,000 signatures. The account's website, oct26driving.org, and official English language YouTube account were hacked on Friday, according to activists. The four-minute video uploaded Saturday of Al Sawyan showed her wearing sunglasses and her face was visible. Her hair was covered by the traditional black headscarf worn by Saudi women. (AFP)

Army Chief to leave for China tour on October 28

RAWALPINDI: Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Ashfaque Parvez Kayani will be visiting China October 28-30, Geo News reported on Saturday. Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) Director General, Asim Saleem Bajwa tweeting on the social media said that bilateral strategic relations between the two countries would be reviewed during the China visit of the COAS.

Quincy Jones sues Michael Jackson's estate

LOS ANGELES: Quincy Jones sued Michael Jackson's estate on Friday claiming he is owed millions in royalties and production fees on some of the superstar's greatest hits. Jones' lawsuit seeks at least $10 million from the singer's estate and Sony Music Entertainment, claiming the entities improperly re-edited songs to deprive him of royalties and production fees. The music has been used in the film ``This Is It'' and a pair of Cirque du Soleil shows based on the King of Pop's songs, the lawsuit states. Jones also claims that he should have received a producer's credit on the music in ``This Is It.'' His lawsuit seeks an accounting of the estate's profits from the works so that Jones can determine how much he is owed. The producer worked with Jackson on three of his most popular solo albums, ``Off the Wall,'' `'Thriller'' and ``Bad.'' Jackson's estate wrote in a statement that it was saddened by Jones' lawsuit. ``To the best of its knowledge, Mr. Jones has been appropriately compensated over approximately 35 years for his work with Michael,'' the statement said. An after-hours message left at Sony Music's New York offices was not immediately returned. Jackson's hits ``Billie Jean,'' `'Thriller'' and ``Don't Stop `Til You Get Enough'' are among the songs Jones claims were re-edited to deprive him of royalties and his producer's fee. Jones' lawsuit states the producer's contracts called for him to have the first opportunity to re-edit or alter the songs, in part to protect his reputation.

Musharraf’s bail petition hearing adjourned in Ghazi murder case

ISLAMABAD: The hearing of the bail petition of former president Pervez Musharraf in Abdul Rasheed Ghazi murder case has been adjourned until October 30, Geo News reported. Islamabad Additional Session Judge Wajid Ali was hearing the petition of former president Pervez Musharraf in the Abdul Rasheed Ghazi murder case on Saturday here. It may be recalled that during the last hearing the court had ordered the police to present the record of the case and the lawyers of both the parties were to argue today, but as the lawyers were observing strike against the murder of a fellow of their community in Gujranawala, the hearing was put off until October 30.

Indian border force claims killing 3 alleged Pakistani drug smugglers

AMRITSAR: Indian troops shot dead three alleged Pakistani smugglers carrying drugs worth millions of dollars as they sought to sneak into India through the northeastern state of Punjab, an Indian border security official claimed Saturday. India’s paramilitary Border Security Force (BSF), which patrols the India-Pakistan border, said it found 24 kilograms of heroin worth 1.2 billion Indian rupees ($19.5 million), along with weapons, ammunition and Pakistani mobile phones late Friday. “Last night, three Pakistani intruders crossed over to the Indian territory and were challenged by the BSF night patrol, but the intruders declined to surrender and fired gun shots at the BSF,” Ajay Tomar, Punjab BSF Inspector General, told reporters. “In retaliation, BSF troops fired 19 rounds and the intruders were killed on the spot.” A massive search has been launched to check for any other people crossing illegally from Pakistan in the area near the Wagah international border crossing, he said. Wagah is the only road border crossing between the Indian city of Amritsar and the Pakistani city of Lahore. Local media reported last week that the BSF had seized 100 kilograms of heroin worth five billion Indian rupees ($81 million) in the last two months, adding that drug trafficking had spiked at the border, which prompted BSF to increase round-the-clock patrolling. Indian Punjab, once the wealthiest state in Asia’s third-largest economy, has now become a key smuggling route for drugs that come in from Afghanistan through neighbouring Pakistan. Punjab’s slowing economy and high unemployment rates have made youth more vulnerable to drug addiction, experts say. The drugs smuggled into India are mainly destined for Europe, but also find buyers in the state of 27 million. It is estimated that two-thirds of all rural households in Indian Punjab have at least one drug addict, according to a 2009 state survey. (AFP)

Death in custody sparks protest in Hafizabad

HAFIZABAD: A man, allegedly involved in dacoity was killed in police custody after being subjected to severe torture, family and locals claimed on Saturday. The heirs blocked staged protest outside the police station and blocked road for the vehicular traffic. According to the police, Tanvir, 20, resident of Ghazi Chak was arrested for snatching a truck. Police resorted to aerial firing and tear gas shelling to disperse the protesters.

Brazil, China, Venezuela sharply critical of illegal drone strikes

NEW YORK: The US government has defended its use of drone strikes in Pakistan, Yemen and other countries in front of the UN, telling a chamber full of largely critical nations that in President Obama's view the deployment of unmanned aerial attacks against al-Qaida targets was "necessary, legal and just". Representatives from a slew of nations, including Brazil, China and Venezuela, lined up to berate the Obama administration for its intensive use of drone strikes. But the US delegation told a plenary meeting of the general assembly in the UN building in New York the president had taken steps to introduce new guidance and standards, and to set out the legal rationale for unmanned weapons deployed in the fight against al-Qaida and affiliated threats. The UN debate marked the first time that member nations have come together to discuss the rapidly expanding militarised use of remotely piloted aircraft and the fraught international legal issues that it raises. It came at the climax of 10 days in which the question of the legality of drones has caught the headlines, with the release of two UN reports that have sharply condemned aspects of the programmes. The authors of the two reports addressed Friday's UN debate, beginning with Christof Heyns, the UN's special rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions. His study warned of the danger of proliferation of the un-piloted weapons among states and terrorist groups. In his opening remarks to the UN debate, Heyns said "drones are here to stay". He argued that it was hard to make a case that unmanned aircraft were inherently illegal: "It is difficult to suggest that a weapon system is unlawful because a pilot is not on board." But he added that drones were easy to deploy across international borders, often secretly. "So it is my view that although they are not illegal, they do pose a challenge, particularly as they are used often in secret, raising accountability issues." The accountability theme was picked up by the second UN expert, Ben Emmerson, the special rapporteur on human rights and counter-terrorism. His ongoing investigation into lethal extra-territorial counter-terrorism operations has concluded that the 33 drone strikes that are known to have caused civilian casualties may have been carried out in violation of international law. He told the assembled nations that lack of transparency was "the single greatest obstacle to an evaluation of the civilian impact of drone strikes and it's a challenge which makes it extremely difficult to assess claims of precision targeting objectively". He urged delegates to consider whether an absolute ban was needed on secret deals cooked up between states for engagement in joint military actions. Emmerson also underlined the state of chaos that exists in international law over drones: "Despite the proliferation of this technology, there remains a lack of consensus among international lawyers and between states on the core legal principles." He added: "It's not the drone that is the problem. The problem is the lack of clarity under which it is lawful to deploy lethal force by drone." The UK, one of three countries alongside the US and Israel that have attracted most attention for the use of unmanned assault aircraft, also tried to defend its military deployment of the technology. Emmerson's report points out that the UK government has reported only one incident involving civilian casualties: an RAF strike in March 2011 in Afghanistan in which four civilians were killed. The UK mission attempted to defend its use of drones in military situations, telling the debate that the weapons systems were controlled by personnel on the ground and were therefore not "autonomous" or robotic – a status which would push them over into illegality in the opinions of most legal experts. The UK has no plans to replace controlled drones with autonomous weapons, the UN was told, while the engagement of unmanned planes within the RAF falls under exactly the same strict military rules as ordinary piloted fighter jets. But several countries questioned the legality of the weapons. Venezuela called drones "flagrantly illegal" and said that by its accounting, 1,800 people had been casualties – only about 10% of whom were "targeted individuals". "This is like a collective punishment," Venezuela's representative said. Brazil wondered where the line would be drawn in terms of potential targets for drone strikes. "In certain regions we might have sympathisers of terrorists – does that mean they become 'fair game' just because they sympathise with a particular cause, that they are legitimate targets of drone attacks, for yet another kill? This is uncharted waters." China, which normally keeps to the sidelines of the most contentious international disputes, was driven to state that drones were a "blank space in international law, and this blank space is subject to abuse … We should respect the principles of UN charters, the sovereignty of states and the legitimate rights of the citizens of all countries."

Drone operator haunted after years of watching aftermath of attacks

MONTANA: A drone operator has revealed the emotional toll years of remotely aiming missiles at people on the other side of the world has had on him. For more than five years Brandon Bryant worked as a U.S. Air Force drone operator, firing missiles remotely from a Nevada base. But the 27-year-old said watching the grisly consequences of his actions unfold on a computer screen led to drinking, depression and finally a diagnosis of post-traumatic stress disorder. 'I can see every little pixel if I just close my eyes,' Mr Bryant, who believes he is responsible for more than 1,600 fatal hits, said. His experiences have been shared as two human rights groups raised serious concerns about the consequences of drone strikes in Yemen and Pakistan, CNN reported. While the U.S. argues that the strikes are vital in the fight against terror, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have said some attacks, which have killed scores of civilians, could amount to war crimes. For Mr Bryant, who described being in 'zombie mode' as he monitored drone cameras, the effect of the strikes caused personal problems because he could never escape the deadly impact of his work. The Montana native, who signed up to the Air Force when he was 19, made his first kill in 2007, an event he remembers in vivid detail. After aiming a Hellfire missile at three men on a dirt road in Afghanistan, Mr Bryant watched the aftermath unfold on a monitor. 'The smoke clears, and there's pieces of the two guys around the crater. And there's this guy over here, and he's missing his right leg above his knee,' he said in a November article for GQ. 'He's rolling around, and the blood is squirting out of his leg, and it's hitting the ground, and it's hot. His blood is hot,' Mr Bryant said. 'It took him a long time to die. I just watched him. I watched him become the same color as the ground he was lying on.' While the U.S. continues to back its drone program, even under international criticism, Mr Bryant said remotely operating the devices led to his decision to quit the air force and turn down a $109,000 'People say that drone strikes are like mortar attacks,' he told NBC News. 'Well, artillery doesn't see this ... It's really more intimate for us, because we see everything.' As Mr Bryant came near to the end of his drone service he was presented with what amounted to a scorecard showing the number of fatal hits he had made. 'I would’ve been happy if they never even showed me the piece of paper. I've seen American soldiers die, innocent people die, and insurgents die. And it's not pretty. It's not something that I want to have - this diploma,' he said. Among the many upsetting scenes Mr Bryant witnessed was an incident when his drone recorded insurgents burying a roadside bomb in the path of U.S. soldiers. 'We had no way to warn the troops,' he said, adding that three servicemen were killed after driving over the device. He also remains haunted by the image of a small figure running towards a building he had just aimed at in Afghanistan. Mr Bryant was convinced the figure was a child, but his superiors told him it was a dog. He claims that in the final report of the strike, neither a child nor dog was mentioned. His experiences left Mr Bryant 'feeling like a sociopath', he said. 'I don’t feel like I can really interact with that average, everyday person. I get too frustrated, because A) they don't realize what's going on over there. And B) they don't care.'

Two security men killed in Mastung blast

QUETTA: A car bomb hit a paramilitary van escorting a bus of pilgrims in Mastung area of Balochistan on Saturday, killing two soldiers, officials said. The incident took place in Dringhar area, on the main Quetta-Taftan Highway in Mastung district, some 50 kilometres (30 miles) southwest of Quetta. "The bomb exploded after an FC (Paramilitary Frontier Corps) vehicle stopped to check a parked car," Sayed Mehrab Shah, a senior government official in Mastung told. All the pilgrims on the bus, who were on their way to Iran, were safe but several security personnel were wounded by the remotely triggered bomb, Shah said. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the blast. Abdul Wasay, spokesman for the paramilitary Frontier Corps confirmed the attack and told that rescue teams had been dispatched to the area.

PM directs Nisar to take parties on board over talks with Taliban

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif on Saturday directed Minister for Interior Ch Nisar Ali Khan to keep all the political parties in the loop regarding status of dialogue with Taliban. The Prime Minister during a meeting with the interior minister said that all the political parties had reposed confidence in the government to engage in talks with Taliban. "The representatives of different parliamentary parties should feel themselves as part and parcel of this process," he said, emphasizing that without peace and security, economic prosperity was not possible.

Friday, October 25, 2013

Nearly 700 immigrants rescued off Italy: official

ROME: Nearly 700 refugees have been rescued off Sicily in five operations, Italy's coast guard said Friday, as European leaders grapple with the issue of illegal immigration at a European Union summit. Coast guard patrol boats, navy vessels and a Maltese-flagged cargo vessel rescued five boats over the past 24 hours, the biggest of which was carrying 219 people, a coast guard statement said. The 318 migrants picked up by the navy were all packed on two boats and were later transferred onto the San March amphibious assault ship taking part in a massive search and rescue operation. The operation was launched by the Italian government in the wake of an October 3 refugee shipwreck tragedy just off the Italian island of Lampedusa in which 366 asylum seekers perished. The coast guard rescued around 300 more migrants from two boats, while a Maltese vessel rescued 91 more around 200 kilometres south of Lampedusa.

Morocco teen jailed for 3 months for Obama tweet threat

CASABLANCA: A Moroccan court on Friday jailed a teenager for three months for threatening to kill US President Barack Obama on Twitter, judicial sources said. The 17-year-old identified as Soufiane I. pleaded guilty at a Casablanca court to "electronic crimes" and "calling for violence via electronic media," after posting the death threat last year. "I will kill your president and everyone in his company. It's what I'm going to do when I arrive in the United States next month," the youth wrote on his Twitter feed. The teenager was arrested around two months ago in Casablanca. He is due to serve his sentence at the city's Oukacha juvenile detention centre, the judicial sources told. The court hearing was closed to the media, and it was not immediately known whether the young Moroccan's lawyers planned to appeal. Time spent in pre-trial detention is normally deducted from jail sentences in Morocco.

Iraq violence kills 12

BAGHDAD: Ten bombings and a shooting killed at least 12 people and wounded 19 in Iraq on Friday, officials said. Nine bombs exploded in and around the city of Baquba, north of Baghdad, killing a total of seven people and wounding eight, a police officer and a doctor said. Three of the dead and two of the wounded were from the same family, the sources said. The deadliest single attack was in Yusifiyah, south of Baghdad, where a roadside bomb exploded near a market, killing at least four people and wounding 11, security and medical officials said. And in Baghdad itself, gunmen armed with silenced weapons killed a justice ministry employee in the Amriyah area. (AFP)

Spain summons US ambassador over spy reports: Rajoy

BRUSSELS: Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy said Friday he would call in the US ambassador to Madrid to explain reports of American spying on the country, a close ally of Washington. "We do not have evidence that Spain has been spied on ... but we are calling in the ambassador to get information," Rajoy said after an EU summit dominated by the growing scandal over US intelligence activities in supposedly friendly countries. Spanish media reports said the US National Security Agency had spied on several members of the government and politicians, including former Socialist prime minister Rodriguez Zapatero. Germany called in the US ambassador to Berlin earlier this week after reports the Chancellor Angela Merkel's mobile phone had been tapped. "Spying between friends, that's just not done," Merkel said. The 28 European Union leaders earlier approved a statement which said they valued the relationship with the United States but it had to based on trust and confidence, especially in intelligence matters. France and Germany are to lead efforts to reach a new understanding with Washington by the end of this year. Rajoy said that for the moment, Spain would not join Berlin and Paris in this effort and reiterated that intelligence issues were the responsibility of national governments, not of the EU. (AFP)

Roger Daltrey to perform at US Capitol's Churchill ceremony

WASHINGTON: The Who's lead singer Roger Daltrey will rock the House -- and Senate -- next week when he performs at the US Capitol in honor of British former prime minister Winston Churchill. US lawmakers will unveil a bust of Churchill in National Statuary Hall on October 30, and House Speaker John Boehner's office said the English rock royalty member will participate. "I am pleased to be part of the celebration of Winston Churchill and the longstanding relationship between the United Kingdom and the United States," Daltrey said in a statement issued by Boehner's office. Boehner said Daltrey's participation "is sure to guarantee that the Churchill bust receives the first-class welcome it deserves." The ceremony in National Statuary Hall, where a statue of civil rights pioneer Rosa Parks was unveiled earlier this year, will be attended by American lawmakers as well as US Secretary of State John Kerry. There was no immediate word on the format or scope of Daltrey's Capitol performance. The Who have sold some 100 million records worldwide with hits like "Substitute" and "My Generation," the stuttering anthem in which Daltrey sneered "Hope I die before I get old." The band framed part of the so-called British Invasion of rock bands that traveled across the Atlantic in the 1960s and made lasting impacts on the United States. Daltrey is a Kennedy Center honoree and has been inducted with The Who into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. He has been involved in charity work, notably the Teenage Cancer Trust concert series which began in London in 2000. In 1946, World War II ally Churchill gave his remarks that later became known as his "Iron Curtain" speech at a small college in Fulton, Missouri.

Car bomb kills 20 outside mosque near Damascus

DAMASCUS: A car bomb outside a mosque near Damascus killed at least 20 people on Thursday as a monitoring group expressed mounting concern over thousands of besieged civilians. Dozens of people were wounded in the explosion in the town of Suq Wadi Barada, said the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, indicating that the death toll could rise. The town is under rebel control, but troops loyal to President Bashar al-Assad were positioned just outside it, it said. State news agency SANA said "the car exploded while the terrorists were packing it with explosives near the Osama Bin Zeid mosque. Terrorists and civilians were killed." The Observatory said at least three of the dead were children, and SANA said a seven-year-old child was killed. The outskirts of the capital have seen fierce fighting in recent days as Assad's troops have sought to tighten the noose around rebel areas under siege for months. On Thursday Syrian troops captured a town southeast of Damascus, which a military source described as an "important centre for terrorists," referring to the rebels who have been battling the regime since 2011. The operation was part of a larger effort to close in on Eastern Ghouta, a ring of suburbs besieged by the army for months, which was targeted in an August chemical attack that killed hundreds of people. UN and US officials have recently expressed concern about Eastern Ghouta and other besieged Damascus suburbs, following reports of severe food shortages and rising malnutrition. The Observatory on Friday described a similarly dire situation in the central city of Homs, where it said some 3,000 civilians are trapped in an area sealed off by regime forces for more than a year. "Three thousands civilians, among them 500 aged over 70, are living exclusively off the little food that had been stored in the besieged districts of Homs," said Observatory director Rami Abdel Rahman. Further north, in the Sfeirah district near Aleppo, some 130,000 Syrians have fled non-stop heavy bombing in a "massive exodus" this month , according to Doctors Without Borders (MSF), which has staff on the ground. Some 115,000 people have been killed since the start of Syria's uprising in March 2011 and millions have been displaced. In the latest sign of Syria's growing misery, UN agencies said they were stepping up efforts to vaccinate children against a host of diseases amid fears of an outbreak of polio, which would be the country's first since 1999. (AFP)

Saudi women drop plans for 'drive-in' over legal threats

RIYADH: Activists pressing for an end to Saudi Arabia's ban on women driving have dropped plans to hold a "drive-in" Saturday after threats of legal action against anyone getting behind the wheel. Instead, rather than making the date of October 26 a symbolic one, they have called for an open-ended campaign. "Out of caution and respect for the interior ministry's warnings... we are asking women not to drive tomorrow and to change the initiative from an October 26 campaign to an open driving campaign," activist Najla al-Hariri told AFP Friday. Several women said they had received telephone calls from the ministry, which openly warned on Thursday of measures against activists who chose to participate, asking them to promise not to drive on Saturday. Ministry spokesman General Mansur al-Turki told AFP: "It is known that women in Saudi are banned from driving and laws will be applied against violators and those who demonstrate in support" of this cause. On Wednesday, the ministry said it would crack down against anyone who attempts to "disturb public peace" by congregating or marching "under the pretext of an alleged day of female driving." In remarks to the Al-Hayat daily published Friday, Turki even warned against supporting the campaign online. When asked what would happen to those who did, Turki said legal measures will be taken "against whoever violates the anti-cyber crimes law," an offence punishable by up to five years in prison in the kingdom. Activists have repeatedly insisted throughout their campaign that no demonstrations would be held in the ultra-conservative absolute monarchy, which that officially bans public gatherings. A campaign website, where an online petition amassed more than 16,000 signatures before authorities blocked it two weeks later, was hacked on Friday. "Drop the leadership of Saudi women," read a cryptic message in English posted on the website, http://www.oct26driving.com. Referring to Saturday, blogger Eman Nafjan said "the date was only symbolic, and women have begun driving before and will continue to drive after October 26." Over the past two weeks, videos posted online have shown women already driving in Saudi Arabia. Women who have defied the law in the past have run into trouble with the authorities and been harassed by compatriots. In 1990, authorities stopped 47 women who got behind the wheel in a demonstration against the driving ban In 2011, activist Manal al-Sharif, one of the organisers of this Saturday's campaign, was arrested and held nine days for posting online a video of herself behind the wheel. That year Saudi police arrested a number of women who defied the driving ban and forced them to sign a pledge not to drive again. Saudi women are forced to cover from head to toe and need permission from a male guardian to travel, work and marry. (AFP)

PTI's Khan demands immediate reduction in power tariff

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan Friday said that a raise in power tariff would lead to an increase its theft in the country, Geo News reported. "The government must reduce the power tariff on immediate basis", said Khan while speaking to media here. Going forward he likened the imposition of huge taxes on the masses with extortion. "Extortionists do the same thing to generate revenues, so what the government was doing was not a big deal", said Khan. PTI chief said there had been reported a tax embezzlement of Rs600 billion in Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) while taxes worth Rs300 billion were stolen in power sector. He said the government was increasing burden on masses instead of halting tax theft. The government and opposition had struck deal on the appointment of chairman NAB, said Khan. Khan further said PTI would introduce a bill to adopt simplicity. Terming it a waste of national exchequer, he said he did not see any need to build such big governor houses. PTI leader demanded of the government to convert all the governor houses into hotels, museums and libraries.

SAfrica penalised for ball-tampering in 2nd Test vs Pakistan

DUBAI: South African cricketers were caught ball tampering during the second test match against Pakistan underway here. Umpires Rod Tucker of Australia and England's Ian Gould called South African captain Graeme Smith, changed the ball and added five runs to Pakistan's score. Television replays showed South African fielder Faf du Plessis rubbing the ball on his trousers which had a zip on them, in an apparent attempt to tamper with the ball. Another South player African Vernon Philander was also shown scratching the ball with his fingernail. An ICC spokesman confirmed the incident. "As per 42.1 of the ICC playing conditions, the umpires replaced the ball and fined South Africa five penalty runs for ball tampering," said an ICC spokesman. At the end of thirds day play, Pakistan were 132-4 needing another 286 to avoid an innings defeat.

Philippine earthquake creates miles-long rocky wall

PHILIPPINES: A deadly earthquake that struck the Philippines last week created a spectacular rocky wall that stretches for kilometres through farmlands, astounded geologists said Thursday. Dramatic pictures of the Earth-altering power of the 7.1-magnitide quake have emerged as the government worked to mend the broken central island of Bohol, ground zero of the destruction. A “ground rupture” pushed up a stretch of ground by up to three metres (10 feet), creating a wall of rock above the epicentre, Maria Isabel Abigania, a geologist at the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology, told AFP. “Our people have walked five kilometres (three miles) so far and not found the end of this wall,” she said, as experts from the institute surveyed the damage. “So far we have not gotten any reports of people getting swallowed up in these cracks. The fault runs along a less-populated area.” A photograph on the institute’s website showed part of the rock wall grotesquely rising on farmland behind an unscathed bamboo hut. Another house was shown lodged in a crack of the Earth, while a big hole on the ground opened up at a banana farm. Renato Solidum, head of the institute, said the ground fissures from the quake, which killed 198 people on Bohol and two nearby islands, were among the largest recorded since the government agency began keeping quake records in 1987. “Most of our other quake records show a lateral (sideways) tearing of the earth, though we’ve also had coral reefs rising from the sea,” he said, citing a 6.7-magnitude earthquake that hit the central island of Negros last year. The Philippines lies on the so-called Pacific Ring of Fire made up of chains of islands created by volcanic eruption that are also frequently hit by earthquakes. President Benigno Aquino told reporters Thursday the institute had assured him the worst was over, though Bohol would continue to be hit by aftershocks over the next few weeks. “There is no immediate danger” either from the aftershocks or from the ground fissures, said Aquino, who slept in an army tent there overnight Wednesday in solidarity with the survivors.

Violence against Muslims threatening Myanmar reforms: UN envoy

UNITED NATIONS: Violence against a Muslim minority in Myanmar is feeding a wider anti-Muslim feeling that poses a serious threat to the country’s dramatic economic and political reforms as it emerges from half a century of military rule, a UN envoy said on Thursday. The government says at least 192 people were killed in June and October 2012 clashes between ethnic Rakhine Buddhists and Rohingya Muslims, most of whom Myanmar deem illegal immigrants from Bangladesh, despite roots going back generations. The clashes led to unrest elsewhere in the country, where other groups of Muslims have been targeted, including Kamans, who are of different ethnicity from Rohingyas. An estimated 5 percent of Myanmar’s population of about 60 million is Muslim. “The president (Thein Sein) has made some commendable public speeches in which he has emphasized the need for trust, respect and compassion between people of different faiths and ethnic groups in Myanmar,” said Tomas Ojea Quintana, UN special rapporteur on the situation in human rights in Myanmar. “However, more needs to be done by the government to tackle the spread of discriminatory views and to protect vulnerable minority communities,” he told the UN General Assembly’s Third Committee, which deals with human rights issues. Thein Sein heads a quasi-civilian government installed in 2011 after Myanmar’s military stepped aside. Under his reforms, opposition leader and Nobel peace prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, who spent 15 years under house arrest, has been allowed back into politics and has made a number of visits abroad. “In our view the recent dramatic democratic changes in Myanmar were a clear demonstration of the changes of mindset in the government,” a representative of the Myanmar UN mission told the Third Committee. Myanmar is also known as Burma. “At the critical time of democratic transition no country is immune from challenges. Myanmar went through unfortunate communal violence in Rakhine state sparked by a brutal crime. We very much regret loss of life and property caused to both communities,” he said. The violence in northern Rakhine State, one of Myanmar’s poorest regions that is home to 1 million mostly stateless Rohingya Muslims, has continued this year. Dozens more have been killed and 140,000, mostly Rohingya, have been left homeless. “The situation in Rakhine State has fed a wider anti-Muslim narrative in Myanmar, which is posing one of the most serious threats to the reform process,” Quintana said. “Rakhine State remains in a situation of profound crisis.” “The underlying issue of discrimination against Muslim and particularly Rohingya populations remains unaddressed,” he said. “Allegations of gross violations since the violence erupted last June, including by state security personnel, remains unaddressed.”

Syria troops close in on suburbs hit by chemical attack

DAMASCUS: Syrian troops captured a key town southeast of Damascus on Thursday, a military source said, as they sought to close in on suburbs struck by chemical weapons in August. Meanwhile, the opposition said it would meet November 9 to decide whether to attend a proposed peace conference the United Nations is trying to convene in Geneva parallel with chemical disarmament efforts. Syria is set to submit a detailed plan for destroying its chemical arsenal Thursday, part of a UN-backed disarmament bid that averted US military strikes after the deadly August 21 sarin gas attack. A military source told AFP troops had recaptured Hteitit al Turkman, describing it as an “important centre for the terrorists,” the regime’s term for the rebels. The operation was part of a larger effort to close in on Eastern Ghouta, a ring of suburbs besieged by the army for months, which were targeted in the August chemical attack. Damascus denies US allegations it carried out the attack. Meanwhile, Syrian authorities were gradually restoring power to some provinces after rebels attacked a gas pipeline causing blackouts across the country, officials said. A huge fire near the airport, where a key power plant is located, was extinguished overnight. Elsewhere, Kurdish fighters battled rebels for several hours as they advanced on a border crossing with Iraq held by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, an al Qaeda affiliate present in both countries. In the central city of Homs a car bomb killed at least one person and wounded 43, state television reported. Some 115,000 people have been killed and millions driven from their homes since a brutal crackdown on Arab Spring-inspired protests in March 2011 was brutally repressed and escalated into civil war. The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons said Damascus was due to hand over its disarmament plan by Thursday, in line with a US-Russian accord to destroy Syria’s chemical arsenal by mid-2014. A joint UN-OPCW team, in Syria since the start of the month, has inspected 18 of 23 declared sites, destroying production equipment in almost all of them. Sweden said it would aid the disarmament effort by providing an air force unit and a Lockheed C-130 military transport plane, to be based in Cyprus. But efforts by the United Nations to convene a peace conference in Geneva next month have run into resistance from the fractured opposition, which is insisting on a raft of preconditions. Leaders of the National Coalition – the opposition umbrella group – insist they will not attend unless regime change and Assad’s departure are on the table. A meeting in London Tuesday between opposition leaders and diplomats from the Friends of Syria group produced little more than a joint statement that Assad should play no future role in government. Behind the scenes US ambassador to Syria Robert Ford, who has built up a close relationship with opposition leaders, met key figures in Istanbul on Wednesday to try to coax them to the negotiating table. “Their participation is pivotal. We will continue encouraging them to attend, and that’s why Ambassador Ford’s on the ground talking to them right now in Istanbul,” said deputy State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf. Coalition member Samir Nashar, said the opposition would meet on November 9 to decide whether to attend. On the humanitarian front the patriarch of the Maronite Church, Bechara Boutros Rai, said he has asked for Qatari mediation to help secure the release of two bishops abducted in April. Rai said he made the request after Qatar played a key role in the weekend release of Lebanese hostages held in Syria in exchange for two Turkish pilots abducted in Lebanon. Under that deal, Syria has freed 64 women prisoners and 64 more should walk free by the end of the week, rights activist Sima Nassar said. Aleppo’s Greek Orthodox Bishop Boulos Yaziji and Syriac Orthodox Bishop Yohanna Ibrahim were seized by armed men in April near the northern city of Aleppo. No group has claimed responsibility, but sources at the Greek Orthodox Church have said the kidnappers were “Chechen rebels.” Meanwhile, Interfax news agency said Moscow is probing reports that a Russian citizen was abducted in Syria after a video showing a man pleading to be rescued was posted online.

UN nuclear agency chief to meet top Iran negotiator

VIENNA: The UN atomic agency chief and a senior Iranian nuclear negotiator will meet on Monday before a new round of talks over the Islamic state’s disputed atomic activities, the agency said on Thursday. Yukiya Amano, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, will meet with Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi for about an hour at the IAEA’s Vienna headquarters, it said. “The meeting will provide an opportunity to exchange views on the way forward,” the IAEA said in a statement. It gave no details. The fact the Amano-Araqchi meeting appeared to be scheduled at short notice may be seen as a further sign of the new Iranian government’s desire to try to end international deadlock over the country’s nuclear programme. It will be followed by a new round of negotiations on November 7 and 8 in Geneva between senior officials from both sides over a stalled IAEA investigation into suspected atomic bomb research by Iran, which denies the charge. Neither Amano nor Araqchi is due to take part in those previously scheduled talks, which will be the 12th such meeting since early 2012. The IAEA-Iran talks have so far failed to yield a breakthrough deal that would allow the agency to resume its inquiry. But the election of relatively moderate Hassan Rouhani as Iranian president in June has raised hopes of a possible resolution to the nuclear dispute. Araqchi played a key role in separate negotiations that resumed in Geneva last week between Iran and six world powers – the United States, Russia, China, France, Germany and Britain – aimed at finding a diplomatic settlement. The powers want Iran, which says its programme is peaceful, to curb activity that can have both civilian and military purposes. The IAEA wants to gain access to sites, officials and documents in Iran for its investigation.

Germany, France demand 'no-spy' agreement with US

BRUSSELS: German Chancellor Angela Merkel demanded on Thursday that the United States strike a “no-spying” agreement with Berlin and Paris by the end of the year, saying alleged espionage against two of Washington’s closest EU allies had to be stopped. Speaking after talks with EU leaders that were dominated by allegations that the US National Security Agency had accessed tens of thousands of French phone records and monitored Merkel’s private mobile phone, the chancellor said she wanted action from President Barack Obama, not just apologetic words. Germany and France would seek a “mutual understanding” with the United States on cooperation between their intelligence agencies, and other EU member states could eventually take part. “That means a framework for cooperation between the relevant (intelligence) services. Germany and France have taken the initiative and other member states will join,” she said. In a statement issued after the first day of the summit, the EU’s 28 leaders said they supported the Franco-German plan. Merkel first raised the possibility of a “no-spying” agreement with Obama during a visit to Berlin in June this year, but nothing came of it. The latest revelations, part of the vast leaks made by former US data analyst Edward Snowden, would appear to have renewed her determination for a pact. The United States has a “no-spying” deal with Britain, Australia, New Zealand and Canada, an alliance known as “Five Eyes” that was struck in the aftermath of World War Two. But there has traditionally been a reluctance to make similar arrangements with other allies, despite the close relations that the United States and Germany now enjoy. Merkel said an accord with Washington was long overdue, given the shared experiences the countries face. “We are in Afghanistan together. Our soldiers experience life threatening situations. They sometimes die in the same battles,” she said. “The friendship and partnership between the European member states, including Germany, and the United States is not a one-way street. We depend on it. But there are good reasons that the United States also needs friends in the world.” Collective anger As EU leaders arrived for the two-day summit there was near-universal condemnation of the alleged activities by the NSA, particularly the monitoring of Merkel’s mobile phone, a sensitive issue for a woman who grew up in East Germany, living under the Stasi police force and its feared eavesdropping. Some senior German officials, and the German president of the European Parliament, have called for talks between the EU and United States on a free-trade agreement, which began in July, to be suspended because of the spying allegations. Merkel, whose country is one of the world’s leading exporters and stands to gain from any trade deal with Washington, said that was not the right path to take, saying the best way forward was to rebuild trust. The series of Snowden-based leaks over the past three months have left Washington at odds with a host of important allies, from Brazil to Saudi Arabia, and there are few signs that the revelations are going to dry up anytime soon. Britain’s Guardian newspaper reported on Thursday that one NSA contact, a US official, had provided the telephone numbers of 35 world leaders that had then been monitored. As well as raising questions about the EU-US trade negotiations, the spying furore could also have an impact on data-privacy legislation working its way through the EU. The European Parliament this week backed legislation, proposed by the European Commission in early 2012, that would greatly toughen EU data protection rules dating from 1995. The new rules would restrict how data collected in Europe by firms such as Google and Facebook is shared with non-EU countries, introduce the right of EU citizens to request that their digital traces be erased, and impose fines of $138 million or more on rule breakers. The United States is concerned the regulations, if they enter into law, will raise the cost of handling data in Europe. Google, Yahoo!, Microsoft and others have lobbied hard against the proposals. Given the spying accusations, France and Germany – the two most influential countries in EU policy – may succeed in getting member states to push ahead on negotiations with the parliament to complete the new data regulations by 2015. For the United States, it could substantially change how data privacy rules are implemented globally.

Indian PM says ready to be questioned by police

NEW DELHI: India’s Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has said he is happy to be questioned by police over an alleged coal scam amid growing speculation he will be called to give evidence. Last week, police named leading industrialist Kumar Mangalam Birla and former coal secretary PC Parakh as suspects in their probe into the allocation of coal mining rights. Singh approved the deal under investigation, which enabled Birla’s Hindalco company to mine from a state-owned block in 2005, but he said it was done according to the rules and without prejudice. “I am not above the law of the land,” Singh told journalists aboard his plane as he returned from a visit to Russia and China on Thursday night. “If there is anything that the CBI (Central Bureau of Investigation) or for that matter anyone, wants to ask, I have nothing to hide,” he said, according to a transcript. He has rejected repeated calls from the opposition for him to step down. Indian media quoted a letter on Friday from coal secretary Parakh in 2005 complaining about then coal minister Shibu Soren in which he said a “coal mafia” existed in the ministry. Softly-spoken Singh, promoted to the top job owing to his reputation as “Mr Clean” and a successful stint as a reformist finance minister in the 1990s, has seen his public image battered in recent years. His coalition government, dominated by the left-leaning Congress party, has been beset by a string of corruption cases since re-election in 2009 and is set to struggle in national polls next year. While speaking to journalists, Singh also expressed disappointment with his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif after the two men agreed in New York last month to restore calm on their border following months of tension. Senior Indian army figures told AFP this week that recent firing over the disputed border in Kashmir and the recognised international border further south was the worst since the countries signed a ceasefire in 2003. “We had agreed at that meeting that the ceasefire which was made effective in 2003, if it has held ground for 10 years, it could be made to hold ground later on also,” Singh said. “The fact that this is not happening, is something which is really a matter of disappointment.”

Weak measures 10:03 PM PST Double murder at Beijing's Forbidden City: Police

BEIJING: Two people were stabbed to death Friday at Beijing’s Forbidden City, the vast former imperial palace that is China’s top tourist attraction, by a man who then attempted suicide, police said. The violence at the world heritage site was a brawl among employees, Beijing police said in a post on their verified account on Sina Weibo, a Chinese equivalent of Twitter. Police identified the assailant as a 49-year-old Beijing resident surnamed Zheng and said he was taken to hospital after trying to kill himself following the knifing. The official Xinhua news agency cited museum sources as saying no tourists were hurt. No details of the trio’s jobs were available. The Forbidden City, the sprawling former home of China’s emperors, hosts more than 14 million visitors annually, the museum’s director recently told the Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post. China has a low murder rate, although there have been occasional previous incidents at tourist landmarks. In August 2008, one day after the opening of the Beijing Olympics, an American businessman was killed and his wife and a tour guide critically wounded in a knife attack at the city’s historic Drum Tower.

Indian PM has no mobile phone, email account to hack

NEW DELHI: India’s 81-year-old prime minister does not own a mobile phone or use personal email, giving New Delhi “no cause for concern” about new US hacking revelations, his office said Friday. The Guardian newspaper reported Friday that US spies eavesdropped on the phone conversations of 35 world leaders after White House, Pentagon and State Department officials gave them the numbers. The new revelations, based on a classified document provided by intelligence leaker Edward Snowden, come amid fury from German Chancellor Angela Merkel, whose communications were allegedly targeted. Asked if Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was concerned, his spokesperson replied: “The prime minister doesn’t use a mobile phone and he doesn’t have an email account. “His office uses email, but he has no personal email… We have no information and no cause for concern,” he added. India has witnessed a mobile telecom boom in the past decade with the latest figures from the national telecom regulator showing 876 million phone connections in the country of 1.2 billion people. But the industry is also at the heart of one of the worst graft scandals afflicting Singh’s embattled administration with ex-telecom minister A. Raja on trial over allegedly corrupt allocation of phone licences in 2008. India initially played down the impact of spying by the US National Security Agency, saying that information gleaned from its activities had helped prevent terror attacks and loss of life. But following allegations that computers and phones in the Indian embassy and its UN mission in New York had been compromised, it took a slightly tougher line, saying it would seek answers from Washington. Soft-spoken Singh, promoted to the top job owing to his reputation as “Mr Clean” and a successful stint as a reformist finance minister in the 1990s, has seen his popularity plunge in recent years. Instead of the wise and respected economist capable of steering India through momentous change, he is now routinely portrayed in the local media as the out-of-touch and weak head of a graft-ridden government. On Thursday, while returning from a trip to Russia and China, he told journalists that he would be happy to be questioned by police over an alleged coal scam amid growing speculation he will be called to give evidence. He also defended his legacy. “I am doing my duty. I will continue to do my duty. What impact my 10 years of prime ministership will have is something which is for historians to judge,” he added.

Supreme Court brings Margalla Tunnel Project to an end

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court ordered the Margalla Tunnel Project to be stopped as the status of Margalla Hills National Park is to be maintained, Express News reported on Friday. The court ordered a halt to any construction and digging into the hills. The Supreme Court also asked the Chairman Capital Development Authority (CDA) to form a committee that will conduct a survey regarding the Margalla Hills National Park and prepare a report. The report is to be submitted to the registrar of the Supreme Court within two weeks. Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry remarked that progress on developmental work is appreciated, but preservation of national and environmental heritage should also be given importance. He further added that if a tunnel is dug through the hills, it will serve as a passageway for heavy goods traffic. The National Highway Authority (NHA) had argued the construction of a tunnel would not harm the spirit of Margalla Hills Park. The government had been considering the construction of a tunnel through the Margalla Hills – connecting Islamabad to Haripur – as a part of Pakistan-China trade corridor. NGOs and other social and environmental organisations claim that going ahead with the tunnel will give rise to environmental and health issues. Following the controversy which surrounded the project, Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry had taken suo motu notice, addressing concerns of various factions.

Dr Aafia should not be linked to Shakil Afridi: Foreign Office

The Foreign Office spokesperson stated that Dr Aafia Siddiqui’s extradition should not be linked with Dr Shakil Afridi’s fate, Express News reported on Friday. Afridi was sentenced to a 33-year jail term in May 2012 for helping the US CIA determine the whereabouts of Osama bin Laden and for his links to a banned militant group. Aafia is the Pakistani scientist who was sentenced to 86 years on September 23, 2010 after she was found guilty on seven counts, including attempted murder. She is currently being held at an American maximum security prison in Fort Worth, Texas. The spokesperson said, “The decision regarding Shakil Afridi’s fate will be decided according to Pakistani law. He has broken the law and will be punished accordingly.” The Foreign Office’s comments come against the backdrop of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s official visit to the United States. To a question about Dr Aafia Siddiqui and Dr Shakil Afridi, the premier had said the United States did raise its concerns, as did Pakistan. “They discussed Dr Shakil, we did Dr Aafia. Now we will review the situation after we reach Pakistan.” During the visit, Chairman of the US House Foreign Affairs Committee, Ed Royce, had urged Nawaz to release Dr Shakil Afridi. According to a statement, Royce said, “I specifically pressed the prime minister to release Dr Shakil Afridi and encouraged him to ensure that his nation is in fact a responsible and effective partner in countering terrorism, proliferation and violent extremism in the region.”

Yemen aside, Pakistan worst country in gender parity: World Economic Forum

The World Economic Forum (WEF), an international non-profit foundation working independently from Switzerland, released its annual Global Gender Gap Report for 2013, claiming Pakistan to be worst country in terms of an equitable division of resources between men and women, after Yemen. Pakistan was ranked 135 among 136 countries, in a continuing tradition of being awarded the lowest positions since 2006.

Neighbouring India was ranked 101. Among countries with Muslim majority, Bangladesh was ranked 75, Saudi Arabia 127, Iran 130, Turkey 120, Malaysia 102 and Indonesia 95 whereas Iraq and Afghanistan were not included in the report. WEF states their Gender Gap Index is “a framework for capturing the magnitude and scope of gender-based disparities and tracking their progress.” The 136 countries assessed by the report represent more than 93% of the world’s population, ranking them on how well resources and opportunities are divided among male and female populations. “The Index benchmarks national gender gaps on economic, political, educational and health-based criteria, and provides country rankings that allow for effective comparisons across regions and income groups, and over time.”

WEF also emphasises that since the Index is concerned only with gender-based gaps, the actual levels of the available resources and opportunities in the countries does not matter. “Thus the Index penalizes or rewards countries based on the size of the gap between male and female enrollment rates, but not for the overall levels of education in the country.” Pakistan’s ranking in sub-indexes

The Report measures the size of the gender inequality gap in four areas or sub-indexes: 1. Economic participation and opportunity (135): In terms of salaries, participation and highly skilled employment, Pakistan received an overall rank of 135. Breaking this down further, the country was deemed most unequal in its employment of men and women for labour force and the relative incomes earned by the two groups. In terms of wage equality between men and women for the same job, the country fared a little better with a rank of 113. 2. Educational attainment (129): Women in Pakistan were ascertained as having better access to education once they moved from basic to higher studies. While a comparison between the overall literacy rates of men and women put Pakistan at an unimpressive 131, the country fared better in equality between males and females in terms of enrolment in tertiary education, getting the 95th position. Unequality was higher in primary and secondary education though. 3. Health and survival (124): While Pakistan was awarded the top position in terms of giving birth to an equal number of males and females, WEF again found the country’s women to be among the worst ones in terms of having a healthy life expectancy similar to men in the country. 4. Political empowerment (64) Pakistan did have a lot to be proud of in the area of conferring politically empowering positions on women. Women in the country enjoy a representation in decision-making structures of the country which is better than 72 other countries in the report though trailing behind 63 others. There may be more women in ministerial positions in other countries than Pakistan (which ranks 97), but there are more women in the parliament here than many other nations (rank 69). Lastly, thanks to Benazir Bhutto’s two terms (or five years) in office as Prime Minister, Pakistan has spent more time with a female head of state in the last 50 years than 20 other countries (rank 21). Countries with best gender-parity stats: According to the report, the following countries have been most successful in offering equal opportunities for men and women. 1. Iceland 2. Finland 3. Norway 4. Sweden 5. Philippines 6. Ireland 7. New Zealand 8. Denmark 9. Switzerland 10. Nicaragua

Court ensures no quick exit for Musharraf

ISLAMABAD: A Pakistani court extended the custody of former dictator Pervez Musharraf on Friday, dampening hopes he would be able to leave the country any time soon, following months under house arrest and legal wrangling over his fate. Musharraf was arrested two weeks ago on charges of murdering Abdul Rasheed Ghazi, the prayer leader of the ‘Lal Masjid’ (Red Mosque) in a 2007 raid on the mosque – just as his lawyer announced the former ruler was free to leave the country after being granted bail in another, unrelated case. “The judicial magistrate extended the custody of Musharraf till October 29,” Iftikhar Chattha, an investigation officer, told Reuters, adding that the investigation had not yet finished. Musharraf seized power in a 1999 coup but was forced into exile nine years later after a showdown with the judiciary. He returned to Pakistan this year to contest May elections but was barred from standing by a flurry of court cases. The arrest of Musharraf – a former army chief – was unprecedented in a country ruled by the powerful military for more than half of its life. Despite his arrest, Musharraf is not being held in a jail with common criminals. Friday’s hearing was held at his villa on the outskirts of Islamabad. The house has been declared a sub-jail by the authorities.

MQM turns down invitation to join Sindh government, PPP denies making offer

The Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) on Friday claimed that it had rejected an offer to join the coalition government in Sindh led by the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), who in turn denied having ever made the offer, Express News reported. Sindh Information Minister Sharjeel Memon denied on Friday that the PPP had invited MQM to join the Sindh government. The minister made the statement after representatives of both parties met each other in the United Arab Emirates. Memon claimed it was MQM who had expressed the desire to meet PPP co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari, going on to explain that mutual discussions between the parties were a common occurrence. The meeting was attended by Zardari, Faryal Talpur and Rehman Malik from the PPP whereas the MQM delegation comprised of Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui, Adil Siddiqui, Babar Ghauri and Sindh Governor Ishratul Ebad. Rehman Malike later tweeted saying it was a friendly meeting and a coalition never came under discussion: MQM spokespersons said the meeting was just another part of the democratic machinery, which entailed that all parties stay in discussion with others. On Thursday, Ameenul Haque, a member MQM Coordination Committee refuted reports of negotiations between the two parties saying: “These are just rumours. Our leaders have gone on personal visit and they have not held meetings with PPP leadership.” The two parties were on-again-off-again coalition partners in the federal and Sindh government between 2008 and 2013.

Despite disappointment, Pakistan hopes talks can resolve border clashes: FO

ISLAMABAD: Pakistani government on Friday called for an immediate meeting between senior military officials from Pakistan and India to stem tensions across the Line of Control (LoC) and the international border. Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had expressed his disappointment on Thursday over the continued border skirmishes despite an agreement between premiers of both countries to halt them. In response, a spokesperson for Pakistan’s foreign ministry said that continued ceasefire violations by the Indian forces at the LoC and working boundary was a matter of ‘grave concern’, but talks should move forward for the restoration of peace. “We believe that the decision of the two Prime Ministers about the meeting of the Directors General Military Operations (DGMOs) must be implemented immediately to resolve this matter.” The spokesperson rejected that Pakistan was responsible for the tensions “The present leadership wants good neighborly relations with India. The Prime Minister has gone to every length to send out positive signals.” Firing incidents along the LoC have increased over the past few weeks with both sides accusing each other for the escalation. The rare face-to-face talks with senior military officials from the nuclear-armed neighbors were expected to take place by the end of this month. However, the foreign office spokesperson said there was not update yet on the meeting. “We hope that the military officials can meet soon and resolve this matter,” he said, adding that Pakistan was disappointed with the violations which have seen 27 posts attacked and three people including a soldier being killed in Pakistan. On the prosecution of Mumbai attackers, the spokesperson said that the judicial process was still going on. US visit “highly successful” The spokesperson described the recently concluded visit by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to Washington as ‘highly successful.’ He said the Prime Minister had focused on all issues of national interest including the economy. Nawaz sought US cooperation for the resolution of energy issues, trade cooperation, social sector development, counter-terrorism, and regional stability. The spokesperson further said the premier had forcefully articulated the country’s strong opposition to drone strikes in the country’s tribal areas. “We do hope that the drone strikes will end,” the official maintained. “The strategy is working and we should give it sometime. Hopefully, we will have a good solution to it.” He denied the recent Washington Post report that Pakistani authorities had secretly endorsed the CIA-piloted drone program. He also ruled out the possiblity of pursuing the matter of drones in the International Criminal Court, saying neither Pakistan nor the US has ratified it. On subjects of Dr Aafia Siddiqui and Dr Shakil Afridi, the spokesperson said that while the matter of Dr Afridi was pending in the courts, the government was making attempts whereby Siddiqui can spend the remainder of her statement in Pakistan.

Thursday, October 24, 2013

ATC dismisses bail application of PPP MNA

KARACHI: An anti-terrorism court (ATC) dismissed on Thursday the bail application of Pakistan Peoples’ Party (PPP) MNA Shahjahan Baloch, Express News reported. Baloch is a suspect in two cases involving murder, attempted murder, police encounter and possessing explosives. The PPP MNA was also nominated as a suspect in the abduction and murder case of a notorious gangster, Arshad Pappu. Baloch’s request for bail in the Pappu murder case was also rejected on October 7. Arshad Pappu murder Arshad Pappu, his brother, Yasir Arafat, and their confidant, Juma Shera, were killed on the night of March 16. According to the FIR registered on the complaint of Arshad Pappu’s widow, the alleged gangster along with his brother, a confidant and his 10-year-old son had gone to attend a party at a friend’s apartment in the DHA on the night of March 16. The boy came back at around midnight and informed his mother that around 20 men in two vehicles came to the apartment and kidnapped his father and the two others. The complainant stated in the FIR that the victims were killed after being subjected to torture. She alleged that the offence was committed on the behest of MNA Baloch.

Saturday, October 26, 2013

Friday, October 25, 2013

Thursday, October 24, 2013

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