ISLAMABAD/MIRANSHAH – As calls for stopping targeted operation in North Waziristan to avert civilian deaths grew stronger, the government has come forward to defend the security forces’ right to pound hideouts of the militants who recently launched deadly attacks on the soldiers. The attacks on the security forces will not be tolerated at any cost and the government will not show leniency towards terrorists, Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif told media persons here on Friday as troops continued their strikes at the militants for a third day.
IHC makes it three in a row, reinstates AGPR
ISLAMABAD – The Islamabad High Court on Friday suspended the official notification about the suspension of Accountant General of Pakistan Revenue Tahir Mehmood. Justice Noorul Haq N Qureshi reinstated Mehmood by suspending the notification of December 18. The high court had also reinstated the chairmen of National Database and Registration Authority and Pakistan Electronic Media Regularity Authority through stay orders a few days back. During Friday’s proceedings, the court noted that the points raised by the petitioner needed consideration, so the judge issued notices to the finance secretary, auditor general of Pakistan, establishment division secretary. They were directed to submit reply within 15 days.
London theatre ceiling collapse injures 76
LONDON : Investigators were seeking Friday to establish why the ceiling of a packed London theatre collapsed, injuring 76 people and coating terrified audience members with rubble. A sell-out crowd of around 720 people was in the Apollo Theatre in Soho on Thursday night when ornate masonry and rigging fell some five storeys onto their heads. Witnesses said they heard creaking noises in the 112-year-old theatre but thought it was part of the show they were watching, “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time”. Then debris and dust filled the air, sending coughing, terrified theatregoers – many of them families enjoying a pre-Christmas treat – fleeing for the exits. Rescuers commandeered three iconic red London double-decker buses to transport the wounded, while the city’s normally tourist-thronged “Theatreland” was brought to a stunned halt.
Lanka hold nerve to beat Pakistan and level series
DUBAI – Sri Lanka’s late order batsmen held their nerve to beat Pakistan by two wickets and level the series in a match in which fortunes swung from one side to another in Dubai on Friday. Set 285 to chase, Sri Lanka needed 16 off the last two overs and four off the final, as number ten batsman Sachitra Senanayake drove Shahid Afridi for boundary to seal a tense win for his team with two balls to spare.
ECP announces schedule for Sindh LG polls
ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Wednesday issued schedule for local government (LG) polls in Sindh to be held on January 18, 2014. ECP Director General Syed Sher Afgan told newsmen here that the notice for inviting nomination papers would be issued on December 24.Nomination papers would be received from December 26 to 29 while objections over them could be submitted on December 31, he added.According to the schedule, scrutiny of nomination papers would be carried out from January 1 to 5 next year while appeals against acceptance or rejection of papers can be filed from January 6 to 7, which would be disposed off from January 8 to 11.
Govt says youth loan terms set by banks
ISLAMABAD: The government has blamed the banks funding its signature youth development programme for the tough terms and conditions for loans. Parliamentary secretary for finance and revenue Rana Mohammad Afzal Khan faced a barrage of complaints in the National Assembly on Wednesday from both sides of the aisle over what they said strict conditions attached to the loan scheme. Dr Mahreen Razaque Bhutto of the PPP and other lawmakers of the party had moved a call-attention notice on the matter seeking government’s reply. On the face of it, she said, the scheme had been formulated to help poor and unemployed young people, but in fact it appeared to be for the rich class.
Strategic dialogue with US to resume in Feb: Aziz
ISLAMABAD: The strategic dialogue between Pakistan and the United States, suspended in 2010, will resume by February in the perspective of post-2014 situation in the region after the withdrawal of foreign troops from Afghanistan. This was stated by Adviser to the Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz who was winding up a debate in the Senate on Wednesday on foreign policy with particular reference to the prime minister’s visit to the US, drone attacks and repercussions of the expected reduction in the number of forces in Afghanistan next year. He said that four of the six working groups which were scheduled to meet before start of the strategic dialogue had already met.
US review panel urges wide-ranging NSA spying overhaul
WASHINGTON: US legal and intelligence experts ordered by President Barack Obama to review National Security Agency practices on Wednesday called for a sweeping overhaul of US surveillance programs while preserving “robust” intelligence capabilities. The five-member panel of advisers also urged reforms at a secret national security court and an end to bulk retention of telephone “metadata” by the spy agency, by keeping those records in private hands subject to specific queries from the NSA or law enforcement.
Nearly 1,000 killed by ex-rebels in C. Africa capital: Amnesty
BANGUI: The Central African Republic’s mostly Muslim ex-rebels killed nearly 1,000 people in the capital Bangui two weeks ago in a rampage avenging deadly Christian militia attacks, Amnesty International said in a report Thursday. The death toll was significantly higher than earlier estimates by the United Nations, which spoke of 450 killed in Bangui and another 150 elsewhere in the country. The two-day spasm of violence by fighters from the former Seleka rebel group came after Christian militias known as “anti-balaka” (anti-machete) went door-to-door in some districts in the capital “and killed approximately 60 Muslim men,” Amnesty said in a statement.
Thai protesters march in bid to oust PM, but turnout low
BANGKOK: Anti-government protesters marched in Bangkok on Thursday in a bid to force Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra from office but their numbers appeared far smaller than earlier in the month, when she called a snap election to try to defuse the crisis. Protest leader Suthep Thaugsuban is demanding political and electoral reforms before any vote is held and wants these to be overseen by a “people’s council” his movement will help nominate rather than by Yingluck, who is caretaker prime minister until the election, set for Feb. 2. About 2,500 people marched along one of the city’s main roads holding banners that read “We are anti-corruption” and “No elections before reform”. Others are expected to join as they move through central business areas.
