ISLAMABAD, Nov 06 (DNA): Former president Pervez Musharraf was freed late Wednesday two days after a court granted him bail in the murder case of the deputy chief of Islamabad’s Red Mosque, who was killed in a military raid in 2007, his lawyer said.Musharraf had already got bails in three cases including the 2007 assassination of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto.Additional Session Judge in Islamabad, Wajid Ali, earlier issued written orders for Musharraf’s release after his defence lawyers deposited two surety bonds, each of one hundred thousand rupees.
Denmark launches $ 50 million porgramme for Pakistan
ISLAMABAD, NOV 06 (DNA) – The Government of Denmark on Wednesday launched its new development program for Pakistan 2013-2016. Denmark will contribute USD 50 Million for democratic development, regional stability, human rights and gender equality.Denmark will almost double its commitment from around USD 8 million annually to USD 14 million over the next three and half years as a continuation of the first program launched in 2010.
Armenian Foreign Policy U-Turn
Ansar Mahmood Bhatti
On 28-29 November, the European Union’s Lithuanian presidency will host the Eastern Partnership Summit, where association agreements with Moldova, Georgia and Armenia are expected to be initialed, and where an EU-Ukraine association agreement is expected to be signed. These agreements are accompanied by Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Agreements (DCFTA) with the EU, which are making Moscow nervous. Russia on its turn has set up its own Customs Union, joined by Belarus and Kazakhstan. EU officials made it clear that membership of the Customs Union is incompatible with the DCFTAs.
NATO’s engagement in Afghanistan
The Greek embassy in Islamabad facilitated a visit of senior Pakistani journalists to Brussels to visit NATO headquarters and meet with high officials so as to exchange views on the issues relating to NATO’s presence in the region. The visit was a sort of familiarization trip purpose of which, inter alia, was to brief the Pakistani media about NATO’s functioning as well as its engagement in various parts of the world. Since all briefings were of the record therefore we are bound not to share any details nevertheless we can ostensibly talk about the nature of the relations between Pakistan and NATO’s involvement in the regional affairs.
SC directs to curb arms, drugs smuggling in Karachi
KARACHI: The Supreme Court Thursday directed Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) to deal smuggling of weapons and drugs, custom duty evasion and black money with zero tolerance and ensure that all necessary steps are taken to stop menace of duty evasion within seven days. Three-member bench of apex court, headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry and comprising Justice Jawad S. Khawaja and Justice Gulzar Ahmed, ordered the FBR chairman to present a report containing details of arms and weapons imported through the dealers during the past three years via Karachi ports.
Rs35bn relief for power consumers
ISLAMABAD, Oct 31: A relief of Rs35 billion was approved on Thursday for electricity consumers by the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra), but it will be spread over eleven months. The average per unit benefit to consumers will be around 35 paisa in the shape of reduction in power tariff. The relief was announced by the power regulator after revisiting the previous determinations from July 2012 to May 2013. Nepra held a public hearing and informed stakeholders that Rs35 billion in excess had been collected from consumers during the 11-month period from July 2012 to May 2013, when a higher reference price was allowed to power generation companies.
Nominal cut in petrol price
ISLAMABAD: The government on Thursday announced a nominal decrease of 48 paisa in the price of petrol for November in contrast to Ogra’s suggestion of Rs2.48 per litre cut. The price has fallen from Rs113.24 to Rs112.76 per litre. The prices of other petroleum products witnessed a nominal reduction. In its summary sent to the petroleum ministry on Wednesday Ogra proposed a reduction in the petrol price. Sources said the proposal was based on prices in the international market during the past 25 days. According to a government notification, with a decrease of 0.20 paisa the new price of HSD (high speed diesel), the most widely consumed petroleum product in the country, is Rs116.75 per litre. The price of LDO (light diesel oil) remained unchanged at Rs 101.24 per litre. There is a 0.13 paisa per litre decrease in the price of SKO (kerosene), bringing it down to Rs108 per litre.
Israel strikes Russian weapons shipment in Syria
BEIRUT: Israeli warplanes attacked a shipment of Russian missiles inside a Syrian government stronghold, officials said Thursday, a development that threatened to add another volatile layer to regional tensions from the Syrian civil war. The revelation came as the government of President Bashar Assad met a key deadline in an ambitious plan to eliminate Syria’s entire chemical weapons stockpile by mid-2014 and avoid international military action. The announcement by a global chemical weapons watchdog that the country has completed the destruction of equipment used to produce the deadly agents highlights Assad’s willingness to cooperate, and puts more pressure on the divided and outgunned rebels to attend a planned peace conference. An Obama administration official confirmed the Israeli airstrike overnight, but provided no details. Another security official said the attack occurred late Wednesday in the Syrian port city of Latakia and that the target was Russian-made SA-125 missiles.
In some cases, US spying ‘has reached too far’: Kerry
WASHINGTON: US Secretary of State John Kerry said for the first time Thursday that in some cases, US spying has gone too far, amid a row with Europe over the matter. “I assure you, innocent people are not being abused in this process, but there’s an effort to try to gather information,” Kerry told a London conference via video link. “And yes, in some cases, it has reached too far inappropriately. And the president, our president, is determined to try to clarify and make clear for people, and is now doing a thorough review in order that nobody will have the sense of abuse.” “And in some cases, I acknowledge to you, as has the president, that some of these actions have reached too far, and we are going to make sure that does not happen in the future,” he said.
Malaysia bans Ke$ha concert, cites ‘culture’ clash
KUALA LUMPUR: Authorities in Muslim-majority Malaysia have banned a planned concert by US pop singer Ke$ha after deciding it would hurt cultural and religious sensitivities. Concert organiser Livescape said it received a letter about the decision on the eve of the show that was to be held Saturday at a Kuala Lumpur stadium.The Ministry of Communications and Multimedia said separately that it was rejecting the application for Ke$ha to perform for reasons of religion and culture.The ministry’s statement did not elaborate. Ke$ha, whose hits include ”Tik Tok” and ”Die Young,” has songs that make explicit references to sex and liquor.
