Defence Secretary sacking case: IHC reserves ruling

TrendPK.com
ISLAMABAD: Islamabad High Court (IHC) reserved the ruling in a case relating the sacking of Defence Secretary Lt. Gen. (rtd.) Naeem Khalid Lodhi.

Lodhi’s counsel FK Butt, giving arguments before the court, said his client was appointed as Secretary Defence on two-year contract from November 28, 2011; however, he was dismissed from his duties without offering any notice.

Deputy Attorney General Tariq Jahangiri said the contract employee has to be given 30-day notice and advance salary of a month. Salary of a month has been reimbursed to the secretary defence.

Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani and Secretary Establishment Division submitted their rejoinders in the court, which has reserved its ruling. TrendPK

Lahore: Dengue takes life of Secretary PUNJMIN Ataullah Siddiqui

Punjab government’s Secretary Punjab Mineral Development Corporation (PUNJMIN) Ataullah Siddiqui passed away due to dengue fever.

Dengue epidemic is getting out of control of Punjab government as a provincial Secretary PUNJMIN Ataullah Siddiqui lost his life due to dengue fever. The number of deaths in Lahore has reached 12 due to dengue fever.

According to unofficial estimates, more than 6,000 people are infected by dengue virus in Lahore. In the past 24 hours, 486 new cases of dengue virus were reported in different hospitals of the city.

Meanwhile, Army also established medical camps in Cantt Area and defence Housing Authority, Lahore to provided medical treatment to dengue patients.

In Multan, the number of dengue patients brought to Nishtar Hospital has reached 40.

In interior Sindh, 26 cases of dengue virus were reported. One dengue case was confirmed in Ghotki while there was confirmation of dengue cases in Hyderabad, Benazirabad and Tando Muhammad Khan. In Karachi, the number of dengue cases has reached 24

In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the number of patients suffering from dengue fever has reached 55 while four of the victims have lost their lives.

Task Force to curb Gray Traffic, unauthorised SIMs

A high level meeting was held in the Ministry of Interior under the chairmanship of Federal Minister for Interior, Senator Rehman Malik to examine the ways and means to curb Gray Traffic in Pakistan. Secretaries of Interior and Information Technology Ministries, Director General FIA, representatives of the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority and other government departments were present on the occasion. Different issues were discussed in the meeting including capacity of monitoring system which is presently only 30% and needs to go to the level of 100%. Ministry of Information Technology has been requested to pursue the matter for sanction of funds.

People have been advised that all those who have got more than the prescribed limits of SIMs should surrender immediately to PTA as a thorough scrutiny of the SIMs has been ordered and any body found in possession of those SIMs shall be proceeded with in accordance with the law.
It was decided in the meeting that the punishment/penalty for the violators would be enhanced from three years to seven years and fine from Rs. 10 million to Rs. 50 million besides making it non-bailable offence.

It was also decided that 20 million cash reward shall be given to anyone who will point out the Gray Traffic to the authorities and 10% of the recovery will also be given to the informer.

A Task Force has been announced whereby a team will be headed by Director, FIA Shahid Nadeem Baloch and sub task forces comprising of representatives from ISI, IB, PTA and local police will also be constituted.

The Task Force will submit, every fortnightly, report of their progress on the cases/raids to curb gray traffic.

It has also been decided by the Government that there will be zero tolerance for gray traffic in Pakistan and its progress/monitoring shall be jointly done by the Secretary Interior and Secretary Information Technology.

Clinton to visit Pakistan next month

ISLAMABAD: Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will visit Pakistan next month, TrendPK reported on Tuesday.

Clinton will lead the US delegation in next month’s Pak-US strategic dialogue.

Sources told the media that the US intends to send high profile officials to Pakistan for the visit. The dialogue between two countries is expected to strengthen ties and ease tension. TrendPK

Firdous denies ban on any TV channel

Firdous told in the National Assembly that the government didn’t block news channels, bent on criticising it all the time, then how can it put a ban on a sports channel.

Parliamentary Secretary for Communication Chaudhry Saeed Iqbal said that a highway would be reconstructed from Peshawar to Torkham.

Minister for Water and Power Naveed Qamar said that reason of delay in purchase of transformers was internal differences of power distribution companies.

Libya on fire with clashes in pro, anti-Gaddafi forces

BENGHAZI: Forces loyal to Muammar Gaddafi launched a fierce counter-attack on Thursday, fighting gun battles with rebels who have threatened the Libyan leader by seizing important towns close to the capital.

The opposition were already in control of major centres in the east, including the regional capital Benghazi, and reports that the towns of Misrata and Zuara in the west had also fallen brought the tide of rebellion closer to Gaddafi’s power base.

Gun battles in Zawiyah, an oil terminal 50 km (30 miles) from the capital, left 10 people dead, a Libyan newspaper said. France’s top human rights official said up to 2,000 people might have died so far in the uprising.

In a rambling appeal for calm, Gaddafi blamed the revolt on al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, and said the protesters were fuelled by milk and Nescafe spiked with hallucinogenic drugs,

Gaddafi, who just two days ago vowed in a televised address to crush the revolt and fight to the last, showed none of the fist-thumping rage of that speech.

This time, he spoke to state television by telephone without appearing in person, and his tone seemed more conciliatory.

“Their ages are 17. They give them pills at night, they put hallucinatory pills in their drinks, their milk, their coffee, their Nescafe,” Gaddafi said.

A Tripoli resident, who did not want to be identified because he feared reprisals for speaking to the foreign media, told Reuters: “It seems like he realised that his speech yesterday with the strong language had no effect on the people. He’s realising it’s going to be a matter of time before the final chapter: the battle of Tripoli.”

Forces loyal to the Libyan leader attacked anti-government militias controlling Misrata, Libya’s third-biggest city, 125 miles (200 km) east of Tripoli, and several people were killed in fighting near the city’s airport.

Soldiers were reported along the roads approaching Tripoli. In Zawiyah, witnesses said pro- and anti-Gaddafi forces were firing at each other in the streets.

“It is chaotic there. There are people with guns and swords,” said Mohamed Jaber, who passed through Zawiyah on his way to Tunisia on Thursday.

Al Jazeera television broadcast pictures of what it said was a burning police station in Zawiyah. A witness told Reuters the Libyan army was present in force.

Anti-government militias were in control of Zuara, about 120 km (75 miles) west of Tripoli. There was no sign of police or military and the town was controlled by “popular committees” armed with automatic weapons.

The uprising has virtually halted Libya’s oil exports, said the head of Italy’s ENI, Libya’s biggest foreign oil operator. The unrest has driven world oil prices up to around $120 a barrel, stoking concern about the economic recovery.

Key Libyan oil and product terminals to the east of the capital are in the hands of rebels, according to Benghazi residents in touch with people in region. The oil and product terminals at Ras Lanuf and Marsa El Brega were being protected, they said, amid fears of attacks by pro-Gaddafi forces.

The desert nation pumps nearly 2 percent of the world’s oil. World leaders condemned Gaddafi’s bloody crackdown on the week-long revolt, but did little to halt the bloodshed from the latest upheaval reshaping the Arab world.

U.S. President Barack Obama joined western leaders in condemning the violence in Libya. “It is imperative that the nations and peoples of the world speak with one voice,” Obama said. “The suffering and bloodshed are outrageous.”

French Defence Minister Alain Juppe said he hoped Gaddafi was “living his last moments as leader”. Foreign Secretary William Hague urged the world to increase pressure on Gaddafi.

France’s top human rights official said up to 2,000 people could have died in the unrest and he feared Gaddafi could unleash “migratory terrorism” on Europe as his regime collapses.

“The question is not if Gaddafi will fall, but when and at what human cost,” Francois Zimeray told Reuters. “For now the figures we have … more than 1,000 have died, possibly 2,000, according to sources.”

Benghazi, the eastern regional capital where the rebellion started a week ago, is starting to run itself under “people’s committees” as the dust of rebellion settles. In the east of Libya, many soldiers have withdrawn from active service.

A Reuters correspondent in the city was shown about a dozen people being held in a court building who residents said were “mercenaries” backing Gaddafi. Some were said to be African and others from southern Libya.

“They have been interrogated, and they are being kept safe, and they are fed well,” said Imam Bugaighis, 50, a university lecturer now helping organise committees to run the city, adding that they would be tried according to the law, but the collapse of institutions of state meant the timing was not clear.

Angry residents destroyed a barracks compound they said had been used by the mercenaries.

In Tripoli, which remains largely closed to foreign media, locals said they were too scared to go outside for fear of being shot by pro-government forces.

“People have started working today. But that does not mean they are not afraid. But until now, people are moving around,” a resident told Reuters.

Obama tells world to unite against Libya bloodshed

WASHINGTON: US President Barack Obama told the world Wednesday to unite to hold Libya accountable for a vicious protest crackdown, stiffening a US response that critics had cast as too mild.

In his first televised response to Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi”s decision to unleash vengeance on demonstrators, Obama reached out to US allies and promised to deploy a “full range of options” to halt “outratrendpk.comus” bloodshed.

Obama spoke as officials said that Washington was considering fresh sanctions and other steps against Libya, and as political pressure mounted on his administration for a tougher response.

The administration”s careful previous line on violence that a former Libyan minister said had killed 1,000 people, appeared to be dictated by fears that American diplomats and citizens in Libya could face reprisals.

But by late Wednesday, a US-chartered ferry with a capacity of 575 passengers was riding out bad weather in Tripoli harbor ready to cast off on an evacuation mission to Malta.

“The suffering and bloodshed is outratrendpk.comus, and it is unacceptable,” Obama said at the White House.

“So are threats and orders to shoot peaceful protesters and further punish the people of Libya. These actions violate international norms, and every standard of common decency. This violence must stop.”

Obama defended his administration against claims its response to the violence, the latest wave of unrest crashing across the Middle East, had been too tempered.

“Over the last few days my national security team has been working around the clock to monitor the situation there and to coordinate with our international partners about a way forward,” he said.

The president did not mention Libya”s ruthless and unpredictable leader Kadhafi, who has ruled for four decades and frequently defied the United States, by name.

In an angry rambling speech on Tuesday, Kadhafi, 68, threatened to purge opponents “house by house” and “inch by inch” and vowed to fight to the finish.

“The army is still very strong,” Kadhafi”s son Saadi Kadhafi told the Financial Times in an interview Thursday. “If we hear anything, we will send some battalions. When people see the army, they will be afraid.”

Seeking to corral international action on Libya, Obama said that in such a volatile situation, it was “imperative” for nations to speak with one voice.

He said he would dispatch Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to a ministerial-level meeting in Geneva on Monday of the UN Human Rights Council.

“Like all governments, the Libyan government has a responsibility to refrain from violence, to allow humanitarian assistance to reach those in need and to respect the rights of its people,” Obama said.

“It must be held accountable for its failure to meet those responsibilities and face the cost of continued violations of human rights.”

Though officials said that sanctions were among options being discussed, it was unclear whether calls for NATO to establish a “no fly zone” over Libya to protect civilians were on the table.

Obama”s call to US allies appeared to be a signal that Washington, which has sought not to inject itself into the Middle East revolts, preferred the safety in numbers of multilateral action.

Europe had already moved Wednesday to isolate Kadhafi, readying sanctions that one diplomat said could include an assets freeze, a travel ban, an arms embargo and the legal pursuit of those involved in violent repression.

Washington lifted sanctions on Libya in 2004 under a deal which helped the former pariah state back into the global community after it gave up its nuclear and chemical weapons programs.

Influential US lawmakers, including Democratic Senate Foreign Relations Committee chairman John Kerry and his Republican House of Representatives counterpart Ileana Ros-Lehtinen have called for US sanctions to be reimposed.

US officials apparently feared that robust US rhetoric on the crisis could have made the plight of Americans even more perilous than that of other foreigners, given the tortured recent history between Washington and Tripoli.

In 1986, then president Ronald Reagan sent US warplanes to bomb Libya, in retaliation for the bombing of a discotheque in West Berlin. Kadhafi”s adoptive daughter was killed in the US raids on Libya.

On Wednesday, Libya”s former justice minister Mustapha Abdeljalil told the Swedish daily Expressen, that Kadhafi had then personally ordered the bombing of a US Pan Am jet over Lockerbie, Scotland in 1988, that killed 270 people. (AFP)

NICL Case: FIA directs to cease directorship of accused

FIA has directed Commerce Secretary to cease the directorship of the accused in NILC case. The process of Moonis Ilahi’s arrest will start tomorrow, trendpk.com reported on Thursday.

As per details, FIA has directed Secretary Commerce to cease the directorship of all accused in NICL case. Meanwhile the FIA maintained that there is no chance of Moonis’s coming back to Pakistan who is wanted in NICL case, after which the authority has contacted Interpol to arrest him. FIA authorities further disclosed that Interpol has been formally informed that the Red Warrants of Moonis have been collected and the process of his arrest will be started tomorrow.

Karachi Violance: 14 Including Reporter Died

Breaking News Karachi, trendpk: As many as 14 persons including a private tv channel reporter have been killed in the ongoing wave of targeted killing in Karachi.

According to police, unknown persons opend fire on a bus in Orangi Town which caused 7 killing including a 7-year girl. The dead bodies have been shifted to Abbasi Shaheed Hospital of Karachi. The deceased have been identified as M Ali, Jahngir Alim Dua Fatima, M Ishaq, Noor Hussai. A person got death in Liaquatabad.

While in Liaqat Abad, a private channel report Wali Kahan Babar has gunned down by unidentified persons. The funeral prayer of the assassinated reporter has been offered.

ANP Deputy General Secretary along with his body guard also got serious injured in a firing incident. Unidentified persons have killed 3 members of a family In New Karachi.

New Jewish settlement move may undermine peace talks: Clinton

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Sunday Israel’s move to proceed with an East Jerusalem settlement project by razing a derelict hotel undermined the peace effort.

This disturbing development undermines peace efforts to achieve the two-state solution, Clinton said in a statement in Abu Dhabi, where she is on an official visit.

In particular, this move contradicts the logic of a reasonable and necessary agreement between the parties on the status of Jerusalem.

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