India refused to take US dictation on Kashmir: WikiLeaks

An Indian newspaper, quoting WikiLeaks, published that India did not want US intervention on the Kashmir issue.

India also stopped Joe Biden from visiting India on the tour he was scheduled to visit Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iraq. India considered that Biden’s visit to India along with Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iraq would give the impression that India too was a country of the level of Afghanistan and Iraq.

Weeks before the Obama administration appointed Richard Holbrooke as the Special Representative to Pakistan and Afghanistan, New Delhi sent a message to the United States that any move to include India in Holbrooke’s mendate would be “unacceptable.”

In April 2008, former foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi told US Assistant Secretary of State Richard A Boucher that India-Pakistan relations could not be held hostage to the issue of Kashmir alone.

He told Boucher that the considered view of his party was that foreign policy should be based on strategic interests, not populism. The minister termed Nawaz Sharif’s approach as aggressive and said: “Our direction may be the same, but our tone may be different. We will have to be sensitive to public opinion.”

Sharif is more in line with the popular mood, said Qureshi during the meeting.

Governors murder report finalized

A three member team constituted by Punjab Chief Minister Mian Shahbaz Sharif has finalized an initial investigation report of the assassination of Punjab Governor Salman Taseer.

According to the report, Mumtaz Qadri, who joined the police force in 2002, has conservative mind. After two years he was transferred in Special Branch, the report said. The report also disclosed that former Chief of Special Branch Nasir Khan Durani returned back Mumtaz Qadri along with eleven others to the police department with remarks that they were extremely conservatives. And all these personals should not be deputed on VIP duties. Besides these remarks Mumtaz Qadri had performed his duty with many other VIPs and also transferred to District Rawalpindi. The team will present its report on Sunday (today).

US seeking to expand raids into Pakistan: NYT

United State News: Top US military commanders in Afghanistan are seeking to expand ground raids by Special Operations Forces across the border in Pakistans tribal areas, The New York Times reported Monday.

Amid growing US frustration with Pakistans lackluster efforts at removing militants from strongholds there, the officials are proposing to escalate military activities in the nuclear-armed nation, the Times said in its online edition.US forces have been largely restricted to limited covert operations and unmanned drone strikes in Pakistan due to fears of retaliation from a population that often holds strong anti-American sentiment in a country rife with militants.Even these limited operations have provoked angry reactions from Pakistani officials. The drones are believed to be largely operated by the CIA.Amid a looming July deadline for American troops to begin withdrawing from Afghanistan, military and political leaders pointed to a renewed sense of urgency.Military commanders told the newspaper that the Special Operations plan which has not yet been approved could help them secure much-needed intelligence if militants were captured, brought back across the border into Afghanistan and interrogated.US officials said they were particularly keen to capture rather than kill militant leaders from the Taliban or the Haqqani network in order to obtain intelligence about future operations.Weve never been as close as we are now to getting the go-ahead to go across, a senior US officer said.But a senior official from President Barack Obamas administration said he did not favor cross-border operations, saying they have been mostly counterproductive unless they targeted top al Qaeda leaders.The official also worried that political fallout in Pakistan over the operations could counter any tactical gains.CIA-backed Afghan militias, previously believed to only carry out intelligence-gathering operations, have also crossed the border into Pakistans tribal belt during secret missions, including one in which a militia destroyed a militant weapons cache, officials told the Times.An Afghan political leader said one of the raids by the Paktika Defense Force one of six CIA-trained Afghan militias was initiated to capture a Taliban commander in Pakistan. The mission was ultimately unsuccessful but Pakistani militants opened fire on the Afghans.Another CIA-backed force near the eastern Afghan province of Khost was recently deployed in the mountains along the Pakistan border, where it is due to try to intercept Taliban fighters during the winter, an American military officer told the Times, saying the militia has so far proven effective.

14 municipal committees to be formed in tribal areas

Staff Report

PESHAWAR: The government has issued a notice to form 14 municipal committees in seven agencies and the frontier region of tribal areas. Women will also be given representation in these committees.

The notice said that ten municipal committees would be formed in seven tribal agencies, while four municipal committees in the frontier region, Darra Adam Khel, Tank, Kohat and F.R Peshawar.

Every committee will consist of 20 members, out of which six seats will be common, while on four special seats representatives will be elected. Farmers, women, businessmen and minority members will be on special seats, while on the rest of the ten seats, government officers will be nominated.

The municipal committees will facilitate the people of the area. Trend Pk

Peshawar: Three policemen hurt in bomb blast

Staff Report

PESHAWAR: At least three policemen have sustained injuries in a bomb blast in the outskirts of Peshawar on Sunday.

According to police, early morning today, a police party was on a routine round in Urmad area in the out skirts of Peshawar. When it reached at Baghban area, suddenly a road edge planted bomb blasted with a bang.

Consequently, the vehicle of the police party was damaged and the driver and two on board constables of the special force sustained injuries.

The rescue teams rushed to the scene and shifted the injured to Lady Reading Hospital of Peshawar where all injured, reportedly, were recovered and out of danger. Trend Pk

All eyes on ‘Ra.One’

RA.ONE seems to be the most awaited film. Going by the discussions on the film, even though SRK is yet to release the first look of his home-production, it is evident that viewers across the globe are awaiting this SRK film for more reasons than one. The discussions across message boards/forums pertain to varied topics, right from the special effects to SRK’s look in the film to the release date of this keenly anticipated movie.

Initially slated for release in June 2011, it is speculated that the film will now release in the second half of 2011, although the producers are yet to finalize a date. That’s because the VFX will take time to achieve the desired results. In fact, Anubhav’s tweet says it all: “The VFx team and I are still figuring when we can deliver the film. Then my friends, The Producer will announce the date. But soon now…”

The question is, with DON 2 slated for release in December 2011, will RA.ONE arrive a few months earlier or a few months later? After all, there has to be a sufficient gap between two biggies starring the same actor. Even the launch of the promos should be planned accordingly, so that they don’t overlap each other.

With Rajnikant’s ROBOT setting the standards, one expects RA.ONE to go a step forward vis-à-vis the special effects and wow the audiences across the globe. And knowing SRK and his penchant for perfection, one is more than sure that RA.ONE will turn out to be a visual delight, at par with the Hollywood counterparts.

Sports for special children – Trend Pk VIDEO

Syed Ali Hashmi attends sports festival for the special children held in Lahore. (November 14, 2010)

Sports for special children – Trend Pk VIDEO

Syed Ali Hashmi attends sports festival for the special children held in Lahore. (November 14, 2010)

Sports for special children – Trend Pk VIDEO

Syed Ali Hashmi attends sports festival for the special children held in Lahore. (November 14, 2010)

KESC disconnects police premises’ electricity for outstanding bills

Staff Report

KARACHI: Karachi Electric Supply Corporation on Thursday disconnected electricity of many police premises for not clearing outstanding bills of Rs. 330 million.

According to details, KESC disconnected more than 15 premises electricity including Police Headquarter and its residential block.

Many other police offices and stations’ electricity, including Ferozabad, Artillery Maidan and Saddar, was disconnected by the special teams of KESC.

After disconnection of the electricity, the families of policemen, residing in Police Headquarter’s residential block, started a protest and blocked Shahra-e-Faisal near Lal Kothi.

The protesting families of policemen were complaining that every month a fix amount is cut, on the account of house allowances, from their salaries and the electricity bills are also included in that.

They

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