Lahore blast kills 2, injures 27

LAHORE: At least two people were killed and 27 others injuries in a cracker bomb blast near Hyder Saeen Darbar on Thursday night

According to details, the blast occurred at around 23:15 PST near Lorry Adda (Bus stop) at Baba Hyder Saeen massively crowded at the time thanks to Urs underway there, injuring 27 people including a police.

The injured were rushed to Mayo Hospital, where two succumbed to injuries. One of the deceased has been reportedly identified as Zulfiqar Jutt.

Teams of police and bomb disposal squad arrived on the blast scene.

According to Rescue 1122 sources, 24 of 27 injured were taken to Mayo Hospital. Slightly injured were given medical care on the spot.

Eyewitnesses said there were only two police personnel deployed at mausoleum despite huge number of people present there. TrendPK.com

Explosion Hurts 16 in Karachi University

KARACHI,trendpk: At least 16 students were injured in a blast in cafetaria of the University of Karachi.

The nature of the blast yet to be established.

Explosion in Peshawar mosque

Peshawar:- Explosion in Peshawar mosque reported by trendpk.Com.

2 killed, 10 injured in blast 2 people heve been killed while 10 were injured in the blast inside a mosque in Pushtkhara, Peshawar on Friday.

According to the initial reports, several people had been offering the Juma prayer when the blast occurred. The nature of the blast is yet to be confirmed. Police and rescue teams have reached the place and started the relief activities. The injured are being shifted to the nearby hospital.

Afghanistan: Kunduz governor among 20 killed in explosion

An Afghan provincial governor among 20 others killed on Friday when a powerful blast tore through a mosque in northern Afghanistan.
The nature of the blast in the town of Taluqan, the capital of Takhar province, was not immediately clear. There was a blast in the mosque. The governor, the imam, altogether 15 people have been killed, provincial police chief Shah Jahan Noori told the foreign news agency.
Governor Mohammad Omar was the governor of the neighbouring province of Kunduz, but originally came from Takhar.

Zardari under attack over Europe trip

LONDON: Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari was in Britain Wednesday amid a row over terrorism, and rising criticism over his failure to return home in the aftermath of the worst floods in living memory.

Zardari, who arrived in Britain Tuesday, will hold talks with British Prime Minister David Cameron Friday and explain “face to face” Islamabad”s anger over Cameron”s claim last week that Pakistan promoted the “export of terror”.

But Zardari is now under growing pressure to go back to Pakistan and lead the country”s response to devastating floods in northwest and central Pakistan which have killed up to 1,500 people affected over three million.

Pakistan is holding an emergency cabinet meeting Wednesday in a bid to speed up relief work following the devastating floods which washed away villages and ruined farmland in one of its poorest and volatile regions.

Imran Khan, the country”s former cricket captain turned opposition politician, said Zardari should be in Pakistan following the disaster.

“Any talks can be postponed — surely the priority should be your own people,” he told ITV television. “And then to go on this lavish tour — this money could be used on the victims.

“Remember Pakistan is bankrupt right now so the government doesn”t have enough money, so he should be mobilising people to help these victims of the floods.”

Zardari”s visit to Europe — which started in France, where he met President Nicolas Sarkozy and visited his family”s rural stately home — is not due to end after a rally in Britain Saturday when he will reportedly launch the political career of his son, who has been studying at Oxford University.

The trip was labelled a “joy ride” by one flood survivor, and a number of British lawmakers of Pakistani origin have pulled out of a planned lunch with Zardari Thursday.

“For him to spend tens of thousands of pounds on the launch of his son”s political career at a time when his country needs him shows that he”s out of touch and his advisors are ill-informed,” one of them, Lord Nazir Ahmed of the main opposition Labour Party, said.

“Quite frankly, staying in five-star hotels with his huge entourage, tens of big cars that have been hired just to give him this protocol in London, it”s quite outrageous.”

There was also an angry reception late Tuesday for Zardari when he arrived at his hotel in central London, where protesters accused him of wasting money on the visit that would be better spent helping those affected by the floods.

Officials have sought to defend the cost of Zardari”s trip, issuing a statement insisting he was staying in the “cheapest five-star hotel in London” and was avoiding the royal suite in favour of a “relatively cheaper” one.

Zardari is still expected to meet members of Cameron”s government Thursday, thought to include Home Secretary Theresa May, Education Secretary Michael Gove and Minister Without Portfolio Baroness Sayeeda Warsi, Britain”s first female Muslim cabinet minister.

Cameron has insisted he stands by his highly controversial comments on Pakistan”s attitude to violent extremism. He also said Pakistan must not “look both ways” in handling it during a visit to India last week.

Zardari hit back in an interview with French daily Le Monde Tuesday, warning that coalition forces were “losing the war against the Taliban” in Afghanistan and adding: “The war against terrorism must unite us and not oppose us”.

Cameron later rejected the idea that international forces in Afghanistan were “losing the battle of hearts and minds” in a BBC radio interview Tuesday.

He also said that Britain”s relationship with Afghanistan could “survive speaking frankly about problems”

Pak Army to contribute one-day salary to PM relief fund

RAWALPINDI: Chief of Army Staff (COAS), General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani Wednesday expressed deep sorrow and regret over the colossal loss of life and property during the ongoing floods.

According to a press released issued by Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR), the COAS stated that the Army is making all out efforts for rescue and relief of the affected people.

“Army is working at full pace and capacity to extend maximum help to the people,” he stated. COAS also announced the donation of one day salary of all ranks of Pakistan Army in Prime Minister’s Relief Fund, established for the flood affectees.

“Furthermore, in the line with their tradition, soldiers of Pakistan Army feel proud in sharing their bread with the affected countrymen and have distributed over 520 tons of rations thus far,” COAS added.

COAS reiterated that the Army will also contribute meaningfully toward rehabilitation and reconstruction activities.

Blast reported in Peshawar

PESHAWAR: A powerful explosion has been heard in Peshawar area of Saddar, Geo News reported Wednesday.

The sounds of gunshots rang up in the area following the blast.
There is no report as to the nature and magnitude of the blast; however, the reports received said the blast was so powerful that it was heard far and wide.

According to eyewitness, soon after a blast, a black car was seen engulfed by a fire.

The law-enforcers soon arrived on spot.

The blast site is being said to the commercial area surrounded by government office.

US welcomes resumption of Indo-Pak talks

WASHINGTON: Obama Administration has welcomed Thursday’s meeting of top diplomats from India and Pakistan, and said the healing process between the two neighbours would benefit all of south Asia.

“We certainly welcome this high-level meeting,” said US State Department spokesman Philip Crowley.

“It’s expressly the kind of dialogue that we think will help to address and resolve issues of interest between the countries and have consequence in the region as a whole,” he added.

Foreign ministers SM Krishna of India and Shah Mehmood Qureshi of Pakistan met in Islamabad, in the third high-level contact in a six-month thaw since New Delhi broke off peace talks after gunmen killed 166 people in Mumbai in 2008.

Clinton heads to Pakistan to discuss its crucial Afghan role

WASHINGTON: US Secretary of State Clinton heads to Pakistan in the coming days to bolster support in the fight against the Taliban and outline a political endgame to the war in neighboring Afghanistan.

As she heads to a donors” conference in Kabul set for Tuesday, Clinton was expected to press her counterparts to step up their efforts against the insurgents.

She will also discuss reconciliation efforts between Afghan President Hamid Karzai”s government and “reconcilable” elements of the Taliban.

But Washington considers Islamabad”s role in the effort “ambiguous and opaque” at this point, according to the US envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan, Richard Holbrooke.

Pakistan may be a crucial US ally against extremists in the region, but it also harbors a major contingent of Taliban fighters and their Al-Qaeda allies, who are killing more international forces in Afghanistan than ever before in the nine-year war.

The United States has also repeatedly questioned Pakistan”s willingness to stop the insurgents and move away from its historical role of focusing precious military resources to fighting its nuclear-armed neighbor and arch-foe, India.

Relations between Kabul and Islamabad have been marked by distrust, but there have been growing signs of rapprochement, and Karzai in March welcomed an offer from Pakistan to help with peace efforts.

5 killed, 15 hurt in Khyber Agency blast

KOHAT: Five people killed and 15 others injured in a blast in Tirah valley in Khyber Agency on Friday.

According to sources, the blast occurred in Friday market during rush hours. Initial reports stated that five people have been killed and 15 others sustained injuries in the explosion. Locals started rescue activities and rushed injured to hospitals. The nature of the blast is yet to be cleared.

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