Mild quake jolts Quetta; 10 hurt

At least ten people including three children and two women injured when a moderate earthquake measuring 4.5 on the Richter scale shook Quetta and its surrounding areas on Friday.

the injured have been shifted to Civil Hospital.
The quake epicenter was approximately 70 kms northeast of Quetta.
According to reports, earthquake tremors left the people dazed and scared.

17 passengers burnt in gas cylinder blast

Staff Report

MULTAN: Seventeen passengers burnt as gas cylinder exploded in a local bus near Sabzi Mandi Friday.

All the injured have been shifted to Nishtar Hospital where hospital sources told six are in critical condition. SAMAA

Four of a family die in roof collapse

Four people of a same family died when the roof of their house collapsed in Peshawar, Dunya News reported on Tuesday.
Roof of the house of an Afghan namely Baz Gul caved in. Resultantly, Guls wife Samina, his sister Masloofa (40), two daughters Raheela (14) and Fatima (9) died on the spot, while his daughter Ayesha (7) and a week-old son Inam received serious injuries.
Police and rescue team retrieved the bodies and shifted the injured to a nearby hospital. The locals collected money to arrange for Guls family funeral for he was quite a pauper.

6 people killed, 12 NATO containers torched in Islamabad

More than six people have been killed and 12 NATO containers torched as some unknown armed men opened fire on them near DHA, Islamabad.
According to sources, some unknown men opened fire on NATO oil containers which caused them to catch fire. More than 6 people got killed and several others injured due to firing. Rescue 1122 and fire brigade rushed to the scene and took the injured to hospitals.
Fire department is still struggling to set the fire off. Sources say more casualties are feared.

Two policemen hurt in attack on police truck in Quetta

Staff Report

QUETTA: At least two policemen sustained serious injuries in an attack by unknown armed men on a police truck in Quetta on Friday.

According to details, a few armed men opened fire on a truck near Chakki Shahwani on Saryab Road early Friday morning. The truck was carrying Balochistan Constabulary men.

The firing caused serious injuries to Altaf Hussain and Abdul Fateh. Both the injured were immediately transferred to Civil Hospital.

According to hospital sources, Altaf Hussain is in very critical condition. SAMAA

Kotli bus crash death toll at 17

Staff Report

KOTLI: At least 17 people, including six women, were killed and over 30 injured on Friday after a passenger bus plunged into a deep ravine in Kotli district of Azad Kashmir.

The accident took place near the town of Kotli, 50km south of the regional capital Muzaffarabad. The driver lost control of the bus at a turn and it fell into a deep ravine.

According to reports, some 50 passengers were aboard the bus when it rolled into a ravine.

Out of 30, four of the injured are reportedly in critical condition. All the injured have been shifted to a nearby hospital, where emergency has been declared. SAMAA

Raza Haider”s alleged killers identified

KARACHI: The killers of MQM MPA Raza Haider have been identified by two witnesses in a local court here, Geo News reported Thursday.

CID police produced Mohammed Waseem alias Barodi, Abdullah alias Taimoor and Iklaq in court of Judicial Magistrate Central and West for identification parade.

The two witnesses identified the alleged men who have been accused of sectarian killings as well as their involvement in the murder of the MPA Raza Haider, along with the killings of Dr Junaid Haidri and Khadim Hussain, among others.

A police party led by SSP Operations Mohammed Fayaz Khan and SSP Chaudhry Aslam arrested Mohammed Waseem alias Barodi, and Abdullah alias Taimoor, during an encounter in Orangi Town.

Relatives of LHC judge injured in firing

LAHORE: Son-in-law and daughter of Lahore High Court Justice Munir Ahmed have been injured in a firing incident in Gulberg area of Lahore, Geo News reported Thursday.

Both the injured have been shifted to the nearby hospital.

US supports Pak-Afghan direct talks: envoy

WASHINGTON: The United States on Sunday renewed its support for Pakistan-Afghanistan dialogue toward better ties and common peace and stability objectives, with a top diplomat saying that the American policy in this respect, which also takes into account regional considerations, is moving forward.

“That is a good thing, not a bad thing. As long as they had no dialogue, you could not get anywhere,” Richard Holbrooke, U.S. Special Representative for the region emphasized.

He was commenting on the recent talks between Pakistani and Afghan leaders including the Kabul meeting between Pakistani army chief General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani and President Hamid Karzai.

Holbrooke, who spoke in the backdrop of recent progress in Pakistan-Afghanistan relations including conclusion of a trade agreement between the two neighbors, faulted the previous Bush Administration for not making successful effort at promoting Pak-Afghan ties.

“Now, in the Kayani-Karzai meeting, the American commanding general of ISAF, NATO was there, then General McChrystal. I’m sure General Petraeus (the current US commander) will continue to play the same role, if not more so. And I have talked to David (Petraeus) about that,” he said, appearing in CNN’s GPS program.

Elaborating the Obama Administration’s policy, which, he said, is the only one that meets Washington’s interests the special envoy said, “We have a policy here which is try to reduce the gap between Islamabad and Kabul, a historic gap, which goes back to the independence of Pakistan 63 years ago – and to make them work together for a common objective while taking into account the strategic interests of India and other regional neighbors. And that is moving forward.”

“It is a tough difficult policy. But it is the only one that meets our regional, international and national security interests.”

In answer to a question about Pakistan’s cooperation and change in attitude vis-a-vis combating the Taliban, Holbrooke told anchor Fareed Zakaria, a prominent Indian-American journalist, that “you cannot just go after the Pakistanis to do this and do that in the tribal areas.”

“You have to have an entire approach to the country. This has been lacking for over a decade,” he pointed out.

Holbrooke’s remarks referred to the recent progress in U.S.-Pakistan cooperative relations in wide-ranging areas in contrast with unifocal security-driven nature of ties the two countries had had in the past.

Continuing, Holbrooke added, the United States is now “approaching the country differently. And we are beginning to see real signs of movement. Nonetheless, we still have problems.”

FC man martyred in Peshawar attack

PESHAWAR: Terrorists stormed a security checkpost within limits of Sarband police station here, resulting in killing of one FC personnel and leaving a police constable wounded, Geo News reported Monday.

According to details, militants fired rockets at the security checkpost, which claimed the life of an FC man, identified as Jaan Hussain, while police constable, identified as Manzoor, sustained critical injuries.

After the attack had taken place, the injured men were rushed to Hayatabad Medical Complex, where FC personnel succumbed to wounds.

Consequently, more parties of FC and police arrived the attacked check-post meanwhile attackers managed to flee the crime site.

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