Karachi: abducted student’s body recovered

The Anti-Violent Crime Cell (AVCC) has arrested four accused. The victim Zaeem was son of slain DSP Nawaz Ranjha.

 

As per details, the victim was abducted on February 8 when Shahrah-e-Faisal police started conducting inquiry and succeeded in tracing mobile phone of abductors who were demanding Rs 20 million.

 

Later, the force raided near the Metrological Office and arrested three accused and recovered the body after hectic struggle of two hours.

 

According to police, Zaeem was conscious of the tactics and machinations of the accused; that is why they unscrupulously killed him.
 

US envoy in Malidives to ease political crises

 

A top US diplomat arrived in the Maldives on Saturday seeking to help resolve a deepening political crisis sparked by the ousting of the Indian Ocean nation s first democratically elected president.

 

Mohamed Nasheed, who came to power in 2008, says he was forced to resign on Tuesday in a coup d etat led by mutinous army and police officers who threatened him with violence unless he stepped down.

 

He was replaced as head of state by his vice president Mohamed Waheed, whom Nasheed accuses of being party to the conspiracy to topple him.

 

The US assistant secretary of state for South Asian affairs, Robert Blake, will seek to clarify how power was transferred during a visit to the crowded capital of the famous holiday islands, the state department announced.

 

“Ambassador Blake will meet the president as well as the opposition during his 12-hour visit,” a US official in the capital island Male told AFP.

 

Since stepping down, Nasheed has called for fresh elections and has threatened protests if the police continue targeting his party members and figures in his former administration.

 

Rioting erupted across the country on Wednesday when Nasheed publicly said he was the victim of a military-backed coup and senior members of his party were beaten during a rally in Male.

 

At least 18 police stations were torched and dozens of vehicles, court houses and government buildings were destroyed some of the remote islets of the archipelago, police say.

 

The Maldivian police confirmed they were carrying out mass arrests of troublemakers while Nasheed said 350 people linked to his administration had been detained within three days of his resignation.

 

New President Waheed has rejected Nasheed s demand for elections.

 

“Simply because an ex-president wants an election we can t have one just like that,” Waheed s spokesman Masood Imad told AFP. “There is a constitutional process.”

 

Imad said Waheed had no intention of clinging on to power and would hold the next election when it is due, by November 2013.

 

New protests would spell further instability and damage for the country which depends on the hundreds of thousands of high-end travellers and honeymooners who visit its pristine islands each year.

 

Nasheed s efforts to force Waheed to step down suffered a major blow Thursday when Washington announced it recognised his successor s administration as legitimate.

 

Nasheed, a former political prisoner and climate change campaigner, voiced disappointment at the announcement and the US later appeared to step back from its earlier declaration.

 

“We will work with the government of the Maldives, but believe that the circumstances surrounding the transfer of power need to be clarified,” US State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland told reporters in Washington.

 

“And we also suggest that all parties agree to an independent mechanism to do that.”

 

“He (Blake) will see all of the major players and have a chance to talk about an appropriate way forward and reconciliation and national unity mechanism.”

 

Nasheed said Friday that recognition of the new Male administration would not help resolve the crisis.

 

The former president claimed police “stripped and hand-cuffed” his supporters and ransacked homes in Addu, the southernmost atoll, and said he would travel there in the next 24 hours unless the crackdown stopped.

 

A UN special envoy, Assistant Secretary General Oscar Fernandez-Taranco, arrived in the Maldives Friday and met both sides, diplomatic sources said.

 

A European Union and Indian delegation are also due to visit.

 

Diplomatic pressure has been applied to prevent police acting on an arrest warrant for Nasheed issued by a local criminal court on Thursday, diplomatic sources said.

 

Presidential spokesman Imad said police were obliged to execute the arrest warrant only if they felt there was a risk that Nasheed would not appear in court to answer charges which are yet to be made public.

 

“He can go anywhere in the country, but he can t leave the country,” Imad said.
 

Kabul: US soldier kills Afghan guard

 

A US soldier shot dead an Afghan guard outside a military base in northern Afghanistan, apparently believing he was about to attack him, a local official said Sunday.

 

The incident on Thursday in Sari Pul province came less than a fortnight after an Afghan soldier shot dead four unarmed French troops at a base in the east of the country.

 

“A US soldier has shot dead an Afghan guard three days ago”, Sari Pul provincial security chief Sayed Jahangir said on Sunday.

 

“The American shot dead his Afghan colleague due to a misunderstanding. Apparently he thought the guard was trying to attack him.”

 

The victim was named as 22-year-old Abdul Rahim. He had been newly appointed as a guard by a private security company, Jahangir said.

 

A spokesperson from NATO s International Security Assistance Force refused to comment when contacted by AFP, saying the investigation was ongoing.

 

The January 20 incident prompted French President Nicolas Sarkozy to say his country would end its combat role in Afghanistan by the end of 2013 — instead of the planned NATO deadline of the end of 2014.

 

Violence between foreign and Afghan soldiers has been growing more frequent, and is increasingly linked to “cultural incompatibility” and arguments, rather than Taliban influence, according to a NATO report.

 

ISI-Taliban links should be cut off: Pentagon

 

While answering the questions of reporters Wednesday about the recently leaked NATO report that mentions alleged ISI links with Taliban, Pentagon spokesman, Capt. John Kirby said “there is nothing new about the information of links between some elements of ISI and Taliban”.

 

“We have made it clear already that Pakistan needs to act against safe heavens”, he stressed while going on to add that “we would like ties between some elements of ISI and Taliban to be cut-off”.

 

He, however, cautioned that the report was classified and done inside ISAF, based on thousands of interviews with detainees. “This report is not an analysis and is merely informational”, he said arguing that “it is important to understand that detainees have several motivations for what they do or do not say”.

 

When asked about the reaction of Pakistan dismissing the report about such links, he said that he had not seen the reaction of Pakistan, in which they dismissed this report.

 

On another question whether this report will further escalate tensions between both countries, he said “we have already said after November 26 firing incident (that killed 24 Pakistani soldiers) as well that we respect Pakistani concerns”.

 

Kirby went on to reiterate that the “US is committed to having a better relationship with Pakistan, because it is in the interest of both countries”. “We want to move past this tension with Pakistan, because we have a lot of common interest”, he added.
“Pakistan also faces a threat from terrorists and has been making a lot of sacrifices. Thousands of Pakistani citizens and soldiers have fallen victim to terrorism”, he regretted.

 

When pressed further to discuss the implications of the NATO report, he said “this is a classified report and I am not prepared to discuss the contents of this report”. I can only say that “Taliban are under pressure and influence of security forces is increasing in Afghnaistan”.

 

“Taliban have been a determined adversary though and it is a known fact that they want to have control of Afghanistan back”, he pointed out.

 

On another question whether the lifting of US aid restrictions on Uzbekistan had anything to do with their increased reliance on northern supply routes for Nato forces after closure of ground routes from Pakistan, Kirby said that was unaware of any such linkage between the two.

 

“Northern routes, however, continue to remain an important artery to sustain our operations in Afghnaistan”, he said. “Pakistan is yet to officially notify us of any demands following the Nov 26 NATO attack report rejection (like seeking an apology or new tariff mechanism for NATO supplies)”, he said responding to another query.

 

On reconciliation efforts with Taliban and their demand for release of Guantanamo detainees, he said “I am not prepared to share details or comment on specifics of reconciliation efforts with Taliban”. “We have made it clear that if it is Afghan-led, we will be interested in participation”, he said detailing the official US position.

 

“It will be premature to talk about any detainee transfer at this stage”, he said but asserted that “we know and understand who we have in Guantanamo, what are their motivations and what were their previous activities”.

 

“We always make our utmost to ensure that they (detainees) can t go back to battlefield”, he said when asked how dangerous these five detainees were and how could it be ensured that they don t go back to the battlefield from prison.
On the Congressional report raising concern over growing number of attacks by Taliban on Afghan national forces, he said that he had not seen the said report yet, but it would be too soon to say that it s an endemic or systemic issue.
“It will be incorrect to say that there is huge infiltration of Afghan Natioanl Security Forces by the Taliban. Most operations jointly done by ISAF and Afghan Natioanl Security Forces are a success and are conducted without a problem”, he observed.

 

He stressed that such instances, however few and far between, were disconcerting and military commanders in both the US and Afghanistan were paying due attention to it.– Contributed by Awais Saleem, News Trends correspondent in Washington, DC
 

Ghotki: kid abducted for Rs20m recovered

There are signs of torture on the body of the child.

Sukkur DIG said that the victim Abdullah had been abducted three months ago when he was playing outside his home.

 

The accused were demanding Rs 20 million for ransom. The culprits were so mean that they had been torturing the kid to pressurise his parents for payment of ransom.

 

After abduction, the innocent kid was detained in the area of Kutchy, Bando from where police recovered him after an operation.

The accused have been arrested with their arms.

Police officer said that further raids are being conducted to arrest the actual accused.
 

Karachi: Religious party activist buried after protest

TrendPK.com

KARAHI: A religious party activist, who fell to target killing, was laid to rest in Karachi today (Wednesday).

Heirs of the victim, Muhammad Ali, held a demonstration on Maripur Road before offering his funeral prayers. The protest, which continued for almost an hour, led to traffic jam.

Later, police intervened and promised the registration of an FIR, after which the protest came to an end.

Ali was gunned down at Jodia Bazar Tuesday. TrendPK

Bollywood star Ahuja bailed over maid case

MUMBAI: A court in the Indian city of Mumbai on Wednesday granted bail to Bollywood actor Shiney Ahuja.

The Bombay High Court ordered the release of Ahuja, star of several films including “Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi” (A Thousand Desires), “Gangster” and “Life in a Metro”, who was sentenced to seven years in jail last month.

He was told to pay a bond of 50,000 rupees ($1,100) and not to leave the country without permission.

Ahuja, 37, had denied the offence, which allegedly took place at his home in the city in June 2009. His legal team called the judgement “perverse and illegal”, questioning the strength of the victim’s evidence and medical tests.

The trial judge ruled that scratch marks and DNA results were sufficient proof.

The victim withdrew her complaint in September, claiming she was told to make a complaint by another woman who had initially got her the job with the star.

“Apart from the girl denying the alleged offence, even the medical evidence is in negative,” the appeal document said, according to the Press Trust of India news agency.

“Evidence given by doctors, who examined (Ahuja) and the victim, stated that there are no injuries on the girl’s body. Even the semen and blood samples were negative of (Ahuja)’s DNA.”

Pankaj Kapoor’s friend accuses him of plagiarism for Mausam

There’s a lot of respect in Bollywood for Mr. Pankaj Kapoor who has always been known for his exemplary performance and his portrayal of the lead role in the famous TV series ‘Karamchand’. Therefore when he announced his film Mausam there was much buzz about it and especially since he roped in his own son Shahid Kapoor in it.

Not much has been divulged about the film’s content except the fact that Shahid plays an Airforce pilot and Sonam Kapoor is the female lead, therefore chances of any controversy arising was not expected.

But expect the unexpected in Bollywood and certainly few feathers have been ruffled just before its release and the victim claiming foul play is none other than Pankaj Kapoor’s old friend and former colleague Nawman Malik, who had also acted alongside Pankaj in the award winning TV serial ‘Neem Ke Ped’.

According to the complaint that Malik has filed with the Association of Motion Pictures and TV Programme Producers, Kapoor apparently, started filming Mausam after Malik had already narrated the script to him. Some few years back Malik sat with Kapoor in his Versova office and narrated the story of Mausam to him over a four hour session. He even showed an interest in casting Shahid in it. But Kapoor said that he would have to speak to Shahid himself who was shooting in Mauritius. The meeting with Shahid never really took place and a few years later Pankaj announced his own project Mausam.

Though Mausam is said to be the working title Malik fears that it maybe the final title and even the story might be the same. Shahid and Pankaj on their end plan to meet the producers before taking any step.

Kasur: Child killed after sexual abuse

Lahore trendpk.com: Another incident of human brutality took place in Kot Radha Kishan in Kasur where a 6-year-old child was killed after sexual abuse. It is the second incident of same kind in a year in the city.

Father of murdered child told that his son Usman went to take swings last evening and didnt come back. His dead body was found from nearby fields along with his shoes and cap. Usmans father is a worker in a railway carriage shop. Villagers told that this is the second incident of human brutality in a year. Police is still unable to find out the victim of last incident.

Cartoon Characters From The 80 s

Latest Updates:Remember when people were updating their Facebook statuses with phrases about how they like “it” on the floor, or kitchen table, in an effort to raise awareness ofbreast cancer? It referred to a woman’s purse, but now Jem and the Holograms, Smurfette and the Smurfs, Strawberry Shortcake, Rainbow Brite and lots of other cartoon characters from the 70s, 80s and 90s are being taken along for the latestFacebook meme.According to the Washington Post, this is a rehash of a trend from November, given a charitable purpose:

Hopefully if you suspected a child was the victim of violence, it wouldn’t take a Facebook meme to remind you to report it, and we’re not sure someone who is violent towards a child will suddenly be swayed by seeing a cartoon from their childhood. Crazier things havehappened though, and while posting pictures of your favorite cartoon may not help anything, it can’t hurt either. If you need a starting point, here are a few of our favorite cartoon characters.

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