MIRANSHAH: A second US drone attack on a militant compound in Pakistan's northwestern tribal region near the Afghan border Wednesday killed three rebels, local security officials said.
The strike took place in Payekhel village of Datta Khel district of North Waziristan tribal region, where US missile strikes have increased since early this month.
LAHORE: Fans, relatives and tennis officials gave Pakistan's first Grand Slam finalist a hero's homecoming on Wednesday, hailing him a peacemaker and a role model.
Government and Pakistan Tennis Federation (PTF) officials draped Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi with garlands as fans chanted “long live Aisam” and “our new hero.”
Qureshi, 30, fell short of winning Pakistan's first Grand Slam title but his unusual pairing with India's Rohan Bopanna in the men's doubles was praised against a backdrop of struggling peace efforts between Islamabad and New Delhi.
It also came as Pakistan cricket struggles to fight off damaging allegations of corruption.
Qureshi and his Czech partner Kveta Peschke went down to Americans Liezel Huber and Bob Bryan in the mixed doubles final of the US Open on Friday, before Qureshi and Bopanna lost to Bob and Mike Bryan in the men's doubles final.
“I am pleased that I have been able to bring some joy to my countrymen,” said Qureshi.
“I didn't win the titles but I am sure I will do that in the years to come,” added Qureshi, who plans to play exhibition matches with Bopanna soon.
Qureshi became the first Pakistani to reach the finals of a Grand Slam event, news welcomed by President Asif Ali Zardari and millions of Pakistani fans.
PTF president Dilawar Abbas said the Qureshi-Bopanna partnership would help to promote peace between the two arch nuclear rivals.
“Qureshi's success will not only go long way in promoting tennis in Pakistan, but his partnership with Bopanna has already been praised in international media and will help to promote peace between India and Pakistan,” he told AFP. Qureshi's parents spoke of their pride.
“We are proud of his achievement and by reaching the finals of the US Open he has made the nation proud,” his father Ehtesham said.
“His partnership with Bopanna has already been praised by Indian and Pakistani media and throughout the US Open Qureshi-Bopanna pair got more praise because they come from rival nations,” Ehtesham said.
“I was always confident that my son will do it and write a new chapter in the history of Pakistan's sports and will bring a Grand Slam title soon,” said mother Nausheen Qureshi, herself a former national tennis champion.
“He has become a role model for the youth,” she said. -AFP
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan's president says his nation's intelligence services are willing to cooperate closer with Afghanistan against Taliban militants.President Asif Ali Zardari told reporters after meeting Afghan President Hamid Karzai on Wednesday that their cooperation improved after Zardari took office and ''we intend to enhance it further.''
He says: ''We need more security cooperation between our intelligence and their intelligence, which Pakistan is willing to offer.''
It was not clear if the offer was endorsed by Pakistan's military and intelligence establishment, which historically wields more power than civilian rulers.
The two nations have a tense history, marred by recent Afghan allegations that Pakistan allows and even encourages militant attacks. -AP
MAKLI: The US special envoy to Pakistan sought to highlight Washington's aid efforts Wednesday during his first visit since massive floods devastated one of America's most important allies in the war against militancy.
Richard Holbrooke stressed that US support is focused on saving lives, rather than winning hearts and minds or pushing Pakistan to step up operations against al-Qaida and the Taliban. He peppered his visits to two relief camps in southern Pakistan with reminders of just how much the US has done.
''Our country has donated the most money and the most helicopters,'' Holbrooke told a local official during a briefing at a relief camp run by the Pakistani army in a small cricket stadium in the Makli area of Sindh province.
''We do it through the international organizations, so it may not be as visible, but it is very big,'' said Holbrooke, who wore a baseball cap for most of the visit that said ''USAID: From The American People'' a reference to the US Agency for International Development.
Other senior US officials have also stressed that the flood relief is purely humanitarian. But even before the disaster hit, the US was looking for ways to improve its image in Pakistan, a country where anti-American sentiment is pervasive despite spending billions of dollars in aid.
The US has donated more than $260 million for flood relief and has provided 18 military helicopters to evacuate people and deliver food and supplies. It has also provided water purification kits and deployed mobile medical teams to help prevent the spread of disease.
But the scale of the disaster, which has killed more than 1,700 people and affected more than 18 million others, has overwhelmed both the international community and the Pakistani government.
Manzoor Ali Shaikh, the top official in Thatta, the district where Makli is located, told Holbrooke that he needs more food, water and shelter for the 500,000 displaced people camping out in his area. He also warned that the lack of proper sanitation was a ''time bomb'' of disease waiting to explode.
The floods first struck at the end of July following extremely heavy monsoon rains in the northwest. The floodwaters surged down the Indus River, submerging one-fifth of Pakistan at their peak, an area larger than England.
More than 1.8 million houses have been damaged or destroyed, and at least 6 million people require urgent assistance to survive the next few months.
''My home was made of mud and bamboo, and it was totally washed way along with everything in it,'' flood victim Bachal Lashari told Holbrooke. ''I need money so that I can travel to my village and start over,'' he said as he wove a traditional Pakistani bed in his tent at the relief camp.
Lashari and many of the other members of the camp fled from the area around Sujawal, a town of some 250,000 that was almost completely flooded at the end of August. Holbrooke swooped over the town in his helicopter as he made his way to the relief camp from the southern city of Karachi.
Much of the land for miles around Sujawal and Makli is still flooded, and it could take up to six months for the water to fully recede, said Shaikh, the local official. That means tens of thousands of people are going to remain dependent on the government and international groups for food, water and shelter.
The US provided similar assistance when Pakistan was hit by a huge earthquake in 2005 that killed more than 80,000 people.
That aid briefly helped boost public opinion of the US, but it has since declined, and 59 per cent of the population now views the US as an enemy, according to a recent Pew Research poll.
The flood relief could help improve the opinion of the US, but Washington has competition from Islamic charities that are also distributing aid.
The area around the cricket stadium Holbrooke visited contained a camp run by Jamaat-e-Islami, an Islamic political party known for its anti-American views.
Holbrooke made an unscheduled stop at a camp run by Saudi Arabia as he made his way back to his helicopter from the cricket stadium. He briefly chatted with Faiz Mohammed, a farmer who fled Sujawal along with his wife and six children. At the end of the discussion, Holbrooke asked if Mohammed knew where they were from.
Mohammed shook his head, and Holbrooke said, ''We are from America, and we are here to help you.'' -AP
NEW DELHI: Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Ijaz Butt on Wednesday travelled to India for meetings with the head of the International Cricket Council (ICC) over the spot-fixing scandal, reports said.
Butt was due to meet ICC president Sharad Pawar on Thursday, a source was quoted as saying by the Press Trust of India news agency.
Pakistan players Mohammad Aamer, Mohammad Asif and Salman Butt have written to the ICC saying they would defend themselves over disciplinary action brought against them, their lawyers confirmed this week.
Pakistan's tour of England has been overshadowed by newspaper allegations of a betting scam involving no-balls being deliberately bowled in the fourth Test against England at Lord's last month.
The claims, published in the News of the World, led to the suspension of Pakistan Test captain Salman Butt and bowlers Aamer and Asif by the ICC.
According to the ICC Code of Conduct, the suspended players have 40 days from receipt of the charges until a hearing takes place, except in exceptional circumstances and with the agreement of both parties.
No official confirmation of Ijaz Butt's visit to India or planned meetings with Pawar was immediately available. -AFP
MIRAMSHAH: An Afghan Taliban commander and close relative of Afghan warlord Sirajuddin Haqqani was among those killed in a recent US missile strike, Pakistani security officials said Wednesday.
A US drone fired two missiles into a vehicle in Qutabkhel village in North Waziristan tribal district on Tuesday, killing four militants.
“Afghan Taliban commander Saifullah travelled to the region from Afghanistan three days ago and was killed in yesterday's US missile strike,” a senior security official in the area told AFP.
The information was based on intelligence intercepts, the official said.
He described Saifullah as the first cousin of Sirajuddin Haqqani, who runs the Haqqani network created by his father, Afghan warlord Jalaluddin Haqqani.
The network is based in North Waziristan, a known hub of Taliban and Al-Qaeda linked militants just across the border from Afghanistan.
The group is blamed for fuelling the nine-year insurgency in Afghanistan; attacking US-led Nato troops and working to destabilise the Western-backed government of Afghan President Hamid Karzai.
Another Pakistani security official confirmed Saifullah's death. – AFP
ISLAMABAD: Governor of Gilgit-Baltistan Dr Shama Khalid passed away at the age of 60 on Wednesday after succumbing to cancer.
Dr Khalid was sworn in as the first governor of the region on March 23, 2010. She was also the first woman governor of Pakistan.
She was admitted at a hospital in Islamabad, where she was fighting against cancer for the past one-and-a-half month.
LAHORE: The Indian government on Wednesday released 24 Pakistani prisoners as a goodwill gesture. The prisoners, including seven fishermen and two children, were handed over to Pakistani authorities at the Wagah border.
Most of the prisoners had already served their sentences given by the Indian Supreme Court, officials said on Wednesday.
India had earlier listed 31 prisoners for Wednesday’s release but only 24 were actually freed.
KARACHI: Water level in Manchar Lake, situated near Dadu, reached an alarmingly high level on Wednesday with more water pouring into the lake. The water has already inundated several residential buildings in Manchar city.
Sindh’s provincial irrigation department and locals were using sacks of sand to block the flow of water as its level rose above the meter installed by the department, exceeding the lake’s capacity of 121 feet.
The water level at Manchar Lake reached RL121.1 feet (exceeding its maximum capacity of RL121feet) and the water was overflowing from point RD98 to RD100 of its protective embankments. Warnings were therefore issued to evacuate Bhan Saeedabad city.
Moreover, 30 villages of Bajara, a union council of Bhan Saeedabad in District Jamshoro, became inundated of flood water, whereas more than 50,000 citizens are trapped around Manchar Lake. Meanwhile, water flow has dropped from the cut at the Aral canal in order to lower the water level in Manchar Lake.
“They (MBF) informed that they would not be coming to
He also said that they were having some problem while communicating with the Central Africa Boxing Federation. However, he was confident they would soon send their boxers and officials.
The only team to arrive for the joint training was
ISLAMABAD: Afghan President Hamid Karzai arrived here Wednesday on a two day visit to meet Pakistani leaders and discuss a range of issues aimed at further strengthening ties between the two countries.
President Karzai was received at the Chaklala Air Base by Minister for Food and Agriculture Nazar Mohammad Gondal. Karzai will be meeting President Asif Ali Zardari later in the day, with an exclusive round followed by delegation level talks, and a joint press conference.
President Zardari will also host a dinner in honour of the Afghan President and his delegation.
He will also meet Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, Army Chief Ashfaq Parvaiz Kiyani and Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi and hold wide ranging talks covering political and economic ties, defence and security issues. — APP
LAHORE: An Anti-Terrorist Court in Gujranwala again sent six accused policemen, including ex-DPO Sialkot Waqar Ahmed Chauhan, on a seven-day-long judicial remand on Wednesday.
The court also ordered to file the challan of the trial within seven days.
Up till now 28 accused in the Sialkot lynching case, including 10 policemen and 18 civilians of Buttar village, have been sent to jail on judicial remand. Only ex-DPO Chauhan had filed a bail request, which will be heard in the court tomorrow.
ISLAMABAD: With just 15 days to go before the deadline, the authorities are still unclear if the reformed general sales tax on services can be introduced on Oct 1, as proclaimed in the federal budget and promised to the International Monetary Fund (IMF). 
They also backed a Test championship to be introduced by 2013.
The meeting of the International Cricket Council’s Chief Executives’ Committee (CEC) called for the ICC to introduce league championships for both Test and one-day international cricket in order to introduce context for future tours.
The top four teams in the Test league should qualify for a championship play-off with the first play-off proposed to be staged in 2013.
The chief executives suggested that a one-day league should run from April 2011 until April 2014, culminating in the crowning of a one-day international champion.
The league championship would be separate from the four-yearly World Cup.
The meeting also recommended major changes to the formats of both the World Cup and the ICC World Twenty20.
It was recommended that the number of teams in the World Cup should be reduced from the 14 that will compete in next year’s event to 10, while 16 teams should play in the Twenty20, up from the 12 that competed earlier this year.
There was also a call for a Twenty20 international rankings table.
ICC chief executive Haroon Lorgat, who chaired the meeting, said he was excited by the proposals.
“Restructuring international cricket is a significant strategic challenge and one that must be dealt with. I am grateful to the CEC and its working group for making such far-reaching proposals,” he said. -AFP
NEW DELHI: Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said on Wednesday he was “shocked and distressed” by deadly protests in Indian-administered Kashmir and called for calm to enable talks on the crisis to take place.
“I was shocked and distressed to see young men and women — even children —joining the protests on the streets,” Singh said at the opening of a meeting of political parties called to debate ways of easing tensions in the region.
Leaders of India's main political parties debated Wednesday whether to ease harsh security laws in Indian-administered Kashmir as the government searched for a strategy to end months of increasingly violent protests in the region.
Under the laws, army officers in the region can search homes and make arrests without warrants, can shoot at anyone suspected of being a separatist and can blow up a building or a home on suspicion insurgents are using it.
The fate of Kashmir is one of the most volatile issues facing India. Control of the territory is divided between India and Pakistan, which both lay claim to the whole region and have fought two wars over it.
With no resolution in sight to the six decade dispute, thousands of protesters have taken to the streets over the past three summers, stoning troops and demanding independence from India or a merger with Pakistan.
In the worst violence so far this year, 18 protesters were killed in street battles on Monday, exacerbated by reports of Quran desecration in the United States. In response, authorities slapped a round-the-clock curfew across the territory and threatened to shoot violators on sight.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh met with top politicians in New Delhi and appealed for ideas to end the violence.
''I have said this earlier and I say it again: The only path for lasting peace and prosperity in Jammu and Kashmir is that of dialogue and discussion,'' he said.
Singh accused separatist groups of orchestrating some of the violent protests, appealed for calm in the region and said the government was willing to talk to any group that did not espouse violence.
The chances of reaching a consensus over Kashmir is extremely unlikely, with political leaders deeply divided over how to proceed. Kashmiri politicians, hoping to regain some credibility with their people, have pressed for the lifting of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act in the region.
But some Cabinet ministers and the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party oppose even a partial lifting of the law, which they say would lead to even more violence.
''We want peace to return to Kashmir. But it cannot return if separatists have a free hand and the army's hands are tied,'' BJP leader Arun Jaitley said Wednesday.
Even if the government agreed to lift the restrictions on Kashmir it would not necessarily appease separatist leaders.
Syed Ali Shah Geelani, a leader of the umbrella grouping All Parties Hurriyat Conference, has demanded India declare Kashmir an international dispute, withdraw hundreds of thousands of troops from the region and release all political prisoners as a precondition for talks.
''It would mean total rejection if India rejects even one of our conditions for talks and reviewing the ongoing demonstrations,'' Geelani told The Associated Press.
Since 1989, a violent, separatist insurgency and the ensuing crackdown by Indian forces have killed an estimated 68,000 people. Although the armed insurgency is largely suppressed, the region remains heavily militarised, with checkpoints along main roads, hundreds of thousands of troops stationed here and harsh emergency laws still in force, creating further friction with the restive population.
The violence this summer has claimed nearly 90 lives in the Himalayan region.
“They (MBF) informed that they would not be coming to
He also said that they were having some problem while communicating with the Central Africa Boxing Federation. However, he was confident they would soon send their boxers and officials.
The only team to arrive for the joint training was
The month long camp was scheduled to conclude on 28th September.
LONDON: Inter Milan opened the defence of their Champions League title with a 2-2 draw at tournament newcomers FC Twente on Tuesday while Barcelona signalled their intent with a 5-1 home thrashing of Panathinaikos.
Inter went ahead in the Netherlands through Wesley Sneijder but needed a 41st-minute goal by striker Samuel Eto’o to earn a point from the Group A opener.
Lionel Messi scored twice and missed a penalty as Barcelona, who lost to Inter in the semi-finals last season, started group play with a convincing victory at the Camp Nou. David Villa, Pedro Rodriguez and Daniel Alves also scored for the Spanish champions.
In Group C, Manchester United were held to a goalless draw at home to Rangers in a match marred by a serious ankle injury to United winger Antonio Valencia, and Valencia thrashed newcomers Bursaspor 4-0 away.
Sneijder, who starred for the Netherlands at the World Cup, tapped in a rebound to open the scoring after Twente goalkeeper Nikolay Mihaylov failed to hold on to Diego Milito’s shot.
Theo Janssen equalised for Twente with a curling free kick in the 20th before Milito’s own goal put the Dutch side ahead 10 minutes later.
Eto’o, who scored the winner against Udinese at the weekend, found the target again with a low 25-yard drive to rescue Inter, who are struggling for form in the early part of the campaign after winning an unprecedented treble – Champions League, Serie A and Italian Cup – last season.
“A draw against Inter is a good result for us,” said Twente coach Michel Preud’homme. “We could have won the match.”
In the other match in the pool, Werder Bremen recovered from going two goals down to draw 2-2 with Tottenham, who were making their debut in the tournament.
A Petri Pasanen own goal and a header by Peter Crouch gave Spurs a great start but goals by Hugo Almeida and Marko Marin brought Werder level.
Barcelona bounced back from a humiliating 2-0 home defeat to Hercules in the Spanish league by routing Panathinaikos, who took the lead through Sidney Govou in the 20th minute.
Argentina forward Messi took his tally for the season to six goals in five games by first equalising with a well-taken finish and then adding a third after off-season signing Villa had made it 2-1.
Panathinaikos goalkeeper Alexandros Tzorvas denied Messi a hat trick with a penalty save in the 54th minute but Pedro and Alves piled on the agony for the visitors from Greece.
“Things worked out well and it’s always nice to start the Champions League with a victory,” Pedro said. “We knew we had to win.”
Dame N’Doye’s late winner handed FC Copenhagen a 1-0 victory against Rubin Kazan in the other Group D match.
United manager Alex Ferguson feared being without Valencia for the rest of the season after saying the Ecuador winger sustained what could be “a dislocation and a fracture” in an innocuous second-half challenge in the draw with Rangers.
“He seemed to dig his toe in the turf. Unfortunately, it’s a bad one,” Ferguson said.
An almost second-string United, featuring recalled England striker Wayne Rooney and nine other players who did not start against Everton in the Premier League on Saturday, failed to break down a stubborn Rangers defence at Old Trafford.
United midfielder Darron Gibson came closest to breaking the deadlock with a raft of long-range efforts.
Bursaspor, one of two other teams playing in the Champions League for the first time, were handed a tough introduction to life in Europe’s elite club competition.
Tino Costa opened the scoring for Valencia in the 16th minute with a 35-yard shot and striker Aduriz dived to head in the second. Pablo Hernandez and Roberto Soldado added more goals in the second half for the Spanish team.
In Group B, Brazil international Michel Bastos scored an opportunist 21st-minute lob as last season’s semifinalist Lyon won 1-0 against 10-man Schalke.
Schalke centre-half Benedikt Hoewedes was sent off 13 minutes later for a high tackle on Lyon forward Jimmy Briand.
In the other group match, goals from Luisao and Oscar Cardozo gave Benfica a 2-0 win over debutant Hapoel Tel Aviv. —AP
SRINAGAR: Protestors in Indian-administered Kashmir set fire to two government buildings overnight in trouble-hit towns of the disputed region amid isolated skirmishes with security forces, police said.
Residents also began to complain they were running low on food as thousands of heavily armed police imposed a strict curfew for the fourth day that has prevented anyone from leaving their homes.
“The situation during the last night remained peaceful barring a couple of incidents of arson in Sopore and Handwara,” a police statement said, referring to two northern towns.
In Handwara, hundreds of protesters chanting, “Down With India!” and “Allah Is Great!” torched a municipal committee office, while in Sopore protesters attacked and tried to set fire to a revenue office, causing some damage.
Thousands of Indian police and paramilitaries patrolled streets of Kashmir Wednesday to enforce the curfew, which was first imposed on Sunday during serious clashes and arson attacks in the main town of Srinagar.
“The curfew has been in force for more than 72 hours now and we have no milk or bread left,” one housewife, Shaheen Amin, told AFP.
Ajaz Rasool, a retired government official, criticised the government for not relaxing the restrictions.
“You can't starve the entire population. They are trying to give us collective punishment,” he said from a besieged downtown locality.
The round-the-clock indefinite curfew is in force across all the towns and sensitive roadside villages in the valley.
PESHAWAR: Seven people were killed and 11 injured in fresh clashes between two tribes in the Kurram tribal region on Wednesday.
According to sources, the clashes continued in Kurram’s Slaozan and Tungi areas and the tribesmen were using rockets, mortars shells and other heavy weapons against each other.
The clashes erupted due to a water dispute two weeks ago and have claimed the lives of 36 people so far. More than 50 people have also been injured in the clashes.
Meanwhile, the region’s political administration claimed that steps were being taken to restore peace between the tribes.
MIRAMSHAH: US drones fired off a volley of missiles targeting militants in a tribal area of northwest Pakistan Wednesday, killing 14 of them, security officials said.
The pre-dawn attack —the third in less than 24 hours —was directed at the Haqqani network.
Twelve missiles were fired in the attack which took place in Dargah Mandi village on the outskirts of Miramshah, the main town in the North Waziristan tribal district where US missiles killed 15 militants in two separate attacks Tuesday.
Residents said there was panic in the village as the noise of drones was heard just before dawn.
“As the US drones came over the village people started shouting and running here and there shouting 'run, drones have come,' a local tribesman told AFP, requesting anonymity for fear militants might harm him.
Residents said the targeted houses were owned by a local tribesman Bacha Khan, who had rented them out to militants, and were destroyed in the attacks.
A fresh surge in US missile strikes has killed 75 militants since September 3 in Pakistan's northwestern tribal belt.
Over 1,070 people have been killed in more than 125 drone strikes in Pakistan since August 2008, including a number of senior militants.—AFP
CANBERRA: Australia's new foreign minister flew to Pakistan on Wednesday to see the flood disaster there firsthand before urging UN countries to give more emergency relief.
Kevin Rudd, the former prime minister, left Canberra a day after he was sworn in as foreign minister in the government of his replacement, the recently re-elected Julia Gillard.
Before leaving, Rudd said he feared a massive outbreak of waterborne diseases would create a humanitarian disaster in Pakistan, where 20 million people are affected by flooding.
''It's quite plain that we're in the process of seeing a slow burn humanitarian disaster in that country — a humanitarian disaster potentially of horrendous proportions,'' Rudd told reporters at Parliament House.
Rudd said he plans to ask a meeting in New York of UN-member countries supporting Pakistan to give more.
''The international community needs to do more,'' Rudd said. ''We do not want to turn around in three and six months time and ask ourselves this question: What more could we have done or should we have done to avert a humanitarian disaster?''
Rudd said Australia was the fifth most generous donor to the Pakistan flood relief effort, having already contributed 35 million Australian dollars.
After Pakistan, Rudd will visit Washington on Friday where he will discuss the Afghan war with US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and National Security Adviser Gen. James Jones. Australia has 1,550 troops in Afghanistan supporting the US-led international alliance.
While in New York, Rudd will stand in for Gillard to deliver an annual speech to the UN General Assembly. He will also attend UN forums on reducing global poverty and promoting sustainable development.
A brief statement issued by Scotland Yard here on Tuesday said: “We can confirm that today, Tuesday, September 14, one further Pakistani cricketer was interviewed by appointment under caution.” Although the statement did not name Riaz, his interview with detectives was trailed last week by Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Ijaz Butt, who said: “We have arranged for his interview as we will continue to cooperate and we want to get to the bottom of the matter.”
The claims, published in the News of the World, led to the suspension of Pakistan Test captain Salman Butt and bowlers Mohammad Aamer and Mohammad Asif by the International Cricket Council (ICC) Riaz, a 25-year-old left-arm seamer, remains with the squad but has not so far been selected for the ongoing one-day series against England.
Before the series started and before the ICC suspended Butt, Aamer and
However,
Earlier on Tuesday, Ehsan Mani, the Pakistani former president of the ICC, accused the PCB of failing to educate its players about the dangers of corruption.
“The
“The onus is on the PCB to explain how players under its control could behave like this.”Mani, who led the ICC, cricket's global governing body, from 2003-06, dismissed claims Pakistan players were among the most vulnerable to 'spot-fixing' approaches because they weren't as well-paid as rival international cricketers.
“All cricketers round the world get paid well,” Mani said. “Even Pakistani players are exceedingly well paid relative to the standard of living in their country. There is no excuse (for corruption) apart from sheer greed.
“If a player comes from a very under-privileged background and makes the big time, he needs a lot of mentoring, a lot of support and education.
“We have to be honest -- there has been a failure in the system in
“This is the time for the ICC to say to the Indian government that you have to bring this into the loop...This is hurting the credibility not only of the game but of
HERAT: A bomb blast at a concert by Afghanistan's top singer wounded at least 13 people on Tuesday, an official and witness said.
The explosion happened at the end of Farhad Darya's concert in a sports stadium in the western city of Herat, as thousands of fans began to leave, an AFP reporter at the scene said.
“It seems the blast was from a bomb fixed to a motorcycle and parked near the stadium,” he said.
The provincial public health hospital said they received 13 wounded from the blast.
“Among the wounded are a child, a woman, one policeman and ten other male fans,” Ghulam Sayeed Rashid, the head of public health in the province, said.
The award-winning singer, composer and peace and rights activist survived the attack unhurt, said the AFP reporter who witnessed the incident.
Darya has been the most influential figures in Afghan music in recent decades, and also runs a charity project for street children in Afghanistan.
Darya was on his way to hospital to visit his fans wounded in the blast, said the reporter.
Security concerns mean concerts and public events are limited in Afghanistan, which is due to hold parliamentary elections on Saturday.
KARACHI: Three bullet-riddled bodies were found in an under construction building near Karachi’s Power House Chowrangi on Wednesday.
Police told DawnNews that the dead looked like labourers. Several buildings were being built in the area and the labourers used to live in those buildings. The dead were still unidentified, added police officials.
Moreover, eight people have been gunned down in the city in the last 48 hours.
Meanwhile, police in a raid near the Super Market area in Nazimabad seized a huge cache of arms and ammunition.
PESHAWAR: Five troops were injured when a remote control bomb hit a security forces convoy in Bara tehsil of the Khyber tribal region on Wednesday morning.
According to sources, the convoy was heading to an FC camp when it came under attack. The injured troops had been shifted to the CMH Hospital Peshawar.
Security forces had cordoned off the area and started a search operation after the attack.
HONG KONG: Former president Pervez Musharraf said Wednesday he would launch a new party on October 1, as the retired general plots a return to the frontlines of the country's turbulent politics.
Musharraf also accused Afghan President Hamid Karzai of lacking “legitimacy” but urged the West to stay the course against the Taliban and not to abandon the restive region.
“I'm going to declare a party on October 1... We have to bring about a new political culture in Pakistan,” he told reporters in Hong Kong after addressing an annual investors' forum organised by the CLSA brokerage.
The 67-year-old Musharraf, who lives in self-imposed exile in London, shrugged off the threat of possible legal action arising from his years of military rule of Pakistan.
“There are elements opposed to me, political elements, and they are the ones who engineer these cases. One has to face that. I'm very confident nothing can happen (on his eventual return home),” he said.
Musharraf, who plans to stand for parliament at the next general election in 2013, did not say where he would launch his new party —called the All Pakistan Muslim League.
But reports in Pakistan have said the October 1 event will take place in London.
“I'm totally against the system where it becomes a family domain in all political parties. The essence of democracy is not there in Pakistan,” he said in Hong Kong.
He had a dismal relationship with Karzai, who regained power last year in an election that was widely decried as fraudulent.
“There must be a legitimate government in Afghanistan... He does not have that legitimacy,” Musharraf told the CLSA forum.
In contrast, the former military leader heaped praise on US General David Petraeus, the commander of some 150,000 foreign soldiers deployed in Afghanistan.
“I have faith in General Petraeus —he is a great commander and he can do well in Afghanistan,” Musharraf told the conference.
But with US President Barack Obama planning a troop drawdown from mid-2011, Musharraf warned that abandoning Afghanistan would “be playing into the hands of the Taliban and Al-Qaeda”, and said “quitting is not an option”.
“The whole world is against the Taliban. So why can't we win? We can win and will win. But we will suffer casualties... No one is analysing the effect of abandoning the region on Afghanistan, Pakistan and the world.”
Musharraf also criticised US drone strikes early Wednesday. Such strikes were a “violation” of Pakistan's sovereignty, he said.
“The sensitivity of the people of Pakistan is that no outside force should cross (its) border.”
