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Arbab, Imtiaz told to 'cease fire'
Lyari gang war claims 3 more lives
2 killed; cash valuables looted from bank
HYDERABAD: Protests lead to arrest of Pesh Imam
Blasts damage power supply tower near Sibi
2 arrested for attack on Musharraf, Shaukat Aziz
'All assailants involved in PM suicide attack case held’
Official held at Heathrow on suspicion of being drunk and of sexual assault
Terrorists network crippled: Musharraf
'Israel must prepare for air strike on Iran’s N-programme’
Arbab, Imtiaz told to 'cease fire'
KARACHI, Feb 21: A cease fire brokered by PML Secretary General Mushahid Hussain Syed between Sindh Chief Minister Dr Arbab Ghulam Rahim and Imtiaz Shaikh could not hold even for 24 hours
and their supporters staged rallies outside the Karachi Press Club and raised slogans against each other on Monday afternoon.
However, before the situation could take a violent turn, police intervened and separated fist-raising supporters from each other who later dispersed raising slogans in support of their leaders.
Mushahid Hussain was sent to the city from Islamabad on Sunday by PML chief Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain to stop Dr Arbab Rahim and Mr Shaikh from issuing statements against each other. During his stay, he held separate meetings with them and asked them to observe a cease fire as the party high command would decide the matter which would be binding on both.
The PML secretary-general, who also had a meeting with Sindh Governor Ishratul Ibad on Sunday, left for Islamabad on Monday to submit his report to the party chief and the prime minister.
On Monday afternoon, supporters of both leaders held demonstrations in front of the KPC at the same time. One group was demanding dismissal of the chief minister while the other was demanding the removal of the sacked minister from the party office.
Mr Shaikh's supporters also held a meeting at the PML House on Monday where the MSF announced that it would stage rallies in support of Mr Shaikh in different cities of Sindh from tomorrow.
Lyari gang war claims 3 more lives
KARACHI: Despite all efforts and strict security measures
adopted by the police the Lyari gang war on Monday claimed three more lives
in Saeedabad and Baghdadi police
jurisdictions.
According to details, Muhammad Aalam, 40, a maternal uncle
of Ghaffar alias Zikri, a notorious criminal reportedly fulfilling the
interests of Arshad alias Pappu’s gang in the locality and resident of Agra
Taj Colony, was gunned down when four unknown persons opened fire upon him,
while he was opening his fodder shop in Baloch Para near Juna Mosque within
the Baghdadi police jurisdiction.
Police said the deceased was a close relative of Ghaffar
alias Zikri, a fugitive wanted in numerous criminal cases. Aalam might have
been murdered because of his association with Ghaffar, police added.
Police have registered a case against Abid, Ghaffar and
their two unknown accomplices on complaint of Ummeed Ali, the brother-in-law
of the deceased, who was also a councillor of UC-6 of Lyari Town.
Arbab Dur Muhammad, 50, a close relative of Rehman alias
Dacoit, father of Sohail, also a close aide of Rehman Dacoit, resident of
Afshani Gali Raksar Lane,
was shot dead in Yousuf Goth Saeedabad police limits when unknown gunmen
opened fire upon him, while he came in the area to collect rent of his shops.
Pir Bux, 60, father of Waheed, also a notorious criminal,
having links with Arshad Pappu group and a resident of Bakra Chowk, was
gunned down by unidentified armed men who entered his house.
"What we can do, criminals are killing each other and
in fact doing our job", a police officer informed The News.
According to details, Munawwar Ali Bhutto, 30, Muhammad
Siddique, 22, and Taj Bibi, 55, all residents of Lyari, sustained bullet
injuries when unknown gunmen opened fire in Street No 4, Singu Lane Hassan
Ali Road Lyari within Chakiwara police jurisdiction the other day.
The injured persons were brought to the Civil Hospital,
where doctors pronounced Munawwar dead, while Siddique and elderly
Taj Bibi were admitted in a critical condition.
Police told The News that deceased Munawwar was a
gangster, working for Arshad Pappu’s group since 1991 and was involved in
numerous cases of criminal nature.
On Feb 9, the on-going Lyari gang-war claimed life of
another young man Qaddafi, 28, a councillor of Union Council III of Lyari
Town and resident of Nayaabad, who was found murdered near Vanthali Hall in
Kalri police jurisdiction.
Area police said that the deceased had links with
criminals, was also involved in a murder case and had been released on bail
about one and a half month ago.
On instructions of provincial authorities a planned
operation against criminals had been started in Lyari vicinity and to earn
its positive results, the Town Police Officer (TPO) Lyari and three SHOs had
been transferred a couple of months ago.
Lyari, the oldest locality of the provincial metropolis,
where people of various walks of life, sects, and tribes had been residing
since hundreds of years with love, dedication and sense of neighbourhood for
each other, was now emerging as a no-go area for law-abiding citizens.
Police, despite their tall claims have failed to control
the law and order situation in Lyari.
Gangs, operating in the locality have proved that they are
more active than the police and influential than the administration and that’s
why law-abiding citizens of Lyari had been passing their lives at the mercy
of those criminals for a long time.
Two main gangs have been operating in almost all areas of
Lyari openly dealing in the drug business, extorting money from all citizens
residing in the area and traders, doing businesses in the vicinities on
monthly basis and if anyone resisted the criminals kill them immediately.
The residents of the Lyari and nearby areas have been
paying taxes to the government as well as extortion to the criminals for
their protection of lives and businesses.
2 killed; cash valuables looted from bank
KARACHI: At least two persons were shot dead in separate
incidents on Saturday and Sunday, police said.
According to details, Yameen, 40, a police constable
posted in Malir Town, was shot at and seriously injured by three unknown
persons who entered his house in Shah Lateef Town. The injured was rushed to
the JPMC, where died.
Meraj, 24, resident of New Karachi, was shot at and
seriously injured by armed men, while he confronted them when they entered
Osaf Hospital in North Karachi. The injured was rushed to the Abbasi Shaheed
Hospital (ASH) and later referred to the Civil Hospital, where he died.
FALLS TO DEATH: Babar, 3, resident of Nagin Chowrangi,
died after he fell from the balcony of his house on the third floor n the Sir
Syed Town police limits.
BURGLARY IN NBP: Cash, jewellery and other valuables worth
millions of rupees, deposited in at least five lockers of National Bank of
Pakistan (NBP) were stolen, police said.
The bank staff working in the NBP Tamoria Branch situated
in Block G North Nazimabad when they came on duty on Monday, found at least
five lockers broken and Shah Muhammad and Iqbal, the two private security
guards missing.
Two out of the five broken lockers were allotted to two
bank customers, while three were empty, the bank manager said.
INJURED: At least five persons sustained bullet injuries
when Naeem Ahmed, an owner of a medical store resisted a robbery bid at his
shop near Sobhraj Hospital in Preedy police jurisdiction late Monday night,
police said.
According to details, robbers came to the medical store
near Sobhraj Hospital and asked Naeem Ahmed, the owner to hand over all the
cash and other valuables.
Naeem, resisted on which the bandits opened fire, which
hit Naeem, 24, Ejaz, 25, a friend of Naeem, who was sitting along with him
and Aasim, a customer, who was using Public Call Office (PCO) installed at
the medical store and escaped leaving them injured. The injured persons were
rushed to the Civil Hospital.
Faheem Ashraf and Adnan, both in their mid 20s, sustained
injuries when they resisted robbers in Kharadar and Soldier Bazaar police
limits.
HYDERABAD: Protests lead to arrest of Pesh Imam
HYDERABAD, Feb 21: The prayer leader (Pesh Imam) of the Jamia Muhammadi Masjid Ahl-i-Hadith in Mir Nabi Bux Town was arrested under the blasphemy law by the Pinyari police on Saturday.
The Pesh Imam, Raees Ansari, was reported to have burned old pages of the Holy Quran on rooftop of the mosque to bury the ash in a can. The burnt pages flew in the air and fell in the locality.
Soon, a mob reached the mosque and tried to occupy it. Some furious residents climbed over a wall and entered the mosque. Meanwhile, City Taluka Nazim Moinuddin Shaikh, Muttahida Majli-i-Amal MPA Abdul Rehman Rajput, Muttahida Qaumi Movement's zonal organizer Siraj Rajput and TPO Qamar Raza Jaskani arrived there and tried to pacify the angry people.
The residents again tried to occupy the mosque but police prevented them from doing so. A large number of activists of the Sunni Tehrik, led by Khalid Qadri, gathered there, raising slogans against the Pesh Imam.
Tension mounted in the area as a supporter of the Pesh Imam threatened to open fire on the crowed if anybody dared come forward. Police intervened, arrested the Pesh Imam and registered a case under section 295-B of the Blasphemy Act against him and three others, Shakeel, Sattar and Naeem, on the complaint of Nasir Qadri.
Some unidentified persons, present in the mosque, were detained by police but let off soon as they had gone to offer prayers. TPO Jaskani told this correspondent that Ansari had admitted that he had burned the pages of Holy Quran, instead of throwing them in the Phuleli Canal because usually it contained dirty water. He said that he would have filled the burnt pages in a tin can and buried it.
Blasts damage power supply tower near Sibi
QUETTA: A power supply tower of 132 KV, Sibi-Harnai
transmission line, was badly damaged in powerful bomb explosions near Sibi,
official sources said on Monday night.
The sources told The News on condition of anonymity that
unidentified saboteurs planted bombs near tower number 69 of 132 KV
Sibi-Harnai transmission line at Nari Gach area, some 32 kilometres off Sibi.
The bombs explode damaging the tower. However, power supply to Sibi and
Harnai remained undisturbed. Number of the explosive devices could not be
known till our going to the press.
Soon after the explosions, Levies and Wapda officials
rushed to the spot and started probe into the matter. The officials said that
a team of Qesco would reach Sibi on Tuesday to start repair work on the
tower. The tower might by repaired by Wednesday, the sources added.
2 arrested for attack on Musharraf, Shaukat Aziz
FAISALABAD, Feb 21: A special team comprising a federal agency personnel and police commandos arrested two suspects reportedly involved in attack on President Gen Pervez Musharraf and Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz.
The team raided the house of Asghar Ali alias Titu, stated to be an activist of a banned outfit, near Chaku Morr in Jaranwala tehsil, about 42 kilometres from here, on Friday night and arrested Abbas Ali and Mujahid. However, Asghar could not be arrested as he was not at house during the operation.
Sources close to secret agency personnel said some documents, luggage and cell phones have been taken into custody from the house. They claimed that the three were a part of the attempts on President Musharraf on Dec 26, 2003, in Rawalpindi and on Shaukat Aziz on July 30, 2004, in Attock.
They said the arrested suspects had links with some foreign militant organizations and were planning to sabotage Muharram related functions in major cities of the country.
Sources said the investigators had got a clue from the suspects arrested from Kohat and some others parts of the country last week about the presence of their accomplices in Jaranwala. Meanwhile, the arrested suspects have been shifted to Islamabad for further interrogation.
‘All assailants involved in PM suicide attack case held’
FATEH JANG: All the alleged assailants involved in suicide
attack on Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz during his election campaign in October
last year have been arrested. According to police sources, all the actual
attackers have been detained and three of them have been sent to Rawalpindi
jail and as many to Attock jail. SHO Rawalpindi, Chaudhry Riaz and SP special
branch Akhtar Lalika of are investigating the case.
Official held at Heathrow on suspicion of being drunk and of sexual assault
ISLAMABAD, Feb 21: The Secretary of the National Assembly, Mehmood Saleem Mehmood, was detained by the British authorities at Heathrow airport on Sunday on suspicion of being drunk and a complaint of sexual assault on a Virgin Atlantic flight from Washington to London.
The incident was reported in the British Telegraph newspaper on Monday and confirmed by the Pakistan Foreign Office here. "Our (Pakistani) High Commission (in UK) was instantly in touch with the concerned British authorities and consular assistance was provided (to the arrested secretary) immediately," Foreign Office spokesman Masood Khan said when asked about the arrest of Mr Mehmood at Heathrow.
After the Pakistan High Commission in London secured his release, Mr Mehmood returned to Pakistan on Monday and resumed duty. When contacted by Dawn, he said: "The government has taken up the matter with the British authorities."
The Foreign Office spokesman said Pakistan High Commission in London facilitated his release after the London Metropolitan police had questioned him on the alleged charges.
A spokesman for the British High Commission in Islamabad refused to comment on the issue saying it was a matter on which only the concerned airline or the Metropolitan police in London could comment.
In its report, the Telegraph quoted passengers as saying that the official has consumed 'vast quantities' of duty-free alcohol. One female passenger had to be moved from her seat and upgraded to business class after she claimed the man attempted to fondle her, the paper said.
A London police spokesman was quoted by the paper as saying: "We can confirm a 55-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of being drunk on an aircraft and sexual assault."
Terrorists network crippled: Musharraf
ISLAMABAD: President Pervez Musharraf told a bipartisan US
Senate delegation on Monday that the efforts of Pakistan security agencies
had yielded good results and greatly diminished the operational capability of
the global terrorists network.
Pakistan is a strong ally of the US in the global war
against terrorism. The president also urged the US senators to move from the
stage of conflict management and assist in conflict resolution to bring
durable peace to South Asia and the Middle East, says a statement from the
Foreign Office.
Musharraf was speaking to Republicans John McCain, Susan
Collins and Lindsey Graham and Democrats Hillary Clinton and Russell Feingold
who called on him for an hour-long meeting in the afternoon.
Though nothing was said publicly about the arrival from
Iraq of the American politicians, the government, however, had been informed
about the visit 10 days ago. After a night’s stay in Islamabad the senators
will leave for Afghanistan this morning and return the same day. They will
then leave for the US the same evening.
Senator Hillary Clinton also paid a visit to Pakistan last
winter. Musharraf, say diplomatic sources, inquired about the health of her
husband, former President Bill Clinton, who is touring the tsunami-hit areas
along with another former president Bush senior.
Iraq was the one issue that came under discussion between
the two sides. The Minister of State for Foreign Affairs and Additional
Secretary Americas were present during the meeting. The US delegation was
assisted by their Ambassador to Pakistan. The senators, commending the
president’s courageous leadership in fighting terrorism and extremism,
voiced their support for a strong partnership between the United States and
Pakistan.
Diplomatic sources add that some of the Sunnis that the
delegation had met were expressing regrets that they had boycotted the recent
elections. Pakistan’s stand was reiterated in the meeting that all Iraqis
should take part in the political process because making a new constitution
required the participation of everyone.
‘Israel must prepare for air strike on Iran’s N-programme’
JERUSALEM: Israel must be prepared to carry out an air
strike against Iran’s nuclear programme, air force commander Maj-Gen
Eliezer Shakedi said on Monday.
But in a meeting with reporters, Shakedi would not say
whether he thought Israel was capable of carrying out such a mission alone,
as it did when it bombed an unfinished Iraqi nuclear reactor near Baghdad in
1981.
Asked whether Israel has a plan for the Iranian nuclear
programme, Shakedi replied, "You know that for obvious reasons, I won’t
say even a word." But when asked whether he was confident the air force
could provide the answer to the threat, Shakedi replied, "I must be
prepared for everything."
The Israeli air force commander also discussed situation
in Lebanon. The assassination last week of Rafik Hariri "can create a
new picture in Lebanon," Shakedi said. Asked whether the Israeli air
force has changed its deployment since the assassination, he replied,
"Of course we won’t let the other side hit us."