The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

	Imran Khan confident of victory Afzal Khan in Islamabad Nearing the end of his hectic, brainstorming tour of Punjab and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Imran Khan is confident of a clear victory on May 11 but is still unwilling to predict the number of seats the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) will win. His voice flushed with excitement after a whistle-stop of the Peshawar valley and parts of central Punjab over the past 36 hours, Imran believes that the PTI is on the verge of a historic success. “I am not going to get drawn into numbers. But if it’s going like I think it is, then we should have a clear majority,” Imran says of Saturday’s National Assembly elections in an interview with Dawn. What if the PTI doesn’t win a majority on May 11: would it sit in the Opposition or negotiate to join a coalition government or, as a rumour swirling around the PTI suggests, would the party refuse to accept the results as legitimate? “If it’s the main parties, then no,” Imran says, referring to the possibility of a coalition with either the PML-N or the PPP. "We can think about others parties if the situation arises,” the PTI chief continues, simultaneously implicitly recognising the difficulty of attaining a single-party majority and rejecting the possibility of launching a protest movement. Imran’s effervescence in the last days of the campaign is, by his own admission, because of the ferocious effort over the past two weeks to reach out to the electorate; an effort that he believes has re-energised the untested PTI voter and support base. “People said that the tsunami had receded, that the support had gone. But when we went out again, we got the response and support again,” Imran claims. Helping Imran re-energise the PTI base is a sophisticated campaign machinery that has been built around him and that travels with him, quickly deployed in the run-up to his short campaign stops before hurriedly moving on to the next location. The most obvious element in the campaign machine is the small, four-person helicopter that ferries Imran and his closest advisers from one stop to the next, stretching his itinerary to the maximum. On his whirlwind, day-long tour of the Peshawar valley on Saturday, for example, Imran visited Buner, Swabi, Charsadda, Mardan, Nowshera and Peshawar before flying to Lahore in a private plane later that evening. At the rallies, significant attention is paid to crowd-rousing techniques before Imran’s arrival and during his speech. — PTI
	Kayani reviews security in Balochistan Quetta, May 7 Pakistan Army chief Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani has reviewed security arrangements for the general election in Balochistan and called for peaceful polls in the restive southwestern province. Kayani emphasised the need for implementing a security plan chalked out for the May 11 polls during a meeting here yesterday with senior civil and military officials. Sources said Kayani's visit to Quetta reflected the importance attached by the security establishment to polls in Balochistan, where separatist groups have urged people to boycott the election. The army chief also reviewed the deployment of army troops for poll duties in different parts of Balochistan. Southern Command chief Lt Gen Mohammad Aalam Khatak, Chief Secretary Babar Yaqoob Fateh Muhammad, Home Secretary Akbar Durrani and heads of security and intelligence agencies attended the meeting. "The strategy plan devised for the conduct of peaceful polls in Balochistan is apparently well coordinated and integrated," Kayani said. — PTI
	North Korea removes missiles from launch site Seoul, May 7 North Korea has taken a major step back from a planned missile test, US officials said, even as Pyongyang and Seoul exchanged fresh threats today of swift military retaliation to any provocation. A US defence official said two North Korean missiles — primed for imminent test firing — had been moved from their launch site, signalling a possible easing of North Asia tensions ahead of a US-South Korea summit in Washington. US and South Korean officials had been worried that any test of the medium-range Musudan missiles would trigger a fresh surge in military tensions that have included threats of nuclear war from Pyongyang. But the US defence official said on condition of anonymity: "They have moved them," and added that there was no longer an imminent threat of a test. Pyongyang, which rattled the world with its third nuclear test in February, would have to make detectable preparations to return to a launch-ready status, two US officials said. The move was revealed in Washington on the eve of a first summit between President Barack Obama and new South Korean President Park Geun-Hye at the White House today, intended as a strong signal of unity to Pyongyang. Tensions on the Korean peninsula have been on the brink of boiling over for months, with the North issuing a series of apocalyptic threats over what it sees as intensely provocative US-South Korean military exercises. — AFP
	3 US women freed from captor after years Chicago, May 7 Three young women who had been missing for years, two of whom disappeared as teenagers, were found alive in a house in Cleveland, the police in the US state of Ohio said. The dramatic discovery drew hundreds of cheering people to the usually quiet, residential street to celebrate that girls, long feared dead, were very much alive. The details of the trauma they may have suffered in captivity were not yet known, but it appeared that at least one of the girls had borne a child during her captivity. The nightmare ended when Amanda Berry reached her arm through a crack in the front door and called for help. "I heard screaming... And I see this girl going nuts trying to get out of the house," Charles Ramsey told the local ABC news affiliate. "I go on the porch, and she said: Help me get out. I've been here a long time.” Ramsey said he tried to get her out through the door but could not pull it open, so he kicked out the bottom and she crawled through "carrying a little girl". Berry went into a neighbouring home and called the police, begging them to come as soon as they could "before he gets back". "I'm Amanda Berry. I've been kidnapped. I've been missing for 10 years. I'm free. I'm here now," Berry said in the recording of her frantic call to 911. She told the dispatcher that the man who had held her captive was called Ariel Castro. When the police arrived, she told them there were other captives in the home. "All three women, Amanda Berry, Gina DeJesus and Michele Knight, seem to be in good health," the Cleveland police said in a statement. "A 52-year-old man has been placed under arrest regarding the incident," the police said. Berry was last seen on April 21, 2003 when she left work at a fast food restaurant that was just a few blocks from her home around 7.40 pm, according to the FBI. She was 16 when she disappeared. DeJesus was 14 when she vanished while walking home from school on April 2, 2004. Knight, who was 21 at the time of her disappearance, was last seen at a cousin's house on August 23, 2002, according to the Cleveland Plain Dealer. — AFP
	Exercise caution in India, Pak advises its citizens Islamabad, May 7 Pakistan today advised its citizens travelling to India to exercise “due caution” following reports that their security "may be in jeopardy". "The Government of Pakistan wishes to advise its citizens who are planning to travel to India to exercise due caution and care while travelling to various parts of India," said a statement issued by the Foreign Office. The statement said there were "some disturbing reports in the Indian media which indicate that the safety and security of Pakistani visitors to India, including that of over 600 Zaireen (pilgrims) scheduled to visit Ajmer Sharif for the annual Urs this month, may be in jeopardy.” The statement did not give details about these media reports. The advisory was issued days after a Pakistani prisoner, Sanaullah Ranjay, was severely assaulted in a jail in Jammu a day after the death of Indian death row prisoner Sarabjit Singh died in Lahore following a brutal assault in Kot Lakhpat Jail. — PTI
	The ringside view Sharif ready to take oath from Zardari Islamabad: PML-N president Nawaz Sharif said on Tuesday that he would take oath from President Asif Ali Zardari if elected Prime Minister. During a TV interview, the PML-N chief, responding to Imran Khan’s statement of not taking oath from President Zardari, said that the PTI chief knew that he would not become the Prime Minister. The PML-N chief said that he would be disappointed if his party did not get majority in the elections. — TNS Blasts targeting election campaigns kills 15 Islamabad: Fifteen people were killed and over 40 injured on Tuesday in two bombings — including one carried out by a suicide attacker — that targeted politicians campaigning in northwest Pakistan for the May 11 general election. A suicide bomber blew himself up near the car of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam leader Mufti Syed Janan while he was campaigning in a market at Doaba in Hangu district. A dozen people were killed and nearly 40 injured. Janan escaped unhurt. Hours later, an explosion ripped through an election meeting organised by the Pakistan Peoples Party at Baba Gaam area of Lower Dir district. Three persons were killed and several others injured. No group claimed responsibility for both attacks. — PTI
	Saudi Arabia tells Indians to regularise papers or leave Dubai, May 7 Indian Ambassador in Saudi Arabia has appealed to the Indian community in the country to utilise the three-month grace period to either regularise their stay or return to India with dignity, after the kingdom adopted a new labour policy. "Our Embassy in Riyadh and our Consulate in Jeddah are currently undertaking a major campaign aimed at helping our fellow Indians in Saudi Arabia in their efforts to regularise their stay or to return to our homeland with dignity," Hamid Ali Rao said in a statement yesterday. "I urge all our fellow Indians in Saudi Arabia to utilise this grace period to correct their status. We live in a foreign land and we should respect and obey the laws of this country," the ambassador said. The ambassador thanked the country's rulers for offering three months' grace period to correct the visa status of those affected by the Nitaqat programme and for adopting a humanitarian approach. "In our Embassy, we have been in constant touch with the Saudi authorities at all levels to request a humanitarian approach to those affected by the Nitaqat programme and to help those Indians overstaying in Saudi Arabia. "The Joint Group recently set up between the Ministry of Labour and the Embassy of India discussed all issues pertaining to the welfare of the Indian community in Saudi Arabia," he said. According to him, it has been conveyed to them that all Indians who travelled to Saudi Arabia legally will be allowed to regularise their visa status, get new jobs or return to India if they register voluntarily with the Saudi authorities during the grace period. "Our discussions with the Saudi authorities to finalise the modalities for regularising the legal status and the return of those affected are continuing," the statement said. — PTI