S P O T L I G H T

Sharif case verdict today
KARACHI, April 5 (Reuters) — A court will tomorrow issue a verdict in the trial of deposed Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, who could face death on charges of trying to kill Gen Pervez Musharraf, the army chief who ousted him. Security is expected to be extremely tight when Mr Sharif travels from his prison cell to the Karachi anti-terrorism court to hear Judge Rehmat Hussain Jafri rule on charges of attempted murder, kidnapping, terrorism and aircraft hijacking. State prosecutors have asked for the maximum sentence against Mr Sharif, his brother Shahbaz and five others over a series of incidents surrounding General Musharraf’s return flight to Pakistan from an official visit to Sri Lanka on October 12.

6 jawans killed
JAMMU, April 5 (UNI) — Six Army jawans were killed and three injured, two of them seriously, when the Army vehicle in which they were travelling skidded off the Jammu-Srinagar national highway and fell into the Chenab river today. A Defence Ministry spokesman said the vehicle, on its way from Udhampur to Doda, skidded off the road near Assar village in Doda district when the driver of the vehicle was negotiating a sharp curve.

Pak firing
JAISALMER, April 5 (UNI) — Pakistani Rangers constructing bunkers in Indian territory pounded the border region of Satarana in Bikaner, after being detected by the BSF. Tension gripped the region following overnight shelling, Gujarat-Rajasthan front BSF Inspector General Bakhsheesh Singh said here today. The BSF retaliated after the Pak Rangers opened fire. No casualties have been reported so far. The Rangers were building bunkers 150 yards inside the Indian side when they were detected by the BSF.

Rebels encircled
COLOMBO, April 5 (PTI) — The Sri Lankan army claims to have encircled over 700 LTTE rebels within a 4 km radius in the Jaffna peninsula even as 16 more guerrillas were killed in fresh fighting in the north, the official media said here today.