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Suicide Attack
EC dismisses appeals by Sharif brothers
Indian students seek donation to help victims’ families
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Detained Indian leaders allowed access to families
Ousted Nepal King saved £100,000 in UK
Magna Carta to go under the hammer
Queen to become the oldest monarch
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Suicide Attack
Islamabad, December 17 The blast occurred as the recruits were returning to the cantonment after participating in a sports event. The suicide bomber got close to the personnel and detonated his explosives on a road that is also used by the local people, military spokesman Maj Gen Waheed Arshad said. An army battalion headquarters and an Army Public School are also located in the area, some 50 km from the provincial capital of Peshawar. Arshad said, “The recruits were coming back from playing a match when the suicide bomber blew himself up close to them on the road,” he said. Asked how such an attack was carried out in a high-security area, Arshad said, “This is a public road on which there was other traffic. It’s very difficult to identify a suicide attacker unless you have prior information. It’s a difficult thing to prevent.” No group claimed responsibility for the attack, the latest in a series of suicide bombings targeting Pakistan's armed forces. On Saturday, two soldiers and three civilians were killed by a suicide bomber in Nowshera district, which borders Kohat. Twin suicide attacks within the cantonment near the southwestern city of Quetta had killed five soldiers and injured 22 people on December 13. The suicide attacks have increased since the Pakistan Army carried out an operation in July to flush out militants holed up in the Lal Masjid in Islamabad. At least 100 people were killed in that action. Pro-Taliban militants targeted by the army in the Swat valley of the NWFP have also threatened to carry out suicide attacks against the security forces.
— PTI
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EC dismisses appeals by Sharif brothers
Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Qazi Mohammad Farooq on Monday dismissed second plea from former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and brother Shahbaz Sharif for a review of rejection of their nomination papers by the returning office.
The CEC had earlier turned down a similar petition while ruling that the petitioners should first approach election tribunal against the rejection of their papers. In another petition on Monday, senior advocate Akram Shaikh appearing on behalf of the petitioners argued that the CEC has the authority to take any decision directly to correct any irregularity. The CEC did not agree with Shaikh and noted that the petitioner must exhaust normal channels of appeals before moving the commission. The Sharif brothers have reaffirmed that they would not file any petition before judges who have take oath of allegiance to the Provisional Constitution Order (PCO) promulgated by Gen Pervez Musharraf after imposing the emergency. Meanwhile, the commission released the final list of candidates who will contest election to the national and provincial assemblies on January 8. A total of 7,335 candidates are left in the field after withdrawal of as many candidates to vie for 1070 seats of the National Assembly, four provincial assemblies and tribal areas. The commission has started printing of nearly 150 million ballot papers, which would be ready on January 5.
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Indian students seek donation to help victims’ families
Washington, December 17 “We are outraged by the blatant violence that has brought an end to such precious lives and condemn it. As expatriates, we know how friends become family in this land away from home. And it is this family that we turn to in our hour of need,” it said. The association said: “We will take this opportunity to thank the community, faculty and students who attended the memorial service and acted as a show of strength for the families of Chandrashekhar and Kiran. Many offers of help were made and we hope we would be able to assist the families, both financially and emotionally.”
— UNI
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Detained Indian leaders allowed access to families
Kuala Lumpur, December 17 Deputy internal security minister Fu Ah Kiow said the families would have to apply and inform the commandant of the Kamunting detention centre, 200 km from here, prior to their visit to meet the leaders lodged there. “As far as I am concerned, the five Hindraf leaders will be treated like any other detainee. I am not too sure how often they can visit the detainees but they will definitely be given access,” he was quoted by the Star newspaper as saying. The five ethnic Indians were detained on last Thursday under the Internal Security Act and slapped with a two-year detention each. Persons can be held under ISA for a period of two years without trial. This period can be extended if warranted. The Hindraf called for a rally attended by over 20,000 ethnic Indians on November 25 to protest against the alleged marginalisation of the community which forms nearly 8 per cent of the population in this Muslim-majority country.
— PTI
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Ousted Nepal King saved £100,000 in UK Government of Nepal has disclosed that King Gyanendra, whose all political, cultural and social powers were stripped off, following the April Uprising in 2006, has invested a huge amount of money inherited from the late King Birendra and Queen Aishwarya and their family members in a Britain-based company. Speaking at the meeting of the State Affairs Committee (SAC) in the interim Parliament held on Monday to discuss a Bill to operate and manage the Nepal Trust-2007, home minister Krishna Prasad Sitaula said Gyanendra has invested over £100,000 in a London-based company. “There was an account of £137,427 in Standard Chartered Bank, Nepal, in the name of the late Queen Aishwarya, crown Prince Dipendra and his Royal Highness Nirajan. Following the assassination of royal family members in June 2001, King Gyanendra transferred that amount into the Department of Treasury of Royal Palace and later in August 17, 2001, he again transferred £108,854 into the Beneficiary PS Well & Company-75, Sydenham Hill, London, leaving some £41,714 in the treasury,” he said. Sitaula also informed the government has already nationalised the properties of 38,125 ropani land and forests including at least 16 palaces from across the country inherited by King Gyanendra from the late King Birendra, Queen Aishwarya and their families after their assassination
in June 2001.
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Magna Carta to go under the hammer
New York, December 17 The royal charter, dated 1297 and bearing the wax seal of King Edward I, enshrined the rights of man into English law and is considered the precursor of such landmark historical documents as the US Declaration of Independence. Sotheby’s vice-chairman David Redden described the vellum manuscript, which is expected to fetch $20 to 30 million, as quite simply “the most important document in the world”. The manuscript is the only one of 17 remaining examples ever likely to be sold. Most of the rest belong to Britain’s national archives, cathedrals or universities while the only other copy outside Britain belongs to Australia. The manuscript, most likely made of sheepskin, enshrined the rule of law in England at a time of disagreements between King John and the English barons. It was first issued in 1215 and confirmed as English law in 1297.
— AFP
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Queen to become the oldest monarch
London, December 17 She will overtake Victoria, one of her most illustrious predecessors, but the event will pass without any fanfare at Buckingham Palace. The longest serving King was George III, who was 81 years and 239 days when he died in 1820. Queen Victoria remains the longest serving monarch. She ruled the empire for almost 64 years. If Queen Elizabeth is still on the throne on September 9, 2015, she will take Queen Victoria’s place. — PTI
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