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Pak Mayor among 12 killed in blast
Suicide bomber shot dead in Islamabad |
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17 rebels killed in Afghanistan
Kishanganga Project
‘Lanka committed to human rights’
Nepalese held with fake Indian currency
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Pak Mayor among 12 killed in blast
At least 12 people were killed and dozens injured when a suicide bomber targeting mayor of local council blew himself up today outside a cattle market in a village in suburban Peshawar.
The bomber rushed to Abdul Malik, Nazim (mayor) of the Madni area near Peshawar while he was coming out of his vehicle near the village cattle market, where a large number of people had also gathered. Malik succumbed to his injuries in hospital. Malik’s son was among the people injured in the attack. “Malik had been the member of the Tehrike Taliban Pakistan (TTP), but left it and formed a lashkar (volunteer militia) in the area to fight the militants,” chief of Peshawar city administration Sahibzada Anis said. The attacked took place in the morning in the town of Adizai, about 15 km from Peshawar, capital of the North West Frontier Province (NWFP). The city has been regularly targeted by militants killing nearly 200 people in recent weeks alone. “Malik had survived several attacks on his life in the recent past, since he turned against the militants,” said Anis. “But today, the militants have finally killed him.” His son was also critically wounded but is stable now, he added. Eleven bodies and 25 injured people had been rushed to the hospital, police officer Abdul Sattar Khan said. A young girl Noreen was among those killed and several of the injured were in critical condition, officials said.
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Suicide bomber shot dead in Islamabad Islamabad, November 8 The bomber emerged from a black pick-up truck and attempted to target security personnel at the check post in Sector F-11 in Islamabad but was gunned down by alert policemen shortly after 10 pm, city police chief Kaleem Imam said. Imam said the bomber, whose suicide jacket was packed with about 10 kg of explosives, pellets and ball bearings, could have caused widespread damage if he had detonated his explosives. A police official said the attacker shouted “Allahu Akbar” and tried to rush towards the check post. The police opened fire after he ignored warnings to stop. “Our personnel opened fire and one of the shots hit the bomber in the head,” he said. Imam said the police in Islamabad had been on “special high alert” this evening following intelligence reports that militants could target a “number of installations and high-profile personalities” who are facing threat. — PTI
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17 rebels killed in Afghanistan
Kabul, November 8 The weekend fighting erupted after rebels fired several mortars at an Afghan army position in the southern province of Kabul, a known Taliban hot spot, the ministry said. “The Afghan troops were dispatched after the enemy position was identified and a fierce battle took place,” it said. “During the battle, which was backed by international forces' air support and lasted for one hour, 17 terrorists were killed,” the statement said, adding that another militant wounded in the fighting was captured. The militants, mainly remnants of the Taliban regime, have been waging an insurgency to overthrow the US-backed government of President Hamid Karzai since they were ousted from power in a US-led invasion in 2001. The insurgency has intensified each year since then, with 2009 now the deadliest for the Afghan security forces and their international military backers who have deployed more than 1,00,000 troops to defeat the rebellion.
— AFP
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Kishanganga Project
Islamabad, November 8 A neutral expert appointed by the World Bank is a “top most priority” for Pakistan after it received a “discouraging response while exercising bilateral channels” to address differences over the project being built in Jammu and Kashmir, 'The News' daily quoted its sources as saying. The sources claimed the project would divert the river Jhelum's waters. The process of the Permanent Indus Waters Commission appointing two negotiators from each side had proved to be “time buying moves of India,” the sources alleged. It would be “futile” for Pakistan to opt for the court of arbitration comprising two nominees from each country and three other experts as the country could “ill afford to give more and more time” to India to go ahead with the project, they said. The paper quoted Foreign Office spokesman Abdul Basit as saying that “we are examining the possibility of invoking the option of (appointing a) neutral expert instead of the court of arbitration.” He said the Pakistan government was working on the issue with experts on an urgent basis as “India was wasting time.” The Indus Waters Treaty of 1960 provides for the appointment of a neutral expert by the World Bank as a last option to resolve water-related disputes between India and Pakistan. Since last year, Pakistan has repeatedly accused India of diverting its share of river waters but the charges had been dismissed by New Delhi. “We do not believe that India will agree within one month... to nominate its members for the court of arbitration. This is too serious matter and Pakistan cannot afford to sit back and allow India to continue violating the Indus Waters Treaty,” Basit said. He did not give the time frame for approaching the World Bank for appointing the neutral expert.
— PTI
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‘Lanka committed to human rights’
Colombo, November 8 Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama on Friday met visiting French Ambassador for Human Rights, Francois Zimeray and briefed him on human right conditions and resettlement of IDPs in the country. "The Government of Sri Lanka has continuously maintained its human rights international obligations to which it is signatory," Bogollagama said. Sri Lanka has maintained a vibrant democracy despite facing a number of challenges, he added. He told the French dignitary, who is on a three-day visit to the country, that this included the suffering and destruction caused by 30 years of "terrorism" in the country. Under the Presidency of Mahinda Rajapaksa, terrorism has successfully been eradicated in Sri Lanka, though much scepticism had been expressed by some sectors of the international community on the possibility of such success, he said.
— PTI
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Nepalese held with fake Indian currency
At a time when the Home Secretaries from Nepal and India were holding bilateral talks concentrating on the mutual cooperation to curb the possible cross-border criminal activities among other illegal activities, the Nepal police has nabbed a Nepalese national along with Rs 55,00,000 counterfeit Indian currency from Kathmandu.
According to a source, a team mobilised by the police headquarters recently arrested a person along with counterfeit currency from Kalanki area of Kathmandu, the capital city of Himalayan nation. However, the identity of the apprehended person is still yet to be made public by the police officials. It may be recalled that the Indian officials have been constantly raising their concerns about the possible smuggling of counterfeit Indian currency from Nepal to India and requesting the Nepalese government to take possible measures in curbing such illegal activities. Meanwhile, the secretary-level meeting that concluded on Friday agreed to help each other regarding the crimes across the border, human trafficking, trade of counterfeit currencies and control of the violent activities. Despite the repeated requests from the Indian side to sign the much awaited Extradition Treaty and allow India to set up its own air marshal at the Tribhuvan International Airport, Nepalese side denied Indian proposal at the meeting saying that it could not make the decision abruptly at the current political situation without forging political understanding within the country. Meanwhile, while meeting with the visiting Indian Home Secretary GK Pillai, Nepalese PM Madhav Kumar Nepal is reportedly assured that Nepal would support India to crack down possible disturbance in the upcoming Commonwealth Games in India by using Indo-Nepal open border.
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