W O R L D

Khoso named Pak caretaker PM
Islamabad, March 24
Mir Hazar Khan Khoso, a retired judge with a strong reputation for honesty, was today chosen as caretaker Prime Minister to conduct the May 11 general elections in Pakistan. Khoso, 84, was appointed by the Election Commission after the Prime Minister, Leader of Opposition and a bipartisan parliamentary committee were unable to choose a caretaker Premier after six days of deliberations.

Caretaker PM Mir Hazar Khan Khoso waves as he arrives to brief mediapersons in Islamabad on Sunday. — AP/PTI

17 Pak security personnel killed in suicide attack
Islamabad, March 24
The death toll in a suicide car bombing at an army check post in the restive North Waziristan tribal region of Pakistan has risen to 17, a military spokesman said today. The suicide bomber rammed an explosives-laden vehicle into Esha check post near Miranshah, the main town of North Waziristan Agency, last night.

Khoso named Pak caretaker PM

Islamabad, March 24
Mir Hazar Khan Khoso, a retired judge with a strong reputation for honesty, was today chosen as caretaker Prime Minister to conduct the May 11 general elections in Pakistan. Khoso, 84, was appointed by the Election Commission after the Prime Minister, Leader of Opposition and a bipartisan parliamentary committee were unable to choose a caretaker Premier after six days of deliberations.

The matter was then sent to the five-member Election Commission on Friday night. Following two days of discussions, Chief Election Commissioner Fakhruddin G Ebrahim announced this afternoon that the poll panel had chosen Khoso for the slot.

Soon after his appointment, Khoso said the elections would be held on time though the law and order situation in the country was bad.

"I will meet representatives of all the political parties and ensure that elections will be fair. God willing, everything will be right.

“Elections will be on time. Law and order position is bad but it is the responsibility of the provinces. We will coordinate with provincial governments to ensure law and order is maintained," he said.

Khoso belongs to Goth Azam Khan Khosa in Jaffarabad district of Balochistan province and earlier served as Chief Justice of both the Balochistan High Court and the Federal Shariah Court.

Khoso was among four candidates for the post of caretaker Premier. — PTI

17 Pak security personnel killed in suicide attack

Islamabad, March 24
The death toll in a suicide car bombing at an army check post in the restive North Waziristan tribal region of Pakistan has risen to 17, a military spokesman said today. The suicide bomber rammed an explosives-laden vehicle into Esha check post near Miranshah, the main town of North Waziristan Agency, last night.

Six security personnel were killed instantly and 11 more died later.

Over 12 security personnel were injured, officials said earlier.

Troops cordoned off the area after the attack and launched a search operation. Authorities imposed a curfew in the region.

No group claimed responsibility for the suicide attack.

North Waziristan is considered a safe haven for Taliban and Al-Qaida elements. — PTI

Pak police averts clash over Bhagat Singh remembrance

Recently, authorities in Lahore had to scrap plans to rename the Fowara Chowk after Bhagat Singh due to pressure from extremist groups and hardliners

Lahore, March 24
Police intervention has averted a possible clash between some members of hardline religious groups and civil society activists who had gathered to commemorate the death anniversary of freedom fighter Bhagat Singh here.

Civil society activists had gathered at Fowara Chowk intersection yesterday, built at the spot where Bhagat Singh was hanged by the British on March 23, 1931, to mark his 82nd death anniversary.

They lit candles in front of a large portrait of Bhagat Singh demanding that the government rename the intersection after Singh and not succumb to pressure from religious extremists.

Describing Singh as a hero of the subcontinent, Abdullah Malik, president of the Bhagat Singh Foundation, said: "Since freedom fighters gave the message of tolerance, brotherhood and peace and raised their voices against injustice and unfair distribution of resources, we should follow in their footsteps by struggling for our rights."

As Malik was paying tribute to Bhagat Singh, activists of hardline religious groups reached the spot and asked the civil society members to leave.

The two groups exchanged harsh words with the former insisting the latter should leave the area as they "could not pay tribute to a Hindu freedom fighter".

However, before the situation could deteriorate, a large police contingent reached the spot. At the request of police officials, the civil society activists dispersed, averting a clash between the two sides. — PTI

Special to the tribune
Pressure on UK’s Pak community to tackle paedophilia
Shyam Bhatia in London

Two British MPs — one Conservative and one Labour — have come out in support of Children Minister Edward Timpson’s call for the UK’s Pakistani community to step up efforts to stamp out paedophilia.

Former Labour Foreign Secretary Jack Straw and Conservative MP for Pendle, Andrew Stephenson, agree that more needs to be done. The two MPs have constituencies close to those parts of Lancashire where paedophile gangs are known to have been operating.

Straw responded to Timpson’s call saying, “Basically, he is right. Some parts of the Pakistani community have been in wilful denial about this. I hope things are changing.”

Stephenson commented, “The minister is right. There have been horrific cases in East Lancashire and a lot of effort has been spent talking to imams and teachers. The Pakistani community locally needs to be more ruthless about rooting this out.”

Last week, Timpson testified before a House of Commons inquiry into street grooming, explaining that in the past there had not been ‘robust investigations’ into such offences because of ‘cultural sensitivities or political correctness’.

Timpson told the Home Affairs Select Committee, “We’ve seen a pattern develop within a minority of some Pakistani communities where there have been particular traits of activity that have continued for far too long without being detected, properly investigated and followed through with a prosecution.”

The minister’s comments come 10 months after the conviction of eight British Pakistanis and one Afghan asylum seeker who were charged with the rape and sex trafficking of under-age White teenage girls. During their investigation, the police identified 47 girls as victims of child sexual exploitation.

The men who were charged with and convicted of some of the abuse cases were described as married and well respected, including a religious studies teacher, two taxi drivers and two restaurant workers. They were all based in Rochdale, Greater Manchester, and are said to have plied their victims with drinks and drugs before ‘passing them around’.

The story of the Rochdale gang has aroused huge political and social sensitivity because of concern that far right groups in the UK would use the issue to demonise British Pakistanis and create a climate of hate against all Muslims. These include the British National Party which issued a leaflet saying, “Our children are not halal meat.”

Last year, one British minister of Pakistani origin, Baroness Warsi, condemned what she described as the ‘small minority’ of Pakistani men who view white girls as fair game for sexual abuse.

Warsi told the British media, “There is a small minority of Pakistani men who believe that White girls are fair game. And we have to be prepared to say that. You can only start solving a problem if you acknowledge it first.

“The small minority who see women as second-class citizens, and White women probably as third-class citizens, are to be spoken out against.”

Community leaders from the Pakistani community have also spoken about the issue. One of them, Blackburn with Darwen councillor Mohammed Khan said: “This affects all communities. I think awareness is rising since the Rochdale case and people are more likely to report possible child sex abuse.”

Pendle Labour group councillor Mohammed Iqbal said, “It is unfair to single out the Pakistani community. People in the community are now more aware of the tell-tale signs of child abuse so they can do more about it.”

Another community leader, Mohammed Shafiq of the Ramadhan Foundation, was quoted as saying, “This is a significant problem for the British Pakistani community. There is an over-representation among recent convictions in the crime of on-street grooming. There should be no silence in addressing the issue of race as this is central to the actions of these criminals.”

A spokesman for the Lancashire police said, “Offenders come from many different social and ethnic backgrounds. We recognise in some areas the number of Asian offenders is disproportionate. We have been tackling the issue head on by working with the local communities and visiting mosques.”

Kerry in Iraq to press for Syria cooperation

Baghdad, March 24
US Secretary of State John Kerry pressed for Iraq’s help over the conflict in Syria during a surprise trip to Baghdad today amid claims of waning American clout barely a year after US troops left.

The one-day visit, the first to Iraq by a US Secretary of State since April 2009, will also focus on concerns in Washington that months of protests in the country's Sunni-majority provinces will give militant groups including Al-Qaida room to manoeuvre.

It comes just days after the 10th anniversary of the US-led invasion of Iraq that ousted Saddam Hussein and sought to establish a stable democratic ally in the heart of the Middle East, but has instead left a country still grappling with deadly violence and endless political disputes.

Kerry met Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki to press Iraqi officials for greater cooperation on isolating the regime of embattled Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

"It's good to catch up. It's good to see you again," Kerry told Maliki.

Referring to his last visit in 2006, when he was a US senator and Iraq was mired in brutal bloodshed, Kerry added, "I noticed things are calmer than the last time I was here," to which Maliki replied, "Inshallah (God willing)."

Washington has accused Baghdad in particular of turning a blind eye as Iran sends military equipment through Iraqi airspace, flights which Tehran insists transport only humanitarian supplies. — AFP

oppn chief quits