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Will be army chief’s boss: Sharif
Imran has ‘washing machine to make politicians clean’
The ringside view
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Israeli strike kills 42 Syrian soldiers
14 killed as Islamist protesters clash with Bangladeshi police
The death toll in the raging violence in Bangladesh shot up to 37 as marauding members of a radical Islamic outfit demanding a tougher blasphemy law clashed with the police near the capital city, prompting a ban on public rallies and two right-wing TV channels. Islamists run as policemen fire rubber bullets towards them during clashes in Dhaka on Sunday. — AFP
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Will be army chief’s boss: Sharif Islamabad, May 6 A combative Sharif, whose party PML-N is widely expected to form the next government here, hinted that the current army chief Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani would be replaced by the "senior-most" when he retires in November. "All I know is when I was the Prime Minister, the policies were being formulated by the federal government, by the civilian head of the state and then, of course, executed by the institutions," Sharif said in a television interview. "I want that to continue and I'm very clear on that - that everybody must remain in their respective domain," he said. He was replying to a query if under his rule, the army would continue to control Pakistan's relations with US and India besides security policies of the government. Asked if that means the Prime Minister will be army chief's boss, he said, "He is. The Army is an attached department of the federal government and, of course, the chief of army staff works under the federal government and implements the policies of the federal government". Replying to a query if he would give an extension to Kayani, he said, "I don't think he will ask any further extension or he will be interested in any further extension. I will go by the book; I will go by merit. Whosoever is the senior-most, will have to occupy this...the next one, the next in line". Sharif, who spoke on a wide range of issues, also stressed on the importance of a combination of dialogue and armed intervention as the answer to combat terror in Pakistan. He also said he has no vendetta against former military ruler Pervez Musharraf but said he will bring a treason trial against him for imposing martial law twice in the country. "I think this problem has to be solved on a priority basis. You can't really solve all the problems through guns and bullets, you got to also explore other options. — PTI On Ties with India Emphasising on the need to begin from "where we left in 1999", Nawaz Sharif promised never to allow the country's soil for anti-India activities and said he would expedite the 26/11 trial here and probe ISI's role in the Mumbai terror attacks, if he returned to power.
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Imran has ‘washing machine to make politicians clean’
Responding to criticism against the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) for welcoming some traditional politicians into its fold, Imran Khan on Monday said he would fix whatever is wrong in those leaders. “I have a washing machine and I’ll put the bad leaders — if there are any — in it and make them clean,” he quipped. The PTI chairman was speaking at an election rally in Allahabad in Punjab. Commenting on the state of minorities in Pakistan, Imran said that under PTI, every citizen, including non-Muslims, would have equal rights. He denounced the campaign against him that he is an agent of Jewish and Qadiani lobbies. Imran said he had married Jemima Khan, who was a Christian and not Jew, and that she had embraced Islam before marriage. But the PML-N had carried out a vicious campaign against her and tried to involve her in fake cases. He then went on to address the women in the gathering and told them that he - as their brother - would fight for their rights. Imran said that if his party comes to power, education of each and every child would be his responsibility.
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The ringside view
Islamabad: The legal team of Gen Pervez Musharraf (retd) in the case of dismissal and detention of dozens of top judges of the country has pulled out citing continuous dire threats. The team that has withdrawn from the case includes Rizwan Abbasi, Ziaur Rehman and Umer Farooq. The lawyers on Monday claimed to have received threats from banned terrorist organisations and decided to disassociate themselves from the case for security reasons. — TNS
Blast at poll rally, 15 killed
Islamabad: A blast at a public meeting of the Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) in central Kurram tribal region’s Para Chamkani area in Khyber-Pakhtunkhawa killed 15 persons and injured 42 others on Monday. Assistant political agent of the central Kurram region, Mohammad Fazal, declined to confirm the nature of the blast and said that it was an “apparent” suicide attack. — TNS
Six-day holiday for educational institutions
Islamabad: All educational institutions in Punjab and Sindh will remain closed for six days from May 8 for the elections. Teaching staff has been deployed at the polling stations as presiding officers and to perform other duties. In Balochistan, teachers of 11 districts have declined to undertake the task for security reasons. The government has said that the army would provide security cover to the election staff. — TNS |
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Israeli strike kills 42 Syrian soldiers
Beirut, May 6 The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said today that the toll was based on information from sources in Syrian military hospitals. The Syrian government has not released a death toll. Immediately after yesterday's predawn strike, Syrian state media said the attack caused casualties, but did not elaborate. So far, Israel has carried out three airstrikes in Syria this year, according to Israeli and US officials, though Israel's government has not formally confirmed involvement. The officials say the attacks were meant to prevent advanced Iranian weapons from reaching Lebanon's Hezbollah militia, a Syria ally and Israel foe.
No proof of chemical weapons’ use: UN
Geneva: UN investigators into rights abuses in Syria stressed today they had no conclusive proof that either side in the conflict has used chemical weapons, after a team member cited “concrete suspicions” that rebels have used sarin gas. "The Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic wishes to clarify that it has not reached conclusive findings as to the use of chemical weapons in Syria by any parties to the conflict," the commission said. Yesterday, Carla del Ponte, a member of the commission, said that "according to the testimonies we have gathered, the rebels have used chemical weapons, making use of sarin gas." — Agencies
Russia concerned
Moscow: Russia said on Monday it was concerned the chances of foreign military intervention in Syria were growing following reports of Israeli air strikes around Damascus which were a source of "particular alarm". "We are seriously concerned by the signs of preparation of global public opinion for possible armed intervention in the long-running internal conflict in Syria," Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexander Lukashevich said in a statement. He suggested those concerns stemmed in part from media reports about the alleged use of chemical weapons in the conflict that has killed more than 70,000 persons in two years. — Agencies |
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14 killed as Islamist protesters clash with Bangladeshi police Dhaka, May 6 The newly floated Hefazat-e-Islam or "Protectorate of Islam" enforced its "Dhaka siege" programme yesterday to mount pressure on the secular Awami League-led government to implement their 13-point demand, including the enactment of a blasphemy law to punish those who insult Islam and its Prophet. The police and paramilitary troops overnight dispersed a huge demonstration by 70,000 Islamists in the capital. The police confirmed that two of their men and a soldier of paramilitary Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) were killed in the clashes last night and early today. The security personnel were beaten to death, Dhaka Medical College Hospital sources said. The situation prompted the Dhaka Metropolitan Police to enforce a ban on public rallies in the city fearing that violence could spread further. Radical Islamic cleric Ahmed Shafi, who is behind the violent protest and the chief of Hefazat, was today sent back to his hometown Chittagong, a top police official said. Shafi, in his 80s, is a former student of India's Darul Uloom Deoband. Doctors at the major state-run Dhaka Medical College Hospital said 18 bodies were kept at the morgue but unconfirmed reports quoted the toll to be much high, saying several of them were taken to private facilities. A police spokesman said they were trying to gather information about the toll. The police said the three law enforcers were killed and over 50 persons injured when the Hefazat activists launched an attack mobilising students of unregistered madarsas at the Kanchpur area in Narayanganj district. The activists spread rumours that the paramilitary and police forces killed several of their comrades overnight. — PTI
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