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Waqas Dar

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Blog Entries posted by Waqas Dar

  1. Waqas Dar
    The US military has released a photo taken by a US Army camerawoman at the moment she and four Afghan soldiers died in an explosion in the Afghan province of Laghman.
    The 22-year-old Hilda Clayton and four Afghan National Army personnel were killed by a mortar shell during a training exercise on July 2, 2013.
    After four years, the Army University Press, a US Army multimedia organisation, has published the photo. It also released a photo by an Afghan soldier who was a trainee photojournalist and died in the explosion.

    "Clayton's death symbolises how female soldiers are increasingly exposed to hazardous situations in training and in combat on par with their male counterparts," an article published by the multimedia organisation said.
    It added that Clayton “help document activities aimed at shaping and strengthening the [US-Afghan] partnership but she also shared in the risk by participating in the effort”.
    The Department of Defence has also had a photography award named after Clayton.


  2. Waqas Dar
    STOCKHOLM: At least five wolves, including one female, have returned to Denmark for the first time in two centuries, a zoologist who has obtained DNA evidence said on Thursday.
    The predators came from Germany to settle in western Denmark´s agricultural region, the least densely populated in the Scandinavian country.
    Peter Sunde, scientist at the University of Aarhus, told AFP the wolves must have walked more than 500 kilometres (310 miles).
    "We think these are young wolves rejected by their families who are looking for new hunting grounds," the researcher added.
    Scientists have established a genetic profile from the faeces of five wolves -- four males and one female -- but there could be more.
    Sunde said researchers had suspected since 2012 that wolves had entered Denmark. "Now we have evidence (including) that there´s one female," signalling the possibility of giving birth this spring, he said.
    Proof was also established through the wolves´ fingerprints and video surveillance showed their location, which scientists refuse to reveal out of fear that it will attract hunters.
    "We´re following that. The wolf is an animal we´re not allowed to hunt so we must protect it," Henrik Hagen Olesen, spokesman at the Danish Environmental Protection Agency, told AFP.
    Exterminated by hunters, wolves had been completely extinct in Denmark since the beginning of the nineteenth century.
    In other Nordic countries with a higher wolf population, culling the species, protected by the Bern Convention, is under a fierce debate between inhabitants, farmers, hunters, the government, the European Union and wildlife activists.


  3. Waqas Dar
    MUMBAI: An Indian court Thursday convicted five police officers and two doctors of tampering with evidence in the gang rape of a pregnant woman and the murder of her family during one of the worst incidents of religious unrest since independence.
    Bilkis Bano was gangraped and seven of her relatives were killed during religious riots that broke out in the western state of Gujarat in 2002.
    At least 2,000 Muslims were hacked, beaten, shot or burnt to death in the violence, which erupted after a group of Hindu pilgrims died in a train fire wrongly blamed on a Muslim mob.
    On Thursday a court in the western city of Mumbai overturned an earlier acquittal of the seven accused following an appeal by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). It also upheld the convictions of 11 Hindu men convicted of rape and murder in the case.
    In a statement to the media, Bilkis expressed satisfaction that officials who had "emboldened, encouraged, and protected" her attackers had finally been convicted.
    "My rights, as a human being, as a citizen, woman, and mother were violated in the most brutal manner, but I had trust in the democratic institutions of our country," she said.
    "Now, my family and I feel we can begin to lead our lives again, free of fear."
    Bano and two of her children were the only survivors in a group of 17 Muslims who were attacked in 2002. Her three-year-old daughter was among the victims.
    Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who was the state´s chief minister at the time, was accused of turning a blind eye to the violence but was cleared of any wrongdoing in 2012.
    The state government has been accused of dragging its heels in prosecuting those accused in the riots.
    "As per my knowledge, this is the first time that police officials have been convicted in any case pertaining to the Gujarat riots," special counsel for the CBI Hiten Venegavkar told AFP.
    "No fresh trials will be carried out and the seven convicted (today) can appeal to the Supreme Court of India," Vengavkar added.


  4. Waqas Dar
    BRIDGETOWN: Shannon Gabriel led a West Indies fast bowling assault that decimated Pakistan´s top-order batting and reduced them to 35 for five at lunch on the final day of the second Test.
    Pakistan had been set a victory target of 188 at Kensington Oval in Barbados on Thursday.
    Yasir Shah claimed the final wicket of the home side´s second innings in the first over of the day to finish with seven for 94 in the innings and nine for 177 in the match.
    However, that proved to be the only high point of the session for the visitors who struggled to cope with a disciplined pace attack on a pitch that occasionally exaggerated the worries of the Pakistani batsmen who now require 153 runs to win.
    Gabriel started the rout with the wicket of first innings century-maker Azhar Ali as the opening batsman miscued an attempted pull for Shimron Hetmyer to take a diving catch at midwicket.
    Alzarri Joseph, sharing the new ball with Gabriel, struck in the very next over when Babar Azam flicked at a leg-side delivery for wicketkeeper Shane Dowrich to snare the chance and consign Pakistan´s brightest batting talent to the indignity of a ´pair´.
    Joseph should have also accounted for Ahmed Shehzad but the opening batsman, who enjoyed generous slices of luck in scoring 70 in the first innings, was missed at first slip edging an attempted drive.
    He resumes in the afternoon session on 14 alongside wicketkeeper-batsman Sarfraz Ahmed.
    That disappointment was replaced by even more jubilation in the West Indies camp though, as Jason Holder replaced Gabriel and immediately earned the prized scalp of Younis Khan.
    Adjudged LBW by on-field umpire Richard Kettleborough, Younis challenged the decision only to have it confirmed by the television replays.
    With Joseph tiring, Gabriel was recalled into action to replace the gangling Antiguan and the burly Trinidad and Tobago tearaway responded with two critical wickets in the space of three deliveries.
    Captain Misbah ul Haq was first ruled not out to vociferous appeals but replays following a challenge showed an inside-edge that lobbed to Shai Hope at gully and sent the Pakistan captain back to the pavilion without scoring.
    He was joined just a few minutes later by Asad Shafiq when the new batsman edged his second delivery for Powell to take the catch at first slip at the third attempt.
    West Indies were hoping to get to a lead of 200 with their last pair at the crease at the start of play, but after edging the first ball from Shah for four, Devendra Bishoo skied a catch to Ali at extra-cover four balls later to end the innings at 268 with last man Gabriel looking on from the non-striker´s end.


  5. Waqas Dar
    India's chances of participating in the Champions Trophy brightened on Thursday when a court-appointed panel of administrators asked the cricket board (BCCI) to pick the squad for the June 1-18 tournament.
    Holders India did not submit its squad for the one-day international tournament in England and Wales by the April 25 deadline after BCCI failed to halt a new revenue model to be accepted by the International Cricket Council (ICC).
    The option of pulling out of the Champions Trophy by revoking the Members Participation Agreement (MPA) between the ICC and the BCCI has been gaining traction within the India board, which will discuss the issue at a special general meeting on Sunday.
    The four court-appointed administrators, who currently supervise BCCI operations, have instructed the board to ensure that the team continued their preparations to defend their title.
    "You are aware that the squad representing India at the ICC Champions Trophy 2017 was to be submitted by 25th April 2017 but the squad has not even been selected as yet," the administrators told BCCI joint secretary Amitabh Choudhary in an email.
    "Please convene a meeting of the selection committee for selecting the squad immediately. The squad can then be submitted to the ICC without prejudice to BCCI's legal rights."
    The BCCI was outvoted 13-1 last week at the ICC meetings in its bid to stall the new deal which considerably slashes India's share from global events in the 2015-2023 cycle.
    India is now expected to receive $293 million (£227.4 million), down from the $570 million it would have received under the 2014 arrangement.


  6. Waqas Dar
    ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court barred on Thursday the Election Commission of Pakistan from taking action against Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Chairman Imran Khan in the code of conduct violation case.
    IHC’s Justice Amir Farooq was hearing the case over the PTI chief’s plea. The lawyer of the applicant Advocate Babar Awan said that according to the Constitution, only the prime minister, chief minister, high-level officials and government office holders cannot run an election campaign.
    He said that the ECP has barred all MNAs and MPAs from holding rallies and public gatherings in their constituencies.
    He alleged that the ECP’s notifications are contradictory to the Constitution and have been issued keeping Imran Khan in mind. 
    Awan said that the ECP has been acting against the PTI chief and is to announce a decision on May 8 related to him.
    The advocate requested the high court to stop the ECP from taking action against the PTI leadership and announcing a final decision.
    The IHC issued a stay order over the ECP’s action against Imran Khan and adjourned the hearing to May 15.


  7. Waqas Dar
    CARACAS: University students in Venezuela will lead a fresh round of marches against President Nicolas Maduro on Thursday, a day after police fired tear gas and protesters hurled Molotov cocktails in rallies against his plan to rewrite the constitution.
    Violence erupted in the latest of more than a month of clashes that prosecutors say have now killed 32 people in the oil-rich nation stricken by shortages of food, medicine and other basics.
    Government forces used tear gas and water cannon against demonstrators marching along a highway in east Caracas, the prosecutor’s office said. Protesters fought back with rocks and Molotov cocktails. More than 300 people were injured in Wednesday’s unrest, officials said. The latest fatality was that of an 18-year-old male struck by a projectile. Looting broke out for a second straight night in the northern city of Valencia.
    In Caracas, at least one protester caught fire when other demonstrators set ablaze a military motorcycle. Another was struck by an armored car. The clashes broke out after riot police blocked demonstrators from advancing towards government buildings in central Caracas, where Maduro addressed a rally of thousands of his supporters.
    The opposition accuses the elected leftist president of maneuvering to strengthen his grip on power. He has for months been resisting calls for a vote on removing him from office as the country staggers under food shortages, a near-crippled state-run economy and one of the world’s highest inflation rates.
    Daniel Ascanio, a student leader from Simon Bolivar University, told reporters that students will march from campuses on Thursday around the country to demand “democracy and freedom.” “We will be joined by unions, homemakers, and lawmakers. All sectors of society will mobilise to send a message to Maduro,” said Ascanio.
    Clouds of grey smoke from tear gas canisters filled the air on Wednesday as police with riot shields and trucks advanced along the highway in eastern Caracas.
    Protesters were enraged most recently by the socialist president’s launching of procedures by the electoral council to elect a body to draw up a new constitution. “I am convening a national constituent assembly of citizens with deep popular involvement so that our people… with their voice can decide the destiny of our homeland,” he said in a speech at the council.
    Private polls indicate that more than 70 per cent of those interviewed do not support Maduro, chosen in 2013 to succeed his late mentor Hugo Chavez. Maduro said the constitutional reform body would not include political parties with seats in the opposition-controlled National Assembly, but representatives of social groups traditionally loyal to him.
    As the unrest played out in the streets, powerful pro-Maduro lawmaker Diosdado Cabello went on TV to show footage of a jailed opposition leader, Leopoldo Lopez, to show he was alive and counter rumours he had died in prison.
    Maduro’s center-right opponents and some international powers said the move on the constitution is an attempt to dodge local elections this year and a presidential poll set for late 2018. “It is a fraud by Maduro’s side,” said the president’s most prominent opponent, senior opposition leader Henrique Capriles. “Since they cannot win elections, they want to impose the Cuban electoral model to keep themselves in power.”
    Cuba, the sole one-party communist regime in the Americas, is Maduro’s closest ally. Maduro’s own attorney general, Luisa Ortega, is unpopular with dissidents for her prosecution of opponents of the Maduro government. Yet she surprised many in March condemning as a break in constitutional order the High Court’s suspension of the National Assembly – the only body not in the hands of Maduro supporters.  And Ortega told the Wall Street Journal that the government should ensure people’s right to demonstrate freely, without arbitrary arrests.
     “We can’t demand peaceful and legal behavior from citizens if the state takes decisions that” are not in line with the law, she told the Journal. She said that Maduro’s bid to rewrite the constitution was off-base. “This constitution is unbeatable,” she said of the 1999 Hugo Chavez version. The opposition blames Maduro for the acute economic crisis.
    “We are tired of this government that has been destroying the country for 18 years,” said one protester, housewife Nancy Trejos, 62. The past month of protests has shut down many schools and businesses.
    Caracas’s once-vibrant nightlife has died due to fears of violence and looting. Rival reports of attacks by government-backed thugs or pro-opposition agitators have sown fear among residents.
    Venezuela has seen three attempted military coups since 1992. In 2014, clashes at anti-government protests killed 43 people. Despite the country’s chaos, Maduro retains the military’s public backing. The crisis has been fueled by falling prices for Venezuela’s crucial oil exports, but the government has avoided defaulting on its foreign debts so far.
     


  8. Waqas Dar
    WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump will travel to Saudi Arabia and Israel this month as part of his first foreign trip, wading directly into the tangled diplomacy of Middle Eastern politics, a senior administration official said on Thursday.
    The swing through the Middle East added to a trip that includes a NATO meeting in Brussels on May 25 and the Group of Seven summit in Sicily on May 26, suggests Trump is seeking to reinforce alliances with top US allies in the region.
    Trump's predecessor President Barack Obama had a testy relationship with Israel and Saudi Arabia.
    Leaders in both nations viewed Obama as less concerned with traditional alliances than with negotiating a deal to rein in Iran's nuclear program.
    Trump has made forging peace in the Middle East and fighting Daesh a focus of his administration's foreign policy.
    Trump complained in an interview with Reuters last week that Saudi Arabia was not treating the United States fairly and Washington was losing a “tremendous amount of money” defending the kingdom.
    Saudi Arabia's powerful Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman met Trump in Washington in March in a visit hailed by a senior Saudi advisor as a "historical turning point" in US-Saudi relations.
    Trump, who met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House in February, has assigned his son-in-law Jared Kushner to oversee efforts to broker a peace deal between Israel and the Palestinians.
    Trump met with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas at the White House on Wednesday but gave no details of how he would revive long-stalled peace talks.
    Trump will also stop in Rome to meet Pope Francis at the Vatican as part of the trip, the official said. Senior sources told Reuters Trump was expected to meet the Pope on May 24.
    Politico first reported the details of the trip.
    Trump to meet Pope Francis
    US President Donald Trump will meet Pope Francis at the Vatican on May 24, senior sources said on Thursday.
    Trump will stop in Rome before going to Brussels for a NATO summit and to Sicily for a meeting of the Group of Seven rich countries.
     


  9. Waqas Dar
    MADRID: At least 30 people were injured on Thursday, three of them seriously, in an explosion at recycling site for hazardous chemical waste near Madrid, forcing the evacuation of nearby schools, authorities said.
    The blast in Arganda del Rey sent up a huge column of black smoke, but emergency services said several air quality measuring stations in the area showed normal readings, easing concerns about toxic pollution.
    Madrid´s emergency services centre said on Twitter there had been "several explosions" at the site which seriously injured three people, "two with burns and one with a broken pelvis".
    A spokesman for the firefighters told AFP that another 27 were hurt to a lesser degree.
    It was unclear whether the injured were all workers at the warehouse.
    The spokesman said authorities were investigating the cause of the explosion, about 30 kilometres (20 miles) southeast of the Spanish capital.
    The emergency services centre added that several schools near the blaze -- which firefighters were still working to extinguish -- had been evacuated.
    "Neighbours have been asked not to leave their homes and to keep windows closed," a spokesman for Arganda del Rey´s city hall told AFP, emphasising however that air quality was "normal".
    Requimsa, the company that owns the site, "manages and collects all types of hazardous waste", according to its website.


  10. Waqas Dar
    "If nothing is done, this species will disappear within 10 years," warns a poster on Ahmed Harrad's ageing 4x4 showing Morocco's famed Barbary macaque monkey.
    Harrad spends his time crisscrossing northern Morocco to try to convince locals to protect the endangered monkey.
    The only species of macaque outside Asia, which lives on leaves and fruits and can weigh up to 20 kilogrammes (45 pounds), was once found throughout North Africa and parts of Europe.
    But having disappeared from Libya and Tunisia, it is now restricted to mountainous regions of Algeria and Morocco's northern Rif region. Another semi-wild population of about 200 individuals in Gibraltar are the only free-ranging monkeys in Europe.
    Today, the only native primate north of the Sahara, apart from humans, is in danger of extinction, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
    Conservationists blame illegal poaching, tourists who feed the monkeys and overexploitation of the cedar and oak forests that form the species' natural habitat.
    In response, Morocco has launched a campaign to save the species.
    "We are working on two areas -- monitoring and making a census of the species in the Rif and raising awareness among locals so that they actively help rescue it," Harrad said.
    As head of a local association, Barbary Macaque Awareness & Conservation (BMAC), Harrad has become a tireless advocate for the animal.
    He says it is often sold to buyers in Europe for between $110 and $330 (100 and 300 euros) despite laws forbidding the trade.
    "A lot of foreigners buy monkeys as pets," he said.
    Seen as quiet and cute when it is young, the adult monkey can become a burden, Harrad said.
    "It breaks things, bites, fights with children and climbs the curtains," prompting many owners to abandon their pets, he said.
    Macaque remains in ashes of Pompeii

    But that hasn't stopped the tailless monkeys, with their thick grey-and-ginger fur, being highly sought-after by passing travellers throughout the ages.
    According to National Geographic, skeletal remains of macaques have been discovered "in the ashes of Pompeii, deep within an ancient Egyptian catacomb, and buried beneath an Irish hilltop where the Bronze Age kings of Ulster once held court".
    Zouhair Ahmaouch, an official at Morocco's High Commission for Water, Forests and Combating Desertification, said the new conservation plan focused on tackling poaching.
    But Morocco "can't repatriate monkeys released in Europe, because we don't know whether they came from Gibraltar, Algeria or Morocco", he said.
    The North African kingdom has never conducted a nationwide census of the macaque, but scientists believe its numbers fall every year.
    Based on various studies, they estimate that Morocco is home to between 3,000 and 10,000 macaques today, compared with 17,000 three decades ago.
    They believe Algeria had around 5,500 Barbary macaques in the late 1980s. The number has since almost halved, according to the IUCN.
    Algiers has also responded with plans to protect the species.
    While the macaques are hard to spot in the wilds of Morocco's Rif, some individuals in the forests of the Middle Atlas are tame, attracting tourists who come to feed them.
    But Ifrane National Park head Lahcen Oukennou said feeding can cause "health problems such as obesity, which affects their health and especially their reproductive capacity".
    Anouar Jaoui, director of Talassemtane National Park in northern Morocco, home to several dozen macaques, said the conservation strategy includes measures to "rehabilitate and rebuild the species' habitat".
    That requires "reducing the pressure from overexploitation of natural resources", he added.
    In the forests of the Middle Atlas, authorities are organising awareness-raising sessions for tourists to discourage them from feeding or approaching the monkeys.
    Pupils at local schools are also being educated about the species.
    Last October, the Barbary macaque was listed as a species threatened with extinction on the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES).
    That makes buying and selling the monkeys illegal except under exceptional circumstances.
    Ahmaouch welcomed the move.
    "It will allow Morocco and other countries to unify their efforts to fight against the illegal trade in Barbary macaques," he said. Morocco has a "global responsibility to conserve this heritage".


  11. Waqas Dar
    RAWALPINDI: As many as three hardcore terrorists were executed after being tried by Military Courts, informed Pakistan Army's media wing Inter Services Public Relations.
    According to a statement, the terrorists were involved in committing heinous offenses relating to terrorism, including the killing of innocent civilians, attacking armed forces of Pakistan and other law enforcement agencies.
    The identities of executed terrorists
    Hussan Dar s/o Muhammad Raheem
    The convict was an active member of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan. He was involved in abetting killing of a civilian and attacking Law Enforcement Agencies which resulted in death of police constables.  
    He was also in possession of explosives. The convict admitted his offences before the Magistrate and the trial court.
    Umer Zada s/o Gul Rehman
    The convict was also an active member of TTP.  He is said to be involved in attacking the armed forces of Pakistan which resulted in death and injuries to soldiers.
    He was also in possession of explosives. Zada also accepted the charges against him before the trial court and Magistrate.
    Hazrat Ali s/o Fazal Rabi
    He was also a member of TTP. He was involved in planting Improvised Explosive Devices and killing of civilians. He was also involved in attacking Armed Forces of Pakistan. The convict admitted his offences before the Magistrate and the trial court.


  12. Waqas Dar
    ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf leaders on Thursday were once again barred from holding a press conference inside the premises of Press Information Department.
    While addressing the media representatives outside the PID building, PTI leader Naeemul Haq described the government`s action, ‘dictorial’. He added that PTI had held a press conference inside the PID building during the tenure of Pervaiz Rashid as Information Minister.
    The PTI leader said that there are reports that name of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif`s daughter, Maryam Nawaz, is also mentioned in the Dawn Leaks report.
    “We demand from the PM Nawaz to release the Dawn leaks report,” he said. “PM Nawaz has become a security risk now.”
    Haq expressed his hope that the Joint Investigation Team formed on Panama Papers case under the Supreme Court will complete its work efficiently.
    Speaking to Geo News, State Minister for Information Maryam Aurangzeb said that the PTI leaders sent a letter requesting for press conference 15 minutes before their arrival at the vicinity.
    “We replied to their letter stating the rule of procedure on how could address a press conference in the building. There are rules in the country which everyone needs to adhere. We told them that Tariq Fazal Chaudhry is scheduled to address the presser.”
    The minister said that only government officials can hold press conference at the PID.
    “If they want to do press conference they have to do it along with me,” Aurangzeb remarked. “You cant pressurize an institution by raising your voice.”
    The officials of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf were also stopped from holding a news conference in Press Information Department Building on April 27.
    Leaders of PTI, Shibli Faraz and Shehryar Afridi, exchanged harsh words with the administration officials of PID over not being allowed to enter for a news conference
    The PTI leaders had also filed a complaint against Marriyum Aurangzeb at Aabpara police station. Responding to this, the police informed that they have received the complaint and it is currently under legal review.
     


  13. Waqas Dar
    UMERKOT: The case of feudal lord Zaid Talpur, who was caught on tape misbehaving with police officials at Kunri police station, has taken a new twist after a new video surfaced on Thursday.
    The new video shows that Zaid Talpur and his son, Hassan Talpur, were put behind bars the same day they misbehaved with the police officers.
    In the video, DSP and SHO can be seen locking up Zaid Talpur and his son. The DSP while speaking to Zaid Talpur remarked, “I am the DSP you were speaking to. Put him [Zaid] behind the bars.”
    This new evidence has raised many questions pertaining to the case such as why did police kept this detention hidden? Why was no case registered if the suspects were taken into custody? Why were the father-son duo let go? If Zaid Talpur was intoxicated then why was there no medical checkup done? Why were the suspects let go and one of them arrested the next day?
    After the video was aired, SSP Umerkot Usman Bajwa issued a statement clarifying the incident.
    He said that the allegations that “Nawab Zaid Talpur and his co-accused were arrested on the same night they misbehaved with SHO on some pressure or some other suspicious reason” are “completely baseless”.
    He explained that he had directed the DSP to go to the police station and arrest Nawab Zaid Talpur and his accomplices and take them for medical examination” over charges of intoxication.
    “DSP went there, locked them up but failed to get their medical test and, ultimately, released them by stating that it is a nominal issue and Zaid Talpur has apologised to SHO.”
    However, the police sprung into action after the video, showing an inebriated Zail Talpur misbehaving with police, surfaced. The video showed “weakness of their [SHO, DSP], so FIR was registered and SHO and DSP were suspended.”
    The video surfaced a day after the police had arrested Hassan Talpur, for barging into a Kunri police station in Umerkot and insulting the Station House Officer.
    According to SSP Umerkot, Usman Bajwa, who led the raiding party, Hassan Talpur was picked up from Defence, Karachi.
    However, the prime suspect Zaid Talpur, who is said to be the brother-in-law of former Chief Minister Sindh Liaquat Ali Jatoi, has yet to be arrested, he had remarked.
    SSP Usman Bajwa had told Geo that Zaid Talpur’s will be arrested soon. “He [Zaid] will be arrested within hours,” the SSP assured. 
     
    How it started?
    The incident came into public notice after a video surfaced showing an inebriated Nawab Zaid Talpur, sitting on the SHO’s seat in a police station, being surrounded with his aides, insulting the SHO and demanding the police officer to sit on the ground and speak to him.
    Read more: FIR against inebriated feudal for misbehaving with SHO
    After the video surfaced, police station’s DSP Sher Khan and SHO Tassawur Jatt were also suspended. According to SSP Umerkot Usman Bajwa, the two police officers showed weakness and hid the facts.
    On Tuesday, the police registered a case against six individuals including Zaid Talpur, Hassan Talpur, Jamil Marwarri, Lachman Meghwarr, Kareem, and Shafi.
    The police came into action after IG Sindh AD Khawaja took notice of the incident and ordered that the culprits should be arrested soon.


  14. Waqas Dar
    MARDAN: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa police approached on Thursday the Federal Investigation Agency to put the name of main accused in Mashal Khan’s lynching, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf tehsil councillor Arif, on the Exit Control List.
    KP police arrested another on-the-run suspect Ali Khan in relation to the killing of Mashal Khan, a student at the Abdul Wali Khan University in Mardan.
    The number of the arrested in the case has reached 48 so far. The main suspect Arif is reportedly on the run and police is searching for him.
    Additional Inspector General Police Dr Ishtiaq Ahmed has sent the request to the FIA to put the main suspect Arif’s name on the ECL.
    The document also has the passport and CNIC numbers of the absconders in the case.
    On May 2, as many as ten suspects refused to accept charges laid against them in the mob lynching case.
    According to reports, two staffers and eight students of Abdul Wali Khan University were brought in court after completion of their remand. The defendants rejected the charges before the magistrate, however, the judge ordered to send the suspects back to jail on judicial remand till May 16.
    On April 27, police said the person who shot Mashal Khan had been arrested. The person identified as Imran was a classmate of Mashal in the journalism department.
    Shortly after the incident, PTI chairman Imran Khan, whose party is in power in KP, had condemned the incident and called for action against those responsible for the murder.
    Mashal Khan a student at the Abdul Wali Khan University in Mardan was lynched by an angry mob on the premises of the University after being accused of blasphemy.


  15. Waqas Dar
    KARACHI: Muhajir Qaumi Movement Chairman Afaq Ahmed on Thursday said that when India and Pakistan can engage in a dialogue, then why the representatives of Muhajirs can’t talk, in an apparent reference to the media reports suggesting that his party would meet representatives of Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan ahead of general elections.
    While addressing a press conference, he said that there should always be room for negotiations. “We would appreciate any initiative for dialogue,” he said.
    Afaq also announced that his party will hold a rally at Nishtar Park in mid of July.
    He said that no matter what the situation is, he would take ahead political activities of his party. 
    It was reported in Geo News programme Aaj Shahzaib Khanzada Kay Sath, that positive messages have been exchanged between both the parties, but no plan of merger has come to fore yet.
    MQM-P leader Kishwar Zehra while speaking in the show said that heir party carried out a movement for the rights of people of Karachi, which was given “moral support” by MQM-H founder Afaq Ahmed. “MQM-P chief Farooq Sattar even thanked him for that.”
    She maintained positive contact between both the parties is essential for peace in Karachi.
    According to a report, the timing of meeting between the two parties would be decided by the MQM-Pakistan's Raabita Committee. 
    Old foes became closer when MQM(H) hailed MQM Pak rally in Karachi on 23 April. In response, the latter conveyed thanks to the former for support. Leader of MQM Haqiqi Afaq Ahmed has already shown the will to cooperate with MQM in the past as well.


  16. Waqas Dar
    KABUL: A former warlord branded the "Butcher of Kabul" returned to the Afghan capital Thursday, met by uneasy residents two decades after leaving the city where he stands accused of killing thousands of people.
    Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, a former prime minister, has returned to mainstream political life after his dormant Hezb-i-Islami militant group signed a peace deal with the government last September which sparked revulsion from human rights groups and residents of the capital.
    His convoy of several hundred vehicles to Kabul on Thursday, mainly pickup trucks equipped with machine guns, was greeted by hundreds of onlookers, including supporters bearing the green party flag and flowers.
    As it progressed through the capital´s main thoroughfares he was joined by hundreds of cars ferrying people waving flags, singing the national anthem or chanting "Welcome to Kabul, Honourable Hekmatyar" in Pashto.
    Hekmatyar earned his bloody nickname for laying siege to Kabul while during the 1992-1996 civil war, bombarding it with rockets that inflicted some of the worst damage in nearly 40 years of conflict, destroying one-third of the city and killing tens of thousands of civilians.
    The peace agreement inked in September marked a symbolic victory for the government, which has struggled to revive peace talks with the more powerful Taliban, but has also fuelled fears of more political division.
    Some of the city´s residents greeted Hekmatyar´s return with hope, such as 35-year-old Jamshed, who goes by one name and who told AFP the "rare happy news" meant the warlord´s influence could help improve security.
    For others, memories of death and destruction in the capital came rushing back.
    "He will be surprised to see Kabul rebuilt again," said one wry onlooker who did not wish to give his name.
    Others like 20-year-old metal worker Edress Arabzada, could not forget the past but were pragmatic about the future.
    Hekmatyar was the "chief destroyer" of Kabul, Arabzada told AFP, adding the warlord should apologise for the spilling the blood of innocent people.
    But, he added, "we welcome his arrival to Afghanistan if it leads to peace and stability".
    ´We are tired of war´
    Cucumber seller Sayed Mohammad, 52, agreed.
    "All the warlords are corrupt and have blood on their hands," he told AFP. "But, we welcome (Hekmatyar) to Kabul because we are tired of war and conflict."
    Afghanistan has suffered near-continuous fighting since the Soviet invasion of 1979, and beleaguered security forces are currently struggling to beat back the resurgent Taliban, with more than one third of the country outside government control.
    Hekmatyar is the latest in a series of controversial figures that Kabul has sought to reintegrate by granting judicial immunity for past crimes, and many residents who spoke to AFP called for him to apologise and be prosecuted.
    Some were more accepting of the rehabilitation of the warlords, including figures such as Abdul Rashid Dostum, currently the country´s first vice president.
    "I do not think, Hekmatyar´s arrival to Kabul will not make a difference... We want him to continue a normal life like other warlords in Afghanistan," said drinks seller Mohammad Nasim.
    Hekmatyar first returned to public life on Saturday at a gathering in Laghman province, two hours east of Kabul.
    After his return to the capital on Thursday he travelled to the presidential palace to meet and shake hands with President Ashraf Ghani.
    In the week ahead of his return, huge billboards sprang up around the city but were quickly covered in paint or mud, testament to the polarising nature of the peace deal.
    Hekmatyar's bombardment of Kabul during the 1990s inflicted some of the worst damage in more than 40 years of war, destroying one-third of the city and killing tens of thousands of civilians.


  17. Waqas Dar
    MANGLA: Commander Mangla Corps Lieutenant General Azhar Saleh Abbasi expressed his satisfaction over the conduct of census in District Jhelum's Pind Dadan Khan and appreciated the efforts of civil and military staff.
    Commander Mangla Corps witnessed the conduct of 6th National Population and Housing Census at Pind Dadan Khan on Thursday, according to Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR).
    Lieutenant General Azhar Saleh Abbasi also met the troops performing census duties. 
    Earlier, he was briefed about the progress of the census by the officials of civil administration, representatives of Pakistan Bureau Statistics and Law Enforcement Agencies at Jhelum Cantonment.

    The first phase of the sixth population census was held from March 15 to April 15 after a period of 19 years.
    In this first phase, census were held in 16 districts of Punjab, eight districts of Sindh, 14 districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 15 districts of Balochistan, five districts of Azad Jammu and Kashmir and five districts of Gilgit-Baltistan.
    The second phase, which commenced on April 25, will culminate on May 25; the census process was supposed to be conducted in 21 districts each of Punjab and Sindh, 18 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 17 in Balochistan, Islamabad Capital Territory, and five each in Azad Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan.


  18. Waqas Dar
    PESHAWAR: State Minister for Water and Power Abid Sher Ali on Thursday said that only those areas in Peshawar will be provided electricity in 2018 which regularly pay their bills.
    Addressing a press conference here, the minister said that the Peshawar Electric Supply Company (PESCO) was in a miserable condition during the tenure of the previous two governments and not a single penny was spent on the transmission side. PESCO’s conditions improved after 2013, he claimed.
    Sher Ali alleged that Pakistan Tehreek-Insaf (PTI) leader and District Nazim of Charsadda is involved in electricity theft, claiming that the PTI leader doesn’t even have an electricity metre installed in his house.


  19. Waqas Dar
    ISLAMABAD: Opposition Leader in National Assembly Khursheed Shah on Thursday blamed Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif for conspiring against the country’s institutions, adding that the conflict between the institutions is not a good sign.
    Shah was addressing a protest camp at Lahore’s Nasir Bagh.
    “Prime Minister might get spared in Panama Leaks issue, but he would not be able to save himself when it comes to the issue of loadshedding,” he said.
    He said that Nawaz Sharif’s government is behind the menace of loadshedding, and the Pakistan Peoples Party’s protest campaign would be fruitful regarding the issue.
    “Lahore would be free from loadshedding as a result of this campaign,” he told the party workers present at the venue.
    Shah said that Nawaz Sharif after assuming the office, pushed the country into darkness.
    Former prime minister Benazir Bhutto initiated the system of independent power producers (IPPs), but Nawaz Sharif’s government back then cancelled them, said the opposition leader.
    “Today there is loadshedding of 14 hours in the country,” said Shah.
    PM Nawaz’s campaign is based on lies, said Shah, adding that in his government the electricity prices were raised.


  20. Waqas Dar
    NEW YORK: US President Donald Trump returns to New York on Thursday for the first time since taking office, planning a bit of diplomacy as city officials brace for protests in the city where he built his name and fortune.
    Trump's departure for his January 20 inauguration ended a 2-1/2-month period following his November 8 election, which was marked by mostly protesting but also admiring crowds outside his home in the Fifth Avenue tower that bears his name and served as his presidential transition headquarters.
    Police are bracing for protests around the decommissioned aircraft carrier Intrepid on Manhattan's west side where the businessman-turned-politician is set to meet with Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, and at Trump Tower in the busy midtown section.
    Trump's first 100 days in office brought rollbacks of environmental regulations, an attempt to repeal his predecessor's signature healthcare law and crackdowns on immigrants, none of which play well in the liberal Northeast city.
    "He's from here, but we think his values are out of step with all the rest of us," said Joe Dinkin, spokesman for the Working Families Party, which is leading a loosely coordinated collection of groups for a "Reject Trump" rally.
    Fewer than one in five residents in America's most populous city voted for Trump, even though he comes from the city's Queens borough, built a brand in real estate and other ventures associated with New York, and has been tabloid fodder for decades.
    The city has already run up a significant bill for protection of Trump and his family, including about $24 million during the period between his election and inauguration and more than $300,000 a day since then protecting first lady Melania Trump and 11-year-old son Barron, who have continued to live in Trump Tower since the president moved to Washington.
    This week's federal spending deal includes $61 million to reimburse New York and other local governments for providing Trump-related security.
    Trump told Fox News last week he had not been back to his hometown because of the costs and public inconvenience involved with presidential travel. "I hate to see the New Yorkers with streets closed," he said.
    After the events with Turnbull, which include a black-tie dinner on the Intrepid to mark the 75th anniversary of the World War Two Battle of the Coral Sea, Trump is expected to go to his golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey, for the weekend.


  21. Waqas Dar
    MUMBAI: Star Sports have raised concerns with cricket´s governing body that advertisers might steer clear of the Champions Trophy if India opted against competing at the tournament in England, an official from the broadcaster has told Reuters.
    At last week´s International Cricket Council (ICC) meetings, the Indian board (BCCI) was outvoted 13-1 in its bid to stall a new revenue model which considerably slashes their financial share from global events in the 2015-2023 cycle.
    Unimpressed by the $293 million forecast, down from the $570 million it would have received under a 2014 arrangement, the BCCI responded by refusing to name a squad for the June 1-18 one-day international competition by the April 25 cutoff date.
    Read more: Big 3 abolished; India isolated, outvoted in ICC meeting
    "There is concern in the market," said the Star India official, who wished to remain anonymous, adding that the broadcaster had paid $1.9 billion for the ICC rights.
    "There has been no official communication from the ICC or the BCCI on India´s participation.
    "We have sent an email to the ICC asking how they plan to compensate us if our business is impacted due to India´s pullout.
    "Rupert Murdoch´s Star group owns broadcast rights for 18 ICC global events to be held during an eight-year cycle from 2015, including two 50-over World Cups, two Twenty20 World Cups and a similar number of Champions Trophy events.
    India´s huge market is a major draw for sponsors and advertisers, who often plan product launches around major cricket tournaments and book advertising slots in advance.
    The option of pulling out of the Champions Trophy by revoking the Members Participation Agreement (MPA) between the ICC and the BCCI has been gaining traction within the India board, who will discuss the issue at a special general meeting on Sunday.
    The operations of the BCCI are currently being supervised by four court-appointed administrators (COA), who has said it would intervene if the board took any drastic measures which might hurt Indian cricket.
    "It is in the interests of Indian cricket for the BCCI to continue negotiations with the ICC and other cricket boards to arrive at an amount/share that is somewhere between that envisaged under the financial model that was put in place in 2014 and that which is envisaged under the revised financial model," the COA said in an email to state associations.
    "It is not in the interests of Indian cricket for the BCCI to take any drastic step/measure which may result in breakdown of negotiations between the BCCI, ICC and other cricket boards, especially since there is sufficient time between now and the ICC Conference to be held in June 2017 for a negotiated outcome to be arrived at.
    "The top eight sides in the world rankings compete in the Champions Trophy and it remains unclear who would replace India, who won the last edition in 2013, if they decide to withdraw.


  22. Waqas Dar
    Shots from 21-year-old model Kendall Jenner’s photo session for Vogue India have been revealed and we just can’t keep our cool.
    Because look!
     

    (Image courtesy: Vogue India)
     
    At these!
     

    (Image courtesy: Vogue India)
     
    Photos!
     

    (Image courtesy: Vogue India)
     
    Oh my god!
     
     
    Celebrated fashion photographer Mario Testino was behind the camera in the photoshoot that took place in Jaipur’s Samode Palace. The images are included in the magazine’s Collector’s Edition, which marks its 10th anniversary.
    In an interview with Vogue India’s Priya Tanna, Testino commented on how he views the models transcending from Gisele Bündchen’s time to that of Jenner, filled with daily Instagram selfies. “For me, they were and are all new models. They bring life, fun, stories and ideas. They’re pretty similar, you know, all of them,” he said.
    The famed lensman says despite the decades, the gist remains the same. ”They’re solid good girls—fun, clever, sexy. They have it,” he added.
    Bollywood beauty Katrina Kaif, model Kelly Gale, Hopper Penn – son of Sean Penn, and Indian actor Sushant Singh Rajput accompanied Jenner, styled by makeup artist Charlotte Tilbury.
    The young model, with regard to her time in India, said, “This will probably be my most memorable shoot with him because I flew all the way down to India for it," BuzzFeed reported.
    Testino in March photographed Snow White and the Huntsman actress Kristen Stewart for V Magazine.


  23. Waqas Dar
    KARACHI: The North Korean ambassador to Pakistan and his wife were allegedly physically tortured by excise officials at their residence in Karachi, documents received by Geo News revealed. 
    In a letter addressed to the Government of Pakistan and the Deputy General (DG) Excise department, the North Korean embassy in Islamabad requested necessary action against the incident that reportedly took place on April 9.
    "10 or more armed and unarmed excise officers illegally entered into the embassy residence and brutally shackled the diplomat in [an] organised way," the complaint read. 
    The diplomat was injured on his elbows and legs, and bruised on his wrists and ankles and his wife was injured on her face, head and wrists and much of her hair were pulled out by male and female excise officials, stated the letter.
    Read more: 12-year-old maid allegedly abused by employers in Faisalabad
    "The female official threatened the diplomat's wife, aiming the gun at her face," the letter added. 
    DG Excise Shoaib Siddiqui ordered an in-depth inquiry into the alleged torture on the diplomat and his wife earlier last month.
    "We received the complaint and an investigation into the incident is underway," Siddique told Geo News. "The accused officials have not been traced yet."
    According to the North Korean embassy, the CCTV footage record from the day of the incident was preserved, however the reason for the torture could not be determined.

    The embassy stated that diplomatic ties between the two countries could be affected due to the incident.
     
    An earlier version of this story reported the incident 
     


  24. Waqas Dar
    LONDON: Britain's Prince Philip, husband of Queen Elizabeth, is to permanently stand down from royal duties in the autumn, Buckingham Palace said in a statement on Thursday.
    The palace said the queen would continue to carry out her full programme of engagements.
    The decision was taken with the full support of the monarch, the palace said in a statement.


  25. Waqas Dar
    LAHORE: Pakistan's Test skipper Misbah-ul-Haq will play his last international match against the West Indies on May 10. As Misbah steps into the sunset, Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Shahryar Khan has paid the skipper the compliment to beat all compliments.
    Appearing before the National Assembly Standing Committee on Inter-Provincial Coordination on Thursday, the PCB chief said Misbah was a better captain than Imran Khan.
    Shahryar Khan was quick to point out that he was not making a political comparison between the two. "Misbah is not a bigger political personality than Imran," Shahryar Khan was quoted as saying.
    The PCB chairman also spoke of Sir Vivian Richards, calling him a great cricketer but not a good coach. Shahryar Khan declined to make any comments on Javed Miandad, only stating that the former captain was a great player.
    ///Informing the committee on the status of Pakistan, India cricket, Shahryar Khan said a notice amounting to 60.4 million had been sent to the BCCI.
    On Wednesday, the PCB initiated formal dispute resolution proceedings against the BCCI to claim compensation and damages it suffered due to BCCI’s refusal to play bilateral series with the Pakistan Cricket Board.


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