DARRA ADAM KHEL: A suicide bomber blew up his explosives-packed car in Darra Adam Khel and killed five civilians and a soldier on Monday, officials said. Two other security men were also injured when the bomber rammed his vehicle into a car of security men near a Spina Thana check post, according to officials.

No group claimed responsibility for the attack. But government put blame of such attacks on suspected Taliban. Taliban militants have carried out several attacks on security forces in Darra Adam Khel, in the past.
Officials said that the bomber tried to hit a security check post and exploded his bomb near its gate. NNI

QUETTA: A gas pipeline was blown up in Mengalabad area on Saryab Road on Sunday. According to SSGCL officials, said some unknown persons planted explosive material near 16-inches diameter pipeline, which went off and damaged a portion of the gas pipeline. Resultantly, gas supply was affected to some areas in suburb of the city.

They said that SSGCL technician team rushed to the site for repairing the damaged portion following which gas supply would be restored to the affected areas in the suburb of the city. The law enforcement agencies registered a case against unidentified men.-SANA

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court has directed the SSP operations Islamabad to procure credible information in respect of torture cells by making publication in the newspaper and invite the informants to come forward and furnish necessary information, with the guarantee that their names would not be disclosed in any case.

A three member bench of the apex court comprising Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, Justice Raja Fayyaz Ahmed and Justice Ch. Ijaz Ahmed gave the directives while hearing suo moto regarding existence of private torture cells by the police, a statement said on Thursday.

The court further ordered that after completion of this process a detailed report shall be submitted to the Court till June 8. “As far as the question of maintaining the torture cells by the police is concerned, in this behalf few reports have been submitted denying the allegations but we are not satisfied with the same because perusal of the report published in daily “Khabrain” date 13.1.2009 reveals that there were so many persons who died in custody of the police”, the order of the court said.

Shah Khawar, Additional Advocate .General, Punjab and Mr. Tahir Alam, SSP, Operation, Islamabad appeared before the Court on Court notice while Naseem Akhtar with her daughter appeared as complainant. Mr. Shah Khawar requested the court to grant some time to the SSP so that he may conduct inquiry personally and redress the grievance of the applicant. NNI

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani on Thursday urged the NATO and ISAF to effectively deal with the issue of poppy cultivation in Afghanistan and drug trafficking which still remains the main source of funding for extremists and terrorist elements. This has led to exporting numerous problems to Pakistan and stressed that the elimination of poppy cultivation is the key for defeating the menace of terrorism in the region, he added. The Prime Minister was talking to an eight?member delegation of the British Select Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Commons headed by Mike Capes which called on him here at the PM House on Thursday.

The Prime Minister said that “the UK Policy on Afghanistan and Pakistan: The Way Forward” announced by the British Prime Minister yesterday has many aspects which require careful examination and further clarifications.

He said that the policy acknowledges Pakistan’s position that military option alone cannot resolve the problems of insecurity, insurgency and terrorism while placing emphasis on the development dimension which his government has been advocating since long.

He however stressed that the policy must also recognize that the problems faced by Pakistan today are rooted in decades old conflict in Afghanistan; that Pakistan and Afghanistan have distinctly different political and institutional traditions and hence they must not be bracketed together for finding solutions of the problems faced by them.

The Prime Minister assured the British delegation of his government’s steadfast and unwavering commitment to fight the menace of extremism and terrorism but highlighted the urgency of capacity building of Pakistani Law Enforcing Agencies and Armed Forces as promised by important countries like US and UK.

The Prime Minister apprised the British MPs of the sense of anxiety generated amongst the people of Pakistan in and outside the country because of the arrests of Pakistani students in UK and urged them to play their role in ensuring that the people of Pakistani origin are not discriminated against in any way.

He added that since no evidence was found against the arrested Pakistani students, they should not be deported and be allowed to complete their studies.

He welcomed the heightened exchanges between Pakistan and UK in all levels and underlined the importance of people to people contacts and parliamentary exchanges for eliminating any possible misperceptions and misunderstandings in otherwise cordial relations between the two countries.

The British delegation expressed their understanding of the ground realities and the challenges being faced by Pakistan. They agreed with the Prime Minister on the need of evolving mechanism to check cross border movement of undesirable elements from both sides.

The leader of the delegation appreciated Pakistan’s role and sacrifices in the campaign against terrorism and assured that the British government will extend full support in this regard.-APP

KARACHI: The local markets of tea are facing loss amounting to billions of rupees as a result of tea being smuggled to Pakistan from Afghanistan. According to Pakistan Tea Association, the country’s total tea consumption stands at 175 million kilograms. Out of this 100 million kgs are imported through government channels while the rest that is 75 million kgs is smuggled to Pakistan from Afghanistan. Pakistan perhaps is among the few countries where tea has attained the status of basic food especially among the poor. While it is used as a source of entertainment by all segments of the society, it is essentially required at the breakfast especially in the urban areas of Pakistan.

This causes a loss of Rs5.5 billion to the local importers of tea, it said. The association has called for immediate attention of the government to the issue and demanded withdrawal of 10 per cent import duty on tea to resolve the problem.

Since the smuggled tea evades duties and taxes it is sold at a discount. This type of incentive is becoming a great source of attraction even for the legal tea importers and a large number of them have naturally diverting their buying towards the smuggled tea. If this trend is allowed to prevail the tea business is likely to be the haven of the smugglers.
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The mysterious killing of three leading Baloch nationalist leaders – who were allegedly arrested by intelligence agencies last Friday – have sparked a wave of massive protests and violence all over Balochistan that has so far killed one police official. Police found the decomposing bodies of the three Baloch leaders – veteran politician Ghulam Mohammad Baloch and Lala Munir of the Balochistan National Movement (BNM) and Sher Muhammad Baloch of the Baloch Republican Party (BRP) – in Pidrak area of Turbat district on Wednesday evening.

Riots and protests spread across Balochistan after bodies of central president of Balochistan National Moment (BNM) Ghulam Mohammad Baloch, leader of Baloch Republican Party Sher Mohammad Baloch and member of central committee of BNM Lala Munir Baloch were found in Paidarek, Balochistan.

According to The News, several cities of Balochistan including Quetta hit by protest against kidnapping and killing of Baloch leaders. A shutter down strike is being observed in Turbat, Gwadar, Panjgur, Khuzdar, Mushkay, Awaran and other areas. Angry protestors hurled stones on cars and set a blaze four vehicles in Quetta whereas PPP office set on fire in Panjgur. Protestors threw stones at DC office in Gwadar.

Federal Information Minister Qamar Zaman Kaira Friday said that recent killing of three Baloch leaders is being probed at high level and it would be inappropriate for anyone to raise finger at the process. Talking to a private television channel in a telephonic interview the Minister said that Balochistan Chief Minister has constituted a high level investigation team at IG level and the matter is being probed.

Besides, he said that the Chief Minister has also ordered a judicious inquiry into the incident and the stakeholders are expected to wait and see the outcome. If some people have reservations over the members of inquiry teams, they have the right to express it he said adding but suspecting the governments’ intention is inappropriate. The government at center as well as at the province sincerely wants to reach the culprits of this unfortunate incident but a process had to be followed.

He said the PPP lead coalition government sincerely wants to solve the problems of Balochistan province and it wants to take the local political leadership on board in this regard. It is need of the hour that the stake holders instead of suspecting each other should come forward with open heart for amicable solution of the problems , the Minister said.

Chairman Senate Farooq H. Naek and acting Chairman Jan Muhammad Khan Jamali have strongly condemned the brutal murder of three Baloch nationalists and termed it a ‘heinous conspiracy’ against the federation. In a statement issued here on Friday, they said the killings of Baloch leaders was an attempt to sabotage government’s sincere efforts for creating a conducive atmosphere for national reconciliation in the country.

Farooq Naek and Jamali appreciated the services of slain Ghulam Muhammad Baloch, Sher Muhammad Bugti and Lala Munir and said they were true patriots and human-loving personalities. They appealed to the people of Balochistan to remain peaceful and expressed the hope that the culprits behind this heinous crime would soon be arrested and brought to justice. They sympathized with the bereaved families and prayed to Allah Almighty to rest the departed souls in eternal peace and grant courage to bereaved families to bear the loss with equanimity.

The US Embassy has condemned the killing incident of three Baloch leaders in Balochistan, saying the deceased had played an important role in the release of abducted UN official John Solecki. According to a statement issued here from US Embassy, the slaying of Baloch nationalists was condemnable, as they had cooperated with the government for the safe return of Solecki. The statement further said Pakistani authorities should bring the culprits involved in this heinous act to the court of law.

While The United Nations has expressed “serious concern” over the killing of three ethnic Baloch leaders that has sparked off riots in that Pakistani province. It called for an immediate investigation into the deaths of the three, who supporters say went missing on April 2 after being detained by security forces. The victims were members of the committee that was recently formed by the government of Pakistan to investigate the case of missing persons in the province, most notably abducted UN worker John Solecki, who was freed last Saturday.

Input from Agencies

ISLAMABAD: Advisor on Interior Rehman Malik has directed the police and law enforcement agencies across the country to search suspicious ambulances ? in a bid to prevent terror attacks. According to Geo News, PM’s Advisor on Interior Rehman Malik has directed the police force and law enforcement agencies to search hospital and welfare organizations’ ambulances to prevent terrorist strikes.

The prominent social welfare activist Abdul Sattar Edhi phoned Rehman Malik and pleaded for search of Edhi ambulances to ensure evasion of ambulances’ exploitation in terrorist activities, the channel quoting sources added. Malik lauded Edhi’s resolve against extremism and assured him of ambulances’ search following his plea.

He made announcement of awarding Rs 10,00000 to police officers in case they identify and arrest terrorists in Karachi.-APP

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court has adjourned for an indefinite period hearing of the suo motu notice regarding the flogging of a girl in Swat. The Court directed the Interior Secretary, Chief Secretary and I.G. NWFP to conduct detailed investigation into the incident and submit the report within fifteen days. It also directed the Interior secretary to visit Swat.

At the outset of the hearing, Police officials informed that F.I.R. of the incident had been registered. They submitted the incident of flogging took place in the Kabbal Tehsil of Swat in the month of January. However, the girl has refused to appear before the court denying the incident. The eight-member larger bench headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry is hearing the case.-SANA

BLOACHISTAN: Pakistani authorities recovered at least 50 bodies and dozens of unconscious people from a shipping container in Balochistan on Saturday. According to police sources, the container which was parked in Hazar Ganji area of Quetta, the driver of the container truck fled from the spot which was carrying 110 people, apparently illegal immigrants being transported from Afghanistan to Iran via Pakistan.

Senior police official Wazir Khan Nasir said that 50 bodies and 60 people were recovered from the container. It was reported that the deaths apparently occurred because of suffocation. The dead and the unconscious victims were transferred to the Bolan Medical Complex hospital in Quetta.

The death tolls might rise as many of the unconscious victims were in critical condition, therefore, an emergency was declared in major hospitals in Quetta to cope with the situation, officials said. It is stated that most of the victims were hailed from Afghanistan and the area was cordon off and search operation was being carried out for detaining the driver.-SANA

Today it is Chaand Bibi – the unfortunate victim in Swat and tomorrow it could be civilisation itself or whatever remains of it in the rest of the country.

The citizens of Lahore and the numerous groups will get together tomorrow to protest on the Mall Road. Concerned citizens in Karachi are also protesting at the Karachi Press Club.

This is a chance for you to stand up and be counted against the forces of extremism and aggression who are hellbent on destroying our beloved city Lahore and the country. If we will not raise our voices then we are condemned to be victims of history.

Let us march on the Mall Road in Lahore tomorrow, to counter darkness with peaceful protest – OUR STATE MUST FIGHT THE TERRORISTS
Date: Saturday, April 4, 2009
Time:4:00pm – 5:00pm
Location:The High Court Lahore/Press Club, Karachi
City/Town: Lahore/Karachi,

Originally written by Raza Rumi