A special court will today begin proceedings in the trial of Ajmal Amir Kasab, the lone surviving terrorist involved the terror attacks in Mumbai on November 26, 2008.
On Tuesday, a court had adjourned the hearing after prosecution sought time to file its reply on Kasab’’s confession.
Confessing before the court, Kasab said that he and his [...]
Posts Tagged ‘Karachi’
Kasab’’s trial proceedings to begin today
July 22nd, 2009 |
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Public anger boils over
July 21st, 2009 |
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LAHORE/KARACHI – Protest demonstrations and rallies were held Tuesday across the country against continuous loadshedding and price-hike.
Angry mobs attacked trains, ransacked government offices and other buildings. Traders shut down their businesses paralysing the normal life while one protester was killed during a demonstration in Faisalabad.
In most Punjab cities all types of businesses remained closed to protest against loadshedding.
In Faisalabad, a 45-year-old man was killed when a stone hit him during a protest. Some 47 people received multiple injuries during clashes between people and police in different forceful protests. The angry mob burnt tyres on different roads, pelted stones on moving vehicles, Wapda offices and at police stations.
In Sargodha, traders and citizens torched tyres during protests and blocked the road. Hundreds of people attacked the office of Executive Engineer WAPDA. A partial transport strike was also observed during which passengers and citizens faced great difficulties.
In Jhang, protesters threw stones, stopped a train and set on fire its four bogies. Another train was attacked in Okara.
In Chiniot, police baton-charged and fired in air to stop protesters from going to grid station.
Protesters blocked Sargodha-Faisalabad Road by torching tyres. Participants of a rally in Hujra Shahmuqeem attacked the WAPDA office and set office record and equipment on fire.
In Arifwala, traders took out rallies and set tyres on fire. Protesters were raising slogans against the government and the WAPDA. Complete shutterdown strike was observed in Sheikhupura where rallies were taken out while shops and trade centres remained closed in Chichawatni.
In Mandi Ahmedabad, a protest rally was taken out and participants raised slogans against the WAPDA.
Complete shutterdown was also observed in Kasur, Hafizabad, Gaggu Mandi, Pasrur, Chunian, Nurpur Thal, Pindi Bhattian and rallies were taken out.
Traders and shopkeepers observed shutdown strike on the call of businessmen bodies and also staged strong protest demos against the worst-ever loadshedding, increase in electricity tariff and raise in oil prices.
Angry protesters pelted police with stones while the police wielded to batons to keep things under control in various parts of the province.
A good number of protesters sustained injuries during the clashes, which erupted between the police and the angry mob in the Punjab, police sources said, adding that police have detained dozens of protesters for damaging public property and creating law and order situation.
In Lahore, police badly baton-charged the women protesters in Islampura area, which triggered clashes between public and the police. However, the top cops suspended the SHO concerned to cool down the angry mob.
Protesters also stopped Pak-India Dosti Bus in Baghbanpura area during protests and smashed the windowpanes of other private vehicles.
Heavy police contingents including senior officers rushed to the spot and managed to provide alternative route to the Dosti bus.
Most of the traders and shopkeepers observed complete shutterdown strike in Lahore while according to reports, complete and partial shutterdown was also witnessed in all the big cities and districts of the province.
In Lahore, the traders and shopkeepers closed down their businesses and took to streets to protest against the worst power outages and increase in fuel and electricity tariff.
Clashes also witnessed in different parts of the City between the pro-strike and anti-strike traders, as they confronted each other at the Mall Road and Liberty Market.
However, heavy police contingents reached the spot and managed to disperse the protesters.
Interestingly, people hard hit by loadshedding from different walks of life supported the strike and urged the masses to took to the streets to force the govt to end power outages and withdraw steep increase in the fuel and electricity prices.
According to reports, traders also observed strike in other big cities of the Punjab including Gujranwala, Multan, Faisalabad, Kasur, Sheikhupura, Okara, Sahiwal, Pakpattan, Vehari, Burewala, Bahawalpur, and staged protest demos against loadshedding.
‘The complete shutter down strike is an eye-opener for the govt. The govt should immediately take concrete steps to overcome energy crisis or step down’, Rashid Khan, one of the protesters commented while talking to The Nation at The Mall.
The traders also took out protest rallies against the worst loadshedding at the Mall Road, Kot Lakhpat and GT Road Bhagbanpura.
The protesters also blocked the roads by setting the tyres on fire in different parts of the City and chanted slogans against the PPP-led govt and WAPDA.
Mostly all the leading commercial markets, business centres and shopping malls situated in different parts of the City were closed down.
However, few shops were opened at the Mall Road, Main Boulevard Gulberg, and Liberty market as some traders groups opposed the strike call and opened their business.
The protesters in several areas of the LESCO region including Dharampura, Gulshan-i-Ravi, Multan Road, Hujra Shah Muqim and Kasur attacked the LESCO Sub divisional and XEN offices and thrashed the on-duty LESCO staff.
The enraged protesters consisting of mostly youth and led by the traders blocked the roads in various parts of the City by setting the tyres on fire, disrupting the traffic flow for a long time. They also set ablaze electricity bills during protests and blocked the roads besides chanting anti-govt slogans.
In Jhang, the irresponsible attitude of FESCO officials led the protesters to burn and destroy public and private properties. They also attacked a train and burnt its four bogies.
Hundreds of protesters carrying batons and iron-rods gathered at Ayub Chowk to agitate against the federal government and FESCO. They blocked the roads for hours and later enraged groups stormed into various parts of the city and damaged the government and private properties.
In Karachi, enraged people continued their demonstrations on third consecutive day against unabated power outages, disturbing routine life in several areas.
The power supply remained suspended in many areas including some parts of Lyari, Chakiwara and Baghdadi.
Enraged residents of Lyari took out a rally and marched towards the CM House to record their protest. However, the rally was dispersed at PIDC House, when police baton charged the protestors, besides tear-gassing them.
Other disturbed areas included Malir City, Liaquatabad, Shahra-e-Faisal, DHA, Gulsha-e-Iqbal, where the people took to the streets against prolonged and unannounced load shedding of the KESC Hundreds of angry people from Lines Area and nearby localities staged a protest demonstration outside the Karachi Electric Supply Company head office at Abdullah Haroon Road.
They also tried to break the gate of KESC head office, but a heavy police contingent reached and restrained the protestors from ransacking the KESC assets. Many protestors after recording their protest for some hours dispersed peacefully; however, hundreds of demonstrators were still present in front of the KESC head office till the filing of this report.
In many other areas of the city, including, Quaidabad, Banares, Old Sabzi Mandi, Shara-e-Faisal, Nataha Khan Bridge, some parts of Gulistan-e-Johar, and North Karachi, the infuriated people blocked main roads and set old tyres and junk on fire. They pelted the passing vehicles with stones, breaking windscreens and windowpanes of some vehicles. A few motorists also received minor injuries.
The angry people also pelted some police mobiles with stones.
Protest demonstrations were also reported in Rawalipindi, Islamabad and several cities of Peshawar. The protesters blocked roads and burnt tyres, raising anti-govt slogans.
Kasab’’s trial adjourned till Wednesday
July 21st, 2009 |
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A special court on Tuesday adjourned the hearing of the Ajmal Amir Kasab case till Wednesday after prosecution sought time to file its reply on Kasab’’s confession.
Special Public Prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam told the court that he wanted a day’’s time to file a reply on the confession.
“The prosecution has not finished producing all its evidence [...]
Mumbai suspect makes guilty plea
July 21st, 2009 |
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• Lone surviving terrorist denies pressure to confess
• Description of siege is greeted with scepticism
The lone surviving gunman of the Mumbai terrorist attacks today stunned a courtroom by changing his plea to guilty and giving a blow-by-blow account of his part in the siege in which 166 people were killed, in November last year.
Mohammad Ajmal Amir Kasab took everyone by surprise — including his own lawyer — when he told the judge, in Urdu: “Sir, I plead guilty to my crime.”
Denying that pressure had been put on him to confess, the teenager described how the 10 gunmen travelled to India by boat from Pakistan and how he and a colleague threw hand grenades and opened fire on members of the public at Mumbai’s main railway station.
His confession came two days after the government of Pakistan filed charges against five people it claims masterminded the attacks and identified Kasab as a Pakistani national. In a dossier handed to India, it blamed the attacks on the Laskhar-e-Taiba terrorist group under the direction of its operations chief, Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi.
In court Kasab said he had decided to change his plea because of the change of heart by the government in Islamabad. But his volte face was greeted with scepticism both in India and Pakistan.
Ujwal Nikam, the special public prosecutor in the Mumbai court, suggested that Kasab may be trying to secure a lighter sentence and that he was covering up the involvement of others. He said the prosecution was examining what parts of the plot Kasab might have suppressed.
Chaudhary Mukhtar, Pakistan’s defence minister, claimed the confession did not amount to evidence and said Islamabad would not act on the word of one man. “The statements are one-sided and they were made by a person who is under the custody of Indian jail authorities. If he has stood up and given this statement I don’t know what pressure he was under,” he said.
Kasab’s own lawyer, Abbas Kazam, said his client had given no advance warning of his decision to change his plea.
Kasab’s detailed confession included the first suggestion of Indian involvement. He claimed that the terrorists had been coached in Hindi by an Indian national, who he named as Abu Jundal.
With the other nine gunmen dead, it was the first opportunity to hear in public from one of those who carried out the attacks.
He claimed that he was recruited after quitting his job as a shop assistant in Jhelum town, in Pakistan, because the wages were too low. He and a colleague, named Muzzafar, travelled to Rawalpindi intending to become robbers.
He said they approached some men with long beards at a festival in the city, guessing that they were Islamic radicals who could supply weapons, and the men put them in touch with Lashkar-e-Taiba. He said they received weapons training from the group.
Kasab claimed he lived in a house in Karachi with 10 other men for a month and a half before the attacks. They were then moved to another address before leaving Pakistan by boat.
On the boat, he said, they met their four handlers, one of them the Indian national, and received their instructions.
He said four different boats were involved in the voyage before they landed in the Colaba area of Mumbai in an inflatable dingy on the evening of 26 November. Once on dry land, they hailed taxis and headed for their targets. He and another gunman, Abu Ismail, made for the Chhatrapati Shivaji terminus.
In the railway station they went into a public toilet to attach a timer to a bomb, he said, then they launched their attack.
“I was firing and Abu was hurling hand grenades. I was in front of Abu who had taken such a position that no one could see him. I fired at a policeman after which there was no firing from the police’s side,” he said.
They escaped on foot and headed for the Cama hospital and Kasab gave details of the encounter in which three senior anti-terrorist officers were shot dead.
The two terrorists then jumped over the wall of the hospital and he said his colleague told him to wait. “After sometime Abu came back and asked me to come inside. Inside near the gate there was a dead body,” he said.
They were finally arrested by police who had set up a road block. The attacks ended when troops stormed the Taj Mahal hotel, where the remaining gunmen were holding out.
The trial continues.
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‘How we did it’
July 20th, 2009 |
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Mohammad Ajmal Amir Qasab has given a detailed confession of events leading up to the attacks on various targets in Mumbai in November 2008 that killed nearly 170 people. Here are excerpts of his confession provided by the BBC’s Prachi Pinglay who was in court:
"In CST [railway station], Abu Ismail and I started firing at the public there with our AK-47 rifles. Ismail was throwing grenades also. I was firing. We went ahead towards the hall. The police caught up with us at the time and started firing at us. We retaliated. Ismail took position behind the trains which were parked. I took position behind him. I fired at the police."
They then leave the station and enter Cama hospital.
"We went up the staircase to the first floor. Ismail went in first and gestured to me to come after him. Ismail told me: "Let’s hide here". All the doors were locked there. On the fifth floor, we saw a door ajar. We went inside the ward and met four people there. Those people have come to court… We went to the terrace. Ismail told them to lie down first with their hands on the back. While three agreed, the fourth didn’t [referring to Harshvardhan Shrivardhankar, who was an important witness at the trial]. Ismail told me to lock them up in the bathroom. I told them not to create any commotion."
Then he moves on to talk about the first brush with police. Police officer Sadanand Date’s evidence matches this account.
"Meanwhile, the person who we asked said that we have to go back the same way. We asked him to walk ahead of us. The witness indicated that there is police ahead of us. As soon as he got down, we saw the police. We ran back to the terrace. Ismail was near the terrace. He started firing immediately. He directed me to keep watch on the terrace.
"We then ran downstairs. Someone fired at me. I fired back. Ismail first went ahead to check if the coast was clear. He then gestured that I should step out of the compound."
As they step out, a police vehicle with three senior police officers comes towards them. In this encounter, three of them died and Qasab sustained injuries.
"We could then see the headlights of another vehicle. We hid behind the bushes there. As soon as the vehicle came, there was firing from it. Ismail also fired. I sustained injury on right forearm, right elbow and left wrist [pointing to his scars]. I fell down. The firing, however, continued.
"I was surrounded by police. One snatched my gun, the others started punching me on my abdomen… I then lost consciousness and woke up only in the hospital"
"Ismail then proceeded towards the vehicle. While checking the vehicle, he fired once. I had gained consciousness by then. I held my gun on the right arm and opened the car door. I removed two bodies. I don’t know how many bodies Ismail removed from his end. Ismail sat on the driver’s seat while I sat on the seat next to him."
He then describes how they hijacked a Skoda after the police vehicle’s wheel was punctured. As they sped along they saw police barriers.
"Soon, we saw some police barriers. The white car passed, but police asked us to stop. One policeman came right in front of the car. Abu got confused and tried to take a U-turn. Suddenly the wipers also started. The police came and opened the door. They took hold of my collar. I was surrounded by police. One snatched my gun, the others started punching me on my abdomen. They continued to assault me. I then lost consciousness and woke up only in the hospital."
The judge asked if he fired any bullets, and Qasab replied: "I didn’t fire since I didn’t have the gun with me."
He described how they came to Mumbai.
"We were 10 of us. We were put on a small boat in Karachi. Four people – Abu Hamza, Abu Kafa and Abu Jhundal and Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi – sent us off.
"I installed the battery of the bomb in the bathroom. It has my name on it. This detail is not there in the charge sheet"
"Abu Ismail was our Amir [boss]. The others are Abu Umar, Abu Akasha alias Babar Imran, Abu Umer alias Nazir, Abu Shoaib, Abu Ali alias Javed, Abdul Rehman Chota, Abdul Rehman Bada, Hafiz Arshad, and Abu Fadalluh (whose fingers are cut)."
From Karachi they took a small boat. Then they were transferred to bigger boat called al-Hussaini. Then took another boat, the MV Kuber hijacked off Gujarat coast. Four people on the Kuber were killed and a fifth, Solanki, was kept alive for navigation. He was killed as they reached Indian shore.
"We filled in the 10 bags and shifted them in the inflatable boat. The bomb produced in court was also shifted. Each bag has AK-47 rifle, pistol, eight hand grenades, three sets of magazines. Abu Ali and Abdul Rehman Bada took a bag with loose AK-47 cartridges. One Nokia mobile handset was given to each group. There were three big grenades, two small, three black hand grenades (china made).
"Once we sat down, the rope which was holding the inflatable dingy was cut. When we reached near the shore, the GPS was broken and thrown in the water. There were five GPS sets in all. However, I left ours in the boat.
"We reached the shore. We were told to make a phone call… by Abu Hamza. I asked Ismail how we would reach Pakistan. Ismail said I should not worry.
"We got into a taxi after some time. Hamza had told us to keep a bomb in the taxi. I sat on the front seat, while Ismail sat on the back. I kept my bag, containing a bomb in the rear seat. Ismail also had a bomb.
"We got off at CST after which Ismail paid the taxi driver. I had a bomb with me. We entered the gate of CST and went to the side of the bathroom. I took my bag with me and went inside the urinal. I installed the battery of the bomb in the bathroom. It has my name on it. This detail is not there in the charge sheet…
"As per directions of Kafa, I kept my gun ready while Ismail threw grenades. Kafa told us to get into the next hall after that.
In the last session he described how he joined the Mujahideens and underwent training.
"Last year, during Bakr-Id, I was working as a decorator in Jhelum city. But I was unhappy with the meagre amount that I would make.
"I was told here that I was going for a "big training" and I was taught exercises, operations weapons like AK-47, guns and pistols"
"My friend Muzaffar suggested that for better money, we should get into robbery and dacoity [armed robbery]. I left the decorator’s job and went to Rawalpindi with Muzaffar and took a room on rent. We decided to commit dacoity at a bungalow, as Muzaffar told me his friend knows details about its owner.
"As he went to his village to gather more details, I was roaming alone at Rawalpindi’s Raza market. I saw some Mujahideens – long beard, long hair – buying animal skins there."
From here on he describes in detail different places he visited and the different levels of training he received. He starts from the office in the market.
"We went there and knocked the door. A man opened it and asked me what had I come for. I told him we had come for Jihad, so he let us in. One person asked me my name, address and asked me to return next morning with extra clothes.
"We returned with our baggage and we were given a chit on which was written the address – Marqaz Tayyeba, Muridke. The chit was given to a third person and he was given money, and the three of us were told to board a Lahore-bound bus to reach Muridke.
Twenty-one days later he was sent to Mansera with a chit saying Marqas-e-Aqsa. Then he was taken to Battal jungle for further training. After this he did not see his friend, Muzaffar.
"I was told here that I was going for a "big training" and I was taught exercises, operations weapons like AK-47, guns and pistols. After the training, I would cook food and do other daily work as over three months went by.
"Abu Abdul Rehman asked him to get identity card from my native Okhada district. I was asked to go to Muzaffarabad and asked to visit Saeed bhai’s office. He told them that he was there for Daura-E-Khaas and filled a form in Urdu with all details.
"… Abu Maaviya was our trainer and trained me for three months in operating rocket launchers, grenades, AK-47s and other sophisticated weapons.
He spent a week at home and returned to Saeed bhai’s office. Later Saeed bhai, Abu Kafa and Abu Hamza came there and selected 15 of them. Abu Kahfa was with them for the longest part of training.
"Of the 15 of us, two had run away, while six were sent to Kashmir. So seven of us were left, to which three other boys were added, making us 10 in all – five pairs… sent to Mumbai.
On two occasions, Hamza showed Ismail and Qasab movies and pictures of CST station on his laptop.
"Two days later, we were given trousers and T-shirts, and our photographs were taken and our fake identity cards were made for the mission."
They stayed there for another 90 days. They were also trained to use the inflatable dinghy (boat).
"We were given arms and ammunition to keep in our bags. This ammunition was transported to Al-Hussaini before we were taken to it. Kafa took us to the Karachi shore where Al-Hussaini was anchored."
Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhwi, Hamza and Abu Jundal joined Kahfa at the shore. Jundal is an Indian, he said.</p
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
Monsoon chaos sweeps South Asia
July 20th, 2009 |
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Scores of people are reported to have been killed by flash floods in eastern India, as an uneven monsoon brings chaos across the subcontinent.
Authorities in the Indian state of Orissa say that at least 36 people have died in flooding in the past week. Half a million homes have been flooded.
In Pakistan there have been protests amid power outages after heavy rains killed at least 29 people in Karachi.
But in Bangladesh, poor monsoon rainfall is causing widespread alarm.
Weather protests
In the state of Orissa, rivers were reported to have breached their banks and thousands of hectares of crops have been damaged. More rain was forecast.
Analysts say that India has suffered a poor start to to the monsoon season.
Monsoon floods hit India every year, killing hundreds and forcing millions of people to leave their homes.
But this year, some states have experienced drought while others have experienced flooding.
Pakistan’s southern port of Karachi has been subjected to two days of incessant rain, and power has still not been restored in many areas.
Residents furious about rain-related deaths and power failures came out to demonstrate in various part of the city and blocked the main highway out of the city for several hours on Sunday night.
Witnesses say that police fired their guns into the air to disperse the protesters.
According to Pakistan’s meteorological office, the levels of rain recorded in Karachi were the highest since 1970.
Bangladesh fears
Bangladesh is one of the world’s wettest countries and usually suffers heavy flooding, but this year’s annual monsoon rains are much weaker than normal.
The BBC’s Mark Dummett in Dhaka says the situation is a source of anxiety for farmers and government officials. The authorities say that there has been been 40% less rain this year than normal.
The government is concerned that this could have a seriously adverse affect on the next food harvest.
An official in the northern town of Dinajpur said that much farmland there was now bone-dry, so was completely useless for planting rice.</p
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
Kasab pleads guilty to 26/11 attack in Mumbai court
July 20th, 2009 |
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Ajmal Amir Kasab, the lone surviving terrorist involved the terror attacks in Mumbai on November 26, 2008, which claimed nearly 180 lives and maimed over 300, on Monday, pleaded guilty to the offence before a Mumbai court.
For the first time in his confession, Kasab said, “Mujhe mera gunha kabool hai (I plead guilty [...]
Life lessons
July 19th, 2009 |
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By Arman Sabir
BBC Urdu service, Karachi
Zeba Raman is a 28-year-old Pakistani sex worker. Born into the profession in Karachi’s red light district of Napier Road, she plies her trade all over the city.
"I did not know that precautionary measures should be taken during sex"
Nadia, sex worker
She is celebrating the launch of an initiative to promote health awareness among sex workers.
"We are now revealed to society," says Ms Rahman.
But prostitution remains illegal and anathema to many in Muslim-majority Pakistan. It is an ever-present fact of life, but never really acknowledged.
The last two decades, given the increasing Islamisation of Pakistani society, have further reinforced stereotypes about such women.
But the profession has only grown.
Karachi alone has at least 100,000 female sex workers, according to data gathered by local welfare organisations.
Lahore has 75,000 sex workers while the military garrison town of Rawalpindi has at least 25,000.
‘Spirit of openness’
Pakistan’s first workshop on health awareness among sex workers has contributed to a new spirit of openness in the profession.
"Earlier we were doing our jobs secretly, but now we can raise our voice for our rights," Ms Raman says.
"It was very difficult to gather sex workers under one roof. Many were simply afraid of being arrested"
Dr Ghulam Murtaza
The three-day event was recently held in Karachi by Gender & Reproductive Health Forum (GRHF) – a local social welfare organisation – in collaboration with the United Nations Fund for Population (UNFPA).
"I am very happy that a number of sex workers attended the workshop," says Ms Raman.
"This has provided us an opportunity to gather and exchange views and experiences."
She is not the only one to have benefited.
"I became a sex worker five years back," says Nadia, 26.
Nadia said that she learned about safe sex measures at the workshop.
"I had heard about HIV/Aids, but I thought that it could only be transmitted through blood transfusions.
"I did not know that precautionary measures should be taken during sex as well," she said.
Before the workshop, most of sex workers who attended did not know about measures for safe sex, Nadia added.
Dr Ghulam Murtaza is the head of the GRHF organisation and the man behind the workshop.
The man behind the workshop, GRHF head Dr Ghulam Murtaza , said the organisation was working to create awareness of safe sex among female sex workers.
"It was very difficult to gather sex workers under one roof. Many were simply afraid of being arrested," he said.
"We offered several incentives and assurances and paid them 1,000 rupees ($20) per day for their attendance," he said.
"Finally, we succeeded in gathering almost 100 sex workers at the workshop held at a local hotel".
Most of the sex workers who attended avoided the cameramen there., saying they were afraid of being exposed to their families.
Many said their husbands or family members did not know they were sex workers. They told their families that they work for private firms.
Despite these barriers, Dr Murtaza said the workshop had been successful.
"We have trained some female sex workers. They will now go to their community to create awareness among their co-workers."
‘Reinvigorated’
The international participants at the workshop were of the view that Pakistan was still relatively safe as far as HIV/Aids was concerned.
"I can now continue with my profession with more confidence"
Zeba Raman
The UNFPA representative, Dr Safdar Kamal Pasha, said at least 100 HIV- positive sex workers had been found in central Punjab. But the number of HIV-positive women was not high among female sex workers in Pakistan.
"It can be controlled by creating awareness about the disease among sex workers and about usage of precautionary measures," he said.
The workshop was widely considered to be a success and Dr Pasha said they were considering organising a national convention for sex workers next year.
The sex workers themselves were moved by the workshop.
"Having attended the workshop, I feel reinvigorated," Zeba Raman declares.
"I can now continue with my profession with more confidence."</p
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
Pakistan rains kill at least 26
July 19th, 2009 |
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At least 26 people have been killed in monsoon rain in the southern Pakistani city of Karachi, officials say.
Most of the deaths were caused by collapsing walls and electrocution.
The downpour flooded low-lying parts of the city and left most areas without electricity on Saturday night, but power was gradually being restored.
Monsoon rains wreak havoc in Pakistan almost every year. Correspondents say an ageing drainage system leaves parts of Karachi vulnerable to flooding.
Pakistan’s chief meteorologist said nearly 14.7cm (6in) of rain fell on the city on Saturday.
Abdullah, a resident who was standing by the body of his neighbour’s son, said the child had drowned after falling into a drain.
"People pulled his body out of a rain drain which was running very fast," he told Reuters news agency. </p
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
‘Edgy’ Sharif ‘pre-planned’ diverting Musharraf’s aircraft : Pak Editor
July 18th, 2009 |
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With the Supreme Court acquitting former Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in the plane hijacking case, a well-known editor of a Pakistani English daily has claimed that the plan to divert the aircraft carrying the then Chief of Army Staff General Pervez Musharraf was a pre-planned move on Sharif’s part.
During a special programme on a [...]
Court in Pakistan acquits Sharif
July 17th, 2009 |
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Pakistan’s Supreme Court has acquitted opposition head Nawaz Sharif of hijacking charges, removing the final ban on him running for public office.
He was banned after being found guilty of hijacking then army chief General Pervez Musharraf’s plane in 1999.
Mr Sharif was prime minster when he sacked Gen Musharraf. He was toppled in an army coup soon afterwards.
Mr Sharif was tried by the Sindh high court. He has always maintained that the charges were politically motivated.
Mr Sharif’s government had ordered officials to divert Gen Musharraf’s plane away from Karachi and to a smaller city in Sindh.
While he was imprisoned, Mr Sharif agreed to go into exile under a deal with Gen Musharraf who had taken over as Pakistan’s president.
Mr Sharif ended his exile ahead of the 2008 elections but was prevented from contesting due to the court conviction.
In its ruling on Friday, the Supreme Court said there was no evidence to support the charge of hijacking and acquitted Mr Sharif.
Prosecutor Shahadat Awan was quoted by news agency Associated Press as saying that the court’s decision was unanimous. </p
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
Sharif credits Allah for acquittal in plane hijacking case
July 17th, 2009 |
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Expressing satisfaction over the Supreme Court’s verdict acquitting him in the plane hijacking case, former Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has said he is grateful to the ‘almighty Allah’ for the decision.
“Allah has determined the truth and now I would work day night for serving the people of Pakistan,†Sharif said minutes after the apex [...]
UN opens Bhutto probe in Pakistan
July 16th, 2009 |
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Members of a United Nations inquiry into the assassination of former Pakistani PM Benazir Bhutto has arrived in Pakistan.
Led by Chile’s ambassador to the UN, Heraldo Munoz, the team includes a former Indonesian attorney general and a former senior Irish police officer.
The inquiry will last six months and investigate the "facts and circumstances" of Ms Bhutto’s death.
She was killed in December 2007 as she left a party rally in Rawalpindi.
‘Gather material’
The inquiry commission begins its work in Pakistan on Thursday.
The visiting team will be supported by staff based in Pakistan.
"The staff, working under direction of the commissioners, will gather information, collate relevant material and conduct interviews," a UN statement released on Thursday said.
During the visit, the commissioners are scheduled to meet Ms Bhutto’s widower, Pakistan’s President Asif Ali Zardari, and other senior officials.
The commission is scheduled to submit its report to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon in six months.
The report will be shared with the Pakistani government and the UN Security Council, reports say.
The UN says the panel will inquire into the facts and circumstances of the assassination, but stresses that any criminal investigation is Pakistan’s responsibility.
Apart from Mr Munoz, the other members of the probe team are Marzuki Darusman, the former Indonesian attorney-general, and Peter Fitzgerald, who headed an early inquiry into the assassination of former Lebanese prime minister Rafik Hariri.
Earlier this month, Pakistan’s Interior Minister Rehman Malik told the BBC his government thought the UN investigation was necessary to find out who was behind the attack.
Mr Malik said he believed the assassination was "a big international conspiracy".
"Obviously, there might be some actors within Pakistan or within the region, but we want really to expose the whole conspiracy, because we think that this was a kind of a beginning of an attempt to Balkanise Pakistan."
Pakistani Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud, accused by the last government here of being behind the assassination, is the target of a military offensive and his militant network has hit back with retaliatory suicide attacks.
The Taliban commander has denied having anything to do with Ms Bhutto’s killing.
‘Rogue elements’
Her assassination left questions unresolved for many people here, but especially her own party, which is now in government.
After she had narrowly escaped a double suicide bombing on the day of her return to Pakistan from self-imposed exile in October 2007, she accused what she called "enemies" and "rogue elements" in the government led by President Pervez Musharraf and in the intelligence agencies of plotting to kill her.
Former Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf blamed al-Qaeda-linked militants for the attack and refused to seek a UN investigation.
He invited police from London’s Scotland Yard to assist in the inquiry into her death.
In their report, the British detectives said they believed she died due to a severe head injury sustained as a consequence of a bomb blast.
The Pakistani investigation into her death concluded that a lone attacker fired shots at Ms Bhutto before detonating explosives, but said that bullets were not the cause of death.
Wider enquiry
Ms Bhutto’s Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) rejected both these versions, claiming adequate security had not been provided for Ms Bhutto, and called for a wider inquiry by the UN to establish the identity and motives of the assassins.
A PPP-led coalition defeated Mr Musharraf’s allies in general elections last year.
Ms Bhutto, twice prime minister of Pakistan, lived in self-imposed exile after Mr Musharraf assumed power in 1999.
In October 2007, she returned to Pakistan to campaign for the PPP in parliamentary and provincial elections – the first to be held since President Musharraf resigned as head of the army and became a civilian leader.
Shortly after her return, she survived bomb attacks on her convoy in Karachi that killed more than 100 people.
But Ms Bhutto continued to campaign and was assassinated on 27 December at a PPP rally in Rawalpindi.
She was standing upright in her armoured vehicle, with her head exposed above the open roof escape hatch, waving to the crowd when an attacker opened fire.
Seconds later, a bomb was set off at the scene which left some 20 other people dead. </p
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
Afridi wants to be remembered as Pakistan’s craziest cricketer
July 14th, 2009 |
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Pakistani all rounder Shahid Afridi, who is on a new high after helping his team win the Twenty20 World Cup, has said that he wants to be remembered as the country’s craziest cricketer.
In an interview with DawnNews, Afridi said: “I would like them to remember me as the craziest cricketer that ever played for Pakistan,†[...]
‘Fatwa’ on electricity thieves in Pakistan
July 13th, 2009 |
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A power company in Pakistan has obtained a decree – or fatwa – from 12 senior Islamic scholars, declaring the theft of electricity a sin.
The Karachi Electricity Supply Company (KESC) says the thieves are costing it 1bn rupees ($12.3m) a month.
People had to realise, it said, that stealing electricity was as illegal and immoral as any other form of theft.
Many people in Karachi either siphon power from overhead cables, or slow down their electricity meters.
The 12 scholars said that, according to Islamic Sharia law, unpermitted use of any commodity, and gaining benefit from it, was "sin, theft and usurpation".
Legal action against the thieves was fair, they said, and allowed under the teachings of Islam.
And they directed Muslims to pay back an amount equal to the power they had stolen.
The company already has the right to fine those caught stealing electricity.
Much of Pakistan is suffering power problems, caused by increases in demand, a lack of investment in infrastructure and the theft from the electricity grid.
Karachi, known as the "city of lights" has a population of about 16 million and is Pakistan’s biggest city and commercial hub.
Last Saturday, there were street protests after rain and high winds again brought power cuts.
And on 17 and 18 June, millions lost their electricity supply for hours due to what the KESC descibed as a "technical fault".
It left people without fans and air-conditioning in the summer heat, and brought industry to a halt.</p
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.