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Notices issued to Rao Anwar, Sindh officials for investigation into ‘fake’ encounters

January 22, 2018 News Desk

The Sindh High Court (SHC) on Monday accepted a petition asking for a probe into the the alleged ‘fake’ police encounters carried out by former Malir SSP Rao Anwar. The high court issued notices to Anwar, Sindh Inspector General of Police (IGP) A.D. Khowaja and Home Secretary Sohail Anwar Siyal along with other high ranking officials to appear before the court on February 20. Anwar, who is under scrutiny over his alleged involvement in the extrajudicial killing of Waziristan native Naqeebullah Mehsud, earlier failed to appear before the Sindh IGP…

Parents of 8 girls raped and murdered in Kasur appear before SC seeking justice

January 21, 2018 News Desk

The parents of eight girls who had been raped and murdered in Kasur since 2015 appeared before the Supreme Court on Sunday and pleaded for justice. “Give us justice,” the parents ─ including those of six-year-old Zainab whose body was found in a trash heap on January 9 ─ pleaded before a three-member bench of the apex court. The bench, headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan Mian Saqib Nisar, was hearing a suo motu case on the grisly rape and murder of the six-year-old that shocked the nation this month.…

Oil market heads towards ‘smooth rebalancing’

January 19, 2018 News Desk

PARIS: After long years of punishingly low oil prices, the global oil market is moving closer to reaching a healthy balance between supply and demand, Opec said on Thursday. In its monthly oil market report, the Opec said there were “growing indications that the oil market is heading smoothly toward rebalancing.” Prices were being buoyed by lower crude oil stocks, healthy demand and geopolitical tensions, the cartel said. Oil prices have risen in recent months, after Opec and a clutch of countries outside the cartel struck a landmark deal at…

32 years on, FBI re-launches search for Pan Am hijacking suspects

January 19, 2018 News Desk

WASHINGTON: The US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) renewed its pledge on Thursday to catch four hijackers of the Pan Am Flight 73, almost 32 years after the failed attempt at Karachi airport. “No matter how much time has passed or the obstacles we encounter, we owe it to the victims and their families to never give up on them,” said the FBI case agent in a statement released to the media along with pictures of the four hijackers. The attack, which occurred aboard Pan Am Flight 73 during an…

High-level police committee to investigate Naqeeb’s ‘encounter’ in Karachi

January 18, 2018 News Desk

A committee comprising the Inspector General Police (IGP) Counter-terrorism Department (CTD) Sanaullah Abbasi and DIGs South and East was formed on Thursday to investigate the death of Naqeebullah who was allegedly killed in a “staged encounter”. A notification issued by the provincial inspector general police office said the committee is mandated to “assess the genuineness of encounter” and “dig out profile of the deceased”, and directed to submit its findings within three days. Earlier in the day, Sindh Home Minister Sohail Anwar Siyal took notice of the incident, following reports…

LHC reserves verdict on petition against PAT Mall Road rally

January 17, 2018 News Desk

The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Wednesday reserved its judgement on a petition filed against the Pakistan Awami Tehreek-led (PAT) protest being held on The Mall today. The PAT is set to relaunch its protest campaign to “force the PML-N out of power – both in the federal and provincial governments” ─ shortly and leaders of the PTI and PPP are expected to attend the inaugural rally on The Mall. The Jamaat-i-Islami and the PML-Q, too, have pledged their support. A petition against the rally was filed by Advocate AK…

Journalist Panel wins National Press Club’s elections: Various dignitaries congratulated the newly elected office bearers

January 14, 2018January 14, 2018 News Desk

Journalist Panel After Winning National Press Club Islamabad Elections 2018

By ASGHAR ALI MUBARAK Islamabad: The Journalist Panel scored a thumping victory in the National Press Club elections 2018-19 held on Saturday, January 13rd 2018 here at Islamabad. The Chairman NPC Election Committee Nasir Zaidi announced result of the main office-bearers according to which as President; Tariq Mehmood Chaudhry 989, Asif Bashir Chaudhry (1074), Bilal Dar (1030) and Kashif Rafique (989) as Vice-Presidents; Myra Imran Azam( 943) as vice president women seat ,Shakeel Anjum (1225) as Secretary, Ms. Nausheen Yousaf (AZAD Panel 1073) as Finance Secretary and Abid Abbasi (1219),…

New footage in Zainab case could frustrate probe

January 14, 2018 News Desk

KASUR: Police are scrambling to find clues that could lead them to the culprit behind the rape and murder of Zainab in Kasur, while the deadline assigned to them by the Punjab police chief to make the arrest expired at 8pm on Saturday. At least four agencies — the Counter Terrorism Department, the Intelligence Bureau, the Special Branch and the Punjab Forensic Science Agency — have been seized with the case and each agency has arrested suspects separately, while investigating the matter. Separately, a new video, which apparently shows the kidnapper…

SAEED INCITED UK MUSLIMS TO MILITANCY, SAYS BBC REPORT

January 11, 2018January 13, 2018 News Desk

HAFIZ Muhammad Saeed, the head of the banned Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD), toured Britain during the 1990s, stirring up Muslim youths to become jihadis years before 9/11, a BBC investigation has found. Hafiz Saeed, who has a $10 million bounty on his head for allegedly masterminding the Nov 2008 attacks in Mumbai, thrilled audiences in packed mosques in cities around this country by calling for a return to the days when Muslims waged jihad and infidels paid them protection money. Hafiz Saeed, the founder of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), has always denied involvement in…

‘Fire and Fury’ predicts Trump’s ‘political demise’, says North Korean newspaper

January 11, 2018January 11, 2018 News Desk

North Korea has found good material to attack United States (US) President Donald Trump: Michael Wolff’s bombshell new book, “Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House.” The book paints Trump as a leader who doesn’t understand the weight of his office and whose competence is questioned by aides. Trump and other White House aides have blasted it as inaccurate trash. But it was the top-selling book in the US last week, and its numbers are likely to grow far higher. On Thursday, the North’s main Rodong Sinmun newspaper, run…

Zainab murder case: Punjab police chief submits report to Supreme Court

January 11, 2018 News Desk

After Chief Justice of Pakistan Mian Saqib Nisar took suo motu notice of the brutal murder of six-year-old Zainab in Kasur, Inspector General Punjab Arif Nawaz Khan submitted a report to the Supreme Court on Thursday saying that 272 suspects have been questioned about the incident. The report said that geo-fencing data from the area was acquired and all resources are being employed to catch the culprit. It also said a house-to-house search was being conducted based on the information provided by the last witness of the crime. It said…

Sheikhupura man suspected of raping, murdering 8-year-old killed by police

January 11, 2018January 11, 2018 News Desk

With riots triggered by perceived police inaction over the rape and murder of 6-year-old Zainab Amin continuing throughout the day in Kasur, the alleged murderer and rapist of an 8-year-old child was killed in Punjab’s Sheikhupura district by police on Wednesday night. Police say Shiraz Arif Raja had abducted, raped and murdered 8-year-old Maliha, whose body was found in a pile of trash on January 4 stuffed in a gunny bag. Maliha, who had been visiting Sheikhupura to spend winter vacations with her maternal uncle’s family, had gone missing on December 29.…

6-year-old Zainab’s autopsy suggests child endured rape, captivity before murder

January 11, 2018January 11, 2018 News Desk

A postmortem examination conducted on 6-year-old Zainab, whose body was recovered from a trash heap in Kasur days after she went missing, suggests she may have been raped before she was strangled to death. District Headquarters Hospital (DHQ) Medico Legal Officer (MLO) Dr Quratulain Attique told Dawn.com on Thursday that the examination revealed the minor girl had died of strangulation. There were visible marks of torture on the child’s face, congestion in her muscles, and her tongue was badly bruised and injured as it was pressed between her teeth. She added that the hyoid…

Suspension of aid a ‘chance’ for Pakistan to reinstate ties with US, says CIA chief

January 8, 2018January 8, 2018 News Desk

US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) chief Mike Pompeo has repeated the mantra of President Donald Trump’s administration that Pakistan continues to provide shelter to terrorists who target US citizens, saying this is “no longer going to be acceptable”. Speaking on CBS show Face the Nation on Sunday, the spy agency chief said US has given Pakistan a “chance” to reinstate its alliance with the United States by holding back all security aid until Pakistan proves its commitment to fight all terrorist groups operating in the region. “If they fix this problem, we’re happy to continue to engage with…

China opposes US statements linking terrorism to Pakistan

January 8, 2018January 8, 2018 News Desk

In the face of mounting US pressure against Pakistan, China has opposed the idea of linking terrorism to any country and placing the onus of responsibility of counter-terrorism on a certain country, reported Radio Pakistan, the state-run radio station. Referring to the recent statements of US President Donald Trump and other US officials, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Lu Kang on Monday said that ‘pointing fingers’ at each other is not conducive to the global counter-terrorism efforts. “Terrorism is a common enemy of the world and crackdown on the menace needs joint efforts from the international community,”…