Thursday, May 20, 2010

Pakistan Blast, 14 Killed Including A Senior Cop And Children

The blast took place in Kalachi area on the outskirts of Dera Ismail Khan in the Khyber-Pakthunkhwa province. The bomb was said to be remote controlled and installed on a cycle.The explosives used weighed about 4-5 kgs, according to the bomb squad.



Of the people killed, one of them was a senior official, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Kalachi, Iqbal Khan Marwat. Marwat, was on his way to office along with two security officials. The vehicle was carrying totally six police officials. The DSP’s vehicle was targetted and when the vehicle blew up ,14 people including 9 civilians lost their lives. Out of the nine civilians who died three were children and one of them a woman.

http://www.india-server.com/magazine/pakistan-6.html


The Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani have condemned the blast and promised strong action against the miscreants. Gilani also said that the terrorists wanted to de-stabilize the country but they would never succeed in their endeavours.

After Facebook, Now YouTube Blocked In Pakistan

After banning social networking website, ‘Facebbok’ now Pakistan Government has blocked the video sharing website, ‘YouTube’ in the country.




Yesterday, Pakistan blocked ‘Facebook’ over profane drawings.



The official statement released by the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has asked the concerned operations to completely shut down the website following the impious contents on it.



The statement read, "PTA after all possible avenues were used within its jurisdiction, including using regular channels available on the FACEBOOK and YOUTUBE to launch protest, to avoid appearances of derogatory material available on their websites which increased in numbers as time passed by, that PTA decided to completely shut down these sites from being viewed within Pakistan.”



"It was not only in line with the constitution of Pakistan, the wishes of the people of Pakistan but also an extension of the court orders passed by the honorable High Court of Pakistan and directions of the Government of Pakistan," the statement added.



PTA has also announced a phone number and a complaint number on which the complaints will be registered regarding the issue.



The statement also claimed that PTA is ready to talk with the concerned authorities of ‘Facebook’ and ‘YouTube’ about the issue.

Friday, May 7, 2010

China To Back Pakistan For Civil Nuclear Deal

China will back Pakistan for a civil nuclear deal with the US at an upcoming summit in Washington, a media report said on Thursday, citing sources privy to a special meeting of the parliamentary committee on national security.




China's support on the issue was discussed Wednesday at the special parliamentary committee meeting chaired by Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, Daily Times reported.



The committee was assured that Pakistan will actively pursue its case for a civil nuclear deal with the US during Gilani's upcoming visit to the US.



Sources said the Pakistani ambassador to China - who participated in preliminary deliberations on the nuclear summit in Washington - briefed the committee on the objectives of the summit and Pakistan's preparations to positively contribute to the deliberations.



Meanwhile, in a press statement after the meetings, Gilani reiterated his government's commitment to take all parliamentary parties into confidence over all national policies, particularly those on defence, Kashmir and the country's nuclear programme.



He said Pakistan was aware of its responsibilities as a nuclear state.



Pakistan had taken effective steps for nuclear safety, security and non-proliferation through "extensive legislative and a regulatory and administrative framework", Gilani said at the meeting.



Gilani, who is also the National Command Authority chairman, said his government fully accepted the responsibility of nuclear security. He said nuclear power generation offered viable solutions for energy security and in addressing the challenge of climate change.



He highlighted that Pakistan had more than 35 years of experience in operating nuclear power plants successfully.



He said socio-economic development hinged on the ability to meet rapidly expanding energy requirements. "We need to explore all options to ensure a reliable energy mix, and civil nuclear power generation is, therefore, an essential part of our national energy security strategy."



He said the government considered nuclear safety, security and safeguards "vehicles to facilitate international civil nuclear cooperation".



Gilani said the objectives of nuclear non-proliferation could only be served through a non-discriminatory paradigm for international cooperation in the peaceful uses of nuclear energy.



Representatives of all political parties assured Gilani their complete support, and expressed confidence that he would successfully put across Pakistan's viewpoint.



The members of the committee also praised the preparations made by Pakistani representatives for the summit. The special meeting was also attended by General Tariq Majid, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee, and the foreign secretary.

Pakistan Claims To Support The Investigation Of Times Square Bomb Case

Pakistan has assured the US authorities that it will land its full support in the investigation of last weekend's attempted Times Square bombing.




The Senior Obama administration officials announced on Thursday that Pakistan has promised to give its full support in the investigation. The official also informed that Faisal Shahzad till now has disclosed many important details about terrorist activities in the country.



Philip J. Crowley, an assistant secretary of State quoted, “We are pushing all the right buttons that you would expect us to push to try to understand what happens in Pakistan and how that related to the actions taken by the American citizen last weekend.”



He added, "We're trying to understand and trace what did this individual do when he was on the ground in Pakistan, who did he meet, and what are the implications of those actions.”



According to a senior intelligence official, so far no evidence has been found that Shahzad is linked to Anwar Awlaki, a U.S.-born Muslim priest known for blazing anti-U.S. sermons. The official added that Anwar is expected to be hiding in Yemen.



But, U.S. intelligence analysts believe that Shahzad could have been the messenger of Awlaki and admired him.



Meanwhile, Pakistani officials on Thursday revealed that they had arrested four suspected members of the militant organization Jaish-e-Muhammad.



Shahzad, 30, in his confession admitted that recently he received a bomb-making training in Pakistan.



A counter-terrorism official informed that till now the picture is not clear and will take time to reach a final conclusion.



The official said, "Connections to the Pakistani Taliban are plausible, but it's important for a complete picture to develop before reaching a final conclusion. We're not there at this point."