TEHRAN: Iran summoned Pakistan’s ambassador over the deadly bombing of a mosque in the southeast after Sunni rebels reportedly claimed responsibility, the official IRNA news agency reported on Saturday. Read the rest of this entry »
Archive for May, 2009
PM concerned over Nato forces raise in Afghanistan
Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani said that military action was solution to no problem; however, the government had to launch the operation under inevitable circumstances and he took this decision in consultation with consensus. Read the rest of this entry »
Fallout of military operation
A few weeks after the military offensive was launched in Swat it is time to take stock of the issues that have cropped up as a result of it. The army’s success in Operation Rah-i-Raast has come at a great cost the displacement of an estimated 2.5 million people from the war-torn areas.
This is a great challenge not only for the government but also for the people of Pakistan as they have to provide for the latter. The army is straining to keep vigil on two fronts: an active hunt for militants in Swat — in which many soldiers have laid down their lives — and trying to avoid civilian casualties. Read the rest of this entry »
Mehsud directs blasts in small villages
The militant leader Baitullah Mehsud directed his followers to go to other areas for bomb explosions, the government sources said Saturday.
He said Pakistan Army personnel are present in every place in Swat, so the activities should be conducted in the small villages of Fata and Swat.
JI Amir Syed Munawar Hasan reaches Karachi
KARACHI: Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) Amir Syed Munawar Hassan has reached Karachi on a three-day visit.
During his visit, JI chief will raise the funds for Swat, Buner and Dir affectees and meet Iranian consul general. He will also hold talks with Dr. Aafia Siddiqui’s family and different political leaders.
Munawar Hasan will address ‘ Meet the Press’ program in Karachi Press Club on Monday.
Forces camp attacked in NWA
MIRALI: A camp of security forces in Mir Ali of North Waziristan Agency was attacked by the extremists, sources said Saturday.
According to reports, the miscreants fired at least three rockets from the nearby hills at a camp of the security forces in the capital city of North Waziristan Agency, Mir Ali; however, no loss of life was reported as the rockets hit an uninhabited area.
Soon after the incident, the security arrangements have been tightened and the vehicles are being strictly checked.
Partly cloudy weather forecast for Karachi
KARACHI: The Met office has forecast fair and partly cloudy weather in the metropolis for next 24 hours. The maximum temperature is expected 35 degrees Celsius.
Police round up 70 people from shanties
ISLAMABAD: Police Saturday raided shanty dwellings in and around Islamabad, rounding up 70 people they said were mostly Afghan refugees.
The raids in Taxila town, some 30 kilometers west of Islamabad and near the capital’s airport were aimed at preventing terrorists from entering the city to carry out fresh strikes, police said.
‘Seventy people have been rounded up in Taxila and Islamabad as part of a search operation aimed at preventing infiltration of terrorists in the city and neighbouring Rawalpindi,’ a police official said, requesting anonymity. He said most of those rounded up were Afghan refugees.
Another police official said police would verify ‘authenticity of identity papers and other documents of these people,’ adding that all those with valid documents would be released.
‘But action will be taken against those who don’t possess valid documents,’ he added.
During Afghanistan’s nearly three decades of civil war and turmoil, large numbers fled their homeland, mainly to neighbouring Pakistan and Iran.
More than five million Afghans have returned home since the fall of the Taliban regime in late 2001, according to the UNHCR.
Pakistan still hosts 1.7 million refugees, most of them in the North West Frontier Province and southern Balochistan province, a UN refugee agency official told AFP.
KSE closes on negative note at weekend
KARACHI: The benchmark KSE-100 Index of Karachi Stock Exchange (KSE) witnessing a mixed trend on Friday closed 12 points down to 7,276.
Although the Index set off with positive energy in the morning, it failed to sustain the gains in the second session due to selling in energy stocks.
The market turnover was registered at 180 million shares today.
Jehangir Siddiqui Co. was the star performer in terms of volume which gained Rs1.40 to close at Rs29.49.
“Faran Tahir” Pakistani Actor in Star Trek
Faran tahir In Hollywood, actors of Middle Eastern or South Asian descent are often typecast as the villains, particularly with the recent onslaught of films and television shows centering on terrorism. What is refreshing therefore, is the casting of Pakistani actor Faran Tahir as Captain Robau in the recent box office hit Star Trek. Tahir has a string of film and television credits under his belt, from Iron Man and Charlie Wilson’s War to 24 and Sleeper Cell. However, as IMDB indicates, Tahir has largely played the villain on film and television.
That is, until JJ Abrams‘ Star Trek. Captain Robau is the captain of the Kelvin, the starship on which James T. Kirk’s father, George Kirk is first officer. For those who are familiar with the Star Trek franchise, past captains were often portrayed as weak in order to bolster perceptions of Captains Kirk and Picard. In this film, however, Tahir plays Robau as a heroic and strong leader. In an interview with TrekMovie.com, the film’s co-writer and executive producer Roberto Orci noted, “Being a captain in Starfleet should be a special position and we don’t feel that another captain has to be diminished in order to elevate Captain Kirk. If you are a captain in Starfleet you are a cool mother f—er.” Read the rest of this entry »
