Mera Pak Watan

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60 held for Kamonki rampage
PS-83 by-polls: PPP candidate wins
England beat West Indies
IMF team to Greece to review rescue program
Pakistan will resolve crisis in accordance with law: US
WikiLeaks founder seeks Ecuador asylum
Zardari cancels Russias visit
Gilanis dismissal: Citizens, lawyers hails verdict
PMs disqualification: Political parties accept verdict
UN observers committed to staying in Syria
Egypt: Officials deny reports that Mubarak is dead
Coalition partners nominate Shahbuddin as PM
Kurdish rebels kill 8 Turkish soldiers
Zardari chairs coalition partners meeting
4 kids die as wall collapses in Karachi

Posted:

The irate people who were protesting against unscheduled and prolonged electricity loadshedding set on fire Baoo Train and WAPDA office. Police have registered a case against about 1200 unidentified persons. Police launched a search operation and arrested at least 60 persons from different areas of the city.

PS-83 by-polls: PPP candidate wins

Posted:

According to the unofficial results, Thaheem secured 49,526 votes. His competitors, Awami Tehreek’s Muhammad Rafique Jakhro got only 773 votes.

England beat West Indies

Posted:

England beat the West Indies by eight wickets to win the second one-day international at The Oval here on Tuesday and take an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series. Alastair Cook, the England captain, made 112 and shared a first-wicket stand of 122 with Ian Bell (53). Jonathan Trott was 43 not out and Ravi Bopara 19 not out.

IMF team to Greece to review rescue program

Posted:

The International Monetary Fund will send a team to Greece to review the country s stumbling rescue program as soon as a new government is formed, IMF managing director Christine Lagarde said Tuesday. "We will wait until a government is announced," Lagarde said at the G20 summit in Mexico s Los Cabos seaside resort, and two days after Greeks voted in their second national election in six weeks. "As soon as a government is announced, I will send a team of our experts to Greece. I m sure that the two other members of the troika will do that as well," she said, referring to the European Commission and the European Central Bank. "I think it s in everybody s interest to move fast, because we have been delayed by the electoral process. "And we will see on the ground, in the fields, with the administration..., what progress has been made, whether there are shortfalls, what needs to be addressed as a matter of priority." The New Democracy party was close Tuesday to forming a coalition with socialist Pasok and a smaller party, both having said they want to renegotiate the unpopular the 130 billion euro ($165 billion) joint IMF-EU bailout program. Many Greeks are deeply angry by the harsh austerity terms that have been pressed on them by the bailout, which aims at closing a massive fiscal gap and reducing the country s debt load. Lagarde made no mention of renegotiating terms. She said that the IMF team first needs to report back to the IMF management and board. "We will continue to operate on that basis with the real facts. That s what we need to do first."

Pakistan will resolve crisis in accordance with law: US

Posted:

The United States expressed hope on Tuesday that Pakistan’s latest political crisis would be resolved in accordance with the country’s constitution amid a showdown between the judiciary and government. The US State Department did not expect the turmoil from a top court ruling to derail Washington’s diplomatic dialogue with Islamabad, spokeswoman Victoria Nuland told reporters. “We’ve said all along that we expect that Pakistan will resolve any of these internal issues in a just and transparent manner in accordance with Pakistan’s own laws and constitution,” Nuland said. “Our understanding is that the Pakistani government itself is meeting now to decide how it goes forward from here,” she said. Pakistan’s Supreme Court disqualified prime minister Yousaf Raza Gilani from office on Tuesday in a ruling that dissolved the cabinet and threatened to trigger elections later this year. Despite the uncertainty, Nuland said the US’ working relationship with Pakistan would go ahead. “Throughout this process, we have continued to work with the Pakistani government and try to get through some of these issues that have been difficult,” said Nuland.

WikiLeaks founder seeks Ecuador asylum

Posted:

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange walked into Ecuador s embassy in London and applied for political asylum in a sensational bid to avoid extradition to Sweden over alleged sex crimes. The former computer hacker, who last week exhausted all his legal options in Britain to fight extradition, was holed up at the embassy in central London while Quito examined the request, officials said. Britain s Foreign Office said Assange was "beyond the reach of the police" because he was on diplomatic territory, but stressed it would seek to work with the Ecuadorian authorities "to resolve this situation as soon as possible." Assange will remain at the embassy under the protection of the Ecuadorian government while his application is considered. "The decision to consider Mr Assange s application for protective asylum should in no way be interpreted as the Government of Ecuador interfering in the judicial processes of either the United Kingdom or Sweden," the embassy said in a statement. Prime Minister Julia Gillard said Tuesday that Australia will continue to offer consular assistance to Assange. "Australia will continue to support Mr. Assange just as we do support any Australian overseas who faces legal difficulties or dilemmas," Gillard told reporters after a Group of 20 summit in Mexico. Assange confirmed in a statement he was seeking "diplomatic sanctuary and political asylum" and expressed his gratitude to the Ecuadorian ambassador and government for considering the request. In Quito, Foreign Minister Ricardo Patino said: "Julian Assange has requested political asylum at the diplomatic mission of Ecuador in London.  "The government is examining the request." The embassy later confirmed it would be seeking the views of Britain, Sweden and the United States in order to make sure it complied with international law. Assange has always maintained that the moves to extradite him to Sweden for questioning over allegations of rape and sexual assault are politically motivated and that the real aim is for him to handed over to US authorities. The silver-haired 40-year-old Australian s website enraged Washington by releasing a flood of classified US information about the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. It also published more than 250,000 classified US diplomatic cables, revealing often candid assessments of a huge range of issues as well as the views of other governments. Ecuador offered Assange residency in 2010, with the government saying at the time it wanted to invite Assange to speak in Ecuador after expressing concern about some of the alleged US activities revealed by Wikileaks. Assange interviewed Ecuador s President Rafael Correa for his talk show aired on the Russian international television station RT in April. The embassy is in the upmarket west London district of Knightsbridge, near to Harrods department store and in the same mansion block as the Colombian embassy.

Zardari cancels Russias visit

Posted:

President’s spokesman Farhatullah Babar said, the president was due to attend the Petersburg International Economic Forum but would now hold talks with coalition partners to consider the situation in the country and formulate a course of action, the spokesman added.

Gilanis dismissal: Citizens, lawyers hails verdict

Posted:

People in various cities distributed sweets, while elsewhere many also lodged strong protests against the verdict. PTI and JI activists and supporters expressed great joyousness at the news, while sweets were distributed with rapturous dancing and even intermittent aerial firing.  On the other hand, many PPP activists also lodged strong protests against the Supreme Court’s verdict, raising slogans against Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry.  Even lawyers’ fraternity was visibly divided over the verdict as many bar associations expressed their joy, while others declared the issue as biased and revengeful.

PMs disqualification: Political parties accept verdict

Posted:

PML-N president Mian Nawaz Sharif has termed the Supreme Court’ verdict regarding Yousaf Raza Gilani’s disqualification as a real accountability. He expressed the new approach as quite conducive compared to former notorious practice of proclaiming martial law under the pretext of ‘straightening things out’. Chairman PTI Imran Khan also welcomed the decision of Supreme Court’s verdict regarding Yousaf Raza Gilani’s disqualification. JUI-F chief Maulana Fazl-ur-Rehman has announced his decision to accept the verdict of Supreme Court. Talking to media, he said that while nobody was indispensable, however the democracy should not suffer the brunt. He opined the PM should have resigned much earlier, which should have restrained the Supreme Court to pass such a verdict.  Muttahida Qaumi Movement also announced to accept the Supreme Court ruling which disqualifies Prime Minister Syed Yousaf Raza Gilani from holding the office. “The PPP should accept the court decision in the greater interest of country and the democracy,” the MQM said. Awami Muslim League Sheikh Rashid demanded dissolution of assemblies in the wake of Supreme Court of Pakistan’s verdict. “If President Asif Ali Zardari doesn’t dissolve the assembly, Chief Justice should do it,” Sheikh said.

UN observers committed to staying in Syria

Posted:

Maj. Gen. Robert Mood said Tuesday that U.N. forces have come under fire recently but are committed to staying in the strife-torn country. Mood said that questions about canceling the mission were premature and noted, "We are not going anywhere." The U.N. said Saturday its 300 observers based in Syria were suspending all missions because of concerns for their safety after fighting intensified over the previous 10 days. "Shelling, small arms fire and other incidents are coming much closer, and we have been targets several times over the last few weeks," he said. It was not only dangerous to his observers, but made it difficult to carry out their mission. Mood spoke after briefing the U.N. Security Council during a closed meeting on the situation in Syria, where shelling and clashes between rebel fighters and government troops in Homs have continued. "The suffering of the Syrian people, the suffering of men, women and children, some of them trapped by fighting, is getting worse," Mood said. Mood did not attribute the suspension of the mission to any single incident, but said that among the issues was the inability of the observers to get through an angry crowd that mobbed their motorcade in one city. Reviving the mission would require a commitment from both the Syrian government and the opposition to "freedom of movement" for the U.N. observers, Mood said. While the Syrian government had given him such assurances in the last few days, he said we "have not seen that yet from the opposition." Opposition groups say more than 14,000 people have been killed since the Syrian uprising began in March 2011.

Egypt: Officials deny reports that Mubarak is dead

Posted:

Egyptian officials denied reports Tuesday night that deposed President Hosni Mubarak was clinically dead after he suffered a stroke and slipped out of consciousness at a prison hospital in Cairo, according to state and independent news media. Conflicting reports about the former leader’s health emerged after a report by the official state news agency MENA that Mubarak was declared “clinically dead” after he was transferred from a prison hospital to a nearby military hospital. The report could not be independently verified. Ahram Online said the 84-year-old Mubarak, who was sentenced to life in prison this month for complicity in the deaths of hundreds of protesters in last year’s uprising, was on life support. Al Jazeera quoted Mubarak’s lawyer Farid Deeb as denying his client was dead.

Coalition partners nominate Shahbuddin as PM

Posted:

A meeting of the PPP and coalition partners was held under the chair of President Asif Ali Zardari to discuss the situation emerged after the Supreme Court’s verdict. The meeting reviewed the names of Ahmad Mukhtar and Makhdum Shahab as next prime minister. According to sources, the meeting agreed to nominate Makhdoom Shahbuddin as next PM. Chaudhry Shujaat, Mushahid Hussain, Babar Ghauri, Haider Abbas Rizvi, Haji Adeel, Afrasiab Khattak and others were also present in the meeting.

Kurdish rebels kill 8 Turkish soldiers

Posted:

Up to 100 fighters from the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) launched simultaneous dawn attacks on three military observation points in Hakkari province near Turkey s mountainous border with Iraq, killing eight soldiers and wounding 19, the sources said. In subsequent clashes, Turkish troops killed 18 PKK fighters, the prime minister s office said. The attacks come at a time when Turkey is making new efforts to address the grievances of the Kurdish minority to end a conflict that has scarred the region for three decades. "We have never regarded terrorism as a matter of negotiation with anybody, and we will never do so. The only thing to do is for terrorists to lay down their arms," Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan told reporters in Mexico, where he is attending a G20 Summit. "We will continue our struggle until the end, and sooner or later, we will succeed in our fight against terror," he added. President Abdullah Gul condemned the violence. "I curse this treacherous attack," he said in a statement. "The terrorist group wants to sabotage the atmosphere of trust and stability and is continuing its inhumane bloody attacks." The head of Turkey s pro-Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party (BDP), whose members are frequently accused of ties to the rebels, made a striking call for the PKK to halt hostilities. PKK rebels have launched sporadic attacks in recent months near the Syrian border in Hatay province, where thousands of Syrians are housed in refugee camps. One Turkish soldier was killed on Monday night in Hatay in a clash with PKK militants, the governor s office there said.

Zardari chairs coalition partners meeting

Posted:

A meeting of the coalition partners is in progress in Islamabad with President Asif Ali Zardari in the chair. The situation emerging out of the Supreme Court verdict is being discussed in the meeting. The coalition partners are reviewing the names of next PM after disqualification of Yusaf Raza Raza Gilani by the Supreme Court.

4 kids die as wall collapses in Karachi

Posted:

According to details, the children were playing inside a house in Gilgit Colony in Korangi area when a wall suddenly collapsed and fell on them. As a result, four children died as they were buried under the debris of the wall. The children included 7-year-old Adeel, 4-year-old Saood and 2-year-old Shahab and 5-year-old Sheraz.

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LAHORE:

Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif has said the Punjab government endorses protests against load shedding and would not seek to stop them, but then urged the protesters not to damage property.

The chief minister was responding to Punjab Assembly Opposition Leader Raja Riaz Ahmed's accusation that the government was encouraging the protesters to attack the houses of Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) members in the province.

At the onset of assembly proceedings at around 11.15am on Tuesday, Ahmed rose on a point of order saying the government should stop instigating people to come out on the streets to protest against power outages. He said the protesters had damaged government property and attacked the houses of PPP legislators. He said that if his house in Faisalabad was attacked by a mob, the blame would lie with the chief minister.

Ahmed said that the "incompetent chief minister", who had failed to generate a single megawatt of electricity in the province, should stop blaming the federal government for the power shortage. He said instead of calming the protesters, the chief minister was shamelessly egging them on. He said that the Punjab government had stopped the release of water in seasonal canals, which he protested against as an agrarian.

In response, Sharif said that he felt no shame in endorsing the people's protests against load shedding, but these protests should be peaceful. He said that Punjab was facing its worst-ever power outages and these had made people's lives miserable. He said that as long as he was chief minister, he would support the protests. He said he would never issue directions to the police to stop or shoot the mobs.

He said that 650 MW of electricity that rightfully belonged to the Punjab was being given to another province. All the power distribution companies (DISCOs) in the Punjab were making profits, and these were being shared across the country. He said that despite this sacrifice, Punjab was being "treated like a step child", with some places facing 20 hours per day without power. He said that of the total Rs400 billion owed to power companies, Punjab owed only Rs4 billion. He said that the other provinces owed Rs100 billion each, while the Karachi Electricity Supply Company owed Rs40billion.

The chief minister said that Punjab had fulfilled the commitments made at the first national energy summit in 2010 to close shops at 8pm and switch to a five-day working week, but the other provinces had not done the same.

He said that it was "the greatest lie of the century" that the 18th Amendment had given the provinces the right to generate their own electricity. He said that he had raised the issue at the Council of Common Interest in May 2011 and, with the support of the other three provinces, won approval for the provinces to generate electricity.

Sharif said that the federal government had foiled his plan to use bagasse, a sugarby-product, to produce electricity. He said 36 of the 75 sugar mills in the country were in Punjab. He said he had prepared a feasibility report, but the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority, a federal body, had not set the price for electricity generated from sugarcane.

He said that sugarcane had the potential to generate 2,000 MW, but the project could not be implemented because of the federal government. He said that he had been asked to establish separate grid stations in the Punjab, but it would cost billions of rupees and the provincial government couldn't afford that.

The chief minister said that the federal government had withheld approval for two power projects in Punjab, of total 950 MW capacity, for two years and the investors had now abandoned the projects. He said that the federal government had signed contracts for rental power projects that generated electricity at 18 cents per unit, instead of reaching a deal with a friendly country's offer for rental power projects that would generate electricity at 9 cents per unit.

He said that the federal government had wasted Rs113 billion on RPPs.

He said that if the public money stolen in the various corruption scandals the federal government was involved in were returned, it could be put towards ending the fuel debt and thus resolving the energy crisis. He said that he would even put in Rs5 billion of his own money for this.

The chief minister quickly left the house after his speech, prompting outrage on the opposition benches and a half-hour adjournment from the speaker.

Police cut motion

At the resumption of the session, the speaker announced the 43 'demands of grants' for the various government departments in the next budget. The opposition presented four cut motions, including one calling for the police budget of Rs61.5 billion to be reduced to one rupee. Law Minister Rana Sanaullah opposed the cut motion.

Seemal Kamran of the PML-Quaid started a debate on law and order in the Punjab and criticised the government for failing to control crime. After a few other opposition members spoke on the topic, the speaker adjourned the session till Wednesday, when the debate on cut motions would continue till noon.

Published in The paksarzameen.tk, June 20^th, 2012.

Orignal From: Mob rule: I shall not tell police to stop power rioters, says CM

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Misbah-ul-Haq suspended for over-rate offence

Misbah-ul-Haq has been suspended from the first Test against Sri Lanka because Pakistan were guilty of a "serious over-rate offence" during the fifth ODI in Colombo

Orignal From: Misbah-ul-Haq suspended for over-rate offence

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KARACHI:

Pakistan were dealt a massive blow when their captain Misbahul Haq was ruled out of the first Test against Sri Lanka that starts on June 22 in Galle after he was suspended for a 'serious over-rate offence' during the final One-Day International (ODI).

This was Misbah's second offence of the year, resulting in the suspension. Pakistan, who played three seamers in the fifth ODI, were found to be three overs short of their target after time allowances were taken into consideration.

Coaching panel needs time

This was not the only worry that the team management had on its mind.

A disastrous ODI series saw the tourists go down 3-1, including two defeats that should have gone Pakistan's way. A 4-0 loss to England was followed by the Asia Cup triumph but inconsistency resulted in another series-loss, exposing the batting line-up and asking questions of the new coaching panel – it has been over three months since Dav Whatmore and Julien Fountain were appointed.

A team official, besides former players, pointed out the same flaws for defeat that have been the team's shortcomings in the past.

Players showed lack of professionalism: Manager

The defeat also prompted an otherwise calm team manager Naved Akram Cheema to criticise the players.

"The professional approach in players was missing," Cheema told The Pak Sar Zameen from Colombo. "We made mistakes in all departments."

Cheema, however, defended team selection in the final ODI — most notable being the exclusion of Saeed Ajmal.

Team selection 'upsets' Mohsin

Meanwhile, former coach Mohsin Khan said that poor selection and decisions hurt the team's causes.

"We needed Shoaib Malik and Hammad Azam in the ODI squad. Sohail Tanvir performed well but we should've included an opener to replace Nasir Jamshed. With Azhar Ali opening, we disturbed the whole batting order. Demoting Younus Khan was not understandable. You cannot disturb a senior player of his calibre.

"Then the decision to drop Ajmal on a dry pitch was beyond my understanding. Injustice was also done to Mohammad Sami as the management shattered his confidence by dropping him despite a brilliant comeback."

Sohail assails fielding coach

Meanwhile, former captain Aamir Sohail criticised Fountain for not bringing improvement in the fielding department.

"Our fielding has gone from bad to worse," said Sohail. "The coaches are not bringing improvement. Instead of paying hefty amounts to foreign coaches, the board should hire people at grass-root level to train the players."

Former chief selector Mohammad Illyas remained optimistic despite the defeat.

"Winning and losing is part of the game," said Illyas. "Although we made mistakes, we should hope that the team comes back stronger in Tests."

M Hafeez

A tally of 57 and a strike-rate of less than 53 are not figures that should be associated with any opener. While his six wickets meant his utility as a spinner was not undermined, Hafeez's batting has seen a decline in the recent past.

Y Khan

Questions were being asked about Younus' poor form before a quick-fire half-century in the Asia Cup. He was at his worst against Sri Lanka, scoring 10 runs in three innings before being duly dumped for the final ODI.

U Gul

A poor show in the first T20 was followed by his omission from the second. A three-wicket haul in the opening ODI signalled Gul's return. But the form did not last long and he just took one wicket in the remaining games.

S Afridi

For all his flamboyance and charisma, Afridi failed to deliver after the second Twenty20. A total of 28 runs at 9.33, including a soft dismissal at a crucial juncture in the fourth ODI, and a return of just three wickets did not sit well with fans.

Published In The Pak Sar Zameen, June 20^th, 2012.

Orignal From: Cricket: Bruised Pakistan look for improvement

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GDANSK:

Spain coach Vicente del Bosque admitted the defending champions were not at their best despite beating Croatia 1-0 in Gdansk to reach the quarter-finals of Euro 2012 on Monday as Group C winners.

"The team played well, even though things didn't go according to plan," said Del Bosque, who started but then took off Fernando Torres for Jesus Navas of Seville, who promptly bundled in the only goal of a somewhat shapeless match which could have gone either way. The World Cup winners topped the group with seven points after their opening draw with Italy and 4-0 rout of Ireland, Slaven Bilic's Croatia bowed out with four points after Italy leapfrogged the Croats with a 2-0 win over Ireland.

"There was a lack of clarity compared with other occasions. The truth is it was not a great game overall and this should concern us. We were fighting for a victory, not a draw, and we have taken a step forward here by qualifying, this is motivation for the quarter-finals. We didn't have many clear-cut chances, which is also to their credit."

Meanwhile, Croatia was in a sorrowful state but praised the squad's play against the defending champions.

Thousands of people, many of whom dressed in Croatia's red and white chequered national colours, watched the match broadcast live on a giant screen in the capital Zagreb, with a lot of emotions.

Bonucci admits to Balotelli controversy fears

Mario Balotelli came off the bench to score the clinching second goal in Italy's 2-0 win over Ireland and open his account at the Euros but the lasting image of his moment in the limelight was not the athleticism with which he hooked a volley over his shoulder and past Shay Given. It was his reaction to the goal.

Far from expressing joy at his contribution to the victory, the errant and temperamental talent seemed angry and started to shout something in the general direction of his own bench. Showing the political nous of a seasoned government spin doctor Leonardo Bonucci immediately grabbed the controversial 21-year-old in a celebratory hug and thrust his hand over Balotelli's mouth.

"What he said he said in English and I didn't understand it," said the Juventus centre-back, who like Balotelli had come on as a substitute. "I put my hand in front because Mario is instinctive and that's also his strength. We'd spoken with him before the game and he knew how he should behave."

Trapattoni expects Italy to go far at Euros

Veteran Ireland coach Giovanni Trapattoni said he expects his fellow Italians to go a 'long way'.

But having overcome a tricky group phase – in which their qualification was in the balance after they drew 1-1 with both Spain and Croatia, needing a favour from the holders to make the knock-out rounds – Italy will be confident.

"Without a doubt qualification gives confidence, Italy have already got past Croatia," said Trapattoni. "They know their own qualities and strengths. They're technical, although we're not used to talking about fantasy or the creativity of the players. But Italy have a very precise technical base and they don't let many passes go astray."

Published In The Pak Sar Zameen, June 20^th, 2012.

Orignal From: Euro 2012: Coach admits Spain not at best against Croats

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ISLAMABAD: President Asif Ali Zardari called a core committee meeting of the ruling Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) after the Supreme Court disqualified prime minister Yousaf Raza Gilani on Tuesday. The apex court was hearing petitions challenging speaker’s ruling in the PM contempt case.

The core committee meeting is also being attended by Gilani and sources say that Gilani’s lawyer in the contempt case, Aitzaz Ahsan, as well as the attorney general will also be called to the meeting.

The committee discussed potential candidates for the post of the prime minister.

The president has also called a meeting with all coalition parties at 8pm on Tuesday, where the coalition parties are also likely to be asked to present their candidates.

Earlier during the day, while the Supreme Court was hearing the petitions against the speaker’s ruling, the president had called an emergency meeting of PPP leaders and Gilani to discuss several matters including the hearing.

Party sources said that an important decision might be taken once the verdict in the Speaker’s ruling case is out. The party leadership had stated that it will continue to respect the judiciary no matter what the Supreme Court decides.

Party chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, senior leader Khursheed Shah and all cabinet ministers were among those present at the session.

The Supreme Court disqualified Gilani from his post and held him ineligible since April 26 when the contempt of court verdict was passed against him.

The court passed the short order on Tuesday while hearing petitions, including those filed by Pakistan Muslim League – Nawaz (PML-N) and Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI), which had challenged Speaker National Assembly Dr Fehmida Mirza's ruling and demanded prime minister's disqualification.

Orignal From: Speaker's ruling: Zardari chairs PPP core committee meeting

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The Express Tribune Newsletter: June 19, 2012

Today's Headlines

Speaker's ruling: All set for court decision on Gilani's fate

Azam Khan

The case that will determine the final fate of the prime minister has entered its last stage – and a verdict could be announced as early as today, once the attorney general concludes his arguments at 11am.

Quetta violence: Bomb attack on bus kills five students

Our Correspondent

At least five students from the ethnic Hazara community were killed and over 70 others, including policemen and children, wounded in a bomb attack on a university bus in Quetta city on Monday.

Loadshedding, protests continue across Punjab

Our Correspondent

In a bid to impose their own puritanical version of Islam, the Pakistani Taliban have introduced "moral policing" in parts of northeastern Afghanistan, Afghan police claimed on Sunday.

Festering dispute: Sir Creek talks begin amid high hopes

Aditi Phadnis

Pakistan and India ended recent talks on Siachen inconclusively, but there are high hopes that talks between the arch-rivals over the disputed maritime border region of Sir Creek may end on a more positive note.

Business

Adding to the backlog: Govt clears 61 new projects worth Rs515b

Shahbaz Rana

Contrary to the resolve of reducing backlog by allocating more funds to ongoing projects, the government on Monday cleared 61 new projects costing Rs515 billion, a move which will put further strain on the scarce resources.

Urban areas to see 8, rural 12 hours of loadshedding: Mukhtar

Our Correspondent

Water and Power Minister Chaudhry Ahmad Mukhtar announced on Monday that loadshedding will be restricted to eight hours in urban areas and 12 hours in the rural areas of the country starting June 18.

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Sports

ODI series: Letting the opportunities spill

Our Correspondent

Pakistan threw away another golden opportunity to beat Sri Lanka, going down by two wickets in the fifth and final One-Day International (ODI) and also lose the series 3-1.

Cricket: Misbah's authority diminishing in the squad

Nabeel Hashmi

It seems that reports of grouping within the national side in Sri Lanka do carry weight, The Express Tribune has learnt, as loyalties now stand divided.

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Life & Style

Tete-a-tete with the man behind 'Waderai ka Beta'

Our Correspondent

Has the catchy phrase "Saaen tau saaen, saaen ka kutta bhi saaen" tickled your funny bone? Comedian Ali Gul Pir has now become the face of crude comedy with his first tongue-in-cheek song "Waderai Ka Beta". The rap song and the sepia-toned YouTube video is a humourous take on the pretentious lifestyle of a feudal lord's son.

Avanti loves the Karachi crowd, says director

Saadia Qamar

At around 5 o'clock on Saturday evening, the auditorium of the Arts Council was alive with the vibrant cast of "Avanti" that took the stage once more. But instead of being involved in its usual shenanigans, the "Avanti" team had invited members of the press to thank them for their ongoing support and discuss the issues plaguing the theatre industry in Pakistan.

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Opinion