Staff Report

ઇસ્લામાબાદ – The Supreme Court (SC) has summoned a report from the defense ministry after two accused involved in the Musharraf Attack Case appealed here on Thursday.

A three member bench, chaired by Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry heard the case hearing.

During the hearing, the court directed to present the record of military courts’ decisions. SAMAA

BEIRUT: Lebanese security forces stormed a building in the capital Beirut early Thursday following a shootout during the night with a man holed up inside a flat, an AFP correspondent at the site said.

The gunman was killed and the body of another man was found inside the flat located on the sixth floor of a building in west Beirut’s Karakass district, a security official told AFP on condition of anonymity.

The spark for the shootout appears to have been a personal dispute between at least one of the men and a woman in her early 20s.

Both the gunman and the woman, who was detained in the incident, are Syrian nationals, the official said.

The army and police rushed to the site late Wednesday after reports of gunfire.

The man subsequently lobbed grenades and began shooting at the security forces from his flat. At least six police and army troops were wounded.

The military later found a large amount of weapons in the seventh-floor flat from where the gunman was shooting, it said in a statement.

Another gunman was also wounded, the statement noted, adding that he had previously been “detained for several years in Lebanon for security reasons,” without elaborating.

The shootout came amid heightened tension in Lebanon, where deadly sectarian violence has taken place in the past two weeks linked to the unrest sweeping neighbouring Syria. AGENCIES

Staff Report

ઇસ્લામાબાદ: Secretary General Jamaat-e-Islami, Liaqat Baloch has supported three names for the chief election commissioner suggested by Chaudhry Nisar, SAMAA reported Thursday.

While talking with media here Baloch said that Nisar telephoned him and suggested three names, i.e Fakhruddin J. Ibrahim, Nasir Aslam Zahid and Shakirullah Jan.

Baloch said that they are right choices and his party has no reservations over them.

Ch. Nisar also informed him about parliamentary committee proceedings. SAMAA

CANNES: Nicole Kidman sizzles as a small-town vamp drawn to a convicted murderer in Lee Daniels’ “The Paperboy”, marking the US director’s return to Cannes Thursday after his harrowing hit “Precious”.

The steamy new picture, set partly in Florida’s humid swamps, features a bleached-blonde Kidman as Charlotte, an “oversexed Barbie doll” who carries on correspondence with dozens of prison inmates in the late 1960s.

One day a letter arrives that stands out from the others, mainly in its vivid description of the sex the convict Hillary (John Cusack) wants to have with her when he gets out. Charlotte promptly declares him “The One”.

Meanwhile crusading newspaperman Ward (Matthew McConaughey) learns of Hillary’s case and believes he has been falsely sent to death row for the killing of a policeman.

Ward, his brother Jack (Zac Efron) and a black writer Yardley (David Oyelowo) begin to investigate with the help of a dossier Charlotte has compiled.

Their first visit to the prison turns into a farcical seduction, as the sex-starved Hillary commands Charlotte to spread her legs and simulate fellatio at a distance as the red-faced reporters look on.

The young Jack, who has an affectionate relationship with the family’s African-American housekeeper (singer Macy Gray) in spite of the fraught race relations of the era, falls for Charlotte and tries to win her away from Hillary when he gets out of prison.

The film, one of 22 in the running for the festival’s Palme d’Or top prize to be handed out on Sunday, divided the audience at an early press screening, drawing an even mix of applause and boos.

The Australian Kidman, who dials down her natural glamour and turns up the sex appeal in the role of the small-town seductress, said she had been looking for “something raw and more dangerous” when she was given Daniels’ screenplay.

“I had seen ‘Precious’ and I thought it was amazing and I wanted to work with him,” she said after the screening.

“Precious”, which tells the story of an African-American incest survivor, screened in the festival’s Un Certain Regard sidebar section before going on to two Academy Award nominations. AGENCIES

Staff Report
ઇસ્લામાબાદ: Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Iftikhar Muhammed Chaudhry, while expressing indignation over Secretary Commerce, saying attempts are made here to attach a price tag on everyone; but, it should be borne in mind that every person is not a commodity on sale.

A three-member bench, headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry heard today (Thursday) a massive corruption scandal case involving National Insurance Company Limited (NICL).

Commerce Secretary Zafar Mehmood could not satisfy the bench over query regarding the appointment of Ayaz Khan as Chairman NICL. On this, he received censure from the Chief Justice Chaudhry and Justice Jawwad S. Khwaja.

Commerce Secretary told the court that Ayaz Niazi was appointed at a time when his predecessor Salman Ghani, who is not retired, was in office.

The Chief Justice Chaudhry remarked, ‘What happened if he has retired; he is still alive,’ adding anyone who is responsible for the wrong appointments, should be held accountable.

He warned the secretary not to give such answers that may help establish wrong impression about him, noting that the apex court got billions of rupees back to the institution; despite the fact it is said the apex court is transgressing its limit.

The courts, he added, tried to safeguard the national exchequer but with high officers working to the contrary.

Justice Khwaja maintained the government is not authorized to appoint any thief or an incompetent person to head any institution.

Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) Karachi Director Muazzam Jah submitted that three cases were lodged against loss worth 490 million to the NICL and all the embezzled money was recovered.

The Chief Justice Chaudhry also ordered copy of the statement of Federal Commerce Minister Makhdoom Amin Fahim be faxed to registrar or the court’s assistant.

The Chief Justice Chaudhry said the Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani was penalized, for he depended only on one summary and did not fulfill his responsibility.

He directed to remand to National Accountability Bureau (NAB) the issue regarding withdrawal of privileges and salaries from Ayaz Niazi.

The Chief Justice Chaudhry also ordered Security Exchange Corporation of Pakistan (SECP) to submit reply regarding Ayaz’s appointment.

The hearing has been adjourned till June 7. SAMAA

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Staff Report

IPOH, Malaysia: In their opening match, Pakistan beat Argentina 2-4 in hockey’s seven-nation Sultan Azlan Shah Cup in Malaysia.

Sohail Abbas is leading Pakistan’s 18-man squad as a captain and Waqas Sharif as vice captain in the tournament.

The tournament will end on 3 June.

The event Includes Pakistan , Malaysia a recent winner of Gold Medal of Junior Hockey Asia Cup, India (recent winner of Bronze Medal of Junior Hockey Asia Cup, Korea, Argentine, Great Britian and New Zealand. — SAMAA

Staff Report

ઇસ્લામાબાદ: Pakistan and India on Thursday began their two-day talks here in Islamabad, focusing on visa relaxation and progress on the Mumbai terror attack investigations, SAMAA reports.

The Indian delegation led by Home Secretary R K Singh and the Pakistani team led by Interior Secretary Khwaja Siddique Akbar gathered at a hotel in the heart of Islamabad for the talks.

The last round of talks between the Home and Interior Secretaries was held in New Delhi in March last year.

Talking to newsmen ahead of the meeting, R K Singh said “I’m not satisfied with the Mumbai attack investigation being carried out by Pakistan. There should be more arrestments and scores of people involved in the case have not so far been captured.” — SAMAA

SYDNEY: Australian men’s field hockey team head coach Ric Charlesworth says his world number one side have been disadvantaged by an unfair draw at the London Olympics.

Charlesworth said the 2004 Athens Olympic champions had been disadvantaged by the scheduling, while key competitors would benefit.

Australia will play three early morning games against Spain, Argentina and Pakistan, while their biggest rivals, world number two Germany, play no 8:30am matches, which require players to get up some hours beforehand.

“I don’t expect special treatment, I expect not to be disadvantaged, out of five matches you may expect one 5am start for our athletes not three,” Charlesworth said in a Hockey Australia statement late Wednesday.

“It interferes with momentum as major finals won’t be played at that hour and it interrupts our routine over two weeks. Early games should be fairly distributed between all teams.”

Hockey Australia chief executive Mark Anderson said the Kookaburras wanted to compete on a “level playing field” at the July 27-August 12 Games.

“When you look at the schedule it is patently unfair in our opinion,” Anderson said. “None of the teams want to play in this early morning time slot.

“We have been scheduled to play at this time on three occasions. Out of the 12 teams in the competition, only six teams play at this time and Australia features three times.

“We are not looking for an unfair advantage, we just want to compete on a level playing field.”

The Kookaburras have won a medal at the last four Olympics and have been placed in the top four in every Games since 1980.

Only the top two teams from each six-team pool proceed to the medal rounds.

The Kookaburras’ opening match is against South Africa on July 30. — AGENCIES

Staff Report

FAISALABAD: Under government’s load-management plan, the CNG gas supply to filing stations in eight districts of Faisalabad region has been suspended for three days, SAMAA reports.

The fuel supply to more than 350 filing stations was stopped in Faisalabad, Jhang, Toba Tek Singh,

WASHINGTON: Amnesty International criticized the United States on Wednesday for its use of lethal force, particularly for the “unlawful” killing of Osama bin Laden in a clandestine US commando raid in Pakistan last May.

“The US administration made clear that the operation had been conducted under the USA’s theory of a global armed conflict between the USA and Al-Qaeda in which the USA does not recognize the applicability of international human rights law,” it said in its annual report.

“In the absence of further clarification from the US authorities, the killing of Osama bin Laden would appear to have been unlawful,” it said.

Amnesty said a request for clarification over an apparent US drone strike in Yemen last September that killed US-born radical cleric Anwar al-Awlaqi, his Al-Qaeda co-conspirator Samir Khan and at least two others had also gone unanswered.

“These killings appeared to have amounted to extrajudicial executions,” the rights watchdog said.

Amnesty also hit out at human rights violations committed by former president George W. Bush’s administration and condemned the “impunity” with which his officials operated.

The global rights monitor also criticized Canada for failing to arrest Bush when he visited in October, “despite clear evidence that he was responsible for crimes under international law, including torture.”

“There was no accountability for human rights violations committed under the administration of president George W. Bush as part of the CIA’s program of secret detention and rendition,” Amnesty said, referring to the transfer of individuals from one country to another without access to legal process.

Attorney General Eric Holder in June 2011 launched a criminal investigation into the deaths of two detainees in CIA custody but dropped probes into the vast majority of alleged interrogation abuses.

Amnesty regretted President Barack Obama’s failure to shut down Guantanamo, noting that at the end of 2011, nearly two years after his self-imposed closure deadline, “171 men were still held at the base, including four who had been convicted by military commission.”

The number of detainees at the US detention center in Cuba currently stands at 169.

The report lamented that five suspects accused of planning the September 11, 2001 attacks “had been held incommunicado for up to four years in secret US custody before being transferred to Guantanamo.”

Amnesty also criticized conditions in American prisons, in particular the high number of hours some detainees were confined in isolated cells, and the execution of 43 men last year, all by lethal injection.

“This brought to 1,277 the total number of executions carried out since the US Supreme Court lifted a moratorium on the death penalty in 1976,” the report said. — AGENCIES

CAIRO: Polls opened for a second day across Egypt on Thursday in a gripping presidential election in which candidates are pitting stability against the ideals of the uprising that ended Hosni Mubarak’s rule.

Small queues began to form outside schools when polling stations opened at 8:00 am (0600 GMT).

Turnout is expected to be higher Thursday than on Wednesday’s opening day, after authorities declared it a public holiday to allow public sector employees to cast their ballots.

Voting in 13,000 polling stations takes place over two days in order to accommodate more than 50 million eligible voters.

On Wednesday, after a slow start, cooler evening temperatures and the end of the work day prompted a surge in voters, who wound their way through streets outside polling stations across the country.

Two of the candidates are expected to go into June run offs after the May 23 and 24 vote, with pollsters saying the number of undecided voters makes the result of the first round extremely difficult to predict.

After decades of pre-determined results, for the first time, the outcome of the vote in the Arab world’s most populous nation is wide open.

The next president will inherit a struggling economy, deteriorating security and the challenge of uniting a nation divided by the uprising and its sometimes deadly aftermath, but his powers are yet to be defined by a new constitution.

Among the contenders is former foreign minister and Arab League chief Amr Mussa, who is seen as an experienced politician and diplomat. But like Ahmed Shafiq, Mubarak’s last prime minister, he is accused of ties with the old regime.

The powerful Muslim Brotherhood’s candidate, Mohammed Mursi, faces competition from Abdel Moneim Abul Fotouh, a former member of the Islamist movement who portrays himself as a consensus choice with a wide range of support.

Several of the candidates broke an election committee period of silence during the polling to shore up their chances and attack others, with Shafiq warning of a “huge problem” if the Islamists get into power.

Pollsters say many of the undecided voters who say they will cast ballots are likely to make up their minds at the last minute or be swayed by the candidate who has the best network in mustering votes.

The election caps a roller-coaster transition, marked by political upheaval and deadly bloodshed, but which also witnessed democratic parliamentary elections that saw Islamist groups score a crushing victory.

Ballot boxes from Wednesday will be kept overnight in the stations, which election commission officials will seal with wax overnight and leave under military and police protection.

Results are expected on Sunday.

MIR ALI: A suspected U.S. drone fired two missiles that killed 10 alleged militants in northwest Pakistan near the Afghan border, officials said.

Officials say Thursday’s attack took place in Khassokhel village near Mir Ali in the North Waziristan tribal area. It was the second such attack in 24 hours in the region.

The officials claim most of those killed were Uzbek insurgents.

Drone strikes have become an increasingly contentious issue between the U.S. and Pakistan.

Pakistan’s Parliament recently demanded the U.S. end all drone strikes on its territory. The U.S. has shown no intention of stopping the covert CIA program which has left hundreds of innocent civilians dead among few militants. – SAMAA/AGENCIES

Staff Report
કરાચી: The attempt to kidnap a chief of a private bank has been was foiled late yesterday night, SAMAA reports Thursday.

According to details, Hussain Lawai, head of a private bank and a high-profile figure came out of his residence to offer Isha (late night) prayers when miscreants ambushed and caught hold of him. The kidnappers blindfolded him after a little grappling.

According to police sources, the bank chief, who remained associated with governments of Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) was injured in his resistance against the abductors. He was shifted to a private hospital.

It should be mentioned here that Lawai was made Advisor to the Prime Minister in 1996. He had to flee to Dubai on the fall of the PPP Government. From Dubai, he landed into Australia where he was arrested by Interpol in Canberra Airport on 4 કૂચ 1998, on the request of Pakistani authorities who charged that Lawai acted as the conduit in an alleged deal that caused national exchequer heavy loss.

Police sources informed that Lawai’s security guard was an accomplice of the kidnappers and fled with his accessories after the kidnapping bid could not succeed.

Lawai’s car has been recovered from a Korangi area, police said.

AMMAN: The main Syrian National Council opposition group said it had accepted the resignation of its president, setting the stage for a showdown between the powerful Muslim Brotherhood and its political rivals over who will be the new leader.

The internal conflicts have come to a head over the position held by Burhan Ghalioun, a secular sociologist backed by the Brotherhood, who offered to step down as leader of the 313-member council last week if a replacement could be found.

Squabbling in the council has undermined international support for the opposition, as a military crackdown against the 14-month revolt against President Bashar al-Assad, now coupled with an armed insurgency against his rule, shows no signs of relenting.

A statement by the council issued late on Wednesday said Ghalioun would remain head “until a new president is elected at the meeting of the general secretariat,” adding that the council’s general assembly would later meet as part of efforts to reorganise the council.

The council’s executive bureau decided at a meeting in Istanbul on Wednesday to convene the 50-member general secretariat in the Turkish capital on June 11 and 12 to elect a replacement for Ghalioun, the statement added.

The 12-member bureau, the top decision-making body of the council, rejected Ghalioun’s proposal that the whole council should meet to agree on an alternative, members of the council, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said on Thursday.

“Ghalioun’s chances of remaining president after June 12 have now diminished. It would have been almost impossible to find a consensus candidate other than him if the whole council convened,” a Ghalioun supporter on the general secretariat said.

“The Brotherhood pushed so the whole council meets, but did not get its way,” another council source said.

The 67-year-old Ghalioun has been attracting growing criticism among opposition ranks inside Syria for continuously seeking to renew his three-month term and for his scepticism over armed resistance by majority to the rule of Assad.

VETERAN LIBERAL SEEN AS STRONG CANDIDATE
Ghalioun, who has been living in France for decades, has been head of the opposition since the council was formed in Istanbul in August as an umbrella organisation to lead a democratic transition if Assad were toppled.

Paradoxically, his position became precarious when the general secretariat re-elected him for a third three-month term at a meeting in Rome on May 15, sparking discontent and a threat of resignation by Adib Shishakly, one of the council’s founders and the grandson of a former president of Syria.

The Local Coordination Committee, a grass-roots activists’ organisation, also threatened to leave the council.

Two days later, Ghalioun offered to step down. The Muslim Brotherhood said he remained the only candidate who could attract broad support.

But George Sabra, a veteran liberal who came second in last week’s ballot with 33 percent of the votes compared with Ghalioun’s 66 percent, is seen as a strong candidate.

Sabra, a Christian who fled Syria last year after leading street protests in the Damascus suburb of Qatana, is an ally of Syria’s top dissident, Riad al-Turk,

Turk, an 81-year-old former leftist who spent 25 years as a political prisoner, operates underground inside Syria. The opposition looks to him for moral guidance.

A Muslim Brotherhood official hinted that Sabra may be unacceptable to the group, whose support has been crucial for Ghalioun remaining president since August.

“We need a president who is acceptable to the West and someone like Sabra would fit the criteria,” the official said. “But we have to take into consideration the sentiment of the street. He is too far to the left.” AGENCIES

QUEBEC CITY: The race to host the 2020 Summer Games is now a three-way battle between Istanbul, Madrid and Tokyo after Qatar’s Doha and Azerbaijan’s Baku were dumped as candidates, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) said on Wednesday.

The shortlist of candidates to host the world’s biggest multi-sports event was announced at the IOC’s executive board meetings in Quebec City.

Baku, which invested more than a billion dollars in sports venues in the past 10 years, was bidding for a second successive time after falling at the first hurdle for the 2016 Games.

Doha, which was proposing to hold the 2020 Olympics in October rather than the usual July/August schedule to avoid the Gulf Arab state’s searing summer heat, is already hosting the 2022 World Cup soccer tournament.

The IOC will announce the winner between bids from Tokyo (Japan), Madrid (Spain) and Istanbul (Turkey) in September 2013.

Rome (Italy) pulled out of the running in February due to the country’s efforts to head off a debt crisis.

London will host the 2012 Summer Games from July 27-August 12 while the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro will stage the 2016 Olympics. — AGENCIES