Staff Report

İSLAMABAD: The Supreme Court of Pakistan on Friday suspended Farah Isfahani’s membership of National Assembly (NA) over her dual nationality.

In his remarks, Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry said foreigners cannot be allowed to decide the nation’s fate while sitting in our assemblies.

A three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry heard the dual-nationality case.

Rehman Malik’s lawyer said his client wants more time to submit a certificate of surrendering his British nationality

The applicant submitted documents suggesting Farahnaz Isfahani’s American nationality. In the court, a certificate of oath for getting US nationality was also submitted.

“If Farahnaz is a US national, her membership will be suspended so that she doesn’t participate in the budget session,” the chief justice said

Attorney General Irfan Qadir said judges have already made their mind before giving the decision.

Later, a written statement of Farahnaz was also submitted before the court.

The court was adjourned till May 30. SAMAA AGENCIES

Staff Report
İSLAMABAD: Former Inspector General of Sind Police (IGP) Fayyaz Khan Leghari has been raised on Friday as Director General of Federal Investigation Agency (FIA).

According to a notification issued today by Establishment Division, Leghari has been appointed as the FIA’s new head.

Meantime, Inspector General Motorway Police Wajid Ali Khan Durrani retired today and Police Group Officer Zafar Abbas Malik has replaced him.

Also, Former DG of FIA Javed Iqbal has been picked up as Secretary Narcotics. SAMAA

Staff Report

Lahore: All-rounder Shoaib Malik has said that upcoming series against Sri Lanka will be beneficial for players.

Speaking to newsmen at Qaddafi Stadium today (Cuma), Malik said every player would benefit from the Lanka tour.

“I will try my best to put up a good show,” he said.

To a question about inclusion of Sialkot Stallions in Champions League, he said Indian fans love me due to my cricket, not due to my Indian wife. SAMAA

He also stressed on the importance of India and Pakistan playing against each others. SAMAA

CANNES: Take a timeless French classic, “Dangerous Liaisons”, and whisk it to 1930s Shanghai: a South Korean director pulled off the unlikely stunt in Cannes on Thursday.

“It’s a delightful reworking of ‘Dangerous Liaisons’, a cruel fable with two wonderful actresses,” said Edouard Waintrop who picked the selection at the Directors’ Fortnight sidebar section of the festival.

The classic 18th-century epistolary novel by Choderlos de Laclos tells the story of two ex-lovers, the Marquise de Merteuil and the Vicomte de Valmont, who use sex as a weapon to humiliate others in a perverse form of rivalry.

But their cruel games hit a rock when the marquise dares Valmont to seduce a deeply virtuous widow, named Madame de Tourvel.

The marquise, renamed Madam Mo, is played by Hong-Kong actress Cecilia Cheung, opposite Zhang Ziyi — who starred in “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” — as de Tourvel.

Korean director Hur Jin-ho set the Chinese-language film in a sumptuously recreated interwar Shanghai, where the Valmont character — renamed Xie Yifan and played by South Korea’s Jang Dong-gun — works his way from bedroom to opulent bedroom.

The director said he was contacted by Chinese producers three years ago for the project.

“My Chinese is not very good, but the subject interests me so much that I found the courage to overcome the language barrier,” he said after the first screening of the film in Cannes. KURUM

Staff Report
KARACHI: Sindh Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah Friday took notice of bus firing incident in Nawabshah that left at least eight people dead today.

The CM Shah directed the concerned authorities including DIG Hyderabad and SSP Nawabshah to immediately arrest the culprits involved in the heinous incident that took place near Qazi Ahmed area of Nawabshah this morning.

It should be mentioned here that the ill-fated As-Sanabor bus left from its terminal located near Sea Breeze Plaza, Karachi at 7am for Abbottabad. When it was passing through Qazi Ahmed, six gunmen opened indiscriminate fire at the bus, killing eight people including driver Haji Abdul Ghaffar and injuring others, according to DIG Sanaullah Abbasi.

Qaim Ali Shah directed the provincial police to form patrol teams to make road travels more secure. SAMAA

Staff Report

DIR: The teacher, who allegedly tortured a five-year-old female student in a private school of Lower Dir, was produced before a local court on Friday.

According to reports, Qari Ibrahim, a teacher at Iqra Model School, beat up the innocent girl, Roheen, with a plastic pipe. As a result of which, she fell unconscious.

The girl was shifted to DHQ Hospital for medical aid.

Later, school administration tired to pressurize the relative of the girl. Ancak, police registered a case and arrested the accused after the whole incident was aired by broadcast media. SAMAA

Staff Report
KARACHI: President Asif Ali Zardari has called an important meeting at Bilawal House over law and order situation in the metropolis, SAMAA reports Friday.

According to Presidential spokesman Farhatullah Babar, various high-ups including Federal Interior Minister Rehman A. Malik, Sindh Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah and other top provincial officials will attend the meeting.

The sources said a report regarding attack on Awami Tehreek’s “Mohabbat-e-Sindh” rally and deaths of 17 people in Karachi, is expected to be presented during the meeting.

It should be mentioned here that President Zardari flew directly from Chicago into Karachi in the wake of attack on Awami Tehreek’s rally. SAMAA

Staff Report
KARACHI: At least four people were killed and three others injured in separate incidents of firing and violence in different areas of the city, SAMAA reports Friday morning.

Meantime, 15 miscreants involved in serious crimes in the city have been arrested in a targeted operation conducted by the Rangers. Hand grenades and other heavy weaponry have also been seized from their custody.

According to details, Abdush-Shakoor, a vegetable vendor, was gunned down while he was sleeping outside his residence located in Korangi’s Bilal Colony.

Some gunmen shot dead Faisal Kareem while he was driving his car through Bahadurabad area of Sharfabad today. Meantime, a body of a 40-year man wrapped up in sack was from Lyari River.

Body of another man was recovered from Korangi. The deceased was tortured to death.

The firing incident near Bismilla Hotel located in Old Golimar injured 33-year Mirza Rahim Baig. A man Shahid, 50, was injured in another firing incident in Korangi-6 and a rickshaw driver Muhammed Yousuf in Machhar Colony.

The injured were shifted to Abbasi Shaheed, Civil and Jinnah Hospitals.

The Rangers launched targeted operations overnight in Baldia Town, Mawachh Goth, Lyari and Maripur and arrested 15 people including five miscreants involved in gory crimes. Also, six 9MM pistols, six hand grenades, 16 tabanca, two Kalashnikovs, one repeater and hundreds of bullets were seized from their possession. SAMAA

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Staff Report

NAWABSHAH: At least seven people were killed and many more were wounded when unknown gunmen opened fire on a bus in Nawabshah.

The attack took place on National Highway near Qazi Ahmed locality of Nawabshah.

The dead and the wounded were shifted to nearby government-run hospitals.

According to reports, 55 passengers were aboard the attacked bus, which was traveling to Abbottabad from Karachi.

No motive could be known behind the attack so far.

According to reports reaching here, rescue efforts are ongoing. SAMAA

Staff Report

İSLAMABAD: A trial court on Friday rejected Hamid Saeed Kazmi’s plea seeking acquittal from Hajj corruption case.

The former religious affairs minister is facing corruption charges in the Hajj scandal.

He will be formally indicted on May 23.

Kazmi had filed a plea under Section 265 to seek his acquittal from this case. His application was today rejected by Special Judge Central Mian Khalid Bashir, who ruled the plea was before time as the accused was yet to be formally charged.

BEIRUT: The Syrian regime and an increasingly organized rebel force are carrying out illegal killings and torturing their opponents, but government forces are still responsible for most of the violence stemming from the country’s uprising, a U.N. panel says.

The findings were released Thursday in Geneva by the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Syria, which said the conflict has become “increasingly militarized.” The report was based on hundreds of interviews since March with victims and witnesses who fled the country.

“Fighters in anti-government armed groups were killed after being captured or wounded,” the report said. “In some particularly grave instances, entire families were executed in their homes — usually the family members of those opposing the government.”

Children, including boys as young as 10, have said they are “tortured to admit that older male members of their family are Free Syrian Army soldiers or supporters,” the report said. The Free Syrian Army is the rebel force trying to topple the government.

The U.N. panel also said there is a growing list of abuses committed by anti-government armed groups, including executions of military forces and suspected informers. Anti-government armed groups have increasingly resorted to roadside bombs and have abducted civilians and government forces, apparently for prisoner exchanges or ransom, according to the report.

On Thursday, the state-run SANA news agency said a mother and her five children between the ages of 4 ve 13 were killed in Hama province.

There were no further details on the killings or who was behind them.

Despite the country’s spiraling violence, President Bashar Assad said Thursday that Syria would emerge from the crisis “thanks to the steadfastness of its people.”

Assad spoke during a meeting with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s special envoy, Telecommunications Minister Reza Taqipour. Iran is one of Syria’s strongest allies.

The Syrian government denies that the 15-month-old revolt that has engulfed the country is being driven by a popular uprising against Assad’s rule, instead arguing that terrorists are behind the unrest.

The opposition denies any links to terrorism, saying they were forced to take up arms after government forces fired on peaceful protesters. A string of suicide attacks this year has raised fears among some observers that extremists are trying to exploit the chaos in Syria.

The U.N. estimated in March that more than 9,000 people have been killed in the revolt, and the death toll rises every day.

More than 250 U.N. observers are now based in cities around Syria to monitor a peace plan brokered by international envoy Kofi Annan, but the cease-fire is violated every day by both sides in the conflict.

On Thursday, opposition groups said government forces shelled the rebel-held town of Rastan on Thursday, killing at least three people. Also Thursday, the state-run news agency said an armed group assassinated a lieutenant, shooting him and his 13-year-old son outside Damascus.

The violence in Syria has spilled over into Lebanon, where deadly clashes linked to the conflict next door have killed at least 10 people in the past two weeks.

Lebanese and Syrian officials have said armed gunmen in Syria kidnapped 11 Lebanese Shiite pilgrims on Tuesday, setting off protests in Beirut’s Shiite-dominated southern suburbs where residents burned tires and blocked roads.

Abd . Embassy in Beirut on Thursday condemned the kidnapping and called for the men’s immediate release. “The kidnapping of people, particularly targeting along sectarian lines, is unacceptable,” the embassy said in a statement on its Twitter account.

Syria’s main opposition council, bu arada, said it has accepted the resignation of its Paris-based president who earlier offered to step down over mounting criticism of his leadership.

The executive committee of the Syrian National Council asked Burhan Ghalioun to pursue his duties until a new president is elected at a meeting on June 9 and 10.

The SNC has been plagued by infighting and divisions since its inception in September, complicating Western efforts to bolster the opposition. Ghalioun’s offer to resign came just days after he was re-elected for a third three-month term in a controversial vote in Rome. KURUM

TOKYO: Asian shares fell to their lowest levels of the year on Friday as early bargain hunting gave way to worries about Europe’s raging debt crisis and weak global growth.

The MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan slipped 0.7 percent, after edging up as much as 0.3 percent earlier, hitting its lowest since late December as worries about a possible Greek exit from the euro zone continued to weigh on the market.

The pan-Asia stock index was set for a third consecutive week of losses, its longest losing streak in six months. In late February, it had been up some 15 percent from end 2011 levels.

Japan’s Nikkei stock average was flat, but looked set for its longest weekly losing run in 20 years.

U.S. stock futures fell 0.4 percent, after Wall Street ended slightly higher overnight.

Concerns about global growth and a failure by European policymakers to make any significant breakthroughs to resolve the debt crisis have curbed risk appetite and strengthened demand for highly rated government bonds. Germany’s 10-year government bond yield fell to a record low of 1.35 percent on Thursday.

The euro remained pressured by the uncertain outlook for the fate of Greece – as well as that of the entire currency bloc – and traded down 0.1 percent at $1.2525 after falling to its lowest since July 2010, az $1.25155, on Thursday.

The dollar index measured against key currencies hovered near a 20-month high of 82.376 hit on Thursday, due to its safe-haven appeal.

“Markets have priced in a very negative scenario for Greece as well as deteriorating growth prospects in the euro zone, but with them very much focused on the tail risk of Greece leaving the euro bloc, the euro remains highly vulnerable,” said Masafumi Yamamoto, chief FX strategist at Barclays.

A poll on Thursday showed Greece’s anti-bailout leftist SYRIZA party was maintaining its lead ahead of a June 17 election which may determine whether the country remains inside the common currency bloc.

Asian credit markets were firmer, with the spread on the iTraxx Asia ex-Japan investment-grade index narrowing by 2 basis points.

Oil, which retained its gains earlier, succumbed to the general retreat in broader markets, with U.S. crude futures down 0.1 percent at $90.61 a barrel and Brent futures flat at $106.54 a barrel.

Spot gold continued to track the euro lower, falling 0.3 percent to $1,552.81 an ounce.

GROWTH SLOWDOWN GLOBALLY
Data from the United States, China and Europe on Thursday underscored the damage the euro zone’s fiscal plight has inflicted on growth globally.

U.S. jobless claims were little changed in the week ended on Saturday, while a key category of durable goods orders seen as a proxy for business spending declined.

Manufacturing activity in the euro zone in May shrank to its lowest reading since June 2009 and the guide to growth in Europe’s powerhouse Germany also contracted in May, pointing to deteriorating growth ahead.

Slowing external conditions were reflected in China’s HSBC Flash PMI, which fell in April for the seventh straight month of the index holding below 50, signalling that the economy would remain sluggish throughout the first half of the year. KURUM

YANGON: Nobel laureate and opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi will travel outside Myanmar for the first time in 24 years next week to deliver a speech at an international forum in Thailand, her party said on Thursday.

Her decision to venture outside the country she had only expected to return to temporarily in 1988 comes after a year of dramatic change in Myanmar after almost a half century of military rule.

Suu Kyi, 66, won a parliamentary seat in April after engaging with the reformist rulers once part of the junta that locked her up for 15 years for her fight against dictatorship.

An official from her National League for Democracy (NLD) party told Reuters Suu Kyi had accepted an invitation to attend the World Economic Forum on East Asia in Bangkok next week.

Separately, NLD spokesman Nyan Win said Suu Kyi would head to neighboring Thailand on Monday. Organisers could not confirm whether or not she would attend.

Suu Kyi, the daughter of the leader of Myanmar’s campaign for independence from British rule, spent years away from home, including many in Britain after marrying a British academic, Michael Aris.

She returned to her homeland in 1988 to take care of her dying mother and got caught up in a student-led democracy uprising that swept the country that year and which the military eventually crushed.

Suu Kyi was first detained in 1989 and spent 15 of the next 21 years in detention until her release from house arrest in November 2010.

She refused to leave the country during brief periods when she was not held by authorities, for fear of not being allowed to return, even after her husband was diagnosed with cancer. Aris died in 1999.

Suu Kyi had announced in April she would make Britain and Norway her first ports of call, but her plans appear to have changed.

She is due to visit Geneva to address an international labor conference on June 14 and will also spend a week in Britain from June 18, where she lived and studied, during which she will give a speech to both houses of parliament. KURUM

Staff Report
Gujranwala: Police arrested the parents of ten-year-old Sobia who was yesterday found dumped on a roadside with severe torture marks on her body, said City Police Officer Kamran Yousuf on Friday.

The arrested parents include Lashkar Khan and his wife, step mother to Sobia, the police official told adding arrested parents of the abandoned minor girl will be produced before the media today.

Two parents were arrested from Banglabad Gakhar Mandi. SAMAA

PARIS : French President Francois Hollande arrived in Afghanistan on Friday for a surprise trip to visit France’s troops there and Afghan President Hamid Karzai, Hollande’s office said.