In the first attack a donkey cart went over a mine buried by the roadside on the outskirts of Peshawar, police said.
“Both the donkey cart owner and donkey were killed. Basically the mine was planted to target police,” Kalam Khan, a senior police official, told AFP.
In the second incident a remote control bomb hit a police patrol pick-up, injuring 11, in the village of Darsamand, in Hangu district.
“Nine policemen and two passers-by were wounded in this bomb blast. Taliban militants are responsible for this attack,” Abdur Rashid Khan, district police chief told AFP by telephone.
Hangu lies 150 kilometres south of Peshawar and has a history of sectarian clashes between Pakistan’s majority Sunni Muslims and minority Shias.
The area borders the tribal regions of Kurram and Orakzai, where entrenched militants oppose jobs and education for women.
Militants in Pakistan’s northwest often target police and other law enforcement agencies and are engaged in a campaign of violence against security forces in the country.
More than 4,000 have died in suicide and bomb attacks across Pakistan since 2007.
The bombings have been blamed on terror networks linked to the Taliban and al Qaeda.
While Western air power has grounded Qadhafi’s warplanes and pushed back his forces from the brink of rebel stronghold Benghazi, disorganised and poorly equipped insurgents have failed to capitalise on the ground and are pinned down.
The rebels have been unable to dislodge Qadhafi’s forces from the key junction of Ajdabiyah in the east, while government tanks are besieging the last big rebel hold-out of Misrata.
There is a big risk of stalemate on the ground, analysts say.
At least two explosions were heard in the Libyan capital Tripoli before dawn on Wednesday, Reuters witnesses said. The roar of a warplane was heard above the city followed by a barrage of anti-aircraft gunfire.
“We will not surrender,” Qadhafi earlier told supporters forming a human shield to protect him at his Tripoli compound, which came under attack in 1986 from the Reagan administration and once again in the current round of air strikes.
“We will defeat them by any means … We are ready for the fight, whether it will be a short or a long one … We will be victorious in the end,” he said in a live television broadcast, his first public appearance since the air strikes began.
“This assault … is by a bunch of fascists who will end up in the dustbin of history,” Qadhafi said in a speech followed by fireworks in the Libyan capital as crowds cheered and supporters fired guns into the air.
The Libyan government denies its army is conducting any offensive operations and says troops are only defending themselves when they come under attack.
But rebels and residents say Qadhafi’s tanks have kept up their shelling of Misrata in the west, killing 40 people on Monday alone, and also attacked the small town of Zintan near the border with Tunisia.
It was impossible to independently verify the reports.
REBELS BOGGED DOWN
The siege of Misrata, now weeks old, is becoming increasingly desperate, with water cut off for days and food running out, doctors operating on patients in hospital corridors and many of the wounded left untreated or simply turned away.
“The situation in the local hospital is disastrous,” said a Misrata doctor in a statement.
“The doctors and medical teams are exhausted beyond human physical ability and some of them cannot reach the hospital because of tanks and snipers.”
The rebel effort in the desert scrub of east Libya was bogged down outside Ajdabiyah, with no movement on the strategic town since Qadhafi’s remaining tanks holed up there after the government’s armoured advance along the open road to Benghazi was blown to bits by French air strikes on Saturday night.
Hiding in the sand dunes from the tank fire coming from the town, the rebels are without heavy weapons, leadership, communication, or even a plan. On Tuesday, groups of fighters lounged around, chatting and smoking cigarettes. This was the spearhead of the counter-offensive.
When asked who was in command, one fighter, Mohamed Bhreka, shrugged and said: “Nobody is. We are volunteers. We just come here. There is no plan.”
Their heavy machine guns were bolted to the back of pick-up trucks and there was a good supply of assault rifles. But some just had knives or iron bars. Field radios were not to be seen.
Fighters on the frontline of the uprising against Qadhafi’s 41-year rule of this oil-producing north African nation said they had lost the heavy weapons needed to take on his tanks.
It remains to be seen whether the rebel’s bravado and faith in God are enough to take towns and advance towards their target of capturing Tripoli.
AGREEMENT ON NATO ROLE
Western warplanes have flown more than 300 sorties over Libya and more than 162 Tomahawk cruise missiles have been fired in the United Nations-mandated mission to protect Libyan civilians against government troops.
US President Barack Obama said the allies should be able to announce soon that they have achieved the objective of creating the no-fly zone.
But, he said, Qadhafi would present a potential threat to his people “unless he is willing to step down.”
“We will continue to support the efforts to protect the Libyan people. But we will not be in the lead,” Obama said.
Obama, facing questions at home about the Libyan mission, duration and cost, wants the United States to give up operational control of enforcing the no-fly zone within days.
Obama spoke with French President Nicolas Sarkozy and British Prime Minister David Cameron on Tuesday and they agreed NATO should play an important role in enforcing the Libyan no-fly zone, the White House said.
“We condemn this act in the strongest possible words,” President Asif Ali Zardari said during a televised address to the federal parliament.
The burning was carried out by pastor Wayne Sapp under the supervision of Terry Jones, who last year drew condemnation over his aborted plan to ignite a pile of the Islamic holy books to mark the anniversary of the September 11, 2001 attacks.
Jones was widely pilloried for his threats to carry out the Quran burning, including by US President Barack Obama.
“It is a serious set back to the efforts at promoting harmony among civilised communities throughout the world,” Zardari said asking the parliament to pass a resolution and urge the United Nations to address the issue.
Pakistani foreign ministry also condemned the desecration of the Quran as “despicable act.” “There could be no justification for such acts,” the ministry said.
“This has deeply hurt the feelings of the people of Pakistan and Muslims all over the world.”
The council decided instead simply to hold a briefing already planned for Thursday by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on how the resolution that set up the zone to protect civilians in Libya’s internal conflict is being implemented.
Strikes were launched over the weekend by US, French and British warplanes and missiles to disable Libyan air defenses and halt government forces closing in on the eastern city of Benghazi and other centers held by rebels.
Diplomats said Libyan Foreign Minister Moussa Koussa had written to the council over the weekend requesting that the 15-nation body hold an emergency session to debate the “military aggression” against Libya.
China, which holds the council chair this month, called closed-door council consultations on Monday to consider the letter.
“The council will convene on Thursday to receive the report by the secretary-general about the implementation of Resolution 1973 and will then discuss the situation in Libya,” a council diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity, said afterward.
The diplomat said he did not think the council intends to react to the letter by Koussa, but wants to remain focused on Libya on its own terms. “Why should the council meet now? Why shouldn’t it wait until it has proper information from the secretary-general?” the diplomat asked.
‘All Necessary Measures’
Under the terms of the March 17 resolution, which both clamped a no-fly zone on Libya and authorized “all necessary measures” to protect civilians, Ban was required to report back to the council within a week on its implementation.
Diplomats said Thursday’s meeting was likely to be closed.
Ban will just have returned from visits to Libya’s neighbors Egypt and Tunisia.
The council is far from united over the action on Libya. In last week’s vote, 10 countries supported the resolution and the other five council members abstained including Russia and China, which, however, refrained from using their veto power.
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin on Monday called the resolution “defective and flawed” and likened it to medieval calls for crusades, a term later criticized by Russia President Dmitry Medvedev.
Germany, Brazil and India also abstained.
Arab League chief Amr Moussa suggested on Sunday that the Western powers’ military strikes on Libya had gone too far, but said on Monday he respected the resolution that imposed the no-fly zone, which the Arab League itself had called for.
Countries taking part in enforcing the no-fly zone are required to notify the United Nations. The world body said on Monday it had so far been notified by Britain, France, the United States, Denmark, Canada, Italy and Qatar.
Pakistan start firm favourites in Wednesday’s quarter-final against Darren Sammy’s men at the Sher-e-Bangla stadium after topping Group A with five wins in six matches.
One of those wins broke Australia’s unbeaten streak of 34 World Cup matches over a 12-year period after the three-time defending champions went down by four wickets in Colombo on Saturday.
A win over the West Indies could bring Afridi’s men a mouth-watering semi-final against arch-rivals India, if the co-hosts beat Australia in Thursday’s quarter-final in Ahmedabad.
“Our entire focus is on winning the quarter-final, I am not even thinking of the next match, whether it is India or Australia,” Afridi told a packed news conference.
“We will not take the West Indies lightly. Any team is capable of winning on their day, there are no second chances in a knock-out match. I think they are a very good side.”
The West Indies collapsed from winning positions against England and India, and only qualified for the quarter-finals on superior run-rate after ending the league level with Bangladesh on six points.
The impressive run by Afridi’s team would have delighted their volatile nation, which has been stripped of big-time cricket at home due to security concerns and tainted by an unsavoury spot-fixing scandal.
The absence of former captain Salman Butt and pace spearheads Mohammad Amir and Mohammad Asif due to the controversy was not felt as the team has rallied superbly under their inspirational captain.
All-rounder Afridi is the tournament’s leading bowler with 17 wickets with his fastish leg-breaks, while seamer Umar Gul has kept the pressure on at the other end with 13 wickets.
Afridi may have failed with the bat so far with just 65 runs in six games, but young guns Umar Akmal and Asad Shafiq have shone brightly in their first World Cup.
Akmal has scored 211 runs at 52.75 and Shafiq averages 124 in the two games he has played so far, while seasoned seniors like Misbah-ul Haq and Younis Khan have lent solidity to the middle-order.
“Our success so far has been entirely due to the bowlers, who have done a very good job,” said Afridi. “I myself have not batted well and will focus on that tomorrow.
“I know how important my batting is for the team and I will try to get some runs on the board.”
Afridi played down suggestions that the West Indies will be hard to beat at a venue where they shot out Bangladesh for their lowest one-day total of 58 in the league to romp home by nine wickets.
“That was Bangladesh, this is Pakistan,” the captain said.
“It’s not that we are playing for the first time in these conditions. We feel at home anywhere in the sub-continent.”
Afridi said he had never seen Pakistan work so hard at their cricket, which has been rewarded by the good results so far.
“I have played for 14 years and never seen the team train so seriously and focus on their game,” he said.
“The entire team is together in the dream to do well in the World Cup.
“Our aim at the start was to make the semi-finals and I am confident we can achieve that.
The meeting discussed the upcoming joint session of the parliament and the country’s prevalent political situation.
During the meeting, Prime Minister Gilani said he was hopeful that the opposition would not boycott the March 22 address of President Asif Ali Zardari to a joint sitting of both houses of parliament.
Prime Minister Gilani said he believed in democratic values and would not side with undemocratic forces.
Moreover, Prime Minister Gilani telephoned PML-N leader and Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif, Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman and Governor Sindh Ishratul Ebad. He reportedly requested the leaders not to protest during President Zardari’s address to the parliament.
Earlier, on March 19, a delegation of the People’s Party, headed by Inter-Provincial Coordination Minister Raza Rabbani, met Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, to seek the opposition’s cooperation during President Zardari’s to the parliament.
However, during that meeting, Chaudhry Nisar complained about the recent behaviour of PPP MPAs in Punjab Assembly, but said the PML-N would follow parliamentary traditions and not create any fuss during the joint session.
President Zardari in his address on Tuesday is likely to announce the national agenda for the next two years.
His address is scheduled for 1600 PST.
President Zardari earlier addressed the Parliament on September 20, 2008, March 28, 2009 and on April 5, 2010.
TRIPOLI: Western powers launched a second wave of air strikes on Libya early on Monday after halting the advance of Muammar Qaddafi’s forces on Benghazi and targeting air defences to let their planes patrol the skies.
The UN-mandated intervention to protect civilians caught up in a one-month-old revolt against Qaddafi drew criticism from Arab League chief Amr Moussa, who questioned the need for a heavy bombardment, which he said had killed many civilians.
But the United States, carrying out the air strikes in a coalition with Britain, France, Italy and Canada among others, said the campaign was working and dismissed a ceasefire announcement by the Libyan military on Sunday evening.
Britain’s Defence Ministry said one of its submarines had again fired Tomahawk guided missiles on Sunday night as part of a second wave of attacks to enforce the UN resolution.
“We and our international partners are continuing operations in support of the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1973,” a ministry spokesman said.
Italy said it also had warplanes in the air, after US and British warships and submarines launched 110 Tomahawk missiles on Saturday night and Sunday morning.
Vice Admiral Bill Gortney, director of the US military’s Joint Staff, told reporters there had been no new Libyan air activity or radar emissions, but a significant decrease in Libyan air surveillance, since strikes began Saturday.
Benghazi was not yet free from threat, said Gortney, but Qaddafi’s forces in the area were in distress and “suffering from isolation and confusion” after the air assaults.
Late on Sunday night, Libyan officials took Western reporters to Qaddafi’s compound in Tripoli, a sprawling complex that houses his private quarters as well as military barracks, anti-aircraft batteries and other installations, to see what they said was the site of a missile attack two hours earlier.
“It was a barbaric bombing,” said government spokesman Mussa Ibrahim, showing pieces of shrapnel that he said came from the missile. “This contradicts American and Western (statements) that it is not their target to attack this place.”
A Libyan military spokesman announced a new ceasefire on Sunday, saying that “the Libyan armed forces have issued a command to all military units to safeguard an immediate ceasefire from 9 pm this evening”.
Both before and after he spoke, heavy anti-aircraft gunfire boomed above central Tripoli.
Outside Benghazi, smouldering, shattered tanks and troop carriers from what had been Qaddafi’s advancing forces littered the main road. The charred bodies of at least 14 government soldiers lay scattered in the desert.
But with Qaddafi having vowed to fight to the death, there were fears his troops might try to force their way into cities, seeking shelter from air attacks among the civilian population.
In central Benghazi, sporadic explosions and heavy exchanges of gunfire could be heard in the streets late on Sunday evening.
A Reuters witness said the firing lasted about 40 minutes.
In Misrata, the last rebel-held city in western Libya, government tanks moved in after a base used by Gaddafi’s forces outside was hit by air strikes on Saturday, residents said.
“There is fighting between the rebels and Qaddafi’s forces. Their tanks are in the centre of Misrata. There are so many casualties we cannot count them,” Abdelbasset, a spokesman for the rebels in Misrata, told Reuters on Sunday afternoon.
Civilian Casualties
A Libyan government health official said 64 people had been killed by Western bombardment on Saturday and Sunday morning, but it was impossible to independently verify the report.
Libyan state television showed footage from an unidentified hospital of what it called victims of the “colonial enemy”. Ten bodies were wrapped in white and blue bed sheets, and several people were wounded, one of them badly, the television said.
Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa called for an emergency meeting of the group’s 22 states to discuss Libya. He requested a report on the bombardment, which he said had “led to the deaths and injuries of many Libyan civilians”.
“What is happening in Libya differs from the aim of imposing a no-fly zone, and what we want is the protection of civilians and not the bombardment of more civilians,” Egypt’s state news agency quoted him as saying.
There was no immediate public backing for his call from any government in the region, however.
Arab support for a no-fly zone provided crucial underpinning for the passage of a UN Security Council resolution last week that paved the way for Western action to stop Qaddafi killing civilians as he fights an uprising against his 41-year rule.
US President Barack Obama spoke to Jordan’s King Abdullah, while Vice President Joe Biden phoned leaders in Algeria and Kuwait to shore up Arab support.
The intervention is the biggest against an Arab country since the 2003 invasion of Iraq.
Pakistan upstaged Australia by four wickets to end the defending champions’
unbeaten 34-match streak in the World Cup stretching back to 1999.
It also meant Pakistan finished top of Group A and gave them a quarter-final clash against the West Indies in Dhaka on Wednesday while Australia tackle India in Ahmedabad on Thursday.
“We knew that beating Australia would be very important for us and this win has enhanced our image, sending a good signal to the cricket world that we can win despite our difficult situation,” Afridi told AFP.
Pakistan entered the tournament on the back of a spot-fixing scandal which led to lengthy bans on former Test captain Salman Butt and pacemen Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir.
The three men are also facing criminal proceedings in the United Kingdom.
Pakistan has also been a no-go area for international teams since the terrorist attacks on the Sri Lankan team bus in Lahore two years ago.
Those attacks, which killed eight people and injured seven Sri Lankan players and their asistant coach, forced the International Cricket Council to strip Pakistan of its 2011 World Cup co-hosting rights.
Afridi said Pakistan still has a deep well of natural cricketing talent.
“Despite all the problems Pakistan is blessed with talent and it’s because of this talent that we are a dangerous team and can win against anyone. We now hope to carry on the momentum,” said Afridi.
The Pakistan captain disagreed that the West Indies, who squeezed into the last eight on run-rate, will be easier opponents.
“They have qualified for the quarter-finals after some good play, so we have to do well in all three departments because it’s a knockout stage from here,” said Afridi, the leading wicket-taker with 17 in six matches so far.
Afridi said he was not thinking of a potentially high-voltage semi-final clash against India if the two Asian rivals come through their last-eight tests.
“Our focus is on the quarter-final, we have to win that to reach the semi-final, so we are not thinking that far. First we have to win a must-win match against a dangerous opponent,” said Afridi.
The winners of the first two quarter-finals meet in the second semi-final at Mohail on March 30.
South Africa play New Zealand on March 25 (Dhaka) and Sri Lanka face England (Colombo) in the last quarter-final a day later — with the winners to play the first semi-final in Colombo on March 29.
More than 50 miners were in the mine when three big explosions triggered by methane gas ripped through the caverns.
“Forty-five miners have died. We have retrieved 25 bodies so far,” Aslam Bizenjo, provincial irrigation minister, told the provincial assembly.
Officials said the chances of finding the trapped workers alive were very slim because of a fire, which had consumed all the oxygen. Witnesses said the bodies had severe burns from the huge fire.
The mine in the Sorrange area, some 35 kilometres from the provincial capital, Quetta, is owned by the state-run Pakistan Mineral Development Corporation and was leased to a contractor.
Mohammad Iftikhar, chief inspector of mines in the region, said the contactor had been asked to shut down the mine two weeks ago because of an excessive accumulation of methane gas.
Such explosions are not uncommon in coal mines in Pakistan, most of which are located in Balochistan and neighbouring Sindh, where safety measures can be lax.
The country has huge coal reserves estimated at more than 184 billion tonnes. It produces four million tonnes of coal annually, most of which is consumed by brick-making kilns.
“We have seen at least three or four police vehicles taking people away,” said an activist there who declined to be named.
“Security have arrested around 15 people. They tried to go into the ministry to go and ask for the freedom of their loved ones,” the activist said.
Protests are banned in Saudi Arabia.
A Reuters witness could not get close to the heavily guarded ministry but saw dozens of men in traditional white robes standing there while dozens of police and security forces stood by next to police cars.
There were at least 50 police cars surrounding the ministry.
Gul took 3-30 to help Pakistan dismiss Australia for 176 — their lowest World Cup total since 1992 — before Umar Akmal hit an unbeaten 44 to steer Pakistan to victory in 41 overs, finishing top of the pool with 10 points.
Pakistan, champions in 1992, will play the fourth placed team in Group B, while Australia (nine points) finished third behind Sri Lanka (nine points) on run-rate and will play the second placed team from Group B.
Saturday’s loss was Australia’s first in the World Cup since losing to Pakistan by 10 runs in Leeds in 1999.
But the champions, led by spearhead Brett Lee (4-28), fought hard and twice raised hopes of an unlikely win.
Pakistan were cruising along on 98-2 before Lee derailed the chase in his first over of his second spell, dismissing Younis Khan (31) and Misbah-ul-Haq for a first-ball duck — both caught by keeper Brad Haddin.
Mitchell Johnson removed Asad Shafiq (46) while Jason Krejza tempted skipper Shahid Afridi (two) to hole out in the deep, but Umar and Abdul Razzaq (20 not out) saw their team home with a cautious 36-run stand for the seventh wicket.
Razzaq hit two boundaries off spinner Jason Krejza to complete the victory.
Lee had taken two wickets in his first spell, taking a smart catch off his own bowling to dismiss opener Mohammad Hafeez (five) before trapping Kamran Akmal lbw for 23.
Shafiq, who hit five boundaries during his 81-ball knock, added 53 with Younis and 41 with Umar to keep Pakistan on track.
Earlier, Gul and Razzaq (2-8) exposed the untested Australian batting after Ricky Ponting won the toss and decided to bat on a seemingly flat R. Premadasa stadium pitch.
Haddin (42), Michael Clarke (34) and Steve Smith (25) offered some resistance as Pakistan applied relentless pressure to take the last seven Australian wickets for a mere 59 runs after they were 117-3.
Pakistan, who opened the attack with left-arm spinner Abdur Rehman from one end, forced an early breakthrough when Gul bowled opener Shane Watson with a sharp incoming delivery for nine.
Haddin added 63 for the second wicket with Ponting (19) before Pakistan struck twice, with Hafeez removing the Australian skipper off a miscued cut, caught by wicket-keeper Kamran Akmal.
Umpire Marais Erasmus of South Africa turned down a vociferous appeal before Pakistan successfully overturned the verdict on review to leave Australia 75-2.
Left-arm paceman Wahab Riaz then had Haddin caught behind by Kamran in the 24th over. Haddin hit three boundaries and a six during his 80-ball knock.
Pakistan then took four crucial wickets in the space of just 30 runs to reduce the Australians to 147-7, including wickets of Clarke and Michael Hussey for 12.
Gul removed Krejza and Lee cheaply to wrap the Australian innings for their sixth lowest World Cup total.
Teams:
Australia: Ricky Ponting (capt), Shane Watson, Brad Haddin, Michael Clarke, Michael Hussey, Cameron White, Steve Smith, Mitchell Johnson, Jason Krejza, Brett Lee, Shaun Tait.
Pakistan: Shahid Afridi (capt), Misbah-ul-Haq, Mohammad Hafeez, Kamran Akmal, Younis Khan, Asad Shafiq, Umar Akmal, Abdul Razzaq, Abdur Rehman, Umar Gul, Wahab Riaz.
Umpires: Tony Hill (NZL) and Marais Erasmus (RSA)
Tv umpire: Tyron Wijewardena (SRI)
Match referee: Chris Broad (ENG)
Pitch conditions: A slow pitch which looks brown and is likely to help spinners, but the turn will not be vicious.
US warships fired 110 Tomahawk cruise missiles into Libya, targeting Qadhafi`s air defence sites, a senior US military official said.
Two days after a UN Security Council resolution authorised military action, French planes carried out an initial attack, destroying several armoured vehicles of Qadhafi`s forces, the French military said.
Libyan media said Western warplanes bombed civilian targets in Tripoli, causing casualties, shortly after France`s launch of the multinational air campaign against Qadhafi.
State television said hundreds of people had gathered at Bab al-Aziziyah, Qadhafi`s Tripoli headquarters, and at the capital`s international airport, ahead of the widely anticipated air strikes.
“Crowds are forming around the targets identified by France,” the television reported, showing pictures of flag-waving people gathering to serve as human shields.
Britain also said its forces were in action on Saturday, as Russia`s foreign ministry expressed regret over the armed intervention under UN Resolution 1973 “which was adopted in haste”.
According to France`s army chief, a first French air strike took place around 1645 GMT against “a Libyan vehicle clearly identified as belonging to pro-Qadhafi forces”.
Within the next hour, French Rafale and Mirage 2000 fighter jets conducted three other strikes, destroying armoured vehicles of the Libyan forces in the eastern region of Benghazi, the rebels` stronghold, the military said.
The operations are to continue through the night, the military said.
In the rebel camp, celebratory gunfire and honking of car horns broke out in Al-Marj, 100km from Benghazi, to welcome the start of military operations against Qadhafi, correspondents said.As thousands fled Benghazi amid an assault by Qadhafi loyalists earlier on Saturday, French President Nicolas Sarkozy told a summit of world leaders in Paris that his country`s fighters were poised to attack. But Sarkozy said Qadhafi could still avoid the worst if he complied with the Security Council resolution by implementing a ceasefire to allow the diplomatic door to reopen.
UN chief Ban Ki-moon, however, said he was troubled by a telephone call from the Libyan prime minister on Friday night. “He told me that the Libyan government was fully abiding by the Security Council resolution and there will be an immediate ceasefire,” said the secretary general.“But at the same time and overnight they were attacking Benghazi. It is very troubling; whatever they say must be verified.”
Since Friday, the Libyan government has insisted it was observing a self-declared ceasefire, shortly after the Security Council voted to authorise the use of force against Qadhafi`s troops to spare civilians.
The regime said its armed forces were under attack west of Benghazi, including by rebel aircraft, and had responded in self-defence.
On Saturday, Foreign Minister Mussa Kussa said Tripoli had met all its obligations under the UN resolution and asked Ban to send observers to monitor the ceasefire.
But the rebels, who have been trying to overthrow the Libyan leader for more than a month, said government troops had continued to bombard cities, violating the ceasefire continuously.
Addressing a “Meet The Press” program here at Lahore Press Club, Shah Mehmood Qureshi said the Prime Minister should take the nation into confidence on Raymond Davis’ release and uncover the facts for all to see.
He called for having a meeting convened of Pakistan People’s Party and all the coalition partners in which everyone be apprised of the facts in Raymond Davis issue.
The former FM said the release of Raymond Davis rather than improving the Pak-US relations has caused a severe dent on the bilateral ties. “He (Raymond Davis) has gone but left many questions unanswered,” Qureshi said.
England, possibly in honour of its long sporting tradition, is trying very hard to fail, but I suspect that it might very well fail to fail. I hope Bangladesh marches into the quarter-finals, precisely because it is the very opposite of England: its spirit is greater than its ability, unlike England, which brought along quality to the Cup but mislaid its spirit somewhere on the flight to the subcontinent.
The one fascinating aspect of this tournament so far is the difference in the management style of its captains. The test of a captain lies, obviously, in adversity, and Bangladesh’s Shakib al Hasan is blessed with the courage of self-belief.
He could have fallen into that worst of all traps, sulking self-pity, when angry fans broke his window panes after his team’s pathetic loss to the West Indies. Instead, he picked himself and the team up, and led them to a famous victory against England. It does not actually matter now whether he goes into the next round. He has restored his nation’s pride.
Bengali fans are right. They do not expect Bangladesh to win the Cup, but they will not tolerate a team that betrays its
honour.
The surprise is Shahid Afridi, who could easily join Pakistan’s foreign service after this swansong. The man who has tweaked a ball or two in his time, has flowered into a diplomat. He soothed ruffled feathers after defeat against New Zealand through a brilliant strategic pincer movement: he invited the huge Pakistani media contingent for
dinner with the players.
Mollifying the messenger is the best treatment for the ache of bad news. Afridi is clearly aware that contemporary Pakistan has only two powerful institutions, the army and the media. The army has only cursory interest in cricket during wartime, so an alliance with the media is sufficient for crisis control.
Pakistan remains the contrarian’s favourite; and if Afridi can handle his temperamental eleven with the kind of aplomb he has shown off the field, then watch out for the Greens. Predictably Pakistan’s erratic, slippery-fingers wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal has induced the best joke so far: ‘What is Akmal’s favourite pick-up line? Can I drop you anywhere?’
In contrast, Mahendra Dhoni is so laid back he could have been training in a sauna. Dhoni is proponent of the Yawn School of Business. When asked why India had made such heavy weather of defeating less-than-ordinary sides like Holland, he replied with a verbal shrug. India was winning, wasn’t it, and that was good enough for him.
Well, he might lose when there is no second chance left. It may not be much of a problem for him personally, since the advertisement deals are done, cheques are in the bank, and he probably thinks that the Great Indian Public is fickle in its affections anyway. Somebody should tell him that the symbol of India is the elephant, and while the elephant treads with a light step, it also has a long memory.
The captain who really knew how to lie on his back was the incomparable Viv Richards, but he had a few advantages over Dhoni. He was a genius with the bat. He was fearless (he disdained a helmet, trusting his eye and instinct instead). And he had a set of bowlers who could break your hand when you were looking and crack your head when you took your eye off the ball.
Dhoni has fashioned half a team for this tournament, just a set of brilliant batsmen, on the assumption that opponents will get themselves out. We shall see what we shall see.
The finest gentleman ever to captain England was surely Colin Cowdrey. In his last match as captain Cowdrey walked to the pitch for the toss, dressed in immaculate whites. And waited. Richards sauntered up 20 minutes late, wearing a T shirt and bandanna in more colours than a rainbow would dare to advertise.
The coin was tossed. Richards won. Richards looked at the prim and proper Cowdrey and asked the Englishman what he wanted to do, rather than exercising his right of decision. Once Cowdrey had recovered, he said England would like to bat. Okay man, said Richards, you bat.The West Indies won that Test match by 10 wickets. That is why it was Cowdrey’s last match. And that is why few lovers of cricket can remember Cowdrey, and no one has forgotten Vivian Richards.
Style is an art, particularly if it can be complemented with swagger. But style is not a substitute for substance.
ATC-III Special Judge Rana Nisar Ahmed heard the case on Saturday.
The warrant has been sent to Britain’s Home Office for compliance, prosecution lawyer Azhar Chaudhry said, citing a letter sent Saturday from Pakistan’s High Commission in London to the court.
“The High Commission hopes to get a reply from the British Home Office within a week,” he told AFP.
The court — which met in Adiyala prison, in Rawalpindi — adjourned proceedings until March 26 at the request of the prosecution.
On March 9, the government had sent to British authorities the arrest warrant of former president Gen (retd) Pervez Musharraf in the Benazir Bhutto assassination case.
According to sources in the interior ministry, the warrant was sent by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) to Pakistan’s High Commission in London which forwarded it to the UK foreign affairs department.
Musharraf, who was president when Benazir was killed in December 2007 in a gun and suicide bomb attack, is in self-imposed exile in London and his spokesman has repeatedly said he will not be going back to Pakistan for any court hearing.
The former president and military ruler is alleged to have been part of a “broad conspiracy” to have his political rival killed before elections, though the exact nature of the charges against him is not clear.
Benazir Bhutto was killed after addressing an election campaign rally in Rawalpindi, near the capital Islamabad, on December 27, 2007.
Her widower, Asif Ali Zardari, led her Pakistan People’s Party to election victory in February 2008 and is now president.
In April, a UN panel accused the government of failing to provide Benazir Bhutto with adequate protection and said investigations were hampered by intelligence agencies and other officials who impeded “an unfettered search for the truth”.
Former military leader Musharraf has lived in London since he was replaced by the elected Zardari.
The former president is said to be in Dubai these days.
A blood-money deal to secure the release of a CIA contractor Raymond Davis accused of murder in Pakistan has ended a damaging spy row but erased a thin veneer of trust between the suspicious allies. The sudden freeing of Davis on March 16, seven weeks after he shot dead two men in Lahore, has sparked angry demonstrations in protest at the decision.
Activists of the Pakistan Tehrik-i-Insaaf hold placards during a protest in Karachi.
The dead included two police officers and two political activists.
One person was shot dead in the city’s North Nazimabad area on Thursday, whereas another person was gunned down in Karachi’s Pak Colony area.
An activist from a religious party was shot dead in the city’s Nankwara area.
Moreover, unknown gunmen shot dead a Sub-Inspector and his son in the city’s North Karachi neighbourhood.
Another person was gunned down in the Nazimabad area.
On Wednesday, an activist of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) was killed near PIDC.
A body was also recovered from the city’s Gulistan-i-Johar area and another body was found in a shop on the Abul Hasan Isphahani road.
Also on Wednesday, six persons, including a police officer, were killed in firing in the Karimabad, Orangi Town and other areas of the city.
After hearing of the case here at LHC, Moonis Elahi left for home in his car.
Meanwhile, FIA officials said that Monis Elahi has been allowed some time and that he will be arrested later from his home.
Earlier, Additional DG FIA Zaffar Qureshi told the court that FIA will be getting Rs320 million back from Moonis in NICL corruption case. He said the NICL case is about the selling of land at Rs1.6 billion whose actual worth was estimated at Rs560.
He said that Moonis Elahi’s involvement in the fraud has been proved.
On the other hand, the S.M. Zafar, the counsel of Monis Elahi stated that there was an ill intention behind what he said dragging of his client into the case, adding that Zaffar Qureshi has a personal grudge against Moonis Elahi.
After listening to the arguments from both sides, the court dismissed the bail petition of Monis Elahi.
Activists of PML-Q raised slogans in favor of their leader after coming out of the court.
"I have decided to retire. Mentally I wanted to go on forever but I have decided to make way for the youngsters," the 35-year-old said on Thursday. "I have no regrets. I made lots of friends but some people have misunderstood me. I thank all the players who played with me and against me.
"It was an honour to have played with Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis. I never imagined I would play for Pakistan. It was my greatest moment.
Akhtar, who made his international debut in 1997, took 178 wickets in 46 Tests, the last of which was against India at Bangalore in 2007. He is three wickets short of 250 in 163 one-day internationals and has taken 19 wickets in 15 Twenty20 internationals.
Pakistan squad members hugged him in the dressing room on Thursday before captain Shahid Afridi embraced him as the players entered the R. Premadasa stadium in Colombo for practice.
"I want to be remembered as an honest and patriotic player who never trod a wrong path," said Akhtar. Akhtar, known as the Rawalpindi Express during his tearaway days as one of Test cricket's most feared if unpredictable talents, once cracked the 100mph barrier at the 2003 World Cup.
At this World Cup, which was always likely to be his swansong, he looked neat and tidy with figures of 0-10 and 2-42 against Kenya and Sri Lanka respectively. He missed the win over Canada before being smashed all over the park at Pallekele against New Zealand -- including 28 runs off his last over -- and was dropped for the game with Zimbabwe.
Akhtar's last delivery against New Zealand -- which may prove his final one at international level if he doesn't get another chance at the World Cup -- was hit for six by Ross Taylor.
"I have never said anything along the lines that we don't want to go to India. I never said that," said Afridi, hitting back at media reports that Pakistan wants to avoid playing their last-eight game in India.
"We are here to play the World Cup, so wherever we have to play we will go and we have no fears over going to India," said Afridi of the possibility of a mouth-watering quarter-final against their South Asian rivals at Ahmedabad.
"I think a cricket match has always brought the people of both countries together and has the capacity to improve the relations between the two," said Afridi.
The relationship between the nuclear rivals has been at breaking point since the terrorist attacks on Mumbai in 2008, which New Delhi blamed on extremists based in Pakistan.
Those attacks also forced India to stall bi-lateral cricket series with Pakistan, although both countries played against each other in the Champions Trophy in South Africa in 2009.
Afridi said he and his team-mates have always enjoyed playing cricket in India.
"I have always enjoyed cricket in India, never enjoyed anywhere more than in India, I get maximum enjoyment there," said Afridi, whose first Test century came at Chennai in 1999.
He also hit one-day cricket's fourth fastest century off just 45 balls, against India at Kanpur in 2005.
Pakistan have eight points from their five matches and could top Group A if they beat defending champions Australia in their last match on Saturday.
Afridi says his team fear no opposition.
"The kind of cricket we are playing we fear no venue and no opposition, so India in India, and Australia in the last group match are no problems," said Afridi, who played down threats from extremists groups in India.
"What ever is the response, we will get to know it when we go there because we will be going there after a long time," said Afridi.
"We have played in India in worse situations," added Afridi, referring to Pakistan's tour in 1999 where Hindu militants dug up the pitch in New Delhi.
"For both teams, the pressure is always there and whoever handles the pressure wins the match. But before that we have an important match against Australia and I think we have the capacity to beat them," said Afridi.
SENDAI: Japanese crews grappling with the world’s worst nuclear incident since Chernobyl contended with a new fire and feared damage to a reactor containment vessel Wednesday as the nation reeled from a quake-tsunami disaster.
With nerves on edge across the world’s third-biggest economy and beyond, people across Asia have been stripping shelves of essentials for fear of a major emission of radiation from the stricken Fukushima nuclear power plant.
However, after the Tokyo stock exchange’s biggest two-day sell-off in 24 years sparked a global market rout, the headline Nikkei share index recovered 4.37 percent on Wednesday morning as investors snapped up bargains.
The Bank of Japan pumped another 3.5 trillion yen into the financial system, adding to trillions spent this week since Friday’s 9.0 magnitude earthquake and tsunami crippled a large swathe of the economy.
Authorities are staring at a staggering death toll. The devastation in tsunami-hit areas such as the small fishing town of Minamisanriku is absolute, with the northeastern settlement missing about half of its 17,000 residents.
“Ten of my relatives are missing. I haven’t been able to get in contact with them,” 54-year-old Tomeko Sato, who lost her house in the disaster, told AFP.
“I was very surprised by the power of the tsunami, next time, I will live on the hill and hope it never happens again.”
At the crippled Fukushima atomic plant 250 kilometres northeast of Tokyo, live TV footage showed a cloud of white smoke rising high into the clear blue sky.
The containment vessel around reactor number three may have suffered damage, and the “likeliest possibility” for the white cloud was that steam was escaping from the vessel, chief government spokesman Yukio Edano said.
The number-three reactor was hit by a blast Monday that tore off the outer structure of the reactor building.
Fire crews fought a new blaze early Wednesday at reactor number four, operator Tokyo Electric Power (TEPCO) said, but it was later extinguished.
Engineers have been desperately battling a feared meltdown at the 40-year-old plant since the earthquake and tsunami knocked out cooling systems and fuel rods began overheating.
There have now been four explosions and two fires at the complex, with four out of its six reactors in trouble.
France’s Nuclear Safety Authority said the disaster now equated to a six on the seven-point international scale for nuclear accidents, ranking the crisis second only in gravity to the level-seven Chernobyl disaster in 1986.
Yukiya Amano, the Japanese chief of the UN’s atomic watchdog, said Tuesday there might be limited core damage at the second reactor but repeated that he did not think the situation could escalate to rival Chernobyl in Ukraine.
“I continue to think that the Chernobyl and Fukushima reactors are different,” the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency said.
Amano reiterated that unlike Chernobyl, the Fukushima reactors have primary containment vessels, and had also shut down automatically when the earthquake hit, so there was no chain reaction going on.
Japanese crews said they may pour water from helicopters, if necessary, to stop spent fuel rods at Fukushima from being exposed to the air.
Eight experts from the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission were heading to Japan Wednesday to help advise on the crisis.
President Barack Obama, who has dispatched a naval flotilla led by a US aircraft carrier to aid in the quake-tsunami rescue operation, said he was “deeply worried” about the potential human cost of the crisis.
Obama also vowed to “further improve” the safety of US atomic facilities, while several European nations announced reviews of their own nuclear installations and Germany temporarily shut down seven reactors.
Hoax emails and text messages warning of radiation drifting south from Japan set off a run on essentials such as bottled water and fresh milk in places as far afield as the Philippines on Tuesday.
Japan’s government has warned that panic-buying could hurt its ability to provide aid to areas devastated by Friday’s natural disaster, which has left 3,373 confirmed dead. Many thousands more are still missing.
But scared Tokyo residents filled outbound trains and rushed to shops to stock up on face masks and emergency supplies amid heightening fears of radiation headed their way.
Radiation levels around the Fukushima facility again rose strongly on Wednesday morning before falling, officials said, while in Tokyo they see-sawed on Tuesday without ever reaching harmful levels.
The government has warned people living up to 10 kilometres beyond a 20-kilometre exclusion zone around the nuclear plant to stay indoors.
More than 200,000 people have already been evacuated from the exclusion zone.
PESHAWAR: In Pakistan’s bomb-hit northwest, bands of Taliban-fighting tribesmen are threatening to give up their struggle in the face of a string of attacks and a perceived lack of government help.
Armed with the Kalashnikov rifles that swill around this lawless region and dressed in traditional tribal garb, the militia or “lashkar” members patrol their villages daily to ward off homegrown militants and protect communities.
Set up from late 2006 to support the armed forces’ battle, the lashkars in Pakistan mirror efforts being made across the border in Afghanistan where authorities have encouraged armed village forces to keep insurgents at bay.
But their role has made them an obvious target for Taliban attack, and after a string of bomb and suicide attacks, as well as targeted assassinations, many of the villagers who form these private armies say they are ready to quit.
In the Matani district of Peshawar, the gateway city to insurgent-controlled areas of the northwest, a suicide bomber on Wednesday hit a funeral being held for the wife of one militiaman, killing 37 people and wounding 150 others.
Matani’s lashkar is made up of more than 4,000 tribesmen who formed their group in 2007 to fight Taliban mostly based in neighbouring Darra Adam Khel tribal town, where army troops had launched several of their own operations.
The group says it has already been the target of two suicide attacks, five bombs and more than 60 rocket attacks. The men blame not only the attackers, but the government and security forces for failing to provide material support.
Tackling Taliban and Al Qaeda-linked insurgents in the northwest is seen as key to ending the nearly 10-year US-led war in neighbouring Afghanistan.
“Our Kalashnikovs cannot match the Taliban’s rockets and mortars,” said one lashkar leader in the area, Malik Sakhi Jan, 50.
“We have become the Taliban’s target. They say we are lackeys of America because we are supporting the government. But the government is doing nothing for us,” said Jan.
Another militia leader in Matani, Dilarwar Khan, told AFP that the police had promised support but gave nothing.
“We lack resources, we receive no weapons, we have no ammunition and we have no cash, no rations for the lashkar volunteers. The lashkar will be there if we get support from the government, otherwise we will dissolve it,” he said.
Attacks across the country have killed more than 4,000 people since the storming of a militant mosque in Islamabad in July 2007.
A government official said more than a dozen anti-Taliban militias are active in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province and across the tribal areas.
But the government says it is not willing to beef up the lashkars for fear of creating an unwieldy force in parallel to the army and police.
“We are talking to them and will accept their reasonable demands,” Mian Iftikhar Hussain, information minister in the provincial Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government, told AFP.
“But the lashkars’ task was to help our troops to trace militants and to provide self-defence for the villages. They are not an attacking force, this job is done by our security forces,” Hussain said.
Regional police chief Liaqat Ali Khan said the militia’s role had to be limited to identifying and locating militants for the police to find.
“They were not formed to become a parallel or alternate force,” Khan said.
In Bazid Khel village, close to the Khyber border where Nato supply trucks bound for Afghanistan come under regular attack, head of the local 500-man anti-Taliban militia, Fahimuddin, also complains that he lacks guns and money.
His enemy is the anti-government force Lashkar-e-Islam, which enforces Taliban-style strict Islamic law in the area.
But not all authorities believe the pro-government forces are a good idea.
Former minister of the province Siraj-Ul-Haq told AFP that the militias were failing in what they set out to do.
“They form these lashkars in the name of peace but have failed to establish peace,” he said.
The Punjab Assembly has barely been able to transact any business since the re-alignment of the treasury and opposition benches in the house.
The two have descended to sloganeering against each other and have been rejecting appeals by the speaker to maintain order in the house. Moreover, opposition lawmakers in the province and political activists from the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and the Pakistan Muslim League – Quaid (PML-Q) have been using lotas to signify ‘defection’ by members of the Unification Bloc and have been sloganeering against the breakaway faction of the PML-Q.
ISLAMABAD: An Islamabad court handed over former religious affairs minister Hamid Saeed Kazmi to the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) on a five day physical remand on Wednesday, DawnNews reported.
The FIA had requested the court to hand over Kazmi for a 14-day-long remand.
Earlier on Tuesday, the FIA had arrested Kazmi after a court refused to grant him a pre-arrest bail in a case relating to his alleged corruption in arranging residential accommodation for Pakistani Haj pilgrims in Saudi Arabia last year.
Mr Kazmi’s lawyer Malik Jawad Khalid had earlier told reporters: “It is a fit case for bail because the FIA has no substantial incriminating material against my client who is being implicated in the case on political and sectarian grounds”.
Mr Kazmi has pleaded on the media and in the court that he had no role in what is described as ‘Haj scam’.
Champions Australia, who have already qualified for the quarter-finals, are seeking to extend their unbeaten World Cup streak to 34 matches, kept the same team that defeated Kenya on Sunday.
Canada are playing their last match in the tournament and have won only one of their five matches, against fellow associates, Kenya.
They made two changes to the side that lost to New Zealand, bringing in Nitish Kumar and Karl Whatham in place of Khurram Chohan and Ruvindu Gunasekera.
Teams:
Australia: Ricky Ponting (captain), Shane Watson, Brad Haddin, Michael Clarke, Mike Hussey, Cameron White, Steve Smith, Mitchell Johnson, Brett Lee, Shaun Tait, Jason Krejza.
Canada: Ashish Bagai (captain), Nitish Kumar, Zubin Surkari, Jimmy Hansra, Rizwan Cheema, John Davison, Hiral Patel, Harvir Baidwan, Karl Whatham, Balaji Rao, Henry Osinde.
“Davis was released from Pakistani custody and is out of the country. There was no quid pro quo,” the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
A court freed Davis after blood money was paid in accordance with sharia law, the Punjab Law Minister Rana Sanaullah said.
“The family members of the slain men appeared in the court and independently verified they had pardoned him (Davis),” Sanaullah told a private television.
“He has been released from jail. Now it is up to him. He can go wherever he wants,” he added.
Raja Irshad, a lawyer for the families of the two dead men, said a total of 200 million Pakistani rupees (2.35 million dollars) was paid as compensation. That was confirmed by public prosecutor Abdul Samad.
“The family members told the judge that there was no pressure on them to accept the compensation and they had signed the pardon documents voluntarily, independently and with due consideration,” Irshad said.
Police investigator Muneer Ahmed told AFP the deal had been done by “mutual agreement” and the court had received signed family statements before ordering Davis’ release.
PML-N spokesman Pervez Rasheed said the Punjab government was not involved in the release of Davis, DawnNews reported.
Moreover, Ayesha, the sister of Shumaila Kanwal, the wife of victim Faheem Ahmed, said “we are not aware of any such settlement and we did not opt for any…we want justice.”
“They confined us in the jail for four hours and did not allow us to take part in the court proceedings. We were not allowed to leave the prison,” one of the lawyers, Asad Manzoor Butt, told AFP.
Butt said the families of the men had agreed with authorities to accept blood money over the deaths the previous night.
Another laywer for the families, Nauman Atiq, confirmed that the lawyers had been held at the court and told not to speak to media.
Blood money, or “diyya” is a provision under Islamic sharia law in which compensation can be paid to relatives of those killed to secure a pardon, and is commonly used to resolve such cases in Pakistan.
The January shooting ruptured diplomatic relations with the United States, who repeatedly insisted Davis was an embassy employee and enjoyed diplomatic immunity, particularly after it emerged he was working for the CIA.
The Davis case had sparked protests in Pakistan, with religious groups angrily denouncing the American who claimed he acted in self-defence to fend off an armed robbery when he shot dead the two men.
US authorities insisted Davis was protected by full diplomatic immunity, but the Pakistan government refused to back that claim and a decision on his status was on Monday deferred by the Lahore high court for criminal judges to decide.
Revelations that Davis was a CIA contractor heaped pressure on Pakistan’s embattled government and further ramped up burning public mistrust of Washington, damaging fragile relations between the two wary allies.
A third Pakistani was struck down and killed by a US diplomatic vehicle that came to Davis’ assistance in the January incident.
US officials denied Pakistan access to the vehicle, and the occupants are widely believed to have left the country.
Police have said they recovered a Glock pistol, four loaded magazines, a GPS navigation system and a small telescope from Davis’ car after the January 27 shooting.
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