ISB 04-03-2012_Layout 1 3/4/2012 2:10 AM Page 1
rs22.00 Vol ii No 246 22 pages islamabad — peshawar edition
Sunday, 4 March, 2012 rabi-ul-Sani 9, 1433
Sherpao survives yet another suicide attack
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Bomber kills girl and a policeman, injures 7 others, including 2 MpAs PESHAWAR AbduR RAuf KHAttAK
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PESHAWAR: Pakistan People’s Party-Sherpao chief Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao arrives at the Lady Reading Hospital on Saturday after a suicide bomber targeted his convoy, killing two people including a policeman and injuring seven others. online
Three missing FC men found dead in Machh QUETTA SHAHzAdA zuLfiqAR
Three bullet-riddled bodies of Frontier Corps personnel were recovered in Machh, 60kms southeast of Quetta, on Saturday. According to Levies Force officials, they received a tipoff that three bodies were lying close to a road in Machh, upon which the Levies personnel rushed to the site and moved the bodies to a nearby state-run hospital for autopsy. When contacted, FC officials confirmed the recovery of bodies of three missing FC personnel, saying the personnel were killed in captivity, which was against tradition. They said those involved in killing the FC men during custody would not be spared and such tactics could not discourage the forces from efforts to restore peace in the province. The banned Baloch Liberation Army had claimed killing of 14 personnel of FC in an armed attack in Margut last month and had also captured three personnel of FC along with their weapons and communication gadgets. The FC had confirmed the abduction by the BLA, which had also released photographs of the FC men in their custody.
Who Will be The nexT iSi DG? detailed article page 04
Government takes another jab at CnG sector Gas supply to 551 CnG stations in punjab blocked g Duration of CnG load shedding increased to three days
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ISLAMABAD AmER SiAL
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FTer failing to restrict the use of compressed natural gas (CNG) in public transport vehicles, the government has made another subtle attempt to throttle the sector by blocking gas supply to 551 CNG stations in Punjab for three months until May 31. All Pakistan CNG Association (APCNGA) Chairman Ghias Paracha condemned the government’s move and called it unjustified and illogical. He said the Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL) had notified that all CNG stations set up after 2008 were eligible for only 9 months gas supply and their supply was being immediately suspended for the next three months. He said the government had made an agreement with the association that the gas load shedding would be reduced from February. However, the SNGPL had notified an increase in the duration from two-and-half days to three days, which was illogical, as domestic pressure on gas reduced with the start of the spring season. He said the Oil and Gas regulatory Authority (OGrA) had cancelled 151 licenses of the CNG stations last week. Paracha said they had convened an emergency meeting of the association on March 5 to decide a future plan of ac-
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tion. He said they had also sent a letter to the Petroleum Ministry to for a meeting to listen to their point of view on the new move by the SNGPL. He said the association would take strong measures if the government did not dissuade from its subtle attempts to throttle the CNG sector. The government estimates that during the last decade, gas production has increased by only seven percent, while its consumption increased by 40 percent per annum. CNG sector is identified as the major user of gas whose consumption has increased by 39 percent per annum during the last decade. More than 3.5 million vehicles
ply on CNG, which according to official estimates consume 390 mmcfd. The government wants to reverse its CNG policy but alliance of transporters and CNG investors is seen as a major pressure group that could put on halt any such plans. The government has now opted for a plan B in order to bring CNG prices at par with POL prices The government has already imposed a ban on the import of CNG kits and cylinders on December 15, 2011, which raised serious concerns in the automobile sector, saying the move would jeopardise investment.
suicide bomber targeted the convoy of Pakistan People’s Party-Sherpao (PPP-S) Chairman Aftab Ahmad Khan Sherpao in Shabqadar area on Saturday, and killed two persons – a small girl and a policeman – and injured seven others, including two lawmakers of the provincial assembly. Sources said the blast took place shortly after the PPP-S chief concluded a public meeting, and party leaders were returning from the rally venue near Kangra Public School, Shabqadar. The bomber targeted a police van escorting the former interior minister’s convoy. His son, Sikandar Hayat Khan Sherpao, a member of provincial assembly (MPA), and Mohammad Ali, also an MPA, sustained minor injuries, while the PPP-S chief remained safe. Soon after the attack, a large number of people and rescue workers rushed to the site and shifted the injured people to Lady reading Hospital, Peshawar. Contingents of police also reached the blast site and cordoned off the area. Sherpao also visited the blast site and examined the situation. The dead include Constable Bashir and a minor daughter of PPP-S leader Syed Ahmad Shah, while those who were injured are: MPA Sikandar Hayat Khan Sherpao, MPA Mohammad Ali, Inspector Jamshed Khan, Constable Dawood Khan, Constable Anwar Ali and Constable Waqas. Senior Minister Bashir Ahmad Bilour, PPP leaders Zahir Shah and Arbab Alamgir, and high-ranking police officers visited Lady reading Hospital to enquire about the health of the injured persons. District police chief Nisar Khan confirmed that the blast was a suicide attack and its target was the former interior minister. The latest attack suggests that Sherpao remains on the hit-list of militants, as he was the interior minister when the military operation against Lal Masjid was launched in the heart of Islamabad. Soon after the operation, the number of suicide attacks multiplied in Pakistan, and in April 2007 a suicide bomber attacked a rally of PPP-S, killing 28 people and injuring dozens of others. Militants later targeted him while he was offering eid prayers at a mosque in his hometown of Charsadda. The attack killed 50 persons and injured dozens of worshippers, but Sherpao survived. Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) spokesman for Mohmand Agency claimed responsibility for the attack, and announced that the attacks would continue.