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Sherry to brief top leadership on progress on Pakistan-US ties
Auction of 3G Spectrum must be transparent, says prime minister
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Hameed Nizami Day special supplement
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INSIDE PAGES
Rs15.00 Vol ii no 239 18 pages Karachi edition
Saturday, 25 February, 2012 Rabi-ul-Sani 2, 1433
Pakistan urges Taliban for Afghan peace talks g
Gilani says ‘it’s now time to turn a new leaf and open a new chapter in history of Afghanistan’ ISLAMABAD
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peshaWaR: policemen take position during a suicide attack on a police station on friday. Afp
4 cops killed in police station raid g
Three suicide bombers armed with assault rifles blow their way into Kotwali police station PESHAWAR afp
Suicide bombers armed with guns and grenades attacked a police station on Friday, killing four officers in the second attack in as many days in the northwestern city of Peshawar. The three attackers first opened fire with Kalashnikovs, then used hand grenades to blow their way into the building before detonating their suicide vests, senior police official Yameen Khan told AFP. He said the station was targeted because it housed a large number of
officers in downtown Peshawar. Pieces of human flesh and body parts, including the head of one of the suicide bombers, were scattered inside the police station, along with broken windows and chairs, an AFP reporter said. “Four policemen have been killed and four others were wounded,” Khan said. “The attackers wanted to kill the maximum number of policemen, that is why they selected this station. Around 200 policemen reside here,” Khan told AFP. The attack came a day after a car bomb ripped through a bus station
SC to hear Asghar Khan’s plea on 29th ISLAMABAD Masood RehMan
A three-member Supreme Court bench headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry will resume hearing on February 29 on a petition filed by Air Marshal (r) Asghar Khan some 16 years ago against distribution of millions of rupees among anti-Pakistan People’s Party politicians by the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) to maneuver the 1990 election. The other members of the bench are – Justice Khilji Arif Hussain and Justice Tariq Parvez. The petitioner will appear in person while Attorney General Maulvi Anwarul Haq will appear on notice. Senior advocates Abdul Hafeez Pirzada, Habibul Wahabul Khairi, Akram Sheikh and Salman Akram Raja will also appear in the case. The top legal brains as well as politicians believe that the case will have irrevocable effects on the forthcoming general elections, besides shaking everyone from top to bottom in the executive and military establishments. Continued on page 04
on the outskirts of Peshawar, killing 13 people, including two children, raising concerns about a new wave of violence in the city of 2.5 million. The bombers struck at around 7:15 am when local residents in the congested Kotwali area were leaving home for work and school. “The attackers first started firing on the gate of the police station and then used the hand grenades. Later they entered inside the police station,” Imtiaz Khan, a senior police official, told AFP. Witnesses said the attack happened as policemen came off the
night shift. “We were just trying to sleep after we finished night duty when we heard the blast,” said police constable Sayed Ali, who lives at the station. “We ran out of the building from the back door and then there were three blasts,” he told AFP. Officials said 15 to 18 kilograms (33 to 42 pounds) of high quality explosives were stuffed into the suicide vests, along with steel plates and ball bearings. Shafqat Malik, chief of the bomb disposal squad in Peshawar, said that the suicide bombers were aged between 18 and 22.
Govt takes up Baloch rebels’ activities with UK, Switzerland ISLAMABAD staff RepoRt
Notwithstanding Interior Minister Rehman Malik’s offer of amnesty and withdrawal of cases to Baloch nationalist leaders like Baramdagh Bugti and Harbiyar Marri, the government has raised the vital issue of their anti-Pakistan activities with the UK, some other countries in the European Union (EU) and Switzerland. Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar, who was in London recently, raised the matter of anti-Pakistan activities by Baloch separatist leader Harbiyar Marri, who lives in the UK, and his other aides with British authorities along with a strong protest in this regard. “Similarly, other Pakistani diplomats have also spoken to Swiss authorities and EU offi-
cials on Baloch insurgents’ antiPakistan statements, lobbying against Islamabad and their other objectionable activities,” said a Pakistani diplomat on Friday, requesting anonymity. Foreign Office spokesperson Abdul Basit also spoke about the presence of strong evidence of foreign interference in Balochistan at his weekly press briefing, saying intervention by some external forces was meant to destabilise Balochistan. Asked whether he thought external forces were involved in creating law and order problems in Balochistan, he said: “There has been evidence about this. The government is cognisant of the issues involved and trying to handle all the issues politically.” He also dropped a hint at the foreign minister’s bid to raise anti-
Pakistan activities by Baloch leaders living in the UK with British officials. “The foreign minister did raise the issue of anti-Pakistan activities in some countries.” Nonetheless, he refrained from accusing India of creating trouble in Balochistan. Despite a volley of queries pointing to Pakistan’s earlier stance that India had a role in destabilising Balochistan, Basit said the government did not want to engage in public recrimination at this juncture. Asked why Baloch separatist leaders had taken asylum in Europe when Pakistan had traditionally blamed India of supporting them, he said, “Without blaming any country, there has been evidence of foreign powers trying to destabilise Balochistan. Continued on page 04
shaiq hussain
AKISTAN on Friday made its first public appeal to the Taliban and other militant groups to participate in an intra-Afghan process for national reconciliation with Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani, urging their leadership to take part in peace talks with the Afghan government. This significant move by Islamabad was in response to a request made by the Afghan President Hamid Karzai, who recently visited Islamabad, to seek the help of Pakistani leaders in reaching out to Taliban fighters led by Mullah Omar for peace negotiations. “It is now time to turn a new leaf and open a new chapter in the history of Afghanistan,” the prime minister said in a statement on Afghanistan. “It is time to now combine the strengths of the Afghan people in a true spirit of our noble religion – Islam, and in accordance with the glorious traditions of the Afghans to build peace and bring prosperity to Afghanistan,” he added. As Gilani made the appeal to Taliban and other Afghan militant groups for peace talks with the Karzai government, Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) chief Lt General Ahmad Shuja Pasha called on him later in the evening. “The ISI chief discussed with the prime minister the security situation in the country. Afghanistan situation also came under discussion during the meeting. Foreign Affairs Secretary Salman Bashir was also present in the meeting,” said a brief statement issued by the PM’s office. “It is our sincere hope that the Taliban leadership, Hizb-e-Islami and all other Afghan political leaders will respond positively to my appeal and agree to enter into direct negotiations in the framework of an intra-Afghan process for reconciliation and peace in Afghanistan,” the prime minister said. He said that Pakistan on its part would support such an authentic Afghan process and was prepared to do whatever it could for the success of the peace process. “I would like to appeal to the international community to fully support the national reconciliation and peace in Afghanistan,” the prime minister said. The Hizb-e-Islami is led by Gulbuddin Hikmatyar, who is a former Afghan prime minister and an important militant commander currently fighting the US-led foreign troops in Afghanistan. The Taliban are yet to react to the prime minister’s appeal, but according to sources close to their cadres their senior leaders started deliberations soon after the statement by the Pakistani premier appeared. However, the Hizb-e-Islami welcomed the move by Gilani, saying it would help build peace in Afghanistan. Dr Ghairat Baheer, Hikmatyar’s son-in-law, and the head of Hizb-e-Islami’s political affairs, said: “Our party welcomes the appeal by Prime Minister Gilani ... this is a positive move and it will augur well for peace and stability in Afghanistan.” He said: “The Hizb-e-Islami has also proposed an intra-Afghan dialogue as peace in Afghanistan is possible only through talks between all Afghan groups, but Hizb-e-Islami will not accept any foreign interference in the dialogue between Afghans.” In his statement, Gilani said: “Afghanistan is a brotherly country, close neighbour, with which Pakistan has multiple bonds of affinity. We value deeply our friendly and brotherly relations with the people of Afghanistan. Pakistan wishes to have the best of relations with Afghanistan. Stability, peace and national reconciliation in Afghanistan are indeed critical for regional peace and stability. We are mindful of the importance of ensuring that the processes of peace and reconciliation succeed and thus contribute to the welfare and well-being of the Afghan people.” He said a sovereign and independent Afghanistan, well on the road to a peaceful and prosperous future, is indeed critical for Pakistan and for our region, as a whole. Continued on page 04