Islamabad, Mar 8(ANI): Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Ijaz Butt has defended Waqar Younis’ appointment as Pakistan coach despite allegations of match fixing against him.
Butt said that all those fined on the basis of Justice Malik Qayyum’s inquiry report ten years ago had been cleared for national duties now, and stressed the services of players like Waqar, Wasim Akram or Ijaz Ahmed were being utilised after clearance and recovery of fines.
“Ten years have passed since the Malik Qayyum report came out and they have paid their fines and the International Cricket Council (ICC) also has no objection to them being given responsibilities by the board,” The Daily Times quoted Butt, as saying.
Some former players have criticised the board for appointing those players on key positions despite being named in the Qayyum match-fixing inquiry report.
Waqar, Wasim, Aaqib Javed, Saeed Anwar were among those who the Qayyum committee fined for not cooperating with the inquiry that lasted for some 18 months.
Butt further said that Waqar would be paid around Rs. 650,000 monthly salary besides other perks.
“We think that is a reasonable amount we are paying for his services since the former Pakistan coach Bob Woolmer was paid around Rs 1.7 million a month by the board,” Butt added. (ANI)
Islamabad, Mar 8(ANI): Pakistan Interior Minister Rehman Malik has said the abduction of five-year-old UK-born Sahil Saeed has tarnished the image of the country and joint investigations were underway for the immediate recovery of the boy.
Some unknown persons had kidnapped Sahil on last Wednesday after terrorising his family at a time when his father Raja Naqash Saeed was waiting for a taxi to leave for airport.
The boy has not been recovered despite tall claims of the federal and provincial governments regarding his early recovery.
Addressing the media after meeting the parents of the abducted child at his house in Jhelum, Malik said: “The action of the abductors had created a bad image of the country before those Pakistani who are living abroad. The kidnappers will be dealt with an iron hand.”
He said that provincial government was thoroughly investigating into the case with all possible angles and a possible breakthrough was expected in the next couple of days.
Malik also highlighted his satisfaction over the investigations being done by police, the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) and other agencies.
“The members of the family of the child have shared a very useful information with the investigators and it will prove helpful in his recovery,” he said.
The Minister further said the involvement of a close family member of the child in the incident could not be ruled out and the police were also looking the matter with reference to this angle. (ANI)
Lahore, Mar 8(ANI): At least 11 people, including a young schoolgirl and her mother, were killed and 61 others injured, when a suicide bomber rammed his car laden with 600 kilograms of explosives into the Federal Investigation Agency’s (FIA) office in Lahore on Monday.
The injured included 13 women, who were rushed to Jinnah hospital here.
According to reports, the suicide bomber rammed his car into the main gate of the FIA building, where suspects are usually kept under interrogation, at 8.15 a.m.
Witnesses said the FIA building has completely collapsed and a number of people are still buried under the rubble, The Dawn reports.
TV reports said some of the neighbouring buildings had also been damaged in the explosion.
A number of schools and religious institutions are located in the neighbourhood known as Model Town. The area is considered as most secure area with 60 security gates and except four, all gates are closed after 10 p.m.
A number of prominent politicians, including the former Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif live in Model Town.
There was no immediately claim of responsibility for the blast, which came after a lull of several months in attacks on military and security targets in Pakistan’s main cities by Al-Qaeda militants and their affiliates in the Pakistani Taliban.
Meanwhile, security levels have been raised to high alert across the city.
The quantity of explosives used in the bombing is 100 kilograms more than the quantity used in the Islamabad Marriott Hotel bombing in September 2008, when a dump truck filled with explosives detonated in front of the hotel, killing at least 54 people and injuring at least 266.
The explosion had left a 20-meter wide deep crater outside the hotel. (ANI)
Islamabad, Mar 8(ANI): The lingering small-scale border disputes between Pakistan and Afghanistan are reportedly making it difficult for the security forces in the country to fight terrorism and eliminate cross-border movements.
Well-placed military sources have claimed that the US supported Pakistan-Afghan border management project was unlikely to achieve its objectives because of the border disputes between the two countries.
“It is very difficult to curb border crossings unless there are adequate security measures adopted on Afghan side of the border,” The Nation quoted the source, as saying.
They said that despite limited resources, Pakistan had set up a large number of security checkpoints at the Pak-Afghan border to tackle massive border crossings, but the menace of cross-border movements continued unabated.
“We have killed many militants when they were trying to enter Pakistani side of the border. But that is not a sustainable solution,” sources disclosed.
They maintained that US-led multination forces and troops from the National Afghan Army were often very helpful and cooperative, but they were too small in number to effectively man the border.
“Moreover the issues relating to territorial jurisdictions in terms of operational strategies are negatively impacting the war against terror,” the sources added.
The sources further informed these hindrances, if not resolved as early as possible, might also lead to strain the relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan in future, especially after the US-led multinational forces left the war-torn country. (ANI)
Lahore, Mar. 8 (ANI): Jamat-ud-Dawa (JuD) chief Hafiz Saeed has said India has imposed war on Pakistan by constructing illegal dams and diverting water of Pakistani rivers, and Islamabad should be ready to counter this hostility.
Addressing JuD’s protest rally against theft of Pakistani waters by India, the mastermind of the Mumbai terror attacks said that water is a matter of life and death for Pakistan, and vowed to stage protests across the country against Indian water aggression.
“I am declared guilty of raising voice for the oppressed people of Held Kashmir but my religion allows me for that,” the Nation quoted Saeed, as saying.
“UN Security Council imposed sanctions against Jamatud Dawah but now it is silent on controversial Indian plans in Held Kashmir,” he added.
He pointed out that due to shortage of water, Pakistan would have to face a lot of hardships in agriculture sector besides acute scarcity of potable water.
Meanwhile, hundreds of JuD activists participated in the rally, which culminated in front of Punjab Assembly.
The farmer wing of JuD also held the ‘Water Rally’ in Lahore to protest construction of Indian dams on rivers in Kashmir, and demanded the government to take practical steps to secure Pakistani water. (ANI)
Karachi, March 8 (IANS) Dreaded terrorist Osama bin Laden’s close aide and a top Al Qaeda leader was arrested from the outskirt of Pakistan’s southern port city Karachi.
Pakistani security forces with the help of US intelligence arrested Abu Yahya Mujahdeen Al- Adam, who was a close associate of Osama Bin Laden and included in the CIA’s list of ten most wanted terrorists.
Abu Yahy was arrested Sunday and has been shifted to Islamabad for further investigation, the DawnNews reported quoting sources.
The militant was believed to have been living with Osama bin Laden after september 11, 2001 attacks in New York.
Pennsylvania-born Abu Yahya is a US citizen and assumed to be a commander of foreign militants fighting in Afghanistan, the report said.
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