US official confirms restriction on Pak diplomats

WASHINGTON: A senior official of Trump Administration has confirmed that Pakistani diplomats cannot move without seeking prior permission from the concerned authorities in the State Department.In an interview with VOA's Uzbek service, Thomas Shannon, Under Secretary for Political Affairs, said this restriction was placed in response to the same conditions Islamabad has imposed on US diplomats in Pakistan.Shannon stressed that this is nothing new and such steps are routine matters.Some media reports earlier this month suggested that Pakistani diplomats in US are told to seek permission before they travel beyond certain limits. However, Foreign Office and US Embassy in Islamabad denied such reports.

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Protest breaks out after murder of six-year old girl in Karachi

KARACHI: Protesters clashed with police in Manghopir area of the metropolis on Tuesday a day after the body of a six-year-old girl, who was allegedly beaten up and subjected to sexual assault  was found  on Monday.SSP Umar Shahid said father of the girl had nominated three people while police have arrested two of them. He said the search for the  third suspect was ongoing.A spokesman for Police Inspector General said the IG has sought a report from the  local police officials.TV footage showed protesters  pelting the policemen with stones , blocking roads and chanting slogans.Police  resorted to aerial firing and baton charge  after protesters gathered near Kati Pahari area and clashed with officers.Two people with gunshots wounds were shifted to Abbasi Shaheed Hospital for treatment.Sources in the police department said  some people were trying to politicized  the issue.Rangers were also sent to the area to  maintain peace.On Monday, Orangi Town Division SP Abid Ali Baloch told The News that residents of Khairabad spotted a suspicious thing in the forest so they informed the police about it. SP Baloch said a team of the Manghopir police arrived on the spot and found the body, following which they took it to the Abbasi Shaheed Hospital for a post-mortem examination.The officer said the girl’s body was at least six days old, adding that there were signs of physical and sexual torture on it. He said the police suspected that the victim was beaten up and raped somewhere else before her body was dumped in the forest.He added that no female medico-legal officer was available at the hospital, because of which the police were facing delays in ascertaining the cause of the minor girl’s death. The SP said the girl was yet to be identified, adding that a message had been circulated to all police stations across the city to inform the Manghopir police if anyone had filed a missing report of the girl.

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Years after hanging, Saddam mystery lives on

Al-Awjah: In his native village of Al-Awjah, the mausoleum of Iraq´s executed dictator Saddam Hussein has been reduced to broken concrete and tangled barbed wire, showing no trace of his remains.The man who ruled Iraq with an iron fist for a quarter of a century was hanged at dawn on December 30, 2006.US president George W. Bush then personally authorised the immediate transfer of the dictator´s body on an American military helicopter from Baghdad to the northern city of Tikrit, near Al-Awjah.But today, mystery and doubt hang over the final resting place of a man whose very name for decades filled Iraqis with dread.Is his body still in Al-Awjah or was it exhumed, and, if so, where to?Sheikh Manaf Ali al-Nida, a leader of the Albu Nasser tribe to which Saddam´s clan belongs, has held on to a letter his family signed when they received the body, agreeing that Saddam be buried without delay.Saddam, 69, was laid to rest before dawn in the mausoleum he had commissioned years earlier.The place turned into a richly-adorned pilgrimage site to which supporters and groups of local school children would flock on his birthday, April 28.Today, visitors need special authorisation to enter, the site lies in ruins, and Sheikh Nida has been forced to leave the village and seek refuge in Iraqi Kurdistan.Since the 2003 US-led invasion, his tribe has been "oppressed because we were close" to Saddam, he said, wearing the traditional robes and keffiyeh headscarf of Iraq´s tribes."Is it normal that we should pay such a heavy price for generation after generation just because we´re from the same family?" ´Blown up´At Saddam´s grave,  paramilitaries of the Hashed al-Shaabi coalition, tasked with security in the area, say the mausoleum was destroyed in an Iraqi air strike after the Islamic State militant  group posted snipers on its roof.Sheikh Nida was not there to witness the blast -- but he is convinced that Saddam´s tomb was "opened and blown up".Jaafar al-Gharawi, the Hashed´s security chief, insisted: "The body is still there."One of his fighters, however, speculated that Saddam´s exiled daughter Hala had flown in on a private plane and whisked her father´s body away to Jordan."Impossible!" said a university professor and longtime student of the Saddam era, who declined to give his name."Hala has never come back to Iraq," he said. "(The body) could have been taken to a secret place... nobody knows who moved it or where."If that was the case, Saddam´s family would have closely guarded the secret of the location, he added.Saddam´s tomb could have suffered the same fate as that of his father, at the entrance to the village, which was unceremoniously blown up.But some, including Baghdad resident Abu Samer, believe the Iraqi strongman is still out there. "Saddam´s not dead," he said. "It was one of his doubles who was hanged."

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Nawaz for heeding people's voice

ISLAMABAD: Former prime minister Nawaz Sharif on Tuesday said he was seeing widespread chaos in the country if people's voice were not heeded.Speaking to media, he said the world was changing and "we too will have to change" while avoiding old mistakes.In a reference to Lahore High Court's orders to PEMRA against airing his speeches, he said "We will win no matter how much restrictions are placed".He said uncivilized bans should  not be enforced in the country.He said the court orders should explain what it means by speech against judiciary.Sharif said patriotes have becames traiers today, adding that he wanted all to get along.Commenting on a NAB references against him over construction of Raiwind Road, he said  references should also be filed against him for building motorway and carrying out nuclear tests.He said without making compromises he decided to move on during dharnas against his government. "I don't regret this. But the other side should also have moved on". 

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PM Abbasi, Saudi King Salman discuss bilateral ties

Al JABAL, Saudi Arabia: Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi and Saudi King Salman Abdulaziz al-Saud met here Monday and discussed ways to further boost their bilateral ties.During the meeting held here, after conclusion of the month long Gulf Shield 1 military exercise, the two leaders also discussed the situation in the regions.The visit of PM Shahid Khaqan Abbasi along with Chief of the Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa to witness the 24-country military exercise Gulf Shield 1 in Kingdom of Saudi Arabia showed Pakistan's commitment and efforts against militancy and for regional peace, defence and strategic policy experts Monday said.Minister of Defence Khurram Dastgir Khan, Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa, DG ISI Lt Gen Naveed Akhtar, Ambassador of Pakistan to Saudi Arabia Vice Admiral (Retd) Khan Hasham Bin Saddique and head of the Islamic Military Counter Terrorism Coalition General Raheel Sharif were present during the meeting.The joint tri-services exercise held along the East Coast of the Kingdom under the Eastern Command of Royal Saudi Land Forces was designed to boost coordination and provide a hands-on experience of working together to achieve common objectives.Troops of the Pakistan Army, Pakistan Air Force C-130 aircraft, JF-17 Thunder Fighter jets, Pakistan Navy ships, and commandos from Special Services Group also participated in the exercise.The closing ceremony was attended among others by Saudi King Salman, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Arab leaders including Mohammed bin Zayed bin Sultan Al-Nahyan, the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, Egyptian President Adulfattah el-Sisi, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE, and ruler of the Emirate of Dubai, and King Abdullah II of Jordan, Bangladeshi Prime Minister Hasina Wajid. (Web Desk/APP)

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MQM?s former sector incharge confesses to target killing, China cutting

KARACHI: Former sector incharge of Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) Raees Mama has confessed to target killing, China cutting and other heinous crimes on the directives of key party leaders.Accused Raees Mama was presented before Judicial Magistrate South, where he recorded his statement.Admitting his crimes, Mama said he was backed by key party leaders. On the directives of these leaders, he targeted workers of opponent political parties and personnel of law enforcement agencies.He further confessed to China cutting and possessing illegal weapons.The investigation officer informed the court that police have recovered huge cache of arms from Eid Gah area on the information shared by accused Mama.The court sent Raees Mama on judicial remand for 14 days in all the cases.

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PIA flights resume after overdue settlement with PSO

KARACHI: Pakistan International Airline (PIA) and Pakistan State Oil (PSO) on Monday shook hands after coming to a settlement over fuel endowment. According to PIA spokesperson, the companies came to the agreement under fulfillment of financial obligation that has now resumed normalcy in provision of fuel resources to the airline.It is pertinent to mention here that the airline was sacked of fuel provision over failure to cope with the obligations, which had earlier dismissed the PIA flights in Karachi enroute for Islamabad.Sources from PSO mentioned that the fuel supply for PIA flight PK-366 was halted which abrogated its departure scheduled for 5:00 pm takeoff pertaining to fuel deficiency.The sources added that a decline in the daily imbursement for seven consecutive days had urged to dismiss provision of fuel to the airline, adding that an overdue sum of Rs.15 billion was in PIA’s debts.

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Moon not sighted, Sha?ban to begin on April 18

KARACHI: Chairman Central Ruet-e-Hilal Committee Mufti Muneeb-ur-Rahman has announced that the Islamic month of Sha’ban-ul-Muazzam would begin on Wednesday, April 18 as the moon was not sighted on Monday.He announced this after no evidence of sighting the moon of was received from any part of the country.The meeting of the Central Ruet-e-Hilal Committee was held here at the office of the Met Department on Monday.

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Chief Justice dismisses appeal to enhance security for judges

ISLAMABAD: The Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Saqib Nisar on Monday dismissed appeals by the Punjab Government for increasing the security provided to the judges, citing that the daily security provided is sufficient for them.According to the announcement by the Supreme Court, the petition was filed in the wake of the twice fire at the residence of Justice Ijaz Ul Ahsan in the Model Town area on Sunday morning and the night before.One firing incident took place late in the night, while the other on Sunday early morning. The chief justice summoned Inspector General of Police (IGP), Punjab, and directed him to monitor the situation himself. The police officials were investigating whether it was a targeted attack or an incident of firing into the air. Police said two bullets were fired, one at the main gate and the other at the kitchen door.According to police officials, the judge's private security guard, Din Mohammad, discovered a 9mm bullet casing inside the residence at 6am on Sunday after which the police were called in. Another bullet casing was recovered from the garage of the house.A four-member investigation team has been constituted under the supervision of DIG Investigation, Lahore. The other three members of the team are SSP Investigation, SP CIA and SP Investigation Model Town.Justice Ahsan was part of the five-member bench that heard the high-profile Panama Gate case last year – and is also the monitoring judge of the ongoing corruption cases against former prime minister Nawaz Sharif. The Punjab CM Shahbaz Sharif condemned the firing and sought report from the IGP Punjab.Punjab Government spokesman Malik Muhammad Ahmad Khan told a private TV channel that additional security had been provided to the Supreme Court judge.

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New Provinces: President PML-N Shehbaz clears the air

With the ongoing debate on division of provinces, PML-N have formally announced its stance with regards to creation of new provinces. In a tweet, Chief Minister Punjab Shehbaz Sharif vowed to create new provinces if the party is given mandate by the public. He also gave credit to his party for governance and service delivery. In addition to registering his efforts made in South Punjab for social uplift of a common man, he also tweeted today, “Taking governance to the doorstep of the people has been a hallmark of our politics. Efficient delivery of services is possible through empowerment of the people at the grassroots. We will not play politics on slogan of new provinces and feed people on false promises. However if the masses give PML-N a mandate, our commitment to making South Punjab and Bahawalpur new provinces is evidenced by passage of resolution by Punjab Assembly.”It is pertinent to understand that 32% of Punjab’s total population constitutes South Punjab, and provincial government is allocating 36% of Punjab’s development budget every year (2014-2018), the said budget was as low as 15% during Pervaiz Elahi’s regime.

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