Dr. Zulfiqar Mirza is a (so-called) hooligan : Rana Sana Ullah

Geo
KARACHI: Punjab Law Minister Rana Sanaullah Sunday came hard on Sindh Home Minister Dr. Zulfiqar Mirza for the latter’s statement against Pakistan Muslim League-N, Geo News reported.

“Dr. Zulfiqar Mirza is a (so-called) hooligan who only a few days back visited Nine Zero to bow his head in respect,” Rana Sanullah said in reaction to the statement of Dr. Zulfiqar Mirza in which he warned Nawaz League of dire consequences ‘if it tried to use undemocratic tactics against Pakistan People’s Party in Punjab’

The Punjab Law Minister said ill will is evident in Zulfiqar Mirza’s statement, describing it as an attack on Pakistan’s integrity.

“Pakistan People’s Party has no intention to implement the 10-point agenda,” he claimed, adding that no reconciliation can be greater than Pakistan’s stability.

He said N-League has already decided to throw PPP out of the Punjab government.

Punjab tussle: Zulfiqar Mirza warns PML-N of consequences

Tribune

FAISALABAD: Sindh Home Minister Zulfiqar Mirza has warned PML-N of “consequences”  if the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) is forced out of the Punjab coalition.

Speaking at a public gathering in Lyari on Sunday, Mirza asserted that the PML-N was hatching conspiracies to eliminate the PPP from Punjab. He warned the PML-N that any undemocratic step against the PPP government would result in anarchy in the country.

Mirza’s warning follows statements by Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif, who  said February 22 will be the final day of talks with the PPP on the PML-N’s 10-point agenda.

Talking to the media in Faisalabad on Sunday, Shahbaz said the PML-N will decide on February 22 if it wants to have the PPP as a coalition partner in the Punjab government. Party chief Nawaz Sharif had earlier ruled out giving more time to the PPP to implement the 10-point reforms agenda.

PML-N, the main opposition group, has been engaged in negotiations with government interlocutors on economic and governance reforms linked to a 10-point agenda it had given to the PPP. Nawaz Sharif has given a 45-day deadline to implement the agenda, starting from January 10. Failure to deliver on the economic cum political agenda may lead to the parting of ways for both parties in Punjab.

Tension in Punjab

In an earlier report in The Express Tribune, the PML-N had refused to propose two members from its party to be part of a committee to discuss the 19-point agenda put forward by the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) regarding governance in Punjab.

The agenda – presented to the Punjab government by the PPP in seeming retaliation to a 10-point agenda given to it by the PML-N in the centre – was termed ‘useless’ and a ‘waste of time’ by Punjab Law Minister Rana Sanaullah.

The PML-N had to announce its members on February 15, but Sanaullah has now categorically refused to implement the PPP’s agenda in Punjab. When contacted, Raja Riaz refused to comment on the issue.

Don't take us lightly, warns Afridi

GEO
DHAKA: Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi on Saturday warned World Cup rivals not to underestimate his team, saying the players had turned a new leaf after the match-fixing scandal.

Afridi admitted Pakistan had been blown away by the scandal, which saw former captain Salman Butt and two leading pacemen, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Aamer, punished for their alleged involvement.

All three were banned for a minimum of five years by the International Cricket Council, which ruled them out of the World Cup, and also face criminal proceedings in England.

"I think we're really going through a very tough situation," Afridi told reporters in the Bangladeshi capital ahead of the marquee tournament opening on February 19.

"But I am very happy because we are trying to rebuild the team and keep the morale high. I am confident the team is in very good shape now.

Afridi's team will play practice matches against Bangladesh and England in Dhaka over the next few days, before their first Cup match against Kenya in the Sri Lankan town of Hambantota on February 23.

The Pakistan captain said his team was "focussed and united" under his leadership.

"They feel hungry to win a big event and want to play good cricket," he said, adding recent wins in New Zealand had bolstered the team's morale.

Afridi said fans would see a vastly improved Pakistan in the World Cup. "Inshallah (God willing), we will achieve our goal," he said.

Afridi paid tribute to manager Intikhab Alam and coach Waqar Younis for keeping the team in good spirits amid the controversy.

Pakistan was initially due to co-host the tournament with India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, but were stripped of hosting rights after gunmen attacked the Sri Lankan team in March, 2009.

Pakistan, World Cup winners in 1992, have been drawn with reigning champions Australia, Sri Lanka, New Zealand, Kenya, Zimbabwe and Canada in group A of the preliminary league.

Four teams from the group will advance to the quarter-finals.

Afridi said he wanted Pakistan to meet India in the April 2 final at the Wankhede stadium in Mumbai.

"That would be the perfect final for the cricket-loving people in both countries," he said.

Explosion at railway track near Kotri

Tribune

KOTRI: Railway services that were earlier suspended due to a blast at a railway track near Kotri earlier Saturday morning have now been resumed.

Railway services in the area remained suspended for two hours after unidentified persons blew up the railway track near Kotri early in the  morning. A large chunk of the track was destroyed in the blast.

Police and rescue teams reached the spot immediately and completed repair work within two hours.

The bomb disposal squad that reached the site right after the blast has confirmed that 500 grams of explosive material were used in the blast.

On Friday, 10 low intensity explosions across Sindh damaged railway tracks and suspended services for hours. Rail traffic however were back on track by noon following the explosions.

IPL-4 auction: Gambhir fetches record price; Ganguly, Lara unsold

The Nation

Opener Gautam Gambhir on Saturday became the costliest cricketer in the IPL by fetching a whopping $2.4 million (approx Rs 11.04 crore) on the first day of the auctions where Indian players proved to be the biggest draw with three others going for more than $two million. In a high-profile auction, where Bollywood stars and corporate bigwigs were locked in a bidding war, Kolkata Knight Riders bought Gambhir for the mind-boggling sum, beating the previous high set by the English duo of Kevin Pietersen and Andrew Flintoff ($1.55 million) last season. Shah Rukh Khan was not present in person but his Kolkata Knight Riders, which had been reduced to an also-ran in the last two seasons, proved to be the big spender of the day by also buying hard-hitting all-rounders Yusuf Pathan (Rs 9.66 crore) and Jacques Kallis (Rs 5.06 crore) for the fourth edition of event to be held from April 8 to May 20. Gambhir, who was captain of the Delhi Daredevils last season, saw his price skyrocket 12 times from his base price of $200,000 (Rs 92 lakh) while three other Indian players -- Yusuf ($2.1 million), Rohit Sharma ($2 million) and Robin Uthappa ($2.1 million) crossed the two million mark. Yusuf's younger brother Irfan, who has not played any cricket this season, was taken by Delhi Daredevils for a surprisingly high amount of $1.9 million (Rs 8.74 crore). But there were some surprise names in the unsold list with former India and KKR captain Sourav Ganguly, West Indies batting star Chris Gayle and the legendary Brian Lara failing to find a buyer. There is still a slim chance of these players finding a team after their names come up again in the second round of bidding.

Salman slaps fan outside Anil's house

Hindustan Times
Bollywood's enfant terrible has done it again! After maintaining a humble profile for all these days, Salman's much feared anger got the best of him when he allegedly slapped a fan outside Anil Kapoor's house.

Buzz is that when Salman was alighting from his car outside Anil Kapoor's residence, a fan, who identified himself as Ajay, came out of no where and kissed Salman Khan.

Sallu couldn't control his anger and without a moment of hesitation slapped Ajay right across his face. It is believed that Ajay was hit so hard that he fell down.

But it does not end here. Zoom TV managed to take grabs of Salman's act and when the actor realised that he had been taped live in action, he turned to his body guards to get the footage deleted.

An eyewitness told the tabloid, "Woh dadagiri karne lage. 'Chal delete kar, chal jaldi delete kar,' they said."

Even though attempts were made to save the footage, Salman's bodyguards were adamant and even Salman didn't budge from there until the footage was deleted.

Seeing the commotion, Anil Kapoor, who was inside with Salman's father, came out looking for Salman. "Anil made a similar request regarding the footage," revealed the witness.

Eventually the footage was deleted and the stars went inside the house to continue the celebrations.