Last words of Shumaila Kanwal | Wife of man killed by Davis commits suicide

 

" The killer is being treated as a guest at the police station. I need justice and blood for the blood of my husband. I want blood for blood. The way my husband was shot, his killer should be shot in the same fashion, I do not expect any justice from this government That is why I want to kill myself.”

Pakistan judge blocks any move to hand over US gunman

 

LAHORE, Pakistan — A Pakistani judge has blocked any move to hand over to US authorities an American government employee under investigation for double murder, and put his name on the exit control list.

The United States on Monday again called for the release of Raymond Davis, who was arrested after killing two Pakistani motorcyclists in broad daylight in Lahore, saying that he acted in legitimate self-defence.

But a Pakistani lawyer petitioned the Lahore high court under public interest laws to block any move to hand Davis over to the United States.

"I am restraining him (from being handed over to US authorities). Whether he has or does not have (diplomatic) immunity will be decided by the court," ruled Lahore high court chief justice Ijaz Ahmed Chaudhry.

"An order is issued to put his name on the ECL (exit control list). The case is adjourned for 15 days."

Representing the Pakistani government in court in Lahore, deputy attorney general Naveed Inayat Malik, asked the judge to give "time" to the Pakistani foreign ministry to determine whether Davis has diplomatic immunity or not.

Washington says Davis is a member of the US embassy's "technical administrative staff" and therefore entitled to "full criminal immunity".

"He cannot be lawfully arrested or detained in accordance with the Vienna Convention," US State Department spokesman Philip Crowley told reporters in Washington.

But the Pakistani lawyer who brought the private petition, Saeed Zafar, has argued that under international law, diplomatic immunity can be waived for the most serious crimes.

Khawaja Haris, the advocate general of Punjab -- the chief law officer in the province where Davis shot the motorcyclists -- told the court that the Vienna Convention provides immunity to diplomats "within certain limits."

"The federal government has to give a certificate on whether the man has diplomatic immunity or not and whether his diplomatic status is confirmed or not," Haris said.

"What we hear about him and his immunity is through the press only. Since he is involved in a grave crime, this issue has to be decided by the court."

But Washington is adamant that Davis is being held unlawfully and supports his version of events that he was confronted by two armed men on motorcycles.

Davis "had every reason to believe that the armed men meant him bodily harm. And minutes earlier, the two men, who had criminal records, had robbed money and valuables at gunpoint from a Pakistani citizen," said Crowley.

When asked by visiting US congressmen on Monday to free Davis, Pakistan's President Asif Ali Zardari said: "It would be prudent to wait for the legal course to be completed".

Copyright © 2011 AFP. All rights reserved.

Police get 6-day physical remand of Raymond Davis

SAMAA


LAHORE: Senior judge Mehr Zafar Iqbal Sayal handed over detained US national Raymond Davis to police for a six-day physical remand.

Davis,a  staff at the US consulate in Lahore, is facing charges of shooting two persons to death at Mozang market on Thursday.

He was brought to the court amid tight security arrangement.

Moreover, post mortem reports of three victims who were shot and ran over by Davis in a bizarre act of shooting and hitting were released today.

According to the report, Abdul Rehman suffered head and brain injuries after being hit by Davis’ vehicle, which caused his death.

Fahim received four bullets in his stomach, back, legs and head while the third victim, identified as Qamar, also received three bullets each in leg, back and waist.

The dead body of Abdul Rehman has been handed over to his family. Other two dead bodies will be also released anytime soon.

Investigating the blast: Bomber belonged to Waziristan

Tribune

LAHORE: Chief Minister Punjab, Mian Shahbaz Sharif, has been briefed on the initial investigation report of the Tuesday’s bomb blast at a police check-post in Lahore on Thursday.

According to the report the suicide bomber belonged to Waziristan and his target was the chehlum processions. He carried explosives in his bag and his jacket which were detonated by a remote control device.

The Lahore police have arrested more than a dozen suspects in the city, after Tuesday’s bomb blast at a police checkpost. The arrested people include two Afghan citizens Shabbar Gul and Hazori Khan.

According to an earlier report by the Express Tribune, the two accomplices of the suicide attacker, who carried out an attack near the Urdu Bazaar Chowk on Tuesday, succeeded in fleeing after the blast. The First Information Report (FIR) registered in regards to the incident was notified at the New Anarkali police station.

According to FIR No 48/11, registered under various sections of the Anti Terrorism Act and the Explosive Substances Act, three unidentified attackers had come to the area. One of them was the bomber while the other two had been monitoring him. After the explosives the 13-year-old attacker had on him exploded, the accomplices fled the scene.

New Anarkali SHO, Adnan Masood, told The Express Tribune that the police were also considering the possibility that the accomplices detonated the explosives on the carrier with a remote control when they saw him in an ‘effective’ range.

Eleven people were killed and 80 injured in the blast. Many people injured in the explosion are still under treatment at Mayo Hospital Lahore.

American kills 2 Pakistanis in 'self defence': police

Tribune

LAHORE: An American man shot dead two Pakistanis in a street in Lahore city on Thursday. The US citizen told police officials that he fired his pistol in self defence.

“The American national told us he was driving his vehicle and stopped at a traffic signal. He saw motorcycle riders and one pulled out a pistol. The man told us he then pulled out his pistol and fired in self-defence,” Lahore police chief Aslam Tarin told AFP.

“He’s an American national. He’s in our custody and we are investigating.”

A third Pakistani man was killed a short time later when a car from the US consulate in Lahore hit two pedestrians at the scene of the shooting, Tarin added.

“One person died in the accident,” Tarin said.

Television footage showed that a crowd had gathered at the scene of the incidents, setting tyres on fire in protest.

The US embassy in Islamabad confirmed the man involved was a consular official.

“We can confirm he’s a consular employee, but we don’t know exactly what happened. There’s a lot of speculation and we’re speaking with the police to find out exactly what happened,” US embassy spokesman Alberto Rodriguez told AFP.

13 killed, 50 hurt in Chehlum procession suicide blast in Lahore

SAMAA


LAHORE: At least 13 people killed and more than 50 others sustained injuries in a suicide bomb blast in Hazrat Hussain’s (AS) Chehlum procession in Lahore on Tuesday (today).


According to initial report provided by the police, a suicide bomber blasted himself while stopped at a barrier in Hazrat Hussain’s (AS) Chehlum procession at Karbala Gamey Shah near Urdu Bazaar area of Lahore.


The police and rescue teams rushed to the blast site and cordoned off the area. Many high officials also reached on the scene.


The dead bodies and injured were moved to Mayo, Ganga Ram and other near by hospitals. The local authorities have imposed an emergency in all key hospitals of the city.


Four policemen and nine mourners were reportedly killed in the blast. Many women and children were also injured in the deadly suicide bomb blast.

PML-N 45 days dead-line for the Government

The Nation
PML-N Chief Nawaz Sharif forming a four member committee to overlook the implementation of 10 point agenda by the government in 45 days said that he had given no ultimatum to the government adding that his party does not believe in politics of black mailing and horse trading.

Addressing a press conference here on Monday after meeting of the party Nawaz Sharif said that a four member committee has been constituted which would be headed by Senator Ishaq Dar and would consist of members Sardar Mehtab, Pervez Rashid and Abdul Qadir Baloch. This committee would hand over our 10 point agenda to the government and would overlook the govt progress.

Reiterating the 10 point agenda he said increase in Petroleum prices should be withdrawn which the govt has done. Gas and power load shedding should be brought to an end. Corrupt elements should be replaced with honest ones, Political loan waivers should be reversed. Policy should be made to control escalating prices of every day commodities. All the decisions of the SC should be implemented. Court orders of NRO should be implemented. The size of the cabinet should be reduced and the govt expenditures should be reduced by 30 percent. Govt corporations such as PIA, CAA, PEPCO, PSM, PGDC should be restructured to get rid of corruption and deficits. Hajj Corruption scandal, NFC, BoP scandal should be investigated and culprits be brought to justice.


Nawaz Sharif said that he did not give any ultimatum to the govt as this word does not exist in his dictionary. He said that he sees the word as a sign of arrogance. He said he had simply asked the govt to answer in yes or no.

He said today the country is facing multiple problems it has a fragile economy, law and order situation, poverty, inflation and increasing drone attacks. He said that dictatorship have destroyed our country and now the martial law administrators should not fool the country anymore.

He said PML-N always spoke of unity and we want to help the govt take this country out of crisis through this agenda.

He said that after the implementation of 18th amendment the PM has become a powerful prime minister and he can implement the agenda. He said we would decide our future course of action after 45 days. He said we are ready to support the govt if our agenda is implemented, He said that we have never demanded of mid term elections.

In response to a question he said that the Prime Minister never consulted him on who should be the new Governor Punjab.

MQM to hold public meeting in Lahore: Altaf

SAMAA


LAHORE: Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) chief Altaf Hussain today announced his party’s plan to hold a public meeting in Lahore and directed his activists to commence preparations. 

In a telephonic address to party’s Punjab office bearers, AMPSO workers and students of Punjab University, Hussain said that despite leveling various allegations against him, Altaf’s followers are still present in Punjab. 

He said that revolution will not emerge from any palace, it will emanate from slums.

‘Colonel impersonator identified as RAW Agent'

Tribune


LAHORE: A man arrested for impersonating a Pakistan Army colonel at the Bibian Pakdaman shrine a couple of weeks ago has told police interrogators that he was an Indian agent surveying sensitive sites in Lahore.

Police officials said that the man and his ‘driver’ were arrested when he tried to get past the final security cordon around the shrine.

When a constable asked him what unit he was with, the man claimed to be with the artillery regiment, but he was unable to say where the regiment was based. “He said that he left such ‘petty details’ to his driver and that he was working with a brigadier in GHQ,” the constable, Ishtiaq, told. He said that the suspect shouted “Ya Ali” several times while at the shrine to make people believe that he was a Shia.
Ishtiaq said that his suspicions had been aroused because the presumed colonel was wearing the wrong shoes and no badges. He said the man was arrested and taken to the Qila Gujjar Singh police post, where he was frisked.

On him they found badges of various army ranks and several military identity cards with his picture on them. He also carried a card belonging to a female officer who he claimed was his wife.

Constable Ishtiaq said that the suspect confessed to interrogators that he was with India’s Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) and had been tasked with reconnaissance of sensitive sites in Lahore. He also told the police that he had been in Pakistan for almost four months, and he was supposed to visit Data Darbar after Bibian Pakdaman.

Ishtiaq said that the man the suspect referred to as his driver, Hasan Ali, appeared to have been deceived by the impersonator. He said Ali was from Abbottabad and worked as a naib qasid in the federal government in Islamabad. Ali told the police that he had thought the ‘colonel’ a religious man and had been travelling to shrines with him as a companion.

“He thought the man must be a devout Shia since he wanted to go to all these different mausoleums. He had no clue that he was an Indian agent,” said Ishtiaq.

Police sources said that the suspect and Hasan Ali had been taken into custody by intelligence personnel and shifted to an undisclosed location.

The Qila Gujjar Singh deputy superintendent of police said he had no knowledge of the matter as he had just taken charge of the office.

Ashura processions underway

Tribune

Ashura is being observed with religious fervor throughout the country, amid terror threats and heightened security measures.

Thousands of mourners are commemorating the great sacrifice of Hazrat Imam Hussain (RA) and his family members at Karbala. Mourning processions all over the country that started out from their traditional Imam Bargahs in the morning are headed towards their culmination points.

Karachi’s main procession started out from Nishtar Park with thousands of police, rangers, scouts and volunteers personnel on security duty. Surveillance helicopters are also being used.

In Lahore, all roads leading to the Ashura procession have been blocked with barricades and barbed wires.

In Peshawar, where a grenade attack occurred last night, security has been beefed up and all mobile services have been jammed along the procession routes.

In Quetta, thousands of police, Frontier Constabulary and Balochistan Constabulary personnel have been deployed. Several check posts have also been set up in the city to check vehicles entering the city. The main procession in Quetta will culminate at Alamdar road after passing through its traditional route.

Foolproof security has also been implemented in the Federal Capital of Islamabad, Rawalpindi and Hyderabad to ensure the Muharram processions go about peacefully.