Will not let govt function if Nawaz doesn't present himself for accountability

RAIWIND: Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf chairman Imran Khan, while addressing the much-hyped public gathering at Raiwind, said PTI will not let the government function after Muharram if Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif fails to present himself for accountability.

Imran was addressing thousands of PTI supporters gathered at Adda Plot in Raiwind.

The PTI chief said the incumbent leaders have lost their conscience and claimed that more than Rs8 billion has been spent for the security of Jati Umra, residence of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.

"Nawaz Sharif was caught red handed in the Panama leaks issue, and he is accused of laundering money," claimed Imran.

He questioned NAB Chairman Qamar Zaman Chaudhry for not carrying out proper investigations against Nawaz after the offshore accounts were revealed.

The PTI chief also threatened to shut down Islamabad after Muharram if the prime minister did not present himself for accountability by then.

"Then I will announce the future line of action," he said.

A view of PTI Raiwind March against Panama papers leak. —Online

PTI condemns Indian atrocities in Kashmir

The leaders of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf also strongly condemned the recent atrocities committed by Indian forces in held Kashmir against the innocent and unarmed Kashmiris.

Imran Khan and PTI lawmaker Arif Alvi said that local residents are facing real hardships in India.

The PTI chief said that he believes in peace, not war. "Nations equipped with nuclear weapons should not be thinking of war."

He added that India's intelligence agency [RAW] is responsible for the unstable law and order situation in Karachi.

“Pakistan will continue to support the cause of the Kashmiri people till they get their right of self-determination,” said Arif Alvi.

Senior party leaders including Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Pervez Khattak, Shah Mehmood Qureshi and Abdul Aleem Khan were present at the gathering.

Thousands of PTI supporters from different parts of the country had gathered at Adda Plot on Raiwind Road on Friday to protest against the incumbent government.

A 40-feet-high stage was erected and seating arrangements were made at Adda Plot — close to the prime minister’s Jati Umra residence.

The PTI supporters came in great numbers to participate in the “accountability movement” seen by many as a “do-or-die” act of Imran Khan.

The party had appealed to its workers from all over the province to gather at the Adda Plot in Raiwind. A large number of of female supporters also attended the gathering.

Around 7,000 policemen were deployed for the security of Raiwind march.

The rally was organised by the PTI to put pressure Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and his family to explain their position over “proof of their corruption” published in the Panama Papers some six months ago.

The PTI urged Nawaz Sharif to present himself for accountability in the Panama leaks scandal.

Earlier in the day, PML-N workers had staged a protest in Peshawar. "Instead of worrying about his political success, Imran Khan should worry about the defence of the country," said a PML-N worker taking part in the protest.

"If he had gone to Wagah border instead of marching to Raiwind, we would have accompanied him," he added.

The protesters said Nawaz Sharif has guided the country onto the path of success. They added that instead of putting hurdles in the way of success, Imran Khan should focus on the problems being faced by people in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.

The N-League workers stressed "the country is in need of some serious politics".

Nawaz Sharif was one of the 259 Pakistani citizens who's names appeared on a list linking them to off-shore companies in one of the world’s biggest ever data leaks, earlier this year.

Read More

BCCI requests ICC not to put Pakistan, India in same pool of global events

Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) President Anurag Thakur has requested the International Cricket Council (ICC) to not place India and Pakistan in the same group during upcoming international events.

"Keeping in mind that the [Indian] government has adopted a new strategy to isolate Pakistan and in view of the public sentiment in the country, we request ICC not to put India and Pakistan in the same pool of the multi-nation tournaments," the BCCI president told Times of India.

The decision was taken on the sidelines of the BCCI's Special General Meeting held on Friday.

Thakur's statement comes in the wake of soaring tensions between the two neighbouring countries which led to India's unprovoked firing at the Line of Control on Thursday, to which Pakistan Army retaliated in a befitting manner and captured one Indian soldier and killed eight others.

Because of the high viewership that Indo-Pak matches garner, the ICC has placed the two teams in the same pools over the years. The next ICC event, ICC Champions Trophy to be held in England next year, will also see the two teams contest each other at pool stage.

The arch-rivals last played during the ICC World T20 earlier this year that saw hosts India beat Pakistan by six wickets.

The two teams have not competed in the Test format since Pakistan's tour of India in 2007. There's been no bi-lateral series between the cricketing giants since, save Pakistan's visit of India in 2012 for two T20Is and three One-Day Internationals.

It is worth mentioning that this is not the first instance that Thakur, who is associated with the hard-line Bharatya Janata Party (BJP), has taken such a route.

After the Uri attack that saw 18 Indian soldiers being killed by the militants, Thakur was reported by the Indian media as saying that there is no question of playing Pakistan as India's policy is to expose their support of terrorists activities at the international level.

Read More

Saudi allies reject 'controversial' US bill, fear it will have 'strategic implications'

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia could reduce valuable security and intelligence cooperation with longstanding ally Washington after a Congressional “stab in the back” allowing 9/11 victims to sue the kingdom, experts warn.

Cutting such cooperation is among the options available to Riyadh after Congress voted overwhelmingly on Wednesday to override President Barack Obama's veto of the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act (JASTA).

“I am afraid that this bill will have dire strategic implications” for the United States, Salman al-Ansari, the president of the Saudi American Public Relation Affairs Committee (SAPRAC), told AFP.

“This partnership has helped provide US authorities with accurate intelligence information” that helped stopped attacks, said Ansari.

“Saudi has been stabbed in the back by this unthoughtful and unrealistic bill,” he added.

United Arab Emirates (UAE) Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed al-Nahyan warned before the vote that the law “will have negative effects on international cooperation in the fight against terrorism.”

Bahrain's Foreign Minister Sheikh Khaled bin Ahmed al-Khalifa said on Twitter on Thursday that the law “is an arrow launched by the US Congress at its own country”.

 Follow

خالد بن احمد 

✔@khalidalkhalifa

#قانون_جاستا ، سهم اطلقه الكونغرس الامريكي على بلاده ..
أليس منكم رجل رشيد ؟

8:24 AM - 29 Sep 2016

 
•  848848 Retweets
 
•  263263 likes

Mustafa Alani, a senior adviser to the Gulf Research Center, suggested a review of the Saudi-US alliance and said “How can you sue a country that is collaborating against the very same terrorism that they are baselessly being accused of?”.

“Your financial investments have to be reduced in the US, your political and security cooperation has to be reduced,” he added.

Saudi Arabia was home to 15 of the 19 Al-Qaeda hijackers who carried out the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States which killed nearly 3,000 people.

Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act (JASTA) was initially rebuked by the US president. The US Senate voted to override Barack Obama's veto of a bill allowing 9/11 victims to sue Saudi Arabia, the first such rebuke of his eight-year presidency.

Also read: US Senate votes to override Obama's 9/11 bill veto to sue Saudi Arabia

“It will be very difficult for Saudi Arabia to continue in intelligence cooperation when they take such a hostile position,” said Jamal Khashoggi, a veteran Saudi journalist and analyst.

He said Saudi officials are probably debating whether to act now or “wait until the first suit is filed in some small town in America”.

Read More

US urges India, Pakistan to exercise restraint

WASHINGTON: The United States reminded India and Pakistan on Thursday that nuclear capable states do not threaten to use atomic weapons in any conflict.

The US government also categorically said that it considered the Sept 18 attack on an Indian military facility in Uri a terrorist attack.

The warning to avoid a nuclear conflict followed reports in the international media that both Indian and Pakistani governments had intensified their rhetoric and hinted at the possibility of nuclear military actions against each other.

“Nuclear-capable states have the responsibility to exercise restraint regarding nuclear weapons and missile capabilities,” a spokesperson for the US State Department told Dawn when asked to comment on these reports.

“Let’s be clear – the attack against the Uri army brigade headquarters was a terrorist attack, and we have strongly condemned it,” said the US official when responding to a series of questions from Dawn on the current situation along the Line of Control.

“We have seen the reports and are following the situation closely,” said the US official without confirming or denying if India had indeed carried out surgical strikes inside Azad Kashmir. “We urge calm and restraint on both sides. We understand that the Indian and Pakistani militaries have been in communication, and we believe continued communication is important to reduce tensions,” the official added.

While referring to cross-LoC attacks inside India-held Kashmir, the State Department official called the Uri incident a terrorist attack.

“We have repeatedly expressed our concerns regarding the danger that cross-border terrorism poses to the region, including the recent attack in Uri,” the official said.

“We continue to urge actions to combat and de-legitimise terrorist groups like Lakshar-e-Taiba, Haqqani network, and Jaish-i-Mohammed.”

The spokesperson said that US Secretary of State John Kerry spoke to Indian Minister for External Affairs Sushma Swaraj on Tuesday and reiterated his strong condemnation of the Uri attack. “He condemned terrorism in all its forms, and cautioned against escalation of tensions.”

Responding to another question on the broader issue of Kashmir, the US official said: “The pace, scope, and character of any discussions on Kashmir is for India and Pakistan to determine. We support any and all positive steps by India and Pakistan to resolve their disputes.”

Earlier in the day, the White House too called the Uri incident a cross-border attack and urged Islamabad to combat and delegitimise Lashkar-e-Taiba, Jaish-e-Mohammed and their affiliates.

US National Security Adviser Susan E. Rice made the demand in a telephone call to her Indian counterpart Ajit Doval on Wednesday for condemning the Uri attack.

India claims Pakistan-based militants carried out the attack. Pakistan rejects the charge as baseless and claims that India stage-managed the incident to discredit a popular uprising in the Valley. Indian troops have killed more than 100 protesters, blinded hundreds and injured more than 10,000 in a brutal crackdown on Kashmiri protesters.

In her call to Mr Doval, Ambassador Rice “strongly condemned the Sept 18 cross-border attack on the Indian army brigade headquarters in Uri” and offered condolences to the victims and their families, said Ned Price, a spokesperson for the White House National Security Council.

Ambassador Rice also affirmed President Barack Obama’s commitment to redouble US efforts to bring to justice the perpetrators of terrorism throughout the world, Mr Price said.

“Highlighting the danger that cross-border terrorism poses to the region, Ambassador Rice reiterated our expectation that Pakistan take effective action to combat and delegitimise UN-designated terrorist individuals and entities, including Lashkar-e-Taiba, Jaish-e-Mohammed, and their affiliates,” Mr Price said in a statement.

Read More

Pakistan captures one Indian soldier at LoC, several others killed

MUZAFFARABAD: An Indian soldier has been captured by the Pakistan army, while Indian soldiers have also been killed in the episode of firing across the Line of Control, it emerged Thursday.

Confusion over the capture of the soldier persists as neither Indian nor Pakistani officials are issuing any official statements on the matter, as yet.

Avoiding connecting the capture to today's firing incident, he said such incidents of people including civilians crossing the frontier by mistake have happened in the past from both sides.

Building a case in favour of India, he added that those who strayed are returned.

“Pakistan has been informed [of the soldier's crossing] through the DGMO on hotline,” ANI News quoted Indian Army sources as saying.

Pakistan’s envoy confirms arrest of Indian soldier

Pakistan's Ambassador to the United Nations Dr Maleeha Lodhi, while talking to Al Jazeera, confirmed that Pakistan Army has "captured an Indian soldier who was trying to enter” into Pakistani territory.

Lodhi, however, denied that there was any surgical strike inside the territory of Pakistan, as claimed by the Indian forces.

“India is trying to divert global attention from the war crimes it is committing in occupied Kashmir, where more than a 100 people have been killed in cold-blood by Indian forces,” said the Pakistan's ambassador.

She said that India is trying to provoke a conflict with Pakistan to calm its domestic opinion, because even India’s domestic opinion is questioning its role in Kashmir. “My country [Pakistan] has exercised maximum restraint in the face of what happened in the early hours of Thursday.”

“What we saw on Thursday was cross border shelling, by mortar fire as well as small arms fire. We have captured one Indian soldier who was trying to cross while two Pakistani soldiers were martyred in cross border shelling. But there was no surgical strike inside territory controlled by Pakistan.”

“It is very irresponsible of India to act this way. We want the international community to urge restraint upon India,” she maintained.

Also read: What is a 'surgical strike'?

On Pakistan's side, two officials based in Chhamb sector said the Indian soldier with weapons was captured at 1330 local time on Thursday.

Separately, security sources confirmed the same to Dawn.com. The sources said a 22-year-old Indian soldier by the name Chandu Babulal Chohan was taken into custody by Pakistani forces.

They added that at least eight Indian soldiers were killed. The bodies of the Indian soldiers have not been recovered by the Indian Army from the site of the skirmishes at the LoC. Security sources claim an attempt to recover the bodies by the Indian Army has not been made yet as they fear coming under fire from Pakistan Army troops.

In his show Capital Talk on Geo News, Hamid Mir said that 14 Indian soldiers were killed in two sectors. Defense analyst Major General (Retd) Ijaz Awan, who was on his show, confirmed his claim.

Early morning firing

An exchange of fire between Pakistani and Indian LoC troops began at 2:30am and continued till 8:00am in the Bhimber, Hotspring, Kel and Lipa sectors in Azad Jammu and Kashmir, the ISPR statement said.

"Pakistani troops befittingly responded to Indian unprovoked firing on the LoC."

Shortly after the exchange of fire, the Indian Ministry of External Affairs and Ministry of Defence held a joint press conference in New Delhi in which DGMO Lt Gen Ranbir Singh alleged that surgical strikes were conducted by the Indian army on "terror launch pads along the LoC". The strikes will not continue, he said.

The Indian DGMO claimed that "some terrorist teams had positioned themselves at launchpads along the Line of Control".

"The Indian army conducted surgical strikes last night at these launchpads. Significant casualties have been caused to these terrorists and those who are trying to support them... The operations aimed at neutralising the terrorists have since ceased."

Pakistan rubbished the Indian claims of conducting a surgical strike.

"The notion of surgical strike linked to alleged terrorists bases is an illusion being deliberately generated by Indian to create false effects," a military statement said.

"This quest by the Indian establishment to create media hype by rebranding cross-border fire as a surgical strike is fabrication of the truth. Pakistan has made it clear that if there is a surgical strike on Pakistani soil, the same will be strongly responded."

The Pakistan Air Force (PAF) said Pakistan’s airspace would be safeguarded at any cost. "PAF is always alert and ready to issue a befitting response to foreign aggression," a spokesperson said.

Read More

Kabul university attack: 12 killed as gunmen open fire on campus

Twelve people were killed in an attack on a university in Kabul, the Afghan capital, a spokesman for the Chief of Kabul Police tells CNN. Two gunmen who were still on the site were killed Thursday morning in a police operation.

Seven students, three policemen and two security guards were killed in the attack on the American University of Afghanistan in Kabul campus, Basir Mujahid, the spokesman said. Thirty students were injured in the attack, which no group has yet claimed responsibility for.

Around 750 students were on campus at the time, he added.

Explosions, gunfire

The gunmen detonated explosives and fired guns, witnesses said, causing some students and faculty to flee. Others hid inside buildings, a senior State Department official told CNN.

The first blast occurred at 7:50 p.m., when students were gathering and eating together.

Two professors, an American and an Australian, were abducted from the same university earlier this month. Their whereabouts remain unknown.

Despite its name, few Americans study at the school, a senior US State Department official told CNN. But a number of Americans serve on the faculty and may have been trapped inside buildings. The school is regarded as a symbol of cooperation between Afghanistan and the United States.

Read More

World's friendliest cities, according to Conde Nast Traveler

Charleston, South Carolina is all the rage this year.

The southern town where the US Civil War started is now the friendliest city in the world, according to Conde Nast Traveler's 29th annual Readers' Choice Awards.

"More and more people are going to Charleston," Conde Nast deputy digital editor Laura Redman tells CNN.

"Europeans are heading to Charleston because they've heard about the food and the architecture. It's getting great press, and it's having a moment."

Sydney came in second place, followed by Dublin in third place.

Conde Nast, which just published lists of the friendliest US cities and friendliest cities in the world, created one combined list for CNN.

More than 100,000 readers responded to the travel magazine's reader survey of favorite cities, hotels, resorts, islands, airlines, cruise lines, future travel destinations and, for the fourth year in a row, reader opinions of the world's friendliest cities.

To arriving travelers, a city can get a reputation for friendliness through its locals and its appearance.

Charleston, Savannah and Nashville, all southern US cities, stand out as spots where locals are quick to offer directions and other assistance -- and where the locals talk to each other.

"They haven't lost their Southern charm," says Redman.

Hotel or resort staff greeting guests on arrival with an easy check-in process and refreshing beverages, sometimes specifically for the children, also stands out.

Cities that are easily navigable and offer guests the chance to feel like a local also feel friendly to visitors, she says.

Conde Nast Traveler's top 10 friendliest cities

1. Charleston, South Carolina

2. Sydney, Australia

3. Dublin, Ireland

4. Queenstown, New Zealand

5. Park City, Utah

6. Galway, Ireland

7. Savannah, Georgia

8. Krakow, Poland

9. Bruges, Belgium

10. Nashville, Tennessee

Read More

Canada's stolen daughters: Sex traffickers target indigenous Canadians

As Lauren Chopek painfully details her story, she does so with the reticence of a survivor, as if somehow remaining silent would have been better.

"I used to blame myself for everything. But, like I, I would say I let them do that to me. I am dirty. It's my fault," says Chopek through tears.

But Chopek is finally speaking out, determined to shake the guilt and shame that she knows should stalk her perpetrators instead of her.

"Now I see that I was just a child," says Chopek, now sitting serenely in a safe house, a healing lodge in rural Manitoba that cradled her in the love and protection she so needed when she escaped her life on the streets.

Now 19, Lauren was just 14 when she was sexually exploited and trafficked for sex in her hometown of Winnipeg. But as an indigenous girl in Canada, her story is hardly rare.

Canada's indigenous population is very small -- just 4% of the population -- yet more than 50% of all sex trafficking victims in Canada are indigenous. The reasons are complicated and varied but are ultimately rooted in a legacy of poverty, racism and abuse.

"I was actually making these bad choices for a reason," explains Chopek. "You know when you experience sexual abuse it's really confusing. You never know if it's your fault or is it theirs?

Fighting sex trafficking on the streets of Winnipeg 04:46

Outreach on neighborhood streets is one strategy that is executed with the help of law enforcement officers. Almost daily, Winnipeg Police dispatch an elite unit on the streets to try and counter sexual exploitation and human trafficking.

The approach is a departure for Winnipeg Police, who now say their efforts are firmly focused on helping victims. Outreach is conducted in a way to help victims and then bring their perpetrators to justice.

There is bias in the police service. We recognize it, that there's implicit bias. We certainly have taken steps to try to address that in a myriad of ways.

Danny Smyth, Winnipeg's Deputy Police Chief

Law enforcement officials acknowledge a history of bias and racism that in the past prevented police from truly understanding how and why indigenous girls are vulnerable and at risk.

"There is bias in the police service. We recognize it, that there's implicit bias. We certainly have taken steps to try to address that in a myriad of ways," says Danny Smyth, Winnipeg's deputy police chief.

"We have a team that's dedicated just to outreach. Just to being out there and trying to get to know who's out on the street, and trying to establish a relationship with them," adds Smyth.

The legacy of years of abuse and racism though are making it difficult for Canada's indigenous community to heal and move on. Canada will soon launch an inquiry that will focus on why hundreds of indigenous women and girls have gone missing or been murdered over the years.

Canadian and independent studies have revealed that indigenous women and girls are five times more likely to die in violent circumstances than non-indigenous women and girls.

"We're still in a society that targets indigenous women and girls. In fact the national task force concluded that there's a market for indigenous girls," says Redsky, adding, "what that leads to is a society who views indigenous women as less than, and in fact of no human value."

Read More

Quake leaves 247 dead; rescuers race to find survivors in Italy

An earthquake, about 10 kilometers deep, has shaken central Italy. Here's what we know:

• 6.2-magnitude quake struck near the town of Norcia at 3:36 a.m. local time
• An hour later, a 5.5-magnitude aftershock hit just four kilometers north of the same town
• Several buildings collapsed in the mountain town of Amatrice

Read More

US says it doesn’t support Balochistan’s independence

WASHINGTON: The United States categorically assured Pakistan on Tuesday that it did not support independence for Balochistan.

In an earlier statement, the US State Department shared with Dawn its general commitment to Pakistan’s territorial integrity and distanced itself from India’s effort to stir an international controversy over Balochistan.

But on Tuesday, the State Department shared another statement with Dawn, removing all ambiguities about its stance on an issue that many Pakistanis fear can be exploited to endanger the very existence of their country.

“The US government respects the unity and territorial integrity of Pakistan, and we do not support independence for Balochistan,” said a State Department official in the statement shared with Dawn.

Read: US refuses to back Modi’s claims on AJK

But the official also expressed US concerns about the human rights situation in the province where Pakistan is fighting a simmering insurgency by both separatists and religious extremists.

International monitors claim that both insurgents and security forces commit human rights violations in Balochistan.

---

Official also expresses concern over human rights situation in province

---

“We do have concerns about the human rights situation there, and have reported that for several years in our Human Rights Report,” the State Department official said.

“However, we have consistently urged all parties in Pakistan to work out their differences peaceably and through a valid political process,” the official added.

Hundreds of people have been killed in Balochistan in attacks on sectarian and ethnic minorities while scores of people have disappeared. Sometimes, tortured bodies of those who disappear are found abandoned in remote areas.

Baloch nationalists blame the security forces for those disappearances, a charge the government rejects as incorrect and accuses the militants of kidnapping people and of killing them when they fail to get ransom.

In a speech last week, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi too talked about the situation in Balochistan and urged Indian diplomats and the media to highlight this issue.

Pakistan reacted angrily to the speech, calling it a breach of international norms and intrusion in the country’s sovereignty.

While commenting on Mr Modi’s statement, Pakistani officials and the media said that the Indian prime minister was trying to hide the atrocities committed by Indian security forces in occupied Kashmir by bracketing the situation in the valley with Balochistan, which, unlike occupied Kashmir, was not a disputed territory.

They pointed out that Kashmir was an internationally recognised issue and there were UN resolutions supporting the right of self-determination of the Kashmiri people.

But the Indian effort to internationalise the situation in Balochistan received support from the Bangladeshi government and former Afghan president Hamid Karzai.

During a visit to India earlier this week, Bangladeshi Information Minister Hasanul Haque Inu said Bangladesh supported Mr Modi’s stand on Balochistan and Dhaka would soon make a policy declaration on this issue.

Mr Karzai, who was also in New Delhi this week, said that Mr Modi’s remarks should make the Pakistani government “see the gravity of the situation”.

Meanwhile, at a State Department news briefing, a journalist drew the spokesman’s attention to India’s decision to register a sedition case against Amnesty International. Indian authorities claimed that Amnesty International committed sedition when it held a seminar to highlight the fate of broken families in occupied Kashmir.

“We’ve seen these reports that local police in Bangalore have initiated preliminary investigation into allegations of sedition against Amnesty International,” said Deputy Spokesman Mark Toner.

“We obviously, as we do around the world, support the right to freedom of expression and assembly, including through civil society,” he added. “We respect the right for Amnesty and others to express themselves freely.”

The official, however, urged the journalist to contact the Bangalore police for more details.

Responding to another question, the official urged both India and Pakistan to resume their dialogue for reducing tensions in South Asia.

“We strongly support all efforts between India and Pakistan that can contribute to a more stable and prosperous region, and that includes meetings at any level between Indian and Pakistani officials,” Mr Toner said.

“Our longstanding position has always been that India and Pakistan stand to benefit from a normalisation of relations and practical cooperation, and so we would be encouraged that India and Pakistan continue to engage in direct dialogue aimed at reducing tensions,” he said.

Read More