Shah says Khan’s ‘long march’ can derail entire system

ISLAMABAD: Opposition leader in the National Assembly Syed Khursheed Shah has expressed reservations on the long march announced by Imran Khan, saying that it could derail the entire system, Geo News reported.

Speaking to media here, Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) leader advised Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to take all the political parties into confidence in the prevailing situation.

Khursheed Shah said: “There is contradiction in the stance of Tahirul Qadri. He does not believe on election, while PPP wants stability of the democratic institutions”.

He said Qadri and Chaudhry Shujaat had invited PPP to attend All Parties Conference (APC), however, his party decided not to participate in it.

Militants plan to march on Baghdad: SITE monitors

WASHINGTON: Militants who have seized a large swathe of northern and north-central Iraq now plan to march on the capital Baghdad, a US-based monitoring group said Wednesday.

In a lightning offensive, militants seized Tikrit earlier, its latest success following a spectacular assault late Monday on Mosul, a city of two million.

The militants´ advances have forced as many as half a million people to flee their homes.

ISIL spokesman Abu Mohammed al-Adnani promised that the battle would "rage" on Baghdad and Karbala, a city southwest of the capital, the SITE Intelligence Group said.

"Do not relent against your enemy... The battle is not yet raging, but it will rage in Baghdad and Karbala," Adnani said, according to a SITE translation of an audio statement released on the militants´ Twitter feed. "Put on your belts and get ready."

Adnani also dismissed President Nuri al-Maliki as woefully incompetent. "What have you done to your people, O foolish one. No one is more foolish than you but those who accept you as the president and commander," Adnani said in the translated statement.

"What do you know about policy, leadership, and military command? You lost a historic opportunity for your people to control Iraq, and the people will always curse you for as long as they live. Indeed, there is between us and you a balance to be made even." (AFP)

Anti-dam march in Myanmar

Dozens of protesters began a 2,400-km march on Sunday to northern Myanmar, calling for the cancellation of a Chinese-backed hydroelectric dam project over environmental concerns. The $3.6 billion dam along the Irrawaddy River, which was supposed to export 90 per cent of its power to China, was suspended in 2011.

Now, many worry construction will resume after the 2015 general elections.

Waving banners calling for permanent cancellation of the Myitsone dam, around 60 people gathered early Sunday in a suburb of the main city of Yangon.

They will walk along the Irrawaddy River , said one of the organisers. He expects the march to Myitsone in Kachin state, where the dam is located, to take up to 70 days.

The vast majority of Burmese do not have access to electricity. — AP

Musharraf not to appear in court on March 11

ISLAMABAD: Former President General (retd) Pervez Musharraf lawyer, Ahmed Raza Kasuri says his client will not appear before the special court on Tuesday (March 11).

Kasuri said his client would not appear until the court provided fool-proof security.

Earlier, the interior ministry had written a letter to intelligence agencies and police outlining threats to the former president. The letter stated that Musharraf had received threats from terrorist groups and maybe attacked on his way to the court.