Scotland Yard drops one investigation against Altaf

LONDON: Scotland Yard has decided to drop the ‘incitement of hate speech’ investigation against the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) leader Altaf Hussain.

Specialist Crime and Operations officers had opened an inquiry in May last year — soon after the 11th May general elections — after thousands of people had written to the Metropolitan Police complaining that the MQM leader had threatened protesters in Karachi who had gathered at the Teen Talwar venue in Karachi and also another of Hussain’s speeches in which it was alleged that Altaf Hussain had issued open threats and incited violence against the democratic protesters.

But the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has told the police that there was no sufficient evidence against Altaf Hussain to prosecute him, therefore, the case shall not be pursued any further. The News understands that a letter has been sent to the MQM informing the party that the investigation had been dropped.

When contacted by The News, the Scotland Yard confirmed that Altaf Hussain’s speeches of the time “do not constitute a criminal offence” and “consequently there will be no further action taken by police.”

Without naming Altaf Hussain, the spokesman said that in May, 2013, the Metropolitan Police Service received “a large number of complaints, totalling several thousand, following speeches from an individual associated with the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM).”

He added: “Specialist Crime and Operations officers carried out extensive searches to locate and gather, what was a substantial amount of material, all of which required translation.“After careful examination and in close consultation with the CPS, the Met has concluded that though the comments may offend some members of the community, they do not constitute a criminal offence. Consequently, there will be no further action taken by police.”

The spokesman added that the police take all allegations of crime seriously, responding to the concerns raised and will take action where appropriate. He confirmed that the “hate speech inquiry” was “in no way linked to the investigation into money laundering offences which was widely reported, following an arrest being made, earlier this month”.

The decision by the police will come as a relief to the MQM leader who is currently on police bail in relation to the money-laundering investigation.The News has learnt that the police used different Urdu language interpreters and language experts to look into the words of Altaf Hussain and then took advice from criminal law experts who told the police that if the matter reaches the court, Altaf Hussain’s lawyers could interpret his speech in totally different meaning and context than the one suggested by the prosecution. The CPS advised that in front of a jury, the chances of this case succeeding were very poor. The CPS advised the police not to bother with this investigation anymore.

The MQM had contested that its leader didn’t threaten protesters belonging to Imran Khan’s party, the PTI. Farooq Sattar had sent a letter to the police stating that Altaf Hussain was not “responsible for the murder of Ms Zahra Shahid Hussain” as alleged by Imran Khan.

Sattar explained in the letter that Altaf Hussain had not threatened anyone and translated Altaf Hussain’s Urdu words “may laraee jhegra nahee chahta werna tau may apnay satheeon ko kehoon tau wo teen talwar phohonch ker talwaroon ko asel shakel day dain gey” in English as “I do not want to quarrel or fight with anyone otherwise I would only have to order my associates that they reach Teen Talwar (Three swords monument in Clifton) and make them real”.

Sattar explained in the letter: “The above quoted words of Mr Hussain very clearly indicate his intentions that he doesn’t want to fight anyone and the phraseology that swords of monument could be converted into real swords would have carried any real meaning and threat only if Mr Hussain had failed to clarify that he doesn’t believe in physical fight.”

One killed, two injured in Karachi grenade attack

KARACHI: A man was killed and two others injured in a grenade attack on a shop on Sunday, Geo News reported.

Police said that the shop owner had received extortion slips and the shop was attacked some time ago as well.

The police said that unknown men hurled grenade on a shop located on Tariq Road and escaped the scene, leaving three people injured.

The injured were taken to the Civil Hospital Karachi (CHK) for treatment where one of them succumbed to his injuries. Identities of the deceased and the injured were yet to be ascertained.

No one to be allowed to undermine dignity of SC: Justice Jawwad

 

ISLAMABAD: Justice Jawwad S Khawaja of the Supreme Court (SC) said on Thursday that it must be kept in mind by all that the judges of the higher judiciary would never allow anyone to undermine the dignity of the apex court.
The SC took strong exception to a news channel and the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Pemra) over a programme aired against the judiciary.

A three-member bench of the apex court headed by Justice Jawwad S Khawaja and comprising Justice Gulzar Ahmed and Justice Mushir Alam heard the petition filed by the Independent Media Corporation (IMC) on behalf of Geo Network against the negative propaganda by other TV channels and for resumption of its transmission on cable networks.

“It is learnt that the instant petition drew huge attraction”, Justice Jawwad S Khawaja asked Muhammad Akram Sheikh, counsel for Geo TV network at the start of the proceedings.Muhammad Akram Sheikh however, expressed his reservations saying that he felt harassed while taking up the case.

“We are very professional and we will deal with it professionally and we do know what our values are, thanks to Allah Almighty,” Jawwad S Khawaja remarked adding that everyone should know that they would not let anyone cause harm to the dignity of the Supreme Court.

Justice Jawwad S Khawaja refused to recuse himself from the bench hearing the Geo TV

case saying a judge took the decision to disassociate himself in accordance with the Constitution.

He said that it was the conscience of the judge himself which must determine his decision whether to sit on a bench or not.

Justice Khawaja questioned the regulatory body about its presence during propaganda against the judiciary. He asked where was Pemra when propaganda was aired against the judiciary. He said “for God’s sake recognise right from wrong”.

Zakir Malik, Pemra legal head, however, informed the court that they had forwarded the complaints to the department concerned after monitoring the said programme, adding he was hopeful of action being taken on it during the course of the day.

The petitioner, the Independent Media Corporation (IMC) prayed to the court to issue directives to restrain all channels from airing allegations against other channels or media groups. The petition was filed against the backdrop of a smear campaign against the television network by rival media groups kickstarted after a May 14 morning show aired a performance by some Qawwal.

The petitioner prayed to the court to order the law enforcement and investigation agencies and lower courts all over the country to submit copies of all the criminal complaints, FIRs and petitions filed under Section 22A that contained allegations of blasphemy regarding the show.

It was further requested to issue directives for consolidation of all the FIRs that might have been registered in various parts of the country and to restrain the law enforcing and investigating agencies from registering any new case, but to forward all pending and new FIRs containing allegations of blasphemy before the Supreme Court for eventual quashing of proceedings on them.

It was also requested to order the relevant law enforcing agencies in all the provinces to take required steps for protection of the petitioners, management and staff of the Geo, Jang Group, along with their offices all over the country.

The petitioner made the federal government through secretary interior, chief secretaries of the four provincial governments and Chief Commissioner, Islamabad as respondents.Similarly, the Independent Media Corporation filed a Civil Miscellaneous Application (CMA) in the Constitutional Petition No 51 of 2010 for revival of the said petition.

It was prayed to the apex court to order the revival of the titled constitutional petition in the interest of justice, equity and fair play; and may further be pleased to act strictly in accordance with the report of Javed Jabbar appointed as mediator with consent of the respondents in almost a similar episode and the mediation having been accepted by the respondents for reshuffling or blocking of the petitioner channels be restrained along with any other relief that the august court might graciously deem appropriate.

During the hearing Justice Jawwad S Khawaja pointed out to Akram Sheikh, counsel for Geo Television, that there was an objection from some quarters in respect of the constitution/impartiality of the bench.

Justice Jawwad S Khawaja said that the respondent or any other person having any objection against constitution of this bench might come to the court and the matter was adjourned to 1:00pm.

Later at 1:00 pm, when the court resumed the matter Attorney General Salman Aslam Butt appeared before the court and submitted that the federation had no objection to the hearing of this petition by this bench which included Jawwad S Khawaja.

However, one Sabir Shakir, Bureau Chief, ARY, Islamabad, appeared and stated that Mubashar Luqman who is an anchor person of ARY had sent him to state that he would like to engage a counsel in this case.

The court observed that there might be justification for this request though, prima facie, it did not appear so but there appeared to be some TV talk show aired last evening which might need to be seen as it appeared to be relevant in this context.

The court however, observed that in order to ensure absolute transparency in these cases, it was prepared to consider the objections which might appear from the aforesaid TV show to be against one member of this bench (Jawwad S Khawaja).

“It is possible that this objection has something to do with the news programme ‘Kharra Sach’ which was aired on ARY on May 21, 2014 (Wednesday). Therefore, we direct the registrar of the court to obtain the CD of the said programme which was aired on Wednesday and which needed to be seen as the same might throw some light on the basis or otherwise of any objection as vehemently urged by Sabir Shakir”, the court ruled in its order.

The court ruled that it would re-assemble at 2:00pm for the viewing of the TV programme. Meanwhile, the court directed its office to make arrangements for displaying relevant parts of the programme ‘Kharra Sach’ relayed the other day on ARY News Channel, through multimedia in court at 2:00pm.

Meanwhile, as the court resumed the hearing at 2:00pm, it viewed the programme ‘Kharra Sach.’ The court viewed two relevant clips of the aforesaid programme in the court through multimedia.

After viewing the relevant clips of the programme, the court observed that it was not for the present necessary to make any determination as to the nature of the excerpts from the TV programme.

The court further observed if there was any cause or matter which might require intervention in exercise of proceedings under any constitutional or statutory provision, that matter, needless to say, would proceed separately because that had no direct nexus with the matter at hand.

“The matter right now is as to whether one of us (Jawwad S Khawaja) should sit on this bench, the court ruled adding that the basis of the objection could be gathered from the second excerpt of the TV programme.

The court noted that it was in this excerpt that it had been alleged that because of a relationship (Jawwad S Khawaja) had with owner of IMC, he should recuse from the hearing of this case.

It was noted that the statement had been made by a gentleman named Aqeel Karim Dhedhi. The court however, ruled that it was quite obvious that he was totally unaware of the nature of the office of a judge and of the rules which had been laid down to ensure transparency and impartiality of benches hearing cases.

“Mr Dhedhi appears to be unaware that although the IMC owner happens to be the brother of the wife of my brother, Justice Jawwad S Khawaja said adding that he did not recall the last time they met, it might have been 20 years ago, 16 years ago or perhaps at some ‘Shaadi or Ghami’ which he did not recall at present.

“It is always for the judge himself to make a determination as to whether or not his relationship with any other person is such that he should not hear a particular case in which such person is a party”, the court ruled in its order.

The court further ruled that the Code of Conduct prescribed by the Supreme Judicial Council for judges of the superior courts includes Article 4 which states that a judge should not “act in a case involving his own interest, including those of persons whom he regards and treats as near relatives or close friends.

”From this it will be evident that only such persons can trigger recusal of a judge who are considered to be close by a judge”, the court ruled adding that the rationale of this stipulation is evident from its content.“It is clear that I have no basis for regarding or treating IMC owner as a near relative,” Justice Jawwad S Khawaja ruled in the court order.

The oath of office of judges of the Supreme Court is set out in the Schedule to the Constitution as per Article 178. It is expressly stated therein that the judge “will not allow [his] personal interest to influence [his] official conduct or [his] official decision”. Judges also swear under the Constitution to “do right to all manner of people according to law without fear or favour, affection or ill-will”. The Holy Quran in fact directs judges to act fairly, justly and impartially even if they are hearing cases involving their own relatives.

The above provisions of the Code of Conduct or oath of office or the verses from the Holy Quran do not impose a bar on a judge from hearing cases unless there is cause under Article 4 of the Code of Conduct reproduced above”, the court observed adding that no such cause exists in this case.

“In the present case, we may assume that the comments made by Mr Dhedhi may be in good faith, however, such comments before being aired on a TV channel licenced by Pemra could have been vetted or even in the case of a live telecast it should have been ascertained that the interviewee was aware of Article 19 of the Constitution and the law”, the court ruled in its order.

The court however, ruled that it did not intend to embark on any such inquiry as this would be a matter within the competence and jurisdiction of Pemra.

The court ruled that the Pemra should ensure that the provisions set out in Articles 19 and 19A of the Constitution are strictly adhered to.

These provisions have also been incorporated in the Pemra Ordinance and the rules framed by Pemra thereunder and also in the provisions of the licences which are issued by Pemra to various channels, the court ruled.

The court observed that it might be useful to record that all litigants at times made attempts to avoid hearing before certain benches but at times such attempts were not well intentioned.

“There may even be attempts to intimidate or malign judges or institutions of the state and thereby, to undermine such individuals or institutions”, the court ruled.The court observed that the hearings of this case at intervals today was significant, adding that courts were not to succumb to any remark, defamatory or otherwise. “It is the conscience of the judge himself which must determine his decision to sit on a bench or not”, the court ruled.

“We are very conscious and careful in noting that Mr Dhedhi may genuinely have felt the way he did when he said that one of us (Jawwad S Khawaja) should recuse from this case. Therefore, it might be for some other person or some other proceedings to deal with the utterances in the TV programme as reproduced above, the court ruled adding that they had no intention to comment on matters which were sub judice before this court and before other courts including accountability courts which are part of the judicial system of Pakistan wherein Mr Dhedhi might be arrayed as a party or as an accused.

“We are deliberately and consciously not recording any remarks or comment lest it should cause prejudice to the trial or to Mr Dhedhi in such pending matters”, the court ruled.

Justice Jawwad S Khawaja in the court order said that he did not find any reason whatsoever not to sit on this bench. He however referred to Article 19 of the Constitution which says, “Every citizen shall have the right to freedom of speech and expression, and there shall be freedom of the press, subject to any reasonable restrictions imposed by law in the interest of the glory of Islam or the integrity, security or defence of Pakistan or any part thereof, friendly relations with foreign States, public order, decency or morality, or in relation to contempt of court, [commission of] or incitement to an offence.

The court ruled that barring the exclusions which had been mentioned in the said article, there could be no restriction imposed on the freedom of speech and expression set out in Article 19 of the Constitution.Meanwhile, the court adjourned the hearing till today (Friday).

One dead, 23 injured in Thai quake: official

BANGKOK: An elderly woman died and 23 other people were injured after a strong earthquake shook northern Thailand, an official said Tuesday, as aftershocks continued to rattle the mountainous region popular with tourists.

The 83-year-old woman died when a wall in her house collapsed after the 6.0-magnitude struck quake on Monday afternoon, according to an official at the Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Department in Bangkok. "Twenty-three people were also injured in separate incidents caused by the quake," the official told AFP, without giving further details.

The quake, which struck at a shallow depth of just 7.4 kilometres (4.5 miles), had its epicentre in the remote Phan district of Chiang Rai province, geologists said, and was felt hundreds of miles to the south in Bangkok and even in Myanmar´s commercial capital Yangon.

"Since last evening (Monday) there were six large aftershocks with a magnitude between 5.0 to 5.9 and the last was this morning," Burin Wechbunthung, of the Meteorological Department told, adding there were a dozen smaller tremors.

Residents on Monday said they had seen cracked building facades, broken shop windows and damage to roads, while power was cut for several hours in Phan.

The area is a remote mountain retreat near the border with Myanmar and Laos and popular with foreign visitors. The quake was felt in the tourist hub city of Chiang Mai 160 kilometres (100 miles) southwest of Chiang Rai and as far away as Bangkok, 800 kilometres to the south, where tall buildings shook for several seconds.

Major earthquakes are rare in Thailand, although tremors often strike the north of the country.

 

Saudi reports one more death from MERS virus

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s health ministry says one more patient who contracted the potentially fatal Middle East virus related to SARS has died and that 14 new cases have been detected.

The ministry said on its website Sunday that a Saudi man in his 70s died in Riyadh. It says this brings to 112 the number of deaths from the virus in the kingdom since September 2012.

The new 14 cases raise the number of those infected in Saudi Arabia to 411. Five of the new cases were detected in Riyadh, five in Jeddah and four in Makka — three women and a 14-year-old boy.

MERS belongs to the coronavirus family that includes the common cold and SARS, or severe acute respiratory syndrome, which caused some 800 deaths globally in 2003. (AP)

Microsoft to sell Xbox One in China in September

SHANGHAI: Microsoft will later this year start offering its Xbox One game console with a local partner in China, where such devices were banned for more than a decade.

"Today marks a monumental day for Xbox, as together with our partner BesTV New Media Co., we announced we will bring Xbox One to China in September of this year," Microsoft vice president Yusuf Mehdi wrote in a blog post.

"Launching Xbox One in China is a significant milestone for us and for the industry."

In January China formally authorised the domestic sale of game consoles made in its first free trade zone (FTZ) in Shanghai, potentially opening up a lucrative market to players such as Microsoft and Japan´s Sony and Nintendo.

The relaxation of a decade-long ban -- despite which the devices are widely available -- does not apply to console imports. But Microsoft and BesTV set up a $237 million joint venture in the FTZ last year to produce home entertainment equipment.

BesTV, a subsidiary of state-owned Shanghai Media Group, confirmed the timeframe for the launch in a statement, adding it will work with Microsoft to develop video games with Chinese characteristics.

The companies said Xbox One will be the first of its kind to officially launch in China, a country with nearly 500 million game players, although they did not reveal the pricing.

China´s game revenue jumped 38 percent year-on-year to 83.2 billion yuan ($13.7 billion) in 2013, according to one industry estimate, although the market was dominated by online computer games.

Despite the announcement, Shanghai-listed BesTV ended down 0.35 percent at 33.83 yuan in Shanghai trading on Wednesday. (AFP)

No one to be allowed to use Pak soil against any country: PM

 

LONDON: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif vowed that Pakistan would not allow its land to be used against any country as British Prime Minister David Cameron stated that Pakistan’s enemies were the enemies of Britain.
The two leaders expressed these views during talks at 10-Downing Street. Both the leaders underlined their commitment to fight terrorism together.

The prime minister was joined in the two-hour-long talks by Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif, Balochistan Chief Minister Dr Abdul Malik Baloch, Minister for Finance Ishaq Dar, Adviser to the PM on National Security and Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz, Special Assistant to the PM on National Security Tariq Fatemi, Pakistan’s acting High Commissioner to the UK Imran Mirza and others.

David Cameron was assisted in the talks by Foreign Secretary William Hague and Foreign Office Minister Sayeeda Warsi.Nawaz Sharif paid a visit to his British counterpart as the British parliamentarians called for a cut in the aid programme to Pakistan and diverting funds to poorer countries unless “clear evidence” is produced that Pakistan is playing its role in reducing extremism.

Increasingly, British MPs believed that the UK fund was not being properly spent in the fight against radicalism. However, it is becoming clear that the threat to the UK from Pakistan has significantly reduced recently whereas it had gone up in the case of the Middle Eastern flashpoint countries.

Nawaz Sharif thanked Prime Minister Cameron for his country’s financial help and told Cameron that it was “something that we value very much”.

David Cameron said thatBritain and Pakistan had a “vitally important” relationship that was based on trade, development and the fight against terrorism.

He added: “The enemies of Pakistan are my enemies too because we want to defeat the extremism, the terrorism that threatens your country and so many others in the region.”Nawaz Sharif said he welcomed the UK’s announcement that the two countries would fight extremism together.

Nawaz Sharif said, “Pakistan has paid a heavy price in its fight against terror and we are determined to eliminate terrorism in Pakistan and will never allow anybody to use its space for launching an attack in Afghanistan, or for that matter, anywhere in the world,” he said. “This is our policy, which we have recently formulated,” he said.

“We believe that we will work together to fight against terror and also to pull Pakistan out of the problems it’s facing,” Nawaz Sharif said.

After holding talks at 10-Downing Street, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif addressed a conference where the UK and Pakistani business community was present. Nawaz Sharif told the conference that his government had turned around country’s economy within a year. “Pakistan today offers tremendous investment opportunities. We have brought structural reforms and introduced great policies as the UK and Pakistan remained committed to strengthening economic cooperation.

“I have today met my friend, David Cameron, who was the first to visit Pakistan after the PML-N government assumed power. The UK has offered help in all areas including education and defence. The role of the Department for International Development (DFID) has been brilliant,” said Nawaz Sharif.

He said that the two countries had agreed to work on new roadmaps and the two countries had agreed to enhance cooperation in all areas including trade, economy, education and health sector.

The PM said that his country was keen to increase UK investment in Pakistan as more than 100 UK companies were working in Pakistan and making a lot of profit.

Nawaz Sharif said that his government came into power through free and fair elections. He said that he was aware of the challenges being faced by Pakistan but he was determined to deal with these challenges. He said that since coming to power, his govt had worked on a priority basis vis-a-vis the energy crisis and output of the economy. He said that Pakistan’s economic indicators looked optimistic and almost all areas of the economy were showing signs of progress.

“We inherited an economy in dire straits. There was lack of confidence in state institutions when we took over. We worked beyond the call of duty to turn around the economy and we have succeeded. The Pak rupee has gone up significantly and the capital market outlook is appearing optimistic. The Pakistan economy appears to be back on track,” said the premier.

Nawaz Sharif said, “I am privileged that the people of Pakistan have given me a mandate. I am trying to make Pakistan a tolerant and vibrant country. I count on my friends in Britain to march with us and help us in making Pakistan a liberal society.”

On the occasion, Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif said, “Militancy is a challenge and we consider it very serious and Nawaz Sharif is determined to deal with it.”

He said that it was courageous of PM Sharif that he initiated a dialogue with the Taliban. “It is to Nawaz Sharif’s credit that dialogue process with the Taliban is going on the right direction. We have to exhaust this option first and foremost. If dialogue fails, the whole country will be on one page to fight the TTP. We must eliminate terrorism to make Pakistan move forward,” he said.

Answering questions, Nawaz Sharif repeated that it was in Pakistan’s interest to establish peace through dialogue. “Otherwise Pakistan does have other options including the use of force,” the prime minister said.The premier said that his govt was encouraging militants to put down their weapons and come to the dialogue table.

No one will be allowed to snatch press freedom’

 

LAHORE: Speakers at a seminar held at the South Asian Free Media Association (Safma) said the right of freedom of expression was directly linked to the right to life, but unfortunately, both of them were in jeopardy in Pakistan.
They said they would not allow anyone to snatch the press freedom. MNA Tehmina Daultana, former assistant attorney general Iftikhar Shahid, Geo Television Lahore Bureau chief Syed Khawar Naeem Hashmi, Khalid Chaudhry, Allama Siddique Azhar and Anjum Rasheed were speaking at a seminar organised in connection with the attack on Hamid Mir and the freedom of expression.

They said the freedom of speech and freedom of the press were a part of the Constitution of Pakistan and there was no state or non-state institution that could defy these rights under any pretext. The civil society and the media had a history of a rigorous struggle for the freedom of expression and press. Therefore, they would not allow anyone to take back even a small part of the gains made so far.

They said in the case of Pakistan, the right of expression was directly linked to the right of life because those who were determined to practice the former were ending up risking the latter.The speakers were of the view that there was a need to improve the current state of security and tolerance among certain national quarters regarding information and opinion.

According the speakers, the right to freedom of expression and security are a cornerstone of any democracy and the country becomes a totalitarian state the very moment these rights are encroached upon. The government needs to look into the situation as to why the freedom of expression was becoming more and more dearer rather than an inalienable right and should fix this growing dangerous trend.

They pointed out that even before the attack on Hamid Mir, dozens of journalists suffered the same fate and many had not been as lucky as Hamid, as they lost their lives for the cause. They said had the inquiry report and the measures proposed by the Saleem Shahzad commission implemented, it would have acted as a deterrent.

They said practicing the right to freedom of expression was not exclusive to journalists; in fact, politicians used it more than media persons in their election campaigns, in parliament and at other forums. Therefore, any curb on this right would not only hit the media but would also seal the lips of the society as a whole.

They said no one could deny the fact that the Geo News and other organisations of the Jang Group were the most popular media outlets in Pakistan and any attempt to shut them down would be a blow to the people’s right to information.

Everyone should take one step back to control situation: Nisar

ISLAMABAD: Federal Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan has said that it is his responsibility to bring the culprits involved in the attack on Geo News anchorperson Hamid Mir to book.

Talking to media here Friday, Chaudhry Nisar said that the government has constituted a three-member judicial commission tasked to probe the attack and all the evidence of the attack should be presented before the commission.

He expressed sympathy with Hamid Mir and his family members.

Nisar said that no untoward incident took place with Hamid Mir in Islamabad after PML-N assumed the government. He said Mr. Mir neither lodged any complain nor provided any numbers which might have been used for threatening him during the PML-N’s current government.

He further said that former police officials have denied any report over attack on Mr. Mir’s children. He said that if Hamid Mir or his family has any objection over Islamabad police then he would have the probe.

The interior minister further said that the government would go to any extent to unearth the culprits involved in the attack on the renowned journalist.

He called for an end to “media trial” which he said is being conducted over the issue without any evidence. The enemies are taking advantage of it, he added.

Nisar further said that he is making efforts to cool down the situation and for that purpose everyone should take one step back.

The minister said he stands by Geo and Jang group. Both Freedom of media and prestigious defence institutions are pivotal for the country, he added.

Gunmen kill one young man in Quetta

QUETTA: Some unknown armed men opened fire killing one person at Satellite Town on Sunday here, Geo News reported.
Police said that the unidentified gunmen shot dead one young man at Bhoosa Mandi in Satellite police station limit and fled away.

Rescue volunteers shifted the body to Civil Hospital. The motive behind the firing could not immediately be known, however, police investigation into the incident continues.

One child killed, 18 inured in Quetta

QUETTA: One child was killed and 18 including other children and a woman were injured in a blast near the New Sariab police station in the city.

The bomb planted in a rickshaw exploded when a security forces vehicle was passing through the area. The blast left nearby shops and a hotel damaged.

According to initial police investigations two kilograms of explosives were used.

The injured were shifted to the Quetta Civil Hospital.

Balochistan Home Minister, Mir Sarfaraz Bugti visited the hospital and announced that the injured would be shifted to Karachi for treatment if the need arose.