Saudi king orders steps against "terrorist threats"

RIYADH: King Abdullah ordered all necessary measures to protect Saudi Arabia against potential "terrorist threats" after chairing a security meeting to discuss the fall-out from Iraq, the state news agency SPA said on Thursday.

The world´s top oil exporter shares an 800-km (500-mile) border with Iraq, where the militant Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) and other Sunni Muslim groups have seized towns and cities in a lightning advance this month.

Riyadh has long expressed fears of being targeted by jihadists, including some of its own citizens, who have taken part in conflicts in Iraq and Syria, and earlier this year decreed long jail terms for those who travel overseas to fight.

"Concerned for the national security of the kingdom of Saudi Arabia against any measures that terrorist organisations or any other groups might resort to ..., (the king) has ordered all necessary measures to protect the gains of the homeland and its stability, and the security of the Saudi people," SPA said.

King Abdullah acted a day before he was due to meet U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry in Jeddah to discuss the crisis in Iraq and Syria, and a day after two Saudi men were involved in a suicide bombing in Lebanon.

The Saudi ambassador in Lebanon said on Thursday he was not able to rule out that Wednesday´s attack in a Beirut hotel, which killed one of the Saudis and injured three security guards, was intended to target the embassy, located nearby.

Sunni Muslim Saudi Arabia has been one of the biggest supporters of mainly Sunni rebels in Lebanon´s neighbour Syria fighting against President Bashar al-Assad, who is backed by Riyadh´s main regional adversary, Shi´ite Muslim Iran.

However, it has shied away from arming rebel groups like ISIL that it fears are connected to al Qaeda, which waged a campaign of attacks inside the kingdom a decade ago led by veterans of jihad in civil wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Saudi Arabia´s envoy in Lebanon, Ali Awad Asiri, said it was important to find out who was behind Wednesday´s bombing in Beirut, in which local security forces said the Saudi bomber was killed and another Saudi wounded and then arrested at the scene."We want to know why a Saudi citizen was involved in such a criminal act," Asiri told television channel al-Hadath.

His comment that the attack may have been directed at the Saudi embassy came in a later interview broadcast on the al-Arabiya channel.

"We need to know how they were lured into this, who finances them, why they were in that place to carry out this criminal act. We have special ties with the security forces in Lebanon and the Lebanese government," he said.

Pak, India should continue steps to improve relations: US

WASHINGTON: Pakistan and India should continue with efforts to mend their relations as improvement in relations is vital for the South Asian neighbours, a State Department spokesperson said.

Broadly speaking we believe that India and Pakistan should continue steps to improve the relationship between the two countries, Deputy Spokesperson Marie Harf said.

Her comments at the daily briefing came in the backdrop of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's travel to New Delhi where he held a bilateral meeting with his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi after attending the new Indian leader's inaugural ceremony.

Obviously it is incredibly important for them to do so the spokesperson said when asked about Washington's position on improvement in relations between Islamabad and New Delhi.

Harf however did not have more specifics about what that should look like or what it might entail. The spokesperson agreed with a reporter who saw hope in future relations between the two countries in view of an early meeting between their leaders and the exchange of gifts between them.

 

Illegal steps to be countered jointly: Kh Asif, Khursheed

 

ISLAMABAD: The Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly, Syed Khursheed Shah, and Minister for Water and Power Khawaja Asif on Wednesday held a meeting to defuse the tension that had arisen after the statements of Minister of State for Water and Power Abid Sher Ali. Both expressed the resolve that the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz and Pakistan People’s Party would counter all unconstitutional steps.
The situation became tense as Abid Sher Ali called the provincial governments ‘electricity thieves’. The meeting was held after the PPP legislators belonging to Sindh submitted a privilege motion to the National Assembly Secretariat against the Minister of State for Water and Power Abid Sher Ali over his statement on electricity defaulters.

During the meeting, Syed Khursheed Shah suggested closure of electricity feeders over power theft, Geo News reported.He suggested that rather than removal of transformers, feeders of those Sindh areas where power theft was recorded should be closed down. He assured to take the dues issue with the government of Sindh.

After the meeting, Khawaja Asif said they emphasised on cooperation to resolve the issues. He said that the issue of electricity arrears would be resolved through contacts with the Sindh government. He also assured to solve the issue of electricity loadshedding in the province.

Earlier, the PPPP legislators from Sindh submitted a privilege motion to the National Assembly Secretariat against Minister of State for Water and Power Abid Sher Ali over his remarks in which he allegedly termed the people of Sindh electricity thieves.

The privilege motion was signed by all the PPPP legislators from Sindh stating that the Minister of State for Water and Power Abid Sher used inappropriate, derogatory and highly objectionable language terming “all people of Sindh as electricity thieves including parliamentarians, during his press conference at Hesco headoffice, Hyderabad on Wednesday (April 24).”

The motion stated that in his remarks, he further said that “politicians urge public towards electricity theft to strengthen their vote bank”. “His disparaging remarks breach the privilege of the honourable parliamentarians and the people of Sindh, therefore, we urge that this privilege motion be admitted and sent to the Privileges Committee,” the motion stated.

COAS must act to end retaliatory steps from various segments: APNS

KARACHI: Hameed Haroon, the President of the All Pakistan Newspapers Society (APNS), appealed to Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) General Raheel Sharif to rein in the knee-jerk retaliatory measures that had been initiated by various segments of the armed forces.

“This will lessen any public misperceptions with respect to what the security establishment sees as its principled stand in the matter. It is grossly unfair that Lt Gen Zaheerul Islam or any other member of the security establishment be presumed guilty unless the substance of such guilt can be irrefutably proved in a commission of enquiry. If he is found innocent, the media group found guilty of publishing and broadcasting such allegations against him must tender an unqualified apology as per the valid international norms that govern such situations.”

He expressed concern that “the freedom of the press envisioned in Article 19 of the Constitution of Pakistan is now facing the gravest threat it has encountered in the past decade, and if press freedoms are allowed to deteriorate further, irreversible damage will be

inflicted on Pakistan’s democracy and the constitutionally stipulated freedoms associated with it”.

According to a press release, he emphasised that apart from the dangers of targeting the lives of journalists by extremist elements in the country, a dangerous drift towards anarchy has reared its ugly head in the past week where the unbridled behaviour on the part of certain sections of the security establishment and the media, coupled with confused signals emanating from the government, have resulted in damaging the freedom of expression and the freedom of press enshrined in the Constitution.

“The signs on the horizon are clear. The fundamental problem appears to be that every one of the principal players involved in this crisis is responsible for a saddening deterioration of public affairs. The apparent undue haste with which the Independent Media Corporation and the Independent Newspaper Corporation, the twin media firms controlling the Geo-Jang group, pointed an accusatory finger at the Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) as being complicit in what can only be described as a murderous attack upon television anchor and columnist Hamid Mir, is only one part of the problem. The promptness with which the ISI through its Deputy Director General responded with a complaint through the Defence Ministry to Pemra to seek revocation of the broadcasting licences and the declarations of the GEO-Jang group, has clearly demonstrated that the institution of the armed forces has acted in haste and has not critically examined the validity of their positions nor of subsequent actions that have stemmed from a misconceived interpretation of press laws.”

“At first the government appeared to be dealing wisely with the new threat to press freedoms posed by the murderous attacks on Raza Rumi in Lahore and Hamid Mir in Karachi. The Prime Minister of Pakistan, Mian Nawaz Sharif, speedily acted to form a judicial commission to investigate the attempt on Mir’s life at the highest level. One would have thought with an appropriate high-level commission of enquiry, composed of the superior judiciary, any investigation of the incident of the attempt on Hamid Mir’s life appeared to be in capable hands.

“However, within a day of the prime minister’s announcement, the ISI through the Defence Ministry called for the revocation of the licenses and declarations of the GEO-Jang group, with Pemra officials making suitably supportive statements. Thus despite a wise move by the prime minister to constitute a commission immediately, the guilt of the offending party had been prejudged, well in advance of the verdict.”

“Clearly the need of the hour is to immediately force a cooling down of tempers in all sections of the state and security apparatus as well as, critically, within the media itself. If we are to speak of ensuring the ‘preservation of the sovereignty, security and integrity of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan’ then the imperative is for all contending parties to exercise restraint.”

“Additionally, the damage in this potentially explosive powder-keg needs to be contained. The Judicial Commission of Enquiry should begin work immediately and avail of the services of Hamid Mir, among others, to reach a satisfactory conclusion as to which persons were responsible for engineering this attempt. Only when the findings are made public can it be determined whether the management and journalists of the newspaper (who have both been alleged as complicit in a slander campaign according to the ISI complaint to the Defence Ministry), were justified in levelling their early allegations. Nor would it be just to proceed with any retaliatory actions against this media group, awaiting the results of the high-level judicial enquiry that has been instituted. Such a travesty of justice is not becoming for any credible democracy.”

“In the meantime I also appeal to all sections of the media to exercise credible restraint and desist from publishing or broadcasting any statement which might be considered prima facie as defamatory or slanderous either against the ISI chief or against the media group.

“Concurrently it is imperative for the prime minister and the federal minister for information to immediately commence a formal dialogue with all the major national bodies - the APNS, the CPNE, the PBA and the PFUJ - to attempt to provide a meaningful framework in which journalists can tell the truth and be protected from life-threats while doing so. This alone will ensure the ordered functioning of a nascent democracy and encourage the government to clamp down with unbridled severity on the spiralling incidents of violence against the media.”

Nawaz, Zardari vow to counter illegal steps

 

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and former president Asif Ali Zardari on Wednesday expressed their commitment to fight tooth and nail against all unconstitutional steps and support each other to strengthen democracy.
Both the leaders vowed to respect and strengthen all the institutions in order to address the multifarious challenges facing Pakistan for the better future of the nation.They joined hands and showed unity to combat any aggression against the democratic dispensation.

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif accorded a warm welcome to former president Asif Ali Zardari at the Prime Minister House and the two leaders jointly reviewed the overall situation in the country and expressed satisfaction over the progress of political institutions.

Prior to the one-on-one meeting, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and former president Asif Ali Zardari held delegation-level talks. Minister for Finance Senator Ishaq Dar, Minister for Science and Technology Zahid Hamid and PPP leaders — opposition leader in the National Assembly Syed Khursheed Shah, PPP parliamentary leader in the Senate Mian Raza Rabbani and Sindh minister Murad Ali Shah — were also present in the meeting.

During the meeting, both the leaders showed a strong resolve to work for the prosperity and economic development of Pakistan.The decision to respect the mandate of the people in different provinces was appreciated and continued cooperation between federation and the provinces was also lauded.

The prime minister apprised the ex-president and his team about his development vision and the strategy with reference to the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor and assured them that the projects in the province of Sindh had been given high priority.

A number of projects in the energy and infrastructure sectors in Sindh had been included for execution on a priority basis during the first three years.The prime minister urged that the implementation mechanism in Sindh should be upgraded. Issues regarding various legislations, including the Protection of Pakistan Ordinance, amendments in the Anti-Terrorism Act and the future legislative agenda, were also discussed.

It was agreed that all the political forces should develop a consensus on legislation for their effective implementation and Zahid Hamid was asked by the prime minister to carry out another consultative process with all political parties to address their reservations, if any.

They decided that the people of Pakistan had huge expectations from their elected representatives and it was now imperative that the elected representatives lived up to their expectations with priority giving to the needs of the common man which included employment, health, education and shelter.

The prime minister expressed his desire to work with all political forces for achieving these objectives.The present law and order situation in the country, with particular reference to ongoing Karachi operation, was also discussed.

According to reports, the two leaders said they were committed to follow the Charter of Democracy (CoD) according to its true spirit and the sacrifices of Benazir Bhutto for democracy in the country would not be allowed to go to waste.

For his part, Mr Zardari assured that the PPP would extend full support to the PML-N government in the interest of the country.Sources said during the talks, which were held in a very cordial atmosphere, former President Zardari asked Nawaz Sharif to take a principled stand on issues, a reference to the trial of Pervez Musharraf, saying it was an opportune time for the democratic institutions to assert their supremacy. He assured that the PPP would support the government within and out of parliament.

They said that former president Musharraf’s case was in the court and whatever its verdict it would be accepted by them.The sources added that Sindh Minister Murad Ali Shah referred to financial difficulties being faced by the provincial government at which the finance minister assured that the dues of the provincial government would be cleared as soon as possible.

Zardari thanked the prime minister for his assistance to the Thar drought affected people.Both sides agreed to continue the operation in Karachi to cleanse the megacity of all sorts of crimes.

Later, the prime minister hosted a sumptuous lunch for former president Zardari and his team members. Zardari also extended an invitation to Nawaz Sharif for a dinner at Bilawal House, Karachi.

Earlier, the former president arrived at the Noor Khan Airbase via a special aircraft and then flew to the Prime Minister House on a helicopter where Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif accorded him a very warm welcome.

Talking to newsmen outside the Prime Minister House after the meeting, Parliamentary leader of the PPP Parliamentarians Senator Raza Rabbani said that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had assured a review of the Pakistan Protection Ordinance (PPO) and directed Zahid Hamid to consult the opposition. “The reservations of the PPP and other opposition parties were conveyed to Prime Minister Nazwaz Sharif,” he said.

He said all the democratic forces would have to move forward together. “If a bad time arises, they will support the democratic forces,” he said.

When asked by a reporter if the meeting discussed a ‘Billa,’ Rabbani replied that all matters, including Musharraf, were discussed and the prime minister said the tension with the Pakistan Army was not that serious an issue.

Rabbani further told the reporters that talks with the Taliban, the problems of Sindh, provincial sovereignty, the NFC award and the Karachi operation were also discussed.To a question about government-Taliban talks, Senator Raza Rabbani said the PPP had no difference of opinion but being an opposition party they would continue to identify loopholes.

Hafiz Saeed for steps to arrest sectarianism

PESHAWAR: Amir Jamaat-ud-Dawa, Hafiz Saeed Sunday stressed adoption of effective measures to put a leash on sectarianism.

During his visit to Markaz-e-Islami here, Hafiz Saeed claimed that India through its presence in Afghanistan was engaged in hatching conspiracies against Pakistan.

He said foreign forces were hell bent on furthering their terror-drenched agenda in Pakistan and stressed that Pakistan will have to take the bull of this enemy by the horns.

Saeed said restoration of peace was possible only through negotiations and that the peace process must not be allowed to hit snags.

Katrina Kaif’s sister steps into acting with Salman Khan’s help

Slow and steady seems to be the course of Katrina Kaif’s younger sister Isabel’s career.

She has been signed for the second lead opposite British Indian actor Kunal Nayyar in French director Jean-Francois Pouliot’s Dr Cabbie. The film co-produced by Salman Khan,features Vinay Virmani who played one of the title roles in Bejoy Nambiar’s undervalued David.

The story goes that Salman wanted to cast Isabel opposite Virmani. But by the time the decision was taken to cast her,it was too late.

Says a source close to the project,”The G I Joe actress Adriane Palicki had already been signed opposite Vinay. So Isabel stepped in to co-star with the film’s second lead Kunal Nayyar who has worked in the hit British series The Big Bang Theory.”

Sources from Canada where the film is being shot say co-producer Salman Khan is taking a keen interest in the project and in Isabel’s role.

According to sources,Isabelle would make her full-fledged Bollywood debut in 2014 in a film that may be jointly co-produced by Salman and Katrina.

Speaking from Canada,the film’s leading man Vinay Virmani said,”Isabel has joined our project. She’s a really sweet girl,very easy-going and fun to work with.”

Hafeez steps down as Pakistan skipper

ISLAMABAD: Mohammad Hafeez on Thursday stepped down as the captain of the national T20 team following the Greenshirts’ disastrous performance that saw Pakistan failing to reach the World Twenty20 semis for the first time.

Following a meeting with the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman Najam Sethi, Hafeez accepted his failure and tendered his resignation.“I hereby accept my responsibility for not being able to lead the team in the semi-finals of the World T20. I have decided to resign from the team’s captaincy but would be available as a player. I am with the PCB and ready to play under any captain,” he said, following the meeting in the company of coaching staff, including Moin Khan and Zaheer Abbas.

Hafeez rejected the impression that his resignation was the result of pressure exerted by the PCB. “It is my own decision.”Besides stepping down from the post of T20 captain, Hafeez also decided to resign from the ODI and Test vice-captaincy.

Moin Khan, who also accompanied Hafeez, said that his contract as chief coach was for only two events and he was not the coach anymore. Apart from Moin, Zaheer Abbas’s contract as the batting coach also expired with the end of World T20.

Govt steps can lead to release of Gilani, Taseer sons: Rustam Shah

PESHAWAR: Member government committee, Rustam Shah Mohmand says government steps can lead to the release of the abducted sons of former Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani and late Punjab Governor Salman Taseer. Shah adds that soon officials would be informed of these steps.

Govt taking steps for promoting culture: Ehsan Iqbal

SIALKOT: Federal Minister for Planning and Development Ehsan Iqbal Sunday said that PML-N government was striving for keeping social and cultural rites of the country alive.

He expressed these views while addressing the participants of Jashan-e-Baharaan Festival Narowal.

MPAs Khawaja Waseem Butt, Ramesh Singh Arora, Mrs Sameena Waseem, Narowal DCO Syed Najaf Iqbal and others were also present.

He said celebrations of Jashan-e-Baharaan had left very positive affects on people which felt relaxed and enjoyed a lot.

He said tug of war, Kabadi and other local games were included in the Jashan-e-Baharaan which provided opportunities of enjoy to people.

Earlier, prominent singers, including Indian singer Hans Raj, presented melodious songs during the musical show.

Obama warns US planning steps to isolate Russia

WASHINGTON: President Barack Obama warned on Monday that the United States was planning a string of economic and diplomatic sanctions to "isolate" Russia if it does not reverse its incursion into Ukraine.
"Russia is on the wrong side of history," Obama said, declaring that the world was all but united in viewing Moscow's dispatch of troops to Crimea as a violation of international law.
A day before Secretary of State John Kerry arrives in Kiev to show US backing for Ukraine's right to chart its own future, Washington expanded on the "costs" Russia may have to pay for its action.
It pointed to the sharp decline of the ruble as evidence Russia was already paying a heavy price and Obama asked Congress to put an economic support package for Ukraine on the top of its agenda.
"What cannot be done is for Russia, with impunity, to put its soldiers on the ground and violate basic principles that are recognized around the world," Obama said.
"What we are also indicating to the Russians is that if, in fact, they continue on the current trajectory that they're on, that we are examining a whole series of steps -- economic, diplomatic -- that will isolate Russia."
Obama said that after his round of calls to European leaders he was convinced the world was "largely united" in the belief that Russia had violated Ukraine's territorial integrity and international law.
At the State Department, spokeswoman Jennifer Psaki said Washington was prepared to "move forward" on sanctions against Russia and that US calls for action were already having an impact.
"If you look at the sharp decline of the Russian ruble, if you look at the Russian stock market today, those are just two examples," she said.
Psaki said there was no time-frame yet for when the United States could impose sanctions, but added "we're looking at a broad range of options, whether that's individuals, whether that's institutions, whether that's officials, those are all under consideration."
Possible options include visa bans or asset freezes on members of Russia's political and financial elite. Steps could also be taken against some Russian financial institutions.
Obama hinted that. after already suspending cooperation with Russia on G8 matters, US partners would boycott the group's summit in the Russian resort of Sochi in June.
As Russia appeared to tighten its grip on the Crimea peninsula, the State Department warned any Russian attack on Ukrainian forces in the southern region would be a "dangerous" escalation.
US officials said they were working to nail down reports that Moscow's forces had warned Ukranian troops to surrender or face attacks.
Kerry was due to leave Washington later Monday to travel to Kiev in a show of support for the interim leadership which took over from ousted president Viktor Yanukovych.
Kerry had also said last week that he would meet with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov on the sidelines of talks due to be held on Wednesday in Rome.
But with the escalation of tensions in the southern Crimea peninsula over the weekend, Psaki said Kerry's schedule during his trip to Rome and Paris was still unconfirmed though did not rule out a meeting between the two ministers.
Washington is also pushing for a meeting of the four signatories of a 1994 Budapest agreement under which Ukraine agreed to give up its Soviet-era nuclear weapons in exchange for guarantees over its sovereignty and territorial integrity.
The United States, Russia, Britain and Ukraine are all signatories to the treaty. On Capitol Hill, key lawmakers were pushing for the swift passage of a US economic support package for Ukraine.
A frequent Obama critic, Republican Senator John McCain said sending US forces to the region would be unthinkable, butll accused Obama of failing to stand up to Putin.
"The president of the United States believes that the Cold War is over," McCain said. "That's fine, it is over but Putin doesn't believe it's over."
In another show of US anger, the White House took the symbolic step of announcing that Washington would not send an official delegation to the Winter paralympics, which begin in Sochi on Friday. US athletes however will still take part.