Terror war ‘must’ for Pakistan’s survival: Altaf

LONDON: Chief MQM Altaf Hussain said Saturday that war on terrorism is must for Pakistan’s survival. “Pakistan will have to continue fighting against terrorism for its survival”. Altaf was addressing a meeting in MQM international secretariat in London.He urged all members Parliament, political and religious leaders including MQM’s chief political figures to keep unity in their ranks and extend mutual cooperation for one another in the greatest interest of Pakistan.He feared that growing fanatic terrorism would jeopardize the image of Pakistan in international scenario and to avoid distortion of our image he termed, terror war indispensable. “Pakistan must continue its war on terrorism to assure sophisticated world its seriousness to vanish fanatic terrorism from state”.Raising concern over the latest energy and gas impasse and acute shortage of water supply in country Altaf said, “People have substantially been affected and suffered largely by the continuous deterioration of basic needs in Pakistan.”He proposed President Zardari and PM Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani to convene a “Round Table Type” conference to resolve water and energy crisis.

Power cuts end in Karachi: PPP

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) sources said, power outages in Karachi have been suspended from Sunday.Meanwhile, spokesperson Karachi Electric and Supply Company (KESC) Aaisha Aarbi said, no kind of load-shedding will be observed in Karachi from today.Also advisor to PM on Petroleum Dr. Aasim Hussain have made personal efforts to provide additional gas and furnace oil to KESC which has largely helped overcome energy crisis in Karachi, she added.

Two more corpses found in Mingora

SWAT: Dead bodies of three more unknown persons were found from different areas of Mingora in Swat on early Sunday, police sources said.According to sources, one of them was of a lady while other dead body was of a man and confirmed two were killed instead of natural death.Also sources informed the bodies were distorted and were probably dumped some 8 to 10 hours ago. However, sources did not confirm the involvement of any suspected group in these murders.

Tarin rules out further cut in POL prices on immediate basis

KARACHI: Advisor to Prime Minister on Finance, Shaukat Tarin Saturday said the government has already reduced prices of petroleum products by 40 per cent and ruled out possibility of further decrease on immediate basis.Talking to media after meeting with the members of Pak-Japan Business Council, Shaukat Tarin said government is not considering any immediate cut in POL prices.He said no decision has been regarding the privatization of Pakistan Steel Mills. However, its 12 per cent shares will be sold to the workers of PS, he added.The Finance Advisor said all the IMF targets have been met and the second tranche of the loan will be received on time.He said chief secretaries of all the four provinces have been summoned in Islamabad to take up the matter of bringing down the prices of essential items. The future course of action in this regard will be finalized after holding consultation with them, he said.

Qureshi calls for immediate ceasefire in Gaza

MULTAN: Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi has said situation is heading towards positive direction with India, but still all is not well.Talking to newsmen at the Multan Airport on Sunday, Foreign Minister said government’s policy statement could not be issued on the basis of newspaper reports.He informed US Assistant Secretary of State Richard Boucher is arriving in Pakistan but declined to disclose the purpose of his visit to Islamabad. To a question on Pakistan-India tension, Qureshi said we had three objectives to defuse tension with India – first to avert the threat of war, secondly to prevent Pakistan of being isolated in the international community and third objective was aimed at safeguarding Pakistan from internal instability.The minister noted that situation was improving in the wake of Pakistan’s positive proposals to defuse tension. He said that talks with India should not only be resumed but also proceed in positive manner. Pakistan wants better relation with all its neighbors, he commented.The entire region is threatened by the menace of terrorism and Pakistan is facing several challenges, he said, adding that internal issues need to be resolved first. Foreign Minister added Pakistan-India tension had been defused over efforts made by other countries of the region. About replacement of prime minister and the government, Qureshi said it has no truth and termed these reports as rumors.Qureshi condemned the Israeli strikes on Gaza and demanded of immediate halt. “We have a clear stance that Pakistan is along with its Palestinian brothers,” he said and added that Islamic world should jointly raise the voice against Israel.

Bloody clashes between Israeli Army, Palestinian fighters continue

GAZA: The bloody clashes between the Israeli Army and the Palestinian fighters continued unabated, while the rivals claiming to have inflicted heavy damages to each other.On the other hand, United Nation Security Council once again failed to get pass through a condemnation resolution or on the issuance of a presidential statement. Israeli Army after one-week of aerial bombardments last night launched ground offensive and intruded into Gaza Strip ignoring all appeals from the world community. Explosions thundered over the northern Gaza Strip on Sunday and smoke billowed into the sky as Israeli infantry backed by armour and helicopter gunships battled against Hamas fighters. At daybreak, from a vantage point on the Gaza border, massive and incessant artillery shelling and tank fire could be heard, and a huge plume of black smoke could be seen rising from one target that was being hit repeatedly. Israeli tanks continued pouring into Gaza on Sunday along with military ambulances as artillery shells rained down on the Palestinian territory. Troops were reported to be operating just three kilometres (nearly two miles) south of Gaza City, the main population centre of the densely populated enclave sandwiched between Israel and Egypt. It was at around 8:00 pm (1800 GMT) on Saturday when infantry kitted with night-vision goggles trotted alongside tank columns across the northern and northeastern borders and into the Hamas stronghold. Hamas fighters fired mortar rounds and detonated roadside bombs as the Israelis advanced. Shortly after the ground offensive began, flames shot high into the night sky when warplanes bombed a gas depot near Beit Lahiya, causing a deafening blast. A huge fire raged at the depot, on a main road through Gaza, following the strike on the private business that sells cooking gas. Flares also streamed into the sky and exploded like fireworks, briefly lighting up the overcrowded territory. As the night wore on, witnesses said Israeli troops were approaching a built-up area in northwestern Gaza known as Sudaniyah, near the Mediterranean coast in northwestern Gaza. Separately, witnesses said soldiers had entered a neighbourhood of the northeastern town of Beit Hanun. Residents were being told by loudspeaker to evacuate the area, they said. The air force said it had hit 45 targets, including tunnels, weapons storage facilities, rocket launching squads and a number of mortar launching areas. Witnesses said that among the targets was the home of a senior Hamas official, which was destroyed without inflicting any casualties. The Israeli military said naval vessels had attacked a number of targets, including the Hamas intelligence headquarters in Gaza City, rocket-launching sites and Hamas marine forces outposts. Israeli Army have claimed killing scores of Palestinians, but the exact number was not told.

Sri Lanka asks PCB to revise schedule again

LAHORE: The Sri Lankan cricket board has requested to the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) for revising once again the schedule of the proposed series between the two countries.The Sri Lankan officials want their team to tour Pakistan in January instead of February.Chief operating officer PCB Saleem Altaf, talking in the Geo News programme 'Scorer', said that the Sri Lankan players want to take some rest after coming from the tour of Bangladesh but the Sri Lankan board did not make any formal contact with the PCB in this regard.Saleem Altaf agreed that the Sri Lankan team according to the new schedule wanted to play a series of five One-day Internationals and three Test matches instead of two Tests, three ODIs and a Twenty20 match.The PCB chief operating officer further told that the Pakistan team is already scheduled to leave for Bangladesh for playing the series of five One-day Internationals.