22 killed in suicide attack on Chakwal Imambargah

* Suicide bomber blows himself up as guards try to stop him at the gate of Shia mosque * 15-year-old attacker’s body found * President, PM condemn blastCHAKWAL: A suicide bomber blew himself up at a Shia religious gathering in an Imambargah in Chakwal on Sunday, killing at least 22 people and wounding 60.The attacker struck at the gates of a Shia mosque where some 1,200 people were attending a religious gathering, police said.“Twenty-two precious lives have been lost in this attack,” Punjab police chief Shaukat Javed told reporters. He said a joint investigation team had been constituted to probe the attack.The official said the suicide bomber appeared to be a 15-year-old boy whose legs and head, with damage to the face, had been found at the blast site.Provincial Law Minister Rana Sanaullah said the bomber could not enter the mosque and blew himself up at the entrance.“The bomber was intercepted at the entrance otherwise he could have caused large-scale casualties,” Sanaullah said. “We have sent two helicopters to move the injured to hospitals in other cities.”One witness described hearing a “very loud blast” during a brief interval in the religious session when people were going in and out of the mosque.“There was a huge blast and a lot of smoke. I rushed to the main gate and saw several bodies lying in a pool of blood and body parts scattered all around,” Qazi Wafa said. “It was the most horrible scene of my life, but I immediately started helping efforts to get the wounded to hospital.”He said Shias and Sunnis lived “like brothers” in the neighbourhood and that both were participating in the religious gathering.President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani “strongly condemned” the bombing, and ordered authorities to find the perpetrators and punish them. agencies

Across the glossy veneer: Ajoka blows horn in the dome of denial

ISLAMABAD: Ajoka Theatre on Sunday staged three plays titled ‘Hotel Mohenjodaro’, ‘Toba Tek Singh’, and ‘Shehre Afsos’ at National Art Galley (NAG) to mark its silver jubilee in collaboration with Pakistan National Council of the Arts (PNCA). ‘Hotel Mohenjodaro’ was the first of three plays. It was based on a short story by legendary Urdu writer Ghulam Abbas. The play seems to be so close to the present-day ugly realities that it is hard to believe that a writer could have foretold it with such uncanny accuracy so long ago. The retrogressive and intolerant ideology of the religious fundamentalists, propagating an orthodox, rigid interpretation of Islam, the acquiescence of the establishment and the disastrous consequences of following the logic of a theocratic state are so evident now that the story doesn’t sound shocking or unbelievable. The mindset is the same: the same primitive thinking, the same deep-rooted prejudices, the same irrational worldview, and the same burning desire to destroy civilization. The total takeover by turban brigades of the story doesn’t seem unimaginable anymore. The havoc wrecked in the past few years in the name of jihad and Talibanisation is pushing us over the precipice and before we know it, we will be hurtling down into the abyss. The chilling end, as foretold, is coming.Adapted and directed by Shahid Nadeem, ‘Hotel Mohenjodaro’ conveyed the message that unfortunately, intellectuals and analysts of today are in the same state of absolute denial, not much different from the conservative writers and their cohorts of 1960s. They still want us to believe that the society doesn’t face any serious threat, the brain-washed and cold-blooded suicide killers have a legitimate grievance to rebel and a justifiable reason for the course of death and destruction they have adopted.

Suicide attacks in Islamabad, Chakwal: Security put on high alert in twin cities

* 2,000 policemen deployed at entry, exit points of federal capital * Number of pickets increased * Additional force deployed at airport, hospitals, railway and bus stations in Rawalpindi *24 mobile teams formed to hunt terroristsBy Aamir YasinISLAMABAD/RAWALPINDI: The police and other law-enforcement agencies put security on high alert in twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad on Sunday to thwart any possible terrorist attack after suicide bombings in Islamabad and Chakwal during last 24 hours.The sources told Daily Times that police and law-enforcement agencies had made special arrangements against any attempt to sabotage peaceful environment of the twin cities.Entry and exit points: The sources said more than 2,000 policemen had been deployed at entry and exit points of the federal capital. They said Islamabad Capital Police (ICT) had increased the number of pickets from six to eight by setting up barriers in the jurisdiction of the each police station of the city and instructed police to thoroughly check all suspected people.The police have been also directed to keep an eye on suspected people around the residences of political figures and security officers in and around the capital, they said.They said the police had also been asked to patrol the capital round the clock. They said that the law-enforcement agencies had been asked to check record and hotels, guesthouses and bus stations and they have been directed to remain vigilant against terrorists. They said the security of diplomats, big hotels, mosques, imambargahs and offices of multi-national companies had been also increased.Additional deployment: The sources said all the senior and deputy superintendents of police and station house officers of Rawalpindi had been asked to patrol their respective jurisdictions. They said additional force had been deployed at airport, hospitals, railway station, bus stations and other places.

Bipasha Basu

KOLKATA: Actress Bipasha Basu showcases a creation of Indian designer Mona Pali during the ‘Kolkata Fashion Week’. afp

Anil Kapoor to star in ‘24’

Indian actor Anil Kapoor, a Bollywood star who was also in the Oscar-winning Slumdog Millionaire, is to take a leading role in the television thriller 24, the Daily Variety said.Kapoor, 49, will play a Middle East leader in the eighth season of the adventures of intelligence agent Jack Bauer, played by Kiefer Sutherland. The series is due to be seen at the end of the year in North America.In his 25 year career, Kapoor has played in more than 100 films but it is thanks to Slumdog Millionaire in which he plays a game show host that he has shot to international fame.Slumdog won eight Oscars this year and has already scooped more than 21 times more at the box office than its 15 million dollar budget. afp

Indian Premier League 2009: Shah Rukh Khan lashes out at Sunil Gavaskar

LAHORE: Indian film star Shah Rukh Khan, who is owner of the Kolkata Knight Riders, has hit back at former India cricket captain Sunil Gavaskar’s comments about his franchise coach John Buchanan, and asked Gavaskar to stay away from issues concerning his Indian Premier League (IPL) team. In his column for the Hindustan Times, Gavaskar termed Buchanan a ‘failed former cricketer making a living telling international players to do what he couldn’t do”. It has not gone down well with the IPL franchise, which last week tried to put a lid on the controversy generated by Buchanan’s theory of multiple captains by releasing a statement that during a game the team would resort to a group of ‘strategists’ who would report to one on-field captain while making decisions.Shah Rukh has come to Buchanan’s defence, saying there was a marked difference in the time Gavaskar played and now. “I respect Mr Gavaskar – his knowledge about cricket is a billion times better than me,” Shah Rukh told media in Mumbai. “But this is an era where Mr Gavaskar has not indulged in; nevertheless his knowledge about the game does allow him to make comments. This is a new format that’s being tried out. Please give it some breathing space. I am the owner of the team, I bought it. If he wants to implement something, let him buy a team.” Gavaskar was scathing of Buchanan in his column, saying the former Australian coach had a way with words in India, a country Gavaskar said had few people capable of defusing opinion makers. Buchanan’s radical theory had stirred a controversy on the eve of the team’s departure to South Africa, forcing a nearly four-hour long meeting between Buchanan, Sourav Ganguly, Shah Rukh and Jai Mehta, who owns a stake in the team. A subsequent statement released by Kolkata stressed that there would be only one captain, who would be fed with suggestions from this core group of strategists

Khalil and family off to Sri Lanka : Pakistani bus driver to be honoured in Colombo today

LAHORE: Pakistani bus driver Mehr Mohammad Khalil, who saved the Sri Lanka cricketers during an attack on the team near Gaddafi Stadium on March 3, will be honoured in Colombo on Monday. Along with his wife and children, Khalil left for Sri Lanka here on Sunday on a weeklong visit to the Pearl Island. Khalil and his family are invited by the Sri Lanka government. The March 3 attack in Lahore killed six policemen and a bus driver, and several members of the Sri Lanka team were wounded when more than a dozen gunmen used rifles, grenades and rocket launchers to attack a team convoy on its way to Gaddafi Stadium during the second a Test against Pakistan. The players and officials said Sri Lankan casualties could have been far worse if the driver of their bus Khalil did not act so quickly. Khalil was credited — as bullets pierced the sides and windshield of the bus — with putting his foot down hard on the accelerator to power the vehicle away from the coordinated attack. Moments later the bus, riddled with 25 bullet holes, careered into the stadium and medics rushed to treat the bloodied athletes. “All of us were taken aback,” Khalil said a day after the attack. “I did not stop and kept moving.” A ceremony will be held to honour Khalil, at which the Sri Lanka national team is expected to attend. Thilan Samaraweera, the most seriously wounded of the Sri Lankan, was released from hospital two weeks after the attack. The Sri Lankan team is back in training ahead of the Twenty20 world championship in England in June and a visit by Pakistan for three Tests in July. New Zealand then scheduled to tour Sri Lanka in late August. The attack was among the highest-profile terrorist strikes on a sports team since the 1972 Munich Olympics, when Palestinian militants killed 11 Israeli athletes.

MQM raises battle cry against Taliban

KARACHI: Demanding that a death sentence be awarded to the culprits, the Muttahida Qaumi Movement, a partner in the Pakistan People’s Party-led coalition at the centre and in Sindh, observed Sunday as a day of condemnation against the flogging of the 17-year-old girl in Swat. Throughout the city, MQM supporters hoisted black flags, wore black armbands and hung effigies of Taliban to express their anger against the flogging incident. The MQM Women’s Wing staged a rally near the Quaid-e-Azam’s mausoleum. MQM supporters condemned the incident openly as petrol pumps, shops, markets, residential and commercial buildings, overhead bridges were swamped with banners, posters, black flags and effigies of Taliban ‘terrorists’. “We demand that the president, prime minister and the adviser on interior affairs order the registration of a case against those Taliban who flogged the girl on a false allegation,” Altaf Hussain demanded in his telephonic address. He added that these culprits must be hung and their bodies should be flogged in public so that nobody could think of repeating the deed. MQM’s Dr Farooq Sattar and Khushbakht Shujaat and Women Wing’s In-Charge MNA Kishwar Zahra also spoke at the rally, which was attended by a large number of supporters, with women outnumbering men.

Taliban warn of suicide attacks twice a week

ISLAMABAD: The Taliban on Sunday vowed that they would carry out two suicide attacks per week in Pakistan. Taliban chief Baitullah Mehsud’s deputy Hakimullah told AP that the Taliban had carried out Saturday’s suicide attack against a paramilitary camp in Islamabad and vowed more assaults unless the US shelved drone attacks in the Tribal Areas. He also said Pakistani troops should withdraw from parts of the northwest. “The Islamabad attack was in retaliation for a drone attack in Orakzai,” Hakimullah told AFP. agencies

PML-Q forward bloc looking for two-thirds majority

LAHORE: The forward bloc of the Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) in the Punjab Assembly (PA), calling itself the Unification Block, is working to attain a two-thirds majority before naming its parliamentary leader.Claiming to have the support of 53 members of the Punjab Assembly (MPAs) thus far, the bloc has named itself a coalition partner of the PML-Nawaz (PML-N) in a bid to ‘unite’ the Punjab government. “After proving our 51 percent majority, we now have about 53 members. We will, hopefully by Friday, attain two-thirds majority of the PML-Q MPAs in the PA with the support of 56 percent of the party’s legislators,” Dr Tahir Ali Javed, the leader of the bloc, told Daily Times. “Before the Unification Block announces its parliamentary leader to replace Chaudhry Zaheer, we want to let the people and the party know we have a two-thirds majority,” he said. He said that the PML-Q had 83 seats in the PA, of which 14 were reserved, and 69 were constituency-based. He said the forward bloc had the support of 50 elected members and three members nominated on the reserved seats. He said this had resulted in the PML-Q only having the support of 11 reserved MPAs and 18 constituency-based seats. No chance: To questions, he said that he did not see any chance of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) remaining a part of the coalition government in Punjab. He said that the forward bloc had announced unconditional support for the PML-N and had not formed any strategy on the power-sharing formula. However, he added, such things would be decided as and when required. He also claimed that with their majority, the Unification Block members now represented the ‘real’ PML-Q. MPA Muhammad Ejaz Shafi confirmed that he had joined the forward bloc, saying the ongoing situation required that efforts be made for the unification of the Pakistan Muslim League in the interest of the province.Serious notice: Meanwhile, sources in the PML-Q said that following the majority of the party’s MPAs in Punjab joining the forward bloc, the party leadership had decided to take serious notice of matter and has become anxious for the party’s future. Deputy Opposition Leader in the House Muhammad Yar Hiraj said that the bloc should not be considered a “minor nuisance” any longer. However, he said that his party, the PML-Q, was holding a meeting today (Monday) to determine its future course if the majority of its MPAs decide to support the PML-N.

Pakistan will not allow foreign troops on its soil: Qureshi

* Foreign minister says Islamabad will not give or accept any blank cheque
* Says world should recognise Pakistan as nuclear power
MULTAN: No foreign military would be allowed to set foot in Pakistan and the country’s law enforcement agencies will conduct anti-terrorism operations inside the country, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said on Sunday.He told reporters at the Multan airport on his arrival that during his recent visit to Washington, he had conveyed to the US that NATO would not be allowed to conduct operations in Pakistan. They have understood our point of view and accepted it, he added. He said that the US has introduced a bill worth $10.5 billion for Pakistan, which comprises $7.5 billion as economic assistance and $3 billion for military assistance. He hoped more assistance would be forthcoming in the wake of the Friend of Democratic Pakistan meeting scheduled for April 17 in Tokyo.No blank cheque: Referring to US President Barack Obama’s statement on “no blank cheques”, he said Pakistan would neither give any blank cheque, nor would it accept any. “We are a sovereign country and a nation with self-esteem,” he said, adding that while the US is a military and economic power, Islamabad wants to negotiate with them on the basis of equality as an ally.The foreign minister said defeat in the war on terror was not an option for Pakistan. He said the terrorists were challenging the writ of government and wanted to impose their own system. He said there are two different kinds of elements in the troubled areas: the irreconcilable elements with whom the government would not negotiate and the reconcilable elements with whom talks were an option. Qureshi also urged the world to accept Pakistan’s status as a nuclear power and recognise it as had been done with India. “We are a responsible nuclear power and it will be appropriate that the world should recognise it,” he added. To questions on a rocket launch by North Korea, he said Pakistan was against nuclear proliferation and would move along with the world for the noble cause of peace. He said Pakistan wants resumption of composite dialogue process with India, adding Islamabad would welcome any help from ‘friends’ in this regard.He said that special US envoy to Pakistan and Afghanistan Ambassador Richard Hallbrook would visit Pakistan on April 7. He said the narcotics trade was funding extremism and terrorism and sought combined efforts of regional countries to stop that. He also expressed grief over the recovery of over 50 dead bodies from a container. Qureshi strongly condemned the public flogging of a girl in Swat, saying it was against sharia. He said a three-member UN panel would soon meet to prepare modalities for investigations into the assassination of Benazir Bhutto. He also condemned the suicide blast in Chakwal. app