Karachi

KARACHI: Following the lead of Sindhi language television channels, Sindh government, Mutahidda Qaumi Movement (MQM), Sindhi nationalists' parties, NGOs and common citizens of Sindh, and now the USA have all supported the 'Sindhi Topi Day' celebrations on December 4.
US Consular General in Karachi William Martin hosted a tea party on Saturday at his residence for the journalists of Sindhi newspapers and television channels to express his support for the 'Sindhi Topi Day'. Martin

KARACHI: Aftab Malik, founder and chief of the Bihari Qaumi Movement (BQM), was shot dead on Friday in the jurisdiction of Pakistan Bazaar police station in Orangi Town, Karachi, police said.
An official of Pakistan Bazaar police station said that unidentified, armed assailants opened indiscriminate fire on Malik near his house in Orangi Town. As a result, Aftab and two other passers-by received bullets wounds.
The three people were rushed to the Abbasi Shaheed hospital

KARACHI: The political parties of Sindh, including the PPP, the PML-N and the PML-Q, are united in their opposition to the MQM's demand that agriculture income should be taxed.
The MQM, which has remained a staunch advocate of taxing the agriculture sector, has strongly raised the issue with the government again. MQM leaders have presented 9 recommendations to a team of the federal government as an alternative to the reformed GST, and on the top of list is the imposition of tax

KARACHI: Former federal minister Ansar Burney on Tuesday requested the British government 'not to allow' JUI-F chief Fazlur Rehman from entering the UK, due to his 'extremist political background' and known links with the Taliban.
In a letter to British officials, Burney said the 'extremist' leader would spread hatred and promote terrorism in the UK if granted entry.
Fazl told reporters in Lahore he was shocked to hear about Burney's allegations as he always thought of him

KARACHI: The Sindh government has lifted the ban on pillion riding in Karachi, a notification issued by the provincial Home Department said on Tuesday.
The ban was imposed in 2008, but the government made exception for the people on special occasions, such as eids. It is uncertain as to how long the government would stick to the decision, as it is likely to re-impose it during the upcoming month of Muharram.
The ban has not only remained a social and political issue in the

KARACHI: Six long years have failed to eradicate the harsh memories of Tasman Spirit disaster from the minds of many except the government of Pakistan.
July 27, 2003, an oil tanker named Tasman Spirit, carrying at least 67,537 tonnes of light crude oil had grounded and subsequently broken in two near the approach channel of Karachi Port which led to the spillage of at least 30,000 tonnes of crude oil, thus creating a long-lasting ecological imbalance in the country's sea

KARACHI: In order to enlist help in carrying out raids to curb the illegal selling of Dreambox across the country, Pakistan Electronic Media Regulator Authority (PEMRA) has written letters to Director General Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) and Federal Board of Revenue (FBR).
Dream box and revolving dish are equipments smuggled from India which allow free 'Direct to Home' (DTH) access to all the channels in the world.
"A complaint was filed by Cable Operators Assocation

KARACHI: Taking serious note of the deportation of 106 Pakistanis, 54 from Punjab and 52 from Balochistan, at the Taftan Check Post, Interior Minister Rehman Malik ordered the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) director general on Sunday to ensure that every last man involved in human trafficking is put behind bars.
He issued this order while presiding over a high-level meeting held at the National Crisis Management Cell in Karachi to review the grave issue of human trafficking,

KARACHI: HE Khamis bin Mohammed bin Abdullah AI-Farsi Consul General in Karachi issued following message on the national day of the Sultanate of Oman.
It reads: "Firstly I want to thank Almighty Allah for all his benefits for peace and harmony, and for our creation. We give prayers and salam to the best human being the holy Prophet Mohammed (Peace be upon him). I would like to convey to His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said, my heartiest felicitations on the joyous occasion of the

KARACHI: A mucky mixture of blood and water fills the streets and the smell of raw meat permeates the air. People, including children, delightfully gather to witness the scenes which are enough to give long-lasting nightmares to a person. And if you are lucky, someone won't dump offal outside your home.
Yes the occasion was Eidul Azha and it was celebrated in a typical fashion this year. But buying sacrificial animals at the prices at which you can buy a car and then spending the

KARACHI: During the second and third days of Eidul Azha when water is used more than usual to wash away the blood of slaughtered sacrificial animals and other purposes, the Karachi Water and Sewerage Board (KWSB) reduced 20 million gallons of the city's water supply.
"Yes, the city faced 20 million gallons water shortage on the second and third days of the Eid because there was a power shutdown at Dhabeji and Gharo pumping stations," a KWSB official told Pakistan Today on the

KARACHI: Forty eight more patients were tested positive for dengue fever in Sindh including 28 in Karachi on Tuesday, increasing the total number to 3,072, of which 2,610 are from Karachi and 462 are from other districts.
The government has yet to start a fumigation campaign in Karachi and other cities and towns of the province. The sale of mosquito repellents and insecticides has also increased following the dengue virus outbreak.

KARACHI: Fear of being caught red-handed led Transparency International Pakistan (TIP) Chairman Syed Adil Gilani's son Sohrab Adil Gilani to resign from his position as a board member of the Pakistan National Shipping Corporation (PNSC).
Sohrab, initially an assistant manager at the Karachi International Containters Terminal, replaced Rasheed Chinoy earlier this year.
Sources told Pakistan Today that the TIP chairman had blackmailed the Ports and Shipping Secretary Saleem

KARACHI: In yet another display of bureaucratic inefficiency, the Sindh government has included Karachi and some other districts not even touched by the recent floods, in the list of the affected areas. It has also record of the crop damage caused by the deluge in these places.
The provincial agriculture department, after a detailed survey, has forwarded a crop-damage report to the federal government that includes Karachi and other districts of the province, which were neither

KARACHI: A powerful blast at the CID Civil Lines building on Thursday damaged the Sindh Chief Minister's House and other buildings including the city's major hotels situated in the area.
According to the spokesman for the Chief Minister's House, Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah was present at his residence at the time of the blast. "It was a strong blast and it damaged the windowpanes and vases inside the Chief Minister's House," the spokesman said.
"Initially we thought that a

KARACHI: The Crime Investigation Department (CID) on Wednesday arrested six alleged members of the banned Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ), believed to be plotting an attack on a procession in the upcoming holy month of Muharram procession.
The men were arrested in an early morning raid in the city's Manghopir area. CID SP and AEC chief, Omer Shahid Hamid, told a press conference along with SSP Chaudhry Aslam Khan, that the six men were identified as Qari Dawood, Nafees Abbas, Ikramul

KARACHI: On the directive of President Asif Ali Zardari, a new provincial department for rehabilitation of flood victims has been established with Muzaffar Shujra as its first minister while it has also been decided to post Syed Asad Ali Shah as the Sindh Bank president.
President Zardari during his meeting with the Sindh government high-ups has issued directives that for a speedy rehabilitation of flood victims in the province, a separate department would be established. And