Tag: Chief

ISLAMABAD - As planned, a large number of workers of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) held a rally in Islamabad on Friday to protest against two consecutive suicide attacks on their party chief. The rally started from Lal Masjid and ended at Aabpara Choke, where several JUI-F leaders addressed the participants. The demonstrators carried placards and chanting slogans against the US and Pakistani governments. Addressing protestors, JUI-F Central General Sectary Maulana Abdul Ghafur

KARACHI - Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) chief Altaf Hussain has condemned the suicide attack on the convoy of JUI-F chief Maulana Fazalur Rehman that claimed several lives. Hussain expressed grief and sorrow over the death of the police personnel and citizens, praying for the early recovery of the wounded. He said that several people had lost their lives a day earlier as well because of a bomb blast on the convoy of Rehman in Swabi, adding that the same thing was repeated in

HONG KONG - The world's highest hotel opened its doors in Hong Kong on Tuesday, housed in the city's tallest skyscraper and offering unrivalled panoramic views of the world famous Victoria Harbour.
Towering some 490 metres (1,600 feet) above the bustling, chaotic streets of the Southern Chinese city, the Ritz-Carlton Hotel is making a grand comeback after temporarily closing in 2008.
Visitors peered out of the floor-to-ceiling windows of the 118th floor of the International

KARACHI - Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) chief Altaf Hussain has appealed to the nation to offer special prayers for the Pakistani cricket team's victory in the Cricket World Cup semi final in Mohali, India.
In a statement issued from London on Monday, he appealed to the Muslims, Christians, Hindus, Sikhs, Parsis and the followers of other religions to pray for the victory of their national team in their respective places of worship.
He hoped that the Pakistani flag will fly

GENEVA - UN human rights chief Navi Pillay on Saturday warned Syria that a violent crackdown on reformist protests risked plunging the country into a downward spiral of violence. The High Commissioner for Human Rights urged Syria "to draw lessons from recent events across the Middle East and North Africa which clearly demonstrate that violent repression of peaceful protest not only does not resolve the grievances of people taking to the streets, it risks creating a downward spiral of

RAMALLAH - Robert Gates on Friday became the first US Defense Secretary to visit the West Bank, meeting Palestinian leaders keenly aware of every little nod to their hopes of achieving statehood. Children in Ramallah stared as the long motorcade of US cars wound through the streets of the city north of Jerusalem.
With US diplomacy fully stretched over revolts in the Arab world and the air war with Libya, Gates was looking to revive stalled peace talks between Israel and the

LAHORE - Pakistan Olympics Association president Lt Gen (retd) Arif Hasan believes that Pakistan's progress in the field of sports depends on coordinated efforts by the ministries of sports, youth and education.
During a Meet the Press programme organised by Sports Journalists Association of Lahore and Sports Writers Association of Pakistan, the POA president said that Pakistan's only hope of gold in the Olympics was hockey because other sports did not meet international

ISLAMABAD - The Supreme Court issued its detailed judgment regarding the case of the appointment of Justice (Retd) Deedar Hussain Shah as Chairman of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) on Tuesday.
The court, in its 30-page ruling that was penned by Justice Asif Saeed Khosa, termed 'necessary' the government's consultation with the opposition leader and Chief Justice on NAB chairman's appointment.
A three-judge bench of the apex court had issued a short ruling about

VIENNA - Japan's nuclear situation is still very serious but there is no doubt the country will "effectively overcome" the crisis, the head of the UN atomic agency said on Monday.
Yukiya Amano, addressing an emergency meeting of the Vienna-based agency's 35-nation governing board, said he was starting to see some positive developments regarding the stricken nuclear power plant, 240 km north of Tokyo. "The crisis has still not been resolved and the situation at the Fukushima

BEIJING - Eighteen months before Japan's radiation crisis, US diplomats had lambasted the safety hief of the world's atomic watchdog for 'incompetence', especially when it came to the nuclear power industry in his homeland, Japan. Cables sent from the US embassy in Vienna to Washington, which were obtained by WikiLeaks and reviewed by Reuters, singled out Tomihiro Taniuchi, until last year head of safety and security at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
"For the

KARACHI - The incumbent government is trying to curb the independence of judiciary, ignoring court orders and adopting a confrontation policy with the judges, but any interference into judicial affairs by the government will not be tolerated by the legal fraternity, argued Sindh High Court Bar Association (SHCBA) President Anwar Mansoor Khan on Wednesday.
Khan was speaking at an event organised by the SHCBA, and attended by SHC judges as well as a large number of members from the

LAHORE - Government College University (GCU) Chief Librarian Abdul Waheed launched his new book titled "A Treatise on Conducting Research and Referencing" on Sunday. The author said the book would promote a culture of research. He said the book discussed methods of using traditional and electronic library sources.
GCU Vice Chancellor Dr Ikram-ul-Haq said the book would help graduates, undergraduates and postgraduates write their theses, assignments and research papers and would

LAHORE - Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif has taken note of the fact that a number of retired officers are using official vehicles without authorisation while a large number of employees i.e. gardeners, drivers and police constables are also serving them. Similarly, the serving officers are using vehicles and services of such employees beyond their entitlement.
Punjab CM has directed that all administrative secretaries, heads of attached departments; autonomous,

MULTAN - Small and Medium Enterprises Development Authority (SMEDA) Chief Executive Yousuf Naseem Khokhar has suggested the formation of a working group comprising representatives of the federal government, Punjab and farmer associations to generate fresh thinking and to ensure the profitable utilisation of Agro Food Processing (AFP) facilities in Multan.
Addressing a seminar at AFP, which includes a mango pulp plant, the SMEDA chief said that governments are not supposed to run

GENEVA - The office of the UN human rights chief on Friday urged Saudi Arabia to exercise restraint and allow free assembly, as protests were planned in the kingdom to press for democratic reform. "We are concerned about what may happen later today in Saudi Arabia, where the situation is very tense," said Rupert Colville, a spokesman for High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay. "As in other similar situations in the Middle East, we're calling for restraint on the part of the

ISLAMABAD - The Supreme Court on Thursday declared the appointment of Justice (r) Deedar Hussain Shah as the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) chairman illegal and ultra vires and directed him to relinquish his charge with immediate effect. Meanwhile, the government has sought legal consultation from the Law Ministry for reappointing Justice (r) Shah. A well-placed source informed Pakistan Today that in view of the apex court's verdict, the government is mulling on a proposal to

LAHORE - All Pakistan Muslim League Chief Coordinator Shahbaz Hussain said that if the incumbent rulers could not improve their performance they should resign. Opposing the statement of Punjab Chief Minister Mian Shahbaz Sharif to unite the judiciary and military to tackle challenges, Hussain said that such 'irresponsible' statements were being aired to level ground for judicial martial law.
He said these statements were an open acknowledgment that the government had failed to