Tag: Leaders

SANAA - Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh on Thursday bowed to pressure after a month of violent protests, but his pledge to devolve power to parliament was swiftly rejected as too late by the opposition. In a major speech delivered in a gravelly voice to tens of thousands of people at a stadium in the capital Sanaa, the veteran leader of the strategic US ally promised to hold a referendum on a new constitution later this year. He also ordered his security forces to ensure the

COMMENT - It was only a week ago that the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) announced its split with the Pakistan People's Party (PPP), saying enough was enough, they could not pull together with the PPP any longer. Hence came the famous goodbye at a press conference by PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif, probably for all time to come. But then came a stunning U-turn the other day when the Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif - as if forgetting the blow his party had inflicted upon the PPP

ISLAMABAD - Leaders of the major opposition parties in the National Assembly on Friday got together at the residence of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief Fazlur Rehman to discuss the prevailing political situation in the country.
The leaders included PML-Q President Shujaat Hussain and MQM leader Dr Farooq Sattar. Talking to reporters after the meeting, Fazl said no grand political alliance was in the offing. However, he said all the political parties were united on

KABUL - Afghan lawmakers demanded on Wednesday the commander of US and NATO forces in Afghanistan be brought before parliament to explain a spike in civilian casualties they say is hindering peace efforts. Afghans angrily denounced two recent incidents in eastern Kunar province in which they said more than 75 civilians were killed, about half of them children, and called on General David Petraeus, commander of the 150,000 International Security Assistance force (ISAF) troops in

LAHORE - Punjab Assembly Opposition Leader Chaudhary Zaheer-ud-Din has announced that whenever Pakistan People's party (PPP) will join opposition benches, he will resign from the post following the Pervaiz Elahi's precedent. While talking to the journalists on Monday outside Punjab Assembly building, Chaudhary Zaheer-ud-Din said that lotacracy was a menace and added that the party had prepared references against the lotas of the party as they had not responded to the show -cause

KUWAIT CITY - President Asif Ali Zardari on Saturday joined Kuwait's Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah and other world leaders in celebrating Kuwait's golden jubilee celebrations, marking its 50th independence day.
Around 40 heads of state and government, envoys and special representatives gathered at the 'Loyalty Parade' - the hallmark of the festivities, held at Kuwait city's north. A 21-gun salute was offered as the Amir of Kuwait, along with President Zardari and

KARACHI - Enraged protesters took to the streets and scuffled with police in Godhra Colony, New Karachi on Saturday to protest the murder of a prayer leader of the area. Adnan Qadri, the prayer leader at Rabbani Masjid in New Karachi, Sector 11-E, was gunned down by two unidentified men on a motorcycle on Friday night.
Qadri was believed to be an activist of the banned outfit Jamaatud Dawa. Following Qadri's death, many people in Godhra Colony started firing in the air to protest

QUETTA - Two local leaders of the Baloch Students Organisation-Azad were killed during a search operation by Frontier Corps Balochistan in Totak area of Khuzdar district, around 360kms south of Quetta on Friday. According to government officials, FC personnel conducted a house-to-house search in Totak to pick up some of BSO activists and laid siege to the area.
The sources said firing was also heard from the area, with the security personnel setting two houses on fire. They said

KARACHI - The provincial government has decided to merge the Sindh Minority Affairs Ministry with the Religious Affairs Ministry due to the inefficacy of Sindh Minority Affairs Minister Mohan Lal Kohistani, said Pakistan Hindu Foundation (PHF) President DM Maharaj.
The PHF chief said that this decision regarding the Minority Affairs Ministry - constituted by the Pakistan People's Party (PPP) government three years ago - could adversely affect the religious minorities of the

LAHORE - Punjab Governor Sardar Latif Khan Khosa has assured MQM of its constitutional right regarding its plan to hold a procession on April 10 at Minar-e-Pakistan. The governor said he was hopeful that no objection would be raised from any quarter about MQM's plan to hold a gathering at Minar e Pakistan.
Khosa was taking to media after meeting with a delegation of senior leadership of MQM including Dr Farooq Sattar, Babar Ghouri, Raza Haroon and others.

KARACHI - The District and Sessions Court South on Wednesday confirmed the pre-arrest bail applications of nine labour leaders of KESC unions. Akhlaq Ahmed, Aslam Sammon Latif Mughal, Haji Shahzad, Usman Baloch, Arbab Asad, Haji Usman, Aziz-ur-Rahman and Raj Mir, along with hundreds of Karachi Electric Supply Company (KESC) workers, allegedly attacked and damaged the head office of the power utility in Defence on January 20 after more than 4,000 employees were sacked by the

ISLAMABAD/LAHORE - In a significant political move, President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani telephoned heads of all major political parties, including PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif, and took them into confidence on the right-sizing of the federal cabinet. The cabinet downsizing was on top of the PML-N's demands. President Zardari talked to Nawaz after the PPP CEC on Friday gave a go-ahead to the prime minister's decision to restructure his cabinet.
President's

LAHORE - Religious leaders on Tuesday condemned bomb blasts targeting mourning processions on Imam Hussain's (RA) Chehlum in Lahore and Karachi but interpreted the incidents in their own way. Some did not mention the mourning procession or Urs of Data Ganj Bakhsh.
Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) leader Fazal Karim said the "explosion on occasion of Urs of Data Ganj Bakhsh was government failure." Fazal said that the explosion took place near the Data Darbar ignoring the fact that the

KARACHI - PML-Q leaders Chaudhry Shujaat and Mushahid Hussain continued their meetings with different parties on Saturday for restoring
peace in Karachi. They called on leaders of the ANP, the Sunni Tehreek (ST) and the Jamiat Ulema-e-Pakistan (JUP) separately and discussed matters pertaining to the law and order situation in the city.
According to Mushahid Hussain, they would also meet the provincial government representatives in this regard. They are on a three-day visit

TUNIS - Thousands rallied in Tunisia on Saturday after the main trade union called for a new government of national salvation, as the prime minister promised the first democratic elections since independence.
Demonstrators in Tunis were joined by dozens of members of the police, discredited because of the bloody crackdown on protests against president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali that ultimately led to his ouster on January 14. Officers said they were on the side of the protestors and

KARACHI - Four suspected assailants of Awami National Party (ANP)-Sindh's Secretary-General Basheer Jan have been taken into custody, but law enforcement personnel believe that they will be targeted before they spill the beans on their association, Pakistan Today has learnt.
The four, who were injured when Jan's guard retaliated fire in Thursday's incident, were being treated at the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC). But intelligence sources received reports that the

KARACHI - Four suspected assailants of Awami National Party (ANP)-Sindh's Secretary-General Basheer Jan have been taken into custody, but law enforcement personnel believe that they will be targeted before they spill the beans on their association, Pakistan Today has learnt.
The four, who were injured when Jan's guard retaliated fire in Thursday's incident, were being treated at the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC). But intelligence sources received reports that the