Saboteurs blow up 2 schools in Bajaur

Updated at: 1213 PST, Sunday, October 24, 2010 SALARZAI: The terrorists blew up two schools with the explosives in Bajaur Agency, Geo News reported Sunday. According to the sources, the terrorists planted the explosives at both the schools in Bajaur Agency’s Salarzai area of Manogai Mandal. Both the premises were completely destroyed it the explosions. Political administration started probe in the incident. Meantime, the political administration and the security forces, beefing up the security across the Agency, began snap checking at exits and entrances. Also, heavy contingents of Bajaur Levies Force and the FC have been deployed on various sensitive points.

Pak banks improve in competitiveness: Kent

Updated at: 1100 PST, Sunday, October 24, 2010 ISLAMABAD: Pakistani banks in public sector have higher cost-inefficiency compared to foreign banks operating in the country, said Professor Kent Matthews of Cardiff University, UK, here. Professor Kent, who delivered a lecture on 'Banking efficiency in emerging market economies' at National Institute of Banking and Finance (NIBAF) here on Saturday at 17th lecture of Zahid Memorial Lecture series, said that the banking sector in the emerging economies is facing stronger competition due to globalisation in financial system. However, he added that after reforms in banking sector, efficiency of banks had improved and concentration was reduced in recent years, which was because of competitiveness. He said that human capital and development, along with incentives, is very critical to motivate management to perform best. The foreign banks were the most efficient in terms of cost in Pakistan whereas the public sector banks have cost technical and allocative inefficiencies. The reasons for high cost-inefficiency of local banks, he said, was because of their large network of branches, even in remote areas. But there is a need to introduce improved management and increase motivation levels to reduce cost, and increase profits in the banking sector. The performance of Islamic banks surged during the earlier years and this was due to the fact that only two banks were operative till 2005. The index goes down because a couple of new entrants started their operations in 2005-06. Thus, it was seen that the performance of Islamic banks had been most consistent after the year 2006. Moreover, the efficiency scores of Islamic banks are getting closer to that of the foreign banks. It is also evident that the consolidation in Pakistani banking sector due to the raise in minimum paid up capital requirement has led to stable performance of these banks. He said that he used input and output variables in estimating bank efficiency in Pakistan by applying five models. These, in turn, are decomposed into its technical inefficiency and allocative inefficiency components. The results suggested that there was sufficient independent variation in each bank category type to separate the distribution of technical efficiency from the rest of the population. Also, the only bank category that had a distribution of allocative inefficiency that could be separated from the rest was foreign banks. However, these statistics are only indicative as the means and distribution could be signalling other relevant but unidentified factors, he said. Rof Kent said: "Bank efficiency is clearly a topic worthy of consideration and it is particularly worthy of study in the case of emerging markets. In economies where capital and debt markets are as yet undeveloped, the principal conduit for economy wide investment and saving is through the banking system. The efficiency of the banks is an indicator of the efficiency of financial intermediation. Furthermore, the banking sector of the emerging economies is facing stronger competition due to the globalisation of the financial system. While the trend in deregulation and global competition will be muted for the next few years as a result of the financial crisis, the pace will pick up once the world economy is stabilised."

Suresh Raina’s links with bookies disclosedSuresh Raina’s links with bookies disclosed Updated at: 1422 PST, Sunday, October 24, 2010 Suresh Raina’s

Suresh Raina’s links with bookies disclosed

Updated at: 1422 PST, Sunday, October 24, 2010 MUMBAI: A British newspaper has revealed Indian cricketer Suresh Raina’s links with a bookmaker but the Indiana cricket board on Sunday described the report baseless while the International Cricket Council (ICC) refused to give any comment. The ICC Anti-Corruption and Security Unit is probing why the Indian Board kept quiet about a report of its player Suresh Raina being seen in the company of a woman linked to an associate of an illegal bookmaker, a media report said in London. Making it clear that Raina was not suspected of any wrongdoing, 'The Sunday Times', quoting a senior ICC source, said the incident related to India's tour of Sri Lanka earlier this year. With the heightened security concerns following the 2009 terrorist attack on the Sri Lankan team in Pakistan, the Sri Lankans deputed a former general to look after the Indian team. CCTV Cameras installed at the Indian team hotel showed that on more than one night Raina was in the company of a woman known to be an associate of a man allegedly linked to a bookmaker. A report, including the CCTV footage, was submitted by the Sri Lankan Cricket Board to their Indian counterparts. BCCI keeping quiet on Suresh Raina accompanying a woman allegedly linked to bookies during the Sri Lankan tour as "baseless", saying that she was the agent of the Indian batsman.

Haiti cholera cases 'detected in Port-au-Prince'

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Aisha Bain, International Rescue Committee, says the infection risk is "great"

Five cases of cholera have been detected in Haiti's capital, Port-au-Prince, the UN says, amid an outbreak that has killed more than 200 people.

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UN spokeswoman Imogen Wall told the Reuters news agency the patients had been quickly diagnosed and isolated.

She said they had been infected in the main outbreak zone - the Artibonite region - and had subsequently travelled to the capital, where they fell ill.

This meant Port-au-Prince was "not a new location of infection", she noted.

Earlier, Ms Wall said the prospect of cholera in the city, where more than a million survivors of January's earthquake are living in tents, was "awful".

Those in the camps are highly vulnerable to the intestinal infection, which is caused by bacteria transmitted through contaminated water or food. con..

Karachi’s Kabari Market death toll rises to 12

Updated at: 1903 PST, Tuesday, October 19, 2010
KARACHI: The death toll in firing incident in Karachi’s Kabari Market of Sher Shah, mounted to 12, Geo News reported Tuesday.

According to Geo News correspondent, at least six unidentified armed men riding three motorbikes, opened indiscriminate fire in Kabari Market in Sher Shah area of Karachi, killing at least 12 people including shopkeepers and shoppers and injuring several others.

The eyewitnesses told Geo News that the miscreants, wearing helmets, went on firing spree for five minutes, triggering the panicked people to break up in stampede.

The saboteurs fled the scene effortlessly.

The injured have been shifted to hospitals, where emergency has been declared with more medical staff called on duty.

According to police sources, arriving late on the mishap site, the personnel of police and the Rangers put a security cordon around the Market.

Meantime, more additional contingents of security forces have been called in.

Hospital sources confirmed 12 deaths. Two bodies were transported to Abbasi Hospital and eight in Civil Hospital. (Last updated at 35)

Karachi’s Kabari Market death toll rises to 12

Updated at: 1903 PST, Tuesday, October 19, 2010
KARACHI: The death toll in firing incident in Karachi’s Kabari Market of Sher Shah, mounted to 12, Geo News reported Tuesday.

According to Geo News correspondent, at least six unidentified armed men riding three motorbikes, opened indiscriminate fire in Kabari Market in Sher Shah area of Karachi, killing at least 12 people including shopkeepers and shoppers and injuring several others.

The eyewitnesses told Geo News that the miscreants, wearing helmets, went on firing spree for five minutes, triggering the panicked people to break up in stampede.

The saboteurs fled the scene effortlessly.

The injured have been shifted to hospitals, where emergency has been declared with more medical staff called on duty.

According to police sources, arriving late on the mishap site, the personnel of police and the Rangers put a security cordon around the Market.

Meantime, more additional contingents of security forces have been called in.

Hospital sources confirmed 12 deaths. Two bodies were transported to Abbasi Hospital and eight in Civil Hospital. (Last updated at 35)

Pakistan rejects Indian army chief allegations

Updated at: 2042 PST, Saturday, October 16, 2010
Pakistan rejects Indian army chief allegations

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Saturday took a serious exception to reported statement of Indian Army Chief about his threat perception from Pakistan, war under a nuclear scenario and uncalled for and gratuitous comments on the internal affairs of Pakistan.

In a statement, a Foreign Office Spokesman here on Saturday said that the repetitive mentioning by Indian High Command about war under the nuclear scenario is not only irresponsible but also jingoistic and unwise.

"Such statements and grandstanding by India are evidently unhelpful to the cause of promoting peace, security and stability in South Asia," he added.

He said Pakistan remains committed to a purposeful and result-oriented dialogue with India on all outstanding issues, including the core issue of Jammu and Kashmir.

Karachi violence kills 19; hurts dozens

Updated at: 0525 PST, Sunday, October 17, 2010
KARACHI: In a fresh spate of violence that erupted in the metropolis city Saturday, one day ahead of by-polls, has left at least 15 people killed and over four dozens others injured while unknown armed men forced shops in different areas to close, Geo News reported Saturday.

Meanwhile, five vehicles including an OB van of a private television channel have been reportedly torched in different areas during the violence-ravaged incidents. con

US drone kills six in NWaziristan

Updated at: 1424 PST, Sunday, October 10, 2010
MIRANSHAH: A US drone strike killed seven militants at a compound in Pakistan's tribal North Waziristan region Sunday, security officials said.

The compound was located by a road in Shewa district about 40 kilometres (25 miles) northeast of the region's main town of Miranshah.

The drone fired four missiles at the compound and two vehicles parked outside were also destroyed, an intelligence official in Miranshah said.

Put international pressure on Pak after Musharraf remarks, BJP tells govt

The BJP today asked the government to factor the admission of former Pakistani president Pervez Musharraf about his country's involvement in cross-border terrorism while framing its policy towards the neighbour and put international pressure on Islamabad to end the proxy war.

"Confession of former Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf is vindication of India's position and consistent with BJP stand that terrorism in India is basically cross-border terrorism sponsored by Pakistan," BJP spokesperson Prakash Javadekar said.

"Just as our analysis on Ayodhya was vindicated by the court, our analysis on Pakistan's proxy war against India has been proved now," he added.

Former military ruler Pervez Musharraf has admitted that Pakistan had trained underground militant groups to fight in Kashmir, the first such admission by a top leader of the country.

Musharraf's candid remarks came days after he announced his return to active politics from London where he has been living in self-imposed exile.

Javadekar said though the Pakistan government has denied the claims of Musharraf, the "cat is out of the bag. The denial is a formality while the confession is the reality".

The principal Opposition alleged that Pakistan has sponsored terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir and was also behind the recent law and order problems in the Valley, including stone-pelting.

"BJP demands that the government should factor in these revelations (of Musharraf) while formulating its Pakistan policy," Javadekar said.

He insisted that one day the involvement of Pakistan in 26/11 Mumbai terror attack and funding of separatists and stone-pelters would come out. "This is just the skeletons coming out of the cupboard," he said.

The Rajya Sabha MP charged that after the formation of Bangladesh, Pakistan cannot digest the fact that Kashmir is with India.

"Government must utilise these revelations to expose Pakistan and its dubious role in waging a covert war through state-sponsored terrorism directed at India. Pakistan government's oft-repeated alibi of blaming non-state actors to hide its own direct complicity also needs to be exposed at international forums," Javadekar said.

Suspended supply route may surge Taliban attacks: report

KABUL: If countries were rated on how tough it is to fight wars on their soil, Afghanistan would come close to the top of the list.

Landlocked, with an extreme climate and paralyzing dust storms, it’s also bordered by dizzying mountains and safe highways are sparse.

That’s why escalating militant attacks on NATO fuel trucks heading from Pakistan to Afghanistan — the most recent on Monday — are a sign that the war against the Taliban is limping badly, if not hobbled. And they show the scarcity of supply line options may be a decisive factor in how and when the conflict concludes.

“The U.S. has tried to develop the northern distribution system, but the heavy duty supplies still have to go through Pakistan,” says Shuja Nawaz, director of the Atlantic Council’s South Asia Center in Washington. “Given the short timetable the coalition is operating on, the chances of finding an alternative are dim.”

Between 75 and 80 per cent of NATO supplies are trucked from the Pakistani port of Karachi through the forbidding Khyber Pass and into Afghanistan. The most crucial is fuel. But they include vital items from water to weapons.

The pass has been shut down several times, and after a helicopter fired on and killed three Pakistani frontier troops last week Pakistan blocked the supply lines. It had complained earlier of similar cross-border attacks.

For NATO, the route has been dogged by years of mayhem and uncertainty.

“We accept responsibility for the attacks on the NATO supply trucks and tankers,” spokesman Azam Tariq of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan told reporters Monday. “We will carry out more such attacks in future. We will not allow the use of Pakistani soil as a supply route for NATO troops based in Afghanistan.”

The U.S. is well aware of the dilemma and has been expanding its use of an air base in Kyrgyzstan to deliver troops and supplies to Afghanistan’s battlefields. But there have been ongoing disputes with the Central Asian country over rental fees, and a coup earlier this year put its stability in doubt.

Possible overland alternatives include a route through Georgia, Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan, inviting a diplomatic wrangle with Russia, which is wary of American influence on its former possessions.

“We are pretty much stuck with Pakistan,” says Thomas Johnson of the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, who has advised the Canadian and U.S. governments. “The Central Asian states are completely landlocked. It is a very dire situation.”

The dependence on Pakistan includes more than geography, says Ontario-based defence analyst Sunil Ram of the American Military University.

“About 80 per cent of (NATO) fuel requirements are from refineries in Karachi,” he said. “It’s strategically easy for the Taliban to stop the convoys. Even if they cut off 15 to 20 per cent of the fuel it has a large impact on the war because it reduces the ability to operate.”

And, he points out, a number of international media reports contend the U.S. has reverted to paying the Taliban to stay away from the convoys.

Washington is also at odds with Pakistan over Islamabad’s responsibility for quelling the Taliban on its territory, although the dispute has diminished since massive floods hit the country and the army was deployed to aid displaced civilians.

“There are 70,000 troops deployed in flood relief, and 150,000 are in locations in the northwest and along the (Afghan) border,” said Nawaz. “But it’s still not enough to protect convoys going up from Karachi. The danger used to be when they approached the Khyber Pass. Now it’s starting from Karachi. The local Taliban has affiliates all over.”

Afghanistan itself may be working on a solution. Officials there “want to create a state-run military brigade equipped with its own trucks and thousands of soldiers to carry essential NATO supplies around the country,” said a report by McClatchy Newspapers.

But there is skepticism that Afghanistan, often at odds with neighbouring Pakistan, would be able to deal with the “highway barons” who control the roads and demand protection money — both at home and across the border.

Zawwar Sheikh sent on 4-month leave

LAHORE: District Session Judge Lahore Zawwar Ahmed Sheikh has been sent on four-month leave, Geo News reported Tuesday.

Sohail Nasir will act as the District Session Judge Lahore.

It should be mentioned here that the lawyers and judges were locked in a dispute over the transfer of Zawwar Sheikh.

Dutch anti-Islam MP Geert Wilders goes on trial

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Geert Wilders: "I am sitting here as a suspect because I have spoken... nothing but the truth"

The Dutch anti-Islam MP Geert Wilders has gone on trial in Amsterdam accused of inciting hatred against Muslims

Mr Wilders, whose statements have included comparing the Koran with Hitler's Mein Kampf, told the court freedom of expression was on trial.

If found guilty, he faces a maximum sentence of a year in jail.

Mr Wilders' Freedom Party is the third biggest in the Netherlands after June's elections, and is expected to play a key role in the next parliament.

Prosecutors have brought five charges of inciting hatred and discrimination, and the trial will scrutinise statements he made between 2006 and 2008.

In one such statement, in an editorial for the De Volkskrant newspaper, he wrote: "I've had enough of Islam in the Netherlands; let not one more Muslim immigrate.

"I've had enough of the Koran in the Netherlands: Forbid that fascist book."

In 2008, he released a short film called Fitna which infuriated Muslims by juxtaposing images of suicide bombings with verses from the Koran.

Mr Wilders, in a bright blue tie and with his trademark shock of blond hair, waved to supporters as he entered the court complex in Amsterdam.

A small group of protesters had gathered outside court and riot police were on duty nearby.

In an opening statement, he told the court that he was being persecuted for "stating my opinion in the context of public debate", adding: "I can assure you, I will continue proclaiming it."

His lawyer, Bram Moszkowicz, then told the presiding judge that Mr Wilders would thereafter exercise his right to silence and not answer questions during the trial.

When presiding judge Jan Moors said it appeared Mr Wilders was "avoiding discussion" Mr Moszkowicz accused him of bias and moved to have him substituted.

The trial was adjourned and a separate hearing arranged to decide whether Judge Moors could continue on the trial. The panel is expected to decide on the issue on Tuesday.

Earlier, Mr Wilders gave his views via his Twitter account, calling it a "terrible day".

"The freedom of expression of at least 1.5 million people is standing trial together with me," he wrote, in what seemed to be a reference to the number of voters who backed the Freedom Party in June.

The coalition deal that emerged last week joins two centre-right parties in a minority government, which will seek the backing of parliament this week.

But, holding only 52 of the 150 seats in parliament, they will depend on the support of 24 Freedom Party MPs to pass legislation.

In return for that support, he has already extracted policy concessions. The new government has said it will try to ban the Islamic face veil, and curb immigration.

It is not clear whether a conviction for Mr Wilders would affect the government's willingness to deal with him.

Mr Wilders has infuriated opponents not just with his opinions, but with language they see as inflammatory, such as stating that Muslim headscarves, which he referred to as "head rags", ought to be taxed for "polluting" the Dutch landscape.

Mr Wilders was briefly refused entry to Britain last year, after being invited to show his film in the House of Lords.

Having received numerous death threats, he is usually surrounded by bodyguards.

A verdict in the trial is expected on 4 November