ISLAMABAD: The Judicial Commission on Judges Appointment will meet Chief Justice of Pakistan Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry in the chair on Monday (today).
The meeting is expected to confirm the services of six additional judges of the Lahore High Court and fill the vacant seat of a Supreme Court judge.
The JC is also likely to approve elevation of Sindh High Court Chief Justice Musheer Alam as the Supreme Court judge while name of Justice Maqbool will also come under discussion for the post SHC.

ISLAMABAD: The spokeswoman for the PIMS hospital, Dr Aisha informed the media on Saturday that Sikander, the gunman who brought the federal capital to a standstill is psychologically stable.

According to the spokeswoman, Sikander was being kept at the hospital because of his chest wound but his condition has been improving. “He is being treated by surgical and orthopedic teams.” Dr Aisha added that police could record Sikander’s statement and he was being provided security at the hospital.

On August 15, Sikander accompanied by his wife and children engaged in an armed standoff with security forces for several hours at the Jinnah Avenue. Waving two semi-automatic guns and firing shots into the air, Sikander was finally apprehended following the intervention of PPP leader Zamurud Khan.

Sikander along with his wife Kanwal were injured and taken to the PIMS hospital for treatment. Kanwal was released from the hospital and placed in the custody of police.

ISLAMABAD: Tehrik-e-Minhjul Quran (TMQ) chief Tahirul Qadri has set another ultimatum to the government to accept his demands. Addressing the participants of sit-in at D-Chowk, Qadri issued one-and-a-half-hour ultimatum to the government, saying he will issue future line of action at 3:00PM. He said he is giving last chance to the peace and democracy.

He said today is the last day of sit-in, adding he want to end this battle before this evening.TMQ leader said President Zardari would lose last chance of peace if he did not come for negotiations with delegation. After one-and-a-half-hour time, masses would decide their fate, he added.Enthusiastic masses continued their sit-in despite biting cold and heavy rain in the federal capital.

ISLAMABAD: Thousands of protestors continue to stage sit-in on streets against government despite biting cold in Islamabad. According to reports, Tehrik-e-Minhajul Quran leader Dr Tahirul Qadri and his supporters have pledged to show determination till their demands are met as the nation has suffered enough due to corrupt politicians.

However, the life has paralyzed in the capital city on the third day with food outlets and restaurants closed due to sit in. The protestors said that blockades arranged by the government due to the security reasons are responsible for the halt in the city.

ISLAMABAD: Sikander Jatoi, the father of prime suspect Shahrukh Jatoi in the Shahzeb Khan murder case has been arrested from outside the Supreme Court. During proceedings of the case, the lawyer of Sikander Jatoi, Abdul Hazfeez Pirzada submitted a request seek to delay the arrest of his client until he arrived in Karachi. The request was rejected by the Supreme Court.Sikander Jatoi appeared before the Supreme Court during the hearing of the rental power case. His lawyer said Sikander Jatoi was present and the police wanted to arrest him.

Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry asked what Sikander Jatoi was doing in court and said he (Sikander Jatoi) should hand himself over to the police and assist in the investigation.Sikander Jatoi accused of helping Shahrukh Jatoi flee the country and the Supreme Court had earlier ordered that he and all others accused in the case be arrested.

20 year old Shahzeb Khan was gunned down in the Defence area of Karachi on December 25.Siraj Talpur and two others were taken into police custody, while Shahrukh Jatoi fled the country and is in Dubai where a police team has been sent to arrest him.

The hearing of the case has been adjourned till January 16. 

ISLAMABAD: A three-member Supreme Court bench headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry resumed hearing the Shahzeb Khan murder case. The 20 year old who was gunned down in Karachi on December 25, and set a January 10 deadline to arrest Shahrukh Jatoi. During today’s hearing, Inspector General of Sindh Police Fayyaz Leghari appeared in the court for hearing where the bench expressed dissatisfaction over the police report on Shahzeb's murder case.

During the hearing DIG Shahid Hayat told that the main accused in the case Shahrukh Jatoi had traveled to UAE under a different name.

He also told that a police team will leave for Dubai today after getting a tip off that Shahrukh Jatoi is in Dubai.

He further told that Interpol has been contacted to arrest the accused.

IG Sindh Fayyaz Leghari pleaded for fifteen days’ time to arrest Shahrukh Jatoi but the court rejected the request and and gave January 10 deadline (3 days) to arrest the accused and present him in the court.

Later, the court adjourned the hearing till January 10.

During the previous hearing, the apex court had directed IG Sindh to arrest the killers of Shahzeb within 24 hours else he should appear before the apex court without uniform.

The SC also ordered the Sindh Police to present a charge sheet of the alleged killers. The court also ordered to attach the property and freeze the bank accounts of the accused involved in the brutal murder.

Police sprang into action on Friday after the SC’s directives and arrested Siraj Talpur, one of the key accused in the murder, along with his three mates.

Meanwhile, another main accused Shahrukh Jatoi reportedly departed for UAE on December 27.

The chief justice had taken suo moto notice of the brutal murder on 20-year-old Shahzeb Khan, based on press clippings carrying the story regarding his killing. Shahzeb Khan was gunned down in Karachi on December 25th, while police failed to make any progress due to immense political pressure.

The killing mobilised hundreds of the people against unquestioned authority that people with political connection enjoy in the country and gathered outside Karachi Press Club carrying banners and requesting the honourable chief justice of Pakistan for taking suo moto action in the matter for arrest of the accused.

The incident has received international attention with activists protesting outside Pakistan High Commission in London on Thursday demanding justice for Shahzeb.

LAHORE: Both the leaders discussed the law and order situation of the country. The Prime Minister also briefed the
President about energy situation in the country and various measures being taken to overcome the energy shortages.
Chairman PPP Bilawal Bhutto Zardari was also present during the meeting.

KARACHI - The State Bank of Pakistan and all offices of SBP Banking Services Corporation including Public Debt Offices will remain closed. On 25th December (Tuesday) on the occasion of Quaid-e-Azam Day/Christmas) being declared as public holiday by the Government of Pakistan.

BEIJING: A major Iranian partner of Huawei Technologies offered to sell at least 1.3 million euros worth of embargoed Hewlett-Packard computer equipment to Iran s largest mobile-phone operator in late 2010, documents show.

China s Huawei, the world s second largest telecommunications equipment maker, says neither it nor its partner, a private company registered in Hong Kong, ultimately provided the HP products to the telecom, Mobile Telecommunication Co of Iran, known as MCI. Nevertheless, the incident provides new evidence of how Chinese companies have been willing to help Iran evade trade sanctions.The proposed deal also raises new questions about Shenzhen-based Huawei, which recently was criticized by the U.S. House Intelligence Committee for failing to "provide evidence to support its claims that it complies with all international sanctions or U.S. export laws."

At least 13 pages of the proposal to MCI, which involved expanding its subscriber billing system, were marked "Huawei confidential" and carried the company s logo, according to documents seen by Reuters. In a statement to Reuters, Huawei called it a "bidding document" and said one of its "major local partners," Skycom Tech Co Ltd, had submitted it to MCI.The statement went on to say, "Huawei s business in Iran is in full compliance with all applicable laws and regulations including those of the U.N., U.S. and E.U. This commitment has been carried out and followed strictly by our company. Further, we also require our partners to follow the same commitment and strictly abide by the relevant laws and regulations."



In October, Reuters reported that another Iranian partner of Huawei last year tried to sell embargoed American antenna equipment to Iran s second largest mobile operator, MTN Irancell, in a deal the buyer ultimately rejected. The U.S. antenna manufacturer, CommScope Inc, has an agreement with Huawei in which the Chinese firm can use its products in Huawei systems, according to a CommScope spokesman. He added that his company strives to comply fully with all U.S. laws and sanctions.Huawei has a similar partnership with HP. In a statement, the Palo Alto, Calif., company said, "HP has an extensive control system in place to ensure our partners and resellers comply with all legal and regulatory requirements involving system security, global trade and customer privacy and the company s relationship with Huawei is no different."

 The statement added, "HP s distribution contract terms prohibit the sale of HP products into Iran and require compliance with U.S. and other applicable export laws."Washington has banned the export of computer equipment to Iran for years. The sanctions are designed to deter Iran from developing nuclear weapons; Iran says its nuclear program is aimed purely at producing domestic energy.

KARACHI: Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) chief Altaf Hussain and Tehreek-e-Minhajul Quran chairman Dr Tahirul Qadri will address a public gathering in Karachi today (Tuesday).

Both leaders would address their supporters in Jinnah Ground and would make important announcements regarding the long march being organized by TMQ on January 14.In a surprising announcement last week, MQM chief Altaf Hussain had vowed to join Tahirul Qadri’s long march.

KARACHI: World Health Organization has released its report on measles in Pakistan according to which 210 people died of measles in Sindh province.

According to the statistics stated in WHO report, 7,274 cases of measles were reported in the province. The report also stated that an emergency campaign against the epidemic has been kicked off from today, January 1 that will continue till January 9.

The campaign will aim to vaccinate 2.9 million children to fight against measles while the government of Sindh has provided 1.3 million injections for the said  purpose.

ISLAMABAD: Inspector General Police (IGP) Punjab Haji Habib-ur-Rehman told Supreme Court that former chairman of Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra) Tauqir Sadiq may have fled to Nepal with his family. A two member bench of the Supreme Court headed by Justice Jawad S Khwaja resumed hearing of Ogra implementation case on Monday.IG Punjab submitted a report in the apex court, stating that a joint team has been sent to Nepal to arrest Tauqir Sadiq.Justice Khwaja questioned how Tauqir Sadiq can elude the security staff despite installation of CCTV cameras at the airport.

“FIA and not the police is deployed at airports” IG Punjab responded.The bench inquired about the progress being made so far by the joint investigation team.In response, Haji Habib-ur-Rehman remained silent.Also, the court summoned CCTV and finger print records from the Federal Investigation Agency.

Pakistan handed India a five-wicket drubbing in the series opener in Bangalore on Tuesday. No change is expected in Pakistan squad for today’s match.The hosts will have to quickly plug their batting shortcomings and pick the right team composition when they go into the second and last Twenty20 cricket international against arch rivals Pakistan on Friday, hoping to level the two match series 1-1 Pakistan, on the other hand, lived up to their reputation of a strong bowling unit with three specialist pacers – Gul, Sohail Tanvir and lanky debutant Mohammad Irfan – wrecking havoc on a pace-friendly Chinnaswamy track.They would look to carry on the momentum today also though the Sardar Patel track may not give them much assistance.
The visitors  batting, however, has been a cause of concern for them with openers Nasir Jamshed and Ahmed Shehzad struggling to provide a platform during their run chase at Bangalore.

Even the reliable Umar Akmal, Kamran Akmal and failed to get big scores.Hafeez and Shoaib Malik were the saving grace and Pakistan would hope that they continue with their exploits along with the others striking form.Indian captain Dhoni had blamed the failure of the middle-order batsmen to capitalise on the good start as the reason for his team s defeat in the first match.

"The batsmen got out trying to play big shots. We could have easily scored 200 if we had applied ourselves," Dhoni had said.It remains to be seen whether the batsmen put up a better display now and not go for wreckless shots in a bid to accelerate the pace of scoring.Dhoni himself will be under intense pressure with his captaincy coming under the scanner in the aftermath of the recent Test debacle against England.

He has always been regarded as a better captain in the shorter formats of the game, but the recent defeats in T20 matches has certainly dented his reputation.The defeats have come at home, where the team is playing in familiar conditions, and Dhoni has a tough task in lifting the morale of the team.

Pakistan People s Party chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari will make his formal entry into Pakistani politics at an event to be held Thursday to mark the fifth death anniversary of his mother Benazir Bhutto. "Bilawal will make his entry into active politics during the meeting to be held at Garhi Khuda Bux and take over the PPP s campaign for next year s general elections," said a confidant of President Asif Ali Zardari.Both 24-year-old Bilawal and his father will make speeches at the event to be held outside the Bhutto family s mausoleum near the PPP s stronghold of Naudero, said the confidant who did not want to be named.

 There has been speculation that Zardari might also announce the date for the next general elections at the occasion."The President is keeping things close to his chest and he is the person who will make the decision about announcing the date for the polls," the confidant said.

 In his speech in Garhi Khuda Bux, Bilawal is also expected to make public a report on the investigation into Benazir Bhutto s assassination.Bilawal himself cannot contest polls till he turns 25 in September next year.Zardari, who is the co-chairman of the PPP, has convened a meeting of the party s central executive committee at Naudero on Friday. This meeting is expected to fine-tune the PPP s campaign for the polls, party insiders said.

KARACHI: The Defense of Pakistan Council (DPC) has convened an All Parties Conference (APC) in the port city to find out ways and means to restore peace.

The meeting held under the umbrella of Jamaat-e-Islami, will decide the future course of action against target killings in Karachi and incidents of terrorism across the country.The meeting is set to discuss the possibility of uniting all religious parties on a single forum to spread the message of brotherhood and tolerance.The council leader has also expressed the dire need of forming interim government to rule out all uncertainties regarding the postponement of general elections.

The 5th death anniversary of former Prime Minister (PM) Benazir Bhutto will be observed today (Thursday) with reverence all over the country.Special prayers will be held in mosques for the departed soul of the charismatic leader and first woman Prime Minister of Muslim world and progress and prosperity of Pakistan. Pakistan People’s Party has finalized arrangements for the main function in this regard at Garhi Khuda Bakhsh.The mammoth ceremony will be held in the ground adjacent to her mausoleum in Garhi Kkhuda Bakhsh to mark the anniversary. Fateha and Quran Khani will be held therein.

President Asif Ali Zardari, Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf. PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, Bakhtawar and Asifa Bhutto Zardari, central and provincial leadership of PPP, federal and provincial ministers and parliamentarians will attend the ceremony.They will visit the graves of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, Nusrat Bhutto, Benazir Bhutto and other members of Bhutto family, lay floral wreaths and offer Fateha over there. Caravans from across the country will reach Garhi Khuda Bakhsh to attend central ceremony.

President Asif Ali Zardari, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and other leadership of PPP has arrived in Garhi Khuda Bakhsh.All the arrangements have been finalized to hold the ceremony. Stringent security measures have been put in place while over 10000 police and Rangers personnel will be deployed in Larkana.
Quran Khawani and Fateha Khawani congregations will take place in every part of the country with regard to anniversary.

LAHORE - A seasoned politician from Rahim Yar Khan, Makhdoom Ahmad Mehmood, was sworn in as Punjab’s 28th governor on Tuesday at an impressive ceremony on the spacious lawns of the Governor’s House. Lahore High Court Chief Justice Umer Ata Bandiyal administered the oath.

Punjab Chief Secretary Nasir Mehmood Khosa read out the commission of appointment of the new governor on behalf of President Asif Ali Zardari. Makhdoom is 8th governor from south Punjab as seven politicians from the region, including his predecessor Sardar Latif Khan Khosa, have already served as constitutional head of the province. They are Mushtaq Gurmani, Mustafa Khar, Nawab Muhammad Abbas Khan Abbasi, Sadiq Hussain Qureshi, Sajjad Hussain Qureshi and Sardar Zulfiqar Khosa. He is 58the governor of Punjab if counted from the pre-partition period. Leaders from the PPP and PML-N dominated the show while other parties, excluding PTI, had also their representation at the oath-taking ceremony. Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif, Punjab Law Minister Rana Sana Ullah, Senior Adviser Sardar Zulfiqar Khosa, Education Minister Mujtaba Shujaur Rehman, Adviser to Chief Minister Zakia Shahnawaz, MPA Syed Zaeem Qadri and senior party leader Raja Ashfaq Sarwar were among the prominent PML-N leaders.  Former Education Minister Imran Masood represented the PML-Q. One of Makhdoom’s close friends and business partner, Humayun Akhtar Khan, was also there.

As expected, no member of the Chaudhry family of Gujrat turned up on the occasion, perhaps, due to the anticipated presence of their political rival, Shahbaz Sharif, at the ceremony.  Federal ministers, Manzoor Wattoo and Samina Ghurki, a good number of PPP leaders, including Jehangir Badr, Raja Riaz, Abdul Qadir Gilani, Mujtaba Gilani, Aslam Gill, Haji Chan, Aurangzeb Burki, Faiza Malik and Sajida Mir were also present. PPP activists raised the slogan of “Jiay Bhutto’ when Mehmood was sworn in as the governor. Jamaat-e-Islami Punjab President Dr Wasim Akhtar and central JUP leader Pir Ejaz Hashmi represented their parties. A considerable number of Makhdoom’s followers from his hometown also attended the ceremony. They were seen having tea and biscuits in different compartments of the Governor House after the ceremony. Later, the new governor went to Data Darbar to pay homage to Hazrat Ali Hajveri. He also visited the mausoleum of Allama Iqbal, the Poet of the East. Then he went straight to the grave of his mother in Gulberg and remained there for some time.  Talking to the media after taking oath, Ahmad Mehmood said he would try his level best to promote democracy and reconciliation in the province. He said he enjoyed cordial relations with the Punjab rulers and would have no problem in developing a good working relationship with the provincial government.

He hoped the Punjab government would pay maximum attention towards the provision of education, healthcare and other facilities to the people.He said he was aware of the financial constraints of the province, and would not receive his pay as a governor. Makhdoom said he would keep giving advice to the provincial government on how to facilitate the masses in a better way.To a question about Dr Tahir-ul-Qadri, he said he had great respect for him, but he should not put his well wishers to test. On south Punjab province, he said the Punjab assembly and the National Assembly had unanimously demanded the restoration of Bahawalpur province and he would try to get these resolutions implemented.

He added it was the time that leaders from of all the political parties should pay attention towards forming caretaker governments. Ahmad stressed the need for developing understanding between the government and the opposition in the larger interest of the country.The governor thanked President Asif Ali Zardari and PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari for reposing confidence in him for this slot.  He said that after his meeting with the president, the prime minister, PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and Faryal Talpur, he would also meet PML-N chief Mian Nawaz Shairf. The governor clarified that his appointment was not the result of any backdoor diplomacy or understanding. He also paid tribute to the political vision of Shaheed Benazir Bhutto and greeted the Christian community on the happy occasion of Christmas.