Malia Obama, Sasha Obama Look All Grown Up During China Trip With Michelle Obama

http://celebrity.yahoo.com/

The First Daughters -- all grown up and gorgeous! Malia and Sasha Obama have joined their mom Michelle Obama and grandmom Marian Robinson in China for a seven-day, three-city goodwill tour that focuses on cultural and educational exchange. The quartet's first top was in the city of Beijing on Friday, March 21, where all four ladies were photographed looking beautiful in a group shot with Chinese President Xi Jinping and his own first lady, Peng Liyuan.

From left, Sasha, 12, wore a long-sleeve cherry frock aligned with a white belt at her waist. She paired her outfit with black floral tights and a pair of simple flats. Fifty-year-old FLOTUS, meanwhile, matched her youngest daughter in a red three-quarter-sleeve lace frock, which she elegantly paired with red pointed-toe pumps.

The true star of the foreign photo op, however, was 15-year-old Malia -- who resembled her stylish mom more than ever -- in a high-waisted floral skirt and matching crop top from Topshop. Unlike many teens wearing crop tops, Malia opted not to bare her midriff, by hiking up her skirt, while meeting the leader of China and his wife on Friday.

On Monday, Malia, Sasha and Michelle visited the Mutianyu section of the Great Wall of China, looking sporty and stylish in relaxed attire and comfy shoes. The beautiful ladies were photographed laughing while exploring the historical Forbidden City. FLOTUS even danced with traditional Chinese performers on the City Wall in China's central Shaanxi province.

As part of her first-ever trip to China, the First Lady made just one major speech on Saturday at the Stanford Center at Peking University in Beijing, where she openly addressed China's restrictions on media freedom. "My husband and I are on the receiving end of plenty of questioning and criticism from our media and our fellow citizens, and it’s not always easy, but we wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world," she told students at China's oldest university, as reported by Time. "It is so important for information and ideas to flow freely over the Internet ... because that's how we discover the truth." The family is scheduled to be reunited with President Barack Obama stateside in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday.

The Arab Spring Never Quite Ended in Bahrain

Bahraini security forces reportedly attacked a Shia mosque today, firing tear gas at funeral goers in a village near the capital of Manama. The attack, first reported by Press TV, comes after protests took place near Manama on Friday, when thousands of mostly Shia Bahrainis, led by the opposition Al-Wefaq party — shut down the Budaiya Highway, which is a major link between the surrounding Shia villages and the capital. Protesters clashed with police, who responded with tear gas and petrol bombs.

Today Bahraini state media said that it will be launching an investigation "into what has been circulating in some newspapers and mass media about a Ministry of Interior's vehicle that fired a tear gas bomb near a religious building." Legal measures will be taken against the violators should they are held accountable, the report said.

This is the latest attempt by the regime to crack down on dissent in the small island kingdom, where simmering anger remains in the largely unresolved conflict that started with the 2011 uprising against King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifah.

“Bahrainis are still insisting on seeing a change three years after [the 2011 uprising],” Matar Ebrahim Matar, a former member of Bahrain's Parliament and political activist for the opposition, now based in Washington, D.C., told VICE News. “Many thought that this would be an issue of time, but clearly this wasn’t the case."

The protesters called for an end to sectarian discrimination toward the majority Shia population at the hands of the minority Sunni ruling party. The protests on Friday took place on the United Nations' International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination.

The opposition claims that the Shia majority faces marginalization in the form of employment and housing discrimination and exclusion from the political system that is dominated by the Sunni monarchy.

Protests are nearly a daily occurrence in the capital, even in the face of increased measures taken by the king to control pro-democracy activism. These include recent laws that ban protests and a seven-year jail sentence and fine up to 10,000 dinars ($26,500) to anyone who publicly insults the king.

The government’s brutal crackdown on opposition leaders and anyone involved in the anti-government protests was widely documented in 2011. The most notorious incident was the violent nighttime raid in Pearl Roundabout in Manama, known as Bloody Thursday, that killed four and injured nearly 300 protesters.

Although sectarian conflict is behind the current unrest in Bahrain, the causes of the ongoing political stalemate has deeper geopolitical roots. The financial and military support the current regime in Bahrain receives from the surrounding countries, including the US, plays a direct role in preventing any solution from being reached.

“The issue is more than just a Sunni-Shia conflict,” Matar said. “The regime in Bahrain is facilitated through backing from the UAE, Saudi Arabia and most importantly the US government. The US is satisfied by all the advantages the Bahraini regime offers as a strategic ally.”

Matar said the US government should take “some risk and some cost because getting whatever they want from the current regime is not sustainable,” he said. “Even if the regime is providing the US with what ever they want, this is undermining the credibility of the US government and affecting the image of the US government in the region.” The opposition has called for a political solution that would leave lawmaking up to the Parliament rather than the monarchy, which currently has complete control in the country, and a limit on the powers that the king holds.

But three years after the initial uprising, a political solution has yet to be reached and both the opposition and ruling parties remain locked in a stalemate.

https://news.vice.com/articles/the-arab-spring-never-quite-ended-in-bahrain?trk_source=homepage-in-the-news

Back to school in Crimea

Obama, China's Xi pledge cooperation at nuclear summit

Obama and Xi hail importance of U.S.-China ties ahead of two-day nuclear summit in the Netherlands.

'No one has survived': Relatives distraught as Malaysia Airlines says jet crashed in Indian Ocean

http://www.scmp.com/

Malaysia Airlines flight 370, which has been missing for 16 days, is presumed to have crashed in the Indian Ocean killing all 239 people on board, relatives were told last night after new information came to light about the plane's last known location. In a grim message Prime Minister Najib Razak said investigators at the UK's Air Accident Investigation Branch had concluded the plane flew along the southern corridor and that its last position was in the middle of the Indian Ocean thousands of kilometres west of Perth.

"This is a remote location, far from any possible landing sites. It is therefore with deep sadness and regret that I must inform you that according to this new data, flight MH370 ended in the southern Indian Ocean," he said.

The tragic news shed no light on how the plane came to be so far from its intended route, from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing. As the news was relayed there was disbelief among relatives of those on board who had been summoned to meetings at hotels in Beijing and Kuala Lumpur.

"Malaysia is lying. Make China go down there and look," one relative told the South China Morning Post by text message just minutes after the announcement.

Another said: " If they don't show us the actual plane itself then it doesn't mean anything." The statement came after Chinese relatives in Beijing were called to the second floor of the Lido Hotel for an emergency meeting. Paramedics attended the scene and screaming was heard coming from behind closed doors. One middle-aged woman was carried out of the room on a stretcher. Her mouth was trembling and her eyes wide open. It is believed that relatives in Kuala Lumpur were flown to Perth overnight. In a statement to the families of those with relatives on board, the airline said: "We deeply regret that we have to assume beyond any reasonable doubt that MH370 has been lost and that none of those on board have survived...we must now accept all evidence suggests the plane went down in the Southern Indian Ocean." In a later statement addressing why families had received news of the plane's fate by text message, the airline said: "It is with deep sadness Malaysia Airlines earlier this evening had to confirm to the families... that it must now be assumed the flight had been lost.

"As the Prime Minister said, respect for the families is essential at this difficult time.

"And it is in that spirit that we informed the majority of the families in advance of the Prime Minister's statement in person and by telephone.

"SMSs were used only as an additional means of communicating with the families."

China's foreign ministry demanded Malaysia substantiate its conclusion by providing all the information and evidence that the plane had crashed into the sea. The extraordinary turn of events came in a day where two separate search teams said they had spotted "objects" floating in the Indian Ocean.

A Chinese team was reported to have seen two large white floating objects, while Australia said a plane crew had seen two items - one grey or green and circular, and the other orange and rectangular.

Ships rushed to the location to hunt for the possible plane debris, while Malaysia said it understood some items would be recovered by the morning.

Malaysian authorities have been widely criticised for their handling of the two-week hunt for MH370, with accusations of incompetence, cover-ups and U-turns.

Pakistan: Jaish-ul-Adl terrorists kill one of captive Iranian border guards

Iran’s Interior Ministry has confirmed that one of the five border guards abducted by terrorists and transferred to Pakistan last month has been killed.

“Based on investigations, the report that one of the five Iranian border guards has been martyred was confirmed,” deputy governor general of Iran’s southeastern province of Sistan and Baluchestan, Ali Asghar Mirshekari, said on Monday.

On February 6, the Iranian border guards were abducted in the Jakigour region of the province, on the border with Pakistan. The men were later transferred to the Pakistani territory.

The so-called Jaish-ul-Adl terrorist group claimed responsibility for the abductions.

In a Sunday Tweet, Jaish-ul-Adl terrorists claimed that they had killed one of the abductees, called Jamshid Danaeifar.

Iran has declared that it holds the Pakistani government responsible for the lives of the Iranian hostages.

On February 9, Iran’s Foreign Ministry invited Pakistani Ambassador to Tehran Noor Mohammad Jadmani in protest at the abduction.

On October 25, 2013, Jaish-ul-Adl killed 14 Iranian border guards and wounded six others in the border region near the city of Saravan in Sistan and Baluchestan Province.

In February 2013, Iran and Pakistan signed a security agreement under which both countries are required to cooperate in preventing and combating organized crime, fighting terrorism and countering the activities that pose a threat to the national security of either country.

Iran has repeatedly called on Pakistan to comply with the terms of the agreement.

Video: Malaysian plane: MH370 relatives in agony as flight confirmed lost

U.S: Wall Street falls, Nasdaq under 50-day moving average

U.S. stocks fell sharply on Monday, with the Nasdaq marking its biggest daily percentage drop since early February as some of the market's recent best performers like technology and biotech shares led the way down.

Concerns that the crisis in Ukraine could escalate pushed traders to drop some of the market's biggest trading favorites, taking the Nasdaq below its 50-day moving average in a sign of weakening near-term momentum.

Almost 80 percent of the stocks traded on the Nasdaq were lower, while about two-thirds of New York Stock Exchange-listed shares fell. Eight of the 10 S&P 500 sectors slid for the day.

Netflix Inc (NFLX.O) was the S&P 500's biggest percentage loser, down 8.9 percent at $369.72, with fellow Internet names Facebook Inc (FB.O) and TripAdvisor Inc (TRIP.O) close behind, both falling 5 percent. All three names had scored sharp gains in 2013.

The Nasdaq biotechnology index .NBI, which jumped 66 percent last year, fell 3.5 percent in its fourth straight daily decline, a period over which the group has lost 9 percent. Among specific names, Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc (ALXN.O) dropped 6.1 percent to $150.12.

"Biotech stocks have gone parabolic over the past few months, so this is a necessary correction to that," said Mark D'Cruz, senior investment analyst at Key Private Bank in Cleveland, Ohio. "A lot of that interest came from outside traditional biotech investors, who are now being scared off ... Biotechs really have to prove themselves this year, prove that their drugs can deliver."

Ukraine announced the evacuation of its troops from Crimea, essentially yielding the region to Russian forces, which seized a Ukrainian marine base. While few U.S. companies have excessive exposure to the region, investors are concerned about the potential economic fallout from any escalation in tensions.

U.S. President Barack Obama, who has imposed personal sanctions against some of Russian President Vladimir Putin's political and business allies, began crisis talks with his European allies over how to respond in the biggest East-West conflict since the Cold War. "The issue remains contained for the time being, but Obama will try and garner support for more sanctions, which will ultimately shape our view of how things can end up looking," said Art Hogan, chief market strategist at Wunderlich Securities in New York. "This remains at the forefront of what we're paying attention to." The Dow Jones industrial average .DJI was down 63.36 points, or 0.39 percent, at 16,239.41. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index .SPX was down 13.62 points, or 0.73 percent, at 1,852.90. The Nasdaq Composite Index .IXIC was down 70.40 points, or 1.65 percent, at 4,206.39.

Futures had been higher throughout the premarket session as hopes grew that China would take new stimulative measures to support its economy after data showed that the nation's manufacturing contracted in the first quarter of 2014.

The Dow's losses were limited by a rise in Procter & Gamble Co (PG.N), a consumer staple that is considered a defensive play. That stock rose 2.2 percent to $79.57, snapping a four-day losing streak.

Erdoğan’s weakest link is Ankara

MURAT YETKİN

No, I will not talk about the situation that Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdoğan has put himself in with the Twitter ban thanks to his half-wit advisors. His long time fellow President Abdullah Gül, who had already broken the ban, slammed the decision on March 23, also teasing that the number of users had doubled since the ban. The night before, U.S. President Barack Obama had also openly slammed it, while the U.S. Embassy in Ankara posted an article on the State Department’s blog with the hashtag “#21CenturyBookBurning,” thus likening it to the infamous Nazi practice. I also won’t talk about Erdoğan’s announcement of the shooting down of the Syrian plane in his election rally in Istanbul. Main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu had warned Chief of General Staff Necdet Özel days ago about Erdoğan’s possible venture to push the military into a clash with Syria to score election points. In his parallel universe, Erdoğan would point to the crowds in his Istanbul rally as evidence of his righteousness anyway.

Today let’s talk about the possibilities in Istanbul and Ankara for the critical local elections on March 30. Why Istanbul and Ankara? Because of the population concentrations, the balance among Turkey’s three biggest cities - Istanbul, Ankara and İzmir - determine the overall political atmosphere of the country. Currently, the score is 2-1. The ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Parti) holds the mayorship of Istanbul and Ankara, while the CHP holds İzmir. Public opinion polls this season are not very reliable, the main reason being the high percentage of still undecided voters; in some polls this number is as high as 20 percent which means the margin of error is up to plus or minus 5 percent. But one can safely estimate that the CHP is going to keep İzmir, Turkey’s port which opens to the West in all senses of the word. That leaves us with Istanbul and Ankara. If at least one of those country-size cities (14 m, 5 m, respectively) will change hands that would definitely determine the political course of Turkey after March 30.

One of the golden rules of Turkish politics is that who takes Istanbul, takes Turkey. It is also true that whoever loses Ankara, loses Turkey. The first would be an instant and rather painless death, while the second would be the beginning of a painful one. The tale of two Turkish cities has always determined the political atmosphere, since the establishment of the republic more than 90 years ago. The rise of Islamic politics in Turkey started when Necmettin Erbakan’s Welfare Party won both Istanbul and Ankara in the March 1994 locals. Tayyip Erdoğan was the winner in Istanbul and Melih Gökçek was the winner in Ankara. Erdoğan won easily because Istanbulites got rid of the incompetence of the former mayor, after an extramarital affair-tainted corruption scandal. Gökçek had won by a margin of only 6,500 votes because of the fight between three center-left parties.

The CHP’s Istanbul candidate, Mustafa Sarıgül, is a hard-working populist politician who proved himself in consecutive mayoral terms in Istanbul’s well-off Şişli district. On the other hand AK Parti’s incumbent, Kadir Topbaş, is not a bad mayor when it comes to services; his rating is generally assumed to be higher than his party. Plus, he is supported by civil society groups such as lobbies from Anatolian towns (Istanbul is a magnet for domestic migration), business lobbies, and Islamic groups. Gökçek, on the other hand, despite currently enjoying a fourth term in Ankara, relies on rather less-educated masses, thankful for the not-very-long-term jobs and benefits from the municipality, and what’s more he is not very well-organized. Gökçek has also been supported by a not-so-much-in-number but a very well-organized group: The Cemaat. Followers of Erdoğan’s once-close ally Fethullah Gülen, the U.S.-resident moderate Islamist scholar, have been supporting Gökçek in their good old days with Erdoğan. Now it is a delicate matter, and perhaps this is why Gökçek is the only exemption in the entire AK Parti in not slamming Gülen in public.

However, the CHP candidate in Ankara is a considerable rival to Gökçek. Kılıçdaroğlu took a great risk when he picked Mansur Yavaş, who had been the candidate for the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) in the previous local elections. Like Sarıgül in Istanbul, he proved himself as a successful district mayor, in the Beypazarı township of Ankara and is known as a conservative but secular, moderate politician. It now seems that he has started to close the gap. (In the 2009 locals the AK Parti got 38.5 percent, the CHP got 31.5 percent, and the MHP got 26.8 percent of the vote.) Now, many names from the MHP, former center-right parties, and even the AK Parti, are now supporting Yavaş’s campaign for the CHP. If he closes that gap and takes Ankara, or in other words, if Gökçek loses Ankara, that could be the start of the fall of Erdoğan in ballot box terms as well. The AK Parti losing Istanbul would be a surprise. There’s a higher possibility in Ankara, and it could mark a turning point for the Erdoğan era.

President Obama's Bilateral Meeting with Prime Minister Rutte of the Netherlands

Russia: No Ukrainian Military Units Left in Crimea – Official

All military units stationed in Crimea are now under the control of the Russian military, and remaining Ukrainian servicemen are departing the peninsula, the region’s first deputy prime minister, Rustam Temirgaliyev, said on Monday. As Crimea’s reunification process began last week, a total of 147 military units in the predominantly Russian-ethnic region have replaced Ukrainian flags with Russian ones and applied to join the Russian armed forces.

“All Ukrainian military personnel have either joined Russia or are leaving Crimea,” Temirgaliyev said. Shortly after Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree on Friday to ratify the reunification treaty, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said those soldiers wishing to continue their service with the Ukrainian armed forces were free to leave Crimea and will receive the required assistance to do so.

The Russian Defense Ministry said over the weekend that only 2,000 out of 18,000 Ukrainian troops serving in Crimea decided to leave the peninsula.

On Monday, Shoigu appointed the former head of Ukraine’s navy as deputy commander of the Russian Black Sea fleet during a visit to Crimea.

Rear Adm. Denis Berezovsky swore allegiance to the people of Crimea earlier this month two days after he had been appointed commander of the Ukrainian navy by the country’s Western-backed government.

Missing plane crashed in Indian Ocean: Malaysia’s prime minister

The Malaysia Airlines plane that disappeared over two weeks ago crashed in the southern Indian Ocean, Prime Minister Najib Razak tells families of Flight MH370.

FARZANA NAZ ARYANA TV SONG DE EID

Pakistan: Unpardonable murders

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/

The murder of Sindhi nationalist leader Maqsood Qureshi, head of the Jiye Sindh Qaumi Mahaz (JSQM), in gruesome fashion just a year after his brother and predecessor chief of JSQM Bashir Qureshi was killed has triggered violent protests in Hyderabad and other parts of the province, as JSQM party workers and members of other Sindhi nationalist parties brought trade and other activities to a standstill. Police say they found the largely charred remains of Maqsood’s body, along with his colleague Salman Wadho, in a burnt out car on a road near Naushero Feroz, the vehicle apparently having been set on fire after the two men were shot and their corpses placed in it. Immediate outrage from Sindhi nationalist leaders was followed by a breakdown of law and order in various parts of the province, including the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) stronghold of Larkana, which has been the centre of several violent incidents in the last week. At least one person was killed. The implications and possible consequences of this murder, after Bashir Qureshi’s, are not to be taken lightly. Bashir Qureshi was, it should be remembered, found dead in unusual circumstances. Some reports say the cause of death was poison. The investigation is ongoing. However, a year later a proper forensic report hasn’t come to light and now with Maqsood Qureshi’s murder, police will have their hands full trying to track down the killers.

Doing so is of the utmost importance, as speculation will only lead to conspiracies and feed into the Sindhi nationalist perception that they are being violently silenced. While the demand for ‘independence’ has found little traction in most of Sindh, incidents like this only enrage public sentiment and feed separatist or militant nationalist ideas that their rights are being trampled within the federation.. Some are bound to place the blame for it on the establishment, which has an uneasy relationship with nationalist parties in the provinces. Constant head-butting between Sindhi nationalists and the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) in Karachi is another source of discontent and may lead to even more violence in that beleaguered city. In order to stop this cycle of revenge and conspiracy theories, a proper investigation needs to be conducted post haste. In light of the gravity of the situation in Sindh, it may be that the federal government should depute members of the Central Investigation Department (CID) or Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) to help with the investigation and empower them to bring the culprits to book no matter who they are. That will go a long way in rebuilding trust between nationalists and federalists. Murders of political leaders cannot go unresolved, especially when the consequences may be far reaching for the country’s political future.

Pakistan's Taliban Talks To Taliban: Editorial: The secrecy factor

A MEETING was held, decisions were taken, but no one seems inclined to tell Pakistan what was even talked about. All the country has been told is that a secret meeting place has been decided upon, among other decisions taken. Worryingly, the TTP-government dialogue has become a secretive process in which anything apparently can be decided – and the public is just supposed to accept those decisions, made in their name, as a fait accompli. To be sure, no negotiation process can progress much when there are constant leaks and both sides are rushing to make all their grievances and complaints public. But this is no ordinary negotiation process: the elected government of Pakistan is negotiating with a violent insurgent group with the explicit agenda of overthrowing the state and all the known demands of the outlawed TTP are in conflict with a constitutional, democratic polity where fundamental rights and the rule of law are meant to be paramount.

What the TTP leadership will demand when face to face with the government’s negotiating team can be guessed at. The release of prisoners and the acceptance of its domination over sections of North Waziristan will surely be at the top of that list. At the moment, it appears that the government wants to stretch out the dialogue process as long as possible to stave off the hard decisions while the TTP is amenable to an elongated talks process if it means a full-scale military operation is delayed. But that is not really a sustainable approach, at least for the government. Hard decisions will have to eventually be taken. And after shrouding the dialogue process in secrecy and mystery, the government may be tempted to make concessions that really ought to be unacceptable within the existing structure of state and society here. While the Taliban must necessarily be viewed with suspicion, neither should the government’s motives and intentions be automatically accepted as above the board.

There are two things the government ought to do before going behind closed doors for direct talks with the TTP leadership. First, the government must publicly and forthrightly reiterate that whatever is agreed upon – if an agreement is inched towards – will take place within the confines of the Constitution and the structure of the state as it presently exists. Second, the government must take the parliamentary leadership of the opposition parties into confidence too, and keep them abreast of any developments or breakthroughs in the talks process. Those steps would help ensure that the rulers are not secretly making unacceptable concessions and also keep the government in check.

Peshawar: Abducted lady health worker found dead

The lady health worker (LHW), abducted from Galozai area of Peshawar, was found dead on Monday, Geo News reported. The health worker was abducted on Sunday night. Earlier, dozens of local residents took to the streets on motorcycles and held a protest demonstration at Toll Plaza against the kidnapping. They also blocked the road and suspended vehicular traffic. The demonstrators ended their protest on the police assurance that the lady health worker will be recovered within two days. Soon after the protesters dispersed, the body of the same health worker was found within the limits of Dawoodzai police station.

Afghanistan Alleges Foreign Hand in Hotel Attack

Afghanistan's presidency says its spy agency believes that a foreign intelligence service, and not the country's main militant groups, was behind the attack on a Kabul hotel last week that killed nine people, including two children and four foreigners. A statement from President Hamid Karzai's office said the spy agency briefed Afghanistan's top security officials. In that briefing the agency said: "The attack on the Serena Hotel was a direct attack by an intelligence service outside the country." It did not specify which country was purportedly responsible for the assault, but Afghanistan routinely accuses Pakistan of sending militants across the border to wage attacks. Pakistan did not immediately comment on the allegations. The agency said neither the Taliban nor the Haqqani group, a network believed responsible for numerous high-profile attacks in Kabul, was even aware the attack was in the offing. Afghanistan's National Security Council was also told that a Pakistani diplomat was spotted filming inside the Serena Hotel "a while ago," seeming to suggest that the incident was connected to Friday's horrific assault in which four gunmen, their small pistols hidden in their shoes, slipped passed the hotel security. Once inside the hotel, they opened fire inside a restaurant and shot people at point blank range, including two small children and their parents. A senior reporter of Agence France-Presse, Sardar Ahmad, died in the rampage along with his wife and two young children. His infant son is in critical condition in a Kabul hospital with several bullet wounds. Two Canadians, an American, a national of Paraguay and a fifth Afghan were also among the dead. Sardar and his family were buried Sunday amid tight security. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack, saying it shows that "our people, if they decide to attack any place, they can do it." Zabihullah Mujahid, the Taliban spokesman, issued another statement on Sunday in which the movement still accepted responsibility for the attack but appeared to address the outrage over the killing of Sardar and his family. It said it killed "foreign and internal agents" but the killing of the family was "not the work of the Islamic Emirate," without explaining further. Afghanistan's interior ministry, which also briefed the National Security Council, said it had evidence of large numbers of students of madrassas or religious schools in Pakistan avowing to disrupt the April 5 polls for president as well as provincial council members. Several Afghan Taliban leaders attended Pakistani madrassas.

Injecting HIV into Pakistan

By Ashfaq Yusufzai

Pakistan may have a low prevalence of HIV/AIDS, with only about 9,000 officially confirmed cases, but the country is at high risk, particularly due to the growing number of injecting drug users (IDUs), say experts. Of the country's 180 million people, 420,000 are IDUs, according to the Drug Use in Pakistan survey conducted last year.

"IDUs contract HIV by sharing infected syringes. We are afraid that HIV/AIDS can spread to the general population through them," said Syed Mohammad Javid, manager of the National AIDS Control Program (NACP). He said the easy availability of heroin from nearby Afghanistan, where large swathes of land are under poppy cultivation, has become a pressing problem for Pakistani cities. Peshawar, capital of the northern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, is one such place.

"Twenty percent of IDUs have tested positive for HIV/AIDS in Peshawar, which is alarming," he said, citing a study conducted by the Canadian International Development Agency in collaboration with the NACP in 2010.

A similar study in 2008 had put the figure at 13%, Javid said, pointing out that HIV/AIDS prevalence is increasing. He said Pakistan has officially declared 9,000 confirmed cases of HIV/AIDS. But the World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that the actual number could well be more than 100,000.

Javid said that in 2010, the World Bank had stopped funding free services for HIV-infected drug addicts, as the money had to be diverted for use in flood-hit areas. This compounded the problem, he said.

Dr Abdul Hameed, a WHO medical officer, is deeply concerned over the sharp rise in HIV/AIDS cases among IDUs because there is no official detoxification and rehabilitation program in the country. Hameed said the health department and donor agencies used to believe that HIV/AIDS had no local source in Pakistan, and blamed an HIV-positive immigrant population deported from the United Arab Emirates and other countries. "A WHO study has proved that the infection has a potential local source, namely IDUs, which warrants administrative support to addicts at antiretroviral therapy [ART] centers," Hameed said. Pakistan has set up 13 ART centers in collaboration with the WHO, where around 5,000 patients have received treatment so far. Oussama Tawil, UNAIDS country coordinator for Pakistan and Afghanistan, said that a high incidence of HIV/AIDS among IDUs in Peshawar had alarmed UN agencies.

"The number of IDUs who share syringes has increased from 500 to 1,800 in the city over the last three years," he said. The situation is also dismal in other Pakistani cities such as Karachi, Faisalabad, Sukkur, Larkana, Lahore and Rawalpindi, he said. "In 2007, Pakistan had an estimated 90,000 IDUs and the number has now risen to around 500,000," Tawil said.

UNAIDS is in the process of establishing 20 wards for detoxification and rehabilitation of IDUs. NGOs will locate IDUs and bring them to the wards for detoxification. Those with HIV will be taken to ART centers for treatment, Tawil said. NGOs have also been assigned to implement the UN's needle exchange program, under which IDUs will be given sterilized needles to end the use of contaminated ones and prevent the human immunodeficiency virus from spreading, he said. ?This is a pilot program for Peshawar and will be launched in other cities later. After detoxification, the IDUs will be counseled and tested at ART centers so that they don't go back to narcotics, Tawil said. The 2013 survey, Drug Use in Pakistan, jointly conducted by the Narcotics Control Division, Pakistan Bureau of Statistics and UN Office on Drugs and Crime, shows that around 4.25 million people in the country are drug-dependent. Mian Zulqernain Amir, joint secretary of the Narcotics Control Division, said that in the last 12 months only 30,000 adult drug users had access to treatment, mostly at private centers run by NGOs.

"However, we now have baseline information on the prevalence and pattern of drug use among the population and we are taking steps, in collaboration with the UN and NGOs," he said.

The survey showed that cannabis was the most commonly used drug in Pakistan, with four million people listed as users. Opium and heroin were taken by about 1% of drug users. The highest levels of heroin use were seen in provinces bordering poppy-cultivating areas in Afghanistan.

Pakistan: Shia scholar held for narrating truth about tyrannies of Umayyad despotic rule

www.shiitenews.com

Renowned Zakir-e-Ahl-e-Bait (AS) Allama Asif Raza Alvi was arrested in Gujranwala while he was speaking at a Majlis-e-Aza in Gujranwala. Shiite News Correspondent reported from Punjab province’s Gujranwala district that police held him and took him away with them. He was accused of narrating truth about tyrannies and despotism of dynastic rulers of Umayyad who seized power bringing an end to the Caliphate that began with the rule of Hazrat Abu Bakar. Yazid was second dynastic ruler of Umayyad dynasty that was started with the rule of Muavia son of Abu Sufyan. Muavia had imposed war on the caliphate of Hazrat Ali (AS) who was fourth and last caliph of the reign of Khilafat-e-Rashida that Sunni Muslims believe rules of guided and pious over Muslim world. Syed Abul Ala Moudoodi, founder of Jamaat-e-Islami and another Deobandi politician of Indian Congress party Abul Kalam Azad had criticized the dynastic kings like rule. They declared them monarchy/kingdom instead of Caliphate. Shia parties and leaders have condemned the arrest of Allama Asif Alvi. They said that Umayyad dynasty is respected by Yazidi takfiri nasbi fanatics and terrorists hence they pressurized the police to arrest the Shia scholar who was narrating the historical facts that were also documented and written in Islamic historians and thinkers books

Pakistan: 3000 Christian Families Will Be Affected After Bulldozing Their Homes In Islamabad.

Dr. J Salik said that history is showing again itself and minorities are facing the identical troubles which they were facing before independence. The resolution against slums is odious conspiracy against minorities to make them homeless, he said. He said that it’s shameful that CDA is asking to the inhabitants of slums to go away from their home towns, CDA derision all the Pakistanis by giving such an unintelligent testimonial. These unfortunate people of slums, inhabit here for last four decades, and these homes are the only property they own. No one should think even for such sort of activity against slums, he said.

These people are living in very bad condition without having any facilities. J Salik He further added that government has snatched their rights, Ministry, Funds, political rights and even have given Sanitation department on Contract, in which more than 98% workers are Christians and now they are snatching their shelters.

He also said that this way more than 3000 Christian families will be affected in Islamabad. He said that Government has already illegally occupied Christian’s properties, he also highlighted the details of such properties hereunder: Rang Mahal Christian High School, St. Francis High School, Christian High School Sialkot Cant, Christian High School Daska Sialkot, Christian High School Sialkot city, Christian Girls High School Hajipura Sialkot city, Christian High School Bara pathar, Christian High School Wazirabad, Christian High School Martin pur, Mission High School Stunzabad, Dist Khanawal, ARP Mission High School 72/10-R Dist Multan, St. Vincent Model High School 133-6/16-L, Methodist Boys High School Stunzabad, C.M.R High School Okara, ARP Mission High School 148/9-C, ARP American Mission High School Sahiwal, Christian High School, Raja Bazar RWP, Christian High School, Gujarat, Mission Girls High School Gujarat, CMS High School Chak 462/6 B Lyallpur Faisalabad, St. Thomas High School Khushpur Faisalabad, Saint Albert High School Gojra (Lyallpur), CMS High School Chak 424/JB (Lyallpur), Gordon College Rawalpindi and Murray College Sialkot.

- See more at: http://www.christiansinpakistan.com/3000-christian-families-will-be-affected-after-bulldozing-their-homes-in-islamabad-j-salik/#sthash.mhH5HMNW.dpuf

Pakistan: Cleanout On Islamabad Slums Will Dislocate Christians

Slum inhabitant of Islamabad live under poverty line, they do not have basic necessities of life like health, education, sanitation and shelter. They live in houses made of mud and clay, some of them are mixture of bricks and mud, and only 10 percent of them lives in houses made of cement and bricks. Many of the houses are made in a way they can be easily flooded with rain. Houses consist of a single room which fulfills the requirement of a bed room, kitchen and a dining room as well. The electricity supply is pitiable in the area, unavailability of purified water, open drainage system; clearly show that hygiene is maintained in the area at zero level.

Capital Development Authority (CDA) conducted a detailed survey in Islamabad to collect data of the slums and has decided to bulldoze minimum a dozen slums in Islamabad but did not point out any relocation plan or reparation for the helpless inhabitants. According to the sources on the direction of CDA chairman, notices had been issued to the slum dwellers of sectors G-7/1, G-7/2, G-7/3, G-8/1, F-7/4 and F-6 to vacate their houses. CDA has asked for assistance from IESCO, SNGPL and FIA to help it carry out a grand operation against the dwellers in Islamabad. Sources informed that the slum inhabitants who exist in the slums of G-7/1, G-7/2, G-7/3, G-8/1, H-11/4, F-7/4 and F-6 have been warned through public notices as the slums would be demolished between March 24 and April 30, 2014.

According to the notice, CDA would demolish all these structures and the inhabitants would be accountable for any sort of risk involved.

The left-wing community of Islamabad has announced this operation as an attack on the essential rights of thousands of working-class citizens who live in the capital’s slums. Nazir S Bhatti chief of Pakistan Christian Congress – PCC strongly condemned this action and determent to strongly resist of the CDA’s plan. He said that Christians are being marginalized because of ethnic prejudice. While CDA Estate member Shaista Sohail said that the civic agency had been directed by the ministry of center to clear the illicitly engaged lands from the slum inhabitants, particularly to lessen security risks.

Basharat Khokhar, human rights activist visited CDA senior management and was assured by the CDA officers to provide fail-safe security to Christian’s slum inhabitants of Islamabad. Amir Ahmad Ali – member admin assured that CDA is not going to bulldoze any Christian katchi abadi in the capital.

Interior minister Chaudhry Nisar has led the charge for a crackdown. He singled the katchi abadis out as potential militant asylum soon after his party, the Pakistan Muslim League – PML- N came to power last summer. It is relevant to cite here that most of the inhabitants in these slums are Christians who have lived in these slums in terrible situations for a long era. Shamim Masih – secretary information PCC said that the CDA has different policies for working class people living in the slums and those living in the superior sectors of the capital.

- See more at: http://www.christiansinpakistan.com/cleanout-on-islamabad-slums-will-dislocate-christians/#sthash.Wl5T9dXL.dpuf

Pakistan: Govt to propose release of son of Gilani, Taseer to TTP shura

The government negotiators will propose the release of sons of former prime minister Yousaf Raza Gilani and late Governor Punjab Salmaan Taseer to the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) political shura (advisory council) during their first face-to-face meeting, Local TV reported on Monday.

On May 9 last year, armed assailants had kidnapped Ali Haider Gilani, son of the former premier. The incident had taken place at a Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) corner meeting in Farrukhabad, near Matital Road in Multan.

Shahbaz Taseer, eldest son of the late Governor Punjab, was abducted from the Gulberg area of Lahore on August 26, 2011. Capital City Police Officer Lahore had said that his car was intercepted by a black SUV and motorbike around 600 yards from the office and up to three men had dragged Taseer out of the car and taken him away.

On September 7, 2010, vice-chancellor of the ICU Ajmal Khan was kidnapped from Peshawar while he was on his way to his office. Ajmal Khan is one of the senior most academicians of the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province and had been the principal of the historic Islamia College, provost and registrar of the University of Peshawar and VC of Gomal University Dera Ismail Khan.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa: Abbasi to take oath as KP governor this week

Following the resignation of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) governor Shaukatullah Khan, Mehtab Abbasi would be most possibly taking oath as the governor this week. Sources said that the KP governor had resigned after his meeting with President Mamnoon Hussain on Sunday. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had already sent a summary for appointment of Mehtab Khan Abbasi as the KP governor to the president. Abbasi had lost his National Assembly seat to PTI’s Azhar Jadoon, but had managed to win his provincial seat, and is currently the leader of opposition in KP Assembly.

http://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/2014/03/23/national/abbasi-to-take-oath-as-kp-governor-this-week/

Pakistan: A mysterious $ 1.5 billion

Naeem Tahir

If the murderers of 60,000 Pakistanis, including army men, who do not accept the Constitution of Pakistan, can be embraced, then anything can happen

$ 1.5 billion! What for? This amount arrived into the so-called ‘Pakistan Development Fund’ from Saudi Arabia as a gesture of friendship for Nawaz Sharif (NS) and Pakistan. It may not be substantial for a whole country, but significant it is. I grew up at a time when hundreds and thousands mattered. Then lakhs (hundred thousands) became the numbers of conversation, and then crores (ten millions). Such amounts became out of reach for many. Now there are multiples of millions and billions! Therefore persons like me are surprised and would like to know, “Why this generosity?”

Many people noticed, murmured, and the defenders of NS softly explained that there was ‘no wrongdoing’. Ok, it may be ‘no wrongdoing’ is their opinion and not everyone might agree. Why can’t government functionaries come clean and clearly state the purpose of this largesse? So far more questions have risen as compared to those answered. Is it a discretionary fund for NS to be used as and when he considers the expenditure for ‘Pakistani development’? Is this ‘development’ to be on the Saudi pattern where there is no ‘constitutional system’ or equal rights or opportunities, and total religio-political hegemony? Or is it an takeoff from the Chinese ‘one-country-two-systems’ experiment in Hong Kong? If applied here, could it be Pakistan and FATA? This speculation, combined with the prime minister’s special bonding with the Taliban, has sent jitters through people. If the murderers of 60,000 Pakistanis, including army men, who do not accept the Constitution of Pakistan, can be embraced, then anything can happen. Is this $ 1.5 billion gift meant to firm up this bond? Or is it being used to create a permanent region of Saudi influence? Or is it that the US is backing off from direct involvement and Saudi money is taking over the role of keeping the ‘third world’ permanently oppressed, using deep rooted religio-political manipulation? Even darker thoughts are circulating. Is this fund meant to ensure, and consolidate, the large majority in the National Assembly? Please recall that NS had a two-third majority some years back. Let there be no facetiousness about the vital role of fund flows during elections. These funds change a lot of minds and loyalties. Indeed, NS is a businessman and knows where to invest profitably.

Consider the power of money, the media, and ‘democracy’ all concentrated in one hand, plus the support of religio-political, danda-bardar (baton-carrying) street forces. What else do you want? In the words of the historian Toynbee, “It is absolute power”, and therefore an open door for absolute corruption. Or is this fund a beginning to keep away from closer relations with Iran? Or could it be covert support for those messing up Syria to promote Salafiism made in Saudi Arabia? Or is it meant for an ‘Arab Spring’ made in the US for Pakistan?

All these speculations and concerns must be proved wrong and I hope that the responsible quarters that are well wishers of Mian Sahib will help in clearing the mist. The people of Pakistan would love to hear that this fund is meant to get Pakistan Railways back on the tracks. That this fund is meant to develop the gas pipeline with Iran and ensure that the stoves in our homes are kept burning. That this fund will supplement the purchase of electricity from neighbours like India, Iran or China to light Pakistani cities, towns, streets and villages. That this fund is going to be utilised for clean water, medicines, education, etc. Any such assurance by the Prime Minister of Pakistan would be music to the ears of the people of this country.

I have personally found Nawaz Sharif to be a well meaning and simple person, since the time he was introduced to me in the Punjab Governor House as the new Finance Minister by the late General Jillani, then Governor Punjab. I found his brother Shahbaz Sharif even more effectively well meaning. I believe that a good friend is one who alerts his friends against possible mistake or damage even at the risk of earning their displeasure. It is in this spirit that I would wish the prime minister to be cautious about the temptations of absolute power and the brainwashing assertions of some power-mongers around him. Nawaz Sharif has been given the rare opportunity to build this country.

He should do so by making a modern, progressive and competent nation, not a confused religio-political backward entity suffering from the dormant cancer of Salafiism. He would be remembered well if he moves towards reconciliation and its politics in a split society. He must rise above his personal pain, leave God Almighty to do justice instead of settling personal vendettas, and finally become a leader who is inclusive rather than exclusive. He must welcome the progressive elements of the country and get over his anti-Musharraf stance. He cannot make people believe that he is letting justice take its course. Musharraf did a lot of good for this country and must be respected. Leaders held in adoration by the nation and in the international community are assets for Pakistan and must be held in high esteem even if opinions differ. It may be hard to attain the stature of men like Nelson Mandela but taking steps in the direction he showed will take one towards being a better, a greater person. So our leaders must come clean. Clear the mysterious purposes of ‘funding’ from sources that raise eyebrows and end making statements with little credibility. Could Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif lead the way?

Pakistan: Hazara Province resolutions:PTI's political gimmick

A couple of days back, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly separately passed two resolutions, asking the federal government to create Hazara province and rename Khyber Pakhtunkhwa as Hazara Pakhtunkhwa.

Both the motions are contrary to each other and the move untimely is viewed as a face-saving attempt in general and a political stunt in particular.

Face-saving because lawmakers from Hazara during electioneering 2013 had promised to create a separate province if they were voted to power. Political gimmicking as the stage is set to hold local bodies elections in the near future. To give a tough time to rivals, the PTI has played this card at the right time.

Interestingly, movers of both the resolutions — MPA Sardar Idrees and KP Health Minister Shaukat Yousafzai — belong to the ruling PTI that backs creation of more provinces in the country on administrative lines. The first resolution on creation of Hazara province evoked a heated debate and even caused divisions among the ranks of ruling three-party coalition; however, it was passed with a simple majority.

Creation of a new province is not simple as it entails a long, exhaustive and complicated process. So the passage of a simple resolution is clearly an attempt at face-saving in the Hazara region, besides being a political stunt, said a political analyst. In its nine months government, the PTI has so far done nothing for the well being of the people and that’s why it needs a political slogan. To some extent, it has played well on the issue of Hazara province. The PTI fully supports the demand of Hazara province, apparently an attempt to cause damage to PML-N vote bank in Haraza division where Imran Khan’s party is gaining popularity with each passing day. No doubt, this move will help attract more voters. However, it will also damage the party in Pakhtun dominated areas of the province.

An MPA belonging to the PML-N openly rejected the resolution on Hazara province, while the KP CM and some PTI ministers and lawmakers left the house before the motion was put for voice vote. Surprisingly, PTI Chairman Imran Khan is supporting Hazara province, while his party is divided over the issue, as PTI MPAs from Peshawar Valley and Malakand division are not in favour of Hazara province. Moreover, the coalition parties are divided over the issue, as KP Senior Minister Sirajul Haq said on the floor of the house that instead of forming another province, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa should be renamed as Hazara Pakhtunkhwa, showing his displeasure over the resolution.

So in the prevailing situation, it will be an uphill task to approve a resolution on Hazara province with a two-thirds vote from the provincial assembly, a constitutional requirement for the establishment of a new province. It is a political gimmick and if the PTI is really interested in formation of a new province, why it has not taken its allied parties on board, a political observer said, adding that being part of KP, Hazara division was relatively peaceful. Therefore, at this stage, it will be better to avoid starting a political movement there. Nobody is against establishing new provinces but they should be formed at an appropriate time.

In order to counter Hazara province resolution, Shaukat Yousafzai and Sirajul Haq moved another resolution again, asking the federal government to rename Khyber Pakhtunkhwa as Hazara Pakhtunkhwa. Similarly, it was too passed with simple majority in the presence of CM Pervez Khattak who had come back to the hall when the second resolution was tabled. The PTI for now has given a general impression that it has honoured the commitment made with the people of Hazara during the election campaign. Whether the province is renamed or a separate one is carved out, only time will tell.

http://www.nation.com.pk/national/24-Mar-2014/hazara-resolutions-political-shots-at-the-right-time

Pakistan: Resolution on Hazara province illegal

The chief of Tehreek-i-Sooba Hazara (TSH), Baba Haider Zaman, has termed the resolution passed by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly for creation of Hazara province illegal and unconstitutional.

Addressing a press conference at his residence here on Sunday, he said that it was a face saving attempt by the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf. Article 239 (4) of Constitution clearly stated that two-third majority of total members was required for passing any resolution, he said. “In this particular move, only 34 members were present in the house,” he added.

Flanked Eng Sultan Khan Jadoon, Sultanul Arifeen and others, Mr Zaman said that Imran Khan’s team in the province in general and Hazara in particular had no credibility and most of them were known for changing loyalties. He said that they had used the slogan of Hazara province to misguide people and get votes.

He said that TSH would have been happy if they had moved the resolution for Hazara province sincerely. They tabled the resolution for creation of a separate province and at the same demanded change in the name of the province, which showed their duplicity, he alleged.

Mr Zaman said that PTI leadership seemed to be confused as it tabled two separate resolutions at the same time. He termed the move to defuse the objective of TSH and to get sympathies of people to get vote in the upcoming local bodies’ elections. He claimed that they would fight for the creation of Hazara province until their demand was fulfilled. He said that they would hold a ceremony on April 12 to pay tribute to the people, who sacrificed their lives for the cause four years ago.

Mr Zaman questioned the ‘change slogan’ of PTI, asking what the provincial government had done in education and health sectors and in providing justice to people during its tenure.

How change would occur with the same old faces, who had been in power for last five decades, he added.

Mr Zaman demanded presidential form of government in the country, saying parliamentary form of government failed in Pakistan. He said that elected representatives from Hazara tabled the resolution to save their skin.

Pakistan: Blast in Khyber Agency injures three

At least three people were injured in a blast in the Landi Kotal Bazaar of the Khyber Agency. According to Khasadar officials, the injured in the attack were the members of a religious group named as Tawheed ul Islam. The injured were shifted to a local hospital. Moreover, security forces on reaching the spot, cordoned off the area and began a search operation. Khyber is part of Pakistan’s semi-autonomous tribal belt on the Afghan border. The Taliban and other Al Qaeda-linked groups, who stage attacks in both countries, are known to have strongholds in the zone.

Pakistan: 683 water plants to be installed across Thar, says Bilawal

Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, patron-in-chief of the Pakistan Peoples Party, has said the Sindh government is installing 683 solar-powered reverse osmosis plants in drought-hit areas of Thar and other arid regions to provide 10,000 gallons of safe drinking water daily.

“As the world observes the International Water Day today, we reiterate our commitment to ensure a well-irrigated and greener Sindh and Pakistan,” he said in a message released by the party on Sunday. He said that PPP government in Sindh had taken revolutionary initiatives for the revitalisation of irrigation resources which included refurbishment of 3,420-mile long canals and dykes, construction and repair of 3,890 watercourses, installation of 1,762 tube wells, introduction of sprinkle and drip irrigation systems and rain guns and renovation and repair of Sukkur Barrage. A total of 500 water treatment plants would be set up in addition to 20 plants in Keamari and Lyrari and the world’s biggest water filtration plant in Shaheed Benazirabad, he said. He said that his party was taking steps to sensitise public to using every drop of water consciously and wisely to be able to fulfil needs of drinking water as well as the needs of agriculture and industrial sectors.

Bilawal pays tribute to Nusrat Bhutto

Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, Patron-In-Chief, Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) has paid tribute to Begum Nusrat Bhutto on her 85th birthday, falling on Sunday.

In a press release, Bilawal said his grandmother Begum Nusrat Bhutto put up valiant struggle for restoration of democracy in the country. He said that her struggle will be recorded in golden words in the history.

He said in a press release that her grandmother led a valiant struggle against a tyrant military dictator and braved state torture and jails in her struggle for the restoration of democracy in Pakistan.

Bilawal Bhutto stressed redoubling efforts to get rid of TB

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Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, Patron-In-Chief, Pakistan Peoples Party has expressed concern that Pakistan continues to be ranked between 5th to 6th among the World’s high Tuberculosis risk countries and urged the provincial governments and health officials to redouble their efforts and rid the fellow countrymen of the disease.

In his message on the World Tuberculosis Day being observed tomorrow around the globe, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said he was alarmed by the media reports more than 80% of new Tuberculosis cases were reported from Punjab alone.

He pointed out that Tuberculosis is the second most devastating disease in the world killing humans hence need due attention by the decision-makers in every province. He also specifically stressed upon Sindh government to further improve treatment facilities for Tuberculosis patients and measures for its prevention.

Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said as a nation whose Founder Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah died of Tuberculosis should act in revolutionary style to wipe out the disease.

Pakistan: Surendar Valasai seeks fee-waiver for poor students from Thar desert

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Surendar Valasai, Advisor to Bilawal Bhutto Zardari Patron-In-Chief Pakistan Peoples Party for Minority Affairs has requested Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah for waiver of fees of poor students from Tharparker and other dehs of Sanghar and Khairpur studying in different educational institutions of Sindh government. In a letter to Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah, he appreciated the relief operation being conducted in Thar and other drought-hit parts of the province. Surendar Valasai expressed confidence that PPP government in Sindh won’t allow the process of education of Thari students to be disturbed or hindered in anyway as their parents brave the drought back home.

Pakistan: Former President Zardari felicitates Pakistan Cricket Team

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Former President Asif Ali Zardari has felicitated Pakistan Cricket team on winning group match against Australia in Bangladesh. He also congratulated Pakistani nation for this achievement. Felicitating the Captain Muhammad Hafeez, team management and coaching staff, he said that every player of the team is lauded for their collective effort which culminated in winning the group match in T20 Cricket World Cup against Australia. He said that this victory proves that Pakistani nation can deal with every situation against all odds.