Monday, August 10, 2015
Hiroshima, Nagasaki a pricy lesson for militarism
Russia insists double standards be dropped and President al-Assad be partner to better fight ISIS
Russia insists that double standards be abandoned for effectively combating the Islamic State on Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and that President Bashar al-Assad be taken as a partner in this effort, said Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
In an interview with the Russian 1 TV channel, Lavrov noted that he discussed with his U.S. counterpart John Kerry issues related to the initiative of Russian President Vladimir Putin on forming a unified front for fighting ISIS, “and as it is in all other cases, we only suggest presenting clear views if we all want to not give ISIS the chance to realize its wicked idea of creating a caliphate.”
The Russian invitation, Lavrov said, has received wide attention in the international arena, noting that the Syrian government is willing to participate in the international efforts to fight ISIS.
He pointed out that Russia has suggested to Washington and its other partners fighting ISIS through establishing an alliance and supporting the political solution in Syria at the same time.
He warned of the U.S. attitude, saying “the US could blow up the situation in Syria if it would defend the opposition that it has trained,” calling for avoiding allegations and presenting only facts by those who allege that Syria still has chemical weapons.
Syrian President Assad pledges to punish cousin over road rage murder
Syria's President Bashar al-Assad has vowed to punish a cousin who is accused of killing a military officer, the family of the victim told the Syrian daily Al-Watan on Monday.
Suleiman al-Assad, a first cousin once removed of the president, is accused of shooting dead Colonel Hassan al-Sheikh in an apparent road rage incident on Thursday evening.
Sheikh's wife Mayssa Ghanem told Al-Watan, which is close to the government, that she had "received a promise from President Assad to punish the perpetrator, whoever he is".
The pledge was passed to her by "official delegations that came to Latakia to express their sympathies," she said.
"I have confidence in the word of the president, who is personally taking charge. We will get our rights."
Suleiman al-Assad allegedly killed Sheikh after the colonel reportedly overtook him at a crossroads in Latakia, the coastal province that is the heartland of the minority Alawite community to which the president belongs.
Both Sheikh and his alleged killer are Alawites, and the incident caused tensions in Latakia's provincial capital, where more than 1,000 people protested over the murder and demanded justice on Saturday.
The killer's father, Hilal al-Assad, a first cousin of the president, headed the defence forces in the Mediterranean city before his death in clashes with rebels in nearby Kasab in March 2014.
Sheikh's brother Nasser, who was with the colonel at the time of his death, told Al-Watan that he had witnessed his brother being "killed in cold blood because he did not give way in a traffic jam".
He said he hoped that "the blood of my brother will save us from these criminal actions that kill people on the streets," in an apparent reference to the growing pro-regime militias in Syria that are heavily-armed and often act with impunity.
Latakia governor Ibrahim Khodr al-Salem, who paid condolences on behalf of the presidency, assured them that "your rights will not be set aside so long as President Assad is here," Al-Watan reported.
HRW urges Fasicit Saudis to free pro-reform writer
Human Rights Watch on Monday urged the Saudi Arabian authorities to free a writer and commentator arrested after he called on television for political reforms in the absolute Gulf monarchy.
Zuhair Kutbi, 62, was detained on July 15 after an interview in June in which he called for reforms including "transforming the country into a constitutional monarchy and combatting religious and political repression", the New York-based HRW said.
"Authorities apparently questioned him about his television appearance, which had attracted considerable attention on social media," said the watchdog, adding that his writings had previously earned him six similar arrests.
"If there is no evidence of criminal behaviour, the Saudi authorities should immediately release Kutbi and compensate him for the ordeal they have put him through," said Joe Stork, deputy Middle East director at HRW.
Another Saudi writer, blogger Raef Badawi, is serving a 10-year sentence for "insulting Islam" and was ordered to be flogged 1,000 times, a sentence that sparked worldwide outrage.
His lawyer and rights activist Waleed Abulkhair was also sentenced to 10 years in jail with five years suspended after being convicted of charges including "inciting public opinion".
"Saudi authorities apparently have little better to do than to harass and jail people for nothing other than peacefully expressing their opinions," said Stork.
"It's time for King Salman to put an end to this escalating repression and release all peaceful activists and writers."
http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/2/8/137500/World/Region/HRW-urges-Saudis-to-free-proreform-writer.aspx
Fascist Saudi regime Detained Prominent Writer
Saudi authorities have been holding Kutbi, 62, a Mecca-based writer and commentator, apparently without charge, and have not brought him before a judge. Authorities should charge Kutbi with a recognizable crime or release him immediately, Human Rights Watch said.
“Saudi authorities apparently have little better to do than to harass and jail people for nothing other than peacefully expressing their opinions,” said Joe Stork, deputy Middle East director. “It’s time for King Salman to put an end to this escalating repression and release all peaceful activists and writers.”
Kutbi formerly worked as a consultant with the local Mecca municipality. His writings over the years resulted in at least six previous arrests, Saudi activists told Human Rights Watch.
A member of Kutbi’s family told Human Rights Watch that his latest arrest followed an hour-long appearance on the television program Fi al-Sameem (In-Depth), which aired on June 22 on the pan-Arab satellite TV channel Rotana Khaleejia. During the interview, Kutbi spoke about what he regarded as necessary reforms in Saudi Arabia, including transforming the country into a constitutional monarchy and combatting religious and political repression.
The authorities had temporarily suspended the program earlier in June after another guest, Mohsen al-`Awajy, an Islamist activist, indirectly criticized the late King Abdullah.
The family member said that on the morning of July 15, six black SUVs carrying at least nine security officers wearing masks arrived at Kutbi’s home in Mecca. As the officers took Kutbi away, the family member said, they hit him on his back with their rifles. They took him first to an unknown detention center in Mecca for interrogation, and then moved him to Thahban prison in Jeddah for a day. On the third day, they transported him to al-Mansour Police Station for further interrogation, and over the next eight days moved him between three detention centers in Mecca.
The family member said that Kutbi suffers from various illnesses including hypertension and diabetes, and that he is still recovering from an operation for prostate cancer earlier this year. He has been able to receive his limited medication in prison, but has not received independent medical attention despite the family’s requests.
The family member said that Kutbi told other family members who visited him in jail that investigators suggested that they may charge him with inciting public opinion, insulting the judiciary, or offending symbols of the state.
On the day of Kutbi’s arrest, an article appeared on the Sabq news website stating that authorities had banned Kutbi from media appearances and would put him on trial for statements he had allegedly made about the late King Sa`ud. Kutbi’s family member denied that he had ever made such comments. Kutbi mentioned in the same TV interview that King Sa`ud was the first Saudi monarch to propose a constitutional monarchy but was later forced out of power.
Kutbi is the latest in a string of activists and political commentators who have been jailed for peacefully expressing their political, social, and religious views.
Authorities generally bring catch-all charges designed to criminalize peaceful dissent, such as “breaking allegiance with the ruler” and vague provisions of a 2007 cybercrime law. The activists include Waleed Abu al-Khair and Fadhil al-Manasif, both serving 15-year prison terms for their peaceful human rights work, and Fowzan al-Harbi, whose sentence in an appeals court was increased from 7 to 10 years in November 2014.
Extended detention without charge or trial or without an appearance before a judge is arbitrary, and violates international human rights standards.
Human Rights Watch wrote to Interior Minister Mohammad bin Nayef on September 23, 2014, urging him to put an end to arbitrary detention. A 2014 analysis of Saudi Arabia’s online prisoner database revealed that 293 people had apparently been held in pretrial detention for over six months without the cases being referred to the judiciary. Sixteen of them had apparently been held for over 2 years, one for over 10 years.
Article 114 of Saudi Arabia’s Law of Criminal Procedure (LCP) provides that a person may be detained without charge for a maximum of five days, renewable up to a total of six months by an order from the Bureau of Investigation and Prosecution. After six months, article 114 requires that a detainee “be directly transferred to the competent court, or be released.”
The United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention has determined that detention is arbitrary when the detaining authority fails to observe, wholly or in part, the norms related to the right to due process, including for a prompt hearing before a judge following the initial detention. Principle 11 of the UN Body of Principles for the Protection of All Persons under Any Form of Detention or Imprisonment states that a detainee must be “given an effective opportunity to be heard promptly by a judicial or other authority,” and that a judicial or other authority should be empowered to review the decision to continue detention.
The Arab Charter on Human Rights, which Saudi Arabia ratified in 2009, also guarantees the right of anyone arrested or detained on a criminal charge to be brought promptly before a judge or other officer of the law, and to have a trial within a reasonable time or be released. The charter says that “Pre-trial detention shall in no case be the general rule.”
“If there is no evidence of criminal behavior, the Saudi authorities should immediately release Kutbi and compensate him for the ordeal they have put him through,” Stork said.
Hillary Clinton: Trump is offensive to women but so is Rubio and the rest of the GOP field
By Anne Gearan
Donald Trump's remarks about Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly are offensive, but the rest of the Republican field is equally offensive, Democratic presidential front-runner Hillary Rodham Clinton said Monday.
"What Donald Trump said about Megyn Kelly is outrageous, but what the rest of the Republicans are saying about all women is also outrageous," Clinton said. "They brag about slashing health-care funding, they say they would force women who have been raped to carry their rapist's child," and fail to put forward proposals that would help women earn equal pay.
Clinton was referring to comments Trump has made since Thursday's Republican primary debate. The Republican front-runner has criticized Kelly's debate questions as unfair to him and questioned her journalistic credentials. He also appeared to jokingly blame Kelly's menstrual cycle for her treatment of him, although he has denied that is what he meant.
"I think the guy went way overboard. Offensive, outrageous, pick your adjective," Clinton told reporters following a campaign event here focused on making college more affordable.
"But what Marco Rubio said has as much of an impact in terms of where the Republican Party is today as anybody else on that stage, and it is deeply troubling."
Clinton repeatedly pointed to the Florida senator's remark during the debate appearing to oppose all abortions, including those performed in cases where the pregnancy is the result of rape or incest.
"When one of their major candidates, a much younger man, the senator from Florida, says there should be no exceptions for rape and incest, that is as offensive and as troubling a comment as you can hear from a major candidate running for the presidency," Clinton said. "The language may be more colorful and more offensive, but the thinking, the attitude, toward women is very much the same. It just is delivered in a different package."
Rubio, who has languished in polling but received wide praise for his debate performance, said in a statement that Clinton "holds radical views on abortion that we look forward to exposing in the months to come," citing various stances she has taken over the years on parental notification and other issues.
In New Hampshire, Clinton also said Trump is "having the time of his life," and that his political showmanship amounts to "entertainment." She laughed off her attendance at Trump's 2005 wedding, saying she was supposed to be in Florida anyway, and decided to go to the wedding "because it's always entertaining."
Trump had said during the debate that Clinton came to the wedding because she was beholden to him as a result of his political and charitable donations. Clinton communications director Jennifer Palmieri had said at the time that the remark would hurt Clinton's feelings. Clinton and former President Bill Clinton were photographed at the event laughing and talking with Trump and wife Melania Knauss.
Trump is a major real estate developer in New York and thus was a prominent constituent in 2005, when Clinton was a New York senator. Asked whether she was now seeing a side of Trump she did not know, Clinton responded quickly.
"I didn't know him that well. I mean, I knew him. I knew him, and I happened to be planning to be in Florida and I thought it would be fun to go to his wedding because it's always entertaining," Clinton said. "Now that he's running for president, it's a little more troubling."
Trump deserves the backlash he is getting, Clinton said.
"But if we focus on that, we're making a mistake. What a lot of men on that stage said in that debate was offensive, and I want people to understand that if you just focus on the biggest showman on the stage, you lose the thread here."
Asked about the possiblity that Vice President Biden would enter the race and challenge her own front-running position, Clinton demurred.
"I consider him a friend. We were colleagues in the Senate. I have the highest affection and respect for him," Clinton said. " I think we should all just let the vice president be with his family and make whatever decision he feels is right for him."
U.S. - Schatz to vote for Obama administration's nuclear disarmament treaty
By Howard Dicus
Sen. Brian Schatz (D-HI) says he will vote for the Iran nuclear disarmament treaty.
Schatz said in a statement Monday that “after multiple readings” and consultations with experts and constituents he is satisfied that the treaty “is the best approach to deny Iran a nuclear weapon.”
Schatz asserts that “the vast majority of experts believe this is a worthy deal” and singles out Nicholas Burns, the ambassador responsible for Iran nuclear matters in the Bush administration. He also cites the former Republican chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Dick Lugar of Indiana, and Brent Scowcroft, who was national security advisor to Presidents Ford and George H.W. Bush.
“While there are legitimate concerns about the agreement,” Schatz says, “we must remember this plain fact: there is no other alternative that achieves these results. We do not have the luxury of being able to pick this deal apart.”
The Obama administration has tried to stress that it is wrong to compare the agreement to a hypothetical agreement that people like better, and Schatz sounded that theme, too.
“This agreement,” he said, “should not be compared to an imaginary deal where Iran rolled over, and eliminated all its centrifuges and all peaceful nuclear energy generation.”
Sandy Berger, who was national security advisor under President Clinton, says rejecting the agreement would shift the balance of power in Iran toward radicals, reducing rather than increasing the president’s bargaining power. “Seeking a strategic path to ‘no’ is an illusion: that somehow… this agreement will come around again… in better form,” Berger says in an article on Politico.com. “Those who vote ‘no’ need to own the likely consequences of voting no.”
Over the weekend, 29 leading U.S. scientists including experts on nuclear technology, signed a letter supporting the Iran deal. “This is an innovative agreement,” they said, “with much more stringent constraints than any previously negotiated non-proliferation framework.”
These statements in support of the agreement came after Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York, a member of the Senate minority leadership. In an article for Medium.com, Schumer said he, like Schatz, read and re-read the agreement on his own before making his decision not to support the agreement. “The 24-day delay before we can inspect is troubling,” Schumer said. “Even when we detect radioactivity at a site where Iran is illicitly advancing its bomb-making capacity, the 24-day delay would hinder our ability to determine precisely what was being done at the site.”
There is opposition to the deal inside Iran. An Iranian publication characterized as “ultraconservative” by the Wall Street Journal says President Hassan Rouhani has overstepped the ayatollah’s limits on concessions. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has kept quiet since the deal was reached.
The treaty was negotiated by Iran, the United States, Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany, and will take effect with the U.S. as a signatory unless it is expressly rejected by the Senate by a veto-proof margin.
http://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/story/29750283/schatz-ill-support-president-obamas-iran-deal
‘Same militant outfit’ kills Bangladesh bloggers
Separate groups claimed responsibility for the killings of bloggers Avijit Roy, Oyasiqur Rahman and Ananta Bijoy Das this year, but detectives suspect those groups are offshoots of banned militant outfit Ansarullah Bangla Team, said Dhaka Metropolitan Police spokesperson Monirul Islam.
A group named Ansar Al Islam has admitted through e-mails that it killed Niladri Chattopadhyay Niloy. In this case too, detectives suspect Ansar Al Islam is an offshoot of Ansarullah Bangla Team, he said at a press briefing at the DMP media centre.
Niloy, 28, was hacked to death by four suspected Islamist militants in his rented flat in the capital's Goran on Friday.
According to the autopsy report, he was hacked 14 times, mostly at the upper parts of his body, including neck, throat and head. Avijit, Oyasiqur and Ananta were also hacked at the upper parts of their bodies.
The gruesome killing of Niloy has drawn condemnation from all around the globe, including the United Nations, United States, United Kingdom and rights body Amnesty International.
The Detective Branch (DB) of police took the charge of the investigation from Khilgaon police on Sunday. Niloy's wife Asha Moni filed the murder case on Friday night, accusing four unknown people.
The police had already visited the crime scene, talked with witnesses and were preparing to send evidences to the Criminal Investigation Department for DNA profiling, Monirul said.
As claimed by the police, the killers left behind a T-shirt and a gamcha (locally made towel) outside Niloy's flat.
The killers took away his Lenovo laptop and Symphony Xplorer smartphone carrying an Airtel SIM, Asha Moni said in the case statement.
Apart from the shirt and the gamcha, investigators collected nine more evidences from the crime scene, said Zia Md Mostafiz Bhuiyan, officer-in-charge of Khilgaon Police Station.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation offered assistance and inquired whether there was any link between Avijit's killing and the latest one, said Monirul, joint commissioner (DB) of the DMP.
As Avijit was a US citizen, the FBI is interested in his case, he said, adding that it wanted to know whether sorting Niloy case would help indentify Avijit's killers.
The FBI wants to help in Niloy case as well, Monirul said.
The police have so far arrested three suspects in Oyasiqur killing case. One of them gave confessional statements before a Dhaka court, he added.
Seven suspects, including Ansarullah Bangla Team chief Mufti Jasimuddin Rahmani, were arrested in connection with the 2013 murder of blogger Ahmed Rajib Haider and a charge sheet was submitted in the case in January last year against eight accused, one of whom is on the run.
Detectives have identified seven suspects in Avijit killing case but have not yet made any arrest. Sylhet police have arrested one suspect in Ananta murder case.
Replying to another question, the DMP official urged bloggers not to write anything demeaning religions, which may hurt anyone's religious sentiment.
Both the groups who write derogatory remarks about any religion and who kill people because of such writings are considered extremists, he said.
Pakistanis Outraged as Punjab Police Fail to Act on Huge Pedophile Ring
Police in Punjab province have been accused of failing to do enough to stop multiple child abuse cases that residents say are connected to a prominent family in Husain Khan Wala.
Along with human rights organizations, they’re demanding a thorough examination into the allegations and a clear condemnation from the state. If the investigation confirms the abuse, it could impact the Punjabi provincial government, headed by the brother of Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.
Shakila Bibi says the authorities refused to take her complaints seriously, and rather than protecting her 15-year-old son, they imprisoned him.
“I went to the police station to file a complaint,” she told Reuters, “but instead of registering a (report), they took my son into custody.”
Another mother, Rubina Bibi, said she was thrown out of the police station when she tried to file a report.
“My son is in the videos, he is a victim,” she said. “Our children were forced into this. They were humiliated. But the police are treating them like criminals.”
Police have arrested seven suspects so far, though they have downplayed the scale of abuse, suggesting the accusations may have been motivated by a land dispute. But many residents have retained lawyers and are pressing ahead.
“I have personally met hundreds of parents who have not yet come forward to file official complaints, either out of fear or shame,” Latif Sra, an attorney representing some of the victims, told Reuters.
Local police Officer Rai Babar assured Reuters they were taking the accusations seriously.
“It’s a very murky situation,” Babar said. “I assure you … there will be a fair and very transparent investigation,” he added.
Ghulam Abbas, the head of the police investigation unit in Kasur, said some of the videos obtained by law enforcement show several children consenting to sex with the suspects.
“We have recovered video clips from mobile phones confiscated from the accused, and have also confiscated memory cards and computers from the house allegedly used by the rapists,” Abbas said, according to Newsweek Pakistan.
Read more: http://sputniknews.com/asia/20150811/1025602459.html#ixzz3iRyeAxW7
Pakistan - Post-displacement : IDPs not pleased with repatriation
A shadow of doom and gloom has gripped the displaced population of the tribal areas. Most of the IDPs who are still living in camps are dissatisfied with their lives and are waiting to be sent back home. The fortunate few who have returned home complain about the deplorable state of affairs.
Woes of the displaced
Tribal elders of Kurram Agency residing in Durrani Camp have alleged the NGOs working in the region are involved in corrupt practices which have added to the woes of the IDPs in the camp.
Addressing a press conference in Parachinar on Sunday, the elders of the camp said an NGO working in the region is not doing its job properly and has used the relief money and other items to serve their own purposes.
“The relief goods have not been handed over to the IDPs who are their rightful recipients,” a tribal elder told journalists.
The elders complaint the NGO is working in lower Kurram Agency but has registered 65 families of central Kurram and is giving them Rs21,600 illegally from the share of the people they are supposed to work for.
Meanwhile, some tribespeople who have been repatriated to Eidak in North Waziristan are displeased to go back to their areas as they have been forced to accept responsibility of their territory under the Frontier Crimes Regulation. Repatriation of the displaced people of Eidak started in June after a firing incident in one of the camps which resulted in the death of two people.
Silver lining
However, there are some tribespeople who are either ecstatic to return to their native areas or have learnt to see the silver lining. Many of them have seen tough times and are pleased to return to their homes. A large number of IDPs are happy to have better security arrangements and infrastructure.
Video Report - Hazards of an abandoned coal mine in India
An abandoned coal mine in eastern India poses various hazards to the 100,000 families living near the site. Residents need to be resettled as fires burning near the villages can cause the ground to cave in.
Ashraf Ghani slams Pakistan over recent Kabul attacks
Afghan President Ashraf Ghani lambasted Pakistan on Monday over a recent wave of insurgent attacks in the capital Kabul that killed at least 56 people.
“The last few days have shown that suicide bomber training camps and bomb-producing factories which are killing our people are as active as before in Pakistan,” Ghani told a news conference.
“We hoped for peace but we are receiving messages of war from Pakistan.” Pakistan has historically supported the Taliban insurgents and many Afghans accuse it of nurturing militant sanctuaries on its soil in the hope of maintaining influence in Afghanistan.
Since coming to power last year Ghani has courted Pakistan, expending substantial domestic political capital in the process, in hopes Islamabad will persuade the Taliban to come to the negotiating table.
But his comments on Monday are the strongest yet against Pakistan.
“In my telephone call with Pakistan prime minister (on Sunday), I told Pakistan to see terrorism in Afghanistan the same way it sees terrorism in Pakistan,” he said, referring to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.
“I ask the Pakistani government if the mass killings of Shah Shaheed had happened in Islamabad and the perpetrators were in Afghanistan, what would you do?” he said, referring to a Kabul neighbourhood that suffered a fatal truck bombing on Friday.
At least five people were killed Monday when a Taliban suicide car bomber struck near the entrance of Kabul's international airport.
The attack follows a barrage of deadly bombings in the Afghan capital on Friday, which struck close to an army complex, a police academy and a US special forces base and killed at least 51 people.
Pakistan had brokered peace talks between the Afghan government and Taliban in July, the first round of which took place in Murree. But after the announced death of Taliban supremo Mullah Omar, a second round of talks has been postponed on the Taliban's insistence, said Islamabad.
http://www.dawn.com/news/1199613/ashraf-ghani-slams-pakistan-over-recent-kabul-attacks
Pakistan - FLASH FLOODS: Death toll climbs to 208, 1.3 million acres of land destroyed in Sindh and Punjab
Flood water inundates vast tracts of land spread over an area of 1.3 million acres in Sindh and Punjab.
According to the government officials, an approximately more than 1.5 million people have been displaced from their homes, while the death toll from flood-related incidents has climbed to 208.
Officials say, roughly 1 million acres of farm land is believed to have been damaged, while thousands of families are left homeless, starving primarily without any means to earn in various kutcha areas of Sindh, Punjab, Balochistan, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P), Gilgit-Baltistan (G-B), and Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK).
The officials say,”more than 700,000 acres had been inundated in Punjab and around 600,000 in Sindh, where the water level continues to rise.”
Additionally, they said, the death toll during floods rose to 208, specifically 87 in K-P, 58 in Punjab, 26 in AJK, 16 in Balochistan, nine each in G-B and the Federally Administered Tribal Areas, and three in Sindh. Moreover, above 4,000 villages have been affected, with damages to over 20,000 houses.
An official of rescue operations said: “Hundreds of thousands of people are yet to be rescued in south Punjab and Sindh.”
- See more at: http://www.christiansinpakistan.com/flash-floods-death-toll-climbs-to-208-1-3-million-acres-of-land-destroyed-in-sindh-and-punjab/#sthash.9UZ1cfgp.dpuf
Earthquake hits Pakistan, tremors felt in several cities
Earthquake tremors were felt in several cities of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Monday afternoon.
The earthquake measured 6.7 on the Richter scale.
Tremors were felt in Islamabad while in Punjab cities which were impacted include Rawalpindi, Lahore, Sargodha and Haripur.
In the northern areas tremors were felt in Peshawar, Mardan, Parachinar, Lower Dir, Tank, Abbottabad, Swabi and several other areas. Muzaffarabad in Azad Kashmir was also hit by the tremors.
India media reported that tremors were felt in Srinagar in Occupied Kashmir and in New Delhi.
http://www.geo.tv/article-193787-Earthquake-hits-Pakistan-tremors-felt-in-several-cities-
Bilawal Bhutto asks Sindh government to accelerate relief activities in flood-hit areas
Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) chairperson Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has asked the Sindh government to accelerate rescue and relief activities in flood-hit areas of the province, Radio Pakistan reported.
During his visit to the flood-hit areas of the province on Sunday, the PPP chairperson distributed food items among flood-affected people.
Pakistan Peoples Party chairperson Bilawal Bhutto Zardari shakes hands with a flood-affected child during his visit to the flood-hit areas of Sindh on Sunday. PHOTO: PID
Sindh Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah and Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Syed Khursheed Shah accompanied Bilawal. They also visited Sukkur barrage and monitored embankments of the River Indus in Ghotki and Khairpur districts.
Earlier upon their arrival, Information Minister Nisar Khoro and Secretary Irrigation Zaheer Haider Shah briefed the PPP leaders about the current flood situation and the relief activities being carried out by the government.
“All arrangements have been completed to facilitate flood victims of Kacha areas in Sindh,” said the Sindh chief minister. “More than 500,000 people from Kacha have been shifted to safe places.”
Earlier this week, the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) said over a million people were affected by floods across Pakistan so far.
Although there have been no reports of deaths from floods in Sindh so far, around 583,096 people in 2,177 villages have been affected by the floods in the province.
Pakistan's Former President Zardari asks PPP to report Kasur child abuse case
''Ex-president says reports are slap on face of govt, society''
Former president Asif Ali Zardari has called for a report from the Punjab chapter of the Pakistan People’s Party on the media reports about the children in Kasur who were sexually abused and filmed by criminal gangs for blackmailing.
In a statement, the former president said that the reports were very disturbing and called for a thorough probe and investigation and bringing the culprits to justice under the law. Media reports have said that nearly three hundred young children were sexually abused and filmed for criminal gangsters sometime back but the reports surfaced now.
He also called upon the party parliamentarians to investigate the reports and raise the issue in the parliament to seek justice for the victims. Zardari said that the reports were a slap on the face of the government and society and must not go un-noticed.
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/national/09-Aug-2015/zardari-asks-ppp-to-report-kasur-child-abuse-case
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