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American troops also desecrated Holy Quran at Afghan prison

ISLAMABAD: An Afghan national, Badar Uzaman Badar, who remained detained at the Guantanamo Bay for three years, has said that US interrogators desecrated the Holy Quran at the US detention facility in Bagram, Afghanistan and at Guantanamo Bay in front of him and various others, and that this “act of mental torture is an everyday phenomenon at Guantanamo Bay”. Speaking at a private TV channel in Peshawar, Bardar, who was detained along with his elder brother, said they were associated with the militant group of Gulbadin Hikmatyar for quite some time when followers of Hikmatyar formed the Jamaat-e-Dawat. He said they separated themselves from the militant group and started promoting the cause of Islam with journalism and launched three magazines. nni

‘Labour Ministry has bungled workers’ fund’

ISLAMABAD: Senator Enver Baig on Tuesday accused the Ministry of Labour, manpower and overseas Pakistanis of spending millions of rupees from the Workers Welfare Fund (WWF) on faulty housing schemes and fleecing the general public in the name of overseas employment. “The ministry has launched housing schemes from the WWF worth over Rs 500 million without a proper monitoring system and some 80 percent of these schemes have been under construction for the last five years,” said the Pakistan Peoples Party-Parliamentarians senator, who is also a member of the Senate Standing Committee on Labour, Manpower and Overseas Employment, while talking to a group of journalists on Tuesday. staff report

Man injured by unprovoked police fire on family picnic

ISLAMABAD: A man was seriously injured when police officials fired unprovoked near Lohe Danddi, in the vicinity of the Secretariat police station on Tuesday. According to details, Muhammad Ashiq, resident of Gulistan Colony Rawalpindi and his family were having a picnic when police officials, who were patrolling the area, allegedly opened fire. Ashiq was injured as a result. He was taken to hospital where his condition was reportedly critical. Police sources said the officials were patrolling the area because five individuals were gambling and taking hashish. Officials asked them to stop their activities but this led to violence, police sources said. staff report

Durrani and Fazl shouldn’t sit in on NSC: Siraj

PESHAWAR: In an obvious rebuttal to JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman’s plea to allow Chief Minister Akram Khan Durrani to attend the National Security Council, NWFP Jamaat-e-Islami ameer and Senior Frontier Minister Sirajul Haq ruled out Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal’s presence at the NSC, calling it a “controversial body.” “... and it could not even prove its importance, and the demand for participation by opposition leader Maulana Fazlur Rehman and NWFP Chief Minister Akram Khan Durrani was quite late and useless,” Siraj told reporters at Markaz-e-Mashawarat in Peshawar on Tuesday. He said the MMA Supreme Council forbade participation in the NSC meeting four times consecutively, and politics required marching ahead rather than retreating on stances. staff report

Jaish commander arrested in Bannu

PESHAWAR: Bannu police on Tuesday arrested a commander of the banned Jaish Muhammad and seized rocket launchers and landmines. Bannu Cantonment police told Daily Times on the phone that they arrested three Jaish activists, Arifullah, Nasir and Salahuddin Sailabi, on May 20 and seized four rocket launchers, hand grenades and other weapons from him. On the basis of information gleaned from them, the police raided a house in Sokari Karim and arrested Sidratulluh, Jaish’s local commander. staff report

Two Indians arrested for trespassing

QUETTA: Taftan Levies arrested two Indians for illegally entering Pakistan on Tuesday. Report said the levies registered a case against the accused under the Foreign Act and handed them over to FIA for further investigation. online

Indians arrive today for Siachen talks

ISLAMABAD: An eight-member Indian delegation led by Indian Defence Secretary Ajai Vikram Singh will arrive in Pakistan today (Wednesday) on a three-day official visit. The delegation will hold talks with Pakistani officials on Siachen on May 26 and May 27. Pakistani Defence Secretary Let Gen (r) Tariq Waseem Ghazi will lead the Pakistanis. The visit is part of the ongoing composite dialogue process between India and Pakistan. staff report

PM wants tourism marketed

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz on Tuesday said that Pakistan was rich in tourism potential which needed to be professionally marketed to achieve better results. “The Tourism Ministry should come up with an innovative and focused plan for developing tourism in Pakistan by working on an ingenious approach and strategy involving the private sector and professionals in the field,” said Mr Aziz after attending a presentation made by the Tourism Ministry at Prime Minister’s House. staff report

Tribal council orders execution of two men

HANGU: Two men accused of murdering a taxi driver were executed by a firing squad on Tuesday on the orders of a tribal council in Orakzai tribal district, said witnesses said. Taj Mohammad and Mohammad Omar were gunned down in the presence of scores of tribesmen, said resident Shahid Khayal Mohammad. He said, “They were executed in front of us and hundreds of other people also watched it.” The pair, and another man who was not captured, were sentenced to death by the tribal council for allegedly killing cab driver Mohammad Ayub two weeks ago, he said. afp

FC soldiers kill 3 over parking

QUETTA: Three people were killed in firing between Frontier Constabulary soldiers and residents in Quetta, said police chief Salman Syed on Tuesday. Syed said police had arrested two FC soldiers and two others. He said the clash took place after a dispute over parking a car outside an FC camp in Saryab, adding that the FC men stopped some young men from parking their car. The men brought more people and the two sides traded fire. As a result, three men were killed. nni

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