Musharraf to face cases on return: PM

Musharraf to face cases on return: PM

MULTAN: Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani said on Monday that there were cases against Musharraf and the chief justice would welcome him on his return.




He said this while talking to newsmen here at the residence of senior vice president of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Makhdoom Javed Hashmi when asked to comment on a report published in a Britain magazine regarding possibility of martial law in the country.



The prime minister rejected all such reports and said that democracy was strong, judiciary was functioning independently, political parties were active and parliament was taking decisions with consensus in the country. He termed such thinking as undemocratic and criminal.



He said that PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif, judiciary and all others were in support of democracy and no negative thinking existed in the country.



He said that Hashmi also suffered jail hardships for the rights of the people and democracy. Benazir Bhutto had sacrificed her life for the cause of democracy and the right of the people, he added.



The prime minister had reached the residence of Makhdoom Javed Hashmi to inquire about his health after the PML-N leader shifted to home following recovering from brain hemorrhage he had suffered in Multan July last.



When asked about complaints of embankments breached allegedly on political grounds during floods, the prime minister said that provincial governments should hold judicial inquiries into the incidents of embankments' breaches in their respective provinces.



In response to another question, Prime Minister Gilani said, "I foresee coalition government set-ups in future too. It seems difficult for a single party to gain decisive majority".



To another question, he said that the government attached top priority to the relief and rehabilitation of flood victims and suggested diverting funds from budget and development allocation to provide them much needed help.



Gilani suggested that the provincial governments should also cut their expenses to accommodate flood-hit people. The federal government was revising the national budget and provinces should also follow the suit to help the flood affected people, he added.



He said that the government was committed to strengthen institutions.



Answering another question about former president Musharraf's return to the country, the Prime Minister said that he did not know about it but added that there were cases against him (Musharraf).



He said that the people have so far deposited Rs 4 billion in the PM's Relief Fund while the cellular phone users donated another Rs 1 billion by donating Rs 5 per each short message (SMS). The people to help their brethren also donated tons of food, he added.



Friendly countries including China, European Union, the United States, Britain, the United Arab Emirates, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, some other Muslim countries besides OIC (Organization of Islamic Countries), the United Nations (UN) and others have extended support to Pakistan in this testing time and "we are thankful to them", PM Gilani said.



The prime minister especially thanked King Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz of Saudi Arabia on extending generous support to Pakistan.



He said that flood was now hurting the Sindh province and added that flood hit people there needed tents for shelter.



The prime minister said that Qasim Bela road was blocked for traffic after bomb attack on an office located there. However, a sum of Rs 50 million was approved to build an alternate road.



To a question about the Kalabagh dam, he said that he was not opposed to the project but added that consensus among all was must to build big water reservoirs.



He said that consensus had been developed on Bhasha Dam in the Council of Common Interests (CCI) and work would begin soon.

Red Cross study reveals problems with teenagers and drink

Red Cross study reveals problems with teenagers and drink
Teenagers are often uncertain how to help drunken friends. Photograph: Action Press/Rex Features Photograph: Action Press / Rex Features

One teenager in seven has been in an emergency situation as a result of a friend drinking too much alcohol, according to a new study by the British Red Cross.




In the past 12 months, more than one in 10 children aged between 11 and 16 have been left to cope with a drunken friend who was sick, injured or unconscious. Half of those have had to deal with someone who had passed out and a quarter have dealt with a friend who had been injured in a drunken fight.



The survey, released to coincide with the launch of the Life. Live it. campaign to improve young people's life-saving skills, reveals that it is not just alcohol-related injuries that young people have to cope with.



Almost nine out of 10 teenagers have had to deal with some kind of crisis. One in four had encountered someone having an asthma attack, one in three had dealt with a head injury, one in five had helped stop someone choking and one in 10 had tried to aid someone having an epileptic fit.



But, when asked what actions they had taken in response to those situations, 44% of teenagers said they had panicked and 46% admitted that they had not known what to do.



Dan Gordon, a 15-year-old from Liphook in Hampshire, was recently at a house party where, despite everyone being under 18, there was widespread heavy drinking. "One girl in particular was very drunk," said Gordon. "We were all in the living room when she suddenly passed out, falling on to the sofa. Then, as she was lying down, she started throwing up."



Gordon admitted that no one at the party had known what to do and people started to panic. "We realised we needed to stop her from choking, but without any first-aid knowledge, we didn't know the best way how," he said. "In the end, we decided to pick her up and hold her upright. After struggling for several minutes to hold her and wake her up, we managed to get her outside, where she regained a degree of consciousness."



Gordon said that although he and his friends were aware of the severity of the situation, it did not occur to them to call an ambulance.



Almost 7,500 people aged under 15 were admitted to hospital with conditions specifically linked to alcohol between 2006 and 2009 in England. Many more injuries were dealt with by young people themselves: only one in 10 rang 999 when their friends needed help and fewer than half contacted their parents when faced with an injured, sick or unconscious friend.



A large number of young people who stepped in to help admitted being left distressed. They were, they said, unsure whether they had done the correct thing. Close to half were worried that their friends would choke on their own vomit or wouldn't wake up, while more than 80% admitted they would feel safer if they had some first-aid knowledge.



One teenager in five has been drunk – on average three times in the past six months. As many as one in three 14- to 16-year-olds drink most weekends, with this group drinking on average 11 units – the equivalent of seven and a half alcopops or four large cans of beer or cider.



Joe Mulligan, a first-aid expert at the British Red Cross, said: "In recent years, the issue of young people drinking to excess has been a regular feature in the media, but their vital role in saving lives when they and their friends find themselves in vulnerable situations has not usually been mentioned. We need to ensure that every young person – irrespective of whether they're drinking – has the ability and confidence to cope in a crisis.



"The people who most often benefit from others getting first-aid education are friends and family rather than strangers and we are always looking for new and innovative ways to reach young people," he added. "In launching this campaign, our aim is to make first aid accessible to young people in their everyday lives."



Although first aid was introduced to the curriculum for England in September 2008, the survey suggests that only one in 2011 16-year-olds have been taught it

Police shoot dead 18 during protests in Kashmir

Police shoot dead 18 during protests in Kashmir
Police have shot dead 18 civilians in the deadliest day in Indian-administered Kashmir since protests erupted three months ago.

A policeman was also killed when he was run over by a lorry.
The BBC's Altaf Hussain in Srinagar says reports of Koran desecration in the US have stoked anger.
Scores of Kashmiris have now died since June, when anti-India protests broke out after police shot dead a teenager.

Continue reading the main story

In Monday's protests, thousands of people defied curfews and took to the streets, chanting anti-India and anti-US slogans and burning effigies of US President Barack Obama, our correspondent says.

An angry mob set fire to several government buildings and a Protestant-run school, as well as attacking a police station, he adds.
Police fired live ammunition to break up the demonstrations, and confirmed that 18 civilians had been killed.

Indian warship wards off pirate attack

Indian warship wards off pirate attack
A week after it guarded 13 merchant vessels from piracy attack, an Indian warship has once again warded off an attempt by sea brigands on nine cargo ships including an Indian vessel off Yemeni coast in Gulf of Aden.




This is the 17th successful operation of the Indian Navy to prevent a piracy attack on merchant vessels escorted by its warships since October 2008, when they were deployed in Gulf of Aden.



INS Delhi, a guided missile destroyer, was escorting the nine cargo vessels, including MV Desh Ujala flying the Indian flag, on Sunday at 130 km south of Yemen when the incident took place, according to a navy press release here on Monday.



INS Delhi, which has been deployed in Gulf of Aden since July on anti-piracy mission, had similarly saved 12 merchant vessels from an attempt by pirates in Gulf of Aden on September 6.



The warship was escorting the formation around 4.10 pm when it detected a boat approaching the cargo ships at high speed.



“Sensing that the boat may pose a risk to ships being escorted, INS Delhi safely manoeuvred the formation away and intercepted the boat using a team of Marine Commandos,” the release said.



The boat crew was observed throwing items overboard as the Marine Commandos approached it. On investigation, several fuel containers and ship board equipment were found on board the boat.



The pirates’ boat was also towing a skiff and two powerful outboard motors. There were five Somali and two Yemeni crew members on the boat. They were disarmed, excess fuel disposed off by the marine commandos and the boat allowed to drift along with the crew.

Government accused of 'abuse of power' after cancelling 2011 Queen's speech

Government accused of 'abuse of power' after cancelling 2011 Queen's speech
The Queen's speech for 2011 has been cancelled, with the next due to be given in spring 2012

has accused the coalition government of an "abuse of power" after it announced the cancellation of next year's Queen's speech .




The cancellation comes as part of plans to permanently move the state opening of parliament from its traditional autumn date to the spring.



The change – announced by Sir George Young, the leader of the Commons, to tie in with the introduction of fixed-term parliaments – means the next Queen's speech will not take place until the spring of 2012.



Because the coalition introduced an 18-month legislative programme in May, the next speech had been due to take place next autumn. It will now be put back, subject to the fixed-term parliaments bill being passed.



The Speaker, John Bercow, granted the Labour backbencher Denis MacShane an emergency debate on the proposals.



The shadow leader of the Commons, Rosie Winterton, said: "This executive decision, made using the Queen's prerogative powers, has significant constitutional implications and is an abuse of power.



"Both the manner of this announcement, and its content, are an affront to parliament. There was no consultation whatever with the other parties. The Commons was not invited to give its views.



"There is no conceivable justification for this. It has been done solely to ease the passage of controversial legislation."



Under the fixed-term parliaments bill – getting its second reading today – general elections will take place on the first Thursday in May every five years.



Young said: "As a consequence, the government believes that it would be appropriate to move towards five 12-month sessions over a parliament, beginning and ending in the spring.



"This has the advantage of avoiding a final fifth session [beginning in the autumn] of only a few months, which restricts the ability of parliament to consider a full legislative programme."



The Queen's speech, drawn up by ministers but delivered by the monarch, sets out the government's legislative agenda for the coming period.



The current session of parliament will run until around Easter 2012, with the next state opening of parliament taking place shortly afterwards. The government believes the programme it set out in May is enough to take it through to that date.



But the shadow justice secretary, Jack Straw, said Young's announcement proved the government was "driven not by any coherent philosophy about constitutional change but by short-term, narrow party interests".



"It coincides with the publication of a fixed-term parliaments bill that has been rushed out without any opportunity for proper scrutiny," Straw said. "As a consequence, the bill is deeply flawed and will need substantial revision.



"It is astonishing that, contrary to all previous commitments, the government has abandoned any semblance of pre-legislative scrutiny on such fundamental constitutional legislation, tearing up election and post-election pledges before the ink on them is dry."



Young said the proposed change to spring-to-spring annual sessions would not result in fewer sitting days

PM promises free agri inputs for flood-hit farmers

PM promises free agri inputs for flood-hit farmers
MULTAN: Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani on Sunday assured the free provision of seeds and fertilizers to the farmers holding less than 25 acres of land in the flood-affected regions.




Talking to the delegations of Shujabad and Jalalpur, district Multan, he said the MNAs and Senators should be enabled to divert their development funds for rebuilding the damaged houses of flood-hit people.



"Flood is a huge challenge for the country which should be converted into an opportunity to build a new Pakistan", he said.



The prime minister appealed the nation to face the challenge boldly and courageously and promised that the government will never leave them alone in this testing time.



Apprising the delegations about the contributions in flood relief fund, the prime minister said people have been donating generously to help the flood hit people and so far over Rs 4 billion have been collected in the PM's relief fund.



He said that another Rs 10 million were raised for the affected people through short message service (SMS).



"Rs 20,000 disbursement to each affected family has already begun and the process would be completed within a month", he said and urged the affluent and philanthropists to come forward and assist the affectees.



The prime minister assured the delegation that deprivations of people of South Punjab will be addressed earnestly. He said he will advise the Finance Minister to consider waiving off agricultural loans in the flood affected regions.



On the request of delegation of Jalalpur, the prime minister immediately ordered to appoint nine doctors against the vacancies lying vacant in Jalalpur hospital. He also announced to restore the closed Dialysis Unit in the hospital and Workers Welfare School in the tehsil

Five dead in Karachi firing incidents

Five dead in Karachi firing incidents
Updated at: 1107 PST, Monday, September 13, 2010

KARACHI: At least four people including a political worker were killed and three others injured in firing incidents in various areas of the city, Geo News reported Monday.




According to police sources, Asif, 25, was killed in Gulzar Colony area of Korangi. The deceased was a political worker.



At least three people were killed in firing incidents in Ram Swami, Shoe Market and Usmanabad.



Police claimed personal enmity behind these deaths.



Dacoits injured three people with gunshots who resisted the robbery in Surjani and Sohrab Goth areas.