Police arrest 'cousins' for alleged rape of child with special needs in Gujranwala

GUJRANWALA: Police arrested two suspects on Tuesday involved in raping and killing of a 12-year-old, mentally challenged child in the outskirts of Gujranwala.

The child was allegedly raped and then murdered by his relatives.

The suspects had kidnapped the child from outside his house and after murdering him, threw the body in fields. The suspects, who are also cousins of the victim, were on the run after the incident.

The victim was a student of sixth grade in a special education centre in People?s Colony.

The post-mortem report confirmed rape. The suspects also confessed to the crime.

Police registered a case against the suspects.

 

 

 

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Europeans, Asians battle for UN power seats

United Nations: Three European countries and two Asian nations are battling for seats on the UN Security Council in elections on Tuesday that are drawing attention to the refugee crisis and human rights.

Five non-permanent seats are up for grabs in the vote at the UN General Assembly, but two are all but decided.
Ethiopia and Bolivia are running unopposed after their regional grouping put them forward as their candidates, but they must still pick up two-thirds of votes cast in the 193-nation assembly.

Italy, the Netherlands and Sweden are competing for two spots while Kazakhstan and Thailand are squaring off for a seat reserved for Asia.
On the eve of the vote, Human Rights Watch called on UN member-states to take a cold, hard look at the human rights record of Kazakhstan and Thailand.

Thailand´s military junta, which seized power in May 2014, has banned political activity and ramped up prosecutions under tough sedition and royal defamation laws.
"Thailand´s pledges to lead the promotion and protection of human rights worldwide as a Security Council member ring hollow in the face of its widespread abuses at home," said HRW´s deputy director for global advocacy, Philippe Bolopion.

Vying for a council seat for the first time since its 1991 independence from the Soviet Union, Kazakhstan has been criticized for cracking down on journalists and political activists.

"Debate happens in UN corridors in New York in a way that is not allowed in Kazakhstan itself," Bolopion said.

Italy takes migrants to UN

Italy has lobbied fiercely for a council seat, portraying itself as a crossroads country in the Mediterranean and touting its experience dealing with the refugee crisis.
"Italy is a global security actor," said Italian Ambassador Sebastiano Cardi during a recent election debate.

"We think we are ideally placed to deal with the peace and security issues on the agenda."
Italy is also seen as a player in efforts to pull Libya out of chaos.

The Netherlands, home to the International Criminal Court and other world tribunals, has played up its commitment to international justice while Sweden has highlighted its role as a major aid donor.

Italy and the Netherlands have a "very good chance of winning" seats, said David Malone, rector of the United Nations University.
"Surely Asia, with many governments focused above all on economic and social development in often creative and highly successful ways, can do better" than Thailand and Kazakhstan, he said.

The five elected countries will begin a two-year stint on the council on January 1, taking their seats alongside the five permanent council members - Britain, France, China, Russia and the United States.

As the most powerful body of the United Nations, the Security Council can impose sanctions, endorse peace accords and authorize the use of military force.
It also oversees 16 peacekeeping missions in the world, with a budget of about $8 billion.

Winning a Security Council seat "is a great PR victory for governments to their constituents," said Martin Edwards, who teaches UN and global governance at Seton Hall University.

The challenge is finding space to influence decisions that are mostly in the hands of the five veto-wielding members.
"They´ll have the chance to speak but some states speak more loudly than others," said Edwards.

The other five non-permanent members are: Egypt, Japan, Senegal, Ukraine and Uruguay.

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Unknown assailants gun down bakery owner in Karachi

KARACHI: A bakery owner was shot dead early Tuesday morning by unknown assailants.

Two men on a motorbike opened fire at a bakery in Sharifabad area. The deceased has been identified as Aleemuddin.

Police recovered a bullet from the area which they have taken in their custody.

Initial investigation by the police suggests that it was a case of robbery.

In a separate incident, Rangers gunned down two alleged terrorists during a raid at Khyberabad near Northern By-pass.  A Rangers spokesperson said that they belonged to the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan.

Police arrested five alleged terrorists from various parts of the city. Three terrorists were arrested in an injured condition from Zaman Town, Korangi. According to SSP Tanveer Odho the terrorists had killed an army officer over an attempted robbery.

Police arrested two alleged terrorists from Orangi Town.

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Grenade attack on Malaysian pub wounds eight, police rule out terrorism

KUALA LUMPUR: A grenade attack on a bar in Malaysia wounded eight people, including a Chinese national, police said on Tuesday, ruling out terrorism as a motive.

The attack on the Movida bar in Puchong, a town on the outskirts the capital, Kuala Lumpur, took place in the early hours of Tuesday morning, when customers were watching live screening of the Euro soccer tournament.

Selangor state deputy police chief Abdul Rahim Jaafar told reporters the suspected motive was either business rivalry, revenge, or a target killing.

"We are still investigating who the suspects are, but the motives could be business rivalry, revenge, or one or more of the victims could have been a target," he said.

In a similar attack in 2014, a man was killed while 12 others were wounded when a bomb exploded outside a pub in Kuala Lumpur.

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My captors wanted the release of Al-Qaeda chief?s family members in my exchange: Ali Haider Gilani

Al Qaeda wanted the release of a few women from Ayman al-Zawahiri?s family in exchange of Ali Haider Gilani.

In a detailed interview with the BBC Ali Haider Gilani revealed details of his three years in captivity with the Taliban.

Ali Haider Gilani, son of former Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, was abducted by Al-Qaeda militants from his hometown Multan. He was campaigning for a provincial seat in the 2013 general elections. He returned only recently, when a raid by United States forces resulted in his rescue.

Gilani opened up about his captivity in the interview and said that along with demanding ransom as well as the release of high profile Al-Qaeda prisoners they also told him that the attack was aimed directly at his father.

"My father was prime minister when their leader Osama Bin Laden was killed. He also started an operation in South Waziristan. They told me they wanted to take revenge," he said.

He was kept a close watch on while in captivity. ?An Al-Qaeda member Zia, lived with me for three years?

Speaking about his survival in captivity, Gilani stated that he had been chained for over twi years and had not felt the sun on his skin for over a year.  He spoke of a diary he used to keep track of time and to pen down his daily thoughts. "It kept me sane," he added.

There had been no threats prior to the abduction but Gilani remembers a friend warning him that he was being followed by a car a week before he was kidnapped.

?I stepped out of the rally and someone held me by my neck and pushed me. I was still on the floor when they hit me on my head with the gun and my forehead started bleeding. Six men forced me into a car and threw my clothes and shoes out,? said Gilani.

Muhmmed Jamaluddin, his son was only a toddler when his father was kidnapped. Gilani spoke about his sorrow at the thought of having missed important days in his son?s life. His first day to school, his first step.

Gilani remembers fearing for his life everyday. While the Taliban did not torture him physically they inflicted psychological pain in efforts to break him.

"They'd tell me 'you're not a Muslim, your father is not a Muslim, you'll go to hell, your family is not doing anything to help you'."

Gilani says he was kept in a war zone, with drones, tanks, mortar and fighter jets a common occurrence.

He describes the drone as a bee which keeps hovering over you r head, buzzing away.

?It wasn't just one drone, there were three, four or five at one time roaming day and night," he said.

A drone strike in the month of January led to the Al-Qaeda hading Gilani over to the Taliban. "They handed me over to the Pakistani Taliban in the Shawal area, in North Waziristan to keep me safe." He did not stay with them for long, the Pakistani army had pushed into the area and the Taliban militants crossed the Afghanistan border, taking Gilani with them.

Change in captors led to a change in living conditions for Gilani. "I wasn't chained, I was allowed to walk, to see the sun," he said. He even remembers being given a radio.

"One day I asked them for the radio to listen to a cricket match. It was the World Cup and Pakistan won a match against South Africa," he said.

 Gilani spent over two months in Afghanistan before the compound was cleared following an American air raid.

He was walking with his captors for about two to three hours in the dark of the night before they started hearing gunshots.

"I fell to the ground. Then a voice told me to take my shirt off, put my hands in the air and someone came and tied my hands.

"I said 'My name is Ali Haider Gilani I'm the son of the former prime minister. They didn't believe me at first but later they confirmed I was telling the truth," he said.

Gilani was later informed that the raid targeted the Al-Qaeeda miltant.

Speaking of his rescue he said he was lucky to have been there.

"It didn't sink in till I was in the helicopter, the guy [from the US Forces] said 'Mr Gilani, you're going home'."

While preparations were being made for Gilani?s return home, word had spread in Pakistan and people were eagerly waiting for his return.

Gilani said how he was surprised to see his son all grown up and how it took some time to recognize him, but Jamaluddin recognized his father instantly.

"I said 'Baby, I'm your father' and he told me 'I recognise you Baba'."

On a parting note, Gilani spoke of his intention of writing a book about his years in captivity and his eventual return to politics.

"It's in my blood," he said.

 

 

 

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Country receives first Monsoon rains

QUETTA/SUKKUR: Rain hit several parts of the country bringing respite to the sizzling heat that had took the country under its spell for the last one week.

In Sindh, Khairpur, Larkana, Daharki, Sukkur, Ghotki and Mirpur received its first monsoon rain.

At Sukkur, 40 feeders tripped due to rain resulting in power outages in several localities.

Heavy thunderstorms lashed Quetta for over an hour inundating streets. At least three people were killed in rain related incidents.

Faisalabad, Bahawalpur and Sahiwal received rain with strong winds.

At Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Swat, Lower Dir and Murree received rain turning the weather pleasant.

On Monday, the Met Office had predicted the onset of monsoon in the coming week.

Monsoon rains are likely to start from upper parts of the country that will spread towards central and southern parts of the country during the week, their statement said.

During the first spell of monsoon, widespread rains with isolated heavy thundershowers accompanied by strong gusty winds are expected in Islamabad, Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, FATA and Kashmir. While scattered rains/dust-thundershowers are also expected in Sindh and Balochistan during the coming week.

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Who do we talk to in Pakistan, asks Modi

NEW DELHI: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday pointed to the ?multiple power centres? in Pakistan to explain New Delhi?s difficulty in drawing a ?Lakshman rekha? (red line) for talks with Pakistan.

?The first thing is that with whom in Pakistan will you decide the ?Lakshman rekha? -- with the elected government or with other actors? So India will have to be alert and conscious all the time. There should not be any laxity and negligence,? Modi said in an interview with an Indian news channel.

He was responding to a question about what the ?Lakshman rekha? for holding talks with Pakistan should be. At different times, India has linked the progress of talks to action by Pakistan against the planners of 2008 Mumbai attacks as well as on an airbase in Pathankot earlier this year. In 2014, the NDA government had said talks should only be between the two governments, leaving out the Kashmiri separatist group, the Hurriyat.

Modi, however, clarified that New Delhi will continue to engage with the civilian government in Pakistan. ?Look, there are different types of forces operating in Pakistan. But the government only engages with a democratically elected system. Our effort for that engagement is continuing,? he said.

He said because of his consistent efforts like the visit to Lahore or inviting the Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to New Delhi for his 2014 inaugural that he no longer has to convince the world either about India?s stand on terrorism or its willingness to engage with its neighbour.

?The world in one voice is praising India?s role. Pakistan is finding it difficult to answer. The world is watching. If we remain an obstacle then we will have to convince the world that we are not like this,? he said.

?Earlier the world would not buy India?s stand on terrorism and sometime it would even treat it as a law and order problem. Now the whole world is accepting what India says on terrorism? I believe India will have to continue putting forth its view on this matter.?

But opposition parties have described Modi?s foreign policy as inconsistent at best and ?tamasha? at worst, especially after the prime minister?s diplomacy failed to break China?s resistance to India?s effort to become a member of the Nuclear Supplier Group (NSG). Pakistan?s refusal in April to host an Indian team probing the Pathankot airbase attack also triggered charges that Modi had played into the hands of Islamabad.

Modi said India will continue to make efforts to enter the NSG, undeterred by the failure to make it into the club last week. ?Everyone attempted and we also attempted to be a member of the NSG group. We will keep trying, and things have started on a positive note. All the things will be according to the due procedure,? Modi said.

Asked about China?s objections to India?s NSG bid, Modi said: ?There have been talks with China and in future also the talks should continue... There have been times when China has differed on several issues and even India has differed on several issues.?

-Originally appeared in The News

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