British campaigners held a vigil for Malala Yousufzai on Thursday, as doctors said the 14-year-old girl was in a stable condition. “Malala Yousufzai’s condition remains stable. She spent a third comfortable night in the Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham and doctors are pleased with her progress so far,” the hospital said in a statement. “The various specialist consultants from both the Queen Elizabeth and Birmingham Children’s hospitals continue to assess her on a daily basis.” Her family remained in Pakistan, added the hospital, which also treats British soldiers wounded in Afghanistan. In Birmingham city centre, a dozen activists from Women2Gether and Amina Women’s Group held a vigil outside the main local authority buildings. Participants held small cardboard placards reading “I am Malala”, lit white candles, and laid two bunches of pink and yellow flowers on the ground. An Amina Women’s Group member told reporters: “Brave Malala said what so many of us wish to say but we are too afraid. Dawn, The News, Daily Times, The Nation.
Eight militants were killed and seven others wounded when helicopter gunships bombed their hideouts in Bara on Thursday, officials said. The militant positions were targeted in Zaodin and Khurmatang localities of Akkakhel, killing eight militants and injuring seven. Four hideouts were destroyed.—Correspondent. Dawn, The News, Daily Times, The Frontier Post, The Nation.
One person was killed and a lady doctor injured when unknown miscreants opened firing at private van carrying staff of a hospital here on Thursday. Unidentified motorcyclists targeted a van carrying eight staff members of Mufti Mehmood Hospital near Bypass Chowk of Dera Ismail Khan, some eight kilometres away from the city. The Frontier Post.
The severed heads of a senior police officer and a soldier of Frontier Constabulary were found in Gulshanabad area of Matani on the suburbs of Peshawar early on Thursday, sources said. The militants had slaughtered Superintendent of Police Khurshid Khan and another FC man dentified as Mohammad Diyar on Sunday night during an attack on Ghaziabad police post in the limits of Matani police station. A police source said that both the heads, packed in a bag, were hanging at the veranda of a market. The residents of the area informed police about the presence of severed heads of law enforcers. Police took them into custody and after postmortem handed them over to heirs for burial, he added. He said that movement of police and security forces was increased in Matani, Darwazgai and adjacent areas to improve law and order situation on the outskirts of the provincial metropolis. A villager, pleading anonymity, told Dawn that the attack on Ghaziabad post, manned jointly by police and FC, had caused panic among the people and they were feeling insecure. Dawn.
The Council of Pakistan Newspaper Editors (CPNE) has vowed to protect media persons and establishments from the threats of dire consequences of TTP. In a joint press statement issued here on Thursday by President CPNE Jamil Athar Qazi, Senior Vice-President Ilyas Shakir and Secretary General Amir Mahmood have expressed serious concern over the threats issued by the spokesman of TTP to media persons and establishments. They vowed that CPNE will continue protecting freedom of the Press. The newspapers have always stood against any curbs of dictators, and struggled against the attempts of dictators’ governments, mafias and pressure groups. The News.
The Pakistan Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) Chairman Raghib Shah has said that the water sector projects are vital for socio-economic development in the country, particularly backward and remote regions such as FATA. He expressed these views in a meeting today with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Barrister Masood Kausar. Speaking on the occasion, the Chairman said that WAPDA is working on a number of large and medium-sized dams in FATA including Gomal Zam Dam in South Waziristan, Kurram Tangi Dam in North Waziristan, Munda Dam in Mohmand and Bara Dam in Khyber Agency. Dilating upon the benefits of the projects, he said that these multi-purposes schemes will ensure availability of water for irrigated agriculture, help mitigate devastating floods, and generate low-cost hydel electricity. The Frontier Post.
Foreign Office Spokesman Moazzam Ahmed Khan Thursday rejected the notion that the visit of the US Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan, Marc Grossman, aimed at discussing the modalities related to a military operation in North Waziristan.“We are expecting Grossman’s visit to Pakistan. But I cannot tell you exactly when. The visit is part of the ongoing engagements between the two countries and when he comes, the two sides will discuss all issues of mutual interest as well as concerns”, Khan said giving weekly press briefing. Grossman will follow-up on the discussion between the Pakistani and US leadership on key bilateral issues discussed during several high-profile meetings in Washington and New York last month. A high-level Pak-US dialogue will commence next week, in Islamabad to cement bilateral relations in the various fields, he said. The Nation.
Prime Minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf and President Asif Ali Zardari have agreed that no new military operation would be launched until taking onboard the political and military leadership and all the other stakeholders, sources said. At a meeting held at the Aiwan-e-Sadr, they exchanged views on host of issues, including the much-talked-about military operation in North Waziristan. Sources said that the prime minister also apprised the president about his talks with the Kuwaiti leadership and other international leaders. The two also discussed situation in Balochistan, by-polls and consultation between the government and the opposition regarding legislation on certain bills, the sources said. The Nation.
In the wake of frequent terror attacks on the outer check posts of Peshawar, the law enforcement agencies have beefed up security and heavy contingent of police have been deployed in Mattni and Badhbera area. Police have been directed to keep vigilant watch on all important installations and police check posts as last night militants again fired severe rockets on Mashogagar check post. The number of police check posts has been increased on border areas with Khyber Agency from where militants repeatedly attacked. Police are equipped with heavy machineguns and Armoured Personnel Vehicle near Ghazi Abad Check Post and Shekhan area. Personnel of Anti Terrorist Squad, Elite Force, police and Frontier Constabulary are jointly patrolling the area. The Nation.
NAWAF KHAN, SHARAFAT ALI CHAUDHRY
