TAKHT BHAI: The traders observed a shutdown and the lawyers announced two days mourning on Wednesday against the suicide blast at a funeral in Shergarh. The strike was observed on the call of the Markazi Anjuman-e-Tajiran to condemn the suicide blast in which 28 people including MPA Imran Mohmand were killed. The News.
PESHAWAR: A group of armed militants stormed the security forces patrolling party in the outskirts of Peshawar here on Wednesday thereby killing 6 security personnel while leaving two others injured, FRC learnt. According to details the military patrolling party was on a routine duty when a dozen of armed militants attacked it near Sra Khawra Matanai area of Peshawar in the late night hours of Wednesday. As a result six men of military died on the spot while two received wounds. The News, FRC.
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, army chief General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani and Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan on Wednesday expressed the resolve to devise a solid and comprehensive strategy against the terrorists. In a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, the political and army leadership was on the same page for taking effective measures to grapple with the scourge of terrorism in the country. The News, The Nation.
ISLAMABAD: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Finance Minister Sirajul Haq said here on Wednesday that patients suffering from AIDS, cancer, liver and stomach ailments will be treated free in the province.
Speaking to a news conference here, the provincial minister said a free commission would be formed to hold across the board accountability from governor and chief minister to the common man without any discrimination. The News.
PESHAWAR: Amn Jirga Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chief Syed Kamal Shah has condemned the bomb blast in Shergarh and termed the killing of innocent citizens the result of wrong foreign policy of the state. In a statement on Wednesday, he said the killing of innocent people had been going on for the last 33 years. The News.
PESHAWAR: A sum of Rs871 million has been allocated for the promotion of tourism and sports in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa budget for fiscal year 2013-14. The allocations have been made for a total of 39 schemes in both sectors, which include 23 ongoing and 16 new projects. Out of the total amount, Rs544.9 million would be spent on the ongoing and Rs326.1 million on new schemes. The News.
ISLAMABAD: Chairman of Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf Imran Khan has urged the government to evolve consensus to address the root causes of terrorism. Making his first appearance in the House after taking oath as MNA, Imran Khan opposing drone strikes said these are claiming lives of innocent people. The Frontier Post.
ISLAMABAD: Experts at a seminar, ‘Conflict in FATA and Governance’, organized by Institute of Policy Studies demanded provincial status for Pakistan’s Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) saying that if the people of AJK and Gilgit Baltistan were given right to govern their areas the same should be extended to FATA also. The Frontier Post.
PESHAWAR: Provincial Minister for Information and Health Shaukat Yousafzai has said that PTI led government would soon convene All Parties Conference (APC) to chalk out mechanism for talks with militants. Talking to media during his visit to Lady Reading Hospital to enquire about the health of Mardan blast victims, the minister said PTI government was ready to hold talks with militants as it was the best way to attain peace in the country. The Frontier Post.
AKORA KHATTAK: Pakistan Tobacco Company (PTC) has announced that sometime after midnight, a number of projectiles were fired into the compound of PTC’s Akora Khattak factory. However, no casualties were reported in the attack, about which any speculation at this stage, to ascertain the motive behind this incident, was too premature. The Frontier Post.
KABUL: Afghanistan’s president said on Wednesday he will not pursue peace talks with the Taliban unless the United States steps out of the negotiations, while also insisting the militant group stop its violent attacks on the ground after it claimed responsibility for a rocket attack that killed four Americans. The News, The Nation.
WASHINGTON (NNI): Leading a team of officials, Ambassador James Dobbins, the US Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan, has been nominated to begin talks with the Taliban in Qatar on their reconciliation with the Afghan government, an official said. Dobbins will stop in Ankara, Turkey, and in Doha before stopping in Afghanistan and Pakistan, State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki announced. She said that he will have reconciliation talks in each stop. The Frontier Post, Daily Times, The Nation.
