‘Nawaz wants to become CIA, RAW agent’

LAHORE: PPP Parliamentary leader in the Punjab Assembly Zulfiqar Gondal has alleged that PML-N chief Mian Nawaz Sharif has left the service of ISI and was now trying to become an agent of CIA and RAW by serving their objectives in the country.

Addressing a press conference at Lahore Press Club on Friday in connection with the new revelations of Wikileaks saying Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif and MNA Khawaja Saad Rafiq called on US Consul in Lahore, Bryan D Hunt, in 2009 and reportedly said to him that deposed Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry should be restored to vindicate the stance of PML-N but he should be removed after some time.

Gondal further alleged that the Sharif brothers would now collect donations from CIA and RAW on whose behest they were now attacking the ISI. Regarding the demand of Nawaz Sharif on presenting defence budget in parliament, Gondal said why Nawaz Sharif did not present it in parliament when he was the prime minister. He said the PPP had offered Nawaz Sharif to wait for the retirement of CJ Dogar which was due after two months, following which Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry would be restored. But he refused that, he added.

‘Nawaz wants to become CIA, RAW agent’

LAHORE: PPP Parliamentary leader in the Punjab Assembly Zulfiqar Gondal has alleged that PML-N chief Mian Nawaz Sharif has left the service of ISI and was now trying to become an agent of CIA and RAW by serving their objectives in the country.

Addressing a press conference at Lahore Press Club on Friday in connection with the new revelations of Wikileaks saying Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif and MNA Khawaja Saad Rafiq called on US Consul in Lahore, Bryan D Hunt, in 2009 and reportedly said to him that deposed Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry should be restored to vindicate the stance of PML-N but he should be removed after some time.

Gondal further alleged that the Sharif brothers would now collect donations from CIA and RAW on whose behest they were now attacking the ISI. Regarding the demand of Nawaz Sharif on presenting defence budget in parliament, Gondal said why Nawaz Sharif did not present it in parliament when he was the prime minister. He said the PPP had offered Nawaz Sharif to wait for the retirement of CJ Dogar which was due after two months, following which Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry would be restored. But he refused that, he added.

Fire erupts at ‘Geo News’ office

KARACHI: After hours of struggle, the fire that erupted in Geo’s head office building has been successfully doused while emergency services are still being carried out by the fire fighting squad of the local fire brigade.

Two staffers of Geo News who were affected by the fumes were rushed to Civil Hospital. The blaze gutted the main studio, central news room, control room, PCR, satellite department, server room while many other installations were also severely damaged.

According to Geo News administration, the fire broke out inside the studio of the famous program “Aaj Kamran Khan Ke Saath” in Jang building situated along I.I. Chundrigar Road at 2:10 PM. Geo’s staff jumped in and began the effort to overcome the blaze on their own.

As soon as the studio’s door was opened, the smoke trapped inside it quickly spread across the entire floor and the staff present there was immediately evacuated followed by the staff of accounts department, HR department, daily Jang Karachi, daily Awam Karachi, daily Jang London, Akhbar-e-Jehan and other sections.

As a result of the incident, transmission of Geo News had to be suspended while other activities were also affected.

Soon after receiving the report of the blaze, the fire tenders and snorkel from the nearby fire brigade reached the site of Geo building besides the staff of emergency and rescue services including Edhi Foundation Trust, Chhipa Welfare and other NGOs and started providing their services.

The fire-fighting work continued for hours under the supervision of City District Government’s EDO Municipal Services Masood Alam.

Geo News, after suspension of its transmission for 45 minutes, began airing moment-to-moment news updates for its viewers from its temporary set up.

Fire erupts at ‘Geo News’ office

KARACHI: After hours of struggle, the fire that erupted in Geo’s head office building has been successfully doused while emergency services are still being carried out by the fire fighting squad of the local fire brigade.

Two staffers of Geo News who were affected by the fumes were rushed to Civil Hospital. The blaze gutted the main studio, central news room, control room, PCR, satellite department, server room while many other installations were also severely damaged.

According to Geo News administration, the fire broke out inside the studio of the famous program “Aaj Kamran Khan Ke Saath” in Jang building situated along I.I. Chundrigar Road at 2:10 PM. Geo’s staff jumped in and began the effort to overcome the blaze on their own.

As soon as the studio’s door was opened, the smoke trapped inside it quickly spread across the entire floor and the staff present there was immediately evacuated followed by the staff of accounts department, HR department, daily Jang Karachi, daily Awam Karachi, daily Jang London, Akhbar-e-Jehan and other sections.

As a result of the incident, transmission of Geo News had to be suspended while other activities were also affected.

Soon after receiving the report of the blaze, the fire tenders and snorkel from the nearby fire brigade reached the site of Geo building besides the staff of emergency and rescue services including Edhi Foundation Trust, Chhipa Welfare and other NGOs and started providing their services.

The fire-fighting work continued for hours under the supervision of City District Government’s EDO Municipal Services Masood Alam.

Geo News, after suspension of its transmission for 45 minutes, began airing moment-to-moment news updates for its viewers from its temporary set up.

PML-Q, Like-Minded row intensifies

ISLAMABAD: The internal wrangling within the PML-Q and its another faction Like-Minded group further intensified as on Wednesday President PML-Like Minded Salim Saifullah came out with warning to Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain that he would be shown the exit door if he did not stop giving warnings to senators who refused to toe his line in the upper house of the parliament.

“The disqualification clause did not apply on speaking against the party policy and if Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain will not change his behaviour our eleven senators who might be fourteen would submit application to the Chairman of Senate to oust his parliamentary leader,” he said while addressing the press conference here Wednesday.

Senator Salim Saifullah said that Shujaat Hussain took a personal decision to join the coalition government without taking the Central Executive Committee of the party into confidence. Salim Saifullah declared Shujaat Hussain as a controversial president of PML-Q and the petition is being pending in the Lahore High Court regarding his election as the president of the PML-Q. “No one can change the view of the party through force of threats,” he said.

Justifying the support to Ishaq Dar as an opposition leader in the Senate, Senator Salim Saifullah said the only purpose was to create a viable and strong opposition in the upper house of the parliament.

Saifullah described the support of Islamabad to the visit of John Kerry as an ‘insult’ to the resolution of joint sitting of Parliament in which it was clearly mentioned that if drone attacks were carried out then the supply line of Nato would be cut off. He said when John Kerry was in Islamabad then the drone attack was carried out. He stressed the need to take a hard stance before the United States.

THE NEWS INTERNATION PK

PML-Q, Like-Minded row intensifies

ISLAMABAD: The internal wrangling within the PML-Q and its another faction Like-Minded group further intensified as on Wednesday President PML-Like Minded Salim Saifullah came out with warning to Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain that he would be shown the exit door if he did not stop giving warnings to senators who refused to toe his line in the upper house of the parliament.

“The disqualification clause did not apply on speaking against the party policy and if Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain will not change his behaviour our eleven senators who might be fourteen would submit application to the Chairman of Senate to oust his parliamentary leader,” he said while addressing the press conference here Wednesday.

Senator Salim Saifullah said that Shujaat Hussain took a personal decision to join the coalition government without taking the Central Executive Committee of the party into confidence. Salim Saifullah declared Shujaat Hussain as a controversial president of PML-Q and the petition is being pending in the Lahore High Court regarding his election as the president of the PML-Q. “No one can change the view of the party through force of threats,” he said.

Justifying the support to Ishaq Dar as an opposition leader in the Senate, Senator Salim Saifullah said the only purpose was to create a viable and strong opposition in the upper house of the parliament.

Saifullah described the support of Islamabad to the visit of John Kerry as an ‘insult’ to the resolution of joint sitting of Parliament in which it was clearly mentioned that if drone attacks were carried out then the supply line of Nato would be cut off. He said when John Kerry was in Islamabad then the drone attack was carried out. He stressed the need to take a hard stance before the United States.

THE NEWS INTERNATION PK

Blast targets US consulate cars

PESHAWAR: A car bomb in Peshawar on Friday targeted a US consulate convoy but caused no American deaths or serious injuries, said US embassy spokesman Alberto Rodriguez.

One passerby was killed and 10 Pakistanis were wounded, said a hospital official. One American was slightly wounded in the attack in the blast.

The two consulate vehicles were heading to the consulate when one of the vehicles was hit by the blast.

The attack took place on a main road in the northwestern city. The car used in the attack was parked on a road when the bomb exploded, forcing the consulate vehicle to slam into an electricity pole, said the police official.

"There was an attack on a two-car convoy from the consulate in Peshawar. One car was hit. We are still investigating what actually happened," said Rodriguez.

Blast targets US consulate cars

PESHAWAR: A car bomb in Peshawar on Friday targeted a US consulate convoy but caused no American deaths or serious injuries, said US embassy spokesman Alberto Rodriguez.

One passerby was killed and 10 Pakistanis were wounded, said a hospital official. One American was slightly wounded in the attack in the blast.

The two consulate vehicles were heading to the consulate when one of the vehicles was hit by the blast.

The attack took place on a main road in the northwestern city. The car used in the attack was parked on a road when the bomb exploded, forcing the consulate vehicle to slam into an electricity pole, said the police official.

"There was an attack on a two-car convoy from the consulate in Peshawar. One car was hit. We are still investigating what actually happened," said Rodriguez.

Pakistan: World shares The blame for 'failure' on bin Laden

PARIS: Pakistan's Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani said Wednesday that spy agencies around the world share the blame for his country's failure to capture Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, killed by US forces.

"Certainly, we have intelligence failure of the rest of the world including the United States," Gilani told reporters in Paris, where he was meeting with business leaders.

"There is intelligence failure of the whole world, not Pakistan alone."

Separately France's foreign minister Alain Juppe said he had dined with Gilani on Tuesday and asked him how bin Laden went uncaught living in a city near Islamabad while being hunted by the United States.

"The reply was that it was a failure of the Pakistani intelligence services, which they have addressed," Juppe told news channel France 24.

But he moved to ease the pressure on Pakistan, a crucial ally in efforts to track extremist groups.

"In any case I think we should avoid any antagonism with Pakistan. It is a big country. We have every interest in keeping good relations with it, and it should cooperate," Juppe said.

"I hope this will be a turning point in the right direction. The Pakistani prime minister assured me yesterday of his will to cooperate," Juppe added.

"There will be no solution in Afghanistan, no long-lasting political solution, if we do not manage to work in trust with Pakistan."

He added that France was considering a target date of 2014 to withdraw its troops from Afghanistan, where it currently has about 4,000 serving in a NATO force.(GEO.TV)

Pakistan: World shares The blame for 'failure' on bin Laden

PARIS: Pakistan's Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani said Wednesday that spy agencies around the world share the blame for his country's failure to capture Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, killed by US forces.

"Certainly, we have intelligence failure of the rest of the world including the United States," Gilani told reporters in Paris, where he was meeting with business leaders.

"There is intelligence failure of the whole world, not Pakistan alone."

Separately France's foreign minister Alain Juppe said he had dined with Gilani on Tuesday and asked him how bin Laden went uncaught living in a city near Islamabad while being hunted by the United States.

"The reply was that it was a failure of the Pakistani intelligence services, which they have addressed," Juppe told news channel France 24.

But he moved to ease the pressure on Pakistan, a crucial ally in efforts to track extremist groups.

"In any case I think we should avoid any antagonism with Pakistan. It is a big country. We have every interest in keeping good relations with it, and it should cooperate," Juppe said.

"I hope this will be a turning point in the right direction. The Pakistani prime minister assured me yesterday of his will to cooperate," Juppe added.

"There will be no solution in Afghanistan, no long-lasting political solution, if we do not manage to work in trust with Pakistan."

He added that France was considering a target date of 2014 to withdraw its troops from Afghanistan, where it currently has about 4,000 serving in a NATO force.(GEO.TV)