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Sunday, April 20, 2008
Two bombs defused in Swat
By our correspondent
MINGORA: Security forces on Saturday defused two bombs planted in fields adjacent to Nangolai area checkpoint of Swat valley. Sources told 'The News' that the bomb disposal squad detonated the bombs after getting the area vacated by the people. Meanwhile, the security forces released four suspects – Khan Gul, Amjad, Ibrahim and Usman Ali – who had been arrested during Friday's search operation in Imam Dheri. Also on Saturday, the authorities relaxed curfew in the valley and all business centres and shops remained open
Voluntary repatriation of Afghans resumes today
ISLAMABAD: The UN refugee agency will resume its Afghan voluntary return operation via Peshawar in the North West Frontier Province (NWFP) from Sunday. This comes after a five-day suspension (15-19 April) in assisted returns through the NWFP to Afghanistan due to a blockade on the Peshawar-Torkham border road. The UNHCR's Hayatabad Voluntary Repatriation Centre (VRC) was closed during that period and Afghans were requested not to come forward for repatriation via Peshawar until further notice. The road, however, is now clear and open for traffic. As a result, Afghans can now approach Hayatabad VRC for repatriation starting from Sunday. Several hundred Afghan families who had been processed for repatriation at UNHCR's Hayatabad VRC but were unable to leave in the last few days have now left for Afghanistan. The UNHCR had provided some 300 of these families with hot meals, plastic sheets and blankets during the time they were stranded.
Sikh Yatrees happy over renovation of Gurdwaras
LAHORE: The Sikh Yatrees visiting Pakistan from India are happy and satisfied over repair/renovation of Gurdwaras by the Government of Pakistan in collaboration with the Sikh Gurdwara Perbandhak Committee, Sardar Jagjeet Singh Bhuler said here on Saturday. Sardar Jagjeet Singh is the party leader of the visiting delegation of the International Bhai Mardana Yadgari Kirtan Darbar Society. He said the Sikh Yatrees came here through special trains on 11 April and they had been facilitated during the visit of Gurdwara Panja Sahib, Gurdwara Nankana Sahib and Gurdwara Dera Sahib.
List of jailed Pakistanis in India soon
ISLAMABAD: Chairman Ansar Burney Trust (ABT) Ansar Burney said on Saturday that the trust would soon release a list of over 150 Pakistanis languishing in different Indian jails. The ABT has already released two lists of prisoners, the latest of which contained the names of 19 mentally-retarded people. The pictures of these prisoners will also be released in an effort to trace their families in Pakistan, secure their release and repatriation. Burney has appealed to people to help in identifying these prisoners and contact the trust at: Ansar Burney Trust, Arambagh Road, Karachi.
Taliban parade two alleged thieves in Miranshah bazaars
By our correspondent
MIRAMSHAH: Armed Taliban here on Saturday paraded two men charged with theft in the bazaars after blackening their faces. The two men, identified as Mohammad Khalid, around 40 from Mir Ali area, and 30-year-old Rasool Badshah from Miranshah, were made to stand in a vehicle loaded with gun-wielding Taliban, whose faces were covered, and instructed to make announcements on loudspeaker that they were thieves. They took turns to declare that this would be the fate of those who committed thefts, snatched vehicles and in the process earned the displeasure of their parents. Khalid, having a long beard, and short-bearded Badshah looked perturbed as they were repeatedly instructed by the Taliban to publicly confess of their crime while driving through the bazaars of Miranshah. Their faces had been blackened and their hair haphazardly cut with scissors to give a weird look to their heads.
Unesco’s proposal on Multan welcomed
ISLAMABAD: The idea to make two ancient cities of the world – Multan and Rome – twin cities proposed by Unesco was welcomed during a meeting of the Council for Research, History and Archaeological Research and History (CRHARH). The meeting was presided over by CRHARH Chairman Dr Ghazanfar Mehdi, in which it was decided to hold a seminar on the history of Multan. On the occasion, veteran scholar Dr Ahmad Hasan Dani said Multan was the oldest city, besides Moenjodaro and Harappa, as it was 7,000 years old. Professor Dr Riaz said the credit to highlight Multan by Unesco went to late Benazir Bhutto.
Police fail to recover official
By our correspondent
KHAIRPUR: Rangers and police conducted a raid on village Saeed on Saturday and detained its landlord Israr Khushk following reports about the presence of a kidnapped Shahbaz Rangers official in the village. Police sources said the raid failed to recover Major Muhammad Amin and security personnel were interrogating the landlord.
‘Judges reinstatement soon’
ISLAMABAD: Minister for Petroleum and Natural Resources Khawaja Muhammad Asif has said the reinstatement of the deposed judges has its roots in the Murree Declaration while the constitutional package is rooted in the Charter of Democracy.
‘Dams with national consensus’
LAHORE: The Government of Pakistan People’s Party and its allied parties will construct dams to resolve the energy crisis through consensus of all stakeholders, and without loss to the people of any province, said officials of the Peoples Labour Bureau (PLB) Pakistan. In a statement issued here on Saturday, Abdul Qadir Shaheen and Salim Mughal observed that the PPP would fulfill every promise made with the people, and would not allow anyone to usurp their basic rights.
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ISSN 1563-9479 
