Briefs

Flourmill attacked with hand grenade

By our correspondent

PESHAWAR: A flourmill was attacked with a hand grenade in the limits of Chamkani Police Station on Monday. A source said the bomb had been thrown in the mills that went off without causing any casualty.  A number of houses have been bombed recently, mostly because the owners refused to pay extortion.

Urdu poet Nida Fazli passes away

ISLAMABAD: Noted Urdu and Hindi language poet Nida Fazli died of heart attack in Mumbai Monday. He was 78 born in Delhi to a Kashmiri family and attended school in Gwalior. He was known among fans and singers for his elegant presentation of ghazals, ‘dohaas’ and ‘nazms’. He also worked with late ghazal singer Jagjit Singh in 1994 and together they brought out an album ‘Insight’ which got appreciation for its soulful poetry and music, the Indian Express reported.

Tremors felt in Chitral

CHITRAL: Tremors measuring 4.6 on international Richter scale were felt in Chitral and its surrounding areas on Monday morning. According to Met Office, the epicentre of the quake was in Afghanistan’s mountainous region of Hindukash at a depth of 200 kilometres.

Two clerics held in Lahore over provocative speeches

LAHORE: The Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) arrested two teachers of a seminary over provocative speeches here on Monday.The CTD, over charges of delivering provocative speeches, raided a religious seminary in the Township of the provincial capital Lahore and held two teachers. The detainees, identified as Qari Younas and Qasir Yousaf, were shifted to an undisclosed location for interrogation.

SC suspends BHC order on teachers’ termination

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court (SC), while admitting a petition filed by the Balochistan Teachers Association (BTA), suspended an order of the Balochistan High Court (BHC) on termination of protesting teachers. A three-member SC bench, headed by Justice Gulzar, took up the petition for hearing on Monday. Petitioners’ counsel Asma Jahangir appeared in the court and took the plea that the BHC had overstepped its powers by issuing the termination orders. The teachers had approached the BHC for implementation of orders related to their seniority, but the court issued their termination orders calling them protesters, she argued. She said the high court said in its decision that observing a strike or holding protests was tantamount to indulging in rebellion. The Essential Service Act did not apply to teachers, Ms Jahangir said. Formation of trade union and observing protest is the fundamental right of employees, she added. After hearing the arguments, the SC suspended the BHC orders.

AJK govt’s conspiracy to steal polls foiled: Pervaiz

PALUNDRI: Information Minister Pervaiz Rashid on Monday said the PML-N government was working on finding a solution to the longstanding issue of Kashmir. Addressing a convention of PML-N- workers, he paid tributes to the people of Azad Kashmir for their role in the liberation struggle of Kashmir. He said Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif was pursuing a path that would lead to durable settlement of the dispute. He said a conspiracy was being hatched by the incumbent AJK government to steal the next elections by having an Election Commission of its choice but the AJK Supreme Court had foiled their designs. On the occasion, the federal minister announced establishment of a university at Pulandari.

Malik re-summoned in Benazir murder case on 10th

RAWALPINDI: The anti-terrorism court on Monday again summoned former interior minister Rehman Malik to record his statement in the Benazir Bhutto murder case and adjourned the hearing until February 10. Rehman Malik was the chief security adviser of PPP chairperson Benazir Bhutto when she was assassinated at Liaquat Bagh on December 27, 2007. As the court started the hearing, the FIA prosecutor told the court that earlier issued summons on Feb 2 had not been responded. The ATC judge, Rai Ayub Marth, again issued the summons of former minister to appear before the court on Feb 10 to proceed in the case following the indictment of former president Pervez Musharraf and the other accused.

Pakistani group accused of hacking Indian web portal

NEW DELHI: The official web portal of the Indian Revenue Service (IRS) was allegedly hacked by a suspected group of Pakistan-based hackers, the Indian media alleged on Monday. According to Indian officials, the website was hacked early Saturday and was still offline. The claimed that the messages, which read ‘Pakistan Zindabad’ and ‘We are team Pak cyber attacker’, were posted on the website. Authorities later took charge and left a message for their visitors’ stating ‘We’ll be back soon. Sorry for the inconvenience but we’re performing some maintenance at the moment”. The portal acts as an official communicator between the country’s Central Board of Direct Taxes and the IT department field offices.

Two die in Bannu IED blast

BANNU: An Improvised Explosive Device (IED) explosion near a shop claimed two lives in Zundi Akbar Khan area on the outskirts of Bannu on Monday morning. According to police, the IED exploded as a bicycle mechanic identified as Din Muhammad and his friend Shamsur Rehman opened the shop in Zundi Akbar Khan area. Both the men died on the spot. Police collected evidence from the scene and launched a search operation in the area. The bodies were shifted to the District Headquarters Hospital, Bannu, for medico legal formalities.

SWABI: The Swabi police in a joint operation with the Pakistan Army on Monday arrested 125 suspects, said   Javed Iqbal, District Police Officer.