ISLAMABAD, May 23: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) continues to keep secret documents it is supposed to make public forthwith under the law.

The documents are the lists submitted by political parties for seats reserved for women and minorities in the national and provincial assemblies and Section 47-A of the Representation of the People Act, 1976, required their immediate publication for information of public.

An ECP official told Dawn on Thursday that the lists had been sealed and would be opened next week. The grounds he gave for maintaining secrecy appeared to be flimsy.

He said if the lists were published several people who had not even filed nomination papers would assume that they had become lawmakers. Nomination papers of some of those on the lists had been rejected, he said.

The official disclosed that the commission was being pressurised to allow change in the list and accept nomination papers now.

The political parties file lists of their nominees in order of priority for seats reserved for women and minorities within the time fixed for submission of nomination papers.

The lists contain as many names of additional candidates as a political party deems necessary to provide for any disqualification of candidates during scrutiny of nomination papers or to fill any vacant seat during the term of the assembly. In case of death of or resignation by a member elected on a reserved seat, the next person in order of precedence from the party’s list will fill the vacancy.

No amendment or even change in order of names on the list is permissible under the law. If the list of a party is exhausted and it still has a quota on the basis of its numerical strength in the house, a new schedule is issued inviting nominations accompanied with priority lists.

ELECTION TRIBUNALS: Although the ECP has finally notified the successful candidates, except for the ones stayed by the courts or the result is withheld for any reason, it is yet to notify election tribunals. In the absence of election tribunals those who want to challenge the election in a constituency are either approaching the ECP, flooding it with applications against alleged rigging, or moving superior courts.

Some applicants told Dawn that the commission itself was deciding some cases or advising the applicants to go to election tribunals. In various cases, verbal orders have been passed by the ECP, but the parties are still awaiting written orders.

WINNERS OF MORE THAN ONE SEAT: The ECP official said June 10 was the last date for those securing victory in more than one constituency to resign from all but one seat.

Under Article 223 of the constitution, no person can retain more than one seat in a house.

NA SESSION: Meanwhile, official sources told Dawn that the inaugural session of the National Assembly will be held on May 28.

The only significant agenda of the day will be administration of oath to the members-elect – setting the ground for election of the speaker and deputy speaker and subsequently the leader of the house.

LAHORE, May 23: While President Asif Ali Zardari is yet to sign an ordinance introducing a Rs152 billion ‘mini-budget’, the PPP has turned its guns on the caretaker government for taking what it calls an “unconstitutional” step at the behest of “someone”.

“The caretaker set-up under the constitution cannot introduce a mini-budget. Only a parliament elected by the people of Pakistan can levy taxes. General sales tax can only be levied in consultations with the provincial governments and the Council of Common Interests is the right forum for the purpose,” PPP’s information secretary Qamar Zaman Kaira told Dawn on Thursday.

He said the mandate of the caretaker government was to assist the Election Commission in holding fair, free and transparent elections and facilitate the democratic transition and run day-to-day affairs of the state. It should not take such decisions when an elected government is about to assume responsibilities within days.

“I fail to understand this move of the caretakers. It is tantamount to crossing the limits set by the constitution,” Mr Kaira said.

Asked whether or not President Zardari should sign the ordinance, he said: “Technically, the president is bound to sign the ordinance. The whole responsibility lies with the caretaker government for introducing a controversial mini-budget of Rs152 billion.”

He said Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry should take notice of this constitutional violation. The Supreme Court had taken notice and suspended the transfers and postings made by the interim government and it should also look into this matter, he said. Asked if the step had been taken to provide a ‘cushion’ to the incoming PML-N government, Mr Kaira said: “I don’t want to name anyone, but one thing is for sure that there is something fishy in the hasty move by the caretakers as the new (PML-N) government is ready to take the charge in a week or so.”

PML-N leader Tariq Azeem was of the opinion that it was the constitutional right of the president to promulgate an ordinance. When asked if the PML-N had any objection to the caretakers’ move to introduce the mini-budget, he said: “We have no objection.” But he was quick to add that it (PML-N) would see if the caretakers had exceeded their authority.

Presidential spokesman Farhatullah Babar told Dawn that the president had not yet signed the ordinance.

A senior PPP leader was of the opinion that the president could delay the ordinance for 30 days and also raise certain objections. “Why the president did not immediately return the summary about mini-budget back to the caretakers? I think this question has the answer,” the PPP leader said.

ISLAMABAD: Chinese Premier Li Keqiang wrapped up on Thursday his two-day official visit to Pakistan after promising a deeper and more comprehensive strategic engagement and a closer coordination for security and stability in Afghanistan.

Cementing the “strategic partnership is the shared objective of both countries”, a joint statement issued at the conclusion of the visit said. Both sides noted that their bilateral relationship had acquired strategic importance in the context of the changing regional and international scenario.

The roadmap agreed by the two sides for taking the strategic ties to next level included strengthening strategic communication, moving ahead with negotiations on free trade agreement, convening the next round of meetings of Pak-China Joint Working Energy Group for cooperation on conventional, renewable and civil nuclear energy, enhancing connectivity through upgrading Karakoram Highway and other such transport infrastructure, working on proposed economic corridor, jointly combating non-traditional threats to maritime security and guarding international sea-lanes, expanding air routes, counter-terrorism cooperation and working together at regional and international fora.

It was particularly important for Islamabad that Beijing expressed confidence in its counter-terrorism strategy.

China “reiterates that it respects the anti-terrorism strategy developed and implemented by the Pakistani side in light of its own conditions. …China expresses its appreciation and continued willingness to help Pakistan build up counter-terrorism capacity”, the joint statement read.

China had in the past reservations over the presence of East Turkistan Islamic Movement (ETIM — a rebel Chinese group) in Pakistan. During Premier Li’s visit the Pakistani leadership recommitted to “continuous, active collaboration with and assistance to China in combating terrorist forces including the ETIM”.

ETIM was declared a common threat for Pakistan and China.

Pakistan’s counter-terrorism strategy has quite often been criticised by the West for being flawed. The criticism largely stems from the continued presence of militants in ungoverned spaces in tribal areas.

With Beijing’s endorsement for its counter-terror strategy in hand, some in Islamabad think that they would be able to better counter the “Western propaganda”.

Beijing and Islamabad broadly identified eight sectors for enhanced cooperation — political relations; economy and trade; connectivity; maritime security; aviation and aerospace; people to people exchanges; defense and security collaboration; and cooperation on international and regional issues.

“Pak-China friendship has stood the test of time and is more precious than gold,” Li told Senators at a special session of the upper house of parliament that had been convened for his speech. Address to the parliament is a special honour given to some of the visiting foreign leaders.

Prime Minister Li had at the start of his visit said that China would consolidate its friendship with Pakistan no matter how the international situation developed. He had also effusively praised Pakistan for significantly contributing to regional and world pace and stability.

Mr Li hoped that Pak-China cooperation in the fields of economy, maritime security, aerospace, energy, agriculture, transportation and cultural fields would grow.

Prime Minister Li and his delegation were given a warm send-off. The special Air China Boeing 747 aircraft carrying Mr Li was escorted by a formation of six JF-17 Thunder aircraft in Pakistani airspace as the Chinese leader embarked on the European leg of his four-nation tour.

During his stay in Islamabad, Mr Li met President Asif Ali Zardari, Prime Minister Mir Hazar Khan Khoso, Senate Chairman Nayyar Bokhari, former speaker of the National Assembly Fehmida Mirza, PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif, Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee Gen Khalid Shameem Wynne, services chiefs and leaders of major political parties. He, along with President Zardari, also witnessed signing of 11 agreements and was decorated with highest Pakistani civil award of Nishan-i-Pakistan.

ISLAMABAD: PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif has said strengthening ties with China will be his government’s top foreign policy priority and sought Beijing’s help for dealing with economic challenges and energy deficit.

Mr Sharif, whose party won the May 11 elections and is headed to forming the government at the centre, said this during a meeting with visiting Chinese Prime Minister Li Keqiang here on Thursday.

The two leaders had informally met a day earlier at a reception hosted by President Asif Ali Zardari in honour of premier Li.

A number of world leaders had called to greet Mr Sharif on his party’s victory in the elections. However, this was first foreign policy engagement of Mr Sharif who will be leading the next government as prime minister.

The PML-N chief described China as Pakistan’s time-tested friend and said a strong, stable and prosperous China was necessary for peace and stability in the region. He said he would encourage China to assume a greater role in the revival of Pakistan’s economy and dealing with energy shortages.

Pakistani and Chinese leaders had during their formal talks on Wednesday agreed to reconvene the Pak-China Joint Working Group on Energy which would discuss various options for helping Pakistan cope with energy shortages, including nuclear energy. The Chinese prime minister had also identified energy as a priority area for cooperation.

Mr Li recalled Mr Sharif’s role in expanding Pak-China ties during his previous tenures and said China viewed him as a sincere and committed friend. He expressed good wishes for the incoming government.

The two leaders exchanged views on several other regional and international issues, including India and Afghanistan.

Premier Li invited Mr Sharif to visit China for carrying forward discussions on the areas of cooperation identified by him.

The PML-N chief accepted the invitation and said he looked forward to an early opportunity for traveling to Beijing.

China has traditionally been one of the first overseas stop for Pakistani leaders after their election to the office of prime minister.

ISLAMABAD: The Ministry of Water and Power conceded on Thursday that up to 19 hours of loadshedding was being carried out even in industrial cities like Faisalabad and blamed the finance ministry for the miseries of the people, saying it had not disbursed Rs22.5 billion approved by the caretaker prime minister to improve electricity generation.

“We can substantially minimise the sufferings of the people by bringing down loadshedding to eight hours if we are provided Rs22.5bn committed by the finance ministry on the directives of the prime minister,” Water and Power Minister Dr Musadik Malik said at a news conference.

He said the finance ministry had so far disbursed only Rs5bn that had gone to the Pakistan State Oil to retire its letters of credit, while it was finding excuses to delay more disbursements.

He said the decision for disbursement of Rs22.5bn had been approved on May 20 by Prime Minister Mir Hazar Khan Khoso at a meeting attended by the ministers and secretaries for finance, petroleum and power. Dr Malik said he had repeatedly talked to the prime minister’s adviser on finance, finance secretary and principal secretary to the prime minister over the past two days. The water and power secretary also wrote letters to his counterpart in the finance ministry, but the amount was not released.

Water and Power Secretary Anwar Ahmad Khan said the prime minister had approved the additional amount to maintain power generation at about 12,000MW and contain loadshedding.

He said the power ministry had provided complete details about oil requirements at different power plants as sought by the finance adviser but the only feedback from the finance ministry was that they were working on the issue while keeping in view the overall fiscal space available, according to their interpretation.

Sources said the arguments between the two ministries had reached such a stage that both the minister and secretary for water and power had offered the finance ministry to take charge of the power sector. They said they would step aside if the finance ministry were to micromanage the power plants.

The power ministry was asked by the finance ministry to submit efficiency-wise merit order of power plants for which it could arrange fuel.

When asked about the possibility of his resignation, Dr Malik said he had talked about this and he would have resigned much earlier had he known that he would be made so helpless in mitigating the sufferings of the people in scorching heat, but it would be creating a scene if he took such an extreme decision when he had only a few days to go anyway.

He said he had no doubt that the new leadership would be able to overcome the power crisis within 24-30 months with the right policies. He said he had been invited to brief PML-N leaders and he was impressed with the refreshing ideas, commitment and drive they had to overcome the crisis.

Dr Malik said about 25 per cent of generation capacity was lying idle because of shortage of funds and fuel and another 25pc for technical reasons. For example, a major public sector plant could not be put to use because a minor fan of its cooling plant had been out of order for over two years and nobody had attempted to repair or replace it. This capacity could be brought into use very shortly without any major investment, he said.

He said the government would have to change the regulatory framework to encourage efficiency of the power plants instead of penalising good operators. He was of the opinion that the government could increase the generation capacity and reduce the cost of power production from Rs14 to Rs9 per unit in five years by converting the diesel-based plants to coal, increasing efficiency of the plants and using bagasse plants.

Dr Malik reports from distribution companies showed that the period of loadshedding in urban Islamabad was eight hours and in its rural areas 10-12 hours.

The 4-6 hours loadshedding in Quetta was the least, but its rural areas faced 18 hours of outages.

In Peshawar, loadshedding in urban and rural areas has increased to 12 and 18 hours, while the tribal areas were without power for 17 hours.

In urban Lahore, the period was 10 hours and in adjoining rural areas 16 hours. Faisalabad city remained without electric supply for 16-17 hours and its rural areas 18-19 hours.

Gujranwala suffered 14 hours of loadshedding. The period in urban and rural Hyderabad was eight and 10 hours and Multan 14-15 hours.

ISLAMABAD, May 23: PPP’s two former prime ministers, Yousuf Raza Gilnai and Raja Pervez Ashraf, have been summoned by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) for questioning over the alleged illegal appointment of Tauqeer Sadiq as chairman of the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra).

“Mr Ashraf and Mr Gilani have been summoned on May 26 and May 27, respectively,” NAB’s Prosecutor General K.K. Agha informed the Supreme Court on Thursday.

He told the three-member bench headed by Justice Jawwad S. Khawaja that notices had been served on both ex-premiers, adding that former adviser to petroleum ministry Dr Asim Hussain had also been summoned in the same case on May 30.

Mr Ashraf is also facing charges in the Rental Power Projects (RPPs) scam being pursued by NAB in the Supreme Court. He has been accused of receiving kickbacks and commission in award of contracts to nine rental power companies in 2008. On May 17, he appeared before NAB’s investigators and recorded his statement in the RPP case.

Mr Ashraf ran in the elections for a seat in the National Assembly but suffered defeat.

Mr Gilani is also going through a bad patch since he was disqualified and removed from office of the prime minister on June 19, 2012, by the apex court in a contempt case. Because of his disqualification he could not contest the recent elections while his two sons and bother lost elections. His third son Ali Haider Gilani, who was contesting for a Punjab Assembly seat, was kidnapped outside his house in Multan on May 9 and has not returned.

NAB spokesman Ramzan Sajid refused to give details of the case in which the two PPP leaders have been summoned. “As the matter is under investigation…details…cannot be shared with the media at this stage,” he said.

Mr Sadiq, who has already been declared a proclaimed offender, is also the principal accused in a Rs82 billion corruption scam. He fled abroad soon after the Supreme Court declared his appointment as Ogra chief illegal on Nov 25, 2011.

The apex court was informed that Mr Ashraf was chairman and federal secretaries Zafar Mehmood and Nargis Sethi were members of the interview board that approved the appointment of Mr Sadiq. Mr Gilani was prime minister at the time.

On April 17, 2011, the Higher Education Commission declared the master’s degree of Mr Sadiq fake.

Mr Sadiq, brother-in-law of then PPP secretary general Jehangir Badar, said in a statement that his master’s degree had nothing to do with his appointment since the qualification required for the slot of Ogra chairman, as mentioned in section 3 of the Ogra Ordinance, was an LLB degree and 20 years of experience.

“I did my LLB in 1987 and have 22 years of experience, so I am eligible for the post of Ogra chairman even without this master’s degree,” he said.

Earlier, the Supreme Court had set Oct 5, 2012, as deadline to arrest Mr Sadiq. On Nov 25, the court declared Mr Sadiq’s appointment illegal and ordered NAB to investigate corruption cases against him and submit its findings within 45 days.

Mr Sadiq fled abroad despite the fact that his name was on the ECL. NAB arrested him in Dubai with the help of Interpol but failed to bring him back to the country. He was detained in Al Wathba Prison Abu Dhabi on Feb 14. “We are waiting for the decision of Dubai court regarding deportation of Tauqeer Sadiq to be announced on May 30,” NAB’s prosecutor general told the Supreme Court.—Syed Irfan Raza

QUETTA: Unknown assailants lobbed a hand grenade at a shop on Quetta’s Sariab Road on Friday killing its owner, DawnNews reported.

The shop which dealt in CDs was located near the Awami petrol pump on Sariab Road.

The owner of the shop who was initially injured in the attack was taken to a nearby hospital where he succumbed to his wounds.

The proprietor was a resident of Quetta’s Ittehad Colony located on the provincial capital’s Kirani Road.

After the attack, the assailants managed to escape from the scene.

STOCKHOLM: At least nine cars were torched and two schools and a police station were set ablaze as riots swept through Stockholm's immigrant-dominated suburbs early Friday for the fifth straight night, police and firefighters said.

The riots, which have shattered Sweden's image abroad as a peaceful and egalitarian nation, have sparked a debate about the assimilation of immigrants, who make up about 15 per cent of the population.

Many of the immigrants who have arrived due to the country's generous refugee policy struggle to learn the language and find employment, despite numerous government programs.

Early Friday, police told Swedish news agency TT eight people had been arrested so far for the night's rioting, but no injuries were reported.

In Rinkeby, one of the city's immigrant-dominated areas, firefighters rushed to put out flames that engulfed six cars parked alongside each other.

Five cars were totally gutted, and one sustained more moderate damage, according to an AFP photographer on the scene.

Three more cars were torched in the Norsborg suburb, and a police station in Aelvsjoe was set on fire but quickly extinguished, police said.

Firefighters meanwhile said a school in another immigrant-heavy suburb, Tensta, was set ablaze but quickly extinguished, and a nursery school in the Kista suburb was also on fire.

And police in Soedertaelje, a town south of Stockholm, said rioters threw stones at them as they responded to reports of cars set alight.

The previous night, the fire brigade had been called to some 90 different blazes, most of them caused by rioters.

“We are gradually becoming more like other countries,” said Aje Carlbom, a social anthropologist at Malmoe University.

The troubles, which began Sunday in the Husby suburb, are believed to have been triggered by the fatal police shooting of a 69-year-old Husby resident last week after the man wielded a machete in public.

The man had fled to his apartment, where police have said they tried to mediate but ended up shooting him dead in what they claimed was self-defence.

Local activists said the shooting sparked anger among youths who claim to have suffered from police brutality. During the first night of rioting, they said police had called them “tramps, monkeys and negroes”.

Police meanwhile downplayed the scale of the events.

“Every injured person is a tragedy, every torched car is a failure for society...but Stockholm is not burning. Let's have a level-headed view of the situation,” Ulf Johansson, deputy police chief for Stockholm county, said Thursday.

Residents of areas largely populated by immigrants are suffering from segregation, anthropologist Carlbom told AFP.

“Living as a young person in these segregated areas can be very hard in many ways. You have virtually no contact with other Swedes and a lot of times I don't think you have a good understanding of Swedish society,” he said.

For example, some 80 per cent of the 12,000 residents in Husby are immigrants.

Due to its liberal immigration policy, Sweden has in recent decades become one of Europe's top destinations for immigrants, both in absolute numbers and relative to its size.

In the past decade it has welcomed hundreds of thousands of immigrants from Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, Somalia and the Balkans, among others.

This is not the first time the Scandinavian country has seen riots among immigrants. In 2010, up to 100 youths threw bricks, set fires and attacked the local police station in the immigrant-dominated suburb of Rinkeby for two nights.

And in 2008, hundreds of youths rioted against police in the southern Swedish town of Malmoe, sparked by the closure of an Islamic cultural centre in the suburb of Rosengaard that housed a mosque.

Integration Minister Erik Ullenhag attributed the violence to high unemployment and social exclusion in Sweden's immigrant-dominated areas.

“We know that there is discrimination in these areas, and these events don't improve the image of these areas, where there is a lot of positive stuff going on but which is totally eclipsed right now,” he told TT.

In Husby, overall unemployment was 8.8 per cent in 2012, compared to 3.3 per cent in Stockholm as a whole, according to official data.

And a total of 12 percent in Husby received social benefits last year, compared to 3.6 per cent in Stockholm as a whole.

The riots have received international media attention, with some comparisons being drawn to similar problems assimilating immigrants in other European countries such as Britain and France.

SRINAGAR: An official said suspected militants had ambushed and fatally shot three Indian army soldiers in Indian-administered Kashmir.

Lt. Col. Ankur Vashist, an army spokesman, said the soldiers were on their way to search Buchoo village on Friday following intelligence that some Kashmiri militants were hiding there.

The attack took place 40 kilometres south of Srinagar, the main city in Indian-administered Kashmir.

Militant groups have been fighting for independence from India or merger with Pakistan since 1989.

More than 68,000 people, mostly civilians, have been killed in the fighting since 1989.

India accuses Pakistan of arming and training the insurgents, a charge denied by Islamabad.

Kashmir is divided between India and Pakistan and the two have fought two wars over its control.

KARACHI: At least six persons, including a woman, were killed and two others were killed in various firing incidents in the city whereas three children were injured in a grenade attack on a school in Karachi’s Orangi Town area on Friday, DawnNews reported.

Suspected extortionists lobbed a hand grenade at a private school in Balochi Goth area of Karachi’s Orangi town area, over non-payment of extortion money. Three children sustained minor injuries as a result of the blast.

The grenade exploded with a huge bang causing fear and panic in the area.

Morover, a four-day-old corpse of a woman was discovered in Chaman Colony area of Malir in Karachi whereas another body of man bearing marks of torture was found in New Karachi Industrial area.

Another two persons were killed in a gun-firing incident in City Railway Colony area. Both the victims hailed from Khyber Pakhtunkwa’s Mansehra city.

Two more persons lost their lives to gun shot wounds suffered near Dua hotel on Mauripur road in Chakiwara area of Lyari.

In another incident two people were wounded when unknown persons opened fire at hotel in Pak colony area of Karachi.

PESHAWAR: The vehicle of the chief of an Afghan religious outfit, Jamatul Dawa Alquran and Sunnah came under a suicide bomb attack near a seminary on Pajaggi Road in the suburb's of Peshwawar killing two personsshortly after Friday prayers.

A leader of Jamaatul Dawat Alquran and Alsunnah, Haji Hayatullah, was not present in the vehicle when it was targeted by the suicide attacker. However his driver and bodyguard, who were the occupants of the targeted vehicle, were killed in the blast.

Haji Hayatullah is the nephew of Maulvi Jamilul Rehman, the founder of Afghan Jamaatul Dawaat

Lady Reading Hospital sources told Dawn.com that three bodies, including one of an unidentified person, were received at the hospital.

The suicide blast targeted a pickup vehicle and body-parts of the attacker had been recovered, according to AIG Bomb Disposal Squad Shafqat Malik who added that five to six kilograms of explosives were used in the blast.

Malik further said that ball bearing and pellets were also used in the making of the bomb

Security persons reached the blast site and cordoned off the area.

LONDON: The Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) chief Altaf Hussain on Friday said if his party workers did not amend themselves, they would lose their leader forever, DawnNews reported.

In a telephonic address to members of the Interim Rabita (Coordinating) Committee and other party workers, Altaf said he initiated the MQM in Karachi University (KU) to identify the rights of people who migrated during the partition, but over the time, ninety eight per cent of the party’s population had become the voice of the poor and oppressed citizens in the country.

He added that his party was not formed to perpetrate hatred towards any nationality or class, but to work for the rights of marginalised people

Moreover, he said the linguistic and regional-based problems that he had to face in his student life were not seen in the history of the region.

It is pertinent to mention that the MQM’s Rabita (Coordination) Committee was disbanded earlier on Thursday, a decision approved by party chief Altaf Hussain.

The new rabita committee would be formed on Saturday in a general workers’ meeting of the party. In the meantime, administrative affairs of the party would be managed by a seven-member committee which had already been formed.

The move came in the wake of Altaf Hussain’s address to MQM workers earlier during which he said he would purge the party of ‘corrupt and unwanted’ elements and that the cleansing process for that purpose had already begun.

KABUL: Explosions and gunfire rocked central Kabul Friday as the Taliban launched an attack close to an Afghan intelligence facility and the headquarters of a government force that protects foreign firms.

The attack comes a week after a suicide car bomb targeting a foreign military convoy killed 15 people including five Americans in the deadliest attack in the Afghan capital for nearly a year.

The Taliban announced their annual “spring offensive” on April 27, opening a crucial period as local security forces take the lead in the fight against the insurgents.

At least two blasts hit the centre of Kabul at about 4:00 pm on Friday, the second day of the Afghan weekend, and gunfire erupted as security forces rushed to the scene.

Kabul police spokesman Hashmat Stanikzai told AFP the initial blast came close to a hospital run by the NDS intelligence agency and the headquarters of the Afghan Public Protection Force (APPF), a government force that provides security for clients including international firms, supply convoys and aid groups.

He said gunmen had occupied a building in the attack, which is ongoing.

Jawed Kazem, a local shopkeeper, said: “I was sitting in my shop when the explosion happened. It was a big explosion which threw me off my chair, minutes later another explosion happened. “Smoke is rising and gunfire is continuing.”

Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid told AFP that his group was responsible and added that the attack began with a suicide car bombing.

“A group of other mujahideen armed with heavy and light weapons then took position in a building and are firing on several targets including a building in which the foreigners and members of spy agency stay,” he said.

The suicide bombing last Thursday was the first major attack in Kabul since March 9 when a bomber on a bicycle killed nine people outside the defence ministry during a visit by US Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel.

The attacks further underline the capital's vulnerability to militant assaults as 100,000 Nato troops gradually withdraw from Afghanistan ahead of the end of international combat operations next year.

Local forces are increasingly coming under attack from the Taliban as they take over from foreign forces, who will pull out of Afghanistan by the end of next year.

Six members of the APPF were killed on Tuesday in a roadside bombing in western Afghanistan as they travelled to a hydroelectric dam that is under protection from insurgent attack.

More than 11 years after the Taliban regime was ousted in 2001, efforts to seek a political settlement ending the violence have so far made little progress, but pressure is growing ahead of the Nato withdrawal.

QUETTA: At least three persons were killed in a firing incident in Quetta's Kharan region on Friday, DawnNews reported.

The Deputy Commissioner of Kharan, Fateh Khan Khajjak, told Dawn.com that armed men stormed inside a house in the Baseema area and killed three people, adding that they managed to escape unharmed.

Moreover, he said the incident was the result of an old tribal dispute.

Meanwhile, the deceased persons were shifted to a nearby hospital in the area.

Levies personnel reached the site of incident and started investigations.

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan government Friday repeated its view that US drone strikes in its territory were illegal, after President Barack Obama laid out new guidelines for their use.

The US president mounted a firm defence of his covert drone war as legal and just in a major speech on counter-terrorism policy on Thursday but warned that undisciplined use of the tactic would invite abuses of power.

Islamabad said it welcomed some aspects of Obama’s address, particularly his acknowledgement that “force alone cannot make us safe”, but it remained firm on its long-held public stance on unmanned missile attacks in its tribal northwest.

“The Government of Pakistan has consistently maintained that the drone strikes are counter-productive, entail loss of innocent civilian lives, have human rights and humanitarian implications and violate the principles of national sovereignty, territorial integrity and international law,” the foreign ministry said in a statement.

Obama said he had approved new guidelines stating that drone strikes can only be used to prevent imminent attacks and when the capture of a suspect is not feasible and if there is a “near certainty” that civilians will not be killed.

According to Britain’s Bureau of Investigative Journalism, CIA drone attacks in Pakistan have killed up to 3,587 people since 2004, up to 884 of them civilians.

LONDON: British fighter jets escorted a Pakistan International Airlines passenger plane to Stansted Airport near London on Friday, where police went on board and arrested two men on suspicion of endangering an aircraft.

Flight PK709 from Lahore in Pakistan had been due to land at Manchester in northern England with 297 passengers on board, but was diverted shortly before arrival.

A security source said early indications were that the plane was not the target of a terrorist attack.

Britain is on high alert after a soldier was hacked to death on a London street on Wednesday in what the government are treating as a terrorist incident.

“Essex Police have boarded a passenger plane diverted to Stansted Airport and two men have been arrested on suspicion of endangerment of an aircraft. They have been removed from the plane,” the police said in a statement.

The force is responsible for the area where Stansted is located.

Stansted is one of London's less busy airports, preferred as a location for handling airplane security incidents.

A spokesman for the airport said the plane was being held in an isolated area and that the rest of the airport was operating as normal.

Essex County Fire and Rescue Service said 10 fire engines had been sent to the airport.

The Pakistani plane was a Boeing 777, according to the flight tracking website www.flightradar.com.

Britain launches military planes to intercept unidentified aircraft when they cannot be identified by other means, for example when the aircraft is not talking to air traffic controllers.

PESHAWAR: Police claim to have busted a Tehrik-i-Taliban (TTP) terrorist network which was assigned the task of targeting politicians during the 2013 elections.

They have arrested six suspected terrorists along with a woman and seized a suicide jacket, hand grenades and more than 70 kilograms of explosives and materials being used for IED and explosives jackets.

Station House Officer of Chamkani Police station Haji Abdul Hameed speaking to Dawn.Com said that the police arrested the suspects, during a raid on a house in the Tarnab Farms area of the city outskirts.

“We have seized an eight kilograms suicide jacket ready for use, three hand grenades, IED making accessories and about 70 kilograms of explosives,” he stated.

The arrested accused have been identified as Rohullah, Asadullah Irfanullah, Kashti Gul and Ishfaq Hussain. The latter individual was the main explosive supplier to the gang.

“Ishfaq has admitted that they had links to the TTP in South Waziristan Agency and were carrying out attacks on its directive,” he said.

Ishfaq Hussain, who was presented along with the other accused before the media, admitted on the occasion that they were involved in attacks on former minister and ANP candidate Arbab Ayub Jan and also the election office of NA-46 candidate in Maqsoodabad area of Peshawar.

Another arrested accused Rohullah on the occasion said that they had links to the TTP and had carried out attacks on their directive.

He however remained silent when asked what their next target was and what their future plans had been.

Three of the arrested accused were teenagers and appear to have been on an unknown mission, which is what the explosives and IEDs were being prepared for.

Police said they had also seized hand grenades, fuses, wires, batteries and remote controlled devices from the house and were conducting further investigations.

The arrested woman, Munfajara, said she is the mother of Irfanullah, Kashtir Gul, Rohullah and Asadullah, adding “my son Rohullah had been blackmailed by someone and fraudulently handed over the material to him.”

She said that her son Irfanullah is a student of class 8, Asadullah is a 2nd year student while Rohullah and Kastir Gul are also innocent.

"We have nothing to do with the explosive material," she said.

Rohullah later also claimed that all the material had been handed over to him by Ishfaq Hussain to keep at home and that he had been paid Rs1000 for the task.

He also admitted another person named Basit, has confirmed that he had carried out the attack on Arbab Ayub Jan’s vehicle.

****PESHAWAR: Four police personnel have been killed while the District Police Officer (DPO) Kohat Dilawar Bangash has been injured, along with his guards, after militants launched a rocket attack in Mattani area near FR Darra Adamkhel.**

Exchange of fire is still continuing between security forces and the attackers. The situation is not clear and reinforcement has been sent in to counter the attack.

The DPO and his injured guard have reached CMH Kohat. The DPO's hand is reported to have been injured only.‏

Peshawar police confirmed that the DPO’s vehicle had come under attack and that he was injured along with other police officers.

“We cannot confirm more on it but yes the DPO and his guards have been injured in the attack with rockets and gunfire while exchange of firing is still going on,” police official said.

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehrik-i-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan on Friday urged the Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) and Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) to probe allegations of vote fraud during the recently held elections.

Making a video-link address to thousands of PTI protestors here at D-Chowk, Imran Khan said that voters who had turned in record numbers in the polls, had staged sit-ins in different parts of the country as their mandate had been stolen.

Imran Khan appealed to the Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry to order a thorough probe into poll rigging allegations to save the democratic process in the country.

“Since the returning officers were working under your control, this is your responsibility to probe the allegations. This election is being termed as RO's election.

"This has never happened in the history of Pakistan that ROs were blamed. If such ROs who were involved in rigging are not punished, who would take part in the next elections,” he argued.

He said it was not only the PTI which was crying foul but all political parties were leveling allegations of massive vote fraud and all wanted a fair probe into the allegations.

“We are sure you would investigate the matter for the sake of future of Pakistan. This would help to make future polls transparent. The ECP should also take action,” he said while addressing the CJP.

Reminding of the PTI's contribution during the judges movement, Imran Khan said that his party workers had struggled for the restoration of the sacked judges.

“We did not came on roads for individuals. We wanted to strengthen the institutions. Probe into poll fraud would help save Pakistan. The voters who had come to vote are holding spontaneous protests,” he asserted.

Khan said that he wanted thumb-impression rechecking in only four constituencies as a litmus test to evaluate the rigging allegations and to set the polling process straight.

Despite scorching heatwave across Punjab Province, PTI workers gathered at D-Chowk in thousands to protest against the alleged rigging on various constituencies in general elections and demanded recounting of votes by matching thumb expression.

Thousands of the party's workers including a large number of youth were waving PTI flags and were carrying placards inscribed with the slogans condemning rigging in elections and snatching genuine mandate given to PTI by the voters.

On this occasion, special poems were recited by the party workers, praising the leadership qualities of Chairman PTI Imran Khan. They also criticised the Election Commission for alleged rigging in elections.

The enthusiastic youth were dancing to the tune of party songs and raised slogans in support of the party's leadership.

PTI leaders including Makhdoom Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Shafqat Mahmood, Jahangir Tareen, Ijaz Chaudhry, Dr Yasmin Rashid, Khurshid Mahmood Kasuri, Ishaq Khakwani, Amin Aslam, Malik Sohail Kamriyal, Dr Wasim Shehzad and others also addressed the gathering.

KARACHI: Pakistan Muslim League - Nawaz (PML-N) leader Shahbaz Sharif on Saturday held a meeting with Pir Pagara, chief of the Pakistan Muslim League – Functional (PML-F), in Karachi and formally offered his party to join the government at the centre, which the latter accepted, DawnNews reported.

The overture came as Sharif met with Pagara at the latter's residence in Karachi where the PML-N leader was accorded a warm welcome.

During the meeting, Pagara felicitated Sharif over the success of the PML-N in the May 11 elections and the two leaders exchanged views on issues pertaining to government formation at the centre and taking on the role of opposition in Sindh.

Also during the meeting, Sharif formally invited Pagara's party to join the government at the centre, an offer which the PML-F chief accepted.