ISLAMABAD: Former Pakistan Test captain and coach Javed Miandad hopes England’’s decision to resume its tour of India will help foreign teams have confidence in also playing in Pakistan.”I welcome the England team’’s return to India despite the deadly attacks in Mumbai,” Miandad, who is now Pakistan Cricket Board director general, he told media on Tuesday. “It’’s a lesson of peace and a defeat for terrorists.”The England squad returned to India on Monday - 10 days after flying home midway through its limited-overs series in the wake of the Mumbai attacks - amid tight security to play two Test matches”I sincerely hope that foreign teams will also start playing cricket in Pakistan, and it starts with the Indian cricket team’’s tour to Pakistan next month,” Miandad said.Miandad, 51, is regarded as one of Pakistan’’s greatest batsmen, scoring 8,832 runs from 124 Tests with an average of 52.57 and 7,381 limited-overs runs from 233 matches in a career that spanned almost 20 years from 1976.
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LONDON: Former England all-rounder Chris Lewis has been charged with attempting to smuggle cocaine with a street value of more than 200,000 pounds into Britain. The 40-year-old was arrested along with an alleged accomplice on Monday after border control officers at London’’s Gatwick airport found four kilograms (nine pounds) of the illegal drug in liquid form in fruit tins in a baggage that had arrived from the Caribbean island of St Lucia. Lewis was due to appear at a preliminary court hearing on Tuesday to answer charges, which could result in a prison sentence. Lewis arrived in London on Monday morning on a flight from St Lucia. He was traveling with Chad Kirnon, 26, who was also arrested and charged. Guyana-born Lewis took 93 wickets during his England Test career and 66 wickets in one-day internationals, at averages of 37.5 and 29.4 respectively. He finished with a Test batting average of 23 but was widely regarded as having failed to live up to the potential of his early years, when he was tipped to become the new Ian Botham. He retired from county cricket in 2000 because of a persistent hip injury after spells with Leicestershire, Nottinghamshire and Surrey. He re-joined Surrey earlier this year with a view to playing in 20-overs matches but that plan was scuppered by injury.
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HONG KONG: Hong Kong health authorities raised the city’’s avian flu alert to “serious” on Tuesday after some chickens at a farm were confirmed to have the H5 birdflu virus, prompting the cull of 80,000 chickens.The H5 birdflu strain is a low pathogenic avian influenza. Experts fear the more deadly H5N1 strain, which remains mainly an animal disease but has infected humans, could mutate to a form that spreads easily among people.Hong Kong health authorities did not rule out the possibility the virus might be H5N1, pending further tests.The city’’s Health Secretary York Chow said the affected farm was in Hong Kong’’s northeastern Yuen Long district near the border with China, which reported the unusual deaths of 60 chickens on Monday.”After a series of tests, we have confirmed this morning that the chickens died from the H5 virus,” Chow told reporters, adding three dead chickens were tested and 20 feces samples were taken.Officers clad in masks, white medical suits and black rubber gloves began the mass culling of some 80,000 birds at the farm on Tuesday afternoon, and were shown stuffing piles of chicken carcasses into black bin bags.Chickens at a second nearby farm would also be culled.All 80,000 chickens within a 3 km radius of the farms would be destroyed, along with some birds at a wholesale market, he added.While Chow said the last birdflu outbreak at a Hong Kong farm occurred in early 2003, in June authorities found H5N1 at a poultry stall in one of the city’’s many wet markets which led to the culling of 2,700 birds.
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BANNU: Assistant Political Agent here has issued notice to the Bakakhel clans for the safe recovery of North Waziristan Assistant Political Agent (APA), Asmatullah Khan.Some unknown persons yesterday had kidnapped North Waziristan APA Asmatullah Khan, while he was on his way to Bannu. Bakakhel clans have been told in the notice to ensue the recovery of abducted Asmatullah Khan within three days, otherwise the government would launch an operation against the,
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ISLAMABAD: Pakistan said Tuesday it would not hand over any suspects in the Mumbai bombings to India and warned that while it wanted peace with its neighbour, it was ready for war if New Delhi decided to attack.The remarks come amid mounting tensions between the nuclear-armed neighbours after India said it is keeping all options open following last month’’s carnage in Mumbai, where 172 people were killed and more than 300 wounded.”We do not want to impose war, but we are fully prepared in case war is imposed on us,” Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said.”We are not oblivious to our responsibilities to defend our homeland. But it is our desire that there should be no war.”Qureshi said he was sending “a very clear message” that his country did not want conflict with India.”We want friendship, we want peace and we want stability — but our desire for peace should not be considered Pakistan’’s weakness.”The minister also said that India’’s demands for the extradition of suspects in the Mumbai attacks were out of the question and that Pakistan, which has arrested 16 people since Saturday, would keep them on home soil.”The arrests are being made for our own investigations. Even if allegations are proved against any suspect, he will not be handed over to India,” Qureshi said. “We will proceed against those arrested under Pakistani laws.”
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ISLAMABAD: Eid-ul-Azha is being celebrated on Tuesday with religious zeal and fervour all over the country.This morning, Eid prayers were held at mosques, Eidgahs and open places in all towns and cities of the country. The ulema in their sermons highlight the significance of the day and the philosophy of sacrifice of animals on the day. Special prayers were offered for the progress and prosperity of Pakistan, unity and solidarity of the Muslim ummah and liberation of the occupied territories. President Asif Ali Zardari offered the prayer at the mosque of the Awan-e-Sadar while prime minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani offered the prayer in the mosque of the Prime Minister House. Advisor on interior Rehman Malik and federal minister for water electricity Raja Pervez Ashraf also offered the prayer with the prime minister.The biggest congregation of the Eid prayer in Islamabad was held at the Shah Faisal Mosque where federal ministers, higher civil and military officials and ambassadors of various Muslim countries offered the prayer.The largest congregation in Lahore was held at the historic Badshahi Mosque.PML (N) chief Mian Nawaz Sharif offered the Eid prayer in Raiwand and later he offered fateha at the grave of his father Mian Sharif and met with the party workers. In Karachi, the central congregation of the Eid prayer was held at the Bagh-e-Quaid-e-Azam where governor Sindh Dr Ishratul Ibad Khan, provincial ministers and foreign diplomats offered the prayer.Chief minister Sindh offered the prayer of Eid-ul-Azha in Garhi Khuda Bakhsh.Big congregations of Eid-ul-Azha in Karachi were held at Nishtar Park, Mehfil Shah Khurasan, Masjid Tooba, Eidgah Nazimabad, national Stadium, Masjid Khairul Amal and Masjid Baitul Mukarram.Ulema and khateebs from different schools of thought will deliver special sermons and lectures to highlight the significance of the day, and call upon the Muslims to follow the teachings of Islam.Chief minister Balochistan Nawab Aslam Raeesani offered the Eid prayer in Quetta and governor of the province offered the prayer in his native village Jhalmagsi.Chief minister NWFP Ameer Haider Khan Hoti and governor Owais Ahmed Ghani offered the Eid prayer in Governor House Peshawar.Special security arrangements have been made throughout the country on this occasion.
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ISLAMABAD: Defense Minister, Ahmad Mukhtar has said that India and Pakistan could jointly investigate into the Mumbai attacks, if needed and interrogation of the suspected persons could also be carried out.Talking to an Indian TV, Ahmad Mukhtar said that if any one found involved in Mumbai attacks, then Pakistan would be taking action under its own laws and regulations and the terrorism in no way would be tolerated. He said that the Lashkar-e-Taiba commander, Zaki ur Rahman Lakhvi has been arrested and the defunct Jaish Muhammad leader, Maulana Masood Azhar has been confined his residence.
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PESHAWAR: A 10-year-old boy was killed and four children were wounded in a suicide attack in Dagar, an area of Buner on Tuesday.The attacker struck during the celebrations of Eid-ul-Azha on a busy street in the town of Buner in NWFP.According to police, the suicide bomber wanted to target a government installation but suddenly his jacket was torn and the bomb exploded.In result, a 10-year-old boy, named Zahid Hussain was killed and four other children were injured who were taken to district headquarter hospital where the nine-year-old Satoor Bibi is in critical condition.The hand, leg and various parts of body of the bomber were found on the spot.The security forces have cordoned off the area after the explosion.
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ISLAMABAD: President Asif Ali Zardari offered the Eid-ul-Azha prayer here today at the Awan-e-Sadar.After the prayer, he met with the chiefs of the armed services and speaker national assembly at the Awan-e-Sadar and wished them a happy Eid.
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