ISLAMABAD: President Asif Ali Zardari has told a foreign television channel there must be an international investigation into last week’’s NATO airstrikes on two hijacked oil tankers in Afghanistan’’s Kunduz province, which resulted in brutal deaths of civilians.

Zardari was speaking here in Islamabad to mark his first year in office as civilian president of Pakistan.

President urged upon UN?s agencies and other international human rights agencies to utilize their mechanisms which they have many times used in past for similar investigations.

I will attend Hamid Karzai?s oath taking ceremony as he was present here when I did the same, he hoped.

He also spoke about the disputed Afghan election results and Pakistan’’s battle with Taliban militants.

I myself lost my life in war on terror and what we have done is unparallel to what the entire world has not done together, president concluded.

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Pakistan News

Rawalpindi

The residents of Rawalpindi have bemoaned the high prices of clothes and shoes. A normal pair of shoes for both men and women is bei

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NEW YORK: Oil prices rose modestly Wednesday, amid by dollar weakness and market optimism that a global economic recovery is forming.

New York’’s main contract, light sweet crude for October delivery, settled at 71.31 dollars a barrel, up 21 cents from the closing level Tuesday.

In London, Brent North Sea crude for October delivery gained 41 cents to close at 69.83 dollars a barrel.

The slight price gains followed powerful surges Tuesday, when the New York contract leapt 3.08 dollars and Brent added 2.89 dollars.

“As impressive as yesterday was one day does not change the fact that we are swimming in supply,” said Phil Flynn of PFG Best.

The price of the New York futures contract, which had climbed Wednesday as high as 72.52 dollars, briefly sank into the red near the session end then staged a modest rally.

Antoine Halff of Newedge Group said the late-session wobble apparently was linked to a dollar correction.

The sharp fall in the US currency had boosted demand for dollar-priced commodities in recent days, but the dollar firmed slightly Wednesday after the Federal Reserve published it Beige Book report on the state of the US economy.

The action came as an OPEC meeting got underway in Vienna, where the cartel was expected to leave output unchanged.

Saudi Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi — whose country is the biggest oil producer in the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries — said ahead of the meeting, “The market is in very good shape, very well-supplied.”

OPEC members, which together pump 40 percent of the world’’s oil, agreed in late 2008 to remove a massive 4.2 million barrels of daily output from the market as it sought to prop up crumbling prices.

Oil prices, which peaked above 147 dollars in July 2008 before tumbling to 32 dollars in December, have doubled since the start of 2009 and recently touched the 75 dollar mark.

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LAHORE: Lahore High Court (LHC) on Wednesday directed the Foreign Ministry to take decision on the matter of filing the case of Dr Aafia Siddiqi before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) within one month.

The court also observed that the fair trial is the right of every accused and the foreign ministry should examine the matter after considering the articles stated in the treaty signed between Pakistan and America in Washington in 1959.

The court also referred the Islamabad High Court decision on the similar petition on March 3,2009 in which the court had directed the government to find ways and means for the repatriation of Dr Aafia and recovery of minors and if they fail in their pursuit, examine filing of reference to the united nations.

The court observed that the other issues raised in the petition did not come within the domain of “habeas corpus” and those also involve factual controversy.

On the allegations of receiving kick backs on paying heavy amount to the American lawyers for the defence of Dr Aafia,the court observed that, “the status of these lawyers can not be determined by this court in these proceedings as these also involve factual controversy”.

The court asked the government to take necessary steps to ensure that the best lawyers are chosen for pursuing Dr Aafia’’s case.

LHC also directed the concerned authorities in the government to pay the fee of this case to the petitioner’’s counsel under the rules if any, as he fought for the rights of the citizens of this country.

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ISLAMABAD: One of the characters of the midnight jackals cast, Maj (retd) Amir has claimed that President Zardari had offered him the highly sensitive

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PESHAWAR: Seven terrorists were killed and one solider was martyred while two troops were injured during exchange of firing at Charai near Malam Jaba in Swat district, an ISPR statement here said on Wednesday.

Search and clearance operations are continuing in Swat and Malakand. In Swat the security forces conducted search operation at Charai near Malam Jabba and during exchange of fire with terrorists one soldier embraced martyrdom and 2 soldiers were injured. As many as seven terrorists were also killed.

As many as 11 terrorists voluntarily surrendered to security forces at Sarsanai, shadhand Banda and Bar Shaur while11 suspect terrorists were apprehended at Dosara Banda, Bartan, Nalkot Bagh Dheri and Rahatkot.

Local Jirga handed over a terrorist to security forces at Bar Kabulgram near Martung. In Bajaur Agency security forces conducted search operation at Nawaga Bazaar and apprehended local terrorists commander along with 5 accomplices. A wanted terrorist Kalam Khan voluntarily surrendered at Khar.

Regarding relief activities, as many as 10 trucks of mix rations have been distributed amongst the IDPs of Bajaur. As many as 294,841 cash cards have been distributed amongst the IDPs of Malakand.

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ISLAMABAD: Former Test wicket-keeper Wasim Bari was Monday appointed Chief Operating Officer of Pakistan Cricket Board with immediate effect, it was officially learnt.

The Governing Board of PCB made this appointment ?through a resolution by circulation?, said a PCB Spokesman.Wasim Bari had been given acting charge of this post after the removal of another former Test cricketer Salim Altaf as COO of PCB.

Wasim Bari has said that he has accepted the position as challenge and that he will take everyone along.

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ISLAMABAD: Foreign Minister Makhdoom Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Wednesday said no mini-Pentagon is being established in Islamabad nor such a permission would be given.

At an Iftar-dinner here, the FM said he is expected to meet his Indian counterpart in New York during which, he said, talks will also be held on Mumbai attacks.

Underlining the importance of peace for regional stability, he said Pakistan and India need to sit across a table for resolution of the issues.

He said a meeting of all the stakeholders will be convened for holding dialogue with India on Kashmir issue.

Shah Mehmood Qureshi said the Friends of Pakistan session to be held in New York will be presided over president Obama, British prime minister Gordon Brown and President Asif Ali Zardari.

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KARACHI: Armed men have grabbed Karachi Port Trust (KPT) land located here along Mai Kolachi Road.

It is reported that police and KPT officials appeared helpless in getting the land released from the armed men who felt no qualms in pointing guns at the officials who came for reclaiming the land.

According to KPT officials, the Trust had given the land on lease to be used as rented marriage hall.

Meanwhile, Federal Minister for Ports and Shipping Babar Khan Ghauri has said that the CCPO had expressed his inability to come for help.

General Manager KPT said they had come for securing the government land.

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KARACHI: General Manager Estate Karachi Port Trust (KPT) Ahmed Pervez Younisi has said that KPT has managed to get the land released from the possession of armed men.

He said following the news reports aired on media including Geo News, police carried out a raid in the supervision of SP Police Clifton and successfully secured the land from the armed men.

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