ISLAMABAD: In a strange move, the government has been trying to keep the identities of members of the six-member second Joint Investigation Team (JIT)

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ISLAMABAD: President Asif Ali Zardari on Wednesday said that real facts would be made public after completion of probe being conducted into assassination of Benazir Bhutto.

This he said at a meeting with Sheikhupra-based party?s leaders, who called on President Zardari at the Aiwan-e-Sadr.

President Zardari said the UN report on Bhutto?s slaying strengthened the government?s hand in exposing the culprits. He further said that Benazir Bhutto?s dream was accomplished by cleansing the constitution of dictatorial distortions.

The unanimous restoration of 1973 Constitution is the achievement of his government, he added.

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WASHINGTON: The no-fly list failed to keep the Times Square suspect off the plane.

Faisal Shahzad had boarded a jetliner bound for the United Arab Emirates Monday night before federal authorities pulled him back.

Although under surveillance since mid-afternoon, he had managed to elude investigators and head to the airport.

The night’’s events, gradually coming to light, underscored the flaws in the nation’’s aviation security system, which despite its technologies, lists and information sharing, often comes down to someone making a right call.

As federal agents closed in, Faisal Shahzad was aboard Emirates Flight 202. He reserved a ticket on the way to John F. Kennedy International Airport, paid cash on arrival and walked through security without being stopped.

By the time Customs and Border Protection officials, using a no-fly list updated earlier Tuesday, spotted Shahzad’’s name on the passenger list and recognized him as the bombing suspect they were looking for, he was in his seat and the plane was preparing to leave the gate.

It didn”t. At the last minute, the pilot was notified, the jetliner’’s door was opened and Shahzad was taken into custody.

After authorities pulled Shahzad off the plane, he admitted he was behind the crude Times Square car bomb, officials said. He also claimed to have been trained at a terror camp in Waziristan, according to court documents. That raised increased concern that the bombing was an international terror plot.

The night’’s events, gradually coming to light, underscored the flaws in the nation’’s aviation security system, which despite its technologies, lists and information sharing, often comes down to someone making a right call.

As federal agents closed in, Faisal Shahzad was aboard Emirates Flight 202. He reserved a ticket on the way to John F. Kennedy International Airport, paid cash on arrival and walked through security without being stopped. By the time Customs and Border Protection officials rechecked the passenger list, using a no-fly list updated earlier in the day, they spotted Shahzad’’s name and recognized him as the bombing suspect they were looking for, he was in his seat and the plane was preparing to leave the gate.

It didn”t. At the last minute, the pilot was notified, the jetliner’’s door was opened and Shahzad was taken into custody.

Shahzad, a Pakistani-born US citizen, was charged Tuesday with terrorism and attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction in Saturday evening’’s failed Times Square bombing. According to a federal complaint, he confessed to buying an SUV, rigging it with a homemade bomb and driving it into the busy area where he tried to detonate it.

Shahzad had been under constant watch at his Bridgeport, Connecticut, home since 3 pm Monday and federal authorities had planned to arrest him there that evening, two people familiar with the investigation told The Associated Press.

Authorities believe he decided to flee after being spooked by news reports that investigators were seeking a Pakistani suspect in Connecticut, one of the people said.

Shahzad somehow lost the investigators who were trailing him, the two people said. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the incident.

The FBI and the New York Police Department declined to comment.

The Obama administration played down that Shahzad had made it aboard the plane. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano would not talk about it, other than to say Customs officials prevented the plane from taking off. White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said the security system has fallback procedures in place for times like this, and they worked.

And Attorney General Eric Holder said he “was never in any fear that we were in danger of losing him.””

It seemed clear the airline either never saw or ignored key information that would have kept Shahzad off the plane, a fact that dampened what was otherwise hailed as a fast, successful law enforcement operation.

The no-fly list is supposed to mean just that. And Shahzad’’s name was added to the list early Monday afternoon as a result of breaking developments in the investigation, according to a law enforcement official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss a continuing investigation.

When Emirates sold the ticket, it was working off an outdated list. Airline officials would have had to check a Web forum where updates are sent if it were to have flagged him. Because they did not, law enforcement officials were not aware of his travel plans until they received the passenger list 30 minutes before takeoff, the official said.

By that time, passengers usually are on board.

Gibbs blamed the airline but emphasized a more positive bottom line: US authorities did get Shahzad on the no-fly list and he never took off.

“There’’s a series of built-in redundancies, this being one of them,”” Gibbs said. “If there’’s a mistake by a carrier, it can be double-checked.””

The list is only as good as the nation’’s intelligence and the experts who analyze it. If a lead is not shared, or if an analyst is unable to connect one piece of information to another, a terrorist could slip onto an airplane because his name is not on the watch list.

Officials allege that is just what took place ahead of the attempted Dec. 25 attack on a US-bound jet. In the case of the Times Square suspect, the intelligence process worked: Shahzad’’s name was on the list, but the airlines did not check it when he bought his ticket.

Shahzad went through normal airport security before he boarded the plane. He was unarmed and had no explosive material on him when he was arrested.

Emirates did not return repeated calls for comments. Earlier in the day, the company issued a general statement saying it was cooperating with investigators and takes every precaution to ensure its passengers” safety.

The reliance on airlines to check government lists has been a known problem for years. The government has long planned to take over the responsibility for matching passengers to watch lists, but the transition has taken longer than expected. The new program is still in the test phase for domestic airlines and is still months away from beginning with international carriers.

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LAHORE: Former Information Minister and PML-Q-backed Senator Muhammad Ali Durrani has rejected Pervaiz Elahi?s demand for a separate South Punjab province, saying he would sever ties with the party if any other demand except for Bahawalpur province was made.

Speaking to Geo TV on Wednesday, Durrani described the demand for establishment of South Punjab province was baseless. People, he said, would not let Bahawalpur fall a prey at the hands of feudals belonging to South Punjab.

If Q-league launched a campaign for South Punjab, he would strongly oppose and resist it, he warned.

?I will continue to raise my voice for the restoration of Bahawalpur province at every platform,? vowed Durrani.

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ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani directed the government of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and law enforcement agencies to ensure the writ of the state in all areas so that peace and security could be ensured for the citizens.

He reiterated the government’’s firm resolve to combat terrorism and militancy, which is hampering the process of economic development.

The prime minister expressed these views while chairing the meeting of Strategic Oversight Committee to review the security situation and progress of development work in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Fata here at the Prime Minister House this afternoon.

The prime minister said the people of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Fata had made unprecedented sacrifices to eradicate the menace of militancy.

Their courage and steadfastness, he added, had greatly helped the security forces and the law enforcement agencies in discharging their responsibilities.

The armed forces, the law enforcement agencies, the civil society, the media and the political forces deserve special appreciation for their role in fight against terrorism and militancy as well as in looking after the IDPs.

PM Gilani stressed upon the need to fast track the process of reconstruction and rehabilitation in the areas cleared from militants.

The development in these areas, he said, should be visible so that the people gain confidence to be able to continue their normal activities.

He asked the governor and the chief minister of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa to involve the elected parliamentarians and engage the local leadership in different areas and ensure their active participation in the development work.

PM also asked them to take all the political parties and their leadership on board regarding the security situation and development efforts.

This process, he added, would greatly help to speed up the pace of development activities and accelerate the process of change.

The prime minister directed the provincial government and other organizations involved in the rehabilitation of IDPs and reconstruction of affected areas both in Malakand and Fata, to ensure transparency in the disbursement of compensation for loss of lives and property.

He asked them to develop a comprehensive and foolproof system of monitoring the expenditure being incurred on the development activities, upgrading the infrastructure and capacity building of the law enforcement agencies.

Earlier the chief secretary of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Additional Chief Secretary, Fata briefed the meeting on the law and order situation in their respective areas as well as the progress on the development work, the resettlement of IDPs and the capacity building of law enforcement agencies.

They informed that the settlement of IDPs and development work in Malakand and Swat is moving forward satisfactorily while the pace of work is gradually picking up in Fata.

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Karachi

The Sindh chapter of the Pir Pagaro-led Pakistan Muslim League-Functional (PML-F), a coalition partner in the Sindh government, has ref

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Karachi

Freedom of press is essential for media to foster dialogue, challenge violations of Human Rights and the rule of law and expose corrup

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NEW DEHLI: Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi is expected to visit New Delhi to meet his Indian counterpart S M Krishna, which will be followed by a meeting of Foreign Secretaries in Islamabad, according to the diplomatic sources.

The Prime Ministers” of both countries met during the XVIth SAARC summit at Thimphu last week and asked their foreign ministers and foreign secretaries to work on modalities for restoring trust and to meet as soon as possible.

It is expected that the two foreign ministers may meet before the Indo-US strategic dialogue to be held in Washington on June 3.

Although the dates for Foreign Minister Qureshi’’s visit to India are still being worked out, it is most likely to take place at the end of the month, sources said.

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ST LUCIA: Pakistan?s win over Bangladesh in the World Twenty20 had a statistical highlight for their wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal.

Kamran now hold

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The body of an aged man, bearing marks of strangling, was found from within the Peerabad police limits on late Sunday night.

Rahim Khan, the P

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