Islamabad: At least 27 people were killed and over 100 injured in a high intensity blast outside a Shia mosque (Imambargah) for women in Pakistan's northwestern region last week. The blast took place in a busy marketplace in Parachinar city, close to Afghanistan's border. Jamaat-ul-Ahrar, a banned group linked to Pakistani Taliban, has claimed responsibility for the attack, which came after Pakistani army launched a nationwide offensive to root out terrorism. The blast caused several buildings' roofs to cave in, trapping victims under the debris.
Pak court questions detention of Hafiz Saeed
Lahore: A Pakistani court has asked the Punjab government to explain under what authority it has detained Jamaat-ud-Dawah chief Hafiz Saeed and his aides “without a trial.” A Lahore HC bench was hearing a petition of Saeed and his aides - professor Malik Zafar Iqbal, Abdur Rehman Abid, Qazi Kashif Hussain and Abdullah Ubaid - who had challenged their detention under the anti-terrorism law. After hearing the arguments, Justice Shamsi observed the government should tell about its powers to detain a citizen like Saeed without trial.
2 Indian-Americans sentenced for credit card fraud
Washington: Two Indian-Americans were sentenced by a US court for a $200 million credit card fraud, one of the largest-ever exposed by federal authorities. Vijay Verma and Tarsem Lal, both of New Jersey, were sentenced to 14 months in prison and a year of house arrest, respectively, after previously pleading guilty to their roles in the scheme. Verma and Lal, both owners of a Jersey City jewellery store, were indicted in October 2013 for fabricating more than 7,000 false identities to obtain tens of thousands of credit cards.
Indian killed, wife hurt in US hit-and-run case
Washington: A 30-year-old Indian engineer was killed and his wife critically injured when an intoxicated minivan driver rammed them from behind in a hit-and-run case in Columbus. Anshul Sharma died on the spot while his wife Samira Bharadwaj, 28, was critically injured when the driver hit the couple, both walking in the buffered bike lane. Michael Demaio, 36, has been arrested.
8 Bangla militants blow themselves up
Dhaka: A family of eight, including children, blew themselves up after police stormed a hideout of neo-Jamaat-ul Mujahideen Bangladesh, inclined to the Islamic State terror group, in an eastern city, authorities said. “The suicide explosion blew up all who were inside the hideout...We assume seven to eight, including minor children, were there when the militants exploded a powerful device as we laid the siege to the den,” Monirul Islam, counterterrorism chief, said. He said the blast was so powerful that it tore the bodies into pieces, making it difficult for the police to ascertain exactly how many people were inside the militant den in Moulvibazar Sadar upazila, Nasirpur.
PIO bizman to challenge Warren in Senate race
Washington: Prominent Boston-based Indian-American entrepreneur, VA Shiva Ayyadurai will challenge Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren in the Senate race next year from the US state of Massachussets. An alumnus of the prestigious Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Ayyadurai formally announced his Senate bid last month against Warren to “defend the American dream.”
Former Nepal PM held during protest
Kathmandu: Former Nepal PM Baburam Bhattarai and several other leaders were arrested during a protest outside the election commission office against a new provision that bars them from contesting the local level polls in May on their respective party symbols. Bhattarai, 62, and the coordinator of the Naya Shakti Nepal, was leading the protest against the Local Level Election Act, 2017 that bars parties not having representation in the parliament from contesting on their poll symbols.
Bangla HC upholds death for 2 in blogger killing
Dhaka: Bangladesh's high court confirmed the death penalty for two people tied to a banned Islamist militant group for the killing of an atheist blogger critical of radical Islam. The court also upheld jail sentences for six others after appeals were filed challenging the verdicts handed down by a trial court in 2015. The case involves the killing of Ahmed Rajib Haider, who was hacked to death in 2013. Haider had campaigned for banning the Jamaat-e-Islami party, which opposed Bangladesh's independence from Pakistan in 1971.
