Islamabad: Pakistan is considering shelving the treason trial against former military ruler General (retd.) Pervez Musharraf in order to mend fences with the powerful Army. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had initiated the treason case against Gen Musharraf in December 2013 for abrogating the Constitution in 2007 when he had imposed emergency. The three-bench special court conducted 80 hearings to dispose of some 26 petitions, which the defence filed to delay the case. The Express Tribune has reported that after surviving a wave of protests in 2015, the government wants the issue to linger on till the functioning of a special tribunal created to try Gen. Musharraf becomes irrelevant. Already, the official prosecution team has refused to prosecute abettors in this case, citing it as “unending process of trial.” “This is part of a new strategy in the changing circumstances after the Peshawar incident,” commented an Interior Ministry official, adding that “it is also part of overall scheme of the federal government to improve relations with the military establishment”.
Pak court stops execution of death row convict
Islamabad: A Pakistani court ordered the authorities to stop the execution of a death row convict involved in the killing of a soldier in 2000. Lahore High Court’s two-member bench headed by Justice Abdus Sami Khan halted the execution on the petition filed by the counsel of the convict Faiz Ahmad. Ahmad’s counsel Abdul Khaliq told the court that his client’s appeal against the death sentence had been pending in the Supreme Court since 2009 and requested to set aside the death warrant. The court ordered the jail authorities to stop Ahmad’s execution and issued a notice to the Punjab government to file a reply on January 5. The convict had killed Lance Naik Tariq Mehmood in 2000 at Nankana Sahib, some 80 km from Lahore.
2-year-old shoots, kills his mother
Hayden: A 2-year-old boy accidentally shot and killed his mother after he reached into her purse at a northern Idaho Walmart and her concealed gun fired, authorities said. The 29-year-old woman was shopping with her son and three other children, Kootenai County sheriff's spokesman Stu Miller said. Her family had come to the area to visit relatives, he said. The woman, whose identity was not released, had a concealed weapons permit. Miller said the young boy was left in a shopping cart, reached into the victim's purse and grabbed a small-caliber handgun, which discharged one time. Deputies who responded to the Walmart found her dead, the sheriff's office said. The woman's husband was not in the store when the shooting happened. Miller said the man arrived shortly after the shooting. All the children were taken to a relative's house. The shooting occurred in the Walmart in Hayden, Idaho, northeast of Spokane, Washington. Brooke Buchanan, a spokeswoman for Walmart, said in a statement the shooting was a "very sad and tragic accident."
Boko Haram seizes key military base in Nigeria
Kano: Suspected Boko Haram militants have seized a military base outside the Nigerian town of Baga near Lake Chad after engaging troops in a fierce battle that lasted several hours, witnesses said. “They (the militants) overwhelmed the troops and forced them to abandon the base which the gunmen took over,” local resident Usman Danssubdu told reporters after fleeing to neighbouring Chad following raids. The base is used by the Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF), established in 1998 to battle cross-border crime. The force is made up of troops from Nigeria as well as Niger and Chad. Hundreds of fear-stricken Nigerians from Baga and five other towns and villages have poured into neighbouring Chad to escape Boko Haram raids, witnesses said. Residents of Kauyen Kuros, Mile 3, Mile 4, Baga, Doron-Baga and Bundaram fled across the lake in fishing boats and canoes into Chad following hours-long attacks by militants from the Islamist group.
Imran Khan confirms marriage to former BBC anchor
New Delhi: Former Pakistani cricketer-turned-politican Imran Khan has confirmed his marriage to a former BBC anchor, according to Pakistan media reports. "I am going to Pakistan to share the good news of my marriage with the nation. I have nothing to hide," he was quoted as saying by Pakistani media, which spoke to him at Heathrow airport late on Monday night before he caught a flight to Islamabad. Khan also told the Pakistani reporters that getting married "isn't a crime". The 62-year-old head is the head of the Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf party. There have been rumours doing the rounds for the last few days that Imran Khan had secretly married former BBC anchor Reham Khan in a hush hush wedding. Imran is believed to have tied the knot last weekend with Pakistani news anchor Reham, 41, who is a divorcee and mother-of-three. She lived in Britain for part of her previous marriage, when she was a weather girl and presenter on the BBC regional news programme 'South Today'.
Indian-origin man reappointed as top advisor to Singapore President
Singapore: Veteran Indian-origin civil servant J Y Pillay was reappointed as the top advisor to Singapore's president. The 80-year-old Pillay was sworn in and reappointed as the chairman of the Presidential Council of Advisers (CPA) for a period of four years by Singapore President Tony Tan Keng Yam. Pillay, was also reappointed as a member of the CPA. Both appointments are for a further period of four years, with effect from January 2, 2015, the President's office said. As chairman of the CPA, Pillay will exercise the functions of the President's office in the absence of President. If he is unavailable, the speaker of Parliament would act as the head of state. The CPA, formed in 1992, advises the President in various areas, including safeguarding the past reserves of the Government, and key appointments in the public service.
Miss America wants to do social work in India
Washington: Nina Davuluri, who was 24 when she became the first Miss America of Indian origin last year, has come a long way since the night of her win. Although she's been hard at work to promote cultural diversity even after her year-long reign ended, the racial slurs that stemmed from her victory are still something we remember. Davuluri says that she was prepared for the backlash, and expected it too. "Miss America is a very service-oriented job. Everyone wants to win Miss America, but no one wants to do the job. It's not as glamorous as people might think. I'm at the forefront a speaker and an advocate for my platform, which is celebrating diversity," she explains, adding, "Now that my reign is over, I'm looking forward to transitioning and doing a lot more social work in India itself.”
Philippines storm toll rises to 53
Manila: Two days after a tropical storm Jangmi hit central and southern parts of the Philippines, the toll rose to 53. The storm, known locally as Seniang, first made landfall in Surigao del Sur province. The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) said that 26 people were injured and eight people are still missing, Xinhua reported. A total of 52,082 families or 226,883 people were affected by Jangmi which triggered landslides and flashfloods, the report said. Jangmi maintained its strength as it moved closer to Palawan island in the western part of the country, packing peak winds of 65 kms per hour. Due to inclement weather, 17,656 passengers were stranded at ports, 14 domestic flights have been cancelled, 43 roads and 22 bridges are not passable in Visayas and Mindanao regions.
UN drops Hafiz's `sahib' tag
United Nations: A UN panel has regretted the use of the salutation `sahib' for the Mumbai terror attack mastermind and JuD chief Hafiz Saeed and issued a “revised“ letter removing the word after India objected to it. The chair of the Security Council's al Qaida Sanctions Committee issued a revised letter in which it has “regretted the mistake“ in the previous letter dated December 17.
The committee's chair is Gary Quinlan, who is the Permanent Representative of Australia to the UN. Quinlan had made the reference to Saeed in the communication regarding banned terror outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba and its founder.The new letter clearly mentions the correct primary name of the Pakistani terrorist as Hafiz Mohammed Saeed. Saeed himself is a UN-designated terrorist. The resolution entails freezing of funds and assets or economic resources of designated individuals and entities, and prevention of entry into or transit through their territories by designated individuals.
7 more bodies recovered from AirAsia crash; 16 total
Pangkalan Bun (Indonesia): The investigation into the AirAsia crash has turned to the ocean floor, with more sonar equipment and metal detectors deployed to scour the seabed for wreckage, including the plane's black boxes. Sixteen bodies have been recovered. A helicopter from the USS Sampson brought the corpses to Pangkalan Bun, the town nearest to the site. They were unloaded and driven off in ambulances. Rescuers hope the fuselage if intact will contain the remains of many of the nearly 150 passengers and crew still missing. The wreckage will be key to explaining what might have caused Flight 8501 to go down
