Taliban chief asks Kabul to accept ‘defeat’ in Kunduz

A file photo of Taliban chief Mullah Akhter Mansoor.

ISLAMABAD: Afghan Taliban chief Mullah Akhtar Mansoor has asked the Afghan government to accept its ‘defeat’ in the northern city of Kunduz, advising Kabul against the attribution of Taliban ‘victory’ to foreign intelligence.

Taliban militants stormed the Afghan city Kunduz on Monday, effectively overrunning it in their biggest triumph since being ousted from national power in 2001.

Is there anything Malala Yousafzai can't do?

The 18-year-old's card trick had everyone in fits of laughter including Stephen. PHOTO: SPOOKMAGAZINE

The youngest-ever Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala Yousafzai has a few tricks up her sleeve, quite literally.

Malala displayed her newly-acquired skills on the Late Show with Stephen Colbert. And while at first it seemed Malala’s trick had gone wrong as she incorrectly guessed Colbert’s card, but before long it became evident that she knew exactly what she was doing.

Colbert did a great job keeping up with Malala, but she clearly stole the show once again. The 18-year-old’s card trick had everyone in fits, including Stephen who aptly ended the segment saying, “Her name is Malala Yousafzai and she’s appearing at Caesar’s Palace.”

Courtesy: The Express Tribune  

Ghani says Pak-Afghan ties not brotherly

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani. PHOTO: REUTERS

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani said on Monday that relations between Afghanistan and Pakistan were not brotherly but like a relationship between two states. In an interview with the British Broadcasting Corporation on the first anniversary of his presidential term, Ghani urged Islamabad to take the same stance against terrorists targeting Pakistan or any other country.

Pakistan look to complete whitewash in Harare

Pakistan impressed with the ball but their worries with the bat continued in the first T20I. PHOTO: AFP

KARACHI: 

Pakistan will take on Zimbabwe in the second T20I on Tuesday with a chance to whitewash the hosts after registering a hard-fought 13-run win in the first match at the Harare Sports Club.

Skipper Shahid Afridi opted to give several youngsters a chance in the opener, preferring Sohaib Maqsood over seasoned all-rounder Mohammad Hafeez and promoting Immad Wasim up the batting order. In addition, Imran Khan Jr made his debut and bowled an impressive final over under pressure, despite going for runs in the first three.

Afghan leader calls on Pakistan to crack down on extremists

PHOTO: REUTERS

Afghanistan’s chief executive Abdullah Abdullah called on Pakistan on Tuesday to keep its promise to crack down on extremists blamed for carrying out cross-border attacks and destablilsing the war-torn country.

“We call on Pakistan to do what its leadership promised to us a few months ago when they agreed to crack down on known terror outfits,” Abdullah said, while addressing the UN General Assembly on Monday night, Associated Press reported.

Journalist who exposed Pakistan's tainted trio charged by UK court

Undercover journalist Mazher Mahmood (seen in recent footage) has been unmasked in a BBC documentary, despite an 11th hour attempt by him to block the broadcaster from showing his image. PHOTO COURTESY: BBC

LONDON: A British journalist, who also carried out an inquiry which led to the 2011 conviction of three Pakistani cricketers for taking bribes to fix incidents in a match against England, was charged on Tuesday with conspiracy to pervert the course of justice.

Mazher Mahmood’s undercover work posing as a “fake sheikh” led to a number of high-profile criminal court cases.

Hajj stampede death toll climbs to 1,100

      PHOTO: AFP

ISLAMABAD: 

The death toll from one of the worst stampedes during Hajj pilgrimage has hit 1,100, among them 42 Pakistani pilgrims, officials confirmed on Monday. The revised tally came a day after Pakistan’s Religious Affairs Minister Sardar Yousaf told a news conference in Saudi Arabia that 36 Pakistanis were among the stampede victims.

However, the minister told the state-run Pakistan Television on Monday that 42 Pakistanis were killed and 62 were still missing. Of the 35 injured Pakistani pilgrims, 29 had been discharged after treatment, he added.

In response to a question, Sardar Yousaf said 14 deceased Pakistani pilgrims were buried in Saudi Arabia, in accordance with the Hajj policy. He said the helpline number 00966-593965613 may be contacted for information on Pakistani pilgrims. He claimed that all the helpline numbers were functioning.

Earlier, MNA Dr Tariq Fazal, who has been appointed by the PM’s Secretariat as the focal person for the Mina tragedy, told a news conference that the death toll from the Mina tragedy was 1,100. “The Pakistani embassy has uploaded the pictures of all the pilgrims who have lost their lives in the Mina incident to its website.”

Fazal informed the media that 36 of the missing Pakistanis went through private Hajj operators and the remaining through the Ministry of Religious Affairs. All-out efforts are under way to locate the missing Pakistani pilgrims, he said, adding that Pakistan’s ambassador to Saudi Arabia was visiting all hospitals and mortuaries to find them. “The PM’s Secretariat has the list of all the people who are missing, and will contact their families to keep them posted.”

Fazal said the premier has announced Rs500,000 for the heirs of each Pakistani stampede victims and Rs200,000 each for the survivors of the tragedy. “Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has also ordered that the injured pilgrims be provided with the best possible treatment at hospitals free of charge on their return to the country.”

He said the premier had also announced that the government would arrange free Umrah or Hajj for two to three family members of every deceased pilgrim.

Petition filed in SC

A constitutional petition seeking facts of the Hajj stampede has been filed in the Supreme Court. A citizen, Mahmood Akhtar Naqvi, requested that the government submit in the court a comprehensive report on the investigation into the deaths of 42 Pakistanis.

He also requested the report contain information on the government’s measures to facilitate the Pakistani pilgrims in the wake of the Mina tragedy. “The report should also contain information on similar stampedes in the past, about which we have remained clueless: 1,426 pilgrims died in 1990, 251 in 2004 and 346 in 2006,” he added. The petition cited a Sunday night TV programme, in which claims were made about the reasons that had led to the stampede. Naqvi requested the court direct the TV channel to submit the transcripts of the programme.

The petitioner pleaded the court summon the minister and secretary of the Ministry of Religious Affairs, the director general of Hajj and Auqaf, the director of Hajj, and Pakistan ambassador to Saudi Arabia, adding that their names be placed on the exit control list.