Pakistan, Iran vow To Jointly pursue major projects

BAKU (Azerbaijan), Oct 16: President Asif Ali  Zardari on Tuesday called for speeding up work on joint projects like the Iran-Pakistan gas

pipeline, electricity transmission lines and rail and road

schemes.During a meeting between President Zardari and his

Iranian counterpart Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on the sidelines of the 12th ECO summit, the two sides discussed bilateral, regional and

international issues.From the Pakistani side, the meeting was also attended by Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar, Senator Haji

Mohammad Adeel, mayatuflah Kakar and Ambassador to Azerbaijan Alamgir Babar.The president noted that relations with Tian were growing steadily and expressed a Iran desire for more collaboration in trade and investment,energy and connectivity to bring the two peoples closer.He said greater interaction between the leadership and the two nations would not only 

On the sidelines PTI refutes claims of consultation over caretaker setup

Refuting claims by Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) that it had consulted Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) over probable naines for a caretaker prime minister, PTI chair man Imran Khan said that PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif and President Asif Ali Zardari have struck a deal to award each other five-year terms ‘to rule

over the masses.’Speaking at a press conference on Sunday, Khan said his party would foil the ‘nefarious designs’ of both PPP and PML-N.He added that if PTI could not form its government in the centre, they would prefer playing the role of an active opposition rather than join hands with either party in a bid to become part of a post-election setup.PTI central information secretary Shafqat Mebmood termed

the statements of Leader of the Opposition Chaudhary Nisar ALI Khan baseless, and said that PTI had not circulated the names of Shoaib Suddlle or Abdul Razzak Dawood for care taker prime minister,He added that when PML-N would contact the party for any consultation on the matter,PTI would hold party delibera

dons arid announce its stance public ally.Poor performance in Punjab Lamenting the deterioration of public services in Punjab,the PTI chairman lambasted the PML-N for performing worse than the PPP-led federal

government.Armed with figures, Khan said that while average growth rate of the country was 3,4%,

Punjab had grown by a mere 2.5% during the past four-and-a-half years.Taking a shot at the worsening 

‘Fleeing persecution’ 171 Bheel pilgrims to seek asylum in India: report After reaching Samenath Rajasthan, a group of Hindu ‘pilgrims’ from Sindh say they don’t want to go back

Dozens of Pakistani Hindu pilgrims who reached the Indian state of Rajasthan on Sunday say they don’t intend to return to their country, according to BBC Urdu Service.The “Thar Express” train,carrying 171 Pakistani Hindu pilgrims, chugged into the city of Jodhpur on Sunday.Although these Hindus are on

a pilgrimage trip (yatra), their leader said they would not go back to Pakistan.

The Sangathan (SLS), an Indian organization working for the welfare of Hindus, has appealed to the Indian government to issue “refugee visas”to these pilgrims.At the Jodhpur railway station, the Pakistani Hindus

were received by SLS volunteers who made arrangements for their lodging and food.

For years, the SLS has been working for the settlement of Pakistani Hindus in India.

According to a spokes person for the SLS, all 171 Pakistani Hindus — among them 32 women and children are residents of Sanghar and Hyderabad cities of Sindh province, They belong to the Bheel tribe.

Spy agencies under fire for Balochistan mess Speakers call for ‘open trial’ of Akbar Bugti’s killers, end to military operation and high-powered commission

The government should curtail the role of military and intelligence agencies and call off the military operation ii it wants a political solution to the festering Balochistan imbroglio,said speakers at a national

conference.Local politicians, nationalist leaders, rights campaigners and lawyers attended the conference organised by the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) and moderated by its President Yasin Azad in Quetta on Sunday.They called for an open trial of the killers of Jamhoori Wattan Party (JWP) chief Nawab Akbar Bugtì who died in August 2006 more than eight months after a military operation was launched by

Gen Pervez Musharraf.They also demanded that the spiral of violence must stop and all missing persons recovered.Rights campaigners blame security agencies for the enforced disappearances in the volatile

Late, devastating monsoon Drenched by rains country Dbraces for more NMA confirms over 69 deaths so far unofficiaally is higher

Dozens of people were killed as torrential rains ravaged the country on Sunday, inundating large swathes of land as canals breached their banks, roofs collapsed and people were electrocuted in its aftennath.

Sunday’s downpour also raised the death toll, particularly in southern Punjab.The National Disaster

Management Authority (NDMA) put the overall death toll on Sunday at over 69, but warned that

it may rise as the meteorological department predicted more rains in the coming

days.Swelling death toll “The strong monsoon spell has claimed over 69 lives and left 70 injured,” NDMA chairman Dr Zafar Iqbal. Qadir told The Express Tribune. He added the strong but late spell of monsoon rains