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Pakistan mourns assassinated Sufi singer Amjad Sabri

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Security tight at funeral of Qawwali singer Amjad Sabri, who was killed by Taliban gunmen in Karachi on Wednesday.

amjad-sabri

by Al Jazeera

Thousands of people have attended the funeral of slain Pakistani Qawwali singer Amjad Sabri in Karachi, amid a major security operation.

Large crowds gathered for the procession and funeral service on Thursday, which was led by the spiritual heir of Sufi saint Baba Farid, Pakistani media reported.

Al Jazeera’s Alia Chughtai, reporting from Karachi, said the area of Liaquatabad Road where the funeral was held was under lockdown by security forces.

“The police services have cleared out the roads for the funeral procession and everything in the area is under lockdown,” Chughtai reported.

Sabri was killed on Wednesday while driving in his car in the city’s Liaqatabad area. A motorcycle pulled up alongside the vehicle and the attackers opened fire.

The 45-year-old singer is survived by his wife and five children. Sabri’s brother, who was also in the vehicle, was wounded.

“Two riders used 30-bore pistols to shoot Sabri five times. The bullet to the head took the qawwal’s life. The attackers took the Hassan Square route to escape,” Inspector General Mushtaq Mehar told Pakistan’s English language newspaper Dawn.

“It was a targeted killing and an act of terrorism,” Muqaddas Haider, a senior police officer told AFP news agency, without naming possible suspects.
Sabri’s body was laid to rest next to his father Ghulam Farid Sabri in Paposh Nagar graveyard, in the compound of Pir Herat Shah Warsi’s shrine.

The killing of the singer was met with shock and condemnation. Neighbours congregated outside the singer’s home to offer condolences to his relatives, while TV channels broadcast recordings of his music in tribute.

Nawaz Sharif, Pakistan’s prime minister, was among those condemning the killing and ordered an investigation.

A splinter faction of the Pakistani Taliban has claimed responsibility for the raid, saying Sabri’s qawwalis were blasphemous.

Fakhre Alam, the Chairman of the Sindh Board of Film Censors, claimed on Twitter that Sabri had earlier submitted an application for security, but the home department refused to follow up on it.

Asghari Begum, Amjad Sabri’s mother told Al Jazeera, that about six months ago three unknown assailants came to their residence and had burst open the front door. Amjad was not present, and they had left.

Sabri and his late father, Ghulam Farid Sabri, were well-known qawwali singers – a style of music rooted in Sufism, or Islamic mysticism – that is popular across South Asia with roots tracing back to the 13th century.

Sufi mosques and shrines have come under attack in recent years, including the 2010 bombing of the Data Darbar shrine in Lahore that killed more than 40 people.

Pak fails to seal F-16 deal after financing row with US: report

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A Pakistani F-16 fighter jet performs in-flight maneuvers. (AFP/File)

A Pakistani F-16 fighter jet performs in-flight maneuvers. (AFP/File)

Islamabad: Pakistan seems to have failed to seal the USD 700 million deal for the purchase of eight F-16 fighter jets from the US following a row between the two countries over their financing, a media report said today.

 

The Pakistani government was required to provide the Letter of Acceptance for purchase of the jets by May 24, but Dawn News reported that the document was not issued leading to expiry of the offer.

“Pakistan decided not to fully fund the case with national funds, so the terms of sale have now expired,” a diplomatic source was quoted as saying by the daily.

However, Pakistan’s Ambassador to US Jalil Abbas Jilani, told the daily that “a dead-end has not been reached as yet”.

Initially, the USD 700 million deal for eight F-16C/D Block-52 multi-role fighters, was to be partially financed through the US Foreign Military Financing (FMF) programme but the Congress disallowed subsidising the sale.

The subsidising was disallowed over concern that Pakistan had not done enough to end the dreaded Haqqani network’s terror sanctuaries on its soil as well as fears over Islamabad’s nuclear programme.

Pakistan, which expected to get the fighters at the subsidised rate of USD 270 million, was subsequently asked by the US administration to make the full payment for the eight aircraft from its national resources.

This was not acceptable to Pakistani authorities, who remained adamant that the offer must come without any preconditions.

The aircraft were required by Pakistan Air Force (PAF) for counter-insurgency and counter-terrorism operations, the report said.

The jets would have come with “all-weather, non-daylight environments and self-defence/area suppression capability”.

It was unclear why Pakistan missed the opportunity despite pressing requirement for the jets, although it had originally desired to acquire 18 F-16s, the daily said.

Some quarters believe that providing the Letter of Acceptance would have kept the window open for re-negotiating the financing arrangement at a later stage, it said.

Pakistan Prime Minister’s Adviser on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz said last month that Pakistan could look to buy the aircraft from some other country if the deal did not go ahead.

He also said earlier this month that Pakistan’s ties with the US had witnessed a “downward slide” amid the row over the Congress’ decision to block the sale of the jets.

Defence Minister Khawaja Asif had said last week that Pakistan will explore other options to meet its defence needs if the deal for F-16s did not materialise with the US.

Analysts believe Islamabad could consider Russian or Chinese fighters to meet its defence requirements.

(Agencies)

Indo-Pak FS meet: terror, Kashmir dominate talks

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Photo: AFP

Photo: AFP

New Delhi: In their first formal bilateral meeting after Pathankot attack, Foreign Secretaries of India and Pakistan today held talks focusing on a range of sticky issues including probe into the strike and Kashmir, which Pakistani side asserted was the “core issue”.

Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar and his Pakistani counterpart Aizaz Ahmed Chaudhry, here to attend the Heart of Asia conference, met after which the Pakistani side said its Foreign Secretary “emphasised that Kashmir remains the core issue that requires a just solution in accordance with UNSC resolutions and wishes of Kashmiri people.”

There was no immediate formal word from the Indian side on the meeting.

Ahead of the meeting, the Indian officials had maintained that Pathankot attack and a possible visit by the NIA to Pakistan will be raised during the FS-level talks, which were deferred in January in the wake of the strike at the strategic air base at Pathankot.

“In line with our PM’s vision of peaceful neighborhood, FS underscored Pakistan’s commitment to have friendly relations with all its neighbors/India. All outstanding issues including the Jammu and Kashmir dispute were discussed,” the Pakistan High Commission here said.

India has been pressing for action against terrorists responsible for the audacious attack on the IAF base, to take the talks forward.

This is also the first time the two foreign secretaries are meeting after the announcement of Comprehensive Bilateral Dialogue(CBD) by the Foreign Ministers in Islamabad last December. The two secretaries had a informal brief interaction during a SAARC meeting in Nepal in March this year.

The efforts to resume CBD at the Foreign Secretary-level hit a deadlock after the Pathankot attack that India said was carried out by militants from Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM)terror group.

Jaishankar was scheduled to travel to Islamabad to hold talks with Chaudhary on January 15 but both the countries had announced deferment of the talks with “mutual consent” in the wake of the Pathankot attack.

Todays’s meeting came in the backdrop of Pakistan High Commissioner Abdul Basit’s recent comments that the bilateral peace process was suspended, evoking a sharp reaction by Indian side.

India has been maintaining that communication channels were on at various levels but also made it clear it wants to see action on terror and Pathankot first before the dialogue could be resumed.

Earlier, Jaishankar met Afghan Deputy Foreign Minister Hekmat Karzai and discussed issues of mutual interests.

After the talks which lasted for nearly 90-minutes, the Pakistan High Commission said in a statement that Chaudhry also took up the matter of capture of RAW officer, Kulbushan Jadev and expressed serious concern over RAW’s alleged involvement in subversive activities in Balochistan and Karachi.

“He said such acts undermine efforts to normalise relations between the two countries. He also conveyed concern over efforts by Indian authorities for the release of the prime suspects of the Samjhauta Express blasts,” it added.

He expressed confidence that building on the goodwill generated by the recent high level contacts, the two countries should remain committed to a sustained, meaningful and comprehensive dialogue process.

In this spirit, the Foreign Secretary underscored the need for early commencement of comprehensive dialogue for which the Indian Foreign Secretary’s visit to Pakistan is due.

(Agencies)

Pakistan film producers seek Bollywood ban

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Motion filed in Lahore High Court because Indian film industry’s influence is hurting local productions, producers say.

Rocky-Handsome

by Imran Khan, Al Jazeera

A group of Pakistani film producers and distributors has filed a motion in Lahore High Court seeking a ban on Bollywood films being shown in the country.

The distributors say Bollywood films are a threat to local productions.

In Pakistan, the studios and cinema houses are often owned by the same company that uses the proceeds from ticket sales to fund new films.

In recent years, going to the cinema has become more popular across Pakistan. Four years ago, there were only 12 screens in Lahore. Now, there are 32.

“There is a need for these [Bollywood] films if you want to save the Pakistani cinema industry,” Nadir Minhas, director of PAF cinema in Lahore, told Al Jazeera.

“If these films don’t come here, it will go back to being a niche industry.”

But the group seeking a court ban said that Bollywood films were keeping the audience from watching Pakistani films, which is hurting local producers and distributors financially.

“The government says that Pakistani cinema is growing but the industry is only growing in middle-class areas and the middle-class doesn’t watch Pakistani cinema,” Choudhry Kamran, a film distributor, said.

“Because of Bollywood, we can’t make new films. That’s why we want the films to be banned.”

India, Pak start talks on Pathankot attack probe

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Photo: AFP

Photo: AFP

New Delhi: India and Pakistan Monday began formal discussions on investigations into the terror attack at the Pathankot IAF base, making it the first-ever visit of a Joint Investigation Team (JIT) from the neighbouring country that included an ISI official.

The five-member Pakistani JIT is headed by Chief of Punjab’s Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) Muhammad Tahir Rai and comprises Lahore’s Deputy Director General, Intelligence Bureau, Mohammad Azim Arshad, Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) official Lt Col Tanvir Ahmed, Military Intelligence official Lt Col Irfan Mirza and Gujaranwala CTD Investigating Officer, Shahid Tanveer.

The team was received at the headquarters of National Investigation Agency by Inspector General Sanjiv Kumar Singh.

They are being given a detailed presentation on the probe done by Indian agencies so far and evidences that show that the attack was planned in Pakistan, official sources said.

The team, which arrived yesterday, will on Tuesday visit Pathankot for the probe into the attack carried out by Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) terror group on January 2, which left seven security personnel dead.

In the post-lunch session, the Pakistani team would be raising questions to clear their doubts, if any, before they fly to Pathankot in a special plane on Tuesday morning, the sources said.

The IAF base will be visually barricaded by NIA to prevent any view of critical areas.

The NIA team would show some of the areas where the Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorists were engaged in an 80-hour-long gun battle with security personnel.

India plans to provide the Pakistani team access to all witnesses in the case, but not to the security personnel from National Security Guard or BSF.

The witnesses include Punjab Police Superintendent of Police Salwinder Singh, his jeweller friend Rajesh Verma, cook Madan Gopal and 17 injured persons.

The sources said that cooperation to the Pakistani team would be based on the principle of reciprocity hoping that an Indian team would be allowed to travel to Pakistan at a later date.

In the 26/11 Mumbai attack case, Pakistan had sent a judicial commission to cross-examine some of the witnesses in the case.

(Agencies)

Australia win by 21 runs to throw Pakistan out of WT20

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Pak-Australia

Mohali: Australia beat Pakistan by 21 runs in a World Twenty20 Super 10 stage match in Mohali on Friday to stay on course for the semi-finals and eliminate their opponents from the tournament.

Australia captain Steven Smith hit an unbeaten 63 off 43 balls to steer his side to 193-4, before James Faulkner took five wickets, including two off consecutive deliveries in the final over, to help his team seal the win.

For Pakistan, Khalid Latif made 46 off 41 balls while Shoaib Malik remained unbeaten on a 20-ball 40. Umar Akmal 32 and Sharjeel Khan 30 also contributed to the team total. Skipper Shahid Afridi however could only manage to score 14 off 7 balls in most likely his last cricket match for Pakistan.

Earlier, Australian skipper Steven Smith played a captain’s innings on Friday, contributing an unbeaten half-century to set Pakistan a formidable 194-run target in the crucial World Twenty20 Super 10 stage match.

Smith, who won the toss and opted to bat on a green-tinged pitch at Mohali, struck an unbeaten 61 off 43 balls after Australia lost three wickets in quick succession.

Fit-again paceman Wahab Riaz did the initial damage, bowling in-form Usman Khawaja for 21 and castling David Warner on nine.

Aaron Finch, brought in at the top of the order for his first game of the tournament, went next, bowled by left-arm spinner Imad Wasim for 15 to leave Australia struggling on 57-3.Smith, however, steadied the ship aided first by Glenn Maxwell (30 off 24 deliveries) and then by the big-hitting Shane Watson.

Watson struck four fours and three sixes to race to an unbeaten 44 off 21 deliveries as Australia took 66 runs off the last five overs.

Imad Wasim picked up 2 wickets for 31 runs, while paceman Wahab Riaz, who replaced Mohammad Irfan for the game, took 2 for 35.

Australia, bidding for a first World Twenty20 title, made two changes to the team that beat Bangladesh in their last match, bringing in the big-hitting Aaron Finch in place of Mitchell Marsh and Josh Hazlewood for John Hastings.

Australia were fourth in Group Two behind New Zealand, who are already through to the semi-finals, with Pakistan and India.

Pakistan, who lost to India and New Zealand but also beat Bangladesh, needed a victory to keep their hopes of making it to the semi-finals alive.

Pakistan skipper Shahid Afridi made one change to the team that lost to New Zealand with paceman Mohammad Irfan, who conceded 46 runs in his allotted four overs, being replaced by Wahab Riaz.

(Geo)

Pakistan says it captures Indian spy, summons envoy to protest

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Photo: AFP

Photo: AFP

Islamabad: Pakistan summoned the Indian ambassador on Friday to protest against the illegal entry of an Indian spy who Pakistan said was captured in the violence-plagued province of Baluchistan the previous day.

The accusation could raise tension between the nuclear-armed rivals months after India blamed Pakistan-based militants for an attack on an Indian air base in which seven military personnel were killed.

“(Pakistan) conveyed our protest and deep concern on the illegal entry into Pakistan by a RAW officer and his involvement in subversive activities in Baluchistan and Karachi,” Pakistan’s foreign ministry said in a statement, referring to the message conveyed to India’s ambassador.

RAW is India’s Research and Analysis Wing, its main external intelligence agency.

Pakistan believes India is supporting a separatist insurgency in resource-rich Baluchistan. It also accuses India of fuelling strife in the city of Karachi.

India denies any such meddling.

India has long accused Pakistan of backing militants fighting Indian security forces in its part of the divided Kashmir region, of helping militants launch attacks elsewhere in India and backing the Taliban in Afghanistan.

Pakistan say it only offers diplomatic support to the Muslim people of Kashmir living under what Pakistan says is heavy-handed Indian rule. It denies backing militant attacks in India.

A Pakistani military official in Baluchistan told Reuters the suspected RAW spy was an Indian navy officer. Another Pakistani official gave the same information.

Both declined to be identified as they were not authorised to give details of the incident to the media.

One of the officials said the suspected spy had been moved to Islamabad for interrogation.

The neighbours have fought three wars since 1947, two of them over Kashmir which they both claim in full but rule in part.

Baluchistan’s provincial interior minister, Mir Sarfaraz Bugti, told reporters the arrest “proved Indian involvement” in his province.

Last year, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif said RAW was bent on annihilating Pakistan.

“RAW has been formed to undo Pakistan and to wipe Pakistan off the map of the world,” Asif said in a television interview.

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif made improving ties with India a priority when he won a 2013 election. But his push is seen as causing friction with the army which sees relations with India as its domain.

Last December, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi made a surprise stopover in Pakistan to meet Sharif, the first visit by an Indian premier in over a decade.

The visit raised hopes that stop-and-start negotiations might finally make progress after decades of hostility.

(Rueters)

New Zealand beat Pakistan to enter World T20 semis

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New Zealand Pakistan

Mohali: New Zealand beat Pakistan by 22 runs here on Tuesday to qualify for the semi-finals of the World Twenty20 cricket tournament.

Electing to bat first, New Zealand rode on Martin Guptill’s 48-ball 80 to post 180 for five wickets before restricting Pakistan to 158 for five in their 20 overs.

The win saw New Zealand move to the top of the Group B table with three wins from as many matches while Pakistan’s chances of advancing further dimmed after two straight losses.

Left-hander Sharjeel Khan (47) gave Pakistan a strong start in their reply to reach 76/1 in seven overs.

Kiwi skipper Kane Williamson introduced Ish Sodhi to produce the match’s defining phase.

The leg-spinner removed the dangerous looking Shahid Afridi and conceded only 25 runs from his four overs. He also created enough pressure for Mitchell Santner to pick up two wickets and strangle Pakistan to a 22-run defeat.

Pakistan needed 52 in 24 balls with six wickets in hand. But Umar Akmal and Shoaib Malik could hardly find the gaps, as Pakistan failed to hit a boundary in its last 31 balls and finished on 158 for five.

With its third consecutive win, New Zealand became the first team to qualify for the semi-finals.

Earlier, Martin Guptill led the way with some power-packed batting as New Zealand posted a challenging total of 180/5 in their World Twenty20 Group 2 match against Pakistan at the Punjab Cricket Association Stadium here on Tuesday.

Guptill smashed 80 runs off 48 balls with 10 boundaries and three sixes. Ross Taylor, who remained on 36 off 23 deliveries and Corey Anderson (21) played useful knocks in the later stages of the innings.

Pacer Mohammad Sami (2/23) was the best performer among the Pakistan bowlers, although he did take some punishment from Guptill in his first spell. Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi (2/40) also bagged a couple of wickets.

This is New Zealand’s third match of the tournament. The Kiwis have made themselves near certain candidates for advancing to the semi-finals by winning both their previous matches, against hosts India and Australia. Another victory on Tuesday will see them through to the last-four stage as the top team in the group.

Electing to bat on winning the toss, New Zealand were off to a superb start with openers Guptill and Kane Williamson going great guns.

Guptill was the more aggressive of the two, handing out some rough treatment to the Pakistan bowlers while Williamson gave him steady support from the other end as the duo put together an opening partnership of 62 runs by the eighth over.

Irfan struck the first blow for Pakistan when he outfoxed Williamson with a slower one. The Kiwi right-hander mistimed his attempted drive as Shahid Afridi pulled off an easy catch at cover.

Incoming batsman Colin Munro did not last long as Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi struck in his very first over after coming on to bowl. Attempting a switch hit of a delivery which was pitched on the middle stump, the left-handed Munro hit the ball straight to Sharjeel Khan at sweeper cover.

But that did not affect the New Zealand run rate too much as Guptill and Corey Anderson continued to score at a brisk pace. The duo added 52 runs between them before Guptill tapped the ball onto his stumps while trying to dab an incoming delivery from Sami to third man.

Anderson also went back to the pavilion in the very next over as he mistimed a googly from Afridi. But Taylor ensured that the Kiwis finished their innings on a strong note.

Brief scores:

New Zealand 180/5 in 20 overs (Martin Guptill 80, Ross Taylor 36 n.o.; Mohammad Sami 2-23, Shahid Afridi 2-40); Pakistan (Sharjeel Khan 47, Ahmed Shehzad 30, Mitchell Santner 2/29, Adam Milne 2/26)

(IANS)

World T20: Pakistan cricket team gets government nod for India

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Pakistan Cricket

Islamabad: The Pakistan government on Friday formally decided to send its national men’s and women’s cricket teams to India to take part in the ongoing World T20 tournament.

The national cricket teams are scheduled to fly out to India on Friday night, Geo TV quoted sources here as saying.

The decision came after Indian Home Minister Rajnath Singh said the Pakistan cricket team will be provided adequate security during their World Twenty20 campaign in India.

The Pakistan government had demanded a written assurance from India on providing foolproof security to Pakistan players after protests by serving and retired soldiers of the Indian Army and political leaders in Himachal Pradesh forced the International Cricket Council (ICC) to shift the group match against hosts India from Dharamsala to Kolkata.

(Agencies)

Asia Cup: Pakistan beat Sri Lanka to earn consolation win

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Shahid Afridi | AP

Shahid Afridi | AP

Mirpur: Pakistan came up with a strong batting performance to defeat Sri Lanka by six wickets in their inconsequential final round robin encounter of the Asia Cup Twenty20 cricket tournament at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium here on Friday.

Batting first, Sri Lanka posted 150/4 in 20 overs, thanks to Tillakaratne Dilshan’s unbeaten 75.

In reply, Umar Akmal slammed a quickfire 48 as Pakistan chased down the total in 19.2 overs while losing four wickets.

Chasing a challenging target of 151, Pakistan struggled at the start losing Mohammad Hafeez (14) in the fourth over of the innings.

But his opening partner Sharjeel Khan (31) and incoming batsman Sarfraz Ahmed (38) held on to score at a good pace to help team cross the 50-run mark.

Next up, Dilshan picked the wicket of Sharjeel which was followed by Sarfraz’ wicket claimed by Milinda Siriwardana to reduce Pakistan to 94/3 in 13th over.

Incoming batsmen Akmal and Shoaib Malik (13) brought up a good partnership to ensure team went close to victory line with ease.

Earlier on put into bat, Sri Lanka got off to a flying start with openers Dilshan and Chandimal using their experience to counter the Pakistani bowlers and help team cross the 100-run mark without losing a wicket inside 14th over.

But the first ball of the 15th over saw pacer Wahab Riaz bringing on the first breakthrough to dismiss set batsman Chandimal.

The first wicket brought back fortunes back for Pakistan as some tight and good bowling saw Shehan Jayasuriya (4), Chamara Kapugedera (2) and Dasun Shanaka (0) going back to pavilion in space of two overs.

But Dilshan used his experience to hold on and pile on couple of boundaries in the death overs to help team reach 150-run mark. The right-handed batsman struck ten fours and one six.

Mohammad Irfan (2-18) was the pick of the bowlers for Pakistan.

Brief scores: Sri Lanka 150/4 in 20 overs (Tillakaratne Dilshan 75 not out, Dinesh Chandimal 58; Mohammad Irfan 2-18) vs Pakistan 151/4 in 19.2 overs (Umar Akmal 48; Nuwan Kulasekara 1-20)

(IANS)

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