Esakhel tehsil resident Girdawar Muhammad Hashim Khan, who is in charge of relief goods has been accused of spreading sectarianism and is ignoring the Shia population of flood victims.

Local residents from Ranjhe Wala including Ghulam Shabbir, Amir Mukhtar, Riaz, Malik Saadat and others gave a written statement to this effect on Monday.

They said that Girdawar belonged to a diehard Sunni sect and hated the Shia community.

“He has continuously overlooked the Shia community in relief operations and has not even distributed goods to two entire villages because he knew they had a majority Shia population,” Mukhtar said.

They said most of the people in Ranjhey Wala belonged to the Shia community and that the official had removed the names of the Shia community from all distribution lists for the flood affected people. “The Ranjhey Wala area has not been provided a single bottle of water,” said Malik Saadat. Locals in the area said they suffered severely during the floods and added that many have lost their houses and livestock.

Residents in Sikandrabad said that Hashim Khan was fanning the flames of sectarianism in the area and was using abusive language against the Shia community in a local mosque. The people appealed to the provincial finance minister, Sargodha commissioner and Mianwali district coordination officer (DCO) to register case against the official.

“It is a reaction to the successful operations we’ve had against the militants in Pakistan,” Qureshi said following a meeting in Lisbon with his Portuguese counterpart Luis Amado.

On Monday, at least 19 people were killed in a suicide attack against a police station in Pakistan, where the Taliban allies of Al-Qaeda have stepped up their campaign, which has claimed more than 3,700 lives in three years.

“They are retaliating and they are attacking innocent citizens to create panic and to break the resolve that exists in the country,” Pakistan’s top diplomat said.

Qureshi is on a tour of European capitals to call attention to the plight of victims of recent devastating floods in Pakistan that submerged an area the size of England and left eight million people dependent on aid for survival.

He said he wanted to thank European leaders for the aid provided so far and to discuss the “measures that need to be taken for early recovery and the reconstruction phase”.

“And we also want to ensure that the money being contributed is utilised in the most efficient and transparent manner,” he added.

After Portugal, Qureshi will visit Spain and Poland before meeting in Brussels with the European Union’s foreign affairs chief Catherine Ashton.

General David Petraeus said that the move will be used by the Taliban to boost their image and will drum up anger against US troops.

“It could endanger troops and it could endanger the overall effort,” Petraeus told The Wall Street Journal.

“It is precisely the kind of action the Taliban uses and could cause significant problems,” Petraeus added.

The Dove World Outreach Center in Gainesville, Florida, says it will burn copies of the holy Quran on church grounds to mark the ninth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks.

There have been daily demonstrations against the church’s plan in Afghanistan since Friday.

The pastor of the church, Terry Jones, distributed T-shirts bearing anti-Islamic slogans last year. AGENCIES

The confidential report, obtained by Reuters on Monday, also said the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) remained concerned about possible activity in the Islamic Republic to develop a nuclear payload for a missile.

Western powers are likely to see the report’s findings as backing up their suspicions that Tehran is seeking to build nuclear bombs and underlining the need for the country to enter serious negotiations to curb its nuclear programme. AGENCIES

According to the Director of Meteorological Department, Muhammad Ajmal Shamshad, the time for sighting moon on 29th of Ramadan will be very short. Consequently, the probability of Ruat-e-Hilal is only 10 to 12 percent.

He added that the chances of sighting the angle of the Shawal moon are also very least, so it is most obvious that this Ramadan will be completed with 30 days of fasts on Friday, followed by Eid-ul-Fitar on Saturday.

According to the details, Yaum-ul-Quds rally, comprising of hundreds people was taken out at Meezan Chowk, Quetta, when an explosion went off right in the middle of the rally, killed at least 22 people while 50 others were injured.
The deceased and injured are being taken to Civil Hospital. Dr Shabeer, the RMO of the Civil Hospital, also confirmed that 22 people were martyred and almost 50 others injured. He said that the hospital management was ready to face such emergency.

Several injured have also been taken to the Combined Military Hospital. The hospital management has requested to donate blood.

The law enforcement agencies including the Frontier Constabulary cordoned off the area.

The nature of the bomb was not known yet.

“No adequate security arrangements were made on the routes,” said sources.

Intense firing started soon after the blasts.

Rallies are held across Pakistan every year on the last Friday of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan to support Palestinian demands for a separate homeland.

According to the Lebanese daily, Assad recently told his guests that no one should dare touch the resistance and its arms.

The newspaper also quoted Assad as calling for restraint in Lebanon and unification of weapons to confront the Israeli enemy.

Damascus visitors told al-Akhbar that the Syrian president has expressed concern over the situation in Lebanon, saying that tight coordination between Syria and Saudi Arabia could keep calm in the country.

According to Assad, all Lebanese sides should benefit from this atmosphere to consolidate the interior.

Ahmadinejad will hold talks with Qatari emir, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, on issues including the Palestinian question and the devastating floods in Pakistan, Sohrabi told reporters on Thursday. “The visit will last for a few hours,” he added.

Qatar has maintained friendly relations with Iran, unlike other Gulf Arab states.