Hina holds talks with Lavrov

Pak, Russia to enhance trade, energy coop

Afghan-driven political solution to stabilize regional peace; Pak to hold SCO summit

Moscow—Pakistan and Russia Wednesday agreed to promote and enhance the bilateral relations in diverse fields including trade, energy and people to people to contacts. Addressing a joint press meet along with her Russian counterpart, Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar said there has been a scope for cooperation between the two countries in different areas and all the aspects for improving cooperation have been discussed during the meeting of the two foreign ministers.Foreign Minister Khar is visiting Russian Federation at the invitation of her Russian counterpart Sergey Viktorovich Lavrov from February 7-10. She held in-depth talks with her Russian counterpart on expanding and diversifying Pakistan-Russia relations. The two foreign ministers exchanged views on regional and global issues of mutual interest besides increasing cooperation in energy, infrastructure development, agriculture, science and technology.

New rules of engagements with US/NATO being given final touches

Islamabad—The government is giving final touches to the new rules of engagements with the United States, NATO and ISAF to replace the current agreements which are being expired by the end of this month. The unwarranted attack on Salala posts, Abbottabad and Raymond Davis episodes, drone attacks and US military operations across Pak-Afghan borders have created a wide gulf of mistrust and perceptions between Pakistan and the United states. The repeated erosion of Pakistan’s sovereignty has infuriated the people of Pakistan and forced the stakeholders to redefine foreign policy with special reference to its ties with the United States and cooperation with NATO/ISAF.

8-member SC bench to hear indictment suspension plea

Islamabad—The Supreme Court on Wednesday constituted an eight-member larger bench to hear the intra-court appeal requesting it to suspend its decision of framing contempt charges against Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani on Feb 9 (tomorrow). The bench would be headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry. The apex court on Wednesday had said that the appeal could be heard on Thursday, to which the Premier’s counsel, Barrister Aitzaz Ahsan, agreed. Earlier, the appeal was filed by Ahsan. It requested the court to postpone the Prime Minister’s indictment.

Govt-Opp 20th Amend deadlock broken

Islamabad—The government and the opposition have reached a consensus on the 20th Amendment. The deadlock ended in the fourth round of talks held here on Wednesday. Sources said the government has agreed to the opposition’s demand about an independent caretaker set-up to be formed after broad consultations. The opposition would be fully consulted on the formation of the caretaker set-up.

How Dr Afridi helped Americans?

Washington/ Islamabad— At the request of the CIA, which had reason to think that the Al-Qaida leader was holed up in a high-walled compound in Abbottabad, Dr. Shakeel Afridi had mounted a fake hepatitis-immunization program. According to a story published in The Daily Beast, Renting a house near the compound, he hired a local nurse who thought the drive was genuine. The idea was for her to visit the compound and get a blood sample from at least one of the children who lived there to know that the kids living in the compound were of Bin Laden’s, DNA from the sample would tell the Americans they were on the right track. Having spearheaded several polio-immunization drives over the years, Afridi knew how to stage the campaign convincingly. Interestingly, the report added that his medical colleagues at Jamrud Hospital suspected that he was having an extramarital affair. When they asked Dr. Shakeel Afridi, the hospital’s chief surgeon, why he was absent so often last spring, he replied curtly that he had “ some business” in Abbottabad.

Sexual abuse silence deadly for Church

Rome —Hiding behind a culture of “omerta”- the Italian word for the Mafia’s code of silence — would be deadly for the Catholic Church, the Vatican’s top official for dealing with sexual abuse of minors by clergy said Wednesday.Monsignor Charles Scicluna made the unusually forthright comment in his speech to a landmark symposium in Rome on the sexual abuse crisis that has rocked the Church in the past decade.“The teaching ... that truth is at the basis of justice explains why a deadly culture of silence, or ‘omerta,’ is in itself wrong and unjust,” Scicluna said in his address to the four-day symposium which brings together some 200 people including bishops, leaders of religious orders, victims of abuse and psychologists.Rarely, if ever, has a Vatican official used the word “omerta” - a serious accusation in Italian — to compare the reluctance of some in the Church to come clean on the abuse scandal with the Mafia’s code of silence.

14 al-Qaeda members executed in Iraq

Baghdad—Iraq executed 14 people on a single day this week, most of them Al-Qaeda members, a senior justice ministry official said on Wednesday, bringing to at least 65 the number of executions so far this year. “Fourteen Iraqis were executed yesterday (Tuesday),” the official said, asking not to be named. “They were convicted of terrorism and other crimes committed in 2006 and 2007.””Most of them are from Al-Qaeda, among them the wali (leader) of Mosul,” the official said.The hangings bring the number of people executed in the first six weeks of this year close to the total of 68 for all of 2011.Iraq executed 17 people on January 31, Justice Minister Hassan al-Shammari was quoted in a statement at the time as saying.Before those executions, ministry spokesman Haidar al-Saadi said the authorities had so far hanged 34 people this year, including two women and a Syrian.UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay has expressed shock at the number of executions, criticising the lack of transparency in court proceedings and calling for an immediate suspension of the death penalty.