London—Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) chief
Altaf Hussain Friday on the pressure of party
workers decides to take back his resignation as
party chief. Earlier, Altaf Hussain has
announced to step down from the party
leadership. According to media reports, Farooq
Sattar read a letter from Altaf Hussain to the
General Workers body meeting in which the MQM
chief said the party leaders failed to contain
the violence on April 9 in Karachi city.
Sanya—President Pervez Musharraf and his Chinese
counterpart Hu Jintao Friday vowed to enhance
cooperation in defence, energy and trade, and
hoped that these would be further strengthened
with the coming into power of a new government
in Pakistan.
Karachi—The much awaited Sindh cabinet with 21
ministers was installed when the Governor
Ishratul Ibad administered the oath taking
ceremony at the governor house on Friday.
Informed sources disclosed to Pakistan Observer
that in the second phase of the Sindh cabinet
probably next week would be inducting 7 minister
from MQM for which the negotiations were being
given final touches.
Lahore—The lawyers community here Friday
announced a three-day mourning period starting
today on the killing of several persons in
Karachi in Wednesday’s riots, and observed
complete boycott of courts to protest the
incident.
The coalition government has agreed on a
constitutional package (CP), which would satisfy
all, disclosed a reliable source who is very
close to PPP. According to the CP, the tenure of
the Chief Justice would be reduced to three
years.
Islamabad—The government Friday moved to lift
harsh restrictions on the media as Information
Minister Sherry Rehman introduced a
parliamentary bill proposing an end to curbs on
live broadcasts, cancellations of licences and
confiscation of equipment. Government tabled
Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA)
amendment bill in National Assembly, which was
sent to concerned parliamentary committee for
further proceedings.
Jammu—The Indian Army would soon be sharing its
experience with their Afghan counterparts as it
has agreed to provide counter-insurgency
training to the Afghan army.
Lahore—Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz candidates
Rana Muhammad Iqbal and Rana Mashhood Ahmed Khan
were elected unopposed Speaker and Deputy
Speaker of the Punjab Assembly here on Friday.
United Nations—A draft, recently circulated by
Cyprus and Germany, proposing to add seven new
members to the UN Security Council failed to
muster any significant support in a General
Assembly’s panel tasked with promoting an
agreement on the 15-member body’s reform,
diplomats said.
