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US backs opening Taliban office in Qatar: Report

LONDON:
The United States has endorsed plans for the Taliban to open political headquarters in the Gulf state of Qatar by the end of the year, British newspaper The Times reported on Monday.

The move is designed to allow the West to begin formal peace talks with the Taliban, Western diplomats told the paper.

The office of the self-styled Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan would be the first internationally recognised representation for the Taliban since it was ousted from power by the US-led invasion of Afghanistan in 2001.

Western diplomats told The Times it was hoped that opening a Taliban office in Qatar would push forward the prospect of talks intended to reconcile insurgents with the Afghan government and bring an end to the decade-long war.

Washington is believed to have insisted that the office be located “outside Pakistan’s sphere of influence”, the report said.

“It will be an address where they have a political office,” one Western diplomatic source, who was not named, told The Times.

“It will not be an embassy or a consulate but a residence where they can be treated like a political party.”

The diplomat stressed that the Taliban would not be allowed to use the office in the Qatari capital, Doha, to raise funds.

The Times reported that the Taliban was seeking assurances that its representatives would be free from the threat of harassment or arrest.

Britain, which has the second largest contingent of troops in Afghanistan, declined to say whether it supported the creation of a Taliban office in Qatar. “This is a matter for the United States,” a Foreign Office spokeswoman said.

The US ambassador to Kabul said last week that the Taliban must feel “more pain” from increased military pressure before progress can be made in peace talks.

“The Taliban needs to feel more pain before you get to a real readiness to reconcile,” Ryan Crocker said in an interview with the Wall Street Journal.

Source: US vs Taliban

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Climate change blamed for Sindh flooding

KARACHI, Sept 9: Unprecedented torrential monsoon rains lashing Sindh and causing flash flooding in 16 districts of the province have a direct linkage with global climate change, says a climate expert.

Responding to Dawn queries, Federal Advisor on Climate Affairs Dr Qamar-uz-Zaman Chaudhry said that the volume of total water fallen over Sindh during the four weeks period is estimated to be over 37 million acres feet.

The pattern of extreme weather events in Pakistan in the recent past has shown a clear indication of increased frequency and intensity of such events in Pakistan, in line with international climate change projections, he stated.

Dr Qamar, who is associated with the formulation of the country’s first draft National Climate Change Policy, explained that rains in Sindh during the four-week period are the highest-ever recorded monsoon rains.

Before the start of these rains in the second week of August 2011, Sindh was under severe drought conditions and did not receive any rainfall in the previous 12 months, he explained.

A previous severe rainfall, which led to flooding in the province, had occurred in July 2003.

But this time devastative rains of over 1,150mm in Mithi; Mirpurkhas (676mm); Diplo (779mm); Chhachhro (735mm); Nagar Parkar (792mm); Nawabshah (547mm); Badin (512mm); Chhor (456mm); Padidan (318mm); Hyderabad (249mm), etc., have created unparallel flooding in Sindh.

The area might not have seen rains of such a magnitude in recent years.

The rainfall, he said, was predicted well in advance by the meteorological offices, and the disaster management agencies were also well-prepared, but owing to the scale of this natural calamity (combined with the topography of the area having very
poor natural drainage), most water stagnated and breaches in Left-Bank Outfall Drain and irrigation channels further complicated the scale of flooding.

He said that weathermen had been warning that climate change would cause a considerable increase in frequency and intensity of extreme weather events, coupled with erratic monsoon rains, causing floods and droughts. Moreover, a further
increase in temperature may result in enhanced heat and water stress conditions, particularly in arid and semi-arid regions.

Dr Qamar said it is very difficult to link any single weather event to a climate change, if we look at the frequency and trend of extreme weather events impacting Pakistan, it would be easy to find its linkage with climate change.

He said that the pattern of extreme weather events in Pakistan in the recent past is showing a clear indication of increased frequency and intensity of such events in Pakistan which are in line with international climate change projections.

The climate change has become a reality for Pakistan, he stressed.

The climate expert said clearly Pakistan is heading for an increased frequency and intensity of extreme weather events which included frequent floods and droughts, and the need of the hour is to plan for the future changes.

He said that the government had already taken first step in that direction as draft national climate change policy was being formulated.

Source: Government of Pakistan
Expert links Sindh rains with climate change | Metropolitan | DAWN.COM

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A successful person is one who can lay a firm foundation with the bricks that other throw at him. (David Brinkley)

Floods worsen, 270 killed: officials

Pakistan called on the world Tuesday to speed up relief efforts after torrential rains exacerbated major floods, killing 270 people and making another 200,000 homeless in the south of the country.

Local officials say devastation in parts of the country’s main breadbasket is worse than last year, when a fifth of the country was left under water by the country’s worst ever floods that affected a total of 21 million people.

The government is trying to fend off criticism of an inadequate response to the floods for a second year running, by urging the international community to step up help to already aid-dependent Pakistan.

For months, aid groups had warned the government to invest in adequate prevention measures to mitigate against seasonal rains, avoid a repeat of last year’s $10 billion losses, and protect those left vulnerable two years running.

“At least 270 people have died so far because of falling roofs, drowning in flooding waters and subsequent diseases among the affected families,” said Sajjad Haider Shah, a disaster management official in Sindh.

Government officials say at least 5.3 million people and 1.2 million homes have been affected, with 1.7 million acres of arable land inundated.

But a spokesman for charity Pattan, working in the affected areas, feared that up to 10 million people could be at risk.

“Estimates show that 1.2 million houses are affected and people are really in a bad condition, so that’s why I’m saying this figure must be close to double,” Sarwar Bari, Pattan’s national coordinator and spokesman, told AFP.

The meteorological department says average rainfall across Sindh is three times normal, with the worst-affected districts of Badin, Mirpurkhas and Thar seeing eight times the usual levels.

Chief meteorologist Mohammad Riaz told AFP the figures were a 51-year record, and the rains would continue for the rest of the week.

The UN’s World Food Programme agency is working to provide emergency supplies to half a million people.

The United States, whose relations with Pakistan nosedived after American troops killed Osama bin Laden near Islamabad in May, says it is sending food aid for nearly 350,000 Pakistanis and medical assistance for about 500,000.

Yousuf Talpur, an MP for the Pakistan People’s Party, said his home district of Umerkot was almost entirely inundated and that little effort was being made to provide relief.

“My party is in government, yet I won’t hesitate to say it is yet to go in full throttle to provide relief to our people,” he said.

In the southeastern town of Sanghar, most of the 125,000 residents have left home because of flooding, said local official Anwer Narejo.

Source: Floods Worsen

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Rangers arrest JSQM chairman during operation in Karachi

KARACHI:

Jeay Sindh Qaumi Mahaz (JSQM) Chairman Bashir Khan Qureshi was detained by the Rangers during a search and raid operation in Karachi on Thursday, reported Express 24/7.

Qureshi was taken into custody along with his guards from the Gulshan-e-Hadid area.

Rangers’ sources say that two kalashnikovs were also seized from their possession.

The raid was part of an ongoing operation in Karachi to restore peace and arrest those behind target killings in the city.

Members of JSQM have been arrested several times before in various cases.

Source: JSQM

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Dengue: Section 144 imposed in Lahore

LAHORE:
The Government of Punjab, in the latest measure to control the spread of dengue, has imposed Section 144 in Lahore to ban washing of cars in the streets and to fix charges for laboratory tests, Express 24/7 reported on Saturday.

Under Section 144, private hospitals have been ordered not to charge more than Rs90 for a Complete Blood Count (CBC) test, which is required to ascertain the presence of the dengue virus in a patient.

Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif has warned of stern action against doctors who are exploiting patients by charging more than the prescribed fee.

A total ban has been imposed on washing cars in the streets to avoid accumulation of water in residential and commercial areas.

Residents have been also been asked to keep their water reservoirs covered.

Sharif has directed the concerned authorities to implement these directives immediately and a helpline has been set up to register and resolve people’s complaints.

Source: Section 144 imposed in Lahore

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Main tu aik Baab hn Tareekh mein Likha jaon ga

Suicide blast at SSP CID residence, 8 killed

KARACHI: At least eight people including a woman and a child were killed and several others injured in a huge blast that occurred in Defence area within the limits of Darakhshan police station Monday, Geo News reported.

According to the details, the attackers rammed an explosive-laden vehicle outside the residence of SSP CID Chaudhry Aslam at Street 32. Unconfirmed reports say that eight people have lost their lives in the blast.

Chaudhry Aslam and his family are safe and have been shifted to a safe place.

The blast was so powerful that it has left six feet crater while the windows of the nearby buildings were also smashed due to the impact.

Rescue and relief efforts are underway while police and other LEAs have reached the spot to gather details of the incident.

Chaudhry Aslam, while talking to the media, said he was receiving threats from Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan. He said such terrorists are not Muslims who attack innocent people.

Source: Suicide blast in Karachi

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Main tu aik Baab hn Tareekh mein Likha jaon ga

Blast in Peshawar CD Market kills 2

PESHAWAR:
A blast at a CD market in Peshawar has killed two and injured 20 others. The explosion has caused a fire to erupt at the market.

According Express 24/7 correspondent Iftikhar Firdous, the blast took place at a computer discs, and DVD market located on GT road, Nisterabad Peshawar.

Firdous says that the location is fairly frequented especially in the evening, with the main road being jam packed with traffic. He added that the market is located in a residential cluster.

With shops catching fire after the blast, fire brigades had reached the spot along with ambulances and the bomb disposal squad.

The injured had been shifted to the Lady Reading Hospital.

The Taliban have been known to attack CD markets in the past. In 2005, Taliban frequently sent warning letters to store owners and even blew those stores up which did not conform to their demands.

Source: Blast in Peshawar

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Gunmen attack bus in Balochistan, 26 killed

QUETTA:
Gunmen opened fire on a bus in the Mastung area of Balochistan, carrying passengers to Iran on Tuesday, killing around 26 Shia pilgrims, police said.

“The bus was travelling to the town of Taftan when it was attacked,” a police official in Quetta, the provincial capital, told Reuters.

The bus was carrying 60 passengers in total and was attacked by unknown armed men from both sides.

Police and rescue workers have still not reached the site. Locals and passengers are taking the wounded pilgrims to nearby hospital.

Earlier in June, a group of armed men opened fire on a bus carrying pilgrims from Balochistan to Iran, killing two people and injuring nine others.

The attack occurred near the western bypass near Quetta.

The passenger coach, which was on its way from Quetta to Taftan, was carrying 50 passengers when it was attacked near the Akhtarabad area.

The assailants escaped after the attack. Police and other law-enforcement agencies took the bodies and the injured to the Bolan Medical College Hospital, sources at the hospital said.

Source: Gunmen Attack Bus

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Dengue in Punjab: Death toll soars, 10 more dead

LAHORE:
At least ten people, including two women, lost their lives as a result of the dengue virus, taking the death toll in Punjab to 83, reported Express 24/7 reported on Saturday.

The number of patients in Punjab has reached more than 8,820, out of which 7,900 are in Lahore alone.

Rukhsana, a resident of Mian Mir Colony and a mother of three, died at the Services Hospital Lahore. Thirty-year-old Jehanzeb, an elite force commando deputed with the security of Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif, also succumbed to the virus.

CM orders setting up of field hospitals

Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif has issued directives for the setting up of field hospitals in Punjab to help with the treatment of dengue patients.

The decision was taken during a special meeting chaired by the chief minister to evaluate measures taken to combat the virus.

Addressing capacity concerns at hospitals, Sharif also directed the authorities to increase the number of technical staff by conducting walk-in interviews.

It was also noted in the meeting that more than 600 nurses have been hired and 18 new cell separator machines will be imported.

Sharif said that a team of experts will soon be arriving from Indonesia to help authorities in controlling the epidemic.

He said in the long run a hundred dispensaries will be set up to treat dengue patients for free throughout the year.

Special units established in hospitals to control dengue: DG health

During a briefing at King Edward Medical College, Director General (DG) Health Punjab Aslam Chaudhry said that special units have been established in six major hospitals of Lahore to combat the epidemic in the province.

Chaudhry told reporters that injections were being imported for the treatment of the virus and will be available at all government hospitals soon.

He said there are still more than 1,300 patients admitted in hospitals while around 9,000 patients have been released after treatment since the outbreak.

Source: Dengue in Punjab

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Kon Kehta hy k Main Gum-naam ho jaon ga
Main tu aik Baab hn Tareekh mein Likha jaon ga