US freezes assets of four Pakistanis for helping Taliban, al-Qaeda

WASHINGTON: The US Treasury on Wednesday froze the assets of four people it said helped carry out terrorist attacks and provided support to al-Qaeda and another militant group in Pakistan. The Treasury said it would freeze the funds and assets Fazeel-A-Tul Shaykh Abu Mohammed Ameen Al-Peshawari, Arif Qasmani, Mohammed Yahya Mujahid and Nasir Javaid. "The designated individuals have provided direct support to al-Qaeda and Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and have facilitated ... terrorist attacks, including the July 2006 train bombing in Mumbai, India," the department said in a statement. The United States named LeT a foreign terrorist organisation in December 2001. It was banned in Pakistan in 2002.

FBR to establish facilitation cells in Frontier

PESHAWAR: The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) will establish "Facilitation Cells" in various parts of Frontier for speedy solution of tax problems faced by the business community. An eight-member delegation of Sarhad Chamber of Commerce and Industry led by its president, Sharafat Ali Mubarik called on Shaukat Tarinl, PM’s advisor on finance, and discussed problems being faced by the traders' and businessmen of the province. The delegation informed that due to the military action against the terrorists, the business including industry, imports and exports were badly affected. Similarly, they said that the IDPs issue has also aggravated the economic woes of the province.

Taliban command, control system
demolished: Hoti

MARDAN: Former federal minister Muhammad Azam Khan Hoti has said that Taliban leading command and control system has been rooted out completely.

He expressed these views in a meeting held with press club members here Wednesday. He said that Malakand operation was running successfully and has achieved most of its targets.

He said that middle command, control system of Taliban had been rendered haywire and now Taliban representative Muslim Khan is trying to unite and boost up some of remaining leadership. Hoti claimed that all the sources of aid to Taliban had been blocked and Taliban spokesman is only broadcasting malafide information through media.

US seeks European funds, troops for Afghanistan

BERLIN: Europe must commit more funds and troops to stabilise Afghanistan after the August presidential elections, the US envoy to NATO Ivo Daalder said Wednesday.

"The US is doing its part -- Europe and Germany can and should do more," Daalder told a conference on transatlantic relations in Berlin. "Additional troops (sent to Afghanistan to provide security during the elections) must stay after the elections." Daalder said the United States estimated 17 billion dollars was needed to train and equip the Afghan army and two billion dollars per year to sustain it. "There is no way Afghanistan can pay for its force," he said, noting that the Afghan government had taken in about 750 million dollars in revenues last year.

PCB satisfied with SLanka security cover

Karachi: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has given the green signal to the security arrangements being made for the safety of its cricketers in Sri Lanka. Ijaz Butt, the PCB chairman, said Wednesday that he was personally satisfied with the security cover being offered to the national team which begins its 45-day tour of Sri Lanka June 29. Butt said he has also received a positive report from the team manager about the security arrangements being made by the Sri Lankans to ensure that the Pakistani players are safe in their country. Butt said he will personally review the security arrangements when he visits Sri Lanka from July 3 to see the opening Test starting at Galle from July 4.

Stocks see foreign buying in June, Credit Suisse says

KARACHI: Pakistan stocks lured overseas investors in June for the first time in more than a year amid an improving economic outlook and the cheapest valuations in Asia, Credit Suisse Group said. Foreigners bought a net $42 million of Pakistan stocks last month, the first time buying exceeded selling since April 2008, Credit Suisse analyst Farid Khan said in a report today. Funds may have returned after MSCI Inc. added the nation’s equities to its frontier-market index with effect from May 29, he added. Pakistan’s benchmark Karachi Stock Exchange 100 Index rose 4.4 percent last quarter, the smallest gain in Asia and the ninth-worst performer among 85 indexes tracked by Bloomberg globally. It lagged behind a global emerging-market rally as the army clashed with militants in an offensive that began in April.

                                                                  more news

Today's Broadsheets

Page 2

Page 3

Page 4

Page 9

Page 10

Page 11

Page 8

s

• Tribal Malik’s murder

• CNG pumps' strike

• Terrorism toll

• Changing tribal scenario

• Electricity blues

• Missing data on IDPs

• Failure of rich nations to assist IDPs

• Withdrawal of US troops from Iraqi cities

• Afghanistan: A tale of political intrigues

• The plot thickens

• Time to ditch America

• The stakes in Waziristan

• Counting the cost of war

• Revelations made by Peter Chamberlin should awaken us

Seraiki province

This is with reference to Mr Manzoor Chandio’s letter (June 28). I do not intend to go into the question of creating a Seraiki province, I would however, like to comment on the following sentences

                               More Letters