8 dead, 40 wounded in

road accident

BAHAWALPUR: At least eight persons were killed, 40 others injured a in road accident, when a passenger bus loaded with pilgrims overturned near Bahawalpur, said Rescue sources.

Sources told that 3 passenger buses of pilgrims departed from in an area of Chak Hussain Kot, McLeod Gunj of Manchanabad to participate in Urs of Lal Shahbaz Qalandar. However, near Ramma Phattak one bus FDT-9399 suddenly overturned while turning speedily.

As a result including 2 year child, others 7 persons died on the spot while others 40 were injured including women and children. The injured were rushed to Victoria Hospital, Bahawalpur for medical treatment, where doctors informed about the critical condition of 8 persons.

While police registered a case against the driver M. Rafique for driving bus speedily and carelessly, however, the driver succeeded to flee away from the scene. - Online

4 persons killed, woman injured during firing

KARACHI: Four persons were killed and a woman was injured in various incidents of firing in Karachi, said Police.

As per Police sources here on Thursday within the jurisdiction of Azizabad Police Station, unidentified men abducted 2 persons, tortured them and later gunned them down. They left behind the dead and fled away while police after recovering bodies shifted them to Abbassi Shaheed Hospital. Police could not identify the bodies, however, police said that both seems to be Afghans from their appearance.

In a separate incident in the bounds of Sarjani Town Police Station, Sector 4-D armed men crossed the threshold of a house and opened fire, as a result 30 year old Atif s died on the spot while his wife 22 years old Huma sustained injured. While Police has shifted the dead body and injured to Abbasi Shaheed Hospital.

According to Police sources Atif was in service of Community Police and belonged to a political party. Police has lodged case against the assassins and started investigation.

While in Sher Shah, near Phanka Hotel armed men opened fire and killed Wahid Gull. His dead body has been shifted to Civil Hospital for autopsy through Cheepa Ambulance, said police sources. - Online

Sunni Ittehad urges foolproof security at all shrines

DASKA: Sunni Ittehad Council of Pakistan has urged the incumbent government to ensure the foolproof security at all the shrines in a bid to avert any untoward incident in future.

Addressing the "Tahafuz-e- Mazaraat-e-Auliya Conference" at Daska city here, the speakers pointed out that security of the shrines was not made foolproof by the government despite repeated appeals made by the Sunni Ittehad Council of Pakistan.

They declared that the suicide bombers attacking on the shrines were the killers of Islam, Pakistan, peace and humanity. The conference urged the government to also bring the facts about the ghastly Data Darbar Lahore suicidal bombings before the nation and silence and governmental negligence over this matter would never be tolerated by anyone.

The Fateha was offered for all the Data Darbar bombings victims. They alleged that the government has miserably failed in arresting the accused terrorists.

Addressing the conference, Chairman Pakistan Sunni Ittehad Council of Pakistan & MNA Sahibzada Fazal strongly condemned the ghastly suicide bombing incidents at Data Darbar in Lahore and brutal killings of the innocent people there in these terror incidents, saying that Islam was religion of peace and love. - PPI

‘Punjab under heavy debt of over Rs100b’

Lahore: Chaudhry Parvez Elahi, the senior central leader of Pakistan Muslim league has alleged that contrary to claims to date Punjab is under a heavy debt of Over Rs. 100 billion and the Punjab Govt.'s announcement in the recently concluded Punjab Assembly Session of bringing the provincial over draft back to zero by June 30th has proven to be a blatant lie.

Chaudhry Parvez Elahi expressed these views while talking with senior party leaders here on Thursday

He has also alleged that the corrupt rulers after first rendering Punjab bankrupt are now busy in an illegal squandering of local govt.'s funds.

He has also blamed the self proclaimed "Khadim-e-Ala" to have posted his trusted henchmen in Gujranwala to replicate the Gujrat election rigging plan. Chaudhry Parvez Elahi said that the ruling mafia was all set to hit the poor man with a new flood of inflation during the forthcoming holy month of Ramadan. He alleged the incumbent Punjab Govt. of being a collaborator with the food mafia and profiteering at the expense of the poor and helpless people of Punjab. Chaudhry Parvez Elahi strongly condemned the Punjab Govt.'s failure in curbing crimes and said that only in Lahore 273 robberies had taken place in the last 4 days. Slamming at the Punjab Govt.'s claim of bringing the provincial over draft back to zero by June 30th, Chaudhry Parvez Elahi said that behind the facade of such false promises the rulers after emptying the provincial treasury were now busy eating up the funds allocated for local Govts.

He called this act of the Punjab Govt. as nothing less than criminal as the local Govt.'s funds were meant for solving the problems at the grass roots. He blamed the failure of the Govt. in controlling the devastation caused during the ongoing moon soon season due to the non availability of funds at the local level. Chaudhry Parvez Elahi said that in his five years as Chief Minister of Punjab, he had made all out efforts to financially empower the local Govts for the good of masses but the present rulers had left no stone unturned in making the local Govts dysfunctional thus denying the people their basic civic rights and amenities. Chaudhry Parvez Elahi declared the success of PML supported candidate in Sargodha PP-34 bye-election as historic and said that the result was indicative of a strong public dislike for N-League in Punjab. He alleged that the Chief Minister Punjab's senior henchmen had been deputed to replicate the Gujrat election rigging plan in Gujranwala. He said that the people of Gujranwala will frustrate such plans and reject N-League the same way it was rejected by the people of Sargodha. - Online

Javed Hashmi’s health improving, to be discharged in 2 days

LAHORE: Doctors at the Lahore General Hospital have said that the PML-N leader Javed Hashmi health is constantly improving and he is expected to be discharged from the hospital in the next two days. A six member medical team headed by principal PGMI/LGH professor of Neurosurgery Doctor Tariq Salahuddin conducted another CT scan of Javed Hashmi in which greater improvement was noticed comparatively.

"Javed Hashmi's health is improving constantly with the help of prays and medical treatment," the doctors said.

Chief Minister Punjab Shahbaz Sharif was constantly in touch with Doctor Tariq Salahuddin to know about the health of Javed Hashmi. Professor Tariq Salahuddin said he was thankful to the  Almighty and his team who discharged around the clock duty to ensure better treatment to Javed Hashmi.

The medical team includes Professor Tariq Salahuddin, Professor Ghayas Nabi Taib, Associate professor Naveed Ashraf, Associate professor Shahid Waheed, Um-e-Baneen and Doctor Jahangir.