The explosion happened in Spin Boldak, near the Pakistani border, in the early evening, said Gen. Abdul Raziq, the head of the border police in the south. Three officers and a civilian were wounded, he said.
The checkpoint had been set up because of an intelligence warning that an attack was imminent, provincial government spokesman Zalmai Ayubi said.
In the increasingly violent north, meanwhile, Nato and Afghan forces killed 13 insurgents in an overnight operation targeting local Taliban leaders.
Northern Afghanistan has become more insecure over the past year as insurgents facing pressure from Nato troops in their southern strongholds have pushed into pockets in the north.
The joint raid in Faryab province began late Thursday, said Lal Mohammad Ahmadzai, a spokesman for Afghan police in the north. One police officer was killed in the operation, he said.
NATO said in a statement that the forces were searching for Taliban leaders in Ghormach and Qaisar districts. The coalition did not say whether any of the insurgents targeted in the raid were captured or killed.
In the east, about 45 artillery shells fired from the Pakistani side of the border landed in Dangam district over the course of the day Friday, said provincial police Chief Ewaz Naziri. One child was wounded in the firing, he said, without giving more details.
Tensions have been rising along Afghanistan’s eastern border with Pakistan in recent weeks.
Afghan officials have decried shelling from Pakistani territory that has killed an unknown number of civilians, displaced hundreds of people and destroyed several homes and mosques.
Pakistani officials have said previously that the artillery fire was not intentional and said they regretted the killings and damage.
Nato also reported the death of two international service members, one in an insurgent attack in the south and another in an operation in the east. Nato did not provide details. The alliance typically waits for national authorities to release specifics about their casualties.
With the latest deaths, 10 international military personnel have been killed since the beginning of October. So far this year, at least 463 international troops have been killed in Afghanistan.
The Lower House of parliament, on Friday, was informed that more than 13,000 alien/suspects managed to obtain NADRA’s computerised national identity cards (CNICs). Responding to a question in the National Assembly (NA), Interior Minister Rehman Malik reiterated that there would be no compromise on national security. “The ministry has blocked these cards and sent these to law-enforcement agencies like FIA, Special Branch and others for proper verification,” he said, clarifying that the blocked CNICs were around 13,000 and not 80,000 and their verification was in progress.
“These fake CNIC holders also got Pakistani passports and they might be involved in smuggling or other illegal activities abroad,” Malik said, adding, “Such type of activities will create bad image of Pakistan in rest of the world.” “The cards cannot be used for any transaction, including preparation of passport, opening of bank accounts and acquisition of mobile phone connection,” he explained.
He said union council nazims and naib nazims had attested application forms of these aliens, including Afghans and Iranians.
He said during the initial investigation, 907 first information reports (FIRs) had been registered against those foreigners who obtained fake CNICs and assured the House that proper action would be taken against these persons and those who attested their forms. The minister assured the House that those genuinely deserving would be issued CNICs, as it was their constitutional right.
The minister informed the NA that NADRA had recently cleared many suspect cards. “In this regard, documents/information provided by the applicants were scrutinised by verifying agencies like Special Brach and Intelligence Brach (IB) as federal verifying agency,” he said. He said in addition, facts/information provided by applicants were also verified by NADRA. The minister of interior also informed that around 8,000 cards had been blocked in Balochistan of suspect/alien applicants on the basis of reported as alien by government agencies, proof of registration (PoR) card holder in addition to CNIC holder, fake particulars, holder of dual or bogus manual NIC/CNIC, fake parentage, old NIC issued to two different persons, fake date of birth or addresses, fake attesters and fake identifications papers.
It is also a fact that Special Branch Balochistan had intimated that in future verification and confirmation of national status might be carried out through concerned district police officers (DPO) and in case of Levies (B) area through deputy commissioner concerned.
In this regard comments from ISI and IB are being sought before taking further action. To another question, raised by Jamshed Dasti, regarding smuggling through containers to Afghanistan, NATO/ISAF and said that no action was taken by the government.
Newly-appointed chairman Rajiv Shukla added that, in the end, it's up to the franchises to decided whether to buy Pakistan players or not.
It is the third time in a row that the IPL has avoided cricketers from the neighbouring country.
Dhoni scored an unbeaten 87 off 70 balls to push the injury-ravaged India to 300-7 after he won the toss and chose to bat on a sluggish wicket at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium.
England, crushing India at home, were shot out for 174 in 36.1 overs to hand India the early lead in the five-match series.
Captain Alastair Cook top-scored with 60, but England lost their last eight wickets for 63 runs after being comfortably placed at 111-2 in the 23rd over.
Left-arm spinner Ravinda Jadeja and off-break bowler Ravichandran Ashwin grabbed three wickets each and seamer Umesh Yadav claimed two in front of 25,000 home fans.
Dhoni's men had been blanked 4-0 in the Test series and 3-0 in the one-dayers on their recent tour of England.
The hosts defended the total with a new-look bowling attack in which three specialists, Vinay Kumar, Yadav and Ashwin, had played only 25 one-dayers between them before Friday's match.
England were reduced to 40-2 by the 10th over before Cook and Jonathan Trott (26) put on 71 for the third wicket.
Jadeja turned the match around by removing both batsmen in successive overs, Cook holing out in the deep and Trott being bowled to make England 120-4.
The tourists slipped further to 134-7 as Ashwin dismissed Ravi Bopara and Tim Bresnan and Jadeja took care of Jonathan Bairstow.
Yadav bowled Graeme Swann and Samit Patel, before Ashwin signalled India's win by bowling out the last man Jade Dernbach.
Earlier, Suresh Raina made 61 off 55 balls and added 72 for the fifth wicket with Dhoni after India were reduced to 123-4 by the 29th over.
Jadeja chipped in with 27 off 22 balls at the end as India scored 91 runs in the last 10 overs.
England's bowlers contained the top order despite the absence of pace spearhead James Anderson, who was rested for the five-match series, and the injured Stuart Broad.
The second one-dayer will be played in New Delhi on Monday.
The draft was finalized during second meeting of Joint Working Group (JWG) on visa matters which also examined modalities for streamlining visa procedures, an Indian Ministry of External Affairs statement said.
The two-day meeting, held in pursuance of the decision taken during India-Pakistan Home/ Interior Secretary-level talks held in March, was follow-up on deliberations held in first meeting of JWG in Islamabad in June this year.
It was attended by Anil Goswami, Additional Secretary (Foreigners), Ministry of Home Affairs and Nasar Hayat, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Interior from Pakistani. “The discussions were held in a friendly and cordial atmosphere. The two sides finalised draft text of the agreement which will be submitted to the respective governments for obtaining necessary approvals in order to sign the agreement at an early date,” MEA said.
“The US drone fired two missiles,” one of the officials told AFP on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to talk to the media.
“Four militants were killed in the attack, they were all in the vehicle,” he added.
The identities of the dead were not clear, but the village is a stronghold for militants fighting against US troops in Afghanistan.
Covert CIA drones are the chief US weapon against Taliban and al Qaeda militants who use Pakistan’s lawless tribal areas as launchpads for attacking US troops in Afghanistan and plotting attacks on the West.
A US official in Washington described a commander in the al Qaeda-linked Haqqani network who was killed on Thursday as “the most senior Haqqani leader in Pakistan to be taken off the battlefield”.
Pakistani officials reported 10 militants killed in two US drone strikes on Thursday and named the Haqqani commander as Jamil Haqqani, a coordinator for the Afghan Taliban faction in North Waziristan.
The US official said he was known as Jamil and as Janbaz Zadran, accusing him of having “played a central role in helping the Haqqani network attack US and coalition targets in Kabul and southeastern Afghanistan”.
Pakistani officials said the slain commander was not a relative of Jalaluddin Haqqani, the Afghan warlord who founded the Taliban faction, but had been close to his son Sirajuddin Haqqani, who now runs the network.
The United States blames the Haqqanis for fuelling the 10-year insurgency in Afghanistan, attacking US-led Nato troops and working to destabilize the Western-backed government of Afghan President Hamid Karzai.
The US military has accused Pakistan’s premier intelligence outfit, the ISI, of having close ties to the network and of being involved in a 19-hour siege of the American embassy in Kabul on September 13.
After that attack, which killed 14 Afghans, Washington significantly stepped up demands on Pakistan to take action against the Haqqani network.
But Pakistan has refused to launch a sweeping ground offensive in North Waziristan, the Haqqanis’ leadership base, leaving American response largely limited to US drone strikes.
More than 50 have been reported in Pakistan so far this year including dozens since Navy SEALs killed al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden in the garrison city of Abbottabad, close to the capital Islamabad, on May 2.
Defence Secretary Leon Panetta has said for the first time that the United States was waging “war” in Pakistan against militants, referring to the covert CIA drone campaign that Washington refuses to discuss publicly.
A fighter jet plunged to the ground and exploded as it took part in an air display at a show in northern China Friday, organisers and state media said.
China's state-run television CCTV showed images of the Chinese-made plane falling from the sky and bursting into flames when it hit the ground at the show in Shaanxi province.
The pilot managed to eject and was seen parachuting down, but a journalist at the scene said the parachute had not fully opened and it was unclear whether the pilot was injured when he landed.
He added there were no casualties on the ground.
It was unclear what type of fighter plane was involved in the crash. The official Xinhua news agency said it was a two-seat, fighter-bomber Flying Leopard -- or JH-7 -- a model officially launched in December 1988.
But CCTV said it was a Xiaolong ("Fierce Dragon") fighter jet -- or FC-1 -- which is the result of a joint Sino-Pakistani development programme that started in 1999.
"The plane had some malfunction and an investigation team has been sent to the scene," said a spokeswoman for the China International General Aviation Convention, the organiser of the air show held in Xian's Pucheng Neifu airport.
She told AFP she did not know what type of plane it was, adding she had no further details as the scene of the incident was far from the main air show venue.
Reporters for the official Xinhua news agency, who were present at the air display, said they saw heavy smoke billowing from the ground after the crash, but added the show was continuing.
According to the People's Daily newspaper, some 100 foreign and domestic planes are on display at the air show, and around 30 aircraft are putting on displays.
Hungarian, Swedish, US and Lithuanian aerobatic teams have been invited to participate in the three-day show, which is expected to attract around 100,000 people, it added.
The accident is the latest to hit China's air force.
In January 2007, a military aircraft crashed in a southern Chinese city after a mid-air explosion but the pilot survived, according to press reports.
In June of the previous year, an early warning aircraft crashed in China's eastern Anhui province, killing all 40 people on board -- an accident described as the "worst air disaster in the history of China's air force".
Two months before the Anhui crash, a jet fighter came down in the southern island of Hainan after a mid-air explosion.
And in 2004, a Chinese F-7 fighter jet on a training mission over central Hubei province crashed into civilian housing, resulting in the death of a child on the ground.
China's state-run television CCTV showed images of the Chinese-made plane falling from the sky and bursting into flames when it hit the ground at the show in Shaanxi province.
The pilot managed to eject and was seen parachuting down, but a journalist at the scene said the parachute had not fully opened and it was unclear whether the pilot was injured when he landed.
He added there were no casualties on the ground.
It was unclear what type of fighter plane was involved in the crash. The official Xinhua news agency said it was a two-seat, fighter-bomber Flying Leopard -- or JH-7 -- a model officially launched in December 1988.
But CCTV said it was a Xiaolong ("Fierce Dragon") fighter jet -- or FC-1 -- which is the result of a joint Sino-Pakistani development programme that started in 1999.
"The plane had some malfunction and an investigation team has been sent to the scene," said a spokeswoman for the China International General Aviation Convention, the organiser of the air show held in Xian's Pucheng Neifu airport.
She told AFP she did not know what type of plane it was, adding she had no further details as the scene of the incident was far from the main air show venue.
Reporters for the official Xinhua news agency, who were present at the air display, said they saw heavy smoke billowing from the ground after the crash, but added the show was continuing.
According to the People's Daily newspaper, some 100 foreign and domestic planes are on display at the air show, and around 30 aircraft are putting on displays.
Hungarian, Swedish, US and Lithuanian aerobatic teams have been invited to participate in the three-day show, which is expected to attract around 100,000 people, it added.
The accident is the latest to hit China's air force.
In January 2007, a military aircraft crashed in a southern Chinese city after a mid-air explosion but the pilot survived, according to press reports.
In June of the previous year, an early warning aircraft crashed in China's eastern Anhui province, killing all 40 people on board -- an accident described as the "worst air disaster in the history of China's air force".
Two months before the Anhui crash, a jet fighter came down in the southern island of Hainan after a mid-air explosion.
And in 2004, a Chinese F-7 fighter jet on a training mission over central Hubei province crashed into civilian housing, resulting in the death of a child on the ground.
A total of 7000 students are enrolled in 103 schools in Safi Tehsil, which includes 68 schools for boys and 35 for girls.
40 of the schools were destroyed by the militants, while the law and order situation had forced the local administration to shut down the other schools.
However, the political administration rebuilt the destroyed school and , according to Mohmand’s Education Officer Saad Mohammad, issued orders to the administration to reopen the schools. Moreover, teachers were directed to attend schools from Friday.
The nation will face another "electric shock" as the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) has increased power tariff by Rs 3.04 per unit.
According to NEPRA, power tariff has been increased under monthly fuel adjustment. The increase in power tariff has been approved for the month of August which is highest in the history of the country.
Central Power Purchasing Agency (CPPA) took the stance in the application that hydal power generation decreased by 600 million units in August due shortage of water after which electricity was produced with furnace oil to bridge the shortfall.
CPPA further told that the cost of power generation with furnace oil increased by Rs2.75 per unit and the cost of power generation with diesel increased by 25 paisa while 9 paisa per unit was increased under line losses.
CPPA told during the hearing that the cost of production in the power projects in Muzaffargarh and Faisalabad remained Rs23 per unit. These units were made operational in Ramazan to reduce loadshedding due to which power tariff increased as compared to last month.
According to NEPRA, power tariff has been increased under monthly fuel adjustment. The increase in power tariff has been approved for the month of August which is highest in the history of the country.
Central Power Purchasing Agency (CPPA) took the stance in the application that hydal power generation decreased by 600 million units in August due shortage of water after which electricity was produced with furnace oil to bridge the shortfall.
CPPA further told that the cost of power generation with furnace oil increased by Rs2.75 per unit and the cost of power generation with diesel increased by 25 paisa while 9 paisa per unit was increased under line losses.
CPPA told during the hearing that the cost of production in the power projects in Muzaffargarh and Faisalabad remained Rs23 per unit. These units were made operational in Ramazan to reduce loadshedding due to which power tariff increased as compared to last month.
Talking to media on the sideline of Attock Refinery employees’ function, Dr. Asim Hussain said that there would be acute shortage of gas in January and measures were being taken to overcome the impending situation.
He said that efforts were afoot to bring down CNG sector’s load-shedding to two days besides the project relating to onward construction of gas pipeline from Iran would also be completed in time.
Earlier, the federal minister addressing the gathering appreciated the performance of the refinery employees.
As the Punjab government struggled to battle the outbreak of the deadly disease, six more people succumbed to the dengue virus in the province, Express News 24/7 reported on Friday.
Three people lost their lives in the Services Hospital, one in Ganga Ram hospital while one person lost his life due to the epidemic in CMH Hospital.
The patients who died include 65-year old Zainab, 25-year-old Shafique, 50-year0old Nasir Bakhsh, 30-year-old Saba Zafar, 60-year-old Abdul Ghafoor and 55-year-old Kaneez Fatima.
225 people have lost their lives due to the mosquito-borne disease in Punjab. 210 victims are from Lahore alone.
Fear-mongering and a lack of awareness about the fever has helped cause panic in the region.
The Punjab government has spent Rs2.5 billion so far under the umbrella of dengue campaign but has not compensated a single casualty of the virus, Asif said, adding that the government should pay Rs500,000 to the relatives of dengue victims as compensation.
Three people lost their lives in the Services Hospital, one in Ganga Ram hospital while one person lost his life due to the epidemic in CMH Hospital.
The patients who died include 65-year old Zainab, 25-year-old Shafique, 50-year0old Nasir Bakhsh, 30-year-old Saba Zafar, 60-year-old Abdul Ghafoor and 55-year-old Kaneez Fatima.
225 people have lost their lives due to the mosquito-borne disease in Punjab. 210 victims are from Lahore alone.
Fear-mongering and a lack of awareness about the fever has helped cause panic in the region.
The Punjab government has spent Rs2.5 billion so far under the umbrella of dengue campaign but has not compensated a single casualty of the virus, Asif said, adding that the government should pay Rs500,000 to the relatives of dengue victims as compensation.
She demanded that the government provide her entire family protection. “Shameem’s maternal uncles disapproved of the marriage because of my profession,” she said. “They threatened to take her away on numerous occasions if I continued singing.”
According to Khoso, he was on his way back from Sukkur with Sahar on Sunday, October 9 when one of children called to inform him about the kidnapping. He claims that Shameem’s uncles broke into the house.
The two officials, who both spoke on condition of anonymity, said 18 people, were killed in the explosions, and at least 43 wounded. Late Thursday, the officials said at least 12 people had died.
Two security force members were also killed in separate incidents on Thursday.
Thursday’s violence came a day after a spate of attacks in the capital mainly targeting security forces, including two suicide car bombs minutes apart against police stations, killed 23 people and wounded more than 70.
Those apparently coordinated attacks were the deadliest to hit the capital since August 28, when a suicide attack blamed on al Qaeda at Baghdad’s biggest Sunni mosque killed 28 people, including an MP.
The attacks come with less than three months to go before a year-end withdrawal deadline for the roughly 41,000 US soldiers currently in Iraq, with Baghdad and Washington yet to reach an accord on a post-2011 training mission.
Despite a decline in violence nationwide since its peak in 2006 and 2007, attacks remain common.
A total of 185 Iraqis were killed in violence in September, according to official figures.
Police and law enforcement agencies launched a search operation in the Godhar Colony of Karachi and demolished the offices of Sunni Tehreek and other banned outfits, Express News 24/7 reported Friday.
Police also seized all literature and other items from the offices.
The law enforcement agencies have been put on a high alert to subvert any terror activity in Karachi.
The search operation was launched in the area late at night jointly by police, Frontier Corps (FC) and Rangers.
Certain houses were searched on a tip-off and no civilian was allowed to enter or leave the area.
Some women protested against the demolition of the Sunni Tehreek office.
A few people were arrested from the areas, however, police did not disclose the identity of the arrest persons.
They were accused of setting public transport on fire and violence during a strike in Orangi Town against the conviction of former Punjab governor Salmaan Taseer’s killer Mumtaz Qadri, on October 7.
Police also seized all literature and other items from the offices.
The law enforcement agencies have been put on a high alert to subvert any terror activity in Karachi.
The search operation was launched in the area late at night jointly by police, Frontier Corps (FC) and Rangers.
Certain houses were searched on a tip-off and no civilian was allowed to enter or leave the area.Some women protested against the demolition of the Sunni Tehreek office.
A few people were arrested from the areas, however, police did not disclose the identity of the arrest persons.
Earlier this month, Sunni Tehreek leader Shahid Ghouri and other activists were remanded into custody till October 11.
Karachi Anti-Terrorism Court Administrative Judge Justice Maqbool Baqar of the Sindh High Court remanded the activists to police custody for two days.They were accused of setting public transport on fire and violence during a strike in Orangi Town against the conviction of former Punjab governor Salmaan Taseer’s killer Mumtaz Qadri, on October 7.
The police van was patrolling 15th street in the I-10 sector area of Islamabad when the attack took place.
Unidentified assailants appeared on two motorcycles and opened fire at the police van. One sub-inspector, Riaz, was killed as a result while another policeman was injured.
Eyewitnesses said that a female passerby was also injured in the attack, but this was not confirmed by authorities.
Yesterday (Thursday), Islamabad police foiled two bids to smuggle weapons including machine guns and sniper rifles into the capital and apprehended four suspects.
Interior Minister Rehman Malik said that a major terror plot in Islamabad’s Red Zone district had been foiled. The district is home to Western embassies, parliament, the presidency and the Inter-Services Intelligence agency (ISI) headquarters.
“As a result of strict security measures in the federal capital, some major terrorist plots have been foiled,” he told reporters.
“The terrorists wanted to target certain specific places in the Red Zone (the heavily fortified government district) and the headquarters of an elite agency,” Malik said
