LHC moved against Shahbaz on court contempt charge

A contempt of court petition has been lodged at Lahore High Court (LHC) Rawalpindi bench against Punjab Chief Minister Mian Shahbaz Sharif on Friday.

Petitioner Asad Abbasi said Punjab CM, during a seminar in Lahore, leveled corruption charges against all judges, politicians and army generals, adding it was contempt of court to accuse judges as corrupt. The petitioner pleaded the court to call Shahbaz Sharif to the court and initiate contempt of court proceedings against him under Article-14 of the Constitution

Pak-US counter-terrorism cooperation to continue: US

United States:

United States would continue counter-terrorism cooperation with Pakistan, US State Department said.During the daily press briefing, state department's Spokesman Victoria Nuland said that both the countries would cooperate with each other on counter-terrorism. She said that Mike Mullen visited Pakistan for improving and strengthening bilateral ties between US and Pakistan. Both the countries wanted to continue counter-terrorism cooperation, Nuland added.

Black tea is as healthy as green tea: study

Black tea is as healthy as green tea: study:

It might be virtuous and exotic, but buying expensive green tea for its health-boosting properties may be a waste of money, according to a new study.

The study says a mug of bog-standard black tea with a splash of milk is just as good for both your heart and circulation.

The claim comes in a review of the health properties of green and black tea commissioned by the industry`s Tea Advisory Panel.

Dr Carrie Ruxton, a freelance dietician, said that just like the green variety, black tea has been shown to reduce the risk of cancer, stroke, diabetes and tooth decay.

"Studies that have looked at both types of tea have confirmed similar improvements in vascular function when black or green teas are drunk, leading to significant reductions in stroke risk," the Daily Mail quoted her as saying.

Ruxton concluded that black and green tea, which both come from the plant camellia sinensis and contain similar compounds, offered the same health benefits.

In 2001, a review of 17 studies concluded that the risk of heart attacks was 11 per cent lower, on average, when people drank three cups of black tea each day.

"Black tea continues to demonstrate a whole host of health-giving properties. Black tea is the new green for those in the know," said Dr Catherine Hood from the Tea Advisory Panel.

The finding appears in the journal Network Health Dieticians.

Sarfaraz Shah Case: ATC awards death sentence to shooter

KARACHI:

                   The Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) announced its verdict in the Sarfaraz Shah killing case Friday, Geo News reported. According to the verdict, Rangers official Shahid Zafar who shot Sarafaraz Shah was awarded the death sentence while the remaining six accused were sentenced to life in prison.

Speaking to the media after the courts verdict, the brother of Sarfaraz Shah said he was satisfied with the decision of the court and thanked the Chief Justice of Pakistan for taking notice of this case. Sarfaraz Shah’s father while speaking to Geo News, said the decision was on merit and it should be upheld by the superior courts and implemented. “God listened to our prayers, we spent the last two months crying,” he added. His mother said she was happy with the decision but complete justice would be served when the death sentence would be carried out.

Sarfaraz Shah was killed in cold blood by the Rangers personnel on June 8 after he was handed over to them by the private contractor, Afsar Khan, accusing him of committing theft and looting.

However, TV footage of the killing showed that the Rangers personnel shot the unarmed Shah twice and after injuring him seriously they watched him bleed to death instead of shifting him to hospital for medical treatment. The defendants, however, denied the prosecution charges.

The Rangers personnel and the private contractor were arrested under the anti-terrorism law as well as murder charges under the Pakistan Penal Code after the Supreme Court took suo moto notice of the brutal murder.

The case was registered against the accused by the Boat Basin police under sections 302, 34, and 36 of the Pakistan Penal Code read with Section 7 of the Anti-Terrorism Act.

The police charge-sheeted the Rangers personnel and the private contractor for deliberately murdering Shah, submitting that the accused first caused injuries to the young man with their common intention and later denied him medical treatment. Shah succumbed to his injuries due to excessive bleeding and lack of medical care, the police charged.

The prosecution had named 46 witnesses, including eyewitnesses, in the charge sheet in addition to a list of 14 articles, including the crime weapon, to prove the guilt of the accused.

The trial had to be concluded within 30 days as per the directives of the Supreme Court, which had ordered that the trial be conducted on a day-to-day basis and completed within a month.

However, owing to the lawyers’ boycott of court proceedings against the recent target killings of lawyers the hearing of the case was affected and concluded on August 9.

Manika raps Punjab govt

PAKPATTAN:-

                           Former Federal Minister Ghulam Muhammad Manika said that the Punjab government had failed to appropriately run the affair of the province.

He said that prices of daily use items were increasing and the Punjab government was not able to control them. He said that fertilisers’ prices were also out of reach of farmers and fake pesticides were openly selling in the market but nobody making efforts to control it. He advised the PML-N to quit from the Punjab government and sit on the opposition benches.

Talking to this scribe at his residence, Manika praised the role of TheNation Managing Director Majid Nizami and said that he was a true Pakistani who was working for the sack of the country. He said that Nazria-i-Pakistan Trust under his leadership was leading the nation

Zardari staying execution of 6,000 inmates for three years

LAHORE:-

                    More than 6,000 condemned prisoners are not being executed only for the reason that President Asif Ali Zardari has been granting stay for the last three years, sources in the prisons department confided to TheNation on Wednesday.

They said 33 condemned prisoners were hanged in 2008 after which the president granted stay in their execution after every three months. Last stay orders were issued on July 24 with reference no-F-No-8-11-2008 (PTN) part wherein the interior ministry through the Punjab home secretary said the president was pleased to grant stay in execution of the condemned prisoners up to September 30, 2011. As per jail population statistics there are 6,063 condemned prisoners in all the 32 jails of Punjab with 23 women prisoners also. Most of the condemned prisoners are involved in murder cases while some of them are involved in narcotics (9C), anti-state and terror activities (7-ATA). The stay order was not implemented in cases wherein the prisoners were involved in cases of anti-state activities and 7-ATA.

A senior jail officer seeking anonymity said 537 condemned prisoners were kept in central jail Sahiwal, 502 in central jail Gujranwala while the Faisalabad central jail stood on number three with 485 condemned inmates. Sources in the prisons department claimed the jails of the province were already overcrowded since more than 55,000 prisoners had been locked there against the capacity of more than 21,000 inmates.

The above-said situation has left no option for the jail authorities but to accommodate five to six prisoners in a death cell which is meant for the accommodation of single inmate.

As per details, there are 461condmned prisoners in central jail Lahore, 274 in district jail Kasur, two in district jail Lahore, 303 in district jail Sheikhupura, 290 in district jail Sialkot, 376 in central jail Rawalpindi, 148 in district jail Attock, 192 in district jail Gujrat, 166 in district jail Jhelum, 130 in district jail MB Din, 259 in central jail Minawali, eight in district jail Faisalabad, 241 in district jail Jhang, 268 in district jail Sargohdha, 119 in district jail Shahpur, 154 in district jail Vehari, 154 in district jail TT Singh, 361 in central jail Multan, 299 in central jail Bahawalpur, 204 in central jail DG Khan, 42 in district jail Multan, 84 in district jail RY Khan and four condemned prisoners are at present in women jail Multan. It is also noteworthy that 58 condemned prisoners out of 6,063 are enjoying B class facilities in different jails of Punjab.

A jail officer seeking anonymity demanded of the Supreme Court to take sou moto of the situation. The only reason behind granting stay in the condemned prisoners’ execution could be that the president wanted to send a message to international community that there was no death sentence in Pakistan, he added.

Govt’s writ to be ensured in Karachi

KARACHI:-

                      (Agencies) - Sindh Home Minister Manzoor Hussain Wassan asserted on Tuesday that the government’s writ would be ensured in Karachi at every cost, saying the Sindh government could take firm steps to maintain law and order in the business hub city, but its aim was to take all stakeholders along while taking important decisions.

“I can take strict measures to restore peace in Karachi. But my purpose is to take all stakeholders with me because people hailing from different races, sects, languages are living in Karachi,” asserted Wassan while talking to the media.

He said it was the vision of President Asif Ali Zardari to take along all parties for the sake of peace and that it was in the interest of all inhabitants of Sindh. Wassan, while admitting that “Karachi is a den of illegal weapons”, contended that some miscreants had been creating trouble in the city since 1985. “Karachi has to be cleansed of illegal weapons.”

The minister told reporters that law enforcement agencies had rounded up over 100 suspects during a search operation in various neighbourhoods in Karachi, adding that arms and ammunition had also been retrieved from the miscreants apprehended from Gulistan-e-Johar. He claimed that the government was trying for effective implementation of the writ of law and elimination of criminal and unscrupulous elements. “It is due to this approach that action has been initiated, since Monday evening, against those creating law and order situation.”

He said that the search operation would continue and investigations were underway to identify the real culprits behind the recent mayhem.

The minister said that Karachi was the hub of business, therefore, peace in the mega city was vital for improving image of Pakistan in the world. The government, he maintained, supported commissionerate system in the province but as the people were not satisfied with the “black law” of dictator Pervez Musharraf, it should be changed.

In reply to a question, Wassan said the government would never allow germination of any sense of insecurity among the people of Sindh. The ruling Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) had rendered great sacrifices for the cause of Sindh, he averred while saying, “PPP’s share of sacrifice for Sindh is much more than any other political party.”

Meanwhile, US Consul General William J Martin, during a meeting with Manzoor Wassan at his (Wassan’s) residence on Tuesday, said that the United States would provide updated gadgets to the Sindh government for maintenance of peace in the province, particularly in Karachi.

The US diplomat said that cooperation and coordination in other sectors would also be offered to the provincial government.

Briefing the media on his meeting with the US consul general, Wassan said the US official noted that peace was crucial for the business hub of Pakistan.

Wassan told Martin that peace had to be restored in Karachi to dispel the negative impression created on foreign investors and international community in general about the city.

The Sindh home minister asserted that there were drug mafia, land mafia and other criminal elements who were responsible for law and order situation in the province