ABRACADABRA

To kill 1 – Afghani killed 20

Jalalabad: A suicide bomber targeted an Afghan government official at a funeral, killing at least 20 people and wounding dozens more near the Pakistan border in one of the deadliest attacks of the year. The local administration said up to 25 people had died and other officials warned the toll could rise after the devastating blast in the remote district of Dur Baba in the eastern province of Nangarhar. District governor Hamisha Gul was the target and was wounded in the blast. One official said one of the governor’s sons had been killed in the attack, which happened at around 2:30 pm (1000 GMT). There was no immediate claim of responsibility but the Taliban routinely target officials in their 10-year insurgency aimed at evicting US-led NATO troops and bringing down the Western-backed Afghan government. Violence has risen in recent months as insurgents look to capitalise on the phased withdrawal of the bulk of 130,000 Western combat troops, due to leave at the end of 2014 and transfer full responsibility for security to their Afghan counterparts.

 In Kabul, the interior ministry confirmed 20 deaths and said 50 people were wounded, including the district governor. “Some wounded people are in a critical condition, the toll might rise,” spokesman Sediq Sediqqi told media.

Due to the remote location of the attack, casualty reports differed. “Twenty-five people, including the son of the district governor, have been killed and 30 other people were injured,” said Nangarhar provincial spokesman Ahmad Zia Abdulzai, adding that Gul was wounded by the attacker.

This bombing was one of the worst attacks of the year in Afghanistan and comes just weeks after the deadliest assault of 2012, when a group of suicide bombers killed at least 30 people in southwestern Nimroz province, on the border with Iran.

Lawmaker Abdulmutalib Baiga, a former anti-Taliban Northern Alliance commander and the former police chief of Kunduz province, died in the Taluqan attack.

 He was working with opposition leader Abdullah Abdullah in the newly-established National Coalition of Afghanistan. The United Nations says 1,145 civilians were killed and 1,954 wounded in the war in the first six months of this year.

Pak Atlas shows PoK as Indian land !

Lahore: A new school atlas published by the government of Pakistan’s Punjab province has shown Pakistan-occupied Kashmir and the Gilgit-Baltistan region as Indian territories.

The education authorities rushed to recall the atlas from all elementary and high school libraries of Punjab province, which has a population of 90 million.

The Government of Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif has had to face criticism from academicians over the development.

“It is a grave mistake that speaks of the inefficiency of our Chief Minister’s team,” publisher Khalid Pervez said.

Over 15,000 copies of the atlas had been delivered to school libraries so far.

The education department said it would take action against all those responsible for printing, approving and distributing the atlas.

The publisher had been asked to reprint the atlas with correct maps, it said.

The project to publish the atlas was launched with $25 million in aid provided under a German Loan Swap Programme.

     

“Policeman/Bank robber & a Scientist” – All in 1

Islamabad : A Pakistani man at the centre of a controversy over his claim that he had developed a car that ran on water was arrested in the past for alleged involvement in a bank robbery and illegal possession of arms, according to a media report.Leading scientists, including nuclear physicist Pervez Hoodbhoy, have debunked Agha Waqar’s claim but he has persisted with his contention that he has developed a kit that allows a car to run on water.

Waqar came to prominence after he was backed by several federal ministers from his home province of Sindh. According to the Criminal Record Office of Karachi Police, Waqar was registered as “Criminal No 7724″ after he was caught “red-handed while committing an alleged robbery” with a man named Hafeez Ahmad in the jurisdiction of New Town police station on August 25, 2010.

Both men were arrested at the time and arms were recovered from their possession, The News daily quoted police records as saying. Waqar is also an employee of Sindh Police and had been drawing his salary “for years …without performing his duties”, the report said.

Following his arrest, an FIR was registered against Waqar under the Robbery Act at New Town police station. Another case was registered against him for illegal possession of arms. Waqar, a resident of Khairpur in Sindh province, mentioned his profession as “private” during the police investigation. However, police later learned he was a stenographer in Sukkur Police Range.

In July 2008, Waqar got himself transferred to Karachi Range and joined duties as a stenographer. However, he was absent from duty most of the time. Later, he was transferred to the Investigation Wing. In May 2009, Waqar used his contacts and got himself transferred to the Anti-Car Lifting Cell and posted at the Chief Minister’s House on deputation. However, his salary was stopped as he did not furnish a joining report.Despite these lapses, Waqar was transferred as Personal Assistant to the Inspector General (Establishment) of Sindh in February last year. The news report said no police officer was aware of his being an employee of the department.