QUETTA: Nine drug addicts were crushed to death Wednesday when caves carved into the bank of a seasonal drain collapsed due to heavy rains in Quetta, police said.

“The victims were all drug addicts. They had dug caves along the bank of a drain which collapsed this morning,” senior police officer Jamil Kakar said.

“Rescue workers retrieved 9 bodies. Two were recovered alive,” he added.

The incident took place in Killi Sheikh Omar on the outskirts of Quetta, the capital of Baluchistan.

The addicts used to sit and smoke heroin in small rooms like the caves which were weakened by rain, police said.

Doctor Mohammad Noor of Quetta’’s main state-run hospital confirmed that 9 bodies had been brought in after the incident.

ISLAMABAD: The lawmakers today expressed serious concerns about the prevailing law and order situation in the country, saying the government has failed to maintain peace.

Senator Ishaq Dar of the PML-N tabled a resolution in the upper house seeking debate on the poor law and order situation.

In his remarks, National Party senator Hasil Bazinjo said Pakistan has the highest rate of crimes in the region. Police and politicians themselves are involved in disturbing security situation, he noted.

Bazinjo said no improvement can be made as judge, police and politician all have a price.

Meanwhile, Professor Ibrahim of the Jamaat-e-Islami said Pakhtuns are being targeted in Karachi.

RAWALPINDI: Advisor US national security, James Jones met with Chief of Army Staff General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani here at GHQ on Wednesday.

They discussed matters including US?s new policy for Afghanistan, overall security of the region besides Pak-Afghan border situation.

LAHORE: Jamaat-e-Islami Amir Syed Munawar Hasan has said that the Government of Punjab is trying to find a way to avoid the by-election.

Speaking to newsmen at Mansoora today, he said the provincial government is itself a party in the by-election, therefore, the fingers are being raised against the government.

Hasan said the Punjab government could not properly clarify its position regarding attack on Sheikh Rashid. ?The situation is head toward confrontation between state organs as the appointment of judges is being delayed,? he said.

The JI chief said the government doesn?t really seems interested in conducing by-election. But said her party will fully take part in the election if held.

He said the water and Kashmir issues should be priority in Pakistan-India talks agenda, otherwise, it will be a futile effort.

ISLAMABAD: Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi Wednesday said Pakistan wants to hold candid talks with India at the earliest and that the dialogue will not be fruitful unless Kashmir and water issues are addressed.

In an exclusive talk with Geo News correspondents Jawad Naeem Rana and Fayaz Raja here, Shah Mehmood Qureshi said Pakistan does not want to hold dialogue just for the sake of talks.

He said the negotiations have to be result oriented and ruled out talks in case any conditions are attached to the process.

?Terrorism is not only the problem of India but also of Pakistan and it will be on the agenda of dialogue,? the Foreign Minister said.

He, continued, there are also issues other than terrorism between Pakistan and India, Kashmir being the most important of all, therefore, it will definitely be part of the dialogue.

Shah Mehmood Qureshi said the suspension of composite dialogue was not due to any action of Pakistan and that the talks will be resumed from the point they were discontinued.

ISLAMABAD: A high-level inter-ministerial meeting today granted an approval for resumption of dialogue with India.

The meeting discussed India’’s offer for foreign secretary-level talks and sought a “meaningful and result-oriented composite dialogue” to resolve outstanding issues.

Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi chaired the inter-ministerial meeting at the Foreign Office that was attended by Foreign Secretary Salman Bashir, Pakistan’’s High Commissioner to India Shahid Malik, Director General (South Asia) Afrasiab Mehdi Hashmi and senior officials of the military, ISI and defence and interior ministries.

The inter-ministerial meeting was convened to consider the Indian offer to resume dialogue with Pakistan and to evolve Pakistan’’s views towards the Indian proposal, the statement said.

India has proposed talks at the level of the Foreign Secretaries later this month. The two sides are yet to decide on a date and venue for the meeting.

Feb 11, Colombo: Sri Lanka’s Minister of Disaster Management and Human Rights, Mahinda Samarasinghe has presented a National Action Plan for the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights (NAP) in Sri Lanka to the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Ms. Navanetham Pillay.

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani Wednesday reiterated to introduce a new accountability law and put in place an effective system of accountability in the country.

?The new accountability law would make the process effective because everybody is accountable before the House,? he stated in National Assembly on presentation of report of Public Accounts Committee (PAC).

?We all need to have consensus on accountability and everybody should be accountable before the House and we hope, the new law will be a consensus law,? Gilani added.
The Prime Minister congratulated PAC Chairman Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan and members and described presentation of report ?a historic moment.?

He said it is clear in article 91 of the Constitution that everybody is answerable to this House. ?I appreciate the work of the Committee. Chairman of the Committee was elected with consensus and this report is also a consensus report and more credible.?

?We firmly believe in accountability and this report being a consensus report, is more effective,? the Prime Minister said and added, spirit behind bringing a consensus accountability law is that everybody owns this law and nobody in future ?would term the action as discrimination.?

?We want the new law to be a credible law and according to aspirations of the people of Pakistan,? he added.

Leader of the Opposition and Chairman Public Accounts Committee, Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan thanked the Prime Minister as well as all Committee members for making him sail smoothly.

?We have presented three reports in one year contrary to the past when PAC reports were not presented to the House even for years,? Nisar said.

He appreciated the support of members and said, despite that members belonging to different political parties, the report is a consensus report.

Nisar informed the House that maximum recovery of misappropriation on recommendations of PAC were Rs five billion in 2007-08. But, our Committee recovered Rs 20 billion only during last one year and during first six months of this year, Rs 11.5 billion have been recovered.

?From the very onset, the members of Committee had agreed to two principles that ?wrong doing will be penalized; and decisions will be made with consensus,? he said.

?This time we have also controlled those departments that were earlier not touched by PAC. During this process we came across certain grey areas on which I shall apprise the House,? he said.

?We at Committee had upheld that when this House approves money for all institutions including Judiciary and Armed Forces. These institutions must also be held accountable before its Committee,? he added.

KHYBER AGENCY: At least 17 people were killed, including 11 personnel of the paramilitary Khasadar force, and eight others wounded on Wednesday when a suicide blast struck a police patrol vehicle in Jamrud tehsil of Khyber Agency.

Sources close to Khasadar forces told Geo that the suicide bomber below himself up near Khasadar mobile vehicle when it was passing through Wazir Dand area on Pak-Afghan Shahrah.

Eleven Khasadar personnel died and eight others sustained injuries in the attack. In addition, six passers-by were also killed.

A line officer was also among the martyrs.

The injured were shifted to hospitals of Peshawar. Following the blast, security forces cordoned off the area and initiated investigation into the incident.

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani has said that Pakistan wants to maintain close and friendly relations with the United States and strengthen the strategic partnership in multidimensional sectors.

The Prime Minister was talking to Pakistan?s ambassador to Washington Hussain Haqqani, who called on him at the PM Secretariat here on Wednesday.

Gilani said the sentiments and expectations of Pakistani people need to be given due respect to help bridge the trust deficit and bring the people of both the countries closer.

Earlier, Haqqani briefed the prime minister on progress with regard to reimbursement of Coalition Support Fund, the visa issues and diplomatic/legal help extended to Dr. Aafia Siddiqui during her trial.