QUETTA: Anti-terror police were on high alert in Pakistan on Saturday as mass burials took place for the victims of a suicide bomber who killed at least 59 people at a Shia Muslim rally.

An AFP reporter said that 42 victims of suicide bombings were buried, while ceremonies for the rest of the victims were delayed as the families were waiting for the relatives to arrive from other cities.

Families and relatives wept and beat their chests and heads as they carried the coffins to graves.

The city's streets were deserted following a protest strike call by the local traders' associations, an AFP reporter said, with security forces on patrol.

Provincial police chief Malik Mohammad Iqbal said that so far no arrests had been made and an investigation into the incident was in progress.

ISLAMABAD: Islamabad on Saturday urged India to help find a way to progress the trial in Pakistan of seven suspects linked to the 2008 Mumbai attacks.

The suspects include the alleged mastermind of the attack on India's financial capital, Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi, and Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) operative Zarar Shah.

The trial has almost stalled as New Delhi has refused to give the court access to lone surviving attacker Mohammad Ajmal Kasab —who is on death row in India —and Indian national Fahim Ansari, a conspirator.

An anti-terrorism court in Rawalpindi indicted the seven men on the eve of the first anniversary of the attack, which ended a fragile peace process with Pakistan.

But Pakistani officials have since implied that the trials cannot proceed unless Kasab, who was sentenced to death in Mumbai in May, is handed over as a witness.

Kasab was convicted on March 31 on charges including murder and waging war on India.

Pakistan interior minister Rehman Malik told reporters after meeting the Indian high commissioner and speaking to Indian Home Minister P. Chidambaram on the telephone: “The trial is stuck and actually we do not want to give an impression to the international community that perhaps it has been delayed.

“We proposed to India while talking to Mr Chidambaram that how about that we move our case to our trial court and request them to appoint a commission of relevant officials to record the statements of the witnesses,” he said.

“And this has been happening in the past and so using that facility we request to the court and if they give permission, will they (India) be able to accept,” Malik said. Chidambaram replied that “they will be considering it”, Malik said.

Malik said he underlined the importance to the trial of Kasab and Ansari appearing in court in Pakistan.

CARDIFF: Pakistan one-day captain Shahid Afridi apologised Saturday for the scandal engulfing his side's tour of England after British police questioned three players over an alleged betting scam.

“I think this is very bad news,” Afridi told reporters at Sophia Gardens here on Saturday, where the first of two Twenty20 internationals against England takes place Sunday.

“On behalf of these boys —I know they are not in this series —I want to say sorry to all cricket lovers and all the cricketing nations.”

Coach Waqar Younis said this had been the toughest week he'd known in two decades of international cricket.

“It's pretty sad, whatever happened, and it's been really, really tough on everyone, not only me but the entire team, the management and back home it's been really bad,” former fast bowler Waqar explained.

Aamer, at 18 one of cricket's hottest talents, Asif, 27, and Butt, 25, had already withdrawn from the England tour claiming “mental torture”, missing Pakistan's eight-run win over county side Somerset on Thursday.

Afridi said the team had been told not to discuss the matter and not to read this Sunday's News of the World.

KURRAM: Fourteen militants were killed on Saturday, as security forces carried out operations in Kurram Agency.

A vehicle carrying eight militants was destroyed as an improvised explosive device went off in the central Kurram area, according to sources.

Meanwhile, heavy artillery firing by security forces left six militants dead and 10 injured in the Chinark area.

Three militant hideouts were also destroyed in the attack.

Militants reportedly fled to Kurram from Orakzai Agency amid military operation.

Security forces have been engaged in an operation  in Kurram Agency for the last 10 months.  —DawnNews

ISLAMABAD: The three Pakistan players suspended over allegations of spot-fixing have denied any knowledge of the wrongdoing by the businessman at the centre of the scandal, according to the Pakistan Cricket Board’s legal adviser.

“The players have informed the police that the man was their agent, but they had no knowledge about his illegal activities,” legal adviser Tafazzul Rizvi told private television channels in Pakistan.

“They (players) all went to record statements voluntarily to the police station.”

British tabloid News of the World has accused agent Mazhar Majeed of accepting money in exchange for getting fast bowlers Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir to bowl intentional no-balls during last week’s fourth test against England at Lord’s.

“Players all around the world have their agents and it’s not something new,” Rizvi said.
“Mazhar had been associated with different Pakistan players as an agent for the last six to seven years.”

Test captain Salman Butt, Asif and Amir were suspended by the International Cricket Council on Thursday. They have 14 days to decide whether they want to appeal against the suspension.

Rizvi said that all the three players were issued separate notice by the ICC and now “players have to fight their appeals on their own.”

“We will just monitor what happens at the appeals, but they have to contest it on their own,” Rizvi said.

The legal adviser said that the three players also showed a copy of their contract letters with Majeed to London police, who later released the players without any criminal charges.

Rizvi said money recovered from his clients doesn’t prove any wrongdoing.

Reports in British newspapers last week suggested that 50,000 pounds was recovered from Butt by police.

“Majeed is their marketing agent and the money recovered from players could be paid on sponsorship deals and it doesn’t prove a crime,” Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) legal adviser Taffazul Rizvi told AFP from London.

Majeed, an agent for several Pakistan players, was arrested following the News of the World’s allegations but later released on police bail.

Rizvi said the PCB was not involved in the appointment of players’ agents.

“Players themselves appoint their agents, and once they make a deal they get good money in sponsorship and have regular meetings,” said Rizvi.

When asked about text messages exchanged between the players and Majeed, Rizvi said: “This is usual between players and agents.”

Rizvi said the players, who were released on Friday without charge, had not been arrested.

“The players themselves went to the police station voluntarily and will always be available for interrogation as and when required,” he said.

KARACHI: Pakistan’s top cueist Muhammad Sajjad is due to leave for China tonight to take part in the Shanghai Masters 2010 being staged there from September 6-12.

According to a Pakistan Billiards and Snooker Association news release, Sajjad has been included in the event as a Asian Confederation of Billiards Sports (ACBS) wildcard entry.

Top professionals and amateurs from across the world are taking part in the week-long competition. -APP

ISLAMABAD: Federal Secretary Health, Khushnood Akhtar Lashari, on Saturday said there was a lack of doctors, paramedics and other staff in flood-affected areas. He said the government was working to overcome the situation.

Speaking to media representatives, Lashari said the National Volunteer Program had been launched to cater to the demand in which more than 2,000 doctors had already been registered.

He said 45,74000 cases of diarrhoea, malaria, skin and other diseases had been registered in affected areas but there was no fear of any outbreak.

Meanwhile, a representative of the World Health Organisation (WHO) said the agency had distributed medicines to two million affected persons and had medicines stocked for another four million affected persons. He said fear still existed of outbreaks of diseases.

KARACHI: Sixteenth seeds Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi of Pakistan and Rohan Bopanna of India entered the third round of the US Open on Friday in New York.

The duo scored a (6-4, 6-4) straight-sets win over Jarko Nieminen of Finland and Michael Kohlmann of Germany.

The first set saw Qureshi and Bopanna break Kohlmann’s serve to take a 3-2 lead and consolidated it to 4-2. After serving out their own game to make it 3-4, Nieminen and Kohlmann were able to break serve in the next game, levelling the set at 4-4. Another break of serve followed, with the South Asian duo now with a chance to serve out the set at 5-4, which they did and won the set 6-4.
 
The second set was a tight contest up until 2-2 as both sides wasted a flurry of break points. At 2-2, however, Qureshi and Bopanna raised their game and won six points in a row to secure a break of serve for a 4-2 lead.

Nieminen and Kohlmann attempted a comeback and almost succeeded when they eked out three break points with Bopanna serving at 4-3.The Indo-Pak duo, however, held their serve to make it 5-3 and eventually bagged the set 6-4 in their next serve game.
 
Qureshi and Bopanna will face second seeded Nedad Zimonjic and Daniel Nestor in the pre-quarterfinals.

WELLINGTON: Nine people, including four foreigners, were killed when a skydiving plane crashed and burst into flames at a popular New Zealand tourist spot Saturday, officials said.

The plane went down near the airstrip at Fox Glacier, a central attraction in the Unesco-designated World Heritage area on the west coast of New Zealand's South Island.

“All nine people on board were killed,” a police spokesman told AFP.

He listed the dead as the pilot, four New Zealand males and tourists from Ireland, England, Australia and Germany without detailing their ages or gender.

Initial details of the tragedy were unclear because of the remoteness of the area but the police spokesman said he understood the plane burst into flames after it crashed.

New Zealand Transport Minister Stephen Joyce said the Skydive New Zealand crash was the country's first aviation accident of this magnitude since an Air Adventures chartered Piper Navajo Chieftain crashed on landing near Christchurch in 2003, killing eight people.

“Details remain sketchy and it is too soon to speculate on exactly what has led to this accident,” he said, adding that the crash was being investigated.

An Australian official said an 18-year-old man from the southeastern state of Victoria was among those who died when the Fletcher FU24 turbine powered plane crashed.

“The skydiving aircraft crashed while trying to take off, killing the pilot, four skydiving instructors and three other foreign tourists,” a spokesman for the Department of Foreign Affairs said.

Skydive New Zealand, the only skydiving company in the area, made no immediate comment on the tragedy.

However, a message on the company's answering machine said: “Unfortunately, we will not be skydiving for the rest of the day.”

Westland District mayor Maureen Pugh told Television New Zealand the tourists were going up with instructors to do a tandem skydive in perfect conditions.

“It's a well-established company down here and has a huge reputation,” she said.

“Nobody is even trying to guess what went wrong but it had tragic consequences. We're just so devastated.”

The five New Zealanders on board were all locals and well-known in the tight-knit Fox community with a population of fewer than 300 people.

A spokesman at the Fox Glacier Inn motel said everyone in the town had been to the airstrip trying to help where they could.

“It's a small town and everyone knows everyone,” he said.

Police said the ill-fated aircraft was a Fletcher fixed-wing, the type operated by Skydive New Zealand which has been involved in the skydiving and aviation industry for more than 25 years.

The disaster was the worst air tragedy in New Zealand in nearly 17 years.

Nine people also died in a plane crash in October 1993 at nearby Franz Josef Glacier.

The following year, seven people were killed when a sightseeing helicopter crashed near Fox Glacier.

The west coast of New Zealand's South Island attracts thousands of tourists annually, brought to the area by the stunning mountain scenery and fjords.

Travellers, many of them from abroad, support a burgeoning tourism industry catering for a range of interests, including high-adrenaline sports and trekking.

KARACHI: Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani Saturday said relief efforts would be extended to six months as floods ravage more southern towns in the worst disaster to hit the country.

A month after monsoons triggered catastrophic flooding throughout the country, submerging an area the size of England, eight million remain dependent on handouts for their survival, which they say are too slow coming.

“In the current circumstances and urgent needs, the relief phase which was earlier planned to end on October 30, now will continue for six months,” Gilani told the lower house of the federal parliament.

“Early recovery phase shall be completed by December 30, while damage and need assessment by World Bank and Asian Development Bank would be completed by September 30,” he added.

Authorities in Sindh province were busy evacuating more people to safety in several flooded towns around 350 kilometres north of Karachi as officials said thousands more tents were urgently needed.

“Most parts of Khairpur Nathan Shah town and Mehar town and several surrounding villages have been flooded,” Iqbal Memon, district chief of Dadu, told AFP.

“Most of the people have been evacuated from these towns and hundreds of those remaining were being helped by the Pakistan navy and local administration,” he said.

Memon said the flooding in Dadu district was caused by a breach in the Khudawa canal on Friday.

Some 800 people in Baid village were stranded and calling for urgent evacuation.

“We are sheltered on higher ground in the village, there are about 800 people who are stranded here with their belongings and cattle surrounded by rising water,” villager Bashir Gadahi told AFP by telephone.

“This cell phone is the only communication means left and its battery won't last long. We are calling the authorities, but so far no rescue is in sight,” Gadahi said.

“We have no fodder to feed our cattle and our rice and chilli crops have been destroyed by the flood,” he said.

People were also fleeing the flooded town of Jati but faced a shortage of transport, local television reports said.

Town official Hadi Bakhsh Kalhoro said about 100 people were stranded there and a rescue effort was underway to evacuate them to safety.

Sindh relief commissioner Ghulam Ali Pasha said there was a shortage of tents, with a further 200,000 people displaced from Khairpur Nathan Shah alone.

“The flood has affected some eight million people in Sindh and some 2.8 million people were displaced,” Pasha told AFP.

“Only 1.2 million people are in camps, while the rest have no shelter as we are facing an acute shortage of tents and some 50,000 tents are immediately needed,” he said.

He said the floods had destroyed some 4,600 schools.

The government's official death toll from the floods has reached 1,760 but disaster officials have warned that number is likely to rise “significantly” when the missing are accounted for.