He said no one could be allowed to take the law into his own hands and the law would take its course without taking into consideration the affiliation of the people arrested while disturbing the peace in the province, including Karachi.

The home minister, who was present with the chief minister during his press conference on Sunday afternoon at the Chief Minister’s House, in reply to a question said that neither the Sindh government nor the federal government was so weak that a few ‘miscreants’ could hijack their policy.

‘Those who want to disturb the peace in the city and take the law into their own hands must let their family members know before taking to the streets that their bodies might return home,’ he warned, pointing out that instructions had already been given to the police and Rangers that miscreants should be dealt with sternly, including opening fire on them.

Later, talking to a group of media-men, he said that so far, 8,500 internally displaced persons (IDPs) had arrived in the province through Kashmore, whose borders meet with D.I. Khan’s, while about 200 had entered from the Ghotki route bordering Punjab.

In reply to a question, he said he was keeping a tab on the list of those arrested for disturbing the peace, indulging in arson and damaging private and public property in connection with Saturday’s strike, and those who were being arrested while taking the law into their own hands with regard to Monday’s strike call.

He said that if any police official released any suspect under influence or political pressure, the minister would personally see to it that the official was put behind bars.

Answering another question, he explained the background of extending the ban on pillion-riding in Karachi and Hyderabad for another month, saying that in most arson and firing incidents motorcyclists with pillion-riders were involved.

PML-N chief and former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said this while talking to Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP) president Mehmood Khan Achakzai who called on him at the former’s Raiwind residence here on Sunday.

‘We do believe in reviewing the current distribution of natural resources among the four provinces,’ Sharif told his guest from Balochistan.

He said that as his party (PML-N) strongly advocated provincial autonomy as enshrined in the 1973 Constitution, it believed that distribution of resources between the federation and the federating units would soften their relationships as well as eliminate the chances of misunderstanding amongst the provinces.

Sharif, during his first tenure as the prime minister, had sacrificed Punjab’s share in water distribution bringing it down to Sindh’s share of 37 per cent and offering this sacrificed part to Balochistan and NWFP in the 1991 Water Apportionment Accord.

Talking about the ruthless killings of Baloch leaders, Sharif demanded the government hold an impartial, unbiased and independent judicial inquiry duly backed by a credible process. ‘An independent and unbiased judicial inquiry is the only way to heel the wounds of the people.’

Both the leaders discussed the prevailing political situation in the country and agreed that the country was facing enormous problems and the only way to get rid of the worsening situation and to resolve the existing crises was to demonstrate national unity and develop a consensus across the country.

About the issues being faced by the people of Balochistan, the PML-N leader reiterated his party’s stance that it would extend its full support to the forces striving to achieve their political rights.

‘The PMLN is fully determined to fight for political rights of the people of Balochistan in the same spirit it has demonstrated during the movement for the restoration of deposed judges and independence of judiciary,’ he added.

Expressing his solidarity with the people of the restive province, Nawaz said: ‘Development process is inevitable to eradicate the sense of deprivation from the people but even the development becomes meaningless if the people are not granted their fundamental and political rights.’

Achakzai lauded the principled stance of the PML-N on the Balochistan issue. ‘Certainly, the strong message conveyed by the PML-N leader showing his solidarity with the people of Balochistan will prove to be a milestone towards strengthening the federation.’

He invited the former prime minister to visit Balochistan for bringing the province into the mainstream.

PML-N president and Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif and PkMAP secretary-general Akram Shah, a former senator, were also present on the occasion.

The chief minister stated this while speaking at a crowded press conference at the CM House on Sunday afternoon. Those present were Senior Minister Pir Mazharul Haq, Home Minister Dr Zulfiqar Mirza, Information Minister Shazia Marri and Katchi Abadis Minister Rafique Engineer.

Shah said the Pakistan People’s Party was a national party committed to extending all constitutional, legal and moral assistance to those in need in any part of the country, though not at the cost of its people and their rights.

He said there was no justification either for the strike observed on Saturday or for the one called for Monday. ‘A strike was an extreme step, which would not only disrupt the progress of the province, but would also bring untold miseries to citizens, particularly daily wagers,’ he said.

The chief minister said the government had taken all measures to maintain peace and protect the life and property of the people by mobilising the law enforcement agencies, including the Rangers and police, who would be patrolling the city to control the situation.

He requested all those who had decided to observe strike on Monday to ensure the security of life and property of the people, as it was the responsibility not only of the government and its coalition partners, but also of those who had given the strike call.

Earlier, the chief minister recalled the background of the on-going military operation in Swat and Malakand division and its fallout in the shape of the massive exodus from the areas.

Shah said in the aftermath of the operation he had held a meeting where the possibility of IDPs coming into Sindh was also discussed and it was decided that just as in Swabi and Mardan in the NWFP, where after registration by the National Database and Registration Authority the IDPs were kept in camps, the Sindh government had also set up camps outside Karachi and Hyderabad, where after registration the IDPs would be kept until their return following ‘the elimination of extremist elements in their areas’.

The chief minister said that the aspect of IDPs registering before entering Sindh and deploying police force and revenue staff for managing the IDPs at entry points was unduly highlighted because they were stopped at Kashmore, the area bordering D.I. Khan, and some of them became angry over questioning and returned.

This incident was made a point of hue and cry against Sindh by saying that Pakistani citizens were being denied entry into a province of their own country.

He said he was asked on Saturday about stopping the entry of IDPs into Sindh, and he had dispelled the impression among newsmen and the IDPs.

Shah told them of the pressing problems being faced by the Sindh government in the wake of power shortages, scarcity of water, want of resources and the scorching summer, and if the IDPs liked to come to Sindh, they were welcome provided they got themselves registered and stayed within the camps.

Recalling the miseries of the IDPs, he said it was a Herculean task to arrange food and shelter for 2.5 million people of cold regions with children and women under the scorching sun.

SEOUL: North Korea said it had successfully conducted a nuclear test on Monday, raising the explosive power and level of control of its nuclear device to a new level, its state media said.

‘We have successfully conducted another nuclear test on May 25 as part of the republic’s measures to strengthen its nuclear deterrent,’ the North’s official KCNA news agency said.

YTN Television quoted the South Korean weather agency as saying it detected a tremor indicating a test at 0054 GMT.

South Korean President Lee Myung-bak had called an emergency meeting of cabinet ministers over the test, Yonhap said.

North Korea had recently said it would again test a nuclear device – its first was in October 2006 – in reaction to tightened international sanctions after it fired a long-range rocket in April.

News of the test hit South Korean financial markets, sending the main KOSPI share index down four percent in late morning trade, while the won dropped more than one per cent against the dollar.

In March, Admiral Mike Mullen said that Iran might have enough uranium to make a nuclear bomb between 2010 and 2015.

During an interview to ‘ABC This Week,’ the chairman US Joint Chiefs of Staff said he did trust recent suggestions by Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei that his country was not pursuing nuclear weapons for moral reasons.

‘I still believe that Iran’s strategic objective is to achieve nuclear weapons, and that that path continues. Their leadership is committed to it,’ he said.

‘Well, I think you make certain assumptions about what they can do. Most of us believe that it’s one to three years, depending on assumptions about where they are right now,’ he said.

‘But they are moving closer, clearly, and they continue to do that. And if you believe their strategic intent, as I do, and as certainly my Israeli counterpart does, that’s the principle concern.’

Admiral Mullen warned that a military strike against Iranian nuclear facilities could have grave consequences — but so would a nuclear-armed Iran.

‘The unintended consequences of a strike against Iran right now would be incredibly serious,’ he said.

‘That’s why this engagement in dialogue is so important. I think we should do that with all options on the table as we approach them,’ Mullen said.

‘And so that leaves a pretty narrow space in which to achieve a successful dialogue and a successful outcome, which from my perspective means they don’t end up with nuclear weapons,’ he added.

The Admiral did not respond when asked if it was possible to take out Iran’s nuclear programme militarily at an acceptable cost.

‘I won’t speculate on what we can and can’t do. Again, I put that in the category of my very strong preference … to not be put in a position where Iran is struck,’ he said.

Reuters adds: His words went further than recent statements by Defence Secretary Robert Gates who said of Iran on March 1: ‘They’re not close to a stockpile, they’re not close to a weapon at this point and so there is some time.’

Director of National Intelligence Dennis Blair told the US Congress in February: ‘We continue to assess Iran probably has imported at least some weapons-usable fissile material but still judge it has not obtained enough for a nuclear weapon.’

‘We announce today, with inexpressible sadness and heavy hearts that our incomparable leader and supreme commander …. attained martyrdom fighting the military oppression,’ Selvarasa Pathmanathan, the LTTE’s head of international relations, said in a statement on Sunday.

The Tigers said Prabhakaran had been killed last Tuesday during the last bout of fighting between the LTTE and the Sri Lankan military and declared a week of mourning.

The military had announced that Prabhakaran, 54, had been shot on Monday while travelling in a small van in a bid to escape the final battle between the two sides.

Ironically, while Adeel has been axed from the squad during shorlisting earlier this month for the first time since his debut in 2006, Hasan was selected in the squad for Pakistan-India series which was cancelled since Indians decided against playing against archrivals because of political tensions.

To make matters worse, although Adeel played as left-in and left-out during recent tour of Egypt, he is originally a right-out. But despite being a centre-half Hasan has been selected as right-out which seems to be the reason for Adeel’s ouster.

Interestingly, Hasan, son of former Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) president Akhtar Rasool, played as centre-half during training camp.

Team coach Khuwaja Junaid, however, came up with some mind-boggling arguments when questioned about Adeel’s ouster, selection process and his say in the selection.

The Olympian, who is a paid coach, was not even aware of Adeel’s original position and argued that he played as left-winger and not as right-out. He said as Adeel always played on the left side, there was no room for him in the presence of players such as team captain Shafqat Rasool, Abbas Haider and Mohammad Zubair.

‘You can’t compare Adeel with players like Zubair, Shafqat and Abbas who are Olympians and have international exposure with the senior team. Adeel plays on the left side. I am his coach not you or anybody else. Only I can know these things,’ Junaid old Dawn.com from Lahore.

Sources, however, said Adeel told assistant coaches Kamran Ashraf and Ahmad Alam time and again that he was originally a right-out but in vain.

However, Junaid said Adeel was axed on the wish of selectors and not on his recommendation, but refused to answer when asked would he agree with the decision.

‘It is the job of selectors to select. They have the say. Basically, selectors sign the final list of players, not the manager or coaches. You know these selectors better than me. They are such big names. Why should I tell you whether I am satisfied with the decision about Adeel or not. I am not answerable to you,’ said the coach.

On the other hand, Rana Mujahid, who is one of the selectors, categorically said team management enjoyed 80 per cent say in the final selection, while selection committee has only 20 per cent authority in the selection matters.

‘The selection committee can only argue in favour or against a player considering his performance in the last tournament. And that’s it. Apart from that it is the team officials who enjoy the upper hand in the selection,’ said the selector.

Astonishingly, two injured players, Mohammad Rizwan and Mohammad Rashid, have also been included in the 20-member provisional squad. Rashid has a groin injury, while Rizwan a twisted ankle.

The six players, Shafqat Rasool, Haseem Khan, Fareed Ahmad, Waqas Sharif, Abbas Haider and Mohammad Irfan, who have played back-to-back events, Azlan Shah Cup and Asia Cup, have also been included in the squad.

But for Junaid, there is no question of a burn-out and it is no a big problem for he believes that the players would be fielded in patches, utilising rolling substitution.

In an another debatable decision, half-back Sibtain Raza, who was included in Azlan Shah Cup squad but dropped for Asia Cup, is now in the junior squad.

According to Mujahid, two players would be dropped after some practice matches before the June 7 to 21 event to be co-hosted by Malaysia and Singapore.

‘Team management has been given powers to drop two players to make it an official 18-man squad for the World Cup,’ he said.

Provisional squad:

Goalkeepers: Imran Shah, Imran Butt.

Full-back: Mohammad Atiq, Kashif Ali, Amir Shahzad.

Half-backs: Mohmmad Irfan, Fareed Ahmad, Sibtain Raza, Mohammad Rashid, Mohsin Bilal.

Forwards: Waqas Sharif, Shafqat Rasool (captain), Haseem Khan (vice-captain), Abbas Haider, Mohammad Zubair, Inayatullah, Mohammad Taufeeq, Mohammad Rizwan, Hasan Akhtar, and Azlan Khan.

It was the first of three Format-II matches for Pakistan at Sari, Iran, after having won three and lost as many matches in Format-I.

Friday’s win turned out to be the biggest-ever for Pakistan in the history of the AFC-controlled Boys’ Football Festival.

Previously, they had beaten Maldives 6-0 in the 2007 edition at the Bangladesh Institute of Sports (BIS) at Savar, Dhaka.

It was a thumping victory considering the fact that Pakistan was missing key midfielder Saddam Hussain, who went out of the event following a serious injury against Afghanistan on Tuesday.

Besides Haider Ali, Karachi’s Mohammad Hashim earned a brace with both his goals coming in the first session as Pakistan led by 4-0.

Pakistan took the lead as early as in the third minute through Sialkot-based midfielder Hasan Pervaiz, who weaved through a host of markers to steer the ball into the left corner. Striker Mohammad Hashim doubled the margin in the 11th minute with a long-range drive.

Spearhead Saeb Ashraf, from Lahore, made it 3-0 in the 22nd minute and it was left to Hashim to add another in two minutes from half time.

Both Pakistani keepers proved themselves well under the bar — Syed Hasan Mujtaba in the first and Usman Khan in the second. Haider made it 5-0 in the 34th minute after fine work by Zafar and added another three minutes later following a header on a corner.

Skipper Muneer Ahmed came into action with a brilliant goal in the 45th minute and it was left to Haider to complete a hat-trick seven minutes from time.

All the teams were to play nine matches in the Festival and Pakistan will face Sri Lanka in their ninth and final game on Saturday.

This trade deficit was, however, down by 41.3 percent from $5.494 billion deficit recorded in the first ten months of last fiscal year, according to figures posted by State Bank of Pakistan on its website.

The export of services sector registered 9.13 percent growth to $2.915 billion during the months under review from $2.671 billion in the same period of previous year. Imports fell 24.83 percent to $6.137 billion from $8.165 billion in the same months of previous year.

In April alone, the deficit in services trade stood at $256.634 million. Total services export in April rose to $288.337 million from $243.483 million in March. Imports increased to $544.971 million from $492.527 million in March.

Pakistanis paid $2.955 billion for transportation, $906 million for travel, $115 million for communication services, $62 million for construction services, $110 million for insurance services, $151 million for financial services, $103 million for computer and information services and $1.367 billion for other business services.

Despite having enormous potential, the growth and development of services sector in Pakistan has been quite negligible. It is perceived as a supplement to the exports in the goods sector. Lack of knowledge about the international regime on services export, capacity constraints, inadequate networking, poor marketing and politico-administrative environment are the major factors for underperformance in this very important area of the economy.

The government is currently working on a project to boost the export of services. A special cell has been created in Trade Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP) for this purpose. TDAP has identified five services sectors that have the potential to bring in huge foreign exchange earnings. These are: construction and architecture, health and medical, legal and accountancy, information technology and financial services including banking, insurance and financial management.

The SPI for the week under review in the above mentioned group was recorded at 223.35 as against 222.74 registered in the previous week, according provisional figures of Federal Bureau of Statistics (FBS). SPI for the combined group registered increase of 0.46 percent by growing up from 212.23 in the previous week to 213.20 in the week under review.

As compared to the corresponding week of last year, the SPI for combined group in the week under review witnessed increase of 10.92 percent.

As compared to last week, the SPI for the group falling in the income brackets of Rs 3001-5000, 5001-12000 and above Rs 12000 increased by 0.32 percent, 0.44 percent and 0.48 percent respectively. During the week under review average prices of 9 items registered decrease, while that of 18 items increase with the remaining 26 items’ prices unchanged. The items recorded decrease in their average prices included, onions, wheat (average quality), LPG (11 kg cylinder), egg hen (farm), garlic, wheat flour (average quality), chicken (farm), firewood, masoor pulse (washed).

The items registered increase in their prices included, vegetable ghee (tin), potatoes, bananas, cooking oil (tin), milk (fresh), gur, curd, moong pulse (washed), tea (prepared), sugar, mash pulse (washed), vegetable ghee (loose), gram pulse (washed), beef, mutton, rice irri-6, tomatoes and red chillies. The items with no change in their average prices included, rice (basmati broken), bread plain (mid size), milk (powdered), mustard oil, salt (powdered), tea (packet), cooked beef, cooked dal, cigarettes, coarse latha, lawn, voil (printed) and telephone local call. app