Two Pakistan Army commandos, who had refused to become part of the Lal Masjid operation against the militants in 2007, will not have the right to appeal against their court martial.
“These commandos have been court martialled and they do not have the right to appeal against this verdict if they want to challenge it,” a Supreme Court official said, referring to an application addressed to the Chief Justice of Pakistan.
Lance Havaldar Ghulam Ahmad, and Sepoy Shahid Shehzad, were arrested allegedly for opposing the Lal Masjid operation on May 2, 2007.
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13 killed as Bangla boat capsizes
Dhaka, June 8: A packed ferry capsized in Sunamganj in northeastern Bangladesh on Tuesday, drowning at least 13 people, including 10 children and scores were reported missing. The boat carrying 30 passengers upturned as it was hit by violent waves in stormy weather conditions, officials said.
“Twelve bodies, including of six schoolgirls, four small children and two women, have been recovered so far and dozen more are still missing,” Babul Mia, the administrative chief of Dharmapasha sub-district said. Sources quoting rescuers, however, said another person had also died. The boat was ferrying people to school and work across a water body. —PTI
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Chinese vice-premier to visit Pak
age correspondent
Islamabad
Chinese vice-premier Zheng Dejiang is scheduled to pay an official two-day visit to Pakistan on Wednesday.
This would be his first visit to Pakistan, during which he will call on the President, Prime Minister and Chairman Senate. He would also meet with the Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee and the Chief of Army Staff.
Pakistan and China enjoy a multifaceted strategic partnership, based on mutual trust and mutuality of interests, the foreign office said in a statement.
Strengthening of cooperation with China is one of the key principles guiding Pakistan’s foreign policy.
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Smoking toddler cuts back to 15
Jakarta ,A chain-smoking Indonesian toddler has cut back to 15 cigarettes a day thanks to “therapy focused on playing”, a child welfare official said on Tuesday.
Two-year-old Ardi Rizal shocked the world when a video of him smoking a cigarette appeared on the Internet last month and drew attention to Indonesia’s failure to regulate the tobacco industry.
Six months after his father gave him his first cigarette, the boy was smoking 40 a day and threw violent tantrums if his addiction was not satisfied. Child welfare officials called in to try to wean the toddler off cigarettes said that when they played with him he did not smoke as much. —AFP