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Afridi removed as ODI team captain

KARACHI: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has removed Shahid Afridi as one-day captain for the forthcoming series against Ireland.

Chairman of the board Ijaz Butt told a media conference in Islamabad that senior batsman Misbah-ul-Haq would lead the team in the two one-day matches against Ireland on May 28 and 30.

"Afridi has been retained as a player in the one-day squad but the captaincy has gone to Misbah," Butt said without elaborating the reason for the decision.

Afridi had captained the team to the World Cup semi-finals where they lost to India and recently also guided them to a 3-2 win over the West Indies in the ODI series in the Caribbean.

He has been leading the T20 and ODI sides since early 2010. (Reuters)

Trial of Pak cricketers set to start

 

LONDON: The trial of three Pakistan cricketers and their agent on charges of corruption relating to 'spot-fixing' in England last year is due to get underway here on Friday.

Former captain Salman Butt and fast bowlers Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Aamer have, along with agent Mazher Majeed, been charged with conspiracy to cheat and conspiracy to obtain and accept corrupt payments.

The quartet were charged after police inquiries following accusations in the News of the World newspaper that no-balls were deliberately bowled in the fourth Test match at London's Lord's Cricket Ground last August.

Friday's hearing at Southwark Crown Court, south London, is expected to be
a procedural affair where the date for the trial proper will be set.

Of the three players, only Asif has stated his intention to attend Friday's proceedings.

The four accused appeared at a hearing at London's City of Westminster Magistrates' Court, on March 17, which set the date for Friday's court case, and were granted unconditional bail.

The British-based Majeed was told to surrender his passport.

At the March hearing, prosecutor Sally Walsh said all four men were accused of having "conspired together and with others unknown for #150,000 ($240,000) as inducement or reward to bowl three no-balls at the fourth Test".

She added the three no-balls had been delivered "for the purpose of enabling another to cheat at gambling".

Prior knowledge of when no-balls will occur could be exploited in what is known as 'spot-betting', hugely popular in South Asia, whereby gamblers bet on various possible incidents in a match rather than the final result.

In English law, accepting corrupt payments is an offence under the Prevention of Corruption Act 1906 and carries a maximum sentence of seven years' imprisonment and an unlimited fine.

Cheating is an offence under Section 42 of the Gambling Act 2005, carrying a maximum sentence of two years' imprisonment and an unlimited fine.

A separate and independent International Cricket Council (ICC) anti-corruption tribunal has already banned the three players for a minimum of five years each.

All three have, however, filed appeals against their bans at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in Lausanne, Switzerland. (AFP)

Rajinikanth in intensive care

 

CHENNAI: Indian film superstar Rajinikanth was being treated in intensive care for breathing problems on Thursday, doctors said, as legions of ardent fans prayed for his recovery.

The Sri Ramachandra hospital in the southern city of Chennai said that the 61-year-old Tamil language cinema icon was moved to a special ward on Wednesday to improve his breathing.

"He is showing a positive response to the treatment," the hospital said in a statement issued Wednesday evening.

Rajinikanth, a former bus conductor turned actor, fell ill on the first day's shooting of his new film "Rana" (The Monarch) at the end of April and has been admitted twice to hospital.

He has been in the private Sri Ramachandra hospital since last Friday. Medical sources said he is being treated for pneumonia and a kidney ailment.

On Monday, doctors removed fluid from his chest that was causing breathing difficulties.

"A multi-disciplinary team is closely watching his vital parameters to assess the benefits from a multi-pronged treatment strategy," the hospital statement said.

Rajinikanth, who has starred in more than 175 films, is one of India's biggest movie stars and inspires fanatical devotion from his many fans.

One fan, Karthik H, wrote on the micro-blogging site Twitter, "You have problematic kidneys? I have two clean ones. Take one. Please get back to acting soon."

The star's family, though, has urged fans not to hold a vigil at the hospital but instead to offer prayers at local temples.

Last year he starred in "Endhiran" (Robot), the most expensive Indian movie ever made, which broke box office records. (AFP)

Burqa Posh Hasena on a Wheeling in Lahore

Flashy fashion grows as India’s rich flaunt wealth

An Indian saleswoman arranging luxury leather goods at the Hidesign showroom in New Delhi. In booming India, being rich is not enough. For the moneyed classes, it's increasingly about flaunting their wealth in ways typical of the nouveau riche in Russia, China or the Middle East. - AFP Photo

NEW DELHI: In booming India, being rich is not enough. For the moneyed classes, it’s increasingly about flaunting their wealth in ways typical of the nouveaux riches in Russia, China or the Middle East.
India’s well-heeled used to be more shy about displaying their wealth in the decades after independence from Britain when a tightly-controlled economy and dominant socialist thinking limited the opportunities for showing off.
But many prosperous Indians are embracing conspicuous consumption, turning their backs on the mantra of frugality espoused by independence hero Mahatma Gandhi, the father of the nation who eschewed possessions.
“They have thrown off the parsimonious Gandhian phase when it was considered poor taste to flash wealth,” says Radha Chadha, co-author of ‘The Cult of the Luxury Brand’ who has studied the affluent in Asian countries.
The biggest sign of changing attitudes to wealth and shopping can be seen in the stampede to India of flashy Western designer brands from Louis Vuitton, Prada, Chanel and Bulgari as well as sports car makers Ferrari and Maserati.
Attend any society event in Mumbai or the capital New Delhi and “it’s a brave woman who arrives without a designer handbag”, says Chadha, who is also a brand consultant.
In the past, dazzling extravagance was the exclusive domain of India’s former feudal leaders who splashed out on bespoke Rolls-Royce cars, diamonds the size of duck eggs, palaces and armies of servants during British rule.
Later, luxury-seeking consumers had to go mostly to boutiques in five-star hotels. But a shopping mall building boom is bringing to India the sort of air-conditioned high-end retail found commonly elsewhere in Asia.
“People are less inhibited in their spending,” said New Delhi furniture designer Raseel Gujral Ansal at an opening show of her creations last month as the city’s elite ooh-ed over sofas, chairs, beds and tables.
Even Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has called for the rich to tone down their excesses and to “eschew conspicuous consumption”.
But Indian billionaire Azim Premji says the phenomenon is common in nations like China, Indonesia and Thailand where people are enjoying new wealth. “The first few years, people want to show visibly they are very rich,” he said.
He heads one of India’s largest outsourcing companies, Wipro, and is renowned for his frugal lifestyle and philanthropy in a field of domestic billionaires whose extravagance frequently makes headlines.
The country’s richest man, Mukesh Ambani, moved last year into a billion-dollar, 27-storey skyscraper home in Mumbai with three helipads in a development that towers over nearby slums.
He once gave a $60-million Airbus jet to his wife as a birthday present.
“People always had money but now they are no longer afraid to reward themselves,” said Shreyans Group chief executive Ashish Chordia, an importer for Porsche and other sports cars in India.
Sales of prestige cars such as Mercedes and Ferraris accelerated 80 per cent last year, despite punishing 100-per cent duties and potholed roads.
“Last year was phenomenal,” says BMW India president Andreas Schaaf, referring to sales.
Aston Martin last month joined the list of luxury marques driving into India with plans to sell three models – the V8 Vantage, priced at $348,341, the Rapide at $483,146 and the One-77 at a whopping $4.5 million.
The Indian luxury market as a whole is forecast to triple to $15 billion by 2015 from $4.76 billion at present, according to global consultancy AT Kearney, though it still lags China’s which stands at $9.6 billion.
The number of Indians who have financial assets of over $1 million, excluding main residences, now stands at 127,000, the 2010 World Wealth Report by Merrill Lynch Capgemini says.
According to a new survey of 160 financial advisors by a private banking arm of Citibank, Indians are the most likely members of the global super rich to spend more on private jets and yachts over the next few years.
At the same time, observers say the new ostentation underscores how the divide between India’s wealthy and its poor is widening.
“It makes me uncomfortable how much people spend on weddings,” concedes one New Delhi society wedding organiser, who says families will regularly spend 10 million rupees on just one event in India’s multi-day weddings.
India is home to the world’s biggest number of poor people. Some 42 per cent of Indians, or 455 million people, live on less than $1.25 a day, according to the World Bank.
India’s statistics on health, infant mortality and malnutrition are worse than those for some countries in sub-Saharan Africa.
Shekhar Gupta, editor of The Indian Express, describes the well-off as “divorced and insulated” from poverty.
“We send our children to private schools, get treatment only in private hospitals, have our own security in gated communities, never need to use public transport,” he noted in a column.
At the glitzy Emporio mall in New Delhi, chauffeur-driven Mercedes, BMWs and the occasional Rolls-Royce or Bentley regularly pull up to disgorge wealthy occupants to shop at boutiques where handbags retail for $2,000 and more.
“I don’t take my mother-in-law here – she’s shocked at the prices,” said Shaila, a businessman’s wife, as she fingered a woven soft-leather Bottega Veneta bag priced at 136,899 rupees in one of the mall’s boutiques.
“I never tell her what I pay for things. She thinks it’s a lot if a handbag costs 500 rupees,” Shaila said, asking that her last name not be used.

Ohio wildlife center offers yurts for sleepovers

The Wilds' nine ''woodland yurts'' are available for booking throughout the week, May through October, plus one larger ''grand yurt'' with heat and air conditioning that the others lack, which allows it to be used year-round - AP (File Photo)

CUMBERLAND, Ohio: Dine by the light of an outdoor fire, sleep in a yurt and wake up for a safari to see antelope, zebras, rhinos, giraffes and camels.
When the adventure ends, return to your car for the short trip back to the world outside: Ohio in the heart of the United States.
It all is part of an experience offered at the Wilds, a sprawling wildlife conservation center on nearly 10,000 acres, or about two-thirds the size of New York’s Manhattan Island, about 80 miles (130 kilometers) east of Columbus.
Two years ago, the Wilds opened Nomad Ridge, an encampment of yurts, circular tents perched on stilts anchored into the side of a wooded ridge.
The inspiration came from more portable, nomadic dwellings observed by former executive director Evan Blumer and other members of the Wilds’ staff while they worked on projects in Mongolia, where the yurt is the traditional living quarters.
”It was just an interesting structure that we thought tied a lot to our field work, tied a lot to our programs, fit the landscape, and was something that would be really different for people, particularly in this part of the world,” Blumer said.
The difference is, these yurts, unlike those found in Mongolia, are luxury tents with all the comforts of an upscale hotel room, including running water and electricity.
The Wilds’ nine ”woodland yurts” are available for booking throughout the week, May through October, plus one larger ”grand yurt” with heat and air conditioning that the others lack, which allows it to be used year-round.
An overnight stay is packaged with dinner the night of arrival and breakfast the following morning, meals created by the facility’s professional chef and featuring Ohio game, produce and wines _ plus a guided safari around the grounds to see a wide array of animals from either an enclosed bus (the Wilds prefers the term ”transport”) or an open-air vehicle. The experience is limited to adults 21 or older.
The evening is relaxing and informal, with guests sipping drinks around a fire and watching from a deck as the sun goes down on bison and deer clustered in the pastures below. At night in the yurt, the canvas outer wall is whipped by winds slapping against the ridge, and in the morning after breakfast, you depart for the safari. The free-roaming exotic animals are observed over the course of a couple of hours.
The Wilds is a partner with the Columbus Zoo, and conservation of endangered species is part of its mission. Its animals include onagers, endangered horse-like animals native to Iran and other Middle Eastern and Asian countries. Two onagers were born at the Wilds last summer.
”I felt as if I had traveled a long way and was transported to another place even though it was only 2 1/2 hours from my home on the outskirts of Circleville, Ohio,” said Carolyn Seitz, a former teacher who enjoyed a yurt stay and safari last year with her husband, to celebrate his birthday.
Seitz’s reaction is common, Blumer said.
”We’re not fooling ourselves; you’re not in Africa, you’re not in Asia, but it’s sure a heck of a lot easier, a whole lot faster and doesn’t require a whole bunch of vaccinations,” he said, adding that the experience is ”an amazing escape” without having to go too far from home.

Pakistani astronomer’s photograph goes international

The image shows details of the 236 km wide Sinus Iridium – a plain of basaltic lava – which has always attracted the attention of painters and photographers. Sinus Iridium is a Latin phrase for Bay of Rainbows. – Photo by Umair Asim / KSS

LAHORE: An image of the Earth’s moon photographed by a Pakistani astronomer has been selected on the international website of Lunar Photo of the Day.
Veteran astronomer, Umair Asim photographed the spectacular details of the lunar landscape which was published on April 27, 2011. The image put Pakistan on the international level in the field of astrophotography.
The image shows details of the 236 km wide Sinus Iridium – a plain of basaltic lava – which has always attracted the attention of painters and photographers. Sinus Iridium is a Latin phrase for Bay of Rainbows.
A teacher by profession, Asim is a joint secretary and lifetime member of the Khwarizmi Science Society (KSS) – an organisation promotimg science and astronomy among the masses. He has also earned a Masters Degree in Astronomy.
With a rooftop observatory at his home in Lahore, Asim shoots spectacular images and videos of planets and other celestial objects despite heavy light pollution. He holds a 14 — inch Celestron telescope with a couple of other aiding devices such as filters, optics, high-res CCD cameras and advance software.
Asim is an active part of KSS, which is a practical platform of science and especially astronomy awareness in the country. KSS organises a variety of events such as lectures, seminars, astronomy fairs for society, particularly for students and children.
The Khwarizmi Science Society is based in the Centre for Solid State Physics at the University of Lahore but its chapters are also active in major cities of Pakistan. Dr. Saadat Anwar Siddiqi is the President of KSS.

Pakistan pull Afghan match in bin Laden town

The Afghan team, arriving in Islamabad on May 24, is being coached by former Pakistan captain Rashid Latif. - AP Photo

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan cricket authorities on Thursday pulled a one-day match against Afghanistan which had been scheduled to take place in the town where US forces shot dead Osama bin Laden.
The match, the third in a series between Afghanistan and Pakistan’s second team, attracted media attention for being hosted in Abbottabad, where US Navy SEALs killed the world’s most-wanted man on May 2.
The fixture has been relocated to Islamabad.
Afghanistan, the first international team to tour Pakistan in more than two years after militants attacked the Sri Lankan team in March 2009, will now play matches in Islamabad on May 25, Rawalpindi on May 27 and Faisalabad on May 29.
“The itinerary… has been revised and now the Abbottabad match will be played in Islamabad on May 25,” said the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB).
No official reason was given for the decision which was taken at a meeting on Thursday between PCB chairman Ijaz Butt and Interior Minister Rehman Malik.
Sohail Tanveer will lead Pakistan’s ‘A’ team, comprising of young players who have either been left out of the first team or are being nurtured as future talent.
The Afghan team, coached by former Pakistan captain Rashid Latif, will arrive in Islamabad on May 24.
The war-ravaged nation has made rapid strides in international cricket, progressing in 2009 from ICC (International Cricket Council) division one to five, and securing one-day status the same year.
Afghanistan qualified for last year’s World Twenty20 in the West Indies and also won the ICC Inter-Continental Cup in 2010, meant for countries who are not full ICC members.
They beat Pakistan in the semi-final of last year’s Asian Games in China and went on to win a silver medal after losing to Bangladesh in the final.

Fourth nuclear reactor has India worried: report

This still image from a Pakistan military handout video shows a Hatf IX (NASR) missile being fired during a test at an undisclosed location in Pakistan April 19, 2011. - Photo by Reuters

NEW DELHI: Pakistan’s nuclear programme that focuses on “low-yield, tactical nuclear weapons” that could possibly be used at the border has India worried, The Times of India reported on Thursday.
Citing Indian security and intelligence officials, Pakistan’s fourth reactor at the Khushab military facility suggests that the country has the capability to add at least eight to 10 such weapons each year.
“They are following the Chinese model of having low-yield nuclear weapons. Pakistan believes these weapons will provide it a flexible response in case of an escalation with India and allow it to dominate,” S D Pradhan, former chief of joint intelligence committee, told the newspaper.
Pradahan, who has closely followed Pakistan’s nuclear programme, further stated that “Pakistan’s desire for such weapons is one of the main reasons for the acceleration of its nuclear programme.”
And according to The Times, the figure of eight to 10 weapons is expected to go up once the new reactor becomes operational in two years.
Satellite images revealed by Newsweek indicate an aggressive build-up at the plutonium producing facility.
According to The Times of India, Pakistan is known to have a nuclear arsenal but the current focus on low-yield (tacital) weapons has India worried. Indian officials and experts believe, according to the newspaper, that these weapons will be used by Pakistan “in case of an incursion made by Indian forces into Pakistani territory”. In case of a repeat of the Mumai-terror attacks, there will be pressure on the Indian government “to mount such an incursion and strike some of the terror camps.”

Somebody’ in Pakistan knew of bin Laden hideout: US

US Defence Secretary Robert Gates. — Photo by AP

WASHINGTON: Somebody in Pakistan knew about Osama bin Laden’s hideout but there is no proof that Pakistan’s political and military leaders were aware of it, US Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Wednesday.
Despite anger in Congress directed at Islamabad, Gates and the US military’s top officer, Admiral Mike Mullen, also warned against cutting off aid to Pakistan, saying Washington had important interests at stake and that the country had already been “humiliated” by the US raid that killed bin Laden.
“My supposition is, somebody knew” about bin Laden’s presence in the garrison town of Abbottabad, near Islamabad, Gates told a news conference.
But there was no evidence that leaders in Islamabad were aware of the al Qaeda chief’s whereabouts before US commandos swooped on bin Laden’s compound this month, he told a Pentagon briefing.
“I have seen no evidence at all that the senior leadership knew. In fact, I’ve seen some evidence to the contrary,” he said.
“It’s my supposition, I think it’s a supposition shared by a number in this government, that somebody had to know, but we have no idea who and no proof and no evidence.” Gates said he shared the “frustration” felt by US lawmakers towards Pakistan but stressed that President Barack Obama’s administration could not make allegations without evidence.
“It’s hard to go to them with an accusation when we have no proof that anybody knew.” Lawmakers in Congress have voiced dismay that bin Laden was hiding in a military town not from the Pakistani capital and have urged the Obama administration to review security aid to the country.
Gates said the aftermath of the raid presented a potential “opportunity,” with Pakistan pledging to take more action.
“The Pakistanis, over the last couple of weeks, have expressed the view that they are willing to go after some of these people and that we should not repeat the bin Laden operation, because they will undertake this themselves,” he said.
The Pentagon chief, in his first press conference since bin Laden was killed on May 2, argued against punishing Pakistan by suspending aid as Islamabad had suffered a blow as a result of the covert raid.
“I think we have to proceed with some caution,” Gates said. “My own view is we need to continue the assistance that we have provided that benefits the Pakistani people.
“If I were in Pakistani shoes, I’ve already paid a price. I’ve been humiliated, I’ve been shown the Americans can come in here and do this with impunity,” he said.
Mullen, chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, said it would take time to learn who may have known about bin Laden in Pakistan as intelligence agencies are still poring over a large amount of material found at the Al Qaeda leader’s compound.
The four-star admiral said it was important to maintain strong ties with Pakistan and that his counterpart and “friend,” army chief General Ashfaq Kayani, had pledged to pursue the Haqqani militant network – blamed for launching attacks on US forces in neighboring Afghanistan.
“I think one of the issues that are just a challenge for us is our clock moves a lot faster than his (Kayani’s) clock,” Mullen said.
“That has been the case so far, and I think it will be the case in the future. I’m not trying to give him an excuse, but matching those clocks has been pretty difficult.” Pakistan received a total of $2.7 billion dollars in aid and reimbursements from Washington in fiscal year 2010, which ended on October 1, making it the third-largest recipient of US aid after Afghanistan and Israel.
Finding bin Laden in a Pakistani garrison town “indicates, at a minimum, a lack of commitment by the Pakistani military to aggressive cooperation with the United States,” a group of Democratic senators wrote in a letter this week to Gates and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

Misbah replaces Afridi as ODI captain

PCB spokesman Nadeem Sarwar said that it is the “policy of the board to appoint a captain on a series to series basis.” -Photo by AFP

KARACHI: The Pakistan Cricket Board has removed Shahid Afridi as one-day team captain for the forthcoming series against Ireland.
Chairman of the board Ijaz Butt told a media conference in Islamabad that senior batsman Misbah-ul-Haq would lead the team in the two one-day matches against Ireland on May 28 and 30.
“Afridi has been retained as a player in the one-day squad but the captaincy has gone to Misbah,” Butt said without elaborating the reason for the decision.
PCB spokesman Nadeem Sarwar told The Associated Press that it is the “policy of the board to appoint a captain on a series to series basis.”
Afridi had captained the team to the World Cup semi-finals where they lost to India and recently also guided them to a 3-2 win over the West Indies in the ODI series in the Caribbean.
Afridi ruffled feathers in the PCB and team when he returned from the Caribbean early this month and told the media that he was not happy with people interfering in his work.
Although the all-rounder didn’t name names, media reports said he had developed differences with head coach Waqar Younis over team selection issues.
The PCB issued a notice to Afridi to explain his conduct as he had violated the players’ code of conduct with his statement on team affairs.
Butt made it clear Afridi had never been given any assurances regarding the captaincy.
He pointed out that the present policy of the board was to appoint captain on a series-to-series basis.
Afridi had struggled with bat and ball in the one-day series in the West Indies but has been leading the national team in limited overs cricket since early 2010 while Misbah has been test captain since last year.
The national selectors have made no changes in the test squad playing in the West Indies at present but included Afridi and senior batsman Younis Khan in the side for the Ireland matches.
Younis had returned home before the first test in the West Indies due to the death of his elder brother.
Pakistan squad: Misbah-ul-Haq (Captain), Younis Khan, Taufiq Umar, Mohammad Hafeez, Asad Shafiq, Azhar Ali, Shahid Afridi, Mohammad Salman,Saeed Ajmal, Abdul Rehman, Umar Akmal, Umar Gul, Wahab Riaz, Junaid Khan, Tanvir Ahmed, Hammad Azam.

Roadside bomb kills one civilian in NW Pakistan

Senior police official Liaquat Ali Khan said the attack happened on Thursday in a commercial area of Akora Khattak town in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. — File Photo

Last updated: 18 mins ago

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Headlines:

Pakistan PM asks for China energy investment

US, Pakistan try to repair ties after bin Laden

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Rushdie’s ‘Midnight’s Children’ in secret filming

Roadside bomb kills one civilian in NW Pakistan

Roadside bomb kills one civilian in NW Pakistan

AP

(1 hour ago) Today

Senior police official Liaquat Ali Khan said the attack happened on Thursday in a commercial area of Akora Khattak town in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. — File Photo

PESHAWAR: Police say a roadside bomb targeting a police vehicle has killed a passer-by and wounded two police officers in in northwest Pakistan.
Senior police official Liaquat Ali Khan said the attack happened on Thursday in a commercial area of Akora Khattak town in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
He said the dead and injured had been transported to a hospital.
No one claimed responsibility, but Pakistani Taliban often target security forces and civilians in various parts of the country.

Al Qaeda terrorist Makki lived in Pakistan for 10 years

The exact date of arrest is being kept secret because security agencies are working to unearth his “elaborate terror network” in the city. – File Photo

ISLAMABAD: Al Qaeda operative Mohammed Ali Qasim, alias Abu Sohaib al-Makki, who was recently arrested in Pakistan, had been living in the country for almost 10 years and was involved in recent terrorist activities in Karachi.
Makki’s arrest, according to a senior security official, yielded a ‘treasure trove’ of information. He is said to be an expert in computers and explosives.
It’s not clear when Makki, 34, started living in Karachi with his family.
The exact date of arrest is being kept secret because security agencies are working to unearth his “elaborate terror network” in the city.
It has been claimed that Makki was arrested days after Osama bin Laden had been killed in Abbotabad. But others said he had been under surveillance since the beginning of this month, but was arrested on Tuesday.
Before moving to Karachi, the terrorist of Yemeni origin lived in South Waziristan, NorthWaziristan, Peshawar and Faisalabad.
Makki had been in Pakistan since June 2001. He was taken into custody along with his wife and three children. Initial investigations revealed that he who earlier operated along the Pak-Afghan border facilitating movements of Al Qaeda operatives. He later started targeting Pakistan and got involved in terrorist activities in Karachi, including bombings and probably target killings.
It is not clear if he had something to do with the planning of the grenade attack on the Saudi Consulate and subsequent killing of Saudi diplomat Hassan al-Qahtani, who is thought to have been working on Saudi dissidents and extremists living in Pakistan.
Although, security officials dismissed as speculative reports that he was acting as a courier between Osama bin Laden and Ayman Zawahiri, they admitted that he had been in touch with Al Qaeda’s top leadership and one of the sources described him as a linchpin for the terror organisation.
Pakistan and the US had on Monday under their `renewed terms of engagement’ agreed to undertake joint actions against Al Qaeda elements in Pakistan.
A source said that under the arrangement if Pakistan were to go after any Al Qaeda operative it would share information with the US. It is expected that Pakistani officials would share detailed information with the US when CIA Deputy Director Mark Morrell visits Islamabad shortly.
The CIA official is expected to come for follow-up talks after Senator Kerry helped ease some of the tensions in the aftermath of the Abbottabad raid.
Reuters adds:
Makki was a ‘mid-level’ operative and explosives expert involved in plotting attacks in Pakistan and Afghanistan, according to security officials.    “He is a mid-level operative and has been very active in the region, but I can’t say yet if he is ‘huge’ in the global scheme of things,” said the official, adding that intelligence agencies had arrested him about a week ago in Karachi.
“Nonetheless, he is a very good catch.”
There was no immediate way of verifying Makki’s rank within Al Qaeda.
A military official in Islamabad said Makki was an ‘explosives expert’. The official said he was ‘definitely’ linked to the Al Qaeda leadership but did not elaborate.
“He is still being interrogated and we hope to get more information from him,” said the official.
A senior security official in Islamabad said that Makki was between 35 and 40 years old and had been living with his three children and wife “for some time”.
“The whole Osama issue has been very embarrassing for us, and that is why we have significantly stepped up efforts to capture any militants that may be hiding here,” said another military official.
“We have always been very serious on terrorism, but now we are moving against militants even more seriously. You will hopefully see more results soon.”

Jury selected in Mumbai terror case

Questions in open court focused on the jurors' understanding and views of Islam, citizenship and terrorism, issues that experts predict will come up at trial. – File Photo

CHICAGO: The 12 jurors selected Wednesday in the federal trial of a Chicago businessman accused of helping plan the deadly 2008 Mumbai terrorist attacks are mostly minorities and mainly women.
Eight women and four men were sworn in at the trial of Tahawwur Rana, who allegedly provided cover for a former school classmate to scout out sites for the 3-day siege that killed more than 160 people, including six Americans, in India’s largest city. He has pleaded not guilty.
Opening statements are planned for Monday in the trial that has been closely watched worldwide as testimony may give clues about suspected links between Lashkar-e-Taiba, a Pakistani militant group blamed in the Mumbai attacks, and Pakistan’s top intelligence agency. Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence, or ISI, has been under scrutiny since Osama bin Laden was killed May 2 outside Islamabad.
Few biographical details have been available about the jurors or the six alternates chosen, whose identities are being kept secret. More than half of the 12 jurors are black.
Questions in open court focused on the jurors’ understanding and views of Islam, citizenship and terrorism, issues that experts predict will come up at trial.
Rana’s attorney, Patrick Blegen, said he was pleased with jury.
”We got a great selection process,” he said. Prosecutors declined to comment Wednesday.
Several potential jurors who were excused during jury selection had said they couldn’t be fair to the defendant.
Rana, 50, is Muslim. He was born in Pakistan, is a Canadian citizen and has operated businesses in a largely Indian and Pakistani enclave in Chicago for years.
Prosecutors allege he also helped plan an attack that never took place on a Danish newspaper that in 2005 printed cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad, which triggered protests. Pictures of the prophet are forbidden in Islam.
Rana’s attorneys had said their goal was to seat a jury that would be able to make a decision separate from any current events or preconceived notions about Muslims.
The trial has received attention worldwide _ several reporters for Indian news outlets are covering the proceedings. The government’s star witness is Rana’s former school friend, David Coleman Headley, a Pakistani-American who pleaded guilty in the case and has admitted working on behalf of Lashkar-e-Taiba. He’s also claimed to Indian investigators that the ISI was involved in the attacks, according to an Indian government report.
A female juror was dismissed earlier Wednesday, the third day of jury selection, after she said she didn’t know much about Islam beyond television accounts.
”All I know I what I see on the news,” she said. ”I’m afraid.”