By Nasir Iqbal

ISLAMABAD, Feb 19: The performance of the federal government and that of premier intelligence agencies, both civil and military, came under intense scrutiny in the Supreme Court which took up the Quetta massacre case on Tuesday.

“Why responsibility should not be fixed on Prime Minister Raja Parvez Ashraf like it was done against Chief Minister Aslam Raisani when a similar incident happened in January,” observed Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry who heads a three-judge bench which held three proceedings after intervals on a suo motu notice of unabated killings of the Shia Hazara community...

By Baqir Sajjad Syed and Syed Irfan Raza

ISLAMABAD, Feb 19: The government on Tuesday refused to accept the main demand of Shia leadership and Hazara community for army deployment in Quetta although the military was ready to take on the responsibility.

“The decision for not calling in army under Section 245 of the Constitution was made by the political leadership. The armed forces are not reluctant to provide security to the Hazaras,” a senior military official told Dawn after Army chief Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani met President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf at the Presidency to discuss the situation arising out of Saturday’s Quetta bombing...

Dawn Report

PESHAWAR/KHAR, Feb 19: A senior commander of Pakistani Taliban has been captured by Afghan intelligence personnel in a border area.

Security officials said reports about Maulvi Faqir Mohammad’s arrest in Afghanistan appeared to be correct...

By Khaleeq Kiani

ISLAMABAD, Feb 19: Abdul Hafeez Shaikh has stepped down as federal Minister for Finance and Revenue three weeks before completion of the five-year constitutional term of the government in what appeared to be a move to canvass support for his candidature for the post of caretaker prime minister.

Saleem H. Mandviwalla, who had recently been appointed minister of state for finance, was promoted and sworn in as federal minister on Tuesday...

By Raja Asghar and Amir Wasim

ISLAMABAD, Feb 19: As the role of security agencies was repeatedly called into question in parliament over Shia massacre in Quetta, the government and opposition agreed on Tuesday to call a joint session of the National Assembly and Senate to hear from the heads of these agencies.

During debates in both houses for the second day running, lawmakers blamed perceived negligence or failures of the agencies for the second massacre of Hazara Shias in the Balochistan capital in just 40 days and called for accountability...

By Our Staff Correspondent

QUETTA, Feb 19: Four members of a banned organisation were killed and seven arrested in a pre-dawn targeted operation launched by Frontier Corps in Killi Qambrani area of the provincial capital on Tuesday.

Separately, police conducted a search operation in Killi Badini area, on the outskirts of the city, and took into custody about 170 suspects. Haji Rafiq Mengal, a provincial leader of Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat, was among the arrested people...

By Iftikhar A. Khan

ISLAMABAD, Feb 19: The Election Commission of Pakistan has made it mandatory for candidates for national and provincial assembly seats to submit income and agriculture tax returns of the past three years.

According to changes in declaration and oath approved by the ECP at a meeting presided over by Chief Election Commissioner Justice (retd) Fakhruddin G. Ebrahim here on Tuesday, candidates will be required to disclose their income and source and income tax paid over the past three years...

TEHRAN, Feb 19: Pakistan and Iran have signed an agreement to enhance cooperation in security matters and combat trans-national organised crime.

At the signing ceremony, Interior Minister Rehman Malik and his Iranian counterpart Mustafa Najar said providing internal security would be conducive to trade and crime control...