By Khawar Ghumman

ISLAMABAD, March 15: There appeared to be a stalemate on Friday night on the issue of reaching consensus on a candidate for the post of caretaker prime minister.

Leader of Opposition in the National Assembly Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan rejected all three names proposed by the ruling PPP for the post and categorically stated that the consultation process “can only move forward if the government withdraws all its nominees”.

ISLAMABAD: The National Assembly will complete its five-year term at 11:59:59pm on March 16.

Talking to Dawn, a senior official said that the first session of the National Assembly was held on March 17, 2008 and, accordingly, the house would complete its term between the night of March 16 and 17.

By Syed Irfan Raza and Saleem Shahid

ISLAMABAD/QUETTA, March 15: Balochistan Chief Minister Nawab Aslam Raisani has agreed to the dissolution of assembly along with three other provincial assemblies, averting a constitutional crisis and paving the way for holding elections for national and provincial assemblies on the same day.

Punjab, Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa have agreed to the dissolution of their assemblies on March 19.

CENTURION (South Africa), March 15: Pakistan defeated South Africa by six wickets in the second one-day international at SuperSport Park on Friday to level the five-game series 1-1.

South Africa were bowled out for just 191 in 43.2 overs before Pakistan reached their target with 28 balls to spare.

By Baqir Sajjad Syed and Masood Haider

ISLAMABAD / NEW YORK, March 15: United Nations’ special rapporteur on human rights and counter-terrorism has concluded that US drone strikes violate Pakistan’s sovereignty and called for their immediate cessation.

The Special Rapporteur, Mr Ben Emmerson, said in a statement after conclusion of his unannounced visit to Pakistan from March 11 to 13 that Pakistan needed to be given an opportunity to establish peace in the country.

By Kalbe Ali

ISLAMABAD, March 15: The adviser to prime minister on water and agriculture has said that India has assumed an aggressive posture and that “some believe it intends to use water as a weapon”.

Criticising India for working on power projects “when and where it pleases and in direct violation” of the Indus Waters Treaty, Kamal Majidullah said it had been engaging Pakistan in bilateral talks on disputed projects to cause delays and ultimately get what it wanted.

MUZAFFARABAD, March 15: A special joint session of the Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) Legislative Assembly and the AJK Council here on Friday condemned what it called judicial murder of Afzal Guru and called upon the United Nations (UN) to take stock of grim situation on the human rights front in Indian-held Kashmir.

The session, which was chaired by Speaker Sardar Ghulam Sadiq, expressed the hope that the world community in general and the UN in particular would not remain oblivious to the severe human rights violations in held Kashmir and would, instead, put pressure on India to rein in its troops, engaged in the killing sprees with impunity. The session also condemned attack on JKLF chairman Yasin Malik on his return from Pakistan.

By Our Staff Reporter

ISLAMABAD, March 15: Despite growing loadshedding countrywide and an injection of over Rs1.4 trillion into the power sector over the past five years, the government failed to show any sense of urgency in resolving the electricity crisis, which now poses a threat to the country’s financial system and economy.

This is the crux of a report compiled by the National Assembly’s Special Committee on Energy Crisis led by Usman Khan Tarakai. The non-partisan committee comprising lawmakers and ministers from the PPP and the MQM was constituted by the NA Speaker to look into reasons behind the crisis and propose steps to overcome it.

NEW DELHI, March 15: India’s parliament slammed Pakistan’s National Assembly on Friday for criticising the execution of Kashmiri convict Afzal Guru, calling it interference in India’s internal affairs.

Last month the European Union had criticised the secret hanging of Guru but the Indian parliament specifically chose to respond to the Pakistan National Assembly’s resolution of Thursday, which had canvassed for the return of Guru’s body to his family in Srinagar.

By Our Staff Reporter

ISLAMABAD, March 15: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa took lead among the provinces on Friday when its ruling and opposition parties formally nominated a former chief justice of Peshawar High Court (PHC), Justice (retd) Tariq Pervez Khan, as caretaker chief minister of the province.

In a display of political maturity and harmony, Chief Minister Amir Haider Khan Hoti of the Awami National Party (ANP) and Leader of Opposition in the KP Assembly Akram Khan Durrani of the Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam (JUI-F) announced the name of Justice Khan at a joint press conference held in Islamabad.

LONDON, March 15: Three British Muslims, including a convert, pleaded guilty in a court here on Friday to travelling to Pakistan for terror training.

Richard Dart, 29, Imran Mahmood, 21, and Jahangir Alom, 26, appeared by video-link before a judge at the Old Bailey, England’s central criminal court. .