IMF welcomes Beijing-led Asian bank

BEIJING: International Monetary Fund (IMF) head Christine Lagarde said on Monday she welcomed Beijing’s creation of a new infrastructure bank — an institution that has drawn support from Europe and scepticism from Washington.

Lagarde made the comments as she wrapped up a five-day visit to China and after a host of European countries announced their intention to sign up for the China-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB).

The moves by Britain, Germany, France, Italy and others have caused consternation in the United States and Japan, which lead the World Bank and the Manila-based Asian Development Bank respectively.

Some view the new bank as a competitor to the two institutions.

In a statement issued after she met Premier Li Keqiang, Lagarde hailed Beijing’s “impressive efforts” to reform in areas including combating corruption, controlling pollution and “clearing the path to even more engagement with the world”.

“I welcomed China’s various initiatives in this area, including through the newly established Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank,” she said.

Lagarde said Sunday that the IMF would be “delighted” to cooperate with the new bank, according to China’s official Xinhua news agency.

World Bank Managing Director Sri Mulyani Indrawati has also hailed the AIIB, telling Xinhua: “Any new initiative that will mobilise funding in order to fill the infrastructure gap is certainly welcome”.

China has embraced the European eagerness to take part in the new body, with state media claiming that the US risks being sidelined.

Beijing touts the $50 billion institution as a tool to help meet gaps in financing needs for regional development in Asia.

But US officials have expressed caution amid worries the institution could undermine the World Bank.

Lagarde also said the IMF welcomed Beijing’s longstanding drive to include its yuan in the IMF’s basket of reserve currencies, adding: “We will work closely with the Chinese authorities in this regard.”

Lagarde’s visit comes amid mounting concern over slowing growth in the world’s second-largest economy.

Top Chinese leaders have said the economy is in a delicate transition from decades of double-digit annual growth to a new, slower and more sustainable model, a stage they have branded as the “new normal”.

Lagarde referenced the phrase and offered praise for the structural reforms pledged by the ruling Communist Party at its top meeting in late 2013.

“This should lead to slower, safer, and more sustainable growth — with a focus on innovation and entrepreneurship — which will be good for China and its people, and good for the world,” Lagarde said.

Johnson will be Australia 'sledge man' against India

SYDNEY: Fast bowler Mitchell Johnson says he is considering taking on the role of Australia's Sledger-in-Chief for Thursday's World Cup semi-final against India at the Sydney Cricket Ground.

Outspoken opener David Warner has been on his best behaviour at the World Cup after getting into hot water over a series of spats with the Indian side during the test series over the New Year.

The fiery exchanges continued into the Tri-series and Warner was fined for asking India's Rohit Sharma to “speak English” during a slanging match in a one-dayer at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in January.

“I heard Davy said he wasn't going to get involved in all that stuff,” paceman Johnson told Fox TV on Tuesday.

“Someone's got to do it and I might put my hand up. It's part of the game and what happened the other day with Shane (Watson) and Wahab (Riaz) was exceptional.

“I thought it was great entertainment and I think you're going to see more entertainment in this game.”

Watson had the last laugh on Pakistan paceman Wahab after their compelling duel in the quarter-finals last week when he helped steer Australia to victory. Both players were later fined.

Johnson has some history with India in the sledging stakes and made them pay for having the temerity to lampoon him after he went wicket-less in the first innings of the second test at the Gabba last December.

The 33-year-old slugged 88 off 93 balls to help rescue Australia's first innings and then took three wickets in a dazzling spell of bowling and finished with figures of 4-61 as Australia won the match by four wickets. “I love it. The more that comes my way, the better,” he said at the time.

As well as Warner, Indians Shikhar Dhawan, Ishant Sharma and Virat Kohli were fined for clashes during the Test series.

India, China agree to foster peace on disputed border

NEW DELHI: India and China agreed Tuesday to foster peace along their Himalayan border after wrapping up two days of talks designed to resolve a long-festering boundary dispute.

In comments issued after the round of talks in the Indian capital, the governments of both countries stressed their common desire to maintain calm and to press ahead with further negotiations.

“Both sides agreed to take necessary steps to maintain peace and tranquility in the border areas, which is a pre-requisite for continued growth of bilateral relations,” the Indian foreign ministry said.

The Chinese foreign ministry said both sides had agreed to make “joint efforts to safeguard peace and tranquility of the border area,” which has been the scene of several recent military standoffs.

China's special representative Yang Jiechi and Indian national security adviser Ajit Doval led their respective delegations at the talks, which were first agreed during President Xi Jinping's visit to India last year. The talks that started Monday were part of a push to make progress on the border dispute before Modi's expected visit to China in May.

China defeated India in a brief but bloody war in 1962 but an agreement on their border remains elusive, with each side regularly accusing the other of sending soldiers to encroach on territory. Tensions peaked last September when hundreds of Chinese troops allegedly moved into the Himalayan territory just as Xi arrived in India on a landmark visit, casting a shadow over his talks with Modi.

While there was no details on how the negotiators were progressing, the Indian foreign ministry's statement said both countries had “agreed to further expand such contacts as these constitute important confidence-building measures for maintaining peace and tranquility”.

Speaking at a briefing in Beijing, Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said that Yang and Doval “spoke highly of the progress we have achieved”.

“They agreed to bear in mind the national interests and the benefits of the two peoples, follow the right path and press ahead with the framework negotiations,” Hua added.

National security adviser Doval last October said India would strive to fix the border problem with China, but without compromising on its own national security and territory.

Pakistan committed to result-oriented dialogue with India: FO

ISLAMABAD: The Foreign Office (FO) on Tuesday said in a statement that Pakistan firmly believes that the final direction of the Jammu and Kashmir issue should be in accordance with the will of the Kashmiri people.

The FO added that this will be determined through a free and impartial plebiscite under the UN's authority, as expressed in relevant Security Council resolutions.

The statement comes as a response to a question referring to the Indian spokesperson's remarks regarding consultations with the Kashmiri leaders.

"Kashmiris are important stakeholders as they are the ones required to exercise their right to self-determination," the FO spokesperson Tasneem Aslam said in a statement.

She added that Pakistan remains committed to a sustained, unconditional and result-oriented dialogue with India, to discuss all outstanding issues, including the core issue of Jammu and Kashmir.

She reiterated that said Pakistan has all along maintained that dialogue between Pakistan and India is important for peace, economic development and welfare of the people of South Asia.

A spokesperson for the Indian Ministry of External Affairs on Monday said there is no place for a third party in the dialogue process with Pakistan.

"Let me reiterate there are only two parties and there is no place for a third party in resolution of India-Pakistan issues. The only way forward to proceed on all outstanding issues is a peaceful bilateral dialogue within the framework of Simla Agreement and Lahore Declaration," the spokesperson had said.

This statement is seen as a response to Pakistan's High Commissioner to India Abdul Basit's remarks on Monday, when he underplayed his meeting with Hurriyat leaders in New Delhi, according to Times of India.

Dictatorship eras breed terrorism: PM

ISLAMABAD - Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Tuesday said that the periods of dictatorship led to breed terrorism and extremism in Pakistan, but now the democratic government was taking steps to eradicate this menace.

He said that terrorism had to be eliminated from the country. He was talking to Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N) MNAs from Gujranwala, Sialkot, Narowal, Hafizabad and Gujrat during a meeting here at the PM House. The prime minister said that the situation in Karachi was improving with each passing day. “This goes to the credit of PML-N government to have taken this decision of starting an operation in the provincial capital against miscreants and terrorists after taking all parties on board,” he said. He said before starting Zarb-e-Azb, the government made all out efforts to resolve the problem through dialogue and talks, waiting patiently for the results, but when all such efforts had failed, they started the operation which dismantled terrorists’ network and destroyed their hideouts. For this purpose, a 20-point agenda had been agreed upon by all political parties and was being implemented as National Action Plan, he said.

He further observed that the successful holding of Pakistan Day parade in a peaceful environment reflected that peace achieving efforts of the government were going successful. Referring to his recent visit to Sialkot, the prime minister said that the government had decided to construct a four-lane expressway from Sialkot to Lahore, which would reduce travel time between the cities to around 50 minutes. He said that the motorways were being constructed across Pakistan to bring people closer to each other, which helped in generating more businesses and job opportunities. He informed that they were planning construction of a highway from Khunjerab to Gwadar with the Chinese cooperation, adding the Gwadar would be made an international port and an international city.

The prime minister said that the government inherited the energy problem, but they were moving towards a solution despite the limited resources. To meet power shortage, LNG-based power plants were being set up through PSDP funding which would generate 3600 MW of electricity, he said, adding, in addition to it, negotiations were underway for the import of electricity from China. The prime minister said that several hydropower, wind and solar projects were also underway, which would generate a total of around 10,000 MW additional electricity to the national grid by the end of 2017. He also emphasised that corruption at any level and in any department would not be tolerated and anybody involved in the corrupt practices would be dealt with an iron hand.

He congratulated the nation on a bumper wheat crop expected this year and said measures were being taken to take maximum benefit out of this. “We are working to reduce inputs of agricultural products,” he said. Minister for Defence Khawaja Asif, Minister for Commerce Engr. Khurram Dastgir Khan, Minister of State for CADD Usman Ibrahim and Minister of State for National Health Services Saira Afzal Tarar were present during the meeting, said a press release.

Politics of principles should prevail: PM

ISLAMABAD – Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Tuesday said that politics of principles should prevail so that people retain their faith in politics and politicians.

Nawaz was talking to a delegation of Pakistan Muslim League-N from Middle Eastern countries including Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar and Bahrain, which called on him here at the Prime Minister’s House. He said that Pakistan was faced with enormous challenges including terrorism and extremism as well as energy shortage.

“Had the country been governed properly in the past we would not have been in such a state facing big challenges? We have reached this stage because of bad governance and mismanagement,” he said. However, he added that the present government has put Pakistan's economy on the right path.

The prime minister said that the government initiated Zarb-e-Azb as an option of last resort. He added that our armed forces have given great sacrifices and were fighting this war with great valor. He said that Pakistan has to win this war against terrorists, who were decreasing by the day. “Some of them have been killed while others are on the run. There is no space for militancy and terrorism in Pakistan,” he added.

Nawaz said that it was a matter of satisfaction that since the start of operation against criminals and target killers in Karachi there has been considerable reduction in incidents of street crime, kidnapping for ransom and target killing. He said that he would personally go to Karachi to get update on progress on the operation.

The participants congratulated the prime minister on adopting policies that were now benefitting Pakistan, including operation Zarb-e-Azb, Karachi operation, reducing petroleum prices and controlling inflation as well as for reviving the economy. On the complaints of the delegation members, the prime minister said that the government would look into the matter of Pakistan Embassy schools.

They also apprised the prime minister of matters relating to overseas Pakistanis, working of Pakistan Embassies and Consulates in Middle Eastern countries. Matters relating to strengthening party organization in Middle Eastern countries also came under discussion. Nawaz said that the problems being faced by overseas Pakistanis would be addressed on priority basis.

The participants included Noorul Hassan Tanvir, Muhammad Iftikhar Butt, Tariq Javid Cheema, Rashid Rafiq Butt, Ihsanul Haq Bajwa, Azad Ali Tabussam, Ch Muhammad Shafi, Shahzad Dogar, Ch Muhammad Saddique, Abbass Bhatti, Mustafa Mogal, Tariq Zaheen, Ch Abdul Wahid, Ch Pervaz Iqbal, Noor Hassan Bangash, Ahmed Hussain, Saleem Butt, Malik Nadeem, Khalid Javid Cheema, Muhammad Tahir Khan, Baseer Tahir and Khawaja Abdul Waheed Pal. Political Secretary to Prime Minister Dr Asif Kirmai and MPA Chaudhry Ehsanul Haq Bajwa also attended the meeting.

SC disposes of Kot Radha Kishan case

ISLAMABAD – The Supreme Court on Tuesday disposed of the Suo-Moto notice case over killing of a Christian couple and directed the trial court for its speedy trial.

The three-member bench headed by Justice Anwar Zaheer Jamali comprising Justice Dost Muhamamd Khan and justice Umar Ata Bandial resumed hearing of the case. During the proceedings, Advocate General Punjab Razzaq A Mirza told the bench that police had arrested 25 more persons involved in killing of the couple.

He said that a total of 100 persons in allegedly involved in the case had been arrested for investigation. He said that the police had also recovered Tractor Trolley and the loudspeaker used for instigating the people for lynching the couple. He said that proceedings against these people were continuing the trial court and some witnesses wanted to record their statement before the court instead of a magistrate.

The bench termed police action satisfactory and remarked that the apex court was going to dispose of the case for independent trial in the lower judiciary. The bench remarked that the respondents can also file an appeal against the trial court's decision. On November 4, 2014, a mob of more than 400 people had tortured to death Sajjad Masih and his wife Shama Bibi - kiln workers from Chak 59 in Kot Radha Kishan - after accusing them of desecrating the Holy Quran.

Court fines Imran on Abbasi defamation case

RAWALPINDI – Additional Session Judge Rawalpindi Mahrukh Aziz Tarrar on Tuesday fined Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf Chairman Imran Khan Rs 500 on late submission of his reply in the court.

According to details, former Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N) MNA Hanif Abassi alleged that Imran had damaged his reputation by calling him a drug pusher and had filed a defamation suit against the PTI chief and demanding Rs 1 billion as compensation.

Hearing the defamation case, Additional Session Judge Justice Mahrukh Aziz Tarar fined Imran Khan Rs 500 for late submission of his reply in the court. Later, PTI Chairman Imran Khan submitted a written statement in the court.

The judge adjourned hearing of the case till April 4 by summoning both the parties for arguments.

Jail authorities inform ATC about Shafqat's execution halt

Karachi- The jail authorities today have informed the Anti Terrorism Court (ATC) about the government’s instructions, to halt death row convict Shafqat Hussain’s execution until at least 30 days.

In a formal letter to jail authorities, the interior ministry asserted ‘underage’ convict Shafqat Hussain’s execution has been halted for 30 days. The implementation of Shafqat Hussain’s execution has been postponed for 30 days, jail authorities apprised ATC III on Tuesday.

Shafqat, who was due to be hanged on the morning of March 19, was given a reprieve just hours before the marked time after a campaign by his lawyers and members of the civil society pointed out the possibility of a mistrial.

The reprieve came after Shafqat’s family presented his birth certificate to media and insisted he was 14 years old when he was sentenced to death by an anti-terrorism court for kidnapping and killing a seven-year-old who went missing from the apartments where the convict worked. Later on, the government postponed the punishment by at least 30 days as the 72-hour deadline expired today.

Power outages increase as demand escalates

Lahore-  The duration of electricity outage has increased due to escalated imbalance between supply and demand, as the summer season starts.

According to the National Transmission and Dispatch Company (NTDC) sources, the electricity shortfall has increased to at least 300 Megawatt (MW), due to escalated imbalance between demand and production. The production is 9,100 MW, while the demand of the city is at least 13,400MW. According to Lahore Electric Supply Company (LESCO) authorities, schedule of as many as eight hours in rural while at least six hours outage in urban areas has been issued.
However, the authorities have said that within coming six days the outage time would decrease due to increase in electricity production.

Eight more militants killed in Tirah valley

Landi Kotal- At least eight terrorists were killed and several were injured today in latest artillery fire, by Pakistani armed forces in tribal Khyber Agency.

According to media reports,  hideouts of militants were attacked through heavy artillery fire killing at least eight and injuring half a dozen in Tirah valley of Khyber Agency, where Khyber-One Operation is underway against militants.

They said several hideouts were completely destroyed. Militants suffered heavy casualties on March 22 after Pakistani jets launched a major offensive in the area. Following heavy aerial bombardment, ground forces secured and took control of several areas of the valley.

VK Singh should quit if disgusted: Congress

New Delhi- Indian  Minister of state for external affairs Gen VK Singh has tweeted with the hash tag “Disgust” after attending the Pakistan Day celebrations, in the country’s high commission in New Delhi on Monday evening.

Singh, a former Army chief, attended the event where several Kashmiri separatist leaders including Mirwaiz Umer Farooq, Syed Ali Shah Geelani and Yaseen Malik were also present. Singh, who was in the party for just a few minutes, didn’t appear comfortable while sitting next to Pakistani high commissioner Basit Ali.

“The government of India had to send a MoS. They sent me and I went there and came back,” he said replying to a question about his presence at the reception by a reporter.

Asked specifically whether Prime Minister Narendra Modi asked him to attend the event at the Pakistani high commission, he said, “The government of India asked me to go there.”

The Congress said on Tuesday that minister of state for external affairs General VK Singh (retd) should quit if he felt disgusted, referring to the tweets with the hashtag "Duty" and "Disgust" he sent out after attending Pakistan Day function.

"If the minister is so disgusted with the double standards of the government on Pakistan,  then he should have quit," Congress leader Manish Tewari said.

After the media extensively reported on his tweets, Singh contended his comments had been twisted.

Saudi authorities behead a Pakistani

RIYADH- Saudi authorities today beheaded a national for murder and a Pakistani for drug trafficking, the interior ministry said, amid a surge in executions in the kingdom this year.

Pakistani citizen Benyameen Ali Ahmed was executed in Jeddah after being convicted of smuggling drugs in his stomach, the ministry said. Nader bin Mussa al-Harbi was found guilty of strangling compatriot Bandar bin Muhya al-Harbi over a dispute, the ministry said in a statement carried by the Saudi Press Agency.

Interior Minister oblivious of Fazlullah’s death

ISLAMABAD- Interior Minister Nisar Ali Khan today said the Pakistan government has no knowledge of TTP chief Fazlullah’s death. “There is no confirmation on the killing of Mullah Fazlullah,” he said, while addressing journalists in Islamabad.

Nisar also said that he did not hand over any dossier to UK envoy regarding MQM chief Altaf Hussain. “But, I talked about threats given by Altaf to Rangers and his threatening speeches with the British ambassador,” he added.

Talking about the execution issue of Shafqat Hussain, he said that postponing Hussain’s hanging had no pressure involved.

That Wahab spell — A nation's faith in pace restored

The sudden shift in emotion towards Wahab reveals a lot about the psyche of the nation. — Photo by Reuters

145kph, 150kph, 147kph. Wahab Riaz to Shane Watson — six overs of the most compelling cricket of the season and a nation's faith in pace restored.

It had to be compelling, for it had the cricket world buzzing in the days that followed Pakistan's loss to Australia and its exit from the World Cup. For a moment in a match, that too in a losing cause, to have such an impact is quite something. It may be that in the world of LED stumps and boundary line pyrotechnics, Wahab's spell almost had a red-ball flavour to it, before that little red thing became very, very submissive to the bat. It was Test cricket played in colours and there was something about the soul of those six overs which continues to reverberate.

West Indies' batting genius Brian Lara was so taken by Wahab's bowling he couldn't wait to meet the Pakistani quick.

"I want to meet with this Riaz guy," Lara said, adding that he would pay the fine imposed on Wahab by the ICC for his verbals at Watson.

Former Australian captain Ricky Ponting termed the Wahab-Watson duel in the quarter-final as "cricket at its absolute best".

But the reaction to Wahab's extraordinary effort in Pakistan was quite interesting.

Just months prior to the World Cup, Misbah-ul-Haq came under constant fire for fielding, what many experts termed, a 'confused' team combination. Fans mocked the captain for picking Wahab as the 'allrounder' in the side, the 29-year-old's ability with the bat deemed too shoddy and his bowling too wayward for him to keep that spot. The 'jacket' too came up in discussions a few times.

Critics, however, all agreed on the fact that 'Viki' did not leave anything in the tank when he took the field.

Two wickets and an astonishing 36 deliveries later, though, Wahab is being touted as Pakistan's next ODI captain.

"What I saw of him (Wahab) against Australia convinces me that he's got it in him to make it big as a leader because he showed aggression, passion and emotion; that is what is required right now to put Pakistan cricket back on track," former captain Ramiz Raja said after the quarter-final.

In a poll conducted by Dawn, 2,948 out of a total 9,147 respondents voted for Wahab to take over as the next ODI captain. Sarfraz Ahmed, with 2,238 votes, was the second choice.

Considering the overwhelming support Sarfraz received throughout the World Cup, for Wahab to take the cake in a matter of six overs is an achievement, one would think. But if Meghan Trainor were a Pakistan fan, she would tell you in no clear terms: 'It's all about that pace, all about that pace, all about that pace'.

The sudden shift in emotion towards the Lahore pacer reveals a lot about the psyche of the nation. Fast bowling is a value that cricket followers in the country hold dear and no amount of 'mystery spin' compares to it.

The ability to intimidate and pepper the body from a length, at speed; to leave the stumps spread-eagled and have the wit to deliver a parting shot at the batsman; all seem very inherent. Perhaps it comes from playing the 'formative cricket' on the streets, where its six or out. But when you get Fazal Mahmood, Imran Khan, Wasim Akram. Waqar Younis, Mohammad Zahid, Shoaib Akhtar one after the other, it's hard for it to not turn into a culture.

Wahab simply showed a glimpse of that lifestyle.

Whether he has the ability to captain the side is a matter of debate – one that should be devoid of emotion. He has 77 wickets from 54 ODIs at an average of 30.20 after all. But for the fans, he's got that feeling back. The absence of Saeed Ajmal, Mohammad Hafeez and an off-colour Shahid Afridi gave Pakistan the opportunity to attack with their traditional strength. And it only seemed natural when it came off.

With Ajmal, Hafeez and Afridi, Pakistan's strategy was more of a 'stifle' than an assault. Often, Misbah employed very defensive fields to make that strategy work and the pacers played supporting roles. But the 40-year-old's hand was forced at the World Cup and at the end of the Pakistan's campaign, he seemed pleasantly surprised at the results he could produce by unleashing the fast men.

As Misbah and Afridi bid farewell and with Ajmal and Hafeez on the sidelines currently, the dynamics of a 'new team' could certainly be interesting. With the team's belief in pace reaffirmed, it would certainly make for exciting times for the Pakistan fan.

Now only if they could do something about the batsmen.

We have fallen well behind other teams: Waqar

"If we want to save Pakistan cricket we have to lift our domestic game." — ICC/File

SYDNEY: Waqar Younis warned on Tuesday that cricket could die out in Pakistan if rival teams continue to boycott the country where international tours have not taken place since 2009.

There has been no international cricket in Pakistan since the militant attacks on the Sri Lankan team in Lahore in March 2009 which killed eight people and injured seven visiting players.

"The biggest hurt is that we are not able to stage international matches," Pakistan head coach Waqar told AFP.

"I fear the game might die out as we lack talent at junior level and it's tough to indulge kids in cricket. It's a very important aspect, we have to bring international cricket back and the government has to help in this regard."

The Pakistan Cricket Board managed to bring minnows Kenya for a short one-day series last year and are negotiating with Zimbabwe for a visit in May this year.

Waqar believes Pakistan's quarter-final exit from the World Cup at the hands of Australia showed there is a lot of hard work to be done on the country's cricket set-up and infrastructure.

"If we want to save Pakistan cricket we have to lift our domestic game because there was a big difference in standards at the World Cup. We were well behind other teams.

"We can't delay it, we need power-hitters like there are in other teams and players who can score 300-plus runs," said Waqar, whose team only crossed the 300-mark just once in seven games at the World Cup -- against the amateurs of the United Arab Emirates.

"Cricket is changing fast and we have to keep pace with that, if not we will be left far behind." Waqar stressed Pakistan needed good batsmen.

"Bowling has never been our problem," said Waqar, himself a great fast bowler.

"I think we should feel proud of our bowling at the World Cup.

"But it's the batting where we have been struggling for a long time now and after Misbah-ul-Haq and Younis Khan -- whenever he quits -- we will have a big vacuum.

"It is a matter of putting things in order. It's not only about winning the World Cup but also improving our ranking by lifting our standards."

Waqar said strict rules on bowling actions badly affected Pakistan's build-up for the World Cup.

"Just before the World Cup, the International Cricket Council launched a crackdown and because of that we lost Saeed Ajmal and Mohammad Hafeez," said Waqar of his two key spinners who were suspended due to illegal actions.

"But now is the time we should lift ourselves because cricket has been our pride."

Airbus A320 with 150 on board crashes in French Alps

PARIS: A German airliner crashed near a ski resort in the French Alps on Tuesday, with all 150 people on board pronounced dead, in one of the worst ever plane disasters in the country.

France's transport minister said there were “no survivors” from the crash of the Germanwings Airbus A320.

The airline believes there were 67 Germans on the flight. Spain's deputy prime minister said 45 passengers had Spanish names, while one Belgian was also on board.

Also among the victims were 16 children and two teachers from the Joseph-Koenig-Gymnasium high school in the town of Haltern am See in northwest Germany.

“The circumstances of the accident, that are not yet clear, make us think there are not thought to be any survivors,” President Francois Hollande told reporters.

The plane was travelling from the Spanish coastal city of Barcelona to the German city of Duesseldorf when it went down in the Barcelonnette area in southeastern France.

The airliner, which was carrying 144 passengers and six crew, issued a distress call at 10:47 am (0947 GMT), civil aviation authorities said.

“The debris of a passenger plane has been found in the region of Barcelonette,” said interior ministry spokesman Pierre-Henry Brandet.

He said “major rescue efforts” had been mobilised.

The plane belonged to Germanwings, a low-cost affiliate of German airline Lufthansa, based in Cologne.

“We've never had a total loss of aircraft in the company's history until now,” a company spokeswoman told AFP.

The single-aisle A320 typically seats 150 to 180 people.

Crisis cell

Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve immediately headed to the scene while Prime Minister Manuel Valls said he had called an inter-ministerial crisis cell.

“We don't know the reasons for the crash, we clearly fear that the 142-150 passengers and personnel have been killed considering the circumstances of the crash,” said Valls.

“All is being done to understand what happened and to help the families of the victims,” he said.

Germanwings had no immediate comment on what caused the crash.

“We have recently become aware of media reports speculating on an incident though we still do not have any confirmed information,” it said in a statement.

“As soon as definite information is available, we shall inform the media immediately,” it said, urging people to monitor its website www.germanwings.com.

Germanwings press conference

The company said its flight 4U9525, from Barcelona to Düsseldorf, reached its cruising altitude of 38,000ft at 10.45am, almost 44 minutes into the flight.

“The aircraft's contact with French radar, French air traffic controllers ended at 10.53 am at an altitude of about 6,000 feet. The plane then crashed,” Lufthansa unit Germanwings' Managing Director Thomas Winkelmann said.

The airline said it is still not known why the plane went into descent.

Winkelmann also said routine maintenance of the aircraft was performed by Lufthansa on Monday. The aircraft was bought by Lufthansa, the parent company of Germanwings, in 1991 and had last received a thorough inspection in 2013.

The German carrier also issued details of the pilot, who had over 6,000 hours of flying time during his ten years with Lufthansa and Germanwings.

A spokesman for Airbus, the European aerospace giant, said it could not make any comment “for the moment”.

“We have no information on the circumstances of the accident,” the spokesman told AFP, adding that the company had opened a “crisis cell”.

The accident happened in an alpine region known for skiing, hiking and rafting, but which is hard for rescue services to reach. As helicopters and emergency vehicles assembled, the weather was reported to be closing in.Rescue efforts

French Police and Gendarmerie Alpine rescue units gather on a field as they prepare to reach the crash site of an Airbus A320, near Seyne-les-Alpes, in the French Alps.- Reuters

“There will be a lot of cloud cover this afternoon, with local storms, snow above 1,800 metres and relatively low clouds. That will not help the helicopters in their work,” an official from the local weather centre told Reuters.

This was the first crash of a large passenger jet on French soil since the Concorde disaster just outside Paris nearly 15 years ago.

In July 2000, an Air France Concorde crashed shortly after take-off from Paris's Charles de Gaulle airport en route for New York, leaving 113 people, mainly Germans dead and eventually leading to the supersonic airliner being taken out of service.

The world's worst air disasters remain the March 27, 1977, collision of two Boeing 747s on the runway at Tenerife in the Canary Islands, killing 583 people, and the August 12, 1985 crash into a mountainside of a Boeing 747 belonging to Japan Airlines, killing 520 people.

France's leading air traffic controller union SNCTA has called off a strike planned from Wednesday to Friday.

“We are suspending our planned strike as a result of the emotions created in the control rooms by the crash, particularly in Aix-en-Provence,” the union's spokesman Roger Rousseau told AFP.

Lufthansa itself was hit by a four-day pilots' strike last week, although this did not affect Germanwings.

Shares in Airbus slumped on news of the accident, down 1.77 per cent to 58.94 euros at 1100 GMT after briefly sliding two per cent.

I am not the devil: Misbah

LAHORE: Pakistan's normally mild-mannered captain Misbah-ul-Haq on Tuesday launched a blistering tirade against his critics as he confirmed his retirement from one-day internationals.

After patiently enduring years of abuse for almost every failing by the perennially mercurial Pakistan team, the 40-year-old said he was ready for a rest.

He said he had no intention of changing his mind about one-day cricket but would continue to play Tests, in which format he is Pakistan's most successful captain.

Misbah captained Pakistan in their recent World Cup campaign which ended in a battling quarter-final defeat to hosts Australia.

He said it was disappointing to see former stars on television laying into the team, "using abusive words that are way below the basic standard of ethics".

"Pakistan's media houses should have some rules for people appearing on television screens or at least some basic training, because it seems that anyone who can't find a job in the country becomes an expert or analyst on TV screens," he told reporters in Lahore.

Critics dubbed Misbah "tuk-tuk" after the slow-moving rickshaw because of his dogged, patient batting style.

He was also regularly lambasted for supposedly negative tactics as captain and contrasted unfavourably with the swashbuckling, big-hitting all-rounder Shahid Afridi.

"I was being pinpointed for everything: when the batting failed, the media blamed me, when the bowling failed, the media blamed me and when the fielding failed, the media blamed me," he said.

When Pakistan lost their opening World Cup games to India and the West Indies, effigies of Misbah were burned in the street in Lahore.

The phlegmatic Misbah led Pakistan through some of its toughest years, taking over the captaincy after the spot-fixing scandal of 2010 that saw three key players banned.

He has also never led his side in a home series. International cricket in Pakistan was abandoned after the 2009 militant attack on the Sri Lankan team bus and the side play all their "home" games in neutral venues.

"I can take responsibility to a certain limit but I am not the devil, I did not attack the Sri Lankan team, I did not end international cricket in Pakistan. Why blame me for everything?" he said.

Petition against Altaf Hussain filed in SC's Lahore Registry

A petition, seeking Interpol’s assistance to bring Muttahida Qaumi Movement chief Altaf Hussain to Pakistan, was filed in Supreme Court Lahore Registry on Tuesday. 

The petition, filed by Barrister Zafarullah, was moved in the wake of target killer Saulat Mirza’s confessional video in which he alleged that Altaf had ordered the murder of former managing director of Karachi Electric Supply Corporation Shahid Hamid along with his driver Ashraf Brohi and guard Akbar Khan in July 1997.

The application further called for removing Governor Sindh Ishratul Ebad from his post while the allegations are probed as well putting names of MQM leaders mentioned in Mirza’s video on the Exit Control List.

In his confessional video, Mirza had accused Sindh governor of providing protection to criminals and party workers in police stations and that he received the order for killing KESC chief at MQM leader Babar Ghauri’s residence.

No confirmation on Mullah Fazlullah's death: Nisar

ISLAMABAD: Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali said on Tuesday that the government has no knowledge of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) chief Mullah Fazlullah’s death.

“There is no confirmation on the killing of Mullah Fazlullah,” he said, while addressing the media in Islamabad.

Express News quoted military sources late Saturday night saying the TTP chief was killed during the army’s operation in Khyber Agency. However, there was no independent or official confirmation on the report, while the TTP also denied it.

Credit goes to PML-N for taking action against criminals in Karachi: PM Nawaz

PM Nawaz said credit for the operation against criminals in Karachi goes to the PMLN-led government.

The premier was meeting PML-N Members of National Assembly (MNAs) from Gujranwala, Sialkot, Narowal, Hafizabad and Gujrat at PM House, where he shed light on the on-going Karachi operation.

“The situation in Karachi is improving with each passing day, the credit for which goes to PML-N government.” the prime minister said. “The PML-N government took the decision to start an operation in Karachi against miscreants and terrorists after taking all parties on board.”

The prime minister further said that his government had inherited the energy problem, but “we are moving towards a solution despite our limited resources.”

Since the past week, the premier has started a consultation process with his party’s MNAs to discuss four important issues and to get their input before taking some final decisions. These issues include appointment of Governor of Punjab, preparations for local government elections in provinces and cantonment, cabinet reshuffle and expansion, and development funds for constituencies.

PM Nawaz earlier held his meetings with party MNAS from South Punjab, Faisalabad division and Sargodha division.

Electoral rigging: Nawaz takes parties into confidence over judicial commission

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has taken political parties into confidence regarding the formation of a judicial commission to investigate the alleged rigging in the 2013 general elections.

The prime minister met party representatives and informed them about the commission at the Parliament House on Tuesday.

The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) on March 20 had agreed to form a judicial commission to probe allegations of 2013 poll rigging.

The prime minister welcomed PTI’s decision to reach an agreement with the government, saying they were already willing to form a commission, as he had written a letter to the Supreme Court on August 13, 2014.

Nawaz added that the government wanted to remove any misgivings among the parties through dialogue, and fully concentrate on resolving the challenges being faced by Pakistan, such as terrorism, energy shortage and putting the country’s economy to the path of progress.

Shafqat Hussain case: Nisar says victim's parents under pressure

ISLAMABAD: In a press conference on Tuesday, Federal Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan claimed that the parents of Umair, the seven-year-old murdered by Shafqat Hussain, were in hiding in Karachi after having been threatened to withdraw the case against Shafqat.

Nisar emphasised the need and the desire of the government to provide justice to the aggrieved party in the case, and said Hussain's hanging had been delayed so that investigations into the matter of his age could be undertaken.

He said "we are cognisant of the fact that where we give justice to Shafqat, we have to provide justice to the child's parents too".

Hussain's execution had been delayed after it had been reported that he was underage at the time of the crime. Nisar said the interior ministry, in order to get at the truth, decided to delay the hanging until the issue was resolved.

While the initial summary moved by the interior ministry had suspended Shafqat Hussain's hanging for 72 hours, a second summary asking for a month's delay was moved so that Hussain's age could be investigated adequately.

Nisar also said that despite many statements made by the civil society and media, until the evening of March 19, the interior ministry had not been provided any report disputing Shafqat Hussain's age. He said media houses claimed to have sent the ministry documents showing proof of age, but they were not verifiable.

He went on to say that providing proof, which is integral to the nature of the case, is not the responsibility of the government, but that of the accused.

"At this time, what is on record is that when he went to jail, the jail doctor wrote his age as 25 years, and the jail authorities recorded it as being 23 years."

He also said that these records had not been contested at any point during the course of trial.

"This hasn’t been contested on any level – every time someone goes to jail, their age gets written down. When the case went to trial in court, his age was never brought up. And this is also a wrong statement that he was given a public defender. He had a private lawyer."

"If you have a certificate, bring it to the attention of the interior ministry, bring it to the attention of the committee formed by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA)," Nisar said.

Exit Control List

Nisar also touched upon the matter of the Exit Control List (ECL), saying that he had not allowed his private opinions to influence the addition or removal of a single person on the ECL during his time as minister.

The minister emphasised the unacceptability of keeping people on the ECL for unreasonable periods of time extending up to 30 years. According to Nisar, the list contains 8,500 people currently, but will be cut down once a time limit of three years on the ECL is imposed.

"These investigation agencies put names on the ECL and keep cases going for years at a stretch. I won’t allow it. In the coming weeks, I will put forward a new ECL policy."

Nisar claimed only those who have committed heinous crimes, or are being investigated by the National Accountability Bureau and the FIA will be placed on the list.

Investigation into Saulat Mirza confession video

Speaking about the rationale behind delaying the hanging of Saulat Mirza, the interior minister said once Mirza's confession video came forth, local investigation agencies and security forces were of the view that this speech should be investigated.

As a result of this view, a summary was moved to delay his execution for 72 hours, after which an extension of 90 days was sought in order to investigate the matter thoroughly.

The interior ministry had, after this, notified the Prime Minister House that the new date of Mirza's execution would be April 1.

"After this, the President, with the advice of the Prime Minister, would decide whether the hanging date should be further extended for 90 days, 60 days, a month or not at all," he said.

Investigation into mafia and corruption of government officials

Nisar referred to the exchange of offenders agreement with Britain and revealed that in 2011, four prisoners who came to Pakistan were mysteriously released just a few days after their arrival in the country ─ after which the agreement had been suspended.

The prisoners who had sentences ranging from 18 years to 25 years were convicted for murder and drug-related charges. Of the four, two had managed to leave the country. After Nisar ordered an investigation into the matter, they were found with the help of Interpol and the FIA and are currently jailed in Dubai and Ecuador.

Nisar said the government had taken the first steps towards extradition and called it a troubling matter due to which Pakistan’s international image was suffering.

The two convicts who remained in Pakistan after their release have also been tracked down and arrested, and are now additionally being charged with fraud and punished in accordance with Pakistani law.

The interior minister has, for the time being, suspended all international exchange of offenders agreements.

He also spoke of a case where nine people imprisoned for drug-related offences were brought to Pakistan without any papers or approval from the interior ministry.

"There is some mafia that wanted them to come here ─ and this way they become free citizens in Pakistan as they were before," the minister said. He also claimed they were found only through a stroke of luck, and said "I want them to be deported immediately but some legal procedure must be followed."

He admitted that officials in the ministry and the FIA were under suspicion and will be questioned, and claimed that anyone who is found to be part of the mafia will be punished and jailed in accordance with the law.

"Whoever is a part of this will be punished in accordance with the law. Those responsible will not be sitting in ministries ─ they should be sitting in jail."

"This mafia is not just limited to the Ministry of the Interior and is very spread out. Any ministry or deptartment, even in the FIA which is a part of the mafia will be brought to task."

A public inquiry will be conducted and "within seven to ten days, the findings will become public and everyone who is responsible will be taken to task. Some people have already had action taken against them," Nisar said.

Clarification regarding meeting with British High Commissioner

Nisar also shed light on his meeting with British High Commissioner Philip Barton.

"I spoke only of that which is public knowledge and spoke to the British ambassador ... that there was an FIR registered against them [the MQM] for threatening the Rangers, and secondly, a few points from his [Altaf Hussain's] speech."

Nisar also said that if any action was taken on the matter, it would be discussed publicly.

Following Nisar's press conference, MQM leader Haider Rizvi also held a press conference during which he requested the interior minister to further clarify the subject of his meeting with British High Commissioner Philip Barton.

He said Nisar should also refute media reports that paint the MQM and its chief, Altaf Hussain, as criminals.