Islamabad: An airliner carrying 147 passengers and crew members crashed in Margalla hills after losing contact with the control tower of Islamabad airport.

The Civil Aviation Spokesperson has said all efforts are being made to search for survivors.
15 dead bodies can be seen on the site including those of two women. The bodies are badly burnt and are beyond recognition.
Deceased and injured have been shifted to PIMS hospital, said rescue sources.
Airport sources said the Air Blue flight took off at 7:50am from Karachi to Islamabad but crashed due to uneven weather …

Islamabad: Former ISI operative Khalid Khwaja was laid to rest at a graveyard in Islamabad on Sunday.

Khalid Khwaja was killed in North Waziristan by a Taliban splinter group named Asian Tigers.
The funeral prayers of Khwaja was led by Lal Masjid Khateeb Maulana Abdul Aziz. Former ISI chief Hameed Gull, Former Jamat-e-Islami MNA Mian Aslam and other distinguished persons were among the people who attended the funeral prayers.
Stringent security measures were taken during the funeral prayers including body search the attendees.
- Staff Reporter

Islamabad: Turkish President Abdullah Gul arrived here Tuesday on a four-day official visit on the invitation of President Asif Ali Zardari.

Talking to reporters soon after his arrival at the PAF base Chaklala here, the Turkish President said Turkey and Pakistan have an emotional relationship and enjoy an excellent understanding on various issues.
He said during his stay, he would hold talks with President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani on bilateral, regional, international and economic issues.
“Turkey is very much supportive of Pakistan in its fight against terrorism,” …

Islamabad: The violent protest against hike in public transport fares in twin cities continued on second consecutive day as protesters at Bara Kaho burnt tyres and closed Murree road.
Protestors set bon fires and pelting stones at police as police resort tear gas shelling. On the other hand, Rangers have been called in Faizabad to bring situation under control.
Angry protestors smashed windowpanes of shops and vehicles, set ablaze a car and blocked the road. Five policemen sustained injuries during the protest. Expressway and Murree Road have been closed for traffic. …

Lakki Marwat: Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI-F) leader Maulana Fazlur Rehman has said that as many as 9,000 Blackwater personnel were present in Islamabad, adding that the strength of capital police is 7,000.

While talking to media in Lakki Marwat, Fazal said that destability facing the country was caused by weakening of the democratic government. He prayed that those elements should take over the government who were against abuse of power. He deplored that Blackwater has unleashed Taliban-like reign of terror in Pakistan.
- Staff Reporter

ISLAMABAD: US Defence Secretary Robert Gates took on his critics in Pakistan on Friday, apologising for past “grave” mistakes as he works to bolster ties with Washington’s key ally in the fight against Al-Qaeda.

In his first visit to Islamabad in three years and first under US President Barack Obama, Gates tried to reassure a public and leadership sceptical of Washington’s plan to tackle militancy and turn around the war in Afghanistan.
“I was in government in the early 1990s, when Russia left the region and the United States largely abandoned Afghanistan …