ISLAMABAD: A court yesterday ordered former military ruler Pervez Musharraf to be held for 14 days over a 2007 raid on a radical mosque, a decision that means he must remain confined to his villa. Police arrested him late on Thursday over the military raid on the Red Mosque which left dozens dead a day after a court granted him bail in a separate case. The 70-year-old has been confined to his villa on the edge of Islamabad, which has been declared a “sub-jail” since April over cases dating back to his 1999-2008 rule. The Supreme Court on Wednesday granted him bail over the death of a rebel leader, a move that could have seen him freed once release procedures were completed. He had been granted bail in two other cases, including one relating to the assassination of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto. “The court remanded Musharraf for 14 days. The next date of hearing is on October 25,” a court official said. Musharraf’s lawyer Afshan Adil confirmed the order. Though Musharraf’s lawyers said Wednesday’s bail order meant he was a “free man”, in practice his life is in such danger that he cannot leave his villa, where he is guarded by 300 policemen and soldiers. The Taliban have threatened to kill him as he allied Pakistan with Washington in the US war on terror in the wake of the 9/11 attacks. There were rumours that a deal would be reached to allow him to leave Pakistan before his trials were completed. One theory was that he might be allowed to visit his sick mother in Dubai.
WB puts growth at 3.5pc
ISLAMABAD: The World Bank sounded optimistic yesterday as it projected that Pakistan’s economic growth would remain steady at 3.5 percent in the current financial year, underestimating adverse impact of tight monetary and fiscal policies on growth and job creation. According to the bank’s South Asia Economic Focus report, there will be a marginal decrease of 0.1 percentage point in real gross domestic product growth compared with 3.6 percent the country achieved in the last fiscal year. The bank’s estimate is one percentage point higher than the projection made by the International Monetary Fund.
Gwadar port work on track
ISLAMABAD: Gwadar Port will be made fully functional in five months, Federal Minister for Ports and Shipping Kamran Michael said on Thursday at the inaugural session of the 3rd International Conference and Exhibition on Shipping, Logistics and Supply Chain Management 2013. Almost 60 percent of development work with specific reference to road infrastructure has been completed at the site, he told the participants of the event which was organised by the Publicity Channel in collaboration with the Ministry of Ports & Shipping, Pakistan International Freight Forwarding Association, Pakistan Shipping Agents Association and Air Cargo Agents Association.
Two injured in grenade attack
Islamabad: Two people were injured and three vehicles damaged in a hand grenade attack on a factory near Chamra Chowrangi in Karachi’s Korangi industrial area yesterday, Geo News reported. The attack also damaged a bank building.
Agencies
