MULTAN: Four Pakistani sisters killed themselves after a row with their father who could not afford dowries for them to get married, officials said yesterday. The women threw themselves into a canal after arguing with their father in Mailsi town in the rural southern part of Punjab province. A fifth sister was pulled alive. “A poor farmer, Bashir Ahmed Rajput, could not marry his daughters because he had no money to offer dowry,” Malik Daud Hasnain, a senior police official said. “After an argument on Thursday, the daughters became desperate and jumped together into the canal.” They were aged 45, 43, 38, 35, while the fifth, 31, was saved.
US, Pakistan hope for talks
ISLAMABAD: The US and Pakistan want a substantial discussion on several issues and are working to bring Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to Washington in late October or early November, diplomatic sources said yesterday, commenting on reports that US President Barack Obama and Sharif will not have a formal meeting during the latter’s visit to New York next week. “While we cannot rule out a formal meeting in New York, both sides seem interested in an extended meeting at a later date in Washington,” said a source. “The impression that the Americans or Pakistanis are trying to avoid a meeting between both leaders is wrong. They want a substantial meeting.”
Three Peshawar preachers killed
PESHAWAR: Two suspected militants on a motorbike threw grenades at a mosque in the northwestern Pakistani city of Peshawar, killing three Islamic preachers and wounding 18 others, officials said yesterday. The attack happened on the outskirts of Peshawar, the gateway to troubled tribal regions where forces have been battling Taliban and Al Qaeda-linked militants. The attackers hurled grenades soon after a preaching group arrived late on Thursday night. Two of the injured were in a critical condition.
Nine hurt in Karachi attack
KARACHI: Nine people were injured in a hand grenade attack targeting a Shia mosque in Karachi, police said yesterday. The attack took place in Majeed Colony in the bustling eastern neighbourhood of Landhi. Two of the injured were in a critical condition. Police said the mosque was the target, adding no group has claimed responsibility. agencies
