WASHINGTON: President Barack Obama has nominated US Air Force General Philip Breedlove to become Nato’s commander, a key role as Nato aims to wind down its 11-year-old mission in Afghanistan that has tested the resolve of allies. Breedlove, whose nomination was endorsed by ambassadors from the 28 Nato allies, will succeed Admiral James Stavridis as Nato’s Supreme Allied Commander Europe. His appointment requires Senate confirmation.
BERLIN: A Pakistani man working in a German technology research centre has been detained on suspicion of military espionage, officials said. The 28-year-old was registered as a student to work at the centre in the northwestern city of Bremen. Named only as Umar R, he is suspected of “attempting to procure information about sophisticated military technologies” since October. He allegedly obtained illegally studies on the piloting and navigation of drones until he was caught out by a colleague. The centre develops technology for Israeli surveillance aircraft used by German troops in Afghanistan.
ISLAMABAD: Dr Abdul Qadeer Khan, 76, the father of Pakistan’s nuclear bomb, has decided not to contest the May general election but will support his party and its allies on the campaign trail, a party spokesman said yesterday. Many Pakistanis regard Dr Khan as a hero for building the Muslim world’s first atomic bomb but in the West he is considered a renegade since admitting in 2004 to selling nuclear secrets on the black market. He later retracted his remarks and was freed from house arrest in Islamabad in 2009, but he remains under pressure to keep a low profile. Last November he registered his Tehreek-e-Tahafuzz Pakistan to contest election and was allotted the symbol of a missile.
ISLAMABAD: In the last week in power, the PPP-P government took advantage of protests by education staff and a 2008 Supreme Court ruling and hired over 1,000 party loyalists and favourites as teaching and non-teaching employees, an official said. Five years ago, the apex court had ruled that teachers serving for a long time as daily-wagers should be regularised. In December 2012, the joint action committee of the Non-Teaching Staff Association, sent a list of 844 employees to authorities for regularisation, said the Chairman, Sadaqat Abbasi. However, he said in the last week of the government’s tenure, 2,024 employees were appointed, including 1,000 who were directly hired. Recruitment policies have also weakened law enforcement agencies, he said.
ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz has hinted that neither Nawaz Sharif nor Shahbaz Sharif would contest the election against Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Chairman Imran Khan from Lahore. Sources said the party leadership, during a meeting of its parliamentary board, advised both against contesting from constituencies where Khan will stand.
Agencies
