Madarsa girls hold cops hostage

These girls have proved quite a match for the General. And on Wednesday, they made the Pakistani authorities bow to their whims again.

These girls have proved quite a match for the General. And on Wednesday, they made the Pakistani authorities bow to their whims again.

Holding two policemen and three women hostage in a Taliban-like operation, the students of a local madarsa secured the release of two detained teachers of the seminary in exchange for the security personnel.

The girls have been occupying a public library for the past two months to protest against the demolition of unauthorised mosques in Islamabad. And emboldened by their successes against the government, they have also been enforcing closures of music and video shops in the capital.

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On Wednesday, they were aided and abetted by the pro-Taliban Lal Masjid management and boys from a religious school. Together, they caught the policemen, seized their vehicles and roughed them up in full view of TV cameras on Wednesday. The veiled students, however, refused to release the women, whom they accuse of running a brothel.

Police officials held day-long talks with Ghazi Abdul Rashid, the radical deputy Imam of the mosque.

Railway authorities promptly took action, shifting passengers to other coaches and quickly extinguishing the fire.

Fire noticed in coach of Amritsar–Saharsa Garib Rath Express, no casualties reported

India16 min ago

A fire broke out in a coach of Amritsar–Saharsa Garib Rath Express at Sirhind Station in Punjab, but no casualties were reported. Railway officials quickly took action, shifting passengers to other coaches and extinguishing the fire. The train will depart to its destination shortly. The incident occurred at 07:30 hrs and is currently being investigated.

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