PPP-Parliamentarian chairman Makhdoom Amin Fahim has said he is not the part of government nor is he eager to join the government.

Makhdoom Amin Fahim said there is no substance in the reports about his appointment as senior minister, he added. These are sheer media reports and not more than this, he remarked.

Responding to a question about his meeting with Asif Ali Zardari he told President had invited him to tea and "we enquired about the welfare of each other during the meeting. But neither he talked about my induction as senior minister nor I had talked to him in this respect, Fahim indicated.

To another question he told cooperation between PPP and PML-N was continuing. But any decision on PML-N return to cabinet will have to be taken with the mutual understanding by the heads of both the parties, he underscored.

Nothing final could be said about the arrest of Chaudhry Pervez Elahi, Lt Gen (Retd) Hamid Gul and Ejaz Shah for their alleged involvement in the incident of Karsaz as per letter of Benazir Bhutto, he maintained. But it should be ascertained from the government if it would arrest these persons in case they were found involved in this carnage, he added. Elements behind the killing of Benazir Bhutto should be arrested, he demanded.

ISLAMABAD: Minister for water and power Raja Pervez Ashraf has said the recent rise in power tariff has been suspended adding he apologizes to nation on power crisis.

Minister for water and power said this while addressing a press conference here Thursday in ministry of water and power. He declared old time would be restored from November 1.

Demand and supply issue was behind the power crisis, he said adding supply was not matching with the demand of the electricity. Water supply was in abundance during the holy month of Ramadan, therefore, no energy problem was created. "We are generating 2000 megawatt electricity from hydro sources, he told. Power crisis would come to end by December, next year, he added.

Water is not being supplied to canals from dams, he indicated. Sindh and Punjab were saving the water so that water supply could be made available in surplus for the next wheat crop, he added.

Increasing the power tariff was decision of NEPRA rather than government, he told. It was an autonomous body, which decides to increase the tariff after determining profit and loss, he added. Parliamentarians, lawyers and civil society can challenge the rise in tariff, he pointed out. NEPRA has implemented new power tariff in Karachi, Hyderabad and Multan as power theft and line losses were on higher side in these areas, he said. Ministry of power was not earning profit on electricity, he indicated.

NEPRA proposed 64 percent increase in power tariff, which was rejected by the government, he said. Government had proposed 31 percent increase, he added. Government will have to give subsidy of Rs 65 billion under electricity head.

President and prime minister had constituted a committee under my chairmanship, he told. People from all the segments of society will participate in the meeting. All parliamentarians and members of committee should send proposals to the committee, he said.

NEW DELHI: Sachin Tendulkar became the highest scorer in Test cricket after surpassing West Indian legend Brian Lara in the ongoing second Test in MoSachin Tendulkar in action during the second Test against Australia at the Mohali Stadium.

The Master Blaster needed just 15 runs today to overtake Lara's Test match tally of 11,953 runs and establishing a fourth world record in his illustrious career. Tendulkar is also on the verge of creating another landmark as he will also be the first player to amass 12000 runs in Test cricket. The 35-year-old batting maestro is already the world's top-scorer in One-Day International (16,361) and has the most centuries in Test matches (39) and One-dayers (42).

The Mumbaikar came close to surpass Lara's milestone in the drawn first Test in Bangalore but he fell short of just 15 runs after playing a gritty knock of 49 runs in the second innings to help India seal a draw.

Sachin made his Test debut at the tender age of 16 against Pakistan in 1989 in Karachi. From there on the little master of world cricket has never looked back. The Mumbaikar came into limelight with his first Test century on a seaming Old Trafford track against a formidable English attack as he saved the match for India.

Tendulkar still remains the most admired cricketer from all quarters the world ranging from experts to cricket ardent fans despite not being in his best of form off late. The body of the master blaster has taken its toll as he has been playing international cricket to close to two decades. Though several injuries marred his playing career time and again during the last five years but his never-say-die attitude still makes him the heartthrob of cricketing world. Congratulate Sachin Tendulkar.

Pakistan army has said that security forces have found a Chinese engineer who had been kidnapped along with a colleague by local Taliban in August.

An army statement said only that one of the men was found Friday and that it would provide more details later.

Earlier two Chinese engineers kidnapped by local Taliban escaped from captivity on Friday but one of them was recaptured by the insurgents, a Taliban spokesman said.

The abductees managed to slip away when they were being transported in a vehicle from the Piochar area in the restive Swat district to the neighbouring Dir region in the North West Frontier Province (NWFP).

They were chased by the Taliban in the wooded mountains and one of them was caught after he received injuries due to a fall, the militants said.

Taliban spokesman Muslim Khan confirmed the incident, saying he 'hoped' that the other escaped Chinese would be caught soon. 'The entire region is in our control. Where can he go?' he told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa on the telephone from an undisclosed location.

The wounded engineer was given medical treatment at a small health unit run by the Taliban and moved to some 'safer place,' he added.

The engineers were abducted on August 29 together with their local driver and a security guard in Dir after repairing a communications tower of the China Mobile Pakistan company.

The two telecommunications engineers disappeared in the Dir region of western Pakistan on Aug. 29. A spokesman for Taliban militants in the neighboring Swat region claimed that they were holding the pair.

Pakistani officials say the victims had disregarded advice not to travel to the area without heavy security.