Pakistan dismisses claim murder suspect linked to porn ring

A prison van carrying Mohammad Imran, who is accused of the brutal killings of eight children in the eastern city of Kasur, arrives to a courthouse, in Lahore, Pakistan, Wednesday, Jan. 24, 2018. (AP)
Updated 26 January 2018
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Pakistan dismisses claim murder suspect linked to porn ring

LAHORE: A government spokesman has dismissed a journalist’s claim as “baseless” that a suspect arrested in the slaying of eight girls was linked to a child-porn network.
Malik Ahmed Khan said Friday investigators found no bank accounts linked to multiple killing suspect Mohammad Imran, who was arrested in connection with this month’s rape and killing of 7-year-old Zainab Ansari.
Khan said the probe of Imran was launched on orders from Pakistan’s chief justice, who wanted investigators to look into TV journalist Shahid Masood’s claims. The Karachi-based journalist insisted before the court Thursday that Imran could be part of a gang that supplied porn videos of children to an international network.
Khan said the journalist’s claim was “baseless and concocted.”


Man tackled to ground after spraying unknown substance on Rep. Ilhan Omar at Minneapolis town hall

Updated 58 min 11 sec ago
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Man tackled to ground after spraying unknown substance on Rep. Ilhan Omar at Minneapolis town hall

  • The audience cheered as he was pinned down and his arms were tied behind his back

MINNEAPOLIS: A man wearing a black jacket was tackled to the ground after spraying an unknown substance on US Rep. Ilhan Omar at a town hall she was hosting in Minneapolis on Tuesday.
The audience cheered as he was pinned down and his arms were tied behind his back. In video of the incident, someone in the crowd can be heard saying, “Oh my god, he sprayed something on her.” Omar continued the town hall after the man was ushered out of the room.
Just before that Omar called for the abolishment of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement and for Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to resign. “ICE cannot be reformed,” she said.
Minneapolis police did not immediately respond to a phone call and email message seeking information on the incident and whether anyone was arrested.
The White House did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment Tuesday night.
President Donald Trump has frequently criticized the congresswoman and has stepped up verbal attacks on her in recent months as he turned his focus on Minneapolis.
During a Cabinet meeting in December, he called her “garbage” and added that “her friends are garbage.”
Hours earlier on Tuesday, the president criticized Omar as he spoke to a crowd in Iowa, saying his administration would only let in immigrants who “can show that they love our country.”
“They have to be proud, not like Ilhan Omar,” he said, drawing loud boos at the mention of her name.
He added: “She comes from a country that’s a disaster. So probably, it’s considered, I think — it’s not even a country.”
Fellow US Rep. Nancy Mace, a Republican from South Carolina, R-S.C., denounced the assault on Omar.
“I am deeply disturbed to learn that Rep. Ilhan Omar was attacked at a town hall today” Mace said via the social platform X. “Regardless of how vehemently I disagree with her rhetoric — and I do — no elected official should face physical attacks. This is not who we are.”
The attack came days after a man was arrested in Utah for allegedly punching US Rep. Maxwell Frost, a Democrat from Florida, in the face during the Sundance Film Festival and saying Trump was going to deport him.