Pics: Hina Rabbani Khar - a style icon

 

Hina Rabbani Khar - a style icon

<< Hina Rabbani Khar: (more pics of Hina Rabbani)
Who is this beautiful lady and how did this model like minister grow in to a powerful political figure in Pakistan from the unknown?

This question is in most peoples mind and the answers are scratchy. Here we have looked in to the first part of “Who is Hina Rabbani Khar”

DOB: 19 January 1977 (just 34 as of 2011)

Birth Place: Multan, Pakistan

Husband: Feroz Gulzar, a businessman.

Father: Malik Ghulam Noor Rabbani Khar (politician from Muzaffargarh)

Achievement: She is youngest Pakistani Minister

She is the first female Minister of Foreign Affairs of Pakistan

Education: B.Sc. (Hons) from Lahore University of Management Sciences

M.Sc. in Hotel Management from the University of Massachusetts

Growth:

2002: Elected Member of the National Assembly from Muzaffargar II  (party : Pakistan Muslim League (Q))

2008: Elected Member of the National Assembly from Muzaffargar II  (party : Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP))

2009: Becomes State Minister for Economic Affairs and Statistics

2011: Minister of State for Foreign Affairs in the Cabinet of  Yousaf Raza Gillani

Pearls, Roberto Cavalli shades and a Birkin bag, speculated to be worth Rs 17 lakh — Pakistan’s youngest and first woman foreign minister, Hina Rabbani Khar has got people talking about her impeccable style sense during her ongoing Delhi visit. The 34-year-old is quite a style icon back in her own country, reveal Pakistan’s noted fashion designers.

“She dresses conservatively, conscious of the fact that she represents a Muslim state. Her brief to the designer is not to make body-hugging dresses. But she’s extremely stylish,” says Lahore-based Honey Waqar, who has designed for Khar. “Politicians here are usually not aware about brands, but she knows a lot and loves accessorising with stylish bags,” says Islamabad-based designer Sobia Nazir. “In private gatherings, you’d spot her in trendy jeans,” adds Karachi-based designer Faiza Samee.

Delhi’s fashion circuit and even Twitter was abuzz with style talk about her on Tuesday. “I love the understated pearls. The bag gives a formal and crisp flavour,” says designer Nida Mahmood. “Hina Rabbani Khar is the newest stylista in India,” tweeted  Himanshu Parmekar. Meanwhile, all the talk about her fashion sense made some wonder if the focus is being taken away from what she’s in India for. “If Hina Rabbani were a male foreign minister of Pakistan, would she EVER be deconstructed in terms of look and dress?” tweeted Barkha Dutt, Group Editor, NDTV. “Not too many cute male ministers around, yes?” wrote back Twitter user Nishant.

10 things you didn’t know about her

1  Hina Rabbani Khar is the niece of one of Pakistan Peoples’ Party founders, Ghulam Mustafa Khar. He made headlines when Tehmina Durrani, one of his seven wives, wrote the famous book on him, My Feudal Lord, in 1991 
2 A polo enthusiast, she has a stable of horses.
3 She also owns a restaurant in Lahore called Polo Lounge
4 She has more than 20  Facebook fan clubs
5 A trekking enthusiast, she’s been to K2 and Nanga Parbat
6 Her Wikipedia page labels her a ‘Pakistani fashionista’
7 She mostly carries a Hermes Birkin bag on official visits
8 She became the first woman to present Pakistan’s budget in 2009
9 She eats healthy, and preferred green tea over other beverages during her stay in Delhi’s ITC Maurya Hotel 
10 She is mother to two sons and a daughter.

Military aircraft crashes in Morocco, 78 killed

At least 78 people were killed when a Moroccan military aircraft crashed in the south of the country on Tuesday, the army said.
In a news alert carried by the official news agency MAP, the army said three other people were severely wounded in the crash, Morocco's deadliest air disaster in several decades.

Police arrest Mumbai blasts suspect in Kathmandu

A Nepali man, believed to be in his early 40s, has been arrested from capital city Kathmandu on the suspicion that he had links to this month's serial blasts in Mumbai which killed 24 people and injured nearly 150, Nepal's official media said.

Mohammad Zahir, a resident of Sarlahi district in Nepal's Terai plains near the Indian border, was arrested by Nepal Police's anti-terrorism cell on the basis of intelligence reports, the state-run Gorkhapatra daily reported Tuesday.

The man was said to have been conducting suspicious activities from his rented apartment in Baluwatar, an upmarket area in the capital where the official residence of the Prime Minister is located. He was found to have had phone conversations about the Mumbai blasts as well as sent text messages on his mobile phone, the daily said. It said Zahir was arrested last week but the news was kept secret. Currently, he is in police custody.

There were no immediate comments from police authorities. Three serial blasts rocked Mumbai July 13, causing death and destruction in Zaveri Bazaar, a jewellery hub, the Opera House business district and Dadar.

A terrorist group, the Indian Mujahideen, is suspected to have been behind the attacks. With India and Nepal sharing an open border, Indian authorities have often claimed that several groups planning terror attacks in Indian cities had links in Nepal, either smuggling in firearms and hit men from the Himalayan state or providing logistical support from there.

Cricket: England down India by 196 runs

The English bowlers took a little over two sessions to remove nine remaining Indian batsmen and score a win in the opening Test at the Lord's, on Monday by 196 runs.

Stuart Broad dismissed Ishant Sharma to claim the last wicket of the Indian innings as England win the 1st Test at the Lord's by 196 runs.With the Lord's Test victory, England lead the 4 Test series 1-0 James Anderson claimed his 11th 5- wicket haul in Tests by dismissing Suresh Raina for 78 on Day 5 of the Lord's Test.

(India 260/9) -  England's bowlers fought their way through dogged batting, the absence of DRS for lbws and some sloppy catching to avoid a repeat of Lord's 2007 and finish a comprehensive win 28.3 overs before the gruelling final-day scrap was to be called off.

India's four big hopes survived 93, 113, 56 and 68 deliveries, which meant England were made to work for the wickets, and also that they never let those batsmen feel they were in. James Anderson took out Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman and Sachin Tendulkar, although it could be argued that his were the knockout blows after the softening up done by Stuart Broad and Chris Tremlett.

Not that any man in the England side will mind how the wickets came. Although there were two dropped catches and two controversial lbw not-outs involved, it all went down in a manner suggesting England had scripted it thus.

They wouldn't have budgeted for the strongest resistance to be coming from Suresh Raina, who told his critics he belonged with a fighting 78, but by the final session an erstwhile Anderson was in red-hot form, completing his 11th five-for by breaking through that final piece of Indian fight with a beautiful in- swinger from round the stumps. Initially Anderson fed off the immense pressure created by Tremlett and Broad, and Graeme Swann did his thing by accounting for one of the best players of spin today, Gautam Gambhir.

It was just as well that England finished India off, thus avoiding what would have become a major controversy had India hung on with one wicket in hand. The moment when Hawk-Eye and the umpire would be in disagreement was much dreaded, and showed up twice in potentially crucial circumstances. Both were off Broad, when he had comprehensive cases for lbws against Tendulkar and Raina, and would have successfully challenged the original not-out decisions on both occasions had DRS been employed for lbws.

Those two calls cost England 15.4 overs, potentially a deciding delay in such matches. Those two would have left Broad wondering what he needed to do to get a wicket. He had had two catches dropped off him in the first innings. And in the morning session, after Anderson had drawn Dravid into a rare loose shot outside off, he regularly beat Laxman's bat in a five-over spell, often proving to be too good to take the edge.

And while Andrew Strauss's catching at slip and his defensive in-and-out fields in the first session could be argued against, his bowling changes worked like a charm. About 20 minutes before lunch, he brought on Anderson, who began with a long hop, which Laxman pulled straight to short midwicket. Laxman denied England for 113 deliveries.

That brought together India's walking wounded, Gambhir and Tendulkar. Bravely they hung in, Gambhir for 56 balls with a painful elbow and Tendulkar for 68 balls coming out of a viral infection. Whatever be the debate surrounding DRS, the umpires had a great match, and it was obvious in Gambhir's lbw in the over after Laxman's dismissal. It was the Swann arm ball, and the ball had hit the pad a microsecond before it did the bat.

Asad Rauf sent him on his way. From the injured man the burden now transferred to the ill man, Tendulkar, who began positively but found himself a shell post lunch. That Raina looked more comfortable than him during their 17.4-over partnership should tell a story. While Tendulkar was solid in defence, he let the bowlers bowl to a perfect rhythm, and the odd one was bound to be too good. After surviving that Broad shout, Tendulkar played 40 balls for one run. Once again Anderson came back and struck immediately.

He had Tendulkar dropped by Strauss fourth ball, but two balls later, produced an in-swinger similar to Braod's earlier one, and Tendulkar was plumb this time. In the lead-up to tea, with England easing the pressure a bit as they built up to the new ball, Raina and Dhoni gave India hope. Raina especially showed character in how he avoided the bouncers and reached a half0century that will only do him good. With the new ball, though, England were back to the script. The ball started jagging around again, and a shaken-up Dhoni finally and fatally poked at an out-swinger from Tremlett.

A cold, ruthless demolition of the tail followed. Harbhajan Singh refused to back away, but England worked him over with precise short deliveries. Praveen Kumar didn't stand that much of a chance. Raina got a gem from Anderson, coming in from round the stumps, then leaving him, taking the edge. Broad deservedly ended it all with a plumb lbw; the last four had fallen for 18 runs. Scenes of elation followed for the England team and the biggest crowd at a Lord's Monday, but England will feel relief too at finishing off a job, and not only because they righted what happened in 2007.

Had India drawn this, they would have had positives to look at; now they have injured bodies and a series deficit. Match Summary: England 474 for 8 decl. (Pietersen 202*, Trott 71, Praveen 5-106) and 269 for 6 decl. (Prior 103*, Broad 74*, Ishant 4-59) beat India 286 (Dravid 103*, Broad 4-37, Tremlett 3-80) and 261 (Raina 78, Laxman 56, Anderson 5-65, Broad 3-57) by 196 runs

Reformist Darul Uloom VC sacked for praising Modi

Nine members of the committee voted in favour of 60-year-old Vastanvi's removal.

Maulana Ghulam Mohammad Vastanvi on Sunday became the first Vice-Chancellor of the Darul Uloom Deoband to be sacked by the governing body.

As announced after the February 23 emergency meeting of the governing body, Working Vice-Chancellor Maulana Abul Qasi Banarasi will be elevated to replace Vastanvi.

The Majlis-e-Shoora removed the Mohtamim, after he refused to resign claiming that the reports of the members of a three-member inquiry committee that also looked into his conduct were incomplete.

An agitated-looking Vastanvi himself announced the Shoora’s decision to the large press contingent camped outside the Guest House of the seminary: “I had said that I would resign if the report indicts me. However, the reports presented before the Shoora were incomplete – they only concentrated on what happened outside the Darul Uloom, not on the agitation by students.” He went on to say that some forces had influenced the students, and that Deoband does not belong to any one individual.

“I have not resigned. The Shoora has decided to remove me,” he said. Even as Vastanvi described the decision of the Shoora, students atop the walls of the Darul Uloom began cheering loudly. The anti-Vastanvi slogans soon spread deep into the campus.

Vastanvi said that “5-6” members of the Shoora had implicitly offered him their support, but eight of the 13 present were against him. In the end, Vastanvi could find only four Aye’s.

“I will not be going to court. I do not want to trouble the Darul Uloom. I will continue to be a member of the Shoora,” said Vastanvi. However, he seemed intent on going out with his head held high: “For the seven months that I have been here, I have not been allowed to work. I am not from here, and I have to look after my 200 madrasas and hundreds of other institutions,” he said.

England dominate at Lord's despite Rahul Dravid century

Broad justified his selection ahead of Tim Bresnan with four wickets

Rahul Dravid succeeded where Sachin Tendulkar failed in scoring his first international century at Lord's to help India avoid the follow-on against a Stuart Broad-inspired England.

Dravid, dropped in the slips on 42, made 103 not out off 220 balls - his 33rd Test hundred - as India were bowled out for 286 in reply to England's 474-8 declared.

He surpassed Ricky Ponting to become the second-highest run-scorer in Test history behind Tendulkar, whose bid for his 100th international hundred was thwarted when he fell for 34, much to the dismay of the majority of a full house at the home of cricket.

But while Dravid took the individual honours, the day belonged to England, and especially Broad, who answered his critics with a superb exhibition of fast bowling to post figures of 4-37 from 22 overs.

England, who reached 5-0 in five overs at the close to establish a lead of 193 are now in total control of the match and will look to bat India out of the game on Sunday before leaving themselves time to bowl out the tourists once again.

Saturday of the Lord's Test is always an occasion but the prospect of seeing Tendulkar score his 100th international century seemed to intensify the air of expectation among the 28,000 spectators.

First though, it was the turn of India openers Gautam Gambhir and Abhinav Mukund to face up to the England bowling attack as they resumed on 17-0, 457 runs adrift of England's first innings total.

They were gifted a relatively comfortable start by James Anderson and Chris Tremlett, but the challenge became a much sterner one once Broad got into his groove.

Desperate to justify his selection ahead of Tim Bresnan, Broad made an inauspicious start with a no-ball and a wide in his first over, but soon found a testing line to the left-handed pair and made the breakthrough with a full, straight delivery that beat Gambhir for pace and splattered his stumps.

Mukund, a compact and capable 21-year-old, hit five attractive boundaries in his innings, but he fell one short of his half-century, dragging a ball from Broad on to his wicket from well outside off stump.

That dismissal was the cue for Tendulkar to enter the fray to a standing ovation from the Lord's faithful.

His first boundary was handed to him on a plate by four overthrows from Kevin Pietersen, but the five that followed were all gems, mini-masterpieces of timing and skill as he and Dravid added 81 either side of lunch.

The fairytale was not to be however as Tendulkar became Broad's third victim, pushing hard at a ball which moved away and nicking to Graeme Swann at second slip.

In an electric passage of play, VVS Laxman and Dravid were dropped by Andrew Strauss and Swann respectively in the same over from Broad, bowling comfortably his best England spell since the Oval Ashes Test in 2009.

Dravid hit 15 boundaries in his historic century

Laxman did not trouble the scorers for long though, hooking a Tremlett bouncer to Jonathan Trott at deep fine leg before Suresh Raina was trapped in front for nought by Swann to leave India reeling on 183-5.

Dravid and Dhoni kept England at bay until the new ball with a patient partnership of 57 until Tremlett drew an edge from the India skipper and Swann took the catch. And two balls later Harbhajan Singh swung wildly and was caught behind.

At 241-7 India were still 34 runs short of avoiding the follow-on but some muscular hitting from Praveen Kumar put paid to that possibility before he top-edged Broad to Strauss.

Running out of partners, Dravid went through the gears, reaching 98 with a push for four through the covers and bringing up his fifth hundred in England with two through mid-wicket.

Jimmy Anderson belatedly got in on the act to take the last two wickets, leaving Andrew Strauss and Alastair Cook to see out the last 20 minutes of the day.

Their eyes will be on some big runs on Sunday as England look to tighten their grip on the first Test of the series.

Explosion rocks Government Building in Central Oslo , 2 confirmed dead

Smoke rises from buildings in Oslo, Norway, at the scene of a large explosion which tore apart several buildings.

A loud explosion today shattered windows at the government headquarters in Oslo which includes the Norwegian prime minister’s office, injuring several people.  Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg is safe, government spokeswoman Camilla Ryste said.

Norway PM Stoltenberg says the blasts are “very serious,” bit it istoo early to say if terrorists are to be blamed.

There was no claim of responsibility, though NATO member Norway has been the target of threats, if not bombs, before, notably over its involvement in conflicts in Afghanistan and Libya. Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg was safe, NTB said.

NRK radio said at least two people were killed in an attack that may have brought global political violence to the quiet Scandinavian city.

Images on Norwegian television showed the prime minister’s office and other buildings heavily damaged, sidewalks covered in broken glass and smoke rising from the area.The explosion blew out most of the windows of the 17-storey central government building, cast a huge pall of smoke over the city and scattered shards of metal and other debris for hundreds of meters.

Nearby ministries were also hit, including the oil ministry, which was on fire. Heavy debris littered the streets.

“So far I can confirm that we have received seven people at Oslo University Hospital,” a press officer at the clinic said. “I don’t know how seriously wounded they are.”

Smoke is seen billowing from a damaged building as debris is strewn across the street after an explosion in Oslo, Norway Friday July 22, 2011

Witness Ole Tommy Pedersen was standing at a bus stop about 100 meters from the high-rise at around 3:30 pm (1330GMT) when he saw the blast shatter almost all windows of the 20-floor highrise. He said a cloud of smoke is billowing from the bottom floors.

“I saw three or four injured people being carried out of the building a few minutes later,” Pedersen said. Nearby offices were evacuated including those housing some of Norway’s leading newspapers and news agency NTB.

An AP reporter at the scene saw one person with a bleeding leg being led away from the area.

Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg was reported to have not been in his office at the time of the blast. Police had sealed off the area, which houses the offices of the prime minister, the finance ministry and the country’s biggest tabloid newspaper Verdens Gang (VG).

NRK radio said at least two people were killed in an attack. AP

Two cabinet ministers said that Stoltenberg had been scheduled to be visiting areas far outside Oslo today. News agency NTB also reported that Stoltenberg was “safe”.

Witnesses said the damage was extensive and that injured victims could be seen.

John Drake, senior risk consultant, at London-based consultancy AKE said: “It may not be too dissimilar to the terrorist attack in Stockholm in December which saw a car bomb and secondary explosion shortly after in the downtown area.”

“That attack was later claimed as reprisal for Sweden’s contribution to the efforts in Afghanistan.”

NATO member Norway has sometimes in the past been threatened by leaders of al Qaeda for its involvement in Afghanistan. But political violence is virtually unknown in a country known for sponsoring the Nobel Peace Prize and mediating in international conflicts, including in the Middle East and Sri Lanka.

It has also taken part the NATO bombing of Libya, where Muammar Gaddafi has threatened to strike back in Europe.

Injured Zaheer Khan out for Day 2 of England Test

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Indias Fast bowler Zaheer Khan, who suffered a hamstring injury halfway through his 14th over of Day 1 of India's tour of England, will miss Day 2 of the Test.

Khan is also undecided for the second innings.

Earlier, a report in the Telegraph said that Khan may miss most of the series.

The report added that "the compact nature of modern tours means there will be little time for Khan to recover, with the second Test at Trent Bridge starting next Friday."

Google+ hits 20 million mark in three weeks

Google's latest social-networking site Google+ has reportedly hit the 20 million member mark in just three weeks.

Google+ has had 20 million unique visitors since its release late last month, including 5 million from the U.S., according to data released today by research firm ComScore. Google apparently reached that milestone just a week after Google CEO Larry Page reported that the social network had reached 10 million visitors and had received "a ton of activity" with more than 1 billion items shared and received each day.

"It is definitely the fastest ascent to 20 million visitors that I can think of," Andrew Lipsman, ComScore's vice president of industry analysis, told the Los Angeles Times.

A Google spokesperson declined to address the report, saying the company does not comment on third-party metrics.

Google launched Google+ late last month not even in beta, letting in only a handful of users, who could later invite their friends and family. Page noted at the time that the service remains in a "field trial" mode, and with "a lot of barriers" to use it right now, but that the company is continuing to expand how many have access to it.

Despite its meteoric growth in its first three weeks, a population of 20 million pales in comparison with Facebook's 750 million, half of whom log in daily.

Google's first major foray into the social networking world came by way of Orkut, a service that has seen some success outside the States but has largely been ignored by U.S. users. Google tried its luck again with the launch of its Buzz social network, but the service came under fire from users who criticized the service for violating their privacy by automatically making some of their contacts public.

Movie Review: Singham is for Ajay Devgn fans only

Ratings:

Aseem Chabbra feels that the real star of the film Singham is its sound team.

In Rohit Shetty's mass-masala movie Singham, Ajay Devgn plays an upright, honest and do-gooder cop who goes way beyond the training and duties of a regular Indian Police Service officer.

He will stop to push a cart if its wheel is stuck in the mud; play with little kids; become a part time no-interest loan financier to settle a dispute between two people in his village, especially if someone is about to get married and it is their 'izzat ka sawal'.

Devgn's Bajirao Singham is almost the village panchayat, who is blessed by hundreds of drum beating men. His ritual bath in the village pond at night is accompanied with a beautiful display of floating lit lamps, and people dressed in red costumes praying, perhaps for his well-being.

After the bath, Singham walks bare-chested with mysterious smoke rising behind him, subtle dramatic lighting, to the beat of drums and what sounds like Hindu shlokas. He sometimes walks in slow-motion -- that means he is cool. And sometimes leaps at the bad guys -- that means he has lion blood flowing throwing his veins.
Singham is followed by a continuous soundtrack -- mostly the melody of the title song sung by Sukhwinder Singh. But in the second half of the film, when he decides to finally take on the evil Jaykant Shikre (a very loud and over-the-top Prakash Raj), Singham's personal soundtrack changes to religious shlokas -- as if his forthcoming actions, beyond what is allowed by the laws of the land and his training at the IPS academy, are justified and sanctioned by something above everything else -- God, Hinduism, its texts and its hymns.

Remake of a hit 2010 Tamil film, Singham is critical of the Indian politics and society. Time and again, the film's characters make observations against India's flawed and corrupt system.

The film's three writers: Hari, Yunus Sajawal and Farhad Sajid seem to be disappointed with the way India has shaped out to be. They have little faith in the law. Most cops in the film, baring Singham and a couple of his subordinates when he is posted to Goa, are shown to be corrupt or at least have an attitude that do they not give a damn.

The politicians are the guilty party. As Shikre says toward the end of the film -- from 1947 to 2011 no minister has been arrested in India for crime and corruption.
The film makes it very clear -- without the existence of Singham, the good cop, India has no hope. I wonder why no has thought of making him the president or the prime minister of the country!
The film opens with the big dramatic dance sequence celebrating our hero -- it feels like it is Holi, but it is not, as Devgn and the backup dancers strike a pose with as their hands becoming the claws of tigers.

The first half of the film takes its time in establishing Singham's character, his world, his romance with Kaavya Bhosle (Kajal Agarwal, a chirpy, but weak actress, who has a bad habit of rushing through her lines and strangely enough bears a slight resemblance to Devgn's wife Kajol).

In a long fight sequence, Singham beats up a fat bad guy who has snatched Kaavya's green dupatta. And she is so shamed by the dishonour that she wraps herself in a black dupatta.
There is the parallel story about Shikre, who makes money kidnapping rich people and has the protection of the Goa's top cops and politicians. But Singham and Shikre's path do not cross, until almost the intermission.
In the second half, Singham is posted to Goa -- as a punishment, where he is now in the world run by Shikre. He is frustrated and almost gives up hope. But just when he decides to leave, a depressed and overweight kid looks at Singham and begs him to stay back. "Uncle aap nahin hongey to yeh mummy ko marengey," the kid pleads with Singham.

The kid's mummy is Megha Kadam (Sonali Kulkarni), whose husband committed suicide in the opening sequences of the film, but all of that is too complicated to explain here.
Finally, Singham walks up to what looks like the entire Goa police force gathered with their families for a reception. He asks each of those cops to look into the eyes of their family members. Burdened with a sufficient sense of guilt, the reformed cops take off on 'mardon wallah kaam' to deal with Shikre, who by now has been elected for the political office. The method they chose to deal with Shikre may be unethical according to the Indian laws, but then it goes fine with the film's near anarchist attitude.
The dialogues are often hilarious, sometimes unintentionally. Singham to Shikre: "Tu corruption sey paiday hua gandi nalee ka keeda hai."

Shikre to Singham: "Yahan mera music system bajta hai!"

A jaded junior cop to Singham: "Main bhi yahan angry young man ban key aya tha. Lekin in logon ne mujhey Gandhi Ji ka bandar bana diya - na dekho, na bolo, na suno!"

The performances have Bollywood written all over them. Devgn is mostly a caricature of an action hero. His best moments are when he is really angry, gritting his teeth and cracking his knuckles as he gets ready to beat up the bad guys.
The real star of the film is the sound team. Singham is packed with a lot of bone crunching sounds, and loud action moments. Gone are the days when Bollywood films just featured dhishum-dhishum in the fight scenes. Now there is every possible jarring loud sound one hears, as Singham whips up the bad guys with his belts and smashes their bodies on the ground, against walls,.

The fights are long, painful and yet fun to watch. But I never understood why with all the beating they take from one man, none of the bad guys are even slightly injured. There is no bone broken, no cut, not even a bruise. There is violence and yet no after affect of violence. And I am sure that is fine for the Indian censors.

Cash-for-vote: Amar Singh appears for questioning

Rajya Sabha member Amar Singh Friday appeared before the Delhi Police for questioning in the cash-for-vote scam.

Singh drove to the Crime branch’s interstate cell in Chanakyapuri at 10.45 am in his Mercedes car. He did not speak to the waiting media persons before entering the complex.

Singh, the then general secretary of Samajwadi Party, is accused of sending bribe money to win over three BJP lawmakers during the 2008 trust vote.

His appearance before the police comes after the Delhi Police issued summons to him under Section 160 of the Criminal Procedure Code, asking him to present himself before the Crime branch.

The decision to call Singh for questioning comes after the arrest of Suhail Hindustani, who allegedly acted as a liaison between Singh and BJP MPs.

On Sunday, police had arrested Sanjeev Saxena, once considered close to Singh who allegedly delivered cash to the MPs to vote in favour of the UPA during the trust vote.

The arrests and fresh investigations into the case have come after Delhi Police was slammed by the Supreme Court last week for its “callous” approach in this case.

Besides Amar Singh, police is also expected to question Samajwadi Party MP Reoti Raman Singh and BJP MP Ashok Argal.

Questioning of BJP leader L K Advani’s former aide Sudheendra Kulkarni, who allegedly was behind sting operation to trap the bribe-givers, is also likely to take place.

The Most Unforgettable Space Shuttle Pictures

When the space shuttle Atlantis lands on Thursday, it will wrap up STS-135, the final shuttle mission in the U.S. program's 30-year history.

Even with the tragic losses of Challenger and Columbia, the space shuttle has become an icon among U.S. science and technology achievements. During the past three decades, shuttles carried the first U.S. woman and the first African American into space, deployed famous satellites such as the Hubble Space Telescope, and delivered valuable parts and supplies to the International Space Station (ISS).

"The space shuttle has been with us at the heart and soul of the human spaceflight program for about 30 years, and it's a little sad to see it go away," STS-135 mission commander Christopher Ferguson recently told reporters in a televised interview from the ISS.

"It's going to be an emotional moment for a lot of people that dedicated their lives to the shuttle program for 30 years. But we're going to try to keep it upbeat ... We're going to try to make it a celebration of the tremendous crowning achievements that have occurred."

View Fullscreen Slideshow

Sitting on a rolling platform, the space shuttle Challenger emerges from the mist at Kennedy Space Center in Florida as it heads toward the launch pad, just visible in the distance, in November 1982. Challenger lifted off on its maiden voyage in
April 1983 for the sixth shuttle mission.

Astronaut Sally Ride floats in front of the control panels for the space shuttle Challenger on June 25, 1983, while serving as a mission specialist for STS-7. Ride became the first U.S. woman in space during this mission.

Astronauts John M. Grunsfeld (right) and Richard M. Linnehan stand next to the Hubble Space Telescope, which was brought into the space shuttle Columbia's payload bay for repairs during STS-109, as seen on March 8, 2002.

The space shuttle Endeavour—payload bay doors ajar —rushes past Earth while docked to the International Space Station on May 28, 2011.

Suspended above the planet, the space shuttle Endeavour is silhouetted against the layers of Earth's atmosphere in a picture taken by an ISS crew member on February 9, 2010. The shot shows the shuttle shortly before it docked with the space station during STS-130.

Seen outside the space shuttle Discovery during STS-51-A, astronaut Dale Gardner enjoys a moment of levity as he completes a spacewalk to recover two broken communications satellites from orbit on November 14, 1984. Astronaut Joseph P. Allen IV is seen reflected in Gardner's helmet visor.

The space shuttle Columbia sits on a launch pad at Kennedy Space Center on March 5, 1981. Columbia launched on the first shuttle flight, STS-1, on April 12, 1981.  Following the first two launches, NASA calculated that they could safely shave 600 pounds (272 kilograms) from a shuttle's overall launch weight by not painting the large external fuel tank white and instead leaving its orange insulating foam exposed.

A softly glowing plume is all that remains visible of the space shuttle Endeavour after a nighttime launch from Florida's Kennedy Space Center on March 11, 2008.

Originally slated to bear the name Constitution, the first space shuttle to be built was dubbed Enterprise following a write-in campaign from Star Trek fans. Above, cast members from the science- fiction show attend the shuttle's rollout ceremony in Palmdale, California, on September 17, 1976. From left to right: Leonard Nimoy, who portrayed Vulcan science officer Spock; George Takei, who was helmsman Hikaru Sulu; DeForest Kelly, who was chief medical officer Leonard "Bones" McCoy; and James Doohan, who was chief engineer Montgomery "Scotty" Scott.

Spectators gather in the late-morning heat to watch the space shuttle Atlantis lift off for STS-135, the final shuttle mission, on July 8, 2011.

A cloud of debris spreads in the sky over coastal Florida as the space shuttle Challenger breaks apart on January 28, 1986. The orbiter disintegrated 74 seconds after launch during STS- 61-C, killing all seven crew members.

Earth seems ready for loading into the space shuttle Endeavour's open payload bay in a picture taken in December 1998 using an onboard IMAX camera. The large-format camera was sent into space during STS-88 in part to film the installation of the Unity Node, the first U.S. module for the International Space Station.

Technicians work on a test firing of a space shuttle main engine at the National Space Technology Laboratories in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, before the first flight of Columbia in 1981.

The crew of STS-102 works on the flight deck of the space shuttle Discovery to dock the shuttle with the International Space Station on March 10, 2001.

A technician inspects one of the nylon parachutes used to slow the descent of a space shuttle's solid rocket boosters before STS-1 in 1981. The 80-ton rockets detached shortly after launch and splashed down in the Atlantic Ocean, where they were recovered for reuse.

Riding piggyback on a Boeing 747, the test shuttle Enterprise glides over the New York City skyline in June 1983. Unable to fly like airplanes under their own power, shuttle orbiters had to be transported long distances atop of other aircraft.

A tornado forms a dark column near the launch pad, where the space shuttle Columbia waits to launch on STS-93, as seen on July 20, 1999. The shuttle lifted off July 23, carrying NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory into orbit.

Staff at the Mission Control Center of Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, monitor the landing of the space shuttle Columbia on April 14, 1981, after the first ever shuttle mission to reach orbit.

Curling like bizarre sigils in the sky, plume remnants from the June 8, 2007, launch of the space shuttle Atlantis glow with the light of the setting sun. The so-called night-shining clouds created by the launch are seen over the Vehicle Assembly Building, or VAB.

Seen from the space shuttle's payload bay, astronaut Mark Lee goes for an untethered spacewalk outside Discovery in September 1994

A huge crowd—many driving recreational vehicles— gathers to watch the space shuttle Columbia land on July 4, 1982, at Edwards Air Force Base in California at the end of STS-4.

A charred astronaut helmet lying in the grass near Norwood, Texas, was among the debris found after the space shuttle Columbia broke apart during reentry on February 1, 2003. The orbiter had completed STS-107 and was returning for landing, but damaged heat shielding caused the craft to disintegrate, killing all seven crew members.

In preparation for STS-135, the space shuttle Atlantis is lifted high inside the Vehicle Assembly Building on May 18, 2011, so it can be attached to the "stack"—the combination of the large external fuel tank and twin solid rocket boosters.

The gentle green glow of the aurora australis—or southern lights—curls over Earth in a picture taken by an astronaut aboard the space shuttle Discovery on August 6, 2005.

Like a delicate water ballet, astronauts practice for a shuttle mission on December 10, 1997, in the Sonny Carter Training Facility—a giant swimming pool filled with life-size replicas of space hardware—at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas.

Cocoa Beach surfers watch from the water as the space shuttle Atlantis lifts off from nearby Kennedy Space Center in Florida on September 8, 2000.