Final Exits of 2013

Pakistani Religious Scholar Dies
http://post-humous.blogspot.com/2013/01/pakistani-religious-scholar-dies.html

'Dear Abby' Advice Columnist Dies at 94
http://post-humous.blogspot.com/2013/01/dear-abby-advice-columnist-dies-at-94.html

Legendary White House Reporter Helen Thomas Dead at 92
http://post-humous.blogspot.com/2013/07/legendary-white-house-reporter-helen.html

World's Oldest Man Dies
http://post-humous.blogspot.com/2013/09/worlds-oldest-man-dies.html

Vietnam Mourns General
http://post-humous.blogspot.com/2013/10/vietnam-mourns-general.html

Pulitzer Prize-Winning Novelist Oscar Hijuelos Dies at 62
http://post-humous.blogspot.com/2013/10/pulitzer-prize-winning-novelist-oscar.html

Music: Final Exits of 2013
http://post-humous.blogspot.com/2014/01/music-final-exits-of-2013.html

Politics: Final Exits of 2013
http://post-humous.blogspot.com/2014/01/politics-final-exits-of-2013.html

Pakistani Religious Scholar Dies

Prominent Pakistani religious scholar Qazi Hussain Ahmed has died at the age of 74.

He was the chief of Jamaat-e-Islami, Pakistan's leading religious group, for 22 years before stepping down in 2009.

In November, Ahmed escaped unhurt from an assassination attempt when a suicide bomber detonated explosives near him.

He was a strong critic of the U.S.-NATO participation in the civil war in neighboring Afghanistan.

Ahmed died Sunday morning in Islamabad. He had suffered from heart disease for years.

Mother of Late Pakistani PM Bhutto Dies

Nusrat Bhutto (in middle) is seen standing as Zulfiqar Bhutto meets with a little girl, 1975. Photo by Anne1965.

Begum Nusrat Bhutto, the wife of one Pakistani prime minister and the mother of another, has died at the age of 82 after a long illness.

Nusrat Bhutto's life mirrored much of the turmoil in Pakistan's politics. Her husband, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, was the founder of the Pakistan People's Party and served as Pakistani prime minister from 1973 until 1977.

The first lady took over as head of the party after Mr. Bhutto was executed in 1979, and also served in parliament.

Later, Nusrat Bhutto's daughter, Benazir, took over as head of the party and served two separate terms as Pakistan's prime minister.

Benazir Bhutto was assassinated in 2007 addressing a campaign rally. Her husband, Asif Ali Zardari, is now Pakistan's president.

Nusrat Bhutto spent her final years in Dubai, where she died Sunday. Her body is being returned to Pakistan to be buried in a family graveyard.

Pakistan Rejects US Claim About Slain Journalist

8 July 2011
VOA News

The top-ranking U.S. military officer says elements within the Pakistani government apparently "sanctioned" the killing of a journalist in late May, but he could not tie the death to the country's intelligence service.

Admiral Mike Mullen, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, says he has not seen anything to counter reports that Islamabad approved the beating death of Pakistani reporter Saleem Shahzad.

An unidentified Pakistani government spokesman told the state-run Associated Press of Pakistan that Mullen's statements are "extremely irresponsible."  He said Pakistan has established an independent panel to investigate Shahzad's death.  

Pakistan's powerful Inter-Services Intelligence agency has dismissed allegations of its involvement as "baseless."

Shahzad, who worked for the Hong Kong-based Asia Times Online, disappeared from  Islamabad on May 29.  His body was found in a canal two days later bearing signs of torture.

Before his death, Shahzad had been investigating alleged ties between Pakistan's military and Islamist groups. He reported that al-Qaida militants had attacked a Pakistani naval base after talks failed to secure the release of two naval officials arrested on suspicion of links to the global terror network.

Mullen acknowledged U.S. relations with Pakistan are "under extraordinary pressure."

He said Islamabad's already fragile bond with Washington became severely strained when U.S. special operations forces killed al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden in a raid on his compound deep into Pakistan in May.