Afghan girls stay in
school despite attacks
Why Taliban attacks two Muslim-minority mosques in
Pakistan
‘Concerted efforts to counter terror
needed’
AGAIN: Pakistani student convicted of conspiring to aid
Taliban
NIA officers to leave for US tomorrow to quiz
Headley
Protest against blasphemy, Lahore terror
Pak militants freed in goodwill gesture
Army officer, jawan booked in J&K fake encounter
case
US weighs military option in Pakistan:
Report
Rodi Kratsa to attend 10th Doha
Forum
Pak troops kill 80 Taliban fighters in Orakzai
region
Religious leaders join to condemn Cahill’s comments on Muslim
community
Dissent is a dirty word in Israel
After Dalai Lama, Aga Khan gets Canadian
honour
India, Pak should focus on counter-terrorism issues:
US
Pune blast case solved, but no arrests yet:
Roy
Taliban capture Afghan district on Pakistan border:
official
Zardari ‘disenchanted’ with India’s post-Mumbai
handling
More training needed after civilian deaths in Afghanistan, U.S.
says
Ahmadiyyas blame Pakistan’s policies for Lahore
massacre
Hurriyat Conference, a terrorist organisation says former J&K
DGP
Iraq: An Islamic Marriage without Divorce?
‘Not right time for India and Pak to address Kashmir
issue’
Prince Salman invites Norwegian students for studies in
Kingdom
Yemen Al Qaeda video announces a new leader
Kingdom to head UN relief agency’s
committee
Turkey PM: Critics of Iran should get rid of
nukes
Swat youth still bear the scars of militancy
Two French journalists held in Peshawar
US studies Pakistan unilateral strike options:
report
Families defend Pakistanis detained over NYC
bomb
8 militants killed in US drone attack
‘No battle lines in quest for rule of law’
Two denied bail in ‘gay marriage’ case
Gunmen kill four policemen in Quetta
Prosecutor reinstated after found innocent in Nusrat Bhutto
case
Compiled by: Asit Kumar
Photo: Muslim girl Jasmin Bano who topped Tamil Nadu SSC Board
Exams
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Jasmine Bano tops Tamil Nadu SSC Board
Exams
May 29, 2010
Chennai: A Muslim girl Jasmin Bano, daughter of Shaikh Dawood has
created history and brought a pleasant surprise to all by securing 495 marks out
of 500 in the 10th state Board examination for which 8,56,966 students from 6493
schools appeared in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry.
Jasmine studied at the
Corporation Higher Secondary School in Thirunelveli.
She has secured centum in
both Maths and Science, 98 marks in Tamil, 99 marks in English and 98 marks in
Social Studies (History and Geography).
She wants to do Computer
engineering, write the IAS exams and become a Collector to serve the
people.
Another Muslim girl Ashraf
Nisa, daughter of M.S. Deen is one of the three students who have achieved First
Rank in the Corporation Schools by getting 487 marks out of 500 in the
exam.
She has appealed to Chief
Minister Tamil Nadu M. Karunanidhi to help her to pursue M.B.B.S. after
finishing 12th as she is interested in becoming a doctor and serve the
humanity.
Overall, girls have outshined
boys in the entire state. Four girls have shared second rank while ten third
rank.
Four girls with 493 marks are
sharing second rank in the state while ten girls with 492 marks are at No 3.
In total 9,67,420 candidates had appeared in the exam. The pass
percentage of boys is 82.5 while that of girls is 85.5.
T. Abdul Wahid Matriculation Higher Secondary School (MHSS), Ambur,
has secured 100% results.
All the Muslim management schools have also performed immensely well.
http://www.ummid.com/news/2010/May/27.05.2010/jasmine_bano_tops_tn_ssc.htm
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Afghan girls stay in school despite attacks
BY PAUL WISEMAN, MCCLATCHY-TRIBUNE
MAY 29, 2010
The ninth-graders at the Khadija tul Kubra girls school were sitting
outside enjoying a spring day, waiting for their afternoon history class to
start, when they smelled something strong and as sweet as
perfume.
Some collapsed. Some clutched their stomachs and vomited. Some
wandered around in a daze. A student ran to get Headmistress Huran Nesa. But as
Nesa stepped into the schoolyard, she lost consciousness.
"When I opened my eyes, I was in the hospital," she
says.
Law enforcement officials such as provincial police chief Brig. Gen.
Mohammad Razaq Yaqubi say the school was the target of a poison attack. He and
others suspect it was done by adherents of the Taliban, the former Muslim
clerical rulers of Afghanistan whose version of Islam forbids girls from getting
an education.
Last month, a poison spray was loosed on two other girls schools in
the northern Afghanistan city of Kunduz. Dozens of girls were sickened and
needed hospitalization, says Homayun Khamoush, director of Kunduz Regional
Hospital.
If the aim was to stop the girls from going to school, then it
failed.
"My father was scared," Marwa Mahmoodi, 13,
says.
Marwa said her dad wanted her to drop out for awhile after the
attack, but, "I was not scared. I told my father, 'If I lose the last drop of
blood in my body, I am going to finish school.' "
Marwa's determination appears to be a trend. Prior to the 2001
U.S.-led invasion that ousted the Taliban, virtually no girls were enrolled in
school. Today, a record 2.5 million girls are enrolled in grades first through
12th, according to UNICEF, the United Nations' children's fund. That's up from
839,000 in 2002.
"The demand for girls education has increased and is increasing,"
says Mohammad Sediq Patman, deputy minister for academic affairs at the
Education Ministry in Kabul. "We receive letters from very remote districts.
They used to consider girls schools a blasphemy. But today they ask for girls
education."
Some credit the increase in enrolment not just with the removal of
the Taliban but a change in attitudes among Afghans.
"When I travel to the villages, even the Kuchi people (Afghan nomads)
who never sent their girls to school, they ask me to build a school for their
girls," says Kunduz provincial Gov. Mohammad Omar.
After a boys school opened in eastern Nangarhar Province, deputy
education minister Patman says, villagers immediately started lobbying for a
girls school.
Patman and others attribute the growing tolerance for girls schools
to Afghans' exposure to the outside world (millions went into exile during three
decades of warfare) and their weariness of backward attitudes and
poverty.
Kunduz ninth-grader Marwa Mohmoodi, who intends to become "a very
good doctor," says her mother pushed her to get an education, telling her: "I
don't want you to have the life I have, where I am dependent on your
father."
"They bring their daughters and sisters to school," says Abdul Muqim
Halimi, Kunduz's former provincial education director. "They are the same
people, but they have changed. They are no longer yesterday's
people."
Afghanistan still has a way to go. Five million Afghan children don't
attend school, and most of them are girls. Eighty-seven per cent of women and 57
per cent of men are illiterate.
The advocacy group Human Rights Watch reported in December that the
number of Afghan girls in school dropped more than 50 per cent between sixth and
seventh grades. Part of the problem: a shortage of female teachers, it says.
Many Afghans don't want men to teach their daughters once the girls reach 13 or
so.
The education ministry is asking foreign donors for up to $200
million to build hundreds of female teaching academies in remote districts. The
idea: to educate 50,000 to 100,000 female teachers over four
years.
Another problem for girls schools is lack of supplies. At Kunduz's
Fatima Zahra girls school, one of the schools attacked in April, many classes
are outdoors and there are no chairs. In other classrooms, "the ceiling is about
to fall down," says Principal Marukh Omar Mukarrar, pointing to buckling
beams.
Violence against schoolgirls is on the rise. Attacks on schools of
all kinds rose to 610 last year from 348 in 2008, according to UNICEF. The 2009
figures were inflated by election-related violence: During last year's
presidential campaign schools were used as polling places and thus potential
targets of political violence.
The Taliban continues to target girls schools, which account for 40
per cent of school attacks, compared with 28 per cent for boys schools,
according to a report last year by the aid group CARE International. In 2007,
two schoolgirls were gunned down as they walked home from school in eastern
Afghanistan's Logar province. In 2008, assailants squirted acid on 15
schoolgirls in Kandahar, disfiguring some of them.
The attacks have taken a toll: As many as 80 per cent of the schools
in southern Afghanistan were closed at the beginning of last year, CARE
says.
In Kunduz province, which touches Tajikistan on Afghanistan's
northern border, the insurgents have been gaining strength. Last summer,
insurgents in Khan Abad banned girls education after fifth grade, throwing 900
girls out of school. They also blocked the government's attempts at economic
development -- electricity projects, bridges, a road linking Khan Abad to
neighbouring Ali Abad district.
The villagers of Khan Abad rebelled, sending their local militia to
drive out the Taliban.
"People were fed up with the local Taliban," district Gov. Nizamuddin
Nashir says. "The Taliban were interfering. They said: 'We don't want girls to
go to school.' They didn't want development."
Kunduz provincial education director Abdul Basir Kochi, who was
beaten by the Taliban regime after being caught teaching girls secretly, says
that despite threats, there is no stopping the trend toward Afghan girls going
to school and no returning to the days of the Taliban.
"We cannot compare to those times," he says. "We have an elected
president. We have a good ministry of education. We have European and Western
friends.... God willing, we will not go back.
http://www.windsorstar.com/Afghan+girls+stay+school+despite+attacks/3087380/story.html
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Why Taliban attacks two Muslim-minority mosques in
Pakistan
By Issam Ahmed
May 29, 2010
During Friday prayers, Taliban militants stormed two mosques in
Lahore, Pakistan, killing at least 80 worshippers of the Ahmadi Islamic sect.
Why are they targeting the Ahmadis?
Gunmen stormed two separate mosques in the eastern city of Lahore
during Friday prayers, killing at least 80 worshippers of the minority Ahmadi
sect.
The Pakistan Taliban have claimed responsibility for the attacks,
says a senior Pakistan intelligence officer, who asked to remain anonymous. If
true, it represents the first instance of a highly-coordinated attack against
the Ahmadi Islamic sect, which many human rights activists regard as the most
persecuted of Pakistan’s minorities.
The attackers opened fire with AK47s guns upon entering the two
mosques, one in the posh Model Town section of the city, the other in the Garhi
Shahu neighborhood near the heart of Lahore. According to eyewitness
Saleem-ul-Haq Khan, a lawyer, the prayer leader at the mosque appealed for calm
and asked worshippers to continue praying.
“We ran to find places to hide, it was so terrifying and the noise
was unbelievable,” Mr. Khan says. He sought refuge underneath a bed in a room
adjoining the building’s prayer hall, while others hid in the building’s
basement and locked the door.
Elite police rushed to both mosques, ending the siege in Model Town,
within an hour. The second siege at Garhi Shahu lasted four hours. Pakistani
police there were initially repelled by the attackers who detonated suicide
vests, according to Malik Iqbal, the Additional Inspector General of Punjab
Police. Some half a dozen attackers are thought to have been involved at both
sites, with the lone-surviving gunman now in police custody, according to the
Pakistan intelligence official. It is not clear whether the rest were all killed
or any escaped.
The Ahmadi sect has long been the focus of Punjabi militant groups
with sectarian leanings, including Laskhar-e-Jhangvi, Sipah-e-Sahaba, and
Jaish-e-Mohammad. In recent years, these militant groups have formed alliances
with the Taliban, a movement traditionally led by the ethnic Pashtuns, to form
the so-called ‘Punjabi Taliban’.
The Punjabi Taliban have claimed responsibility for a number of
high-profile attacks in the province in since 2008, including a suicide bombing
in March that killed 45 people in Lahore.
Ahmadis aren't Muslims, according to the law.
Members of the Ahmadi sect were officially declared non-Muslims in
1974 and are the generally the most persecuted of Pakistan’s minority
groups.
“Since the creation of Pakistan, Ahmadis have been the focus of
hatred for religious extremists,” says Iqbal Haider, co-chaiperson of the
independent Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP). Last year some 12
Ahmadis were killed for their faith, according the HRCP, though those killed are
generally the victim of targeted attacks. The Pakistani media is not legally
allowed to refer to places of Ahmadi worship as "mosques."
The sect was founded in India in 1889 by Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, who is
considered a prophet by Ahmadis, much to the annoyance of orthodox Muslims who
believe that Muhammad was the final prophet of Islam. Pakistan is home to an
estimated 4 million Ahmadis.
Eyewitnesses say that the attackers today shouted a famous
anti-Ahmadi slogan: "Long live the finality of the
prophet."
In a statement, the HRCP urged the government to do more to provide
“foolproof security” to Ahmadis, adding the group is “concerned over the
increasing sectarian dimension of militancy and considers it a big security
threat to the entire society.”
Last year, eight Christians were killed in a series of attacks in the
Punjabi town of Gojra, an event that shocked the country.
Progress on religious freedom
In its recently released annual report, the United State Commission
on International Religious Freedom praised the Pakistani government under
President Zardari for taking "positive steps regarding religious freedom,"
including the creation of a cabinet-level position for minority
rights.
But the report singled out a lack of progress in the case of the
Ahmadis. And it says that "discriminatory laws, promulgated in previous decades
and persistently enforced, have fostered an atmosphere of religious intolerance
and eroded the social and legal status of members of religious minorities,
including Shi’a Muslims, Ahmadis, Hindus, and Christians. Government officials
do not provide adequate protections from societal violence to members of these
religious minority communities, and perpetrators of attacks on minorities seldom
are brought to justice."
Dr Rifaat Hussain a defense analyst at the Quaid-i-Azam University in
Islamabad, says that the attacks may signal the Taliban’s eagerness to stage a
“comeback” after being pushed onto the back foot by a series of military
offensives in the Pakistan's tribal areas. “These were soft targets for them,”
he says.
http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Asia-South-Central/2010/0528/Why-Taliban-attacks-two-Muslim-minority-mosques-in-Pakistan
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‘Concerted efforts to counter terror needed’
May 28, 2010
RIO DE JANEIRO: Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah
highlighted the efforts of Saudi Arabia to foster peace and end clashes in the
world in the Alliance of Civilizations conference currently being held in Rio de
Janeiro.
Brazil’s President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva opened the two-day
conference of the Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC), an offshoot of the United
Nation, in Rio on Friday.
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon and many world leaders
are attending the conference.
The UNAOC mobilizes concerted action toward reaffirming a paradigm of
mutual respect among peoples of different cultural and religious backgrounds. It
aims to bridge the world’s divides and to build trust and understanding across
cultures and communities worldwide.
On behalf of King Abdullah, Foreign Minister Saud Al-Faisal headed
the Saudi delegation to the conference and read out the king’s
speech.
Full report at:
http://arabnews.com/saudiarabia/article58755.ece
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Pakistani student convicted of conspiring to aid
Taliban
May 29, 2010
HOUSTON: A Pakistani college
student living in Texas was convicted Thursday of conspiring to help the Taliban
and fight U.S. troops.
A federal jury convicted Adnan Babar Mirza, 33, of two conspiracy
counts and seven firearms violations after a three-day trial in
Houston.
He faces up to five years in prison on each conspiracy count and 10
years on the weapons counts when he is sentenced on Sept.
10.
Mirza, who remains in federal custody, was one of four men arrested
in 2006 for alleged participation in paramilitary training exercises at
campsites around the Houston area so they could engage in a holy
war.
Mirza's attorney, David Adler, told jurors Mirza went on camping
trips but denied they involved paramilitary training
exercises.
Full report at:
http://www.thenews.jang.com.pk/5-28-2010/65762.htm
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NIA officers to leave for US tomorrow to quiz
Headley
May 29, 2010
NEW DELHI: A four-member team of Indian investigators will leave for
the US tomorrow to interrogate David Headley, who is accused of helping out
Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorists carry out the 26/11 Mumbai attacks.
Three officers of National Investigation Agency (NIA) and a law
officer will travel to Chicago and are expected to interrogate Headley next
week, official sources said.
The team is being sent following a communication from the US Justice
Department that all concerned officials and the lawyer of Headley will be
available during the visit of the Indian team to facilitate their access to
Headley.
However, it is not clear yet as to for how many hours or days the
Indian team would get access to Headley.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/NIA-officers-to-leave-for-US-tomorrow-to-quiz-Headley/articleshow/5988126.cms
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Protest against blasphemy, Lahore terror
May 29, 2010
RAWALPINDI: Hundreds of activists of National Peace Committee for
Interfaith Harmony and National Peace Movement of Pakistan held a joint protest
against blasphemous caricatures.
They gathered outside the Press Club and raised slogans against
caricatures. They were also holding banners highlighting the honour and prestige
of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).
Addressing the rally, Ayaz Zaheer Hashmi demanded that the government
convene a special meeting of OIC at Islamabad on the matter to adopt a joint
strategy against such activities that hurt the feelings of Muslims.
“Muslims are united on this important issue. We want dialogue with
leaders of non-Muslim states. The mysterious silence of the west on the issue
has created hate for them among Muslims throughout the world which should be
removed. European and American leadership should also condemn the blasphemous
caricatures,” said Peer Haroon Gillani.
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2010\05\29\story_29-5-2010_pg11_4
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Pak militants freed in goodwill gesture
By Arjun Sharma
THE Jammu and Kashmir government has released 25 Pakistani militants
lodged in various prisons of the country on the advice of the Union home
ministry. The state government on Thursday revoked the detention orders of these
militants, mostly belonging to the Lashkar-e-Tayyeba (LeT) and the Hizbul
Mujahideen (HM), and will facilitate their return to
Pakistan.
The release of the militants comes ahead of Prime Minister Manmohan
Singh’s visit to Kashmir on June 7. Political observers believe the decision is
the Centre’s olive branch to separatist leaders in an attempt to bring them on
the dialogue table.
The PM is expected to renew his offer of talks with all shades of
opinion in Kashmir during his visit.
These militants were detained under Section 19 (1) of the J&K
Public Safety Act (a law that allows the government to keep people in jail
without trial for two years) over the years.
Full report at: Mail Today
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Army officer, jawan booked in J&K fake encounter
case
May 29, 2010
SRINAGAR: An Indian Army major and four other people, including a
territorial army soldier, were booked for the murder of three civilians in a
staged gun battle in Jammu and Kashmir April 30, police said on Saturday.
The bodies of the three civilians – Shahzad Ahmad Khan, Riyaz Ahmad
Lone and Muhammad Shafi Lone – were on Friday exhumed from a graveyard in
Kalaroos village of Kupwara district and identified by their relatives in the
presence of a magistrate.
Bashir Ahmad, a former special police officer, and his accomplice
Fayaz Ahmad were arrested for the disappearance of the three men belonging to
Nadihal village in Rafiabad of north Kashmir.
Abbas Hussain Shah, a jawan of the territorial army, who is the
kingpin of the conspiracy, was also arrested on Saturday, police said.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Army-officer-jawan-booked-in-JK-fake-encounter-case/articleshow/5988402.cms
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US weighs military option in Pakistan: Report
May 29, 2010
WASHINGTON: The US military is developing plans for a unilateral
attack on the Pakistani Taliban in the event of a successful terrorist strike in
the United States that can be traced to them, The Washington Post reports.
Planning for a retaliatory attack was spurred by ties between alleged
Times Square bomber Faisal Shahzad and elements of the Pakistani Taliban, the
Post said in an article posted on its website Friday night, quoting unidentified
senior military officials.
The military would focus on air and missile strikes but also could
use small teams of US Special Operations troops currently along the border with
Afghanistan, the Post said.
Airstrikes could damage the militants' ability to launch new attacks
but also might damage US-Pakistani relations.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/us/US-weighs-military-option-in-Pakistan-Report/articleshow/5987838.cms
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Rodi Kratsa to attend 10th Doha Forum
May 29, 2010
BRUSSELS: The vice president of the European Parliament, Rodi Krasta,
will attend the international conference "Doha Forum on Democracy, Development
and Free Trade" in Doha on Monday.
The Doha Forum is an annual international conference that takes place
under the auspices of the Qatar Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani since
2003. Key themes of this year's conference are: investments in post-economic
crisis era, international trade, migration, development, education, research and
international safety.
Ali Abdusalam Al-Treiki, president of the UN General Assembly,
together with the prime ministers of Canada and Hungary will also participate.
Included in the program are prominent political figures, representatives of the
business and education community of Qatar, of the United States, of Asian and
Latin-American countries as well as of European countries such as the United
Kingdom, Germany, France.
Full report at:
http://arabnews.com/middleeast/article58772.ece
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Pak troops kill 80 Taliban fighters in Orakzai
region
May 29, 2010
PESHAWAR: Eighty Taliban fighters were killed and 60 more injured
when helicopter gunships pounded militant hideouts in volatile Orakzai tribal
region in northwest Pakistan, security officials said.
The gunship helicopters targeted militant positions at Dabori,
Shaikhan, Baran, Sarmabosar, Khatango Ghar, Mir Ghar Sarohela and Anjani areas
of Orakzai Agency, which borders Afghanistan.
A dozen explosive-laden vehicles and 11 bunkers were destroyed in the
air strikes, the officials said, adding 12 mules used by militants for
transporting supplies were also killed in the bombardment.
Troops also advanced to Ghoz Ghwar area where they repulsed an
offensive by militants and seized a cache of arms and ammunition.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/World/Pakistan/Pak-troops-kill-80-Taliban-fighters-in-Orakzai-region/articleshow/5989118.cms
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Religious leaders join to condemn Cahill's comments on Muslim
community
May 28, 2010
By Martin Finucane and Michael Levenson
Catholic, Protestant, Jewish and Muslim leaders, adorned in the
vestments of their respective faiths, stood shoulder to shoulder on the steps of
a Roxbury mosque today and strongly condemned Treasurer Timothy P. Cahill’s
remarks blasting Governor Deval Patrick’s attendance last weekend at a forum at
the mosque.
The gathering included leaders from the Archdiocese of Boston, the
Greater Boston Interfaith Organization, the Massachusetts Council of Churches,
some of Boston’s most prominent black churches, and several Jewish temples.
One by one, they strode to a microphone in front of an audience of
several hundred members of the mosque and said they were incensed that Cahill
had equated Patrick’s meeting with the Muslim community and support for some of
their requests to "playing politics with terrorism."
Full report at:
http://www.boston.com/news/local/breaking_news/2010/05/cahills_comment.html
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Dissent is a dirty word in Israel
Seema Sirohi
May 29, 2010
JERUSALEM: When an 81-year-old scholar is deemed threatening and the
majority thinks human rights organisations enjoy too much freedom of expression
, it is time to grab your worry beads. When the leader of the opposition has a
warrant against her in Britain for ‘war crimes’ , it is time to wonder what is
happening inside the storied and spunky country called Israel. When former
supporters begin to whisper the word ‘apartheid’ to describe Israeli policies in
the occupied territories, it is time to hold your head.
Recently, Noam Chomsky, the world renowned American academic, was
barred from entering Israel to deliver a lecture at a Palestinian university in
the occupied West Bank. After a two-hour grilling that was Kafkaesque and
demeaning, he was told, “Israel does not like what you say.” Chomsky recalled he
had been turned away once before “in another age, another time” by the Soviets
in 1968 when he tried to visit Alexander Dubcek in Czechoslovakia, father of the
crushed Prague Spring.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/World/Middle-East/Dissent-is-a-dirty-word-in-Israel-/articleshow/5988015.cms
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After Dalai Lama, Aga Khan gets Canadian honour
May 29, 2010
Toronto: Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper Friday bestowed
honorary citizenship on the Aga Khan and laid the foundation stone of what would
be one of the largest Muslim art and culture centres in North
America.
The Aga Khan is the Imam of over 15 million Shia Ismaili Muslims
spread around the world.
"Conferring honorary citizenship upon His Highness the Aga Khan is a
recognition of His Highness's leadership as a champion of international
development, pluralism and tolerance around the world and of his remarkable
leadership as Imam of the worldwide Ismaili community,'' the Canadian Prime
Minister said.
The Canadian parliament had passed a resolution last year to confer
the honour on the Aga Khan who becomes the second religious figure after the
Dalai Lama to get the country's honorary citizenship.
Full report at:
http://sify.com/news/after-dalai-lama-aga-khan-gets-canadian-honour-news-international-kf3iEchdjbg.html
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India, Pak should focus on counter-terrorism issues:
US
May 29, 2010
WASHINGTON: The US has said that this is not the appropriate moment
for India and Pakistan to hold discussions on the Kashmir issue as they need to
go for confidence building measures first.
"I think that's not going to be an issue that's going to be addressed
right away," Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia Robert
Blake said in response to a question at a special news conference on India
yesterday.
Blake emphasised that it was for India and Pakistan to take a call on
it, but felt that it would be better for the two countries go for confidence
building measures first.
"I think, again, that what's most important is first to get these
talks going again and to focus on -- once they've gotten beyond the immediate
counter-terrorism issues, to focus on some of the important opportunities like
trade that exist between these two countries," Blake said.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/World/US/India-Pak-should-focus-on-counter-terrorism-issues-US/articleshow/5987668.cms
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Pune blast case solved, but no arrests yet: Roy
May 29, 2010
PUNE: The state anti-terrorism squad (ATS) has solved the German
Bakery bomb blast case but it has not yet made any arrests, outgoing state
director general of police A N Roy said here on Friday.
On the arrest of suspect Abdul Samad Bhatkal, Roy said the ATS has
made a lot of progress in the investigation in the 2009 Arms Act case, in which
he has been shown as arrested.
“Since the investigation in Samad’s case is in progress, I cannot
divulge any details; but the state government will make a statement at an
appropriate time,” he said.
The February 13 blast killed 17 people and injured
65.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/pune/Pune-blast-case-solved-but-no-arrests-yet-Roy-/articleshow/5987521.cms
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Taliban capture Afghan district on Pakistan border:
official
29 May, 2010
KUNAR: Taliban militants captured the administrative headquarters of
a remote Afghan district Saturday, officials said, while a suicide bomber blew
himself up near a NATO base in Kabul.
Insurgents had surrounded Bargi Matal district in Nuristan province,
which borders Pakistan, on Friday and engaged police in a fierce gun battle,
Nuristan governor Jamaludin Badr told AFP.
The fate of police officers guarding the administrative compound --
which houses government, police and judicial offices -- was
unclear.
“Since the district headquarters is inside the village in a crowded
location we had to make a tactical retreat to avoid casualties to civilians”
living in nearby houses, he said.
Afghan authorities often use
the term “tactical retreat” when Taliban have overrun police forces and captured
districts.
Full report at:
http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/news/world/taliban-captures-afghans-bargi-matal-district-jd-01
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Zardari 'disenchanted' with India's post-Mumbai
handling
May 29, 2010
Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari has said that he is
"disenchanted" with the way India handled the bilateral relations in the
aftermath of the Mumbai terror attacks as he expected New Delhi to "behave much
more maturely".
"I'm a little disenchanted with India. I expected the largest
democracy in the world to behave much more maturely. We are facing a threat on
the eastern and western borders," Zardari said in an interview with Newsweek
magazine.
"This new-age terror has created a phenomenon where a few people can
take entire states to war. The fact that these people happen to belong to
Pakistan or India or Bangladesh is immaterial. They are non-state actors, and
states should behave like states," he said.
Full report at:
http://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/pakistan/Zardari-disenchanted-with-India-s-post-Mumbai-handling/Article1-550366.aspx
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More training needed after civilian deaths in Afghanistan, U.S.
says
May 29, 2010
Kabul, Afghanistan (CNN) -- The U.S. military said it has completed
its investigation into the February 21 incident in which dozens of Afghan
civilians were killed and concluded that more training is
needed.
The investigation "cites several shortcomings in training,
communication and decision-making, and offered numerous recommendations," a U.S.
military release said.
The deaths occurred during a NATO airstrike on a convoy in the
Uruzgan province in southern Afghanistan. Up to 23 Afghan civilians were killed,
and 12 others were wounded, the military said.
At the time of the incident, Gen. Stanley McChrystal, the commander
of U.S. forces in Afghanistan, apologized and met with President Hamid
Karzai.
McChrystal said the investigation revealed that more training needs
to be done with several different combat units working in
Afghanistan.
Full report at:
http://edition.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/asiapcf/05/29/us.afghan.civilian.deaths/index.html?hpt=T2
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Ahmadiyyas blame Pakistan's policies for Lahore
massacre
May 29, 2010
Canada on Friday joined its Ahmadiyya Muslim community in condemning
the massacre by Pakistani Taliban of 70 members of the minority sect in two
Lahore mosques. There are about 50,000 Ahmadiyyas in
Canada.
At a condolence meeting in Toronto, Lal Khan Malik, president of the
Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat in Canada, said, "Once again, seeds of hatred sown by
fanatical clergy and supported by the Pakistani government have resulted in
death of innocents Ahmadiyyas.
"Each year, Ahmadiyya Muslims are being martyred in Pakistan for no
reason other than their faith."
The condolence meeting, attended by Canadian Immigration Minister
Jason Kenney on behalf of Prime Minister Stephen Harper, said the massacre
"represents a serious escalation in the continuing official persecution of the
Ahmadiyya Muslim community in Pakistan, a persecution that has been noted and
documented by numerous human rights agencies and governments around the
world."
Full report at:
http://www.hindustantimes.com/Ahmadiyyas-blame-Pak-policies-for-massacre/Article1-550126.aspx
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Hurriyat Conference, a terrorist organisation says former J&K
DGP
Amir Karim Tantray
May 29, 2010
The Hurriyat Conference is actually a terrorist organisation and
initiating any sort of dialogue process with them will hurt the national
interest of India, said Jammu and Kashmir Former Director General of Police MM
Khajuria.
Addressing a press conference here Friday, Khajuria said,
"Separatists are actually the creation of Pakistan and are supporting terrorism
in Jammu and Kashmir. During his visit to the state, Prime Minister Manmohan
Singh shouldn't talk to these anti-national elements."
"Actually these separatist organisations are creation of Pakistan and
wants to sabotage the atmosphere in India," Khajuria
added.
He said that India is heading towards dialogue process with Pakistan
but Pakistan on the other hand has disowned all moves made by former President
and military dictator Pervez Musharraf. "Pakistan foreign minister Shah Mehmood
Qureshi on May 5 told national Assembly that Musharraf's policies had
extensively harmed the Kashmir cause and added that they are trying to overcome
the loss inflicted over Kashmir," said Khajuria.
Full report at:
http://www.hindustantimes.com/Hurriyat-Conference-a-terrorist-organisation-says-former-J-amp-K-DGP/Article1-549917.aspx
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Iraq: An Islamic Marriage without Divorce?
By Tariq Alhomayed
May 29, 2010
Sayyed Ammar al-Hakim, leader of the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq,
said that the alliance between the State of Law coalition and the National Iraqi
Alliance is like a "permanent Muslim marriage." However Muslims can also
divorce, which is the most abhorred halal [religiously permissible] act to God,
and Muslims are also permitted to marry more than one wife, therefore the
question is what kind of marriage are we seeing in Iraq? And is what Sayyed
Ammar al-Hakim said realistic?
Firstly, what the leader of the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq said
about a permanent relationship between the two Shiite allies does not seem
realistic. This is based upon what Sayyed Ammar al-Hakim himself said during an
interview that was published in our newspaper yesterday when answering a
question on the Iranian pressure on the two major Shiite powers in Iraq to form
an alliance. He said "it is no secret that the Islamic Republic, in its view of
the scene and its complications, was perhaps in favor of these powers joining or
converging, and this is an issue that cannot be denied, that there is a desire
of this kind." Full report at:
http://aawsat.com/english/news.asp?section=2&id=21098
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'Not right time for India and Pak to address Kashmir
issue'
May 29 2010
Washington : The US has said that this is not the appropriate moment
for India and Pakistan to hold discussions on the Kashmir issue as they need to
go for confidence building measures first.
"I think that's not going to be an issue that's going to be addressed
right away," Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia Robert
Blake said in response to a question at a special news conference on India
yesterday.
Blake emphasised that it was for India and Pakistan to take a call on
it, but felt that it would be better for the two countries go for confidence
building measures first.
"I think, again, that what's most important is first to get these
talks going again and to focus on -- once they've gotten beyond the immediate
counter-terrorism issues, to focus on some of the important opportunities like
trade that exist between these two countries," Blake said.
Full report at:
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/not-right-time-for-india-and-pak-to-address-kashmir-issue/626381/
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Prince Salman invites Norwegian students for studies in
Kingdom
May 28, 2010
OSLO: King of Norway Harald V received Riyadh Gov. Prince Salman at
the royal palace in Oslo on Friday. The king wished the prince a good stay. In
return, Prince Salman conveyed the greetings of Custodian of the Two Holy
Mosques King Abdullah, the Saudi Press Agency reported.
Prince Salman also met with Norwegian Prime Minister Jens
Stoltenberg, who commended the efforts of Saudi Arabia to achieve world peace,
particularly with its initiative of interfaith dialogue.
The prince emphasized the existing cordial relations between the two
countries. The prince also called for increased mutual visits by officials and
businessmen of both countries.
He added that Norwegian students were welcome to study at the
Kingdom's universities.
Full report at:
http://arabnews.com/saudiarabia/article58719.ece
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Yemen Al Qaeda video announces a new leader
May 28, 2010
DUBAI: A fugitive Saudi Arabian man, who was once detained at the US
military prison at Guantanamo, was named as a senior member of Al Qaeda's Yemen
wing, according to a tape by the group shown on al Arabiya television on
Friday.
The tape also confirmed the deaths of three leaders killed in
December and January during Yemeni air raids, the pan Arab broadcaster
said.
Among those killed were Abdullah al Muhdar, the leader of Al-Qaeda in
Yemen's Shabwa province, Mohammed Amir al Awlaki, and Mohammed Saleh al
Kazimi.
Othman Ahmed Al-Ghamdi, the 31-year-old man named as a leading Al
Qaeda operative on Friday, had been added to a list of 85 most wanted people by
Saudi Arabia 15 months ago, Al-Arabiya said.
He spent four years in Guantanamo prison after he was captured in
Afghanistan. He was released in 2006.
Full report at:
http://arabnews.com/middleeast/article58601.ece
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Kingdom to head UN relief agency's committee
May 29, 2010
NEW YORK: Saudi Arabia will head the consultative committee of the
United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) from July
to be the first Arab country to occupy that position, a statement issued by
UNRWA's Commissioner-General Filippo Grandi said.
The position will be for a period of one year, the Saudi Press Agency
reported on Friday.
UNRWA provides relief to more than 4.7 million Palestine refugees in
58 camps in the Occupied Territories.
http://arabnews.com/saudiarabia/article58754.ece
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Turkey PM: Critics of Iran should get rid of
nukes
By MARCO SIBAJA
May 29, 2010
RIO DE JANEIRO: Nations criticizing an Iranian nuclear fuel-swap deal
brokered by Brazil and Turkey should eliminate their own nuclear weapon
stockpiles, Turkey's leader said Friday.
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan made the comments just hours
after claiming that the West was “envious” of Brazil and Turkey's achievement in
getting Iran to agree to the deal.
US officials have criticized the agreement, in part because it does
not stop Iran from continuing to enrich uranium. The US also says the deal is a
ploy by Iran to delay new international sanctions.
“Those who speak to this issue should eliminate nuclear weapons from
their own country and they should bear the good news to all mankind by doing
that,” Erdogan said while attending a UN conference in Rio de
Janeiro.
Full report at:
http://arabnews.com/middleeast/article58759.ece
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Swat youth still bear the scars of militancy
Delawar Jan
May 29, 2010
PESHAWAR: Shahab Khan loved his father to bits. He chose to become a
soccer player because his father was a footballer.
The boy would tell you that he had no liking for cricket, something
unusual to hear in this cricket-maniac nation. He remembers that when he was in
grade-III, he did demand a cricket bat but his father bought him a football. And
since then he has been playing soccer.
But what happened to Shahab’s father makes him cry. Sarfaraz Khan, a
sub-inspector in Swat police, was shot dead in front of Shahab, his mother and
other relatives in Dherai area in Kabal.
The Taliban militants stopped the family car in Dherai on its way to
Qambar, three kilometres south of Mingora where they lived. “Taliban made all of
us disembark. My father warned them not to harm children. They were talking to
my father and we were parking the vehicle by the roadside when I heard firing.
When I looked back, he was lying on ground in blood,” recalled a sobbing Shahab.
Full report at:
http://thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=241924
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Two French journalists held in Peshawar
May 29, 2010
PESHAWAR: Security agencies
on Friday arrested two foreign journalists from Peshawar over charges of making
videos of sensitive locations.
According to sources, they were detained in the limit of Police
Station East when they were recording videos of sensitive buildings.
Both journalists are French, says sources.
They were shifted to unknown location for
investigation.
http://www.thenews.jang.com.pk/5-28-2010/65764.htm
-------
US studies Pakistan unilateral strike options:
report
29 May, 2010
WASHINGTON: US military leaders are reviewing options for a
unilateral strike in Pakistan if there is a successful attack on American soil
tied to the country's tribal areas, The Washington Post reported in its Saturday
edition.
The newspaper said senior US military officials stressed a possible
strike would only be considered under extreme circumstances such as a
catastrophic attack that convinced President Barack Obama that the campaign
using CIA drone strikes is not working.
The officials said airstrikes would be the most effective option in
reducing the threat posed by al-Qaeda and other groups, but the United States
must be careful not to damage its military relationship with Pakistan to a point
where it cannot be repaired.
Full report at:
http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/news/world/04-us-options-strike-pak-qs-01
-------
Families defend Pakistanis detained over NYC
bomb
29 May, 2010
ISLAMABAD: When Pakistani intelligence agents probing the botched
Times Square car bombing dragged Humbal Akhtar from his house, his wife grabbed
his arm in desperation. “What has he done wrong?” she screamed before they took
him away.
Rahila Akhtar didn’t get an answer, and still hasn’t nearly two weeks
later. She has heard nothing of his fate, or whether he’s even accused of a
crime.
“He is a simple, honest and loving person,” she said between tears
Friday in a telephone interview with The Associated Press. “I don’t know where
to go to find him and I have no idea where is he being held. But now I am
driving alone on roads and looking for my husband.”
Under American pressure, Pakistan has rounded up at least 11 people
since the attempted attack May 1 in New York City. An intelligence official has
alleged two of them played a role in plot, but gave few details. No one has been
charged.
Full report at:
http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/news/pakistan/21-families-defend-pakistanis-detained-over-nyc-bomb-sk-03
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8 militants killed in US drone attack
29 May, 2010
WANA, May 28: A US drone aircraft fired two missiles at a compound in
Nezai Naray area of South Waziristan on Friday, killing eight suspected
militants and injuring four others.
The house belonged to a tribesman named Omer Khitab who is believed
to be a close associate of Taliban ‘commander’ Maulvi Nazir.
According to official sources, the unmanned aircraft attacked the
house when a meeting of militant leaders was in progress.
The area is adjacent to the Afghan border.
http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/the-newspaper/front-page/8-militants-killed-in-us-drone-attack-950
-------
‘No battle lines in quest for rule of law’
29 May, 2010
ISLAMABAD, May 28: Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani has rejected a
perception about a confrontation between the executive and judiciary.
He was answering a question about remarks reportedly made by Chief
Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry in his address to Gujranwala District Bar.
Mr Gilani said that in his opinion there should be no ‘battle lines’
when the struggle was for rule of law.
He was talking to journalists at a ceremony held here on Friday for
students who will take part in a fuel-efficiency competition in Malaysia.
Meanwhile, Supreme Court Registrar Dr Faqir Hussain issued the
following clarification on Friday:
“We wish to clarify a news caption titled, ‘Next battle for rule of
law has just begun: CJ’. The news item gives the impression as if the honourable
chief justice referred to some conflict between the judiciary and other
institutions, as regards maintenance of rule of law in the country.
Full report at:
http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/the-newspaper/national/no-battle-lines-in-quest-for-rule-of-law-950
-------
Two denied bail in ‘gay marriage’ case
29 May, 2010
PESHAWAR, May 28: A local court on Friday dismissed bail petitions of
two persons including a transvestite charged with attempting same sex marriage.
The court of judicial magistrate, Syed Shaukatullah Shah, observed
that the two accused persons Malik Iqbal and a transvestite, Kashif known by the
name of Rani, did not deserve to be released on bail.
Earlier the same court had granted bail to 43 other persons,
including 11 transvestites, charged with participating in a function allegedly
organised for the marriage.
The accused persons have denied the charge and stated that a birthday
party of one of the transvestites was in progress when the police conducted the
controversial raid.
The accused persons were arrested by the personnel of Faqirabad
police station on May 24 from a plaza.
Full report at:
http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/the-newspaper/national/two-denied-bail-in-gay-marriage-case-950
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Gunmen kill four policemen in Quetta
May 29, 2010
QUETTA: Unidentified men killed four policemen in Satellite Town area
of Quetta on Friday.
A banned outfit, Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, has claimed responsibility for
the attack.
Official sources said a police vehicle carrying the officials was on
routine patrol in the Satellite Town police precincts when three armed men
ambushed the vehicle on Langov Street and opened indiscriminate fire.
As a result of the firing, a constable died on the spot and three
officials, including Satellite Town SHO Abdul Khaliq were severely injured. They
succumbed to their injuries on their way to Sandman Hospital.
The other deceased were Constable Raz Muhammad, Muhammad Akbar and
driver Nazir Ahmed.
Full report at:
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2010\05\29\story_29-5-2010_pg7_2
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Prosecutor reinstated after found innocent in Nusrat Bhutto
case
May 29, 2010
ISLAMABAD: National Accountability Bureau Deputy Prosecutor General
Raja Aamir Abbas on Friday informed the Supreme Court that a prosecutor Arif Ali
Chohan has been reinstated to his previous position as he was not found
responsible for making any statement in an accountability court for summoning of
Nusrat Bhutto in the Cotecna reference.
A three-member Supreme Court bench comprising Chief Justice Iftikhar
Muhammad Chaudhry, Justice Ghulam Rabbani and Justice Khalilur Rehman Ramday was
hearing a suo motu case against the summoning of Nusrat Bhutto in the Cotecna
case by a Rawalpindi accountability court.
Earlier, the Supreme Court had ordered NAB to recommend disciplinary
action against one of its senior prosecutors in Rawalpindi, Arif Ali Chohan, for
his irresponsible attitude in the case of the former PPP
chairwoman.
Full report at:
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2010\05\29\story_29-5-2010_pg7_31
11:28 PM
Sultan Shahin
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