| Saudi Justice: Paralyze man as punishment for having inflicted paralysis | ||
 Women without headscarves targeted in Muslim ChechnyaMan gets lover out of brothel but not out of law's clutches Saudi Arabia urged not to paralyze a man as retribution punishment Badal warns of reaction if Sikhs attacked Kashmir Sikhs to be protected J&K government denies harassment of Sikhs How Kalam can help end Kashmir's cycle of violence First crucial arrest in prof attack case 15 soldiers, 3 al-Qaida militants killed in S. Yemen clashes Nato strikes kill three Afghan policemen, three civilians NATO soldiers, over a dozen Afghans killed in attacks Afghan police say Taliban kill 30 security guards Eight militants, soldier killed in Orakzai clashes Blast kills six anti-Taliban fighters in Mohmand Flood for thought: Is Rs 5 per head a fair price for peace with Pak 1001 Inventions Exhibition starts global tour from Turkey NY mosque imam: Extremism is global threat Where Are Pakistan’s Millionaire Politicians? Ansari orders inquiry into ‘mishandling' of report In the midst of Kashmir crisis, some islands of peace Karachi erupts over leader's killing, 13 dead Israel tells UN it will stop Gaza aid flotilla Floods expose civilian-military divide in Pakistan UK warns Libya over Lockerbie bomber anniversary Fresh wave of violence kills 16 in Karachi Afghan insurgent leader captured; US troop killed Iran ready for N-talks without terms Obama's political strategy in Iraq and Afghanistan Pakistan to clamp down on militant-linked charities Cyprus won't allow Gaza aid ship; women activists intend to set sail Karachi be handed over to army: ANP Lack of convictions hurts fight against terrorists First Saudi-Chinese Youth Forum set for next month India welcomes Pakistan's acceptance of aid Nine Bahraini sailors jailed in Qatar Compiled by New Age Islam News Bureau Photo: Chechen women complain of harassment for not wearing headscarf | ||
Saudi Justice: Paralyze man as punishment for having inflicted paralysis
August 21, 2010
Amnesty International on Friday urged Saudi Arabian authorities not to paralyze a man as punishment for his having paralyzed someone else, allegedly during a fight.
The Saudi newspaper Okaz reported that the judge in the case had sent letters to several hospitals in Saudi Arabia asking if they could sever a man's spinal cord, as the man he allegedly stabbed had requested and, under sharia law, was his right to seek.
But such a punishment would amount "to nothing less than torture," said Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui, acting director of the organization's Middle East and North Africa Programme. "While those guilty of a crime should be held accountable, intentionally paralyzing a man in this way would constitute torture, and be a breach of its international human rights obligations."
The paralyzed man, 22-year-old Abdul-Aziz al-Mitairy, told Okaz that the accused stabbed him in the back with a large knife during a fight more than two years ago. "The accused confessed to the crime in front of police, resulting in a general sentence of seven months," he told the newspaper.
During that time, the court in the northwest province of Tabuk debated how to carry out the surgery the paralyzed man was seeking as punishment for his alleged attacker, news reports said.
Riyadh's King Faisal Specialist Hospital, one of the kingdom's leading hospitals, responded that, from a medical perspective, it would not be possible for them to cause the injury by performing such surgery, Okaz reported.
But apparently at least one hospital said it would be possible. "According to one report, one hospital said it would be possible to medically administer the injury at the same place on the spinal cord as the damage the man is alleged to have caused his victim using a cleaver, during a fight more than two years ago, causing similar paralysis," Amnesty said in a news release.
It is up to the court to decide whether to impose the paralysis punishment or sentence the man to imprisonment, financial compensation, or flogging, it said.
The alleged attacker, who has not been identified publicly, "was convicted and sentenced following a trial where he was said to have had no legal assistance," Amnesty added.
International human rights law would consider such a sentence to be a violation of the prohibition of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment and to break the U.N. Convention Against Torture to which Saudi Arabia is a party, Amnesty said. It would also violate the principles of medical ethics adopted by the U.N. General Assembly, it said.
Other sentences of retribution in the kingdom have included eye-gouging, tooth extraction, and death in cases involving murder, it said.
International organizations are not the only ones to protest. Outrage has been expressed by bloggers in Saudi Arabia over the sentence, which underscores the societal struggle in Saudi Arabia between hardliners, who hew to tribal justice, and progressives, who consider such verdicts to be draconian and bad for the country's international image.
The fact that newspapers and bloggers are questioning decisions by courts -- institutions traditionally considered above reproach -- is a relatively recent phenomenon in Saudi Arabia, where other such sentences have captured international attention.
"This case in Saudi Arabia is not the only case of its kind," said Akbar Ahmed, a former commissioner of justice in Pakistan who is chairman of the department of Islamic Studies at American University in Washington. "We see many cases like this -- stoning or beheading or cutting off hands or feet in Iran, Afghanistan and parts of Pakistan, which are very tribal."
Under Islamic law, compassion is an important virtue for any judge, Ahmed said. "However harsh the punishment would be in tribal law, an eye for an eye, the compassion element that must be exercised by the judge overrides it, and I'm afraid we don't see much of that in cases like this where, very often, the victim becomes twice punished," he added.
http://edition.cnn.com/2010/CRIME/08/20/saudi.arabia.paralysis/#fbid=fL92lW-HqK2&wom=false
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Women without headscarves targeted in Muslim Chechnya
August 21, 2010
GROZNY, Russia, Aug 20 (Reuters) - Many women in Russia's volatile Chechnya region said on Friday they had been harassed and some physically harmed by bands of men for not wearing headscarves during the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan.
Against the backdrop of a spreading Islamist insurgency, many fear that growing interest in radical Islam could fuel separatism in the volatile North Caucasus, where the Kremlin watches uneasily as sharia law eclipses Russian.
Residents and witnesses told Reuters that bearded men in traditional Islamic dress have been roaming the streets both on foot and in cars since Ramadan started on Aug. 11, demanding bare-headed women wear a headscarf.
"Two men came up to me, one furiously fingering a prayer bead, and said it wasn't pretty to have a bare head during Ramadan," 38-year old Markha Atabayeva told Reuters in the Chechen capital Grozny. "They instilled such fear in me".
Atabayeva was one of at least a dozen women who told of harassment or attacks. One of the women's assailants told Reuters "hundreds" of women had been warned.
Atabayeva said earlier she had seen a group of men with automatic rifles taunting women for not wearing headscarves.
A woman in her mid-30s said she was punched in the face by a man in Islamic dress after refusing to put on a headscarf he had given her.
The men's action follows a radical order earlier this week from Chechnya's spiritual leader to shut all cafes during the month of Ramadan [ID:nLDE67H17B], as well as paintball attacks on bareheaded women in June.
ISLAMIC RULES
A number of other women described this week how men in cars threatened them with violence if they did not cover up. While some women carry headscarves in their bags, those without were encouraged to go home immediately.
The action targeting women highlights tension over efforts by Chechnya's firebrand Moscow-backed leader, Ramzan Kadyrov, to enforce Islamic rules that can violate Russia's constitution.
One of the assailants, who described himself as an "activist", told Reuters: "We are trying to warn women of their possible sins before God".
"We do this through force, fighting and battles," he said on condition of anonymity, adding that hundreds of Chechen women had been "warned" since the start of Ramadan.
Another assailant said they were working under orders from Chechnya's Centre for Spiritual-Moral Education, which Kadyrov set up 18 months ago.
Critics say that in return for keeping a shaky peace in Chechnya, site of two separatist wars with Moscow since the mid-1990s, Kadyrov is allowed to impose his vision of Islam.
Kadyrov's spokesman declined to comment on the action against women failing to wear headscarves. Alcohol is all but banned in Chechnya and women must wear headscarves in state buildings. Polygamy is encouraged by authorities.
Analysts say the gradual encroachment of Islamic sharia law in the mainly Muslim North Caucasus, where rebels are fighting to create a pan-Caucasus state governed by sharia law, deals a major blow to Kremlin efforts to control the region. (Writing and additional reporting by Amie Ferris-Rotman; Editing by Charles Dick)
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSLDE67J13Q
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Man gets lover out of brothel but not out of law's clutches
August 21, 2010
First our knight had to rescue the girl from pimps . Then the cops sent the girl to an NGO saying she was a minor and could not marry of her own will. Then the girl's relatives surfaced claiming she cannot marry him as he is a Hindu and she a Muslim. Sahim Salim discovers an unusual love story
The same law machinery which shut its eyes to the plight of a little girl while she was forced into prostitution, is now denying her the possibility of a happy life. The girl, already stuck in a web of deceit, is now battling the complicated cobwebs of our administration to lead a decent life.
The 19-year-old orphan was tricked and forced into prostitution in the national capital's red-light area -- GB Road -- about a year ago. And fortunately for her, she found her knight in shining armour about six months ago. He was all she had dreamed of and he pleasantly surprised her two months ago when he proposed marriage to her.
But it was not to be. First our knight had to fight the girl's pimps and manager to rescue her. When he did, the cops sent the girl to an NGO saying she was a minor and could not marry of her own will. Then the girl's relatives surfaced from somewhere claiming she cannot marry him because he is a Hindu and she a Muslim.
This is the startling story of the girl called Fatima (name changed). She hails from a small village in 24 Parganas in west Bengal. She is an orphan and stayed with her brother. About a year and a half back, she met a woman and two kids at her local railway station. The woman told Fatima that she could take her to New Delhi [ Images ] and get her a good job.
"The girl got tempted and without telling her brother and relatives, she got into the train to the capital with the woman. When they reached New Delhi, the woman took Fatima to GB road and sold her off to kothi number 2511. The girl was forced into prostitution and could not find a way to get out of the place," the station house officer of the area, Surinder Jeet Kaur, said.
Vijay Singh [ Images ] (name changed), a resident of Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh [ Images ], came to the capital about six months back. Vijay, who works as a manager with a multi-national company in Bhopal, had come to Delhi on a business trip. After work, he went to GB Road where a pimp took him to kothi number 2511. He met Fathima there and they had a conversation. Fatima told him about her life and how she had tried to escape from the place unsuccessfully many times.
After that, Vijay went back to her the next day as well. Pretty soon, he started coming to New Delhi on a monthly basis, which later became a weekly affair. And each time, he would go to Fatima's kothi. Their friendship turned into love and about two months ago, he proposed marriage to her.
However, it did not work out the way they planned to. When they broke the news to the kothi incharge, she told them she had paid good money to buy Fatima and she could not let go of her. Vijay approached Kamla Market police station for rescue operations.
"We conducted the raid on July 17 and rescued the girl. As is the procedure, we sent her to the NGO Nari Niketan. Then arose the problem of the girl's age. While she said she is 19, several people said she was a minor. So we had to keep her in Nari Niketan till Vijay or someone else could produce a certificate proving she is above 18. We also produced her in front of the Child Welfare Committee for her age determination," SHO Kaur said.
Suddenly, Fatima's relatives surfaced after the police called them to inform of her rescue. They kicked up a storm saying that Fatima could not marry Vijay as it would be an inter-community marriage.
"See, these kind of cases are very sensitive. We have to have some kind of a verification that he (Vijay) is genuine. CWC also has the responsibility to determine if the girl is a minor or not. Till then, procedure requires her to stay at Nari Niketan," CWC chief, Amod Kant, said.
And that is where Fatima's story hangs. She is currently staying in Nari Niketan. She goes to the Crime Against Women cell of the Delhi police when summoned.
And that is the only place where she meets Vijay these days.
Sahim Salim in New Delhi
http://news.rediff.com/special/2010/aug/19/man-gets-lover-out-of-brothel-but-not-out-of-laws-clutches.htm
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Saudi Arabia urged not to paralyze a man as retribution punishment
August 21, 2010
(CNN) -- Amnesty International on Friday urged Saudi Arabian authorities not to paralyze a man as punishment for his having paralyzed someone else, allegedly during a fight.
The Saudi newspaper Okaz reported that the judge in the case had sent letters to several hospitals in Saudi Arabia asking if they could sever a man's spinal cord, as the man he allegedly stabbed had requested and, under sharia law, was his right to seek.
But such a punishment would amount "to nothing less than torture," said Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui, acting director of the organization's Middle East and North Africa Programme. "While those guilty of a crime should be held accountable, intentionally paralyzing a man in this way would constitute torture, and be a breach of its international human rights obligations."
The paralyzed man, 22-year-old Abdul-Aziz al-Mitairy, told Okaz that the accused stabbed him in the back with a large knife during a fight more than two years ago. "The accused confessed to the crime in front of police, resulting in a general sentence of seven months," he told the newspaper.
During that time, the court in the northwest province of Tabuk debated how to carry out the surgery the paralyzed man was seeking as punishment for his alleged attacker, news reports said.
Riyadh's King Faisal Specialist Hospital, one of the kingdom's leading hospitals, responded that, from a medical perspective, it would not be possible for them to cause the injury by performing such surgery, Okaz reported.
But apparently at least one hospital said it would be possible. "According to one report, one hospital said it would be possible to medically administer the injury at the same place on the spinal cord as the damage the man is alleged to have caused his victim using a cleaver, during a fight more than two years ago, causing similar paralysis," Amnesty said in a news release.
It is up to the court to decide whether to impose the paralysis punishment or sentence the man to imprisonment, financial compensation, or flogging, it said.
The alleged attacker, who has not been identified publicly, "was convicted and sentenced following a trial where he was said to have had no legal assistance," Amnesty added.
International human rights law would consider such a sentence to be a violation of the prohibition of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment and to break the U.N. Convention Against Torture to which Saudi Arabia is a party, Amnesty said. It would also violate the principles of medical ethics adopted by the U.N. General Assembly, it said.
Other sentences of retribution in the kingdom have included eye-gouging, tooth extraction, and death in cases involving murder, it said.
International organizations are not the only ones to protest. Outrage has been expressed by bloggers in Saudi Arabia over the sentence, which underscores the societal struggle in Saudi Arabia between hardliners, who hew to tribal justice, and progressives, who consider such verdicts to be draconian and bad for the country's international image.
The fact that newspapers and bloggers are questioning decisions by courts -- institutions traditionally considered above reproach -- is a relatively recent phenomenon in Saudi Arabia, where other such sentences have captured international attention.
"This case in Saudi Arabia is not the only case of its kind," said Akbar Ahmed, a former commissioner of justice in Pakistan who is chairman of the department of Islamic Studies at American University in Washington. "We see many cases like this -- stoning or beheading or cutting off hands or feet in Iran, Afghanistan and parts of Pakistan, which are very tribal."
Under Islamic law, compassion is an important virtue for any judge, Ahmed said. "However harsh the punishment would be in tribal law, an eye for an eye, the compassion element that must be exercised by the judge overrides it, and I'm afraid we don't see much of that in cases like this where, very often, the victim becomes twice punished," he added.
http://edition.cnn.com/2010/CRIME/08/20/saudi.arabia.paralysis/#fbid=fL92lW-HqK2&wom=false
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Badal warns of reaction if Sikhs attacked
Aug 21, 2010
SANGRUR/SRINAGAR: Even as K Skandan, joint secretary in the home ministry, arrived in Srinagar following reports of threats to the Sikhs in the Valley, Punjab chief minister Parkash Singh Badal on Friday warned of "strong reaction" in case any harm came to the community in the Valley.
Badal was reacting to reports about anonymous letters in the Valley asking Sikhs to either embrace Islam and join protests against the Indian government or leave the Valley. The Punjab CM blamed Congress "for creating an atmosphere of insecurity for Sikhs" and asked NDA MPs to put pressure "and even stall parliament" on the latest threat.
Badal was speaking at a meeting in Longowal held to observe the 25th death anniversary of Sant Harchand Singh Longowal, who was gunned down by militants for signing the controversial Rajiv-Longowal accord during militancy days. Former BJP president Rajnath Singh, JD(U) leader Sharad Yadav were also present.
Expressing concern on the issue, chairman of the moderate faction of Hurriyat Conference Mirwaiz Umar Farooq said: "These letters are being floated by the Indian intelligence agencies and there can be no real threat to the Kashmiri Sikhs. We reassure the minority communities that they would not be harmed," he said.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Badal-warns-of-reaction-if-Sikhs-attacked/articleshow/6384851.cms#ixzz0xDKQDtsC
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Kashmir Sikhs to be protected
21 August 2010
NEW DELHI — Amid uproar in both houses of parliament, the government on Friday assured that it was committed to the safety of Sikhs in the Kashmir Valley where some Sikh families have reportedly received anonymous letters from extremists asking them to either embrace Islam or leave.
The Rajya Sabha had to be adjourned for half an hour after the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) demanded a clarification from the government. The Lok Sabha witnessed heated exchanges. While External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna and Home Minister P. Chidambaram made statements in the Rajya Sabha, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee spoke in the lower house.
“The government is fully aware of (the threats). Not only the Muslims of the valley but whole India will rise to protect Sikhs. It is a small section of terrorists and extremists (that has threatened them) and I assure you that nobody is with them,” Mukherjee told the Lok Sabha after an uproar.
Full report at:
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/displayarticle.asp?xfile=data/international/2010/August/international_August1087.xml§ion=international&col=
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J&K government denies harassment of Sikhs
Shujaat Bukhari
21 August 2010
SRINAGAR: The Jammu and Kashmir government on Friday denied a report published in a national daily on harassment of the Sikh community in Kashmir by a majority community by way of letters.
An official spokesman termed the report a deliberate attempt to tarnish the secular image of the people of Kashmir outside the State. He said letters written by any one mischievous person could not be projected as the view of the majority.
“All the communities are living amicably in the Valley,” he said and cited the instance of a group of people who performed the last rites of their brother belonging to another community the other day. “This was hailed by the entire media,” he said.
Full report at:
http://www.hindu.com/2010/08/21/stories/2010082165561400.htm
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How Kalam can help end Kashmir's cycle of violence
21 August 2010
Colonel Dr Anil Athale (retd) writes an open letter to former President A P J Abdul Kalam [ Images ] to intervene in Kashmir [ Images ] and start a dialogue with the people.
Dear Sir,
One is aware that you are away and above politics but the nation needs your sage advice and intervention. It is not an exaggeration to say that you are possibly the only leader in the country to be universally admired and respected. Your commitment to the nation and its people is beyond doubt. The country needs your help.
The problem in Kashmir valley today is that a large part of the population do not accept that they are Indians and thus want to secede. Economic packages and employment promises are not going to solve the basic issue.
Full report at:
http://news.rediff.com/column/2010/aug/20/how-kalam-can-help-end-kashmirs-cycle-of-violence.htm
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First crucial arrest in prof attack case
VR Jayaraj
21 August 2010
Forty-six days after the gruesome Taliban-model attack on Prof TJ Joseph at Muvattupuzha, the Kerala Police on Friday arrested an activist of the organisation, Islamist Popular Front of India (PFI), with direct involvement in the attack for the first time even as reports said the State leadership of the outfit could have played a significant role in the incident.
PFI operative Shamsuddin of Perumbavoor was arrested from Palakkad while returning from his hideout in Thiruchirappally, Tamil Nadu, the police said as sources indicated that he was in police custody for the past three days but his arrest was recorded only on Friday.
With this, the total number of PFI men to be arrested in the case went up to 20.
Police sources said Shamsuddin admitted to them that he was one of the seven activists who had attacked Prof Joseph on July 4 at Muvattupuzha.
Full report at:
http://www.dailypioneer.com/277395/First-crucial-arrest-in-prof-attack-case.html
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15 soldiers, 3 al-Qaida militants killed in S. Yemen clashes
2010-08-21
SANAA -- At least 15 soldiers and three al- Qaida militants were killed Friday in continuing clashes in Lodar district in the southern Yemeni province of Abyan, a provincial security official said.
Eight soldiers were killed when a rocket-propelled grenade fired by al-Qaida militants hit an armored vehicle of the security forces. Gunshots killed another seven soldiers in the exchange of fire with al-Qaida group, said the official.
He told Xinhua on condition of anonymity that the security forces fired back with machine guns and mortars, killing at least three al-Qaida group members.
He said a military and security backup were dispatched to the area as the current security forces are cordoned off the al-Qaida- seized Lodar city.
Full report at:
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/xinhua/2010-08-21/content_741676.html
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Nato strikes kill three Afghan policemen, three civilians
21 Aug, 2010
KABUL: Air strikes by the Nato-led force in Afghanistan accidentally killed at least three Afghan police in the country's north and a woman and two children in the west, officials said on Saturday.
Sensitivities about civilian casualties and “friendly fire” incidents have been running high as violence spreads across Afghanistan, reaching its worst levels since the Taliban were ousted in late 2001.
Such incidents have been a major irritant between Afghan President Hamid Karzai's government and foreign forces fighting in Afghanistan, leading to a major falling-out last year.
Tactical directives were tightened twice in the past year as a result, as US and Nato commanders sought to limit the damaging fallout from such incidents. The directives laid down tight rules governing the use of air strikes and home searches.
Full report at:
http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/news/world/04-nato-afghanistan-casualties-qs-06
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NATO soldiers, over a dozen Afghans killed in attacks
21 August 2010
KANDAHAR, Afghanistan - Three NATO soldiers, at least a dozen Afghan security guards and several civilians were killed in a wave of violence across Afghanistan, authorities said Friday.
Two of the soldiers were killed in a bomb attack in southern Afghanistan on Friday and a third — an American — died in a similar attack on Thursday, the military announced.
The nationalities of Friday’s casualties were not disclosed but a NATO spokesman denied that they were Americans.
NATO’s mission in Afghanistan does not disclose the nationalities of its casualties, leaving it for their relevant countries to do so.
The deaths brings to 441 the number of foreign soldiers killed in the Afghan war so far this year. The total for 2009 was 520, according to an AFP count based on a tally kept by icasualties.org.
Full report at:
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/displayarticle.asp?xfile=data/international/2010/August/international_August1062.xml§ion=international&col=
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Afghan police say Taliban kill 30 security guards
21 August 2010
KANDAHAR, Afghanistan — Afghan police said Friday that 30 security guards had been killed in a day-long clash with Taliban fighters in one of the most volatile regions of the war-ravaged country.
The deaths come just days after President Hamid Karzai ordered all private security firms in the country to disband by the end of the year and their employees to either leave the country or, if eligible, join the police force.
The fighting lasted all day Thursday in the Sangin district of southern Helmand province, where the Taliban insurgency is concentrated, a senior police officer said.
“The Taliban attacked and during the fighting, which lasted the whole day, 30 guards were killed, around 15 were injured and some others were taken by the Taliban,” deputy provincial police chief Kamaludin Sherzai told AFP.
Full report at:
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/displayarticle.asp?xfile=data/international/2010/August/international_August1081.xml§ion=international&col=
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Eight militants, soldier killed in Orakzai clashes
21 August 2010
KALAYA: Eight militants and a soldier were killed in clashes that ensued after militants attacked security forces’ base with rockets and heavy machineguns in Tapo Kalley area of Orakzai Agency on Friday, official sources said.
They said that five militants were also wounded in retaliatory action by security forces. Following the attack, the security forces launched a search operation in the area and targeted suspected positions in Mamozai area.
During the search operation, landmines, rockets and other ammunition were recovered. The sources said that security forces had extended scope of operation to adjacent Chinarek area in Kurram Agency.
Helicopters were also used and two militant hideouts were destroyed. According to unconfirmed reports, five militants were killed and eight wounded in the air attack.
http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/the-newspaper/national/8-militants,-soldier-killed-in-clash-180
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Blast kills six anti-Taliban fighters in Mohmand
21 Aug, 2010
PESHAWAR: A bomb blast killed six anti-Taliban militia fighters in Pakistan's northwestern tribal belt on Saturday and wounded five others, officials said.
The remote controlled attack hit a checkpoint manned by volunteers from an anti-Taliban militia in Mohmand, a tribal district close to the Afghan border and some 80 kilometres from Peshawar, an official said.
“It was a remote control bomb, six volunteers of anti-Taliban peace committee have been killed and five wounded,” Maqsud Hasan, a senior government official in Mohmand told AFP by telephone.
Javed Khan, another administrative official in the area, also confirmed the incident.
Authorities are providing arms and money to anti-Taliban militias — which are also called peace committees.
On Wednesday, dozens of armed militants attacked a mosque and a police checkpoint in Peshawar, killing two anti-Taliban fighters, police said.
http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/news/pakistan/04-mohmand-blast-six-killed-qs-05
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Flood for thought: Is Rs 5 per head a fair price for peace with Pak
Chidanand Rajgahtta
Aug 21, 2010
Forcing one's mind away from the human misery, it seems Mother Nature may have done to Pakistan what the combined might of Washington, London, New Delhi, and indeed the rest of the international community, hasn't been able to — force it to consider home-grown extremism, and not India, as the primary threat to its security and survival. It may also have washed away Pakistan's notion of strategic depth in Afghanistan and parity with India. Or has it?
There are plenty of doubters. Some Pakistanis are not convinced about the need for signaling a policy reversal. The Pakistani intelligence agency, ISI, which recently made public an internal assessment to the effect that India had receded as the country's primary threat, appears to be a divided house. Already, hardline elements allied with the ISI have begun a vicious campaign that "evil" India is responsible for the floods by unleashing massive amounts of water from dams in Jammu and Kashmir and Afghanistan — as if they could store enough to flood a fifth of Pakistan.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Flood-for-thought-Is-Rs-5-per-head-a-fair-price-for-peace-with-Pak/articleshow/6385854.cms#ixzz0xDKMCjpb
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1001 Inventions Exhibition starts global tour from Turkey
Aug 21, 2010
ANKARA: In presence of a crowd of governmental officials and mediapersons, including President of ALJ Community Initiatives Mohammed Abdul Latif Jameel, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan inaugurated the 1001 Inventions Exhibition in Turkey.
Opened in Istanbul at Sultan Ahmed Square between Sultan Ahmed Mosque and Aya Sophia Museum, the exhibition has been organized in cooperation with ALJ Community Initiatives and the Foundation for Science, Technology and Civilization (FSTC).
Upon arrival at the event, Erdogan was welcomed by Jameel and FSTC and 1001 Inventions Chairman Salim Al-Hassani. Al-Hassani highlighted the importance of opening the exhibition in Turkey. In his speech, Jameel thanked the prime minister for inaugurating the exhibition.
Full report at:
http://arabnews.com/middleeast/article108042.ece
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NY mosque imam: Extremism is global threat
21 August 2010
MANAMA, Bahrain — The imam leading plans for an Islamic center near the Manhattan site of the Sept. 11 attacks said Friday he hopes to draw attention during his trip in the Middle East to the common challenges to battle radical religious beliefs.
Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, who is on the first leg of a 15-day Mideast tour funded by the U.S. State Department, refused to discuss the political firestorm over the plans for an Islamic cultural center about two blocks from the World Trade Center towers. Foes of the project say it is insensitive and disrespectful to the victims of 9/11 and their families. The debate has become politicized ahead of November’s midterm congressional elections.
Instead, Rauf preferred to focus on shared concerns. Speaking after leading Friday prayers at a neighborhood mosque outside Bahrain’s capital Manama, he said radical religious views pose a security threat in both the West and the Muslim world.
Full report at:
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticle08.asp?xfile=data/middleeast/2010/August/middleeast_August393.xml§ion=middleeast
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Where Are Pakistan’s Millionaire Politicians?
21 August 2010
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan—This is a lesson for the whole Pakistani nation. If you are a Pakistani reading this, please tell others. While the world’s rich dole out money to help Pakistan’s flood victims, Pakistan’s rich political elite refuses to budge. By now we should have been seeing members of this ruling elite buying tents, building shelters and providing gallons of clean drinking water to the homeless millions.
But in every flooded district of the country, you will see Pakistani civilian and military volunteers. But not the politicians. Consider this:
On the first day of a nationwide Saudi campaign to raise funds for the victims of floods in Pakistan on Monday, 17 Aug. 2010:
Full report at:
http://dailymailnews.com/0810/21/FrontPage/index2.php
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Ansari orders inquiry into ‘mishandling' of report
Neena Vyas
21 August 2010
NEW DELHI: Rajya Sabha Chairman Hamid Ansari on Friday ordered an inquiry into the “mishandling” of the Standing Committee report of the Ministry of Science and Technology on the Civil Nuclear Liability Bill.
It is learnt that Rajya Sabha Secretary-General V.K. Agnihotri has been asked to work out the modalities in consultation with the Chairman.
It seems Mr. Ansari was unhappy with the controversy created by the “mishandling” of the final draft of the report and insinuations in the press that the word “and” may have been deliberately introduced in it after it was finalised by the committee members.
The committee is a Rajya Sabha panel, chaired by T. Subbarami Reddy.
Full report at:
http://www.hindu.com/2010/08/21/stories/2010082164440100.htm
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In the midst of Kashmir crisis, some islands of peace
Praveen Swami
21 August 2010
BARAMULLA: Burning tyres were strewn across the road at Palhalan, a small town perched along the highway running north from Srinagar through Baramulla and on to the Line of Control. Fifty-odd protesters, most of whom looked like they ought to be in elementary school, manned the barricade, threatening to throw rocks at any vehicle which dared to pass that way.
Five minutes up the road, near Trumb Gund village, eight-year-old Mohammad Shafi Pir stood by the roadside with a small crate of apples he hoped to sell to passengers aboard the hundreds of trucks, buses and cars that were backed up along the highway. Pir's school had been closed for weeks but the child did not seem displeased at having spent the summer plucking the apples ripening in his family orchard.
Full report at:
http://www.hindu.com/2010/08/21/stories/2010082156331400.htm
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Karachi erupts over leader's killing, 13 dead
Aug 21, 2010
ISLAMABAD: At least 14 people have died in Pakistan’s southern city of Karachi overnight following the target-killing of an Awami National Party (ANP) leader outside a cargo terminal.
Obaidullah Yousafzai, a cargo operator employed with Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), and his friend Saleem Akhtar were coming out of the PIA cargo terminal when two unidentified people riding a motorbike sprayed their vehicle with bullets. Both of them died on the spot. The shooting triggered widespread violence that left another 12 people dead.
Mobs forcibly closed markets and pelted stones at vehicles. They also set on fire an office of Muttahida Qaumi Movement in the city.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/pakistan/Karachi-erupts-over-leaders-killing-13-dead/articleshow/6384341.cms#ixzz0xDKfPcDV
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Israel tells UN it will stop Gaza aid flotilla
21 August 2010
UNITED NATIONS — Israel informed the United Nations Friday that it reserves the right to use force to stop a new aid flotilla from reaching the blockaded Gaza Strip.
In a letter sent to UN chief Ban Ki-moon, Israel’s UN Ambassador Gabriela Shalev said the stated intention of the Bolivian-flagged all-women cargo ship Mariam “is to violate the existing naval blockade of Gaza.”
She added that Israel also had information that another vessel, the Naji al-Ali, plans to leave from a Lebanese port with the aim of violating the blockade.
“Israel reserves its right under international law to use all necessary means to prevent these ships from violating the aforementioned naval blockade,” Shalev warned.
Full report at:
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticle08.asp?xfile=data/middleeast/2010/August/middleeast_August392.xml§ion=middleeast
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Floods expose civilian-military divide in Pakistan
21 August 2010
ISLAMABAD - Massive flooding in Pakistan has added to criticism of the already-weak civilian government while boosting the image of the military, a potential blow to U.S. and domestic hopes of fostering a strong Pakistani democracy after years of army rule.
Even before the crisis began nearly a month ago, the government faced discontent as power shortages, Islamist militant violence and economic mismanagement plagued the country. A military coup is seen as unlikely, but flooding is so large-scale that some fear political instability in the nuclear-armed nation.
About 20 million people have been affected by the floods across an area bigger than England. Flood victims are far more likely to have seen a Pakistani soldier dropping off relief or picking them up than a member of the civilian government. One state minister’s car was pelted with stones after a visit some saw as long overdue, media reports said.
Full report at:
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticle08.asp?xfile=data/international/2010/August/international_August1103.xml§ion=international
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UK warns Libya over Lockerbie bomber anniversary
21 August 2010
EDINBURGH, Scotland — Britain’s government says it has warned Libya that any celebration of Friday’s anniversary of the release from jail of the Lockerbie bomber would be deeply offensive to the families of the mainly U.S. victims of the attack.
Abdel Baset Al-Megrahi, the only person convicted in connection with the 1988 bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 above Lockerbie, Scotland, was ordered in 2001 to serve 27 years in jail, but freed on Aug. 20 of last year on compassionate grounds, as he is suffering from prostate cancer.
In a statement urging Libya to show restraint, Britain’s Foreign Office in Friday described the bombing, which killed 259 people onboard — mostly Americans — and 11 on the ground, as the “worst act of terrorism in British history.”
Before al-Megrahi’s release from a Scottish jail, doctors said he would likely live only for three months.
Full report at:
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/displayarticle.asp?xfile=data/international/2010/August/international_August1099.xml§ion=international&col=
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Fresh wave of violence kills 16 in Karachi
Rehan Siddiqui
21 August 2010
KARACHI — Karachi became a bloody battle ground on Thursday with virtually half of the city ‘in flames’ leaving 16 people dead, scores injured and more than a dozen vehicles torched.
Violence erupted soon after a news story was telecast by tv channels that Awami National Party (ANP) leader Obaidullah Yousafzai and his colleague Saleem Akhtar have been gunned down near Karach International Airport mid-afternoon.
A police official told newsmen that both the victims were heading home when their vehicle was intercepted by a car and was sprayed with bullets. Obaidullah and Saleem died on the spot.
The slain ANP leader got four bullets in the head and back while Saleem received one bullet that proved fatal.
Full report at:
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/displayarticle.asp?xfile=data/international/2010/August/international_August1094.xml§ion=international&col=
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Afghan insurgent leader captured; US troop killed
21 August 2010
KABUL, Afghanistan - A deputy commander for an al-Qaida linked insurgent group was apprehended in an overnight operation in eastern Afghanistan that claimed the life of a woman, NATO said Friday.
Separately, the coalition reported that a U.S. service member died Thursday in an explosion in the south, bringing to at least 18 the number of American troops killed so far this month. NATO did not release details about the death.
NATO said the deputy commander, who was captured by a joint Afghan and coalition force in Khost province, ran weapons for the Haqqani network and reported directly to the group’s senior leaders across the border in Pakistan. U.S. officials have described the Haqqani network as the most potent threat to American forces in Afghanistan.
Full report at:
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/displayarticle.asp?xfile=data/international/2010/August/international_August1058.xml§ion=international&col=
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Iran ready for N-talks without terms
21 August 2010
TOKYO: Iran is ready to return to stalled talks with world powers without conditions over a plan to swap nuclear material for fuel, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was quoted as saying in a Japanese newspaper on Friday.
Iran was open to resuming talks by late August or early September with permanent members of the UN Security Council and Germany, Ahmadinejad was quoted as telling Japan's Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper in an interview.
Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Wednesday Iran would not conduct talks with the United States about its nuclear program unless sanctions and military threats were lifted.
Iran last met the US, UK, China, France, Germany and Russia in October, when they discussed Iran sending low-enriched uranium abroad in exchange for fuel for a Tehran reactor that makes medical isotopes.
Full report at:
http://arabnews.com/middleeast/article107758.ece
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Obama's political strategy in Iraq and Afghanistan
Aug 21, 2010
When the commanding general of the US forces in Afghanistan, Gen. David Petraeus said last week during a television interview that the 2011 date set by President Barack Obama to start the drawdown of troops from Afghanistan might not be attainable, everyone took notice of the general's comments.
Petraeus, of course, was speaking in confident terms about the counter-insurgency strategy that requires a stable and strong Afghan government that has the confidence of its people and is able to deliver security and stability to the general public. Nine years after the US invaded and took over Afghanistan, this belated strategy requires much more time and more US troops commitment to train and prop up the Afghan national army.
Full report at:
http://arabnews.com/world/article108068.ece
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Pakistan to clamp down on militant-linked charities
21 August 2010
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan said it will clamp down on charities linked to militants amid fears their involvement in flood relief, exploiting anger against the government, will undermine the fight against groups like the Taleban.
Islamist charities have moved in swiftly to fill the vacuum left by a government overwhelmed by the scale of the disaster and struggling to reach millions of people in dire need of shelter, food and clean water.
It would not be the first time the government has announced restrictions against charities tied to militant groups. Critics say any banned organizations often re-emerge under new names, with authorities uninterested in stopping their operations.
Full report at:
http://arabnews.com/world/article107772.ece
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Cyprus won't allow Gaza aid ship; women activists intend to set sail
21 August 2010
NICOSIA: Cyprus will not allow a ship carrying women activists and aid for the blockaded Palestinian territory of Gaza to sail from its ports, the island's police said on Friday.
Women activists said they planned to take aid to Gaza next week and their vessel, the Mariam, would set sail from Lebanon for Cyprus on Sunday.
Israel has said it will not allow ships to reach Gaza, controlled by the militant Palestinian group Hamas since 2007.
"Our position is clear. The arrival and departure of vessels to or from Gaza via Cyprus ports is prohibited and we will implement that decision," Cypriot police spokesman Michalis Katsounotos told Reuters.
Full report at:
http://arabnews.com/middleeast/article107754.ece
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Karachi be handed over to army: ANP
21 August 2010
PESHAWAR: Awami National Party (ANP) leaders demanded on Friday Karachi be handed over to the army as the police and Rangers had failed to stop killing of Pakhtuns residing in Karachi.
The ANP leaders asked the chief justice of the Supreme Court to take suo motu notice of target killing during the past two years in Karachi.
The ANP leaders and workers offered ghaibana namaz-e-janaza of ANP Sindh leader Obaidullah Khan Yousufzai at Bacha Khan Markaz and held a condolence meeting.
Party’s provincial ministers, members of the provincial assembly (MPAs) and provincial office bearers attended the meeting to express resentment over Yousafzai’s target killing and demanded the federal government and the Sindh government stop target killing of Pakhtuns in Karachi.
Full report at:
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2010\08\21\story_21-8-2010_pg7_4
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Lack of convictions hurts fight against terrorists
21 August 2010
ISLAMABAD: The courts have yet to convict a single person in any of the country’s biggest terrorist attacks of the past three years, a symptom of a dysfunctional legal system hurting the fight against the Taliban and al Qaeda at a critical time.
Police without basic investigative skills, such as the ability to lift fingerprints, and prosecutors who lack training to try terrorism cases, are some of the main reasons cited. Another daunting challenge: Judges and witnesses are often subjected to intimidation that affects the ability to convict.
The legal system’s failure to attack terrorism is critical because it robs Pakistan of a chance to enforce a sense of law and order, which terrorists have set out to destroy. It has caused a sense of terror and insecurity amongst the members of society, said Khawaja Muhammad Sharif, chief justice of the Lahore High Court.
Full report at:
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2010\08\21\story_21-8-2010_pg7_6
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First Saudi-Chinese Youth Forum set for next month
Aug 21, 2010
RIYADH: The Saudi-Chinese Youth Forum (SCYF) will be organized next month in China within the framework of the globally-acclaimed intercultural dialogue initiative launched by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah in 2008.
This will be the first forum in which 40 young leaders of both genders from Saudi Arabia and China will meet face-to-face in three different Chinese cities to promote friendship and mutual understanding between the two nations.
Addressing the Saudi participants at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs before their departure to China here late Thursday night, Yousef Al-Sadoun, deputy minister of economy & cultural affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said: “This youth forum is the reflection of the vision of King Abdullah’s global dialogue initiative.” He added: “These young participants are the real wealth of Saudi Arabia, and they should be provided with more opportunities to learn from others.”
Full report at:
http://arabnews.com/saudiarabia/article108056.ece
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India welcomes Pakistan's acceptance of aid
Sandeep Dikshit
21 August 2010
NEW DELHI: The External Affairs Ministry has welcomed Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi's announcement in New York accepting aid from India, and noted that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had offered more assistance to help Islamabad carry out relief and rehabilitation work.
“Common destiny”
“We welcome the decision of Pakistan to accept the aid offer,” External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Vishnu Prakash told journalists here on Friday. “We believe India and Pakistan share a common destiny, and it is in common interest of both countries to work together for cordial and cooperative relations.”
Mr. Prakash noted that the initial aid offer was a goodwill gesture to express solidarity with the people of Pakistan who have been hit by the worst floods since Independence. Senior officials also point out that the intention is not to score political points, and assured that the country was willing to give more once Islamabad made up its mind about the reasonableness of engaging with New Delhi on this aspect.
Full report at:
http://www.hindu.com/2010/08/21/stories/2010082165551400.htm
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Nine Bahraini sailors jailed in Qatar
21 August 2010
MANAMA — Nine Bahraini amateur sailors were sentenced to two years in jail on Thursday by a Qatari court for straying into Doha’s territorial waters.
The families of the convicts will appeal the sentence that has been the toughest penalty ever given to Bahrainis detained for crossing into the Qatari waters.
A Commander of Bahrain Coast Guard told the press that his team would be following up the cases of nine amateur sailors as well as other sailors who are in detention in Qatar.
The nine were arrested on August 7 and according to coast guards, it is the first time they were detained for such a violation. Another group of seven sailors is also in detention awaiting court hearing. Six of them were arrested on August 6, while one of them, Adel Mohammed Kadhem, was arrested in May after he was hit by a bullet during a chase by Qatari coast guards.
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticle08.asp?xfile=data/middleeast/2010/August/middleeast_August390.xml§ion=middleeast
11:21 PM
Sultan Shahin
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