| Islamic World News | |
| 15 May 2011, NewAgeIslam.Com |
| Libya buries 11 imams killed in NATO strike | ||
Bin Laden plotted to kill Obama in 2012 poll Six Pakistani Americans charged with aiding Taliban ISI drops intelligence sharing with CIA: report Looking for Mulla Omar: Is Quetta next on hit list? Pak may send more militants in India: Indian Army 2 suspects, vendor slain in Indonesia terror raid Cop kills 2 NATO service members Mob attacks Christian protest in Egypt Syrian forces shoot dead 3 in Homs region Gunmen fire on protesters in Yemen, wounding 35 6 soldiers killed in Yemen violence Qabalan: Religious meet devoid of Islam’s values Taliban on Twitter as Afghan rebels enter Internet age Better to throw shoes rather than bombs, says Iraqi journalist ISI chief admits to Intel failure, offers to resign Washington welcomes India's Afghan initiative ISI sought formal accord on ties with CIA: Pasha Pak, West be united against Taliban, demands NATO Muslim World League eyes better India ties Gaddafi not in Tripoli anymore? Musharraf vows to return for 2013 polls Pak threatens to cut supply lines to US forces in Afghanistan “Full confidence” in military, ISI US dashes Libyan rebel's hopes of recognition Death toll mounts in Syria despite talks offer America shows off warship that buried bin Laden Pakistan should not accept ‘US unilateralism’: Nawaz Osama hiding place visited by Taliban: British newspaper President congratulates PM on unanimous resolution Three killed in Syrian town, hundreds flee to Lebanon Pakistan lawmakers pledge no repeat of Osama bin Laden raid U.S. modulates West Asia involvement Mubarak's wife in hospital after arrest order Israel scrambles to face Arab revolutions Obama accepts resignation of US Mideast envoy Palestinian dies after protest in Jerusalem Osama’s death may spur fresh terror in Afghanistan Pakistan threatens to cut US Afghan supply line Pakistan calls back its US ambassador for ‘consultation’ Hundreds of Syrians flee into Lebanon India, Pakistan seek early solution to Wullar Bridge issue Compiled by New Age Islam News Bureau Photo: A Libyan boy walks past a wall bearing pictures of missing and dead people in the rebel-held city of Benghazi | ||
Turkish forces kill 12 Kurd fighters crossing from Iraq-------- Libya buries 11 imams killed in NATO strike May, 15 2011 TRIPOLI: Libyans on Saturday buried 11 Muslim clerics killed in what Moamer Kadhafi's regime said was a NATO air strike on the oil city of Brega that the alliance said targeted a military site. In Paris, senior Libyan rebel leader Mahmud Jibril met President Nicolas Sarkozy to discuss the three-month-old conflict and the prospects for a transition. At least 50 other people were wounded in the NATO attack on the eastern city of Brega that killed 11 imams, or prayer leaders, early on Friday, with five of them in critical condition, government spokesman Mussa Ibrahim said. Hundreds of people gathered at the cemetery in Shatia al-Henshir, east of the capital, shouting "jihad, jihad;" "martyrs of Libya" and "God, Libya and Moamer." Major Khuildi al-Hamidi, a long-time confidante of Kadhafi, attended the burial, which was punctuated by commemorative gunfire. In contrast to government accounts, NATO said a "command and control bunker was struck in Brega early (Friday) morning, as the structure was being used by the Kadhafi regime to coordinate strikes against the Libyan civilian population." "We are aware of allegations of civilian casualties in connection to this strike and although we cannot independently confirm the validity of the claim we regret any loss of life by innocent civilians when they occur." An imam at a news conference with Ibrahim, identified as Nureddin al-Mijrah, called for revenge against the countries taking part in air strikes on Libya. He urged Muslims across the world "to take revenge for our brothers who died today. For every man we should take down one thousand men... from France, Italy, Denmark, Britain, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates." Kadhafi, whom Italy claimed on Friday might be wounded and on the run, said he was beyond the reach of NATO bombs. "I want to say to the Crusader cowards that I live in a place where I cannot be reached or killed; I live in the hearts of millions," he said in an audio message aired late Friday on state television. Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini had said Kadhafi was "probably outside of Tripoli and probably also injured," and that the reports came from the Roman Catholic bishop of Tripoli. But the bishop, Giovanni Martinelli, denied making such comment. "What the foreign minister said is not right because I never said that the Libyan leader was wounded," he told Radio France Internationale. "I only said that he was under psychological shock from the death of his son." An April 30 air strike missed Kadhafi but killed his son, Seif al-Arab, and three of his grandchildren. Ibrahim told reporters that Kadhafi was "in very good health, high morale, high spirits," and "he is in Tripoli." (AFP) http://www.thenews.jang.com.pk/NewsDetail.aspx?ID=15551 -------- Turkish forces kill 12 Kurd fighters crossing from Iraq May, 15 2011 DIYARBAKIR, Turkey: Turkish security forces killed at least 12 Kurdish militants after they were spotted crossing the border from Iraq, the military said on Saturday, while a soldier was killed by a mine blast. The Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) guerrillas were killed during operations on Friday and early Saturday in the southeast province of Sirnak, the military statement said. The soldier died in Hakkari, another insurgency-plagued province bordering both Iran and Iraq, state-run Antaolian news agency said. Some PKK fighters operate from bases in the Qandil Mountains of northern Iraq. The PKK ended a six-month cease-fire in February and there have been fears of rising violence before a parliamentary election on June 12 that is expected to result in a comfortable third successive victory for Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan’s AK Party. Jailed PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan has threatened “war” unless the government enters talks after the election to end a separatist conflict that has dragged on for 27 years, killing more than 40,000 people. The PKK last week claimed responsibility for an ambush that killed a police officer and wounded another in the northern Black Sea province of Kastamonu after an election rally by Erdogan, and two more police were killed this week. The PKK says police have been attacked in retaliation for operations and arrests in the southeast. Erdogan has accused the militants of being behind several petrol bomb attacks on the offices of his AK Party. http://arabnews.com/middleeast/article402861.ece ------- Bin Laden plotted to kill Obama in 2012 poll May, 15 2011 OSAMA bin Laden was plotting to assassinate Barack Obama during the 2012 presidential election, intelligence has revealed. The al- Qaeda leader was obsessed with killing the US President, who he believed “ violated the Muslim faith”. Bin Laden took US military campaigns in Afghanistan and West Asia “ very personally” and was so disgusted, he could not even watch Obama on television. Videos found in bin Laden’s final hideout in Pakistan show the terror leader at home changing the channel every time Obama comes on, unable to even look at his image. The extraordinary details emerged from the enormous cache of intelligence seized from bin Laden’s compound in Abbottabad during the raid in which he was killed. The 200 million pages of data give chilling details about bin Laden’s lust for jihad on the West. The CIA said it learned more from 10 days of studying the “ treasure trove” of computers and handwritten journals than in the past 10 years. Also seized was an unreleased audio message from bin Laden, produced in late April, days before his death, in which he talks in support of the so- called “ Arab Spring”. FoxNews. com cited US officials as describing the message as “ odd in several ways... it seems bin Laden is trying to prove that al- Qaeda is still relevant in these historic uprisings. He is trying to insert himself into these historic events and the news cycle when he hasn’t been part of it”. Bin Laden mentioned the popular uprisings in Egypt and Tunisia but not the revolt in Yemen or the violent conflict in Libya — evidence that the terror leader was cut off from current events, US no Abbottabad rerun officials say. According to CIA sources, until his last days bin Laden was plotting a terror campaign to target Los Angeles, New York and London that would have topped 9/ 11. The planned attacks were part of a campaign to drive Western troops out of West Asia. The al- Qaeda leader wanted to achieve a “ body count of thousands”, with simultaneous attacks on planes and trains in the US. Obama was on his hit list and could have been killed during next year’s elections in America, the cache revealed. “ This is probably very personal on bin Laden’s part, to kill a President he believes has violated the Muslim faith,” Brad Garrett, a former FBI profiler, said. “ He is incensed, inflamed, obsessed about killing the President.” The bombings would take place on significant US dates such as the tenth anniversary of the September 11 attack or Independence Day. Only large- scale attacks would have any effect, bin Laden concluded. Dozens of X- rated videos were also seized, apparently brought to bin Laden by couriers and without the knowledge of his wives. As the house in Abbottabad had no phone or internet connection, bin Laden would have relied on couriers bringing DVDs to him or downloading material at internet cafes and putting it on to memory sticks. His secret communications are being deciphered by a team of international experts working in northern Virginia. They believe it will take months to work through the data. It also emerged that his 10 years on the run were far more comfortable than previously thought — and included a stint at a tranquil resort. Far from being an outlaw living in caves to avoid capture, intelligence revealed that he would remain in one place for years at a time where he could relax. His stops even included the scenic area of Khwar in Pakistan and a farming community where his wives and children lived with him. http://epaper.mailtoday.in/epaperhome.aspx?issue=1552011 -------- Six Pakistani Americans charged with aiding Taliban May, 15 2011 WASHINGTON: US officials arrested three Pakistani Americans on Saturday and charged them and three others with providing or conspiring to provide “material support” to the Pakistani Taliban, the Justice Department said. “All six defendants are charged with conspiring to provide, and providing, material support to a conspiracy to murder, maim and kidnap persons overseas, as well as conspiring to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization, specifically, the Pakistani Taliban,” the department said in a statement. Three of the defendants — including a 76-year-old man arrested in Miami and two of the three men at large in Pakistan — “are also charged with providing material support to the Pakistani Taliban,” namely the transfer of funds to finance the group which Washington lists as a terror organization. http://www.dawn.com/2011/05/14/six-pakistani-americans-charged-with-aiding-taliban.html -------- ISI drops intelligence sharing with CIA: report May, 15 2011 LONDON: Inter-Service Intelligence (ISI) has dropped intelligence Sharing with Central Investigation Agency (CIA), a report published in British newspaper said. According to the newspaper, Pakistan, in protest of US unilateral action against the al Qaeda chief in its territory has broken off relation with CIA. In the past, Pakistani agents have been credited with helping identify targets for drone strikes and providing data to the CIA on plans being hatched in its tribal areas. "They are furious. They handed over telephone intercepts in 2009 that were crucial in leading to bin Laden's courier - the key breakthrough in the hunt," said a source briefed on relations between the two countries. "Then four months ago they were told there was nothing in it, it was what the Americans called a 'cold lead'. Since then they have been left out completely out of the loop." Senior officials in the US have briefed journalists that they stopped sharing information with Islamabad because they feared Osama’s sympathisers would tip-off bin Laden - ruining the best lead they had ever had. http://www.thenews.jang.com.pk/NewsDetail.aspx?ID=15558 -------- Looking for Mulla Omar: Is Quetta next on hit list? May, 15 2011 QUETTA: US forces tracked down and killed their most wanted enemy Osama Bin Laden after a 10-year manhunt ended in a quiet Pakistani town. Now who is next? After killing the Al-Qaeda leader in a May 2 raid, the United States has made clear it will go after militants in Pakistan if it finds them, and at the top of any list would be Afghan Taleban leader Mulla Omar. For years, US officials have said the one-eyed Omar is based in the southwestern Pakistani city of Quetta, not far from the Afghan border, where he heads a Taleban leadership council, or Shoura. Pakistan rejects assertions that Omar is in Pakistan, or even that the so-called Quetta Shoura exists. But such denials ring hollow after the Al-Qaeda leader was found in the country after years of similar protestations. People in Quetta are nervous and some are scornful of both sides in the fight against militancy. “I have no sympathy at all for Mulla Omar or the Taleban but I have none for the Americans either,” said Zulfiqar Tareen, a pharmaceutical company representative in Quetta. “Yes, the Taleban are terrorists but so is America.” Full report at: http://arabnews.com/world/article403481.ece -------- Pak may send more militants in India: Indian Army May, 15 2011 The Indian Army yesterday said Pakistan may sneak in more militants into Jammu and Kashmir to divert attention from its "internal problems" after the killing of al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden. "It is quite likely that Pakistan under pressure … could adopt a strategy of diverting attention which they have always done," General Officer Commanding-in-Chief of Army's northern command Lt General K T Parnaik told reporters on the sidelines of a function here. He said as one of the tactic, Pakistan can send an increasing number of militants to Jammu and Kashmir. "And one of the ways is to push in more people (militants) into J-K so that the attention gets diverted from their internal problems to external areas," Lt Gen Parnaik said. http://www.thedailystar.net/newDesign/news-details.php?nid=185782 -------- 2 suspects, vendor slain in Indonesia terror raid May, 15 2011 JAKARTA: Indonesia’s anti-terrorism forces killed two suspected militants in a predawn raid in Central Java on Saturday, a police spokesman said. A nearby rice vendor was killed in crossfire during the raid early in the day in Sukoharjo district, said national police spokesman Col. Boy Rafli Amar. He identified the suspects as Sigit Qurdowi, a leader of a little-known Islamist militant group called Hisbah, and his bodyguard, Hendro Yulianto. Amar says the two suspects are among fugitives wanted for a church attack in Central Java last year. He says they are also believed to have links to a terrorist network in the West Java district of Cirebon. “They have planned attacks against police,” Amar said, adding that the two resisted arrest. A number of terrorist suspects have been arrested following a suicide bombing last month at a mosque in Cirebon that wounded 30 people, mostly policemen. Indonesia, the world’s most populous Muslim nation, has been battling extremists since 2002 when Al-Qaeda-linked militants attacked two nightclubs on Bali island, killing 202 people, many of them foreign tourists. Full report at: http://arabnews.com/world/article402085.ece -------- Cop kills 2 NATO service members May, 15 2011 KABUL (AP): Two NATO service members were killed in southwestern Helmand province by an Afghan policeman, the coalition said Friday.The two were mentoring an Afghan National Civil Order brigade and were shot and killed inside the police compound on Thursday as they sat down to eat lunch, NATO said in a statement. Other soldiers returned fire and the policeman was wounded and hospitalized. The names and nationalities of the service members, along with other details, were not released.“While this is a serious incident, the actions of this individual do not reflect the overall actions of our Afghan partners,” said US Marine Corps Maj. Gen. James B. Laster, International Security Assistance Force Joint Command Deputy Chief of Staff Joint Operations. “We remain committed to our partners and to our mission here.”It is the latest incident in which a member of the Afghan security services has killed members of the coalition. Full report at: http://www.thefrontierpost.com/?p=14092 -------- Mob attacks Christian protest in Egypt May, 15 2011 CAIRO: An angry mob attacked a group of mainly Christian protesters demanding drastic measures to heal religious tension amid a spike in violence, leaving 65 people injured, officials said Sunday. The Christian protesters have been holding their sit-in outside the state television building in Cairo for nearly a week following deadly Christian-Muslim clashes that left a church burned and 15 people dead. More than 100 people rushed into the sit-in area, lobbing rocks and fire bombs from an overpass and charging toward the few hundred protesters sleeping in the area. Vehicles were set on fire and fires burned in the middle of the street. Police and army troops fired in the air to disperse the crowd, and a tree was set on fire under the overpass. The security official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media, said the attackers had returned to avenge an earlier scuffle with the protesters who prevented a motorist from going through the area. A fight ensued, and the motorists fired blank rounds. The protesters chased the motorist and beat him badly. Medics said 65 were injured in Sunday's melee, two in critical condition. The security official said at least 15 of the riot instigators were arrested. Full report at: http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2011/May-15/Mob-attacks-Christian-protest-in-Egypt.ashx#axzz1MOy0pV4W -------- Syrian forces shoot dead 3 in Homs region May, 15 2011 NICOSIA: Syrian security forces shot dead three people and wounded several others on Saturday in Tall Kalakh, a town in the Homs region which borders Lebanon, a witness told AFP. http://www.thenews.jang.com.pk/NewsDetail.aspx?ID=15537 -------- Gunmen fire on protesters in Yemen, wounding 35 May, 15 2011 SANAA: Gunmen in plain clothes opened fire repeatedly on protesters in Yemen’s southern city of Taiz on Saturday, wounding 35 people, a doctor said. The plain-clothes men, believed to be security officers, fired from rooftops at protesters demanding an end to more than three decades of President Ali Abdullah Saleh’s rule. “There were 35 people with gunshot wounds, three of whom are in an intensive care unit,” a hospital doctor told Reuters by phone. Three people were killed and 15 wounded on Friday when troops shot at protesters in Ibb, a city south of the capital Sanaa. The killings pushed the overall death toll since protests began to at least 170. Security forces on Saturday arrested Ahmed Al Musaibli, a leading broadcaster who had left state television to work for an opposition satellite channel, witnesses said. In the central town of Rada, gunmen shot dead six soldiers and wounded seven in an attack on a checkpoint on Friday, a local official said, blaming Al-Qaeda. Yemen faces violence from separatists in its south, rebels in the north and insecurity caused by tribalism and poverty. http://arabnews.com/middleeast/article403409.ece -------- 6 soldiers killed in Yemen violence May, 15 2011 A Yemeni security official says gunmen killed six soldiers and wounded a seventh in a central province. Activists say police clashed with protesters in the southern city of Taiz, injuring 15 during a rally calling for President Ali Abdullah Saleh's ouster. The official says the soldiers were attack ed today at a checkpoint in the town of Radda in Bayda province. He says the assailants fled. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he isn't authorised to brief the media. Seven Yemeni soldiers died in two ambushes yesterday. Activist Ghazi al-Samai says police in Taiz fired rubber bullets, live ammunition and tear gas at the protesters who had chained three government offices there as part of a civil disobedience campaign, which is meant to press Saleh to step down. http://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/africa/6-soldiers-killed-in-Yemen-violence/Article1-697576.aspx -------- Qabalan: Religious meet devoid of Islam’s values May, 15 2011 BEIRUT: Vice President of the Higher Shiite Council Sheikh Abdel Amir Qabalan described Thursday’s Muslim-Christian summit as “devoid of Islam’s values,” after he washed his hands of the summit’s final communiqué. The summit, which was held at the Maronite patriarchate in Bkirki to urge political leaders to promptly form a Cabinet and resolve divisive issues through dialogue, left Qabalan and other religious leaders divided. Shortly after the summit’s conclusion, Qabalan issued a statement to express his objections to articles 6 and 7 of the gathering’s final communiqué. “The Bkirki summit did not reflect the right method because opinions should not be imposed before dialogue and understanding takes place. Also, surprisingly, these meetings are devoid of values upheld by Islam, its Prophet and the Koran,” he said in Friday’s sermon. Qabalan went on urge the Lebanese to reconsider their positions in order to lead the Arab and Muslim nation “away from hatred and strife.” Full report at: http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Politics/2011/May-14/Qabalan-Religious-meet-devoid-of-Islams-values.ashx#axzz1MOy0pV4W -------- Taliban on Twitter as Afghan rebels enter Internet age May, 15 2011 KABUL: The Taliban once banned all television, music and cinema in Afghanistan, but now they are fighting their war via Twitter, the online messaging network that revolutionised global communication. The Islamist extremists sent out their first tweet in English on May 12 claiming "enemy attacked in Khak-e-Safid", with a link to their website for more details about rebel fighters killing "at least 6 puppet police". The move into the English language on Twitter is the latest sign that the Taliban are embracing modern technology in the propaganda battle that runs alongside the guerrilla war of ambushes, suicide bombings and mine explosions. When they ruled Afghanistan between 1996 and 2001, almost all electronic products were outlawed as un-Islamic. Photographs of living things were illegal, and ownership of a video player could lead to a public lashing. Today, they send out text messages and emails, release videos of attacks on US-led international troops, and run a website that evades repeated efforts to close it down. "The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan joined Twitter about six months ago," Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid told AFP, using the group's name from its time in power. http://www.thenews.jang.com.pk/NewsDetail.aspx?ID=15560 -------- Better to throw shoes rather than bombs, says Iraqi journalist May, 15 2011 Rana Siddiqui Zaman NEW DELHI: Three years after grabbing the spotlight by throwing his shoe at U.S. President George Bush during a press conference in Baghdad, Iraqi journalist Montazar Al Zaidi is in the land of Mahatma Gandhi hawking the philosophy it's better to throw shoes, rather than bombs, at extremist forces. Mr. Al Zaidi is in India on a two-day visit on the invitation of filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt. Mr. Al Zaidi's book, The Last Salute, detailing his experiences before and after his shoe act, has inspired Mr. Bhatt to produce a play for the first time in a career spanning more than two decades. Getting Mr. Al Zaidi to India wasn't easy. The post-Osama developments in Indo-American relations had made it tough to get him a visa. “I wrote to the Home Ministry which gave him a visa in 15 days finally,” Mr. Bhatt says, rather relieved. Mr. Al Zaidi seems in the pink of health, but rather pensive and a little tired. He admits that his act of throwing a shoe at Mr. Bush was a premeditated move. “After I saw an eight year-old-child, Zohra, killed by [the] U.S. troops in Iraq, I went mad and decided that even if I am killed, I will teach Bush a lesson.” Ready to “do or die,” he made a will and a cassette saying all his property should be divided among his five sisters, three brothers and the victims of the U.S. forces. Mr. Al Zaidi was detained and was tortured by the Prime Minister's security officers. “They broke my hands, one leg, my front teeth and electrocuted me many times over. Full report at: http://www.hindu.com/2011/05/15/stories/2011051564961300.htm -------- ISI chief admits to intel failure, offers to resign May, 15 2011 ISLAMABAD: Faced with public indignation, Pakistan's Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) chief Ahmed Shuja Pasha has admitted on Friday before the in-camera joint session of parliament to the intelligence failure in the wake of US raid on the hideout of Osama bin Laden at the garrison city ' of Abbottabad. Following the May 2 Abbottabad incident, Pakistan's armed forces and intelligence agencies came under immense pressure, giving inconsistent statements. An in-camera session of parliament was summoned with the objective that the top military leadership should brief the country's civilian leadership over the security lapses. The session was attended by all chiefs of the armed forces. However, the army chief General Ashfaq Pervez Kayani left before the question-answer session. Full report at: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/pakistan/ISI-chief-admits-to-intel-failure-offers-to-resign/articleshow/8310115.cms -------- Washington welcomes India's Afghan initiative May 15, 2011 The United States has welcomed India's latest initiative to support international efforts to rebuild a secure and stable Afghanistan by pledging an additional $500 million in assistance, raising the Indian contribution to a total $ 2 billion. Commenting on Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's announcement during his just-concluded visit to Kabul, US Assistant Secretary of State for South Asia Robert Blake cast the pledge in terms of India's "enhanced position as a regional leader". "India has assisted with critical infrastructure, like power stations and the Parliament building, and small development projects like health care facilities and wells," he said. Blake also complimented Singh's initiative to normalise relations with Pakistan and noted that building on the "cricket diplomacy" launched by Prime Ministers Singh and Gilani in Mohali, the Commerce Secretaries of the two countries have met in Islamabad and jointly announced ambitious commitments to enhance trade and commercial ties. "India'seconomic rise presents an enormous opportunity for Pakistan, and the normalisation of economic ties could provide immense benefits to millions of entrepreneurs, farmers and businesspeople in both countries. More critically, a bilateral breakthrough could provide a catalyst for wider regional economic integration, a transformative goal we all wish realised," Blake commented. http://www.dailypioneer.com/338711/Washington-welcomes-Indias-Afghan-initiative.html ------- ISI sought formal accord on ties with CIA: Pasha May, 15 2011 Iftikhar A. Khan SLAMABAD: The Pakistan military recently urged the US authorities to finalise a formal agreement on the relationship between the Central Intelligence Agency and the Inter-Services Intelligence. Lt-Gen Ahmad Shuja Pasha, the ISI chief, told the in camera joint sitting of the two houses of parliament on Friday that during a recent meeting with CIA chief Leon Panetta, he had stressed the need to formalise the relationship through an agreement. “It is not possible to carry forward the cooperation without a formal agreement duly approved by parliament,” a lawmaker quoted the ISI director general as saying. Gen Pasha said his agency had always cooperated with the CIA and its successes in the war against terrorism were made possible because of vital information passed on to it by the ISI. He denied the ISI had concealed anything from the American agency. “In fact it is the other way round.” Citing an example of the CIA’s withholding of information, he said the ISI had provided complete information about Abu Ahmad Al Kuwaiti, the courier in the Osama saga, but when the CIA, acting on the lead, arrested one of his friends in Kuwait, it did not share the development with the ISI. Full report at: http://www.dawn.com/2011/05/15/isi-sought-formal-accord-on-ties-with-cia-pasha.html -------- Pak, West be united against Taliban, demands NATO May, 15 2011 BRUSSELS: NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen on Saturday urged Pakistan to stand united with its Western allies to tackle Taliban extremists, who were behind a double suicide bombing in the country. "It is with shock and sadness that I learned the death of some 80 paramilitary cadets killed in a terrorist attack," Rasmussen wrote in a letter to Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari. "This attack is a stark reminder that Pakistan and Allies must stand united to defeat the scourge of violent extremism," he added. The death toll rose to 89 following Friday's suicide bombing on a paramilitary police training centre in the town of Shabqadar in northwest Pakistan. Around 140 people were also wounded, 40 of them critically. Pakistan's Taliban has claimed responsibility for the attack, saying it was to avenge the death of Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden at the hands of US forces two weeks ago. It was the deadliest attack this year in the nuclear-armed country, whose government is in crisis over the US raid on a compound in the northwestern city of Abbottabad where bin Laden had been hiding for five years. (AFP) http://www.thenews.jang.com.pk/NewsDetail.aspx?ID=15541 -------- Muslim World League eyes better India ties May, 15 2011 JEDDAH: Abdullah Al-Turki, secretary-general of Muslim World League, has reiterated his organization’s desire to hold an interfaith dialogue conference in the south Indian state of Kerala and hoped the Indian government would soon endorse the program aimed at improving relations among the country’s various faith communities. “We want to strengthen our relations with India,” Al-Turki said during a meeting with Abdussalam Vaniyambalam, vice chancellor of the Islamic University in Shantapuram, Kerala, and V.K. Abdul Aziz, director of Al-Hayat International School in Jeddah and an executive member of the International Interfaith Dialogue India (IIDI) in Kochi. Al-Turki has already sent a letter to Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh seeking his consent for the conference. He emphasized his organization's efforts to promote and enhance constructive dialogue among adherents of different faiths and cultures. The MWL has organized interfaith dialogue conferences in Makkah, Madrid and Geneva during the past three years. Full report at: http://arabnews.com/saudiarabia/article403521.ece -------- Gaddafi not in Tripoli anymore? May, 15 2011 LONDON: Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi has probably fled the capital city of Tripoli and was "most likely" wounded in NATO air strikes, Italian foreign minister Franco Frattini has said. Frattini said he believed the leader could have fled Tripoli to "seek refuge in a safe place", the Daily Express reported. He said he believed claims by Tripoli's Catholic bishop, Giovanni Innocenzo Martinelli - who was in contact with the leader's group - that Gaddafi was "most probably outside Tripoli and probably even wounded". Martinelli's office believed that Gaddafi had left for the Tunisian capital, but Frattini said he did not think that he had left the country. " Libya is a big country, with desert areas," he said. However, Gaddafi's spokesman dismissed the claims as "nonsense". Mussa Ibrahim said: "The leader is in good spirits and unharmed." http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/middle-east/Gaddafi-not-in-Tripoli-any-more/articleshow/8321621.cms -------- Musharraf vows to return for 2013 polls May, 15 2011 Pakistan’s exiled former president Pervez Musharraf plans to return to his country next year, despite facing possible arrest, in order to participate in a 2013 election, he told reporters on Friday. ‘My plan is to land in Lahore on March 23 next year, if not earlier,’ he said, adding he would participate in the election the following year. The 2013 election is for parliament, which selects the president in Pakistan. Musharraf faces an arrest warrant in connection with the 2007 assassination of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto, apparently after a federal agency linked the former military ruler to the case, his spokesman said earlier this year. ‘I run the risk of being arrested, but I will take the risk for Pakistan,’ he told reporters at a news conference in Dubai, adding that he had not tried to broker a deal to avoid arrest. Musharraf was not popular when he left office and does not have a big following at present in Pakistan. His announcement comes amid growing turmoil in Pakistan, after US special forces killed al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden in the country on May 2, souring relations between Washington and Islamabad over US suspicion its ally knew where he was. http://newagebd.com/newspaper1/international/18668.html -------- Pak threatens to cut supply lines to US forces in Afghanistan May, 15 2011 Pakistan's parliament condemned on Saturday the US raid that killed Osama bin Laden, warning Pakistan might cut supply lines to US forces in Afghanistan if there were further military incursions. According to one legislator, Pakistan's intelligence chief told a closed session of MPs he was ready to resign over the bin Laden affair, which has embarrassed the country and led to accusations Pakistani security agents knew where the al Qaeda chief was hiding. There has been criticism of the government and military, partly because bin Laden had apparently remained undetected in Pakistan for years, but also because of the failure to detect or stop the US operation to get him. "Parliament ... condemned the unilateral action in Abbottabad which constitutes a violation of Pakistan's sovereignty," it said in a resolution issued after security chiefs briefed legislators. The covert raid by US special forces on bin Laden's house in the garrison town of Abbottabad, 50 km (30 miles) north of Islamabad, has strained already prickly ties with the United States and prompted revenge attacks by his supporters. Full report at: http://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/pakistan/Pak-threatens-to-cut-supply-lines-to-US-forces-in-Afghanistan/Article1-697624.aspx -------- “Full confidence” in military, ISI May, 15 2011 Anita Joshua ISLAMABAD: Pakistan's Parliament on Friday warned of “dire consequences” for peace and security in the region and the world if the unilateral action taken by the U.S. in Abbottabad on May 2 is repeated. It also authorised the government to consider withdrawal of transit facility to the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan in case of more such unilateral attacks or drone strikes. In a resolution adopted late on Friday night at the end of the joint session of Parliament — in which the Inter Services Intelligence Director-General Shuja Pasha submitted himself to the legislature's scrutiny after providing an in-camera briefing on the Abbottabad operation — members affirmed full confidence in the defence forces. As for Lieutenant-General Pasha's offer to resign, there was no indication on whether it had been accepted or rejected 24 hours after it was offered in Parliament. But the very admission of intelligence failure is a first for Pakistan's military, which has ruled the country for nearly half its history and has come in for considerable criticism after the Abbottabad operation for alleged complicity and apparent incompetence. In fact, it is being billed as a 1971-like moment when the armed forces morale reached an all-time low following the loss of East Pakistan. Full report at: http://www.hindu.com/2011/05/15/stories/2011051565211500.htm -------- US dashes Libyan rebel's hopes of recognition May, 15 2011 The US has stopped short of recognising Libya's National Transitional Council as the country's legitimate government. The statement comes after the first visit to the White House by a senior member of the rebel council, which is pushing for international support. Earlier, Col Muammar Gaddafi taunted Nato troops in an audio message on state TV, saying he was in a place where they "cannot reach" him. State media says 11 Muslim clerics have been killed in a Nato air strike. Mahmoud Jibril, deputy leader of the Benghazi-based National Transitional Council (NTC), met officials at the White House on Friday, including National Security Adviser Tom Donilon. In a statement, the White House said Mr Donilon had told Mr Jibril that the US viewed the council as "a legitimate and credible interlocutor of the Libyan people". The US and Britain have not recognised the NTC as the true government of Libya - in contrast to France, Italy and Qatar. White House spokesman Jay Carney said on Thursday that such a step would be "premature". Full report at: http://www.thedailystar.net/newDesign/news-details.php?nid=185759 -------- Death toll mounts in Syria despite talks offer May, 15 2011 Syrian security forces killed at least four people yesterday in a border town, witnesses said despite a no-shoot order, dialogue offer and troop pullouts. "The security forces, who had been encircling Tall Kalakh since the morning, fired machine guns. At least three people were killed and several were wounded" in the western town near the border with Lebanon, a witness said. More than 500 people, mostly women and children, fled across the border from Tall Kalakh yesterday, town councillor Mahmud Khazaal said. At least five people were killed on Friday, activists said, despite an order from President Bashar al-Assad for security forces not to open fire on protesters and a government offer of dialogue. The United States expressed outrage and French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe blaming Assad for the deadly repression. Full report at: http://www.thedailystar.net/newDesign/news-details.php?nid=185763 -------- America shows off warship that buried bin Laden May, 15 2011 ABOARD THE USS CARL VINSON: US officials welcomed visitors Sunday to the USS Carl Vinson warship, from which Osama bin Laden’s body was buried at sea, but did not discuss the ultra-secretive attack that killed him, reflecting America’s concern over possible retaliation. US defense officials were taking measures to ensure the security of the operatives involved in the May 2 assault on a walled fortress in Abbottabad, Pakistan, particularly the Navy SEAL team that killed the world’s most wanted terrorist. President Benigno Aquino III, accompanied by senior members of his Cabinet and military chief of staff, were flown to the massive aircraft carrier Saturday as it traveled in the South China Sea toward the Philippines, a key Asian anti-terrorism ally. A group of journalists were invited to tour and talk to sailors aboard the 97,000-ton Carl Vinson, which anchored off Manila along with three other warships on Sunday at the start of a four-day routine port call and goodwill visit. During the 30-minute ferry ride to the Vinson, US Embassy spokeswoman Wossenyelesh Mazengia told about two dozen journalists that nobody aboard the carrier would talk about bin Laden. ”No one on the Vinson is authorized to discuss any operational details that involve Osama bin Laden,” Mazengia said. ”I’m not trying to say you can’t ask, you can.” Full report at: http://www.dawn.com/2011/05/15/america-shows-off-warship-that-buried-bin-laden.html -------- Pakistan should not accept ‘US unilateralism’: Nawaz May, 15 2011 Ahmad Fraz Khan LAHORE: Nawaz Sharif, chief of the Pakistan Muslim League-N, has called upon the government not to accept “US unilateralism because one-sided ties cannot and should not be maintained”. Mr Sharif, speaking at a press conference on Saturday after a meeting with US Ambassador Cameron Munter, said the government must shed its “subservience to the Americans even it means annoying the US and a few individuals in Pakistan”. About his meeting with the ambassador, Mr Sharif said “we had a frank discussion on all issues”. Looking fully recovered from his heart problems, an uncharacteristically belligerent Nawaz Sharif told journalists at his Raiwind residence that “the Abbottabad incident was an existential threat to Pakistan and had more serious repercussions than the threat to nuclear installations. Does the US understand our position?” The former prime minister claimed credit for “making stronger and meaningful the draft of a toothless resolution which was being prepared for adoption at the end of the in camera session of parliament (on Friday)”. He said the government was not even ready for the resolution, but gave in after “a few hours of relentless pressure”. Full report at: http://www.dawn.com/2011/05/15/pakistan-should-not-accept-us-unilateralism-nawaz.html -------- Osama hiding place visited by Taliban: British newspaper May, 15 2011 LONDON: Al Qaeda Chief Osama Bin Laden had direct contact with Taliban allies and fellow Arab fundraisers at the compound in Abbottabad, British newspaper The Telegraph claimed. According to the newspaper, British intelligence agents last week joined their US counterparts to sift through the material after repeated references to Britain were found in the haul retrieved from Osama's compound when US commandos killed him this month. An Afghan Taliban commander, who has previously provided reliable information to foreign media, disclosed to the British newspaper that he had visited bin Laden at the compound in Abbottabad. He said that the Saudi terror chief also received sporadic visits from leaders of his al-Qaeda network, Taliban allies and fellow Arab fundraisers. When the commander, who asked not to be named, last saw Osama in Abbottabad two years ago, he seemed healthy and well briefed on recent developments, but concerned about his safety and money. The Sunday Telegraph has learned that Britain was one of six countries - along with the US, Canada, Israel, Germany and Spain - identified as a target for terror strikes in the intelligence haul. Officials did not disclose specific plots or threats. http://www.thenews.jang.com.pk/NewsDetail.aspx?ID=15559 -------- Pak: President congratulates PM on unanimous resolution May, 15 2011 ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani called on President Asif Ali Zardari at Aiwan-e-Sadr on Saturday. Prime Minister briefed the President about the in-camera briefing on Abbotabad incident. The President on the occasion congratulated the Prime Minister on the passing of unanimous resolution during the joint sitting of the parliament. He also paid tributes to all the political parties for their role in Friday’s joint-parliamentary session. http://www.thenews.jang.com.pk/NewsDetail.aspx?ID=15550 -------- Three killed in Syrian town, hundreds flee to Lebanon May, 15 2011 AMMAN: Three people were killed after Syrian troops and gunmen entered the town of Tel Kelakh on Saturday, a rights campaigner said, and hundreds fled what they said was fierce fighting into neighbouring Lebanon. The violence came a day after activists said at least six people were killed during nationwide protests which erupted in defiance of a military crackdown aimed a crushing opposition to the autocratic rule of President Bashar al-Assad. One of the three who died had been evacuated to Lebanon from the border town of Tel Kelakh, where fleeing residents reported seeing soldiers and black-clad gunmen loyal to Assad, and said they heard the sound of machine gun fire. “There was a peaceful demonstration in Tel Kelakh yesterday but today there are clashes,” said one woman who fled the restive town for Lebanon, declining to give her name. The United States and European Union have imposed targeted sanctions on Syrian officials and condemned Assad’s repression of the eight-week uprising, in which rights groups say about 700 people have been killed by security forces. Authorities blame “armed terrorist groups” for most of the violence and say 120 soldiers and police have been killed. Full report at: http://www.dawn.com/2011/05/14/three-killed-in-syrian-town-hundreds-flee-to-lebanon.html -------- Pakistan lawmakers pledge no repeat of Osama bin Laden raid May, 15 2011 ISLAMABAD: Pakistan lawmakers pledged on Saturday there must be no repeat of the US commando raid that killed Osama bin Laden and said drone strikes targeting terrorists near the border with Afghanistan must end. The strongly-worded message came after a parliamentary session lasting more than 10 hours, in which MPs debated the "situation arising from unilateral US action in Abbottabad," north of Islamabad, where the al-Qaida chief was found and shot dead on May 2 after a decade-long manhunt. The statement came hours after Pakistan's Taliban claimed responsibility for a double suicide bombing on a paramilitary police training centre that killed 89 people in the first major attack to avenge bin Laden's death. Around 140 people were wounded, 40 of them critically, in the attack -- the deadliest this year in Pakistan, where the government is in crisis over the death of the man blamed for the 9/11 attacks in the United States. Pakistan's intelligence chief Ahmad Shuja Pasha, chief of military operations and deputy chief of air staff, briefed lawmakers before they issued a resolution condemning Washington's unilateral action at bin Laden's compound. They called on the government "to appoint an independent commission on the Abbottabad operation, fix responsibility and recommend necessary measures to ensure that such an incident does not recur". Parliament also threatened to withdraw logistical cooperation for US troops based in Afghanistan and hit out at the drone strikes. Full report at: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/pakistan/Pakistan-lawmakers-pledge-no-repeat-of-Osama-bin-Laden-raid/articleshow/8315378.cms -------- U.S. modulates West Asia involvement May, 15 2011 Narayan Lakshman Washington: In a possible indication that the United States is seeking to tamp down its involvement in West Asian politics, the White House has refused to officially recognise the Libyan Transitional National Council rebel formation, even as President Barack Obama accepted the resignation of his top West Asia envoy, George Mitchell. Despite a high-profile meeting at the White House with National Security Advisor Tom Donilon, TNC President Mahmoud Gibril came away disappointed when he was informed there would as yet be no official recognition of his group as the alternative to Libyan leader Muammar Qadhafi. While the White House spun the meeting as a positive development and said the U.S. viewed the TNC as a “legitimate and credible interlocutor of the Libyan people”, a State Department spokesman said the question of recognition was “one of many... policy issues... that are still under review”. He added it was up to the Libyan people, and not the international community, to decide who was to lead Libya. Full report at: http://www.hindu.com/2011/05/15/stories/2011051557711700.htm -------- Mubarak's wife in hospital after arrest order May, 15 2011 Sharm El-Sheikh : Suzanne Mubarak, wife of ousted leader Hosni Mubarak, has been hospitalized in the intensive care unit after suffering severe chest pains upon hearing the news that she had been ordered detained on corruption allegations. The director of the hospital said she had a heart problem and was in unstable condition at the hospital in this Red Sea resort community, where her husband also has been hospitalized. Yesterday's detention order came a day after the 70-year-old former first lady was questioned for the first time since she was accused of taking advantage of her husband's position to enrich herself. The Mubaraks and other members of the former regime have been the subject of legal efforts to bring them to trial since the ex-president was ousted on Feb. 11 after a popular uprising. A security official said Mrs Mubarak will remain in the hospital for the time being but was expected to be moved to a women's prison in Cairo. Full report at: http://www.indianexpress.com/story-print/790796 -------- Israel scrambles to face Arab revolutions May, 15 2011 Israel TV has unravelled a plan by Israeli occupation forces to open up talks to draw what they termed as a "five sided plan" to confront the reprecussions of democratic revolutions sweeping the Arab world. According to Israeli TV, Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Benny Gantz will head the meetings, which are expected to last a week. Discussions will focus mainly on future scenarios stemming from the wave of sweeping reform occurring in the Arab world, its strategic impact on Israel, and how can the Israel state can address the growing challenges against it on all fronts. “We are at the peak of this wave of changes and we do not have any control on its direction or its outcome,” said Gantz. However, the Israeli occupation forces are preparing for the possibility of an all-sided military confrontation with Arab states, which was never on the agenda until the eruption of the recent Arab revolutions. Full report at: http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/2/8/12066/World/Region/Israel-scrambles-to-face-Arab-revolutions.aspx -------- Obama accepts resignation of US Mideast envoy May, 15 2011 George Mitchell, who helped broker peace in Northern Ireland, announced his resignation Friday as the Obama administration's special envoy to the Mideast after fruitless attempts at rekindling Israeli-Palestinian peace talks. Obama, accepting the resignation, called Mitchell "a tireless advocate for peace." Mitchell's departure comes with Obama preparing for a flurry of activity on the Middle East, which has seen popular uprisings sprout in several countries but little movement in the effort to find a peaceful settlement between Israel and the Palestinians. That peace process has been moribund since last autumn and further complicated by an agreement between Palestinian factions to share power. Obama plans to deliver a speech next Thursday at the State Department about his administration's views of developments in the region. The next day _ Mitchell's last on the job _ Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will visit Washington. Obama also will play host to Jordan's King Abdullah II on Tuesday. And the White House was looking to schedule a speech by Obama to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, the country's largest pro-Israel lobby, before he leaves for Europe May 22, officials said. Full report at: http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/2/8/12078/World/Region/Obama-accepts-resignation-of-US-Mideast-envoy.aspx -------- Palestinian dies after protest in Jerusalem May, 15 2011 A Palestinian teenager who was shot during protests in Jerusalem died yesterday, hospital officials said, and Israeli police, expecting further demonstrations, deployed heavily in the streets. Tensions are high in East Jerusalem as Palestinians prepare to mourn on Sunday the creation of Israel in 1948, which they call the "nakba," or catastrophe, when hundreds of thousands of Palestinians fled or were forced to leave their homes. Dozens of Palestinians who later took part in the youth's funeral procession clashed with Israeli police, and a number of them were arrested, said police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld. The 17-year-old had been brought to the hospital on Friday with a gun shot wound, but it was unclear who had shot him and police were investigating, Rosenfeld said. The shooting took place in the flashpoint neighborhood of Silwan, where, according to witnesses, violence broke out between Palestinian stone throwers and Israeli police and Jewish settlers. An official at Makassed hospital said the teenager had been shot in the stomach. Palestinians want East Jerusalem as the capital of the state they intend to establish in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. http://www.thedailystar.net/newDesign/news-details.php?nid=185768 -------- Osama’s death may spur fresh terror in Afghanistan May, 15 2011 The killing of Osama bin Laden by US special forces can trigger a backlash from his supporters and a ‘new wave of terror’ across a giant area surrounding Afghanistan, a regional security body said on Saturday. Dominated by China and Russia, the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation also unites the mostly Muslim ex-Soviet Central Asian states of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan and occupies three-fifths of Eurasia, populated by over 1.5 billion, or a quarter of the world’s population. ‘The recent elimination of terrorist No. 1 Osama bin Laden is beyond all doubt a success of the United States, but it is in no way a victory over international terrorism,’ the Kazakh foreign minister, Yerzgan Kazykhanov, told a meeting with his counterparts from the SCO states. Full report at: http://newagebd.com/newspaper1/international/18673.html -------- Pakistan threatens to cut US Afghan supply line May, 15 2011 ISLAMABAD: Still angry over the US raid that killed Osama Bin Laden, Pakistani lawmakers demanded an end to American missile strikes against militants on their soil Saturday, and warned that Pakistan may cut NATO’s supply line to Afghanistan if the attacks don’t stop. The nonbinding parliamentary resolution reflects the precarious state of the US-Pakistani alliance, which is vital to the war effort in neighboring Afghanistan. The Bin Laden raid has brought to the fore a longstanding dilemma that US strikes that Washington says kill militants often are seen by Pakistanis as a violation of sovereignty with mostly civilian victims, exacerbating an already-high anti-American sentiment. The measure was passed after a rare, private briefing in Parliament by Pakistan’s military leaders, who were humiliated by the May 2 US Navy SEAL raid that killed the 54-year-old Al-Qaeda chief in his compound in Abbottabad. Pakistanis were angry the military allowed it to happen while the US said the proximity to a military academy and the capital, Islamabad, raised suspicion that some security elements had been harboring Bin Laden. Washington also has been unable to get Islamabad to go after militant groups, such as the Haqqani network, who use its soil as hideouts but stage attacks only inside Afghanistan. Analysts say Pakistan may be maintaining ties to some insurgents because it wants leverage in Afghanistan — and a wedge against archrival India — once the US pulls out. Full report at: http://arabnews.com/world/article402063.ece -------- Pakistan calls back its US ambassador for ‘consultation’ May, 15 2011 ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has called back its Ambassador to US, Hussain Haqqani, for consultations. An official said Haqqani has been called for “consultations” and “questioning.” It is learned he issued many un-mandated visas to US nationals. The official said Haqqani will be asked to furnish names and addresses of all those US nationals whom he had issued Pakistani visa without security clearance. http://arabnews.com/world/article403475.ece -------- India, Pakistan seek early solution to Wullar Barrage issue May, 15 2011 Anita Joshua ISLAMABAD: In keeping with the spirit of the resumed dialogue process, India and Pakistan on Friday agreed to explore an “early and amicable resolution” of the Tulbul Navigation Project/Wullar Barrage issue within the ambit of the 1960-vintage Indus Waters Treaty (IWT). A joint statement, issued after the two-day Water Secretary-level engagement between the two countries, said India would provide comprehensive technical data to Pakistan within a month. Pakistan would examine this data and furnish its views to India by September 15. The Dawn reported that India offered to change the design of the project in a way that one of the bays would remain an un-gated structure to ensure a constant flow of water and thereby address Pakistan's concern of manipulation. Full report at: http://www.hindu.com/2011/05/15/stories/2011051565011300.htm URL: http://www.newageislam.com/NewAgeIslamIslamicWorldNews_1.aspx?ArticleID=4640 | |
11:28 PM
Moderate Islamist here
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