| Islamic World News | |
| 16 May 2011, NewAgeIslam.Com |
| Pak builds low yield nuclear capability, concern grows | ||
Peace moves gain ground in Ayodhya after SC stay Targets inside India have been identified: ISI Post-Osama, Obama govt divided on ties with Pak Wary of security, US Navy won't talk about Osama bin Laden IMF chief's arrest may oust Sarko's main rival from poll Florida Imams arrested for aiding Pakistani Taliban Libya unrest enters fourth month UAE hires Blackwater founder to set up foreign militia to counter dissent Tahawwur Rana's trial to begin in Chicago today, could expose ISI role in 26/11 Taliban using child bombers, alleges Afghan intelligence Muslim-Christian clash leaves 50 hurt in Egypt World's largest university for women opened Elaraby replaces Moussa as Arab League chief Dealing with victims of domestic violence in Saudi Arabia Bin Laden was a US prisoner before being killed: Iran Gunmen kill Saudi diplomat Afghan intelligence: Taliban using child bombers Qaeda kidnaps Yemeni officer, two killed Hunt for Osama's donors Afghanistan may join Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Premature' to eye faster pullout of Afghanistan: Gates Pak-origin Imam, 2 sons held in US on terror charges Has Pak stopped intelligence sharing with US over Osama row? Identified India targets in case of attack: ISI Concern grows as Pak builds low yield nuclear capability Indian student racially assaulted in UK Rana’s trial may expose ISI-terrorists links: Experts Zardari, Gilani, Kayani meet amid diplomatic tensions with US Nato must step up pace in Libya: British general US ship on which Qaeda chief was buried anchors in Philippines Nora varsity gives women hope Fighters claim full control of Misrata Deal must not extend Saleh rule: Opposition ‘No favoritism in awarding contracts for mosque repair’ Relief as 150 more Filipino overstayers cleared to leave Maritime law aims to preserve sovereignty UN says N.Korea, Iran trading missile technology Pakistani charged in US over Taleban link denies charges 'US to deploy troops if Pak nukes come under threat' US senator Kerry meets Army Chief Gates was unsure of bin Laden raid intel PPP Sindh to protest against LHC verdict Israel-Palestinian violence erupts on three borders Family in Swat denies charge of Taliban link Wary of security, Navy won’t talk about bin Laden Zardari, Kayani discuss parliament debate Cameron assures Gilani of support Compiled by New Age Islam News Bureau Photo: Pakistan's successful test of a missile able to carry short range nuclear | ||
8 killed, scores injured in Israeli firing--------
Pak builds low yield nuclear capability, concern grows
16 MAY 2011
SINGAPORE: Pakistan's successful test of a missile able to carry short range nuclear weapons threatens to raise tensions in a region already nervous that the death of Osama bin Laden will create more instability.
Tactical nuclear weapons, as these are called, are often seen as more dangerous than the traditional strategic weapons because their small size and vulnerability to misuse. Theft makes them a risk to global security.
The biggest concern is that these low yield weapons are seen as less destructive and therefore more likely to be used than other classes of weapons, forcing most nuclear states to minimise the risk by cutting back stockpiles.
Pakistani experts say the country has been forced to develop tactical nuclear weapons because of India's "Cold Start" plan under which Indian troops are primed to carry out a lightning strike inside Pakistan if another Mumbai-style attack is traced back to Pakistan-based militant groups.
The military said it had tested last month the 60-km (36-mile) range NASR surface-to-surface missile which carries nuclear warheads to boost "deterrence at short ranges".
Security experts in the United States, India and Pakistan said it meant the military planned to deploy these weapons in the battlefield, escalating the regional nuclear competition that has often seemed a replay of the U.S.-Soviet rivalry during the Cold War.
"Pakistan's development and testing of nuclear-capable short-range missiles is a destabilizing and potentially dangerous development," Daryl G. Kimball, the executive director of the Washington-based Arms Control Association, said.
"It suggests that Pakistan would seriously contemplate use on the battlefield in the event of an incursion by Indian forces."
India may yet respond by mounting nuclear warheads on its shorter range missiles to meet the Pakistani threat. It tested low yield nuclear devices in 1998 but there has been no word since then on whether it has added them to its arsenal.
"Our capability in the area of low yield fission devices is well known," a former Indian defence scientist involved in the 1998 tests said, declining further comment.
Pakistan responded to India's tests with explosions of its own. Both nations have since been expanding their arsenal, Pakistan even more and at a pace that Western experts say may, within a decade, make it the fourth largest weapons power, behind the United States, Russia and China.
Pakistan says it has invested a lot of resources to ensure that its nuclear facilities, materials and weapons are secure.
But Pakistan's support for militant groups including al Qaeda and the Taliban, who have found sanctuary along the Afghan border, has always heightened concerns about its ever expanding armoury. These worries have deepened after al Qaeda leader bin Laden was found and killed in a garrison town.
If there was one nuclear-armed country that kept him awake at night, it was Pakistan, senior White House coordinator on weapons of mass destruction and terrorism, Gary Samore said.
"What I worry about is that, in the broader tensions and problems within Pakistani society and polity...even the best nuclear security measures might break down," Samore said in an interview published in the May 2011 issue of Arms Control Today.
"You're dealing with a country that is under tremendous stress internally and externally, and that's what makes me worry."
DISPERSED WEAPONS
The problem with deploying tactical weapons to the battlefield is that command and control has to be dispersed down to military units on the ground.
This increases the risk of things going wrong, either through miscalculation, an accident or the nightmare scenario of infiltration by militant groups, nuclear experts say.
In either case, once Pakistan had fired off the missile, it would invite retaliation, the extent of which is unknown.
Within Pakistan itself, security experts have questioned the logic of deploying tactical weapons, arguing that it exposed the country to bigger risks rather than improving security.
Ejaz Haider, a Pakistani security expert and columnist, said if Pakistan is going to unleash these weapons as the Indian military crosses the border, it would effectively be dropping them on its own soil.
"We are, of course, not even considering how our own troops and population would be exposed to the fallout from a TNW (tactical nuclear weapon)," Haider said.
But several experts also say that India's Cold Start doctrine, even if it is not fully operational, is seen as a real threat in Pakistan.
Cold Start is aimed at mounting rapid military incursions into Pakistan to punish it, take limited amounts of territory, and then negotiate to compel Islamabad to rein in militant groups that act against India.
It is not aimed at threatening the Pakistani state into resorting to its final, nuclear option, but it's a risky gamble. Pakistani army chief General Ashfaq Kayani has warned the Indian battle plan could lead to a "sudden spiral escalation".
"India's military planners foolishly believe that they can engage in and win a limited conventional conflict without triggering a nuclear exchange even though the Pakistani army's strategy lies on nuclear weapons to offset India's overwhelming conventional superiority," the Arms Control Association's Kimball said.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/pakistan/Pak-builds-low-yield-nuclear-capability-concern-grows/articleshow/8346862.cms
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8 killed, scores injured in Israeli firing
16 MAY 2011
MAJDAL SHAMS: Eight people were killed and more than 200 injured on Sunday as Palestinians marched on Israel's borders with Lebanon, Syria and Gaza in a mass show of mourning over the 1948 creation of the Jewish state.
Tensions along the Israeli-Syrian frontier spiralled as thousands of protesters who massed on the Syrian side of the Golan Heights plateau tried to break through to the Israeli side, prompting the army to open fire.
Syria lashed out at Israel for opening fire on the protesters, warning that the Jewish state would bear full responsibility for its “criminal” actions.
A Druze doctor from Majdal Shams who rushed to the scene told AFP he saw at least two bodies, with local paramedics confirming the same toll, saying one had been shot in the head, and the second in the chest.
They also said had treated another 20 people for light to moderate injuries, with the Israeli army confirming that “dozens” had been injured.
Along the Lebanese border, Israeli gunfire killed six people and wounded another 71 as thousands of mainly Palestinian refugees demonstrated along the tense frontier, local medical sources said.
Minors injured
And along Gaza's northern border with Israel, 90 people were injured, five of them seriously, when troops opened fired as more than a thousand Palestinians marched on the Erez crossing.
At least half of the wounded were minors, medics said.
The Israeli army issued a statement saying “hundreds of Syrian rioters” had crossed onto the Israeli side, and in response troops had “fired selectively” towards them, injuring an unspecified number. Protesters in southern Lebanon had tried to cross the border into Israel, the statement added, saying troops had fired warning shots towards them.
During the two incidents, three Army officers and 10 soldiers had been injured, it said, placing the blame for the violence squarely on the Damascus and Beirut.
Elsewhere, at least 29 others were injured as clashes broke out between stone-throwing Palestinian youths and Israeli security forces across annexed east Jerusalem and in the West Bank.Within the Palestinian territories, the vast majority of injuries occurred in northern Gaza, where troops opened fire as more than 1,000 people marched on the towering concrete border fence, chanting: “No to the occupation!” and “Revolution, revolution to liberate Palestine!” Syria angrily denounced the Israeli actions.
"We firmly denounce the criminal Israeli actions against our people in the Golan Heights, Palestine and southern Lebanon that left several people dead and wounded," the Syrian foreign ministry said.
“Israel will have to bear full responsibility for its actions.”
A Palestinian man was killed when troops opened fired on an area east of Gaza City but medics said the incident was not related to the "nakba" protests. — AFP
http://www.hindu.com/2011/05/16/stories/2011051655002000.htm
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Peace moves gain ground in Ayodhya after SC stay
Manjari Mishra & Arshad Afzal Khan
16 MAY 2011
LUCKNOW/ AYODHYA: Peace-brokers in Ayodhya are vying to be the first to come up with an out-of-court settlement for the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid title suit.
On May 9, the Supreme Court stayed the Allahabad high court order that directed division of 2.77 acre land of the disputed site in Ayodhya into three parts among Hindus, Muslims and the Nirmohi Akhara.
One camp led by head of Nirmohi Akhara Mahant Bhaskar Das and petitioner Haji Mehboob, and the other, including former head of Akhil Bharatiya Akhara Parishad Mahant Gyandas and the oldest surviving litigant in the original title suit, 91-year-old Hashim Ansari, are trying to work out an out-of-court settlement formula. There is a perception that SC's stay could mean an indefinite wait.
Both camps are unanimous in yielding ground to Muslims within the 67 acres of acquired land, known as the Ram Janmabhoomi Complex. Hardliners in VHP and BJP though are against giving any land to Muslims within the 67-acre periphery.
''Unless offered their share within the 67 acres, Muslims will not take any peace initiative seriously,'' said Ranjit Lal, Nirmohi Akhara lawyer and a close confidant of Mahant Bhaskar Das. Lal has been entrusted with drafting the blueprint. ''VHP's insistence on driving Muslims out of the Parikrama Marg will not lead us anywhere,'' he said.
The Akhara is working in collaboration with retired chief justice of Allahabad HC Palok Basu. Justice Basu initiated the process a year ago by involving Ayodhya's eminent people, both Hindus and Muslims, in a dialogue to sort out the issue.
Muslims are led by Haji Mehboob, Lal said. One of the key negotiators on the Hindu side is Mahant Nrityagopal Das, the head of Ramjanambhoomi Nyas who has high credibility among Hindus here. ''It basically involves efforts by original residents of Ayodhya and not those who have set up their shops post demolition. After talks with various people, we are convinced they want peace and progress and not politics in Ayodhya. They do not want this dispute to linger for another 30 years,'' said Mahant Bhaskar Das.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Peace-moves-gain-ground-in-Ayodhya-after-SC-stay/articleshow/8350670.cms
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Targets inside India have been identified: ISI
16 MAY 2011
Islamabad: Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence chief Lieutenant General Ahmed Shuja Pasha has warned India that any Abbottabad-like attack by it would invite a fitting response from Pakistan as targets inside the country “had already been identified” and “rehearsal” carried out.
Lt. Gen. Pasha's warning came as he addressed the in-camera joint session of the Senate and National Assembly held behind closed doors on Friday.
‘Fitting response'
Lt. Gen. Pasha is facing fire over the inability of the ISI to track down al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden in Pakistan, where he was living, before he was annihilated by the U.S. special forces on May 2.
In an apparent response to statements from New Delhi that India too can carry out strikes inside Pakistan, Lt. Gen. Pasha said any attack from the east would invite a fitting response, the Dawn reported. He said a contingency plan was in place and targets inside “India had already been identified.” Lt. Gen. Pasha told the lawmakers: “We have also carried out rehearsal for it.”
Earlier on May 5, Pakistan army and the government had reacted sharply warning India against any Abbottabad-like “misadventure,” saying it would be responded to “very strongly.” The warning had come after a meeting of the Corps Commanders chaired by Gen Ashfaq Pervez Kayani which decided to reduce the level of U.S. military personnel in Pakistan. — PTI
http://www.hindu.com/2011/05/16/stories/2011051662361000.htm
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Sectarian harmony in Bahrain need of the hour: MRS
May 16, 2011
ISLAMABAD: While expressing its grave concern over the recent sectarian violence in Bahrain wherein dozens were killed and many more got injured, the Muslim Rights Spectator (MRS) has called for developing sectarian harmony in that country as it would badly impact the impartial status of the Bahraini government on the international level.
“All the sectarian groups especially Sunni and Shia communities should give space to each other by accommodating each other’s point of view as it would help in creating sectarian harmony and maintaining peace in the country,” says a statement received here from the Muslim Rights Spectator.
Full report at:
http://groups.google.com/group/PressPakistan/browse_thread/thread/9e99aed7f01b4bbb/d55d8e225771a349?show_docid=d55d8e225771a349&pli=1
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Incorrect to Link Tableeghi Jama’t with Al Quaeda : Dar ul Uloom Deoband
By New Age Islam News Bureau
16 MAY 2011
Acting Organiser, Mufti Abul Quasim Banarasi, Deputy Organiser , Abdul Khalique Madrasi and Maulana Abdul Khalique Sambhli issued a joint Press Release and said “Talblighi Jama’at has no relation with politics even for name sake. Maulana Ilyas Kadhwi the founder of Tablighi Jama’t spread the message of peace and brotherhood visiting far and near and even today on the world level this effort is on. This Organisation asks the Muslims to offer Namaz and teaches the world community the eternal lessons of Islam so that there could be peace and solidarity everywhere. The world today is trying to malign Islam without knowing its teachings and this is a very impure and evil step.”
“No Secret Service of the world has been able to say anything against Tablighi Jam’at, nor has anybody been able to give any proof of it being connected with any party or campaign ever. After the terrorist attacks in America, Islam is being denigrated and this anti-Tablighi campaign is also a part of this process.”
Jama’t has urged the whole world to study the literature of Tablighi Jama’at which only asks the Muslims to maintain Namaz as it provides stability of peace in life.
Lastly the Ulema have appealed to the world brethren not to believe in Wikileaks without studying Jama’at ‘s history and its teachings. Ulema said, Dar ul Uloom Deoband and the Muslims of the world register their protest against it.
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Post-Osama, Obama govt divided on ties with Pak
16 MAY 2011
WASHINGTON: Two weeks after Osama bin Laden was killed in Abbottabad, the US government is divided over the future of its ties with Pakistan, with some officials advocating "strong reprisals" if Islamabad refuses to cooperate in the war on terror, a media report said today.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/us/Post-Osama-Obama-govt-divided-on-ties-with-Pak/articleshow/8356697.cms
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Wary of security, US Navy won't talk about Osama bin Laden
16 MAY 2011
ABOARD THE USS CARL VINSON: American servicemen aboard the USS Carl Vinson aircraft carrier, which buried Osama bin Laden's body at sea, basked in their history-making mission on Sunday but refused to discuss the attack that killed him, reflecting concerns over possible retaliation.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/worldarticlelist/articleshow/8346339.cms
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IMF chief's arrest may oust Sarko's main rival from poll
16 MAY 2011
PARIS: The stunning arrest of IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn in connection with a sexual assault in New York is throwing the French presidential race into disarray. Some rivals and political observers said it could bury any presidential bid by Strauss-Kahn, considered the strongest potential challenger to unseat the unpopular president Nicolas Sarkozy in next year's presidential election.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/europe/IMF-chiefs-arrest-may-oust-Sarkos-main-rival-from-poll/articleshow/8356607.cms
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Florida Imams arrested for aiding Pakistani Taliban
16 MAY 2011
MIAMI: The Imam of a Florida mosque and his two sons, one also a Muslim spiritual leader, were arrested on Saturday on charges of financing and supporting the Pakistani Taliban, US officials said.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/us/Florida-Imams-arrested-for-aiding-Pakistani-Taliban/articleshow/8345461.cms
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Libya unrest enters fourth month
16 MAY 2011
TRIPOLI: The UN special envoy was Sunday headed for Libya to urge a ceasefire between Muammar Gaddafi's troops and rebels seeking to topple the strongman, as an anti-regime revolt entered a fourth month.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/middle-east/Libya-unrest-enters-fourth-month/articleshow/8357009.cms
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UAE hires Blackwater founder to set up foreign militia to counter dissent
16 MAY 2011
WASHINGTON: The crown prince of Abu Dhabi has hired the founder of private security firm Blackwater Worldwide to set up an 800-member battalion of foreign troops for the United Arab Emirates, the New York Times reported. The Times said it obtained documents that showed the unit being formed by Erik Prince's new company Reflex Responses with $529 million from the UAE would be used to thwart internal revolt, conduct special operations and defend oil pipelines and skyscrapers from attack.
The newspaper said the decision to hire the contingent of foreign troops was taken before a wave of popular unrest spread across the Arab world. The UAE itself has seen no serious unrest.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/us/UAE-hires-Blackwater-founder-to-set-up-foreign-militia-to-counter-dissent/articleshow/8356964.cms
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Tahawwur Rana's trial to begin in Chicago today, could expose ISI role in 26/11
16 MAY 2011
CHICAGO: The trial of Pakistan-born Canadian citizen Tahawwur Rana, co-accused with David Headley in the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks, could reveal ISI's links to terrorists and any evidence of spy agency's "malfeasance" would worsen US-Pakistan relations.
Rana, 50, who was indicted by a federal grand jury under 12 counts on February 15 last year for planning the attacks, providing material support to LeT to carry out the attacks and guiding Headley in scouting targets in Mumbai in the process, is set to go on trial in Chicago on Monday.
As the United States presses Pakistan for answers about whether the ISI played a role in harbouring Osama bin Laden, Headley, who himself is not on trial but will be the main witness against Rana, is set to recount his story of the Mumbai attack in a federal courthouse.
Full report at:
today-could-expose-ISI-role-in-26/11/articleshow/8354267.cms
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Taliban using child bombers, alleges Afghan intelligence
May 16, 2011
The orders from their religious teacher were clear: Go to Afghanistan, strap on a suicide vest and kill foreign forces.
With that, 9-year-old Ghulam Farooq left his home in Pakistan with three other would-be boy bombers and headed into eastern Afghanistan.
Full report at:
http://www.dailypioneer.com/338926/Taliban-using-child-bombers-alleges-Afghan-intelligence.html
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Muslim-Christian clash leaves 50 hurt in Egypt
16 MAY 2011
Clashes between Muslims and Christians in the centre of Cairo have left 51 people wounded, the health ministry said Sunday, as Coptic Christians pursued a sit-in protest against the violence.
'Most of the wounded suffer from fractures and bruises,' said health ministry official Ayman Ragab, quoted by the MENA news agency.
The clashes broke out Saturday after an altercation between a young Muslim and Coptic Christians who have been staging a sit-in outside the state television building in Cairo since May 7, after sectarian unrest last week that left 15 dead, the police said.
The Muslim returned to the protest site with a group of friends and fired on the Christians with a hunting rifle, the sources said.
Full report at:
http://newagebd.com/newspaper1/international/18775.html
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World's largest university for women opened
16 MAY 2011
RIYADH: Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah inaugurated Sunday the SR20-billion Princess Nora bint Abdulrahman University (PNU), 25 km east of the Saudi capital, amid cheers of over 2,000 students and faculty members. With a capacity to enroll about 50,000 students, the PNU is the largest women-only university in the world and part of an ambitious education plan of the Saudi government.
On arrival on the university campus, King Abdullah was escorted by Riyadh Gov. Prince Salman and Finance Minister Ibrahim Al-Assaf. The three boarded a university train for a tour of the sprawling campus, which sits on a site that exceeds 800 hectares.
"Princess Nora University is a symbol of women's education and women's participation in the building of this nation," said Al-Assaf while giving an overview of the campus, which includes a medical facility, a research center and a library with about five million books and journals.
Full report at:
http://arabnews.com/saudiarabia/article406075.ece
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Elaraby replaces Moussa as Arab League chief
16 MAY 2011
CAIRO: The Arab League has chosen a new chief after Egypt switched candidates at the last minute to avert a divisive vote for a post that is usually determined by consensus.
The 22-member Arab organization on Sunday endorsed Egypt’s current foreign minister, Nabil Elaraby, to replace Amr Moussa, whose term expired and who is planning to run for president of Egypt. Moussa, 74, held the Arab League post for a decade.
Full report at:
http://arabnews.com/middleeast/article406086.ece
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Dealing with victims of domestic violence in Saudi Arabia
16 MAY 2011
ABHA: About 750 students have undergone a training program on how to deal with students who are victims of family violence.
The program was organized by Bougshan Chair for Family Violence Studies in collaboration with the Ministries of Education and Social Affairs. The trainers included about 50 male and female supervisors of protection homes in various parts of the Kingdom.
Full report at:
http://arabnews.com/saudiarabia/article406067.ece
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Bin Laden was a US prisoner before being killed: Iran
16 MAY 2011
TEHRAN: Al-Qaida founder Osama bin Laden was a prisoner in US custody for "sometime"
before he was killed by the American military, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has said.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/middle-east/Bin-Laden-was-a-US-prisoner-before-being-killed-Iran/articleshow/8354870.cms
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Gunmen kill Saudi diplomat
16 MAY 2011
Gunmen on motorcycles attacked a car belonging to the Saudi Arabian consulate in Karachi on Monday killing a Saudi diplomat, police and the Saudi ambassador said. The attack came days after unidentified attackers threw two hand grenades at the Saudi consulate in the city, Pakistan's commercial hub.
No one as hurt in that attack.
Full report at:
http://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/pakistan/Gunmen-kill-Saudi-diplomat/Article1-698107.aspx
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Afghan intelligence: Taliban using child bombers
16 MAY 2011
The orders from their religious teacher were clear: Go to Afghanistan, strap on a suicide vest and kill foreign forces. With that, 9-year-old Ghulam Farooq left his home in Pakistan with three other would-be boy bombers and headed into eastern Afghanistan. They were told there would be two members
of the Taliban waiting for them at the Torkham border crossing in Nangarhar province. Instead, members of the Afghan intelligence service who had been tipped to the boys' plans arrested them at the border.
Full report at:
http://www.hindustantimes.com/News-Feed/afghanistan/Afghan-intelligence-Taliban-using-child-bombers/Article1-697885.aspx
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Qaeda kidnaps Yemeni officer, two killed
16 MAY 2011
Al-Qaeda militants have kidnapped an intelligence officer today in Yemen's south while unknown gunmen killed a soldier and a policeman in separate attacks, a security official told AFP. "Masked Al-Qaeda armed men stopped a bus in Loder," in Abyan province, which has become one of the jihadists' str
onghold, and "abducted a Yemeni intelligence officer named Fadhel Ahmed Mohsen," said the official.
Full report at:
http://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/africa/Qaeda-kidnaps-Yemeni-officer-two-killed/Article1-697934.aspx
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Hunt for Osama's donors
Hasan Suroor
16 MAY 2011
LONDON: American investigators are reported to be trying to identify a “golden chain” of up to 20 al-Qaeda financiers following claims that some of them visited Osama bin Laden at his Abbottabad hideout. According to a report in The Sunday Times, a “million-dollar man'' has emerged as the “prime focus'' for clues to the identity of the shadowy network of financial backers from “millions of pages'' of computer files seized from the Abbottabad compound.
“There are no doubt dozens of radical funders now worrying that their names, bank accounts or addresses will comes up in bin Laden's spreadsheets, and for good reason,” Matthew Levitt, a former intelligence official at the U.S. Treasury, told the paper citing the example of Abd al-Hamid al-Mujil, dubbed the “million-dollar man” for his alleged fund-raising skills.
Full report at:
http://www.hindu.com/2011/05/16/stories/2011051654972000.htm
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Afghanistan may join Shanghai Cooperation Organisation
Vladimir Radyuhin
MOSCOW: Afghanistan may join the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation as an observer at the group's 10th jubilee summit in Astana, Kazakhstan, next month, said Russia's Foreign Minister.
Full report at:
http://www.hindu.com/2011/05/16/stories/2011051655012000.htm
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Premature' to eye faster pullout of Afghanistan: Gates
16 MAY 2011
Washington : US Secretary of Defence Robert Gates has said accelerating troop withdrawals from Afghanistan because of Osama bin Laden's death would be "premature."
The US covert raid that killed Al-Qaeda's chief has fuelled calls to scale back the massive US presence in Afghanistan, just as President Barack Obama reviews plans to begin pulling out some of the 100,000 troops there in July.
Full report at:
http://www.indianexpress.com/story-print/791413/
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Pak-origin Imam, 2 sons held in US on terror charges
16 MAY 2011
Washington : A Florida-based imam of Pakistani origin and his two sons were arrested on Saturday and charged along with three other Pakistanis with providing about $45,000 in financial support to the Pakistani Taliban, designated as a terrorist organisation.
FBI agents arrested Hafiz Muhammed Sher Ali Khan, 76, and his son Irfan Khan, 37, in South Florida on Saturday. Both are US citizens and residents of Miami. Authorities say they have recorded conversations in which Hafiz Khan supported violence perpetrated by the Pakistani Taliban.
Full report at:
http://www.indianexpress.com/story-print/790978/
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Has Pak stopped intelligence sharing with US over Osama row?
16 MAY 2011
London : Pakistan's intelligence agencies are reportedly refusing to share details of suspects or plots with their American counterparts in protest at the covert US operation to kill Osama bin Laden, the media said here today.
Unlike in the past, when Pakistani agents were credited with helping identify targets for drone strikes and providing data to the CIA on plans being hatched in its lawless tribal areas, Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence agents are reported to be withholding "crucial operational details".
According to The Sunday Telegraph report, the ISI "has now broken off relations with the Central Intelligence Agency".
"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," an unnamed source
was quoted as saying by the British daily.
"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," the source added.
Full report at:
http://www.indianexpress.com/story-print/791123/
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Identified India targets in case of attack: ISI
16 MAY 2011
Islamabad : In an apparent response to statements that India too can carry out strikes inside Pakistan, the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) chief Ahmed Shuja Pasha said any attack from the east would invite a befitting response. He said a contingency plan is in place and targets inside “India had already been identified”. Pasha told the lawmakers: “We have also carried out rehearsal for it.”
Pasha’s comments, reported by Dawn newspaper, can be seen in light of statements made by Indian Army Chief Gen V K Singh and Air Chief Air Marshal P V Naik that India has the capacity to carry out an operation similar to one US forces carried out to kill Osama bin Laden.
Full report at:
http://www.indianexpress.com/story-print/791262/
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Concern grows as Pak builds low yield nuclear capability
16 MAY 2011
Singapore : Pakistan's successful test of a missile able to carry short range nuclear weapons threatens to raise tensions in a region already nervous that the death of Osama bin Laden will create more instability.
Tactical nuclear weapons, as these are called, are often seen as more dangerous than the traditional strategic weapons because their small size and vulnerability to misuse. Theft makes them a risk to global security.
The biggest concern is that these low yield weapons are seen as less destructive and therefore more likely to be used than other classes of weapons, forcing most nuclear states to minimise the risk by cutting back stockpiles.
Pakistani experts say the country has been forced to develop tactical nuclear weapons because of India's Cold Start plan under which Indian troops are primed to carry out a lightning strike inside Pakistan if another Mumbai-style attack is traced back to Pakistan-based militant groups.
The military said it had tested last month the 60-km (36-mile) range NASR surface-to-surface missile which carries nuclear warheads to boost deterrence at short ranges.
Security experts in the United States, India and Pakistan said it meant the military planned to deploy these weapons in the battlefield, escalating the regional nuclear competition that has often seemed a replay of the US-Soviet rivalry during the Cold War.
Pakistan's development and testing of nuclear-capable short-range missiles is a destabilising and potentially dangerous development, Daryl G. Kimball, the executive director of the Washington-based Arms Control Association, said.
It suggests that Pakistan would seriously contemplate use on the battlefield in the event of an incursion by Indian forces.
Full report at:
http://www.indianexpress.com/story-print/791407/
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Indian student racially assaulted in UK
May 16, 2011
Three men have been arrested on suspicion of racially assaulting an Indian origin student on a train from London to Derby.
Full report at:
http://www.dailypioneer.com/338928/Indian-student-racially-assaulted-in-UK.html
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Rana’s trial may expose ISI-terrorists links: Experts
May 16, 2011
The imminent trial of Pakistan-born Canadian citizen Tahawwur Rana, co-accused with David Headley in the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks, could reveal ISI’s links to terrorists and any evidence of spy agency’s “malfeasance” would worsen US-Pakistan relations.
Rana, 50, who was indicted by a federal grand jury under 12 counts on February 15 last year for planning the attacks, providing material support to LeT to carry out the attacks and guiding Headley in scouting targets in Mumbai in the process, is set to go on trial in Chicago on Monday.
As the United States presses Pakistan for answers about whether the ISI played a role in harbouring Osama bin Laden, Headley, who himself is not on trial but will be the main witness against Rana, is set to recount his story of the Mumbai attack in a federal courthouse.
Full report at:
http://www.dailypioneer.com/338925/Rana%E2%80%99s-trial-may-expose-ISI-terrorists-links-Experts.html
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Zardari, Gilani, Kayani meet amid diplomatic tensions with US
May 16, 2011
Pakistan’s top civilian and military leadership met on Sunday to discuss the security situation against the backdrop of continuing tensions with the US over the secret military raid that killed Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden.
Full report at:
http://www.dailypioneer.com/338918/Zardari-Gilani-Kayani-meet-amid-diplomatic-tensions-with-US.html
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Nato must step up pace in Libya: British general
16 MAY 2011
Nato must broaden the range of targets it is bombing in Libya or risk failing to remove Muammar Gaddafi from power, Britain's most senior military officer was quoted as saying.
Nato warplanes, acting under a UN mandate to protect civilians, have stopped government troops advancing on rebel strongholds but the collapse of Gaddafi's rule, which many Western governments seek, has not materialised.
After a series of air strikes on his Bab al-Aziziyah compound in Tripoli, Gaddafi taunted the Western military alliance, saying in an audio recording aired on Friday that he was in a place where Nato could not reach him.
Full report at:
http://www.thedailystar.net/newDesign/latest_news.php?nid=29838
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US ship on which Qaeda chief was buried anchors in Philippines
Afp, Manila
16 MAY 2011
The US Navy ship from where Osama bin Laden was buried at sea arrived in the Philippines for a port call yesterday, but the crew avoided any mention of the historic incident.
Crewmen of the USS Carl Vinson aircraft carrier said they were in good spirits but parried questions about the slain al-Qaeda leader in a meeting with journalists yesterday.
Full report at:
http://www.thedailystar.net/newDesign/news-details.php?nid=185919
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Nora varsity gives women hope
16 MAY 2011
DAMMAM: Saudi women educators and professionals were upbeat about the opening on Sunday of Princess Nora bint Abdulrahman University in Riyadh and took it as a sign women may start to assume a more active role in the Kingdom’s development.
Full report at:
http://arabnews.com/saudiarabia/article406052.ece
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Fighters claim full control of Misrata
16 MAY 2011
TRIPOLI: Libyan fighters have taken full control of the western port city of Misrata, a fighter said Sunday, but he suggested it was too early for them to consider advancing to try to confront Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi’s forces around the capital.
Meanwhile, the head of Britain’s armed forces, Gen. David Richards, urged NATO to widen the range of targets the alliance’s planes are allowed to hit in the effort to stymie the Qaddafi’s regime’s attacks on protesters.
Full report at:
http://arabnews.com/middleeast/article405921.ece
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Deal must not extend Saleh rule: Opposition
16 MAY 2011
SANAA: A Gulf mediator tried to breathe new life into a deal to resolve a transition of power crisis in Yemen on Sunday, even as the opposition said it would reject any plan that would extend President Ali Abdullah Saleh’s rule.
The head of the Gulf Cooperation Council held separate talks with Yemen’s opposition and Saleh’s party, which has clung to power despite three months of street protests and defections from politicians, army officers and tribal leaders.
The Gulf Arab bloc came close last month to sealing a deal that would have eased Saleh out of power within a month but shielded him from prosecution. But Saleh refused to sign at the last minute.
Full report at:
http://arabnews.com/middleeast/article405920.ece
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‘No favoritism in awarding contracts for mosque repair’
16 MAY 2011
MADINAH: Minister of Islamic Affairs, Endowment, Dawa and Guidance Saleh Al-Asheikh met Sunday in Madinah with directors of the ministry’s branches in the 13 provinces of the Kingdom. He discussed with them the modalities of spending the SR500 million granted by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah for the construction, furnishing, and repair of mosques.
Full report at:
http://arabnews.com/saudiarabia/article406020.ece
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Relief as 150 more Filipino overstayers cleared to leave
16 MAY 2011
JEDDAH: Approximately 150 Filipino overstayers and runaway workers have been cleared by Saudi authorities to leave for their homeland, the top Philippine official in the Kingdom said Sunday.
Ambassador-designate Ezzedin Tago, who is also the consul general in Jeddah, said around 100 men have been booked for a flight to Manila on Monday and 50 men and women are to follow on May 19.
Full report at:
http://arabnews.com/saudiarabia/article406060.ece
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Maritime law aims to preserve sovereignty
16 MAY 2011
RIYADH: The Shoura Council unanimously approved Sunday a draft maritime law that will now be sent for royal approval by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah.
Shoura Council Secretary-General Muhammad Al-Ghamdi told newsmen the draft maritime law contains 23 articles designed to preserve the sovereignty and security of the Kingdom. The law includes the demarcation of shipping routes in waters off the Kingdom's shores.
The draft law is based on the guidelines of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea which the Kingdom joined in 1992.
Full report at:
http://arabnews.com/saudiarabia/article406065.ece
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UN says N.Korea, Iran trading missile technology
16 MAY 2011
NEW YORK: North Korea and Iran appear to have been regularly exchanging ballistic missile technology in violation of UN sanctions, according to a confidential UN report obtained by Reuters on Saturday.
The report said the illicit technology transfers had “trans-shipment through a neighboring third country.” That country was China, several diplomats told Reuters on condition of anonymity.
Full report at:
http://arabnews.com/world/article404692.ece
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Pakistani charged in US over Taleban link denies charges
16 MAY 2011
ISLAMABAD: A Pakistani teenager wanted in the United States on charges of financing and supporting the Pakistani Taleban denied on Sunday any connection with the militants, saying his family was only helping victims of war.
Alam Zeb is the grandson of the imam of a Florida mosque who was arrested in the United States along with his two sons on Saturday. Also charged were three people in Pakistan: Zeb, his mother and a family friend.
Full report at:
http://arabnews.com/world/article405988.ece
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'US to deploy troops if Pak nukes come under threat'
16 MAY 2011
LONDON: US troops will be deployed in Pakistan if the nation's nuclear installations come under threat from terrorists out to avenge the killing of Osama bin Laden, the Sunday Express can reveal on Sunday.
The plan, which would be activated without President Asif Ali Zardari's consent, provoked an angry reaction from Pakistan officials last night. Barack Obama would order troops to parachute in to protect key nuclear missile sites. These include the air force's central Sargodha HQ, home base for nuclear-capable F-16 combat aircraft and at least 80 ballistic missiles.
Full report at:
http://www.thenews.jang.com.pk/NewsDetail.aspx?ID=15596
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US senator Kerry meets Army Chief
16 MAY 2011
ISLAMABAD: The visiting US senator John Kerry Sunday held a meeting with Chief of Army Staff General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani at General Headquarters in Rawalpindi, Geo News reported.
Full report at:
http://www.thenews.jang.com.pk/NewsDetail.aspx?ID=15590
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Gates was unsure of bin Laden raid intel
16 MAY 2011
WASHINGTON: Defense Secretary Robert Gates said he did not have full confidence in the underlying intelligence when US Navy SEALs were conducting the raid on al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden's compound in Pakistan.
"I was very concerned, frankly," he said in an interview on "60 Minutes" that aired Sunday on CBS.
Full report at:
http://www.thenews.jang.com.pk/NewsDetail.aspx?ID=15594
http://www.thenews.jang.com.pk/NewsDetail.aspx?ID=15594
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PPP Sindh to protest against LHC verdict
16 MAY 2011
KARACHI: PPP Sindh Executive Committee decided to take out rallies would be led by the regional presidents of PPP district head quarters from all over Sindh against the Lahore High Court verdict in Asif Ali Zardari’s dual office case.
Full report at:
http://www.thenews.jang.com.pk/NewsDetail.aspx?ID=15465
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Israel-Palestinian violence erupts on three borders
16 MAY 2011
JERUSALEM: Israeli troops shot Palestinian protesters who surged towards its frontiers with Syria, Lebanon and Gaza on Sunday, killing at least 13 people on the day Palestinians mourn the establishment of Israel in 1948.
Full report at:
http://www.dawn.com/2011/05/16/israel-palestinian-violence-erupts-on-three-borders.html
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Family in Swat denies charge of Taliban link
16 MAY 2011
MINGORA: Three Pakistani nationals, including a woman, who have been Indicted by the US government along with three American citizens of Pakistani origin for providing support to Taliban, have denied the charge and said the money sent to them from the US was meant for a small seminary and not for militants.
Two of the three accused, Amina Bibi and her son Alam Zeb Khan, hail from Sarsai Galoch area of Swat’s Kabal tehsil. They told reporters here on Sunday that they and their three relatives arrested in the United States were innocent and had been falsely implicated in the case.
Full report at:http://www.dawn.com/2011/05/16/family-in-swat-denies-charge-of-taliban-link.html
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Wary of security, Navy won’t talk about bin Laden
16 MAY 2011
ABOARD THE USS CARL VINSON: American servicemen aboard the USS Carl Vinson warship, which buried Osama bin Laden’s body at sea, basked in their history-making mission Sunday but refused to discuss the attack that killed him, reflecting America’s concern over possible retaliation.
Full report at:
http://www.dawn.com/2011/05/15/wary-of-security-navy-wont-talk-about-bin-laden.html
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Zardari, Kayani discuss parliament debate
By Syed Irfan Raza
ISLAMABAD: President Asif Ali Zardari, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani and Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani met in the presidency on Sunday and exchanged views on the outcome of the joint sitting of both houses of parliament.
The prime minister and the COAS apprised the president of the proceedings of the session. President Zardari was on an official visit to Russia when the session took place.
The issue of an independent commission to be set up by the government to fix responsibility for the May 2 US troops operation in Abbottabad and Osama bin Laden’s presence in the country was discussed.
Full report at:
http://www.dawn.com/2011/05/16/zardari-kayani-discuss-parliament-debate.html
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Cameron assures Gilani of support
16 MAY 2011
LAHORE / ISLAMABAD: British Prime Minister David Cameron telephoned Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani on Sunday afternoon and offered condolences over the killing of more than 80 Frontier Constabulary personnel and civilians in suicide attacks in Shabqadar on Friday.
In a related development, the permanent under-secretary of the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Simon Fraser, met Foreign Secretary Salman Bashir in Islamabad and held talks on bilateral, regional and global issues.
In his conversation with Prime Minister Gilani, Mr Cameron said Britain acknowledged the sacrifices rendered by Pakistan in war against terrorism and had full realisation of the losses suffered by Pakistan and its government.
Acknowledging the political difficulties being faced by the government, he assured Mr Gilani of Britain`s full support to Pakistan.
Full report at:
http://www.dawn.com/2011/05/16/cameron-assures-gilani-of-support.html
http: http://www.newageislam.com/NewAgeIslamIslamicWorldNews_1.aspx?ArticleID=4648
10:47 PM
Moderate Islamist here
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