Iran claims killing 30 Kurdish rebels
India, Pak had reached back channel deal on Kashmir: cables
J-K political issue solution on anvil: Omar
After 26/11, angry Manmohan had told US Senator 'enough is enough'
India-Pak peace needs Pasha help
Qaida may use small planes for attacks
Tribal leaders may gift Gaddafi bastion to rebels
Hindus pray for peace in Karachi
Sindh to teach Chinese language in schools from 2013
Col threat set free Lockerbie bomber
Syria continues bloody crackdown, kills 24
Six Syrian soldiers and three civilians 'killed in ambush' near Hama
Rail link between PoK, Xinjiang
AUDIO: 9/11 colouring book slammed
Remaking the Arab world in the West’s image
Pak urges Karzai to help free boys held by Taliban
Pakistan tribe in talks with Taliban to free abductees
Renewed fighting, refugees in south of Sudan
Amir Khan invited to dinner at White House for America’s leading Muslim sportsmen
Nawaz convinced 26/11 attackers were Pakistanis
Kashmir dove doesn’t mind if Guru hangs
A Hindu converted to Islam to satiate his fixation for marriage
J&K interlocutors may not push for changing Art 370
India frets over Pak as US warns of Hindu terror
Rains play havoc in Sindh, Balochistan; over 60 killed
Mirwaiz against issuing passport to Geelani: WikiLeaks
NC to decide stand on Afzal Guru: Omar
Libya’s rebel chief was ‘tortured’ by US but holds no grudge
Iran’s first nuclear power plant connected to grid
LeT engaged in commando training inside Pak terror camps
Files show: UK, US spy agencies links with Gaddafi regime
Kurdish Militants Kill Four in Southeast Turkey
Gunmen kill former Afghan Mujahideen commander
Suicide bomber kills 3 soldiers in Yemen
Bali terror suspect could serve only a few years
Ensure no 26/11, before Pak talks, Indian PM told US
Libya rebels poised to attack
Libya’s Interim Leaders Aim to Harness Rebel Fighters
Gaddafi spokesman says Bani Walid, a major city, will hold out
Geelani blamed for derailing talks
Can Pakistan survive its many crises?
Pak readies to launch its own war on terror
Pranab favoured lot tougher stand on Pakistan after 26/ 11
Syed Ahmad takes over as new Jharkhand Governor
Menon tried to influence Indo-Pak talks
Menon makes visit to Dhaka ahead of PM trip
India was never serious about Headley extradition
US put India's N-status more on par with Pak than China
Over 400,000 Israelis on streets demanding economic reforms
Turkey to raise Israel’s blockade at International Court of Justice
Omar Abdullah and his republic of tweets
Soldier, Thinker, Hunter, Spy: Drawing a Bead on Al Qaeda
Syria Calls EU Sanctions European 'Colonialism'
Compiled by New Age Islam News Bureau
URL: https://newageislam.com/islamic-world-news/us-feels-india-180m-muslims/d/5401
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'US feels India has 180m Muslims'
Sep 4, 2011
NEW DELHI: The United States believes that there are many more Muslims who live in India than is being officially stated here through census, and 'Islam' here presents a series of dichotomies like most issues affecting the world's largest democracy.
The US views on 'Indian Islam' and its interpretation had found place in one of its diplomatic cable, leaked by WikiLeaks.
Referring to various 'contacts' in India, the cable says that most of them believe that the official figure ( Census 2001) of over 138 million Muslims in India is "under representative" as actual number is "substantially higher" - closer to 160 to 180 million.
Taking sympathetic views of Indian Muslims for their 'liberal' approach, the cable, originated from American embassy in New Delhi in February last year, says that majority of the Muslims live in a very poor condition despite some of the millionaires from the community, like Azim Premji, influence Indian market.
It says: "Iconic celebrities such as Bollywood actor Shahrukh Khan attract legions of fans, while millions of Muslims languish in poverty. Since Independence, three Muslims have been appointed as President, but Muslims are grossly under-represented in Parliament and other elected bodies".
The US embassy cable also refers to the Rajinder Sachar Committee report which in 2006 revealed that Muslims in general fare worse in economic terms than India's Dalits. "These seeming contradictions reflect overall socioeconomic trends in India: a tiny percentage of Muslims thrive, while the vast majority struggles to support themselves".
The cable, however, noted that Indian Muslims are eager to catch up to their compatriots. "Their Sufi heritage, promoting pluralism and tolerance, should leave them well-equipped to compete in secular India. However, lingering resentment from the partition and external influences threaten to divide the community".
US diplomats in their dispatch to Washington also noted in details the composition of Shias and Sunni and existence of tension between two Sunni movements - Barelvi and Deobandi - rooted in differences in ideology, wealth, education and views on reforms. On political front, the dispatch says that Shia and Barelvi leaders have, of late, discussed forming a political alliance to counter Deoband and the increasing influence of Wahabism. The alliance would balance each group's strength: Barelvis have the numbers and Shias have a higher level of education and more contact with the Indian elite.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/US-feels-India-has-180m-
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Iran claims killing 30 Kurdish rebels
Sep 04 2011
TEHRAN: Iran said its troops killed or wounded 30 Kurdish rebels in a fresh assault on the mountainous border with Iraq where witnesses reported fierce fighting and shelling on Saturday.
A commander of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said the military push was launched after giving the rebels a one-month “grace period” during Ramadan to withdraw from the area from where they have launched ambushes and sabotage attacks on gas pipelines.
“The Revolutionary Guards forces have killed or injured 30 members of the PJAK (Party of Free Life of Kurdistan) terrorist group since Friday afternoon to now,” Colonel Hamid Ahmadi told the official IRNA news agency.
PJAK is an offshoot of the Turkey-based Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which has been pounded by Turkish air strikes in recent weeks.
One Turkish air strike killed seven civilians late last month and on Saturday Iranian soldiers shot dead a Kurdish shepherd outside the border town of Haj Umran, according to the town’s mayor, Maghdid Ahmed.
Hundreds of people have fled their homes in the area to small camps since mid-July.
Witnesses and local officials reported fighting in the Qandil mountains and shelling around the Iraqi village of Sone.
The PKK has fought for Kurdish self-rule for more than 27 years in a conflict that has killed 40,000 people.
Managing the PKK presence is a tricky task for Iraq’s semi-autonomous Kurdish government with Iran to the east, Turkey to the north, and to the south a fragile, power-sharing central Iraqi government with whom the Kurds still disagree about territorial and oil rights.
The PKK has previously said it believes Turkey and Iran are coordinating their attacks in the region and that it would join forces with the Iranian offshoot to better counter the assaults.
A PKK spokesman confirmed that would happen.
“After realising that the Iranian forces are not only targeting the PJAK party but targeting all Kurds and their achievements, for this reason we announce that from now on we will start fighting the Iranian forces side-by-side with PJAK fighters,” Dozdar Hamo told Reuters
“From now on we will start to cooperate directly to support the PJAK and together defend the achievements of the Kurdish people.”
http://www.dawn.com/2011/09/04/iran-claims-killing-30-kurdish-rebels.html
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India, Pak had reached back channel deal on Kashmir: cables
Sep 05 2011
New Delhi : India and Pakistan had reached a "back-channel" agreement on the Kashmir issue during the tenure of Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had told a visiting US Congressional team.
According to secret US embassy cables released by WikiLeaks, Singh told the Congressional delegation in April 2009 that India and Pakistan had made great progress prior to February 2007, when Musharraf ran into trouble.
"We had reached an understanding in back channels," Singh told the delegation.
The cable was sent by US Charge d'Affairs Peter Burleigh to his bosses in the US State Department on April 21, 2009.
Singh told the delegation that Musharraf had agreed to a non-territorial solution to Kashmir that included freedom of movement and trade, the cable said.
The Prime Minister added that India wants a strong, stable, peaceful, democratic Pakistan and makes no claim on "even an inch" of Pakistani territory, it said.
Pakistan, on the other hand, supports infiltrators, hoping "by a thousand cuts" to weaken Indian solidarity, the cable quoted Singh as saying.
Another cable brings to the fore differences between the then National Security Adviser M K Narayanan and the Prime Minister on Pakistan.
In a meeting with the then US Ambassador Timothy Roemer in August 2009, Narayanan had described the Prime Minister as a "great believer" in talks and negotiations with Pakistan while he was "not a great believer in Pakistan".
Roemer wrote: "He (Narayanan) added that after the Prime Minister spoke in speeches of India's 'shared destiny' with Pakistan, he told the PM 'you have a shared destiny, we don't.'"
However, the then envoy had commented that the remarks were made with "some joviality" and Narayanan was "totally complimentary" of the Prime Minister throughout the discussion.
Roemer got an impression from the meeting that foreign policy was being run out of the Prime Minister's office.
"On the latter point (advancing US-India agenda), he (Narayanan) reiterated that foreign policy was firmly in the hands of the Prime Minister's Office (PMO)," Roemer wrote.
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/india-pak-had-reached-back-channel-deal-on-kashmir-cables/841544/
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J-K political issue solution on anvil: Omar
Sep 05 2011
Srinagar : Asserting that the solution to political issue of Jammu and Kashmir is on the anvil, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Sunday asked the political leadership of all shades of opinion to join hands and contribute positively and sincerely in this pursuit.
"The solution to political issue of Jammu and Kashmir is on the anvil," Omar said after laying the foundation stone of mega tourist circuit 'Naagar Nagar' at Kathi Darwaza in downtown Srinagar.
"The political leadership of all shades of opinion need to join hands and contribute positively and sincerely in this pursuit," he said.
Omar said he would continue to advocate that the basic political issues of the state cannot be resolved by economic measures or progress on development front.
The successful tourism season, visiting of over six lakh visitors and an equal number of Amarnath pilgrims this year, has not solved the political problem even as it has largely helped economic betterment of the people in general, he said.
The Chief Minister underlined the importance of peace and normalcy for attaining economic and political goals.
He questioned the approach of those bent upon creating law and order situation and marring the livelihood of poor.
Referring to the two-day strike call given by chairman of hardline faction of Hurriyat Conference Syed Ali Shah Geelani, Omar said by giving calls for lockouts they directly hinder the traders to undertake their day to day business, undermine the education of students, compel transporters to remain idle, put commuters to a lot of inconvenience and debar patients from receiving treatment.
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/jk-political-issue-solution-on-anvil-omar/841546/
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After 26/11, angry Manmohan had told US Senator 'enough is enough'
Sep 5, 2011
NEW DELHI: The 26/11 Mumbai attacks exhausted the patience of even an optimist on India-Pakistan ties like Prime Minister Manmohan Singh who told visiting US senator John Kerry to convey to Pakistan that "enough was enough".
The PM told Kerry that Pakistan would have to bring the perpetrators of 26/11 to book and crack down on terrorism as India's limit had been reached. In a December 15, 2008 meeting, Singh said India had exercised tremendous restraint in responding to the Mumbai terror attacks but that India had reached its limit.
He called on the US to make clear to Pakistan that it must take serious steps to address India's concerns by bringing those involved in the Mumbai attacks to justice, implementing UN terror sanctions and dismantling the terrorist infrastructure.
"Singh was dismissive of Pakistan's detention of some extremists; India had seen similar ineffectual moves by Pakistan to rein in terrorists after the 2001 attack on the Indian Parliament," a US cable said according to Wikileaks.
He told Kerry of credible inputs that more attacks were being planned and Pakistan needed to be told that India had reached its limit.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/After-26/11-angry-Manmohan-had-told-US-
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India-Pak peace needs Pasha help
Sep 05 2011
Ninitiative o India-Pakistan could progress peace unless it was underwritten by Pakistan army chief Ashfaque Kayani and ISI chief Shuja Pasha,former national security advisor M K Narayanan told the late Richard Holbrooke who was US special representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan.According to WikiLeaks,a US cable noted Narayanan expressing what was a fairly self-evident truth in blunt terms.
Times of India
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Qaida may use small planes for attacks
Sep 05 2011
Washington: The FBI and homeland security have issued a nationwide warning about al-Qaida threats to small airplanes,just days before the anniversary of the 2001 terrorist attacks.
Authorities say there is no specific or credible terrorist threat for the 10-year anniversary of the attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon.But they have stepped up security nationwide as a precaution.
According to a five-page law enforcement bulletin issued on Friday,as recently as early this year,al-Qaida was considering ways to attack airplanes.The alert,issued ahead of the summers last busy travel weekend,said terrorists have considered renting private planes and loading them with explosives.
Al-Qaida and its affiliates have maintained an interest in obtaining aviation training,particularly on small aircraft,and in recruiting Western individuals for training in Europe or the US,although we do not have current,credible information or intelligence of an imminent attack being planned, according to the bulletin.
Full report at: Times of India
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Tribal leaders may gift Gaddafi bastion to rebels
Sep 05 2011
Tarhouna,Libya: Libyan rebels are poised to attack one of Muammar Gaddafis remaining strongholds,but their military spokesman said on Sunday he expected the towns tribal leaders to surrender rather than see their divided followers fight one another.
Rebels control most of Libya and are moving forward with setting up a new government,but they might hold off on declaring victory until Gaddafi is caught and his remaining strongholds are defeated.Gaddafi and his staunchest allies have been on the run since the fall of the capital late last month.
Loyalists have entrenched themselves in several towns,including besieged Bani Walid,140 kilometers southeast of Tripoli.
Col Ahmed Bani,the rebels military spokesman based in Benghazi,said members of the tribe that dominates Bani Walid and is the largest in Libya,the Warfala,are divided over whether to join the rebels.
Full report at: Times of India
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Hindus pray for peace in Karachi
Sep 04 2011
KARACHI: A religious ceremony was on Saturday organised by the Hindu community to pray for restoration of peace, harmony and calm in the metropolis.
The ceremony was organised at Shri Punch Mukhi Hanuman temple, where Shri Guru Mahant Ramnath Maharaj, a Hindu religious cleric, conducted the religious proceedings.
People belonging to the community from across the province gathered to pray for peace in Karachi. Besides, religious services and sermons were also delivered. A delegation of Muttahida Qaumi Movement led by Munawar Lal also participated at the ceremony.
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2011\09\04\story_4-9-2011_pg12_8
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Sindh to teach Chinese language in schools from 2013
Sep 04 2011
KARACHI: The government of Sindh on Sunday decided to launch compulsory teaching of Chinese language from grade six in 2013, DawnNews reported.
The decision took place in a meeting led by the Chief Minister of Sindh Qaim Ali Shah.
It was also decided that students learning Chinese will gain extra marks, scholarships and foreign visit opportunities.
Shah also ordered the authorities to finalise the method, rules and instruction materials for the teaching process.
It was also decided in the meeting that learning Chinese will be made compulsory in Cadet College Pitaro, grade six onwards as well.
http://www.dawn.com/2011/09/04/sindh-to-teach-chinese-language-in-schools-from-2013.html
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Col threat set free Lockerbie bomber
Sep 05 2011
Muammar Gaddafis regime warned of dire consequences for relations between Libya and Britain if the convicted Lockerbie bomber died in a Scottish jail,secret files released on Sunday showed.In the latest revelations from intelligence documents obtained by media and rights groups in Tripoli,senior British officials feared Gaddafi might seek to extract vengeance if the cancer-stricken Abdelbaset Ali Mohmet al-Megrahi was not released.
Times of India
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Syria continues bloody crackdown, kills 24
Sep 05 2011
Damascus: At least 24 people were killed in violence across Syria on Sunday,reports said as the visiting Red Cross chief sought access to those detained in more than five months of anti-regime protests.As more bloodletting gripped the country,Arab League chief Nabil al-Arabi said Syria has agreed to host him for a visit,to help push for a peaceful outcome to the crisis.
But Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov warned that the five-nation BRICS group of emerging powers,who have criticized Western sanctions on Syria,are determined not to allow a Libyan-style solution in that country.
Activists said cracking down on democracy protesters killed 12 people on Sunday during operations in northwestern and central Syria.The state news agency Sana also gave a toll of 12 dead when an armed terrorist group ambushed a bus in Syria.
Times of India
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Six Syrian soldiers and three civilians 'killed in ambush' near Hama
September 04, 2011
Six Syrian soldiers and three civilians have been killed in an ambush by an armed group in central Syria, state media says.
A further 17 people were wounded as gunmen ambushed the bus near Hama, Sana news agency reported.
Three insurgents were killed in an ensuing gun fight with security forces.
Syria blames what it says are foreign-backed armed groups for the ongoing protests against the rule of President Bashar al-Assad.
The United Nations says more than 2,200 people have been killed in government crackdowns since pro-democracy demonstrations began in mid-March.
Activists say nearly 30 people have died across the country since Friday, which saw the now-familiar weekly pattern of prayers, followed by protests, followed by shootings.
On Sunday, activists said Syrian security forces had shot dead three people in the north-western Idlib province.
Full report at:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-14780087
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Rail link between PoK, Xinjiang
Sep 05 2011
Beijing:Pakistan and China have started discussion on building a cross-border railway linking northern areas of Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir (PoK) with Kashgar,an old Chinese Silk road town in the restive northwestern Xinjiang province.
Masood Khan,Pakistans Ambassador to China,said that a feasibility study of the railway had been conducted but there was still no time-table for starting the construction.By using this option,you can shorten China's trading routes from the Gulf to Shanghai by about 5,000 miles.It is very short,he said.
He also said talks about a cross border pipeline that can carry oil and gas to China via inland Eurasia have also begun.
Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari,who concluded his three day visit to the troubled Chinese province last week,said the region plays a strategic role in firming up the relationship between China and Pakistan.
Times of India
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AUDIO: 9/11 colouring book slammed
Sep 05 2011
A children's colouring book about the Sept. 11, 2001, hijackings in the U.S. has critics seeing red.
The book depicts scenes from the attack on the World Trade Centre in New York and the ensuing 10-year hunt for al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden. Its publisher, Really Big Coloring Books of St. Louis, says We Shall Never Forget 9/11: The Kids' Book of Freedom "is designed to be a tool that parents can use to help teach children about the facts surrounding 9/11…. The book does not shy away from the truth."
But certain passages are way out of line, detractors say. A page showing the killing of bin Laden portrays him cowering behind a veiled woman as he's shot by a rifle-toting U.S. soldier. Reads the text above, "Children, the truth is, these terrorist acts were done by freedom-hating radical Islamic Muslim extremists. These crazy people hate the American way of life because we are FREE and our society is FREE."
CBC Radio's As It Happens discussed the colouring book with Husna Haq, a correspondent for the Christian Science Monitor and a Muslim.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/story/2011/09/01/stub-aih-colouring-book-sept11.html
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Remaking the Arab world in the West’s image
Abid Mustafa
Sep 05 2011
"(We need an) ..Arab facade ruled and administered under British guidance and controlled by a native Mohammedan and, as far as possible, by an Arab staff.... There should be no actual incorporation of the conquered territory in the dominions of the conqueror, but the absorption may be veiled by such constitutional fictions as a protectorate, a sphere of influence, a buffer state and so on”--- Lord Curzon
In the early part of the twentieth century, Britain was at the forefront of Western efforts in moulding the Arab world much to the liking of the officers of the British Empire. Almost a century later, nothing has changed. This week, Western powers met in Paris to seal Libya’s fate. The scramble for Libya’s oil and gold has begun. Abdeljalil Mayouf, an executive at Libyan rebel oil firm Agoco told Reuters: "We don't have a problem with western countries like the Italians, French and UK companies. But we may have some political issues with Russia, China and Brazil."
The West has embarked upon a new campaign not just to remake Libya, but the entire Arab world in its image. America is leading a pack of colonial powers in this endeavour and is spearheading efforts to either dissect some Arab countries or subtly instigate regime change in others to preserve America’s primacy in the region.
Full report at:
http://kashmirwatch.com/opinions.php/2011/09/02/remaking-the-arab-world-in-the-west-
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Pak urges Karzai to help free boys held by Taliban
Sep 05 2011
Islamabad: Pakistans interior minister has called on Afghan president Hamid Karzai to help win the freedom of around 30 young Pakistanis being held captive by Islamist militants.
The youth were abducted in Afghanistan four days ago after crossing into Kunar province on day-trip from their border villages.
The Pakistani Taliban say it abducted them because they belong to a tribe opposed to the militants.
In comments to reporters,minister Rehman Malik requested Karzai get the boys released.Afghan officials have said they are not aware of the kidnapping.
Pakistani officials have said the captives were under 16;the Taliban say they have released the youngsters,and are only holding young men.
Meanwhile,Pakistani tribal elders are holding talks with Taliban militants in Afghanistan for the release of scores of young tribesmen kidnapped.
A tribal jirga (council) from Bajaur is currently holding talks with the terrorists, Pakistan military spokesman Major-General Athar Abbas said.The future course of action will be decided by tribal elders from both sides of the border
Times of India
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Pakistan tribe in talks with Taliban to free abductees
4 September 2011
ISLAMABAD - Pakistani tribal elders are holding talks with Taliban militants in Afghanistan for the release of scores of young tribesmen kidnapped during an outing along the border, officials said on Sunday.
The teenage tribesmen from Pakistan’s northwestern Bajaur tribal region were abducted by the militants on Thursday while they were on an outing in Afghanistan’s border province of Kunar on Eid.
“A tribal jirga (council) from Bajaur is currently holding talks with the terrorists,” Pakistan military spokesman Major-General Athar Abbas said.
“The future course of action will be decided by tribal elders from both sides of the border.”
Pakistani government officials had initially said around 60 boys from the ethnic Pashtun Mamoun tribe took part in the outing. But about 20 below ten years were allowed to return to Pakistan, while up to 40 others between 12 to 14 years old were held.
Abbas said in total 40 young tribesmen were abducted. He said 10 of the boys were released while 30 were still in custody.
Full report at:
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticle08.asp?xfile=data/international/2011/Septembe
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Renewed fighting, refugees in south of Sudan
Sep 04 2011
JUBA: Seventeen people have been killed in fighting between Sudan’s army and rebels aligned to South Sudan in a Sudanese state on the border with the newly independent south, the official news agency SUNA said on Saturday.
Up to 3,000 people fled armed clashes in the region, the United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) reported, calling for an immediate halt to the fighting to prevent a humanitarian crisis.
Analysts say Sudan’s government in Khartoum is trying to strike against the rebels in South Kordofan and Blue Nile states before they become a serious secessionist threat.
South Sudan seceded from Sudan — at the time Africa’s largest country — in July, six years after a cease-fire that ended decades of civil war between north and south. South Sudan denies Khartoum’s accusations that it is supporting the rebels.
SUNA said 17 people were killed and 14 wounded in the fighting in South Kordofan, but gave no further details.
Full report at:
http://arabnews.com/middleeast/article497109.ece
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Amir Khan invited to dinner at White House in Washington for America’s leading Muslim sportsmen
Sep 04 2011
Amir Khan, the world boxing champion from Bolton, has been invited to the White House in Washington on Sept 10 for a dinner with America’s leading Muslim sportsmen.
The invitation for the 24 year-old came at the behest of US Secretary of State Hilary Clinton.
Khan, the World Boxing Association light-welterweight champion, has based his career in Hollywood for the last two years.
"Amir was invited there by Mrs Clinton," a source revealed. "He will be among a group of the most prominent Muslim sportsmen in America, and as Amir is now based in the US, that offer was extended to him."
The dinner is on the eve of the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 bombings in New York, instigated by a group of radical Islamic terrorists.
Khan admitted that he was "delighted" with the offer and was in London this week renewing his visa.
Full report at:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/othersports/boxingandmma/8737027/Amir-Khan-invited-
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Nawaz convinced 26/11 attackers were Pakistanis
Sep 05 2011
FMinister ormer Pakistan Nawaz Prime Sharif believed that the terrorists who attacked Mumbai on November 26,2008,were Pakistani in origin,according to a US diplomatic cable unveiled by whistle-blower website WikiLeaks.
Times of India
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Kashmir dove doesn’t mind if Guru hangs
By Naseer Ganai
Sep 05 2011
WIKILEAKS, the whistleblower website which has released 2,51,000 secret US diplomatic cables, claims that a leader of the Hurriyat’s moderate faction had “ no problem” with the execution of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru “ if he is guilty”. This stand is totally at variance with the position of pro- independence Jammu & Kashmir Liberation Front ( JKLF) leader Mohammad Yasin Malik, who was against the death sentence, and the Congress’ former chief minister Ghulam Nabi Azad, who was against its execution.
The October 20, 2006, cable — sent by political counsel Ted Osius and listed as “ classified” — is titled ‘ Kashmir: Pending execution causing strife for Congress’. It states: “ For Yasin Malik, himself a former terrorist who has become an advocate against violence, the case represents a crucial problem for India in its efforts to bring former combatants back into mainstream society. Press reports argue that Afzal’s history as a surrendered militant, who was prompted by the Indian government to spy on his former colleagues, left him vulnerable to the Jaish- e- Mohammad members when they came to New Delhi asking for help in carrying out the attack.
Full report at: Mail Today
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A Hindu converted to Islam to satiate his fixation for marriage
By Rajat Rai
Sep 04 2011
SOME get hooked to making money, others to sex and drugs, but Mohammad Kamil had a unique problem — he was obsessed with getting married. To achieve this, he even converted to Islam.
Kamil was born a Hindu and was called Manoj Krishna.
But at the end it was four weddings and then jail for the 40- year- old, who was the director and professor at a private college in Fatehpur district of Uttar Pradesh.
A BTech and an MBA, he first married a girl in Mumbai in 1994. He was doing his MBA from a private college in Mumbai when he married Geeta, who gave birth to a son.
Soon after his son’s birth, Kamil left Geeta and hooked up with Pooja, whom he married in Mumbai in 1998.
Pooja gave birth to a boy the next year and once again Kamil dumped her.
He moved to Uttar Pradesh and took up a job at a private college.
To further his wedding plans, he converted to Islam in 2002 and married a Muslim girl in Kanpur.
Full report at: Mail Today
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J&K interlocutors may not push for changing Art 370
Vishwa Mohan
Sep 04 2011
New Delhi: The interlocutors on Jammu & Kashmir are unlikely to recommend splitting the state to meet regional aspirations and wont suggest changes to Article 370 that gives the state certain privileges.
While the interlocutors are expected to address the demand for autonomy voiced by all three regions of Jammu & Kashmir,redrawing the states border or tinkering with Article 370 is not on the cards as such solutions are only likely to inflame differences rather resolving them.Sources said the group will not suggest changes in the constitutional provision and while its report may contain various suggestions,keeping in mind the aspirations of people of Jammu,Kashmir and Ladakh,a division is not viable.
However,the political solutions the interlocutors will come out with will not ignore the wishes of people from different regions.The team has already met 600 delegations and heard suggestions ranging from abolition to dilution of Article 370,giving greater autonomy to trifurcation of the state.
The group,comprising journalist Dileep Padgaonkar,academician Radha Kumar and former information commissioner M M Ansari,on Saturday also denied a media report about recommending a return to the pre-1953 status as the way forward in resolving the issue.
Times of India
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India frets over Pak as US warns of Hindu terror
By Aman Sharma
Sep 04 2011
AT A TIME when the Americans were warning India on the rise of Hindutva terror modules in 2006, New Delhi was more worried about Pakistan rearing Muslim terrorists here.
WikiLeaks revealed secret US cables that show how the security establishment remained fixated on Indian Mujahideen- type modules even as several terror strikes since 2006 were the handiwork of Hindutva elements.
US diplomats in a secret cable said the then Maharashtra DGP A. N. Roy suspected that the Malegaon bombings in 2006, that killed 37 people, could be the handiwork of right- wing Hindu elements.
“ The counsellor general asked whether the police believed that Hindu extremist groups carried out the Malegaon bombings, as they apparently targeted large numbers of Muslims that had congregated near a mosque and a cemetery after Friday prayers on the eve of an important Muslim holy night.
“ Roy said while investigators had not ruled out that possibility, he was sceptical whether the known Hindu extremist groups had the capability to execute such an attack. In addition, non- Muslims would have found it difficult to penetrate the heavily Muslim areas around the bomb sites without attracting attention to themselves, he said,” the cable said.
Full report at: Mail Today
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Rains play havoc in Sindh, Balochistan; over 60 killed
Sep 04 2011
Karachi : Heavy monsoon rains have wreaked havoc in Sindh province and other parts of Pakistan, claiming over 60 lives, sweeping away villages and crops and rendering thousands of people homeless.
Torrential rains have battered lower and upper Sindh and south Punjab and have kept central and upper Punjab on edge for the past four days as flash floods have also been reported across eastern Balochistan.
The monsoon rains and thunderstorms have brought untold misery to the interior areas of Sindh province where many villages with their mud houses were swept away, crops destroyed and livestock killed.
A top government official said that rescue and relief committees had been formed in every district of the province to carry out relief operations and the government had also announced a Rs 20,000 grant for each affected family.
"The government has allocated special funds to provide relief and help the affected people and families," he said.
Full report at:
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/rains-play-havoc-in-sindh-balochistan;-over-60-killed/841467/
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Mirwaiz against issuing passport to Geelani: WikiLeaks
September 04, 2011
The turf war between rival factions of the Hurriyat Conference had reached a point where moderate leader Mirwaiz Umar Farooq counseled against issuing a passport to hardliner Syed Ali Shah Geelani for seeking treatment in the United States saying he would "stir up trouble", according to American
diplomatic cables released by WikiLeaks.
"When we met Mirwaiz in February, he said it would be a big mistake for the GOI (Government of India) to issue Geelani a passport to travel, because he would stir up trouble," a March 2007 US embassy cable released by WikiLeaks said.
The cable with a subject title "Kashmiri rejectionist hardliner Geelani seeks US visa" was written by Pyatt --apparently the then US Charge d'Affaires Geoffrey Pyatt.
Geelani had applied for a visa to travel to the US for medical treatment for cancer in his remaining kidney. The US had later denied visa to Geelani.
Full report at:
http://www.hindustantimes.com/Mirwaiz-against-issuing-passport-to-Geelani-WikiLeaks/Article1-741521.aspx
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NC to decide stand on Afzal Guru: Omar
September 04, 2011
The ruling National Conference (NC) in Jammu and Kashmir alone will decide the party's position on clemency for Afzal Guru, on death row for conspiring in the 2001 terror attack on the Indian Parliament, if a resolution on it in the state assembly is put to vote, chief minister Omar Abdullah said
on Sunday.
"The speaker of the assembly has the powers to decide on the resolution submitted by an independent member of the assembly seeking clemency for Afzal Guru," Abdullah said. "If put to vote, the NC legislature party, headed by the party patron, Dr. Farooq Abdullah, will decide what course the party should take on the resolution."
Speaking to mediapersons on the sidelines of a function in Srinagar, Abdullah defended his Twitter comments on the Tamil Nadu assembly resolution on clemency for the three sentenced to death for conspiracy in former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi's assassination.
"The BJP cannot silence me on this issue," the chief minister said. "It is the people of my state who have the right to silence me if they so choose."
Full report at:
http://www.hindustantimes.com/NC-to-decide-stand-on-Afzal-Guru-Omar/Article1-741525.aspx
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Libya’s rebel chief was ‘tortured’ by US but holds no grudge
Sep 04 2011
ABDEL Hakim Belhaj is an emerging hero of the Libyan uprising, the man who led the Tripoli Brigade that swept into the capital and captured the fortified compound that was Muammar Gaddafi’s seat of power.
He’s also the former leader of an Islamic militant group who claims he was tortured by CIA agents at a secret prison.
Belhaj, the rebels’ commander in Tripoli, said on Friday that the US wrongly lumped him in with terrorists after September 11, but that he holds no grudge. He said he shares the West’s goal of a free Libya.
Though Belhaj and many others who resisted Gaddafi for decades considered their fight an Islamic cause, both secular and religious Libyans took part in the uprising that led to Gaddafi’s downfall. Secular Libyans and the West are hoping Belhaj’s actions match what he told the Libyan people minutes after arriving at Gaddafi’s Bab al- Aziziya compound on August 23. “ You are facing a historic moment; a responsibility in front of God and the world, to protect and preserve the security of your country. To have justice, equality and welfare,” he told Al- Jazeera. “ We have to unite and join the ranks to build the country.” In an interview at his headquarters at the sprawling military airport in central Tripoli, Belhaj played down his Islamist ties. “ We never have and never will support what they call terrorism,” he said.
Full report at: Mail Today
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Iran’s first nuclear power plant connected to grid
4 September 2011
Iran’s first nuclear power plant has started adding electricity to the national grid, media reported on Sunday, coming on stream on Saturday night after years of delays.
“The Bushehr nuclear power plant joined the national grid on Saturday at 23:29 (1859 GMT) with the power of around 60 megawatts,” the ISNA news agency reported.
Hamid-Khadem Qaemi, spokesman for the Atomic Energy Organisation, told Iran’s Arabic language TV station Al Alam the plant would be officially inaugurated by Sept. 12, by which time it would be operating at 40 percent capacity.
The agency was not immediately available to comment.
The $1-billion, 1,000-megawatt plant on the Gulf coast is the first of what Iran hopes will become a network of nuclear facilities that will reduce its reliance on its abundant fossil fuels.
Full report at:
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticle09.asp?xfile=data/middleeast/2011/September/
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LeT engaged in commando training inside Pak terror camps
Sep 04 2011
Washington : Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) is engaged in imparting commando training to its recruits, including teenagers, at its terror camps inside Pakistan, besides being involved in their religious indoctrination, according to an FBI complaint.
In the complaint submitted before a federal US court in Virginia yesterday, the FBI said this is reflected in the communication of Jubair Ahmad, a Pakistani national on legal permanent residency in the US who was arrested on charges of providing material support to Lashkar-e-Toiba.
The FBI said a review of immigration records indicated that Jubair was born in Sialkot and resided in Pakistan until the age of 19.
According to admissions he made during a number of communications analysed by the FBI, he received indoctrination and training from LeT while he lived in Pakistan.
"These communications demonstrate that, as a teenager, in or about 2004, Jubair attended an LeT training course known as 'Dora Suffa' where he received instruction in religious dogma and proselytising," the complaint said.
Full report at:
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/let-engaged-in-commando-training-inside-pak-terror-camps/841067/
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Files show UK, US spy agencies links with Gaddafi regime
Rod Nordland
Sep 04 2011
Tripoli: Documents found at the abandoned office of Libyas former spymaster appear to provide new details of the close relations the CIA shared with the Libyan intelligence service suggesting that the Americans sent terrorism suspects at least eight times for questioning in Libya despite that countrys reputation for torture.
Although it has been known that Western intelligence services began cooperating with Libya after it abandoned its program to build unconventional weapons in 2004,the files left behind as show that the cooperation was much more extensive than generally known with both the CIA and its British equivalent,MI-6.
Some documents indicate that the British agency was even willing to trace phone numbers for the Libyans,and another appears to be a proposed speech written by the Americans for Col Muammar Gaddafi about renouncing unconventional weapons.
The documents were discovered on Friday by journalists and Human Rights Watch.There were at least three binders of English-language documents,one marked CIA and the other two marked MI-6,among a stash of documents in Arabic.
It was impossible to verify their authenticity,and none of them were written on letterhead.But the binders included some documents that made specific reference to the CIA,and their details seem consistent with what is known about the transfer of terrorism suspects for interrogation.
Times of India
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Kurdish Militants Kill Four in Southeast Turkey
Sep 04 2011
DIYARBAKIR, Turkey (Reuters) - Turkish war planes launched fresh strikes on Kurdish guerrilla positions in northern Iraq on Sunday while in southeast Turkey, Kurdish militants killed two soldiers and two village militia members in separate weekend attacks.
The two soldiers were shot dead on Saturday in Tunceli in the latest clash in a province where Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) guerrillas have been active in recent months.
The soldiers came under fire while patrolling in the rural Geyiksuyu area, state-run Anatolian news agency reported, quoting a statement by the provincial governor's office.
The two militia men were shot dead on Sunday morning, according to security officials. They had been on patrol in the mountainous southeast province of Hakkari, which borders Iraq.
Village militia are often recruited from shepherds to guard the remote settlements.
Four laborers were wounded on Sunday in a grenade blast while working on a construction site next to a police station in the province.
Full report at:
http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2011/09/04/world/europe/international-us-turkey-kurds.html?ref=world
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Gunmen kill former Afghan Mujahideen commander
Sep 04 2011
HELMAND: Unknown gunmen on Saturday killed an auxiliary police commander in Lashkar Gah city, the capital of southern Helmand province, the governor of the district where the police commander served told Reuters.
Abdul Ali, a former Mujahideen commander, was a powerful auxiliary police commander in Helmand’s Marjah district, said Marjah district governor Abdul Mutalib.
http://www.dawn.com/2011/09/04/gunmen-kill-former-afghan-mujahideen-commander.html
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Suicide bomber kills 3 soldiers in Yemen
Sep 04 2011
DUBAI: A suicide bomber drove into a checkpoint on Saturday, killing three soldiers in southern Yemen, where the army is fighting militants suspected of links to al Qaeda. An official said the suicide bomber drove up to the checkpoint on the road between the city of Aden and Abyan province, where the army is battling militants. The suicide bomber was also killed in the blast, the official said, adding that the death toll was likely to rise. The number of people injured was not known. While President Ali Abdullah Saleh recovers in neighbouring Saudi Arabia from a June assassination attempt, militants have seized at least three cities the south in recent months. The United States and Saudi Arabia fear turmoil in Yemen will give al Qaeda’s Yemen-based branch more room to launch attacks in the region and beyond. Opponents of Saleh accuse him of exaggerating the threat of al Qaeda and even of encouraging militants in order to pressure Riyadh and Washington into backing him. Saleh is clinging on to power despite months of protests against his 33-year rule.
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2011\09\04\story_4-9-2011_pg7_7
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Bali terror suspect could serve only a few years
Sep 04 2011
JAKARTA, Indonesia: An Indonesian man blamed for Southeast Asia’s deadliest suicide bombing could escape with just a few years behind bars.
The tough anti-terrorism law passed after the double nightclub blasts in Bali cannot be used retroactively against Umar Patek, leaving prosecutors scrambling to convict him of lesser crimes, from premeditated murder to immigration violations.
Patek, an Al-Qaeda-linked militant captured on Jan. 25 in the same Pakistani town where Osama Bin Laden was killed by US forces, allegedly told interrogators he made the explosives used in the 2002 attacks on Bali island.
The bombings killed 202 people, including 88 Australians and seven Americans. They were followed by near-annual suicide attacks on glitzy Western hotels, restaurants and an embassy in the world’s most populous Muslim nation.
More than 680 militants have been rounded up, tried in open courts and convicted or executed under anti-terror laws passed in 2003, including 32 for their roles in the Bali bombings, according to police and prosecutors. In 2004, however, the constitutional court ruled that the law could no longer be used retroactively.
Full report at:
http://arabnews.com/world/article497105.ece
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Ensure no 26/11, before Pak talks, PM told US
Sep 04 2011
New Delhi: PM Manmohan Singh needed assurances that there would be no more Mumbais before reengaging with Pakistan and wanted the US to use its leverage with Pakistanis military to ensure terrorists do not launch attacks against India from Pakistan.
While offering an effusive welcome to US national security adviser James Jones soon after the Obama administration took over,Singh made an impassioned plea for American intervention so that the professed intentions of Pakistans civilian leadership are shared by its military.
According to a WikiLeaks disclosure, the meeting one of the first high-level contacts after Democrats won the White Housesaw Singh seeking to maintain the momentum in bilateral ties,saying that sky was the limit to Indo-US cooperation.
Full report at: Times of India
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Libya rebels poised to attack
4 September 2011
TRIPOLI/MISRATA - Libya’s interim government said it was closing in on bastions of support for Muammar Gaddafi on Saturday, although there were mixed signals of how quickly their forces were moving.
Although the head of the NATO-backed National Transitional Council (NTC) reaffirmed a week-long grace period for making terms to avoid bloodshed, anti-Gaddafi fighters besieging two important towns said they were ready to attack.
A spokesman for Gaddafi, who is in hiding since his capital fell to rebel forces two weeks ago, dismissed talk of surrender and said powerful tribal leaders were still loyal to him.
Outside the town of Bani Walid, a stronghold of Libya’s biggest tribe in Tripoli’s desert hinterland, a spokesman for NTC forces said their patience was exhausted and an offensive would begin within hours. Around Sirte, Gaddafi’s home town on the coast, there was similar impatience among the fighters.
“In a few hours we will enter, we will be in Bani Walid,” local military spokesman Mahmoud Abdul Aziz told Reuters at a checkpoint 60 km (40 miles) north of the town where commanders for the National Transitional Council said this week they believe Gaddafi himself may have taken refuge.
Full report at:
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticle09.asp?xfile=data/international/2011/
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Libya’s Interim Leaders Aim to Harness Rebel Fighters
By ROD NORDLAND
Sep 04 2011
TRIPOLI, Libya — Libya’s interim government plans to begin bringing irregular rebel militias under government control, either disbanding them or incorporating them into regular police and military forces, said Ali Tarhouni, the deputy chairman of the rebels’ executive board, speaking at a news conference here on Saturday.
Mr. Tarhouni, the highest-ranking rebel official in Tripoli, the capital, so far, announced the formation of a Supreme Security Committee of civilian officials and militia leaders, which would take control of all security matters in Tripoli. He said he had been appointed its chairman.
“We agreed in principle that the protection of the capital will be assigned mainly to the Ministry of the Interior, and particularly the police forces,” he said, summarizing the results of the committee’s first meeting.
However, rebel leaders have not yet announced a schedule for disbanding irregular militias, and no training programs have yet been established for them. It is also unclear if all of the armed rebels will agree to put down their weapons when told to do so.
Forming the Supreme Security Committee seemed to be a move to consolidate control of the capital under civilian leadership, but Mr. Tarhouni said it would not replace the Tripoli Military Council, a grouping of rebel militias that had participated in ousting the forces of Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi from the capital.
Full report at:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/04/world/middleeast/04libya.html?ref=world
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Gaddafi spokesman says Bani Walid, a major city, will hold out
4 September 2011
TUNIS - Muammar Gaddafi’s spokesman dismissed suggestions on Saturday that one of his last bastions of support, Bani Walid, was about to surrender to his enemies and insisted that tribal leaders there were still loyal.
“Bani Walid is a major city hosting one of the biggest tribes in Libya who have declared their allegiance to the leader and they refused all approaches for negotiation with the Transitional Council,” Moussa Ibrahim told Reuters.
He said he had spoken to leaders of the locally dominant Warfalla tribe, a group that includes up to a million of Libya’s six million people, who told him a meeting of elders had decided to continue backing the fugitive former leader.
Independent accounts of conditions in Bani Walid have been sparse, though a Libyan in touch with people in the town told Reuters on Friday that its leaders were discussing terms that would allow some anti-Gaddafi fighters to enter.
Ibrahim declined to say where he was speaking from.
But asked about a demand from the new ruling council urging a surrender, he said: “The transitional council’s messages to Bani Walid are not being heeded here in Bani Walid.”
On Friday, he had told Reuters he was in a “southern suburb of Tripoli” but moving around. Bani Walid is in the desert some 150 km (100 miles) southeast of the capital.
Full report at:
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/displayarticle.asp?xfile=data/international/2011/September/i
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Geelani blamed for derailing talks
Aman Sharma
Sep 04 2011
THE Americans have held hardline Hurriyat leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani responsible for derailing a “ quiet dialogue” initiated by home minister Chidambaram with the separatists Jammu & Kashmir in 2009.
secret US diplomatic cable leaked WikiLeaks revealed that Geelani was involved in the attack on moderate Hurriyat leader Fazal- ul- Haq Qureshi in Srinagar on December 4, 2009. J& K DGP Kuldeep Khoda apparently told a senior US embassy official this, the cable stated.
Khoda told PolFSN that a shadowy group called al- Nasreen had claimed responsibility for the attack, which was carried out because Qureshi was actively engaged in the latest closed- door discussions which were announced in October by home minister P. Chidambaram with moderate separatists. Khoda said the group is a front for the terrorist group Hizbul Mujahideen.
He said he saw the indirect hand Hurriyat hardliner Syed Ali Shah Geelani behind the attack. DGP Khoda told PolFSN that the attack was absolutely a big setback to the peace process,” the cable said.
Full report at: Mail Today
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Can Pakistan survive its many crises?
By Manoj joshi
Sep 04 2011
THE purpose of this book is quite transparent.
It is aimed at telling the world that Pakistan is not a basket case and that it should not be given up on.
The book was conceived in the wake of the devastating floods that hit Pakistan during the last monsoons and there were not a few prognostications that if terrorism and separatism did not do the job, the floods certainly would — that is, Pakistan’s society and state would never recover from them.
But the theme of this book is recovery and rehabilitation— from the floods, as well as the other ills afflicting the Pakistani body politic.
These are clustered around three areas — governance, security, and economic and social development.
Maleeha Lodi, Pakistan’s former ambassador to the US and the 17 distinguished Pakistani contributors to this volume, argue that the Pakistani state may be weak, but the society is resilient, one that will overcome all the problems it now confronts.
In her overview essay, Lodi’s most optimistic scenario involves the reinvention of Pakistani political parties, which move from patronage to issue- based politics and simultaneously, the middle classled coalition spearheads the reform agenda. Many of the essays, including Lodi’s own, are unsparing in their assessments of the Pakistani situation. But it is not clear as to whether their solutions go beyond a repetition of platitudes.
Full report at: Mail Today
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Pak readies to launch its own war on terror
HARRIS BIN MUNAWAR
Sep 04 2011
The Pakistan army has decided it does not need US military assistance and will fight terrorism using its own resources.They did not clarify if those resources included the Haqqani network and other insurgents in Afghanistan.
Asked if the military is entitled to make such decisions for Pakistanis,a defence expert defended them.The army is like the Windows operating system of Pakistan.They just do everything for the people on their own,and then ask them to click okay to continue.
In a briefing to the Pakistani parliament in May,military leaders had warned politicians that ties with the US would worsen.He had not predicted a suspension of US military aid.
Pakistan has enough of its own resources to right a war against terrorists, one analyst said.Inshallah we will destroy America, he added,while adjusting his red beret.He denied he had started wearing a red beret after some Americans he was doing jihad against called him a towelhead and laughed at him.
He believed those resources were being used wisely to prepare Pakistani citizens for their own war on terror.
Last night was just exhausting, a woman from Karachi told this scribe.It usually takes an hour,but last night Iwas all wet and couldnt breathe,for two long hours.Power breakdowns are making our lives miserable.
Fate is preparing them for a war, the security analyst responded.He said the power supply system would break down in case of a war.We will have to live without power if we want to become a superpower.
Full report at: Times of India
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Pranab favoured lot tougher stand on Pakistan after 26/ 11
Dipanjan Roy Chaudhury
Sep 05 2011
THE long- held perception that finance minister and key Congress troubleshooter Pranab Mukherjee did not favour making any concessions to Pakistan in the post- 26/ 11 period has been vindicated in a US cable released by WikiLeaks recently.
The document, despatched by former US envoy Timothy Roemer, also confirmed that the Congress- led UPA government stands divided on PM Manmohan Singh’s attempts to normalise ties after the Mumbai attacks.
For its part, the US — despite Pakistan’s snail’space efforts to nail the perpetrators of 26/ 11 and India’s insistence on credible steps for reviving the composite dialogue — strongly advised New Delhi to mend fences with Islamabad.
In a cable dated February 11, 2010, Roemer wrote: “… New Delhi has been broadly supportive of US government goals in both Pakistan and Afghanistan. After refusing post- Mumbai to engage broadly with Pakistan until Islamabad took action against the attack perpetrators, New Delhi has now offered unconditional talks. This is a calculated risk on PM Singh’s part....” Roemer’s cable, however, rightly reflects the division and scepticism within the government on the dialogue with Pakistan, owing to the existence of the terror infrastructure. “ While there is a general recognition that the policy of not engaging with Pakistan, except on counterterrorism issues, has exhausted its usefulness, that does not necessarily translate into strong or consistent support for broad talks…” To drive home his argument, Roemer pointed to Mukherjee’s strong reservations on the Sharm- el- Sheikh joint statement and efforts by Singh to make leeway for Pakistan.
Mail Today
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Syed Ahmad takes over as new Jharkhand Governor
Sep 05 2011
Mr Syed Ahmad today took assumed charge as Jharkhand Governor. He was administered the oath by the acting Chief Justice of Jharkhand High Court, Mr P.C. Tatia, at Rajbhawan. Mr Ahmad replaces Mr M.O.H. Farook, who has been appointed Kerala Governor.
Mr Ahmad told presspersons that the State's potential should be tapped to ensure its full development. “Jharkhand is a rich state in terms of human resources and minerals. It should be utilised properly for the development of the State,” he said.
Times of India
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Menon tried to influence Indo-Pak talks
Sep 04 2011
New Delhi:The US lauded Indian handling of the first talks between then foreign secretary Nirupama Rao and Pakistani counterpart Salman Bashir on February 25,2010,since the Mumbai attacks in 2008.
The meeting did not yield much,instead it descended into an exchange of barbs between New Delhi and Islamabad.But the timing of the talks with Pakistan might have had more to do with the influence of the new Indian national security adviser,Shivshankar Menon.
Times of India
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Menon makes visit to Dhaka ahead of PM trip
September 04, 2011
National security adviser Shivshankar Menon paid an unscheduled visit to the Bangladesh capital, his second within a week to review the last-minute preparations for Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's September 6-7 visit here. Official sources said Menon was in Dhaka for a few hours on Sunday
to review the latest developments linked to Singh's visit.
"Mr Menon held meetings with water resources minister Ramesh Sen and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's foreign affairs adviser Gawher Rizvi and economic affairs adviser Mashiur Rahman," a source told PTI without elaborating.
The source said Menon represented Indian water resource minister P K Bansal in the meeting with Sen, whose counterpart is expected in Dhaka ahead of Singh's visit, as the two countries are set to ink a deal on sharing of waters of Teesta river coinciding with the meeting of their Prime Ministers.
Full report at:
http://www.hindustantimes.com/Menon-makes-visit-to-Dhaka-ahead-of-PM-trip/Article1-741479.aspx
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India was never serious about Headley extradition
Sep 04 2011
New Delhi: In December 2009,national security adviser M K Narayanan had told then US ambassador to India Timothy Roemer that New Delhis demand for extraditing Pakistani-American terrorist David Coleman Headley was mere posturing to mislead the Indian public,and the government was not seeking his extradition at this time.
A secret cable which is part of the latest tranche of diplomatic correspondence released by the whistleblowing website WikiLeaks sent a day after Narayanans telephonic conversation with Roemer on December 16,2009 said the Indian government would be in the hot seat if it were seen as relinquishing extradition of the Lashkar-e-Taiba operative.
Narayanan said that it was difficult not to be seen making the effort.He was responding to a demand by Roemer that India should refrain from requesting Headleys extradition.
Roemer explained that US hopes to secure crucial information from Headley,but the latter may clam up because of Indias insistence that he be extradited to them.He (Roemer) explained that the threat of extradition to India could cause Headleys cooperation to dry up,but that allowing the US judicial process to unfold or securing a plea agreement that both reflects his overall culpability and ensures his continued cooperation would maximize our ability to obtain further information from Headley, the cable said.
Times of India
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US put India's N-status more on par with Pak than China
Sep 4, 2011
NEW DELHI: The US feels that by signing the civil nuclear deal, India has for all practical purposes chosen to forego future testing but its voluntary moratorium gave it the comfort of not formalizing a commitment never to test.
In a perceptive cable, after the 1998 Pokhran thermonuclear test was run down by a former defence scientist as a "fizzle", US diplomats argued "doubts about India's thermonuclear deterrent thus diminish India's strategic stature - putting it more on par with Pakistan than China - thereby stoking popular perceptions not only of insecurity, but also of inferiority".
The then national security adviser M K Narayanan rubbished the claims of an under-cooked nuclear bomb test.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/US-put-Indias-N-status-more-on-par-with-Pak-than-China/articleshow/9853698.cms
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Over 400,000 Israelis on streets demanding economic reforms
Sep 04 2011
Jerusalem : In the largest protest in Israel's history, more than 400,000 people hit the streets in cities across the country against the rising cost of living, calling for a "million-man march" towards bringing sweeping economic reforms.
Media reports across Israel estimated that more than 400,000 people participated in the nationwide stir last night, by far the largest since the wave of protests began two months ago, with Tel Aviv, the nerve centre of the demonstrations, alone recording participation of more than 300,000.
What began as a tent encampment in Tel Aviv to protest rising housing costs has mushroomed into a national grass-roots movement for social justice and more equitable distribution of wealth.
Protest leader Yonatan Levy said the atmosphere was like "a second Independence Day".
Though the government doesn't face an immediate threat of being dislodged but the waves of protests during the last two months has underscored the potential electoral impact of a burdened middle class rallying under a banner of "social justice".
"Mr Prime Minister, the new Israelis have a dream and it is simple- to weave the story of our lives into Israel. We expect you to let us live in this country. The new Israelis will not give up. They demand change and will not stop until real solutions come," Protest leaders Daphni Leef and National Student Union Chairman Itzik Shmuli said, addressing the Tel Aviv crowd.
"They tried to dismiss us as stupid children, and as extreme leftists, but last night's countrywide protest proved otherwise," Leef said.
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/over-400-000-israelis-on-streets-demanding-
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Turkey to raise Israel’s blockade at International Court of Justice
Sep 04 2011
ISTANBUL: Turkey said on Saturday that it would apply next week for an investigation by the International Court of Justice into the legality of Israel’s naval blockade of the Palestinian enclave of Gaza.
Speaking to Turkish state-run television during a gathering of European foreign ministers in Poland, Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu also reiterated Turkey’s support for efforts to win recognition for a Palestinian state through the United Nations.
On Friday, Turkey expelled Israel’s ambassador and froze military agreements with Israel after a UN report on the killing of nine Turks during an Israeli raid on a Gaza-bound ship a year ago failed to trigger an apology from the Jewish state.
Aside from demanding an apology, and compensation for families, Turkey also insists Israel ends the blockade of Palestinians living in Gaza.
Full report at:
http://www.dawn.com/2011/09/04/turkey-to-raise-israel%E2%80%99s-blockade-at-
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Omar Abdullah and his republic of tweets
By Naseer Ganai
Sep 04 2011
UNFAZED by the controversy over his tweet on Afzal Guru, Jammu & Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah says he is not going to be bullied off the microblogging site.
“ Just in case anyone is under the mistaken impression that I’ve been bullied off Twitter — sorry but here I am & I’m not going anywhere :-),” Omar says in his latest tweet.
“ If you want to see evidence of the messenger being attacked because some people don't like the message check my timeline :-)” says his second tweet.
For the past one year Omar has been severely criticised by his opponents for commenting on almost everything on Twitter, where his following has crossed 50,000. He is the state’s only politician who is active on social networking sites.
The chief minister keeps tweeting throughout the day. A follower once asked him how he managed to tweet so often through his busy schedule. Omar replied, “ You take a break to go to the loo, I take one to tweet.” No wonder the opposition People’s Democratic Party ( PDP) describes him as “ tweeter” and “ Blackberry” boy. The PDP chief, Mehbooba Mufti, said last month, “ The endlessly tweeting chief minister, instead of applying himself to the grave human rights crisis that he has created in Kashmir, is trying to get sadistic pleasure out of an incident that essentially reflects his governance failure.” She was reacting to the CM’s sarcastic tweet about PDP members being attacked with stones in Sopore when they had gone to mourn the death of a boy in police custody.
Full report at: Mail Today
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Soldier, Thinker, Hunter, Spy: Drawing a Bead on Al Qaeda
Sep 04 2011
WASHINGTON — Every day, Michael G. Vickers gets an update on how many in Al Qaeda’s senior leadership the United States has removed from the battlefield, and lately there has been much to report. Al Qaeda’s No. 2 died in a C.I.A. drone strike late last month, another senior commander was taken out in June, and the Navy Seals made history when they dispatched Osama bin Laden in May.
“I just want to kill those guys,” Mr. Vickers likes to say in meetings at the Pentagon, with a grin.
Mr. Vickers’s preoccupation — “my life,” he says — is dismantling Al Qaeda. Underneath an owlish exterior, he is an ex-Green Beret and former C.I.A. operative with an exotic past. His title is under secretary of defense for intelligence, and he has risen to become one of the top counterterrorism officials in Washington.
As covert American wars — in Pakistan, Yemen and Somalia — continue in the second decade after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, so will the questions of legality, morality and risk that go along with them.
Full report at:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/04/world/04vickers.html?ref=world
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Syria Calls EU Sanctions European 'Colonialism'
Sep 04 2011
BEIRUT (AP) — A state-run newspaper in Syria says the European Union's ban on oil imports from the country was a sign that Europe is trying to regain its colonial past.
The EU announced Friday it was banning oil imports from Syria to protest the government's deadly crackdown on a 5-month-old anti-government uprising. The sanctions will cost the embattled regime millions of dollars a day.
The Al-Thawra newspaper lashed out at the sanctions Sunday.
The paper said Europe is working to "regain the past glory of its nasty, abominable colonization."
The U.N. estimates some 2,200 people have been killed since March as demonstrators take to the streets every week to protest the autocratic regime. But President Bashar Assad blames the unrest on thugs, not true reform-seekers.
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2011/09/04/world/middleeast/AP-ML-Syria.html?ref=middleeast&gwh=D75883FF541B1625E870599020B77BB8
URL: https://newageislam.com/islamic-world-news/us-feels-india-180m-muslims/d/5401