FBI entrapping Muslims in NY fake terror case
Tunes for Tolerance: Sufi Muslim Rock Star Salman Ahmad
Islamic Cleric issues fatwa against dogs
Islamic Banking Begins Business In September
Witness to southern Philippine massacre shot dead
Pak again plays Kashmir card, says look into it first
India, Pak foreign secys meet to bridge trust deficit
Five US men convicted of Pakistan 'terror plot'
Afghan strategy remains despite sacking, says NATO
Pakistani Churches welcomed Sharia Law
Gujarat makes no headway in Modasa case, so NIA steps in
Geelani, Mirwaiz detained in Kashmir
Defiant American 'Rambo' eager to finish his mission of killing Osama
NATO chief says strategy for Afghanistan unchanged
US will not tolerate any safe haven for terrorist: Obama
June deadliest month for foreign troops in Afghanistan war
India, Pak Foreign Secretary-level talks begin in Islamabad
Nothing dramatic expected from Indo-Pak talks: Krishna
Pakistan Army a threat to India, not its people or government'
Foreign Secretaries meet to work out measures to counter terrorism
Brazil and Turkey prepare for next round of mediation on Iran
Terror Alert Sounded About Strikes At SAARC
Can Nitish's stand win Muslim votes?
Latest AfPak crisis: McChrystal
Our borders follow us even in death
THE ROAD NOT YET TAKEN
One-point plan: Talk, more talk and still more talk
Lahore HC blocks Yahoo, Google
Obama calls Karzai; discusses Kandahar operation
French parliament to debate burqa ban on July 6
BJP urges Prez to expedite Afzal hanging
Nazeer denies naming Madani
Pakistan predicts conviction in US terror trial
KERALA TOP COP UNDER SCANNER FOR TERROR LINKS
Lal Masjid was NY plotter's turning point
The Fury of a General, Released by Volcano
SP Mookerjee Martyrdom Day observed in Kashmir
Iran produces 17 kgs of further enriched uranium
Indonesian police raid terrorist hide-out; 1 dead
Landmarks to lose elite status over lighting row
Poverty, price hike, unemployment biggest issues: Tarin
‘Pakistani not a danger to US community’
Jamaat calls for more provinces for better governance
Six more NATO troops killed in Afghanistan
Spanish senate proposes ban on Islamic veils
Okara landlord ‘detains’ 43 Christians as punishment
24 insurgents killed near Afghan border
Petraeus replaces McChrystal
13 countries slam Israeli raid on Gaza aid flotilla
Denmark’s pullout hits NATO drone project
Pakistani-American woman buried in Jubail
Turkey detains 27 over Istanbul bus attack
Britain’s Muslims 5 years after 7/7
A victim of war on terror
Witness in Philippine massacre trial killed
Fighting terror at home and the blowback
Compiled by New Age Islam News Bureau
URL: https://newageislam.com/islamic-world-news/dr-zakir-naik-moves-hc/d/3042
---------
Muslim leader moves HC against ban on UK entry
N Ganesh
June 24, 2010
Furious at the United Kingdom for barring his entry, controversial Muslim leader Dr Zakir Naik has decided to initiate legal proceedings in the Bombay High Court to challenge the revocation of his visa and the 'maligning' of his character by Britain's department of home affairs.
Dr Naik, accompanied by advocate Majid Memon and noted film maker Mahesh Bhatt, made the announcement on Tuesday.
Dr Naik, a resident of Mumbai, was scheduled to leave for UK on June 18. A day before his departure, the British high commission hand delivered an order revoking his visa that was valid till 2013, on the grounds that his speeches were not conducive for the public.
The order had cited four extracts of his speeches, which, according to him, were 'misquoted and out of context'.
Dr Naik alleged that the UK home affairs department's decision was a political one. "The decision to revoke my visa was preceded by a news article in The Sunday Times on May 30 titled 'Preacher of Hate'. The article had also quoted me out of context," said Dr Naik.
The Sunday Times had reportedly quoted Dr Naik as saying that every Muslim should be a terrorist.
"I said this in the context that when a robber sees a policeman, he is terrified. So for a robber, the policeman is a terrorist. So in that context, every Muslim should be a terrorist to the robber and anti-social elements," he explained. He added that he had made this statement during an interview to a newspaper in 2003.
The order of the British home affairs had quoted one more extract of a speech in which he had made references to Al Qaeda [ Images ] chief Osama bin Laden [ Images ]. The quotes sourced from You Tube and reproduced in the order read as "Beware of Muslims saying Osama bin Laden is right or wrong, I reject them, we don't know. But if you ask my view, if given the truth, if he is fighting the enemies of Islam, I am for him. I don't know what he is doing. I am not in touch with him. I don't know him personally. I read the newspaper. If he is terrorising the terrorist, if he is terrorising America the terrorist, the biggest terrorist, he is following Islam."
Dr Naik said that the order stated that the speech was made in 2006, whereas it was actually made in 1996, when Osama was not very well known.
"What I said about Osama was much before the terrorist attacks of 9/11 (in the United States), which I have condemned. My comments about Osama made in the past cannot be linked to recent world events. I have always condemned the killing of innocent people by terrorists," said Dr Naik.
In the third extract, Dr Naik has been quoted criticising the killing of people in Iraq, Afghanistan and Lebanon in the same vein as the killing of innocent persons in terror attacks in New York, London [ Images ] and Mumbai. "Is the life of a person in the UK and United States more important than a person dying in other parts of the world such as Iraq, Afghanistan and Lebanon? How am I wrong in saying this," questioned Dr Naik.
Memon, a noted lawyer, pointed out that revoking Naik's existing visa was a much more serious matter than refusing a visa. "I cannot digest the fact that the entire home affairs department was blinded unwisely and rashly on this matter. Interestingly, this decision cannot be appealed. I am afraid this is terrorism," he said.
Film maker Mahesh Bhatt said that the Centre, which objected to actor Shah Rukh Khan [ Images ] being frisked and detained at a US airport by security officials, should support Dr Naik in this case.
http://news.rediff.com/report/2010/jun/22/muslim-leader-moves-hc-against-ban-on-uk-entry.htm
---------
Indian Muslim preacher to challenge ban
Hasan Suroor
June 24, 2010
LONDON: Zakir Naik, an Indian Muslim preacher who has been banned from entering Britain because of his alleged extremist views, said on Wednesday that he intended to challenge the ban claiming that it was based on “misrepresentation of the truth:. He denied he supported terrorism.
In a statement emailed from Mumbai, Dr. Naik said he had spoken against terrorism and condemned violence including the 9/11 attacks, the July 7, 2005 London bombings and the Mumbai bombings.
He said: “I've said on several occasions that these are cowardly acts and completely unjustifiable by any standards. But I believe that the U.K. government has acted on recent press reports in the U.K. which have portrayed me as a ‘preacher of hate' and a ‘terror backer'. That is not just a warped view but totally unjustified impression of my work. It appears these sensational headlines have been based on some of my quotes that have been either used out of relevant context or are completely wrong. It is clear from many of my talks that in Islam, terrorism and killing of innocent civilians is completely forbidden and as such I have unequivocally stated several times that no Muslim should be a terrorist.”
Dr. Naik, who was due to give a series of lectures in the U.K. this week, was barred on grounds that his presence here would not be “conducive to the public good”. The British government took exception to his reported comments that “every Muslim should be a terrorist: and that Osama bin Laden was “fighting the enemies of Islam”.
Ordering the ban last week, Home Secretary Theresa May described his behaviour as “unacceptable”.
http://www.hindu.com/2010/06/24/stories/2010062455451500.htm
---------
FBI entrapping Muslims in NY fake terror case
Jun 24 2010
We are in the middle of another manufactured-terrorism case, this one in Newburgh, and it was going very smoothly until last week, when the presiding federal judge postponed the scheduled trial indefinitely, ordering the government to turn over more evidence that might be helpful to the defense. The defendants are four petty criminals, three black Americans and one Haitian, all of whom converted to Islam in prison and upon their release took to frequenting a mosque in Newburgh.
They were recruited into a fake terrorist plot by the same wretch who a few years ago duped two Albany Muslims into an exchange of checks for cash that could be sold to a jury as money-laundering in support of terrorism.
The FBI is still working him. I had thought such efforts to create terrorists in order to arrest them was an artifact of the Bush administration, which seemed unable to distinguish between real enemies and imaginary, but I was wrong. Here we are with a new, supposedly more enlightened, president and it’s still going on.
The wretch is Shahed (or Shaheed) Hussain, a Pakistani who immigrated to this country in the early 1990s and soon began making his living in the Albany area by cheating on drivers license exams for immigrants who knew less English than he did. He was supposed to interpret for them but actually took their tests for them, for substantial fees.
He got caught and faced a string of felonies, to be followed by deportation, when the FBI got hold of him and put him to work in exchange for keeping him out of jail and allowing him to remain in this country. Undoubtedly a great boon to us all.
A miserable liar and cheat who couldn’t distinguish truth from falsehood even when he was under oath in the Albany trial of Yassin Aref and Mohammed Hossain and was trying his best to make a good impression.
In the Newburgh affair, he presented himself in a black Mercedes, and, in a script apparently much favored by the FBI, let on to have a great deal of money, which he was very free with. Also to be a radical jihadist, or at least in league with radical jihadists.
He recruited these disaffected petty drug dealers and misfits with promises of money and cars, according to the FBI’s own secret tape recordings, some of which have become public through court filings by the defense.
It took him a year to do it, but he did it. He got them to accompany him to the Air National Guard base at Stewart International Airport and take photographs, supposedly with a view to eventually shooting down airplanes with surface-to-air missiles.
He got them to plant what they thought were explosives at a synagogue and a Jewish community center in the Bronx.
There is no sign they would have done any of this on their own or even imagined doing it. Shahed Hussain, acting not as an informant as the government calls him but as an agent provocateur, coaxed them, urged them and bribed them.
“I told you I can make you $250,000, but you don’t want it, brother,” he said to his principal recruit, James Cromitie, a 45-year-old native of Brooklyn with 27 arrests on his record, when Cromitie showed reluctance.
At another point he told Cromitie he would pay lookouts $25,000 each, to which Cromitie responded, “If you can assure them that they gonna see that much money, they gonna go for it; They will do it for the money; they’re not even thinking about the cause.”
Cromitie dreamed of a new car. “You’re getting your car, brother — the Beamer,” Shahed Hussain told him.
A swell way for the government to protect us, no? Bribe some low-life ex-cons to participate in a fake plot and then arrest them on charges of terrorism and conspiracy to use weapons of mass destruction. Possible sentence: life in prison.
After which Shahed Hussain will presumably ride off to his next slimy assignment, and the government will bask in glory for having blocked a terrorist attack.
Slimy?
“You should believe me, because I am your brother, I am your true brother,” he told Cromitie regarding the promise of a new car. “I love you to death, brother.”
Which is pretty much the approach he took when he was pressing money on Mohammed Hossain, owner of a hole-in-the-wall pizza shop on Central Avenue in Albany.
The difference: Back then his nomme de guerre was Malik; in Newburgh it was Maqsood.
I shouldn’t be so hard on him, maybe. He’s trying to save his skin. It’s the FBI that writes the script and puts him to work acting it, and it’s U.S. attorneys who prosecute these cases.
How dangerous would this Cromitie character have been in Newburgh without Shahed “Maqsood” Hussain to egg him on?
Apparently not very. The FBI agent running the operation, Robert Fuller (who also ran the celebrated Fort Dix operation), wrote to officials at Stewart Airport alerting them that Cromitie would be out there scouting for a possible attack site but assured them he would pose no danger without Hussain.
It was the revelation of a memo referring to that letter that prompted Judge Colleen McMahon last week to call a halt to the proceedings until the FBI produces all materials that might tend to exculpate the defendants, as the law requires.
She also noted that “the Government has retreated from its original position that the defendants had any connections to any international terrorist organization.”
At this point the legal-minded reader might be asking, isn’t the inducing of criminal activity forbidden? Isn’t it called entrapment, and isn’t it grounds for acquittal?
To which your legal correspondent answers, yes, it’s forbidden, yes, it’s called entrapment, and yes, it’s grounds for acquittal — except in cases of alleged Muslim terrorism, and then all rules are suspended. Not as a matter of law, of course, but as a practical matter.
I know this from the unhappy case of Aref and Hossain in Albany, who were equally induced to do things they would not have done otherwise and which they showed no previous inclination to do — like launder money, which they didn’t even understand — and yet are now serving 15-year prison terms.
The federal appeals court that reviewed their case dismissed the entrapment argument without rebuttal but just with a wave of the hand.
If a government agent cajoles an ordinary citizen into a robbing a bank who had never robbed a bank before nor shown any inclination to rob a bank, that citizen has a sturdy defense and can expect to be exonerated.
But if a government agent cajoles a Muslim man into participating in a terrorist plot, no matter how far-fetched, and no matter how little inclination the Muslim man had previously shown for such activity, that Muslim man is dead meat.
I wait to see if things turn out any differently in Newburgh. And I also wait to see what Shahed Hussain’s next assignment will be.
I hope it’s not me. My car is getting run down, and if he offered me a new Beamer, heaven knows what I would do.
http://alethonews.wordpress.com/2010/06/23/trial-delayed-in-new-fake-terror-case/
---------
Tunes for Tolerance: Sufi Muslim Rock Star Salman Ahmad
By ANISA BENMOKTAR
JUNE 24, 2010
Salman Ahmad may be the most well-known Sufi rock star of the moment. A dedicated Muslim, who claims his ponytail is a “gift from Allah”, he’s been described as Pakistan’s Bono. The Guardian caught up with Salman in London, where he was promoting his controversial new book, which counteracts extremism through music: aptly named: “Rock & Roll Jihad.”
Rock and Roll Radical?
Sufi rock may not be everyone’s cup of tea – in fact, some deem Salman’s music downright sinful. Still, he’s sold 25 million albums worldwide, is a UNU goodwill ambassador for HIV/Aids, has helped to raise money for refugees from Swat, and played at the Nobel peace prize ceremony in 2007. Not bad, if you ask me…
“I love music,” Salman tells The Guardian. “I feel also that my belief in Islam inspires my creativity, as it has inspired hundreds of thousands of Muslim artists over the last 1,400 years. That cultural heritage has been blurred by violence and fear.”
The Great Music-and-Islam Debate
Salman goes on to mention the competition between Salafi and Sufi value systems, which represent a lot more than music alone. Individual Muslims’ view on music, it seems is just the tip of iceberg on a whole host of other issues.
The London Muslim blog is less than impressed by Ahmad’s mission, labelling it as a “discredited gimmick” – using “an ageing Muslim Pakistani rock star to sing a few songs which apparently should do the trick and prevent any tendency towards extremism”.
Nevertheless, the Sufi rock star remains faithful to his path: to shed light for young Pakistanis on alternative ways of being a Muslim and thereby illuminating choices they may not have previously considered.
“There wouldn’t be such a thing as counterfeit gold if there were no real gold somewhere.” - Sufi Proverb
http://www.lovehabibi.com/blog/2010/06/17/tunes-for-tolerance-sufi-muslim-rock-star-salman-ahmad/
---------
Islamic Cleric issues fatwa against dogs
JUNE 24, 2010
Filed under Iran, Islamic Supremacism, Islamic hypocrisy, Sharia (Islamic Law) at June 23rd, 2010 - 3:30 pm
Unlike many Americans, I view Islam not as some honorable religion, but as a 7th Century Arabic Imperialist Ideology. Wherever Islam goes it destroys the local culture and imposes Arabic morals on the people. In all honesty, Islam is evil and Totalitarian since it is a collectivist ideology that suppresses individualism. Before the rise of the Progressive Ideologies like Communism and Nazism, Islam was responsible for the majority of genocide committed in human history.
In the latest example of the the evil nature of Islam, an Iranian cleric has issued a fatwa against dogs. What most Americans don’t realize is that Islam is anti-dog, since Muslim legends claims they chased the Pedophile genocidal Arab warlord Muhammad and pissed in the first Mosque. Dogs sense evil and obviously they knew the founder of the Islamic Imperialist movement was demonic.
Full report at:
http://www.theblogmocracy.com/2010/06/23/islamic-cleric-issues-fatwa-against-dogs/
---------
Islamic Banking Begins Business In September
24-Jun-2010
The first micro finance company in the country to provide loans to people at an interest free rate is set to begin operations in September this year.
The company, Ghana Islamic Microfinance, the first of kind in the country, is founded on the tenets of Islam and the Sharia law, which forbids the receiving and paying of interest on loans. The company has set aside US$5 million as seed-money to begin its operations.
The Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Islamic Microfinance, Kwaku Yamoah Kyei, told B&FT in an interview yesterday that the company hopes to recoup its investment according to profit or loss sharing between the company and its clients.
Full report at:
http://business.peacefmonline.com/finance/201006/51182.php
---------
Witness to southern Philippine massacre shot dead
Jun 24, 2010
A key witness to the massacre of 57 people in the Philippines last year has been shot dead, a prosecutor says.
Suwaib Upham had admitted to being one of the gunmen who took part in the Maguindanao attack.
He had agreed to testify against members of the Ampatuan family, who are on trial for ordering the killings.
Since admitting his part in the murders, Mr Upham had repeatedly asked for witness protection but had yet to receive any government help.
Trial setback
Earlier this year Suwaib Upham, known publicly as "Jesse", had given several media interviews detailing his role in last November's killings.
Full report at:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/world/asia_pacific/10400144.stm
---------
Pak again plays Kashmir card, says look into it first
Jun 24, 2010
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has yet again raised the Kashmir issue as the first round of Indo-Pak foreign secretary bilateral talks began on Thursday between Nirupama Rao and her Pakistan counterpart Salman Bashir. India is waiting to see whether Pakistan will walk the talk and bridge the trust deficit between the two neighbours since the Mumbai attacks in 2008.
Foreign Secretaries of both India and Pakistan met in Islamabad today; the meeting is aimed at setting the tone for the next round of talks between foreign ministers in July. Efforts to rebuild trust and work out measures to counter terrorism are on agenda.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Pak-again-plays-K-card-says-look-into-Kashmir-first/articleshow/6086596.cms
---------
India, Pak foreign secys meet to bridge trust deficit
Jun 24 2010
Islamabad : Foreign Secretaries of India and Pakistan will address a joint press conference later on Thursday after their talks aimed at bridging the trust deficit between the two countries.
Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao and her Pakistani counterpart Salman Bashir will address the joint press conference at 3 pm (local time) at the Foreign Office here, sources said.
The decision was taken after their meeting this morning. Earlier, there was no indication of the joint press conference, they sources said.
Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao, the first senior Indian official to visit Islamabad since the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks, met her Pakistani counterpart Salman Bashir for talks at the Foreign Office in Islamabad.
Full report at:
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/india-pak-foreign-secys-meet-to-bridge-trust-deficit/637592/
---------
Five US men convicted of Pakistan 'terror plot'
Jun 24 2010
Five Americans have each been sentenced to 10 years in jail by a court in Pakistan after being found guilty of terrorism charges, prosecutors say.
The five men - aged between 19 and 25 - were convicted of conspiring to commit terrorist attacks on Pakistani soil and of funding banned jihadist groups.
They were arrested in the north-eastern city of Sargodha in December.
The case is one of several involving alleged "home-grown" American Muslim militants linked to Pakistan.
The men have been identified as Ramy Zamzam, of Egyptian descent, Waqar Khan and Umar Farooq of Pakistani descent, and Aman Hassan Yemer and Ahmed Minni, who are of Ethiopian descent.
Full report at:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/10400972.stm
---------
Afghan strategy remains despite sacking, says Nato
Jun 24 2010
Nato's strategy in Afghanistan "remains on course", its top civilian representative has said, despite the sacking of the top US military chief.
Mark Sedwill said that "no-one wanted to see Gen Stanley McChrystal go" but he was "much reassured" by the appointment of Gen David Petraeus.
However, the Taliban said that the insurgency would go on until "invading forces" leave.
Gen McChrystal was sacked after mocking top US officials in a magazine article.
Civilian casualties
Mr Sedwill told the BBC: "No-one wanted to see Stan McChrystal go but he made a bad mistake, as he acknowledged, and he has had to pay the price for that mistake."
Full report at:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/world/us_and_canada/10401329.stm
---------
Pakistani Churches welcomed Sharia Law
Jun 24 2010
Karachi: June 23, 2010. (PCP) Dr. Nazir S Bhatti, President of Pakistan Christian Congress PCC said that Bishops of Catholic Church in Pakistan and Church of Pakistan have been using blasphemy law to collect funds and issuing substandard statements to condemn imposition of Islamic laws on Christians in Pakistan while they were not and are not sincere to launch any campaign to repeal blasphemy law because they welcomed Sharia laws.
“It is on record that Bishops Conference of Catholic Church in Pakistan and Bishops of Church of Pakistan welcomed Sharia Law during Zia-Ul-Haq regime and participated in Jurist Conference of Nawaz Sharif during his tenure as Prime Minister and termed Islamic laws to be only source of Justice for minorities” said Nazir Bhatti.
Full report at:
http://www.pakistanchristianpost.com/headlinenewsd.php?hnewsid=2069
---------
Gujarat makes no headway in Modasa case, so NIA steps in
Jun 24 2010
Ahmedabad : With Gujarat police making no headway in the probe into the September 2008 blast near a mosque in Modasa which killed a 15-year-old boy and injured others, the Centre has asked the National Investigation Agency (NIA) to take over the case.
Confirming that the NIA will now probe the case, Union Minister of State for Home Mullappally Ramachandran told The Indian Express: “It is a Central decision, it has been communicated to the Gujarat government.”
This is the first Gujarat case to be handed over to the NIA. The state had left the Modasa case to the local police and, unlike other blast cases, had not turned it over to its Anti Terrorism Squad.
Full report at:
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/gujarat-makes-no-headway-in-modasa-case-so-nia-steps-in/637897/
---------
Geelani, Mirwaiz detained in Kashmir
Jun 24, 2010
SRINAGAR: As India and Pakistan opened talks on Thursday, Jammu and Kashmir separatist leader Syed Ali Geelani was detained under a tough law and moderate Mirwaiz Umer Farooq was put under house arrest.
Geelani was booked under the Public Safety Act for making provocative speeches inciting youths to violence, Srinagar District Magistrate Mehraj Ahmad Kakroo said.
"We have booked him under the Public Safety Act. I have signed his detention order," Kakroo said.
Geelani, who favours Jammu and Kashmir's merger with Pakistan and is bitterly opposed to any talks with India, had been taken into preventive custody with his associate Ashraf Sehrai June 20.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/Geelani-Mirwaiz-detained-in-Kashmir/articleshow/6085938.cms
---------
Defiant American 'Rambo' eager to finish his mission of killing Osama
Jun 24, 2010
NEW YORK: Ten days after he was apprehended from a jungle in Pakistan's northern Chitral region, the American construction worker, who claimed to be on a solo mission to hunt down and kill al-Qaida chief Osama bin Laden, has arrived back in the US.
Gary Brooks Faulkner, 51, arrived at the Los Angeles International Airport hours after he was freed by Pakistani agencies due to his deteriorating health conditions.
According to the New York Post , a local television channel showed Faulkner, who is said to have been suffering from severe kidney ailment, walking out of the airport.
However, Faulkner appeared defiant, saying he would complete his mission as soon as he gets fit.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/us/Defiant-American-Rambo-eager-to-finish-his-mission-of-killing-Osama/articleshow/6085599.cms
---------
NATO chief says strategy for Afghanistan unchanged
Jun 24, 2010
BRUSSELS: NATO will maintain its approach to Afghanistan after US President Barack Obama on Wednesday relieved his top general in the country from command, NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said.
"I have taken note that General McChrystal is stepping down as Commander of the NATO-led mission in Afghanistan. While he will no longer be the commander, the approach he helped put in place is the right one," Rasmussen said in a statement.
"The strategy continues to have NATO's support and our forces will continue to carry it out."
Naming General David Petraeus to replace McChrystal, Obama also said the shift did not reflect a change in policy. McChrystal's dismissal follows remarks he and his aides made in a magazine article that disparaged the US president and other senior civilian leaders.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/World/South-Asia/NATO-chief-says-strategy-for-Afghanistan-unchanged/articleshow/6084376.cms
---------
US will not tolerate any safe haven for terrorist: Obama
Jun 24, 2010
WASHINGTON: Stating that US faces a tough fight with the Taliban in Afghanistan, President Barack Obama on Wednesday said he would not allow safe haven for terrorists who want to destroy Afghan society.
"Our nation is at war. We face a very tough fight in Afghanistan. But Americans don't flinch in the face of difficult truths or difficult tasks. We persist and we persevere.
"We will not tolerate a safe haven for terrorists who want to destroy Afghan society from within and launch attacks against innocent men, women and children in our country and around the world," Obama said.
Emerging from the Oval office, soon after his monthly situation room meeting on Afghanistan and Pakistan with his national security aide, Obama said the goal is to break the momentum of the Taliban.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/World/US/US-will-not-tolerate-any-safe-haven-for-terrorist-Obama/articleshow/6084230.cms
---------
June deadliest month for foreign troops in Afghanistan war
Jun 24, 2010
KABUL: The deaths of another four NATO troops in an accident in Afghanistan made June the deadliest single month for US-led foreign forces in the nearly nine-year conflict, according to an AFP tally on Thursday.
The four troops died as a result of a vehicle accident in southern Afghanistan on Wednesday, the NATO-run International Security Assistance Force said in a statement that gave no further details.
The new deaths bring to 79 the number of foreign troops who have died as a result of the conflict in Afghanistan so far this month, according to an AFP tally based on statistics on the independent icasualties.org website.
The grim record eclipsed the previous most deadly month for NATO troops last August, when 77 soldiers were killed.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/World/South-Asia/June-deadliest-month-for-foreign-troops-in-Afghanistan-war/articleshow/6085061.cms
---------
India, Pak Foreign Secretary-level talks begin in Islamabad
Jun 24, 2010
ISLAMABAD: Foreign Secretaries of India and Pakistan met here on Thursday in their efforts to bridge the trust deficit and work out measures to counter terrorism to bring on track the stalled peace process.
Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao, the first senior Indian official to visit Islamabad since the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks, met her Pakistani counterpart Salman Bashir for talks at the Foreign Office here.
The talks began with a one-on-one meeting between Rao and Bashir to be followed by delegation-level parleys.
Rao and Bashir have been tasked by Prime Ministers Manmohan Singh and Yousuf Raza Gilani to find ways to bridge the trust deficit and prepare the ground for a meeting of the Foreign Ministers on July 15.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/India-Pak-Foreign-Secretary-level-talks-begin-in-Islamabad/articleshow/6085549.cms
---------
Nothing dramatic expected from Indo-Pak talks: Krishna
Jun 24, 2010
MUMBAI: Foreign minister S M Krishna on Wednesday said "nothing spectacular or dramatic" was expected from a series of forthcoming high-level political contacts with Pakistan because of the complexity of bilateral ties.
"I don't expect anything spectacular or dramatic because the Indo-Pak relationship is so complex", Krishna told reporters here.
He said Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao's visit to Pakistan was primarily "to prepare the ground for my visit to Islamabad next month".
Besides Krishna, Home Minister P Chidambaram is also scheduled to visit Pakistan in July to attend a meeting of SAARC Interior Ministers.
Krishna was here to visit ailing cartoonist R K Laxman who is undergoing treatment at Breach Candy Hospital here.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Nothing-dramatic-expected-from-Indo-Pak-talks-Krishna/articleshow/6085091.cms
---------
Pakistan Army a threat to India, not its people or government'
SHUJAAT BUKHARI
June 24, 2010
The former Chief of the Army Staff, General (retired) V.P. Malik, on Wednesday said the Pakistan Army, not its people or government, was a threat to India, and that India was fighting a proxy war in Afghanistan, a country vital to India's interests.
Gen. Malik was speaking at a seminar “Rising India: Challenges of a Troubled Neighbourhood” at the Sher-i-Kashmir International Conference Centre, organised by the Dr. Syama Prasad Mookherjee Research Foundation here to commemorate the death anniversary of Syama Prasad Mookherjee. This was the first time such a function is being organised here.
Full report at:
http://www.thehindu.com/news/states/other-states/article482665.ece
---------
Foreign Secretaries meet to work out measures to counter terrorism
June 24, 2010
Foreign Secretaries of India and Pakistan met here on Thursday in their efforts to bridge the trust deficit and work out measures to counter terrorism to bring on track the stalled peace process.
Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao, the first senior Indian official to visit Islamabad since the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks, met her Pakistani counterpart Salman Bashir for talks at the Foreign Office here.
The talks began with a one-on-one meeting between Rao and Bashir to be followed by delegation-level parleys.
Ms. Rao and Mr. Bashir have been tasked by Prime Ministers Manmohan Singh and Yousuf Raza Gilani to find ways to bridge the trust deficit and prepare the ground for a meeting of the Foreign Ministers on July 15.
Full report at:
http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/article483974.ece
---------
Brazil and Turkey prepare for next round of mediation on Iran
Atul Aneja
June 24, 2010
DUBAI: Brazil has said that it would continue its participation in efforts to ease tensions surrounding Iran's nuclear programme provided it received explicit support from the West for its diplomatic intervention.
Speaking to reporters on Wednesday in Bulgaria, Brazilian Foreign Minister Celso Amorim said France was ready for further mediation by Turkey and Brazil to help defuse tensions with Iran. “If this is also the desire of Iran, which I think it is, but also of the other two [in the Vienna Group], we will be more than glad to help. But it has to be on the basis of a very clear expression of interest,” he said. Apart from France, the United States and Russia are part of the Vienna group that emerged following talks in October in the Austrian capital among these three countries and Iran.
Full report at:
http://www.hindu.com/2010/06/24/stories/2010062455491500.htm
---------
Terror Alert Sounded About Strikes At Saarc
Jun 24th, 2010
Central security agencies on Wednesday sounded a terror alert in the country warning of groups “inimical’’ to India-Pakistan talks planning strikes to dislodge the dialogue on the sidelines of the Saarc interior ministers’ conference which began in Islamabad on Wednesday. Home minister P. Chidambaram is leaving for Islamabad on Friday to attend the conference.
Mr Chidambaram’s visit to Islamabad is critical as this will be the first visit of the home minister to Pakistan since the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack. The Indo-Pak talks had been suspended after Pakistani terrorists carried out the Mumbai carnage and brought Indo-Pak ties to an all-time low.
Full report at:
http://www.asianage.com/india/terror-alert-sounded-about-strikes-saarc-873
---------
Can Nitish's stand win Muslim votes?
Jun 24th, 2010
Severing ties with the Bharatiya Janata Party and publicly snubbing leaders such as Gujarat Chief Minister Nare- ndra Modi and BJP MP Varun Gandhi may not necessarily deliver more Muslim votes into the JD-U kitty when Bihar goes to the polls in October.
There is a feeling among Muslim groups that Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's snub could spark another round of the communalism debate betw- een Hindus and Muslims and harden attitudes on both sides.
“Pitted against Modi, on whom the BJP future rides nati- onally, the BJP could be forced into shriller Hindutva cam- paigns. This could put the com- munity on the defensive for no reason,“ said a Muslim scholar.
Full report at: Hindustan Times
---------
Latest AfPak crisis: McChrystal
Karen DeYoung & Scott Wilson
Jun 24th, 2010
The firestorm sparked by the general responsible for creating and imple- menting President Barack Obama's Afghanistan strat- egy has further set back US prospects in a war that was already on shaky ground.
Combat delays, rising casualties and new reports of Afghan corruption have led to growing skepticism in Congress and among the American public. The weak- ening, and possible firing, of Gen. Stanley McChrystal over disrespectful comments he made about Obama and his policy team has com- pounded the sense of peril.
However the McChrystal crisis ends, “much is differ- ent going forward,“ a senior administration official said.
“It's hard to brush past it.“
Full report at: Hindustan Times
---------
Our borders follow us even in death
Urvashi Butalia
Jun 24th, 2010
Afriend once told me a strange story about visas.Her uncle,an Indian married to a Pakistani and working in a third country,died in a country he was visiting on business.The question his family faced: where would he be buried.The natural choice was India,his home country,but then his wife and son would be unable to come.After many unsuccessful attempts to get them visas,the extended family decided to take the only other option and bury the man in a neutral country.Borders followed him,even in death.Another friend,Tanveer Ahmed,living in London,discovered one day that his 80-year-old grandmother,once a Hindu,still had a brother in their home village in Indian Kashmir.He thought he would try to take his grandmother to Kashmir to meet her brother.He spent four years trying to get her a visa.The reunion was spectacular.
Full report at: Times of India
---------
THE ROAD NOT YET TAKEN
Vazira Fazila-Yacoobali
Jun 24th, 2010
Nation-states and their borders are products of specific histories and are shaped by political processes that need to be interrogated.On the Indian subcontinent we need to understand this shared history and reclaim our political imagination to transform the boundaries that divide us.
The highly restricted Indo-Pak border that we live with on the subcontinent today was not created because of Indo-Pak wars over Kashmir.It has a very different history.By separating the border from the Kashmir conflict,this history may allow us to think about more open borders as the road not yet taken the road that lies ahead when finding solutions through affinity rather than difference.
Full report at: Times of India
---------
One-point plan: Talk,more talk and still more talk
Mani Shankar Aiyar
Jun 24th, 2010
The quarrel between the two governments has had deleterious consequences for precisely those crores of Indians and Pakistanis who have never had anything but Aman ki Asha in their breasts.
It is they who have to suffer endless,tense waits to get visas to visit friends and relatives and participate in family festivities.It is they really poor people whom inland security authorities in both countries compel to travel hundreds and often thousands of kilometres and sleep in ditches outside visa offices.It is they who are the victims of strategies of one-upmanship that are the staple of diplomacy and,worse,of the intelligence war between agencies not famed for that particular quality.
Full report at: Times of India
---------
Lahore HC blocks Yahoo,Google
Omer Farooq Khan
Jun 24th, 2010
Islamabad: In a move that shows how easily internet can be restricted in societies that arent open,the Lahore high court has directed the government to block Google,Yahoo,MSN,YouTube and five other websites,accusing them of publishing and promoting blasphemous material.The court also ordered the chairman of the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority to appear in court on June 28.
The order came from the Bahawalpur bench of the Lahore high court on Tuesday.Justice Mazher Iqbal Sidhu,while hearing a writ petition,ordered blocking of a total of nine websites including Hotmail,Islam Exposed,In The Name Of Allah,Amazon and Bing.However,the sites have not been blocked so far.
Last month,Pakistani authorities had blocked social networking site Facebook for publishing caricatures of Prophet Muhammad.
Full report at: Times of India
---------
Obama calls Karzai; discusses Kandahar operation
June 24, 2010
Washington : US President Barack Obama and his Afghan counterpart Hamid Karzai today discussed the stabilisation effort in Afghanistan's restive Kandahar province, the White House said.
"The two leaders focused primarily on plans to stabilize Kandahar City and the close alignment between our two governments there," White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said at his daily news conference.
"They received a briefing from senior US and Afghan officials detailing their plans to provide better security, improve governance and increase economic opportunities," he said, adding that they had a productive video teleconference. Obama and Karzai agreed on the need to make tough decisions on a range of issues, including removing corrupt officials, eliminating sources of corruption and providing the people of Kandahar better access to government services, Gibbs said.
Full report at:
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/obama-calls-karzai;-discusses-kandahar-operation/637529/
---------
French parliament to debate burqa ban on July 6
June 24, 2010
Paris : French lawmakers will begin on July 6 to debate a government proposal to ban the Muslim full-face veil from public spaces, a minister said.
The lower house National Assembly will read the bill before it passes to the Senate in September and it could be adopted into law soon after, said Henri de Raincourt, the minister for parliamentary relations.
The bill by President Nicolas Sarkozy's government proposes to ban anyone in France from wearing a garment "designed to hide the face" -- a move interpreted as targeting Muslim women who wear veils such as the niqab or burqa.
Those who break the law would be fined 150 euros (180 dollars) or sent on a course to learn the values of French citizenship.
Full report at:
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/french-parliament-to-debate-burqa-ban-on-july-6/637499/
---------
BJP urges Prez to expedite Afzal hanging
Jun 24th, 2010
The BJP on Wednesday demanded President Pratibha Patil to expedite the execution of death penalty to Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru after the Home Ministry’s “no” to his mercy plea.
Describing Guru as “a symbol of treachery and terrorism”, BJP leader M Venkaiah Naidu said whatever may have been the reasons for the delay, the President should accept Government’s recommendation.
“The Home Ministry after so much delay and dilly-dallying seems to have recommended that the Supreme Court verdict should be implemented. We hope that the President will go by the recommendation,” Naidu said. He said that Afzal deserved to be hanged. BJP has often alleged that the Congress-led UPA Government and the Shiela Dikshit Government were delaying the hanging of Guru for minority appeasement and vote-bank politics.
http://www.dailypioneer.com/264637/BJP-urges-Prez-to-expedite-Afzal-hanging.html
---------
Nazeer denies naming Madani
VR Jayaraj
Jun 24th, 2010
Lashkar-e-Tayyeba’s Thadiyantavide Nazeer, prime accused in the Bangalore bombings, on Wednesday claimed he had not given any statement against Islamist leader Abdul Nasser Madani, the 31st accused. Within hours, reports quoting Nazeer’s signed statements to the police said Madani himself had advised him on the modus operandi to be followed for the bombings.
“I haven’t given any statement against Madani. None of us has,” Nazeer told the media while coming out of the Special CBI Court (NIA court) in Kochi. “A lot of hypocritical campaigns are going on (in the media). You should not try to create problems all around,” he said.
Full report at:
http://www.dailypioneer.com/264576/Nazeer-denies-naming-Madani.html
---------
Pakistan predicts conviction in US terror trial
Jun 24th, 2010
Prosecutors in the trial of five Americans accused of plotting terrorist attacks in Pakistan say they are confident the men will be found guilty when their trial concludes Thursday.
The five young Muslims from the Washington suburb of Alexandria, Virginia, were arrested in December after their families reported them missing. The case is one of several involving alleged “homegrown” American militants linked to Pakistan, but the only one being tried in a Pakistani court.
The men’s lawyers say they are innocent. In notes passed to journalists by the men as they were driven to court, they have alleged they were subject to torture. Pakistan authorities deny that.
Full report at:
http://www.dailypioneer.com/264661/Pakistan-predicts-conviction-in-US-terror-trial.html
---------
KERALA TOP COP UNDER SCANNER FOR TERROR LINKS
Jun 24th, 2010
Suspended Kerala Inspector-General of Police Tomin Thachankary faces further action for his alleged links with operatives of terror outfits whom he is reported to have met during recent visits to Persian Gulf countries, including Qatar.
Kerala Chief Minister V.S.
Achuthanandan said on Wednesday that he had recei- ved a letter demanding action against Thachankary from the home ministry and forwarded it to the state's chief secretary.
The inspector general was suspended last month for mak- ing unannounced visits to Persian Gulf countries after lying about his travel plans.
The action followed a protest note sent by the Indian emba- ssy in Qatar to the external affa- irs ministry, claiming the off- icer met “dubious persons“ du- ring his visits and kept the mis- sion in the dark. It is manda- tory for visiting officials to keep the local embassy in the loop. Reports said Thachankary had met absconders from Kerala with links to terror out- fits, and promised to help them if they returned to India.
Full report at: Hindustan Times
---------
Lal Masjid was NY plotter's turning point
Jun 24th, 2010
THE 2007 raid at Islamabad’s Lal Masjid was the triggering event that drove Pakistani- American Faisal Shahzad to terrorism, culminating in the failed Times Square bombing plot.
The mosque, believed to have become a hub of extremist activity, was stormed by the forces of former President Pervez Musharraf in 2007 after days of siege.
Nearly a 100 people died in the raid.
Lal Masjid was where he had offered prayers on his frequent trips to Pakistan.
That was the triggering event, a person familiar with the case told the New York Times , which pieced together bits of Shahzad’s journey on the terror path from interviews with people who are currently involved in his interrogation.
Full report at: Mail Today
---------
The Fury of a General, Released by Volcano
By JEREMY W. PETERS
June 24, 2010
Of all the questions surrounding the Rolling Stone article that detailed Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal’s surprisingly blunt criticisms of the Obama administration, few are as puzzling as this: Why would a top military commander allow a journalist so much unfettered access to his inner circle?
The answer, it seems, is a volcano.
Michael Hastings, the freelance journalist who wrote the bombshell article about General McChrystal’s displeasure with the war effort in Afghanistan, was with the general and his staff in Paris in April as the Eyjafjallajokull volcano erupted in Iceland, forcing the closing of airspace over most of Europe.
Full report at:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/23/world/23rollingstone.html
---------
SP Mookerjee Martyrdom Day observed in Kashmir
June 24, 2010
Dr Syama Prasad Mookerjee, who had attained martyrdom in a Srinagar jail on June 23, 1953 for demanding complete merger of Kashmir with the rest of India, was remembered by selected intellectuals in Srinagar at a national seminar dedicated to his memory. It was for the first time in many years that such a function was organised in Srinagar.
The seminar, Rising India — Challenges of a troubled neighbourhood, was inaugurated by former Army chief General VP Malik. Eminent editor MJ Akbar, Prof Riyaz Punjabi, Vice Chancellor of Kashmir University, Ambassador TCA Rangachari, Lt Gen Aditya Singh and Maj or General Vinod Saighal were the participants.
A galaxy of leaders from various walks of life in Srinagar, faculty and students from Kashmir University and Islamic University, intellectuals and officers attended the seminar, according to a statement here.
Full report at:
http://www.dailypioneer.com/264582/SP-Mookerjee-Martyrdom-Day-observed-in-Kashmir.html
---------
Iran produces 17 kgs of further enriched uranium
June 24, 2010
Iran’s nuclear chief said on Wednesday his country has produced 17 kilograms of uranium enriched to 20 per cent, defying UN demands to halt the controversial programme.
The 20 per cent level, needed to produce fuel for a medical research reactor, is far below the more than 90 per cent required to build a nuclear weapon, but US officials have expressed concern Iran may be moving closer to the ability to reach weapons-grade level.
The United States and its allies accuse Iran of seeking to acquire atomic weapons. Tehran denies the charge, saying its nuclear programme is geared toward generating electricity.
Iran has been producing the 20 per cent enriched material since February.
Full report at:
http://www.dailypioneer.com/264684/Iran-produces-17-kgs-of-further-enriched-uranium.html
---------
Indonesian police raid terrorist hide-out; 1 dead
June 24, 2010
An elite anti-terrorism squad arrested Indonesia’s most wanted man and two other suspects on Wednesday after raiding their hide-out on the country’s main island of Java, police and witnesses said. At least one person was killed and several weapons seized, including a bomb in a backpack.
An investigator who asked not to be identified because of the sensitivity of the case said among those taken alive was Abdullah Sunata. He jumped to the top of the country’s wanted list after allegedly setting up a network that was plotting a Mumbai-style attack in the world’s most populous Muslim country and high-profile assassinations.
At least 60 members of that group have been arrested and 13 others killed.
Several television stations quoted unidentified sources as saying Sunata had been taken in, but Brig. Gen. Zaenuri Lubis, a spokesman for the national police, told Metro TV he could not immediately confirm that because “frankly, I have not yet been able to contact those in the field.”
http://www.dailypioneer.com/264685/Indonesian-police-raid-terrorist-hide-out;-1-dead.html
---------
Landmarks to lose elite status over lighting row
By Maneesh Pandey
June 24, 2010
QUTUB Minar and Humayun’s Tomb — the two monuments that characterise Delhi — face the imminent threat of losing their prestigious World Heritage Site status.
That will happen if the Archaeological Survey of India ( ASI) doesn’t concede the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation’s ( Unesco) demand that it tweaks its plan to illuminate the two iconic monuments with the help of solar- powered panels.
The illumination project is part of the ministry of new and renewable energy’s plan to light up 27 landmarks for the Commonwealth Games. The other structures on the list include the Purana Qila, Safdarjung’s Tomb, Jantar Mantar, Jama Masjid and the Lotus Temple.
Full report at: Mail Today
---------
Poverty, price hike, unemployment biggest issues: Tarin
June 24, 2010
RAWALPINDI: Former finance minister Shaukat Tarin has revealed that besides Rs250 billion losses in the public sector, the development programme of the country was also facing Rs 300 billion losses annually.
He said that every citizen will have to pay tax; the accountability process in the government should start from the top and agriculture sector also be brought in the tax net. Privatisation of the units in ICU will not be beneficial. It was necessary that before privatisation all institutions and departments first be restored and stabilised. Eight percent of the budget should be allocated for the education and health sectors for the next 5 years, he said.
Full report at:
http://thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=246914
---------
‘Pakistani not a danger to US community’
24 Jun, 2010
BOSTON, June 23: A federal official says a Pakistani man arrested on an immigration charge during the probe into an attempted bombing in New York is not a danger to the community. Mohammad Shafiq Rahman was one of the three Pakistanis charged with immigration violations last month as authorities probed the attempted car bombing.
During a bail hearing on Wednesday, the official said authorities weren’t claiming Rahman was a “danger to the community.”
http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/the-newspaper/front-page/pakistani-not-a-danger-to-us-community-460
---------
Jamaat calls for more provinces for better governance
By Aamir Yasin
24 Jun, 2010
RAWALPINDI, June 23: The Central Shura of Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) on Wednesday called for necessary amendments to the Constitution to create more provinces in the country for better governance.
“It also urged religious-cum-political parties to get united for solving the problems being faced by the people,” Mian Muhammad Aslam, the party’s naib amir for Punjab, said at a press conference here.
Mr Aslam, who was accompanied by JI Media Coordinator Hafiz Sajjad Qamar and JI City spokesman Malik Muhammad Azam, said that uncertainty was prevailing in the country and people were feeling insecure.
He said the Pakistan Army and civilians were fighting against each other under a US conspiracy.
Full report at:
http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/the-newspaper/national/jamaat-calls-for-more-provinces-for-better-governance-460
---------
Six more NATO troops killed in Afghanistan
24 Jun, 2010
KABUL: Six NATO soldiers were killed in attacks in Afghanistan on Wednesday, alliance forces said, bringing to 75 the number of foreign troops who have died in the troubled nation this month.
The deaths of one British marine and five other soldiers made it nearly certain that June would be the worst month for NATO casualties since the 2001 invasion to oust the Taliban.
The British marine was killed in a small-arms fire in Helmand province, the UK Defence Ministry said in statement. Four other soldiers died in homemade bomb attacks – two in the south, one in the east and one in the west – while one soldier died in an accident on patrol in western Afghanistan, NATO announced in Kabul without giving details on their nationality.
Full report at:
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2010\06\24\story_24-6-2010_pg7_3
---------
Spanish senate proposes ban on Islamic veils
24 Jun, 2010
MADRID: The upper house of the Spanish parliament on Wednesday approved a motion calling on Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero’s socialist government to ban the use of face-covering Islamic veils in public.
The motion was introduced by the main opposition conservative Popular Party. It calls for a ban on the niqab, which covers the face but leaves the eyes exposed, as well as the body-covering burqa. It was narrowly approved with 131 votes in favour and 129 against. There were no abstentions. “Today, a very important step in favour of freedom and women’s equality was taken,” deputy leader of Popular Party Maria Dolores de Cospedal told reporters after the vote. Last week, Justice Minister Francisco Caamano said the government planned to restrict use of the Islamic veils in public places under a proposed new law on religious freedom.
Full report at:
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2010\06\24\story_24-6-2010_pg7_5
---------
Okara landlord ‘detains’ 43 Christians as punishment
By Afnan Khan Lodhi
24 Jun, 2010
* Demands family produces his daughter who allegedly eloped with Christian boy or face death
* Warns of burning alive detainees in their houses
LAHORE: A landlord based in Okara has allegedly detained at least 43 Christians of a family after his daughter eloped with a Christian boy a few days back.
The landlord has threatened killing all the detainees if the couple is not handed over to him.
One of the relatives of the detained Christians, Irshad Masih, told Daily Times that the detainees were residents of village 11-1/L of Renala Khurd tehsil. He said there are around 10 houses of Christians in a village in the tehsil and the landlord, Muhammad Ashraf, has detained all of them in their houses.
Full report at:
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2010\06\24\story_24-6-2010_pg7_11
---------
24 insurgents killed near Afghan border
24 Jun, 2010
HANGU—At least one soldier and 24 Taliban militants were killed Wednesday in Pakistan’s tribal region along the Afghan border, a security official said.
The fighting took place in Dabori area of Orakzai tribal district, where Pakistani forces are conducting an offensive against Taliban and al-Qaeda insurgents.
‘Our forces were carrying out a search operation when they came under fire from the miscreants.
http://dailymailnews.com/0610/24/FrontPage/index.php?id=7
---------
Petraeus replaces McChrystal
By BARBARA FERGUSON
Jun 24, 2010
WASHINGTON: US President Barack Obama fired his top Afghanistan commander on Wednesday over inflammatory comments that angered the White House and threatened to undermine the war effort.
Calling it the “right thing for our mission in Afghanistan,” Obama relieved Gen. Stanley McChrystal of his command after a 30-minute meeting at the White House and named Gen. David Petraeus, head of the US Central Command, to replace him.
Gen. McChrystal had been summoned by Obama to explain remarks he and his aides made in a magazine article that disparaged the US president and other senior civilian leaders.
“The conduct represented in the recently published article does not meet the standard that should be set by a commanding general,” Obama said in the White House Rose Garden.
Full report at:
http://arabnews.com/world/article72229.ece
---------
13 countries slam Israeli raid on Gaza aid flotilla
24 June 2010
ANKARA/BEIRUT: Turkey and 12 other southeastern European countries on Wednesday denounced the recent Israeli raid on an aid flotilla headed to Gaza, which left eight Turks and one Turkish American dead.
The countries said in a joint declaration at the end of a Balkan summit that they want “an impartial, independent and internationally credible investigation on this matter.” They also stressed the urgent need to improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza.
Nine pro-Palestinian activists — eight Turks and an American-Turkish teenager — were killed after a squad of naval commandos stormed a ship trying to breach Israel’s blockade of the Gaza Strip. Israel says its soldiers began shooting only after a mob of activists attacked them.
Full report at:
http://arabnews.com/middleeast/article72192.ece
---------
Denmark’s pullout hits NATO drone project
By DAVID BRUNNSTROM
24 June 2010
BRUSSELS: Denmark’s pullout from a NATO drone project has raised questions about the future of the 1.3 billion euro ($1.7 billion) multinational program involving big US and European defense contractors, NATO sources said.
NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen, a former Danish prime minister, said he strongly regretted Denmark’s withdrawal from the Alliance Ground Surveillance (AGS) project, which involves 14 other nations.
“AGS is designed to make soldiers from all NATO countries safer and more effective when they are deployed on operations,” he said in a statement on Wednesday.
“Denmark’s withdrawal from the program sends the wrong signal to our forces and to other allies.”
The project involves the off-the-shelf purchase of eight Rolls Royce powered Global Hawk drones and will also make use of eight mobile ground stations and a main base at Sigonella in Italy.
Full report at:
http://arabnews.com/world/article72058.ece
---------
Pakistani-American woman buried in Jubail
By SIRAJ WAHAB
Jun 24, 2010
JUBAIL: A 38-year-old Pakistani-American woman who died in a road accident on the busy Jubail-Dammam Highway was laid to rest on Wednesday afternoon.
Rabia Qadir Baig and her three daughters were on their way to Dammam’s King Fahd International Airport on Friday night for a flight to US capital Washington when the vehicle she was in overturned four times near Qatif. She was killed instantly.
Rabia’s husband, Mirza Qadir Baig, who received serious head injuries, was driving the Toyota Fortuner. The couple’s daughters, 10-year-old Maryam, six-year-old Sarah and three-year-old Fatima were also injured. Baig was only informed of his wife’s death on Tuesday.
Full report at:
http://arabnews.com/saudiarabia/article72199.ece
---------
Turkey detains 27 over Istanbul bus attack
24 June 2010
ISTANBUL: Turkish police detained 27 people on Wednesday in connection with a bomb attack against a military bus that killed five people in Istanbul, state news agency Anatolian said.
Kurdish militants claimed responsibility for Tuesday's bombing, the latest of a series of attacks on the Turkish military that has dashed hopes of a quick end to Turkey's decades-long separatist conflict with the guerrillas.
Kurdish separatists rebels have increased attacks on military targets after accusing Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan's government of not delivering on promised reforms.
Erdogan, who faces a general election by July 2011, is under pressure to crack down on Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) rebels, who have killed more than 50 soldiers over the last two months in some of the worst fighting in years in the mainly Kurdish southeast.
The Kurdistan Freedom Hawks, which have carried out bombings in the past, claimed responsibility for Tuesday's attack, the worst in Turkey's largest city in more than two years.
Full report at:
http://arabnews.com/middleeast/article72191.ece
---------
Britain’s Muslims 5 years after 7/7
Jun 24, 2010
Once Britain boasted of being the home of liberty, a haven for refugees.
Nowadays it is only too quick to brand refugees as undesirable aliens, especially if they hail from the Muslim world. The other day, the United Kingdom Border Agency unceremoniously deported 42 Iraqi asylum-seekers, manhandling them onto a plane back to Baghdad. It was an image that contrasted starkly with the way Prime Minister Tony Blair presented Britain as the Iraqi people’s staunchest friend, pledging to do everything in his power to help them.
The official British line is that, despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary, Iraq is now much safer than it was; in other words, Iraqis simply have no cause to seek asylum. In truth, the expulsions were dictated by crude domestic politics. If Britain’s new Conservative-dominated coalition government led by Prime Minister David Cameron is adopting a tough stance over immigration and asylum-seeking, it is because much British opinion believes that under the former Labour government Britain effectively ceded control of its borders, extending indiscriminate hospitality to all manner of foreigners, not a few Muslim fanatics among them. For all their vaunted commitment to human rights, the Conservatives’ coalition partners, the Liberal Democrats, do not seem inclined to challenge Cameron’s stance.
Full report at:
http://arabnews.com/opinion/columns/article72061.ece
---------
A victim of war on terror
Jun 24, 2010
According to US State Department, Pakistan is the world’s fifth most unstable country after Iraq, Somalia, Afghanistan and Sudan in that order.
The department’s Global Peace Index just released reports that Pakistan’s overall score deteriorated steadily for the second successive year and it dropped three places into the bottom five. Pakistan’s overall rank now is 145 on a list of 149 countries. Frequent suicide bombings and attacks by insurgents occurred throughout the year and across the country. Major offensives by the army against Tehrik-i-Taleban Pakistan in Swat Valley and in South Waziristan forced more than two million people to flee their homes and they are living in miserable conditions.
Full report at:
http://arabnews.com/opinion/letters/article72065.ece
---------
Witness in Philippine massacre trial killed
24 June 2010
MANILA - A key witness in the trial of a powerful Muslim clan accused of orchestrating the worst political massacre in the Philippines has been shot dead, a prosecutor said Thursday.
The witness, Suwaib Upham, claimed to have taken part in the November killings of 57 people in a crime allegedly planned by his former employers, the Ampatuan clan.
“He was supposed to be one of our strongest witnesses,” prosecutor Harry Roque told AFP. “He saw, and participated in, the killings and could have directly named in court those involved.”
Roque warned that Upham’s killing, which he was told occurred last week in the southern province of Maguindanao, could potentially weaken the case against the Ampatuan family.
US-based Human Rights Watch also said the killing raised doubts about the government’s resolve in seeing justice done in the case.
Full report at:
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticle08.asp?xfile=data/international/2010/June/international_June1021.xml§ion=international
---------
Fighting terror at home and the blowback Mark Hosenball?& Evan Thomas
24 June 2010
The car bomb was a dud. But if Faisal Shahzad had taken just a few more hours of lessons in the art of bomb making, available on the Internet, there might still be a crater in Times Square. Law-enforcement officials are worried that the next homegrown terrorist will be a little smarter and luckier.
“Somebody’s going to get through,” says a former undercover cop who has worked closely with counter-terror operations in New York (and, like other police and intelligence officials quoted in this article, refused to speak for the record). Since the beginning of 2009, at least 25 American citizens have been arrested on federal charges related to extremism.
Full report at:
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/displayarticle.asp?xfile=data/opinion/2010/June/opinion_June142.xml§ion=opinion&col=
URL: https://newageislam.com/islamic-world-news/dr-zakir-naik-moves-hc/d/3042