Drastic measures: Sunni Tehreek, ASWJ offices in New Karachi demolished
Libyan Islamists attack Sufi Shrines
Balochistan Minister Escapes Bomb Attack
Upcoming election raises specter of terror in Kyrgyzstan
Women pilot says PIA officers sexually harassing subordinates
WAF slams attack on girls’ high school
Terror attack in Islamabad averted
Report urges Obama to freeze Pakistan aid
Pakistan, India finalise new visa agreement draft
LHC Confirms Bail for Ayesha Malik
Pak: Karachi Court issues notice to SHO in blasphemy case
Norway gunman says up to 80 anti-Islam cells in Europe
US strike kills Haqqani commander in Miranshah
North Waziristan: Second US drone strike in last 48 hours kills 4
Activists: Syrian forces kill 7; deaths top 3,000
Target killing claims two more lives in Karachi, Pak
Six, including minor boy, killed in Karachi, Pak
Clashes in Syrian Uprising Leave at Least 14 Dead
NATO, Afghan forces kill 13 insurgents
Death toll rises to 18 in Baghdad blasts
Libyan fighters face die-hard loyalists in Sirte
Qaddafi-Era Flag Is Said to Have Set Off Gunfire in Tripoli
U.S. Sending More Contractors to Secure Libya’s Weapons Stockpile
Pakistan: solid steps afoot to ensure peace in Balochistan
Pakistan based terrorists pose threat to US: Panetta
Iran will face toughest sanctions: Obama
U.S. Bishop Is Charged With Failing to Report Abuse
Egypt’s Military Expands Power, Raising Alarms
Obama calls Saudi King to mull actions
US wanted Qasab’s lawyer to build case for his freedom
Militants Aided by Iran Fired at G.I.’s in Iraq, Officials Say
Egypt: Maspero vigil turns to impassioned protest
Sirte commander says Gaddafi son still on run
New Libya 'stained' by detainee abuse
US will hold Pak accountable on range of issues: Clinton
Centre not serious about resolving Kashmir issue: Hurriyat Chairman
Iran calls US allegations 'politically-motivated evil plot'
Churchill inspired me to be soft but firm: Gilani
Pakistan, US pledge to strengthen alliance
'Window of opportunity' led to Shalit deal with Islamist Hamas
Petraeus tells CIA analysts to heed troops on war
Clashes erupt at Al-Azhar ahead of solidarity march
Egypt’s Arrests of Smugglers Show Threat of Libya Arms
From Indian Urdu Press
Compiled By New Age Islam News Bureau
URL: https://newageislam.com/islamic-world-news/drastic-measures-sunni-tehreek,-aswj/d/5689
---------
Drastic measures: Sunni Tehreek, ASWJ offices in New Karachi demolished
By Faraz Khan
October 15, 2011
The law enforcement agencies have been put on a high alert to subvert any terror activity in Karachi. PHOTO: EXPRESS/FILE
KARACHI: The offices of the Sunni Tehreek (ST) and Ahle Sunnat wal Jamaat (ASWJ) were destroyed by the Frontier Constabulary (FC) and the police during a joint operation in Godhra Colony on Friday night.
At around 2:45 am, about 500 FC men conducted a door-to-door search in Godhra Camp after cordoning off the whole area. No one was allowed to enter or leave the area till 5 am, during the 135-minute operation.
According to the police, the federal government ordered the FC to launch the operation after a joint interrogation report found that that the offices were being used for terrorist activities. Javed Jabba of ST and Shoaib Ghanfia of the ASWJ, formerly known as the Sipah-e-Sahaba (SSP), who were arrested during earlier raids, revealed during interrogations that the offices of the ST and ASWJ were used to hatch plans for terrorist activities.
SHO Ishtiaq Ghauri confirmed that the FC received orders from the federal government to conduct the raids and the police provided back-up. He said that no arms or ammunition were found during the operation but some literature was seized.
Both organisations condemned the operation and claimed that it would provoke violence.
Fahim Qadri, the ST spokesman, claimed that the operation was illegal because they were not notified beforehand. “Even if the office was illegal, the agencies have to follow a certain procedure,” he said. “What is the job of the law enforcement agencies? Anti-encroachment, anti-terrorism or anti-extremism? They should join the city government.”
On the other hand, the ameer of the Karachi chapter of the ASWJ, Aurangzaib Farooqi, claimed that his organisation was not involved in any kind of terror activity. According to him, the security forces demolished a library since there was no office. “These raids will fuel resentment instead of establishing peace,” he said.
The residents have mixed opinions about the operation. Although many women and children took to the streets in protest when the operation began the security agencies were able to calm them down. Amir, a resident, said that security agencies could have saved many lives by taking this step earlier. Yet another resident, who refused to give his name, said that political parties were behind unrest in the city and should be punished. But he was sceptical about the operation. According to him, the government is acting against religious organisations at the behest of “foreign countries”.
The local administration also helped the FC and the police by providing them with bulldozers, equipment and labourers to raze illegal street barriers, banners, boards and the buildings. A heavy contingent of law enforcers was deployed in the area to deter violence and prevent reconstruction.
The offices of the ST and ASWJ were also raided on August 23. The ST headquarters near Bheempura was raided thrice by the Rangers. On October 7, the head office was raided again, twice in a day, and central leader, Shahid Ghauri, was arrested with a member of its rabita committee, Mobin Qadri, with six others. Besides ST, the offices of Muttahida Qaumi Moverment, Awami National Party, Peoples Amn Committee and the residence of the chief of Jeay Sindh Qaunmi Mahaz have also been searched.
About two dozen people, including women and children, lost their lives during armed clashes between the Deoband and Barelvi schools of thought earlier in the year and over half a dozen suspects from both organisations, involved in over 18 target killings and extortion in Godhra Camp were arrested with a huge cache of weapons.
http://tribune.com.pk/story/273902/karachi-search-operation-offices-of-sunni-tehreek-banned-outfits-demolished/
-------
Libyan Islamists attack Sufi Shrines
Oct 14, 2011,
Islamic hard-liners have attacked about a half-dozen shrines in and around Tripoli belonging to Muslim sects whose practices they see as sacrilegious, raising religious tensions as Libya struggles to define its identity after Moammar Gaddafi's ouster.
The vandalism has drawn concern at the highest levels as Libya's new rulers seek to reassure the international community that extremists will not gain influence in the North African nation. Mustafa Abdul-Jalil, head of the governing NTC, reacted with alarm to reports that graves were being desecrated and appealed to a top Muslim cleric, al-Sadek al-Gheriani, to issue a fatwa, or religious ruling, on the issue.
http://www.hindustantimes.com/StoryPage/Print/757042.aspx
--------
Balochistan Minister Escapes Bomb Attack
By Saleem Shahid
QUETTA: Provincial Minister Sardar Sanaullah Zehri escaped a bomb attack near Surab in Kalat district on Friday. “Sardar Zehri is safe and his vehicle was not damaged,” a spokesman said.
A spokesman for the banned Baloch Liberation Front (BLF) claimed responsibility for the attack.
Balochistan Chief Minister Nawab Mohammad Aslam Raisani condemned the blast and termed it an “attack on tribal system”.
He said the government would not bow before terrorists and those involved in the attack would be arrested.
According to sources, Sardar Zehri, who is provincial convener of Pakistan Muslim League-N and chief of Jhalawan, was going to Anjira after addressing public meetings in Surab and Gidar when the explosion took place.
“The bomb was detonated by remote control when the convoy was about 10km from Surab,” the sources said.
The minister’s security guards opened fire after the explosion.
“We will deal with the attack according to tribal customs,” Sardar Sanaullah said.
http://www.dawn.com/2011/10/15/balochistan-minister-escapes-bomb-attack.html
--------
Upcoming election raises specter of terror in Kyrgyzstan
By Ruby Russell, Nurhan Kocaoglu and Tolkun Namatbaeva –
Special to The Washington Times ,October 14, 2011
BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan — The foiling of a terror plot by Islamic extremists in southern Kyrgyzstan over the weekend has underscored ethnic and regional tensions before presidential elections in Central Asia’s only parliamentary democracy.
The National Security Committee of Kyrgyzstan (GKNB) detained 11 members of the Islamic Jihad Union on Oct. 8 as part of a security operation in the southern province of Osh, according to GKNB leader Keneshbek Dushebayev.
“We had serious information that a group of people, related to international extremist organizations, was preparing a number of acts of terror in the run-up to the presidential elections,” Mr. Dushebayev said in the capital this week.
One suspect evaded capture and hijacked a bus in the market town of Kara-Suu, but was shot to death by a GKNB sniper, Mr. Dushebayev said. The search continues for eight suspects as the country prepares to vote in a new leader.
The Oct. 30 election will decide who succeeds caretaker President Roza Otunbayeva, leader of an interim government since President Kurmanbek Bakiyev was forced to flee the capital amid a popular revolt in April 2010.
The favorite to take the presidency is Almazbek Atambayev, a northerner and a key figure in the overthrow of Mr. Bakiyev. Mr. Atambayev served as prime minister in the interim government until stepping down to run his election campaign.
His most serious competition comes from Kamchybek Tashiev and Adahan Madumarov, Kyrgyz nationalists from the south.
Mr. Atambayev, who is widely seen as the candidate most likely to be able to unite the country, is expected to win the first round of votes and face either Mr. Tashiev or Mr. Madumarov in a second round of voting.
Some see the upcoming election as a chance for Kyrgyzstan to regain stability that has been lacking since the ousting of Mr. Bakiyev. Others say they are worried.
Full Report at:
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2011/oct/14/upcoming-election-raises-specter-terror-kyrgyzstan/
----------
Women pilot says PIA officers sexually harassing subordinates
Oct 14, 2011,
LAHORE: A woman pilot of the Pakistan International Airlines has accused senior officers of the state-run carrier of "sexually harassing" female subordinates and co-workers.
Captain Riffat Haee alleged senior officers of the PIA used to harass female pilots and other workers.
The female workers faced problems like withholding of promotion and even demotion if they refused to fulfil the "demands" of such officers, she further alleged.
She pointed out that she had complained to the PIA's standing committee on women's development but no action had been taken so far.
Acting on a petition filed by Haee, the Lahore high court on Wednesday sought a response to her allegations from PIA's managing director and other authorities.
The court, after hearing initial arguments in the case, issued notices to the managing director and other respondents and directed them to file their replies within two weeks.
Haee asked the court to take action against PIA officers responsible for harassing their female colleagues under a law against sexual harassment of women at workplaces.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/pakistan/Women-pilot-says-PIA-officers-sexually-harassing-subordinates/articleshow/10338248.cms?prtpage=1
--------
WAF Slams Attack on Girls’ High School
Staff Report
October 14, 2011
LAHORE: The Women’s Action Forum expressed resentment over an attack on the MC Model Girls High School, Rawalpindi.
WAF representatives, in a press statement on Tuesday, said that the attack by 70 masked men who intimidated and injured students and teachers, had spread a wave of fear and terror across the city’s educational institutions. Such attempts by malicious and radical extremist groups to dissuade girls from attaining education point to a calculated move towards denial of the right to education for women.
They said that the reports suggested that the police deliberately delayed its response and ignored pleas for help. Such insensitivity and complacency from state institutions was appalling and in gross violation of basic rights of citizens to security and protection from violence. They said that the government must safeguard the right to education of girls and boys alike.
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2011\10\14\story_14-10-2011_pg13_4
--------
Terror attack in Islamabad averted
Press Trust of India
Islamabad: Oct 15 2011,
Pakistan has uncovered a major terror plot aimed at targeting key buildings in the heart of Islamabad with rockets and missiles and storming Parliament and taking MPs hostage in a commando-style attack involving suicide bombers and snipers, a media report claimed Friday.
A group of terrorists planned to target several buildings in Islamabad’s heavily guarded Red Zone, including Parliament, Presidency, Prime Minister’s Secretariat and the diplomatic enclave, as well as the ISI’s headquarters.
Following simultaneous missile and rocket attacks on these buildings, the terrorists planned to use suicide bombers and snipers for a commando-style attack to storm Parliament and take lawmakers hostage, The News daily quoted an investigation report as saying.
The plot was uncovered after police raided a house in Chatta Bakhtawar on the outskirts of Islamabad last Saturday and seized a cache of rockets, artillery shells, grenades, assault rifles and ammunition. Five of the 14 terrorists involved in the plot have been arrested, the report said.
Full Report at:
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/terror-attack-in-islamabad-averted/860111/
--------
Report urges Obama to freeze Pakistan aid
By Anwar Iqbal
WASHINGTON: An influential US think-tank urged the Obama administration on Friday to freeze its aid to Pakistan until the country took actions against perpetrators of the US Embassy attack in Kabul and helped shut down the Haqqani network.
The Heritage Foundation, often used by former US president George W. Bush to announce foreign policy decisions, also asked
the administration to back Congress on conditioning all US aid to Pakistan on certain counter-terrorism benchmarks. But the report warned that while this would be “a welcome tactic, it may be insufficient”.
The foundation demanded that the Obama administration designate the Haqqani network a Foreign Terrorist Organisation. It argued that failing to do so after the Sept. 13 attack on the US Embassy in Kabul would signal America’s weakness and invite additional attacks on its interests in Afghanistan.
The report also proposed establishing a congressional commission to oversee US relations with Pakistan. “Congress should investigate Pakistan’s role in fomenting the insurgency in Afghanistan and the extent to which its actions were preventing the US and Nato from achieving their security objectives in the region,” the report added.
The foundation also advised the Obama administration to step up drone attacks inside Pakistan. It pointed out that increased tempo in drone strikes in Pakistan’s tribal areas had severely downgraded the Al Qaeda leadership and disrupted its ability to attack the US.
Full Report at:
http://www.dawn.com/2011/10/15/report-urges-obama-to-freeze-pakistan-aid.html
-------
Pakistan, India finalise new visa agreement draft
By PPI
October 14, 2011
The draft of the policy will now be submitted to the Pakistani and Indian governments for ratification. PHOTO: FILE/AFP
NEW DELHI: India and Pakistan on Friday finalised the draft of new Bilateral Visa Agreement to ease travel for nationals of either country desiring to visit the other, Press Trust of India PTI reported.
The draft was finalized during second meeting of Joint Working Group (JWG) on visa matters which also examined modalities for streamlining visa procedures, an Indian Ministry of External Affairs statement said.
The two-day meeting, held in pursuance of the decision taken during India-Pakistan Home/ Interior Secretary-level talks held in March, was follow-up on deliberations held in first meeting of JWG in Islamabad in June this year.
It was attended by Anil Goswami, Additional Secretary (Foreigners), Ministry of Home Affairs and Nasar Hayat, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Interior from Pakistani. “The discussions were held in a friendly and cordial atmosphere. The two sides finalised draft text of the agreement which will be submitted to the respective governments for obtaining necessary approvals in order to sign the agreement at an early date,” MEA said.
http://tribune.com.pk/story/274107/one-step-closer-pakistan-india-finalise-new-visa-agreement-draft/
--------
LHC Confirms Bail for Ayesha Malik
Staff Report
October 14, 2011
LAHORE: A division bench of the Lahore High Court confirmed bail for Ayesha Iqbal, daughter of former Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) MPA and film producer Ahad Malik, challenging her physical remand and insertion of kidnapping charges in an FIR registered against her.
A bench, comprising of Chief Justice Ijaz Ahmad Chaudhry and Justice Sheikh Azmat Saeed, on October 7 had granted her interim bail and had also ordered the inspector general of Punjab Police to have an inquiry conducted by DIG Major Mubashar Ullah against SHO Police Station Defence-A Atteq Dogar and Incharge Investigation Zulifqar into police action against the accused. The bench on October 7 had suspended the 10-day physical remand of Ayesha given by an anti terrorism court and had ordered her release on interim bail. The bench had also ordered an inquiry against the judge who was transferred on Friday.
On Thursday, DIG Mubasharullah submitted a report according to which the police had implicated Ayesha Malik in a case of kidnapping and recommended action against the responsible police officials. He also stated that the police registered an FIR on September 26 against Ayesha under kidnapping charges and that six days later, the police inserted charges of kidnap for ransom, which meant that the story was fabricated.
The complainant’s counsel alleged that Ayesha was a very dangerous criminal as she had been involved in a case of beating a maid. He said that her father, Ahmad Malik, also published an advertisement in a newspaper against her for using a fake power of attorney to sell his property. He said that till now they were threatening his client. The bench remarked that the case would be decided on merit and that politics should be kept out of the court.
Detail Report at:
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2011\10\14\story_14-10-2011_pg13_6
--------
Pak: Karachi Court issues notice to SHO in blasphemy case
Oct. 14, 2011
KARACHI: The District and Session Judge Karachi (South) on Thursday issued notice to the SHO Rizvia Society police station (PS) to appear and submit comments on an application filed by Ejaz Ali in a blasphemy case. Judge Sofia Latif issued the notice while hearing an application filed by Ali against the said SHO.
Ali stated in his application that he was going to perform his job on Oct 6 as usual and as he reached Ghori Church, Nazimabad, he saw two real brothers Wilson Khursheed Khokher and Aslam Khursheed Khoker throwing some papers of the holy Quran and Hadith in burnt and destroyed shape.
“Being a Muslim, I approached with the relevant PS and submitted an application against the mentioned culprits, seeking action under Section 295-B. I also attempted to lodge a complaint at the PS, but the duty officer refused to lodge First Information Report (FIR) against the culprits and rather demanded some amount for lodging FIR”, Ali claimed in his application.
Ali prayed the court to call SHO Rizvia Society police station for recording his statement and direct him to register an FIR against the culprits as per law. staff report
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2011\10\14\story_14-10-2011_pg12_5
----------
Norway gunman says up to 80 anti-Islam cells in Europe
Oct 14, 2011,
Oslo : Norwegian extremist Anders Behring Breivik, who has confessed to twin attacks in July that killed 77 people, says there are "up to 80 cells" in Europe engaged in anti-Islam crusades like his, police said today.
They added however that they did not believe his claims.
"During our interrogations, he claimed there were two other cells in Norway and probably up to 80 people, 80 cells in Europe," police prosecutor Christian Hatlo said.
"But we don't believe it," he said.
Until now, Behring Breivik's lawyer has quoted his client as saying there were "several cells" in Europe in addition to the two alleged ones in Norway.
But today, police said they were "increasingly sure" that the 32-year-old, who is currently being held in custody, acted alone on July 22 and that he had no accomplices.
"For every day that passes we are increasingly sure," Hatlo said, adding "we have found nothing to suggest that accomplices exist even though we refuse to definitively rule out the possibility."
Detail Report at:
http://www.indianexpress.com/story-print/859899/
---------
US strike kills Haqqani commander in Miranshah
Oct. 14th, 2011
MIRANSHAH: A US drone strike killed a logistics commander in the al Qaeda-linked Haqqani network and three other militants in Pakistan near the Afghan border, officials said on Thursday. Covert CIA drones are the United States’ chief weapon against Taliban and al Qaeda militants.
The unmanned aircraft fired two missiles at a compound in Dandey Darpakhel village, about seven kilometres north of Miranshah, the main town in North Waziristan tribal district. “Jamil Haqqani, an important Afghan commander of Haqqani network was the target and was killed,” a Pakistani security official said on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to talk to the media.
A Pakistani intelligence official in Miranshah confirmed the killing and said Jamil was in his thirties. “He was working as a coordinator of the Haqqani network in North Waziristan,” the official said, adding the three other people killed in the strike were Haqqani’s fighters, guarding the commander in the compound. Officials said he was not a relative of Jalaluddin, the Afghan warlord who founded the Taliban faction, or his son Sirajuddin who now runs the network but that he was “very close to the top commanders including Sirajuddin”. The United States blames the Haqqanis for fuelling the 10-year insurgency in Afghanistan, attacking US-led NATO troops and working to destabilise the Western-backed government of Afghan President Hamid Karzai. Washington last month significantly stepped up demands on Islamabad to take action against the network and cut alleged ties to the group. US missiles have destroyed dozens of other Haqqani network compounds and a sprawling madrassa in 2008, killing dozens of fighters, officials say. Muhammad Haqqani, brother of Sirajuddin, was killed in a US drone attack in Dandey Darpakhel, the same North Waziristan village in February 2010. Around 30 US drone strikes have been reported in Pakistan since Navy SEALs attacked Osama bin Laden’s compound on May 2. afp
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2011\10\14\story_14-10-2011_pg1_4
---------
North Waziristan: Second US drone strike in last 48 hours kills 4
By AFP
October 14, 2011
An earlier strike in the same area had killed a logistics commander in the al Qaeda-linked Haqqani network and three other militants in North Waziristan. PHOTO: AFP/FILE
PESHAWAR: A US drone strike killed four militants in the north west on Friday, the third such attack in 48 hours against Taliban hotbeds in Waziristan near the Afghan border, officials said.
The drone fired two missiles into a vehicle as it drove through Darpakhel village about four kilometres west of Miranshah, the main town in the district of North Waziristan, security officials told AFP.
“The US drone fired two missiles,” one of the officials told AFP on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to talk to the media.
“Four militants were killed in the attack, they were all in the vehicle,” he added. The identities of the dead were not clear, but the village is a stronghold for militants fighting against US troops in Afghanistan.
Covert CIA drones are the chief US weapon against Taliban and al Qaeda militants who use the lawless tribal areas as launchpads for attacking US troops in Afghanistan and plotting attacks on the West.
A US official in Washington described a commander in the al Qaeda-linked Haqqani network who was killed on Thursday as “the most senior Haqqani leader in Pakistan to be taken off the battlefield”.
Officials reported 10 militants killed in two US drone strikes on Thursday and named the Haqqani commander as Jamil Haqqani, a coordinator for the Afghan Taliban faction in North Waziristan.
Full Report at:
http://tribune.com.pk/story/273963/north-waziristan-second-us-drone-strike-in-last-48-hours-kills-4/
-------
Activists: Syrian forces kill 7; deaths top 3,000
By Bassem Mroue and Frank Jordans-Associated Press
October 14, 2011
BEIRUT — Syrian security forces opened fire Friday on protesters calling for the overthrow of President Bashar Assad, killing at least seven, activists said.
The killings came as the U.N.’s top human rights official urged the international community to take “immediate measures” to protect civilians in Syria.
The protests were called to support the Free Syrian Army, a group of army defectors who have reportedly clashed with loyalists in northern and central Syria. The demonstrations were the most explicit show of support offered so far by the country’s protest movement to the group, whose operations have led to an increased militarization of the seven-month-old uprising.
Clashes between troops and gunmen believed to be defectors left at least 25 people dead on Thursday, according to the London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
Syria-based activist Mustafa Osso and the Local Coordination Committees, an activist group, said the protests on Friday spread from the suburbs of the capital Damascus to the southern province of Daraa, the northern provinces of Aleppo, Idlib and Hassakeh, and to the central regions of Homs and Hama, as well as to other areas.
The observatory and the LCC said security forces killed one protester in the Damascus suburb of Saqba and another in the village of Andan in the northern province of Idlib.
The two groups had different death tolls from the southern village of Dael, with the observatory reporting seven people killed and the LCC reporting five dead. It was impossible to resolve the discrepancy or to independently verify the reports.
A banner in English carried by protesters in the northern village of Kfar Nabul urged the United States to overthrow the Syrian president. “Americans!… If you don’t topple Al-Assad now don’t boast about democracy again,” said the banner, a photo of which appeared on the LCC’s Facebook page.
The uprising against Assad’s regime began in mid-March amid a wave of anti-government protests in the Arab world that toppled autocrats in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya.
Full Report at:
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2011/oct/14/activists-syrian-security-forces-kill-least-7/
----------
Target killing claims two more lives in Karachi, Pak
Oct. 14, 2011
KARACHI: Two people were killed in target killings in different parts of the city on Thursday. A private bank employee was shot dead at Maymar Morr within the limits of Gulshan-e-Maymar police station. Bank employee, Salam, 32, son of Shan Elahi, was going in his car (ALF-634) when unidentified armed men, riding on a motorcycle, opened fire on him, resultantly he received a bullet in his head and died after few moments. Police shifted the body to Abbasi Shaheed Hospital (ASH) for an autopsy. DSP Aslam Chauhan said the victim was a resident of Sector Y, Gulshan-e-Maymar. SHO Shareef Meo said the victim’s family told said that they had no enmity with any one. The victim family took the body after completion of legal formalities. No case was registered till filing the report. Separately, police found body of a man bearing torture marks from Lyari River near Essa Nagri within the jurisdiction of PIB police station. The identity of the victim was yet to be ascertained. The body was shifted to ASH for legal formalities. After medico-legal formalities, police shifted the body to Edhi Morgue for identification. staff report
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2011\10\14\story_14-10-2011_pg12_7
----------
Six, including minor boy, killed in Karachi, Pak
KARACHI: Six people, including a minor boy, were killed in separate incidents in different parts of the metropolis on Thursday.
Two persons lost their lives and seven others sustained injuries in a road accident that occurred within the limits of New Karachi police station. Police said a W-11 mini-bus (JH-0122) rammed into a rickshaw (D-58338), leaving rickshaw driver Muhammad Nawaz, son of Muhammad Bilal, and a one-year-old infant Hassan, son of Abid, dead and injuring Ishrat, 40, Rashida, 35, Farzana, 38, Yasir, 10, Areeba, 06, Esha, 06, and Waqar, 04. The bodies and injured were shifted to a nearby hospital while the responsible driver escaped from the scene. Police said the bus was taken into custody and a case (210/11) was registered under Sections 373 and 320 of the Pakistan Penal Code. The police said the victims, residents of Musa Colony, were returning home from Sector 5-J, New Karachi.
In another incident, a teenage boy died in a road accident at Two-Minute Chowrangi within the limits of Bilal Colony police station. Jhangir, 16, son of Dilshad, a resident of New Karachi, Sector 1-A-3, was going home on his motorcycle when a speeding truck knocked him, resultantly he died on the spot. The body was shifted to Abbasi Shaheed Hospital (ASH) for medico-legal formalities. Police said that they had arrested responsible driver Abdul Majeed and impounded his vehicle (LFA-624).
In yet another incident, a man was crushed to death by a vehicle at Nullah Stop within the jurisdiction of New Karachi police station. Mohammad Imran, 45, son of Fazalur Rehman, was going on his motorcycle (KAK-7508) when a speeding vehicle (APX-493) knocked him, killing him on the spot. Police have impounded the vehicle but responsible driver managed to flee. The body was shifted to ASH for legal formalities and later handed it to his family. No case was registered till filing the report.
Full Report at:
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2011\10\14\story_14-10-2011_pg12_6
----------
Clashes in Syrian Uprising Leave at Least 14 Dead
Oct 14, 2011,
By NADA BAKRI
BEIRUT, Lebanon — Syrian security forces clashed with army defectors in southern Syria on Thursday and killed at least 14 people elsewhere including an 18-month-old boy, rights activists and residents of the affected areas reported.
The Local Coordination Committees, a group of activists in Syria who organize and document demonstrations, said that most of the confirmed killings were in Binnish, in the northern province of Idlib, when troops stormed the town in search of dissidents who have challenged the authority of President Bashar al-Assad.
Residents said that security forces also shot at protesters who were staging a sit-in at the entrance of the town in an effort to prevent tanks and armored vehicles from entering it. They said that at least nine people were wounded in the shooting, four of them seriously.
Activists also said that troops destroyed the homes of four fugitive demonstrators who had played a leading role in organizing protests and that security forces were carrying out house-to-house raids to find them.
“The situation is very bad in Binnish,” said an activist reached by telephone from a nearby town. “Gunfire was heard throughout the day and we heard that a lot of people were dead and injured.”
Full Report at:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/14/world/middleeast/clashes-in-syrian-uprising-leave-at-least-14-dead.html?ref=world&pagewanted=print
----------
NATO, Afghan forces kill 13 insurgents
Oct 14, 2011,
Nato and Afghan forces killed 13 insurgents in an overnight operation in northern Afghanistan, police said on Friday, while Afghan officials in the east reported renewed artillery fire from Pakistan's side of the shared border.
The ground operation in northern Faryab province began late on Thursday, said Lal Mohammad Ahmadzai, a spokesman for Afghan police in the north. He did not provide further details about the target of the strike, but said one police officer was killed in the operation.
In eastern Kunar province, meanwhile, at least five artillery shells fired from the Pakistani side of the border landed in Dangam district early Friday, said provincial Police chief Ewaz Naziri. There were no casualties.
Tensions have been rising along Afghanistan's eastern border with Pakistan in recent weeks as Afghan officials have decried shelling from Pakistani territory that has killed an unknown number of civilians, displaced hundreds of people and destroyed several homes and mosques.
Detail report at:
http://www.hindustantimes.com/StoryPage/Print/757131.aspx
-----------
Death toll rises to 18 in Baghdad blasts
AFP
Oct 14, 2011,
BAGHDAD: Bombs in Baghdad’s mostly Shia district of Sadr City killed 18 people, marking a second consecutive day where major attacks struck the Iraqi capital, security officials said on Friday.
At least two roadside bombs detonated at around 8:30 pm (1730 GMT) on Thursday in the north Baghdad district’s Al-Hay market, interior and defence ministry officials said.
The two officials, who both spoke on condition of anonymity, said 18 people, were killed in the explosions, and at least 43 wounded. Late Thursday, the officials said at least 12 people had died.
Two security force members were also killed in separate incidents on Thursday.
Thursday’s violence came a day after a spate of attacks in the capital mainly targeting security forces, including two suicide car bombs minutes apart against police stations, killed 23 people and wounded more than 70.
Full Report at:
http://www.dawn.com/2011/10/14/death-toll-rises-to-18-in-baghdad-blasts.html
---------
Libyan fighters face die-hard loyalists in Sirte
By Christopher Gillette-Associated Press, October 14, 2011
SIRTE, Libya — Revolutionary forces pounded Moammar Gadhafi’s supporters holed up in two neighborhoods with rocket and machine-gun fire Friday in Sirte, but the loyalists showed no sign of giving up in the fugitive leader’s hometown.
Libya’s new rulers have insisted Sirte’s fall is imminent, and they expect to declare liberation this week. That could allow them to name a new interim government and set a timeline for holding elections within eight months.
But Gadhafi’s forces have proven resilient, fighting back fiercely despite heavy shelling and NATO airstrikes.
Former rebels control much of the battered coastal city after launching a major push a week ago, but they were still under intense sniper fire Friday. Wounded fighters streamed into front line medical units, then were evacuated to field hospitals on the city’s outskirts.
Pro-Gadhafi forces also maintain control over the desert town of Bani Walid.
A sniper with revolutionary forces takes aim at Gadhafi loyalist positions in Sirte, Libya, on Oct. 13, 2011. (Associated Press)
NATO was conducting “intensive overwatch missions” around both areas, according to the British Ministry of Defense.
British warplanes struck three armed trucks belonging to former regime forces hidden beneath trees east of Bani Walid on Thursday, the ministry said.
“The vehicles were successfully engaged by our aircraft, using Paveway guided bombs, and destroyed,” Maj. Gen. Nick Pope said in a statement.
Full Report at:
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2011/oct/14/libyan-fighters-face-die-hard-loyalists-sirte/
-------
Qaddafi-Era Flag Is Said to Have Set Off Gunfire in Tripoli
Manu Brabo/Associated Press
There were reports of gun battles between Qaddafi loyalists and former rebel fighters, though it was not clear who started the fighting. Adam Ahmed, an anti-Qaddafi fighter, said he and his colleagues had come under fire on Friday afternoon after responding to reports that loyalists were trying to raise Colonel Qaddafi’s green flag. At least seven armed men were arrested, he said, including one who was carrying a rocket-propelled grenade launcher.
If confirmed, the protests would represent the boldest attempt by loyalist elements to assert their presence in the capital since its capture in late August. The violence that followed underscored Tripoli’s still-combustible mix of armed militias with no central command, patrolling a city growing weary of their presence.
Colonel Qaddafi’s success at eluding capture, along with continued fighting in other parts of Libya, has contributed to the unease. The Benghazi-based interim government, the Transitional National Council, has said it will not form a proper government until the city of Surt is captured from Qaddafi loyalists.
After weeks of fighting there, a group of a hundred or so anti-Qaddafi fighters were pinned down on Friday by snipers outside the last remaining pocket of the city under the control of the loyalists.
In Tripoli, after the reports of the first gunfights, patrols by anti-Qaddafi forces swept through the city setting up checkpoints and searching cars for weapons. Anti-Qaddafi fighters said the loyalists had used Facebook to organize their demonstrations.
Full Report at:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/15/world/africa/gunfire-erupts-on-the-streets-of-tripoli.html?hpw
-------
U.S. Sending More Contractors to Secure Libya’s Weapons Stockpile
By ERIC SCHMITT and KAREEM FAHIM
October 14, 2011
The contractors, weapons and explosives specialists, are part of a growing $30 million American program to secure Libya’s conventional weapons arsenal, which was ransacked during the fall of the government of Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi.
American and other Western officials are especially concerned that as weapons slip from state custody, they can be easily sold through black markets to other countries, fueling regional wars or arming terrorist groups. Analysts are particularly worried about the dispersal of the SA-7, an early-generation, shoulder-fired missile in the same family as the more widely known Stinger.
“We are very concerned about the threat that’s posed,” Andrew Shapiro, the assistant secretary of state for political-military affairs, told reporters on Friday after meetings in Brussels.
Mr. Shapiro said he had no estimate as to how many of the roughly 20,000 shoulder-fired antiaircraft missiles that had been in Libya were unaccounted for since the fall of Colonel Qaddafi, but added, “In the wrong hands these systems could pose a potential threat to civil aviation.”
Full Report at:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/15/world/africa/us-sending-contractors-to-secure-libyas-weapons.html?hpw
--------
Pakistan: solid steps afoot to ensure peace in Balochistan
By APP
October 14, 2011
Malik says anti-Pakistan elements attacking Shia community under a conspiracy.
ISLAMABAD: Interior Minister Rehman Malik said on Friday that the government was taking solid steps to ensure peace in Balochistan.
Talking to media outside the parliament, he said that on the directives of President Asif Ali Zardari, he would be visiting Quetta every week to improve law and order situation by tackling the abductors in a more vigorous manner.
He said that anti-Pakistan elements were attacking Shia community under a conspiracy but he added that these elements would be dealt with an iron hand.
The interior minister said that as a result of effective measures, target killings in Balochistan had decreased and added that the government would soon overcome these incidents.
Replying to a question about imposing governor rule in Balochistan, the minister said that though he respected sentiments of the people of Balochistan, but the government would take steps according to the constitution.
He said the security had been reinforced in Shia community area and the pilgrims were being escorted and facilitated.
http://tribune.com.pk/story/273955/malik-says-solid-steps-afoot-to-ensure-peace-in-balochistan/
--------
Pakistan based terrorists pose threat to US: Panetta
By Huma Imtiaz
October 14, 2011
US defence secretary hopeful Afghan transition would be completed by 2014 deadline.
WASHINGTON: Addressing the House Armed Services Committee on Thursday, US Secretary for Defense Leon Panetta said that terrorists in Pakistan, Yemen, and Somalia pose a threat to the United States.
At a hearing on the future of national defense and the US military 10 years after 9/11, the focus of the discussion centered largely on defense budget cuts. The hearing was disrupted in the first 15 minutes by anti-war protestors, who raised slogans against the war, and were escorted out by the police.
Secretary of Defense Panetta said that their focus was that Afghanistan should not become a safe haven for al Qaeda again. He added that if the United States left Afghanistan in a hurry, and Afghanistan became a base for al Qaeda, the world would question the US.
Members of the committee questioned Secretary Panetta as to why the US was spending billions in wars when the US was facing a fiscal deficit and an economic crisis at home. Rep Chellie Pingree questioned why the United States was spending $120 billion a year on the wars. Secretary Panetta said he was hopeful that by 2014, the process of transition in Afghanistan would be completed.
Secretary Panetta was joined by the new Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Martin Dempsey who also talked about the cuts in the defense budget and its impact on the US military.
http://tribune.com.pk/story/273837/pakistan-based-terrorists-pose-threat-to-us-panetta/
---------
Iran will face toughest sanctions: Obama
New York Times
Washington: Oct 15 2011,
President Obama vowed late Thursday to push for what he called the “toughest sanctions” against Iran, saying that the US had strong evidence that Iranian officials were complicit in an alleged plot to kill the Saudi ambassador to the US.
In his first public remarks on the assassination scheme, Obama sought to counter skepticism about whether Iran’s Islamic government directed an Iranian-American car salesman to engage with a Mexican drug cartel to kill Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to the US and carry out other attacks. Obama insisted that US officials “know that he had direct links, was paid by, and directed by individuals in the Iranian government.”
“Now those facts are there for all to see,” Obama said. “We would not be bringing forward a case unless we knew exactly how to support all the allegations that are contained in the indictment.”
While Obama made his remarks during a news conference in the White House East Room with the South Korean president, Lee Myung-bak, the State Department said that US officials had been in direct contact with the government of Iran over the accusations. Thursday night a White House official said the contact had been made by the US ambassador to the United Nations, Susan E. Rice, who gave a letter to her Iranian counterpart, Mohammad Khazaee.
Obama said that the administration had reached out to allies and the international community to build support. “We’ve laid the facts before them,” he said. “And we believe that after people have analysed them, there will not be a dispute that this is in fact what happened.” The Saudi foreign minister, Prince Saud al-Faisal, at a news conference in Vienna said that “this dastardly act reflects the policies of Iran.” In London, the British foreign secretary, William Hague, told the House of Commons that the suspected plot “would appear to constitute a major escalation in Iran’s sponsorship of terrorism,” British news agencies reported.
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/iran-will-face-toughest-sanctions-obama/860108/
---------
U.S. Bishop Is Charged With Failing to Report Abuse
By A. G. SULZBERGER and LAURIE GOODSTEIN
October 14, 2011
The indictment of the bishop, Robert W. Finn, and the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph by a county grand jury was announced on Friday. Each was charged with one misdemeanor count involving a priest accused of taking pornographic photographs of girls as recently as this year. They pleaded not guilty.
The case caused an uproar among Catholics in Kansas City this year when Bishop Finn acknowledged that he knew of the photographs last December but did not turn them over to the police until May. During that time, the priest, the Rev. Shawn Ratigan, is said to have continued to attend church events with children, and took lewd photographs of another young girl.
A decade ago the American bishops pledged to report suspected abusers to law enforcement authorities — a policy also recommended last year by the Vatican. Bishop Finn himself had made such a promise three years ago as part of a $10 million legal settlement with abuse victims in Kansas City.
Full Report at:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/15/us/kansas-city-bishop-indicted-in-reporting-of-abuse-by-priest.html?_r=1&hp
--------
Egypt’s Military Expands Power, Raising Alarms
Amr Abdallah Dalsh
Reuters
Two members of the military council that took power after the ouster of former President Hosni Mubarak said for the first time in interviews this week that they planned to retain full control of the Egyptian government even after the election of a new Parliament begins in November. The legislature will remain in a subordinate role similar to Mr. Mubarak’s former Parliament, they said, with the military council appointing the prime minister and cabinet.
“We will keep the power until we have a president,” Maj. Gen. Mahmoud Hegazy said. The military had pledged in formal communiqués last March to hold the presidential election by September. But the generals now say that will come only after the election of a Parliament, the formation of a constitutional assembly and the ratification of a new constitution — a process that could stretch into 2013 or longer.
A transition to civilian rule before and not after the drafting of a new constitution was also a core component of a national referendum on a “constitutional declaration” that passed in March as well. The declaration required that the military put in place democratic institutions and suspend a 30-year-old emergency law allowing arrests without trial before the drafting of the constitution to ensure a free debate. But by extending its mandate, the military will now preside over the constitutional process.
Full Report at:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/15/world/middleeast/egypts-military-expands-power-raising-alarms.html?hpw
----------
Obama calls Saudi King to mull actions
Oct 14, 2011,
President Barack Obama Wednesday called Saudi King Abdullah to discuss what US authorities said was a thwarted plot by Iranian government elements to assassinate the Saudi envoy to Washington.
The White House said the two leaders decried a "flagrant violation" of international norms and agreed to pursue a "strong and unified international response that holds those responsible accountable for their actions."
"President Obama spoke to King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia today about the successful disruption of the Iranian-directed conspiracy to assassinate the Saudi Arabian ambassador in Washington, DC," a White House statement said.
"The president and the king agreed that this plot represents a flagrant violation of fundamental international norms, ethics, and law.
"The president and the king reaffirmed the strong partnership between the United States and Saudi Arabia."
Full Report at:
http://www.thedailystar.net/newDesign/news-details.php?nid=206457
----------
US wanted Qasab’s lawyer to build case for his freedom
Oct 14, 2011,
Aman Sharma
LENDING a touch of irony, 26/ 11 terrorist Ajmal Qasab has approached the Supreme Court in appeal against his death sentence.
But the plea he has made there, has been dismissed by his attorney S. G. Abbas Kazmi two years ago before the trial court pronounced its verdict.
Qasab has pleaded in the apex court that he was “ brainwashed like a robot” into committing the dastardly act “ in the name of god” and, “ given my young age”, had a chance to reform.
But a secret American diplomatic cable exposed by WikiLeaks shows that Kazmi had discounted exploring this avenue when the US had mentioned these very arguments to him in the trial court: if he would contact Qasab’s parents in Pakistan to build up the case for mitigating circumstances which may help the convict escape the noose.
An official of the US embassy had met Kazmi on September 3, 2009, asking him if India would contact Qasab’s parents in Pakistan to know the circumstances under which he was indoctrinated by the Lashkar- e- Tayyeba ( LeT) and whether he had been brainwashed. But Kazmi had dismissed the possibility of such a move, saying there were no funds to bring Qasab’s parents to India and they would not get a visa.
Full Report at:
http://epaper.mailtoday.in/epaperhome.aspx?issue=14102011
------
Militants Aided by Iran Fired at G.I.’s in Iraq, Officials Say
Oct 14, 2011,
By MICHAEL S. SCHMIDT
BAGHDAD — Militants trained and financed by Iran’s Quds Force attacked United States forces in Iraq on Wednesday, American officials said, continuing a role they have played in recent years in a proxy war between the United States and Iran.
The attack came a day after the Obama administration announced that it had foiled an alleged plot by the Iranian group to assassinate Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to the United States and to bomb Saudi and Israeli embassies.
The militants fired rockets at American forces at Contingency Operating Station Garry Owen in the southern province of Maysan, which borders Iran. The military said three soldiers were wounded in the assault at the station, which has been hit by rockets repeatedly this year as militants have increased attacks. The military provided few other details of the attack.
Full Report at:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/14/world/middleeast/militants-aided-by-iran-fired-at-american-forces-in-iraq.html?ref=world&pagewanted=print
---------
Egypt: Maspero vigil turns to impassioned protest
Oct 14, 2011,
Yassin Gaber,
Mourners make clear they hold the military council and its head, Field Marshal Tantawi, responsible for targeting of Egypt's 'cheap' Coptic Christians in order to divide the country
A candlelight vigil Thursday night for the victims of Sunday's bloody events at Maspero turned into a passionate protest against the ruling military council and Egypt's de-facto ruler, Field Marshal Mohammed Hussein Tantawi. Hundreds gathered in downtown Cairo's Talaat Harb Square, adjacent to Tahrir Square, holding candles and chanting for the removal of Tantawi and an end to military rule.
On Sunday, Egyptians witnessed a peaceful march by Coptic Christians, protesting an attack on a church in Upper Egypt, turn deadly after armoured military vehicles ploughed through scores of protesters.The press of mourners and protesters surrounded the square and the roundabout, chanting: “Mina was murdered and the field marshal is the murderer.”
Mina Daniel, a young revolutionary and member of the Socialist Popular Alliance who sustained several injuries during the 18-day revolt, has put a face to the many victims of Sunday's violence. Several of Thursday night's chants honoured his memory, transforming his death into a revolutionary symbol: “Mina Daniel, oh young man, your blood will liberate this land.”
Full Report at:
http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContentPrint/1/0/24106/Egypt/0/Maspero-vigil-turns-to-impassioned-protest.aspx
---------
Sirte commander says Gaddafi son still on run
Oct 14, 2011,
Conflicting news surrounds the capture of Mutassim Gaddafi after his capture was announced last night; Gaddafi's top cleric captured attempting to leave Sirte
A senior military commander inside Sirte said on Thursday that Muammar Gaddafi's son Mutassim remains on the run, denying an announcement by the political leadership in Tripoli that he was in custody.
"It is not true that Mutassim was captured," said Wesam Bin Hamid, brigade commander of the Martyrs of Free Libya Brigade, one of the new regime's main units inside Gaddafi's hometown.
"But some prisoners we have captured are saying that Gaddafi (himself) is in Sirte," Bin Hamid added.
A top adviser to the new Libyan leadership, Abdelkarim Bizama, had said in Tripoli late on Wednesday that the feared Mutassim, who served as Gaddafi's national security chief, was in custody.
"Mutassim Gaddafi was captured at Sirte and was transferred to Benghazi," Libya's second-largest city where significant parts of the new leadership remain based, Bizama told AFP.
"We did not announce the capture earlier to avoid that (his family or aides) try to free him," he added.
Full Report at:
http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContentPrint/2/0/24024/World/0/Sirte-commander-says-Gaddafi-son-still-on-run.aspx
-----------
New Libya 'stained' by detainee abuse
Oct 14, 2011,
Libya's new authorities must stamp out arbitrary detention and widespread abuse of detainees, particularly those who fought for Muammar Gaddafi, to avoid a "stained" rights record, Amnesty International said yesterday.
In a report published yesterday, Amnesty said it had uncovered a pattern of beatings and ill-treatment of captured Gaddafi soldiers, suspected loyalists and alleged mercenaries in western Libya after interviewing approximately 300 prisoners in August and September.
Meanwhile, the new National Transitional Council said they have arrested Mutassim Gaddafi, a son of Libya's former leader, from Sirte on Wednesday.
"Mutassim Gaddafi was captured at Sirte and was transferred to Benghazi" in the country's east, NTC advisor Abdelkarim Bizama told AFP.
Gaddafi opponents fired shots in the air in the capital Tripoli and Misrata on Wednesday evening, after news of Mutassim's arrest broke.
Mutassim Gaddafi had been considered a rival to his brother Seif al-Islam in the competition to succeed the Libyan leader.
Full Report at:
http://www.thedailystar.net/newDesign/print_news.php?nid=206454
-----------
US will hold Pak accountable on range of issues: Clinton
Oct 14, 2011,
Washington : The United States is pushing Pakistan on a ‘range of issues’, on which it will be held accountable, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has said.
In her remarks at the Centre for American Progress, Clinton said that the US had no choice but to work with Pakistan in trying to stabilise Afghanistan.
“Everybody knows Pakistan has a big stake in the outcome of what goes on across their border, and they are going to be involved one way or the other,” The Nation quoted Clinton, as saying.
Full Report at:
http://www.indianexpress.com/story-print/859926/
---------
Centre not serious about resolving Kashmir issue: Hurriyat Chairman
Oct 14, 2011,
“Government of India is engaged in non-serious acts aimed at delaying a solution to the long pending Kashmir issue. The appointment of interlocutors a year ago was part of this policy,” Hurriyat Chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq told a Friday congregation at the historic Jamia Masjid in downtown Srinagar.
He said Kashmiris are engaged in a prolonged struggle for their rights and are determined to see this movement to its logical conclusion.
He expressed satisfaction over the voices being raised for resolution of Kashmir issue within the civil society of the country.
Dismissing the report of the three-member team of central interlocutors, Mr. Mirwaiz said, “We have seen many such people in the past...from K.C. Pant to N.N. Vohra to Wajahat Habibullah and the latest team.”
http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/article2537609.ece?css=print
--------
Iran calls US allegations 'politically-motivated evil plot'
Oct 14, 2011,
United Nations: Iran has expressed "outrage" over US allegations of a plan to kill the Saudi ambassador to Washington, saying the claims are "politically-motivated" American "evil plot", in a complaint sent to the UN chief.
Iran's Permanent Representative to the UN Mohammad Khazaee conveyed Tehran's strong and categorical rejection of "these fabricated and baseless allegations based on the suspicious claims by an individual" in a letter to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon.
Iran "categorically and in the strongest terms condemns this shameful allegation by the United States authorities and deplores it as a well-thought evil plot in line with their anti-Iranian policy to divert attention from the current economic and social problems at home," Khazaee said in the letter, copies of which were simultaneously sent to President of the Security Council and of the General Assembly.
US authorities claimed they had uncovered a plot by the Iranian government to kill Saudi envoy Adel al-Jubeir.
Full Report at:
http://www.indianexpress.com/story-print/858866/
---------
Churchill inspired me to be soft but firm: Gilani
Oct 14, 2011,
Islamabad : Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani today told a group of schoolchildren that his "soft but firm" political temperament had been inspired by British statesman Winston Churchill.
Quoting Churchill's purported saying "One should be firm without being rough", Gilani said he adopted the same disposition and this paid him dividends in the shape of a harmonious and amicable political atmosphere.
"It is my desire to be remembered as a person who shunned politics of vengeance," Gilani told award-winning students at a function organised by the Federal Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education.
He said he could proudly state that there had not been a single political prisoner during his tenure as Prime Minister.
"I did not take revenge even from those who put me in jail for five years for giving jobs to the unemployed," he said.
Full Report at:
http://www.indianexpress.com/story-print/859963/
---------
Pakistan, US pledge to strengthen alliance
Oct 14, 2011,
Pakistani and US diplomats on Thursday vowed to strengthen their troubled alliance two days after Washington acknowledged for the first time that it is waging ‘war’ against militants in Pakistan.
US special envoy, Marc Grossman, on Thursday met Pakistani leaders in Islamabad as US drone strikes killed 10 militants, including a commander in the Haqqani network that the US military has linked to Pakistani intelligence.
‘We tried to think about the future and way to keep our strategic dialogue going,’ Grossman told a joint press conference with the Pakistani foreign minister, Hina Rabbani Khar.
‘We also talked about how can we continue in a systematic way to identify the interests that we share with Pakistan, and there are many, and then find ways to act onthem jointly,’ he added.
Full Report at:
ttp://newagebd.com/newspaper1/international/36694.html
----------
'Window of opportunity' led to Shalit deal with Islamist Hamas
Oct 14, 2011,
Israelis have waited more than five years for their leaders to bring home captured soldier Gilad Shalit, but in the end, it was an unexpected "window of opportunity" that eventually allowed a deal.
Analysts and Israeli officials said a confluence of factors, many of them linked to the uprisings across the Middle East, helped push Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to agree a prisoner exchange with the Islamist Hamas movement.
The deal, which will see Israel release 1,027 Palestinians in exchange for Shalit, runs the risk of tarnishing Netanyahu's 'tough on terror' image.
But pressure to agree a deal increased significantly following the huge political changes brought about by Arab Spring, with Israel fearing it could create conditions that would make it harder to win the soldier's freedom.
In announcing the deal on Tuesday night, Netanyahu said he had been required to make a "difficult, but right" decision.
Full Report at:
http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContentPrint/2/0/24120/World/0/Window-of-opportunity-led-to-Shalit-deal-.aspx
---------
Petraeus tells CIA analysts to heed troops on war
Oct 14, 2011,
Washington: David Petraeus, the former general who led the Afghanistan war and now heads the CIA, has ordered his intelligence analysts to give greater weight to the opinions of troops in the fight, US officials said.
CIA analysts now will consult with battlefield commanders earlier in the process as they help create elements of a National Intelligence Estimate on the course of the war, to more fully include the military's take on the conflict, US officials say.
Their input could improve the upcoming report card for the war.
The most recent US intelligence assessment offered a dim view of progress in Afghanistan despite the counterinsurgency campaign Petraeus oversaw there and painted a stark contrast to the generally upbeat predictions of progress from Petraeus and other military leaders.
Petraeus has made no secret of his frustration with recent negative assessments coming primarily from the CIA, and said during his confirmation hearing that he planned to change the way the civilian analysts grade wars.
The CIA's analysis makes up the bulk of national intelligence estimates, which help guide the White House and Congress in drafting future policy.
The CIA says Petraeus' tweaks to the agency's part of the assessment will add to its accuracy, not tilt the results, and that military commanders' views were always part of the equation.
Full Report at:
http://www.indianexpress.com/story-print/859961/
----------
Clashes erupt at Al-Azhar ahead of solidarity march
Oct 14, 2011,
Demonstrators taking part in march to protest the violence in Maspero last Sunday are themselves attacked at Al-Azhar
As Friday prayers came to an end in central Cairo's Al-Azhar mosque, people gathered outside for the peaceful march to Abbassiya Cathedral were attacked by people coming out of the mosque.
An Ahram Online reporter at the scene said a group of demonstrators outside the mosque began chanting against the ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) and its leader, Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi.
The scene descended into rock throwing a few minutes into the chants. The mix became more volatile when people who had been praying inside the mosque came out at the end of the Friday prayers.
According to our correspondent, the preacher's sermon during the prayers served to foster divisions by focusing on Muslims who died in Sunday's Maspero clashes and omitting to criticise the military council or the government for the violence on Sunday night. As a consequence as members of the congregation left the mosque, they accused the demonstrators outside of variously being affiliated with the former regime and foreign agents. They also began chanting "The army and the people are one hand," a popular revolution chant which referenced the public's faith in the military junta.
Full Report at:
http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContentPrint/1/0/24129/Egypt/0/Clashes-erupt-at-AlAzhar-ahead-of-solidarity-march.aspx
-----------
Egypt’s Arrests of Smugglers Show Threat of Libya Arms
Oct 14, 2011,
By DAVID D. KIRKPATRICK
CAIRO — Egyptian Interior Ministry officials acknowledged on Thursday that they had arrested five small groups of smugglers transporting weapons from Libya, including antiaircraft missile launchers, across Egypt toward its border with Israel, raising new concerns about security in the Sinai Peninsula.
The disclosure of the arrests, made over the last several months, underscored the potential threat to security as far away as the Israeli border from the disorder following the revolutions across North Africa in Egypt, Libya and Tunisia.
Israeli government officials said as early as July that troves of Libyan antiaircraft missiles, rocket-propelled grenades and other weapons were being smuggled by land across Egypt into the neighboring Gaza Strip, the Palestinian territory that is under the control of the militant group Hamas. On Thursday, The Washington Post reported that Egyptian military officials were raising alarms after finding the same kinds of Libyan weapons in the Sinai Peninsula, on the Egyptian side of the border.
Although Kalashnikov assault rifles are relatively ubiquitous on both sides of the Sinai border, the presence of antiaircraft missiles and other heavier weapons is a worrisome development to the Israelis because they can be fired on the aircraft Israel relies on to patrol Gaza and conduct airstrikes.
Full Report at:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/14/world/middleeast/egypt-arrests-groups-smuggling-weapons-from-libya.html?ref=world&pagewanted=print
----------
From Indian Urdu Press
Seema Chishti
Oct 14 2011,
Modi vs Bhatt
If the late Hemant Karkare became a hero in the Muslim press for seeming to pursue “non-Islamic”sources of terror, the arrested IPS officer from Gujarat, Sanjeev Bhatt, appears to be attaining a similar halo for “standing up to” Chief Minister Narendra Modi.
Jamaat-e-Islami’s Daawat, in a front-page commentary (October 7) writes: “Modi’s vengeful actions against IPS officer Sanjeev Bhatt seem to be endless. Bhatt is displaying courage and determination... He is fully aware of the hardships and problems that he has to overcome.”
Noted Urdu poet and columnist Hasan Kamal writes in Rashtriya Sahara (October 8): “By arresting Bhatt, Modi has in fact, tried to stop him from deposing against him... But he is not the only officer willing to come out with the truth... Two other officers have also made the same allegations, that Modi not only did nothing to stop the mass killings of Muslims in 2002, he also instructed police officers to ‘allow Hindus to vent their anger this time.’ It will soon be known how politically beneficial or harmful Modi’s revenge against Bhatt will be.”
Delhi-based Nai Duniya, edited by former MP Shahid Siddiqui, on October 10, describes Bhatt’s arrest as “murder of justice” and asks: “where are the protectors of the Constitution sleeping?”
Jai Telangana?
Urdu dailies from Hyderabad and others with southern editions are much exercised by what they term the Centre’s “policy of silence” on the demand for bifurcating Andhra Pradesh.
Angry at the dithering, Hyderabad’s leading daily Munsif (October 8) writes in its editorial: “It won’t be incorrect to say the Centre and Congress have been constantly deceiving the people of Telangana. In 2004, votes were gathered with a deceptive alliance with the TRS, and then they pretended as though the problem was nonexistent. When KCR sat on a fast and his condition started deteriorating, Home Minister P. Chidambaram made a midnight announcement in Delhi accepting the Telangana demand. But what really happened? When local Congress leaders explained to the party that nothing would be gained through this, they broke their promise and the group of ministers did not take any decision on this sensitive matter. The government must take some concrete initiative before the Telangana movement is further intensified.”
Riots and wrongs
Recent incidents of communal violence and skirmishes in Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, West Bengal and Andhra Pradesh have been extensively reported. Reports and editorials talk of “alarm” and “restlessness” amongst minorities, but unlike the usual rhetoric, this time the tone is restrained and moderate.
In a prominent signed editorial on the front page on October 10, Rashtriya Sahara editor Aziz Burney speaks of “an organised conspiracy to inflame Muslim sentiment, desecrate the Quran and create a pretext for a riot... but we have to keep our sentiments in check and not allow the conspiracy to succeed. Muslim representatives, along with their Hindu brethren, should appeal to local chief ministers and draw immediate attention to this problem.”
In a statement published widely on October 4, the usually unrestrained Shahi Imam of Delhi’s Jama Masjid, Maulana Ahmed Bukhari, has urged Muslims to “not respond violently to efforts to arouse passions, because a riot harms the lives and properties of Muslims and helps communal elements succeed in their conspiracy to harm Muslims.”
Delhi-based Hamara Samaj asks in an editorial (October 10): “Why are political parties opposing the bill to prevent communal violence? Do these parties want the country to always burn in the fire of communal violence? Do they not understand the meaning and spirit of democracy?”
Rest in peace
Rich tributes have been paid by most papers to ghazal maestro Jagjit Singh, who passed on this week. “Jag ko jeet kar, Jagjit ne chhori duniya” (After conquering the world, Jagjit leaves) is Rashtriya Sahara’s headline for an elaborate feature. A large photo is captioned with a line from one of the ghazals he sang, ‘Kahan Tum Chale Gaye’, in Hamara Samaj.
Former Indian cricket captain Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi also got many moving tributes, including editorials on his cricketing feats. According to a report in Siasat (September 26), Bombay cinema’s tragedy king Dilip Kumar “regained his fading memory when he received news of (Pataudi’s) death on TV. He dictated a letter addressed to Tiger’s wife, Sharmila Tagore, saying that he could well understand the intensity of Sharmila’s loneliness now.”
URL: https://newageislam.com/islamic-world-news/drastic-measures-sunni-tehreek,-aswj/d/5689