For American citizenship, Pak official tipped US about Osama's whereabouts: Report
Rape, mutilation: Pakistan's tribal justice for women
US man admits to encouraging jihad on web
Breivik's Role Model Condemns Oslo Attacks
2,500 terrorists present in launching pads in Pak, PoK
Tanzania study shows one in three girls sexually abused
Libya says NATO air strike kills dozens south of Zlitan
US drone strike kills 21 in northwest Pakistan, biggest in weeks
Drone strike kills 25 suspected militants; first during Ramzan
‘Dead’ Qadhafi son shown on Libyan state TV
Syrian forces kill 17 civilians
Blast kills five in south Afghanistan
Denying wife money is abuse: Mumbai HC tells Salim Khan
Libya blasts 'ugly massacre'; TNC takes over UK embassy
A friend’s email ‘accessed’ to blow whistle on Gujarat govt
Intel inputs suggest al-Qaida, Ilyas Kashmiri plan to target India: Govt
Parliament attack: Home ministry submits Afzal Guru Case to President
Pak court censures Rehman Malik for 'interfering' in 26/11 case
Pak keen for progress on Siachen, Sir Creek with India: Khar
Pak Taliban releases video of its CID office attack
UN warns of growing al Qaeda threat in Yemen
“Crisis of duality at higher education gives Muslims a schizoid mind": Prof. Kasule
Nearly 5000 attend Malayalis’ ifthar meet in Bengaluru
IIMA and NID provide sehri and iftar to its Muslim students
ISI officer claiming bounty, not bin Laden courier: Expert
Iran asks Britain not to use 'violence' against riots
Pak buoyant over prospects of trade boost with India
After 46 yrs, the healing touch: Pak pilot says sorry for mistake
SC rules death for LeT terrorist Mohd Arif in Red Fort attack
The Left Has No Humanity
Iran: Bill on comprehensive media laws to be presented to Majlis
How Jihad Influenced the Norway Massacre
Islamist militant group resurgent in Egypt
Mumbai blasts: Man who stole two-wheeler used by terrorists held
Afghan president asks clerics to campaign against turban bombs
Pakistani art makes US debut amid political challenges
China-Pakistan war games along Rajasthan border
Antony seeks report on J&K encounter
Syria's crackdown hits ally Hezbollah's image
Treason charge plea filed against Pak PM Gilani
US congressman says writer in Libyan custody
Anti-Muslim lobbyists in India
Billboards advertise hotline about Islam
White House Releases “New” Counter-terrorism Strategy
U.S. Muslim Brotherhood Activist Arrested as Spy for Pakistan
Ansari faces MHA ire over barb against interlocutors
Cracks persist among Kashmir interlocutors
Speakers call for anti-harassment laws’ implementation
Assad promises relentless battle against ‘terrorists’
Egypt’s Moussa campaigns for president, vows reforms
It’s ‘crazy’ to ignore Shariah
Grand Ayatollah Mazaheri’s Guidelines Effective in Promoting Quranic Culture
Calls to tackle racism after attacks in Oslo and Utoya
Top opposition leaders among more than 100 prisoners freed by Bahrain
U.S. set to announce $100M in Somalia famine funding
Kenya burdened by famine refugees; rape attacks up
Crippled terrorists back in action
Attempt at getting fit in Ramadan could prove counterproductive
Punjabis in Iraq want crackdown on agents
Balochistan shadow over Pak leader’s book release
Compiled by New Age Islam News Bureau
URL: https://newageislam.com/islamic-world-news/for-ameri-citizenship,-pak-official/d/5225
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For American citizenship, Pak official tipped US about Osama's whereabouts: Report
Aug 10, 2011
LONDON: A Pakistani intelligence officer, who wished to secure American citizenship for his family, gave details of Osama bin-Laden's whereabouts to the US, in a deal worth USD 25 million.
The Pakistani officer also informed the US officials that Saudis were paying off Pakistan and ISI to keep bin Laden hidden in the Abbotabad compound, the Daily Mail reported.
The paper said this account disputes widely published reports that a courier working for bin Laden was the catalyst for the famous Navy SEAL Team Six mission.
The deal, the Mail said, included the roughly USD 25 million reward offered by the State Department for information leading to the capture dead or alive of the al-Qaida leader, who was billed as the world's most wanted terrorist.
The State Department said it would not comment on the report.
But the report quoted to a blog claimed Pakistani military, as well as the spy agency ISI, not only knew about the American raid, but also cooperated.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/pakistan/For-American-citizenship-Pak-official-tipped-US-about-Osamas-whereabouts-Report/articleshow/9555272.cms
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Rape, mutilation: Pakistan's tribal justice for women
Aug 10, 2011
MULTAN: On April 14, two men entered Asma Firdous’ home, cut off six of her fingers, slashed her arms and lips and then sliced off her nose. Before leaving the house, the men locked their 28-year-old victim inside.
Asma, from impoverished Kohaur Junobi village in Pakistan’s south, was mutilated because her husband was involved in a dispute with his relatives, and they wanted revenge. Her fate is familiar in parts of Pakistan’s remote and feudal agricultural belts, where women are often used as bargaining chips in family feuds, and where the level of violence they face is increasing in frequency and brutality.
At the hospital in a nearby Multan town, Asma’s shocked parents sat quietly by her bedside and struggled to explain what the future holds for their now disfigured daughter. “I don’t know what will happen to her when she leaves here,” Asma’s father, Ghulam Mustafa, said, in a dilapidated ward heavy with the smell of antiseptic and blood, where other women, doused with acid or kerosene by relatives or fellow villagers, awaited an equally uncertain future. Asked if Asma will return to her husband, her father remains silent.
Pakistan is the world’s third-most dangerous country for women, after Afghanistan and the Democratic Republic of Congo,based on a survey conducted by the Thomson Reuters Foundation. In its 2010 report, the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan said almost 800 women were victims of “honour killings” –murders aimed at preserving the honour of male relatives — and 2,900 women reported raped — almost eight a day. The bulk, or almost 2,600, were raped in Punjab alone,Pakistan’s most populous province.
And the numbers are rising: media reports say crimes against women have risen 18 percent in the year to May and the HRC believes its figures represent only a fraction of the attacks which take place across the country.
Dr. Farzana Bari, director of Gender Studies at Quaid-e-AzamUniversity, says Pakistan’s patriarchal society often condones discrimination against women, which is more prevalent among poor and uneducated rural families.
That mindset can often influence the police and judiciary, which sometimes turn a blind eye to honour killings or rapes carried out to “punish” women. ”I think honour killings are a symptom of vigilante justice,” she said. And vigilante justice occurs in anenvironment where the state is unable to enforce its writ.”
Tribal justice
In rural areas, women are often shut out of the justice system, which is compromised by powerful landowners and feudal lords who dominate a hierarchy that makes it difficult — and deadly — for those with little education or social standing to speak out. Families or tribes then often take justice in their own hands, presiding over “jirgas” or “panchayats” — gatherings of elders that hand down punishments that include rape, killing or barter of women for crimes that include falling in love with a man deemed inappropriate or besmirching family honour. Some women are maimed just to settle scores.
Members of the panchayat systems say the tradition is hard to shake because it is entrenched in the local culture and also because it is much more efficient than the regular courts. “In the settled areas there are courts but people can’t always get justice or compensation,” said lawyer and tribal elder Karim Masoud, who presides over both panchayat settlements and the mainstream court system. ”With the jirgas, they can get compensation, and it takes less time to settle a dispute. It’s fairer and people don’t have to use bribes to get justice.”
Zarmuhamad Afridi, who also attends jirga rulings in Pakistan’s northern tribal belt and works within the mainstream court system, said the jirga system survives because in many parts of Pakistan, a man’s honour is intrinsically linked to how his wife or daughter behave. ”If a couple is not married and they are having a relationship, a jirga may rule that the woman should be shot,” Afridi said. “That is okay for many, because they have to protect family honour.”
The slightest transgression by a woman — being seen talking to a man on the street, perhaps, or having an unknown phone number in a mobile — can bring harsh punishment and social ostracism of the family, he says, making the quick, harsh judgment of the panchayats popular. “Women are cherished here,” he said. “Men protect them. If a woman is out of her house then what is she doing? That is what people think here.”
Many women are unable to speak out because they lack the support and education to understand their rights, activists say. But even those who dare often get nowhere. The most high profile instance of a violent ruling by a tribal court against a woman is that of the gang rape of Mukhtaran Mai, which took place near Multan in 2002. Mai was allegedly attacked to settle a matter of village honor, as decided by a panchayat. She was then paraded naked through her village.
Unlike most rape victims, who face stark recriminations for speaking out, and who are sometimes even expected to commit suicide, she filed a criminal case against 14 men. Six men were convicted and sentenced to death that year, but in 2005 the Lahore High Court commuted one sentence to life in prison and acquitted the rest. Pakistan’s Supreme Court upheld that decision in April this year, in what rights activists said was a crushing blow towomen’s and minority rights in Pakistan. The men were released days later. Mai said she is afraid they will return and kill her.
Ali Dayan Hasan, senior researcher at Human Rights Watch’s South Asia division, said the lack of justice for women in cases like such as Mai’s is “a structural failing of the criminal justice system”. “The verdict also lays bare the misogyny of Pakistan’s judicial system because it is a judiciary that is instinctively unsympathetic to women.”
http://tribune.com.pk/story/227443/rape-mutilation-pakistans-tribal-justice-for-women/
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US man admits to encouraging jihad on web
Aug 10, 2011
A Pennsylvania man has pleaded guilty to charges he encouraged attacks on US targets through an Islamist militant website, the US Attorney’s office said.
Prosecutors said Emerson Begolly, 22, accused of being an active moderator on an English-language forum on the Ansar al-Mujahideen website, had asked others to engage in violent acts, particularly in the United States.
Begolly was accused of suggesting the use of firearms, explosives and propane tanks in attacks on police stations, post offices, synagogues, military facilities, train lines and other targets.
“Today’s guilty plea underscores the need for continued vigilance against home-grown extremism and use of the Internet to incite violence,” Assistant Attorney General Lisa Monaco said in a statement.
The indictment described the Ansar al-Mujahideen site as a “popular, internationally known Islamic extremist web forum used by its members to translate, promote and distribute jihadist propaganda.” It was reported to have English and German forums in addition to an Arabic forum.
Begolly also pleaded guilty to being armed during a struggle in which he was accused of biting two FBI agents, a charge that could carry a life sentence.
Sentencing was scheduled for November 29. The various charges could bring him 10 years to life in prison, a spokeswoman for the US Attorney’s office said.
Begolly’s attorney was not immediately available to comment. Authorities gave little information on Begolly including how he may have become involved with the militant forum.
http://www.timeslive.co.za/scitech/2011/08/10/us-man-admits-to-encouraging-jihad-on-web
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Breivik's Role Model Condemns Oslo Attacks
ZACHARY COHEN
Aug 10, 2011
Anders Breivik, the man who has taken responsibility for the July 22 bombing and shootings in Oslo, Norway, was condemned by Peder Jensen, 36, a right-wing blogger who believes Islamic fundamentalism is taking over Europe.
Breivik may have lauded the writings of the then-anonymous blogger "Fjordman," but Jensen thought Breivik went too far. "He showed an extreme brutality that's completely incomprehensible," Jensen told the Norwegian Daily VG.
Though Jensen believes Islam is an "irrational cult based on fear," he says he never advocated for violence.
Breivik himself recognizes the only difference between himself and Jensen is entirely based on the fact that Breivik is in favor of violent action. "Our views are quite similar with the exception of me being an actual armed resistance fighter," Breivik wrote in his manifesto.
Jensen was originally sought by police for questioning, given Breivik's infatuation with his writing. He went public to clear his image, and he will not retreat back into hiding to protect himself from reprisals. He also announced the "Fjordman" username would be retired.
"I don't wish to be associated with Breivik and his horrible actions," he said.
http://newsfeed.time.com/2011/08/08/completely-incomprehensible-breiviks-role-model-condemns-oslo-attacks/#ixzz1Uc3zrebp
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2,500 terrorists present in launching pads in Pak, PoK
Aug 10, 2011
About 2,500 terrorists are present in launching pads in Pakistan and PoK, government said today.
"A number of training camps and launching pads are reportedly active in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir/ Pakistan. As per assessment, there are around 2,500 terrorists in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir/Pakistan," Minister of State for Home Jitendra Singh told the Lok Sabha in a written reply.
The minister also said that 52 infiltration attempts along the Jammu and Kashmir border have taken place till June this year, while last year the number was 489, slightly higher than in 2009 (485). "Infiltration attempts from across the border in Jammu and Kashmir have shown a marginal increase during the year 2009 and 2010 in comparison with the year 2008," he said.
On ceasefire violation along the Line of Control (LoC), he said the number of violations which were 77 in 2008 came down to 28 in 2009 and it further increased to 44 in 2010 19 ceasefire violations have been reported along LoC up to July this year, he said in a reply to another question.
Full report at:
http://www.asianage.com/international/2500-terrorists-present-launching-pads-pak-pok-578
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Tanzania study shows one in three girls sexually abused
Aug 10, 2011
Nearly one third of Tanzanian girls experience sexual violence before they turn 18, a Unicef survey has found.
The figure among boys is 13.4%, says the UN children's agency.
The most common form of abuse is sexual touching, followed by attempted intercourse, it says.
Unicef official Andy Brooks said the survey was the most comprehensive carried out on this issue in any country and showed the government was prepared to tackle the problem.
"Tanzania is the first country with the courage to expose the full extent of child abuse among boys and girls," he told the BBC's Focus on Africa programme.
The survey also found that of those who had sex before they turned 18, 29.1% of females and 17.5% of males reported that their first encounter was unwilling.
This meant they were forced or coerced to engage in sexual intercourse, Unicef said.
Tanzania's Education Minister Shukuru Kawambwa said the government was determined to end sexual abuse.
It would set up reporting mechanisms for abuse victims and would urge teachers to take care of vulnerable children, he said.
Mr Brooks said similar surveys would be carried out in Kenya, Rwanda, Malawi, Zimbabwe and South Africa.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-14468277
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Libya says Nato air strike kills dozens south of Zlitan
Aug 10, 2011
The Libyan government has accused Nato of killing dozens of civilians in an attack on a village in western Libya.
Col Muammar Gaddafi's administration said Nato bombed Majar, south of the city of Zlitan.
Officials say 85 civilians were killed, but Nato says the target was a military one, with civilian deaths unlikely.
A BBC correspondent says he saw about 30 body bags at a local hospital, but it was unclear how the people died.
'Mercenaries'
In a statement, Nato confirmed that it had carried out an air strike south of Zlitan on Monday night, but insisted that the target was a military staging area.
"Nato had very clear intelligence demonstrating that former farm buildings were being used as a staging point for pro-Gaddafi forces to conduct attacks against the people of Libya," the statement said.
It is difficult out here in the Libyan countryside under the baking summer sun to gauge exactly what happened.
Our government minders first took us to a remote collection of buildings south of the town of Zlitan. There has clearly been a series of air strikes. The dwellings have been hit hard, reinforced concrete lay in a tangle.
The front line is just a few miles to the east towards the rebel stronghold of Misrata. Plumes of smoke could be seen on the horizon.
The Libyan information minister told us the buildings lay on the only route that the rebels would be able to take if they wanted to enter the town of Zlitan. That was why they were targeted.
Full report at:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-14464400
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US drone strike kills 21 in northwest Pakistan, biggest in weeks
Aug 10, 2011
PESHAWAR: A US drone fired two missiles into Pakistan's North Waziristan tribal region on the Afghan border on Wednesday, killing at least 21 suspected militants, including foreigners, local officials said, in one of the biggest attacks in weeks.
The drone targeted a house 3 km (2 miles) east of Miranshah, the main town of the region, known to be a hotbed of Taliban and al-Qaida militants.
"The dead included local Taliban as well as some Arabs and Uzbek nationals," one intelligence official in North Waziristan said, speaking on the condition of anonymity.
It was not immediately known if any high-profile militants were among the dead. Militants often dispute official account of such strikes.
Initial reports said five militants were killed in the attack but officials said the toll had gone up to 21 after more bodies were found from the rubble of the house.
Drone strikes have been a major source of friction between the United States and Pakistan, with ties at their worst since US special forces killed al-Qaida chief Osama bin Laden in a secret raid in a Pakistani garrison town in May.
While Pakistan publicly opposes the strikes, it has privately allowed them and cooperated with the United States determining targets.
But since the May commando raid, which Pakistan considers a grievous breach of sovereignty, the powerful head of the army, General Ashfaq Kayani, has called for a halt.
Washington appears determined to press forward with drone attacks, which its sees as an effective tool to stem cross-border attacks by militants on foreign forces in Afghanistan.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-14471791
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Drone strike kills 25 suspected militants; first during Ramzan
Aug 10 2011
Islamabad : A US drone targeted a compound and a vehicle in the restive North Waziristan tribal region of Pakistan on Wednesday, killing at least 25 militants of al-Qaeda linked Haqqani network, in the first such attack during the Islamic holy month of Ramzan.
Eight militants were injured in the attack. They were taken to a hospital in Miranshah, the main town in North Waziristan Agency.
The injured are in a critical condition, said a journalist who visited the hospital.
All those killed in the strike were members of the Haqqani network, led by Afghan warlord Sirajuddin Haqqani, said local journalists.
US and Afghan officials blame the Haqqani network for cross-border attacks on NATO and allied forces in Afghanistan.
The CIA-operated pilotless aircraft fired two missiles at the compound and vehicle at Kharunai, a small village located a kilometre from Miranshah.
The attack was carried out when the militants were having 'sehri', the pre-dawn meal before fasting begins.
Security sources said the militants had arrived at the compound late last night.
Afghan and Pakistani militants arrived at the scene after the drones left the area and pulled bodies and the injured from the rubble of the destroyed compound.
They did not allow local residents to approach the site.
Full report at:
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/drone-strike-kills-25-suspected-militants;-first-during-ramzan/829839/
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‘Dead’ Qadhafi son shown on Libyan state TV
Aug 10 2011
TRIPOLI: Khamis, the son of embattled Libyan leader Moamer Qadhafi, has been shown on state television just days after rebels battling the regime reported his death, which Tripoli denied at the time.
The broadcaster showed footage of what it said was a visit on Tuesday by the uniformed 28-year-old, Qadhafi’s youngest son, to a hospital to meet “victims of Nato raids.”
It was the first time he had been seen in public since August 5, when a rebel spokesman said a Nato attack on an operations centre in the western town of Zliten had killed 32 people including Khamis, a feared military commander.
“Overnight there was an aircraft attack by Nato on the Qadhafi operations room in Zliten and there are around 32 Qadhafi troops killed. One of them is Khamis,” Mohammed Zawawi told AFP at the time.
Zawawi cited as sources spies within loyalist ranks and intercepted radio chatter.
But a spokesman in Tripoli for the Qadhafi regime said the claim was untrue.
“Basically the news about the killing of Khamis by a Nato air strike is very dirty lies to cover the murder of civilians in the peaceful city,” Mussa Ibrahim said.
Khamis Qadhafi trained at a Russian military academy and commands the eponymous and much-feared Khamis Brigade, one of the regime’s toughest fighting units.
The brigade took part in the assault on the rebel enclave of Misrata, which has been bombarded from three sides and seen some of the fiercest fighting of Libya’s civil war.
http://www.dawn.com/2011/08/10/dead-qadhafi-son-shown-on-libyan-state-tv.html
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Syrian forces kill 17 civilians
Aug 10, 2011
Security forces killed 17 civilians on Tuesday in Syria’s eastern protest hub of Deir Ezzor and at least four others in other parts of the country, activists said.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported 17 deaths in Deir Ezzor, scene of a deadly army assault on Sunday that killed 42 people, and said two other people were killed in the northwestern Idlib province.
“At least 15 people were killed in different parts of Deir Ezzor which has been raided by tanks and vehicles mounted with machine guns,” the group said in a statement, quoting activists at the scene.
“A woman and a young man shot (earlier in the day) died of their wounds,” the Britain-based Observatory said.
Earlier a human rights lawyer spoke of two deaths in the central flashpoint city of Hama, adding that some 50 tanks were deployed in the Hilfaya and Tibet al-Imam districts.
The Observatory reported that “a dozen tanks and other armoured vehicles attacked the Binnish and Sarmin areas” of Idlib earlier, causing the two deaths and leaving several people wounded.
http://www.dailypioneer.com/359687/Syrian-forces-kill-17-civilians.html
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Blast kills five in south Afghanistan
Aug 10, 2011
KABUL: Four civilians and a policeman were killed on Tuesday by a bomb, which exploded in a bazaar in southern Afghanistan, police said. The blast took place at around 1:00pm (0830 GMT) in the insurgency-hit Dihrawud district of Uruzgan province, said Gulab Shah, head of the provincial criminal investigation police force. “The bomb went off near a police car in Dihrawud district,” he said. “One policeman and four civilians were killed.” The police official blamed the Taliban for the attack, though the militants were not immediately contactable for comment. The Taliban have frequently targeted the Afghan police and other state employees in their 10-year war against President Hamid Karzai’s Western-backed Kabul government. However, civilians have been the main victims of the insurgency. According to figures released by the United Nations, 1,462 Afghan civilians died in the first six months of 2011, a 15 percent increase during the same period in 2010. The UN report released in July said insurgents accounted for 80 percent of all deaths, foreign troops were responsible for 14 percent and six percent could not be attributed. Nearly half of all casualties caused by bomb attacks.
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2011\08\10\story_10-8-2011_pg7_25
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Denying wife money is abuse: Mumbai HC tells Salim Khan
Shibu Thomas
Aug 10, 2011
Mumbai: Denying financial support and access to matrimonial home to the wife by her husband is domestic violence,ruled the Bombay high court.Justice AP Bhangale dismissed a petition filed by Buldhana resident Salim Khan. Upholding a lower court order, the judge said Khans estranged wife Meherunissa,who was thrown out of the house in 2001,can file a complaint under the Domestic Violence Act.
Khans lawyers argued that allegations of harassment and abuse were before the Act came into force. In Meherunissas case, there was a continuous cause of action since she was still the wife, the HC said.
Continued deprivation of economic or financial resources and continued prohibition or denial of access for the shared household to the aggrieved person is domestic violence and protection under the Act will be available to the wife who was driven out from her husbands shared household prior to its coming into effect, said Justice Bhangale, adding, Even if the woman was in the past in a relationship, she would be entitled to invoke provisions of the Act on the basis of continuing cause of action.
Full report at: Times of India
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Libya blasts 'ugly massacre'; TNC takes over UK embassy
Aug 10, 2011
MAJER, Libya: Libyan authorities accused NATO of a “massacre” of 85 villagers in air strikes in support of opposition fighters, whose political leadership was in crisis after the sacking of its top officials.
The accusation, denied by NATO, came as Canada ordered Muammar Qaddafi's diplomats to leave the country within five days and cut off access to the embassy’s bank accounts, Foreign Minister John Baird said.
He spoke as the British Foreign office announced that the Transitional National Council (TNC) had taken over the London embassy. previously staffed by appointees of Qaddafi’s government.
Qaddafi said Tuesday world powers would be held responsible for the “ugly massacre committed by NATO” on the village of Majer, 10 km south of Zliten, the JANA news agency reported.
NATO insisted the raids near the western town were “legitimate” and that it had no evidence of the civilian deaths.
Full report at:
http://arabnews.com/middleeast/article486254.ece
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A friend’s email ‘accessed’ to blow whistle on Gujarat govt
Ayesha Khan
Aug 10 2011
Ahmedabad : Till a few years before they traded charges of email hacking, IPS officer Sanjiv Bhatt and Gujarat additional advocate general Tushar Mehta had been close friends, their relationship going back decades. Their families would vacation together, their kids go to the same school, and Bhatt’s wife considers Mehta a brother, having known him since the time Bhatt was courting her.
Bhatt, a 1988-batch officer now suspended amid a public confrontation with the Gujarat government over the post-Godhra riots, had complained to the Economic Offences Wing in Delhi only weeks earlier that his email account was being hacked by a Gujarat government “agent”. Last week, Mehta complained to the police that Bhatt was hacking into his email.
In the latest set of affidavits he has filed in the Supreme Court, Bhatt cites extensively from mails in Mehta’s account to back up his allegations against the government. He says he had “accessed” Mehta’s account. Mehta did not respond to calls to confirm how close they had been as friends.
Full report at:
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/a-friends-email-accessed-to-blow-whistle-on-gujarat-govt/829508/
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Intel inputs suggest al-Qaida, Ilyas Kashmiri plan to target India: Govt
Aug 10, 2011
NEW DELHI: The Centre on Wednesday said intelligence inputs have suggested that al-Qaida and one of its dreaded terrorists Ilyas Kashmiri were planning to target India.
"There are some intelligence inputs, though not specifically, regarding plan to target India by al-Qaida and Ilyas Kashmiri, an al-Qaida-HUJI operative and his group," minister of state for home Jitendra Singh informed Rajya Sabha.
The minister said government was committed to combat terrorism and extremism in all its forms and manifestation as no cause, genuine or imaginary, can justify terrorism or violence.
"Government continues to be alert to these threats and re-calibrates its measures to combat terrorism by way of reviewing threat perception and a number of important decisions and measures have been taken...," he said.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Intel-inputs-suggest-al-Qaida-Ilyas-Kashmiri-plan-to-target-India-Govt/articleshow/9554847.cms
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Parliament attack: Home ministry submits Afzal Guru case to President
Aug 10, 2011
NEW DELHI: Taking a step forward for a final view on the fate of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru, the home ministry has submitted his case to the President's secretariat for a decision.
"The mercy petition case of death convict Mohd Afzal Guru has since been submitted to the President's secretariat on July 27, 2011 for a decision," minister of state for home Mullappally Ramachandran informed Rajya Sabha on Wednesday.
He was responding to a question on why the government is not taking steps with regard to expediting the pending mercy petition of death row convict Guru.
Asked whether there is any provision under the Constitution for deciding upon any "clemency petition" against capital punishment as per sequence of its submission, the minister said, "There is no Constitutional provision. It was an administrative decision to ensure fair and urgent treatment of all cases".
Guru was convicted of conspiracy in the December 2001 attack on the Parliament and was sentenced to death by the Supreme Court in 2004. The sentence was scheduled to be carried out on October 20, 2006.
However, Guru's execution was stayed following a mercy petition filed by his wife. He remains on death row.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Parliament-attack-Home-ministry-submits-Afzal-Guru-case-to-President/articleshow/9554612.cms
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Pak court censures Rehman Malik for 'interfering' in 26/11 case
Aug 10 2011
Islamabad : A Pakistani anti-terrorism court conducting the trial of seven suspects in the Mumbai attacks today issued a contempt notice to Interior Minister Rehman Malik for announcing that a judicial commission would visit India soon, though the court had not yet decided the matter.
Judge Shahid Rafique of the Rawalpindi-based court issued the notice in response to a petition moved by defence lawyers, who contended that Malik had committed contempt of court by stating in a media interview last month that the Pakistani commission would go to India within 10 days even though the court had not decided on the formation of the commission.
During the proceedings conducted behind closed doors at Adiala Jail for security reasons, the judge directed Malik to respond to the notice at the next hearing on August 13.
“The Interior Minister told the media on the sidelines of a SAARC meeting in Bhutan last month that the commission would go to India within 10 days even though the matter is pending in the court. The court is yet to decide the issue in the light of arguments by the defence and the prosecution,” defence lawyer Shahbaz Rajput told PTI.
“The minister's remarks have created an impression that he is controlling the proceedings in the anti-terrorism court and interfering in them. The integrity of the court has been affected and the minister's remarks were prejudicial and that is why we have decided to protest,” he said.
Full report at:
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/pak-court-censures-rehman-malik-for-interfering-in-26-11-case/829969/
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Pak keen for progress on Siachen, Sir Creek with India: Khar
Aug 10, 2011
Islamabad : Pakistan has conveyed to India its keenness for progress on "doable" issues like Siachen and Sir Creek to create a "conducive" environment to talk about "core issues" and move towards their resolution, Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar said on Tuesday.
Khar made the remarks while briefing the National Assembly or lower house of parliament on her talks with her Indian counterpart S M Krishna in New Delhi last month.
She said she had conveyed Pakistan's position on the Siachen and Sir Creek issues and described her visit to New Delhi as an "extremely successful trip".
"When we look into policies vis-a-vis Afghanistan and India, we want to build a new relationship and a new era of cooperation with each other.
We want to build trust, rather than to evaporate trust. We want to build new foundation of relationship," she said.
Pakistan's intention is to make the dialogue process with India "uninterrupted and uninterruptible", Khar said.
"We want to create a conducive environment in which the two countries could talk about core issues and move towards their resolution," she remarked.
India and Pakistan had held a "frank, constructive, cordial and meaningful" dialogue and agreed to carry forward the process to peacefully resolve all outstanding issues, she said.
Khar said she had delivered Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani's letter inviting his Indian counterpart to visit Pakistan and this had been "accepted".
Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had conveyed that he is committed to heralding a "new spring" in relations between the two countries, she said.
http://www.indianexpress.com/story-print/829431/
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Pak Taliban releases video of its CID office attack
Aug 10 2011
Islamabad : Pakistani Taliban has released a video purportedly showing how it planned and carried out a suicide attack on the Crime Investigation Department office in Karachi in November last year to avenge the killing of fellow militants who were "tortured to death" inside the building.
The video, issued earlier this week by the media arm of the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), shows three militants, identified as Rehmanullah, Farmanullah and Muhammad Khan, saying they are ready for the attack after completing their training.
The video in Pashto shows the three men training in a mountainous area with Kalashnikovs, grenades and a truck full of explosives. It also shows the men attacking a building in a hilly area with grenades and assault rifles, and making a video around the CID building in Karachi. "We collected complete information of the guards deputed at the (CID) office and its surroundings, which made the attack easy for us," the soundtrack of the video states.
A time stamp on the video suggests some of the footage was recorded on October 20 last year, 21 days before the attack was carried out on November 11.
The video also shows the three alleged attackers standing beside a truck loaded with explosives shortly before the bombing. They claim to be going for the attack on the CID office, 'Pakistan Today' daily reported.
Full report at:
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/pak-taliban-releases-video-of-its-cid-office-attack/829900/
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UN warns of growing al Qaeda threat in Yemen
Aug 10 2011
UNITED NATIONS: The UN Security Council expressed concern Tuesday that al Qaeda could exploit the power vacuum in Yemen to gain an even greater foothold in the country.
The 15-nation council urged followers of ailing president Ali Abdullah Saleh and the opposition to quickly settle Yemen’s fate because of the deteriorating security and humanitarian situation in the country.
The UN body gave strong support to efforts by the six countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council to end the Yemen crisis.
UN envoy Jamal Benomar reaffirmed warnings that the Yemen economy could collapse in a briefing to the council after his latest mission to the Red Sea nation.
Council members highlighted their “grave concern” over the economic and humanitarian deterioration in Yemen.
“They were deeply concerned at the worsening security situation, including the threat from al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula,” said a statement released after the meeting.
Yemen has been gripped by political turmoil since an uprising against the 33-year-old rule of Saleh, now recovering from bomb blast wounds, erupted in January. Hundreds have died in battles between security forces and protesters, and between security forces and al Qaeda fighters.
Full report at:
http://www.dawn.com/2011/08/10/un-warns-of-growing-al-qaeda-threat-in-yemen.html
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“Crisis of duality at higher education gives Muslims a schizoid mind": Professor Kasule
Aug 10, 2011
New Delhi: A thought-provoking presentation on “Towards Muslim Educational Excellence: Epistemological and Quality Dimensions” was made here by Prof. Omar Hasan Kasule, professor of epidemiology and bioethics, faculty of medicine, King Fahad Medical City; university of Malaya; University of Brunei; chairman of the Institutional Review Board KFMC, and head of Knowledge Exchange and International Collaboration, faculty of medicine, KFMC.
Dr. Kasule said that for Muslims all over the world there was a “crisis of duality” at the heart of higher education that gives Muslim a schizoid mind as this education frequently contradicts what they have learnt at the mosques and madarsas.
This duality has to be reconciled before the issue of quality is taken up. He wanted a single epistemological framework covering all knowledge – “secular and religious” – to overcome the problem. He called for “an integrated curriculum that fits in with the tawhidic paradigm”.
By tawhidic he meant a unified perspective that took in both secular and religious knowledge. He said good minds in different natural and social sciences that are well-versed in Islamic tradition should work on the idea.
Full report at:
http://twocircles.net/2011aug09/%E2%80%9Ccrisis_duality_higher_education_gives_
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Nearly 5000 attend Malayalis’ ifthar meet in Bengaluru
Aug 10, 2011
Bengaluru: Nearly 5000 people attended the Malayalis’ ifthar meet held in Bengaluru on Sunday. The meet was organised by the Bengaluru unit of the Jamat e Islami at the Khuddus Saheb Eidgah Maidan near the Cantonment Railway Station.
The welfare portrayed by Islam is mental and health-related growth and abundance, said Prof KA Siddiq Hassan, national assistant Amir of Jamat e Islami, while delivering the key-note address. However, he added, Islam does not allow total abstinence from worldly pleasures. It also gives much importance to hard work. The security of life and dignity is included in the proclaimed goals of the Shariah. Zakat, which helps eradicates poverty, is an exemplary system, and denying zakath is against divine justice, he added.
The meet began in the afternoon. NM Abdurahman, Jamat e Islami Kerala secretary, presided over the first session. Siraj Ibrahim Sait, Dr NA Muhammed (President, MMA), AB Qader Haji (Secretary, MMA), Mammu Haji, CM Muhammed Haji, MP Ali Haji, KS Abdul Majeed, KV Ashraf Hussain, K Shameer, K Moosa, Shareef Kottappurath and Sabu Shafeeq (Convener, Hira Welfare Association) spoke. In the second session after Maghrib, former president of the Solidarity Youth Movement Hameed Vaniyambalam spoke on the topic ‘the message of Badr’. An Islamic book fest also was held with books in different languages.
http://twocircles.net/2011aug09/nearly_5000_attend_malayalis%E2%80%99_ifthar_meet_
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IIMA and NID provide sehri and iftar to its Muslim students
Aug 10, 2011
Ahmedabad: Indian Institute of Management-Ahmedabad (IIMA) and National Institute of Design (NID), both premier national institutions, have made arrangements of sehri (pre-dawn meal) and iftar for their Muslim wards. Having special menus for Ramzan, the canteens in both the institutions open around 3.30 a.m. to ensure that the students observing fast get the food of their choice at proper time.
According to IIMA officials, there are as many as 10 students observing fast. IIMA students mess secretary Mohit Garg told mediapersons that the students were served chicken Qeema with bread or pav, along with fruit, milk, sevaiyan and kheer for sehri.
An IIMA official said that since the mess is students managed, they run it as per their convenience. “It is their personal choice. The only thing is that they must inform the mess in-charge in advance'', said the official.
Full report at:
http://twocircles.net/2011aug09/iima_and_nid_provide_sehri_and_iftar_its_muslim_
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ISI officer claiming bounty, not bin Laden courier: Expert
Aug 10, 2011
The US Government killed Osama bin Laden because a Pakistani intelligence officer came forward to collect the approximately 25-million-dollar reward from the State Department''s Rewards for Justice program, an expert in US national security has claimed.
In her blog, RJ Hillhouse, a former professor and Fulbright fellow and also an ex-rum and jewel smuggler, cited sources that contend it was an Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) officer who came forward to claim the substantial reward and to broker US citizenship for his family.
“The informant claimed that the Saudis were paying off the Pakistani military and intelligence (ISI) to essentially shelter and keep bin Laden under house arrest in Abbottabad,” she quoted her sources, as saying.
“The CIA and friends then set about proving that OBL was indeed there. And they did,” Hillhouse wrote on her blog.
She also claimed that the Pakistani military, as well as the ISI, not only knew about the American raid on the bin Laden lair, but also cooperated with the United States.
“The ISI and Pakistani military were cooperating with the US on the raid… It had always seemed very far-fetched to me that a helicopter could crash and later destroyed in an area with such high military concentration without the Pakistanis noticing,” she pointed out.
The US State Department said that it would not comment on Hillhouse''s blog, the Daily Mail reports.
Hillhouse’s explosive report would dispute the widely published reports that a courier working for bin Laden was the catalyst for the famous Navy SEAL Team Six mission.
http://www.asianage.com/international/isi-officer-claiming-bounty-not-bin-laden-courier-led-us-aq-leader-s-abbottabad-lair-e
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Iran asks Britain not to use 'violence' against riots
Aug 10, 2011
Iran urged Britain on Tuesday to show ‘restraint’ in dealing with rioters, the state television website reported.
Foreign ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast asked ‘the British government to prevent the use of violence by the police, and to engage in dialogue with the protesters and examine their demands in order to restore calm,’ the website said.
His remarks came before British Prime Minister David Cameron announced that London will boost its police presence to 16,000 in an attempt to control the riots that have shaken the city since Saturday.
The unrest is the worst since the 1980s and has spread to other cities, including Bristol, Liverpool, and Birmingham, after sweeping through the capital.
The riots claimed their first casualty on Tuesday when a man who was shot in a car during London's unrest died in hospital from his injuries, police said.
More than 450 people have been arrested in London, while according to the police, over 70 officers have been hurt since the violence broke out three days ago.
In 2009, Britain and other Western countries condemned Teheran for violently crushing protests that followed the controversial re-election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
Iran denounced the Western condemnations as meddling in its internal affairs.
Dozens of people were killed in the opposition demonstrations protesting what they said was massive election fraud. Thousands more were arrested, several hundred of whom were handed long prison terms.
http://www.asianage.com/international/iran-asks-britain-not-use-violence-against-riots-602
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Pak buoyant over prospects of trade boost with India
By Badar Alam
Aug 10, 2011
THE RESUMPTION of dialogue between India and Pakistan has generated a new wave of hope among Pakistani businessmen that the two sides will finally arrive at a mutually benefiting trade deal.
While some in Pakistan still balk at the very idea of having any trade relations with India before the resolution of the Kashmir issue, most believe it could play a big role in promoting peace between the two countries.
In a recent editorial, Lahore- based rightwing English language daily The Nation said: “ Trade implies normal relations, which do not prevail between the two countries… There must be no granting... of Most Favoured Nation ( MFN) status to India, which would mean the opening of Pakistani markets to Indian goods… so long as India insists on its illegal occupation of Kashmir ( which is) not just the single biggest issue between India and Pakistan, but the single biggest issue in the whole of South Asia.” The newspaper argued that opening up bilateral trade would only benefit India.
But other newspapers and people in the business world pointed out that developing trade between Pakistan and India is neither a one- way traffic nor is it antithetical to peace in the region.
Full report at: Mail Today
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After 46 yrs, the healing touch: Pak pilot says sorry for mistake
Manu Pubby
Aug 10 2011
New Delhi : In September 1965, as the Indo-Pak war was drawing to a close, a Pakistani fighter jet shot down a civilian aircraft with the then chief minister of Gujarat, Balwantrai Mehta, on board. All eight people — Mehta and his wife, three aides, a journalist and the two pilots — were killed.
Forty-six years later, the Pakistani fighter pilot who shot down the Beechcraft has written to the daughter of the chief pilot of the downed Indian plane, expressing regret over the incident.
“If an opportunity ever arises that I could meet you face to face to condole the death of your father 46 years back I would grab it with both hands,” Qais Hussain has written in an email to Farida Singh, the daughter of distinguished IAF pilot Jahangir Engineer.
Engineer’s civilian plane was mistaken for a reconnaissance aircraft by Pakistani controllers, and he was ordered to shoot it down, Hussain has written. There was no intention to kill civilians, he has said.
Hussain told The Indian Express that he would like to write to the families of all those who were killed in the incident to explain that the plane was brought down only because he and his superiors were convinced that they were facing a military aircraft.
Full report at:
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/after-46-yrs-the-healing-touch-pak-pilot-says-sorry-for-mistake/829634/
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SC rules death for LeT terrorist Mohd Arif in Red Fort attack
Aug 10 2011
New Delhi : The Supreme Court on Wednesday confirmed the death sentence of arrested Lashkar-e-Toiba militant Mohammad Arif for carrying out the December 2000 Red Fort attack.
A trial court in November 2005 had awarded Mohammed Arif, alias Ashfaq, the death sentence. Additional Sessions Judge O P Saini had also fined Arif Rs 4.35 lakh for the attack on December 22, 2000 that left two Rajputana Rifles jawans and a civilian dead.
Arif then challenged his sentence in the Delhi High Court. In 2007, the High Court upheld the death sentence to Arif but reversed the trial court findings against six other convicts, including Srinagar-based father-and-son duo Nazir Ahmed Qasid and Farooq Ahmed Qasid, who were sentenced to life imprisonment, and Arif's Indian wife Rehmana Yosuf Farooqui. She was given a seven-year jail term.
Full report at:
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/sc-rules-death-for-let-terrorist-mohd-arif-in-red-fort-attack/829772/
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The Left Has No Humanity
By Aaron Goldstein
Aug 10, 2011
When one considers the casualness with which left-wing politicians and media figures use words like "terrorist," "jihad" and "Wahhabis" to describe the Tea Party, one cannot help but wonder what shapes such attitudes in the first place.
In order to satisfy such curiosity, it is necessary to spend time among liberals, socialists, communists and self-described progressives. I realize this is not the way a lot of conservatives would want to spend their morning -- much less their afternoon or evening. Yet when in a political conflict, especially one that is likely to shape the very future of this country, it is most helpful for conservatives to know our adversaries as well as we know ourselves.
This is what motivated me to wake far earlier than usual last Sunday morning and travel across the Charles River to the People's Republic of Cambridge to attend a discussion about the Tea Party sponsored by the Ethical Society of Boston. The organization describes itself as "a non-theistic humanistic religious and educational fellowship inspired by the ideal that the supreme aim of human life is working to create a more humane society." So of course when a woman named Mary said she was curious about the Tea Party, another woman replied to her, "I hope you're not coming for a positive view." Ah, so it was going to be that sort of discussion.
Full report at:
http://spectator.org/archives/2011/08/09/the-left-has-no-humanity#
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Iran: Bill on comprehensive media laws to be presented to Majlis
Aug 10, 2011
IRNA – Culture and Islamic Guidance minister said here Monday cabinet is drafting a comprehensive law on media, hoping to be presented for ratification to Islamic Parliament, Majlis in upcoming September.
Seyyed Mohammad Hosseini who was speaking in a commemoration service on the occasion of the Reporters Day in Sari, the capital city of Iran’s Mazandaran Province added, “Once this bill would be ratified and turned into a law most of the problems with which the reporters and the media representatives in various fields are entangled with today would be eliminated.”
He also spoke of launching a Reporters Information Bank in line with regulating the activities of the professionals working in this field, pointing out, “In order to provide facilities for the media reporters, as well as providing insurance for the activists in the media field, there are no limits.”
Full report at:
http://www.irna.ir/ENNewsShow.aspx?NID=30512339&SRCH=1
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How Jihad Influenced the Norway Massacre
Raymond Ibrahim
Aug 10, 2011
In his manifesto, Anders Breivik, the perpetrator of the Norway massacre, in which 80 people were killed and many wounded, mentioned the Crusades and aspects of it as they had been an inspirational factor to him. Predictably, Western elites—especially through the mainstream media—have begun a new round of moral, cultural, and historical relativism, some even conflating the terrorist with former President Bush, who once used the word "crusade."
The fact is, there are important parallels between the Crusades and Breivik's actions—but hardly the way portrayed by the media. Ironically, this terrorist attack, like the historic Crusades, was influenced by the doctrine of jihad.
While many are aware that historically the Crusades were a retaliation to centuries of Muslim aggression (see Rodney Stark's God's Battalions: The Case for the Crusades), few are aware that the idea of Christian "holy war"—notably the use of violence in the name of Christianity and the notion that Crusaders who die are martyrs forgiven their sins—finds its ideological origins in Muslim jihad.
Full report at:
http://www.meforum.org/3007/norway-massacre-jihad
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Islamist militant group resurgent in Egypt
By Mohamed Fadel Fahmy
Aug 10, 2011
El Arish, Egypt (CNN) -- The town of el Arish in Egypt sits on the clear blue waters of the Mediterranean, its fine beaches lined by palm-trees. Developers have built luxury resorts close to this town of about 100,000 people.
But in the aftermath of the Arab Spring, el Arish is becoming known for something far different from tourism. A well-armed jihadist group is making its presence felt on the dusty streets here, intimidating opponents and demanding Egypt becomes an Islamist state.
On a scorching hot day late in July, several dozen people were demonstrating outside the al Nasr mosque in el Arish after Friday prayers. They were Salafists - conservative Islamists who want Egypt governed according to Islamic law. But not conservative enough for members of the Takfir-wal Higra - a group sympathetic to al Qaeda's goal of establishing an Islamic Caliphate.
Mohamed Mahmoud, who was among the protestors, recalls what happened that day. "The Takfiris stormed in by the hundreds mounted on pickup trucks and motorcycles waving black flags, a symbol of Jihad," he told CNN from a safe house not far from el Arish.
"The militants were heavily armed with machine guns, hand grenades and rocked-propelled grenades," he said.
Full report at:
http://edition.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/africa/08/09/egypt.islamists/
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Mumbai blasts: Man who stole two-wheeler used by terrorists held
Aug 10, 2011
NEW DELHI/MUMBAI: Maharashtra ATS has arrested one person who had allegedly stolen a two-wheeler used by terrorists to plant a bomb in Mumbai's Zaveri Bazar on July 13 when serial blasts left 27 people dead in the city.
Sources in the Union home ministry said the thief had been detained day before Monday and was placed under arrest late on Tuesday night.
The development was seen as no breakthrough by the ATS team of Maharashtra which was probing the triple blasts that took place in Zaveri Bazar, Opera House and Dadar bus stand on July 13 last.
The sources said the vehicle thief may not be knowing about the terror groups which had planted the bomb at the crowded Zaevri Bazar, a place which claimed nearly 10 lives on the fateful day.
The security agencies had earlier questioned the owner of the maroon colour Honda Activa bearing number MH-01-AS 718, which was found very close to the blast site in Zaveri Bazaar.
Police had earlier detained one Arjun Singh, an employee of a Gujarati businessman, after they found that another damaged scooter parked at the same blast site belonged to Singh. He told the police that his scooter was stolen hours before the blasts.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/Mumbai-blasts-Man-who-stole-two-wheeler-used-by-terrorists-held/articleshow/9542674.cms
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Afghan president asks clerics to campaign against turban bombs
Aug 10, 2011
Afghan President Hamid Karzai has asked the country's religious elders to use their influence to sway insurgents not to use turbans to hide suicide bombs in a bid to halt the deadly new tactic before it becomes more widespread. PHOTO: AFP/FILE
KABUL: Afghan President Hamid Karzai has asked the country’s religious elders to use their influence to sway insurgents not to use turbans to hide suicide bombs in a bid to halt the deadly new tactic before it becomes more widespread.
Two separate turban bombings last month killed the mayor of the southern city of Kandahar, the birthplace of the Taliban, and a senior cleric in the city, raising questions about how to guard against this new ploy without causing religious offence.
Suicide bombers in Afghanistan and Pakistan have also used women’s burqas to disguise themselves.
Karzai recently met with members of ulema councils from around the country to discuss the issue, said Siyamak Herawi, a spokesman for Karzai.
“From our point of view, by misusing Islamic values (the insurgents) want to draw a bad picture of Islam for the people of the world,” Herawi said.
Full report at:
http://tribune.com.pk/story/227540/afghan-president-asks-clerics-to-campaign-against-turban-bombs/
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Pakistani art makes US debut amid political challenges
Aug 10, 2011
NEW YORK: An exhibit of rare Buddhist sculptures, architectural reliefs and works of gold and bronze is opening at the Asia Society Museum on Tuesday after a long and tumultuous journey from Pakistan.
The works, many of which have never been shown before in the United States, are from the historically rich Gandharan region of Pakistan.
They had originally been scheduled to be shown in March but roadblocks, US visa problems for Pakistani officials accompanying the works and a new Pakistani law delayed the opening until this month.
“Bringing the show was a major feat,” said Melissa Chiu, the director of the Asia Society’s Museum.
“Within the political arena, US and Pakistan have had challenges over the past six months to a year. Even if we are not a government organisation, this obviously has a broader impact.”
Most of the works in the three-month exhibit, “The Buddhist Heritage of Pakistan: Art of Gandhara,” are on loan from the National Museum in Karachi and Lahore Museum in Lahore.
Buddhist art flourished in the region, near present-day Peshawar in northwest Pakistan, between the second and fourth centuries.
Full report at:
http://www.dawn.com/2011/08/09/pakistani-art-makes-us-debut-amid-political-challenges.html
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China-Pakistan war games along Rajasthan border
Vimal Bhatia
Aug 10, 2011
Jaisalmer: Pakistan and China have launched joint war games barely 25 km from the international border along Jaisalmer-Bikaner districts of Rajasthan.
The brigade-level military exercise by the Peoples Liberation Armys 101 Engineering regiment began last week and will continue for one month.Independent sources said this was the first time that Chinese troops were detected along Indias western border.
According to information from intelligence sources,China is extending all possible help to Pakistan militarily.After assisting in oil and gas exploration in Pakistan,China is now working in close cooperation with it in Indias western sector,providing Pakistan with tank upgrade technology and unmanned air vehicles (UAVs).
Officials contacted at the Army headquarters in New Delhi said they had no specific information about such an exercise.Another official said Pakistan Rangers conduct annual exercises but there was no information about the ongoing operations.
An intelligence source said the PLAs engineering battalion along with Pakistani soldiers are on an exercise on how to take out tanks and other heavy military vehicles from marshy areas,and how to make way for the infantry by constructing bridges.
The places where these operations are on are Suryaan and Chor,near Sem Nala in Rahimiyaar Khan in Pakistan,adjoining Tanot-Kishangarh area along Jaisalmer.There is an entire brigade of China for the military exercise there.
The source also said that the Chinese battalion along with Pakistan forces are practicing formations and operations along Bikaner district of Rajasthan.One officer,who refused to indentify himself since he is not authorized to speak,said the Chinese army along Indias western border in Pakistan in the name of military exercise is really surprising,and could prove strategically dangerous for India.
China under the garb of military exercise has reached Indias western border.This cant but be a matter of concern for us, he said.
Times of India
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Antony seeks report on J&K encounter
Aug 10, 2011
NEW DELHI: Defence minister AK Antony has directed the Army to submit a detailed inquiry report on the alleged fake encounter in Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir last Sunday.
Sources said Antony had expressed "concern" at reports, which held that the Army had stage managed the killing of a mentally-challenged civilian from Rajouri on the pretext that he was Abu Usmaan, a senior commander of the Lashkar-e-Taiba, from Pakistan.
As reported by TOI earlier, the police have arrested a special police officer, Noor Hussain, and a Territorial Army jawan, Abdul Majeed, for conspiring to murder Rajouri resident, Ashok Kumar, to gain personal benefits.
Initially, the Army had claimed the victim was Abu Usmaan, who had been killed after a 12-hour encounter in the forests in Surankote area, and even showed the "recovery" of a pistol, a wireless set and a diary from the site to buttress its claims. But later it backtracked after it became clear that the victim was a civilian, and not a militant.
The incident has come as a big embarrassment for the Army, which has in the past also been hit by some of its battalions deployed in counter-insurgency operations resorting to fake encounters in a bid to garner gallantry awards, commendation cards or unit citations.
The concept of "kills" as a performance indicator is deeply ingrained in Army units deployed in counter-insurgency operations in J&K as well as the north-east. Several cases of innocent civilians being paraded as "apprehended or surrendered militants" have also been detected in the past.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Antony-seeks-report-on-JK-encounter/articleshow/9547255.cms
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Syria's crackdown hits ally Hezbollah's image
Aug 10 2011
Beirut : As Syria's crackdown on protesters gets bloodier, it is having repercussions for one of Damascus' most crucial allies, eroding the reputation of the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah.
At recent protests, Syrians demonstrating against President Bashar Assad have also unleashed their anger at the Shiite Hezbollah over its blunt support for the regime. Some protesters have set fire to the yellow flag of Hezbollah and pictures of the group's leader, Sheik Hassan Nasrallah.
Such outcry is startling in a country that prides itself for being a bastion of resistance against the US and Israel and has lionized Hezbollah. Syrians and Arabs around the region have in recent years elevated Nasrallah to the status of a nationalist hero after his guerrillas' 2006 war with Israel, and posters of the turbaned, bearded sheik are one of the top selling items in Syrian souvenir shops.
The anger at Hezbollah illustrates the delicate, contradictory position of the Shiite movement. On the one hand, the source of its popularity -- even among many Sunnis in the region -- has been its image as a patriotic force to defend Lebanon against Israel, and it is highly protective of that image. On the other, its close alliance to Syria and, even more, to Iran make it vulnerable to accusations that it is merely a well-armed tool for those regimes.
Newly released indictments by the International Criminal Court accusing four Hezbollah members in the 2005 assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, Lebanon's most powerful Sunni leader, further cast a shadow over its reputation.
Full report at:
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/syrias-crackdown-hits-ally-hezbollahs-image/829768/
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Treason charge plea filed against Pak PM Gilani
Aug 10 2011
Lahore : A constitutional petition has been filed in a Pakistani court seeking the disqualification of Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani for allegedly committing "high treason" by defying orders of the Supreme Court and attempting to subvert the Constitution.
A man named Allah Baksh Gondal filed the petition in the public interest in Lahore High Court on Tuesday through lawyer A K Dogar, who is also counsel for Jamaat-ud-Dawah chief Hafiz Mohammad Saeed.
Gondal contended that Gilani, by deliberate defying the Supreme Court's orders and through his repeated attempts to subvert the Constitution, had forfeited the "sacred trust" and ceased to hold his office by automatic operation of the provisions of Articles 5, 6 and 92(2) of the Constitution.
The federal government, Gondal said, had started a confrontation with the apex court after it struck down the National Reconciliation Ordinance, a controversial graft amnesty, in December 2009. He contended that the government had not complied with directions repeatedly given by the apex court to write to Swiss authorities about reopening corruption cases against President Asif Ali Zardari.
Full report at:
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/treason-charge-plea-filed-against-pak-pm-gilani/829751/
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US congressman says writer in Libyan custody
Aug 10 2011
Baltimore : The Libyan government has acknowledged that an American writer who went missing in the early weeks of the conflict there is alive and in custody, a congressman from the state of Maryland said Tuesday.
Libyan officials acknowledged that Matthew VanDyke was in custody during talks with Hungarian officials before Ramadan began last week, according to Rep. CA Dutch Ruppersberger's office. The United States suspended embassy operations in Libya, but has been working with its protecting power there, and in Hungary and other countries, to help American citizens in Libya. For months, Libyan officials said they had no information about VanDyke's whereabouts.
“This is the first time Libyan authorities have acknowledged that they have detained Matthew VanDyke and they will now be held accountable for his welfare and whereabouts”, Ruppersberger said in a statement. The US must continue to reach out to partners who are still operating in Libya to bring VanDyke and other imprisoned Americans home, he said.
Full report at:
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/us-congressman-says-writer-in-libyan-custody/829781/
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Anti-Muslim lobbyists in India
By Abdul Hannan Siwani Nadvi
Aug 10, 2011
Anti-Muslim lobbyists wrote and published thousands of articles in favor of Maulana Vastanvi. Some leading English newspapers wrote editorials on this issue. They criticized Darul Uloom Deoband and made attempts to interfere in the issue which was not related to national politics. These lobbyists that have soft corner for saffron terrorists and terrorism made efforts to make country feel how Ulema and Muslim religious body are anti development of Muslim community, and how this body removed a modern and an educated person who wanted to bring development and modernity to Muslims.
These lobbyists that have a great impact on country's political and economic affairs make mountains out of mole-hills and cry over this nonsense and unnecessary issue, while they prefer to keep their mouth shut over injustice done to Muslims by so-called educated and narrow-minded class of this country.
They feel shy and find themselves in vacillation in highlighting the issue of Muslim youths who are languishing in jails and are denied a fair trial in a democratic country where arrested Muslim youths are being treated undemocratically.
Full report at:
http://twocircles.net/2011aug09/antimuslim_lobbyists_india.html?utm_source=feedburner&
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Billboards advertise hotline about Islam
Aug 10, 2011
By now, drivers on the New Jersey Turnpike may have noticed the two billboards advertising an 800-number for callers to ask Muslim volunteers about their faith.
Many of the questions so far address Sharia law, jihad or the holy month of Ramadan, said Ashfaq Parkar, the national coordinator for the Islamic Circle of North America, which runs the hotline.
"The vast majority of people come in with an open mind, seeking out what is the Muslim position on this question," Parkar said. "We do have a reasonable number of calls that come in, which are far more confrontational. And we've had many instances where the tone of the conversation really changes as you progress in the conversation."
Parkar believes that many Americans are not familiar with the teachings of Islam, instead drawing on generalizations.
"If it is a Christian, or a Jewish person or any other faith person that commits a crime—whether it be blowing up an abortion center, or whatever it is, in the name of their religion—generally a person in the U.S. would not associate that crime, or that terrorist act, with those religions," Parkar said. "They understand those religions."
http://www.newsworks.org/index.php/local/item/24628
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White House Releases “New” Counter-terrorism Strategy
Sheila Musaji
Aug 10, 2011
This week, the White House released a report outlining a new strategy to combat home-grown extremism by reaching out to local communities. The document released is titled Empowering Local Partners to Prevent Violent Extremism in the United States
Reuters reports that The strategy includes enhancing engagement with relevant local communities, building law enforcement expertise in preventing violent extremism and countering messages that promote militancy. ... The strategy, which promises to protect civil liberties and avoid stigmatizing any community, said the threat of militancy in the United States was not new and that the government was working to prevent all types of extremism, regardless of its source. But the plan focused primarily on al Qaeda, labeling the global Islamic militant network as the “preeminent terrorist threat” to the country.
Scott Shane in The New York Times reports that The administration also promised to identify accurate educational materials about Islam for law enforcement officers, providing an alternative to biased and ill-informed literature in use in recent years, including by the F.B.I. Denis R. McDonough, President Obama’s deputy national security adviser, told reporters that Al Qaeda and those it inspired remained the biggest terrorist threat inside the United States. But he said the bombing and shootings in Norway last month, carried out by a right-wing, anti-Muslim extremist, were a reminder that the government could not focus exclusively on any single brand of radicalism.
Full report at:
http://www.theamericanmuslim.org/tam.php/features/articles/law_enforcement_training_on_islam_and_muslims/0018718
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U.S. Muslim Brotherhood Activist Arrested as Spy for Pakistan
Aug 10, 2011
Global media is reporting on the arrest of U.S. Muslim Brotherhood activist Syed Ghulam Nabi Fai, accused by the FBI of acting as an agent for the Pakistani intelligence service involved in secret lobbying efforts inside the U.S. According to a Hudson N.Y. report [2]:
Relations between U.S. and Pakistan grow more and more tense. In July, the FBI arrested Syed Ghulam Nabi Fai, a Kashmiri-born activist accused of participating as an agent for the Pakistani Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) in secret lobbying efforts inside the U.S.. Fai, an American citizen living in Fairfax (Virginia), was born in the Indian-administrated Kashmir to a Muslim family, amd moved to the U.S. to complete his PhD in mass communication in 1977. Along the years, he became a known Kashmiri separatist leader, allegedly advocating Pakistan’s position. Kashmir is a region claimed by both Pakistan and India since it was partitioned in 1947. After his arrest on July 19, Fai was released on a $100,000 bond and is now in house detention, under electronic surveillance, pending trial. He faces up to five years in prison shoulkd the court decide to convict him. In 1990, Fai founded a non-profit organization, the Kashmiri American Council (KAC), at the moment when Pakistan and India were at the verge of a war over Kashmir. He was charged along with Zaheer Ahmad, his American-Pakistani associate (who was not arrested and is believed to be in Pakistan), for obtaining illegal funding for KAC from Pakistan. The United States Attorney at the U.S.
Full report at:
http://www.familysecuritymatters.org/publications/id.10122/pub_detail.asp
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Ansari faces MHA ire over barb against interlocutors
By Aman Sharma
Aug 10, 2011
THE HOME ministry is livid and unhappy with former central information commissioner M. M. Ansari for his alleged barbs against his two fellow Interlocutors for Jammu and Kashmir.
Senior MHA officials have in fact gone out of their way to placate and back prof Radha Kumar who had shot off an email to home minister P. Chidambaram, complaining that Ansari has launched a “ smear campaign” against her and she was finding it difficult to work with him.
Previously Ansari had commented against fellow interlocutor Dileep Padgaonkar having attended a conference hosted by Ghulam Nabi Fai.
The contentious issue was Ansari questioning Kumar attending an international conference in Brussels in 2006 which was organised by Abdul Majeed Tramboo, who is apparently an ISI front. In her email, Kumar explained how the government wanted her to attend this conference.
She refused to take any further emoluments from the Centre for the job or hold any meetings along with Ansari but stopped short of resigning from the panel, assuring that she would complete her job of preparing the final report by next month.
Sources say, top MHA officials intervened and have persuaded Kumar to continue her job, assuring her that the government has no misgivings about her. “ Radha Kumar has not tendered her resignation.
The interlocutors have completed their visit to J& K and are busy finalising their report,” said an MHA statement.
Another MHA official conceded that Ansari has been pulled up and has been firmly asked to desist from any public statements against his fellow interlocutors.
The home ministry is firmly backing Kumar as it had in fact ‘ briefed and encouraged’ Kumar to attend the Brussels Conference to put across the Indian point of view on J& K.
Mail Today
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Cracks persist among interlocutors
Aug 10, 2011
The three-member Jammu and Kashmir interlocutors team continues to be torn asunder with one of them, Mohammed Hamid Ansari, sticking to his stand and demanding that his colleagues, Dilip Padgaonkar and Radha Kumar disclose details of their “foreign visits’’ both before and after their appointment as interlocutors.
Confusion also prevailed on whether Ms Kumar had resigned from the Kashmir panel. While Ms Kumar’s letter to Union home minister P. Chidambaram begins by saying, “Please accept my resignation from the group of interlocutors....”, the home ministry spokesperson on Tuesday maintained that Ms Kumar has not resigned as an interlocutor and remains a part of the three-member team. “They are preparing final reports after completing their visits,” the spokesperson said.
Full report at:
http://www.asianage.com/india/cracks-persist-among-interlocutors-655
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Speakers call for anti-harassment laws’ implementation
Aug 10, 2011
KARACHI: Speakers at the AASHA exhibition stressed on the implementation of the anti sexual harassment laws and urged employers to honour their contract with workers, especially working women to provide protection and justice to them at the workplace.
PILER Executive Director Karamat Ali in his opening remarks shared the contribution of AASHA in getting a specific legislation on sexual harassment. The success of the movement was that it involved all the stakeholders in getting the law passed and is now actively implementing it. AASHA’s efforts through this nationwide exhibition is an exemplary initiative to raise awareness on working women’s rights. He also stressed legislation for the protection and enforcement of minimum wage in the informal sector for women workers.
Federation of Pakistan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) Vice President Dawood Jakhoora commended AASHA’s efforts and pledged support for AASHA wherever required. He said through the implementation of these laws, working women will be encouraged to join the workforce. He explained that the FPCCI is a federation for 40 chambers in different cities of Pakistan and where needed, he will support the struggle of AASHA in organising seminars and conferences in different factories where women work.
Full report at:
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2011\08\10\story_10-8-2011_pg7_29
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Assad promises relentless battle against ‘terrorists’
10 August 2011
DAMASCUS - Syrian President Bashar al-Assad pledged to pursue a relentless battle against “terrorist groups” he claims are behind pro-democracy protests as the death toll from his crackdown on dissent shot up.
World pressure mounted to end the crackdown that has claimed more than 2,000 lives since mid-March, with condemnations from Egypt, Iraq, Russia and the United States as the Turkish foreign minister handed Assad a stern message from Ankara.
“We will not waver in our pursuit of terrorist groups,” Assad told visiting Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, according to state news agency SANA.
Davutoglu met with the Syrian leader in Damascus to warn that Ankara has “run out of patience” with the crackdown, as activists said 34 people were killed by security forces on Tuesday.
Pro-democracy protests escalated into an uprising on March 15 and, in the ensuing crackdown, turned to calls for the ouster of Assad. The president has consistently blamed “armed gangs” and “terrorist groups” for the unrest, but has also offered promises of reform.
Full report at:
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticle08.asp?xfile=data/middleeast/2011/August/middleeast_August234.xml§ion=middleeast
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Egypt’s Moussa campaigns for president, vows reforms
Aug 10, 2011
AL-SHURAFA, Egypt: To the crack of AK-47 assault rifles fired by supporters into the night sky, Amr Moussa pledged to build a “new system” of government if elected president to succeed Egypt’s ousted Hosni Mubarak.
But perhaps the biggest challenge for the former Arab League chief who was Mubarak’s foreign minister through the 1990s is to prove to skeptics that he is not part of the old system that Egyptians rose up against.
“The question is not old guard or new guard. The question is either you were part of the corrupt people that have done a lot of harm to the country or among the people who have worked and done their duty according to the highest standard they could do,” Moussa told Reuters in an interview.
“And I believe that I can do a lot for the country,” he said before stepping into a sleek black four-wheel drive parked at his Cairo headquarters and speeding along the Nile to break the day’s Ramadan fast at Al-Shourafa, his latest campaign stop.
Moussa, 74, is one of more than 10 candidates who have said they will run in a presidential race that is likely to take place early next year. He is probably the best known of the candidates both abroad and to ordinary Egyptians.
Full report at:
http://arabnews.com/middleeast/article486236.ece
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It’s ‘crazy’ to ignore Shariah
By Frank J. Gaffney Jr.
Aug 10, 2011
Bridge-building with jihad sympathizers threatens our constitutional liberties
As the nation mourns the loss in combat of 30 of its military heroes - including 22 members of the Navy’s elite SEAL Team 6 - in Afghanistan over the weekend, the question inevitably occurs: What are we fighting for that justifies this latest among so much sacrifice in that distant, backward and inhospitable land?
Sen. John McCain suggested on NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday that the answer, in part, is to prevent the Taliban from taking over the country again - at horrific cost to the people and, in particular, the women of Afghanistan. That would be a more credible goal if we were not simultaneously negotiating what amounts to the surrender of the country to Taliban representatives.
A more compelling justification would be if we were fighting to prevent the success of those who, like the Taliban, adhere to the politico-military-legal doctrine they call Shariah. According to that doctrine, the entire world - not just Afghanistan - must submit to divine dictates as recounted by Muhammad and refined, interpreted and applied for more than 1,400 years by Muslim rulers (caliphs), scholars, institutions and jihadists. It is the particular mission of the Muslim Brotherhood and its offshoots, notably al Qaeda, to accomplish this objective and establish a new, global caliphate to rule in accordance with Shariah.
Full report at:
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2011/aug/8/its-crazy-to-ignore-shariah/
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Grand Ayatollah Mazaheri’s Guidelines Effective in Promoting Quranic Culture
Aug 10, 2011
Through his remarkable guidelines, Ayatollah Mazaheri offers practical ways to promote the culture of Quran and Etrat in society.
(Ahlul Bayt News Agency) - Through his remarkable guidelines, Ayatollah Mazaheri offers practical ways to promote the culture of Quran and Etrat in society.
This is according to Mohammad Reza Aram, head of the Research Center for Quran and Etrat affiliated to Islamic Azad University.
Highlighting the role of Ayatollah Mazaheri as an eminent thinker in the fields of ethics, Quran interpretation and Ahlul-Bayt’s (AS) Seerah, he told IQNA that the center has tried to further familiarize students and professors with this grand master and his works.
“An important category in the Quran and Etrat Contests organized by Islamic Azad University is the "Seerah of the Fourteen Infallibles (AS)",” he went on to say, adding that the participants are required to study the book written by Ayatollah Mazaheri in this regard featuring the ethical, social and political Seerah of Ahlul-Bayt (AS), introducing them to all Muslims as perfect role models of religious conduct and ethics.
Full report at:
http://abna.ir/data.asp?lang=3&id=258532
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Calls to tackle racism after attacks in Oslo and Utoya
Aug 10, 2011
Issues of racism and discrimination continue to be hotly debated in Norway in the aftermath to the Oslo bombings and Utøya shootings that the confessed perpetrator, Anders Behring Breivik, claims were an attack on the country’s multiculturalism.
The leader of the Conservative Party, Erna Solberg, has commented on the need to tackle racism, particularly Islamophobia. But despite many public figures commenting that the country is more united than ever after the terrorist attacks, the distribution of a racist flyer decorated with swastikas in one town has nevertheless been a reminder of lingering issues of racism, while a young Muslim girl’s expression that she felt the attacks were “her fault” has caused a strong reaction and pointing to issues about how Islam is debated in the country.
‘Nazi’ flyer
In the town of Lillestrøm, just north-east of Oslo, a number of flyers containing racist slogans and a Norwegian flag modified to look like a swastika were hung up in several public places, while a man in his 50’s handed out the flyers outside a local hotel in act that police confirmed to newspaper VG was “not well received” by members of the public. The leaflets were signed “ABB-C2,” a reference to the initials of the Oslo and Utøya attacker Breivik and to further “cells” the terrorist suspect has claimed exist in Norway and other parts of the world. The flyers were titled “the situation in the country” and consisted of four verses that attacked those who did not have “Aryan characteristics” and were “gradually destroying our kingdom.” Police are now questioning the man in his 50’s in liaison with police investigating Breivik’s attacks.
Full report at:
http://www.newsinenglish.no/2011/08/08/calls-to-tackle-racism-after-attacks/
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Top opposition leaders among more than 100 prisoners freed by Bahrain
Aug 10, 2011
MANAMA, Bahrain — Bahrain released more than 100 prisoners, including two former opposition members of parliament, arrested during the Sunni government’s crackdown on the predominantly Shiite protests inspired by the revolutions in Tunisia and Egypt.
The mass release comes after the freeing last month of 41 prisoners. The Sunday release included Jawad Fairoz and Mattar Mattar, members of Bahrain’s Wefaq opposition bloc that won 18 out of 40 seats in last years parliamentary elections.
The delegation resigned en masse in February to protest the killing of protesters by security forces. Mid-term elections for their open seats are scheduled for next month.
However, one of the leading former lawmakers, Khalil Marzooq, told The Washington Times there is “no chance” now that Wefaq would contest the elections, given the government’s refusal to meet their demands on reform.
Full report at:
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2011/aug/7/top-opposition-leaders-among-more-than-100-prisone/
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U.S. set to announce $100M in Somalia famine funding
Aug 10, 2011
DADAAB, Kenya — Hundreds of thousands of Somali children could die in the country’s famine unless more help arrives, a top U.S. official said as Washington prepared to announce $100 million in new famine aid.
To highlight the crisis, the wife of Vice President Joe Biden visited a refugee camp on a patch of desert in eastern Kenya where tens of thousands of Somalis have massed. A drought has turned into famine because little aid can reach militant-controlled south-central Somalia.
Jill Biden is the highest-profile U.S. visitor to East Africa since the number of refugees coming across the Somali border dramatically increased in July. Biden arrived in a C-130 military transport plane and said she wants to raise awareness and persuade donors to give more.
“What I’m asking is for Americans to reach out and help because the situation is dire,” said Biden, who met with two Somali mothers and their eight children. “There is hope if people start to pay attention to this.”
Full report at:
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2011/aug/8/us-set-announce-100-million-somalia-famine-funding/
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Kenya burdened by famine refugees; rape attacks up
Aug 10, 2011
DADAAB, Kenya: Marauding gangs and criminals are attacking Somali famine refugees more frequently as they flee across the border to Kenyan camps, but Kenyan police say they don’t have enough manpower to stop them.
The lack of manpower underscores a larger problem for Kenya: Officials here say they are being overwhelmed by the influx of tens of thousands of Somali refugees, and can’t stem the attacks. One 30-year-old woman who watched two of her five children die as they trekked through Somalia, was raped after reaching what she hoped would be the safety of Kenyan soil.
“I constantly ask myself, ‘Would this have happened to you, or would you have lost your children if you had been in your country?’” said the woman. “My mind always says: ‘You ran away from a problem and ran into another.’“
Full report at:
http://arabnews.com/world/article486148.ece
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Crippled terrorists back in action
Elior Levy
Aug 10, 2011
Islamic Jihad military wing hold all-in-one PR campaign, military maneuvers – using crippled and injured militants in bid to prove they won't let anything stop them
What PR value is there in a military display that includes crippled and injured operatives? According to the Islamic Jihad's website, the military wing recently held maneuvers in which veteran members of the Jihad who had been injured over the years in battles with Israeli forces had a starring role.
The maneuvers included sights not usually seen on the battlefield, one-legged men carrying Kalashnikov rifles or RPG launchers while leaning on crutches or sitting in wheelchairs.
According to armed factions in Gaza the display is a PR demonstration that strengthens their activities within the Palestinian internal political system.
The Islamic Jihad has puffed up its position against Hamas as the group spearheading the struggle against Israel. The organization has gone all out on a PR campaign to glorify its fighters in the Gaza Strip – the height of the campaign is their latest exhibition maneuver.
"Bombing us and leaving us amputees will not stop the Jihad," the military wing's website quoted one militant, Abu Abdallah who lost both his legs in clashes near Khan Yunis. "We will continue to fight even when our bodies are torn to pieces."
The website quotes another militant, Abed al-Rahman whose leg was cut off in "an IDF strike". "We trust in the Jihad way and we will not change it. There is no alternative to Jihad and resistance, until all Palestinian land is freed from the criminal Zionists," he stressed. According to al-Rahman, even when he was being rushed to hospital after he was injured, he promised himself that he would return to the Jihad path upon his release.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4106980,00.html
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Attempt at getting fit in Ramadan could prove counterproductive
Aug 10, 2011
JEDDAH: Ramadan is a time where many Muslims try to curb bad habits.
Many of them also take the opportunity to get fit, as they think the lack of food coupled with exercise will help them slim down. In reality, this can have the opposite effect and seriously damage one's health.
Some have resorted to strenuous exercise right before iftar (ending of the fast meal) to lose weight. However, dehydration is one of the most dangerous risks of fasting, especially as the holy month of Ramadan falls this year during the summer when temperatures could reach 50 degrees Celsius.
People wrongly believe a lack of food coupled with strenuous exercise will help them shed pounds. Although they might lose some weight, this can be extremely harmful to their health.
Dehydration can also make other conditions, such as kidney stones, more painful.
“As a physician working in the ER, I see more patients with renal colic (kidney stones) during Ramadan than any other time of the year because many people do not replenish the water lost during the day. Excessive perspiration only adds to this problem,” said Dr. N. Baho, who works at a Jeddah hospital.
Full report at:
http://arabnews.com/saudiarabia/article486143.ece
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Punjabis in Iraq want crackdown on agents
Vikas Kahol
Aug 10, 2011
THE PUNJABI youth trapped in Iraq want the government to crack down on the agents who lured them — with promises of good salaries — to work in the war- ravaged country. They also want the government to help them return home.
These youths allege they have been virtually enslaved and are forced to do dangerous works such as clearing farms of bombs and grenades.
Some of the youth MAIL TODAY spoke to over the phone said the government must verify the antecedents of the agents in Punjab who sent them to Iraq. They claimed a thorough probe would uncover a major human trafficking racket.
These agents do not bring any monetary transaction on record. But the record of their communication with the youth, including call details, could help nail the agents.
Kulwinder Singh, one of the three lucky men who recently managed to return home, said after the youth land in Iraq, their passport is confiscated.
Full report at: Mail Today
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Balochistan shadow over Pak leader’s book release
By Dipanjan Roy Chaudhury
Aug 10, 2011
PAKISTAN High Commissioner to India Shahid Malik on Tuesday sought to dispel arguments that Balochistan would secede from Pakistan and asserted that the restive region is an integral part of the country.
Malik was speaking at a function to release the autobiography of B. M. Kutty, veteran Pakistani political leader and political secretary of former Balochistan governor Mir Ghaus Bakhsh Bizenjo. Kutty’s autobiography is titled Sixty years in Self Exile: No Regrets . Malik, who arrived late at the event after the other panelists had presented their observations, began on a note strongly rejecting any possibility of Pakistan’s disintegration.
“ As I entered this auditorium I heard phrases such as disintegration and secession. But I must say Balochistan is very much part of Pakistan,” Malik said, adding he had expected the discussion to focus on Kutty’s book.
Malik then listed the steps B. M. Kutty ( third from left) released his biography on Tuesday.
being taken by the Pakistan government to “ put the house in order” in Balochistan. According to Malik, some of the measures being taken by the government to bring stability to Balochistan include Aghaz- e- Haqooq- e- Balochistan, a reform package announced in 2009.
Full report at: Mail Today
URL: https://newageislam.com/islamic-world-news/for-ameri-citizenship,-pak-official/d/5225