On China’s Call, Pakistan Bans 3 Outfits Active in Xinjiang
New Age Islam News Bureau
24
Oct 2013
Women grieve for a loss of a man killed in a bomb attack during a funeral procession at al-Amel neighborhood in Baghdad, Iraq, on Monday. (AP)
Pakistan
• On China’s Call, Pakistan Bans 3 Outfits Active In Xinjiang
• Pakistani Taliban using toxic chemicals in bombs new worry
• Pakistan secretly endorsed drone strikes: report
• ANP leader kidnapped in Quetta
• Pak expats demand justice for US drone attack victims
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Arab World
• Iraq Facing War of Genocide by Al-Qaeda Militant Group, says Nouri al-Maliki
• Attacks in Iraq kill 48 in two days
• Egypt Islamists call for protests over Morsi trial
• Soldiers killed, 72 suspects arrested in Egypt’s Sinai
• Bahrain teen killed by his own bomb
• Power returns to Damascus, say opposition sources
• Only Syrians decide who leads Syria: Ministry
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North America
• Pol: NYPD Muslim Surveillance is ‘Un-American’
• ‘US Has Brought Its War against Muslims Home’
• U.S. envoy meeting Syria rebels on peace talks plans
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Africa
• Nine killed in clashes between Tunisian police and Islamist militants
• Malawi Imam Backs Gay Rights
• Tunisian opposition vows more protests, prepares to respond to PM
• Army source: two Chadian soldiers, civilian killed in Mali bombing
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Mideast
• UN reports widespread human rights abuses in Iran
• Fearing retribution, Syrian minorities keep low profile in Turkey
• Gazans continue to rally in solidarity with Palestinian prisoners
• Yemen security forces foil Qaeda jailbreak in Sana’a
• Iran tells Malaysia not to execute two Iranians
• Yemen foils jailbreak attempt by 300 inmates
• Israel and U.S differ on Iran's nuclear file
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India
• School in Gujarat Accused of Shunning Muslim Kids
• India, China Seal Border Pact, Talk Pak-Based Terror
• Mumbai attacks trial in Pak postponed again
• Ceasefire violations: Angry Shinde tells troops to give fitting reply to Pakistan
• India-Bangladesh extradition treaty takes effect
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South Asia
• Taliban kill 4 police in Afghanistan
• Islami Andolan rejects proposals of Hasina, Khaleda
• Bangladesh government's religious body targets Nobel winner Yunus
• Bangladesh should clarify position before global alliances
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Southeast Asia
• Indonesian students Disappearance from Islamic University, Islamabad shrouded in mystery
• Two Indonesians released from death row in Malaysia
• 74 shooting deaths in Malaysia this year
• Indonesian designers defy stereotypes of Muslim fashion
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Europe
• UK FM says Iran could attend Geneva II talks on Syria
• British Muslims witness hike in attacks on mosques amid racial conflict
Compiled by New Age Islam News Bureau
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Pakistan
On China’s Call, Pakistan Bans 3 Outfits Active In Xinjiang
October 24, 2013
ISLAMABAD - Responding to Beijing’s demand, Islamabad has decided to ban three Islamic outfits for being allegedly involved in extremism in Chinese province Xinjiang (Sinkiang), the BBC reported Wednesday.
Citing Interior Ministry sources, the report said three foreign outfits – East Turkmenistan Islamic Movement, Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan and Islamic Jihad Union – have been added to the list of banned organisations, as their members are carrying out extremism and anti-state activities in Xinjiang, where Muslims are in majority. Besides these three outfits, Abdullah Azam Brigade, 313 Brigade, Islam Mujahideen, and Tariq Brigade have also been banned. Following the development, total 59 organisations have been banned in Pakistan, the report said.
The Chinese government had informed Pakistani officials regarding the activities being carried out by these outfits, and the matter was also discussed by the military leadership of both nations.
The report further cited sources as saying that Chinese authorities have informed Pakistan that the organisations’ members have connections with their like-minded people in Xinjiang, and feared the outfits could exploit the natives for their subversive designs. These members are said to be hiding in FATA, Skardu areas and Pak-China bordering areas, according to the report.
The report also quoted sources as saying that Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan governments have also been engaged to gather details about ETIM and IMU. According to the details provided by Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan governments, more than 50 key members of the outfits are among the most wanted people. At least ten women, who train females for suicide bombing, are also among them.
The Islamic Jihad Union is said to be having members from Chechnya, Azerbaijan and Sudan.
The IM sources further confirmed that ETIM’s Abdul Rehman Yaldrauf is at the top of the most wanted people’s list while Surraya Asarnauf, who is said to be an expert trainer of suicide bombers, is leading the female list.
As the outfits have links with Al-Qaeda as well, there is possibility that their members could be waging war against Pakistan or international security forces in Afghanistan, the sources said adding Pak security forces have arrested some of their members during anti-terror actions in South Waziristan and FATA.
The government has beefed up security of the Chinese diplomatic mission and staff as a pre-emptive measure for best protection against any possible terror attack by these outfits, and the Security Division DIG has been tasked to ensure stringent security measures in this connection.
Beijing denies that unrest in the vast region bordering Central Asia – which has left scores dead – is due to ethnic tensions between the Uighurs and China’s majority Han.
The People’s Daily of the ruling Communist Party, has been on record for slamming the US government and media for what it said was its role in the violence.
In recent decades many Han Chinese have relocated to Xinjiang, which is rich in coal and gas, provoking friction.
The two communities tend to live in separate neighbourhoods in Urumqi, and a greater security presence could be seen in the Uighur area on Monday.
Xinjiang shares its vast border with Central Asia, Pakistan and Afghanistan and the millions of Uighurs who live there frequently complain about restrictions on religion and culture.
China has spent billions improving living standards for minorities in the region and authorities say they treat minorities there fairly.
In 2009, almost 200 people, mostly Han Chinese, were killed in deadly rioting in Xinjiang’s capital, Urumqi.
http://www.nation.com.pk/pakistan-news-newspaper-daily-english-online/national/24-Oct-2013/on-china-s-call-pakistan-bans-3-outfits
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Pakistani Taliban using toxic chemicals in bombs new worry
Oct 24 2013
Islamabad : Pakistani Taliban have mastered the science of manufacturing explosive devices using more toxic chemicals to inflict lethal injuries on their victims, according to a media report.
Doctors treating survivors of Talliban suicide attacks have said that the victims developed complications due to presence of toxins in the explosives, the Dawn reported.
"Survivors of the Taliban's bombs suffer from chronic wounds that leave scars on skin and don't respond to antibiotics with proven efficacy in other surgical infections," the report said.
The explosives used by the Taliban left lasting effects on the injured people as the Taliban have now mastered the science of manufacturing bombs that cause more than the intended casualties, it quoted officials as saying.
The terrorists used phosphorus in explosives that destroyed human cells, according to officials.
The Taliban-made bombs produced carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide, which damaged the oxygen-binding capacity of the survivors.
"The survivors may go into coma and end up dying due to stoppage of the oxygen-carrying process of victims when smoke caused by the explosives penetrates their bodies," they added.
The officials said that the explosives used by the Taliban in all attacks were pale, white or yellowish in colour, which meant that their source was the same.
The survivors of Taliban bomb attacks often develop contractures and other physical deformities due to injuries.
Forensic experts at health and police departments said that even deep wounds caused by gunshots or knives were treatable but the people injured in Taliban attacks had to live with lifelong deformities after recovery.
Easy availability of raw materials for bombs like magnesium, potassium and sodium made the task of the Taliban easy, experts said.
Even the survivors of bomb attacks with 10 per cent injuries die ultimately because the wounds become septic.
The Taliban manufactured bombs locally as transportation of explosives through long routes carries the risk of being caught, the report said.
The main source of making explosives was fertilisers, the report said, adding that the Taliban have circulated booklets in Pashto, Urdu and Persian about bomb making.
The health experts said that the only chance to reduce the quantum of physical injuries to the victims was to rush them immediately to hospitals to clean their wounds.
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/pakistani-taliban-using-toxic-chemicals-in-bombs-new-worry/1186671/
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Pakistan secretly endorsed drone strikes: report
2013-10-24
WASHINGTON: Pakistan for years secretly approved of US drone attacks on its territory despite public denunciations, The Washington Post reported Wednesday, citing secret documents.
The purported evidence of Islamabad's involvement came as Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif visited the White House and urged an end to the attacks, which are widely unpopular with the Pakistani public.
Pakistani support for drone attacks has long been widely suspected, although strikes reported by the Post involved several years up to 2011 -- before a slowdown in strikes and Sharif's election in May.
The newspaper said that top-secret documents and Pakistani diplomatic memos showed that the Central Intelligence Agency had drafted documents to share information on drone attacks with Pakistan.
The report by the Washington post comes just days after a separate UN report suggested that there was “strong evidence” that top Pakistani military and intelligence officials approved US drone strikes on Pakistani soil during 2004 and 2008.
At least 65 drone strikes were marked for discussion with Pakistan, including through briefings at its embassy in Washington and in materials sent physically to senior officials in Islamabad.
In one case in 2010, a document describes hitting a location “at the request of your government.” Another file referred to a joint effort at picking targets.
The article -- co-written by Bob Woodward, one of the two journalists who broke the Watergate scandal in the 1970s -- said that the documents also showed that the United States raised concerns that extremists were linked to Pakistan's powerful intelligence service.
In one incident, then secretary of state Hillary Clinton confronted Pakistan about cell phones and written materials from dead bodies of militants that showed links to the Inter-Services Intelligence agency.
In turn, a Pakistani memo gave the names of 36 US citizens believed to be CIA agents and urged the embassy in Washington not to issue visas to them, the newspaper said.
The report came a day after Amnesty International said that the United States may have broken international law by killing civilians with drones.
It pointed to an October 2012 attack that killed a 68-year-old grandmother as she picked vegetables. For the first six months of 2011, 152 combatants were killed, according to a table cited by the Post that did not list any civilian casualties.
The Obama administration has defended drone strikes as a better way to avoid civilian casualties, saying that it carefully selects Al-Qaeda-linked extremists in lawless parts of Pakistan.
http://www.dawn.com/news/1051470/pakistan-secretly-endorsed-drone-strikes-report
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ANP leader kidnapped in Quetta
2013-10-23
QUETTA: Awami National Party (ANP) leader Arbab Abdul Zahir Kasi was kidnapped on Wednesday in Quetta, DawnNews reported.
Police took the ANP leader's driver into custody who disclosed that their vehicle was intercepted on Quetta's Patel road by three armed men in a white car.
The gunmen forcibly took Kasi away, the driver said, adding that the kidnappers had also subjected him to torture before snatching away his mobile phone and car keys.
Police sealed the area as a search operation went underway.
Quetta is the capital of Balochistan province which has seen an upswing in violence in recent months and is suffering from a separatist insurgency, sectarian violence and Taliban militants.
Incidents of kidnapping for ransom have been on the rise in the province in general and in Quetta in particular.
http://www.dawn.com/news/1051277/anp-leader-kidnapped-in-quetta
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Pak expats demand justice for US drone attack victims
24 October 2013
The Pakistani expatriate community in the Kingdom reiterated their demand on Wednesday that the United States be held accountable for the drone killings in Pakistan, as they amount to war crimes. The call was reminiscent of the concerns against the US drone airstrikes led by human rights organizations, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch.
Echoing the sentiment expressed by Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch in a major report released on Tuesday, Pakistani expatriates maintained that the US carried out unlawful killings in Pakistan.
Salman Maneer, a chemical engineer working with Metito in Riyadh agreed with the human rights groups’ report saying that the US drone killings raise serious questions about international law violations and amount to war crimes or extrajudicial executions owing to the number of innocents killed in the drone strikes.
He said, “Contrary to US claims that the victims were ‘terrorists’, Amnesty International’s research indicates that those killed were not involved in fighting and posed no threat to life.”
Rameez Khan, an IT professional working with Mobily in the Kingdom said the report released by Amnesty International entitled, “Will I be next?’ US drone strikes in Pakistan”, is one of the most comprehensive studies to date, documenting recent killings in Pakistan’s northwestern tribal areas, and exposes the US drone program from a human rights perspective.
He added, “There is absolutely no transparency in the US drone program and the human rights report, which was made public is testimony to this. It only confirms that the US should be held accountable for this injustice.”
In a continuation of the outburst against the chaos caused by drone killings, Naeem Jameel, a manager at an advertising company observed that the secrecy surrounding the drone program gives the US administration a license to kill, which is a gross violation of human rights.
This secrecy has enabled the US to act with impunity and prevent victims from receiving justice or compensation, he added. Sharing the concerns of the rights groups he asked, “What hope for redress can there be for victims of drone attacks and their families when the US won’t even acknowledge its responsibility for the drone strikes?”
Furthermore, International law prohibits arbitrary killing and limits the lawful use of intentional lethal force, but the clear case of drone misuse in Pakistan has caused havoc and created panic among the local populace, who live in constant terror of inescapable violence, he asserted.
He added that the drone attacks have added to the locals’ sufferings, causing them to live in fear of death from US drones hovering in the skies day and night.
Although Nawaz Sharif maintains that he opposes the US drone program, the Pakistani community is demanding that the government lodge a protest and call upon the US to fully investigate the unlawful deaths reported by Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch.
Community members added that the US must ensure that victims of unlawful drone strikes, including family members of victims of unlawful killings, have effective access to justice and compensation.
http://www.arabnews.com/news/468636
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Arab World
Iraq Facing War of Genocide by Al-Qaeda Militant Group, says Nouri al-Maliki
Maliki Says and Blames The
Oct 24, 2013
Iraq’s Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki says his country is facing a “war of genocide” amid ongoing bombings and shooting attacks carried out across the country.
“It has become clear... that Iraq is subjected to a war of genocide targeting all of its components,” the Iraqi premier said in a press conference on Wednesday.
Maliki blamed the al-Qaeda militant group for killing thousands of people in Iraq, saying that the group is “destroying the houses of citizens and killing them, and blowing up government departments.”
On Wednesday, gunmen killed six people in the northern city of Mosul. A roadside bomb explosion killed at least three people in the Ghazaliyah area of the capital, Baghdad, and four people died in another bomb attack in Madain, south of the capital.
An Iraqi policeman lost his life in a bomb attack in Baquba, the capital of Diyala Province, on the same day.
Full report at:
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2013/10/24/331008/iraq-facing-war-of-genocide-maliki/
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Attacks in Iraq kill 48 in two days
24 October 2013
BAGHDAD: Militants killed 48 people in two days of attacks in Iraq that included a coordinated series of suicide bombings and shootings in which 25 police died, officials said Wednesday.
Violence has reached a level not seen since 2008, and militants, including those linked to Al-Qaeda, frequently target Iraqi security forces and government employees.
Gunmen killed six people in the northern city of Mosul on Wednesday, while five people were shot dead in and near the city the day before.
In Baghdad, a roadside bomb in the Ghazaliyah area killed at least three people and wounded 11 on Wednesday, and another killed four people and wounded at least nine in Madain, in the south.
And two Sahwa anti-Al-Qaeda fighters were kidnapped and killed in the northern province of Kirkuk.
Anbar province, west of Baghdad, was hit by a series of attacks on Tuesday night that killed 28 people. Four of them struck targets in and around the town of Rutba, about 110 kilometers from the border with Syria.
A suicide bomber detonated a tanker truck loaded with explosives at a police checkpoint east of the town, militants armed with heavy weapons struck the police station in Rutba itself and another bomber detonated a vehicle at a police checkpoint to its west.
Those attacks killed 18 police and wounded 25, while three civilians died when another suicide bomber blew up a tanker truck on a bridge west of Rutba.
Gunmen also attacked a police checkpoint Tuesday night at an entrance to Ramadi, the capital of Anbar, and another inside the city, killing seven police and wounding an eighth.
The violence was just the latest in a series of coordinated attacks to hit Anbar.
On Monday, suicide bombers attacked the police and electricity department headquarters in Fallujah, another city there, after which militants hit the police station with gunfire, mortar Full report at:
http://www.arabnews.com/news/468649
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Egypt Islamists call for protests over Morsi trial
October 24, 2013
CAIRO: Supporters of deposed Islamist President Mohammad Morsi have called on Egyptians to hold mass protests on Nov. 4, the day he goes on trial for inciting murder, raising the prospect of more bloodshed as the country's political crisis drags on.
The trial could further inflame tensions between Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood and the army-backed government and deepen the instability that has decimated tourism and investment in the most populous Arab state.
Army chief Abdel Fattah al-Sisi overthrew Morsi in July after mass protests against his rule and announced a political roadmap he said would lead to free and fair elections.
Backers of Morsi, Egypt's first freely elected president, say his removal was a coup, reversing the gains of the popular uprising which toppled autocrat Hosni Mubarak in 2011.
"The Alliance notes that the coup organizers would like to break the people's and the revolution's will by trying Dr. Mohammad Morsi, the President of the Republic, and his associates, this coming November 4th," a pro-Mursi grouping that includes the Brotherhood said in a statement.
"The Alliance also calls on all free people in Egypt and abroad to stand by the revolutionary will opposing the military coup, and that all activities should be - as they always have been - within peaceful bounds that define our methods and strategy."
A judge has said Morsi and other Brotherhood members have been charged with "inciting the killing and torture of protesters in front of the Etihadeya (presidential) palace".
The charges relate to the deaths of about a dozen people in clashes outside the presidential palace last December after Morsi enraged protesters with a decree expanding his powers.
Morsi has been held in a secret location since his overthrow on July 3. Since then, Egypt has been rocked by almost daily attacks by militants in the Sinai Peninsula and clashes between supporters and opponents of the Brotherhood.
Hundreds of Brotherhood members have been killed and top leaders have been jailed in one Full report at:
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2013/Oct-24/235630-egypt-islamists-call-for-protests-over-morsi-trial.ashx#axzz2iTXEO0Zi
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Soldiers killed, 72 suspects arrested in Egypt’s Sinai
23 October 2013
Militants killed an Egyptian soldier in Sinai on Wednesday, while security forces made 72 arrests in a sweep of the peninsula to hunt suspects wanted for a bomb attack, officials said.
The soldier was killed in the Tamada area of central Sinai, a medic and a security official said, adding he was shot in the head.
Security forces, meanwhile, rounded up 72 suspects wanted for Tuesday's bomb attack targeting a security convoy that killed two people, including a civilian, and wounded five.
They were arrested in the town of Rafah, on the Gaza border.
The convoy was targeted as it travelled from Rafah towards the North Sinai provincial capital el-Arish.
Full report at:
http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2013/10/23/Soldiers-killed-72-suspects-arrested-in-Egypt-s-Sinai-.html
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Bahrain teen killed by his own bomb
October 23, 2013
Manama: A teenager was killed in Bahrain when a bomb he was carrying exploded, the police said.
“The operation room received a call reporting an explosion in a deserted area in Bani Jamra,” the police said late on Tuesday, quoting the General Director of Northern Governorate Police and referring to a village west of the capital Manama. “The caller said that there was a dead body at the scene. Security forces were immediately deployed to the area and the crime scene was examined.”
The police said that they found a bomb, a gun and ammunition near the dead body.
“The deceased is 17 years old and he is wanted on criminal charges. The initial investigation revealed that the bomb had exploded while he was carrying it to plant in another location.”
The senior officer added that the public prosecution had been notified and gathering of evidence was still going on.
“Anyone with any information should call the police hotline and all calls will be treated as anonymous,” the police said.
In the most recent attacks, five security officers were injured in an explosion in August in the village of Dair, north of Manama. In July, one policeman was killed when a homemade bomb exploded in the town of Sitra, near Manama.
Full report at:
http://gulfnews.com/news/gulf/bahrain/bahrain-teen-killed-by-his-own-bomb-1.1246157
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Power returns to Damascus, say opposition sources
24 October 2013
Syrian opposition sources have reported that electricity has been gradually coming back to many of Damascus’s suburbs, Al Arabiya television said Thursday.
This news follows reports of a large explosion hitting a checkpoint in a western suburb of Damascus late on Wednesday, causing multiple casualties, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
The car bomb in the Dumar suburb came as large areas of Syria were plunged into darkness after a rebel attack on a gas pipeline near the capital affected main power sources.
Damascus was hit by the power cut late on Wednesday, shortly after an explosion near the international airport, residents said.
The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said in a statement that the explosion was caused by rebel forces’ artillery that hit a gas pipeline near Damascus airport.
“Our activist in the area saw bodies on the ground,” said Observatory Director Rami Abdel Rahman.
The Observatory said that the rebel shelling was aimed at the town of Ghasula, a few kilometers from the site of the airport.
Full report at:
http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2013/10/24/Power-returns-to-Damascus-say-opposition-sources.html
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Only Syrians decide who leads Syria: Ministry
Oct 24, 2013
Syria’s Foreign Ministry says the Syrians are the only ones to choose the leader of the crisis-hit country.
The ministry published a statement on Wednesday to react to an earlier meeting by the so-called Friends of Syria in London, saying no foreign party would be involved in deciding the country’s leadership.
The statement added that the Syrian people would not allow any foreign party to impose its will on them.
On Tuesday, the eleven member states of the so-called Friends of Syria held a meeting with the country’s opposition leaders, and agreed that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has no place in the future of the country.
Meanwhile, Russia also slammed the group for undermining the upcoming Geneva II conference, which aims to deal with a political solution to the crisis in Syria.
"Prior to that event [Friends of Syria’s meeting], we were told the discussions there will be held exclusively on the base of Geneva communiqué. However, they went far beyond that document in an attempt to revise the communiqué according to the political needs," Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexander Lukashevich said in an online comment.
"There is an impression that London document aimed at undermining the Geneva II by drawing attention away (from opposition) to Syrian authorities," Lukashevich added.
On May 7, Russia and the United States agreed to convene an international conference on Syria as a follow-up on the June 2012 Geneva communiqué, which outlines measures for a peaceful transition of power in Syria.
Full report at:
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2013/10/24/331001/only-syrians-decide-who-leads-syria/
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North America
Pol: NYPD Muslim Surveillance is ‘Un-American’
By Rashed Mian
October 23, 2013
The sweeping surveillance of local Muslims is un-American, unconstitutional and spawns an atmosphere of mistrust, undermining the efforts of law enforcement conducting clandestine investigations of Muslim Americans in the New York metropolitan area.
These criticisms of the New York Police Department’s surveillance of Muslim Americans from New York City to Long Island were made by New York State Sen. Kevin Parker (D-Brooklyn) and Dr. Hussein Rashid, a professor of religion at Hofstra University during the college’s 11th annual “Day of Dialogue” event Wednesday.
Parker and Rashid, speaking to dozens of students, were critical of the NYPD’s once closely guarded covert initiative to gather information on the local Muslim community, including in Nassau and Suffolk counties, which was exposed in a Pulitzer Prize winning series by the Associated Press, both saying that such surveillance of American citizens does more harm than good.
Parker chided the NYPD for “treating one of the world’s great religions as if it’s a criminal enterprise,” adding, “all Muslims are not terrorist and all terrorists are not Muslims.”
The Brooklyn senator, who represents one of the largest Pakistani communities in the city, noted he was “deeply troubled…but not surprised,” when he first read about the NYPD’s surveillance of Muslims, which created a Yellow Pages-like “Demographics Report” of communities replete with descriptions of Muslim restaurants, religious institutions, smoke shops and other “locations of concerns.”
Parker, also a critic of NYPD’s stop-and-frisk policy, sponsored a bill earlier this year that would establish an independent inspector general to oversee the country’s largest police department.
Rashid, who offered his own stories of racial profiling since the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, specifically a visit to Toy’s ‘R’ Us in Times Square in which a man called his then-3-year-old daughter a “fucking terrorist,” said law enforcement is creating an element of “security theater” that has become so common it is “ritualized.”
Speaking to the students, he discussed the NYPD’s surveillance of Muslim Student Associations, including at Stony Brook University, and deadpanned: “We don’t know if you’re under surveillance,” adding that there may be police informants sitting in the audience.
The growing security state, he said, has created a sense of fear among students, some so distraught that they no longer take part in religious activities.
“This has a real lasting impact on the individual level,” he added.
The Associated Press also reported in August that the NYPD designated at least a dozen mosques in the city and opened “terrorism enterprise investigations” into those houses of worship.
Full report at:
http://www.longislandpress.com/2013/10/23/pol-nypd-muslim-surveillance-is-un-american/
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‘US Has Brought Its War against Muslims Home’
Oct 24, 2013
The United States is engaged in many wars against Muslims and now it has brought those wars home, says Joe Iosbaker, a member of the Committee to Stop FBI Repression.
On Tuesday, agents from the US Department of Homeland Security arrested a Palestinian woman, Rasmieh Odeh, because she allegedly did not mention in her application for citizenship that she was arrested in Palestine 45 years ago by an Israeli military court that detains Palestinians without charge.
The Israeli court currently has more than 200 children in prison and does not recognize the rights of the Palestinian people to due process.
“Our committee, the Committee to Stop FBI Repression, is denouncing this attack as another example of the continuing repression of Palestinians. The US government is now carrying out enforcement of the Israeli occupation of Palestine,” said Iosbaker in a phone interview with Press TV on Wednesday.
Full report at:
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2013/10/24/330989/us-has-brought-war-on-muslims-home/
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U.S. envoy meeting Syria rebels on peace talks plans
24 October 2013
U.S. officials were working hard behind the scenes Wednesday to try to persuade the Syrian opposition to agree to join peace talks mooted for next month.
U.S. ambassador to Syria Robert Ford, who has built up a close relationship with the opposition leaders over the past years, huddled with key figures in Istanbul seeking to coax them to the negotiating table.
“Ambassador Ford is in Istanbul as we speak having meetings with the opposition to help continue to get them to increasingly coalesce,” deputy State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf told reporters.
Prospects for peace negotiations, which have been in works since May, dimmed again Wednesday as leaders of the National Coalition -- the main opposition umbrella group -- insisted they would not attend the talks slated to be held in Geneva in late November.
“Their participation is pivotal. We will continue encouraging them to attend, and that's why Ambassador Ford's on the ground talking to them right now in Istanbul,” Harf said.
But the opposition is refusing to sit at the same table as members of the Syrian regime.
“The only thing we are willing to negotiate is a transfer of all power and then the departure of the mass killer,” said coalition head Ahmad Jarba said, referring to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
He also reiterated a call for the rebels' supporters, including the U.S., to open up humanitarian corridors to reach civilians under siege in Damascus and the Syrian city of Homs.
“We cannot sit at the negotiating table while, in some areas, children are dying of hunger and women are being tortured in jails,” Jarba said.
The aim of the peace negotiations -- dubbed Geneva II -- is to map out a path towards a transitional government in Syria and hopefully end the fighting which has left an estimated 115,000 people dead since it erupted in March 2011.
Full report at:
http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2013/10/24/U-S-envoy-meeting-Syria-rebels-on-peace-talks-plans.html
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Africa
Nine killed in clashes between Tunisian police and Islamist militants
23 October 2013
Seven members of Tunisia’s National Guard and two Islamist fighters were killed on Wednesday in clashes during a raid by security forces in the southern town of Sidi Bouzid.
The fighting broke out when the National Guard tried to raid a house in the locality of Sidi Ali Ben Aoun where the gunmen were hiding, according to Agence France-Presse.
A source at the hospital in Sidi Ali Ben Aoun said the bodies of six policemen were in its mortuary, according to AFP.
The powerful UGTT trade union confederation has called a strike in Sidi Bouzid for Thursday to mourn the slain members of the security forces.
The incident occurred just days after Tunisian security forces killed 10 Islamist militants, who authorities said belonged to the Ansar al-Sharia group, near the Algerian border.
Ansar al-Sharia, a hardline Islamist group in North Africa was declared a terrorist organization by the Tunisian government and is accused of being behind the murder of two opposition leaders.
Full report at:
http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2013/10/23/Nine-killed-in-clashes-between-Tunisian-police-and-Islamist-militants.html
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Malawi Imam Backs Gay Rights
24 October 2013
LILONGWE – A new controversy has hit Malawi after a Muslim imam has come out in the open to champion rights of homosexuals, sparking angry comments from Muslim scholars advocating full enforcement of laws which criminalize same sex marriages in the southern African nation.
“The stand of Islam on homosexuality is very clear. It’s against the commandment of God,” Dr. Imran Shareef, one of the country’s highly acclaimed scholars, told OnIslam.net.
“We will therefore not depart from the teachings of our religion to advocate for the legalization of same sex relationships just to please the majority.
“Instead, we are advocating for full enforcement of laws which criminalize homosexuality which have been in use for some time in this country. As Muslims, we can’t compromise the teachings of the Qur’an to accommodate the practice of homosexuality in the name of human rights,” he added.
The controversy erupted during a workshop for religious leaders on Sexual Reproductive Health and rights.
At his presentation, Sheikh Mdala Ali Tambuli, a respected Muslim scholar in the country, advocated human rights, love and protection towards homosexuals, drawing backlash across the country’s minority Muslim population.
“As religious leaders, we saying nowhere in the Bible or the Qur’an is homosexuality supposed to be there or promoted. On the other hand, what we are saying is that people who are practicing this act are supposed to be served on three things: They are supposed to get protection, love and also we have to look after them, because they are human beings and are totally entitled to all human rights,” Sheikh Tambuli said in his presentation.
“As far as Islam in concerned, homosexuality is a sin and I make no apology for that. But I’m saying that as religious leaders, we have to take care of these men who are having sex with fellow men or those who are lesbians.
“All these groups of people have to be taken care of because they are sinners just like those practicing witchcraft or sex workers. If we protect and love these other sinners, why can’t we do the same with these people?”
Same-sex relationship and marriage are totally prohibited in Islam, Christianity and all divine religions.
Islam teaches that believers should neither do the obscene acts, nor in any way indulge in their propagation.
The Catholic Church teaches that homosexuality is not a sin, but considers homosexual intercourse as sinful.
Controversial
The scholar’s comments were immediately opposed by Muslim scholars in Malawi.
“Islam doesn’t regard homosexuality as a human rights issue, we will therefore, follow the dictates of our religion to oppose any attempts to decriminalize same sex marriages in Malawi, where in the first place, it’s already illegal,” Dr. Shareef said.
In its reaction to the same, Muslim Association of Malawi (MAM) said promotion of “interests of homosexuals have no place and basis in Islam”.
“We would like to inform the general public and other fair minded Sheikhs in Malawi that the issue of homosexuality is clearly categorized in the Qur’an as evil and sinful acts as evidently seen in the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah during the time of Lut when such immoral practices existed,” Sheikh Idrissa Muhammad, MAM’s National Chairperson said in a statement.
Sheikh Muhammad added: “If Allah had wanted to guarantee the so called human rights to the homosexuals, then he wouldn’t have punished and destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.”
The Muslim leader said it’s against the laws of Malawi for certain sections of the society to advocate for the interests of homosexuals “while there are criminalizing the practice.”
“We would like also to remind the general public and all those advocating for the interests of those in same sex marriages is not only evil and sinful, but it is also illegal and criminalized under Sections 153 and 156 of the Penal Code (Laws of Malawi) therefore, supporting, aiding or abetting of nay illegal practice constitute a crime in Malawi.”
But human rights Lawyer Chrispin Sibande said Malawi’s laws on homosexuality are “archaic”, and they don’t reflect the current reality on most issues in the country.
“The law evolves with time. We inherited almost everything we have from colonial masters (British) and yet in Britain, today people no longer use these laws. It is therefore high time we changed them,” Sibande told OnIslam.net.
In 2010, the country’s first gay couple got arrested and subsequently jailed. But a presidential pardon following an intervention from the United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki moon saved the couple from serving the prison sentence.
The country’s largest Christian denomination, the Roman Catholic has been protesting against any move to legalize same sex marriages in the country.
Full report at:
http://www.onislam.net/english/news/africa/465099-malawi-imam-backs-gay-rights.html
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Tunisian opposition vows more protests, prepares to respond to PM
24 October 2013
Tunisia’s opposition Salvation Front called for more protests demanding an immediate departure of the Islamist-led government, Al Arabiya television reported on Thursday, citing media sources.
The Front is reportedly preparing an official reaction to the prime minister’s latest address, the sources added.
Thousands of opposition members, including leftists and union activists, took to the streets of the capital, Tunis, on Wednesday calling for the Cabinet to resign.
Differences between the country’s moderate Islamists and secular opponents, over the framework of a planned national dialogue, postponed talks intended to end a political deadlock.
A leader from Tunisia’s main labor union group told a local radio station the talks will take place on Friday, Al Arabiya television said.
The opposition has been waiting for a “clear commitment” by Prime Minister Ali Larayedh to quit within three weeks, as stipulated in the roadmap drawn up by mediators and agreed to by his Ennahda party, to allow a national dialogue to begin.
Full report at:
http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2013/10/24/Tunisian-opposition-vows-more-protests-prepares-to-respond-to-PM.html
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Army source: two Chadian soldiers, civilian killed in Mali bombing
23 October 2013
Two Chadian soldiers and a civilian were killed when militants attacked army positions in northern Mali on Wednesday, an army source from the troubled west African nation told AFP.
“Jihadists attacked the positions of the Chadian army in Tessalit with heavy arms and car bombs. Two Chadian troops have been killed. The four suicide bombers were also killed on the spot and a civilian also died,” the source told AFP.
“At present, the Chadian army and jihadists are exchanging gunfire.”
Full report at:
http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/africa/2013/10/23/Army-source-two-Chadian-soldiers-civilian-killed-in-Mali-bombing-.html
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Mideast
UN reports widespread human rights abuses in Iran
BY ALEXANDRA OLSON
October 24, 2013
UNITED NATIONS (AP) — A special UN rapporteur released a scathing report Wednesday detailing widespread human rights abuses in Iran, but he said recent signals from new President Hassan Rouhani have raised expectations for change.
Ahmed Shaheed’s report condemned a rise in the number of jailed journalists in Iran over the past decade — including 23 since January — and other restrictions against freedom of expression, including the blocking of up to 5 million websites. He expressed alarm about a law being considered that would allow a custodian to marry his adopted child. And he said minority religious groups are subjected to discrimination in employment and education, and are often arbitrarily arrested and tortured.
But Shaheed welcomed the recent release of more than a dozen political prisoners and “a number of positive signals” from Rouhani, who has made several calls for change since taking office in August, including lifting restrictions academic freedoms, increasing social media access and urging police not to crack down on perceived violations of Islamic dress codes for women.
“These signals I refer to raise the expectation of tangible and sustainable reforms,” Ahmed said in a speech presenting his report.
He called for the release of hundreds more prisoners of conscience and urged Iran to respond to his numerous requests to visit the Islamic Republic.
In a written response, Iran rejected Shaheed’s report as “a biased approach” that relied on unconfirmed reports for some numbers and “does not merit public trust or confidence.” The country defended its press freedom policies, saying they are carried out with regard to “the fundamental principles of Islam and the public rights” enshrined in Iran’s Constitution.
Shaheed’s report said 40 journalists and 29 bloggers are serving sentences in Iran for offenses from national security crimes to “spreading propaganda against the state.” He said that some 1,500 “anti-religious websites” are closed each month, including those containing content on the minority Wahhabi and Baha’i religions, as well as sites dedicated to news, music and women’s rights.
Shaheed said he was especially concerned that 786 people have been executed for drug trafficking offenses in Iran since August 2011, when he became special rapporteur. He also lamented that crimes including homosexual acts and insulting Islamic prophets are considered capital offenses and called on Iran to declare a moratorium on all executions. And he said flogging and amputations remain widespread.
Full report at:
http://www.timesofisrael.com/un-reports-widespread-human-rights-abuses-in-iran/
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Fearing retribution, Syrian minorities keep low profile in Turkey
October 24, 2013
ISTANBUL: In a small park on the edge of old Istanbul’s Eminonu Square, women sit begging, Syrian passports in their outstretched hands, “Please help in the name of God” on sheets of paper at their feet.
In this bustling city, where fishermen line the shore of the Golden Horn and tourists mingle with traders in the alleyways of the spice bazaar, the war raging just over Turkey’s southern border feels very distant.
But as Syria’s conflict takes on an increasingly sectarian dimension, a growing number of those fleeing to Turkey are shunning the refugee camps on its southern border and venturing instead to its major cities, as far from the war as possible.
“We can’t be comfortable at the camps. Yes, they give them food regularly, and conditions are maybe better, but we hear that they send all the men to fight at night,” said Tariq, 27, cradling his young son in his arms, his wife at their side.
“We don’t want to fight. I escaped the fighting, why would I go back again?” he asked, sitting in a cemevi – an assembly house used by Alevis, Turkey’s biggest religious minority – in Istanbul’s Gazi neighborhood.
Tariq and the roughly 40 Syrian refugees he is sheltering with are mostly Alawites, an offshoot of Shiite Islam and the same minority sect as Syrian President Bashar Assad. It is not an identity they readily reveal.
Perceived, often wrongly, as die-hard Assad supporters, they say they fear retribution in Turkey’s refugee camps, which are thronged by Sunni opposition supporters, including rebel fighters and their families.
“I’d rather go and die in the war in Syria than stay in a camp,” said Miran, 29, smoking a cigarette on a shredded mattress in a tent in the courtyard of the cemevi.
“They don’t like Alawites in the camps and they know we’re Alawites. We are neither opposition members nor Assad supporters. We are just citizens,” he said.
Syria’s civil war has killed more than 100,000 people, sent millions fleeing from their homes and divided the Middle East between Sunni Gulf states and Turkey, which mostly support the rebels, and Shiite Iran and Hezbollah, which back Assad.
Turkey has kept its borders open throughout the 31-month conflict and denies any sectarian agenda, insisting its camps are open to all. But its staunch support for the opposition puts some refugees in a difficult position.
“Turkey says it doesn’t make a distinction between Alawites and Sunnis, but people do, and we can feel it even here,” said a Syrian refugee in Eminonu, declining to give his name.
“We just want to work, make a living, but they don’t give us a job,” he said, emphasizing that he always told prospective employers he was Sunni when looking for work.
Turkey shelters more than a quarter of the 2 million who have fled Syria’s war, 200,000 of them in the official camps dotted along its 900-km border.
But twice that number live outside the camps, including almost all the refugees who have arrived over the past few months. While many have the means or family ties to find lodging, the numbers of those forced to sleep rough appear to be growing in cities, including Istanbul and Ankara.
Zeynal Odabas, head of the Pirsultan Abdal Cemevi hosting the refugees, said Turkey should consider the diversity of Syria’s population and set up separate camps for different groups.
He criticized the government for allowing fighters from the rebel Free Syrian Army and factions such as the Al-Qaeda-affiliated Nusra Front to shelter in the camps.
“While people from Nusra and the Free Syrian Army are being hosted in the camps, these poor people have been living on the street,” Odabas said, citing the fighters’ presence in the camps as a reason many refugees preferred to go it alone.
Turkey has long championed more robust backing for Syria’s fractious armed opposition, arguing it would bring a quicker end to Assad’s rule and give moderate forces the authority they needed to keep more radical Islamist elements in check.
But Ankara’s critics say that its policy has in fact allowed Islamist militants, some of them accused of committing atrocities against Alawite communities, to gain ground in Syria.
Turkey denies arming the rebels or facilitating the passage of foreign fighters who have swollen the ranks of Al-Qaeda-linked factions, but the border is difficult to police. Rebels, refugees and smugglers have been able to cross illegally.
Turkey’s Disaster and Emergency Management Directorate says it is aware of the influx of Syrians who bypass the camps, but that it can do little for those who decline its help.
“We do the best we can within the rules of a state of law, but we can’t simply force people,” spokesman Mustafa Aydogdu said, adding that there were Alawites living in the camps and that there had been no reports of disputes.
Full report at:
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2013/Oct-24/235583-fearing-retribution-syrian-minorities-keep-low-profile-in-turkey.ashx#axzz2iTXEO0Zi
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Gazans continue to rally in solidarity with Palestinian prisoners
Oct 23, 2013
The Islamic Jihad Movement in Palestine has organized a rally outside the United Nations office and the International Committee of the Red Cross in Gaza to protest Israeli medical negligence against Palestinian prisoners. Hundreds of prisoners are suffering from various life threatening diseases inside Israeli jails. The protesters held banners condemning Israeli inhumane policies towards Palestinian prisoners.
The Islamic Jihad Movement has called on its military wing the al-Quds brigades and other Palestinian military wings to secure the release of every prisoner by any possible means.
In October 2011, Palestinian ressistance movment Hamas managed to release 1027 Palestinian prisoners in a swap deal with Israel. Two years on, nearly five thousand prisoners are still being held in Israeli detention facilities.
A delegation from the Islamic Jihad senior officials including former prisoners met with the chargé d'affaires of the U.N special coordinator in Gaza in a closed door meeting.
Following the meeting the Islamic Jihad Movement had this to say.
Full report at:
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2013/10/23/330853/gazans-conitue-to-rally-in-solidairty-with-palestinian-prisoners/
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Yemen security forces foil Qaeda jailbreak in Sana’a
23 October 2013
Yemeni security forces foiled an attempt by some 300 al-Qaeda inmates to escape after they mutinied in their Sana’a prison, a security official said Wednesday.
The mutiny broke out on Tuesday afternoon when “almost 300 al-Qaeda prisoners, armed with knives and iron bars, attacked prison guards, injuring some of them,” the official said, adding that an interrogation officer was among those wounded.
The prisoners, who smashed the doors of their cells and broke down the prison’s first security barrier, seized weapons and took some guards hostage.
Using the weapons, they clashed with guards manning the second security barrier, who returned fire and managed to “foil the group’s attempt to flee,” the official said.
A number of inmates were wounded but none were killed, several sources said.
The prisoners released their hostages early on Wednesday after mediation but held onto their weapons, the official said, adding that police were still trying to control the situation in the prison.
Full report at:
http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2013/10/23/Yemen-security-forces-foil-Qaeda-jailbreak-in-Sanaa-.html
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Iran tells Malaysia not to execute two Iranians
Thu Oct 24, 2013
Tehran has advised Malaysia against executing two Iranian women, who Kuala Lumpur has accused of having smuggled illicit drugs into the Southeast Asian country.
Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister for Consular, Parliamentary and Iranian Expatriates’ Affairs Hassan Qashqavi said Malaysia should avoid carrying out the executions so that the cordial relationship between the two countries can continue.
“The execution of the two Iranian women in Malaysia will have a negative impact on bilateral relations,” Qashqavi said.
The two Iranian women in question have been sentenced to death over an alleged attempt to transfer methamphetamine into Malaysia in December 2010.
Meanwhile, Iran’s counternarcotics police chief, Brigadier General Ali Mo’ayyedi, referred to the case of the two Iranian women in Malaysia and said that drug traffickers usually deceive Iranian nationals by asking them to take “suspicious packages” into Southeast Asian countries in exchange for free trips.
Full report at:
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2013/10/24/331017/dont-execute-iranians-iran-to-malaysia/
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Yemen foils jailbreak attempt by 300 inmates
24 October 2013
SANAA: Yemeni security forces foiled an attempt by some 300 Al-Qaeda inmates to escape after they mutinied in their Sanaa prison, a security official said Wednesday.
The mutiny broke out on Tuesday afternoon when “almost 300 Al-Qaeda prisoners, armed with knives and iron bars, attacked prison guards, injuring some of them,” the official said, adding that an interrogation officer was among those wounded.
The prisoners, who smashed the doors of their cells and broke down the prison’s first security barrier, seized weapons and took some guards hostage.
Using the weapons, they clashed with guards manning the second security barrier, who returned fire and managed to “foil the group’s attempt to flee,” the official said.
A number of inmates were wounded but none were killed, several sources said.
The prisoners released their hostages early on Wednesday after mediation but held onto their weapons, the official said, adding that police were still trying to control the situation in the prison.
Full report at:
http://www.arabnews.com/news/468650
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Israel and US differ on Iran's nuclear file
23 Oct 2013
American and Israeli officials have differed over Iran's nuclear programme, as Israel called for its effective dismantlement and the US suggested safeguards could show that it was peaceful rather than military.
US Secretary of State John Kerry and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu began talks on Wednesday in Italy, in what is intended to be about Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations but appears to have been overshadowed by the Iranian issue.
Netanyahu called Iran's programme the region's foremost security problem.
"Iran must not have a nuclear weapons capability, which means that they shouldn't have centrifuges (for) enrichment, they shouldn't have a plutonium heavy-water plant, which is used only for nuclear weapons," Netanyahu told reporters.
"They should get rid of (their amassed) fissile material, and they shouldn't have underground nuclear facilities, (which are) underground for one reason - for military purposes."
Iran has repeatedly stated it is enriching uranium solely for electricity and medical treatments, not nuclear weapons.
Kerry, who is exploring a diplomatic solution to rein in Iranian nuclear activity, took a different approach from Netanyahu by suggesting Iran could show its programme was peaceful by adhering to international standards followed by other nations.
"We will pursue a diplomatic initiative but with eyes wide open, aware that it will be vital for Iran to live up to the standards that other nations that have nuclear programmes live up to as they prove that those programmes are indeed peaceful," Kerry said.
"We will need to know that actions are being taken which make it crystal clear, undeniably clear, fail-safe to the world that whatever programme is pursued is indeed a peaceful programme."
Six global powers held talks with Iran last week in Geneva to test whether a diplomatic resolution might be reached, their first such negotiations since moderate Iranian President Hassan Rouhani's election in June opened up possibilities for a deal after years of increasing confrontation.
A second round of these talks, which include Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and the United States, is scheduled for early November, also in Geneva.
Iran cites a right to refine uranium for peaceful purposes under the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), a 1970 global pact to prevent the spread of nuclear arms.
But the US has said Iran does not automatically have this right under international law because, it argues, Tehran is in violation of its obligations under counter-proliferation safeguards.
Full report at:
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2013/10/israel-us-differ-iran-nuclear-file-20131023133939371927.html
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India
School in Gujarat Accused of Shunning Muslim Kids
Oct 24, 2013
AHMEDABAD: When Zahira Momin rushed to R H Kapadia New High School in Satellite for her child’s admission in pre-primary, she had never thought that her daughter would be denied admission simply because she is a Muslim. Momin had gone to the school in response to an advertisement about admissions placed by the school management in a local daily.
In a complaint filed with the office of the district education officer’s (DEO), Momin has stated that she reached the school at noon on Wednesday and discussed the mode of admission and payment of fees with the office staff. An office-bearer, who identified herself as Sonalben, agreed to grant admission to her daughter in senior KG. She demanded admission forms and was asked to get the child’s name entered in the school register.
“She wrote my daughter Kashaf’s name in the register. But when I pronounced my husband’s name and surname, she stopped and told me that ‘we do not give admission to Muslims. It is our policy’,” Momin has alleged.
According to the complaint, Momin immediately left the school premises and went to the DEO’s office and filed a complaint against the school questioning its education policy. Momin, who holds a pharmacy degree and runs a medical store in Jamalpur area, has sought action against the school management for discriminating against her child on the basis of religion and denying her admission.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/ahmedabad/School-accused-of-shunning-Muslim-kids/articleshow/24627223.cms
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India, China seal border pact, talk Pak-based terror
Rajeev Deshpande & Saibal Dasgupta
Oct 24, 2013
BEIJING: ‘If the host is hospitable and generous, there will be more frequent visits from guests’ — a pithy Chinese phrase summed up the mood as Prime Minister Manmohan Singh sealed significant pacts to curb use of force on the borders, open a dialogue on dams on the Brahmaputra and enhance cooperation on terrorism with China.
On a clear day after overnight rain drove Beijing’s infamous smog away, the PM struck an equation with the new Chinese leadership, with President Xi Jinping telling Singh, "We need to stand tall and look far, a journey of a 1,000 miles begins with a single step."
Xi handsomely supplemented the proverb offered by the Chinese spokesperson after the two sides signed a border protocol, mooting a hotline between military headquarters, and China pushed for an ambitious Bangladesh-Myanmar-India-China economic corridor along the south Silk Route.
The bonhomie might, given the recent run-ins on the Line of Actual Control, call for a reality check, but Indian officials are particularly pleased with a memorandum on water signed as part of nine agreements at the impressive Great Hall of the People that puts "issues of mutual interest" on the menu.
While stapled visas to Arunachal Pradesh residents remain a clear irritant, the breakthrough on border management and a preparedness to address a yawning trade deficit — although Planning Commission deputy chairman Montek Ahluwalia said the visit was not about returning to India "waving order books" — are a matter of satisfaction.
Stressing common goals, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said, "Our two peoples have the wisdom and our two governments have the ability to manage our differences along the border so that it would not affect the overall interests of our bilateral relations."
Singh agreed, but underlined Indian concerns, saying, "As large neighbours following independent foreign policies, the relationships pursued by India and China with other countries must not become a source of concern for each other. This will be our strategic reassurance."
Singh followed this up by firmly underlining that peace on the border was a "strategic benchmark" while emphasizing the bonhomie by saying, "When India and China shake hands, the world takes notice."
While Li said he will work to build "political trust", Singh felt the border defence cooperation agreement (BDCA) will increase stability on the border.
Getting the border deal has been strenuous work, but the Indian side feels the agreement on trans-border rivers — that had not been nailed down till two days before Singh’s meeting with Li — opens a tightly closed door. Apart from cooperation on sharing hydrological data, the MoU says the two sides will "exchange views on other issues of mutual interest" — read to mean India can raise queries on controversial dams on the Brahmaputra.
The BMIC economic corridor is an alluring concept, one that China is setting a lot of store by. In the area of counter-terrorism cooperation, Li spoke of joint training in south-west China and the Indians confirmed that Pakistan’s role in fostering and using terrorism was discussed.
Officials later asserted that the BDCA agreement did not prevent India from improving border infrastructure in any way as the situation was highly asymmetrical, with the odds favouring China.
The BDCA reiterates the 1993 border agreement that "neither side shall use or threaten to use force" but also adds there will be no attempt to "seek unilateral superiority".
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/India-China-seal-border-pact-talk-Pak-based-terror/articleshow/24619614.cms
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Mumbai attacks trial in Pak postponed again
October 24, 2013
A Pakistani anti-terrorism court conducting the Mumbai attacks trial on Thursday issued summons to four witnesses including the seller of a boat that was used by 10 LeT terrorists to reach India, even as it postponed the hearing of the case by two weeks.
Records of the cross-examination of Indian witnesses by a Pakistani judicial commission in connection with the attacks case had not reached the court in Islamabad when it convened on Thursday morning.
“The Court records were important but have not reached us till now. We are expecting it to be received by afternoon and hence the hearing has been postponed till November 6,” Special Public Prosecutor Chaudhury Mohammed Azhar told PTI.
On October 3, the court conducting the trial of seven Pakistani suspects, including LeT commander Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi, charged with involvement in the 2008 attacks had postponed proceedings till Thursday because of the lack of the Indian court records.
The Pakistanis are facing trial after being charged with planning, financing and executing the attacks that killed 166 people.
Indian diplomatic sources had said the records were sent to the Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi last week itself.
Mr. Azar added, “Summons were also issued to four witnesses from Karachi. They include the sellers of the boats and life jackets that were used in the attack and a vendor at the fish harbour who had seen the men“.
Defence lawyer Riaz Akram Cheema said he had told Judge Attiqur Rehman of the anti-terrorism court in Islamabad that the Court records should have been handed over in India itself.
Full report at:
http://www.thehindu.com/news/international/south-asia/mumbai-attacks-trial-in-pak-postponed-again/article5268156.ece
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Ceasefire violations: Angry Shinde tells troops to give fitting reply to Pakistan
Oct 23, 2013
JAMMU/NEW DELHI: Angry over the killing of a BSF jawan in overnight firing by Pakistani troops, Union home minister Sushilkumar Shinde on Wesdnesday said a fitting reply would be given against such unprovoked acts from across the border.
Shinde said additional BSF troops were being sent to man the international border (IB) in Jammu & Kashmir in the wake of continuing ceasefire violations.
"We will give a fitting reply to Pakistan," Shinde told reporters here in his reaction to Tuesday's firing by Pakistani troops on 50 BSF outposts along IB.
The firing came on the heels of a visit by Shinde to the Jammu region on Tuesday to review the situation along the border and discuss ways to deal with ceasefire violations.
Altogether, more than 130 ceasefire violations have been reported so far this year, the highest for the past eight years.
Pakistani Rangers had on Monday opened fire at 10 border posts and heavily shelled over 50 border outposts the following night, killing a head constable of BSF.
Asked about the infiltration attempts, Shinde said, "There are rivers and rivulets which are tough to fence. But we have discussed possible solutions".
Shinde had conducted an aerial tour of the fenced areas along IB on Tuesday besides surveying infiltration routes and damaged fencing and riverine border belts with Pakistan lying between Akhnoor in Jammu district and Pahadpur (in Kathua district).
Shinde had also met the troops and lauded them for their high morale. "We have come here to promise you that we stand by you, the country stands by you," he had said.
He had told the troops to must give a bullet-for-bullet reply to Pakistan.
"Yes", the jawans had replied in unison to a question by Shinde whether they were giving a strong reply to Pakistan.
In view of the surge in ceasefire violations, however, Shinde did not visit any forward posts.
Ceasefire violations since October 14 have left two jawans dead and caused injuries to 18 people.
While in J&K, Shinde had also remarked that Lashkar-e-Taiba founder Hafiz Saeed could be training terrorists on the other side of the border with Pakistan for infiltration into India.
Shinde had also rejected Pakistan Premier Nawaz Sharif's proposal for US intervention in the Kashmir issue, saying "Kashmir is ours" and there is no question of any role for a third party in resolving the dispute.
Most serious ceasefire violation in a decade
Pakistani troops heavily shelled 50 border outposts in Jammu frontier killing a BSF jawan in what is stated to be the most serious ceasefire violation since 2003 that prompted the home minister to declare that a "fitting reply" would be given.
Rattled at the spike in ceasefire violations — about 150 this year — Shinde also said on Wednesday that additional BSF troops were being sent to man the IB in Jammu & Kashmir.
"We will give a fitting reply to Pakistan," Shinde told reporters in Delhi reacting to the latest ceasefire violation described as the most serious incident since the 2003 ceasefire agreement between India and Pakistan.
Voicing concern at the heavy shelling in border areas, J&K chief minister Omar Abdullah said no one in India was in favour of war with Pakistan but friendship cannot be a "one-sided affair".
BSF officers in Jammu said Pakistani Rangers opened fire with automatic weapons and attacked over 5O border posts (BOPs) along IB in Jammu frontier belt with mortar shells since Tuesday night.
Pakistani rangers also rained mortars in forward villages of Arnia, RS Pura and Akhnoor sectors from 7.40pm last night, the officers said.
BSF troops guarding the border line retaliated resulting in fierce exchanges of shelling and firing, which continued till Wednesday morning, they said. The injured were hospitalized.
In the exchange of fire, Mukesh Lal Meena, a head constable of BSF posted in BOP Chinaj, was killed and seven BSF personnel, including two officers, were injured, they said.
Addressing a public meeting near the LoC in Tangdhar, Omar said he would continue to impress upon the the Centre to take up the ceasefire violations with Pakistan and resolve the issue so that peace rules the roost on the border and on the LoC.
Shinde does some plain speaking at Unified HQ meeting
Rattled by the spike in infiltrations in Jammu & Kashmir, Shinde did some plain speaking on the failure by the Army and other security agencies to contain the damage in Samba terror attack last month that killed 10 people.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Ceasefire-violations-Angry-Shinde-tells-troops-to-give-fitting-reply-to-Pakistan/articleshow/24609872.cms
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India-Bangladesh extradition treaty takes effect
HAROON HABIB
October 23, 2013
The extradition treaty between Bangladesh and India came into effect on Wednesday with the handing over of the instruments of ratification of the much-awaited pact. The two countries will now be able to exchange convicts or undertrials as and when required. Bangladesh Home Secretary C.Q.K. Mostak Ahmed and Indian High Commissioner to Bangladesh Pankaj Saran signed the documents.
The ceremony was attended by Bangladesh Home Minister Muhiuddin Khan Alamgir, who signed the treaty with his Indian counterpart Sushulkumar Shinde on January 28. The Bangladesh Cabinet had endorsed the it on October 7, while the Indian Cabinet did earlier.
The treaty will allow exchange of convicts sentenced for more than a year in prison but will not be applicable to political prisoners and asylum seekers. Both sides have the option to cancel the treaty in six-month notice.
India can now take back ULFA leader Anup Chetia, who has been lodged in prison for many years, from Bangladesh. Dhaka too can bring back fugitive crime lords such a Subrata Bain and Sazzad Hossain and put them on trial.
“With the signature of the ratification instruments and the exchange, we are now in a position to bring the treaty into effect,” Mr. Pankaj Saran said. He hoped that the treaty would strengthen the security of the two countries.
Full report at:
http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/indiabangladesh-extradition-treaty-takes-effect/article5265681.ece
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South Asia
Taliban kill 4 police in Afghanistan
October 24, 2013
KABUL: An Afghan official says a nighttime Taliban attack on a security outpost has killed four policemen in the country's west.
Police chief Sharafuddin Sharaf said on Thursday that the attack the previous night took place in the Bla Murghab district of Badghis province.
Sharaf says the Taliban tried to storm the security outpost, triggering a three-hour-long gunbattle and killing four members of the local police force.
Three policemen were also wounded in the attack.
Full report at:
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/International/2013/Oct-24/235622-taliban-kill-4-police-in-afghanistan.ashx#axzz2iTXEO0Zi
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Islami Andolan rejects proposals of Hasina, Khaleda
October 24, 2013
Leaders of Islami Andolan Bangladesh (IAB) have rejected proposals of both Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia regarding the election-time government, saying the proposals are defective and cannot resolve the ongoing political crisis.
They urged the government to dissolve the parliament and handover the power to a neutral caretaker government for holding a credible election.
They also lambasted the government for imposing an indefinite ban on political meetings, rallies, human chains, demonstrations, sit-ins and processions in the capital from October 20.
The leaders made the remarks at a press conference at its headquarters in the capital’s Purana Paltan.
Full report at:
http://www.thedailystar.net/beta2/news/islami-andolan-rejects-proposals-of-hasina-khaleda/
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Bangladesh government's religious body targets Nobel winner Yunus
2013-10-24
DHAKA: After being accused of “sucking blood” from the poor, Bangladesh's only Nobel prize winner Muhammad Yunus faces a new state-backed hate campaign seeking to paint him as unIslamic and a spreader of homosexuality.
Following years of attempts to discredit his legacy as a pioneer of micro-finance — since copied the world over as a development tool — the hounding has turned more personal and dangerous.
The perceived crime of the 73-year-old was to sign a joint statement along with three other Nobel laureates in April 2012 criticising the prosecution of gay people in Uganda.
Little remarked at the time, it has since been seized on by the Islamic Foundation, a government religious body, and amplified through tens of thousands of imams on its payrolls.
Protests have been held, leaflets calling him “an accomplice of Jews and Christians” have been distributed, and a “grand rally” has been called for Oct 31 in Dhaka to denounce him.
“How can a state-run organisation run a campaign of criminal intimidation? It'll instigate violence against professor Yunus,” Sara Hossain, a top lawyer and rights activist, warned in an interview with AFP.
The harassment has echoes of another movement against feminist writer and religious critic Taslima Nasreen who was forced to flee the country after being denounced like Yunus.
“It's unfortunate that he's facing the kind of campaign that I faced in 1994,” Nasreen told AFP. “I was forced to leave the country because of the campaign by the fundamentalists, which the then government actively supported.”
Yunus has been at odds with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina since 2007 when he made a brief foray into the country's violent and polarised politics which is dominated by Hasina's family and her arch-rival Khaleda Zia. Yunus's recent statement calling for free and fair elections in January 2014 is also thought to have angered Hasina following changes to the electoral process and a crackdown on the opposition.
In 2011, he was forced out of the board of his beloved Grameen Bank by the central bank in a move widely believed to be orchestrated by the prime minister who accused him famously of “sucking blood from the poor”.
Grameen Bank was set up by Yunus in 1983 to make collateral-free micro loans to rural and mostly women entrepreneurs. Its record in reducing poverty earned global fame and a Nobel Peace Prize for its founder in 2006.
Abul Kalam Azad, a spokesman for Hasina, rejected suggestions that the latest campaign against Yunus was directed by her. “She is not the DG (director general) of the Islamic Foundation,” he told AFP.
A duty to denounce him?
The Islamic Foundation is part of the Ministry of Religious Affairs with a mandate to promote Islam.
Director General Shamim Mohammad Afzal told AFP that it was his “moral responsibility” as a Muslim and head of the organisation to take a stand against the man nicknamed the “banker to the poor”.
“His statement has gone against the Quran and Hadith,” Afzal told AFP.
In speeches to clerics all over the country, Afzal has told them of their religious duty to protest Yunus's stand on homosexuality. One imam told AFP that he had been pressured to join rallies against his wishes.
Full report at:
http://www.dawn.com/news/1051503/bangladesh-governments-religious-body-targets-nobel-winner-yunus
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Bangladesh should clarify position before global alliances
October 24, 2013
Environmentalists at a press conference yesterday urged the government to take sustainable long-term action plans to deal with impacts of climate change.
They said Bangladesh should make its position and demand clear before the global alliances as an “innocent victim” of climate change.
Oxfam in association with some other organisations arranged the event at Dhaka Reporters’ Unity.
The green activists want such actions prior to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, the 19th Conference of the Parties (COP 19), to be held from November 11-22 in Warsaw, Poland.
Bangladesh is expected to take part in the conference.
Targeting the COP 19, the environmentalists declared their position paper titled “Survival is Non-negotiable: Equity, Justice and Fairness for All.”
The paper identified 10 climate related issues in Bangladesh, including mitigation, adaptation, loss and damage, technology transfer and development, agriculture, migration, and finance.
Full report at:
http://www.thedailystar.net/beta2/news/bangladesh-should-clarify-position-before-global-alliances/
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Southeast Asia
Indonesian students Disappearance from Islamic University, Islamabad shrouded in mystery
By Riazul HaqPublished: October 24, 2013
ISLAMABAD: The disappearance of four Indonesian students of International Islamic University Islamabad (IIUI) is shrouded in mystery as the university management has failed to find a clue to their whereabouts.
The students of Faculty of Islamic Studies disappeared on August 22 after their visas expired in July, but the university management only registered an FIR with the Sabzi Mandi police last Friday.
“As part of the investigation, we have also asked cellular companies to share the data of their cell numbers to help track down their locations,” said Athar Khan, the investigation officer (IO) of the case.
He said that they have also sent a request to the Foreign Office to contact the Indonesian embassy and seek their help in ascertaining whether they have left the country.
When asked if the missing students could have joined an extremist group, the IO said that no evidence of such a connection could be established at the moment.
“We have met their roommates and class fellows, and according to them, the missing students have no record of being part of or having affiliations with an extremist group,” he said.
The IO said that they have also sought the help of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) to confirm from immigration authorities if the students have left the country.
“We are investigating the case. Let the details come. Only then we will be able to share information,” he said.
IIUI Rector Masoom Yasinzai said that according to his information, one of the students has reached Indonesia.
Full report at:
http://tribune.com.pk/story/621515/indonesian-students-disappearance-from-iiui-shrouded-in-mystery/
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Two Indonesians released from death row in Malaysia
October 24 2013
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on Thursday said he appreciated efforts to save two Indonesian migrant workers from the sentence of death in Malaysia.
"I extend my gratitude to our embassy in Kuala Lumpur, the lawyers and other government players who have worked hard to have Heni Herawati and Indah Kumala Sari saved from a death penalty sentence," the President said on his Twitter account @SBYudhoyono.
He said that the government had been making every effort to have more than 140 Indonesian migrant workers worldwide freed from death penalty sentences.
"But I really hope that all Indonesian nationals living abroad would obey the law and not commit crimes," he said, as quoted by the Antara news agency.
Yudhoyono further said that if Indonesian nationals abroad had their death penalty sentences commuted, the leaders of those countries would ask the Indonesian government to do the same for their citizens.
Full report at:
http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2013/10/24/two-indonesians-released-death-row-malaysia.html
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74 shooting deaths in Malaysia this year
October 24 2013,
Malaysian police have recorded 74 cases of people being gunned down between January and September this year, Home Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said on Wednesday in reply to a question in Parliament.
He said the majority of the killings involving firearms took place in Selangor state with 15 cases, following by Perak (10), Penang (nine), Sabah and Johor (seven each), and Kuala Lumpur, Kelantan and Sarawak (five each).
The firearms used to commit crimes were believed to be smuggled in from neighbouring countries, he said, without naming any of the countries, The Malaysian Insider reported on Wednesday.
He said high human traffic along the borders as well as economic interactions between those who reside there opened up opportunities for smuggling activities.
"The numerous alleys along the borders are also used by locals to smuggle in items, including firearms.
"Additionally, family ties and geographic factors also contributed to smuggling activities," he said in a written reply to a question posed by a lawmaker from the
opposition Democratic Action Party on the breakdown of shooting cases this year and the preventive measures taken, the New Straits Times said.
Full report at:
http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2013/10/24/74-shooting-deaths-malaysia-year.html
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Indonesian designers defy stereotypes of Muslim fashion
2013-10-24
JAKARTA: As the world's most populous Muslim country, Indonesia has high demand for clothing that adheres to religious rules emphasizing modesty for women.
But as the stylish, colorful and cool outfits at Jakarta Fashion Week showed, the Southeast Asian nation also aims to be the global leader in the Muslim fashion industry that is worth nearly $100 billion by some estimates.
Indonesia's government is championing young designers and the garment trade, which employs more than 3 million people and contributes about $15 billion to the economy.
"We can be the trend-setter," said Mari Pangestu, the tourism and creative economy minister. "We have the vision and mission that Indonesia can be the capital of Muslim fashion."
Often perceived as conservative and requiring women to be covered from head to toe, the rules range from strict interpretations of modesty in Saudi Arabia and Afghanistan to more moderate versions in Malaysia and Indonesia.
Headdresses are compulsory in any case and outfits should not be tight or see-through, but the three young Indonesians who kicked off Jakarta Fashion Week were clearly challenging stereotypes with their ready-to-wear collections.
Nur Zahra showed folk designs in organic materials with natural colors, mainly indigo and khaki.
Jenahara Nasution's Eastern Opulence line was sleekly cut with linings of flowing organdy and chiffon silk, accented with traditional Tasikmalaya embroidery from West Java.
Dian Wahyu Utami's Dian Pelangi brand delved into the 1960s with bursts of bright colors in batik prints.
Modern and cool
The three designers - all participants in the government's Indonesia Fashion Forward program to develop young talent for the international market - said they wanted to create clothes with broad appeal, including for women in Western countries.
"To make Muslim wear so the people look cool has always been my mission," said 27-year-old Nasution.
Full report at:
http://dawn.com/news/1051521/indonesian-designers-defy-stereotypes-of-muslim-fashion
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Europe
UK FM says Iran could attend Geneva II talks on Syria
Oct 23, 2013
British Foreign Secretary William Hague says Iran could participate in Geneva II talks on Syria expected to be held in November.
Hague said on the sidelines of the so-called Friends of Syria group's meeting in London on Tuesday that while Iran has yet no role in Geneva II talks, he is using the new positive diplomatic relations with Iran to urge it to play a “more constructive role” in the Syrian crisis.
“It is important that Iran play a more constructive role. I have discussed the situation in Syria with the new Iranian Foreign Minister,” Hague said.
"I have put it to him that Iran should be starting from the same position as the rest of us - from last year's Geneva agreement which is that there should be a transitional government in Syria made up of regime and opposition, by mutual consent,” he added.
Full report at:
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2013/10/23/330819/iran-likely-geneva-ii-partner-uk-fm/
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British Muslims witness hike in attacks on mosques amid racial conflict
Oct 23, 2013
British Muslims have recently witnessed an increase in the number of attacks on their places of warship, an act which is fueling racial tensions.
The attacks on mosques have been coupled with other Islamophobic attempts such as racial killings, in which white extremists murder non-whites out of racial hatred.
In April, an 82-year-old Muslim man was stabbed to death as he was walking home after performing his prayers in the central England city of Birmingham.
On Monday, a district court found a white supremacist Ukrainian student guilty of murdering Mohammed Saleem only five days after he arrived in Britain. He was also found guilty of conspiring for a terrorist bombing campaign against mosques in a desperate attempt to inflame racial conflict.
Pavlo Lapshyn also pleaded guilty to leaving home-made bombs outside three mosques in the region in June and July. The explosions, however, left no injuries.
According to police documents Lapshyn described the motivation behind his crimes as hatred of non-whites and a desire to stir up racial tension.
“I have a racial hatred so I have a motivation, a racial motivation and racial hatred,” said Lapshyn, who’s a 25-year-old engineer in Britain on a work placement with a software firm.
“I would like to increase racial conflict”, he told detectives after his arrest.
Full report at:
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2013/10/23/330880/mosque/
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URL: https://newageislam.com/islamic-world-news/on-china’s-call,-pakistan-bans/d/14126