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Islamic World News ( 2 Nov 2011, NewAgeIslam.Com)

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Pak Steps out of 15-yr Cold, Gives India Most Favoured Nation Trade Status

Fire at French Newspaper after Inviting Prophet Muhammad as a Guest Editor

Pak Woman ‘wrongly issued’ Indian voter ID card

Sudan forces accused of killings, rape in Blue Nile

World to chart Afghan roadmap today

In Bani Walid, Gaddafi loyalists thirst for revenge

Al- Qaeda flag flies high over birthplace of Libyan revolution

Explosion in Peshawar marketplace, 11 injured

Seven hurt in Peshawar bomb attack

Two security officials killed in Mohmand clash

Bomb blast kills two in Turbat

Court orders man who killed mum to be held at pleasure of Negri Ruler

Gilani gives go-ahead for electricity import from India

US offers India the Joint Strike Fighter, top defence technology

US wants India, China to play constructive role in Afghanistan

Sessions Court fines woman from China for soliciting in KUALA TERENGGANU

Head of Taliban School offers to help Afghan talks

Islamabad’s impulsiveness distancing Afghans: Gulbudin Hekmatyar

Ensure intelligence doesn’t go to Haqqani network: US to Pak

Musharraf to return to Pakistan on March 23 at any cost: APML

Karzai seeks aid in fight against ‘terror’ on Afghan soil

Cordial Af-Pak relations crucial for peace in the region: Altaf

Arab League to reveal Syria peace plan - live updates

Saudi crown prince rules out compromise with Iran

Karzai, Zardari meet in Turkey

Russia opposes military intervention in Syria

Israeli PM for a military strike against Iran: report

Palestinians aim to join 16 other UN agencies

Turkey hosts Afghan-Pak talks

Egyptian activist Alaa Abd El Fattah accuses army of hijacking revolution

Somali al-Shabab militants attack Kenyan army convoy

Israeli response to UNESCO vote: New settlements, funds suspension

Pakistan to forfeit final IMF loan tranche: FT

New signs of Syria-Pakistan nuke ties

Two arrested for harassing Chinese woman in Islamabad

Pakistan media: Cricket verdict tarnishes image

Compiled By New Age Islam News Bureau

URL: https://newageislam.com/islamic-world-news/pak-steps-15-yr-cold,/d/5813

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Pak Steps out of 15-yr Cold, Gives India Most Favoured Nation Trade Status

New Delhi: Nov 03 2011,

Ahead of the SAARC summit in Maldives next week, Pakistan today decided to grant Most Favoured Nation (MFN) status to India in a move that is expected to boost bilateral trade far beyond the current $2.6 billion.

India had granted MFN status to Pakistan way back in 1996 but Islamabad — linking it to the Kashmir issue — had not reciprocated until today. “After a lengthy discussion and a briefing by the commerce secretary, the cabinet unanimously approved the commerce ministry’s summary to grant Most Favoured Nation status to India,” Pakistan’s Information Minister Firdous Ashiq Awan told a news conference in Islamabad. “This was a decision taken in the national interest and all stakeholders, including our military and defence institutions, were on board,” she said.

In New Delhi, Pakistan’s move was applauded by Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma who said this will eventually bring in prosperity and stability. “We deeply appreciate this positive gesture that Pakistan has taken. It underscores with clarity the wish which both countries’ governments have...We are clear that economic engagements, trade, removing barriers to trade and facilitating land transportation would help the region,” Sharma said.

MFN status essentially provides an assurance that a country will not be discriminated against when it comes to giving market access to its goods. In effect, it brings stability and removes arbitrariness from the trade. “It puts in place a predictable trading regime for Indian exporters,” said Biswajit Dhar, Director General, Research and Information System, an MEA think tank. It will also help increase trade volumes and reduce transaction cost, Dhar added.

Currently, India can export over 1,946 items to Pakistan including farm goods such as grain but in the absence of MFN status, around 20,000 items have to be routed through a third nation — like Dubai. With today’s move, Pakistan will levy normal duties on Indian imports.

Said Commerce Secretary Rahul Khullar: “This is an extremely good confidence-building measure. Over the last 20 years, it has been an issue which has not resolved. This shows that the agenda which we had drafted at the April meeting is being followed by both sides.”

The Commerce Secretaries of the two nations had met in April and agreed on a 20-point agenda. They are meeting again on November 14-18 in Delhi to discuss the agreed agenda.

Indian industry described the decision as “momentous” and said that this could lead to a multi-fold increase in bilateral trade — the CII estimated that it could jump to $8 billion in the next five years.

Pak Information Minister Awan said that during the Cabinet meeting, chaired by Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, concerns had been raised about Kashmir, political issues and defence and strategic relations. “Others raised issues related to national sovereignty and Pakistan’s territorial integrity. The Cabinet’s decision will cause no harm to the Kashmir cause,” she said.

Pointing out that Pakistan cannot live in regional isolation, Awan cited China’s example, a close ally of Pakistan, and said that despite a territorial dispute with India, Beijing had been working towards strengthening its economic ties with New Delhi.

“Trade (with India) is a separate issue. It is a most important priority for Pakistan to continue its support for the Kashmir issue and the movement (for the right to self-determination),” she said.

The unanimous decision of the Pak Cabinet marks an end to nearly four decades of frayed bilateral commercial links between the two countries. It is also the most important result from the peace process between the two countries that was launched in 2004 by Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and pursued by Manmohan Singh against great odds and declining domestic political support following the Mumbai terror attacks three years ago this month.

The Pak army’s support for the MFN decision is indeed a good omen for further movement in the Indo-Pak peace process.

The MFN decision is also a vindication, if much delayed, of Pakistan’s President Asif Ali Zardari’s approach to India. When his People’s Party came to power in 2008, Zardari sought to break the mould on India by emphasising greater economic cooperation with India but had to retreat in the face of domestic backlash.

In the last few years, many others in Pakistan, including the former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, had argued that trade links with India are in the nation’s own self-interest. Some influential voices in Pakistan, however, had insisted that normal bilateral trade should only follow a political settlement in Kashmir.

A number of new factors have helped end Pakistan’s prolonged debate on the terms of trade with India. A deepening crisis on its western frontiers with Afghanistan, deteriorating internal security situation, and a perilous economic condition have no doubt contributed to the Pakistan’s decision to explore new options with India.

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/pak-steps-out-of-15yr-cold-gives-india-most-favoured-nation-trade-status/869997/3

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Fire at French Newspaper after Inviting Prophet Muhammad as a Guest Editor

ANGELA CHARLTON

PARIS (AP) Nov 02 2011,

 France's prime minister condemned an apparent arson attack early on Wednesday that destroyed the offices of a satirical French newspaper that had "invited" the Prophet Muhammad as a guest editor this week.

A police official said the blaze broke out overnight at the offices of Charlie Hebdo weekly, and the exact cause remains unclear. No injuries were reported. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because an investigation into the fire is under way.

Police cited a witness saying that someone was seen throwing two firebombs at the building.

The newspaper director, who goes by the name Charb, said the fire was triggered by a Molotov cocktail. He blamed "radical stupid people who don't know what Islam is," for the apparent attack.

I think that they are themselves unbelievers ... idiots who betray their own religion," Charb said in an interview with Associated Press Television News.

rench Prime Minister Francois Fillon called on the authorities to find those responsible and bring them to justice.

"Freedom of expression is an inalienable value of our democracy .... No cause can justify a violent action," Fillon said in a statement.

The front-page of the weekly, subtitled "Sharia Hebdo," a reference to Islamic law, showed a cartoon-like man with a turban, white robe and beard smiling broadly and saying, in an accompanying bubble, "100 lashes if you don't die laughing."

Newspaper cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad published in 2005 by a Danish newspaper triggered protests in Muslim countries.

The president of an umbrella group representing France's Muslim community — at some 5 million the largest in western Europe — also condemned the apparent attack.

Mohammed Moussaoui, head of the French Council for the Muslim Faith, said his organization also deplores "the very mocking tone of the paper toward Islam and its prophet but reaffirms with force its total opposition to all acts and all forms of violence."

Islamic law generally opposes any depiction of the prophet, even favorable, for fear it could lead to idolatry.

Charb said the current issue, which appeared on newsstands Wednesday morning — after the fire — was centered on last week's victory of a once-banned Islamist party in Tunisia's first free elections and last month decision by Libya's new leaders that Sharia, or Islamic legislation, will be the main source of law in post-Gadhafi Libya.

"It was a joke where the topic was to imagine a world where Sharia would be applied," Charb told APTN. "But since everyone tells us not to worry about Libya or Tunisia, we wanted to explain what would be a soft version of Sharia, a Sharia applied in a soft manner."

A police official said the fire, at about 1 a.m. (2400 GMT), was quickly contained, but a large part of new offices on two levels were heavily damaged and equipment used by journalists to produce the paper were inoperable, a police official said.

Piles of scorched papers and equipment were seen at the weekly and its website was down.

"Our offices were burned by a cocktail Molotov that was thrown inside .... The fire propagated and luckily the firefighters intervened in time before the whole building was burned," Charb told APTN.

The director vowed to continue publishing and Paris Mayor Bertrand Delanoe said the city would help the publication find a new office space. Delanoe condemned "this demonstration of hate and intolerance."

Technicians from the police lab began their investigation several hours after the fire, taking fingerprints and various samples from the site of the paper.

Newspaper employees said they had received numerous threats as a result of the issue.

Page two of the issue is made up of a series of cartoons featuring women in burqas, the face-covering robes. And the paper's tongue-in-cheek editorial, signed "Muhammad," follows on page three, centered on the victory last week of Tunisia's Islamist Ennahda party in the nation's first free election — and saying that the party's real intention is imposing Islam not democracy.

Each page contains "a word from Muhammad" in the corner and spoofs the news by twisting it into the weekly's current theme. On the last page, a turbaned and bearded man with a clown-like red nose says: "Yes, Islam is compatible with humor."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/feedarticle/9926190/print

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Pak Woman ‘wrongly issued’ Indian voter ID card

By Sudhanshu Mishra in Jaipur

Nov 02 2011,

A 40- YEAR- OLD Pakistani woman, married to an Indian farmer living in a remote village of Bikaner on the India- Pakistan border, had to surrender her “ wrongly issued” voter ID as she failed to get an Indian citizenship.

Allabasai, a resident of Bahawalpur city in Pakistan, got married to Jaggu Khan in 1986 and shifted to 26 KJD village in the Khajuwala sub- division in Bikaner. She had been living there since on an extended visa.

Allabasai was, however, successful in getting a voter ID card last year by filing an affidavit along with other required documents.

Khajuwala sub- divisional officer Nisar Khan said on being alerted by the state intelligence the local police sprung into action and found out that Allabasai had procured the voter ID card after enrolling herself in the electoral list in 2008. Consequently, a notice was served on her and her voter ID card was cancelled.

Allabasai, in her reply to the notice, pointed out that she had repeatedly requested the central authorities for granting her citizenship as she had been living in India for the past 25 years.

However, as she had failed to produce any proof of Indian citizenship, her voter ID was cancelled.

http://epaper.mailtoday.in/epaperhome.aspx?issue=2112011

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Sudan forces accused of killings, rape in Blue Nile

Nov 02 2011,

Agence France-Presse . Juba

Sudanese government forces and militias are ‘killing and raping civilians in Blue Nile state’ as they flee violence and aerial bombing, a rights group said on Tuesday.

The Enough Project, a group backed by Hollywood star George Clooney, repeated calls for further investigation into alleged atrocities and for humanitarian access to the southern state where conflict has raged since September.

While many flee across the border for fear of Antonov bombers, ‘some Blue Nile residents also reported that government forces were targeting, killing, and raping civilians,’ it said in a statement.

The report came after members of the group visited the Sherkole refugee camp in Ethiopia, which almost 29,000 people have fled to, and the town of Kurmuk which straddles the border with Sudan.

‘Soldiers with small arms were chasing the civilians,’ the group quoted one refugee from the town of Um Darfa as saying.

‘They were supported by the Fellata an ethnic group in Blue Nile, who captured some of the civilians and slaughtered people,’ including women and children, said the refugee.

Amanda Hsiao of the Enough Project said the ‘stories provide only a glimpse into the civilian impact’ of the conflict in Blue Nile state.

‘They underscore the need for a comprehensive investigation into the alleged atrocities as well as international humanitarian access into the area, especially as ground combat intensifies with the end of the rainy season.’

Enough Project researcher Omer Ismail said there was a ‘huge need’ for an operation to deliver aid across the border to ‘victims of attacks by the government of Sudan on its own people in Blue Nile state and South Kordofan.’

‘Being there at the border and hearing the shelling and Antonov bombing while talking to the very refugees who fled the violence is quite compelling,’ he was quoted as saying in the statement.

The group reported other claims that militias were sent to flush out tens of thousands of people hiding in Blue Nile’s hillsides, and had detained and abused women, leading to the death of two young women from mass rape.

http://newagebd.com/newspaper1/international/38915.html

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World to chart Afghan roadmap today

Nov 2, 2011,

ISTANBUL: Diplomats are campaigning this week for a stable Afghanistan after the planned withdrawal of international combat forces by the end of 2014, a goal imperiled by militant attacks, a weak Afghan government and the conflicting interests of regional players.

International delegates were converging on Istanbul on Tuesday before the conference on security and economic development in Afghanistan against a backdrop of high-profile assaults in Kabul in the last few months.

Afghan president Hamid Karzai and Pakistan president Asif Ali Zardari met ahead of the regional conference on Wednesday amid tension over Afghan and US demands that Pakistan do more to curb militant activity and sanctuaries on its territory.

Karzai urged Pakistan to "move beyond words" and take concrete steps to curb militants which it said were a threat to both countries. They held their first talks since the assassination in September of Afghan peace negotiator Burhanuddin Rabbani.

Karzai urged "all countries in the region (to) cooperate with each other with honesty", in the face of threats, a statement from Karzai's office said. "If that happens, all countries in the region can overcome their problems."

Wednesday's meeting on "Security and Cooperation in the Heart of Asia" will be attended by 14 regional countries : Afghanistan, China, India, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan, Turkey, Turkmenisan, Uzbekistan and UAE. Germany, France and other Western countries with troops deployed in Afghanistan were sending envoys to show support.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/south-asia/World-to-chart-Afghan-roadmap-today/articleshow/10575780.cms?prtpage=1

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In Bani Walid, Gaddafi loyalists thirst for revenge

Nov 02 2011,

Agence France-Presse . Bani Walid

Members of Libya’s powerful Warfalla tribe say they are thirsting for revenge after their bastion Bani Walid was looted and pillaged by anti-Gaddafi fighters.

‘Tomorrow is another day. We will get our revenge sooner or later,’ said a Warfalla tribesman, pointing to shelled and burnt-out buildings in the oasis town, southeast of Tripoli.

Refusing to be filmed, and giving his name only as Suleiman, he said he fears the new regime’s fighters, who defeated Muammar Gaddafi’s beleaguered loyalists in Bani Walid two weeks ago after more than a month of fierce fighting.

‘We stopped fighting when we ran out of ammunition. Then we secured a safe passage for the volunteers,’ he said, referring to loyalists who had come from other regions.

‘Most of the town’s residents hid their weapons and stayed in their homes; others joined the rebels,’ he added.

Lingering tensions between supporters of the National Transitional Council and former Gaddafi strongholds are potentially one of the biggest problems facing Libya’s interim government.

For Full Report :

http://newagebd.com/newspaper1/international/38913.html

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Al- Qaeda flag flies high over birthplace of Libyan revolution

Nov 02 2011,

Daily Mail

THE BLACK flag of al- Qaeda was hoisted in Libya on Monday as Nato formally ended its military campaign.

The flag fluttered from the roof of the courthouse in Benghazi, where the country’s new rulers have imposed sharia law since seizing power.

Seen as the seat of the revolution, the judicial building was used by rebel forces to establish their provisional government and media centre.

The flag has been spotted on the courthouse several times, prompting denials from the National Transitional Council that it was responsible.

Complete with Arabic script declaring “ there is no God but Allah” and a full moon underneath, it was hoisted alongside the Libyan national flag.

Extremists have been seen on Benghazi’s streets at night, waving the al- Qaeda flag and shouting “ Islamiya, Islamiya! No East, nor West,” VICE reported.

A sudden lurch toward extremism will alarm many in the West who supported the ousting of Muammar Gaddafi.

For Full Report :

http://epaper.mailtoday.in/epaperhome.aspx?issue=2112011

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Explosion in Peshawar marketplace, 11 injured

By Iftikhar Firdous

Nov 02 2011,

PESHAWAR: An explosion occurred in the Karkhano market area of Peshawar on Wednesday, leaving  11 people injured.

Senior Superintendent of Peshawar police Saeed said two men are in critical condition, but did not confirm any deaths.

“It seems the target was Malik Taj,” police officer Tahir Ayub told AFP.

“The bomb was apparently planted in a car which was totally destroyed,” Shah told AFP from the scene.

Initial reports from the police suggest that the explosion took place when a remote-controlled bomb was detonated near the Malik Taj market located near the tribal region of Jamrud. Authorities have confirmed that the owner of the market was injured in the attack.

The injured persons have been rushed to a nearby hospital and police have cordoned off the area.

For Full Report :

http://tribune.com.pk/story/286537/explosion-in-peshawar-market-place-one-dead/?print=true

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Seven hurt in Peshawar bomb attack

Nov 02 2011,

At least 10 other cars parked near a police check post were badly damaged in the blast and tribal elder Malik Taj wounded, police officer Rahim Shah said.

“It seems the target was Malik Taj,” police officer Tahir Ayub told AFP.

“The bomb was apparently planted in a car which was totally destroyed,” Shah told AFP from the scene.

“Seven people have been injured, including Taj,” he added.

Taj is an important businessman in Khyber, part of Pakistan’s tribal belt, which straddles a key Nato supply route into neighbouring Afghanistan.

He owns a shopping plaza in the nearby Karkhano market and runs bus terminals in the area, residents said.

http://www.dawn.com/2011/11/02/blast-in-peshawar-market-casualties-feared.html

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Two security officials killed in Mohmand clash

Nov 02 2011,

Official sources said the militants had attacked the check post located in Mohmand’s Sira Karpai area between Tuesday and Wednesday.

Security officials and militants exchanged fire for about an hour. Personnel injured in the clash were shifted to Peshawar for medical treatment.

Separately, militants abducted three labourers working on Mohmand’s Ghalanai dam on Wednesday.

http://www.dawn.com/2011/11/02/two-security-officials-killed-in-mohmand-clash.html

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Bomb blast kills two in Turbat

Nov 02 2011,

According to official sources, FC personnel were on a round when a bomb blast took place. As a result, four security officials were badly injured. They were shifted to a hospital where two of them succumbed to their injuries.

The police then cordoned off the area and started a search operation.

Separately, five people who were abducted on Tuesday from a bus near the area of Mach were rescued by security officials during a search operation. One of the persons abducted remains in the custody of the kidnappers.

http://www.dawn.com/2011/11/02/bomb-blast-kills-two-in-turbat.html

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Court orders man who killed mum to be held at pleasure of Negri Ruler

SEREMBAN: A 27-year-old man has been ordered to be detained at the pleasure of the Yang di-Pertuan Besar of Negri Sembilan after he was found guilty of fatally stabbing his mother at their home in Bahau.

High Court judge Datuk Zulkifli Bakar said while Hirman Sah Sohaimi was found guilty of fatally stabbing 54-year-old Jemelah Muhamad, he had to acquit him as testimony by medical experts showed that he was of unsound mind during the incident in February.

“Therefore, I will not sentence you under Section 302 of the Penal Code for murder which carries the death penalty upon conviction as the court finds that you had no intention of killing your mother due to your mental condition,” he said.

However, Zulkifli found him guilty of the offence under Section 348 of the Criminal Procedure Code and ordered that he be detained at the pleasure of the state Ruler.

Hirman, the third of four siblings, was charged with murdering his mother at their family home in Felda Kepis, Bahau, at 8pm on Feb 18.

According to the statement of the facts, Hirman claimed a voice repeatedly told him to kill his mother who was resting in a room.

Hirman then walked to his mother's room, picked up a knife that was kept next to her bed and stabbed her twice.

http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2011/11/2/nation/20111102194848&sec=nation

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Gilani gives go-ahead for electricity import from India

Khaleeq Kiani

Nov 02 2011,

An official said India had offered to sell about 500MW of electricity. It may materialise within a year by laying a transmission line. The facility in theory would have two-way electricity trade because of difference in peak-time demands in the two countries but given the continuous shortfalls in Pakistan, India would be the net exporter of electricity in foreseeable future, he said.

A statement issued by the prime minister’s secretariat said Mr Gilani had expressed “deep concern” and “dissatisfaction” over long delays in the implementation of strategically important projects. It conceded that projects of about 3,945MW of electricity would not be completed within stipulated time.

Besides the NJHP, the other major projects facing delays include 1,100MW Kohala Hydropower Project in Azad Kashmir, 425MW combined cycle project at Nandipur in Punjab and 1,450MW Tarbela Expansion Project.

For Full Report :

http://www.dawn.com/2011/11/02/gilani-gives-go-ahead-for-electricity-import-from-india.html

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US offers India the Joint Strike Fighter, top defence technology

Nov 2, 2011,

WASHINGTON: Although the US lost out in the bid to sell India 126 multi-role combat jets, it has offered New Delhi "top-of-the-line technology", including "the best in the world" Joint Strike Fighter (JSF).

"The US F-16 and F-18 competed, but were not down-selected, in the Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA) competition in April 2011," the US defence department said in a report to the US Congress on US-India Security Cooperation.

"Despite this setback, we believe US aircraft, such as the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF), to be the best in the world," said the Pentagon report prepared in response to a request from the powerful Senate Armed Services Committee on a five-year action plan to strengthen bilateral defence relations.

"Should India indicate interest in the JSF, the United States would be prepared to provide information on the JSF and its requirements (infrastructure, security, etc.) to support India's future planning."

India has demonstrated its interest in upgrading its inventory of fighter aircraft, the report said noting "It intends to purchase 126 medium multi-role combat aircraft and is working with Russia on the development of the Sukhoi/HAL Fifth Generation Fighter Aircraft (FGFA).

The department of defence, along with the departments of state and commerce, will advocate for US solutions to Indian defence needs, it said. "We recognize that India is also seeking to build its own indigenous defence industry, and is looking for the best technologies to use in its defence sector.

For Full Report :

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/us/US-offers-India-the-Joint-Strike-Fighter-top-defence-technology/articleshow/10577006.cms?prtpage=1

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US wants India, China to play constructive role in Afghanistan

Nov 02 2011,

Ahead of the crucial Istanbul conference on Afghanistan, the US has said it wants India and China to play a “constructive role” in bringing long-term peace to the war-torn country.

“We’ve talked with both capitals about very constructive roles that they can play,” a senior Obama administration official said last evening.

Special US Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan, Marc Grossman, was recently in India and China, and held talks with authorities in both countries in the run-up to tomorrow’s Istanbul conference and the role these two countries can play in bringing long-term peace to the country.

“We’ve continued to talk with both countries, through a series of diplomatic engagements. Ambassador Grossman was in both Beijing and New Delhi on his most recent trip to the region over the last few weeks, and this continues in a range of other settings,” the administration official said.

For Full Report :

http://www.dailypioneer.com/world/17197-us-wants-india-china-to-play-constructive-role-in-afghanistan.html

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Sessions Court fines woman from China for soliciting in KUALA TERENGGANU

By FARIK ZOLKEPLI

KUALA TERENGGANU: A woman from China told the court she worked as a call girl to support her family in Yunnan.

Xin Wei pleaded guilty Wednesday to solicit at a hotel here at about 11.15pm on Oct 3.

The 27-year-old was fined RM10,000 by Sessions Court judge Zainal Abidin Kamarudin.

She was further slapped with a RM1,000 fine for violating her social visit pass by working as a masseuse.

Her friend Liu Min, 24, was fined the same amount for violating her social visit pass.

Liu Min told the court she came here to work because she wanted to provide for her family in Hennan province.

“I was told that I could work as a masseuse by the syndicate that handled my transportation here,” she said.

Judge Zainal Abidin ordered the two to be deported.

http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2011/11/2/nation/20111102193117&sec=nation

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Head of Taliban school offers to help Afghan talks

Nov 02 2011,

The offer by the influential ”father of the Taliban” raises some hope for American attempts to find a negotiated end to the 10-year-old war _ not necessarily because he will indeed be brought in as a mediator, but more because it gives a sign that there is a willingness among the Taliban and their allies to talk, something that has been thrown in doubt by months of setbacks in efforts to start negotiations.

”There must be some way out,” Maulana Sami-ul-Haq told The Associated Press. ”A way out that can also give America a respectable exit. Bloodletting is not a solution.”

America’s public commitment to peace talks is stronger then ever as it works to bring the bulk of its troops home from Afghanistan by 2014. It has called on Pakistan to bring insurgents into the process, but so far there has been little progress. American officials believe greater military pressure against the insurgents is still needed _ through operations in Afghanistan and drone strikes in the Pakistan border region, an approach it calls ”fighting and talking.”

”We are pounding them, and there is some evidence that people would like to come to an agreement,” said a senior U.S. official, who didn’t give his name because of the diplomatic sensitivities surrounding the reconciliation process. ”The Pakistanis tell us that there are guys that want to talk.”

In a new pressure move, the United States on Tuesday designated Mali Khan, a commander in the militant Haqqani network, as a specially designated global terrorist. The designation freezes any assets or property he may have in U.S. jurisdictions and barring Americans from providing him with material support.

For Full Report :

http://www.dawn.com/2011/11/01/head-of-taliban-school-offers-to-help-afghan-talks.html

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Islamabad’s impulsiveness distancing Afghans: Gulbudin Hekmatyar

By Fida Muhammad Adeel

Nov 02 2011,

Afghans have lost faith in Pakistan due to the latter’s “impulsive” actions, veteran Afghan warlord Gulbudin Hekmatyar said on Tuesday even as Washington has enlisted Islamabad’s help in finding a negotiated settlement to the decade-old war in Afghanistan.

“In its quest for US favours, Pakistan has alienated the Afghan people and mujahideen. Now Islamabad cannot play any role in stabilising Afghanistan and restoring peace there,” Hekmatyar, the fugitive chief of Hezb-e-Islami insurgent group, told Daily Express in a written interview.

He came down hard on Pakistan for its role in the US-led war against terrorism and said it ignored even its own interests to please the US. “Its controversial policies have antagonised its own people,” he said referring to the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan-led insurgency in the tribal regions.

“Today Afghanistan has become the hub of anti-Pakistan forces,” said Hekmatyar. As a result, small groups have come to power in Kabul. “And these groups have the backing of India, Russia and Iran.”

Hekmatyar accused Islamabad of helping Washington to topple the Taliban regime in Afghanistan which it had acknowledged as a legitimate government. He also blamed Pakistan for the “massacre of 130,000 innocent Afghans”.

He rejected claims by Washington and Kabul that Pakistan was fuelling the insurgency in Afghanistan.

For Full Report :

http://tribune.com.pk/story/286356/islamabads-impulsiveness-distancing-afghans-gulbudin-hekmatyar/?print=true

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Ensure intelligence doesn’t go to Haqqani network: US to Pak

Nov 02 2011,

The US has asked Pakistan to make sure that intelligence information does not flow to the Haqqani network as part of efforts to squeeze the dreaded terror group that has attacked  American interersts in Afghanistan.

A senior administration official said that there were a range of issues that could help to facilitate in squeezing the Haqqani network from the Pakistani side, and would be very complementary to US efforts on the Afghan side of the border. “That includes ensuring that intelligence doesn’t go to the Haqqani network, that they address Improvised Explosive Devices (IED) issues, that they don’t benefit from financial resources or flow of finances, that we deal specifically with areas where we know the Haqqani network and the Taliban are based, including kind of key cities along the border,” the official said on Monday. The issue was raised by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, during her recent trip to Islamabad.

http://www.dailypioneer.com/world/17199-ensure-intel-doesnt-go-to-haqqani-network-us-to-pak.html

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Musharraf to return to Pakistan on March 23 at any cost: APML

Nov 02 2011,

Staff Report

KARACHI: Former president Gen (r) Pervez Musharraf will return Pakistan on March 23, 2012 at any cost, said All Pakistan Muslim League (APML) central vice presidents Dr Ghulam Mujtaba and Haris Nawaz.

Addressing a joint press conference at a local hotel on Tuesday, the APML leaders said it was very clear stance of the party that no one should have ambiguity in return of Musharraf as there would be no delay in it.

Dr Mujtaba said: “The basic and real problem facing the country is its slowing economy, however, Musharraf is only political figure who could safeguard it. He said Pakistan would need no foreign aid if looted money of the country was recovered. He said: “Musharraf is the only person whom the world rely. The donor agencies, which are currently reluctant to give funds to the present rulers, will give funds to the country over their trust on him.”

He claimed there was no charge of corruption against Musharraf. The APML VC termed the Musharraf tenure as golden era in terms of economy. Dr Mujtaba said Pakistan was passing through a critical juncture as lawlessness had badly hit its society.

For Full Report :

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2011\11\02\story_2-11-2011_pg7_3

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Karzai seeks aid in fight against ‘terror’ on Afghan soil

Nov 02 2011,

“Terrorist networks are by far the major threat to Afghanistan’s security,” Karzai said at the opening of a global conference in Istanbul aimed at mapping out his country’s future.

“They continue to have sanctuaries outside of our border from where they conduct their merciless campaign of destruction.

“Unless regional cooperation is assured to address the core and root of this issue peace in Afghanistan will remain elusive.”

Representatives from 20 countries have joined aid agency members at the Istanbul talks, being held almost 10 years after the Taliban militia were driven out of power in Kabul by a US-led coalition.

But the hardline militants remain a deadly force in Afghanistan, continuing to wage attacks against Afghan, US and Nato forces.

Kabul, like Washington, has complained that Islamabad is not doing enough against the Taliban and al-Qaeda whose militants have found refuge in Pakistani tribal areas on the Afghan border.

For Full Report :

http://www.dawn.com/2011/11/02/global-conference-on-afghanistan-future-opens-in-istanbul.html

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Cordial Af-Pak relations crucial for peace in the region: Altaf

Nov 02 2011,

Speaking to a group of journalists and Pakhtun youth, Mr Hussain stressed that cordial relations between Afghanistan and Pakistan were in the region’s best interest and that the MQM felt sympathy for the Afghan people.

Mr Hussain said that Pakhtuns, Hazaaras, Uzbeks and people from other nationalities should join hands to ensure peace in Afghanistan.

He further said that he was against the targeting of any people on the basis of colour, language and regional prejudices.

We are all Muslims and more importantly we are all human beings and neighbours, Mr Husain said.

http://www.dawn.com/2011/11/02/cordial-af-pak-relations-crucial-for-peace-in-the-region-altaf.html

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Arab League to reveal Syria peace plan - live updates

Nov 02 2011,

Colonel Riad Assad, leader of the Syria Free Army, said the defected brigade is continuing to attack government targets. Photograph: Hasan Yetmez/Reuters

11.58am: Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, appears to have won the latest battle in political war with Iran's supreme leader.

AP reports on the failure of petition to summon him to parliament for questioning over a long list of accusations, including corruption.

The power struggle is an internal conflict in Iran in the run-up to parliamentary elections in March 2012 and the 2013 presidential election.

Had the petition succeeded, Ahmadinejad would have been the first Iranian president to be hauled before parliament a serious blow to his standing in the conflict involving the president, lawmakers and Iran's powerful clerics.

For Full Report :

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/middle-east-live/2011/nov/02/arab-league-to-reveal-syria-plan-live-updates/print

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Saudi crown prince rules out compromise with Iran

Nov 2, 2011,

MECCA: Saudi Crown Prince Nayef bin Abdul Aziz today ruled out any compromise with Iran over allegations of Iranian involvement in a plot to murder the Saudi ambassador to Washington.

"There can be no compromise with Iran concerning the assassination bid because there is no need for it," the crown prince, who also holds the interior ministry portfolio, told a news conference in Mecca.

"We are ready to deal with any scenario... with any means necessary," he added without further details during an inspection tour of preparations for the annual hajj Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca, Islams' holiest site.

For Full Report :

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/middle-east/Saudi-crown-prince-rules-out-compromise-with-Iran/articleshow/10579184.cms?prtpage=1

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Karzai, Zardari meet in Turkey

Nov 02 2011,

Turkey hosted the presidents of Afghanistan and Pakistan Tuesday for a trilateral summit designed to reduce tensions and promote cooperation between the two neighbours amid stepped-up Taliban attacks.

The Turkish president, Abdullah Gul, held separate talks with Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan and Asif Zardari of Pakistan in an ancient Ottoman palace overlooking the Bosphorus before the three-way talks later Tuesday.

The meeting ahead of an international conference on Afghanistan on Wednesday in Turkey is the first between the two neighbours since the assassination of the former Afghan leader and peace negotiator Burhanuddin Rabbani on September 20.

Kabul has accused Islamabad of refusing to cooperate in the investigation of the murder, which according to Afghan authorities, was planned in Pakistan and committed by a Pakistani suicide bomber.

http://newagebd.com/newspaper1/international/38906.html

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Russia opposes military intervention in Syria

Nov 02 2011,

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov yesterday said his country would oppose a Libya-style military intervention against the Syrian regime which is battling months-long democracy protests.

"We have many questions... after the UN Security Council adopted the Libyan resolution," allowing military intervention to protect civilian lives, and "after the Libyan drama," he said in Abu Dhabi, speaking in English.

A month after the launch of an uprising against Muammar Gaddafi's regime, the UN Security Council passed a resolution approving "all necessary measures" to impose a no-fly zone and protect civilians in Libya.

Asked if Moscow will maintain its support for the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, the Russian foreign minister said: "We are not protecting any regime."

Assad, who is under mounting Arab and international pressure a bloody crackdown against pro-democracy protesters, told Russian television on Sunday he expected continued support from Moscow.

For Full Report :

http://www.thedailystar.net/newDesign/news-details.php?nid=208913

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Israeli PM for a military strike against Iran: report

Nov 02 2011,

Jerusalem : Israel is mulling a possible military strike to foil Iran's nuclear ambitions with its hawkish Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu garnering support within his cabinet for the same, according to a media report in Jerusalem.

Actively supported by Defence Minister Ehud Barak, the Israeli Premier is said to have recently succeeded in persuading ultra-nationalist Foreign Minister, Avigdor Lieberman, in support of the strike as they work towards mustering a cabinet majority on the strike, Ha'aretz daily reported citing a senior Israeli official as source.

According to the official, there is a "small advantage" in the cabinet for the opponents of such an attack.

Lieberman had been earlier being an opponent of such a measure.

Awaiting nuclear watchdog International Atomic Energy Agency's (IAEA) report to be released on November 8, political leaders in Israel have started arguing over the possibility of a war with Iran.

For Full Report :

http://www.indianexpress.com/story-print/869567/

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Palestinians aim to join 16 other UN agencies

Nov 02 2011,

It’s not just UNESCO: The Palestinians’ top envoy in Geneva on Tuesday said he believes that joining the UN agency for culture, education and science will “open the door” to joining 16 other UN agencies within weeks.

Ibrahim Khraishi, the top Palestinian envoy at the UN in Geneva, told The Associated Press that Palestinian diplomats are now planning to capitalise Monday’s landslide vote to allow the Palestinians into UNESCO by preparing papers to join the other UN agencies and a variety of other international organisations.

“Now we are studying when we are going to move for full membership on the other UN agencies,” Khraishi said. “It’s our target for (us to join) the international organisations and the UN agencies.”

He said the UNESCO vote sets a precedent to allowing such broad memberships.

For Full Report :

http://www.dailypioneer.com/world/17202-palestinians-aim-to-join-16-other-un-agencies.html

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Turkey hosts Afghan-Pak talks

Nov 02 2011,

Hamid Karzai and Asif Ali Zardari met along with Turkish President Abdullah Gul while their army chiefs consulted ahead of an international conference on Afghanistan.

Afghanistan accuses Pakistan's Inter-Service Intelligence (ISI) agency of supporting Taliban insurgents who have launched a string of dramatic attacks in recent months as foreign troops prepare to pull out most combat troops by 2014.

It broke off talks with Pakistan after the assassination in September of Afghan peace negotiator Burhanuddin Rabbani, which it blamed on Taliban insurgents.

Islamabad denies supporting the Taliban.

"Now is perhaps the time to try to reverse the course," a Turkish official said on the eve of the talks between Karzai, Zardari and Gul.

"We sense that they have a genuine wish to talk to each other because they realize this trend is not helping either of them," he said.

http://www.thedailystar.net/newDesign/news-details.php?nid=208920

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Egyptian activist Alaa Abd El Fattah accuses army of hijacking revolution

Jack Shenker

Nov 02 2011,

Alaa Abd El Fattah and his wife Manal Hassan. Abd El Fattah, one of Egypt's most prominent anti-regime voices was arrested on charges of inciting violence against the army. Photograph: AP

The jailed Egyptian revolutionary Alaa Abd El Fattah has written a secret letter from his prison cell, accusing the country's military rulers of murder and lamenting what he views as the army's hijacking of the revolution.

The piece, produced covertly from inside Bab El-Khalq prison where Abd El Fattah is being held, was handed to his heavily pregnant wife, Manal, during a visit on Monday. It is being published in Arabic by the Egyptian newspaper Al Shorouk and in English by the Guardian, and is likely to intensify the growing divisions between Egypt's increasingly repressive army junta and pro-change activists on the street.

Abd El Fattah, one of Egypt's most prominent anti-regime voices and a former political prisoner under the Mubarak dictatorship, was taken into military custody on Sunday evening following public criticisms of the army's conduct on the night of 9 October, when at least 27 people were killed during a Coptic Christian protest march in downtown Cairo.

For Full Report :

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/nov/02/egyptian-activist-alaa-accuses-army/print

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Somali al-Shabab militants attack Kenyan army convoy

Nov 02 2011,

A Somali military spokesman told the BBC they killed 36 insurgents in a counter-attack in the south.

But an al-Shabab commander said the militia had destroyed Kenyan military trucks and inflicted heavy casualties.

Kenya's military, which sent troops into Somalia last month, has warned 10 towns of imminent attacks via Twitter.

Kenya blames al-Shabab militants for a spate of kidnappings on Kenyan soil.

But the al-Qaeada-linked group, which is in control of most of southern Somalia, denies the allegations.

Weapon delivery

ontinue reading the main story

tart Quote

We are saying that people should be careful in not mixing up with al-Shabab. That is our message”

Maj Emmanuel Chirchir

enya military spokesman

An al-Shabab regional commander Sheik Mohamed Ibrahim said a Kenyan military convoy had been ambushed on the road from the border town of Liboi to Kenyan forward troop positions inside Somalia.

"The mujahideen fighters destroyed several of the military trucks in the convoy," Mr Ibrahim said.

For Full Report :

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-15550115

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Israeli response to UNESCO vote: New settlements, funds suspension

Nov 02 2011,

The decision to speed up construction in east Jerusalem and in nearby settlements was taken by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s inner cabinet, which met a day after UNESCO’s general assembly voted to admit Palestine as a full member.

“These measures were agreed … as punishment after the vote at UNESCO,” a senior government official told AFP on condition of anonymity.

“We will build 2,000 housing units, including 1,650 homes in east Jerusalem and the rest in the settlements of Maaleh Adumim and Efrat,” he said, referring to a sprawling settlement east of Jerusalem and another between Bethlehem and the southern city of Hebron.

“It was also decided to temporarily freeze the transfer of funds to the Palestinian Authority,” he added.

Every month, Israel transfers to the Palestinian Authority tens of millions of dollars in customs duties which are levied on goods destined for Palestinian markets that transit through Israeli ports, and which constitute a large percentage of the Palestinian budget.

Israel often freezes the transfer of funds as a punitive measure in response to diplomatic or political developments viewed as harmful.

For Full Report :

http://www.dawn.com/2011/11/02/israeli-response-to-unesco-vote-new-settlements-funds-suspension.html

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Pakistan to forfeit final IMF loan tranche: FT

Nov 02 2011,

WASHINGTON: Pakistan will not take up the final $3.7 billion tranche of an International Monetary Fund (IMF) loan package after rejecting strict reform demands, the Financial Times said on Tuesday. Finance Minister Abdul Hafeez Sheikh told the paper that the IMF conditions were too tough and the government would instead pursue a homegrown reform programme, adding that the “resilient” economy did not need IMF help.

The Washington-based fund bailed out Pakistan with an $11.3 billion loan package launched in November 2008 as the country faced 30-year-high inflation rates and fast-depleting reserves, as well as a deadly insurgency. The IMF forecasts Pakistan to post growth of just 2.6 percent in 2011, among the lowest in Asia, while inflation is tipped to stand at around 14 percent this year and next - among the highest in the world. afp

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2011\11\02\story_2-11-2011_pg1_4

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New signs of Syria-Pakistan nuke ties

Nov 02 2011,

WASHINGTON: UN investigators have identified a previously unknown complex in Syria that bolsters suspicions that the Syrian government worked with AQ Khan, the father of Pakistan’s atomic bomb, to acquire technology that could make nuclear arms.

The buildings in northwest Syria closely match the design of a uranium enrichment plant provided to Libya when Muammar Gaddafi was trying to build nuclear weapons under Khan’s guidance, officials told the Associated Press.

The UN’s International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) also has obtained correspondence between Khan and a Syrian government official, Muhidin Issa.

For Full Report :

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2011\11\02\story_2-11-2011_pg1_5

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Two arrested for harassing Chinese woman in Islamabad

Nov 02 2011,

ISLAMABAD: Police on Tuesday arrested two persons for harassing a Chinese national female, working in a Chinese restaurant situated in F-7/4, a spokesman for police said Chen Zong Dong, owner of Chinese restaurant, filed the complaint. According to spokesman, Fenin is working in a restaurant since last three years as hotel receptionist. Two persons identified as Sultan and Musadiq visited the hotel, getting the advantage of minute gathering, they misbehaved with Fenin and try to abduct. Security guards of restaurant captured the above mentioned persons and call the police. The case vide 540/11 has been registered against them with Kohsar Police Station. staff report

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2011\11\02\story_2-11-2011_pg11_8

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Pakistan media: Cricket verdict tarnishes image

Nov 02 2011,

Pakistani media and cricket fans say Tuesday's London court verdict finding two of the country's cricketers guilty in a "spot-fixing" scam has tarnished the game and the nation.

Salman Butt and Mohammad Asif were both found guilty of conspiracy to cheat and conspiracy to accept corrupt payments.

They plotted to deliberately bowl no-balls during a Lord's Test match against England last summer.

Another bowler, Mohammad Amir, admitted the charges prior to the trial.

All three are facing the prospect of jail terms.

Meanwhile, Cricket Australia said the verdict had made it "even more committed" to tackling corruption.

'Really sad'

"Pakistan's convicted spot-fixers represent the gangrene that had been eroding the fabric of Pakistan's game," wrote Saad Shafqat, a Karachi-based writer, on the EspnCricinfo website.

"It hardly seems a coincidence that, following their exit from the team, Pakistan's fortunes on the field have improved."

Readers of the Dawn newspaper's website said Tuesday's verdict put Pakistan cricket to shame.

For Full Report :

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-15550075?print=true

URL: https://newageislam.com/islamic-world-news/pak-steps-15-yr-cold,/d/5813


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