Sunni Ittehad Council of Pakistan: Fatwa for Jihad against America
US pressure fuels anti-Americanism in Pakistan
Pakistan business community for MFN status for India
U.S. asks Pakistan to act tough against extremists
Defiant Pak in huddle, won’t target Haqqanis
Growing clamour in US to punish Pak for act of war
Al-Qaeda cut off Yemeni boy's hand south of Yemen
Hate campaign launched against family of Pak girl accused of blasphemy
CIA created Haqqani network during Soviet occupation: Pak
Palestine: Sayyed Ali Fadlullah received a delegation from the Islamic Jihad
Suicide Bomber Attacks Packed Indonesian Church
Maldives: Islamic Foundation files court case seeking repeal of Religious Unity Regulations
Afghan shooter kills American in CIA’s Kabul base; motive unknown
Afghans arrest man tied to Rabbani’s death
NATO strikes Qadhafi’s hometown
Pak seeks help from other countries
At 26/11 ground zero, toast raised to Pak minister
Two LeT militants, accomplice arrested from Kashmir
India-Pakistan trade talks to take cooperation to new level
Pak’s military representatives to attend all party meet on ties with U.S.
US attack on Waziristan will result in united response: Imran Khan
Yemeni general killed, 30 troops taken hostage
Afghanistan: 'Two killed at Kabul CIA station'
Suicide attack kills 4 in Afghanistan
Israel Ordered to Pay in Palestinian Girl's Death
Palestinian Girl: Israelis interrogated me 13 times while handcuffed
No talks without settlement freeze: President Mahmoud Abbas
Saudi women get right to vote, but can't drive yet
Malaysia: The debate on hudud, once again
Islamic Healing Is on the Rise in Southeast Asia
California: No regrets from Muslim students in speech case
Georgia: Muslim Polygamy Is Normal, Burkas Good For Women
Race hatred clouds Libya's democratic ambitions
British Prosecutors Ask Libya's NTC for Lockerbie Help
Mass grave found in Tripoli with remains of 1270
Politicos & cops wake up to J& K grave truth
PDP says amend Afzal Guru resolution
I am a Kashmiri and I feel your pain, says Rahul Gandhi
NIA, UP ATS zeroing in on Varanasi blast suspects
Subramanian Swamy claims threat from Cong, Jihadis
Bharatpur: A night of violence that changed a village
Top American senator threatens Pakistan with war
Haqqani group was once CIA’s “blue-eyed boy”, says Khar
Pak army defies US, will not attack Haqqani group: Report
Pakistan: Women lawmakers feel discriminated against in assembly
Imran Khan wants UK to cut aid to Pakistan
President Zardari may secure second term as Pak president: report
Raising blood money is not enough, says Saudi economist
Enemies trying to portray negative image from Muslims: Iranian Minister
Islam is the religion of peace, love, tolerance, harmony, brotherhood and care
Berlin confirms German killed in Afghanistan
Nobel laureate Wangari Maathai dies at 71
Yemen using war on Al-Qaeda to bolster regime
Islamist radicalism in Yemen
Algerians ignore latest protest call _ for now
Syrian tanks pound rebel town near Homs, 3 injured
Riots hit Bulgarian village, 127 arrested
Yemen President Saleh says ready for polls, power transfer
British police charge six in terror plot
Middle East envoy Blair pushed £1 bn deals for bank he advises: report
Adhaalath Party condemns Christchurch College scholarships at Oxford
Pak film industry takes legal route to ban Indian films
RIYADH: 50,000 Indians deported during amnesty
Compiled by New Age Islam News Bureau
URL: https://newageislam.com/islamic-world-news/sunni-ittehad-council-pakistan-fatwa/d/5557
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Sunni Ittehad Council of Pakistan: Fatwa for Jihad against America
September 26, 2011
LAHORE – As many as 50 religious scholars associated with the Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC), a conglomerate of 20 Barelvi school of thought groups, have declared that Jihad against the US would be obligatory for the entire in case of aggression against the country.
According a press release issued here on Sunday, the scholars had issued a decree for Jihad against the US, terming it real Jihad in defence of the homeland.
The fatwa also declared as haram (illegitimate) calling the US super power, saying only Allah Almighty deserved the title.
The scholars called upon the government to end the country’s role as front-line state in the so-called US war on terror and try to establish a new bloc comprising China, Turkey, Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan. They also urged the government to start preaching Jihad in the way of God with the armed forces making preparations to counter any foreign aggression. They urged all politicians to bring back their assets from abroad as well as returning bank loans got through political influence.
http://nation.com.pk/pakistan-news-newspaper-daily-english-online/Regional/Lahore/26-
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US pressure fuels anti-Americanism in Pakistan
Sep 26 2011
Islamabad : Mounting pressure on Pakistan to go after a militant group blamed for attacks on US targets in Afghanistan is deepening anti-American sentiment, highlighting how difficult it will be for Washington to win more support for its war on militancy.
The rising antipathy to the United States also makes it tougher for the government, already unpopular because of widespread allegations of corruption and its failure to tackle poverty, to do anything that will be seen as caving into US demands to crack down harder on militancy.
US officials allege that Pakistan's powerful spy agency supported the Haqqani militant network that Washington blames for the recent attack on its embassy and other targets in Kabul.
Pakistanis view such accusations with deep suspicion and accuse the United States of blaming their country to cover up for its own failures in the region.
The allegations it has made against Pakistan were basically meant to hoodwink its own people, said Shaukat Ali Achakzai, a businessman in the southwestern city of Quetta.
The government of Pakistan should strongly and forcefully respond to American allegations. The people of Pakistan will support it if it does so.
Washington and Islamabad are engaged in the harshest war of words since Pakistan joined the US war on terror following the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks on the United States.
Pakistan's foreign minister has warned the United States it risked losing an ally by continuing to publicly criticise Islamabad's performance in the war against militancy.
Two weeks ago, militants launched an assault against the US embassy and NATO headquarters in Kabul. US officials blamed those attacks on the Haqqani network.
US officials said there was intelligence, including intercepted phone calls, suggesting those attackers were in communication with people connected to Pakistan's principal spy agency, the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) directorate.
Pakistan denies accusations it has ties with the Haqqanis. But analysts say it sees the powerful group as strategic asset in any future Afghan peace settlement.
UNGRATEFUL PARTNER
Like their government, Pakistanis say the United States is ungrateful even though Pakistan has lost thousands of soldiers and security forces fighting al Qaeda and other groups.
America is oblivious to the fact that Pakistan has suffered the most in its war on terror campaign, said banker Hamza Khan.
To allege that Pakistan is supporting the Haqqani network without providing solid evidence does not give it carte blanche to unilaterally attack or threaten Pakistan.
Pakistanis are quick to remind the United States that Jalaluddin Haqqani -- the founder of the Haqqani network -- was once one of Washington's best friends in the region.
He was a legendary mujahideen commander who worked with the Americans in the 1980s to oust the Soviet Union from Afghanistan. Jalaluddin even visited the White House when Ronald Reagan was president.
Everybody knows who created the Haqqanis. They were created by the Americans in their fight against the Soviets, said Sheraz Ahmed, a computer dealer in the city of Multan.
We will be happy if Pakistan stands up against the Americans, instead of the Haqqanis.
Sirajuddin Haqqani, who heads the group, says it is no longer based in Pakistan's North Waziristan and feels secure operating in Afghanistan.
The United States has long pressed Pakistan to launch a major offensive in North Waziristan to root out the Haqqanis.
Bowing to American demands would be politically risky for the already unpopular Pakistani government.
Amina Ansari, who works in the energy sector in Pakistan's biggest city Karachi, says Pakistan's corrupt leaders have already been bought out, and the United States actually wanted to destroy her country.
Foreign forces are due to hand over security responsibilities in Afghanistan in 2014.
Some Pakistanis argue their government had a right to maintain ties with powerful militant groups like the Haqqanis in Afghanistan, where its rival India is gaining influence.
We need allies in Afghanistan like anyone else, said Sarmaz Faraz, a marketing consultant in Islamabad.
http://arabnews.com/world/article507201.ece
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Pakistan business community for MFN status for India
Sep 27 2011
Members of a high-level business delegation from Pakistan led by Pakistan's Federal Minister of Commerce Makhdoom Amin Fahim on Monday told Governor of Maharashtra K Sankaranarayanan that there was a strong opinion in Pakistan that India should be given the status of a Most Favoured Nation (MFN).
The Commerce Minister expressed confidence that his visit comprising top-level business delegation would prove to be a “stepping stone for future relations between Pakistan and India”.
Members of the business community accompanying the Minister said it was time that India and Pakistan forgot their differences and dealt with political and business issues exclusive of one another, a release issued by Raj Bhavan, Mumbai, said.
The Chief Executive Officer of Pak Denim Mirza Ikhtiar Baig described the visit by Pakistan Commerce Minister to India as “path-breaking”. He said regional trade had proved to be successful business model for all the regional blocks across the world and that SAARC countries should also adopt the same model.
Welcoming the Pakistan delegation to Maharashtra, Mr. Sankaranarayanan expressed the hope that the visit would strengthen cooperation between the business communities of the two countries. Pakistan's Secretary of Commerce Zafar Mahmood, High Commissioner of Pakistan to India Shahid Malik, Senators and Heads of business organisations from Pakistan were present on the occasion.
Pakistan Commerce Minister would address ‘India-Pakistan Business Conclave' on Tuesday organised by Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI) here.
http://www.thehindu.com/business/article2487756.ece
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U.S. asks Pakistan to act tough against extremists
Sep 27 2011
The U.S. on Tuesday said it wants to work with Pakistan in the fight against terrorism, but insisted that Islamabad has been asked to act against extremist groups such as Haqqani network that operate from its soil.
“The clear message that is being conveyed over the last week that we hope the Government of Pakistan would take steps against the militants located on the Pakistani side of the border, who carry out attacks against American and Afghan forces inside Afghanistan,” Pentagon spokesman George Little told reporters.
Insisting that the lines of communication remain open with Pakistan, Mr. Little said the relationship is complicated but an essential one.
There is a need to find out ways to work together especially when it comes to terrorism as both countries have common interest in fighting terrorists. Both Americans and Pakistanis have been victims of terrorist attacks, he said.
“The Secretary of Defence was clear on Thursday in testimony (before a Congressional committee) that in terms of options that might be looked at to pursue militants, we are not going to discuss what options may or may not be,” Mr. Little said.
Responding to questions about the recent series of high visibility attack, he said by doing so the terrorist outfits were trying to “create a perception” which was far away from reality.
“The bottom line is, this fighting season for the Taliban and insurgents in Afghanistan has been less effective. They are resorting to new tactics that resemble what we have seen in last several weeks and they have been able to...large scale offences,” Mr. Little said.
“The insurgents are not as effective and they are doing this as a way to create the perception that they are having more success than that is actually happening,” Mr. Little claimed.
The Pentagon spokesman said he is not aware of any “large scale” change in security cooperation between the U.S. and Pakistan over the last week.
“No one should say, as I said last week that there is some kind of breach with the Government of Pakistan. We want to work together. We want to cooperate. Cooperation is very important for both countries,” he said.
“There are disagreements and we discuss those very candidly with the Pakistanis. We hope to make progress in that front and will see how the relationship progresses,” Mr. Little said.
One should not be surprised if the particulars of relationship changes over time, he added. “The key message that is being conveyed is that the Pakistanis need to do more against the Haqqani network. Beyond that I will not go into any specifics,” he said.
http://www.thehindu.com/news/international/article2489745.ece
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Defiant Pak in huddle, won’t target Haqqanis
Sep 27 2011
Islamabad : Pakistan will not take military action against the Haqqani network despite growing US pressure, even though the country’s top military commanders agree that there is need to de-escalate the situation, media reports said.
These decisions were reportedly made at a special meeting of the Corps Commanders chaired by Army chief Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani yesterday.
The commanders vowed to resist US demands for an offensive against the Haqqanis in North Waziristan but also discussed possible implications of unilateral action by the US on Pakistani territory, a military official was quoted as saying by The Express Tribune.
The decision is “likely to chip away at the deteriorating relationship between the two countries”, the report said.
“We have already conveyed to the US that Pakistan cannot go beyond what it has already done,” the military official said.
Dawn quoted sources as saying that the meeting of the Corps Commanders had agreed on the need to de-escalate the situation. “Escalation is harmful. In the cost-benefit analysis, there appears to be no benefit of a confrontation,” a source said.
Full report at:
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/defiant-pak-in-huddle-wont-target-haqqanis/852185/
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Growing clamour in US to punish Pak for act of war
Chidanand Rajghatta
Sep 27 2011
Washington: A leading US senator has indicated Congress would support American military action against Pakistan amid growing clamor in Washington for a punitive response against a two-timing ally even as ties between the two countries grow more toxic by the hour.
While a TV journalist openly described Pakistans allegedly proxy attack on the US embassy in Kabul as an act of war to foreign minister Hina Rabbani Khars face, Republican senator Lindsey Graham told a Sunday talk show that The sovereign nation of Pakistan is engaging in hostile acts against the US and our ally Afghanistan that must cease.
I will leave it up to the experts, but if the experts believe that we need to elevate our response, they will have a lot of bipartisan support on Capitol Hill, Graham,a South Carolina senator who serves on Senate Armed Services Committee, told Fox News.
Times of India
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Al-Qaeda cut off Yemeni boy's hand south of Yemen
26 September 2011
Suspected al-Qaeda militants have severed the hands of two people, including a 15-year-old boy, who stole electrical cables in a southern Yemeni town, witnesses summoned to watch the punishment say.
fThe militants cut off the teenager's hand with a sword in front of dozens of residents of Jaar, in the troubled southern province of Abyan, on Saturday evening before taking the limb around town for all to see.
On Sunday, the militants severed the hand of a 26-year-old man whom they also accused of stealing electrical cables.
"They brought in the accused with a doctor who drugged him and cut off his right hand," one witness said.
The man was then taken to a private clinic while the militants roamed around the town with the cut-off hand, witnesses said.
Full report at:
http://yemenonline.info/news-2516.html
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Hate campaign launched against family of Pak girl accused of blasphemy
Sep 26 2011
Islamabad : A hate campaign has been launched against the family of a teenage Christian girl accused of blasphemy and expelled from school in the northern Pakistani town of Havelian, a media report said today.
An SMS campaign against the family of Faryal Bhatti has created panic among the 12 other Christian families living in the Pakistan Ordinance Factories (POF) colony at Havelian near Abbottabad.
Bhatti, an eighth grade student of Sir Syed Girls' High School, misspelt the word 'naat' (hymn) as 'laanat' (curse) in an Urdu examination last week.
She made the mistake while answering a question on a poem written in praise of Prophet Mohammed.
The error led to accusations of blasphemy against Bhatti and uproar among Muslim religious leaders.
Though she apologised, Bhatti was expelled from school and her mother, Sarafeen Bhatti, a staff nurse at the POF Hospital in Havelian, was transferred to the Wah Cantonment Hospital.
Officials of the POF colony in Havelian directed Bhatti's family to vacate their residential quarters.
Full report at:
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/hate-campaign-launched-against-family-of-pak-girl-
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CIA created Haqqani network during Soviet occupation: Pak
Sep 26, 2011
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan's interior minister Rehman Malik has contended that the US should share the blame for the rise of the Haqqani network as the CIA created the Taliban faction during the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan and trained its members.
"The Haqqani network was trained and produced by the CIA," he said. The group did not originate in Pakistan and the US should not now speak about "things which happened 20 years ago", he told reporters during an interaction here on Sunday.
However, he acknowledged that Pakistan had helped the CIA during the war against Soviet forces in Afghanistan in the 1980s.
The Haqqani network is now present in Afghanistan and "those claiming otherwise should give evidence of its presence in Pakistan," Malik claimed. "We will fight the terrorists as our forces are capable of handling them and countering any challenge," he said.
Malik was responding to accusations by top American officials that Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence had supported the Haqqani network for carrying out a string of attacks, including one on the US Embassy in Kabul.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/pakistan/CIA-created-Haqqani-network-during-
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Palestine: Sayyed Ali Fadlullah received a delegation from the Islamic Jihad
26 September 2011
(Ahlul Bayt News Agency) - His Eminence, Sayyed Ali Fadlullah, received a delegation from the “Islamic Jihad Movement” in Palestine, led by the Movement’s foreign relations officer, Dr. Khaled Al-Batsh who came from Gaza, accompanied by Sheikh Ali Abu Shahin and Abu Wissam Mnawwar…
During the meeting, they went through the ongoing developments in the region and they looked into the current Palestinian situation.
Al-Batsh praised the scholar and Jihadi landmark that the late Religious Authority, Sayyed Muhammad Hussein Fadlullah (ra) represented, and he highly praised the stands of Sayyed Ali Fadlullah who follows the path of his father, especially regarding the Palestinian cause and Islamic unity. He considered that the stands and Fatwas issued by the late Religious Authority thwart all the attempts of the conspirators against the nation’s rise and unity, and anyone trying to fragment it.
Full report at:
http://abna.ir/data.asp?lang=3&id=267629
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Suicide Bomber Attacks Packed Indonesian Church
26 Sep, 2011
Jakarta – A suicide bomber attacked a packed Indonesian church Sunday wounding at least 27 people, some critically, and sending terrified worshippers rushing out into the streets in panic.
The morning bombing in the city of Solo, in Central Java, was the latest in a spate of attacks on minority religious groups in the world's most populous Muslim-majority nation.
Solo, a city of 500,000, is the home of militant Islamist spiritual leader Abu Bakar Bashir, who was jailed in June for 15 years for funding a terrorist group that was planning attacks against Westerners and political leaders.
Kristanto, a worshipper, said he and his wife were getting ready to leave at the end of the service at the Bethel Injil Church when the bomb rocked the building.
"I was about to head home when a very loud explosion shocked me. A crowd of people from inside the church rushed to the streets," he told AFP.
"They were screaming and very hysterical. The peaceful Sunday has quickly become a chaotic situation."
"I helped several people who were injured and lying weak on the ground," said the badly shaken 53-year-old, who goes by one name.
Full report at:
http://www.foxnews.com/world/2011/09/25/suicide-bomber-attacks-packed-indonesian-
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Maldives: Islamic Foundation files court case seeking repeal of Religious Unity Regulations
By Ahmed Nazeer
September 26th, 2011
Religious NGO Islamic Foundation of the Maldives (IFM) has filed a case at the High Court requesting the court rule that the Religious Unity Regulations are inconsistent with the constitution.
Controversial new religious unity regulations were published in the government’s gazette last week, cracking down on extremist and unlicensed preaching of Islam in the Maldives.
Local media reported that prominent religious scholar Sheikh Ibrahim Fareed, who currently faces charges for allegedly violating the Religious Unity Act, filed the case in the High Court and spoke to the media outside the court.
Media reported Sheikh Fareed as stating that the regulation was inconsistent with the constitution as well as the Quran.
Fareed was quoted as saying that romantic thoughts, social talks and religious speeches were part of the fundamental right of freedom of speech as stated in the constitution.
Meanwhile, religious NGO Jamiyyathul Salaf and the religious council of the Adhaalath Party voiced opposition to the regulations.
Sheikh Fareed today told Minivan News that the regulation was “very” inconsistent with the Quran and the constitution.
Full report at:
http://minivannews.com/society/islamic-foundation-files-court-case-seeking-repeal-of-
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Afghan shooter kills American in CIA’s Kabul base; motive unknown
Sep 27 2011
Kabul : Mirwais Harooni & Emma Graham-Harrison
An Afghan employee of the US opened fire inside a CIA office in Kabul on Sunday evening, killing an American and injuring a second, officials said, in the second major breach of embassy security in two weeks.
The attacker was killed, and the injured US citizen was taken to a military hospital with non-life threatening injuries, US embassy spokesman Gavin Sundwall said on Monday.
It was not clear if the Americans were victims of a rogue employee who had been won over by insurgents, or just the escalation of an argument in a city were tensions are high. There are precedents for both.
“The motivation for the attack is still under investigation,” Sundwall said.
The Taliban could not be reached for comment.
The shooting came the same month that insurgents took over an unfinished highrise near the city’s heavily guarded military, political and diplomatic heart and showered rockets down on the US embassy and NATO headquarters.
Full report at:
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/afghan-shooter-kills-american-in-cias-kabul-base;-motive-unknown/852188/
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Afghans arrest man tied to Rabbani’s death
Sep 27 2011
Six days after former Afghan President Burhanuddin Rabbani was assassinated, authorities in Kabul have arrested a prominent Afghan connected to the Taliban militants as a suspect. Hamidullah Akhund was arrested “somewhere in Kabul in the past few days”, New York Times reported quoting an Afghan Government spokesman Sifatullah Safi. Few details were released about the suspect and the circumstances of the arrest, the Times said, as Afghan President Hamid Karzai appointed a high level team headed by the defence minister to probe the killing.
http://www.dailypioneer.com/world/9434-afghans-arrest-man-tied-to-rabbanis-death.html
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NATO strikes Qadhafi’s hometown
Sep 27 2011
NATO says warplanes have struck several military targets in Muammar Qadhafi’s hometown as Libyan revolutionary forces besiege the area in an attempt to wear down supporters of the fugitive leader holed up inside.
The alliance said on Monday that it hit eight targets around Sirte the previous day, including an ammunition and vehicle storage facility, a multiple rocket launcher and other military sites.
Located on Libya’s central Mediterranean coast, Sirte is one of the most stubborn strongholds for Qadhafi loyalists.
Revolutionary fighters have faced fierce resistance in efforts to take the city and the NATO airstrikes could be aimed at softening up targets for a new push in coming days.
http://www.thehindu.com/news/international/article2487075.ece
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Pak seeks help from other countries
Sep 27 2011
Pakistani officials have been meeting with ambassadors and other foreign dignitaries seeking diplomatic support as the United States piles pressure on Islamabad to cut its alleged ties with the Haqqani network blamed for attacks on US targets.Salim Saifullah,chairman of Pakistans senate foreign relations committee,said he and other officials held talks with diplomats to explain Pakistans stand as the US pushes the Pakistani army to go after the Haqqani network.We have been meeting with diplomats with the purpose to convey Pakistans point of view,and also that they should make the US understand that we have sacrificed so much, he said.
Times of India
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At 26/11 ground zero, toast raised to Pak minister
Sep 27 2011
Mumbai: Ironical as it may sound, India on Monday hosted a senior Pakistan minister at the Taj Mahal hotel, the same iconic heritage property that was a target of brutal attack by terrorists from the neighbouring country in November,2008.
Leaders of the Indian industry raised a toast in appreciation of Pakistans commerce minister Makhdoom Amin Fahims visit to the city and discussed trade and commerce in the renovated precincts of the 108-year-old hotel which was left devastated by the 26/11 terrorist attack.
Fahim is believed to be staying in a suite at the same Palace Wing that took the brunt of the fierce attack.
When contacted, the Taj spokesperson refused to comment, citing guest confidentiality. An industry source, however, confirmed that Fahim is staying in a suite in the Heritage Wing itself. Many towering figures from India Inc, including private sector lender Yes Banks chairman Ashok Kapur, had lost lives in the brazen attack,which killed over 160 people.
That the Pakistans commerce minister is beginning his four-day visit from Mumbai shows the seriousness that Islamabad accords to trade ties with India, said an official of the industry chamber Ficci, organizer of the event. Earlier, Ficci president Harsh Mariwala accorded a reception to Faheem, who is leading a 70-member delegation, at the lobby of the Taj, which also has the 26/11 memorial.
Times of India
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Two LeT militants, accomplice arrested from Kashmir
Sep 27 2011
Police on Monday claimed to have arrested two militants of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and the driver of their vehicle from Anantnag district of south Kashmir.
According to the police, they had set up a check point at Khirram in Anantnag, 50 km from Srinagar, on Sunday night, following information about movement of militants in the area.
They said the cab in which the militants were travelling was signalled to stop, but the driver tried to flee from the spot. The policemen then opened fire in which the driver and one of the militants were injured.
The injured persons have been identified as Mohammad Yousuf Lone, a LeT militant, and driver of the vehicle Nissar Ahmad Laway.
The duo and another militant - Abdul Hamid Bhat alias Zulfikar - were arrested while another ultra Sajad Ahmad Bhat alias Gowhar managed to escape, the police said.
Two pistols, two hand grenades and some ammunition were recovered from the possession of the arrested militants, they said.
http://www.thehindu.com/news/states/other-states/article2486778.ece
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India-Pakistan trade talks to take cooperation to new level
SUJAY MEHDUDIA
Sep 27 2011
The formal Trade Minister-level talks between India and Pakistan will formally begin on Wednesday when the two nations seek to take bilateral trade and strategic economic cooperation to a new level, including working on easing visa restrictions for businessmen from both sides.
Pakistan Trade Minister Makhdoom Muhammad Ameen Fahim reached Mumbai on Monday on a six-day visit to India at the invitation of Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma. Mr. Fahim will hold talks with the business honchos and political leadership in Mumbai before flying down to Delhi on September 28. Both the Ministers are likely to hold a number of sessions, including business talks.
These talks are a follow-up to the Secretary-level talks held in Islamabad in April this year. Mr. Fahim is accompanied by a large delegation comprising the business community of Pakistan, including representatives of various chambers of commerce in Pakistan. This is the first meeting between the Trade and Commerce Ministers of the two countries after a three-year gap.
Full report at:
http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/article2488109.ece
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Pak’s military representatives to attend all party meet on ties with U.S.
Sep 27 2011
Representatives of Pakistan’s military and intelligence agencies would attend the September 29 all party meeting called by Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani to discuss the tense diplomatic stand-off with U.S. and to decide a future course of action.
Leaders of all political parties, including those not represented in parliament, and heads of religious groups have been invited for the crucial meeting, official sources said on Monday.
Top officials, including representatives of the military and intelligence agencies, too will attend the meeting, the sources said.
“The meeting will discuss Pakistan-U.S. ties and chart a future course of action,” a source in the government said.
Mr. Gilani on Sunday contacted leaders of different political parties to develop consensus on tackling tensions with the U.S. triggered by accusations by American officials that the military-run ISI had backed the Haqqani network in carrying out a string of attacks in Afghanistan, including one on the U.S. Embassy in Kabul.
The premier has held consultations with, among others, PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif, Muttahida Qaumi Movement leader Altaf Hussain, Awami National Party chief Asfandyar Wali Khan, PML-Q chief Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain, Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman and Jamaat-e-Islami head Munawar Hassan.
Mr. Gilani also consulted religious leaders like Abul Khair Muhammad Zubair, president of Jamiat Ulema Pakistan, Pir Fazal-e-Haq of Jummiat-e-Mashaykh Pakistan and Sahibzada Fazal Kareem, chief of the Sunni Ittehad Council.
http://www.thehindu.com/news/international/article2487009.ece
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US attack on Waziristan will result in united response: Imran Khan
September 26, 2011
GUJRANWALA: If the US army attacked Waziristan, the whole nation would give a united response and counter it, and separation from the so-called US “war on terror” would end suicide attacks and jihad in Pakistan, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf chairman Imran Khan said on Sunday.
Addressing a rally in connection with his “Remove rules and save country” campaign attended by 50,000 PTI activists and members at the Liaqat Park, Khan said that he had asked General (r) Pervez Musharraf to refrain from launching an army operation in Waziristan but he did so on the behest of the US and as a result we have lost 35,000 men. He blamed the “dollar-loving Pakistani rulers” for the mass killings of Pakistanis.
He said that the war on terror belongs to the US and not Pakistan, adding that the policies of the country were not in favour of national sovereignty, as a result of which American Army head Mike Mullen was issuing threats to our country today.
He asked President Asif Ali Zardari to inform the nation about his role under such crucial circumstances and said that our nation needed leaders and not ‘geedars’.
Full report at:
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2011%5C09%5C26%5Cstory_26-9-2011_pg7_12
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Yemeni general killed, 30 troops taken hostage
26 September 2011
A general was killed and 30 other troops loyal to Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh were taken hostage when tribesmen overnight attacked their base north of Sanaa.
General Abdullah Al Kulaibi, head of the 63rd brigade of the elite Republican Guard unit, was killed in the attack by tribesman opposed to Saleh’s rule in the strategic town of Nihm, the defence ministry said in a statement.
Four of the attackers were killed during the attack on the military base, about 60 kilometres (42 miles) from the Yemeni capital, it said.
Yemen state television confirmed the assault on the military base but made no mention of hostages. It also claimed the attackers were gunmen from the Yemeni Islamist Islah (Reform) party.
Full report at:
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticle09.asp?xfile=data/middleeast/2011/September/
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Afghanistan: 'Two killed at Kabul CIA station'
26 September 2011
An Afghan employee has killed one US citizen and wounded another before being shot dead at a compound believed to house a CIA station, officials say.
The incident in Kabul took place on Sunday night at the facility, previously known as the Ariana hotel.
It comes two weeks after militants attacked the US embassy and government buildings in Kabul, leaving 25 dead.
The motives for the shooting are as yet unclear. Afghan CIA employees usually undergo rigorous security screening.
The BBC's Paul Wood in Kabul says that it is unclear if the gunman was a Taliban recruit or if the shooting happened as a result of a personal dispute which escalated into serious bloodshed because of the presence of weapons.
According to one source, when the gunman opened fire he was shooting in all directions, our correspondent reports.
Full report at:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-15055705
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Suicide attack kills 4 in Afghanistan
26 September 2011
KABUL: A suicide bomber on a motorbike detonated his explosives outside a local police headquarters, killing four people, Afghan police said on Sunday. Paktika province security coordinator Abdul Rahman said two policemen and two civilians died in the attack on Sunday in Yahya Khel district near Afghanistan’s eastern border with Pakistan. After the attack, gunmen fired bullets at the police headquarters from two or three directions, but the gunfire ended after 15 minutes and no other casualties were reported. In Kabul, President Hamid Karzai appointed a panel of high-ranking officials, led by Defence Minister Gen Abdul Rahim Wardak, to investigate the assassination of former president Burhanuddin Rabbani, who headed the nation’s peace council.
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2011\09\26\story_26-9-2011_pg7_8
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Israel Ordered to Pay in Palestinian Girl's Death
Sep 26 2011
JERUSALEM (AP) — An Israeli court has ordered the government to pay $432,000 to the family of a prominent Palestinian peace activist whose 10-year-old daughter was killed by an Israeli rubber bullet in 2007.
Abir Aramin was standing at a distance from stone-throwing demonstrators in the village of Anata, north of Jerusalem, when Israeli forces fired rubber-coated steel bullets to disperse the protest. One hit Abir, and she died of her wounds two days later.
Her father, Basam Aramin, is a founder of Combatants for Peace, a group of former Israeli and Palestinian fighters who now promote peaceful coexistence.
Originally, police claimed a rock killed the girl. But an autopsy ended up showing she was hit by a stray bullet.
The ruling, issued last week, was made public late Sunday.
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2011/09/26/world/middleeast/AP-ML-Israel-
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Palestinian Girl: Israelis interrogated me 13 times while handcuffed
26 September 2011
(Ahlul Bayt News Agency) - The daughter of Al-Bireh mayor Jamal al-Tawil said she was bound, photographed, isolated and questioned by some 13 investigators after Israeli forces arrested her on 6 July without charges in an apparent bid to pressure her father.
Bushra al-Tawil was transferred between three detention centers in Beit El and Ashkelon and kept in isolation for sixteen days before ending up in HaSharon prison, where she is currently being held, said Botheina Daqmaq, head of the Palestinian Mandela rights organization, who at length managed to visit Tawil and collect statements.
Daqmaq learned that Tawil was denied freedom by an Israeli court although no formal charges have been placed against her.
“Thirteen investigators took turns to interrogate me while I was handcuffed to the back. They insulted me using profane language and screamed at me loudly asking that I repent,” Tawil said, adding that the investigators threatened to harm her family members and bring her parents in for the interrogation. They also photographed her while she was bound in cuffs, she said.
Full report at:
http://abna.ir/data.asp?lang=3&Id=267832
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No talks without settlement freeze: President Mahmoud Abbas
September 26th, 2011
RAMALLAH: Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas repeated his refusal to talk with Israel without a settlement freeze after international mediators, responding to his United Nations bid for statehood, urged negotiations within a month.
“We have confirmed to all that we want to achieve our rights through peaceful means, through negotiations — but not just any negotiations,” Abbas told a cheering crowd of thousands on his return to the West Bank city of Ramallah.
“We will not accept (negotiations) until legitimacy is the foundation and they cease settlement completely,” he said, two days after presenting the application for Palestinian statehood and addressing the UN General Assembly in New York.
US-brokered peace talks collapsed a year ago after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu refused to extend a 10-month limited moratorium on construction in settlements in the occupied West Bank.
Palestinians say the settlements, built on land Israel captured in a 1967 war, would deny them a viable state. Israel cites historic and Biblical links to the West Bank, which it calls by its Hebrew names, Judea and Samaria.
Full report at:
http://arabnews.com/middleeast/article506924.ece
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Saudi women get right to vote, but can't drive yet
Sep 26 2011
Riyadh : Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah, considered a reformer by the standards of his own ultraconservative kingdom, has decreed that women will for the first time have the right to vote and run in local elections due in 2015.
It is a "Saudi Spring'' of sorts.
For the nation's women, it is a giant leap forward, though they remain unable to serve as Cabinet ministers, drive or travel abroad without permission from a male guardian.
Saudi women bear the brunt of their nation's deeply conservative values, often finding themselves the target of the unwanted attention of the kingdom's intrusive religious police, who enforce a rigid interpretation of Islamic Shariah law on the streets and public places like shopping malls and university campuses.
In itself, Sunday's decision to give the women the right to vote and run in municipal elections may not be enough to satisfy the growing ambition of the kingdom's women who, after years of lavish state spending on education and vocational training, significantly improved their standing but could not secure the same place in society as that of their male compatriots.
Full report at:
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/saudi-women-get-right-to-vote-but-cant-drive-
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Malaysia: The debate on hudud, once again
26 September 2011
'Can the Muslims sit down and agree to a non-Islamic judicial system for all matters involving non-Muslims in Malaysia?'
Gerard Samuel Vijayan: I agree entirely with Bishop Dr Paul Tan Chee Ing. Hudud is part and parcel of the syariah and as such Muslims cannot pick and choose which parts of the syariah they like and discard what they do not like.
As long as the hudud does not apply to the non-Muslims, let the Muslims decide among themselves as to what they want.
Secularism is a dirty word in Islam and I doubt that the federal constitution is purely secular in reality, but perhaps in spirit when it was first promulgated in 1957, but since then the secular attributes have diminished and the role of Islam as the state religion has become more pronounced.
Given the fundamentalist nature of Islam as practised in Malaysia, no Muslim would be prepared to say that the federal constitution is higher than the syariah or that the state must be avowedly secular and separate from Islam.
Islam is political and a way of life, so Muslims have little choice here but to comply and conform.
Full report at:
http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/176799
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Islamic Healing Is on the Rise in Southeast Asia
Sep 26 2011
JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — A 47-year-old housewife who recently started using Islamic alternative cures emerged tearfully from an exorcism, speaking of newfound tranquility after a turbulent time in her life. Also, her abdominal pains are finally easing.
Suratmi, who suffers from an ovarian cyst, has been taking a mix of herbal treatments harking back to the dawn of Islam, as well as undergoing exorcisms at a clinic in Jakarta.
She is among a growing number of Muslims in Southeast Asia turning away from Western medical care in favor of al-Tibb al-Nawabi, or Medicine of the Prophet, a loosely defined discipline based on the Quran and other Islamic texts and traditional remedies.
"I heard that so many people have been healed, so I hope Allah can help me. I followed His path here," said Suratmi, who like many Indonesians goes by one name.
The trend in Islamic treatments, cosmetics and toiletries is often associated with fundamentalists who charge that Western, chemically laced prescriptions aim to poison Muslims or defile them with insulin and other medicines made from pigs. Members of terrorist groups have been involved in Islamic remedies as healers and sellers, while some clinics are used as recruiting grounds for Islamist causes.
But the bulk of those seeking out Islamic clinics, hospitals and pharmacies appear to be moderate Muslims, reflecting a rise in Islamic consciousness worldwide.
"Islamic medicine carries a cachet that, by taking it, you are reinforcing your faith — and the profits go to Muslims," says Sidney Jones, an expert on Islam in Southeast Asia with the International Crisis Group.
Full report at:
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2011/09/26/world/asia/AP-AS-Indonesia-Medicine-of-
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California: No regrets from Muslim students in speech case
Sep 26 2011
Anaheim (California): Eight Muslim students convicted of misdemeanors for disrupting a speech by the Israeli ambassador at the University of California, Irvine thanked supporters and expressed no regrets at a public meeting in an Anaheim mosque.
Student Mohamed Abdelgany told an audience on Sunday at the Islamic Institute of Orange County that while they are upset about the verdict, the activism that brought the eight and two others a sentence of community service and probation is part of higher education, the Orange County Register said.
Abdelgany said their lives would be “hollow shells” if they didn't stand by their principles.
Student Taher Herzallah said her mother feared she would go to jail, and made her promise no protests for a year.
The students' lawyer Reem Salahi told the audience they would appeal.
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/no-regrets-from-muslim-students-in-speech-
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Georgia: Muslim Polygamy Is Normal, Burkas Good For Women
Warner Todd Huston
26 September 2011
A middle school in Smyrna, Georgia included in an assignment material that essentially shows 7th grade children that Islamic polygamy is a perfectly legitimate concept and that there is nothing wrong with the strict dress codes used to oppress Muslim women the world over.
The material was presented to the 7th graders at Campbell Middle School as part of a discussion of the school’s dress codes, apparently meant to use the ideas of Islamic culture for women’s clothing as some sort of example to compare how the school regulates clothing for its students in Georgia.
The concepts were presented in the lesson as a letter from a fictional 20-year-old Muslim woman named “Ahlima.” In this letter “Ahlima” tells readers that she wouldn’t mind if her husband took a second wife and also extolled the virtues of the burkha. She claims that American women are “horribly immodest” in the way they dress.
As to polygamy, the fictional Ahlima says, “I understand that some Westerners condemn our practice of polygamy, but I also know they are wrong.”
Full report at:
http://biggovernment.com/wthuston/2011/09/25/ga-middle-school-muslim-polygamy-is-
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Race hatred clouds Libya's democratic ambitions
Sep 26 2011
Tripoli : For the rebels who toppled Muammar Gaddafi, the new Libyan era has ushered in unbounded political freedom and deep personal joy. For Dijmon, a 25-year-old Nigerian laborer in the newly captured capital, it brought fear.
The rebels' elation at victory has in some places turned into rage at people like Dijmon, whose dark skins identified them with Gaddafi's foreign soldiers of fortune even if they had nothing to do with the former leader.
"There was shooting all around the car wash where I worked," he recalled of the day he fled his home in Tripoli. "Then the boys from the neighborhood came and attacked me with hammers."
The treatment of African migrants and dark-skinned Libyans is an early test of the new rulers' vows to build a democratic state, which their European and U.S. backers feel would justify their intervention against Gaddafi on humanitarian grounds.
Race and skin color were already dividing lines for Libyans, and as in other north African Arab states, many people have a dismissive attitude toward black Africans.
But the atrocities attributed to black mercenaries during the uprising against Gaddafi, as well as the allegiance some regions populated by dark-skinned Libyans showed him in the war, have given the race question a new and deadly currency.
Full report at:
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/race-hatred-clouds-libyas-democratic-
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British Prosecutors Ask Libya's NTC for Lockerbie Help
Sep 26 2011
LONDON (Reuters) - Scottish prosecutors have contacted Libya's interim rulers for help in tracking down information which could lead to others being charged over the 1988 bombing of a U.S.-bound airliner over Lockerbie in Scotland.
"In particular we have asked the NTC (National Transitional Council) to make available to the Crown any documentary evidence and witnesses which could assist in the ongoing enquiries," a spokeswoman for the Scottish Crown Office said on Monday.
Abdel Basset al-Megrahi, a former Libyan agent who was convicted of the bombing which killed 270 people, was released on compassionate grounds in 2009, but the Crown Office said his trial court had accepted he had not acted alone.
"Lockerbie remains an open enquiry concerning the involvement of others with Mr. Megrahi in the murder of 270 people," the spokeswoman said.
Megrahi's co-accused at the specially convened Scottish court sitting in the Netherlands in 2000 was Al Amin Khalifa Fhimah who was cleared of mass murder.
He told Sweden's Expressen newspaper last month that deposed leader Colonel Muammar Gaddafi should be tried in court over suspicions he ordered the bombing.
"There is a court and he is the one to explain whether he is innocent or not," Fhimah said. "He has to."
In March, Mustafa Abdel Jalil, Libya's former justice minister and now its interim leader, said he had evidence of Gaddafi's involvement in the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103.
http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2011/09/26/world/africa/international-us-libya-
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Mass grave found in Tripoli with remains of 1270
26 September 2011
A mass grave believed to contain up to 1,270 bodies has been found in the Libyan capital, Tripoli, says the National Transitional Council (NTC).
The remains are thought to be those of inmates who were killed by security forces in 1996 in the Abu Salim prison.
The uprising against Col Muammar Gaddafi began as a protest to demand the release of a lawyer who represented families of the Abu Salim inmates.
Excavation at the site is expected to start soon.
The NTC said it had discovered the site - a desert field scattered with bone fragments within the grounds of the Abu Salim prison - by questioning prison guards who had worked there when the prisoners were killed after protesting against their conditions.
Several bone fragments and pieces of clothing have already been found in the top soil.
'Grenades and gunfire'
Full report at:
http://www.thedailystar.net/newDesign/latest_news.php?nid=32564
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Politicos & cops wake up to J& K grave truth
By Naseer Ganai
Sep 27 2011
THE police and political parties in Jammu & Kashmir have taken note of the MAIL TODAY exposé of the numerous unmarked graves in Jammu’s Poonch and Rajouri areas.
J& K director general of police Kuldeep Khoda said he will ensure the matter is invested. “ I have read the MAIL TODAY story and ordered the Jammu IG and divisional commissioner to look into it,” Khoda said.
Ruling out that the unmarked graves could be of youth killed in encounters, he said: “ Every encounter is recorded with the police and a proper FIR has been registered in each case.” “ The grave digger might not have the records available with him. I don’t know on what basis you filed the report, but we are looking into it,” he said.
The ruling National Conference ( NC) has demanded an investigation into the matter.
“ Chief minister Omar Abdullah has told Union home minister P. Chidambaram that a proper investigation needs to be conducted on the unidentified graves,” NC spokesman Muhammad Shafi said.
Full report at: Mail Today
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PDP says amend Afzal Guru resolution
Sep 27 2011
Srinagar, Jammu : Opposition PDP Monday moved an amendment to the clemency resolution for Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru, seeking support of the House to express solidarity with the families of the victims of the December 13, 2001 attack.
PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti submitted the amendment to the Assembly Secretariat, party spokesman Nayeem Akhter said.
The PDP has already extended support to the resolution moved by independent MLA from Langate Sheikh Abdul Rashid, seeking clemency for Guru. The Assembly is scheduled to debate and vote on the resolution Wednesday.
The state BJP, meanwhile, warned the National Conference-Congress government against “any misadventure” on the issue of Guru, and said it would organise demonstrations in all districts on September 28, when the Assembly is scheduled to take up the clemency resolution.
Full report at:
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/pdp-says-amend-guru-resolution/852413/
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I am a Kashmiri and I feel your pain, says Rahul Gandhi
Sep 27 2011
‘The pain and suffering of this place is my suffering as well'
Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi on Monday tried to strike a chord with the youth of Kashmir, saying he could well understand their sufferings as he himself has been a victim of violence. He said he had come to bring the youth into political mainstream.
Briefly speaking to journalists here, Mr. Gandhi said: “I have come to Kashmir in connection the membership drive to bring youngsters into the political stream and [to] listen to them. I had a good discussion with panchs and sarpanchs, and I am proud [of] what I heard from students and their hospitality”.
Amid tight security and a boycott call by separatists, around 1200 students of the Kashmir University and other colleges attended an interactive session with him at the convocation complex of the university.
Mr. Gandhi, who arrived here on a two-day visit, had a hectic schedule for the day. He first addressed a public rally in Kargil, then met students at the university, launched a recruitment drive for youth and addressed young panchs and sarpanchas of the Congress.
At the university, he said: “I am a Kashmiri. I have not come here to talk politics. The pain and suffering of this place is my suffering as well. I am not here to make a political speech. I have come to learn and understand how best I can help the people here.”
Full report at:
http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/article2487874.ece
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NIA, UP ATS zeroing in on Varanasi blast suspects
Sep 27 2011
Lucknow: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) and Uttar Pradesh Anti-Terror Squad (ATS) are on the trail of two youths who, the two agencies suspect, had triggered the blast at Sheetla Ghat in Varanasi on December 7, 2010.
The investigating agencies have reportedly also identified the two youths, who keep on changing their hideouts.
The NIA decided to work jointly with the UP ATS after they got some clues that indicated the same group which was behind the Varanasi blasts could be involved in September 7 attack at the Delhi High Court.
Sources said the NIA and the ATS have identified one suspect, who is apparently seen in a video footage planting the bomb on the stairs at Sheetla Ghat in Varanasi. The agencies have also got a clue about an associate of the prime suspect.
While the ATS is not ready to divulge details, both the suspects are said to belong to Uttar Pradesh.
Full report at:
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/nia-up-ats-zeroing-in-on-varanasi-blast-
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Subramanian Swamy claims threat from Cong, jihadis
Sep 27 2011
New Delhi: After tormenting the government over 2G cases in court,Janata Party leader Subramanian Swamy has pointed to an enhanced security threat from Congress activists and Islamic radicals to seek a house in central Delhi for a safer environment.
The former MP recently wrote to the government stating that his success in courts and his constructive views on Islamic terrorism had led to an increase in threats.The situation was compounded by his living in Nizamuddin East,which is accessible to Congress workers as well as Islamic radicals.
The request is with the home ministry and is being evaluated in the light of Swamy referring to a case of vandalism at his residence, which he said was organized by the Congress. The leaders comment that Muslims be denied voting rights if they did not recognize their Hindu legacy ignited a controversy and led to demands that his assignment at Harvard be terminated. In his letter, Swamy has said that Harvard University extended him security during travel in the US and in classrooms and also quoted a representation by retired judges, civil servants and armed forces personnel for improved protection.
Arguing that he needs safer housing, Swamy said he would like an AB type official residence, with a ground and first floor besides an enclosed lawn,in an area like Pandara Road, Mathura Road or Zakir Hussain Marg. Swamy hoped that the government has the political will to act on his request.Swamy told TOI,I had received a threat letter from al-Qaida sometime back and then another letter from the LTTE.I forwarded these letters (to the police).
Times of India
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Bharatpur: A night of violence that changed a village
Sep 27 2011
Jaipur Till September 14, all that villagers of Gopalgarh, Bharatpur, knew of communal tension was what they saw on television. Then a simmering feud over a piece of land erupted, giving them a first-hand experience. In the violence that lasted just one night, and which saw clashes between Gurjjars and Meo Muslims and police firing, nine Meo Muslims were killed and 22 others injured.
None of the villagers, Gurjjar or Meo, can recall anything similar in their lifetimes. Gopal Gurjjar, 76, recalls watching accounts of the violence after the Babri Masjid demolition and the Godhra train burning. “We used to watch it on TV, wonder how countrymen could kill each other, and give thanks for the peace here. Now we have witnessed it first-hand; the memory will never fade,” he said.
A few houses down the road, Rashid, 26, said, “We have always lived in harmony, inter-dependent and always respectful of each other. But now there is a blame game, political parties forcing us to align with them and constant police deployment,” he said.
The clashes
Full report at:
http://www.expressindia.com/latest-news/A-night-of-violence-that-changed-a-village/852215/
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Top American senator threatens Pakistan with war
26 September 2011
(Ahlul Bayt News Agency) - A high-profile American senator has said that the United States should consider military action against Pakistan if Islamabad continues to sponsor militant attacks against US troops in Afghanistan.
“The sovereign nation of Pakistan is engaging in hostile acts against the United States and our ally Afghanistan that must cease,” said Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, who serves on the Senate Armed Services Committee, the Associated Press reported Sunday.
"They're killing American soldiers," he noted, adding, "If they continue to embrace terrorism as a part of their national strategy, we're going to have to put all options on the table, including defending our troops."
Graham warned that Pakistan should choose between supporting the Haqqani militant network and helping the US fight al-Qaeda.
The remarks come as the outgoing US Joint Chief of Staff, Admiral Mike Mullen, said on Thursday that Pakistan's spy agency, Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), was supporting the Taliban-allied Haqqani network of militants, blamed for a recent assault on the US embassy in the Afghan capital, Kabul.
Full report at:
http://abna.ir/data.asp?lang=3&Id=267846
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Haqqani group was once CIA’s “blue-eyed boy”, says Khar
26 September 2011
NEW YORK: Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar said the Haqqani group that the US holds responsible for last week’s attack against the American embassy in Kabul was CIA’s “blue-eyed boy” for many years.
Responding to questions during an interview with Al Jazeera television, Khar, who is in New York leading Pakistan’s delegation to the UN General Assembly, rejected US accusations against Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), saying it has no links to the Haqqani network.
“If we talk about links, I am sure the CIA (Central Intelligence Agency) also has links with many terrorist organisations around the world, by which we mean intelligence links,” she said.
“And this particular network, which [the United States] continues to talk about, is a network which was the blue-eyed boy of the CIA itself for many years.”
Full report at:
http://www.dawn.com/2011/09/26/haqqani-group-was-once-cias-%E2%80%9Cblue-eyed-
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Pak army defies US, will not attack Haqqani group: Report
Sep 26, 2011
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan's military will not take action against a militant group Washington blames for an attack against its embassy in Kabul, despite mounting American pressure to do so, a Pakistani newspaper reported on Monday.
Pakistan's army chief General Ashfaq Kayani met with his top commanders on Sunday in a "special" meeting to discuss the security situation, the military said, as the war of words with the United States escalated.
That emergency meeting came against the backdrop of sharp US allegations that the Pakistani army's powerful spy agency supported the Haqqani militant group Washington blames for the recent attack on its embassy and other targets in Kabul.
The commanders agreed to resist US demands for a Pakistani army offensive in North Waziristan, where the United States believes the Haqqani network is based, the Express Tribune reported, quoting an unnamed military official.
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/pakistan/Pak-army-defies-US-will-not-attack-
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Pakistan: Women lawmakers feel discriminated against in assembly
By Sadia Qasim Shah
26 September 2011
PESHAWAR, Sept 25: The women members of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly, who are mostly elected on reserved seats, say they are not treated like their male elected counterparts and as a result get comparatively less time to put their views across.
“We are not decoration pieces; we are legislators and want to be treated as such,” said Noor Sahar, an MPA of the PPP on reserved seat from Malakand, while talking to this reporter.
She claimed that she was ‘snubbed’ by Speaker Kiramatullah Khan Chagharmati in the current session when she insisted to refer her question to the committee concerned.
“The Speaker warned me to stay quiet if you know what respect is,” she said.
When asked whether the women MPAs who complain of discrimination against them are true, Mr Chagharmati said: “Not at all. I don’t discriminate. If women take part in a constructive discussion I do not. I am a broad-minded person.”
But women MPAs say that male members of the provincial assembly are also not much different from the society when it comes to treating women. They claim that they have been facing gender discrimination.
Full report at:
http://www.dawn.com/2011/09/26/women-lawmakers-feel-discriminated-against-in-
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Imran Khan wants UK to cut aid to Pakistan
Sep 26 2011
London : Pakistani cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan wants Britain to stop giving millions of pounds in aid to his country, alleging that such aid encouraged corruption while being of no help to the people.
Speaking to BBC today, he said his country was more poor than ever because the millions of pounds of aid never
reached the target.
After the latest review of international aid, Britain plans to increase its annual aid to Pakistan from 140 million pounds to 350 million pounds over the next few years.
This aid is to be tied to progress on reforms.
Khan, who identified corruption as one of the major issues in his country in a recent interview, said, "If we don't have aid we will be forced to make reforms and stand on our own feet."
Aid money, he said, propped up corrupt governments, and added, "Unfortunately, aid has been a curse for Pakistan.
Total aid is about 20 billion dollars. This 20 billion dollars is not helping the people of Pakistan".
Khan earlier told the BBC that Pakistan should also not accept aid from the US.
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/imran-wants-uk-to-cut-aid-to-pakistan/851942/
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President Zardari may secure second term as Pak president: report
Sep 26 2011
Islamabad : Asif Ali Zardari appears set to secure another term as Pakistan's President even if his ruling PPP fails to win a majority in Parliament in the next general election in 2013, a media report said today.
However, Zardari has to ensure that elections for half the seats in the 100-member Senate, or upper house of Parliament, take place according to schedule in March next year, a close aide of the President told The Express Tribune newspaper.
"That is what he is striving for now. He believes if the Senate elections are held under the current set-up according to the scheduled timing, nobody can stop him from winning another term," said an official from the PPP considered one of the closest allies of Zardari.
Senate elections, for which the provincial assemblies constitute the electoral college, are set to give the PPP a simple majority in the upper house if they are held under the current set-up, the report said.
Members of the Senate, National Assembly or lower house of Parliament and four provincial assemblies vote to elect the President.
The presidential polls are held on one-man one-vote basis in Parliament. But votes of members of provincial assemblies are counted in proportion to 65-strong Balochistan legislature -- an equation that would render the anticipated strength of PPP's main opponent PML-N in Punjab almost irrelevant.
Full report at:
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/zardari-may-secure-second-term-as-pak-president-
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Raising blood money is not enough, says Saudi economist
Sep 26 2011
RIYADH: A Saudi economist has welcomed the recent government decision to raise diyyah (blood money) to SR400,000 for murder and SR300,000 for accidental killings, but warned this alone would not be enough to provide long-term care to families left behind.
Fadl Abu Al-Ainain told Al-Riyadh newspaper Saturday that the decision to raise blood money needed to be coupled with a revision of insurance law to cover the present and future needs of dependents, particularly children.
Diyyah, which was originally SR110,000 for murder and SR100,000 for accidental death, remained static for more than 29 years. The diyyah for women is half these amounts.
The decision to raise diyyah was recommended by the Supreme Court and approved by the authorities.
“Amending the limit of blood money to be commensurate with the high prices of camels was logical. However, we must understand the Islamic law that stipulated diyyah as equivalent of 100 camels focused beyond the financial value. Diyyah was actually a long-term investment for the dependents of the deceased,” Al-Ainain said.
During the time of the Prophet (peace be upon him) and his followers, the dependents of a murdered person were compensated with 100 camels.
Full report at:
http://arabnews.com/saudiarabia/article506937.ece
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Enemies trying to portray negative image from Muslims: Iranian Minister
26 September 2011
Iranian Culture and Islamic Guidance Minister Seyyed Mohammad Hosseini said that the enemies are trying to portray a negative image from Muslims.
Culture and Islamic guidance minister made the remarks at the opening ceremony of the Third Muslim Film Market at IRIB’s Seminar Hall on Sunday in Tehran.
He said that the radios and televisions of Muslim countries more than before are duty-bound to show the reality nature of the West, especially the US.
Hosseini pointed out that the Third Muslim Film Market provides a good opportunity for participants to exchange views and experiences.
'Western and American media are determined to inspire their philosophy, thoughts and beliefs which are totally different from Islam,' he added.
Hosseini pointed out that the enemy is trying to achieve their goals through different means such as arts by using them as a tool for penetrating into other cultures.
http://abna.ir/data.asp?lang=3&Id=267828
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Islam is the religion of peace, love, tolerance, harmony, brotherhood and care
26 September 2011
Once again, as ever, we see this baldly asserted, without supporting evidence. The fact that Islamic jihadists use the texts and teachings of Islam to justify violence and supremacism, and to make recruits among peaceful Muslims, is never countered or even addressed. So it is in the U.S. also: we are constantly admonished that we must accept that Islam is a Religion of Peace™ that has been Hijacked by a Tiny Minority of Extremists, but this is never explained. We are constantly excoriated for pointing out that Osama bin Laden and other jihadis portrayed themselves as the exponents of True and Pure Islam, and told that this amounts to accepting bin Laden's view of Islam. But no coherent alternative that explains a different way to view those Islamic texts and teachings is ever presented.
"Islam promotes peace: Advisor," by B K Tahir for the Pakistan Observer, September 24:
Bahawalpur—Islam is the religion of peace, love, tolerance, harmony, brotherhood and care so we can overcome all problems through following the teachings of Islam in its true spirit as Islam also orders to fully protect and care the minorities for healthy society. These views were expressed by the speakers in a function held to promote Inter-Religion Harmony among all the religions of the country to establish peace and solidarity in the country.
Full report at:
http://www.jihadwatch.org/2011/09/this-just-in-islam-is-the-religion-of-peace-love-
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Berlin confirms German killed in Afghanistan
26 September 2011
BERLIN: The German government says one of its citizens was killed over the weekend in Afghanistan.
A Foreign Ministry spokesman said Sunday an investigation had “confirmed that one of the two people killed in the western Afghan province of Ghor was a German citizen.”
The spokesman did not give his name, in keeping with government policy, and had no further details.
Afghan police said gunmen ambushed and killed a German man and an Afghan man on Saturday.
http://arabnews.com/world/article506667.ece
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Nobel laureate Wangari Maathai dies at 71
26 September 2011
Kenya's Nobel laureate Wangari Maathai has died in Nairobi while undergoing cancer treatment. She was 71.
She won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2004 for promoting conservation, women's rights and transparent government - the first African woman to get the award.
She was elected as an MP in 2002 and served as a minister in the Kenyan government for a time.
Maathai founded the Green Belt Movement, which has planted 20-30 million trees in Africa.
The organisation also campaigned on education, nutrition and other issues important to women.
Maathai had been arrested several times for campaigning against deforestation in Africa.
http://www.thedailystar.net/newDesign/latest_news.php?nid=32567
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Yemen using war on Al-Qaeda to bolster regime
Acil Tabbara
Sep 26 2011
Faced with an armed revolt in the north and a separatist movement in the south, Yemen’s president is using the Western-backed war against Al-Qaeda to bolster his regime and muzzle opponents, say analysts. The threat from Islamist militants poses less of a danger for Sanaa than the Zaidi Shiite insurrection on the border with Saudi Arabia or the independence calls in southern Yemen, according to Yemen experts. “The regime is exploiting the war against Al-Qaeda to attract foreign aid and curb the opposition, said anthropologist and Yemen specialist Franck Mermier.
With the West pressuring President Ali Abdullah Saleh to crack down on the Yemen branch of Al-Qaeda, “it is in the interests of the regime... to play the Al-Qaeda card to silence its opponents,” Mermier added. Saleh at the weekend stressed the government will crack down heavily on those who resort to violence but at the same time said he is open to dialogue with Al-Qaeda militants in his country. “If Al-Qaeda (militants) lay down their arms, renounce violence and terrorism and return to wisdom, we are prepared to deal with them,” Saleh told Abu Dhabi TV in an interview carried by Yemen’s Saba news agency on Sunday.
Analyst Mermier said the government was trying to “Al-Qaeda-ise” its enemies. It suggests they are linked to Osama bin Laden’s network, especially Shiite rebels in the north who have been fighting the government since 2004 and the southerners, “most of whom are opposed to armed struggle,” Mermier said. The south, which was an independent state from 1967 until Yemen was united in 1990, has been the scene of protests against the government’s policies and its attempts “to amalgamate the southern movement and Al-Qaeda,” according to one of the movement’s leaders. Separatists often complain of discrimination by northerners and a lack of financial aid.
Full report at:
http://www.yementimes.com/defaultdet.aspx?SUB_ID=34435
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Islamist radicalism in Yemen
Julie Cohn
Sep 26 2011
US focus on Yemen as a potential terrorist hub has increased, both with the resurgence of Islamist extremism in nearby Somalia and East Africa and with the Christmas Day bomb attempt on a Detroit-bound jet by a 23-year-old Nigerian who claimed he’d been trained by Al-Qaeda leaders in Yemen. Radical Yemeni-American cleric Anwar Al-Awlaki is said to have provided spiritual guidance to the bomber, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, and other suspected terrorists. Additionally, the arrest of twelve US citizens in Yemen in May and June 2010 led to three of them being detained on terrorist charges. On June 3, 2010, a Texas man was indicted for trying to deliver money and materials to the Yemen-based Al-Qaeda group. In January 2010, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called Yemen “an urgent national security priority.”
What are the internal challenges facing Yemen?
Yemen faces a set of profound political and economic issues. It is the poorest country in the Arab world, with 40 percent living below the poverty line, according to the CIA factbook’s analysis of Yemen. Some 50 percent of the country is illiterate, which the government hopes to address with a new, fifteen-year education plan. Thirty five percent of the population is unemployed, and the population is expected to double to forty million over the next two decades.
Full report at:
http://www.yementimes.com/defaultdet.aspx?SUB_ID=34468
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Algerians ignore latest protest call _ for now
By AOMAR OUALI
26 September 2011
ALGIERS, Algeria (AP) — A new "day of rage" was called recently in this violence-scarred North African nation. But when the allotted time arrived, nobody showed up: The colonnaded boulevards in the heart of Algiers on May 1st Square were quiet, with just a few scattered shoppers milling about.
Like much of the rest of the Arab world, protests swept through Algeria earlier this year calling for more democracy, but they have since fizzled. The latest call on Facebook and other social networking sites for a new revolt on Sept. 17 was roundly ignored.
The fall of Moammar Gadhafi — a close ally of Algeria — in neighboring Libya after a seven-month civil war has turned the focus onto Africa's largest country, and the question of whether its military-dominated government could also succumb to the uprisings sweeping the region.
This oil-rich country sees small protests nearly every day over economic and social issues by a population that is fed up with its government. But some Algerians fear the bloodshed and uncertainty seen in other Arab uprisings.
They have reason to be wary: 20 years ago, Algeria's army stepped in to stifle burgeoning political freedoms, leading to a decade of insurgency that pitted security services against the armed supporters of a popular Islamist movement and left an estimated 200,000 Algerians dead.
The civil war left deep divisions in Algerian society and a lingering fear of security forces. That, along with government largesse stemming from oil wealth, has kept the lid on the situation here.
Full report at: Copyright © 2011 The Associated Press.
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Syrian tanks pound rebel town near Homs, 3 injured
26 September 2011
AMMAN - Syrian tanks pounded a town on a strategic highway overnight, injuring at least three people during a military crackdown on dissent in the central region of Homs, activists and residents said on Monday.
Homs has become a major flashpoint between troops loyal to President Bashar al-Assad and army defectors, backing pro-democracy protesters demanding the president’s overthrow.
Three inhabitants of al-Rastan were injured when pro-Assad forces opened fire with heavy machine guns mounted on the tanks surrounding the town, on the main northern highway leading to Turkey, said residents.
“There are around 60 tanks and armoured vehicles on the eastern edge of Rastan alone. All communications are cut and the firing is being directed at the street and buildings,” Abu Qassem, a resident of al-Rastan, told Reuters by satellite phone.
Activists have reported a military push into towns and villages north of the city of Homs, 165 km (100 miles) north of Damascus, where increasing numbers of defectors have been organising and mounting guerrilla raids on loyalist posts.
Faced with expanding street protests demanding an end to 41 years of Assad family rule, the president has sent troops and tanks into cities and towns across the country.
The military crackdown has killed at least 2,700 people, including 100 children, according to the United Nations.
Full report at:
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticle08.asp?xfile=data/middleeast/2011/September/
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Riots hit Bulgarian village, 127 arrested
26 September 2011
SOFIA: More than 120 people have been arrested during one of the worst outbreaks of civil unrest in Bulgaria for many years after a teenager was run down and killed in a southern village.
Police and elite national troops patrolled the streets of Katunitsa at the weekend after several houses were set alight and cars owned by a local Roma clan leader were trashed.
The violence in Katunitsa, southeast of Bulgaria’s second-largest city of Plovdiv, ignited on Friday night when a 19-year-old man was struck and killed by a mini-bus driven by a man linked to local self-proclaimed “Gypsy Tsar” Kiril Raskov.
“Police took swift and appropriate action to preserve civil peace,” interior ministry chief secretary Kalin Georgiev told a news conference in Plovdiv on Sunday. “Some 127 people were arrested while 28 of them were charged with hooliganism.”
More than 500 angry residents gathered in front of one of Raskov’s houses, Georgiev said, and called for him and his family to be thrown out of the village, which has a population of 2,300.
Full report at:
http://arabnews.com/world/article506557.ece
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Yemen President Saleh says ready for polls, power transfer
Sep 26, 2011
SANAA: Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh has said he is ready for a power transfer through early elections, saying he is "committed" to a plan brokered by Gulf states.
"You who are running after power, let us head together toward the ballot boxes," Saleh said in a speech aired on state television on the 49th anniversary of the September 26, 1962 revolution that saw Yemen proclaimed a republic.
"We are committed to implementing the Gulf initiative as it is and signed by Vice President Abdrabuh Mansur Hadi whom we have authorised in a presidential decree."
Saleh has repeatedly refused to sign the Gulf-brokered power transfer deal by which he wound hand his powers over to Hadi in return for immunity from prosecution.
On September 12, he authorised Hadi to negotiate a power transfer with the opposition.
In his televised speech today, Saleh called for "complete elections -- presidential, parliamentary, and local -- if they were agreed upon. Otherwise, we are committed to the Gulf initiative."
Full report at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/middle-east/Yemen-President-Saleh-says-ready-
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British police charge six in terror plot
Sep 26 2011
LONDON: Six men have been charged with involvement in a terror-bomb plot, police announced on Sunday.
The arrests last Monday of the six Birmingham-area men were part of a “major operation” by the West Midlands counterterrorism unit, the West Midlands police department said.
Police said Tuesday they had been given until midnight Sunday to charge the men, release them or apply for a further extension.
Four were charged with preparing for an act of terrorism and two more with failing to disclose information, the police said. One of those two was also charged with terrorist fundraising.
All six, who are aged between 25 and 32, will appear at West London Magistrates Court on Monday.
The police said Irfan Nasser, 30, Irfan Khalid, 26, Ashik Ali, 26, and Rahin Ahmed, 25, were charged with plotting terrorist acts.
They were involved in planning between Dec. 25, 2010 and Sept. 19 of this year to prepare or help others prepare to commit acts of terrorism, the department said.
Nasser and Ali are alleged to have planned a bombing campaign; stated an intention to be a suicide bomber; collected money for terrorism; made or helped others make a bomb; and recruited others for terrorism, police said.
Full report at:
http://www.dawn.com/2011/09/26/british-police-charge-six-in-terror-plot.html
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Middle East envoy Blair pushed £1 bn deals for bank he advises: report
Sep 26 2011
London : Former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair’s role as a Middle East peace envoy has come under the scanner over claims that he used the position to promote lucrative business deals for clients of an investment bank, which pays him two million pounds a year for the senor adviser post.
Blair, who is responsible for fostering peaceful ties between Israel and Palestine as a Quartet (UN, EU, US and Russia) representative allegedly used the post to promote one billion pound contracts with British Gas and mobile phone firm Wataniya in Palestine.
Both companies are major clients of JP Morgan, the US investment bank, which employs Blair as a senior adviser, the Daily Mail reports.
Blair supported the development of a huge gas field operated by British Gas off the Gaza coast, and the opening up of radio frequencies to allow Wataniya to operate a phone network in the West Bank.
“Tony Blair has advocated for both the Wataniya project and the Gaza gas development at the direct request of Palestinians. It is his responsibility as Quartet representative to work to build the Palestinian economy,” Blair’s spokesperson said.
Full report at:
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/middle-east-envoy-blair-pushed-1-bn-deals-for-bank-
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Adhaalath Party condemns Christchurch College scholarships at Oxford
By Ahmed Naish
September 26th, 2011
The Adhaalath Party has expressed concern over a memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed with Christchurch College at Oxford University last week to provide an annual scholarship for a Maldivian student.
The party claimed that the scholarship was the result of President Mohamed Nasheed, former Foreign Minister Dr Ahmed Shaheed and his successor Ahmed Naseem repeatedly “begging and pleading with Christian powers that Maldivians going to [Middle Eastern or Islamic universities] can only be stopped by sending Maldivian Muslim students to countries under the rule of the cross.”
The Adhaalath Party’s statement was accompanied by images of a church and what appeared to be choirboys.
In a statement last week, the Foreign Ministry noted that the scholarship “was initially discussed during President Nasheed’s visit to Oxford University in December 2010 and has now materialised into a wonderful opportunity for outstanding Maldivian students.”
“The scholarship will encourage Maldivians to study in the field of Environmental Sciences with a view to enhancing the Maldives’ capacity to manage the specific threats the country faces from climate change. On completion of their studies the scholars will return to the Maldives with exceptional expertise in this field.”
Full report at:
http://minivannews.com/society/adhaalath-party-condemns-christchurch-college-
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Pak film industry takes legal route to ban Indian films
26 Sep, 2011
A group of Pakistani film producers, directors, actors and writers have decided to take legal action to stop the screening of Indian films across the country.
The artists, including actors Moamar Rana, Shaan, Meera, Sangeeta, Syed Noor and Shahid, directors Aslam Dar, Altaf Hussain, Masood Butt and Pervaiz Rana, and producers Jani Malik and Chaudhry Kamran, on Saturday pledged to go to every extent to stop the screening of Indian movies.
They claimed they were perturbed by the public interest in Indian movies shown in local cinema halls and the fact that Pakistani films hardly drew crowds.
During a meeting at Evernew Studios here, the artists said the film industry would regain its strength by standing tall against the screening of Indian films in the name of foreign films.
Aslam Dar said the filmmakers would file a petition in court against the exhibition of Indian films.
Full report at:
http://www.dailypioneer.com/world/9099-pak-film-industry-takes-legal-route-to-ban-
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RIYADH: 50,000 Indians deported during amnesty
RIYADH: Around 50,000 Indian expatriates, mainly unskilled laborers, were deported from Saudi Arabia until mid-September following an amnesty announced by the Saudi government, according to an Indian diplomat.
The figures include workers without valid residency papers or work permits as well as Haj or Umrah overstayers, who were all issued emergency travel documents by the Indian missions in Riyadh and Jeddah during the amnesty period.
“This is a record repatriation exercise carried out by the Indian diplomatic missions in cooperation with Saudi government agencies,” T.C. Barupal, first secretary at the Indian Embassy who looks after community welfare issues, said in Riyadh on Sunday.
Barupal, who was chief guest at a cultural celebration organized by the Riyadh-based Aligarh Muslim University Old Boys Association (AMUOBA) to mark the Kingdom's National Day, revealed the figures and spoke about growing Saudi-India relations.
Full report at:
http://arabnews.com/saudiarabia/article506798.ece
URL: https://newageislam.com/islamic-world-news/sunni-ittehad-council-pakistan-fatwa/d/5557