U.N. Rights office Urges Probe into Qadhafi Death
Hillary Talks Tough in Islamabad
Libya delays burial plans for Gaddafi
Taliban leader Fazlullah vows new war in Pakistan
Pak can't keep 'snakes' in backyard to attack neighbours: US
Three troops, six civilians among 43 killed in Khyber
Syrian forces kill 13 in protests
Anti-Taliban tribal elder killed in Mohmand
Obama: ‘Tyranny lifted’ from Libya with Gadhafi’s death
Maldivian national commits suicide in Trivandrum, phone in hand
India deploys Dornier aircraft to Maldives for anti-piracy patrols
Geelani to consider Indian talks offer
Balochistan Assembly condemns Mastung incident
The Bahraini medic who went to save lives and put her own in danger
‘Not at Kashmir’s cost’: Political parties create uproar over trade concessions to India
Police arrest militant in Swat raid
Emergency law to be relaxed in Indian Kashmir
25 Jamaat activists arrested
Delhi HC blast accused custody to NIA extended by 3 days
Saif to Become tenth Nawab of Pataudi
Compiled By New Age Islam News Bureau
URL: https://newageislam.com/islamic-world-news/u.n.-rights-office-urges-probe/d/5740
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U.N. Rights Office Urges Probe into Qadhafi Death
Geneva Oct. 21, 2011
The U.N. human rights office called on Friday for an investigation into the death of ousted Libyan leader Muammar Qadhafi, who was captured alive by rebel forces in his hometown of Sirte before shaky amateur footage showed fighters standing over his bloodied body.
“We believe there is a need for an investigation,” said Rupert Colville, a spokesman for the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights. “More details are needed to ascertain whether he was killed in some form of fighting or was executed after his capture.”
“The two cell phone videos that have emerged, one of him alive, and one of him dead, taken together are very disturbing,” he told reporters in Geneva.
A Libyan official said on Friday that the burial of Qadhafi has been delayed until his death can be examined by the International Criminal Court though it was not immediately clear if he was referring to a look at the dictator’s body or a probe into what led to his death.
The U.N. Human Rights Council established an independent panel earlier this year to investigate abuses in Libya, and Mr. Colville said it would likely examine the circumstances of the 69-year-old leader’s death.
He said it was too early to say whether the panel which includes Canadian judge Philippe Kirsch, the first president of the International Criminal Court would recommend a formal investigation at the national or international level.
“The dust hasn’t settled yet,” Mr. Colville told The Associated Press when asked if Libya was capable of conducting an independent probe into the death.
“You can’t just chuck the law out of the window,” he added. “Killing someone outside a judicial procedure, even in countries where there is the death penalty, is outside the rule of law.”
Mr. Colville said the victims of Qadhafi’s despotic 42-year-rule deserved to see proper judicial procedures followed and perpetrators of abuses brought to trial, a process he said could be “cathartic” for the new Libya.
“Of course there are many others apart from Col. Qadhafi, so there may at least be some kind of court proceedings where we do all learn what happened and who is responsible,” he said.
http://www.thehindu.com/news/international/article2558640.ece
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Hillary Talks Tough in Islamabad
Oct. 21, 2011
The Obama administration on Friday intensified pressure on Pakistan to do more to crack down on Islamist militants destabilising Afghanistan, as U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton delivered a tough public message that extremists have been able to operate in and from Pakistan for too long.
For the second time in two days, Ms. Clinton pressed Pakistani authorities to step up efforts against the Haqqani militant network, which is based in the country’s rugged tribal region, and is blamed for attacks both inside Pakistan and neighbouring Afghanistan.
After leading an unusually large and powerful U.S. delegation, including CIA director David Petraeus and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Martin Dempsey, for four hours of talks with Pakistani officials late Thursday, Ms. Clinton met on Friday with Pakistan’s President and Foreign Minister to make the case.
“We should be able to agree that for too long extremists have been able to operate here in Pakistan and from Pakistani soil,” she said. “No one who targets innocent civilians, whether they be Pakistanis, Afghans, Americans or anyone else should be tolerated or protected.”
The U.S. has grown increasingly impatient with Pakistan’s refusal to take military action against the Taliban-linked Haqqani network and its ambivalence, if not hostility, to supporting Afghan attempts to reconcile Taliban fighters into society.
Ms. Clinton made clear that that was no longer acceptable while American officials warned that if Pakistan continued to balk, the U.S. would act unilaterally to end the militant threat.
“Pakistan has a critical role to play in supporting Afghan reconciliation and ending the conflict,” Ms. Clinton told reporters at a joint press conference with Pakistani Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar. “We look to Pakistan to take strong steps to deny Afghan insurgents safe havens and to encourage the Taliban to enter negotiations in good faith.”
The Haqqani group is considered the greatest threat to American troops in Afghanistan, and U.S. officials have accused Pakistan’s military spy agency, the ISI, of providing it with support an allegation denied by Islamabad. Clinton noted that U.S. and Afghan forces had recently launched a successful operation against Haqqani safe havens in Afghanistan and that Pakistan must do the same. On Thursday in the Afghan capital, she said those who allow such safe havens to remain would pay “a very big price.”
After the lengthy meeting with Pakistan’s prime minister and army and intelligence chiefs on Thursday and Friday’s talks with Kahr, Clinton said the U.S. delegation had asked “very specifically for greater cooperation from the Pakistan side to squeeze the Haqqani network and other terrorists because we know that trying to eliminate terrorists and safe havens from one side of the border is not going to work.”
“It’s like that old story- you can’t keep snakes in your backyard and expect them only to bite your neighbours,” she said.
Ms. Clinton made the same argument later in a town hall meeting with civic leaders.
“No policy that draws distinctions between good terrorists and bad terrorists can provide long-term security,” she said.
She also acknowledged that U.S.-Pakistani ties were now badly strained. “Our relationship of late has not been an easy one,” she said. “We have seen common interests give way to mutual suspicion.”
For her part, Ms. Khar repeated Pakistani denials of any government connection to the Haqqanis.
“There is no question of any support by any Pakistani institution to safe havens in Pakistan,” she said.
And, she insisted that Pakistan and the U.S. shared the same goal.
“Pakistan takes the threat of terrorism seriously,” she said, noting that thousands of Pakistanis had been killed by extremists over the past decade. “We are committed to this process, we would be willing to do whatever we can to be able to make this a success.”
What is needed now, she said, is to try to agree on how to “operationalise” efforts to end the threat.
Ms. Clinton said the urgency of the situation required that that the operationalisation take place “over the next days and weeks, not months and years.”
Earlier this week, Pakistan’s Army chief Gen. Ashfaq Kayani said in a rare briefing to two Parliamentary defence committees that the country has been getting mixed signals from the United States, with the Pentagon urging the military to focus on fighting militants and the State Department requesting help in negotiating with the insurgents, said a parliament member who attended the meeting.
Gen. Kayani said Washington needs to make up its mind because it won’t work to attack them and try to negotiate with them at the same time, according to the legislator.
The large U.S. contingent was meant to display unity among the various U.S. agencies with an interest in Pakistan, including the CIA, Pentagon and State Department. Ms. Clinton arrived in Islamabad after saying In Kabul that she and the team would “push Pakistan very hard.”
The Pakistani military has said it can’t launch an offensive against the Haqqani network in its safe haven in the North Waziristan tribal area because its troops are stretched too thin by other operations against insurgents at war with the state.
But many analysts suspect the military is reluctant to target a group that is seen as an important potential ally in Afghanistan once foreign troops withdraw. Both the U.S. and Pakistani governments had close relations with the founder of the Haqqani network, Jalaluddin Haqqani, during the war against the Soviets in Afghanistan in the 1980s.
http://www.thehindu.com/news/international/article2559087.ece
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Libya delays burial plans for Gaddafi
October 21, 2011
Libya's government has delayed Muammar Gaddafi's burial amid uncertainty about his final resting place and the circumstances of his killing.
Oil minister Ali Tarhouni said the body of the ex-leader may be kept "for a few days". Under Islamic tradition burial should take place as soon as possible.
The UN is seeking an inquiry into Col Gaddafi's death in Sirte on Thursday.
Meanwhile Nato is expected to declare an end to its Libya campaign in the coming hours.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy said the death of Col Gaddafi meant Nato's military intervention had reached its conclusion.
"Clearly the operation is coming to its end," he told reporters.
Questions mounting
The BBC's Caroline Hawley in Tripoli says the authorities now have to decide how to deal with Col Gaddafi's death and in particular his burial.
They have said they will conduct a secret burial and there is some speculation that they might even try to bury him at sea, as al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden was buried, to prevent any grave being turned into a shrine, she adds.
Tarhouni told Reuters news agency that Col Gaddafi's body was not going to be released from a morgue in Misrata for immediate burial.
"I told them to keep it in the freezer for a few days... to make sure that everybody knows he is dead," he said.
Asked about the burial arrangements, he said: "There is no decision yet."
Reuters also quoted an unnamed official as saying there was disagreement within the National Transitional Council (NTC) over what to do with the body.
In a separate report, it quotes senior NTC commander Abdel Majid Mlegta as saying members of the colonel's tribe are in contact with anti-Gaddafi fighters to discuss the possibility of taking on the task of burying him.
Meanwhile, questions are mounting as to exactly what happened in Col Gaddafi's last moments following his capture.
Officials have denied he was executed.
Acting Prime Minister Mahmoud Jibril said Col Gaddafi had been shot in the head in an exchange of fire between Gaddafi loyalists and NTC fighters following his capture in his hometown of Sirte
Video footage suggests he was dragged through the streets.
An NTC fighter told the BBC he found the former Libyan leader hiding in a drainage pipe and he had begged him not to shoot.
The fighter showed reporters a golden pistol he said he had taken from Col Gaddafi.
'Major concerns'
Senior NTC member Mohammed Sayeh told the BBC he doubted that the colonel was deliberately killed, but added: "Even if he was killed intentionally, I think he deserves this."
He added: "If they kill him 1,000 times, I think it will not pay back the Libyans what he has done."
On Friday, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay said there should be a full investigation into the killing.
Her spokesman Rupert Colville told the BBC that Col Gaddafi's death could have been illegal.
"There are two videos out there, one showing him alive and one showing him dead and there are four or five different versions of what happened in between those two cellphone videos. That obviously raises very, very major concerns," he said.
"People get killed in wars and that is recognised clearly in international law. On the other hand, it is also very clear under international law that summary executions, extra-judicial killings, are illegal."
UK-based human rights group Amnesty International called for "a full, independent and impartial inquiry" into the circumstances of Col Gaddafi's death.
However, our correspondents say few Libyans are worried about the manner of their former dictator's humiliating end. Celebrations continued late into the night across Libya.
The NTC is expected to formally announce the liberation of the country on Saturday in the eastern town of Benghazi.
Nato's seven-month campaign of air strikes was carried out under a UN mandate authorising the use of force to protect civilians in Libya.
Nato has carried out some 26,000 sorties and almost 10,000 strike missions.
Col Gaddafi, who came to power in a coup in 1969, was toppled from power in August. He was making his last stand in Sirte alongside two of his sons, Mutassim and Saif al-Islam, according to reports.
A body that officials identified as that of Mutassim has been shown on Libyan TV.
There are conflicting reports as to the whereabouts of Saif al-Islam.
On Friday he was reported to be fleeing south towards Niger, according to NTC commander Abdul Majid Mlegta.
http://www.thedailystar.net/newDesign/latest_news.php?nid=33110
Taliban leader Fazlullah vows new war in Pakistan
By Reuters
October 21, 2011
PESHAWAR: Afghanistan-based Taliban leader Maulvi Fazlullah, a leading figure in the insurgency, has vowed to return to Pakistan to wage war as the country came under renewed American pressure to tackle militancy.
“We sacrificed our lives, left our homes and villages for the sake of Sharia (Islamic Law) and will do whatever we can to get Sharia implemented in the Malakand region and rest of Pakistan,” Sirajuddin Ahmad, a close adviser, told Reuters, describing Fazlullah’s position.
He was answering written questions submitted by Reuters. The Taliban threat was issued as US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and top US military and intelligence leaders delivered a tough warning to Pakistan to crack down hard on militant groups, an issue heavily straining ties between the uneasy allies.
Fazlullah was the Pakistani Taliban leader in Swat Valley, about 100 miles (160 km) northwest of Islamabad, before a 2009 army offensive forced him to flee.
Also known as FM Mullah for his fiery radio broadcasts, he regrouped in Afghanistan and established strongholds, and poses a threat to Pakistan once again, said army spokesman Major-General Athar Abbas.
The Pakistani Taliban, which is separate from but aligned to the Afghan Taliban fighting foreign forces in Afghanistan, has declared war on the Pakistani state for providing support to the US-led war on militants in the region.
Pakistan recently complained that Afghan and US-led forces had failed to hunt down Fazlullah who was responsible for a spate of cross-border raids. On the other hand, Afghanistan and the United States have accused elements in the Pakistan government of supporting members of the Afghan Taliban.
The attacks in which militants loyal to Fazlullah took part killed about 100 members of Pakistan’s security forces, angering the army which faces threats from multiple militant groups.
Fazlullah, a leading figure in the Pakistani Taliban insurgency, is based in Kunar and Nuristan provinces in Afghanistan, said Abbas.
Other leaders of the Pakistani Taliban, an umbrella of about 12 groups, and the government have suggested they are open to peace talks to end a conflict that has killed thousands of people. But Fazlullah seemed sceptical about the government’s intentions.
“Pakistani rulers always approach us through some people whenever their relations with the United States become unfriendly and make appeals to us to help them in restoration of peace in the country,” said his adviser.
“But they forget their promises and become more harsh and cruel when their relations are restored with the United States. We know these tricks of the Pakistani rulers and do not trust in their promises.”
http://tribune.com.pk/story/278777/taliban-leader-fazlullah-vows-new-war-in-pakistan/
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Pak can't keep 'snakes' in backyard to attack neighbours: US
21 OCTOBER 2011
PTI | ISLAMABAD
In a blunt message to Pakistan, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton today demanded greater cooperation from the country to "squeeze" the Haqqani network responsible for attacks in Afghanistan, saying Islamabad could not keep "snakes" in its backyard to strike its neighbours.
"It's like that old story - you can't keep snakes in your backyard and expect them only to bite your neighbours. Eventually those snakes are going to turn on whoever has them in the backyard," Clinton said during a joint news conference with Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar.
"We asked very specifically for greater cooperation from the Pakistani side to squeeze the Haqqani network and other terrorists because we know that trying to eliminate terrorists and safe havens on one side of the border is not going to work," she said.
Clinton, who arrived here yesterday with a high-level delegation that included CIA director David Petraeus and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen Martin Dempsey, had earlier said the US intended to "push the Pakistanis very hard" to remove militant safe havens and tackle groups like the Haqqani network that are responsible for cross-border strikes.
She told the news conference: "We should be able to agree that for too long extremists have been able to operate here in Pakistan and from Pakistani soil. No one who targets innocent civilians, whether they be Pakistanis, Afghans, Americans or anyone else should be tolerated or protected."
Khar did not respond to questions about the US demand for action against groups like the Haqqani network, and said Pakistan's future strategies would be guided by a resolution adopted by a recent meeting of the country's political parties, which had called for giving "peace a chance."
Pakistan-US relations could not be based on a "to do list" and the two sides need to forge an "operational convergence or operation work plan" to facilitate the endgame in Afghanistan, Khar said.
Full Report At:
http://www.dailypioneer.com/pioneer-news/top-story/14872-pak-cant-keep-snakes-in-backyard-to-attack-neighbours-us.html
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Three troops, six civilians among 43 killed in Khyber
By: Ahmad Nabi
October 21, 2011
KHYBER AGENCY - As many as 43 persons including 34 militants, three troops and six civilians were killed in fresh skirmishes between the security forces and militants in Maklikdin Khel, Shlober areas of tehsil Bara, ISPR and other official sources said on Thursday.
The sources said that the forces launched a massive operation assisted by gunship helicopters against the miscreants in Malikdin Khel and Shlober areas. In a day long fighting, 34 militants were killed and three Frontier Corp (FC) personnel including Capt. Abdul Qadir embraced martyrdom, the sources said. Eight troops also sustained bullet injuries and were shifted to military hospital for treatment, the sources said.
Six civilians including children and women were also killed while ten others were wounded in shelling and mortars strikes in the area, locals told the media. The choppers conducted shelling on the suspected hideouts of militants and three of them were destroyed, the sources said.
Panic and fear spread among the locals and dozens of residents evacuated their houses and shifted to safer places due to uncertain situation in the area, the local sources said.
It is worth mentioning here that for the last few days the militants in Bara have intensified their activities and scores of civilians and forces personnel have been killed in mortar strikes and operations.
http://nation.com.pk/pakistan-news-newspaper-daily-english-online/Politics/21-Oct-2011/Three-troops-six-civilians-among-43-killed-in-Khyber
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Syrian forces kill 13 in protests
Reuters, Amman
October 21, 2011
President Bashar al-Assad's forces shot dead on Friday at least 13 anti-Assad protesters whose numbers were swelled by the killing of former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, activists and residents said.
Most of the killings were in the central city of Homs and in Hama to the north, scene of some of the largest military operations in a crackdown on the seven month uprising, where a nascent insurgent movement has also emerged, they said.
http://www.thedailystar.net/newDesign/latest_news.php?nid=33121
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Anti-Taliban tribal elder killed in Mohmand
By Umer Farooq
October 21, 2011
Three people, including an anti-Taliban tribal elder, were killed when militants attacked a house in Mohmand Agency.
PESHAWAR: Three people, including an anti-Taliban tribal elder, were killed when militants attacked a house in Mohmand Agency on Friday.
Sources said militants equipped with rockets launchers and hand grenades attacked the house of Malik Majan Khan in Atam village of Bazai tehsil in Mohmand Agency.
Militants had fired rockets and targeted Majan Khan’s house as revenge for his activities against militants in the area. The tribal elder and two other people were killed, and a woman of the same of house was also injured in the attack.
In another incident, militants blew up a primary school in the vicinity. The school has been destroyed in the attack.
http://tribune.com.pk/story/278825/anti-taliban-tribal-elder-killed-in-mohmand-agency/
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Obama: ‘Tyranny lifted’ from Libya with Gadhafi’s death
By Dave Boyer
The Washington Times October 20, 2011
President Obama said the death of longtime Libyan ruler Moammar Gadhafi on Thursday shows “the rule of an iron fist inevitably comes to an end.”
“The dark shadow of tyranny has been lifted,” Mr. Obama said from the White House Rose Garden, hours after the news that Col. Gadhafi had been killed in fighting near his hometown of Sirte. “One of the world’s longest-serving dictators is no more.”
The killing of Col. Gadhafi is the culmination of Mr. Obama’s unauthorized seven-month military operation, an intervention that continues to raise questions about the limits of presidential power and the wisdom of U.S. participation in the multilateral mission to oust the Libyan leader.
Mr. Obama credited the Libyan people, the U.S. and its allies for toppling Col. Gadhafi’s regime.
“This is a momentous day in the history of Libya,” said Mr. Obama, addressing its citizens. “You have won your revolution.”
Full Report At:
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2011/oct/20/obama-tyranny-lifted-libya-gadhafis-death/
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Maldivian national commits suicide in Trivandrum, phone in hand
By Minivan News
October 20th, 2011
A 22 year-old Maldivian studying in Trivandrum, India hanged himself in his room on Wednesday, October 19.
Another Maldivian residing in Trivandrum reported that the young man had been “seen having fun” earlier that day, Haveeru reports.
The individual told Haveeru that the suicide was triggered by a relationship issue, noting that the young man been found dead with a phone in his hand.
The young man was studying for a diploma in Airport Management, and was planning to visit Male’ in November. His body has been transferred to a mortuary for examination.
http://minivannews.com/category/news-in-brief
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India deploys Dornier aircraft to Maldives for anti-piracy patrols
By Minivan News
October 19th, 2011
India has deployed another Dornier aircraft to the Maldives to assist in anti-piracy patrols and maritime surveillance, reports the Times of India.
The aircraft will operate in the Maldives for three weeks following “alarm bells in the Indian security establishment over renewed efforts by China to further expand its footprint in Maldives,” the paper reported.
India is also assisting with hydrographic surveys and the building of a network of ground radars across all 26 atolls, linked with Indian maritime systems, the paper noted.
http://minivannews.com/category/news-in-brief
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Geelani to consider Indian talks offer
October 21, 2011
SRINAGAR - For the first time in 20 years, Hurriyat hardliner Syed Ali Shah Geelani is sending positive vibes about dialogue with New Delhi, saying Hurriyat “is ready to discuss in the advisory council” any talks offer made by the Indian government.
“If and when there is an invitation for talks, we will discuss it in the advisory council,” Geelani told The Indian Express. “We will see the nature of the (talks) offer and then decide about it.”
Geelani said any offer for dialogue would be discussed in the advisory council of Tehreek-e-Hurriyat and the Hurriyat Conference. “We have an advisory council in Tehreek-e-Hurriyat. If there is an invitation, we will keep the offer before them for discussion. We are also part of the Hurriyat Conference and it would be then discussed in its advisory council,” he said. “We will also take the advice of like-minded people before making a decision.”
Full Report At:
http://nation.com.pk/pakistan-news-newspaper-daily-english-online/Politics/21-Oct-2011/Geelani-to-consider-Indian-talks-offer
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Balochistan Assembly condemns Mastung incident
By: Bari Baloch
October 21, 2011
QUETTA - The Balochistan Assembly while condemning Mastung incident in which 26 Shiite Muslims of Hazara community were brutally killed has demanded of the govt to take practical steps to bring the culprits to justice.
The Balochistan Assembly adopted a condemnation resolution in its session which met with Deputy Speaker Matiullah Agha in the chair on Thursday.
Speaking on the admissibility of resolution, Chengezai said previously high profile members of Hazara community were being targeted but the current year witnessed more heinous incidents of mass killing of people belonging to the community.
Citing the details of attacks, he said terrorists on Eid-ul-Fitr day carried out blast in Quetta killing several people belong to Hazara community.
‘If volunteers were not deputed near prayers place the terrorists could have approached the congregation and more casualties could have occured’, he said,adding, 27 Shiite pilgrims were brutally murdered in Mastung district on September 20th.
He said when injured were being shifted to Quetta the terrorists attacked the vehicles killing three more Shiite people ,adding, that merely three day after Mastung incident three more members of Hazara community were dismounted from a mini bus near Machh and were shot dead.
He further said more than one dozen Hazara people were held at gun-point near fruit market in the outskirts of Quetta and after confirming their identity as Hazaras assailants brutally killed them. Chengezai regretted over lack of arrest of culprits, saying despite repeated attacks on Shia Muslims none of the culprits were brought to justice ,adding, that they should be told that why they were being treated like this whether they were not human beings.
Full Report At:
http://nation.com.pk/pakistan-news-newspaper-daily-english-online/National/21-Oct-2011/Balochistan--PA-condemns-Mastung-incident
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The Bahraini medic who went to save lives and put her own in danger
guardian.co.uk, 21 October 2011
When a Bahraini hospital started to take in casualties from the violent crackdown on protesters earlier this year, Rula al-Saffar was one of the first to volunteer. As a medical professor and president of the Bahraini Nursing Society, she was not on the staff of the overwhelmed Salmaniya hospital. But doctors needed all the help they could get.
Saffar could not have known at the time that in stepping in to help save lives she was endangering her own. Within weeks she would be arrested, charged, convicted in a trial lasting minutes and sentenced to 15 years in prison, along with 19 other hospital medics. Now she waits at home in Manama, an imminent appeal case her last chance for justice.
The authorities say that the doctors at the Salmaniya hospital abetted the uprising that shook the kingdom in February and March. But in an interview with the Guardian, Saffar says her six-month ordeal, which will culminate in an appeal hearing that starts on Sunday, has been a judicial farce.
Saffar was arrested on 4 April after receiving a late-night phone call ordering her to present herself to Bahrain's Central Investigation Department for interrogation. "The minute I entered they just closed the gate, and suddenly I was blindfolded, handcuffed and started being pushed and cussed at the whole time.
"I never knew why was I there. And then this woman started shouting at me, that you hate the system, that you were a protester against the system, against the king.
"I kept saying: 'No, this is not what happened,' and of course the minute you say no they beat you up and they electrocute you … And I thought: 'How dare you do this?' Interrogation … as you see in a democratic country, I thought my country had the same thing, where you have a right for your lawyer, they read your warrant. But this is not what happened to us."
Saffar spent five months in custody, enduring beatings, torture, sexual assault and threats of rape, before she was bailed in late August. On Sunday, Saffar and 19 other medics and paramedics will appeal against convictions – and sentences ranging between five and 20 years – that have been condemned by governments and medical associations around the world.
Full Report At:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/oct/21/bahraini-medic-save-lives-danger
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‘Not at Kashmir’s cost’: Political parties create uproar over trade concessions to India
By Zahid Gishkori / Zia Khan
October 21, 2011
ISLAMABAD: A proposed government plan to grant India the Most Favoured Nation (MFN) status suffered multiple shocks on Thursday when the main opposition party, a bipartisan parliamentary panel on Kashmir and pro-establishment political outfits opposed it in unison.
Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar informed the National Assembly last week that the government had, in principle, decided to give India MFN status and a formal announcement was likely any time.
It is, however, not known whether the decision has the backing of the military-dominated establishment, which says that most of the threats to the country’s security and territorial integrity are emanating from the east.
The loudest opposition to the plan came from the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) which said it did not want war with India but had ‘serious concerns’ on giving New Delhi the MFN, a privilege through which one country gives trade concessions to the other.
A parliament’s special committee on Kashmir, Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam- Fazl (JUI-F) and Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) also joined the chorus against what is seen as a big leap forward to normalise relations between the two nuclear-armed rivals.
Speaking at a news conference here, National Assembly Opposition Leader Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan said his PML-N party had doubts that any concession to India would ever make it change its stance on Kashmir.
Full Report At:
http://tribune.com.pk/story/278273/ecp-being-prevented-from-working-independently-chaudhry-nisar/
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Police arrest militant in Swat raid
By Umer Farooq
October 21, 2011
SWAT: Kanju police arrested a wanted militant during a search operation in the area on Friday.
Official sources said Naimat Babu, a native of the Ningolai Charbagh area, was wanted by police and security forces for terrorist activities. He was nabbed by Kanju police during a search operation.
“Naimat was wanted for different crimes and has now been arrested”, they said.
Officials said that security forces after the military onslaught in Swat in 2009 conducted more than 1,300 intelligence operations where several militants were arrested.
“Locals alert us when militants who managed to escape during the military operation return to their native area,” said an official, adding that security officials then proceed to conduct search operations against them.
http://tribune.com.pk/story/278793/police-arrest-militant-in-swat-operation/
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Emergency law to be relaxed in Indian Kashmir
By AFP
October 21, 2011
Militant violence has dropped sharply in Kashmir since India and Pakistan, which each hold the region in part but claim it in full, started a peace process in 2004. PHOTO: AFP/FILE
SRINAGAR: Tough emergency laws imposed in Indian Kashmir in 1990 that allow security forces to act with near-impunity are to be partially withdrawn, the region’s chief minister announced Friday.
The change marks a significant step in the process of normalising the Indian part of Kashmir.
Indian Kashmir was once one of the most dangerous places on Earth as militant groups waged a deadly campaign of bombings and killings to protest against rule from New Delhi.
The draconian Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) was introduced in 1990 to give the army and paramilitary forces, who number half a million today, sweeping powers to detain people, use deadly force and destroy property.
“Time has come for the revocation of laws which were implemented in the state after the onset of militancy,” Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah told a police function in the main city of Srinagar on Friday.
Full Report At:
http://tribune.com.pk/story/278843/emergency-law-to-be-relaxed-in-indian-kashmir/
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25 Jamaat activists arrested
UNB, Rajshahi
October 21, 2011
Police in separate drives arrested 25 supporters of Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami from different areas of Rajshahi Thursday night and Friday.
Police said they arrested nine Jamaat workers from Godagari area, five from Charghat, three from Bagmara, two from each of Puthia, Bagha, Paba and Boalia areas.
The arrestees were detained on charges of holding unauthorised roadside meetings and passing derogatory remarks on Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
http://www.thedailystar.net/newDesign/latest_news.php?nid=33122
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Delhi HC blast accused custody to NIA extended by 3 days
New Delhi
Oct 21 2011,
Wasim Akram Malik, arrested for his alleged role in the September 7 Delhi High Court blast,was on Friday remanded by a Delhi court to NIA custody for three more days on the agency's plea that he needs to be interrogated for nabbing a few more of his accomplices.
Special NIA Judge H S Sharma allowed the National Investigating Agency (NIA) to quizz Malik, a Jammu and Kashmir native studying Unani medicine in Bangladesh, for three more days after the agency said they have to arrest a few more persons linked to the case.
Malik was produced before the court after the expiry of his 14-days' NIA custody. The investigators had termed Malik as a 'key link' in the conspiracy behind the blast outside Gate 5 of the high court on September 7, leaving 15 people dead and over 70 injured.
Ravi Kazi, counsel appearing for Malik, said NIA sought three-day custody for his client saying his further interrogation is required and certain new developments are taking place in the case.
Information about Malik was given by Azhar Ali, a Hizbul Mujahideen module, who is in Kotbalwal Jail in Jammu since 2009, sources said.
NIA has also seized three mobile phones from Jammu and Kishtwar residences of Malik recently.
Apart from Malik, NIA had arrested Aamir Abbas Dev and a juvenile for allegedly sending emails to media houses claiming responsibility for the blast on behalf of banned terror group Harkat ul-Jihad al-Islami (HuJI).
They have been booked under various provisions of the IPC, the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and the Explosive Substances Act, dealing with conspiracy, murder, attempt to kill, causing hurt and using explosives.
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/delhi-hc-blast-accused-custody-to-nia-extended-by-3-days/863674/
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Saif to Become tenth Nawab of Pataudi
Agencies
New Delhi, October 21, 2011
Saif Ali Khan who's also known as Chhote Nawab will soon be crowned the tenth Nawab of Pataudi. However, since the title was abolished years back, Saif makes it clear the ceremony is only to keep the sentiments of the villagers., reports Mumbai Mirror.
Saif's father Mansoor Ali Khan
Pataudi was supposed to be the last holder of the title Nawab since princely states were abolised by the government in 1971.
A source told the tabloid, “The people of the princely state were keen to crown their chhote nawab. For purely sentimental reasons, the people of Pataudi wanted Saif to be the crowned Nawab.”
Saif, on the other hand was not too keen on taking the title. “It is an anachronism. And also, I would like to remember my father as the last Nawab of Pataudi,” he was quoted by the daily.
“These titles are no longer recognised by the government. And rightly so, if you ask. But the people in our villages are sentimental about these things. The ceremony is more of a family tradition and hugely symbolic for the people of Pataudi,” Saif told the tabloid.
The event will take place in Pataudi at the end of the month, 40 days from the demise of Tiger Pataudi, according to Mumbai Mirror.
http://www.hindustantimes.com/Saif-to-become-tenth-Nawab-of-Pataudi/H1-Article1-759957.aspx
URL: https://newageislam.com/islamic-world-news/u.n.-rights-office-urges-probe/d/5740