Mr Blogger: February 2014

Friday 28 February 2014

Lorem Ipsum is simply dummy text of the printing and typesetting industry. Lorem Ipsum has been the industry’s standard dummy text ever since the 1500s, when an unknown printer took a galley of type and scrambled it to make a type specimen book. It has survived not only

Lorem Ipsum is simply dummy text of the printing and typesetting industry. Lorem Ipsum has been the industry’s standard dummy text ever since the 1500s, when an unknown printer took a galley of type and scrambled it to make a type specimen book. It has survived not only

Lorem Ipsum is simply dummy text of the printing and typesetting industry. Lorem Ipsum has been the industry’s standard dummy text ever since the 1500s, when an unknown printer took a galley of type and scrambled it to make a type specimen book. It has survived not only

Lorem Ipsum is simply dummy text of the printing and typesetting industry. Lorem Ipsum has been the industry’s standard dummy text ever since the 1500s, when an unknown printer took a galley of type and scrambled it to make a type specimen book. It has survived not only

Lorem Ipsum is simply dummy text of the printing and typesetting industry. Lorem Ipsum has been the industry’s standard dummy text ever since the 1500s, when an unknown printer took a galley of type and scrambled it to make a type specimen book. It has survived not only

Lorem Ipsum is simply dummy text of the printing and typesetting industry. Lorem Ipsum has been the industry’s standard dummy text ever since the 1500s, when an unknown printer took a galley of type and scrambled it to make a type specimen book. It has survived not only

Lorem Ipsum is simply dummy text of the printing and typesetting industry. Lorem Ipsum has been the industry’s standard dummy text ever since the 1500s, when an unknown printer took a galley of type and scrambled it to make a type specimen book. It has survived not Lorem Ipsum is simply dummy text of the printing and typesetting industry. Lorem Ipsum has been the industry’s standard dummy text ever since the 1500s, when an unknown printer took a galley of type and scrambled it to make a type specimen book. It has survived not only

Hello March 2014

Talk on Sir Nicholas Barrington book took place in PHC

Monday 24 February 2014

Zionist Saudi Royals ‘seeking Pakistan arms for terrorists in Syria’

Saudi Arabia is in talks with Pakistan to provide anti-aircraft and anti-tank rockets to Syrian militants to try to tip the balance in the war to overthrow President Bashar al-Assad, a Saudi source says.
The United States has opposed arming the militants with such weapons, fearing they might end up in the hands of extremists, but Syrian opposition figures say the failure of Geneva peace talks seems to have led Washington to soften its opposition.
Pakistan makes its own version of Chinese shoulder-launched anti-aircraft missiles, known as Anza, and anti-tank rockets — both of which Riyadh is trying to get for the militants, said the source, who is close to Saudi decision-makers, requesting anonymity.
The source pointed to a visit to Riyadh earlier this month by Pakistan’s army chief of staff, General Raheel Sharif, who met Crown Prince Salman bin Abdul Aziz.
Prince Salman himself last week led a large delegation to Pakistan, shortly after Saudi’s chief diplomat Prince Saud al-Faisal visited the kingdom’s key ally.
Jordan will be providing facilities to store the weapons before they are delivered to militants within Syria, the same source said.
The head of the Syrian opposition, Ahmad Jarba, promised during a flying visit to northern Syria last week that “powerful arms will be arriving soon.”
Militants have long said that anti-aircraft and anti-tank rockets would help tip the balance in the battle against Assad’s forces, which enjoy air superiority.
The nearly-three-year conflict in Syria has torn the country apart, killing more than 140,000 people, including some 50,000 civilians, according to the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

Sunday 23 February 2014

No coexistence with Taliban: Rally led by Altaf Hussain resolves

KARACHI: Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) Chief Altaf Hussain said in his telephonic address on Sunday that Pakistan’s existence is threatened adding that those who support Taliban are hypocrites and not Pakistan’s friends.
Addressing a rally held in solidarity with armed forces, Altaf Hussain said that external forces have abused Pakistan for their own agendas; world wants to see India playing a role in the region and that India wants to see a disintegrated Pakistan, he claimed. If we’re strong internally, no external power can disintegrate us, he said.
Altaf Hussain said the army should step ahead as it has backing of every Pakistani. Dedicating the rally to martyrs of the country, he said that whoever supports Taliban is a traitor of Pakistan.
Altaf Hussain said that Pakistan’s existence is under threat and isolated among the international community.
Those who slaughter innocent children and blow up schools are beats, he said.
MQM Chief said that these people were brainwashed and funded in the name of Afghan war and that we supported America in the name of cold war. Taliban were meant to be used against Soviet Union, he said while alleging that America used Muslims against Russia.
Assuring the support to Pakistan army, Altaf Hussain said that every Pakistan stands united in support of armed forces. He said that he had warned about the threat of Talibanization years ago adding that his statement about Karachi being infiltrated by Taliban was made fun of.
The rally also approved a resolution that said Taliban and Pakistan cannot coexist.
Taliban terrorists should be severely dealt with; pro-terrorism organizations should be strictly boycotted, he said.
“We term the acts of terrorism as un-Islamic,” he said. “We send tributes to all martyrs who lost their lives in terrorist attacks.”
MQM’s resolution also said that Pakistan is not anyone’s property and that everyone is equal.

Tuesday 18 February 2014

Al Qaeda's Possible Collapse in Syria

KUWAIT CITY: Kuwait recently joined Saudi Arabia in criminalizing the participation of its citizens in jihadist activities abroad, as part of measures intended to curb the outflow of radicalized youth to battlegrounds in the region, notably Syria and Iraq. European nations, such as France and the United Kingdom, have also taken legal action to reduce the involvement of their citizens and residents in the on-going conflicts in the Middle East. Targeting the flow of new militants adds pressure to a movement that, in Syria at least, has suffered serious, mostly self-inflicted, setbacks. This is a moment of opportunity for the Syrian revolution to recapture some of its physical and moral ground from radical elements, and for the world community to deal a serious blow to this threat.

There are two competing visions of radical jihadism in Syria articulated by two rival groups. The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS), based in western Iraq, is overtly seeking to expand as the core territory of a global caliphate. By dispatching funds and fighters to Syria’s civil war, ISIS has incorporated Syria into its dominion. It has also received pledges of allegiance from a previously unknown group in Lebanon and support from a radical formation in Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula. However, this centralized model is challenged by the distributed approach endorsed by the central core of al Qaeda, still led by Ayman al-Zawahiri, Osama bin Laden’s former lieutenant. Syria, according to Zawahiri, is the domain of the al-Nusra Front, while ISIS ought to restrict its presence to Iraq.

The reality on the ground is quite different from the bitter discord and deliberations conducted in cyberspace. Both ISIS and al-Nusra are part of a complex network of bands, gangs, and formations that have occupied territory and exert some control over local society and the economy in areas from which the Syrian regime has been evicted. Allegiance to either ISIS or al-Nusra ― or any other party, including the regime ― is a function of incentives and coercive measures applied to local groups. While some localities have succeeded in maintaining the original spirit of the revolution, large swaths of Syrian territory have devolved into a parallel Islamic order ― complete with self-styled governors who are often notorious figures with criminal backgrounds, kangaroo courts consisting of untrained judges dispensing harsh punishment at will, and shadowy “shura council” of jihadists elevated to the status of communal leaders. In reality, these are little more than groups of bandits.

Many regions under regime control have regressed into similar patterns, with cult-like expressions of devotion to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in lieu of enforced radical religiosity. This is a testimony to the Assad regime’s failure over the past four decades to create a stable socio-economic and cultural order. Still, the deplorable jihadist performance in managing territory has exposed weaknesses, including to a broader Islamist ideology. In fact, the blatant absence of an Islamist political or economic program, the ideology’s incompatibility with local religious practices, and its reductionist character have resulted in a reversion to unqualified coercion.

To no avail, Zawahiri has issued messages trying to fill the substantive void in the jihadist agenda. The competition for resources between the two rival al Qaeda-inspired groups in Syria has degenerated into a fratricidal war ― one in which the Syria-rooted al-Nusra is aligned with non-al Qaeda affiliates against its former, foreign-led incubator.

Al Qaeda’s claim to be at the vanguard of an Islamist order has been put to the test and has failed woefully in Syria. Yet, judging by its record, the ability of this organization to redefine and reposition itself cannot be easily dismissed. Only a proactive opposition plan to resolve the Syrian conflict, one that asserts a vision of a pluralistic democratic state, can turn al Qaeda’s current setback into a defeat of radicalism. In addition to stemming the flow of jihadists, friends of Syria in the region and in the transatlantic community need to help a hesitant opposition take serious steps toward articulating such a bold new vision for Syria.

Brussels Mayor bans Vlaams Belang's anti-illegals campaign

Brussels: The Mayor of the City of Brussels, Yvan Mayeur (Francophone socialist), has refused to grant permission for the Flemish far-right party Vlaams Belang to take its campaign against illegals to the City of Brussels on Wednesday. Mr Mayeur believes that the campaign smacks of xenophobia and that there is a serious risk that public order could be disturbed.

In coming weeks the Vlaams Belang is taking its illegals' campaign to the Flemish cities of Antwerp, Mechelen, Vilvoorde and Ghent. The Flemish far-right had wanted to include the Belgian and Flemish capital on its itinerary, but the mayor has now stepped in to prevent this because of the nature of the posters that the party is eager to stick on its campaign vans.

The posters include the legend: "Illegal? Go home or to jail!" and give the phone numbers of the Asylum and Migration Secretary and the toll free number operated by the Fedasil, Federal Agency for Asylum, where you can receive information about voluntary returns.

Mayor Mayeur: "The slogan is a violation of anti-racism legislation. There's also the chance that the action could be provocative and disturb public order. The reference to the Asylum Secretary's number could put the fear of God into people and trigger hostile demos outside Ms De Block's office."

Investigation into 23 cases of rape by fake taxi drivers

Brussels: The Brussels judicial authorities have started an investigation into 23 cases of rape committed by bogus taxi drivers. All the victims are young women stopping a taxi after a night out in the centre of Brussels. The cases are quite similar: the so-called taxi drivers take the victims to the Tercamerenbos where the women are raped in the car. The facts took place during the past 3 years, and investigators assume that there is more than one offender.

"There are presumably 3 or 4 offenders, but there is no link between them. We are not being confronted with an organised criminal gang, but with separate individuals that all applied the same modus operandi", explains Ine Van Wymersch of the Brussels judicial authorities. "None of the suspects used a weapon."

The "taxi drivers" used a car that resembles an official taxi. Their victims were mostly girls that had too much to drink. Ms Van Wymersch says that the victims shouldn't blame themselves, but is urging women to be extra careful. "Taking a taxi is still safer than drink driving. But we do advise women to look for official taxi companies, and not just to enter the first taxi coming."

Investigators managed to reach a breakthrough in the past weeks. A suspect was arrested on Friday and put in custody, but he denies the allegations. The judicial authorities think that not all victims have reported to the police, and urge them to do so.

The official Brussels taxi companies say they want to help to trace down the offenders. They were shocked when they heard the news this morning, and want to put some extra effort into finding the perpetrators. Michel Tomelakof gives an easy tip: "You can call for a taxi by phone and keep waiting until that taxi arrives at the doorstep. If you are inside a pub, it's better to wait inside the pub and not outside."

Paris Picasso museum to reopen after five years

PARIS, (AFP) - Five years after it closed for a two-year renovation, Paris s Picasso museum -- which houses one of the world s most extensive collections of the Spanish master s work -- is to reopen its doors.

The final bill for the refurbishment of the 17th-century baroque mansion in Paris s historic Marais quarter now stands at 52 million Euros ($71 million), 22 million euros more than the original budget due to changes in the scope of the work.

The museum is scheduled to open to the public again in June, president of the gallery Anne Baldassari told AFP, adding that a more than doubling of the space available would allow curators to really "do justice to the collection".

Although the museum has around 5,000 paintings drawings, sculptures, ceramics, photographs and documents, previously only a fraction could be displayed at any one time due to the limited space available.

The renovations will boost the exhibition space to 40,000 square feet (3,800 square meters).

There will also be a corresponding rise in the number of visitors that can be admitted at once from 380 to 650, and annual admission figures are expected to jump from 450,000 to 850,000.

Baldassari said that if all went to plan most of the works would be brought out of storage at the end of April and arranged for display during May. The museum closed in August 2009.

"It s been a revolution," she said.

"Everything is new, everything has a fresh coat of paint, everything has been renovated, and everything works."

The museum will in future hold one major exhibition each year. The first in mid-2015 in collaboration with New York s Museum of Modern Art will take Picasso s sculpture as its theme.

The Paris museum opened for the first time in 1985 with most of exhibits left to the French state on Picasso s death in 1973. Others were donated by his family including his widow Jacqueline.

American acquitted in teen's murder not haunted by what happened

WASHINGTON (AFP) - George Zimmerman, the US man controversially acquitted of murdering black teenager Trayvon Martin, said in an interview aired Monday that he is not haunted by what happened.

Zimmerman also told CNN he sees himself as a victim and scapegoat and that the only judge he has to answer to is God.

The Sanford, Florida, neighborhood watch volunteer fatally shot 17-year-old Martin in February 2012 as the unarmed African American high schooled was walking home with iced tea and candy.

Zimmerman insisted he had been following Martin on suspicion that the youth was involved in a robbery, and that he shot him in an act of self-defense following a violent struggle.

An initial decision by Florida investigators not to press charges set off widespread protests, with Martin s supporters alleging racism and pointing to the fact that the teenager was unarmed and had no criminal record.

A national outcry led to a jury trial for second-degree murder and manslaughter in June that ended with Zimmerman s acquittal -- and more protests.

When asked by CNN if he felt haunted by that night two years ago, Zimmerman simply answered "no."

When asked about the victim, Martin, he said: "No, I certainly was a victim when I was having my head bashed into the concrete and my nose broken and beaten. I wouldn t say I was not a victim."

He added later that he saw himself as a "scapegoat" for the government, the president and the attorney general.

Faith in God kept him from doubting himself, he said.

"I know that ultimately he s the only judge I have to answer to. I know what happened, he knows what happened. So I leave it up to him."

Zimmerman, in other remarks, said he wants to become an attorney and that he receives death threats.

India commutes death sentence for Rajiv Gandhi Killers

NEW DELHI (AFP) - India s Supreme Court spared three killers of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi from the hangman s noose, citing delays in the case 23 years after his assassination by a Tamil suicide bomber.

The top court headed by Chief Justice P. Sathasivam handed the three lives in prison on the grounds that successive Indian presidents had taken 11 years to decide their pleas for mercy against execution.

"We implore the government to render advice in a reasonable amount of time for taking a decision on mercy pleas," Sathasivam told the court in announcing the judgment.

A lawyer for the three men -- Murugan, Santhan and Perarivalan, all known by single names -- hailed the judgment as "humane," adding that they were now living in hope of one day being released from prison.

"There is hope that the convicts will walk out of jail. The remission will be decided by the state government of Tamil Nadu," Yug Chaudhary outside the court.

"It is time that the death penatlty is abolished in this country," he added.

The decision comes after the Supreme Court issued a landmark judgment last month that places new restrictions on executing prisoners in the world s biggest democracy.

The top court then commuted the death sentences of 15 convicts, ruling that "inordinate and inexplicable" delays in carrying out a death sentence were grounds for commuting a sentence.

The three at the centre of Tuesday s ruling were members of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), a Sri Lankan-based separatist movement, which was wiped out by Sri Lankan forces in 2009.

The men were convicted of plotting the May 21, 1991 murder of Gandhi by a female suicide bomber, but their appeal to the president in 2000 for clemency was only rejected in 2011.

The Chennai High Court in the country s south then stayed their executions, pending another round of appeals from lawyers and state politicians who opposed their hanging.

The lengthy delay contrasts sharply with the execution of Kashmiri Muslim separatist Mohammed Afzal Guru last year over a deadly raid on the Indian parliament in 2001 that left 10 people dead.

Successive governments in India have long been wary of upsetting the large Tamil population in the south where the trio s case has become a cause celebre.

India had an eight-year unofficial moratorium on carrying out the death penalty from 2004 to 2012, with only three people executed in the last decade. The delays have led to a buildup of more than 400 prisoners on death row.

- Murder seen as retaliation -

Gandhi had become India s youngest ever prime minister after his mother, former premier Indira Gandhi, was assassinated in October 1984. He ruled until losing an election five years later.

His widow Sonia is the president of the ruling Congress party and his son Rahul is the frontman for the party s campaign in elections due by May.

The shredded clothes and the shoes that Rajiv was wearing when he was killed while on an election tour in the south of the country remain on display in a museum in the Indian capital.

Gandhi s killing was seen as retaliation for a 1987 Indian government pact with the Sri Lankan government to disarm the guerrillas, who had been trained and armed by New Delhi in the early 1980s.

After that pact, the LTTE fought Indian troops deployed to Sri Lanka by Rajiv Gandhi s government to supervise the accord. India withdrew its troops after 32 months in which it lost 1,200 soldiers at the hands of the rebels.

A relative of one of the killers, Perarivalan, reacted with joy to the news, saying "for the full family it is an emotional moment."

"Perarivalan ... when you see him, he is a totally good human being," his aunt Nilaypapiya told NDTV in the southern city of Chennai.

Amnesty International said Tuesday s decision piles pressure on the government to abolish the death penalty altogether.

"India must now do away with the death penalty -- a cruel, inconsistent and irreversible form of punishment that has no proven deterrent effect on crime," senior researcher Divya Iyer said in a statement.

Wave of car bombs in Iraq kills 19, injures dozens

BAGHDAD (AFP) - Ten car bombs in central Iraq, including five in Baghdad, killed at least 19 people Tuesday, officials said, after another series of blasts the day before.

Iraqi authorities have so far failed to curb a year-long surge in violence plaguing the country, despite carrying out wide-ranging operations against militants.
The blasts in the Iraqi capital hit four different areas, killing at least 10 people and wounding at least 30.

And three more car bombs exploded in Hilla, south of Baghdad, killing five people and wounding 22, while one in Mussayib and another in Iskandiriyah killed a total of four people and wounded 32.

Violence in Iraq has reached a level not seen since 2008, when it was emerging from a brutal period of sectarian killings that claimed tens of thousands of lives.

And all of one major city and parts of another in Anbar province, west of Baghdad, have been held by anti-government fighters for weeks.

Attacks and clashes have killed more than 480 people so far this month and over 1,450 since the start of the year, according to AFP figures based on security and medical sources.

Iran, world powers begin talks on final nuclear deal

VIENNA (AFP) - Nuclear talks between Iran and world powers moved into new territory Tuesday as negotiators embarked on what both sides predicted will be a long and difficult path towards a lasting deal.

In a nutshell such an historic accord would let Iran retain its civilian nuclear programme, but on a modest scale and with enough oversight to make developing atomic weapons all but impossible.

Success could lead to Tehran and Washington normalising relations after a 35-year chill and could even bear fruit in other areas, such as Syria. But failure might lead to conflict.

The scheduled three-day meeting in Vienna between Iran, the United States, China, Russia, Britain, France and Germany follows an interim deal struck in Geneva in November that they now want to transform into a permanent agreement.

Iran s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who Tuesday took to Twitter to denounce nuclear weapons, set a cautious tone Monday when he said this effort would "go nowhere" but that he was not against trying.

Abbas Araqchi, a senior Iranian negotiator, told Iranian media in Vienna that a deal was a "big task, and we have long and complicated negotiations ahead of us".

"It is probably as likely that we won t get an agreement as it is that we will," said one senior US administration official.

"But these negotiations are the best chance we have ever had."

On Tuesday the seven parties held a brief plenary session before breaking off into bilateral meetings, including between the Iranian and US delegations, a senior US State Department official said.

A spokesman for the world powers lead negotiator, EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton, said the aim of this Vienna round was a "workable framework to facilitate these negotiations".

Iran has long been suspected of seeking atomic weapons, despite its denials, and the US and Israel -- assumed to have a large atomic arsenal itself -- have never ruled out military action.

Band-aid solution -

Under the November accord which took effect on January 20, Iran scaled back certain nuclear activities in exchange for minor sanctions relief and a promise of no new sanctions.

The freeze only lasts until July 20 -- although it can be extended -- and experts say that success in Geneva came at the price of postponing the really difficult issues.

"Geneva really was a stop gap, a band-aid solution that didn t really heal the wounds," Siavush Randjbar-Daemi, Iran and Middle East lecturer at Manchester University, told AFP.

Under the "comprehensive" solution that the parties aim to sew up by November, the six powers want Iran to scale back for a "long-term duration" its nuclear programme.

This might include closing the underground Fordo facility, slashing the number of uranium centrifuges, cutting the stockpile of fissile material, altering a new reactor being built at Arak and tougher UN inspections.

In exchange, all UN Security Council, US and EU sanctions on Iran -- which are costing it billions of dollars every week in lost oil revenues, wreaking havoc on the economy -- would be lifted.

But whether Iran will play along remains to be seen. Before the talks, Tehran had set out a number of "red lines", including a refusal to dismantle any facilities.

Washington s watching -

Those in Vienna will be well aware that whatever they agree will need to be sold not only to other countries like Israel and the Sunni Gulf monarchies, but also back home.

Obama has members of Congress breathing down his neck, threatening more sanctions and demanding -- with Israel -- a total dismantlement of Iran s nuclear facilities.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, whose election in 2013 has helped thaw relations with the West, is on thin ice with hardliners seeking to turn Khamenei against him.

"The trouble is that both sides have hard men outside the negotiating room who have to be satisfied," Richard Dalton, the former British ambassador to Tehran now at think-tank Chatham House, told AFP.

PM‚ COAS discuss security situation of country

ISLAMABAD: Chief of Army Staff General Raheel Sharif called on Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in Islamabad on Tuesday.

On Monday, Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (CJCSC) General Rashad Mehmood and Army Chief Raheel Sharif held separate meetings with Saudi Crown-Prince Salman Bin Abdul Aziz on Monday.

During the meeting of Chief of Army Staff General Raheel Sharif and Saudi Crown-Prince, regional security was discussed. The leaders also discussed matters regarding the cooperation in defence field between the two countries.

In a separate meeting, CJCSC General Rashad Mehmood discussed the issue of cooperation in the defense sector.

Earlier, Saudi Minister for Information and Culture Dr. Abdul Aziz called on his Pakistani counterpart Pervaiz Rashid in Islamabad.

They discussed prospect for cooperation between the media of two countries.

Iran should respect international borders law: Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has emphasized that Iranian forces have no authority to cross the borders in violation of the international law.

Reacting to an Iranian statement that it can send forces into Pakistan to free five border guards abducted by militants‚ Foreign Office spokesperson said the two countries must respect each other s borders.

The spokesperson said Pakistan has already informed the Iranian authorities that Frontier Corps teams have intensively combed the entire region. However‚ it could not verify the entry or presence of these Iranian border guards on its territory.

On Monday, Iran said that it would send forces into Pakistan to free five border guards said to have been kidnapped by militants if Islamabad did not take measures to secure their release.

According to Iranian media reports, the guards were seized on February 6 in the Iranian province of Sistan-Baluchistan by militants who allegedly took them across the border to Pakistan.

"If Pakistan doesn’t take the needed steps to fight against the terrorist groups, we will send our forces into Pakistani soil. We will not wait for this country," Iranian Interior Minister Abdolreza Rahmani-Fazli was quoted as telling the semi-official Mehr news agency.

A Sunni insurgent Iranian group calling itself Jaish al-Adl (Army of Justice) had claimed responsibility for the kidnapping, according to a Twitter account purporting to belong to the group. The account s authenticity could not be immediately verified.

The area where the kidnappings took place has a history of unrest, with the mainly Sunni Muslim population complaining of discrimination by Iran’s Shiite Muslim authorities, a charge Iran denies.

Iranian security forces have also fought drug traffickers in the region that borders Pakistan and Afghanistan.

The Iranian armed forces deputy chief of staff was quoted as telling the semi-official Fars news agency that Iran would "show tough confrontation in this case".

"We will have no soft stand in this case and our neighboring country ... should account for its lack of action," Major General Hossein Hassani Sadi told reporters in Tehran on Monday, according to Fars English language website.

Sadi said the guards were still alive, and underlined that "political and military measures are underway to set them free", without elaborating.

Interior Minister Rahmani-Fazli said an Iranian delegation would visit Pakistan on Monday to secure the guards’ release, state news agency ISNA reported.

In October, 14 Iranian border guards were killed and three others captured in the same area in an attack that ISNA said was carried out by Jaish al-Adl.

Sunni Muslim militant group Jundollah, which Iran says is linked to al Qaeda, has claimed a number of attacks and kidnappings since 2003, including a 2010 suicide bombing that killed dozens of people at a Shiite mosque

Monday 17 February 2014

Western-backed Syrian Terrorist has appointed new chief

BEIRUT:The Western-backed Free Syrian Army has appointed a new military chief, opposition groups announced Monday as they try to restructure a rebel movement that has fallen into disarray as it faces rampant infighting and declining international support for its fight to topple President Bashar Assad.

Brig. Gen. Abdul-Ilah al-Bashir replaces Gen. Salim Idris, who was criticized by many in the opposition for being ineffective and lost the confidence of the U.S. and its allies particularly after Islamic extremists seized a weapons depot from moderate rebels. The move was announced Monday in a statement by the FSA's Supreme Military Council.

Al-Bashir, who previously headed the group's operations in the province of Quneitra on the border with the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, is considered a moderate Islamist. In speeches, he has said he supports a democratic Syria but also cites heavily from the Quran, the Islamic holy book.

His appointment, which was made by consensus among the FSA's 30-member military council late Sunday, is seen as part of attempts to revamp and restructure the Free Syrian Army after a series of embarrassing setbacks and to try to convince the West to provide more powerful weaponry. It also seeks to show rival rebels that the group is re-energizing with a new, credible leadership.

The FSA — a loose coalition of mainstream rebel groups — has seen its influence sharply wane and has suffered a series of setbacks in the past year, including an embarrassing raid on its weapons warehouse by Islamic extremists last year, which led to a temporary suspension of U.S. non-lethal aid to the rebels. The FSA has been further weakened in the past few months by deadly infighting with an al-Qaida breakaway group, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.

The moderate opposition hopes to show that the coalition is strengthening the drifting, chaotic and ever-weakening groups that comprise the coalition. Western donors have refrained from providing weapons, fearing they will fall into the hands of hard-line militants.

Al-Bashir is a respected commander involved in day-to-day fighting, whose son was killed fighting on the side of the rebels last year. His appointment sends a two-pronged message, said analysts and rebels.

America's “Invisible” Drone War in Pakistan

A recently released short film focuses on the physical, moral and political invisibility of the United States drone war in Pakistan.

“Unseen War” is made by “Exposing the Invisible”, an initiative of the international non-profit Tactical Technology Collective which uses information, communications and digital technologies to maximize the impact of their advocacy work through short films.

Their series explores new frontiers of investigation and shares stories of people working to expose hidden layers behind problems in their societies.From their website:

We speak to journalists, activists and experts inside and outside of Pakistan about the consequences of the strikes in the tribal FATA region, why they are possible, and how we can make the issue more visible using data and visualization tactics.

Apparently the US is at war in Pakistan against terror and has made hundreds of attacks on targets in Northwest Pakistan since 2004 with unmanned aerial vehicles (drones). They have refuses to officially acknowledge that more than 300 CIA drone strikes carried out in Pakistan and only describes them in off-the-record briefings. The previous Pakistani government openly condemned these attacks but Wiki-leaks exposed that they privately approved the strikes. According to an expose in Washington Post Pakistani military officials, even those who bitterly complained about drone strikes, had secretly been choosing some of the targets.

A leaked Pakistani report tells that the number of casualties are much higher than those provided by the US administration. According to the Bureau of Investigative Journalism the estimated casualties in the US drone attacks in Pakistan are:

Pakistan 2004–2013 CIA Drone Strikes

Total strikes: 381
Total killed: 2,537-3,646
Civilians killed: 416-951
Children killed: 168-200
Injured: 1,128-1,557

The reasons for high number of casualties have been contributed to shoddy intelligence gathering standards such as facilitating strikes without knowing whether the individual in possession of a tracked cell phone or SIM card is in fact the intended target of the strike.

Jeremy Scahill, journalist and author of ‘Dirty Wars: The World Is A Battlefield’ explains how the definitions of “imminent threat” and “enemy combatants” are being redefined by US authorities to give legitimacy for drone attacks. For example all military-age males in an area of known terrorist activity are deemed as combatants, assumed to be up to no good and can be condemned to death by drone.

Two other movies on the US drone warfare in Pakistan – Wounds of Waziristan by Madiha Tahir and Dirty Wars by Jeremy Scahill – were also released last year.

Sunday 16 February 2014

US seeks new bases for drones targeting Al Qaeda in Pakistan

WASHINGTON : The Obama administration is making contingency plans to use air bases in Central Asia to conduct drone missile attacks in northwest Pakistan in case the White House is forced to withdraw all US forces from Afghanistan at the end of this year, according to US officials.

But even if alternative bases are secured, the officials said, the CIA's capability to gather sufficient intelligence to find Al Qaeda operatives and quickly launch drone missiles at specific targets in Pakistan's mountainous tribal region will be greatly diminished if the spy agency loses its drone bases in Afghanistan.

The CIA's targeted killing program thus may prove a casualty of the bitter standoff with Afghan President Hamid Karzai over whether any U.S. troops can remain in Afghanistan after 2014, as the White House has sought. Karzai has refused to sign a bilateral security agreement to permit a long-term American deployment, and some White House aides are arguing for a complete pullout.

According to current and former officers, CIA analysts operating from fortified outposts near the Pakistani border evaluate electronic intelligence, while case officers meet sources who help them identify targets. They pay people to place GPS trackers on cars or buildings to help guide the drone-launched missiles.

"There is an enormous amount of human intelligence collected that supports the strikes, and those bases are a key part of it," one official said.

The CIA cannot fly drones from its Afghan drone bases without US military protection, according to several American officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because the program is classified. If the bases are evacuated, the CIA fleet of armed Predator and Reaper drones could be moved to airfields north of Afghanistan, US officials say, without naming the countries.

"There are contingency plans for alternatives in the north," said one official briefed on the matter.

Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel publicly acknowledged for the first time this month that US officials are examining different basing options for drones.

"I don't get into the specifics of what our plans are on intelligence and drone strikes," he said at a news conference. "You're constantly updating and changing ... where you posture those assets, where the threats are most significant, where do you have allies that are willing to work with you."

The CIA and the military used an air base in Uzbekistan to conduct drone flights until the U.S. was evicted in 2005, said Brian Glyn Williams, a University of Massachusetts professor and author of the book "Predators: The CIA's Drone War on Al Qaeda."

The military also has used a base in Kyrgyzstan to conduct air operations, including moving troops and supplies into Afghanistan. The Pentagon said last fall that it would shift those operations to Romania this summer.

Last month, Maj. Gen. Michael K. Nagata, commander of US special operations in the Middle East and Central Asia, visited Tajikistan, which abuts Afghanistan's northern border, for talks on "issues of bilateral security cooperation" and "continued military cooperation," according to a US Embassy statement in Dushanbe, the capital.

American officials refused to say whether they are seeking permission to base CIA drones in Tajikistan, which allows the U.S. to ship military equipment and supplies through its territory. Several officials said Russia almost certainly would try to block any new U.S. basing agreement in Central Asia. Moscow long has sought to deny Washington more of a foothold in the region.

Officials say a new jet-powered drone, called the Predator C, or Avenger, could figure in plans to use bases outside Afghanistan. The Avenger could "get to 'hot' targets in Pakistan much faster and might solve some of these logistic problems posed by the slower-moving propeller-driven Predator and Reaper drones," said Williams, the professor.

General Atomics, which makes the Avenger, says it is ready for combat. So far, the San Diego-based company has built four prototypes.

Drone strikes in Pakistan have grown less frequent — 28 last year, down from 117 in 2010 — and more precise. The London-based Bureau of Investigative Journalism, which has compiled a database of known drone strikes, found four noncombatants killed in 2013.

But the ability to act quickly, without harming civilians, would suffer if the CIA was forced to leave the area, officials say.

"People think of drones as if they fly to a place, shoot and go home," said a former US official familiar with counter-terrorism operations. "But there is a large amount of coordination and intelligence gathering that takes place, and it takes a lot of time and patience."

Another challenge for counter-terrorism planners is President Obama's stated intention to gradually shift responsibility for drone attacks from the CIA to the military. The Pentagon's Joint Special Operations Command conducts drone strikes in Yemen and Somalia under a legal standard different from the CIA's in Pakistan.

Outside a war zone, the military normally requires an invitation from the host country. The CIA drone campaign is covert. Pakistan consents through back channels, while formally protesting the strikes in diplomatic forums and at the United Nations. That arrangement could pose a legal problem if the U.S. military takes over drone strikes, officials say.

In any case, Congress has balked at handing CIA drone strikes to the military. Key lawmakers favor keeping the CIA program active, especially for Pakistan.

"They don't think we're as precise as the CIA and [worry] that the program would become more transparent if we took over," a senior Defense official said.Intelligence officials back a plan by Gen. Joe Dunford, the top commander in Afghanistan, for keeping about 10,000 U.S. troops in the country after 2014, if only to keep the CIA drone program going."It's one of the reasons the intelligence community is supporting Gen. Dunford's plan," one official said.

Obama has not yet approved a deployment plan, in part because of the standoff with Karzai.

(LOS ANGELES TIMES)

US will meet former USSR’s fate: Taliban

KABUL:The Taliban called on Afghans to expel the United States from Afghanistan on Saturday just as they said Afghan mujahideen fighters had done to Soviet forces 25 years ago to the day.
In a statement issued on the 25th anniversary of the final Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan, a national holiday for Afghans, the Taliban sought to connect the steady departure of US and NATO troops ahead of a year-end deadline to the end of the decade-long Soviet occupation.
“Today America is facing the same fate as the former Soviets and trying to escape from our country,” the Taliban said in a statement emailed to reporters by Qari Yousef Ahmadi, a spokesman for the group.
“The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan is calling on its people to deal with today’s invaders the same they did with the yesterday’s invaders,” he said, using the name the Taliban government used during its repressive 1996-2001 rule.
In line with the so-called Geneva accords, a last convoy of Soviet soldiers crossed a bridge connecting northern Afghanistan with the then-Soviet Union on Feb. 15, 1989.
“We want to remind the Americans that we did not accept invaders with their sweet and nice slogans in the past. We eliminated them from the world map. God willing, your destiny will be the same,” the statement said.
While US and NATO forces in recent years have pushed Taliban militants out of many areas of their southern homeland, they appear to be dug in across remote areas along the rugged Afghanistan-Pakistan border and insurgent violence continues.
Meanwhile, The US military said on Friday it was not actively targeting any of the 65 suspected Taliban militants released by Afghan President Hamid Karzai’s government, but warned that if the freed prisoners returned to the fight, “they do it at their own peril.”

Taliban likely to announce ceasefire soon

ISLAMABAD :Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) nominated committee’s spokesman Yousuf Shah anticipated that the Taliban will soon announce ceasefire.

He was talking to media on Sunday where he said that the meeting of Taliban shura (council) regarding announcement of ceasefire was underway, however, he added that it could not be specified when the meeting would end.

He further termed it premature to say anything about decisions of the Taliban shura. He informed that Taliban shura is underway, presided over by Qari Shakil, to discuss ceasefire.

He said Taliban will soon announce ceasefire in order to keep the dialogue process going.

The Taliban committee member said they had demanded for a meeting with Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and military leadership, however, they had not been given response yet.

Meanwhile, Taliban-nominated committee and government committee for peace talks also had a contact wherein they discussed matters pertaining to ceasefire.

A committee member, requesting anonymity, said a meeting might be called tomorrow (Monday) to reach a final decision on ceasefire issue.

Amid an ongoing peace talks’ between the government and the Taliban, a police van was targeted in a blast on Thursday (February 13) in Karachi, killing at least 13 police personnel. TTP claimed the responsibility of the attack terming it as a revenge activity

Aam Aadmi Party declares first list of LS candidates

DELHI:The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Sunday announced the first list of 20 candidates for the Lok Sabha polls. Prominent among them are social activist Medha Patkar, Anjali Damania, Yogendra Yadav and Kumar Vishwas.

Party spokesperson Ashutosh will contest from Chandni Chowk, the constituency of law minister Kapil Sibal, Mukul Tripathi will be contesting against external affairs minister Salman Khurshid from Farukkhabad in Uttar Pradesh, and Kumar Vishwas will be pitted against Rahul Gandhi in Amethi constituency, also in Uttar Pradesh.

"Today we have announced the names of 20 candidates. The selection of all these candidates has been done on the basis of their work for the society," AAP leader Manish Sisodia said at a press conference.

Other prominent persons include Anjali Damania who would contest from Bharatiya Janata Party leader Nitin Gadkari's stronghold Nagpur, Yogendra Yadav from Gurgaon, lawyer HS Phoolka from Ludhiana, the constituency of information and broadcasting minister Manish Tewari, and Subhash Ware who will fight against Suresh Kalmadi in Pune.

4 tourists killed in blast in Egypt's Sinai

CAIRO:An explosion ripped through a tourist bus near a border crossing between Egypt and Israel in the Sinai Peninsula, killing four South Koreans and the Egyptian driver, security officials said.The officials said the source of the explosion was not clear, but they believe it was either a car bomb or a roadside bomb that was detonated by remote control.The death toll climbed after initial reports said three people, including the driver, were killed.
Almost all 33 passengers on the bus were wounded by the explosion and were being treated in hospitals in Egypt and across the border in the Israeli port city of Eilat, said the officials.
They said the bus had arrived at the Taba crossing from the ancient Greek Orthodox monastery of St. Catherine's in central Sinai.

Nepal:18 killed in plane crash

BHAIRAHWA:All 18 persons on board a Nepal Airlines plane are believed to have been killed when a small twin otter aircraft reportedly crashed during a routine flight in Nepal's Arghakhanchi district on Sunday.
The twin otter, belonging to the state-owned Nepal Airlines and carrying 15 passengers, including a foreigner, besides three crew members, crashed in Arghakhanchi district in western Nepal, said an official at the Tribhuvan International Airport here.
Airport official Bimalesh Karna told IANS that due to thick fog and torrential rain, rescuers were facing difficulty in reaching the crash site. Nepal is witnessing torrential rain since Saturday which in turn has rendered visibility poor.
The ill-fated plane was heading from Pokhara, a popular tourist destination, to the mid-western Nepali town of Jumla, said Nepal Airlines .The plane went missing shortly after take-off from Pokhara and its last contact was with Bhairahwa airport from where it had originally begun its flight.
Initial reports suggested that flames were seen at the crash site, enabling officials to locate the wreckage.
The crash site is located in the jungle, making a rescue bid difficult in inclement weather.
The Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal said in a statement that the aircraft lost contact at 1.13 p.m. while flying from Pokhara to Jumla.
Nepal Army spokesperson confirmed that the plane had crashed and added that one army helicopter was also involved in the search operation.
A politician of Jumla district belonging to the ruling Nepali Congress party, a female journalist, a bank manager, a Nepal Army major based in Jumla district and a doctor besides a Danish national were listed among the passengers.
The plane made a stopover at the popular tourist destination of Pokhara—the kickoff point for climbing expeditions to the 8,091-metre Mt Annapurna—and was reported missing shortly after taking off from there.
In 2012, there were two plane crashes in Nepal. In September 2012, 19 people were killed. In another crash in May that year, a plane crashed, killing 15 people.

200 illegal miners trapped in South Africa

JOHANNAESBURG: Rescue services in South Africa are trying to reach more than 200 illegal miners reported trapped underground in an abandoned gold shaft in a suburb just east of Johannesburg, an emergency services spokesman said on Sunday.

Werner Vermaak of ER24 emergency services said rescuers were communicating with a group of about 30 miners trapped by fallen boulders below the surface at the old mine site in Benoni.

“They told us there are about 200 others trapped further below,” Vermaak said.

“It’s an abandoned mine shaft in the middle of the public veld (open fields),he added.

Heavy equipment has been brought in to try to remove the boulders obstructing the shaft.

No injuries or casualties had been reported so far, Vermaak said.

Saturday 15 February 2014

President's rule in Delhi recommended

NEW DELHI: Delhi LG Najeeb Jung has sent a report to the Union home ministry recommending imposition of President's rule in the state while keeping the assembly under suspended animation.
This is contrary to outgoing chief minister Arvind Kejriwal's call for immediate dissolution of the Delhi assembly and holding of fresh polls in the state.
Keeping the assembly under suspended animation would leave the window open for exploring alternatives for government formation in the future. Besides, it fulfils the guideline laid down in the S R Bommai judgment of the Supreme Court that the assembly should be placed under suspended animation until Parliament ratifies the Presidential proclamation imposing President's rule.
A direct fallout of Jung's recommendation for placing Delhi assembly under suspended animation is that the Delhi polls may be delinked from the Lok Sabha poll. This is expected to deny AAP the advantage of reaping rich electoral dividends in simultaneous polls.
President's rule can be imposed in a state for six months at a stretch. In case the Union Cabinet clears President' rule and the Proclamation is issued in the next couple of days, there is a possibility of the government getting the Proclamation ratified in the ongoing session itself.

Bahrain: policeman dies from injuries after car bomb attack

MANAMA:A policeman has died after being injured in a bomb attack in Bahrain.

The blast happened during protests marking the third anniversary of the country’s uprising on Friday when demonstrators attempted to reach the site of a brutal crackdown almost three years ago.

The policeman was one of two officers wounded in the village of Dair close to the capital in an explosion described by the interior ministry as a “terror blast.” The ministry added that a parked car was set on fire with Molotov cocktails and a police bus damaged in the incident.

The majority Shia community says it wants democratic reform and an end to what it sees as discrimination from the minority Sunni monarchy.

The 2011 uprising was put down by the government with help from troops from Saudi Arabia.

The Interior Ministry said that security officers would be sent to some regions over the next few days “to ensure people’s safety.”

Bilawal Bhutto lashes out at the ‘stone-age’ Taleban

KARACHI: Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, the son of Pakistan’s assassinated premier Benazir Bhutto, on Saturday slammed the Taleban for trying to drag the country back to the “stone-age.”

Addressing a gathering during the closing ceremony of a two-week cultural festival in his home province of Sindh, Bhutto also urged the country to rise up against the threats.

“The Taleban want to impose the law of terror in the country, but I want to tell them, if you have to live in Pakistan you will have to follow its constitution,” he said.

“We don’t accept the law of terrorists” he added. “Some people are trying to bring back the stone-age era in the country in the name of Islam.”

The start of 2014 has seen a surge in militant violence with more than 130 people killed.

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s government has been under fire from political opponents for failing to mount a strong response to the upsurge in attacks.

The government has for months said it favoured talks with the Taleban but 25-year-old Zardari has spoken in favour of military action against them.

Former premier Benazir Bhutto was assassinated in December 2007 by the Pakistani Taleban after leaving a campaign rally of her Pakistan People’s Party.

Her husband and Bilawal’s father Asif Ali Zardari was president from 2008-2013.

The Taleban’s demands include the nationwide imposition of Shariah law and an end to US drone strikes, conditions the government and army are unlikely to be able to meet.

“The terrorists should think of the time when the whole nation will stand against them,” Zardari added on Saturday in Makli, around 100 kilometres to the north of Karachi.

“We are Muslims and the terrorist groups should not try to teach us Islam.”

Nearly 7,000 people have been killed in the insurgency by the Tehreek-e-Taleban Pakistan (TTP) since it began in 2007, according to an AFP tally.

Stability in nuclear-armed Pakistan is seen as important to neighbouring Afghanistan, where US-led Nato troops are pulling out after more than a decade of war.

Washington has said it is watching the peace talks with the Taleban closely.

It has long been pushing Pakistan to take action against militants using Pakistan’s tribal areas as a base to attack Nato forces across the border.

New Govt formed in Lebanon

BEIRUT:

Lebanon on Saturday formed a compromise government after a 10-month stalemate in the country, which has seen the war in neighbouring Syria exacerbate longstanding political divisions.

“After 10 months of efforts, of patience, a government protecting the national interest is born,” said Tammam Salam, Lebanon’s new prime minister.

“It is a unifying government and the best formula to allow Lebanon to confront challenges,” said Salam, who was tasked with forming the government back in April 2013 after the resignation of his predecessor Najib Mikati.

Suhail Al Bouji, the secretary general of the Governmental Palace, announced the 24-member cabinet divides ministers between the pro-Syrian Hezbollah coalition March 8 and the Western-backed 14 gathering, as well as centrists.

Former energy minister Gebran Bassil was appointed foreign minister and former health minister Ali Hassan Khalil takes over the Finance Ministry, according to a statement read out by Al Bouji live on television.

The new government, which will include both the powerful Shiite Hezbollah group and its allies and the Sunni-led bloc of former prime minister Sa’ad Hariri, sharply differ on a range of issues, including the war in Syria, where Hezbollah backs the government with fighters and Hariri’s bloc supports the opposition.

The new government also faces a deteriorating security situation in Lebanon, which has been rocked in recent months by a spate of car and suicide bomb attacks linked to the war in Syria.

Moin Khan Pakistan contract 'a joke' , Wasim Akram

DUBAI: Legendary former pace bowler Wasim Akram has branded the award of a two-month contract to Moin Khan as new head coach of Pakistan “a joke”.

Pakistan Cricket Board’s (PCB) chief operating officer Subhan Ahmad told reporters on Friday that Khan would coach the team for this month’s Asia Cup and next month’s World Twenty20 — both to be held in Bangladesh.

Speaking exclusively to Gulf News, Akram, who was a member of the four-member committee that selected Khan following Dav Whatmore’s decision to step down last month, said: “I have been hearing that they are offering a two-month contract for Moin Khan and that is very upsetting. When you can offer two-year contracts for foreign coaches, offering your own coach a contract of just two months is not good. Which coach can make a difference in two months? I feel it is a wrong thinking by the board.”

He added: “They [the PCB] have come up with the argument that they don’t have cricket for five months but in those five months, Moin Khan can actually channelise his players. He can go to different cities and see first-class matches. Offering a two-month contract is a joke.”

When asked about the India-Pakistan Under-19 World Cup match on Saturday, Akram said: “It will be a massive game. An India Pakistan match — wherever, whenever and whichever level it is played — it will always be exciting. Be it Under-19, Under-17, Under-23 or even the main team. Inam-ul-Haq, who is [former Pakistan captain] Inzamam-ul-Haq’s nephew, is very talented. Vijay Zol, the Indian skipper, is talented and has been getting a lot of runs. As a commentator, this is my third Under-19 World Cup and I have enjoyed this a lot more because I can talk about these youngsters in the next two years.”

Akram feels junior cricket in Pakistan is in the doldrums, however. “Having no international matches in Pakistan has affected junior cricket, but thankfully we have now got a chairman [Najam Sethi] who can actually plan for the next two years. If you look at any country, be it India, South Africa or Australia, they concentrate a lot on Under-19 cricket and also focus a lot on A-team tours. Pakistan hardly concentrates on that and that is where the trouble lies. The talent is very much there. I have been travelling throughout the length and breadth of Pakistan and you can see cricket being played day in and day out everywhere but we need to channel that talent.”

Of the Under-19 World Cup, which started on Friday, Akram said: “This is one of the best tournaments of the ICC [International Cricket Council]. We have seen Virat Kohli four years ago, Mitchell Marsh, Shaun Marsh, Michael Clarke, and the great Brian Lara; all these players played [in the] Under-19 World Cup and went on to become great players. This is the best nursery for junior cricket and I feel the ICC has done a great job to make sure that this tournament is held on a regular basis. This tournament helps players to know the pressures and the impact of television coverage and will help them to go on to become top players.”

Akram also wants the event to be held in countries where cricket is growing in popularity. “This World Cup should be held in smaller, second-tier countries then there will be lot more interest and people will come and watch. I was in Townsville last year when Australia staged the Under-19 World Cup and we had a large turnout for the matches. That adds extra pressure on players and, if you perform under those pressures, you can go on to play for your own country on a regular basis.”

Friday 14 February 2014

Dehli CM Kejriwal quits

DEHLI:Delhi’s firebrand Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal announced his resignation Friday to protest the blocking of an anti-corruption bill, fewer than 50 days after taking power in the Indian capital.

“My cabinet has decided that we are quitting. Here is my resignation letter,” Kejriwal told supporters of his fledgling Aam Aadmi (“Common Man”) Party in the capital, brandishing a white sheet of paper.

“Straight after this, I am going to the Lieutenant Governor’s office to hand in my resignation,” he added, as his followers cheered.

The upstart Aam Aadmi party sent shockwaves through India’s political establishment late last year when it scored a series of stunning successes during local elections in Delhi.

But Kejriwal’s decision to resign little more than seven weeks after taking power in the city of 17 million throws his party’s fortunes into uncertainty.

Kejriwal’s announcement came shortly after local legislators effectively shot down his efforts to bring in anti-corruption legislation — the key plank of his manifesto in December’s state elections.

The Congress party, which had been allied to Aam Aadmi, decided not to back Kejriwal in Friday’s vote, claiming the measure was unconstitutional.

In his speech to supporters on Friday, the 45-year-old blamed Congress for his decision to resign, accusing Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s party of reneging on an earlier promise to back the bill.

“Congress had promised us, in writing, that they would support the bill but when we tried to present it before the assembly today both they and the BJP came together to block it,” Kejriwal said.

“This is the first time in India’s history that both the BJP and Congress have come together ... They have exposed themselves and shown their true face.”

Kejriwal, who had been the head of a minority administration since taking power on December 28, asked Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung in his resignation letter to immediately dissolve the Delhi assembly and organise fresh elections.

“The Council of Ministers met this evening and decided to tender its resignation,” said the letter, a copy which was obtained by AFP.

“The Council also recommends dissolution of the Delhi Assembly and immediate conduct of elections to the Delhi Legislative Assembly.”

DELHI:Kerjriwal’s party won 28 seats in Delhi’s 70 member assembly and came to power with the help of the Congress party, which governs at national level.

However, fresh elections in the capital are unlikely and the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which won 32 seats in the Delhi election, could try and form an alternative administration.

Kejriwal’s resignation will leave him free to campaign for his party ahead of national elections which are expected by May.

The BJP is expected to win the national polls, although it will need support from smaller parties to clinch victory.

Although he only formed his party a year ago, its remarkable showing in the Delhi election shocked the country’s political establishment.

Congress, which has been badly damaged by a series of corruption scandals at national level, saw its number of seats slashed from 43 to just eight.

Aam Aadmi has said it plans to contest the national elections although analysts say it is unlikely to win much support outside the major cities such as Delhi and Mumbai due to its lack of infrastructure and funding.

The BJP also refused to endorse the anti-corruption bill before the Delhi assembly on procedural grounds.

During his administration’s brief time in office, Kejriwal unveiled a series of headline-grabbing initiatives, including a graft hotline aimed at stemming the rampant corruption of police and bureaucrats.

After shunning the usual official car and instead taking the subway to his swearing-in ceremony, Kejriwal then slashed electricity costs and announced free water supplies.

But while his elevation to one of the most important political posts in India was initially widely welcomed as a much-needed shock to the system, the former tax inspector has since come in for criticism over a series of stand-offs with the authorities.The self-styled “anarchist” staged a sit-in on the pavement close to the national parliament last month, triggering chaos in the city centre, as part of a push to be given greater powers of control over the police.

Non-democratic process reproducing oppression and dictatorship in country,Bahrainian opposition

MANAMA:The National Democratic Opposition parties in Bahrain said that the injustice of a discriminatory election system is a form of political persecution, which has been used against the Bahraini people to deprive them of their will. They added that unfair electoral districts lead to unsuccessful elections, as well as reproducing oppression and dictatorship in the country.

On 11th February 2014 the opposition parties held the fifth consecutive peaceful rally marking the 14th February uprising that broke out three years ago. The rally took place in Bilad Al-Qadeem, west of the capital Manama. In the final communiqué, the opposition parties emphasized "The Bahraini people have been calling for a productive political process to create a system that will lead to the founding of a modern state in Bahrain, which is based on good citizenship. The Bahraini people are calling for a parliament with full powers through fair elections where all votes are equal, they are calling for an impartial independent judiciary that provides security for all."

Anantnag Journalist Association condemns attack on Photo Journalist

ANANTNAG(Indian Held Kashmir):Anantnag Working Journalist Association condemned the brutal attack on Photo Journalist Sajad Ahmad Dar, on Thursday by some policemen in Pinjora Shopian when he was covering the gunfight between security forces and militants in the area.

Association said that a group of policemen caught the Photo Journalist and thrashed him brutally during which he sustained serious injuries in lift arm. Violent policemen also damaged cameras of photo Journalist Sajad Ahmad who is sole bread and butter earner for his family.

Association while condemning this brutal action of police has demanded a through probe into the incident and has appealed international organization protecting media men all over the world especially human rights organizations to take serious note of the incident as the atrocities on journalists in Kashmir are rising day by day.

Mehdi to showcase at PFA 2014

LONDON:Mohammad Mehdi, a graduate of PSFD (affiliated with La Chambre Syndicate de la Couture parisienne, France) took up his passion for sculpture and pottery after completing his degree but decided to switch to fashion designing in 2002, by creating a small collection.

The success of that collection led to launch of the brand Mehdi in 2004.He is one of the top most brands of Pakistan, producing and delivering the most stunning and glamorous designs for the people in love with fashion. Mehdi has a loyal clientele and admirers of his work, both at home as well as abroad. Mehdi has done several fashion shows all over the world. His fashion shows met tremendous success in Lahore,Karachi, Islamabad, New York, Houston, Miami, Chicago, Los Angeles,Portland, London, Romania, Mauritius, Manchester and Toronto.

He does not believe in what is in and what is out, he rather believes in statements. He always promises to create a silhouette what a perfect fit, alluring cut, a dreamy fall of the design and mouth watering colors that blend into the signature Mehdi embellishment style.

“Versatility is what he labels as his biggest strength”.

Blast near Rangers' vehicle in Karachi injures two

KARACHI: An explosion near a Rangers' vehicle in Karachi's Qayyumabad area injured two personnel on Friday, DawnNews reported.

A rescue source said one of the wounded men was wearing the Rangers' uniform whereas the other was dressed in plain clothes.

The wounded were shifted to PNS Shifa hospital for treatment.

A Rangers' spokesman said the explosion had targeted a wing commander of the force who was travelling in the vehicle. He added that body parts, including a head and legs, were found from the site which suggested that the explosion was carried out by a suicide bomber.

The body parts were sent to Jinnah Hospital for analysis and identification.

The targeted vehicle was partially damaged in the blast which was heard from far distances.

Police and Rangers' personnel reached the blast site and cordoned off the area as a probe into the incident went underway.

Earlier during the day, Rangers' personnel had conducted targeted operations in Mullah Essa Goth in the city's Sohrab Goth and Surjani Town's Sector 5-E areas during which several suspects were taken into custody.Around 800 Rangers' personnel, including women, took part in the operations.

A number of weapons and ammunition were also recovered from the arrested suspects.

Modi will break the country:Lalu Prasad

DEHLI:With a plea, a stern put-down, a reminder of old loyalties and reassurance of friendship, Bihar’s former CM and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Prasad told potential electoral partners Congress and Ram Vilas Paswan to be pragmatic and work together to ‘stop Narendra Modi’. His message comes at a time when seat-sharing talks between the three parties have hit a rough patch. In an exclusively interview to HT about alliance talks, and his dynamics with the Gandhi family.

“Modi will break the country. The 1947 calendar will repeat itself. He is a very serious threat.” “Secular forces must come together so that votes do not get divided. My mind was open to the left too. But there is a contradiction there — left parties can’t come where Congress is present.” “I prefer Congress because it is an all-India party,” Prasad said.

Other RJD sources told HT that out of 40 seats, Prasad is keen to fight on at least 24. Congress has privately told RJD it wants 15 seats.Paswan has asked for 12 seats, while Nationalist Congress Party has demanded two.

Prasad placed these demands in context. “We have to look at winnability and candidate. The point is how much will you win.” “Caste politics is everywhere but in Bihar, we practice it more. That calculation is also important.”

Other RJD sources were more direct, mocking Congress for ‘punching above its weight’. But Congress sources said Prasad was being too ‘rigid’ and if they accepted his terms, top Congress leaders would be left without seats.

One Congress state-level leader said, “The aim is to ensure Muslim vote consolidates behind this alliance. Along with support of Yadavs and Paswans, and some upper-castes, we can present a strong counter to BJP.”

When asked about whether he felt the Congress first-family was in crisis, Prasad, said, “I always stand by people in crisis. Congress is getting unnecessarily criticised.” Did he feel Congress was in crisis because of Rahul’s failures? “I will not comment on that at all,” said Prasad.

‘Letter bombs’ sent to British military recruiters

LONDON:

The British government held an emergency meeting on Thursday after a string of crude but potentially viable explosive devices were mailed to armed forces recruitment offices.

The devices, sent to seven offices in southeast England, bore the hallmarks of Northern Irish terror attacks, Downing Street said.

Counter-terrorism police are investigating and army bomb disposal crews were sent to assist. Sources said they could have caused injury.

Prime Minister David Cameron chaired a meeting of the government’s COBRA emergencies committee to discuss the situation.

“Seven suspect packages have been identified as containing small, crude, but potentially viable devices bearing the hallmarks of Northern Ireland-related terrorism,” a Downing Street spokeswoman said afterwards.

“These have now been safely dealt with by the police and bomb disposal units.

“Guidance has been issued to staff at all military establishments and Royal Mail asking them to be extra vigilant and to look out for any suspect packages and the screening procedures for mail to armed forces careers offices is being reviewed.”

An envelope was delivered to an office in Chatham and a package was received in Reading on Tuesday. Another was found Wednesday in the army town of Aldershot.

Four more were delivered Thursday in Brighton, Canterbury, Oxford and Slough, the police’s South East Counter Terrorism Unit (SECTU) said.

One of the packages was posted from the Republic of Ireland, sources said.

The devices will undergo forensic examination,” said SECTU’s Detective Superintendent Stan Gilmour.

“Even if the contents are determined to be a viable device they pose a very low-level threat and are unlikely to cause significant harm or damage.”

A shopping centre in Slough to the west of London was temporarily evacuated, while cordons were placed close to all offices where packages were found.

“It is a necessary precaution until we know what we are dealing with,” Gilmour said.

The Royal Mail postal operator said it was co-operating with the police investigation.

The Downing Street spokeswoman said the national threat level remained “under constant review”.

The current threat level for Northern Ireland-related terrorism is severe within Northern Ireland — the second-highest of the five threat levels — meaning an attack is considered highly likely.

It is rated moderate in mainland Britain — level four of five — meaning an attack is considered possible, but not thought likely.

Meanwhile, in an incident thought to be unrelated, a suspicious package was found during a routine vehicle search at the gates of Mildenhall air station in eastern England, one of the major United States military airbases in Europe.

The item was determined to be a home-made firework.

A spokeswoman for the base said the incident “is not thought to be terrorist-related”.

(AFP)

Troubled transition

By Dr Maleeha Lodhi

President Hamid Karzai’s mercurial behaviour and exit antics have thrown Afghanistan’s looming transitions into confusion even as the presidential election campaign has got underway in his country.

The Afghan leader has refused to sign the bilateral security agreement (BSA) that the US has long sought to allow a residual Nato presence after December 2014. Karzai has said this decision will now be left to his successor. He has directed a barrage of accusations at Western forces, blaming them, most recently, for “terrorist attacks” on civilians.

Karzai and his advisers have also been hurling thinly veiled verbal attacks on Pakistan — this, despite Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s efforts to reach out to Kabul. This is hardly the ingredient for building a supporting environment for the challenging transitions that lie ahead.

One of the conditions that Karzai has imposed for signing the BSA is that the US should help him start peace talks with the Taleban. This is disingenuous coming from a man who thwarted the most promising opportunity to initiate a peace process, which was marked by the opening of a Taleban office in Doha last June.

Karzai’s vehement objection to the symbols used by the Taleban for the office led to its closure and to the Americans abandoning a nascent dialogue aimed at finding a negotiated end to the war. Although the diplomatic fracas was widely ascribed to misunderstandings, Karzai used this to halt the process.

At the time, the Afghan president also suspended negotiations on the BSA, effectively making the peace process a hostage to Washington’s need for the security accord. Later, following protracted talks on the BSA, Karzai convened a Loya Jirga, a traditional council, in November 2013, which approved the accord. But Karzai then refused to sign it.

During the prolonged wrangling on the BSA, the peace process was put in cold storage, even though Taleban representatives in Qatar signalled their interest in resuming talks with US interlocutors. But to mollify Karzai and secure his agreement on the BSA, the US cast Doha aside. By early 2014 this strategy had failed to pay off.

Pakistan repeatedly proposed ‘pre-talks’ to Washington to resolve the misunderstandings (over the flag and symbols) that led to the diplomatic debacle in a bid to revive the stalled process. Washington also showed little inclination to end the deadlock by pressing ahead with its own proposal of a five-for-one prisoner deal — exchanging five Taleban detainees from Guantanamo for Bowe Bergdahl, the sole American prisoner of war in Taleban captivity.

Frustrated by Karzai’s stance on the BSA, some American officials privately concede that they should not have backed off so quickly at Doha, or for that matter, earlier at the time of the Bonn conference in December 2011. These are now acknowledged to be missed opportunities. Bonn II was to lead to the announcement about the opening of a Taleban political office in Qatar, with the conference endorsing reconciliation talks with the Taleban.

President Karzai scuttled this initiative having agreed to it prior to the Bonn conference. A process that could have taken off in December 2011 took almost two years of subsequent diplomatic effort to be put back on track — in June 2013.

Contrary to Karzai’s depiction of the Doha process as a ‘conspiracy’ by the US and Pakistan to cut a deal behind his back, he was kept fully briefed that the process would involve two stages. In stage one, the US and Taleban representatives would discuss issues such as the prisoner exchange. This would then pave the way for talks among Afghans themselves and a full-fledged reconciliation process.

Had this process kicked off, progress in the negotiations would have provided the crucial political foundation for all the transitions Afghanistan has to negotiate this year: Political, security and economic.

But now the Americans have ended up with neither a BSA, as of now, nor a peace process. The current assumption of American officials is that signing the BSA will fall to Karzai’s successor. But when the deal is sealed will be subject to the vagaries of Afghan election politics.

The lack of peace negotiations and uncertainty over the BSA is intensifying doubts about an orderly path to December 2014 and beyond. More important is the stalled peace process, without which no end to the fighting will be in sight. Whether this bleak outlook for Afghanistan’s many transitions is altered by the election of a new president — provided that is fair and credible — is yet to be determined.

Dr Maleeha Lodhi is a former Pakistani ambassador to the  US and UK

Thursday 13 February 2014

Decisive action agreed on illegal wildlife trade

LONDON:The Illegal Wildlife Conference has agreed key actions to stamp out the illegal wildlife trade.

During the conference, chaired by Foreign Secretary William Hague and attended by the Prince of Wales, the Duke of Cambridge and Prince Harry, world leaders from over forty nations vowed to help save iconic species from the brink of extinction.

The London Declaration contains commitments for practical steps to end the illegal trade in rhino horn, tiger parts and elephant tusks that fuels criminal activity worth over $19 billion each year. The trade also undermines economic opportunity in developing countries, and threatens the survival of entire species.

Key states, including Botswana, Chad, China, Gabon, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Tanzania,and Vietnam, alongside the United States and Russia, have signed up to actions that will help eradicate the demand for wildlife products, strengthen law enforcement,and support the development of sustainable livelihoods for communities affected by wildlife crime.

The conference heard first-hand from the Presidents of Botswana, Chad, Gabon and Tanzania, and the Foreign Minister of Ethiopia, who announced the proposal of an Elephant Protection Initiative to secure new funding from private and public sources for the implementation of the African Elephant Action Plan.

The plan includes commitment to an extended moratorium on ivory sales, as well as plans to put ivory stocks beyond economic use. The UK Government announced it would provide support to help the Initiative get up and running.

The Declaration, and the Elephant Poaching Initiative, come at a crucial time as demand for illegal wildlife products has risen sharply in the last decade.

Rhino poaching increased 5000% between 2007 and 2012,with one killed by a poacher every ten hours. Since 2004 the Central Africa region has lost two-thirds of its elephant population, and last year saw the Western Black Rhino declared extinct.

The lives of those working hard to protect endangered wildlife are also at risk,with at least 1,000 park rangers killed over the last decade alone. This in turn fuels a cycle of instability, affecting poverty levels as well as regional and international security.

Botswana has now announced that it will host a further Conference in early 2015 to review progress against the commitments made in the London Declaration.

Punjab Assembly delegation visits PHC London

LONDON:A four-member cross-party delegation of the Punjab Assembly was hosted by the Pakistan High Commissioner Mr. Wajid Shamsul Hasan at the High Commission.

The High Commissioner briefed the delegates on various aspects of Pakistan-UK bilateral relations. Deputy High Commissioner Muhammad Imran Mirza updated the members of the delegation about the recent improvements in consular services to facilitate the Pakistani community living in the United Kingdom.A team of officers from the High Commission was also present.

The members of the delegation included Mr. Babar Hussain Abid MPA, leader of the delegation, Ms Ayesha Javed MPA, Mr. Muhammad Sibtain Khan MPA and Mr.Adnan Farid MPA. During their week long stay, the delegation visited the Scottish as well as the British Parliaments and observed the parliamentary proceedings. They also held meetings with the parliamentarians and various heads of parliamentary committees and exchanged views on parliamentary practices in the two countries.

The visit was organized by the Westminster Foundation for Democracy (WFD)—an independent body of the Foreign & Commonwealth Office working to strengthen democracies around the world. The WFD has a programme of collaboration with the Punjab Assembly. The delegation was accompanied by Mr. David Thirlby and Mr. Ali Imran from the WFD.

Wednesday 12 February 2014

Pak-Khyber Wing of Pakistan Association Dubai calls on Pak Ambassador

ABU DHABI:A nine-member delegation of the Pak-Khyber Wing of Pakistan Association Dubai called on Pakistani Ambassador Asif Durrani in Abu Dhabi.Prominent members of the delegation included Mr. Khayal Zaman Aurakzai MNA and Mr.Ayub Afridi, Chairman of the Pak-Khyber Wing.

During the meeting,The Ambassador heard the grievances of the delegation members,particularly on consular services and the Pakistani community schools. He assured the community representatives that the Embassy and Consulate General will make all efforts to improve the quality of public service delivery.

Mr. Durrani informed the community members that the Embassy is formulating a strategy to secure a share for Pakistani businesses and labour in the construction, hospitality and retail sector arising out of the Expo 2020 in Dubai.

The delegation welcomed the new Ambassador to UAE and extended an invitation to him to address a larger gathering of the Association in Dubai.

Mr.Tariq Wazir,Acting Consul General of Pakistan,Dubai and Mr.Salman Sharif,First Secretary,assisted the Ambassador during the meeting.

Appointment service for NICOP started in PHC

LONDON: Appointment service for National Identity Card for Overseas Pakistanis (NICOP)and Pakistan Origin Card(POC)starts at Pakistan High Commission London.

The Pakistan High Commission London has introduced an appointment service to facilitate the applicants for NICOP and POC in London since 3rd February 2014.

This facility is designed to assist dual nationals and spouses of Pakistani nationals. Applicants are advised to call on the following numbers during working days from Monday to Friday between 1000-1300 hours and 1400-1700 hours to book their appointments.

Tuesday 11 February 2014

Macedonian PM to visit NATO

BRUSSELS:The Prime Minister of Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Mr. Nikola Gruevski, will visit NATO Headquarters tomorrow (Wednesday). He will meet with the NATO Secretary General, Mr. Anders Fogh Rasmussen and will attend the North Atlantic Council.

Monday 10 February 2014

Bodies of Butt and Guru should be handedover to families: Ali RazaSyed

BRUSSELS: Speakers at a seminar in Brussels called upon the Indian government to hand over of the bodies of Afzal Guru and Maqbool Butt to their families for proper funeral and decent burial.The seminar was organised by Kashmir Council EU in connection with anniversaries of Afzal Guru and Maqbool Butt.

Speakers of the seminar demanded an immediate handing over of the bodies of both Kashmir freedom leaders to their families in Kashmir for proper funeral prayers.

A large number of Kashmiris and their supporters attended the seminar for paying rich tribute to the martyred leaders.

Speaking at the seminar Chairman Kashmir Council EU Ali Raza Syed condemned the imposition of strict restrictions in all across Indian Held Kashmir by the authorities on anniversaries of both martyred leaders.

He also denounced the house arrest and detention of a number of leaders in Indian Held Kashmir (IHK) on the occasion.

Kashmiris on both sides of the Line of Control and across the world observe the martyrdom anniversary of prominent Kashmiri liberation leader, Muhammad Maqbool Butt.

Muhammad Maqbool Butt was hanged in Tihar Jail of New Delhi on the 11th February in 1984 for his leading role in the Kashmiris’ on-going liberation struggle. He was buried in the premises of the prison.

Muhammad Afzal Guru was hanged and buried at the same Tehar prison by the Indian Authorities on Feb 9, 2013.

Saturday 8 February 2014

Bilawal appreciates MQM Chief

KARACHI:Patron-in-Chief of Pakistan Peoples Party(PPP) Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has appreciated and thanked MQM Chief Mr. Altaf Hussain for taking notice of a party official for not following Mr. Altaf Hussain's party line.

He also condemned the killing of MQM worker Mohammed Salman and offered heart felt condolence and sympathies for grieved family. He reiterated that any such killing is not acceptable and the culprits involved must be arrested and punished.

Bilawal also appreciated the action taken by Rabta committee for announcing to end the strike earlier today.

Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Moldova will visit NATO HQ

BRUSSELS:The Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Moldova, Ms.Natalia Gherman,will visit NATO Headquarters on Monday, 10 February 2014.She will meet with the NATO Secretary General, Mr. Anders Fogh Rasmussen.

Kashmir Solidarity Day observed in Berlin

BERLIN:Pakistani community, living in Berlin and its surrounding areas staged a Protest demonstration to express their solidarity with their Kashmiri brethren on the eve of Kashmir Solidarity Day.

The protester were holding placards depicting the atrocities being committed by Indian Forces against the innocent people of Indian Held Kashmir and distributed pamphlets narrating the plight of people of Kashmir and the pledges made by the Indian leadership and the UN Security Councils’ resolutions. They urged the Indian Government to hold plebiscite as per United Nation Security Council’s resolutions on J&K and stop human rights violations in the Kashmir Valley.

The demonstrators also drew the attention of the International Community towards the recent human rights violations by Indians and demanded that the international community should play its role to force the Indian leadership to fulfill the promise and commitments made by the first Indian Prime Minister Mr. Jahwar Lal Nehru with the people of Kashmir regarding self-determination as well as force them to create conducive environments for holding plebiscite as per UN Security Council’s Resolutions.

Canadian and Indian High Commissioner call on Zardari

KARACHI(PR):Canadian High Commissioner to Pakistan Greg Giokas called on the former President Asif Ali Zardari in Bialwal House Karachi. The two discussed matters of mutual interest.

Mr. Asif Ali Zardari appreciated the support extended by Canada to Pakistan in various fields and in supporting democracy in Pakistan in overcoming various challenges.

The Indian High Commissioner Dr. T.C.A. Raghavan also called on former President Asif Ali Zardari in Bilawal House in Karachi and discussed matters of mutual interest.

Thursday 6 February 2014

British Parliamentarians express solidarity with Kashmiris

LONDON:Around thirty British Parliamentarians have expressed complete solidarity with he Kashmiris living in the Indian Occupied Kashmir and have unanimously supported their right to self-determination as enshrined in the United Nations resolutions. They have also voiced deep concerns over grave human rights violations of the Kashmiri people at the hands of the Indian security forces and demanded an immediate end to the draconian laws which are frequently used against the Kashmiri people to suppress their struggle for self-determination.

The Parliamentarians expressed these views while speaking at a seminar jointly organized by the Pakistan High Commission London, Jammu & Kashmir Self Determination Movement Europe (JKSDME) and Third World Solidarity at the House of Commons on 5th February 2014 to observe the “Kashmir Solidarity Day”.

The speakers,among others,included Chairman APPG on Kashmir Andrew Griffiths MP, Chairman APPG on Pakistan Andrew Stephenson MP, former Chairman APPG on Kashmir Lord Nazir Ahmed, Vice Chairman APPG on Kashmir Lord Qurban Hussain,Baroness Zahida Manzoor, Sir Gerald Kaufman MP, Richard Harrington MP, Kate Green MP, Julie Hilling MP, Yasmin Qureshi MP, David Nuttall MP, Nic Dakin MP,George Galloway MP, Gerry Sutcliffe MP, Gavin Shuker MP, John Leach MP, John Hemming MP, Kris Hopkins MP, Steve Baker MP, Robert Goodwill MP, Anas Sarwar MP,Jason McCartney MP, Lilian Greenwood MP, Hillary Benn MP, Paul Blomfield MP and Michael Meacher MP.

The disclosure of mass grave in Indian Occupied Kashmir was termed as serious human rights violation and the speakers urged the Indian Government to bring the perpetrators of these heinous crimes to justice. It was noted with concern that rapes were being used as a weapon against Kashmiri women. The speakers also urged the Kashmiri diaspora around the world to put in more efforts to highlight the issue on international level for a just resolution of the dispute. The highlight of the discourse was that peace could only be restored in Kashmir when

justice is done to the Kashmiri people.

Pakistan High Commissioner for UK Mr Wajid Shamsul Hasan thanked the attendees who turned out in a large number to make their voice heard for the cause of Kashmir. He said that successive governments of Pakistan had been supporting the right to self-determination of the Kashmiri people politically, diplomatically and morally. This support would continue till the just resolution of the issue, he assured.

Raja Najabat Hussain, Chairman of Jammu & Kashmir Self-determination Movement Europe (JKSDME), who presided over this event, also thanked the parliamentarians and the audience for their presence in large numbers to demonstrate their solidarity with the people of Kashmir as well as their support to the just cause of the Kashmiri people. JKSDME has launched a petition for signatures by the parliamentarians to initiate a debate in the House of Commons on Kashmir issue in the coming days. All the parliamentarians who attended the event signed this

petition.

It may be noted that according to Partition Plan of India in 1947, the accession of the State of Jammu & Kashmir, either with India or Pakistan, was to be decided in the light of its people’s wishes and the geographic contiguity.

However, India occupied the state through military force and claimed it to be its own territory. The UN resolutions clearly spell out that the issue would be decided through the democratic method of a free and impartial plebiscite but India has been avoiding the implementation on these resolutions for over six decades now.

“Kashmir Solidarity Day” is observed on 5th February every year by the Government and people of Pakistan within Pakistan and across the world to express support for the just cause of the Kashmiris and to highlight the importance of the issue in the context of global peace.

We express complete solidarity with the Kashmiris:Ali Raza Syed

Brussels: Kashmir Council EU and Kashmir Centre Holland jointly organised demonstrations on 5^th February, the Kashmir Solidarity Day in Hague of Netherland and in Brussels, the capital of Belgium.

Like Pakistan, the solidarity Day observed on 5th February in Europe to renew commitment to continue supporting the Kashmiris brethren for their right to self-determination.

The demonstration with the candle lights was headed by Chairman Kashmir Council EU, Ali Raza Syed and Executive Director Kashmir Center Holland Raja Zaib Khan at the crossing of two streets, the Rue Belliard and Rue de la Regence in Brussels on Wednesday (5^th Feb).

The solidarity candles attracted the European people crossing the streets towards the miseries of people of Jammu and Kashmir who are continuously suffering from the atrocities committed by Indian forces.

Earlier, a large number of the people attended the separate demonstration in front of the Dutch Parliament in Hague, the city of Holland.

On occasion, Chairman Kashmir Council EU, Ali Raza Syed said, we express complete solidarity with the Kashmiri brothers and sisters. Kashmiris are struggling for their right to self-determination for more than 60 years.

He said, the voices of cries from the Kashmir are being reached in all over the world. We are struggling to make awareness among the Europeans on Kashmir issue. We would continue our comprehensive move to obtain further European sympathy and friendship with the Kashmiris.

It is clear fact that grave atrocities are being committed against the people of Jammu and Kashmir and every day is witnessed of killings of innocent Kashmiris including women and children. People in Indian Held Kashmir particularly youth are being disappeared and large scale unnamed graves were discovered in the valley but no one of the world powers supports the Kashmiris and neither any international organization pays any attention on the cries.

He said, about 800,000 Indian forces are deployed in Indian Held Kashmir (IHK) and they are involved in the atrocities against the innocent people of the held territory.

The participants of the both demonstrations called upon the United Nations and the international community to help Kashmiri people in getting their fundamental rights to self-determination by implementing its various resolutions in letter and spirit.

Condemning the human rights violations in India Held Kashmir, the demonstrators urged the world human rights organizations to play their effective role to stop the human rights abuses in the Indian Held Kashmir (IHK).