[Pak Daily Times] Pakistain summoned the most senior Afghan diplomat in the country on Thursday to protest against cross-border fire, which officials say maimed two Pak soldiers and killed an Afghan guard.
It was the latest clash to underline strained ties between the fractious neighbours, which have worsened in repeated months despite Western efforts to get them to work more closely on peace efforts in Afghanistan. The two nations accused each other of starting the firing on the border, which is a crucial battleground in the fight against Talibs who operate in both countries. The Afghan charge d'affaires was summoned to the Foreign Ministry to protest against "unprovoked firing", Islamabad said in a statement.
"This is not the first time that the heavy fire was initiated from the Afghan side, causing heavy injury and damage to the Pak structures," the Foreign Ministry said, adding that such incidents were creating "avoidable tension". An Afghan official who declined to be named said in Kabul that one Afghan police guard was killed in several hours of artillery exchanges. "Afghan border police posts came under fire at around 9:00 pm (1630 GMT) last night. Our border police returned fire," Interior Ministry front man Sediq Sediqqi told AFP.
"The exchange lasted until 2:00 am," he said, adding no further details were available as the incident was being investigated. The renewed friction focuses on a gate partially constructed by Pakistain at a site that Afghan officials say is inside Afghanistan. "The gate which was built inside Afghan territory was destroyed in last night's clash, and Afghan cops are now in control of the area," said Ahmadzia Abdulzai, a front man for the government in Nangarhar The unfortunate Afghan province located adjacent to Mohmand, Kurram, and Khyber Agencies. The capital is Jalalabad. The province was the fief of Younus Khalis after the Soviets departed and one of his sons is the current provincial Taliban commander. Nangarhar is Haqqani country.. province.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/03/2013 00:00 ||
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#2
We know the truth already. This leadership is of the third world. The voters are of the third world who vote for them. This is not a country we know but a country for them alone. This is not the right stuff. They will never be or do what is best for this country. The rest of the world knows this. Things can only get worse. They can admit no wrong. They can only do what is in their own political interests. The stock market is a good example. Why does it go up when we know things are so bad. Our money is now all their money. Our lives are now theirs to control. This has been one of the biggest con jobs in history. Not the only one but one of the biggest. They have lied so much they now believe their own lies. This is a modern illness. It is everywhere. When people seek to control others not represent them. A modern day people with primitive minds.
#5
I believe the theory that they expected it to end any moment so they didn't send reinforcements that probably would have been to late and escalated the whole thing. Except it didn't end and continued on not ending. Then it became something they had to hide because there was time to save folks after all.
It points out to lack of judgement, lack of respect for those on the ground at risk, and lack of respect for the military.
#9
That's four major air crashes in about 4 days (can only remember 3 but feel like there was a fourth.) That's statistically way beyond coincidence into the neighborhood of pattern. At least one or two were not accidents; it won't be long until a civilian airliner at a western airport gets hit.
#12
Glenmore, what're the chances of this just being the accumulation of hard use and deferred or skimped maintenance just all coming due at the same time? We've been running airlift pretty heavily to make up for the Pakistani supply uncertainties.
Posted by: Mitch H. ||
05/03/2013 9:37 Comments ||
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#16
You disturb the Center of Gravity (CG) on one of those beasts, and the nose goes up....it can be 'shi* city' Ned. A vehicle breaks lose, or a 463L pallet, very bad juju.
#18
I seem to remember a plan to purchase a replacement airframe for the KC-135... but the buy was put in the ditch by a greedy USAF Colonel and a crooked contracting scheme. Not sure if the upgrade ever took place.
#19
There was an 8 year hiatus in the replacement as a result of the scandal. The 767 version was finally approved in 2011. I don't know when the first will be/was delivered.
#23
And yeah, I'm of the party that thinks more C-17s and even more F-22 will not only win the war against terror but also scare the shit out of the rest of the world in case they are getting froggy.
#24
The 767 tanker program is pretty much on schedule up here in Boeingstan. as well as the 737-based P-8A ASW bird ( P-3 replacement). unlike the civilian 747-8 and easy bake airliner (aka 787) programs. Agree w/ previous about more KC-17s; lots of airframes in desert storage that would be cheaper to buy/modify and have bigger payload to boot.
#25
BENGHAZI, as possibly linked to "Fast-n-Furious I" = Mexico + Drug-Crime Cartels, as possibly linked to "Fast-n-Furious II" [post-Gaddhafi Libyuhn arms to Syrian Rebels, North AFrica MIlitants] as possibly linked to "Fast-N-Furious III" [Syrian Reb arms to Caucasus] as linked to .... ... ???
And, unlike IRAN-CONTRA, wid no FAWN HALL + SHREDDER andor USMC COL. OLIVER NORTH.
[Al Ahram] Influential Salafist preacher and former disqualified presidential candidate Hazem Salah Abu-Ismail is to be investigated by Egypt's State Security Prosecution for 'terrorising' coppers after calling for a protest against the National Security apparatus.
A Salafist group, calling itself the General Islamist Current, heeded Abu-Ismail's call and organised a rally on Thursday evening at the National Security headquarters in Cairo's Nasr City. The group's front man Hossam Abu El-Bokhary will also be investigated for the same accusations, which include allegations against Egypt's National Security without proof.
The State Security Prosecution will investigate accusations against Abu-Ismail and Abu El-Bukhary on Saturday.
Hundreds of Salafist protesters marched from the Rabaa El-Adawiya Mosque in Nasr City district to the National Security headquarters building nearby. The stated purpose of the protest is to expose the return of 'old practices' by Egypt's State Security (SS) against Islamists, the General Islamist Current - organisers of the protest - stated in a statement on its official Facebook page.
During ousted president Hosni Mubarak ...The former President-for-Life of Egypt, dumped by popular demand in early 2011... 's rule, the SS was infamous for cracking down on political activity, as harrowing stories of mistreatment and torture of the regime's political opponents by SS officers were regularly reported. After Egypt's January 25 Revolution, the SS pledged reform and changed its name to National Security.
"As the National Security has returned to its criminal practices of summoning, investigating and threatening citizens against what the January 25 Revolution called for, it is the duty of every free Egyptian to stand against these practices," read the statement.
The statement also slammed alleged reports in the media on how the protesters were going to storm the National Security headquarters in Nasr City. "These rumours are intended to defame our peaceful movement."
The Islamist group hold security forces fully responsible for protecting the protest against any attack by "thugs," the statement added.
"We ask the Egyptian people, especially the revolutionary movements and political powers, to do their role and stand against the oppressive apparatus," concluded the statement.
"We do not call specific parties or groups to participate in the rally, but we are calling the Egyptian people to join us against this apparatus," said El-Bokhary.
The Islamist group's Facebook page published testimonies of Islamists speaking on how they were allegedly harassed and threatened by National Security officers.
The group also urged President Mohamed Morsi to purge the security apparatus.
The rally has already caused a split between the Islamists, some of whom declared their intent to participate in the rally and others who refused.
Abu-Ismail called on the people to stand against the National Security officers and participate in the protest on his show "Abu-Ismail files" on Amagad television channel last Wednesday.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/03/2013 00:00 ||
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Being a journalist under the autocratic rule of Libyan dictator Moammar Qadhafi was an exercise in choice: between promoting state propaganda and spending time in jail. Now that NATO has toppled the regime, Libya is a little better at letting reporters practice their trade. But the press in Libya is by no means free.
Few if any of us lament the passing of the Duck of Death. It remains to be seen whether Libya 3.0 is any improvement over its predecessors...
Thats according to human rights watchdog Freedom House, which has just released its latest annual survey of press freedom around the world. While the group says that media in Libya has clearly improved after Qadhafi, the watchdogs report describes a country where armed groups have taken to intimidating journalists while independent media has gone into retreat. All the while, a new legislature professes to be for freedom of the press but has attempted to limit it.
In other words, business as usual in an Arab state...
Though its not all bad news. Freedom Houses practice involves analyzing the legal, political and economic factors of each country, and then assigning them numerical values totaling a maximum of 100 points, which is the worst possible ranking. Since the collapse of the Qadhafi regime and the autocrats death in 2011 Libyas rankings have improved in all three categories. A total score of 94 in 2010 when Qadhafi was in charge, which the group termed Not Free and among the most tightly controlled in the world, has dropped 35 points to a total of 59, or Partly Free.
The reason for the relative improvement might be best summed up as instability at least being better than Qadhafi. The United States and NATO helped overthrow the dictator in part to build a more open Libya. But its still not free, though. Or even mostly. Journalists have been arbitrarily arrested. Arbitrary imprisonment is still widespread, according to Human Rights Watch, which has documented attacks including torture and rape on villagers deemed disloyal.
Michael Hanna, who studies the region at The Century Foundation, says its important to remember where Libya came from. The state does not have a monopoly of violence and does not control many of the militias that are still enforcing security, Hanna tells Danger Room. You do have a sort of mixed picture. But when looking at the baseline that is the Qadhafi era, its hard to look at that without seeing marked improvement despite all the setbacks and legal uncertainties.
Politically, Libyas post-revolution governing body, the General National Council operates under a draft constitution which guarantees (in theory) the freedom of the press, which is a good start, but the charter does not explicitly abolish censorship or include the right to seek, receive, and impart information and ideas, Freedom House noted.
Is there something about the First Amendment that precludes it from being translated into Arabic and incorporated into the Libyan constitution?
The Councils predecessor, the National Transitional Council, also briefly outlawed until it was overturned by Libyas Supreme Court insults to Islam and the Libyan flag, and glorifying the Qadhafi regime. Likewise, for a time, false news and information became illegal, as well as propaganda that endanger(s) national security, terrorize(s) the public or undermine(s) public morale.
Legally, Libyan media is on tricky ground. Freedom House portrays Libya as a confusing and contradictory environment for journalists to work. Libel and slander laws are unclear. The agencies responsible for licensing and regulating media have been shuffled around to newly-created agencies that soon get dissolved and replaced by others. Worse, a proliferation of armed groups have intimidated journalists away from reporting in sensitive locations, such as [Qadhafi's former compound] Bab al-Aziziya, the report notes. Shady security agents have reportedly followed foreign journalists from their hotels, and a Salafi extremist group detained several Libyan journalists who attempted to document the extremists bulldozing a 16th century Sufi mausoleum in Tripoli last August.
The economics of Libyan media are also mixed. The good news is that theres s a lot more media outlets than there were under Qadhafi when independent media was banned. The problem is that many of the publications founded in 2011 have closed, mostly because wartime activists have returned to their normal lives or their enterprises lacked equipment, funding, and experience in the media industry. Nevertheless, a large number were still functioning in 2012.
State-owned television and radio is still on the air, but now face competition from private networks like Libya al-Hurrah, which started as an internet television channel during the revolution. Internet filtering also came to an end, but the telecommunications infrastructure inherited from the previous regime has yet to be refurbished.
All is not rosy next door, either. In 2012, Egypts ranking worsened from 57 to 62 (.pdf) the first full year since the American-approved ouster of ex-dictator Hosni Mubarak. Like in Libya, a surge in independent media after the revolution hit an economic wall, with many independent publications closing down after running out of money.
And similar to Libya, a new constitution in theory guarantees freedom of the press, but it allows for limitations based on social, cultural, and political grounds, and prescribes legal punishments for overstepping these limits. Islamist hard-liners have also agitated for President Mohamed Morsi to enforce those restrictions.
When the answer is always 'Islam' it doesn't make sense to keep asking questions, and if you hint that there's a different answer you're asking for trouble...
But Hanna cautions that we shouldnt conflate that with Libya, owing to Egypts tradition of a controlled opposition press.
When you look at Egypt, the bounds of discourse have widened, but you also see very specific state-sponsored actions that are aimed at chilling dissent and limiting the scope of freedom of expression, he says. In other words, you can exchange the old boss for a new one. But thats not the same as replacing the whole company.
Posted by: Steve White ||
05/03/2013 00:00 ||
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#1
I would vote for jailing everyone at the NYT, Trib and Globe and throwing away the keys.
Posted by: Bill Clinton ||
05/03/2013 12:54 Comments ||
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[An Nahar] Seif al-Islam, the placed in durance vile Maw! They're comin' to get me, Maw! son of Libya's late dictator Muammar Qadaffy ... who had more funny outfits than Louis XIV... , appeared in court Thursday charged with illegally trying to communicate with the outside world last June, an Agence La Belle France Presse journalist reported.
The man once assumed to be his father's heir appeared in good health, wearing blue clothes, at the hearing in the western town of Zintan.
Seated behind a grille and with two masked coppers at his sides, the defendant was relaxed and smiling but appeared to have lost a tooth.
Two lawyers, one named by the court and the other, Mabrouka Jumaa, who was chosen by his aunt, represented Seif as he faced the charge of "undermining state security" for meeting four envoys from the International Criminal Court ... where Milosevich died of old age before being convicted ... last June.
The charges were leveled against Seif after the ICC team met him in Zintan and were themselves detained for nearly a month, triggering a diplomatic row with The Hague-based court. They were finally allowed to return home in July.
The judges decided to adjourn Thursday's trial until September 19 at the request of the defense team, who wanted access to the whole file on the case.
When journalists seated near the grille asked if he was well, Seif replied "yes", and gave a thumbs up.
Mohamed Allagui, head of the national council of liberties and human rights One man's rights are another man's existential threat. , said at a presser after the hearing that Seif was being "held in good conditions in line with international standards."
Posted by: Fred ||
05/03/2013 00:00 ||
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#1
Lotsa pro-Tsarnaev Posters, $$$ Donation + other support Websites in KYRGYZSTAN as well.
But perhaps the BBC + Brits should once again look closer to home ...
* DEFENCE.PK/FORUMS > [Russia Today] VIDEO: SHARIA SCARE SHAKES UK: "LAW OF THE LAND [can/should] GO TO HELL". SHARIA PATROLS CHALLENGE UK SECULARISM AS VIGILANTES IMPOSE STRICT ISLAMIC MORALS.
A Korean American has been sentenced to 15 years' hard labor in North Korea for unspecified crimes against the repressive state. The official KCNA news agency reported on Thursday that Kenneth Bae was arrested in the Rajin Songbong special economic zone on Nov. 3 last year. The court hearing came only three days after the North announced last Saturday it was bringing him to trial.
Outsiders believe the North is using Bae as a bargaining chip to get concessions from the U.S. A government official in Seoul speculated, "They're telling the U.S. to come and get him."
The tactic resembles the arrest in 2009 of two American journalists in the border region with China. Thirty-eight days after their arrest, the North announced it was putting them on trial. When the U.S. did not respond, it sentenced them to 12 years' hard labor. The U.S. then sent former President Bill Clinton to Pyongyang on to win their release.
Posted by: Steve White ||
05/03/2013 00:00 ||
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#1
And Jimmy Carter wants to visit there, Lotsa luck Jimmy.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
05/03/2013 14:41 Comments ||
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#2
Sad to say Jimmy wouldn't be sentenced to time in hard labor - he is one of their BFF - and so much like them - lil'Kimmie probably thinks of him as 'Uncle Jimmy'.
North Korea's state-run media no longer refer to Ri Sol-ju as the wife of leader Fat Boy Kim Jong-un but simply by her name, suggesting she now holds some kind of position in her own right.
The Unification Ministry here says Ri was referred to in the North Korean state media as Kim's wife after all official appearances until early this year. But since her visit to the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun on Feb. 16 to mark the late North Korean leader Kim Jong-il's birthday, she has been referred to as "comrade Ri Sol-ju." That was also what the state media called her when she watched a basketball game in Pyongyang on Feb. 28 with former NBA star Dennis Rodman and after other outings since.
I really, really wish Rodman would have hit on her right in front of Pudgy just to see what would have happened...
"At first, we thought it was an error, but the omission seems to be intentional because it's so consistent," a government source here said. "It looks like nobody in North Korea needs to be reminded of who Ri is any more."
Ryu Dong-ryeol at the Police Science Institute speculated that Ri has taken on a key post in the Workers Party or an affiliated women's group.
The second wife of state founder Kim Il-sung was usually referred to as "Madame Kim Song-ae." She rose in status as the head of a party women's group and was powerful enough to clash with her husband in some cases.
Posted by: Steve White ||
05/03/2013 00:00 ||
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#1
OOOOOOOOOO, FIRST LADY VS. AUNTIE DEAREST???
Mant Perts claim "Auntie" + Hubby does Beijing's will???
The body of the Boston Marathon bombing suspect killed in a shootout with police now lies in a Main South funeral home long known for burying the poor, loners and the unwanted.
"I'm not honoring a terrorist. I'm just burying a body," said Peter Stefan, owner of Graham Putnam & Mahoney Funeral Parlors.
Tamerlan Tsarnaev's uncle, Ruslan Tsarni of Maryland, arrived at the Worcester funeral home yesterday afternoon to work with Mr. Stefan on funeral arrangements after authorities released the body.
Mr. Stefan said plans for the funeral of the alleged bomber are being held up by the refusal of several cemeteries to accept Mr. Tsarnaev's body for burial.
As word spread this morning that the body had arrived at Graham Putnam on Main Street, television news trucks from Boston and a few curious locals accumulated outside the white Victorian building, drawn by the spectacle of a tragic story that has made headlines around the world.
Perhaps sensing a potential backlash, prominent members of the neighborhood praised Mr. Stefan's three-decade history of providing funeral services for those who were addicted to drugs, shunned by society or short on cash.
"He's probably the only one in the state who would do this," said William T. Breault, chairman of Worcester's Main South Alliance for Public Safety.
Mr. Breault said his sympathies are with the victims of the Boston Marathon bombings but said he couldn't say a bad word about Mr. Stefan.
#7
Couldn't say a bad word about that POS? Really? Please, allow me. I don't poo-poo him for taking the job but he owns it now 100%. Trying to play the victim card here really rankles.
Posted by: Rex Mundi ||
05/03/2013 20:22 Comments ||
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#8
I like the part about cemeteries not wanting that dead POS in their land. potential superfund claim down the road.....
Posted by: Barbara ||
05/03/2013 21:20 Comments ||
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#10
Couldn't find a clip for it but you might remember the (original) movie The day of the jackal (1973).
That burial looked right to me
Posted by: European Conservative ||
05/03/2013 21:45 Comments ||
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#11
Me & the roomie came up with a burnt idea:
1) Steal the hearse with SpeedBump in it.
2) Put SpeedBump in a crate on the top of the hearse; spray paint 'SEAMUS' on the crate and the hearse;
3) Tear down Boylston street with the crate on fire; park in front of the Boston Public Library on Boylston Street & GTFO.
4) Watch the MSM freak out...
A U.S. District judge today ordered that an Aurora teen continue to be detained on terrorism-related charges, reversing a decision a day earlier by a magistrate judge to allow him to go home to his family on 24-hour confinement.
U.S. District Judge Edmond Chang agreed with prosecutors that Abdella Ahmad Tounisi posed a danger and flight risk.
The ruling reverses U.S. Magistrate Judge Daniel Martins decision Thursday to release Tounisi to home confinement on electronic monitors. The release was put on hold after prosecutors quickly appealed the decision to Chang.
Martin had appointed Tounisis father to act as custodian to try to ensure he stayed out of trouble.
But Chang said he had little confidence the family and community can control the defendant, calling the 18-year-old a planner who was able to set up a post office box and obtain a second passport after his family had taken away his first one.
The brothers suspected of the Boston Marathon bombings had originally planned to carry out the attack on July 4, 2013, a law enforcement official said.
But siblings Tamerlan and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev decided to strike earlier because they completed building their bombs more quickly than expected, the official said.
#2
I know I 'll sound like a callous bastard, but given the Left's and other groups' attitudes toward July 4th, they probably got more of an effect bombing the Marathon.
#1
While I sympathize with the family, it's 'extraterritoriality' being played here. That is extending one laws across the sovereign borders of another country. It's very imperialistic. And one day, the game will be played right back against domestic American interests and sovereignty.
Police say the Pakistani government's lead prosecutor in a case involving former military ruler Pervez Musharraf has been shot to death.
Police officer Mohammed Ishaq says Chaudhry Zulfikar was gunned down Friday morning in the Pakistani capital, Islamabad, as he was driving to court.
Ishaq says Zulfikar was investigating the assassination of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto in a gun and suicide attack in 2007.
Government prosecutors have accused Musharraf of being involved in the murder and not providing enough security to Bhutto. Musharraf was in power when she was killed and has denied the allegations.
Ishaq says Zulfikar was also involved in a case related to the 2008 terrorist attack on the Indian city of Mumbai that killed 166 people. The attack was blamed on a Pakistan-based militant group.
[Bangla Daily Star] Thirteen years ago Nawaz Sharif ... served two non-consecutive terms as prime minister, heads the Pakistain Moslem League (Nawaz). Noted for his spectacular corruption, the 1998 Pak nuclear test, border war with India, and for being tossed by General Musharraf... was sentenced to life in prison. Today he is confident of winning a historic third term at Pakistain's general election and fixing the country's most intractable problems.
Calm and collected at the end of a quick visit to Islamabad, where he addressed a hot and sweaty hotel meeting room packed with businessmen, the 63-year-old former prime minister presents himself as a statesman-in-waiting.
"Our people are very excited. They are waiting for a response from the field and things look good. They, in fact, look better than what they were in 1997," he told AFP, referring to the landslide that last swept him into power.
Businessmen and industrialists traditionally regard Sharif's Pakistain Mohammedan League-N party as better on the economy than the outgoing Pakistain People's Party (PPP) and he comes back, time and again, to stressing his economic credentials for the May 11 election.
He won admiration for turning Pakistain into a nuclear power in 1998 and for building a high-speed motorway from the northwestern city of Beautiful Downtown Peshawar ...capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (formerly known as the North-West Frontier Province), administrative and economic hub for the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan. Peshawar is situated near the eastern end of the Khyber Pass, convenient to the Pak-Afghan border. Peshawar has evolved into one of Pakistan's most ethnically and linguistically diverse cities, which means lots of gunfire. to Lahore, his home town and Pakistain's cultural capital on the Indian border.
He was first elected in 1990 but sacked three years later on corruption charges. His second term from 1997 to 1999 ended in a military coup by General Pervez Perv Musharraf ... former dictator of Pakistain, who was less dictatorial and corrupt than any Pak civilian government to date ... , which the public widely welcomed at the time.
Sharif has been criticised for being soft on Islamist Death Eater groups. Bombers yesterday blew up two schools designated as polling stations for Pakistain's general election next week, police said
Asked about Taliban attacks targeting parties in the outgoing government, he stopped short of condemning the bully boyz by name.
Like cricket legend Imran Khan ... aka Taliban Khan, who ain't the sharpest bulb on the national tree... , the only other party leader to address major rallies on a daily basis, Sharif has refused to shield himself behind bullet-proof glass when addressing the crowds.
Analysts consider the only bar to a Sharif premiership to be Khan, whose call for change and reform has resonated with the urban middle class despite the fact that he has previously only won one seat in parliament.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/03/2013 00:00 ||
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[Pak Daily Times] Pakistain Tehrik-e-Insaf ...a political party in Pakistan. PTI was founded by former Pakistani cricket captain and philanthropist Imran Khan. The party's slogan is Justice, Humanity and Self Esteem, each of which is open to widely divergent interpretations.... Chairman Imran Khan ... aka Taliban Khan, who who convinced himself that playing cricket qualified him to lead a nuclear-armed nation with severe personality problems... was served a notice on Thursday over alleged violation of the election commission's code of conduct.
The PTI chief had held a rally at the Mall Road a few days ago without the permission of the authorities. He appeared in the district returning officer's court in person and received the notice. Later, talking to the media he said that he believed in the rule of law and respects the courts but did not do anything wrong to gain political mileage. He answered several questions and said that his opponents were levelling allegations without confirming facts.
Imran categorically stated that he is not going to change any article in the constitution in favour of Ahmedis and such rumours are part of a conspiracy campaign by his opponents to malign him politically. He observed that once a campaign was launched by his opponents about his wife claiming that she was a Jew although she is a Christian. The same way, he said, his detractors are claiming that he would amend the constitution in favour of Ahmedis if voted to power. Imran clarified that there was no facts behind claims from his opponents, especially the Pakistain Moslem League-Nawaz (PML-N) and JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman Deobandi holy man, known as Mullah Diesel during the war against the Soviets, his sympathies for the Taliban have never been tempered by honesty ... who, he added, are involved in conspiracies against him. He also said that Maulana Fazlur Rehman had no worth in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa ... formerly NWFP, still Terrorism Central... now and was going to lose the election against his party in the province. He alleged that the PML-N is also busy hatching conspiracies against him.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/03/2013 00:00 ||
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[Pak Daily Times] The Pakistain Army will deploy 70,000 troops and use 50 helicopters to help the government maintain law and order during general elections across the country. "The Pakistain Army will deploy 70,000 troops during the election process in aid of the civil power under Article-245 of the constitution," said Inter-Services Public Relations Director General Maj Gen Asim Saleem Bajwa while briefing newsmen about the security plan for election-2013. He said that the deployment of troops in Balochistan ...the Pak province bordering Kandahar and Uruzgun provinces in Afghanistan and Sistan Baluchistan in Iran. Its native Baloch propulation is being displaced by Pashtuns and Punjabis and they aren't happy about it... was to be completed by Thursday night while the deployment in Sindh, including Bloody Karachi ...formerly the capital of Pakistain, now merely its most important port and financial center. It is among the largest cities in the world, with a population of 18 million, most of whom hate each other and many of whom are armed and dangerous... , would begin on Friday. The troops have already been deployed in different parts of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa ... formerly NWFP, still Terrorism Central... while their deployment in the rest of province will be completed in next two days, he added. Maj Gen Bajwa said that the movement of troops for deployment in Punjab would start on Friday. He said that heli-borne units of the Quick Response Force (QRF) would remain ready in the area to coordinate with the civil law enforcing agencies for maintaining law and order. The troops will be mobilised by helicopters as well as by roads for security duty, he added. Responding to a question, the ISPR DG said that the armed forces, which were already present in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), would also perform election duty along with Levies and Frontier Constabulary (FC).
Posted by: Fred ||
05/03/2013 00:00 ||
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[Pak Daily Times] Police on Thursday questioned former military ruler Pervez Perv Musharraf ... former dictator of Pakistain, who was less dictatorial and corrupt than any Pak civilian government to date ... over the 2006 death of Nawab Akbar Bugti -- one of three legal cases that have blighted his return from exile, officials said. "A three-member team of Balochistan ...the Pak province bordering Kandahar and Uruzgun provinces in Afghanistan and Sistan Baluchistan in Iran. Its native Baloch propulation is being displaced by Pashtuns and Punjabis and they aren't happy about it... comprising senior police officials is investigating general Musharraf," prosecutor Hassan Kakar told AFP. They would also record his statement in the case, he said. Baloch nationalist leader Nawab Akbar Bugti was killed in a cave on August 26, 2006 during a military crackdown ordered by Musharraf. Bugti was the chief of the Jamhoori Watan Party and an influential tribal chief who controlled the gas-rich district of Dera Bugti. Since he was also in open rebellion against the govt, Perv had every right to have him bumped off.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/03/2013 00:00 ||
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[Pak Daily Times] Pakistain Ulema Council (PUC) Chairman Maulana Tahir Ashrafi, taking a taut position again on the 'Fatwa on sanctity of vote as Islamic duty of every Moslem; male and female' has challenged the Taliban, who are declaring the practice of democratic right of vote in Pakistain as a sin and holding terror attacks in response, for an open debate.
Addressing a huge presser at the Lahore Press Club on Thursday, the PUC chairman called the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistain (TTP) for holding a debate with him anywhere and anytime, and to give him a chance to explain the real teaching of sharia (Islamic ideology) about the sanctity of vote with references from the Holy Koran and sunnah.
In support of his religious stance, Maulana Ashrafi said that casting vote is mandatory in the Islamic sharia having three aspects -- first, it would be used as a testimony; second, as a council; and third, as an advise.
He said that no Moslem, man or women, could avoid it under any circumstances, so stopping the people to use their right to vote was not according to Islam.
He also highlighted the issue of Taliban barring women to use their right to vote as 'wrong' and 'itself a sin'. He said that it was necessary for women voters that they should be provided an opportunity to cast their votes in separate polling stations, where only female polling staff were deputed.
To a query about the TTP's claim that they were holding attacks as they had no believe in democracy, Maulana Ashrafi said that the recognised Learned Elders of Islam had already declared the drone hits, suicide kabooms and murders 'against the Islamic concepts', especially when the victims were innocent people. He also expressed concern ...meaning the brow was mildly wrinkled, the eyebrows drawn slightly together, and a thoughtful expression assumed, not that anything was actually done or indeed that any thought was actually expended... s over the recent wave of terror attacks.
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[Pak Daily Times] The Human Rights Commission of Pakistain (HRCP) has demanded action against all those who played any part in the assault on Indian prisoner Sarabjit Singh, who died in a hospital on Wednesday, and called upon Islamabad and Delhi to take urgent measures to prevent the incident from undermining bilateral ties.
In a statement issued on Thursday, the commission said, "Not even the most naïve person can believe that a prisoner like Sarabjit in a death cell inside a jail can be targeted in such a brutal assault by prisoners without the knowledge and support of prison guards and the authorities". Commission further said that this is far more serious a crime than allowing someone like General Pervez Perv Musharraf ... former dictator of Pakistain, who was less dictatorial and corrupt than any Pak civilian government to date ... to escape from the court.
It was no secret that Sarabjit faced more threats than other prisoners on account of the charge that he was convicted of and yet his security was so completely compromised. He died when members of the joint Pak-India Judges Committee were visiting Pakistain in order to assess the conditions of detention of Indian prisoners in Pak jails.
"Those in Pakistain who take pride in their vengefulness must feel some shame today, if they are capable of that. Those elements in India who are no less vengeful, intolerant and fond of jingoism than their Pak counterparts would no doubt write their own script now. HRCP is concerned that Sarabjit's death might undermine the hard work done by both countries to normalise relations. They will have to go out of their way to undo the damage that the murder and the manner that it took place in has done. The need to expeditiously conclude a judicial inquiry to bring all those who are involved to justice cannot be stressed enough. If the two countries begin to treat each other's prisoners with some compassion even now instead of exposing them to the worst of treatment reserved for prisoners in their jails, then some good would still have come from Sarabjit's brutal murder," said HRCP.
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[Pak Daily Times] The body of convicted Indian spy Sarabjit Singh, who died on Thursday nearly a week after he was attacked by fellow prisoners, was flown to India from Lahore on a special aircraft sent by New Delhi.
Indian foreign ministry front man Syed Akbaruddin had earlier said it was "our primary focus" to ensure that Singh's body was returned to India and given a proper burial. He denied that Singh was an Indian spy. There was anger in India over his death. "The criminals responsible for the barbaric and murderous attack on Sarabjit Singh must be brought to justice," Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said on his official Twitter page.
Pakistain flags were burned at angry protests in Singh's native Bhikhiwind village, in Indian Punjab. India complained that its diplomats were denied access to the prisoner as he fought for his life, and the premier said it was "particularly regrettable" that Pakistain had not responded to appeals "to take a humanitarian view of this case". Pakistain insists regular consular access was granted to Singh and said doctors did everything possible to save him before his death from cardiac arrest. "The prisoner, who had been in a comatose state and on a ventilator for the last few days, was being provided the best treatment available and the medical staff at Jinnah Hospital had been working round the clock... to save his life," the foreign ministry said.
The government provided "all assistance" to Singh's family and the Indian authorities, it added in a statement. Singh's body was handed over to Indian officials on Thursday evening who took it to India on a special plane after fulfilling the legal procedure. The Indian plane was delayed for some time, as the basic paperwork had not been completed. Later, it took off from the Lahore airport after receiving clearance from the customs and Anti-Narcotics Force (ANF) officials at around 7:25pm. The body had been stopped from leaving Pakistain by customs officials who sought a NOC from the Foreign Ministry and the police report. After the body was cleared by customs, it was stopped by the ANF officials who sought a clearance certificate from the hospital.
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#1
The body had been stopped from leaving Pakistain by customs officials who sought a NOC from the Foreign Ministry and the police report. After the body was cleared by customs, it was stopped by the ANF officials who sought a clearance certificate from the hospital.
Almost sounds like it was a matter of adding insult to injury.
[Pak Daily Times] Jamaat Ulema-e-Islam ...Assembly of Islamic Clergy, or JUI, is a Pak Deobandi (Hanafi) political party. There are two main branches, one led by Maulana Fazlur Rahman, and one led by Maulana Samiul Haq. Fazl is active in Pak politix and Sami spends more time running his madrassah. Both branches sponsor branches of the Taliban, though with plausible deniability... (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman Deobandi holy man, known as Mullah Diesel during the war against the Soviets, his sympathies for the Taliban have never been tempered by honesty ... has demanded the removal of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa ... formerly NWFP, still Terrorism Central... governor before the May 11 elections.
He made this demand in a letter to Chief Election Commissioner Fakhruddin G Ebrahim (CEC) on Thursday. In his letter Fazl alleged that President Asif Ali Ten Percent Zardari ... husband of the late Benazir Bhutto, who has been singularly lacking in curiosity about who done her in ... has tasked the KP governor with rigging the elections and therefore the governor should be changed. He also complained that polling stations in FATA have been set up at faraway places and in several areas it is not possible to reach them without transport. The JUI-F chief demanded polling stations be set up at places where they were established in the previous general elections.
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Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel confirmed yesterday that the US was reexamining its consistent opposition to arming the Syrian rebels, though cautioned that considering action was not the same as taking action.
You look at and rethink all options," Secretary Hagel said during a Pentagon news conference, according to The New York Times.
Hagel is the first official to publicly acknowledge the shift that most observers assumed was happening, based on comments earlier this week by President Obama. After Hagel's press conference, the president said that the defense secretary's announcement coincided with a view he had held for "months," according to The Daily Star in Lebanon.
The US already provides communication gear and basic rations to Syrian rebels, and could begin including body armor, night-vision goggles, rifles, and other basic arms, The Wall Street Journal reports.
#1
While he steadfastly denied doing so, Lord Kitchener of Khartoum armed the Bantu and they happily slaughtered a good many Christian women and children. Will history once again repeat itself ?
[An Nahar] Intelligence Minister Heydar Moslehi on Thursday warned ex-presidents Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani ... the fourth President of Iran. He was a member of the Assembly of Experts until he was eased out in 2011 He continues, for the moment, as Chairman of the Expediency Discernment Council. In 2005 he ran for a third term as president, ultimately losing to rival Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who was in Khamenei's graces back then. In 1980 Rafsanjani survived an assassination attempt, during which he was seriously injured. He has been described as a centrist and a pragmatic conservative without all that much reason. He is currently being eased out of any position of actual influence or power and may be dead by the end of 2012... and Mohammad Khatami, without naming them, over their alleged role in the protest movement that followed Iran's disputed 2009 elections.
The two former presidents have not yet announced if they will contest the June 14 presidential election to replace Mahmoud Short Round Ahmadinejad, who cannot stand for a third consecutive term.
"We say to he who claims to have predicted the 2009 plot that he did not predict anything because we have very specific information on his role in the plot," Moslehi said, quoted by the Mehr and Fars news agencies.
Rafsanjani, a moderate who was president from 1989 to 1997, has said he had "predicted" the demonstrations and festivities which followed the contested re-election of Ahmadinejad to the presidency in 2009.
The two reformist candidates in the 2009 elections, Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi, had called for the protests after they rejected the results on charges of fraud. They have been kept under house arrest since.
Moslehi also issued a thinly-veiled warning to Khatami, who was a reformist head of state from 1997 to 2005.
"One of the leaders of the plot, who was not put under house arrest like the other two for various reasons, should not fool himself and think that the revolutionary power has forgotten the role he played in the plot," he said in a speech in the northern city of Qom.
Reformist newspapers and officials have stepped up calls for the two former presidents to contest the election, although people close to them have dismissed the idea for the moment.
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[An Nahar] The United States is taking a fresh look at whether to provide weapons to Syria's rebels after having rejected the idea previously, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said Thursday.
At a news conference with his British counterpart Philip Hammond, Hagel was asked if the U.S. government was rethinking its opposition to arming the rebels and replied: "Yes."
But the Pentagon chief added that no decision had been reached and declined to say if he favored arming the opposition.
"I'm in favor of exploring options and seeing what is the best option in coordination with our international partners," he said.
After the White House acknowledged last week that U.S. intelligence agencies believe the Syrian regime may have used chemical weapons on a small-scale, speculation has mounted that President Barack Obama I am not a dictator!... could reverse his opposition to arming the rebels.
At the same presser, Hammond said Britannia had not ruled out arming the rebels or other military options but that his government had to abide by a European Union ...the successor to the Holy Roman Empire, only without the Hapsburgs and the nifty uniforms and the dancing... prohibition on sending weapons to the opposition.
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The men later pleaded guilty to proving material support to a terrorist organization, cooperated with further investigations and served anywhere from 7 to 10 years in federal prison. More than a decade after their arrests, all of them are free. Many remain in the Western New York Community, married with children.
U.S. Attorney William Hochul was the lead prosecutor at the time and says he's actually had conversations with one of the men he helped imprison.
"I've engaged in very pleasant conversations with him and his family. I think that is a success of the criminal justice system because while we punish people for what they've done. Once they served their time and acknowledged their own wrong doing, we do need to forgive as well."
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
International Criminal Court
Nawaz Sharif
Pervez 
Maulana Fazlur Rehman
[Pak Daily Times] The Human Rights Commission of Pakistain (HRCP) has demanded action against all those who played any part in the assault on Indian prisoner Sarabjit Singh, who died in a hospital on Wednesday, and called upon Islamabad and Delhi to take urgent measures to prevent the incident from undermining bilateral ties.
Mahmoud 
[An Nahar] The United States is taking a fresh look at whether to provide weapons to Syria's rebels after having rejected the idea previously, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said Thursday.
