said Monday he hoped an accord on the future US military presence in Afghanistan would be in place by November, despite President Hamid Maybe I'll join the Taliban Karzai ... A former Baltimore restaurateur, now 12th and current President of Afghanistan, displacing the legitimate president Rabbani in December 2004. He was installed as the dominant political figure after the removal of the Taliban regime in late 2001 in a vain attempt to put a Pashtun face on the successor state to the Taliban. After the 2004 presidential election, he was declared president regardless of what the actual vote count was. He won a second, even more dubious, five-year-term after the 2009 presidential election. His grip on reality has been slipping steadily since around 2007, probably from heavy drug use... 's refusal to be rushed.
"I hope we'll have that agreement by the end of October, because we just can't move without it," Hagel told US soldiers participating in a live-fire exercise in South Korea.
The United States plans to pull out the bulk of its 57,000 troops in Afghanistan by the end of 2014 and has tentative plans to retain a smaller force of around 10,000 forces after that.
However, denial ain't just a river in Egypt... a new security agreement is needed to allow for the post-2014 presence, including provisions permitting the United States access to various bases.
"We're working with President Karzai and his government to get that bilateral security agreement completed and signed," Hagel said.
"Once we do that, we can and will go forward. That's critically important," he added.
But Karzai has insisted Afghanistan would not be rushed over the negotiations and has even hinted that an agreement might not be finalised before presidential elections in April next year.
"We are not in a hurry, if it happens in my government it will be good, if not, the new president can discuss it and either accept or reject it," Karzai said in August.
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[Al Ahram] At least 39 are still missing after last week's brutal assault on Nairobi's Westgate mall by Islamist gunnies, the Red Thingy said Monday.
The four-day bloodbath at the upmarket shopping mall, which Kenyan forces brought to an end on Tuesday, left at least 67 people dead.
The 39 still missing was reduced from 61, after bodies were either identified, or those reported to have been missing were found to have not been at the mall.
Continued on Page 49
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[Shabelle] Security officers involved in the rescue operation at the Westgate mall and those in the ongoing forensic investigations, are on the spot over alleged looting in some of the shops.
When shoppers and merchants returned to the mall over the weekend to sift through the rubble and retrieve what was left of their belongings abandoned during the attack, they found that most of their premises had been vandalised.
The shop owners alleged the forensic investigations were being conducted unprofessionally as it is standard procedure for Sherlocks to record their activities through video and still pictures to preserve evidence, but in this particular case, such basic procedures were shelved.
"There were instructions that we should not record anything as officers moved from shop to shop searching for evidence," said an officer in confidence, as he alluded to officers helping themselves to what's on shop shelves, cash drawers and safes.
Other survivors were in shock after seeing what was left of their property.
Mr Manish Mashru, 43, went with family members to the mall to retrieve his car that was left parked on the rooftop. His 16-year-old daughter Neha was killed in the attack as she participated in a cooking competition on the roof of the mall. His wife, who had accompanied their daughter to the event was shot in the face but survived.
When he went to the Westgate mall yesterday to get the vehicle his wife and daughter drove on that fateful Saturday, he was escorted to the rooftop parking by police.
The back window of his car was totally shattered by bullets and there were bullet holes on doors with shopping bags left untouched in the back seat.
Dr Pushpa Sachdeva, whose dental clinic-The Smile Specialists, was on the fourth floor of the mall, went to the mall with dozens of empty boxes to retrieve whatever she could from her practice
"We are just trying to salvage anything we can," she said.
Mr Sachdeva was with a group of nurses and doctors, but was only allowed into the building with three other people.
Alfred Ng'ang'a, a spokesperson for Nakumatt supermarket, said that it was unlikely that any personal items would be retrieved, as nearly everything in had been destroyed by fire.
"There is not much inside that we can salvage," he said.
"Everything had been destroyed in the attack." Nganga said that assessors where still inside trying to determine the total costs of the damage.
Despite the bleak outlook and the extensive destruction, many store owners and shoppers still returned to Westgate to pick up the pieces of their lives that were left behind.
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[Al Ahram] Head of Egypt's lawyers' syndicate Sameh Ashour has denied media reports that Egypt's former interim vice president Mohammed ElBaradei had been stripped of his membership, state news agency MENA reported.
The former interim vice president -- who has held a law degree for over four decades but opted to pursue a diplomatic career -- only registered as a syndicate member last year.
Syndicate official Salah Saleh had announced earlier on Monday that the named of both ElBaradei along with Ayman Nour, head of the liberal Ghad Party, were expunged from the list of members.
The measure came as part of a broad move by the syndicate to reset membership list and exclude those who violate the registration requirements, Saleh had said.
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[Al Ahram] A senior member of the leftist Tagammu Party has called for rallies on 6 October -- the anniversary of Egypt's victory
Victory!
over Israel in the 1973 war - to stifle protests planned by the Moslem Brüderbund. At the conclusion of the Yom Kippur War, Israeli forces were 40 km from Damascus and 101 km from Cairo. Egypt's Third Army and the city of Suez were both encircled.
Amr Abdel-Rady said the party had received "confirmed information" that the Islamist group planned to "ruin the day by attacking state-owned facilities," Al-Ahram Arabic news website reported on Monday.
Several Brotherhood-aligned Facebook pages have called on supporters to protest on 6 October against the "military coup" which has resulted in a "crumbling economy, failing tourism, corrupt government, lack of security and a constitution-amending committee that doesn't represent Egyptians."
In recent days, protests have taken place on a number of university campuses, a traditional hotbed of Islamist and political activity.
At least 29 people were maimed during festivities on Sunday at three university campuses between supporters and opponents of deposed president Mohammed Morsi ...the former president of Egypt. A proponent of the One Man, One Vote, One Time principle, Morsi won election after the deposal of Hosni Mubarak and jumped to the conclusion it was his turn to be dictator... , some armed with guns and Molotov cocktails, state media and security sources said.
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[Al Ahram] With the popularity of Egypt's armed forces chief General Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi at a peak, speculation is growing about whether the military leader could be the next president. How about "If nominated, I won't run. If elected, I won't serve"?
Talk shows and newspaper columns have, for the past month, been advocating the idea of the general running for president in order to fight the terrorist threat that they say the country is facing. Yeah, yeah. Wasn't Mubarak a general before he became president-for-life?
El-Sisi became a worldwide name in July when he announced that Islamist president Mohammed Morsi ...the former president of Egypt. A proponent of the One Man, One Vote, One Time principle, Morsi won election after the deposal of Hosni Mubarak and jumped to the conclusion it was his turn to be dictator... was being removed from power after mass protests against the unpopular elected leader.
El-Sisi stressed that the action was not a military coup and that the military was merely acting to safeguard the popular revolution. An interim president -- Judge Adly Mansour -- was swiftly appointed.
Recently, a number of campaigns have been launched calling on the general, who is also defence minister, to run for presidency in the elections slated for early next year.
The campaigns are called "Complete your favour," "A nation's demand" and "El-Sisi for president." Those behind them plan to gather signatures in order to press El-Sisi, who has said he has no desire to govern, to run.
The "El-Sisi for president" campaign claims to be the first campaign in Egypt calling for the popular general to become head of state. It also claims that it has printed two million petitions and set up 25 campaign offices in Europe and in Middle Eastern countries.
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Posted through from oft-time Rantburger Chuck Simmons' site:
Five things the American public should know about Guantánamo.
Letting go of detainees is not a good option. Al-Qaedas current No. 1 and No. 2 leaders in Yemen were once prisoners at Guantánamo, and the terrorist groups No. 1 in Libya also came from the prison. In Southern Russia, a number of former detainees went on a rampage, killing more than 100 innocents during a single afternoon of attacks. In fact, these outcomes after detainees are released have become so common, Wikipedia has a page devoted to it: lists of former Guantanamo Bay detainees alleged to have returned to terrorism. Detainees should only be released at altitudes over 30,000'.
The potential for diplomatic chaos. Its not hard to ruffle the feathers of other world powers, which often compromises U.S. relations globally, as witnessed in the aftermath of Edward Snowdens leaks of NSA spying and the Syrian crisis. Imagine the blowback onto the United States if one of its military bases frees a detainee that later assassinates another nations leader or government official.
Gitmo: the misinformation campaign. During Wentzs time at the prison, there was absolutely no indication that torture of any kind ever occurred. To my knowledge, only four terrorists were ever waterboarded and that was done by the CIA, and not at Guantánamo, he says. Yet reporting insinuates that torture is a common occurrence there. I once read a headline: Guantánamo Detainee, Who Was Waterboarded, Tells Intl Community . It doesnt say where the waterboarding occurred, but the insinuation is there. Such misinformation campaigns are among the tactics outlined in the Manchester Document, also known as the al-Qaeda Handbook.
The International Red Cross says Gitmo is well run. The prison is well-run and should be a model for the treatment of prisoners worldwide this is according to an assessment from the International Red Cross. This good news regarding the prison is likely something youve never read. Americans have been fed a steady stream of only bad news about the prison, but there are good reasons for its existence.
Consider the source the lawyers of detainees and their plea to the public. The only news coming out from Gitmo recently has involved the detainees hunger strike, which has had some success in its original purpose: to build sympathy. One of the lawyers for the detainees has also represented, in past decades, members of the Irish Republican Army, who used the same tactic while imprisoned by the British. The hunger strike came shortly after the lawyers visit, Wentz says, and its not coincidence. Additionally, while the British didnt use feeding tubes, the U.S. military has, which is something detainees have come to count on, he says. They don't want to eat, they should not be forced to. It's expensive keeping that place open, so let the inmates eliminate themselves so we don't have to.
Even with sleep disorders, having these fellows manning the perimeter would have been preferable to [frequently TB infiltrated] indigenous contract security firms owned by operated by Karzai pals.
#6
FTA: Gurganus, who was the top American commander in that region of Afghanistan at the time, did not order a formal investigation after the attack. In June, Amos asked U.S. Central Command to investigate, and he said he decided to take action against the two generals after reviewing the results of that investigation.
"While I am mindful of the degree of difficulty the Marines in Afghanistan faced in accomplishing a demanding combat mission with a rapidly declining force, my duty requires me to remain true to the timeless axioms related relating to command responsibility and accountability," Amos said.
Amos added that Gurganus bore "final accountability" for the lives and equipment under his command, and had made "an error in judgment" in underestimating the risk posed by the Taliban in the Bastion area of Helmand province, which included his own headquarters at a sprawling based known as Camp Leatherneck.
So Gurganus didn't even launch an investigation, which (one might think) would be de rigueur.
[Dawn] The city administration had not received a single illegal weapon till Sunday, the third day of a de-weaponisation drive, as no one came forward to voluntarily surrender his illicit firearm, it emerged on Sunday.
The Sindh government had given holders of illicit weapons 15-day time to voluntarily surrender their firearms as part of its de-weaponisation campaign on a directive of the apex court. It also imposed a ban on the issuance of new arms licences in 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... The home department and officials in the five districts of the city confirmed that so far they had received no illegal weapon surrendered voluntarily by any citizen. However, alcohol has never solved anybody's problems. But then, neither has milk... they gave a host of reasons behind the holders' reluctance to surrender their illicit arms to the government and hoped that the campaign would catch up its pace in the week starting on Monday.
"The campaign was officially launched on Friday, which was the last day of the week preceded by weekend. We hope that our campaign will gather pace from Monday," said a bigwig.
The government has fixed Oct 11 as the cut-off date for the holders of illicit weapons to surrender their firearms.
He said that the government would launch a campaign to de-weaponise the city if the deadline was not extended.
The city administration itself and all the five district administrations individually corroborated the fact that no one had come forward as yet to surrender an illegal weapon.
Karachi West, some parts of which are notoriously regarded as Karachi's 'Wazoo', is believed to have far more illicit weapons than the city's other four districts.
"It is the only district where schools have been targeted and polio ...Poliomyelitis is a disease caused by infection with the poliovirus. Between 1840 and the 1950s, polio was a worldwide epidemic. Since the development of polio vaccines the disease has been largely wiped out in the civilized world. However, since the vaccine is known to make Moslem pee-pees shrink and renders females sterile, bookish, and unsubmissive it is not widely used by the turban and automatic weapons set... workers attacked. It is the most dangerous part of Karachi," said another bigwig.
The Karachi West administration too had not received any weapon surrendered forcing it to seek support of the mosques to encourage the holders of illicit weapons to cooperate.
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[Dawn] The third terrorist attack in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa ... formerly NWFP, still Terrorism Central... in a week brought the 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.... , the party leading the ruling coalition in the province, under severe criticism from almost all major political parties, with 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... -Fazl demanding removal of the provincial government over its failure to protect citizens.
Condemning Sunday's kaboom in the Qissa Khawani Bazaar in 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. in which over 40 people were killed, the politicians particularly criticised PTI chief Imran Khan ... aka Taliban Khan, who who convinced himself that playing cricket qualified him to lead a nuclear-armed nation with severe personality problems... for his recent statement in which he had said that the Taliban should be allowed to open their offices in Pakistain.
On the other hand, Mr Khan termed it unfortunate that some parties were using the tragedy for making political gains.
Former president and Peoples Party leader Asif Ali Zardari termed the blast "most barbaric, inhuman and reflecting the depraved mind of the bad boys" and called for "a collective national response to uproot the snuffies from our midst".
"The wages of appeasing the bully boyz by asking for setting up their offices in the country are more than obvious and it is time that the nation and the state rise to give a befitting reply to them. Dithering and procrastination on our part will only further embolden the bad boys," Mr Zardari said in a statement issued by the PPP's media centre.
Mr Zardari's front man Senator Farhatullah Babar, when contacted, regretted that terrorist attacks had increased after the state "abdicated" its authority and declared the bully boyz as "stakeholders" in the grinding of the peace processor.
He criticised the PTI chief's statement regarding opening of Taliban's offices, saying it amounted to equating "the terrorists, murderers, rapists and dacoits with judges, lawyers and other segments of the society".
In reply to a question, Senator Babar said the PPP had supported the government in the all-party conference (APC) believing that the PML-N had been given a mandate by the people in elections and it should be given an opportunity to work for bringing peace to the country. The PPP, he said, believed that any political divide at this stage would only strengthen the hands of bad boys.
Leader of Opposition in the National Assembly Syed Khurshid Shah in a statement said it appeared that Death Eaters were least interested in peace negotiations. He said it should also be a matter of concern for Mr Khan that his philosophy of negotiations for peace had badly failed.
A former minister and leader of the Awami National Party (ANP), Ghulam Ahmed Bilour said Mr Khan should be held accountable for his failure to protect the people of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.
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 ... termed the killing of innocent people in the blast tragic and said enemies of peace could take advantage of the "uncertainty" about the talks with the Taliban.
Commenting on Mr Khan's statement citing an example of the opening of a Taliban office in Qatar, he said the PTI chief should know the difference between Afghan and Pak Taliban. He said opening a Taliban office was an "immature concept" and a "poorly conceived idea".
Talking to Dawn, JUI-F front man Jan Achakzai criticised the government of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa for "not taking steps to protect the citizens" and taking refuge under the excuse of delay in the start of peace talks.
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[Dawn] Awais Sheikh, the counsel for Indian prisoner Sarabjit Singh who was murdered in Lahore's Kot Lakhpat jail in May 2013, has taken permanent refuge in Sweden, the Times of India reported.
Sheikh took refuge in the Scandinavian country following his alleged abduction bid near Lahore a day before Singh's death.
Singh, who was sentenced to death 16 years ago on espionage charges, died at Lahore's Jinnah hospital after lying in a comatose state for five days following an assault on him in Kot Lakhpat jail.
Sheikh and his son Shahrukh were allegedly kidnapped from their Bedian Road farm on May 16 and were released three and half hours later.
Sheikh was known for fighting cases of Indian prisoners in Pak jails and had also written a book on the life of Singh titled 'Mistaken Identity'.
Speaking to the TOI over telephone from Sweden on Monday, Sheikh said: "Sweden has granted me permanent stay along with my family and has also provided me all facilities and security after taking note of my abduction and physical torture."
The lawyer claimed that his life was under constant threat in Pakistain from people and organizations "inimical to India-Pak friendship".
In his interview with the TOI, Sheikh mentioned a letter written by Zohra Yusuf, chairperson of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistain, on May 3 to Najam Sethi, who was the caretaker chief minister of Punjab at the time, for providing security to the counsel and his family.
Sheikh claimed that the letter was ignored by the provincial authorities.
Sheikh did not elaborate as to what he was doing in Sweden "except that he was just settling in the new place", adding that however, his family felt secure in the Scandinavian country.
Prisoners of war
During the telephone interview, Sheikh, who also heads an NGO called "Pakistain-India Peace Initiatives", quoted an incident of meeting a 1971 prisoner of war (PoW) Sepoy Mangal Singh of 14 Punjab Regiment in Central Jail, Lahore.
Sheikh said his intention in referring to Mangal Singh's case was not to defame Pakistain but to remind and convince both countries "to realise their moral and international obligations and free all POWs with immediate effect".
Islamabad has always denying the presence of any PoWs in Pak jails.
In 2008, the then federal minister for human rights ...which are usually entirely different from personal liberty... , Ansar Burney, had told news hounds that the Indian High Commissioner had handed him a list of around 100 missing Indian PoWs in Pak jails and that the Pak government was working to resolve the issue.
Also in May this year, Burney had written to Prime Minister 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... to conduct a probe on whether there were any Indian PoWs in Pak jails. However, there is a theory which states that if ever anybody discovers exactly what the Universe is for and why it is here, it will instantly disappear and be replaced by something even more bizarre and inexplicable. There is another theory which states that this has already happened... no development on the issue has since come to light.
At the end of the 1971 war, New Delhi and Islamabad signed the Simla Agreement under which the countries were obliged to release soldiers that had been taken as PoWs. However, there is a theory which states that if ever anybody discovers exactly what the Universe is for and why it is here, it will instantly disappear and be replaced by something even more bizarre and inexplicable. There is another theory which states that this has already happened... to date, there have been reports that both countries continue to hold some PoWs that had not been released.
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[Dawn] Inspector-General Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa ... formerly NWFP, still Terrorism Central... (KP) Nasir Durrani on Monday said a targeted operation will be conducted in 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. very soon.
Marketplaces and other public areas of the picturesque provincial capital would first be cleared by sniffer dogs and Bomb Disposal Units before being opened for the general public, he said, adding that approval for the measure had already been given by the KP government.
The IG's comments came a day after twin blasts claimed 43 lives in Qissa Khwani Bazaar, one of the oldest market places in Peshawar.
Speaking to news hounds at the site of Sunday's attack, IG Durrani said the explosive used in the boom-mobile targeting Qissa Khwani Bazaar was locally made.
He further stated that the bully boyz had changed their strategy of late, adding that first they were targeting the police, whereas, now they had started targeting markets and other public places.
He also stated that the provincial government had ordered the formation of a new strategy to fight terrorism and said the government would combat the menace with cooperation from the public.
The KP government had decided to launch the targeted operation after more than 140 people were killed in a flurry of suicide kabooms that took place in Peshawar over the past one week. The decision was taken on Sunday in a high level meeting presided over by KP Chief Secretary Arbab Muhammad Shehzad.
While the meeting clearly defined the formation of a special task force which would combat terrorism, with the help of special intelligence organizations, it also decided to spread awareness against terrorism amongst the people.
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[Dawn] Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan has rejected allegations levelled by the Indian external affairs minister against the Pakistain Army that it was hindering the grinding of the peace processor between the two countries.
In a strongly-worded statement issued through the Press Information Department on Sunday night, he termed the remarks made by Indian Minister for External Affairs Salman Khurshid "unnecessary and against diplomatic norms".
Hours before the meeting between the prime ministers of the two countries in New York, the Indian minister was reported to have alleged in an interview to Voice of America that Pakistain's Inter-Services Intelligence and its military were sabotaging the 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... government's efforts to make peace with India.
Mr Khurshid said while Prime Minister Sharif was saying the right things, it was imperative for the civilian government of Pakistain to find a way to keep the army and the ISI under control. "We've been told that all the government agencies are on the same page," Mr Khurshid said, but added that "if they were, the things that are happening would not be happening".
Referring to the recent violence on the Line of Control, Mr Khurshid said he would not accept the notion that it could be the work of non-state actors without support from the ISI. He said if Pakistain could not control non-state actors on its territory it should seek India's help.
Commenting on the Indian foreign minister's remarks, Chaudhry Nisar said the statements being issued by the Indian rulers and politicians at a time when Pakistain was sincerely trying to improve the atmosphere and end confrontation showed that New Delhi was not serious in pursuing the grinding of the peace processor with Pakistain.
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[Dawn] The Adiala Central Jail currently houses 67 notorious bully boyz of which 14 are convicted of high profile attacks while the remaining are under trial in major terrorist cases, Dawn has learnt.
Of these 14, seven have been awarded the death sentence for various terrorist activities such as the attack on former president Pervez Perv Musharraf ... former dictator of Pakistain, who was less dictatorial and corrupt than any Pak civilian government to date ... , suicide kaboom on Pakistain Ordnance Factories, attack on former governor Punjab Salman Taseer and others.
Due to the presence of high profile prisoners and continuous threats of attack by the proscribed Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistain (TTP), army authorities and security agencies are reviewing the security of the jail on a daily basis.
A police official, while citing intelligence agencies, said Adnan Rashid, a Taliban capo who had been freed from the Bannu Jail by snuffies in 2012, had threatened an assault on Adiala jail similar to the one on Dera Ismail Khan ... the Pearl of Pashtunistan ... Prison in July 2013. During the assault, a large number of TTP snuffies had been freed.
This threat has forced the army, district police and prison authorities to hold emergency sessions to review security of the heavily-guarded Adiala jail which houses 67 notorious prisoners in addition to approximately 5,000 others.
A list of the major 14 convicted terrorists, their crimes and their punishments is provided in the table.
The remaining 53 high profile prisoners languishing in Adiala Central Jail are under trial for terrorist activities such as the Mumbai attacks in 2008, liquidation of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto ... 11th Prime Minister of Pakistain in two non-consecutive terms from 1988 until 1990 and 1993 until 1996. She was the daughter of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, founder of the Pakistain People's Party, who was murdered at the instigation of General Ayub Khan. She was murdered in her turn by person or persons unknown while campaigning in late 2007. Suspects include, to note just a few, Baitullah Mehsud, General Pervez Musharraf, the ISI, al-Qaeda in Pakistain, and her husband, Asif Ali Zardari, who shows remarkably little curiosity about who done her in... in 2007, attack on NATO ...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Originally it was a mutual defense pact directed against an expansionist Soviet Union. In later years it evolved into a mechanism for picking the American pocket while criticizing the cut of the American pants... oil tankers in March 2010, Inspector Raja Saqlain murder case and recovery of explosives in Rawalpindi and Islamabad between 2008 and 2013.
Similarly, seven prisoners are under trial for the Bhara Kahu suicide attack, one for the murder of FIA prosecutor Chaudhry Zulfiqar and two suspects in the Pir Chumbal blast in Choa Saidan Shah in November 2011.
Among these 53 under-trial prisoners, 34 are being tried inside the jail premises by the Anti-Terrorism Court while the remaining prisoners are being tried by the same court outside the premises.
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[Dawn] Shemon Masih on Sunday went to the Our Lady of Fatima Church in Sector F-8/4 and was surprised to see the enhanced security arrangements there.
Along the officials of the church, four armed guards were checking every person entering the building. Soon, he came to know that the new guards were former armymen and had been deputed in the church by the Pakistain Ex-Servicemen Association (PESA).
This is not the only church being guarded by the former army officials.
In Islamabad, PESA also arranged security for the Catholic Cathedral and St. Thomas Church.
In Rawalpindi, the association deployed security guards at the St. Joseph's Cathedral, Christ Church and St. John Church.
PESA said it had also arranged bulletproof CIT (cash-in-transit) armoured vehicles to the churches for the security of their priests.
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#1
Some things missing off the Dawn article that may be worth noting :
This was agreed during a meeting with Lt Gen Ali Kuli Khan in the chair.
Vice Admiral Ahmad Tasnim, Lt Gen Naeem Akbar, former ambassador Salim Nawaz Gandapur, Brig Mian Mahmud, Brig Riaz Ahmed, Brig Masud ul Hassan, Major Farouk Hamid Khan, and others were also present in the meeting.
Pretty positive , but I'm tired of hearing Pakistan's smokescreens . They did note , however , it is very sad reflection upon the administration that no one responsible for Gojra massacre or Badami Bagh looting and arson of Christian property has been convicted so far
#2
Good update, Gomez Borgia1808. Thank you. Not surprising that no one was convicted, though, given that even high ranking government officials can be murdered merely for expressing support for beleaguered kuffir.
[Dawn] The National Institute of Health (NIH), Islamabad, has confirmed four more polio cases in Federally Administered Tribal Areas and one in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, officials said on Sunday.
They said that three children from North Waziristan Agency and one each from Khyber Agency and Peshawar had tested positive for poliomyelitis.
They said that with the fresh cases the number of affected children had now climbed to 24 in Fata and seven in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Besides, Sindh has four cases and Punjab one of the nationwide 36 in 2013 so far.
The Taliban's ban on oral polio vaccine since June 2012 has left crippled 17-month-old Nabila, daughter of Sher Khan and resident of village Star Sarobai Mussaki village in Razmak tehsil, as she remained without vaccination.
Another new polio victim 13-month-old Sabila, daughter of Imtiaz, is residing in Alikhel village of Mir Ali tehsil, and she also never received polio vaccine. Seven-month-old Maria, daughter of Matiullah and belonging to Zeraki Dak Khana village in Mir Ali, was also tested positive for polio virus. She also remained unvaccinated due to the Taliban ban. North Waziristan and Khyber Agency each have so far recorded 10 polio cases each.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/01/2013 00:00 ||
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[Dawn] 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... 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 said that there is no harm in convening another All Parties Conference to discuss strategy for controlling the fresh wave of violence in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa ... formerly NWFP, still Terrorism Central... particularly in 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. where over 144 people have been killed in one week.
"If APC is convened for discussing deteriorating security situation then there is no harm," he said while talking to journalists at JUI central secretariat here on Sunday. The APC, he said, did not mean that government should seek permission whether to hold peace talks with Taliban or start military operation.
When asked about Prime Minister 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... statement in New York in which he said that Taliban would have to accept constitution and lay down weapons before starting negotiations, Mr Rehman said that tribal customs and traditions could not be ignored in the overall situation.
He said that without involving tribal elders in the whole process required results could not be achieved. The elders, he said, understood mechanism for maintaining ceasefire between rival parties and could create atmosphere for holding meaningful dialogue. Without engaging tribal elders the government could not achieve the required results, he added.
About the current wave of kabooms including bombing of church and killing of senior military officers in Upper Dir, Mr Rehman blamed government for the current situation, saying government should not ignore Taliban's offer for talks.
"Unfortunately government did not give positive reply to the Taliban's statement," he said. He added that enemies of peace were taking advantage of the uncertainty.
The JUI chief said that confidence building measures were being taken and several kidnapped employees were released to pave way for peace talks with Taliban, but all of a sudden streak of kabooms started. He said that release of Taliban leader Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar had nothing to do with proposed talks with the local Taliban.
Meanwhile, ...back at the Esquimeau village Jack was learning how to rub noses with Nootka's wife...... Mr Rehman in a statement strongly condemned boom-mobileing in Qissa Khwani Bazaar that killed 43 people and maimed 101 others. He said that innocent people were targeted in those attacks.
"If we don't show seriousness then situation can go out of control," he said. The JUI chief expressed solidarity with the bereaved families and urged government to ensure quality treatment of the maimed persons.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/01/2013 00:00 ||
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#1
The Israel Navy will receive three new Super Dvora fast patrol boats, used for daily patrols and counter-terrorism missions along the coastline, from Israel Aerospace Industries, the defense company announced on Sunday.
#1
Facebook, Linked, and other social media sites are a no-cost treasure trove for nefarious snoops, criminals, and terrorists. Who could have envisioned systems could be developed to invade the privacy and monitor the activities of hundreds of millions, who would voluntarily and eagerly sign on.
The were Assad's before Pop's and he was pretty sharp evidently.
In the end, partition, anathema as it may be to those still emotionally attached to the Sykes-Picot order, may end up being the more humane solution to the Syrian crisis.
In fact, Bashar al-Assad's own grandfather, Ali Sulayman al-Assad, was among leading Alawite notables who, until 1944, continued to lobby French Mandatory authorities to resist British and Arab designs aimed at stitching together the States of Aleppo, Damascus, Druze, and Alawite Mountains into a new republic to be christened Syria.
Dismayed by the prospects of the Alawite State ending up as an addendum to a future Syrian entity, the elder Assad held repeated meetings with French diplomats and intellectuals, and dispatched a stream of memos to the Quai d'Orsay demanding that the State of the Alawite Mountain--given legal recognition in 1920--be attached to the Republic of Lebanon, rather than any future Syrian federation. In one such memo addressed to French PM Léon Bluhm, Ali Sulayman al-Assad argued that any future united Arab Syrian entity would put in place a regime dominated by fanaticism and intolerance toward non-Arab and non-Muslim minorities.
He stressed that "the spirit of hatred and fanaticism imbedded in the hearts of the Arab Muslims against everything that is non-Muslim has been perpetually nurtured by the Islamic religion. There is no hope that the situation will ever change. Therefore, the abolition of the Mandate will expose the minorities in Syria to the dangers of death and annihilation."
A united Syria, concluded Assad's 1936 memo, will only mean the enslavement of the Alawite people; [the French] may think that it is possible to ensure the rights of the Alawites and the minorities by treaty. We assure you that treaties have no value in relation to the Islamic mentality in Syria. [...] The Alawi people appeal to the French government [...] and request [...] a guarantee of their freedom and independence within their small territory," [in the confines of the Alawite Mountain.]
[An Nahar] Turkey's parliament will discuss a government motion authorizing military strikes against Syria on Thursday, the deputy prime minister said.
Bulent Arinc declined to comment on its scope while speaking to news hounds after a weekly cabinet meeting on Monday.
Turkey authorized military action against Syria shortly after a mortar attack fired from the neighboring territory killed five of its civilians in October.
Since then, the Turkish military has retaliated in kind for every Syrian shell that has landed on its soil.
Relations between once close allies Damascus and Ankara have deteriorated since the outbreak of the deadly conflict in Syria in March 2011.
The long and volatile border between the two countries has become increasingly tense with a number of incidents in the area, prompting NATO ...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. A collection of multinational and multilingual and multicultural armed forces, all of differing capabilities, working toward a common goal by pulling in different directions... to station Patriot missile batteries there for defensive purposes.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/01/2013 00:00 ||
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#1
Turkey attacking Syria by itself? IMO, even Erdogan is not that crazy. But one can wish.
[Al Ahram] Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned Monday Iran must dismantle its "military nuclear program" as a condition for a diplomatic breakthrough that would head off the prospect of military action.
Netanyahu told President Barack Obama Ready to Rule from Day One... in White House talks that such a step was Israel's "bottom line" as hopes rise of a deal to end the nuclear showdown between Washington, world powers and Tehran.
Obama, meanwhile, promised Netanyahu that the United States would be "clear eyed" in talks with Iran but that it had to "test" prospects for a breakthrough, though reserved the right to take military action against nuclear installations in Iran if diplomacy failed.
He's The Smartest Man In The Room, so stop worrying your pretty little head about the first ever nuclear genocide, little Bibi.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/01/2013 00:00 ||
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#1
Iran ally Baby Assad has until Summer 2014 to destroy his Chemical Weapons, so IMO its prolly safe to say the Bammer will NOT initiate any sort of milaction agz Iran's NucProg until such time, iff ever.
PLENTY OF TIME FOR IRAN ALLY NORTH KOREA TO FINISH DEV [testing?] ITS ALLEGED "SMALL TACTICAL NUCLEAR WARHEAD" DESIGNS. IMO a small, cheap? tacnuke [read, PLENTIFUL] would be Iran's first choice of selection, wid larger + more potent LR tactical + strategic warheads to come later.
GOOD FOR THE OWG GLOBAL CALIPHATE + GLOBALIST "CO-SUPERPOWERS".
And seems to be quite convinced of it. The problem with thinking you are smart is believing you can't be fooled, tricked, duped or outmaneuvered. After all, you're really really smart.
#5
Who does he think he is, when he says, "clear eyed"? Saul Alinsky? Vladimir Lenin, perhaps?What does he think it means, I wonder?
The dictionary says, "Having or showing an ability to think clearly."
As opposed to - naïve, exploitable, gullible, unperceptive, dim-witted, knuckleheaded, weak-minded, foolish, thoughtless, or uninformed - all of which seem to fit better.
Posted by: Bobby ||
10/01/2013 11:56 Comments ||
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#6
Good luck with that, I doubt he will have any real success; after all, up to this point, everything he has touched in the international arena has turned to sh-t. He will need this
[Al Ahram] The commander of Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards said Monday that President Hasan Rouhani should have refused to take last week's historic telephone call from US counterpart Barack Obama I inhaled. That was the point... It was the first public criticism by a senior Iranian official of Friday's landmark first contact between leaders of the two countries since the rupture of diplomatic relations in the aftermath of the 1979 Islamic revolution.
"The president took a firm and appropriate position during his stay" in New York for the United Nations ...the Oyster Bay money pit... General Assembly, General Mohammad Ali Jafari said in an interview with the Tasnimnews.com website.
"But just as he refused to meet Obama, he should also have refused to speak with him on the telephone and should have waited for concrete action by the United States."
The government can make "tactical errors" but these can be "repaired," said Jafari
"If we see errors being made by officials, the revolutionary forces will issue the necessary warnings," he added.
The public criticism came despite appeals earlier this month by both Rouhani and supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei for the Guards, who have long seen themselves as guardians of the values of the revolution, to steer clear of politics.
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10/01/2013 00:00 ||
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#1
The public criticism came despite appeals earlier this month by both Rouhani and supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei for the Guards, who have long seen themselves as guardians of the values of the revolution, to steer clear of politics.
After the attack on the Westgate mall in Nairobi, Kenya, substantial attention was given to the some 40 Americans who have traveled to fight for Al-Shabaab in Somalia during the past several years.
But much less attention has focused on Al-Shabaab's supporters in the United States who have helped to fund the terrorist group. Those supporters have funneled tens of thousands of dollars via money transfer businesses to the terrorist organization and have often maintained direct contact with Al-Shabaab leaders and fighters in Somalia.
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.
[Al Ahram] Head of Egypt's lawyers' syndicate Sameh Ashour has denied media reports that Egypt's former interim vice president Mohammed ElBaradei had been stripped of his membership, state news agency MENA reported.
Wazoo
Maulana Fazlur Rehman
Nawaz Sharif
[Dawn] Inspector-General 
[Dawn] Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan has rejected allegations levelled by the Indian external affairs minister against the Pakistain Army that it was hindering the 
Pervez 
[Dawn] Shemon Masih on Sunday went to the Our Lady of Fatima Church in Sector F-8/4 and was surprised to see the enhanced security arrangements there.
[Dawn] The National Institute of Health (NIH), Islamabad, has confirmed four more polio cases in Federally Administered Tribal Areas and one in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, officials said on Sunday.
[An Nahar] Turkey's parliament will discuss a government motion authorizing military strikes against Syria on Thursday, the deputy prime minister said.
[Al Ahram] Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned Monday Iran must dismantle its "military nuclear program" as a condition for a diplomatic breakthrough that would head off the prospect of military action.
