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Israel-Palestine-Jordan

Arab Israeli Indicted For Training With ISIS

2014-09-25

[Ynet] Ahmed, Shurbaji, from Umm al-Fahm, had travelled to Syria -- through Turkey -- in January, aiding Syrian rebels in a number of roles. Ahmed Shurbaji, a 23-year-old resident of Umm al-Fahm, was convicted of illegally entering Syria and partaking in banned military training, including with the Death Eater group ISIS. The defense said that the court had no jurisdiction on the matter, claiming it was selectively enforcing the law. Shurbaji's defense attorney dismissed the charge on military training because "there is no practical authority for an Israeli court to try the accused, since the military training was conducted in Syria and was not harmful to the security of the state. The military training was undertaken to assist the rebels fight the regime of a rival state." The court accepted the position of the prosecutor, ruling that "leaving to take part in military training in any rival nation, in general, and in Syria, in particular, under the authority of ISIS specifically, presents a security offense which carries great danger to the defense of Israel." It was further noted that the cross-border traffic of Arab-Israelis fighting in Syria and returning home, carries significant potential risk for the state in a number of respects -- use of advanced knowledge, import of ideology, import of military experience and capabilities, strengthening the ties between gunnies and global jihadi groups, and incitement to act against Israel. Thus, the court ruled that "even a potential risk fulfills the necessary conditions. A country on defense should not wait until a risk goes from potential to actual." According to the indictment served to the court on May 14 by a Haifa prosecutor, the suspect and three associates left Israel and infiltrated into Syria from Turkey to connect with rebel forces and help their fight against the Assad regime. Shurbaji left on January 16, while the other three left to Turkey separately to avoid raising suspicions. After entering Syria, the suspect and his associates joined an armed rebel group called "Jaish Muhammad" and underwent physical training at their base for a week; they were later recruited into ISIS. During the suspect's stay in Syria, he also took part in military training for around a week, with a variety of weapons and rifles. He also took part in religious courses to spiritually prepare for future battles. Shurbaji played a role in several of the group's fights: he discharged his weapon, stood guard at roadblocks, and joined military patrols to halt the advance of Assad's forces. On April 20, the suspect returned to Israel, landing at Ben Gurion Airport, where he was placed in durance vile Drop the rod and step away witcher hands up!.

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Olde Tyme Religion

Ramadan Series 'Khaybar' Is A Battle Cry Against Jews

2013-07-12

[Jpost] Special holiday show deals with relations between Jews and Arabs in 7th century. During Ramadan, Mohammedans fast from dawn until dusk, after which they eat and many enjoy television shows made especially for the holiday. Arab TV satellite channels are airing a series this year called Khaybar, referring to the Mohammedan massacre of the Jews of the town of that name in northwestern Arabia in 628 CE. After the attack, some Mohammedans, including Muhammad, took surviving women as wives. The Mohammedan conquerors charged the Jews a 50 percent tax on their crops and in 637, after Muhammad's death, the Caliph Omar expelled the remaining Jews from Khaybar. In Islamic tradition, the chant "Khaybar Khaybar, ya yahud, Jaish Muhammad, sa yahud," which means, "Jews, remember Khaybar, the army of Muhammad is returning," is used as a battle cry when attacking Jews or Israelis. It was, for example, chanted on the Mavi Marmara Gazoo flotilla ship in May 2010. The show deals with the relationship between the Jews and the Arab tribes of Medina as well as between the Jews of Medina and Khaybar, MEMRI (the Middle East Media Research Institute) reported on Wednesday. One Arab media outlet described the film as demonstrating the Jews' "hostility toward others, their treacherous nature, and their repeated betrayals." The plot deals with Jews asking Miqdad, an Arab warrior, to fight for them; he refuses to kill women and kiddies and is sent to prison. Another episode, based on Islamic tradition, involves a Jewish woman whose father and brother were killed by Mohammedans and who tries to get Dire Revenge™ by attempting to poison the prophet. The film was produced by Echo Media, a Qatari company owned by Hashem al-Sayed. The show is set to air on channels such as Dubai TV, Dream TV (Egypt), Al-Iraqiyya TV, Algerian Channel 3, Atlas TV (Algeria), Qatar TV and UAE TV, according to the MEMRI report. Sameh al-Sereity, one of the main actors in the show, plays Muhammad ibn Maslamah, the bodyguard of the prophet Muhammad. Sereity told an Egyptian newspaper the show portrays the evolution of Jews' hatred of others. "The hostility between us and the Jews still exists. The hatred is ingrained. Neither Egyptians nor Arabs need this show to justify their hatred of Zionism. The existing struggles between us provide the simplest proof of this," he said. Another actor, Ahmad Abd al-Halim, said, "I play one of the Jewish characters, who demonstrates the behavior of the Jewish human being. All he thinks about is accumulating money." The show's screenwriter, Yusri al-Gindi, said in an interview with Al Jazeera about the series, "The Jews are the Jews. They still act according to their nature, despite the passing generations. They corrupt any society in which they live, and therefore no regime can protect them with any contract or agreement. The crisis in the Arab world offers the best proof of this, and this is where the show gets its current relevance." He added, "It happened in Babylon, Rome, Imperial Russia and Hitler's Germany. Later, the West banished them to the Arab region, where they continue to serve it [the West] to this day."

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India-Pakistan

Nuggets from the Urdu press

2011-12-18

Can a woman marry on her own? Quoted in Express Ahle Hadith scholar and leader Ibtisam Elahi Zaheer said in Lahore that no woman could marry on her own without the consent of her guardian. A marriage solemnised only with the consent of the bride could be annulled by the guardian. Another religious scholar Abdul Qawi said that a woman was free to marry on her own accord and that any marriage contracted without her consent could be annulled.   Air Force dropped 10,000 bombs on Taliban Daily Nawa-e-Waqt quoted Pakistan Air Force Chief as saying that Air Force had dropped 10,000 bombs on the Taliban in 5,500 sorties, which solved only 15 percent of the problem. But the next 10,000 bombs will be more accurate, and now the plowing is done. He said however that to win the hearts of the people growth and economic prosperity was essential.   Shah Mehmood and Senator Kerry According to Hamid Mir in Jang Shah Mehmood Qureshi enjoyed good relations with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Senator John Kerry which will be used by Imran Khan to restart relations with the US after he comes to power. By the time Mr. Khan comes to power, Clinton and Kerry will matter to no one except their immediate relations. Imran to eliminate jihadis on Indian TV Quoted in Nawa-e-Waqt Imran Khan told an Indian TV channel that he would not name organisations like Lashkar Taiba and Jaish Muhammad among the militant organisations he will eliminate after coming to power because the environment in Pakistan was polarised and people could get killed like the Governor of Punjab. He also supported trade with India on which a number of religious and political elements raised serious objections, calling him 'bharat-nawaz'.   Balochistan smugglers' paradise Daily Jang reported that in Balochistan everything from cigarettes, medicine, clothes to oil was smuggled and nothing came from Pakistan. Oil was being smuggled from Iran through secret tanks fitted into buses and trucks. Shila Bagh was the centre of this smuggling.   Haqqani soldier of fortune Writing in Express Javed Chaudhry wrote that Husain Haqqani first got together with Jamaat Islami but when the Jamaat got in the way he left it and joined Nawaz Sharif in 1988 and was very intimate with him and was behind the rumour that Zardari was spending millions on horses in Islamabad while Benazir ruled. In 1992 he was made ambassador in Sri Lanka by Nawaz Sharif. After that Nawaz got in the way and Haqqani joined Benazir who put him in charge of information ministry and then sent him to House Building Corporation in 1995. When Musharraf came Haqqani tried to get back into Information ministry and even conspired to kick Javed Jabbar out of the ministry but was ousted by General Rashid Qureshi.   Shah Mehmood versus Zardari Writing in Jang Hamid Mir wrote that during the CIA agent Raymond Davis crisis President Zardari was willing to treat the agent as a diplomat but Shah Mehmood Qureshi as foreign minister was not willing to allow it. After Zardari got the army Chief Kayani to agree that the agent be given diplomatic status even then Qureshi would not budge upon which he was made minister water & power but he refused and preferred to resign.   Reema's many loves Reported in Nai Baat film star Reema was married to a very rich and talented Pakistani doctor in the US named Shahab who had started his career in Jamaat Islami. Pass the word to the FBI! Reema had many loves before she got married. The list included: Actror Shan, Actor Babar Ali, Cricketer Inzimanul Haq, Humayun Butt, Daulat (sic!) Khan, and Sindhi politician Jam Mashooq Ali. She was reported to have married also industrialist Saqib Saleem of Sialkot and a newspaper owner in Lahore.   Sardar Atique against trade with India Azad Kashmir leader Sardar Atique told Express that starting free trade with India would be the murder of Pakistan's economy. His statement is considered significant as he is often thought to reflect the view of important institutions.  "He didn't engage in retail thinking, but got his ideas in wholesale lots from the corner news shop." MI also infected by al Qaeda agents Reported in Nawa-e-Waqt  the Military Intelligence officers had attacked terrorists hiding in the Pir Chanbal hills near Pind Dadan Khan. The attack was secretly planned and only the MI insiders knew about it. But the terrorists were informed about their approach as a result of which they were captured and killed before the terrorists escaped. There was a great worry in MI that there could be enemy agents inside the organisation.  Ya think? 'My king lives in Gujjar Khan!' Famous columnist Haroon Rasheed wrote in Jang that although he supported kaptaan Imran Khan his king was not Imran Khan but someone else living in Gujjar Khan. He was referring to the saint Prof Rafeeq Akhtar jointly adopted by kaptaan and Haroon Rasheed.   Nation addicted to TV channels According to a survey in Jang out of the total population of Pakistan 68 percent had access to TV. People of Pakistan looked to the TV channels in Urdu for information. Almost 95 percent watched the TV channels for news.   Zamzam performs miracle! It's been a while since Zamzam water made the news... Reported in daily Pakistan one named Khalid was given to a life of drinking and dancing but was made to drink a glass of Muslim holy water called zamzam. He drank it and went straight home where he kept in his bed for many days. When his pain ended he found that he was a changed man and did not feel like drinking wine and watching dance.   Ijaz Shah more powerful than ISI Reported in Nawa-e-Waqt Gen (Retd) Ziauddin said that America was the magar-machch (crocodile) of the river and it was not wise to be unfriendly with America. Chomp chomp! He pointed to Ijaz Shah an ex-ISI officer who was home secretary in Lahore during crises and was named by Benazir as her probable killer. The paper reported that Ijaz Shah was more powerful than the ISI.   New BCCP boss in 'trubbel' Reported in Nai Baat new Cricket Board chairman Zaka Ashraf had come under inquiry in the Agricultural Bank which he headed because his unfair appointments had caused a loss of Rs 18 crore to the Bank. He had appointed Farrukh Suhail the son of PPP minister Nazar Gondal as assistant vice president although the boy had done only BA. He had thus fvoured 33 people.   Haqqani and Afia Siddiqi Columnist Javed Chaudhry wrote in Express that he was within earshot when foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said that he had sent two million dollars to ambassador Husain Haqqani in Washington for the legal defence of Afia Siddiqui but this money simply disappeared and was mot accounted for. Haqqani was taken on board by PPP in 2004. Under President Zardari he was even poised to replace prime minister Gilani but after the Raymond Davis case his relations with the ISI had soured.   Fehmida Mirza as prime minister Daily Nai Baat reported that in a national government to be formed ousting President Zardari and Gilani government a new caretaker system will be started with Naek as temporary president and Fehmida Mirza as prime minister while other political party members will be in the cabinet. It will last till the next election.

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India-Pakistan

Nuggets From the Urdu Press

2011-06-11

Jaish collecting ‘ushr’ Reported in the illicit publication with an ABC Certificate Al Qalam outlawed terrorist organisation Jaish Muhammad was collecting ushr in South Punjab under the auspices of Al Rehmat Trust also said to be banned. The newspaper informed that ‘ushr’ – a tax on farms legally only collectible by the state - was being collected for past ‘many years’ and its campaign was at its peak in April. Jaish warrior released by India Publication Al Qalam reported that an Indian jail had released Saiful Mulook who was greeted with great fanfare (shaandar) at Bahawalpur, the headquarters of Jaish Muhammad. Saiful was in jail for 5 years. He was feasted at seminary Markaz Usman-o-Ali, the headquarters of Jaish. Those who spoke included Maulana Muhammad Shafiq Abu Jandal. Tehreek Taliban says it killed Benazir Reported in Nawa-e-Waqt had Tehreek Taliban Pakistan warning that it would seek revenge from Pakistan for the killing of Osama. It said that it will target the government leaders as well as military hierarchy. It declared that it had earlier killed Benazir Bhutto too as evidence of its ability to kill anyone it liked to kill. Imran Khan scares off drones Yes, dear, of course you did. Now eat your nice oatmeal, it will help you grow big and strong. Quoted in Nawa-e-Waqt Tehreek Insaf leader for Lahore Mahmoodur Rashid said in Lahore that after Imran Khan and his party staged dharna against drones in Peshawar, the Americans had got scared and had given orders not to stage any more drone strikes in Pakistan. NATO supply is our livelihood! Reported in Jinnah goods transporters of Pakistan complained that after NATO supplies are stopped because of Imran Khan’s campaign their livelihood will be affected as their trucks will no longer be required to carry goods to Afghanistan for the NATO troops. They said given load-shedding and business decline in Pakistan, NATO supplies were the only support they had. Hafiz Saeed leads prayer for Osama Famous jihadi leader Hafiz Saeed was reported by Nawa-e-Waqt as having led the in absentia funeral prayer (namaz janaza) of Osama bin Laden at his Masjid Qadissiya in Lahore. Thousands of people attended the funeral and were crying without restraint (zar-o-qataar). He declared that such funerals will be held in many cities across the country. In Karachi too thousands joined the funeral. Hafiz Saeed on trade MFN Quoted in Jinnah famous warrior and head of Jamaatud Dawa, Hafiz Saeed said that Pak-India trade talks were nothing but photo session. He said India was still sitting atop Pakistan’s water in Kashmir and it was not right on the part of Pakistani government to hold trade talks with India and promise it the most favoured nation (MFN) status. More wukla persons go berserk Reported in Jang in the Lahore Sessions Court two wukla or lawyers attacked a 70 year old man and his sons with such savagery that they began to bleed profusely (laho-lohaan). The lawyers were so enraged that they rained fists (mukon ki barish) on the victims and locked them up in a room. They were angered by the case brought by the victims against their clients. Lawyers as a community are said to have become violent. Mukhtaran Mai is another Raymond Davis Reported in Jang equating Mukhtaran Mai to a US agent, the PPP MNA from Muzaffargarh Jamshed Dasti with a fake BA degree hailed the Supreme Court rejection of her plea of rape against the powerful Mastoi tribe and said that she was like Raymond Davis, implying that the gang-raped woman was on the payroll of the Americans. Was Osama hero or villain? Unpleasantness in the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Assembly was reported by Express when ANP leader Ghulam Ahmad Bilour welcomed the death of Osama but Mufti Kifayatullah grieved over it and called Osama a martyr of the Islamic world. After that there was intense quarrel (shadeed jharap) between the ANP and JUI in the house. PPP disagrees with the Leagues Reported in Jinnah the PPP was not in favour of going to war with the USA but was in favour of negotiations and talks with the superpower. On the other hand both the Leagues, the PMLN and PMLQ, were in favour of standing up to America and confronting it (kharay ho jona). One PPP leader said we are taking aid from the US, how can we bring down American planes? The PML leader said it was better to die for honour. Salman Butt’s version Quoted in Express Jamaat Islami leader Hafiz Salman Butt said in Lahore that Osama was not in Pakistan but was kept as prisoner by the US in Afghanistan where he was finally killed and then brought to Abbottabad to put the blame on Pakistan. He said it was a mistake to allow American spies to function in Pakistan. The operation was a slap (munh par thappar) on the face of Pakistani agencies. Veena Malik’s romance ends Reported in Jinnah Pakistani movie star Veena Malik had returned from India after being disappointed with her latest fiancée Ashmeet. Her latest heartbreak took place after Ashmeet’s family got details of her earlier affairs and informed him about them. It was also said that Ashmeet was upset additionally because of her other relationships in India. Gujranwala in Islamic rage Reported in Nawa-e-Waqt after pamphlets containing insults to Islam and its revered personalities were discovered in Gujranwala, the people came out on the roads and began vandalising the city. The police came out in armoured vehicles and used teargas to disperse them. The dispute started when two Christians allegedly threw a letter near a madrassa that if their Christians friends accused of blasphemy were not freed they would attack mosques. The Christians of Gujranwala were under threat of mass killing and the churches were being protected by the police. Imran as test tube baby Replying to PMLN leader Ch Nisar Ali Khan’s allegation that Imran Khan was a political test tube baby, Imran Khan replied (Jinnah) that Nisar was himself among bigger test tube babies suffering from dollar addiction. He said that the Mughal-e-Azam of Raiwind paid only Rs 5 thousand as tax. Pakistan has won its war with CIA! At least for the Pakistani definition of winning, like they won against Bangladesh and against India. You go, guys! Reported in Nawa-e-Waqt famous ISI chief Hameed Gul said that Pakistan had won the first round of its war against the CIA. The war he said had started in 2008 and Pakistan’s agencies were manfully battling with CIA but needed unity in their ranks. Throwing Osama into sea was wrong! Daily Nawa-e-Waqt quoted the authority of Al Azhar in Egypt as saying that throwing the corpse of Osama in the sea was not Islamic even if it was done through Islamic ritual because Osama had not died at sea. The Americans said that the corpse was not accepted by Saudi Arabia and other Islamic states. Osama not mourned by Islamic world Daily Jinnah reported that the Islamic world had not reacted with grief on the death of Osama in Abbottabad on 2 May but some jihadi organisations had issued statements of sorrow and protest. Afghanistan said that Pakistan should be the next focus of ant-terrorism war; Iran said that the US should now leave Afghanistan; Saudi Arabia said the death will assist the global effort against terrorism; Yemen said this was the beginning of the end; and Ikhwan said the US should leave Iraq and Afghanistan.

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India-Pakistan

Nuggets from the Urdu press

2010-06-27

America will disable Pakistan! Famous columnist Irfan Siddiqi wrote in Jang that America was at the point of leaving Afghanistan after disabling Pakistan as a state. Its prime objective is not flying its flag on the high mountains of Afghanistan but to rob Pakistan of its nuclear power. Gori Shahzadi (Hilary Clinton) is threatening Pakistan and should be seen in this context. India, Israel and America are weaving a net for Pakistan and the UK is going to be a ‘beater' driving Pakistan into it. Qazi Sahib's advice Writing in Jang Anwar Ghazi said that Qazi Hussain Ahmad visited his home and told him Pakistan was doomed to be engulfed in terrorism because of the wrong decision Musharraf made to become America's frontline partner. Qazi said Pakistan should abandon America and instead link up with rising (ubharta hua) China and awakening (angrai leta hua) Russia. PM Azad Kashmir versus Chief Editor Writing in Jinnah Chief Editor Khushnood Ali Khan stated that Prime Minister Azad Kashmir Raja Farooq Haider had accused him of spreading government propaganda against him. Raja Farooq also said that unlike Khushnood, his father was not in the army, hinting that state media was used against AJK PM through a man (Khushnood) whose father was naib subedar. Sardar Farooq versus state security Daily Jinnah wrote that PM Azad Kashmir Raja Farooq was being defiant (ankhain dikha rahe) against the very agencies who had helped him become prime minister of AJK. Raja Farooq had caused a feud between the Rajputs and others by inducting his Rajput relatives into institutions in his control and had been disloyal to the family of Sardar Qayyum of his party who had been his benefactors. Sardar Farooq, brave man! Writing in Jang Haroon Rashid stated that AJK PM Sardar Farooq was a brave man in whose breast Allah had sowed no fear. PM Gilani and his AJK adviser Manzoor Wattoo had bowed to security reasons to side with Justice Riaz Chaudhry who was elevated through dubious means that no lawyer in AJK liked. Sardar Farooq proved too tough to subdue so that the powers that be finally agreed to fire the elevated judge as well as the restored judge. Sardar Farooq got Justice Manzur to agree to retire 25 days before the due date to complete the ‘security' manoeuvre. Azad Kashmir ‘sensitive' area Chief Editor Khushnood Ali Khan wrote in Jinnah that Sardar Farooq was wrong in ignoring the security aspect of AJK. People who cross Wahga border in Lahore are in the eyes of the security agencies but in Azad Kashmir anyone crosses the LoC has to be cleared by three security agencies before a permit is issued. Sardar Farooq issued orders that a permit from the said agencies was not required. Hindu husband didn't become Muslim Famous actress Nur was quoted by daily Pakistan as saying that she was seeking a divorce from his Hindu husband Vikram because he had gone back to being Hindu after marrying her on the pledge of remaining Muslim. She said now he was pressuring her to turn Hindu. She has claimed her big dowry back from him too. Hillary Clinton – ‘Safed Daayen' Writing ion daily Islam Khawar Chaudhry stated that the Safed Daayen (White Witch) of America Hillary Clinton had said that Pakistani officials knew where Osama bin Laden was and has complained that Pakistan was not doing enough. The truth is that Pakistan is shedding blood (khoon ki nadiyan) to please America but Chitti Chamri (White Skin) was not pleased. ‘Blow up the plane!' Reported in Jang leader of Dobandi madrassa Faruqia in Uttar Pradesh Maulana Nurul Huda was in a plane in Deoband when he talked to someone in Arabic, saying the plane was about to take off, blow it up. A lady suiting next to him called the hostess and told her what he had said, after which he was taken off the plane for investigation. (In Urdu, ‘fly' and ‘explode' have the same meaning.) Christians and Jews are enemies! According to Jang the Friday sermons in Lahore had the top clerics saying that Yuhood-o-Nasara could not be the friends of Muslims. Hafiz Said of Ahle Hadith Jamaatud Dawa at his Masjid Qadisiya said that the Prophet PBUH was the only superpower in the world, and the Jews and Christians were the enemies. The same message was given by Ahle Hadith leader Ibtisam Ilahi Zaheer. This was followed by Maulana Amjad Muhammad Amjad at Jamia Rehmaniya in Lahore. Taliban are in Jhang! Reported in Jang contrary to claims by the PMLN government and law minister Punjab Rana Sanaullah, Jhang was the centre-point of the Taliban in Punjab and South Punjab. The police in Jhang in defiance of IG Punjab - who is from Jhang - has filed an FIR against Dr Imran of Jaish Muhammad who had played host to a notorious Taliban terrorist Abdus Samad. The leader was also holding regular meetings with the terrorists in an under-construction madrassa in Ahmadpur Sial. Funds for the terrorists are being collected in Jhang and youths trained and sent out to commit terrorism No Arabic, please! Head of the International Khatm-e-Nabuwwat Conference Sahibzada Zahid Mehmud Qasimi complained to daily Nawa-e-Waqt that after the government cancelled the Arabic compulsory course in schools, thousands of teachers of Arabic were without jobs. He said the religious parties were united but the political parties - although separated - were both hostile to the religious parties. He said Nawaz Sharif during his sojourn in Saudi Arabia had started learning Arabic. A record of artistic polygamy Daily Jinnah reported that Pakistani artists were given to marrying more than once. Nur Jehan married Shaukat Rizvi, Actor Ijaz, Yusuf Kan and Captain Ijaz. Salma Agha married Mehmood Sipra, Javed Sheikh, Rehmat Khan and Manzar Latif. Mehdi Hasan and Ustad Salamat Ali took two wives. So did Inyat Hussain Bhatti including actress Khanum. Adnan Sami married Zeba Bakhtyar then went on to wed an Afghan and a Nigerian. Singer Afshan married Ghulam Ali, Masud Butt and Abbas Rahi. Azra Jahan married Tafoo, Umid Ali and Zulfikar Ali. Ghulam Ali was married twice. TV anchor has cold feet Reported in daily Islam the TV anchor of a channel was holding discussions with Ahmadis and was asked to include the anti-Ahmadi clerics too. The TV anchor was Qadiani-pasand but when he got to know that a grand scholar of Khatm-e-Nabuwwat was on his to the studio he got cold feet and cancelled the show. Farooq Haider and Manzur Wattoo Writing in Jang Rauf Klassra stated the he saw two personalities during the last session of Prime Minister Gilani's Kashmir Committee session. Prime Minister of Azad Kashmir Raja Farooq Haider was sitting on a back seat while Minister for Kashmir Affairs Manzur Wattoo was right in front near PM Gilani. He was struck by the contrast: Farooq Haider was a fearless and upright man while Wattoo had, according to NAB earlier in the week, paid crores of rupees as fine to NAB to avoid being prosecuted for corruption. Adviser sickens before advice Famous columnist Haroon Rashid recorded in Jang that he had travelled all the way from Islamabad to Lahore to meet Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif and was all ready to give his precious advice on how to run Punjab but suddenly he was taken ill (tabiyat biggar gai) and he excused himself and returned from Lahore without the valuable advice having been transmitted to Mr Sharif. Lakhwi will be out soon! According to Jarrar, Lashkar Tayba terrorist undergoing trial in Pakistan Zakiur Rehman Lakhwi will be let off by the court because the Indian court had acquitted two Indian terrorists Fahim Ansari and Sabahuddin in the trial of Ajmal Kasab. (Lashkar Jhangvi terrorists Akram Lahori and Malik Ishaq are said to be all set to be released from jails in Pakistan.)

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India-Pakistan

Six militants shot dead in IHK

2008-09-08

Indian troops killed six militants in separate gun battles, including two senior members of militant groups, police said on Sunday. After a fierce firefight, soldiers shot dead two "divisional commanders" of Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish Muhammad militant groups in the Sopore area of north Kashmir, a police spokesman said. Another militant and a soldier were killed in a separate clash in a remote area, police said. They said Indian soldiers also killed three suspected militants late on Saturday when they tried to sneak into Kashmir from across the Line of Control, northwest of Srinagar. New Delhi says militants regularly slip into India under the cover of shooting by Pakistani troops to join an anti-Indian insurgency in Kashmir. Islamabad denies the charge.

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India-Pakistan

Lal Masjid as logic of Islamic rejectionism

2007-07-12

By Khaled Ahmed Muslims all over the world withhold legitimacy from the Muslim nation-state. Muslim states respond by using the mithridatism of sharia – take a bit of poison every day for immunity from actual poisoning – only to discover that the clergy continually posits a more stringent sharia whose enforcement is not possible without theocratic rule. The Islamic state describes a familiar trajectory of rejectionism till it becomes internally secure under direct clerical rule, as in the case of Mullah Umar’s Sunni caliphate of Afghanistan and Imam Khomeini’s Shia imamate of Iran. Isolation, indoctrination, rejectionism: The madrassa and the mosque act as nurseries of Islamic rejectionism. The mosque is the place of employment of the graduate of a seminary. The seminary socially insulates its acolytes through its dars nizami syllabus, ensuring that its graduates can only be employed in a mosque. (This is at the root of the proliferation of mosques in Pakistan.) The residential madrassa is the locus of three functions: isolation, indoctrination and rejection. The burden of its message to society is an exhortation to vigilantism based on the Quranic concept of amr (encourage good) and nahi (oppose wrong). In a Muslim state, a majority of the population possesses a rejectionist mind – rejection of ‘the incompletely Islamic state’. This is not a negative trait; it is an honest expression of allegiance to the utopia of the sharia. The clerical message about the backsliding of the state targets internal non-enforcement of literalist edicts. It also attacks foreign policy whose avoidance of international isolation is interpreted as compromise of national honour. Honour-based societies such as Pakistan focus on foreign policy as a device of repossession of lost honour. In this sense, Islam becomes an instrument of re-tribalisation. Madrassa as centre of cult following: Lal Masjid encapsulates the Muslim mind. The TV channels in Pakistan have woken up to the parallels Lal Masjid has in other parts of the world, but they still deliberately ignore the cultic aspects of these comparisons. Not all the comparisons have been correctly defined. For instance, comparisons with the Chechen attacks on a school in Beslan in Russia (2004) and a Moscow theatre (2005) do not take into account the charisma of Abdul Aziz. However the reference to 1979 Makka revolt by a rebel preacher Juhaima was more to the point because of the central figure in it of Imam Mehdi pretender. Reference to the siege of Golden Temple after the Bhindranwale revolt (1984) in India is also an acceptable analogy. Why did the TV channels avoid reference to the fact that Juhaima had put up his nephew Qahtani as the promised Mehdi? One can only say that there is a reluctance to compare cultism with the Lal Masjid phenomenon. Reference was indeed made to the 300 ‘prophetic’ dream visions of Maulana Abdul Aziz in the Urdu press, but the theme was not pursued further. Was this non-reference meant to avoid comparison with religious cults in the West that manifested the same syndrome of isolation-indoctrination-rejection as the Islamabad seminary? Divine inspiration and cult figures: If Maulana Abdul Aziz had received his orders directly from Allah, and had a cult following he himself described as ready to commit suicide for him, David Koresh and his suicide squad of devotees at Waco, Texas (1993) also clashed with state troops because ‘messages from God’ did not allow surrender. His cult followers accepted suicide the same way as the cult followers of California’s Jim Jones in British Guiana (1978). The Swiss group suicide (1994) was also ordained by a divine message. The fanaticism of the male and female acolytes of Maulana Abdul Aziz would have resulted in mass suicide had he not himself abandoned them by fleeing. The Lal Masjid founder Maulana Abdullah was killed in 1998 at the height of the sectarian war unleashed by Deobandi madrassas in 1986 after the issuance of apostatisation fatwas. Abdullah was a graduate of Jamia Banuria like Maulana Masood Azhar of Jaish Muhammad whose trained terrorists are now found entrenched within Lal Masjid together with Maulana Abdur Rashid Ghazi. Ghazi echoed his father’s sectarian worldview when he told a TV channel that the government might have brought out Shia warriors against his besieged acolytes. The Aziz-Rashid duo began with a clear anti-Shia intent when they abducted a Shia lady in Islamabad after accusing her of running a brothel. Only the BBC website recorded the charge made by the lady that, while they were dragging her family out, the Lal Masjid vigilantes had referred to the Shia sect as a ‘sect of prostitutes’. The duo had climbed to the top of the already dominant position of the Deobandi seminaries in Islamabad by establishing contacts with the Taliban and Al Qaeda. Musharraf and proliferation of madrassas: The madrassas in Pakistan have proliferated after 9/11 and under Musharraf. This makes clear the intent of the new religious seminary in Pakistan. In the old radical madrassas ready to face America and its allies, induction of acolytes has doubled, as was shown by admissions at Jamia Banuria in 2002. In Islamabad too, the proliferation of madrassas has taken place under Musharraf after 2001, not under General Zia after 1979. Today, there are 88 seminaries in Islamabad imparting religious education to more than 16,000 students. It is not for nothing that every second male in Islamabad keeps a jihadi beard and looks scary to foreigners. Research has revealed that the number of students of the Deobandi seminaries, including Jamia Hafsa and Jamia Faridia, doubled during the last one year. The students to these seminaries – many of them residential – have flocked from all parts of the NWFP and the tribal areas. Madrassa dominance of Islamabad: The breakdown of madrassas in Islamabad is as follows: Deobandi (5,400 students); Barelvi (3,000 students in 46 seminaries), Ahle-Hadith (200 students in two seminaries); Shia (700 students in eight seminaries) and Jamaat-e-Islami-led Rabita al-Madaris (1,500 students in 18 seminaries). According to a newspaper investigative report, ‘the present number of 10,700 seminarians in the federal capital is almost equal to the combined strength of the seminary students from Balochistan (6,374 students) and Azad Jammu and Kashmir (2,835 students)’. Who has tried to change the character of Islamabad through a proliferation of extremist seminaries? One could quickly claim that President Musharraf could not have been involved in this proliferation because of his exhortations against extremism. But that would be incorrect: During the rule of General Zia (from July 1977 to August 1988), 7 new seminaries were established in the federal capital; under President Musharraf, the number went up to 14! Mithridatism will not work. The commander of the Rangers besieging the Lal Masjid madrassa had a flowing beard just like the ones sported by Maulana Abdul Aziz and Abdur Rashid. Almost all the troops brought out to confront the terrorists inside Jamia Hafsa were bearded and looked more like the Taliban than Pakistan army soldiers. Pakistan is firmly set on the trajectory beyond all dreams of democracy as the panacea for collective derailments. Utopias of rejectionism: At the end of the parabola of Islamic reform is the theocratic state, ruled and secured against de-legitimisation by the clergy through punishment of dissent with death on the basis of the doctrine of fasad fil ard (turmoil on earth). But after the establishment of theocracy as the acme of state evolution, comes the international assault. The Sunni caliphate of Afghanistan was invaded under a chapter-seven UN Security Council resolution number 1373. It was found that the caliphate had endangered its Muslim neighbours before endangering the world. The same kind of international movement is developing against the imamate of Iran which also endangers its Muslim neighbours equally as it endangers the world. The seminary is the symbol of Islamic rejectionism. This rejectionism is achieved through isolation which international investigators often condone as dars nizami, thinking that insulation of the acolyte has nothing to do with violent rejection of society and state. At the subconscious level, we are all waiting for the Sunni caliphate in Pakistan. We all know what will happen after that.

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Iraq

US-Iraqi sweep nets 40 suspects

2006-03-17

Heliborne U.S. and Iraqi troops pressed their sweep through a 100-square-mile swath of central Iraq on Friday in a bid to break up a center of insurgent resistance, the U.S. military said. No resistance or casualties were reported. "We believe we achieved tactical surprise," Lt. Col. Edward Loomis, spokesman for the 101st Airborne Division, said of the day-old Operation Swarmer, the biggest air assault here in three years. He said about 40 suspects were detained, 10 of whom were later released. In tense Baghdad, meanwhile, drive-by gunmen targeting streams of Shiite Muslim pilgrims killed three people and wounded five in Sunni areas of the city, police reported. Devout Shiites headed south to the holy city of Karbala for a religious holiday, a pilgrimage that authorities feared would present "soft" targets in the continuing Sunni-Shiite violence roiling Iraq. At least seven people were reported killed in scattered violence in and near Baghdad. A standoff between the Shiite majority and Sunni minority underlies the political impasse blocking formation of a new government of national unity here. An all-party meeting was scheduled for later Friday to try to move those negotiations forward. The joint U.S.-Iraqi air assault Thursday focused on a 10-by-10-mile area some 60 miles north of Baghdad and northeast of the city of Samarra, where an insurgent bombing on Feb. 22 badly damaged a major Shiite shrine, an attack that ignited days of sectarian bloodshed across Iraq in which more than 500 people died. Fifty U.S. transport and attack helicopters ferried in and gave cover to some 1,500 U.S. and Iraqi troops taking part in Operation Swarmer — units of the 101st Airborne Division and the Iraqi 4th Division. On Friday morning, Loomis said, the forces "continue to move" through the area. "Approximately 40 suspected insurgents were detained without resistance," he said. "Tactical interviews began immediately, and 10 detainees have been released." The sweep also uncovered six weapons caches, the U.S. military spokesman said. The operation was aimed at disrupting "terrorist activity in and around Samarra, Adwar and Salahuddin province," he said, an area that was a stronghold of Sunni support for Saddam Hussein's ousted Baathist party regime. Saddam's former No. 2, Izzat Ibrahim, who was deputy chairman of the ruling Revolutionary Command Council, was from the city of Adwar and is still at large — at times thought to remain in that area. The deputy governor of Salahuddin province, Abdullah Hussein, told reporters Friday that 48 alleged insurgents had been detained, men accused of bombings and kidnappings. He said intelligence indicated about 200 insurgents were in the area, including people linked to the Baathist group Jaish Muhammad — Muhammad's Army — and to the al-Qaida in Iraq terror group, led by Abu Mussab al-Zarqawi. The sweep was aimed particularly at capturing two local leaders of the Zarqawi group, said a police official. He said they had not yet been located. Iraqi officials said Salahuddin province became more important as an insurgent center after the U.S. offensive that seized the resistance stronghold of Fallujah in late 2004, and subsequent U.S.-Iraqi offensives in other western areas close to the Syrian border. Friday's Baghdad bloodshed began as groups of Shiite faithful, many parents with children in tow, trekked down city streets in the morning, headed for the southbound highway and Karbala, a shrine city 50 miles south of here. At about 7:30 a.m., a BMW sedan driving alongside pilgrims in the western district of Adil opened fire, killing three and wounding two, said police Lt. Thair Mahmoud. Police later reported a second incident, also in western Baghdad, in which armed men riding in a car fired on pilgrims near Um al-Tuboul Square, wounding three. Such attacks were feared this pilgrimage weekend as Sunni-Shiite tensions heighten across the strife-torn country. To help guard against violence in Shiite holy cities, the U.S. military dispatched a fresh battalion of the 2nd Brigade, 1st Armored Division, about 700 troops, to Iraq from its base in Kuwait to provide extra security. Tens of thousands of devout Shiites are converging on Karbala for Monday's celebration of Arbaeen, marking the end of the 40-day mourning period after the date of the death of Imam Hussein, the Prophet Muhammad's grandson, killed in Karbala in 680 A.D. A bomb left on a minibus exploded at midday Friday and killed two passengers and wounded four in a Shiite district of Baghdad, police reported. Police in a Shiite area of east Baghdad late Thursday found the bodies of four Sunni men who had been seized from a taxi by masked gunmen the day before in western Baghdad. Six mortar rounds landed on six houses Friday in a mixed Sunni-Shiite area of Khan Bani Saad, 10 miles north of Baghdad, killing one person and wounding three, police reported. Iraq's new Parliament held its first session on Thursday, as the first permanent elected legislature since the U.S. invasion, which began three years ago this coming Monday. The lawmakers immediately adjourned, however, after taking their oaths of office, since the deep-seated sectarian disputes have all but paralyzed efforts to name a prime minister and Cabinet. The U.S. ambassador, Zalmay Khalilzad, has been trying to broker talks to establish a government embracing major factions in a way acceptable to Shiite, Sunni and Kurdish blocs in Parliament.

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Terror Networks

Binny and Ayman still in touch with legions via internet

2006-03-11

When they raided what they had been told was "Al Qaeda's command center" in a remote compound in South Waziristan's Shakai valley in June 2004, Pakistani special forces made a surprising discovery. In a secret basement, the officers collected a treasure trove of computer equipment, including several laptops, printers and CD burners, as well as advanced video equipment. While this discovery provided Pakistani and American counter-terrorism officials with a unique insight into al Qaeda's operations after 9/11, it only confirmed what they already knew about the organization's heavy reliance on modern information technology and, more specifically, the Internet. After relying heavily on fixed — and thus vulnerable — Web sites until early 2002, al Qaeda quickly switched to hiding its online operations within more legitimate bulletin boards and Internet sites offering free upload services or connecting through such popular social network sites as Orkut and MySpace. This technique of "parasiting" Web sites makes it harder for law enforcement services to track them and shut them down. But while this capacity to network and spread propaganda represents a clear security risk, the most dangerous and stealthiest use of the Internet by al Qaeda is for communication, training and planning purposes. From the Bali bombing in 2002 to the London attacks last July, every major terrorist operation undertaken by Osama bin Laden's organization since 9/11 involved extensive and clandestine use of the Internet. British security services have established that the man considered to be the "cell leader" of the July 7 London bombings, Muhammad Siddique Khan, had communicated with several contacts in Pakistan through his own Yahoo! account. According to Pakistani intelligence sources, the use of free and anonymous e-mail services such as Yahoo! or Hotmail by al Qaeda operatives is widespread. To avoid being intercepted, the messages are not sent but saved in the account's draft box. They can then be retrieved by other operatives by simply logging on to the same e-mail address — with a shared password. This technique makes it impossible for intelligence services such as the British GCHQ or the American NSA to read these messages without hacking into the servers themselves, which they are legally prohibited to do. And even if they do read these messages, intelligence services worldwide are confronted with a second hurdle: Al Qaeda's operatives speak in code words which makes it impossible for any outsider to understand their true content if they have not penetrated the organization already. Such "intelligence breaks" are extremely rare, but not unheard of. In October 2001, the British police arrested a French computer engineer linked to a major al Qaeda cell in Europe. Kamel Daoudi was found in possession of a "codebook" that later enabled Western intelligence services to decrypt thousands of e-mails and phone conversations that they had previously intercepted but had not been able to crack. Pakistani intelligence sources also tell ABC News that even bin Laden and Zawahiri still use these e-mail services to send their directives through the Internet. Not directly, of course, but through intermediaries, usually bodyguards, who are sent on foot from the leaders' clandestine locations to the nearest house or cybercafé, where they simply log on and write their messages. One of the most striking features of the remote Afghan-Pakistan border is the wide availability of Internet services, either private dial-up or cybercafés. While hardly accessible by land or air, the town of Chitral — in Pakistan's remote Northern Areas — where Pakistani intelligence still believes that bin Laden spends his summers, has several cybercafés. Beyond communications, al Qaeda is increasingly using the Internet for operational purposes. Following the loss of Afghanistan as a sanctuary and training ground, the terrorist organization put thousands of pages of its training online. From the making of an IED or deadly chemical weapons to the staging of an ambush, the Internet has now become al Qaeda's "virtual training ground." Worse, according to French counter-terrorism officials, existing jihadi networks are taking their reliance on the Internet for operational purposes to a completely new level. When they dismantled a network of Islamic militants linked to Abu Musab al Zarqawi's "Al Qaeda in Iraq" last fall, French authorities made a startling discovery. One of the militants, Kaci Warab, had spent several months in a facility operated by Zarqawi followers near Tripoli, Lebanon, to be trained on detonator designs far more complex than anyone had seen thus far. One of these designs, according to French counter-terrorism sources, involved the use of Web-capable cellphones which could be "activated" (thus detonated) remotely over the Internet from anywhere in the world by punching a password on a Web site. Because it indicates a strong focus on operations involving the simultaneous detonation of dozens (if not hundreds, as seen in Bangladesh last year) of bombs throughout the world, this brand new usage of the Internet is causing a lot of worries among intelligence and law enforcement officials worldwide. But beyond these specific operational considerations, there is no doubt that al Qaeda has been highly successful in using the Internet to not only survive the global war on terror but expand its "biomorphic" and deadly nature. It is one of the cruelest ironies that our most ardent enemies have become so skillful at turning our society against ourselves. It's not much of a stretch to say that when al Qaeda was created in 1988 it became something of a "terrorist Internet Service Provider" linking together various elements of the worldwide jihadi community that had fought against the Soviets in Afghanistan in the 1980s. To pursue this objective, bin Laden and his deputy Ayman al Zawahiri set up a unique structure whose essence was less an ideology than a function: connecting. At its core, al Qaeda is a worldwide directory, a "global grid" linking together thousands of disparate human, financial, military, intellectual and technical resources around a central mission. Throughout the 1990s, with its training camps and discreet networking around the world, al Qaeda weaved a complex web linking together businessmen, clerics, fighters, journalists and criminals, some of whom belonged to terrorist groups that ranged from Algeria's "Groupe Islamique Armé" to Pakistan's "Jaish Muhammad." This function took on a whole new dimension with the advent of the Internet. European and Pakistani intelligence sources say a former militant trained in bin Laden's camps in Afghanistan has revealed that al Qaeda started using the Internet as early as 1993, even conducting online conference calls in 2000. A Pakistani intelligence officer on duty at the border with Afghanistan in late 2001 recently told ABC News that "almost every Arab that we arrested in Pakistan in 2001 and 2002 was in possession of a laptop computer." Now on the run, bin Laden's organization is even more virtual, which often means more dependent on the World Wide Web to spread propaganda and plot operations. It is also one of the main reasons why, despite the many blows that it received since 9/11, many analysts believe the organization's operational capabilities have not truly diminished. As the CIA and its allies closed some of these links, al Qaeda was able to use the Web to either redirect those links or activate others. This has occurred especially in countries such as Pakistan and Iraq, where Western intelligence agencies have considerable trouble operating. The most visible part of al Qaeda's online presence involves the spread of statements and propaganda, which have spearheaded the explosion of jihadi Web sites in the past four years. Law enforcement officials in Europe report that the number of such Web sites went from a dozen on Sept. 10, 2001, to close to 5,000 today. While only a handful are currently operated by al Qaeda officials or militants, they serve a crucial purpose by "spreading activation" and nourishing the outrage or the global Muslim community, therefore laying the groundwork for al Qaeda's fundraising and recruitment activities.

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Israel-Palestine-Jordan

Jordan's jihadis and the prison riots

2006-03-08

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Afghanistan/South Asia

Nuggets from the Urdu Press

2005-10-01

Mehdi Bhatti wins ‘mubahila’ Reported by the daily Pakistan, MNA Mehdi Hassan Bhatti went to a mosque in Hafizabad to challenge ex-nazim Col Ali Ahmad Awan, who had accused him of massive corruption, to mubahila (a match of mutual religious abuse in which the false party dies). Mr Bhatti had gone with his son, the Punjab minister for culture Shaukat Ali Bhatti, and had asked Col Ali Ahmad to bring along his son too, so that the sons may die along with their fathers after being proved false. The ex-nazim Col Awan did not turn up. So Mr Bhatti won the mubahila and was proved free of corruption. Pervaiz Elahi as PM? Writing in the Jang, Hamid Mir said that in the 2005 local polls, the supporters of prime minister Shaukat Aziz have been defeated: Jehangir Tareen, Owais Leghari and Riaz Pirzada. When the time comes for the 2007 national election, Punjab CM Pervaiz Elahi will be the strongest candidate for the job of prime minister. In the opposition, the MMA and the ARD are already scattering. In the coming days the ANP will join up with Jamaat Islami, Imran Khan’s Tehreek Insaf and Muslim League (N) to challenge the Chaudhrys in power. Shabana gets out of hand in Norway According to Khabrain, Pakistani expatriate lady Shabana Rehman got out of hand in Norway and was having her nearly naked photos published local magazines. She was also given to insulting the most respectable clerics who often went from Pakistan to spread Islam among Pakistanis living there. She would come clad in a burqa then suddenly take it off in the meeting and insult the clerics. She was so rude to them that Norway gave her an award for being so outspoken. She thanked the mullahs for abusing her because that made her deserving of the award. Shabana went and embraced the most infamous mullah called Mullah Krekar, the Kurd terrorist now sheltering in Norway. The Pakistanis were most offended by Shabana but could not do much. She was from Karachi where she had relatives. One boy admitted that he had fired his pistol in front of Shabana’s house in Norway. Deoband abuses the Quaid again! Quoted in the Nawa-e-Waqt, Dr Justice (Retd) Javid Iqbal stated that he was most offended by the recent statement of the administrative head of a Deoband seminary in India that the Quaid-e-Azam Jinnah was not a Muslim. He said Deoband had in the past also apostatised Sir Syed Ahmad Khan and Allama Iqbal, which was unacceptable to Pakistan. He said that the clerics of Deoband had not accepted Pakistan and had joined the Hindu Congress, so it was not surprising that today Deoband had once again abused the Quaid. He added that it was for nothing that Allama Iqbal had written a poem against the Deobandi leader Hussain Ahmad Madni. Deobandi chief Maulana Marghubur Rehman said in India that far from being a secular person, Jinnah was not even a Muslim because he never said namaz and he drank alcohol. Indian cleric Marghub later wrote in to deny that he had said anything against the Quaid. Faraz on sex Sarerahe in the Nawa-e-Waqt said that Ahmad Faraz had said while on a trip abroad that marriage was the most expensive institution for gaining sexual pleasure. Even if sex was not available in a marriage, one had to pay for it. He said that religion and progress were opposed to each other. He also said that all prophets were first-rate politicians. The column added that Ahmad Faraz was the son of Maulana Abdullah Kohati who was in turn the khalifa (pupil) of the famous sufi, Syed Adam Banuri whose tomb was visited by all and sundry even today. Dawood Ibrahim is not in Pakistan! According to Khabrain, India had asked Pakistan to surrender two criminals wanted in India. One was Dawood Ibrahim who could not leave Pakistan to attend his son’s wedding in Dubai. The foreign office in Islamabad replied that Dawood Ibrahim was not in Pakistan. The other criminal India wanted was Maulana Masood Azhar, leader of the banned Jaish Muhammad who was sprung from an Indian jail by hijackers in 1999. Rs 27 billion to madrassas annually Writing in the Nawa-e-Waqt, Irfan Siddiqi stated that people who wanted to give to charity obeyed the Islamic edict that charity should be given anonymously. The madrassas in Pakistan received Rs 27 billion every year. Can the government now ask the madrassas to give account and will it send the cases against the donors to NAB? More blasphemy from Salman Rushdie According to Khabrain, mal’oon Salman Rushdie in his new book Shalimar the Clown was now saying that the Quran should be accepted as a historical document instead of a holy book. Rushdie, 30 years ago, was a poor man who would eat a meal within three rupees, would not take a bath and would drink cheap wine and was known to stink from his body. He also ate pig and thought dirty thoughts. Multan clamps down on actresses According to the daily Pakistan, the Multan cultural vigilance committee had served notices to Aliza (Dawn Theatre), to Niha (Khayyam Theatre), to Anita (Starlet Theatre) and to Anila (Sangam Theatre) for violating the ‘charter of decency.’ They were asked to present themselves at the office of DDO Multan city to clarify their position. Another actress, Nida (Khayyam Theatre), was served a last warning after which she would be banned in the whole of the Punjab. She was famous through her CDs too. How Zubaida Begum was killed Columnist Hamid Mir wrote in the Jang that Zubaida Begum of Dir Bala in the NWFP stood for her union council election in 2001 and was elected unopposed despite reservations from the elders. She was a teacher and a social worker and was quite popular with the women. She organised the local women and was able to improve the roads and sanitary conditions of her constituency. In 2005, she was popular enough to fight the district nazim election but the elders warned her against taking part. She did not obey them and was gunned down in July 2005 along with her daughter.

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Afghanistan/South Asia

Pak turban roundup continues

2005-07-23

Lahore: The detained members of 14 banned religious and militant organisations will be tried under Section 11 of the Anti-Terrorism Act, Punjab Home Secretary Hasan Waseem Afzal told Daily Times. He said that the department had issued a notification in this regard on Friday. The banned organisations include Tehrik-e-Islami (former Tehrik-e-Jafferia), Millat Islamia (Sipah-e-Sahaba), Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, Jaish Muhammad, Lashkar-e-Taiba, Harkat-ul-Ansar, Sipah-e-Muhammad, Hizb-ul-Tehrir al Wilayah Islamia, Shariat-e-Muhammad, Harkat-ul-Mujihdeen and Tehrik-al-Furqan. Afzal said that the members of the 14 banned outfits and religious groups would be tried in anti-terrorism courts. “The government is committed to implementing an anti-terrorism and anti-sectarianism policy. Nobody will be spared.” Meanwhile, security agencies continued to crack down on the militants and activists of banned religious organisations on Friday. But only five men were arrested from all over Punjab. A local Sipah-e-Sahaba leader from Khushab and a man hawking banned Al Rasheed Trust’s weekly publication Zarbe-e-Momin were amongst the detainees. The hawker, Riaz, was arrested from Anarkali where he was selling the publication. The police did not confirm his arrest. The home secretary said that 105 people had been arrested till Friday evening in the crackdown. On Thursday, he told the media that around 100 people were arrested. About 90 detainees were sent to jail for 90 days under Section 188 and 3 MPO. Shahzad Mailk reports from Islamabad: Islamabad Capital Police registered a case against local religious leaders Dr Abdur Rashid Ghazi, Maulana Abdul Aziz and Qari Sohail Abbasi under Section 6/7 of Anti Terrorism Act. Aabpara Police Station registered a first information report against the religious leaders because protesters burned a traffic police sergeant’s motorbike and stoned a police checkpoint and nearby vehicles, during a protest led by them. The gathering was protesting against the government’s recent raids on seminaries and the arrest of the various religious leaders. Staff Report adds from Karachi: Dozens of imams were arrested for violating the Loudspeaker Act during Friday sermons here. Police said imams in Kharadar, Mithadar, Gulistan-e-Jauhar, North Nazimabad, Mubina Town, Saeedabad and other areas had been arrested for violating the Act. Cases were registered against Allama Kokab Noorani Okarvi (Masjid Gulzar-e-Habib) and Maulana Abdul Mannan (Jamia Masjid Madina), but they were not arrested. Cases were registered against Maulvi Hamadullah (Madina Masjid), Maulana Khizer Muhammad (Akhund Masjid), Hazrat Bilal Shah (Allahwali Masjid), Qari Hafiz Nazir Ahmed Qadri (Jama Masjid Bilal), Saeed Ahmed (Masjid Hasni Sabri Daud Goth), Maulvi Sher Ahmed (Masjid Taif), Maulana Shujauddin (Jamia Masjid Muslim) and Muhammad Aslam (Makki Masjid) and they were arrested. Agencies add: Pakistani security forces arrested nearly 100 more suspected militants overnight, following Musharraf’s promise to the nation and the international community that he would tighten the leash on Islamic schools to stamp out militancy and hate-propaganda. Within hours of a televised address to the nation on Thursday, security forces raided Islamic schools or seminaries. “Approximately 90 more suspected militants have been arrested in overnight raids across the country, and the number of people in ‘preventive detention’ is more than 300 now,” said an Interior Ministry official monitoring the campaign. Raids targeted shops selling “hate material”, and both police and intelligence agencies were instructed to arrest anyone inciting violence during sermons at Friday prayers, the official said. Nine of the activists were arrested by the Lahore and Faisalabad police for possessing objectionable literature, audiocassettes and CDs. According to a Punjab Police spokesman, the Lahore police arrested three activists and registered three cases at the Anarkali, Shadman and Ichhra police stations. Maulana Malik Khaleel Chinoiti, the local president of PML’s religious section and the son of famous religious scholar Maulana Manzoor Ahmad Chinioti, Maulana Illyas Chinoiti, were also arrested. The arrests of the two and the government’s action against its own party officials caused quite a stir.

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