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India-Pakistan
JI ready for month-long sit-in if demands not met, warns Hafiz Naeem
2024-07-28
[GEO.TV] Jamat-e-Islami (JI) Emir Hafiz Naeemur Rehman has warned that his party's anti-inflation sit-in in Rawalpindi can last for a month if the government did not pay heed to the demands that included slashing the electricity prices.

"Our sit-in is not of two or three days but can last for a month," the JI chief said while addressing the sit-in participants at Liaquat Bagh in Rawalpindi.

A day earlier, the JI activists from across the country converged on Islamabad to stage a sit-in, however, after being denied permission to hold demonstration in the federal capital’s D-Chowk area the party moved its sit-in to Rawalpindi.

The politico-religious party has put forward 10 conditions for ending its protest sit-in staged against inflation including massive hike in electricity tariffs as it formed a committee to hold talks with the government.

The JI emir announced that the sit-in would be staged at the parliament's door if the incumbent government showed non-seriousness in fulfilling the demands.

JI Naib Emir Liaqat Baloch, addressing the participants of the sit-in, confirmed that the leadership has been contacted by the interior minister and other personalities from the federal government to hold dialogue.

Baloch said that the JI emir welcomed the dialogue offer from the government’s side and demanded the immediate release of the arrested workers. "We have prepared our demands with the help of experts," added the politico.

The party on Friday claimed at least 1,150 of its workers were arrested while trying to march on Islamabad after authorities imposed Section 144 in the federal capital and across Punjab.
Link


India-Pakistan
Zardari gets elected as president for historic second time with overwhelming majority
2024-03-10
[GEO.TV] Same old crap, same old crooks.Pakistain Peoples Party (PPP) Co-chairman >Asif Ali Ten Percent Zardari
...former president of Pakistain, husband of the late Benazir Bhutto, who has been singularly lacking in curiosity about who done her in...
, the joint candidate of the ruling mob alliance, was elected as the country’s president for the second time after he defeated PTI-backed Sunni Ittehad Council
...an Islamist(aren't they all in Pakistain?) political party which claims to represent the Barelvi school of Sunni Islam. Member parties of the Sunni Ittehad Council includes the Aalmi Tanzeem Ahle Sunnat of Pir Afzal Qadri (of Gujrat) and Jamiat Ulema e Pakistan - Sawad e Azam of Sayyid Mahfooz Shah Sahib Mashadi...
(SIC) nominee Mahmood Khan Achakzai with a huge margin.

Zardari Saturday secured 411 electoral votes in parliament and all four provincial assemblies with the backing of allied parties — mainly Pakistain Moslem League-Nawaz (PML-N) and the Muttahida Qaumi Movement
...English: United National Movement, generally known as MQM, is the 3rd largest political party and the largest secular political party in Pakistain with particular strength in Sindh. From 1992 to 1999, the MQM was the target of the Pak Army's Operation Cleanup leaving thousands of urdu speaking civilians dead...
-Pakistain (MQM-P).

Ackakzai bagged 181 votes as he was only able to secure the majority of votes in the PTI-backed SIC-dominated Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Assembly.

Prominent politicians who cast ballots in the National Assembly include former premier Nawaz Sharif
...served two three 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, then by the courts...
, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Zardari, MQM-P’s Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui, Farooq Sattar. PTI leaders Barrister Gohar Ali Khan, Asad Qaiser, and Achakzai among others also voted in the presidential election.

To ensure democratic traditions, Zardari also met his rival candidate Achakzai in the House.

Chief Justice of Pakistain (CJP) Qazi Faez Isa will administer an oath to President-elect Zardari at 4pm today (Sunday) at the President House.

As many as 381 politicians out of 398 cast ballots in both houses of parliament, while 17 politicians belonging to Jamaat Ulema-e-Islam
...the political wing of the Pak Taliban...
-Fazl (JUI-F), Jamat-e-Islami (JI), PTI, and Grand Democratic Alliance (GDA) did not cast vote in the presidential election due to different reasons.

The JUI-F,JI and GDA had announced a boycott of the presidential elections, while PTI senators — Shibli Faraz, Ijaz Chaudhry and Azam Swati — also did not participate in the voting.

Likewise, in the three provincial assemblies — Sindh, Balochistan
...the Pak province bordering Kandahar and Uruzgun provinces in Afghanistan and Sistan Baluchistan in Iran. Its native Baloch propulation is being displaced by Pashtuns and Punjabis and they aren't happy about it...
, and KP — Zardari obtained a majority of votes while Ackakzai was only able to win the majority vote in the KP Assembly.
Related:
Sunni Ittehad Council: 2024-03-06 Zardari tipped to win presidential election as PPP 'secures' 345 electoral votes
Sunni Ittehad Council: 2024-02-26 Six-party alliance falling short of two-thirds majority in NA
Sunni Ittehad Council: 2024-02-21 Magic number achieved: Shehbaz PM, Zardari president as PPP, PML-N finally agree
Related:
>Asif Ali Ten Percent Zardari: 2024-03-08 Accountability court suspends arrest warrants of Hasan, Hussain Nawaz
>Asif Ali Ten Percent Zardari: 2024-03-07 Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was not given a fair trial: Supreme Court
>Asif Ali Ten Percent Zardari: 2024-03-06 Zardari tipped to win presidential election as PPP 'secures' 345 electoral votes
Related:
Mahmood Khan Achakzai: 2024-03-06 Zardari tipped to win presidential election as PPP 'secures' 345 electoral votes
Mahmood Khan Achakzai: 2016-08-11 'Remarks against intelligence agencies unacceptable'
Mahmood Khan Achakzai: 2016-08-11 Ex-Pakistani MP: Security establishment’s support for Taliban an open secret
Link


India-Pakistan
Hybrid Al-Badr terrorist arrested in Srinagar: Police
2023-07-30


A hybrid terrorist
... an Indianism that means those not officially registered with any jama'at seminary markaz or ISI daftar as fidayeen, but radicalised enough to carry out a terror strike and then slip back into routine life...
of al-Badr outfit was arrested in Batmaloo locality of Srinagar along with arms and ammunition, police said today.

A front man of Srinagar Police said on Twitter that Arfat Yusuf, son of Mohd Yusuf of Rajpora Pulwama, was arrested from Batmaloo with a glock pistol, 20 live rounds and two magazines.

"He had done terror acts in Pulwama & was in Srinagar for same. FIR 94/2023 U/s 13,23 of UAPA & 7/25 of IA Act at Batmaloo PS," said the front man.
Related:
Al-Badr outfit: 2022-01-11 Two militants killed in Kulgam gunfight: police
Al-Badr outfit: 2021-08-08 Al-Badr militant killed in Budgam gunfight
Al-Badr outfit: 2007-01-03 3 militants killed in Jammu and Kashmir
Related:
Hybrid terrorist: 2023-05-04 Two terrorists killed in Baramulla gunfight: police
Hybrid terrorist: 2023-05-03 Terrorist associate held with arms in Shopian: police
Hybrid terrorist: 2023-04-28 SIU presents chargesheet against terrorist, hybrid terrorist in NIA court
Related:
Batmaloo: 2023-06-01 Kupwara DM restricts entry, usage of shopping complex belonging to Jamat e Islami: SIA
Batmaloo: 2022-01-30 Gunfight breaks out in south Kashmir
Batmaloo: 2021-11-08 Policeman shot dead by terrorists in Srinagar
Related:
Srinagar: 2023-07-23 Journalist arrested in LeT terror funding case: Police
Srinagar: 2023-07-21 Self styled journalist arrested in Srinagar for terror funding: Police
Srinagar: 2023-07-20 Infiltration bid foiled along LoC in Kupwara: Army
Link


India-Pakistan
Police bust 'terrorist recruitment module' in Kulgam; arrest PhD scholar, two associates
2023-07-27


Jammu and Kashmir
...a disputed territory lying between India and Pakistain. After partition, the Paks grabbed half of it and call it Azad (Free) Kashmir. The remainder they refer to as "Indian Occupied Kashmir". They have fought four wars with India over it, the score currently 4-0 in New Delhi's favor. After 72 years of this nonsense, India cut the Gordian knot in 2019, removing the area's special status, breaking off Ladakh as a separate state, and allowing people from other areas to settle (or in the case of the Pandits, to resettle) there....
Police on Wednesday said to have busted a terrorist recruitment module with the arrest of a PhD scholar in South Kashmir's Kulgam district.

A police spokesperson said that acting on specific information generated by Kulgam Police, a search for a code-named person Dr Sabeel who was motivating, funding and providing logistic support to the gullible youth of District Kulgam and adjoining areas to recruit them into terrorist ranks.

The spokesperson said that special teams were constituted by Kulgam Police to track and search for this suspected person. After systemic efforts, one suspected vehicle bearing number JK18B-4852 was zeroed in. When the credentials of the vehicle were sought, it came to fore that this vehicle was being used by one person namely Dr. Rubani Bashir son of late Bashir Ahmed Dar resident of Ashmuji, Kulgam. Accordingly, a special checkpoint was established at Ashmuji and Dr Rubani was apprehended. During questioning, he disclosed his code name as Dr Sabeel, a PHD scholar from Central University of Kashmir and has also applied for Job as assistant professor there.

"During further questioning, Dr Rubani Bashir @Dr Subeel disclosed that he has been associated with Jamat-e-Islami from his student days and he has been its member in student wing (IJT) Islamic Jamat-ul-Tulbha for 14 years and later on has been a full-fledged member of JEI. The basic modus operandi of Dr Sabeel was to work for proscribed terrorist organizations HM/JeM behind the curtain, " the spokesperson said. "He used to identify the youngsters, motivated them, funded them and then made them ready to join terrorist organizations."

The police claimed that during investigation it also came to fore that Dr Rubani Bashir @Dr Subeel motivated two youngsters and had made them to join the terrorist ranks. On the disclosure of Dr Rubani Bashir, two terrorist associates linked with proscribed terror outfit HM /JeM were arrested. They have been identified as Fazil Ahmed Parrey son of Sheraz Ahmed Parrey resident of Ashmuji Bhan and Tariq Ahmed Naikoo@ Chawla son of Abdul Ahmed Naikoo resident of Check Wattoo Aharabal.

On their disclosure, 01 Chinese Pistol, 01 Pistol Magazine, 09 9mm rounds were recovered from Dr. Rubani Bashir, 01 AK-47 Magazine & 19 AK 47 rounds were recovered from Fazil Ahmed Parrey and a Chinese grenade, 10 AK-47 rounds & an Alto car bearing registration number JK18B-4852 used for ferrying the snuffies have been seized.

ADGP Kashmir has appreciated efforts of Kulgam police for busting this important recruitment module.

In this regard, a case vide FIR No 143/2023 under relevant sections of law stands registered in Police Station Kulgam and further investigation is going on.

Moreover, in Bandipora, acting on specific information, police alongwith 26 Assam Rifles, CRPF (3rd Bn) and BSF (K2) arrested a terrorist associate linked with proscribed terror outfit LeT at Turkpora junction Bandipora in a swift car bearing registration number JK15B-0992. He has been identified as Javid Ahmad Malla son of Mohd Kamal Malla resident of Arin Dardpora Bandipora. 02 Hand Grenades and other incriminating materials have been recovered from his possession.

Accordingly, a case under relevant sections of law has been registered at Police Station Bandipora and further investigation has been initiated.
Related:
Kulgam distric: 2023-06-28 Al-Badr terrorist killed in Kulgam encounter: police
Kulgam distric: 2023-05-07 Residence of Hizb terrorist's father searched in Kashmir
Kulgam distric: 2023-02-19 Three Hizb turbans tied up in Kulgam
Related:
Bandipora: 2023-07-26 Two LeT associates arrested along with arms and ammunition in Baramulla: Police
Bandipora: 2023-06-27 NIA raids 12 locations in J&K in terrorist conspiracy case
Bandipora: 2023-06-13 LeT associate arrested in Bandipora: Police
Link


India-Pakistan
Terror funding case: SIA, Police attach 124 properties across J&K
2023-06-08
[GreaterKashmir
...a disputed territory lying between India and Pakistain. After partition, the Paks grabbed half of it and call it Azad (Free) Kashmir. The remainder they refer to as "Indian Occupied Kashmir". They have fought four wars with India over it, the score currently 4-0 in New Delhi's favor. After 72 years of this nonsense, India cut the Gordian knot in 2019, removing the area's special status, breaking off Ladakh as a separate state, and allowing people from other areas to settle (or in the case of the Pandits, to resettle) there....
] In tune with the policy of zero tolerance towards anti-State activities, the State Investigation Agency (SIA) and the executive wing of J&K Police has widened the legal framework against terror funding by attaching 124 properties, land and buildings, situated across J&K at 86 locations, officials said in a statement.

They said that these properties, during the course of investigation in terrorism related cases, have been established prima facia to be either proceeds of terrorism or used in such activities which are aimed at furtherance of terrorism and secessionism.

"Invoking provisions of section 8 and section 25 of Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA), SIA and executive wing of police, after orders from competent authorities designated under UAPA, have set into motion legal process for forfeiture of these tainted properties, by courts having relevant legal and territorial jurisdiction, " they said.

Nearly, 77 of these properties belong to proscribed organization Jamat-e-Islami, which have been notified under Section 08 of UAPA in Case FIR number 17/2019 U/S 10, 11 and 13 UA (P) Act of Police Station Batamalo being investigated by SIA.

"Exhibiting strong resolve against terrorism, the action therefore has been taken following due process of law, to deracinate the terror support system, as per requirements of international charters and conventions against terrorism, " they said.
Link


India-Pakistan
US transfers two Guantanamo Bay detainees to Pakistan
2023-02-24
[GEO.TV] The United States has transferred two brothers from the Guantanamo Bay US detention facility in Cuba to Pakistain, bringing the total number of people held at Guantanamo down to 32, the Pentagon said on Thursday.

The Guantanamo camp was established by Republican President George W Bush in 2002 to house foreign terrorism suspects following the 2001 hijacked plane attacks on New York and the Pentagon that killed about 3,000 people.

It came to symbolise the excesses of the US "war on terror" because of harsh interrogation methods that critics have said amounted to torture.

There were 40 detainees when President Joe The Big Guy Biden
...46th president of the U.S. The nincompoop who dumped Afghanistan. The copier doesdn't exist that could reelect him....
, a Democrat, took office in 2021. Biden has said he hopes to close the facility. The federal government is barred by law from transferring Guantanamo detainees to US mainland prisons.

On Thursday, the Pentagon announced the repatriation of Abdul Rabbani and Mohammed Rabbani to Pakistain.

Both were arrested in 2002. Abdul Rabbani was an al-Qaeda controller while Mohammed Rabbani was a financial and travel controller for prominent al-Qaeda leaders, according to the Pentagon's website.

"The United States appreciates the willingness of the Government of Pakistain and other partners to support ongoing US efforts focused on responsibly reducing the detainee population and ultimately closing the Guantanamo Bay facility," the Pentagon said in a statement.

A total of 32 detainees remain, of whom 18 are eligible for transfer, the Pentagon said in its statement.

Reacting to the development, Senator Mushtaq Ahmed Khan of Jamat-e-Islami welcomed their transfer to Pakistain, saying the two brothers were detained without any case.
...no case except being Al Qaeda Big Turbans, but no one objects to that nowadays.
"Another good news. Ahmed Ghulam Rabbani and Abdul Rahim Ghulam Rabbani have reached Islamabad airport after being freed from Guantanamo Bay. They were imprisoned in Guantanamo Bay for 21 years despite being innocent. There was no trial, no court proceedings, no charges against them. Congratulations on their release. Thank you Senate of Pakistain."
Update from Al Monitor at 9:50 p.m. ET — late in the day, but not worth giving you an entire article to read tomorrow, dear Reader:
Abdul Rahim Ghulam Rabbani, 55, and Mohammed Ahmed Ghulam Rabbani, 53, were captured in Karachi, Pakistan, in 2002 and held in CIA custody in Afghanistan before they were transferred to the offshore US prison in Cuba in 2004.

The brothers were born in Saudi Arabia and are ethnically Burmese.
This makes their Pakistani citizenship puzzling, but I suppose if Pakistan wants them, they all deserve to enjoy the result.
Their departure brings the remaining number of detainees at Guantanamo Bay to 32. At its peak in 2003, the prison held nearly 680 prisoners.

Shortly after taking office, the Biden administration said it planned to close the controversial detention center, which opened in 2002 and has since been used to house more than 700 foreign inmates suspected of ties to al-Qaeda or the Taliban. Earlier this month, Pakistani detainee Majid Khan was transferred to Belize following the completion of his sentence.

Intense pushback from Congress prevented former President Barack Obama from making good on a 2008 campaign promise to close Guantanamo, despite an executive order issued on his second day in office.

Former President Donald Trump signed a 2018 executive order to keep it open, citing the risk of recidivism among the prisoners. Just one detainee was released under his administration — a Saudi man who pleaded guilty to terrorism-related charges and was transferred to Saudi Arabian custody in 2018 to serve out the remainder of his sentence.
Related:
Abdul Rabbani: 2021-05-25 Biden administration to release Gitmo terrorist detainees but not January 6 trespassers
Abdul Rabbani: 2008-09-08 Aafia's husband in Guantanamo
Related:
Ahmed Ghulam Rabbani: 2015-09-23 IHC seeks reply on Gitmo inmate's plea
Ahmed Ghulam Rabbani: 2008-09-08 Aafia's husband in Guantanamo
Related:
Abdul Rahim Ghulam Rabbani: 2023-02-03 Pakistani Gitmo prisoner transferred to Belize
Related:
Majid Khan: 2023-02-03 Pakistani Gitmo prisoner transferred to Belize
Majid Khan: 2021-11-08 CIA Torture Finally Rebuked, By Military Jury
Majid Khan: 2021-11-07 Clemency Request for Guantanamo Inmate 'Enlightening,' Hambali's Lawyer Says
Link


India-Pakistan
NIA raids at JeM militants, OGWs, separatists
2019-02-28
[Daily Excelsior] A day after the National Investigation Agency conducted raids at the houses of senior separatist leaders in Srinagar, the agency conducted raids at 11 locations in South Kashmire at the houses of Jaish-e-Mohammad
...literally Army of Mohammad, a Pak-based Deobandi terror group founded by Maulana Masood Azhar in 2000, after he split with the Harkat-ul-Mujaheddin. In 2002 the government of Pervez Musharraf banned the group, which changed its name to Khaddam ul-Islam and continued doing what it had been doing before without missing a beat...
holy warriors, the Over Ground Workers (OGWs) of the forces of Evil and separatist leaders.

The NIA teams this morning conducted simultaneous searches at 11 locations in South Kashmire in the ongoing investigation into attack on CRPF convoy in Pulwama on February 14 and terror funding case.

The raids were conduced besides others at the houses of Mudassir Ahmad Khan and Sajjad Bhat, both active forces of Evil of Jaish-e-Mohammad, and key accused persons in the Pulwama attack.

Searches were also conducted in the houses of active OGWs of Jaish-e-Mohammad in Tral, Awantipora and Pulwama areas of South Kashmire. NIA has recovered incriminating materials including diaries containing coded writings.

The NIA also conducted searches in the houses of three separatist leaders of South Kashmire including Mohammad Shaban Dar, Shawkat Maulvi and Yasmin Raja, in terror funding case (RC-10/2017/NIA/DLI) that was registered in 2017 and under which several separatist leaders were placed in durance vile
Into the paddy wagon wit' yez!
that year and they are in Tihar Jail.

"Documents related to terror funding, coded messages and Jihadi literature have been seized. During searches, NIA teams also recovered lot of incriminating documents including property details, documents relating to financial and monetary transactions, electronic devices, mobile phones, sim cards", the NIA said.

The NIA yesterday conducted raids at the premises belonging to top separatist leaders including Chairman of Hurriyat Conference Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, JKLF chairman Yasin Malik
...chairman of one of the two factions of Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front. JKLF is a Kashmiri nationalist organization founded in Birmingham, UK in 1977. Branches weren't actually established in Kashmir for another ten years. It has the usual demands for separation of J&K from secular India so it can become an independent Islamic rathole. It seems to have no interest in Pak Kashmir breaking away to join it. In 1994 Malik renounced violence after he was released from jail and from that point he and his organization pursued peaceful means to impose their will on the region...
, Shabbir Shah, President JKDFP, Chairman Tehrik-e-Hurriyat Mohammad Ashraf Khan commonly known as Ashraf Sehrai , General Secretary Hurriyat Conference Masarat Alam, Chairman JKSM Zaffar Akbar Bhat, and Naseem Geelani, son of Sayeed Ali Shah Geelani.

In the meantime, Kashmire valley observed shut down today in protest against the NIA raids at the houses of separatists and crackdown on Jamat-e-Islami leaders and workers.

The shops and business establishments were closed and traffic was off the roads. However,
it's easy to be generous with someone else's money...
some private vehicles were seen plying.
Link


India-Pakistan
Pakistan can no longer remain subservient to US: Siraj
2018-05-14
[DAWN] Jamat-e-Islami (JI) emir Sirajul Haq
...current head of the Pak Jamaat-e-Islami. Siraj was born in 1962 and entered politics shortly after that...
said on Saturday he supported Pakistain’s decision to restrict movement of US diplomats in the country, but stressed that relations between the two countries must proceed on an equal footing and with mutual respect.

Speaking at a presser here, the JI leader termed the United States untrustworthy, saying that Pakistain could no longer remain subservient to it.

JI’s provincial emir Maulana Abdul Haq Hashmi, former Balochistan...the Pak province bordering Kandahar and Uruzgun provinces in Afghanistan and Sistan Baluchistan in Iran. Its native Baloch propulation is being displaced by Pashtuns and Punjabis and they aren't happy about it...
Assembly speaker Matiullah Agha, Allama Jumma Asadi, Maulana Anwarul Haq Haqqani and other members of the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal were present on the occasion.

Link


India-Pakistan
Facebook removes Jamaat-i-Islami's page for covering 'Indian atrocities' in held Kashmir
2016-09-29
[DAWN] The official page of Jamaat-e-Islami
...The Islamic Society, founded in 1941 in Lahore by Maulana Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi, aka The Great Apostosizer. The Jamaat opposed the independence of Bangladesh but has operated an independent branch there since 1975. It maintains close ties with international Mohammedan groups such as the Moslem Brotherhood. the Taliban, and al-Qaeda. The Jamaat's objectives are the establishment of a pure Islamic state, governed by Sharia law. It is distinguished by its xenophobia, and its opposition to Westernization, capitalism, socialism, secularism, and liberalist social mores...
Pakistain was removed by Facebook, reportedly for covering and highlighting Indian atrocities in held Kashmire, said a party statement issued on Wednesday evening.

The statement claimed that the page had more than three million 'likes' and it was the second most viewed page [with respect to ’likes’] of any local political party.

Social Media head of Jamat-e-Islami Shamsuddin Amjad, while talking to Dawn.com, confirmed the development that "the party’s official page was removed on Wednesday evening".

Amjad further informed that two other pages operated by the party have been removed from the social media website in the past two days. "The party pages representing Jamaat's zonal sections Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa
... formerly NWFP, still Terrorism Central...
and Women Wing were removed on Tuesday," he said.

The party's social media head further informed that the personal accounts of around two dozen admins of the Jamaat's official page, which was removed, were also suspended.

In the past few months, Facebook has repeatedly come under fire for suspending certain accounts on the social media platform, belonging to both native Kashmiris and foreigners present in and outside of the disputed Himalayan region.

The accounts which have been suspended till date had posted comments, pictures or videos to highlight the treatment meted out to Kashmiris in the latest episode of unrest.

In July, Facebook removed actor Hamza Ali Abbasi's post in which he had praised a deceased separatist commander killed by Indian forces in Indian-held Kashmire.

The social media platform had suspended Abbasi's account following the post, but later restored the account after the post had been removed.
Link


Bangladesh
Pakistan accuses Bangladesh of 'killing' opposition leaders through flawed trials
2016-05-12
[DAWN] The Foreign Office on Wednesday said it was deeply saddened over the hanging of the Jamat-e-Islami (JI) Bangladesh chief Motiur Rahman Nizami
...During the liberation war of 1971, Nizami formed the Al-Badr Force and acted as its supreme commander. The Al-Badr militia took active part in rape, extortion, looting and killing of Bangladeshis who supported the liberation, including a pre-planned massacre on December 14, 1971, when the Al-Badr militia along with Pakistan Army rounded up hundreds of doctors, professors, writers, and other Bengali intellectuals, and executed them...
after a decision by a controversial war crimes tribunal for his involvement in 1971 events.

"The act of suppressing the opposition by killing their leaders through flawed trials is completely against the spirit of democracy," Foreign Office front man Nafees Zakaria said in a statement.

The statement said it is "unfortunate" for the people of Bangladesh who had elected Nizami as their representative in the parliament.
Link


Afghanistan
Mixed Responses to Fazl's Justification of War in Afghanistan
2014-11-19
[Tolo News] A number of Pak analysts on Monday expressed concern
...meaning the brow was mildly wrinkled, the eyebrows drawn slightly together, and a thoughtful expression assumed, not that anything was actually done or indeed that any thought was actually expended...
s over recent comments made by the leader of Pakistain's Jamaat-e-Ulema-Islam political party, Maulana Fazulurrahman, in which he said the war in Afghanistan should not end until all foreign troops have withdrawn.

Commentators on Monday disputed the claims made by Fazulurrahman, a holy man and spiritual leader of the Taliban, and argued that killing innocent people for any reason is against the teachings of Islam.

"I want to say that Pakistain's religious parties, such as Jamaat-e-Ulema Islam and Ahl-e-Hadis, are the supporters of the al-Qaeda network, they also support Tehrik Taliban Pakistain and the Afghan Taliban," Pak political commentator Shamim Shahid said. "We are opposed to al-Qaeda and Taliban and the killing of innocent civilians isn't allowed in Islam."

University lecturer Ajaz Khan expressed a similar sentiment. "The killing of innocent people is illogical, we are against bloodshed and war in Afghanistan and support the people of the country."

Yet others, especially sympathizers of Jamat-e-Islami, have expressed support for Fazulurrahman. "The U.S. presence spreads terrorism and we support the statement of Maulana Fazulurrahman," said Professor Ibrahim, a Jamat-e-Islami party official. "If we want the suicide kabooms to be stopped, then we must say goodbye to the U.S., otherwise, the attacks will continue, if the U.S. withdraws, then innocent people will not be killed anymore."

Pakistain, like Afghanistan, benefits immensely from aid funding from the U.S. and its allies. But unlike the government in Kabul, Pakistain has long embraced financial support from Washington while also helping the Taliban and other terrorist organizations fighting the NATO
...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. A cautionary tale of cost-benefit analysis....
-coalition.

Despite the fact that almost all casualties in Afghanistan on a daily basis are Afghan military and police personnel or civilians, some Pak commentators who agree with Fazulurrahman maintain that the fighting will end once foreign troops leave the country.

"Peace isn't applicable in Afghanistan until the drawdown of foreign troops, already 62 percent of the Afghan territory is under control of the gangs," former Pak Ambassador to Afghanistan Rustam Shah Momand said.

Fazlurrahman's statement came just an hour before President Ashraf Ghani
...former chancellor of Kabul University, now president of Afghanistan. Before returning to Afghanistan in 2002 he was a scholar of political science and anthropology. He worked at the World Bank working on international development assistance. As Finance Minister of Afghanistan between July 2002 and December 2004, he led Afghanistan's attempted economic recovery until the Karzais stole all the money. ..
arrived in Islamabad to meet with officials. The Afghan government has yet to comment on the statement.
Link


India-Pakistan
TTP talks can't progress amid needless rhetoric
2014-05-03
[The Nation (Pak)] Interior Minister and Ch Nisar Ali on Friday said dialogue process with Taliban could not move forward amid 'needless rhetoric'.

"At the start, there were people who were opposed to the dialogue process and we listened to them and tolerated them as it is part of democracy," he said, adding now even those who were supporters of dialogue were showing contradiction in their stance.

Talking to newsmen at Nadra Headquarters here after signing MoU between Nadra and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa
... formerly NWFP, still Terrorism Central...
government for setting up of Citizen Facilitation Centres, he said dialogue process was a sensitive and complex issue but every day contradictory statements were being made about it. He said he would tell the prime minister that in the prevailing atmosphere of strain, the dialogue process could not be taken forward.

Those who were supposed to assist in the dialogue process were making one statement at indoor meetings and saying something else at the public meetings, he remarked, in an apparent reference to Taliban named team of mediators, which is being lead by Jamaat Ulema Islam-Sami (JUI-S) chief Samiul Haq
...the Godfather of the Taliban, leader of his own faction of the JUI. Known as Mullah Sandwich for his habit of having two young boys at a time...
and includes Jamat-e-Islami leader Prof Muhammad Ibrahim.

The minister however insisted there was no deadlock in talks at any stage. He said he wanted that the next meeting of the Taliban-government committees should be decisive and both sides should put their complete agendas on the table. "There is no hurdle from the government or the army in the dialogue process. The government is serious in this matter and there is no delay from its side." he noted.
Link



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