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India-Pakistan

Plot to target Shujaat in suicide attack unearthed

2007-09-19

Security around Pakistan Muslim League (PML) President Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain has been tightened after a plot to kill him in a suicide attack was exposed. According to a private TV channel, Shujaat was told by intelligence agencies on August 11 and August 12 that two suicide bombers had been given the task to kill him. Shujaat was told by intelligence agencies on August 11 and August 12 that two suicide bombers had been given the task to kill him. He was asked to cancel his visit to Murree, which he did. The intelligence agencies arrested two suspected terrorists on August 26 and 27, who disclosed that they were given the task to target Shujaat. Ministers’ assassination plot: They also disclosed plans to target Religious Affairs Minister Ejazul Haq and Railways Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed along with other prominent government figures.

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India-Pakistan

Time to revise policy on war against terror: Ejaz

2007-08-09

It is time for Pakistan to revise its policy on the war against terror, said Religious Affairs Minister Ejazul Haq on Wednesday, Geo news reported. Talking to reporters in Islamabad after addressing a seminar, Haq said statements made by US presidential candidates on conducting military operations in Pakistani territory and attacking sacred Muslim sites were "irresponsible". The minister said it was time to decide whether or not Pakistan would continue to stand with the US, the channel reported. "We should just come out and announce publicly which side we're really on. The U.S. would never dare attack the mighty Pak army, especially after we declare jihad on them and India both. "At the same time. "Because we're brilliant that way." Strange, I thought the Paks had declared which side they were on a while back.

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India-Pakistan

Govt not hesitant to act against militant madrassas: Ejazul Haq

2007-07-26

Federal Religious Affairs Minister Ejazul Haq has said the government will not hesitate to take action against any madrassas involved in militancy. Speaking in a Geo television programme on Wednesday, Haq said clerics would be taken into confidence before the government takes any action against such madrassas. He said the Interior Ministry had been asked to gather information about unregistered madrassas and those involved in militancy. Concerning the Lal Masjid operation, the federal minister said the government had nothing to hide about it because it was launched on provocation. He said there were still 50 bodies that were unidentified and DNA testing was being carried out before their identities could be revealed to the public. He said Maulana Ashfaque had only temporarily been appointed as Lal Masjid deputy cleric.

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India-Pakistan

Maulana Khalil fears militant backlash over Lal Masjid

2007-07-14

Maulana Fazalur Rehman Khalil, erstwhile chief of the banned Harkatul Mujahideen (HM), said on Friday that he feared a backlash from militants over the Lal Masjid operation. “The military operation in the mosque-madrassa complex has serious repercussions and it could have been avoided,” Khalil said, adding that Islamist militants could severely react to it. Khalil, once Osama Bin Laden’s popsie lover close aide, was arrested and released shortly afterwards by the Pakistani law enforcement agencies after the US State Department had banned HM in October 2001. He remained underground until July 10, when the late Lal Masjid cleric Maulana Abdul Rashid Ghazi and Pakistan Muslim League president Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain had requested him to facilitate negotiations. He denounced the killing of “innocent” people trapped inside the complex and said the operation could have been avoided with a little patience from the government. He said he did not support Lal Masjid’s “Shariah”. He praised Shujaat and Religious Affairs Minister Ejazul Haq for doing their “best to avoid the operation”. He said the Wafaqul Madaris Al Arabia (WMA) delegates had refused to accompany him into Lal Masjid to talk with Ghazi and that the delegates left the surrender point at around 12:30am.

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India-Pakistan

'Eight top terrorists inside Lal Masjid'

2007-07-09

Eight “high value terrorists” wanted by Pakistan and other countries are holed up inside Lal Masjid, while another was killed by security forces in the ongoing operation, Religious Affairs Minister Ejazul Haq said on Sunday. “Nine suspected terrorists said to be far more dangerous and harmful than Al Qaeda and Taliban operatives were hiding inside the mosque compound,” Haq told a press conference here. He refused to reveal the identities of these militants. He said that security forces killed one of these suspected terrorists inside Lal Masjid on the second day of the ongoing operation. He was the mastermind of the failed suicide attack on Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz in Attock in 2005, he said. Haq said that the militants and not Abdul Rashid Ghazi, Lal Masjid’s deputy chief cleric, were controlling the mosque. “The militants are holding children and Ghazi hostage,” he said. He said that of those who had surrendered to the security forces, three girl students were still unclaimed. They were being kept at the Pakistan Sports Complex. He said that about 500 male and female students were still stranded inside the mosque. He also ruled out the government launching any action against other madrassas in Pakistan, including Jamia Faridia. AFP adds: The hardcore militants inside include two commanders from the banned Harkatul-Jihad-e-Islami, security officials said. “We believe there are militants from Harkatul-Jihad-e-Islami, which was involved in the [Daniel] Pearl murder. Based on intelligence we suspect that two commanders from the group are in there,” one senior official told AFP. “They have taken control and they are putting up fierce resistance.” The information was based on “intercepts” and other intelligence, the officials said. A source inside the mosque said there was a “lot of tension among the various groups inside the compound on how to conduct the fight”. He identified one of the Harkatul-Jihad-e-Islami militants as Abu Zar, said to be a one-time accomplice of the group’s late leader Amjad Farooqi, who was killed by security forces in 2004. He also named a Pakistani Taliban militant from Waziristan, Mohammad Fida, as the “security chief” of the compound. There was no official confirmation of the names.

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India-Pakistan

Clerics seek safe passage for Ghazi brigade

2007-07-08

A 13-member delegation of clerics led by Religious Affairs Minister Ejazul Haq called on Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz on Saturday and asked him to let Lal Masjid deputy cleric Abdul Rashid Ghazi and his men go free. A delegation member told Daily Times that Aziz told them that he would inform them about his decision today (Sunday). The delegation also protested against the police takeover of Jamia Faridia on which the prime minister directed the religious affairs minister to remove the police from the seminary. Earlier, clerics held a meeting at Jamia Muhammadia.

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India-Pakistan

Chief cleric held, told to order surrender

2007-07-05

Lal Masjid chief cleric Maulana Abdul Aziz was arrested on Wednesday night as he tried escape from the mosque complex in a dress, heels, and ladies' underwear burqa, officials said. His wife Ume Hassan, principal of Jamia Hafsa, was also arrested, Interior Ministry spokesman Brig (r) Javed Iqbal Cheema told reporters. He said the cleric had not surrendered, but was trying to escape. The maulana was arrested at the nearby FG Girls High School, where policewomen were screening girl madrassa students who had surrendered. Upon discovery that one of these was the mosque’s leader, security forces immediately frisked him away. And he *liked* it. ARY television later reported that Religious Affairs Minister Ejazul Haq had met with Aziz and asked him to tell the Lal Masjid students to surrender. Haq met Aziz at a secret location where the latter is being detained and asked him to record a statement for television appealing to his students to surrender. "We're for it for sure, Abdul. Put your false eyelashes back on and *work* that white flag!" "Hokay, chief. Just make sure they get my good side." The channel claimed Aziz’s deputy Abdul Rasheed Ghazi had also agreed to surrender after the arrest of his brother and talks with Maulana Fazlur Rehman and Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Haidry.

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India-Pakistan

Jamia Hafsa likely to dominate Pak-Chinese talks

2007-06-25

China’s concern about increasing extremism in Sinkiang and the kidnapping of its nationals by a madrassa students in Islamabad will dominate the four-day Pak-Chinese talks starting today (Monday) in Beijing. Can you say "international incident," boys and girls? I thought you could. A delegation headed by Interior Minister Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao flew to Beijing on Sunday for the talks. The visit, which was put off when Jamia Hafsa girls and their male colleagues kidnapped six Chinese women and a man, has been approved following the release of the abductees, according to sources. "Sooo, Kasuri! Do you bring an explanation for the kidnapping of our hookers?" Sherpao told Daily Times on Sunday that besides bilateral agreements of security and fighting terrorism the issue of Sinkiang was expected to be discussed during a Joint Working Group meeting. He said Pakistan would strike a deal with China to buy security equipment. "Your religious fanatics have the temerity to kidnap Chinese citizens?" "But Sahib General Secretary, they're hookers!" "China produces the world's best hookers! We also produce excellent fantatics. Would you like to see some?" "I don't..." "Comrade Big Wang! Bring in the Red Guards!" "Yes, Comrade General Secretary! How many would you like?" "How many are in the lobby?" "8000, Comrade General Secretary!" "That should do. Bring them in." The security bosses of the two countries will also discuss a list of nine militants wanted by Beijing, the Islamic movement in Sinkiang, check posts at Sust, visa-free movement and intelligence sharing, sources said. They said China had given Pakistan a list of nine militants that might be hiding in Pakistan. "Oh, really, Sahib General Secretary! We looked, but we couldn't find them..." "We are not India, Kasuri. Don't mess with us." They said Beijing had also conveyed its reservations to Islamabad over the involvement of some ‘hidden hands’ in running the affairs of East Turkistan Islamic Movement. Sources said China had earlier asked Pakistan to bilaterally explore these ‘hidden hands’ as the Islamic movement was a source of unrest in Sinkiang. Sinkiang is an autonomous province in northwestern China bordering Mongolia and Kazakhstan. It is homeland to Uighurs. "You play the Great Game very well, Kasuri. But we don't play games. Get my point?" Sources said the two countries would also discuss the preparation of fake travel documents for Chinese pilgrims as the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) reportedly arrested some 17 Chinese Muslims intending to perform Haj early this year. Pakistan had complained to China about the preparation of fake travel documents for its citizens and offered to facilitate Haj trips for Chinese pilgrims from its soil, sources said. "I think you'll find our fake travel documents are very high quality, Sahib General Secretary, sir! They're a national obsession, y'know." Sherpao and Religious Affairs Minister Ejazul Haq will visit Saudi Arabia to make arrangements for the Chinese pilgrims if China accepted Pakistan’s offer, according to sources. A methodology to introduce a visa-free regime will also be discussed as China has earlier suggested the abolition of visas on a reciprocal basis to ease movement of traders between the two countries. China had also proposed that visitors should be issued passes after their first entry to each of the countries if visa-free travel was not possible at present, sources said.

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India-Pakistan

Ejazul Haq to visit Britain next month

2007-06-22

Religious Affairs Minister Ejazul Haq, who caused outrage in the UK by remarking that author Salman Rushdie’s knighthood justified suicide attacks, said on Thursday that he is set to visit Britain next month. Gosh. I hope he doesn't explode or something. Mr Haq made the comment about The Satanic Verses author in parliament on Monday but later withdrew his words, insisting that he meant to say the award would foster extremism. “Yes, I may travel to Britain next month as a British delegation has invited me to guide them on how to engage khateebs and imams in a constructive dialogue,” he told AFP. The 52-year-old minister said the schedule of his visit was not finalised but that it would give him an opportunity to better convey his point of view. “The visit would also help clear many things and misunderstandings about my remarks about the knighting of Salman Rushdie by Britain,” he added. The British delegation met Mr Haq on Monday and included representatives from Britain’s Home Office and Foreign Office with responsibility for engaging with the Islamic world and preventing extremism, he said. The British HC in Islamabad was not immediately available for comment.

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India-Pakistan

Ejaz should be dismissed: Benazir

2007-06-21

Former prime minister Benazir Bhutto on Wednesday said the government should dismiss Religious Affairs Minister Ejazul Haq who apparently justified suicide attacks on author Salman Rushdie. “The minister has done a great disservice both to the image of Islam and the standing of Pakistan by calling for the murder of a foreign citizen,” Benazir said in a statement. She said although the sentiments of Muslims were outraged when Rushdie was awarded a knighthood, neither Islam nor the law allowed suicide attacks.

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Britain

Britain slams suicide attack warning

2007-06-20

Britain voiced “deep concern” on Tuesday at reported comments by Pakistani Religious Affairs Minister Ejazul Haq suggesting that author Salman Rushdie’s knighthood could justify suicide attacks, as protests mounted. The expression of worry came as British Muslim leaders condemned the award for the Indian-born author as a “provocation”, but urged restraint from Muslims in this country, rather than the outpourings of anger in Pakistan. As Charles Johnson pointed out, keep an eye on Friday, after prayers. A Foreign Office spokesman said British High Commissioner to Pakistan Robert Brinkley had made London’s position clear in talks at the Pakistani Foreign Ministry in Islamabad. “He made clear the British government’s deep concern at what the minister for religious affairs was reported to have said,” he told AFP. “The British government is very clear that nothing can justify suicide bomb attacks.” “It is surprising that the British government is criticising me. I am the one who is heading the front-line ministry for the front-line state in the war against terrorism,” Haq told AFP. Haq said he had already withdrawn the comment, which he made in parliament on Monday, saying that he meant the knighthood could spark extremism. Meanwhile, Pakistan summoned Britain’s ambassador to the Foreign Ministry on Tuesday. British High Commissioner Robert Brinkley had been called to receive a protest, High Commission spokesman Aidan Liddle told AFP without giving further details. Pakistan Foreign Office spokeswoman Tasnim Aslam confirmed that Brinkley had been summoned and said that he received a copy of resolutions passed by parliament against the knighthood. “The meeting has taken place. The high commissioner was called and he was given copies of resolutions passed. It was further conveyed to that Pakistan deplores and regrets the decision by the British government,” Aslam said. She said the award of the knighthood showed a “lack of sensitivity”. “He was told the decision by the British government was contrary to objectives to bring about harmony between the faiths. He was told that the people of Pakistan and Muslims all around the world resent this decision.” Brinkley issued a statement late on Monday defending the award and saying it was “simply untrue that this knighthood is intended as an insult to Islam or Prophet Mohammed.” “Sir Salman’s knighthood is a reflection of his contribution to literature throughout a long and distinguished career which has seen him receive international recognition for a substantial body of work,” Brinkley said. Meanwhile, legislators in the NWFP called for Pakistan to sever diplomatic ties with London over the Rushdi issue. In Lahore, around 150 hardline protesters torched an effigy of the British queen and called for Rushdi to be handed over to an Islamic court. “We want Rushdi to be handed over to Muslim country where he should be tried under Sharia law,” protest leader Shahid Gilani of the Shabab-e-Milli told the crowd. “The punishment for a blasphemer is death.” “We have also decided that we will from now on call every dog ‘Sir’,” he said. Meanwhile the Muslim Council of Britain (MCB), the main umbrella group of Islamic organisations, condemned Rushdie’s knighthood as a “provocation” but called for restraint from ordinary Muslims. Author Salman Rushdi said on Monday he was “thrilled and humbled” to be awarded a British knighthood. In a statement issued by his agent in New York, where he lives, Rushdie said, “I am thrilled and humbled to receive this great honor and am very grateful that my work has been recognised in this way.”

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India-Pakistan

No progress on Hafsa issue: Ejaz

2007-05-07

Federal Religious Affairs Minister Ejazul Haq has denied any forward movement on the Jamia Hafsa issue, saying the issue could not be resolved till madrassa students evacuated the Children’s Library in Islamabad. He told reporters on Sunday that the madrassa was defaming other seminaries in the country. He said Pakistan People’s Party chief Benazir Bhutto was trying to trap President Pervez Musharraf. He said she would never return to Pakistan. “Benazir wants the government to withdraw the cases against her,” he said. Haq said the government would hold free elections, adding that it would never strike a deal with the PPP. He also said women would now wear a specific dress during Haj.

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