India-Pakistan |
Zardari, Fazl discuss potential key legislation ahead of joint sitting |
2024-08-25 |
... to split the boodle... [GEOTV] President Asif Ali Ten PercentZardari ...former and current president of Pakistain, husband of the late Benazir Bhutto, who has been singularly lacking in curiosity about who done her in... on Saturday held an important meeting with Jamaat Ulema-e-Islam ...the political wing of the Pak Taliban... -Fazl (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman ![]() Mullah Dieselduring the war against the Soviets, his sympathies for the Taliban have never been tempered by honesty. Fazl seldom misses a meal and is now so large he has his own gravitational pull... amid reports that the government was planning to summon join session of parliament on August 28. The president along with Minister for Interior Senator Mohsin Naqvi arrived at Fazl's residence in the federal capital. The meeting was also attended by JUI-F leaders including Maulana Abdul Ghafoor, Maulana Asad Mehmood, Aslam Ghauri and Engineer Ziaur Rehman. Both leaders held detailed deliberation on potential key legislation likely to be tabled in the joint sitting. |
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India-Pakistan |
CTD official links recent spate of targeted killings in Karachi to ‘enemy country’ |
2023-09-23 |
[Dawn] A Sindh Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) official claimed on Friday that a series of murders carried out in Bloody Karachi ...formerly the capital of Pakistain, now merely its most important port and financial center. It is among the largest cities in the world, with a population of 18 million, most of whom hate each other and many of whom are armed and dangerous... in the past few months were linked to an "enemy country" and the police are closely examining the matter. "This is assassination under a planned conspiracy," Raja Umar Khattab, a senior officer in the CTD, said in a statement. While the official did not refer to specific murders or name a country in his statement, the remarks come weeks after the murders of two holy mans in separate attacks. Ziaur Rehman, the administrator of the Jamia Abi Bakar madrassah in Gulistan-e-Jauhar, was murdered on September 12 and on September 6, Qari Khurram Shahzad, a seminary teacher was fatally shot in North Nazimabad. The police had said then that they suspected the involvement of the Indian spy agency Research and Analysis Wing (RAW ... India's Research and Analysis Wing, Pakistain's equivalent of the Boogie Man... ). They had said that the murders were ostensibly aimed to incite violence as they coincided with the arrival of the holy month of Rabiul Awwal. The third month of the Moslem calender, when the faithful celebrate Mawlid, the birthday of the Prophet Moammed. According to Khattab, the police were carrying closely examining the evidence, and soon the culprits and their accomplices would be tracked down.The Karachi police had last week said: "CTD has collected evidence of the incident, while during the preliminary investigation, evidence of the involvement of the intelligence agency of our neighbouring country, RAW, has been found in the incident," it said, without elaborating further. HOSTILE AGENCIES RAW’s involvement was suspected in the killing of a Jamaat-ud-Dawa ...the front organization of Lashkar-e-Taiba... -linked person in Azad 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.... ’s Rawalakot area last week. Late last month, the Punjab 1.) Little Orphan Annie's bodyguard 2.) A province of Pakistain ruled by one of the Sharif brothers 3.) A province of India. It is majority (60 percent) Sikh and Hindoo (37 percent), which means it has relatively few Moslem riots.... Inspector General (IG) Dr Usman Anwar said that the police had unearthed a "network of hostile intelligence agencies" that were allegedly involved in the recent incidents of blasphemy ![]() across the country. On August 16, a He said the aforementioned events were a "conspiracy" to "divert attention" from the communal festivities in India’s Manipur state. But unlike the Indian state’s response, Anwar continued, Pak officials, civil society and scholars helped and supported Christian victims and spoke up against the injustice. Riiiiight. A bit of protesting too much there, buddy. Karachi police also arrested an alleged Indian spy and his local controller in Lyari ...one of the eighteen constituent towns of the city of Karachi. It is the smallest town by area in the city but also the most densely populated. Lyari has few schools, substandard hospitals, a poor water system, limited infrastructure, and broken roads. It is a stronghold of ruling Pakistan Peoples Party. Ubiquitous gang activity and a thriving narcotics industry make Lyari one of the most disturbed places in Karachi, which is really saying a lot.... on August 23. Related: Sindh: 2023-09-15 Daily Evacuation Brief September 15, 2023 Sindh: 2023-09-09 Daily Evacuation Brief September 8, 2023 Sindh: 2023-09-06 Dhangri Killings NIA arrests 2 for harbouring terrorists involved in attack Related: Gulistan-e-Jauhar: 2022-04-28 Pakistan separatist group warns China of more deadly attacks Gulistan-e-Jauhar: 2019-11-13 ‘PSP man’ among five held for over 100 house robberies Gulistan-e-Jauhar: 2019-10-10 Suspect allegedly involved in murder of Hamdard University student arrested Related: North Nazimabad: 2019-11-13 ‘PSP man’ among five held for over 100 house robberies North Nazimabad: 2019-07-31 Karachi remains submerged in darkness hours after last showers North Nazimabad: 2019-02-25 'Robbers' booked for murder of medical student Nimra in Karachi Related: Research and Analysis Wing: 2023-09-20 India-Canada diplomatic row over Sikh leader's murder deepens further Research and Analysis Wing: 2023-07-12 Indian Spy Agency RAW Is The New Mossad; Ex-Officials Talk About Crack Team's Ops In Terrorizing Terrorists Research and Analysis Wing: 2023-05-03 Understanding radicalisation in Kerala and how seeds were sown 30 years back Related: Rawalakot: 2023-03-26 Pakistan continues to sponsor terrorist outfits along LoC Rawalakot: 2021-07-08 Only Kashmiris have the right to decide their future: Bilawal Bhutto Rawalakot: 2019-12-02 Indian Army’s unprovoked firing in Rakhchikri, Rawalakot Sector along LOC. Mortor rounds fired on Pakistani Post |
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India-Pakistan |
Alert for ISIS suicide attack on security forces in Quetta |
2022-12-04 |
[Dawn] The 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... police have issued a threat alert for a suicide kaboom on security forces in the scenic provincial capital. In a statement issued on Saturday, Quetta’s central police office said it had reliably learnt that ISIS — the Arabic acronym for the Islamic State ![]() Allaharound with every other sentence, but to hear western pols talk they're not reallyMoslems.... (IS) krazed killer group — was planning to carry out a suicide attack in Quetta. In this regard, ajacket wallah'> "Suspect's description: Like a moving shorter, squattier Weber Kettle cover" The statement said that it was further learnt that she was currently living with "ISIS terrorist" Ghulam Din at an undisclosed location in Mastung district. She had remained reportedly present with faceless myrmidons in their hideout at Pari Jhal and Nagao areas in the Bolan range, the statement said. The central police office has asked all authorities concerned to take necessary action and preventive measures through concerned SSP and SPs in their respective areas to avoid any untoward incident. "All entry and exit points of Quetta will be checked and more security personnel will be deployed," Balochistan Home Minister Mir Ziaullah Langove said. |
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India-Pakistan |
SC disqualifies PML-N's member of KP Assembly for possessing fake degree |
2018-10-19 |
[DAWN] The Supreme Court on Thursday disqualified a member of the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Assembly, belonging to Pakistain Moslem League-Nawaz, after finding him guilty of possessing a bogus degree. A three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice Saqib Nisar heard the case pertaining to the fake degree of PML-N’s Ziaur Rehman. During the course of proceedings, Justice Nisar asked Rehman about his qualification, to which the PML-N leader said that he had studied Hadith and Fiqah from a seminary. Upon this the chief justice asked Rehman to recite any five Hadith in Arabic, however, the PML-N leader could not recite a single Hadith. "How can you complete matric and a religious course from seminary in the same year?" questioned Justice Nisar. "Moreover, the head of the seminary has informed the apex court that you never completed any course from there," the chief justice told Rehman Subsequently, the bench observed that the degree of Rehman was fake and he was not liable to remain a member of the provincial assembly. |
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India-Pakistan |
'High-profile Afghan-trained suspect' allegedly involved in Diamer school attacks: police report |
2018-08-10 |
[DAWN] Police in Gilgit-Baltistan on Thursday said that a 'militant commander' suspected of involvement in the Diamer school attacks, who was killed during a search operation earlier this week, was a "high-profile Afghan-trained suspect". Diamer Superintendent Police (SP) Rai Ajmal in a report submitted to the Diamer deputy inspector general (DIG) of police said that the suspect, Commander Shafiur Rehman, was killed in an exchange of fire with police. "On noticing the police raiding team, the accused opened indiscriminatory firing that resulted in the martyrdom of Constable Arif Hussain, while Head Constable Karamat Ali sustained bullet injuries," the report said. In response to the incident, police cordoned off the entire area and started a search operation, the SP said. Three suspects identified as Fidaur Rehman, Faizur Rehman and Saeedur Rehman allegedly involved in the attack were tossed in the calaboose I ain't sayin' nuttin' widdout me mout'piece! , whereas Commander Shafi was killed during an exchange of fire, according to the SP's report. A criminal case was registered against Shaifur Rehman, Saeedur Rehman, Fidaur Rehman, Ziaur Rehman, Basil, Nasirullah, Sher Khan and Muhammad Nasir, the report said, adding that efforts are underway for the arrests of the remaining five suspects. The report also said that "unknown terrorists" had shot up the Darel cop shoppe at 2am on Saturday night, to which "police effectively retaliated... in a courageous manner". A case was registered against this incident, as well as against the blocking of a road and firing at passersby by miscreants in Darel's Phuguch area "At present, operations/targeted raids are being conducted in Darel and Tanger subdivisions of the district and it will be further investigated in coordination with other LEAs," the SP said. |
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India-Pakistan |
Peshawar High Court suspends death sentence of military court convict |
2018-05-11 |
[DAWN] The Beautiful Downtown Peshawar![]() High Court (PHC) on Thursday suspended the death sentence handed to a man convicted for terrorism by a military court. The army's media wing last week announced that Chief of Army Staff Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa had ratified the death sentences of 11 murderous Moslems, including one identified as Burhanuddin. He was among three convicts sentenced to death for an attack on a civilian funeral service in Mardan, which resulted in the killing of 30 people, including Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa MPA Mohmind, and left 100 others maimed. The father of 31-year-old Burhanuddin, Umer Daraz Khan, challenged the military court's sentence through his lawyer Ziaur Rehman Tajik. Tajik told a two-judge PHC bench comprising Chief Justice Yahya Afridi and Justice Afsar Shah that Bajaur Agency, aka Turban Central ![]() native Burhanuddin had been tossed in the slammer Please don't kill me! on Jan 16, 2017, for his involvement in a kaboom. He claimed that Burhanuddin was mentally unfit and had been undergoing treatment before and throughout the duration of his custody. Tajik said the family had been unaware of Burhanuddin's location and were informed of his sentencing through the media. The petitioner wondered how a mentally disabled person could be involved in terrorism and awarded capital punishment, adding that the convict had not been given the opportunity of a fair trial. Tajik added that the suspect's family claimed the man was innocent and not involved in any terrorist activity. The bench accepted the family's plea and suspended the military court's sentence, asking the federal government and concerned departments to submit a report and record on the matter in the PHC and fixed May 15 as the date of the next hearing. |
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India-Pakistan |
6 miscreants busted in Rawalpindi |
2016-08-13 |
RAWALPINDI: Six suspected terrorists were apprehended along with a cache of arms and ammunition during a combing operation in Kallar Syedan and Gujar Khan areas of Rawalpindi district on Thursday, said an Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) statement. Amongst the persons arrested are two "important" militant commanders. Prepared improvised explosive devices (IED) were also recovered from their possession, said the statement. Combing operations, which are underway across the country, are the latest initiative undertaken by the army against hiding 'terrorists' and terrorist sleeper cells. A day after the horrific militant attack in Quetta which left over 70 people dead, the Chief of Army Staff Gen Raheel Sharif had instructed corps commanders and intelligence outfits to further intensify combing and targeted operations with the aim to eliminate terrorists and sleepers cells. 'Terror bid foiled' In an unrelated development, four suspected suicide bombers were arrested in a raid by security forces in Khyber Agency's Jamrud tehsil, officials said. Five suicide jackets and 15 kilograms of explosives were recovered from the suspects' possession. The alleged terrorists appeared to have entered Khyber Agency through the Afghanistan border, said Assistant Political agent Ziaur Rehman Security sources said the suspects were planning to attack security installments and hospitals on August 14 during Independence Day celebrations in Peshawar. Rehman said the alleged militants have been shifted to a undisclosed location for further interrogation. |
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India-Pakistan |
Voice samples of Lakhvi in the limelight |
2015-07-19 |
![]() After having pursued the matter for four years, the FIA now says the voice samples cannot be used as evidence. "Though it might be helpful in the course of investigation but the audio allegedly recorded by the Indian Intelligence cannot be used as evidence as there is no law under which the authenticity of the voice could be proved", a senior prosecutor in the Mumbai attacks case told Dawn. He said that though the existing laws permitted the use of electronic evidence, there is no provision under which an accused can be forced to provide an audio recording of his voice which can then be matched with available samples. This view was also echoed by prosecutor Mohammad Azhar Chaudhry who in a telephonic interview to some Indian channels after the Ufa meeting categorically stated that "the issue of voice sample is over now." Prime minister's adviser on national security and foreign affairs after the Ufa meeting has reportedly said that Pakistain needs more information and evidence to conclude the (Mumbai) trial. These statements were made because the Indian side brought up the Lakhvi trial in Ufa, including the issue of matching the voice samples. However, a person who gets all wrapped up in himself makes a mighty small package... the FIA was counting on these voice samples a mere four years ago. In 2011, the Agency went to the IHC to obtain the voice samples of Lakhvi and his co-accused Abdul Wajid, Mazhar Iqbal, Hammad Amin Sadiq, Shahid Jamil, Jamil Ahmed and Younas Anjum currently confined in Adiala Jail. The petition is still pending in the IHC. The IHC division bench on September 12, 2012 dismissed the petition for "non prosecution" -- in other words, the FIA was not pursuing this matter. However, a person who gets all wrapped up in himself makes a mighty small package... after the dismissal the FIA woke up again and its prosecutor filed a revised petition before the court once again asking the court to order the suspects to provide their voice samples. |
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India-Pakistan |
Delhi police arrest chief of Indian Mujahideen |
2014-03-26 |
![]() Don't shoot, coppers! I'm comin' out! Tuesday the alleged head of turban group the Indian Mujahideen A locally recruited auxilliary of Pakistain's Lashkar-e-Taiba, designed to give a domestic patina to Pakistain's terror war against its bigger neighbor... , blamed for a string of deadly attacks including one at a rally in October by election frontrunner Narendra Modi, reports said. New Delhi police arrested Tehseen Akhtar, 23, alias Monu, one of India's most desperados, just days after the home-grown turban group's bomb maker was also taken into custody. The outfit is thought to head a network of home-grown turban groups, with some analysts believing it has links with Lashkar-e-Taiba ...the Army of the Pure,an Ahl-e-Hadith terror organization founded by Hafiz Saeed. LeT masquerades behind the Jamaat-ud-Dawa facade within Pakistain and periodically blows things up and kills people in India. Despite the fact that it is banned, always an interesting concept in Pakistain, the organization remains an blatant tool and perhaps an arm of the ISI... (LT) and Jaish-e-Mohammed turban organizations. The top officer of Delhi's anti-terror cell, S. N. Shrivastava, confirmed the arrest to the Press Trust of India news agency, without giving further details. Police have called a presser for later Tuesday. With the country on high security alert for national elections starting next month, local media said the arrest was a major breakthrough. The banned Indian Mujahideen came to public attention in Nov 2007 following serial blasts in the state of Uttar Pradesh. It is accused of a number of attacks since including in Mumbai, Bangalore, New Delhi and Pune that have killed hundreds. The group was also blamed for a series of small kabooms that killed six people at a rally by Modi, the main opposition's prime ministerial candidate, in October last year. Although a favourite of India's business community and leading in opinion polls, Modi is not exactly the preferred candidate of many Mohammedans. He was chief minister of western Gujarat ...where rioting seems to be a traditional passtime... in 2002 when the state was engulfed by communal riots that left more than 1,000 people, mostly Mohammedans, dead. Akhtar has reportedly been in charge of the Indian Mujahideen since last August when its co-founder and the nation's most wanted man, Yasin Bhatkal, was arrested near the Nepal border. Akhtar's arrest comes after Delhi police seized on the weekend suspected key member Ziaur Rehman along with three of his aides in the western state of Rajasthan. Police said then that the four arrests helped prevent a major turban strike on Indian soil ahead of the elections. |
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Bangladesh |
Bangladesh & 1971 syndrome |
2013-03-06 |
[Dawn] BANGLADESH is again plunging itself into another phase of political turmoil and violence. The decision by the Dhaka-based International Criminal Tribunal (ICT) to award capital punishment to two key leaders of the Bangladeshi 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 independentbranch 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... (JI) on charges of war crimes during the March-December 1971 civil war in the former East Pakistain has triggered large-scale violent protests and festivities with police killing and injuring a large number of people. It must be asked why the Awami League (AL) government of Sheikh Hasina ![]() decided to establish the ICT and try those whom it accused of "collaborating" with the Pakistain Army in the "genocide" of Bengali people during the military operation. On Feb 28, the controversial ICT found JI vice-president and former member of parliament Delwar Hossain Sayeedi ...Islamic orator and politician. He was a former Member of Parliament in the National Assembly of Bangladesh from 1996 to 2008, and is one of the most prominent leaders of the Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami... guilty of murder, religious persecution and rape and sentenced him to death. The verdict triggered widespread protests in different parts of Bangladesh and also invited counter-demonstrations by those who supported the court's verdict. In Dhaka's Shahbagh square, thousands of protesters demanded "exemplary punishment" for war criminals and a ban on the Jamaat. The tribunal is trying a total of nine JI leaders and two members of the opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) for their alleged war crimes. AL is blamed by its opponents, including the BNP, of transforming Bangladesh into a fascist state by using excessive force against opponents, manipulating the events of 1971 for political consumption and transforming the country's Islamic identity into a secular one. Because of three major reasons, Bangladesh is unable to detach itself from the events of 1971. First, anti-Pakistain rhetoric has become an integral part of Bangladesh's political discourse. It is one thing which has been used by various regimes since 1971 to remind people of the liberation war and the value of freedom. Dec 16 in Bangladesh is celebrated as Victory Day. In fact, most of the national days celebrated in Bangladesh are based on anti-Pakistain rhetoric. Feb 21 is celebrated as Language Day to mark the struggle launched in East Pakistain to oppose the imposition of Urdu as a national language. March 26 is celebrated as Independence Day to mark the launch of the brutal military operation by the West Pakistain-dominated regime to quell the Awami League-led civil disobedience movement. Second, some political parties, particularly the Awami League, which fought the liberation war consider it useful to exploit 1971 for political purposes. By diverting people's attention from 'real issues' like corruption, nepotism and bad governance, the AL government is targeting what it calls 'war criminals'. Finally, the sufferings caused to the people of Bangladesh in view of the exploitative and unequal relationship with the West Pakistain-dominated regimes have nurtured anti-Pakistain feelings, which persist even after 41 years of independence from Pakistain. The military operation of 1971 alienated the Bengali population of the former eastern wing, and became the source of Bangladesh's national identity. It is perceived that no government in Bangladesh can detach itself from the events of 1971 and the liberation struggle because the survival of that country rests predominantly on keeping these memories alive. The BNP and other opposition parties in Bangladesh have alleged that the AL, by pursuing a policy of vendetta, wants to eliminate political opponents before the next elections, due in December 2013. By augmenting the level of political polarisation and targeting religious parties, particularly the Jamaat, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has caused her country to plunge into a serious crisis. There have been reported attacks on Hindu temples and two Hindu leaders of AL were recently targeted. Islamists in Bangladesh blame India for sponsoring demonstrations supporting the ICT's verdict against JI leaders. Furthermore, the recent killing of an anti-Islam blogger by five university students and the demand made by Islamic parties to hang other bloggers on charges of blasphemy also indicate a surge of religious extremism in Bangladesh. Steps taken by the AL government in the last few years to reverse the process of Islamisation by military dictators, generals Ziaur Rehman and Hossein Mohammad Ershad, during the late 1970s and 1980s have also deepened the conflict between Islamists and secularists. Putting the matter in historical perspective, in 1974, as a result of Pakistain's recognition of Bangladesh and Sheikh Mujibur Rahman's visit to Lahore for the Second Islamic Summit Conference in Feb 1974, Dhaka agreed not to press for the trial of 195 Pak prisoners of war -- jugged Book 'im, Mahmoud! in Indian PoW camps -- on charges of war crimes. Pakistain has expressed regret to Bangladesh about the excesses committed during 1971 but has so far refused to tender a full apology. Therefore, one way to keep the issue of 1971 alive was to try the Bengali nationals, termed collaborators, who primarily belonged to the Al Badr and Al Shams wings of Jamaat-e-Islami. One plausible way to deal with the 1971 syndrome is to start the process of reconciliation by forming an independent commission to thoroughly investigate excesses committed during the military operation of 1971 by the Pakistain Army as well as the killings of non-Bengalis in East Pakistain by armed Bengalis and the Mukti Bahini. The proposed commission, which can be called the Bangladesh-Pakistain Truth and Reconciliation Commission, will help heal the wounds of 1971 in Bangladesh and in Pakistain and will also help improve relations between the two South Asian countries. |
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Bangladesh |
Bangladesh war crimes court jails Islamic party leader for life |
2013-02-05 |
![]() "Never forget, never forgive, never 'understand.'" Although once he's in prison for the rest of his life, we can decide not to care about him anymore... The International Crimes Tribunal handed down the verdict against Abdul Quader Mollah, 64, a senior figure in the Jamaat-e-Islami party, in a crowded, heavily guarded courtroom at the high court complex in Dhaka. Jamaat was allied with the Pak military during the war for independence. They provided the local muscle as auxilliaries, familiar with who was who and who was where. I think that was the most vicious "civil war" since at least the end of the Second World War, with somewhere between 1.5 and 3 million dead. (Biafra is probably second, with a million civilian and 200k military casualties.) Jamaat called a general strike Tuesday that shuttered shops and schools and slowed traffic to a crawl in parts of the capital. They've been hartaling continuously almost since the start of the war crimes trials. Virtually all the Jamaat's top leadership is on trial or fled. On Monday, in the wake of a large Jamaat protest demanding that the tribunal be scrapped, several people were injured, local media reported. They threatened civil war before the verdict came out. Since this is the cleanup from their first "civil war" (with Pakistain) forty years ago they might want to think twice about that. "We're in the midst of chaos," said Ataur Rahman, a professor at the University of Dhaka. "It's part of Bangladesh politics." When Hasina's in BNP is screaming and hollering in the streets. When BNP is in, Awami League is screaming and hollering in the streets. I don't think BNP has been present in the legislature since Hasina got in. Mollah was found guilty on five of six charges, including mass murder and rape. Prosecutors accused him of participating in the deaths of several hundred unarmed civilians as a then-top leader in the Jamaat's student wing while studying physics at Dhaka University, a charge he denied. "Nope. Nope. Wudn't me." Several other Jamaat leaders are accused of crimes against humanity during the war against Pakistan over four decades ago. Somebody committed them. A significant percentage of the populace didn't tie their hands behind themselves and blow their brains out. On Jan. 21, a major TV preacher and former party member was sentenced to death in absentia. That would be Abul Kalam Azad alias Bachchu Razakar. Wherever he is, he's not going to be extradited. Atty. Gen. Mahbube Alam told media representatives Tuesday that the verdict "upset us as we expected ... capital punishment for the crimes he committed." When he's in jug he's still alive, eligible for prisoner swaps for hostages or for jail breaks, given prison guards who can be bribed. I think Bangla is something like #143 on the "least" corrupt list. Human rights groups have questioned proceedings at the tribunal, which was created in 2010 and has no international oversight. Daily Star has carried accounts of the trials virtually every day. Many of the "issues" are manufactured by the defense -- they didn't show up for the sentencing, for instance. Concerns include a decision not to probe the November disappearance of a defense witness outside the courthouse gates. "An allegation as serious as the abduction of a witness deserves prompt action and a thorough and impartial investigation," Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch, said in a statement at the time. The story is that Shukho Ranjan Bali was abducted by RAB while arriving to give testimony. That was on November 5th. He hasnt been seen since. That was also in Delwar Hussein Sayedee's case, not this one. Jamaat rejected Tuesday's verdict and called for another strike Wednesday in a bid to ramp up pressure on the ruling Awami League. They also "rejected" the arrests of their top leadership. Their "rejection" means more months of rioting in the streets. "The verdict is a reflection of political vengeance," Rafiqul Islam Khan, Jamaat's acting assistant secretary-general, told reporters. "The verdict is dictated by the government." Hasina's govt seems determined to break the power of the Jamaat. Jamaat is part of BNP's four-party alliance -- even though religion-based parties are illegal under the Bangla constitution -- as one reason. They also kind of blatantly involved with the extremist groups like JMB and HuJI. Most important, though, I think, is that they turn their brown turbans out flinging bricks and whacking things and setting fire to cars at the least opportunity. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's government, which initiated the tribunal, has denied any bias in the proceedings. Bangladesh's political system can be highly polarized, and all of those on trial for war crimes are opposition politicians. There's a political element to it, but I'm sure it galls Hasina and her associates to see the Jamaat leadership fat and happy and allied with Khaleda Zia -- the widow of Ziaur Rehman. Analysts said the government may have underestimated how contentious the tribunal would become. Many of the accused are well-entrenched in Bangladeshi politics four decades on, even as a younger generation finds appeal in Jamaat's Islamic message. I already said they were fat and happy. "If the government pushes too hard to get these guys, it could create more divisions in society," Rahman said. "We still carry a lot of emotion from the 1971 war." Doing nothing is always the easiest thing, isn't it? Doing something to contain or eliminate a growing threat is much harder. Jamaat, which opposed Bangladesh's independence from Pakistan in 1971, is suspected of helping organize groups that assisted Pakistani troops in killings, rapes and arson. According to official figures, Pakistani troops and local collaborators killed 3 million people and raped 200,000 women. It's not "suspected." It's documented. The guys on trial are among those documented. Police last week said they shot and killed two Jamaat activists in clashes across Bangladesh. The party has put the number of its members in the hands of police at four. Twelve people, including five policemen, were injured over the weekend after Jamaat supporters clashed with police in a Dhaka suburb. |
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India-Pakistan | ||
'Outing' Elements Behind Mumbai Attacks | ||
2012-11-25 | ||
Intelligence officials told a court in Rawalpindi that Lashkar-e-Taiba used several training camps inside Pakistain for the attacks that killed 166 people![]() ...the Army of the Pure,an Ahl-e-Hadith terror organization founded by Hafiz Saeed. LeT masquerades behind the Jamaat-ud-Dawa facade within Pakistain and periodically blows things up and kills people in India. Despite the fact that it is banned, always an interesting concept in Pakistain, the organization remains an blatant tool and perhaps an arm of the ISI... was involved too and started a trial against one of its leaders, Ziaur Rehman Lakhvi, and several others at an anti-terrorism court inside Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi. But it denied that the ISI was involved. This month, Pakistain authorities decided to tell the Court that Al-Qaeda-linked LeT used several training camps inside Pakistain for the attacks. This is an advance on the trend of agreeing with the details revealed by India after the attacks. The trial has dragged on at Rawalpindi with rumours that the prison conditions for Lakhvi and others were made lax. The Court has recently acquitted deserter Major Haroon Ashiq, the target-killer operated by Al Qaeda commander Ilyas Kashmiri who was later himself killed by a drone. But the latest official admission of the terrorist camps tends to increase the possibility of linking personalities other than those in LeT to Mumbai attacks. Daily Dawn (11 Nov 2012) reported the following: "Intelligence officials informed an anti-terrorism court (ATC) in Rawalpindi Adiala jail that suspects in the Mumbai attacks case got training at various centres of the banned Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) turban organization, including navigational training in Bloody Karachi ...formerly the capital of Pakistain, now merely its most important port and financial center. It may be the largest city in the world, with a population of 18 million, most of whom hate each other and many of whom are armed and dangerous...
...a city and an eponymous district in eastern Khyber-Pakthunwa, nestled snug up against Pak Kashmir, with Kohistan and Diamir to the north and Abbottabad to the south... Mirpur Sakro in Thatta and Muzaffarabad... additional abettors were trained at LeT centres and at sea near Yousaf Goth in Bloody Karachi's Gadap town." Does this mean that Pakistain has admitted the attacks were planned in Pakistain? No, because in 2009, Pakistain had already acknowledged the Mumbai attacks were partly plotted on its soil and announced criminal proceedings against eight suspects, including three alleged ringleaders, heeding US and Indian demands to punish those responsible for the deaths of 166 people. Pakistain was no longer in denial. Interior Minister Rehman Malik Pak politician, Interior Minister under the Gilani government. Malik is a former Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) intelligence officer who rose to head the FIA during Benazir Bhutto's second tenure. Malik was tossed from his FIA job in 1998 after documenting the breath-taking corruption of the Sharif family. By unhappy coincidence Nawaz Sharif became PM at just that moment and Malik moved to London one step ahead of the button men. He had to give up the interior ministry job because he held dual Brit citizenship. announced he had uncovered some training grounds in Bloody Karachi. The media war that began between India and Pakistain after 2008 should have ended after that, with the Pak media eating humble pie, but it did not happen. After the latest revelation at Adiala jail, the Pak media should have covered the event in great detail. But it did not. Some denial is still there, at least on the part of the media. But after Geo TV's Kamran Khan unveiled the news about the Adiala 'outing' of LeT, the media was too stunned by its defeat to comment on it. In 2008, the only Pak terrorist captured in the Mumbai attacks, Ajmal Kasab, implicated the Pak Navy and the Dawood Ibrahim network based in Bloody Karachi for providing assistance and training for the Mumbai assault team.
But Pakistain was not willing to admit more than what it admitted in 2009. It was not willing to accept Ajmal Kasab's confessions relating to Pak state functionaries. Then something even more unexpected happened in June 2012. A key suspect in the November 2008 Mumbai attacks, Syed Zabihuddin Ansari alias Abu Jandal, was incarcerated Keep yer hands where we can see 'em, if yez please! in Soddy Arabia ...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual hajj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. When the oil runs out the rest of the world is going to kick sand in their national face... and turned over to Indian authorities. Abu Jandal reportedly made significant admissions implicating members of the Mighty Pak Army and ISI in the planning of the attack. The Mumbai siege, he is reported to have told Indian authorities, was orchestrated by LeT, which he described as a long-time proxy of Pakistain's military and intelligence establishment. According to the Indians, he also told them that LeT chieftain Hafiz Muhammad Saeed ![]() ...who would be wearing a canvas jacket with very long sleeves anyplace but Pakistain... was present in the control room during the attack. The Indians say he also named two Mighty Pak Army officers, Sajid Mir and Major Iqbal, as being directly involved in the terrorist attack. Another ex-Pak terrorist, David Headley, was also connected to the Mumbai attacks. He is now under arrest in the US. He was reportedly was paid off (425,000) by Major Iqbal for doing recce for the attacks. Headley admits to have reported to Ilyas Kashmiri in Wazoo, the terrorist who preyed on and launched attacks on the Pakistain Army as well. More damage was in store. In 2011, the Americans killed Osama bin Laden ... who abandoned all hope when he entered there... in Abbottabad ... A pleasant city located only 30 convenient miles from Islamabad. The city is noted for its nice weather and good schools. It is the site of Pakistain's military academy, which was within comfortable walking distance of the residence of the late Osama bin Laden.... . Documents captured by them in Osama bin Laden's compound show that the dear departed Al Qaeda master was in regular, direct contact with the Let's top man. The files also suggest that bin Laden and Al Qaeda had played a significant role in planning the attack on Mumbai. The surveillance reports paid for by the ISI's man reportedly ended up in bin Laden's hands. Bruce Riedel, a former CIA operative and advisor to President B.O. on Afghanistan and Pakistain, based on his opinion on these documents, wrote that Osama bin Laden had been in close contact with Hafiz Muhammad Saeed, the top LeT man, and helped plan the 2008 Mumbai attack. The revelation of Mr Saeed's alleged ties to bin Laden led the US to offer a $10 million bounty for information that could lead to the LeT chieftain's successful prosecution. The relationship is traced back to Abdullah Azzam the founder of both Al Qaeda and LeT, the latter born as Dawat wal Irshad in Beautiful Downtown Peshawar ...capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (formerly known as the North-West Frontier Province), administrative and economic hub for the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan. Peshawar is situated near the eastern end of the Khyber Pass, convenient to the Pak-Afghan border. Peshawar has evolved into one of Pakistan's most ethnically and linguistically diverse cities, which means lots of gunfire. next Azzam's own office. A mentor of Osama bin Laden, Azzam was killed in Peshawar. One Pak journalist who lost his life telling the truth about the Mumbai attack was Saleem Shahzad. In his book Inside Al Qaeda and the Taliban: Beyond Bin Laden and 9/11(Pluto Press 2011), he wrote that it was Al Qaeda who planned the Mumbai attack 'through former Pakistain army officers with help from LeT without the knowledge of the ISI despite the fact that LeT was on ISI's leash'. He wrote further: 'The Mumbai operation was actually the revival of an old ISI plan. The idea was to deflect the Pakistain Army away from Waziristan and get it to fight India instead. This nearly succeeded: Pakistain's turban leaders Mullah Fazlullah ![]() Mullah FM, Fazlullah had the habit of grabbing his FM mike when the mood struck him and bellowing forth sermons. Sufi suckered the Pak govt into imposing Shariah on the Swat Valley and then stepped aside whilst Fazlullah and his Talibs imposed a reign of terror on the populace like they hadn't seen before, at least not for a thousand years or so. For some reason the Pak intel services were never able to locate his transmitter, much bomb it. After ruling the place like a conquered province for a year or so, Fazlullahs Talibs began gobbling up more territory as they pushed toward Islamabad, at which point as a matter of self-preservation the Mighty Pak Army threw them out and chased them into Afghanistan... and Baitullah Mehsud announced that they would fight alongside Pakistain's armed forces in an India-Pakistain war, and the director general of ISI, Lt-Gen Ahmad Shuja Pasha, confirmed this understanding in his briefing to national and foreign correspondents when he called Fazlullah and Baitullah Mehsud Pakistain's strategic assets' (p.95). In the July 2005 issue of monthly Herald, Zulfiqar Ali described one of the terrorist camps in Mansehra where Al Qaeda had interface with our jihadi organizations, including LeT. The news in 2001 that the Mansehra camp had been disbanded was mere exaggeration. Before Osama bin Laden was finally made to live in Abbottabad, he thought he could be comfortable in Mansehra where Al Qaeda was lending a hand. Abbas Nasir has noted (Dawn 17 Nov 2012) the sophistication of Jamaat-ud-Dawa ...the front organization of Lashkar-e-Taiba... (JD), the successor of LeT headed by Mr Saeed, in dealing with the fallout of Mumbai attacks. He relates this image of JD as a welfare organization to Hafiz Muhammad Saeed's interface with the establishment. Nasir quotes: 'Earlier this week, Hindustan Times carried a story that Ziaur Rehman Lakhvi, one of the key accused facing trial for the Mumbai carnage in Rawalpindi's Adiala prison, has fathered a child during his four-year incarceration. The child is said to be two years old. The report says this was disclosed to his Indian interrogators by another key suspect, Abu Jandal, who was extradited from Saudi Arabia. Abu Jandal is reported to have said this good news was given to him by Lakhvi himself in a phone conversation'. Monthly Naya Zamana (Oct 2012) quoted the BBC as saying that federal Interior Minister Rehman Malik told the visiting Indian foreign minister SM Krishna that Pakistain was helpless to do anything against a popular leader of Jamaat-ud-Dawa because the court had let him off the hook. Rehman Malik explained that after the government arrested him in the wake of Mumbai attacks and produced him before the Court the judge let him go because his lawyer had been a teacher of the said judge. The Court adjudged him as unconnected with LeT. | ||
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