Recent Appearances...

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Hello !
Recent Appearances...

Mohammad Kaleq Faruqi

Hizb-e Islami

Afghanistan/South Asia

20040513

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Afghanistan

ISKP leader captured.

2020-04-17

[Twitter]

Today Afghan intelligence (NDS) claimed arrest of Islamic State Khorasan (ISKP) emir Aslam Faruqi aka Abdullah Orakzai. He once used to be a member of Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) until he defected to ISKP. #Afghanistan pic.twitter.com/bnUXYXgUk7
— FJ (@Natsecjeff) April 4, 2020

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Bangladesh

Monirul: Main JMB weakening

2016-08-20

[Dhaka Tribune] Al-Qaeda-inspired JMB, an outlawed Lion of Islam group responsible for carrying out series kabooms in 63 districts on this day in 2005, has lost much of its strength in the recent years, detectives say.

But, the recently-emerged Jama’atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) faction has appeared on the scene as a deadlier Lion of Islam group than the mainstream one, founded in 1998 by Shayakh Abdur Rahman.

Law enforcers blame the New JMB members for most of the recent assassination'>assassinations including the Gulshan and Sholakia attacks, while some of the attacks were claimed by another Lion of Islam group Ansarullah Bangla Team. Ansarullah was declared banned in May last year.

The New JMB is believed to be inspired by international terrorist group Islamic State
...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems....
and local Ahle Hadith group. It is operated by eight to ten coordinators under the leadership of a yet unidentified spiritual leader from a northern district, detectives say.

Police say they have incarcerated
I ain't sayin' nuttin' widdout me mout'piece!
around 150 New JMB members in the last two years.

The main JMB in June this year issued a statement describing the attacks they have conducted since 1998 and denied having involved in other attacks. It said former majlish-e-sura member Salahuddin alias Salehin alias Sajeeb became their chief after he was snatched from a prison van in February 2014.

In another statement released on July 31, the JMB claimed they had no connection with the Gulshan attack when 23 people mostly foreigners were killed in a restaurant on July 1.

The previous chief, 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...
leader Maulana Saidur Rahman, has been in jail since 2010 while its founder was hanged in 2007 along with several other policymakers including Siddiqur Rahman alias Bangla Bhai.

The group was banned on February 23, 2005.

After the August 17 blasts carried out in 511 places, the JMB carried out several suicide kabooms killing at least 33 people before its top leaders were arrested in early 2006. The notorious group came to light by establishing a reign of terror in Rajshahi and NATO
...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. A collection of multinational and multilingual and multicultural armed forces, all of differing capabilities, working toward a common goal by pulling in different directions...
re in 2004 by killing and torturing dozens of people, in the name of operations against forces of Evil linked to leftist parties and under the patronisation of some BNP-Jamaat leaders, and the attack on Prof Humayun Azad.

Around 160 cases were filed against the JMB leaders and patrons across the country regarding these incidents. But verdicts have been given in only 88 of the cases in the last 11 years.

At least 51 cases are still waiting for disposal in different district courts.

In the 88 cases, 35 bully boyz were given death penalty, and of them, only six have been executed so far. The other cases are pending with the top court. The courts sentenced 131 bully boyz to life-term imprisonment in these cases.

Four out of the 18 cases filed over 33 blasts in Dhaka city on this day in 2005 have been quashed by the courts.

According to the Police Headquarters data, police gave final report in 17 out of 160 cases clearing the accused. The number of people sued in the 143 other cases was 242 but charges were pressed against 1,157 people. Investigators say 960 of the accused have been arrested so far. However,
ars longa, vita brevis...
the number of bully boyz who secured bail could not be known.

In the recent years, the main JMB members were responsible for several assassination'>assassinations that include Mohammad Shahidullah at Tanore in Rajshahi on May 6, retired sergeant instructor of Kashimpur jail Rustom Hawlader in Gazipur on April 25, Pir Khijir Khan in Badda area of Dhaka on October 5 last year, popular preacher Sheikh Nurul Islam Faruqi in Dhaka on August 27, 2014, and self-proclaimed Pir Lutfar Rahman, his son and four disciples at Gopibagh in Dhaka on December 21, 2013.

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Afghanistan

NDS foils Haqqani attacks planned for Kabul

2015-08-16

[Khaama (Afghanistan)] The National Directorate of Security
...the Afghan national intel agency...
(NDS) -- Afghanistan's intelligence agency has foiled plot to carry out suicide and other coordinated attacks in capital Kabul
...the capital of Afghanistan. Home to continuous fighting from 1992 to 1996 between the forces of would-be strongman and Pak ISI/Jamaat-e-Islami sock puppet Gulbuddin Hekmayar and the Northern Alliance, a period which won Hek the title Most Evil Man in the World and didn't do much for the reputations of the Northern Alliance guys either....
.

A statement issued by the NDS on Saturday states that a group of Death Eaters belonging to the Haqani terrorist network was busted in Niazi village of Pul-e-Alam, bustling provincial capital of Pashtun-infested Logar, that planned to carry out these attacks.

Nine snuffies were scheduled to take part in these attacks, four of them were killed and five tossed in the clink
You have the right to remain silent...
in a clash erupted during the raid, the statement adds.

Those arrested include Mohammad Ishaq S/O Abdul Baqi -- planner of suicide and coordinated attacks, Shabir alias Gulzar and Hamid S/O Zabto Khan -- two jacket wallahs, Sayed Agha and Hamidullah -- were sheltering the suicide bombers.

The blurb further adds that several heavy and light weapons were recovered from the Lion of Islam hideout during this operation.

In the initial investigation, the five detained Death Eaters have confessed that they had received a month long training for combat and suicide kaboom in Faruqi Madrasa (seminary) located in Tal area of Miranshah
... headquarters of al-Qaeda in Pakistain and likely location of Ayman al-Zawahiri. The Haqqani network has established a ministate in centered on the town with courts, tax offices and lots of madrassas...
, administrative headquarters of the North

Wazoo Agency, before being sent to Pashtun-infested Logar province.

They have further said that they were told to enter Kabul from Pashtun-infested Logar and target busy parts of the city.

Link

Bangladesh

DB identifies militant leader behind sleeper cells

2014-10-20

[Dhaka Tribune] The Detective Branch of police has claimed that the prime suspect of blogger Ahmed Rajib Haider's murder was also one of the Death Eater leaders who recently directed three JMB sleeper cells to kill two teachers in the capital.

Investigators said Ansarullah Bangla Team leader Redwanul Azad Rana, who hailed from Feni's Daganbhuiyan upazila and was a charge sheet enlisted accused in blogger Rajib's murder case, was one of the "big shots" who criminal masterminded the plan on attacking the Monipur High School teachers.

"Rana, who instructed to kill blogger Rajib and attack blogger Asif Mohiuddin, also made the plan to attack two teachers of Monipur School", Monirul Islam, joint commissioner of DB police, told the Dhaka Tribune yesterday.

He added that two other killings were criminal masterminded by Rana, who was inspired to become a Death Eater after listening to Ansarullah Bangla Team (ABT) chief Mufti Jasimuddin Rahmani's instructions during his stay in the capital's Mohammadpur area.

The information was extracted from Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh
The JMB is said to be the youth front of Al Mujahideen, the parent organization that began working toward establishing Bangladesh as an Islamic state in the mid 1990s which remains obscure even today. Other organizations, such as Jama'atul Jihad, JMB, Jagrata Muslim Janata Bangladesh (JMJB), Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami (HUJI), Hizbut Tawhid, Tawhidi Janata, Islami Jubo Shangha, Islami Shangha, Al Falah A'am Unnayan Shanstha and Shahadat-e al Hiqma are believed to be part of the Al Mujahideen network. The JMB at its peak was reported to contain at least 100,000 members, and an alleged 2,000-man suicide brigade, few of whom actually exploded. JMB allegedly received financial assistance from individual donors in Kuwait, UAE, Bahrain, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Libya. Reports have claimed that funding of JMB by international NGOs like Kuwait based Society of the Revival of Islamic Heritage (RIHS) and Doulatul Kuwait, Saudi Arabia based Al Haramaine Islamic Institute and Rabita Al Alam Al Islami, Qatar Charitable Society and UAE-based Al Fuzaira and Khairul Ansar Al Khairia. The top leadership of JMB was captured in 2005 and hung in 2007, which pretty much shot their bolt.
(JMB) operative Khorshed Alam Rubel, who was incarcerated
Don't shoot, coppers! I'm comin' out!
in Dhaka last week.

"We have got a list of important persons of state from Rubel, which we are calling a hit list; and we are investigating into such activities," said Monirul.

Sleepers cells ‐ groups of holy warriors who remain dormant in strategic positions until receiving an order to attack ‐ had also been used to carry out the murder of six people in Gopibagh and the killing of Channel i Islamic programme presenter Nurul Islam Faruqi, the DB chief added.

Asked about the current location of Rana, the DB official said the police had information that he was trying to reorganise Death Eater activities from a hideout in the country, adding that raids were also being carried out to apprehend Rana.

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Bangladesh

DB suspects JMB, Ansarullah hand in Faruqi murder

2014-09-16

[Dhaka Tribune] The Detective Branch of Police has claimed to have nearly solved the mystery behind the killing of Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat leader Sheikh Nurul Islam Faruqi.

They now blame the supporters of banned Islamist outfit Jama'atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) and Ansarullah Bangla Team for their involvement in the killing that took place on August 27 in the capital.

Monirul Islam, DMP joint commissioner, told the Dhaka Tribune: "We are suspecting the involvement of JMB and Ansarullah Bangla Team after collecting proof. Now we are trying to identify the people involved. We are very close to solving the case."

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India-Pakistan

Will President Zardari stay in Pakistan post-retirement?

2013-07-14

[Dawn]

President Asif Ali Ten Percent Zardari
... husband of the late Benazir Bhutto, who has been singularly lacking in curiosity about who done her in ...
is expected to leave Pakistain to stay abroad for an indefinite period after his retirement on September 8.

Sources close to the president told Dawn.com that his friends advised him to stay away given serious threats to his life. President Zardari has already told his associates he will not contest the next presidential elections. "And why should he? We are not even having a candidate to run for the office of president," presidential spokesperson Senator Farhatullah Babar said.

The balance of power drastically shifted in favor of Pakistain Moslem League-Nawaz (PML-N) after the May 11 general elections. Under Article 41(3), the Electoral College for the president comprises the Senate, National Assembly and the four provincial assemblies. The PML-N enjoys an absolute majority in the electoral college.

Pakistain Peoples Party (PPP) MPA Sharmila Faruqi expressed ignorance about the future plans of the president. The presidential spokesperson did not respond to queries about the speculation either.

However,
a lie repeated often enough remains a lie...
according to sources, the liquidation of the president's chief security officer Bilal Sheikh was a wake up call for President Zardari and his family -- once the security layers around them are not intact post-retirement, they could be in an extremely vulnerable position.

Sheikh himself is not the first high profile security officer of the Bhutto himself to be killed. Previously, Khalid Shahenshah, the Bilawal House chief security officer, was killed outside his residence in 2008. In 2011, Imran Jangi, another prominent security officer of the Bhutto family was bumped off 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...
For many, it seems like a natural conclusion. "Look at the president's public appearances in the last five years. Very rare. He prefers to live in his bunker. Now after losing all presidential privileges he will not stay in Pakistain," commented a former People's Party (PPP) leader who requested not to be named.

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Down Under

Australia gets first female Muslim MP

2013-04-08

A Pakistani-born migrant who made the top ranks of environmental engineering is set to become the first Muslim woman elected to an Australian parliament, after the NSW Greens chose Mehreen Faruqi to fill a state upper house vacancy. The Greens said yesterday that Dr Faruqi had been preselected by a mail ballot of all NSW members of the party, from a field of seven in a contest in which only women could run.

Islamic Friendship Association spokesman Keysar Trad yesterday hailed the move as a major advance in demonstrating opportunity for Muslim women in Australia, but warned Dr Faruqi could have difficulty reconciling the teachings of Islam with Green policies, such as the party's support for gay marriage.

Dr Faruqi indicated she will fully take on board the leftist agenda, saying she would be "fighting for gender equality and equal marriage" and taking up "the campaign against coal-seam gas mining".

Dr Faruqi called herself a practising Muslim, but said she came from a modern stream of Islam in Pakistan and did not, for example, wear a niqab.

She steered around whether she, like former Greens NSW leader and now senator Lee Rhiannon, supported the international Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions campaign against Israel, saying she supported the Green policy of promoting human rights for Palestinians and Israelis.

Mr Trad said the elevation of Dr Faruqi would encourage Muslim women to enter politics. But he said Islamic leaders remained absolutely opposed to homosexuality and gay marriage, creating a dilemma for Dr Faruqi. He said, "It will be something that is likely to test her . . . we will be watching to see whether she will allow her beliefs as a Muslim to succumb to the party policy."

The Greens, often criticized as the party of trendy inner-city elitists, claimed Dr Faruqi as another triumph -- she will become the first Greens MP in NSW from a migrant background, which she plans to use to help the party build links with migrant communities in west Sydney.

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India-Pakistan

Nuggets From The Urdu Press

2012-08-12

Justice Chaudhry and 'Adle-e-Faruqi'
Writing in Jang Hamid Mir stated that as he stood in the court of Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry he was reminded of Adle-e-Faruqi (example of Hazrat Umar). DHA had its security guard murdered by someone and Justice Chaudhry had taken the case from the police and given it to FIA. The record presented to the Court had the name of Malik Riaz mentioned in repeatedly. Malik Riaz published appeals in the press in his own favour, then allegedly reached a compromise (sulah) with the offended party. But the offended party was not willing. The Court asked if the FIA had questioned Malik Riaz in the matter but the FIA chief Fayyaz Leghari would not answer. FIA was asked but would not answer the question.

To summarize: Something happened. The judge did something. Then the FIA did nothing. For some unexplained reason our journalist finds this meaningful.

Plot against Justice Chaudhry
Columnist Hamid Mir wrote in Jang that powerful people around Malik Riaz plotted to trap Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry.

Mr. Mir seems a bit obsessed with the honourable judge at the moment... This is his second piece about the man in as many moments.

Mail Riaz claimed that his son Arsalan had taken bribe worth crores of rupees from his son-in-law Salman. He thought that in case of answerability of Salman in the bribery case he would escape jurisdiction of the court because of his residence in London. But Malik Riaz should know that he is not more powerful than Musharraf.

Malik Riaz demands justice!
Quoted in his own newspaper Jinnah property tycoon Malik Riaz appealed to the nation that he had played a middleman's role in the restoration of Iftikhar Chaudhry as chief justice of Pakistain but now wanted justice whether it be prison or hanging. He said the CJ should answer why he met him after announcing that he would meet no one? He said he was being blackmailed for the past two years and his own fault was that he was a rich man. He said if he was killed the Supreme Court would be responsible. Chaudhry Nisar and Khwaja Asif were pretending to be virtuous but they did not allow even schools and hospitals to be built in their constituencies.

Raisani's son threatens lady

How rude!

Reported in Nawa-e-Waqt A lady named Nazia Baloch 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...
had started the paperwork but haven't done much else in Gizri against the son of the chief minister of 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...
, Raees Raisani for threatening her and threatening to kill her. Son Raees replied that he did not know the lady and would take legal action against her for maligning him and his tribal honour.

Aitzaz on 'LPG quota'
Quoted in Jinnah Barrister Aitzaz Ahsan stated that if anyone proves that he had made a lot money from an LPG quota awarded to him by the government he would leave politics. He said he was a lawyer for Malik Riaz in some cases but not in those relating to Arsalan. He said the charge of taking LPG quota was made by Khwaja Asif but he should prove it either against him or against Mrs Aitzaz Ahsan.

Chief Justice Lahore on 'nannah poda' media
Daily Nawa-e-Waqt quoted Chief Justice of the High Court Lahore Justice Umar Ata Bandial as saying that he did not want to uproot (ukharana) the young sapling (nannah poda) of the media which had made so many sacrifices for its freedom. He said while disposing of the applications filed against TV anchors rumoured to be taking graft.

NAB not qualified to handle Arsalan Case
Daily Jinnah reported chief of NAB Admiral (Retd) Fasih Bukhari as saying that NAB was not qualified to probe the Arsalan Case because it was a matter of exchange between two private individuals and had nothing to do with the state office. (Later, NAB undertook to investigate.)

Mira defrauded fiance's father
According to Express famous filmstar Mira known for her beauty and English proficiency stood accused of defrauding her latest fiance Captain Naved when she took Rs 2 crore from his father. In 2008 she agreed to marry the pilot and in 2009 received a pay order worth $400,000. She acknowledged receipt through an email. The money was the price of her house which she was selling to her father-in-law.

PM Gilani worst PM in history
Daily Jang quoted Transparency International as saying that the tenure of PM Gilani was the worst in the 65 year history of Pakistain. Governors, state ministers and finance ministers were repeatedly removed because Gilani's economic policies were a failure. Gilani government was always involved in plotting against the state. Gilani was among the world's 22 prime ministers who were punished, nine of whom were hanged.

TV anchors attack each other
Writing in Jang Hamid Mir wrote that Malik Riaz had organised a fixed interview with two TV hosts at a TV Channel to present himself as innocent. One TV anchor Mubashir Lucman wanted to accuse Hamid Mir of having taken bribes from Malik Riaz because Hamid Mir according to him had accused Luqman of bribe-taking. Anchor Lucman the received a phone-call from the son of Prime Minister Gilani which proved that the programme was mounted by Malik Riaz and the government. Before this call, Malik Riaz had stated that he had given no villa to Hamid Mir in Dubai.

TV anchor and Musharraf
Columnist and TV anchor Hamid Mir wrote in Jang TV anchor Lucman was once very close to General Musharraf and had defended Musharraf's decision to remove Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry from his office. All this while, Hamid Mir had stood by the side of Justice Chaudhry. After this Hamid Mir was placed under a ban. Lucman announced that Hamid Mir was enemy of the country but Lucman's dirty language against the chief justice was still to be seen on Youtube.

Khalid Khwaja plot and Hamid Mir
Columnist Hamid Mir wrote in Jang that TV anchor Mubashir Lucman was behind the ISI plot to entangle him in the death of the ex-ISI officer Khalid Khwaja killed by the Taliban in North

Wazoo where he had gone with another ex-ISI officer Col Imam. A tape was produced in which Mir was featured talking to the Taliban and asking them to kill Khalid Khwaja.

ISI chief and Mubashir Luqman
Writing in Jang Hamid Mir stated that once when Malik Riaz was pulling all strings to get ISI chief Ahmad Shuja Pasha another extension from the PPP government, he began criticising the extension and criticised the ISI chief for the mistakes he had made as head of the ISI. On this, Mubashir Lucman did a number of programmes targeting him.

Gilani and Zardari in cold war
Daily Jang quoted senior journalist Suhail Warraich as saying that bureaucracies of PM Gilani and President Zardari had been engaged in Cold War before the fall of Gilani. He said Qaira and Ahmad Mukhtar were set aside as new PM because both came from Gujrat which was the stronghold of ally, PMLQ.

The good TV anchors
TV anchor Hamid Mir wrote in Jang that he was offered Rs 15 crore for doing one programme against Justice Chaudhry but he refused. He was again offered one and half crore salaried job when he was supporting the restoration of judges but he refused again.

Link

India-Pakistan

Nuggets from the Urdu press

2010-06-27

America will disable Pakistan!

Famous columnist Irfan Siddiqi wrote in Jang that America was at the point of leaving Afghanistan after disabling Pakistan as a state. Its prime objective is not flying its flag on the high mountains of Afghanistan but to rob Pakistan of its nuclear power. Gori Shahzadi (Hilary Clinton) is threatening Pakistan and should be seen in this context. India, Israel and America are weaving a net for Pakistan and the UK is going to be a beater' driving Pakistan into it.

Qazi Sahib's advice

Writing in Jang Anwar Ghazi said that Qazi Hussain Ahmad visited his home and told him Pakistan was doomed to be engulfed in terrorism because of the wrong decision Musharraf made to become America's frontline partner. Qazi said Pakistan should abandon America and instead link up with rising (ubharta hua) China and awakening (angrai leta hua) Russia.

PM Azad Kashmir versus Chief Editor

Writing in Jinnah Chief Editor Khushnood Ali Khan stated that Prime Minister Azad Kashmir Raja Farooq Haider had accused him of spreading government propaganda against him. Raja Farooq also said that unlike Khushnood, his father was not in the army, hinting that state media was used against AJK PM through a man (Khushnood) whose father was naib subedar.

Sardar Farooq versus state security

Daily Jinnah wrote that PM Azad Kashmir Raja Farooq was being defiant (ankhain dikha rahe) against the very agencies who had helped him become prime minister of AJK. Raja Farooq had caused a feud between the Rajputs and others by inducting his Rajput relatives into institutions in his control and had been disloyal to the family of Sardar Qayyum of his party who had been his benefactors.

Sardar Farooq, brave man!

Writing in Jang Haroon Rashid stated that AJK PM Sardar Farooq was a brave man in whose breast Allah had sowed no fear. PM Gilani and his AJK adviser Manzoor Wattoo had bowed to security reasons to side with Justice Riaz Chaudhry who was elevated through dubious means that no lawyer in AJK liked. Sardar Farooq proved too tough to subdue so that the powers that be finally agreed to fire the elevated judge as well as the restored judge. Sardar Farooq got Justice Manzur to agree to retire 25 days before the due date to complete the security' manoeuvre.

Azad Kashmir sensitive' area

Chief Editor Khushnood Ali Khan wrote in Jinnah that Sardar Farooq was wrong in ignoring the security aspect of AJK. People who cross Wahga border in Lahore are in the eyes of the security agencies but in Azad Kashmir anyone crosses the LoC has to be cleared by three security agencies before a permit is issued. Sardar Farooq issued orders that a permit from the said agencies was not required.

Hindu husband didn't become Muslim

Famous actress Nur was quoted by daily Pakistan as saying that she was seeking a divorce from his Hindu husband Vikram because he had gone back to being Hindu after marrying her on the pledge of remaining Muslim. She said now he was pressuring her to turn Hindu. She has claimed her big dowry back from him too.

Hillary Clinton Safed Daayen'

Writing ion daily Islam Khawar Chaudhry stated that the Safed Daayen (White Witch) of America Hillary Clinton had said that Pakistani officials knew where Osama bin Laden was and has complained that Pakistan was not doing enough. The truth is that Pakistan is shedding blood (khoon ki nadiyan) to please America but Chitti Chamri (White Skin) was not pleased.

Blow up the plane!'

Reported in Jang leader of Dobandi madrassa Faruqia in Uttar Pradesh Maulana Nurul Huda was in a plane in Deoband when he talked to someone in Arabic, saying the plane was about to take off, blow it up. A lady suiting next to him called the hostess and told her what he had said, after which he was taken off the plane for investigation. (In Urdu, fly' and explode' have the same meaning.)

Christians and Jews are enemies!

According to Jang the Friday sermons in Lahore had the top clerics saying that Yuhood-o-Nasara could not be the friends of Muslims. Hafiz Said of Ahle Hadith Jamaatud Dawa at his Masjid Qadisiya said that the Prophet PBUH was the only superpower in the world, and the Jews and Christians were the enemies. The same message was given by Ahle Hadith leader Ibtisam Ilahi Zaheer. This was followed by Maulana Amjad Muhammad Amjad at Jamia Rehmaniya in Lahore.

Taliban are in Jhang!

Reported in Jang contrary to claims by the PMLN government and law minister Punjab Rana Sanaullah, Jhang was the centre-point of the Taliban in Punjab and South Punjab. The police in Jhang in defiance of IG Punjab - who is from Jhang - has filed an FIR against Dr Imran of Jaish Muhammad who had played host to a notorious Taliban terrorist Abdus Samad. The leader was also holding regular meetings with the terrorists in an under-construction madrassa in Ahmadpur Sial. Funds for the terrorists are being collected in Jhang and youths trained and sent out to commit terrorism

No Arabic, please!

Head of the International Khatm-e-Nabuwwat Conference Sahibzada Zahid Mehmud Qasimi complained to daily Nawa-e-Waqt that after the government cancelled the Arabic compulsory course in schools, thousands of teachers of Arabic were without jobs. He said the religious parties were united but the political parties - although separated - were both hostile to the religious parties. He said Nawaz Sharif during his sojourn in Saudi Arabia had started learning Arabic.

A record of artistic polygamy

Daily Jinnah reported that Pakistani artists were given to marrying more than once. Nur Jehan married Shaukat Rizvi, Actor Ijaz, Yusuf Kan and Captain Ijaz. Salma Agha married Mehmood Sipra, Javed Sheikh, Rehmat Khan and Manzar Latif. Mehdi Hasan and Ustad Salamat Ali took two wives. So did Inyat Hussain Bhatti including actress Khanum. Adnan Sami married Zeba Bakhtyar then went on to wed an Afghan and a Nigerian. Singer Afshan married Ghulam Ali, Masud Butt and Abbas Rahi. Azra Jahan married Tafoo, Umid Ali and Zulfikar Ali. Ghulam Ali was married twice.

TV anchor has cold feet

Reported in daily Islam the TV anchor of a channel was holding discussions with Ahmadis and was asked to include the anti-Ahmadi clerics too. The TV anchor was Qadiani-pasand but when he got to know that a grand scholar of Khatm-e-Nabuwwat was on his to the studio he got cold feet and cancelled the show.

Farooq Haider and Manzur Wattoo

Writing in Jang Rauf Klassra stated the he saw two personalities during the last session of Prime Minister Gilani's Kashmir Committee session. Prime Minister of Azad Kashmir Raja Farooq Haider was sitting on a back seat while Minister for Kashmir Affairs Manzur Wattoo was right in front near PM Gilani. He was struck by the contrast: Farooq Haider was a fearless and upright man while Wattoo had, according to NAB earlier in the week, paid crores of rupees as fine to NAB to avoid being prosecuted for corruption.

Adviser sickens before advice

Famous columnist Haroon Rashid recorded in Jang that he had travelled all the way from Islamabad to Lahore to meet Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif and was all ready to give his precious advice on how to run Punjab but suddenly he was taken ill (tabiyat biggar gai) and he excused himself and returned from Lahore without the valuable advice having been transmitted to Mr Sharif.

Lakhwi will be out soon!

According to Jarrar, Lashkar Tayba terrorist undergoing trial in Pakistan Zakiur Rehman Lakhwi will be let off by the court because the Indian court had acquitted two Indian terrorists Fahim Ansari and Sabahuddin in the trial of Ajmal Kasab. (Lashkar Jhangvi terrorists Akram Lahori and Malik Ishaq are said to be all set to be released from jails in Pakistan.)

Link

Southeast Asia

Malaysia "Allah" row spills on to Facebook

2010-01-04

More than 43,000 Malaysians protested online over a court ruling allowing a Catholic paper to use the word "Allah" to describe the Christian God, signaling growing Islamic anger in this mostly Muslim Southeast Asian country.

A group page on social networking site Facebook was drawing 1,500 new supporters an hour on Monday as last week's court ruling split political parties and even families. Among those who signed up for the protest were Deputy Trade Minister Mukhriz Mahathir, the son of Malaysia's longest serving prime minister, Mahathir Mohamed, while Mahathir's daughter Marina called critics of the court decision "idiots" in her weblog.

The government said on Monday it had filed an appeal against the court ruling amid concerns the issue could cause religious and racial conflict in this country of 28 million which has large Christian, Buddhist and Hindu minorities. "The problem is that there will be lots of doctrines and principles promoted that would totally contradict Islamic theology... there is a danger to public order here," said Shad Saleem Faruqi, a constitutional law lecturer with Universiti Tekonologi Malaysia.

The Facebook page, named in Malay as "Protesting the use of the name Allah by non-Muslims," said that the group was for Muslims "who realize that this is propaganda to confuse Muslims now and in future."

The Catholic Church, which publishes a Malay version of its newspaper, The Herald, says that it uses the word "Allah" for the Christian God to meet the needs of its Malay speaking worshippers on the island of Borneo. "There should not be a cause for concern because some people have got the idea that we are out to convert (Muslims), but not at all, there is no question of this," Father Lawrence Andrew, the newspaper's editor, told Reuters.

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Bangladesh

Ex-Huji chief out on bail

2009-07-21

Maulana Sheikh Abdus Salam, former chief of banned militant outfit Harkatul Jihad al Islami (Huji) who was arrested in connection with the 2001 CPB rally blast case, was released on bail yesterday from Dhaka Central Jail.

Jail officials said they received an order for his release Sunday from the Sessions Judge's Court, Dhaka, which issued the bail order. "Receiving the bail order, we reported it to different intelligence agencies for checking as Salam allegedly has links with a banned militant organisation. On receiving clearance from the intelligence agencies we released him around 3:00pm," Deputy Jailer Kamrul Islam told The Daily Star yesterday.

Meanwhile, the home ministry yesterday ordered an intelligence agency to investigate the setting up of a charity called Faruqi Welfare Foundation by Huji. The foundation obtained a certificate from the Registrar of Joint Stock Companies and Firms (RJSC) on June 29 last year.

Home Secretary Abdus Sobhan Sikder told The Daily Star yesterday, "We have asked the Special Branch of police to investigate the matter and report to the home ministry in details about the foundation and its activities."

The instructions from the home ministry came a day after The Daily Star ran a report headlined "Huji managed even a charity licence" in its Sunday issue.

Huji, which operates in the country under different other names to hide itself from intelligence watch, formed a political party named Islamic Democratic Party (IDP) in May last year with approval from the caretaker government. Salam is the convener of IDP that had applied to the Election Commission for registration in November, 2008 but was rejected.

Two of Salam's party leaders, Abu Taher and Arif Hasan Sumon, are charge-sheeted accused in a case filed in connection with the grenade attack on an Awami League rally on August 21, 2004. They are now in jail.

His two other party leaders Maulana Monir and Hafiz Idris, who were arrested for their involvement in various militant activities, have jumped bail.

Three other leaders Maulana Sheikh Farid, Maulana Abdul Hye and Mufti Shafiqur Rahman are accused in the Ramna Batamul blast case and are now on the run.

Members of an intelligence agency had picked up Sheikh Salam on March 23 at his home in Bashundhara Residential Area in connection with the CPB rally blast that killed five people at Paltan Maidan on January 20, 2001.

The government outlawed Huji in October, 2005. The militant group carried out several bomb and grenade attacks between 1998 and 2004. It is also blacklisted by the US and the UK. Abdus Salam led a group of Afghan war returnees to launch Huji at a press conference at the National Press Club on April 30, 1992.

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Bangladesh

Huji managed even a charity licence

2009-07-19

[Bangla Daily Star] Banned Islamist outfit Harkat-ul-Jihad-al Islami set up a charity called Faruqi Welfare Foundation>Faruqi Welfare Foundation last year to use it as a cover for receiving funds from abroad. The foundation however could not be in operation as it came under intelligence watch a few days after obtaining the certificate from the Registrar of Joint Stock Companies and Firms (RJSC) on June 29 that year.

Intelligence officials say the militants founded the charity to secure funds through a way around tight measures against terror financing in the post-9/11 years. They observe the Huji leaders are desperate for funds as they need the money to have a vast network of qawmi madrasas and fresh recruits for "jihad".

But the jihadis are the brave and noble Lions of Islam; they need nothing but a handful of dates and a cup of water to live on, a gun and some bullets with which to kill the kaffir, and a top of the line digital video/still camera and Apple laptop with satellite uplink to record and transmit videos to YouTube. Oh, and Mahmud Mahmudullah is blogging the entire experience for the lads back at the madrassah. When he dies while killing the infidels the headmaster will record him as 'graduated with honours'. (If he comes back he'll have to retake Basic Sharia... he kind of failed it the first time. Headmaster said no one has ever done so badly in the history of the school!) How can it be that much money is needed?

The widows need more ammo ...

On paper, Faruqi Welfare Foundation's objectives however are building mosques, madrasas, orphanages and Islamic research centres and facilitating religious education. Already struggling to start functioning, the foundation suffered another blow after its Chairman Sheikh Abdus Salam was arrested on March 23 for suspected links to the CPB rally blast that killed five people at Paltan Maidan on January 20, 2001.

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