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India-Pakistan

Emergency won't affect war on terror: Sherpao

2007-11-11

Interior Minister Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao said on Saturday the imposition of emergency rule and political unrest in the country had not affected the government’s commitment to fight terrorism and extremism. “We are hunting terrorists with more power after the imposition of emergency rule,” the minister told US Ambassador to Pakistan Anne W Patterson and Canadian High Commissioner WD Collins at separate meetings with them. Sherpao said Pakistan would continue collaborating with Canada and the US against human smuggling and terrorism. “Efforts are underway to bring peace in Swat and Tribal Areas of the country,” he told Patterson. Pakistan, he added, itself was a victim of terrorism.

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India-Pakistan

Benazir gets another death threat

2007-10-24

Pakistani opposition leader Benazir Bhutto received a death threat from a "friend of al Qaeda" on Tuesday, four days after 139 people were killed in an assassination attempt by one or more suicide bombers. No arrests have been made since last Friday's attack in Karachi, which government officials swiftly blamed on Islamist militants operating out of tribal areas that have become hotbeds of support for the Taliban and al Qaeda. Police were unsure whether there were two suicide bombers or one, and had yet to confirm whether the photograph released of a severed head belonged to a suicide bomber, Karachi police chief Azhar Farooqui told Reuters. The investigation hadn't singled out any particular organization, the police chief said, but Interior Minister Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao said the trail led to tribal areas bordering Afghanistan. "Suicide bombers are trained in Waziristan and some other places in tribal areas. There are three groups in Waziristan. So the tracks go to tribal areas," Sherpao told independent television news channel ARYONE. A fresh threat to kill Bhutto was passed onto her lawyer, Senator Farooq Naik, by a government prosecutor on Tuesday. Written by someone who described himself as the "chief of suicide attackers" and a friend of Osama bin Laden, al Qaeda, and Pakistani jihadis, the letter said Bhutto could be stabbed, attacked in her car, or in her bedroom, Naik told Reuters. Naik said the threat should be taken seriously, even if the letter may have been written by a crank.

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India-Pakistan

Delegates treated like royals at Pak-Afghan jirga

2007-08-16

Pakistani delegates to the Pak-Afghan jirga were more than satisfied with the warm welcome they received in Kabul, with every luxury provided to them by the hosts. The delegates praised the Afghan government's arrangements and delegation leader Interior Minister Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao told the hosts during his speech on the last day of the jirga that their hospitality "is so warm that it makes one want to stay here for good". Security for the delegates was extremely tight and none were allowed out without a guard. Many streets and roads were closed to traffic in order to ensure safe movement of jirga members. Muhammad Nasir Sabawoon, who supervised catering, repeatedly asked delegates whether they needed anything else, and said that he wanted the delegates to make the jirga a success. "You make the jirga successful and I will serve you forever," he said. At the jirga venue, all facilities were aplenty. One corner of a tent where the working committee meetings took place was devoted to refreshments including coffee, green and black tea, soft drinks and juices, without restrictions. Special arrangements were made for naswar for the delegates, and luxury transport was at their disposal throughout their stay. Afghan sources said that around some $6 million was approved for the jirga, but did not say who provided the money. Former Mujahideen leaders Abdur Rab Rasool Sayyaf and Prof Burhanuddin Rabbani said that Pakistan and Afghanistan should make arrangements between themselves similar to European Union countries, which had abolished visas and adopted one currency. Former NWFP chief secretary Khalid Aziz said, "To their credit, all opposition leaders acted as a team and we felt proud. No matter what our internal differences, when it came to defending the state, all stood as one. There may be a lesson in all this for our leaders."

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India-Pakistan

Provinces to check mushroom growth of madrassas: 554 foreign students deported from madrassas

2007-08-03

The government has so far deported 554 foreign students from seminaries across Pakistan, while cases of another 717 such students are under consideration for deportation, the Ministry of Interior told the National Assembly (NA) in a written reply to a question on Thursday. It said that all the foreign students failing to submit no objection certificate (NOC) from their respective governments would be deported and no foreign student allowed admission in Pakistani seminaries in future. The ministry said that 12,395 of the total 13,500 madrassas across Pakistan had been registered during the government’s drive to regulate seminaries and no religious school could be opened without the government’s NOC under the new rules. It informed the House that the government had paid Rs 469.54 million compensation to the families, who lost their members in terrorism incidents during 2006-07. In reply to another question, Interior Minister Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao said that the provincial governments had been directed to maintain biometric record (database) of all prisoners in different jails with the assistance of NADRA. He said that biometric equipment would be installed at all prisons, which would help improve the overall law and order situation. Sherpao said the government had also decided to update red book on quarterly basis and develop information-sharing mechanism at the district level. He said the provinces had been asked to collect information about seminaries fanning extremism or militancy and media campaigns should be arranged to discourage suicide attacks. He said that Fatwas (edits) of reputed religious clerics denouncing extremism should be given space and time in print and electronic media respectively. Sherpao said that the provinces had been ordered to re-arrest all terrorists released from jails under the Anti-Terrorism Act and check mushroom growth of seminaries. The provinces had also been asked to propagate “rational” interpretation of Quranic verses on Jihad by religious scholars. He said that since July last year the government had launched a campaign against extremism and militancy, hate literature and Khateebs fanning sectarian hatred. He said a modern immigration control system “PISCES” was being installed at 18 entry/exit points to check the entry of terrorists in the country. The system is functional Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad, Quetta, Peshawar, Multan and Faisalabad airports, KPT and Ghass Bandar seaports in addition to Wagah Railway Station and Wagah land route. Sherpao said the government had also launched Rs 1.1 billion fingerprints identification project, under which the FIA had so far taken 240,000 fingerprints.

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India-Pakistan

NA minus MMA denounces extremism

2007-08-02

National Assembly Speaker Chaudhry Amir Hussain on Wednesday rescued the treasury from a possible embarrassment by abruptly adjourning the house proceedings, which lacked quorum despite the presence of Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz and Pakistan Muslim League President Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain in the NA. Interior Minister Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao was winding up his speech on law and order with special reference to the Lal Masjid operation when the Muthida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) pointed out the quorum. Sensing the lack of the required quorum, the speaker adjourned the proceedings and asked the minister to complete his speech today (Thursday). Earlier, in a rare consensus in the lower house, NA members across party lines, except the MMA, denounced extremism and called for a national consensus to deal with this growing menace. Expect MMA members, almost all members representing different parties on both sides of the divide called for reforms in the madrassa system and a purge of weapons from society. Mehmood Khan Achakzai, a Baloch nationalist, said taking US threats to strike in Pakistan must be taken seriously and the American government should be given a “rational” answer to the US intelligence reports regarding growing terrorist networks in Pakistan. He also demanded that the speaker convene a joint parliament session and hold an in-camera briefing for the members.

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India-Pakistan

'6 mosques demolished in capital in last 3 years'

2007-08-02

Interior Minister Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao on Wednesday informed the National Assembly that six illegally constructed mosques had been demolished in the federal capital during the past three years. He was answering a question posed to him by Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal MNA Shabbir Ahmed Khan. He said two of the mosques, both named Amir Hamza mosque, had been on Murree Road and Sector F-10/4. He said Masjid Syedna Abbas, which was built on Orchard Road, was demolished because it was occupying land that was meant for orchards/farms. The Interior Minister said Masjid Syedna Ali was demolished because it was constructed on land allocated for a judicial and administrative complex. He said Masjid Umer, located in Sector G-8, was razed because it had been illegally constructed on a planned parking area. The Al-Shufa mosque in Sector I-8/3 was demolished on the complaints of residents of the area, he added.

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India-Pakistan

Islamabad to take up issue of ‘171 RAW-trained terrorists’ with Kabul

2007-07-20

ISLAMABAD: Islamabad is set to take up with Kabul the issue of “171 RAW-trained Afghan terrorists” who intelligence agencies say sneaked into Pakistan two months ago and are yet to be traced. Intelligence agencies suspect that these Afghans were involved in the recent spate of suicide bombings in Pakistan. Sources told Daily Times that intelligence agencies informed a meeting chaired by Interior Minister Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao on Wednesday that 25 of the 171 Afghans had links with RAW agents in Indian consulates at Jalalabad and Kandahar. The sources said that the Afghans had crossed the border via Torkham and Chaman two months ago and had spread in the settled areas of the NWFP, Sindh and Punjab for suicide bombings. The sources said that the intelligence agencies ruled out Al Qaeda’s role in the recent terrorist incidents and held the RAW network responsible for the suicide bombings in Islamabad, NWFP and other parts of the country. The sources said that the government had decided to take up this issue with the Afghan government through diplomatic channels. They added that the Foreign Office representative present at the meeting had been asked to prepare a draft of all evidence of RAW activities for taking up the matter with the Afghan government. The sources said that the meeting had also decided to deploy Punjab Rangers for the security of the Diplomatic Enclave, foreign missions, sensitive installations, important personalities and maintaining law and order in the federal capital. They said that 60 platoons of the Frontier Constabulary were being sent back to the NWFP to tighten security in the restive province. The sources said that the Interior Ministry had sanctioned the recruitment of 7,500 personnel for the Islamabad Capital Territory Police, and asked the Punjab police to recruit more personnel as well. The Interior Ministry has ordered the Islamabad district administration and the police to submit a report on the criminal record of militant suspects in the federal capital as well as information about the staff and security situation of all private organisations. The meeting also decided to issue orders to the provincial home departments and the Islamabad administration to tighten security for the Pakistan People’s Party leadership after the blast at the party’s camp set up to welcome Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry on Tuesday night. The meeting issued directions to the district coordination officers and district police officers to ensure that no Islamic organisation arranged big gatherings so that anti-state elements could not exploit the situation.

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India-Pakistan

Jamia Hafsa used as fortified compound, says Aftab Sherpao

2007-07-13

Interior Minister Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao said on Thursday Jamia Hafsa had been used as an armoured compound for terrorist activities, according to reports by various agencies. The minister, along with Interior Secretary Kamal Shah, visited Jamia Hafsa and Lal Masjid and reviewed different parts of the building. Security officials informed Sherpao about the cleanup operations in which the compound was cleared of weapons. Sherpao said two suicide belts carrying the fingerprints of Abdul Rashid Ghazi had been recovered. The minister said foreign militants had been using the madrassa. Sherpao said the government was considering razing Jamia Hafsa if structural experts deemed it unsalvageable. Lal Masjid was not heavily damaged and it will be repaired after consultation with architects, he added. He said that no operation was planned against any other madrassa. Meanwhile, a private TV channel reported that security forces seized several important documents and computers from the Jamia Hafsa compound and found the bodies of four students, including two women. Irfan Ghauri adds: Authorities on Thursday arranged a visit of media persons to the Lal Masjid complex where the visiting journalists saw the weapons used by the militants and the badly damaged Jamia Hafsa. The visit that was arranged after the culmination of the operation to sweep the building of unexploded ordnance could not clear up the ambiguity regarding the death toll. The weapons put on display included hand grenades, seven machine guns, 20 kalashnikov rifles, sten guns, RPGs, improvised rockets, anti-tank and anti-personnel mines, improvised explosive devices, pistols, hundreds of bullets, gas masks, two suicide jackets and some wireless sets. The authorities also displayed CDs with titles of jihadi poems and literature, speeches of Abdul Aziz and nine Pakistani passports. The other room the media were led to contained discarded computer monitors and recording equipment that the authorities claimed was “communication equipment”. The pungent odour of decomposed bodies surrounded the compound, whose three-storey building had no room without bullet-riddled walls and roofs. Some of the rooms and libraries were partially burnt, but the books placed on the stools and racks were completely undamaged. ISPR DG Maj Gen Waheed Arshad said the security forces had not found any tunnel in the mosque complex. He said that no foreign militant had yet been identified from among the bodies found from the complex and from those captured during the operation. Arshad said that no woman had been killed in the operation and the security forces had not found any mass grave in the compound. Arshad said that 75 bodies had been recovered from the complex. “Out of these 19 bodies are beyond recognition and they could be anybody, any gender, any age.” Meanwhile, officials said the body of Abdul Aziz’s son Hasaam had been identified.

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India-Pakistan

'Govt wants to end Jamia Hafsa crisis with minimum loss of life'

2007-07-08

The government on Saturday claimed it was fully competent to complete the operation against Jamia Hafsa within few hours, but was exercising restraint, as a little haste could jeopardize the life of innocent women and children made hostage by the militants. It also warned that Lal Masjid deputy cleric Abdul Rashid Ghazi would be responsible for any harm done to these innocent people. Speaking at a press briefing after a high-level meeting chaired by Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz, Interior Minister Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao said the government wanted to solve the Jamia Hafsa issue promptly and with minimum loss of life. He said the government would have completed this operation within few hours had there been no innocent women and children inside the seminary. He said that of the 595 male students who had surrendered the minors were being released, while others would be set free after debriefing. He said only three girl students present in Haji Camp were waiting for their parents to take them back home, while all other girls had been handed over to their families. Sherpao said the government had decided to shrink the area under curfew and increase the duration of curfew relaxation to facilitate the G-6 residents. He said the government would ensure more public transport in the area during relaxation of curfew. He said the government had also established temporary residential facilities for those parents whose children were still trapped inside the seminary. Earlier, addressing the meeting, Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz said the government was very concerned about the plight of the students trapped inside the mosque and their parents. He said the government was also upset at reports that women and children had been made hostage by the extremists inside Jamia Hafsa. “The safety of these women and children is our top priority and we are pursuing a strategy to achieve the objectives without compromising on their safety,” Aziz added. He said the government would take every possible step to facilitate the release and return of hostages and to help out their parents. The PM said the people holed up inside the mosque had brought a bad name to country and the religion. He said the government was trying to restore peace and normalcy within the shortest possible time and had encouraged every move by various sections of the society to resolve the issue peacefully. He said the government had encouraged interventions by ulema, parliamentarians, social workers and others for the release of hostages, but no headway could be made in this regard because of the stubbornness of the Jamia Hafsa administration.

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India-Pakistan

China tells Pakistan to better protect Chinese citizens

2007-06-28

China has asked Pakistan to better safeguard Chinese people and businesses in Pakistan after workers at a Chinese massage centre in Islamabad were abducted by Jamia Hafsa students on a crusade against vice, the Xinhua news agency said. “We hope Pakistan will look into the terrorist attacks aiming at Chinese people and will severely punish the criminals,” Chinese Minister of Public Security Zhou Yongkang Zhou told Interior Minister Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao during his visit to Beijing on Tuesday. To this, Sherpao said Pakistan would take more rigorous action to safeguard the security of Chinese people and organisations in Pakistan, Xinhua added.

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India-Pakistan

'Interior Ministry will ensure safety of Chinese in Pakistan'

2007-06-26

The Interior Ministry will ensure the safety of Chinese citizens living in Pakistan, said Interior Minister Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao on Monday. Talking to reporters on his arrival at the Beijing Capital Airport, where he was received by senior officials of the Chinese Ministry of Public Security and Pakistani Ambassador to China Salman Bashir, he said the objective of his visit to China was to “expand the scope of bilateral cooperation between the two ministries on security issues”. Referring to the assistance provided by China to Pakistani security agencies, including provision of equipment to police, the minister said the assistance would help in the capacity building of Pakistani police. “China is working on a number of mega projects in Pakistan and is a major investor in the country,” he said. Sherpao is scheduled to hold a meeting with his Chinese counterpart Zhou Yongkan on Tuesday. He is also scheduled to visit Niu Jie Police station where he will be briefed about the working of the Chinese police.

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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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