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India-Pakistan

Nuggets from the Urdu press

2012-02-12

These nuggets are culled from the Urdu press. They are summarised here without comment. Absurd or ridiculous, tft takes no responsibility for them Sudan goes crazy over nikah? Reported in Mashriq a Sudanese scholar had rashly announced that a Moslem woman could become a witness in the solemnisation of nikah in her own right. He also decreed that women could take part in funeral prayers or janaza. He also added that women lining up behind a ma holy man during namaz was also a mere custom and not according to Islam. Truly Islamic Pakistain does none of these things.   Wajid Shamsul Hasan a burden on exchequer Daily Mashriq reported that Pakistain's High Commissioner in London who is a PPP appointee, Wajid Shamsul Hasan had become a terrible burden on the national exchequer of a poverty-stricken Pakistain as he was living in a luxurious rented residence for which 25 lakh pounds were being paid. He was also constantly ill for which the charges were being defrayed by Pakistain.   Bashir Riaz on secret agencies Writing in Jang Hamid Mir commented that Bashir Riaz had revealed facts about Pak agencies who stalk politicians all over the world but are found sleeping when the Americans violating our air space come in helicopters to invade 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....  Prime Minister breaks loose? Writing in Jang Saleem Safi stated that Prime Minister Gilani did not consult with President Zardari before dismissing the Defence Secretary, General Lodhi from his job. This was apparent because the president was himself shocked that the PM did this, which also proved that he was merely acting when meeting with the Army chief together with the president. It was learned that wrong kind of people had joined the PM's camp and were advising him to take on the Army.   Freebies in the Cricket Board Daily Jinnah reported that a number of people were doing nothing at the Cricket Board of Pakistain but drawing big salaries. Among those who were drawing several lakh rupees per month were: Shafqat Rana, Waseem Bari, Abdul Qadir and Javed Miandad. Rename the bloody thing the Locust Board and be done. Benazir and her spying servants Hamid Mir revealed in Jang that According to Bashir Riaz while Benazir was living in Dubai she was so suspicious of local servants that she imported specially loyal ones from Larkana but soon enough they were taking money in their special accounts and passing on all information to the agencies. They were found to be receiving up to 10,000 dirhams for this snooping.   'Supreme Court wrong on NRO' Daily Mashriq reported lawyer leader Asma Jahangir as saying that she did not like the NRO but was convinced that the Supreme Court's view of the NRO was wrong. She said the Court should not have moved against lawyer Babar Awan but let the Bar Association take action against him. Now the Court was scared after suspending his licence.   A 'doctor' TV anchor traps Benazir Further revealing facts in Jang Hamid Mir stated that Bashir Riaz memoir talked of a Dr Something TV anchor who arrived in Dubai and tried to show Benazir sitting at a table while a wine bottle sat next to her. Benazir was not aware what the Doctor Anchor was up to till a dancing girl also swung into view, after which she angrily walked out of the interview which the anchor was relaying to his spy masters on cell phone. She told him she knew who he was and for whom he was working. Later Zardari gave a lucrative job to the Doctor Anchor at PTV after the death of Benazir.   PPP tells PMLN elections in October Reported in Nawa-e-Waqt PP government had told PMLN leader Ch Nisar Ali Khan that it was ready to hold elections in Sept-Oct 2012 which meant that Senate election will proceed in early March and the budget for 2012-13 would be presented by the PPP government before elections.   Musharraf acts like a dictator! Right hand man of Pervez Perv Musharraf ... former dictator of Pakistain, who was less dictatorial and corrupt than any Pak civilian government to date ... , Fawwad Chaudhry told Nawa-e-Waqt that his leader Pervez Musharraf while abroad was acting like a dictator within his party All Pakistain Moslem League and therefore he was thinking of quitting it. He said Musharraf's close adviser Dr Mujtaba was involved in sectarian conflict and was making Musharraf ignore other party members. Daily Express reported that Ch Fawwad might join Tehrik Insaf.   The sacred ring of the Prophet PBUH Famous columnist Haroon Rasheed wrote in Jang that the ring (khatam) of the Holy Prophet PTUI!)'>(PTUI!) was a kind of stamp which was lost after his demise because it fell into a well during the rule of Hazrat Usman the Pious Caliph. Despite much effort at filtering water and sand, it could not be found.   Benazir prayed for Zardari According to Jang in Hamid Mir column Benazir was in the habit of ringing Zardari and praying over the phone and then breathing the prayer into the phone to bless Zardari and save him from all adverse happenings. This showed how loyal she was to him and appreciated him as her companion. It could possibly be that she was religious. I'm not sure how high a probability to assign it, though. Pakistan falls in 'democracy index' Daily Jang reported that Pakistain had fallen from 114th position to 115th in the world democracy rating while India had climbed from 40th to 39th position. This was published by the Economist Intelligence Unit.   Goodbye, Nawaz Sharif and Zardari! Writing in Jang Haroon Rasheed stated that the truth was that Pakistain Army was the target of America and that generals Kayani ... four star general, current Chief of Army Staff of the Mighty Pak Army. Kayani is the former Director General of ISI... and Pasha were in the firing line of Washington but no one was sincere in standing with them. Nawaz Sharif ... served two non-consecutive terms as prime minister, heads the Pakistain Moslem League (Nawaz). Noted for his spectacular corruption, the 1998 Pak nuclear test, border war with India, and for being tossed by General Musharraf... was not honest in his claims and had been disloyal to the nation. Now three people have to leave (rukhsat): Gilani, Zardari and Nawaz Sharif.   Imran needs six months more of PPP Daily Express reported Imran Khan ... aka Taliban Khan, who ain't the sharpest bulb on the national tree... as saying if the PPP government stayed in power for another six months it would be good for his party. He said if the elections were held before September his party can face problems. He needed more time to consolidate his position while his relations were good (maaqul) with the Army and the game of the PPP government was up (khail khatam).   Commission advises disciplining of ISI Columnist Dr Tauseef Ahmad Khan wrote in Express that the Saleem Shahzad Commission had examined the evidence brought before it and had opined that Saleem Shahzad may have been the victim of his relations with the terrorist including Ilyas Kashmiri. The Commission had taken note of the evidence against the ISI and had recommended that it be made better answerable and brought under better discipline.   Saudi pupils convert American teacher Jihadi publication al Qalam reported that in Soddy Arabia a class of Moslem pupils learning from an American teacher had persuaded him to change his religion to Islam. He found the pupils so sincere in their presentation of Islam that he quit Christianity and embraced Islam.  But will he remain Muslim once he returns home? Bashir Riaz a PPP loyalist Columnist Hamid Mir wrote in Jang that Bashir Riaz was such a loyalist of the PPP that Benazir in her last testament asked Zardari to look after the man who was her front man since 1987 and was the organiser of the event of her wedding with Zardari. After her death however he was looked after by Zardari but he chose to return to his home in Lahore and write his memoirs of the Benazir legacy.

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India-Pakistan

Miandad-Dawood link ruining Indo-Pak cricket

2008-12-16

Sydney (IANS): Pakistan Cricket Board's (PCB) director-general Javed Miandad's family ties with Karachi-based underworld kingpin Dawood Ibrahim are affecting cricketing relation between India and Pakistan, believes cricketer-turned-columnist Peter Roebuck. Dawood, whose daughter is married to Miandad's son, is alleged to have played a key role from his base in Karachi in providing support to the perpetrators of last month's terror attacks in Mumbai. Roebuck wrote in his column in the Sydney Morning Herald that the relation has the potential to drive an even deeper wedge between the cricket communities of Pakistan and India and to add to the sufferings of a game facing the worst crisis in its history. The Englishman adds that suggesting Miandad's involvement in the attacks would be ridiculous but his link with the don is certain to raise a few eyebrows. "But in this volatile environment, his links with Dawood and his seniority in Pakistan cricket have caused consternation among eminent Indian cricket officials, some of whom lost friends or family members in the attacks. It does not bode well for relations between these cricketing strongholds," he said. "Dawood's reputed involvement in the latest evil might seem a solely political matter. Obviously, his alleged activities and continued liberty anger the Indians beyond measure, but that does not reach across the boundary. He has also been linked to the latest match-fixing scandals surfacing in the Twenty20 leagues, which is nothing new," said Roebuck. Roebuck feels that in this climate of political intrigue and distrust, even a tenuous and innocent connection can be a problem. "Specifically, he (Dawood) has close connections with Javed Miandad, Pakistan's greatest batsman and now among its most senior cricket officers. His connection with Dawood goes back a long way, and was cemented by the marriage between his son and one of the don's daughters," he added. "Already, India's sports minister has spoken out against sending the national team to Pakistan, and Sunil Gavaskar has backed him up. Barring an unexpected outbreak of enlightenment, the forthcoming tour will not take place, increasing Pakistan's cricketing isolation," he said

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India-Pakistan

Nuggets from the Urdu press

2007-11-04

Women not allowed to shop without male relatives As reported in Daily Pakistan, the local Taliban threatened women shopping in the very busy Main Khel Bazaar in Kohat. Hand written letters threatened shopkeepers, saying that they shouldn’t let women sit on the sofas in their shops. The letters also commanded women not to roam the bazaars without a mehram (male relative). The local police brushed these threats aside as a joke, not to be taken seriously. Kashmiris’ struggle is for political freedom, not jihad In an interview with Daily Pakistan magazine, Dr Mufti Ghulam Sarwar Qadri said that fighting the Soviets in Afghanistan was a jihad because Russia forcefully tried to capture Afghanistan. Kashmir can only be solved by the government of Pakistan. People can’t form jihadi organisations and jump into Kashmir. Their acts, which are morally wrong, give India an excuse to oppress Kashmiris. Kashmiris are not waging jihad for Islam, but are struggling for political freedom. Stock market bullish after presidential election As reported in daily Express, stock market brokers consider the election of President Musharraf for the next five years a good omen, and expect that the stock market index may cross the psychological barrier of 15,000 points if present economic policies continue for the next five years. The ex-chairman of the Lahore Stock Exchange, Syed Asim Zafar, said that Pakistani stock markets are attractive for foreign investment because of the presence of a large profit margin. Muslim ummah suffering because of extremism According to Daily Pakistan, the chairman of Awami Tehreek, Dr Tahir ul Qadri, speaking to journalists in Shehr e Ihtikaf, said that Osama bin Laden has endangered the Muslim ummah, and extremists are spreading atheism. He said that suicide bombing is forbidden in Islam, and it is not serving the Muslim ummah, rather it is causing great difficulties for them. He also said that in the national interest, Musharraf should reconcile with Nawaz Sharif. Ghazi brothers created fitna In an interview with Daily Pakistan magazine, Dr Mufti Ghulam Sarwar Qadri said that the Lal Masjid crisis was not jihad, but fitna, which the Ghazi brothers created. The kidnapping of Chinese citizens and other people is not jihad. He said that Muslims should not harm other Muslims or non-Muslims. He said that the ulema’s obligation is to spread the message of Islam. Forcing Islam on others is not the job of the ulema. Jihad is the obligation of the government, and the government alone. Aiyla Malik cast her vote in burqa As reported in daily Express, national assembly members, Shaukat Aziz and others were stunned when a minister, Yar Mohammad Rind, refused to bring his wife Aiyla Malik to cast her vote in the National Assembly in the presence of other members. After all the members left the assembly, Yar Mohammad Rind brought his wife Aiyla, in burqa, to cast her vote. Pakistan TV was prohibited from showing her picture. Boggle. Miandad criticises Mohammad Yousuf According to daily Express, ex-cricketer Javed Miandad criticised Mohammad Yousuf’s decision to play for Pakistan while he had a contract with the Indian Cricket League. He said that as a Muslim, Mohammad Yousuf should have honoured his contract, and that even a verbal commitment is binding upon a Muslim. He asked what message we were giving the world by ignoring transparency and principles? Wife divorced for watching male TV anchor alone As reported in daily Nawa-e-Waqt, a Saudi Arabian national divorced his wife for watching a male anchor on television alone, according to the Saudi newspaper Al Shams. The Saudi national remained unnamed. In Saudi Arabia, men can divorce their wives without approaching the court. Lashkar e Islam against long moustaches As reported in daily Express, the organisation of the Afridi tribe, Lashkar e Islam, gave a one week deadline to every male to cut their long moustaches off. The Lashkar warned that if anyone tried to escape the area, his house would be burned down. The Lashkar termed long moustaches against both Islam and tribal traditions. Buddha sculpture under attack in Swat As reported in daily Khabrain, a 2,200 year old statue of Buddha was blasted with gunpowder, destroying its head and other parts. According to an Archaeology Department spokesman, this sculpture is the second largest in Asia, after the destruction of the Bamayan sculptures by the Taliban. Swat was the centre of the Gandhara civilisation and has hundreds of Buddhist monuments and sculptures. Islam doesn’t order women to cover their faces In an interview with Daily Pakistan magazine, Dr Mufti Ghulam Sarwar Qadri said that according to the Holy Quran, Hadith and the ulema of Fiqa Hanafia, Islam doesn’t order women to cover their faces. He said that he gave his book to Qazi Hussain Ahmad, who changed his views after reading it. Qazi was convinced that women should cover their faces in the light of Maulana Maudoodi’s books. Benazir’s statement changed judges’ verdicts Famous columnist Haroon ur Rashid wrote in daily Express, that famous negotiator Mohammad Faisal disclosed on Tehran TV that Pakistani judges who were hearing the case against President Musharraf for holding two offices changed their decisions after Benazir Bhutto’s statement regarding her willingness to provide access to Dr Abdul Qadeer Khan. The upper echelons of the government were anxious that if the president was disqualified from running for elections, then anarchy would prevail in Pakistan. Nawaz Sharif’s vendetta against Shahid Nadeem In daily Express magazine, Ajoka theatre member and writer Shahid Mahmood Nadeem said that in 1997, when Nawaz Sharif became prime minister and came to record his speech at the Lahore PTV station, he was standing to welcome him, as the General Manager of PTV Lahore. Sharif stepped down from his car and asked did you write, “Zard dopahr?” Nadeem said “Yes,” and Sharif stared at him and said that he should prepare to face the consequences. Nadeem thinks he had been briefed by famous journalist Nazir Naji, who was accompanying Sharif.

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India-Pakistan

Miandad claims Dawood well where he is

2007-08-09

Amid conflicting reports about the detention of India's most wanted man Dawood Ibrahim by Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence and his injury in a shootout during a gambling brawl at a Karachi hotel, the Pakistan government and some of Dawood's close relatives in Pakistan have claimed that the underworld don is not in Pakistan at present, Ibnlive.com reported on Wednesday. "Nope. That wudn't him shootin' up the place in Karachi. We think he's living in Des Moines." "He is well, whereever he is," Javed Miandad, former captain of the Pakistan cricket team and Dawood's relative, said. Miandad claimed that Dawood was not in Pakistan. "He isn't here, but he is fit and fine where ever he is," he told an Indian newspaper. "He left for Dubhai as soon as he made bail." "He (Dawood Ibrahim) is not in Pakistan and there is no truth in reports of his arrest in Quetta," Interior Ministry spokesman Brig (r) Javed Cheema said. Cheema claimed that if anyone had any evidence of his presence in Pakistan, "we would welcome that." Even the Indian intelligence agencies denied these reports. They, however, claimed that the don was injured in a gambling brawl on Monday.

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India-Pakistan

Nuggets from the Urdu press

2007-05-12

Rose pedals shower dead lovers As reported in daily Jang, a young boy, Waqas, who wanted to marry his sweetheart, took poison after a fight with his mother over the marriage proposal. The girl also took poison and reached the house of Waqas then started weeping over his dead body. She was rushed to the hospital when blood started from her mouth but she died on her way to the hospital. People showered rose petals on their janazas as they were lifted from the same street. Fake pir beats the jinn out of a woman As reported in daily Jang, in Gagu Mandi Munir Ahmad’s wife was running a high fever for few days. He took her to a local Pir Yasin Shah who said that she is under the control of very powerful jinn. He started treatment by beating her with hockey stick and the woman became unconscious. The pir charged Munir Ahmad 200 rupees fee and said the wife would be fine when she reached home. The woman died after remaining unconscious for two days. Faisalabad madrassa follows Jamia Hafsa As reported in daily Express, the students of Jamia Qasmia in Faisalabad raided an alleged brothel house, inspired by the incident of Jamia Hafsa. The residents of Ghulam Mohammad Abad registered their complaint with the madrassa against the woman who was running a brothel in the area. The students raided the locality and one student was arrested by the police. Dacoits return jewellry to mehfil-e-milad women As reported in daily Jang, in Daska four armed dacoits entered a house where women were holding mehfil-e-milad and snatched their jewellery at gun-point worth lacs of rupees. When the dacoits tried to stop the recitation of milad, the brave women refused to stop zikr-e-rasool (PTUI PBUH). Inspired by their faith the dacoits returned the jewellery and left after apologising to the women. Madrassa teacher booked under Women’s Protection Bill As reported in daily Jang, a naib nazim Safiullah, aka Janat Gul, of a madrassa in Kahna tricked a boy, Naveed, to his room and tried to sodomize him. He beat him violently when the boy struggled and ran away. The abuser reached the house of the boy with an accomplice, but the local residents intervened and nabbed the culprits. A force of 25 stick bearing madrassa students attacked the residents of the street and forcefully released the culprits before the arrival of police. Police registered the case in section 367/A under the Women Protection Bill. Fatwa against suicide bombing As reported in daily Nawa-e-Waqt, two thousand ulema in a convention organised by Jamiat ulema Islam gave a fatwa that suicide bombing and establishing shariat by force, is un-Islamic. The six page fatwa by the convention stated that threatening barbers to stop shaving beards and attacking CD shops is also against Islam. Some hidden forces are attacking the Islamic government and are killing their own Muslim brothers. They said that these acts are bringing a bad name to madrassas and ulema. Marriage of egoists Abhishek and Aishwarya Accoriding to daily Jang, the experts of numerology said that the handwriting of Abhishek Bachan and Aishwarya Rai indicated that they wouldn't rebel against the family traditions. Abhishek could be physically harmed in 2008 but that can be avoided via puja. They advised Aishwarya to change her name into Aishwarya Bachan, but if she kept her name even as Aishwarya Rai Bachan, her mother could influence her marriage. They might have internal conflicts as both are big stars and Aishwarya Rai is more an egoist than Abhishek, but the clash of egos would not lead to separation. ‘Imam Mehdi’ arrested by police As reported in daily Nawa-e-Waqt, in the southern Punjab city of Ahmad Pur Sharqia a man was arrested for declaring himself as ‘Imam Mehdi.’ The jobless resident of Mohalla Nur Shah, Bilal Ahmad, was arrested under section 295 and 298 for blasphemy and sent to Bhawalpur central jail. People accusing the cricket team should leave Pakistan As reported in Daily Pakistan, popular all rounder Shahid Afridi of the Pakistan cricket team said that those who are hurling allegations of match fixing on Pakistan cricket team have no right to live in Pakistan. He said that he wanted to be the captain of Pakistan cricket team but he would support the new captain. He demanded that the PCB shall appoint a senior player as vice captain and ex-cricketers shall find new talent rather than finding jobs with the PCB. 12 year old Taliban slaughters his spy comrade As reported in daily Express, Taliban commander Mullah Akhtar Usmani issued a video cassette showing the slaughter of his own comrade, Qari Ghulam Nabi, for spying against the Taliban. A 12 year old Taliban boy was shown with a knife slaughtering Qari Ghulam Nabi. The boy said that this would be the fate of all those who are spying for America. According to American news agency, Qari Ghulam Nabi was a Pakistani citizen whose father, Ghulam Sakhi, vowed to avenge the murder of his son. Police officers released Sonia Naz case As reported in daily Nawa-e-Waqt, an additional session judge released SP Khalid Abdullah and inspector Iqbal Chisti who were arrested in the famous Sonia Naz rape case. The court ruled that the applicant, Sonia Naz, was summoned by the court many times because she couldn’t be contacted as she left her home for an undisclosed location. Fight over the donations for shrine of Amir Cheema As reported in Daily Pakistan, professor Mohammad Nazir Cheema, the father of Amir Cheema shaheed who sacrificed his life for the protection of sanctity of the Prophet Mohammad (PTUI PBUH) in Berlin, alleged that Pir Mohammad Afzal Qadri of Gujrat has purchased a land near the donated land of the grave of Amir Cheema and is receiving donations to construct a shrine. Pir Afzal Qadri has threatened to shift the remains of Amir Cheema to Gujrat. Sarfraz Nawaz’s mouth for rent As reported in daily Jang, the ex-captain of Pakistan cricket team Imran Khan sent legal notice against Sarfraz Nawaz for his allegations and said that Sarfraz Nawaz’s mouth is rented by people and is being used after the World Cup. He said Sarfraz’s allegations of betting on Javed Miandad, he and now the Pakistan cricket team has brought bad reputation for Pakistan in the international press. Pope finds ambiguity in Darwin's theory As reported in daily Nawa-e-Waqt, Pope Benedict 16th criticized Darwin’s theory of evolution and said there are a lot of loop holes in this theory. He said there should be a compromise between reason and faith. He repeated the words of Pope John Paul II that Darwin’s theory is still more than a hypothesis, but it is not yet complete. Westernised women working for clash of civilisations As reported in daily Jang, the ameer of Jamaat Islami, Qazi Hussain Ahmad, said that a few Westernised women are protesting against the religious extremists to please the Americans. These protests are creating discord among the Muslims’ unity. The Western embassies in Pakistan are funding these NGOs and Westernised women to create the atmosphere of a clash of civilisations in Pakistan.

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India-Pakistan

ISI hems in ailing Dawood Ibrahim

2006-12-14

NEW DELHI: India’s most wanted fugitive, Dawood Ibrahim Kaskar, is under pressure to leave Pakistan and may have suffered a heart attack. Intelligence sources in New Delhi said the gangster, who is the prime accused in the 1993 Mumbai blasts, suffered the attack a couple of weeks ago and was taken to an Islamabad hospital. But no details were available. The report about the heart attack comes amidst indications that Pakistan is finally tightening the screws on Dawood. His men are also under intense pressure elsewhere, especially in the UAE, their erstwhile safe haven in the Gulf, from where 10 members of his gang were deported to Mumbai on November 21. The gangster, who has a new look after cosmetic surgery last year, is under constant pressure from government agencies in Pakistan to leave, the sources said. If he does leave, he is expected to seek refuge in some African countries. He has mining interests in northern Africa and investments in Australia. After the media glare on his daughter’s wedding with Javed Miandad’s son last year, Dawood moved to Islamabad, where he has been leading a quiet life. A couple of months ago, Indian agencies reported that he visited Mecca on a pilgrimage. The pressure on Dawood to leave coincides with Pakistan’s efforts to control the influx of terrorists in Kashmir. Indian intelligence agencies are yet to form an opinion if these are tactical moves by the Pervez Musharraf regime to impress the global community.

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India-Pakistan

Dawood Ibrahim now traveling to Africa, Australia

2005-12-18

Fresh American investigations underway against Dawood Ibrahim is being eagerly watched by Indian security apparatus, which is hopeful that the Don would finally feel the heat of growing global fight against terrorism. But the investigations, which are part of a global effort to unravel the growing complex link between criminal syndicates and terrorism, are yet to show any impact on Dawood or his empire, according to sources. In fact, in the past few weeks India’s most wanted criminal has been travelling to Africa and Australia where he has extensive investments in mining and other businesses, say sources. The influential US News and World Report last week reported that the Drug Enforcement Administration and Federal Bureau of Investigation are carrying out new investigations against Dawood. “US officials now have him at the centre of two investigations: one, by the Drug Enforcement Administration, looking at his ties to the heroin trade; another, by the FBI, tracing his assets and ties to terrorist groups through a top Pakistani CD counterfeiter,” said the US report. Dawood is among the world’s leading crime lords providing logistical and financial support, believe US investigation agencies. “The boss of India’s top syndicate controls a criminal network that reaches into 14 countries, with a small army of contract killers, smugglers, and extortionists at his command. But there is another side to Dawood Ibrahim. The Muslim exile from Mumbai has thrown in his lot with Al Qaeda and other jihadists, according to the US and Indian governments, and has become one of the world’s most wanted terrorists,” says the report. The report also points out that “in Pakistan, Dawood has ties to several terrorist groups, including Lashkar-e-Toiba.” Dawood has “allegedly met with Al Qaeda leaders and even made a deal to share his smuggling routes with Al Qaeda operatives,” the report further adds. Indian officials say they have been sharing these and more information regarding Dawood with the US, UK and other foreign nations. New Delhi’s efforts have led to the US and UN naming him a global terrorist and issuance of an Interpol notice but Dawood continues to have cozy existence in Karachi. DNA sources say that there is irrefutable proof that Dawood, despite his well-publicised presence in Karachi, has been having a “free life”. In the past few weeks, after his daughter's high-profile marriage to cricketer Javed Miandad’s son, there is credible evidence of him travelling to Africa and Australia. “What is worrying is that none of the global efforts including the move by UN and US to declare Dawoood a global terrorist have had any impact on the Pakistani administration,” says a senior security official watching the Don’s empire. In fact, he says their calculation that Pakistan would force Dawood to lie low after his daughter’s marriage irrefutably established his presence in Karachi have proved wrong. “The relation (between Dawood and Pakistani establishment) is more intense than what we know,” he said. Indian agencies now believe that Dawood’s empire is spread across South Asia, Middle-East, Africa, Australia and even in Europe. And thousands of people, including hundreds who may never know that they work for one of world’s most ruthless terrorists and drug lords, are employed by him around the globe. In October 2003, the US Treasury Department had designated Dawood a “Specially Designated Global Terrorist”, and the United Nations followed suit later. But the fresh investigations by the Americans, growing criticism of International Coalition against Terrorism’s failure to check further spread of terrorism, growing impatience of countries like India towards American double standards are all expected to have better effect this time.

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Afghanistan/South Asia

India seeks crime boss' return

2005-08-02

NEW DELHI, Aug. 2 (UPI) -- The United States seems uninterested in helping India to extradite mafia boss Dawood Ibrahim from Pakistan because it does not want to upset relations with its front-line ally in the war on terrorism, Indian intelligence analysts said Tuesday. "Getting Dawood is not important for the United States as his arrest goes against the interest of Pakistan with whom Washington does not want upset its relations," said senior intelligence analyst Rajeev Sharma. He said as Pakistan cannot afford to violate any U.S. directive, Washington should ask Islamabad to arrest Ibrahim, who has been living in the Pakistani port of Karachi, and extradite him to India. Ibrahim, who was born Dawood Sheikh Ibrahim Kaskar, was Bombay's top underworld don before he fled the country for the safety of Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates. After he was implicated in the serial bomb blasts that rocked Bombay in 1993 he fled to Karachi and the Indian government has been pursuing him since then. After lying low for nearly a decade, Ibrahim surfaced in the news recently when his daughter Maharuk married the son of former Pakistani cricket captain Javed Miandad, Junaid, in a Dubai hotel July 24. It is not known if he attended the ceremony or not. Contradictory reports appeared in the Indian media about his presence. Some newspapers said it was a failure on the part of Indian intelligence agencies in identifying him as one of the burka-clad women present at the ceremony. "The marriage of Dawood's daughter irrespective of ... whether it was solemnized in Dubai or not, proves he is firmly entrenched in Pakistan and is a free bird despite the fact the U.S. designated him as global terrorist," said Sharma. The Bush administration in October 2003 designated Ibrahim a global terrorist, saying he "has found common cause with al-Qaida, sharing his smuggling routes with the terror syndicate and funding attacks by Islamic extremists aimed at destabilizing the Indian government." Indian intelligence officials say upon his first entry into Pakistan, Ibrahim was granted a welcome by Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence. "On his arrival in Pakistan from Dubai, Dawood was given a backdated passport in Rawalpindi and a 6,000-sq meter plot in the posh Clifton area of Karachi," a senior unidentified Intelligence Bureau official said. "His two trusted lieutenants, Abdul Razzak Memon alias Tiger Memon, and Shakeel Ahmed alias Chhota Shakeel, too were settled in Karachi by the ISI." He said Dawood was advised to take up the real-estate business, leading him to grab prime properties, often illegally, and to build shopping malls and apartments sometimes violating construction laws. "The day is not far when Dawood will emerge as a threat to the West not just India," said Sharma. India has lodged complaints with Pakistan demanding the extradition of Dawood and his associates. It has also said Dawood has established links with terrorist organizations like Lashkar-e-Toiba, which operates in Kashmir, and al-Qaida. Dawood's activities and his links to Pakistan's ISI were pointed out by former Indian Home Minister L.K. Advani during a visit to India by Pakistan's President Gen. Pervez Musharraf in 2001. Pakistan denied any such person lived on its soil, however. Indian analysts complain Washington, despite designating Ibrahim a terrorist, has not done enough to ask Pakistan to extradite him. Others say, however, it in unclear what Washington can actually do. "It is hard to know how much leverage the U.S. will actually be able to use in the case of Dawood Ibrahim to pave the way for his extradition to India," an unidentified senior Indian security official said. He said the Jaish-e-Mohammad organization, which is on the U.S. State Department's list of foreign terrorist organizations, had been hostile to U.S. interests for years, but Washington was unable or unwilling to push Pakistan to take any meaningful action against the group's chief Mohammad Masood Azhar. He said Pakistan had an interest in protecting Ibrahim because he knows too much. "I don't think he will be panicking just yet," the official said. There is not much evidence, however, available in the public domain about Ibrahim's role in acting as a bridge between the ISI and various religious and terror groups. An Interpol report in 1996 said Anees Trading Co., a shell company run by him, was luring young, unemployed men from the subcontinent with the promise of jobs and sent them to terrorist training camps.

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Afghanistan/South Asia

Don did attend daughter's wedding

2005-07-30

Dawood Ibrahim did attend the marriage of his daughter Mahrukh with Junaid, son of former Pakistan cricketer Javed Miandad. The underworld don beat the hawk eye of top global intelligence agencies and the crosshairs of rivals’ guns to be present at the nikah which was solemnised on July 9 at the mosque in Mecca, as was reported by TOI on July 10. The publicised function of July 23 at Dubai’s Grand Hyatt was not the nikah ceremony but ‘waleema’ or reception that was deliberately passed off as the marriage to hoodwink intelligence agents, Dawood’s rivals and the media. And virtually everyone fell for the elaborate cover. Top intelligence sources say Dawood travelled to Saudi Arabia on a Pakistani passport to attend the wedding. And how did he reach the venue for the wedding in Mecca? No one is certain, although intelligence sources cited the presence of a group of burkha-clad women at the Mecca mosque whose identity could not be established but who were said to represent the Dawood family. Perhaps one of them was the don himself.

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Arabia

Dawood was ‘virtually’ present at wedding

2005-07-27

DUBAI — It can now be revealed that Dawood Ibrahim, one of the world’s most wanted fugitives, was “virtually” present at the wedding of his daughter, Mahrukh, with cricketer Javed Miandad’s son Junaid — images from the wedding were beamed live on to his laptop even as he kept in constant touch over the phone. The ceremony itself was a simple affair, much like a neighbourhood wedding, except that it involved families of two persons who have always been in media limelight for diametrically opposite reasons.

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Afghanistan/South Asia

Mahrukh weds Miandad’s son in Dubai

2005-07-25

DUBAI: The daughter of a wealthy Indian fugitive accused by Washington of links to Al Qaeda married the son of a top Pakistani cricketer in Dubai on Saturday, in a high society wedding with all the trappings of a Bollywood film. I saw this in a movie once. See, the bride's brother, Mike, he's just home from the war. His sister, Connie's marrying Carlo, who's a pretty boy. His older brother, Sonny, is boffing Lucy, the bridesmaid... Indian businessman Dawoud Ibrahim, whose whereabouts are not known, was said not to have attended the ceremony. The Don, see, he's inside, with his consigliere, Tom, and he's meeting with his paisans, 'cuz it's his daughter's wedding day, so by tradition he has to honor their requests... Former Pakistani cricket captain Javed Miandad confirmed earlier this month that his son Junaid would marry Connie Mahrukh Ibrahim, whose father is accused by India of a wave of bomb attacks in Bombay in 1993 that killed 260 people. The Don's put off meeting with Solozzo, the Turk, see? That's 'cuz he doesn't want to have to tell him "yes"... Police with sniffer dogs patrolled the grounds of the Dubai five-star hotel where a small crowd of media and onlookers gathered on a balmy night after news of the venue was leaked. But the feds are out front, writing down the license numbers of the people who went to the wedding and maybe taking some pictures, too... News of the exact location had earlier been kept secret. It was at the Don's estate on Long Island... The toll booth? Nothing to worry about ... Ibrahim, put on a US Treasury list of global terrorists in 2003, would have risked arrest by turning up. One person at the ceremony said Ibrahim had not attended, at least not during the first hours of a long night. The stream of guests arriving including Javed Miandad, dressed in a white suit. The hotel management cordoned the area off and refused to comment on the guest list. Junaid met Mahrukh in London, where he is studying. Suddenly I'm craving cannoli...

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Afghanistan/South Asia

Former cricket captain to marry Dawood Ibrahim's daughter

2005-07-11

Former Pakistan cricket captain Javed Miandad finally confirmed that his son Junaid will marry India's most wanted fugitive Dawood Ibrahim's daughter Mahrukh on July 23 in Dubai. Talking to an Indian TV channel, the former captain said, ''The marriage will take place in Dubai on July 23 and I urge all to bless the children. I have nothing to hide and I will invite as many friends and well-wishers as possible.'' Dawood, mastermind of the 1993 Mumbai blasts, is India's most wanted man. He features in the United States' global terrorist list for funding Islamic militants and is also suspected to have links with al Qaeda. Both Junaid and Mahrukh study in London where they have been courting each other for quite some time. ''As parent, you have to marry off your children some day and we are no exception. I have nothing to shield from the people. I'm happy that my son is marrying. Lot of people have congratulated us on the occasion and all the rituals would take place as is the custom,'' he said. Miandad brushed aside claims that the marriage was advanced because of the growing fetus pressure. Asked to name people who are expected to attend the occasion, Miandad evaded a direct answer and said, ''All my friends and relatives will be invited. We will soon send in the invitations and you would know yourself who are coming to attend the marriage.'' All we want to know is if her dad will be coming to give her away. We'd like to send a proper gift. Asked why he chose Dubai as the venue of wedding, Miandad shot back ''I was thinking of hosting it in moon but did not get a land here.'' ''Actually Dubai is convenient place and hence we settled for that,'' he said. "Plus, there's much less chance of an airstrike. I hope." The marriage will be followed by a grand reception on August 4 in Karachi, Miandad said. Ah, now I'll wager Dad will make that one. ''One should not make it a controversy and treat it as any other marriage,'' he said.

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