Recent Appearances...

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Hello !
Recent Appearances...

Imtiaz Ahmed	Imtiaz Ahmed	Lashkar-e-Taiba	Afghanistan-Pak-India	20051116	Link
Imtiaz Ahmed Mujahid	Imtiaz Ahmed Mujahid	Ahle Haidth Youth Force	India-Pakistan	20051224	Link
	Imtiaz Ahmed Mujahid	Markazi Jamiat-e-Ahle Hadith		20051224	Link

Britain

British-Pakistani judge hands jail terms to West Yorkshire grooming gang members

2025-01-19

[GEO.TV] British-Pak Judge Ahmed Nadim has sentenced three men from Keighley who were part of a West Yorkshire grooming gang in the late 1990s for rape at Bradford Crown Court.

Overall, a group of eight men, who were part of the grooming gang have been jugged
Drop the heater, Studs, or you're hist'try!
, BBC reported.

Three of those included Ibrar Hussain, 47, and brothers Imtiaz Ahmed, 62, and Fayaz Ahmed, 45 were sentenced for rape by the court a day ago.

The court convicted the men after finding them guilty of non-recent sexual offences on a girl following a trial in November and December 2024.

Five other men had been jugged
Drop the heater, Studs, or you're hist'try!
last year for their involvement in the sexual assault.

According to the prosecution, the grooming gang members had raped a 13-year-old girl in West Yorkshire in 1990.

Hussain and Imtiaz and Fayaz were all sentenced for raping one of the girls, who was aged between 13 and 14 when the offences took place, the report said.

Hussain was jugged
Drop the heater, Studs, or you're hist'try!
for six-and-a-half years for two counts of rape, whereas, Imtiaz for nine years in his absence for one count of rape and Fayaz was given seven-and-a-half years imprisonment in his absence for two counts of rape.

Imtiaz and Fayaz had absconded during a retrial last year and were believed to be abroad, the court heard.

So their real sentence is banishment, which is somewhat better than nothing. Though I would have preferred full castration and solitary confinement for life, those are not things England does anymore.

After sentencing the three men, Judge Nadim expressed hope that the sentences gave the victims "comfort of knowing that their voices at long last have been heard".

"They have had to tread a painful and arduous path. I commend them both for their courage and steadfastness," he said.

After the hearing, West Yorkshire Police stated in a statement that five men have received the following sentences after the first trial which concluded on October 20, 2023:

Amreaz Asghar 47 of Keighley was jugged
Drop the heater, Studs, or you're hist'try!
for 4 and a half years for rape

Perwaz Asghar 50 of Nottingham was jugged
Drop the heater, Studs, or you're hist'try!
for 6 and a half years for two indecent assaults

Mohammed Din 47 of Keighley was jugged
Drop the heater, Studs, or you're hist'try!
for 14 years for 11 counts of rape

Sajid Mahmood Khan 45 of Keighley was jugged
Drop the heater, Studs, or you're hist'try!
for 3 years for rape.

Zehroon Razak 47 of Keighley was jugged
Drop the heater, Studs, or you're hist'try!
for 6 and a half years for rape

Pointing towards the recent verdict, the force said that the second trial was concluded on December 13, 2024, in which one man was convicted of child sex offences and two other men were also convicted but the trial was held in their absence.

Earlier this month, the National Police Chiefs' Council (NPCC) said that the vast majority of sexual grooming gang offences are carried out by white men.

Possibly true. But we have no way of knowing, when most such offenses by “Asians” have been actively covered up.

The statement came after X billionaire owner Elon Musk published several posts making false accusations against British-Pak men.

Sorry, O GEO reporter, but those accusations are true. You are part of the cover-up.

New figures from the police database show that, where ethnicity data was available, 85% of ''group-based'' child abusers were white in the first three quarters of 2024. The same data for the whole of 2023 showed 83% of offenders were white.

And where ethnicity data was deliberately not recorded by the police? Or the crimes themselves were not recorded by the police? One must always understand statistics in context, you know. That’s what good reporters strive always to do, unlike propagandists.

Link

Bangladesh

Islami Andolan musters 3rd highest votes, wins no seats

2019-01-03

[Dhaka Tribune] In the 11th parliamentary elections, the Islami Andolan Bangladesh
...a minor Islamist party which in the days of Bangla Bhai served as a recruiting agency for the JMB...
(IAB) has bagged the third highest number of votes, following Awami League-led Grand Alliance and BNP-led Jatiya Oikya Front.

Yet, the party could not manage securing a single seat in the December 30 polls. The IAB also rejected the election results, amid claims of harassment and intimidation of its polling agents and voters.

According the Election Commission, 80,259,172 votes were cast, which is 77% of the country’s total number of eligible voters.

Of the total votes, the Awami League received 61,703,251 votes (77%), and won 288 parliamentary seats out of 298, where results have been announced.

Oikya Front, which won only seven seats, got 9,229,712 votes, while the IAB got 1,236,983, according to the Election Commission tally.

Speaking to the Dhaka Tribune earlier, IAB Dhaka city south unit President Imtiaz Ahmed said winning seats is not currently the party’s goal. Instead, the IAB wishes to increase the total number of their followers.

Link

India-Pakistan

Inspector gets death for killing two lawyers in Daska

2016-01-16

[DAWN] SIALKOT: An anti-terrorism court handed down death sentence on four counts and 30-year hard jail to a convict police inspector in a murder case of two Daska-based senior lawyers on Thursday.

The court ordered Shahzad Warraich to pay Rs400,000 as financial compensation to the families of the two slain lawyers.

Judge Chaudhry Imtiaz Ahmed awarded death sentence on two counts under section 302 of the PPC and another two counts under 7-ATA to the convict.

According to the prosecution, the convict police inspector had rubbed out Daska Bar Association president Rana Khalid Abbas and senior lawyer Muhammad Irfan Chohan in front of the main gate of the Daska City cop shoppe on May 25, 2015, when lawyers clashed with tehsil municipal workers over some issue and allegedly abused police when it intervened.

Link

India-Pakistan

Police give Musharraf a clean chit

2013-11-01

[Dawn] The Islamabad police have declared former president Gen (retired)

Pervez Perv Musharraf
... former dictator of Pakistain, who was less dictatorial and corrupt than any Pak civilian government to date ...
'innocent' in the murder of Lal Masjid holy man Ghazi Abdul Rasheed, but have left Musharraf's acquittal to the court.

Both Ghazi Rasheed and his mother died during the 2007 operation against the mosque.

The police have prepared an investigation report under Section 173 of the Criminal Procedure Code, commonly known as a challan.

According to this challan, "the complainant in the said case, Haroon Rasheed, son of Ghazi Rasheed, was neither the eyewitness of the murder nor could he produce tangible evidence against Musharraf."

The Aabpara police submitted the report before additional district and sessions judge (ADSJ) Wajid Ali on Wednesday during the hearing of a post-arrest bail petition filed by Gen Musharraf.

The police have placed Mr Musharraf in Column 2 of the incomplete challan, and have thus put the former army chief at the mercy of the court.

However,
there's more than one way to skin a cat...
they maintained that there was no evidence or any eyewitness against the accused.

According to Inspector General (retired) Saleemullah Khan Advocate, the police place an accused in Column 2 if they believe the suspect is innocent but do not want to discharge him on their own.

He said: "The former army chief, being placed in Column 2, is not guilty according to the police. He can not only get a bail but is also entitled to file a petition for his acquittal in the murder case."

Similarly, when Ilyas Siddiqui, Gen Musharraf's counsel, was contacted, he said the Ghazi Rasheed murder case lacked substantial evidence.

"Now, it is up to the judge to decide Mr Musharraf's fate," he added.

The counsel maintained that an accused can apply for acquittal if he is placed in Column 2 and in most cases the court acquits such a person.

It may be mentioned here that during the blasphemy case in which a minor Christian girl was nominated as an accused, the police had initially placed her in Column 3. This column is reserved for a person who the police believe is guilty.

However,
a hangover is the wrath of grapes...
her name was later moved to Column 2 after she was found innocent, and the court subsequently acquitted her in the blasphemy case.

Similarly, in July this year, the Airport police had declared Imtiaz Ahmed alias Taji Khokhar innocent in the murder of a woman and had moved his name from Column 3 to Column 2.

Taji was likely to get acquitted in the case but the anti-corruption establishment of Punjab incarcerated
Please don't kill me!
SHO Aslam Aziz Niazi for tampering with the record through which the accused had been cleared.

During the hearing of Mr Musharraf's bail plea on Wednesday, Ilyas Siddiqui adopted before the court that the Lal Masjid holy mans and students had been involved in abducting government officials and foreigners prior to the operation.

He said the district administration had requisitioned the army after it failed to resolve the issue through negotiations.

He claimed that his client, Mr Musharraf, had not issued any directive to launch the operation against the mosque.

On the other hand, Tariq Asad, the counsel of the complainant, Ghazi Rasheed, alleged that Gen Musharraf was the 'criminal mastermind' of the said operation.

He praised the role of Lal Masjid holy mans and claimed that they were rendering a great service to the society.

Tariq Asad maintained that the residents of Islamabad were getting speedy justice from the informal courts established by the holy mans who were passing orders in accordance with Islamic injunctions.

He alleged that Musharraf, being responsible for the Lal Masjid operation, was not entitled to the bail and requested the court to dismiss the bail plea.

ADSJ Wajid Ali reserved the judgment on the bail petition after the counsels of the complainant and petitioner concluded their arguments. The court would announce the verdict on Friday.

The challan
... list of charges ...
filed against Gen Musharraf also narrated a brief history of the Lal Masjid operation.

It maintained that prior to the operation, Maulana Abdul Aziz (the Khateeb of Lal Masjid) and his brother Ghazi Rasheed were facing 31 cases in the cop shoppes of Aabpara, Kohsar, Margalla and Bhara Kahu.

It said that during the military operation 10 army men, including Lt-Col Haroonul Islam and an official of Rangers, were killed in addition to civilians.

Link

India-Pakistan

Bomb attack on Justice Baqar widely condemned

2013-06-27

[The News (Pak)] Muttahida Qaumi Movement
...English: United National Movement, generally known as MQM, is the 3rd largest political party and the largest secular political party in Pakistain with particular strength in Sindh. From 1992 to 1999, the MQM was the target of the Pak Army's Operation Cleanup leaving thousands of urdu speaking civilians dead...
chief Altaf Hussain strongly condemned the kaboom on Sindh High Court's Justice Maqbool Baqar on Burns Road.

He expressed his profound grief over the wounding and killing of police and Rangers personnel, Justice Maqbool's driver and several others.

Hussain, while deploring the kaboom on Justice Maqbool Baqar's convoy, said that this was an open act of terrorism. He said that the forces of Evil had thrown down the gauntlet to security officials with the manner in which they carried out this brazen attack.

"This act of terrorism is a matter of serious concern and shows that snuffies can attack anyone, anywhere."

Meanwhile,
...back at the revival hall, Buford bit the snake and Eloise began speaking in tongues...
the Jamat-e-Islami has demanded that the government order a judicial inquiry into the kaboom targeting Justice Maqbool Baqar and said the attack exposed the complete failure of law enforcement agencies.

The Majalis-e-Wahdat-e-Musselmeneen (MWM) also strongly condemned the kaboom and urged the government to chalk out a comprehensive strategy to combat terrorism.

MWM front man Ali Ahmer told The News that the attack spread panic and fear among citizens. "The inspector general of Sindh Police and director general Rangers should step down and accept their failure."

Sunni Tehrik
...formed in Karachi in 1992 under by Muhammad Saleem Qadri. It quickly fell to trading fisticuffs and assassinations with the MQM and the Sipah-e-Sahaba, with at least a half dozen of its major leaders rubbed out. Sunni Tehreek arose to become the primary opposition to the Deobandi Binori Mosque, headed by Nizamuddin Shamzai, who was eventually bumped off by person or persons unknown. ST's current leadership has heavily criticized the Deobandi Jihadi leaders, accusing them of being sponsored by Indian Intelligence agencies as well as involvement in terrorist activities...
front man Fahimuddin Sheikh termed the attack as a conspiracy to divide and destabilise 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...
. He criticised the Sindh governor, who he said remained a silent spectator to the bloodshed.

Sheikh said that mere statements and hollow slogans would never eliminate terrorism and Karachi was facing serious threats. He called for a contingency plan to ensure the safety of citizens.

PML-N Sindh President Syed Ghaus Ali Shah believed that the attack showed the complete failure of the government and the PPP-led regime seemed unable to chalk out an anti-terror strategy.

PML-F Secretary General and Sindh Assembly Member Imtiaz Ahmed Sheikh demanded that the federal government intervene to stop the acts of terrorism in Karachi.

Link

India-Pakistan

Nuggets from the Urdu press

2011-12-25

Lord Nazir on Altaf Husain
Quoted in Nai Baat British Pakistani member of parliament Lord Nazir said that MQM leader Altaf Husain had been working as an agent of Indian secret agency RAW and that PPP leader Dr Zulfiqar Mirza will not leave the UK without proving the guilt of Altaf Husain.

Imran Khan's 'chchittar'
Quoted in daily Express Imran Khan said that he could not help meeting the American ambassador Munter after he simply barged into his house in Islamabad. He said because of the scandal arising out of this meeting that next time the US ambassador comes to his he will drive him with his shoe (chchittar).

Mansoor Ijaz is Qadiani!
Daily Nawa-e-Waqt made the discovery that rascally American conspirator Mansoor Ijaz was a Qadiani serving the CIA for the past 20 years while travelling in his own private jet. His father was related to the Nobel Laureate Dr Abdus Salam while his grandfather was one of the inside circle of the founder of the faith.

Jamali goes prophetic like Pagaro
Reported in Jinnah former prime minister and old PMLQ leader Zafrullah Jamali predicted in the tradition of Pir Pagaro - whose predictions never come true - that the PPP government will pack up before December 25, 2011, because of the NATO invasion and Husain Haqqani memo. In answer to him, PPP leader Fakhr Imam stated that there were no legitimate signs of the government going and that he was surprised at Jamali's prediction which he thought was an attempt to become another Pir Pagaro.

Hanif Abbasi accuses Imran Khan
Writing in Jang funny columnist Ataul Haq Qasimi said that PMLN leader Hanif Abbasi had disclosed that Imran Khan in 1987 had written an application to chief minister Punjab Nawaz Sharif for a plot in Lahore. He got two plots for free on the pledge that he had no plots in his name and that he will not sell the new plots. Yet Imran Khan owned a plot in Zaman Park where he had his house and then he sold the plots thus acquired. (Imran Khan's reply was that Nawaz Sharif had asked him to write the application so that he could officially give him the plots which he did and sold the plots thereafter and donated the money to Shaukat Khanum Cancer Hospital.)

Shaukat Khanum Trustees get big salaries
Columnist Ataul Haq Qasimi wrote in Jang that Hanif Abbasi had also accused Imran Khan to including his family members in the Shaukat Khanum Trust giving them Rs 40 lakh every month as salaries. He accused him of confessing to gambling in his book whose British edition showed Kashmir as part of India. (Imran Khan replied that he was taking legal action against Hanif Abbasi to get him to prove that salaries were given to Trustees. He said the Kashmir misprint was removed later and that the betting was not in fact gambling because it was legal based on honest professional prediction.)

Veena Malik in 'trubbel' again
Daily Jinnah reported that Pakistani filmstar Veena Malik had posed nude for an India magazine while carrying the tattoo saying ISI on her arm. Veena Malik replied that he photo was 'bold' but not nude. The tattoo of ISI probably showed her loyalty to Pakistan and its most honourable agency. Veena Malik's father was also offended by her exposure and reprimanded her for going too far and regretted that she was his daughter: 'Kash who meri beti na hoti'. He said his entire family was very religious. Mashriq reported that the Taliban were so upset by Veena's photo that they sent her a death threat.

Mushahid and Sheikh Rashid back in PMLN?
Daily Pakistan reported that PMLQ leader Mushahid Hussain and Sheikh Rashid of Awami Muslim League were getting ready to return to the embrace of PMLN because Punjab Law Minister Rana Sanaullah was working very hard on Nawaz Sharif to get them back against the PPP.

Our latest 'Aslambegism'
World famous military strategist and ex-army chief of Pakistan Aslam Beg told Nawa-e-Waqt that NATO's attack at Salala in Mohmand Agency was staged by the Americans to get some Taliban terrorists freed from Pakistani jails as the Taliban are not against the US but in secret allied with it.

Oh my.

He said Pak Army had surrounded warlords Waliur Rehman and Fazlullah and the NATO attack was aimed at helping them.

If women drove cars in Saudi Arabia
Daily Mashriq reported that after Saudi Arabia relented and gave permission to Saudi women to drive cars a famous Saudi Islamic scholar told the Saudi religious council that the consequences of this permission would be: women will start selling their bodies, they will start seeking divorce from their husband and they will start doing obscene acts (fuhush harkaat).

Veena Malik offends the nation
Daily Pakistan reported that there was widespread emotional storm in Pakistan over the news that Veena Malik had posed nude for an Indian magazine and ruined Pakistan's honour for a few pennies. She was named Zahida Malik and wore burqa from class three till college but took off everything in India. Indian film producer Mahesh Bhatt said he would defend Veena Malik and give her full chance to clear her position. He said Veena should not consider herself alone because every Indian was on her side.

Obama takes revenge for his blackness
Columnist Tanvir Qaiser Shahid wrote in daily Express that when slaves become masters they behave worse than their tormentors. President Obama was from a community that had suffered cruelties at the hands of white Americans

A common mistake -- President Obama was not from the community, but grafted himself upon it.

but he was now being cruel to the Muslims of Pakistan as US and Nato invasion kills innocent Pakistani troops at Salala checkpost.

Mangal Bagh gives Islamic punishment
Reported in daily Express family members of a man killed in Bara fired on the accused after he confessed to having killed their son. The son had gone to Bara to get her sister in law to come home when the father of the bride knifed him to death. Lashkar-e-Islam the terrorist organisation which rules Khyber Agency organised the punishment under Islamic Law.

Haqqani made envoy on Billa's advice
Daily Mashriq reported that prime minister Nawaz Sharif wanted to get rid of his aide Husain Haqqani in 1992 and did not know what to do. Haqqani was asking for an important post which Nawaz Sharif was not willing to give him. At this point ex-ISI officer Brigadier Imtiaz Ahmed alias Brigadier Billa known for the highest IQ known in spies,

There's a regular program for measuring the intelligence of spies for comparison purposes? Doesn't that reveal them?

advised him to send him as ambassador to Sri Lanka which he did.

Raymond Davis's curse
Reported in Nawa-e-Waqt the family that Raymond Davis paid blood money to had gone berserk after coming into a lot of money. The boy whom Davis killed was Faheem and the blood money was paid to his brother Akram who has recently divorced his second wife after giving her a thrashing and has married a third one in addition to moving into a new house.

Link

India-Pakistan

Accused in Benazir case withdraws bail plea

2011-08-26

[Dawn] An accused in Benazir Bhutto murder case on Wednesday withdrew his bail application from the Lahore High Court Rawalpindi Bench over non-maintainability in the court.

Sher Zaman filed the application before the high court's two-member bench comprising Justice Sardar Tariq Masood and Justice Khawaja Imtiaz Ahmed on March 29.

Khurram Qureshi, the counsel for the accused, took the bail plea back after prosecution argued that it could only be filed before the trial court.

In its application, Khurram Qureshi stated that neither any proof was found against his client, Sher Zaman, nor had he given any confessional statement.

He said that despite all the facts, his client had been in jail for the last more than three years.

During the hearing, FIA Prosecutor Chaudhry Zulfikar argued before the court that Sher Zaman could not obtain post-arrest bail on the ground that he was being kept in the jail without trial.

"According to the law, any person could not be jugged in jail without trial for more than two year," he said and added that the bail application of Sher Zaman was set aside by a trial court where the accused had not cited the reason of delay in trial.

"If Sher Zaman wanted to obtain bail on this ground, he should approach the trial court," FIA prosecutor maintain.

After the completion of the arguments, LHC division bench said the matter would again be taken up after Eidul Fitr. On this, the defense counsel said he wanted to withdraw the bail plea.

Link

Bangladesh

Burqa cops catching muggers

2011-05-19

[Bangla Daily Star] Mirpur police have adopted a unique technique to capture muggers red handed.

Code named "Burqa Team," a four-member police squad -- two wearing burqa (veil) and two in plainclothes -- conducts the drive especially at night.

Police initiated the move in the wake of rising incidents of mugging and carjacking in the area in recent months. Such team was also introduced in the capital's Mirpur in June 2009, police said.

Abdul Latif, officer-in-charge of Kafrul Police Station, told The Daily Star they devised the technique so that the muggers cannot identify them. "Our team catches the muggers when they try to mug them."

One such team yesterday incarcerated two alleged muggers at Agargaon in the capital around 4:30am when they tried to mug the squad.

The arrestees are Sadnan Hossain Saju and Azizul Haque. Two of the gang decamped the scene.

The team was patrolling between Agargaon and Jahangir Gate link road in a microbus. When the team reached Agargaon, four criminals in a private car stopped the microbus and tried to mug them.

"Police shot at them with the guns hidden under their veils. The muggers also fired back," Latif said.

The two incarcerated muggers received bullets in their legs. They were admitted to the National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases (NICVD). The police team seized the private car and a pistol with five bullets.

Five such special teams started the operation in the area on Monday, said Imtiaz Ahmed, deputy commissioner (Mirpur Division) of Dhaka Metropolitan Police. One of them is a "Burqa Team" while the four others patrol in plainclothes.

"Mugging had decreased in the area when we conducted such drives in 2009," Imtiaz recalled.

Link

Bangladesh

JMB still getting plenty of funds

2010-09-15

Financial strength of hard boy organisation Jama'atul Mujahideen Bangladesh has been a grave concern for law enforcement agencies as the banned outfit is reportedly getting more than Tk 50 lakh a month from local and foreign sources.

JMB's activities have lately appeared on the wane following the arrest of its top brass, including its chief Moulana Saidur Rahman, and explosives experts.

But law enforcers involved with anti-militancy drives believe its network of financial support survives intact. The flow of fund in the form of supporters' monthly contributions, Zakat and donation apparently remains uninterrupted.

The officers, however, could not say who handles the funds after the arrest of Saidur in May. The JMB chief himself was in charge of its finance division.

Of their monthly earning, around Tk 6 lakh is being sent by around 3,000 JMB supporters staying in Australia, England, Italy, Canada, Malaysia and middle-east countries, according to a statement made by Saidur at Taskforce for Interrogation cell recently.

They send cash to their families mainly via people including friends and relatives. A portion of the money goes to JMB fund.

Most of the 3,000 sympathisers belong to Ahle Hadith community, a top detective branch official quoted Saidur as saying.

Saidur also claimed to have received 18,000 British pounds and 1,500 US dollars -- equivalent to around Tk 20 to 22 lakh -- at the end of 2008 and early 2009 from a person named Ahmed.

Investigators could not say any further about Ahmed, as JMB never uses real name or identity.

Saidur also said Mamun, a person who was involved in fake currency business in India, had been donating Tk 50,000 every month to JMB fund until he was jugged.

The Daily Star obtained a copy of Saidur's statement.

Saidur, also the former ameer of Habiganj district Jamaat-e-Islami, disclosed JMB gets cash around Tk 50 to Tk 60 lakh in Ramadan.

In Bangla month of Baishakh they also get around Tk 10 lakh mainly from North Bengal in the form of Zakat and Ushr (a portion of harvested crop given as donation).

The statement also reads the highest earning by a unit (comprising several villages) is Tk 10 to 12 thousand, by a upazila unit Tk 50,000, a district unit Tk 2 lakh and a divisional unit Tk 5 to 6 lakh.

An Esher (full-time) member is put in charge of each of the financial units.

Money collected from members' monthly contribution and other sources is first deposited to the unit chief. After meeting the unit's expenditure he sends the surplus to the organisation's upazila level.

Thus money flows through different tiers -- village, upazila, district and division. Finally, if there is any left over, it goes to the finance division head.

Saidur as the finance division boss was accountable to four Majlish-e-Sura (highest decision-making body) members.

Moreover, the outfit earns around Tk 50,000 from the organisations' Taxicabs, CNG-run three wheelers, vans and rickshaws.

JMB members used to operate those vehicles with two objectives -- to disguise as part of the masses and to get used to tough job.

Security and Defence analyst Prof Imtiaz Ahmed of Dhaka University International Relations department stressed the need for a big investment in research on militancy as hard boys, who earlier used different channels and money laundering to send money, are exploring new systems to get the job done.

Lt Col Ziaul Ahsan, director of Rab's intelligence wing, said the militancy funding is really a concern for them as they usually don't know how gun-hung tough guys are getting or spending the money.

Contacted, Inspector General of Police Hassan Mahmood Khandker said they were inquiring into the matter.

Link

Bangladesh

Mysteries pile on country

2009-08-21

[Bangla Daily Star] Political and security analysts advise the government set up a new, strong investigation body to unravel the mysteries behind the major terrorist attacks.

The suggested organisation would be comprised of experts from a wide spectrum of professions to analyse an incident from different angles.

It would work alongside the existing criminal investigation agencies that seem inadequate to crack sensational cases and unable to withstand pressure not to track down the political elements involved.

The suggestion came in conversation with The Daily Star yesterday, on the eve of the fifth anniversary of the August 21 grenade attack.

The probe into the grenade blasts had been politicised like that into many other terror strikes, which had the nation on edge over the last few years.

The way investigation officials had worked under the last BNP-led government threw into question the credibility of their findings.

Prof Imtiaz Ahmed, professor of international relations at Dhaka University, said, "The perpetrators seem to have tried to achieve many goals through the August 21 blasts. They might be some quarters at home with links abroad.

"Their motives might have been keeping the country under-developed, destroying its secular spirit, hampering its economic growth, etc. The government should form a separate investigation organisation to unearth the motives and unmask the masterminds."

He added that every detail must come out if measures to stop recurrence of violence were to succeed.

Socio-political analyst Prof Sirajul Islam Chowdhury, historian Prof Syed Anwar Hossain and former inspector general of police ASM Shahjahan too emphasise forming a national body to solve assassinations, terrorist attacks and arms hauls.

On this day in 2004, terrorists hurled grenades at the then opposition leader Sheikh Hasina on an Awami League rally on Bangabandhu Avenue.

Hasina survived the attempt on her life but saw 23 of her party leaders and workers killed and scores injured.

President Zillur Rahman's wife Ivy Rahman was among those who died.

Three former investigation officers in the August 21 blasts case now face criminal proceedings for carrying out misleading probe during the four-party rule.

Besides politicisation, limited purview of the probe and lack of efficient investigators have long kept the nation in the dark about the conspiracy behind the attack.

From a court's verdict based on charge sheet, people can at best know who executed the attack. The masterminds, motives and the entire conspiracy would still elude them.

Former caretaker government adviser ASM Shahjahan, who was CID chief twice, suggested the government form a committee to delve into the conspiracies behind the terror attacks and assassinations since criminal investigation has its limitations in that regard.

All findings except those that may hamper national security should be let out in the open in the public interest, he continued.

"The whole truth must be uncovered for the sake of justice and the rule of law."

Referring to the recent US revelations about Bangabandhu killing, the analysts said the criminal investigation in this case could not dig up such aspects, which are too vital for the nation to miss.

Syed Anwar observed, "In cases like August 21 blasts, trial and execution of verdict are never enough. We need to know everything about the plots behind.

"The government should set up an enquiry commission that would bring out the truth and publish it in white papers."

Sirajul Islam Chowdhury said, "For special probes, we cannot depend solely on police. Because they cannot go after the political leaders with links to terrorism and organised crime, or they do not even try."

In light of these limitations, experts from different sectors should be engaged to conduct a strong and credible judicial enquiry.

Prof Chowdhury said the August 21 attack was aimed at not merely an individual but the secular principles of the state. He said it was a continuation of the August 15 bloodbath in 1975.

In most cases, the non-communal force has been the target of the attacks, he added.

Prof Anwar said it is obvious that the country's enemies, mostly rightists and extremists, do not bother to follow political norms and values while dealing with political adversaries.

Prof Imtiaz said whoever--Huji or JMB--had staged the August 21 blasts are non-state elements.

They had network in and outside the country and carried out the attack by outfoxing the intelligence agencies. They might have gone to the expense of infiltrating operatives into AL, he continued.

The perpetrators were well prepared and disciplined. They might have been aided and abetted by some other organised forces. Even a part of the state machinery might have a hand in the carnage, observed the DU professor.

"The non-state elements responsible for subversive activities can stay untouchable only if the democratic structure of a country is weak."

Imtiaz suggested the government assign think-tanks to conduct research or probe to find out facts behind such attacks and form a body like "Public Security Council".

STATUS OF AUGUST 21 CASES

After years of drama over investigation during the tenure of BNP-led coalition government, charges were pressed against 22 people in two August 21 cases on June 11 last year.

Huji boss Mufti Abdul Hannan and BNP leader and former deputy minister Abdus Salam Pintu are among the charge-sheeted accused.

A Dhaka court on August 3 issued an order for further probe into the incident as the earlier one failed to identify the collectors and suppliers of grenades used in the attack.

Abdul Kahar Akand, senior ASP of CID, was given charge of the probe into the carnage after the court asked the police chief to submit report within two months.

"I have just reviewed the case documents and started investigation," Kahar told The Daily Star yesterday.

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India-Pakistan

Predictable riots after Ali Shar Hyderi bumped off

2009-08-18

[Geo News] The slain leader of outlawed Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan who was killed earlier today has been laid to rest near the mazar of his father Shaheed Muhammad Waris in Khairpur.
[Pat-pat-pat]
"There! That oughta do it!"
"Didja remember the garlic?"
"Of course I remembered the garlic!"
"And the stake?"
"Soon as he was in the hole!"
"The silver bullet?"
"14 of 'em! He's salted down for good!"
Partial strike was observed in various districts of the province while incidents of violence and arson were also reported from few areas including Khairpur in rection to the killing of a banned sectarian outfit's leader Allama Ali Shar Hyderi. Hyderi, chief of outlawed Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan, was killed with one of his associates as was ambushed by unknown killers, late Sunday night, near Pir-j-Goth, Kingri taluka of the Khairpur district.

He was returning to his hometown Khairpur from a ceremony in Pir Jo Goth when he came under attack. The miscreants sprayed bullets on his vehicle killing him and his assistant Imtiaz Ahmed on the spot.

Six others were also injured in the attack. In return fireby Hyderi's guards an attacker was also killed who was later identified as Oshaq Ali Jagerani Baloch. The security has been tightened throughout the Sukkur region after the incident in the wake of possible reaction, he added.

On Monday morning when the news of Allama's killing broke out, enraged crowds of his followers came on streets in various areas/districts, including Sukkur, Khairpur, Ghotki, Shikarpur, Jaccababad, Thull, Pano Akil, Kashmore, Tangwani, Kandhkot, Nousheroferoze, Faiz Gunj, Pacca Chang, Sobho Dero, Thari Mirwah, Nara and others, and hurled stones on the vehicles in the Khairpur, Pir-jo Goth and other areas. They also chanted slogans and forced the shopkeepers to close their businesses while the trains schedule was also affected.

In Sukkur, enraged people blocked the roads and set tyres on fire. Protests have also been reported from some other areas of the Faiz Gunj taluka of the Khairpur.

Meanwhile, security has been tightened throughout the province and Rangers have also been summoned in sensitive cities/areas for patrolling and assisting the police in maintaining law and order.

Haideri's funeral will be held at 5.00 pm at Jamia-e-Hyderi Luqman premises.

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Bangladesh

Win over abuse of religion

2009-01-01

Julfikar Ali Manik

Corruption, alleged links to militancy and campaigns about the role in genocide of 1971 led to voters' humiliating rejection of Jamaat's religion-based politics in the parliamentary polls, say political analysts and civil society leaders. "The voters have rejected misuse of religion in politics through their ballots," political analyst Prof Imtiaz Ahmed told The Daily Star. The people didn't like distortion of religion for political gains, he added.

Human rights activist and former adviser to caretaker government Sultana Kamal said, "This result is the reflection of peoples' secular mind. They have proved again through ballots that they don't like communalism, chauvinism and fascism."

Veteran freedom fighter and former army chief Lt Gen (retd) M Harun-ur-Rashid believes the new generation rejected Jamaat when they learned for the first time about the party's role in 1971.

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