KABUL – Hundreds of polling stations could be closed in Afghanistan's most violent regions, raising concerns that many ethnic Pashtuns will be unable to vote in next month's presidential elections. That could undermine the legitimacy of the election, cause turmoil and possibly deprive President Hamid Karzai of a first-round victory.
Afghan authorities plan to establish about 7,000 polling centers across the country for the Aug. 20 balloting. But security officials are unsure whether voting can take place in about 700 of them, said Noor Mohammad Noor, a spokesman for the Independent Electoral Commission.
At least 500 will probably not open because of security fears, according to a Western official working on the elections. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not supposed to comment publicly on the process.
Nearly all those polling stations are located in Pashtun areas of the south and east where the Taliban insurgency is the strongest, the official said. Most are in the Pashtun provinces of Helmand, Kandahar, Wardak and Ghazni.
Taliban spokesmen have called on Afghans not to vote in the election but have not explicitly threatened to attack polling stations.
A low turnout in Pashtun areas could cost Karzai support among his fellow Pashtuns, who tend to vote by ethnicity even though many of them are disenchanted with the president because of his ties to the Americans. Karzai's chief rival in the 39-candidate field, former Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah, is popular in northern Tajik areas, which are more peaceful and more likely to have a strong turnout.
Karzai is widely assumed to be the front-runner but if he fails to win more than half the votes in the crowded field, he would face a runoff with the second-place finisher in October. Karzai could be vulnerable if his opponents rally around an alternative candidate in the runoff.
If Abdullah runs stronger than expected, Pashtuns may not accept the outcome. If Karzai claims a first-round victory, it is also uncertain that the Tajiks would believe the results were valid.
Abdullah is half Pashtun but is closely associated with the Tajiks because he was a top adviser to the late Ahmad Shah Massoud, a top Tajik commander. Massoud was assassinated by al-Qaida two days before the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks in the United States.
With so much uncertainty, the top U.N. official in Afghanistan, Kai Eide, called the upcoming ballot "the most complicated elections I have seen."
About 17 million registered voters are eligible to vote for Afghanistan's next president and provincial council members. Even without the threat of violence, the logistics of setting up polling centers in an impoverished country of deserts, towering mountains, few roads and poor infrastructure are challenging.
Authorities plan to use 3,100 donkeys to ferry ballots to some of the country's most inaccessible regions that trucks and even helicopters cannot reach.
Eide said it "is not in the interest of anybody" that a "significant proportion of the population" is unable to vote so that "the result does not reflect the will of the Afghan people."
"It's important for all of us to see these elections reflect the will of the people," he said.
Interior Minister Hanif Atmar said some polling stations may have to be changed but pledged that Afghan security forces would be present at all voting sites.
Nevertheless, fears of violence are running high. On Tuesday, gunmen opened fire on a provincial campaign manager for Abdullah in eastern Afghanistan. The campaign manager was wounded and a driver was killed.
The attack occurred one day after the convoy of one of Karzai's vice presidential running mates, Mohammad Qasim Fahim, came under fire in northern Afghanistan. Fahim, the former commander of the Afghan alliance that ousted the Taliban in 2001, escaped injury but a cameraman working for his campaign was wounded.
Interior Ministry officials say there have been about 20 attacks against politicians or their aides in the past three weeks.
Meanwhile, the NATO-led force said an Afghan civilian was killed and five others wounded Tuesday after its troops clashed with insurgents in Zabul province in the south. It said six civilians were treated at a NATO base but one died.
The issue of civilian casualties has been a constant source of friction between Karzai and the U.S. military commanders. Soon after assuming command of NATO and U.S. forces last month, Gen. Stanley McChrystal ordered troops to limit the use of airstrikes to prevent civilian casualties.
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Powell: Harvard scholar might have reacted quickly
WASHINGTON – Former Secretary of State Colin Powell was mildly critical Tuesday of Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates Jr., whose angry response to a Cambridge, Mass., police officer touched off a national debate involving President Barack Obama.
Powell, interviewed by CNN's Larry King, criticized the way Gates dealt with Sgt. James Crowley, a white officer who responded to reports of a possible break-in by arresting the black professor at his home on a charge of disorderly conduct. The charge was soon dropped.
Gates "might have waited a while, come outside, talked to the officer, and that might have been the end of it," said Powell, one of the nation's most prominent African Americans.
"I think he should have reflected on whether or not this was the time to make that big a deal," he said.
But, Powell said, Gates was just home from China and New York and "all he wanted to do was get to bed."
When asked about the incident at a news conference, Obama said the police acted stupidly. The president subsequently toned down his criticism but not his denunciation of racial profiling generally.
Powell said he was the target of racial profiling many times and he sometimes got mad.
On one such occasion, he said, he tried to meet someone at Reagan National Airport "and nobody thought I could be the national security adviser to the president. I was just a black guy."
Asked how he dealt with the situation, Powell said "You just suck it up. What are you going to do?"
"There is no African American in this country who has not been exposed to this kind of situation," Powell said.
But, he said, "when you are faced with an officer trying to do his job and get to the bottom of something, this is not the time to get in an argument with him. I was taught that as a child.
"You don't argue with a police officer," Powell said.
Powell, interviewed by CNN's Larry King, criticized the way Gates dealt with Sgt. James Crowley, a white officer who responded to reports of a possible break-in by arresting the black professor at his home on a charge of disorderly conduct. The charge was soon dropped.
Gates "might have waited a while, come outside, talked to the officer, and that might have been the end of it," said Powell, one of the nation's most prominent African Americans.
"I think he should have reflected on whether or not this was the time to make that big a deal," he said.
But, Powell said, Gates was just home from China and New York and "all he wanted to do was get to bed."
When asked about the incident at a news conference, Obama said the police acted stupidly. The president subsequently toned down his criticism but not his denunciation of racial profiling generally.
Powell said he was the target of racial profiling many times and he sometimes got mad.
On one such occasion, he said, he tried to meet someone at Reagan National Airport "and nobody thought I could be the national security adviser to the president. I was just a black guy."
Asked how he dealt with the situation, Powell said "You just suck it up. What are you going to do?"
"There is no African American in this country who has not been exposed to this kind of situation," Powell said.
But, he said, "when you are faced with an officer trying to do his job and get to the bottom of something, this is not the time to get in an argument with him. I was taught that as a child.
"You don't argue with a police officer," Powell said.
Help sought for treatment of ailing boy
http://www.thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=190408
PESHAWAR: Poor parents of a seven-year-old minor have appealed to the NWFP chief minister and the philanthropists for help in the medical treatment of their son. Shehzad, a daily wager, said doctors had recommended operation for the treatment of his son Faizan who is suffering from a back problem. He said due to abject poverty, he could not afford to pay Rs50,000 for the medical treatment of his son.
The resourceless person appealed to the provincial government and the philanthropists for help in the treatment of his minor son. The patient could be contacted on phone numbers 0333-9373364/0344-9112415/0332-5422491. The donations can be deposited in Account No 63566-7 in HBL Corporate Branch, Peshawar Cantt.
PESHAWAR: Poor parents of a seven-year-old minor have appealed to the NWFP chief minister and the philanthropists for help in the medical treatment of their son. Shehzad, a daily wager, said doctors had recommended operation for the treatment of his son Faizan who is suffering from a back problem. He said due to abject poverty, he could not afford to pay Rs50,000 for the medical treatment of his son.
The resourceless person appealed to the provincial government and the philanthropists for help in the treatment of his minor son. The patient could be contacted on phone numbers 0333-9373364/0344-9112415/0332-5422491. The donations can be deposited in Account No 63566-7 in HBL Corporate Branch, Peshawar Cantt.
Pakistan committed to combating terror
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan is committed to combating terror in all forms and manifestation and this commitment flows out of its own conviction rather than any compulsion, Senate Chairman Farooq H Naik said on Tuesday. He was addressing a group of students from India, Afghanistan and Pakistan – currently on a two-week training programme under the auspices of the Heinrich Boll Stiftung Foundation of Germany – at the Parliament House. “The country has made laudable sacrifices in the global war on terror to make the world a more peaceful place to live in,” Naik said. He said the world must acknowledge Pakistan’s pioneering role in the war on terror. Despite a multitude of problems that it is facing, Pakistan’s commitment to combating terrorism remains strong. As a result of our efforts, the tide is turning and the terrorists are on the run, he added.
Donkeys, guns and trucks - elections Afghan-style
KABUL, July 28 (Reuters) - Almost as many donkeys as trucks will be used to take ballot papers to remote areas of Afghanistan for next month's presidential election, which the U.N. chief envoy said on Tuesday was the most complicated he'd ever seen.
U.N. Special Representative Kai Eide visited a massive warehouse in Kabul where Afghanistan's Independent Election Commission (IEC) is making final preparations for the huge logistical task presented by the Aug. 20 presidential poll.
Afghanistan's 17 million-odd eligible voters will cast their ballots in some 7,000 voting centres or 28,500 smaller voting stations across Afghanistan's 34 provinces and 356 districts.
Many will be set up on mountainsides or by rivers in remote areas where the only access is on the backs of donkeys.
"I emphasise that these are the most complicated elections I have seen," Eide told reporters.
"I mentioned to you how inaccessible the country is, how challenging the whole logistical operation is, and also the fact that the country is a country in conflict," he said.
The election is being staged against the backdrop of increased violence across the country after thousands of U.S. Marines and British troops launched major operations in southern Helmand province this month. [ID:nLR336228] The Helmand operations are the first under U.S. President Barack Obama's new regional strategy to defeat the Taliban and stabilise Afghanistan. Washington is pouring in thousands more troops this year, in part to provide security for the election.
Security is the foremost concern, with attempts made on the lives of two candidates, including President Hamid Karzai's senior vice-presidential running mate, in the past week.
POOR SECURITY
Voter registration was conducted across Afghanistan late last year and early in 2009 except for five districts in Helmand, where poor security meant registration only began last week.
Eide said security was "an issue of concern" and that the IEC and security forces were in the final phases of planning.
"The aim is to make as much of the country as possible secure for elections to take place," Eide said.
Logistics in a country of vast deserts, and high, craggy mountains and valleys were almost as much of a challenge as running an election at the same time as a growing insurgency.
A fleet of 3,500 trucks will carry voting materials to the polling stations, as well as 3,000 donkeys "to get people to the most remote areas", Eide said.
Local and international observers have warned that poor security and rampant corruption mean widespread voter fraud in either registration or the casting of ballots could be possible, but Eide said everything possible was being done to avoid that.
Voters will have their fingers inked before casting ballots. There were complaints in the last election in 2004 that the ink could be rubbed off easily but Eide said that had been addressed.
"I challenge you to try and find a material that will take the ink away without taking my finger away," Eide said.
President Hamid Karzai, seeking re-election after winning Afghanistan's first direct elections in 2004, is a clear front-runner in a field of 38 challengers.
He was widely criticised for pulling out of the first televised debate of the campaign last week against his two main rivals, former foreign minister Abdullah Abdullah and former finance minister Ashraf Ghani.
"It has not been perfect but it has been a good and informative campaign so far ... and I hope that that will encourage the Afghan people to come out and vote," Eide said.
"I think it's been a quite vibrant debate where the candidates have, as we urged them to, behaved with dignity."Tue Jul 28, 2009 7:31am EDT
(For full coverage on Afghanistan, double click on [ID:nAFPAK])
By Paul Tait
KABUL, July 28 (Reuters) - Almost as many donkeys as trucks will be used to take ballot papers to remote areas of Afghanistan for next month's presidential election, which the U.N. chief envoy said on Tuesday was the most complicated he'd ever seen.
U.N. Special Representative Kai Eide visited a massive warehouse in Kabul where Afghanistan's Independent Election Commission (IEC) is making final preparations for the huge logistical task presented by the Aug. 20 presidential poll.
Afghanistan's 17 million-odd eligible voters will cast their ballots in some 7,000 voting centres or 28,500 smaller voting stations across Afghanistan's 34 provinces and 356 districts.
Many will be set up on mountainsides or by rivers in remote areas where the only access is on the backs of donkeys.
"I emphasise that these are the most complicated elections I have seen," Eide told reporters.
"I mentioned to you how inaccessible the country is, how challenging the whole logistical operation is, and also the fact that the country is a country in conflict," he said.
The election is being staged against the backdrop of increased violence across the country after thousands of U.S. Marines and British troops launched major operations in southern Helmand province this month. [ID:nLR336228] The Helmand operations are the first under U.S. President Barack Obama's new regional strategy to defeat the Taliban and stabilise Afghanistan. Washington is pouring in thousands more troops this year, in part to provide security for the election.
Security is the foremost concern, with attempts made on the lives of two candidates, including President Hamid Karzai's senior vice-presidential running mate, in the past week.
POOR SECURITY
Voter registration was conducted across Afghanistan late last year and early in 2009 except for five districts in Helmand, where poor security meant registration only began last week.
Eide said security was "an issue of concern" and that the IEC and security forces were in the final phases of planning.
"The aim is to make as much of the country as possible secure for elections to take place," Eide said.
Logistics in a country of vast deserts, and high, craggy mountains and valleys were almost as much of a challenge as running an election at the same time as a growing insurgency.
A fleet of 3,500 trucks will carry voting materials to the polling stations, as well as 3,000 donkeys "to get people to the most remote areas", Eide said.
Local and international observers have warned that poor security and rampant corruption mean widespread voter fraud in either registration or the casting of ballots could be possible, but Eide said everything possible was being done to avoid that.
Voters will have their fingers inked before casting ballots. There were complaints in the last election in 2004 that the ink could be rubbed off easily but Eide said that had been addressed.
"I challenge you to try and find a material that will take the ink away without taking my finger away," Eide said.
President Hamid Karzai, seeking re-election after winning Afghanistan's first direct elections in 2004, is a clear front-runner in a field of 38 challengers.
He was widely criticised for pulling out of the first televised debate of the campaign last week against his two main rivals, former foreign minister Abdullah Abdullah and former finance minister Ashraf Ghani.
"It has not been perfect but it has been a good and informative campaign so far ... and I hope that that will encourage the Afghan people to come out and vote," Eide said.
"I think it's been a quite vibrant debate where the candidates have, as we urged them to, behaved with dignity."
U.N. Special Representative Kai Eide visited a massive warehouse in Kabul where Afghanistan's Independent Election Commission (IEC) is making final preparations for the huge logistical task presented by the Aug. 20 presidential poll.
Afghanistan's 17 million-odd eligible voters will cast their ballots in some 7,000 voting centres or 28,500 smaller voting stations across Afghanistan's 34 provinces and 356 districts.
Many will be set up on mountainsides or by rivers in remote areas where the only access is on the backs of donkeys.
"I emphasise that these are the most complicated elections I have seen," Eide told reporters.
"I mentioned to you how inaccessible the country is, how challenging the whole logistical operation is, and also the fact that the country is a country in conflict," he said.
The election is being staged against the backdrop of increased violence across the country after thousands of U.S. Marines and British troops launched major operations in southern Helmand province this month. [ID:nLR336228] The Helmand operations are the first under U.S. President Barack Obama's new regional strategy to defeat the Taliban and stabilise Afghanistan. Washington is pouring in thousands more troops this year, in part to provide security for the election.
Security is the foremost concern, with attempts made on the lives of two candidates, including President Hamid Karzai's senior vice-presidential running mate, in the past week.
POOR SECURITY
Voter registration was conducted across Afghanistan late last year and early in 2009 except for five districts in Helmand, where poor security meant registration only began last week.
Eide said security was "an issue of concern" and that the IEC and security forces were in the final phases of planning.
"The aim is to make as much of the country as possible secure for elections to take place," Eide said.
Logistics in a country of vast deserts, and high, craggy mountains and valleys were almost as much of a challenge as running an election at the same time as a growing insurgency.
A fleet of 3,500 trucks will carry voting materials to the polling stations, as well as 3,000 donkeys "to get people to the most remote areas", Eide said.
Local and international observers have warned that poor security and rampant corruption mean widespread voter fraud in either registration or the casting of ballots could be possible, but Eide said everything possible was being done to avoid that.
Voters will have their fingers inked before casting ballots. There were complaints in the last election in 2004 that the ink could be rubbed off easily but Eide said that had been addressed.
"I challenge you to try and find a material that will take the ink away without taking my finger away," Eide said.
President Hamid Karzai, seeking re-election after winning Afghanistan's first direct elections in 2004, is a clear front-runner in a field of 38 challengers.
He was widely criticised for pulling out of the first televised debate of the campaign last week against his two main rivals, former foreign minister Abdullah Abdullah and former finance minister Ashraf Ghani.
"It has not been perfect but it has been a good and informative campaign so far ... and I hope that that will encourage the Afghan people to come out and vote," Eide said.
"I think it's been a quite vibrant debate where the candidates have, as we urged them to, behaved with dignity."Tue Jul 28, 2009 7:31am EDT
(For full coverage on Afghanistan, double click on [ID:nAFPAK])
By Paul Tait
KABUL, July 28 (Reuters) - Almost as many donkeys as trucks will be used to take ballot papers to remote areas of Afghanistan for next month's presidential election, which the U.N. chief envoy said on Tuesday was the most complicated he'd ever seen.
U.N. Special Representative Kai Eide visited a massive warehouse in Kabul where Afghanistan's Independent Election Commission (IEC) is making final preparations for the huge logistical task presented by the Aug. 20 presidential poll.
Afghanistan's 17 million-odd eligible voters will cast their ballots in some 7,000 voting centres or 28,500 smaller voting stations across Afghanistan's 34 provinces and 356 districts.
Many will be set up on mountainsides or by rivers in remote areas where the only access is on the backs of donkeys.
"I emphasise that these are the most complicated elections I have seen," Eide told reporters.
"I mentioned to you how inaccessible the country is, how challenging the whole logistical operation is, and also the fact that the country is a country in conflict," he said.
The election is being staged against the backdrop of increased violence across the country after thousands of U.S. Marines and British troops launched major operations in southern Helmand province this month. [ID:nLR336228] The Helmand operations are the first under U.S. President Barack Obama's new regional strategy to defeat the Taliban and stabilise Afghanistan. Washington is pouring in thousands more troops this year, in part to provide security for the election.
Security is the foremost concern, with attempts made on the lives of two candidates, including President Hamid Karzai's senior vice-presidential running mate, in the past week.
POOR SECURITY
Voter registration was conducted across Afghanistan late last year and early in 2009 except for five districts in Helmand, where poor security meant registration only began last week.
Eide said security was "an issue of concern" and that the IEC and security forces were in the final phases of planning.
"The aim is to make as much of the country as possible secure for elections to take place," Eide said.
Logistics in a country of vast deserts, and high, craggy mountains and valleys were almost as much of a challenge as running an election at the same time as a growing insurgency.
A fleet of 3,500 trucks will carry voting materials to the polling stations, as well as 3,000 donkeys "to get people to the most remote areas", Eide said.
Local and international observers have warned that poor security and rampant corruption mean widespread voter fraud in either registration or the casting of ballots could be possible, but Eide said everything possible was being done to avoid that.
Voters will have their fingers inked before casting ballots. There were complaints in the last election in 2004 that the ink could be rubbed off easily but Eide said that had been addressed.
"I challenge you to try and find a material that will take the ink away without taking my finger away," Eide said.
President Hamid Karzai, seeking re-election after winning Afghanistan's first direct elections in 2004, is a clear front-runner in a field of 38 challengers.
He was widely criticised for pulling out of the first televised debate of the campaign last week against his two main rivals, former foreign minister Abdullah Abdullah and former finance minister Ashraf Ghani.
"It has not been perfect but it has been a good and informative campaign so far ... and I hope that that will encourage the Afghan people to come out and vote," Eide said.
"I think it's been a quite vibrant debate where the candidates have, as we urged them to, behaved with dignity."
Beers will settle race row
www.timesonline.co.uk
President Obama will probably have a Bud, the police officer a Blue Moon and the professor a Red Stripe, as the protagonists at the heart of a national debate on race try to bury the hatchet at the White House tomorrow night.
The white policeman and the black scholar he arrested inside his Harvard home will sit down with Mr Obama at 6pm after agreeing to share a beer in an attempt to end a painful episode for all three, especially after the President’s ill-advised decision to wade into the controversy last week.
Newly released tapes appear to contradict the police’s version of events, especially their contention that they were called to the house because they were told that “two black men with backpacks” were trying to break in.
Sergeant James Crowley arrested Henry Louis Gates Jr, a friend of Mr Obama, on July 16 after an investigation into a suspected burglary.
The professor was seen by a neighbour trying to force open his own front door. Sergeant Crowley arrested him for disorderly conduct even after he was informed that the professor lived there and no burglary had taken place. He was taken to a police station. The charges were later dropped.
Professor Gates claims that he was the victim of racial profiling. Sergeant Crowley said that the scholar was abusive and uncooperative and has refused to apologise. Mr Obama claimed that the police acted “stupidly”.
The police recording of the original emergency call by a female neighbour reveals that she never introduced the issue of race, and even suggested that the man who forced the door might live there. Lucia Whalen said that she had been “personally devastated” by reports that she was racist.
The guests’ requests for the two foreign beers tomorrow might cause a problem as they have not been stocked at the White House since President Johnson’s Administration.
Pakistan hits out at Indian nuclear sub
Global Times
Pakistan hit out at India yesterday, branding its first nuclear-powered submarine “detrimental” to regional peace and vowing to take “appropriate steps” to maintain a “strategic balance.”
“Continued induction of new lethal-weapon systems by India is detrimental to regional peace and stability,” the Pakistani Foreign Ministry said.
India on Sunday launched the first of five planned submarines by naming the 6,000-ton INS Arihant, powered by an 85-megawatt nuclear reactor that can reach 44 kilometres an hour (24 knots).
The submarine will be armed with torpedoes and ballistic missiles.
“Pakistan believes that the maintenance of strategic balance is essential for peace and security in south Asia,” the foreign ministry said.
“Without entering into an arms race with India, Pakistan will take all appropriate steps to safeguard its security and maintain strategic balance.”
The Pakistani Navy also voiced concern. “It is a matter of serious concern not only for Pakistan but also for all littoral states in the Indian Ocean and beyond,” a spokesman said.
India is part of an exclusive group of nations, including Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States, which own nuclear-powered submarines.
The vessel will undergo two years of sea trials in the Bay of Bengal before being commissioned for full service.
India conducted its first nuclear weapons tests in 1974. Pakistan then launched its own atomic weapons drive and tested its first devices in 1998.
But analysts in Pakistan brushed aside concerns of an arms race or renewed threat of war in South Asia sparked by India’s new submarine technology.
“It is not something we should worry about,” a leading Pakistani analyst on defense and security issues, Ayesha Siddiqa, told AFP.
“We have always been in a position to neutralize the Indian threat in case of war,” she said. “Its impact will be primarily on China-India relations and not India-Pakistan ties.”
Pakistan hit out at India yesterday, branding its first nuclear-powered submarine “detrimental” to regional peace and vowing to take “appropriate steps” to maintain a “strategic balance.”
“Continued induction of new lethal-weapon systems by India is detrimental to regional peace and stability,” the Pakistani Foreign Ministry said.
India on Sunday launched the first of five planned submarines by naming the 6,000-ton INS Arihant, powered by an 85-megawatt nuclear reactor that can reach 44 kilometres an hour (24 knots).
The submarine will be armed with torpedoes and ballistic missiles.
“Pakistan believes that the maintenance of strategic balance is essential for peace and security in south Asia,” the foreign ministry said.
“Without entering into an arms race with India, Pakistan will take all appropriate steps to safeguard its security and maintain strategic balance.”
The Pakistani Navy also voiced concern. “It is a matter of serious concern not only for Pakistan but also for all littoral states in the Indian Ocean and beyond,” a spokesman said.
India is part of an exclusive group of nations, including Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States, which own nuclear-powered submarines.
The vessel will undergo two years of sea trials in the Bay of Bengal before being commissioned for full service.
India conducted its first nuclear weapons tests in 1974. Pakistan then launched its own atomic weapons drive and tested its first devices in 1998.
But analysts in Pakistan brushed aside concerns of an arms race or renewed threat of war in South Asia sparked by India’s new submarine technology.
“It is not something we should worry about,” a leading Pakistani analyst on defense and security issues, Ayesha Siddiqa, told AFP.
“We have always been in a position to neutralize the Indian threat in case of war,” she said. “Its impact will be primarily on China-India relations and not India-Pakistan ties.”
Investigations link LeT men to Mumbai attack
ISLAMABAD: Pakistani investigators have found substantial evidence directly connecting Lashkar-e-Taiba to last year’s Mumbai terrorist attacks which killed 166 people.
The findings provided the basis for the trial which started last week of five arrested LeT operatives by an anti-terrorism court inside Rawalpindi’s Adiala jail. It is the first time that Pakistanis are being tried inside the country for carrying out terrorist attacks on foreign soil.
Political and security analysts in Islamabad said the serious nature of investigation into LeT’s involvement and the trial indicated Pakistan’s determination and commitment not to allow its territory to be used for planning and launching terrorist attacks.
An updated report on Pakistani investigation handed over to India on July 11 said the material recovered from LeT camps in Karachi and the coastal town of Thatta indicated that the terrorists were provided training and weapons by the militant outfit.
The investigation conducted by FIA gives some new and startling details about people involved in training and providing finances for the worst terrorist attack in India which heightened tensions between the two South Asian nations.
‘The investigation has established beyond any reasonable doubt that the defunct LeT activists conspired, abetted, planned, financed and established communication network to carry out terror attacks in Mumbai,’ said the report.
The LeT, which is the most powerful Pakistan-based Jihadi group, was outlawed in 2002, but it continued to operate in Kashmir. Western intelligence agencies maintain it continued its activities in Pakistan under the banner of Jamaatud Dawa, the charity wing of the group which also was declared a terrorist outfit by the UN Security Council earlier this year.
Pakistan has already arrested and charged five LeT commanders including Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi and Zarar Shah with planning and facilitating the bloody assault. The other three accused are Hammad Amin Sadiq, Mazhar Iqbal alias Al Qama and Shahid Jamil Riaz, all activists of LeT.
Aamir Ajmal Kasab, the sole surviving gunman of the Mumbai attack who is now in Indian custody, in his statement named Lakhvi, Zarar Shah and some other LeT commanders for training and launching the terrorists. Kasab who came from the Fareedkot town in Punjab, was among 10 terrorists who carried out the attacks. The other nine killed during the attacks also belonged to Punjab which is the main stronghold of LeT.
The accused were produced on Saturday before a makeshift anti-terrorism court in the high-security Adiala jail in Rawalpindi.
‘There are sufficient oral, direct documentary, circumstantial and scientific evidence which directly connect the accused with the commission of the offence,’ said the charge-sheet.
Lakhvi, Zarar Shah and Mazhar Iqbal (also known as ‘Al Qama’) have also been charged with planning, preparation and execution of the attacks and operational handling of the 10 terrorists. Lakhvi, the top commander of the LeT who was arrested on February 18, is a resident of Rinala Khurd in the district of Okara. He is named as the mastermind of the entire Mumbai massacre operation.
Zarar Shah, of Sheikhupura district, is a computer expert and he was in charge of communication. Mazhar Iqbal (Al Qama), a resident of Mandi Bahauddin, was the main handler.
Lakhvi and Zarar Shah are believed to have confessed to their involvement in the attacks. But Pakistani authorities have never confirmed that publicly.
According to defence attorney Shafqat Rajput, the court adjourned till August 29 after a brief hearing. ‘The trial will be conducted in camera,’ Mr Rajput said.
The court has declared 12 other LeT activists as absconders. Most of them are crew members of Al Hussaini and Al Fouz, the boats which were used to transport the gunmen to Mumbai.
Investigators here said they had recovered handwritten diaries, training manuals, Indian maps and operational instructions from the LeT camps. ‘The accused were running training camps for terrorists, providing sea and navigational training, conducting intelligence courses and directions for terrorist attack,’ the report said.
According to the new details, training sessions, codenamed ‘Azizabad’, were held in an LeT camp in Karachi from where the investigators seized militant literature, inflatable lifeboats, detailed maps of the Indian coastline, handwritten literature on navigational training and manual of an intelligence course.
Another training camp in Thatta was housed in five thatched rooms about two kilometres from a creek from where small boats sail to the sea. The terrorists also received training in this camp.
The investigators seized pocket diaries containing names of the accused and other persons and details of expenditure of the camp.
Pakistan has asked Indian authorities to provide more information about Faheem Ansari and Sabauddin Ahmed, the Indian nationals suspected to be involved in facilitating the attack. Both are in custody and the Indian authorities had earlier denied that any of their nationals was involved in the attacks.
During investigations, the two had confessed to visiting Lahore, Rawalpindi, Muridke, Karachi and Muzaffarabad. They were also believed to be in contact with the five accused.
The findings provided the basis for the trial which started last week of five arrested LeT operatives by an anti-terrorism court inside Rawalpindi’s Adiala jail. It is the first time that Pakistanis are being tried inside the country for carrying out terrorist attacks on foreign soil.
Political and security analysts in Islamabad said the serious nature of investigation into LeT’s involvement and the trial indicated Pakistan’s determination and commitment not to allow its territory to be used for planning and launching terrorist attacks.
An updated report on Pakistani investigation handed over to India on July 11 said the material recovered from LeT camps in Karachi and the coastal town of Thatta indicated that the terrorists were provided training and weapons by the militant outfit.
The investigation conducted by FIA gives some new and startling details about people involved in training and providing finances for the worst terrorist attack in India which heightened tensions between the two South Asian nations.
‘The investigation has established beyond any reasonable doubt that the defunct LeT activists conspired, abetted, planned, financed and established communication network to carry out terror attacks in Mumbai,’ said the report.
The LeT, which is the most powerful Pakistan-based Jihadi group, was outlawed in 2002, but it continued to operate in Kashmir. Western intelligence agencies maintain it continued its activities in Pakistan under the banner of Jamaatud Dawa, the charity wing of the group which also was declared a terrorist outfit by the UN Security Council earlier this year.
Pakistan has already arrested and charged five LeT commanders including Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi and Zarar Shah with planning and facilitating the bloody assault. The other three accused are Hammad Amin Sadiq, Mazhar Iqbal alias Al Qama and Shahid Jamil Riaz, all activists of LeT.
Aamir Ajmal Kasab, the sole surviving gunman of the Mumbai attack who is now in Indian custody, in his statement named Lakhvi, Zarar Shah and some other LeT commanders for training and launching the terrorists. Kasab who came from the Fareedkot town in Punjab, was among 10 terrorists who carried out the attacks. The other nine killed during the attacks also belonged to Punjab which is the main stronghold of LeT.
The accused were produced on Saturday before a makeshift anti-terrorism court in the high-security Adiala jail in Rawalpindi.
‘There are sufficient oral, direct documentary, circumstantial and scientific evidence which directly connect the accused with the commission of the offence,’ said the charge-sheet.
Lakhvi, Zarar Shah and Mazhar Iqbal (also known as ‘Al Qama’) have also been charged with planning, preparation and execution of the attacks and operational handling of the 10 terrorists. Lakhvi, the top commander of the LeT who was arrested on February 18, is a resident of Rinala Khurd in the district of Okara. He is named as the mastermind of the entire Mumbai massacre operation.
Zarar Shah, of Sheikhupura district, is a computer expert and he was in charge of communication. Mazhar Iqbal (Al Qama), a resident of Mandi Bahauddin, was the main handler.
Lakhvi and Zarar Shah are believed to have confessed to their involvement in the attacks. But Pakistani authorities have never confirmed that publicly.
According to defence attorney Shafqat Rajput, the court adjourned till August 29 after a brief hearing. ‘The trial will be conducted in camera,’ Mr Rajput said.
The court has declared 12 other LeT activists as absconders. Most of them are crew members of Al Hussaini and Al Fouz, the boats which were used to transport the gunmen to Mumbai.
Investigators here said they had recovered handwritten diaries, training manuals, Indian maps and operational instructions from the LeT camps. ‘The accused were running training camps for terrorists, providing sea and navigational training, conducting intelligence courses and directions for terrorist attack,’ the report said.
According to the new details, training sessions, codenamed ‘Azizabad’, were held in an LeT camp in Karachi from where the investigators seized militant literature, inflatable lifeboats, detailed maps of the Indian coastline, handwritten literature on navigational training and manual of an intelligence course.
Another training camp in Thatta was housed in five thatched rooms about two kilometres from a creek from where small boats sail to the sea. The terrorists also received training in this camp.
The investigators seized pocket diaries containing names of the accused and other persons and details of expenditure of the camp.
Pakistan has asked Indian authorities to provide more information about Faheem Ansari and Sabauddin Ahmed, the Indian nationals suspected to be involved in facilitating the attack. Both are in custody and the Indian authorities had earlier denied that any of their nationals was involved in the attacks.
During investigations, the two had confessed to visiting Lahore, Rawalpindi, Muridke, Karachi and Muzaffarabad. They were also believed to be in contact with the five accused.
IDPs urge govt to provide relief package
Peshawar : The residents of tehsil Kabal and Thana, adjacent areas of district Swat, on Monday staged protest demonstration against non-provision of relief package so-far. Dozens of protesters were carrying banners and placards inscribed with slogans. They were also chanting full-throated slogans against the ANP-led provincial government and authorities concerned. The protesters were of the view that despite of the fact that everything had been destroyed in their areas by the militancy and the the military operation, the government has yet not provided them with any relief package. The protest rally led by an IDP Habib Khan who in his address said that for the last one month, the government had not provided any relief or any food item, adding that the real IDPs are being ignored during the distribution of packages and favoritism and nepotism had be done by the officials, for which the government machinery doe not take any action against the officials. He said that on the day of receiving relief package, when the IDPs go to the concerned offices, the officials send them back by making several excuses and also misbehave with the IDPs as if an IDP came for begging. He demanded of NWFP Chief Minister Amir Haider Khan and elected representatives of district Swat to resolve the issue and make the provision of relief package assured.
Iran opposition leader calls for more street protests
Iran's leading opposition figure called on his supporters Monday to head into the streets daily during a religious festival next week, potentially escalating tensions at a time when his election rival, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, is to be sworn in for a second term.
The call for new protests was the most provocative move in weeks by former Prime Minister Mir-Hossein Mousavi. It was a sign that the aging bureaucrat, once a pillar of the Islamic Republic's political establishment, is growing into the role of leader of a youth-based movement that seeks greater democracy and better ties to the rest of the world. It also highlights the difficulty Iran's political powers are having trying to tame the unrest stemming from charges that Ahmadinejad stole the June 12 presidential election. Authorities have fallen back on the same tactics they used to quell protests in 1999 and 2003 -- beating and imprisoning activists. But this time, those methods have not stopped the protest, and have even divided the ranks of political conservatives.
The call for new protests was the most provocative move in weeks by former Prime Minister Mir-Hossein Mousavi. It was a sign that the aging bureaucrat, once a pillar of the Islamic Republic's political establishment, is growing into the role of leader of a youth-based movement that seeks greater democracy and better ties to the rest of the world. It also highlights the difficulty Iran's political powers are having trying to tame the unrest stemming from charges that Ahmadinejad stole the June 12 presidential election. Authorities have fallen back on the same tactics they used to quell protests in 1999 and 2003 -- beating and imprisoning activists. But this time, those methods have not stopped the protest, and have even divided the ranks of political conservatives.
Pakistan’s population to double by 2050: UN
KARACHI: Pakistan’s population is growing so incredibly fast that despite decades of family planning efforts, in 40 years it will be the fourth largest country on Earth, a United Nations report said.
United Nations Population Division said Pakistan will overtake Brazil and Indonesia by 2050 to rank fourth in world population, almost doubling to 335 million from its current 180 million.
‘For a country with the resources of Pakistan that’s enormous. How can Pakistan support a population that size with jobs, education, health care? It can’t do so right now with the population it has,’ said Daniel Baker, who heads UN Family Planning Association in Pakistan.
Pakistan currently ranks sixth behind China, India, the United States, Indonesia and Brazil. On achieving independence in 1947, the country had 37 million people and was ranked 15th in the world.
In little than 60 years it has multiplied nearly five times, and now has a population growth rate of 2.2 per cent per year, according to UN population data.
The rapid population growth poses potentially disastrous consequences.
Fifty-seven per cent of Pakistan’s population is between 15 and 64, and 41 per cent are under 15. Only four per cent are over 65. Pakistan is now experiencing its largest ever youth bulge.
Police Officer Is Found Beheaded in Pakistan
NEW YORK TIMES
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — The beheaded body of a police constable who was kidnapped last week in the Swat Valley was found Tuesday morning near the town of Mingora, the police said.
A police official in Swat said the killing of the constable, Jehan Zada, amounted to a “continuation of the same process,” implying that the police believe the Taliban were to blame.
Police officers have become prime targets of Taliban assassins in Swat, and the abduction and killing of the constable underscores the continuing pressure on the police there. Mr. Zada was snatched from his house in the Sangota area of the valley, the police said.
His killing also seems to demonstrate the Taliban’s reach and capability in the Swat Valley despite the presence of more than 20,000 Pakistani soldiers who have deployed there to flush out the militants.
Police also have discovered the bodies of a number of civilians beheaded by the Taliban in recent weeks, according to a senior police official in Peshawar who spoke on the condition of anonymity, citing departmental policy. He said the civilians were suspected by the Taliban of being informants for the military.
Taliban attacks on the police in Swat have led to more than 800 desertions by officers over the last two years. Police officials have been unable to prevent suicide bombings, beheadings and other insurgency tactics used by Taliban fighters. And lacking specialized counterterrorism training, the police have often been unwilling to participate in anti-Taliban operations.
The killing of the constable came as hundreds of thousands of displaced people were making their way back to the Swat Valley, ordered by the authorities to return to their homes there after months of fighting between insurgents and government forces.
The army continues to battle the Taliban in several insurgent strongholds, particularly in the Matta and Kabal regions of Swat, not far from the main city, Mingora, where many refugees have reclaimed their homes. In a sign that Mingora was still not secure, the Pakistani military declined a request last week by the American envoy Richard Holbrooke to visit the town.
In those still-contested regions, the Taliban have razed houses and killed a civilian working for the police in Matta. And now, with the beheading in Mingora, counterinsurgency experts fear that the returning refugees might have been sent back too soon.
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — The beheaded body of a police constable who was kidnapped last week in the Swat Valley was found Tuesday morning near the town of Mingora, the police said.
A police official in Swat said the killing of the constable, Jehan Zada, amounted to a “continuation of the same process,” implying that the police believe the Taliban were to blame.
Police officers have become prime targets of Taliban assassins in Swat, and the abduction and killing of the constable underscores the continuing pressure on the police there. Mr. Zada was snatched from his house in the Sangota area of the valley, the police said.
His killing also seems to demonstrate the Taliban’s reach and capability in the Swat Valley despite the presence of more than 20,000 Pakistani soldiers who have deployed there to flush out the militants.
Police also have discovered the bodies of a number of civilians beheaded by the Taliban in recent weeks, according to a senior police official in Peshawar who spoke on the condition of anonymity, citing departmental policy. He said the civilians were suspected by the Taliban of being informants for the military.
Taliban attacks on the police in Swat have led to more than 800 desertions by officers over the last two years. Police officials have been unable to prevent suicide bombings, beheadings and other insurgency tactics used by Taliban fighters. And lacking specialized counterterrorism training, the police have often been unwilling to participate in anti-Taliban operations.
The killing of the constable came as hundreds of thousands of displaced people were making their way back to the Swat Valley, ordered by the authorities to return to their homes there after months of fighting between insurgents and government forces.
The army continues to battle the Taliban in several insurgent strongholds, particularly in the Matta and Kabal regions of Swat, not far from the main city, Mingora, where many refugees have reclaimed their homes. In a sign that Mingora was still not secure, the Pakistani military declined a request last week by the American envoy Richard Holbrooke to visit the town.
In those still-contested regions, the Taliban have razed houses and killed a civilian working for the police in Matta. And now, with the beheading in Mingora, counterinsurgency experts fear that the returning refugees might have been sent back too soon.
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