Pakistan: 236% increase in female voter registration in Khyber Agency

The Express Tribune

Voter lists finalised by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) have shown a 236% increase in the number of female registered voters in Khyber Agency. According to the ECP’s 2008 voters list, the total number of people registered from Khyber Agency was 194,256, with 156,973 male and 37,283 female voters. This time, there have been 142,507 new registrations. The spike may be attributed to the increase in the number of women getting Computerised National Identity Cards (CNIC). The total number of registered voters in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) is 1,616,601. Out of this, 1,063,807 are men and 552,794 are women. Interestingly, this time round the highest number of female voters is in Bajaur Agency ­— 132,366. The lowest number was recorded in North Waziristan with 11,704 female voters. From Khyber Agency a total of 336,763 registered voters comprise 211,495 males and 125,268 females. The total number of voters in Khyber Agency has increased by 73.4% since 2008. The highest increase in the ratio of female voters per 100 male voters had also been recorded in Khyber Agency. An ECP official told The Express Tribune, “One of the main reasons for the increase in registered voters is the fact that those who get their Computerised National Identity Cards (CNIC) made, automatically get registered with the ECP and then we verify them with the address they provide.” He added the former government’s Benazir Income Support Programme required a valid CNIC, thus more women got their cards made and as a result the number of registered voters increased. The ongoing military operation in Khyber Agency has left many families displaced. They are forced to live in camps and register for ration cards which also requires them to get CNICs made. This has also impacted voter registration, said an aid worker, who will be observing the electoral process. He added law and order in Landikotal and Jamrud subdivisions of the agency is better than other areas of Fata. In these areas, women do not fear registering themselves for CNICs and casting vote.

Not the full picture: Lal Masjid commission report

IN its recently released report on the 2007 showdown between the state and militants holed up inside an Islamabad mosque, the Lal Masjid commission has absolved the army of responsibility for the debacle. Instead, blame has been placed on the shoulders of Gen Musharraf, Shaukat Aziz and members of the cabinet at the time. But before the state files murder charges — as recommended by the one-judge commission — we must ask whether these recommendations are in consonance with some aspects of the affair that need greater critical appraisal. In other words, the sensitive nature of such an investigation should have entailed far broader terms of reference for the commission than merely affixing blame and focusing on compensation issues. There are three crucial aspects of the Lal Masjid operation that can be considered independently of the report: a) the military operation that resulted in clearing the mosque of militants and the death of many civilians was an institutional decision, not solely that of Gen Musharraf, who was then army chief; b) the situation in the capital had been allowed to come to such a pass that a military operation became necessary; c) the operation was badly mishandled, resulting in the death of all those who were inside the complex, not just the militants. True, there was justification for the operation. The Lal Masjid militants had challenged the writ of the state in the heart of Islamabad. Aside from the seminary students’ moral policing in the capital, Sharia ‘courts’ were set up inside the mosque and there were a number of fire-fights with the police, paramilitary and army even before the military launched its operation. Heavy weaponry was stashed inside the place of worship — and later used by militants during the siege. While the details of the siege itself were covered extensively by the media, very little is known about the identity of the armed militants who were in control of the mosque complex and their agenda. Here is where a bigger probe is needed; and also to answer what went on inside the complex during the operation and what prompted the military to act in a way that there was no survivor to give an alternative version of events. It can only be hoped that a wider probe will also summon army officials. Fact and fiction must be separated before blame is affixed on those responsible for carrying out a flawed operation and those whose terrorising tactics were getting out of hand.

Pakistan: Bribed journalists exposed in SC

The Supreme Court of Pakistan made public on Monday a list of eminent intellectuals, journalists, writers, anchorperson and news-agencies that were paid by the previous PPP Information Ministry through its secret fund. The Supreme Court list contains itemized particulars of those expenditures for which the information ministry now does not claim privilege or secrecy. The list of disbursements, totaling up to 1.7 billion rupees, was uploaded on the apex court's website in accordance to its directive issued earlier during the day. The official document given to the Supreme Court of Pakistan exposes more lies of the PPP Information Ministry. In days to come, more lies, betrayals and follies of the PPP government and its minister will continue to surface. No matter how far the lies of the PPP are buried under the secret bribes that the previous regime used to hire some of the media 'gurus'. The then media darling the Federal Information Minister Qamaruzzaman Kiara often used to the 'hired media dons' to befool, belittle and ridicule his opponents on the TV channels' screens. There is no provision of secret funds in the Constitution of Pakistan or in any other law around the world. Yet the practice of misusing the state funds collected from the cruelly taxed money pops up more often than not--especially in states notorious for bad governance. Of course, the Pakistan Peoples' Party government, unfortunately, is one of them. No the time has come to fix looting and plundering or misuse of the states resources. Every single beneficiary of the secret funds should be exposed without any exception and relaxation. Mostly the PPP government misused the funds for pro-government news agencies, newspapers and TV channels for its publicity and hiding the facts. The payments had been made under the head of advertisement and direct cash payments, however, are very rare that may provide a window for the former rulers to get off the hook. The aspect, hopefully, will be guarded against and looked after properly. Regardless of the response of journalists named in the list, the Supreme Court of Pakistan should go one step ahead in exposing all black sheep amongst the severing or the retired judges, generals and journalists. For ages, the allegation of corruption against these three communities are making headlines but being the sacred cows they have never been questioned in the past. Now the Supreme Court of Pakistan has initiated the process of accountability starting from the journalists. These bribed media-owners, editors, reporters, anchorpersons, politicians and bureaucrats should be taken to the task. Rightly, the court had frozen the funds of the information ministry. The last day heroic of former Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf of sanctioning a summary for the payment of Rs 1.32 billion for media campaigns--should also be thoroughly probed and a detailed audit of the accounts of the ministries concerned be carried out. The media is one of the pillars of the state and media practitioners are the non-governmental ameens of the state and the rights of the countrymen to the extent that the people with clear conscience including the former US president Thomas Jefferson preferred to live in a country where no government but the free press is firmly in place. Solution to all problems of Pakistan too lies in having free, fair and independent press. Thus much desired and long-standing demand of the nation of cleansing the media industry too should be taken far more seriously. The corruption, abuse of powers and misuse of the state funds for personal gains or in the name of the 'national interests' can only be stopped forth with provided the abusers and the beneficiaries are thrown out of the fray. Just political rhetoric has neither born fruit in the past nor will it do any good for the future of the country. The Supreme Court of Pakistan has taken cognizance on number of issues ranging from corruption to law and order situation in the country. The cases are either pending or yet to produce desired results to the nation for one reason or other. The apex court should come down hard on the latest revelations of the PPP government 's bid of corrupting media houses and the workers there in. All those involved in the process should be brought to book immediately. The real across the board accountability--not mere the political rhetoric--the country needs the most. Otherwise, the opportunists, one way or the other, would continue to tarnish the image of the country at home and abroad.

President Obama to observe moment of silence for Boston bombing victims

http://www.nydailynews.com/

The White House says President Barack Obama will observe a moment of silence Monday to honor the victims of the Boston Marathon bombings. Obama will pay tribute to the victims at 2:50 p.m. Monday, the time the first of two bombs exploded last week near the marathon finish line. The president will mark the moment privately at the White House, with no press coverage.Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick has also asked his state's residents to observe a moment of silence Monday afternoon. Bells will toll across the state after the minute-long tribute to the victims.

Boston bombing suspect communicating, source says

The surviving suspect in the Boston Marathon bombings will not be designated an enemy combatant, but will instead face criminal charges in civilian court, White House spokesman Jay Carney said Monday. "This is absolutely the right way to go and the appropriate way to go," Carney said of the case against Dzhokhar Tsarnaev. Despite being seriously wounded and heavily sedated, Tsarnaev is answering brief questions from his hospital bed by nodding his head, a source with first-hand knowledge of the investigation told CNN Monday. Authorities are asking the 19-year-old if there are more bombs, explosives caches or weapons, and if anyone else was involved, the source said. Investigators are going into Tsarnaev's room at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston every few hours to ask questions in the presence of doctors, the source said. It wasn't immediately clear what he may be communicating.Tsarnaev, who is on a ventilator and restrained, has been hospitalized since authorities took him into custody Friday night after finding him hiding in a boat in the back yard of a Watertown, Massachusetts, home. His injuries include a wound to the lower half of his body and a neck wound, the source said. It wasn't clear when he received the neck wound. Tsarnaev had also lost a lot of blood and may have hearing loss from two flash-bang devices used to draw him out of the boat, the source said. Investigators believe Dzhokhar Tsarnaev and his brother, Tamerlan Tsarnaev, were behind the attacks that killed three people and wounded more than 170 others a week ago Monday. Tamerlan Tsarnaev, 26, died early Friday at a hospital after a shootout with police. The developments came the same day as memorial services for two people killed in the bombings and a planned moment of silence to honor victims.Elder suspect's wife With one suspect dead and the other hindered in his ability to communicate, investigators are eager to speak to Tamerlan Tsarnaev's wife, Katherine Russell, to see what she might know about incidents leading up to the bombings. On Monday, her attorney said she learned of her husband's alleged involvement through news accounts. "She knew nothing about it at any time," Amato DeLuca said in response to questions about whether Russell knew of plans to attack the marathon. Tsarnaev stayed home and cared for the couple's 2-year-old daughter while his wife worked long hours as a home care aide, according to DeLuca. The family is devastated, the attorney said. "They're very distraught. They're upset. Their lives have been unalterably changed. They're upset because of what happened, the people that were injured, that were killed. It's an awful, terrible thing," he said. "And of course Katy, it's even worse because what she lost -- her husband and the father of her daughter." Police chief: The carnage could have been worse In the tumultuous days after the bombings, the Tsarnaev brothers allegedly killed a university police officer, led authorities on a harrowing chase and hurled explosives at police, authorities said. Another officer, seriously wounded in a firefight with the suspects, was recovering Monday, Boston Police Commissioner Ed Davis said. The brothers -- armed with handguns and explosives -- apparently were planning another attack before a shootout with police disrupted their efforts, Davis said. "I believe that the only reason that someone would have those in their possession was to further attack people and cause more death and destruction," Davis said on CNN's "Starting Point" Monday. Authorities believe the brothers bought bomb components locally but think that their guns came from elsewhere, another federal law enforcement official said. The official, who was not authorized to publicly discuss the case, said authorities are trying to trace the guns. Investigators are also trying to determine whether anyone else was involved in the bombings. But Davis, speaking Sunday to CNN's Don Lemon, said that he was confident that the brothers were "the two major actors in the violence that occurred." "I told the people of Boston that they can rest easily, that the two people who were committing these vicious attacks are either dead or arrested, and I still believe that," the police chief said. Details on shootout The wild shootout that prompted the dramatic lockdown of the Boston area Friday began after a single officer gave chase after encountering the stolen car the brothers allegedly were driving, Watertown police Chief Edward Deveau told CNN's Wolf Blizter on Saturday. According to Deveau, the brothers stepped out of the car and shot at the officer, who put his car in reverse to get away from the gunfire. More officers arrived, sparking a firefight that lasted five to 10 minutes. More than 200 shots were fired, and one of the brothers threw explosives at police -- including a pressure cooker bomb similar to the one used at the marathon, Deveau said. Eventually, Tamerlan Tsarnaev emerged from cover and began walking toward officers, firing as he went, the chief said. When he ran out of ammunition, officers tackled him and tried to handcuff him, Deveau said Saturday. But then, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev came barreling at them in the stolen vehicle, the chief said. The officers scrambled out of the way, and the vehicle then ran over the older brother and dragged him for a short distance. Tamerlan Tsarnaev also had explosives on his body, officials have said. Clues about radicalization? While investigators piece together the brothers' actions leading up to the marathon bombings, details have emerged suggesting the elder Tsarnaev was turning radical. The Tsarnaev family hails from the Russian republic of Chechnya and fled the brutal wars there in the 1990s. The two brothers were born in Kyrgyzstan, authorities said. An FBI official said agents interviewed Tamerlan Tsarnaev in 2011 at the request of the Russian government. The FBI said Russia claimed that he was a follower of radical Islam and that he had changed drastically since 2010. But the Russian government's request was vague, a U.S. official and a law enforcement source said Sunday. The lack of specifics limited how much the FBI was able to investigate Tamerlan, the law enforcement official said.Tamerlan Tsarnaev apparently became increasingly radical in the past three or four years, according to an analysis of his social media accounts and the recollections of family members. But so far, there has been no evidence of active association with international jihadist groups. In August 2012, soon after returning from a visit to Russia, the elder Tsarnaev brother created a YouTube channel with links to a number of videos. Two videos under a category labeled "Terrorists" were deleted. It's not clear when or by whom. In January, Tamerlan Tsarnaev disrupted a service at the Islamic Society of Boston's mosque in Cambridge, Massachusets, a board member told CNN's Brian Todd. Tsarnaev was reacting to a speaker who likened the Muslim Prophet Mohammed to Martin Luther King Jr., the board member said. He calmed after worshippers spoke with him, and returned often for pre-dawn prayers on Fridays, the board member said. Dzhokhar Tsarnaev also sometimes attended prayers -- but only with his brother, the board member said.Memorials and tributes Boston officials planned a moment of silence for 2:50 p.m. Monday to mark the passing of one week since the bombings. A minute later, bells will toll to honor the victims. One of those victims, Krystle Campbell was memorialized Monday morning in a service at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Medford, Massachusetts. After the service, police officers lined the street in front of the church as other officers wearing dress uniforms saluted as the casket bearing her remains was taken from the church and loaded into a hearse. Another memorial service was scheduled Monday night for victim Lingzi Lu, a student from China. Also on Monday, runners in at least 80 cities will participate in the "Run for Boston in Your City" campaign, organizer Brian Kelley said. The global campaign is "a run for those that were unable to finish, a run for those that may never run again" and "a run for us to try and make sense of the tragedy that has forever changed something we love," according to organizers. While authorities say Bostonians can rest easier now that the two suspects are accounted for, nagging questions hinder any total sense of security: Why would the assailants want to kill or maim throngs of innocent civilians, and could this happen again?

Moving forward

A week after the marathon bombings, 50 people remain hospitalized, including two in critical condition, according to a CNN tally. At least a dozen survivors have endured amputations. Patients at Massachusetts General Hospital have received visitors from war veterans who have also suffered amputations. The vets, Dr. Jeffrey Kalish said, told patients that their lives aren't over because they've lost limbs. "We've seen really tremendous success and great attitudes," he said. Also Monday, Davis -- the Boston police commissioner -- said transit system police officer Richard Donohue, wounded in the firefight with the Tsarnaev brothers, was improving. "He was in grave condition when he went to the hospital, so we're very optimistic at this point in time, and our prayers are with him and his family," he said. Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, meanwhile, remains in serious but stable condition, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office District of Massachusetts. A federal law enforcement source with knowledge of the investigation told CNN the younger brother has a gunshot wound to his neck, and he had a tube down his throat to help him breathe. It's unclear whether Tsarnaev was wounded during his capture or in the earlier shootout with police that left his older brother dead, said the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity. Authorities have not publicly stated what charges Tsarnaev could face, but a Justice Department official who has been briefed on the case told CNN Tsarnaev will face federal terrorism charges and possibly state murder charges. While Massachusetts does not have a death penalty, prosecutors could seek the death penalty at the federal level.

Getting back to normal

It could take up to two more days before the area around the site of the explosions can reopen to the public, Davis said. The FBI has not yet turned the scene back over to local authorities, the police chief said. "We have to allow store owners to go in there first. It won't be open to the general public for maybe another day so the store owners can get their business back on track," Davis said. "We want to get people back in their homes as soon as possible, and we're working diligently on that right now."

Indian girl's rape highlights missing children

Poor parents in India say police don't bother to investigate when their children disappear. A third are never found.

A child disappears. Police are called. Nothing happens. Child rights activists say the rape last week of a 5-year-old girl is just the latest case in which Indian police failed to take urgent action on a report of a missing child. Three days after the attack, the girl was found alone in locked room in the same New Delhi building where her family lives. More than 90,000 children go missing in India each year; more than 34,000 are never found. Some parents say they lost crucial time because police wrongly dismissed their missing children as runaways, refused to file reports or treated the cases as nuisances. The parents of the 5-year-old said that after their daughter disappeared, they repeatedly begged police to register a complaint and begin a search, but they were rejected. Three days later, neighbors heard the sound of a child crying from a locked room in the tenement. They broke down the door and rushed the brutalized girl to the police station. The parents said the police response was to offer the couple 2,000 rupees ($37) to keep quiet about what had happened. "They just wanted us to go away. They didn't want to register a case even after they saw how badly our daughter was injured," said the girl's father, who cannot be identified because Indian law requires a rape victim's identity be kept secret. Delhi's Police Commissioner Neeraj Kumar admitted Monday that local police had erred in handling the case. "There have been shortfalls, so the station house officer and his deputy have been suspended," Kumar told reporters. Other poor parents of missing children say they also have found police reluctant to help them. In 2010, police took 15 days to register a missing-persons case for 14-year-old Pankaj Singh. His mother is still waiting for him to come home. "Every day my husband and my father would go wait at the police station, but they would shoo them away," Pravesh Kumari Singh said as she sat on her son's bed, surrounded by his pictures and books. One morning in March 2010, she fed her son a breakfast of fried pancakes and spicy potatoes, then left for a community health training program. "He told me he would have a bath and settle down to study for his exams," said Singh, clutching the boy's photograph to her heart. When she returned, he was gone. "The neighbors said some boys had called him out. We searched everywhere, went to the police, but they refused to believe that something had happened to our son." The police insisted he had run off with friends and would return, she said. "They said we must have scolded him or beaten him, which is why he had run away from home," she said. Formal police complaints were registered in only one-sixth of missing child cases in 2011, said Bhuwan Ribhu, a lawyer with Bachpan Bachao Andolan, or the Save the Childhood Movement. He said police resist registering cases because they want to keep crime figures low, and that parents are often too poor to bribe them to reconsider. Ribhu said the first few hours after a child goes missing are the most crucial. "The police can cordon off nearby areas, issue alerts at railway and bus stations, and step up vigilance to catch the kidnappers," he said. Activists say delays let traffickers move children to neighboring states, where the police don't have jurisdiction. There is no national database of missing children that state police can reference. Police have insisted that most of missing children are runways fleeing grinding poverty. "It's easy enough to blame the police for not finding the children. Some of the parents do not even possess a photograph of the child. Or they will come up with a years-old picture. It becomes difficult when there's not even a photograph to work with," Delhi police spokesman Rajan Bhagat said last month when asked about complaints on police inaction in investigating case of missing children. Many cases involved poor migrant construction workers who move from site to site around the city, Bhagat said. "The children are unfamiliar with the place and once they lose their way, they wouldn't know how to return," he said. India's Women and Child Development Minister Krishna Tirath told Parliament last month that the problem of missing children had assumed "alarming" proportions. The National Crime Records Bureau reported that 34,406 missing children were never found in 2011, up from 18,166 in 2009. Activists say some children are trafficked and forced to beg on the streets. Some work on farms or factories as forced labor and others have their organs harvested and sold. The activists say young girls are pushed into the sex trade or sold for marriage. "The government is just not ready to confront the issue of trafficking or missing children. And this gets reflected in the apathy of the police in dealing with cases of missing children," said Ribhu, the lawyer. In 2006, the Central Bureau of Investigation said at least 815 criminal gangs were kidnapping children for begging, prostitution or ransom. The Save the Childhood Movement said police have not cracked a single one of those syndicates. "Despite our providing the police with all the details of where a child was picked up from, where he was taken, the police are simply not willing to act," said Ribhu. Two streets away from Singh, in a tiny windowless room crammed with clothes, bedding and a stove, Pinky Devi keeps a prized possession locked away in a drawer: a faded color photograph of her son Ravi Shankar. One afternoon in November 2011, she says, the 11-year-old went off with other children to a neighborhood fair. He never returned. Devi said the police visited her home a couple of times and spoke to her neighbors, but their interest soon wore out. "I'm sure if we had money to spend on them, the police would have been more active in tracing my son," said Devi, her two younger sons and infant daughter clinging to her sari in their one-room tenement in southeast Delhi. Shantha Sinha, who heads the government's National Commission for Protection of Child Rights, acknowledged that much remained to be done to make police take cases of missing children seriously. "There has to be a strong message that in every incident of a missing child, a criminal case has to be registered and the case is properly investigated," Sinha said. Kunwar Pal, a construction worker, fears police indifference crushed his efforts to find his son Ravi Kumar.Since the 12-year-old disappeared three years ago, the distraught father has cycled across India's sprawling capital, visiting police and railway stations, children's homes and hospitals, handing out posters and photographs of his missing son. Every time he hears of a child found anywhere in the city, he cycles to the police station, hoping it's Ravi. Pal, a lean 45-year-old with haunted eyes, refuses to think the worst. He believes Ravi was taken by a childless couple who wanted a child of their own. "If they were to let me know somehow that my son is alive, I would be happy," said Pal, his spare frame wracked by dry heaves. "They can keep him. Just let me see his shadow. Just let me know he's safe." He also believes police would have worked harder if he had not been poor. "If I were rich, my son would have been found by now. If I had money, the police would have taken the case more seriously," he said.

Rapes happen all over India

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/

Union home minister Sushilkumar Shinde on Monday made a statement in Parliament on the rape of a five-year-old girl in the nation capital and the police response to it, but ended up courting controversy by claiming that such incidents happened not only in Delhi, but all across the country. Making a statement in the Lok Sabha amid noisy protests over the minor's rape and other issues, Shinde apprised the MPs of the early breakthrough in the case, resulting in arrest of the two accused. While Manoj, the main accused, was arrested on Saturday from Bihar's Muzaffarpur district, another co-accused, Pradeep, was apprehended from Lakhisarai on Sunday night. Shinde said the SHO of the police station in Gandhinagar and the investigating officer (IO) have been placed under suspension, taking note of the lapses in investigation of the case. "The joint CP (vigilance) has been asked to conduct an inquiry. The joint CP (vigilance) shall also enquire into the allegation that the local police paid some money to the father of the victim to hush up the case," he informed the MPs. However, in a comment seen as rather insensitive, Shinde's written statement sought to underline that "such incidents (of rape) have been reported from other parts of the country also". The reference was apparently to the alleged rape of a four-year-old girl in Seoni, Madhya Pradesh. The purpose behind underlining that child rapes were not Delhi-centric was obviously to counter the opposition's attempts to use the Gandhinagar rape incident for political mileage ahead of assembly polls due later this year. Both Delhi and Madhya Pradesh go to polls in November. The fact that Shinde's statement was silent on action against the errant police officers may also do little to quell the protests in the national Capital. Shinde said medical examination of the first accused, arrested from Muzaffarpur district on April 19, has been conducted for DNA, he said. The accused is presently under judicial custody. The home minister, who was briefing MPs against the backdrop of major uproar and street protests against the five-year-old's gangrape, told the House that the girl was reported missing on April 15 and an FIR was registered at 10 pm. "The police started searching and conducting raids in the east Delhi area," he said. In the early hours of April 17, 2013, the mother of the girl heard the weeping of the child from the ground floor of the same house where they lived on the first floor, Shinde said. The ground floor was found locked from outside and the police, when informed, broke open the door and recovered the child, he said. The girl was rushed to Swami Dayanand Hospital, which is the nearest, and preliminary medico-legal case confirmed "sexual assault of brutal kind," Shinde said. The girl's condition was reported to be stable after an operation conducted on April 18. She was later shifted to AIIMS on April 19 for better treatment and presently her condition is reported to be stable, he said. On April 19, some protesters were holding demonstration at the Dayanand Hospital where the minister concerned of the Delhi government was visiting to enquire about the health of the child along with the local MP, Shinde said. Some protesters tried to break through the police cordon around the hospital in order to enter the premises, he said. An ACP was seen on camera slapping one of the lady protesters, the home minister said, adding the officer B S Ahlawat has been placed under suspension with immediate effect. "A departmental enquiry shall be conducted by an officer to be appointed by the government of NCT of Delhi," he added.

Ahmadis to boycott Pakistan polls over not treating as Muslims

By Yasser Latif Hamdani

At least 200,000 members of Pakistan’s minority Ahmadi community will be boycotting next month’s election in protest of their treatment by the authorities, a spokesman said. “We have been boycotting the election process since 1985 when Ahmadi voters were put in the list of religious minorities,” Jamaat-e-Ahmadiya spokesman Saleemuddin said. He said the community wanted its voters to be included in the joint electorate system. “We will stay away from the election and boycott the polls to register our protest,” he said. Pakistan goes to the polls on May 11 for a general election that should see the first democratic transition from one civilian government to another after the completion of a five-year mandate. Election registration forms require voters to give their religion and address and Ahmadis refuse to complete them for fear of being attacked. Their graveyards are often targeted and in 2010 nearly 100 people were killed in Lahore after militants stormed two Ahmadi prayer halls.

Pakistan: Maulana’s(Fazlur Rehman) musings

http://ahmadiyyatimes.blogspot.com/

The real battle is not between Islamic and secular forces whoever or whatever they may be, depending on who you ask. The battle now is of ideas Maulana Fazlur Rehman has taken umbrage at the Election Commission’s code of conduct in so far as it bans the use of religion for election purposes. The good Maulana says that this is against the ideology of Pakistan. It is not clear if Maulana fully appreciates the irony of his statement given his own history and his party’s repeated denunciations of the Pakistan Movement as the work of the British. Let us recap. What we have in the form of Jamiat-e-Ulema-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) is the ideological successor to the Jamiat-e-Ulema Hind. It is not, as some assert, a successor to Shabbir Ahmed Usmani’s breakway Jamiat-e-Ulema-Islam (JUI) that had endorsed the Pakistan Movement in the closing stages of the Raj. Rehman’s father Maulana Mufti Mahmood was a stalwart of the Jamiat-e-Ulema Hind, who opposed the partition till the very end. In 1971, after the fall of Dacca, Mahmood famously said about Pakistan: “Thank God we were not part of the making of this sin.” As for the party, Mahmood’s Jamiat-e-Ulema Hind faction, left behind in Pakistan, merged with Usmani’s JUI in 1948, and then took it over in 1956. The JUI-F has on numerous occasions declared that the founding fathers, in particular Jinnah, were British agents. Rehman in his time as the opposition leader in the National Assembly from 2002 to 2007 made it a point to remove the father of the nation’s portrait from his office. There are two things that one can conclude from this. Either Islam is to be conflated with the ideology of Pakistan, in which case Rehman is against Islam as was his father. Or the ideology of Pakistan whatever it is has nothing to do with Islam. Either way the good Maulana has to explain what his stance on Pakistan is. This leads to the question why the orthodox divines of the Deoband supported the supposedly secular Indian nationalist Congress Party instead of the Muslim League, especially since now Rehman believes that the ideology of Pakistan is the same as Islam. To answer this question we have to expand our horizons and delve into the history of Muslim politics upon the advent of colonial rule. There were two main responses to British rule amongst Muslims. First was the rejectionist view taken by the seminary at Deoband. They rejected modern education and British rule altogether. The second response was what developed out of Aligarh: the Muslim modernist view. The Muslim modernists believed that the way forward for the Muslims of India was to embrace colonial rule, educate themselves and bring themselves at par with the Hindus, especially in vying for a piece of the economic pie, jobs and sovereignty. Therefore the Muslim League and the ideology of Muslim nationalism developed out of the modernist school of thought and not the religious one. Meanwhile, the secular Congress Party, which had in its ranks men like Mohammad Ali Jinnah at the time, took a decidedly cultural turn under Mahatma Gandhi, who emphasised the ancient identity of India, religious values and ethos of the common man, and who by his insistence on bringing religion into politics made religious identities non-negotiable. Not content with the havoc the Mahatma unleashed upon the Hindus, he went about co-opting Muslim mullahs through the Khilafat Movement as well against the advice of both Hindu leaders like C R Das and Muslim leaders like Jinnah. Gandhi encouraged Muslims from the Deoband and their newly formed Jamiat-e-Ulema Hind to come full-fledged into politics. The ulema were fiery anti-colonialists but were pliable when it came to issues of economics and politics. After all, the ulema, content to be shepherds of their flock, did not need jobs or were not going to compete with the Hindu bourgeoisie for economic opportunities. As one Congress stalwart noted in retrospect, Gandhi unleashed orthodoxy on the Muslims of India and it was this attitude “that rebuffed rationalist leaders like Jinnah” and alienated the Muslim League from the Congress. It did more than that. It convinced the nascent Muslim bourgeoisie that in order to survive they would have to organise politically as Sir Syed Ahmed Khan had advised them long ago. The Congress under Nehru exacerbated things in the UP in 1937 when it tried to play Jamiat-e-Ulema Hind and Majlis-e-Ahrar against the Muslim League. The Muslim bourgeoisie and the salariat came to view — quite accurately — the Muslim religious orthodoxy as hand in glove with the Hindu bourgeoisie, which it saw as a threat to the economic interests of the Muslim community as a whole. The rest as they say is history, but that is of course until the Maulana came up with his spurious argument that barring religion from electioneering is in contravention of the ideology of Pakistan. The reason why the good Maulana’s antecedents opposed the Muslim League, and especially Jinnah, was on several counts. First of all they believed that the League had too many Shias, too many Ismailis, too many Ahmedis in its fold to be an Islamic organisation. Second they felt, again quite rightly, that the classes that were leading the League were in it for economic and political gains and not religious ones. Third, the nationalist ulema believed that given a chance, the Muslims could re-establish Islamic rule over all of India. Finally, they believed that Pakistan if it came into being would ultimately be a ‘kafir’ (infidel) government of Muslims. Therefore, they endorsed what was ostensibly secular composite Indian nationalism and rejected the prima facie confessional nationalism of the League, despite the attendant contradiction. Consequently, it makes no sense when the Maulana declares that the coming elections will be a battle between secular forces and religious forces. After all, his father had endorsed what — if we accept Maulana’s recent exposition of the ideology of Pakistan in toto — was secular composite Indian nationalism. Meanwhile, he and his party are on record as denouncing the creation of Pakistan as a British plot to divide the Muslims and deprive them of the opportunity to establish Islamic rule over all of India. If the battle is between secular, i.e. mainstream politicians versus those who sell religion for a living, that battle has been won repeatedly. It was won in 1946, when the Muslim League routed the Jamiat-e-Ulema Hind, Majlis-e-Ahrar and other Islamist allies of the Congress. It was won when the Awami League and the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) defeated all the religious parties in united Pakistan in 1970. It was won again in 1977, 1988, 1990, 1993, 1997, 2002 and 2008. It will be won yet again when the non-religious and mainstream parties PPP, PML-N, PTI, MQM and ANP rout the religious parties yet again on May 11, 2013. The real battle is not between Islamic and secular forces whoever or whatever they may be, depending on who you ask. The battle now is of ideas. Do we want Pakistan to become a sectarian dystopia or do we want it to exist as a normal democratic state? It does not matter if you are religious or non-religious, the real question is whether we are prepared to do what is right for Pakistan.

The writer is a lawyer based in Lahore and the author of the book Jinnah: Myth and Reality.

Karzai To Meet Kerry, Pakistani Officials In Brussels

http://www.rferl.org/

An Afghan presidential spokesman has said President Hamid Karzai will travel to Brussels on April 23 to meet U.S. Secretary of State of State John Kerry and senior Pakistani officials to discuss the faltering Afghan peace process. Aimal Faizi, Karzai's chief spokesman, said the meeting has been arranged to repair ties between Kabul and Islamabad. Tensions between the two neighbors have soared recently over border disputes and the failing reconciliation process. On April 22, Faizi said Pakistan had failed to deliver on its promises regarding the reconciliation process, adding that Afghans are losing patience with Islamabad. He said, "Our message to Pakistan is enough is enough -- this time we will tell Pakistan that our people's patience is running out and we can't wait for Pakistan to deliver on Afghan peace promises."

Pakistan Government Says It Won't Charge Musharraf

Pakistan's caretaker government told the Supreme Court on Monday it will not file treason charges against former military ruler Pervez Musharraf but will leave the decision on that to the winner of the upcoming election. The petitions before the Supreme Court alleging Musharraf committed treason while in power constitute just one of several legal challenges he is facing following his recent return to Pakistan from self-imposed exile. The former military strongman was placed under house arrest over the weekend in connection with a different case, which involves his decision to fire senior judges while in power. Musharraf's detention was the latest in an array of setbacks he has faced since returning home last month with hopes of making a political comeback. Lawyers have filed private petitions before the Supreme Court alleging Musharraf committed various treasonable offenses, including toppling a civilian government, suspending the constitution and declaring a state of emergency. But according to Pakistan's constitution, the government is the only one with authority to file treason charges against Musharraf. Attorney General Irfan Qadir submitted a statement to the Supreme Court on Monday, saying caretaker officials have decided not to file treason charges because it was not part of their mandate.The caretaker government should avoid controversial matters that are not reversible by the winner of the May 11 parliamentary election, Qadir said. Instead, he added, caretaker officials are focused on routine matters, such as ensuring security for the upcoming election. However, Law Minister Ahmad Bilal Sufi indicated that caretaker officials would not defy the Supreme Court if the judges ordered the government to act. "At present all the focus, the attention is on the election arrangement," Sufi told reporters in Islamabad. "But we will be ready to proceed according to what the court asks us to do." The interim government took over last month and will hold power until a new government is formed after the vote. At this point, it's unclear how the next government will choose to proceed in the case of treason charges against Musharraf. The front runner to become the next prime minister is Nawaz Sharif, who was toppled by Musharraf in a military coup when he was serving as premier in 1999. Musharraf held power for nearly a decade until he was forced to step down in 2008 because of growing discontent with his rule. He returned despite Taliban death threats and an array of legal challenges. But upon his homecoming, Musharraf encountered paltry levels of public support and was disqualified to run in the upcoming election because of his actions while in office. Things got even worse last week, when Musharraf fled a court in the capital Islamabad to avoid arrest after a judge rejected his bail and ordered his detention. The arrest order was connected to Musharraf's decision in 2007 to dismiss senior judges, including the chief justice of the Supreme Court, apparently out of concern that they would challenge his re-election as president. Musharraf was eventually placed under house arrest at his heavily guarded compound on the outskirts of Islamabad until the next hearing on May 4.

Peshawar’s happy Hindus and Sikhs

On a Sunday morning, Christians in Saint John Vianney’s Church Peshawar were busy in praying. Father John William led the prayers in Urdu. Once the prayer was over, people started having chitchat in Punjabi. Once they went out of the church’s gate, they switched to Pashto. “This switching of three languages is a routine practice. Many of us have never been to Lahore but we speak Punjabi. In most cases, our forefathers migrated to Peshawar some three or four generations ago. Since then we have been living here. We are Christians. We are Pakhtun but our association with Punjabi language is intact. It’s what we speak at our homes,” explained Pervaiz Arthur, one of the local Christians at the church. While generally Peshawar isn’t considered a safe city, the minorities living in Peshawar think otherwise. There are three main minorities living in Peshawar: Hindus, Sikhs and Christians. They have one thing in common: Punjabi. All of them say they are proud Punjabi-speaking Pakhtun and feel safer in Peshawar than any other part of the country. “Tolerance towards minorities in Khyber-Pakthunkhwa, particularly in Peshawar, is much greater than in other provinces. Maybe it’s because Pakthun think the people belonging to different religions are also Pakhtun and their brothers. I have always been given preference over Muslims in business deals in Peshawar. I speak Pashtu because I am born and bred here but I am fluent in Punjabi,” said Augustine Jacob, a rights and political activist in Peshawar, talking to The Express Tribune. What may be an issue of life and death in other parts of the country is a common practice in Peshawar. Many Christians and Hindu families don’t mind interfaith marriages. Mushtaq Gulzar and his wife Shanti Zeba are one such example. “I am a Christian and my wife a Hindu. We lived in a same neighborhood and started liking each other. When our parents came to know about this they got us married. She is still a Hindu and I am still a Christian. Our kids are free to choose the religion of their choice when they grow up,” Zeba and Gulzar said in unison. “We don’t mind interfaith marriages if it’s between a Hindu and Christian. We do tell our boys not to think of getting married to a Muslim girl because in that case the whole family and community come under fire. There have been some rare cases when a Christian girl married a Muslim boy after conversion,” explained Gulzar. Surindar Kumar is head of one of the Hindu families living in Peshawar. He is caretaker of a temple in Tehsil Gor Gathri, Peshawar. “It took me years to take possession of this temple through litigation but now everything is fine. I don’t feel discriminated on basis of my religion,” Kumar said in fluent Punjabi, sitting in the temple. “Many Sikhs have migrated to Peshawar from Fata and run very good businesses. They are actually pampered by the people around them. Many Pakhtuns are pleasantly surprised when they first hear me speaking fluent Pashtu,” said a Sikh who runs a cloth shop in Qissa Khwani Bazaar. “The condition of minorities in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa has always been better than in other provinces. I have served as priest in Punjab and other parts of the country, but I see minorities having the least problems here. May be that’s why despite all odds, minorities have never thought about migrating from Peshawar,” said John William, a senior priest and Father at Saint John Vianney’s Church. “There are above 4,000 registered Christian voters in Peshawar but there isn’t any specific party they will vote for. Everybody has his/her own political inclination,” said Finiase Masih. “Earlier, corporation (sanitary) jobs were considered to be reserved for Christians only, but with the influx of IDPs, many Muslims are given these jobs. This has somehow created frustration among Christians who aren’t educated or skilled,” said Masih.

Taliban threat could skew Pakistan election result

Moderate politicians from some of Pakistan's most violent areas are risking the threat of Taliban attack to run in upcoming nationwide elections, but they are increasingly being forced to rely on social media, phone calls and even short documentaries that allow them to campaign at a distance. That could give hard-line Islamic candidates and Taliban supporters an advantage as they're able to stump for votes and hold large public rallies that are a traditional hallmark of elections in the country but are extremely vulnerable to attacks. One of the most serious attacks occurred Tuesday, when a suicide bomber blew himself up outside a meeting of the secular Awami National Party in the northwestern city of Peshawar, killing 16 people. The Taliban said the target of the attack was Haroon Ahmad Bilour, whose father, a senior party leader, was killed in a suicide bombing in Peshawar in December. He escaped unscathed, but his uncle, Ghulam Ahmad Bilour, suffered minor injuries. As he was being treated at the hospital, the uncle vowed that he and other party candidates would not withdraw from the election despite the death threats. With his trousers soaked in blood, he walked among the hospital beds to comfort crying victims and told them, "We are fighting a war for Pakistan's survival." Hours earlier, a candidate from one of the Islamic parties, Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam, campaigned freely in his constituency in a different part of Peshawar, the capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. Maulana Jalil Jan's supporters showered him with rose petals as he walked unguarded from shop to shop down narrow, crowded lanes to ask for votes. He bristled at any suggestion that the Taliban were terrorists and blamed attacks in the country on foreign agents seeking to "malign religious leaders, all bearded people." He pointed out that the word Taliban simply means a student in an Islamic school. "There is a difference between the Taliban and terrorists," said Jan. Faced with the Taliban threat, parties have had to get more creative in their campaigning for the May 11 vote. Members of the Awami National Party and other secular political parties specifically targeted by the Pakistani Taliban have stepped up their use of Facebook and Twitter as well as phone calls and advertisements. Analysts and secular party candidates fear that the danger could skew election results in favor of hard-line Islamic parties and others who refuse to speak out strongly against the Taliban. Their candidates are able to campaign with much less fear of being attacked, and the concern is this could lead to national and provincial governments inclined to take a softer position toward the militants. "If you tie my hands, and you want me to fight, I can't," said Mian Iftikhar Hussain, a candidate from the Awami National Party, sitting in his heavily guarded office in Peshawar. Hussain is running for a provincial assembly seat in the town of Pabbi, which is only 20 kilometers (12 miles) from Peshawar, but it is too dangerous for him to campaign there in person. To get around the danger, Hussain produced a short documentary that highlights development work he has brought to Pabbi and chronicles the sad loss of his only son, who was gunned down by Taliban militants in 2010. The documentary shows Hussain standing in prayer over the freshly dug grave of his son as a heartfelt poem he wrote in the young man's memory is sung out in mournful tones: "I never knew the enemy could reach my home, my heart, my love would disappear in a grave." He distributes it on DVDs to voters in Pabbi and plans to show the short film there using a couple of big projectors. Hussain was attacked himself by a suicide bomber at his son's funeral in Pabbi. He survived, but seven other people were killed, including two of his close relatives. The politician's eyes teared up as he watched the images of his son's grave in the documentary. The film asks his constituents to "vote for those who are sacrificing their lives to save you and your children from terrorists." It's not only the top Islamic parties like Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam and Jamaat-e-Islami that seem to have been spared by the Taliban in the run-up to the election, but also mainstream parties perceived to take a softer stance on militancy, such as the Pakistan Muslim League-N, which is favored to come out on top in the election, and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, which is headed by former cricket star Imran Khan. They have all safely held public rallies attended by thousands of people in recent weeks. These parties have all pushed for peace negotiations with the Taliban instead of military offensives, and the militant group recently said talks should be mediated by the leaders of the top two Islamic parties and the Pakistan Muslim League-N. The parties that have been targeted by the Taliban have also called for peace negotiations, but have demanded the militants put down their weapons and endorse the constitution first and have vowed to continue fighting them until that happens. The Taliban have rejected these conditions. "This is not a level playing field," Awami National Party leader Afrasiab Khattak said. The Pakistani Taliban have been waging a bloody insurgency in Pakistan for years to enforce Islamic law in the country and to break the government's alliance with the United States in fighting militants. They have killed thousands of civilians and security personnel in scores of gun and bomb attacks. The group's main sanctuaries are in the rugged northwest along the Afghan border, including the semiautonomous tribal region and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The Taliban have also established a significant presence in the southern city of Karachi and have stepped up attacks there. The militant group issued audio and video messages last month warning people to stay away from rallies held by the Awami National Party and two other secular parties that have supported army offensives against the militants in the northwest: the Pakistan People's Party, which led the most recent government, and the Muttahida Qaumi Movement, which controls Karachi. The Taliban have carried out at least 10 attacks against candidates and party workers, mainly those in the Awami National Party. The attacks have killed at least 18 people, including a candidate for the Muttahida Qaumi Movement. Many other candidates have been wounded, including five from the Awami National Party. "This is a clear attempt by the so-called 'non-state actors' to oust and defeat moderate parties," said Raza Rumi, a political analyst who runs the Jinnah Institute think tank in Islamabad. "This can't be a fair and free election." The Awami National Party has closed over 50 of its election offices in recent months, mainly in Karachi and Peshawar, because of the threat of attack. The Muttahida Qaumi Movement has stopped holding the massive public rallies that it is known for in Karachi. The Pakistan People's Party had to cancel a large event in southern Sindh province at the beginning of April that was meant to mark the start of its campaign because of security reasons. Khattak, the Awami National Party leader, called on all political parties to come forward and condemn the attacks on candidates. Many have remained silent or have refused to name the Pakistani Taliban, either for ideological reasons or out of fear of being targeted themselves. "You have to decide whether you are with the terrorists or with the people," Khattak said.

3 more rapes of minor girls in Delhi as protests continue

http://www.hindustantimes.com/

A 15-year-old was abducted by two men, forced to drink four bottles of beer, stripped at knife-point and raped in a field in northwest Delhi’s Samaipur Badli on Friday. An 11-year-old was abducted by a rickshaw puller and sexually assaulted in northwest Delhi’s Bhalaswa Dairy. And the prolonged abuse of a Class 10 student by a driver known to her was reported from southeast Delhi’s Sangam Vihar. The city continued to be on edge with protests at India Gate and outside Delhi Police Headquarters and the residences of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress chief Sonia Gandhi. With most of the public anger directed at them, policemen were seen distributing pamphlets outside the HQ, promising a swift enquiry into charges that some of their men had offered the five-year-old’s family hush money. “The matter will be taken to a fast-track court so we can have a quick decision and punish the culprit,” the pamphlet read. It pointed out that three officers had already been suspended — an ACP for slapping a woman protester and two from the Gandhi Nagar police station for being lax in helping the victim’s family. Manoj Kumar, 22, accused of raping the girl, was remanded in judicial custody for a fortnight as police teams scoured Bihar to trace his alleged accomplice, Pradeep, whom he had named during interrogation. Kumar's statements vary, police said, adding that he sometimes says it was Pradeep who raped the girl and sometimes admits to raping her himself.The investigators denied media reports that Kumar was wanted in his home state for the rape-murder of his sister-in-law or that he had been forced to marry his wife as punishment for sexually assaulting her. They also said they had found pornographic content on his mobile phone. People continued to demand the sacking of police chief Neeraj Kumar, whose effigy was burnt outside AIIMS, where the girl is being treated. "Traffic was affected at ITO and India Gate and we had to detain 100-200 people at different locations," a police officer said.

Russia alerted US about Tamerlan Tsarnaev

Russian authorities warned the FBI in early 2011 that suspected bomber Tamerlan Tsarnaev may have been a follower of “radical Islam,” a revelation that raised new questions in Congress on Saturday about whether the Boston Marathon attacks that killed three and wounded more than 170 could have been prevented. A senior congressional aide privy to the Boston Marathon terror investigation confirmed Saturday that the FBI received the warning after Tsarnaev’s apparently suspicious activities caught the attention of Russian authorities keeping close surveillance on militant Islamist groups in the Caucasus region of the former Soviet Union. The FBI acknowledged Friday that it had investigated Tsarnaev in 2011, even interviewing him and his family, but “did not find any terrorism activity,” either domestic or foreign. “The FBI had this guy on the radar and somehow he fell off,” said the congressional aide, who said oversight committees on Capitol Hill are seeking answers from counterterrorism officials. “We heard for several days leading up to this there was no intelligence. Now we know there could have been intelligence.”Tsarnaev, 26, who was killed in a firefight with police in Watertown early Friday morning, had traveled from Boston to Russia several times in recent years, including an extended stay in 2012, according to multiple US officials who have reviewed his passport file.Tsarnaev and his younger brother, Dzhokhar, are ethnic Chechens who came to the United States from Kyrgyzstan, a former Soviet Republic in central Asia. The bureau declined to answer questions Saturday about whether it revisited its 2011 investigation of Tamerlan Tsarnaev after the Marathon attack, or why the bureau was unable to identify the suspects in race day security footage two years after interviewing him and his family. Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, 19, was searched by law enforcement officers in Watertown, seconds after his capture on Friday. Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, 19, was captured by police Friday night in Watertown after eluding a manhunt for more than 20 hours. He is in Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in “serious but stable” condition and not yet able to communicate, Governor Deval Patrick told reporters Saturday. As questions mounted over the FBI’s prior experience with the alleged bomber, Greater Boston reveled in the capture of the alleged terrorist and took another step to returning to normal. Friday’s Boston Red Sox game was canceled while Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was on the loose, but Saturday’s game was held as scheduled, the team’s first home game since last Monday’s bombing. Members of law enforcement who pursued the alleged bombers were honored on the Fenway infield before the game. Fans cheered Boston Police Commissioner Edward Davis as if he had just shut out the Yankees. Red Sox designated hitter David Ortiz, in the lineup for the first time this season after an injury, took the microphone and shouted: “This is our [expletive] city, and nobody is going to dictate our freedom. Stay strong.” While the return of the Red Sox brought some sense of normalcy to the city, 52 people hurt in the bombing remained in Boston hospitals on Saturday, and the heart of Back Bay, where the bombings took place, remained closed for the continuing investigation. The dramatic encounter that led to the death of one of the brothers and the capture of the other followed a decision Thursday by the FBI to release video and photographs of the suspects, in an effort to have the public help identify them. The images showed Tamerlan Tsarnaev in a dark cap and carrying a backpack — believed to have held a bomb — on Boylston Street. Dzhokhar Tsarnaev is pictured in a white cap, also carrying a backpack. The decision to release the photos came after two days of silence from the FBI, during which they tracked down thousands of tips without making an arrest. But hours after the images were released, the suspects allegedly unleashed a wave of shocking violence, fatally shooting Massachusetts Institute of Technology police officer Sean Collier in Cambridge, then carjacking a motorist and engaging in a gun battle with Watertown police in a residential neighborhood. MBTA transit officer Richard H. Donohue Jr. was shot in the groin and hospitalized. Davis conceded in a Globe interview Saturday that “releasing the photos may have led to the further attack” against Collier, which Davis has called an assassination. But he added: “We don’t know that.” Releasing the photos after hours of behind-the-scenes deliberation “was a turning point in the investigation, no doubt about it,” said Davis. “It forced them out of their hideout and they decided to commit further violent acts. But it’s my belief that they were already manufacturing explosive devices; further violent acts were inevitable.” DARREN MCCOLLESTER/GETTY IMAGES Investigators worked on Saturday around the boat where Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was found hiding afteramassive manhunt. The suspects “were not making those explosives for nothing,” said Davis. “There was a plan there, and I believe that tragically [Collier] lost his life, but he was truly protecting the citizens of the city.” Security experts said the relatively high quality of the photos and the state of the investigation gave law enforcement no choice but to put to go public. Dean C. Alexander, director of the homeland security research program and an associate professor at Western Illinois University, called it “a Catch-22.” “But the stink would have been even bigger if the FBI had these photos and didn’t release them. These guys could have gone on to something even bigger,” Alexander said. “It seems pretty basic if you’re trying to find the perpetrators.’’ Mitch Silber, an executive of K2 Intelligence in New York and the former director of intelligence analysis for the New York City Police Department, said that as the investigation stalled, the argument for the photos’ release became more compelling. “I think it was a calculated decision by them because they had run into a bit of a dead-end,’’ Silber said. “They felt the traditional means of identifying them using high-end software wasn’t bearing fruit, so let’s put them out and maybe the public will identify them.’’ US Representative Stephen Lynch, whose district includes parts of Boston, said Saturday that he has a number of questions for US and Russian officials about what they knew about the brothers, and when. “These are two relatively young men who don’t seem to have the ability to finance what I see going on,” Lynch said in an interview. “They seem to be very well supplied. How do these type of individuals like that get the training and resources to conduct an operation like this?” Lynch, who sits on a congressional oversight panel on terrorist financing, says another key question is how the alleged terrorists became radicalized in the first place. “Did that happen with direct foreign assistance, or were there mentors who guided them in this operation and inspired them?” he said. Lynch, a Democrat who is running in the special election for a Senate seat, said investigators are also scrambling to learn more from the Russian government about why Tamerlan Tsarnaev gave them concern in 2011. “What was the source of their inquiry? What suspicions drove that? It might have been his associations with individuals there. Were [Russian authorities] forthcoming with the FBI?” Lynch added that he believes Congress must ultimately play a role in getting more answers and determining if the attack could have been stopped. In response to written questions, Lynch’s primary opponent, Representative Edward J. Markey, whose district includes Watertown, said he has similar questions, including “whether the bombers had help in their deadly plans, why they struck our country, and what we can do to thwart future attacks.” “As we saw on Patriots Day, terrorists are now turning their attention to targets that are more difficult to secure,” said the Malden Democrat, who has previously served on the House Homeland Security Committee. President Obama convened the National Security Council on Saturday for 90 minutes in the Situation Room on the Boston attacks, including an update on the capture of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev. The president “underscored the need to continue gathering intelligence to answer the remaining questions about this terrorist attack going forward,” according to the White House. The alleged bomber’s uncle, Alvi Tsarnaev, said in an interview with the Globe that the elder nephew, Tamerlan, visited his father in the restive Russian province of Dagestan, which neighbors war-torn Chechnya. But Alvi Tsarnaev said he did not know who else his nephew may have been involved with while overseas. The FBI acknowledged Friday night that a foreign government had asked US officials for information about Tamerlan Tsarnaev, based on information that he was “a follower of radical Islam and a strong believer, and that he had changed drastically since 2010 as he prepared to leave the United States for travel to the country’s region to join unspecified underground groups.” The Russian Foreign Ministry in Moscow and Russian embassy in Washington did not return calls seeking comment. The FBI and White House pointed reporters to the bureau’s Friday statement. Also Saturday, federal authorities swept through the same New Bedford residence that they had searched the day before in relation to the manhunt for Tsarnaev. But this time, they left with two men in custody. A spokesman for Immigration and Customs Enforcement would only say, “ICE Homeland Security Investigations special agents arrested two foreign nationals this afternoon in New Bedford, Mass. These individuals were arrested on administrative immigration violations.” No other information was released. As Watertown, the scene of Friday’s firefight and manhunt, began returning to normal Saturday, more details filtered out about the capture of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, who was discovered bleeding and hiding in a boat in a backyard on Franklin Street. Just moments after State Police wrapped up an afternoon news conference on Friday and lifted the order to stay inside, acknowledging they did not know where the suspected terrorist was, a 911 call came in to Watertown police. The caller said someone was in a boat in a backyard, bleeding and moving. Watertown police rushed to the scene, followed quickly by hundreds of Boston police officers, federal law enforcement officials, and officers from other agencies still in Watertown. Boston tactical teams made up of dozens of SWAT officers led by Sergeant Jack Mahoney swarmed the house, setting up a perimeter around it. Dozens of officers and federal officials moved into the backyard on foot and as they neared the boat, Tsarnaev suddenly moved from his hiding place and raised his hand. He looked to be holding something. Immediately, officials opened fire. Officers backed off, keeping a distance of about 30 feet from the boat. Worried that Tsarnaev might be wearing an explosive device, police brought in an armored vehicle, equipped with a robot that could peel back the wrap covering the boat for the winter. The standoff lasted nearly two hours, as officers watched the boat closely. “No movement,” they would report occasionally. Then, Tsarnaev stirred. He held his hands up. He was covered in blood. Not taking any chances, officers began to hit the boat with flash grenades, which emit a loud blast and a bright light designed to disorient suspects. They used at least a dozen of the devices, trying to ensure as much as possible that Tsarnaev would be too stunned to fight back. SWAT officers then swarmed the boat. Watertown police Chief Edward Deveau said yesterday that the name of the boat was the Slipaway II.

Checkpoints in Peshawar fail to deter militants

There are around 40 security checkpoints and scores of Rider Squad personnel in the capital city’s rural and urban areas but still, acts of terrorism are on the rise exposing the inefficiency of law-enforcement agencies. There is no check on movement of suicide bombers and target killers and they can reach their target very easily when and wherever they want. The suicide bombings of Judicial Complex and the commandant of Frontier Constabulary, planting of a magnet bomb at a passenger van in Mattani area and the recent terrorist attack on an Awami National Party rally in Yakatoot area are enough to prove that the law-enforcement agencies are a failure by and large. In the city, putting up security checkpoints across the city may be an effective way to counter terrorism in the eyes of the government but in actual fact, they have miserably failed to live up to the people’s expectations. Law-enforcement agencies are increasing the number of checkpoints in the city, but ironically so is the case with terrorist attacks. Road users have to wait for a long time to cross checkpoints, especially during in the morning and evening. Long queues of vehicles are seen on key roads, especially those in cantonment areas, due to these checkpoints, where every motorist or motorcyclist has to prove his/her identity. Until March 29 this year, there was no metal detector at security checkpoints but only one scanner was installed for pedestrians at Fakhr-i-Alam Road following the March 29 suicide attack on a vehicle of Frontier Constabulary Commandant Abdul Majeed Marwat. The commandant remained unhurt, however. On the rest of checkpoints, personnel of security forces and police check identity cards and seldom carry out bodysearch. In the past, these personnel had manual metal detectors to find weapons and explosives. But the device is no more with them. And perhaps that is the reason why these checkpoints are unable to stop terrorists from reaching their targets even in well-guarded areas. A footage of closed-circuit television camera shows that the bomber, who attacked the FC commandant, was wearing white clothes and standing along Fakhr-i-Alam Road who blew himself up when the vehicle of Mr Marwat came close to him. The footage does not show who brought the bomber to the spot or from where he arrived there. Had there been some metal detectors with security personnel, the bomber would have not succeeded in his mission. A police official said the bomber, who attacked Mr Marwat, had reached there in the garb of a man selling fruit on a pushcart. When contacted, officials of various police stations in limits of Peshawar cantonment confirmed they had neither arrested any high-profile terrorist during the last one year nor had they seized explosives on these checkpoints as they had to take action on basis of information. “How a terrorist can cross security checkpoints. There are many other entry and exit points for such people,” an official of East Cantonment police station said. He, however, suggested that some powerful metal detectors should be given to personnel manning security checkpoints on Khyber Road, Mall Road and University Road so that the people carrying explosives or weapons could be held and as a result, road users would not suffer in long queues. On the other hand, these checkpoints have made lives of the people miserable. The worst sufferers are those using checkpoints in the limits of Michini Gate, East Cantonment and West Cantonment police stations. The checkpoint on University Road (Gora Qabristan) is very difficult for motorists to cross as sometimes, queue of vehicles is seen up to KFC outlet. Also, checkpoints near Peshtakhara police station and near provincial assembly building are very irritating for road users. An official of the Michini Gate said all suspected people were dealt with by security forces and that police had no access to them. The people coming from Hayatabad to cantonment usually avoid these security checkpoints by using Ring Road but that road, too, often sees traffic jams at some points. During the last few days, at least five new checkpoints manned by police and security forces were set up on different roads, including Sir Syed Road, the Mall Road, Fakhr-i-Alam Road. The checkpoint near Peshawar Press Club also stresses out motorists and motorcyclists. Meanwhile, police criticise the local government department and cantonment board for failure to register pushcarts. “We have time and again asked them to register pushcarts and issue them some code numbers or licences, but to no avail,” the official said. There are complaints that police manning checkpoints in rural areas mint money from people. As put by a road user, had policemen checked the movement of suspected people, the incidents like attack on Shaikh Mohammadi grid station would have never happened. On some roads, police have built walls outside police stations hindering flow of traffic. By doing so, police may have secured themselves against terrorism to some extent but what is unfortunate that the move has left the people in distress.

Pakistan: Explosion rocks rally in Turbat

A blast was reported on Sunday in Turbat (Balochistan) at a rally organized by the National Party. Firing was also heard afterwards. The rally was led by Dr. Abdul Malik Baloch of the National Party. Secretary General of the party Mir Tahir Bizenjo said that there was no loss of life in the incident and that the National Party chief and other leaders were safe. - See more at: http://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/2013/04/21/news/national/explosion-rocks-rally-in-turbat/#sthash.H1MsASEE.dpuf

Over 1,000 vulnerable female prisoners in Pakistan: HRCP

The Express Tribune

Out of 75,000 prisoners in jails across Pakistan, there are around 1,100 incarcerated women, statistics presented by the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) revealed. Commenting on the depressing condition these women are in, the HRCP official said that their families disown them instead of helping them to fight the cases due to social stigma. “Women prisoners are the most vulnerable detainees,” he added in reference to the lack of privacy for women detainees. Women are not provided with qualified lady doctors when in need, he added. The HRCP official pointed out that cells of the Women Police Centre Jail Road, Lahore, are reportedly exposed to passersby and walls of its bathroom is only four feet high. Furthermore, there are no separate juvenile cells for girls under 18. Apart from the lack of privacy and facilities, the detainees are reportedly kept in their cells beyond the stipulated time. Domestic violence There were 4,585 cases of domestic violence from the period of January to June 2012, according to the recent report `State of Human Rights in 2012′. At least 41 girls and women became victims of acid attack in 2012, 15 had their limbs amputated, 37 had their heads shaved while 49 were set on fire in different incidents, said the report compiled by HRCP media monitoring. The perpetrators in a majority of these cases were related to the victims. According to the Aurat Foundation, domestic violence increased by 7 percent in 2012 over the previous year. The HRCP official said that legislation to curb crimes against women should be implemented.

Pakistan: Misuse of agro-farms

Cities are built not for years but for centuries, for posterity lasting generation after generation. So was the concept and the master plan for Islamabad, the country's new capital. The plan clearly marked out the space, reserving special areas for the government offices, court buildings, business centres, industrial areas and residential sectors. Since the land to be occupied was to be dispossessed by thousands of farmers they were allotted residential plots in housing sectors as well as agro-farms which were expected to sustain their lives by growing crops and raising cattle. Of these 504 farms about 200 are now in the use of some of Pakistan's most powerful people. The allotment of the agro-farms was conditional to adhering to the stated use, and the misuse was warned to be penalized with cancellation. As over the years the capital city grew and the value of its real estate rose manifold quite a few of the original owners sold the farms to more enterprising investors. And these investors include two former presidents, same number of former prime ministers, some ex-ministers and a host of other old and new rich. The view is no more of green fields tended by the farming families but a row of high-wall palatial mansions, wedding halls, offices and even a clandestine night club. Not too surprisingly - if you know how tall walks the greed in the nation's capital - as all of this subversion of master plan was taking place the guardians of the city's master plan, Capital Development Authority, was sleeping, the sleep induced not by the load of work in the office but by the smell of red- and blue-backs or the fear of the slap from the above in the high government offices. No wonder as this rape of the countryside was in progress only a mile from the parliament building there was no 'calling attention notice', much less a serious debate - because only a fool would apply the axe to a branch he is sitting at. All along it was daylight robbery. And in the process out of the 504 agro-farms the use of about 200 is now out of sync with the allotted purpose. But the buck stops here, thanks to the notice taken by the Supreme Court. After initial hearing on Thursday the court ordered the Capital Development Authority to restore all 504 farmhouses to their sanctioned use as agricultural land within three weeks. In case the owners want to retain the farms they have to bring their use in line with the rules, which dictate a small two-room farm house. Since some of the owners are highly influential persons can the CDA implement the court's order, a high drama is in the making. We hope and expect the law to prevail whatever it costs. Not only these farmhouses have to be brought in line with their stated purpose, but there is a lot more work cut out for the authority - by none else but by itself by 'allowing' encroachments all over the place. Over the last few years the encroachers have been really on the rampage. What was supposed to be vacant spaces along the streams that flow through the city, plots were created to benefit resourceful people. The commercial buildings designed to be two or three-storey high have been allowed to add more floors. Even the small open places in the mini-markets in the sub-sectors have been allotted to favourites. So completely permeating is the encroachment fever gripping the Capital city that even otherwise the law-abiding residents have been tempted to tinker with building plans of their residences and sometimes illegally extend their boundaries to overlap footpaths and in some cases old graveyards. And all this encroachment, both legalised and illegal, has come with a horrific price. Most adversely affected are the services like water supply, drainage and sanitation. The city's most prestigious business acreage, the Blue Area, is no more an open, refreshing place to visit, but a bedlam difficult to walk through - what to talk of getting a reasonable place to park your car. It is so because the new structures have been added to the existing buildings which accommodate more offices and shops. Elsewhere in the city the conditions are even worse where gutters overflow and footpaths are used for parking. That the Supreme Court has delivered a crushing blow to the abusers living on the Garden Road it's great. What about the CDA which is supposed to be tasked with the implementation of the Islamabad master plan in letter and spirit without let and hindrance. We wait to hear the CDA.

Musharraf ‘jailed’ in his own house

Daily Times

The anti-terrorism court (ATC) on Saturday remanded former president Pervez Musharraf in custody for two weeks as judges pushed ahead with plans to put the former army chief on trial for a crackdown on the judiciary during his time in office. Hundreds of lawyers jeered at Musharraf and scuffled with his supporters as he appeared at the Islamabad court a day after police arrested him at his home — a breach with an unwritten rule in Pakistan that ex-generals are above the law. The judge ruled that he be detained until his next court appearance on May 4. Musharraf’s spokesman said authorities had decided that he would be placed under house arrest at his farmhouse residence on the edge of Islamabad. “The government has declared Musharraf’s farmhouse as the jail, and he will be moved there from police headquarters,” said spokesman Mohammad Amjad. Musharraf’s appearance sparked chaotic scenes in the court complex as police formed a human chain to prevent protesting lawyers —- who chanted “Down with Musharraf” — from getting closer to the former president. Musharraf left the court after his brief appearance and returned to police headquarters, where he has been detained in a police guest house. Musharraf is facing allegations that he overstepped his powers in a showdown with the judiciary in 2007 when he sacked the chief justice and placed judges under house arrest.

Pakistan: Unstoppable dimension in suicide bombings

It is hard to imagine that a banned Islamic militants’ outfit, mostly comprising the most religious Pushtun community, can use a young woman to explode human bomb in Bajour agency to meet its agenda. Yet it has happened for the second time in the tribal areas. The first it occurred in December 2010, when burqa-clad woman blew up her explosives at a United Nations Food distribution point in Khar, killing 45 people. The Taliban claimed responsibility of that suicide attack by a woman in the agency. On Saturday, another female suicide bomber, in her early 20s, detonated her explosives outside a hospital in Khar, the main town in the restive Bajaur tribal region, killing at four people dead. Local authorities have found the attacker’s head and legs, and are conducting a detailed investigation. Bajaur is one of seven districts in tribal belt, where Taliban militants have carved out strongholds thus Taliban’s involvement in the latest act of the suicide bombing in Bajour agency cannot be ruled out though the TTP is yet take the responsibility of the bombing. The eye-brows are being raised if Taliban’s morale has gone down so low to rely on their female colleagues to carry their missions. Contrary to all social developments, a young woman can opt to explode in a public place is a new phenomenon, which is not easily digestible under existing culture and traditions. Not easy to detect the female suicide bombing has emerged on the horizon. Regardless of responsibility of the latest bombing episode, the new form of terrorism is the most deadly way to unleash ha voc on human life and property. The police or the political administration will find difficult to detect movement of the female bombers as no administrative measure can be put in place to physically check every female wading streets and roads despite the fact police posts are operative in every nook and corner of the country. Islam does not allow physical inspection and checking of the female members of any family. Even non-Muslim in Pakistan cannot tolerate the physical search of their families; because it is considered sheer disgusting, humiliating and embarrassing under the social norms thus the female suicide bombers will infuse new headache for the law enforcing agencies and the policy-makers alike. Answers to this problem may be many yet the unabated terrorist attacks in the FATA and in other parts of the country are strengthening the general belief that the terrorism is far from being over, and the counter terrorism strategy adopted by the armed forces against Taliban is either weak or ineffective thus has failed curb militants’ advances in Khyber agency and in the settled areas especially Peshawar. Of late, Taliban are frequently hitting their political rivals-cum-targets in the provincial capital of the Khyberpakhtunkhwa, and the security agencies are reeling absolutely clueless. The only satisfaction and the consolation that the nation gets every now and then come from the repeated vows and the announcement from the Chief of Army Staff that Pakistan is fully capable of responding effectively to internal and external threats. The fact is that Pakistan army is concentrating hard on the problem it is facing on the internal front though it is yet to achieve the desired results in the last five years or so. Pakistan has suffered massive loss of life. Still the end to it is not insight. The Pakistan army is bravely fighting against ruthless enemy but the weak political leadership has repeatedly suffered setbacks on the diplomatic front. The time for the compromised approach towards the militants’ activism is gone. The foreign funding for the banned outfits, fighting against the state, is continuously pouring in, and the political leadership in the past and even the caretaker government has failed to take up the issue at every available forum. The crucial election date is approaching fast amidst growing threat of terrorism. The civil and military leadership should put their heads together to chalk out a consensus security mechanism against the terrorism. Apart from taking on the militants only, all the political parties should also play their due role against terrorism of all sorts, and the provincial governments—notably Punjab--should also purge their houses altogether, failing which the innocent people will continue to fall down like dried leaves. International community should take notice of foreign interference in the country before the terrorists spread the deadly activities across the globe.

Pashtun Genocide: ISI-backed Taliban’s relentless terrorism against ANP

While pro-Taliban parties like PTI, PML N and JUI F campaign freely, Pakistan’s oldest secular party, ANP is the daily victim of terrorist attacks. Two ANP leaders, dozens of its activists have been killed and scores wounded in the last week alone. Just yesterday PPP and ANP candidates from KP survived terrorist attacks that have left scores of ANP workers martyred. Meanwhile, the rival candidate from the same constituency, Mr. Imran Khan was uttering his typical Taliban apology gibberish in the platform provided by another civil society favourite and Taliban apologist, Hamid Mir of GEO. When Imran Khan blames drones attacks for terrorism, does he ever consider the intellectual dishonesty of his arguments? Do we still need to talk to Taliban monsters like Hakeemullah who proudly own up to these attacks? The “Talking to the Taliban” tactic has been Imran Khan’s prescription to tackling terrorism and extremism. A pliant media has so far not exposed what could possibly be significant financial corruption (of his assets and fund raising) but there is no doubt that Imran Khan’s disgustingly apologetic and cowardly views about the Taliban highlight a mental corruption. They remind one of Neville Chamberlain’s spinelessness against the Nazis – the Taliban of their day. The ANP and PPP have been left at the mercy of the Taliban. These parties represent the secular mandate of the Pashtuns. In relatively fair elections, they have always secured the majority of the Pashtun vote bank. However, the military establishment and its pliant proxies like Najam Sethi and Tariq Ali misrepresent the Pashtuns and grotesquely portray the Taliban as an “expression of Pashtun nationalism”. Najam Sethi repeatedly blames the PPP and ANP for failing to create a “consensus” for a military operation against the Taliban – instead of blaming the army that actually calls the shots for any policy related to the Taliban or for that matter any policy relating to security. By his morally bankrupt and warped logic, Najam Sethi should also blame the ANP and PPP for failing to create a consensus to provide security to their own lives! The paper tigers of PML N like Shahbaaz Sharif beg the Taliban to spare them in Punjab by arguing that the are one. Imran Khan publically cowers away from condemning them. At the same time, Shaheed Bilour’s (ANP) speech to the parliament, along with the stance of Iftikhar Hussain (ANP), Bilawal Bhutto Zardari (PPP), Nadeem Afzal Chan (PPP), Shaheed Taseer (PPP), Shaheed Bhatti (PPP), Farahnaz Isphani (PPP), Bushra Gohar (ANP), Faisal Raza Abidi (PPP) and dare we say it, President Zardari (http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2009-02-15/pakistan/27999342_1_taliban-yusuf-raza-gilani-pervez-musharraf), provide the alternative. There is an ongoing genocide of the Pashtuns to make them bend to the will of the Punjab-dominated military establishment. The security establishment has been striving for decades to misrepresent the Pashtuns as a monolithic group that is naturally inclined towards the barbaric Taliban. Yet, the reality is that the same security establishment has tag teamed with its Taliban assets to facilitate the massacre of hundreds of anti-Taliban tribal leaders and thousands of innocent Pashtuns. Over 800 ANP workers and activists have been killed along with scores of their MPAs and MNAs. Yet the establishment has failed. Even if they manage to knock out the PPP and ANP by using a pro-Taliban Judiciary-Media team or the Taliban itself, in the long run, the security establishment will fail, as it has in each of its created wars.

Pakistani Christian not support Pervez Musharraf nor any other Muslim leader

Dr. Nazir S Bhatti, President of Pakistan Christian Congress PCC expressed grave concern on meeting of Christian political and religious leaders with former President of Pakistan Pervez Musharraf and photo sessions with him. “General (Rtd.) Pervez Musharraf as a President of Pakistan stabbed at back of Christian nation by abolishing their right to elect their representation in parliament with their votes and imposed Joint Electorate which empowered Muslim political parties to Select their representatives of their choice” said Nazir Bhatti The Christians and other religious communities were fully enjoying Separate Electorate from 1985 till 1997, when they were electing their members in National Assembly of Pakistan and Provincial Assemblies with their votes. There was not any voice from any forum of minorities against Separate Electorate but suggestions were given on delimitation of constituencies instead of all Pakistan to be a constituency and announcement of election results with results of general seats but military ruler Pervez Musharraf snatched right of vote of minorities. Nazir Bhatti said “When Christians are demanding Elections instead Selection system imposed by Pevez Musharraf and have announced to boycott elections 2013, held under imposed Selection system, the meeting of Christian leaders and section of Christian clergy with Pervez Musharraf are very surprising for common Christian in Pakistan” Dr. Nazir Bhatti urged Election Commission of Pakistan and higher courts to award permission to Pervez Musharraf and his party All Pakistan Muslim League APML to enter in elections because keeping him away from elections will create negative impact on democratic system of Pakistan. PCC Chief clarified that Christian of Pakistan are a nation not a community because they are sons of soil and deserve due share in resources of state which Muslim majority is reluctant to share with them that is not in favour of solidarity and integrity of Pakistan because it was not created for Islam or Muslims only nor Christians voted in favour of formation of Pakistan to become slaves of Muslims. Nazir Bhatti said that Christian will started boycotting election 2013 from today with social boycott of those Christians who have been nominated by Muslim parties as members for NA or PA,s for selections and who’s name will appear in final list of ECP. Nazir Bhatti said that Christians have to rise like a nation in Pakistan which is only solution to their issues while Muslim political groups have no solution nor they are sincere in solution of problems of Christians.

US, Russia to Cooperate in Boston Bombings Probe - Kremlin

United States and Russia might join efforts in the investigation into the Boston Marathon bombings if the suspects' ties to Russia are confirmed, the Kremlin’s spokesman said on Saturday. President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, said that Russia has not yet received an official confirmation of the identities of two bombings suspects with reported family roots in Russia’s volatile North Caucasus, but signaled that Russia is open for cooperation with the U.S. in the case. “As all the circumstances and details get cleared, I think, our intelligence agencies will be in conctact” over the case, Peskov said in an interview with Rossia 24 state TV channel on Saturday. On Friday, President Obama thanked Putin for his condolences, and praised the close cooperation that the United States has received from Russia on counter-terrorism, including in the wake of the Boston attack that killed at least three earlier this week. Earlier on Tuesday, Putin offered Russia's assistance in the investigation. The only remaining suspect in the bombings, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, 19, was taken into custody late Friday after a massive manhunt which followed a shootout with police on Thursday night in which his brother, 26-year-old Tamerlan, was fatally injured. Interpol has issued an international security alert detailing the features of the improvised explosive devices used in the Boston marathon bombings to assist law enforcement across its member countries detect any similarly configured bombs.