Who’s afraid of Ayesha Siddiqa?

Dr Mohammad Taqi

Dr Siddiqa’s 2007 masterpiece Military Inc: Inside Pakistan’s Military Economy clearly did not win her any friends amongst Lieven’s friends There is no indication that the dark night of Takfiri terrorism is about to lift its heinous shadow from Quetta’s Shia Hazara. Are 40 days enough of a respite for the Hazara to be digging mass graves for their loved ones again? The terrorists of Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ) appear to think so. Just as the Hazara Shia were about to commemorate the Chehlum — the 40th day of mourning — of those killed in the January 10 Alamdar Road bombing, death rained again on Hazara Town this past weekend. Over 110 Hazaras — about half of them women and children — perished. Toothless condemnations from spineless politicians have already poured in. But those really running the show in Balochistan are quiet. For them the Shia genocide in Pakistan is simply the cost of doing business, a price that has to be paid for the ‘greater good’. In the past, this ‘greater good’ was merely wars in Afghanistan and Kashmir but over the last few years the same formula is being applied in Balochistan. We have previously noted here that the LeJ was inducted into Balochistan by its khaki patrons to undermine the Baloch movement just like Gulbudin Hikmatyar and the Taliban’s ilk were used to undercut the Pashtun nationalist movement. The idea is to neutralize the Baloch nationalist struggle and keep the Baloch people and their resources under the praetorian thumb. If these jihadi terrorists take out a few ‘heretic’ Shia along the way, the patrons look the other way. If such ‘collateral damage’ happens to be in Quetta city, better yet. From the security establishment’s perspective nothing throws a spanner in the Baloch liberation struggle better than a war in and over Quetta. A free-for-all between the LeJ Balochistan — now largely manned by ethnic Baloch/Brahuis — the Hazaras and the Pashtuns, provides a reason for increasing the military’s presence in Balochistan to hunt down the nationalists while protecting the jihadist assets. However, the state-sponsored narrative remains that a few fringe jihadists gone rogue are targeting the Shia. And then there is the ubiquitous smokescreen that the Shia genocide in Pakistan is a proxy war between Saudi Arabia and Iran. Pro-army analysts were the first ones to paint the target on the Hazaras’ back. Baseless claims were made about Iran funding the Pakistani Shia, especially the Hazara. The fact is that Iran has not provided a single gun to the Pakistani Shia let alone run a training camp. Contrast this with the scores of Saudi-funded madrassas-cum-camps littering the length and breadth of Pakistan. Not one government/public installation has ever been targeted by any Shia. And never mind that the martyred leaders like Benazir Bhutto, Salmaan Taseer and Bashir Bilour were anything but Iranian proxies. Still the obfuscation goes on, including unfortunately by otherwise enlightened writers. Even the international media outlets like the BBC hesitate to identify the victims for who they are: the Shia, and why they are being killed: because of their faith. When questioned on twitter a BBC Urdu producer taunted that it is easy to say things bluntly when sitting in the USA. Well, the last time I checked the BBC was still based in London. A few hours later, the BBC Urdu website did add the word Shia in its story on the Quetta carnage! When the eminent scholar and defence analyst Dr Ayesha Siddiqa wrote a piece, “Who’s afraid of the Karachi Literature Festival?” describing why she was declared persona non grata and debarred from the Karachi Literary Festival (KLF), another BBC producer tweeted: “Just because she was not invited she is making it a public issue.” One finds such remarks and taunts in poor taste and symptomatic of a bigger problem, i.e. the laziness and hyper-nationalism pervasive in sections of the Pakistani media creeping into reputable international media outlets. Dr Siddiqa has herself stated that she was kept out of the KLF because she was perceived as a stern moderator by the pro-Pakistan army author Anatol Lieven at last year’s KLF. I am afraid that Dr Siddiqa is looking at just the tip of the iceberg. Dr Siddiqa’s 2007 masterpiece Military Inc: Inside Pakistan’s Military Economy clearly did not win her any friends amongst Lieven’s friends. Dr Siddiqa has described the Pakistan army as the country’s largest business conglomerate that holds large — at times the largest — chunks of the banking, industrial, real estate, agriculture, transport and construction sectors of the Pakistani economy. Little wonder that Islamabad Club and major hotels refused, under duress apparently, to hold her book’s launching ceremony. But perhaps Dr Siddiqa’s cardinal ‘sin’ is that she has described the military as an economic class that is out to keep its chokehold on the nation’s resources through whatever means necessary in the name of welfare of the servicemen ostensibly, but really for the preservation and enhancement of the privileged officer class. This effectively redefines the military-nation relationship paradigm as a predatory phenomenon, where the security establishment is robbing the nation blind. The western capitals were ecstatic about the latest edition of the Pakistan army Green Book showing that outfit’s thinking is changing vis-à-vis the internal threat from extremists. The compendium emphasising information warfare opens with General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani’s message about attaining politico-military objectives through Information Operations and without using force. But before one gets ones’ hopes too high and starts looking for Hakeemulla Mehsud, Malik Ishaq or Mullah Fazlullah’s names among the internal enemies, chapter one serves as a serious reality check for anyone under an illusion that the army think is changing, when it identifies the ‘enemy within’. This chapter titled, “A treatise on Indian backed psychological warfare against Pakistan”, is written by a Brigadier Umar Farooq Durrani who slanders Dr Ayesha Siddiqa for among other things, taking “material marked as top secret to India”. After reading the drivel against Dr Siddiqa, things started falling into place. Keeping her, and a few others like her, out of the KLF and mainstream media is not coincidental, as that BBC producer would want one to believe. I recalled Iftikhar Arif’s immortal lines: Yeh raat yoonhi to dushman naheen humari keh hum/Darazi e shab-e-gham kay sabab se waqif hein (The dark shadows do not persecute us without reason/[They hound us] For we know the cause of this darkness long-drawn-out). The Supreme Court’s suo motu notice, though welcome, will lead us nowhere. I do not foresee an end to the shadows looming over the Shia unless the political leaders miraculously muster the courage to hold the military’s feet to the fire. PS: The announced ‘targeted operation’ against unnamed targets in Quetta will remain futile without naming them and identifying and nabbing their cohorts elsewhere in Pakistan.

Karzai offers Pakistan anti-terror cooperation

http://www.pajhwok.com/

President Hamid Karzai on Monday denounced deadly bomb attacks in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan provinces, bordering Afghanistan. At least 47 people were killed and more than 114 others wounded in yesterday’s bomb explosions in Quetta and Peshawar. Thirty individuals were killed and 70 injured in a suicide bombing near an imambargah (Shiite mosque) in the Aliabad area of Hazara town in Quetta. Another 17 people were killed and 46 wounded during an explosion in the Badaber area on the outskirts of Peshawar. Several women and children were among the casualties. While denouncing the attacks in the neighbouring country, Karzai said terrorists killed and maimed innocents Afghans and Pakistanis on a daily basis. He called for sincere cooperation between the two nations in the fight against the twin scourge of terrorism and extremism in the region. Afghanistan had always been willing for such collaboration, a statement from the Presidential Palace quoted Karzai as saying.

Tahrir Square erupts in joy after Egypt army statement

http://www.egyptindependent.com/

Thousands of protesters erupted in joy on Monday after the military said it would intervene if the people's demands were not met in 48 hours, an AFP journalist said, after millions took to the streets to call on President Mohamed Morsy to step down. "Come down Sissi, Morsy is not my president," they protesters chanted, urging the country's minsiter of Defence, Abdel Fattah al-Sissi, to intervene. On the streets of Cairo, cars beeped their horns and waved Egyptian flags after the army statement. The powerful General Abdel Fattah al-Sissi issued a pressing ultimatum to President Morsy in a televised audio statement on Monday afternoon, calling on political forces to bridge Egypt's growing divide and agree on an inclusive roadmap for the country's future within 48 hours. "If the demands of the people are not realised within the defined period, it will be incumbent upon [the armed forces]...to announce a road map for the future," said Sissi.

Culture and lifestyle during Morsi’s reign

On the first anniversary of Mohamed Morsi’s rise to power, we review the decisions and changes that shaped the lifestyle and culture of Egyptians. Over the past year, there has been a steady trend of hostile or distrustful treatment of artists and media figures by the public and government, starting from the first months of Morsi’s tenure. In June 2012, although no governmental decisions were made regarding culture, a change in the general mood and reaction to art was tangible, with some reports of hostile feedback from the public regarding cultural events. One incident took place when a passerby was irritated by a dance show, saying it was inappropriate. One of the first acts of the censorship authority under Morsi’s administration was to ban the import of the history book, A History of the Modern Middle East, by Martin Bunton and William Cleveland, in August. The authority failed to cite the reason for its decision, although the book was reportedly used at the American University in Cairo. In October, the censorship authority rejected a film script by Amr Salama about positive discrimination of Copts in Egypt, on the grounds that it would incite religious discrimination. In November, the authority proposed changes to director Mohamed El Sharkawy’s play Ashekeen Torabek, due to scenes that criticised the regime, but after much media attention the play was staged without any changes. In March 2013, director Amir Ramses’s documentary, Jews of Egypt, was banned from being screened by Egyptian National Security, which later relented, and the film was shown in cinemas. The past year also witnessed attacks on media figures, including television personalities Khaled Saleh and Youssef Al-Hosseini. Saleh filed a lawsuit in which he accused Freedom and Justice Party members of inciting violence against media personalities. In October 2012, Tawfiq Okasha was accused of insulting the president, but was later found not guilty. In November 2012, the satellite TV Dream channels were forced to stop broadcasting by the Egyptian Radio and Television Union (ERTU), and TV anchor Lamees El-Hadedy was investigated for contempt of religion. In March and April, comedian Bassem Youssef was accused of insulting the president and Islam, and the government threatened to shut down the channel on which the show is broadcasted. The music scene received its share of difficulties, in one instance a concert in Minya was cancelled because part of the performance included Christian hymns. A Freedom and Justice Party lawyer issued a complaint against Sawy Culture Wheel for hosting “devil worshippers,” when they staged a heavy metal concert last September. In October, the musicians syndicate cancelled some concerts at the venue of musicians who were not affiliated with the organisation, damaging the underground music scene. Visual art was not immune to criticism either; in December 2012 cartoonist Doaa El-Adl and Al-Masry Al-Youm were sued by Salafi lawyer and “secretary-general of the National Centre for Defence of Freedoms” Khaled Al-Masry, citing that El-Adl’s cartoon of Adam and Eve was insulting. In January 2013, Sawy Culture Wheel refused to exhibit the cartoons of Samah Farouk because they criticised the Muslim Brotherhood. In May 2013, Morsi appointed Alaa Abdel Aziz as minister of culture, who proceeded to remove some prominent intellectuals from their positions, which caused uproar within the artistic community. Notably, the latest removal was of Dr. Ines Abdel Dayem, the head of the Cairo Opera House, which triggered a strike at the house, and lead to a sit-in at the Ministry of Culture and another sit-in in Alexandria, demanding Abdel Aziz’s dismissal. The sit-in in Cairo is on–going, and each night dance and musical performances are staged in front of the ministry.

Four Egyptian ministers quit Morsi's cabinet amid protests: Govt. official

Four Egyptian ministers have quitted the cabinet of President Mohamed Morsi following the massive protests in the country, government official says.

Teeming crowds greet Obama in Tanzania

http://www.businessweek.com/

Teeming crowds and blaring horns are welcoming President Barack Obama to Tanzania's largest city, where the U.S. president's likeness is everywhere as he arrives on the last leg of his three-country tour of the African continent. Obama, first lady Michelle Obama and their two daughters touched down Monday afternoon in Dar es Salaam, where a marching band awaiting them on the tarmac danced and played as dozens waved U.S. and Tanzanian flags. Hundreds of young people lined the streets wearing t-shirts and sarongs bearing images of Obama, forcing Obama's motorcade to slow at times as it sped along a main thoroughfare that's been permanently renamed "Barack Obama Drive" — a sign that the visit from America's first president of African descent has resonated deeply with Tanzania's people. A world away from U.S. political battles, Obama was preparing to join together Tuesday with former President George W. Bush at a ceremony honoring Americans killed nearly 15 years ago. Bush will be in Tanzania for a conference on African women organized by the George W. Bush Institute. Although no meeting between the two men had initially been planned, the White House announced as Obama flew to Tanzania that Obama and Bush would come together Tuesday for a wreath-laying ceremony at the site of the 1998 bombings at the U.S. Embassy in Dar es Salaam. Eleven Americans were killed in that Osama bin Laden-masterminded attack, which mirrored a near-simultaneous bombing at the U.S. Embassy in Kenya, the birthplace of Obama's father. First lady Michelle Obama and former first lady Laura Bush also planned to team up at the conference Tuesday for a joint discussion on promoting women's education, health and economic empowerment. President Bush plans to be in attendance, before delivering his own speech there the following day, after the Obamas will have left. Having both presidents in town "sends a very positive message that both political parties in the United States share a commitment to this continent," said Ben Rhodes, Obama's deputy national security adviser. During his African visit, Obama has credited Bush with helping save millions of lives by creating the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief. "The United States has really done wonderful work through the PEPFAR program, started under my predecessor, President Bush, and continued through our administration," Obama said Sunday during a visit to the Desmond Tutu HIV Foundation Youth Center in Cape Town. Bush's accomplishment in fighting AIDS was one of his signature foreign policy successes, while Obama has not been so focused on Africa despite his roots there and only now is making a major presidential trip to sub-Saharan Africa. Obama's only previous visit as president was a brief visit to Ghana his first summer in office, although he traveled to Africa several times previously and has vowed to come back. While in Tanzania, Obama planned to launch a trade partnership with Africa, initially focused on the eastern African countries of Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda — a region of more than 130 million people. The program is designed to assist those countries' trade with each other and with the United States. Among the impediments to trade that the U.S. intends to alleviate are physical roadblocks that delay the transport of goods and products. As an example, Michael Froman, the U.S. trade representative who is traveling with Obama, told reporters it takes 42 days to export coffee out of Rwanda, compared to 14 days out of Colombia. Obama also planned to sign an executive order aimed at combating wildlife trafficking in Africa, particularly the sale of rhinoceros horns and elephant tusks. The State Department will provide $10 million to train and assist African authorities fighting the illegal poaching and selling of animals and animal parts. Grant Harris, the senior director for Africa for the National Security Council, said rhinoceros horns sell for $30,000 a pound on the black market. After arriving in Tanzania on Monday afternoon, Obama was preparing to meet with President Jakaya Kikwete. He'll visit later with business leaders from the U.S. and Africa to talk about increasing trade in east Africa, before ending the evening with a dinner hosted by Kikwete. On Tuesday, Obama plans a private greeting at the U.S. embassy, which has been relocated since the 1998 attack. The president then delivers a final speech focused on bringing more electric power to Africa and heads back toward Washington by noon.

‘Morsi tries to ram Sharia constitution down Egyptian people's throats’

President Morsi’s attempts to push through a Sharia constitution go against Egyptian cultural tradition and spark an even worse uprising as people don’t want religion to be dictated, political analyst and author William Engdahl told RT.

RT: Despite Morsi having strong support in the country, why is there so much anger at him and the Muslim Brotherhood at present?

William Engdahl: I think a number of issues. Number one – is trying to ram a Sharia constitution down the throats of the Egyptian people. That goes against Egyptian cultural tradition – 80-90 per cent of the population are Sunni Muslims – but it is a tradition of tolerance for other religion groups, Coptic and other Islamic groups. The other thing is the economy. Morsi has done nothing to improve the economy. In fact the economy has generated youth unemployment to bulge to an explosive level. That I think is a lot to do with the tinderbox that you see in the streets right now. But the other thing is that the military hasn’t yet weighed in as to whether they are going to continue to back Morsi as they have done under enormous Washington pressure – they are dependent on Washington for military aid and have been for decades. But the interesting new factor is that the Tamarod campaign – the reorganized opposition group that led the protest a year ago in Tahrir Square and elsewhere – they have claimed to have gathered a 15 million-strong petition asking for Morsi to step down. I think this is a make or break situation. The Obama administration continues to back the Muslim Brotherhood, which is a very unfortunate thing, but that’s a part of a larger geopolitical agenda that Washington and the State Department have built up over the past years.

RT:

The US supported the uprising that brought Morsi to power. Now the opposition's calling for a ''second revolution'', do you see Washington playing a part?

WE:

I think there is a question whether that was a democratic election because a lot of the opposition to the Muslim Brotherhood were simply in disarray and Washington pressed for an early election. The military thought they had done a deal with Morsi that he would be a figurehead and as soon as Morsi got into power he renaged on that deal, he fired chiefs of staff and so forth, and did it with backing from Washington. The Obama administration is backing the Muslim Brotherhood agenda here and in Syria with the opposition there.

RT: Could Sunday prove to be a watershed moment?

ME: There is no question that it is going to be massive. Morsi has already indicated he is going to take an Erdogan kind of brute force state power reaction to try to terrorize the opposition, but that is not going to work at this point. I have talked to people who were in Tahrir Square demonstrations two year ago and it is like a festering boil that has been growing as long as Morsi has shown that he has done nothing to improve the fundamentals of the economy. All he has done is introduce or he tried to introduce that fundamental constitution that would turn Egypt into a Sharia state. Most Egyptians don’t want that. They want to have their religion in private, but not to have the state dictate to them exactly what it is going to look like. The statements, views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of RT.

Protesters to Egypt's Morsy: You have one day to step down

Egyptians who helped overthrow a 29-year dictatorship in a widely-hailed revolution have now given the country's first democratically elected president one day to step down from office. In a statement posted Monday on its official facebook page, Tamarod (the "rebel" campaign") demanded that if President Mohamed Morsy doesn't leave office by Tuesday, the group will begin a civil disobedience movement, call for nationwide protests and march on the presidential palace where Morsy's administration is running affairs. If the last few days have been any indication, Tamarod's deadline will most likely be ignored. Both sides -- the anti-government demonstrators and Morsy's supporters-- have dug in their heels. And the results have been deadly. On Monday, protesters stormed the main headquarters of the Muslim Brotherhood, the party that Morsy led before his election. Armed with Molotov cocktails, the mob set the office on fire, shouting, "The people has toppled the regime." A day earlier, five people were killed and 613 wounded in confrontations between the two sides, Egypt's official news agency reported.

On the one hand

Those calling for Morsy's ouster say he has hijacked the gains made in the revolution that toppled Hosni Mubarak and has pushed aside moderate voices.They say Morsy's policies are to blame for a breakdown in law and order, for an economy that's gone south, and for a gas shortage that has Egyptians waiting at the pumps for hours.

On the other

Those supporting the president say he is the people's choice and refer to the 13 million votes he earned in elections held exactly a year ago Sunday. They say he inherited a broken system and should be given time to fix it. "We're not leaving and the president is staying," one supporter told CNN. "We believe in democracy. If people don't like him, they can vote him out in three years."

Deadly results

Periodically, the two sides have clashed and the results have been deadly -- even before the Sunday clashes. On Friday, Andrew Pochter, a 21-year-old American in Alexandria to teach children English, was stabbed to death while watching the demonstrations, his family said. And the Muslim Brotherhood has lost four members to violence in recent days. The Islamist group was shunted aside under Mubarak but is now the most powerful political force in Egypt. For his part, Morsy says he is ready for dialogue. But the gap between the two camps is wide and only getting wider.

Unclear road map

The demonstrators say they have collected 17 million signatures -- roughly four million more than what won Morsy the presidency -- and all of them call for Morsy to go. The opposition is made up of various groups and loose coalitions, and not all anti-Morsy protesters agree with the road map the Tamarod campaign is advocating. Some are loyal to the ousted Mubarak government, while others want the army to intervene.

The army variable

Last week, Defense Minister Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi said the army would, if necessary, "prevent Egypt from slipping into a dark tunnel of civil unrest and killing, sectarianism and the collapse of state institutions." His remarks raised the specter of a return to the powerful role the military played in domestic politics under Mubarak. "Egypt," the government-run newspaper Al-Akhbar said, "is on the brink of a volcano."

Kabul is turning the tide

http://www.afghanistantimes.af/

The peace talks between the Taliban and the Afghan government from the very outset had been on a sticky wicket. There is nothing new in the shenanigans and tomfooleries of the Taliban. The very style of opening their political office in Qatar revealed the entire process was conspiratorial. It is not something that we should be taken aback by as we know the cunning nature of the Taliban very well. Their nature has become quite unpredictable and they can do anything at any movement of the peace process. Particularly they are known for their eleventh-hour U-turns. For the past ten years we have been just hearing of conditions over conditions, but no compromise and no show of elasticity, which has left the peace process in disarray. There should be no doubt on the sincerity of the Afghan government but parts of the problems are the US and the Taliban. There has been too much of “us and them” mentality during the past decade, however, this mentality will lead us no where but to a complete breakdown if all parties to the current political turmoil are not careful. The major responsibility comes on the US. It is the US obduracy and blunders that we are still caught in a whirl of an unending war. If the US hadn’t axed the Taliban from the mainstream politics in 2002 by excluding them from the Bonn Conference, the political crisis in the country would have come to an end too long ago. But unfortunately the haughty U.S. miscalculated the Taliban’s strength and earned their wrath. It was just in 2006 that the US realized it shouldn’t have excluded the Taliban from the first Bonn Conference. Since then the US revved up its peace talks’ efforts, nevertheless, a snag hit the peace process from the very beginning. Though, a lot hinges on the results of peace negotiations between the Afghan government and the Taliban but relying on a saggy peace process is more than idiocy. Till yesterday, everyone was clinging to its own set of conditions; when the Taliban shown readiness on opening their political office this war-weary nation’s pessimism receded. But the way they opened their political bureau in Qatar gave birth to a new to a new series of confusions and uncertainties. Talking over this sticky situation, the Afghan President Hamid Karzai in a recent radio speech on Thursday night said the opening of the Taliban’s Qatar office for peace negotiations was conspiratorial and his government was successful in staving it off. Besides that following an hour long vide conference between the US President Barrack Obama and President Hamid Karzai on Tuesday, Jay Carney—a White House spokesman, told newsmen that Obama and Karzai reaffirmed that an Afghan-led and Afghan-owned peace and reconciliation process is an incontestable way to put a halt to the persistent violence and ensure a durable stability in Afghanistan and in the region. After the recent face-off over Taliban’s office in Qatar, Kabul seems to be victorious as the US had never publicly acknowledged the Afghan High Peace Council’s (HPC) lead in the peace process, nevertheless when Jay Carney made it clear the process should be Afghan-led and Afghan-owned, it washed away many misconceptions. It means, in the future, it will be the Afghan High Peace Council talking to the Taliban. If this time around, HPC is bypassed, it will dent the relations of Kabul and Washington to the extent of irreparability. Onward the US shouldn’t be part of the problem. Moreover, the Taliban’s Tuesday bloody attack on the Presidential Palace and CIA office in Kabul have given birth to many speculations as to what the militants’ true intentions are, and whether or not the peace process will deliver the desired results. But among all these negatives, there is yet a good news. As the situation is becoming tense, Kabul is emerging as a dominant party, in an impregnable position to turn the tide against the Taliban.

Pakistan: Soaring numbers: Disease outbreaks demand attention

State of child health in Pakistan is among core national issues which call for immediate and serious attention. Representatives of various international health organisations, who have over the years played a key role in assisting Pakistan to control outbreaks in the country, believe that the gap between reported and assessed cases, disintegrated and unreliable monitoring and observation systems have massively contributed to the outbreaks in Pakistan over the past five years. Head of the polio eradication at the World Health Organisation in Pakistan Dr Elias Durry, while talking to The Express Tribune, said that there are three major causes explaining why hundreds of thousands of children are missed during immunisation drives each year. He cited poor health service delivery at the grass root level to be a major cause adding that the inability to keep a proper check and balance over it only made things worse.Parents who refuse to get their children immunised also contribute to the number of rising cases. One of the other causes which work as a major contributor to the hike in numbers is the inaccessibility to children of areas mostly under militant threats. In regard to outbreaks he said, “As large number of children remain unimmunised for a long period of time, you are playing the virus’s game and not the eradication or control game… which is the sole reason children face outbreaks like measles and polio.” He went on to say that while the outbreak of measles was due to the aforesaid reasons lack of accountability only added to the soaring numbers. For polio, he added that areas like Fata should be made accessible for vaccinators if Pakistan is to head off major outbreaks. However, another UN official sternly criticised Pakistan’s evaluation systems aimed at surveillance of immunisation drives terming them insufficient to curb outbreaks. Speaking on condition of anonymity he added, “Pakistan is among those developing nations that have yet to do much for the welfare of the general public. But the lack of social demand for immunisation, discrepancies, corruption, underperforming officials and militancy are factors that push Pakistan back to the starting point”. Immunisation drives Expanded Programme on Immunisation (EPI) Pakistan provides vaccination against tuberculosis, poliomyelitis, diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus, hepatitis B, haemophilus influenza type B and measles. According to the Findings of Global Alliance for Vaccines Initiative’s paper on EPI, the programme, over the last two decades has failed to reach its expected reduction in the number of diseases preventable by vaccines. One reason cited for the poor performance was the reduced focus on EPI (funding and technical assistance) in relation to other specific campaigns (for example, polio). In addition, reduced attention to capacity building of available human resources on local-level planning, management, logistics, and monitoring, evaluation and surveillance have resulted in poor EPI performance. Further, the management of the programme has further deteriorated due to the increased political interference over the last decade. With the implementation of 18th Amendment, that lead to the devolution of powers to provincial governments, has resulted in stock-outs, poor quality vaccines, and overall negative effects on the outcomes. The EPI is under-resourced to achieve expected results. EPI is too underfinanced to provide a comprehensive immunisation service to the community. Additional resources are needed for vaccines, logistics, recurrent expenses, human resource expansion, capacity building, training, and social mobilisation. Immunisation is believed to be a proven tool for controlling and eliminating life-threatening infectious diseases and is estimated to avert between 2 and 3 million deaths each year. It is one of the most cost-effective health investments, with proven strategies that make it accessible to even the most hard-to-reach and vulnerable populations.

Blasts Kill Dozens in Pakistan During British Leader’s Visit

By SALMAN MASOOD and ISMAIL KHAN

Militant bombings in Pakistan killed dozens of people across the country on Sunday in attacks that overshadowed a visit by the British prime minister and underscored the array of threats facing Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s new government. In the city of Quetta, the capital of Baluchistan Province and the center of a violent campaign by Sunni militants against the Shiite Hazara minority, a suicide bomber detonated explosives near a mosque on Sunday evening, killing at least 28 people, officials said. No specific group claimed responsibility, though officials attributed the attack to Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, an outlawed group that has killed hundreds of Hazaras there in recent years. Though a national outcry over anti-Shiite violence has intensified over the past year, government and security officials have been accused of dragging their feet on efforts to curb the attacks. And it is just one of the facets of violence in Baluchistan, the center of a separatist movement that has brought repeated violent crackdowns by the Pakistani security forces. On the outskirts of the northwestern city of Peshawar, a car bomb detonated as a convoy of Frontier Corps militiamen passed on the area’s main highway. The bomb, parked near a police station and in a market area that is always crowded, killed at least 17 people. Though the Frontier Corps convoy appeared to be the target, all the victims were civilians, according to Javed Marwat, the deputy commissioner for Peshawar. The people wounded, including three members of the Frontier Corps, were taken to hospitals in Peshawar. Several cars and shops were damaged. In a separate attack, a military convoy was struck by a roadside bomb in North Waziristan, the semiautonomous tribal region where militants of all stripes — local and foreign — have taken refuge. At least four soldiers were killed, and at least 19 people were wounded, officials said. The Pakistani military has balked at American pressure to start a military operation in North Waziristan, and army troops deployed in some areas there mostly stay inside their bases and encampments. But military convoys regularly move during what are called “road opening” days, when the authorities impose a curfew to help clear the roadways in an attempt to ensure safe passage. “Curfew was announced last night, so some militants might have planted the bomb and waited for the convoy to move,” one Pakistani security official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. “All they needed was to push a button, even if there was curfew.” There were no immediate claims of responsibility for the attacks, and officials said that militants in the semiautonomous tribal regions straddling the border with Afghanistan were most likely involved. The attacks came even as Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif played host to Prime Minister David Cameron of Britain, in the first visit by a Western leader since Pakistan’s elections in May. The two focused on helping Pakistan’s economy, and pledged to expand economic cooperation and trade. But militancy again dominated the day’s headlines in Pakistan. In a joint appearance, the two leaders said that countering such violence was critical, and the British leader said his country would offer more expertise and equipment to help fight bombing campaigns by the Taliban and other militant groups. Mr. Sharif and Mr. Cameron also discussed the war in Afghanistan and the coming Western military withdrawal. The shift has major implications for the Pakistani government, which is concerned about ensuring its influence in Kabul, and for the militants who work on both sides of the border. “I have assured Prime Minister Cameron of our firm resolve to promote the shared objective of a peaceful and stable Afghanistan,” Mr. Sharif said.

Pakistan: Prices of petrol and CNG increased

People suffered a double blow on Sunday as the government increased the prices of petroleum products and CNG with effect from Monday. The price of petrol has been raised by Rs2 per litre and that of high speed diesel (HSD) by Rs2.16, according to an official of the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra). The petroleum ministry has also imposed an additional nine per cent GST on CNG, increasing it to 24pc. As a result, the price of CNG has gone up by Rs2.54 to Rs75.48 per kg for Region-I (Potohar, northern Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan) and by Rs1.85 to Rs66.75 for Region-II (central and southern Punjab and Sindh). Earlier in the day, oil marketing companies had announced an increase in prices of petrol and diesel by Rs2.66 and Rs3.66 per litre, respectively. But later a spokesman for the Ministry of Finance said the government had decided to adjust 66 paisa in petroleum levy on petrol and Rs1.50 on diesel. Ogra spokesman Afzal Bajwa told Dawn that the authority had recommended to the government to keep the prices unchanged, but the recommendation was turned down. After the adjustment in levy, the new ex-depot price of petrol will be Rs101.77 per litre, Rs2 more than the previous rate of Rs99.77, and that of HSD will be Rs106.76, Rs3 more than the earlier rate of Rs104.60. The prices of kerosene have been raised to Rs96.29 per litre from Rs93.79, light diesel to Rs92.17 from Rs89.13 and high octane blending component (HOBC) to Rs126.77 from Rs124.41. Besides the import parity price of petroleum products and profit margins of dealers and oil companies, the government charges petroleum levy at Rs14 per litre on HOBC, Rs10 on petrol, Rs8 on HSD and Rs6 on kerosene. The government has also started charging 17pc GST on sale price of petroleum products, one per cent more than the previous rate of 16pc.

Quetta carnage: need for a new security paradigm

Daily Times

BY Hasan Naser

From the recent terrorist attacks it has become evident that the Taliban want the government to negotiate with them on their terms and conditions The terrorist attacks in Quetta bring to spotlight the issue of ever diminishing state writ in the province. The serene Quetta is drenched in blood once again. It was only months ago that the Hazara community suffered militants’ wrath. But no action was taken against the perpetrators. The militants have enough space to operate freely and spread mayhem. For instance, the Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ) took no time to claim the responsibility of the attack on the students of the women university. But the state has not condemned the banned outfit unequivocally, let alone taking any punitive action. It is worth noting that the terrorist outfit enjoys close nexus with the Tehreek-e-Taliban (TTP). But the state’s appeasement policy vis-à-vis the TTP is bewildering. Let it be clear now that there are no good or bad Taliban. Making a distinction between them is catastrophic on the part of security establishment. There are also separatists in Balochistan who are bent on challenging the writ of the state. Bombing of the national heritage at Ziarat has come as a shock to the nation. The participation of the Baloch in the election process and the subsequent installation of a nationalist chief minister dealt a blow to the rejectionist. They are out to destabilise the fledgling democratic set-up. The security establishment and the civil leadership do not seem to be on the same page on the Balochistan question. The security establishment has resorted to high-handed tactics in the past, which have proved counter-productive. The recovery of mutilated bodies has only helped the cause of the hard-liners. The civilians have very little say in running the security affairs of the state. It is quite clear who is calling the shots in Balochistan. There is a growing concern over the failure of the security agencies to pre-empt terrorist attacks. Frontier Corps (FC) is responsible for the security but it is not under the control of provincial government. There is urgent need to empower the civil law enforcement forces to take over from the FC. It is time for the security agencies to pool information and forestall attacks. The government has hinted at calling an all parties conference (APC) to address the problem of terrorism . It is a welcome move. It would be helpful in finding a long-term solution to the worsening law and order situation in the country. The security establishment is also likely to attend the joint session of parliament. APC is the first step in the right direction. A comprehensive counter-terrorism policy must be devised with input from all stakeholders. Political leadership would have to take the initiative and lead from the front. The Interior Minister Chaudhary Nisar came hard on the security establishment. But his own party the Pakistan Mulsim League-Nawaz (PML-N) owes explanation with regard to its soft approach towards terrorists. The PML-N seems to be lacking in clarity in addressing the larger problem of terrorism. In his maiden speech in the National Assembly, the prime minister talked about every issue but terrorism. There was no mention of the government policy on how to deal with the problem of terrorism. The PML-N should not be seen to be friendly with known terrorists. Imran Khan is all for talks with the Taliban, but despite the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s coalition government in the province of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, it continues to suffer attacks from militants. Deadly attack on a Peshawar mosque is an eye-opener for the ‘champions’ of peace. From the recent terrorist attacks it has become evident that the Taliban want the government to negotiate with them on their terms and conditions. All the talk of talk is itself the admission of the fact that the military has failed. From this weak position of negotiation the government would not be able to fix the menace of terrorism on its own terms. On the other hand, the Taliban have not budged an inch from their extreme position. To conclude, once a clear security policy is formulated the PML-N would have to ensure that it is implemented in letter and spirit. Only taking all political and military leadership on board would yield the positive outcome. To quell the Baloch insurgency, a multi-dimensional approach is to be adopted. It needs integration of the disgruntled elements, addressing their genuine grievances and isolating those who do not want to come down from the mountains.

EGYPT: Protesters call for Morsi’s resignation

Anti-government protesters have flooded the streets across Egypt, calling for the resignation of President Mohamed Morsi. Mass rallies on Sunday come a year after Morsi was elected as Egypt's president following the 2011 revolution that toppled the Western-backed regime of Hosni Mubarak.

“The people want the ouster of the regime,” the protesters chanted in the capital Cairo's iconic Liberation Square. The demonstrators are angry at Morsi's handling of the economy and failure to fulfill his electoral promises. The organizers of the major demonstration for Sunday claim that more than 22 million people have signed petition for the resignation of the president and a snap election. Anti-government protests were also staged in the coastal city of Alexandria, the Nile Delta cities of Mansura, Menuf, Tanta and Mahalla, the canal cities of Suez and Port Said as well as Zagazig. Meanwhile, pro-Morsi demonstrators have held rival rallies in support of the president as they say he needs time to implement the changes demanded by the Egyptians. “… We support President Mohamed Morsi. We would like to tell him not to be affected by the opponents’ protests and not to give up his rights. We are here to support and protect him,” said one of the Egyptian president’s supporters. At least four people have been killed in clashes in the cities of Assiut and Beni Suef. Many others were also injured. Reports say clashes broke out between supporters and opponents of Morsi after protesters marched to the office of the Freedom and Justice Party (FJP), the political arm of the Muslim Brotherhood. Dozens also attacked the Brotherhood headquarters in Cairo with petrol bombs, birdshot and stones, according to Gehad al-Haddad, a spokesman for the movement. Two people have been reportedly killed and 35 others injured in clashes outside the Muslim Brotherhood’s headquarters in Cairo. “It is the biggest protest in Egypt's history,” a military source told AFP on condition of anonymity, noting that “millions” of people have packed the streets across Egypt. Morsi's spokesman Ehab Fahmy has highlighted the need for a national dialogue in the country, saying, “Dialogue is the only way through which we can reach an understanding... The presidency is open to a real and serious national dialogue.” However, the opposition has urged the demonstrators to hold their ground until Morsi resigns. Hundreds of Egyptians have also staged anti-Morsi demonstrations in other countries including the UK and Australia.

Obama Outlines Vision of US-Africa Cooperation during South Africa Visit

Pakistan bombings kill at least 49

At least 28 die in deadliest attack, near Shia Muslim mosque in Quetta, capital of south-west Baluchistan province

Bombings killed at least 49 people in three different areas of Pakistan on Sunday, just as Britain's prime minister David Cameron was in the capital pledging to help fight extremism. In the deadliest of the attacks, twin blasts near a Shia Muslim mosque in Quetta, the capital of south-west Baluchistan province, killed at least 28 people, including two women and several children, and wounded 65 others, according to senior police officer Ishtiaq Ahmed. Initial reports indicated a hand grenade was involved in the first blast, forcing people to run in the direction of the mosque, where a suicide bomber detonated his explosives. Radical Sunni Muslims have stepped up attacks in the past two years against minority Shia, whom they consider to be heretics. Local TV video showed ambulances rushing victims to the hospital and wheeling them inside on stretchers. Some of the bodies were covered with white sheets. Relatives of the victims frantically entered the emergency room to inquire about their loved ones. Security forces cordoned off the area of the attack. No one has claimed responsibility for the attack. Suspicion will likely fall on the militant group Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, which has carried out many of the attacks against Shia in Baluchistan in recent years. In the north-west, a car bomb exploded as a convoy of paramilitary troops passed through the outskirts of the city of Peshawar, killing at least 17 people and wounding dozens of others, police said. Elsewhere in the north-west, a roadside bomb struck an army convoy and killed four soldiers in the North Waziristan tribal area, the main sanctuary for Taliban and al-Qaida militants in the country, said intelligence officials. The blast also wounded 20 soldiers, the officials said. No one has claimed responsibility for the attacks in the north-west, but suspicion will fall on the Pakistani Taliban. The group has been waging a bloody insurgency against the government for years that has killed thousands of security personnel and civilians. The Taliban claimed responsibility for shooting to death 10 foreign mountain climbers and a Pakistani guide in northern Pakistan a week ago, an attack the group said was retaliation for a US drone strike that killed the Taliban's deputy leader. The Taliban withdrew their offer of peace talks with the Pakistani government following the drone strike. The government continues to stick by its stance that negotiating with the group is the only way to bring peace.

Egypt: Seven Killed As Protests Turn Violent

At least seven people have been killed in Egypt and more than 600 wounded in clashes between supporters and opponents of President Mohamed Morsi. Five of the dead were shot in towns south of Cairo, one each in Beni Suef and Fayoum and three others in Assiut. Two more people were killed by gunfire during an attack on the national headquarters of Mr Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood. The attack came amid mass protests across Egypt calling for the Islamist president to resign. Hundreds of thousands of people have taken to the streets as part of the demonstrations. The protests are being held exactly a year since Mr Morsi came to power. Some 500,000 people descended on Cairo's Tahrir Square, the heart of the 2011 uprising against Mr Morsi's predecessor Hosni Mubarak. Other demonstrations have been held outside the presidential palace several miles away, which was under heavy guard. Police and troops have deployed to protect key buildings around the country, security officials said. The health ministry said hospitals have been placed on high alert. On Friday an American student, 21-year-old Andrew Pochter, was killed during clashes in the city of Alexandria. A senior security official said the Suez Canal, the vital waterway that connects the Mediterranean with the Red Sea, has been placed under "maximum security". Liberal leaders say nearly half the voting population - 22 million people - have signed a petition calling for change. Mr Morsi's opponents have promised a "second revolution". But the president's Muslim Brotherhood and militant allies pledge to defend what they say is the legitimate order. Mr Morsi has called his opponents bad losers backed by "thugs" from the rule of deposed Mr Mubarak. He is banking on the "Tamarud - Rebel!" coalition fizzling out, as other challenges in the streets have done since he took power. US President Barack Obama has called on Egyptians to focus on dialogue. His ambassador to Egypt has angered the opposition by suggesting protests are not helping the economy. Liberal leaders, fractious and defeated in a series of ballots last year, hope that by putting millions on the streets they can force Mr Morsi to relent.

Anti-Morsi protests sweep Egypt

Hundreds of thousands rally in Cairo and elsewhere seeking president's ouster on first anniversary of his inauguration.

Hundreds of thousands of people have taken to the streets of Cairo and other cities across Egypt, demanding the resignation of President Mohamed Morsi amid sporadic violence that left several people dead. The rallies started early on Sunday morning in Cairo's Tahrir Square - the cradle of the Egyptian revolution where Morsi had addressed a jubilant crowd exactly a year ago after being inaugurated as the country's first democratically-elected president.The demonstrations swelled in the evening, as marches from various Cairo neighbourhoods reached the square. Tens of thousands of people also gathered around the presidential palace to press the same demands, chanting “irhal” - “leave” - and waving red cards to symbolically urge Morsi’s ouster. "It's the same politics as Mubarak but we are in a worse situation," said Sameh al-Masri, one of the organisers on the main stage in Tahrir Square. "Poverty is increasing, inflation is increasing. It's much worse than Mubarak." As anger against Morsi swept the streets, at least seven people were killed and more than 600 wounded in clashes between pro and anti-Morsi supporters, Reuters reported. Five of the dead were shot in towns south of Cairo, one each in Beni Suef and Fayoum and three in Assiut. Two more were killed by gunfire during an attack on the national headquarters of Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood in a suburb of the capital, medical sources said.

‘Who’s going to pay?’

A few kilometres away from the presidential palace, thousands of Morsi supporters also staged their own sit-in to defend what they called the president’s “legitimacy”. "If we are saying that we have a majority, and the opposition are saying that they have a majority, how can they decide," asked Nader Omran, a spokesman for the Freedom and Justice Party, the political wing of Muslim Brotherhood. "What is the other solution for this dilemma, except the ballot box?" Presidential spokesman Omar Amer said Morsi was serious in his repeated calls for national dialogue. "(Morsi) announced to all of Egypt's people he made mistakes and that he is in the process of fixing these mistakes," Amer told a late-night news conference. The duelling rallies on Sunday only further highlighted the deepening political polarisation in Egypt. Morsi supporters are full of praise for his first year in office, insisting that the president has strengthened civilian rule in Egypt and done his best to manage a flailing economy. Many of them dismissed Sunday’s protests as the work of ex-regime figures and “thugs”, fuelled by a hostile media and Western governments. Anti-government protesters, on the other hand, dismissed Morsi’s first term as a failure and described him as a dictatorial leader. Many accused him of backing Hamas and other militant groups; one well-dressed man in Tahrir insisted that Morsi planned to cede the Sinai peninsula to Hamas. But their main complaint was the worsening economy, which has been in free-fall since Morsi took office, with the Egyptian pound losing nearly 20 percent of its value and industry crippled by fuel and electricity shortages. "He's borrowed money from everyone in the world," said Said Ahmed, referring to $11bn in loans Egypt has received from Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Turkey to prop up the central bank. "Who's going to pay for that? Our children."

‘Hoping’ for a coup

Sunday’s anti-Morsi protests were organised by a grassroots campaign called Tamarod or “rebellion”, which claims to have collected 22 million signatures calling for the president’s ouster. "We gave him the confidence to ... correct what Mubarak had done to Egypt, but he didn't. So we have the right to withdraw the confidence that the Egyptian people gave him," said Eman el-Mahdy, a spokesperson for Tamarod. Some police officers could be seen on the streets of Cairo waving red cards and chanting against Morsi. Rising political tensions have reignited fears of military intervention in the country. General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, the defence minister, warned last week that it was the military's duty to "prevent Egypt from slipping into a dark tunnel of civil unrest". “They’re adamantly opposed to the Brotherhood and this government, and there are in the officer corps those who have more hardline views on the Brotherhood,” said Michael Hanna, an analyst with the New York-based Century Foundation. “But this is a cautious military leadership. They’re not going to make a decision unless they have to.” Many protesters nonetheless seemed to be hoping for another military intervention, believing that would be the only means of removing Morsi from office. “We are hoping for a military coup. It’s the only thing that we can hope for, because they are armed and they can help the people,” said Umm Mohamed, an elderly woman sitting in the square with her husband. “Otherwise we will be in civil war.”

China Communist Party Membership Hits 85 Mln

http://en.ria.ru/

China’s ruling Communist Party membership has exceeded 85 million, according to the CPC Central Committee, Xinhua reported on Sunday.

Last year, 3.23 million people joined the CPC, the world's largest political party, which will mark the 92nd anniversary of its founding on Monday, the committee said. Of the total party members, 20.27 million, or 23.8 percent, are women and 5.80 million, or 6.8 percent, are from ethnic minority groups, according to a CPC statement. More than a quarter of members are 35 years or younger and about 34 million hold university degrees. The CPC had 4.2 million grassroots party bodies across the country at the end of 2012, up 4.3 percent from a year earlier, the agency said.

Protests raging across Egypt governorates

http://www.egyptindependent.com/

Protests are raging right across Egypt with protesters calling on President Mohamed Morsy to step down after one year in power. In Alexandria, hundreds of protesters flocked to al-Qaed Ibrahim Square, interrupting the flow of traffic at the Corniche. Protesters chanted "Leave!" Mohamed Hassan, one of the protesters, said he and his family had come to join demonstrations against the policies of the Muslim Brotherhood and to call on Morsy to hold early presidential elections.

Hassan added that the country is "on the verge of devastation," blaming the current deterioration on the policies of the Brotherhood, which he said have torn Egyptian society apart. Meanwhile, the streets seemed empty with car owners using public transport in order to keep their cars parked at home due to the ongoing fuel shortage crisis in the city.In the Nile Delta governorate of Kafr al-Sheikh, dozens of protesters closed government institutions with chains and prevented employees from entering the buildings.They were also calling for early presidential elections.

In Desouq city, Kafr al-Sheikh, demonstrators closed the city council building and the government complex which has several government institutions such as the Desouq Media Centre, Tax Authority and cotton ginning companies. The protesters said they will continue to close these buildings until the regime stands down and local departments are formed to run provincial authorities following consultations with political groups in Desouq. In Sidi Salem, Kafr al-Sheikh, a car toured the region while its drivers urged citizens to take to the streets to protest Morsy's rule, stage a sit-in outside the Grand Mosque, and block the road outside the townhall. Protesters managed to close down the town hall after intimidating employees with clubs. Workers, unable to enter the building, left. However, the rest of government agencies in the governorate operated normally.Hundreds of protesters at Rahabin village, Gharbiya , besieged the residence of Mostafa al-Ghoneimy, a member at the Brotherhood's Guidance Bureau and chanted for early elections. Within two hours, some village seniors convinced the protesters to end their demonstrations. They went on a march across the village. In Monufiya, protesters closed the municipal; councils in Quwesna, Shohahaa, Tela, Monuf, Shebin al-Kom and Berket al-Saba.Demonstrators took similar actions in Beheira, shutting down the local councils in Mahmoudiya and Itay al-Baroud, as well as other municipalities in Damanhour before erecting tents outside all of the buildings.

Suicide blast in Quetta’s Hazara town kills at least 28

DAWN.COM

At least 28 people were killed and over 70 injured in a suicide blast near an Imambargah on Kirani road of Quetta’s Hazara town. Capital City Police Officer, Mir Zubair Mehmood confirmed to Dawn.com that at least 28 people were killed and over 70 were injured as a suicide bomber riding a bicycle blew himself up in a crowded area 40 to 50 metres away from an Imambargah. Mehmood said the dead included nine women as well as a minor girl. He admitted that despite strict security measures, the bomber struck a highly sensitive and guarded area of Quetta. He stated that the dead bodies would be handed over to their heirs after identification. Para-military troops and police were dispatched in the area to control the situation. The injured were taken to CMH hospital in Quetta for treatment. The Jafaria Alliance and Majlis-e-Wahdat-e-Muslimeen announced mourning for three days following the attack. Chief Minister Balochistan Dr Abdul Malik Baloch as well as the Hazara Democratic Party have condemned the blast.

Loud explosion in Quetta’s Hazara town,20 dead,

At least 20 people have been killed and several more casualties are feared in a powerful explosion near an Imambargah on Kirani road of Quetta’s Hazara town. A police official who requested not to be named told Dawn.com on the telephone that 20 people were killed and at least 60 were injured in the blast. He said that the blast occurred in a crowded area. “We fear an increase in the number of casualties,” he said. Babul Baloch, a rescue worker told Dawn.com that aid workers were not being allowed to reach the explosion site. He said that most of the aid workers were stranded on different streets leading to Hazara Town and Kirani road. “The blast seems to be a suicide attack,” Baloch said while quoting eye witnesses. Para-military troops and police were dispatched in the area to control the situation. The initially injured were being taken to civil hospital Quetta for medical treatment.

HRW slams Saudi Arabia after 7 ‘tortured’ men jailed for ‘inciting protests’ on Facebook

Human Rights Watch has slated Saudi Arabia for violating international human rights obligations after it jailed seven people for up to 10 years for ‘inciting protests’ via Facebook. The indicted denied charges and said they were tortured into confession. The sentencing after a two-month long trial took place on June 24, according to Human Rights Watch (HRW), which it has obtained the court judgment, and revealed the procedure “violates international human rights principles.” The seven men were arrested between September 23 and 26, 2011. They have been kept in the General Investigations Prison in the capital of Saudi’s Eastern Province, Damman for a year-and-a-half without being charged. They have been tried by Specialized Criminal Court, set up in 2008 to deal with terrorism-related cases. The trial began on April 29. The charges against the seven vary. However, they all have been accused of joining Facebook pages aiming to “incite protests, illegal gathering, and breaking allegiance with the king” and “of assisting and encouraging these calls are corresponding with the Facebook pages’ followers and concealing them,” the HRW cited the court judgment. They have been also convicted of violating Article 6 of the Anti-Cyber Crime Law, which bans producing, sending, or storing any material via an information network that “harms public order.” “Breaking allegiance [with the king] comes by way of arms and it comes by way of protests, marches, and writing articles and publications … the behavior of the [second] course … is sometimes the more dangerous and more malicious method,” the presiding judge concluded in the judgment. None of the seven was accused of directly participating in protests, nor of using or advocating violence. Abd al-Hamid al-Amer has got harshest sentence – 10 years in prison for founding two Facebook groups in early 2011 which supported of a prominent Shia sheikh and religious leader Tawfiq al-Amer, arrested for publicly calling for a constitutional monarchy. Prosecutors said that those pages were used to call for followers “to join the movements” and “gave them ideas and guidance on the important sites in which to protest and set the timing [of the protests].” All seven accused have admitted they participated in Facebook pages titled “al-Ahsa March 4 Youth Movement” and “The Free Men of al-Ahsa”, but did not know that was unlawful. Therefore, they denied accusations of having intentions to break allegiance with the king or harm public order, but the prosecution produced signed confessions. During the trial, the accused reported to the court that confessions were signed under torture by the intelligence officers, but the judge overruled the claim as “not acceptable,” due especially to “their inability to prove the allegations of coercion and torture.” According to one of the seven convicts’ family members, the men had not lawyers as they could not afford them. Under Saudi Arabia’s Criminal Procedure Law, unlike in many countries, there is no provision for a public defender for those who cannot afford a lawyer, HRW reported. Moreover, as Saudi Arabia has no written penal code, prosecutors and judges tend to criminalize acts based on their own interpretation of Islamic law. HRW insists the whole procedure lacks clearness and violates “international human rights principles, such as those that prohibit arbitrary arrest and guarantee fair trials.” The men intend to appeal their sentences. The HRW has stressed that the trial also comes against Article 15 of the Arab Charter on Human Rights, which Saudi Arabia ratified in 2009. “No crime and no penalty can be established without a prior provision of the law. In all circumstances, the law most favorable to the defendant shall be applied,” the article states. The HRW has called on the European Union’s High Representative Catherine Ashton and EU member states’ representatives, who are meeting with their Gulf region counterparts in Bahrain on June 30, to condemn the convictions and publicly “press Saudi Arabia to stop jailing human rights activists and peaceful dissidents.” “Sending people off to years in prison for peaceful Facebook posts sends a strong message that there’s no safe way to speak out in Saudi Arabia, even on online social networks,” said Joe Stork, deputy Middle East director at Human Rights Watch. “If the EU doesn’t raise these cases with Saudi officials this weekend, its silence will look like craven compliance with the rights abuses of an authoritarian state.” The latest conviction of the seven followed a wave of similar cases of convictions of peaceful dissidents and human rights activists in June, according to HRW.

Massive protests in Egypt begin

CBS/AP

Thousands of opponents and supporters of Egypt's Islamist president began massing in city squares in competing rallies Sunday, gearing up for a day of massive nationwide protests that many fear could turn deadly as the opposition seeks to push out Mohammed Morsi. Waving Egyptian flags, crowds descended on Tahrir Square in the heart of Cairo, one of multiple sites in the capital and around the country where they plan rallies. Chants of "erhal!" or "leave!," rang out in the square, birthplace of the 2011 uprising that toppled autocrat Hosni Mubarak. On the other side of Cairo, thousands of the Islamist leader's backers gathered not far from the presidential palace in a show of support. Some wore homemade body armor and construction hats and carried shields and clubs — precautions, they said, against possible violence. There is a sense among opponents and supporters of Morsi that Sunday's rally is a make-or-break day, hiking worries that the two camps will come to blows despite vows by each to remain peaceful. Already at least seven people, including an American, have been killed in clashes the past week, mainly in Nile Delta cities and the coastal city of Alexandria. The demonstrations on Sunday, the anniversary of Morsi's inauguration as Egypt's first freely elected leader, are the culmination of growing polarization since he took office.In one camp are the president and his Islamist allies, including the Muslim Brotherhood and more hard-line groups. They have vowed to defend Morsi, saying street demonstrations cannot be allowed to remove a freely elected leader. The other is an array of secular and liberal Egyptians as well as moderate Muslims and Christians — and what the opposition says is a broad sector of the general public that has turned against the Islamists. They say the Islamists have overstepped their election mandate, accusing them of trying to monopolize power and woefully mismanaging the country. The opposition believes that with sheer numbers in the street, it can pressure Morsi to step down — perhaps with the added weight of the powerful military if it signals the president should go. "Today, the people will triumph over fascism," prominent pro-democracy campaigner and bestselling novelist Alaa al-Aswany wrote on his Twitter account. Underlining the potential for deadly violence, a flurry of police reports on Sunday spoke of the seizure of firearms, explosives and even artillery shells in various locations of the country, including Alexandria and the outskirts of Cairo. In an interview published Sunday in The Guardian, Morsi — who has three years left in his term — said he had no plans to meet the protesters' demand for an early presidential election. "If we changed someone in office who (was elected) according to constitutional legitimacy — well, there will (be) people or opponents opposing the new president too, and a week or a month later, they will ask him to step down," Morsi told the British daily. "There is no room for any talk against this constitutional legitimacy," he said. As the crowds swelled in Tahrir, traffic in the capital's normally clogged streets was light at midday as many residents chose to stay home for fear of violence or a wave of crime similar to the one that swept Egypt during the 18-day, anti-Mubarak uprising. Banks were closing early and most government departments were either closed for the day or were thinly staffed. Most schools and colleges are already closed for the summer holidays. Thousands of Morsi's supporters have staged a sit-in since Friday in front of the Rabia al-Adawiya Mosque near the Ittihadiya presidential palace. In the evening, anti-Morsi crowds plan to march on the palace, and Morsi supporters have vowed to defend it if it is attacked. The opposition protests emerge from a petition campaign by a youth activist group known as Tamarod, Arabic for "rebel." For several months, the group has been collecting signatures on a call for Morsi to step down. On Saturday the group announced it had more than 22 million signatures — proof, it claims, that a broad sector of the public no longer wants Morsi in office. It was not possible to verify the claim. Morsi's supporters have questioned the authenticity and validity of the signatures, but have produced no evidence of fraud. Morsi, who has three years left in his presidential term, claims that Mubarak loyalists are behind the planned protests. His supporters say Tamarod is a cover for thugs loyal to Mubarak. The 22 million signatures, while they have no legal weight, deal a symbolic blow to Morsi at a time when he is widely seen by Egyptians to have failed to tackle the country's most pressing problems, from surging crime rates and high unemployment to fuel shortages and power outages. If verified, the number of people who signed the petition calling on Morsi to step down would be nearly twice the number who voted for him a year ago in a run-off that he won with around 52 percent of the vote. Tamarod organizers said they discarded about 100,000 signed forms because they were duplicates. Adding to his troubles, eight lawmakers from the country's interim legislature announced their resignation Saturday to protest Morsi's policies. The 270-seat chamber was elected early last year by less than 10 percent of Egypt's eligible voters, and is dominated by Islamists. A legal adviser to Morsi also announced his resignation late Saturday in protest of what he said was Morsi's insult of judges in his latest speech on Wednesday. With a sense of doom hanging over the country, Defense Minister Gen. Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi last week gave the president and his opponents a week to reach a compromise and warned that the military would intervene to prevent the nation from entering a "dark tunnel." The weeklong ultimatum expires on Sunday. Army troops backed by armored vehicles were deployed Sunday in some of Cairo's suburbs, with soldiers, some in combat gear, stood at traffic lights and major intersections. Morsi had called for national reconciliation talks in a Wednesday speech but offered no specifics. Opposition leaders dismissed the call as cosmetics. Asked by The Guardian whether he was confident that the army would not intervene if the country becomes ungovernable, Morsi replied, "Very." The Egyptian leader, however, said he did not know in advance of el-Sissi's comments last week.

Peshawar blast death toll reaches 17

At least 17 people including a child were killed and 32 others sustained injuries in a powerful blast near Badaber police station, Geo News reported. Police said militants targeted security forces convoy in the attack. The dead and injured have been rushed to Lady Reading Hospital. Condition of six injured is said to be critical. Police and Law Enforcement Agencies (LEAs) have cordoned off the area. Deputy Commissioner Peshawar Javed Marwat has confirmed that 15 people have been killed and 30 wounded in the attack. Hospital sources said 16 bodies and 32 injured were present in the hospital. Bomb Disposal Squad (BDS) said that at least 40 kg explosive material was used in the attack. Ten nearby shops and vehicles were badly damaged. Security forces have launched search operation in the area, Marwat added. AFP adds: "The car bomb was parked in a market packed with the general public. When the FC convoy comprising of three vehicles passed by, the bomb exploded and hit a vehicle in the convoy," police official Shafiullah Khan told AFP. "But many civilians were killed and wounded in the attack because there was a big rush in the market at the time," he added. "So far, we have reports that two Frontier Corps soldiers have been injured. We don't know about any other losses," a military official told AFP on condition of anonymity.

Obamas tour Robben Island

http://www.timeslive.co.za/

President Barack Obama is paying tribute to the man who inspired his political activism by taking his family on a tour of the island prison where anti-apartheid leader Nelson Mandela spent 18 years confined to a tiny cell.Obama's visit to Robben Island comes as Mandela is hospitalised for a third week in critical condition. Obama was near Mandela's Pretoria hospital Saturday, but did not see him due to the family's wishes and instead met privately with Mandela's relatives. His schedule Sunday begins with a flight to Cape Town, near Africa's southernmost tip and then a helicopter ride to the museum on Robben Island. Obama visited when he was a senator but this time is bringing his family. He said he's eager to teach them about Mandela's role in overcoming white racist rule, first as an activist and later as a president who forged a unity government with his former captors. He told reporters Saturday he wants to "help them to understand not only how those lessons apply to their own lives but also to their responsibilities in the future as citizens of the world, that's a great privilege and a great honour." Obama, who has spoken movingly about Mandela throughout his trip to Africa, praised the former South African president's "moral courage" during remarks from the grand Union Buildings where Mandela was inaugurated as his nation's first black president. "We as leaders occupy these spaces temporarily and we don't get so deluded that we think the fate of our country doesn't depend on how long we stay in office," Obama said during a news conference with South African President Jacob Zuma. Obama's ascent to the White House has drawn inevitable comparisons to Mandela. Both are their nations' first black presidents, symbols of racial barrier breaking and winners of the Nobel Peace Prize. And Obama attended his first political rally while a 19-year-old college student protesting apartheid. Zuma said Obama and Mandela "both carry the dreams of millions of people in Africa and in the diaspora who were previously oppressed." Mandela's legacy also will be a prominent theme throughout Obama's speech later Sunday at the University of Cape Town, said White House deputy national security adviser Ben Rhodes. The president will emphasis "the ability for societies to change," Rhodes said, along with the need for democratic development and empowering young people. Rhodes said Mandela's vision was always going to feature prominently in the speech given that the address will follow Obama's visit to Robben Island, the prison where Mandela was confined for 18 years. But the former South African leader's deteriorating health "certainly puts a finer point on just how much we can't take for granted what Nelson Mandela did." Obama is also expected to emphasise how Mandela's democratic vision is hardly complete. While there has been progress here that "nobody could have possibly imagined," Rhodes said, millions of people on the continent still live in poverty and governments still struggle with corruption. Harkening back to a prominent theme from his speech in Ghana in 2009, Obama will emphasise that Africans must take much of the responsibility for finishing the work started by Mandela and his contemporaries. "The progress that Africa has made opens new doors, but frankly, it's up to the leaders in Africa and particularly young people to make sure that they're walking through those doors of opportunity," Rhodes said. Obama will speak at the University of Cape Town nearly 50 years after Robert F. Kennedy delivered his famous "Ripple of Hope" speech from the school. Kennedy spoke in Cape Town two years after Mandela was sentenced to life in prison.

Kurdish protester's killing fuels anti-government march in Istanbul

Thousands of protesters have gathered in Istanbul in an anti-government rally to denounce government use of force against the demonstrators and to show solidarity with the Kurds after a Kurdish protester was killed in southeastern Turkey on Friday. Saturday’s Taksim Square protest was dispersed after a couple of hours following a police warning, as law enforcement used shields to push the crowd away from the square. Water cannon trucks were also present but no water was fired. "Murderer police, get out of Kurdistan!" some protesters chanted as they approached the cordoned area. "This is only the beginning, the struggle continues. The murderer state will pay!" Around 1,000 people have remained after the warning and were pursued by police on to the side streets where ten people were detained according to the Hürriyet Daily. The June 29 protest had been planned as part of larger unrelated anti-government demonstrations but then turned out to voice solidarity with the Kurdish community following an incident on Friday when government forces killed an 18-year-old Kurd, Medeni Yildirim, and wounded at least 10 protesters as they fired on a group of some 250 people that was protesting the construction of a gendarmerie in the Lice district of Diyarbakir province.

The crowd around Taksim Square shouted in both Turkish and Kurdish, "Long live the brotherhood of the people!" Earlier on Saturday, hundreds gathered to pay respect at the funeral of Yildirim. Chanting anti-government slogans the crowd questioned the peace process. The killing follows March’s ceasefire declaration by Kurdish rebel leader Abdullah Ocalan. Prime Minister Erdogan on Friday tried to assure the public that the anti-government protests would not harm the peace process. "The peace process was not affected ... and our brotherhood grew stronger thanks to our people's common sense," he said. In response to the killing two state and two gendarmerie inspectors have been assigned to investigate Friday’s clashes in Diyarbakir. In a statement, the ministry also said that prior to the demonstration at the construction site, activists set fire to tents and a container. The crowd also allegedly used stones and sticks against the law enforcement. "After that, the security forces at the gendarmerie post warned the group and asked them to disperse. However, the group continued its attack despite all warnings. Tear gas was used and [officers] fired into the air after they entered the facility through the wire fences," the statement said. The ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) denounced the incident saying that the new facility is being constructed to replace the old one. Meanwhile, Turkey's main pro-Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) called for marches around the country on Sunday. The tensions in Turkey’s Kurdish region also coincides with mass anti-government protests across the nation in which four people died and thousands more were wounded.

Thousands gather in streets on 30 June, FJP offices torched

http://www.egyptindependent.com/

Thousands of protesters gathered across Egypt’s squares on Sunday in solidarity to opposition groups' call for protests to mark one year since President Mohamed Morsy's inauguration and to demand early presidential elections. A number of offices of the Freedom and Justice Party (FJP), the political arm of the Muslim Brotherhood, were torched early Sunday by protesters indignant towards the ruling regime. This continues a cycle of violence over the past weeks between the president's Islamist supporters and liberal opponents as both camps geared up for the 30 June protests. Protester security groups were stationed around the Defense Ministry in Abbasseya, where they erected barbed wire fences near al-Khalifa al-Maamoun Street. In Alexandria, tens of protesters stormed the FJP's bureau in the district of Hadara and tossed its contents outside. A number of citizens managed to force the protesters out of the office. The FJP's media secretary in the province, Atef Abul Eid, said in a statement that the attack only resulted in the burning of the party's banner. He accused the Tamarod campaign and the National Salvation Front, both opposition groups, of "using thugs" to attack Muslim Brotherhood headquarters. In Beni Suef, in Upper Egypt, demonstrators set fire to the party's office in Abasiri and Mermaha. That followed violent attacks using bird shot between Brotherhood members and opponents. Clashes at Abasiri left 35 injured on Saturday. In Gharbiya, thousands of the president's opponents at al-Shoan Square in Mahalla hoisted banners demanding the ouster of the president and the Brotherhood. In Damietta, three opposition demonstrators were injured at al-Saa Square following clashes with unknown individuals who fired their guns in the air and stabbed several protesters with bladed weapons. The attackers attempted to set fire to protesters’ tents but were thwarted by demonstrators who caught one of the assailants and beat him.

Peshawar attack: Bomb kills 14

A powerful blast has killed at least 14 people in the north-western city of Peshawar in Pakistan, officials say. The bomb attack was aimed at a convoy of security forces, they said. At least 25 people were wounded, and vehicles and shops damaged. Peshawar is on the edge of Pakistan's semi-autonomous tribal region - the main militant haven from which attacks are often launched. It has been hit by dozens of bombings and killings over recent years. Last Monday, a senior police and his driver were shot dead in the city. No-one has claimed responsibility for that attack or Sunday's bombing, but suspicion will probably fall on the Taliban, which has been waging a bloody insurgency against the government. The attack comes during a two-day visit to Pakistan by the British Prime Minister David Cameron. Although the blast apparently targeted security forces, many of the dead and injured appeared to be civilians, reports AP news agency.

3 children among 11 killed in explosion near Peshawar

The Express Tribune News

Eleven people – including three children – were killed while 18 others sustained injuries in an explosion in the Badaber area near Peshawar, Express News reported on Sunday. According to the initial details, the blast targeted an FC convoy. The injured were taken to the Lady Reading hospital and Combined Military Hospital. The injured include security officers, women and children. The explosion was followed by an exchange of fire between FC officers and armed assailants. Police have cordoned off the area and started a search operation. The exact nature of the blast is not known as yet.

Pakistan: Govt approves hike in POL prices

Government on Saturday approved the price increase in petroleum products as advised by Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA). The summary dispatched to the finance ministry was approved on Saturday, elevating the price of petrol by Rs 2.66 to Rs 102.42 per liter, while the price of diesel increased by Rs 3.66 to reach Rs 108.36 per liter. The price of light diesel has been raised by Rs 3.04 per liter, while price of kerosene oil has been increased by Rs 2.50 to Rs 96.68 per liter. OGRA will issue the notification of price increases today (Sunday). The new prices would be implemented from July 1, 2013. - See more at: http://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/2013/06/30/news/national/govt-approves-hike-in-pol-prices/#sthash.hVZHj3tJ.dpuf

PPP had understanding with PML-N that CJ would go on leave after restoration

Leader of the Opposition in National Assembly Khursheed Shah has revealed that there was an understanding with the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) that the chief justice would go on leave if he was restored. Speaking to reporters after meeting Finance Minister Ishaq Dar here on Friday, Khursheed Shah said that the PPP had no objection to judges’ restoration. He said that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif should not have formed a committee on Swiss cases. “The matter is before the court. We will face it there. The judiciary should deliver justice indiscriminately.” “It seems that the chief justice is waiting for his retirement as there is no progress in Bhutto murder case.” Muhammad Mian Soomro, if made the NAB chief, could be controversial, he opined. To a question, he said that trying Pervez Musharraf for Nov 3 emergency instead of October 12 martial law was like pardoning someone on murder and giving punishment for baton charge.

Pakistan: The missing PM

ANYONE seen him around? Sixty-plus, portly, formerly bald? Won an unexpectedly solid mandate a few weeks ago? Sharif? Nawaz? Where is he? The prime minister has pulled a disappearing act. And left behind is a stuttering, directionless government that, like many before it, seems to think talk is action. It began with the budget. Forget sand, this was a line drawn in water — the government believing it could invent whatever numbers it wanted because the IMF wouldn’t push very hard in the end. And as if to reinforce the belief that the IMF wouldn’t push very hard in the end, the Taliban got their office in Doha and the boys here broke out the halal champagne to celebrate their triumph. Five, ten, fifteen billion to prop up an ailing Pakistani economy in return for bringing the Afghan Taliban to the negotiating table? Surely, yes. So Dar gave us the ridiculous exercise of a budget of made-up numbers — and it took just 36 hours for the first fiction to manifest itself. Good idea/bad idea, smart move, dumb move, once Dar decided against giving federal employees an increment, he needed to stand his ground. That, after all, was the only way to demonstrate the government is serious about the business of putting its fiscal house in order. But to cave so early on a measure so small in the larger scheme of things — the sharks circling instantly knew what it meant: there is no will for reform. And if the will is lacking, so is the vision: Dar opted to spur growth by pumping money into the usual project-oriented development budget instead of getting the state out of the state of over-regulation it has found itself in. Budget, fail. And through it all, Sharif was missing. (When your multi-million-dollar watch is a bigger talking point than anything you’ve said during your first budget cycle, you know something’s not right, and probably very wrong.) India was supposed to be the big foreign-policy breakthrough Sharif would work on — and work on soon. And that meant dealing with the boys too. The Indians have long wanted two gestures to help them move on from Mumbai: wrap up the trial in the Pindi ATC of those implicated in the Mumbai attacks, and muzzle Hafiz Saeed and ilk a bit. Sharif bought into that idea and suggested speeding up the trial. Sorry, that currently isn’t possible, the boys demurred. And that was that. On the US, the Sharif camp is selling the line that the PM is taking personal interest in sustaining the relationship. Swell idea. But let’s see how that’s working out. SRAP Dobbins visits Pakistan and he’s told he’ll only be seeing Sartaj. Then Sharif decides to join the meeting — something the N-League is bandying as a sign of a hands-on PM. In the world of diplomacy, though, it’s just a sign of no coordination and little preparation. But the real kicker is what happened next: Gen K also decided to join. And it was the government that had to relay to the Americans the second addition to a meeting the government had earlier insisted it wanted to keep one-on-one. Egg, face. Real embarrassment, though, had already been delivered. In the wake of Doha, the Foreign Office put out a smug, self-congratulatory statement that made the eyes water. Why was Sharif’s Foreign Office claiming credit for a long-running process that he couldn’t possibly have had anything to do with all these years while sitting in the opposition? Why not just ask the boys to use the ISPR to put out their smug, self-congratulatory message? So much for the PM-as-FM-and-DefMin idea getting off to a good start. Epitomising Sharif not putting a foot wrong between the election and government-formation and not putting a foot right since government-formation is Balochistan. The de facto PM Nisar has been busy snarling and growling about all manner of security and intelligence failures in the province. But where’s the action? Why not sack the IGFC Balochistan or the ISI sector in-charge, the principal operational drivers of security policy in the province? On and on, and on, the list goes. Are we talking to the TTP or preparing to fight them? Is the power sector being fixed at the cost of creating a new class of super rich? How will the country’s drift towards international isolation be slowed, let alone reversed? The one question that Sharif has attempted a half-hearted answer to is Musharraf. But he had little choice: the budget session was ending and the Supreme Court had asked the government what it intends to do with Musharraf. Sharif had to speak. So what has happened to Sharif? When on the rare occasion he has been seen and on the even rarer occasion he has been heard, he looks like he has the weight of the world on his shoulders. Never a great orator or particularly animated to begin with, Sharif appears listless and enervated. His own party is worried — and even more worried that they have no real answers to why he’s disappeared on them. Could this be the beginning of a replay of May 2008 to Oct 2011, when the PML-N slept through the first three years of the last assemblies before Khan jolted Sharif into action?Maybe, maybe not. But it’s another reason to want Khan back to his nagging and taunting best — and soon. Khan appears to be only man on earth who can goad Sharif and the PML-N into action.

Bahrain: High School Student Sentenced to One Year Imprisonment for a Tweet

http://abna.ir/

On 25 June 2013, the lower criminal court headed by a member of the ruling family, Shaikh Rashid Bin Ahmed Al-Khalifa, sentenced child Ali Faisal Alshofa (17 years old), a high school student, to 1 year in prison for insulting the king, Hamad Al-Khalifa, on Twitter. Ali Al Shofa was arrested in a house raid at dawn on 12 March 2013. He was kept in detention for two months pending investigation, until he was released on bail of BHD 100 on 8 May 2013 while still on trial. Ali was accused of posting an insulting tweeting using the account @alkawarahnews, which he denied relation with, and his lawyer Merfat Janahi submitted evidence that the account is still running by other persons. The BCHR again points to the blatant absence of any form of independent or fair judiciary system according to international standards; as the judge presiding in the case stems from the same family as the king, the subject of the lawsuit. Last month, on 15 May 2013, the court sentenced five other twitter users to one year imprisonment each, also on the charge of insulting the king on twitter. (Details on http://bahrainrights.org/en/node/6122). In total, more than 106 months of imprisonment were collectively delivered since June 2012 against twelve online users for charges related to freedom of expression on social network websites. Said Yousif AlMuhafdha, Head of Documentation and Monitoring at the BCHR and acting Vice President, has a case pending in court for disseminating false news on Twitter. He was acquitted by the court, but the public prosecution appealed the acquittal, and the trial will resume on 1 July 2013. Earlier this month, the BCHR reported the abduction and incommunicado detention of online user Jaffar Al-Demstani on 20 June 2013 for tweeting about the torture of his father, Ebrahim Al-Demstani. (Read more on http://bahrainrights.org/en/node/6188). The ongoing crackdown on online users and the use of the judicial system to limit their freedom of speech is in direct violation with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article 19: “Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.” Based on the above information, the Bahrain Center for Human Rights demands that the Government of Bahrain: Immediately release all persons sentenced to prison for their online activities, as well as all other political detainees who are being held for practicing their fundamental rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly, which are guaranteed by international law. Guarantee the basis of free trials and independence of the judicial system according to international standards. Drop all charges related to freedom of expression in cases that are currently ongoing in court. Withdraw all national and local laws that would restrict freedom of opinion and expression, or prevent the transmission of information.