Islambad's Sikkandar Drama: ''Facing the music''

Federal Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan has said that Sikandar was part of a large network and not a lone gunman taking Islamabad hostage on August 15. He said that the investigation into the incident has revealed Sikandar’s links reaching as far as Abu Dhabi and some suspects have also been arrested from Hafizabad and Azad Kashmir. There were, according to him, some big names involved who could not be revealed because of security reasons. The opposition parties in parliament have been critical of the performance of the security agencies that had made a mockery of the country by not taking out a lone gunman and allowing him to paralyze the capital for five and a half hours. Fingers are being pointed at the professional abilities of Chaudhry Nisar to head the interior ministry, responding to which the minister has offered the formation of a multiparty parliamentary national security committee to oversee his ministry’s performance. He has even asked the opposition parties to suggest the names of honest and professional police officials who should be appointed on sensitive jobs. The crux of this initial investigation however has been the oft-repeated involvement of the ubiquitous foreign hand. Governments in Pakistan have been using the foreign hand for as long as memory serves as a fig leaf to hide their failings. Earlier it was Rehman Malik taking refuge in the mystery of international involvement to explain Pakistan’s dire security situation, now it is Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan adopting the same ‘explanation’. Having become a cliché, this resort to blaming everything that happens on the ‘invisible’ foreign hand does little to console the nation. The Islamabad incident was a sharp reminder of our institutional failure, not so much for their inability to coordinate with each other but for the professional failure they exhibited by not identifying the level of the threat and the response needed to thwart it. Now, instead of accepting the failure, operational, functional and tactical, the minister is passing the blame onto unnamed others. The theory of the ‘other (unknown) factor’ conspiring to destabilize Pakistan has more than passed its sell-by date. The reality is that it was a sheer failure of the police and other security agencies assigned the job to maintain law and order in Islamabad. The same has been revealed by the initial report of the interior ministry on the Islamabad incident. Therefore facing the music is the best option and far more graceful too. No matter how the interior minister tries to justify his and the law enforcement agencies’ role in the Islamabad incident, the fact is that the duration of that drama should not have been dragged out to over five hours. Senator Raza Rabbani has rightly inquired about the officer heading the operation. There should be someone owning the show? Or, worse, there was no one, making it easier for Zamurad to bring the curtain down on the suspense.

President Zardari calls for closer economic ties with Thailand

Daily Times

President Asif Ali Zardari on Wednesday stressed the need for translating the cordial relationship between Pakistan and Thailand into a substantive partnership in areas of trade, defence, education, science and technology and tourism. In a meeting with Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra at the presidency, Zardari said that Pakistan and Thailand had been longstanding friends and allies, as ties and cultural connection between the two societies goes back to more than two millennia to the Gandhara period.

President’s spokesperson Senator Farhatullah Babar said the two leaders discussed a wide range of bilateral, regional and international issues. The president said Pakistan was proud of preserving and promoting the rich Buddhist heritage. “Our common cultural heritage, particularly the Gandhara civilization, provides huge opportunities for promoting tourism between the two countries,” he said. The president also suggested organising a Gandhara exhibition in Thailand, which he said would help further promote cultural and tourism ties between the two countries. He said that Pakistan was keen to comprehensively upgrade its relationship with Thailand as a crucial component of the “Vision East Asia”. The spokesperson said the president also stressed the need for deepening and broadening government-to-government, business-to-business, parliament-to-parliament and people-to-people relations, which the president said was vital to build robust economic and trade relations between the two countries. The president expressed confidence that the agreements signed between the two sides on the establishment of the Joint Trade Committee and the Joint Business Council would help expand bilateral trade ties and open new vistas of business and trade. He also called for having a free-trade agreement between the two countries, which he said should be the centrepiece of a strong economic partnership. The president expressed satisfaction that the two countries had shared perceptions and similar positions on a range of regional and international issues. The president appreciated Thailand’s consistent support to Pakistan in becoming a full dialogue partner with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). The president also appreciated the Thai government’s recent financial support for the rehabilitation of earthquake-affected people in Balochistan as well as flood victims in 2010 and 2011. He recalled his meeting with Thailand’s Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn during her visit to Pakistan in March 2012, and said that the exchange of high-level visits had brought the countries and people of the two countries further closer. The president hoped that the visit of Yingluck Shinawatra, the first democratically elected female prime minister of Thailand, would further boost bilateral relations, particularly trade and investment ties. Zardari also conveyed warm greetings and best wishes for King Bhumibol Adulyadej and Queen Sirikit on the behalf of the people of Pakistan. Yingluck Shinawatra said that Pakistan and Thailand enjoyed deep friendly relations and expressed confidence that the ties would grow further with each passing day. She also offered condolences on behalf of her government and the people over the loss of life and property in recent floods in Pakistan. The Thai prime minister felicitated the president for overseeing the smooth and successful holding of the general election and the presidential election in the country, and said that Thailand believed in the value of democracy and respected the will of the people.

Missing Baloch Journalist Murdered in Karachi

The Baloch Hal

Police recovered bodies of two Baloch men from the Surjani Town area in Karachi on Wednesday, DawnNews reported. The area police said 35-year-old Haji Razzak and 40-year-old Pathan were strangled and their bodies were found near Hamad Nawaz Farm on Hub Road within the remit of the Northern Bypass neighbouring Surjani Town police station. The victims were identified with the help of slips found from their bodies, which had their names written on it. Sources said the deceased persons hailed from the Balochistan province and their names were included in the missing persons’ list. Moreover, Haji Razak, son of Rasool Baksh, was the sub-editor of a Mastung-based publication from the province of Balochistan. He was the resident of Karachi’s Lyari area and was said to be missing since March 24, 2013. Earlier, two missing Baloch youngsters allegedly picked up by personnel of some security agency in Turbat were found dead in Surjani Town. It is pertinent to mention that in the past six months, a total of 16 bodies have been recovered from the Surjani Town area, all hailing from Balochistan. After cities of Balochistan, it is believed that Karachi is fast becoming a dumping ground for bodies of missing Baloch men.

Pakistan: Ahmadi man and a neighbour killed in a hail of bullets

Ahmadiyya Times

At least eight people were shot dead in separate incidents of violence across the city, while four dead bodies were found here on Wednesday. In one incident, a man belonging to the Ahmadiyya community along with his neighbour was shot dead in Mujahid Colony within the jurisdiction of Orangi Town police station. Police officials said the deceased, Zahoor Ahmed Kiyani, 46, an officer in Anti Narcotics Force (ANF), was sitting outside his residence with neighbour Noorul Wahid, when two armed riders targeted Kiyani, killing him on the spot. When Wahid showed resistance and tried to get hold of the culprits, he was also gunned down. Both the bodies were taken to ASH for autopsy, and later handed over to their families. Ahmadiyya community spokesperson Saleemuddin condemned the incident, and demanded law enforcers to arrest the criminals involved. He said that Kiyani had no enmity with anyone, and that he was killed on sectarian basis. Police has registered FIR against unidentified persons, and investigation is underway.

Pashto New Film Munafiq Song 2013....Rahim Shah

Lady Gaga - Applause

PM stance of terrorism is vague: Aitzaz

PPP Senator Aitzaz Ahsan Wednesday said Prime Minister’s address to nation the previous day was unnecessary and untimely. “There was no emergency in the country that called for this address,” he said. Aitzaz said Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had no clear-cut outlook and vision on the issue of terrorism. Referring to Nandipur Power Project he said the cost of the project has been raised in order to benefit some persons, adding government would have explain the increase in the cost of the project. Aitzaz said the bullet train project announced by PM Nawaz Sharif was only a dream and Pakistan’s economy cannot afford such a project. He said Shahbaz Sharif had in his election speech promised to end loadshedding in six months but PM Nawaz in his address to nation had clearly said that crisis of loadshedding would be overcome in five years. “Shahbaz Sharif should start looking for a new name for him as per his claim,” Aitzaz said. He rejected the holding of Local Government elections in Punjab on non-party basis and termed it as a violation of Charted of Democracy.

Malala Yousafzai: Violence will never triumph over human rights, vows brave Malala as she gets the Tipperary International Peace Award

THE Pakistani teenager who survived a Taliban assassination bid has accepted Ireland's most prestigious peace award -- and vowed that violence will never triumph over human rights.

Malala Yousafzai (16), who was shot in the head by the Taliban last October, accepted the Tipperary International Peace Award at a sell-out ceremony attended by almost 400 guests. Malala, who was visibly moved as she accepted the award, is the youngest ever recipient of the 28-year-old prize. "It is a great honour for me to be here in Tipperary . . . thank you for giving me such a prestigious award," she said. But she said she does not want to be known for the rest of her life for defying a Taliban assassination attempt. "I want to be known as the girl who fought for the right to education for every boy and girl." Malala, who is now based in the UK, celebrated her 16th birthday last month.

She said she misses her Swat Valley home in Pakistan but is determined to continue her fight for human rights. She said that education was ultimately the key to defusing conflict in the world's war zones. "Peace is not only the absence of war, it is the absence of fear. They (the Taliban) took us out of a paradise in the beautiful Swat Valley and put us in a hell. But ... education can bring change." Tipperary Peace Convention official Martin Quinn said Malala's courage has been an inspiration for all those fighting for human rights such as education. "You, Malala, are a light in the darkness. Your voice was not silenced by the Taliban. It was amplified," he said. The teen was also thrilled to hear a special ballad written in her honour by the Holy Rosary College choir from Mount Bellew in Galway. Entitled 'The Flower of Pakistan', the song was written by teacher Eamon Quinn. She also received a specially commissioned crystal dove of peace by Wexford glass smith Fred Curtis. Trade Minister Joe Costello said Malala was an inspiration. "I applaud her singular bravery and I am delighted her efforts to champion human rights in the face of intimidation and adversity have been honoured," he said.

Egypt: Mubarak to be released Wednesday night

Former Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak could leave prison as early as Wednesday night, government officials and legal experts said, after a Cairo court ordered the release of the deposed autocrat. By doing so, there would be no legal ground for former ruler’s detention, though he is being retried on charges of complicity in the killing of protesters in 2011. Mubarak’s release was order by an Egyptian court on Wednesday, after the 85-year-old agreed to return or pay the value of gifts he received from state news organizations while in office, a spokesman for Egypt’s Foreign Ministry said. “The prosecution has no legal ground to appeal the decision of his release, as Mubarak paid the money he took, and has no legal ground for his detention,” said Yassir Mohammad Sayyid Ahmad, an attorney representing families of Egyptians killed by Mubarak’s security forces during the 18-day uprising in 2011, in which more than 800 people died. Egypt’s prosecutor said Mubarak would remain on the country’s no-fly list and that his assets would remain frozen. Anyway, Mubarak has no political future, but the release raises the question whether the country is heading to a new military government. No more than two month ago, freely elected president Mohamed Morsi was deposed by Egypt’s military, once commanded by Hosni Mubarak. And there are no doubts the country has entered into one of the bloodiest internal conflicts in its modern history. As The Guardian reports, Egypt's army-backed authorities on Tuesday arrested Mohamed Badie, the Brotherhood's leader and his arrest was part of a wave of detentions among the upper echelons of the organisation. Egyptian state media reported on Wednesday that Murad Ali, a media adviser to the Brotherhood's political party, and Safwat Hegazy, an incendiary preacher, were both arrested while trying to flee the country. The turmoil has alarmed the US and European Union, but Israel and some Gulf states led by Saudi Arabia have pressed the west not to punish Cairo's new rulers.A Cairo criminal court accepted on Wednesday an appeal by former president Hosni Mubarak against a recent detention order he received, setting him free. However, the court said Mubarak will be held for 48 hours to give the prosecution a chance to consider whether it will appeal the decision to release him or not. A judicial source told Ahram Online that the proscution will probably not appeal the release order. A team of judges from the Northern Cairo misdemeanour court arrived earlier on Wednesday to Tora Prison, where Mubarak is detained in hospital, to look into the appeal. Mubarak, who has been on trial since August 2011, has now received release orders in all the cases in which he is investigated, for spending the maximum time in jail for a defendant pending trial. However, all trials are still ongoing. On Wednesday, he was released pending investigations in a corruption case in which he is accused of illegally receiving millions of pounds worth of gifts from state-run publisher Al-Ahram. Mubarak has recently reimbursed money equivalent to the value of the gifts to the state, which raised the possibility of him being released. On Monday, he was released pending trial in one of the corruption charges he faces, drawing him closer to release as the number of charges decreases. Mubarak is currently retried in a case for charges of complicity in the killing of over 800 protesters in the January 2011 uprising, after his appeal on a life sentence was accepted. Former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak could be freed from prison on Thursday, his lawyer told Reuters, after a court ordered his release in a corruption case that was the last remaining legal grounds for his detention. Leaving the Cairo prison where the court convened, Fareed El-Deeb said: "The court decided to release him." Asked when, he said: "Maybe tomorrow". Mubarak, 85, is being retried on charges of ordering the killing of protesters during the 2011 uprising that led to his downfall. However, he has served out the maximum amount of pre-trial detention permitted in that case. Mubarak was sentenced to life in prison last year for failing to prevent the killing of demonstrators. But a court accepted his appeal earlier this year and ordered a retrial. An Egyptian court ordered the release of former President Hosni Mubarak on Wednesday, a judicial and a security source said, meaning he could leave prison later in the day as there is no longer any legal grounds for his detention. Mubarak, 85, is being retried on charges of ordering the killing of protesters during the 2011 uprising that led to his downfall. However, he has already served out the maximum amount of pretrial detention permitted in that case. Mubarak was sentenced to life in prison last year for failing to prevent the killing of demonstrators. But a court accepted his appeal earlier this year and ordered a retrial. Read more: http://voiceofrussia.com/news/2013_08_21/Is-pharaon-to-be-released-New-future-for-Egypt-5821/ Read more: http://voiceofrussia.com/news/2013_08_21/Is-pharaon-to-be-released-New-future-for-Egypt-5821/

بلاول ہاؤس کے ترجمان اعجاز درانی نے مسلم لیگ ن کے حکمرانوں کی جانب سے بجلی کی قیمتوں میں ہفتہ وار اور ماہانہ اضافے کو ملک و قوم کے لیے زہر قاتل قرار دیا ہے

http://mediacellppp.wordpress.com/

بلاول ہاؤس کے ترجمان اعجاز درانی نے مسلم لیگ ن کے حکمرانوں کی جانب سے بجلی کی قیمتوں میں ہفتہ وار اور ماہانہ اضافے کو ملک و قوم کے لیے زہر قاتل قرار دیا ہے۔ ن لیگ کے قائدین اپنے کاروباری مفادات کے لیے پاکستان کو “نیلام گھر” بنانے کی سازشوں میں مصروف عمل ہیں۔ جس کی خاطر انہوں نے پاکستان کو منی بجٹوں کا جمعہ بازار بنادیا ہے۔ شریف برادران نے پہلے اپنے کاروباری مقاصد کے حصول کے لیے بدنام زمانہ سیف الرحمان کو فرنٹ مین بنایا اور اب وہ ایک اور بدنام زمانہ “ٹرپل ایم” (Triple M) کے ذریعے “پاکستان برائے فروخت” کے راستے پر گامزن ہیں۔ اعجاز درانی نے کہا کہ ن لیگ کی حکومت عوام کی توجہ اصل مسائل سے ہٹانے کے لیے بجلی کا بحران پیدا کر کے ملک کو اندھیروں میں غرق کرنے کی سازشوں میں مصروف ہے۔ جس کی حقیقت وزیر اعظم نواز شریف نے خود قوم سے اپنے پہلے خطاب میں واضح کردی جس میں انہوں نے سرکاری ٹی وی پر قوم سے نہیں بلکہ ہیلی کاپٹر میں بیٹھ کر سیلاب زدگان سے خطاب کر کے خود اپنی حقیقت عوام کے سامنے عیاں کردی۔ ترجمان نے کہا کہ تین ماہ کے دوران شریف برادران نے کبھی ڈیرہ غازی خان میں سینکڑوں قیدیوں کو بھگوا کر مگر مچھ کے آنسو بہائے اور کبھی شاہراہ دستور پر کبھی سکندر کو مقدر اور کبھی مقدر کو سکندر بنا کر پاکستان کے حساس اداروں کی تذلیل کی۔ اعجاز درانی نے واضح کیا کہ موجودہ حکومت کے قیام کے بعد در حقیقت تین مرتبہ بجلی نرخوں میں کمر توڑ اضافہ کیا گیا۔ پیپلز پارٹی کی جمہوری حکوت میں گھریلو صارفین کو بجلی کی مد میں 6 روپے فی یونٹ جبکہ نواز حکومت کے فیصلوں کے مطابق اب گھریلو صارفین کو 12 روپے فی یونٹ ادا کرہے ہیں۔ جمہوری حکومت میں تجارتی صارفین 11 روپے فی یونٹ ادا کررہے تھے لیکن اب وہ 20 روپے فی یونٹ ادا کررہے ہیں۔ دوسری جانب صنعتی صارفین پہلے 6 روپے فی یونٹ ادا کررہے تھے لیکن اب وہ 11 روپے فی یونٹ ادا کررہے ہیں۔ اعجاز درانی نے قوم اور بالخصوص تاجر برادری کو پیشگی آگاہ کیا کہ موجودہ حکومت کے عوام دشمن ایجنڈے کی روشنی میں اکتوبر کے مہینےسے گھریلو صارفین کو 14 روپے فی یونٹ، تجارتی صارفین کو 23 روپے فی یونٹ جبکہ صنعتی صارفین کو 14 روپے فی یونٹ ادا کرے پڑیں گے

Video: President Karzai meets PAK-AFGHAN Football team.

What people think vital to China's future

By Fu Shuangqi

High-level publicity officials from across China gathered at an important conference earlier this week in Beijing about publicity and ideological work.

President Xi Jinping delivered an important speech about priorities in this line of work. The CPC cares about what people think. In its revolutionary days, the belief in Communism united its members and forged the party into an effective and courageous force, which won wars and pulled through hard times. It is a very different time now. China is the world's second largest economy and open in almost every aspect of its society. Hollywood blockbusters show in Chinese cinemas and foreign bestsellers line bookshelves Chinese people think differently. Even a commercial film targeting teenage audience, such as "Tiny Times," roused greatly divided feedback. New situations pose challenges for the CPC to consolidate the ideology and affect public opinion. Although the promotion of Marxism and socialism with Chinese characteristics remain the top priority in the publicity work, Xi stressed innovation and new approaches that can truly resonate with the public. In his speech, Xi highlighted one significant task as introducing "a comprehensive and objective view of contemporary China as well as the exterior world." He stressed the importance of explaining the uniqueness of China to the outside world, including its "unique tradition, history and reality," while being open to new ideas and knowledge from across the world. He urged new ways of expression that may connect the country with the rest of the world to ensure "the stories of China are well told and voices of China well spread." The CPC and Chinese government are showing greater flexibility in communication with the public, at home and abroad. In 2011, China for the first time put a 60-second video, with red as its theme color, on the screens at Times Square in New York, featuring Chinese celebrities like basketball star Yao Ming, astronaut Yang Liwei and producer John Woo. In response to the fast growth of social networks, governments and Party organs have opened accounts on popular microblogging websites. According to a report from the Chinese Academy of Governance, more than 170,000 accounts at four leading microblogging sites were opened by governments and officials by the end of last year. According to Prof. Xue Lan, dean of the School of Public Policy and Management, Tsinghua University, notable progress has been made in government-people communication since the outbreak of SARS in 2003. Spokespersons have been appointed and trained and the Party and government departments started to regularly brief media. However, more needs to be done to meet public expectation of transparency and openness. As President Xi said in his speech, publicity work is not only the work of publicity departments but of all Party and government departments and is an important part of governance. In fast changing Chinese society, public communication is essential in handling emergencies and managing crises. It requires finer skills than the CPC's traditional methods in political campaigns. Performance in this line of work will greatly affect the image of the CPC.

India's democracy threatened from within

With 1.2 billion people, India takes pride in being the world's largest democracy. But 66 years after independence from Britain, various elements threaten the unity of the nation. In March 2013, several high-ranking politicians from the ruling Congress Party in the central state of Chhattisgarh were ambushed by a group of Maoist rebels while returning from a campaign event. Despite police protection, 27 politicians were killed and many others seriously injured in the ensuing gunfight. The incident evoked memories of a massacre that had taken place three years earlier in that same state, when Maoists killed more than 70 police officers in a meticulously planned commando operation.

Internal security threatened

India's Prime Minister Manmohan Singh regards the Maoist rebels, who conduct operations in nine states, as the biggest threat to internal security. The insurgents have established strongholds in Chhattisgarh, in the eastern states of Jharkhand and West Bengal and in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh. According to government figures, the Maoists have some 20,000 armed fighters at their disposal as well as around 50,000 followers willing to resort to violence.Non-governmental organizations estimate that more than 10,000 people have been killed in attacks launched by the group over the past 40 years. The rebels claim they have been fighting for justice for the poor and disenfranchised, in particular for the so-called untouchables and the country's indigenous inhabitants. The Maoist militants are especially active in India's economically less-developed regions where a large part of the population seems to sympathize with their cause. New Delhi-based sociologist Yogendra Yadav says he is concerned that people in India feel they are not being taken seriously by politicians. He argues that many decisions taken at the highest level don't make any sense to the common people because they are not related to their everyday lives."They feel that nobody understands their hardship," Yadav said. Despite the appeal of its megacities, more than two-thirds of India's population still lives in the countryside.

Terrorism and separatism

Experts such as Yadav are of the opinion that Indian politics are partly to blame for the frequent attacks and riots. With its 1.2 billion people the South Asian nation is a melting pot of cultures, ethnicities and religions. And most of the large parties use this diversity, especially ahead of elections, to mobilize certain groups. For instance, Shakeel Ahmad, general secretary of the Congress Party, caused a stir in July when he basically blamed Hindu violence against Muslims in riots in Gujarat over a decade ago for the growth in strength of the militant Indian Mujahideen. In 2002, 58 Hindu pilgrims burned to death after their train was attacked by Muslim extremists. The incident triggered a violent backlash that led to the deaths of an estimated 2000 people, most of whom were Muslims. The Indian Mujahideen made their first appearance in 2007 and have since been blamed for launching 10 attacks on touristic and religious sites. The Congress Party reprimanded Ahmad and made clear that it doesn't accept any kind of sympathy towards terrorist groups regardless of whether they are motivated by religious or ethnic differences.Corruption and bureaucracy Corruption and bureaucracy are considered further evils that have rocked the public's trust in Indian democracy. In the 1980's, former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi said that for every rupee spent by the central government on development, only 10 percent actually reaches the poor. Recent corruption scandals such as the ones surrounding the Commonwealth Games in 2010 and scams involving mobile phone operating licenses - the so-called 2G scam - along with illegal coal mining contracts have even involved ministers. "The problem is that corruption has become deeply entrenched in the people's psyche. They believe that they can't achieve anything without having to bribe people," former Home Secretary Madhukar Gupta told DW. The high level of corruption in India led to a large number of people supporting Anna Hazare, a civil rights activist who in 2011 organized mass rallies demanding more transparency from the government.Gupta criticized the slackness of the political system which, in his view, hampers the introduction of badly needed reforms. Furthermore, the expert adds the two major national parties, the ruling Congress Party and the main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), depend on the support of regional coalition partners. Still, Gupta is optimistic: "Today, in Indian politics, everyone looks to maintain his or her position. Even with such a system in place, I still believe good ideas and decisions can be implemented. Calling for reforms According to Yadav, India must create more transparency. The expert calls for reform from within the political system. "In order to introduce alternative policies and change the rules of politics, one has to play the game and win elections." But Gupta has a different suggestion: to improve people's living conditions and thus strengthen the political system. He says what's important is that more people have access to education and technological development, especially in places where there is still no power or running water.

Afghanistan: Villagers Tell of Slaughter by a Soldier in Kandahar

By JACK HEALY

One by one, the Afghan men and boys took the witness stand inside a military courtroom on Tuesday to tell of a night of gunfire, bloodshed and horror a world away. They had been flown here on tourist visas by the American military, the first witnesses to testify at a sentencing hearing for Staff Sgt. Robert Bales, who has pleaded guilty to killing 16 Afghan civilians — most of them women and children — as he stalked through their mud-walled compounds in Kandahar Province in March 2012. It was a striking sight: for the first time, seven men and boys from homes with no electricity or running water, wearing traditional, flowing shalwar kameez, turbans and skullcaps and speaking through interpreters, came face to face with the crew-cut sergeant in dress blues who has admitted to storming his victims’ homes and opening fire as they screamed for mercy. “That bastard stood right in front of me,” said Haji Mohammed Naim, 60, his voice rising as he gestured toward Sergeant Bales. “I wanted to ask him: ‘What did I do? What have I done to you?’ ” Pressed by military prosecutors to delve further into that night, Mr. Naim, who was shot in the attack and lost several family members, began to weep and stood up. “I’m leaving,” he said. “For God’s sake, do not ask me any more questions.” Over the next several days, a six-person military jury will decide whether Sergeant Bales, 39, deserves to spend the rest of his life behind bars for carrying out one of the worst American atrocities in years, or whether he could one day be eligible for parole. By pleading guilty in June, he avoided any possibility of the death penalty. The hearings are expected to offer sharply contrasting portraits of Sergeant Bales, a man who still remains mysterious despite months of hearings and testimony that have illuminated each gunshot, blood spatter and tearful plea in wrenching detail. Prosecutors have painted Sergeant Bales as someone who felt “inadequate as a soldier and a man”: drowning in debt, behind on his home payments, bitterly unhappy with his family and frustrated with a stalled military career. He had been taking steroids in the weeks before the rampage, and the night of the shooting he drank whiskey with other soldiers and snorted Valium before slipping away from his combat post. His lawyers have said he suffered from post-traumatic stress and a brain injury, and had been strained by four deployments in a decade — three to Iraq, and the last to Afghanistan. But even now, there is little to fully explain his mind-set on the night of the killings. When Sergeant Bales pleaded guilty in June, he took responsibility for his crimes. But when questioned about those bloody hours, he said he had no memory of lighting fire to a pile of his victims’ bodies, and struggled to explain why he had done what he did. “I’ve asked that question a million times since then,” he said. “There’s not a good reason in this world for why I did the horrible things I did.” On Tuesday, Lt. Col. Jay Morse, a member of the prosecution team, read jurors a narrative of Sergeant Bales’s life and his crimes. In grisly detail, accompanied by photographs of dead and wounded women and children, it described how Sergeant Bales armed himself and walked out of Camp Belambay after midnight on March 11, 2012. The account — which the defense does not dispute — said the sergeant walked to one village, gunned down several families and returned to the American base when he ran low on ammunition. He woke a fellow soldier, admitted what he had done, and then gathered more ammunition and headed off toward a second village. Sergeant Bales sat impassively through the hearing, sometimes looking away when images of dead children were projected onto the wall. He listened quietly as his victims described houses “full of blood and bodies” and how they had to load their trucks with their wounded brothers, sons, daughters and wives. One of the youngest to testify was Khan Hekmatullah, a skinny 12-year-old who concluded his testimony with an unanswered question: “What did I do wrong against Sergeant Bales that he shot my father?”

Afghan Victims Testify At U.S. Soldier's Sentencing Trial

Afghan victims of a shooting spree by a U.S. soldier have spoken at the start of the sentencing trial for the man behind the attack. Robert Bales has already pleaded guilty to slaying 16 civilians -- many of them women and children -- during raids on two villages in Kandahar Province in March 2012. The military court in the state of Washington is now deciding whether to sentence him to life in prison or with the possibility of parole after 20 years. Mohammad Haji Naeem, a 60-year-old Afghan farmer shot during the rampage, cursed Bales before breaking down and asking prosecutors not to ask him any more questions. Another shooting victim, Rafiulla, talked about the pain of losing his grandmother. Seven Afghans testified to the court at a U.S. military base in Washington on August 20. Four were hurt in the attacks. Three others were relatives of the dead or wounded. Defense attorneys for Bales said on August that they would argue during the sentencing hearing that posttraumatic stress disorder and a brain injury were factors in the killings.

Afghanistan: Unemployment, Domestic Violence Fueling Emigration: MoLSAMD

http://www.tolonews.com/

The Afghan Ministry of Labour, Social Affairs, Martyrs and Disabled (MoLSAMD) said on Tuesday that a lack of employment opportunities and increasing rates of domestic violence are both compelling growing numbers of Afghans to leave the country in search of a better life abroad. And many of the emigrants are resettling in countries illegally. "Domestic violence, social and economic problems have forced many Afghans to emigrate. They have to live in harsh conditions as illegal immigrants, and many of them turn into drug addicts," said Wasel Noor Mohmand, Deputy Minister of MoLSAMD. Mr. Mohmand cited high unemployment amongst young Afghans as one of the key issues driving many to seek opportunities abroad, even without proper documentation or set plans for their future in destination countries. Afghanistan has one of the largest youngest demographics in the world, with 60% of its overall population under the age of 20. According to MoLSAMD officials, the other major cause of the flight of Afghans abroad is the rise in violence against women. Fleeing abuse at home, many Afghan women seek safety and a new life abroad. Last month the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC) reported a rise in violence against women in 2013, saying that it registered over 2,500 cases in the first four months of the year alone. Yet because many of the young Afghan men and women who are migrating to other countries in search of a better life are doing so illegally, they are unable to live well when they reach their destinations. MoLSAMD officials said that many of the Afghan emigrants have to live in harsh conditions, often resulting in homelessness, panhandling and drug addiction. Officials from the Ministry of Emigration and Repatriation (MoER) also expressed their concerns over the sudden increase in emigration, saying that currently one out of four Afghans chooses to emigrate. "Three million Afghan women and children have migrated to 75 countries, and 70 percent of Afghans who live in Pakistan are below 18 years of age," said Abdul Samad Hami, Deputy Minister of MoER. In an effort to reduce the number of emigrants, several non-profit organizations dealing with emigration and the dangers of illegal immigration have started conducting awareness programmes in several provinces across the country. During the 1980s and 1990s, roughly six million Afghans fled the country for Pakistan and Iran. However, estimates put around five million returning to Afghanistan since the fall of the Taliban government.

LoC firing: Pakistan Army captain killed

A Pakistani army officer was killed and a soldier wounded after an exchange of fire across the de facto border with India, the Pakistani military said. According to the military sources, a captain was killed and another soldier was seriously injured when Indian forces opened “unprovoked fire” at Shakma sector near the town of Skardu on Tuesday night at 11:15pm local time. Pakistani troops responded to the firing and exchange of fire continued for several hours after midnight, said the sources. Recent weeks have seen an escalation in tensions between the two South Asian neighbours, with several soldiers killed on both sides of the border, which either side declares to be unilateral violations of a 2003 ceasefire by the other country.

'Friendship' or grudge match? Rare soccer clash unites Afghanistan, Pakistan

A rare soccer game between neighboring arch-rivals Afghanistan and Pakistan on Tuesday may have been dubbed the “Friendship Match” but there was no love lost between the countries both on and off the field. Afghanistan may be ranked only 139th in the world by FIFA with Pakistan even lower on the list at 167th, but the game was still the hottest ticket in Kabul.

Security concerns had prevented Afghanistan's national team from playing a home game for a decade. A sellout crowd of 6,000 watched Afghanistan win 3-0.Riot police flanked the field and a few scuffles broke out before kick-off in the Afghan capital. Security was incredibly tight with armed officers performing full body pat-downs and multiple bag searches as fans entered the packed stadium. Relations between the two countries have traditionally been tense due to the Pakistani military's links to the Taliban. The situation wasn't helped earlier this summer when Afghanistan's Foreign Ministry accused Pakistan of having raised the idea of power-sharing between the Kabul government and the Taliban. Pakistan denied the accusation. The match was held less than half a mile away from Ghazni Stadium, where the Taliban carried out executions, stonings and mutilations while ruling the country from 1996 to 2001. The rival national teams hadn't met on Afghan soil since a 1-0 home victory 37 years ago. Inam Syed, a structural engineer from Kabul, said he hoped the game would improve relations between the neighbors. “We are all at one with Pakistan,” he said. “I think this definitely helps the relationship. This game shows there is some goodwill left. I think this is a good way to keep the nations together. Fazlullah, a 25-year-old student living in Kabul, said the game was a sign of "growing peace, stability and improving relations between the two countries." He added: "It shows that things are getting safer here in Kabul." Dr Mohammad Daud Yaar, Afghanistan's ambassador to the U.K., said that he was pleased with the result but hoped that the game would help to improve the "complex" relationship between the neighbors.“I am old enough to remember Henry Kissinger and his ping-pong diplomacy with China,” he said. “So I’m hopeful that this will work in a similar way." Yousef Kargar, head coach of the Afghan national team, expressed similar sentiments. "I am sure that this game will contribute to better understanding between Afghans and Pakistanis of all ages," he said. "We hope that this game will open the door for the national team to host more games in Kabul so that we do not have to travel abroad to play our 'home games'."

Saudi Arabia Sponsoring Terrorists Who Kill Muslims

By Finian Cunningham

August 19, 2013 "Information Clearing House - As the Muslim holy month of Ramadan came to an end this year, Saudi King Abdullah marked the occasion of Eid al-Fitr with a “generous” donation. The Saudi monarch revealed that the oil-rich kingdom was donating $100 million to the United Nations’ Center for Counter-Terrorism, based in New York. With typical sycophancy, the Saudi state-backed Arab News said that the gift from the “Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques of Islam … underlined the prominent role that he and the kingdom have long played in the challenging campaign, not just against the hidden killers of Al-Qaeda, but also against the distortion of Islam that lure young and impressionable people into the ranks of terror groups”. Among those congratulating the Saudi king was US Secretary of State John Kerry, who said: “His majesty's generous donation, on the occasion of Eid al-Fitr, demonstrates once again the kingdom's commitment to supporting multilateral institutions and strengthening international cooperation on counterterrorism.” It was quite a feat in doublethink and duplicity. Even a mainstream publication like the Business Standard had to admit that there was more than a hint of incongruity. “In announcing the donation, the Saudi ruler has further reaffirmed his nation's position worldwide, belying some of the misperceptions about Saudi Arabia being a backer and funder of terrorism,” it wrote. While King Abdullah was spilling Saudi coffers to ostensibly help fight terrorism, Ramadan was ending with thousands of Muslims having their blood spilled by terrorists funded by Saudi Arabia - terrorists of the state and non-state variety alike. That would explain the generosity of Al Saud. A public relations exercise of enormous magnitude had to be wheeled out to cover up the appalling reality of Saudi-sponsored mayhem and bloodshed, and more, especially because that bloodshed was flowing from Muslims at the behest of the so-called Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques. In Iraq, more than 1,000 people lost their lives in car bombs and gun attacks that targeted mainly Shia districts of the capital, Baghdad. It was the highest monthly death toll since 2007, according to UN figures. It is well-known that the House of Saud has been financing extremist Wahhabi groups affiliated with Al-Qaeda in Iraq over many years - even when these terrorists were killing thousands of soldiers belonging to its American sponsor. This Saudi role was confirmed recently with the release of classified US cables in which former American ambassador, Christopher Hill, acknowledged that Saudi Arabia was a major backer of Al-Qaeda in Iraq. But the Saudi sponsorship of terrorism is, of course, not confined to Iraq. During this Ramadan, there was a noticeable gear change in increased killings in Syria. Car bombs ripped through the capital, Damascus, and several neighboring districts. One of the deadliest bombings was in Jaramana, in which 18 people were killed on 7 August. It was the second such attack in two weeks on the same district. Then there was the sickening slaughter of more than 120, including women and children, in the village of Khan al-Assal on 27 July. Also, on what should have been the joyous occasion of Eid al-Fitr on 8 August, the holy Shia shrine of Sayyideh Zainab, near Damascus, was attacked with mortars injuring more than 20 pilgrims. While Muslims were fasting and praying for Ramadan, the House of Saud and its associates were all the time gorging on the deaths of thousands. During the holy Muslim month, it was revealed that Saudi Arabia bought $50 million worth of weapons from Israel to send to its mercenaries - to kill Muslims in Syria. The historic assassination of Imam Ali by treacherous "Muslims" as he knelt saying his Ramadan prayers resonates disturbingly. All these attacks in Syria were carried out by Takfiri groups affiliated with Al-Qaeda and supported by Saudi Arabia. The escalation in terrorism came after Saudi Arabia took over the lead role in the Western-backed regime-change operation in Syria, after Qatar was sidelined in this duty two months ago. It was reported that Saudi intelligence chief Prince Bandar bin Sultan had earlier used his strong connections with American counterparts in order to oust the smaller Persian Gulf rival from the driving seat. It was also reported that the Saudi spy chief set about his new task as terror paymaster with zeal, holding meetings with both US and Israeli military to plan the stepping up of attacks across Iraq, Syria and Lebanon. The method was to intensify sectarian strife through mass killings. The objective was to sow chaos in order to undermine the central governments of those states. That would not only further the regime change agenda in all three countries, it would, very desirably, serve to isolate the main Shia power, Iran. On 5 August, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the US Army, General Martin Dempsey, met with Israeli minister for military affairs Moshe Ya’alon in Tel Aviv. Top of the agenda were discussions on Iran and how to undermine the so-called “Axis of Evil,” a defamatory accusation leveled by Ya’alon against Iran, Syria and Lebanon. It is very plausible that Saudi Prince Bandar would have been privy to those discussions given his new US-appointed role as the region’s terror paymaster. This is the context for the deadly bombing in Beirut this week. More than 20 people, including women and children, were killed when a massive car bomb hit the Zahiyeh district on Wednesday during evening rush hour. Hundreds more were injured in the mainly Shia area, which is strongly supportive of the Lebanese resistance movement Hezbollah and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Two little-known groups reportedly claimed responsibility: The Ayesha Brigade released a video statement gloating that more such violence was to follow soon; e another outfit calling itself the Special Forces 313 Brigade also claimed responsibility. They are probably just a front to hide the identity of the real authors of the terrorist act. The day before the bombing - the second such attack in that area in four weeks - Hezbollah Secretary General Seyyed Hassan Nasrallah made a defiant televised speech on the seventh anniversary marking the defeat of the US-backed Israeli invasion of Lebanon in 2006. Nasrallah also revealed for the first time that Hezbollah carried out the explosion on August 7 that injured four Israeli soldiers after they had illegally entered south Lebanese territory. Following the Beirut blast, Lebanese President Michel Sleiman voiced the conclusion of many observers when he said that it bore “the fingerprints of Israel.” The precise identity of who carried out the atrocity in Beirut this week may never be known. But we can be sure that this latest terrorist act is just one part of a continuum of chaos and suffering across the entire region. It is integral with state and non-state terrorism, attempting to unleash sectarian bloodletting between Sunni and Shia and between Muslims and Christians. The state terrorism that we see in Egypt where hundreds have been killed this week bears the hallmarks of the state terrorism in Bahrain. This is, in turn, is consistent with the terrorism running amok in Iraq, Syria and Lebanon. We know this because the same protagonists are involved in all cases. The US, Israeli and Saudi-backed murderous regimes in Egypt and Bahrain are but the official incarnations of the US, Israeli and Saudi-backed terrorist mercenaries who are killing innocent people in Iraq, Syria and Lebanon. To this Axis of Evil, we can also add the old colonial states, Britain and France. Each of these terrorist sponsors has its own particular interests, some of which overlap, some of which may at times seem contradictory. But the bottom line that unites all of them is this: the defeat of democracy. If democracy - that is, genuine people power and justice over the huge economic resources of the Middle East -were to prevail, then all the members of the nefarious imperialist, Zionist, Wahhabist Axis of Evil would be finished. That is why all of them are aligned to kill democracy using all means necessary, including mass murder of civilians. And if we were to assign seniority in this axis of evil, it has to be the United States because its capitalist ruling elite has most to lose from democratic freedom, which is something of an irony, given that the phrase “Axis of Evil” was coined by one of its presidents, George W Bush, back in 2003.

Finian Cunningham, originally from Belfast, Ireland, was born in 1963. He is a prominent expert in international affairs. The author and media commentator was expelled from Bahrain in June 2011 for his critical journalism in which he highlighted human rights violations by the Western-backed regime. He is a Master’s graduate in Agricultural Chemistry and worked as a scientific editor for the Royal Society of Chemistry, Cambridge, England, before pursuing a career in journalism. He co-hosts a weekly current affairs programme, Sunday at 3pm GMT on Bandung Radio.

Senate:Rabbani tables adjournment motion on Islamabad drama

Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) leader Raza Rabbani on Tuesday presented adjournment motion in the Senate, seeking answers to 17 questions regarding Jinnah Avenue episode. Rabbani asked; How did the gunman entered high security zone of the federal capital, who was the incharge of the operation, why didn’t Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar return to Islamabad after the incident occurred and what made the Interior Minister believe the gunman was not a terrorist. He asked as to what instruction Chaudhry Nisar gave to the officers who were present at the Jinnah Avenue.

Kayani doubted Taliban killed Benazir, recounts UN investigator

Heraldo Munoz, the lead United Nations (UN) investigator in a probe into former prime minister Benazir Bhutto’s assassination, doubts the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) independently carried out the attack, but does not discount suspicions about involvement of intelligence operatives in her murder and later covering up of evidence. An adaptation from Mr Munoz’s upcoming book, ‘Getting away with the murder — Behind the Investigation of Benazir Bhutto’s Assassination’, published on Foreign Affairs magazine’s website, expresses fears that the murder would remain unsolved because of absence of both capacity and willingness of the government and courts to solve the case. Mr Munoz, currently UN Assistant Secretary General, had headed the UN Commission of Inquiry into the assassination appointed by Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on the government’s request in July 2009. The commission submitted its report to the secretary general in March 2010. The publishing of the article coincided with the indictment of former military ruler retired Gen Pervez Musharraf by an anti-terrorism court in Rawalpindi in the Benazir assassination case. Mr Munoz believes Gen Musharraf may have facilitated the killing by ignoring Ms Bhutto’s security needs after their political deal went sour and does not absolve him of moral and political responsibility. “Suspicions of the ISI’s — or at least of some retired officers or rogue members of the agency — involvement in the assassination were not unfounded,” he observed in the article after narrating his meetings with army chief Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani and then ISI director general Lt Gen Shuja Pasha. The UN investigator has recounted that army chief Kayani had doubts about Pakistani Taliban’s involvement in the murder of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto. Kayani suspected whether the slain chief of TTP, Baitullah Mehsud had organised the assassination, as was claimed by an interior ministry spokesman at a news conference a day after Bhutto’s death on December 27, 2007. Musharraf’s government based its claim on Mehsud’s telephonic conversation intercepted by the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI). Kayani had called the press conference “premature” and that “It should not have been done,” Heraldo Munoz wrote in his book. “One cannot conclude culpability solely on a phone intercept,” the army chief was quoted as saying by Munoz, who headed a UN panel that investigated Benazir Bhutto’s assassination. Referring to hosing down of the crime scene within 24 hours, General Kayani also criticised local policemen in Rawalpindi, calling them “amateur”. “If in 24 hours you don’t completely secure the scene, then you lose the threads to solve a case,” he said. Benazir Bhutto was assassinated in a gun-and-bomb attack outside Rawalpindi’s Liaquat Bagh on December 27, 2007 while Musharraf was president. She was killed after addressing an election campaign rally in the city. “In Bhutto’s case, it would seem that the village assassinated her: Al-Qaeda gave the order; the Pakistani Taliban executed the attack, possibly backed or at least encouraged by elements of the establishment; the Musharraf government facilitated the crime through its negligence; local senior policemen attempted a cover-up; Bhutto’s lead security team failed to properly safeguard her; and most Pakistani political actors would rather turn the page than continue investigating who was behind her assassination,” the UN investigator observed in the concluding paragraphs.

Ban on Pashto films sparks controversy

The recent ban on the screening of five Pashto films in the provincial capital has caused a controversy due to the government’s failure to legislate on matters related to motion pictures in the province.

The producers and promoters of these films claim that they have obtained the necessary screening certificates from the Sindh Board of Film Censor (SBFC). Shama Cinema, Sabrina, Aeena Cinema and Arshad Cinema have been screening the films, including Zama Arman, Bhungi Lalia, Lufar, Shurt and Qurbani, since Eidul Fitr. Though the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa home department issued directives to the Provincial Police Officer (PPO) and Peshawar’s commissioner and deputy commissioner to check the violation of the Motion Picture Ordinance, 1979, the owners of the relevant cinemas continue to screen the said films showing the SBFC certificates. These owners have displayed the said certificates at the entrances of the cinemas, saying they had not been violating the law as in the absence of any censor board in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, they were left with no option but to get certificates from Sindh. Following the passage of the Constitution (Eighteenth Amendment) Act 2010, “production, censorship and exhibition of cinematograph films” have become the provincial subject and each of the four provinces have to make legislation in this respect.Prior to the amendment, the Motion Picture Ordinance, 1979 was applicable to the entire country and the Central Film Censor Board has been functioning under Section 3 of the said ordinance. However, through the said amendment, the Concurrent List of the Constitution was abolished and the subjects mentioned therein including film censor are now the exclusive domain of the province. In Sindh, the Sindh Motion Picture Act was passed in 2011 following which SBFC was set up the same year. Similar, the law was also passed in Punjab. When contacted, Qamar Ali, spokesman for the home department, said until such time when the province enacted its own law, the Motion Picture Ordinance, 1979 was applicable to this province and unless the Central Board gave screening certificate regarding a film, it could not be screened here. He said his department had received complaint from the Central board regarding the screening of the said five films without certificate from that board. Mr Ali questioned how a film could be screened on a certificate received from Sindh as that certificate was only applicable to that particular province and not the entire country. He said the department had issued directives to the concerned officials and now it was up to them to implement the order. The home department claimed that these films were exhibited in blatant violation of provision of Section 4 of Motion Pictures Ordinance 1979, which clearly states that uncensored films could not be exhibited. An official at one of the five cinemas told Dawn that the provincial government had been trying to punish them for its incompetence as it could not enact a law and establish a censor board despite their repeated requests to the culture directorate. “We have been screening the movie as we are having proper certificate from Sindh Board. We have also shown the certificate to some officials who visited the cinema following which they did not insist on stopping the exhibition,” said Noshad Khan, an employee at Arshad Cinema. He said when SBFC had declared their film fit for exhibition, then there was no reason available with the provincial government to ban these films. Legal expert Shahnawaz Khan told Dawn that Article 270 AA Sub-Clause 6 clearly stated that despite the abolishing of the Concurrent List, the laws related to it would continue to remain in force until altered, repealed or amended by the competent authority. He said unless the province enacted its own law, the Motion Picture Ordinance, 1979 would remain applicable to the province. The expert said only the films approved by CFCB could be screened in the province until the local government legislated on motion pictures.

US names Peshawar madrassa as 'terror training center'

The US Treasury on Tuesday set economic sanctions on a Pakistani madrassa (Islamic school) it branded a “terrorist training center” supporting Al Qaeda and the Taliban. The Treasury said the Ganj madrassa in Peshawar was being used as a training and recruiting base by the two militant groups, as well as the Lashkar-e-Taiba blamed for the November 2008 Mumbai attacks that killed 166 people. The head of the madrassa, Fazeel-A-Tul Shaykh Abu Mohammed Ameen Al-Peshawari, known as Shaykh Aminullah, has been a US and UN-designated terrorist since 2009, for his support for Al Qaeda and the Taliban. But it was the first time a madrassa – generally, schools managed under Islamic principles – has been the target of sanctions, which forbid any Americans from having any business interaction with it, and freeze any of its assets that come under US jurisdiction. “Today’s action is the first designation of a madrassa that is being abused by terrorist organisations,” the Treasury said in a statement. “This action does not generally target madrassas, which often play an essential role in improving literacy and providing humanitarian and developmental aid in many areas of the world, including Pakistan.” It said the Ganj school is a place “where students, under the guise of religious studies, have been radicalised to conduct terrorist and insurgent activities.” In addition, the Treasury set sanctions on Umar Siddique Kathio Azmarai, who it said has served as a facilitator and courier in the Al Qaeda organisation since the late 1990s, including providing support for the family of the now-dead Osama bin Laden.

LOL! Veena Malik calls 26th January a 'Black Day' for India!

http://www.indiatvnews.com/

The self-proclaimed hottest actress of Bollywood Veena Malik has surely got herself invited into yet another controversy. This time the actress has proven herself to be dumb enough to not knowing about the basics of the country, where she is working. Veena Malik has been driving to every nook and corner of the Hindi film industry to prove her mettle and one thing that she has no idea of is the 'Republic Day' of the country now where she resides.

During a recent interview she was asked about the significance of 26th January, the actress gave a dumb response confusing India's Republic Day with Mumbai 26/11 attacks. The actress even went to extent of terming 26th January as a black day in the history of humanity. The actress is seen saying, "I think 26th January is the darkest patch or shall I call it a Black day not only for India but for the entire humanity". The nation is laughing their hearts out over her dumb expression where she requests the concerned reporter to explain his question again. The video of her interview has gone viral on Internet; with viewers calling her dumb an actress who should limit herself to just screens and not use her brains.

India in uproar over rupee's fall

By Rama Lakshmi

The Indian rupee is in a free fall, and the nation is aflutter. Almost every day, Indians are waking up to alarming headlines about their currency hitting a “historic low” or a “lifetime low.” Last week, on what was dubbed “Black Friday,” the currency sank to a record level, and Indian media carried pictures of workers in Mumbai’s financial district clutching their heads in dismay. With the country’s stock market tumbling, the rupee fell further Tuesday. It is down about 15 percent against the U.S. dollar since May — from more than 53 rupees to the dollar to more than 63. The currency has become a powerful metaphor for India’s rapidly sliding economy. The rupee has triggered countless jokes and political mudslinging, and, like everything in India, it has generated astrological speculation, too. Some superstitious Indians have blamed the slump on the new symbol for the rupee, unveiled last year. Experts on vastu shastra, an ancient Indian design practice similar to feng shui, say that the symbol debuted on a day inauspicious for the stars and that the horizontal line across the symbol appears to “slit the throat” of the currency. Some economists, meanwhile, blame the rupee’s recent misfortune on plans by the U.S. Federal Reserve to begin scaling back its massive effort to stimulate the U.S. economy, which has tended to keep the dollar weak compared with other currencies. And some blame the Indian government’s mismanagement of the economy. India is grappling with a huge budget deficit, and the country has foreign exchange reserves to pay for only seven months of imports. Economic growth slowed to a dismal 5 percent last year, the lowest in a decade. Prices are spiraling. Foreign investors are no longer lining up; some are even packing up. To stem the decline in the rupee, the government raised short-term interest rates, capped overseas investment by Indian companies and announced a weekly auction of government bonds, worth about $3.6 billion. But the government, which is nearing the end of its term, appears to have woken up only after about two years of what critics have called “policy paralysis.” Even the appointment of a high-profile economist from the University of Chicago, Raghuram Rajan, as the chief of the Reserve Bank of India this month did not help calm the rupee. Powerless so far to rein in the wayward rupee, the government even pleaded with gold-obsessed Indians to stop buying the metal, because it drains foreign exchange reserves. “If I have one wish which the people of India can fulfill, it is ‘Don’t buy gold,’ ” Finance Minister P. Chidambaram told reporters in June. “Every ounce of gold is imported. You pay in rupees. We have to provide dollars.” Five years ago, the rupee’s value was rising as never before, propelled by a soaring economy. What was described in the media here as the “roaring rupee” became a symbol of a nation’s proud march toward its economic ambition of becoming a global powerhouse. The rupee’s fall might be harming the country’s collective psyche, but the greatest impact has been felt at the street level, with the country’s poor and middle class struggling with the inflation in food and fuel prices as imports become more expensive. Shankkar Aiyar, an economic commentator, said the government’s pursuit of policies that are politically popular but fiscally irresponsible has “wrecked the script of the India story and crippled the potential of what was once touted at Davos [the World Economic Forum] as the ‘fastest-growing free market democracy.’ ” In the run-up to national elections, scheduled for next year, the rupee has also become a campaign issue. “When India got independence, the rupee was at par with the dollar, one for one,” opposition politician Narendra Modi said at a public meeting last week, launching an attack on the government. “Sixty-seven years down the line, where is the rupee now? . . . Today, India’s finance minister’s age is equal to one dollar.” Rajdeep Sardesai, the host of a prime-time news debate on CNN-IBN, was equally gloomy Friday. “It is increasingly apparent that the falling rupee now mirrors the state of our republic, graying before its time,” he said.

U.S: Low-Wage Workers Call For National Strike

Retail and fast food workers called out for a nationwide strike today to take place Aug. 29. The workers and their supporters have been staging strikes in Chicago, New York, Kansas City, Detroit and other cities across the country for months demanding a hike in the minimum wage to $15 an hour and the right to unionize. Hundreds of workers and several labor organizations in Chicago recently participated in two days of walkouts and protests earlier this month. Nancy Salgado, a single mother who has worked at a Chicago McDonald’s for the past 10 years said in a press release: “We are united in our belief that every job should pay workers enough to meet basic needs such as food and housing. Our families, communities, and economy all depend on workers earning a living wage.” Organizers say the strikes will hit fast food chains like McDonald’s, Wendy’s and Burger King, as well as retail outlets such as Sears, Macy’s and Dollar Tree Stores. Chicago’s protests at the beginning of the month saw walkouts at some of those locations along with Whole Foods, Sally Beauty Supply, Walgreen's and others. Supporters of the strikes say that large corporations can afford pay increases for rank and file employees when the industry sees $200 billion a year in revenue. "It’s time for these big fast-food and retail companies to pay up. They can afford to pay us more and have a responsibility to ensure the workers who keep their businesses booming don’t live in poverty," said Latrice Arnold, a Wendy’s employee from Detroit. Recent data has suggested low wages from big box retailers and fast food chains hurt American taxpayer’s—regardless of whether or not they’re a low wage worker—because thousands of employees are also on government aid. CNN Money reported in June that one study showed 3,216 Walmart employees, America’s largest private employer, were enrolled in public health care programs in Wisconsin. Additionally, demographics of low wage workers has changed over the years. While the assumption might be fast food chains are staffed with younger people looking for some extra cash, the Economic Policy Institute released a study that showed 8 out of 10 workers making $7.25 an hour are older than 20, and half those work 40 hours a week. Researchers from the EPI told the Washington Post “It is clear that the bulk of minimum wage workers are mid- or full-time adult employees, not teenagers or part-times.”

Afghanistan beat Pakistan 3-0 in 'symbolic' football clash

Afghanistan's footballers have triumphed over Pakistan 3-0 in a friendly match, the first international game played in Kabul in a decade. It was the first game between the two countries in the Afghan capital for 30 years and hopes were high it might also help ease political tensions. The match was billed as an indication of Afghanistan's return to normality after decades of war. It ignited fierce patriotic passions on both sides and was broadcast live. The BBC's Karen Allen in Kabul says the friendly was being seen as a deeply symbolic moment.Afghan and Pakistani political leaders are due to meet for critical peace talks next week. "It shows that after a very difficult period we are returning to normality," Afghanistan Football Federation (AFF) Secretary General Sayed Aghazada told FIFA.com. "Afghan football has improved in terms of organisation and infrastructure, and we now believe that football can play an even bigger role in our country." Pakistan Football Federation Secretary General Ahmad Yar Khan Lodhi said he expected the game would help deepen the relationship between the two countries. Pakistan head coach Zavisa Milosavljev told the BBC that his aim was to get international exposure for youth players and players "who don't play continually". "Pakistan also has problems," he said. "We haven't played a single match in Pakistan." Football was not banned during the Taliban's rule in Afghanistan from 1996 until 2001, but during their time in power they used the old Ghazi stadium in Kabul as a venue for executions, stonings and mutilations. Ranked 139th in the world, Afghanistan had last played at home in 2003 against Turkmenistan. Pakistan's team is ranked 28 places below Afghanistan and has not played in Kabul since 1977. "The main goal of this game is to build good relations between Afghanistan and Pakistan," said Afghan coach Yousuf Kargar, AFP news agency reports.

Pakistan: Student transportation: More than 100 girls’ colleges in Punjab lack buses

More than 100 girls’ colleges in the province, including 11 in Faisalabad division, do not have buses to pick and drop students, The Express Tribune has learnt. Women’s colleges in Faisalabad division that lack buses are: Government Girls College Saifabad, Government Girls College 122-JB on Sargodha Road, Government Girls College Jhumra City, Government Girls College Gulshan Colony, Government Girls College Mureedwala, Government Girls College Mamu Kanjan, Government Girls College Sahianwala, Government Girls College Rajana, Government Girls College Lalian, Government Girls College Bhowana and Government Girls College Jhang City. An Education Department official, speaking on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to speak on the matter, said that the government had decided to provide buses to all girls’ colleges in the Punjab. He said announcements had also been made at these colleges last year. He said, in June 2012 the Higher Education Department was given the task to prepare a report regarding 274 girl colleges and 205 boy colleges of the province providing the number of students enrolled, location of the colleges and the state of public transport. He said the department had recommended 195 buses in total for 116 girl colleges. In February 2013, he said, the government provided buses to 44 colleges in the Punjab. He said students of several colleges, including, the Government Post Graduate College for Women on Kutchery Road in Multan and Government Post Graduate College for Women Satellite Town in Gujranwala, had protested against the government for not being given buses. He said the number of students at these colleges was 6,392 and 5,576, respectively. The department had recommended six and five buses for these colleges, he added. He said none of the 11 girls’ colleges in Faisalabad were on the list. Mahnoor Shah, a student at the Government Girls College in Jhang City, said the college management had annocuned that the school would get a bus in February 2013. She said most students came from villages, where it was difficult to get a bus. She said rickshaws to the city were expensive. She said some of her college fellows had dropped out because of the transport problem. Ghulam Fatima, a student at the Government Girls College Bhowana, said that her daily commute to the college cost Rs200-Rs250. Colleges Director Rana Munawwar Khan told The Express Tribune that an updated list of colleges that did not have buses had been forwarded to the government. He said he hoped these colleges would get at least a bus each soon.

Al-Qaeda's technical hub busted in Lahore

Intelligence agencies have busted Al-Qaeda’s international technical hub in Lahore on Tuesday. Two alleged terrorists linked with the group were also arrested during the raid. As per details, the suspects are allegedly involved in the kidnapping of former premier Yousaf Raza Gilani’s son Ali Haider Gilani. Former Punjab governor Salman Taseer’s son Shahbaz Taseer was also abducted with the communication assistance of the network. The communication centre was being run through sophisticated digital devices and was serving communication needs of the extremists. The group was also engaged in maligning the Pakistan Telecommunication Limited Company (PTCL) and other private mobile phone operators of the country by using their SIM cards. The suspects had been engaged in mobile phone tracing of their victims and were planning to kidnap son of a key political figure, sources said. Bilal Latif, Shahid Jabbar, Umair Nadeem, Tariq and Imran ae also mentioned in their target list. Sources revealed that the suspects belong to Hasan Gull and Daud Shah Group, the sub groups of Al-Qaeda.

New anti-regime demo held in Bahrain

People in Bahrain have held another anti-regime demonstration, calling for an end to dictatorship and authoritarianism in the country. Protesters took to the streets across the tiny Persian Gulf kingdom including Dair, Tubli, Kawarah and Ma'ameer villages. The protests were largely peaceful with demonstrators also demanding equality and justice. In the village of Buri, however, demonstrators set fire to tires and clashed with regime forces who used tear gas canisters to disperse them. Meanwhile, a US-based pro-democracy advocacy group, Freedom House, has slammed Bahrain over the detention of an award-winning photographer, Ahmed al-Fardan. Fardan was detained on August 8 and beaten by security forces to prevent him from covering the recent demonstration in the country, the group wrote on its website. On August 14, protesters held anti-regime demonstrations across the country including the capital, Manama, chanting slogans against the ruling al-Khalifa regime. Clashes erupted in several areas between regime forces and protesters. Reports said that the security forces fired tear gas and birdshot to disperse protesters. The demonstrations came while Prime Minister Sheikh Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa issued a warning saying that regime would “forcefully confront” and punish anti-regime protesters if they went ahead with their planned protests. The uprising in Bahrain began in mid-February 2011. The Al Khalifa regime launched a brutal crackdown on the peaceful protests and called in Saudi-led Arab forces from neighboring states. Meanwhile, Bahrain’s main opposition group, al-Wefaq, says that more than 200 people, including a woman and 19 children, were detained during the regime crackdown on protesters in July.

America Has No Leverage in Egypt

By STEVEN SIMON

EGYPT has entered a dark tunnel, and it is difficult to say when, and in what condition, it will emerge. Many Americans, in the meantime, are outraged that the Obama administration has not exerted its supposed leverage, in the form of military aid, to pressure the Egyptian army to restore a democratic form of government. But it is time for some realism about that leverage. A yearly sum of $1.3 billion may seem persuasive, but this money has always been intended to secure foreign policy outcomes, not domestic political arrangements that the United States favors. (The State Department has announced that it will put “on hold” $250 million in civilian economic aid to Egypt; the annual military aid expenditure will remain untouched.) For $1.3 billion per year, America has ensured peace with Israel, priority access to the Suez Canal and, more recently, counterterrorism cooperation. This worked under the authoritarian regime of Hosni Mubarak and under the Muslim Brotherhood government of Mohamed Morsi, with whom President Obama had an effective enough working relationship to broker a deal to end the latest outbreak of fighting between Israel and Hamas in Gaza. Despite the fact that American military aid to Egypt has always been intended as an inducement to strategic cooperation, successive presidents have been tempted to use it in other ways. But this aid has never succeeded in persuading Egypt’s rulers to govern the way Washington wants. Shortly after he took office in 1993, President Bill Clinton issued a not-so-veiled warning to Mr. Mubarak to reform the electoral process or face a cut in aid. Mr. Mubarak was unresponsive, and as violent resistance against him mounted, the White House backed off. The administration of George W. Bush fared no better. When Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice demanded that Mr. Mubarak liberalize the country’s political system to allow opposition parties greater representation, he responded by arresting the only liberal candidate with any name recognition in Egypt — Ayman Nour — for electoral fraud. (No one should doubt authoritarian rulers’ capacity for irony.) In response, Ms. Rice canceled an impending trip to Egypt, which led to Potemkinesque changes to the country’s election rules. These reforms faded quickly, paving the way, in conjunction with an economic downturn, to the mass protests that eventually resulted in Mr. Mubarak’s fall in February 2011. Just as pressure from Presidents Clinton and Bush didn’t succeed in bringing about domestic change, the alleged leverage supplied by American assistance failed to compel Mr. Morsi to heed Mr. Obama’s repeated warnings to adopt a more inclusive approach to governing a deeply divided Egypt in the past year. As far as Mr. Morsi was concerned, the need for his party to dominate Egyptian politics and escape the charge that he was collaborating with the West trumped not just the $1.3 billion on offer from Washington but also the $4.8 billion the International Monetary Fund was urging him to accept. When in history has a country the size of Egypt, with its proud history and self-conscious greatness, rearranged its domestic politics for the equivalent of just a billion dollars? A decade ago, Turkey began making bold constitutional changes, institutionalizing civilian control over the military and reforming the judiciary, but these steps were taken to meet the membership requirements imposed by the European Union — a status to which Turkey still aspires. Compared with the $1.3 billion America provides Egypt, E.U. membership promised incalculably greater rewards to Turkey. Indeed, if the E.U. had offered Turkey only what Egypt receives from Washington, the Turkish Army might still be running the country. However great its hegemony may have once been in the Middle East, America no longer enjoys a strategic monopsony. Today, there are other buyers of Egyptian cooperation who can outbid the United States. Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia together have pledged $12 billion to Egypt’s junta, and they have done so without the conditions that Congress places on American-appropriated funds. Of course, the White House could still do something symbolic, cutting off aid to assuage America’s moral critics. But presumably Mr. Obama hasn’t done this for two reasons. The first is to avoid making the United States the center of the story. If America cut all aid tomorrow, the Obama administration would be accused by all sides of undermining the country’s security and meddling in its affairs. Egypt’s current political crisis dates back to the 1930s, and it is one that Egyptians need to resolve themselves, without the distraction of American involvement. And since cutting aid is unlikely to work in any case, staking American prestige on such a doubtful outcome would be imprudent. The second is that as violence and repression in Egypt deepen, the White House will ultimately be compelled to respond, even if its options are at best symbolic and, at worst, counterproductive. Proponents of punitive action are correct to argue that the biggest threat America can wield is a cutoff of military aid. But this must be held in reserve for when things inevitably get worse. In the interim, canceling a joint military exercise with Egypt was the tactically sensible thing to do. Having fired this warning shot, the administration still has at least one round of ammunition remaining. Egypt’s nightmare will not disappear overnight; Washington needs to keep dry what little powder it has left.

Russian Sprinters Deny Podium Kiss was an Act of Protest

Russian sprinters Ksenia Ryzhova and Yulia Guschina said Tuesday they are outraged at the reaction to their now-infamous podium kiss at the world athletics championships and denied it was an act of protest against Russia's controversial anti-gay law. “Yesterday I got calls from probably 20 different media outlets and instead of congratulating us for the gold medal, they decided to insult me and Julia and the entire federation,” Ryzhova said at a Moscow press conference.

Ryzhova and Guschina are members of Russia’s gold medal-winning 4x400m relay team. A photograph of the podium smooch circulated widely in international media, with many outlets suggesting the kiss was a premediated act of defiance and a possible test of the law. Guschina slammed the image as the photographer's “sick fantasy.” Ryzhova also emphasized to reporters that she and Guschina are both married and have “no personal relationship.” “We’ve trained for eight years in the same group and there’s a really good friendship between us,” she said. The contentious law bans the promotion of homosexuality to minors, though there remains a great deal of uncertainty over how it will be enforced. Amid international calls for a boycott of next February's Sochi 2014 Olympics, the controversy hovered lightly over the world championships, with Russian pole vault great and reigning gold medalist Yelena Isinbayeva vehemently defending the law on Thursday only to say later her comments "may have been misunderstood." Swedish high jumper Emma Green Tregaro garnered attention that day when she painted her fingernails rainbow colors in support of gay rights during qualification. She competed in the final two days later with red paint after Swedish athletics officials told her doing so again might be in violation of IAAF conduct. The championships concluded on Sunday.

U.S: 'Raising minimum wage will not fuel inflation'

New York lawmakers adopted a draft law aimed at increasing the minimum wage up to $ 9 an hour earlier this year. But experts estimate family of four needs at least $11 to live above the poverty line. In Congress, 92% of Democrats and 62% of Republicans support the wage increase. However the increase of minimum payment would also have some very negative side effects. A higher minimum wage would mean higher prices at retail stores and restaurants. It would also prompt corporations to continue replacing American workers with foreign employees or with technology. The VoR spoke with Bill Schmick - an investment adviser representative with

Berkshire Money Management - an asset management and advisory company in Massachusetts.

Is it true that raising the minimum legal wage would somehow fuel inflation? Is there such a risk?

No, I don’t really think that raising the minimum wage will fuel inflation. Inflation right now in the US is low, it is so low in fact that the Federal Reserve Bank continues to monitor it and worries somewhat that it would decline further. So, no. And raising the minimum wage wouldn’t affect that many Americans. I would estimate 3-5% of Americans are receiving the minimum wage now. So, I don’t think that raising it would have any problem with inflation. As far as I know many argue higher minimum wage would undercut America’s competitiveness and kill jobs. Others object that arguing that the current minimum wage is already undercut America’s competitiveness by reducing the quality of the country’s labor force.

So, where do you stand in this dispute?

Let’s face it, minimum wages are basically domestic service jobs in the US. You cannot export those jobs because those jobs are at McDonalds and places like that. So, those jobs are here to stay, and either Americans are going to have those jobs or other immigrants will take those jobs but it won’t threaten America by exporting jobs anywhere, if you can understand what I am saying. You can’t buy a Burger King from China, it won’t work. So, a lot of the arguments on what a minimum wage will do in the US, the negatives of it are misplaced at best. The argument that corporations will hire less people if we raise the minimum wage, it really does apply especially if the economy starts to grow. Corporations say that now if the economy begins to grow, you are going to need more and more service jobs, it won’t matter if the minimum wage goes from 7 to 10 dollars, they are still going to hire those people because you have to remember who has those minimum wage jobs. Over 50% of people that have those minimum wage jobs are teenagers or spouses who are already employed. And that is increasing further. Yes, there is a significant minority of people who definitely do need those minimum wage jobs just to take care of their families, a lot of them would be single mothers that are forced to work but need more flexible hours. So, my belief is this – that the minimum wage should be raised because the income inequality issue in the US has become so severe between the haves and the have-nots, corporations aren’t going to voluntarily raise the income level of Americans, in fact they will continue to keep it down. So, if it takes the federal rule of the state government to raise the minimum wage, even though it won’t have a large impact, it will narrow the income inequality gap in America which continues to expand.

Read more: http://voiceofrussia.com/2013_08_20/Raising-minimum-wage-will-not-fuel-inflation-expert-7944/

Afghan Independence Day marked in Islamabad

http://www.pajhwok.com/

Afghanistan's Independence Day was celebrated at a hotel in Islamabad, with senior Pakistani officials attending the function, a spokesman for the Afghan embassy said on Tuesday. Former King Ghazi Amanullah achieved independence from Great Britain 94 years ago, though Afghanistan has never been a British colony. Zardasht Shams, a spokesman for the Afghan embassy, told Pajhwok Afghan News Ambassador Omar Daudzai, Pakistan's States and Frontier Regions Minister Abdul Qadir Baloch, parliamentarians and diplomats attended the event. National anthems of the two countries were played and a cake cut to mark the day, Shams said, adding a number of Pakhtun nationalist leaders and Pakistani politicians participated in the function. Prominent among the participants were Mahmood Khan Achakzai, Abdur Rahim Mandokhel, Afzal Khan Lala, ex-interior minister Aftab Sherpao, Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain, Mushahid Hussain and Shahzada Adnan Aurangzeb. Apart from Afghan students, Qutbuddin Hilal, a member of the Gulbadin Hekmatyar-led Hezb-i-Islami Afghanistan also took part in the function, arranged by the Afghan embassy.

Afghanistan, Pakistan To Play Historic Soccer Game

Afghanistan and Pakistan aim to cast aside recent diplomatic tensions when Kabul hosts its regional rival in a soccer friendly for the first time in more than 30 years. Security is expected to be tight for the FIFA-sanctioned match, set to take place in front of a capacity crowd at Kabul's Afghanistan Football Federation (AFF) Stadium on August 20.

The Afghan squad, currently ranked 139th in the world, is favored over the 167th-ranked Pakistan. But Afghan national coach Homayoon Kargar says winning is not the most important outcome. "The match is only a friendly game. Even more important than the result is that we can, through soccer, create better relations between Afghanistan and Pakistan and restore our friendship," Kargar says. "As you know, diplomatic relations between the two countries have been increasingly troubled." Afghanistan's relations with its eastern neighbor have become severely strained in recent months, with both sides engaging in a war of words and cross-border violence. Wali, a resident of Kabul, welcomes the match but is pessimistic about its ability to bridge the two countries' differences. "I'm not convinced that the soccer game between Afghanistan and Pakistan will have a positive influence on the security situation in Afghanistan or relations between the two governments," he says. "The Pakistani government has a strategy toward Afghanistan and, until they achieve their goals, they will continue to interfere in Afghanistan's affairs." Others, however, are more optimistic. Jawed, another resident of Kabul, says he and his friends have all bought tickets to attend the game. Tickets cost between 100 and 300 afghanis ($2 to $5), and the 6,000-seat stadium is reportedly sold out. Jawed hopes sport can succeed where politics has failed. "I’m very happy about the game. God willing, it will be a success for Afghans and the national team," he says. "The relationship between the countries should be one of friendship and neighborliness."

'Return To Normality'

Organizers in Pakistan say the match will "create history" as the two national teams meet for the first time in 36 years. Afghanistan and Pakistan regularly held sporting events in the past, but diplomatic ties were cut after the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979. The ensuing civil war and Taliban rule prevented the two sides from meeting on the pitch. Afghanistan last hosted an international soccer match in 2003, against Turkmenistan. Pakistan has not hosted a top-level international sporting event since Pakistani militants attacked a touring Sri Lankan cricket team near Lahore in 2009, leaving six Sri Lankan players injured and eight Pakistanis dead. AFF Secretary-General Sayed Aghazada has said the match with Pakistan has the potential to be a milestone in Afghanistan's sporting history. "It shows that, after a very difficult period, we are returning to normality. Afghan football has improved in terms of organization and infrastructure, and we now believe that football can play an even bigger role in our country," he told Fifa.com, the official website of soccer's world governing body. Soccer has surged in popularity since the end of Taliban rule in 2001. Soccer was not banned under the Taliban but the sport suffered and stadiums were routinely used as sites for public executions. The international friendly will provide a good test for both countries, which are competing at the South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) Championship in Nepal that will run from August 31 to September 11. Afghanistan is in Pool B alongside the Maldives, Bhutan, and Sri Lanka, while Pakistan is in Pool A with India, Bangladesh, and Nepal. Afghanistan finished as runners-up to India in the last SAFF championship in 2011.

India: Fresh ceasefire violations by Pakistan

In fresh ceasefire violations, Pakistani troops on Tuesday opened fire from automatic weapons and mortars in Hamirpur and Mendhar along the Line of Control (LoC) in Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir, drawing retaliation from Indian troops. The Pakistani troops targeted the battalion in Hamirpur on Tuesday morning, sparking an exchange of fire, a Defence Ministry spokesman said. The Pakistani Army also fired at Indian forward posts with automatic weapons along the LoC in Mendhar sub-sector in Poonch district. Pakistani troops had on Monday fired in the same area, leading to exchanges between the two sides. Pakistani troops had earlier fired heavily on Indian posts in Hamirpur and Balakote border belts along the LoC in Poonch and also pounded civilian areas in Mankote and Mendhar belts. This year, there have been 82 violations by Pakistan till August. From August 6, there has been increase in frequency with 24 violations taking place including the tragedy in which five soldiers were killed in Poonch by Pakistani troops.