At least four people were killed and ten others injured when a blast ripped through an election office of a political party in Karachi on Thursday night, DawnNews reported. Initial reports suggest the bomb was placed in a motorcycle near the election office of Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) in Karachi’s Nusrat Bhutto Colony. The explosion damaged nearby buildings and vehicles. Police and security agencies have cordoned off the area and an initial investigation is underway.
WE are hugely jolted by utter shock and grief at the tragedy that befell the occupants of the nine-storey building which collapsed Wednesday morning at Savar. The death toll has risen above 100, while over 600 are reported to have been injured. It is feared that that the casualty figure may rise further.
What saddens us still is that the lives of several hundred others are hanging in balance as they remain trapped in the collapsed structure.
The rescue operation carried out by the army, Rab, fire-fighters and civil defence units is being severely constrained in absence of appropriate equipment in their hands. They are racing against time to save as many of those trapped people as feasible with their limited capacity.
This is a wake-up call for the authorities concerned to have adequate measures in place to improve the existing infrastructure of the agencies responsible for meeting such tragedies.
It is worthwhile to note that the misfortune was not completely out of the blue, since experts had already issued warning about a possible disaster after cracks were detected in the building’s walls. Accordingly, the garment factories and the bank had been closed since Tuesday.
What puzzles us is why the predictable collapse of the Savar building should have been associated with such enormous human tragedy? Why those who fell victim to the tragedy were allowed to enter a building that was already declared hazard-prone?
Why had the local administration and those in charge of managing the building not sealed it off beforehand?
Clearly, the avoidable human tragedy has been due to unpardonable callousness on the part of those who were supposed to keep the building closed to workers and visitors.
Reports have it those employees were compelled join work at the garment units in the tragedy-stricken building. If that is the case, then the culpability of victims’ employers becomes more serious.
The dreadful memory of a similar building collapse in 2005 in which some 70 workers of Spectrum Garments lost their lives has not yet been wiped off the memory.
How many more such disasters with incalculable loss of human lives will be necessary to make all those concerned to be more respectful towards human lives?
The government should mount a survey to identify the other such defective buildings in and around the city and take measures to retrofit them, if only to save similar misfortunes in the future.
The death toll from Savar building collapse reached 250 Thursday as the rescuers continued their frantic effort to save those trapped inside the rubble of the building.
Wali Ashraf Khan, an inspector of Detective Branch of police who has been acting as the in-charge of corpse management control room, confirmed the rise in death toll.
A total of 101 bodies were pulled out of the debris of the sandwiched building till 5:50pm Thursday. During Wednesday’s rescue operation till 2:30am 142 bodies were retrieved.
Of the recovered bodies, 199 have been handed over to the victim’s relatives so far.
In a total of 1500 injured people — trapped inside the debris — were rescued and admitted to different hospitals till 3:30pm Thursday, Abdul Wazed, director general of the Department of Disaster Management told The Daily Star.
“We do not have the exact account of those injured victims who went to their homes with the help of their relatives,” Wazed said.
All the bodies were recovered from the 3rd, 4th and 5th floors of the building.
Visiting the place around 9:50am, State Minister for LGRD and Cooperatives Jahangir Kabir Nanok asked the authorities concerned to take all necessary steps to rescue the trapped ones.
The country is observing a national mourning day on Thursday in memory of the Savar victims.
Rana Plaza, a nine-storey building, housing five garment factories, a shopping complex and a branch of Brac Bank collapsed Wednesday morning, trapping inside a huge number of people.
Army, police, Rapid Action Battalion personnel, fire brigade workers and volunteers were found digging through the debris in a frantic search for survivors.
Thursday morning three people were pulled out of the debris alive, reported our correspondent covering the event.
Earlier, more than 1,200 injured people were rescued.
Rescuers located 25 people alive trapped inside the sandwiched building in the eastern part.
Four people including a woman were also spotted alive at the fifth floor of the building. They were trapped under a pillar.
One of the trapped people termed Babul, a rescuer, as his father and urged him to rescue him, if necessary, cutting his legs which were trapped under pillar.
The rescuers could also hear the screams of trapped people coming out from the gap of the shattered building.
They are shouting for help and some for oxygen.
Nobody can actually say how many are trapped.
The rescue operation is now turning into a race against time. The entire nine-storey is sandwiched into a two-storey height. How to reach the bottom without upsetting the structure now poses the main challenge.
Thousands of people thronged the scene after the disaster. Many of them were in tears without having any clue whereto look for their loved ones.
The ill-fated building had no approval from Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha (Rajuk) that authorises the construction of buildings.
NATION MOURNS
The country is observing a national mourning day Thursday in memory of the victims of the Savar tragedy.
Special prayers are being offered in mosques, temples, pagodas and other places of worship for the salvation of their departed souls.
DONATION
The government on Wednesday donated Tk 55 lakh to the victims.
The family of each deceased would get Tk 20,000 while every injured person would receive Tk 5,000.
CRACKS DEVELOP
On Tuesday morning, some cracks developed on some pillars and a few floors of the building following a jolt, causing panic among the people working there. They rushed out of the building and some even got injured in the process, said a number of garment workers and locals. The industrial police visited the building that day and asked them [the building authorities] not to open the building.
But the warnings and instructions were ignored.
Workers of at least two garment factories at Rana Plaza were forced to join their workplaces following a false assurance on the building’s safety from a local engineer, relatives of the victims alleged.
Five factories housed in the building employed a total of 3,122 workers, according to Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association.
Associated PressHuman Rights Watch has urged Afghanistan's government to force police stations to build restrooms for female officers to protect them from sexual harassment. The group said Thursday that only a handful of provincial police stations have separate, safe and lockable toilets or changing rooms for women officers, leaving them at risk in a nation where some have reportedly been raped by male colleagues. The report said the provinces have repeatedly ignored previous orders to provide women officers with such facilities in a nation where females make up only 1.4 percent of the nation's 157,000 police officers. Sidiq Sidiqi, spokesman for the Interior Ministry, which oversees the Afghan police, said that while women do have their own facilities at major police stations they often are lacking in the provinces.
The Express Tribune NewsThe Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) formally arrested former president Pervez Musharraf in relation to the Benazir Bhutto murder case on Thursday, reported Express News. FIA’s joint investigation team recorded Musharraf’s statement at his farmhouse in Chak Shahzad, which is currently serving as a sub-jail for the ex-president in the judges arrest case. In his statement, Musharraf denied involvement in the Bhutto murder case and said that he was being falsely implicated. The FIA held an emergency meeting in which it unanimously decided that his statement was not satisfactory and ordered his arrest. The ex-president will appear in an anti-terrorism court (ATC) in Rawalpindi tomorrow. Earlier during the day, the ATC issued orders for Musharraf’s arrest in the case and granted permission to the FIA to investigate him. On April 17, the Lahore High Court Rawalpindi bench had granted Musharraf pre-arrest interim bail in the murder case till April 24 against two surety bonds of Rs 5 million each. Musharraf is accused of conspiracy to murder Bhutto, who died in a gun and suicide attack in December 2007. It is one of three cases he is fighting in the courts since returning home last month after four years in self-imposed exile. His arrest and disqualification from contesting elections on May 11 have been a humiliating blow for the former ruler of nuclear-armed Pakistan, previously a key ally of US president George W Bush in the war on terror.
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf chairman, Imran Khan said Thursday that if the Punjab government would have used funds on energy and not the metro bus, there would not be loadshedding for 18 hours in the province.
“Eliminating the energy crisis and corruption was the responsibility of the Punjab government not Zardari.”
Addressing an election rally here, Khan said Nawaz Sharif was afraid to face him because he would be “bowled out on the first ball.”
Khan added that Nawaz Sharif had supported President Asif Ali Zardari during all difficult times and was now scaring people into not voting for the PPP.
The PTI chairman promised to bring an end to corruption adding that this was the reason behind unemployment and inflation in the country.
Amnesty International called on Pakistan Thursday to investigate a wave of attacks and threats against politicians and election workers that have marred the run-up to key polls next month.
At least 26 people have been killed by bombers and gunmen since April 11, including 16 mown down by a suicide bomber at a rally by the Awami National Party (ANP) in Peshawar, according to an AFP tally.
The Taliban have directly threatened the three main parties in the outgoing government, the Pakistan People's Party (PPP), the ANP and the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), which are often described as secular.
The May 11 polls are due to mark the first democratic transition of power after a civilian government has served a full, five-year term in a country.
"This has been a particularly deadly election period marked by an alarming surge in attacks and intimidation of political activists and election officials," said Mustafa Qadri, Amnesty's Pakistan researcher, in an open letter.
Amnesty said at least 37 people had been killed and 183 injured in attacks on election officials and party representatives and supporters countrywide.
As a result of the threats, there have been few large-scale political rallies leading to a lacklustre campaign for the May 11 polls.
"With these deliberate attacks, the Taliban and other armed groups have shown flagrant disregard for human rights, including the rights to life, freedom of expression and freedom of peaceful assembly," Qadri said.
Amnesty said the authorities must ensure adequate protection and protect freedom of expression, peaceful assembly and association and the right to life.
"Candidates themselves also have a responsibility not to incite violence against rivals or segments of society such as religious minorities," Qadri said.
Amnesty also urged parties and candidates to make human rights a priority in their election pledges and policies.
President Asif Ali Zardari has said the World Malaria Day has been observed as a reminder of the need to undertake concerted efforts for raising awareness among the people and to curb the disease in endemic areas of the country.
The day has been observed on April 25 every year. Malaria is a preventable disease, easy to diagnose and can be treated successfully.
In a message issued by Bilawal House, the president said, “Let us on this day rededicate ourselves to implement the global malaria control programme and testing every suspected malaria case followed by treatment with quality anti-malarial medicines.”
He added the rapid advances in malaria prevention, diagnosis and treatment during recent years have improved the situation and decreased manifold the malaria-related mortality and morbidity. However, Pakistan is still a long way from achieving the global, regional and national malaria control targets. “One of the challenges in controlling malaria is the need for adequate investment in the health sector.”
http://www.rferl.org/U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry says talks between Afghan President Hamid Karzai and senior Pakistani officials he hosted in Brussels were "productive." Speaking after the meeting, he said, "We had a very extensive and, I think everybody would agree, productive and constructive dialogue...but we have all agreed that results are what will tell the story, not statements at press conferences." Karzai, who met with the Pakistani Army chief, General Ashfaq Kayani, and Foreign Secretary Jalil Jilani, called the April 24 meeting "important." The talks, which lasted around three hours, were aimed at repairing ties between Kabul and Islamabad. Kabul has grown increasingly frustrated with Pakistan, saying Islamabad is not fulfilling its promises to the reconciliation process with the Taliban. Kabul suggested Islamabad wants to keep Afghanistan unstable until foreign combat forces leave at the end of 2014. Afghanistan has long accused Pakistan of providing sanctuary to Afghan insurgents on its soil. Pakistan denies this.
The people who think Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain's fear that a hasty trial of Pervez Musharraf in the treason case could burst open the Pandora's box stems from his personal concerns may be right. After all he and many others who are making such noises now were part of the government on November 3, 2007 when Musharraf abrogated the constitution and imposed emergency. And it's also a fact and that has been the former General's consistent position that his action followed a series of consultations with his colleagues and the then PML(Q)-led coalition government headed by Shaukat Aziz Chaudhry Shujaat was chief of the PML(Q).
Given that Article 6 of the constitution also seeks treason trial of "any person aiding or abetting" in this offence, the trial of Pervez Musharraf is bound to expand its scope sucking in many more. Hence the warning of the Pandora's Box is expedient. The question is, was the November-2007 imposition of emergency by Pervez Musharraf the only Pandora's box in Pakistan? Isn't that the host of other mega financial and political scams and constitutional violations such explosive issues? Should all of the dirt be swept under the carpet? No; for the rule of law to prevail in Pakistan all such boxes should be opened. Let heavens fall and the law and constitution prevail - for, without this being done we will irretrievably move to the precipice of self-destruction. It's a bitter pill but the only remedy left to be tried to survive as an independent country and a functional polity.
But having said that, it would be extremely pertinent to point out that law must take its course and justice should not only be done but also seen to have been done. Of course, there are heightened sentiments on both sides that have come to obtaining in the wake of petition seeking treason trial of Pervez Musharraf. His decision to come back was founded on an 'ill advice rendered by the sycophants' or as some say 'he was led up the garden path by the social media' that may be true. But there is also a strong possibility that he is convinced of righteousness of his moves and actions as long as he was in power and is now ready to face the courts. Let's give the devil his due, and let him have a fair and transparent trial. You cannot condemn a person of his stature and history without following due process of law and justice. That the pressures with potential to lend bias to the trial should come from the lawyers is most unfortunate and highly regrettable. One gets the feeling that the respect the black-coats earned for their movement for the independence of judiciary is being frittered away by a section of politically-motivated lawyers. Being an enlightened section of society the lawyers are expected to be pragmatic enough for reason and justice to triumph over pride and prejudice. It is patently clear that most of the lawyers have political affiliations, a common phenomenon in former British colonies.
However, that consideration should outbid their professionalism is indeed disgusting.
The truth is, that the treason trial of Pervez Musharraf is not of one single person, but of a person who was chief of army staff, and the President of Pakistan and now head of a registered political party. He does have a lot of haters but he has also a lot of supporters in Pakistan, some out in the open and some hidden. It would be unthinkable that a military commander who can command his soldiers to walk into the jaws of death does not enjoy the love and support of his juniors and comrade-in-arms. What can be the fallout of a hurried trial? A sample has been made available by a clutch of retired generals who have publicly warned against 'humiliating' Pervez Musharraf, saying 'the army would not tolerate if the lawyers continued pushing their former army chief to the wall'. Should Pervez Musharraf's treason trial be a hurried, hush-hush affair it would amount to witch-hunting and demoralising the rank and file of the military particularly the jawans, removing some of the shine the higher judiciary has of late come to enjoy. We expect the representative leadership of the lawyers' community, particularly at the level of the bar councils, to stand up and declare they support the cause of justice without bothering a bit about the result of this treason trial. Now that we have come so close to securing justice in this crucial case we need to ensure that its outcome is remembered not recorded by history as a latter day inquisition.
By: Dr Mohammad Taqi
The ANP on its part has not only energised its ideological base but has also given the rest of Pakistan a fair warning of what is coming their way
The Awami National Party (ANP) has come under a series of terrorist attacks in the last two weeks. The terror spree started with a bomb attack in Peshawar on the party’s former provincial minister Arbab Ayub Jan, who narrowly escaped. The ANP leader from Swat, Mukkaram Shah, was not that fortunate. He was assassinated in an improvised explosive device attack. And then came the carnage in Peshawar city last week when a suicide bomber targeted the ANP leaders Haji Ghulam Ahmed Bilour and his nephew Haroon Bilour, whose father Bashir Bilour was martyred in a similar attack in December 2012, as they were about to address an election rally. Fortunately, Haji sahib and Haroon survived the attack in which several policemen, party workers and young children died. But the ANP cadres and leaders did not buckle. The Pashtun nationalist party did not cave in ideologically or politically. The fearless Mian Iftikhar Hussain rushed to the tragic scene. Along with the late Bashir Bilour, he has been the ANP’s first-responder to many such bombings, charging in when others would flee. A knee jerk response might have been to call for boycotting the elections; Mian Iftikhar cautioned against delaying the elections even by a second. Similarly, unflinching statements came from the ANP’s senior leadership including the party chief, Asfandyar Wali Khan.
But a flurry of callous remarks and loose talk by the rightwing political parties, particularly the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI), blamed the ANP — the victim — for bringing it upon itself. While Nawaz Sharif has kept mum about Taliban terrorism, the PTI chief Imran Khan has reiterated that the terrorists target the parties that sided with the US in the War on Terror (WoT). Khan is also a candidate from the Peshawar National Assembly constituency where scores perished in the explosion that targeted his opponent Haji Bilour. If the ANP is being targeted for going after the terrorists, are Khan and his ilk safe because they sided with the terrorists and provided the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) ideological space for over a decade portraying them as ‘nationalist freedom fighters’? Frankly, Khan’s slurs linking attacks on the ANP to the WoT are an insult to the Peshawarites who lost children and loved ones and whose vote he seeks. Another poisonous remark came from Maulana Fazlur Rehman who called the ANP a dead snake that has become politically irrelevant.
Notwithstanding the disingenuousness and hate of the anti-ANP elements, they go to show that the elections, in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa at least, would not be decided on the basis of the ANP’s performance as the outgoing ruling party but its stance vis-à-vis the Taliban terrorists. And it is becoming increasingly clear that the bullet not the ballot may be the deciding factor. While the terrorists have failed to confine the ANP candidates and cadres to their homes, the latter continue canvassing door-to-door, imperilling their lives. The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) and the provincial and federal caretaker governments are nowhere to be seen as if in a sinister coincidence. If anything the ECP had ordered the candidates’ security removed but later denied issuing such a directive. The relentless Taliban assault on the ANP, complete inaction of the present authorities and the Taliban apologists like Khan and Rehman going into overdrive is making the elections a lopsided affair. Cornering the ANP this way may not technically be pre-poll fraud but has most certainly rigged the scales against it. It appears that the stage is being set to either keep the ANP out of the future assemblies or worse, delay the polls to have a political dispensation ideologically aligned with the Pakistani deep state as the latter gets ready to play its final hand in Afghanistan post-2014.
The Pakistani security establishment has claimed for some time that it desires peace in Afghanistan but not many are buying it. In his opening statement at the US Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) hearing with General Joseph Dunford on the Situation in Afghanistan, the committee chair US Senator Carl Levin said last week that “the greatest challenge to Afghanistan’s security isn’t the Taliban but the Pakistan-based sanctuaries for militant extremists launching cross-border attacks in Afghanistan. Pakistan has said that it supports a stable and secure Afghanistan, but its actions belie its words.” General Dunford, Commander of US and NATO forces in Afghanistan, in his testimony reiterated, “There have been intelligence reports that link the ISI particularly to the Haqqani network.” What was not mentioned at this testimony but is well known is that the TTP continues to use the logistic and training facilities run by the Haqqani network in North Waziristan. Of note is that several Pakistani analysts and the so-called foreign policy elite nominally condemned the attacks on ANP but for years have vociferously advocated a greater future role in Afghanistan for the Taliban and the Haqqani network.
The Pakistani establishment getting its ducks in a row before a major showdown in Afghanistan is not without precedent. At the height of its proxy war in Afghanistan in the 1980s, the Pakistani deep state created a pliant party-less parliament in 1985. Benazir Bhutto was considered too ‘unreliable’ to be allowed at the helm in the post-Soviet withdrawal period and was shown the door in 1990 to bring in a then military-friendly Nawaz Sharif. The religious parties conglomerate, Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal, whose acronym MMA was dubbed ‘military-mullah alliance’ by many, was eased into power in 2002 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan to provide an irritant-free sanctuary to the Taliban in the post-2001 period. The results of all these maneouvres have been utterly disastrous for the Pakistani people, especially the Pashtuns. But it seems that the deep state continues with its policy of using the Pashtun lands as a buffer zone and the Pashtuns as a sandbag against the monsters it unleashes in Afghanistan.
The ANP on its part has not only energised its ideological base but has also given the rest of Pakistan a fair warning of what is coming their way. Unfortunately, barring the MQM’s Altaf Hussain and some muffled voices from the PPP, not many have heeded the ANP’s call. The beleaguered ANP has revived a slogan from the PDPA’s final phase in Afghanistan: Watan Ya Kafan (Fatherland or death/shroud). This defiant note also has a certain resignation in it that makes me deeply worried. But I also know that the death that was rained on Kabul in 1992 did not stop there and it won’t stop with Peshawar, something the Pakistani heartland does not realise yet.
Wednesday was yet another day of violence and panic in Pakistan as several bomb attacks in the country’s two most volatile provinces – Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan – and a 6.2 magnitude earthquake forced the people to roll out their prayer mats and seek divine mercy. 
The incessant pre-election violence has seen at least 11 bombings since Tuesday evening. Twenty-one people were injured when four bombs went off in Quetta and Peshawar on Wednesday, a day after a string of blasts killed 11 people and injured more than 70.
QUETTA BLASTS:
Two persons were injured when a bomb went off at New Jan Muhammad Road in the provincial capital of Balochistan in the evening, police officials said.
Earlier in the day, 13 people, including two children, were injured in a blast near a hospital in Satellite Town area of the city.
The bomb, attached to a bicycle left in the hospital's parking lot, was triggered by a remote control. The injured were taken to the Civil Hospital, where doctors described the condition of two persons as critical.
Hours later, another bomb went off in the busy Saryab Road area. Two policemen were injured and a car was damaged by the blast. The bomb was fitted on a bicycle that was left near a police station.
There have been seven bomb attacks in Quetta since last evening, including one carried out by a suicide bomber who was trying to target the minority Shia Hazara community.
Six persons, including a paramilitary trooper, were killed and over 40 injured in four bomb attacks on Tuesday.
PESHAWAR BOMBINGS:
In Peshawar, four persons, including two women, were injured on Wednesday morning when a bomb went off in the congested Sirki Gate area. A house was damaged by the blast. At least two kilogrammes of explosives were used in the attack, police said.
The bomb was planted in front of the house of Pakistan People's Party leader Muhammad Tariq, police said.
In yet another incident, two bombs went off along a key road in Dera Ismail Khan district though there were no casualties.
Israr Khan Gandapur, an independent candidate in next month's polls, had a narrow escape as his motorcade passed through the area shortly before the blasts.
At Larkana in Sindh province, about 20 feet of a gas pipeline were destroyed by a bomb blast. Gas supply to several towns and cities were cut off after the attack though there were no reports of casualties.
No group claimed responsibility for any of the attacks on Wednesday but three blasts in Balochistan on Tuesday evening were claimed by the United Baloch Army which said that the bombings were aimed at disrupting polls in the restive province. - See more at: http://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/2013/04/24/news/national/blasts-and-an-earthquake-what-a-day/#sthash.XFLbM6qt.dpuf
Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) leader Farooq Sattar has said that the prevailing terrorist activities going on in different parts of Karachi and Quetta show that the upcoming general election would not be fair and transparent.
While talking to the media in Karachi on Wednesday, he said, “If our government institutions are not fulfilling their duties of ensuring fair elections, then by default or design it is leading towards unfair and non-transparent elections.”
In certain provinces, like Punjab, election climate is in full swing with parties holding big rallies, while MQM and few other parties are pushed aside and barred from carrying out their election campaign.
“In the given circumstances, when we are receiving open threats from terrorists, our offices are being attacked and party officials being killed, we are in no position to hold big rallies like other parties,” Sattar said.
On April 23, a crude bomb targeting MQM roadside office killed at least three people and injured 30 others. The attack, which took place in the Buffer Zone area, prompted the closure of all roadside camp offices of the party.
Party chief Altaf Hussain had claimed that about 25 MQM activists, including an election candidate, have been killed over the past few days.
Following the attacks, MQM had called for a strike in the region on Wednesday.
http://dawn.com/
“I wanted to contest polls living amongst you; I wanted to launch the election campaign in the streets of my country alongside my workers…but we are at war against (a) mindset,” Bilawal said. “The murderers of Quaid-e-Awam and Benazir Bhutto Shaheed now want to eliminate us as well.”This is Bilawal’s first public speech since April 4, the death anniversary of his grandfather and PPP founder, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto.On Sunday, party leaders said Bilawal would be leading the election campaign through a video link because of threats to his life.“One day I will also lead the election campaign of PPP like Shaheed Bhutto and Shaheed BB. Until that time I am assisting my elders in the campaign but not leading it,” said the party chairman.Speaking about South Punjab, which is a major part of the party’s manifesto, Bilawal criticised the former Pakistan Muslim League – Nawaz (PML-N) provincial government.Bilwalal Bhutto-Zardari, the chairman of the main party in the outgoing ruling coalition, the Pakistan People’s Party, said Tuesday that he will be assisting in the Pakistan People’s Party’s (PPP) election campaign, but not leading it.“Where are those people who claim to have given rivers of milk and honey to the Punjab? Can’t they see the development and prosperity of people of south Punjab?”“You had time to do politics on a metro bus scheme worth 70 billion but forgot the poor people of the Punjab,” he added.The PPP chairman seemed optimistic about the party’s future in Sindh in the coming polls.“I have faith that the people of Sindh will vote for the PPP. The PPP led government has given the largest amount of development projects in the history of Sindh,” he said.Bilawal also said the party was putting its faith behind veteran leaders.“Yes, we will win from Sindh because we have veteran politicians like Syed Qaim Ali Shah, who served the people of Sindh selflessly. Yes we will win because we have great workers like Syed Khursheed Shah, who knows how to face all sorts of crises. And yes, we will win because we have jiyalas like Amin Fahim, who united the party in its most difficult times.”Bilawal also mentioned other leaders including former prime minister Raja Pervez Ashraf, former premier Yousuf Raza Gilani, Makhdoom Shahabuddin, Qamar Zaman Kaira, and Chaudhry Ahmed Mukhtar.The PPP chairman also vowed to sweep polls from parts of the country other than Sindh and south Punjab.“And remember that Peshawar, Quetta and Lahore are also dear to me like Larkana. InshAllah, we will make Lahore and Peshawar the fortes of the PPP,” he said.
http://www.nydailynews.com/
The President revealed that he and the First Lady are using reverse psychology to prevent daughters Sasha and Malia from getting tattoos. Obama also laughed off his wife's 'single mother' gaffe.
President Obama and the First Lady have come up with a crafty strategy to prevent their daughters from getting tattoos — and it banks on the girls thinking their parents are deeply uncool.
“What we’ve said to the girls is, ‘If you guys ever decide you're going to get a tattoo, then mommy and me will get the exact same tattoo. In the same place,’” Obama said with a smile. “And we'll go on YouTube and show it off as a family tattoo.”“And our thinking is that might dissuade them from thinking that somehow that's a good way to rebel,” he added.During the interview that aired Wednesday on NBC’s “Today,” Obama also laughed off a recent gaffe made by his wife — calling herself a “single mother” in an interview.“As somebody who has stumbled over my lines many times – I tend to cut my wife or anybody some slack when it comes to just slips of the tongue,” Obama said.
But he acknowledged that “there’s no doubt that there have been times where Michelle probably felt like a single mom.”
“When I was running for the U.S. Senate, when I was running for President, there were times where I wouldn’t see her for a week and she was still working and had to look after the girls,” he said. “So she definitely, I think, understands the burdens that women in particular tend to feel if they’re both responsible for child rearing and they’re responsible for working at the same time.”
At least 108 people were killed and over 600 injured in Savar on the outskirts of the capital Wednesday morning when a nine-storey building housing five garment factories collapsed.
With few hundred more believed to be trapped inside, rescuers fear the death toll may rise significantly.
Most of the victims who have been rescued from under the debris in the afternoon are dead, reported our correspondents from the spot.
“The building might have collapsed due to faulty construction,” said Home Minister Muhiuddin Khan Alamgir.
The minister visited the spot around 1:40pm, nearly five-hour after the building collapsed.
He also said that the government would bring the culprits to justice after probing the incident.
Muhiuddin also expressed sympathy to the family members of the victims and assured them of taking all responsibilities of their treatment.
There are at least 57 bodies at Enam Medical College and Hospital in Savar where the injured and dead victims were rushed, our correspondent reported quoting the chief medical officer of the hospital.
Fire fighters and army personnel joined police and volunteers to rescue those trapped under the debris.
Following the collapse, the BNP-led 18-party alliance at first relaxed their hartal in Savar and eventually called off their 36-hour countrywide shutdown nearly two-hour before its ending.
The latest factory disaster came eight years after the collapse of Spectrum Garments in Baipail in Savar that left 64 workers dead.
Several workers, who escaped unhurt and rescued later, told the media that the owners of their garment factories forced them to go back to work Wednesday morning.
The workers were hesitating to rejoin work in the morning after they were evacuated on Tuesday following several cracks in the building.
The building, “Rana Plaza” situated near Savar Bus Stand, collapsed around 8:45am. It had developed several cracks on Tuesday.
The building housed a market, five garment factories and a branch of Brac Bank.
The traffic movement on Dhaka-Aricha highway has remained suspended since the morning following the building collapse.
So far, nearly 150 people were pulled out of the rubble alive.
Cries for help echoed from under the rubble of the shattered building, Sohel Rana, a local who rescued several people breaking open a backside window, told The Daily Star.
“We could not yet specify the number of casualties as the rescue operation continues,” Tahmina (full name could not be known immediately), the duty officer and an assistant sub-inspector of Savar Police Station, told The Daily Star over phone immediately after the incident.
It was reported that only the first floor of the building remained intact.
Families and relatives of the victims, who remain missing, gathered in front of the shattered building in tears and most of them were seen wailing fearing the ominous fate of their near and dear ones.
The adjoining atmosphere of the building became heavy and depressive with the cries of injured.
PRAYER
The victims who remain trapped inside the building are officering prayers to Almighty Allah, in apprehension that this day might be last day for them.
The sounds of zikir (begin religious chants) are also coming out from the devastated building.
WATER
The victims who are pinned under debris and choked with cement dust were heard crying for water, said media reports.
SPECTRUM GARMENTS TRAGEDY
On the night of April 11 in 2005, at least 64 workers were killed when the nine-storey building caved in.
The building was reportedly structurally unsound, and not properly designed and was erected on a flood-prone marshland without permission from the authorities.
PRESIDENT-ELECT, PM, OPPOSITION CHIEF CONDOLE DEATHS
President-elect Abdul Hamid, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and opposition chief Khaleda Zia in separate messages expressed deep shock and condolences at the deaths.
CLAIM OF WORKERS
Several workers of the garment factories claimed that the owners of their factories compelled them to rejoin work when they gathered in front of the building in the morning.
On Tuesday, several cracks had developed on the building and all the staff of the factories were evacuated.
Several garment workers were also injured while all of them were trying to rush out from the building.
The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), led by Justice (retired) Fakhruddin G. Ebrahim, has simply failed to prevent 55 candidates from the Punjab, belonging to 10 different sectarian groups, from contesting the general elections despite the fact that intelligence agencies had warned the ECP that they were on terrorist lists and had provided all the names.
Punjab government is currently led by caretaker Chief Minister Najam Sethi, the journalist known for humanizing and glorifying the head of banned terrorist group Sipah-e-Sahaba (Ahmed Ludhianvi Deobandi) through his TV talkshow (Aapas ki Baat) and magazine (The Friday Times). Pakistan’s apex court is currently led by Chief Justice Iftikhar Chuahdry who is known to have soft stance towards Taliban, Sipah-e-Sahaba and other right-wing groups.
These names (of Takfiri Deobandi terrorists contesting elections) are also listed on the 4th Schedule of the Anti-Terrorism Act 1997 for their alleged involvement in terrorist activities. According to well-informed sources in the Ministry of Interior, the intelligence agencies had provided to the ECP a complete list of 55 candidates who had filed their nomination papers to contest the national and provincial assemblies polls from 20 districts of the Punjab.
The ECP was further requested not to allow these candidates to contest the elections because they had been involved in terrorist activities due to which their names were placed on the 4th Schedule of the Anti-Terrorism Act.
Under this 4th Schedule of Section 11-EE of the Anti-Terrorism Act 1997, persons charged with terrorist activities, after being released from jail, are kept under observation and they have to inform their respective police stations before leaving their hometowns and upon their return. Such individuals are bound to provide a surety bond to the police for good behaviour and peaceful conduct.
The ECP subsequently forwarded the list of 55 sectarian offenders (most of them belonging to banned Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan, currently operating as Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat ASWJ) to the respective returning officers, with the direction to proceed against them. However, the ECP was informed that the returning officers were not legally empowered to impede these candidates from contesting the elections because the Code of Conduct issued by the ECP for the general elections lacked a particular clause to disqualify the sectarian elements.
Even though the ECP has strictly prohibited candidates from using caste, ethnicity and religion to seek votes and besides warning of a three-year jail term for any candidate found using such means in the campaign, no such proscription or jail term was recommended in the ECP’s Code of Conduct for those running their campaign on sectarian lines. Therefore, the ECP was not in a position to press the returning officers on the issue any further.
A sympathiser of religious parties said these candidates are facing only terrorism charges and no court decision has come in this regard. He said several top politicians, including a former prime minister, were allowed to contest polls on the grounds that they were just facing charges, which were not yet proved.
According to the list of the sectarian elements running for the coming elections despite being listed under the 4th schedule 40 of the 55 candidates who have been allowed to run for the polls, belong to the defunct Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan (SSP) which has already been renamed as Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat (ASWJ), led by Maulana Mohammad Ahmed Ludhianvi Deobandi.
His second in command in the ASWJ is the Lashkar-e-Jhangvi fame, Malik Mohammad Ishaq, who is the vice president of the ASWJ. However, since the ASWJ did not register itself with the ECP, it has fielded candidates on Muttahida Deeni Mahaz (MDM/United Religious Front) platform.
Of the remaining 15 candidates, four belong to Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (Fazl), three each belong to Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan (JI) and Tehrik-e-Jafria Pakistan (TJP), two belong to the Jamiat Ahle Hadith (JAH) and one each belong to the defunct Harkatul Mujahideen (HuM), and the Sipah-e-Mohammad Pakistan (SMP).
Of the 55 candidates who are listed under the 4th schedule and are contesting the elections from Punjab, ten belong to Muzaffargarh, five each belong to Jhang, Faisalabad, and Rawalpindi districts, four each belong to Jhelum and Rajanpur districts, three each belong to the Bahawalpur and Chiniot districts, two each belong to Sheikhupura, Khanewal and Dera Ghazi Khan districts while one each belong to Lahore, Sialkot, Attock, Sargodha, Toba Tek Singh, Bhakkar, Okara, Layyah, Lodhran and Rahim Yar Khan districts of Punjab.
The following is a constituency-wise list of the sectarian elements along with the names of their organisations who have been allowed by the Election Commission to contest the coming polls: Umar Farooq of SSP/ASWJ (NA-86 Chiniot), Intizar Hussain of SSP-ASWJ (PP-73 Chiniot), Qari Shabbir Ahmed Usmani of SSP/ASWJ (PP-75 Chiniot), Rana Mohammad Arshad of SSP/ASWJ (NA-94 Toba Tek Singh), Malik Mohammad Bashir of JI (PP-33 Sargodha), Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Haqqani of SSP/ASWJ (PP-50 Bhakkar), Maulana Abdul Khaliq Rehmani of SSP/ASWJ (NA-156 and PP-213 Khanewal), Qari Rahimullah Mithu of SSP/ASWJ (PP-149 Lahore), Iftikhar Ahmed (NA-144 Okara), Hafiz Mohammad Ishfaq Gujjar of SSP/ASWJ (PP-167 Sheikhupura), Qari Saifullah Saifi of JUI-F (NA-50 Sialkot), Khalid Mehmood Butt of SSP/ASWJ (NA-113 Sialkot), Mohammad Ishfaq Abbasi of SSP/ASWJ (PP-1 Rawalpindi), Ansar Manzoor of SSP/ASWJ (PP-1 Rawalpindi), Abdul Shakoor of JUI-F (PP-2 Rawalpindi), Zahid Iqbal Bakhtavri (NA-54), Irqar Ahmed Abbasi (PP-15 Rawalpindi), Umar Farooq of MDM (NA-59 Attock), Sikandar Hayat of JAH (PP-54 Jaranwala), Maulana Sajid Farooqi of SSP/ASWJ (PP-56 Jaranwala), Hafiz Suhail of SSP/ASWJ (PP-72 Faisalabad), Maulana Suleman Jhangvi of SSP/ASWJ (PP-70 Faisalabad), Maulana Mohammad Ahmed Ludhianvi, Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Jhangvi, Mohammad Moavia, Masroor Nawaz and Hakim Ali of SSP/ASWJ (NA-89 Faisalabad), Maulana Mohammad Asif and Ikhlaq Ahmed of SSP/ASWJ (NA-90 Jhang), Malik Saeed Ahmed of SSP/ASWJ (PP78), Qari Sanaullah of SSP/ASWJ (PP-266 Layyah), Saifullah Khalid of SSP/ASWJ (NA-184), Malik Mohammad Aleem of SSP/ASWJ (PP-268 Bahawalpur), Rao Javed Iqbal of SSP/ASWJ (NA-186 and PP-269), Mohammad Ismail of SSP/ASWJ (PP-285 Rahim Yar Khan), Ans Bin Malik of SSP/ASWJ (NA-180 and PP-260 Muzaffargarh), Arshad Siddiqi of SSP/ASWJ (NA-176 and PP-251 Muzaffargarh), Tayyab Farooqi of SSP/ASWJ (PP-252 Muzaffargarh), Qari Taj Saqib of SSP/ASWJ (NA-177 Muzaffargarh), Ashiq Hussain Bhoot of SSP/ASWJ (PP-261 Muzaffargarh), Arshad Leghari of JI (NA-177 and PP-255 Muzaffargarh), Sabir Hussain of SSP/ASWJ (PP-225 Muzaffargarh), Mohammad Tayab of SSP/ASWJ (PP-259 Muzaffargarh), Mohammad Anwarul Haq of SSP/ASWJ (PP-247 Rajanpur), Dr Abdul Rauf of SSP/ASWJ (PP-248 Rajanpur), Tariq Mahmood of SSP/ASWJ (PP-249 Rajanpur), and Mohammad Tahir of SSP/ASWJ (PP-250 Rajanpur).
Approached for comments, a spokesman of the Election Commission of Pakistan simply expressed his ignorance about 55 sectarian offenders having been allowed to contest the elections.
But he clarified that the scrutiny of the candidates was the job of the returning officers who represent the judiciary. “They had carried out their duties as returning officers independently and the Election Commission did not interfere with their job on how to decide the fate of the candidates who had filed their nomination forms.
The ECP only provided information, as received, from the FBR, NAB, SBP and other governmental authorities, to the returning officers”, the ECP spokesman added.
Ahmadiyya Times
WOLF TO KERRY: PRESS PRESIDENT ZARDARI TO REPEAL DISCRIMINATORY VOTING RESTRICTIONS IN UPCOMING PAKISANI ELECTIONS - Current Law Discriminates Against Ahmadi Muslims by Requiring Voters to Reveal Religious Affiliations Upon Registering to VoteRep. Frank Wolf (R-VA) and 32 bipartisan Members of Congress last week sent a letter to Secretary of State John Kerry calling for an end to the disenfranchisement of four million Ahmadi Muslims in Pakistan. In the letter, the Representatives explained that a new presidential order can rescind the 2002 Pakistani executive order that excludes Ahmadis from joint electoral rolls and forces them to register to vote on a separate supplementary voter roll in time for the country’s general elections next month. “I am deeply troubled that Pakistan’s electoral system discriminates on the basis of religion, rendering the premise of free and fair elections a sham,” Wolf said, but added that “this pernicious regime of discrimination … is relatively easy to change.” Wolf, co-chairman of the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission, pointed out that in order to register to vote, each citizen must fill out a form stating his or her religious affiliation, adding “not only are matters of conscience wholly irrelevant to the exercise of this fundamental right of citizenship, but for Pakistan’s four million Ahmadi Muslims, this requirement blocks their right to vote.” The State Department’s own recently released annual human rights report confirmed this reality indicating that, “The government required voters to indicate their religion when registering to vote. To register to vote, the government required Ahmadis to declare themselves as non-Muslims. Ahmadis consider themselves Muslims, and as a result, the community was unable to vote.” Notably, even the Supreme Court of Pakistan has taken notice of the exclusion of Ahmadi Muslims from the joint electoral rolls, and has ordered authorities to explain how such a system can be consistent with equal right of all citizens, irrespective of religion, to vote. Appealing to shared principles of equality and justice, the letter urged: “Mr. Secretary, if this—the first time in Pakistan’s history that a democratically elected government peacefully passes power to another through elections—is truly to be a watershed moment, we cannot stand idly by and allow four million Ahmadi Muslims to remain disenfranchised and outside the electoral process.”
The full text of the letter can be found here.http://wolf.house.gov/uploads/ahmadi_pakistan.pdf
At least two people were injured in a blast - eigth in the last 24 hours - that struck Jan Muhammad Road area of the provincial capital here on Wednesday.
That explosion was eighth in a row within 24 hours. The fresh wave of terror that took eight lives and injured more than 40, hits the volatile province ahead of general election to be held on May 11.
Officials said that the blast took place on Jan Muhammad Road, injuring two people.
The injured were taken to a nearby hospital for treatment.
http://www.rferl.org/A powerful earthquake has hit eastern Afghanistan, near the Pakistani border. The U.S. Geological Survey said the earthquake had a magnitude of 5.7 and its epicenter was 11 kilometers from Mehtar Lam, the capital of Afghanistan's eastern province of Laghman, at a depth of 70 kilometers. The head of the Afghan Red Crescent in the eastern province of Nangarhar, Nangyalai Youfzai, told RFE/RL that the quake left 12 people dead in Nangarhar. The Afghan Health Ministry said in a statement the quake injured more than 100 people in Nangarhar. Hundreds of homes collapsed In Konar Province. Strong tremors were also felt in the capitals of Afghanistan and Pakistan, Kabul and Islamabad, respectively. The earthquake was felt as far away as India's capital of New Delhi.
The Express TribunePakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) youth wing on Tuesday accused the party’s parliamentary board of taking bribes in exchange for allotting tickets to candidates for the upcoming polls. Addressing a press conference at the Peshawar Press Club, PTI youth wing provincial General Secretary Fahim Ahmad Khan claimed he was initially allotted a ticket to contest from PK-6. Khan alleged some people from the parliamentary board later demanded money from him, saying if he did not pay up, his ticket would be given to someone else. “Imran Khan himself recommended my name to the board for a ticket, but the members ignored me because they asked for money and I refused to pay. Thus, my ticket was given to another person,” Fahim alleged. “Initially, I was asked to pay Rs1.5 million. However, the amount later came down to Rs0.5 million. I was told to deposit the money to an account number that was sent to me. All this communication was done through the president of PTI youth wing backed by PTI’s provincial president and general secretary,” claimed Fahim. He accused Shah Farman, Parvez Khattak and PTI provincial president Asad Qaiser of demanding money from candidates. Fahim added a ticket for PK-40 Karak was to be issued to Altaf Qadir Khattak, but when he went to the returning officer (RO) he was informed his ticket had been issued to someone else. Former PTI district president Zafar Khattak also spoke at the press conference. He alleged the ticket for PK-1 Peshawar was sold for Rs10 million, while the rates of some other tickets were fixed at Rs5 million. Zafar maintained the PTI was violating its own rule of allotting tickets on merit. He said they [the youth wing] would start a campaign against corrupt politicians who are destroying the PTI’s image. However, the former office bearer said they would neither quit the party nor stop supporting Imran Khan. “We will go into Asad Qaiser and Parvez Khattak’s constituencies and tell voters to be careful of who they vote for,” said Zafar. The activists of the youth wing demanded PTI chief Imran Khan to form an inquiry committee to probe the accusations, and cancel the membership of those found guilty.
At least eight separate blasts rocked three different provinces of Pakistan in the last 24 hours, raising fears for deteriorating law and order as the historic May 11 polls draw nearer.
The attacks since Tuesday evening in Quetta, Karachi, Peshawar and Dera Ismail Khan have now claimed 11 lives and have left up to 75 wounded.
The latest attack on Wednesday targeted a police station on the outskirts of Quetta, the second blast in the provincial capital since this morning and the sixth since yesterday.
The blast raised the total death toll since yesterday in Quetta alone to six, with up to 60 injured. At least 15 have been injured since this morning.
According to police, unknown attackers on motorcycles lobbed a hand-held bomb on the Kechi Baig police station in Quetta Sariab area around midday.
Two policemen were injured in the explosion, while the attackers managed to escape unhurt, police said. The blast also damaged a police vehicle and the wall of the police station.
Earlier this morning, 13 people including two children were injured in a blast outside a private hospital in Gailani road area of the city.
Police said the bomb was planted inside a cycle parked outside the hospital.
On Tuesday, four explosions left six people dead and up to 45 injured in the city. Banned extremist outfit, the Lashkar-i-Jhangvi (LJ), had claimed responsibility of Tuesday’s attacks.
Late Tuesday, militants also attacked an election camp of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) in Karachi.
The blast left at least five people dead and 15 others injured.
A strike was being observed in the country’s commercial capital on Wednesday at the call of the MQM in protest of the killings.
Earlier Wednesday, an explosion near the house of a local Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) leader injured three people in Peshawar’s Sarki Gate area.
Meanwhile, two remotely detonated roadside bombs exploded in Dera Ismail Khan this morning when the convoy of election candidate from PK-68 constituency Israrullah Khan Gandapur was passing through the area. No casualties were reported.
Pakistan goes to the polls on May 11 for an election that will mark the first time a civilian government has handed over power at the ballot box after completing a full term in office.
President Asif Ali Zardari has written a letter to Chief Election Commissioner retired Justice Fakhruddin G. Ebrahim asking him to take notice of negative propaganda against the President.
The letter was submitted in the Commission by presidential spokesman Farhatullah Babar.
The letter says the President respects the courts and he is not involved in politics after judgement of the Lahore High Court.
It says the political parties especially PML(N) are criticizing the President. It asks the Chief Election Commissioner to take notice of the propaganda.
It said according to the Constitution‚ the President is head of state and a symbol of federation and therefore‚ he cannot respond to the allegations politically.
From current affairs to social issues and human interest stories, Pakistani journalist Kiran Nazish has written for Al Jazeera, Foreign Policy, Forbes and a host of other local and foreign publications on hard-hitting socio-political issues and poignant stories of those affected by war.
By Sonya RehmanIn an interview with The Diplomat, Nazish speaks about the challenges of being a female journalist in Pakistan, and reporting on sensitive issues in a country that has been called “the most dangerous for journalists.” You recently traveled to Peshawar to report on the deplorable state of the internally displaced persons (IDPs) living in the Jalozai camp. As a journalist, how important is empathy and compassion when interviewing those affected by war and tragedy? Empathy and compassion are imperative for journalists to nurture. If you are reporting about victims of war, ethnic violence or displacement – such as the IDPs – and you are not compassionate, you are missing the whole point. The absence of empathy and compassion will also paralyze your reporting and you will never get to hear the complete story and hence never get to tell the complete truth. Often when I interview people who have been affected by war and tragedy, they complain about how journalists come to them and ask brutal, insensitive questions and take photos of them without their permission. They feel used and deceived. That is absolutely unethical and undermining. Do not doubt me when I say, I have learnt the greatest lessons of courage and wisdom from invisible people we often ignore thinking they are dumb and poor and weak, because they are victims. Trust me, they are smart, and they know a lot about the world. I understand that you’re currently traveling for work. What story are you working on? I'm currently working on a story about Veeru Kohli, a bonded laborer in interior Sindh who was freed with the help of an NGO in Hyderabad called Green Rural Development Organization (GRDO). She is standing for elections now against established, powerful and rich feudals who have been threatening her and her supporters. Kohli now lives in a place called Azad Nagar with two beds, five mattresses, cooking pots and a bank account with life savings of Rs. 2,800 (approx $27). Wanting to interview her took me to Azad Nagar in the outskirts of Hyderabad, where I met dozens of landless Haris [members of the scheduled Hindu caste] and farmers who had been freed either by Kohli's activism or by GRDO. They all had gathered to greet me at the arrival, and complained about the media ignoring them (save news reports of Kohli standing for elections) and not supporting them when powerful politicians threatened their lives. I hope to help them by writing about their stories, the strength that they show by standing with each other between threats on their lives and hefty offers of bribes. These are the people who change the fate of a nation: the poor, the dignified and the powerful. Pakistan has often been called “the most dangerous country for journalists.” Given your work and experience in the field over the years, do you agree with this assessment? When we say “the most dangerous country for journalists” what do we actually mean? Do we mean Pakistan as a country is dangerous for journalists? Is it the state that has made reporting difficult? Or the military? Or militancy? It is important to make the distinction first. We [Pakistan] have been called “the most dangerous place for journalists” for three consecutive years by global journalism forums and support groups such as the Committee to Protect Journalists and Reporters Without Borders. Both organizations also work as advocacy groups, maintaining data on journalistic killings, arrests and other abuses around the globe. While their studies have been very important in highlighting journalistic issues, I feel there should also be a study of patterns that aims to determine the cause of danger. Patterns that determine what countries are dangerous for journalists for what particular reason. Such mapping can particularly help us figure out how to solve the issue of reporting dangers specific to each location. Let me explain. In Pakistan the dynamics are unique. We are at war but we are not at war. We have a government that supports freedom of expression, but we have a state that does not support the free flow of information. There are some intelligent, passionate and courageous journalists in the country who want to invest themselves in getting the truth out, but are restricted by unsupportive editorial policies and are often put in danger by unsupportive organizations at times of threats. Do you see the conflict in each instance? In countries like Syria, Mexico and Libya, journalists have been hurt during situations when conflict is in action. Recently, when Syria was rated the most dangerous country for journalism, it was due to war. In some countries journalists are outright harassed if they report, such as Russia, China, Egypt and Iran. So you see how the term “the most dangerous place” is defined in each instance. In Pakistan, the government openly supports media but does not give protection to its reporters in the field. Media organizations that are run by conglomerates and the Saith culture further dilapidates the chances of journalists’ safety. Tribal journalists working in the harshest conditions, between the military and militants, reporting on the war in the northern regions, are not even paid or given logistical support, let alone provided any protection when they are on duty. So you see, where reporting is made possible in Pakistan and the structure is there, reporters here still don’t feel free, because they know if they tell the story it may take their lives. So, I would say, yes, it is the most dangerous place, but there is an infrastructure that makes reporting possible and the problem of danger and safety is solvable. What have your greatest challenges been working as a Pakistani female journalist covering current affairs, social issues and human interest stories in the country? To be honest, as a reporter, when I am on the field interviewing people, especially war victims, I feel I have a greater advantage being a woman. People open up more easily and they also respect you. Being a female journalist has made it easy for me in gaining people’s trust to hear their stories. My male counterparts have often had difficulties getting the stories from people. But of course, there is also a greater challenge – and that is security. Since I work independently, I have to travel on my own sometimes, without a male colleague, often attracting uninvited attention, being hit on by all kinds of men – often senior analysts whom you respected before they asked you out and offered you wine. In our culture, which is deeply conservative and judgmental towards women, people think because you are a woman you are incapable of understanding things. There are times they spoon-feed you, and there are times when sources will simply not give you information or ‘access’ because they think, you are incapable of the task simply because you are a woman. It’s quite irritating and has often brought out the worst in me. There have been instances which led me to think I needed anger management! What advice would you give to other Pakistani female journalists like yourself vis-à-vis personal safety on the field during reportage? Always keep your eyes open and pepper spray handy. If this amuses you, I also learned some boxing. Sadly it’s been futile so far – never got to punch anyone. What has been the high point of your career? The greatest highs of my career have been the lowest paying times of my life, which would be now. [Laughs] When I don’t have enough money to upgrade my laptop, I miss that consistent financial support I had while working for GEO [a local television channel], when everything was company-paid – travel, communication, on-set meals. I never realized I was spending so much on a production. But of course, the best time in my career only came with the independence of ideas. Being an independent journalist I now choose my own stories that interest me. I am not bound to work according to an organizational bias or editorial policy. Of course this is just the beginning and there is a whole world for me to further unravel. At times I am financially challenged, but it’s worth it. As a young journalist, how do you foresee the future of journalism in Pakistan taking shape? “Foresee” is a big word. It’s hard to say actually. How journalism is as a career in any country has to do with both the political and economical situation. There will always be issues and stories to report on, but during conflict and in struggling economies like Pakistan, it becomes really hard for a journalist to survive in the profession. Yet, Pakistan is becoming deeply unstable and the country will be in the global spotlight for a long time. So the importance of reporting from Pakistan will always be there. You travel regularly within Pakistan to bring to light stories that are infrequently reported by the local media. What inspires you to choose subjects and stories to interview and report on? It all started with my urge to write the book that I am currently working on; the research of which required me to conduct field work in war zones and conflict areas. Living in Karachi, one of the most populous and diverse cities of the world, the issues that have mattered to me for most of my life were the big issues: foreign policy, the larger picture of sectarian conflict in the country, the aerial view of militancy and terrorism. When I started traveling for my research to places like FATA [Federally Administered Tribal Areas], Gilgit-Baltistan and interior Sindh and Punjab, I met people: People who worked day and night to build the economy unit by unit; who had directly been affected by war or conflict, had lost a loved one, a breadwinner of the family; who saw the bloodshed and were escaping it in IDP camps and leaving their homes behind; who struggle for one piece of bread, literally, and who sold all their savings to save the life of an ailing mother. These are the people I have a relationship with, and I work for them. It’s that never-ending story of a survivor that keeps calling me whenever I go.
http://www.sbs.com.au/
BY: SHAMILA N. CHAUDHARYThe life of a Pakistani politician is fraught with life-threatening situations. In recent years, several high-profile politicians have been assassinated: former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto in 2007, and Punjab Governor Salman Taseer and Minority Affairs Minister Shahbaz Bhatti in 2011. The dangerous trend has continued this month with the targeting of lower-profile candidates running for office in the upcoming May 11 parliamentary elections. In these instances, the Pakistani Taliban or religious extremists were the perpetrators, choosing their targets for either "un-Islamic" secular and progressive values or their perceived cooperation with the United States against Pakistani militants and in the war in Afghanistan. Beyond the tragic loss of life, the assassinations have the added casualty of limiting the space within which Pakistani leaders can safely operate. Taliban attacks have pressured willing and able voices against extremism into silence on issues — such as minority rights, girls' education and trade with India — that Pakistani society must publicly debate in order to fully embrace and institutionalize them. Those who remain vocal do so at great personal and professional risk: Pakistan's Ambassador to the United States Sherry Rehman faces charges in Pakistani courts for her support of revisions to the blasphemy law. In the context of upcoming polls, even more worrisome is that the specter of assassination and violence could affect the election outcome, and potentially the representation of key Pakistani constituencies. Pakistani Taliban spokesman Ehsanullah Ehsan announced the group's intention to target candidates and party workers affiliated with the ruling coalition's Awami National Party (ANP), Pakistan People's Party (PPP), and Muttahida Quami Movement (MQM). ANP and MQM candidates and activists have already been injured or killed-fear tactics intended to directly handicap the ruling coalition's chances of returning to power. Another side effect of the Pakistani Taliban's killing spree is that the specific pressure on the ANP could skew the Pashtun vote. After the 2008 election, many had high hopes for the secular party based in the Pashtun-concentrated Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. But even then security threats from the Pakistani Taliban prevented ANP from fully taking advantage of the mandate the voters had given it. ANP was viewed as a potential counter to the influence of religious parties like Jamiat-Ulema-e-Islam (JUI), which swept national and provincial elections during the Musharraf years as part of a coalition of religious parties known as the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal. The Pakistani Taliban's renewed targeting of ANP could improve the chances of religious parties who have, in the past, shared common ideological ground with them. The influence of religious parties has typically been downplayed, but what they are selling might have a new buyer. A survey conducted by the British Council earlier this year revealed that 38 percent of Pakistani youth surveyed believed Islamic law is better suited for Pakistan than democracy. But the Pakistani Taliban has also threatened some religious parties, such as JUI, for cooperation with the federal government. The real worry is not the return of religious parties but the disenfranchisement of Pakistani Pashtuns, who may decide to stay at home on election day to avoid violence. This is the last thing the Pakistani state needs in a province that borders the ungoverned tribal areas and where the notion of a greater Pashtun homeland-"Pashtunistan"-exists in spirit if not fully in practice. ANP also faces threats in Karachi, where the growing Pashtun population has become ensconced in the city's gangland-style political culture. Any handicaps for Karachi's Pashtuns in the upcoming elections could also potentially worsen the security situation there. The PPP, which led the previous government with ANP as a coalition partner, faces similar challenges in reaching voters. President Asif Ali Zardari has been reluctant to participate in large public rallies during this campaign, and for good reason. The memory of the 2007 assassination of his wife, former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, following a rally in Rawalpindi is still fresh among PPP leadership. Fears of assassination have kept Zardari out of the public eye for most of his term and now limit how much his son Bilawal Bhutto, the PPP's heir apparent, campaigns on behalf of the party as well. Bhutto could have rallied the party's base at a time when the PPP needs it the most. Besides the PPP stronghold of interior Sindh, nowhere else is PPP guaranteed to dominate. Voter outreach is especially critical in north and central Punjab, the traditional domain of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and where Imran Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) has made inroads. Most elections analysts believe that if PTI can continue to tap into PML-N's base of support, especially among urban educated youth, then PPP's chances in Punjab are inadvertently strengthened. It can also benefit from the fact that the strength of PTI's "tsunami" appears to be tapering off. If PPP can access voters who are falling off the PTI bandwagon, it could have a chance in chipping away at PML-N's lead. But PPP cannot rely solely on PML-N's failures or PTI's wane. For the time being, Pakistani Taliban threats continue to keep the most influential PPP politicians far from Punjab where it matters the most. Even more tragic is the possibility that ANP will be forced to boycott the elections. While much of the elections focus has been on the historic political transition afoot in Pakistan, the threats serve as a reminder of the tough road ahead for whoever manages to survive and come out on top.
By Karen DeYoung
BRUSSELS — Secretary of State John F. Kerry began talks here Wednesday with top leaders from Afghanistan and Pakistan, trying to revive lagging efforts to persuade them to work together on peace negotiations with the Taliban.
The meeting came amid a new round of recriminations between the two governments, and rising nervousness on both sides of their shared border over the fast-approaching departure of U.S. combat troops from Afghanistan.
As he ushered Afghan President Hamid Karzai and Pakistani military chief Gen. Ashfaq Kayani through the door of a secluded estate outside the Belgian capital, Kerry called “the road forward” a “crucial transformation period.” The two leaders, standing on either side of him, did not exchange glances, and their demeanors were far from warm.
Obama administration officials, who have long said that a negotiated settlement with the Taliban was the only way to truly end the Afghan war, see the window closing for negotiations and the establishment of cooperative relations between the South Asia neighbors.
The Taliban walked out of preliminary talks with the United States more than a year ago, charging bad faith and suspending negotiations over a possible prisoner swap in which five Taliban detainees at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, would be released in exchange for Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, the U.S. soldier held by the militants in Pakistan since 2009.
With this year’s fighting season well underway, U.S. intelligence officials believe the militants are divided between senior, Pakistan-based leaders and ground commanders inside Afghanistan over whether to wait out the U.S. departure or to join the Afghan political process in hopes of winning influence at the ballot box next year.
Afghanistan has charged Pakistan with playing a double game, publicly saying it favors talks between the Taliban and Karzai’s government, while privately keeping the Taliban leadership on a tight leash to prevent the negotiations from getting off the ground.
Pakistan insists it does not control the Taliban. But it fears post-withdrawal chaos next door will undermine its security and wants to preserve its leverage with influence over the militants.
The administration has tried to bring the two governments together in tripartite talks for the past several years. While there has been some progress, with an increase in cross-border trade and pledges of further cooperation, they remain mutually wary and occasionally hostile.
Afghanistan has charged the Pakistani military with firing across its border in the rugged mountains, where militants operate on both sides, and alleged that Pakistan aided militants who killed 12 Afghan soldiers this month in Konar province.
Pakistan accuses Afghanistan and the U.S. military with failing to go after militants of the Pakistani Taliban, a separate group it charges has sanctuaries on the Afghan side.
A Pakistani agreement to host a meeting between top religious leaders from both countries remains unfulfilled. Pakistan holds a number of top Taliban leaders in detention and agreed, in earlier U.S.-sponsored talks, to release them to Afghanistan’s High Peace Council to participate in peace talks. Although some were released late last year, U.S. and Afghan officials charged they were not placed in official Afghan hands, but simply let go. Those Taliban on the top of the Afghan list remain in Pakistani custody.
The border between the two countries has long been under dispute, and Afghanistan does not recognize the so-called Durand Line drawn by the British last century. This month, Karzai angrily charged encroachment when Pakistan constructed a border gate in mountainous territory that, Karzai insisted, belong to Afghanistan. Hundreds of Afghan students in the city of Jalalabad, near the frontier, demonstrated with anti-Pakistan slogans.
The Obama administration is juggling its relationship with both governments. Kerry, who interacted with top Afghan and Pakistani leaders for years as a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, clearly hoped his participation in Wednesday’s talks would break the ice.
“We are going to have a trilateral and try to talk about how we can advance this process in the simplest, most cooperative, most cogent way, so that we wind up with both Pakistan’s and Afghanistan’s interests being satisfied — but most importantly with a stable and peaceful Afghanistan,” Kerry told diplomats at a NATO meeting here Tuesday.
Karzai also attended the NATO meeting, to discuss alliance withdrawal plans in 2014, and used it as an opportunity to invite the participation of Pakistan’s military leader, who maintains tight control over his country’s foreign and defense policies.
Pakistan has only a transitional government at the moment, with elections scheduled for next month. Although there is no foreign minister in place, Kayani was accompanied by Foreign Secretary Jalil Abbas Jilani.
After the meeting at Truman Hall, the residence of the U.S. ambassador to NATO, Kerry will return to Washington.
A Foreign Ministry spokeswoman on Tuesday urged Japan to adhere to its commitments after a group of 168 Japanese lawmakers visited the Yasukuni Shrine, where convicted war criminals are honored alongside the country's World War II casualties.
Spokeswoman Hua Chunying said at a daily press briefing that no matter in what form and identity, the intent of the Japanese leaders' visits to the Yasukuni Shrine is to deny the history of Japanese militarist aggression.
Japan's neighbors in Asia and the international community should be highly alert to their behavior and intentions, according to Hua.
She urged the Japanese side to take meaningful action to win the trust of the international community, in order to avoid harming itself and others or isolating itself.
Only when Japan learns from history can it embrace the future, said the spokeswoman.
People across Russia have been celebrating the 143rd birthday of Soviet leader Vladimir Lenin and two revellers in a North Russia village went too far, and ended up beheading a statue of the leader of the Bolshevik revolution.
The offenders then sheepishly took the severed statue's head to the local police station.
The villagers are like many in modern day Russia who still consider Lenin's role in history as positive. The latest opinion poll shows 57% of Russians see Lenin in a good light. More than half consider him a good person, and getting on for two thirds think his birthday on April 22nd is worth remembering.
More than 60% of Russians would like to see Lenin's body properly buried. It currently remains on view in the mausoleum on Red Square. However a quarter think he should not be moved. The poll shows a swing towards reburial from a year ago.
Researchers also asked what was the people’s attitude to renaming Russia’s second largest city of St. Petersburg into Leningrad, how it was called from 1924 till 1991. Only 30 percent of those polled said they supported the move.
The issue of Lenin’s burial is one of the oldest controversies in Russian politics and the discussion usually heats up around the time of Soviet holidays and anniversaries. The burial is usually supported by nationalists and religious groups close to the Russian Orthodox Church and Communists always brand such attempts as a provocation.
However, it was President Putin who opposed the move in his speech before an assembly of his supporters in December 2012. “They are saying that the Mausoleum is against our traditions. Why so? We can see holy remains in the Kiev-Pechora Monastery and in other places,” Putin said, hinting that Lenin would remain on display in his glass coffin at least for some time.
To Russians,Lenins' Tomb is a great tribute to hero who overturned Feudal rule of Tzars. Which should be preserved for creator of modern Russian state. Without Lenins' Socialism, Russia may have collapsed in WW2. Which brings up the obvious; Anti-Lenin comments are made by Westerners who preferred Russia as a Feudal nation instead of Strong independant. Sure am positive NWO Bilderburgers for Western Hegemony Globally see it that way...Stan Dinsmore
Four months after a vicious gang rape left a 23-year-old physiotherapy student dead and triggered a national outcry over the treatment of women, more protests ignited in New Delhi after another brutal rape -- this time the victim was a five-year-old girl.
Two men have been arrested in the case. Authorities say the girl was abducted, locked in a house and raped repeatedly. She was found semiconscious three days later and doctors removed foreign objects from her genitals, including candle pieces and a small bottle.
"In a capital city, we cannot provide protection to a young girl," said Bhagyashri Dengle, the executive director of Plan India, an organization that works to help underprivileged children.
The girl's family said that police officers had tried to bribe them to keep quiet about the case.Senior police officials have ordered a separate investigation into those allegations.
Clapping, chanting and holding signs that read "Enough is enough," protesters re-emerged in the nation's capital. They waved money at the police officers alleging corruption and ineptitude.
Then, there was another slap in the face, advocates said, when a Delhi police officer was taped pushing and swatting a female protester on Friday, fueling even more outrage.
"Things have not improved," Dengle said of the police. "There is no fear, no sensitization, no awareness if a policeman, held responsible for law and order, is behaving this way to women."
A New Delhi police spokesman said that the offending officer has been suspended.
After a student was raped by seven men in a bus in Delhi in a case that brought international attention to India in December, authorities created stricter laws and vowed to increase the number of women working in the city's police stations. But the latest rape case begs the question -- has anything really changed in India since December?
"There is anger, frustration and introspection," said Poonam Muttreja, executive director of the Population Foundation of India, a group that works on women's health and rights. "Tragically, the people's mindset hasn't changed. Police behavior hasn't changed. Political behavior hasn't changed."
But there are other issues at play, women say.
The gender issues facing India are "deep rooted," Dengle said. "It's the status of women. It's the male mindset. It's not going to change overnight."
On a given week, sexual violence appears daily in the national newspapers -- a 16-year-old allegedly raped by her father, a landlord convicted of raping a tenant, a rickshaw-puller caught raping his 10-year-old daughter, a 19-year-old boy raping a 12-year-old mentally disabled girl, a 25-year-old raping his cousin, and a man throwing acid on his wife's private parts.
While these cases haven't triggered demonstrations, they indicate regularly reported attacks on women and children.Earlier this month, India's president signed a law bringing stiffer anti-rape laws, introducing the death penalty for repeat offenders, and imprisonment for acid attacks, human trafficking and stalking. It also punishes public servants, such as a police officer, who "knowingly disobeys" the laws required in an investigation.
"Our government has moved with speed in strengthening the law to be able to deal more effectively with offences against women," said Manmohan Singh, India's prime minister on Sunday. "But, this is only a small part of what needs to be done.
"The gruesome assault on a little girl a few days back reminds us once again of the need to work collectively to root out this sort of depravity from our society."
Children are even more vulnerable, said Dengle. Many girls don't feel safe using public toilets, walking to and from school where they're teased by males, she said. They can't trust rickshaw drivers who take them to school.
The Asian Centre for Human Rights reported that child rape cases jumped from 2,113 cases in 2001 to 7,112 in 2011 in India.
Some families restrict women and girls' mobility because of the risks, said Aparajita Gogoi, the National Coordinator for the White Ribbon Alliance, which is a grassroots campaign for women's health, at a U.N. Foundation panel for journalists that took place earlier this month.
The practice is long-standing, Dengle said.
"Parents feel scared that girl can be abused on the way [to school]," she said. "The best thing [they think] is to keep her at home and this was happening even before all these rape cases. Girls didn't feel really safe."
In a late, sunny afternoon in Delhi, the dusty streets are crowded with mostly men. The women appearing in public are in groups or accompanied by other men.
A survey supported by UN Women found 95% of females in New Delhi said they felt unsafe in public places. Comprised of 2,001 females and 1,003 males, the survey was conducted before the December 16 rape case of the physiotherapy student.
Three out of four men in the survey agreed with the statement, saying "Women provoke men by the way they dress" and two men out of five fully or partially agreed that "Women moving around at night deserve to be sexually harassed." Fifty-one percent of men reported that they had sexually harassed or committed violence against females in public spaces in Delhi, according to the survey from the Safer Cities Free of Violence against Women and Girls Initiative.
For any substantial change, Indians have to address the way girls and women are treated overall, advocates say.
Women are in danger even before they're born, said Ruchira Gupta, the founder of ApneAap, a women's organization.
Sex-selective abortions, which are illegal in India, continue as the sex ratio, shown in the 2011 census, dwindled to 940 females to 1,000 males.
Having a girl means the family would have to pay dowries, which are also illegal in India.
"Should girls survive, often they get less food than their brothers, they're pulled out of school early to help at home or get married," Gupta said. "They may have babies before their bodies are fully formed and and consequently die of maternal mortality or become victims of dowry or sex-trafficking. All this may not happen to one single girl but at least one or more of these things could happen to an average girl in India."
Half of girls are married before the age of 18, U.N. reports find. India accounts for 19% of the global maternal deaths, according to U.N. report from 1990-2010.
Gogoi, a health advocate, laid a scathing critique during a panel discussion with journalists: "Our culture doesn't place much value on women's lives."
The other problem is that women are seen as objects of desire, said Dengle.
"We have to break gender stereotypes," she said, supporting new classes to teach gender equality. "All this education needs to happen at the school level. They need to be sensitized and educated on respecting women. Our education system lacks that."
The Bahraini government has postponed indefinitely a visit by Juan Mendez the UN special rapporteur on torture.
According to the country's official news agency the trip has been called off "until further notice".
This comes just days after the release of a US State Department report on human rights in Bahrain which spoke of "significant" violations including torture in detention.
The Gulf kingdom has been wracked by civil unrest for two years.
The violence has left at least 50 people dead.
An independent enquiry established by King Hamad al-Khalifa in 2011 found that there had been numerous abuses. The king accepted the report and promised accountability and reform.
But human rights organisations in Bahrain and outside the country say that the promised reforms are happening either too slowly or not at all. And they allege that human rights abuses are continuing.
The US State Department Bahrain 2012 Human Rights Report spoke of "serious human rights problems," including "citizens' inability to change their government peacefully; arrest and detention of protesters on vague charges, in some cases leading to their torture in detention; and lack of due process in trials of political and human rights activists".
Mr Mendez had originally intended to visit Bahrain in 2012 but that too was called off. Pointing to this second postponement Brian Dooley of US based Human Rights First called the decision "a huge blow to the credibility of Bahrain's reform process".
"It seems like the Bahrain regime is frightened of what more international scrutiny might reveal. It's very telling that they've shut Mendez out again," said Mr Dooley.
A spokesperson in the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) described the decision as "disappointing" and noted that Alistair Burt, the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State had raised the issue with the Bahraini government "stressing the importance we and the international community place on the visit".
The FCO said: "We hope that a new date for this visit can be found soon."
http://www.reuters.com/Afghan President Hamid Karzai will travel to Brussels on Tuesday to met U.S. Secretary of State of State John Kerry and senior Pakistani officials to discuss the flagging Afghan peace process, an Afghan presidential spokesman said on Monday. The meeting had been arranged by Kerry in order to repair relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan, following weeks of tension relating to border disputes and the peace process, Karzai's chief spokesman, Aimal Faizi, said in Kabul.
ReutersPakistan must play a positive role in bringing stability to Afghanistan as foreign troops prepare to leave in 2014, the head of NATO said on Tuesday, before a U.S.-chaired meeting that will try to ease friction between often feuding neighbors. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry will host talks between Afghan President Hamid Karzai and senior Pakistan officials in Brussels on Wednesday, with the aim of calming tension over border disputes and the stalled peace process. "If we are to ensure long-term peace and stability in Afghanistan we also need a positive engagement of Afghanistan's neighbors, including Pakistan," NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen told reporters as alliance foreign ministers met in Brussels to discuss NATO's mission in Afghanistan. Wednesday's U.S.-chaired meeting is part of a series of on-off discussions between Afghanistan and Pakistan at the behest of the United States. Rasmussen said he would meet Karzai later on Tuesday. Afghanistan has grown increasingly frustrated with Pakistan over efforts to pursue a peace process involving the Taliban, suggesting that Islamabad is intent on keep Afghanistan unstable until after foreign combat forces have left at the end of 2014. U.S. officials hope that Kerry, who has a good relationship with Karzai, can bring the parties back to the negotiating table and make constructive progress on an issue that has long-term security implications for Washington. Kerry said on Monday the aim of the meeting would be to "try to talk about how we can advance this process in the simplest, most cooperative and most cogent way, so that we wind up with both Pakistan's and Afghanistan's interests being satisfied, but, most importantly, with a stable and peaceful Afghanistan." TENSION The talks follow weeks of tension with Pakistan over their 2,600 km (1,600 mile) border and stalled peace efforts. Although there have been several meetings in Western capitals over the past few months in which representatives of the Taliban have met Afghan peace negotiators, there have been no signs of a breakthrough. Kabul accuses Pakistan of harboring the Taliban leadership in the city of Quetta and using militants as proxies to counter the influence of India in Afghanistan. As well as Karzai and Kerry, Wednesday's meeting will include Afghanistan's defense minister, Bismillah Khan Mohammadi, Pakistan's army chief, General Ashfaq Kayani, and Pakistan's foreign secretary, Jalil Jilani, the U.S. official said. NATO-led forces are expected to cede the lead role for security in Afghanistan this spring to Afghan soldiers, 12 years after the United States invaded Afghanistan to oust the Taliban government harboring Osama bin Laden, the al Qaeda leader who masterminded the September 11, 2001 attacks on U.S. cities. Most foreign combat forces are due to pull out by the end of 2014, leaving a smaller NATO-led training mission behind and a U.S. force to fight militants. The White House has yet to decide how many U.S. troops will remain in Afghanistan after 2014 and this could be a factor influencing both Taliban and Pakistani strategy. Much depends on progress in negotiations with Karzai on a Bilateral Security Agreement to define the future legal status of U.S. forces. NATO defense ministers meeting in Brussels on February 22 discussed keeping a combined NATO force of between 8,000 and 12,000 troops. That compares to combined NATO forces of about 100,000 troops in Afghanistan now. General James Mattis, the head of the U.S. military's Central Command, said in March he had recommended keeping 13,600 American troops in Afghanistan after 2014.