Friday, December 18, 2015
U.S. Defense Secretary, in Afghanistan, warns of IS threat
U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter warned of the threat from Islamic State in Afghanistan during a surprise visit days after the Pentagon painted a grim picture of worsening security there.
Carter met troops at a U.S. base near the city of Jalalabad in Nangarhar Province, where about 600 U.S. troops are stationed. Operating Base Fenty is a hub for training, logistics and counter-terrorism efforts across eastern Afghanistan.
Islamic State has seized swathes of territory in Iraq and Syria and in recent months mounted attacks on Afghan security forces in Nangarhar.
The group competes with the Taliban for territory and recruits, say U.S. officials.
"We are seeing little nests of ISIL (Islamic State) spring up around the world, including here in Afghanistan ... but I will say that that is a threat that we track very closely," Carter told a news conference after meeting acting Afghan Defense Minister Masoom Stanekzai on Friday.
U.S. Army General John Campbell, who leads international forces in Afghanistan, said Islamic State had coalesced over the last five or six months in Nangarhar and Kunar provinces and had been fighting the Taliban for several months.
He estimated there were between 1,000 and 3,000 members of Islamic State in Afghanistan and said its presence had forced the Taliban to re-direct some resources away from fighting Afghan security forces.
"It doesn't have the capability, I believe, to go to Europe and attack Europe and go to our homeland at this point," Campbell said.
"Left unchecked it will. They’ve said they want to do that."
In a report to the U.S. Congress released this week, the Pentagon said that from the beginning of the year to mid-November, there were 27 percent more high-profile attacks in the capital Kabul compared with the same period last year.
Afghan national defense and security forces also had 27 percent more casualties from the beginning of 2015 up to mid-November compared with the same period last year.
"The Taliban's advances in some parts of the country, even if only temporary, underscore that this is a tough fight and it's far from over," Carter said.
Recent setbacks include the brief capture of the northern city of Kunduz by the Taliban, a months-long struggle in Helmand province and an insurgent raid on the airport in the city of Kandahar last week that killed 50 civilians and security personnel.
Campbell said Afghan forces had shown resilience during a "very tough year" but would need assistance for some time.
"I do believe Afghanistan will continue to need our support and the international community’s support," he said.
In mid-October, President Barack Obama reversed plans to reduce the U.S. military presence to a small protection force in Kabul, saying he would prolong the engagement by maintaining a force of 9,800 through most of 2016.
The U.S. troops have the missions of training and advising Afghan security forces and conducting counter-terrorism operations.
Pakistan’s failure to stem terror funding
By its own police records, Pakistan has failed to stem fund raising by various terrorist groups. Pakistan has been claiming to hunt down terror funds and their sources for some time but without much impact on the ground. The fact that almost all the terrorist groups like Lashkar-e-Tayyeba (LeT), Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) are not only operational but also flourishing in Punjab and Sind, reveals the true nature of the campaign. These groups have also been raising funds without much difficulty in the recent times.
A few months ago, media reports in Pakistan reported seizure of Rs 10.2 billion in cash from some individuals who were charged with money laundering and terror financing. The news reports also talked about another seizure of Rs 101.7 million from clerics and workers of banned terrorist groups. Not surprisingly there has been no official confirmation about these seizures, and the identity of the individuals arrested and the groups involved. But the large sum seized from a ``few`` individuals gives an idea of the kind of money involved in terror financing. These would easily run into several billion dollars in a year if Pakistan government were to shut down even partially the terror funding pipeline.
But there is no sign of any crackdown. During the recent Ramzan, terrorist and extremist groups openly collected ``donations`` and animal hides. Most of these donations and hides are cornered by big groups like LeT and JeM. Investigating agencies in Pakistan have found a close link between these ``Ramzan`` donations and money laundering. Terrorist groups use religious cover to launder money from different sources from abroad.
It is well known in Pakistan that terrorist groups get money through three means—zakat collection during Ramzan, collection of animal hides on Eid and foreign donations. About 70 to 80 per cent of funding for these groups come from local donations. There are sizeable number of individuals, business houses and establishments which contribute regularly for the cause of ``jihad``. These donations generally come during religious festivities and occasions. Terrorist groups publicise widely their bank account numbers and addresses in their publications and on the social media. In fact, groups like LeT have been exploiting social media for raising funds within Pakistan as well as outside. By all accounts, these groups have been successful in collecting large sums through these media sources while managing to hoodwink the system.
It is also not a secret that almost all the terrorist groups in Pakistan today have a charity face. LeT was the first one to take this route in 2001. When the group came under scrutiny following the December 2001 attack on the Indian Parliament, it split into two—one to carry out jihad against India and another to do charity work. Thus was born Jamat-ud Dawa (JuD). This was a clever ploy—it helped the group, its patrons in Pakistan Army, to dodge any possible international action or sanction and gave it a public legitimacy. More importantly, it also gave it the much-needed and potent deniability excuse. So whenever LeT carried out an attack in India, Pakistan said it had been banned long ago and that JuD was not LeT. For years, the international community accepted the argument and refused to accept Indian protests about JuD being a front for LeT. It was the Mumbai attacks and subsequent investigations which made the world accept the simple fact that JuD was just another name for LeT.
The group by then had created a vast network of schools, charities, hospitals, ambulance services, rescue and relief teams. This rapid expansion of ``services`` could not have happened without the generous support of its patrons in Pakistan Army and political elite. This ``charity cover`` gave a cloak of respectability to the terrorist group and gave an excuse to Pakistan to protect the group. Even today, JuD, directly involved in the Mumbai attacks and several other terrorist activities, is merely on the ``watch list`` in Pakistan while it is banned world-wide. The LeT has thus set an example for others to follow—JeM has similar charity fronts, although on a much limited scale. Other groups have also followed suit, making it easier for them to get money and respectability, as well as immunity from any action. These are known tactics of terrorist groups and Pakistan could have easily nipped it in the bud if it had the intention to do so.
A major source of funding for these terrorist groups is from charities in the Middle East. Big religious charities in Saudi Arabia and other Middle Eastern countries keep aside a large sum for charity purposes. This sum runs into several billion dollars a year and a substantial part of it comes to South Asia, notably Pakistan and Bangladesh. A large part of this charity funding lands into the accounts of terrorist groups through various means. Terrorist groups like LeT have had close links with the clergy and religious leaders in these countries and these contacts work like liaison agents between the charity organisations and terrorist-run charity fronts. Millions of dollars thus pour into terrorist and extremist outfits. Some time back, this issue was raised in the National Assembly after it was found by Pakistani agencies that terrorist groups targeting Pakistan received funds from charities in Saudi Arabia. In fact, several political leaders issued statements against such funding in public. The protests, however, were quickly doused after the Saudi rulers warned Pakistan of the consequences of such statements. The incident exposed the fact that the so-called charities funded terrorist groups and that it was a widely known secret.
There is no doubt that this failure to choke terrorist funding is damaging Pakistan more than any other country in the neighbourhood. What is no less distressing is that it is also keeping region unstable and violent. The international community must bring pressure on Pakistani leadership to take visible and strong action against terrorist funding. Pakistan’s claim that such crackdowns will cause massive law and order problem is hog wash. This can begin by keeping a check on hide collection and sales, donations accepted by terrorist groups through their bank accounts and assessing the annual incomes of the so-called charities run by these groups. These are purely administrative actions and will cause no mass unrest as Pakistan claims. - See more at: http://www.pakistanchristianpost.com/detail.php?reportid=80#sthash.Eiw36cyr.dpuf
Thailand: Pakistani Christian Refugees, Children Jailed in Deplorable Conditions, Waiting for UN to Act
Godfrey Yogarajah, the Executive Director of the World Evangelical Alliance's Religious Liberty Commission, told The Christian Post on Thursday that the stranded refugees, who have fled religious persecution in Pakistan, are in urgent need of food, shelter, and medical attention.
"Children are taken away and detained separately away from their parents even very young kids. Children are defined as under 15 by them. Right now 134 people are at the IDC and 35 in the central jail. There are right now around 8 children too detained. Those over 15 are not counted in this as they are considered adults by the authorities," Yogarajah told CP.
"Conditions are very bad at both the IDC and the jail. Food is two bowls of soup rice a day. Water is bad. No toiletries," he added.
Yogarajah explained that most Pakistani Christian refugees have been in Thailand for three to four years, and have been waiting for the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees to hear their cases and act on their applications for asylum. They face exceptionally long wait times, however, with many having to wait at least three years or more for an appointment.
"Many of them who over stay their visas are arrested and detained even though they may have the UNHCR document. In March this year there were raids all over and a heavy crackdown by the Police. Some are kept in the central jail, and if the fine is paid, then they are sent to the immigration detention centre," Yogarajah added.
He revealed that the desperate situation is also forcing many teenage Pakistani girls to resort to acting in pornographic movies, and are also involved in commercial sex.
What is more, there are almost no educational opportunities at all for children, while the few refugee schooling programs run by non-government organizations also cost money.
The Religious Liberty Commission's Executive Director noted that local churches and NGOs are able to provide limited assistance, but of the 3,000 to 4,000 or so Christian refugees, only about 500 get any assistance.
Fox News has also documented the plight of Thailand's Christian refugees, noting that many of them face poverty, arrest, and possible deportation.
It noted in an article in August that Thailand is not a signatory to the 1951 Refugee Convention or its 1967 Protocol, which means that Pakistani Christians are treated as illegal immigrants rather than as refugees or asylum seekers.
Persecution watchdog groups, such as Human Rights Watch, have noted that Pakistan's controversial blasphemy laws, which often target Christians, have been the source of so much violence against religious minorities that the people are often forced to leave.
Beside the blasphemy laws and Islamic extremist violence, Christians in Pakistan also often suffer from city laws, such as Islamabad's Capital Development Authority initiative, which is threatening to evict thousands of poor Christian families from slums on government-owned land.
Groups such as the British Pakistani Christian Association have also started petitions asking the Thai government to stop oppressing refugees and asylum seekers, urging it to treat the people humanely.
"Reports from the ground indicate that, effectively denied healthcare, severely ill brothers and sisters in Christ are writhing in pain. The high stress results in heart attacks and strokes, with no real treatment available, and what is available is prohibitively expensive," the petition states.
It also shares of one case where a Pakistani Christian father arrived at a health centre looking to sell his kidney in order to buy treatment for his sick daughter.
Yogarajah noted that there are a whole range of complex issues surrounding the refugee crisis in Thailand, with some of the individuals and NGO's accused of corruption for tipping off authorities on where the refugees live. This then allows them to flash the news internationally and raise money, but he said only a fraction of it reaches the beneficiary.
"Sadly the entire world's attention is on the Syrian refugee crisis, while north Africa has a larger refugee population and more people have been killed there. Asia is the other region with a huge refugee and IDP population," he added.
Thailand is a heavily Buddhist country, according to 2010 statistics, with Christians making up only 1.2 percent of the population.
UNHCR 2015 statistics reveal that there are over 614,000 people in the country who are in one form of refugee status, statelessness, or are asylum-seekers.
http://www.christianpost.com/news/pakistani-christian-refugees-children-jailed-un-152777/
Pakistan - #ANP WANTS ACTION AGAINST BANNED OUTFITS IN PUNJAB
Awami National Party central general secretary Mian Iftikhar Hussain has expressed his concern over the fact that banned outfits are still freely operating in Punjab though the National Action Plan (NAP) was announced after the Army Public School tragedy in Peshawar last year.
Speaking at a function held in the memory of slain APS students in a school of Bacha Khan Educational Foundation in Charsadda, he said that the entire nation was shocked by the tragedy. He said that the freedom with which banned outfits operated in Punjab even now was disappointing as it showed as if NAP was meant only for tribal areas like Waziristan.
He said that Punjab seemed to be beyond any such action plan meant to root out terrorism and religious extremism from the country, according to a press release issued by the Bacha Khan Markaz here.
Mr Hussain stated that if the country wanted to move on the right path to eliminate terrorism and extremism then all the points of NAP should have been followed, but it looked as if ‘we have not yet learnt lesson from the APS tragedy’.
He said that banned outfits were active in Punjab despite the government claims to the contrary. He said that the 20-point NAP was not followed entirely and only some points relevant to the military action in Waziristan were implemented in true spirit. He observed that this would not eliminate terrorism if the entire plan was not implemented.
The ANP leader said that if NAP was not implemented in the entire country and was limited to just tribal areas it would not bear fruit. He said that over 60 banned outfits were operating freely in Punjab and no government agency had the courage to check them. He said that it was clearly mentioned in NAP to take action against the terrorist and banned organisations even if they changed names.
Mr Hussain said that despite witnessing the APS tragedy if NAP was not fully implemented, it should be no surprise that such terrorist acts would continue to take lives of the innocent.
He said that recent attacks in Parachinar and other places had proved that the terrorist elements and their networks were still able to strike, which was a matter of great concern.
http://www.shiitenews.org/index.php/pakistan/item/20177-anp-wants-action-against-banned-outfits-in-punjab
Pakistan - Stars pay tribute to Farida Khanum
Rich tributes were paid to legendary singer Farida Khanum by the leading vocalists of our music industry in a special concert held at Pearl Continental Hotel the other day.
The event organized by HUM TV to pay a tribute to the Queen of ghazal singing Farida Khanum, who along with her family reached PC at 7:30 pm sharp, as stated on the pass, however since the arrangements inside weren’t complete the staff refused to open the doors of the Shahi Khema. It took some calls and some rage from the people outside, that finally forced the staff to open the doors.
Bushra Ansari, the host of the show, graced the audience with her presence to start the function. She started off with lip-synching her “already recorded” Madam Fareeda Khanum’s ghazal; Saaf chupte bhi na they samne aatay bhi na the.
Kanwal Ifthikhar, a newcomer then took the stage and after seeking Madam’s approval, amazed the audience with her voice by singing Yun Saja Chand. Bushra Ansari next introduced the jam-packed hall to Beenish Pervaiz who has been learning the art of music from Farida for the past 17 years. She sang two of her most renowned songs; Sajan Lagi tori lagan manwa and Aaj janay ki zid na kero, and completely enchanted the audience with her vocals and tunes.
“Farida Khanum has given the world a divine treasure and the world will always remember her for that,” she said.
After twenty minutes of complete amazement, Fareeha Pervaiz further captivated the audience through her mature and beautiful voice. She presented three performances including Mangwa de jhumka chandi ka and Sufi Tabassum’s Kalam Allah Allah.
“Kuch Ishq tha Kuch Majboori thi” was the next performance by Bushra Ansari. She paid her tribute and respects to Farida and thanked Radio Pakistan and PTV, for being a channel through which her voice reached us.
“There is no match for Farida in the subcontinent, the way she did justice to the words and melody is incomparable. She sang from her heart, and ghazal can only be enjoyed when someone sings it from the heart,” she added.
She left after presenting the well-known and celebrated Sajjad Ali to the floor. Sajjad Ali who is known for his unique music comprising of classical and pop beats charmed the audience for another twenty minutes. He first presented the famous ghazal “is dard k sawa is dunya main” followed by “ishq jo humse rooth gaya” and then requested Fariha Pervaiz to join him for the next song. The duet of the two, singing “main ne pairon main payal” enthralled the audience, gluing them to their respective seats.
At the end of the show, while addressing the audience and thanking them for their support and presence, Madam Farida got very emotional. She expressed her gratitude and sang the first three lines of the legendary Faiz Sahabs ghazal “dard ka chand bujh gaya”. She disclosed that it was the first ghazal that she sang.
Despite her ill health, Farida still sings as beautifully as she did in her youth or as according a music lover among the audience “Even despite her age and health, she still sang better than most of the people who sang today”.
Pakistan Needs a Nuclear Future, Not a Nuclear Deal
BY
Regardless of the conditions, Pakistan should not pursue any civil nuclear agreement with the United States. Pakistan should review its national security concerns and decide whether it wants to be bound by the rules of conduct of an unbalanced nuclear order.
Pakistan’s Desire for a Nuclear Deal
There are three main reasons why Pakistan wants a civil nuclear deal with the United States.
First, Pakistan believes that the strategic dynamics in the region are heavily tipped in favor of India — post Indo-U.S. nuclear deal. The agreement, which U.S. lawmakers passed in 2008, removes nuclear sanctions on India and allows the United States to share nuclear technology so India can develop its civilian nuclear industry. The U.S.-led Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) waiver for India has allowed it to sign nuclear cooperation agreements with at least a dozen countries, allowing India to obtain nuclear fuel for its civilian nuclear program from NSG nations. This arrangement allows India to direct its limited indigenous reserves of fissile materials solely towards nuclear weapons production.
The Indo-U.S. deal only requires India to separate its civilian and military facilities. It does not require India to cap its nuclear weapons production, unlike the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty to which India is not a signatory. In addition, the deal does not require India to take stringent measures to ensure there is no diversion of fissile material from the civilian to the military side.
Pakistan also finds it troubling that India’s drive towards qualitative and quantitative improvement in its nuclear arsenal doesn’t seem to alarm the international community as much as Pakistan’s nuclear inventory estimated at 110-130 nuclear warheads. Similarly, the ever-increasing range of India’s intercontinental ballistic missiles with Agni V at 5000 km and Agni VI under development eyeing an estimated range of beyond 10,000 km has raised only a few eyebrows. To Pakistan, this is evidence enough of the dual standards by which the global non-proliferation regime operates. Given such free rein, Pakistan worries that nothing stands in India’s way from enhancing the quality and quantity of its nuclear weapons arsenal. Thus it is believed that the strategic balance between India and Pakistan can only be restored if a similar deal is offered to Pakistan.
The second reason why Pakistan desires a nuclear deal is its own internal energy needs. Pakistan maintains that it has legitimate and urgent energy needs that could be met by a nuclear deal allowing it to access fissile material for its civilian nuclear program. After the Indo-U.S. nuclear deal was signed in 2005, the NSG gave a special country-specific exemption to India in 2008 allowing it to receive nuclear exports from NSG members. At the time the exemption was given, Indian nuclear facilities were not under the International Atomic Energy Agency safeguards. They still aren’t. All of Pakistan’s current nuclear power plants are under IAEA safeguards, and it expresses a willingness to maintain similar safeguards on new nuclear power plants and to obey the regulations in any future engagements in regular nuclear commerce with other NSG members, an opportunity that it has been denied for decades.
The third reason for Pakistan to pursue a nuclear deal is the U.S.-led push for Indian membership in the Nuclear Suppliers Group. Pakistan fears that once India is let in, Pakistan’s entry into NSG will not be possible given that the group is a consensus based entity and a single country veto can block membership of any new entrant. Given decades of mutual hostility, India has enough incentives to block Pakistan’s entry into the nuclear supplying body. Thus the only possible path would be a simultaneous entry into the NSG of both India and Pakistan. India and Pakistan should be evaluated for nuclear deals based on the same criteria and they should be granted equal rights in terms of nuclear cooperation with other countries and licensing for nuclear commerce.
Daltonization-Kreponization-Normalization of Nuclear Pakistan
The study ‘Normal Nuclear Pakistan’ was released in August by Toby Dalton and Michael Krepon. This report was not well received by Pakistan or India. For the Indian strategic community, the very idea of mainstreaming Pakistan and proposing nuclear parity with India was seen as preposterous. For the Pakistani strategic community, this scholarly report was perceived as dictation by the United States telling Pakistan what constituted normal behavior.
The Dalton-Krepon report provides some recommendations for Pakistan to find an audience receptive to its desire for a civilian nuclear deal. Pakistan has categorically rejected five nuclear weapon-related initiatives proposed in the report:
- Pakistan should shift from ‘full spectrum’ to ‘strategic deterrence’. Pakistan maintains that after having developed Nasr, a battlefield nuclear weapon, it has achieved full spectrum deterrence (FSD). FSD provides Pakistan the flexibility to deter threats posed by Indian Cold Start strategy of limited incursion at tactical level. This upgrade in deterrence policy however is said to be consistent with Pakistan’s original credible minimum deterrence doctrine.
- Pakistan should limit the production of its short-range delivery vehicles, tactical nuclear weapons and commit to a ‘recessed’ deterrence posture. Pakistan maintains that the Indian Cold Start doctrine (CSD), which the Indians claim to have shelved, is very much alive and operational. Until and unless the neighborhood stabilizes, and India truly shelves its aggressive doctrine, Pakistan cannot consider limiting the production of its short-range delivery vehicles and tactical nuclear weapons which were developed to counter the CSD.
- Pakistan should lift its long held veto in the Conference of Disarmament and let the negotiations on the Fissile Material Cut Off Treaty (FMCT) begin and both reduce and stop its fissile material production. Pakistan’s position on the FMT is not going to change anytime soon. Pakistan maintains that unless and until the treaty addresses existing fissile stocks along with a cut-off of fissile material production, it will not be acceptable.
- Pakistan should separate its civilian and military facilities. We should recall that India agreed to this as part of its deal with the United States.
- Pakistan should sign the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) without waiting for India to sign (first or simultaneously). The only problem Pakistan has with signing the CTBT and not ratifying is the political commitment it requires. If Pakistan does make this political commitment and India goes ahead and conducts a nuclear test, it will be difficult for Pakistan to exit the treaty to signal its protest. Pakistan observes a unilateral moratorium on nuclear testing and maintains that it will not be the first one to resume testing in the region.
The Dalton-Krepon report provides two alternate futures for Pakistan. The first option allows Pakistan to continue its nuclear competition with India, matching it weapon by weapon, tank by tank, missile by missile. This would require huge economic resources that Pakistan lacks. The second alternate nuclear future is that Pakistan de-links its nuclear requirements and capabilities from competing with India. Dalton-Krepon suggest that Pakistan should take pride in its accomplishment of achieving strategic deterrence which means retaining the good old formulation of ‘credible minimum deterrence’ and refrain from upping it to full-spectrum deterrence along with nuclear war-fighting capabilities and plans.
Pakistan’s Most Desirable Nuclear Future
The most desirable future scenario would be to see a safe and secure nuclear Pakistan. This would entail a Pakistan that shouldn’t have to plead for admission in the Nuclear Suppliers Group; a Pakistan that could afford all its decisions no longer resting on an action-reaction equation vis-à-vis India; a Pakistan that is proactive in its engagement with the rest of the world. Pakistan should rethink the objectives of its nuclear program, think about the strategic amount of nuclear weapons it needs to be secure, and then stop at that number. It should work towards making its nuclear arsenal sustainable and deterrence more credible. Rather than talking about nuclear mainstreaming and seeking accommodation in the global nuclear order, Pakistan should think about nuclear sufficiency, nuclear sustainability and strengthening its deterrence credibility. Pakistan did not come this far by begging the gate-keepers of the nuclear non-proliferation regime, but by its own indigenous efforts to achieve nuclear capability. Any civilian nuclear deal, if offered to Pakistan, by the United States or any NSG country other than China, will come with conditions that will cripple Pakistan’s nuclear program. It is not worth pursuing.
Peshawar massacre: still no justice for the victims and survivors
A year after the Taliban massacre in a Peshawar military school, which resulted in the deaths of 134 children and nine adults there has been no inquiry to investigate breaches of the schools security system , the promised aid has not been distributed and there has been no medical assistance to the survivors.
These are the complaints denounced by the relatives of the victims of the massacre that took place on Dec. 16, 2014, whose anniversary was remembered by the Catholic Church of Pakistan with special prayers. Relatives complain that the government has not kept its promises made in the aftermath of the tragedy and is not investigating the responsibility of the military and local officials, who had been warned of possible attacks against the school.
Relatives of the victims claim that the incident led by a commando made up of nine people affiliated with the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), "is the result of the negligence of the army officers, who run the school, and their irresponsible attitude towards security”. They insist that armed soldiers were guarding the military camp, but no one was able to stop the attackers, who held the building hostage for more than an hour.
Family members also accused the Chief Minister Pervaiz Khattak, head of the provincial government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. He was informed by the intelligence services of possible bloodshed.
There are also unresolved issues. Instead of conducting independent surveys on the negligence of the army, pressure was mounted to change the Constitution and establish military tribunals. This initiative is branded by relatives of the victims as "another slap in the face for the judiciary" in Pakistan.
Recently, the only concrete action the government was the execution by hanging of four alleged accomplices. They were accused of aiding and belonging to Toheedwal Jihad Group (TWJ), a little-known Islamist group. Instead the identities of the perpetrators remain unknown. Survivors believe that the death sentence was only "an attempt to quell their protests, the demand for justice and a serious inquiry about the incident."
Finally, the association of survivors and relatives of the victims complain that they received only the body of the deceased and death certificates, but no compensation. The government had promised free medical care for the wounded and 2 million Pakistani rupees [just over 17 thousand euro - ed] to the parents of students. Instead, patients have had to bear the full amount of medical expenses and those who received funding reported that the sum "is insufficient to cover the costs of medical treatment and psychiatric therapy."
Finally, the association of survivors and relatives of the victims complain that they received only the body of the deceased and death certificates, but no compensation. The government had promised free medical care for the wounded and 2 million Pakistani rupees [just over 17 thousand euro - ed] to the parents of students. Instead, patients have had to bear the full amount of medical expenses and those who received funding reported that the sum "is insufficient to cover the costs of medical treatment and psychiatric therapy."
Pakistan - SENATOR SHERRY REHMAN SEEKS DETAILS OF ACTION AFTER DEC 16 INCIDENT
ppppunjab.wordpress.com
One year after the APS tragedy, what are the actions taken to ensure that such a tragedy is not repeated, asked Senator Sherry Rehman in Senate on Wednesday.
Paying glowing tributes to the martyrs and their families, she asked why the parents’ demand for a judicial inquiry has not been respected. “What has happened to the 15 committees that were announced after the APC on the NAP,” she questioned. “Why has NACTA not been funded in the budget or taken seriously. Why are banned terrorist groups being allowed to re-surface in parts of Punjab with different names,” she asked.
The senator said the NAP is a long battle against terrorism and extremism that Pakistan is fighting alone. It cannot just be outsourced to the military, she said. “There has to be a strong political commitment and leadership on this key issue, not just in memorial speeches. Our resolve must be total and unambiguous,” she asserted.
BILAWAL BHUTTO PAID GLOWING TRIBUTES TO LATE QAZI SULTAN MEHMOOD
Chairman Pakistan Peoples Party Bilawal Bhutto Zardari visited residence of PPP leader late Qazi Sultan Mehmood in Rawalpindi who passed away about two weeks ago.
Bilawal Bhutto Zardari offered Fateha and prayers for the departed soul. On the occasion Chairman PPP paid rich tributes to the late leader and said that Qazi Sultan Mehmood remained steadfast through thick and thin with the party and its ideology. He said that Qazi Sultan Mehmood was an asset of the party and will be remembered for a long time to come by the party leadership and workers alike. Bilawal Bhutto Zardari met the family members and said that party is like a family and each one of Bhutto worker is related to each other.
Bilawal Bhutto Zardari also held meeting with party office holders and workers.
PPPP Vice President Senator Sherry Rehman, Party information secretary Qamar Zaman Kaira, senior leader Jahangir Badr, former Deputy Speaker National Assembly Faisal Karim Kundi, Raja Imran Ashraf, Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar and Amir Fida Paracha also accompanied Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari.
Thursday, December 17, 2015
Yemen crisis: Saudi-led coalition 'targeting' schools
Air strikes carried out by Saudi-led coalition forces in Yemen have targeted schools that were still in use, Amnesty International has said.
The rights group accused the coalition of violating international law and disrupting the education of more than 6,500 children.
It said the US and UK should suspend the sale of arms used in such attacks.
The Saudi-led Arab coalition intervened in Yemen in March against Houthi rebels who toppled the government.
Saudi Arabia has previously denied that it targeted civilian infrastructure.
In its report, Amnesty International cited five air strikes between August and October this year on schools in Yemen, which it said killed five civilians and injured at least 14 people, including four children.
Pupils were not in the schools at the time of the strikes.
More than 1,000 schools have either been destroyed, damaged or are occupied by displaced people, according to data from the Sanaa-based Ministry of Education released by Amnesty.
"Deliberately attacking schools that are not military objectives and directly attacking civilians not participating in hostilities are war crimes," said Lama Fakih, a senior crisis adviser with the group.
EPA
Amnesty also claimed that:
- one school in Sanaa that had 1,200 students was bombed four times in a few weeks
- damage caused by the bombings that it investigated have "severely disrupted" the education of more than 6,500 children in three governorates
- although some schools in Yemen had been used for military purposes, it said there was no evidence of any of the schools it cites having been used in this way
At least 34% of Yemeni children have not returned to school since the conflict escalated in March, according to Unicef.
Amnesty said the attacks on schools highlighted "the urgent need" for arms suppliers, including the US and UK, to suspend the transfer of weapons being used against civilians by Saudi Arabia and other coalition members.
These include bombs, fighter jets and combat helicopters, Amnesty International said.
It called arms transfers "appalling" in light of evidence of international law violations in Yemen by coalition forces.
A UK government spokeswoman said it took reports of alleged air strikes on schools "very seriously".
The British Ministry of Defence flagged up allegations of international humanitarian law violations to Saudi Arabia, the spokeswoman said, adding that the UK "received assurances that they are complying" with those laws.
UN-sponsored peace talks on Yemen will take place in Switzerland next week. Amnesty has called for an independent investigation into the air strikes.
SAUDI ARABIA’S FAKE WAR ON TERROR
The House of Saud would like us to believe it has forged a military coalition compromised of 34 Islamic nations to fight terrorism in the Middle East!
Without mentioning how the coordination would be carried out or what happened to the previous counter-ISIL coalition led by the United States, Riyadh claims its more-fictional-than-real coalition will take on ISIL (Daesh) and “any terrorist organization that appears in front of us.”
This is far-fetched. The powerful reality is that Riyadh is using the fake war against the notorious Daesh as a smokescreen with contradictory ambitions. The whole idea is to roll back Iran and Russia, preserve the status quo, and in pursuit of these, depose elected governments and impose others in their place to suit the War Party’s geopolitical ambitions.
More so, there is much talk about how this fake anti-terror coalition is a "game-changer," and how this is a clear escalation of the much ballyhooed, but more fictional than real, Saudi-led war on Daesh - the terror organization that Riyadh and US intelligence welcomed and bankrolled as a “positive development” in 2012 in their continued attempts to instigate regime change in Damascus.
Lest we forget, after “democratising” the failed state of Libya with deadly consequences, the regime changers upped the stakes by bombing Syria, a bandit diktat without Security Council authorization and on the phony pretext of fighting Daesh. Now the regime changers would like us to believe they are going after their own creation in Egypt, Libya, Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan – something that the US and NATO armies failed to achieve after spending trillions of dollars and more than 14 years of war and occupation.
Which explains why for all appearance, Riyadh’s anti-terror plot is entirely based on false premises. While the House of Saud is spreading lies that the Syrian Army is attacking civilians, facts on the ground indicate that the Russian-led alliance of Iran, Syria and Lebanon’s Hezbollah are the only shield to protect Syrians against the so-called "relatively moderate" head choppers sponsored and trained by Riyadh, Washington, Qatar and rogue NATO partners.
Ultimately though, by forging a fake anti-terror coalition, the House of Saud and the mere extras are only fooling themselves. The War Party and Riyadh, their rogue NATO partners, and other allies bear full responsibility for the ongoing wave of violence and terrorism in the region and beyond.
Any decent human being will express doubts over the Saudi-led - or the US-led - coalition's "firm intention" to eradicate the ruthless Daesh and other death cults. In reality, the latest pretext, Daesh, was created as a secret army and to this day perpetuated by the War Party, Saudi Arabia and the minions to destabilize the Muslim world. For this, the terrorist outfit is incapable of sourcing the weapons, cash and fighters alone, and admittedly receives them through the Turkish, Jordanian, Saudi and Israeli borders.
At the end of the day, the impression becomes unavoidable that were Riyadh and its rogue partners serious about ending the Daesh menace, their first order of business should be to stop harbouring the terrorist goons in their territory and stop being the virtual port-of-call for all foreign jihadists from across the world seeking to join the “American Caliphate” in Iraq and Syria.
This is far-fetched. The powerful reality is that Riyadh is using the fake war against the notorious Daesh as a smokescreen with contradictory ambitions. The whole idea is to roll back Iran and Russia, preserve the status quo, and in pursuit of these, depose elected governments and impose others in their place to suit the War Party’s geopolitical ambitions.
More so, there is much talk about how this fake anti-terror coalition is a "game-changer," and how this is a clear escalation of the much ballyhooed, but more fictional than real, Saudi-led war on Daesh - the terror organization that Riyadh and US intelligence welcomed and bankrolled as a “positive development” in 2012 in their continued attempts to instigate regime change in Damascus.
Lest we forget, after “democratising” the failed state of Libya with deadly consequences, the regime changers upped the stakes by bombing Syria, a bandit diktat without Security Council authorization and on the phony pretext of fighting Daesh. Now the regime changers would like us to believe they are going after their own creation in Egypt, Libya, Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan – something that the US and NATO armies failed to achieve after spending trillions of dollars and more than 14 years of war and occupation.
Which explains why for all appearance, Riyadh’s anti-terror plot is entirely based on false premises. While the House of Saud is spreading lies that the Syrian Army is attacking civilians, facts on the ground indicate that the Russian-led alliance of Iran, Syria and Lebanon’s Hezbollah are the only shield to protect Syrians against the so-called "relatively moderate" head choppers sponsored and trained by Riyadh, Washington, Qatar and rogue NATO partners.
Ultimately though, by forging a fake anti-terror coalition, the House of Saud and the mere extras are only fooling themselves. The War Party and Riyadh, their rogue NATO partners, and other allies bear full responsibility for the ongoing wave of violence and terrorism in the region and beyond.
Any decent human being will express doubts over the Saudi-led - or the US-led - coalition's "firm intention" to eradicate the ruthless Daesh and other death cults. In reality, the latest pretext, Daesh, was created as a secret army and to this day perpetuated by the War Party, Saudi Arabia and the minions to destabilize the Muslim world. For this, the terrorist outfit is incapable of sourcing the weapons, cash and fighters alone, and admittedly receives them through the Turkish, Jordanian, Saudi and Israeli borders.
At the end of the day, the impression becomes unavoidable that were Riyadh and its rogue partners serious about ending the Daesh menace, their first order of business should be to stop harbouring the terrorist goons in their territory and stop being the virtual port-of-call for all foreign jihadists from across the world seeking to join the “American Caliphate” in Iraq and Syria.
http://www.shiitenews.org/index.php/saudi-arab/item/20153-saudi-arabia-s-fake-war-on-terror
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