| Islamic World News | |
| 27 Mar 2010, NewAgeIslam.Com | |
| Minority Commission asks govt to review decision on Taslima | |
Allawi Wins Iraqi Election by Two Seats; Maliki Demands Recount Headley names 6 Pak armymen in Karachi Project India: NIA asked to ready relevant documents India: Research group to evaluate the administrative failure leading to Bareilly riots Pentagon Wants $33 Billion More for War in Afghanistan India lines up Israeli drones in race with Pak Bangladesh: Independence Day celebrated Voting in the UN:The US against compensation to the Palestinian victims. Belligerent Tel Aviv defies Washington Al-Qaeda may be holding Israeli missing in Algeria Saudi widow struggles to raise four children Situation calm after Abha high school shooting incident NATO urges missile defense pact, cites Iran threat Experts say Israel could use tactical nukes against Iran UN tells Iran to end satellite jamming Possible Egypt president contender greeted in Cairo India:Advani in the dock again over demolished Babri mosque India successfully tests N-capable Prithvi II, Dhanush missiles Pakistani troops kill 34 militants after attack Malaysia's Anwar sodomy trial postponed until May Taliban not in direct conflict with India: spokesman Bomb attacks claim 42 lives in Iraq What compelled Nawaz, wonder MPs India releases 17 Pakistanis Pakistan does not want Taliban to take over Afghanistan: Qureshi SAD wants buffer Sikh state between India, Pakistan Bomb on Indian plane: Kerala trio held Compiled by Akshay Kumar Ojha URL: http://www.newageislam.com/NewAgeIslamIslamicWorldNews_1.aspx?ArticleID=2626
------ Minority Commission asks govt to review decision on Taslima 27 March 2010 New Delhi: Claiming that controversial Bangladeshi author Taslima Nasreen is in the chronic habit of demonising and cursing Islam, the chairman of the National Minorities Commission, Mohamed Shafi Qureshi, has asked the Centre to review its decision on allowing her to stay in India. Referring to the recent violence in Karnataka over an article in a Kannada newspaper that was purportedly written by the exiled author, Qureshi, in a letter to Home Minister P Chidambaram and External Affairs Minister S M Krishna, has said that the contentions made in the article are derogatory, humiliating and insulting to the Prophet of Islam, women in Prophets family and his colleagues. He has said that the verses from Quran and references from Hadith have been twisted and interpreted in a way that portray a savage and heinous image of Islam. Earlier, Nasreen had denied writing any article for the newspaper, and dubbed the controversy as a deliberate attempt to malign her and misuse her writings to create disturbance in the society. However, Qureshi said it was needless to debate over whether the article was written by Nasreen, or if it had been twisted to make it a spicy and blasphemous piece of prose. He claimed that the author is in the chronic habit of cursing, demonising and making a mockery of religion in general and Islam in particular, making a reference to her controversial novel Dwikhandita to buttress his charge. ------ Allawi Wins Iraqi Election by Two Seats; Maliki Demands Recount By: Hannah Allam 26 March 2010 Secular Muslim politician Ayad Allawi Friday won Iraq's landmark parliamentary election by just two seats, defeating incumbent Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki, who immediately repeated his demands for a recount and warned that the outcome "is not final." Allawi's Iraqiya coalition won 91 of the next parliament's 325 seats, compared to 89 for Maliki's State of Law alliance, according to Iraq's independent election commission. It was unclear who won the popular vote in the March 7 election, but Iraq's electoral law says the coalition that wins the province-by-province seat count is the one that will form the next government Two hours before the long-awaited announcement, twin bombings ripped through a crowded marketplace north of Baghdad, killing 42 people and wounding at least 65 others in an illustration of the still-fragile security situation the next government will inherit as U.S. forces prepare for a full withdrawal by the end of next year. The results ended a tense and drawn-out vote-counting process that was fraught with allegations of fraud and intimations of violence. Members of Iraq's Independent High Electoral Commission, the parliament-appointed panel accused of partisanship and inefficiency in the tabulation process, said they acted without bias and urged all parties to accept the results as fair. "To cast doubts upon this effort is not in the best interest of anyone. It will backfire and this is something no one wants," Faraj al Haidari, the electoral commission's chairman, said at the televised announcement of results. "Let's all instead put our hands together and unite in the face of those who want to bring down this structure." In recent days, Maliki and his supporters had grown vocal in their allegations of vote manipulation and had asked for a manual recount, a move the commission rejected as unfeasible and unnecessary. Small pro-Maliki protests had sprung up in southern Iraq, widely interpreted as a warning of more unrest if the prime minister's alliance didn't end up in the lead. Ad Melkert, the United Nations envoy to Iraq, also urged Iraq's political parties to accept the results, saying the vote tallies were credible despite "imperfections and at some places, serious issues." Melkert said the results of about 50,000 voting stations were checked at least eight times, adding that complaints were addressed, irregularities were audited and ballot boxes that didn't meet standards were thrown out. "We have not found evidence of systematic failure or fraud of widespread nature," Melkert said. All republished content that appears on Truthout has been obtained by permission or license. http://www.truthout.org/allawi-wins-iraqi-election-by-2-seats-maliki-demands-recount58043 ------ Headley names 6 Pak armymen in Karachi Project Mar 27, 2010 NEW DELHI: David Coleman Headley has identified five-six serving officers of Pakistan army among the leaders of the Karachi Project, which seeks to organize attacks on India through fugitive Indian jihadis being sheltered in Karachi by the ISI-Lashkar combine. Sources said that besides serving Majors Samir Ali and Iqbal of Pakistan army, Headley has told his FBI handlers about the role of one Colonel Shah and at least two other officers of the Pakistan army in the Karachi Project. On February 26, TOI was the first to report about the role of serving officers of the Pakistan army - Majors Samir Ali and Iqbal - in the Karachi Project. These two have been mentioned in the dossier that was submitted to visiting Pakistani foreign secretary Salman Bashir on February 25. This disclosure demolishes Pakistan's claim that terrorism against India being directed from its soil was limited to non-state actors. This came on a day when sources in the home ministry disclosed that an NIA team preparing to leave for the US to question Headley will be accompanied by a magistrate. The magistrate will be sent when the US grants permission for direct access to Headley to record his statement under CrPC 164, which is admissible in an Indian court of law, sources said. The statement would be crucial when a chargesheet is filed against Headley and his collaborators. A statement made before a magistrate under section 164 of CrPc is admissible in a court of law and can help India's efforts to get Headley's record as judicial evidence. FBI's chargesheet against Headley also mentions Lashkar members A, B, C and D - identified as Sajid Mir, Zakiur Rahman Lakhvi, Muzammil and Abu Hamza or Abu Al Qama - as those who, along with Headley, plotted the attack on Mumbai. The role of top Lashkar jihadis was mentioned also by Ajmal Kasab, the lone Mumbai gunman to have been captured. But what will make Headley's statement seconding the same before a magistrate significant is that Pakistan cannot trash it as having been extracted under "force by Indian cops". This falls in line with the statement made by home minister P Chidambaram on March 20 after his telephone conversation with US attorney general Eric Holden. ``It is my understanding that India would be able to obtain access to David Coleman Headley to question him in a properly constituted judicial proceeding. Such judicial proceeding could be either pre-trial or during an inquiry or trial,'' the minister said. He added that the NIA and other agencies had been asked to ``quickly prepare the documents necessary to start a judicial proceeding in which Indian authorities could require David Coleman Headley to answer questions and/or to testify.'' As Headley's extradition appeared difficult, India was immediately focussing on getting direct access to him to know details about the terror plot. Under the plea bargain, India can have access to the terrorist by deposition, video conferencing or through Letters Rogatory. Sources said India will like to explore all three. Headley had last week pleaded guilty to all the 12 terror charges of conspiracy involving bombing public places in India, murdering and maiming persons and providing material support to foreign terrorist plots and Pakistan-based LeT besides aiding and abetting the murder of six US citizens in the 26/11 attacks that killed 166 people. ------ India: NIA asked to ready relevant documents Mar 27, 2010, The role of top Lashkar jihadis was mentioned also by Ajmal Kasab, the lone Mumbai gunman to have been captured. But what will make Headley's statement seconding the same before a magistrate significant is that Pakistan cannot trash it as having been extracted under "force by Indian cops". This falls in line with the statement made by home minister P Chidambaram on March 20 after his telephone conversation with US attorney general Eric Holden. ''It is my understanding that India would be able to obtain access to David Coleman Headley to question him in a properly constituted judicial proceeding. Such judicial proceeding could be either pre-trial or during an inquiry or trial,'' the minister said. He added that the NIA and other agencies had been asked to ''quickly prepare the documents necessary to start a judicial proceeding in which Indian authorities could require David Headley to answer questions and/or to testify.'' As Headley's extradition appeared difficult, India was immediately focussing on getting direct access to him to know details about the terror plot. ------ India: Research group to evaluate the administrative failure leading to Bareilly riots 27 March 2010 Police department for the first time in India has announced establishing a Research group under the direct command of DGP of Utter Pradesh for the sole purpose of evaluating the administrative failure in Bareilly. Bareilly is viewed as traditional tolerant city of Rohilkhand which historically has ignited the fire of collective Hindu- Muslim nationalism under the Rohilla nawabs . Yesterday was 150th Martyrdom anniversary of Nawab Khan Bahadur Khan the 75 year old freedom fighter who was later hanged at Kotwali by the British authorities following failed mutiny. Nawab's General was A a Hindu Shobha Ram . Bareilly has largest number of Muslim nationalists and this is how not many of the rohillas ever moved to new Pakistan in 1947. Giving up a land defending whose sovereignity many brave Rohillas had died the whole idea must have sounded absurd and outrageous to previous generation of Rohilkhand Muslims . The land of Bareilly is sacred to these muslims not to mention the great Barelwi seat of Aala Hazrat Maulana Rehan Raza Khan which epitomizes the largest sect of muslims in entire world. Full report at: Source: Gulf Times ------ Pentagon Wants $33 Billion More for War in Afghanistan By: Gordon Lubold Washington — The Pentagon wants $33 billion in additional funding to pay for the war in Afghanistan this year and train the Afghan military, but members of Congress want to make sure they're not writing a blank check. Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton appeared before Senate appropriators to defend the war supplemental, which is on top of the $708 billion baseline budget submitted to Congress in February. Most of the war supplemental – a separate account used to pay for war costs – will pay for Afghanistan operations. Of that, $2.6 billion is to train the Afghan national security force, seen as a long-term endeavor that Congress worries could become a burden over time. When Can US Forces Leave? "The question is, how long is that going to have to continue to the point where we can kind of say we've done our thing," asked Sen. George Voinovich (R) of Ohio. "Five years, ten years, 15 years?" That question is atop many lawmakers minds as they consider what the Obama administration has said from the start will take years to accomplish. Full report at: http://www.truthout.org/pentagon-wants-33-billion-more-war-afghanistan58037 ------ India lines up Israeli drones in race with Pak 27 March 2010 NEW DELHI—New battlelines are being drawn for a spy drone versus spy drone face-off between India and Pakistan. Even as Islamabad continues to badger Washington to give it armed drones like `Predators', New Delhi is quietly working towards bolstering its fleet of reconnaissance and `killer' Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs). In the latest such contract inked with Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) a few days ago, India has ordered a few more `Heron' MALE (medium-altitude, long endurance) drones, ground control systems and data terminals for around Rs 700 crore, defence ministry sources said Indian media on Friday. While India is currently way ahead of Pakistan in the drone race, armed UAVs in the hands of Pakistan could change the ballgame altogether. As it is, most of the US military goodies like F-16s that Pakistan is getting for the war on terror are meant more for waging conventional warfare rather than counter-terrorism. While Pakistan has been after US to get `strategic' UAVs like `Predators', the latter has so far only agreed to supply `tactical' unarmed `Shadow' drones for intelligence-gathering missions. `Predators' and `Reapers', controlled from hundreds of miles away through satellites, can unleash havoc with their `Hellfire' missiles, as is being witnessed in the ongoing American operations against Taliban in the Af-Pak region. Full report at: http://dailymailnews.com/0310/27/FrontPage/FrontPage8.php ------ Bangladesh: Independence Day celebrated 27 March 2010 The nation celebrated its 40th Independence and National Day on Friday paying tributes to the martyrs for their supreme sacrifice for the country's independence and taking a fresh vow to hold trial of the war criminals who had committed one of the worst genocide in history in 1971. The day carries special significance this year as the government on Thursday formed a tribunal, set up an investigation agency and appointed 12 prosecutors for the trial of war to crimes committed during the war for the national independence. Bangladesh proclaimed its independence on March 26, 1971 a day after the Pakistani occupation forces, with the help of their local collaborators, cracked down on innocent Bengalis and the country won its independence on December 16, 1971 after nine months of armed struggle. Three million people embraced martyrdom for the independence of their motherland. The day's programmes began with a 31-gun salute in the National Parade Square. Full report at: http://www.newagebd.com/2010/mar/27/front.html ------ Voting in the UN:The US against compensation to the Palestinian victims. 27 March 2010 When the UN Human Rights Council adopted a resolution in the context of the follow-up to the Report of the UN Fact Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict (the Goldstone Report) in Geneva on Thursday, the voting went on expected lines: The United States, the Netherlands, Hungary, Slovakia, Italy and the Ukraine voted against it. Among the abstentions were the United Kingdom, France and Belgium. The resolution reiterates the recommendations of the Goldstone Report and calls for the creation of an assessment committee to oversee implementation of the report's recommendations. It also creates an escrow fund for Palestinian victims of Israeli violations. The resolution was about the human rights violations and crimes committed by Israel in Gaza. The US was against any compensation to the Palestinian victims. US Ambassador Eileen Donahoe employed clever sophistry to conceal its hostility to the hapless victims of Israel's war crimes. Full report at: http://arabnews.com/opinion/letters/article35272.ece ------- Belligerent Tel Aviv defies Washington Mar 27, 2010 JERUSALEM: Israel insisted on Friday it would not change its policy of building homes in East Jerusalem, keeping the Jewish state at odds with Washington on how to renew stalled peace talks with Palestinians. The statement on Jerusalem came as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu convened senior Cabinet ministers to consider confidence-building steps for reviving negotiations, as proposed by US officials while Netanyahu was in Washington this week. "Israeli construction policy in Jerusalem has remained the same for 42 years and isn't changing," a written statement from Netanyahu's spokesman, Nir Hefez, said, suggesting Israeli Cabinet ministers would not budge on that particular policy. Hefez said Netanyahu and Obama had reached a "list of understandings" in the talks on Wednesday, although some disagreements remained. He said they had an understanding "based on the principle that on the one hand construction policy in Jerusalem doesn't change, and on the other Israel is ready to take steps to move the diplomatic process." Later Hefez clarified that he had not meant to say Washington had agreed to Israel building in East Jerusalem, but to stress Israel's own policy on the issue. Full report at: http://arabnews.com/middleeast/article35321.ece ------ Al-Qaeda may be holding Israeli missing in Algeria Mar 26, 2010 DUBAI: An Israeli man who disappeared in Algeria nearly a week ago may have been kidnapped by Al Qaeda's North African wing, an Arabic daily said on Friday. Asharq Al-Awsat, citing what it described as "informed sources," said the Israeli man entered Algeria with a Spanish passport and disappeared in Hassi Messaoud, 800 km (500 miles) south of the capital Algiers. News of the possible kidnapping comes a day after Osama bin Laden threatened Qaeda would kill any Americans it takes prisoner if accused Sept. 11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed is put to death. "Investigators think it is likely that he was kidnapped by the Al-Qaeda in the Islamist Maghreb (AQIM)," the newspaper quoted the sources as saying. "It is unclear so far whether the Israeli is dual-national or his Spanish passport was forged. It is also unclear why he was in the desert and how he entered the country." Western countries say that unless the region's fractious governments join forces to fight the insurgents, Al-Qaeda could turn the Sahara desert into a safe haven along the lines of Yemen and Somalia and use it to launch large-scale attacks. http://arabnews.com/middleeast/article35287.ece ------ Saudi widow struggles to raise four children By FATIMA SIDIYA Mar 26, 2010 JEDDAH: Um Abrar is a Saudi widow and mother of four who lives on SR1,700 a month that she receives from her late husband's former employer. For Um Abrar, life has been especially difficult since her husband's death eight years ago. He died after a prolonged sickness. Prior to his death, Um Abrar's husband had a low-paying job at a private company. After his death, his company began supporting his family. The fact that she receives this money prevents her from qualifying for government welfare. Um Abrar has found herself alone and uses the SR1,700 to take care of herself, her children and meet all day-to-day costs of running a home. With little education, finding a job is a difficult. Um Abrar was previously helped by her landlord who decreased her rent and asked members of the public to help her. Full report at: http://arabnews.com/saudiarabia/article35275.ece ------ Situation calm after Abha high school shooting incident Mar 26, 2010 ABHA: The situation is back to normal at Al-Bukhari high school in Abha, which witnessed a shooting incident last week between a father and son. The school principal said the incident, which happened Monday outside the school in Dhahran Al-Janub, was the result of a family dispute and that the school had nothing to do with it. Earlier reports said it all started when a father came to the school premises to punish his son for not attending his class one day. The school contacted the father a day earlier to report his son's absence. The boy was studying for his final exams when his father came and beat him up in full view of his classmates, reports said. Angered by the humiliation, the son went home and came back with a Kalashnikov rifle. Forewarned by his wife that their son left with the weapon, the father took his own gun from inside his vehicle and stood in front of the school to prevent his son from causing any harm. But as soon as the boy arrived, he started firing at the school building and cars in the parking lot. The father fired warning shots to scare his son away. The boy fled after emptying the gun's magazine, but police caught up with him and arrested him hours later. http://arabnews.com/saudiarabia/article35254.ece ------ NATO urges missile defense pact, cites Iran threat By DAVID BRUNNSTROM Mar 26, 2010 BRUSSELS: NATO states should agree at a summit this year to make missile defense systems against states including Iran an alliance mission and look at every opportunity to cooperate on this with Russia, the head of NATO says. In a speech prepared for delivery at a conference in Brussels on Saturday, alliance Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said a NATO-wide missile defense system would show collective will to defend against a growing threat. "We need a decision by NATO's next summit in November that missile defense for our populations and territories is an alliance mission. And that we will explore every opportunity to cooperate with Russia," Rasmussen said in an advance text of the speech made available by NATO. Full report at: http://arabnews.com/middleeast/article35138.ece ------ Experts say Israel could use tactical nukes against Iran By DAN WILLIAMS Mar 26, 2010 JERUSALEM: Deeply concerned as it is by the risk of a nuclear-armed Iran, Israel has never even hinted at using atomic weapons to forestall the perceived threat. But now a respected Washington think tank has said that low-radioactive yield "tactical" nuclear warheads would be one way for the Israelis to destroy Iranian uranium enrichment plants in remote, dug-in fortifications. Despite the 65-year-old taboo against carrying out — or, for that matter, mooting — nuclear strikes, the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) says in a new report that "some believe that nuclear weapons are the only weapons that can destroy targets deep underground or in tunnels." But other independent experts are on record warning that such a scenario is based on the "myth" of a clean atomic attack and would be too politically hazardous to justify. In their study titled "Options in Dealing with Iran's Nuclear Program," CSIS analysts Abdullah Toukan and Anthony Cordesman envisage the possibility of Israel "using these warheads as a substitute for conventional weapons" given the difficulty its jets would face in reaching Iran for anything more than a one-off sortie. Full report at: http://arabnews.com/middleeast/article35284.ece ------ UN tells Iran to end satellite jamming By STEPHANIE NEBEHAY Mar 26, 2010 GENEVA: The United Nations' leading communications agency called on Iran on Friday to end jamming of foreign satellite broadcasts, which is banned under its global regulations. The unprecedented move by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) adds to pressure on Tehran as world powers consider a new round of UN sanctions over Iran's nuclear program and it faces simmering social unrest. Iranian authorities have been jamming foreign satellite broadcasts into their territory since late last year, with broadcasters such as the BBC and Deutsche Welle affected. Access to the Internet for Iranian citizens has also been affected. Full report at: http://arabnews.com/middleeast/article35285.ece ------ Possible Egypt president contender greeted in Cairo Mar 27, 2010 CAIRO: Hundreds of worshippers greeted potential Egyptian presidential candidate Mohamed ElBaradei when he attended midday prayers at a Cairo mosque in his first public appearance since returning home to much fanfare in February. Worshippers and bystanders rushed to accompany ElBaradei to the 800-year-old Al-Hussein mosque in the capital's historic Islamic district for Friday prayers, with many chanting "Long live Egypt" and "You are our hope." Prior to the mosque visit he had not made a public appearance, instead hosting opposition leaders and academics and giving media interviews at his house on Cairo's outskirts. ElBaradei's return to Egypt after 12 years as head of the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has energized the country's calcified political scene, weakened by decades of autocratic rule under President Hosni Mubarak. Full report at: arabnews.com/middleeast/article35358.ece ------ India:Advani in the dock again over demolished Babri mosque Mar 26, 2010 NEW DELHI: A former bodyguard of Indian politician Lal Krishna Advani accused the senior Hindu nationalist Friday of provoking followers just before the 1992 razing of a mosque that led to deadly anti-Muslim riots. The destruction of the 16th century Babri Masjid by Hindu fanatics in the northern town of Ayodhya triggered some of the worst communal violence since the partition of the Indian sub continent in 1947. Around 2,000 people, mainly Muslims, were killed in the riots, which left an enormous tear in India's secular fabric and permanently tarnished 82-year-old Advani and fellow figures from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Full report at: arabnews.com/world/article35324.ece ------ India successfully tests N-capable Prithvi II, Dhanush missiles Mar 27, 2010, BHUBANESWAR: India early Saturday successfully tested two nuclear capable missiles Dhanush and Prithvi II in Orissa, an official said. "Both the missiles were successfully lunched same time at 5.30 hours," S.P. Dash, director of Integrated Test Range of Chandipur in Balasore district, told IANS. While Prithvi II surface-to-surface ballistic missile with a range of 350 km was launched from Chandipur, some 230 km from state capital Bhubaneswar, Dhanush, a naval version of Prithvi with the same range was launched from a naval ship off Orissa coast. Prithvi is India's first indigenously built ballistic missile. It is one of the five missiles being developed under India's Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme (IGMDP). The missile with a flight duration of 483 seconds reaching a peak altitude of 43.5 km has the capability to carry 500 kg of warhead. Full report at: ------ Pakistani troops kill 34 militants after attack By HASSAN MEHMOOD Mar 26, 2010 HANGU, Pakistan: Pakistani troops killed at least 34 militants after about 150 Taleban attacked a military checkpost in the northwest on Friday, challenging government assertions crackdowns have weakened the group. Homegrown Taleban rebels are seeking to topple the US-backed government of unpopular President Asif Ali Zardari, who has been pressured to hand over some of his key powers, such as dissolving parliament and appointing military chiefs. A senior military officer and four paramilitary soldiers were also killed in the attack in Orakzai, a day after Pakistani jets killed nearly 50 people, mostly militants, in strikes on a school and a seminary in the same region, a government official said. Fourteen soldiers were wounded in the Taleban assault. Orakzai, one of seven Pakistani tribal regions near the Afghan border, also known as agencies, has seen a surge in military attacks in recent months, targeting militants who were driven out of their bastion of South Waziristan. Pakistan mounted two offensives last year in the northwestern Swat Valley and in South Waziristan on the Afghan border, which it says threw Al-Qaeda-linked militants into disarray. Full report at: arabnews.com/world/article35051.ece ------ Malaysia's Anwar sodomy trial postponed until May Mar 26, 2010 KUALA LUMPUR: The sodomy trial of Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim has been postponed to May, prolonging tension over what the opposition says is a politically motivated case. Judge Zabidin Mohd Diah on Thursday ordered the deferral after the defense asked for dates that would allow Anwar to attend parliament. The trial was due to have resumed on Thursday with a defense cross examination of his 23 year-old male accuser. Full report at: arabnews.com/world/article35067.ece ------ Taliban not in direct conflict with India: spokesman 27 Mar, 2010 NEW DELHI: Claiming that they were not in direct conflict with India, Taliban have said there was a possibility of reconciliation even as they justified the February 26 Kabul attack on Indians as a legitimate action. In an interview with Times of India, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid claimed his organisation did not want India out of Afghanistan but assailed the country for supporting Hamid Karzai's government and western forces. "If the Taliban return to power, we would like to maintain normal relations with countries including India. It's possible for the Taliban and India to reconcile with each other," Mujahid said. Full report at: ------ Bomb attacks claim 42 lives in Iraq 27 Mar, 2010 BAQUBA (Iraq), March 26: Twin bombings in the Iraqi city of Khales, northeast of Baghdad, killed 42 people and wounded 65 others on Friday, security and medical officials said, updating an earlier casualty toll. Among the dead and wounded were an unknown number of women and children, said Ahmed Alwan, a doctor at the main hospital in Diyala province's capital of Baquba, near Khales. A security official from Baquba Operations Command, on condition of anonymity, confirmed the toll. The blasts struck at around 6:15 pm (1515 GMT) in front of a cafe and a restaurant in central Khales, around 65kms northeast of Baghdad. The explosions came shortly before Iraq's national election commission was announced full results from the country's hotly-contested March 7 parliamentary election.—AFP ------ What compelled Nawaz, wonder MPs By Saeed Minhas 27 March 2010 ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) chief's U-turn over the constitutional reforms package continued to bewilder politicians for the second day running on Friday as lawmakers speculated on what could have prompted Nawaz Sharif to suddenly change his mind. Nawaz has demanded that a "consensus" be reached before tabling the package in parliament, although his party's proposals on the appointment of judges to superior courts have already been incorporated in the document. Lawmakers from various parties are now seeking answers from the PML-N chief, with some even bringing into question his sincerity to the reforms process. Addressing the media, Interior Minister Rehman Malik suggested Nawaz might have taken the step under "some sort of pressure". "The PML-N chief would be able to give a better explanation," said the minister. Full report at: http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2010\03\27\story_27-3-2010_pg1_1 ------ India releases 17 Pakistanis 27 March 2010 ISLAMABAD: At least 17 Pakistanis held in India were handed over to Pakistani authorities at the Wahga Border on Friday. Most of those released from Indian custody had either been held after crossing the border by mistake or for having lost their passports, a private TV channel reported. These people were kept in Lam Pur Camp for two years until they were proved innocent in Indian courts. app http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2010\03\27\story_27-3-2010_pg7_4 ------ Pakistan does not want Taliban to take over Afghanistan: Qureshi 27 March 2010 WASHINGTON: Today Pakistan does not want the Taliban to take over Afghanistan, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said on Thursday, adding, however, there was a time when there was a Taliban government in Afghanistan and Pakistan felt comfortable with that. Talking to the National Public Radio, Qureshi rejected suggestions that Pakistan has quietly supported Taliban in Afghanistan. He pledged to work to bring stability to its neighbour. He said Pakistan was striving to be a "moderate, democratic voice" since its return to civilian rule in 2008. "Friends can also change," he said. "What the American people need to understand is that people and democracy in Pakistan are getting their act together," he said. Qureshi said Pakistan would only seek involvement in Afghanistan in accordance with the country's wishes. "We are going to do whatever we can do to achieve the objective of a peaceful, stable, friendly Afghanistan," he added. Full report at: http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2010\03\27\story_27-3-2010_pg7_11 ------ SAD wants buffer Sikh state between India, Pakistan 27 March 2010 NEW DELHI—The Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar's) views the Pakistan American talks in a very positive manner and said they do hope that THIS (Theocratic Hindu Indian State) which suppresses human rights, commits the genocide of Sikh peoples and its minorities is met with equal and strong neighbours. As America admits that it has neglected Islamic Republic of Pakistan over the years, it will think positively in the same manner as far as the Sikh's are concerned and reopen its separate relationship with the Sikh peoples so that a buffer Sikh state between THIS (Theocratic Hindu Indian State) and Islamic Republic of Pakistan will stablise politics in South Asia and guarantee permanent peace in this region. To begin with our party appeals to the State Department to reopen the Sikh desk in its Embassy in Delhi and open it's Consulate in Amritsar so that Sikh American relations improve. The Sikh buffer state would obviate tensions between the Muslim's and the Hindu's which have since 1947 upset peace in this sector. As far as nuclear concessions are concerned, "we think that there should be parity between these two countries as far as the 123 Nuclear Agreement is concerned, but IAEA must posses the power to check and inspect the nuclear arms industry of the two countries and the military nuclear reactors that make weapons should not be exempt of IAEA oversight".—PR http://dailymailnews.com/0310/27/FrontPage/FrontPage5.php ------ Bomb on Indian plane: Kerala trio held Mar 27, 2010, BANGALORE: The bomb found in the Kingfisher Airlines flight last Sunday is taking a curious turn, with the Thiruvananthapuram police on Tuesday picking up three people who were on their way to Afghanistan, from Bengaluru International Airport. The trio, hailing from Thiruvananthapuram, were part of an 11-member group heading to Afghanistan through Dubai, to join work in a British company which had recently recruited them. They are Mohammed Bashir, Albin Kumar and Najeem, and all of them worked as drivers in a private company. However, it was not clear if they worked for Kingfisher or any other company which had access to the Trivandrum airport. Last year, a British company that opened its office in Kabul, recruited around 50 employees. These included Bashir, Albin and Najeem, who left their earlier jobs to go abroad. On March 22, the three, along with the other eight, boarded a vehicle hired from a travel agency and headed towards Bangalore. They reached Bangalore on March 23, and their agent, who was looking after their travel plans, put them up in a hotel. On Thursday morning, the Thiruvananthapuram police arrived in the city and took the three into custody, and later took them back for further interrogation. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Bomb-on-plane-Kerala-trio-held/articleshow/5729721.cms
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Asadullah Syed
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