| Islamic World News | |
| 12 Apr 2010, NewAgeIslam.Com Fatwa effect: Shoaib & Sania forced to go for early wedding |
 PM meets Obama in Washington, discuss Af-Pak situationChargesheet ready in Batla House encounter A secular charge, led by judiciary India rolls out red carpet for Prince Salman Parcel bomb blast at Jamia Nagar, New Delhi one wounded An attempt to reduce Muslim representation: Muslim religious leaders The fragrance of Deoband brought me here: Mufti-e-Azam of Iran Malaysia ashram ready to cooperate with Indian police 'Yemeni child bride tied up, raped' Nuclear Summit agenda is to ensure terrorists don't get the bomb How real is the threat of 'nuclear terrorism'? India to quiz Headley on 'Karachi Project' Iran not yet 'nuclear capable': Gates Kidnapped N-scientist in US: Mottaki Kuwait deports 21 Egyptian supporters of ElBaradei Karzai threatens to block Nato ops in Kandahar 'ISI still has links with Taliban' US paper accuses ISI of freeing two Taliban leaders PPP is dead with Benazir, says former minister Swiss 'no' to Zardari cases If Hazrat Umar (RA) can be held accountable, why not Zardari? Ahmadinejad: 5m need to leave Tehran We will seek death penalty for Kasab: Patil Obama asks Pakistan to bring Mumbai perpetrators to justice Anti-US cleric Moqtada Sadr denounces Iraqi PM Al-Maliki 'China can be a mutual friend of India, Pakistan' 23 rebels die in Pak offensive Hindutva and secularism are the same: Advani Pak govt will quiz A.Q. at 'right time' Dubai court rejects appeal of man who raped, killed boy Woman arrested for killing husband's second wife Is Tharoor planning to marry a Kashmiri beautician? Zardari, Gilani to send salaami & wedding gifts New Shoaib controversy in name of father Trade unions ask India, Pakistan to sign NPT, CTBT Top Muslim scholar launches 600-page jihad against terror 41 militants, 2 soldiers die in fighting over checkpoints in NW Pakistan, officials say Hamas forces briefly detain four Gaza fighters Afghan official: 4 civilians killed by NATO troops HC relief for Muslim woman seeking conjugal rights Bangladesh renews claim on vanishing Bay of Bengal island Freed Greek volunteer arrives in Athens S. Korea seeks details of two arrested Pakistanis Australia orders spy agencies to probe Dubai hit links JCC leader among 60 arrested, dozens injured in IHK Saudi Haj companies urged to start Yemen operations Compiled by Asit kumar Photo: Sania Mirza marries Shoaib Malik | ||
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Sania marries Shoaib in Hyderabad
Apr 12, 2010
Hyderabad: Indian tennis star Sania Mirza tied the knot with Pakistani cricketer Shoaib Malik at a hotel in Hyderabad on Monday after getting a no-objection certificate from the city police.
"The Nikah has been completed. Please pray for the couple," Sania's spokesperson Rucha Nayak told media persons outside hotel Taj Krishna, adjacent to Taj Deccan.
Sania, 23, and Shoaib, 28, signed the 'nikahnama' and said "qabool hai" in the presence of a qazi and two witnesses from each side, sources said.
About 70 people, including close relatives and friends from both sides, attended the much-hyped and controversial marriage ceremony.
After the 'nikah', the guests offered 'zuhar namaz'. It was followed by lunch, where they were treated with traditional delicacies, including the famous 'Hyderabadi biryani'.
Since the Qazi had refused to perform the 'nikah' Friday in the absence of Shoaib's passport, sources said Sania's family got a no-objection certificate from the Hyderabad police. Shoaib's passport, seized last week in connection with a case filed by his first wife Ayesha Siddiqui, is still with the police.
Earlier, clad in red traditional bridal wear, which her mother wore on her wedding 25 years ago, Sania left her residence in Jubliee Hills amid drum beats and reached hotel Taj Deccan shortly after noon.
From there they went to the adjoining Taj Krishna, where Shoaib and his relatives are staying.
She was accompanied by her father Imran Mirza, mother Naseema, younger sister Anam and a few close relatives.
Shoaib, who divorced Ayesha last week, wore a black 'sherwani'. His mother, sisters and some close relatives attended the wedding. Security has been tightened at the hotel and the media was not allowed inside.
Earlier, Naik told reporters outside Sania's residence that there would be a 'mehendi' ceremony Tuesday. The 'sangeet' would be held the next day while Sania's family would hold the wedding reception April 15.
The high-profile marriage was surrounded by controversies ever since it was announced March 29.
It is learnt that the two families decided to ealize the marriage Monday to avoid further controversies, especially in the light of Sunday's 'fatwa' issued by Islamic religious scholars against Sania and Shoaib living together before their wedding.
Sania's media manager Sunday night clarified that Shoaib moved out of Sania's house a few days ago.
The Sunni Ulema Board, a group of religious scholars, had declared that the act of Sania and Shoaib living together was against Islamic Shariat. It asked Muslims not to attend such marriages where men and women come together in close proximity in violation of Islamic rules.
Additional Commissioner of Police N Narasimha Reddy said it may take a week for Shoaib to get back his passport from a court as some formalities with regard to closure of the case would have to be completed.
Ayesha withdrew the case Wednesday after Shoaib divorced her.
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PM meets Obama in Washington, discuss Af-Pak situation
Jayanth Jacob,
12 APRIL 2010
President Barack Obama on Sunday told Prime Minister Manmohan Singh that US is fully supportive of India's request for access to David Headley, wanted in the Mumbai terrorist attack case, and working through the legal processes for granting it.
Manmohan Singh listed in detail about New Delhi's concern over terrorism emanating from Pakistan with Barack Obama while raising the Headley issue and went on to mention about the activities of Pakistan –based terror outfits and individuals. Singh also stressed that its ealize is yet to take "convincing steps" against those who plotted the Mumbai terrorist attacks and raised 's concerns over the 's security assistance (military assistance) to.
"President Obama was fully supportive of the request for the provision of such access. The is working through the legal systems" for giving the access, Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao said.
Rao said that our Prime Minister mentioned about Hafiz Saeed, founder of LeT and HuJI chief Ilyas Kashmiri while talking about terrorist activities directed against from Pakistan. The concern over the military assistance to Pakistan — which Foreign Secretary mentioned as security assistance — was also raised. Prime Minister placed his thoughts on economic premises, saying that the terrorism emanating from the neighbourhood will affect India's prospect when she is poised for greater economic growth.
"President Obama fully appreciated Singh's concerns… The President said that they will engage on these issues", Rao said. Obama has also met the Pakistani Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani later in the day. The President stressed for reduction of tension between the two South Asian neighbours and urged for the dialogue process.
Rao also said that the US President appreciated Indian "sacrifices and contribution". The 50-minute meeting between the two leaders at Blair House, the official guest house of the President, took place in the context of the US having differences over the latter's Afghanistan-Pakistan policy.
While noting that the reprocessing agreement for the US-origin spent fuel, an important step in the Indo-US nuclear deal, has been finalized, the US president hoped that the Nuclear Liability Bill, will be passed as "expeditiously". The Bill is important for the firms to enter Indian nuclear energy sector, and government sources stressed that the best case scenario for the government is to introduce the Bill in the Parliament and then refer it to the standing committee for making changes.
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Chargesheet ready in Batla House encounter
Neeraj Chauhan
Apr 12, 2010
New delhi : IM's Shehzad Ahmad to be booked for the murder of Inspector Mohan Chand Sharma
One-and-a half years after the Batla House encounter, the Delhi Police is ready to file a chargesheet against the Indian Mujahideen (IM) men who allegedly killed Inspector Mohan Chand Sharma.
Special Cell's decorated officer Sharma died in the the controversial encounter at flat number L-18, Batla House, on September 19, 2008. Two militants — Atif Ameen and Mohammad Sajid — also died in the encounter, which was the fallout of the September 13 Delhi serial blasts, in which 26 people had died.
The department has completed the investigations and a chargesheet is going to be filed in the court of the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate within a few days, the police said. Shehzad Ahmad alias Pappu (21) will be booked under Sections 302 (murder), 307 (attempt to murder), 332 (voluntarily causing hurt to deter a public servant from his duty) and the Arms Act along with absconding IM member Ariz Khan alias Junaid.
To nail Shehzad, the police have primarily relied on the statement of six officers of the Special Cell, who were part of the encounter team along with Inspector Sharma. The Crime Branch, which was investigating the case, has collected all the other evidence against Shehzad — statement of forensic experts, laboratory reports of the IM members' belongings found from the flat and statements of the officers of Uttar Pradesh ATS who caught Shehzad from Azamgarh on February 1.
Shehzad has reportedly confessed to firing at Inspector Sharma and leaving the flat along with Junaid while the exchange of bullets was on between the police and IM's Mohammad Atif Ameen and Mohammad Sajid.
"His confessional statement is there with the investigation report," an officer said. "We took him to the flat, the places he visited and showed him photographs of IM members whom he has identified."
In all, officers say, they recorded the statements of 30 witnesses to complete the chargesheet. Besides, there is the circumstantial evidence, the postmortem report, ballistic report and the statements of doctors of AIIMS.
The only thing the Delhi Police has been unable to trace is the weapon. Officers said Shehzad threw the .32 bore revolver in the Gangnahar near Bulandshahar.
After his escape, Shehzad hid in various places, in Bulandshahr, Aligarh, Lucknow, Jaipur, Mumbai and his native Azamgarh. Shehzad, who was part of Atif Ameen's module to carry out blasts at various parts in the country, had joined IM on August 28, a few days before the Delhi blasts.
During his interrogation, he reportedly told police that after carrying out the blasts, they did not leave Delhi since they were confident that they would not be caught. Instead, they carried out further reccee of tourist spots in Delhi.
"He had disclosed that he, Atif Ameen, Mohammad Saif, Junaid, Zeeshan, Zia-Ur-Rehman, Mohammad Shakil and other members had visited various restaurants in Connaught Place, South Extension and tourist spots in Delhi to reccee for blasts," an officer said. "He said they wanted to hit India economically and send a message to tourists that India is not safe." In March 2009, Shehzad would have gone to Pakistan for arms training if their module had not been busted, he said.
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A secular charge, led by judiciary
Krishnadas Rajagopal
Apr 12, 2010
New Delhi : Even as religious fundamentalism is brewing, judicial intervention in the past four months from the highest courts in the People's Republic of Bangladesh is paving the way for the country's determined march towards shedding its "forced Muslim identity" to establish complete secularism.
Since January 2010, the Bangladesh higher judiciary has taken two major steps for their country — to shed religion from politics and to free women from the religious hijab or veil. The second verdict on April 9 by a Dhaka High Court Division Bench, of which one is a woman judge, Syeda Afsar Jahan, declared that wearing hijab or scarves over the head is a completely "personal" choice for women working in public and private educational institutions.
Justice Jahan, along with her brother judge on the bench, Justice Syed Mahmud Hossain, ruled that making an unwilling woman wear the hijab is a slur on her basic human rights. The court's mind is revealed with its observation that "in Bangladesh, there is no established practice that requires women to cover their heads".
The ruling was based on a dispute between Upazila Education Officer and the woman director of Atmaram Bishweshwar Government Primary School, located in Kurigram district during a public meeting at the headquarters of the Department of Education in June 2009. The officer, Arif Ahmed, had insulted Sultana Arjuman Huq, calling her a "beshaya" (sex worker) because she was not wearing a veil.
The court said it saw Huq's predicament as a growing trend of the attempts in recent years "to force women into this practice not only at an individual level but also in public offices". "The case in hand is evidence of violations of the rights of women and girls in public spaces, schools, educational institutions and places of public and private education," it said, directing the Ministry of Education to ensure no woman working in public and private educational institutions is forced to wear veils.
On January 3, the HC Division of the Bangladesh Supreme Court declared Bangladesh "secular" as per its original Constitutional character and further re-inforced the ban on "abuse of religion for political purposes". It made the Fifth Amendment illegal and declared that Bangladesh's identity as a "Muslim country" was a "forced" one. The constitutional amendment allows Bangladesh to "foster further relations amongst only Muslim countries based on Islamic solidarity".
The January 3 order was upheld by a five-judge bench of the Supreme Court headed by Chief Justice Mohammed Tafazzul Islam when challenged by BNP Secretary General Khondker Delwar Hossain and three lawyers from its key ally Jamaat-e-Islami on February 7 after six days of marathon hearings. "Secularism means both religious tolerance as well as religious freedom. The State must not seen to be favouring any particular religion, rather, ensure protection to the followers of all faiths without any discrimination," the court observed.
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India rolls out red carpet for Prince Salman
By SIRAJ WAHAB
Apr 12, 2010
DAMMAM/NEW DELHI: India rolled out the red carpet for Riyadh Gov. Prince Salman on Sunday as he arrived in New Delhi on the first leg of his four-day visit. Among the senior Indian officials who received Prince Salman at New Delhi airport was E. Ahamed, the minister of state for railways.
Talking to Arab News from the Indian capital, he said Saudi Arabia has a special place in the hearts of all Indians because of its fair and balanced conduct in world affairs.
"Of particular importance is Saudi Arabia's assurance to India on energy security and its excellent facilities for Indian pilgrims," said Ahamed. He said the fact that Prince Salman has come immediately after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's visit to Riyadh assumes immense significance.
"This indicates how far our two countries have traveled in coming closer and closer to each other. The number of accords that were signed during our prime minister's visit is testimony to our burgeoning relationship with Saudi Arabia."
"Being the governor of Riyadh for the last 40 years only adds to his prestige and stature. He is a friend of Indians and all of us are delighted to see him and his delegation here," said Ahamed.
Full report at: http://arabnews.com/saudiarabia/article42068.ece
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Parcel bomb blast at Jamia Nagar, New Delhi one wounded
By Rahul Tripathi
Apr 12, 2010
NEW DELHI: One person was injured as a crude bomb sent in a courier exploded on Monday evening in Delhi's Jamia Nagar area.
The blast took place at around 4pm when Mohammad Uzair, 45, a resident of Shaheen Bagh in Jamia Nagar, opened a courier.
Uzair works as a manpower supplier and the blast occurred at the ground-floor of a three-storeyed building.
Uzair suffered burn injuries and was rushed to the AIMMS Trauma Centre. His condition is reported as stable.
Police investigations have revealed that the bomb was kept inside a shoe-shaped box, which was kept in a plastic bag. The bag was then delivered to Uzair.
The person who delivered the courier fled as soon as the bomb exploded.
Investigations by forensic experts revealed that it was a crude bomb which contained battery splinters.
The police have registered a case under IPC 307 and the Explosive Act.
It is suspected that the parcel bomb might have been sent by someone with whom Mohammad Uzair had enmity in recent past.
The family and relatives of Uzair are being questioned by the police for further details.
Search is on to track the courier company which delivered the parcel.
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An attempt to reduce Muslim representation: Muslim religious leaders
New Age Islam News Bureau
April 12, 2010
New Delhi: The Women Reservation Bill will not be allowed to be passed until separate quotas for Dalit, backward castes and Muslim women are not created in the bill. The bill is a conspiracy to oust the Muslims from politics which will be opposed with full strength, said the speakers in the conference of the Jamiat-e-Ulema-e-Hind, state of Delhi, held at the Shastri Park here.
Addressing the conference, the Samajwadi Party leader Mulayam Singh said that the Women's Reservation Bill will not be permitted to be passed as it will ealize the Muslim and Dalit representation in Parliament and added that today the situation is such that there is not a single Muslim MP in 12 states of the country.
Mr Singh further said that whenever he came to power he tried to do justice with the Muslims, adding that in his first tenure he gave 9% jobs to the Muslims in the police force, in the second tenure the it was 10.5% and during the third tenure it was 15% whereas the BSP shortly after coming to power dismissed the 18700 youths appointed by his government only for the reason that 15% among them were Muslims.
The President of the Rashtriya Janata Dal, Lalu Prasad Yadav said that he was opposed to the Women's Reservation Bill from day one because he believed that with the Bill coming into effect, the representation of the Muslim women, Dalits and ealize castes would be reduced.
The President of Jamiat-e-Ulema-e-Hind, Maulana Arshad Madani said that the bill was a conspiracy to oust the Muslims and the Dalits from politics and the BJP was supporting it because it knew that if the bill was passed in the present form, it would succeed to weaken the Muslims and the Dalits and added that the bill would not be allowed to be passed in its present form because if it was passed only women of a particular section would benefit and the Muslim women would get nothing.
On Ranganathan Mishra Commission recommendations, Maulana Madani said that a long time had passed since the recommendations were made but the Muslims did not get reservations. He reiterated Jamiat's stand that the Muslims should be given 15% reservations.
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The fragrance of Deoband brought me here: Mufti-e-Azam of Iran
New Age Islma News Bureau
April 12, 2010
Deoband: The Mufti-e-Azam of Iran's famous educational institution, Madrasa Darul Furqan, Maulana Abdur Rahman Umarzahi said that Iran was progressing in every field of life and the people of Iran were with the government in every sphere and added that the united strength of the Irani people had made Iran a powerful country.
Speaking on the Shia-Sunni relations in his country he said that the Sunny population in Iran was 35% who enjoyed equal rights with the Shias and there were independent Sunni mosques and madrasas in Iran.
Maulana Abdur Rahman visited the Darul Deoband and said that the reputation of Darul Uloom Deoband was ealize and its fragrance had brought him there.
Malaysia ashram ready to cooperate with Indian police
12 APRIL 2010
An ashram in Malaysia has halted all its activities after an alleged sex scandal involving its founder Swami Paramahamsa Nityanand broke out in India, a spokesman of the institution has said.
K Murthi, the spokesman, said the Indian swami had visited the Gombak centre only a few times and that it had conducted only a few activities there in a month.
He noted all the activities in the Gombak centre had come to a halt since the sex scandal broke out in India involving the swami.
The ashram has agreed to cooperate with the Indian police probing the alleged sex scandal involving Nityanand.
A spokesman for the Nityanand Dhyanapeetam ashram in Taman Desa Gombak, near Kuala Lumpur, said he did not know how the Indian police could link the ashram's activities with the sex scandal as the activities at the centre here were purely spiritual in nature.
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'Yemeni child bride tied up, raped'
By AHMAD AL-HAJ
Apr 12, 2010
SHUEBA, Yemen: A 13-year-old Yemeni child bride who bled to death shortly after marriage was tied down and forced to have sex by her husband, according to interviews with the child's mother, police and medical reports.
The girl's mother, Nijma Ahmed, 50, said that before her daughter lost consciousness, she said that her husband had tied her up and forced himself on her.
"She looked like she was butchered," she said about her daughter's injuries.
Elham Assi, 13, bled to death hours after she spoke to her mother and just days after she was married to a 23-year-old man. She died on April 2 in the deeply poor Yemeni village of Shueba, some 200 kilometers northwest of the capital.
Her husband, Abed Al-Hikmi, is in police custody. The practice of marrying young girls is widespread in Yemen where a quarter of all females marry before the age of 15, according to a 2009 report by the country's Ministry of Social Affairs. Traditional families prefer young brides because they are seen as more obedient and are expected to have more children.
Legislation to ban child brides has been stalled by opposition from religious leaders. There has been no government comment over the case.
The girl — one of eight siblings — was pushed into marriage after an agreement between her brother and her future-husband to marry each other's sisters to avoid having to pay expensive dowry prices — a common arrangement in Yemen, the poorest country in the Middle East.
Full report at: http://arabnews.com/middleeast/article41669.ece
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Nuclear Summit agenda is to ensure terrorists don't get the bomb
Siddharth Varadarajan
12 APRIL 2010
WASHINGTON: There is a simple way to decode the sacred words of nuclear theology. If the atomic world is divided into the 'haves,' 'have nots' and the 'must not haves,' then arms control and disarmament is aimed at the first tier: those that actually possess nuclear weapons. Non-proliferation focuses on the states which do not have them and the emerging architecture of 'nuclear security' targets those who must never have them — non-state actors and terrorists.
Limiting, reducing and eliminating the arsenals of nuclear weapon states is what the game of arms control and disarmament is all about, which is why, perhaps, there has been so little progress. Even U.S. President Barack Obama, who spoke of a nuclear weapons-free world in his Prague speech last April, added the caveat that this was unlikely to happen in his lifetime.
The have nots of the nuclear world are those who have voluntarily agreed not to acquire nuclear weapons by acceding to the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty as non-nuclear weapon states. The entire system of non-proliferation is aimed at ensuring that this second tier of players in the global system remains true to its commitment. Since the NPT allows these countries to acquire and develop sensitive nuclear technologies like enrichment and reprocessing for peaceful purposes, the U.S. is trying to tighten the non-proliferation screws, but there is, as yet, no international consensus.
The Obama administration hopes to use the recent arms reduction treaty between the U.S. and Russia to make another push at the NPT review conference this summer. As non-members of the NPT, India, Pakistan and Israel used to be treated as undifferentiated members of this tier. The Indo-U.S. nuclear deal saw India being cut a lot more slack, but it still finds itself on non-proliferation target lists of one kind or another. A recent example was the 2009 G-8 ban on enrichment and reprocessing technology sales to India and other non-NPT states.
Full report at: http://www.hindu.com/2010/04/12/stories/2010041256021400.htm
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How real is the threat of 'nuclear terrorism'?
By Dan De Luce
12 Apr, 2010
WASHINGTON: The nightmare scenario of a mushroom cloud over a major city has led US President Barack Obama to declare "nuclear terrorism" as the ultimate threat.
But experts are divided over the nature of the threat, with ealize questioning the likelihood that extremists could manage to acquire, build or detonate a nuclear device.
"A 10-kiloton nuclear bomb detonated in Times Square could kill a million people," Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Friday, making the case for urgent international action.
"Beyond the human cost, a nuclear terrorist attack would also touch off a tsunami of social and economic consequences across our country," she said.
At a summit in Washington next week, Obama plans to press leaders from around the world to take concrete steps to secure nuclear material before it falls into the wrong hands.
Administration officials describe their effort as a race against time to "lock down" weapons-grade uranium and nuclear warheads before terror groups can steal or buy them.
Extremists could build an improvised nuclear device with as little as 25 kilograms of highly enriched uranium, and experts say hundreds of sites holding atomic bombs or material may lack adequate security.
Full report at: http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/the-newspaper/international/how-real-is-the-threat-of-nuclear-terrorism-240
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India to quiz Headley on 'Karachi Project'
12 APRIL 2010
India is confident of getting direct access to David Headley and wants to know from him details of the Lashkar-e-Taiba's so-called "Karachi Project" – a terror mission to target select Indian cities, home secretary G K Pillai said.
"We would be more interested in knowing what are the sites (in India) he (Headley) has surveyed for the Lashkar-e-Taiba," Pillai said in an interview.
The home secretary said India had some clues that establish a link between the LeT and the Indian Mujahideen terror group that has been assigned the Karachi Project, a terror plot unearthed by Indian intelligence agencies.
According to intelligence officials, the terror venture named after Pakistan's largest city involves recruiting Indian youth to carry out strikes in the country's heartland using locally available explosives. This is aimed to dispel any suspicions of Pakistan's involvement.
Pillai said the government also had some clues of the places that figured in Headley's reconnaissance missions in India.
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Iran not yet 'nuclear capable': Gates
12 Apr, 2010
WASHINGTON, April 11: US Defence Secretary Robert Gates said on Sunday that Iran is not on the threshold of producing a nuclear weapon and that its programme was progressing slower than Tehran expected.
"I'd just say, and it's our judgment here, they are not nuclear capable," Gates said in an interview. "Not yet." Speaking to NBC's "Meet the Press," Gates said that Iran was "continuing to make progress" in a nuclear programme that Washington suspects is a clandestine effort to develop an atomic arsenal.
"It's going slower... than they anticipated. But they are moving in that direction," he said.
Asked to compare the danger posed by Iran armed with an atomic bomb or with the ability to produce one, Gates said: "How far have they gone? If their policy is to go (to) the threshold, but not assemble a nuclear weapon, how do you tell that they have not assembled?
Full report at: http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/the-newspaper/international/iran-not-yet-nuclear-capable-gates-240
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Kidnapped N-scientist in US: Mottaki
12 Apr, 2010
TEHRAN: Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said on Sunday that Iranian nuclear scientist Shahram Amiri, who Tehran says has been kidnapped by US agents, is currently in the United States.
"Based on latest comments, at least the Americans are aware of the whereabouts of Shahrim Amiri, although existing evidence indicates he is in America," Iran's ISNA news agency quoted Mottaki as telling a group of students in Tehran.
ABC news in the United States reported last month that Amiri, an Iranian nuclear physicist in his early 30s who disappeared in June 2009 after arriving in Saudi Arabia on a pilgrimage, had defected and was working with the CIA.
Iranian officials maintain that Amiri was abducted from Saudi Arabia by US agents while on pilgrimage to the Muslim holy places.
The ABC report said that US agents described the defection as "an intelligence coup" in efforts to undermine Iran's controversial nuclear programme.
Amiri's disappearance "was part of a long-planned CIA operation to get him to defect," ABC reported.
Mottaki also told students that, under guidelines issued by supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, resuming ties with the United States broken off in the aftermath of the 1979 Islamic revolution was "not on the agenda."
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Kuwait deports 21 Egyptian supporters of ElBaradei
By DIAA HADID
Apr 12, 2010
CAIRO: Kuwaiti forces have arrested and deported supporters of the prominent Egyptian opposition figure Mohammed ElBaradei, said their colleagues and a human rights group on Sunday.
At least 21 Egyptian expatriates have been deported so far, said George Ishaq of the Association of Change Movement which is urging the former UN nuclear chief to run for president in 2011.
Around another 20 Egyptians were still being detained in Kuwait said Ishaq, citing colleagues in Kuwait. There was no immediate comment to The Associated Press by Egyptian or Kuwait government officials.
It is the first time in years that Kuwait has deported groups of expatriate residents for political activity.
Full report at: http://arabnews.com/middleeast/article41855.ece
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Karzai threatens to block Nato ops in Kandahar
Stephen Grey,
Apr 12, 2010,
KANDAHAR: The president of Afghanistan, Hamid Karzai, has cast doubt over Nato's planned summer offensive against the Taliban in the southern province of Kandahar, as more than 10,000 American troops pour in for the fight.
Karzai threatened to delay or even cancel the operation — one of the biggest of nine-year war — after being confronted in Kandahar by elders who said it would bring strife, not security, to his home province.
Visiting last week to rally support for the offensive, the president was instead overwhelmed by a barrage of complaints about corruption and misrule. As he was heckled at a shura of 1,500 tribal leaders and elders, he appeared to offer them a veto over military action. "Are you happy or unhappy for the operation to be carried out?" he asked.
The elders shouted back: "We are not happy."
"Then until the time you say you are happy, the operation will not happen," Karzai replied.
General Stanley McChrystal, the Nato commander, who was sitting behind him, looked distinctly apprehensive. The remarks have compounded US anger and bewilderment with Karzai, who has already accused the United States of rigging last year's presidential elections and even threatened to switch sides to join the Taliban.
One American official said after the shura that Karzai had proved neither a reliable ally nor popular with his own people.
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'ISI still has links with Taliban'
12 APRIL 2010
Washington, April 11: Pakistan's powerful ISI, which is eyeing Afghanistan in the event of the US exit from there, still maintains "active" links with Taliban as it quietly freed at least two high-ranking militants of the outfit it had captured on its own, a media report said on Sunday.
Acknowledging that they have a very limited understanding of the ISI directorate, CIA veterans, who have worked closely with the Pakistani spy agency, describe it as "sprawling", the Washington Post reported.
It is "so ealize e ized" that units working alongside the CIA might have little knowledge of the activities of the agency's "S" directorate, which maintains ties to insurgent groups, the paper said.
The recent capture of Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, the Afghan Taliban's second-in-command seemed to signal a turning point in Pakistan, an indication that its intelligence agency had gone from helping to cracking down on the militant group.
But US officials now believe that even as Pakistan's security forces worked with their US counterparts to detain Baradar and other insurgents, Inter-Services Intelligence directorate quietly freed at least two senior Afghan Taliban figures it had captured on its own. http://www.asianage.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=8730:isi-still-has-links-with-taliban&catid=36:international&Itemid=61
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US paper accuses ISI of freeing two Taliban leaders
12 Apr, 2010
WASHINGTON, April 11: US officials have alleged that Pakistan's Inter- Services Intelligence has freed at least two top Afghan Taliban leaders captured some time back.
Quoting US military and intelligence officials, The Washington Post reported on Sunday that the releases were evidence that parts of Pakistan's security establishment continued to support the Afghan Taliban.
The names of the two commanders have not been disclosed.
The Post quoted the officials as saying that even as Pakistan's security forces worked with their American counterparts to detain Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar and other insurgents, the ISI continued to retain some of its links with the militants.
The officials said the releases, detected by American spy agencies but not publicly disclosed, underscored how complicated the CIA-ISI relationship remained at a time when the United States and Pakistan were battling insurgencies that straddle the Afghanistan border and were increasingly anxious about how the war in that country will end.
The officials spoke on the condition of anonymity and declined to identify the Taliban figures who were released, citing the secrecy surrounding US monitoring of the ISI. But officials said the freed captives were high-ranking Taliban members and would have been ealize e as insurgents the United States would want in custody.
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PPP is dead with Benazir, says former minister
April 12, 2010
RAWALPINDI: A former federal minister for industries in the Zulfikar Ali Bhutto government, Raja Shahid Zafar, has refused to accept the present set-up as the PPP government, saying that the party is dead with the killing of Benazir Bhutto.
Most of those who are part of the government have neither been in the PPP nor have any interest in the country. The remaining small minority is there because of corruption or hypocrisy, he said while taking part in Geo News programme "Meray Mutabiq".
The remnants of Gen Ziaul Haq and Gen Pervez Musharraf are also part of the present PPP government. Asif Ali Zardari has had never such relations with the PPP as Bhuttos had. Senior leaders, like Raza Rabbani, have no say in the party.
Party workers are confused as they see there exists no party or as such any government. Raja Shahid Zafar, while talking to Dr Shahid Masood in his programme 'Aap Ke Mutabiq', appreciated the policy of Prime Minister Gilani of taking along former prime minister Mian Nawaz Sharif. He warned the government of severe consequences in case Gilani took crucial decisions after getting powers under the 18th Amendment restored.
Senior analyst Salim Bokhari was of the view that 90% of those in the government or part of the PPP hierarchy had no roots in the party nor enjoyed confidence of party workers. A mafia has laid a siege and surrounded President Asif Ali Zardari and disfigured the party's face.
Full report at: http://www.hindu.com/2010/04/12/stories/2010041263941700.htm
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If Hazrat Umar (RA) can be held accountable, why not Zardari?
April 12, 2010
ISLAMABAD: Former law minister Dr Khalid Ranjha and former President Supreme Court Bar Association Akram Sheikh, Advocate, have said that Article 248 should be abolished from the Constitution. They said the PPP and the PML-N should have demanded expunction of this article.
Both Dr Ranjha and Akram Sheikh expressed these views while talking to Hassan Nisar in programme 'Choraha' of Geo News on Saturday. They said if accountability of the second Caliph Hazrat Umar Farooq (RA) could be carried out, then why not President Zardari?
Akram Sheikh said 63 years had passed but no one had been held accountable. If accountability is not carried out today, the country will have no future.Declaring Article 248 as British law, Akram Sheikh said it should be scrapped. He urged the need for a law to hold those accountable with full force who enjoy authority.
Akram Sheikh gave the example of Hazrat Umar Farooq (RA) when a common man questioned the Caliph that from where did he get cloth of the dress he wore because the man could not sew his dress from the share of his cloth. On this, the Caliph said that his son would reply the question. He said in Pakistan, it seemed that the government was not ready to act upon the rules of business.
Full report at: http://www.hindu.com/2010/04/12/stories/2010041263411400.htm
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Obama asks Pakistan to bring Mumbai perpetrators to justice
April 12, 2010
Washington, DC: US president Barack Obama today asked Pakistani prime minister Yusuf Raza Gilani to bring the perpetrators of the Mumbai terrorist attacks to justice, saying this would help improve the security situation in the region.
Obama also did not commit for any civilian nuclear deal with Pakistan on the lines of that of India.
Meeting Gilani, more than two hours after his meeting with the Indian prime minister, Obama told the high-level Pakistani delegation that Manmohan Singh was sincere in improving ties with Islamabad, but wants Pakistan to take action against those responsible for the Mumbai attacks.
"Obama said he feels that prime minister Singh is sincere in his desire to engage Pakistan, but he (Singh) wants Pakistan to move against those responsible for the Mumbai attacks," said a source referring to the deliberations that went inside the two delegations for about 40 minutes at the Blair House.
Full report at: http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report_obama-asks-pakistan-to-bring-mumbai-perpetrators-to-justice_1370320
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Anti-US cleric Moqtada Sadr denounces Iraqi PM Al-Maliki
Apr 12, 2010
NAJAF: An anti-US cleric who is in negotiations to form Iraq's next government openly pilloried incumbent Prime Minister Nuri Al-Maliki on Friday in a message to supporters at a major demonstration.
Key figures in the movement of Moqtada Sadr gathered in the Shiite holy city of Najaf, south of Baghdad, hailing a "new era" for the group exactly seven years after Saddam Hussein's ouster.
Thousands of Sadrists marched in the streets holding Iraqi flags aloft – and trampling as a mark of disrespect on those of America and Britain, chanting "Yes, yes Iraq, no, no occupation." "Those who cling to their posts must not remain," said Sheikh Hazem Al-Araji, delivering a missive directly from Sadr, who has been in self-imposed exile in Iran for the past three years.
"People decided with their votes that the hunger, arrests, terrorism and the Baathists would not return," he said.
"We are entering a new era which has no place for occupiers and oppressors ... and people who put in jail those who resisted," referring to Saddam's Baath party.
Full report at: http://arabnews.com/middleeast/article41177.ece
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'China can be a mutual friend of India, Pakistan'
12 APRIL 2010
Beijing: Advocating closer China-India ties on the lines of China's "all-weather friendship" with Pakistan, a leading State-run newspaper on Sunday said an 'Asia century' will remain only a dream until the two giants treat each other with mutual trust and respect.
"China wants to build close ties with India like that of its "all-weather friendship" with Pakistan and if Beijing could become the "mutual friend of the Asian rivals" it could contribute more to regional peace and stability," the China Daily said in a commentary.
"India has always harboured a grudge over China's all-weather friendship with Pakistan. The China-Pakistan relationship is based on mutual trust and mutual support in nation building and international cooperation," it said.
"To maintain a peaceful external environment, China also wants to build closer ties with India," the daily said.
Full report at: http://www.hindu.com/2010/04/12/stories/2010041256051400.htm
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23 rebels die in Pak offensive
MOHAMMED and REZAUL H. LASKAR
12 APRIL 2010
PESHAWAR/ISLAMABAD, April 11: Pakistani forces backed by helicopter gunships on Sunday killed 23 militants during fierce clashes and destroyed three hideouts in the volatile Orakzai tribal area in the country's northwest, official sources said.
At least 12 militants died in the clashes that took place early on Sunday in Sanghra, Saam and Nak-htaro Ghar areas, where troops have launched a fresh offensive to flush out pro-Taliban militants from the region. Eleven more militants were killed in fierce clashes in Sherin Darra area, which was captured by the troops, the sources said. Security officials have claimed that about 300 militants have been killed since the operation was launched in Orakzai Agency. About a dozen security personnel have also died in the fighting. Troops are expected to face tough resistance when they move into the upper areas of Orakzai Agency, especially Mam-ozai, which is considered a stronghold of the militants. Taliban militants also blew up a state-run school in the troubled Mohmand tribal region though there were no reports of casualties. Militants have destroyed hundreds of schools in northwest Pakistan over the past two years.
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Hindutva and secularism are the same: Advani
Apr 12, 2010,
NEW DELHI: Senior BJP leader L K Advani on Sunday made an attempt to revisit Hindutva, part of his party's core ideology, and said the party needed to do more to explain to the people that Hindutva and 'secularism' in the Indian context were the same thing.
Referring to a magazine article by senior lawyer Ram Jethmalani, Advani said in his latest blog posting, "The title of this article 'Hindutva is not property of BJP' sounds provocative.
Some of my party colleagues may take umbrage and presume the article is critical. It is not. It is complimentary." Advani quoted Jethmalani as saying, "It is a pity that the BJP has not been able to explain to people that Hindutva and Indian secularism are practically synonyms."
The BJP veteran recalled that Jethmalani secured a landmark judgment on Hindutva in which the court had observed that "Hindutva is a way of life or state of mind and cannot be understood as religious Hindu fundamentalism".
Advani recalled an interview he gave to a Canadian TV channel in the late 1980s where he had said, "I hold that the most important ingredient for a successful democracy is readiness of the people of that country to accept that on any issue, there are bound to be divergent views and that citizens generally must be informed by an attitude of tolerance towards diametrically different points of view. In India, this has never been lacking."
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Pak govt will quiz A.Q. at 'right time'
12 APRIL 2010
LAHORE, April 11: Pakistani authorities will interrogate disgraced nuclear scientist A.Q. Khan "at an appropriate time" for his claim that he tried to help Iran and Iraq develop nuclear weapons, a top government lawyer has said.
"The Lahore high court did not restrain the government from probing this sensitive matter. Rather, it had left it to the government to launch an investigation when it deems fit," said lawyer Ahmer Bilal Sufi.
Mr Sufi had represented the government when the high court took up Dr Khan's petition over the removal of security restrictions. "The federal government will interrogate Khan at an appropriate time for the claim he made during an interview with the Washington Post that he tried to help Iran and Iraq develop nuclear weapons and that those deals were in the knowledge of the Pakistani government," he said. "The government cannot let it go unnoticed as it is a very sensitive matter and may have repercussions for Pakistan's nuclear programme," he said.
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Dubai court rejects appeal of man who raped, killed boy
12 Apr, 2010
DUBAI: A Dubai court rejected the appeal of an Emirati man sentenced to death for raping and murdering a four-year-old Pakistani boy, newspapers reported on Sunday.
The man was sentenced to death on January 27 by lower court judge Fahmi Fahmi. Lawyer Abdullah al Mudharreb argued before the appeals court that the man "requires social and psychological care more than he needs to be punished," Gulf News reported.
Mudharreb said the man went through "difficult life conditions" including his mother dying when he was young, dropping out of school and alcoholism.
According to daily The National, the case will now go to Dubai's Supreme Court.The condemned man, 30, confessed during his initial trial to raping and murdering the boy in a mosque as worshippers offered prayers nearby on the first day of Eidul Azha on November 27, 2009.
Although the United Arab Emirates has the death penalty on its statute book, executions are rarely carried out in the oil-rich Gulf country.
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Woman arrested for killing husband's second wife
12 Apr, 2010
KARACHI: Police have arrested a woman for allegedly killing her husband's second wife.
Earlier, the accused woman had told the officials in her statement that three suspects had broken into the house and held her and a child hostage, while they killed Shameel with an axe.
According to details, the incident had taken place at in Tharo Mohalla in Chakiwara police precincts.
According to Station House Officer (SHO) Saeed Rind, the victim had married Asghar Rajper about a month ago and was residing with his first wife Naseema in Khairpur until two days ago when they arrived in Karachi to stay at a relative's house.
The SHO disclosed that the victim already had four children from her previous marriage and was a divorcee.
The SHO also said a case against Naseema had been lodged on a complaint, adding, "The doctors at the hospital suggested the victim was given some toxic substance. Moreover, the accused woman's relatives have disclosed that she had brought an axe from Khairpur. These pieces of information could be used against the accused."
PPP activist's body found: A bullet-riddled body of an activist of the Pakistan People's Party (PPP) was found on Sunday from Garden police precincts.
As per details, the body of 32-year-old Sibtain Arif Shah was found near the Shoe Market with at least four bullet wounds.
The body was shifted to the Civil Hospital Karachi for legal formalities.
According to the victim's stepbrother, Shah was affiliated with the PPP and the motive behind the incident was hitherto unclear.
He also said the victim had been living at his maternal aunt's house, adding, "He [the victim] had left the house after receiving a phone call on Saturday night and he was found dead later in the morning."
Police have registered FIR No 110/10 against unidentified suspects.
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Is Tharoor planning to marry a Kashmiri beautician?
Apr 11, 2010
New Delhi : Shashi Tharoor was back in news on Sunday, this time for his personal life, with reports that the Minister of State for External Affairs was intending to marry a Kashmiri beautician after divorcing his Canadian wife.
Sources close to the 54-year old Tharoor declined to comment on the reports, urging the media to respect his privacy. "He will announce whatever, when he has something to announce," the sources said.
Media reports said Tharoor proposed to marry Sunanda, a girl from a Kashmiri family. Trained as a beautician, Sunanda runs a spa and has lived in Dubai. The Minister is said to be undergoing a legal separation from his second wife Christa Giles, a Canadian civil servant who works with the United States on disarmament issues.
Tharoor was earlier married to academic Tilottama Mukherji, whom he knew from his school days in Kolkata.
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Zardari, Gilani to send salaami & wedding gifts
Shafqat Ali
12 APRIL 2010
Islamabad, April 11: The Pakistan government on Sunday contacted its high commissioner to India, Mr Shahid Malik, directing him to ensure the recovery of cricketer Shoaib Malik's passport from the Indian authorities after it was seized by the Indian police when his ex-wife Ayesha Siddiqui filed a case against him in Hyderabad. The Pakistani cricketer has now divorced Ayesha Siddiqui and is set to marry tennis ace Sania Mirza.
"Interior minister Rehman Malik has contacted the Pakistan high commissioner in India on the phone to get back Shoaib Malik's passport," an official statement issued here said. "The Pakistan high commissioner in New Delhi has been directed to take immediate action to get back Pakistan cricketer Shoaib Malik's passport, seized by the Indian police," it added.
Meanwhile, Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani are to send separate gifts plus greeting cards to Shoaib Malik and Sania Mirza. "The President has also joined the Prime Minister in dispatching the gifts along with greeting cards to the couple," an official at the presidency said. He said a proposal was under consideration to confer on Sania Mirza a civilian award in the near future to firm up the position that Pakistan stands for promoting peace and establishing people-to-people contact. "The President has issued directives to his principal secretary, Salman Farooqi, to send a gift, salaami (cash) and a greeting card to both Shoaib Malik and Sania Mirza," the official at the presidency said.
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New Shoaib controversy in name of father
11 APRIL 2010
Hyderabad, April 10: A fresh controversy surfaced in the Shoaib Malik-Sania Mirza marriage saga on Saturday with the Pakistani cricketer being accused of giving his father's name wrongly in the papers divorcing his first wife, Ayesha Siddiqui.
In the divorce documents signed on April 7, Shoaib mentioned his father's name as Malik Saleem Hussain while in the invitation card of his wedding with Sania, the name is given as Malik Faqeer Hussain.
Sources said that in Shoaib's passport, his father's name is given as Malik Faqeer Hussain. Incidentally, the cricketer mentioned his father's name as Malik Saleem Hussain in the nikahnama of Ayesha.
Shoaib could face legal action if Ayesha's family files a case against him on charges of furnishing false information. Some legal experts are seeing it as an attempt by Shoaib to invalidate his divorce with Ayesha by furnishing a wrong name so that Sania can claim to be his first wife.
Full report at: http://www.asianage.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=8585:new-shoaib-controversy-in-name-of-father&catid=35:india&Itemid=60
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Trade unions ask India, Pakistan to sign NPT, CTBT
12 APRIL 2010
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Trade union leaders of India and Pakistan have urged the two countries to sign the Nuclear Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) and use the trillions of rupees they spend on bomb-making and arms trade for poverty eradication and the welfare of their people.
At a conference ealize by the International Trade Union Confederation of the Asia Pacific Region in Singapore on April 7 and 8, union leaders from the two nations joined their counterparts from Japan, the Philippines, Mongolia, Indonesia and other nations of the region in demanding that the nuclear stockpiles of the two nations be scrapped.
The Indian unions were represented by Hind Mazdoor Sangh (HMS) president Thampan Thomas, and those in Pakistan by Muhammed Zahoor Awan of the Pakistan Workers Federation.
Full report at: http://www.hindu.com/2010/04/12/stories/2010041263781500.htm
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Top Muslim scholar launches 600-page jihad against terror
April 12th, 2010
A top Muslim scholar has launched a 600-page document arguing against violence in the name of Islam.
Qadri, who is based in Toronto, believes his religious order, or fatwa, banning suicide bombings and other terrorist acts, will save American lives."This is my jihad against terrorism. It will take some time but gradually it will work, and, it will bring very positive results in changing the mind of the youths, in America, in Britain, in the western world and in the Arab world too," he told the New York Daily News.
"Human beings are human beings everywhere, there is no right of killing. This is against Islam and against every religion and against the values of humanity," he added.
Pakistani-born Qadri, 59, admitted it would be slow progress achieving his aim, but sincerely thinks most Muslim youths can still be saved from the extremists' grip – and that he's the man to do it. http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/world-news/top-muslim-scholar-launches-600-page-jihad-against-terror_100346729.html
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41 militants, 2 soldiers die in fighting over checkpoints in NW Pakistan, officials say
By HUSSAIN AFZAL
April 12th, 2010
More than 100 militants armed with rockets and automatic weapons attacked two security checkpoints in northwestern Pakistan on Monday, sparking intense fighting that left at least 41 insurgents and two soldiers dead, officials said.
The clashes were the latest violence in the Orakzai tribal region, where the military launched an operation in March to rout Pakistani Taliban fighters who have fled there to escape other offensives. Officials say more than 300 suspected militants have been killed in three weeks of constant airstrikes and occasional ground clashes.
The U.S. has applauded Pakistan's push to go after militants in the volatile border area near Afghanistan. But American officials would like the country to do more to target those fighters who have been staging cross-border attacks against U.S. and NATO troops in Afghanistan.
Security forces successfully repelled the attacks early Monday morning against checkpoints in the villages of Shireen Dara and Sangrana in Lower Orakzai, local administrator Samiullah Khan said. Two soldiers were killed and three wounded in the fighting, he said.
"More than 100 militants attacked the security checkpoint in Shireen Dara," Khan said. "They fought a gunbattle for two hours and fired several rockets."
Full report at: http://www.alarabiya.net/articles/2010/04/12/105651.html
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Afghan official: 4 civilians killed by NATO troops
By NOOR KHAN
April 12th, 2010
KANDAHAR, Afghanistan — International troops opened fire on a bus carrying Afghan civilians Monday, killing four people, an Afghan official said, setting off anti-American protests in a key southern city where coalition forces hope to rally the public for a coming offensive against the Taliban.
Elsewhere in the city of Kandahar, a pair of suicide bombers attacked an Afghan intelligence services compound, but were killed after security forces opened fire on them, a local official said. Two intelligence agents and a teacher at a nearby school were injured in the attack, said the head of Kandahar's provincial council, Ahmed Wali Karzai. A local hospital director put the number of injured agents at four.
Kandahar, the largest city in southern Afghanistan, was the seat of the Taliban regime ousted in 2001 and insurgents remain active there despite a heavy presence of foreign forces. Securing it is key to the U.S. military and NATO's aim of turning around the more than eight-year war, but anger stirred by civilian deaths threatens to undercut local support.
Monday's shooting on the bus in Kandahar province's Zhari district left four dead and another 18 people wounded, provincial government spokesman Zelmai Ayubi said. He said international forces took 12 of the wounded to a military hospital. NATO said it was investigating the shooting.
Full report at: © 2010, All Right reserved
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HC relief for Muslim woman seeking conjugal rights
Swati Deshpande
Apr 12, 2010,
MUMBAI: It may have taken a 26-year-old woman to pave the way for other Muslim women to voice and seek their conjugal rights.
Offering hope to scores of Muslim women separated or shunned by their husbands, the Bombay HC recently directed the family court to hear afresh the petition of a young woman seeking to restore her right to companionship and sexual relations within her marriage.
Zeenat Khan fought for almost a year in the family court at Bandra for her right to get back together with her husband of five years, only to have the door slammed on her face. The family court judge offered no reasoning or explanations, except that Mohammedan law does not allow a wife to make such an application.
Zeenat had married Ahmed, a Mahim resident, on December 30, 2005. Within a year, she had a baby boy. But she says Ahmed only visited her once at the hospital to ''see the baby's face'' and then began demanding Rs 5 lakh but did not take her back home. His family too did not allow her to ''enter the house.''
She reported the ''threats he gave to the police and in April 2009 finally approached the family court for a legal way out of her marital trouble. Zeenat moved the HC in February to challenge the ''illegal and arbitrary order of the family court on the grounds that Islamic law scholars have written that a wife governed by Mohammedan law too is entitled to seek restitution of conjugal rights in court.'' She relied on an authoritative book by Dr Tahir Mahmood, a former law commission member.
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Bangladesh renews claim on vanishing Bay of Bengal island
12 APRIL 2010
Bangladesh has renewed claim over New Moore island, a bone of contention between Dhaka and New Delhi, even as Indian researchers say that it had disappeared under the rising waters of the Bay of Bengal.
"Be it there or disappeared, under the Radcliff map (drawing the 1947 partition line), it falls within sovereign territory of Bangladesh," Foreign Secretary Mirajul Quayes told newsmen at a press briefing.
He added that the location of the South Talpatty, called New Moore Island in India, fell on the eastern side of the demarcation line between Bangladesh's Khulna and India's Chabbish Pargana district meaning "Bangladesh has the sovereign authority over it."
The uninhabited island, is known as South Talpatti in Bangladesh, was 3.5 kilometres long and 3.0 kilometres wide before it was engulfed in the Bay of Bengal.
The demarcation line, named after Sir Cyril Radcliffe, became the border between India and Pakistan after the partition of British India in 1947 while Bangladesh was part of Pakistan at partition until its 1971 independence after nine months of Liberation War, crucially backed by India.
Additional foreign secretary retired navy commodore Khurshid Alam, a maritime boundary expert, added that while India dubs it an "island" Bangladesh called it an unstable "sandbar formation" or "low tide elevation" which appears during he high tide and disappears during the low tide since early 1980s.
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Freed Greek volunteer arrives in Athens
11 Apr, 2010
ATHENS: A Greek volunteer worker kidnapped by Afghan Taliban in northwest Pakistan seven months ago arrived in Athens on Saturday following his release from captivity earlier this week.
Athanasios Lerounis was kidnapped in September near the border with Afghanistan while working as a teacher among the ethnic Kalash community in the mountains of Chitral.
"I am very happy to step on Greek soil," a visibly thinner and emotional Lerounis told reporters at Athens International Airport.
"I wish to apologise for the turmoil and give great thanks to the people of Pakistan, the Greek government and the personal interest of the Prime Minister (George Papandreou), who acted as a human being and not as a politician," he said, according to the semi-state Athens News Agency.
Pakistani officials said Lerounis's seven-month ordeal ended on Wednesday night after he was released in Afghanistan and brought across the border into northwestern Chitral valley.
"It was a difficult task but our intelligence agencies did this job," Rahmatullah Wazir, the top administrative official in Chitral, said by telephone on Thursday.
Elders from Chitral had been negotiating with those holding Lerounis in the neighbouring Afghan province of Nuristan, the official said.
The group had demanded a ransom and that Pakistan release three detained Afghan Taliban leaders, but Wazir said none of their demands had been met and that Lerounis had been released unconditionally.
A Greek negotiator on Saturday also denied the Taliban had received compensation.
Some Kalash people are fair with light-coloured eyes, leading to academic speculation that they might be descended from an ancient Middle Eastern population or even from soldiers of Alexander the Great's army which conquered the area in the fourth century BC.
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S. Korea seeks details of two arrested Pakistanis
12 Apr, 2010
ISLAMABAD, April 11: South Korean authorities have sought from the government details of two Pakistani illegal immigrants who are being investigated for their possible links with Taliban, Dawn has learnt.
The two Pakistanis were arrested by the South Korean police last month for illegally entering the country and carrying passports of other people.
The arrest of Mohammad Saleem and Alam Sher was made when the Korean authorities launched a crackdown on illegal immigrants in the industrial city of Changwon.
The pair had arrived at the port of Busan aboard a Pakistani merchant ship in February last year and had escaped arrest till the crackdown was launched.
A source said the South Korean authorities had asked the Pakistani government to provide details about the arrested men's activities in Pakistan.
Responding to the request, the Pakistani government has directed all police chiefs, the federal capital territory administration and intelligence agencies to collect details about the arrested men and submit a report by April 15.
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Australia orders spy agencies to probe Dubai hit links
12 Apr, 2010
SYDNEY: Australia's spy agencies are investigating the apparently fake passports linked to a Cold War-style hit in Dubai after a police probe failed to yield enough answers, the foreign minister said Sunday.
Foreign Minister Stephen Smith said he needed "further advice" about the case, in which Israel's Mossad spy agency stands accused, after receiving the initial report on Friday. "It's clear from a preliminary assessment of that report that I need to get further advice and see further work and have further discussion with other agencies," Smith told the Nine Network TV station.
"I want to make sure that we get this right. I need further work done by our intelligence agencies and I'm going to get this right rather than rush it in any way," he added. "It's a very important issue." Canberra has said all four Australian passport-holders linked to the January killing of Hamas operative Mahmud al-Mabhuh in a luxury Dubai hotel were victims of identity fraud.
Passports were also used from four European countries including Britain, which expelled an Israeli diplomat last month. Australia has summoned the Israeli ambassador and warned the countries' friendly ties were at risk. Smith said both the Australian Secret Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) and the Australian Secret Intelligence Service (ASIS) - which probe threats to the country and gather information abroad, respectively - were now investigating.
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JCC leader among 60 arrested, dozens injured in IHK
12 Apr, 2010
SRINAGA—Top Joint Consultative Committee (JCC) leader Khursheed Alam along with at least 20 leaders and employees were arrested by police in Srinagar when employees took out a large rally towards Sher-e-Kashmir Park and Lal Chowk while dozens of employees were hurt in police lathicharge at several places in the city. Nearly 60 employees were arrested from different parts of State including half a dozen employees from Bhaderwah, Udhampur, Doda and Kishtwar areas by police today.
Intensifying crackdown on the striking employees and their leaders, the police today arrested many trade union leaders in Indian occupied Kashmir and Jammu regions while two EJAC leaders Ram Kumar and Pardeep Kumar who were arrested at police naka on Jammu-Akhnoor road last evening, were hospitalized today. While Ram Kumar who complained of chest pain during early hours, was removed to Cardiac unit of the GMC hospital, Pardeep was admitted to Sarwal hospital after some health problem. Several employees arrested in Jammu during last four days were removed to Central jail today.
Full report at: http://dailymailnews.com/0410/12/FrontPage/FrontPage5.php
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Saudi Haj companies urged to start Yemen operations
By BADEA ABU AL-NAJA
Apr 12, 2010
MAKKAH: Yemeni Minister of Endowments and Guidance Hamoud Al-Hattar has called on Saudi Haj and Umrah companies to do business with his country, adding that problems that previously prevented them from entering the Yemeni market no longer exist.
Al-Hattar made the comments on Sunday prior to a meeting with officials from the Makkah Chamber of Commerce and Industry and representatives of Haj and Umrah companies.
"We've been working with Haj and Umrah agents and companies with the support of the Ministry of Haj to tackle the issue of Yemeni pilgrims overstaying in the Kingdom for the last three years. Their numbers have now been reduced to less than 1 percent," he said.
He added that the Yemeni government has set several conditions that have to be met in order for Yemeni nationals to qualify for visas and to ensure they do not overstay. "We ask them to provide guarantees that they will return. We also follow them closely to make sure no one is left behind," he added.
Al-Hattar said efforts are being undertaken to enlighten pilgrims about the correct way of performing Haj and Umrah. "We've taken great strides in this respect," he added.
He further invited Haj and Umrah companies to visit Yemen and asked them to reduce charges imposed on Yemeni pilgrims to ensure they return home.
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