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Jay Leno is clearly racist

Sikhs furious at Jay Lenos temple gag
Leno, NBC sued over Golden Temple remark

Freedom does not mean hurting the sentiments of others... This is not acceptable to us and we take a very strong objection for such a display. India objects to US TV hosts joke saying Golden Temple is summer home for US presidential candidate Mitt Romney US chat show host Jay Leno is facing a furious backlash from the Sikh community after using an image of the Golden Temple for a political joke. The Leno gag showed the temple as the summer home of US Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney. Romney has faced taxation questions over his huge wealth and many Sikhs are angry the temple has been depicted as a place for the rich. Indias embassy in Washington has contacted US assistant secretary of state Robert Blake to protest a gag by late night TV host Jay Leno involving Sikh s holiest shrine, a senior State Department ofcial said on Tuesday. Overseas Indian Affairs Minister Vayalar Ravi told reporters: It is quite unfortunate and quite objectionable that such a comment has been made after showing the Golden Temple. Mr Ravi said the Indian embassy would take up the matter with the US state department, the Press Trust of India reported. He said: The Golden Temple is the Sikh communitys most sacred place... The American government should also look
Continued on page 6 >>
Iran denitely closing Atlanta judge orders Obama to Strait of Hormuz over court to counter birther claim EU oil embargo
President Barack Obama Birth Certicate issued in Kenya ATLANTA - After nearly a fullterm in ofce, numerous pieces of proof, and a publicly displayed birth certicate, youd think that President Barack Obama would not have to continue to have his American citizenship challenged. Unfortunately, thats not the case as yet another birther claims that the Presidents birth certicate is not enough proof that he is a natural born citizen, and an Atlanta judge has order the president to appear in court. I know the White House has posted President Obamas birth Continued on page 8 >> Tensions in the Gulf could reach a breaking point as a senior Iranian ofcial said Iran would denitely close the Strait of Hormuz if an EU oil embargo disrupted the export of crude oil, the semi-ofcial Fars news agency reports. Iran will make world unsafe for US Foreign ministers deal in Brussels could lead to soaring fuel prices and Continued on page 2 >>
ritains governmentcontrolled broadcast regulatory body, Ofcom, has decided to ban Press TVs broadcast in an effort to silence the alternative voice in the UK. The move comes a year after a leaked US Embassy cable highlighted for the rst time London and Washingtons concerted effort to block Press TV in Britain. Many observers have noted that the British governments campaign against Press TV has its roots in the channels extensive coverage of the multiple crises created by Londons domestic and foreign policies. Ofcom, the UK regulator, took this decision after Press TV repeatedly broke the broadcasting code. In 2009, the channel showed an interview with Maziar Bahari, a Newsweek journalist, who had been jailed in Tehran while covering mass protests against a disputed presidential election. Mr Bahari said this interview
Publisher Salah Bu Khamas (UAE) Sabha Khan (UK) UK Ofce 10 Courtenay Road, Wembley, Middlesex, HA9 7ND UK Phone: +44 20 8904 0619 Fax: +44 20 8181 7575 info@satribune.co.uk India Ofce Satya Infomedia Pvt. Ltd. C/O Satya Group. 1st Floor, Avenue Appt., Near Sheth. R. J. J. High School, Tithal Road, Valsad - 396001 Gujarat, India Phone +91 2632 222209 / 222211 Fax: +91 2632 222212 Post Box No. 98 /108 United Arab Emirates Ofce S.K. Group of Companies P.O. Box 9021, Karama Dubai, United Arab Emirates Tel: +971 4 2659970, 3359929; Fax: +971 4 2659971, 3341609 www.sk-groupofcompanies.com Managing Editor & CEO Mohammad Shahid Khan Group Editorial Managers Gulzar Khan (India) Abdul Khalique (Pakistan) Editorial Board UK Frances Brunner FYI Tribune team Adrian Fellar Misbah Khan Reema Shah Rohma Khan Keziah-Ann Abakah Art Department UK Ali Ansar (Art Director) Md. Reazul Islam
Britain bans Irans Press TV
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South Asia Tribune I Thursday 26 January 2012
had been conducted under duress and his captors had threatened him with execution unless he gave the answers he wanted. Last year, Ofcom imposed a ne of 100,000 on Press TV, reversing an earlier decision to revoke the channels licence. As part of the investigation into this incident, Ofcom found that editorial decisions governing the channel were taken in Tehran. It wanted Press TV to be under the editorial control of the same company in London that held the broadcasting licence. Alternatively, the licence could have been transferred to Tehran.
An Ofcom spokesman said that Press TV failed to agree to these proposals, and that consequently its licence had been revoked. This decision was not taken lightly, he added, and only a handful of licences had been taken away in the eight-year history of Ofcom. Press TV International has released the following statement: The British governments media regulatory body, Ofcom, has banned Press TVs broadcast in the UK and removed the channel from the Sky platform without responding to a letter sent from Press TVs CEO to Ofcoms chief executive earlier this month.
This after Ofcom ned Press TV Limited in London a hundred thousand pounds for the channels airing of a 10-second news clip. At the same time, Ofcom made moves to revoke the license of Press TV Limited in the UK for what it called Press TV Limiteds lack of control over the channels broadcast. We asked Ofcom, if Press TV Limited did not have control over the broadcast, why was it getting ned; if it did have control, why would the license be revoked? [Press TV has] built an audience for the station very quickly and very widely over the last couple of years, precisely because of the
shortcomings of other channels, George Galloway said in an interview with Press TV. The British government likes to dress up in the clothes of liberty, but in truth it is far from a friend of liberty and they have demonstrated it in the course of their action against Press TV throughout the last few months and again today. Galloway added that Ofcoms decision to close down Press TV to the British public was a greater blow to the UK government than to the news channel as it revealed Londons hypocritical stance of being in favor of freedom of expression, freedom of speech.
Continued from page 01 >> Iran closing the strait of Hormuz. Meanwhile an Iranian lawmaker says in the event of US military adventurism in the Strait of Hormuz, Iran will respond in the shortest possible time by making the entire world unsafe for Americans. Mohammad Kowsari said on Monday that Iran will denitely close the Strait of Hormuz, if there is a disruption in the sales of the countrys crude, stressing that the US and its allies will not be able to reopen the strategic waterway. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has rejected unilateral sanctions against Iran, saying such sanctions would be counterproductive. Unilateral sanctions do not help matters, Lavrov said on Monday. We will restrain everyone from making harsh moves. We will seek the resumption of negotiations. The long-running standoff between Iran and the west over Tehrans nuclear programme has shifted into a more unpredictable phase after Europe decided to impose an oil embargo on the Islamic republic. The decision by EU foreign ministers at a meeting in Brussels raised the stakes dramatically in the war of wits between Iran and the west. The EU decided no further oil contracts could be struck between the member states and Iran while existing oil delivery deals would be allowed to run until July. The EU currently buys about 20% of Irans oil exports. Meanwhile, the International Atomic Energy Agency, the UNs nuclear watchdog has conrmed it is sending a team to Iran between 29 and 31 January to resolve all outstanding substantive issues. Last November the IAEA said in a report that it had information suggesting Iran had carried out tests relevant to the development of a nuclear
Iran denitely closing Strait of Hormuz

explosive device - sparking the decision by the US and EU to issue tougher sanctions. Earlier on Monday, the Pentagon said the US aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, as well as a British Royal Navy frigate and a French warship, have passed through the Straits of Hormuz at the entrance to the Gulf without incident in the wake of Iranian threats to block the trade route. Substantial impact Under the new deal, EU governments are expected to stop signing new contracts with Iran when the ban comes into place - which could be as soon as this week, Reuters news agency reports. All existing contracts will have to be phased out by 1 July. Additional restrictions on Irans central bank are also expected to be agreed by EU ministers, although no further details have been given. Iit is one of the toughest steps the EU has ever taken. Ahead of Mondays meeting, German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle said that the EU had no other choice than resorting to new sanctions that will dry out the nancial sources for the atomic program. Sabers Rattle in Iran Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt said that sanctions alone are not the only solution, but added they were necessary to encourage diplomatic negotiations. Both Bildt and Hague said they were convinced Iran would not try to block the strategic Strait of Hormuz. In recent days Tehran has signaled that tensions might be easing despite the US militarys increased presence in the region. In what was reportedly a routine operation, the US Navy sailed an aircraft carrier through the strait and into the Persian Gulf on Monday without incident. Meanwhile, a top Iranian ofcial reiterated the countrys threats to close the waterway, through which about one-third of the worlds oil is transported. If any disruption happens regarding the sale of Iranian oil, the Strait of Hormuz will denitely be closed, deputy head of parliaments foreign affairs and national security committee, Mohammad Kossari, told the Fars news agency. Another senior Iranian politician and former intelligence minister, Ali Fallahian, said Iran should halt crude oil exports to Europe instead, causing price increases and complicating their plans to nd new supply sources. The best way is to stop exporting oil ourselves before the end of this six months and before the implementation of the plan, Fallahian told Fars. Isareli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu on Monday welcomed the EUs decision earlier in the day to step up sanctions against Iran, calling the moves a step in the right direction. Speaking at a Likud faction meeting, Netanyahu said that while it was too early to tell what the effect of the sanctions would be, strong, quick pressure on Iran was needed. Chinas crude-oil imports from Iran last year were up 30% from 2010, to 27.76 million metric tons, Chinas General Administration of Customs reported Saturday. That works out to about 557,000 barrels a day. Chinas overall crude imports were up just 6.1%. Beijing has steadfastly defended its relationship with Iran, the No. 3 supplier of crude to its energy-hungry economy, as the U.S. and Europe try to increase pressure on Iran over its nuclear activities. Chinas imports from Iran could decline in the months ahead due to a dispute over commercial issues between China International United Petroleum & Chemicals Co., known as Unipec, and National Iranian Oil Co. Unipec has skipped imports of about 220,000 barrels a day from Iran in January and further delays could affect February orders as well./
Time for action against Iran was now: Netanyahu

US army chief holds Iran talks in Israel
Binyamin Netanyahu advised visiting Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Martin Dempsey Friday, Jan.20 that the time for action against Iran was now, for two reasons: First, the conviction that Iran has passed the point of no return for developing a nuclear weapon; and second, the diminishing prospects for a US-led embargo on Iranian oil to catch on before it is too late. The Obama administration disputes the Israeli prime minister on both points, insisting there is still time for tough sanctions to incapacitate the Iranian economy and stop Tehran before it reaches the point of no return in its drive for a nuke. Israel insists that this pivotal point was reached four years ago in 2008. Gen. Dempsey was exhaustively briefed on the Israeli position during his whirlwind interviews Friday with President Shimon
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Peres, Defense Minister Ehud Barak and three conversations with Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Benny Gantz, one with key General Staff ofcers. It was not by chance that Maj. Gen. (ret.) Asher Yadlin, until last year Israel chief of military intelligence, maintained in a detailed article in the Tel Aviv daily Maariv: If Iranian leaders were to convene tonight and decide to go ahead with the secret production of a
nuclear bomb, they already possess the resources and components for doing so. This [capability] was once dened as the point of no return. [As matters stand] now, Irans nuclear timeline no longer hinges on the calendar; it rests entirely on a decision in Tehran. The former intelligence chief was saying that for four years, the US and Israeli governments colluded in propagating the false assumption
that Iran had not reached a nuclear weapon capability. Presenting a highly problematic oil embargo in 2012 as capable of putting Iran off its nuclear stride is equally illusory. Yadlins disclosure provided backing for Netanyahu who Thursday, Jan. 19, at the end of a visit to Holland, asserted for the rst time: Iran has decided to become a nuclear state and called for action now to stop Iran
before its too late. Some of Israels cabinet ministers tried to soften the impact of the prime ministers words by suggesting that his bluntness aimed at pushing President Barack Obama into implementing the sanctions he signed into law on Dec. 30 targeting Irans central bank and oil sales, and giving him an extra lever for bringing the European Union and Asian powers aboard.
UAE warns against China Buys Stake In Thames Water fueling anti-Iran bids
is carrying out certain activities to nd allies in the region. Iran, however, recommends regional states not to put themselves in a dangerous position by aligning themselves too closely with the United States. The United States, the Israeli regime, and some of their allies have repeatedly accused Iran of pursuing military objectives in its nuclear program without offering any evidence in support of such allegations. Washington and Tel Aviv have also threatened Tehran with the option of a military strike against its civilian nuclear facilities. Iran argues that as a signatory to the Non-Proliferation Treaty and a member of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), it has every right to develop and acquire nuclear technology for peaceful purposes. The IAEA has conducted numerous inspections of Irans nuclear facilities but has never found any evidence indicating that Tehrans civilian nuclear program has been diverted towards nuclear weapons production. China has made the rst of an expected urry of investments in Britains ailing infrastructure, buying nearly 10 per cent of Thames Water, the UKs largest water and sewage company.
The estimated 500m deal follows talks in Beijing this week with Chancellor George Osborne, who
UAEs Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed al-Nahayan The United Arab Emirates has He added, What matters to us is warned against mounting tensions that stability prevails in the region. over Irans civilian nuclear program We dont want anything to damage and underscored the need for peace stability in the region and there is an effort from all to work towards and stability in the Middle East. Its important to get far away from stability. any escalation and we stress the Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar stability of the region. I welcome Salehi said last Thursday that the comments of my colleague, the regional peace and stability was Iranian foreign minister, to create in everyones interest. He stated distance from any escalation, UAE that regional security should be Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah ensured through collective strength, bin Zayed al-Nahayan was quoted dismissing US and British meddling as saying by state-run WAM news in the matter. Salehi highlighted that Washington agency on Friday.
is looking for overseas investors to nance a massive reconstruction of the UKs infrastructure with
the added benet of boosting the economy. It is a vote of condence in Britain as a place to do business, Mr Osborne said. This investment is good news for both the British and Chinese economies. In December Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the worlds largest sovereign wealth funds, acquired about 9.9 per cent of Thames Water from a consortium of investors led by Australian investment bank Macquarie. The deal, nanced by the giant CIC state investment fund, marks the next phase of Chinas quest for global economic dominance. It is expected to unleash a series of infrastructure investments in the UK and across Europe with the HS2 high-speed rail link planned between London and Birmingham thought to be on its wish list. Dominic Nash, an analyst at Liberum Capital, said: The Chinese have got a mandate to expand in utilities and infrastructure and theyre not going to go away. We have a massive need for capital that we cant nance ourselves and the Chinese have the money and want to sell products and services all over the world.
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EDITORIAL
Another Blow To Media Freedom: British Regulators Pull Press TV
For the rst time, British government censors have banned a 24-hour news channel from British viewers. As of the afternoon, UK-time, 20th January 2012. Ofcom is banning the station on spurious grounds, and this move will only serve to increase anti-western sentiment in Iran. Ofcom, which regulates broadcasting media in the UK, has revoked the licence of Press TV, whose UK operation is based at studios in west London but whose editorial control is so Ofcom argued located in Tehran. Ofcom had given Press TV a choice: either move editorial control to London or transfer its UK broadcasting licence to Iran. Press TV apparently ignored this ultimatum. So now it is off the air. I believe this action by Ofcom to be thoroughly deplorable as well as palpably cynical. The suppression of any media outlet anywhere in the world is an affront to freedom of expression and appalling to contemplate. That a British agency should be responsible for such an act of repression is scarcely credible. I entirely agree that there have been occasions on which Press TV has shown very poor judgment: for example its decision in 2009 to broadcast an interview with Maziar Bahari which Bahari (a Newsweek journalist) claimed had been obtained under duress, while he was held in a Tehran jail. But I challenge you to name any UK-based TV channel that has not made a bad error of broadcasting judgment. Whatever one thinks of Press TVs output, it expressed a certain viewpoint that it is important for us to have access to, even if we nd it at times repugnant. Its UK licence should be speedily restored. RT reported that journalist Yvonne Ridley said Through Wikileaks we discovered that the American government was putting pressure on the British government to pull the plug on Press TV. Theyve obviously passed that pressure on to Ofcom, and today Press TV was pulled off the Sky satellite platform. Forbes points out that the state has in this instance interfered with the freedom of the press, as the decision to continue to allow Press TV to broadcast was not taken by Sky, but by a U.K. regulatory agency. As readers know, there is already a war on Iran and this British decision is another front. Lets hope that at least some of OFCOMs board you know who you are, Colette Bowe, Lord Blackwell, Dame Lynne Brindley, Tim Gardam, Dame Patricia Hodgson, Stuart McIntosh, Mike McTighe and Jill Ainscough will realise that the purpose of the regulator was not to infringe on press freedom. In the meantime, still legal channels such as Russia Today are so far tolerated and give British viewers a view of the world different to the sanitised Orwellian ctions available on terrestrial television in the United Kingdom. And soon, as British viewers continue to switch off their television sets and boot up their computers, UK governments may realise that it is powerless to ban information getting to the masses.
Majority of UK against Scottish independence

necessarily rely on a much smaller sample, but are in line with the ndings of other recent polls in suggesting Mr Salmond has a battle on his hands to win public support. A recent YouGov survey for Channel 4 News of Scottish voters pointed to a 61-39 per cent referendum defeat for independence. Across Britain, only 28 per cent deem that it is for the Scottish government to manage Scotlands referendum as against 61 per cent who judge London is right to want a say on the ground rules because independence would affect the whole UK. Even among Scottish respondents, a majority, 56 per cent, take the latter position, against just 39 per cent who think the plebiscite is Scotlands to manage alone.
THE majority of people across the UK do not want to see a separate Scotland, according to the latest opinion poll. But while the strong majority are pro-UK, even in Scotland, there are wide differences in opinion over whether Scotland alone should decide the future of the UK or if
the whole of Britain should have its say. A new Guardian/ICM poll, shows that around 68 per cent of respondents across Britain say the UK is stronger together, as against just 24 per cent who believe England and Scotland are proud nations in their own right, which
could thrive on their own. The unionist balance of opinion is evident across England, as well as Scotland and Wales. The proUK majority exceeds two to one in every case, even among Scots who back the union on this question by a 63 -30 per cent margin. The Scotland-only results
British Bangladeshi Power 100 list launches

The Bangladeshi community have made a valuable contribution to life in Britain since their migration to these shores in the 1950s. From the world of politics and business to the media and sports, British Bangladeshis have made their mark in society. Today sees the launch of the British Bangladeshi Power 100 list at Portcullis House, London. The list represents 100 people, according to co-founders Abdal Ullah and Ayesha Qureshi MBE, whose ideas, example, talent, success or discoveries inuence or positively highlight the British Bangladeshi community or have helped improve the world that we live in. The list has been broken down into 10 categories covering business, catering, education, community and voluntary organisations, media, politics and as well as the women who have made a mark. Each category has 10 positions which are listed in rank order. The rankings have been determined by an advisory committee of leading Bangladeshi UK based newspaper editors headed by chief advisor, Mohammed Nobab Uddin, Editor, Janomot Bengali Newsweekly, the oldest ethnic newspaper. The list has also been consulted on widely amongst a selected group of leading gures in the community. Abdal Ullah Founder said, As we celebrate 40 years of Bangladeshi independence, it is time to recognise and celebrate the success of the Bangladeshi community in the UK. I strongly believe we have amongst us individuals and organisations
Iran rebuffs European pressure

Sarkozy calls for much stronger sanctions against the Islamic republic, promises that France would do everything to avoid a military intervention.
have shown their unwillingness to back further oil sanctions on Iran, creating a rift in the international community. We need stronger, more decisive sanctions that stop the purchase of Iranian oil and freeze the assets of the central bank, and those who dont want that will be responsible for the risks of a military conict, Sarkozy said. Help us guarantee peace in the world. We really need you, Sarkozy said, in a direct appeal to Moscow and Beijing. Iran, in response, charged that Sarkozys comments were off the mark, Iranian state television network IRIB reported yesterday. The nature of Irans nuclear programs are peaceful, and all activities are transparent and in constant cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency, Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast said. However, most European Union countries are, like Sarkozy, unconvinced. Their foreign ministers meet on Monday to discuss extra sanctions, and are expected to agree on an oil embargo as well as other nancial sanctions, such as freezing the assets of the Iran Central Bank.
with real inuence that are making a difference to how the community is viewed by the wider public. This will be an annual publication and I will be seeking to build on its success year by year. My plan is that each person named on the list will have earned their place on merit and after we have had a condential, impartial and thorough debate to ensure the list is respected and valued as a resource by the community. Nobab Uddin Chief Advisor said, There is a small representation of British Bangladeshis in business and also local government politics, including nationally within the major political parties. But I must say that the Bangladeshi community is growing rapidly in the UK, and both third and fourth generation British Bangladeshis are contributing signicantly in various sectors and professions. As the community continues to grow, the publishers of the BBL100 list believe it islong overdue and now is the time to praise the achievement and share this with the Bangladeshi community living in the UK and around world and the wider British public.
rench President Nicolas Sarkozy said on Jan. 20 that France will do everything to avoid a military intervention in Iran and he appealed to China and Russia to support new sanctions to force Tehran to negotiate over its uranium enrichment programme. France has led international efforts for tougher measures to increase pressure on Iran to halt its nuclear program. Time is running out. France will do everything to avoid a military intervention, Sarkozy told French ambassadors gathered in Paris. A military intervention will not solve the problem, but it will unleash war and chaos in the Middle East. Sarkozy urged Russia and China to back the tougher sanctions. The two emerging powers, which have also blocked efforts at the EU Security Council on Syria,
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Blame men for the worlds problems? Oxford study says male warrior behavior is root of conicts
Males have evolved to be ghters and guard borders, which leads to wars and discrimination but yields mates and status to winners
The violence of the world boils down to just one thing the male sex drive, according to a group of scientists in Oxford. From the football eld to the front lines, scientists are blaming conict on what they call the male warrior behavior, a natural instinct that causes men to be aggressive to outsiders.
Gun bomb force Niger Kano in a m stree
tends to perpetuate conict with outsiders, said professor and study author Mark van Vugt,
males continuously monitor the borders of their territory. If a female from another group comes
is likely to be brutally beaten and possibly killed. Intergroup conict, the main
According to the new psychological study, evolution shapes men to be ghters, while women have historically resolved conicts peacefully. Our review of the academic literature suggests that the human mind is shaped in a way that
according to the Telegraph. We see similar behavior in chimpanzees. For example, the
along, she may be persuaded to emigrate to his group. When a male strays too far, however, he
focus of the study, can span from wars between countries, terrorism, racial and ethnic
discrimination, and conict among political parties to smaller-scale conict involving competition, antagonism and aggression among rival sport teams, gangs and high school cliques. According to the researchers, males are programmed to pursue intergroup conict because it has historically led to mates, territory and increased status. The study, which was published in the latest issue of the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B, also notes that while the male warrior phenomenon still exists today, it might not be functional in modern times and [is\] often counterproductive.
Iran quake casualties up to 228

Moderate earthquake rattles northeastern Iran- strongest in 10 years
Storm brings snow to Sahara Desert
Algeria - Snow fell Tuesday in the Sahara Desert in western Algeria. A 24-hour cold spell brought snow and rain to the region. Strong wind blew the snow across roads and buildings in the province of Bechar. Meteorologists predicted a return of good weather Wednesday. People who live in the region said the snow was good for the palm trees because it killed parasites. Bechar is located in the northern Sahara, about 36 miles south of the Moroccan border. Giant freak lightning storms rumble across Western Australia Four people have been struck by lightning and thousands are without power as dangerous weather sweeps Perth and the outer metropolitan coast. The State Emergency Service has warned people to stay safe as the storm sweeps through Perth and the coast from Lancelin to Mandurah. A man was hit by lightning in Mandurah at 4am and St John Ambulance conrmed later today that a man was struck by lightning in Baldivis and was taken to Rockingham Hospital. Another person was struck by lightning in Wels hpool. None of the lightning victims have lifethreatening injuries. A St John Spokeswoman said that they had received a call for a fourth person struck by lightning in Myaree but that the ambulance was cancelled. Homes have been damaged, oods are causing concern on the roads and domestic and international ights have been delayed. The storm has left at least 22,000 homes without power, mainly in the south metropolitan region, and also caused delays on the Mandurah to Perth railway line as bad weather hampered repairs. Train services were back to normal by lunchtime. Western Power is attending to the blackouts and SES volunteers have responded to at least 75 calls for help, mostly for ooding. Damage has been reported from Swan to Armadale to Rockingham and Mandurah, but most of the calls have come from Rockingham and Mandurah. More dangerous weather is coming between Minilya, Mount Augustus, Paynes Find, Corrigin, Narrogin, Mandurah, along the coast to Dongara and inland to Minilya, including the Perth metropolitan area. If you live between Minilya, Mount Augustus, Paynes Find, Corrigin, Narrogin, Mandurah, along the coast to Dongara and inland to Minilya, including the Perth metropolitan area, you should take action with more dangerous weather to come, FESA said.
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he number of those injured in an earthquake that hit northeastern Iran on Thursday has risen up to 228. The epicenter of the earthquake measuring 5.5 on the Richter scale was 10 kilometers outside the city of Neyshabur, some 70 kilometers from the city of Mashhad. Eight villages and towns were affected by the quake, Irans ofcial news agency IRNA, reported on Friday. At least 85 aftershocks have hit the area since then, it said, adding that of the injured, 190 have been discharged from hospital, while the remaining 38 are still hospitalized. Some buildings had been damaged
and windows shattered in villages near Neyshabur. The quake lasted seven seconds and was the strongest felt in the region in 10 years. Many parts of Iran are prone to earthquakes. At least seven people were killed in a 6.5-magnitude quake that jolted the southeast in 2010, the same region where a huge tremor killed some 31,000 people in the city of Bam in 2003.
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Aaa Siddiqui contracts cancer in US jail

The Justice for Aaa Coalition are issuing the following clarication in light of recent statements circulating in the Pakistani media that Dr. Aaa Siddiqui has contracted cancer and is pregnant, as a result of sexual abuse whilst in custody. In early November 2011, Aaas family received disturbing reports that Dr. Siddiqui had become pregnant whilst imprisoned in FMC Carswell and that she had undergone a forced abortion and was subsequently haemorrhaging profusely. It now appears that according to information provided by the Pakistan Consul General in Houston that Aaa is not pregnant. However there is sufcient evidence to suggest she has cancer. of detainees. Over a hundred inmates have reportedly died under questionable circumstances at the facility, with numerous cases of sexual abuse and rape perpetrated by prison staff - amongst them, the guards, chaplains and physicians. Gross medical negligence has been noted particularly with reference to several cancer patients in the past; one of whom died after being left untreated for a year. We join Aaas family in their call for an independent and impartial medical team to be allowed full and immediate access to Dr Aaa Siddiqui in FMC Carswell to evaluate her condition. Further guidance for campaigners will be published in due course. http://freedetainees.org/10869
After informing Aaas family of a letter from the prison regarding her condition, former Pakistan ambassador to the US, Husain Haqqani was recalled to Pakistan. Since then the embassy has neither conrmed nor denied the reports. Whilst a request has been made by the Pakistan Consul General
Aqil Nadeem to the governor of FMC Carswell to provide medical facilities to Dr Aaa, it provides
little guarantee that Dr Siddiqui will receive adequate treatment, given the prisons notoriety in its treatment
Jay Leno is clearly racist

>> Continued from page 1
at this kind of thing. Freedom does not mean hurting the sentiments of others... This is not acceptable to us and we take a very strong objection for such a display. In response the members of the US Sikh community have now launched an online petition, called Stop defaming Sikhs and using derogatory remarks against the Sikh shrines. Over 3,700 people have added their names to support the cause. The ofcial, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the Indian government contacted us and Blake responded along the lines of an earlier State Department position, which afrmed US constitutional rights to free speech.
A lawsuit has been led in California suing US comedian Jay Leno for what it calls racist comments on the Sikh shrine, the Golden Temple of Amritsar. Indian-American Randeep Dhillon says Leno hurt the sentiments of all Sikh people in addition to the plaintiff. A recent Leno skit showed the shrine as the summer home of Republican candidate Mitt Romney. Mr Romney has faced questions over his wealth and Sikhs are angry the temple was shown as a place for the rich. An Indian minister called Lenos comments objectionable and said freedom does not mean hurting the sentiments of others. But US state department
spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said the US Constitution strictly protected freedom of speech. Exposed to ridicule Mr Dhillon led the lawsuit in Los Angeles Superior Court on Tuesday, seeking unspecied damages. Earlier, a US Sikh group launched an online petition over Lenos comment, also accusing the comedian of making previous derogatory remarks about Sikhs. Some Sikhs also demanded action against the NBC channel for airing the racist and derogatory depiction of the Golden Temple. Overseas Indian Affairs Minister Vayalar Ravi joined the protest, saying: It is quite unfortunate and quite objectionable that such a comment has been made
after showing the Golden Temple. But Ms Nuland said: I hope [Leno will] be appreciative if we make the point that his comments are constitutionally protected in the United States under free speech and, frankly, they appeared to be satirical in nature. She said the US had absolute respect for all Indians, including Sikhs, and that President Barack Obama was the rst president to celebrate the birthday of the religions founder, Guru Nanak, at the White House. The issue has turned into a worldwide matter, with overseas Indian Affairs Minister Vayalar Ravi saying, It is quite unfortunate and quite objectionable that such a
comment has been made after showing the Golden temple. (It) is Sikh communitys most sacred place. Even our Prime Minister went there for praying in the New Year. I believe that (Jay Leno) is not that ignorant. The American Government should also look at this kind of thing. But US state department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said the US Constitution strictly protected freedom of speech. She said, I hope [Leno will] be appreciative if we make the point that his comments are constitutionally protected in the United States under free speech and, frankly, they appeared to be satirical in nature. Leno has so far failed to issue a statement on the issue.
Israeli and Saudi hackers wage cyber war against each other
Following this online attack on the Anti Drug Authority, Israeli hackers retaliated by hacking the websites of two major Arab banks. The banks affected by this cyber war are the Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates and Arab Bank. Websites of both banks were ofine after it had been attacked. The Israeli hacker group, IDF claims responsibility for the hacks on the Saudi banks and in a post on Paste bin, they state that the time limit for the attacks will continue so long as the attacks from the Saudi hackers continue. Saudi bank ofcials have denied that any attack had taken place on the stock exchange. Reportedly, hacking of the website of the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange, El Al Airlines along with three other Israeli banks triggered the recent hacks of banks in Saudi Arabia. Hacker 0xOmar said that he and a group of hackers called Nightmare are going to continue hacking Israeli websites until the Israeli government apologized for their genocide in Palestine and Gaza.
NEWS
The Israeli Defense Ministry is to establish a special cyber warfare administration, the Israel Defense website is reporting. The new administration will coordinate the efforts of security agencies and the Israeli defense industry in developing advanced systems to deal with cyber warfare, the report said. The decision to establish the new administration was made even before the recent exposure by hackers of credit card details of Israelis, and details about it were published in the printed version of
Israel Defense last week.
Minister: Israel is an Internet Superpower

Minister of Public Diplomacy Yuli Edelstein says Israel is an online power that has nothing to fear as the era of cyberwarfare takes hold. Israels top public relations ofcial, on Thursday, told Israelis not to worry about the Arab-Israeli Hacker War that has erupted in recent weeks, saying Israel is an Internet Superpower. In remarks on Israel Radio Edelstein
dismissed both Arab and Israeli hackers as foolish, saying they do stupid things. Well-funded state actors, however, were of greater concern for Edelstein. Israel is known as a super-power in this whole eld of information security, Internet, high-tech. Im sure our hack-warriors will be able to make our lives here secure, Edelstein said. Earlier this month, an Israeli credit card company was hacked with as many as 20,000 cards details compromised. This was done by a Saudi hacker, called 0xOmar
who claimed at the time that he has posted details of 400,000 credit cards on the Internet. After this a war began to brew between the hackers of Israel and Saudi Arabia. A few days ago, Arab hackers hacked into the servers of Israels Anti Drug Authority and redirected viewers to a site that featured Palestinian gunman along with words in Hebrew, which stated death to Israel along with Arabic messages, such as Gaza hackers were here , a report by International Business Times states.
Atlanta Jewish newspaper calls for Obama assassination

Later issued an apology
Three Found Guilty Over Gay Hate Leaets

Three Muslim men have been found guilty of stirring up hatred by handing out leaets that said Islam punished homosexuals with the death penalty.
Ihjaz Ali, Kabir Ahmed and Razwan Javed handed out the pamphlet, called The Death Penalty?, which showed an image of a mannequin hanging from a noose and quoted Islamic texts that said capital punishment was the only way to rid society of homosexuality. They were convicted at Derby Crown Court of distributing threatening written material intending to stir up hatred on the grounds of sexual orientation. It is the rst prosecution of its kind since legislation came into force in March 2010. Mehboob Hussain and Umar Javed, who were also charged with the same offence, were found not guilty by the jury. The leaets were given to people outside a mosque and posted through letterboxes in the Normanton area of Derby.
Atlanta Jewish News owner apologizes for column suggesting Netanyahu deploy Mossad agents to assassinate US president. Israel should send Mossad agents to assassinate President Barack Obama because of his anti-Israel policies, the owner of a US Jewish newspaper wrote in an article that drew widespread condemnation on Friday. Andrew Adler, the p u b l i s h e r of The Atlanta Jewish Times, wrote a column that appeared in his newspaper on January 13 in which he argued killing the president might be justied because he posed a threat to the Jewish state. Order a hit on a president in order to preserve Israels existence, Adler wrote. The piece, described as outrageous and beyond the pale by the Anti-Defamation League, appeared in the newspapers opinion section on January 13. The US Secret Service is now investigating it.
Think about it. If I have thought of this Tom Clancy-type scenario, dont you think that this almost unfathomable idea has been discussed in Israels most inner circles?... How far would you go to save a nation comprised of seven million lives...Jews, Christians and Arabs alike? You have got to believe, like I do, that all options are on the table. The story, which appeared in print only, was uploaded to the Internet by Gawker, a gossip news website, on Friday and immediately picked up by media outlets in the US and around the world. Adler expressed contrition to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency in the aftermath of the uproar, saying I very much regret it, I wish I hadnt made reference to it at all. He said he would run a full apology in his newspapers next edition.
The men admitted distributing the yers but denied they were threatening or designed to cause trouble for homosexuals. Bobbie Cheema, prosecuting, said that many people had complained to police about receiving the leaets, which were distributed in the run-up to a gay pride event in the city in July 2010. During the trial the court heard that one gay man was so frightened by the leaets that he left his home for a week. Another man, who wished to remain anonymous, told Sky News: Im still looking when Im walking down the street to see if someone is following me or when I
go to bed I think, is someone going to do something to my letterbox? Its just a nightmare. You cant sleep at night, its a big worry. Taxi driver Ali, of Fairfax Road, who the prosecution said was believed to be the main organiser and supplier of the leaets, was found guilty of four counts of distribution on July 2 and July 4. Ahmed, who is married with a nine-month-old daughter and lives in Madeley Street, and Razwan Javed, of Wilfred Street, were convicted of distribution in the area of the mosque on July 2. Judge John Burgess, Honorary Recorder of Derby, adjourned sentencing until February 10.
NEWS
Iran wages war on Barbie

About three weeks ago they (the morality police) came to our shop, asking us to remove all the Barbies, said a shopkeeper in a toy shop in northern Tehran. Irans religious rulers rst declared Barbie, made by U.S. company Mattel Inc, un-Islamic in 1996, citing its destructive cultural and social consequences. Despite the ban, the doll has until recently been openly on sale in Tehran shops. Fatima Ismalic Doll Islamic tie The tie, which is shaped like the sword of Imam Ali (cousin and sonin-law of the Prophet Muhammad who is considered by Shia as his rightful successor) and decorated with an Islamic hadith (a saying attributed to Muhammad), has been registered in the Islamic republic Arabic name Fatima. Hossein Homay Seresht, of the company Fam that created Fatima, says the doll is meant to ght the enemies cultural invasion of the Islamic republic. Seresht says that Irans enemies are increasingly targeting 3-yearold kids. TOY shops are being shut down in Iran for selling BARBIE DOLLS. The Westerners, by creating Barbie and marketing it, are encouraging bad veiling and not wearing the hijab; all of these factors led us to take it as our duty to present Islamic dolls to the market, he said. Government forces have waged war on the leggy plastic toys, which have been deemed immoral for their revealing outts. It is part of the Islamic nations latest crackdown on Western culture. In Iran, women must wear headscarves in public and men and women are forbidden from swimming together. Barbie dolls are sold wearing swimsuits, miniskirts and hotpants. The Iranian judiciary has warned against the destructive cultural and social consequences and danger of importing Barbie dolls and other Western toys. The company has also produced the Hijab Forbidden software, which despite its name is designed to promote the Islamic hijab, or veiling. Seresht says the software includes video clips of Islamic fashion, speeches about the hijab and a Hijab Messenger, an instant messaging service that he said is based on the same model as Yahoo messenger but that chat can only take place with people who are dened within the system. He provides no further details and does not say whether it means that only people who are wearing the hijab or those who support the hijab can use it.
Iran Unveils Islamic Doll, Hijab Software, And Islamic Tie
in some cases their ties were cut off. Some Iranian men still wear ties
countrys leaders and clerics. Meanwhile an Iranian company says it has created the rst Islamic
dolls, Sara and Dara, which were to counter Barbie and Ken but reportedly were not very popular.
by inventor Hemat Komeili. Komeili has been quoted as saying that his tie has been approved by some of the sources of emulation. He says it appears beautiful like a tie in addition to being based on Islamic values. Ties came under attack in Iran following the 1979 revolution as one of the symbols of decadent Western cultures. It was reported that men with ties were detained in the early days of the revolution and according to unconrmed reports
in public even though it is generally condemned and disapproved by the
doll. Iran had in the past created two
The new doll, which is branded Islamic and not Iranian, has the
Atlanta judge orders Obama

>> Continued from page 1 certicate on its website, but thats not enough, said David Farrar of Cedartown, Ga., a retired court reporter. We should be demanding independent evidence. Farrar, who admitted to NBC afliate WXIA that he has a lot of time on his hands, is the next in a long line of birthers who rampantly insist that President Obama was not born in the United States. He made the complaint, which is intended to keep Obamas name off the states ballot in the March presidential primary -- the president is running unopposed on the Democratic side.
Deputy Chief Judge Michael Malihi ordered the hearing on Monday and it is set for Thursday before an administrative judge. Last Friday, the judge denied a motion by the presidents lawyer to squash a subpoena that requires Obama to show up. Farrar is demanding to see Obamas Hawaiian hospital records, which are condential under federal law, or his mothers OB/GYN records from when she was carrying Obama. Those are also condential under federal privacy laws. I just need to prove that hes met his qualications, Farrar said. Well-known birther and California attorney Orly Taitz has led numerous unsuccessful lawsuits against Obamas
presidency for the last three years. She insists that it is apart of a larger conspiracy to keep Obama in ofce. This will be 100 times bigger than Watergate, Taitz told the Columbus (Ga.) Ledger-Enquirer last Saturday. There are high ranking judges and federal ofcials who are involved in this cover up. The ramications of this trial will be enormous. Taitz previously represented two soldiers in U.S. District Court in Columbus who argued that since Obama wasnt the commander-in-chief because he wasnt eligible to be president, they should not have to take orders from him to be deployed. Federal Judge Clay Land threw the suit out, warned Taitz against ling frivolous suits, and ned her $20,000 after he denied the second claim. As for Farrar, he insists that he is not a right-
winger. He also plans on challenging Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romneys citizenship. If Mitt Romney is the nominee and he signs the piece of paper that Obama signed saying that he meets his presidential qualications I will be ling suit, Farrar said. Im not convinced Romney has the correct credentials to run. Farrars complain about Mitt Romney: His father George was born in Mexico. It should be noted that both of George Romneys parents were Americanborn citizens, and Mitt was born in Detroit on March 12, 1947. There is no word on whether the President, who is set to give his annual State of the Union Address tonight, will actually appear in court on Thursday. President Obama is set to speak at the University of Michigan on Friday.
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Saarc international I Thursday 26 January 2012
aarc S
Indias president has said the country must be cautious on reform, amid the ongoing anti-corruption movement. Pratibha Patil said in her traditional address on the eve of Republic Day that in shaking the tree to remove the bad fruit, we do not bring down the tree. A government anti-corruption bill that envisages setting up an independent ombudsman has stalled in parliament. Leading anti-corruption activist
international
Reform carefully, our institutions not awless: President Pratibha Patil
Thursday, 26.01.12
Killer drugs claimed nearly 100 lives, conrms CM
Pakistan Heart Drug Scare
Anna Hazare says the bill is weak and should be withdrawn. Continued on page 10 >>
Ofcials in Punjab province have arrested the owners of pharmaceutical companies making cardiac drugs suspected to contain heavy-metal contaminants. The Punjab government on Wednesday withdrew a batch of 200,000 aspirin tablets from the Punjab Institute of Cardiology (PIC) after they were found to be contaminated. Lahore High Court to hear petition seeking judicial inquiry into deaths As the death toll mounts among patients taking cardiac medications in Pakistan, government ofcials there have taken steps to stem the fatalities. Details coming out of Lahore, a metropolis at the epicenter of the trouble, are still sketchy, but dozens of patients have reportedly died from taking what are suspected to be heavy metal-laced heart drugs, and thousands more may be at risk. Punjab CM Shahbaz Sharif has conrmed that nearly 100 people have died after using PIC medicines.
Pakistan, India report progress on key pipeline
Talking to the media, the chief minister said that samples of the medicines in question have been sent to European laboratories -- in France and the UK. The chief minister, who also has portfolio of health ministry, said that he is deeply saddened that the poor people have been given such medicines that they lost their lives. Shahbaz said that the ofcials Continued on page 13 >>
India and Pakistan said Wednesday they were closer to an agreement on a pipeline to import gas from Turkmenistan that would signal a further warming of economic ties between the traditional rivals. Turkmenistan has the worlds
fourth-largest gas reserves and energy-hungry India and Pakistan are both eager to tap this source through the pipeline that would run through the Central Asian nations eastern neighbour, Afghanistan. Continued on page 10 >>
13/7 case cracked: Police

Arrests have exposed Bihar connection
The Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) named Indian Mujahideen (IM) co-founder Ahmed Zarar Siddibappa alias Yasin Bhatkal as the main conspirator in the July 13, 2011 bombings that killed 27 people and injured 107 in Mumbai. Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray launched a fresh attack on north Indians, singling out the arrest of terrorists from Bihar, in the 13/7 serial blasts case. Originally hailing from Darbhanga in Bihar, Naquee Ahmed Sheikh Director-General of Police Rakesh Maria told journalists in Mumbai on Monday. However, Mr. Maria said three critical perpetrators two he identied only as suspect A and B, as well as Indian Mujahideen commander Muhammad Ahmad Zarar Siddibapa remained fugitive. The police had also traced the course of Rs.10 lakh used in the attack, he said, including at least Rs.1.5 lakh paid by Siddibapa Continued on page 13 >>
and Nadeem Akhtar Ashfq Sheikh stole the scooters used in planting the bombs in crowded Mumbai
streets and ferried the explosives and detonators used in the attacks from New Delhi, Additional
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SAARC
Try Musharraf for treason,

he Senate passed a unanimous resolution on Monday asking the government to arrest former military ruler Gen (retd) Pervez Musharraf on his return from abroad and try him for committing treason. Senator Mian Raza Rabbani moved the resolution towards the end of Mondays proceedings on behalf of seven other senators. Other movers were: Raja Zafarul Haq (PML-N), Prof Khurshid Ahmad (Jamaat-i-Islami), Dr Khalid Somroo (JUI-F), Abdul Rahim Khan Mandokhel (Pakhtun Khawa Milli Awami Party), Humayun Khan Mandokhel (Independent), Afrasiab Khattak (ANP) and Dr Abdul Malik Baloch (National Party). The PML-Q and MQM chose not to get their names included in the list of movers. The resolution was virtually a charge-sheet against the former military ruler who had announced his return to Pakistan by the end this month. The Senate, through the resolution, said that Gen Musharraf held the Constitution in abeyance twice and brought the judiciary into disrepute. It said that Gen Musharraf removed, ridiculed and arrested
says Senate
judges of the superior judiciary. The resolution also stated that the former president aided, and was allegedly an accomplice, in the assassination of Benazir Bhutto and
had led to loss of innocent lives and sponsored disappearance of people. The resolution said that Gen Musharraf compromised vital
disparity between the rich and the poor, created monopolies, promoted cartels and gave rise to crony capitalism, the resolution noted. It accused Gen Musharraf of
Rabbani to move the resolution. Members of the house spoke against Gen Pervez Musharraf and voiced concern over his reported attempts to secure help from the US to ensure that his name was not put on the Exit Control List when he arrived in Pakistan. They also asked the federal government to register a treason case against the former army chief under Article 6 of the Constitution. Interior Minister Rehman Malik had agreed to register the case, but said that the PML-N, being a party directly aggrieved by the general, should le a complaint on the basis
Nawab Akbar Bugti. The senators said the former army chief had committed acts of criminal nature against the people of Pakistan and that his policies and the use of state force in Balochistan
national security interests through clandestine deals and unwritten agreements with foreign governments. Economic policies pursued by the former army general widened
destroying the federal structure, reducing the share of provinces in the NFC Award and giving rise to horizontal and vertical polarisation. Earlier, the house suspended its routine business and allowed Mr
of which the government was ready to register a case. He had also suggested that the house should pass a resolution seeking registration of a case against Gen Musharraf.
President Pratibha Patil

Continued from page 9 >>
Known as the Lokpal bill, it was passed by parliaments lower house last month but stalled in the upper house. It will now have to be taken up again in the next session of parliament. Parade On the eve of 63rd Republic Day, Ms Patil said: While bringing about reforms and improving institutions, we have to be cautious that while shaking the tree to remove the bad fruit, we do not bring down the tree itself. Without referring directly to Mr Hazare, she said that although there were short-term pressures, India could take pride in its democratic record. She added: All issues, therefore, must be resolved through dialogue and there can be no place for violence. Negativity and rejection cannot be the path for a vibrant country that is moving to seek its destiny. Mr Hazare has vowed to keep up his campaign for a strong Lokpal bill. In a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh this week, Mr Hazare said: Show some courage to bring Lokpal to ght corruption. His 12-day anti-corruption hunger strike in August in Delhi became the focus of a national campaign and put pressure on the government to act on the issue. In her address, Ms Patil also marked the growing aspirations of the people, coupled with their expectations of immediate solutions. She said: There is also a growing quest for materialism. There are persistent questions about how growth and resources will be shared in a more equitable manner. Tight security is in place in Delhi ahead of Thursdays Republic Day celebrations. Ms Patil will raise the tricolour and take the salute of the parade. More than 25,000 security personnel are being deployed, with additional security in Jammu and Kashmir, Orissa and north-eastern states.
US opens talks with Hizb-iIslami insurgent group

Senior US military and civilian representatives in Afghanistan have opened talks with an insurgent group led by a man considered to be a terrorist by Washington, according to his key lieutenant and son-inlaw. THE United States is said to have opened talks with an Afghan insurgent group whose leader is designated as a terrorist by Washington. Ghairat Baheer, the son-in-law of Afghan warlord Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, said he had held two sets of exploratory talks with General David Petraeus, the former commander of Nato forces in Afghanistan and now CIA director, and with Ryan Crocker, US ambassador to Kabul. Hekmatyars Hizb-i-Islami is considered one of the three most dangerous insurgent groups ghting international forces in Afghanistan, alongside the Taleban and the Haqqani network. It is the rst time details of meetings with such senior US ofcials have emerged and it illustrates the intensity of American attempts to foster a political settlement. The rst meetings were a success, ice-breaking sessions that let us feel each others pulses, Dr Baheer said yesterday in the Pakistani capital, Islamabad, where he lives. declined to conrm or deny the meetings had taken place but said: We have a broad range of contacts across Afghanistan and the region to support Afghan reconciliation efforts. Hekmatyar rose to fame in the 1980s. He received millions of dollars in CIA cash and weapons channelled through Pakistans intelligence agencies when he was one of the main Mujahideen commanders ghting Soviet occupation. In the early 1990s, his fundamentalist Islamist forces opposed the government of the then president Burhanuddin Rabbani and took part in ghting in Kabul that claimed the lives of tens of thousands. However, he later entered a power-sharing agreement with Mr Rabbani and served as prime minister before being forced out by the rise of the Taleban in 1996. In the past decade, he has rebuilt his power in the east of the country and in 2003 was designated a terrorist by the US state department.
He said the rst meeting was held in July with Gen Petraeus in Kabul, weeks before he took over as director of the CIA. The second, also in Kabul, was on 30 December. He added that he had been encouraged by Mr Crockers message that they had support and a role to play in Afghan society. He was very specic that their role is as a facilitator and that the main discussion should be taking place between Hizb-i-Islami and the Afghan government, he added. General John Allen, the current commander of Nato forces in Afghanistan, was present at both meetings, according to Dr Baheer, who was held at Bagram air base by US forces for more than six years until 2008. A spokesman for the US embassy in Kabul
SAARC
11
WEEKLY REVIEW OF AFGHANISTAN NEWS
Envoy: Rumors of plan to divide Afghanistan dishonor sacrice of 1,800 US troops

The U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan on Tuesday condemned rumors that the United States is planning to divide the war-torn country, saying the suggestions were lies that dishonor the sacrice of more than 1,800 American service members who have died in the cause of a unied Afghanistan. Ambassador Ryan Crocker said in a statement that a free and independent media plays a vital role in any democracy and that Afghanistans media and the Afghan government spokespersons were important elements in our close secret deal with the Taliban at the expense of the Afghan government and people was another false and absurd rumor. Democratic and unied Crocker stressed that the United States was committed to supporting the efforts of the central government, to build a strong, secure, democratic, and unied Afghanistan. We have no other aim or goal, he added, pointing out that American taxpayers had provided billions of dollars over the past decade to support the government and people of Afghanistan.
bilateral relationship. But he then went on to say that, rumors that the United States
has a plan to divide Afghanistan or change its form of government are, frankly speaking, lies that
dishonor the sacrice of more than 1,800 American service members who have died in the cause of a unied Afghanistan, governed by its Constitution. And he added that the idea that the United States is seeking a
Afghan government hints at Taliban talks

The Afghan government of Hamid Karzai signaled willingness to join in with an American-led drive towards peace talks, according to a top ofcial, removing a potential hurdle blocking US efforts to push a peace process forward in the unstable country. Peace is our highest top priority and we support every effort that would lead to peace, Deputy Foreign Minister Jawed Ludin said, indicating that Kabul backs a plan for the Taliban establish an ofce in Qatar to facilitate talks. His public statement, alongside the American architect of the peace initiative, the U.S. special representative to Afghanistan and Pakistan Marc Grossman, also removed most doubts that the Afghan government might not fully support the peace U.S. initiative as it had not been involved in it from the very beginning. Karzais government also signaled it would not stand in the way of the release of prisoners from the American detention center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, as the Taliban are demanding. If the United States decides to transfer these detainees to Qatar to the extent that these people will be reunited with their families, the Afghan government will support armed conict in Afghanistan before it could open an ofce in Qatar, the Gulf state playing an increasing role in international diplomacy. Grossman is due to travel to Qatar on Monday. He met Karzai on Sunday for a second day of talks on how to end bloodshed and achieve a peaceful resolution to Afghanistans conict. In one of the rst open and detailed statements Grossman and Afghan ofcials have made on a peace process that he has been secretly marshaling for months, he said he hoped soon to meet President Karzai in Rome to discuss the process further.
that, Ludin said. Marc Grossman, the U.S. special envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan, said Sunday that no decisions have been made about releasing
detainees. And he said the Taliban needed to make a clear statement ... against international terrorism and in support of a peace process to end the
Drugs and explosives US for reviving trilateral seized in Baghlan dialogue on Afghanistan
Seeking to downplay Pakistans refusal to allow him to visit the country, US Special Representative for the Afghanistan-Pakistan region Marc Grossman Friday said he will wait till Islamabad re-evaluates its relationship with Washington. Grossmans comments came on a day Pakistans Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar said relations with the US remain on hold following the NATO attack in November that killed 24 Pakistani soldiers. The Pakistan government has sought time to re-evaluate its relationship with the US. I respect that. I would be ready for talks when Pakistan is ready to have a conversation. Im ready at any time, at any place, Grossman told reporters after meeting Foreign Secretary Ranjan Mathai here. What I would say is that of course we follow issues in Pakistan carefully. Relationship between Pakistan and US is very important, he said.
Afghan Intelligence Department, National Directorate for Security in northern Baghlan province on Wednesday announced, Afghan security forces discovered and seized various weapons, ammunitions and drugs in this province. According to a press release issued by Afghan National Directorate for Security, Afghan intelligence forces seized at least 188 rounds of heavy machine gun ammos, 5 grenade launcher missiles, 1 artillery rocket, 5 rounds of mortar rockets, 5 76mm artillery rockets and 16 other types of ammunitions including 60 kgs of drugs.
Afghan Intelligence ofcials said, the drugs and weapons were seized during the past 24 hours from various regions of northern Baghlan province. The source further added, the weapons and ammunitions were seized from Jelga and Khenjan districts of northern Baghlan province while drugs were seized from central Baghlan district. According to provincial intelligence ofcials, Afghan security forces have not detained any suspect behind the weapons and drugs caches that were discovered in this province.
The envoy said the US would continue to reinforce its conversation with Pakistan on the situation in Afghanistan and called for reviving a trilateral dialogue. What happens between Afghanistan and Pakistan is extremely important. We encourage dialogue between Afghanistan and Pakistan. Wed like again to get into the meeting of the Core Group - Afghanistan, Pakistan and the US - because I think a conversation about all these things is really necessary, he said. Besides Mathai, Grossman held talks with National Security Adviser Shivshankar Menon and Indias AfPak envoy Satinder K. Lambah. The talks focused on the situation in Pakistan
and Afghanistan, with Grossman pitching for an Afghan-owned and Afghan-led reconciliation process. We reviewed the situation in Afghanistan and I appreciated his desire to continue this conversation between the US and India on this important subject, he said after talks with Mathai. Amidst the ongoing political turmoil in Pakistan, Grossman stressed that the US backed the civilian government and democracy there. We support the civilian government in Pakistan and democracy in Pakistan, he said.
12
SAARC
WEEKLY REVIEW OF BANGLADESH NEWS

Govt to take the technology to union level by Dec; moves to turn post ofces into e-centres
A new project of the government seeks to connect the countrys vast rural areas with a high-speed Internet connection by December 2013. The government will invest Tk 719 crore across Bangladesh to link 1,006 unions to the Internet. The unions, located in strategic places in the seven divisions, will relay the network facilities to adjacent unions and villages and give the rural people access to high-speed Internet connection. Meanwhile, a related project that seeks to revive postal services will convert all 8,500 post ofces in Bangladesh into electronic post ofces by June 2015. The post e-centres will provide postal services, money transfer facilities and a variety of information technologybased services. The Optical Fibre Cable Network Development Project at the Union Parishads and the Post e-centre for Rural Community Project were approved at the meeting of the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (Ecnec) yesterday chaired by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. unions across 64 districts connected to the 11,060-kilometre network spread throughout the country. There are about 4,500 unions in the country. Currently, the rural people can connect to Internet only through wireless networks of telecom companies. The wireless Internet is often erratic, slow and unavailable in many remote areas. The initiative will link the rural areas to the network, which will offer uninterrupted and high-speed Internet services. The project proposal says that the government has already given directives to Bangladesh Telecommunication Company Ltd (BTCL) to bring all unions of the country under optical bre network within three years. The minister said when the e-centres come into operation, expatriate Bangladeshis will be able to contact and send money from anywhere in the world to their relatives within seconds. The relatives will have to open account at the e-centres to get this service.
Internet beckons rural Bangladesh
Khaleda asked to appear in court Feb 14
After the Ecnec meeting, Planning Minister AK Khandker told journalists that both projects would be implemented with governments own resources. He said the Tk 541-crore e-post project would infuse new life into the neardead traditional postal services. The optical bre project will have 1,006
BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia and three others have been asked to appear before A Dhaka court on February 14 in connection with Zia Charitable Trust corruption case. After scrutinising the case docket and other relevant documents on Sunday, Judge Mohammad Zohurul Haque of the Senior Special Judges Court in Dhaka set the date. The court will give its decision the same day on whether the charges levelled at them will be taken into cognisance. The three other accused are Abul Harris Chowdhury, political secretary to the then prime minister Khaleda; his assistant personal secretary (APS) Ziaul Islam Munna; and Monirul
Islam Khan, APS to former Dhaka City Corporation mayor Sadeque Hossain Khoka. Of them, Khaleda, Munna and Monirul had obtained bail from the High Court on different dates while Harris Chowdhury has been absconding since the case was led against him and he has been shown fugitive in the charge sheet. The investigation ofcer of the case also prayed for issuance of an arrest warrant against him. Earlier on January 16 this year, the Anti-Corruption Commission pressed charges against Khaleda and three others, accusing them of abusing power in collusion with each other for setting up a charitable trust named after late president Ziaur Rahman.
Bangladesh authorities vow to hunt coup plotters

Hizb ut-Tahrir conspiracy against Bangladesh government Bangladesh Army says it foiled a coup via Facebook
Intelligence sources say the Bangladesh coup attempt last month was fueled by retired ofcers campaigning to introduce sharia law. The news raises concern about political instability in the region.
A senior minister in Bangladesh has vowed to bring to justice those responsible for plotting a coup. On Thursday the Bangladesh army said it had foiled a conspiracy against Prime Minister Sheikh Hasinas government. Army intelligence discovered that Major Ziaul Haque had ed the barracks and was contacting fellow ofcers and ex-ofcers through Facebook and by cellphone to encourage them to join the plot, Brigadier General Muhammad Masud Razzaq said. Specic information has been unearthed that some ofcers in military service have been involved in the conspiracy to topple the system of democratic governance, he told reporters. Police on Sunday arrested a leader of Hizb ut-Tahrir Bangladesh and seized a large number of books, posters and leaets of the outlawed group from his residence at the capitals Sabujbagh. Detained Md Anisuzzaman, 39, who taught at two colleges in the capital, is a resident Titas Upazila in Comilla. Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) arrested ve members of Hizb utof Military Intelligence. Reading out a statement, Mashud said the army had unearthed specic information about some serving ofcers involvement in the been involved in the bid. Two retired ofcers -- Lieutenant Colonel Ehsan Yusuf and Major Zakir -- have been arrested in connection with the plot and they are now being interrogated. Another plotter, a serving major named Syed Mohammad Ziaul Haque alias Major Zia, has been on the run. Some undisciplined and disgruntled ofcers had been involved in the attempt to execute the scheme by staying in contact with Major Zia by email and mobile phone. To unearth details about the scheme, a court of inquiry was set up on December 28 last year. That court is still in operation, Mashud said, adding that stern action would be taken against the plotters once the investigation was complete. In the past few weeks, rumours ran rife about tension in the army. This apart, BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia told a rally in Chittagong on January 9 that army ofcers had been disappearing. Meanwhile, army sources at the press brieng said two senior ofcers have been kept conned at Dhaka cantonment log area for interrogation.
Tahrir from the city yesterday, a day after the army said it had foiled a coup allegedly plotted by Maj Syed Mohammad Ziaul Huq, said to have links with the banned Islamist outt. Anyone who attempts to overthrow the democratic system will be traced... none will be spared, minister Syed Ashraful Islam told reporters. Spokesman says a group of fanatical serving, retired ofcials behind plot; 2 ex-ofcers arrested; 2 top ranking ofcers face interrogation; court of enquiry formed The army has foiled a coup attempt to overthrow the present democratic government, an army spokesman said yesterday. A band of religious fanatics,
comprising mid-ranking ofcers and their retired colleagues, was involved in the failed putsch. At the instigation of some nonresident Bangladeshis, they sought to disrupt democracy by creating anarchy in the army, cashing in on the fanaticism of others. Brigadier General Muhammad Mashud Razzaq, director of Personnel Services Directorate, disclosed the information at an unprecedented press brieng at the Army Ofcers Club in Dhaka cantonment. He was accompanied on the dais by Lieutenant Colonel Muhammad Sazzad Siddique, acting judge advocate general of the army. Also present were Lt Gen Md Mainul Islam, chief of general staff, and Brig Gen Ridwan-Al-Mahmud, director
conspiracy. This evil plot has been resisted thanks to sincere efforts by the welldisciplined members of the force, he said adding that some serving and retired ofcials had already admitted their involvement. Replying to a query, Brig Gen Mashud said around 14 to 16 midlevel ofcers were believed to have
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WEEKLY REVIEW OF BHUTAN NEWS
Will not allow any anti-India groups: Bhutan PM

Bhutanese Prime Minister Jigmi Y. Thinley Sunday said the Himalayan nation would not allow any Indian militant groups to once again set up bases in the country. We shall not allow nor tolerate any Indian extremist groups to set up bases and create problem in Assam or other parts of India from Bhutan, he told journalists here. Thinley was in Guwahati en route to Pemagetshel in Samdrup Jhonkhar district of Bhutan. Several districts of Bhutan could only be traversed from capital Thimphu by crossing stretches in adjoining Assam. Two of Assams inuential militant groups, the outlawed United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) and the National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB), besides the Kamatapur Liberation Organization (KLO) of West Bengal had well entrenched bases in Bhutan for close to a decade. Bhutan in 2003 launched Operation All Clear an offensive carried out to evict over 3,000 rebels belonging Assam and West Bengal from the Himalayan nation. Asked to comment on reports of the presence of Maoist rebels in Bhutan, the prime minister said there were no such reports. We dont have any Maoist elements in Bhutan, Thinley said.
Australia reafrms support to Meet on Indo-Bhutan Friendship held endorse Bhutan to UNSC
some of the focus areas. Daw Penjo, during the rst bilateral consultation between the two countries yesterday said the country given its limited base for internal resources faced challenges exploring nancial resources within the country while at the same time faced a declining grant assistance. That, he said, compelled the country to increasingly opt for credit nancing from global and regional nancial institutions for its development plans. An international seminar on Indo-Bhutan Friendship & Co-Operation was organised at the Ishan Institute of Management and Technology, Greater Noida on Tuesday. On the occasion, Bhutans Ambassador Major General Vestop Namgyel was the chief guest. Her highness Dwa Zau was also the special guest. Namgyel said Bhutan will not allow terrorists from Assam to enter the border of Bhutan at any cost. He also added that in next two years, Bhutan will be the biggest electricity producing country in the world and 10,000 megawatt of additional electricity would be produced.
Australian delegates will also talk with its universities to waive off IELTS requirements for Bhutanese students With the signing of the memorandum of understanding yesterday, Bhutan and Australia took another step forward for an increased interaction and cooperation in the future. The memorandum was signed between foreign secretary Daw Penjo and Australian Ambassador to Bhutan Peter Varghese at the convention
centre in Thimphu. Australian assistance dates back to early 1960s in areas of human resource development and animal husbandry programs. It was, however, formalised in 2002, its focus, again mainly to assist human resource development in Bhutan. Assistance in renewable natural resources sector, ACIAR fruit y project, forest re management and park twining arrangements were the
Bhutan-Assam border reopens after 10 yrs

A grand Fair and Craft Bazar at Subankhata in Assam, which is 25km away from Samdrupjongkhar town marked the opening of the BhutanAssam border that had remained sealed for almost a decade. Before the border was sealed, farmers from Yurung gewog traded their farm produces such as vegetables, dry chillies, oranges, cardamom in the border town. There are six Bhutanese stalls that sell garments and traditional food at the seven day fair which is also the second Indo-Bhutan friendship fair. The border gate, Chawki is about six hours walk from Yurung gewog and around 35 km away from Samdrupjongkhar town towards Nanglam. A 45-seater bus is arranged to ferry Bhutanese visitors to the fair for free. One of the villagers Sergay Lhadon a mother of two recalled the days when they used to come with their products
to Naquee Sheikh. Siddibapa was in Mumbai in July last at the time of 13/7 bombings making it less than clear why he asked Sheikh to transport explosives to the city on his behalf, Mr. Maria claimed. Haroon Rashid Naik, who the anti-terrorism squad says is involved in the bombing, was arrested in August, 2011 on charges relating to money-laundering, but has never before been accused of having a role in the 13/7 attacks, in which three bombs went off within minutes of one another in the Zaveri Bazar jewellery market, the Opera House business district, and the bustling neighbourhood of Dadar. Family protests Meanwhile, Naquee Sheikhs family met senior Delhi Police ofcials to lodge a formal protest against his treatment. Last week, The Hindu revealed that Naquee Sheikh had cooperated with the IB and the Delhi Police after his detention on December 9. Police sources told The Hindu that Naquee Sheikh had admitted
13/7 case cracked: Police

to having helped suspects A and B whom he knew by the aliases Waqas and Tabrez rent a home in Mumbai. The two men, he said, were introduced to him by an old friend, Gayur Ahmad Jamali. Jamali, in turn, had known Siddibapa since 2008. Naquee Sheikh also told the police that he accompanied the two terrorists to a gym and helped them nd work at a construction site. He also identied Waqas from closed-circuit camera footage taken outside a store at Jhaveri Bazaar. His questioning ended by January 7 when the Delhi Police travelled with him to Mumbai, in a last-ditch attempt to apprehend Waqas and Tabrez. There, under circumstances which are yet to be fully explained, he was detained by the Mumbai Police. The Delhi Police stand on this [is] clear, a senior ofcial told The Hindu, if we are asked to testify in a future bail application by Naquee Sheikh, we will put on record that he cooperated with us. Sources in the Ministry of Home Affairs said they were bafed by the decision to arrest Naquee Sheikh, but declined on-record comment.
to Assam and stay overnight at the homes of their Assamese friends. They returned home with rice, oil salt. We were scared to cross border after the problems, she said. Now that it has re-opened Im glad that my farm produces at least have a market. Bhutan India Friendship Associations (BIFA) youth secretary of Assam Anil Daimary assured that security personnel are deployed during the fair for the safety of the Bhutanese people. BIFAs secretary Norbu Wangdi said the fair is organised to revive the friendship between Bhutan and Assam.
found involved in criminal negligence would be dealt with sternly and justice would be done. The Punjab Institute of Cardiology (PIC) gives free medicines in its outdoor service to the needy patients, but some of these medicines proved fatal for the hapless users. He said today he held a detailed meeting and collected statistics of the people who lost their lives due to these medicines. He said over 70 people died in hospitals while 17 people died out of hospitals, in Lahore and other areas. A report earlier said that about twenty-ve thousand patients were given these medicines. On Monday (January 23) Pakistans Federal Investigation Agency arrested the owners of two local pharmaceutical companies that were supplying at least four different cardiac drugsCardiovestin (simvastatin), Alfagril (clopidogrel), Concort (amlodipine) and Soloprin (aspirin), according to NewsPakistanto the Punjab Institute of Cardiology (PIC), which allegedly administered the medications to patients free of cost. Ofcials have also reportedly
Pakistan Heart Drug Scare
sealed off at least one pharmaceutical factory suspected of producing the contaminated drugs. According to the Daily Times, Punjab provincial Health Secretary Jahanzeb Khan told a news conference on Monday that the PIC had given potentially tainted drugs to 46,000 patients, all of whom would be contacted and advised in the next few days regarding the possible danger to their health. At the same conference, the Daily Times reported, Parliamentary Secretary for Health Saeed Elahi announced that samples of the suspect drugs would be sent to laboratories outside of Pakistan for testing, as the country has no facilities capable of the analyses. If heavy metals are indeed to blame for the deaths of cardiac patients, its likely that the contaminants have gotten into their bone marrow and compromised their immune systems or led to dangerous drops in platelet counts, which could result in uncontrolled bleeding. Heavy bleeding was indeed reported in some of the Pakistani victims,
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Pentagon rejects Pakistan army claim on Nato blunder

The United States rejected Monday the ndings of a Pakistani probe into Nato air strikes that killed 24 Pakistani soldiers in late November, saying the investigation ignored the fact that mistakes were made on both sides. At a press brieng, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said the Pakistani army had ofcially delivered during the weekend a copy of the report conducted by Islamabad on the November 26 strikes against a Pakistani border post. The statement that this was an unprovoked attack by US forces is simply false, said Navy Captain Kirby. It was not an unprovoked attack, he said. There were errors made by both sides here. Underscoring its criticism of the Nato force in Afghanistan, the Pakistani military rejected Monday US efforts to apportion some of the
blame to Pakistan as unwarranted and unacceptable. Kirby said the Pentagon was 100 percent behind the ndings of the investigation report released last month by the US military. That report, while acknowledging some responsibility in the bombing
of one or two Pakistani border posts, argued that Nato troops had red in self-defense after being shot at by heavy weapons and mortar from an unidentied source in a remote area inltrated by Taliban organizations. Captain Kirby regretted that
Islamabad refused to participate in the investigation initiated by the US military. He called on Pakistan to reopen supply routes for Nato troops in Afghanistan, which were closed after the bombing. We want to get past all this and we want to build a good cooperative
relationship with the Pakistani military, he said. The crisis in US-Pakistani relations has been overshadowed by a standoff between the courts and the civilian government that analysts believe could force early elections in Pakistan within months.
26/11: Pakistan panel to visit India on February 3
Unite States has denies reports regarding tariff imposition on NATO supply route for Afghanistan, adding that US had not contacted to Pakistan in this regard.
The US State Department spokesperson, Victoria Nuland during the brieng to media on Friday said that the civil assistance to Pakistan is continued and this series would also continue in future. It has not heard or received any information from Pakistan on imposing tariff on the NATO supply Pakistan announced Thursday that it plans to reopen supply routes to NATO forces in Afghanistan, but will impose tariffs. Islamabad closed its borders to NATO after a cross-border air raid killed 24 Pakistani soldiers on November 26. US ofcials described the incident as regrettable and having resulted the dangerous border region where the attack took place the worlds most dangerous place. No date was given for reopening the supply routes. The move comes as exploratory peace talks between the home-grown Taliban which is close to Al Qaida and Islamabad have entered a impasse
Pakistan to Re-Open Border for NATO
A Pakistani judicial commission will visit India during February 3-6 to interview ofcials who were involved in the investigation of the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks, Interior Minister Rehman Malik said on Friday.
the Indian envoy discussed progress in the probe into the Mumbai attacks, including the trial of seven Pakistani suspects charged with involvement in the incident, and other aspects of bilateral relations. Pakistani ofcials have said that route for Afghanistan, moving through its territory. Victoria Nuland, said that We have not, as of this moment, had any ofcial communication from the government of Pakistan on this subject. She was responding to questions in news reports appearing in the Pakistan media that Pakistan has agreed to open the crucial NATO supply route but are applying tariff on the movement of goods. We have seen the same media reports that you have seen, she said. It is, as you know, part of their ongoing parliamentary review. So from where we are standing at the moment, we do not have anything new, Nuland said and refused to comment on the tariff proposal. Meanwhile according western media reports Six weeks after closing its border with Afghanistan to NATO in protest of a friendly-re incident, Pakistan will re-open it for a price.
Mr. Malik announced the dates for the commissions visit during a meeting with Indian High Commissioner Sharat Sabharwal at the Interior Ministry this afternoon, ofcial sources said. India had earlier suggested to Pakistan that the judicial commission should visit during the rst half of February. Mr. Malik announced the date for the visit after the completion of various technical formalities, including the selection of the ofcials who would be included in the panel, the sources said. During their meeting, Mr. Malik and
the judicial commissions visit to India is imperative to take forward the prosecution of the seven suspects, including Lashkar-e-Taiba commander Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi, whose trial has virtually stalled for the past year. Defence lawyers have raised questions about the admissibility of the confession of Ajmal Kasab, the lone surviving attacker, in a Pakistani court. Kasabs confessional statement, recorded by an Indian magistrate, is a key piece of evidence for the Pakistani prosecutors.
from the fog of war. The NATO attack plunged relations between troubled allies Pakistan and the US to their lowest point in years. The tariffs are said to be designed to both express continued anger over the November attack and raise funds for Pakistan to ght homegrown Taliban terrorists plaguing both Islamabad and Kabul. US President Barack Obama has called
dashing hopes Pakistan could remove a serious domestic security problem from its agenda. Analysts say ofcials in Islamabad likely used the November attack and subsequent row with the West as a means of furthering their dialogue with the Taliban. Now that those talks have stalled, they say, Pakistan is looking for a way to save face while reversing course.
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WEEKLY REVIEW OF INDIA NEWS
Supreme Court dismisses PIL on Army Chief age row

The Supreme Court dismissed a PIL seeking a direction to the government to restore the Army Chief Gen. V.K. Singhs date of birth as May 10, 1951 saying it was not maintainable in law. In our view, the writ petition led at the behest of an association is not maintainable. The writ petition is dismissed as not maintainable, a bench headed by Chief Justice S.H. Kapadia said. This is purely a service matter, the court said. The bench was furious that the PIL led by The Grenadiers Association (Rohtak Chapter) annexed the opinions of former Chief Justices of India in the petition on the age row of Army Chief when they themselves said it is not for being putting up before the court. He directed the Supreme Court registry not to accept any writ petitions in cases where opinions of former Chief Justices are annexed. Gen. Singh himself has led a petition before the Supreme Court seeking a direction to the government that his date of birth be treated as 10.5.1951 and not 1950.
Peace in Pakistan stabilizes South Asia: India
Indias External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna says that developments in Pakistan are of deep concern from the point of stability in South Asia. Krishna expressed the condence that things would get back to normal. Speaking to journalists in Sira taluk in Tumkur district of Andhra Pradesh on Sunday, Mr. Krishna said he was hopeful that the crisis in Pakistan would blow over. There was need for political stability in Pakistan for peace in South Asia.
Peace prevailing in Pakistan brings some kind of stability in South Asia, he told reporters at the taluka headquarters town of Sira in Tumkur district of Karnataka. In that background, the current situation is a matter of deep concern. But Mr Krishna expressed the condence that things would get back to normal, saying the Pakistani government was working towards that end.
Kerala temple treasure: Trial documentation on Feb 9

A joint-sitting of Supreme Courtappointed committees on Sunday decided on a Feb 9 trial run of documenting the treasure unearthed at the famed Sree Padmanabhaswamy temple. On Feb 15, we are planning to submit a report to the Supreme Court on the trial run and we expect to begin the ofcial documentation process either on Feb 17 or 18, said M.V.Nair, who was earlier this month appointed chairman of the Supreme Court-appointed expert panel to evaluate the treasure found in the temple vaults. Nair replaced former chairman C.V. Ananda Bose, who has retired from service and Sundays meeting was the rst after Nair took over. Sundays meeting took place after the Kerala government had sanctioned
Rs. 2.50 crore for the documentation process. State public sector rm Keltron has obtained the state-of-the-art equipment required for the speedy examination and documentation of the priceless treasure that was unearthed last year.
Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, after taking a political shellacking in 2011, has embarked on initiatives that include greater investment by state-owned rms in an effort to shore up economic growth and reassure industry. Yet the 79-year-old leader, who has been in power since 2004, faces substantial obstacles in delivering on his plans. The crisis in the euro zone is exacerbating the anticipated deceleration of Indias economic engine, making it difcult for unilateral government measures here to boost expansion. Moreover, Mr. Singh runs a coalition government that has seen major economic initiatives scotched by nettlesome allies. Most spectacularly, a government executive decision to allow foreign retailers such as Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and Tesco PLC to own 51% of Indian joint ventures (now they are barred from Indian retail) was reversed because of the objections of the Trinamool Congress, a coalition ally, which felt the move would harm Indian mom-and-pop shopkeepers. Still, Mr. Singh is seeking to foster an appearance of new resolve. We must not be too downcast, he said in a Jan. 1 speech to the nation. We must remember that downturns are followed by upturns. Indeed, they are often a test of our ability to respond to new challenges. On Wednesday, Mr. Singh led a highly publicized meeting of 20 power-industry executives and several government ofcials to try to nd ways to relieve a chronic shortage of affordable coal as well as clear other hurdlessuch as lengthy environmental clearances for plant constructionthat are crippling the power sector. Industrialists have complained for months that the bureaucratic and policy-making apparatus has been paralyzed as the government dealt with a series of
Indian Premier Tries to Revive Fortunes Amid Hurdles
political crises. In the meeting, Mr. Singh sought to assure the executives that government supported them. All of you are wealth creators and are worthy of our respect, Mr. Singh said, according to two attendees. And he named his principal secretary, Pulok Chatterji, as head of a committee that will study how to remove roadblocks to power infrastructure and review progress in 90 days. Ashok Khurana, director-general of the Association of Power Producers, who was at the meeting, said the normally soft-spoken prime minister promised the group that no power asset will lie idle in the country. Mr. Khurana said Mr. Singhs demeanor in previous meetings has been to listen and respond Ive heard you. Of Wednesdays meeting, he said, I have never seen him more assertive. Separately, on Jan. 3, Mr. Chatterji headed up a meeting of state-owned companies in which he urged those with signicant cash piles to draw up credible investment programs and implement them with vigor to help boost economic growth, according to a government summary
of the meeting. Coal India Ltd., for instance, the government-run monopoly coal supplier, is sitting on cash and bank balances of around $8 billion, according to the summary. But it has plans to invest only $855 million in the year ending March 31, 2013, with the possibility of further spending of $1.2 billion on overseas assets. Mr. Chatterji asked the company to step up investments that may be planned for future years and to look into expansion in other industries such as roads, railways, waterways and the power sector. In all, the government identied $35.2 billion in potential investment by the companies in the year that begins April 1, according to the summary. Coal India didnt respond to requests to comment. An ofcial in the prime ministers ofce said Thursday that Mr. Singh plans to try to reintroduce the expansion in foreign direct investment in retail after a series of state legislative elections that will conclude in early March. The ofcial said May or June is a likely time frame. Indias civil aviation ministry this week also said it will prepare a note for the federal cabinet to consider allowing up to 49% investment by foreign carriers in Indian local airlines in a bid to provide muchneeded relief to an industry marred by high jet-fuel costs and mounting losses. The ofcial in the prime ministers ofce said Mr. Singh has yet to take a view on that issue.How Mr. Singh handles the next several months will help dene his legacy after eight years in ofce. India has seen years of unprecedented economic growth in that time but the prime ministers recent tenure has been tainted by corruption scandals and by the inept handling of allies and the political opposition.
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HRW World Report 2012: Disappointing Year For Human Rights In India
The Indian government during 2011 failed to hold rights violators accountable or to carry out effective policies to protect vulnerable communities, the Human Rights Watch (HRW) said in its World Report 2012.
The government took no action to repeal the widely discredited Armed Forces Special Powers Act, disregarding the recommendations of political leaders and advisers, the New York-based rights watchdog said in the report released on Monday. It also accused the Indian government of ignoring the urgent need for police reform despite widespread complaints of torture and unlawful killings as well as deplorable working conditions for police personnel. The Indian government took few steps to prosecute abusive soldiers, undertake needed police reforms, or bring an end to torture, said HRW Asia Director Brad Adams. Internationally, India missed opportunities to be a leader at the United Nations Security Council and Human Rights Council in protecting the rights of vulnerable people abroad, he added. In its World Report 2012, HRW assessed progress on human rights during the past year in more than 90 countries, including popular uprisings in the Arab world that few would have imagined. Given the violent forces resisting the Arab Spring, the international community has an important role to play in assisting the birth of rights-respecting democracies in the region, HRW said in the report. In India, violence in Jammu and Kashmir State dropped signicantly during 2011. The State human rights commissions investigation of 38 sites in north Kashmir and the discovery of 2,730 unmarked graves was a good rst step for providing justice to the victims, the HRW said. While the government maintains that most of the bodies are those of unidentied Pakistani militants, many Kashmiris believe that victims of fake encounter killings or enforced disappearances may also have been buried in those graves. The government belatedly addressed the epidemic of killings on the Indo-Bangladesh border by the Border Security Force (BSF). Although the government ordered restraint and provided rubber bullets to reduce casualties, there were continued reports of torture leading to deaths and other abuses by BSF soldiers. No BSF soldiers have been prosecuted for the unlawful killings of over 900 Indians and Bangladeshis over the past decade. Prime Minister Manmohan Singhs call for zero tolerance of abuses by the armed forces has been undercut by the near zero progress in holding the abusers responsible, Adams said. He called on the Indian government not to allow the Army to hide behind claims about troop morale or operational needs as an excuse for impunity. Residents of areas facing a Maoist insurgency, which in 2011 was active in nearly 80 districts across 11 Indian States, complained of being squeezed between state security forces and Maoist rebels. Security agencies carried out numerous arbitrary arrests and were accused of many instances of torture. The Maoists frequently demanded shelter and information from villagers, who were then punished by security forces for collaborating with the rebels. While the government agrees that the Maoist movement is rooted in failed government policies and speaks of winning hearts and minds, it allows the security forces to commit abuses with impunity, Adams said. At the same time, the Maoists claim to speak for the marginalized yet punish anyone who might disagree with their violent methods. The government adopted long overdue measures to compensate rape victims and revised its medico-legal protocols to exclude the humiliating nger test to investigate rape cases, the HRW report said. Yet the government did little to address the widespread problems of honor killings, dowry deaths, and sexual violence. A further decline in Indias sex ratio because of sex selective abortion and other abuses against girls and women points to the economic and social disparities that lead families to prefer sons over daughters, and the governments need to expand educational and economic opportunities for women. The failure to extend maternal health care programs to all mothers below the age 19 or with more than two live births also reected poorly on the governments commitment to protect women. The Medical Council of India took an important step in 2011 by recognizing palliative care as a medical specialty. But more than half of government-supported regional cancer centers still do not offer palliative care or pain management, even though more than 70 percent of their patients need it. Internationally, although India served on both the U.N. Security Council and Human Rights Council, it let opportunities pass to support independent, international investigations into conict-related abuses in Sri Lanka and Myanmar. The report blames India for remaining silent on even the gravest abuses instead of using these memberships to show leadership to protect human rights abroad. India is now watched closely for signs of responsible global leadership, Adams said, adding that its silence on human rights violations by abusive regimes because of its reluctance to interfere in the so-called internal affairs of other countries sits uncomfortably alongside its international human rights commitments and its self image as a rights-respecting nation.
17
Pakistan: Rights Suffer Under Army Power Grab

Upsurge in Attacks on Civilians, Torture, Targeted Killings
military undermined democratic institutions. From Karachi to Quetta, Pakistan is teetering on the edge of becoming a military-run Potemkin democracy. In its 676-page report,Human Rights Watch assessed progress on human rights during the past year in more than 90 countries, including popular uprisings in the Arab world that few would have imagined. Given the violent forces resisting the Arab Spring, the international (New York) Pakistans edgling democratic government, under increasing pressure from the military, appeased extremist groups, ignored army abuses, and failed to hold those responsible for serious abuses accountable in 2011, Human Rights Watch said today in its World Report 2012. Targeted killings and other attacks on civilians by the Taliban and sectarian and ethnic militant groups, as well as killings of journalists, were commonplace during the year. extremists accountable. Taseers self-confessed killer, Mumtaz Qadri, was convicted of murder, but the presiding judge had to ee the country amid fears for his safety. Extremist groups exploited the governments passivity by intimidating minorities and with an upsurge in blasphemy allegations and cases, Human Rights Watch said. Religious minorities, Muslims, children, and mentally disabled people have all been charged under the blasphemy
Govt increasingly intolerant to criticism: HRW

Says no justice for victims of rights abuses by security forces
security agencies have replaced one form of abuse with another, the HR report observed. Attempts by civil society during the year to document or denounce human rights violations at times resulted in harassment or torture, the HRW said. Odhikar, a Dhaka-based human rights organisation, has come under increased surveillance and its employees have The Bangladesh government has taken no signicant steps to investigate and prosecute torture in custody and extra-judicial killings during 2011 and showed an increasing intolerance for criticism, says Human Rights Watch. The government also missed the chance to ensure trials that meet international standards for the countrys leaders remained under severe pressure and at risk of arbitrary arrests. The non-governmental organisation bureau in the prime ministers ofce held up grants to groups critical of the government, the report said. In 2011 the government appeared to hunker down and assume dark motives when human rights concerns were raised, demonising critics instead of carefully considering
Security deteriorated dramatically throughout the country as the result of suicide bombings by the Taliban and afliated groups, which targeted civilians and public spaces, including marketplaces and religious processions. There was a dramatic increase in targeted killings in the southwestern province of Balochistan, while 800 people were killed in often politically motivated violence in Karachi. Law enforcement authorities made little attempt to resolve enforced disappearances of terrorism suspects and opponents of the military. The past year was disastrous for human rights in Pakistan, said Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch. Bombs killed hundreds of civilians, advocates of religious tolerance were assassinated, and the
community has an important role to play in assisting the formation of rights-respecting democracies in the region, Human Rights Watch said in the report. In Pakistan, persecution and discrimination under cover of law against religious minorities and other vulnerable groups reached a zenith in 2011, Human Rights Watch said. Freedom of belief and expression came under severe threat as Islamist militant groups murdered Punjabs governor, Salmaan Taseer, and the federal minorities minister, Shahbaz Bhatti, over their public support for amending the countrys often abused blasphemy law. The government notably failed to provide protection to people threatened by extremists or hold the
law, which violates the right to freedom of conscience and religion under international law. Government appeasement of extremist groups who fomented Taseer and Bhattis murders has led to a rash of blasphemy allegations and well-justied fear for those who question the use of the blasphemy law, Adams said. The Pakistan government needs to summon the courage to stand up to extremists and hold those responsible for violence and threats to account. Journalists, particularly those covering counterterrorism issues or who are perceived to be taking public positions against the military, faced unprecedented threats. At least ten journalists were killed in Pakistan
independence-era atrocities, the New York-based rights watchdog said in its World Report 2012. The 676-page report said the HRW found that there was a sharp increase in enforced disappearances though the number of Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) killings has dropped following domestic and international criticism. The enforced disappearances led to concerns that
been harassed. The Asian Human Rights Commission said that its representative, William Gomez, was abducted by plainclothes security personnel in May and tortured and verbally abused during an interrogation. Supporters of high prole gures such as the Nobel Prize Laureate Mohammad Yunus were threatened and intimidated and, in one case, beaten up. Trade union
their concerns, Adams said, HRWs Asia director. In a democracy all points of view should be welcome and activities like human rights monitoring by domestic organisations should be encouraged, not disparaged, he added. Charges have been led against seven people accused of war crimes during the 1971 war for independence. The
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NEWS
Defence of Pakistan rally: Govt warned against NATO route restoration

erely a kilometre away from the military headquarters in Rawalpindi, thousands of people gathered to show their strength against, what they called, antiPakistan forces. Hosted by Sheikh Rashid Ahmed of his one-man Awami Muslim League, many leaders from religious, sectarian, and jihadi outts; previously banned and now operating under different names, charged the jam-packed Liaqat Bagh with their religiously motivated speeches. Al-Jihad, Al-Jihad (the holy war, the holy war) slogans rose from the crowd in response to every ery claim by orators who warned against the grand conspiracies being hatched by the enemies of Pakistan. A majority of the participants in the rally were holding Jamaat-ud Dawa (JuD) ags, led by Haz Saeed, whose 17-minute speech, consistently referring to Indian-American aggression against Muslims, resonated with the crowd of over 50,000. The current standoff between state institutions is the result of a sin that we committed 10 years ago by allowing our territory to be used against Afghan Muslims, and until we repent for that grave mistake, we will never be able to overcome these
issues, Saeed said. This is Americas war and we only want to ght Pakistans war. Saeed said that India is a greater threat to Pakistan than the US. The current government is conspiring with the US to give in to Indian supremacy in the region. Granting Most Favoured Nation status is part
of that plan. We must practically oppose this. He said that the Defence of Pakistan Council (DPC) is working to unite all political and religious parties to thwart these conspiracies and tackle the difculties that Pakistan is embroiled in. Speaking later, former Inter-
Services Intelligence (ISI) chief General (retd) Hamid Gul warned that he would besiege the federal capital with over 2.5 million retired army personnel if the government restores Natos supply routes. People were brought from different corners of the country in buses and vans. There were white shalwar kurta-clad, turbaned and bearded JuD activists from Azad Kashmir, some people from Peshawar, parts of Punjab and from Rawalpindi and Islamabad, but JuD members dominated the crowd. The rally brought back memories of the leaders of once banned sectarian outts in the shape of posters of Maulana Azam Tariq, the slain leader of Millat-e-Islami, a faction of Sipahe-Sahaba Pakistan (SSP), Haq Nawaz Jhangvi of SSP and others. The posters were distributed by the activists of Ahl-e-Sunnat-wal Jammat, who came in large numbers to listen to their leader, Maulana Ahmed Ludhianvi. Activists of the participating religious outts freely distributed hate material, including jihadi pamphlets, books, CDs and posters inciting sectarian hatred and urging jihad. Liaquat Road was the main distribution point for these items. We were against these people
for spreading sectarian hate among Muslims, but they are now using public rallies and conferences for the purpose, a JuD leader said while talking to The Express Tribune. More than 2,000 JuD volunteers were responsible for administrative and security matters. Dozens of Falahe-Insaniyat Foundation ambulances, a charity wing of JuD, including mobile operation theatres remained stationed at the venue the whole day. Murree Road was closed for trafc, which compounded the problems of commuters who were diverted to link roads, causing long trafc jams at multiple points. Ijazul Haq of Pakistan Muslim League-Zia (PML-Z) and Sheikh Rasheed, both cabinet members during the Musharraf era, asked religious parties for a grand alliance and jihad to stop US and Indian aggression against Pakistan. They also opposed the governments intentions to give MFN status to India. The rally was also attended by Maulana Samiul Haq, Chief of Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam of his own faction, Jamaat-i-Islamis Munawar Hasan and Ahmed Ludhianvi, and former army chief General (retd) Mirza Aslam Baig.
Current situation retribution for allowing our soils use against Afghans: Haz Saeed
in Pakistan, said that closing Nato supply routes is not enough and Pakistan must re-evaluate its entire defence policy. He said he had told Prime Minister Gilani that he will ask him a question in the Rawalpindi rally. The question, he said, is when will he announce the date that Pakistan will severe all its ties with the United States. This is Americas war and we only want to ght Pakistans war. Saeed, whose JuD is believed to be linked to anti-India militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba, said that India is a greater threat to Pakistan than even the US. The current government is conspiring with the US to give in to Indian supremacy [in the region]. Granting the Most Favoured Nation status is part of that plan. We must practically oppose this. He said that the Difa-i-Pakistan Council is working to agglomerate all political and religious parties to ght these conspiracies and tackle the difculties that Pakistan is embroiled in.
Pakistani ofcer laid to rest as Turkish pilots body found
The current clash of institutions is the result of a sin that we committed 10 years ago by allowing our territory to be used against Afghan Muslims, Jamaatud Dawa chief Haz Muhammad Saeed has said. Until we repent for that grave mistake, we will never be able to overcome these issues, he told a rally in Rawalpindi on Sunday, organised under the aegis of the Difa-e-Pakistan Council, which is an alliance of 40 religious and political parties. The rally, which managed to pull
as many as 20,000 people to the well-known Liaqat Bagh, was also attended by Awami Muslim League chief Sheikh Rasheed, Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Sami chief Maulana Samiul Haq, former Inter-Services Intelligence chief Hamid Gul, Jamaat-e-Islamis Munawar Hasan and Ahmed Ludhianvi, Pakistan Muslim League-Zias Ijazul Haq and former army chief General (retd) Mirza Aslam Baig. Saeed, whose organisation is banned by the United Nations but continues to operate as a charity
A military funeral was held for Maj. Massoud Hussein Chhachhar, 35, who was killed in a training ight off Turkeys Aegean coast Jun. 16, in the Pakistani city of Lahore today. Chhachhar was training Turkish pilot Lt. Serkan Sar on a D-137 plane when it crashed into the Aegean Sea near the western province of zmir, killing both pilots. The funeral was attended by Gen. Recep Yksel of Turkeys Air Training Command, Turkish Ambassador to Islamabad Babr Hzlan, Punjab Provincial Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif and ranking ofcers from the Pakistani air force. Turkish President Abdullah Gl and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoan sent laurels to
the funeral. Chhachhar has been training Turkish pilots for the past two years as part of a military cooperation agreement between Turkey and Pakistan. He had the most ight hours among servicemen in his rank and Turkish ofcials had requested to extend his tour of duty for another year due to outstanding service, the report said. Chhachhars cofn, wrapped in both the Turkish and Pakistani ags, was own to his home village for burial after the ceremony. He has been married for three years. Search and rescue teams have spotted the dead body of Turkish Lt. Sar who died in the crash at around noon today.
Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf chief Imran Khan appears determined to respond to every criticism of his newly-popular party.
They say that PTI is a party popular only in urban Pakistan. But you tell me, has there ever been this big a rally in Bhalwal? Imran condently asked thousands of party supporters who gathered in the small town in Sargodha on Sunday, who responded with a cheer of no. Do the rural people not want justice? They do. Injustice in Pakistans rural areas is worse than that in urban areas, he said. This PTI tsunami will be even more successful in rural areas because it is the harbinger of change, of Pakistans transformation. Speaking about how his party prioritises rural farmers as those who need justice the most, he said that because of a maa, a poor farmer who produces sugarcane is paid 30 per cent less than he deserves for his labour and production. Why does Indian Punjab produce double than Pakistani Punjab? They have the same weather and land conditions. Because the Indian government supports them by providing them with seeds, fertiliser and free electricity. This, he said, is his partys vision for the farmers of Punjab. We can earn an additional 300 billion rupees. And PTI will make all this available for farmers. Our primary concern in Swiss banks is looted from the people of Pakistan? Three years, you were ruling together [with the PPP]. You were brothers. Was this not looted money then? he questioned. Imran then drove his point home by quoting former US President Abraham Lincolns famous lines: You can fool some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time, but you cannot fool all of the people all of the time. Addressing the prime minister, Imran said that he criticises PTI for not having an agenda. First of all, Mr prime minister, I would like to tell you that even if we dont have an agenda right now, it will be better than yours. Even if we fail to deliver on our promises, we will end up doing a better job than you, he said. These parties, he said, say that Pakistans problems cannot be solved. But I say they can be easily resolved. We are a well-endowed country. There are so many bright and competent Pakistanis who must be appointed at the right places. They should head Wapda, PIA and Pakistan Railways. All appointments must be made on merit. Justice, he said, is when merit is given priority over all else.
PTI will be more successful in rural Pakistan: Imran
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will be the weak. Two-party system The greater part of Imrans speech was focused on criticising the two parties that have hogged civilian rule in Pakistan the ruling Pakistan Peoples Party and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz. The reason these parties cannot bring about any change is because they are part of the problem, not the solution, Imran said. Their time is up and the days of their rule are gone. Picking on PML-N, who Imran has categorically refused to ally with, he said that Punjab is their responsibility
where they are governing for the fth time but they have failed so miserably that they couldnt even administer proper examinations for students. Is Punjab doing any better than the rest of the provinces? No, it isnt. Look at your tenure from 25 years ago and compare it with the current situation. You have destroyed Punjab. He said that he saw right through PML-N chief Nawaz Sharifs stance on the governments refusal to write to Swiss authorities under the Supreme Courts National Reconciliation Ordinance order. Mian sb, tell me one thing: how did you suddenly realise that the amount
Fatima Bhutto Blasts Imran Khan
There was a short-lived rumor last month that Fatima Bhutto was irting with the idea of joining Imran Khans opposition Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party. Speaking at the Jaipur Literature Festival on Sunday, she made it clear this was unlikely to happen. Ever.
More In Jaipur Literature Festival

in Lahore, leaving some wondering whether the next general elections, slated for 2013, may mark the moment that PTI went from being ridiculous to respectable in the mainstream, as an article in The Caravan magazine recently noted. At the literary festival, where Ms. Bhutto shared a stage with the PakistaniAmerican historian Ayesha Jalal, the tone was one of disillusionment with Pakistans political class. Ms. Bhutto spoke of the gulf that exists between the people in power and the rest of the country, saying that food scarcity not squabbles between institutions is the bigger worry for most people. Despite her political lineage (another former Prime Minister, Benazir Bhutto, was her aunt), Ms. Bhutto has long eschewed direct involvement in national politics. Best known as a writer and a journalist, Ms. Bhutto hasnt spared members of her family in her political critiques. Her Songs of Blood and Swords, a 2010 memoir centered on the Bhutto dynasty, exposed feuding in her family and was damning of her late aunt.
He has an incredible coziness not with the military but with dictatorship, Ms. Bhutto said of Mr. Khan, a cricket legend-turned-politician who has been billing himself as the face of change in Pakistan. Ms. Bhutto accused Mr. Khan of defending the legacy of former dictator Gen. Zia-ul-Haq, who came to power in the late 1970s after overthrowing Prime Minister Zulkar Ali Bhutto, Fatimas grandfather and the founder of the countrys ruling Pakistan Peoples Party. She also mentioned Mr. Khans support for a 2002 referendum allowing Gen. Pervez Musharraf, who had come to power with a coup a few years earlier, to extend his term. Thats not where it ended. In what appeared to be a well-rehearsed argument to debunk the political credibility of the former cricket captain, Ms. Bhutto went
on to list more reasons why she opposed his political foray. As a woman I worry very much about Imrans politics, said Ms. Bhutto. She spoke of his opposition to amending a 2006 womans bill in favor of victims of rape. She also questioned Mr. Khans commitment to secularism and to defending minorities. Is he a savior? No, I dont think so, said Ms. Bhutto during a Pakistan-focused session at the literary festival. Well, thats the end of Imran Khan, said news anchor Karan Thapar, who moderated the panel. Mr. Khans political weight, long dismissed as irrelevant, started to gain new relevance in recent months. Although he started his party more than 15 years ago, only now is it starting to gain traction. On Christmas Day, over 100,000 people turned up to his rally in
Karachi, where he vowed to stand up to the U.S. and to ght corruption. In October, he drew an even larger crowd
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WEEKLY REVIEW OF PAKISTAN NEWS
US-Pak intelligence cooperation continues

he death of a senior Al Qaeda leader in a US drone strike in Pakistans tribal areas, the rst strike in almost two months, signalled that the USPakistan intelligence partnership is still in operation despite political tensions. The Jan 10 strike and its follow-up two days later were joint operations, a Pakistani security source based in the tribal areas said. They made use of Pakistani spotters on the ground and demonstrated a level of coordination that both sides have sought to downplay since tensions rst erupted in January 2011 with the killing of two Pakistanis by a CIA contractor in Lahore. Our working relationship is a bit different from our political relationship, the source said. Its more productive. Pakistani and US sources said the target of the Jan 10 attack was Aslam Awan, a Pakistani national from Abbottabad, the town where Osama bin Laden was killed last May by a US commando team. They said he was targeted in a strike by a US-operated drone directed at what news reports said was a compound near the town of Miramshah in the border tribal agency of North Waziristan. That strike broke an undeclared
eight-week hiatus in attacks by the armed, unmanned drones that patrol the tribal areas and are a key weapon in President Barack Obamas counter-terrorism strategy. The sources described Awan, also known by the nom-deguerre Abdullah Khorasani, as a signicant gure in the remaining core leadership of Al Qaeda, which US ofcials say has been sharply reduced by the drone campaign. Most of the drone attacks are conducted as part of a clandestine CIA operation. The Pakistani source, who helped target Awan, could not conrm that he was killed, but the US ofcial said he was. European ofcials said Awan had spent time in London and had ties to British extremists before returning to Pakistan. The source, who says he runs a network of spotters primarily
in North and South Waziristan, described for the rst time how US-Pakistani cooperation on strikes works, with his Pakistani agents keeping close tabs on suspected militants and building a pattern of their movements and associations. We run a network of human intelligence sources, he said. Separately, we monitor their cell and satellite phones. Thirdly, we run joint monitoring operations with our US and UK friends, he added, noting that cooperation with British intelligence was also extensive. Pakistani and US intelligence ofcers, using their own sources, hash out a joint priority of targets lists in regular face-to-face meetings, he said. Al Qaeda is our top priority, he said. He declined to say where the
meetings take place. Once a target is identied and marked, his network coordinates with drone operators on the US side. He said the United States bases drones outside Kabul, likely at Bagram aireld about 40km north of the capital. From spotting to ring a missile hardly takes about two to three hours, he said. It was impossible to verify the sources claims and American experts, who decline to discuss the drone program, say the Pakistanis cooperation has been less helpful in the past. US ofcials have complained that when information on drone strikes was shared with the Pakistanis beforehand, the targets were often tipped off, allowing them to escape. The security source said very few innocent people had been killed in the strikes. When a militant takes
shelter in a house or compound which is then bombed, the ones who are harbouring him, they are equally responsible, he said. When they stay at a host house, they (the hosts) obviously have sympathies for these guys. He denied that Pakistan helped target civilians. If others say innocents have been targeted, its not true, he said. We never target civilians or innocents. The New America Foundation policy institute says that of the 283 reported strikes from 2004 to Nov 16, 2011, between 1,717 and 2,680 people were killed. Between 293 and 471 were thought to be civilians approximately 17 per cent of those killed. The Brookings Institution, however, says civilian deaths are high, reporting in 2009 that for every militant killed, 10 or more civilians also died.
Electoral lists to be nalised Target killings: SC will monitor by end of May: ECP govt, Sindh CJ warned on violence
Chief Justice of Pakistan Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry has warned that he would not tolerate any violation of the orders of the apex court. Any violation of the orders of Supreme Court would be taken seriously and would entail strict action. Taking notice of the killings of lawyers and other citizens in Sindh, CJ Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry assured the people of Karachi and Sindh that the judiciary would not leave them alone and would monitor the actions of the state apparatus. Addressing members of the bar and bench after administering oath to the newly elected ofce bearers of the Karachi Bar Association here on Saturday, the chief justice especially referred to the target killing of lawyers in Karachi and said this was really very frustrating. It is unfortunate if these incidents are ignored by the police. Read our judgement in the suo motu proceedings on Karachis law and order situation, we have ordered
Chief Election Commissioner Justice (retd) Hamid Ali Mirza on Monday said the electoral lists would be nalised by the end of May and suggested political parties not to interfere in its proceedings, DawnNews reported. Speaking at a meeting organised to consult with political parties for the preparation of new electoral lists, Mirza said the Election Cmmission of Pakistan (ECP) was a free and independent institution and hindering its proceedings would be unconstitutional. Mirza said that complete voters lists could not be prepared by Feb 23 the deadline given by the Supreme Court.
The ECP, political parties, civil society and media held a consultative session today to discuss key issues for ensuring credible and transparent elections in the country. Mirza said all institutions should operate within their boundaries. The chief election commissioner said that the lists could not be nalised before the end of May. And before that there would be no constitutional value of the lists, he added. PML-Q chief Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain, Mushahid Hussain Syed, Iqbal Zafar Jhagra of the PML-N, Nayyar Bukhari of PPP, Liaquat Baloch of Jamaat-i-Islami, Hashim Babar of ANP and MQMs leader Iqbal Qadri attended the meeting.
Sindhs administration to protect the lives of citizens at all costs, he said. He asked the chief justice of the Sindh High Court to summon the chief secretary, Sindh IG, Rangers DG and other ofcials in his chambers in the presence of members of the bar and look into the issue. Terming the strength of the judges at Sindh High Court as meagre, the CJP asked the chief justice of the SHC to initiate the process of appointment in consultation with the senior-most judges. He said that although SHC CJ Mushir Alam was cautious about appointing judges on merit and the best of the
best, he should still move on with the process. Confer responsibility on a person, he will certainly respond by bringing [his] best, he advised, citing an example while he was serving as the CJ of the Balochistan High Court. Select them from among the lawyers and district and sessions judges. A jewel shines only when it is crafted and becomes valuable, he said. He told the audience that he had a meeting with senior judges of the Supreme Court and Sindh High Court on the issue and hoped that in the next 15 to 20 days, the shortage of judges would end.
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WEEKLY REVIEW OF MALDIVE NEWS
In honor of the Maldives 69th National Day President Mohamed Nasheed has advised that Maldivian nationhood be rooted in universal values as taught by Islam and centuries-old tradition. National Day remembers the heroic efforts of 16th century Maldivian leader Mohammed Thakurufaanu. Speaking today, the President identied conviction, beauty, humility, kindness, equality, justice, and caring as the main bases of Maldivian nationhood. He advocated for a fresh, expanded nationhood in alignment with Islam and national tradition. The question of the Maldives status as a 100 percent Muslim country was recently debated during protests in late December, when opposition
Cultural tradition and religious values at heart of fresh, expanded nationhood: President Mohamed Nasheed
parties and religious NGOs called for stronger Islamic policies. The governments all-or-nothing response included a shut-down of all spas and a proposed nation-wide ban on pork and alcoholmoves which drew anxious attention from international media and tourism ofcials. Although asked to rule on the Islamic value of allowing the sale of pork and alcohol in resorts, the Supreme Court dismissed the case but said it found no reason why those items should be prohibited according to constitutional regulations on tourism goods and services. Advocating democracy and human rights as elements critical to the Maldives, President Nasheed said a refreshed sense of nationhood should
provide for a just judiciary, freedom of expression, and other human rights; and an economic system that provides for a prosperous, clean livelihood for all citizens. Recently, the government instituted universal health insurance program Aasandhaa, providing free medical coverage for all Maldivian citizens
for the rst time in the nations history. For the sake of development and the prosperity of all citizens the Maldives has already seen tremendous changes to the system of governance, said the President. However, the government has wrestled with freedom of expression. In late
2011, controversial blogger Ismail Khilath Rasheeds blog was swiftly shut down on the exclusive order of the Islamic Minister. He was also arrested and held for extended periods of detention after participating in a peaceful protest for religious tolerance on International Human Rights Day, during which he was beaten. Rasheeds arrest and detention were scrunitised and condemned by Amnesty International and Reporters without Borders (RSF). Recognising the ongoing political unrest in Male since Chief Judge Abdulla Mohamed was arrested on January 16 by military forces, President Nasheed said separation of powers and a judiciary free from all undue inuence, are essential for future progress and growth.
Maldives appeals to UN Foreign Minister Welcomes Submission to the ICC in row over judge
The Maldives has asked the UN to help resolve what it calls a judicial crisis, one week after the detention of a senior criminal court judge. Last week the army arrested Judge Abdulla Mohamed for alleged corruption and political bias, a move which promoted street protests. The government says Judge Mohameds judicial decisions were dictated by his political and street protests, or correspondent says. The government has conrmed it has asked the UN to send a team of senior foreign jurists to come and help resolve what it called a systemic failure in the Maldives judicial system. The government says the judicial system in the Maldives is in crisis because it is unable to regulate itself. The Minister of Foreign Affairs H E Mr. Ahmed Naseem Tuesday welcomed the submission, by a group of local lawyers, of a case alleging human rights violations to the International Criminal Court (ICC). When questioned by MNBC One, local television channel, on the submission, the Foreign Minister noted that becoming a member of the ICC was one of the main priorities of this administration and it was this administration which submitted the matter of accession to the Rome Statute to the Parliament. Our aim is for all Maldivians to have access to the highest court in the international criminal legal system so as to achieve remedy and redress for grave crimes against humanity, stated Minister Naseem.
Pakistan, India report progress on key pipeline

Continued from page 09 >> There has been considerable progress in our talks, said Indian oil minister S. Jaipal Reddy after a meeting in New Delhi with his Pakistani counterpart, Asim Hussain, on energy cooperation. The 1,700-kilometre (1,050-mile) TAPI pipeline, aims to transport over 30 billion cubic metres of gas annually from the Dauletabad gas elds in southeast Turkmenistan. The issue of transit fees is being discussed with Afghanistan. A joint strategy is being evolved between India and Pakistan, Hussain said. Whatever deal we reach will apply to both countries, Reddy added. Reddy said Pakistan would also consider a proposal to import Indian petroleum products and cited the savings in freight costs for Pakistan as several Indian reneries are located near the border. Deepening economic engagement between the neighbours is seen as crucial to lasting peace in the South Asian region. The Asian Development Bank estimated the cost of the TAPI pipeline in 2008 when the four countries signed a framework agreement at $7.6 billion. Reddy said conict-racked Afghanistan, which also desperately requires gas, was very keen on the project and had pledged security for the pipeline. But energy experts have said instability in the region could yet scuttle the plan. We consider it a pipeline of peace, Reddy added. Everyone needs gas.The minister indicated that an earlier plan for a pipeline to carry gas from Iran to Pakistan and then India was now on the backburner. We do what is more easily possible, Reddy said, referring to the Turkmenistan project. Washington, which has spearheaded sanctions against Iran over its nuclear programme, favours the TAPI pipeline and has pressured both India and Pakistan to hold off on a pipeline deal with Tehran. Reddy said New Delhi was continuing to import oil from Iran and was not bound by new sanctions imposed by the European Union on the Islamic Republic earlier this week. We, as a member of the UN, are obliged to follow UN sanctions. Other sanctions imposed by big blocs of countries we can have some freedom there,Reddy said. Iran is Indias second-largest oil supplier after Saudi Arabia.
and personal afliations. Opposition activists say the government is undermining democracy. The spokesman for ex-President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, who was voted out of ofce in 2008 after a 30-year tenure, accused it of terrorising the judiciary. Judge Mohamed appears to have made no public comment so far. The political crisis has seen bitter rhetoric
It argues that a judicial commission, mandated by the constitution to investigate complaints and take disciplinary action against judges, has failed to probe complaints against Judge Mohamed. As a result, the government says, it was compelled to act and detained the judge last week. It says the dispute with the judge is not an isolated incident but indicative of a more deep-rooted problem with the Maldives judicial system and the checks and balances it has to ensure it stays independent. Reports say it is unclear exactly how the UN could help in this situation. The UN has yet to make a comment. The supreme court and the prosecutor generals ofce have demanded the judges release, calling his arrest illegal.
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WEEKLY REVIEW OF NEPAL NEWS
Nepal-India railway service agreement revision in ofng

epal has proposed the last week of February for the review of Railway Service Agreement with India. We have proposed last week of February for the review of railway service agreement with India, joint secretary at the Ministry of Commerce and Supplies Naindra Prasad Upadhyaya said, adding that they have a series of programmes for this year, which has delayed the review meeting till February end. According to the railway service agreement between Nepal and India, it should have been reviewed every ve years.
Inter-governmental committee secretarial level meeting in New Delhi, both the countries agreed to develop and resolve the problems and issues at the Kolkata port. Apart from railway service agreement, the ministry is also But Nepal-India railway service agreement done in May 2004 failed to be reviewed in 2009 due to various circumstances. This week the ministry is preparing for informal meetings with the representatives of our counterpart to nalise a nal date for the railway service agreement, Upadhyaya added. The railway service agreement revision will be benecial to build railway link of Birgunj dry port with Bangladesh through Rohanpur Singhdabad route. During the Nepal and India
planning for South Asian Free Trade Agreement (SAFTA) ministerial meeting in the third week of February and Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA) second joint council meeting with the US in March.
Nepal police arrest American man, say criminal gang sent drugs to US in Buddhist prayer wheels
Police in Nepal have arrested a U.S. man who allegedly was in a ring that smuggled illegal drugs into the United States by concealing them in Buddhist prayer wheels and metal bowls and sending them via Federal Express. Police narcotics ofcial Navraj Silwal says Kristian Peter Stiegler, 45, was detained while trying to send 2.5 pounds (1.14 kilograms) of hashish and 2 pounds (900 grams) of suspected opium. If tests conrm the opium, Stiegler could face up to 20 years in prison.
Nepal seeks review of 1950 treaty with India

Seeking strengthening of Indo-Nepal ties, top political leaders in Kathmandu on Wednesday underlined the need for reviewing the 1950 peace and friendship treaty with India in order to make it relevant in the present global scenario. Participating in an interaction in the Nepalese capital on the eve of Indias Republic Day, Nepali Congress leader Narayan Khadka said that Nepal should adopt appropriate policies to get benet from the two rising economies of Asia in its neighbourhood, India and China. India is among the top economic powers in the world with its current GDP crossing 7.5 per cent, he noted and highlighted the need to get rid of the inferior mentality in Kathmandu while dealing with the
However, Silwal says Stiegler will likely get a lighter sentence because he is cooperating in the investigation into the alleged drug ring.
southern neighbour. He said that Nepal needs support and cooperation from its neighbours, especially India, in order to conclude its peace process and promulgate the new Constitution.
65 Tibetans detained in Nepal

entering the country and several security posts along the route to the capital. Ahead of the landmark visit of Chinese premier Wen Jiabao on January 14, over 150 Tibetan exiles were arrested in Kathmandu to prevent anti-Beijing protests. Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai had underlined his governments one-China policy that views Tibet as an integral part of China during his meeting with premier Wen. He made it clear that Nepal would not allow any activity directed against his giant northern neighbour on its soil. Nepal is home to around 20,000 Tibetans and the exiled community has carried out anti-China protests here in the last few years, amid stepped up pressure on the government from Beijing to halt such activities. Every year some 2,500 Tibetans illegally enter Nepal, crossing Tibetan border on their way to Dharamshala to meet their spiritual leader Dalai Lama.
Kathmandu: Nepalese authorities on Monday detained some 65 Tibetans, including 32 women, who were travelling from India to the capital, police said. The Buddhist monks and nuns, who were travelling in a bus, were detained at Nagdhunga on the outskirts of the capital as they failed to produce valid identication and
travel documents, police said. The police released 62 of them after preliminary investigation, a senior security ofcial said, adding that three monks were arrested as they failed to produce valid travel document. They had managed to dodge the immigration ofce along the porous Indo-Nepal border while
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WEEKLY REVIEW OF SRILANKA NEWS
New type of Sri Lanka in the making- Kalam

A new type of Sri Lanka is in the making, and a land of unity and prosperity is taking shape, former President of India and renowned Professor of Aerospace Engineering Dr. A P J Abdul Kalam told the media at the Taj Samudra hotel yesterday. He explained that these were some of the main impressions he is taking back to India following his recent visit to Sri Lanka on the invitation of President Mahinda Rajapaksa. He said that his main task in Sri Lanka was to participate in the launch of the 10-year National Action Plan and declaring of 2012 as the Year of Trilingual Sri Lanka, which is a brain-child of the President. He said he had extensive interaction with a tight crosssection of the Sri Lankan public including the State in the course of which he exchanged views about the development process and connected matters in Sri Lanka. The focus of Prof Abdul Kalams discussion in the area of development was his PURA concept which is being tried out in India and which is an acronym for Provide Urban Amenities to Rural Areas. Answering to a question he said that he had suggested to the Sri Lankan President a formula of enabling three days of shing entirely for Sri Lankan shermen and three days of shing entirely for Indian shermen during the week as a way out of the issues which have arisen in the sheries sector between India and Sri Lanka. Elaborating on the issue, Prof Kalam said that the sh is their goods in the high seas itself to buyers and thereby earn a substantial income. He also said that he had discussed the 13th Amendment and connected matters with the Sri Lankan President and that he had suggested that the North and East be empowered constitutionally as an approach to resolving the issues in the area. He said that youth affairs is one of his favourite areas. He told the youth of Sri Lanka that their intent should be to supremely self-condent and that Sri Lankan youth were just that. Speaking on the question of poverty alleviation, Prof Kalam said that the Sarvodaya methodology needed to be considered by the State and suggested that it works along with the Sarvodaya. Speaking on the issues with related to the plantation community, Prof Kalam said that trilingualism has the potential to empower this community. Once the language barriers are overcome through the adoption of bilingualism the communities of Sri Lanka could work together towards the national well being,? he noted. He said that the plantation community should be constitutionally empowered to play a signicant role in Sri Lanka. Commenting on the advisability of setting up private universities, he said that universities should face competition and that setting up private universities of the type of foreign universities could serve this end. The value of a university is judged by its research and not by teaching alone. The competition in the research eld will benet universities, he remarked.
nutritious for the people and that shermen are drawn to the areas where sh ourish most. Citing the case of Iceland, he said that a sherman in Ice land earns approximately 40,000 USD per month from his livelihood. He expressed that the Icelandic shermen store, pack and sell
Sri Lanka journalists Sri Lanka expels 161 foreign Muslim preachers (Tablighi Jamaat) demand probes of attacks
Sri Lankan journalists staged a Black January protest Wednesday to demand the government punish the culprits responsible for killing and attacking journalists and media institutions. Journalists protested and demanded Sri Lankas government disclose information Tuesday on the disappearance of a journalist who supported the challenger in this years presidential election. Prageeth Ekneligoda, a political columnist and cartoonist with Lankaenews.com, is believed to have been abducted while on his way home from work on Jan. 24 two days before the vote. Now 200 days have passed since his abduction, but there is no any information about him. We urge the government to release the reports on this investigation, said Gnanasiri Kottigoda, president of the Sri Lanka Working Journalists Association. He said the government should make public about what happened to Ekneligoda whether he is alive or not. Nearly 150 journalists, rights activists and opposition lawmakers staged a sitin and a protest march in the capital,
Colombo, urging the government to expedite investigations into his whereabouts. Police spokesman Prishantha Jayakody told The Associated Press on Tuesday that investigations were still continuing and no one has been arrested. Opposition candidate Gen. Sarath Fonseka lost to the incumbent President Mahinda Rajapaksa in the January vote and afterward was arrested on accusations he planned his political career while still in the army a crime in Sri Lanka. Lankaenews.com has said Ekneligodas criticism of Rajapaksa may have been the reason for his alleged abduction. Some government ofcials have claimed the journalist staged his disappearance to embarrass the government before the election. Media rights groups say Sri Lanka is among the most dangerous places for journalists. Amnesty International says at least 14 Sri Lankan media workers have been killed since the beginning of 2006. They blame the government for failing to properly investigate several other attacks on media and arrest the culprits.
Sri Lanka has reportedly ordered 161 foreign Muslim preachers to leave the country for outing visa regulations. A senior immigration ofcial was quoted as saying that the clerics had no right to preach in mosques because they had arrived on tourist visas. He also said that some local Muslims had complained that the visitors were not teaching a moderate form of Islam. The preachers - from Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, the Maldives and Arab nations - must now leave by 31 January. Laughable idea They have violated immigration laws. A tourist visa is to have a holiday or
visit friends and family, and not to preach Islam, Sri Lankas immigration head Chulananda Perera told the AFP news agency. Mr Perera said the group belonged to Tablighi Jamaat an international Islamic movement popular in Sri Lanka and the region. According to the report, Muslim members of Sri Lankas government have expressed concern at the mass expulsion, and are expected to meet other ofcials to try to delay the move. The news has also created consternation in the Muslim community in Sri Lanka, the third largest ethnic group in the country after Sinhalese and Tamils.
Muslim members of Sri Lankas government have expressed concern at the mass expulsion, and are expected to meet other ofcials later on Monday to try to delay the move. The news has also created consternation in the Muslim community in Sri Lanka, the third largest ethnic group in the country after Sinhalese and Tamils, the BBCs Charles Haviland in Colombo reports. During the long civil war the community was often caught between the two warring parties and it has a reputation for moderation, our correspondent adds.
Sri Lankan guards open re on rioting prisoners

Prison guards opened re on rioting inmates at Sri Lankas main remand prison in the capital Colombo on Tuesday, wounding nearly 20 inmates, ofcials said. Inmates clashed with administrative staff of the Magazine prison prompting guards to open re, a police ofcial at the scene said. So far 19 inmates have been brought out with injuries and taken to hospital, the police ofcial said. There could be more injured. The inmates, who were protesting over poor quality of food and overcrowding, also set re to some buildings. In 2010, more than 50 police and prison guards were wounded in a
clash with inmates of the same facility when the authorities tried to seize cell phones illegally used by prisoners.
24
SPECIAL FEATURE
Zee Cine Awards 2012

Zee TVs new positioning is Umeed Se Saje Zindagi. It reects the idea of looking into the future with hope. It depicts a platform. We also have in our midst today the new members of our popular shows, Krishna from Afsar Bitiya, Indira from Hitler Didi and Purvi from Pavitra Rishta. Add to that, weve roped in Shah Rukh and Priyanka to host the ceremony with Ranbir to descend on the Red Carpet at the awards ceremony, there was an enormous crowd building up right outside the venue to catch a glimpse of their favourite movie stars. Prominent amongst the celebrities walking the Red Carpet were Shah Rukh Khan, Priyanka Chopra, Ranbir Kapoor, Shahid Kapoor, Katrina Kaif, Vidya Balan, Rishi and Neetu Kapoor, Rana Daggubati, Farhan Akhtar, Ritesh and Genelia Dsouza among many others. Catch all the excitement on your TV screen. The most exciting acts of the evening includ Ranbir Kapoor dancing at an awards ceremony for the very rst time. Besides his performance, the young Kapoor will pay homage to his late grand-uncle Shammi Kapoor with a medley of his most popular dance hits and Shahid Kapoor will rock the stage with his moves as he raises a toast to the evergreen spirit of the late Dev Anand. Vidya Balan will pay a scintillating tribute to the sirens from the South amongst the other highlights of the evening. Adding to the festivities, The Venetian Macao will present a lion dance, laser drumming, singing gondoliers, and acrobatic Shaolin monks. It will be evening of glitz, glamour and appreciation that all Bollywood fans across the globe have been waiting for. With millions of votes pouring in every year from across the globe, Zee Cine Awards 2012 is the most denitive measure of viewers choice in movie awards.
The Worlds Biggest Viewers Choice Award takes Macau by storm Enjoy the sneak peak Curtain Raiser and Red Carpet free on Zing, Sky 789 and the main extravaganza on Zee TV, Sky 788:
Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (ZEEL), Indias leading television, media and entertainment conglomerate hosted the Worlds Biggest Viewers Choice Award Zee Cine Awards 2012 at Asias leading destination for business, leisure and entertainment, The Venetian Macao-ResortHotel on 21 January. Since its inception in 1998, Zee Cine Awards has emerged as the biggest tribute paid to the worlds largest lm industry and has attracted renowned stalwarts of both Indian and international cinema. Besides the local citizens of Macau and several others ying in from overseas to especially attend the glitzy ceremony, the awards will attract over 600 million viewers worldwide. In the UK and Europe, it will be telecast on Sunday, February 5 on Zee TV at 7pm. Mr. Punit Goenka, Managing Director & CEO, ZEEL said, With each edition of Zee Cine Awards, it has been our earnest endeavor to take Indian cinema in all its glory and splendour beyond national frontiers and leave a memorable footprint at an exciting new global destination each year. The response from Macau has been overwhelming to say the least. This is the second year where we are working with the Sands group. After our successful association at Marina Bay Sands in Singapore last year, we are extremely happy to now associate with The Venetian Macao as our hospitality partner as the property lends itself beautifully to hosting an awards show of the stature of Zee Cine Awards. I would also like to thank the Macau Government Tourist Ofce for extending exemplary assistance and facilities for the successful hosting of the awards.
more dynamic and spirited outlook. Our content makes the common man its superstar and tonight at the Zee Cine Awards, we are happy to present superlative talent from our most popular dance reality show, Dance India Dance alongside the best of Bollywood on this performing for the rst time only in Zee Cine Awards, he adds. With the glitterati of Indian cinema set
ENTERTAINMENT
25
OMG! Can you recognise her?

Actress Manisha Koirala was recently spotted in a very unpleasant state at a party hosted by Rohit Roy to launch his new movie SHAUKEEN. The actress, who was known for her good looks, looked haggard and disheveled at the affair. The actress looked unrecognisable. It seems she has just let herself go after the buzz about trouble in her marriage and an impending divorce. Manisha Koirala grabbed headlines and generated quite a lot of curiosity right a few months after her marriage, when she created a utter on a social networking site about seekiing divorce from her husband. The news spread like a forest re, followed by reports claiming that the actress has led a divorce and plans to settle down in Mumbai. However, now Manisha is trying to seek solace in spirituality. The actress is going through a rough journey, but Manisha is still trying to save her marriage and personal life. According to sources, Manisha enrolled herself in a university which helped her nd her inner self. She spent more than 20 days and maintained
all the rules by the university. Manisha married businessman Samrat Dahal in June 2010. Now, after the spiritual journey, she has seen many changes in her approach towards issues in life. So, lets hope that the actress nds peace and gets back to a normal life very soon.
Bollywood loves Agneepath!
Heres what your favourite movie stars are tweeting.
Bipasha Basu:
In love with love
Bollywood stars, who attended the special screening of Karan Johars remake of 1990 cult lm Agneepath, loved it and tweeted their appreciation for the lm. Dino Morea tweeted: Just saw
Agneepath, brilliant. Full on entertainer. Performances awesome. WoW. Fab job karan malhotra, for a 1st time director, top class. @iHrithik , @priyankachopra , kancha, karan Malhotra @kjohar25 , and everyone else involved. Take a bow. Brilliant. Ohhh and watching the lovely Chikni on a big screen, ufffff, those moves, stunning. Hrithik Roshans sister-in-law Farah Khan Ali wrote: Moved beyond
words. Cannot even begin to describe the feeling u leave the movie with. Agneepath Agneepath Agneepath. @ iHrithik @kjohar25 Lastly but not in the least Katrina in the Chikni Chameli song is faaab. My new year resolution is to get her abs. Ha ha. Arjun Rampal loved the lm too. Just saw Agneepath superbly entertaining, @iHrithik is fab as usual, Sanju is bloody scary, Rishi Kapoor is unreal, priyanka fab, dir is a star. The whole cast and crew can start chilling the bubbly its another feather in the cap of @kjohar25 and Dharma, well done guys.chikni chamali, he updated. Director Tarun Mansukhani tweeted: Agneepath simply put is the nest lm to come from Dharma! @ihrithik @ priyankachopra, Rishi kapoor sir and Sanju Sir are all outstanding!! Karan Malhotra is one of the nest directors ever. Such a learning experience watching his lm!! As for Priyanka Chopra, she had a fun time. Amazing screening for #agneepath last night with the cast n crew.. karan malhotra take a bow! Kaali Aali re aali!!! she wrote.
Bipasha Basu and John Abraham dened the term super couple in Bollywood much before Saifeena arrived. Eight years of love and a much hyped break-up later, both Bipasha and John had moved on and found new partners. While Bipasha was rumoured to be dating South star Rana Daggubati, John was supposedly involved with Asin and most recently, an investment banker from the U.S. But now, both of them are ofcially single and enjoying it. Her eight-year relationship with actor John Abraham is over, but actress Bipasha Basu is far from disillusioned and for her love is still the biggest priority in life and feels one should be honest in a relationship. I can teach the language of love very well. For me, love is very important. The biggest priority in life is love...When you talk of love, it is not only about manwoman love but love for family, friends... love for costars. As it is my priority... I can teach a few lessons on love, Bipasha told reporters in Mumbai at the music launch of her forthcoming lm Jodi Breakers on Friday night. According to the Bengali screen scorcher, one has to
be honest in love. When you love...just love with your heart. I feel one should be truthful, honest to the one you love and do everything for the one you love from your heart. Her eight-year relationship with Abraham ended last year, following which she has been linked with numerous co-stars like Rana Dagubatti, Shahid Kapoor and Josh Harnett.
26
COMMENT
WILL AN ISRAELI ATTACK ON IRAN PROVOKE THE EMERGENCE OF ANOTHER FALSE MAHDI?
Shiekh Imran Hossein
faith (in Islam) and would be used to punish the oppressor and come to the aid of the oppressed. The sunlight of freedom and justice, peace and happiness will therefore reach the Holy Land, as well as Kashmir, Singapura, Haiti, and elsewhere. It would also herald a new dawn in which the entire world of Islam would have to submit to the rule of an Arab who would be a resident of the city of Madinah in Arabia where Prophet Muhammad (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam) is buried and where Jesus would eventually be buried (next to him). Even though Jesus has not as yet returned, and indeed cannot return until Dajjl the false Messiah or Antialways remained the primary target of these awesomely powerful forces of oppression, they have not been their exclusive target. The primitive peoples of the world, resident in particular in such ethnicallycleansed lands as USA, Canada, many parts of South and Central America, Australia, New Zealand and elsewhere have been literally wiped out like cockroaches. Muslims are now preparing themselves for the greatest oppression of all which they expect from the Pax Judaica that is about to replace Pax Americana. Indeed this writer recognizes Israels Pax Judaica to be the Daabatul Ard (or beast of the land) which is one of the major Signs of the Last Day prophesied by Prophet Muhammad (sallalahu alahi wa sallam). This writer is of the view that anyone who claims at this time to be the Imm al-Mahdi, would have made a false claim, and this essay attempts to explain why this is so. The Imm al-Mahdi will emerge only at that time, and not a moment before, when Allah Most High ordains that he emerge. And so the question we need to answer is, when will Allah Most High ordain that the Imm should emerge? The advent of the Imm cannot occur randomly but rather, must t into a Divine plan. What can be that plan? Since Allah Most High created Dajjl the false Messiah or Anti-Christ and programmed him to impersonate the true Messiah, it follows that Dajjl would not successfully complete his mission of impersonation until he rules the world in person from Jerusalem. It is only at that time when he has successfully completed his mission of impersonation that he can make a declaration to the effect that he is the true Messiah, and only then can he hope that members of the Zionist Judeo-Christian alliance would accept his fraudulent claim. It is only at that time - and not a moment before - that Jesus will return. And since Prophet Muhammad has informed us that that the advent of Imam al-Mahdi will be contemporaneous with the return of Jesus it follows that the Imam can emerge only shortly before the return of Jesus. (For an explanation of this subject readers should kindly see my book entitled Jerusalem in the Quran, available on my website). In addition, the members of the Zionist Judeo-Christian alliance are well aware about the prophecy concerning Imm al-Mahdi. Hence if the Imm were to emerge before Dajjl makes his claim to be the true Messiah, the implication would be that such Jews and Christians could experience such a crisis of faith as could deter them from embracing Dajjl as the true Messiah. It follows therefore that the Divine wisdom would ordain the advent of the Imm only at that time when such an event would not jeopardize Dajjls effort to successfully complete his mission. Those like the present Iranian President who expect the Imms imminent emergence should know that he cannot emerge until Dajjl has established his rule (from Jerusalem) over the world, and has declared himself the true Messiah. The fact is that Dajjl has not as yet even emerged as ruler of Israel, and that Pax Judaica has not as yet replaced Pax Americana. The world may still have to wait for another two or three decades for these events to occur. When Israel does launch an attack on Irans and Pakistans nuclear plants, it is certain that the JudeoChristian Zionists would respond by placing unbearable pressure on USA, UK and NATO to join in the war in support of Israel. That war, as well as other possible wars to follow, would ultimately realize for Israel the status of ruling state in the world. Israel will then attempt to impose Pax Judaica upon mankind. Only when that has been achieved - and it does seem possible that it can be achieved, can we expect Dajjl to appear in person in our world of space and time. This essay warns of the possible loss of faith by many Muslims if and when Israel does launch an attack on Iran and Pakistan, and either Sunnis or Shia are subsequently deceived into embracing a false Imm al-Mahdi. That traumatic loss of faith can occur when the false Imm is eventually killed or assassinated, or he becomes a willing client (Saudi-style) of those now waging war on Islam. Post Script: When Imam al-Mahdi does emerge, and proclaims himself to be the Mahdi, Muslims would be required to pledge their allegiance to him (Baiyah) and join him even if they have to crawl over ice to do so. A refusal to pledge allegiance to the Imam would entail dire consequences in this world as well as the next. But Muslims have to beware that that do not pledge their allegiance to a false Mahdi since the consequences of such a mistake will also be severe. Note: The terms Pax Britanica, Pax Americana and Pax Judaica refer to world orders over which Britain, USA and Israel ruled.Pax Islamica on the other hand is comprised of Dar alIslam or the world which submits to Allahs sovereignty and which is ruled in accordance with Allah nal law as revealed in the Quran. It is also comprised of Dar al-Ahd or the world which lives in a state of contractual peace and non-aggression with Dar al-Islam, and Dar al-Harb or the world of injustice and oppression which must eventually be liberated from oppression.
Prophet Muhammad prophesied the advent of an Imm who would emerge by Divine decree to lead the world of Islam at that time when the true Messiah, Jesus the son of Mary (peace and blessings of Allah Most High be upon them all), was about to return. The Prophet declared of that end-time Imm that he would arise from within the ranks of the Muslims: How would you be, he said, when the son of Mary descends amongst you and your Imm would be from your own ranks! (Sahh Bukhri). An Imm in the religion of Islam is both a religious as well as a political leader; hence the ofce of the Imm is synonymous with that of Amr or Khalfa (Caliph). The Hadth therefore prophesied that one (Islamic) government would eventually rule over the entire world of Islam, and that the Imm would be both the political as well as the religious head of that government. This prophecy anticipated the present sorry status quo in which the Islamic Khilfah (Caliphate) has been replaced by republican so-called Islamic States based on petty tribal nationalisms Egyptian, Saudi, Pakistani, Arab, Malay, Punjabi, Bengali, Persian (Iranian) etc. African-American Muslims have even embraced Louis Farrakhans black Muslim nationalism. Some of them, such as Turkey and Bangladesh have even imposed secular constitutional bans preventing Islam from playing any political role in the affairs of the State. In addition, these so-called Islamic republican States are all required to be members of international organizations such as the United Nations Organization, and to submit to the authority of those (non-Muslims) who control power in these organizations. Hence Muslims now live in a state of submission to non-Muslim authority. The political authority which ultimately controls the affairs of Muslims is no longer located within their own ranks. Rather, that political authority is located in secular governments which themselves are subservient to the authority of the Security Council of the UN and the governing board of the IMF, etc. But the prophecy also gave the assurance of an end-time restoration of that Islamic Khilfah (Caliphate). This is a matter of supreme importance for contemporary international affairs since the Islamic Khilfah (Caliphate) represents Islams conception of a State which recognizes Allahs Sovereignty, in contrast to Europes secular model of a State which recognizes (blasphemously so) the people to be sovereign. The Islamic Khilfah is also located at the very heart of Islams conception of an international order which respects religious freedom and recognizes
Tribune Comment
tribal diversity while tolerating no oppression on Allahs earth. The present European system of secular nation-States based on territorial sovereignty, national citizenship, etc.
which has effectively destroyed the unity of the Muslim world, would therefore have to come to an end and Dr al-Islm would have to be restored with the advent of Imm alMahdi. It is far-fetched to presume that such a momentous transformation of the world of Islam which would extricate Muslims from the paralyzing grip of the United Nations Organization, the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, etc., and which would restore the Gold Dinr and silver Dirham as money, can be achieved without an armed struggle for liberation. That armed struggle is conrmed in a Hadth narrated by Ali (radiallahu anhu) in which the Prophet declared that the Imm, who would be his descendent, and hence an Arab, would emerge not only to restore the Islamic Khilfah but also to restore peace and justice to a world that would at that time be lled with injustice and oppression. He would therefore defeat all the forces of injustice and oppression prevalent in the world at that time: Even if only a day remains for Qiymah to come, yet Allah will surely send a man from my family who will ll this world with such justice and fairness, just as it initially was lled with oppression. (Abu Dawud) The advent of Imm al-Mahdi will herald the restoration of the Islamic Khilfah (Caliphate) and a Pax Islamica in which power in the world would rest on foundations of
Christ has completed his mission of impersonation of the true Messiah, there have already been several claimants to the ofce of Imm alMahdi. The last of these false Mahdis made his appearance in Sudan, and prior to that in Qadian in India, more than 100 years ago. The false Qadiani Mahdi went on to make the ludicrous claim that he fullled in his person the prophecy concerning the return of the true Messiah, Jesus the son of Mary. Mirza Ghulam Ahmed Qadiyani established a mysterious sect known as the Ahmadiyyah Movement which has consistently found favor with those who have been waging war of Islam ever since a European Pope launched the European Crusades. This essay suggests that an Israeli attack on Iran (and Pakistan), expected at any time now, is likely to provoke the emergence of yet another such person who would claim to be the Imm al-Mahdi. This is a matter of much more than passing importance for the followers of Prophet Muhammad (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam) since the advent of Imm al-Mahdi occupies a position of supreme importance in Islamic eschatology both Shia as well as Sunni. Since the mysterious emergence from within Europes bosom of Pax Britanica, and its successor Pax Americana, the world has experienced unprecedented political economic cultural racial and military oppression and injustice. While Muslims have
COMMENT
27
The alternative leveson inquiry:
The practise of reporting muslim & islamic affairs

Over the past decade, a number of academic studies have indicated a worrying and disproportionate trend towards negative, distorted and even fabricated reports in media coverage of the Muslim community. Recent research at Cambridge University concludes that a wider set of representations of Islam would signify a welcome change to reporting practices. Muslims deserve a better press than they have been given in the past decade. And according to a recent ComRes poll, one in three people in Britain today believe that the media is responsible for whipping up a climate of fear of Islam in the UK. The Leveson inquiry has so far failed to adequately address unfair media coverage as it relates to less prominent cases, including those relating to Muslims and Islam, focusing as it does on the impact of phone hacking on celebrities and other high-prole individuals. An alternative inquiry is necessary to investigate what many regard as widespread and systematic discriminatory practices in reporting on Muslims and Islam in the British media. Victims whether prominent or not of alleged discriminatory media
Strongest radiation storm seen in 7 years erupts from the Sun

Aurora Borealis lights up UK skies
and the Stereo spacecraft observed the massive sun storm. A barrage of charged particles triggered by this mornings solar are is expected to hit Earth tomorrow at around 9 a.m. EST (1400 GMT), according to experts at the Space Weather Prediction Center, a division of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. According to NOAA, this is the strongest solar radiation storm since May 2005, and as a precaution, polar ights on Earth are expected to be re-routed within the next few hours, Kathy Sullivan, deputy administrator of NOAA, said today at the 92nd annual American Meteorological
We need an inquiry into anti-Islam press

coverage have a right to have their testimonies catalogued and examined thoroughly by credible, independent assessors. Recommendations can then be made to improve ethical standards in the reporting of not solely the Muslim community but of all sections of society. Imran KhanHuman rights solicitor Bianca JaggerChair, Bianca Jagger Human Rights Foundation Michael RosenWriter Jeremy Corbyn MP Jemima Khan Navnit Dholakia Deputy leader, Liberal Democrats, House of Lords Mohamed Ali Harrath Islam Channel Hajj Ahmad Thomson Barrister Jenny Jones Assembly member (Green), London Assembly Andrew Boff Assembly member (Conservative), London Assembly Rabbi Janet Burden Walter Wolfgang Hugh Lanning Chair, Palestine Solidarity Campaign Sanum Ghafoor, blogger Jean Lambert, MEP, London Peter MurrayFormer president, NUJ Dr Muhammad Abdul BariChair, East London Mosque Dr Omer El-Hamdoon Muslim Association of Britain Massoud ShadjarehIslamic Human Rights Commission Sunny HundalLiberal Conspiracy Ahmed J Versi The Muslim News John Rees Counterre Vivien Lichtenstein Anas Altikriti Cordoba Foundation Miriam Margolyes Farooq Murad Muslim Council of Britain Sarah Colborne Director, Palestine Solidarity Campaign Dr Daud Abdullah Middle East Monitor Moazzam Begg Cageprisoners Phil Rees Out of Ofce Films Nabil Ahmed Federation of Student Islamic Societies Abdullah Faliq Islamic Forum of Europe Rabbi Jeffrey Newman Cllr Larry Sanders Oxfordshire county council Diana Neslen Shemiza RashidDirector, The Creative Muslim Network Naima B Roberts Editor, Sisters Magazine Asa WinstanleyThe Electronic Intifada
A powerful solar eruption is expected to blast a stream of charged particles toward Earth tomorrow (Jan. 24), as the strongest radiation storm since 2005 rages on the sun. Early this morning (0359 GMT Jan. 23, which corresponds to late Sunday, Jan. 22 at 10:59 p.m. EST),
NASAs Solar Dynamics Observatory caught an extreme ultraviolet ash from a huge eruption on the sun, according to the skywatching website Spaceweather. com. The solar are spewed from sunspot 1402, a region of the sun that has become increasingly active lately. Several NASA satellites, including the Solar Dynamics Observatory, the Solar Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO),
Society meeting in New Orleans, La. On Sunday night, rays of shimmering green and red lights were seen in the skies as far south as Yorkshire and Ireland, with reports of purples, yellows, oranges and even neon green also lling the sky. 2012 is predicted to be one of the best years yet to view the Northern Lights, also known as the Aurora Borealis, due to the peak in solar activity.
Pakistan: Rights Suffer Under Army Power Grab

Continued from page 16 >> regularly threatened media outlets over their coverage. Saleeem Shahzad, a reporter for the Hong Kongbased Asia Times Online and for Adnkronos International, the Italian news agency, disappeared from central Islamabad on the evening of May 29. He had received repeated and direct threats from the militarys abusive Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) agency. Shahzads body, bearing visible signs of torture, was discovered two days later near Mandi Bahauddin, 130 kilometers southeast of the capital. Following an international and domestic furor caused by the killing, a judicial commission was formed within days to investigate allegations of ISI complicity. In August, Human Rights Watch testied before the commission. The commission released its ndings in January 2012, but failed to identify the perpetrators or exhaustively investigate the role of the ISI, which remains the principal suspect. Despite widespread allegations of ISI and military involvement in coercion, abduction, torture, and killings of perceived opponents, including journalists, no military personnel have ever been held accountable for such abuses. Unless Shahzads murderers are identied and held accountable, media freedoms will decline even further in Pakistan as journalists operate in fear for their lives, Adams said. The government needs to bring charges wherever the trail leads, including to the ISI. The southern port city of Karachi experienced an exceptionally high level of violence during the year, with 800 people killed, Human Rights Watch said. The killings were carried out by armed groups backed by all the political parties with a presence in the city. The Muttaheda Qaumi Movement (MQM), Karachis largest political party, with heavily armed cadres and a well-documented history of human rights abuse and political violence, was widely viewed as the major perpetrator of targeted Pakistan; Pakistans alleged support for militants from the Haqqani network, a group that US ofcials accused of targeting the US Embassy and NATO troops in Afghanistan; the alleged harboring by Pakistan of Osama bin Laden and his killing by the US; and the November 26 killing during military operations of 24 Pakistani troops on the Afghan border by NATO forces. The United States carried out about 75 aerial drone strikes during 2011 on suspected al Qaeda In November, Husain Haqqani, Pakistans ambassador to the US, was forced by the Pakistani military to resign his position after allegations that he was responsible for a secret memo delivered to senior US military ofcials seeking support for Pakistani civilian control of national security policy. Haqqani is now blocked from leaving Pakistan and has publicly expressed fear for his life. His lawyer, the prominent human rights defender and former UN human rights envoy
killings. The Awami National Party and ruling Pakistan Peoples Party-backed Aman (Peace) Committee killed MQM activists. Relations between Pakistan and the United States, long Pakistans most signicant ally and its largest donor of humanitarian and military assistance, deteriorated markedly in 2011. Factors fueling the diplomatic crisis included the killing of two men by a CIA contractor at a Lahore trafc junction; the withholding of US$800 million in military aid to
and Taliban members near Pakistans border with Afghanistan. These strikes resulted in claims of large numbers of civilian casualties, but lack of access to the conict areas has prevented independent verication. Little is known about who is killed in CIA drone strikes in Pakistan and under what circumstances, Adams said. So long as the US resists public accountability for CIA drone strikes, the agency should not be conducting targeted killings.
Asma Jahangir, has expressed similar concerns and raised serious reservations about a lack of due process in the legal proceedings against Haqqani. The military has gained increasing control of state institutions to the detriment of the rights of the Pakistani people, Adams said. Civilian ofcials are now afraid to oppose the military on any key issues, making it increasingly difcult for the government tackle past and present rights violations by the military.
28
COMMENT
The Extinction Protocol book

The planets survival has become so uncertain that any effort, any thought that presupposes an assured future amounts to a mad gamble. -Elias Canetti Our planet is dying and this is no mere rendezvous with a date on a Mayan calendar in 2012. Its the mass termination of life on planet Earth. Nature is under a scientic directive. It is irreversible. It is the extinction protocol. In 2010, the planet was ravaged by the worst ooding seen in 1000 years, Pakistan, Colombia, and Australia. Profound earth-changes have already devastated the planet and even more catastrophic change is yet to come. We are entering a period of extreme volcanism. Chaitn (Chile) erupted after being dormant for 9500 years, Eyjafjallajkull (Iceland) erupted after 187 years, and Sinabung volcano (Indonesia) erupted after 400 years. Planetary tremors have begun shaking the globe. They will intensify. Earths magnetic eld is faltering and moving towards a polarity reversal as we approach the solar maximum (20122013). The energy unleashed in earthquakes is rising and the planets climate is becoming increasingly inhospitable and will be soon pushed to the brink of collapse. Tornado cluster outbreaks are increasing in intensity and ferocity. Our marine environments are dying as more and more dead aquatic animals wash ashore. Our food production is in growing peril. Civilization is poised on the precipice of the most stupendous crisis in Earths history and we are running
out of time to save what remains left of the human race. -The Extinction Protocol Almost all tectonic movement can be linked to magnetic reversals. Seaoor spreading, sea level changes, mountain growth,
earthquakes, and volcanism all seem to speed up whenever the frequency of reversals speeds up. -Peter Vogt, U.S. Naval Oceanographic Ofce
Blurring the boundaries

By Sher Khan
The UK-based bhangra band Sahara has epitomised Punjabifusion music since late 90s with their popular mehndi and club songs like Billo Ni Tera Laal Ghagra and Soniye Ni Soniye. While visiting Lahore for a series of concerts hosted by local schools, the band members spoke about their universal vision, upcoming album and collaboration with Pakistani pop artist Abrarul Haq. People in Pakistan appreciate UK bhangra music; the crowds are highly energised and we always get a great response, says Harvinder Sahara, the lead vocalist who is also known as Herbie Sahara. We try to perform at a high tempo and the bounce from the music transcends into the crowd. The band is currently composed of Herbie, his brother Gurps (also a vocalist) and Dav(on the dhol). Herbie, Gurps and their other brother, Kully, started playing music at an early age, mostly singing at Sikh temples and later became part of the local band Nachda Punjab. Then in 1993, Herbie and Kully formed the band Sahara and released an album Intemptation which exceeded their expectations and shot them to national fame. Then came the albums Let Loose and Blue Print, but it wasnt until 2001 when Sahara released Access All Areas that they were internationally recognised. The album sales were phenomenal and the song Soniye Ni Soniye became the best selling song of the year. The brothers have played alongside sound, Herbie states, will stick to the heavy Punjabi melody but will be contemporised according to latest trends in music. In the latest album, we are thinking of doing something outof-the-box, so it will include a lot of different scales and beats. Meanwhile, Gurps explains that the album will have a variety of songs including Punjabi fusion, romantic songs and party music. We wont just cater to the youth, it will be appealing to the whole family, says Gurps. Meanwhile, when asked how much they had to alter their own musical style due to the changing global trends a shift away from heavy rhythm and beat music to more dance-oriented music Gurps feels that fusion music is exible and can adapt to the changing culture. Thats the beauty of fusion music; It relates to people with different tastes. So we can take traditional bhangra music and combine it with any genre. Concluding the tete-a-tete with the bhangra band, we asked if they would ever consider tackling socio-political issues in their songs and Herbie replies with a stern no. However, he adds that their aim is to contribute to promoting goodwill by collaborating with various artists around the world. We have done concerts to raise funds for the tsunami in Japan and have collaborated with artists from all over the world, including Pakistan. We hope to continue doing that, concludes Herbie. Published in The Express Tribune
great artists; Kuldeep Manak, Surinder Shinda, RDB, Surjit Bhindrakhia, Hans Raj Hans and Himesh Reshmmiya to name a few. Fusion music gains popularity When asked how this relatively new genre became popular, Herbie replies, The UK has always had a lot of variety when it comes to music, however, it was in the 80s that the concept of fusing Punjabi music with western beats became popular. He further adds, This trend has now developed more, and there is now a global taste for this kind of music. The band claims that through fusion music, they are able to
connect to people belonging to different cultures and regions. I try to keep it as simple as possible so that people from diverse markets and cultures are able to relate to
Latest venture Sahara is now working on an upcoming album which is yet to be titled through its own record company. The album, set to be
... their aim is to contribute to promoting goodwill by collaborating with various artists around the world.
our songs even people who dont know Punjabi can sing along to our songs, says Herbie, who is also the lyricist of Saharas songs. released in April this year, will have several collaborations including a track with Pakistani bhangra maestro Abrarul Haq. The albums
Drugs: Afghanistan NO1 Supplier Analysis

Afghan opium prots up 133% in 2011, U.N. says
NEWS
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Afghanistan provides about 90 percent of the worlds opium, the raw ingredient for heroin. The U.N. and the Afghan government have long tried to wean the country off the lucrative crop. The UN estimates the annual earnings of the Afghan drug lords at $1.4bn, half of which goes to fuel the insurgent activity of the Taliban. Afghanistan Revenue from opium production in Afghanistan soared by 133 percent last year to about $1.4 billion, or about one-tenth of the countrys GDP, according to a United Nations report. The U.N. Ofce on Drugs and Crime said the price rise was due to a plant disease that wiped out much of the opium crop in 2010. Although yields returned to pre-blight levels in 2011, the prices have remained high, the survey said. The survey showed that 6,400 tons of opium were produced last year, in comparison with 4,000 tons in 2010. It said rising opium prices drove Afghan farmers to increase cultivation of the illicit opium poppy plants by 7 percent in 2011, despite a major push by the Afghan government and international allies. Most of the opium from landlocked Afghanistan is shipped through Iran and Pakistan. Russia, which has around 2 million opium and heroin addicts, is also a principal route for drugs headed for Europe. Source: UNODC
Nations Ofce on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), there are approximately 12 to 21 million opiate users in the world. [1] Among all the opiates, heroin is the most commonly consumed one by an estimated one-third of all opiate users worldwide.
especially in the southern parts of the country where the poppy elds stretch as far as the eye can see and are located in the porous AfghanPakistani border. These are the most insecure and unstable regions because it is through the
drugs provide, corruption, money laundering and arms trafcking follow one another. Organized crime poses the biggest threat to the region in which security is already very loose. With the $7 billion net revenue opiate trafcking has made for
The Artery of Organized Crime

The organized crime networks use the addictive characteristics of the drugs, be it heroin or cocaine, for their own benets. Drug trafcking is one of the major concerns worldwide. It is seen as a highly protable and relatively low-risk business (compared to human or arms trafcking). To be more concrete, out of many containers that carry narcotics, only 2% of them were inspected in 2010. Source: UNODC To be able to understand why I call drug trafcking as the artery of organized crime, one can make a simple calculation: One gram of pure heroin costs $4 in production countries such as Afghanistan. The value of the same amount can reach up to $ 400 in destination countries: the further they are, the more expensive the substance costs. Apart from being very expensivewhich results in illegal dealers and buyersand having fatal consequences for the users, drug production and trafcking affect security on all levels from individuals to the system. It has now become one of the major problems in South and Central Asian security. Since the organized crime groups have strong links with criminals within the countries and this business is ever so lucrative, no one wants to leave this web and therefore the level of corruption rises. The harmful effects of drug trafcking are quite clear when we look at the consumption levels by region. According to the 2011 World Drug Report which was published last October by the United
In 2009, out of 480 tonnes of pure heroin, 375 tonnes were consumed and the rest were seized. The East and Southeast Asia region, which is one of the main hubs of opium cultivation and heroin production, leads heroin consumption with some 81 tonnes. East Europe follows with 73 tonnes. In Europe, heroin is the mostly consumed opiate. Scotland is the leading country in the consumption of the substance by some 1.5 tonnes and it is followed by Estonia, England and Wales. According to the report of the UNODC, despite the stabilizing heroin consumption levels the health and social problems which stem from the heroin usage do not diminish. The highest opioid use prevalence rates in West and Central Europe were reported from the United Kingdom ( 350,000 users), Italy ( 216,000 users) and France ( 190,000 users). Afghanistan: The Main Supplier Afghanistan continues to remain the number one supplier of the heroin consumed globally. Drug production and the nancial ow from it make the war-ridden country even more dependent and unstable. The poorer the country gets, the more people will want to cultivate opium, which was exactly the case for 2010: the opium cultivation has skyrocketed and three provinces have lost their poppy-free status, therefore the prices have risen. The opium poppy continues to be the highest yielding product for Afghan farmers and for the country in general. The total farm-gate value of the opium production constitutes 9% of the countrys GDP, while the total expenditure on health in Afghanistan was 7.4% of the total GDP. Moreover, with a GDP per capita of $515, an Afghan farmer can make more money just by selling fresh or dry opium from $130-170 per gram. These numbers show how protable the business is both for the farmers and the buyers. Plus, there is no product that can compensate for the opium poppy in Afghanistan or the fast liquidity the drug money provides. As the data suggests, opium production is without a doubt one of Afghanistans main concerns,
border where the heaviest trafcking occurs. This leads illegal groups to become more deeply involved in organized crime. With the money the
organized crime groups in one year, it does not seem likely this criminal fairy tale will end in the foreseeable future.
Rimla Akhtar :Asian Woman in Football

the solutions. Now the current Chair, Rimla has also represented the MWSF at international futsal competitions. She has worked in the FA and footballing community through consultancy and holds a number of positions including on the National Race Equality Advisory Group, the Asian and Muslim Women and Girls Working Group and the Referees Diversity Action Group. This has been critical to the development of womens sport for the BME community. Her loyalty, passion and dedication to her work has been rewarded yet again as Rimla won and was presented with the Asian Woman in Football Award 2012. Rimla Akhtar, said: Over the past eleven years the Muslim Womens Sport Foundation (MWSF) has worked to increase the accessibility of sports facilities and opportunities to play and compete for those who are severely under-represented across all aspects of sport. We have always used sport as a powerful means of uniting people and overcoming prejudices, particularly those against minority communities.
Pakistan pegged back by England spinners

series following their comprehensive 10-wicket win in Dubai last week. Panesar is playing his rst Test since 2009 and replaced paceman Chris Tremlett, who has a back injury and will be ying back home. Pakistan also made one change from the side that won the rst Test, with fast bowler Aizaz Cheema making way for young paceman Junaid Khan. Misbah ready for England ghtback in Abu Dhabi Feels disciplined batting and bowling hold the key to success Pakistan skipper Misbah-ul-Haq feels the absence of a spinner-friendly pitch here in Abu Dhabi will now put the onus on a disciplined batting and bowling performance and said he was ready for Englands ghtback. I think there is no doubt that England is world number one team so they will try to put up their 100 per cent and stage a strong comeback. We are ready for them and will try to improve our performance, and be more focused and do our basics well in all three departments, Misbah said during yesterdays media brieng.
Bad luck to blame for Indian game

for one after a rising ball from Ben Hilfenhaus deected off the batsmans elbow onto his stumps. It was the sixth time The Wall had been dismissed bowled in seven innings in the series. While the pitch holds few terrors for batsmen, Australia can set themselves up for a big rstinnings lead against the weary tourists if the `Little Master Tendulkar departs early on Thursday. It was probably more about the runs, to be honest, trying to get to 600, Clarke said on the timing of his declaration. We still had plenty of time left in the day as we scored quite quickly in our innings and to take those two key wickets is a really good start for us but theres a lot of work still to be done. Clarke was bowled by India paceman Umesh Yadav (1-136) in the rst over after lunch.
30
NEWS
Wasim slams British press for questioning Ajmals action

Pace-bowling legend Wasim Akram is exasperated with the way British press has been harping about the bowling action of Pakistans off-spinner Saeed Ajmal and termed British medias pressure tactics as stale. Ajmal took a 10-wicket haul in the Pakistans impressive 10-wicket win over world number one Test team England in the Dubai Test. Instead of praising him (Saeed Ajmal) for he is someone special, instead of admitting their team didnt do well and Pakistan played better cricket, they are after him, said Akram whos commentating on the nal Test between India and Australia here. Its not funny anymore, its boring, stale and old. Former England players raised a question-mark about Ajmals bowling action after the stunning defeat and the British media hasnt stopped carping on it since then. Whenever they lose, they talk negative. Its the English batsmen who played bad shots, sweeping across the line to an off-spinner. Its no rocket in every game. Then they accused us of ball-tampering. Then I got a seven in the very next game. We then played county cricket and taught every bowler for 10 years how to reverse swing the ball. Instead of saying their team didnt do well and Pakistan played better cricket, they are targeting a special talent. Why it always happens against a sub-continent team. Akram doesnt feel it would affect Pakistan in the remaining two Tests and might just backre on the England team. I dont think it would affect them. Indeed, it would create a positive impact on them. It would motivate them. Instead of pushing them on the back-foot, it would help their cause. Pakistan has shown an upward graph in recent times and has done particularly well under the leadership of Misbah-ul-Haq, winning seven of their last 13 Tests. Misbah is doing a great job as a skipper. Pakistans condence is sky high. Its a good sign, Akram said.
science that you cant play across the line. But probably they dont know. Its the job of umpires and ICC, not British media, to question the bowling action of a player. The permissible limit is 15 degrees and hes been tested and tried for bowling well below it. Hes been around for 7-8 years. Why suddenly pick on him?
said an agitated Akram. I have been reading for the last 3-4 days in British media. We all know what goes through media usually goes through players. Ajmal doesnt turn the ball. Hes just quicker. On a placid track, where there was no swing, no spin, no reverse swing, just lust green outeld, he got them playing across
the line. Akram sees a trend through all this noise. He believes England has a habit of picking holes through opposition whenever their team doesnt do well. The noise now is because it has happened against the mighty England, the number one Test team of the world. On the tour of 1992, we got them out
Asian Football Awards
the winners
Grass Roots Hero Bal Singh KFA IT WAS a great night at the rst ever Asian Football Awards at Wembley Stadium Tuesday night. A packed hall, full of individuals and organisations from the Asian community doing the business in the beautiful game. The Asian Football Awards (AFA) has been launched to recognise the outstanding contribution to both the professional game and grassroots initiatives by individuals and groups across the UK with South Asian heritage. The Awards, supported by The FA and Kick It Out, held at the home of English football, Wembley Stadium on 24th January 2012. A number of exceptional UK Asians and those from the South Asian diaspora honoured at the rst ever Asian Football Awards. This high prole event attracted an exceptional list of guests to gather, support and celebrate Asians in football. The awards will ensure that those working or investing in the professional game or community sport have the opportunity to receive acclaim for their achievements in developing Asians in Football. Heres a quick rundown of all the winners of each category: Nas Bashir Hayes & Yeading Asian Community Club of the Year London Tigers Behind the Scenes Administration Raj Athwal Watford Asian Woman in Football Rimla Akhtar Muslim Womens Sports Foundation Football Development Project of the Year Diversity Academy Nottingham Lifetime Achievement Award Jarnail Singh Inspiration Awards Permi Jhooti Foundation of the Year Osmani Trust
Player of the Year Michael Chopra Ipswich Town
Behind the Scenes Medical Dr Zaf Iqbal Liverpool Young Player of the Year Danny Batth Shefeld Wednesday/Wolves Coach of the Year Football Media of the Year Manish Bhasin BBC
Investors in Football Tony Fernandes and Lakshmi Mittal QPR
Govt increasingly intolerant to criticism: HRW

Continued from page 16 >> began in September against Delawar Hussein Sayedee. Some important amendments were made in June to the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT) Rules of Procedure, which included ensuring the right to a presumption of innocence, the right to a fair and public trial, the right opposition. The report also pointed to Bangladesh parliament that took long overdue action in November to provide for returning property seized from the minority Hindu community. The action amended a 1965 law, passed when Bangladesh was still part of Pakistan, which allowed the appropriation of property of Hindus, said Adams. But too often it makes announcements and nothing changes for women on the ground. Despite pledges, the government took no action against Rab personnel for human rights violations. In fact, the government has refused to acknowledge violations and prosecute those responsible despite criticism from the National Human Rights Commission, the from Human Rights Watch. Bangladeshi human rights groups have documented nearly 1,600 extrajudicial killings since 2004. Many were disguised by law enforcement institutions as crossre killings. The main unit responsible is the Rab, although that same culture of violations and impunity is infecting other security forces as members rotate back to their Despite clear and voluminous evidence of Rab responsibility, the government has not held anyone in Rab accountable for the large numbers of extra-judicial killings, Adams said. While the government talks proudly of its democratic credentials, it seems to forget that a key component of a democracy is ensuring the safety of its citizens from state sponsored violence, he added. Many of the 6,000 members of the BDR charged for the 2009 mutiny which led to a massacre of dozens of army ofcers have faced serious fair trial violations, Human Rights Watch said. Of those charged, 850 face criminal charges under the Bangladesh penal code, which allows for capital punishment. Military courts convicted close to 1,000 in mass trials during 2011 without providing individualized evidence. Many accused did not have legal counsel or, if they did, lawyers did not have sufcient time or resources to provide an adequate defence.
SPECIAL FEATURE
31
against double jeopardy, and the right to counsel of the accuseds choice. However, these amendments did not address other important shortcomings in the rules, such as the denial of interlocutory appeals, the need to establish a defense ofce, and the need to repeal article 47(A) of the constitution, which denies fundamental rights under the constitution to individuals accused under the ICT Act. The provision even bars claims that article 47(A) is unconstitutional. The proceedings in Sayedees case raise serious concerns about the impartiality of the bench and the rights of the accused to a fair trial, Human Rights Watch said. The accused has been denied access to foreign counsel of his choice, and the defense teams contend that defence witnesses and investigators have been harassed. Bangladesh promised to meet international standards in these landmark trials, but it still has a long way to go to meet this commitment, Adams said. Bangladesh could have set the standard for other nations that have suffered from unspeakable abuses, but problems with the law and the conduct of the rst trial are throwing away this opportunity, he said. The report also accused the government of violating the right to a fair trial of the accused of 2009 Pilkhana mutiny and carnage. It (the government) staged mass trials for thousands being held for the 2009 massacre of army ofcers by troops in the Bangladesh Ries (BDR). Human rights organisations, journalists, trade unions, and civil society activists remained at risk, with some suffering attacks, the report added. The government of Sheikh Hasina has made repeated promises to end abuses and ensure justice and accountability, yet the security forces remain above the law, said Brad Adams. In the past year the government has moved from saying it would take action against abusive forces to denying abuses or defending the actions of the same abusive security forces that it complained about when it was in
who were suspected of supporting enemy India. The HRW however cautioned that the government should ensure that the new law is not used to target its political enemies. Belatedly, the government also took the positive step in bilateral meetings of protesting the killing of hundreds of Bangladeshi nationals by Indias Border Security Force over the past 10 years. The report also criticised the Awami League government that continues with decades-long discrimination against women under personal status laws and fails to take adequate measures to protect women and girls from violence despite its steps to promote womens rights, making commendable progress in reducing infant and maternal mortality rates. The government introduced a policy to advance womens rights in 2011, which among other things guarantees women an equal share and opportunity in employment and full control over their earnings, the report said. The government has also committed to developing a national strategy for social security, a positive step that could help reduce the high poverty levels among female-headed households, but violence against women is rampant, with religious leaders or village elders imposing illegal punishments under the garb of fatwas. These include orders to whip girls, blacken their faces, or otherwise humiliate them publicly for immoral behaviour. In some cases, village elders illegally accused girls who reported rape or sexual abuse of having an affair and ordered them punished, the HR report added. The Bangladesh High Court division ordered the government to take action against such extrajudicial punishments, but the government did not carry out court orders, it said. The parliament passed a law in 2010 against domestic violence but has yet to introduce any rules for its implementation. The government has taken some important steps on womens rights,
ndings of independent home ministry investigations, and lengthy reports
parent units in the police or intelligence departments, said HRW.
The city of Dubai is built on foundations that are steeped in history and tradition. From the evocative Dubai Museum to the spectacular Jumeirah Mosque, and from the breathtaking Bastakiya to the imperious Heritage Village. There are many mysteries waiting to be unravelled. Explore Dubai at your pace and relive great traditions from day gone by.
DEFINITELYDUBAI.COM
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2012, the year of the Olympics in London and sport fever has certainly gripped North West London where the Muslim Womens Sport Foundation was nominated for the Football Foundation of the Year at the rst ever Asian Football Awards held at Wembley stadium. The Asian Football Awards ceremony was
Rimla Akhtar :Asian Woman in Football

established with the help of Kick It Out and the Football Association and took place on Tuesday 24th January. Rimla Akhtar was part of the futsal team when the Muslim Womens Sport Foundation was set up. It aims to raise awareness of the issues facing Muslim women in sport as well as directly producing and implementing Continued on page 29 >>
Sports
SAT
Pakistan pegged back by England spinners

Pakistan v England: Monty Panesar welcomes Test return
Pakistan openers Taufeeq Umar and Mohammad Hafeez saw off the new ball bowlers and put on 51, Misbah resists for Pakistan with 83 not out. Stuart Broad and Graeme Swann each took three wickets as England limited Pakistan to 256-7 on day one of the second Test in Abu Dhabi. Broads double strike in early afternoon reduced Pakistan to 103-4 before Misbah-ul-Haq and Asad Shaq put together a century stand for the fth wicket to rescue
their side. Shaq fell to Swann for 58 in the evening session and Englands day improved further after taking the second new ball, Broad (3-52) and Swann (3-52) striking a further blow apiece. Pakistan skipper Misbah remained unbeaten at the close on 83, nishing the day off in some style with a pair of sixes in the nal over, taking his tally of maximums to four.
A wicket each for spinners Graeme Swann and the recalled Monty Panesar gave England a boost going into the lunch break in the second Test against Pakistan at the Zayed Cricket Stadium on Wednesday. Pakistan openers Taufeeq Umar and Mohammad Hafeez saw off the new ball bowlers and put on 51, but Umar was on his way for 16 when he left a straight one from Swann and saw his off stump uprooted. Hafeez also went before the break for 31 when - one ball after he was given a life as Panesar spilled a caught and bowled chance - he was also bowled. Pakistan, who reached lunch on 73 for two, won the toss and chose to bat as they bid to secure the three-match Continued on page 29 >>
Bad luck to blame for Indian game

Ricky Ponting and Michael Clarke made double centuries before Australia claimed two late wickets to take control of day two of the fourth Test against India. Australia declared their rst innings closed at 7-604 shortly after tea on Wednesday on a lifeless Adelaide Oval pitch. Ponting made 221 and skipper Clarke hit 210. Their 386-run partnership in 380 minutes is the fourth-highest by an Australian pair for any wicket in Tests. Pup & Punter v India, Adelaide 2012 Partnership: 386 runs, 94.4 overs, RR: 4.07 (Ponting 162, Clarke 210) In reply India reached 2-61 at stumps with Sachin Tendulkar 12 not out and opener Gautam Gambhir on 30. India need another 343 to make Australia bat again. Virender Sehwag crunched 18 off 18 deliveries before chipping a full toss back to paceman Peter Siddle who took a one-handed catch with a leap to his right, striking with his rst delivery of the match. Rahul Dravid, aged 39, was out Continued on page 29 >>
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