124 arrested in Pakistan as part of Mumbai attacks probe

More than 100 people have been arrested in Pakistan as part of a crackdown on groups accused of having connections to last year's attacks in Mumbai, a Pakistani official said Thursday.

Most of those arrested are alleged members of Lashkar-e-Taiba, the militant organization suspected of being behind the deadly attacks.

"We have arrested a total 124 mid-level and top leaders," Interior Ministry chief Rehman Malik said during a press conference on Thursday, according to a Reuters report.

Pakistani authorities also closed several suspected militant training camps run by Lashkar-e-Taiba as part of the crackdown, which began in December after the United Nations Security Council declared that Jamaat-ud-Dawa, a Pakistani charity, was acting as a front for the banned militant group.

Authorities also took steps against 20 offices, 87 schools, two libraries, seven religious schools and a handful of other organizations and websites linked to the charity.

It was not immediately clear how many people remained in custody Thursday, as Malik suggested many may now just be under surveillance.

Among those in detention or under house arrest are Hafiz Mohammed Saeed, the head of the charity, who helped establish the militant group, and Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi and Zarrar Shah, two men India alleges planned the Mumbai attacks.

Intelligence officials, cited in Indian media, have said Shah is Lashkar's communications chief and created a system that allowed the group's leaders to stay in touch with the gunmen during the siege on India's financial capital last November, which killed 171 people, including two Canadians.

U.S. officials have said Lakhvi has also directed Lashkar-e-Taiba operations in Chechnya, Bosnia and Southeast Asia, where he allegedly trained members to carry out suicide bombings.

Saeed has denied his organization was involved in terrorist activity and decried the accusation as an attack on religious groups.

More evidence needed for prosecution

While Pakistan has received some information from India, authorities will need to obtain more evidence if Pakistan hopes to prosecute any of those arrested, Malik said.

Investigators in Pakistan will "have to inquire into this information to try to transform it to evidence, evidence which can stand the test of any court in the world and of course our own court of law," Malik said.

He did not provide details, and avoided a question as to whether the Pakistani government was admitting the attack was staged by militants from its own country.

"We have to prove to the world that India and Pakistan stand together against terrorists because they are the common enemies," Malik said.

The Mumbai attacks have increased tensions between the two nuclear rivals, as India has demanded that Pakistan take action against the militants.

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh earlier this month said evidence suggested the attack must have had the support of some official agencies in Pakistan.

India has called on Pakistan to hand over any suspects to New Delhi, but the country has said it will try any people involved in the attacks in its own courts.

Malik also appeared to rule out the possibility of extradition on Thursday, saying Pakistani laws allowed for the prosecution of citizens who committed crimes elsewhere. (CBC News)

Terror is our enemy, not India: ISI chief

THE ISI chief, Lt-Gen Ahmad Shuja Pasha, was willing to travel to New Delhi after Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani accepted a request by his Indian counterpart following the attacks in Mumbai on Nov 26, the general himself told the Der Spiegel in an interview carried by the German magazine in its latest issue.

But the general, without revealing the reasons for not doing so, remarked: “Many people here are simply not ready.”

The head of the Inter-Services Intelligence brushed aside talk of a war between Pakistan and India. “There will not be a war,” he said confidently. “We are distancing ourselves from conflict with India, both now and in general.”

He said Pakistan had braced itself for a “military reaction” after the Mumbai tragedy. “At first we thought there would be a military reaction. The Indians, after the attacks, were deeply offended and furious, but they are also clever,” Lt-Gen Pasha said.

The general, in an attempt to allay misgivings in the West about Pakistan, emphasised: “We may be crazy in Pakistan, but not completely out of our minds. We know full well that terror is our enemy, not India.”

Gen Pasha told the magazine many questions were swirling in his mind about the Mumbai aftermath. So far, he said, the Indians had failed to prove that Pakistani groups sponsored by the ISI were behind the attacks.

“They have given us nothing, no numbers, no connections, no names. This is regrettable.” According to the interviewer, the ISI chief switched back and forth between English and his “surprisingly accent-free German”.

He lived in Germany for a few years in the 1980s, taking part in officer training programmes.

In reply to a question about the longevity of the present government, Lt-Gen Pasha said the transition to civilian rule must succeed.

“It is completely clear to the army chief and me that this government must succeed. Otherwise we will have a lot of problems in this country,” he said in a solemn tone.

“The result would be problems in the West and the East, political destabilisation and trouble with America,” he warned. “Anyone who does not support this democratic government today simply does not understand the current situation.”

And then, giving an innocuous yet significant information, he adds: “I report regularly to the president and take orders from him.”

Gen Pasha told the magazine he wanted to re-establish the ISI’s credibility.

The interviewer was keen to know how much control does Gen Pasha have over the organisation.

The ISI head replied in a firm tone: “Many may think in a different direction, and everyone is allowed to think differently, but no one can dare disobey a command or even do something that was not ordered.”

Lt-Gen Pasha rubbished conjectures about a meeting Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, the army chief, had with US military officials on board the aircraft carrier, USS Abraham Lincoln, in August. The ISI chief had accompanied the COAS to the meeting. The western media were rife with speculations that the two sides had reached a tacit understanding that Pakistan would allow the US military to carry out drone attacks in the tribal area.

The general denied that this was the case. “We never discussed that, nor did we agree to it,” he explained, shaking his head. “But to be honest, what can we do against the drone attacks? Should we fight the Americans or attack an Afghan post because that’s where the drones are coming from? Can we win this? Does it benefit Pakistan?”

Gen Pasha also explained to the magazine why he was unwilling to crack down on the Taliban leadership. “Shouldn’t they be allowed to think and say what they please? They believe that jihad is their obligation.

“Isn’t that freedom of opinion?” he asked in a rhetorical tone.

He defended Pakistan’s cooperation with the West in the “war on terror”, asserting that “by working together, everyone will be able to defeat terror”. “But it will not”, he hastened to add, happen punctually and according to plan, as is customary in Germany.”

Depressed Pakistani severs head with electric saw

DUBAI: A Pakistani businessman, depressed by the impact of the economic crisis, killed himself with an electric saw by almost severing his head at his Sharjah home, Al-Ittihad newspaper said on Friday.

The unnamed man, aged 60, was the boss of several construction firms affected by the international economic credit crunch, AFP reported.

His body was found in a pool of blood on Wednesday, with the electric saw still running, the newspaper said, quoting police in Sharjah, one of the seven emirates making up the United Arab Emirates.

His wife told police that her husband had complained recently about the difficulties he faced because of lack of finance needed for company projects and to honour promises to his clients.

40 killed as fire engulfs slum area in Karachi

KARACHI: At least forty people including many minor children and women were burnt to death as blazes completely engulfed many shelties in North Karachi sector five, Chiipa sources said.

12 fire tenders reached on the scene and started taming the fire meanwhile, many other people were seriously burnt who were shifted to hospital, sources added.

No cause of fire eruption, in huts made of sticks, could be reported. Several people remained caught in the fire for long time.

Eidhi sources added that over two dozens completely burnt dead bodies including 15 children and women, were shifted to different hospitals. Emergency was declared in Abbasi Shaheed hospital, hospital sources informed Geo News.

Geo T.V correspondent Faheem Siddiqui reported, “The deadly blazes overwhelmed around 15 to 20 cabins and huts and completely burnt them down, as people were fast asleep therefore, they could not get themselves rescued after inferno outbreak.”

Faheem added that the shelties were in the slum kind of area and were covered from three sides while the only way out, entrance and exit of the place, caught fire that made it hard for the unfortunates to flee from the fire scene.

He also feared that as many as three-dozen people must have been burnt in the lethal inferno in slum.

Rescue 1122 workers, on the directives of Syed Mustafa Kamal, city nazim, also reached on the spot and partook in rescue efforts together with fire fighters, local people, town authorities, Chiipa and Edhi workers.

SNF leader Mumtaz Bhutto put under house arrest

Sindh National Front (SNF) leader Sardar Mumtaz Bhutto has been put under house arrest in Larkana on Saturday for allegedly ordering his workers to attack on the office of a Sindhi newspaper.

According to reports, the workers of SNF had attacked the office of a local daily and a case was registered against Mumtaz Bhutto in this connection. He will be shifted to Karachi later in the evening where he will be interrogated.

9 Muslims removed from US flight

WASHINGTON: Nine Muslims, including three children, were ordered off a domestic US flight after two other passengers heard them making what they thought were suspicious remarks about security, media said Friday.

The group, eight of whom are US citizens, was in Washington Thursday afternoon on an AirTran flight bound for Orlando, Florida where they were to attend a religious retreat, and were eventually cleared for travel by the FBI, according to a U.S. daily.

The airline and FBI characterized the incident as a misunderstanding, but AirTran reportedly refused to rebook the passengers, who paid for seats on another carrier.

Kashif Irfan, 34, said his younger brother Atif and his brother's wife "were remarking about safety" when they were overheard.

"My brother and his wife were discussing some aspect of airport security," he told the Post. "The only thing my brother said was, 'Wow, the jets are right next to my window."

Irfan, who was also traveling with his wife, a sister-in-law, a friend and Irfan's three sons ages seven, four, and two, said action was taken against his party because of the way they looked.

All were traditionally Muslim in appearance, with the men sporting beards and the women in headscarves.

An airline spokesman, Tad Hutcheson, defended AirTran's handling of the situation. "At the end of the day, people got on and made comments they shouldn't have made on the airplane," he was quoted as saying.

"Other people heard them, misconstrued them. It just so happened these people were of Muslim faith and appearance," Hutcheson added. "It escalated, it got out of hand and everyone took precautions."

The pilot postponed the flight, and federal officials ordered all 104 passengers off the plane to re-screen them and their luggage before allowing the flight to go to Orlando, two hours late and without the nine passengers.

Ellen Howe, a spokeswoman for the Transportation Security Administration, said the pilot acted appropriately.

"It was an ordeal," said Abdur Razack Aziz, one of the detained. "Nothing came out of it. It was paranoid people. It was very sad."

Bangkok : 59 New Year Revelers Killed, 212 Injured

Bangkok, 01 January, (Asiantribune.com): Fire at an Ekkamai pub kills at least 59 and injures 212 in New Year countdown disaster.

Fire broke out at popular Santika Pub located in Ekkamai Soi 9 (Sukhumvit 63) Wednesday night, killing people celebrating the New Year countdown.

The fire raged through the popular Santika Club in the opening minutes of Thursday as partygoers were celebrating New Year.

Witnesses said that several hundred revelers were packed into the club premises, located at Ekamai Soi 9, a popular nightlife zone, when the fire broke out after midnight, shortly after the clubbers joined the countdown for the New Year.

Police said victims died from burns, smoke inhalation and injuries during the stampede to escape the club, which reportedly had only one entrance for the public.

Video reports of the disaster broadcast on Bangkok television stations showed the fire raging throughout the building even as rescue workers were trying to halt the blaze. Fire and rescue workers pulled victims from the club even while the blaze continued.

Bodies of the unfortunate revelers seeing in the New Year who died in the fire were shrouded in white sheets, the growing number of corpses collected on the street near the scene of the tragedy.

Bangkok's Deputy Police Commissioner-General Pol Lt-Gen Jongrak Juthanon said many of those killed and injured were foreigners. He said they were tourists from Nepal, Austria and Japan.

However, there were about 30 bodies that were "very difficult to idenfity". All bodies were initially sent to the Chulalongkorn Hospital but forensic officials were overwhelmed with the task and help was being sought from the Police Hospital.

TV Channel 7 reported that at least 59 people were killed and more than 200 injured.

TV footages showed the entire three-storey structure, which covered hundreds of squaremetres, on fire. Tearful revellers were being comforted by friends.

Over two hundred persons were injured, with some 212 persons being sent by ambulance and rescue vehicles to various hospitals in the area, most suffering burns and smoke inhalation.

Foreign residents and international tourists were reportedly among the victims.

By daybreak on New Year's Day, the fire was completely extinguished and police were investigating the cause of the fire. Some observers said the fire was set off by fireworks used as special effects during the stage performance of the countdown, while others that it was an electrical fault.

Thailand's prime minister visited the scene of a tragic New Year's Eve party where 59 persons died and several hundred were injured.

Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva thanked the police, fire and rescue workers responding to the disaster and asked the police to quickly identity the victims and determine the cause of the blaze, which apparently began when fireworks used to highlight the countdown set off combustibles in the popular hi-so club.

- Asian Tribune -