India hands over replies to Pakistan

NEW DELHI: In a major development, India has handed over its reply to the 30 questions raised by Pakistan after studying the 26/11 dossier. The Indian dossier runs in 401 pages.

The reply includes CDs and voice intercepts of terrorists.

Speaking on the issue, Home Minister P Chidambaram said, "All of Pakistan's 30 questions related to Mumbai terror attacks have been answered. These replies have been backed with evidence like forensic reports."

Chidambaram also said that if Pakistan is serious, these answers provide them solid base to prosecute.

The Home Minister handed over the replies to Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjee who in turn handed it over to Pakistan.

NWFP govt., TNSM ink Nizam-e-Adal Accord

PESHAWAR: The North West Frontier Province (NWFP) government and Tahrik-e-Nifaz Shariat Muhammadi, after finalization of an accord for the enforcement of Nizam-e-Adal in Malakand, have inked a Nizam-e-Adal accord at the end of the Jirga here on Monday.

Following the Jirga, NWFP Chief Minister, Amir Haider Khan Hoti, who was presiding over the Jirga, told the media that the enforcement of Nizam-e-Adal was a historic moment and it would come in force forthwith.

"Today an agreement has been signed between the government of NWFP and Maulana Sufi Mohammed," provincial information minister Mian Iftikhar Hussain told reporters here.

"All laws against sharia will be abolished and sharia will be enforced under this justice system," he added.

The agreement will cover Malakand area, one of the districts of NWFP, which includes the Swat valley.

"It is my hope that the armed people will disarm themselves, give up the path of violence and work for restoration of peace in Swat," NWFP chief minister, Amir Haider Hoti said.

Twenty-nine delegates from the Movement for the Enforcement of Islamic Sharia, led by Maulana Muhammad Alam, attended the meeting today.

US, NATO and Afghan officials have criticised previous peace deals in Pakistan, saying that they have led to an increase in suicide attacks on international and Afghan forces across the border in Afghanistan.

Part of Mumbai conspiracy took place in Pakistan: Rehman Malik

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has registered a case that could lead to prosecution of the people behind the killing of 179 people in the Indian city of Mumbai last November, Advisor to the Prime Minister on Interior Rehman Malik said on Thursday.

"Some part of the conspiracy has taken place in Pakistan," Malik told a news conference here.

"We have lodged an FIR into the case," he said, referring to a police complaint, generally known as a first information report (FIR). Malik said Pakistan had assured India of its full cooperation in the investigations of Mumbai attacks and that Pakistan had been a victim of terrorism since long.

Sexual harassment charges leveled against lady FBI officer

NEW DELHI: The FBI probe into the Mumbai terror attack took an unusual twist with Faheem Ansari, one of the accused, leveling sexual harassment allegations against a lady officer of the American agency who had reportedly interrogated him here.

Faheem has moved the court with his lawyer Ejaz Naqvi filing an application before an Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate alleging that a lady FBI officer, who had interrogated the accused, had "sexually harrassed him all through the night." The court issued a notice today to the city police's crime branch and directed it to file their reply to the application by February 26.

The application also made a plea for Faheem to be sent for medical check-up as he has developed "itches and wounds in his private parts and all over his body".

"Faheem had been interrogated by three FBI officers out of which one of them, a lady officer, had sexually abused him," Naqvi told the court.

‘Internal hand involved in Mumbai attacks’

Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Singh Modi criticises ruling Congress for not taking action against any local group

NAGPUR: Indian Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Singh Modi hinted on Sunday that the Mumbai terror attacks could not have been carried out without internal help – comments that are in sharp contrast with claims by other Indian officials who hold Pakistan solely responsible for the attacks.

The senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader said, “If we single out that one incident (Mumbai attacks) and ask any person in this country ... with basic information and knowledge, they will say that such a big terror attack on India cannot take place without any internal help from the nation itself.”

Criticism: He criticised the Congress-led coalition government for not taking action against any local groups involved in the Mumbai attacks.

Modi’s new theory contradicts India’s official position, and came just hours ahead of Pakistan’s reply to an Indian dossier of information given to Islamabad.

Addressing a BJP convention here, the Gujarat chief minister also slammed the policies of the ruling Congress party.

According to Hindustan times, Modi also made a scathing attack on the Gandhi-Nehru family, alleging that a conspiracy had been hatched to promote the family, posing a danger to the future of the country.

“A conspiracy to promote one family’s past is posing a danger for the future of the country,” Modi said without directly naming the Gandhi-Nehru family, but the indication was obvious.

Cantt Station on candid camera

By Asadullah


The Pakistan Railways has introduced a much-needed security feature to the Karachi Cantonment Railway Station, and the close circuit television (CCTV) network has been made functional with the proper installation of 26 cameras.

The Karachi Cantonment Railway Station, which also enjoys heritage status, has been equipped with a CCTV network after having a control room established within the police help centre at the station. The Railway Police have been tasked with monitoring the eight platforms of the station, hosting arrival and departure of 48 trains every 24 hours.

“The CCTV franchise operation has been under way since January 17 under railway police supervision,” a senior railway police officer told The News. “We are now monitoring the station with 26 cameras, including a high-speed dome camera installed in the parking lot of the station.”

Ghulam Ahmed Bilour, Railway Minister, had told the media that CCTV cameras would be installed at the Karachi, Rohri and Lahore railway stations in the first phase.

Pakistan Railway authorities, however, took time to come up with an authentic answer to the CCTV project when they finalised the bids for installing cameras. They managed to fit cameras at different points, but these remained idle due to the paucity of trained hands in the control room.

Sources said that twelve police constables and six female constables have undergone a six-month training period to work in the CCTV control room in eight-hour shifts round the clock. “We have enough memory for 25 days of video footage,” explained a police officer. “The 26th day will automatically erase the first day’s memory and record over it.”

Sources said that the installation of CCTV cameras in Karachi, Lahore and Rohri at an accumulative cost of Rs10.5 million is part of a greater security and surveillance project, which will also cover railway workshops, to have a check on theft and employees’ presence. Walk-through security gates have already been installed at the Karachi Cantonment Railway Station.

Sources informed The News that the Pakistan Railway headquarters in Lahore have finalised the CCTV Network at three railway stations, including Karachi Cantonment, in the first phase of the security measures to be taken at railway stations and trains across the country. Lahore-based Champions Traders has installed the cameras at Karachi, too.

“The high-speed dome camera installed at the parking lot of Karachi Cantonment Railway Station is unique amongst the cameras installed to cover eight platforms,” observed a police officer. “This particular camera can be rotated as per your requirement, enabling you to keep a watchful eye on the huge open space around the parking area.”

According to Baqar Gilani, the Station House Officer of the Karachi Cantonment Railway Police Station, the establishment of CCTV control room under the railway police’s supervision is indeed a right step toward improved policing at the century-old railway station where 90 percent of the up-country railroading originates.

Within the Cantonment Railway Police Station’s limits, the theft of railway material and property tops the incidents of crime, followed by pick pocketing and luggage-lifting.

“Another most serious crime that we deal with is poisoning of people in a bid to rob them,” said Gilani.

No official, including Muzzafar Ali Sheikh, Railway Police SP, could confirm the cost of the cameras and other necessary arrangements that have been made to finalise the CCTV network. Mir Mohammed Khaskheli, Divisional Superintendent Railway Karachi, appeared ignorant as far as the actual cost of the CCTV Network at Karachi alone was concerned. (The News)

Obama says Pakistan must not be destabilised

WASHINGTON, Feb 3: Pakistan’s nuclear weapons are the main cause of concern for US President Barack Obama and his military chiefs who have vowed not to allow the destabilisation of Pakistan because that will allow the militants access to weapons of mass destruction.

“What we can do is make sure that Afghanistan is not a safe haven for Al Qaeda. What we can do is make sure that it is not destabilising neighbouring Pakistan, which has nuclear weapons,” said Mr Obama in an interview to NBC television.

His military chief, Admiral Mike Mullen, went a step ahead and pledged not to allow Al Qaeda safe havens in Pakistan’s tribal areas either.

“We cannot accept that Al Qaeda leadership which continues to plan against us every single day — and I mean us, here in America — to have that safe haven in Pakistan nor could resume one in Afghanistan,” Admiral Mullen said.

The two statements coincided with a Pentagon report, partly made available to the media on Tuesday, which recommended a broader effort to train and equip Pakistani security forces to conduct counter-insurgency operations in the tribal areas.

The report also urges the Obama administration to lower its goals in Afghanistan. The report by the joint services chiefs seeks to apply pressure on Pakistan’s military and intelligence services to sever their ties with militants.

Amid growing concern about the stability of Pakistan, the report calls for putting renewed focus by the US government on ensuring that Pakistan’s nuclear weapons remain under its government’s control. Though that has long been a US aim, the report suggests a way to focus new attention on the problem in case militant groups threaten Pakistan’s stability.

The report concedes that the United States cannot establish a “lasting democracy” and a “thriving economy” in Afghanistan — the two objectives touted vociferously by the Bush administration. Instead, the Pentagon urges the Obama administration to focus on ensuring regional stability and eliminating Taliban and Al Qaeda safe havens in Pakistan.

The recommendations will soon be shown to President Obama as part of a review of Afghanistan strategy announced by the new administration. The report is one of several that Mr Obama is expected to review before finalising his strategy.

Gen David Petraeus, Commander US Central Command, and Richard Holbrooke, special US envoy for Afghanistan and Pakistan, are also preparing similar reports.

The chiefs’ recommendations have been approved by Admiral Mike Mullen, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, and seen by Defence Secretary Robert Gates. The report reflects the Pentagon’s concern that sending thousands of additional American troops to fight could lead to a lengthy conflict in Afghanistan.

While Mr Obama is sending three additional brigades, the chiefs’ report rejected the recommendation for an even larger “surge” for Afghanistan.

In their report, the chiefs concluded that the existing American goals in Afghanistan, established by the Bush administration, were overly broad and ambitious.

With insurgent violence in Afghanistan worsening significantly during the last year, the report argues for setting more concrete objectives that are achievable and realistic in the short-term.

In a separate quarterly report to Congress on security conditions in Afghanistan, the Pentagon reports that “the spring and summer of 2008 saw the highest levels of violence” since the US invasion in 2001. “The Taliban regrouped after its fall from power and has coalesced into a resilient and evolving insurgency.”

Between January and December 10, 2008, 132 US personnel in Afghanistan died as the result of hostile action, up from 82 in 2007.

Dozens killed in Pakistan army raid

At least 35 opposition fighters have been killed in a fresh raid by the Pakistani military in the Swat valley, the army has said in a statement.

The military operation on several hideouts took place in the Khawazakhela district overnight, according to the statement released on Tuesday.

The Pakistani military has been battling fighters loyal to Maulana Fazlullah, a religious leader considered to be close to the Taliban, in recent months.

More than 20,000 people across the Swat valley are believed to have fled their homes to escape the fighting.

Targeted attacks

Wajid Ali Khan, a provincial minister, has said "the fighting in the valley has made it almost impossible for civilians to stay there".

Government forces and other state employees are bearing the brunt of many attacks by Fazlullah loyalists, Kamal Hyder, Al Jazeera's correspondent in Pakistan, said.

The decapitated bodies of policemen - complete with notes warning the authorities of further such attacks - have become a common sight on streets in Swat, Hyder said.

The raids came after Yusuf Reza Giliani, the Pakistani prime minister, pledged to restore peace to the Swat valley.

"We are finding a way out. We do not want to disclose the strategy right now, but soon Swat will be peaceful, like the rest of the country," Gilani said on Monday.

Bridge destroyed

Hours after the latest raids in Swat valley, suspected Taliban-linked fighters blew up a bridge in Pakistan's Khyber Pass, severing the main route for supplies to Western troops in Afghanistan, Pakistan government officials said.

The 30-metre iron bridge, which lies about 23km from the city of the northwestern city of Peshawar, was destroyed shortly after midnight, Rahat Gul, a government official, said.


"Militants blew up the bridge and it's going to take some time to fix it," he said on Tuesday.

There has been an increase over the last year in attacks on the Khyber Pass road, with most of them aimed at preventing international forces fighting the Taliban of receiving supplies.

The road through Pakistan's mountainous border territory into Afghanistan has been briefly closed twice since September due to attacks.

The US military and Nato's force in Afghanistan have tried to find alternative supply routes in the face of the attacks on the Khyber Pass.

About 75 per cent of supplies to the US military in Afghanistan come through or over Pakistan, including 40 per cent of the fuel for its troops.

The attacks on the Khyber Pass come as the US military prepares to send about 60,000 extra soldiers to Afghanistan in the next few months.

General David Petraeus, the head of the US Central Command, said last month that agreements had been reached for new routes into northern Afghanistan through Central Asian states and Russia. (Al Jazeera. net)

Gunmen kidnap UN official in southwestern Pakistan

Militants in southwestern Pakistan kidnapped a UN official on Monday, killing his driver in the process, local police said.

Khalid Masood, a senior police official, identified the kidnapped man as John Solecki, an American who is the regional head of a United Nations refugee office — the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). He was abducted as he headed to work in Quetta, Masood said.

"Solecki has been serving in Quetta for more than two years," Masood told the Associated Press. "We cannot speculate on the motive behind the crime."

Solecki did not have a police escort while he was travelling, Masood said.

"We have learned that he usually did not like to have an escort with him on his way to the office," Masood said.

A UN official in Pakistan's capital, Islamabad, later confirmed Solecki had been abducted.

The gunmen reportedly opened fire on his vehicle, and the driver died later in hospital. Video footage from the scene showed a UNHCR vehicle crumpled into a brick wall and with at least one bullet hole in it.

No group has claimed responsibility for the abduction.

Kidnappings in southwest rare
Quetta is the capital of Baluchistan, a province that shares a border with Afghanistan. Southwestern Pakistan is the scene of a low-level insurgency driven by nationalist groups wanting more autonomy for Baluchistan province.

But unlike Taliban and al-Qaeda militants in the northwest, the Baluch groups are not known to target foreigners, and three police officials said they could not recall another foreigner being kidnapped in Quetta.

Abductions are more common in northwest tribal areas that border Afghanistan.

In November, web publisher Khadija Abdul Qahaar of West Vancouver was kidnapped in the northwest Bannu district. Her kidnappers have reportedly asked for a $150,000 ransom and the release of Taliban prisoners in Afghanistan.

The Taliban are believed to be responsible for the abduction months ago of two Afghan diplomats and two engineers, one Chinese and the other Polish. They were all kidnapped in the northwest and are still believed to be in custody. (CBC News)

Nine suspected terrorists remanded in police custody

ATC extends remand of alleged blasphemer for three days

By Imran Asghar

RAWALPINDI: The Anti Terrorism Court (ATC) No II on Friday sent nine suspected terrorists on a 14-day judicial remand to Adiala Jail for identification parade and directed the police to present them before the court on February 12.

Saddar Barroni Police brought nine terror suspects identified as Muhammad Ilyas alias Qari of Tala Kang, Muhammad Rizwan alias Shamsul Haq of Karachi, Dr Abdul Razaq of Lahore, Faisal Ahmed Khan of Bakhar, Zeshan Jaleel alias Adnan of Karachi, Muhammad Sarfaraz alias Muhammad Khan of Karachi, Muhammad Naeem Shakir alias Zubair of Sheikupura, Muhammad Nadeem alias Ayubi of Rawalpindi and Usama Bin Waheed alias Hadyyatullah of Purana Bakhar, in armored personnel carrier to the district courts.

The elite force personnel, anti-terrorists force and police were guarding the courtroom and reporters were not allowed to cover the court proceedings.

Saddar Barroni Police Station House Officer (SHO) Raja Musaddaq informed the court that suspects were arrested on January 29 and they had revealed their alleged involvement in various terrorist attacks. He sought a 14-day judicial remand of the suspects for their identification parade at Adiala Jail.

Upon this, the court granted their judicial remand and directed the police to present the suspects before it on February 12. The police have claimed that the terror suspects had revealed their alleged involvement in five different high profile terrorism cases including suicide bomb attack near NLC building in the jurisdiction of RA Bazaar Police Station, which occurred on February 4, 2008 in which the bus of Medical Core was targeted.

The police said that suspects also revealed their involvement in another suicide bomb attack in which Lt. General Mushtaq Baig was targeted, which occurred in the jurisdiction of the same police station on February 25 last year.

The police also claimed that suspects were also involved in bomb blasts at police party in Melody Market Islamabad, bomb blast at Denmark Embassy and the bomb attack of Italian Restaurant and that they were also allegedly planning to carry out attacks on the ceremony of March 23, 2009.

The police recovered 100 kilogrammes of explosive material, 50 detonators, 20 kilogrammes ball bearings, five packs of TCS, four hand grenades, eight pistols and 45 rounds, four sacks of potassium, two bags of caustic soda, 25 electric wires, four motorcycles, a car and other explosive material from their custody.

Meanwhile, the same court further extended a three-day physical remand of an alleged blasphemer and directed RA Bazaar Police to present him before the court on February 2.

The police arrested an alleged blasphemer Hector Haleem, the son of Yaqoob Masseh, on the complaint of Tahir Iqbal, who stated that an unidentified man sent him a blasphemous text message on his mobile phone.

With the help of mobile phone number, the police traced the suspected sender. A case was filed against him under section 295C of the Pakistan Penal Code. The accused was produced before the court after three-day physical remand expired and the police sought extension in his remand to further question him.

Sherry Rehman denies statement imputed to Zardari by media

ISLAMABAD: Federal Information Minister Sherry Rehman has denied that President Asif Ali Zardari made any threatening comments regarding the upcoming lawyers’ long march in February while speaking to the press at the Parliament building in Islamabad Tuesday.


Earlier today, several newspapers published a story which attributed a statement threatening the lawyers’ movement to President Asif Ali Zardari. The statement was allegedly made during a PPP parliamentary party meeting on Monday.

English-language daily The News carried a headline stating ‘I will deal with lawyers: Zardari’ while affiliated news channel Geo quoted the president as saying: ‘You will see how I deal with the lawyers.’

ISI chief briefs PM on security

ISLAMABAD: Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) Chief Lt. Gen. Ahmed Shuja Pasha Friday called on Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani at the Prime Minister House to discuss the security situation of the country.

The ISI chief discussed the operation in Northern Areas and FATA with the Prime Minister. He also briefed Prime Minister Gilani about progress in Mumbai attacks probe.

Dr Khan network’ suspect tipped off CIA: Swiss TV

GENEVA: A Swiss man suspected of being involved in the world’s biggest nuclear smuggling ring claims he supplied the CIA with information that led to the breakup of the black market nuclear network allegedly led by Pakistani scientist Abdul Qadeer Khan.
In a documentary airing on Thursday on Swiss TV station SF1, Urs Tinner says he tipped off US intelligence about a delivery of centrifuge parts meant for Libya’s nuclear weapons programme.
The shipment was seized at the Italian port of Taranto in 2003, forcing Libya to admit and eventually renounce its efforts to acquire nuclear weapons.
The 43-year-old Tinner is suspected, along with his brother Marco and father Friedrich, of supplying Dr Khan’s clandestine network with technical know-how and equipment that was used to make gas centrifuges.
Dr Khan, the creator of Pakistan’s atomic bomb, has been accused of selling the centrifuges for secret nuclear weapons programmes in Libya and Iran before his network was disrupted in 2003.
Tinner was freed by Swiss authorities last month after almost five years in investigative detention and he has yet to be charged.
A CIA spokesman, George Little, refused to discuss the Tinner case. The agency has said in the past that 'the disruption of the A.Q. Khan network was a genuine intelligence success, one in which the CIA played a key role.'
In the Swiss documentary, Tinner also claims he sabotaged equipment destined for uranium enrichment facilities so it would malfunction on first use. He does not say which country the sabotaged parts were destined for.
Former Swiss justice minister Christoph Blocher told the SF documentary that he travelled to Washington in 2007 — three years after Urs Tinner’s arrest — to discuss the case with then US attorney-general Alberto Gonzales.
Blocher says he refused a US request to hand over thousands of files of evidence in the case, but the Swiss cabinet later decided to shred the files after it learned they contained information that could endanger national security, including nuclear warhead designs.
MPs’ panel unhappy
On Thursday, a parliamentary panel criticised the government for destroying the files, saying there was no immediate danger to Switzerland’s internal or external security.
The Swiss government also refused to let federal prosecutors investigate whether the Tinners had engaged in espionage for a foreign state, a punishable offence.
Urs Tinner is waiting to see whether prosecutors will file charges against him for breaking Swiss laws on the export of sensitive material — a crime that carries a penalty of up to 10 years imprisonment.
The federal criminal court in Bellinzona on Thursday ordered
Marco Tinner be released on a bail of $87,000, rejecting an appeal by prosecutors to keep him in prison pending a possible trial.
Swiss weekly NZZ am Sonntag reported last month that prosecutors objected to Marco Tinner’s release because of concerns he might still possess sensitive information on the construction of nuclear bombs.
Jeanette Balmer, a spokeswoman for the federal prosecutor’s office in Bern, refused to comment on the newspaper report.
The International Atomic Energy Agency has said its investigation into the Khan network showed that some members possessed highly sensitive information. The information was in electronic form, making it easy to disseminate, and the agency was concerned that some of the documents may still be out in circulation.

INDIA/PAKISTAN: Civil Society Mounts Peace Offensive

By Rita Manchanda

NEW DELHI, Jan 20 (IPS) - A visit to India by a delegation of civil society activists from Pakistan as part of a ‘peace offensive’ is expected to help keep the two South Asian neighbours from going to war over the Nov. 26-29 terror attacks on Mumbai city.

The Jan. 21-23 high profile ‘track two’ visit hopes to woo Indian political leaders, reason with hawkish security experts and appeal for cross border solidarity and, at a people-to-people level, make the point that both countries are common victims of terrorism.

Although the delegation is led by Pakistan’s best known human rights activists, Asma Jehangir and I. A. Rehman, and bolstered by politicians from Pakistan’s main political parties and leading journalists, the impact they are likely to make is still uncertain.

So far, except for India’s Left parties, no Indian political party has made any commitment to meet the delegation. "We’re still trying," said one of the Indian hosts Shabnam Hashmi of Act Now for Harmony and Democracy.

However, Ravi Hemadri of the Pakistan India Peoples Forum for Peace and Democracy (PIPFPD) was more candid, "Given that India’s Republic Day, Jan. 26, is just days away, and with the jingoistic rhetoric already being ratcheted up, it’s doubtful if politicians would risk being seen as soft."

This is especially so against the backdrop of ‘megaphone diplomacy’ via the media with Indian army chief Gen. Deepak Kapoor telling journalists that ‘’all options are open".

Similarly India's home minister P. Chidamabaram hinted to the ‘The Times’ of London about the possibility of curtailing trade and people-to-people contacts. "Why should we entertain Pakistani business people? Why should we entertain tourists in India? Why should our tourists go there?"

An opinion poll conducted by ‘The Indian Express’ newspaper recorded 92 percent of respondents saying ‘Yes’ on "Should road, rail links with Pakistan be snapped if no action taken...?" "This call for suspending links will hurt thousands of ordinary people for whom peace has meant the ability to cross the border," said Syeda Hamid, speaking in her personal capacity and as founder of the Women’s Initiative for Peace.

"The Parthasarthys, the Maroof Razas [top security experts frequently seen on TV], who do they speak for? Not for the ordinary people. It is the peace groups who speak for the ordinary people, not the hawks on TV. It is civil society that reflects the voices of the millions on both sides who stand to suffer,'' Hamid said.

Such sentiments motivated leading social activist Swami Agnivesh to launch the "Joint Signature Campaign by Citizens of India Pakistan Against Terrorism, War Posturing and to Promote Cooperation and Peace", and travel to Amritsar to join a public rally for peace mobilised by groups that will, on India’s Independence Day stake a candlelight vigil on the Indo-Pakistan border.

"Civil society has to respond to terrorism. It cannot leave everything to the state whose instruments are the army, intelligence and diplomacy. For 10 years peace groups have worked to create an atmosphere for both governments to commit that peace is ‘irreversible’. That’s why even after Mumbai, there’s been no war," he said.

Were tall claims being made about the peace lobby? "Ask the 51 Pakistani citizens jailed in Jodhpur, Rajasthan for visa tampering? They would still have been locked up had the PIPFPD not taken up their cause. Despite the war jingoism, in December they were freed and returned home," Hemadri said.

The peace lobby which seemed to have withdrawn into a defensive silence after the Mumbai attacks has now found a confident voice. Most were "fearful to speak up, to examine, lest they be seen to be excusing the Mumbai attacks,’’ said Nitya Ramakrishnan, a civil liberties lawyer.

A joint resolution by 30 civil society groups has appealed for ‘Sanity in Our Neighbourhood,’ asserting that they "will not to be consumed by fear, terror and war. That is the agenda of the terrorists".

There are signs that the peace initiatives are gaining momentum. On Jan. 11, at New Delhi’s first public meeting on ‘War, Democratic Rights and Peace Processes’ there was backing from peace and democratic rights groups, feminists, labour and teachers’ organisations.

Tweaking the Indian media’s force multiplier phrase of "enough is enough" as a goad to military action, Pamela Philippose, a well-known columnist, said: "Our way is to say ‘enough is enough’ to war mongering".

Tarun Tejpal, editor of the ‘Tehelka’ newspaper, emphasised "the need to look at the root causes of the making of a terrorist, the grievances that motivate people to these heinous terrorist acts’’.

The visit of the high profile Pakistan delegation may catch media attention, but can it shift the hawkish public sentiment? Even the scheduled public meeting will be less than public. Security concerns have entailed an "invitees only" entry, as vigilante groups propagating hate politics have stepped up their activities.

On Jan.14, Pakistani TV comedian Shakil Siddiqui was thrown out of a studio in Mumbai by a sons-of-the-soil group, the Maharastra Nav Nirman Sena. Earlier, the same group motivated the Mumbai police to pressure the Oxford Bookstore to take Pakistani books off its shelves, "lest they be targeted".

The peace lobby, however, is determined to keep up the pressure. Shabnam Hashmi said: ‘’We can’t allow ourselves to be dispirited by mainstream media’s jingoism. Let us not trivialise the grave threat that the people of both India and Pakistan face by reducing it to cross border talking heads of TV trading blame charges."

They see as a triumph the fact that the Lahore-based Ajoka Theatre troupe was able to come to India and perform its 'Hotel Mohenjodaro' to a packed audience at the 11th Bharat Rangmahotsav Theatre Festival in the national capital on Sunday.

Amal Allana, chair of the festival’s host, the National School of Drama, dismissed reports that the Pakistani troupe was denied visas. ‘’'Everything went according to schedule and their visas arrived on time.’’

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 -

Pakistan Military Chiefs Call for Easing of Tensions With India

Dec. 30 (Bloomberg) -- Pakistani military chiefs called for an easing of tensions with India triggered by last month’s terrorist attack on Mumbai and a resumption of peace talks between the nuclear-armed neighbors.
Pakistani Army chief General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, in a meeting with China’s Vice Foreign Minister He Yafei yesterday, “highlighted the need to de-escalate and avoid conflict,” according to a statement from the military.
The call came as U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice expressed concern over escalating tensions when she spoke by telephone with Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari and Indian Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjee, the State Department said.
Pakistan last week reportedly redeployed troops from tribal areas near Afghanistan to the border with India as tensions between the nations mounted. India and Pakistan have fought three wars since independence in 1947, two of them over Kashmir, a Himalayan region divided between them and claimed in full by both.
Rice said that with tensions already high, “neither side should be taking actions that increase” them, State Department spokesman Gordon Duguid told reporters yesterday.
She noted that Pakistan had “made some positive steps but that these steps need to be continuous, that we need to have both sides work together to find the perpetrators of the Mumbai attacks,” according to Duguid.
‘High Alert’
Pakistan has put troops along its eastern border on “high alert” and canceled soldiers’ leave until April, Dawn News Television reported last week.
India ordered a “pause” in the five year peace process after accusing elements in Pakistan of being behind the Nov. 26 29 attacks on Mumbai that killed 164 people. Pakistan has asked for evidence to back up that accusation.
India and Britain have blamed the Mumbai attacks on Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba. The militant group received weapons and logistical support from Pakistan’s main intelligence agency for attacks in Indian Kashmir in the 1990s, according to Indian and U.S. officials. The group was banned in Pakistan in 2002.
India has demanded Pakistan dismantle terrorist networks operating from its territory and has sought to build global consensus on action against terrorism following the attack.
Pakistan should take “demonstrative” action against terrorists, said Anan Sharma yesterday, India’s junior foreign minister, state-run broadcaster Doordarshan reported.
“India is showing maturity by maintaining restraint, but restraint should not be seen as weakness,” Sharma said.
In talks with He yesterday, Pakistan’s chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee General Tariq Majid reaffirmed his country’s commitment to regional peace and cooperation.
Majid “emphasized the need for avoidance of provocative belligerent posturing, initiation of reciprocal measures for immediate de-escalation and earliest resumption of the peace dialogue” during talks with the Chinese envoy.
China is a key ally of Pakistan and He was dispatched to the region two days ago to prod the South Asian nations into resuming dialogue.

Khanani and Kalia case adjourned

Staff ReportKarachi: South District and Session Judge Fahim Ahmed Siddiqui adjourned the hearing of the foreign currency scam case against Hanif Kalia, Javed Khanani and Munaf Kalia till December 26. The adjournment came after Deputy Attorney General Aamir Raza Naqvi, appearing as Special Public Prosecutor (SPP), remained absent.

The court expressed anger over the absence of the SPP and observed that if the prosecutor remains absent on the next date of hearing, the case will be decided ex-parte. Regarding an application by the defence counsel highlighting the denial of proper medical facilities to Hanif Kalia, the court ordered prison authorities to shift him to the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC).

The court also ordered the JPMC Additional Director to personally attend to the accused and submit a medical report on the next date of hearing.

Hafiz Saeed cannot be tried without solid proof, says Mukhtar

LAHORE: Hafiz Saeed, chief of the banned Jamaatud Dawa, cannot be tried without solid proof, Defence Minister Ahmad Mukhtar said on Wednesday. He was talking to reporters outside parliament during a break in the meeting of the parliamentary committee on national security. According to a private TV channel, Mukhtar said Saeed had been detained under the Maintenance of Public Order (MPO) regulation, which only allowed detaining a citizen for 90 days.

The detention could be extended, he said, but India had not given solid proof to the Pakistani government about the involvement of Saeed or the banned Lashkar-e-Tayyaba in the terrorist attacks in Mumbai last month. “In the absence of solid proof, neither Hafiz Saeed nor any other leader detained at the moment can be tried in any court of law,” the channel quoted him as saying.

The crackdown against banned organisations including the Jamaatud Dawa would ensure the Pakistan soil is not used for terrorist activities, Mukhtar added. He said Pakistani army was on high alert despite India’s assurance it would not go to war.

Bomb Kill 25 Eid Shoppers

PESHAWAR " At least 25 Eid shoppers were killed and over 100 others injured as a bomb exploded in the most-congested locality of Peshawar Friday evening. Another 10 Eid shoppers were killed when a suicide bomber struck in a market in Orakzai Agency earlier in the day.

The high-intensity explosion occurred in front of a hotel, which is surrounded by an Imambargah, plastic factory, scores of shops and residences, in Koocha Risaldar located adjacent to historical Qisa Khawani Bazar here.

The authorities so far confirmed 25 deaths and injuries to 138, out of which more than 100 have been admitted in Lady Reading Hospital. The victims included women and children. As a result of the blast, electricity supply all over Qisa Khawani and its surrounding areas got disconnected. The hotel, Imambargah, plastic manufacturing and storing units, shops and several houses caught fire.

The disruption in electricity supply and outbreak of fire in the locality hampered the rescue activities.