satribune49

Tribune

South Asia

day Benazir’s 59th birth on Thursday Year 1

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Issue 49

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Thursday, 21.06.12

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French police capture gunman claiming Al Qaeda ties alive

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Shafilea Ahmed death

Sister stands by her parents Sister of Shafilea Ahmed tells court ‘parents played no part in teenager’s death

The gunman had been known to authorities for having psychiatric problems.

TOULOUSE, France - A gunman who authorities say had past psychiatric problems was captured alive after taking four people hostage Wednesday in a bank in the southern French city of Toulouse, claiming he was acting for religious reasons.

Regional police official Frederic Tamisier said the hostagetaker was lightly injured in the operation to capture him. The hostages were unharmed, he said. The announcement came soon after a series of gunshots were heard from the area of the bank.

The incident plunged this city in fear for the second time in recent months.

Toulouse Mayor Pierre Cohen said the gunman had been known to authorities for having psychiatric problems. He did not identify the hostage-taker.

French Prosecutor Michel Valet

said that during negotiations, the gunman said he wanted to advertise the religious motivation behind his act.

“The hostage-taker ... wants us to make it known that he is acting not for money, and that his motivations come from his religious conviction,” Valet

told reporters at the scene.

He did not say what faith the gunman adheres to.

In Wednesday’s incident, a man with a firearm entered

a CIC bank branch in central Toulouse at about 11 a.m. and took the bank director and three other people hostage, police officials said.

The gunman released one hostage mid-afternoon, a woman in her late 20s, a police union official said.

Negotiations are under way to try to persuade him to release the others.

Little is known about Wednesday’s hostage-taker at this point, but if he turns out to be a member of France’s Muslim community, whether a native or an immigrant, it will shine an unwanted spotlight on a community that often feels unwelcome and under siege for the actions of a small

number of so called radical individuals also happened to be known to authorities and with psychiatric problems.

The sister of Warrington girl Shafilea Ahmed has told a jury that her parents played no part in the teenager’s death. Mevish Ahmed, 21, was giving evidence for a third day in the trial of parents Iftikhar, 52, and Farzana, 49, who are accused of murdering 17-year-old Shafilea at home in Warrington, Cheshire, in September 2003. Cross-examined by Tom Bayliss QC, defending taxi driver Mr Ahmed, his daughter said she stood by her statements to police in December 2003, when Shafilea was missing. Mr Bayliss said: “The police officer asked you did you think your mum and dad were involved in Shafilea’s disappearance and could they be involved in any way. “The 12-year-old you said no, what does the 21-year-old you say?” Miss Ahmed replied: “No, still.” “And they weren’t were they?,” Mr Bayliss went on. “No,” Miss Ahmed, a personal loans advisor for a large bank, said.

Shafilea Ahmed death: Sister admits silent phone calls.

The younger sister of teenager Shafilea Ahmed has denied that she made silent phone calls to intimidate a potential witness at the trial of her parents.

Under cross examination, Mevish Ahmed said the phone calls, which were made to a friend last week, were all a joke.

The body of 17-year-old Shafilea was found on a riverbank near Kendal in 2004. Her parents - Iftikhar and Farzana Ahmed - both deny her murder.

Ms Ahmed said she stood by the statements she made to police in December 2003, when Shafilea was missing.

Mr Bayliss said: “The police officer asked you did you think your mum and dad were involved in Shafilea’s disappearance and could they be involved in any way.

“The 12-year-old you said no, what does the 21-year-old you say?”

Miss Ahmed replied: “No, still.”

“And they weren’t were they?,” Mr Bayliss went on.

“No,” Miss Ahmed, a personal loans advisor for a large bank, said.

The body of Shafilea, 17, was found on the bank of the River Kent in Cumbria in February 2004.

Another sister, Alesha, 23, earlier told Chester Crown Court the parents pushed Shafilea on to the settee in their house and she heard her mother say “Just finish it here” in Urdu as they forced a plastic bag into

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South Asia Tribune I Thursday 21 June 2012

Putin on Syria: No state can decide another’s government Putin no longer wants Assad in power: Cameron

Russian President Vladimir Putin’s G20 statements about Syria’s future seem to have made some world leaders rush to false conclusions.

David Cameron claimed that Putin explicitly “does not want Assad remaining in charge in Syria.” ¬British Prime Minister David Cameron has claimed that during the G20 summit, President Putin shifted his position and now wants President Bashar al-Assad out of power in Syria.

“There remain differences over sequencing and the shape of how the transition takes place, but it is welcome that President Putin has been explicit that he does not want Assad remaining in charge in Syria,” Cameron told reporters at a news Publisher Salah Bu Khamas (UAE) Sabha Khan (UK) UK Office 10 Courtenay Road, Wembley, Middlesex, HA9 7ND UK Phone: +44 20 8904 0619 Fax: +44 20 8181 7575 info@satribune.co.uk India Office Satya Infomedia Pvt. Ltd. C/O Satya Group.

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conference in the wake of the G20 summit in Mexico’s Los Cabos.

“What we need next is an agreement on a transitional leadership which can move Syria to a democratic future that protects the rights of all its communities,” Cameron added.

Cameron’s statement was refuted

by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov as “not corresponding to reality.”

During his speech, Putin clearly stated that no nation has a right to decide for another on “who should be brought to power and who should be ousted.”

Reiterating Russia’s firm position on Syria, Putin said that “it is important that after a regime change, if it happens, and it must happen only by constitutional means, peace comes to the country and bloodshed stops.”

While many of the Syrian people indeed would like President Assad

to go, “this is not the whole Syrian people,” Putin said. All conflicting parties in Syria should cease violence and start negotiations “to agree in advance on how they will live together in a single country,” Putin added.

On Monday, on the sidelines of the summit, Putin had a very long

USS Enterprise Attacked!

US deploys its biggest aircraft carrier near Gawadar United States has moved its nuclearpowered aircraft carrier USS Enterprise into Pakistani territorial waters near Gawadar, according to media reports on Thursday. The ship’s deployment in Pakistan’s territorial waters is a violation of international laws. After the deployment of the aircraft carrier in Pakistani seas, the country’s security agencies are now investigating into the matter, sources said. They added that the movement apparently showed the increasing interest of the US in Balochistan province. “The US has moved its biggest aircraft carrier 65 to 70 nautical miles away from Gawadar in the second week of June,” a news website quoted its sources as saying. The USS Enterprise, which holds a crew of over 4,000, is a veteran of several wars.

Last year Financial times reported that Pakistan has asked China to build a naval base at its southwestern port of Gwadar and expects the Chinese navy to maintain a regular presence there, a plan likely to alarm both India and the US.

“We have asked our Chinese brothers to please build a naval base at Gwadar,” Chaudhary Ahmed Mukhtar, Pakistan’s defence minister, told the Financial Times, confirming that the request was conveyed to China during a visit last week by Yusuf Raza Gilani, Pakistan’s prime minister.

Attack on US Navy U.S.S. Enterprise CVN65 in the Strait of Hormuz ?.

According to online sites and various sources an unprovoked attack on the US Navy occurred on 8th June in the Straits of Hormuz.

CVN-65, the USS Enterprise aircraft carrier and its group were reportedly attacked by no less than 4 jets. Confidential sources within the military have confirmed the attack off of the “Broken Isthmus”.

Some claim attack which killed one man.

Navy reported that Iran had air and naval maneuvers in the gulf recently involving the firing of antiship missiles. Analyst claimed its perfect situation for a false flag.

meeting with US President Barack Obama. While the leaders did not come out with any groundbreaking statements, after two hours behind closed doors they managed to outline some common ground on the Syrian issue.

The presidents stated that they had agreed that they need to see a

“cessation of the violence,” in Syria and that a “political process has to be created to prevent civil war.” There was no mention of any tougher sanctions on Syria or a reiteration of demands that Assad should step down at that point.

However, on Tuesday, the two states have divided in opinion once again.

Speaking at the summit, Obama clearly ruled out any possibility of Assad staying in power in Syria, as he has “lost all legitimacy” in Washington’s view. Obama confirmed that despite the intensive talks, neither Russia nor China have agreed to any plan that includes the removal of Assad from power.

“It’s my personal belief, and I’ve shared this with them, is that I don’t see a scenario in which Assad stays and violence is reduced,” he said.

“But I do think they recognize the grave dangers of all-out civil war.”

Shafilea Ahmed death

Continued from page 01 >> the teenager’s mouth and suffocated her in front of their other children.

The jury has also seen extracts of writings made by Miss Ahmed and given to a friend, Shahin Munir, which appeared to corroborate Alesha’s accusation.

Miss Ahmed has described the documents as “free writing” and said they were all pieces of “fiction”.

Asked how she felt about the writings appearing to implicate her parents,

Miss Ahmed said: “I feel like they are being blamed for something they have not done.

“I couldn’t live with myself if, and obviously (the writings) have been taken out of context, they went down for something they didn’t do.

“My sister’s killer is still out there.

“I’m sorry that I wrote this, it was just a story and I did not think it would be taken out of context.”

The couple, of Liverpool Road, Warrington, deny murder.

Shafilea Ahmed trial She ran but they got her: What sister ‘wrote about honour killing parents’ but now insists is just fiction • Mevish Ahmed, 21, giving evidence in support of her parents, described the papers as ‘free writing’ and ‘fiction’ • Shafilea’s parents deny murdering their 17-year-old daughter in 2003 • Her other sister Alesha claims she saw her parents suffocate her sister The sister of murdered teenager Shafilea Ahmed has been giving evidence at Chester crown court. A sister of killed teenager Shafilea Ahmed has been accused of intimidating another witness in a murder trial.

Mevish Ahmed, 21, admitted making silent phone calls to the witness last week but said she had done it “as a joke.”

Miss Ahmed also denies once telling the same witness that she had seen her parents Iftikhar and Farzana kill her sister at the family home in Warrington nine years ago. The parents are accused of Shafilea’s murder.

Another of their daughters, Alesha Ahmed, has already told the jury at Chester crown court that she saw the killing along with her brother and sisters.

Mevish Ahmed was being crossexamined for a second day. In relation to the silent calls prosecuting barrister, Andrew Edis QC asked: “This happened over and over again last week. Why did you do that?”

Miss Ahmed replied: “I just did. I felt like it.”The jury has heard that Mevish Ahmed gave a friend writings in which she spoke about “how her parents kileld the teenager,” Mevish Ahmed, 21, was giving evidence in the trial of parents Iftikhar, 52, and Farzana, 49, who deny murdering 17year-old Shafilea at the family home in Warrington, Cheshire, in September 2003.Cross-examined by Andrew Edis QC, for the prosecution,

South Asia Tribune I Thursday 21 June 2012

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‘Iran was involved in Israeli car blast in Delhi’

Multinational investigation produces evidence that Iran was behind planned attack in India, Thailand, Georgia ‘The Guardian’ reports.

Evidence that Iran was involved in bomb plots against Israeli envoys earlier in the year has emerged from a multinational probe, British newspaper The Guardian reported Monday.

In February, Israel ambassadors were the targets of planned terror attacks in India, Thailand and Georgia.

According to the report, local Indian agencies informed ministers that a bomb attack in New Dehli, which injured the wife of the Israeli embassy’s chief security officer, was orchestrated by a an Iranian “security entity.”

The Guardian stated that European intelligence officials had told the newspaper that “they now found in difficult to judge Tehran’s ‘risk calculus.’”

“Until recently it was possible to see why they were doing what they have been doing ... Now it has become very unpredictable. It’s very hard to see the logic behind [the February bombings], other than perhaps demonstrate an ability to cause problems in the event of war or a desire for revenge

of some kind,” The Guardian quoted an intelligence official as saying.

According to the report, a combination of police evidence, witness statements and court documents seen by The Guardian illustrates that the three attacks were “conducted by a well coordinated network of about a dozen Iranians and prepared over at least 10 months.”

The evidence mentioned by The Guardian comprises the identification of at least 10 Iranians suspected of involvement

in the plots, money transfers to “key individuals” from Iran, the detection of Iranian phone connections and a flight of suspects to Iran after the attacks.

Following the attacks, Thai security authorities announced that they had discovered a “direct connection” linking the attacks against Israeli diplomats in Georgia and India with an Iranian terrorist cell apprehended in Bangkok.

The cell, which consisted of three Iranian nationals, intended to target Israeli diplomats, Thai Police Chief Prewpan Dhamapong

British Army makes plans for future of budget cuts

The British Army is planning to focus on undercover special operations, intelligence, surveillance and cyber warfare as part of a new “Army 2020” plan that has become necessary due to “budget cuts and changing face of conflict,” The Independent reported today.

The plan includes structural reforms regarding the idea of dividing the Army in two as “Reaction” and “Adaptable”

forces, the report said.

Three armored brigades, two infantry regiments and an airborne brigade will be commanded by major generals in the “Reaction” forces. Apache

helicopter gunships and warrior fighting vehicles will also be parts of the team.

The “Adaptable” team including seven infantry brigades will serve two to three years in the Falklands and Cyprus.

The cyber security and expanding operations of the SAS, SBS and Intelligence Surveillance Target Acquisition and Reconnaissance (Istar) are other features of the new plan.

said at the time.

There are questions about who might be responsible within Iran.

One possibility is that the attacks were sub-contracted to the Iranbacked Hezbollah militant group.

The attack came close to the fourth anniversary of the assassination of Imad Mughniyeh, its operations chief, in a car bombing in Damascus.

A team of top Indian police officers has been set to travel to Tehran for several weeks but the trip now appears unlikely to go ahead.

Analysts speculate that one reason

India may have been chosen as a location for the attacks is that their perpetrators could count on the desire of Delhi to keep friendly relations with Tehran and to “go easy” on any investigation or prosecution.

“Let’s just say the demands of diplomacy and those of police work don’t necessarily always coincide,” said one senior Indian police officer involved in the investigation.

India has, however, asked Interpol and the Iranian ministry of foreign affairs for assistance in its inquiry.

80 killed in northern Nigeria violence At least 80 people have been killed since Monday in clashes in northern Nigeria, police and the Red Cross said on Wednesday. The clashes were triggered by Islamists waging an insurgency against the government. Some of the violence was sparked by church bombings over the last three Sundays. Boko Haram insurgents waged gun battles with security forces in the northeastern city of Damaturu throughout Tuesday. Police said 40 people were killed, 34 insurgents

and six security personnel, Reuters reports. At least 40 people were killed and 62 wounded in separate clashes between Muslim and Christian residents of the northern city of Kaduna on Tuesday.

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EDITORIAL

Shame on Muslim World for Ignoring the Tragedy of Burma’s Rohingyas Burma unrest: UN body says 90,000 displaced by violence More than 50 people were reported killed and thousands of homes destroyed in fires as Muslim-ethnic Rohingya and Buddhist-ethnic Arakanese clashed in western Burma.

While the World’s media focus attention on Burma’s opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi meeting Bono of U2 a little known tragedy has engulfed Burma’s Muslim minority Rohingya community who are being massacred by so called peace loving pacifist Buddhists.

The Rohingya Muslims who date back to before the Mughals lived in

an Independent kingdom Arkan now Rakhine in Western Burma before as usual the British messed things up granting independence to a number of colonies leading to Rakhine’s integration into the new state of Burma. The history is complex and what sparked this latest round of bloody killings is murky involving the rape of a Buddhist girl however, the BBC try and provide a historical background. Around 90,000 people have been displaced by fighting in the west of Burma, according to a United Nations body.

Violence flared in Rakhine State after a Buddhist woman was raped and murdered by three Muslims. A series of reprisals and revenge attacks between communities has now left about 50 people dead. Many of the displaced have sought refuge in Bangladesh, which has now closed its border. Human rights groups have criticised Bangladesh for the decision, saying it is a violation of international law. The United Nations

World Food Programme says it has provided emergency food supplies to more than 66,000 people - around twothirds of those displaced - in the past week.

Poor roads and bridges make reaching many communities difficult, the organisation says. There are still reports of sporadic violence but some sort of calm appears to have returned to Rakhine State. But, our correspondent says, that has not stopped people trying to flee - both internally and across the border to Bangladesh. Many of those trying to cross to Bangladesh both by

land and sea have been turned back While there is no doubt the Rohingyas have been persecuted by Burma’s military and Buddhist majority what is equally shocking is how the Muslim world have ignored the plight of our fellow Muslims.

The shocking example here and here of authorities in Bangladesh pushing boats of Rohingya refugees away while they escape persecution is appalling and shameful. Even worse, when they have managed to escape persecution they are treated like second class citizens in Malaysia who refuse them access to schools and health care.

The United Nations have described the Rohingya as a persecuted religious and linguistic minority from Western Burma and highlight how over 90,000 have been displaced by the violence.

Sadly what makes this tragedy even worse is how Muslims have turned a blind eye to the persecution and in the case of Bangladesh and Malaysia appear to have contributed to the suffering.

South Asia Tribune I Thursday 21 June 2012

Bradford - “A national emergency” says MP George Galloway The Bradford West MP, George Galloway has described the City as a national emergency and has revealed plans for a “people’s march” from Bradford, across the Pennines and down to London. The Respect MP was speaking at his party’s conference, in the wake of huge job losses announced this week at Thomas Cook in the city centre. Mr Galloway says he intends to rally support for a two hundred mile walk in October, which will link up with a TUC protest in the Capital.

Mr Galloway, said Bradford was “becoming a black hole in the map of Yorkshire”.

Respect has its party conference on Saturday in Bradford where the party also has five council seats.

Councillor David Green, the Labour leader of Bradford Council said Mr Galloway was demonstrating his “grasp of rhetoric over reality”.

Mr Galloway said his constituency had the

“fastest growing unemployment in the entire country” and the “Thomas Cook affair” had compounded the situation.

His comments follow the recent announcement that travel agent Thomas Cook would close an administration centre in the city in March 2013 with the loss of 537 roles.

He declared that by 2020 Bradford’s population would mean it was the “youngest city in the whole of Europe”.

Gallowy has condemned Thomas Cook’s decision

Bradford MP George Gallowy has condemned Thomas Cook’s decision to shut its Bradford operations centre as “disgraceful”.

However, Galloway blamed Prime Minister David Cameron and Chancellor George Osborne as “the real people responsible”.

Thomas Cook announced the closure of its Bradford office last week with the loss of 468 jobs. Galloway, elected MP in a recent byelection, said: “Once more we see a company put profit before people.

“There has been no consultation, just P45s all around. It’s disgraceful.”

However, the Respect MP said: “Cook has suffered through this shameful government’s austerity programme. The company needs growth. not retraction like this.”

Galloway called on Thomas Cook to meet local MPs and unions “even at this late stage” to try to save the jobs.

He said: “We need urgent action from the government to save these jobs and to grow the economy rather than stifle it.

“I challenge David Cameron and George Osborne, the people ultimately responsible for this tragedy, to come here to face the people and tell them why job losses are helping.”

Respect held its annual conference in Bradford on Saturday. The party won five council seats in the city in local elections in May. Bradford city council, which has set aside £8 million from reserves to tackle unemployment in the city, said last week the money could be used to aid Thomas Cook staff facing redundancy.

South Asia Tribune I Thursday 21 June 2012

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Banning Salafists ‘Won’t Solve Social Problems’

Police remove material from a Millatu Ibrahim facility in the German city of Solingen during

of inciting extremists to violence.

Hundreds of police officers were involved in the raids in the

Islam who are suspected of having close ties to Islamist extremists, has been raging in Germany for

operation involving 1,000 officers, authorities raided Salafist facilities in seven German states. They also

Thursday’s operation.

German authorities carried out a major crackdown on radical Salafist Muslims on Thursday, raiding properties and banning an organization. German media commentators welcome the moves but warn that bans aren’t enough to change how extremists think.

Germany has banned one Islamist Salafist group and launched an investigation into two others on suspicion of endangering the public peace. Police raided dozens of premises as part of the investigation.

states of Hesse, North RhineWestphalia, Bavaria, Lower Saxony, Berlin, Hamburg and

months. Following a number of recent violent incidents, including the stabbing of police officers in

banned one of the most important Salafist groups in the country, the Millatu Ibrahim.

Schleswig-Holstein.

Police were searching more than 70 premises looking for evidence that the Islamists in question were seeking to bring down Germany’s democratic system of government, which would be a criminal offense.

Salafists have been the focus of police investigations in Germany since a man from Kosovo shot dead two US soldiers at Frankfurt International Airport in March 2011 and threats and violence during the run-up to regional parliamentary elections in North Rhein-Westphalia in May. Salafists adhere to an ultraconservative form of Islam.

Security officials estimate that 24 Salafists present a threat of Islamist attack in Germany.

The debate on Salafists, members of a fundamentalist strain of

Bonn, there have been growing calls for the government to act.

On Thursday, it did just that. In an

“The organization acts in opposition to the idea of constitutional order and multicultural understanding,”

German Interior Minister HansPeter Friedrich said on Thursday that the government has banned one Islamist Salafist group and launched investigations against two others.

Friedrich told reporters in Berlin on Thursday that the Millatu Ibrahim group, based in Solingen in the western state of North RhineWestphalia had been banned for opposing Germany’s constitutional order and endangering the public peace. He said investigations had been launched into two other groups. One of them recently drew attention by distributing free copies of the Koran in numerous German cities.

Searches in seven states Friedrich’s announcement came on the heels of the news that police had launched a series of raids in seven German states targeting Salafist Muslim groups suspected

German Interior Minister HansPeter Friedrich said on Thursday.

He added that the group promotes violence in its “fight against the existing constitutional order.”

The German government considers Salafists to be particularly dangerous and prone to violence, primarily because of their singleminded goal of establishing Sharia in Germany and their rejection of Western values.

They have been in the headlines all spring, initially because of their drive to attract new members by handing out free copies of the Koran in major German cities. But it was their violent response to a campaign in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia that landed them in the spotlight of justice officials.

In early May, the Islamophobic mini-party Pro-NRW launched a campaign to display anti-Islam caricatures in front of mosques and other Muslim facilities in North Rhine-Westphalia ahead of elections in the state. Counterdemonstrations in both Solingen and Bonn turned violent, with Salafists attacking police with rocks, sticks and even knives. In Bonn, 29 police were injured, two of them landing in the hospital with stab wounds.

On Friday, German commentators welcome the action but warn that more needs to be done.

Russia denies discussing post-Bashar al-Assad future

Sergei Lavrov, the Russian foreign minister, has been forced to deny that Moscow is discussing Syria’s future without President Bashar al-Assad, in the latest diplomatic spat between the US and Russia.

Mr Lavrov denied the allegations by State Department spokesman Victoria Nuland that Moscow and Washington “are continuing to talk about a post-Assad transition strategy.”

Mr Lavrov, who met with the State Department’s No. 2 official William Burns in Kabul on Thursday, maintained that Russia believes it is up to the Syrians to determine their country’s future and said foreign players shouldn’t meddle. “It’s not true that we are discussing Syria’s fate

after Bashar Assad,” Mr Lavrov said following talks in Moscow with his Iraqi counterpart. “We aren’t dealing with a regime change either through approving unilateral actions at the United Nations Security Council nor through taking part in some political conspiracies.”

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South Asia Tribune I Thursday 21 June 2012

Pentagon finishes contingency plans for Syria invasion

Officials with the US Department of Defense have confirmed that the Pentagon has finalized procedures that outline how American forces could soon combat the government of war-torn Syria and officially involve itself in that state’s bloody uprising.

After months of rumors suggesting that the US has unofficially made efforts to weaponize rebel forces fighting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, officials with the Defense Department tell CNN that the Pentagon has finished drafting blueprints that lay-out just how the US military could aid in ousting the leader with America’s own troops.

In their report, CNN cites Defense Department officials speaking on condition of anonymity; in a separate sit-down however, Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Martin Dempsey confirms to the outlet that intensifying violence overseas in recent months has prompted the Pentagon to expedite establishing a role for US forces.

The violence “gives us all pause that have been in Iraq and seen how these issues become sectarian and then they become civil wars and then they

become very difficult to resolve,” Dempsey tells CNN this week.

“There is a sense that if the sectarian violence in Syria grows, it could be worse than what we saw in Iraq,” he adds.

Although the issue of involving US forces in the war against Assad’s regime has been on the table since the beginning of the uprising, authorities in Washington — off the record — have all but officially thrown their hat in the ring in regards to offering assistance. RT reported earlier this week that

intelligence forces have revealed to Israel’s Debka news agency that the US was believed to be readying the establishing of a no-fly zone in Syria, and last month discussed murmurings that suggested US President Barack Obama had quietly approved a shipment of anti-tank weapons to Syrian rebels.

CNN’s report confirms that the military has indeed drafted instructions that lay-out the implementation of the no-fly zone.

Additionally, officials say that a large number of US troops could soon be

installed overseas to aid in the war.

As early as March of this year, lawmakers including John McCain (R-Arizona) began rallying together to ask Congress to consider authorizing strikes on Assad.

Without the permission of the United Nations, though, the US has been hesitant to offer any formal assistance.

“NATO took military action to save

Kosovo in 1999 without formal UN authorization. There is no reason why the Arab League, or NATO, or a leading coalition within the Friends of Syria contact group, or all of them speaking in unison, could not provide a similar international mandate for military measures to save Syria today,” Sen. McCain told Capitol Hill constituents earlier this year.

Apocalyptic fish kill reported off the coast of Ohara Japan in Chiba Prefecture

2nd massive fish kill off the coast of Japan

10 thousand sardines found dead in South Kanagawa Ten thousand sardines were found dead on the beach in Minami shitaura machi Miura city Kanagawa as well. Public Interest Incorporated Foundation staff reported it to the city government around at 15:00 6/14/2012. Probably it’s been a few days since they were washed up. From the result of simple water quality testing, nothing abnormal was found. Prefectural government is going to investigate more. Staff talks there is a possibility that the sardines were chased after large predators from offshore, but a farmer near this area talks he hasn’t seen such a thing before.

Last week a massive fish kill was also reported near Chiba Japan.

Something terribly fishy is going on at the fishing port of Ohara (pronounced Oh-hara) in Isumi City of Chiba Prefecture, and it has nothing to do with espionage or political corruption. There are tons and tons of dead sardines washing

up on the shore, and not only is the sight disturbing, but the huge amount of dead fish is literally smelling up the entire surrounding

area.

According to the news, the dead fish started washing up around noon of June 3rd, and as of early

afternoon on June 4th, the situation still remained pretty much out of control.

The amount of dead sardines that

has washed up is thought to total several dozen metrics tons, so you can imagine how bad the smell of rotting fish must be. We’ve seen the pictures uploaded onto Twitter, and the port looks completely filled with fish – it almost looks like a carpet of sardines. It doesn’t seem likely that any fishing boats will be setting sail from this port soon. There are also, of course, the usual posts and comments on the internet on how this could be an omen, a sign of a coming great natural disaster.

When we inquired with a local inn, we were told that the port was scheduled to be closed from June 1st to 5th, but given the emergency, local fishermen are currently out in full force trying to resolve the situation. Already more than 2 full days into the bizarre occurrence, the smell has to be almost unbearable, but the people of Ohara still have no idea when they will be able to get rid of all the sardines.

South Asia Tribune I Thursday 21 June 2012

Syria peace plan suffers another blow as UN suspends mission UN observers in Syria have suspended their activities because of the escalating violence, the head of the UN Stabilisation Mission (UNSMIS) says.

Norwegian Gen Robert Mood said the observers would cease patrols and stay in their current locations.

But he said the mission remained

committed to ending the violence.

The announcement comes a day after Gen Mood warned that the escalation in violence was limiting the observers’ ability to do their work. he observers were sent to the country after international envoy Kofi Annan brokered a peace plan that included a ceasefire that was supposed to take effect

Not ‘if’ but ‘when’: US intervention in Syria on countdown

A delegation from Syrian opposition is reportedly in talks with US officials over the targets they want to attack to weaken the Syrian government and the arms they want America to provide to do it. A “Libya lite” operation in Syria may be imminent.

The unnamed US official reportedly said that “the intervention will happen. It is not a question of ‘if’ but ‘when’.”

The delegation from the Syrian Free Army is meeting with US Ambassador to Syria Robert Ford and the State Department’s expert on Syria, Fred Hof, according to a report by debkafile, an Israeli news website, which is considered to have strong ties with the intelligence community.

The Syrian rebels have brought with them two lists for American approval.

One is that of targets in Syria they want to attack to hurt President Assad’s government. The second is a list of heavy weapons they need to carry out the attacks, which they want to get from the US, the report says.

Debkafile says the Obama administration is very close to given the green light to shipping off the weapons, most of which have already been purchased by Saudi Arabia and Qatar.

The US is also close to deciding on the format of its own military operation in Syria, which the site’s source described as “Libya lite” – a smallscale version of the no-fly zone and air strikes carried out by NATO forces in Libya, which resulted in the toppling of its leader, Muammar Gaddafi.

Earlier top US military brass told American media that the Pentagon has finalized contingency plans for a possible operation in Syria.

This follows the UN observers pulling out of Syria due to the renewed violence in the country. The mission head said neither side of the conflict was willing to observe the ceasefire any longer, which put the UN personnel at risk.

Some reports suggest that the break in the warfare helped the Syrian.

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on April 12. But both sides have continued to stage daily attacks and the observers themselves have been caught up in the violence on several occasions.

The UN observers have been the only working part of Mr. Annan’s plan, which the international community sees as its only hope to stop the bloodshed. They

were initially sent to monitor compliance with the ceasefire but ultimately became the most independent witnesses the carnage between government and rebel forces that have largely ignored the truce.

The Syrian government, intent on wresting back control of rebelheld areas, launched a fierce

offensive in recent days to recover territories in several locations, shelling heavily populated districts and using attack helicopters over towns and cities.

UN officials have said that the opposition, in turn, is increasingly co-ordinating attacks against government forces and civilian infrastructure.

Fed members gave their own banks $4 trillion during bailout

A report just released by the US Government Accountability Office explains how the Federal Reserve divvied up more than $4 trillion in low-interest loans after the fiscal crisis of 2008, and the news shouldn’t be all that surprising.

When the Federal Reserve looked towards bailing out some of the biggest banks in the country, more than one dozen of the financial institutions that benefited from the Fed’s Hail Mary were members of the central bank’s own board, reports the GAO. At least 18 current and former directors of the Fed’s regional branches saw to it that their own banks were awarded loans with often next-to-no interest by the country’s central bank during the height of the financial crisis that crippled the American economy and spurred rampant unemployment and home foreclosures for those unable to receive assistance.

Although the crisis continues to have an effect on Americans that were devastated by the recession, the banks that survived the near meltdown were largely able to do so because some of their CEOs sat on the same Federal Reserve board the decided on how to dish out trillions of dollars.

“This report reveals the inherent conflicts of interest that exist at the Federal Reserve,” Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) says in a statement about the report. “At a time when small businesses could not get affordable loans to create jobs, the Fed was providing trillions in secret loans to some of the largest

banks and corporations in America that were well represented on the boards of the Federal Reserve Banks,” adds Mr. Sanders. “These conflicts must end.”

The GAO’s report is believed to mark the first time that the Fed’s records about their major bailout identifying the parties involved to the public.

In a press release published on the official US Senate website for Mr. Sanders, the lawmakers singles out JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon over an alleged conflict of interest that could have contributed to the bailout his bank received through the Fed. Sanders also calls out General Electric CEO Jefferey Immelt for sitting on the same Federal Reserve board that approved massive funding to GE during a time of financial insecurity in the United States.

Sen. Sanders’ office has released a report summarizing the information published by the GAO in a four page document hosted on his website titled “Jamie Dimon Is Not Alone.”

“Jamie Dimon, the Chairman a CEO of JPMorgan Chase, has served on

the Board of Directors at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York since 2007,” the report mentions. “During the financial crisis, the Fed provided JPMorgan Chase with $391 billion in total financial assistance. JPMorgan Chase was also used by the Fed as a clearinghouse for the Fed’s emergency lending programs.”

One year later, the report notes, the Fed handed Dimon’s bank $29 billion to help acquire Bear Stearns.

In the case of General Electric’s Immelt, Sanders recalls that the Fed handed over $16 billion in lowinterest financing to GE during the five-year span that the company’s CEO sat on the Federal Reserve’s board of directors.

Other Fed members that benefited by the bailout include officials at the top of Citigroup, Lehman Brothers, SunTrust Banks and PNC, among others.

Testifying before the US Senate Banking Committee this week, Dimon apologized for a recent JP Morgan Chase in-trading gaffe that cost the institute billions.

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South Asia Tribune I Thursday 21 June 2012

New Democracy Victory

Greece has avoided “Drachmageddon” as voters handed the conservative, pro-bailout parties a narrow victory. The New Democracy party will try to form a new coalition. So Greece remains in the euro, at least for now.

A Glimmer of Hope for Greece

New Democracy’s victory in Sunday’s Greek elections will only give the country a short breather.

The nation is deeply divided, and coalition talks could prove difficult.

Greece threatens to slide into chaos again if the country’s politicians, and citizens, fail to get their act together.

Final results of Sunday’s repeat general elections AMNA--The final results of Sunday’s repeat general elections, as released by the Interior Ministry, are as follows. The results of the May 6 elections are in brackets: New Democracy (Antonis Samaras) 29.66pct (18.88) - 129 seats (108) SYRIZA (Alexis Tsipras) 26.89pct (16.76) - 71 seats (52) PASOK (Evangelos Venizelos) 12.28pct (13.19) - 33 seats (41)

Independent Greeks (Panos Kammenos) 7.51pct (10.6) - 20 seats (33) Chryssi Avgi (Nikos Mihaloliakos) 6.92pct (6.97) - 18 seats (21) Democratic Left (Fotis Kouvelis) 6.25pct (6.10)- 17 seats (19) Communist Party of Greece (Aleka Papariga) 4.5pct (8.47) - 12 seats (26) According to official ministry figures, there were 9,951,536 registered voters, of which 62.47 percent voted, bringing abstention to a record 37.53 percent.amna Invalid and blank votes accounted for 0.99 percent, while 5.98 percent of the vote went to parties that did not gain seats in the 300-member unicameral parliament.

The pro-bailout New Democracy party has come out on top in Greece’s parliamentary elections, having gained 29.6 per cent of the votes.

With nearly all the votes counted,

the anti-austerity leftist Syriza party is trailing on 26.9 per cent.

The results have kept fears of Greece’s imminent exit from the eurozone at bay for the time being.

“The Greek people today voted for Greece to remain on its European path and in the eurozone,” New

Democracy leader Antonis Samaras said after his party had won, AP reports. He added that voters had chosen “policies that will bring jobs, growth, justice and security.”

The fact that the word “chaos” comes from Greek has been the subject of much comment in the last few months. But although European leaders have reacted with relief to New Democracy’s victory in Sunday’s Greek parliamentary election, few people serious believe that the result will really mean an end to the political and economic chaos that has plagued the country.

On the contrary, the dimensions of the Greek chaos will only become clear over the course of the next few days, once the negotiations over a government are finished and a new coalition is formed. Or rather, if a new coalition is formed -- and that’s a big if. Even before the election, it was clear that no single party would

win enough seats to be able to govern by itself.

Greece’s centre-right New Democracy party will try to form a coalition on Monday to back the country’s international bailout after a narrow election victory that eased fears of a sudden exit from the euro.

Couloumbis, political analyst and vice-president of Athens-based think-tank ELIAMEP. “For this government to last it has to show results. You can’t continue with 50 percent youth unemployment and a fifth straight year of recession,” he said.

FTSEurofirst 300 index <.FTEU3> rose 1.1 percent at the open, the index had shed all those gains before two hours were up, as the underlying problems in the euro zone brought investors back to earth. The euro’s rise also evaporated.

The radical left SYRIZA bloc, which had promised to tear up the bailout

European stocks and the euro briefly opened higher after Sunday’s vote, and the Athens streets were quiet after New Democracy leader Antonis Samaras pledged to move swiftly to form a government. He was due to meet Greek President Karolos Papoulias at 12.30 p.m.

(0930 GMT).

The once-mighty Socialist PASOK party, now reduced to third place, indicated it would support former coalition partner Samaras but had not yet decided whether to join the government or just offer parliamentary backing.

In deep recession, crushed under its huge public debt and facing rising social tensions, Greece faces a daunting struggle to restore a near-bankrupt economy, and a new government could face a new wave of protests after taking office.

“The crisis has been postponed, not necessarily averted,” said Theodore

MILITANT OPPOSITION With nearly 100 percent of ballots counted, New Democracy had won 29.7 percent of the vote, ahead of SYRIZA on 27 percent, and PASOK on 12.3 percent.

A 50-seat bonus automatically given to the party that comes first would give a theoretical New DemocracyPASOK alliance 162 seats in the 300-seat parliament, enough for a majority broadly committed to the 130-billion-euro bailout.

“The result showed people want the euro, but society remains divided.

SYRIZA will be a militant opposition, possibly complicating the new government’s efforts,” a senior New Democracy official said on condition of anonymity.

“The new government must deliver a positive development soon - an easing of the bailout terms or a positive sign in the economy - or people will lose trust in a week.”

In the markets, trust had an even shorter shelf life. Though the

deal signed in March with the European Union and International Monetary Fund, scored strongly in the election, and party leader Alexis Tsipras promised to continue its opposition to the painful austerity measures demanded of Greece.

“I don’t think anything good will come out of these elections,” said Dinos Arabatzis, a 56 year-old taxi driver who voted for New Democracy.

“Whoever is in power now will get burned. Samaras will get burned, and Tsipras will come out much stronger if we go to elections again that’s what worries me,” he said.

“We propose to upset the austerity measures and the bailout,” Tsipras said, adding, “this is the only viable solution for Europe”.

Greece’s creditors say a new government must accept the conditions of the €130billion ($164billion) Greek bailout agreed in March or funds will be cut off, driving Athens into bankruptcy.

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Saarc international I Thursday 21 June 2012

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Thursday, 21.06.12

General elections to be held in eight months, says Zardari

Gilani gone, NA to elect new PM on Friday Pakistan People’s Party nominates Makhdoom Shahabuddin for Prime Minister’s post: Reports

President Asif Ali Zardari discussed the country’s current political crisis at a meeting of the Pakistan People’s Party’s leadership here Wednesday, following the Supreme Court’s verdict disqualifying his prime minister.

Addressing the meeting of the PPP’s Parliamentary Party members at the Presidency, the president said that the decision to nominate a new leader of the House would be taken in consultation with the coalition partners and in the larger national interest.

The president said that the PPP had temporarily accepted the court’s judgment, despite its reservations on the ruling, for the sake of democracy.

Moreover, he said that the next general elections would be held in eight months time.

The PPP’s Parliamentary Party members have reposed their confidence in President Zardari, authorizing him to nominate a new prime minister.

During today’s meeting, the president also briefed members on his consultations with coalition party leaders for election of a new premier.

Zardari said that the PPP did not want

confrontation among state institutions, and that it would ensure that the democratic process continues without any disruption.

President Asif Ali Zardari has summoned the parliament to meet on Friday (June 22) to elect a new prime minister.

In a statement, the presidency said the National Assembly would be convened on Friday afternoon. A government official

Govt must announce general elections: Nawaz Nawaz Sharif, president of his own faction of the Pakistan Muslim League (PML-N), on Tuesday described the disqualification of prime minister Yousaf Raza Gilani by the Supreme Court as a true accountability.

Talking to a private TV channel, Nawaz said that the former prime minister not only dishonoured the judiciary but also hurt his own dignity by disobeying the court’s verdict. “No matter who becomes the new prime minister, he will have to write letter (to the Swiss authorities to open graft cases against President Asif Zardari),” he said.

Nawaz described the present government as a perfect recipe for the country’s disaster if it continued to

remain in power. He stressed that the government should immediately hold general elections.

The PML-N president said the collective psyche of the government and its coalition partners was beyond understanding under the country’s prevailing circumstances.

confirmed that the purpose of the meeting was to elect a new premier.

The ruling Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) has nominated senior leader Makhdoom Shahabuddin for the post of Prime Minister following the Supreme Court’s disqualification of Yousuf Raza Gilani, according to a media report.

Continued on page 10 >>

Decision is victory for rule of law: Imran

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan said the decision was a victory for the rule of law, justice and supremacy of the constitution.

It must be remembered, he said, that the decision had come on a petition filed by the PTI. The National Assembly speaker had no authority to question the decision made by the apex court, he said. The PTI chief said the speaker’s role was simply to convey the superior court’s decision to the Election Commission of Pakistan, which she refused to do, thus creating a situation of constitutional deadlock

and making it necessary for the Supreme Court to adjudicate on the matter. The obvious implication of the decision, Imran said, was that once a conviction from a court of law had attained finality, disqualification from the membership of a legislative body would be automatic.

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Saarc international I Thursday 21 June 2012

Israeli forces killed 2,300 in Gaza under blockade… UN report

Israeli forces have killed nearly 2,300 Palestinians and injured 7,700 in Gaza over the last five years, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said Thursday.

Some 27 percent of the fatalities in Gaza were women and children, the UN agency said in a report highlighting the effects of Israel’s blockade.

The land, sea and air blockade

of Gaza entered its sixth year on Thursday.

Under the blockade, exports have dropped to less than 3 percent of 2006 levels.

“The continued ban on the transfer of goods from Gaza to its traditional markets in the West Bank and Israel, along with the severe restrictions on access to agricultural land and fishing waters, prevents sustainable

growth and perpetuates the high levels of unemployment, food insecurity and aid dependency,” UNOCHA said.

Israel’s naval blockade has undermined the livelihood of 35,000 fishermen, and farmers have lost around 75,000 tons of produce each year due to Israeli restrictions along Gaza’s land border, it added.

Meanwhile, Israeli restrictions on

imports have led to the growth of the smuggling trade. At least 172 Palestinians have been killed working in tunnels under Gaza’s border with Egypt, the report said.

Despite the risks, young men are still drawn to tunnel work in Gaza, where more than half the youth is unemployed and 44 percent of people are food insecure.

Mark Regev, spokesman for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin

Netanyahu, said Thursday that the blockade was necessary because Gaza’s ruling party Hamas is a “terrorist organization.”

“All cargo going into Gaza must be checked because Gaza is controlled

by Hamas, an internationally recognized terrorist organization,” Regev told Reuters in response to a petition by 50 aid groups, including six UN agencies, calling on Israel to lift the blockade.

Popular female Pakistani singer Gilani gone, NA to elect new PM on Friday killed in drive-by shooting Continued from page 9 >>

A popular Pakistani singer who fled the Taliban to pursue her music career away from their repressive dictats was shot dead in the northwestern city of Peshawar, police said Tuesday.

Ghazala Javed, 24, was shot six times by gunmen as she left a beauty salon, although police do not believe the Taliban was responsible for her murder and said her ex-husband was a suspect in the case.

Her father, who was with her, was also killed, police said.

“Two men on a motorbike sprayed bullets and fled leaving them in a pool of blood,” senior police officer Dilawar Bangash told AFP. She was shot six times and her father once in the head, Bangash said.

“We have registered a case and launched an investigation. The murder seems to be result of some internal

dispute,” he added.

Police official Imtiaz Khan said the exhusband was suspected of involvement in the murders.

The singer had fled to Peshawar in 2009 to escape the then Talibandominated northwestern district of Swat as the army launched a sweeping offensive.

From 2007 to 2009, Taliban fighters controlled by radical cleric Maulana Fazlullah effectively seized control of the district, terrorising people with murders, beheadings, attacks on girls’ schools and music shops.

Singers and dancers were singled out in particular until the army reasserted control in July 2009, winning praise from the United States for eliminating an Islamist threat 100 kilometres (60 miles) from the capital Islamabad.

Javed sung in her native Pashto language and released more than two dozen albums that were popular among Pashto speakers in the northwest.

She married businessman Jahangir Khan in 2010, but demanded a divorce after finding out he had another wife and because he tried to ban her from singing, the family said.

It is rare for women in the deeply conservative northwest to solicit a divorce and under Islamic law men can have up to four wives at once.

Ms Javed at one point was also forced to stop singing because of threats.

Tributes from fans across Afghanistan and Pakistan have been pouring into social media sites.

The decision was reportedly made at a meeting of senior PPP leaders chaired early this morning by President Asif Ali Zardari, Geo News channel quoted its sources as saying. Sources say a joint session of Pakistan Parliament will be convened on Friday, and the new Prime Minister will be announced by the National Assembly that day.

Sources also say that the papers will be submitted before the Election Commission tomorrow.

The official didn’t give his name because he wasn’t authorised to speak on the record about internal decisions.

Earlier today, Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) leader Syed Khurshid Shah told reporters that a session of the National Assembly would be convened on Friday at 5:30pm to elect the new prime minister.

Shah said nomination papers for premiership could be submitted on Thursday.

Media reports have been speculating on three possible picks, all members of the outgoing Cabinet.

Ahmed Mukhtar, minister for water and power, and textiles minister Makhdoom Shahabuddin, appear to have emerged as the front runners.

JUI-F refuses offer to join new government President Zardari offered the Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) to join the new government which was rejected by the latter, DawnNews reported.

The president had reportedly sent a message to JUI-F chief Fazlur Rehman and had offered to allot three ministries to MNAs of the party.

The JUI-F said it rejected the offer

saying the decision to part ways with the government was final and could not be changed.

Consultations over nomination After the verdict, PPP secretary general Jahangir Badar and leader Qamar Zaman Kaira had said that the party had authorised President Zardari to take a decision after consulting the coalition partners.

Speaking to reporters, a coalition party leader who attended Tuesday’s meeting at the Presidency in the aftermath of the Supreme Court verdict disqualifying Yousuf Raza Gilani claimed that no specific name had been discussed for the next prime minister, except for those which had already been in circulation in the media since the announcement of the court’s verdict.

The meeting did take notice of speculations about various names, including outgoing ministers Mukhtar (water and power), Shahabuddin (textiles), Syed Khurshid Ahmed Shah (religious affairs) and Kaira (information and broadcasting), but no decision had been taken, one of the participants of the meeting told Dawn.

The ongoing political crisis in the country is the result of Tuesday’s verdict of the Supreme Court which disqualified Gilani from holding a seat in the parliament from the date of his conviction in the contempt of court case (April 26).

The verdict on the petitions against the NA Speaker Fehmida Mirza’s ruling also sent the government packing.

Whoever takes over will not have long in power and is likely to face a rocky ride.

The government must call elections

before March next year. Under the constitution, polls can only be held under a caretaker government, which must be in place three months before election day. Many analysts have speculated that the current political upheaval may expedite the polls, possibly to November. Elections before that date are considered unlikely because of the fierce summer heat.

The new prime minister will also likely run into trouble with the Supreme Court, which is expected to make the same demand of him or her as it did of Gilani, namely to initiate a corruption probe against Zardari. The court has been criticized by some for taking political decisions and jeopardizing the democratic setup in Pakistan.

Aitzaz said “already knew” the verdict Counsel for former prime minister Yousuf Raza Gilani in the contempt of court case, Barrister Aitzaz Ahsan, said on Wednesday that he knew what decision would be made in the case against National Assembly Speaker Fehmida Mirza’s ruling, DawnNews reported.

Speaking to media representatives outside the Supreme Court, Ahsan said that the three judge bench had “completely changed the verdict” of the seven judge bench which had sentenced Gilani for contempt of court.

Ahsan moreover said that “there was no need to wait to hear a verdict which was already obvious and known”.

“The bench kept reiterating that the ruling of the seven judge bench could not be changed,” Ahsan said, adding that “the short order changed the face of the verdict in the contempt of court case”.

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WEEKLY REVIEW OF AFGHANISTAN NEWS

Around 150000 Afghan refugees to leave Pakistan this year United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has planned to help repatriate 150,000 Afghan refugee from Pakistan during this year. Pakistan continues to host about 1.7 million refugees. Most of them are from Afghanistan and live in refugee villages and urban areas.

Since March 2002, the UNHCR has facilitated the return of some 3.7 million registered Afghans from Pakistan.

According to UNHCR here on Sunday, it has established four Voluntary Repatriation Centers (VRCs) in Pakistan to help as many Afghans return home as possible. These remain operational throughout the year.

Afghan refugees in Pakistan are well aware of conditions back in their home communities through their networks of friends and family and a decision to return is usually only taken after weeks of discussions.

According to a decision, all Afghan refugees will be repatriated after

2012 as their Proof of Registration Cards will expire by the end of this year. Pakistan’s Ministry of States and Frontier Regions, which also deals with the Afghan refugees, and the UNHCR have planned to implement a new solutions strategy, aimed at supporting the repatriation of 1.7 million documented Afghan refugees in Pakistan.

India to host international conference on Afghanistan Afghan foreign ministry on Sunday announced India is due to host an international conference on Afghanistan within the next two weeks.

Foreign ministry spokesman Janan Mosazai said the conference will be organized in New Delhi and is one of the initiatives of the Indian government.

Mr. Mosazai further added, comprehensive information

regarding investment opportunities in natural resources, agriculture and telecommunication will be presented during the conference.

He also said the conference will be attended both by Indian and overseas investors. Afghan foreign minister will also attend the conference along with agriculture, commerce and trade and rural development ministers.

According to Janan Mosazai the main motive of the conference will be to provide an accurate information regarding the investment opportunities along with the challenges to the foreign and Indian investors.

He also another trilateral session between Afghanistan, United States and Indian will be organized in the near future.

In 2011, about 70,000 Afghan refugees returned home. Meanwhile, Ministry of States and Frontier Regions (SAFRON) and United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) have planned to implement a new solutions strategy, aimed at supporting repatriation of 1.7 million documented Afghan refugees in Pakistan.

Publish of Non-Pashtun ethnography erupts rage in Afghanistan The Academy of Science of Afghanistan announced to collect the book “Atlas Ethnography of Non-Pushton ethnics” which erupted rage among the Hazara people after it was published.

A member of the research department and chief administration of Afghan Academy of Science Atiqullah Khushiwal said they have taken necessary measures to prevent the sell of the books in market.

The book “Atlas Ethnography of Non-Pushton ethnics” was recently published by the Academy of Science of Afghanistan where the introduction of Hazara ethnic group is also focused in a portion of the book.

Hazara people criticized the publish of the book and said the articles published in the book was humiliating and is unacceptable.

Mohammad Mohaqiq an Afghan parliament member and head of the Isalmic Unity Party of Afghanistan on Sunday said the Hazara people was described as “stubborn, pitiless and lier” in the book and the articles in the book also stated that the Hazara people have deep enmity among

themselves.

He also said the book “Atlas Ethnography of Non-Pushtoon ethnics” call the Hazara people as a heretic ethnic group in Afghanistan.

However Mr. Khushiwal said the book has not been published in market and was distributed among the students in the academy and it was later found that the book contained a number of errors, which under the investigation.

He also said a commission has been formed to find out the articles published in the book, describing the Non-Pushtoon ethnic groups.

Afghan parliament member Mohammad Mohaqiq said the publisher of the book is looking to pave the way for a civil war after NATO troops leave the county.

Afghanistan: Taliban hail ‘significant’ India

In a rare comment, the Taliban on Sunday praised India for resisting US calls for greater involvement in Afghanistan.

According to a news agency, the Taliban, that was ousted from power in 2001, vowed not to let Afghanistan be used as a base against another country.

Notably, India fears that Taliban’s return in Kabul would strengthen Pakistan-based anti-India militants.

Commenting on Leon Panetta’s appeal to India to take a more active role in Afghanistan, the hardline Islamist group said the US Defence Secretary had failed.

“He spent three days in India to transfer the heavy burden to their shoulders, to find an exit, and to flee from Afghanistan,” the group said on its English website.

“Some reliable media sources said that the Indian authorities did not pay heed to (US) demands and showed their reservations, because the Indians know or they should know that the Americans are grinding their own axe.”

India is providing more than USD 2 billion in assistance to projects ranging from the construction of highways to the building of the Afghan Parliament.

India, however, has refrained from contributing towards strengthening

Afghan security.

“No doubt that India is a significant country in the region, but is also

pushed out of Afghanistan after the militant group took over in 1996.

Taliban linked militant groups,

worth mentioning that they have full information about Afghanistan because they know each other very well in the long history,” the Taliban said.

“They are aware of the Afghan aspirations, creeds and love for freedom.

It is totally illogical they should plunge their nation into a calamity just for the American pleasure.”

“Indian people and their authorities are observing this illicit war for the last 12 years and they are aware of the Afghan nation and their demands,” the statement said.

During the Afghan civil war, India extended its support to the Northern Alliance against Taliban but was

especially the dreaded Haqqani Network, repeatedly attacked Indian interests.

In one of such deadliest attacks, 58 people were killed and 141 wounded when Indian embassy was bombed in Kabul in 2008.

In the statement, Taliban said they want to have cordial relations on the basis of sovereignty, equality, mutual respect and no interference in each other’s internal affairs.

The group said the solution of the Afghan issue lies in the withdrawal of the external forces and to leave the sovereignty of Afghanistan for Afghans themselves.

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Saarc international I Thursday 21 June 2012

WEEKLY REVIEW OF BANGLADESH NEWS

Allies decry PM’s success claim

Key components of the Awami League-led alliance and its ‘natural allies’ differed with the comment of the prime minister, Sheikh Hasina, that her government did more than what it had pledged before the 2008 general elections.

The political leaders while they were talking with New Age on Sunday were very critical of the performances of the government as it has ‘failed’ to implement its election-time pledges.

‘We have done more than the commitment that we made to the people before the general elections,’ Hasina said as she addressed leaders and workers of Thakurgaon district unit of the Awami League at her residence, Ganabhaban, on Saturday.

Kazi Firoz Rashid, a presidium member of the Jatiya Party , a major partner of the AL-led alliance, told New Age that the government had done many development works but they came to be ignored for some of its failures.

The share market debacle harmed much of the credibility of the

government as the stock market was fraught with rampant manipulation by influential people and indecision of the government, Firoz said.

The Workers Party of Bangladesh

people, to keep law and order, to stop power outages and to improve the supply of water and gas.

Menon, however, said that the government had its successes in

president, Rashed Khan Menon, told New Age that there were many areas where the government failed to meet the election-time pledges.

He said that the government had failed to arrest price spiral, which was causing immense sufferings to low- and fixed-income group

the sectors such as agriculture and education. It also has a success in decreasing under-five child mortality rate.

The Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal president, Hasanul Haq Inu, said that the government had achievements but price spiral,

BGMEA closes all RMG units at Ashulia

Owners of apparel factories at Ashulia on Saturday closed all of more than 300 apparel units for an indefinite period beginning today amid workers’ unrest seeking a pay hike.

‘We cannot continue like this as we are incurring losses every day. The owners are also being harassed,’ the Bangladesh Garments Manufacturers

and Exporters’ Association president Shafiul Islam Mohiuddin said at a press conference in the association’s office.

‘So we have closed more than 300 apparel units in the area for an indefinite period,’ he added.

Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters’ Association leaders, who also spoke at the press conference, expressed their solidarity with the announcement the BGMEA leaders made.

Mohiuddin said that they would not reopen the factories on only assurance from authorities. ‘We will not reopen the factories unless the people

responsible for the unrest are identified and punished.’

He also said that whoever was responsible for this should be brought to justice. ‘Someone is instigating the workers to make the situation unstable.’

Asked about who could instigate the workers, he said, ‘Some local and

foreign NGOs are involved. We also see the hint of an international conspiracy when we see fabricated reports in newspapers such as the Guardian on our apparel industries.’

He gave a warning saying that apparel factory owners would shut all apparel units across the country if the situation continued.

Mohiuddin said that there was no justification for any increase in the wages of the workers as the owners had increased the wages by 80 per cent in November 2010. ‘Even union leaders also did not place any official proposal for wage increase.’

He said that the unrest that continued for six days at Ashulia was initiated only with a rumour of the death of a worker.

‘The workers vandalised about 150 factories on May 12 and in most of the factories, high compliance standards were maintained,’ he said.

He said that the latest spate of unrest began on Monday after the workers of Artistic Design Ltd, a packaging factory of the Ha-Meem Group, had taken to the streets demanding a wage increase.

The BGMEA president also said that the announcement on pay hike by the state minister for home affairs was an individual decision of the Ha-Meem Group.

‘The Ha-Meem Group advanced its yearly increment from November to July. But this was not a decision of other owners,’ he added.

He also said all the apparel factories at Ashulia had been of production for six days.

‘Even in such a heated situation like today’s, only the Ha-Meem Group factory remained open with heavy deployment of the law enforcers,’ he said.

About 350 factories in the area remained closed for six days amid unrest for pay hike beginning on Monday and more than 200 people, including lawmen, became injured in the violence.

increased power outages and tender manipulation by the Chhatra League and Juba League activists had tarnished the image of the government.

He said that there was lack of coordination among the ministries and among the ministers and advisers which also affected development activities and harmed the image of the government.

The Communist Party of Bangladesh president, Manzurul Ahsan Khan, told New Age that the ruling party had failed to keep the pledges it had made before the elections and it had not even taken any effective steps to keep the promises.

Manzurul said that the government had scrapped the election-time, caretaker government system which was formulated in Bangladesh on a national consensus. The government has failed to continue with the democratic progress as it failed to make the parliament effective.

‘The government has failed to head off American and Indian pressure.

We heard that the US army is in

Bangladesh and the United States is sending its Seventh Fleet to Chittagong. The government has also failed to have Teesta watersharing treaty done,’ he said.

He said that the government had failed to ensure the rule of law and human rights violations became rampant. ‘Extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances are continuing and they are even backed by the people high up in the government,’ Manzurul said.

He said that government had failed to address unemployment, ensure proper prices of crops and ruling party men were benefiting from distribution of government land.

Manzurul termed the government biased towards the rich and said that labour rights were yet to be ensured. He said that the judiciary was yet to be truly independent and the administration remained partisan.

‘Corruption has become the order of the day. In the past, corruption was controlled from one house and now it is controlled from several houses,’ he said.

Zamal Uddin, Journalist, Stabbed To Death In Bangladesh

A journalist was hacked to death at Sharsha upazila in Jessore on Friday night, allegedly for reporting on a local drug-smuggling syndicate.

The victim, Jamal Uddin, 33, was a correspondent of Jessore-based Bangla daily Gramer Kagoj.

Officer-in-Charge Faruque Hossain of Sharsha Police Station said Tota Miah, leader of a drug-running syndicate, and his 10 henchmen kidnapped Jamal from a tea stall at Kashipur Bazar around 11:00pm, reported our correspondent in Benapole.

They took him to a nearby place where they gouged out one of his eyes, slashed veins of his legs and hacked him indiscriminately. They fled the scene as neighbours came hearing Jamal’s shout for help.

The journalist died on the way to Jessore Medical College Hospital.

Later, police found a bloodstained towel and a machete at Tota’s house and arrested his wife Lata Begum.

Tota, however, was at large as of filing this report at 10:00pm yesterday.

A murder case has been filed.

The OC said that a few months ago, Jamal filed a general diary after Tota made death threats for writing on drug smuggling.

Bangladesh Crime Reporters Association (CRAB) and local journalists have protested the killing of Jamal and demanded immediate arrest of the killers and their exemplary punishment.

Journalists in Sharsha, Benapole and Navaron of Jessore yesterday staged demonstrations and brought out a procession protesting the murder.

CRAB in a statement expressed solidarity with any programme over killing or torture of journalists.

It also protested the harassment of an ntv cameraman by police on Friday night at Shahjalal International Airport and demanded immediate action against the police personnel involved.

Saarc international I Thursday 21 June 2012

WEEKLY REVIEW OF BHUTAN NEWS

Are the hydropower projects too hot to handle?

Rupee Crunch: The government’s future social programmes could suffer, because the worst is yet to come, regarding rupee reserve management and trade deficits, some experts and local economists believe.

Some economists believe national economy has been heated up beyond its carrying capacity.

This is largely based on the premise that investments in the hydropower sector are too much, and happening too fast, considering the size of the Bhutanese economy.

of the contract, it gets paid only after the work is completed,” he explained.

“Therefore the situation multiplies with more hydropower projects being built over a period of time.”

So, when the payment actually comes in for a particular project, another project might not have been completed or might have just started, therefore the period of non-payment from India multiplies. “This would seriously contribute to the shortfall,” he said.

According to the task force report,

Bhutan’s GDP stands at Nu 72B, and the overall size of the projects under the 10,000 megawatt (MW) initiative is estimated at Nu 450B over the next eight years. “The investment is expanding to a size, which would be difficult to absorb for the economy,” an economist said. “It’s biting off more than can be chewed.”

Secondary activities created by the hydropower sector have been recognised as contributing significantly to the current rupee shortfall.

These include economic activities, which are not directly financed by the loans and grants that come from India to build hydropower projects, such as investments in heavy machinery, trucks and other equipment by the Bhutanese contractors.

Some economists disagree that hydropower sector actually caused rupee outflows. “Almost all activities that fall under the hydropower sector are covered by the money that comes from India in the form of rupees,” an economist, who previously worked for the government, said. “Moreover, the projects use as much as 70 percent of raw materials, such as sand, stone and cement from the domestic market, which doesn’t require rupee.”

Another economist said that the hydropower sector had created huge demand for machinery and trucks.

While the money for the project also covers these, the initial investment to buy lots of machinery in one go had led to substantial rupee outflows.

“Such investment doesn’t get paid in the initial stage and during the time

the number of heavy earthmoving machinery increased from four in 2002 to 331 in 2011, leading to an outflow of Rs 1.38B. While most of the payments for these imports come from India, in the form of hydropower grants and loans, some of them do not qualify for the contracts, and hence are not covered by the grants and loans coming from India.

The requirements for machinery are expected to increase rapidly with projects such as Sankosh, Kholongchu and the four joint venture projects to be built next year.

The government has however said that the solution is not stopping hydropower projects.

“The government must continue with any investments in any areas that promise huge returns in the future,” economic affairs secretary Dasho Sonam Tshering said. “It’s rather more important to introduce proper monetary and fiscal measures to control outflows.”

But an economist said monetary and fiscal measures are not sufficient, and cannot trade-off outflows created by the hydropower sector.

A number of economists suggested diversifying economy, capitalising on sectors, such as the manufacturing, agriculture, tourism and mining, by introducing proper regulation and conducive polices.

Given that conventional fiscal and monetary measures works with little effect, economist are even providing radical measures, such as quantitative restrictions on imports.

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Monsoon crossing

It is that time of year in Gelephu where the otherwise nourishing Mao Khola (river) turns into a roar that threatens to swallow people trying to cross it along with boats that ferry them.

Taking services to people rather than having many of them coming to Gelephu for the services risking their lives trying to cross the Mao river.

Villagers of Serzhong, Chuzhagang, Taklithang and Umling gewogs, that number more than 1,500 people frequent Gelephu town for medical treatments, to shop for groceries and clear electricity bills.

Considering the threats the river poses villagers who travel in company to Gelephu, local authorities have instead begun taking the services to them.

Gelephu dungpa Pema Wangdi said they opened four Food Corporation of Bhutan stores in all four gewogs of Serzhong, Chuzhagang, Taklithang and Umling.

The corporations, he said were stocked with almost every grocery items that are sold cheaper than what they would cost in Gelephu.

For instance, he said if two-litres of cooking oil cost Nu 280 in Gelephu, villagers of the four gewogs could

buy the same oil at Nu 250 from the FCBs in their gewogs.

In terms of medical facilities, Pema Wangdi said two basic health units existed at Chuzhagang and Taklithang.

“In case of any emergencies, we’ve asked the health units to call for any help and additional hands immediately,” he said.

Starting tomorrow, Bhutan Power Corporation will send its people to the villages in these gewogs to collect the electricity bills.

“These are some of the measures we’re carrying out to discourage villagers from coming to Gelephu at this time of the year,” he said.

In absence of a permanent bridge over the river villagers normally lay logs over it to cross the river that, during every monsoon is washed away.

The hardships, Kesang Dorji said would be solved on completion of 130-feet bailey bridge that is under construction since the last six months over the tributary of Moa Khola, the Thewarchhu in Sershong gewog.

That, however, would entail of villagers to follow the long- route through Sershong gewog.

“We were supposed to complete the bridge before the monsoon season,” Kesang Dorji said, adding shortage of cement in the market and their inability to touch the hard bottom after digging into the banks for foundation caused the delay.

“The bailey bridge is expected to be launched in July,” he said.

The metal parts cost Nu 5M, and abutment walls Nu 2.7M for the bridge.

Illegal squatters lose power

Jigmecholing, Gelephu: Three houses in Jigmecholing, about 33km from Gelephu, will be deprived of their electricity supply starting today.

In another week, the demolition machinery will move in.

This is because they have failed to comply with the notification to demolish their structures, which, dungkhag officials claim, were built

machines and dismantle the houses,” he said, adding this was being done as per the directives received from higher authorities.

One of the owners, a former gup, said there were more than 10 people, who were staying with him in that house.

“Dismantling the house means removing roof off all of us,” he said.

He claims that the house, a two-

illegally on government land or within 50 feet of the road.

“They were notified before three weeks,” dungpa Pema Wangdi said, adding they were informed that, if they failed to do so by yesterday, electricity supply would be disconnected.

They have been given another week’s time.

“If they refuse to dismantle even then, the dungkhag will deploy

storied concrete one, was constructed since they had a thram and house no.

“Other than requesting government not to demolish the house that was constructed with immense difficulty and lifelong saving, we’re helpless,” another house owner said.

Another dweller said, even if they had to give up the place, they hoped for some compensation to help restart settling elsewhere.

The Gelephu dungpa said the high court had ordered, earlier in 2009 April, that the residents of the 21 houses in Jigmecholing, who had illegally settled on government land or within 50 feet from the road, to evacuate within a year.

In May 2011, with the house owners having failed to comply with the order, the dungkhag officials had initiated dismantling some houses.

The remaining three houses, the dungpa said, were spared, since they had approached many higher authorities for consideration.

But this year, nothing could save them as another order came asking them to demolish the houses.

Some officials said they were initially asked to dismantle, since the GelephuTrongsa highway was being widened and resurfaced, in preparation of the upcoming Mangdechu hydropower project.

However, some villagers argue that those settlements in Jigmecholing were built in the 1980s, long before the Road Act came into being in 2004.

“Which means the so-called noconstruction within 50 feet from the road doesn’t apply to us,” said one.

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Saarc international I Thursday 21 June 2012

WEEKLY REVIEW OF INDIA NEWS

No Narendra Modi as PM: Khurshid backs Nitish Kumar’s remark

Law Minister Salman Khurshid on Tuesday backed Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s comments that only a secular person should be the Prime Minister but asked why he even entertained fears that a non-secular person could reach that position.

“I think it is a welcome thing.

We are a secular country, so our Prime Minister must be secular.

If there was any doubt about this in any political organisation, their own leaders now coming out outspokenly and saying this clearly, is a welcome thing,” Khurshid said.

“Nitishji has said that the Indian Prime Minister should be secular, I am hundred per cent in agreement.

But why does Nitish Kumar have fears that Indian Prime Minister will not be secular, I am not able to understand,” he said.

Khurshid was asked by reporters about his views on the remarks made by the Bihar Chief Minister in an interview, where he made it apparent that BJP leader Narendra Modi was unacceptable to him

as the NDA’s prime ministerial candidate.

On Kumar’s comments that the Prime Minister should feel for under-developed states, he said, “Whoever becomes the Prime Minister is responsible for the entire country and to say that he should be concerned about states which are developing and not those which are developed, then what will happen is that we will allow states which can be helpful

Eurozone crisis to dampen global markets, impact India: PM

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Saturday voiced concern that continuing problems in the eurozone will further dampen global markets and adversely impact India’s own economic growth.

Dr. Singh also said that the need to revive global growth should be an issue of immediate concern which must be addressed by world leaders.

He made these remarks prior to his departure for Mexico and Brazil on an eight-day tour to attend the seventh summit of the Group of 20 developed and developing countries(G-20) in the Mexican resort town of Los Cabos on June 18 and the Rio+20 Summit in Rio De Janeiro.

Observing that G-20 leaders will

meet once again in the shadow of the economic crisis in the eurozone and a “faltering” global economy, Dr. Singh said the situation in Europe is of particular concern as it accounts for a significant share of the global economy and is also India’s major trade and investment partner.

“Continuing problems there will further dampen global markets and adversely impact our own economic growth. It is our hope that European leaders will take resolute action to resolve the financial problems facing them,” he said.

Dr. Singh emphasised the need to revive global growth.

“It is imperative that the G-20 countries work in coordination to implement policies that promote sustained growth. India has been pursuing this objective in its capacity as the co-chair of the Working Group on the ‘Framework for Strong, Sustainable and Balanced Growth’ “I will stress the need to ensure primacy of the development dimension in G-20 deliberations and the need to focus on investment in infrastructure as a means of stimulating global growth,” he said.

for growth to be weakened.

“So how would be we then help those which need help for development?” he asked.

Khurshid stressed on the need for a balanced approach towards all states, saying that the

developed states. If you don’t look at the developed states where will the resources come for the

resources for the development of the lesser developed states in the country came from the developed areas.

“A balanced approach is needed, after all where do the resources come from? Resources come from

developing states,” Khurshid said.

“I think we should not be narrow in our thinking and approach. We have to be balanced, we have to be broad-minded and, of course, we have to be rational and practical,” he said.

Saarc international I Thursday 21 June 2012

NEWS

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Dhaka unhappy with UNHCR on border visit

The government conveyed its displeasure to the UNHCR country representative, Craig Sanders, on Monday during his visit to border areas with Myanmar, which violated the foreigners act.

Director general of the foreign ministry, Saida Muna Tasneem, ‘conveyed the displeasure’ to Craig Sanders when the latter ‘called on’ her at the ministry, an UNHCR official told New Age. Two UNHCR officials accompanied Sanders in his meeting with Muna Tasneem, which lasted for about an hour and a half, starting at 3.30pm.

Sanders had reportedly visited bordering areas in Cox’s Bazar for two days starting from June 15, apparently ignoring informal restrictions imposed by the government, a government official said.

‘This visit was a clear violation of the Foreigners Act, 1946’, the official said.

Sanders, however, tried to convince Muna Tasneem that the local district administration had not ‘properly communicated’ with him about the restriction, an UNHCR official said.

When approached by New Age shortly after the meeting, Sanders maintained silence and left the ministry in a sullen mood.

Muna Tasneem also declined to

disclose what she discussed with Sanders.

A government official said that Sanders ‘can visit only the UNHCR office in Cox’s Bazar and the refugee camps in the district’ but he ‘requires formal approval’ from Bangladeshi

authorities to visit areas beyond that.

Asked about requests from international communities to Bangladesh to host more Rohingyas who had been fleeing their homes following sectarian violence in

Myanmar, the official said that Bangladesh was ‘fully aware of its responsibilities’, humanitarian and otherwise.

‘We are hosting thousands of Rohingya people for years. We are not sending anybody from the refugee camps against their wishes,’ the official said. ‘After the recent intrusion from Myanmar, we provided food, medical care and fuel to help them to get back to their homes’.

‘But we cannot afford to give them space anymore,’ said the official.

On the question of ‘burden sharing’, the official observed that the international community was ‘not discharging their responsibilities’ to support Rohingya community ‘within Myanmar territory’.

‘Nobody is talking about opening

camps inside Myanmar to provide protection, food and health care, let alone upholding their political and human rights,’ the official said.

Bangladesh authorities ‘would continue vigilance’ along the border with Myanmar to stop the illegal intrusion of Myanmar nationals, the official added.

When asked about the possibility of a formal meeting between UNHCR assistant high commissioner for protection Erika Feller and the foreign secretary Mohamed Mijarul Quayes, Muna Tasneem said, ‘The UNHCR requested a meeting with the secretary. But we conveyed that the secretary is abroad.’

An estimated 3,00,000 Rogingya refugees took shelter in 199192 when the Myanmar military launched a massive crackdown on the community.

With the help of the UNHCR, Bangladesh and Myanmar repatriated most of the refugees over the years.

The remaining registered refugees, over 28,000, are now housed in Nayapara and Kutupalong camps in Cox’s Bazar district and are maintained by the UNHCR. An estimated three to four lakh undocumented Myanmar nationals have also been living in Bangladesh for years.

India tops censorship requests: Google Transparency Report

The country has made maximum number of requests to Google on content removal. Data for Pakistan indicate that 15 items were sought to be purged through two executive requests with a success rate of 50 per cent.

On a global scale, India made the maximum number of requests to Google through executive and police agencies for removal of content from the company’s online services, but achieved a low rate of compliance from July to December 2011. By contrast, there were five court orders for removal of content, four of them on grounds of defamation, with a higher compliance rate by the company than in the case of executive orders.

The figures were released as part of the Transparency Report compiled by the company, recording the role played by governments and litigation in erasing content on the Internet.

In the case of user data, India’s 2,207 requests to share information on 3,427

users or accounts are exceeded only by the United States, and Google complied with in the case of 66 per cent of these.

The large number of such requests prompted some civil rights activists to allege profiling of communities by official agencies in India.

Video-sharing website YouTube attracted the maximum attention, with a request from executive authorities and police to remove 133 items, the majority of them on grounds of defamation (77), hate speech (24) and national security (10), besides other categories that include offensive material on religion.

Defamation also figured high on the list of items that Google was asked to scrub off its servers, on the Blogger and Orkut platforms. Of the 49 items that were sought to be removed from Blogger, 23 were allegedly defamatory, while 14 pertained to privacy and security.

Rate of compliance Google defines compliance as “removal

requests fully or partially complied with.” In India’s case, there were a total of 101 such requests, including the court orders, involving 255 items of content. The rate of compliance stood at 29 per cent overall.

In the U.S., “Government requests for user data include those issued on behalf of other governments pursuant to mutual legal assistance treaties

and other diplomatic mechanisms,” according to Google. Ninety-three per cent of the requests involving 12,243 users or accounts sought by America were complied with, the report said.

Data for Pakistan indicate that 15 items were sought to be purged through two executive requests with a success rate of 50 per cent. Six YouTube videos that the Pakistan Ministry

of Information Technology wanted removed for satirizing the Army and senior politicians, however, stayed on the site.

Political campaigns Explaining the case of Brazil, Google said there were relatively more government requests because of the popularity of social networking website Orkut. Some profiles connected with political campaigns were pulled off on court orders there.

“Laws surrounding these issues vary by country, and the requests reflect the legal context of a given jurisdiction,” the Mountain View-headquartered company explained. In the previous reporting period for January to June 2011, India made 65 requests through executive authorities for removal of 347 items. Google cooperated on 51 per cent of those. In three court orders for the same period covering 13 items, there was a 67 per cent compliance rate, the Transparency Report said.

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Saarc international I Thursday 21 June 2012

Israel strikes central Gaza, 2 teens killed, Several injured

Two teenagers were killed in an Israeli operation in the central Gaza Strip overnight Monday, medics told reporters.

Israel’s army said warplanes

“targeted a terrorist squad identified handling an explosive device near the security fence,” adding that a hit was identified.

Locals told reporters that Israeli

tanks entered Gaza south of alMaghazi refugee camp and fired on Palestinians. Red Crescent teams evacuated the bodies of two teenagers on Tuesday morning,

after a two-hour search operation.

Israeli war planes shelled the central Gaza Strip on Tuesday afternoon, injuring one person, medics said.

The casualty, who was not

Hamas’ Al-Qassam Brigades had earlier said it fired four rockets overnight, and the military said three landed in Israel. The brigades said the fire was in response to Israeli airstrikes on the Gaza Strip in Monday which killed two of its affiliates and two Islamic Jihad militants.

Two 16-year-old Palestinians were killed in an Israeli operation overnight Monday, bringing the death toll on the Gaza borders to six in 24 hours.

Monday’s violence started at the Nahr al-Bared camp near the costal city of Tripoli after the funeral of a refugee who had been killed by the military on Friday, according to a security official.

“One Palestinian refugee was killed and seven others were wounded by gunfire,” the official

identified, was traveling by motorcycle on Salah al-Din road when he was hit by a shell, witnesses told Ma’an. Doctors said he was evacuated to Shifa Hospital in Gaza City.

The Israeli army said the strike “targeted a terrorist squad in the central Gaza Strip ... (that) was responsible for the rockets fired at Israel over the past few hours.”

Meanwhile the military wing of Hamas said it had fired 10 rockets towards Israeli community Raim near the Gaza border. An Israeli military spokesman said eight projectiles landed in the Eshkol region, without causing damage or injuries.

said on condition of anonymity.

The Lebanese army said in a statement that three soldiers were injured in the clashes.

The army used “tear gas and rubber bullets, and then fired live rounds at people who insisted on attacking (a military post), leading to several of the attackers being injured,” said the statement.

It added that youths threw Molotov cocktails at the soldiers and torched an army vehicle as well as part of the military post.

It blamed “infiltrators” for the unrest.

A camp resident said soldiers had opened fire on the youths without provocation.

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NEWS

Myanmar: Inquiry Begun in Killing of Muslims Relief work disrupted by safety fears after Myanmar riots

Myanmar’s government has appointed a minister and senior police chief to head an investigation into the killing of 10 Muslims by a Buddhist mob that has stoked communal tensions in the country’s westernmost state.

The government has been quick to respond to Sunday’s killings by a group of vigilantes who were angered by reports of a recent gang rape and murder of a local woman.

The new civilian-led administration says national reconciliation and unity is one of its top priorities. The government took the unusual step of announcing the investigation on the front pages of several state-controlled newspapers on Thursday after a protest by Burmese Muslims in the biggest city, Yangon, and anger on social media sites about the

Ethnic clashes have erupted since then and more than 1,662 homes have been destroyed, state TV reported.

The government declared a state of

brutal killings.

The situation in the western Burmese state of Rakhine is still volatile, with more than 30,000 people left displaced as a result of ethnic violence.

Clashes between Buddhists and Muslims in the coastal area have left 21 people dead and tens of thousands seeking shelter in refugee camps. The clashes erupted after authorities detained three Muslims over the rape and killing of a Buddhist woman in May. The murder provoked an attack on a bus

emergency in Rakhine and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) warned that the situation remains fragile and volatile.

Armed troops patrolled the northwest Myanmar city of Sittwe on Friday after days of sectarian violence that has stoked nationalist fervor and displaced 30,000 people, with many feared dead.

Heavy rain kept many residents indoors in the Rakhine state capital and police and aid groups struggled to get food to thousands

“We will try to get to other camps as soon as we can, when it is safe and secure. We are doing as much as we can. We will go in but security is paramount,” he added.

More than 20 houses were burned down late on Thursday in a village near Sittwe, residents said, adding to the 2,500 torched in the past week. But there were no reports of further deaths.

The violence, which the government said had killed 29 people and displaced 30,000 as of Thursday, is a major setback for a rapidly reforming Myanmar that has seen a year of dramatic political change after 49 years of oppressive military rule.

The new government has made peace and unity among Myanmar’s many ethnic groups its mantra and has struck ceasefire deals with minority Karen, Shan, Mon and Chin rebels, among others, after decades of hostilities.

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in the Taugup area of Rakhine by a mob of 300 people, which resulted in the death of 10 Muslim passengers on 3 June, the government-run newspaper New Light of Myanmar reported.

of ethnic Rakhine Buddhists and Muslim Rohingyas displaced by communal rioting and arson that have presented a big test to Myanmar’s 15-month-old quasi-civilian government.

United Nations officials told Reuters three of its staff, two from its UNHCR refugee agency and one from the World Food Programme (WFP), all Myanmar nationals, had been detained by police in the Rohingyadominated town of Buthidaung for unknown reasons.

The WFP had provided hundreds of sacks of rice to some areas, said Aye Win, spokesman for its operations in Myanmar.

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Saarc international I Thursday 21 June 2012

French official in India accused of child rape

DGP says routine probe is on against French diplomat

Indian police detained a French consular official on Tuesday after his wife accused him of raping their 3-year-old daughter.

Bangalore Police Commissioner Jyothi Prakash Mirji said the Frenchman was taken into custody and escorted to a hospital for undisclosed medical tests. Pascal Mazurier, an official from the French consulate, who has been accused of raping his three-and-ahalf year old daughter, comes out after medical test in Bangalore.

“The investigation is going on. We have seized his passport,” he said.

Mirji said the detention was based on a police complaint filed by his Indian wife last week accusing the man of raping their daughter. The wife declined to comment while the case was pending.

The man was to appear later Tuesday in court, where a judge was expected to order that he remain in custody while authorities investigate.

The French Embassy in Delhi confirmed that the man was an employee at the Bangalore consulate and said it could not comment on the case while an investigation is under way. It said international law does not provide for immunity for acts committed outside the exercise of consular

duties.

In Paris, French Foreign Ministry spokesman Bernard Valero declined to identify the man but

going on in a routine manner.”

“The question of diplomatic immunity pertains to the arrest only and does not hamper the pace

said he was primarily involved in administrative work at the consulate.

“We have to let police and the justice system do their job,” Valero said. “We have to wait for the results of the investigation.”

Though the Bangalore police have deferred the arrest of 39-year-old French diplomat Pascal Mazurier, who was let off on Friday after he was accused of raping his threeand-a-half-year-old daughter, L.R. Pachau, Director-General and Inspector-General of Police told The Hindu that “investigation is

of investigation,” he maintained, adding that they were awaiting word from the Ministry of External Affairs on his diplomatic status.

When asked, if immunity would be applicable to an allegation of rape, he said that “according to the law, the State police cannot arrest or take into custody any diplomat who may enjoy immunity status”.

This is irrespective of the nature of the crime, whether or not this was committed in the line of duty, he maintained.

Asked if, in the absence of a formal arrest, anything legally holds back

Mr. Mazurier from fleeing the country, Mr. Pachau declined to comment. It may be recalled that Mr. Mazurier was let off on Friday, after a few hours of preliminary investigation and some medical tests, on the basis of an assurance letter submitted by Vincent Caumontat, Deputy Consul, Head of Chancery at the Consulate here.

A Deputy head of chancery in the consulate of France here, Mr. Mazurier’s diplomatic status is a “grey area”, police sources have said. Neither the French consulate here nor the French Embassy in Delhi have attempted to bring any clarity to the picture.

When contacted on Sunday, Mr. Caumontat, with whom Mr. Mazurier is reportedly lodging, refused to comment.

He said that the consulate here was busy with internal elections and that an official communique on this matter would be sent to the media on Monday.

Nina Nayak, chairperson of the Karnataka Commission for Protection of Child Rights, said she was in talks with the French Consulate, particularly on issues pertaining to maintaining financial support for his wife Suja Mazurier (37) and his three children, a sevenyear-old boy, the alleged victim

and a 20-month-old toddler. They have promised to continue paying her the government allowance given to her every month, and Mr. Mazurier has agreed to pay a fixed allowance for the three children, Ms. Nayak said.

Refuting reports in certain sections of the media that the police had sought court permission to collect DNA samples, Additional Commissioner (Law and Order) T. Suneel Kumar said that though the investigation was on, the police was waiting for word on the diplomatic status to proceed with a DNA test.

However, sources at the Baptist Hospital said that Mr. Mazurier’s sperm samples, collected hours after the alleged rape on June 13, were sent for forensic testing.

The second medical examination report, prepared by the government-run Bowring Hospital, was handed over to the police on Saturday, hospital sources said.

Meanwhile, sources close to Ms. Mazurier said that the police visited her residence in Vasanthnagar for a detailed report (or mahazar) as part of routine investigation. The three children would be taken to the National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences for counselling on Monday, sources said.

Pranab in denial mode as economy gets downgraded Says Fitch action based on older data

India has a contingency plan if Greece exits Euro, says Kaushik Basu, chief economic advisor to finance ministry. The point is, has India got a contingency plan for India?

Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Monday rejected Fitch downgrade of India’s credit outlook to negative saying the rating agency’s action was based on “older data” as it ignored recent positive trends.

“While the markets had already anticipated that Fitch would revise the outlook and so there is no surprise in the announcement, it must be pointed out that Fitch has primarily relied on older data, and has ignored the recent positive trends in the Indian economy,”

Mukherjee said in a statement.

Fitch lowered India’s credit rating outlook to negative from stable, less than three months after rival Standard and Poor’s did a similar downgrade. It cited corruption, inadequate reforms, high inflation and slow growth as reasons for the revision.

Mukherjee said that Fitch has not taken note of many of the government’s recent initiatives including fertiliser subsidy reform, capping subsidies as a fraction of GDP, new manufacturing and telecom policies.

“It (Fitch) has missed the process of strengthening of public finances in India as is evident by, inter-alia, a gradual reduction of government

debt/GDP ratio in the last few years, as compared to an increase in this ratio for most of the major economies in the world,” the Finance Minister noted.

According to Mukherjee, the concerns expressed by the rating agency on the economic growth potential, inflationary pressures and weak public finances have already been “taken note of” by the government.

In its report, Fitch said that India faces an “awkward combination” of slow growth and elevated inflation.

Further, the country is also facing “structural challenges surrounding its investment climate in the form of corruption and inadequate economic reforms”, it added. .

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Karachi killings claim 17 lives; ‘shoot on sight’ orders issued

Karachi once again witnessed deteriorating law and order situation as the series of targeted killings continued and seventeen people lost their lives in the last 36 hours whereas many others were injured , DawnNews reported on Sunday .

At least five people lost their lives today in the areas of Quaidabad, Baldia town and Gulshan-eMaymar.

Acting Additional Inspector General (AIG) Ghulam Shabbir Shaikh issued ‘shoot on sight’ orders for the miscreants.

The dead body of the leader of Awami National Party Sindh has been recovered today in Gulistan-

e-Jauhar near Rabia City, sources informed.

After the recovery of political leader affiliated with ANP, the nearby areas have witnessed a row of firing incident, taking lives of two persons.

Tension prevailed and the markets remained closed in the area after the death of Bangash.

Addressing a press conference, the acting AIG said that Bangash, in his efforts to escape from police, jumped from the height which resulted in his death.

One person was killed in Karachi’s Baldia Town area during the wee hours of the day on Sunday.

Three persons lost their lives in Gadap town area late Saturday night. Police sources added that the three persons had been kidnapped earlier and taken to Nagori Society near the Superhighway where they were shot to death. The bodies could not be identified till the filing of this report.

Another person was killed in Lyari area within the remit of Docks police station, when some unknown armed men opened indiscriminate firing.

Bombings kill 33 in Khyber

Two bombs killed 33 people in tribal areas of northwestern Pakistan on Saturday, officials and witnesses said.

The first blast, a car bomb, hit a crowded bazaar in the town of Landi Kotal in the Khyber region near the Afghan border, government administrator Khalid Mumtaz said.

“Something hit me in my shoulder and I fainted,” he said, speaking from a hospital bed.

He said two of his nephews who were outside the shop at the time of the explosion were killed and that he was worried for friends hurt in the attack.

The Pakistani army has carried

It killed 26 people and wounded over 50 others. Shops and vehicles were badly damaged in the morning attack.

Hundreds of people were in the bazaar when the parked explosives-laden car blew up. TV footage showed the charred skeleton of the car and local residents rushing to help take the victims to hospitals.

One of the wounded, 45-year-old Khan Mohammed, said he was sitting with a nephew in his shop when he saw a vehicle stopping in the street. Moments later he heard a massive blast.

out several operations to flush out militants in the Afghan border regions.

Landi Kotal is near one of the two crossings for Nato supplies heading across the border into Afghanistan, but Islamabad closed the route last year to protest US airstrikes in November that accidentally hit Pakistani troops at a security checkpost in Salala.

Later in the nearby district of Kohat, a bomb hidden in a handcart killed seven people, among them police officers, said police officer Naeem Khan.

No one immediately claimed responsibility for the blasts, but suspicion fell on Pakistani Taliban insurgents who often target security forces and public places with bombings and shooting attacks.

Also Saturday, violence erupted in the southwestern town of Kucklak after a man allegedly tried to burn the copy of the Quran. Angered over the incident, residents rallied and torched a police station and five vehicles, said police official Shaukat Ali Khan.

Khan said the man who allegedly tried to burn the Quran has been arrested and that the police were trying to restore order.

Two persons suffered gunshot wounds in Old Haji Camp area.

One of the injured succumbed to his wounds while being shifted to a hospital for treatment.

A body was found on Kalri Mirza Adam Khan Road within the remit of Kalri Police station.

A clash took place in Keamari’s Gulshan-i-Sikanderabad area which resulted in the death of one person.

Police arrested four suspects accused of being involved in the incident of murder and firing.

An unidentified body of a woman was found in Khokhrapar area.

The cause of death could not be ascertained till the filing of this report.

One person was killed in Arambagh area whereas another lost his life

by firing in Kharadar near Allah Rakha Park.

Seven suspects riding on motorcycles opened indiscriminate firing in Jamshed Quarters area of the city, killing a six-year-old boy and causing panic and fear in the area.

Police reached the spot and arrested two suspects involved in the incident and recovered illegal firearms from them after chasing them.

DIG (east) said that the arrested suspects were linked to the ongoing gang-war in Karachi and have confessed to their involvement in incidents of target killings and extortion, during initial investigations.

DIG (east) distributed cash and certificated on the occasion to the SHO Jamshed Qaurters police station, two ASI’s and two other police personnel for their fine performance.

Additional police deployment An additional force of 500 policemen has been called from interior of province under a wellplanned strategy to combat the crimes especially the extortion, targeted killings and kidnapping for ransom in Karachi.

The additional force has been deployed at different places in the city, while the measures are being taken to strengthen the number of police personnel deployed at posts and pickets particularly in old city trade centers.

Moreover, 1000 surveillance cameras are being installed at trade and business centers and they would start functioning shortly, as currently these cameras are being tested.

Inspector General of Police Mushtaq Ahmed Shah gave this information at a meeting held last night between Sindh Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah and a delegation of All Karachi Tajir Ittehad (AKTI).

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WEEKLY REVIEW OF PAKISTAN NEWS

Khar likely to meet Clinton this week

Regarding apology over Salala incident, a meeting is expected to take place between Hillary Clinton and Hina Rabbani Khar on the sidelines of Rio+20 conference in Brazil this week, official sources said on Sunday.

Meetings between the two leaders cannot be ruled out as both Clinton and Khar would find an opportunity to discuss the issue and understand each other’s point of view, the sources said. However, sources in the Foreign Affairs Ministry clarified that no such meeting was officially scheduled so far. When asked whether they are

not going to meet this week, they said, “We never said that a meeting between them is ruled out but what we know is that no such meeting is scheduled officially.” According to the US State Department, Clinton will lead a delegation of officials to the United Nations sustainability conference in Rio de Janeiro from June 20-22. While officials of the Prime Minister’s House said that after cancellation of Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani’s visit, Khar and Minister for Climate Change Rana Muhammad Farooq will represent Pakistan at the conference. Analysts maintain that it is a crucial time when the two leaders would be in Brazil though for a different reason but they would try to hold a meeting on bilateral issues and most important, reopening of the NATO supply route.

When asked for his version over the possible meeting between the two leaders, US embassy’s spokesman Robert Raines said that he had no official notification of the meeting.

Talks on Sir Creek begin between India-Pak The 12th round of talks between Pakistan and India on their maritime boundary dispute in the Sir Creek region began in New Delhi today.

Indian delegation is led by S Subba Rao, Surveyor General, while Pakistani group is headed by Rear Admiral Farrokh Ahmed, additional secretary-III in the ministry of defence.

The two-day talks on the Sir Creek issue between officials from the defence ministries of the two sides are being held a week after the meeting on another important issue of Siachen Glacier which failed to make any headway. Both the countries reiterated their positions on the issue.

The Indo-Pak talks on Sir Creek were initially scheduled for mid-May this year but had to be postponed after the Pakistani side insisted that Siachen should be discussed first, apparently to see how far New Delhi was serious

in resolving the issue which is seen as “doable” by both the sides.

Pakistan and India held their last meeting on Sir Creek in Rawalpindi on May 20 and 21 last year and discussed the Pakistan-India land boundary in Sir Creek area and the delimitation of International Maritime Boundary

between the two countries.

Sir Creek is a 96-km strip of water that is disputed between India and Pakistan in the Rann of Kutch marshlands. The creek, which opens into the Arabian Sea, divides the Kutch region of Gujarat and the Sindh province of Pakistan.

PPP leader Fauzia Pakistan seeks long-term Wahab passes away peace, stability in Afghanistan

Pakistan Peoples Party’s central leader and veteran politician of her age, Fauzia Wahab passed away on Sunday after remaining under treatment at a local hospital for three weeks.

Fauzia Wahab, 56, had undergone a gallbladder surgery at a local hospital but suffered serious post-operative complications, which proved fatal for the veteran politician.

Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) MNA and Information Secretary Fauzia Wahab was in coma at Orthopedic and Medical Institute (OMI), in Karachi. On Saturday, she was admitted into the Intensive Care Unit of a private hospital. On Sunday her condition became critical and she was on ventilator and around 08:00pm she expired.

PPP leader Waqar Mehdi confirmed that Fauzia Wahab was no more. She had been hospitalized since May 24.

The PPP has announced 10-day mourning on the tragic demise of its senior leader.

President Asif Ali Zardari also showed his concerns on the PPP leader’s death.

Muttaihida Qaumi Movement (MQM) leader Babar Ghouri said that negligence of doctors resulted in Wahab’s death.

PPP leader Sharmila Farooqi said that investigations of Wahab’s death should be made.

Pakistan Muslim League-N President, Nawaz Sharif, expressed grief on Fauzia Wahab’s death and prayed for eternal peace of the departed soul.

MQM chief Altaf Hussain, PML-N Khawaja Saad Rafiq, Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain, Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi, Chaudhry Wajahat Hussain of PML-Q, Interior Minister Rehman Malik, Raza Haroon, Babar Awan, Zahid Khan of ANP, Agha Siraj Durrani, Ayaz Soomro, Manzoor Wasan, Mazhar Magsi and other politicians expressed profound grief at Fauzia Wahab’s demise. She was a member of National Assembly from Sindh returned on a reserved seat for women after the February 18, 2008 general elections. Fauzia Wahab was appointed as the new central Information Secretary of the Pakistan Peoples Party in place of Sherry Rehman on March 18, 2009.

Personal Life: She was the eldest of four children. She got married in 1978 with Wahab Siddiqui, a journalist and TV anchorman in political talk shows in later years on Pakistan Television. Wahab had four children. Fauzia Wahab acted in Haseena Moin’s drama serial ‘Kohar’ aired in 1991-92. In February 1993, Wahab Siddiqui died of a massive heart attack and her life took a new turn. She then re-married prominent cardiologist Dr Athar Hussein.

Pakistan reaches out to Afghanistan calling it the most important capital in the world where it seeks peace, stability and prosperity. “ “The Heart of Asia initiative reflects a wider acceptance of Pakistan’s long-standing approach to the challenges we face collectively.

We are therefore committed to supporting and participating in it to the fullest extent possible.

Pakistan is here because it wants a peaceful, stable and prosperous Afghanistan. Pakistan wants an autonomous, sovereign and strong Afghanistan.

We want it because such an Afghanistan is vital for Pakistan’s own peace, Pakistan’s own security, and Pakistan’s own prosperity”, Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar said in her address in Kabul at the Heart of Asia ministerial conference also attended by Turkey.

She said ‘the Heart of Asia’ concept is rooted in the words and philosophy of one of Pakistani nation’s founding fathers, the Muslim poetphilosopher Allama Muhammad Iqbal.

Khar referred to President Zardari’s commitment at the Nato summit in Chicago where he announced Pakistan’s financial contribution to the Afghan national security forces. “As we plan for the future, it is vital that we support Afghanistan’s capacity to make a full transition toward taking responsibility over its affairs by 2014. While there are formidable challenges, we must not be consumed by negativity.

Pakistan has consistently expressed its conviction that the goal of long-term stability in Afghanistan requires a holistic and all-inclusive approach to problem solving. Durable peace will be a product of intra-Afghan consensus and Afghan ownership, only to be supplemented with the

support of its neighbours, the region and the wider international community”, she told her audience.

At the bilateral level, the minister pointed out Pakistan’s engagement with Afghanistan is focused on deepening cooperation in diverse areas. “These include security, peace and reconciliation, trade, transit, education, health, energy and infrastructure development in a way as to effectively contribute towards the goal of long-term stability in Afghanistan”, Khar added.

The minister said that Pakistan is convinced that Afghanistan wants its support. “We will provide as much of it as is possible. This is not a matter of generosity, though Pakistanis have over the years hosted millions of their Afghan brothers and sisters, and take great pride in our hospitality.

In Pakistan, we know that we cannot grow, progress or live peacefully if our neighbours, especially our brothers and sisters in Afghanistan, are not growing, progressing or living peacefully”, the minister said.

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WEEKLY REVIEW OF MALDIVE NEWS

Centralization of communities must be pressed

President Mohamed Waheed Hassan Manik stressed that the policies to centralize the population needs to be explored further to ensure sustained development in the Maldives.

Speaking to the local media prior to departing to attend the UN Conference on Sustainable Development, Rio + 20, President Waheed stressed that the assistance of international partners was required in the developmental process of the country.

“One solution to the challenges we face is to centralize communities to more densely population islands and shape

our development goals in order to secure a better future for us all,” Waheed added.

President further admitted that water and sanitation systems must be established in every island to ensure development in the Maldives. He added that the means to provide economical electricity to the people must also be sought.

He expressed belief that the Rio +20 conference would yield further benefit and assistance to the country. President pledged efforts to relay the economic and environmental difficulties faced by smaller nations during the conference to heads of larger and

Commission of National Inquiry reconstituted

Commission of National Inquiry (CNI) set up to probe into events in the Maldives from January 14 to February 8, 2012 and the circumstances surrounding the transfer of power has been reconstituted by a Presidential decree yesterday.

The members in the CNI after its has been revised would include the original three members of the Commission Ismail Shafeeu, Dr Ali Fawaz Shareef and Dr Ibrahim Yasir, while retired Singaporean judge, Justice G Pannirselvam has been appointed as the Cochair and Ahmed ‘Gahaa’ Saeed would act in the Commission as a

representative of former President Mohamed Nasheed.

President’s Office revealed that two representatives from the Commonwealth and the United Nations will act as advisors to the commission.

The Commission’s report of its investigations is to be submitted to the President by July 31, 2012.

The government had agreed to change the composition of the Inquiry Commission after the Commonwealth had warned stronger measures if the Commission is not revised to make it more independent, impartial and generally acceptable to the people.

more developed countries.

During the trip, President Waheed will be accompanied by First Lady Madam Ilham Hussain, Tourism Minister Ahmed Adeeb, Economic Minister Ahmed Mohamed, Environment Minister Dr Mariyam Shakeela, Foreign Minister Dr Abdul Samad Abdulla and Executive Secretary Ali Rasheed.

The summit represented by over 140 nations, would also be participated by businessmen and officials of nongovernmental organizations from the Maldives.

Government Spokesperson Abbas Adil Riza stressed that the businessmen and nongovernmental organizations delegation would cover their own expenses.

“Unlike earlier times, given the present dire economic situation the State would only cover the expenses of the government delegation,” Abbas added.

He further revealed that the apart from the delegation from the Maldives, two officials from the Maldives’ Permanent Mission to the United Nations would travel to the Rio + 20 conference.

Hameed released on Criminal Court order

Criminal Court today has ordered the release of former Head of Police Intelligence Department Mohamed Hameed from Police custody.

The order of Hameed’s release came after he was taken to re-extend the detention period. Criminal Court had earlier extended his detention for five days shortly after his arrest last Thursday.

After the Criminal Court’s order was appealed, High Court today had upheld the lower court order.

Hameed’s attorney Abdulla Shaairu said that the Court had ordered his client’s release as the Court saw no grounds for further detention.

When Hameeed was brought to the court today, large numbers of people had been gathered near the court house including former President Mohamed Nasheed.

Upon his release, Nasheed had

greeted Hameed who left shortly afterwards.

The Criminal court order last Thursday indicated that Hameed had been the source for the information mentioned in the report of the events leading up to the transfer of power on February 7 published by two prominent members of opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP). Former National Security Advisor Ameen Faisal and former Housing Minister Mohamed Aslam had previously stated that police intelligence information had been included in their report.

In addition, Criminal Court detailed that witness intimidation and destroying of evidence in the case was a real possibility if Hameed was not detained as it is believed that others were involved in the alleged offence.

Maldives’ Mohamed Nasheed to be presidential candidate

Former Maldivian leader Mohamed Nasheed, who claims he was ousted in a military coup earlier this year, secured his party’s nomination Sunday to be its presidential candidate, the party said.

Nasheed stood unopposed in Saturday’s vote but Maldivian Democratic Party rules required him to get the endorsement of at least 10 percent of the 48,000strong membership.

The former Maldivian leader had gained more than 22,000 votes with half of them counted on Sunday, organiser Ibrahim Waheed told reporters.

“With the ballots counted so far, Nasheed received 22,375 votes endorsing him while 210 rejected him,” Waheed said, adding that the former president had clearly won the party’s nomination for the next presidential vote.

The 45-year-old Nasheed insists

he was forced to resign after 300 soldiers backed by Islamic radicals and local businessmen staged a mutiny that capped three weeks of anti-government protests in February.

The European Union as well as the United States and neighbouring India have called for early elections

to end the political turmoil in the Indian Ocean archipelago which is best known for its tourism.

However, the new administration of President Mohamed Waheed has ruled out snap polls and said the earliest elections could be held under their constitution was by July next year.

Nasheed became the first democratically elected leader in the Maldives following multi-party elections in October 2008.

President Waheed told parliament earlier in March that riots following Nasheed’s “resignation” cost the atoll nation of 330,000 Sunni Muslims an estimated 180 million rufiyaa ($11.8 million).

The 54-member Commonwealth has voiced “disappointment and deep concern” over the failure of Maldivian parties to reach a political settlement that would pave the way for polls this year.

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WEEKLY REVIEW OF NEPAL NEWS

UML national conclave starts; dissidents faction boycott

CPN-UML´s national conclave started in Kathmandu Monday amid boycott by some influential leaders from Madhesi, ethnic and indigenous communities including the party´s Vice-Chairman Ashok Rai demanding single identity based federal states.

But as the conclave began, there are clear indications of hardening the party´s position against the federal model based on the identity of a single ethnic community.

The party Chairman Jhalanath Khanal and General Secretary Ishwar Pokharel, addressing the inaugural session of the conclave, announced that the party was not going to accept the single-ethnicitybased federal model and vowed to fight against it.

Political proposal presented by the party chairman reaffirmed its stance

to recognize identities of multiple ethnic communities while carving out provinces.

It also claimed the party has been advocating multi-ethnic provinces and against granting preferential political rights to any specific social community ever since the party submitted its official concept on state restructuring to the thematic committee of Constituent Assembly (CA) two years ago.

The party argued it was for provinces based on the suggestions offered by a high-level commission on state restructuring rather than deciding on such a serious issue based on the conclusion of a specific political party.

However, the party has undergone self-criticism for the consequences caused by the party´s indecisiveness for long.

“The party rank and file was left in confusion and they formed differing views on the issue of state restructuring. Therefore, the party center [leadership] has realized the mistake for the confusion and the problems caused due to the party´s failure to take an appropriate and official decision in time,” read the

Baidya faction proposes collective leadership The dissident faction of the UCPN (Maoist) led by Senior Vice-chairman Mohan Baidya has proposed that the organizational structure of their party be based on collective leadership.

Presenting the party´s statute in the conclave that began from Saturday, party leader Dev Gurung proposed that the new party be headed by chairman with vice chairman, general secretary and secretary as other office bearers of the party.

As per the proposed statute, the party would have a standing committee, politburo, central committee (CC) and advisory committee in the party´s organization. The advisory committee and politburo will comprise one-third of the central committee members while the standing committee will have one-third of the politburo members.

“It is clear that the new party will have a collective leadership structure.

The gathering will determine the size of such leadership,” said party politburo member Khadga Bahadur Bishwakarma.

Similarly, leaders are also mulling a four-member leadership structure comprising chairman, vice-chairman, general secretary and secretary. They are also discussing a seven member leadership structure, including two vice chairmen.

“We [CC members] have suggested

that our existing five-member steering committee be transformed into the new leadership structure of the party,” said a CC member.

At present, Baidya, Ram Bahadur Thapa, CP Gajurel, Dev Gurung and Netra Bikram Chand are in the steering committee.

In the meantime, the party´s proposed statute and political paper is being discussed among 20 groups. Around 3,000 party cadres have attended the national conclave, which is likely to conclude on Monday announcing formation of a new party. Gurung has proposed that the party be named Communist Party of Nepal (MaoistRevolutionary). Gurung has proposed to hold general convention of the new party in February.

Meanwhile, a standing committee meeting of the party establishment faction has asked the dissident faction to endorse the proposal for party unity at the ongoing national gathering.

“We have asked them to endorse the proposal for party unity,” said party secretary Post Bahadur Bogati.

Biswakarma said the national gathering will endorse the proposal for unity not with the establishment faction but with other “revolutionary” forces.

Sonam Sathi´s walk out of the gathering Sonam Sathi´s group, which comprises half-a-dozen central committee members, walked out of the meeting hall after the Baidya faction refused to accept existence of “ideological groups” during the second day of the national gathering. His group walked out of the hall saying they would join the gathering again after holding an internal discussion.

“It should not be taken as a boycott.

We are holding discussions on the issue with our comrades,” said Sonam Sathi.

According to sources, the Baidya faction leaders had proposed that the political document be endorsed unanimously while Sonam Sathi proposed to pass the document through majority votes. Sonam Sathi had batted for holding general convention of the party while the Baidya faction leaders were in favor of announcing a new party through the ongoing gathering.

paper.

Also, Khanal confessed the mistake.

“As a party chairman I myself realize the mistake,” said Khanal. “But I want to make it clear that the UML was never for a single-identity-based federalism and will never accept it.”

Meanwhile, the dissident faction led by Vice-Chairman Ashok Rai,

which has boycotted the two-day event, have put forward four-point demand.

“The party must take an appropriate decision in regard to our views on present crisis immediately,” read the first point. They also demanded that the nine-point demand submitted by the group be allowed to be tabled at the party´s national conclave.

Also, they demanded that the party withdraw its decision to expel Solukhumbu district chapter´s Assistant Secretary Angkaji Sherpa, who is also the general secretary of Nepal Federation of Indigenous Nationalities from the party.

“We have decided to boycott the national conclave and other programs in future if our demands are not addressed,” said the statement issued in the name of Ashok Rai.

Govt tightens screws on NTV for opposition coverage

The government has started tightening the screws on the management of Nepal Television over the coverage of activities of opposition parties, and has sought verbal clarifications from top officials of the state-owned channel over the coverage of two events According to a source at NTV, the government became concerned over live broadcast of the mass rally of 22 opposition parties last Friday and the coverage of opposition protests against moves to promulgate laws through ordinance.

The source told Republica that the government has sought verbal clarifications from General Manager Dipak Mani Dhital and Director Rajendra Dev Acharya, and is considering sacking Dhital. The two were even compelled to appear before the prime minister, the source said.

According to the source, Minister for Information and Communications Raj Kishor Yadav had initially objected to plans for live broadcast of the opposition rally but relented after the management argued that the channel should exercise fairness as it had earlier broadcast live an interaction of the ruling parties.

Despite this, Shiva Adhikari of the Communications Ministry exerted pressure from that quarter.

Information and Communications Secretary Avanindra Shrestha also

objected to the live coverage.

NTV management, however, went ahead with the broadcast.

As pressure on management continued, the organizations of NTV journalists and other employees jointly denounced the government move. They wrote to Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai protesting such a move, according to Laxman Humangain, vice president of the Federation of Nepali Journalists NTV chapter.

As government pressure mounted, four organizations of journalists and employees jointly condemned the move to “gag freedom of expression and people´s right to information”, writing separate letters to the prime minister, the information minister and the information secretary.

“We have written to the prime minister that it is up to the management to decide the content and programs for broadcast and any external interference in this regard is unacceptable,” said Humagain.

They also demanded the government ensure the autonomy of the television channel and not exert pressure again over NTV coverage.

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WEEKLY REVIEW OF SRILANKA NEWS

Julampitiye Amare will be arrested if there is evidence- IGP

IGP N. K. Ilangakoon said yesterday that police would arrest anyone, including Julampitiye Amare, if there was enough evidence to connect him to last Friday night’s killings of two persons attending a JVP meeting at Katuwana in Hambantota.

Responding to the JVP’s demand for the arrest of gangster, Julampitiye Amare, over the Katuwana killings, Ilangakoon said that they couldn’t go around arresting people on the basis of hearsay. However, police had been looking for him for a long time in connection with eight other cases, the IGP said.

“We have been looking for him over eight cases of murder and

abductions,” the IGP said, adding that the police had obtained a

President grateful for Cuba’s solidarity with Lanka

President Mahinda Rajapaksa and Cuban President Raul Castro agreed on Saturday to further strengthen cooperation between their countries. The two leaders met for official talks at the Palace of the Revolution in Havana on Saturday.

The Cuban President welcomed President Rajapaksa at the Palace of the Revolution in Havana with a military guard of honour.

At the start of talks, President Rajapaksa expressed his

appreciation for Cuba’s support to Sri Lanka in the international fora. The two leaders highlighted the excellent state of bilateral relations between the two countries spanning 53 years and expressed common willingness to further promote it.

They exchanged views on further expanding economic relations. The feasibility of adopting successful nano and bio- technology methods

used in Cuba for the development of coconut cultivation in Sri Lanka was also discussed.

Expanding cooperation in the health sector was also discussed which included the possibility of Sri Lanka purchasing medicinal drugs from Cuba.

The leaders also discussed ways of implementing student exchange between universities in both countries and enhancing the number of scholarships offered to Sri Lankan students to study

in Cuba in the field of medicine, engineering and technology.

The leaders also voiced interest in enhancing collaboration in the field of sports.

Ministers Prof G L Peiris, Wimal Weerawansa, Anura Priyadharsana Yapa and Mahinda Amaraweera, Deputy Minister Nirupama Rajapaksa and Secretary to the President Lalith Weeratunga accompanied the President.

number of warrants for his arrest but he was absconding.

Addressing a media conference at the Media Centre for National Security (MCNS), Ilangakoon said that they had deployed a CID team, police intelligence team, STF team and an army team to look for suspects.

The IGP said that CID had questioned 23 people and Katuwana police had interrogated 25 people.

“Police follow a suspect according to evidence given by the villagers,” the IGP said, refusing to reveal names until investigations were over.

Addressing the same media conference, MCNS Director General Lakshman Hulugalle said he had enough evidence to

say that Katuwana incident was attributable to an internal struggle of the JVP. Denying JVP allegations that government was behind the killings, Hulugalle said that a government which had more than a two thirds majority in Parliament had no need to suppress a bankrupt political party.

In this country, only the JVP and LTTE had tried to maintain separate governments. The JVP had tried to do so twice but in vain, he said.

“The JVP pasted posters, within 24 hours, all over the country condemning the incident, as if they were well prepared for what happened,” Hulugalle said.

Significant foreign policy triumphs for SL

President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s recent visit to the United Kingdom was hailed as a foreign policy success for Sri Lanka by several officials who accompanied him on the tour.

Six out of the seven main events the President attended in UK were resounding successes. These helped to portray the country’s recent gains and establish Sri Lanka as a nation on the forward march towards a bright and prosperous future, they said.

These observations were made by the Secretary to the President Lalith Weeratunge, Sri Lankan High Commissioner to UK Dr Chris Nonis, External Affairs Ministry Monitoring MP Sajin Vasz Gunewardene and Foreign Secretary Karunatilake Amunugama during an interaction with the media yesterday. Mr. Weeratunge speaking on the cancellation of President Rajapaksa’s scheduled speech at the Commonwealth Economic Forum at Mansion House, said British Prime Minister David Cameron had expressed his regret to the President over the disruption of his scheduled speech.

He said this was only one small event among a series of programmes and added it had not been organised by the British state, but by a business body.

The Secretary said when the British Premier had made his comments on the disruptions, the President had replied: “I have been in politics for 42 years.

This is no problem at all. I have faced such situations on many occasions”

Dr Nonis speaking on the President’s visit, described it as one which moved UK – Sri Lanka relations to a new plateau.

He said six out of seven events the President attended, were highly successful.

Speaking on security arrangements, Dr Nonis said security aspects of each event were discussed with British authorities and arrangements made to provide tight security.

Speaking on the disruption caused by some LTTE supporters, he said the majority of the diaspora anywhere was very sensible and rational and it was only a minority who were violent and aggressive. Dr Nonis emphasised that Sri Lanka should engage constructively with these countries and added time will heal any wounds that occur in relations.

He pointed out to the seven events, starting from the reception at Buckingham Palace hosted by the Queen, and described that it had gone

off well despite some LTTE supporters trying to engage in a protest. He said the event was a triumph for Sri Lanka.

Dr Nonis said the President had also attended the St Pauls Cathedral Thanksgiving Mass and a reception at Guild Hall where the British Prime Minister was also in attendance.

According to Dr Nonis, the President had also participated in a reception hosted by him, where 20 UK Members of Parliament had attended.

Dr Nonis described the interaction between the President and UK Parliamentarians as fruitful.

“This could be considered a substantial advance in UK- Sri Lanka relations,” he said. According to Dr Nonis, the President had later met Commonwealth Secretary General Kamalesh Sharma where they discussed matters pertaining to the next Commonwealth Heads of States Summit to be held in Sri Lanka.

Sharma had conveyed to the President that Sri Lanka has the option of selecting the theme for the next Commonwealth Summit and the President’s preferred theme was ‘Rural Empowerment’, Dr Nonis said.

The President had also attended an event at Marlborough House where he had engaged with the Queen, and Prince Charles he added. Dr Nonis also described the discussion between the President and British Premier Cameron as extremely fruitful and said this could be considered as a landmark in UK – Sri Lanka relations.

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4th Annual World Food Awards To Return In November 2012 ...Entries Now Open...

The World Foods Association today announced that the 4th annual World Food Awards are now accepting entries for the 2012 ceremony - one of the most prestigious events on the ethnic food calendar.

The World Food Awards, which attract the cream of the industry and showcase the very best the sector has to offer, will take place on Friday 2nd November at London’s prestigious Lancaster London Hotel.

The World Foods Association, organisers of the awards also highlighted a shake-up in the categories this year, with a total of ten awards being presented on the evening: • Best New Product of the Year - NEW CATEGORY

• Entrepreneur of the Year Award • Lifetime Achievement Award The World Food Awards are open exclusively to companies specialising, promoting or stocking products from the following communities: Asian, Oriental, African, Afro-Caribbean, European, East-European, Middle Eastern, South American and Mediterranean. The closing date for this year’s entries is Tuesday 31st July, 2012.

Last year’s Awards saw the likes of supermarket giant Tesco, leading eatery Hakkasan and exotic drinks brand Rubicon, amongst a host of other well known and respected brands from the word foods sector, walking away with the highly coveted awards.

receive even more entries.”

Hosted by comedy legend Lenny Henry, last year’s Awards featured a glittering array of celebrity guests including chefs Ken Hom, Rob Billington, Anjum Anand and Ravinder Bhogal,

• Food or Drink Product of the Year - NEW CATEGORY • Best Packaging of the Year • Wholesaler of the Year/Catering Supplier of the Year - NEW CATEGORY • Marketing Campaign of the Year • National Retailer of the Year • Exporter of the Year - NEW CATEGORY • Restaurant of the Year

Harry Dulai one of the World Foods Association’s founding supporters, said: “This event has proved an amazing success with our industry, quickly attracting the who’s who of the world food sector - a clear sign to me that an event to honour the achievements of this thriving sector was long overdue. By refining our existing categories and introducing new categories we hope that the World Food Awards will this year,

as well as actor Nitin Ganatra, director Gurinder Chadha, singer Simon Webbe and sporting legends, Denise Lewis and Chris Eubank.

The World Foods Association has also reconfirmed that the Star Network will again be supporting the event as the official media partner to host this year’s much anticipated event.

Yeshpal Sharma, Vice President for Star UK &

Europe said: “We are delighted to be hosting these fantastic Awards again this year. There are hundreds, if not thousands of companies that deserve to be recognised for the impact they have made on the cultural landscape of Britain and it is a pleasure to see so many of them coming forward to participate in the World Food Awards.”

Through this exciting partnership with the Star Network, the World Food Awards 2012 will be broadcast globally to a vast audience. The event will again feature a glittering line-up, including performances from leading artists and a host of celebrities, food personalities and acclaimed chefs to present the awards.

This year’s high-profile judging panel consists

of some of the UK’s most respected industry experts, including Adam Leyland, Editor of The Grocer, Simon Numphud, Head of AA inspectors and Mintel’s Director of Innovation & Insight David Jago.

KPMG’s Sheel Gill will again audit the judge’s results to ensure complete confidence in the judging process.

The Institute of Export awards Sun Mark Ltd. The Institute of Export hosted a splendid Gala Dinner to honour those businesses who have been conferred The Queens Awards for Enterprise in International Trade in this Jubilee year 2012.

The dinner was attended by over 150 prominent members of society including HRH Prince Edward, Duke of Kent KG GCMG GCVO who is also patron of the Institute.

Sun Mark Ltd received special recognition from the Institute for winning the Queens Award for Enterprise in International Trade for four consecutive years, a unique of achievement in the history of the Queen’s Awards. The award was presented by Mr Doug Tweddle, National Chairman of the Institute of Export to Dr. Rami Ranger MBE, the founder and Chairman of Sun Mark Ltd. Dr. Rami Ranger MBE, upon

Mr Doug Tweddle presenting Dr Rami Ranger MBE, FRSA with an award.

From Left to Right: HRH Prince Edward, Duke of Kent, Mrs Renu Ranger, Dr Rami Ranger MBE, Mrs Reena Ahuja and Mr Harmeet Ahuja. receiving the award put his success down to the British sense of tolerance and fair play where an ordinary immigrant like him could

realise his ambitions and become an asset for his family and adopted country.

He also paid tribute to the staff of

Sun Mark for sharing his vision for the company and working hard to provide excellent customer service.

He is delighted with the company’s standing and the significant increase in its sales and profits, given the economic downturn in global markets.

The company exports British supermarket products to over 100 countries and its motto is “we only succeed when our customers succeed”.

Saarc international I Thursday 21 June 2012

ENTERTAINMENT

Kamal Haasan’s Viswaroopam Revealed

Actor Plays Kathak Dancer and Spy

Finally the wait is over! The trailer of the much-awaited Tamil movie of the year, ‘Viswaroopam’

singer choreographer, etc. He is known for his quest to excel in the art of movie making and in

(universal form), was released at the 13th IIFA awards in Singapore on Friday in the presence of big stars from the film industry.

The first teaser of the movie has already raised the toll of expectations for the movie.

The film, co-produced and directed by Dr Kamal Haasan, is being made in different languages including Tamil, Telugu and Hindi as well. The Hindi version of the movie was showcased at IIFA awards, while the Tamil version was unveiled on June 6 at the Vijay Awards function in Tamil Nadu.

“Viswaroopam” is reportedly Kamal’s biggest project till date.

Meanwhile, the theatrical trailer of the movie promises the audience to look forward to an action extravaganza, with a different storyline/plot set in USA. The trailer shows the first look of the entire star cast in the movie, including Kamal Haasan’s different avatars: one as a Kathak dance master and the other as a spy.

But wait; is Kamal a good spy or a bad one in the movie? The trailer shows, one of the leading female stars in the movie mouthing a famous dialogue from one of Kamal’s old movie. “Neenga nallavara kettavara? (Are you a good man or bad?), asks the female star.

This question-type dialogue was featured in legendary director Mani Ratnam’s movie “Nayagan,” which was released in 1987, and still continues to be fresh in the minds of South Indian cinema fans. Kamal, however, this time around answers this decade-old question saying that he is both the villain and the hero.

Kamal holds several identities in the Indian cinema industry as that of an actor, director, producer,

the past he has delivered many such unique movies in terms of

storyline, direction, acting and music as well.

According to the actor, who is popularly called as ‘Universal star,’ the storyline of ‘Viswaroopam’ was on his mind for about 7 years.

Indeed, it is one such movie that is expected to create several records.

His fans can expect a lot more from the movie.

The movie is expected to be released on June 29 worldwide.

The film besides having Kamal in the lead role has Rahul Bose, Andrea Jeremiah, Pooja Kumar, Jaideep Ahlawat, Samrat Chakrabarti, Zarina Wahab and a guest appearance by Shekhar Kapur.

Kamal Haasan rocks IIFA with ‘Vishwaroopam’ Kamal Haasan became the topic of dicsussion among the delegates at the 13th International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) weekend and awards in Singapore, as the actordirector screened excerpts from his

forthcoming film ‘Vishwaroopam’.

Scenes from the movie, which were screened for the first time on Friday received accolades from the gathered. Speaking on the occasion, Kamal said he was looking for talented people and not stars.

“Casting Jaydeep, Andrea and Pooja was easy as I was looking for talent and I found it in them,” Kamal said. Stating that he was unable to rope in a leading actress, he said, “We didn’t get the dates we wanted from her so we let her go. I wouldn’t like to name her.

Her name was suggested by my financier, but I am happy with the people I am working with in this film.”

On making the film in Tamil and Hindi, he said, “The content of the film is such that it demanded a larger audience, so we made the film in both languages. The basic premise of the film is to get the audience to

theatres, so that the people, who have invested in the film, including me, can rake in the moolah.”

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Kajol, Ajay Devgn inspired by Aamir Khan Bollywood couple Kajol and Ajay Devgn have endorsed a lot of brands over the years. Be it consumer durables or telecom companies, they have made their mark in the Indian ad space.

However, now, the couple are coming together for a 3-minute film on female foeticide that is being made on behalf of Maharashtra State Government’s Save the Girl Child campaign.

The couple want to do this for their country and they believe that they

can make a difference.

When an Indian newspaper contacted Devgn, the actor said, “We are working on the script at the moment and should be ready to roll it within a month or so. Both Kajol and I will be part of this, and we will speak about female foeticide.”

Aamir Khan’s debut show on Satyamev Jayate took up the issue of female foeticide and moved the entire country.

RDB Remember Brother Kuly with Special Memorial Song In a final poignant farewell to their beloved brother Kuly, who passed away on the 22nd of May 2012 from a brain tumour, his family and record label Three Records will release a special song and memorial video to remember the international musician.

The song, entitled ‘Yaadan’ (Memories) has been written by Kuly’s father Harjog Singh and sung by Kuly’s brothers Manj and Surj along with a verse sung by their father. The music and production of the track was composed by Kuly last year.

In a further tribute to international producer Kuly, Urban Bhangra songstress Nindy Kaur will release a track featuring Kuly’s vocal and a hook line produced for her by Kuly before he passed away.

Speaking about the recording of the emotional song ‘Yaadan’, Manj said: “This song was the hardest one we have ever had to sing, and was very emotional for us all. Dad would tear at every line he would sing. This song is from the heart and we hope the world appreciates it.”

As a lasting legacy to Kuly, his family and friends have set up a ‘Just Giving’ Memorial Page, so that those who wish to can visit the page and pledge what they can to BrainTumour UK, which works tirelessly to fund research and raise awareness of brain cancer (www.justgiving.com/Kulyrdb).

COMMENT

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UN Report: Israeli Brutality in Gaza under Blockade

By Zaheerul Hassan

South Asia Tribune I Thursday 21 June 2012

UNOCHA said. Israel’s naval blockade has undermined the livelihood of 35,000 fishermen, and farmers have lost around 75,000 tons of produce each year due to Israeli restrictions along Gaza’s land border, it added.

Meanwhile, Israeli restrictions on imports have led to the growth of the smuggling trade.

At least 172 Palestinians have been killed working in tunnels under Gaza’s border with Egypt, the report said. Despite the risks, young men are still drawn to tunnel work in Gaza, where more than half the youth is unemployed and 44 percent of people are food insecure.

Mark Regev, spokesman for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, alleged that the blockade was necessary because Gaza’s ruling party Hamas is a “terrorist organization.” It is also mentionable here that All cargo going into Gaza is being checked because Gaza is controlled by Israeli forces on regular.

However, in response to a petition by 50 aid groups, including six

Will Obama able to stop Israeli brutality against innocent Palestinian people in his next tenure? It is the question in every individual who respect humanity.

According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs Israeli forces have killed nearly 2,300 Palestinians and injured 7,700 in Gaza over the last five years. Some 27 percent of the fatalities in Gaza were women and children, the UN agency said in a report highlighting the effects of Israel’s blockade. On June 14, 2012, the land, sea and air blockade of Gaza entered into its sixth year.

Under the blockade, exports have dropped to less than 3 percent of 2006 levels. “The continued ban on the transfer of goods from Gaza to its traditional markets in the West Bank and Israel, along with the severe restrictions on access to agricultural land and fishing waters, prevents sustainable growth and perpetuates the high levels of unemployment, food insecurity and aid dependency,”

UN agencies, calling on Israel to lift the blockade. In fact American top brass has always provided shelter to Israeli brutality and ruthless acts against innocent people of Palestine. U.S. economy and politics is being influenced by Jewish domiciled permanently now in America. Unfortunately, this community is more loyal to Israel than U.S. They are enjoying more rights and perks even as compare to the real Americans (blacks).

U.S. always vetoed resolutions, whenever presented against Israeli in UN by any country. I think only solution now lie to the issue is; Arab states should get united against Israel and its ally. They must get their money out from Americans’ banks and issue some common currency on the lines of “Euro and Dollar”. All business activities transitions related to oil should be made Islamic banks.

It will automatically force the American and western countries to put pressure to resolve the long outstanding Palestine and Gaza.

The writer can be approached through zameer36@gmail.com

Sindhi Nationalist Missing Person Sanauallah Bhati

Mansoor Khaskheli

for Salem-News.com Pakistan’s civilian government has stated that it has little to no control over agencies like ISI, notorious for torture.

Political Activist Tando Mohd Khan, President of Jeay Sindh Muttahida Mahaz (JSMM) has been abducted a second time by the Notorious Pakistani Agency ISI. Photo: Mansoor Khaskheli (SINDH, Pakistan) - Political Activist Tando Mohd Khan, President of Jeay Sindh Muttahida Mahaz (JSMM) has been abducted a second time by the Notorious Pakistani Agency

ISI from Hyderabad Near Gudu Chock (Sindh, Pakistan). He has remained in their custody since 2

July 2011, still under detention of ISI Torture Cell.

His life has been under Serious

Threat. We appeal to all human rights agencies; Amnesty Int, Human Rights Watch, United Nations and Civil Society, to take this issue very seriously on a human rights basis.

We appeal to the UN to setup an international committee of inquiry to investigate recent extra judicial killing of Sindhi Nationalist Bashir Qureshi, Muzfar Bhutto, Sarai Qurban Kawar, Noorullah Tunio, Roplo Chulyani, Mushtaq Khaskheli & more than 200 Sindhi Missing Persons.

Asma Jahangir All Sindhi Baloch missing persons are victims of Pakistani State

Terrorism. Pakistani CJ Supreme Court, and the current civilian govt have many times expressed that they have no control on agencies.

Even human Rights Activist Asma Jehangir publicly exposed a plot to kill her by Agencies. “ I swore never to be silent whenever and wherever a human being endures suffering & humiliations always take (their) side. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never victims. Silence encourage the tormentor never the tormented. ” Edited by Tim King, SalemNews.com

South Asia Tribune I Thursday 21 June 2012

NEWS

27

PM set for Brazil visit amid protests Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai is determined to go to Brazil to attend the UN Conference on Sustainable Development Come what may, Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai is determined to go to Brazil to attend the UN Conference on Sustainable Development, also known as Rio+20, and no argument by the opposition over his constitutional status or threats of widespread protests is likely to change his mind.

For now, not even confirmation by government officials that Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff had originally extended invitation to President Ram Baran Yadav is likely to change anything. Bhattarai on Sunday shot back with a statement that he is attending the conference at the invitation of UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, and argued that his visit to the Rio+20 Conference as a head of the government was indispensable.

“The visit to the conference is not a matter of a party or individual, but of nation as a whole,” states a press statement issued by the prime minister´s office Sunday evening. “Mainly, the conference is an excellent opportunity to apprise about the problems faced by a mountainous country.”

The prime minister, who is leading a 21member delegation, argued that his visit to the conference would be important to voice developmental as well as environmental concerns of mountainous as well as Least Developed Countries (LDCs) like Nepal.

Pakistan considering ‘soft apology’ offered by US

An offer by the United States to apologise ‘ softly’ for the death of 24 Pakistani troops killed in a cross border attack by US forces on a Pakistani security checkpost in November last year.

A meeting of the Defence Committee of the Cabinet has been immediately summoned to tackle the issue.

Ten days remain to the passing of seven months since the closure of Nato supplies after the cross border attack and experts are hoping that the strained relations between the US and Pakistan would be resolved.

Diplomatic sources have said the US has offered a ‘soft low level apology’ over the checkpost attack incident and it is expected to be delivered next week.

Earlier President Asid Ali Zardari held a meeting of ruling coalition parties to discuss and take them into confidence over the issue of nato route resumption.

Relations between Pakistan and the United States have nose-dived after last years incident involving a CIA contractor Raymond Davis who shot to death two civilians in Lahore ensuing a diplomatic row.

Relations were further strained over the Abbottabad raid in May 2011 that killed al Qaeda leader Osama bin laden.

Pakistan shut off Nato supply routes after a cross border attack by US forces resulted in the death of 24 Pakistani troops at a security check post in Salala near the Pak-Afghan border.

Mir Kashem sent to jail

Jamaat-e-Islami leader Mir Kashem Ali was sent to jail on Sunday hours after his arrest in the capital in connection with war crimes and crimes against humanity.

“The visit of prime minister is necessary to chair the meeting as this is being organized

by Nepal. The visit is also indispensable as absence of the prime minister in the meeting would mean shying away from the responsibility and international obligations as chair of LDCs,” adds the statement from the prime minister´s office.

Bhattarai also asked all parties to refrain from dragging his visit into controversy.

That may have been too late. On Sunday evening students affiliated Nepali Congress staged a torch rally in the capital Sunday evening to protest the visit. Nearly four dozen protestors were injured, including 16 seriously, as police baton charged the agitating students to disperse them, according to press statement issued by NC. Opposition parties are also planning to stage protests at Tribhuvan International Airport, Monday afternoon and greet him with black flags.

The issue of the prime minister´s visit to Brazil also figured during a standing committee meeting of Maoists at the residence of the party Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal in Lazimpat.

“Though some members argued that the prime minister should cancel the visit in view of the protests from opposition parties, majority members said the visit will provide an opportunity to meet UN secretary general and apprise him about the latest political situation in the country after the dissolution of the Constituent Assembly,” said a member present in the meeting.

Nearly 150 head of the states and head of the governments were expected to participate in the conference being organized by the UN with an objective to address the environmental problems in the world. The conference marks the 20th anniversary of the 1992 UN Conference on Environment and Development in Rio de Janeiro.

As a current chair of the Global Coordinating Bureau of the LDCs, the prime minister is also scheduled to preside over two highlevel side events including the one to be hosted by Nepal during the conference on ´LDCs and Rio+20, in collaboration with the government of Turkey and Belgium and the UN office of the High Representative for the LDCs, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States.

Bangladesh backsliding on press freedom

“Bangladeshi democracy [may be] doomed to more of the same,” International Crisis Group wrote in a recent commentary.

They are describing a longstanding pattern of antagonism between Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s Awami League and the opposition Bangladesh National Party (BNP), which the Crisis Group describes as “a pernicious cycle of zero-sum politics.” If the political situation descends into unrest, journalists covering it will suffer.

The latest cause for concern is the Awami League’s adoption of a fifteenth amendment to the constitution, which does away with the need for a neutral, caretaker government to oversee general elections, according to International Crisis Group and news reports.

The amendment also states that criticizing the constitution now comes with a charge of sedition.

In response, the BNP has called for political agitation around the country, and may boycott the next elections due in 2013, the Crisis Group reports.

Violence against journalists has worsened this year. At least nine were injured in May when a group

wielding machetes attacked the newsrooms of the bdnews24 website. Other attacks on the press were documented that month: -Fazlur Rahman, Pabna district correspondent of the Bengalilanguage daily Samakal, received hospital treatment for arm and leg wounds on May 22 after men with machetes attacked him for reporting that a dance performance sponsored by a local university was obscene, according to local press freedom group Bangladesh Media Watch and local English-language newspaper The Daily Star. Two men were jailed for carrying out the attack, the Star reported.

-Local newspaper The Daily Sun and Media Watch reported that Abdullah Al Mamun, reporter with the Bengali-language daily Kaler Kantho, was beaten unconscious, also in Pabna, by Aminul Islam, the nephew of the Awami League’s Minister for Home Affairs Shamsul Hoque Tuku, for his reports accusing Tuku of corruption. Tuku told the local press his nephew had led the attack for personal reasons, according to bdnews24.

-Police in the capital, Dhaka, beat three daily Bengali-language Pro-

thom Alo photojournalists and snatched their cameras while they were covering a demonstration by students of the Dhaka Women Polytechnic Institute on May 26, according to local news reports.

Nine officers were suspended for involvement in the attack, The Daily Star reported.

The deteriorating environment for the press is all the more concerning since 2012 is the first year Bangladesh has not featured on CPJ’s Impunity Index, which spotlights countries where journalists are murdered regularly and killers go free. “While no convictions have been recorded in journalist murders there over the last decade, a seven-year absence of journalist killings led Bangladesh to be dropped from the index,” CPJ reported.

The February murders of television journalists Meherun Runi and Golam Mustofa Sarowar are not included in the Index because CPJ is still determining the motive in those killings. But police have failed to make headway in that investigation, which, as they are also accused of beating photojournalists, will only further undermine media confidence in law enforcement. Sheikh Hasina must publicly commit to protecting journalists if she is to reverse this trend.

Otherwise, Bangladesh is on the brink of slipping back, not just into zero-sum politics, but a pernicious cycle of impunity for attacks on the press.

NEWS

28

South Asia Tribune I Thursday 21 June 2012

‘Pakistan a hired gun to kill US enemies’ The juiciest bits of the Assange-Imran Khan interview

Imran Khan must be rubbing his hands with glee since the dismissal of the Pakistani Prime Minister by the Supreme Court.

In an interview with Wikileaks founder Julian Assange, the former cricketer and head of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf would like us to believe that he is next in line in the power struggle in Pakistan and if he does get power, one of the first changes might be the country’s relationship with the US. On Pakistan’s political scenario: Imran Khan believes his political rallies are changing the political scenario in Pakistan and are working in his favour and will bring him to power. However, even he can’t predict when it will happen.

“Now, since the big rallies, the whole political scene has changed.

We have seen now politicians rushing to me. So people who are electables, realising that the vote bank now belongs to me, they are coming to join me,” he said.

The former cricketer seems to fancy himself as the next Prime Minister of Pakistan. Reuters And what about Pervez Musharraf? “Well his whole idea of politics is on the Facebook,” Khan dismisses him saying that the former Pakistani president

doesn’t understand the situation on the ground since he’s outside the country.

According to Khan, the political establishment is scared of him since he has managed to gather enough support last seen 40 years ago during the time of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto.

“And when that… these sort of numbers turned out he swept the election, he just swept… and he was an underdog and all the status quo parties were blown away so that’s why they’ve all got scared,” he said.

On India Even Imran Khan, who is accused sometimes of not being the well versed in politics, says that coalitions always result in forming weak governments that force even honest leaders to look the other

way when it comes to corruption.

“You see, Julian, in India they have two problems. Number one is that it’s such a big country and there’s so many political parties and they need coalitions to form government. When you have coalitions, um, I’m afraid you are always going to be a weak government – if there are corrupt people in the coalitions you’ve just got to look the other way if you want to form government,” he said, adding that the final power in India rested with Sonia Gandhi and not Manmohan Singh.

On Osama bin Laden According to Khan, the former head of the terror group al Qaeda was being harboured in Pakistan by the government’s agencies which were not able to accept the sudden change in his status from

an asset fighting the Russians in Afghanistan to a terrorist after the 9/11 terror strikes.

“I think there were always going to be elements within the secret agencies who would not have accepted this. It’s possible that he was being harboured by people within the agencies,” Khan said.

On the war on terror The PTI leader believes that the only way in which the US can win the ‘war on terror’ is by winning hearts and minds. Khan believes that Pakistani society is more polarised than ever before and says that the US is likely to leave Afghanistan in far worse condition than when it entered the country.

“We have more fear of militants today than ever before; 140,000 Pakistani soldiers are stuck on our western borders along with

Afghanistan, er – the situation is not that we are winning the war, our Army’s stuck there – and the Army Chief told us politicians in a briefing that the moment they withdraw the militants will come back. So I don’t know what we’ll gain out of this,” Khan said.

He said that the only solution was to hold elections in Afghanistan, form a credible government there and start a political dialogue that could help the US exit the country.

On relations with US Pakistan should have a relationship of the sort that India shares with the US and should have one that is based on dignity and self respect and not that of a hired gun that is paid to kill enemies, Khan said, adding that the relationship between the two countries has failed.

“The Americans are very unhappy with the Pakistan government because they haven’t delivered, and they can’t deliver. So, the time has come… either the US should have a relationship like it has with India based on dignity/selfrespect,” he said.

Khan said that the country should not accept any more aid from the US and stand on their own feet and not allow any interference from the US in their domestic affairs.

Pakistan nabs French man with reported 9-11 links

Pakistan has arrested a French man reportedly linked to one of the masterminds of the Sept. 11 terrorist attack, a reminder of the country’s vital role in the war on international jihadist groups at a time of deteriorating relations with the U.S., security officials said Wednesday.

Naamen Meziche was captured in a raid near the border with Iran, officials said, without specifying when this had happened.

Western media reports have described Meziche as an al-Qaida operative with links to European jihadist groups believed to have been living until now in either Pakistan or Iran. CNN and the Wall Street Journal have reported that Meziche was a friend of Mohammed Atta, who piloted American Airlines Flight 11 into the World Trade Center. However, he does not appear to have any operational role in the attacks.

The officials did not give their names in keeping with the policy of the Pakistani security forces.

The officials said Meziche was a close associate of Younis al-

Mauritani, who Pakistani security forces arrested in September last year in a joint operation with the CIA. That arrest also took place in the Baluchistan region, which borders Iran. U.S. officials said al-Mauritani was believed to have been plotting attacks in Europe.

It is unclear where al-Mauritani is now being held. One of the officials said he had been in Iran but it was not clear when he’d come to Pakistan.

A senior Pakistan security official said al-Mauritani’s interrogation led officials to Meziche. He was arrested while trying to flee the country, likely on his way to Somalia, said the official. If Meziche is found to have broken the law in Pakistan he would be charged and tried inside the country, the official said.

Otherwise he would be deported to France. The official said alMauritani had asked Meziche to conduct foreign operations for alQaida.

Baluchistan borders Afghanistan to the northeast and has been a hotbed of militant activity.

Pakistani intelligence agents are currently questioning the French national.

The arrest highlights the Pakistani security forces’ key role in the anti-al-Qaida campaign, even as the U.S. and Pakistan are going through one of the rockiest stages in their relationship since the Sept. 11 attacks in the U.S. The Navy SEAL raid on the Pakistan garrison city of Abbottabad that killed Osama bin Laden last year raised questions about whether Pakistani security officials at some

level knew of the al-Qaida leader’s presence in their country. On the Pakistani side, the raid infuriated the military because it was not told about the attack ahead of time and, once it happened, was powerless to stop it.

Tensions increased even further in November when U.S. forces accidentally killed 24 Pakistani border troops, prompting Pakistan to close supply lines to American and NATO forces in Afghanistan.

Those supply lines remain closed to this day as Pakistan demands

an apology from the U.S. for the deaths.

The U.S. has accused Pakistan of not doing enough to go after militant groups operating in its territory. During a June 7 visit to Kabul, Defence Secretary Leon Panetta said the U.S. was losing patience with Pakistan over its failure to go after the Haqqani network, considered one of the most dangerous militant groups fighting in Afghanistan. The U.S. has blamed an attack on the American Embassy in Kabul last year on the network.

Pakistan also argues that the U.S. does not recognize the tough price the country has already paid for taking on militant groups operating on its territory, a battle that has killed tens of thousands of Pakistani civilians and security forces. Many analysts believe Pakistan is reluctant to target the Haqqanis and other Afghan militants based on its soil because they could be useful allies in Afghanistan after foreign forces withdraw, especially in countering the influence of India.

South Asia Tribune I Thursday 21 June 2012

NEWS

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Unjustified killing: UN wants US drone attacks explained

A UN investigator has called on Washington to provide justification for the increasingly widespread use of military drones to carry out targeted killings. He says drone attacks, which take innocent civilian lives, may be violating international law.

The US military and CIA use drones in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq, Yemen and Somalia. Washington should clarify the legal basis for the policy of killing suspected Al Qaeda and Taliban leaders and associates rather than trying to capture them, Christof Heyns, Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial, Summary or Arbitrary Executions, said in a report. The 28-page document addressed to the UN Human Rights Council was released ahead of the body’s debate on the issue in Geneva.

“The government should clarify the procedures in place to ensure that any targeted killing complies with international humanitarian law and human rights and indicate the measures or strategies applied to prevent casualties, as well as the measures in place to provide prompt, thorough, effective and independent public investigation of alleged violations,” the report

says.

“Although figures vary widely with regard to drone attack estimates, all studies concur on one important point: there has been a dramatic increase in their use over the past three years,” Heyns said.

The UN official cites figures from the Pakistan Human Rights Commission, which said American drone strikes killed at least 957 people in Pakistan in 2010 alone.

Out of the thousands killed by

drones since 2004 roughly 20 per cent are believed to be civilians.

“Disclosure of these killings is critical to ensure accountability, justice and reparation for victims or their families,” the rapporteur says.

Heyns stressed that international humanitarian law requires that every effort made to arrest a suspect and any use of force comply with the principles of necessity and proportionality. He added

Confusion as Mubarak reported to be dead – then on life support machine

UNCERTAINTY surrounded the health of former Egyptian leader Hosni Mubarak last night following conflicting reports that he had suffered a stroke.

Initial reports by the state news agency Mena said Mubarak was “clinically

that the former leader was close to death.

The 84-year-old ousted leader’s health crisis added a new element of uncertainty just as a potentially explosive fight opened over who will succeed him.

The developments add further layers to what is threatening to become a new chapter of unrest and political power struggles in Egypt following the presidential elections earlier this week, The Muslim Brotherhood has said it

The ruling army council, which took control when former Mubarak was driven from office last year, issued an 11th-hour decree late on Sunday assuming legislative powers until a new parliament is elected, and keeping control of army affairs.

Thousands of Egyptians gathered in Cairo’s Tahrir Square and outside the parliament building yesterday to protest against the army’s decree.

Protesters also gathered in Egypt’s second city of Alexandria. Earlier, the Brotherhood called for a mass rally.

dead” when he arrived at the hospital from prison, that doctors had used a defibrillator on him several times, but that initially the efforts were not successful. But the official said later that Mubarak had now been put on life support.

No further details were given on his condition, though it was later reported

does not want a confrontation with the army after claiming victory in the poll.

The campaign of Ahmed Shafiq, the former military man who was in the run-off against the Brotherhood’s Mohammed Morsi, has also claimed victory in the race. Official results from the weekend vote are not expected until tomorrow.

“We do not seek any confrontation with anyone and no-one in Egypt wants confrontation,” said Yasser Ali, spokesman for Mr Morsi’s campaign.

“There has to be dialogue and the people alone must decide their fate,” he told reporters, but added: “Nobody in Egypt is above the state and the constitution.

Washington has failed to respond satisfactorily to concerns voiced by his predecessor Philip Alston, in a 2009 report.

“The Special Rapporteur again requests the Government to clarify the rules that it considers to cover targeted killings … (and) reiterates his predecessor’s recommendation that the government specify the bases for decisions to kill rather than capture ‘human targets’ and whether the State in which the killing takes places has given consent,” Heyns said.

Drone attacks also create problems for Washington’s relations with its allies. They were one of the

major points of conflict between the US and Pakistan, with the row resulting in disruption of supplies through Pakistani territory for American troops deployed in Afghanistan.

Pakistani Ambassador Zamir Akram spoke earlier on Monday during the opening session of the UN human rights body, saying his government considers the use of drones on its soil illegal, counterproductive and as violating Pakistan’s sovereignty.

“Thousands of innocent people, including women and children, have been murdered in these indiscriminate attacks,” he said.

Iran: Lift sanctions, and we will fully cooperate with IAEA

The Islamic Republic’s chief nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili said his country is prepared to fully cooperate with the International Atomic Energy Agency if the sanctions currently placed on Iran are lifted.

Jalili made the statement after a third round of talks on Iran’s nuclear program finished in Moscow. All parties expressed satisfaction with the talks, despite the fact that no breakthroughs have been made.

Both Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov and EU Foreign Policy Chief Catherine Ashton have said significant differences remain between Iran and the P5+1 group, which consists of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council and Germany.

Ashton also said the group continues to demand that Iran stops enriching uranium to 20%, get rid of its accumulated stock and close the

enrichment facility in Fordo. The EU Foreign Policy Chief also noted that counter-proposals were made in order to establish a certain level of trust. “We are ready to move forward, ready to respond to the steps Iran chooses to take,” Ashton told reporters at a press conference.

Ryabkov added that despite the lack of a breakthrough, significant progress has been made, and it is very important to continue the work, as it brings all parties closer to a mutually satisfying solution.

Jalili said the talks in Moscow were much more serious and realistic than previous meetings. But he reiterated Iran’s right to nuclear enrichment for civilian purposes, calling it an “inherent right” of the Islamic Republic.

Iran’s nuclear negotiator also claimed the EU oil embargo on Iran will not contribute to the success of talks with the P5+1 group.

30

SPECIAL FEATURE

South Asia Tribune I Thursday 21 June 2012

Benazir’s 59th birthday on Thursday A tribute to Benazir Bhutto

The Pakistan Peoples Party has already begun planning rallies and seminars for June 21, in connection with former chairperson Benazir Bhutto’s 59th birth anniversary. The party would also organise a blood donation campaign throughout the province on the day, said PPP Sindh general secretary Taj Haider.

“We collected around 23,000 blood bags last year, and want to increase [that count] by at least 5,000 this year,” said Haider. The PPP would hand out appreciation certificates among nearly 53,000 people who donated blood during the past four years.

Meanwhile, the Shaheed Benazir Bhutto chair at Karachi University will organise an international conference

It was the longest day of the year and happiest too for the Bhuttos when on June 21, 1953 Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto Shaheed was born. She was destined to rule the hearts and minds of millions of people. On her birth anniversary, I fondly remember my profound association with her that spread over a period of three decades. And in various capacities too.

Obviously this places me in a unique position to write volumes on her and her achievements.

However, her horrendous assassination on December 27, 2007 left me shattered, battered and broken—rendered into perhaps – a living dead. When I think of her I am totally lost and poet Anne Bronte’s following lines – to some extent – represent my present state of mind.

on June 21. Sindh Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah will also speak at a day-long seminar in Hyderabad on June 28.

Zulfikarabad City project Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah has formed a committee to reach out to people apprehensive about the Zulfikarabad project, said Haider.

The committee would consist of the chief minister, provincial minister Makhdoom Jameel Zaman, and party leaders Aajiz Dhamrah and Waqar Mehdi. “Instead of depriving the people of their land, 93,000 acres out of 350,000 acres will be reclaimed from the sea under the project,” claimed Haider.

Oh, I am very weary, Though tears no longer flow: My eyes are tired of weeping, My heart is sick of woe.

Hers was the glow that kept my life ignited in the most depressing moments and has kept me going. Though that light has been extinguished by those who wanted to see disintegration of the country, she remains the symbol of the country’s survival against those that have been working to make it a failed state.

Her life was put to an end when Pakistan needed her most for survival. And this was the reason that she shrugged aside the threats of death that were conveyed to her through various channels—by those who saw in her return to Pakistan an end

to their dirty game. Their warnings to her were clear—Pakistan had space for only one – either her or them. Her participation in elections would have meant defeat to them.

She preferred to do and die for Pakistan rather than buckle in to fatal intimidations of the dictator.

Though born in one of the most famous political families in the Asian subcontinent, martyred Benazir Bhutto was

with Prime Minister Indira Gandhi to negotiate an honourable agreement for peace in 1972—peace that has kept the two countries away from war ever since.

As a member of the media team in Bhutto’s entourage, I spotted in her outstanding traits of a leader. Barely 19, she carried herself with grace, stately dignity and striking confidence. The coup against her father in 1977, followed by his judicial

tampered in an upbringing that could make her withstand most adverse pressures in life. And even death.

murder in 1979, catapulted her into politics to complete ZAB’s mission.

As the leader of the country’s biggest party

confidence she he had in the people of Pakistan. “I am confident about the future of Pakistan. I believe that a nation that is inspired by democracy, human rights and economic opportunity will turn its back decisively against extremism. Indeed, I look forward to the day that a truly democratic Pakistan, unhindered by extremists and military rule, takes its place on the world stage” were some of her last words that I remember she spoke to me before leaving for Pakistan.

When Bibi appointed me High Commissioner to the UK in early 1994 she spelled out the assignment to me in detail.

Concern about the Pakistani Diaspora abroad—especially UK—was upper most in her mind. I was directed to purchase Pakistan High Commission’s premises in London to give it a permanent home. I was told that many failed attempts had been made in the past. It was no doubt a challenge for me but I succeeded. And today the multi-million freehold property in the prestigious Lowndes Square that belongs to the Pakistani community is owed to her.

Among her other priorities were promotion of the cause of right of self-determination of the Kashmiri people, trade and not aid from UK and improvement of Pakistan’s image.

Today despite war on terrorism consuming most of our resources, the democratic government has achieved milestones towards empowering the people through its policy of reconciliation and reconstruction that was revealed in the Balochistan Package, the NFC Award, and the 18th Amendment to the constitution. All these steps have consolidated the fragmented

She was bright as a student. Her academic insight brought her success at Harvard and Oxford Universities. She wanted to be either a journalist or a foreign policy expert. It was fate that plunged her into politics.

I had the first glimpse of her when she accompanied her father, the then president Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, to Simla for a summit

– the Pakistan People’s Party – Mohtarma took upon herself the onerous challenge of completing the mission of transforming Pakistan into a modern democracy with equality for all its citizens—irrespective of caste, creed or colour—as envisioned by the Quaid and her martyred father.

Mohtarma laid down her life for the

nation and given root to our nascent democracy. We have still far to travel but nothing seems to be unachievable—if we persevere our determination to fulfil Bibi’s mission of making Pakistan a modern, progressive egalitarian nation-state will be fulfilled.

By Wajid Shamsul Hasan

South Asia Tribune I Thursday 21 June 2012

Yuvraj targets return at Twenty20 World Cup during the ICC World Twenty20 tournament to be held in Sri Lanka this year.

Yuvraj has spoken of his emotional battle against cancer in the first edition of the ICC’s new weekly multiplatform show, ICC Cricket 360, which will be launched on Thursday.

The weekly show, produced by IMG, part of IMG Worldwide, on behalf of the ICC, features a moving interview with the India all-rounder speaking openly on his fight with cancer.

In the interview the 30-year old admits that it was difficult to come to terms with the fact he was seriously ill.

“Initially it was hard to accept that a guy like me who is training six to seven hours a day, running around all the time as an athlete, can get diagnosed with something like this,” said Yuvraj who took the player of the tournament award at the World Cup last year. “It took a long time to sink in but eventually I made peace with it.

I knew I have an issue and I have to sort it out.”

Yuvraj admits that the incredible support he received from Indian fans during his treatment made a huge difference to his recovery and spirit.

“The support was overwhelming, especially from India. One of the students from a college in Indianapolis came to see me and I felt like I was in India. I just want to thank everybody for their support and for their care. I went through chemotherapy which is hard for everybody but the wishes and the love is what made me come back,” said Yuvraj who is expected in Dubai today for the Indian Property Show.

Yuvraj also decided to share his emotional journey in coping with cancer in a very public manner via his personal Twitter account.

Explaining the reasons for this Yuvraj said: “There was a lot of speculation on what cancer I had, what had been going on, so I just want to keep everybody in the loop by saying this is what is happening and this is how my treatment is being done and I’m being positive. I just want to spread the message to other people who are diagnosed with such a disease that they can also fight it with the support of their family and their loved ones.”

Having already returned to light training, Yuvraj believes that his recovery is going well, and is enjoying a healthier lifestyle.

“I’m feeling good. It’s been two months since I finished my chemotherapy.

Initially my energy levels were low but now I am following my diet and eating loads of food and it’s getting better in recovery. I’ve done six or seven sessions very light training and very light yoga. I’m just getting back into the groove of being a normal person, breathe normally, which is a lot of excitement and fun for me at the moment.”

The all-rounder didn’t want to commit to when he anticipates returning to the cricket field, stating that he is keen to avoid coming back to play prematurely.

“Well I can’t really give a timeframe but I have to see how my body is recovering and how fast I can come on the field. Actually I don’t want to rush and I don’t want to come back at 75% fitness. I might take six months, I might take two months. So I don’t know. But the day I feel 100% I surely will be back,” he said.

“Playing for India is going to be a huge challenge for me because the body has been under a lot of shock which nobody can understand except me.

Only a cancer patient can understand what he is going through. So it’s going to be a big challenge for me to come back and play for India again.”

But the all-rounder, who is perhaps best remembered for his astonishing six sixes off one Stuart Broad over at the ICC World Twenty20 South Africa 2007, did hint that he may be available for selection for the next edition of the event in September and believes he can help his country capture the title just like he did in the 50-ver format.

“I think (the) favourites are India because we’ve got the biggest hitters - biggest hitters in town that’s what I want to say. Hopefully I should be back by then. I’m not saying I’m the reason, it’s just that I feel we have the strongest side and if we can sort out our bowling out in T20 I’m sure we can be a strong unit. There are other strong teams like Australia, South Africa which always compete at the top level at world events,” he said.

The first episode of ICC Cricket 360 also contains features on the 25th anniversary of the Reliance ICC Player Rankings, a look back at the ICC Cricket Committee meeting, an indepth round up of the development of women’s cricket in the ICC East AsiaPacific region and a profile of Durham County Cricket Club. The show is expected to be distributed to over 200 territories.

Sri Lanka look to build on one-day success in Tests

Twenty20 internationals.

“The Test series was always going to be [a] big challenge, but winning is a good habit to have, so hopefully we can continue this momentum,” Jayawardene said ahead of the first Test in Galle. “We have some experienced players coming in for the Tests. It’s going to be a great opportunity for us.

It’s important that we start fresh and

start well.” Pakistan, who defeated Sri Lanka in all three formats in the UAE last year, were let down by poor fielding and batting in the one-dayers.

But a worse blow hit them on Tuesday when skipper Misbah-ul Haq was banned from playing in the first Test by the International Cricket Council for a slow over-rate in Monday’s final one-dayer in Colombo.

NEWS

Continued from page 32 >>

Cook leads England win

train. There was a minute’s silence before the start and players from both teams wore black armbands.

After West Indies scored just six runs in the first four overs, Gayle gave their innings lift-off. He smashed Tim Bresnan for three huge sixes and James Anderson two, with one missile clattering into the scoreboard and another almost dislodging some tiles from the roof of one of the stands.

With Lendl Simmons hardly playing a shot at the other end, it was a one-man show and when Gayle reached his fifty off 41 balls, the Windies total was 59-0.

Gayle was stopped in his tracks when umpire Tony Hill took an age to adjudge him out lbw off Graeme Swann. The batsman immediately ordered a review, which appeared to show that that the ball struck pad before bat, but Gayle looked less than impressed as he reluctantly trudged away from the wicket. The dangerman gone, England seized control with three quick wickets. Dwayne Smith was caught behind aiming a heave at Stuart Broad, Simmons was run out for a 50-ball 12 by a Cook direct hit and Marlon Samuels was caught in the deep for 13.

A rebuilding job was called for and the Windies found the men for the task in Bravo and Kieron Pollard. Watchful at

first, then increasingly aggressive, they added 100 in 19 overs to set the tourists up for an imposing total.

Pollard top-edged Bresnan to Anderson to fall for 42, but Bravo kept up the momentum with Sammy, who scored 21 off 20 balls.

The tourists’ innings rather petered out after the skipper’s dismissal as Denesh Ramdin and Sunil Narine fell cheaply and Bravo was caught playing one shot too many.

Tino Best strained every sinew in a bid to emulate his Edgbaston Test heroics but mostly connected with thin air in scoring seven off 12 balls. The series concludes at Headingley on Friday. scoreboard WEST INDIES: L Simmons run out 12

31

C Gayle lbw b Swann 53 D Smith c Kieswetter b Broad 0 M Samuels c Bresnan b Broad 13 D Bravo c Bopara b Anderson 77 K Pollard c Anderson b Bresnan 41 D Sammy c Morgan b Finn 21 D Ramdin c Kieswetter b Anderson 2 T Best not out 7 S Narine run out 2 R Rampaul not out 1 EXTRAS: (lb3, w5, nb1) 9 TOTAL: (9 wkts, 50 overs) 238 FOW: 1-63, 2-63, 3-79, 4-79, 5-179, 6-220, 7-223, 8-232, 9-237 BOWLING: Anderson 10-2-38-2; Finn 10-1-48-1; Bresnan 10-1-54-1; Swann 101-49-1; Broad 9-0-43-2; Bopara 1-0-3-0 ENGLAND: A Cook c Simmons b Sammy 112 I Bell c Gayle b Sammy 53 J Trott not out 43 R Bopara not out 19 EXTRAS: (lb3, w8, nb1) 12 TOTAL: (2 wkts, 45 overs) 239 FOW: 1-122, 2-203 Bowling: Rampaul 7-0-29-0; Best 7-140-0 (5w); Bravo 4-0-24-0 (1w); Narine 10-1-54-0 (1nb, 1w); Samuels 1-0-11-0; Sammy 10-0-46-2; Smith 3-0-22-0 (1w); Pollard 3-0-10-0 Result: England won by 8 wkts Series: England lead 3 match series 2-0

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32

South Asia Tribune I Thursday 21 June 2012

Yuvraj targets return at Twenty20 World Cup India all-rounder reveals emotional fight against cancer on new ICC weekly show

India’s star all-rounder Yuvraj Singh targets a return to international cricket Continued on page 31 >>

SAT

Sports

Cook leads England win Narine, whom he cracked for successive fours on either side of the wicket in racing to a 51-ball half-century.

England were scoring at more than six runs per over when Bell, a centurion in the first match at the Rose Bowl, gifted his wicket to Darren Sammy with a loose drive to cover.

Cook marched on to reach his fourth century since taking over as Captain Alastair Cook scored 112 as England cruised to an eightwicket victory over West Indies to clinch the one-day series with a match to spare.

Cook shared an opening stand of 122 with Ian Bell (53) and 81 with Jonathan Trott as the hosts chased down the tourists’ below-par 238-9 in 45 overs.

Put in to bat, the Windies failed to build on Chris Gayle’s explosive 53. Dwayne Bravo top-scored

one-day captain a year ago - and the sixth by an England opener in successive one-day internationals.

With Trott playing his usual game of steady accumulation, Cook steamed to three figures off 114 balls.

After 12 fours, he bludgeoned his first six off opposite number Sammy over long-on before falling trying to repeat the shot and ballooning the ball up in the air.

That left Trott, who finished 43 not out, and Ravi Bopara to steer England to a victory that was even more comprehensive than their 114-run Duckworth-Lewis win in Saturday’s series-opener at the Ageas Bowl.

The second contest began in sombre mood as The Oval remembered Surrey batsman Tom Maynard, who died on Monday after being struck by a London Underground

with 77 off 82 balls but the innings fizzled out with only 19 runs in the last five overs.

Their total never looked enough on a true pitch and in bright sunshine, and Cook and Bell gave a masterclass in how to chase down a modest target, picking up singles off most balls and putting away any wayward deliveries for four.

Cook was marginally the more aggressive, taking a particular liking to the off-spin of Sunil

Sri Lanka look to build on one-day success in Tests

Pakistan on back foot with skipper Misbah-ul Haq serving over-rate ban

Sri Lanka: Sri Lanka will look to improve their dismal Test record over the past year when they take on a selfdestructing Pakistan side in a threematch series from Friday.

The Sri Lankans have won just two of their last 14 Tests and lost six, but remain a force on home soil where they drew a two-match series against topranked England in March and April.

Mahela Jayawardene’s men have

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already handed Pakistan a warning by wrapping up the one-day series 3-1 after both teams shared the two Continued on page 27 >>

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