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who demonise Islam in UK Abu Qatada is freed Abu Hamza could also be bailed after Abu Qatada ruling.

The release of Abu Qatada following a European Court of Human Rights ruling could pave the way for other terror suspects such as Abu Hamza to win bail, it was feared.

Officials have said that the cost to British taxpayers in the case, including legal aid for Mr. Othman’s lawsuits and welfare support for his family, has exceeded £500,000. Mayor Boris Johnson, who has attacked the “lunacy” of Qatada’s release in London, has revealed

Baroness Pauline Neville-Jones said the hate preacher posed “a real security problem” and that the Government should do whatever it takes to remove him from the country.

Abu Qatada - real name Omar Mahmoud Mohammed

that 60 Met officers a day will be required to monitor the preacher to protect the public and ensure that he can be returned to prison the instant he breaches any of his bail conditions. The bill to the taxpayer could be as much as £10,000 a day.

David Cameron was under pressure to defy European judges by ordering the deportation of extremist cleric Abu Qatada as he holed up in a London safe house.

Britain should send Abu Qatada back to Jordan in defiance of a European court ruling blocking his deportation, a former Security Minister has suggested.

Othman, was born in 1960 in Bethlehem in todays West Bank of the Palestinian Authority and before 1967 a part of Jordan.

In 1989 in Afghanistan Abu Qatada met other future Islamic activists like the JORDANIAN Abu Musab al Zarqawi, Osama Bin Laden and other leaders of Al Qaeda.

In a published interview, his mother said last night Abu Qatada should be sent back to home. His Mother Aisha Othman insisted: “Britain is very wrong to keep my son.” His brother and a close friend revealed how he

Another Indian student stabbed in London Condition critical: Scotland Yard.

Krishna assures all help An Indian student enrolled for an MBA in the UK was critically stabbed in the London borough of Newham last night, Scotland Yard said.

Eleven people have been arrested following the stabbing of the Indian student who was not named by the Scotland

Yard. As per standard practice, Scotland Yard did not name the victim, but said he is in hospital in a critical condition.

Reports in the Indian media have identified the victim as Praveen Reddy, who was enrolled for an MBA at the London Continued on page 5 >>

Continued on page 7 >>

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South Asia Tribune I Thursday 16 February 2012

Israel, US successfully test Arrow missile defense system Israel and the United States have conducted what they termed a successful test of the Arrow ballistic missile defense system.

The Israel Missile Defense Organization and the U.S. Missile Defense Agency oversaw a Feb. 10 test of the Arrow system. A joint statement said Arrow did not intercept rather tracked a mock enemy target over the Mediterranean Sea. Israel and the U.S. successfully tested main components of the Arrow system on Feb. 10. The test was held at an IAF base in central Israel.

“This was a major milestone in the development of the Arrow Weapon System and provides confidence in operational Israeli capabilities to defeat the developing ballistic missile threat,” the statement said.

On Feb. 10, Israel and the United States said the Arrow Block 4 system tracked the target missile, identified as Blue Sparrow-2 and meant to simulate an Iranian or Syrian ballistic missile. The enhanced fire control radar, identified as Super Green Pine, transferred data

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.

1st Floor, Avenue Appt., Near Sheth. R. J. J. High School, Tithal Road, Valsad - 396001 Gujarat, India Phone +91 2632 222209 / 222211 Fax: +91 2632 222212 Post Box No. 98 /108 United Arab Emirates Office S.K. Group of Companies P.O. Box 9021, Karama Dubai, United Arab Emirates Tel: +971 4 2659970, 3359929; Fax: +971 4 2659971, 3341609 www.sk-groupofcompanies.com Managing Editor & CEO Mohammad Shahid Khan Group Editorial Managers Gulzar Khan (India) Abdul Khalique (Pakistan) Editorial Board UK Frances Brunner FYI Tribune team Adrian Fellar Misbah Khan Reema Shah Rohma Khan Keziah-Ann Abakah Art Department UK Ali Ansar (Art Director) Md. Reazul Islam

to the Citron Tree battle management controller, which prepared a simulated intercept solution.

“Data collected from the flight test will be used to verify functionality of the Block 4 AWS [Arrow weapon system],” the statement said. “Elements of the U.S. ballistic missile defense system successfully performed interoperability with the AWS and collected data.”

The test came in wake of the U.S. cancellation of a major ballistic missile

defense exercise with Israel in the Mediterranean. Officials said the joint exercise, Austere Challenge, would take place in late 2012 in an attempt to reduce tension with Iran.

The prime contractor of Arrow has been the state-owned Israel Aerospace Industries, which was co-producing the interceptor along with Boeing. IAI also developed the Super Green Pine radar, meant to operate at a greater range than its predecessor.

‘Spy networks near Iran an open secret’ Is there a Mossad base near Iran?

The London Times published Sunday an interview with a man claiming to be an Azerbaijan-based agent of Israeli intelligence agency, who confirmed the existence of such a base.

The man, identified in the article as “Shimon,” told the paper that there were dozens of Israeli Mossad agents working out of the base.

“This is ground zero for intelligence work,” he said. “Our presence here is quiet, but substantial. We have increased our presence in the past year, and it gets us very close to Iran. This is a wonderfully porous country.”

The meeting between the agent and the London Times’ reporter took place in Baku, near the Israeli Embassy, the report said.

The Israeli mission to Baku has come under threat recently, when it became the apparent target of a terror attack, meant to avenge the assassination of terrorist

mastermind Imad Mugniyah, four years ago. Secret documents released by WikiLeaks last April revealed that Israel had been using the former Soviet republic’s soil over the past four years to spy on

Iran.

The document in the US Embassy in Baku, sent to Washington in January 2009, refers to a visit by the Azeri president’s advisor for security and defense issues, Vahid

Aliyev, to Israel.

According to the WikiLeaks cable, the trip was aimed at signing a contract with Tel Aviv which allowed Israel to use Azerbaijan’s soil for its spying activities against Iran. The US diplomatic cable further discloses an arms deal between the two sides.

According to the leaked cables, Azerbaijani authorities banned all anti-Israeli protest gatherings anywhere near Tel Aviv’s Embassy in Baku during the Israeli offensive against the Gaza Strip at the turn of 2009.

Prior to the leak, there were reports about the operations of Israeli spying cells on the Iranian-Azeri border under the cover of farming activities.

Separatist groups and members of the terrorist Mujahedin-e Khalq Organization are also freely operating within Azerbaijan’s borders.

‘Mossad continues to use UK passports’ English, French nationals who moved to Israel and joined IDF tell British daily a ‘sexy woman’ convinced them to lend their passports to Mossad; say passports returned to them a few months later with stamps from countries they never visited Some two years after the assassination of senior Hamas operative Mahmoud al-Mabhouh in Dubai, Mossad agents are still using foreign passports, including those of British nationals, while conducting covert intelligence operations overseas, The Times reported over the weekend.

Following Mabhouh’s death, Dubai police authorities revealed that the assassins used British, French, German and Australian passports.

According to the British newspaper, there have been several occasions when foreigners who immigrated to Israel have been asked to “lend” their passports to the Israeli intelligence agency.

The daily said new evidence indicates that foreign nationals in Israel continue to allow Mossad to use their passports — “on many occasions willingly.”

Though it never admitted that Mossad agents were behind the Hamas terrorist’s death, Israel assured London its intelligence

agency would stop using British passports.

“Matthew,” who moved to Israel from London in 2009 and joined the IDF shortly afterwards, told The Times that just before his first week of army duty he was approached by a young woman from Mossad and asked if he was “committed to the State of Israel.”

“She was really, really friendly. She gave me a recommendation of a good bar in Tel Aviv, and her favorite place for hummus,” he said.

When she asked if Matthew was

willing to do “a small thing to help”, such as, for example, lend his passport, he did not refuse, The Times reported.

He said: “She pointed out that I wouldn’t need it for the next year or so. I’d be doing basic training and everything for the army. So I said ‘yes’ — I was in that frame of mind of strong Zionism, you know?”

According to the report, Matthew received his passport back after 18 months of army service, and was surprised to find stamps in it from Turkey and Azerbaijan, countries

that he had never visited. “She told me it would maybe be a good idea not to go there . . . for the time being,” he told the British newspaper.

“Peter,” a Frenchman who moved to Israel last year, revealed a similar story. A few months after arriving in Israel and volunteering for IDF service, he began meeting “a sexy woman, who asked me if I wanted to help her.” He told The Times his passport was also taken, and returned a year later with stamps from Russia and several other countries “I couldn’t read.”

South Asia Tribune I Thursday 16 February 2012

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Ahmadinejad loads nuclear fuel rods into reactor Report: Iran says has started using new advanced centrifuges at Natanz uranium enrichment site Head of Atomic Energy Organization of Iran Fereydoun Abbasi says Tehran will start producing new yellow cake next year.

Abbasi said on Wednesday new generation centrifuges have been installed and activated at Natanz nuclear facility.

TEHRAN: Iran says has started using new advanced centrifuges at Natanz uranium enrichment site. State television reported on Wednesday that Iran has made advances in its nuclear programme, building new uranium enrichment centrifuges and producing its own nuclear reactor fuel plates.

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad led a ceremony on Wednesday inserting Iran’s first domestically produced, 20-percent enriched nuclear fuel into Tehran’s research reactor, according to live images on state television.

Iran has developed “4th generation centrifuges” made of carbon fibre that are “speedier, produce less waste and occupy less space” as they spin at supersonic speeds to purify uranium, state television reported, citing Iran’s Atomic Energy Organisation.

Iran also created its own 20-percent fuel plates for a research reactor in Tehran whose stock of fuel sourced from Argentina in the 1990s is running low, the report said.

The television also said that Iran had made progress in 20 percent uranium enrichment at its Natanz facility, beyond enrichment activities already underway there.

Iran insists its nuclear programme is for exclusively peaceful, civilian purposes.

The procedure was being hailed as a technical achievement in Iran, showing the Islamic republic had mastered all aspects of the nuclear fuel cycle despite tough Western and UN sanctions.

The television showed Ahmadinejad, Atomic Energy Organisation head Fereydoon Abassi Davani and other officials all dressed in white coats inside the reactor, watching a metalencased rod being inserted into the facility’s pool.

The broadcaster then cut to file images of four Iranian scientists, three of them nuclear researchers, who were murdered by unknown

The state television also reported that Iran has stopped oil exports to six European states in retaliation for European Union sanctions imposed on the Islamic state’s key exports.

Press TV said Iran has stopped exporting oil to Netherlands, Greece, France, Portugal, Spain and Italy.

Oil rose $2 a barrel, extending an earlier gain.

Brent crude was up $2 at $119.35 a barrel at 1238 GMT. Brent crude oil prices were up $1 a barrel to $118.35 shortly after the announcement.

The EU’s 27 member states have decided to stop importing crude from Iran from July 1 over its disputed nuclear programme, which the West says is aimed at building bombs. Iran denies this.

Iran’s oil minister said on February 4 that the Islamic state would certainly cut its oil exports to “some” European countries.

Shiite Muslims in Saudi Arabia and Iran, as well as past political uprisings in the area, make it a tenuous situation, to say the least. Add to that the possibility that Iran could shut down the Straight of Hormuz and you have a potentially devastating impact on the world’s oil trade.

“We have enough police force to deal with any criminal or prohibited situation,” says BrigadierGeneral Yousef al-Qahtani as he drives through the town. In nearby al-Qatif, graffiti scrawled on a cemetery wall criticizes the Al Saud family, founders of the kingdom eight decades ago, and calls for the removal of their fellow Sunni Muslim monarchs in Bahrain. Black Shiite flags adorn religious centers in the back-alleys.

Clashes between police and armed Shiite protesters in the two towns have intensified since October, when 11 police were injured in an attack. Since then, seven Shiites have been killed

motorbike assailants in Tehran over the past two years.

Meanwhile, the Obama administration has urged the world to isolate the Islamic country in the wake new nuclear announcements.

Iran cuts oil export to 6 European states

Gunfights in Saudi Oil Province Show Spread of Iran Tensions Bloomberg is reporting that gunfights have erupted in a Saudi Arabian province where oil is produced. The concern is that tensions in Iran will only make the fighting worse. Ties between

by security forces, according to figures provided

by Saudi Arabia’s Human Rights First Society.

It’s in such places that tensions between the Gulf’s Sunni nations and Shiite-led Iran may spark violence inside Saudi Arabia, the world’s biggest oil exporter.

Syrian envoy blasts Canada for ‘deplorable’ sanctions Syria’s top diplomat in Canada is striking back at Ottawa for what he says are “deplorable” sanctions imposed by the Harper government that he insists are harming innocent civilians in his country.

Bashar Akbik, Syria’s charge d’affairs, levelled that accusation in an interview with The Canadian Press during which he steadfastly denied that the regime of President Bashar al-Assad is responsible for the killing of thousands of innocent civilians in a bloody 11-month crackdown on dissent.

Mr. Akbik blamed terrorists and criminals for the violence in his country. He said a Western-

led “conspiracy” – with Saudi Arabia’s collusion – is trying to overthrow his government and that conspiracy is responsible for the carnage that the United Nations says has left more than 5,400 dead.

“Hollywood”-style videos on the Internet that have fabricated scenes of government forces killing innocent civilians are part and parcel of the international plot, he said.

Mr. Akbik’s denial came within hours of United Nations human rights chief, Navi Pillay, telling

the General Assembly that Mr. Assad’s regime has likely committed crimes against humanity.

Canada has imposed five rounds of sanctions on Syria and has repeatedly said Mr. Assad must leave power. The government has also maintained that sanctions are not hurting innocent citizens but are helping to destabilize the Mr. Assad regime.

“Canada is helping to worsen the life of the Syrian citizens and the sanctions will bring no result,” Mr. Akbik said in a lengthy interview Monday in his Syrian embassy office in Ottawa.

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South Asia Tribune I Thursday 16 February 2012

EDITORIAL

After Veto NATO out Al Qaida In

UK: Demonizing Muslims: To what end?

NATO to Stay out of Syrian Conflict

W

ork for us or we will say you are a terrorist’ The Independent reported in 2009 “How MI5 blackmails British Muslims”.

According to the report five Muslim community workers have accused MI5 of waging a campaign of blackmail and harassment in an attempt to recruit them as informants.

The men claim they were given a choice of working for the Security Service or face detention and harassment in the UK and overseas.

Three of the men say they were detained at foreign airports on the orders of MI5 after leaving Britain on family holidays last year.

After they were sent back to the UK, they were interviewed by MI5 officers who, they say, falsely accused them of links to Islamic extremism. On each occasion the agents said they would lift the travel restrictions and threat of detention in return for their co-operation.

Later MI5 and the police refused to discuss the men’s complaints with The Independent.

But on its website, MI5 says it is untrue that the Security Service harasses Muslims.

The Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) based in London warns in a report about a threat to the UK from the so-called ‘lone wolves’ who are terrorists coming back home after fighting together with extremist groups abroad, in particular, in Nigeria, Yemen and Somalia.

RUSI experts estimate that British citizens make up 25% of all foreign militants fighting in the ranks of the Al Shabaab extremist group. They are about 50 people who may soon be able to use their war experience in the streets of British cities. RUSI experts warn that the return of these militants from overseas could coincide with the release of people convicted of terrorist charges. RUSI director Michael Clark warns that the global recession is also instrumental in causing radical moods in a certain segment of the British society.

The report also warns that the UK’s counter-terrorism spending and staffing levels could face serious cuts after the end of the London2012 Olympic Games. “Major decisions are being postponed until the event has ended in August, with an overriding priority to complete the Games without major incident,” RUSI expert Tobias Feakin says.

The threat from far-right terrorism in the UK is extremely acute at present and this is confirmed by a report by the Home Affairs Committee of MPs who believe that the government strategy of fighting radicalisation is neglecting the threat to the UK from extreme far-right terrorist groups with links to similar organizations in Europe.

It is always easy to blame other countries but British authorities should first of all pay attention to the growth of extremism inside the UK. Speaking frankly, the authorities themselves put a ‘delayaction mine’ under the UK when, in the framework of the counterextremism programme adopted in 2007 by the Labour government, they began to allocate 63mln pounds annually to support various Muslim groups which were often of dubious origin and pursued radical aims. It is not a coincidence that in this connection the British capital is often called Londonistan and a nursery for al-Qaeda personnel.

Last year, the WikiLeaks web site published information that 35 terrorists kept in the notorious US Guantanamo prison had been sent to fight against the West after being brain-washed by British extremist preachers. It is not unlikely that among them were Abu Qatada and Abu Hamza who had been granted the status of refugees in the UK and lived on state benefits, and later sent dozens of extremists from all over the world to Pakistan and Afghanistan.

It is unlikely that British authorities and special services were unaware of the true nature of those ‘preachers’ activities.

Apparently, they knew everything but took no steps to stop those activities. Moreover, a large sum of money was paid to Abu Qatada for ‘unfair detention’ in accordance with the Human Rights Law. The money was provided by British taxpayers who may eventually become victims of these Islamic extremists.

Abu Qatada was considered to be the right-hand man of the late Osama bin Laden in Europe.

Recently a British court ruled to remand him on bail within a week and it is still unclear if he will be deported to his native country Jordan where he was earlier found guilty of terrorism. Recall that in January 2012 the European Court for Human Rights supported his appeal against his deportation from the UK to Jordan.

Muslims in Britain condemn any kind of extremism that is going to affect our diverse and peaceful community and will stand against it in any time, now we are expecting the next move of British authorities.

But we request Stop demonising Muslims and Islam by hiring so called radicals or extremists.

The Society has been at the forefront of discussions to evolve a British Muslim identity. That journey may not be complete, but at least we can now see a community that is largely comfortable with its presence in UK and appreciative of the freedoms, progressive culture and democratic norms that British citizens enjoy.

NATO Secretary General Andres Fogh Rasmussen on Friday told Turkish TV company NTV that the alliance would not meddle in the months-long political crisis in Syria.

“We are not discussing this issue.

Lions of Syria,” he criticized the Syrian regime for crimes against its citizens, and praised those rising up against the government.

Zawahiri, shown in front of a green curtain in the video released Saturday which runs for over eight

Meanwhile Arab League Syria mission chief ‘resigns’ on Sunday, an official said, as the bloc met to decide on reviving the mission jointly with the UN, in the latest bid to end bloodshed.

Sudanese General Mohammed

We have no intention to intervene in Syria,” Rasmussen, who is on an official visit in Turkey, said.

“I strongly condemn the security forces’ crackdown on civilians in Syria. I urge the Syrian leaders to accommodate the democratic, legitimate aspirations of the Syrian

minutes, urged Syrians not to rely on the West or Arab governments, whom he said would impose a new regime subservient to the West.

“Wounded Syria still bleeds day after day, while the butcher, son of the butcher Bashar bin Hafez, is not deterred to stop,” he said.

people. The only way forward in Syria is to introduce freedoms, democracy and accommodate people’s legitimate aspirations,” Rasmussen said ahead of his visit.

Now Al-Qaida on Mission Report: Al-Qaida behind recent terror attacks in Syria McClatchy cites U.S. officials as saying that intelligence shows that recent bombings in Syria were carried out by Al-Qaida’s Iraq branch, on the orders of Ayman al-Zawahiri.

Ayman al-Zawahri backs Syrian uprising, calls on Muslims to support rebels trying to oust Assad Al-Qaida leader Ayman alZawahiri voiced his support for Syria’s uprising and urged Muslims in several countries, including Lebanon, to come to the aid of Syrian rebels confronting President Bashar Assad’s forces.

“I appeal to every Muslim and every free, honorable one in Turkey, Iraq, Jordan, and Lebanon, to rise to help his brothers in Syria with all that he can,” Zawahiri said in a new video message released on jihadist Internet forums, U.S. monitors SITE Intelligence said on Sunday.

A Muslim should help the rebels “with his life, money, opinion, as well as information,” he added.

In the video titled “Onwards,

Jihadists want to travel to Syria Jihadist forums, meanwhile, have said that Muslim volunteers are travelling to Syria from a string of Arab countries to fight against Assad’s secular regime.

One jihadist site, Ansar alMujahedeen, has a page called: “Lions of Al-Sham -- the news of jihad in glorious Syria,” which purports to publish news “as it arrives from the lions in Syria.”

The reports it carries cannot be independently verified.

Some U.S. intelligence reports were said to show that the Syria bombings were ordered by al-Qaida leader Ayman alZawahiri, seemingly verifying Syrian President Bashar Assad’s assertions of al-Qaida involvement in the uprising in Syria. At the United Nations on Friday, Saudi Arabia circulated a draft resolution backing an Arab peace plan for Syria among members of the UN General Assembly, after a similar text was vetoed in the Security Council last week by Russia and China, diplomats said.

Iran’s Khamenei warns Hamas against compromise with Israel Iranian leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei met with Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh in Iran on Sunday, warning the Palestinian movement leader against any potential compromise with Israel,

Ahmed Mustafa al-Dabi was due to officially hand in his resignation at a meeting of Arab foreign ministers in Cairo later in the day, Arab states will end an Arab observer mission to Syria and call on the UN Security Council to send an international peacekeeping force to end violence there, according to a draft resolution obtained by Reuters on Sunday.

They will also call for tighter implementation of economic sanctions on Damascus that Arabs imposed late last year, according to the draft being discussed by ministers meeting in Cairo. The draft calls for a halt to “all forms of diplomatic cooperation” with Syria.

Saudi foreign minister urges ‘all forms of support’ for Syrian opposition Saudi Foreign Minister Saud alFaisal called on the Arab League on Sunday to “give all forms of support” to the Syrian opposition and take decisive measures against the Syrian regime. Al-Faisal made the comments during a meeting of Arab foreign ministers in the Egyptian capital, Cairo.

“How long will we stay as onlookers to what is happening to the brotherly Syrian people, and how much longer will we grant the Syrian regime one period after another so it can commit more massacres against its people?”

Saudi Foreign Minister Saud alFaisal asked ministers at the start of the League session. The Saudi minister criticized the Security Council’s failure to back the Arab plan for Syria but did not name Russia and China. Arab League Secretary-General Nabil Arabi said the veto, cause of much Arab frustration, exposed the failings of the Council’s voting system.

Arab ministers met in Cairo to revive diplomatic efforts after the Arab initiative that called for President Bashar al-Assad to step aside was stalled by the double veto in New York.

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South Asia Tribune I Thursday 16 February 2012

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Moody’s threatens to downgrade UK Moody’s put the UK, France and Austria on negative outlook late on Monday night, raising the prospect that the three countries would lose their triple A ratings due to exposure to the eurozone debt crisis.

It is the first time that the heavily indebted UK has been placed on negative credit outlook by a big rating agency since the eurozone crisis erupted.

Following the recent downgrades in the credit ratings of Spain, Portugal and Italy, the UK’s AAA rating is under threat as ratings agencies consider a downgrade.

Italy was cut to A2 from A3, Portugal cut to Ba3 from Ba2, Spain

downgraded to A3 from A1. Slovakia, Slovenia and Malta also had their ratings cut with negative outlooks.

Late last night credit ratings agency Moody’s put France, Austria and the UK on a “negative outlook” because of their exposure the eurozone debt crisis which many see as a precursor to a downgrade.

All three countries currently hold a

AAA rating from Moody’s. Last month Standard & Poor’s downgraded France and Austria, one notch to double A. Moody’s said it said it was worried about Europe’s ability to undertake the reforms needed to address the crisis and the amount of funds available to fight it. It also said the region’s weak economy could undermine austerity drives by governments to fix their

finances.

The U.S. rating agency said it changed the outlooks for the ratings of France, Britain and Austria to negative due to “a number of specific credit pressures that would exacerbate the susceptibility of these sovereigns’ balance sheets”.

Analysts said the move could jeopardise sterling’s relative safehaven status compared to the euro and deter investors from switching out of euro-zone sovereign debt into UK gilts.

Any downgrade would increase the cost to the government of borrowing money, which would lead to rising mortgage rates that, in turn, would

plunge the UK further into the red.

However, the UK government could take comfort as Moody’s endorsed the its austerity programme and warned that failure to stick to the deficit reduction plan would make matters worse.

Moody’s said, “the [UK] government is implementing an ambitious fiscal consolidation programme”, and remarked on “its commitment to restoring a sustainable debt position”.

And it said the rating could be at risk if the UK demonstrated “reduced political commitment to fiscal consolidation, including discretionary fiscal loosening”.

German Defense Minister Warns Against Israeli Attack in Iran - Russian Gen-Staff Chief

West may strike Iran by summer

Panetta, like his Russian counterpart, believes that the decision to attack Iran may be imminent.

Russia’s top military boss says an attack against Iran, which the west suspects of developing nuclear weapons, could begin as early as summer.

Thus far, tensions between Tehran and the west have been confined to the battlefield of heated rhetoric.

Russia’s highest ranking military officer, however, predicts it may be just a matter of time before the verbal grenades get real.

The Russian General Staff is closely watching the situation, and is not ruling out the possibility of a coordinated attack on the Islamic Republic, General Nikolai Makarov, head of the Russian General Staff, told reporters on Tuesday.

“Iran is a sore spot,” Makarov noted.“I think a decision will be made by the summer.”

If Makarov is correct in his estimations, the situation in the region – overwhelmed as it is with political crises and war – could spin rapidly out of control. Indeed, some are warning that an attack on Iran could trigger a dangerous game of dominoes across the Middle East,

Continued from page 01 >>

possibly even culminating in another world war.

In the slide towards escalating violence, there have been a string of disturbing incidents, including alleged cyber attacks against Iran, as well as the downing of a sophisticated US drone, which Iran says it guided to the ground after electronically hacking into the vehicle.

Panetta, like his Russian counterpart, believes that the decision to attack Iran may be imminent.

Washington Post columnist David Ignatius wrote earlier this month that Panetta “believes there is a strong likelihood that Israel will strike Iran in April, May or June before Iran enters what Israelis described as a ‘zone of immunity’ to commence building a nuclear bomb.”

Russia is adamantly opposed to any military action against Iran, though Moscow has supported UN Security Council sanctions against Tehran in an effort to force the Islamic Republic to cooperate with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is working overtime to get US President Barack Obama onboard the campaign against Iran. And it will not hurt his fierce lobbying efforts that Washington is preparing for presidential elections in November.

Thanks to the hawkish neoconservative philosophy that has hijacked traditional conservative thinking (which, to his credit, Ron Paul genuinely represents), President Obama can expect to be accused of “going weak on Iran” if he proposes anything short of war.

Thus, Russia’s top military commander may be right: the overstretched US military and its budget-broke NATO allies may find themselves fighting yet another senseless war with unknown consequences very soon.

Germany’s Defense Minister: An Israeli attack on Iran won’t achieve its goals and may have severe political consequences.

Germany’s Defense Minister, Thomas de Maizière, warned on Sunday against an Israeli attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities.

In an interview with the German daily Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Maizière said he believes an Israeli attack on Iran is unlikely to achieve its goals, adding that such an attack may have severe political consequences for all countries involved.

The German minister added, however, that as far as he knows such an attack is not on the agenda at the moment.

When asked about recent remarks by U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta that there is “a strong likelihood” that Israel will strike Iran in April, May or June, Maizière said the remarks are “a journalistic invention.” He added that he spoke with Panetta on this

issue and that he had never made such comments.

Panetta later would not deny the report in the Washington Post when asked about it, saying, “I consider what I think and what I see about the region as belonging to me and not to anyone else.”

Maizière’s remarks reflect recent concerns and speculations that Israel may launch a pre-emptive strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities. Britain’s Deputy Prime Minister, Nick Clegg, also recently expressed concerns over a military conflict with Iran over its disputed nuclear program.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy warned last week that military action was no way to deal with nuclearminded Iran.

Sarkozy told France’s main Jewish group that “the solution is never military. The solution is political, the solution is diplomatic, the solution is in sanctions.”

Another Indian student stabbed in London

Business School. “Police called at 08.23 on Friday, 10 February to Newham General Hospital after a man in his 20’s was admitted suffering from stab wounds. He is currently in hospital in a critical condition,” Scotland Yard said in a statement to PTI. “Officers believe the man sustained his injuries at an address in Kent Street, E13.

Eleven people have been arrested. Four remain in custody. The other seven have been bailed until future dates. Detectives from Newham Borough are investigating,” it added.

Four remain in custody. The other seven have been bailed until future

dates. Detectives from Newham Borough are investigating,” it added. They also said that High Commission officials in the UK were coordinating with the doctors treating Praveen and MEA officials in Delhi will take up the matter

with the British High Commission to ensure expeditious issuance of the visa to his parents. Praveen stays in an apartment in London’s New Hampshire area. This is the fourth attack on Indians in the last two months. The three incidents before this were fatal. In the earlier incidents, 23-year-old Anuj Bidve was shot dead in Greater Manchester in Salford on December 26. The UK Police also confirmed on January 10, the death of 20-year-old student Gurdeep Hayer in Manchester city centre. This was followed by the murder of Avatar Singh Kolar, 62, and his British wife Carole Kolar, 58, in Birmingham on January 11.

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South Asia Tribune I Thursday 16 February 2012

UK Riot Victim Shahzad Ali’s Son Born The widow of Shazad Ali who was killed during 2011’s summer riots has given birth to their son, five months after Ali died defending his shop in Birmingham.

The healthy baby boy was born last week, the day before his father’s birthday on which day he would have turned 31. HE is the

community at the height of last year’s riots.

Khansa, 22, had the baby, who has not yet been named, at Birmingham’s City Hospital last Sunday, The birth is a bittersweet arrival for the family, following the murder of Shahzad, brother Abdul Musavir,

traditional Muslim wedding, said: “My little boy is a piece of Shahzad.

He looks just like his dad, but also has Musavir’s smile.

“When they died I was so devastated. I had lost my husband and brother-in-law. I felt there was no point in living.

“But now I feel different. I have

and she was devastated that he would never get to meet the son he so desperately wanted.

“He told me that he wanted our first child to be a boy,” said Khansa. She has yet to name the baby — who weighed in at a healthy 8lb. But she is considering calling him Abdul Wahid, which

baby’s birth has given her a new view on life which she admitted at one point, “there was no point living.” Now she has her son, which she claims shows attributes of both Shazad and her brotherin-law Abdul Musavir, she has said, “now I really have something to live for.”

image of his father, bringing a ray of hope to a family devastated by the Birmingham riot murders.

As widow Khansa Ali looks into her newborn son’s eyes, there is a look of love in a face more used to grief since the death of her husband.

Shahzad Ali, 30, was one of the three men who died as they defended their Winson Green

31, and pal Haroon Jahan, 21, during the riots on August 10.

Khansa was four months pregnant at the time.

Shahzad would have celebrated his 31st birthday yesterday and hoped his baby would be born on the same date as him.

Khansa, who married Shahzad in August 2010 in Pakistan in a

something to look forward to. Now I really have something to live for, although I still feel incredibly sad that Shahzad isn’t here now. If he were still alive, he would have been telling the whole world the news and showing off his little boy.”

Khansa said her beloved husband, who ran a car valeting business, had dreamed of becoming a father

translates as “the only one”.

Khansa said: “He has some of Shahzad’s mannerisms already.”

While the family of Shazad Ali are thrilled at the arrival of the baby into the family, his birth has been bittersweet for Shazad Ali’s wife, Khansa Ali who wishes more than ever that Shazad was there to meet his son. Khansa has said that the

Shazad Ali, Abdul Musavir and Haroon Jahan were three young men that were killed protecting their business in Birmingham during the riots of August. So far, eight men have been charged with the murder of the three men, though the investigat ion is ongoing and has yet to lead to a conviction.

Transgender man becomes Britain’s ‘first male mother’ Man born a woman is first in UK to give birth despite having sex change • The man had hormone treatment to reactivate his womb • He is one of only five ‘male mums’ in the world • The baby is thought to have been delivered by cesarean section The landmark birth comes four years after American Thomas Beatie - born Tracy Lagondino - became the world’s first male mum to firstborn Susan.

Former Hawaiian beauty queen, Thomas Beatie, is the first male known to give birth. Thomas Beatie was born female but decided to undergo a sex change surgical procedure in order to marry his sweetheart, Nancy, legally.

A British woman, who had a sex change surgery, has become the country’s first and world’s third “ male mother”. The man, who is in his 30s, gave birth last year after having hormone treatment to reactivate his womb but the story was confirmed recently, the Mail Online reported Sunday.

The man, whose womb was not removed during the original sex change

operation, became only the third man in world to have done this.

Joanna Darrell, of the Beaumont Society transgender support group, said that the man had asked about the health implications of keeping his

womb and what surgery he could have before it became impossible to carry a baby.

“He got back in touch about six months ago to thank the society for its help and to say he had had the baby,” Darrell

said.

The baby is thought to have been delivered by caesarean section but it is possible the man retained the ability to give birth naturally.

Darrell believes he is the first British man to have given birth. “As far as we know there is only him, one man in American and one in Spain who have done this,” she said.

The man is following in the footsteps of American Thomas Beatie, who became the world’s first pregnant man in 2007 and has since given birth to three children.

The Beaumont Society is the oldest transgender support group in the country, having been set up in 1966.

Thomas Beatie has given birth to his third child, reports say.

Mr Beatie, who was born female, had his first child in 2008 because his wife Nancy was unable to conceive.

He kept his female reproductive organs after transitioning to become a man ten years ago.

The latest addition to the Oregonbased family has not yet been named but is thought to have been born on July 25th.

A source said: “He’s got light brown hair and blue eyes. He’s very handsome and adorable, and he’s big and healthy.”

The baby joins siblings Susan, two, and brother Austin, one.

Before starting a family, Mr Beatie had been on hormone treatments, but stopped taking them in order to resume menstruating and conceive through artificial insemination.

The couple used sperm donors to conceive their children.

Speaking to Oprah Winfrey in April 2008, he said: “I actually opted not to do anything to my reproductive organs because I wanted to have a child one day. I see pregnancy as a process and it doesn’t define who I am.”

South Asia Tribune I Thursday 16 February 2012

NEWS

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Remove all who demonise Islam in UK Continued from page 01 >> was in regular phone contact with Osama Bin Laden until 2001 and thought the late al-Qaeda leader was a “wise man”.

They said Qatada supported jihadist groups in Algeria and Libya.

According to reports Abu Qatada was, probably, the most dangerous Al Qaeda operative in Europe as he was the link and, probably, the coordinator between all militant Islamic groups in Europe.

Qatada could be prosecuted under criminal and conspiracy laws, some of them going back to the 19th century. There has been no explanation – mere speculation – about why he has not been put on trial here. That he has not surely makes a mockery of our legal system. Incitement to terrorism overseas has been a criminal offence here since 2000. “The criminal law as it stands is enough. We have masses of legislation that deals with terrorism,” the former head of MI5, Eliza Manningham-Buller, remarked 10 years later, in 2010, adding that calls for fresh legislation should be resisted. It is suggested in some secret corners of Whitehall that there is insufficient evidence to convict Qatada at a trial.

Qatada never planned to plant bombs himself, it is said. His role was that of a radical preacher – to influence by words, not deeds.

The Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) based in London warns in a report about a threat to the UK from the so-called ‘lone wolves’ who are terrorists coming back home after fighting together with extremist groups abroad, in particular, in Nigeria, Yemen and Somalia.

RUSI experts estimate that British citizens make up 25% of all foreign militants fighting in the ranks of the Al Shabaab extremist group. They are about 50 people who may soon be able to use their war experience in the streets of British

cities. RUSI experts warn that the return of these militants from overseas could coincide with the release of people convicted of terrorist charges.

RUSI director Michael Clark warns that the global recession is also instrumental in causing radical moods in a certain segment of the British society.

Last year, the WikiLeaks web site published information that 35 terrorists kept in the notorious US Guantanamo prison had been sent to fight against the West after being brain-washed by British extremist preachers. It is not unlikely that among them were Aby Qatada and Abu Hamza who had been granted the status of refugees in the UK and lived on state benefits, and later sent dozens of extremists from all over the world to Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Omar Bakri Mohammed, the radical cleric banned from Britain for glorifying terrorism, has told The Daily Telegraph from his base in the Middle East that al-Qaida is poised to wage war against the Syrian regime reported Telegraph.

Bakri, once nicknamed the Tottenham Ayatollah, said hard-line Salafi Muslim groups, including al-Qaida, and his al-Ghuraba group were ready to help their “Muslim brothers” with a campaign of suicide attacks against Bashar al-Assad, the Syrian president. “In two or three operations, [alQaida] can make the Ba’ath party run away,” he said. Speaking from his new home in Lebanon, the self-styled cleric, who caused controversy after the 2005 London bombings by blaming them on the Government and British public, called the wave of pro-democracy revolutions that swept the Middle East in the past year, “al-Qaida’s victory”.

Although Bakri’s real influence in jhadi circles is hard to determine, his words echoed those of the new al-Qaida leader Ayman al Zawahiri. Mr Mohammed is thought to have dual Syrian and Lebanese nationality.

Regarding his arrest in Beirut, a Lebanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman said there had been an official request from the Syrian authorities “to surrender him to the security forces in Syria”.

WikiLeaks has disclosed reports written by senior US military commanders at Guantánamo Bay that hint at the full extent of the mayhem created by the “covenant of security.” It turns out that at least 35 suspected terrorists held at the prison were products of “Londonistan,” radicalised by extremist preachers and sent from the UK to fight the Jihad. The leaked documents also disclose how the London hub of the global jihad functioned as a “haven,” “an attack planning and propaganda production hub” and a “key transit facility.”

According to a report published by BBC an alleged al-Qaeda militant suspected of bombing a luxury hotel and two churches in Pakistan in 2002 was an informer for MI6, it has been claimed.

Adil Hadi al Jazairi Bin Hamlili was detained at Guantanamo Bay between 2003 and last year.

The Guardian claims to have seen secret Wikileaks files in which he is described as an al-Qaeda “assassin”.

Other Wikileaks files suggest a mosque in north London served as a “haven” for Islamic extremists.

According to the files, 35 men held at Guantanamo Bay had gone to fight against Western forces in Afghanistan after being indoctrinated in Britain.

The US documents identify two preachers at the Finsbury Park Mosque - Abu Hamza and Abu Qatada - as key recruiters.

Those revelations are contained in a Daily Telegraph report on separate secret files which suggested London was the hub of a global terror network.

The files, written by US military commanders, say that by the late 1990s the mosque was attracting young men from around the world, who were radicalised before being sent to training camps in

Putin wins backing of Russia’s religious leaders

Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has received the backing of Russia’s powerful Orthodox Church, its chief rabbi and top Islamic leader as he seeks a return to the presidency next month.

Putin met the three religious leaders on Wednesday in the latest in a series of gatherings with leading cultural and public figures ahead of the March 4 vote.

“I would like to thank you. You once said that you are working as a slave in the galley,” Patriarch Kirill said at the meeting.

“But with the only difference being that a slave lacked the degree of commitment to work that you have,” Kirill said in comments posted on Putin’s campaign website.

“Thanks to the Almighty, the country has been saved from ruin,” added Russia’s Chief Mufti Talgat Tadzhuddin.

“And one must add - with your direct

involvement!”

Chief Rabbi Berl Lazar for his part thanked Putin “for everything you have done for Jews.”

A series of mass protests that followed fraud-tainted December parliamentary election have posed the most serious challenge to Putin’s 12-year domination of Russia as president and head of government.

The swelling wave of demonstrations and dip in Putin’s public approval ratings have prompted his team to seek the public backing of top celebrities and clerics.

Several media outlets poured scorn on Putin’s latest attempt to win public favour with the Nezavisimaya Gazeta broadsheet noting that “religious leaders have taken part in the prime minister’s election campaign.”

Putin is seen as the overwhelming frontrunner in the election despite a

recent admission that he may lack the 50-percent backing needed to win in the first round.

In addition Putin, who is running in the March 4 presidential election, said there must be no preconditions for governmental interference in religious activities.

“We do not intend to interfere in the activities of religious organizations.

The state will not do this under any circumstances. That also goes for the self-organization within our religious communities,” Putin said.

Archbishop Ilarion of Volokolamsk, the head of the Moscow Patriarchy’s foreign church relations, told Putin about the persecution of Christians abroad, particularly in Iraq, Egypt, Pakistan and India, and asked the premier to make the issue a Russian foreign policy priority if he wins the presidency.

Afghanistan.

It said the 35 detainees had passed through Finsbury Park Mosque as well as other centres such as Regent’s Park and East London mosques and a rented room above a pub near Baker Street.

US intelligence officials said Finsbury Park served as “an attack planning and propaganda production base” for al-Qaeda.

Haroon Rashid Aswat is a radical Muslim of Indian descent but born and raised in Britain.

Around 1995, when he was about 21 years old, he left Britain and attended militant training camps in Pakistan and Afghanistan. He is said to have later told investigators that he once served as a bodyguard for Osama bin Laden. In the late 1990s, he returns to Britain and becomes a “highly public aide” to radical London imam Abu Hamza al-Masri.

Former Justice Dept. prosecutor John Loftus claims alleged London bombing mastermind Haroon Rashid Aswat is a “double agent” who “works for the MI6”.

For those who don’t know who he is, Loftus a “terrorism expert” is the author of “The Secret War Against the Jews”, a book resulting from his research into American corporations’ and intelligence agencies’ collusion with the Nazis before, during and after WWII, research which he conducted with an above top secret security clearance which gave him access to hitherto secret intelligence archives. Prosecutors in Seattle wanted to indict Aswat in 1999 for trying to set up a terrorist training camp in Bly, Oregon, but were ordered not to touch him by the highest level in the Justice Department. According to Loftus, the reason was that Aswat was an agent of British intelligence. He claims that “while British police were trying to catch him, the MI6 were trying to hide him”.

‘Enough is enough,’ Turkey’s Davutoğlu tells Israel Turkey’s top diplomat lashed out at Israel over its uncompromising stance on core issues of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

“Enough is enough. Longer the Palestinian-Israeli issue remained unresolved, greater the price peoples of the region including Turkey pay.

Israelis should decide on they want,” Ahmet Davutoğlu told a meeting of Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in Washington.

Davutoğlu said Israel had failed to convey any positive messages either to the United States or to the region, but continued to build new settlements and making provocative statements.

“The existing status quo cannot live anymore. Palestinians deserve their own state. Let me say put it frankly: The U.S. veto on the recognition of Palestine was wrong as was the Russian veto on Syria,” Davutoğlu said, adding that Turkey would continue to support efforts for Palestine’s recognition.

“Israel has to come to the table without putting forward any preconditions like building new settlements. They have to decide whether they want a solution based on one state or two states. So we

could get to learn who wants peace and who doesn’t,” Davutoglu said.

Davutoğlu said popular uprisings in Arab countries had created “a new Middle East,” adding that Palestine was the core issue underlying all the problems in the region.

“There has to be a new approach, a fresh initiative to resolve this problem in this new era,” Davutoğlu said. “I hope everyone will understand the new logic of the new era and act properly in line with a solution based on two states.”

Davutoğlu said Turkey had paid sincere efforts together with Egypt to facilitate a national reconciliation in Palestine between Hamas and Al Fatah, adding that the agreement between two Palestinian groups needed to be supported.

NEWS

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South Asia Tribune I Thursday 16 February 2012

Deaf ‘Child Slave’ Gives Evidence Against Pair A deaf Pakistani girl who was allegedly kept for 10 years as a “child slave” by a couple in Manchester has been giving evidence to court via a video link.

Filmed interviews she gave to the police were played to a crown court but beforehand the woman asked: “Will I be kept from (the defendants) Mr and Mrs Ashar?”.

The court was told the orphan was brought illegally into the UK in 2000.

No-one was sure of her age but it is thought she was about 10.

Jurors have heard that Ilyas and Tallat Ashar kept her overnight in a cellar of their house in Eccles, Greater Manchester.

She allegedly slept on a concrete floor and was made to cook, clean, wash and iron, and also cleaned the cars and houses of family and friends of the couple.

Shown a photograph of Mr Ashar, the alleged victim said: “He is the bad man who had sex with me.”

Upon seeing a picture of Mrs Ashar, she said: “She used to hit me in the face and cut me with the ring on her finger. It would really hurt. I would clean full-time. That was my life.

“She would pick things up and drop them on my head. She used to stop me eating and drinking and would say: ‘Go out and wash the car.’

“She would push me in the back and then shut the door and lock it behind me. I would sit for a long, long time

crying. I was really upset, crying and alone.

“I tried to get out and she would drag me back upstairs by my hair. She would hit me with a rolling pin.”

Prosecutor Peter Cadwallader said the victim was kept in the cellar without washing facilities or a toilet for hours packing football shirts and mobile phone covers.

She had not been to school at home in Pakistan or in the UK and could

neither read nor write but was taught to sign her name so it could be used to claim benefits.

Mr Cadwallader told the court: “At night the door at the top of the stairs down to the cellar was locked and bolted so she could not get out during the night.”

Ilyas Ashar, 83, and his wife Tallat, 66, are accused of human trafficking, false imprisonment and benefit fraud.

Mr Ashar also faces 12 charges of rape. Mrs Ashar is further charged with sexual assault and unlawful wounding. They deny the charges.

Their daughter Faaiza, 24, denies benefit fraud.

The alleged victim, who cannot speak, gave evidence from a remote location with the help of interpreters and sign language experts.

The trial continues in Minshull Street Crown Court in Manchester.

Bin Laden Told Children ‘Move to West in Peace’!!!

Bin Laden rejected “like father, like son” view and told his children to move to the West and live in peace, his brother-in-law said. values of the West, particularly the United States, his brother-in-law Zakaria al Sadah said, “He told his own children and grandchildren, ‘Go to Europe and America and get a good education’” and believed they “should not follow him down the road to jihad.”

“You have to study, live in peace and don’t do what I am doing or

what I have done,” said al Sadah, the brother of Bin Laden’s Yemeni

Osama Bin Laden rejected “like father, like son” view and told his children to move to the West and live in peace, his brother-in-law said in an interview with the Times of London.

Despite his constant preaching against what he consider corrupt

fifth wife Ama, who was shot in the leg during the raid on his milliondollar compound.

Ama and two other of Bin Laden’s wives, along with their nine of his children and grandchildren who were in the compound at the time of the raid, are being held under guard in an apartment in Islambad.

A Pakistani commission is

investigating the raid, which Zakaria said left the children traumatized.

American officials raised questions after the raid concerning the ability of Bin Laden to live in Islambad for several years under the noses of the government, which officially was supposed to be helping the United States fight its war on terror.

British, Qatari troops already waging secret war in Syria?

British and Qatari troops are directing rebel ammunition deliveries and tactics in the bloody battle for Homs, according to an Israeli website known for links to intelligence sources. ¬Four centers of operation have been established in the city with the troops on the ground paving the way for an undercover Turkish military incursion into Syria.

The debkafile site said the presence of British and Qatari troops in Homs topped the agenda of Tuesday’s talks between Assad’s officials and head of Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service Mikhail Fradkov.

Qatar makes little secret of supporting

the Syrian opposition with cash, arms and political support. Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani said in mid-January he is ready to send troops to Syria to stop the violence there.

Britain insists it is not planning any military action against the Assad regime.

The scenario painted by the report closely resembles Libya’s collapse into anarchy. UN Security Council resolution 1973 forbade any ground troops from intervening in Libya while creating a pretext for NATO to launch a bombing campaign against Muammar Gaddafi’s troops.

However Qatar, Britain and France later confirmed they had sent units to assist the

Libyan rebels. Secret French weapons drops were discovered after they fell into the wrong hands. There were also unconfirmed reports that Western special forces directed air strikes from forward frontline positions and directed combat tactics.

The Pentagon and its allies have proposed the creation of a humanitarian corridor in Syria with a view to delivering supplies and humanitarian aid to Syrian civilians.

However, critics have cast doubts on the plans, likening them to the no-fly zone in Libya which preceded military intervention in the country.

Commenting on the US’s proposal for the

creation of a “humanitarian corridor,” journalist Carla Stea told RT its “opening could easily become distorted and used for other purposes.”

The Libya example was cited by Russia and China when they vetoed a draft UN Security Council resolution on Syria last Saturday.

Britain, France & the US, who backed the resolution lashed out at Moscow and Beijing, accusing them of siding with a regime that had ‘blood on its hands’.

Ali Rizk, a Middle East expert talking live to RT from Beirut, described the UK and Qatari intervention as a sign of “how desperate the anti-Assad forces have become.”

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Thursday, 16.02.12

international

Bomber in Delhi’s car attack may be of Indian origin: Report The motorcyclist, who planted a bomb on an Israeli embassy car in Delhi, may have been of Indian origin, according to investigators working on the case. The biker was described yesterday by Home minister P Chidambaram as someone who seemed well-trained. Today, investigators say it’s likely that the bomber conducted a few dry runs before sticking an explosive onto the car on Monday evening. An Israeli diplomat’s wife, who was inside, is still in hospital; the driver of the car was released wednesday.

A team of Israeli investigators was allowed access to the remains of the SUV. Traces of explosives found in the car, which blew up just a few feet from the Prime Minister’s residence, are being tested at a forensic lab. A red motorcycle found abandoned in South Delhi’s Lado Sarai area may have been the bike involved in the terror attack.

No evidence about individual, entity or

country in blast: India Refusing to pinpoint Iran for the Israeli car bomb blast here, India on Wednesday said it has no evidence about any individual, entity, organisation and country involved in the attack, which left an Israeli diplomat critically injured.

Iran rejects as “sheer lies” accusations that it was involved in a bomb attack on the Israeli embassy in India, the official IRNA news agency quoted the Islamic Republic’s ambassador to New Delhi as saying on Monday, after Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu implicated Tehran and its ally Hezbollah in the attacks.

India on Monday assured Israel of a complete investigation into the explosion of the Israeli embassy car, close to the mission in Delhi, suspected to be a terror attack in which three people have been injured, saying it strongly condemns any incidents of violence.

Continued on page 10 >>

India to Test Agni-5 in March EC: right to vote for overseas Pakistanis

India plans to test launch its new Agni-5 intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), capable of carrying nuclear warheads, in the second half of March, The Times of India reported on Tuesday.

The Agni-5 has a striking range of up to 5,000 kilometers (around 3,100 miles), which means it could bring targets

as far away as northern China within reach. Only Russia, the United States, China, Britain and France have such missiles in their arsenals.

“Integration of Agni-5 is on, one at Hyderabad and the other at Wheeler Island. Later part of March we will be launching this ICBM,” Vijay Kumar Saraswat, Scientific Advisor to the Defense Minister, was quoted as saying by The Times of India.

Earlier versions of the Agni series, Agni 1-3 with a range between 700 and 3,500 kilometers are already in service with the Indian Army, while Agni-4 remains in testing mode. It was successfully tested last year.

Compared to previous Agni variants, the Agni 4 and 5 have a better striking precision and are based on mobile launchers, while the older missiles needed rail mobile launchers with an exhaustive infrastructure.

Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Tuesday decided to allow overseas Pakistanis to cast their votes in upcoming parliamentary elections. Election Commission Secretary Akhtar Hussain Sabir said that Pakistanis living abroad had

long demanded the right to vote.

The commission is now deciding whether seats in the national and provincial legislatures should be reserved for overseas Pakistanis.

President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani on Tuesday greeted the overseas Pakistanis for getting the permission to participate in the electoral process.The decision of the Election Commission of Continued on page 10 >>

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Saarc international I Thursday 16 February 2012

Pakistan NA passes 20th Amendment bill The 20th Constitutional Amendment bill has been passed unanimously by the National Assembly on Tuesday .

The bill was tabled by Law Minister Maula Bakhsh Chandio.

The amended bill was meant to shield the 28 lawmakers elected in by-polls after the passage of 18 Amendment.

Currently, membership of 28 senators and legislators of national and provincial assemblies have been suspended.

The Supreme Court had questioned the legal status of the lawmakers who had been elected in by-elections held at a time when the Election

US drone crash in Ghazni According to local authorities in eastern Afghanistan, a US drone on Friday crashed in eastern Ghazni province.

Provincial governor spokesman Modasir Afghan said, the drone crashed at Janjat village in Deh-Yak district, due to technical problems AOP reported.

In the meantime a spokesman for the Taliban group Zabiullah Mujahid claimed that the drone was shot down by the Taliban fighters. Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid also said that they have taken the damaged drone with them.

This is the firt time a US drone crashes in eastern Ghazni province.

NATO-led International Security Assistance Force yet to comment regarding the incident.

Commission of Pakistan (ECP) was incomplete due to non-appointment of its members as required under the 18th Amendment.

Speaking during the session, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza

Gilani said an unbiased caretaker setup will be formed through the 20th amendment which will not represent any political party and will make free and fair elections possible in the country.

He said that autocratic forces do not want political stability in the country and vowed to face them with courage. “Petroleum prices will be lowered,” he added.

Gilani said that the federal cabinet has approved the bill unanimously after prolonged consultations with the opposition.

Meanwhile, Opposition Leader in NA Cahudhry Nisar Ali Khan objected presentation of the bill without consulting the opposition.

He also said that the amendment in constitution was a national issue however some non-democratic forces and political parties were trying to make it look like a rift

between PPP and PML-N. “All details must be publicised…to remove all vagueness,” he added.

He said that his party talks about formation of a free and independent election commission and the authorities being given to it through 20th amendment in the constitution has never been given to any election commission in the world.

Moreover, Nisar told the house that the five-member election commission was being powered to take a decision if the government and the opposition could not agree upon structure of the caretaker setup.

EC: right to vote for overseas Pakistanis Continued from page 9 >> Pakistan (ECP) will give voting rights to 3.7 million overseas Pakistanis.The President and the Prime Minister, in separate messages, expressed the hope that it would provide them an opportunity to play their positive role in an effective manner.

They hoped that the Election Commission would work out the modalities to facilitate the overseas Pakistanis to exercise their right to vote and help determine the future of country.

Following the decision the overseas Pakistanis will now able to cast their vote in the upcoming parliamentary elections through postal ballots. The commission said that over 3.7 million overseas Pakistanis’ names would be registered in electoral rolls.

It said that the nitty-gritty as to

how the overseas Pakistani would cast their votes would be decided later. However, sources in the commission said that all overseas Pakistanis above 18 years of age, having national identity cards for overseas Pakistanis would be eligible to cast their votes for the candidates in their native constituencies from next election.

AMIDST all the judicial controversies that the country seems to have become ensnared in recently, at least one worthy cause has found its way before the Supreme Court.

A four-member bench headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry held its latest hearing on Tuesday on a petition by the Tehrik-iInsaf to allow overseas Pakistanis voting rights in general elections.

With an estimated eight million Pakistanis living abroad and Nadra confirming to the court that

it has issued 4.4 million identity cards to overseas Pakistanis, the number of people deprived of their right to vote is significant.

The crucial issue, appears to be the voting infrastructure and its cost: the Election Commission of Pakistan Joint Secretary Sher Afgan told the SC that a postal ballot facility would cost the ECP $200 per ballot as opposed to Rs10 for a ballot cast within Pakistan.

The ECP should be asked to give a detailed breakdown of this cost estimate. An overseas ballot at nearly Rs20,000 when there are potentially millions of such ballots to be cast does not appear to be taking any advantage of economies of scale.

At issue here is a fundamental right of a group of people who do much to keep the Pakistani economy afloat.

In countries like Saudi Arabia, the UAE and the UK, hundreds of thousands of Pakistanis work

hard to earn a living and support their immediate and extended families left behind in Pakistan.

The Pakistanis living abroad are every bit as patriotic as their compatriots living inside Pakistan.

If they want to exercise the right to vote, they should have the ability to do so. Surely an economical way of casting votes from abroad can be found.

The fact is, the world over there is a push to grant overseas nationals the right to vote. In neighbouring India, the government granted Non-Resident Indians the right to vote earlier this month.

True, issues such as resolving in which constituency expats are allowed to vote and what rights dual nationals hold will require some thinking through. But the right to vote should not be denied simply because officialdom cannot find easy solutions.

attack may be of Indian origin: Report Pakistan allows food, medical Bomber in Delhi’s cararrived at the school, apparently statement.

Continued from page 9 >> after a bomb was attached to the Hague called on India and Georgia supplies to Nato forces Hours within the blast, which came vehicle. to investigate the “deliberate

Islamabad publicly admitted Tuesday that it had allowed Nato to use Pakistani airspace to fly supplies into Afghanistan, despite a more than two-month blockade on the border crossings.

“The permission has been given for food items,” a defence ministry official quoted Defence Minister Ahmed Mukhtar as saying at a function in Islamabad.

“Since the food items were perishable, we have allowed them to transport them by air to Afghanistan.

“We have told them to take the supplies out by air and don’t bring more for the time being,” the official quoted him as saying.

Pakistan shut all supply routes for the Nato forces last November, after an attack by Nato forces on Pakistani border post that killed 24 Pakistani soldiers.

“The decision to fully restore all kind of supplies to the neighbouring

country rests with the parliament,” Mukhtar added.

Meanwhile, the United States distanced itself from a Congressional hearing on Balochistan. The acting US ambassador to Pakistan Richard Hoagland said that Washington “fully respects Pakistan’s geographical boundaries.”

Hoagland said that the US was “eagerly waiting” for the new policy guidelines on bilateral ties, set to be announced by the Pakistan’s parliament.

Boeing is expected to provide five new aeroplanes worth $1.5 billion to Pakistan by 2015, Hoagland informed reporters.

a day after the fourth anniversary of the killing of Hezbollah’s deputy leader Imad Mughniyah, External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna spoke to his Israeli counterpart Avigdor Lieberman, assuring him that the law of the land will take its course.

4 injured in terrorist attack on Israeli embassy staff in Indian capital The wife of an Israeli Defense Ministry representative suffered light to moderate wounds in the terror attack. Israeli Embassy Spokesman David Goldfarb confirmed that an explosion took out a diplomat’s car.

The injured woman was identified as Tal Yehoshua Koren, the wife of a diplomat stationed with the Defense Ministry’s mission in India. An initial probe into the attack revealed that the envoy’s wife left the embassy with her driver after a day of work at the mission in order to pick up her children from school. The explosion took place a short while before she

Koren managed to call the embassy and report that “the vehicle exploded,” before being evacuated to a local hospital in a rickshaw.

Officials said she suffered shrapnel wounds to her lower body. The driver of the vehicle was also hurt in the blast.

Indian media outlets reported that two bikers were tailing the car driven by the Israeli diplomat’s wife in New Delhi and that at one point one of them “hurled something at the car,” which exploded shortly after.

The United Kingdom, meanwhile, condemned the attacks and called on New Dehli and Tbilisi to fully investigate the incidents.

“I was shocked and appalled to hear of the attack today on an Israeli diplomatic vehicle in New Delhi and the failed attack on another vehicle in Tbilisi,” UK Foreign Secretary William Hague said via a written

attacks on diplomatic staff” in New Dehli and Tbilisi, adding that “our thoughts are with those injured and their families.”

The New Delhi blast took place some 500 meters from the official residence of Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

“I heard a bomb blast near the petrol pump. I went to see what happened and the next thing I saw was the car ablaze. There was a lady and a driver inside the car. The people pulled them out of the car,” said Ravi Singh, a witness.

A number of witnesses told Indian television they saw two people on a motorbike sticking a device onto the rear of the car when it stopped at a traffic signal.

Georgian police prevented a similar incident, defusing a bomb found in a car of an Israeli embassy staff member.

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WEEKLY REVIEW OF AFGHANISTAN NEWS

US troops to remain in Afghanistan beyond 2014 US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta on Tuesday told US Senate they are negotiating a long term strategic pact with the Afghan government.

United States would be allowed to have a long term presence in Afghanistan beyond troops withdrawal after 2014, once the strategic pact is finalized and signed betweeen the two nations.

Around 90,000 US troops are based in Afghanistan which is expected to be reduced to 68,000

by September.

United States Senator Lindsey Graham while speaking during Tuesday’s session urged that around 15,000 to 20,000 US troops should remain in Afghanistan after

2014.

In the meantime US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said they have recently reached to a number of agreements.

He also said there are still some

pending issues including the transfer of prisons responsibilities which are needed to be discussed between the two nations.

Night military raids to crackdown

militants is also one of the main issues which is needed to be discussed between the two countries.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai earlier complained over night raids

which in some cases cause civilian casualties.

US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said the two sides have agreed on various clauses of the strategic pact which is due to be completed in a few weeks.

He also said, the main tasks of the United States in Afghanistan would be to crackdown militants and al Qaeda Network terrorists besides providing air support, intelligence and logistics supports to Afghan security forces.

This comes as Afghanistan signed signed a number of strategic cooperation agreements with United Kingdom, France and Italy last month.

NATO expresses regret for airstrike that killed 8 young Afghan civilians The U.S.-led military coalition said Wednesday that it regrets the killing of eight civilians in a NATO airstrike this month in eastern Afghanistan.

Civilian casualties have long been a source of friction between the U.S.-led international force and Afghan President Hamid Karzai, who condemned the bombing and sent a delegation to the scene to investigate.

The coalition called in the airstrike on Feb. 8 in the Najrab district in Kapisa province, after movements by eight people on the ground were assessed as a threat to Afghan police and NATO forces in the area, said Army Brig. Gen. Lewis Boone, director of public affairs for the coalition.

On Monday, the ISAF’s spokesman, Brigadier General Carsten Jacobson, said an assessment

showed the victims were “young Afghans of varying ages.”

Following the airstrikes, Afghan President

Mullah Obaidullah: Top Taliban official died in Pakistani prison, The Taliban on Monday confirmed their former defence minister, Mullah Obaidullah Akhund, Mullah Mohammad Omar’s key lieutenant, died of a heart attack in a Pakistani prison.

A statement from the insurgent movement said: “Sadly, we have been informed that the Taliban’s deputy leader passed away in a Pakistani jail.” Akhund was detained in southeastern Balochistan province in January 2007.

The Taliban said Mullah Obaidullah’s family had been told recently by the Pakistani authorities that he died of a heartrelated illness in 2010.

The Taliban is thought to have previously insisted on his release as a pre-condition for any talks with the Afghan government.

Mullah Obaidullah is believed to be one of the highest ranking leaders in the Taliban - after its supreme leader, Mullah Omar.

Hamid Karzai ordered an investigation into the deadly incident.

Mohammad Tahir Safi, a member of the

parliament for Kapisa and part of the investigation team dispatched by Karzai, explained that the children had gathered to make fire when a NATO jet “dropped one bomb in [a] first round and another bomb later.”

“There were eight people and all innocent children and you can see their pictures,” he said, showing pictures of bloodied children in shrouds.

Hundreds of civilians have lost their lives in US-led airstrikes and ground operations in various parts of Afghanistan over the past few months, with Afghans becoming more and more outraged over the seemingly endless number of deadly assaults.

Afghan authorities have repeatedly warned NATO forces to avoid killing civilians during military operations.

Afghan forces launch military operation in Khost According to local authorities in eastern Afghanistan, Afghan National Army and Afghan National Police forces launched a joint military operation at eastern Khost province.

Provincial security officials following a press release said, the operations have been conducted in a number of bordering regions of eastern Khost province.

Sardar Mohammad Zazai Provincial Security Chief for eastern Khost province said, a number of suspected militants were detained during the military operation last evening.

Mr. Zazai further added, Afghan security forces seized some improvised explosive device and

an anti-aircraft gun during the operation.

The statement issued by provincial security officials did not disclose

further information regarding the duration of the operation.

Taliban militants group yet to comment regarding the operations.

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Saarc international I Thursday 16 February 2012

WEEKLY REVIEW OF BANGLADESH NEWS

Zia Charitable Trust case: Decision on charge acceptance Mar 18 A Dhaka court will deliver its decision on March 18 whether it would accept charges against BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia and three others in connection with Zia Charitable Trust graft case.

Judge Mohammad Zahurul Haq of the Senior Special Judges Court set the date on Tuesday after Khaleda’s lawyer submitted a petition for further time before passing its decision.

The petition said Khaleda needs the time because she, as the Leader of

the Opposition in the Parliament, is busy with some affairs since the 12th session of the ninth parliament

has been going on.

During the day’s proceedings, the court also extended the bail period

of two other accused – Khaleda’s former political secretary Harris Chowdhury’s assistant private secretary Ziaul Islam Munna and former Dhaka mayor’s APS Monirul Islam Khan – till March 18.

The court extended the time acting on a petition seeking extension of their bail as it expired Tuesday.

The High Court earlier had granted the duo six-week anticipatory bail in the case.

Another accused, Khaleda’s former political secretary Harris

Chowdhury, is on the run.

THE CASE The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC), on August 8 last year, filed the case with Tejgaon Police Station against Khaleda and three others accusing them of abusing power in collecting funds to set up the trust named after late president and BNP founder, Ziaur Rahman.

BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia on February 2 secured permanent bail in the Zia Charitable Trust graft case.

Election Commission meeting Traffic jam polluting air;WB study says 20pc pollution-cut can save up to 3,500 deaths. on DCC polls soon: CEC Newly appointed Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Kazi Rakibuddin Ahmad yesterday said he and his colleagues will discuss holding split Dhaka City Corporation (DCC) polls in a couple of days.

“We will sit in a day or two to discuss holding polls to DCC,” Rakibuddin told reporters while leaving his office.

On November 29, the government split the DCC into two by amending the city corporation law with a provision to hold the polls within 90 days.

However, Rakibuddin’s predecessor ATM Shamsul Huda-led Election Commission (EC) declined to hold the polls due to time constraints.

Huda’s tenure expired on February 4 while the deadline for DCC polls is February 29.

Amid such a situation, the

government decided to amend the law again and extend the deadline by 90 more days, allowing the EC until May to hold the polls.

The newly formed EC faces a stiff challenge ahead as the main opposition BNP has already announced it will not participate in the DCC polls under it.

President Zillur Rahman formed the new EC on February 8 by appointing Rakibuddin as CEC and four others as election commissioners.

Monday was the first working day of the newly formed EC.

Traffic congestion in the capital and smoke from brick kilns are the main reasons for air pollution in Dhaka city, according to the World Bank and the Bangladesh government.

Traffic congestion in the capital and smoke from brick kilns are the main reasons for air pollution in Dhaka city, according to the World Bank and the Bangladesh government.

The Ministry of Environment and Forests says that vehicles in Dhaka move 14kmph on an average, which is very slow and causes them to burn more fuel and contribute to air pollution.

They say the average speed could come down to 4kmph by 2025 if things do not improve.

The ministry thinks if pollution can be reduced by 20 percent, at least 1,200 to 3,500 lives can be saved and 80 to 230 million cases of respiratory diseases can be averted each year.

A website (www.case-moef.gov.bd) of the ministry has mentioned this data. The web page is of a government

project called Clean Air and Sustainable Environment (CASE), set up with the support of the World Bank to reduce the capital’s smog, produced by brick kilns and vehicles, which has been steadily increasing in recent years. The World Bank and Bangladesh jointly conducted a Country Environmental Assessment and came up with the data.

The website says that if air pollution is reduced by 20 percent, it would also save $170 to 500 million in healthcare costs and increase the productivity of city dwellers.

Department of Environment officials said faulty vehicles, smoke from brick kilns, dust from construction sites and toxic fumes from industries are the main sources of particulate matter. According to environment officials who conducted a pre-study before the joint assessment for CASE, around 60 percent of city air pollution is caused by thousands of unfit and faulty vehicles, especially those that run on diesel. They say vehicles older than 20 years could not be taken off the city streets. These vehicles add to city traffic, congestion and air pollution.

Prominent TV journalist couple murdered in Bangladesh Two well-known Bangladeshi television journalists were on Saturday found stabbed to death in their home in the capital Dhaka, sparking a widespread protest prompting authorities to issue orders for an investigation.

Sagar Sarwar and his wife Meherun Runi, news editor of private Maasranga Television and senior reporter of private ATN Bangla respectively, were chopped to death at their West Rajabazar residence in Dhaka early on Saturday morning, police said.

The bodies of the couple -- both in their late 30s were found by their five-year-old son, who called relatives living nearby, they said.

Police said the child phoned his maternal grandmother early in

the morning and said “my parents are dead”.

The motive for the killings was not known and it was unclear if the deaths were related to their work.

Doctors, who carried out the autopsy, said the killers stabbed

Sarwar at least 20 times at different parts of his body and then confirmed his death by cutting his throat while Runi was stabbed twice.

“We think it (murder) was not an act of any professional killer ... no

professional killer murdered the couple,” a doctor familiar with the autopsy said.

Police said they initially detained four people for questioning as four teams already launched probe into the murders while Bangladesh Home Minster Sahara Khatun said law enforcement agencies were ordered to provide the report within 48 hours.

They said they were looking for clues as no valuables were missing from the house, meaning it was not a case of robbery.

Joint commissioner of detective branch of police Maruf Hassan said one of the four detainee was a brother-in-law of Sarwar while police earlier said the three others were manager and the two security

guards of the apartment complex.

Runi’s brother was later released after questioning, police sources said.

“We are laying highest priority to track down the perpetrators of this heinous crime,” police commissioner of Dhaka Benajir Ahmed told reporters.

Different journalists organisations protested and demanded exemplary punishment of the assailants after a quick investigation as government and opposition leaders mourned the deaths.

The couple was buried at the city’s Azimpur graveyard after their funeral prayers which was joined by hundreds of mourners including journalists and politicians.

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WEEKLY REVIEW OF BHUTAN NEWS

Bhutan to barter with West Bengal Bhutan and the neighbouring Indian state of West Bengal are working out an arrangement where power will be bartered during the winter and summer seasons starting in the winter of 2012 until 2016.

The energy department had initially requested its Indian counterpart to look at the possibility where Bhutan could import power in winter from the India’s eastern grid which covers five states.

The eastern grid constituent initially rejected the proposal but West Bengal expressed they would be willing to supply power to Bhutan provided Bhutan supply the same amount of power to them during their peak season with an additional premium.

Although Bhutan has been importing electricity from India in the past, DOE officials said its domestic demand was always lower than lean season generation and the country has not been

paying for any imports.

As of now, the total generation capacity of the five hydropower plants including 22 mini power plants of the Bhutan power corporation stands at 1,500 megawatts. In the winter when the water levels are low, the generation was 298MW in February and March. In the same months domestic requirement was 260

MW which shows a surplus of 38 megawatts.

Four joint venture projects are to start construction this year, rural electrification will be completed in 2013 and new industries are expected to come up which will add to domestic demand.

Before the Punatshangchhu I project is commissioned in 2016, the country will be running low on

electricity during the lean season, Yeshi Wangdi said.

While lean season generation capacity will remain the same at 298MW until 2016, domestic demand is projected to be 348 MW in the winter of 2012. In 2013 it is projected to be 391MW, 413MW in 2014 and 500MW in 2016.

In 2013, Bhutan will be importing on an average 27MW of electricity

which will increase to 70MW in 2015.

Import from West Bengal will take place in the winter of 201213, Karma Tshewang said adding that today the eastern parts of the country has been importing around two million units.

Bhutan will be supplying the equivalent amount of energy imported from West Bengal in the months of May and June with an additional premium.

No financial transactions will take place and the arrangement is basically a barter arrangement Yeshi Wangdi said.

In winter West Bengal will have surplus energy as its consumption dips to the minimum with air conditioners not in use.

“It is a paradox that we need the most energy when we generate the lowest and need the least energy when we generate the highest,” Karma Tshewang said.

Bhutan’s Drukair Signs MOU for an Airbus A319 with Sharklets

Drukair, the flag carrier of the landlocked Eastern Himalayan mountain Kingdom of Bhutan, has signed a memorandum of understanding for an Airbus A319 fitted with fuel-saving Sharklets, to complement its existing fleet of two A319s.

On February 15, 2012, Bhutan’s national carrier Drukair signed a memorandum of understanding for an Airbus A319 fitted with performance-improving, fuel burn-reducing Sharklet wing-tip devices.

Drukair already operates two A319s. The airline is based at mountain-surrounded Paro Airport, the only international airport in Bhutan and one of the world’s most challenging large-jet airports for landings. Only a handful of pilots are certified to fly into Paro Drukair will deploy the new aircraft to increase capacity on existing regional routes as well as to open up new services to Singapore and Hong Kong.

Paro airport best in world Readers of a UK travel magazine, Wanderlust, recently rated Paro international airport as the best airport in the world. Paro airport had an average rating of 92%, equal to Singapore’s Changi, and higher than Hong Kong international, and even Tokyo Narita.

Readers of the magazine also rated Bhutan as the second best country to visit, after Japan. National airline Drukair did not make it to the top 10 airlines category.

Civil aviation joint director, Karma Wangchuk, attributed the high rating to the uniqueness of the Paro airport experience. This includes the clean air upon disembarkation, the national attire worn by airport staff, and the traditional architecture of the

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airport.

Other factors include the quick processing time of passengers, less formalities, and short distances to walk, said Karma Wangchuk.

There are plans to improve the airport.

Karma Wangchuk said that airport agencies have been asked to revaluate

certain procedures and eliminate unnecessary formalities. Training will also be conducted to improve service delivery and develop a friendliness culture among airport staff.

The airport will also be expanding its terminal building in the next two years, he said.

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Saarc international I Thursday 16 February 2012

WEEKLY REVIEW OF INDIA NEWS

Hindu Extremists Bombed 2007 Samjhauta Express, Previously Blamed On Muslims Hindu extremists bombed Samjhauta Express NEW DELHI: Hindu extremists carried out the 2007 false flag attack on the Samjhauta Express, which was previously blamed on Muslim groups, local reports said citing police interrogation of an arrested suspect.

They said Kamal Chauhan, a disgruntled worker of the Hindu revivalist Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS, National Volunteer Corp), was arrested on Sunday by the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) from Noida near Delhi.

According to the NIA, Mr Chauhan had planted the bombs on board the Samjhauta Express after undergoing training in arms and explosives in Haryana and Madhya Pradesh.

The accused was taken to Panchkula court in Haryana, which granted NIA his custody till February 24 for questioning him on his alleged role in the blast in the Delhi-Lahore train that left 68 people, mostly Pakistanis, dead.

Some garbled TV clips showed Mr

Chauhan as admitting to his crime but the clips were blurred and inaudible.

NIA investigations revealed that Mr Chauhan along with Ramchandra Kalasangra, alias Ramji, and Lokesh Sharma, also charged in the case, planted the explosives in the train at Old Delhi, from where the train originates, NIA’s Special Prosecutor R. K. Handa said outside the court after the in-camera proceedings in the case.

Mr Chauhan is believed to be a close aide of Kalasangra and Sandeep Dange, key accused in the Samjhauta case.

Muslim quota: Khurshid dares Election Commission, poll panel writes to President

Taking strong objection to Salman Khurshid’s comments after his censure on his minority quota remarks, the Election Commission tonight wrote to President Pratibha Patil against the “defiant and aggressive” law minister and sought her immediate decisive intervention.

The EC said the defiance by a union minister of the Constitutional body was “unprecedented” and his “improper and unlawful action” has put a strain on the delicate balance of functions between Constitutional authorities.

The strongly-worded two-page letter was written to the President after an emergency meeting of the full Commission in the wake of Khurshid’s statement earlier in the day that he would continue to pursue the line on nine percent sub-quota for minorities ‘even if they hang me’.

The EC had earlier censured him for the same statement made on January 8 while campaigning in Uttar

Pradesh elections, holding that it was violative of the Election Model Code of Conduct.

“The Commission is shocked that instead of being remorseful about the violation of the Model Code, that carries the consensus of all political parties and the sanction of the Supreme Court, the Minister has chosen to be defiant and aggressive.

This is unprecedented,” the EC letter said.

Addressing an election rally in Khatakpur locality last night, the law minister said that Election Commission had censured him, but even if the “Commission hangs him or does anything else, he would ensure that people of Pasmanda community get their rights”.

“Can’t I even say that Pasmanda Muslims would get their due?” he said, adding that Congress was set to hoist the tricolour in the state assembly after 22 years.

The NIA had sought his remand for a fortnight.

“We have to unearth his complete involvement and association. During investigations, it has come to light that Chauhan underwent extensive training in handling of weapons and explosives.

He took training at Karni Singh shooting range in Faridabad (Haryana)

and a register seized by CBI (Central Bureau of Investigation) on August 10, 2011 has the entries of his name in that shooting range. He also took explosives and arms training at Bagli in Dewas (Madhya Pradesh),” Mr Handa said.

“To unearth more information about execution of the plan, preparations that were made, a thorough investigation is

required, for which we have sought the remand,” he said.

Meanwhile, Mr Chauhan’s counsel Anil Soni and Shailender Babbar alleged that his arrest was “politically motivated” and aimed at influencing the ongoing polls in Uttar Pradesh while his family said he was a farmer by profession and in “no way involved in the crime”.

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Indian PM rejects Western calls to curtail Iran oil imports India resists pressure from the U.S. and the EU to curtail its trade with Iran, insisting that diplomacy is the best way to deal with Iran’s nuclear issue, according to the Washington Post.

The U.S. and its Western allies want India to curtail oil imports from Iran.

Iran is India’s second-largest crude oil supplier after Saudi Arabia.

After a meeting with the EU president Herman Van Rompuy in New Delhi on Friday, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh told reporters that he believes the nuclear issue “can be and should

be resolved by giving maximum scope to diplomacy.”

According to CNN, India actually increased its import of Iranian crude last month.

U.S. State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said on Thursday that “we are working with countries around the world, including India, that maintain strong oil relationships with Iran, encouraging all of them to reduce their dependence on Iranian crude.”

But India imports seventy percent of the oil it uses – fourteen percent of it from Iran.

The New York Times, in an article posted on its website on February 11, said India’s determination to continue buying Iranian oil has frustrated officials in Washington at a time when the forward momentum in the United StatesIndia relationship has slowed, with differences over issues including civil nuclear cooperation, trade protectionism and military sales.

The situation was exacerbated this week by news reports that India had become Iran’s top oil customer, while an Indian official announced plans to send a trade delegation to Tehran.

Playing down irritants, India and China Zardari hosts reception call for new, ‘flexible’ approach to ties for Sri Lankan President

Indian and Chinese leaders on Wednesday laid out a new roadmap for bilateral ties, calling for a “flexible” and “imaginative” approach in 2012 to minimise the effect of persisting political irritants, such as the border dispute and Tibet.

External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna, who on Wednesday evening inaugurated India’s new $10-million embassy, which he described as turning “a new page” in ties, underscored India’s willingness to calm sources of tension. He particularly stressed in unusually strong terms New Delhi’s support to Beijing on the Tibetan issue, amid ongoing unrest in Sichuan province that has seen at least 16 selfimmolation protests by Tibetans in the past year and clashes last month with police forces that have left at least two killed and dozens injured.

This week, Beijing blamed overseas Tibetan groups, some based in Dharamsala, and exiled religious leader the Dalai Lama for fanning flames of unrest. While India reiterated that the Dalai Lama was “an honoured guest” of India and his activities were not political, Mr. Krishna reaffirmed India’s support to the ‘One China’ policy, officials said.

“It is the government of India’s

position that the Tibet Autonomous Region is part of the People’s Republic of China, and as a result of that we are dealing with the internal affairs of China,” Mr. Krishna told journalists.

“Hence we will have to be very cautious, and any help that we can render to ease the tension we are willing to do it but I don’t think that situation will arise.”

Mr. Krishna met four high-ranking Chinese officials on Wednesday — a rare event for a visiting Minister, officials said, suggesting a reflection of a new impetus from Beijing to get ties on the right track in 2012.

Zhou Yongkang, China’s ninthhighest ranked politician and Communist Party of China (CPC) Standing Committee Polit Bureau member, told Mr. Krishna that the Tibet issue “concerns the core interest” of China. He said the Chinese government “appreciates the firm support of the Indian government over this issue,” adding that China “firmly penalises according to law” separatist activities.

Mr. Zhou described the opening of the new embassy building as “an auspicious event in the year of the dragon.” China celebrated the start of the new dragon year on January 23.

Mr. Krishna also met with Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi, State Councillor Dai Bingguo and Wang Jiarui, head of the CPC’s International Department.

Yiwu traders’ case Mr. Krishna said he raised the case of two Indian traders in the town of Yiwu, who were illegally detained

by Chinese businessmen, accused of owing 10 million RMB ($1.58 million). The traders, who will stand trial on March 1, told The Hindu in a recent interview they wanted Mr. Krishna to raise the issue and ensure a fair trial.

Mr. Krishna met briefly with the two traders, who had travelled here from Shanghai on Tuesday night.

“I empathised with them regarding their traumatic experience and raised the matter with my Chinese counterpart,” he said. “The Indian mission will provide all assistance in resolving this issue.”

Mr. Krishna denied media reports that New Delhi had objected to the visit by the Vice-Governor of Zhejiang province, where Yiwu is located, to Gujarat. “[There is] nothing like prevention as such,” he said. “I think dates are being finalised.”

However, sources said New Delhi believed the timing of the visit was unsuitable considering their displeasure with the way provincial authorities handled the Yiwu case.

“If you maltreat our businessmen, you are sending a bad signal,” an official said. “The fact is that we didn’t get much assistance from Zhejiang provincial authorities.”

The two countries, which have recently held similar positions on global issues, discussed their recently differing positions on the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) vote on Syria.

President Asif Ali Zardari Friday hosted a reception in honour of President of Sri Lanka President Mahinda Rajapaksa .

The reception was attended by

Governor Punjab Latif Khosa, Prime Minister Azad Jammu Kashmir Chaudhry Abdul Majid, Chief Minister Gilgit Baltistan Syed Mehdi Shah, members of

Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani, Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee General Khalid Shamim Wyne, Chief of Army Staff General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, Chief of Air Staff Air Chief Marshal Rao Qamar Suleman, Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Muhammad Asif Sandhila, Chairman Senate Farooq H. Naek, Deputy Chairman Senate Jan Muhammad Jamali,

the federal cabinet, diplomats, government officials, members of the entourage of the Sri Lankan President.

National anthems of the two countries were played on this occasion.

Later, President Zardari hosted a dinner in honour of his Sri Lankan counterpart Mahinda Rajapaksa and members of his entourage.

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South Asia Tribune I Thursday 16 February 2012

South Asia Tribune I Thursday 16 February 2012

17

Rising to its feet: Japan before & after (AMAZING PHOTOS)

A year on from

the tsunami On March 11, 2011 I, like millions of others, watched the horrific scenes of the tsunami sweeping through Sendai Airport, eating everything in its path. A month ago today marks the first anniversary of the devastating earthquake and tsunami.

Japan had suffered its worse natural disaster in a generation.

A leading Japanese journalist recently made two incredible claims about the Fukushima power plant that suffered a nuclear meltdown in March 2011, sending shockwaves around the world.

First, the former editor of a national newspaper in Japan says the U.S. and Israel knew Fukushima had weapons-grade uranium and plutonium that were exposed

to the atmosphere after a massive tsunami wave hit the reactor.

Second, he contends that Israeli intelligence sabotaged the reactor in retaliation for Japan’s support of an independent Palestinian state. In an even more explosive charge, the journalist says that 20 minutes before the Fukushima plant’s nuclear meltdown, Israel was

so upset with Japanese support for a Palestinian declaration of statehood that it double-crossed Japan by unleashing the Stuxnet virus on the plant’s computers.

While it is impossible to verify some of Shimatsu’s claims, there was a massive cover-up at the time of the Fukushima disaster in March. Explosions at the site were immediately downplayed.

With the powerful earthquake and tsunami hitting Japan last year, the country seemed to be devastated and almost beyond recovery. Still, 11 months on, the Japanese have made amazing progress in raising their lives and cities from the rubble.

The natural disaster which hit Japan back in March 2011 left the country’s northeastern coast almost entirely destroyed. The earthquake caused a major nuclear crisis as the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear facility was partially destroyed and leaking radiation.

The natural disaster left over 20,000 dead or missing, generating global sympathy over the terrible tragedy. About 100,000 people had to flee their homes to escape radiation.

The country’s authorities said that their drive to reconstruct the

devastated territory was more than just a domestic issue. The bid sent the international community a signal that “even if you face and experience tragic circumstances, if you make efforts and work hard, you can get back on your feet,” the Jamaica Observer quoted Japanese politician Toshiyuki Kato as saying.

The Japanese authorities have made a tremendous work to pull down old and build new houses and roads, cleaning vast territories of the rubble, smashed cars and even planes and boats: estimated 23 million tonnes of debris.

The country’s Cabinet approved almost US$50 billion in spending aimed at reconstruction, the biggest building budget since the atomic disasters of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The overall cost of damage is estimated at more than $300 billion.

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NEWS

Saarc international I Thursday 16 February 2012

Musharraf ‘knew Bin Laden was in Abbottabad’: Former ISI chief Former president Pervez Musharraf was aware of Osama bin Laden’s Abbottabad location and the safe house where he was sheltered was built

by Pakistani intelligence agencies, according to a former Inter-Services Intelligence chief.

Earlier in 2011 Dawn TV also reported and now In a recent article for American news website The Daily Beast, former Central Intelligence Agency official Bruce Riedel quoted former directorgeneral of the ISI General (retd) Ziauddin Khwaja as saying that Musharraf “knew Bin Laden was in Abbottabad”. Musharraf has earlier categorically denied having knowledge of Bin Laden’s location or that the terrorist was in Pakistan.

Khwaja, also known as Ziauddin Butt, allegedly said that Bin Laden’s safe house in Abbottabad “was made to order” by Brigadier Ijaz Shah, a former head of the Intelligence Bureau.

“Ziauddin says Ijaz Shah was responsible for setting up Bin Laden in Abbottabad, ensuring his safety and keeping him hidden from the outside. And Ziauddin says Musharraf knew all about it,” Riedel wrote in the article.

Shah, who the assassinated premier Benazir Bhutto had linked to a failed plot to kill her,

has been closely linked to Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh, a Britishborn Kashmiri terrorist who was imprisoned in India in 1994 for kidnapping three Britons and an American. Saeed was part of the

foot in America”.

Earlier back in December 2011 Dawn TV reported Brigadier Ijaz Shah (Retd.), was alleged came from Pakistan’s former Army Chief General Ziaud Din Butt aka General Ziaud Din Khawaja who revealed at a conference on Pakistani-U.S. relations in October 2011 that the then Director of the Intelligence

the full knowledge of President Pervez Musharraf.” Also Before and after coming back to Pakistan from exile in late 2007, late Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto had accused Brigadier Ijaz Shah, among others, of hatching a conspiracy to assassinate her.

Fearing arrest after the 2008 general elections, Brigadier Shah left Pakistan and settled in

Former Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf’s 2004 autobiography talks about an important Al Qaeda leader living in a house in Abbottabad. plot to kidnap journalist Daniel Pearl and turned himself in to Shah.

However, Butt told Geo News that he had been misquoted in the article but refused to give details of what he had said which could have been misconstrued.

Butt was appointed to head the ISI by former prime minister Nawaz Sharif and served at

India’s next XI: Woman delivers 11 kids at one go?

11 kids born on 11/11/11 claims hospital Internet forums were abuzz with the amazing feat of a woman giving birth to 11 children -- all at one go.

The story was fuelled by this picture circulated on Indian blogs and with the said headline.

Blogs ran the picture stating that: hospital staff showing 11 babies born on unique date 11/11/11 in Surat. It was also rumored that 6 were twins. Doctors were really surprised, shocked and glad to have successful delivery.

No official news agency has been able to deny or confirm the news, but with calls for the Guiness Book

the post from 1997 to 1999. He was the first head of the army’s Strategic Plans Division, which controls the nuclear arsenal.

Riedel, however, notes that Butt had “a motive to speak harshly about Musharraf”. Nawaz had promoted Butt as the army chief in October 1999 when he tried to fire Musharraf who then launched a bloodless coup and

of World Records to authenticate the births, unofficial ‘sources’ have offered more viable explanations.

The most plausible one doing the rounds of forums is that all the 11 babies are not from a single mother.

Though all the babies were born on 11/11/11 and hence 11 of them lined up for the picture, they all have different mothers.

One blog did take the trouble to suggest that given the current performance of India’s cricket team, maybe this Surat hospital was already getting a new eleven ready.

deposed Nawaz’s government.

Butt eventually spent two years in solitary confinement, was discharged from the army and his property was confiscated.

Riedel further wrote: “We don’t know who was helping hide Bin Laden but we need to track them down. If (Musharraf) knew, then he should be questioned by the authorities the next time he sets

Bureau (IB), Brigadier Ijaz Shah (Retd.), had kept Osama bin Laden in an IB safe house in Abbottabad . In a subsequent, revealing interview with TV channel Dawn News, General Butt repeated the allegation, saying he fully believed that “[Brigadier] Ijaz Shah had kept this man [Bin Laden in the Abbottabad compound] and with

Australia for a prolonged period of time. After spending several months, Brigadier Shah came back to Pakistan silently. There are petitions in the courts of law to have him arrested (Dawn [Karachi] July 26, 2011), but the civilian government is unable to arrest or proceed against him because he enjoys army protection

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‘Pakistan using brutal force in Balochistan’ Following years of neglect, Balochistan issue taken up by US congressional panel

Not putting its own house in order for decades has cost Pakistan face, and could yet cost more.

Accusing Pakistan of using brutal force in Balochistan, eminent US lawmakers have expressed serious concern over the human rights violations in the restive province.

For the first time, decades of simmering strife, disenfranchisement and disenchantment in Balochistan made it to the limelight in the US – and not unexpectedly Pakistan was cast in negative light in a US congressional hearing.

In a packed room of the Rayburn House Office Building, members of the House Foreign Affairs’ Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations on Thursday focused on condemning the Pakistani government and accusing it of broad human rights abuses against the Baloch.

But the extraordinary hearing, attended heavily by the Baloch diaspora, who led several rounds of applause after speeches by the

was a turbulent land marked by human rights violations “by regimes that are against US values”. The congressman outlined the history of Pakistan’s creation, and highlighting Balochistan’s grievances vis-a-vis natural resources, said that the province’s due share was being usurped by

to the committee, Amnesty International’s Advocacy Director T Kumar said that they called on the US to “apply the Leahy Amendment without waivers to all Pakistani military units in Balochistan.” Leahy prohibits US military assistance to foreign military units that violate human

Baloch. The HRW representative asked the US government in his recommendations to “communicate directly to the agencies responsible for disappearances and other abuses including the army, ISI, IB, Frontier Corps, police and other law enforcement and intelligence

committee’s members, offered no clear aim of what it wanted to achieve or how to address the issues facing the province.

The sudden interest in Balochistan, coupled with keen condemnations from human rights groups, comes with serious undertones. Last month, Congressman Dana Rohrabacher, a Republican who organised and chaired the hearing yesterday, drafted a policy paper condemning the Obama Administration, and proposed that the US pursue an independent Baloch state “carved out of Pakistan,” nominally to defeat the Taliban.

Nevertheless, though the motives remain unclear, the hearing did set the stage for the province to be closely monitored by the international community in the years to come.

In his opening remarks, Rep Rohrabacher said that Balochistan

the dominant elite.

The hearing, attended by think tankers, Capitol Hill staffers, journalists and members of the Baloch diaspora also included lobbyist for the Embassy of Pakistan Mark Siegel.

Addressing the committee, scholar and analyst professor Christine Fair said that while she understood that sentiments were running high, nationalist groups in Balochistan were also targeting those belonging to other provinces. “Many of those teachers have been singled out because they’re Punjabi, and it’s not just teachers, also providers of other human services, police in particular are very vulnerable.”

Furthermore, the professor, who had termed the meeting as merely a “stunt” on Twitter a day earlier, added that Pakistan’s human rights abuses have actually served US interests in the region.

In his submitted testimony

rights with impunity.

Pakistan Director for Human Rights Watch (HRW) Ali Dayan Hasan, in his submitted remarks, said that cases documented by the HRW show that Pakistan’s security forces and its intelligence agencies were involved in the enforced disappearance of ethnic

agencies, and to demand an end to abuses and facilitate criminal inquiries to hold perpetrators accountable.”

Hasan also highlighted the extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances in the province in his remarks at the hearing.

Dubbing the military’s role in the

province a brutal, occupying one, Hasan clarified that the HRW takes no position on the issue of the independence of Balochistan.

Both Hasan and Fair highlighted how enforced disappearances had become the norm in Pakistan.

“The issue of disappearances became commonplace in Pakistan and in Balochistan in particular because of the licence provided by the US, the UK and other powers in the context of the war on terror where the disappearance and illegal detention of Taliban and al Qaeda suspects was green-lighted effectively by the US. This gave the Pakistani military carte blanche, if you will, to extend such abuse of operations to its own political opponents.” Hasan said.

In his testimony, defence analyst Ralph Peters, who had earlier irked many Pakistanis in 2006 when his article Blood Borders was published in the Armed Forces Journal with a map of Free Balochistan, called Pakistan a supporter of terrorism, and said

that Pakistan had made the US complicit in its acts of terrorism by launching attacks against India, citing the 2008 Mumbai attack.

M Hosseinbor, a lawyer and Baloch nationalist scholar, called on the US to support an independent Balochistan “in case Pakistan or Continued on page 28 >>

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Saarc international I Thursday 16 February 2012

WEEKLY REVIEW OF PAKISTAN NEWS

Alleged suspect in Shahbaz Bhatti case arrested in UAE One of the two suspects in the murder case of former minorities minister Shahbaz Bhatti was arrested in Dubai with the help of the International Police (Interpol). He was still to be repatriated to Pakistan after fulfilling legal formalities, which are likely to take over a week.

Officials attached to the case were not too optimistic of the arrest proving to be a breakthrough in investigations. “The names of these two suspects were given by someone who was already released by the court on account of being mentally unstable,” a police official said on Saturday on the condition of anonymity.

Ziaur Rehman and Malik Abid, both residents of Faisalabad, were identified as possible suspects by a pastor named Hafiz Nazar, who was arrested by the Karachi police in March last year. He was arrested and handed over to Islamabad after the Karachi police intercepted his phone calls made to a minorities’ member of the Punjab Assembly from Sargodha.

“However, this man (Hafiz Nazar) proved to be mentally unstable and was later released. He was called in for questioning many times after, but did not prove to be of any use,” said a police official who had investigated Nazar.

Nazar mentioned the names Rehman and Abid, and ‘suspected’ that these two could be involved in

murdering Bhatti over property issues. The police said the suspects were not in Pakistan and were later found to be in Dubai.

The Islamabad police approached the Interpol for their arrest. Recently, the Interpol informed them that Ziaur-Rehman was arrested, while Malik Abid was still at large. However, it was not clear if he had fled or was still in Dubai.

“To treat them as prime suspects would be wrong. We have no evidence to suggest that they were involved in the murder even though they could have certain issues with him,” said the police official.

Both suspects belonged to Faisalabad, the former minister’s native city. They had differences with Bhatti

over property issues, “but they were not capable of carrying out such a high-profile assassination,” said the official.

“Investigations regarding the case were muddy and not carried out in a proper manner, some evidence points towards sectarian or militant violence,” he added. “Now that one of them was arrested, he would be interrogated to establish what they know about the murder.”

The only person who mentioned the suspects in his conversations, Hafiz Nazar, a former pastor, had allegedly made a telephone call to a member of the Punjab Assembly from Sargodha, Tahir Nazeer Chaudhry, and discussed possible suspects involved in the murder.

Pakistan Political Crisis Deepens As Court Indicts PM

The Supreme Court on Monday indicted Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani for contempt of court in the National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) implementation case.

A two-page charge sheet was read out by Justice Nasirul Mulk, who headed the seven-member bench hearing the case.

The charge sheet said that the prime minister had violated Article 204 of the Constitution by not writing a letter to the Swiss authorities as ordered by the court. It added that the prime minister also violated paragraph 178 of the court’s verdict in the NRO implementation case.

Gilani pleaded not guilty and sought more time in the case.

But, the court ordered Attorney General Maulvi Anwarul Haq to prosecute the prime minister and present more documents and proof to the court.

Gilani’s lawyer Aitzaz Ahsan told the court that he will present his arguments on February 22, while Gilani was ordered to bring sufficient evidence by February 27.

The prime minister was exempted from further hearings while the hearing was adjourned till February 22.

The hearing lasted less than half an hour and Gilani left soon after, waving confidently to crowds of lawyers huddled under gloomy grey skies and a persistent drizzle.

Security was razor-tight for today’s hearing, with hundreds

of riot police guarding the court and queues trailing back from checkpoints where police searched vehicles and helicopters hovering overhead.

The black-suited lawyers divided themselves into two factions, chanting support for either the government or the Supreme Court.

The PPP leaders dismissed speculation in the press on Monday that Gilani would soon need to be replaced.

“Comments about a new prime minister are premature.

The president has immunity,” Information Minister Firdous Ashiq Awan told reporters.

Other allies criticised the indictment. “For the first time the prime minister has been charged. It’s a sad day in the history of Pakistan,” said Qamar Zaman Kaira, a senior member of the ruling party.

An editorial of an English newspaper said: “The prime minister’s actions reek of protecting the president over our system of democracy.”

“Even if the president’s immunity is upheld, it will no longer be applicable once he is out of office and in that eventuality there may be no legal or constitutional hitch in preventing the Supreme Court from going ahead on this issue.”

That is the view held by many other commentators, who hail the Supreme Court’s actions as a badly needed advance for the rule of law and accountability in Pakistan Others say the Supreme Court’s pursuit of Zardari and his party is bad for democracy and strengthens the hand of the powerful military.

“At one level, this serves the army’s purposes,” said Najim Sethi. “They want the politicians to fight amongst themselves and remain discredited.”

The constant infighting allows the army to solidify its control over foreign policy and national security, and limits the civilian government’s attempts to control the military.

Iran’s President to talk trade in upcoming Pakistan visit Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad will pay an official visit to Islamabad to hold talks with senior Pakistani officials on a joint multi-billion-dollar gas pipeline project, a top Iranian official says.

Speaking to reporters on Sunday, Vice President for International Affairs Ali Saeedlou added that transfer of Iran’s gas to Pakistan, providing power and electricity to the neighboring country as well as expanding bilateral cooperation in rail and air transportation are among key issues on the agenda of the president’s talks with top Pakistani officials.

He said in view of Pakistan’s need for electricity and Iran’s great potentials in the field, export of electric power to the country will be discussed during the visit of Iran’s high-level delegation to Islamabad.

Saeedlou noted that Iranian and Pakistani officials would also discuss Iran’s economic assistance for the rehabilitation of flood-hit victims in Pakistan.

US congressional hearing on Balochistan ‘ill-advised’ move: Sherry Rehman Taking a strong exception to a United States Congressional hearing on Balochistan this week, Pakistan has termed it an “ill-advised” move that would be detrimental to the trust between Pakistan and the United States of America.

A Pakistan Embassy spokesman in Washington said that Pakistan’s Ambassador Sherry Rehman raised the issue of an exclusive hearing on Balochistan by US House Committee on Foreign Affairs in her meetings with the members of congress and senior officials of the US administration.

According to the spokesman, Rehman said that the government of Pakistan strongly rejects the purpose and findings of the hearing and considers it an “ill-advised and ill-considered” move that will have serious repercussions for PakistanUS relations.

“Balochistan is an integral part of the Pakistan,” the ambassador said.

“Pakistan is a democracy conducting itself in accordance with the international law.”

Sherry said that the elected parliament, the Balochistan assembly, the independent judiciary, a vigorous media and a thriving civil society are avenues for expression and seeking redress of political and economic grievances.

“The government is strongly

committed to protecting the fundamental rights and freedom in all parts of Pakistan, including Balochistan, and has initiated an extensive programme of constitutional and other reforms to empower all citizens in the continuing consolidation of democracy,” she said.

She said that the hearing was marked by a “blatant disregard for the history of the issue and manipulated selective facts”.

“It is deeply regrettable that the legislature of a country that calls itself a friend of Pakistan allowed itself to be used as a platform for advocating the dismemberment of Pakistan and provided justification to terrorists attempting to hold Balochistan, and Pakistan, hostage,” the envoy said.

“Pakistan views this hearing with a serious concern and considers it unacceptable. “This kind of an exercise constitutes interference in Pakistan’s internal affairs. The hearing will be detrimental to mutual trust and confidence,” the envoy said.

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WEEKLY REVIEW OF MALDIVE NEWS

Mathai in Maldives for talks amid deepening crisis As the crisis in the Maldives deepened with former president Mohamed Nasheed rejecting police summons and asserting that India may lose leverage to China in the island nation, Indian Foreign Secretary Ranjan Mathai Wednesday arrived in Male to press for a broad-based political deal.

Mathai’s visit came as new President Mohammed Waheed Hassan named Mohammed Waheed Deen, a minister in the Maumoon Abdul Gayoom government, as vice-president.

The visit came on a day Nasheed rejected police summons to record his statement on his order to arrest a senior judge that triggered a chain of events leading to his ouster amid opposition protests and a police mutiny on February 7.

Mathai is expected to meet Nasheed, Waheed and other key leaders in

yet another effort to help broker a deal among feuding factions in the fractious political establishment in the island nation.

Mathai is accompanied by Harsvardhan Shringla, joint secretary in charge of the Maldives in the External Affairs Ministry.

This is the second visit by a senior Indian diplomat to the Maldives in a week after Nasheed resigned under controversial circumstances on February 7 that plunged the strategically located island nation into prolonged turmoil.

M Ganapathi, Secretary (west) in the External Affairs Ministry, was sent by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh as his special envoy last Friday to hold talks with key political stakeholders and impress upon them the need for a broad-based coalition government.

New Maldivian leader expands his cabinet The Maldives’ new President expanded his cabinet yesterday, to strengthen the coalition government that has ruled the Indian Ocean nation since former leader Mohamed Nasheed’s resignation last week sparked a political crisis.

Six members from four parties were sworn in as ministers in the government led by President Mohamed Waheed Hassan The former President of the Maldives, Mohamed Nasheed, displayed admirable restraint as new President Waheed Hassan finally got his act together, named a new Cabinet, and embarked on a Himalayan task of making the national unity government work.

Even as a “unity” mantra began reverberating in the corridors of power in Male, it was clear that the

country has been divided: there is now a pro-Nasheed population and an anti-Nasheed population (which is being seen, by some quarters, as people who are pro-Gayoom).

Quite a few from the earlier era are back in power, including a few India baiters.

The first appointment done was that of the Attorney General.

Uza Aishath Azima Shakooru,

AG during Mr. Gayoom’s tenure is back. She took the oath office before the Supreme Court Judge Judge Abdulla Areef.

Leaving aside three Ministries, including that of the crucial Islamic Affairs, Dr. Waheed on Sunday appointed representatives from three parties to the six berths. This takes the total number of Ministers in the Cabinet to eight.

Maldives crisis: Commonwealth ministers to meet Mr Nasheed has been calling for snap elections Commonwealth officials are to hold an urgent meeting to discuss a stand-off in the Maldives between President Mohammed Waheed Hassan and his predecessor, who resigned on Tuesday.

A Commonwealth ministerial watchdog will convene within 24 hours. It has the power to suspend member states.

Ex-president Mohamed Nasheed says he has been forced out in a coup.

Mr Waheed denies this, saying he is ready to face an independent probe into the transfer of power.

“There are constitutional mechanisms to do that,” the Associated Press quoted him as saying after a meeting with visiting US Assistant Secretary of State Robert Blake.

Mr Waheed earlier ruled out snap elections demanded by his predecessor.

Mr Blake said the US was seeking clarification on the transfer of power.

The US has corrected its position after saying on Thursday that it recognised the new government.

Commonwealth officials said Secretary-General Kamalesh Sharma had called for a teleconference of the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group, a group of nine foreign ministers from the 54member bloc. They will hold a teleconference “to review the circumstances pertaining to the transfer of power”, Akbar Khan, who heads the bloc’s delegation in the Maldives, The CMAG has the power to suspend member states if they violate democracy, voting against Fiji in 2006, and Pakistan in 1999 and 2007.

Mr Nasheed’s resignation on Tuesday was followed by demonstrations and clashes in the Indian Ocean nation.

Meanwhile, UN Assistant Secretary General

Oscar Fernandez-Taranco has been holding talks with both sides to try to find a way out of the impasse.

Mr Waheed said on Friday that the election campaign had already started for scheduled polls for the end of 2013.

The new leader also said Mr Nasheed had acted “like a dictator” and was now trying to stage a “show” for international media.

Mr Nasheed says he is no longer calling for his reinstatement as president, but wants snap elections to resolve the stand-off.

Maldives’ ousted president Mohammed Nasheed on Saturday said he was disappointed with India over its response to the political turmoil without having properly understood the ground situation in his country.

44-year-old Nasheed, who was forced to step down, making way for his deputy Mohammed Waheed Hassan to assume the post of president, made known his unhappiness over New Delhi reaching out to the new leadership.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had written to the new President Hassan on Wednesday, expressing “continued support” to the efforts to ensure stability and peace in that country.

“We are with the idea, with the belief that India

would have a very proper understanding of the situation in Maldives, that they will have necessary information and intelligence to make a judgment,” Nasheed told in Male.

He said it was disappointing to find that this was not so.

‘India offers asylum to Maldives’ ex-leader’ The Indian government has offered asylum to deposed Maldivian president Mohamed Nasheed, a report said on Saturday. The former president of Maldives has, however, showed willingness to stay back in the Indian Ocean nation.

Reacting to the crisis in Maldives, India on Friday established a contact with top political leaders of the island nation with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh sending his special envoy and favouring resolution of the problem through dialogue.

Indian High Commissioner to Maldives DM Mulay reportedly spoke to Nasheed on Thursday and explicitly asked him if he sought any “assistance”. Nasheed said he doesn’t require any help “as of now”. Reports also claim that India had offered shelter to Nasheed’s family as well, which is now in Colombo.

A government source said the term “assistance” is a “broad” one, indicating that it might include

“asylum” as well.

M Ganapathi, secretary (west) in the External Affairs Ministry, left for Male yesterday to listen to all voices and assess the situation in Maldives after the ouster of Mohammad Nasheed as president earlier this week.

Nasheed had quit as president on Tuesday making way for Vice President Mohammad Waheed Hassan but later claimed that he was forced to quit with guns all around him and hit the streets with his supporters demanding he be reinstated to the top post.

Ganapathi met Nasheed and his successor Waheed and conveyed India’s willingness to assist in early installation of a national unity government in the Indian Ocean atoll.

Germany calls for new govt to “consolidate legitimacy” with “independent inquiry” Germany has called for Dr Waheed’s government to “consolidate its national and international legitimacy” by holding an “independent inquiry” into the circumstances around Nasheed’s resignation this week.

German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle expressed “deep concern about recent developments in the Maldives, particularly the violent attacks against elected officials and supporters of the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP).”

Germany has taken note of President Waheed’s intention to form a government of “national unity”.

“The participation of all major parties represented in Parliament will be a decisive precondition to its political authority,” Westerwelle said, calling on the new leadership “to uphold the principles and norms of democracy and the rule of law and guarantee the right to peaceful demonstrations.”

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Saarc international I Thursday 16 February 2012

WEEKLY REVIEW OF NEPAL NEWS

Unilever Nepal shut down for two weeks; efforts to re-open fail At a time when Nepal is seeking more foreign investments to speed up its economic development, efforts to reopen Unilever Nepal, an Indian joint venture which has remained shut for the last two weeks, have failed.

The Hetauda-based multinational company was forced by the workers to shut down putting forth various unreasonable demands.

The trade union, affiliated to the former rebels, has padlocked the

factory since February 4.

Around 20 meetings have been held with the workers at the initiative of Federation of Nepalese Chamber of Commerce and Industries (FNCCI) and other trade bodies to end the

crisis but without any result.

The 115 labourers of the factory affiliated to the Maoist aligned All Nepal Trade Union Federation (Revolutionary) forced the shut down demanding increase in their

Nepal peace process to be concluded on time’

Kathmandu: A top Maoist leader on Friday said the government will finish the key task of concluding the peace process and framing a new constitution, amid a deadlock between the political parties over form of governance and federal structure to be adopted in the country.

“The peace process and the constitution drafting will be completed within the stipulated time frame of May 27,” Education Minister and senior Maoist party leader Dinanath Sharma said on the sideline of the inaugural function of the UK Education Fair in the capital.

The landmark peace process has been stalled amid the failure of the political parties to agree on the form of governance and federal structure.

Sharma said he was “confident that the atmosphere of trust and consensus is being formed among the political parties.”

He said the process for the voluntary retirement of the former Maoist combatants has already begun and remaining tasks of peace process will also be completed on time.

Replying to a question on the settlement of contentious issues, Sharma said “these issues need to be settled through political consensus among the political parties and efforts are being made towards that end.”

The extended tenure of the Constituent Assembly, which functions as the country’s interim parliament, is set to expire on May 27.

Bowing to mounting pressure from the opposition parties, Nepal Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai yesterday announced scrapping of a controversial Cabinet decision to legalise the war-time transactions of property and land deals, a move that ended a deadlock that had stalled Parliament

over the last few weeks.

On the issue of the formation of the national consensus government Sharma said a national government cannot be formed only by dissolving the present government “as consensus is required for that.”

“The issues of forming the government, concluding the peace process and drafting of the constitution are interrelated matters,” he said.

Underlining the need to spread educational opportunities in Nepal, he pushed for promoting educational exchanges between UK and Nepal.

He said the Maoist-led government favours an open educational policy in which students aiming to pursue higher educational abroad are not discouraged.

Director of the United Nations Department of Political Affairs Tamrat Samuel called on UCPN-Maoist chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’ and CPN-UML chairman Jhala Nath Khanal separately on Saturday morning.

During the meeting with Dahal, Tamrat urged him to play a leading role in finalising the peace process. The meeting was held at Dahal’s residence in Lazimpat.

Dahal on the occasion also said that efforts were being made on his behalf for promulgating the constitution in the stipulated time by forging consensus among all political parties, informed Dahal’s aide Shiva Khakurel

pay and benefits despite the high salary which they get from the multinational company.

The company has been revising pay and perks every two years by holding meeting with the labour union.

Last time they had increased the salary and other benefits in 2010 and negotiations were in progress for this year’s salary hike.

The workers suddenly padlocked the factory putting forth various demands without prior notice, according to company sources.

Meanwhile, the company’s representatives and the business leaders affiliated to FNCCI yesterday met Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai seeking his intervention to end the labour unrest.

Bhattarai is learnt to have given verbal assurance to the business leaders that he would do his best to reopen the factory.

Himalayan glaciers have lost no ice in the past 10 years, new study reveals The U.N. got it wrong on Himalayan glaciers -- and the proof is finally here.

The authors of the U.N.’s climate policy guide were red-faced two years ago when it was revealed that they had inaccurately forecast that the Himalayan glaciers would melt completely in 25 years, vanishing by the year 2035.

Rajendra Pachauri, head of the U.N.’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and director general of the Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) in New Dehli, India, ultimately issued a statement offering regret for what turned out to be a poorly vetted statement.

A new report published Thursday, Feb. 9, in the science journal Nature offers the first comprehensive study of the world’s glaciers and ice caps, and one of its conclusions has shocked scientists. Using GRACE, a pair of orbiting satellites racing

around the planet at an altitude of 300 miles, it comes to the eye-popping conclusion that the Himalayas have barely melted at all in the past 10 years.

“The GRACE results in this region really were a surprise,” said University of Colorado at Boulder physics John Wahr, who led the study.

Some previous estimates of ice loss in the high Asia mountains had predicted up to 50 billion tons of melting ice annually, said Wahr, who is also a fellow at the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences.

Instead, results from GRACE pin the estimated ice loss from those peaks -including ranges like the Himalayas and the nearby Pamir and Tien Shan -- at only about 4 billion tons of ice annually.

Bristol University glaciologist Jonathan Bamber, who was not part of the research team, told the Guardian that such a level of melting

was practically insignificant.

“The very unexpected result was the negligible mass loss from high mountain Asia, which is not significantly different from zero,” he told the Guardian.

Bamber was quick to caution that the new study doesn’t alter his view that the climate is changing, and rapidly.

“This new study doesn’t change our view of the risks and threats from climate change,” he said in an online

chat at the Guardian. “What it does do is improve our knowledge of the recent behavior of one part of the climate system.”

Indeed, Wahr’s study clearly notes that lower-altitude glaciers and ice caps are melting, to the tune of about 150 billion tons of ice annually, which the study predicts could lead to an overall rise in sea levels. He concluded that the higher altitude and therefore colder Himalayan

peaks may be temporarily impervious to factors causing melting.

“One possible explanation is that previous estimates were based on measurements taken primarily from some of the lower, more accessible glaciers in Asia and were extrapolated to infer the behavior of higher glaciers. But unlike the lower glaciers, many of the high glaciers would still be too cold to lose mass even in the presence of atmospheric warming,” Wahr said.

According to GRACE data published in the study, total sea level rise from all land-based ice on Earth including Greenland and Antarctica was roughly 1.5 millimeters per year annually or about one-half inch total, from 2003 to 2010, Wahr said.

“The total amount of ice lost to Earth’s oceans from 2003 to 2010 would cover the entire United States in about 1 and one-half feet of water,” Wahr said.

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WEEKLY REVIEW OF SRILANKA NEWS

Subsidies to offset oil price hike Private bus operators yesterday called off their trade union action after an agreement reached to increase bus fares by 20 percent, during a meeting between the government and private bus operators at the National Transport Commission.

The bus fare increase was effective from midnight yesterday.

Thousands of commuters including schoolchildren were stranded following the strike launched by the Private Bus Operators’ Association since Sunday midnight in defiance of the fuel subsidy announced by the government.

Accordingly, the minimum bus fare has been increased from Rs 7 to Rs 9. An official of the National Transport Commission told

the Daily News that both parties agreed not to revise the bus fare hike due in July.

He said that the bus fare will not be increased until February 14 next year if there is no fuel price hike during this year.

Meanwhile, Lanka Private Bus Operators’ Association president Gemunu Wijeratne requested bus operators to commence their services forthwith .

Passenger Transport Minister C B Ratnayake, Transport Minister Kumara Welgama and National Transport Commission officials were present at the meeting.

The government will never place the burden of the recent oil price increase in the world market on the consumer, Environment Minister Anura Priyadarshana Yapa told the media at the Information Department yesterday.

“The whole world is suffering from the oil crisis due to the conflict in certain Middle

Eastern countries,” he said.

‘Due to this situation, oil prices are very high in most countries compared to Sri Lanka.

(Norway – Rs 300, Canada – Rs 152, Brazil – Rs182, Australia – Rs 177, Denmark – Rs 144, Kenya – Rs 154, Japan - Rs 227, and India – Rs 164). Though the situation in the world is of this nature, the Sri Lankan government has taken measures to provide oil subsidies for selected groups such as bus owners, three wheeler owners, and fishermen, with the objective of reducing their burden, ” the minister said.

Petroleum Industries Ministry Secretary Dr R S H Samaratunga said that the use of oil in Sri Lanka is at a very low level compared to other countries.

Pakistan, Sri Lanka to increase Smuggling of Lankans to EU busted trade volume to $2 billion

Pakistan and Sri Lanka sign three memorandums of understanding (MoUs) to enhance cooperation in trade, technical education and media, and also agreed to increase the trade volume to over $2 billion by 2015.

Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani and Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa observed the signing ceremony here at the Prime Minister’s House along with the members of their delegations.

The MoU seeking cooperation in media was signed by Information Minister Firdous Aishaq Awan and Sri Lanka’s Minister for External Affairs Prof GL Peiris, whereas the MoU for a credit of $200 million to increase Pakistan’s exports to Sri Lanka was signed by Peiris and Prime Minister’s Finance Adviser Dr Abdul Hafeez Sheikh on behalf of their respective governments.

The MoU for cooperation in technical education was signed

by Ministry of Professional and Technical Education Secretary Qamar Zaman Chaudhry and Secretary to the Sri Lankan president Lalith Weerathunga. Under the agreement to promote cooperation in media, both the countries will

exchange news stories, special programmes and publications highlighting the historical, cultural and social aspects, and sports and literature through radio, television and print media.

The two countries will also explore avenues to jointly produce documentary films on topics of national and historical significance.

Under the MoU, the two countries will also exchange visits and training facilities of the TV, radio and print media journalists, media experts, media managers and trainees on reciprocal basis.

Joint Statement: A joint statement issued on the occasion said the two sides reached broad consensus on ways and means to further strengthen their bilateral cooperation in a comprehensive manner and on their common endeavours to promote peace and security in the region and the world.

Both sides agreed to hold frequent summit level meetings, promote parliamentary exchanges and enhance the process of consultations, cooperation and coordination between their respective institutions.

An organized crime group facilitating illegal immigrants from Sri Lanka into EU has been uncovered, following more than a year of joint int’l efforts at police & judicial level supported by Eurojust & Europol, Lankan embassy in Brussels said yesterday.

The network is suspected of facilitating the illegal entry of people from Sri Lanka to France, frequently using a route through the United Arab Emirates, Kenya, Tanzania, Turkey and Finland.

French Police arrested 18 suspected organizers of a network of Sri Lanka to illegal immigration on Monday in France, French media reports.

The arrested are suspected of being at the head of a network of Sri Lanka of illegal immigration.

This illegal smuggling network is networked via many countries in Europe mainly Finland and and Belgium, from where another set of

suspects were arrested simultaneously.

These people have transported Sri Lankans with fake passports to the United Kingdom (UK) and Canada.

In a press release issued yesterday, Europol said: “On February 6, 2012, judicial authorities and officers from the Finnish Border Guard, French Police (OCRIEST) and Belgian Federal Police, ran a joint operation against the Sri Lankan criminal network”, and that “so far a total of 27 suspects

have been arrested and interrogated in Finland, France and Belgium.

The main target was arrested on Sunday in Saran, France.

He was interrogated at the Tribunal de Grande Instance of Paris in the following days and charged with being suspected of facilitating illegal immigration.

“In addition, 23 searches were conducted in the Member States involved, where documentary evidence and goods were seized.

“Investigations are continuing. In total, over 100 officers from Finland, France and Belgium are involved”.

Record 2.4m visitors at Deyata Kirula exhibition

The visitor turnout exceeded 2.4 million by yesterday afternoon setting a record at the Deyata Kirula exhibition, the Deyata Kirula exhibition organizing committee said.

Over two million people visited the fifth Deyata Kirula exhibition held at Buttala last year which is the largest crowd recorded at a Deyata Kirula exhibition so far, the exhibition organizing committee said .

Thousands of people have thronged the sixth Deyata Kirula national

development exhibition from all parts of the country. The entire 500 acre exhibition site is filled with visitors.

It has been noted that a significant number of visitors from the North and the East are also patronising the with the dawn of peace in the country.

School children were grateful for being given such an opportunity to visit the Deyata Kirula exhibition.

According to Deyata Kirula exhibition committee secretary Udaya Seneviratne, it is expected that the

visitor turn out would exceed three million by the end of the exhibition,by setting a record for the largest ever crowd.

All stalls of the exhibition were filled with visitors of all age groups and the Lake House stall which symbolizes the Lake House main building in Colombo at the media zone is no exception It is significant that the visitors to the Lake House stall can get a firm idea about the expansion and development of the print media sector.

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BUSINESS

Saarc international I Thursday 16 February 2012

A Bridal Extravaganza

As one stepped into the venue of Style360’s third Bridal Couture Week (BCW) at the Pearl Continental in Lahore, one got the feel of an ostentatious wedding complete with red carpet, fresh floral arrangements, a bar area, plush lounges and huge chandeliers. Trees in the middle of the fashion area, decorated with fresh flowers and fairy lights gave a surreal look to the place.

As in the previous BCWs, there was a daily change in the décor to give the impression of attending different wedding functions.

The designers of the first day comprised relatively new labels whose offerings ranged from the attractive to the mediocre. Mona Imran opened the first segment with a flowing ivory and biscuit collection and moved on to heavily worked colourful lehngas with diamantes and appliqué. Ayyan was the showstopper; she was brought to the ramp in a doli carried by bare-chested male models attired in dhotis.

Next came Kosain Kazmi whose collection of colourful lehngas was marked by the use of dabka. She was followed by Hijab, whose collection included saris, chatta patti ensembles and fusion wear, along with long jackets and string-back shirts.

The last design label of this segment was BNS Couture, which showcased both formal wear and a bridal collection. With a stress on velvets and mirror-work, the bridal collection featured eastern wear with western styles and the formal wear featured double-shaded kurtas worn over dhotis.

The second segment opened with Mehdi, who

immediately caught the audience’s attention by sending out Wasim Akram, resplendent in a silver-grey sherwani, as his show opener. His bridal ensembles largely comprised saris, churidars and lehngas, and were elegant with an attractive mix of colours, while his formal wear included worked kurtas.

Iman Ali, his show-stopper, wore an off-white ensemble with self-coloured embroidery.

Fahad Hussayn showed next with a creative

collection which set him

head and shoulders above the other designers of the day. Opening dramatically with female models standing behind a screen draped with sheer curtains and then sashaying down the catwalk with brightly coloured net veils over their ensembles, the collection was riveting. The colourful tie-dye turbans donned by the male models, clad in churidars and long, pleated shirts, complimented the female line.

Gulzeb closed the show with a collection that boasted a mix of bright colours and heavily worked kameezes.

A few pieces stood out in the collection for their tasteful combinations. The show-stoppers were Adnan Siddiqui in a smart suit and Nazli, a socialite, in a shimmering Gulzeb outfit.

The next day, the first segment opened with Shaiyanne Malik who paid tribute to her workers from Dera Jatta with ethnic ensembles comprising layered lehngas with a mix of colours, textures and fabrics.

Saira Rizwan followed next, paying tribute to the Mughal era, with

Mughal miniature appliqués on the hemlines of long dresses. The models carried batwas and were dressed in velvet and sheer fabric with churidars.

Resham, the show-stopper, wore a striking beige ensemble.

Sadaf Arshad was next with a collection comprising gowns with trails, embellished with stones and Swarovski crystals and long dresses worn with pants and saris. Shazia Kiyani of Shazia’s Gallery closed the segment.

Her collection included shaded gowns with stonework embellishments, and heavily embroidered bridal wear.

Show 2 opened with Indian designers Rabani and Rakha, who not only had a very different collection

from that shown by local designers, but also a very unique one. With gowns in western cuts and saris basically dominating the collection, there was no embroidery in their glittering ensembles which mostly incorporated stonework, pearls or diamantés. Hadiqa, their showstopper, wore a shimmering crimson sari.

Crimson showcased its collection next, which was also by and large tastefully done. Opening dramatically, with both male and female models, the bridal attire ranged from ivory ensembles accentuated by greens or reds, to heavily worked lehngas, while the formal wear included white kurtas worn with elaborate, colourful turbans and yellow and jamawar churidars with anklets made of gaindas.

La Chantal surprisingly closed the show bringing oomph and glamour to the ramp. From an elaborate stage décor, complete with candelabras and couches to seat the ‘bridal party,’ to a live tabla and sitar performance on stage, to show-stoppers Reema and Shaan, La Chantal certainly pulled out all the stops. Her outfits consisted of layered, bellowing gowns with gota trimmings, lots of frills and heavy stone work.

The entire event was

choreographed by Hasan Sheheryar Yasin (HSY), who did a remarkable job infusing drama on the ramp, giving each designer a distinct segment. One must mention that of the 33 models on the ramp, some were completely raw talent but Sheheryar succeeded in preparing them to sashay down the ramp quite confidently.

As in any wedding event where entertainment is as important as the ensembles donned by the attendees, BCW didn’t just concentrate on the clothes displayed on the ramp, but also offered some enthralling performances for their guests. Without doubt Hamada, who performed the ‘Tanura,’ an Egyptian Sufi-inspired dance, stole the show on the performance front with his electrifying performances. Other entertainment segments

included performances by dancers Marium and Fia, as well as a rendition of a song by Quratul Ain Baloch which was interspersed through the show.

A vote of thanks by the president of HUM Network Ltd, Sultana Siddiqui followed the bridal show. Finally a line-up of all the designers of the BCW, each with a model attired in one of their ensembles, brought the evening to an impressive close.

By Shanaz Ramzi

Saarc international I Thursday 16 February 2012

ENTERTAINMENT

Slumdog millionaire’s dev patel stars with bollywood’s latest discovery tena desae in twentieth century fox’s

The best exotic marigold hotel Releasing 24th February 2012

After the international box-office success of the multi-Oscar and BAFTA winning film Slumdog Millionaire and the UK’s top grossing Bollywood film to date, My Name is Khan, Twentieth Century Fox releases The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, on 24th February 2012.

From the director of Shakespeare in Love, John Madden, the film features Bollywood’s latest crush and top model Tena Desae romancing Slumdog Millionaire star and BAFTA nominee Dev Patel in a feel-good comedy boasting the cream of British talent. They are joined by veteran Indian actress Lillete Dubey (Monsoon Wedding, Housefull, Kal Ho Naa Ho), who plays the mother of Dev Patel’s character Sonny.

For a disparate group of English pensioners (Judi Dench, Bill Nighy, Maggie Smith, Tom Wilkinson,

Penelope Wilton, Celia Imrie and Ronald Pickup), retirement takes an unconventional turn when they abandon their homeland, enticed by advertisements for The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, a seemingly

luxurious sanctuary for “the elderly and beautiful” in Jaipur, India.

On arrival, they discover that the hotel falls somewhat short of the romantic idyll promised in the brochure, but they are gradually won over by the ever-optimistic

young entrepreneurial manager Sonny (Dev Patel), and tentatively embark on a new adventure, finding that life can begin again when you let go of the past.

Setting the screen alight is Indian starlet Tena Desae. The famous model turned Bollywood actress plays Sunaina, the exotic beauty who brings her own brand of vitality and humour to the film.

Tena made her Bollywood debut in the 2011 ‘Yeh Faasley’ and first came to prominence as a runnerup on Indian reality TV show ‘Get Gorgeous’.

John Madden directs the film from a script by Ol Parker based

on Pride & Prejudice screenwriter Deborah Moggach’s novel These Foolish Things.

The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel promises a heady mix of comedy and emotion, showing India at its beautiful best.

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Jhansi Ki Rani Kratika Sengar makes a comeback in Zee TV’s new show ‘Punar Vivah’ Plays a contemporary Bhopal girl opposite Gurmeet Chaudhry in a mature show that delves into the dynamics of remarriage She came. She set the battlefield ablaze with her bravado. She conquered. Kratika Sengar blew your mind away as the sword wielding Rani Laxmibai in Zee TV’s historical drama Jhansi Ki Rani, charging away on horseback and fighting with unmatched zeal for her soil. Having inspired millions of girls across the country with her impressive

portrayal of India’s most revered female freedom fighter, Kratika went missing from the tube as Jhansi Ki Rani drew to an exciting finish in June 2011. She’s back now, with a bang, playing the lead opposite actor Gurmeet Chaudhry in Zee TV’s next primetime offering ‘Punar Vivah’.

Produced by Shashi Sumeet Productions, Punar Vivah is a mature, progressive show that sensitively captures the journey of a man and a woman, who having faced a debacle in their first attempts at marriage, are brave enough to give life a second chance. The show delves into the dynamics of re-marriage, showcasing the trials and tribulations that are a part of re-adjusting to a second life partner.

What makes the re-marriage even more challenging is the fact that the man and the woman in question are both parents to young children. Will the two be able to bring happiness to each others’ lives and feel complete once again? Will the two feel the same intensity and excitement that they had experienced in their first brush with love? Will their children be able to come to terms with the idea of having a new parent enter their lives? Only time will tell!

Riz Ahmed is on the rise

Actor and rapper Riz Ahmed caught our attention in Four Lions. Now the new face of British cinema has two movies at the Glasgow Film Festival.

By James Mottram Shortly after graduating from Oxford, Riz Ahmed began studying at London’s prestigious Central School of Speech and Drama; while there, he landed his first film role, in Michael Winterbottom and Mat Whitecross’ “The Road to Guantanamo” (2006).

He followed it with some TV work -- notably in ITV’s “Wired” -- before playing the titular lead in Eran Creevy’s micro-budget “Shifty” (2009), which earned him a BIFA

nomination. He earned a second BIFA nom the following year, for his perf in Chris Morris’ “Four Lions.”

Before long, he seemed almost inescapable: appearing in Sally Potter’s “Rage,” Neil Marshall’s Roman epic “Centurion,” starring in Jean-Jacques Annaud’s “Black Gold” and Mira Nair’s “The Reluctant Fundamentalist.” He re-teamed with Winterbottom for his latest feature, the India-set “Tess of the d’Urbervilles” adaptation “Trishna,” which preemed last year at Toronto.

“And anyway,” he adds, “I don’t see myself as a purely British actor -my heritage from South Asia opens the possibility of working in that region, and the Middle East, as well.

Being an insider and an outsider -- someone whose experience cuts across different classes and cultures

-- has only been an asset to me, in terms of experiences to draw on. It’s an interesting position to be in, and an interesting place to tell stories from.”

The Wembley-raised Ahmed was

Drama to study acting. But even he couldn’t have expected what followed. On the way back from the film’s world premiere in Berlin, he was “unlawfully detained” at Luton airport – a frightening experience

not naive, having been educated at Oxford, where he read philosophy, politics and economics, before he joined Central School of Speech and

that saw him initially denied legal access as he was aggressively questioned, even asked if he became an actor “to publicise the struggles of

Muslims”.

Much like the authorities, the film industry has attempted to box in Ahmed, whose parents came to Britain after emigrating from Pakistan. “Post 9-11, I was maybe seen as the go-to young Muslim guy,” he says, specifically referring to 2007’s TV movie Britz, which saw him play one of two brothers torn in different directions after the Twin Towers terror attacks. Yet since then, Ahmed has managed to ease away from that stereotype – not least by satirising it as a Sheffield suicide bomber in Chris Morris’s film Four Lions.

Since playing a cook in Roman thriller Centurion and a crack dealer in Shifty, the next three months see a trio of new movies that show just how far he’s come. Glasgow Film

COMMENT

26

South Asia Tribune I Thursday 16 February 2012

British Islamist Anjem Choudary Launches ‘Shariah for India,’ Continued from page 30>> and to call for it and to work to establish it is an obligation upon Muslims wherever they are and to accept anything less is an act of war against Allah and his Messenger Muhammad (saw).

“Once established, the Islamic State will guarantee the rights of all citizens, Muslim and non-Muslim. It will be the job of the Khalifah [Islamic caliph] to ensure that food, clothing and shelter are afforded to all citizens and that they have a good Islamic education. The Khalifah will also be responsible to remove all public idols and ban alcohol and free-mixing between the genders in the public arena. Moreover institutions such as Bollywood and the caste system will be eradicated.

“The non-Muslims, whether Hindu or Sikh will have certain rights and responsibilities as set out by the divine law, in summary the privileges that they will have are: “1. In return for paying the Jizya [Islamic poll tax on non-Muslims], their life and property will have sanctity.

The Imam (khalifah) will have a duty to protect the non-Muslim citizens from the Muslims and the nonMuslims because they are living under his authority.

Moreover they will benefit from the same welfare as all other citizens except what Shari’ah specifies for them and as long as they commit to abide by the law of Islam in the public arena. They will live among the Muslims and take Daw’ah i.e. be propagated to by the Muslims to embrace Islam.

“2. The non-Muslims will be allowed to live in the Muslim land (India and other territories which will be annexed to it in due course) i.e. they can go everywhere except where Allah (SWT) or the Khalifah prohibits, such as the haram [the Holy Mosque] in Mecca or to live in the Arab peninsula, although they can go to trade there.

“3. Muslims will be obliged to protect the non-Muslims because they are part of the Islamic State.

“4. Muslims will never attack their own temples and not take their pigs or alcohol unless they demonstrate them publicly.

“5. The non-Muslims also have the right to access the welfare system. The Jizya is only taken from able-

bodied mature men, not women or children or priest or majnoon (mentally ill) or those incapable or disabled.”

“The Hindus or Sikhs or Other Non-Muslims… Must Not Build Any New Temples Nor Start to Sell Them and Buy New Ones, as Islam Forbids Us to Cooperate in the Bad Deeds; They Will Not Do Any Public Gathering of Their False Religion – Like Celebrating Christmas or Halloween or Diwali” “In return, the Hindus or Sikhs or other non-Muslims will have certain duties, in summary: “1. They must pay the Jizya depending on what the Khalifah adopts as the amount, for example a minimum of 1 Dinar a year or a maximum of 4 Dinar if rich.

“2. They must receive Muslims as guests if they are travelling. This applies to Muslims and non-Muslims if Muslims pass by.

“3. They must not build any new Temples nor start to sell them and buy new ones, as Islam forbids us to cooperate on the bad deeds.

“4. They must not show their symbols publicly or what is in their religion, like the pigs or alcohol or crosses or idols.

“5. They will not do any public gathering of their false religion – like celebrating Christmas or Halloween or Diwali or Guy Faulks night etc…

“6. Moreover they must be distinguished by their clothes so that we know who they are.

“7. They cannot raise their houses above ours.

“8. They must not harm Muslims in any way, not to insult Allah and his messenger or insult the book of Allah “9. They will have the same liability in relation to the society i.e. the public law like in relation to adultery and stealing etc…”

The Cultural and Religious Agenda “The Reconquest of India by Muslims Would See the Complete Demolition of Bollywood; Polytheism, Interfaith and Promiscuity and All of the Other Various Ills of the Bollywood Industry would Be Replaced with Islamic Monotheism” A copy of Filmfare magazine that will be published under the Islamic Rule in India The Shariah for Hind declares that the 2012 will mark the beginning of the end of Bollywood. Its statement

on this subject declares: “The Indian cinema industry, commonly referred to as Bollywood, has a huge impact around the world. Bollywood produces some 1,000 films every year and sells over three billion cinema tickets in the same period. It is one of the most recognized symbols of India commanding a hypnotic influence over its followers.

“The impact of Bollywood in India and around the world should be a cause for great concern. The industry is luridly marred with corruption that has become progressively worse over the years. Notable examples include: “Polytheism (glorifying the worship of idols, false gods, actors, actresses etc.)

“The promotion of interfaith (making Hindus and Muslims equal) “Anti-Muslim propaganda “Acting “Nudity “Free-mixing “Promiscuity and fornication “The exploitation of women “Music “The reconquest of India by Muslims would see the complete demolition of Bollywood and the Indian cinema industry. Its presence would be deemed as wholly unacceptable and in total opposition to the ethos of Islam. Ultimately, significant steps would be taken in order to see its complete destruction.

“With all remnants of the Bollywood industry thrown into the dustbins of history, possible uses of confiscated resources under Islamic rule include ‘Da’wah’ (the propagation of Islam) and Islamic education.

“In conclusion, polytheism, interfaith and promiscuity and all of the other various ills of the Bollywood industry would be replaced with Islamic monotheism (Tawheed) and righteousness, providing a healthy environment for Muslims and non-Muslims to live under.”

“Associating Partners or Equals to Allah (God) is Seen as the Biggest Crime in Islam; The Establishment of the Shariah in India will Ultimately See an End to All Public Idols and Statues; We Envisage the Construction of Masjids (Mosques), Symbolizing the Transformation from Polytheism to Monotheism”

The head of Hindu god Lord Shiva is cut off in an image on the Shariah for Hind website Shariah for Hind declares that statues of Hindu gods and of Indian leaders such Mahatma Gandhi will be demolished, as outlined in this statement:[6] “India is one of the few countries in the world where explicit idolatry is openly celebrated. Public displays of paganism are common with idols present in nearly every town and city. Famous public idols include the Murudeshwara or Shiva statue in Karnataka, which stands at over 35 metres tall. Census reports show that over 800 million Hindus currently reside in India, with idols playing a big role in ritual practises.

“Statues of public figures are also a common feature of the Indian landscape. The Indian state of Gujarat announced in 2011 a project to build the world’s tallest statue paying ‘tribute’ to one of the foremost protagonists of Indian independence, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, a close companion of the tyrant Mohandas Gandhi.

“Associating partners or equals to Allah (God) is seen as the biggest crime in Islam. Allah says in the Quran, ‘…Indeed, associating partners with Allah is a great injustice.’ [EMQ 31:13] “Islam also prohibits the construction of statues of living beings, men or women, righteous or wicked.

Allah (God) relates to mankind (in the Quran) about the downfall of the people of ‘Ad, who erected large statues in commemoration of pious men. They were destroyed by a terrible storm.

“The establishment of the Shariah in India will ultimately see an end to all public idols and statues. Although nonMuslims (Hindus, Buddhists etc.) will not be prohibited from practising their religion privately, construction of idols and statues (in the public arena) will. Large scale projects outlining the destruction of public idols and statues will most likely be enforced, returning India back to her glorious Islamic past.

“As a possible replacement to India’s (public) idols and statues, we envisage the construction of Masjids (mosques), symbolizing the transformation from polytheism to monotheism, from darkness to light.” * Tufail Ahmad is Director of the MEMRI South Asia Studies Project (www.memri.org/sasp)

South Asia Tribune I Thursday 16 February 2012

BUSINESS

Oil imports: India-Iran work out rupee trade mechanism Indian and Iranian governments have worked out Rupee trade mechanism for payment of India’s total crude imports from the latter in Rupees rather than convertible currency the US Dollar normally used for such

trade globally. The new mechanism is expected to be operational in two months. This arrangement comes in wake of American and European antinuclear sanctions that are increasingly disrupting Iran’s economy.

Anup K Pujari, Director General of Foreign Trade interacting with reporters on the sidelines of Karnataka: Export Vision 2020, exporters’ convention organised

by Federation of Indian Export Organisations (Southern region) here on Monday that a decision to denominate our trade in rupee terms was taken at a bilateral meeting of two countries as trade cannot be done using international currency.

“It is not barter, but it is almost like barter,” he said.

Explaining the mechanism worked out, Anup Pujari said whatever oil India imports from Iran and for that oil whatever money India is supposed to pay, part of that amount will be retained in a bank in India. Thereafter,

any Indian who exports to Iran need not have to bother about some US bank. Once (export) documents are negotiated, the designated Indian Bank, where the money will be kept, will pay the exporter the equivalent amount in Indian currency.

To pare down India’s import bill, Anup said, India will mount a big delegation to Iran during the end of this month.

Incidentally, the New York Times in its edition dated February 9 has referred to Union commerce secretary Rahul Khullar statement on this. “It is our endeavour to increase exports to Iran. Out of the total amount of oil that we get from them, only 20-25% will be enough for all our exports,” he said underlying the need to further boost exports.

India ‘loses $500bn to tax havens’ The chief of India’s federal investigation agency says Indians have illegally deposited an estimated $500bn in overseas tax havens.

Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) director AP Singh said Indians were the largest depositors in foreign banks.

Funds were being sent to tax havens such as Mauritius, Switzerland, Lichtenstein and the British Virgin Islands among others, he said.

Analysts say this flight of capital has helped widen inequality in India.

Mr Singh was speaking at the opening on Monday of the first Interpol global programme on anti-corruption and asset recovery in the Indian capital, Delhi.

“It is estimated that around $500bn of illegal money belonging to Indians is deposited in tax havens abroad. [The] largest depositors in Swiss Banks are also reported to be Indians,” .

Mr Singh said getting information about such illegal transactions was a time-consuming and expensive process as each country where money had been sent had to be approached for help with investigations.

He said there was a lack of political will in the tax havens to part with any information because they were aware of the extent to which their economies had become “geared to this flow of illegal capitals from the poorer countries”,

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Pakistan, Sri Lanka agree to enhance cooperation

Noting that Iranian government for a long time was not allowing import of items from India, Anup said the foreign delegation that India mounts will have the opportunity to sell rice, cashew, carpets and whole range

of items that do not fall under the purview of the sanctions. “Since we have to anyway import oil from Iran,” Anup said, exports to that nation will ensure that 25% of that bill (kept in Indian bank) will anyhow be negotiated.

For 2010-11, India’s total trade with Iran was equal to $13.67 billion, which included imports worth $10.92 billion and exports worth $2.74 billion. The balance of trade is in favour of Iran and the total growth witnessed during the year was around 2.07 per cent, according to the India’s ministry of commerce and industry data. India’s exports to Iran include petroleum products, rice, machinery and instruments, manufactures of metals, and other items.

Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani and Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa on Saturday decided to further enhance and promote bilateral cooperation between the two countries in trade, defence, technical education and other sectors.

Gilani and Rajapaksa, who is in Pakistan on a three-day visit, held talks at the Prime Minister House in Islamabad. Their one-on-one meeting was follow by delegation level talks.

In his remarks, Gilani emphasised on the need for exploring the true potential of trade between the two countries. He said that the commonality of views on different international and regional issues was the hallmark of the bilateral relationship between the two countries.

The Sri Lankan president said that his country was looking forward to the expansion of trade and economic ties with Pakistan.

Three MoUs signed The two countries also signed three Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) at the Prime Minister House today.

The first MoU was for cooperation in media and was signed by Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan on behalf of Pakistan and Minister for External Affairs Prof. GL Peiris on behalf of Sri Lanka.

The second MoU was signed for the credit of $200 million for improving Pakistan’s exports to Sri Lanka, and the third was signed for enhancing cooperation in technical training in different fields.

Made in India expo in Pakistan, trade, visa ease in the works Trade ties between India and Pakistan are expected to get a boost as New Delhi reaches out to the business community across the border, starting Monday to assure them about the positive impact of normal trade ties.

Commerce minister Anand Sharma will undertake a rare journey to Pakistan, leading a large delegation of senior officials and top businessmen as the two hostile neighbours take baby steps to normalise trade and economic relations.

India Inc, while pushing for minimal trade

have no doubt in my mind that bilateral trade can be raised to $10 billion if trade through third countries (Dubai, Singapore and Central Asian countries) is channelised into direct exchanges between the two countries.”

Third country trade or circular trade between India and Pakistan is currently estimated at $10 billion.

CII has suggested full liberalisation of trade by placing items on a ‘negative’ list rather than having only a ‘positive’ list.

restrictions between India and Pakistan, has set a bilateral trade target of $10 billion by 2015.

Ahead of the Commerce Minister, Mr Anand Sharma’s visit to Pakistan from February 13-15, industry says this would be substantially higher than the $2.7 billion realised in 2010-11.

Chamber delegations are accompanying Mr Sharma to Pakistan.

The FICCI President, Mr R.V. Kanoria, said, “I

At present only 1,946 items are in Pakistan’s positive list. Also, there are no joint ventures between the two countries.

Visa rules Barriers to investment are particularly high due to restrictive visa regimes.

“It is necessary for both Governments to work on easing visa regulations for businessmen.

This means multiple entry long-term visas

with no city specific visa, no police reporting which causes harassment for businessmen and discourages them,” CII said in a statement.

FICCI has been suggesting the opening up of additional land route at Sindh border of Monabao-Khokhara Par in addition to the opening up of second gate at Attari-Wagah border.

HPCL-Mittal Energy Ltd (HMEL), a joint venture between Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd and Mittal Energy Investments Pte Ltd, Singapore, is already in talks for selling petroleum products in Pakistan from the Bhatinda refinery.

The private sector led by industry chambers has put up an “India show”, in Lahore and Karachi the first ever trade exhibitions from India where over 100 exhibitors are participating. Firms representing pharmaceuticals, textile, gems and jewellery, chemicals and petro-chemicals are showcasing products.

The move is a follow up to the efforts to normalise trade ties. The Pakistan government announced granting of Most Favoured Nation (MFN) status to India in November last year. But, criticism from a section of industry in Pakistan has forced Islamabad to take measured steps on the issue.

But, officials said they were optimistic that by the end of 2012, the transition to full MFN status would be complete.

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South Asia Tribune I Thursday 16 February 2012

‘Pakistan using brutal force in Balochistan’ Continued from page 19 >> Iran or both collapsed from within”. He went on to assure the committee that the Baloch were natural US allies and, among other things, they would share Gwadar port with the United States, not allow the Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline through their lands and will fight the Taliban as well. He added that, according to Baloch sources, nearly 4,000 people have disappeared in the province since 2001.

The hearing, which lasted for nearly 75 minutes, came to an early and somewhat abrupt end as the congressmen were summoned to the House floor for a vote.

In his closing remarks, Rep Rohrabacher responded to Fair’s earlier allegations on Twitter that the meeting was merely a “stunt” and was not “motivated by concern for the Baloch; rather, Rohrabacher wanting to irk GHQ”.

Rohrabacher said the hearing was being held to start a national dialogue on what US policy should be in that part of the world and that the hearing was not a “stunt.”

Woodrow Wilson and World War I. This map is showcased and presented as the brainchild of retired Lieutenant-Colonel (U.S. Army) Ralph Peters, who believes the redesigned borders contained in the map will fundamentally solve the problems of the contemporary Middle East.

Military scholar Lieutenant Colonel Ralph Peters writing in the June 2006 issue of The Armed Forces Journal, suggests, in no uncertain terms that Pakistan should be broken up, leading to the formation of a separate country: “Greater Balochistan” or “Free Balochistan” (see Map). The latter would incorporate the

The map of the “New Middle East” was a key element in the retired Lieutenant-Colonel’s book, Never Quit the Fight, which was released to the public on July 10, 2006. This map of a redrawn Middle East was also published, under the title of Blood Borders: How a better Middle East would look, in the U.S. military’s Armed Forces Journal with commentary from Ralph Peters.

It should be noted that Lieutenant-Colonel Peters was last posted to the Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Intelligence, within the U.S. Defence Department, and has been one of the Pentagon’s foremost authors with numerous essays on strategy for military journals and U.S. foreign policy.

1.

It has been written that Ralph Peters’ “four previous books on strategy have been highly influential in government and military circles,” but one can be pardoned for asking if in fact quite the opposite could be taking place. Could it be Lieutenant-Colonel Peters is revealing and putting forward what Washington D.C. and its strategic planners have anticipated for the Middle East?

Washington favors the creation of a “Greater Balochistan” which would integrate the Baloch areas of Pakistan with those of Iran and possibly the Southern tip of Afghanistan thereby leading to a process of political fracturing in both Iran and Pakistan.

Pakistani and Iranian Baloch provinces into a single political entity.

In turn, according to Peters, Pakistan’s North West Frontier Province (NWFP) should be incorporated into Afghanistan “because of its linguistic and ethnic affinity”. This proposed fragmentation, which broadly reflects US foreign policy, would reduce Pakistani territory to approximately 50 percent of its present land area. (See above map). Pakistan would also loose a large part of its coastline on the Arabian Sea. “Lieutenant-Colonel Peters was last posted, before he retired to the Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Intelligence, within the U.S. Defense Department, and has been one of the Pentagon’s foremost authors with numerous essays on strategy for military journals and U.S. foreign policy.”

A relatively unknown map of the Middle East, NATO-garrisoned Afghanistan, and Pakistan has been circulating around strategic, governmental, NATO, policy and military circles since mid2006. It has been causally allowed to surface in public, maybe in an attempt to build consensus and to slowly prepare the general public for possible, maybe even cataclysmic, changes in the Middle East. This is a map of a redrawn and restructured Middle East identified as the “New Middle East.”

The Map of the “New Middle East” A relatively unknown map of the Middle East, NATO-garrisoned Afghanistan, and Pakistan has been circulating around strategic, governmental, NATO, policy and military circles since mid2006. It has been causally allowed to surface in public, maybe in an attempt to build consensus and to slowly prepare the general public for possible, maybe even cataclysmic, changes in the Middle East. This is a map of a redrawn and restructured Middle East identified as the “New Middle East.”

MAP OF THE NEW MIDDLE EAST Note: The following map was prepared by LieutenantColonel Ralph Peters. It was published in the Armed Forces Journal in June 2006, Peters is a retired colonel of the U.S. National War Academy. (Map Copyright Lieutenant-Colonel Ralph Peters 2006).

Although the map does not officially reflect Pentagon doctrine, it has been used in a training program at NATO’s Defense College for senior military officers. This map, as well as other similar maps, has most probably been used at the National War Academy as well as in military planning circles.

This map of the “New Middle East” seems to be based on several other maps, including older maps of potential boundaries in the Middle East extending back to the era of U.S. President

This map was prepared by Lieutenant-Colonel Ralph Peters.

It was published in the Armed Forces Journal in June 2006, Peters is a retired colonel of the U.S. National War Academy.

(Map Copyright Lieutenant-Colonel Ralph Peters 2006).

Although the map does not officially reflect Pentagon doctrine, it has been used in a training program at NATO’s Defense College for senior military officers. This map, as well as other similar maps, has most probably been used at the National War Academy as well as in military planning circles.

South Asia Tribune I Thursday 16 February 2012

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Israel Can Harm Iran in Ways Prohibited in US’ Israel carries out attacks on Iran that are prohibited by the US, Newsweek reports.

“Israel doesn’t tell and the US doesn’t want to know.”

Israel is carrying out attacks on Iran that are prohibited by the United States, NewsweekDaily Beast stated Monday in a report that also says new Mossad chief Tamir Pardo visited Washington to gauge American reactions if Israel strikes Iran.

American officials reportedly said that Pardo asked, “What is our posture on Iran? Are we [the US] ready to bomb? Would we [do so later]? What does it mean if [Israel] does it anyway?”

Under the headline “Obama’s Dangerous Game With Iran,” the article revealed what many have assumed – that the United States and Israel have different red lines on Iran; that President Barack Obama’s speech against a Jewish presence in Judea and Samaria tipped the scales of distrust from Jerusalem; and Israel and the United States are sharing intelligence – but not all of it.

Not to be forgotten is that President Barack Obama wants to be re-elected, and all-out war might get in his way, although a few pundits have observed that it might actually be an advantage for him if it restores the United States’ stature as a world leader for peace and freedom.

Since President Obama moved into the White House, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu increasingly felt that when the president “spoke about Iran and his opposition to the nuclearization of Iran ... the Israeli factor did not play prominently,” according to Newsweek.

Washington and Jerusalem have been in constant contact with each other, and the Obama administration has made it clear it wants to count on economic sanctions to stop Iran’s race for a nuclear weapon. “Above all, the White House doesn’t want Israel to start a war – not yet, anyway,” the magazine reported.

Regarding what the magazine called “mysterious assassins,” one of whom killed an Iranian scientist last month one day before President Obama called Prime Minister Netanyahu, the magazine stated, “Israel has no qualms about assassinating Iranians involved in nuclear research, for instance; U.S. law forbids it [because] drone strikes against jihadist leaders are considered acts of war.”

“A senior U.S. intelligence official says that both sides performed a kind of ‘Kabuki dance’ on the assassinations and industrial ‘accidents’ that have increased in Iran during the past year: ‘The Israelis don’t want to say and we don’t want to know…” ‘”They knew that if we gave them certain kinds of information we’d run the risk of breaking

the law. We often held things back from them—satellite imagery and other kinds of intelligence that could have helped them with their activities.”

Mossad chief Pardo’s visit to Washington was aimed at taking “the pulse of the Obama administration and determine what the consequences would be if Israel bombed Iranian nuclear sites over American objections,” Newsweek added.

It has been clear that Israel and America’s “red lines” are not the same because the United States, unlike Israel, has the military capacity and distance from Iran that allows it to wait until Iran has a nuclear weapon, a luxury Israel cannot afford.

Israeli officials have concluded that President Obama has come to realize that Iran simply is playing charades and has no intention of cooperating with inspection of its nuclear facilities.

Sources told Newsweek that it took the Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad‘s brutal suppression of protests three years ago and the discovery of a new underground nuclear facility near Qom to convince President Obama to ratchet up sanctions.

He has allowed the CIA to continue its policy of covert operations while he carries out harsher sanctions to punish the Iranian economy.

Israel is more optimistic than before, and the

magazine quoted a close aide to Prime Minister Netanyahu as saying, “The rhetoric from the United States today is different from what it was a year ago. Today, when you listen to Obama ... you get the feeling the Americans are ready to attack if worse comes to worst.”

The sticking point for Israel is President Obama’s refusal to promise to act militarily if sanctions fail.

“If Israel will miss its last opportunity [to attack], then we will have to lean only on the United States, and if the United States decides not to attack, then we will face an Iran with a bomb,” a former Israeli official told the magazine.

Libya: NATO’s worst crime L

ies, deceit, blackmail, bullying, murder, torture, concentration camps, destruction of property, looting, massacres... all these words pale into insignificance when we look at what NATO has done in Libya - and intends to do to Syria within a few days. The sickening evidence coming out of Libya underlines what we are dealing with.

It is very difficult to imagine that Messrs. Cameron, Hague, Sarkozy, Juppé, Obama and Hillary Clinton are happy with their legacy in Libya.

In fact, what they have done there would lead any normal human being to the depths of desperation; in a professional context, it would involve a dismissal and in a military one, a court martial or a dishonourable discharge.

NATO’s mission in Libya was to impose a no-fly zone to protect innocent civilians. Quite how anyone could have been so naïve as to believe that, after what NATO did in Iraq, defies logic; quite how anyone could have believed them as they promised to fill in the details later, ditto. But the international community once again gave NATO the benefit of the doubt and once again NATO performed on cue: another massacre, another example

of arming terrorists, more killings, more violence, more torching of

onslaught against the defenders of Sirte as freedom and democracy was

property, more torture, more rapes and another generation of children with their futures dashed to ruins.

Another country bites the dust?

If God exists and if Satan does not rule this world already, then Libya can and must be NATO’s last stand; right must defeat wrong; good must triumph over evil; the Demon must be slain and NATO must lose any power it had.

I have been privy to some horrific images on you.tube, of children with their faces blasted off by NATO pilots from 30,000 feet, after NATO refused to allow the Libyan authorities to hold a free and fair election. And now, we receive images of a full NATO

imposed upon the citizens of Libya, we receive evidence of the Libyan terrorist NTC forces attacking a

terrorists, that the Red Cross was unable to deliver supplies.

We receive evidence of NTC attacks against Red Cross personnel trying to get medical supplies into Sirte. Preventing access for aid is a war crime by the NTC and by NATO for strafing the positions of the authorities.

We receive evidence that NATO was using helicopters to fire missiles into Sirte, despite the fact that its mission was to impose a no-fly zone.

Gaddafi was right: the UNO panders to the whims of the FUKUS-Axis (France, UK, US and Israel)and does not use the same weight and measure when dealing with smaller nations.

hospital, under the full cover of NATO. So vicious was the attack on the hospital in Sirte, by NATO’s

Today, Libya is in chaos.

Clashes in Alkufira: many terrorists killed; clashes in Sebha - many

terrorists killed. And to cap it all, ethnic cleansing by NATO’s NTC terrorists - attacks against a refugee camp on the outskirts of Tripoli one thousand five hundred refugees strafed with machinegun fire by the NTC terrorists backed by NATO, by Cameron, by Hague, by Clinton, by Obama, by Sarkozy, by Juppé.

The terrorists in this case came from Misratah and strafed the refugees, chanting racist slogans.

Why? Because many of the residents were Negroes from Tawergha, which was the victim of ethnic cleansing from the Misratah brigades. Let this be the legacy of NATO for humanity: it supported racists, it supported terrorists, it supported rapists and now, Libya is in chaos.

Let us ask Messrs. Cameron, Sarkozy, Obama, Hague, Juppé and Hillary “War Zone” Clinton if they are satisfied at what they have done.

The legacy of these demons is clear to see in Libya today, visible in the slogans painted along the roads: “the brigade [Misrata brigade] for purging slaves and black skin”; “drastic measures like banning Tawergha natives from ever working, living or sending their children to schools in Misrata.”

Congratulations, NATO! Timothy Bancroft-Hinchey

COMMENT

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South Asia Tribune I Thursday 16 February 2012

British Islamist Anjem Choudary Launches ‘Shariah for India,’ Vows to Demolish Hindu Temples and Bollywood; Muslims Urged to Join In New Delhi March Next Month Marking 88th Anniversary of the End of Islamic Caliphate Introduction British Islamist Anjem Choudary and Omar Muhammad Bakri – both former leaders of British jihadist organization Al-Muhajiroun – have launched an organization called Shariah for Hind (India) to advance their agenda for reestablishing Islamic rule in India.

The group has planned a major public event in New Delhi on March 3, 2012, which marks the end of the Turkey-led Islamic caliphate 88 years ago.

It should be noted that during the British rule, Indian leaders like Maulana Abul Kalam Azad and Mahatma Gandhi campaigned for the Islamic caliphate led by Turkey – Gandhi doing so perhaps to gain Muslim support against British colonial rule in India.

Shariah for Hind plans to campaign for reestablishing Islamic rule in India with an ideological agenda which outlines a much purer form of Islamic rule for the country than that which existed during various periods of rule

by Muslim kings in India both before and during the British era.

According to the ideological agenda stated on the group’s website, Islamic Shariah will be enforced in India; temples and statues of Hindu gods and Indian leaders such as Mahatma Gandhi will be demolished; and Bollywood, the world’s largest movie industry, will be abolished in order to make way for a monotheistic Islamic rule in the country.

Shariah for Hind – Leaders and Website Details It appears that preparations for establishing Shariah for Hind began sometime in 2011; its website was launched in January 2012.

The domain for the website was created on January 3, 2012, according to its registration details. The registrant for this website is “Abu Rumaysah c/o Dynadot Privacy, PO Box 701, San Mateo, CA 94401, United States.”

The two leaders of this organization are identified as Sheikh Anjem Choudary and Sheikh Omar Muhammad Bakri.

On the contact page of the website, these two names are published prominently: Sheikh Anjem Choudary, Judge of the UK Sharia Court, and Sheikh Omar Muhammad Bakri, who is identified as “Expert on Islamic Groups Worldwide.” Bakri’s phone number is given as 00961 70957759 – 961 being the country code for Lebanon.

Choudary’s phone number is given as 0044 7956 600 569.

The website of Sharia for Hind gives the name of its chairman as Abu Baraa and his phone contact as +44 7856827605.

It also gives another phone contact, +44 7956041034, for Abu Rumaysah

– Spokesman, a former Hindu, of Convert 2 Islam.

Shariah for Hind – The Ideology “There is a Consensus among All Muslim Scholars That It is Not Permitted for Non-Muslims to Have Authority over Muslims; India Needs to Return Back to Her Glorious Islamic Past; India Needs a Muslim Revolution” In a statement, titled “The Need for

This cannot be said for any of the other world religions, which have literally been lost in translation.

“Fundamentally however, Islam is not a secular religion and, unlike the ‘biggest democracy in the world’ [i.e. India], always refers its governance back to the supreme commander, Allah (God).

“The Islamic constitution remains intact 1400 years after its inception,

Muslim Rule in India,” Shariah for Hind notes that Muslims cannot live under non-Muslim rule, stating: “There is a consensus among all Muslim scholars that it is not permitted for non-Muslims to have authority over Muslims. Allah says in the Quran, ‘I have created you (Muslims) a leading Ummah (nation) in order to witness

and emphatically puts the Indian constitution to shame. Political parties such as the BJP [Bharatiya Janata Party] and Indian [National] Congress have let India down because just like their British predecessors they were never suited to be rulers and so ruined their country with backward and evil policies.”

the affairs of mankind.’ [EMQ 2:143] “Islam is the only religion to have maintained its relationship with God, with a miraculous book called the Quran and meticulous sciences that ensure texts recorded during the life of the final Messenger Muhammad can be verified, understood and authenticated.

“India needs to return back to her glorious Islamic past. India needs a Muslim revolution.”

“Indian Political Parties Have Preyed on the Muslim Community, As the Wolf Preys a Lamb; They Have Divided Us with Nationalism and Poisoned Us with Democracy”

In a statement, Shariah for Hind identified its political objective as follows: “As a nation we used to move mountains.

“The Muslim Ummah (nation) is a community unparalleled in history.

At its height in power it ruled over three continents. It brought tyrants to justice and liberated the oppressed.

History still records their magnificent conquests, which against all odds defeated the mightiest of superpowers.

“But somewhere along the line that bright light waned and in 2012 we (Muslims) find ourselves bizarrely under the thumbs of the very people we were meant to liberate! India is now ruled by the most incompetent, unqualified and wicked individuals who have no clue about their purpose in life, let alone how to rule a nation.

The Indian constitution, just like its Pakistani and Bangladeshi counterparts, [is] an appalling attempt at law and order, a stab in the dark, a gross display of trial and error.

“Indian political parties have preyed on the Muslim community, as the wolf preys a lamb; they have divided us with nationalism and poisoned us with democracy but most significantly

have made us forget what the final Messenger Muhammad (peace be upon him) was sent down for i.e. the total domination of the world by Islam.

“And so we lay defenseless, strewn and confused.

“The Shariah4Hind project has thus been launched to kick start the return of Islam in the Indian subcontinent. Raw, undiluted and without compromise; it is the wild card which will inshaa’allah (God willing) make the Indian government forget about Kashmir.

It is a call to unite over half a billion Muslims to retake what is rightfully theirs and galvanize a superpower unmatched in the world.

“3rd March 2012, New Delhi, India. A new spring waits.”

The Muslims versus the Non-Muslims “The Whole of India is in Fact [a] Muslim Land, the Authority Belongs to… [Muslims] and That They Should Take It From the Current Ruling Party to Implement the Shari’ah... Instead [of] Begging for Rights from the Hindus, the Muslims in India Must Govern By the Law of the Creator Allah” A January 2, 2012 press statement issued by Shariah for Hind urges Muslims to join. Following are excerpts from the statement:

“The elections [for states in JanuaryFebruary 2012] in India are underway and the main parties have not hidden their eagerness to garner the Muslim vote. From the Samajwadi Party (SP) promising job reservations to Deobandis [scholars of Darul Uloom Deoband seminary], the Congress party talking to Barelvis [clerics of Barelvi schools of thought based in the town of Bareilly], Rahul Ghandi [of Congress party] meeting the head of Nadwa[tul Ulema seminary in the town of Lucknow] to discuss minority welfare and the ruling [Bahujan Samaj Party] BSP’s Muslim face being in touch with several Muslim clerics, the race is on to bolster their respective vote bank and to win the elections.

[Note: All seminaries cited here are in Muslim-heavy Uttar Pradesh state.]

“What is on offer for Muslims in the battle for their votes is supposedly community empowerment, quality education, protection and sensitivity in one form or other. Even the Peace Party and Ulema Council [political parties led by Muslims] have emerged to claim their stake.

“Sadly, the true rights of Muslims … [are] nowhere to be seen and no Islamic Scholar has had the courage to demand it. This is that the whole of India is in fact [a] Muslim land, the authority belongs to them and that they should take it from the current ruling party to implement the Shariah. Instead [of] begging for rights from the Hindus, the Muslims in India must govern by the law of the creator Allah (SWT). In fact it is an act of shirk (polytheism) to [be] rule[d] by other than what Allah has revealed or to ask another to do so (i.e. by voting for them).

“There is no Islamic justification for the Deobandis or Barelvis to participate in the kufr (non-Islamic) electoral system to elect someone who will violate the sanctity of Allah (SWT) by ruling according to man-made law. This is an act of apostasy from any Muslim which must be condemned.”

“We Therefore Call Upon All Muslims to Rise on the 3rd of March 2012 (the 88th Anniversary of the Destruction of the Last Islamic State) in New Dehli in a Public Demonstration and Demand… to Establish the Khilafah [Islamic Rule]” “We therefore call upon all Muslims to rise on the 3rd of March 2012 (the 88th anniversary of the destruction of the last Islamic State) in New Dehli [Urdu for Delhi] in a public demonstration and demand what is rightfully theirs i.e. the authority, to establish the Khilafah and rule by the laws of God alone. To raise awareness about this obligation Continued on page 26

South Asia Tribune I Thursday 16 February 2012

NEWS

England cricketers in harrowing taxi mishap

Four members of the England cricket team, in town to face Pakistan this week, had a harrowing experience in an Abu Dhabi taxi over the weekend.

Stuart Broad, Jonathan Trott, Kevin Pietersen and Monty Panesar were in a silver taxi in the capital when the car’s bonnet unlatched and flew up on to the windscreen while the vehicle was travelling at 100kph.

The players were unharmed and made it to a full training session at Sheikh Zayed Stadium Saturday evening.

Pietersen tweeted soon after the incident: “I’ll tell you what’s not pleasant … Driving at 100km/h & the bonnet of the car decides to fly open & slam the window.. #scary.”

A spokesman for TransAD, the Abu Dhabi taxi regulator, said it was a one-off incident which happened in the middle of the road.

“The driver had nothing to do with it at all and the taxi operator will be

informed by the driver regarding this incident and any other,” he said.

He added it was a very rare incident and that drivers were trained to deal with all types of incidents.

A spokesperson for the English Cricket Team said: “The players are unharmed and are fully focussed on preparing for the first one-day international beginning [Monday].

We have no further comment to make.”

It is believed the players were on a short trip from the hotel when it happened. They will play Pakistan

Even Taliban lends support to Afghanistan cricketers Afghanistan unites behind cricket team in defeat to Pakistan

Where invasion, aid, and piecemeal democracy have only partially succeeded, cricket has had its own moment as a unifying force in Afghanistan. Such is the unifying power of cricket in Afghanistan that even the Taliban sent a message of support to the team ahead of their historic ODI against Pakistan in Sharjah on Friday. The match, which Pakistan won by seven wickets, was Afghanistan’s first ODI against a Test-playing nation and the first ODI played between an Affiliate Member of the ICC and a Full Member.

A spokesman for the Taliban contacted the Afghanistan Cricket Board on the morning of the game to wish the team well and assure them they would be remembered

in their prayers.

Indeed, the event appears to have unified the Afghanistan nation in unprecedented fashion.

The country’s president, Hamid Karzai, phoned officials at the ground several times in order to be kept up to date with the scores, while the country’s minister of finance, Dr Omar Zakhilwal, estimated that “hardly anybody was not watching” the match.

“Nothing has ever brought us together like this,” he said.

Pakistan won the match by seven wickets, but it is the noisy enthusiasm of Afghan supporters both inside the Sharjah Cricket Stadium and in the country itself via saturation-level TV coverage that will endure as the most significant part of the day.

today in the first of four one day internationals.

31

India v Sri Lanka tri-series ODI: Just as he did against the Australians, Dhoni combined with Gambhir in a crucial partnership - which netted 60 runs - until the skipper ran out his opener.

Gambhir’s cruel end came when Dhoni pushed to mid-on, called a single, then changed his mind - leaving Gambhir unsuccessfully scampering to make his ground.

The 41st over run out left India wobbling at 5-178, but Dhoni wasn’t rattled.

He whittled down the equation to 24 runs from the last two overs, and nine from the last.

But crucially Dhoni was off strike for two of the final six balls.

Earlier, Sri Lanka’s rising star Dinesh Chandimal top-scored with 81 in their total, with support from captain Mahela Jayawardene (43) and Kumar Sangakkara (31).

The 22-year-old Chandimal and his skipper featured in a 94-run partnership which rallied the Sri Lankans after a sluggish start - they were 3-79 in the 20th over.

But both Chandimal, whose polished

knock following returns of 37 and 64 in Sri Lanka’s initial two losses of the series, and Jayawardene fell within seven costly balls.

Jayawardene was trapped lbw by India paceman Vinay Kumar, who impressed with 3-45 from 10 overs.

And Chandimal perished in the next over, run out to end his 91-ball innings.

Their dismissals were compounded when Thisara Perera (5) was out two overs later to the bowling of Ravi Ashwin (2-30 from 10 overs) as Sri Lanka lost 3-11 and all momentum, with their tailenders unable to finish with a flourish.

The tie was marked by controversy, with India facing one less delivery than they should have - the 30th over of their innings contained just five balls.

“I’m not complaining,” said Sri Lanka captain Mahela Jayawardene.

Dhoni was remarkably accepting of the mistake.

“There was a five ball over,” he said.

“In the past what we have seen is the third umpire interferes and you have to come back and bowl that ball.

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South Asia Tribune I Thursday 16 February 2012

Sunil Gavaskar optimistic about India-Pakistan series Batting legend Sunil Gavaskar on Tuesday said he hoped a window could be found to accommodate an India-Pakistan series, as tight schedules were stopping the arch-rivals from playing each other.

India suspended all bilateral ties with Pakistan in the wake of the deadly 2008 Islamist militant attacks in Mumbai, which New Delhi blamed on extremists based across the border.

But despite a recent thaw, with Pakistan declaring India “the most favoured nation” and both prime ministers vowing to improve relations, formal cricketing ties remain suspended.

Both countries are scheduled to play in 2013 under the International Cricket Council (ICC) Future Tours Programme (FTP) but India’s busy schedule has left no space for the ties to be revived.

SAT

Sports

Cont

Cook inspires England again Skipper leads from the front as England move 2-0 ahead Pakistan v England: second one-day international Follow Alan Tyers and Rod Gilmour’s over-by-over commentary from the second one-day international between Pakistan and England in Abu Dhabi. England 250/4 beat Pakistan 230 a.o. by 30 runs .

England (250/4) beat Pakistan 230 all out That was close, and almost tense, but we felt at the start that 230 might be par on that pitch. All of the England bowlers played their part in a good team effort and, while Pakistan looked dangerous at times, none of their batsmen could make a telling contribution. England won the first ODI with a ton from Cook, four wickets from Finn, and 50 from Ravi and - funnily enough - that is exactly what has happened here today. England move 2-0 up in the four-match series, and we’ll be here on Saturday to see how they get on in the third. Thanks for all your emails and goodnight.

India v Sri Lanka tri-series ODI: Mahendra Singh Dhoni the hero as India earn last-minute tie with Sri Lanka Tri-series one-day international: India (236-9) tie with Sri Lanka (236-9) Mahendra Singh Dhoni was India’s hero again as they tied with Sri Lanka in the fifth match of the tri-series in Australia.

Sri Lanka batted first at the Adelaide Oval and made a competitive 236 for nine, built around Dinesh Chandimal’s 81, and India were always right on the rate.

Chasing 237 to win in front of 5739 spectators, India needed four runs from Lasith Malinga’s final ball.

India’s captain belted the final delivery over cover, before a diving save by Upul Tharanga stopped the ball short of the boundary - but Dhoni completed three runs to tie the match with both sides scoring 9-236.

Dhoni (58 not out from 69 balls) capitalised on the earlier fine innings of opener Gautam Gambhir (91).

Gambhir followed his 92 in Sunday’s win against Australia with another innings of substance, but it was Dhoni’s peerless final touches which kept India alive.

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