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Rumours of an imminent attack by extremist Jews

Palestinians defend Al-Aqsa Mosque Israeli Police attack Al Aqsa Mosque and arrested 18 Palestinian Video clips: Attack on Al Aqsa door

Police arrested a total of 18 people blamed for hurling stones at security forces and tourists at the Temple Mount compound in Jerusalem on Sunday Thousands of Palestinians gathered around Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, according to reports, in an attempt to prevent an allegedly impending attack Sunday by Israeli Likud supporters aiming tear down the Islamic shrine. Likud leader Moshe Feiglin had urged party activists to “purify the site from the enemies of Israel who stole the land and build the Third

Temple on the ruins of the mosques,” according to The Jerusalem Post, referring to the ancient Temple of Solomon, the ruins of which are claimed to lay under Al-Aqsa Mosque. The Jerusalem Post said Israeli police prevented Feiglin and three other Likud activists from entering the Haram El-Sharif area where Al-Aqsa Mosque lies, saying the area was closed to all non-Muslims as a result of Feiglin’s announcement. Israeli army and police used tear gas and entered the Mosque also attacked Palestinians inside the Mosque as exclusive

picture Clearly showing this. Israeli forces set up barricades on Saturday at the

Damascus, Herod and Lions’ gates to the Old City, carrying out identity checks. Many clashes occurred between Jerusalem residents and Israeli forces, according to the Middle East News Agency (MENA), at Al-Nazer, one of 11 gates of Al-Aqsa Mosque, and Al-Wad Street, while Israeli army, police and intelligence ofﬁcers patrolled streets close to the mosque’s gates. News of the attack called for by Feiglin caused alarm on social networking site Twitter where users implored Palestinians able to go to Al-Aqsa and defend it.

Teen girl ‘acted as recruiter for Asian sex gang’ A teenage girl acted as a recruiter for an Asian gang that sought sexual intercourse with under–age girls in return for alcohol, food and small sums of money, a court heard. Eleven men have gone on trial accused of sexually exploiting underage girls who had been plied with drugs and alcohol. The court was told that some of the defendants paid the girls and took payments from other men to whom

they supplied the girls for sex The ﬁve youngsters - aged between 13 and 15 when the alleged abuse began - were thought to have been “passed around” among a group of

men in Rochdale and sometimes subjected to violence. A jury at Liverpool Crown Court has been told that one of the girls became pregnant at the age of 13

and had to have an abortion. The court heard another girl “very quickly became regularly and heavily drunk, depressed, incapable of getting herself out of

the situation and resigned to what was happening to her”. Prosecutor Rachel Smith said: “She did not always cry or protest or tell the men that she did not want to have sex with them although she often did both. “But she was persistently coerced or forced into submission by them.” Another girl, who had absconded from a council care home, said Continued on page 2 >>

NEWS

South Asia Tribune I Thursday 23 February 2012

Iran will never seek nuclear weapons: Ayatollah Khamenei

Iran-IAEA talks fail to achieve breakthrough Brent crude climbs on Iran concerns Iran and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) have failed to achieve a breakthrough, after two days of talks, on a roadmap to ease nuclear tensions surrounding Iran’s atomic programme. Early on Wednesday, the IAEA issued a statement which said despite intensive discussions, the two sides could not sign a document which could have clarified whether Tehran’s nuclear programme had a military dimension. “Intensive efforts were made to reach agreement on a document facilitating the clarification of unresolved issues in connection with Iran’s nuclear programme, particularly those relating to possible military dimensions,” said the statement. “Unfortunately, agreement was not 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

reached on this document.” Iran also barred the IAEA team, led by the Agency’s deputy director Herman Nackaerts to visit a military site in Parchin, where, there are suspicions that Iran has carried out high explosives testing related to the development of atomic weapons. IAEA chief Yukiya Amano expressed disappointment over the Iran’s decision to deny the IAEA team access to the facility. “We engaged in a constructive spirit, but no agreement was reached,” he said. Oil futures were headed in different directions today as US benchmark crude fell on anticipation of

an increase in America’s crude stockpiles, while London Brent rose as traders monitored the situation in Iran.

Meanwhile according to Press TV Report a top Iranian oil industry ofﬁcial has said some European states have started negotiations with Tehran in order to purchase Iran’s crude oil. “Only European companies with a 2- to 5-year contract with Iran can purchase the country’s crude, otherwise [Tehran’s] relations with those companies will be reconsidered,” managing director of the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC), Ahmad Qalebani said Wednesday. Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei says the Iranian nation has never sought

and will never seek nuclear weapons as it has the capacity to challenge the nuclear-backed influence such powers rely on. In a Wednesday meeting in Tehran with the director and officials of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) and nuclear scientists the Leader described the country’s nuclear and technological achievements further in line with national interests and beneficial for the future of the country. “The Iranian nation has never pursued and will never pursue nuclear weapons,” said Ayatollah Khamenei.

Europe Has Sufﬁcient Oil Stocks to Do Without Iran Supplies The European Union has sufﬁcient oil stocks to do without Iranian crude oil supplies for four and a half years, European Commission spokeswoman Marlene Holzner said on Monday. The European Union said last month it would stop importing Iranian crude from July 1 in a bid to force Iran to agree to halt its nuclear program. Western powers suspect Iran of seeking to create a nuclear bomb but Tehran insists its program is peaceful. EU countries are currently looking

for a replacement for Iranian oil while Iran has threatened to cut

Asian sex gang’ she was sexually exploited by large numbers of men and given “substantial amounts of alcohol such that she was severely drunk when she was used for sex”. She said: “They just get you proper hammered so that you can’t do anything.” She claimed that she would regularly ﬁnd herself drunk to near unconsciousness, waking up with

oil supplies to Europe earlier than July.

Continued from page 01 >>

men having sex with her. She also claimed that one man would pull her hair and grab her neck if she resisted and had threatened to cut her with a razor blade if she refused to have sex with him. The girl was eventually removed from the area and accommodated in the south of England after social workers had become aware of the extent of the alleged offences.

The court was told that the case followed an investigation by Greater Manchester Police with the first arrest in 2008 and the final one in 2011. The jury heard police missed an opportunity to intervene earlier when one of the alleged victims disclosed what had happened but officers decided at that stage not to take the matter further.

Holzner said that if there were no other importers to replace Iran, EU oil stocks would suffice for a long period of time because Iranian supplies accounted for only 5.8 percent of Europe’s total crude imports. Iran’s Oil Ministry announced on Sunday it had stopped oil exports to British and French companies. The ministry said in a statement on its website that Iran, OPEC’s second biggest oil producer after Saudi Arabia, would sell oil to “new customers.” The defendants are Kabeer Hassan (25), Abdul Aziz (41), Abdul Rauf (43), Mohammed Sajid (35), Adil Khan (42), Abdul Qayyum (43), Mohammed Amin (44), Qamar Shazad (29), Liaquat Shah (41) and Hamid Safi (22). Another defendant cannot be named for legal reasons. All deny the charges against them. Many other men, who have not been identified by the police, are said to have been involved in the exploitation. The trial continues.

South Asia Tribune I Thursday 23 February 2012

NEWS

Clash at LSE as Palestine Society protest attacked

Violence erupted yesterday on the campus of the prestigious London School of Economics (LSE) following a pro-Palestinian protest staged by the university’s Palestine Society, according to the Beaver, the LSE Students’ Union newspaper. A violent clash has erupted at LSE after a protest by the LSESU Palestine Society on Houghton Street was attacked by “a small group of organised individuals” who threw

water bombs and knocked over property. The confrontation took place as the Palestine Society were re-enacting an Israeli checkpoint as part of their activities for ‘Israeli Apartheid Week’. An ofﬁcial statement by the LSE Students’ Union said: “Whilst peacefully re-enacting an Israeli checkpoint and talking to students about the issue, a small group of organised individuals ran towards members of the

LSESU Palestine Society and threw water bombs which hit several students and knocked over property of the Palestine Society.” In the melee that ensued, eye-witnesses have said that one individual was punched in the face, although London Student has not yet been able to verify this. LSE security were quickly at the scene, preventing the clashes from escalating into anything more serious.

500,000 passengers allowed to enter Britain on Eurostar without border checks UK Border Agency to be split in two

Theresa May announces division in response to report on border checks fiasco that prompted dismissal of Brodie Clark 500,000 people were allowed to enter Britain on the Eurostar without being checked against a warning index between 2007 and 2011. The UK Border Agency is to be split in two after an official inquiry report found that poor communication, poor oversight and confusion among ministers and senior officials lay at the heart of last summer’s border checks fiasco. Home Secretary Theresa May told the House of Commons that border

security checks at ports had been suspended regularly and applied inconsistently for more than four years. Mrs May also said students from low risk countries had been allowed to enter Britain even when they did not have visa clearance. She said the practice was unlawful and discriminatory. John Vine, the independent chief inspector of the UK Border Agency, launched an investigation after it emerged the UK’s border checks were being relaxed at ports and airports without ministerial approval.

He also discloses a “potentially unlawful” measure known as Operation Savant to manage student numbers at peak times, under which overseas students were admitted to the UK even though they did not have necessary entrance clearance documents. The report also reveals that a pilot scheme for a risk-based approach to passport checks which had been authorised by ministers has not been the success that was claimed by David Cameron in the Commons. Instead, Vine says it is not possible to quantify whether it has been a success or a failure. The report follows the dismissal of Clark last November after being accused of being a “rogue civil servant” for lifting passport checks without ministerial authority to cope with passenger numbers.

The LSESU statement continued: “The Students’ Union believes in the right to peaceful protest but condemns the violence towards the LSESU Palestine Society. The safety and welfare of students is of the utmost importance and the Union will be investigating the matter immediately in conjunction with the School.” The individuals responsible for throwing the water bombs have not yet been identiﬁed.

EU to Ban Iran Banks From Financial Network The European Union is moving to ban blacklisted Iranian entities from using a Belgium-based financial communications and clearing system in a move that will drastically cut Tehran’s ability to conduct global financial transactions, according to senior U.S. and European officials. According to The Wall Street Journal, senior US and European officials hope that the measure will drastically cut Tehran’s ability to conduct global financial transactions. The US and EU imposed sanctions on Iran’s oil and financial sectors, respectively on December 31, 2011, and January 23, to ban other countries from doing transaction with Iranian banks, including the central bank, and importing its oil. The clearing system, known as the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT), oversees the network used by most of the world’s largest banks to conduct financial wire transfers. American lawmakers have charged in recent weeks that Iranian companies and banks blacklisted by the US and EU have been using SWIFT to evade international sanctions. The Wall Street Journal added that both houses of the US Congress have also drafted a legislation threatening to penalize SWIFT’s board of directors and owners if they didn’t ban the

suspect Iranian entities from using its network. The paper also quoted unnamed European and US officials as saying that a formal ruling by EU financial regulators on SWIFT is expected by late February or early March, and the SWIFT’s board is expected to comply. “Yes, [it’s a] done deal…. [It] should be explicitly confirmed by the end of February, [or] early March,” said a European official. Earlier this month, SWIFT released a statement saying, “We are working with US and EU authorities…to find the right multilateral legal framework which will enable SWIFT to address the issues.” According to SWIFT’s public records, many of Iran’s largest banks, including Sepah, Saderat, and Mellat banks, which have been targeted by US and EU sanctions, have continued to use the SWIFT system in recent months. Congressional officials said they are not certain if the new EU regulations will also ban Iran’s central bank from using SWIFT.

NEWS

EDITORIAL Britain Should send Abu Qatada and Abu Hamza for Syrian Revolution? Last week the US intelligence chief said al-Qaeda’s branch in Iraq may have carried out recent bombings in Syria and infiltrated armed opposition groups fighting President Bashar al-Assad’s forces. Also In a video message last week al-Qaeda chief Ayman alZawahri called on Muslims to support Syrian rebels. Where as another Demoniser of Islam and kicked out from Britain for his subversive activities Omar Bakri, who the Syrian government has pointed out as the head of al-Qaeda in Lebanon, also known as double agent and banned from Britain for glorifying terrorism living in Tripoli in Mahallat Abu-Samra, has told The Daily Telegraph recently that alQaida is poised to wage war against the Syrian regime. Abu Qatada, whose real name is Omar Mahmoud Mohammed Othman, has been described in both Spanish and British courts as a leading alQaida figure in Europe. He is reported to have had close ties to the late Osama bin Laden. The release of Abu Qatada following a European Court of Human Rights ruling could pave the way for another demoniser of Islam Abu Hamza to win bail. Tory’s Gabby Bertin said recently that Abu Qatada should be sent to Syria, one should not criticize him as this option is not against the people of Syria. Rather it’s a best usage of this double agent and a demoniser of Islam like Omer Bakri to let loose as Al Qaeda supporter against

Bashar al-Assad. A spokesman for Cameron recently said “We are clear we want to remove Abu Qatada at the earliest opportunity. ] We are looking at all the options,” So why not the best option send Abu Qatda and also Abu Hamza with Aswat and Najam Chaudhry to where Omer Bakri is and get the best out come. Britain will be cleaned and safe for all Religions. Britain will save a lot too as already the cost of pursuing Abu Qatada has exceeded £1.4m, and the amount is expected to double during protracted legal wrangling. According to Napo the costs include £500,000 in legal fees and £540,000 for keeping him in custody, It’s extraordinary that the Home Ofﬁce has spent nearly £1.5m on someone who has never been charged. Legal argument is set to continue for at least two or three years so the costs will double. 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.

South Asia Tribune I Thursday 23 February 2012

China: US and allies push Syria into civil war

US and its allies are pushing Syria into civil war by backing the armed opposition, the newspaper of China’s ruling Communist Party writes. The article insists Beijing must stick to opposing any attempt to intervene or regime change in Damascus. ¬”If Western countries continue to fully support Syria’s opposition, then in the end a large-scale civil war will erupt and there will be no way to thus avoid the possibility of foreign armed intervention,” a foreign affairs expert Qu Xing wrote in the piece as cited by Reuters His article in the People’s Daily suggests if the UN Security Council

had passed the resolution backing the Arab League’s call for Assad to step down, that would only have lead to more violence. “Assad would have had his back up against the wall with all means of retreat cut off, and the opposition would have been encouraged to press steadily forward. Clashes would have been even worse than they are now,” writes Qu Xing. The article follows a visit by one of Beijing’s top diplomats to Damascus, in attempts to mediate peace talks in Syria. Vice-Foreign Minister Zhai Jun met Assad in Damascus on Saturday and backed his plans for a referendum

and multi-party elections. He expressed hope that the two sides will be able to stop the bloodshed in the country and approach peaceful dialogue. “The position of China is to call on the government, the opposition and the rebels to halt acts of violence immediately,” Zhai Jun said following his two-day visit to Syria. Russia and China blocked a draft UN Security Council resolution on February 4; other UNSC members blamed the two of pursuing their own interests. Moscow and Beijing insist the draft was one-sided and could have sent an unbalanced signal to the sides in the conﬂict.

Naveeda Ikram, a Pakistani-born Briton, First female British Muslim Lord Mayor Naveeda Ikram, a Pakistani-born Briton, is the United Kingdom’s first lord mayor to be both Muslim and a woman. Prior to her selection as lord mayor of Bradford in 2011, she served as the deputy lord mayor. Since 2004, she has served as a councilor for Bradford’s Little Horton ward. Naveeda was also the first Muslim woman to serve in that capacity. As lord mayor, it is Naveeda’s role to serve as the public face of Bradford and to support the work of local charities. She chose Marie Curie Cancer Care, a cancer hospice in Bradford, and Bradnet, an organization that provides services to disabled individuals, as the two beneficiaries of her fundraising efforts.

Prior to becoming lord mayor, Naveeda was instrumental in founding Bradford Unites in Disaster, network of fundraising groups from throughout her region. The organization raised £30,000 (about $49,000) and collected six tons of supplies to send to Pakistanis affected by ﬂooding in 2010. In addition to serving on the Bradford

Council’s Social Care Improvement Committee as well as her other roles in local government, Naveeda is an operations manager for Pakistan International Airlines and is a member of the Mayﬁeld Community Association. She is a mother of three and lives in Bradford with her husband, Saqib Salam Shah.

Prince Charles praises British Asian Trust Prince Charles opened the doors of Windsor Castle last week to celebrate the successes of the British Asian Trust. Five years after HRH The Prince of Wales launched The British Asian Trust at Windsor Castle, supporters celebrated its inspiring progress at dinner there on 13 February. The Prince of Wales, who initiated the British Asian Trust with the help of a group of Asian business leaders, praised the efforts of donors, partners and celebrities for their role in helping the Trust to transform the lives of more than 350,000 poor people across South Asia through education, health and livelihood

initiatives. A number of individuals from the Asian community were invited to the dinner to hear the Prince of Wales’ speech, including Trust

celebrity Ambassadors such as comedian Nitin Ganatra, news presenters Tasmin Lucia Khan and Ritula Shah, musician Navin Kundra, and actors Laila Rouass and Ray Panthaki, were on

hand to salute the Trust’s success. A £1 million grant from international mobile operator Lycamobile for work in education and employment in Sri Lanka was announced by HRH The Prince of Wales during the gala dinner. “This generosity will make an enormous difference to our ability to assist the most disadvantaged in meaningful, practical ways,” the Prince said. Trust Chairman Manoj Badale said the Trust’s model of supporting local grass roots charities with ﬁnancial and human resources to scale their impact’ is paying off. “We want and need to do more,” he said.

South Asia Tribune I Thursday 23 February 2012

NEWS

US military chief cautions against Israeli attack on Iran General Martin Dempsey, chairman of the US joint chiefs of staff, says a strike ‘at this time would be destabilising’ The United States is stepping up efforts to dissuade Israel from attacking Iran’s nuclear facilities, with a strong public warning by the US military’s most senior ﬁgure and the dispatch of two high-ranking ofﬁcials to Jerusalem. General Martin Dempsey, chairman of the US joint chiefs of staff, said in a television interview that it was “not prudent at this point” to attack Iran, and “a strike at this time would be destabilising”. But in a comment likely to fuel speculation about Israel’s military plans, he added: “I wouldn’t suggest we’ve persuaded them that our view is the correct view.” The two countries were having a “candid, collaborative conversation” which was continuing, he said. His concerns were echoed by William Hague, the British foreign secretary, who said it was “not a wise thing at this moment” for Israel to launch military action against Iran.

Hague: If Iran gets nukes, there will be war or a cold war UK foreign secretary says it would not be “the wise thing at the moment” for Israel to strike Iran, urges Israel to give sanctions a

developed nuclear weapons,” he said. Hague cautioned against military action, although he said it was not ruled out as an option. Hague said there was “no speciﬁc information” about a threat to the London Olympics from any Tehran-backed terrorists. But he acknowledged: “Clearly Iran has been involved increasingly in illegal and potentially terrorist activity in other parts of the world. chance; Iranian nuclear standoff would not have safeguards of the Cold War, he warns. William Hague has warned Israel that military action against Iran would not be “a wise thing”. Amid rumours that the Israeli government is considering strikes against Iran within months, Hague insisted economic sanctions and negotiations had to be given a real chance to convince Tehran to abandon its nuclear ambitions. In an interview on BBC1’s Andrew Marr Show, the foreign secretary repeated his warning that a nuclear-armed Iran would result in another cold war in the Middle East. “They would either be attacked and there would be a war, or there would be a cold war in which Iran for the long term would be subject to these very intense economic sanctions and they would ﬁnd that other nations in their region

Iran struggles to ﬁnd new oil customers Iran is struggling to ﬁnd a buyer for nearly a quarter of its annual oil exports as looming western sanctions targeting the country’s

nuclear programme start to bite the world’s third-biggest crude exporter.

On Sunday Iran’s oil ministry announced it had stopped selling crude oil to British and French companies, in apparent retaliation for EU sanctions imposed over Iran’s perceived nuclear ambitions, including an oil embargo set to begin in July Tehran is trying to sell an extra 500,000 barrels a day of oil, or nearly 23 per cent of what it exported last year, to Chinese and Indian reﬁners, according to two industry executives familiar with the talks. “Crude oil exports to British and French companies have been

halted,” Oil Ministry spokesman Ali Reza Nikzad-Rahbar said on the ministry’s shana.ir Web site.

“We have our own customers and have no problem to sell and export our crude oil to new customers.” “Only 18 percent of Iranian oil exports are bounded for Europe,” he said.

Iran’s Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi has reiterated Tehran’s determination to continue with its peaceful nuclear program, insisting on the nation’s willingness to even deal with “the worst-case scenario.” “Since we believe that we are right, we do not have the slightest doubt in the pursuit of our nuclear program. Therefore, we plan to move ahead with vigor and conﬁdence and we do not take much heed of [the West’s] propaganda warfare. Even in the worse-case scenario, we remain prepared,” said Salehi at a Sunday news conference with his Nicaraguan counterpart Samuel Santos in the Iranian capital city, Tehran.

Iran to unleash ‘God’s vengeance’ against potential air strike Iran is set to begin a massive training exercise to protect its “nuclear centers” from potential air strikes. The four-day drill will unite missile defense systems, radars and interceptor planes in southern Iran. ¬“These exercises aim to reinforce the integrated abilities of the country’s anti-air defenses,” said a statement from the Katem-ol-Anbia military air base – the nerve center of Iran’s missile defense operations. The exercises aim to improve cooperation between Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guard and its regular army, and will cover a total area of 190,000 square kilometers. The news comes on the heels of mounting speculation that Israel may attempt to derail Iran’s nuclear program by attacking its nuclear processing

facilities. Israel has repeatedly claimed that Iran is trying to build a nuclear weapon, which Tehran has consistently denied. The Iranian operation has been codenamed “Sarollah,” which translates as God’s Vengeance. But even without divine intervention on behalf of Iran, Israel faces a daunting task in taking out Iran’s nuclear sites. US Defense experts believe that up to a hundred planes may be needed to execute the strike on at least four major targets.

“All the pundits who talk about ‘Oh, yeah, bomb Iran,’ it ain’t going to be that easy,” Lt. General David A. Deptula told The New York Times. Deptula retired last year as the Air Force’s top intelligence ofﬁcial and was the architect of the US air campaigns in 2001 in Afghanistan and in the 1991 Gulf War. It is not clear if Israel possesses the necessary air capability or the sufﬁciently advanced bunker-buster bombs to penetrate the 10-meter concrete shells that encase Iranian nuclear facilities. Despite the escalating rhetoric and demonstrations of strength in the region, international powers have called for a diplomatic solution. Iran has said it is ready to resume high-level talks on the issue, and inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency are currently in Tehran to inspect the country’s nuclear program.

NEWS

South Asia Tribune I Thursday 23 February 2012

Religion has weak role in Brits’ lives: Poll Religion seems to play a minor role in British people’s lives as majority of Britons say they do not belong to any particular religion and are not religious, according to a new poll conducted by YouGov. In the survey of 1828 adults across the UK, 37% of respondents said they are “not very religious” and 39% said they are “not very religious at all’, making the total of 76% who are not religious, compared with just 5% who regarded themselves as “very religious”. Moreover, according to the poll, half of Britons (50%) said they do not consider themselves as belonging to any particular faith, compared to 43% who considered themselves as a member of a faith. The role of religion in British life has been debated after recent cases of public sector workers being banned from displaying Christian symbols at work, and the High Court’s rule to ban local councils could from holding prayers during

meetings. Last week, Baroness Warsi, Britain’s ﬁrst female Muslim Cabinet minister warned that “aggressive secularization” of the UK threatens British society and called for religion to play a greater role in politics and public life. Writing in an article for The Daily Telegraph, prior to her visit to the Vatican, she said, “My fear today is that a militant secularization is taking hold of our societies. We see it in any number of things:

Greece secures bailout to avoid debt default Euro Zone Agrees on 130-Billion-Euro Bailout for Greece Eurozone governments have come to the rescue of Greece by approving a second £110billion bailout to prevent the collapse of its stricken economy after months of wrangling and a last round of 13 hours of crucial late-night talks in Brussels. The last-minute deal effectively saves the country from bankruptcy. Without the new loans, Greece would have been forced to default on March 20, when €14.5 billion in loans mature. Euro Group head Jean-Claude Juncker, the prime minister of Luxembourg, announced early on Tuesday that ﬁnance ministers had reached “a far-reaching agreement” on the bailout. The deal would “secure Greece’s future in the euro area,” he said. The announcement came after marathon talks lasting over 12 hours in Brussels. But several hurdles remain before Greece will see any of the money or other beneﬁts of the new program. The deal is expected to bring Greece’s debt down to 120.5 percent

of gross domestic product by 2020 — around the maximum the eurozone and IMF consider sustainable. At the moment, the debt stands at more than 160 percent of GDP. But as Greece’s economy faces a ﬁfth year of recession, conﬁdence that it can reach the 120 percent target in

2020 was fading quickly. “One can discuss at length the assumptions on which this (target) is based,” German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said after the meeting. “Because of that we decided to at least be sincere about the ﬁgures.” Ahead of the meeting, Greece’s

international creditors — the EU, the ECB and the IMF — warned that without new measures the debt would still remain close to 129 percent by the end of the decade even under its optimistic scenario. That shortfall persisted even though Athens had faced down violent protests to pass

a massive new round of cuts and reforms through Parliament just last week. So to reach a successful outcome, the ﬁnance ministers had to ﬁght on many fronts. Apart from the implementation of more than 30 different savings and reform measures by Greece, the new bailout has to be debated by parliaments in several member states, including Germany, the Netherlands and Finland. The IMF also still has to decide how much of the 130 billion euro bill it is willing to stump up. Going into the meeting, the Washington-based fund had indicated its contribution will be lower than the one-third of the total it has provided in previous bailouts. IMF chief Lagarde said the fund’s board would decide on its

contribution in the second week of March. Emerging-market stocks dropped for the ﬁrst time in three days on concern that Greece’s debt crisis will persist even after a second bailout. “You can’t really go out and say that we’ve solved the whole eurozone debt crisis and this won’t come

back to bother us again,” Manpreet Gill, a senior investment strategist at Standard Chartered Plc, said in a Bloomberg Television interview from Singapore. “These issues will still simmer over time.” Despite the promise of new rescue loans, the other 16 euro countries made clear that their trust in Greece is running low. Before Athens will see any new funds, it has to implement a range of promised cuts and reforms. Greece will also have to pass within the next two months a new law that gives paying off the debt legal priority over funding government services. In the meantime, Athens has to set up an escrow account, managed separately from its main budget, that will at all times have to contain enough money to service its debts for the coming three months.

when signs of religion cannot be displayed or worn in government buildings; and where religion is sidelined, marginalized and downgraded in the public sphere.” Last January, British religious ﬁgures also warned against removing religion as a GCSEs subject in the new English baccalaureate. Bishop of Oxford, the Right Rev. John Pritchard described the education system’s neglect of religion as “highly dangerous” in the context of violent campaigns by the likes of the English Defense League (EDL) against British Muslims. As most British people consider themselves as being not religious and the government seems to have a lack of attention to religion, speculations promote about the possible consequences of the diminished role of religion in the British society.

Yunus Rahmatullah case complaint lodged with Scotland Yard British lawyers lose bid to free Pakistani held by US

British human rights lawyers’ hopes of freeing a Pakistani being held without trial by United States forces in Afghanistan ended in disappointment yesterday. But on Monday government lawyers said the U.S. has refused to release the prisoner it has held for eight years, and the Court of Appeal accepted that outcome. It will release its written judgment on Thursday. London-based legal charity Reprieve, and law ﬁrm Leigh Day & Co, won a legal argument last year when they used a piece of ancient English common law to persuade the Court of Appeal in London to order the release of Yunus Rahmatullah. They said he had been captured by British troops then handed to the Americans –and successfully argued that the UK government had the power to ask US authorities to free him.

South Asia Tribune I Thursday 23 February 2012

NEWS

The Ugly Truth RAKHI SACHDEV Juggling a balancing act between studying and attempting a ‘social life’ maintenance is commonplace for most 16-17 year olds. Figuring how they are going to pan out the next three to four years of their life is also signiﬁcant in determining an aspect of their adulthood. This is the adventure teenagers should be embarking on, correct? Finding challenges to rise to? Well, not if you are coerced into years of exploitation, juggling a rather different sort of balancing act- reluctantly providing your body to satisfy the male craving whilst retaining the will to live. Just 3 years ago, a 17-yearold girl who should have been planning her pathway towards her adulthood was driven into a sudden deprivation of her

fundamental human rights. One innocent action set out the next three years of her life. None of

Marinela Badea, was denied freedom of choice as she slowly but surely fell into the clutches of

which she had intended or could have foreseen. Do we not have the right to make our own choices? To be able to answer people with a simple ‘yes’ or no’ when being asked to do something? Romanian teenager,

a powerful Romanian trafﬁcking team. A mundane afternoon in mid-March 2008 was meant to be busy with completion of homework, yet Badea became a victim of abduction and would not just ﬁnd the rest of the evening, but the next few years of her life

being exposed to this ‘sordid, violent world.’ For many teenagers, to travel the globe; to discover and experience different countries is an aspiration. Badea would certainly never forget her forced travels to the UK, as she became open to the elements of one of the worst kind of experiences any foreigner could possibly have. Being trafﬁcked into Britain’s sex industry. Her day to day routine back at home may have involved being schooled, spending time with her friends and completing schoolwork, however that soon became alien to her, as she succumbed to her 12 hour daily shifts in the presence of unknown men, satisfying them, unwillingly. Exploitation of Eastern European woman in Britain’s vast “off-street” prostitution trade is prevalent. A recent inquiry undertaken by the police

identified 17,000 migrants working in brothels, with 9,000 of them from Eastern Europe. 400 of them, the police believe, had been trafficked. The numbers are too great. Women are being treated as worthless objects. They are taken in by their predators and ravaged upon before being thrown into the wild again, damaged, fragile and alone. Badea did escape three years later. Her story does demonstrate the human spirit’s capacity to regenerate as she now helps other vulnerable women in England; the country that she can only remember for the horrors she faced. But she shouldn’t have had to suffer. No woman should have to suffer. Human Trafficking is an ugly sport to play. Victory is only achieved through dirty tactics. The game needs to be stopped before it gets out of hand.

The ball in a tree Rohma Khan T iny microscopic drops of sweat slurped slowly down my cheek. Slight touches of wind rushed through my hair, comforting my anxious restless mind, pleading for at least a small share of success. I needed this. It was absolutely necessary for me to reach the round plastic piece of amusement trapped helplessly in the commodious, copious living organism...that we all refer to as a tree. I have not always been like this. These perditions merrily made me stronger, I was conﬁdent and my optimism was at its highest. Until I feasted my eyes on those gargantuan garden stairs; just the sight of them sent tingles down my spine. Who would have known that this is what an eight year old would have to face. I was mesmerized by the rough crumbly bricks standing as if they were statuesque soldiers on military grounds. I took small steps towards those stairs, trembling at every move. I leaned slightly over and gazed into the sea of pebbly stones and trails of runty ants. I was startled by my eyesight, it blurred all

surroundings, and I imagined this torturing moment would remain perpetual. My trepidation veiled the

eighth birthday. It was my favourite toy. I still remember its royal blue skin, elegantly patterned with deep

searing sun as it set and thereafter everything became dull, cold and dark. The cold combined with the exhaustion, with the fear, it made me shake from head to toe. Floods of butterﬂies swirled around in my stomach while I scrutinized towards the gold, crimson sunset. I was determined to get my ball. You see, this wasn’t just any ball; this was the ball that I was gifted for my

maroon and mustard lining; it was beautiful. Nonetheless, my mother would be extremely disappointed with me as she gave it so lovingly for my birthday. I still remember powerlessly standing there, troubled after I kicked the ball high into the air and saw it soaring into the clouds then of course, into the tree. Instantly, I was spun back to reality. On the edge of my nightmare,

I took a deep breath in. I tend to do this when in pain or when nervous. I thought quietly to myself. As I brought one foot forward, it felt like I was being lured in. Maybe this was just an illusion; however I remember the head of the stairs grinning as it blurted out its evil sonorous laughter. I still can’t believe what I had seen, right up to this day. My heart beat faster and faster, thud, thud. I was breathing heavily. I took the first step. Steadily rested, toe first. I slowly gained balance, my feet were birds; stable, graceful...poised. I vigilantly grasped quickly for air. Relieved, was best word to describe what I was feeling at that instant and maybe even a slight bit proud. I glanced up into the cavernous skies as I deeply inhaled. The stairs only had two steps, nonetheless were they large and gritty. This was the finale to my obstacle, the barrier to my happiness. I leaned forward, vaguely confident yet enormously frightened. Relentlessly, I forced myself forward and my fate transformed completely. Within a split second, the slip of my foot caused me to swoon swiftly upwards. I felt my heart racing

and for a second I was flying in the air. I felt the seconds of dashing wind, running quickly beneath me. Subsequently in a few moments I found myself held captive. I felt pain. As I opened my eyes, I spotted large thorns pierced through my skin. It was hard to move. I was covered in dirt and leaves, my surroundings were simply long stems which had swords and needles mounting out of them. I noticed a tear, it rolled diagonally, onto my nose. I screamed and screeched, hoping that someone would come to my rescue. I turned my head slowly and fortunately perceived a blurry figure approaching me quickly from a distance. It was my sister; she shouted out my name and seemed confused. I uttered out my words: “I’m over here.” “What are you doing over there?” she replied, still confused. After a short while she noticed that I was in pain, I was hurt. She ran towards me, used all her strength and pulled vigorously on my arm. I fled from the rose bush. I couldn’t stand up so I fell on my sister. My injury was gruesome. I promised myself, never to go alone on those stairs again.

NEWS

South Asia Tribune I Thursday 23 February 2012

ENTERTAINMENT

Gklih{l Age is but a number Keziah-Ann Abakah I don’t think many of you know this and for those of you that do there’s no harm in hearing a good thing twice. It’s a common misconception that all wines taste better after they have been matured. In actual fact white wines taste best when they are consumed young as they contain a very little amount of Tannin a chemical substance which gives wine its kick. Whilst red wines contain a larger dose of Tannin making them taste ﬁnest when they have been matured for years spanning as wide as four decades. The purpose of this snippet of information was not to educate you in the ﬁner details of wine but instead to lead up to these questions. Should age be a limiting factor on how you live your life? Are our career’s limited by our age? Is age but a number? In the modern day society which we live age seems to be the one thing holding up the mechanisms of life. You may think this case in point only

affects the working class but in fact it affects everyone be you a celebrity, an artist or a teacher age catches us all. However you term it or dress it up old will still mean old at the day’s end. Just because you’re older life should not halt and the following are prime examples of why age should stop no one from working to their full potential until you’re knocking on heaven’s door. Thierry Henry: Most footballer’s are lucky to see a red card let alone be in the starting line up of a game at the age of thirty four but Thierry Henry proved that even after all these years he’s still got it. After enjoying a very successful career with Arsenal and playing on the French international team winning numerous awards and being revered as a world class player Henry announced his retirement in the summer of 2010 only to then return to his team in January 2012 and score the winning goal of the match. Madonna: The Material Queen has enjoyed a musical career that has

spanned over five decades. She has dabbled in writing, directing, acting, designing, advertising and so much more. You would think at the age of fifty three she’d be comfortably enjoying the calmer things life has to offer but in actual fact she shows no signs of slowing down. Not only did she headline the super bowl in the beginning of the year but she has also released a film, a new album and is set to confirm the date of her latest tour. Vivienne Westwood: Last but not least. The redheaded icon has turned the heads of generation after generation and at the age of seventy she’s still steaming full speed ahead. The fashion designer started from humble beginnings and worked her way up the industry to become the world renowned designer she is today and though most at this time in life are reclining in their lazy boy chairs she is still doing what she does best. Proving to you and I that age is just a number.

Aishwarya to make a comeback with Shah Rukh

News doing the rounds is that Aishwarya Rai Bachchan may make her comeback in films, post motherhood, with Sriram Raghavan’s movie ‘Happy Birthday’. ‘Happy Birthday’ is a sci-fi film that has taken its own sweet time to take off. Left on the nback burner for sometime now, Agent Vinod director, Sriram Raghavan has decided to breathe some oxygen into it, and bring it back to life. ‘Happy Birthday’ was to star

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Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and John Abraham. Although, Ash may be ready to do this one - if the script sounds as interesting now as it did then - an insider informs us that her ﬁrst movie will be a larger than life one, like Sanjay Bhansali’s Bajirao Mastani with Shah Rukh Khan. After all it’s been a while that Aishwarya hasn’t been seen on the big screen. Also, her exit from Madhur Bhandarkar’s Heroine wasn’t under most favourable circumstances. It’ll be important that her comeback venture after Beti B makes considerable impact and breathes into the actress in her a new lease of life. Ash will have to be extremely particular about the banner, director, costar, her role and the canvas of the ﬁlm. Thus, in all probability, it’ll be a movie starring Shah Rukh Khan that will mark Ash’s comeback!

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Dear Miss R, My step dad is a wonderful person and everyone I know gets along with him perfectly. I think he’s great but I’ve never had a proper conversation with him and we’re not very close at all which is weird because a few of my close friends go to him for advice. I want to have that relationship with him but we just don’t seem to connect and I only speak to him when I want something or vice versa; which is also the only time we hug. Me and my mum both think I should get closer to him but I just don’t know how. How do I connect with him? Riana Dear Riana, The best thing for you to do in this situation is start of by slowly getting to know your stepfather by asking him how his day was and a little about his past etc. You could also try an join him on one of his hobbies and show an interest in them. You can also ask him to help you with homework etc and anything he has experience in but also update him on your life and tell him about your friends and school and so on. You and your family should do activities together such as going for walks or playing board games and anything else you enjoy. Hope it works out! Miss R

aarc S

Saarc international I Thursday 23 February 2012

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Thursday, 23.02.12

international

Afghanistan: Quran burning protests leave seven people dead Violence spreads across Afghanistan in second day of protests against burning of holy book by foreign troops at Bagram airbase At least seven people have been killed and dozens injured in Afghanistan after protests spread over the burning of copies of the Quran at a US airbase. One person was killed in Kabul, one in the eastern city of Jalalabad and at least four in Parwan province. US ofﬁcials apologised on Tuesday after Korans were “inadvertently” put in an incinerator at Bagram airbase. Ofﬁcials at Bagram reportedly believed Taliban prisoners were using the books to pass messages to each other. The charred remains of the volumes were found by local labourers.

Pro-Taliban slogans Protesters in Kabul shouted, “Death to America!” and threw stones at Camp Phoenix, the main US base in the city. The US embassy in Kabul is on lockdown and all travel is suspended. The Taliban called on Afghan police and soldiers to redeem themselves by turning their guns away from protesters and towards Nato-led troops. The Afghan parliament held an emergency debate. In a statement, MPs condemned what had happened, called for punishment of those responsible and asked the Afghan government to send its own delegation to Bagram to establish exactly what happened and why.

Ijaz testimony touches on nukes, ISI’s SS, bin Laden

Zardari admitted to Dubai hospital: report

Memo commission hearing adjouned till today The central character of the memogate scandal, Mansoor Ijaz has submitted his BlackBerry phone and other evidences to the secretary of a judicial commission investigating the affair. Recording of Mansoor Ijaz s testimony in Pakistan was carried out at the Islamabad High Court in the infamous memo case from London via video link. Mansoor Ijaz said that Hussain Haqqani assured the US of access to Pakistan s nuclear programme and also to the three widows of Osama bin Laden. He also said Haqqani also assured the US that ISI s Section-S (SS) that reportedly deals with political affairs would be dismantled. Mansoor said that he telephoned Haqqani on this number (00442071060900) from Monaco. He said that he met with Haqqani at Room No. 430 of Pak Land Hotel in London. Mansoor said that contact with Haqqani started on May 3. He handed over pin code of his and Husain Haqqani’s BackBerrys to the

secretary commission. The pin cod of Haqqani’s BlackBerry is 2326 A3ID. Mansoor also provided the email address of Hussain Haqqani to the Commission. Mansoor Ijaz showed his BlackBerry to the commission used for communication. The counsel for Husain Haqqani, Zahid Hussain Bukhari, objected that who would verify the authenticity of the messages while, Attorney General raised the question of originality of the BlackBerry. Ijaz took oath before recording his statement.

Mansoor Ijaz, in his statement, admitted that he had met with President Zardari, Pervez Musharraf and former DG ISI. I have been in contact with Pakistani authorities since last 10 years, he said. During the video link recording, Zahid Bukhari raised objections over the procedure of recording Ijaz’s testimony saying “this is not how testimonies are recorded”. He also said each word of Ijaz’s testimony should be written down. Rejecting Bukhari’s statement, the commission said that he should not interfere during the proceedings. Bukhari alleged that while getting his statements recorded, Ijaz started “toying with his BlackBerry phone”. Justice Isa quipped, “You start ﬁghting over everything.” The commission told Ijaz to keep his phones on the table. Ijaz objected over Bukhari’s behaviour and said that his phones were already lying on the table. Continued on page 18 >>

Reportedly, President Zardari has been admitted in a Dubai hospital for medical checkup. According to reports, President Asif Ali Zardari is hospitalized in Dubai Hospital for medical checkup on Wednesday, Dunya News reported. However, president’s spokesperson Farhatullah Babar has denied the reports and said that the president is in good health and is at home.

SAARC

Congress to move HC to seek quashing of FIR against Rahul Gandhi A combative Congress on Tuesday asserted that it will move the High Court seeking quashing of the FIR lodged against Rahul Gandhi for alleged violation of poll code, saying the action was taken at the behest of Chief Minister Mayawati. “Because of the successful election campaign of the Congress, this action has been taken on the direction of Mayawatiji,” Congress general secretary Digvijay Singh told reporters here. “We will go to the High Court to get the FIR quashed. I also want to clarify that we haven’t received any notice regarding violation of Model Code of Conduct,” he said. The FIR was lodged against Rahul by the district authorities which said his road show here had breached the time limit and the route map set by them. District Magistrate Hari Om said the FIR has been ﬁled against Rahul and city Congress chief Mahesh Dikshit who have been booked under Section 188 of IPC for violating prohibitory orders (Section 144) imposed in the city and under Sections 283 (danger or obstruction in public way) and 290 (public nuisance). “The district administration had allocated time till noon and ﬁxed

a 20-km route for Rahul Gandhi’s road show but he violated it and stretched it beyond permitted time. He also did not stick to the prescribed route for the event,” the DM said. The DM said the roadshow organisers had sought permission for a 38-km stretch and they had been informed about the conditions. The district administration had ﬁxed a 20-km route for Rahul Gandhi’s road show since Shivratri was being celebrated and there could be trafﬁc problems. “There has been no violation of the model code of conduct,” Singh said adding, “we have neither received any notice nor has anybody registered any opposition to it. Only the district administration has registered an FIR against Rahul for violation of Sec.144 CrPC.”

Pakistan Mumbai panel to visit India in March

Federal Interior Minister Rehman Malik said that a Pakistani judicial commission would visit India in March to investigate ‘Mumbai attacks’. Talking to media after his talks with Pakistan’s High Commissioner to India Shahid Malik, the interior minister said the visit of the judicial commission was long overdue, and had ﬁnally been cleared. He said the commission would tour India from March 12 to 22, and said he had also directed

Pakistan’s commissioner to ensure a quick reply from Indian side as well, regarding the issue. The interior minister also said that an understanding over issues like facilitating visa services for business community, senior citizens, relatives and tourists, medical personnel, among others, had been reached during the meeting between the home secretaries of both countries, and these issues would be ﬁnalised in the meeting of interior ministers of the two countries.

Saarc international I Thursday 23 February 2012

MP scribe’s murder linked to abduction? The murder of senior journalist Chandrika Rai, 42, and his family on Saturday in Madhya Pradesh’s Umaria district might be linked to the abduction of the son of a government official last week, police said on Monday. Although the police officially claim they rescued the boy on Friday, department sources said parents paid Rs 50 lakh ransom after which the kidnappers released the child. The new leads that emerged after the interrogation of the accused also brought the local SP Manohar Singh under the scanner. The Special task force (STF) probing the sensational murder of Umaria journalist Chandrika Rai and his family has found vital link between the heinous crime and recent abduction of the Umaria PWD engineer’s son. The mobile handset the kidnappers had used to make ransom calls was allegedly procured on behalf of Rai, according to sources. The IMEI number has been traced. It is suspected that Rai had procured five other SIM cards and two more handsets from the same shop a couple of days before his murder. A senior police officer told DNA that possibility that Rai was aware of the kidnapping plan cannot be ruled out. “Those involved in the abduction are hardcore criminals. Therefore, dispute over ransom could be linked to the murders, “ said the officer wishing anonymity. Four wardrobes of Rai’s residence were found open when police reached the spot, he said, adding that the criminals had searched for something in the house. Cash and valuables were found intact. “Six best officials of the STF have been assigned the case, and we are giving them a backup”, ADG (STF) Sanjay Chaudwary told DNA. He, however, refused to comment on progress in the case. The STF officials have collected details of the kidnapping case and also met the PWD officer seeking more details about it. State home minister Umashankar Gupta assured a fair investigation in the case. “Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has taken the matter seriously. DGP SK Rout visited the crime scene in Umaria and gave necessary directions to police,” Gupta told reporters. He ruled out a CBI probe describing it as premature at this stage. He said post-mortem revealed that journalist Chandrika Rai (42), his wife Durga (40) and two children — son Jalaj and daughter Nisha — were attacked with a heavy object. The station house officer of the

concerned police station has been removed from inquiry. The Editors Guild of India today urged Shivraj Singh Chauhan order a high-level probe into the murder of Rai and the family.

in the region and the alleged involvement of a local political leader. “We owe it to the memory of this courageous journalist to ensure that the guilty are arrested speedily,” said the letter. “The State government must demonstrate its sincerity by working tirelessly to unravel the conspiracy behind the murder.” Mr. Rai, who regularly contributed to Hindi daily Navbharat and English daily The Hitavada, was killed at his home in Umaria

“We owe it to the memory of this courageous journalist to ensure that the guilty are arrested speedily. The state government must demonstrate its sincerity by working tirelessly to unravel the conspiracy behind the murder,” the Guild said in a letter to Chauhan. Congress spokesperson Abhishek Manu Singhvi told reporters in New Delhi that the act was condemnable and swift action was needed to be taken by the BJP -led state government to nail the perpetrators of the crime. Editors Guild calls for probe into M.P. scribe’s murder The Editors Guild of India has demanded that the Madhya Pradesh government institute a high-level probe into Saturday’s murder of senior freelance journalist Chandrika Rai and his entire family in order to “unravel the conspiracy behind the murder.” In a letter to Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, the guild said it was suspected that the multiple murders were a bid to silence Mr. Rai, who had recently written a series of hard-hitting articles against illegal coal mining activity

district along with his wife Durga and his teenage children Jalaj and Nisha. The South Asia Media Commission also issued a statement condemning the murders and the nexus between maﬁa, politicians and bureaucrats that endangers journalists in many parts of the country. “The only fault of Mr. Rai was that he exposed the illegal activities of the coal mining maﬁa in the State… He thus paid a very heavy price for discharging his professional duties,” said SAMC’s India Chapter president K.K. Katyal. Despite investigations and assurances by State and Central governments regarding protection for journalists, they continue to be targeted “by all types of shady elements, at times, with the knowledge, if not support of powerful politicians,” said Mr. Katyal’s statement. He urged the Information and Broadcasting Ministry, in collaboration with the Home Ministry, to evolve effective and credible measures to protect vulnerable journalists.

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Saarc international I Thursday 23 February 2012

SAARC

WEEKLY REVIEW OF AFGHANISTAN NEWS Afghan spy plan: Every soldier an informer The Afghan government is embarking on a plan to spy on its own soldiers, with a view to curbing Green-onBlue attacks by Afghan servicemen on their coalition compatriots according to an article published by the Wall Street Journal. The operation will place Afghan servicemen under close surveillance, with a view to weeding out potential insurgents. Agents from the country’s spy agency, The National Directorate of Security will be deployed throughout Afghanistan to monitor troops during training, recruitment and military leave. “Every soldier has to become an informer,” Afghan Defense Minister Abdul Rahim Wardak said in an interview. Authorities will pay special attention to new recruits and monitor soldiers on leave to Taliban-inﬁltrated areas in

the country and neighboring Pakistan, where military commanders believe many insurgent plots are hatched. In addition, more thorough background checks will be introduced and uniformed intelligence operatives will mingle with troops and inform on soldiers’ activities to the NDS.

Coldest winter in years kills at least 40 in Afghanistan

More than 40 people, most of them children, have frozen to death in what has been Afghanistan’s coldest winter in years, an Afghan health ofﬁcial said Monday. The government has recorded 41 deaths from freezing in three provinces —Kabul, Ghor and Badakhshan, said Health Ministry spokesman Ghulam Sakhi Kargar. All but three or four of those deaths

were children, he said. Twenty-four of the deaths were in the capital of Kabul, mostly in camps for people who have ﬂed ﬁghting elsewhere in the country. Kabul has been experiencing its worst cold snap and heaviest snowfall in 15 years, according to the National Weather Center. It said the weather was to improve by the end of the week.

Heavy snowfall in Day Kundi province caused an avalanche late Sunday in the Sang-i-Takht district that damaged three dozen homes and shops. The avalanche caused no injuries, said Nasrullah Sadiqizada, a member of parliament from the central province. The hardest-hit have been people living in tents in a number of camps around the capital. The deaths in these camps, so close to the ofﬁces of international organisations overseeing billions of dollars in aid to the country, have shocked many in Kabul. The UN and the US aid agency have started distributing extra blankets, tarps and fuel to people living in 40 camps throughout the city, the US Embassy said in a statement last week.

Afghanistan tells troops to move families from Pakistan

Afghanistan’s defence ministry has begun ordering soldiers who have families in Pakistan to move them to Afghanistan in a bid to rid the army of Taliban infiltrators, officials said today. The new policy was crafted in response to a recent spate of incidents in which Afghan soldiers reportedly with links to militants carried out attacks against NATO troops. “We have been told to ask our soldiers who have relatives in Pakistan to move them to Afghanistan,” Abdul Hamid Hamid, the army corps commander in Kandahar, told AFP, adding that the policy was not yet finalised. “Sometimes their families are used as hostages by some intelligence agencies to put pressure on them to do what they don’t want to,” he said. Most of the soldiers who are recruited in Kandahar have families in Pakistan, he added. Kandahar is the birthplace of the Taliban whose government was toppled by a US-led invasion in 2001 following the September 11 attacks. The militants, who are believed to have

sanctuaries in Pakistan, have waged an increasing insurgency against the USbacked Afghan government and foreign forces. “We have put up more strict rules in enlisting the new recruits. Those who have families in Pakistan are checked more seriously,” ministry of defence spokesman Daulat Waziri said. A renegade Afghan soldier who shot dead four French troops in January had visited Peshawar, Pakistan’s main northwestern city that borders Taliban and al-Qaeda strongholds near the Afghan border, before rejoining the army, according to ofﬁcials. Six per cent of overall NATO deaths in Afghanistan have been attributed to attacks by Afghan security forces, according to a conﬁdential alliance report leaked to the media. Some 40 attacks were reportedly committed by Afghan forces against NATO troops in the last four years, including 18 last year. There are about 130,000 NATO troops in Afghanistan, working with more than 300,000 members of the Afghan security forces.

Iran’s Offer to Talk About Its Nuclear Program Eases Tension For Now Afghanistan should give priority to opium fight: UN Chief UN Secretary General Ban Kimoon urged the Afghan government to prioritize fight against opium cultivation and production and drugs smuggle. While speaking during a UN session Ban Ki-moon pointed towards Paris Pact and said drugs smuggle from Afghanistan still remains a serious concern. Around 50 states vowed to fight against narcotics and opium cultivation in Afghanistan based on the Paris pact. Reduction of the opium prices in European markets is a major port of the Paris Pact. However the pact and various other efforts put in place by the Afghan government failed to reduce opium cultivation and smuggle in Afghanistan. According to United Nations reports, Afghanistan provides around 90% opium in the world and the opium cultivation was increased more than

60% last year. In the meantime Afghan ofﬁcials believe that increased opium cultivation in Afghanistan has direct links with the increased price of drugs in the global markets. Zarar Ahmad Muqbil on February 08, 2012 announced that opium prices had gone up by 3 times as compared to previous year which encourages the Afghan farmers to cultivate opium. This comes as the Afghan government ofﬁcials emphasized for the reduction

of opium cultivation and production during the past 10 years however recent reports suggest an increase of 61% in opium production in Afghanistan last year. Meanwhile poppy cultivation also shows an increase of 7% last year as compared to previous years. Afghan officials expressed concerns for growing opium cultivation and production in a number of regions where the central government does not have full security control. According to reports opium cultivation was high in those areas where the Taliban militants were actively operating. Majority of the opium were cultivated in five main provinces of Afghanistan including southern Helmand, Kandahar and Uruzgan provinces and also Farah and Badghis provinces in the west of the country. Afghan officials and international community believe that increased

opium cultivation in southern and eastern regions of the country have direct links with increased instability in these regions. In the meantime Afghan interior ministry ofﬁcials announced that poppy cultivation was reduced to 0% in 17 provinces of Afghanistan while in 6 other provinces of Afghanistan it is on the verge of getting reduced to the same level. Afghan government also vowed to provide aid package of USD 1,000,000 for those provinces where there is no opium cultivation.

Heroin production in Afghanistan has risen 61% The West is losing the heroin war in Afghanistan – ten years after Tony Blair pledged that wiping out the drug was one of the main reasons for invading the country. Despite spending £18billion and a conﬂict which has so far cost the lives of

almost 400 British troops, production of the class-A drug by Afghan farmers rose between 2001 and 2011 from just 185 tons to a staggering 5,800 tons. It increased by 61 per cent last year alone. Such has been the failure to combat the problem that more than 90 per cent of the heroin sold on Britain’s streets is still made using opium from Afghanistan. The United Nations yesterday warned that the situation was out of control.

SAARC

Saarc international I Thursday 23 February 2012

WEEKLY REVIEW OF BANGLADESH NEWS

Relief schemes turn into farce

Some 67 tonnes of rice and wheat meant for a test relief programme at Sadullapur upazila in Gaibandha have been utilised only on paper, without any work being done, according to an enquiry report. Under a government scheme for generating employment, 57 projects involving small-scale repairs of schools and mosques were taken up in the upazila in ﬁscal 2009-10. The repairs were supposed to be done with the proceeds -- more than Tk 25 lakh -- from sales of the grains. Winning the contracts, local political leaders and activists formed committees to implement the projects. They received the allocated rice and wheat for the jobs but did nothing. There have been allegations of corruption against all 57 committee presidents. The food and disaster management ministry issued several notices to the committees asking them to return the money but they did not pay any heed to it. However, four committee presidents refunded the money because they wanted to contest the last union parishad polls. The ministry’s ﬁndings show how test relief funds get squandered every year. Nearly 4.1 lakh tonnes of grains worth about Tk 1,200 crore

have been allocated this year under the scheme. In Sadullapur, the test relief programme involved the renovation of mosques, schools, madrasas, Muktijoddha Sangsad offices and public toilets and purchase of school furniture. Sadullapur Project Implementation Officer Moniruzzaman told The Daily Star that failing to get the refund even after serving several notices, the authorities in May last year filed cases against 53 project chiefs under the Public Demands Recovery Act, 1913. His predecessor Abu Hena, along with the then upazila nirbahi officer Ariful Haq, had inspected the project areas and submitted a report on the

Shahara rules out any cover-up Home Minister Shahara Khatun on Saturday ruled out allegations of covering up the investigation of journalist couple Meherun Runi and Sagar Sarowar murder.

She said Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina herself has been supervising the investigation into the gruesome killing of the two journalists. “Apart from the prime minister, the inspector general of police and I myself are monitoring it. There is no question of concealing anything because of pressure from anybody,” the home minister said. She made the statement while talking to journalists after inaugurating an outdoor shooting range at Mill Barrack Police Lines in the capital’s Gendaria. Meanwhile, several organisations of journalists, including two factions

of Bangladesh Federal Union of Journalists, Jatiya Press Club and Dhaka Reporters’ Unity on Saturday jointly announced to hold a rally at 11:00am on Wednesday in front of the Jatiya Press Club. The decision was made at a joint meeting with the leaders from all the journalists’ organisations. Sagar, a news editor of private television station Maasranga, and his wife Runi, a senior reporter of another private television channel ATN Bangla, were found murdered on February 11 at their rented house in the city’s west Rajabazar. Assuring people of unveiling the mystery behind the double murder, Shahara said, “As long as I am the home minister, none will be able to cover it up. As far as I know, noone is trying to cover-up the case or mislead the investigation.” It would not be possible for anyone to protect those who are responsible, she said. Asked why the probe is taking too long, the home minister dodged an answer and said: “Those who are investigating the case can reply.”

unﬁnished task to the Department of Relief and Rehabilitation (DRR). Hena, who incurred the project

heads’ wrath for the report, was transferred to the hill tracts region in October last year, said Moniruzzaman. Later, Hena got a posting in Phulchhari, Gaibandha. Abu Hena alleged that the project chiefs had tried to fend off allegations against them by “exerting political pressure on us to write to the DRR asking for a further enquiry in a bid to delay the process and avoid refunding the money.” DRR Deputy Director in Dhaka AFM Muhitul Islam, who had conducted an enquiry the second time, said none of the 57 project heads did their jobs in ﬁscal 2009-10. “But during enquiry the second time, a few of them showed us

some work that they did in a hurry after the expiry of the deadline to complete the projects.” Since the deadline stipulated in the notices for refunding the price of the allotted grains has expired, the project heads now have to pay double the amount. Muhitul Islam said they all have to refund double the price of the allotted grains even if they claim that they had completed the task after the given period. Sadullapur UNO Golam Mowla told The Daily Star that the defaulters would have to settle the cases by paying double the price of the grains. Otherwise, the project heads will face arrest warrants.

Reinstate CG or quit, Khaleda tells govt

BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia warned the ruling party that it would either have to hold the next general election under a non-party government or step down from the power. “Ball is now in their [government’s] court… They will have to take measures to hold elections under a neutral and non-party government,” she insisted while addressing a rally at Adarsha

Samad School ground in Laxmipur. “It doesn’t matter whether name of that government is caretaker government or anything else,” the opposition leader said. Khaleda threatened of declaring “tougher” agitation programme if the demand is not fulﬁlled before BNP’s rally in Dhaka on March 12. She asked the government not to

obstruct her partymen from joining the programme. “We’ll enforce such programme after the March 12 rally. The government will be forced to restore caretaker government system or quit power,” she said, adding that Awami League has put the democracy into trouble by scrapping the caretaker system. Khaleda ﬁrmly said, “The ruling Awami League will have to accept the demand for a neutral caretaker government system to protect the democracy.” “Awami League is not a democratic party at all. They believe in one-party rule. Otherwise, they bring army into power,” she alleged. She said the AL has a godfather at every district including Laxmipur where BNP leader Nurul Islam was murdered and the president had pardoned the killers.

Bangladesh tightens moneylaundering laws, targets terrorism Bangladesh has tightened its laws to attack the financing of terrorism and corruption, the chief financial regulator said Saturday. Legislation approved by parliament this week empower regulators to monitor all suspicious transactions by private corporations, nongovernmental organizations and other non-banking financial institutions as well as banks. “It will help prevent laundering money for terrorism purposes and bring back the money allegedly siphoned off to other countries from Bangladesh by politically influential quarters,” Atiur Rahman, governor of Bangladesh Bank, told dpa. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Wazed’s majority party approved the laws while the main opposition

alliance boycotted the session. Finance Minister Abul Maal Abdul Muhith told parliament Bangladesh had international political commitments to clamp down on illegal ﬁnancial transactions. The measures also appeared aimed at the premier’s political foes. Wazed’s Awami League has vowed

to bring back a “huge amount of money” allegedly laundered by political leaders, including two sons of her chief rival, former prime minister Khaleda Zia. Both men, Tarique Rahman and Arafat Rahman, live abroad and face money laundering charges at home.

Saarc international I Thursday 23 February 2012

SAARC

WEEKLY REVIEW OF BHUTAN NEWS Irrigation sector

Neglected for over a decade

Irrigation canal in Tsangchuthama in Samdrupjongkhar has remained like so for the last 8yrs. Farmers across the country now would not have to contribute labour in the construction of new irrigation schemes in their communities like they did in the past. This is one of the signiﬁcant changes incorporated in the revised National Irrigation Policy, 2011, that was approved by the cabinet this week. While this change may have no relation to the irrigation system, what is more important is that the approval of the revised policy has channelled

the attention of the government to irrigation schemes that has remained “neglected” for more than a decade. Despite its importance to them, farmers continued to prioritise farm roads to irrigation schemes, said engineering division ofﬁcials. While many irrigation structures are poorly built and prone to damage during peak monsoons and high water demand periods. The decision to pull all engineers across the country under the ministry of works and human settlement also had a drastic impact on irrigation development.

Judiciary of Bhutan The judiciary of Bhutan saw an encouraging sign in the Iron Female Rabbit year. Last year, the network of 37 courts all across the country, including the Supreme Court and the high court, decided 13,637 cases, compared with 12,518 cases in 2010. Of the many cases decided, 9,695 were done within 108 days; while matrimonial cases still topped civil cases at 3,479. A total of 224 cases were appealed to the HC, out of which 41 went to the SC. The most controversial and high proﬁle case handled by the SC in the Rabbit Year was the Samtse mining case. The SC on December 31 upheld the lower court’s judgment, which had sentenced two of the main accused to a prison term of seven years and more. The former mining head of geology and mines, Sangay Gyaltshen, was sentenced to seven years and three months imprisonment, and ordered to reimburse more than Nu 43.6M to the government within six months. The second appellant in the case,

Royal pardon beneﬁts 16

Allying widespread conjectures rife on the social network sites, amnesty committee members said, on February 11 this year, 16 people, convicted under the previous Tobacco Control Act, were released. They were granted royal pardon, a prerogative the Constitution provides His Majesty the King under article 2, section 16 (c). They were among 43 others who were convicted under the same law and the cases of whom the amnesty panel reviewed to determine who were eligible for the royal pardon. Who made up the amnesty panel remains conﬁdential for it is deemed that doing so would put undue pressure on the members. The panel reviewed the cases based on the amended Tobacco Control Act that

gained 68 votes of the 69 members present at the joint sitting of the Parliament in January. For the remaining 27 of the 43 people imprisoned under the previous Act, the amended provisions of the Act rendered little clemency. A source within the judiciary said the 16 people who were released, going by the amended tobacco Act, possessed tobacco or its products that ﬁt them in categories of misdemeanour, petty misdemeanour and held them liable for ﬁnes. “They were all found in possession of small amounts of tobacco for personal consumption,” he said, adding they had just not paid up their taxes. “The remaining 27 people, despite amendments in penalties of the previous law, still fall under fourth

degree felony” he said. “They were caught with huge quantities of tobacco and its products.” One amnesty panel member explained they could not recommend all 43 people for royal pardon because that would set a precedent deleterious to the Act. “We’ll be making a mockery of the law,” he said. “People will bring in tobacco in quantities beyond permissible limits and they will cite the precedent we might decide on today.” The amended tobacco Act, however, sources within the judiciary said, has not been signed into law yet. His Majesty has yet to assent to the changes with which the earlier Act has been incorporated. Until then, court judges will continue referring the former Tobacco Control Act and not the amended one. With 13 cases relating to people who were arrested for bringing in tobacco and its products or found in possession of it, still under trial or pending under the previous law, they stand to benefit from the amended one. The courts, a judge said, would refer laws that stood to benefit defendants. The first person to be incarcerated under the previous law, 23-year-old monk Sonam Tshering who served about a year behind bars from the three years the courts handed down, was also released. He was caught carrying 48 packets of Baba chewing tobacco without paying the duty.

the then geology and mines area coordinator Nagay, was sentenced to seven years in prison. In addition to the prison term, Nagay has been ordered to refund the government Nu 47.8M within six months from the award of judgment. The court’s judgment, in relation to Dawa Tshering of Kenpa Hiring agency, liable for a fine for failure to file in his tax returns, was, however, annulled. Instead of having to reimburse more than Nu 13M to the government, as decided by the high court, the amount dropped to more than Nu 3.9M, a difference of Nu 9.2M. He has also been given six months to refund the amount. However, SC was criticised for applying the law retroactively for Dawa Tshering, as the crime was committed before the law was enacted. Some even questioned the amendment of the tax act. With the Bhutanese judicial system undergoing reform for many years now, both in terms of qualified judicial personnel and new infrastructure, access to courts has vastly improved from what it used to be in the past. There are now courts in all the dungkhags in the country, and this has taken the legal system

closer to the people. All these changes could have contributed to the increasing numbers of cases the courts are now seeing. But for some citizens, the primary question is the accountability of the justice system itself. Through the past year, the way the judiciary handled the tobacco cases and LG election dispute cases has shaken their conﬁdence. The issue of accountability came up in the National Assembly in January this year, where members called for a mechanism to bring check and balance in the judiciary. While members said the manner in which the election commission ofﬁcials conducted the elections only invited several disputes, the judiciary, without considering the legalities of their intervention, took up and, in some cases even passed judgments on election disputes. Some members also pointed out that the judiciary should be held accountable for all the strain and trouble they caused the electorate in rural areas. Out of 20, 13 dzongkhags of Samtse, Sarpang, Samdrupjongkhar, Lhuentse, Pemagatshel, Punakha, Dagana, Trashigang, Tsirang, Gasa, Haa, Wangduephodrang and Trongsa faced issues of election disputes that reached the courts. Others also question the improved access to justice. The high court did not allow around 49 cases to appeal to the recently formed SC, the highest appellate body in the country, citing that those cases happened before the Constitution was adopted.

Dr. Avtar Lit

Asif Ghazali Kismat Radio

CEO, Litt Corporation Ltd

• Tune in on 1035 AM in Greater London • DAB Digital Radio in West Yorkshire • Nationally on Sky 0173 • Listen live at www.kismatradio.com

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Saarc international I Thursday 23 February 2012

WEEKLY REVIEW OF INDIA NEWS

Killing of ﬁshermen: Italy to move Kerala HC, rushes diplomat to India Italy on Tuesday rushed a top diplomat to India amid a deepening row over the arrest of two Italian naval guards who also plan to move the Kerala high court on Wednesday to quash the FIR charging them with the killing of two Indian ﬁshermen at sea. Junior foreign minister Staffan De Mistura will “continue on a political level the action so far carried out by a delegation of experts from the Italian foreign, defence and justice ministries,” the Italian foreign ministry said in a statement in Rome while announcing the visit. The statement also said that foreign minister Giulio Terzi will visit India ‘personally’ next Tuesday. The petition by the two marines Massimiliano Latorre and Salvatore

Girone was likely to be filed in the high court tomorrow, a counsel representing them told reporters in Kochi. It had not yet been decided on whose behalf -- government or any other party -- the petition would be filed, the counsel, who did not want to be named, said. Italy says the men have immunity from Indian law as the tanker, the Enrica Lexie, was flying with an Italian

Country’s security a shared responsibility: Centre

Faced with strong opposition from non-Congress Chief Ministers over setting up of an anti-terror body, the Centre on Saturday reached out to them saying security of the country is a shared responsibility and without coordination among states the war against terror cannot be won. Inaugurating an NSG hub in Badu, about 50 kms from Kolkata, Home Minister P Chidambaram said the Constitution assigns law and order to the state government and also to the Centre to protect the country against external aggression or internal disturbance. He said the founding fathers of the Constitution were also wise when they made article 355. “That is why they made national security, internal security a shared responsibility.” “I have a responsibility to work with the states to quell terror, any militancy or rebellion,” he said at the function, which was skipped by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who has opposed the formation of NCTC. In Karnal, Union Home Secretary R K Singh said the Centre has the duty to ﬁght those who wage war against the nation and this war can’t be won if states start working independently. “It is the duty of the Central

government to deal with terrorists and to coordinate with the states to tackle the terrorists. If all states work independently and if there is no coordination, can we win this ﬁght ?,” he said. Singh said the section that has been talked about, was part of that law (Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act) since 2004. “It is the Central government’s responsibility to tackle someone who wages war against the nation. That is in the Union List (in the Constitution). We can’t ﬁght terrorism in this manner (with states opposing NCTC),” the Home Secretary said. Banerjee has joined over halfa-dozen Chief Ministers of nonCongress-ruled states in opposing the Centre’s plan to create a National Counter-Terrorism Centre (NCTC), claiming that it violated the federal provisions of the Constitution and was an attempt to usurp the states rights. The others who protested included Naveen Patnaik (Odisha), J Jayalalitha (Tamil Nadu), Narendra Modi (Gujarat), Shivraj Singh Chauhan (Madhya Pradesh) and P K Dhumal (Himachal Pradesh). Chidambaram did not refer to the controversy over the NCTC, nor did he make any comment on the Chief Ministers’ opposition to it. Making a point that the Centre did not discriminate between states on the basis of political parties that ruled governments there, he said the Centre worked with the previous government in West Bengal and “we are happy to work with the new government.”

ﬂag in international waters as it sailed from Singapore to Egypt when the shooting occurred on Wednesday. The two soldiers, who were deployed on the ship under a new law passed in Italy last year to protect against the growing threat from pirates in the Indian Ocean, were produced before a magistrate in Kerala on Monday. They were escorted off the vessel and arrested on Sunday.

Italian officials have said the Indian fishing boat behaved aggressively and was repeatedly warned by officers on board the ship before shots were fired. But India has protested against the deaths of the unarmed men and said that the suspects must face justice in local courts. Following the killing of two Indian fishermen by the crew of an Italian

ship in India’s territorial waters, public outrage against the Indian government is gaining momentum. Four days after the incident, protesters have taken to the streets voicing anger at the government’s failure to take serious action over the matter. The Italian ship Enrica Lexie opened fire against the fishermen’s boat off the coast of Kerala, killing Ajesh Binki, 25, and Gelastine, 45. This is while the Italian navy claims that the fishing boat approached their vessel with aggression. The interrogation of the two accused, who were remanded in three-day police custody Monday, by a court in Kollam district continued . The naval crew has claimed that the fishermen were killed on suspicion of being pirates.

Saarc international I Thursday 23 February 2012

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Chechnya receives four hairs of Phrophet Muhammad (SAW) Turkish Prime Minister Recep Erdogan has given three hairs of Prophet Mohammad as a gift to the Chechen Republic. The hairs were taken from Istanbul to Grozny on Thursday, February 2, Interfax reported. “The Chechen diaspora in Turkey asked Erdogan to give the holy hairs to Chechnya. We received a positive response within a month and the priceless gift has been delivered to Grozny today,” Aihan Ergyuven, chairman of the Chechen committee Sivas, told reporters at Grozny airport. Despite cold weather, thousands of Chechens, including Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov, gathered at Grozny airports and in the city’s streets to welcome the gift. A

religious ritual marking the event was held in the republic’s central mosque. According to earlier reports,

January 26, 2011. The hair is a capsule, which is located in a box. According to historical documents, the hair, which was taken to the

A delegation of the Chechen diaspora in Turkey brought the relic to Grozny, the capital of Chechnya. Thousands of local

a different hair of Prophet Mohammad was taken from Uzbekistan to Chechnya on

Grozny central mosque, had been in Uzbekistan since the times of the Caliphate.

residents, including Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov, took to the streets to welcome the

relic despite severe winter cold. A special service devoted to the event was arranged at the central mosque of the republic. A week ago, on January 26, another hair of Prophet Muhammad was delivered to Chechnya from Uzbekistan. The hair was taken to the Akhmad Kadyrov Mosque, the central mosque of Grozny. “This is a huge event in the life of Muslims of not only our republic, but of the whole Northern Caucasus and Russia in general. The hair of the Prophet will at ﬁrst be delivered from the airport to The Heart of Chechnya Mosque. Afterwards, it will travel across the republic, so that all our residents could see the relic,” a Chechen mufti said.

India’s extraordinary 26/11: Court accepts eradication of polio to chargesheet against Headley become official India is on track to be declared officially free of polio by the World Health Organisation. There has not been a single recorded new case of the disease since January last year, and if that remains the case for the rest of the year the disease will be officially eradicated. It is an extraordinary achievement for a country where as recently as 1995 there were 32,000 polio cases and young victims can still be seen with misshapen limbs begging at traffic lights throughout the main cities. But officials believe this will soon be a symbol of India’s past as rising wealth is reflected in better basic healthcare. The campaign to eradicate polio

million children under five - around 15 per cent of India’s population. Remarkable achievement India used to be the epicentre of polio. In 1985, there were an estimated 150,000 cases in India and as recently as 2009 there were 741, more than any other country in the world. But its last case was in January 2011 - a remarkable achievement. But it won’t be officially removed from the list of polio endemic countries until the result of lab tests confirm that it is no longer to be found in sewage. That confirmation is expected in the next few weeks. It will leave three endemic countries: Pakistan, Afghanistan and Nigeria where the virus has never been under control. All saw an increase

in India was launched by its government in 1999 and has been supported by international health charities and groups like Rotary in whose volunteers, including many from Britain, have helped distribute the vaccines. To achieve “polio-free” status by January next year ofﬁcials and volunteers are staging “National Immunisation Days” around the country to immunize more than 170

in cases last year. The success in India has been achieved through a partnership between the Indian government, with support from the World Health Organization (WHO), Rotary, Unicef and with major contributions from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Last year the UK government doubled its support to the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI).

A Delhi court on Saturday accepted the National Investigation Agency (NIA) chargesheet against PakistaniAmerican David Coleman Headley and eight others including Tawahur Hussain Rana, Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi and Haﬁz Saeed, for their alleged roles in various terror acts in the country. District Judge HS Sharma took cognizance of the chargesheet ﬁled by the NIA against all the nine accused. “In view of facts contained in the report (chargesheet) under section 173 of the CrPC, 1973 and the documents placed on record, I take cognizance against accused one to accused nine. I would like to add that the prosecution is still in the process of collecting more evidence which is permissible under section 173 (8) of the CrPC,” the judge said. The NIA in its chargesheet had charged Headley and 8 others for planning and executing terror strikes in India, including the 26/11 Mumbai attack. The court has issued process to procure the presence of four accused, including Headley and his PakistaniCanadian accomplice Tahawwur

Rana for March 13. Following the development the NIA would now be able to seek extradition of Headley and other accused. Besides the four, the court has issued non bailable warrants against Pakistan Army ofﬁcials Major Iqbal and Major Sameer Ali, AlQaeda operative Illyas Kashmiri, Headley’s handler Sajid Malik and former Pakistani Army ofﬁcer Abdul Rehman Hashmi. The court also allowed the NIA’s plea to issue a letter of request to the Kingdom of Morocco for judicial assistance. “What the NIA intends to do is to investigate the matter i.e. to collect more evidence. Without having the assistance of the court or the authority in Kingdom of Morocco, it would not be possible for the investigating agency to collect evidence against the accused.... The investigation can’t be throttled,” the court said, adding, the letter of request would be handed over to the NIA on February 29. The NIA had urged the court to issue a letter rogatory to Morocco to help it further investigate the role of Headley’s second wife, Faiza

Outalha, in the 26/11 attacks and ascertain her whereabouts. The NIA had initially registered a case against Headley and Rana but after a thorough probe, seven other names were included in the case. The NIA had on December 24 last year ﬁled the voluminous chargesheet against Headley, Rana, Saeed and others. The chargesheet, which was ﬁled after two years of probe by the central agencies, contained statements of 134 witnesses along with 210 documents and 106 e-mails. Headley and Rana are at present in the custody of the US authorities and the NIA has only got a limited access to Headley who had entered into plea bargain with US authorities to escape harsh sentence. The court also said that while taking cognizance on the charge sheet, it has to take only a prima facie view. “The taking of cognizance means the point in time when the court takes judicial notice of an offence with a view to initiate proceedings in respect of such offence which appears to have been committed. Both Headley and Rana are at present in the custody of the US authorities and the NIA has only got a limited access to Headley who had entered into plea bargain with US authorities to escape harsh sentence.

South Asia Tribune I Thursday 23 February 2012

Echelon :World Spy Network

UK anti-terror plan to sweep up email, phone, online records Details of every phone call and text message, email traffic and websites visited online are to be stored in a series of vast databases under new Government antiterror plans and details will be kept for up to a year Details about text messages, phone calls, emails and every website visited by members of the public will be

kept on record in a bid to combat terrorism. The Government will order broadband providers, landline and mobile phone companies to save the information for up to a year under a new security scheme. What is said in the texts, emails or phone calls will not be kept but information on the senders, recipients and their geographical whereabouts will be saved. Direct messages to users of social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter will also be saved and so will information exchanged between players in online video games. The information will be stored by individual companies rather than the government. The news has sparked huge concerns about the risk of hacking and fears that the sensitive information could be used to send spam emails and texts. The plan has been drawn up on the advice of MI5, the home security service, MI6, which operates abroad, and GCHQ, the Government’s “listening post” responsible for monitoring communications. Under the scheme the security services would be granted “real time” access to phone and Internet records of people they want to put under surveillance, as well as the ability to reconstruct their movements through the information stored in the databases. Access to such information would be highly prized by hackers and could be exploited to send spam e-mail and texts. Details of which websites people visit could also be

exploited for commercial gain. THE SMARTPHONE APPS THAT SPY ON YOUR CHILDREN Smartphone apps are being used by the companies that sell them to store information about your children. The apps can gather information of their whereabouts,

who they are talking to and even store photographs. Small print in the information provided before it is downloaded gives permission for the information to be accessed. The Sunday Times examined 200 apps available and out of those 170 provided the right to access some information stored on the phone. Developers have said they need the information in order to ensure the products work properly but some of the data accessed has little relevance. Last week it was discovered the app for Twitter had been secretly accessing mobile phone address books. Director of Big Brother Watch, Nick Pickles, told The Sunday Times: ‘How many parents knew that a simple mobile phone game would give someone the ability to access their child’s location, see what their camera lens is looking at or see the phone number of who is calling their child?’ Mr Pickles added it was proof of how weak regulation was.

In the greatest surveillance effort ever established, the US National Security Agency (NSA) has created a global spy system, codename ECHELON, which captures and analyzes virtually every phone call, fax, email and telex message sent anywhere in the world. ECHELON is controlled by the NSA and is operated in conjunction with the Government Communications Head Quarters (GCHQ) of England, the Communications Security Establishment (CSE) of Canada, the Australian Defense Security Directorate (DSD), and the General Communications Security Bureau (GCSB) of New Zealand. These organizations are bound together under a secret 1948 agreement, UKUSA, whose terms

and text remain under wraps even today. The ECHELON system is fairly simple in design: position intercept stations all over the world to

optical character recognition (OCR) programs, and look for code words or phrases (known as the ECHELON “Dictionary”) that will prompt the computers to flag the message for recording and transcribing for future analysis. Intelligence analysts at each of the respective “listening stations” maintain separate keyword lists for them to analyze any conversation or document flagged by the system, which is then forwarded to the respective intelligence agency headquarters that requested the

foreign countries and their activities by intercepting and studying their electro-magnetic transmissions. Like all major powers the Unitedv Kingdom engages in this practice, and the fact that it does so in peacetime, and that GCHQ is the responsible Department, was officially disclosed by the Prime Minister on 12 May 1983. GCHQ was put on a statutory basis with the coming into force of the Intelligence Services Act 1994 on 15 December 1994

Echelon

World Spy Network

Multi-national, industrial espionage facilities keep track of global electronic data transfer. Tools of today’s Orwellian world. Echelon, under U.S.’s NSA and other world superpowers, can intercept two billion phone calls per day, along with faxes and e-mails and other electronic communications.

capture all satellite, microwave, cellular and fiberoptic communications traffic, and then process this information through the massive computer capabilities of the NSA, including advanced voice recognition and

intercept. GCHQ Cheltenham is the centre for Her Majesty’s Government’s Signal Intelligence (Sigint) activities. Sigint is the term given to information gathered about

Menwith Hill Station is an extensive complex of domes, vertical masts and satellite dishes, as well as more than 4.9 acres of buildings. There are over 30 spherical domes and three satellite dishes, one of which is sixty

meters in diameter, all pointing in an easterly direction. The tall radio masts appear to be high frequency radio supports. Since 1985 the number of domes and dishes at the base has increased from four to 30. Menwith Hill is the largest electronic monitoring station in the world. It is run by the US National Security Agency (NSA), which monitors the world’s communication for US intelligence. Menwith Hill employs 1,200 US civilians and servicemen to work around the clock inside “hardened” buildings intercepting and analysing communications mainly from Europe, Russia and the Middle East. Until a few years ago, the existence of the NSA was a secret and its charter and any mention of its duties are still classified. But, it does have a Web site) in which it describes itself as being responsible for the signals intelligence and communications security activities of the US government. The expansion is to establish a European ground relay system at Menwith Hill which will be part of a new generation of satellite communications. In addition, an initiative to address security deficiencies at Menwith Hill includes fencing the perimeter of the site. Current activities are conducted under two systems - SILKWORTH and MOONPENNY. Its primary targets are Europe, northern Africa and western Asia. This is because satellites which are positioned to provide communications in these regions are visible from Menwith Hill, but would not be visible from the United States. The NSA aims to collect, examine and process all international (and many national) communications. The scale of the collection system was described by the former Director of the NSA, Vice Admiral William Studeman, in 1992. At that time the NSA’s collection system generated about 2 million intercepted messages per hour. Of these, all but about 13,000 an hour were discarded. Of these about 2,000 met forwarding criteria, of which some 20 are selected by analysts, who then write 2 reports for further distribution. Therefore, in 1992 MHS was intercepting 17.5 billion messages a year. Of these some 17.5 million may have been studied for analysis. Prior to extensive automation, sorting of messages was carried out by reference to a list of targets, known as a “watch list”. In the last decade, this list has evolved into a system called project ECHELON. In this system computers, known as DICTIONARY are used to select messages which may include combinations of specific names, dates, places, subjects etc. DICTIONARY automatically searches through intercepted messages looking for particular subjects and people from target lists. Those matching particular criteria are sent for further processing by analysts. Key words for message interception are numerically coded and include diplomatic messages as well as regional communications. The American authorities largely refuse to answer questions, give out information or allow reporters, MPs

or MEPs into the base. Answers are refused to many of the questions that MPs ask about Menwith Hill in the House of Commons although many MPs have asked them in the past. Among the most prolific questioners of the status and role of Menwith Hill was Bob Cryer, who was MP for Bradford South until his tragic death in 1994. His final speech to the House, in an adjournment debate, was a succinct rendering of the questions at the heart of the campaign. Questions continue to be asked in the House of Commons but satisfactory answers are very rare. Menwith Hill received an award for the part it played in “Desert Storm” during the Gulf War. Menwith’s ongoing expansion will also enable it to transmit and receive communications and photographic images from space. This will help the US Space Command in its mission to “see” and “hear” everything on the planet and enable laser weapons to

be able to reach anywhere on the earth within a target area of about six feet. The launch of 72 pounds of plutonium into space on Cassini in October 1997 was also connected to this space weapons program. Enormous amounts of power have to be generated in space in order to fire the laser weapons. Does anyone have any privacy anymore in the digital age? Our answer is they do NOT. Once you adopt the digital lifestyle you give up privacy as it was once known. But we think the only solution to this is that NO one will have privacy. We will revert back to life in a small village. There is only one way through which Muslims can preserve their faith in such a world and it is given in Sūrah al-Kahf of the Qur’ān.

Read detailed article by Shiekh Imran Hosein on page 29

NEWS

Saarc international I Thursday 23 February 2012

Brahmdagh Bugti welcomes Balochistan bill Will support US, NATO or Indian intervention Nawabzada Brahmdagh Bugti, President of the Baloch Republican Party, has welcomed a resolution on Balochistan tabled in the United States’ House of Representatives. Brahmdagh Bugti on Wednesday held a telephonic press conference from Switzerland. He rejected the Balochistan Package and the proposed All Parties Conference by saying that the APC is not the solution to the issue. “America must intervene in Balochistan and stop the ethnic cleansing of Baloch people,” said Brahamdagh, 30, as reporters listened with rapt attention to his telephonic address on Wednesday at the Quetta Press Club. “We know that foreign countries have their personal interest but we must think

of our greater interest.” A resolution was introduced on February 17 by Congressman Dana Rohrabacher and co-sponsored by two other congressmen in the US

House of Representatives, calling upon Pakistan to recognise the Baloch people’s right to self determination. The bill has outraged Pakistan and leaders and

lawmakers have called it against the country’s sovereignty and an unwelcome intervention by the US. The Baloch leader also criticised the government for not providing access to NGOs and media to Dera Bugti and other areas of the province. ‘Balochistan issue could not be resolved through packages,’ he added. Barhamdagh said the elements responsible for atrocities in Balochistan are now talking about the All Parties’ Conference. He said that Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) chief Nawaz Sharif has now realized the plight of Balochis. He claimed that by raising Balochistan issue, Nawaz wants to save his political interests. Balochistan, Pakistan’s least

Indian ships will lose insurance due to Iran sanctions, may look to China Indian shipping firms will find it difficult to obtain replacement insurance coverage to continue importing Iranian crude oil after new European Union sanctions come into effect, industry sources said. State-run Shipping Corp. of India, the largest tanker owner in India, will lose its EU insurance coverage for its oil tankers operating in Iran from July 1, when European insurers will be prohibited from indemnifying ships carrying Iranian oil. Indian maritime firms are likely to be the most affected in Asia by the sanctions as the other two biggest buyers China and Japan do not rely on European insurers but are covered by domestic providers. India, China and Japan are Iran’s three biggest crude oil buyers

Iran will export a six-month low volume of fuel oil to East Asia in March due to sanctions and volumes will likely drop further as the EU embargo approaches. FEWER OPTIONS A.P. Moller-Maersk, Singaporebased Samco Shipholding, and many other international maritime ﬁrms have halted new deals

with Iran, leaving Asian oil importers to rely more on domestic and state-run ﬁrms to handle the OPEC member’s shipments. All but one of the international P&I clubs, which together cover 95 percent of the world’s tankers against pollution and personal injury claims, are covered by the sanctions since they are based in the European Union or the United States. That leaves India ﬁrms with only a few options -Japan’s P&I club, insurers in China, Russia and the Middle East, or Singapore and Hong Kong. Switching to the Japan P&I club could take months as members have to weigh the risk of a potential new entrant, especially one that wants to do business with Iran, maritime lawyers said.

developed but largest province by area, has undergone a separatist insurgency since the country’s inception. The insurgency escalated into rampant violence after the 2006 murder of Nawab Akbar Khan Bugti, the grandfather of Brahamdagh who now lives in Switzerland.

Ijaz testimony touches on nukes Continued from page 9 >> Two big screens have been installed in the Islamabad High Court to record Ijaz’s statements from the Pakistan High Commission in London via video link. Secretary Memo Commission Raja Jawad Abbas and PML-N lawyer Rashid A Rizvi are at London High Commission while Husain Haqqani s lawyer Zahid Bukhari and Mansor Ijaz s lawyer Akram Sheikh are in Pakistan. The judicial commission investigating the memogate scandal had permitted to record the statement via videoconference after Ijaz refused to appear before the commission in Pakistan due to security concerned expressed by him. All arrangements of recording the statements have already been made in London High Commission and Islamabad High Court building (IHC).

Bangladesh, Nepal, India discuss water sharing Bangladesh, Nepal and India are discussing collaboration in river water sharing, an emotive issue in all three countries, highly placed sources said. “There could be a tri-nation meeting very soon. We are working on it.” The broader idea is to rope in Bhutan as well, where public opinion has not been as vocal as in these three countries over hydel projects and sharing waters of common rivers. Bangladesh has been the most enthusiastic about a sub-regional water sharing arrangement and India, lukewarm. The move is aimed at keeping in step with the other linkages developing among these countries in the form of rail, road and maritime connectivity as also in the power sector. The sources said the tri-nation initiative on a common basin

management of rivers could in future be expanded to include other countries, especially China, which is the source to the Brahmaputra, the mightiest river in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent. Explaining why this idea remained in gestation for a long time, the sources said: “When you

are entering into a project of such dimensions and ramiﬁcations, one should not be hasty. There are political and non-political repercussions.” They cited a Meghalaya cement project, which was to cater for the needs of both India and Bangladesh. But a legal loophole almost shut down the project,

causing hardship to people on both sides. More recently, New Delhi suffered a diplomatic embarrassment when the India-Bangladesh interim treaty on sharing Teesta waters was put in abeyance because West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee felt she had not been kept in the loop during the negotiations. “This has great impact on diplomatic relations. Also, we should avoid people taking a negative perspective about a multicountry project,” the sources said. By addressing public sentiments, the countries will also be facilitating common linkages in other sectors as well, said sources in Dhaka. A rail link between Howrah and Agartala going through Bangladesh is “almost in the ﬁnal stages of agreement on a common draft’’ and the two countries are

looking at power grid connectivity at three points, in addition to joint power plants in Bangladesh (near Khulna) and India (in Tripura). Ofﬁcials in Dhaka say Bangladesh is strongly in favour of common basin management as this will provide a lasting solution for disputes over water sharing. In this respect, they refer to Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s observations at the SAARC summit in the Maldives last November. While this tri-nation initiative will take time to take shape, India for now is focussing on the actual deliverables — with Bangladesh it is actively negotiating the Teesta treaty, which should give way for one on River Feni, and with Nepal the ambitious, multipurpose project approach to shared rivers has been tempered by misgivings in political circles in Kathmandu.

Saarc international I Thursday 23 February 2012

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Nepalese police arrest dozens for smoking cannabis at Hindu festival

Police in Nepal said they had cracked down on members of the public using cannabis at a major Hindu festival where the drug is smoked legally by thousands of holy men to honour a Hindu god. The wandering mystics -- known as sadhus -- use an ancient legal loophole to smoke marijuana during a night of celebrations in honour of Shiva, the Hindu god of destruction, but ordinary Nepalis are not permitted to join them. “We have arrested 70 people including dozens of youths who took excessive marijuana. We have not arrested any sadhus,” said Nepal police spokesman Dhiraj Pratap Shah. Thousands of pilgrims travel to the Pashupatinath temple complex in Kathmandu every year from all over Nepal and India to mark the Shivaratri festival. At one time the government used to provide marijuana for the occasion, but

authorities decided last year to begin enforcing a ban on sadhus selling the drug because of complaints they were dealing to local people. Police in Nepal say they have arrested dozens of people for smoking cannabis

at a religious festival where holy men had received permission to indulge in the drug.

In advance of the festival of Shivratri, the day and night during which Hindus across India and Nepal hold celebrations in honour of Shiva, the god of destruction, permission had been granted for sadhus, or holy men, to smoke the drug. But it appears that large numbers of young men, perhaps holy but certainly

not sadhus, took the opportunity of the festival to partake of a little weed themselves. “We have arrested 70

people including dozens of youths who took excessive marijuana,” police spokesman Dhiraj Pratap Shah told the Agence France-Presse. “We have not arrested any sadhus.” Every year, thousands of pilgrims from across Nepal and India travel to the celebrated Pashupatinath temple in Kathmandu to mark the Shivaratri festival. With a nod to historical traditions and a belief that Shiva himself

This year, around 5,000 police were on duty as part of a huge security operation and ofﬁcer had orders to crack down on any non-holy men found smoking. “The Pashupati Area Development Trust has allowed the sadhus to use the drugs only for themselves,” added the police spokesman. More than a thousand of the police ofﬁcers on duty were armed. Bomb disposal squads of the Nepali Army,

may have enjoyed the drug, authorities at the temple grant the nomadic sadhus permission to smoke cannabis. Until last year, they even provided the holy men with free supplies of the drug, until reports emerged of them selling it to ordinary pilgrims.

water canons, riot control vehicles, ambulances and sniffer dogs were also reportedly on duty. Health volunteers and paramedics set up tents to provide medical services to the devotees, many of whom arrive many days in advance of the festival.

Gilani condemns US Balochistan resolution ‘US bill on Balochistan driven by arrogance and ignorance’ Pakistan has severely criticised and condemned a move by three US lawmakers of tabling a resolution in the House of representative which said the Baloch nation has a historic right of self determination. Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani on Saturday condemned a resolution introduced by a US lawmaker calling for self-determination in restive Balochistan province.“This resolution violates our sovereignty and we condemn it,” Gilani told reporters in a televised interaction with media in Karachi. Republican Representative Dana Rohrabacher said that Balochis should be allowed to choose their status. A resolution Friday sponsored by Rohrabacher and two fellow Republicans said the Balochi people “have the right to self-determination and to their own sovereign country, and they should be afforded the opportunity to choose their own status.” Gilani also defended Pakistan’s absence from the Bonn conference on Afghanistan

described the resolution as an “isolated move by a few individuals”. “It was aimed to create distrust between the peoples of the two countries,”she said in a statement. Khar expressed the hope that “this latest tendentious move will not be allowed to sail through the House by a vast majority of US Congressmen who continued to and said the decision was taken in the national interest. He said that Pakistan wanted friendly relations with all neighbouring countries including India. KHAR’s REACTION Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar

support friendly relations between the two countries”. US distances itself from Balochistan resolution United States Embassy in Islamabad on Saturday said that the US policy has nothing to do with the resolution tabled in the US House of Representatives on Balochistan province. There has been strong condemnation by Pakistan over US lawmaker resolution

in House of Representatives seeking self determination for Balochistan. The resolution moved by Congressman Dana Rohrabacher, a California Republican, said the Baloch people “have the right to self-determination and to their own sovereign country; and they should be afforded the opportunity to choose their own status.”

SAARC

Saarc international I Thursday 23 February 2012

WEEKLY REVIEW OF PAKISTAN NEWS

Bill adopted by Senate with two-thirds vote Domestic violence no more a private affair The Senate on Monday unanimously passed a landmark bill making domestic violence against any vulnerable person, including women and children residing in the federal capital a criminal offence and bringing it to public domain. The bill “Domestic Violence (Prevention and Protection) Act 2012″ received support from all the political parties having representation in the upper house forcing Deputy Chairman Jan Mohammad Jamali to put the bill for a vote immediately for its passage instead of sending it again to the house committee concerned. Introducing the bill as a private member, Nilofar Bakhtiar of the Pakistan Muslim League-Q (PML-Q) told the house that it was the same bill that had earlier been passed by the National Assembly a couple of years back but could not get through the Senate after objection raised by some of the members. The Senate adopted the 20th Constitution Amendment Bill on Monday, but not unanimously as the National Assembly had done last week. The adoption of the amendment by the upper house of parliament has cleared the way for the president to sign the bill which envisages an independent and powerful election commission, setting up of a neutral caretaker regime to hold general elections and restoration of 28 suspended lawmakers. Two Jamaat-i-Islami senators, Prof Khurshid Ahmed and Prof Mohammad Ibrahim, voted against the amendment in the ﬁnal count, thus denying the Senate the credit of passing it unanimously. A dissident of the ruling Pakistan

People’s Party, Dr Safdar Abbasi, also supported the objections raised by the JI senators, but eventually he voted in line with the party policy. Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani remained in the house till the passage of the bill. The amendment has validated the election of 28 lawmakers whose membership was suspended by the Supreme Court last month because they had been elected in by-elections conducted by an incomplete Election Commission. After the ﬁnal vote held through division, Deputy Chairman of Senate

Amendment. The PPP senator announced that Prime Minister Gilani had released development funds for senators that had lapsed over the past three years. He said the government had issued a notiﬁcation under which retired legislators would continue to enjoy the privileges available to the sitting lawmakers. Some parliamentary experts termed the government’s act of releasing the lapsed funds an attempt to woo the senators to get their support for the 20th Amendment. Soon after Mr Sheikh’s

amendment asking the government to exclude the role of ECP from the process of appointment of a caretaker set-up. They proposed that instead of the CEC, the chief justice of the Supreme Court should be asked to nominate the caretaker prime minister. Former leader of the house Senator Raza Rabbani forcefully defended the bill and opposed the amendments moved by the JI senators. After the bill’s passage, the prime minister congratulated the senators and said it would strengthen democracy and establish people’s

Jan Mohammad Jamali announced that 74 members, seven more than the required two-third majority in the 100-member house, had voted in favour of the bill and two against it. The JI senators opposed the bill after rejection of their proposed amendments to a number of clauses. The session began two hours late because of a meeting of the treasury members in a committee room in which PPP members were busy in addressing “reservations” of some coalition partners. At the outset of the session, the deputy chairman said he was giving the ﬂoor to PPP chief whip Islamuddin Sheikh because the government was still busy in negotiations with the coalition partners on the 20th

announcement, senators belonging to the ruling coalition entered the chamber and said they had reached an understanding on the 20th Amendment. Sources in the government told Dawn that the senators belonging to the ANP and PML-Q were angry that the PPP did not consult them during its negotiations with the main opposition PML-N on the 20th Amendment. Moreover, a majority of senators were against the provision which gave ﬁnal authority to the chief election commissioner to nominate a caretaker prime minister in the event of failure of the government and the opposition to reach consensus. Later, the JI senators also moved an

confidence in the electoral process. He said he and the opposition leader would not allow any other institution to intervene in the issue of the caretaker set-up. He also asked political parties to sit together to find a solution to the Balochistan problem and said the government was ready to convene an all-parties conference or a joint session of the parliament on the issue. It was after two weeks of haggling that the government and the opposition had joined hands in the National Assembly on Feb 14 to unanimously pass the 20th Amendment, third by the present parliament. After the amendment, the Election Commission has now got a final say

in the appointment of an interim setup at the federal and provincial levels before general elections if politicians and a bipartisan committee of legislators fail to reach a consensus. It also prescribes five-year tenures for four members of the ECP like the chief election commissioner. The original bill had sought only to validate by-elections to 28 seats which had been challenged in the Supreme Court. But the new 11-caluse bill, which replaced the first two-clause draft, also specifies tenures of ECP members and incorporates a procedure for achieving a consensus between a prime minister – or a chief minister in the case of a province – and opposition leader for naming an interim prime minister or chief minister and, in the event of a difference between the two, referring the matter to a bipartisan committee whose failure to reach a consensus will send the matter to the ECP for a final decision. The main clause about the interim set-up, which caused differences and held up the passage of the bill for several weeks, says if an outgoing prime minister and the leader of opposition fail to agree on any person to be appointed as caretaker premier within three days of the dissolution of the assembly, “they shall forward two nominees each to a committee to be immediately constituted by the speaker of the National Assembly comprising eight members of the outgoing National Assembly or the Senate, or both, having equal representation from the treasury and opposition, to be nominated by the prime minister and the leader of the opposition respectively”.

Contempt case against Gilani: Evidence submitted to court Attorney General Maulvi Anwarul Haq submitted to the Supreme Court on Thursday evidence relating to the contempt of court case against Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani. The documents comprised 469 pages in four volumes. But there was no list of prosecution witnesses. The documents will be formally displayed before a sevenjudge bench headed by Justice Nasir-ul-Mulk on Feb 22 in the absence of prime minister’s counsel Barrister Aitzaz Ahsan. The attorney general submitted the evidence as a prosecutor in compliance with

the court’s Feb 13 order in which the prime minister had been formally indicted for committing contempt of the court by not pursuing $60 million graft cases against President Asif Ali Zardari in Switzerland. Barrister Ahsan will submit his list of witnesses, evidence and documents in defence of the prime minister on Feb 27 and will be produced before the court on Feb 28. The evidence ﬁled by the attorney general contains 43 documents mainly consisting of different court orders — Dec 16, 2010, NRO verdict, Nov 25, 2011, SC judgments in the NRO review

petition and NRO implementation case from May 24, 2010, to Feb 16, 2012, in Ahmed Riaz Sheikh and Adnan A. Khawaja cases. Talking to reporters, the attorney general said there was no

need to provide a list of witnesses in the case against the prime minister because it was not one of criminal contempt, adding that the evidence submitted had the status of witnesses.

“Usually there is no need of any witness when the case is of a civil nature,” he said, adding that the proceedings in the NRO case were of civil nature. The documents also contain an application on behalf of the attorney general seeking permission to submit the documents and an afﬁdavit assuring that he had submitted the documents that he had been able to collect so far. He said he would plead before the court at the next hearing that its order asking him to act as prosecutor in the case was not applicable, though he would be bound to abide by any court direction in this regard.

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WEEKLY REVIEW OF MALDIVE NEWS

Commowealth mission concludes “coup” probe The Commonwealth ministerial mission has concluded their 3 day visit to the country to determine the facts surrounding the last week’s transfer of power in the nation. During a press conference held at the Traders Hotel this evening, the Chair of the group, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Communications of Trinidad & Tobago, Surujrattan Rambachan revealed that they had held detailed discussions with a wide range of stakeholders including President Dr. Mohamed Waheed Hassan Manik, former President Mohamed Nasheed, Speaker of Parliament, Chief Justice, several political parties, independent institutions, relevant military and police personnel as well as many others. He further said that they had held consultation with International partners and prominent members of civil society. Nasheed had announced his resignation in front of the media in the wake of a police mutiny after weeks of opposition protests following the unconstitutional arrest of Criminal Court’s Chief Judge. Since stepping down, Nasheed

has insisted that he was ousted in a “coup d’etat” backed by his successor, then Vice President Waheed. Following questions from the media regarding the legality of the current government, the group stressed that they were strictly a political mission with a mandate to gather information in a non judgmental and impartial fashion. But they did reveal that a lot of information had been acquired including various video and audio graphic materials, some of which were yet to be reviewed. In response to the query whether the group endorse the notion for an early election, the ministers deﬂected the question by stating that the Commonwealth would support the Maldives in every way possible to navigate through these adverse times.

Supreme Court strips Musthafa of MP post The Supreme Court has delivered a verdict that Mohamed Musthafa was no longer considered to be a member of parliament as he no longer fulfilled the criteria needed to hold the position. The verdict was delivered at a hearing held today following a court case filed by a member of the interim council of the Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) Umar Naseer at the Supreme Court to disqualify Musthafa who was the MP for Thimarafushi constituency and member of the Maldivian Democratic Party’s (MDP) parliamentary group from his position. Article 73 of the constitution states that an elected member of parliament would be disqualified if found to have a decreed debt which is not being paid as provided in the judgment. The area was sealed off by the police during the progress of the hearing. Musthafa had claimed at the MDP rally last night that “the Supreme Court cannot do anything.” The case filed by Umar states that Musthafa had not repaid a loan of $31,231.66 (MVR 481,952)

New Maldives leader agrees to poll Maldives Oppn, ruling parties thank India for resolving political impasse

The country’s new leader has reportedly softened his stance and agreed to hold early elections to break a political impasse after his predecessor resigned. President Mohammed Waheed Hassan agreed during talks with India’s Foreign Secretary, Ranjan Mathai, to work on holding elections “as early as considered feasible by all concerned”. The former President, Mohamed Nasheed, has been calling for early elections since he quit last week. Maldives’ ousted President Mohammed Nasheed’s MDP party has said that it was grateful to India

for its “timely intervention” to help resolve the political impasse here, a view shared by the new regime as well. “It has been a positive movement, a forward movement. India’s role was very much important in ensuring that political and democratic process is on,” Ibrahim Hussein Zaki, a senior MDP leader and close aide of Nasheed, said here. “We are grateful to India for the timely intervention,” Zaki, the then Special Envoy to Nasheed, said. New Maldivian President Mohammad Waheed Hassan too thanked India for its efforts aimed

at ending the political crisis here. “I wish to personally thank the Indian Foreign Secretary for his good ofﬁces in facilitating this agreement which needed all sides to put aside partisan interest for the sake of the country,” a statement released by the President’s ofﬁce said. The new government, which had been insisting that the polls would be held only in 2013 as scheduled, appears to have changed its strategy following hectic parleys that Foreign Secretary Ranjan Mathai had with all stakeholders here, including Nasheed. Mathai said India’s understanding was that elections “would be held as early as considered feasible by all concerned”. Maldives was hit by deepening political crisis last week when Nasheed resigned, claiming that he was forced to quit.

borrowed from the Bank of Credit and Commerce International (BCCI) which was formerly run in the country, as per a court order and thus it stripped him off his title and post of MP. Before this, a hearing was held at the Supreme Court on October 20, 2011 and before that on March 17, 2011 which a year after the last hearing regarding the case was held. Musthafa at the hearing on that

day had said that the lower court had on August 26, 1997 ordered his company Seafood and Trade International to repay the loan, but that to this day the loan had not been repaid. The verdict was delivered through a majority of four judges out of the seven presiding over the case. The remaining three Judges had issued two different dissenting opinions pertaining to the case.

Trendsetters on Zing Board the Bollywood express this weekend on Zing free on Sky 789 and Freesat 509: Trendsetters – Sat & Sun @ 5pm Trivia & Trends not to miss Sat 18 Feb - Top highest paid actors of 2011. Actresses who suit in the role of village girls. Latest fashion statements by the stars Sun 19 Feb - People who have been lucky in marriage the second time. Five actors with eccentric behaviour. Late success bloomers of Bollywood. Bollywood Families - Sun @ 6pm Hear the musical success stories of the great Lata Mangeshkar, Asha Bhosale and RD Burman - unique insights into Bollywood families. Brit’s Bollywood – Sun @ 11:30am Kel reviews the latest ﬂick Ek Main Aur Ek Tu and Asad meets the star of Brit-Asian movie Nachle London, in the show that gives Bollywood buffs Britain’s take on B’town. Screen And Beyond - Sun @ 6:30pm Meet the feisty Deol boy – the rough and tough Sunny Deol on this Sunday’s Screen and Beyond - presenting the little known facets of Bollywood personalities. Also enjoy Bollywood movies every weekend @ 12pm

SAARC

Saarc international I Thursday 23 February 2012

WEEKLY REVIEW OF NEPAL NEWS

20,000 chickens die in Nepalese man -56cm Dhading in two weeks Claims to be world’s shortest

At a time when an outbreak of bird flu have been confirmed in Jhapa, Ilam and Sunsari districts, Dhading, too, saw deaths of thousands of chickens in the past two weeks, raising a fear avian influenza. However, the authorities haven’t confirmed the cause. Local farmers claim that over 20,000 chickens died at various poultry farms at Naubise VDC-1 in Dhading in the past two weeks. Some 3,500 out of 5,600 chickens in Ram-Laxman Poultry Farm died, while Salikram Adhikari’s farm in Dharke saw deaths of around 3,000 chickens. District Veterinary Office (DVO) confirmed 10,000 deaths so far. According to Dr Shivaji Prasad

Das, chief at DVO, the number of deaths in local farms has been rising by the day. “I took my chickens to Gaurishanker Vet Pharma of Kalanki, Kathmandu,” said Ram Koirala, owner of RamLaxman Poultry Farm. He said that the technicians there told that the chickens were suffering from a disease called “Ranikhet”. “We took all necessary treatments against the disease as suggested, but in vain.” According Koirala, recent deaths of over 20,000 chickens have resulted in loss of some Rs 5 million to local farmers. Although the unusual deaths of chickens hint towards bird ﬂu, it is yet to be veriﬁed through lab tests.

He has never worked outside the home or seen a doctor, and until Wednesday, he had never left his remote mountain village in western Nepal Katmandu: He has never worked outside the home or seen a doctor, and until Wednesday, he had never left his remote mountain village in western Nepal. So 72-year-old Chandra Bahadur Dangi only recently learned he might be the world’s shortest man. Dangi says he’s only 56cm tall about the size of a toddler - and he’s hoping to claim the title. Guinness World Records said in an email Wednesday that its officials would arrive in Nepal’s capital Sunday to measure Dangi. Dangi took his first trip outside his village and his first trip on a plane to reach Katmandu on Wednesday. “I am very happy to be in Katmandu for the first time in my life. I am here so I can take the Guinness title,” Dangi told reporters at the airport.

Dangi, who has never been married, lives with his eldest brother and his family in Rhimkholi village, about 400km west of Katmandu. Because of his height, he has never worked outside the house, doing only household chores. His ﬁve brothers are of average size. Never been to a doctor His family is not sure when he stopped growing, and Dangi said he has never been checked by a medical doctor. He attended a few classes in the village school, but soon dropped out. Dangi eats mainly rice and vegetables, and occasionally meat, but in small portions.

Since the village is so remote, it was only recently that Dangi gained notice. A forest contractor cutting timber in the village met him and informed local media after Dangi’s height was measured. Dangi’s nephew, Dolak Dangi, said that before the contractor’s visit, the family did not know his uncle’s exact height, and that he was shorter than the world’s shortest man. Guinness currently recognises Junrey Balawing of the Philippines, who is 60cm tall. Another Nepalese man, Khagendra Thapa Magar, was known as the world’s shortest man, at 67cm, before Balawing took over the title on his 18th birthday in June. In December, Guinness recognised an Indian teenager as the world’s shortest woman. Jyoti Amge is 62.8cm tall and wants to attend university and become a Bollywood star. Aside from a Guinness certiﬁcate, the titles not come with any cash award.

Democracy Day passes Villagers clash with without ofﬁcial function police in Chitwan

In a surprise departure from timehonoured policy, the government on Sunday did not organise any official function to mark Democracy Day, raising the opposition parties’ hackles. The day has been marked by programmes attended by the head of state, government officials and various dignitaries every year. The day marks the establishment of democracy in 1950 after the then Rana regime was overthrown. PM’s Political Advisor Devendra Poudel, however, said full-fledged democracy did not come on this day and that the 1950 struggle was only against the autocratic Rana rule. “The day has been remembered, as it was a public holiday,” he said. He said “real democracy” was established only in 2008 after the monarchy was

abolished. “As such, the government did not think it necessary to celebrate the occasion,” he added. Members of the Cabinet expressed displeasure on the matter. “I am surprised that such an important day was not officially celebrated,” said Minister for Women, Children and Social Welfare Dan Bahadur Chaudhary. “I called up my secretary this morning to find out whether any card for the occasion had been sent. However, he said there was nothing,” Chaudhary said. Minister for Law and Justice Brijesh Gupta said he was unaware of why the government failed to mark the day. “I have no idea as to why official events did not take place,” he said. “There should have been a programme to celebrate the day”.

Minister for Physical Planning and Works Hridayesh Tripathy also expressed ignorance on the matter. Officials said nothing was officially communicated to them. “Since there was no formal decision to hold a function, I believe it did not take place,” Home Ministry spokesperson Shanker Koirala said. However, the Cabinet had last Thursday decided to recommend to the president the release of 457 prisoners to mark the day. According to a press release issued by the Home Ministry on Sunday, the prisoners have been released. Opposition parties have taken serious exception to the government’s inaction. In a statement, the Nepali Congress said the government’s decision to not celebrate the day clearly shows that it is “not committed to democracy and is authoritarian in nature”. “I am surprised and saddened to learn that PM Bhattarai failed to even remember the martyrs who scarified their lives for the sake of democracy,” said NC General Secretary Krishna Prasad Sitaula. “The government has made a mockery of the 70-yearlong struggle for democracy. This also shows that the Maoist party does not believe in democracy.”

Agitating local residents and police clashed in Madi of Chitwan district while the former were demonstrating in protest of the murder case of Dheganidevi Mahato on Saturday. Police had resorted to use minor force to bring the agitated mob under control. Around forty-year-old Dheganidevi was charred to death on the charge of practicing witchcraft. Local people had staged demonstration to protest demanding stern action against the guilty. A minor clash between the police and local women’s group ensued

when security personnel attempted to prevent them from vandalising the house of local Bikana Mahato, informed District Police Ofﬁce, Chitwan. Police had already arrested 10 persons in connection with the murder case and put forward investigation into the incident, said police. Meanwhile, Tharu Welfare Council, Chitwan, enforced bandh in Madi area to protest the murder. Local markets remained closed with no vehicular movement due to shutdown. Locals had refused to receive dead body demanding compensation, according to the ofﬁce.

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WEEKLY REVIEW OF SRILANKA NEWS

Sri Lanka peace Int’l Buddhist Conference very successful- Nayake Thera process evaluated

“The International Buddhist Conference - 2012 on the theme of “New millennium challenges for Buddhism” held at the Anuradhapura Buddhasravaka Bikshu University. This was held from February 17 to 19 has been a highly successful summit, said the Vice Chancellor of the Bikshu University Ven Prof Thumbulle Seelakkhandha Nayake Thera delivering an anusasana at the closing ceremony of the three day conference. The International Buddhist Conference attended by 150 Buddhist clergy, lay scholars and intellectuals representing universities and international Buddhist organizations from 15 countries, such as the UK, USA, India, China, Japan, Myanmar,

Thailand, Austria,Nepal etc was inaugurated by Prime Minister D.M. Jayaratne on February 17. The Nayake Thera said the Buddhasravaka Bikshu University organized the conference to create an awareness among the national level scholars, Buddhist and non-Buddhist that Buddhism in every cultural context has many challenges. “Conferences which are exclusively aimed at understanding the challenges of Buddhism are not common. The BBC-IBC-2012 was also conducted commemorating the 2600th Sambuddhatva Jayanthi, Nayake Thera emphasized. Professor Asanga Tilakaratne of the University of Colombo said that the monastic and lay young scholars are

a great strength for the promotion of Buddhism at a important juncture as today concerning the millennium challenges for Buddhism. He pointed out that in this context though the Anuradhapura Buddhasravaka Bikshu university was small in its physical resources, academic and non-academic staff and the number of Bikkhu students, the service rendering to the Buddhist world was immense and priceless. Dr (Mrs) Saswati Mutsuddy of the University of Calcutta, India also addressed the audience. A large number of members of the Maha Sangha including Atamasthanadhipathi Dr Pallegama Siriniwasa Nayaka Thera and Anuradhapura District Secretary Mahinda Seneviratne were also present at the closing up ceremony. During the three day conference 21 sessions were conducted on subjects, such as, Buddhism and global issues, contemporary monastic issues, Buddhist Heritage, controversial issues of Buddhism, Buddhist Iconography Technology for Buddhism, woman and Buddhism, war, peace and Buddhism etc.

The ﬁrst evaluation of Norway’s peace efforts in Sri Lanka has been presented. “We want to learn from the experience we have gained from the peace process in Sri Lanka,” said Minister of International Development Erik Solheim .

An independent evaluation of Norway’s peace efforts in Sri Lanka was presented on Friday. Norway is given a pass mark for the work that was done, while at the same time a number of points are highlighted for Norway to learn from. Read the whole evaluation here. “We gained experience from the peace process in Sri Lanka that we can use in other places. In my view, Norway did a good job. We helped to bring about a ceasefire in 2002, which put an end to the fighting and saved lives. Having said that, we now need to consider if there was anything we could have done differently, and look at what we can learn from the experience. This evaluation will help us to do this,” commented Mr Solheim. Norway is one of the first countries to evaluate its own efforts in a peace process in another country. It was Mr Solheim who initiated the

No intention to burden public -President

The govt was compelled to increase the price of fuel due to its difﬁculty in shouldering the massive economic weight imposed by the rise in world oil prices, a decision the government was forced to take against its will, President Mahinda Rajapaksa said. “The government has never imposed hardships on the people willingly,” he said. He said the government has taken measures to provide relief to all needy sectors affected by the fuel price hike. Addressing the gathering in Kadawatha on Saturday following the inauguration of several key development initiatives in the area, President Rajapaksa also noted that despite some parties

with vested interests trying to mislead the public, the people were aware of the prevailing volatile situation in the global fuel markets. The President noted that these parties with vested interest, were trying to take advantage of the prevailing situation to instigate a volatile situation internally with the intention of putting Sri Lanka to difﬁculty at the forthcoming United Nations Human Rights Council sessions. However, the President emphasised that despite difﬁculties, he was determined and committed to uphold responsibilities vested in him by the nation to create a peaceful and prosperous country. President Rajapaksa assured the gathering that

whatever the obstacle, he was determined to take the country forward step - by - step on the path to prosperity as envisioned in his policy manifesto Malinda Chinthana. The President urged the public to uphold their duty and keep their trust in the government and help take the country forward. President Rajapaksa also recalled how his government was able to steer the country forward during difficult periods. The President pointed out to the gathering that the government had reunited the country in a short span defeating terrorism. He also recalled taking the country forward successfully during difficulties such as the world economic recession, food scarcity, global fuel price fluctuations, etc. Earlier, the President inaugurated the construction of the second phase of the Outer Circular Expressway. He also vested with the public, the newly initiated safe drinking water project which will benefit over 500,000 people in Mahara, Kadawatha, Wattala, Welisara, Ragama, Kandana, Jaela, Ekala, Biyagama, Delgoda, Muthurajawela and Pamunugama. He also opened the new courts complex at Kadawatha built at Rs 175 million and vested with the public the new bus stand at Kadawatha, Gemidiriya Cooperative Society at Mahara, underground pedestrian tunnel at Kadawatha and the newly constructed pedestrian walkways in the town.

independent evaluation. “The responsibility for losing the peace lies with the parties to the conﬂict, just as they should have the credit for the several good years that followed the ceaseﬁre. When the parties chose war, there was little Norway or other countries could do. The Sri Lankan authorities won the war. Now they need to win the peace,” said Mr Solheim. The work on the evaluation report has been headed by Gunnar Sørbø from the Chr. Michelsen Institute (CMI) and Jonathan Goodhand from the University of London’s School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS). It tells the story of the peace process in Sri Lanka and draws lessons from the process that can be used in other peace processes.

Sri Lanka police arrest suspected human smuggler Sri Lanka police Fraud Investigation Bureau has arrested a suspected human smuggler who is one of the six suspects the police were hunting for taking 209 Sri Lankan Tamil migrants to the West African state of Togo and abandoning them there. The suspect has revealed that two other accomplices are still in Togo. They have taken the illegal migrants to Togo promising them to be sent to Canada from there. The suspects have collected Rs. 1.2 million to Rs. 1.5 million each from the aspirant migrants. The 209, which included 18 women and 11 children migrants were detained by the authorities of Togo in a stadium under the care of the Togolese Red Cross, which provided them with basic shelter, food and medical care. Police say the suspects are former members of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTS) terrorist outﬁt. A batch of 33 abandoned Sri Lankans voluntarily returned from Togo today with the assistance of the International Organization for Migration (IOM). They included two women and one child, ofﬁcials said.

BUSINESS

Saarc international I Thursday 23 February 2012

India, Nepal, Bhutan, Pakistan can produce 200GW power: Sharma Indian Commerce Minister Anand Sharma says, “India, Nepal, Bhutan and Pakistan have a combined hydropower potential of 200GW, of which more than three-quarters is yet to be harnessed.” India has made a strong pitch for setting up a $300-billion transnational power grid in South Asia which would enable the region to trade in electricity. Addressing the sixth SAFTA (South Asia Free Trade Agreement) ministerial council here on Thursday, Commerce Minister Anand Sharma said, “India, Nepal, Bhutan and Pakistan have a combined hydropower potential of 200GW, of which more than threequarters is yet to be harnessed.” “We need to work together to harness this potential not only for following the path of sustainable development but also as a source of cost-effective power supply to retain our competitiveness in manufacturing,” he added.

Sharma said a trans-national power grid across South Asia will not only ensure energy security in the region but also result in substantial cost saving. Sharma pointed out that countries of South Asia, which include Sri Lanka, Afghanistan and Maldives, have a huge infrastructure deﬁcit, which will need massive capital ﬂows. “We need to work in a

policy environment that permits easier cross-border investment ﬂows, which perhaps is even more important than crossborder trade,” he said. In the last decade, outbound foreign direct investment (FDI) from India has been $120 billion and yet more than 90 per cent of this was directed out of South Asia. “We believe that greater capital

ﬂows within our countries will have a transformational impact for growth and development of our economies,” he said. The minister said the SAARC agreement on trade and services could serve as a catalyst for crossborder investment in several sectors, including energy, tourism, telecom, IT enabled services, education and health. “This

agreement should be expedited to private commercial capital ﬂows,” he added. India also brought up the issue for a better arrangement to enable crossborder movement of cargo vehicles in the region through a multilateral motor vehicle agreement. Sharma also pointed out that India has addressed concerns of all leastdeveloped countries of South Asia as all items of their interest are now allowed for import into the country at zero duty. He added that many other countries in the region need to reciprocate this policy. In an oblique reference to Pakistan, Sharma lamented that many nations of the region import substantially from India and “we do not get trade preference under SAFTA”. However, he said Pakistan had initiated steps to grant mostfavoured nation status to India and the fact that it was playing host to the SAFTA conference showed a positive spirit.

Kingﬁsher hopes to Russia seeks Pak-Iran pipeline restore normalcy in contract without bidding operations in 5-7days

The Kingfisher Airlines’ CEO, Mr Sanjay Aggarwal, hopes to restore normalcy in operations in the next 5-7 days. Speaking to reporters after a twohour meeting with the DirectorateGeneral of Civil Aviation, Mr Aggarwal today said that the airline will provide all the relevant information sought by the regulator. The meeting was called in the wake of the airline suddenly cancelling a number of its scheduled flights. This is not allowed as per rules. “We had a good meeting with the DGCA. In the next 24 hours, we will provide all the information being sought and in the next 5-7 days, we hope to have a complete normalcy in operations,’’ Mr Aggarwal said. The DGCA chief, Mr E.K. Bharat Bhushan, said that the regulator was not looking at cancelling the operating licence of Kingfisher Airlines. He pointed that doing so would result in fares mvoving upwards as the airline was a major operator.

The DGCA said that the airline currently has about 28 operational aircraft and should be in a position to operate about 175 flights a day. “Also, they have more than adequate flying crew.” Mr Bhushan added that there has been no increase in fares as the domestic fares were within the fare buckets that had been set by the regulator. Domestic airfares soar 10-30% on disruption in Kingfisher service Domestic airfares have increased by 10-30 per cent in the last few days mainly on account of Kingfisher Airlines cancelling several of its flights connecting different parts of the country. A Bangalore-based travel agent said that with Kingfisher curtailing flights, fares on some of the popular sectors such as BangaloreDelhi have almost doubled. For instance, a Bangalore-Delhi ticket, which was earlier available for about Rs 7,500, is now going at Rs 13,00014,000.

Amid pressure from the United States to shelve the much-needed Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline project, Russia has asked Pakistan to award a $1.2 billion pipelinelaying contract to its energy giant Gazprom without going into bidding process. “If Pakistan accepts the demand of Russia and awards the contract to Gazprom, the largest explorer of natural gas in the world, Moscow will also provide financing for the project,” an official told The Express Tribune. Moscow floated the proposal during a four-day trip of Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar to Russia earlier this month. “However, Pakistan has not shown any willingness to grant the contract without inviting bids from competing parties, which will violate its Public Procurement Regulatory Authority (PPRA) rules,” the official said. An official of the petroleum ministry told The Express Tribune that Russia expressed interest in the Iran pipeline project, but he did not confirm whether Moscow sought the contract for Gazprom without bidding. Petroleum secretary could not be reached for comment. Sources said the US opposition to Iranian gas supply to Pakistan also came up for discussion during Khar’s visit. The US has imposed

sanctions on Iran due to suspicions over its nuclear programme while Tehran insists that its programme is peaceful and meant for energy supply. Though Russian authorities expressed worry over the US pressure, they supported Iran and Pakistan in pushing ahead with the project, sources said. Pakistan has already formally invited the Russian giant Gazprom to participate in two multi-billiondollar gas pipeline projects – Iran-Pakistan and TurkmenistanAfghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) pipelines. In a meeting of the Pak-Russia InterGovernmental Commission held on September 22, 2010 in Russia, Pakistan invited Gazprom to lay the Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline. Earlier during deliberations in August 2010 in Russia, Russian President

Dmitry Medvedev and Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari also discussed the option of involving Gazprom in the pipeline project. Gazprom has also expressed interest in building energy storages in Pakistan. At present, Pakistan is facing mounting pressure from the US to shelve the Iran pipeline project. Besides, there are ﬁnancing problems as well. Country’s largest explorer Oil and Gas Development Company (OGDC) and National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) have already refused to ﬁnance the project. OGDC management fears that its foreign shareholders will withdraw investment from the company if it entered the Iranian project while NBP is worried that its foreign branches may come under US sanctions and may be closed.

Saarc international I Thursday 23 February 2012

ENTERTAINMENT

THE BEST EXOTIC MARIGOLD HOTEL Amitabh Bachchan may have Releasing nationwide in cinemas on Friday 24th February

From the director of Shakespeare in Love, John Madden, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel 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 including Dames Judie Dench and Maggie Smith, Bill Nighy, Tom Wilkinson amongst others. 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. The ﬁlm revolves around a disparate group of English pensioners who abandon their homeland enticed by advertisements of 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 but are gradually won over by the ever-optimistic young entrepreneurial manager

Sonny (Dev Patel). The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel promises a heady mix of comedy and emotion, showing India at its beautiful best.

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

Better after the surgeries The 69-year-old veteran is in the Seven Hills Hospital in Mumbai since February 11. Megastar Amitabh Bachchan, who is recuperating post his abdominal surgery, might be required to spend a few more days at the hospital before he gets home. “Looks like a few more days… before they set me free…but recovery at home will be another few months,” Bachchan tweeted today. “Getting independent gradually… a careful shower avoiding the cuts and needles and ‘kites’… pretty dexterous exercise,” he wrote. Amitabh Bachchan’s health has shown considerable improvement after abdominal surgeries earlier this month. The megastar’s post-surgery pain has reduced and doctors, satisﬁed with his progress, have allowed him to take a bath and have more food. “The meetings of the morning with the team of doctors can be the most trying for the patient... But happy to note that they seemed satisﬁed with the progress and after a few closeddoor discussions, came back with a

few points that would bring relief to any sufferer,” Bachchan posted on his blog bigb.bigadda.com on Monday night. The 69-year-old veteran is in the Seven Hills Hospital in Mumbai since February 11. He underwent two abdominal surgeries, following which he complained of acute pain, forcing doctors to keep him under observation ever since. His pain has now reduced, wrote Big B, adding: “Apart from the physical pain of the surgery, there is now a reduction in most other pains.”

Aishwarya to make a comeback with John Abraham!

The story: 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

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.

ALI ZAFAR’S “LONDON PARIS NEW YORK” INTERVEIW

Q: How did LPNY come about and what attracted you to the story? My manager and I met with the director Anu Menon and executives from Rose Movies to discuss the project. I loved the script and the story and so was sold on doing the film. The fact that it’s set in three parts, filmed in three wonderful cities and covers three chapters in the lead characters’ lives, makes it a unique and special film. Q: What is special about your new film: London Paris New York There are a lot of unique things about the

to extend his hospital stay

film; it is a Hatke love story with a lot of romance and great music. Our experience from the film, I believe, is different from those who have done similar films in the past. The characters are different, the story is different. This is our way of telling a love story of today’s time and age. We have made a nice, cute film. We know our targets and hopefully the audience will appreciate the film. Q: What was your thinking behind the musical soundtrack for London Paris New York I wanted to create sounds that are fresh and since the film touches on different emotions I could experiment with genres. I used Pop Romance in London, Electronic Sufi in Paris and Blues Rap in New York, all blended in with a true Bollywood style. What is even more

unique is that it also features Hydari and myself singing our own songs on the OST. We think this is pretty cool and can’t wait to hear the OST. Q: Would you describe London Paris New York as sensational? Since it is about two people falling in love and the natural progression that follows anywhere in the world, it will be a little more daring than my ﬁrst two ﬁlms. However, it won’t have anything that’s offensive, obscene or attention-seeking. My personal conscience sets the limits, beyond which I would never venture. Q: Were you clicking pictures most of the time on the sets of “London, Paris, New York” or romancing Aditi Both. She has a very interesting and photogenic face. She was also getting herself photographed.

Agent Vinod director Sriram Raghavan will soon begin his much-delayed sci-fi film with John Abraham and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan. The film titled Happy Birthday will take off, post the release of Saif Ali Khan and Kareena Kapoor’s most ambitious project Agent Vinod. The director has so far churned out only three films including AV, in the span of eight years. Happy Birthday will soon go on floors, as it’s been on the back burner for quite sometime now and it’s the top priority for Raghavan, post Agent Vinod.

Lara Dutta Is Desperate To Get Back In Shape

The actress who embraced the joys of momhood recently, is all hell bent to get rid of the extra pounds and chisel that body into an enviable shape, once again.

A close insider squealed to the scribetribe, “Lara is very keen to lose weight and has hired the services of a famous ﬁtness trainer too. She’s following a strict diet, does a few stretches and a 45-minute workout, as well.” Moreover, word has it that the actress last spotted in Don 2 is all keen to get back to the business of histrionics too.

COMMENT

South Asia Tribune I Thursday 23 February 2012

Fasting: A Cure for Cancer and anti-Ageing Could fasting help to cure cancer? A merciful recommendation from Allah “and fast, it is better for you, if only you knew” [al-Baqarah, 2:184] Indeed if Allah says that something is better of us, it is rally better for us and we should strive to perfect it. A new study has found that fasting could improve the effectiveness of cancer treatment. Researchers at the University of Southern California said in the Science Translational Medicine journal that fasting for small stretches of time actually decreased tumour growth. Also one great anti aging strategy that is not well known is fasting. From the beginning, fasting practitioners appeared to be much healthier and had longer lives than regular, ordinary people. Its usefulness for health has never really been in doubt. Is it any wonder that many religious texts mention fasting? All contemporary religions place a high regard on fasting, and those who underwent fasting were said to be empowered to carry out their religious missions. It seems that fasting can elevate a person towards a higher level, both physically and spiritually. The Prophet said that your Lord said, “Every (sinful) deed can be expiated; and the fast is for Me, so I will give the reward for it; and the smell which comes out of the mouth of a fasting person, is better in Allah’s Sight than the smell of musk.” [Bukhari] According to the Quran, every Muslim (who can) must fast in the month of Ramadan 2:183-185. And fasting has to be done collectively at the community level. Fasting in the month of Ramadan is one of the ‘pillars’ of the Islamic faith. No proof is required to establish its being obligatory (wajib) and one denying it goes out of the fold of Islam, because it is obvious like salat, and in respect of anything so evidently established both the learned and the unlettered, the elderly and the young, all stand on an equal footing. Is fasting just about having sins forgiven and getting rewards multiplied in the Hereafter? What about the problems of life here in this world? Is fasting just a ritual or does it have some other signiﬁcance? Modern Islamic scholars draw attention to the physical and

spiritual benefits of fasting. But since physical and medical benefits of fasting accrue to anyone who fasts, regardless of one’s faith in God, it is obvious that the physical and medical benefits are not the primary purpose of fasting in Islam. Fasting can help protect against brain diseases, scientists say Claim that giving up almost all food for one or two days a week can

counteract impact of Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s A vertical slice through the brain of a patient with Alzheimer’s, left, compared with a normal brain, right. Photograph: Alfred Pasieka/ Science Photo Library Fasting for regular periods could help protect the brain against degenerative illnesses, according to US scientists. Researchers at the National Institute on Ageing in Baltimore said they had found evidence which shows that periods of stopping virtually all food intake for one or two days a week could protect the brain against some of the worst effects of Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and other ailments. “Reducing your calorie intake could help your brain, but doing so by cutting your intake of food is not likely to be the best method of triggering this protection. It is likely to be better to go on intermittent bouts of fasting, in which you eat hardly anything at all, and then have periods when you eat as much as you want,” said Professor Mark Mattson, head of the institute’s laboratory of neurosciences. “In other words, timing appears to be a crucial element to this process,” Mattson told the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in Vancouver. Cutting daily food intake to around 500 calories – which amounts to little more than a few

vegetables and some tea – for two days out of seven had clear beneﬁcial effects in their studies, claimed Mattson, who is also professor of neuroscience at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore. Scientists have known for some time that a low-calorie diet is a recipe for longer life. Rats and mice reared on restricted amounts of food increase their lifespan by up to 40%. A similar effect

have been the ones who got the food. Thus a mechanism linking periods of starvation to neural growth would have evolved.” This model has been worked out using studies of fasting on humans and the resulting impact on their general health – even sufferers from asthma have shown beneﬁts, said Mattson – and from experiments on the impact on the brains of animals affected by the rodent equivalent of Alzheimer’s

has been noted in humans. But Mattson and his team have taken this notion further. They argue that starving yourself occasionally can stave off not just ill-health and early death but delay the onset of conditions affecting the brain, including strokes. “Our animal experiments clearly suggest this,” said Mattson. He and his colleagues have also worked out a speciﬁc mechanism by which the growth of neurones in the brain could be affected by reduced energy intakes. Amounts of two cellular messaging chemicals are boosted when calorie intake is sharply reduced, said Mattson. These chemical messengers play an important role in boosting the growth of neurones in the brain, a process that would counteract the impact of Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. “The cells of the brain are put under mild stress that is analogous to the effects of exercise on muscle cells,” said Mattson. “The overall effect is beneﬁcial.” The link between reductions in energy intake and the boosting of cell growth in the brain might seem an unlikely one, but Mattson insisted that there were sound evolutionary reasons for believing it to be the case. “When resources became scarce, our ancestors would have had to scrounge for food,” said Mattson. “Those whose brains responded best – who remembered where promising sources could be found or recalled how to avoid predators — would

and Parkinson’s. Now Mattson’s team is preparing to study the impact of fasting on the brain by using MRI scans and other techniques. If this final link can be established, Mattson said that a person could optimise his or her brain function by subjecting themselves to bouts of “intermittent energy restriction”. In other words, they could cut their food intake to a bare minimum for two days a week, while indulging for the other five. “We have found that from a psychological point of view that works quite well. You can put up with having hardly any food for a day if you know that for the next five you can eat what you want.” Effectiveness of cancer treatments boosted by fasting A study has found that fasting weakens cancer cells, therefore strengthening the effect of chemotherapy treatments, Combining chemotherapy with periods of fasting (not eating for 48 to 60 hours before treatment) was more effective in treating cancer in mice than chemo alone, according to new findings in the journal Science Translational Medicine. Fasting could assist chemotherapy cancer treatments Short-term fasting is being touted as a potential method of beating cancer after a study found it helped to boost the effectiveness of chemotherapy treatments. Initial research, which was carried out at the University of Southern

California, has found that fasting can help to slow the growth rates of cancerous tumours. When abstaining from food for a short period of time was combined with bouts of chemotherapy, some cancers – including breast cancer, melanoma and giloma cells – were cured. Although the results of the study (which was carried out on mice) are promising, the researchers are warning much more detailed research, possible lasting years, needs to be carried out in humans to see if the effects of fasting are mirrored. It was discovered that the cancer cells were severely affected by fasting and instead of going into hibernation like regular cells they continued to divide and eventually killed themselves. “A way to beat cancer cells may not be to try to find drugs that kill them specifically but to confuse them by generating extreme environments, such as fasting that only normal cells can quickly respond to,” commented Professor Valter Longo, the study’s lead researcher. He added: “The cell is, in fact, committing cellular suicide. “What we’re seeing is that the cancer cell tries to compensate for the lack of all these things missing in the blood after fasting.” Longo continued: “It may be trying to replace them, but it can’t.” However, the scientists are warning that cancer patients should not read this information and start fasting, at least not until further studies have confirmed if fasting does in fact emulate these results in human beings. They have also admitted the notion of a cancer patient fasting does come with associated dangers, especially if the patient has already lost a lot of weight through treatment. The team has also warned it again might not be a suitable solution for patients with other lifestyle factors that could be aggravated by such dieting; for example, diabetes. As part of the study fasting was tested against eight different types of cancer, including breast cancer, skin cancer and cancer of the brain. All eight strains of the disease were treatable by combining fasting with chemotherapy treatments. The results of the study have now been published in the Science Translational Medicine journal.

South Asia Tribune I Thursday 23 February 2012

SPECIAL FEATURE

Baloch body thanks US Congressman for moving resolution on their right to self-determination The Baloch Society of North America, a leading Baloch diaspora non-profit organization based in Washington, has thanked Congressman Dana Rohrabacher (Republican-California) for introducing an unprecedented resolution in the U.S. House of Representatives that recognizes Balochistan’s right to selfdetermination and its right to establish their own sovereignty. Describing Rohrabacher, who is the Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, as a strong supporter of the Baloch cause, the society said in a statement: “We applaud the courage and tenacity he has demonstrated by shining a light upon the plight of the Baloch for the world to see. Not only has Rohrabacher recognized the Baloch innate right to self-determination, but he also pointed out how U.S. policy has actually hurt the Baloch cause.” The Congressman was earlier quoted as saying: “The political and ethnic discrimination they suffer is tragic and made more so because America is financing and selling arms to their oppressors in Islamabad.” This resolution comes on the heels of a U.S. House Foreign Affairs committee hearing that was organized by Rohrabacher where Pakistan’s oppressive tactics and human rights violations in Balochistan were highlighted and condemned. This landmark bill is the first step towards establishing an independent Balochistan, which was once a sovereign state until it

was forcefully annexed by Pakistan on March 27, 1948. Since then, the people of Occupied Balochistan have struggled to regain their freedom. In attempting to suppress the movement, the society and other human rights organisations said that Pakistan has committed thousands of heinous human rights violations against the Baloch. It also said that the Punjabi elite was exploiting Balochistan’s rich natural resources.

US bill seeks Balochistan sovereignty Rep. Rohrabacher Introduces Bill Recognizing Baluchistan’s Right to Self-Determination

Washington, D.C. – Today, Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA) introduced a House Concurrent Resolution that the Baluchi nation has a historic right to self-determination. Baluchistan is currently divided between Pakistan, Iran, and Afghanistan with no sovereign rights of its

own. In Pakistan especially, the Baluchi people are subjected to violence and extrajudicial killing. The bill states that the Baluchi people “have the right to self-determination and to their own sovereign country; and they should be afforded the opportunity to choose their own status.” “The Baluchi, like other nations of people, have an innate right to selfdetermination,” says Rohrabacher. “The political and ethnic discrimination they suffer is tragic and made more so because America is ﬁnancing and selling arms to their oppressors in Islamabad.” Historically Baluchistan was an independently governed entity known as the Baluch Khanate of Kalat which came to an end after invasions from both British and Persian armies. An attempt to regain independence in 1947 was crushed by an invasion by Pakistan. Today the Baluchistan province of Pakistan is rich in natural resources but has been subjugated and exploited by Punjabi and Pashtun elites in Islamabad, leaving Baluchistan the country’s poorest province. Reps. Louie Gohmert (R-TX) and Steve King (R-IA) have also signed on as original co-sponsors of the

bill. Rep. Rohrabacher is Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations. 112TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. CON. RES. ____ Expressing the sense of Congress that the people of Baluchistan, currently divided between Pakistan, Iran, and Afghanistan, have the right to self-determination and to their own sovereign country. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES Mr. ROHRABACHER submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was referred to the Committee : CONCURRENT RESOLUTION Expressing the sense of Congress that the people of Baluchistan, currently divided between Pakistan, Iran, and Afghanistan, have the right to self-determination and to their own sovereign country. • Whereas the people of Baluchistan have maintained a proud and distinctive national, cultural, and religious identity dating back to ancient times; • Whereas in 1666, the Baluch Khanate of Kalat was founded which functioned as an independent, sovereign country; • Whereas in the 19th century, the Baluch people were conquered

and divided by the imperialist expansion of Persia (Iran) and the British Empire; • Whereas on August 15, 1947, the Khan of Kalat declared independence, only to have Baluch aspirations crushed by an invasion by Pakistan in April 1948 followed by 2 years of a bloody campaign to stamp out popular resistance; • Whereas revolts in 1958, 1973, and 2005 indicate continued popular discontent against rule by Islamabad, and the plunder of its vast natural wealth while Baluchistan remains the poorest province in Pakistan; • Whereas a popular insurgency is also under way in SistanBaluchistan and being met by brutal repression by the dictatorship in Iran which has added religious bigotry to tyranny; and • Whereas it is the policy of the United States to oppose aggression and the violation of human rights inherent in the subjugation of national groups as currently being shown in Iran and Pakistan against the aspirations of the Baluch people: Now, therefore, be it Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), That it is the sense of Congress that the people of Baluchistan, currently divided between Pakistan, Iran, and Afghanistan, have the right to self-determination and to their own sovereign country and they should be afforded the opportunity to choose their own status among the community of nations, living in peace and harmony, without external coercion.

Bill Calling for Baloch Right to SelfDetermination Introduced in US Congress Taking last week’s landmark congressional hearing on Balochistan a step further, Republican Congressman Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA) on Friday introduced a House Concurrent Resolution calling for Balochistan’s right of self-determination, conﬁrmed the ofﬁce of Mr. Rohrabacher. Dana Rohrabacher, who is the chair of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, has demanded the “historic right” of the Baloch to selfdetermination in his resolution. Congressmen Louie Gohmert (R-TX) and Steve King (R-IA) have also signed on as original cosponsors of the bill. “Baluchistan is currently divided

between Pakistan, Iran, and Afghanistan with no sovereign rights of its own. In Pakistan especially, the Baluchi people are subjected to violence and extrajudicial killing. The bill states

that the Baluchi people “have the right to self-determination and to their own sovereign country; and they should be afforded the opportunity to choose their own status,”” stated a press release

issued from the ofﬁce of the proBaloch Congressman. “The Baluchi, like other nations of people, have an innate right to selfdetermination,” says Rohrabacher. “The political and ethnic

discrimination they suffer is tragic and made more so because America is ﬁnancing and selling arms to their oppressors in Islamabad.” The press release further stated, “Historically Baluchistan was an independently governed entity known as the Baluch Khanate of Kalat which came to an end after invasions from both British and Persian armies. An attempt to regain independence in 1947 was crushed by an invasion by Pakistan. Today the Baluchistan province of Pakistan is rich in natural resources but has been subjugated and exploited by Punjabi and Pashtun elites in Islamabad, leaving Baluchistan the country’s poorest province.”

COMMENT

South Asia Tribune I Thursday 23 February 2012

Baaghi: Balochistan, Rohrabacher and Pakistan’s complacency —Marvi Sirmed That our citizens in Balochistan have been victims of most brutal subjugation, suppression, abuse, violence and rights violations at the hands of our own state is a fact that must shame us While the reports released by the US State Department kept indicting China, Iran and other ‘rogue’ countries in the ‘axis of evil’ for human rights violations, similar reports kept sprouting from China and Russia against the US. More so, international rights watchers like Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch accused the US of “practices that grossly violate human rights, like the death penalty, poor prison conditions and sentencing youth offenders to life without parole”.The Apologetic Index, which deals with the cults, sects, religious freedom and other human rights, records that the US government “generally fails to acknowledge, let alone address, America’s own human rights violations (e.g. use and promotion of the death penalty, a faulty ‘justice’ system, multiple violations of international treaties, export of torture equipment, continuing trade war on Cuba, failing to curb hate groups, support of extremist groups such as the Church of Scientology, and so on).” Why is it that the US continues to judge other countries but when others try to judge it on similar counts, its attitude is ‘who are you to judge us’ and ‘how dare you meddle in our internal affairs’. The question got an answer when Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Ramin Mehmanparast censured a UN General Assembly resolution against his country for human rights violations in November last year. “Unfortunately, human rights has turned into a political issue

and a tool in the hands of the western hegemonic and bullying countries,” said Mehmanparast. Human rights have indeed become a tool for conducting international diplomacy and pursuing big powers’ own global interests. For instance, one would not see any big power having an iota of conscience pangs for human rights violations perpetrated by its strategic allies as long as they keep producing results for those powers. Examples are as few as there are sand grains in the Sahara Desert. Saddam’s Iraq, Gaddaﬁ’s Libya (in his life and his death), Syria, Lebanon, Israel, Palestine, Kashmir (sounds rhetorical? Yes, it is), and most of all, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia — all were and are bastions of human rights until they serve their purpose. Pakistan, being a rapidly unallied ally, has recently started getting the heat. The Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations in the US House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs held a special hearing on what they know as ‘Baluchistan’ on February 8. The hearing started with an introduction to ‘Baluchistan’ and its history by the chairman, Dana Rohrabacher. The introductory two minutes were quite heavy with jumbled-up facts and one-sided views on the history of this region. There

were five presentations covering different aspects of the conflict going on in Balochistan, by five witnesses of sound professional experience, the analyses of whose arguments is not possible in this place. The witnesses were followed by remarks from the committee members, displaying their shock, displeasure and...selfrighteousness. Nonetheless, despite all the human rights politics in play on what Rohrabacher kept calling ‘Balookistan’, Pakistan should not let it go under the fog of the US’s “ill-advised move” to “intrude in our internal affairs”. Issues that came up during the hearing need serious selfevaluation if another 1971 is to be avoided. Putting everything down to ‘international conspiracies’ and the over-defined ‘enemies’ of Pakistan and adopting a sense of victimhood so popular among us would only damage our own selves. The ‘difa’ (defence) of sovereignty is in appraising ourselves and taking corrective measures, not in prompting civil disorder by instigative rallies in big urban centres. When Ralph Peters, a military analyst, said in his testimony, “Pakistan is not an integrated state, but a miniature empire that inherited its dysfunctional and unjust boundaries from Britain’s greater, now-defunct empire,” it demanded serious introspection. Peters might have been a bit liberal in using the term ‘empire’, but it should still concern us for the way we have been conducting ourselves offers little material for defence. It might be hinting at the future course of US policy towards Pakistan when Peters said, “We must set aside our lazy Cold War era assumption that Pakistan is a necessary ally and recognise that the various insurgent

movements challenging the Islamabad government are engaged in liberation struggles against an occupier.” Pakistan might have become a soiled diaper for the US, but this must not blind us to what we have been doing with Balochistan and to all the territories that acceded to Pakistan in 1947-8. We can keep screaming about human rights abuses in Indian-administered Kashmir but it must not be used to camouﬂage our own atrocities in our own courtyard. That our citizens in Balochistan have been victims of most brutal subjugation, suppression, abuse, violence and rights violations at the hands of our own state is a fact that must shame us and activate us for immediate reaction. But the fact that the civil and political society in Pakistan are suffering from a general ignorance about and insensitivity towards Balochistan’s plight is something extremely disturbing. Pakistan’s mainstream TV channels seldom broadcast anything about the issues and problems of the people in Balochistan. The general ‘opinion atmosphere’ is completely devoid of an inclusive narrative that speaks of the Baloch problem. Amidst all this prevalent callousness towards Balochistan, where all the efforts of the Balochistanis (the Baloch and the Pakhtuns of Balochistan) to make their voices heard are being sabotaged by the state of Pakistan, they have started reaching out to international bodies who watch human rights violations. Would you blame them? When the Baloch nationalists, intellectuals, professionals and opinion makers are target killed, which go unnoticed by an otherwise ‘vigilant’ civil society and media, what options are we leaving for the oppressed Baloch?

The executive and the judicial branches of the state of the Islamic Republic have to be accountable for the criminal miscarriage of state writ and justice in Balochistan. The case of 11 missing persons being heard by the Supreme Court against the premier intelligence agencies of Pakistan might be a good omen but it demands similar, in fact more forceful, action on Baloch missing persons and mutilated bodies that they ﬁnd on a daily basis in Balochistan’s streets. Those ranting about our sovereignty being hurt by drones must also shed at least a few tears, whatever their worth, for the absence of state writ in most of Balochistan. In an extremely dreadful situation we have created for our fellow citizens in Balochistan, the Baloch nationalists have reverted to counter-violence and aggression, the solution of which does not lie in further incriminating and criminalising their actions but in addressing their legitimate concerns. Reminding the US of its failure to notice human rights violations evenhandedly might be a reﬂex action; it certainly is not something that would prove useful to Pakistan’s own interest, which is in self-assessment and taking remedial measures. When Hazara Shias are killed en masse, Baloch youth are regularly kidnapped by state agencies, mutilated bodies of Baloch nationalists become the order of the day, Baloch intellectuals and professionals are target killed, hue and cry over the US’s double standard is not only unnecessary but dishonest too. Complacency is the worst enemy of Pakistan. The writer is an Islamabad-based commentator on counterterrorism, social and political issues. She tweets at @marvisirmed and can be reached at marvisirmed@me.com

Israel better forget about attacking Iran Gilad Atzmon Israeli Ynet admitted that an Israeli air force attack on Iran is unrealistic. The Israeli paper quoted a New York Times article that described such an attack as ‘highly complex operation’. It would require at least 100 planes. Israeli jets would have to refuel in the air en route, ﬁght off Iran’s air defenses and attack multiple underground sites simultaneously. American military experts seem to agree amongst themselves that Israel doesn’t necessarily has the means to accomplish such an

operation. The ﬁrst problem Israel faces is how to get to Iran. ”Israel has American-built F-15I and F-16I ﬁghter jets that can carry bombs to the targets, but their range —

depending on altitude, speed and payload — falls far short of the minimum 2,000-mile round trip. That does not include an aircraft’s ‘loiter time’ over a target plus the potential of having to ﬁght off attacks from Iranian missiles and planes,” according to the report. In any case, the report claimed, Israel would have to use airborne refueling planes, called tankers, but Israel is “not thought to have enough.” Israel would also need to use its electronic warfare planes to penetrate Iran’s air defenses and jam its radar systems to create a corridor for an attack.

The analysts said another major hurdle is Israel’s inventory of bombs capable of penetrating the Natanz nuclear plant, believed to be buried under 30 feet of reinforced concrete, and the Fordo site, which is built into a mountain. For some reason, the Ynet article failed to list the grave inevitable consequences of any aggression against Iran. Such consequences include destruction of Israeli cities following barrages of Iranian missiles. But we may also bear in mind the possibility of a nuclear conﬂict that escalates into a global war.

The message to the Israelis is pretty clear. Israel’s military options are running out. There is no way to maintain the Jewish State by the sword. The time is overdue for Israel to drop its expansionist genocidial philosophy. If Israelis really want to live in the region, they must pursue every means towards peace immediately. Israel should voluntarily open its nuclear facilities to international inspection. Israel must sign the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and dismantle its own atomic bombs immediately. Israel better grasp what humanity is all about, before it is too late.

South Asia Tribune I Thursday 23 February 2012

COMMENT

Muslim Village There is only one way through which Muslims can preserve their faith in such a world and it is given in Sūrah al-Kahf of the Qur’ān (the Sūrah which protects from Dajjāl). That way to salvation is to disconnect from the godless world. The process of disconnection or withdrawal from the godless and oppressive Gog and Magog world-order, and the global society that they create, can best be achieved if Muslims were to follow the example of the 218 young men in Sūrah al-Kahf who fled from precisely such a world and sought refuge in a cave. The Qur’ān itself directs the Muslim to disconnect from the abode of evil:“So separate us from this sinful rebellious people!” (Qur’ān, al-Māidah, 5:28). The blessed Prophet (sallalahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) as well, anticipated that such a time of disconnection would come, and gave the following advice: Narrated Abu Sa’id Al-Khudri: Allah’s Apostle said, “There will come a time when the best property of a Muslim will be sheep which he will take to the tops of mountains and the places of rainfall so as to flee with his religion from the afflictions. (Sahīh Bukhāri) If Muslims seek guidance from the story of the young men in Sūrah alKahf they would eventually realise that they can effectively protect themselves and their families from the godlessness and evil that now surrounds if they were to retreat to remotelylocated Muslim Villages disconnected from the Gog and Magog society. Muslims must concentrate on establishing microIslamic communities wherever they can. If an authentic Muslim Village is to be established and if it is to provide Muslims with the means of preserving their faith in today’s increasingly godless world, then it must fulfil the following conditions: • The public life of a Muslim Village must be established on the firm foundations of the Qur’ān and Sunnah. Whatever is not based on the Qur’ān and Sunnah cannot be recognized essential for survival. If a Muslim religious practice cannot be so established then, regardless of how beneficial it may be, or how long Muslims may have observed it, it should not be brought into the Masjid and into the public life of the Muslim Village, nor should it be allowed to become the grounds for division and conflict between Muslims. Only thus would the Muslim Village survive the sinister contemporary effort directed at purging Muslim communities of

all practices (both harmless and harmful) that are not based on the Qur’ān and Sunnah and the way of the Aslāf (plural of Salaf, i.e. early Muslims). One implication of the above would be that the Halaqa of Dhikr of the collective recitation of Sūah al-Kahf on every day of Jumu’ah would be held in a private location within the village. • The Muslim Village must be selfsufﬁcient in food production and energy. Sūrah al-Kahf of the Qur’ān points to solar energy as the means through which the village can achieve energy independence: “Thou wouldst have seen the sun when it rose declining to the right from their Cave and when it set turning away from them to the left while they lay in the open space in the midst of the Cave. Such are among the Signs of Allah . . . . Thou wouldst have deemed them awake whilst they were asleep and We turned them on their right and their left sides . . . .” (Qur’ān, alKahf, 18:17-18) The ‘turning’ of the youths to the right and left was achieved through the ‘sun’. Phototropism of a plant takes place through attraction to sunlight. The plant turns to face the sunlight. And so it was in consequence of attraction to the sunlight that the bodies of the sleeping youths were turned from

side to side over such a long period of time. Also, the plant transforms sunlight into energy and this is called photosynthesis. It was through this supply of energy that their vital organs were kept alive through this long sleep. A Muslim Village will have to master both these processes of photothropism and photosynthesis so that it can harness solar energy for the purpose of achieving energy independence. • The Sūrah also warns concerning absolute purity in food, hence abstinence from chemical fertilizers, genetically reengineered food, hormones in milk and meat, etc. Surplus production of this organic

food of the Muslim Village can be marketed out of the Village and this would form part of the foundation of the Village economy. An effective marketing strategy can include, for example, an explanation of the link between food, sexuality and sexual virility. In the process of producing pure and healthy food a Muslim Village would demonstrate capacity to do what the rest of the people are

Shiekh Imran Hossein

Tribune Comment increasingly incapable of doing. The same would be true for the capacity of a Muslim Village to cure alcoholism and drug addiction, to reverse the decline in sexual morality, and preserve the family unit at a time when it is collapsing around the world, etc. • A Muslim Village would also have to establish a micromarket which would be as independent as is possible from the macro-market, and which would use real money (i.e. gold and silver) rather than the artiﬁcial paper money (to be later replaced by cashless electronic money) of the macro-market. In this way the micro-market would survive when the fraudulent international monetary system based on paper money collapses. I expect the international monetary system based on paper money to collapse at that time when Israel wages her great war of territorial expansion to embrace the entire area from ‘the river of Egypt’ (Nile?) to the river ‘Euphrates’ in Iraq. That war is likely to take place at any time now. One of the most important characteristics of the micro-market of a Muslim Village is that it would ensure circulation of wealth throughout the village economy. In this way the poor of the village would not remain permanently poor and the rich would not remain permanently rich. Since all forms of Ribā would be prohibited in the village (this includes both ‘front door’ and ‘back door’ Ribā) so-called Islamic banks would not be allowed to do business in the Muslim Village. • A Muslim Village would have to make a determined effort to pursue al-Ihsān (or Tasawwuf) in order to achieve internal spiritual insight. Thus village life would have to be one of great simplicity, austerity and piety. There will have to be a

strict enforcement of the Shariah. In addition, a Muslim Village would have to take complete control over education. The Qur’ān must remain at the center of the system of education throughout all stages of education. The Muslim school in a Muslim Village would have one great advantage over the Muslim school located outside. The children of such a Muslim school would be supported by a Muslim community that would be living Islam! Only such children can truly be trained and educated as Muslims! • All those Muslims who reside in a Muslim Village must collectively constitute One Jamā’at under the leadership of One Amīr. The Amīr must be someone who would know the Dīn (religion) and live the Dīn. He must also know the world today. Regardless of whether he is Arab, African, Turk, Indian, Malay or other, he must enforce the Dīn on the members of the Jama’at and they must respond with asSam’u wa at-Tā’atu (listening and obeying). This will preserve the internal integrity and discipline of a Muslim Village. • A Muslim Village cannot be used, and must not be used, as a steppingstone for the eventual control over the State. Islam cannot take control of the State and the Islamic Khilāfah cannot be restored while a Gog and Magog world-order survives. However armed resistance of oppression and occupation in the territory stretching from Khorasan to the center of oppression in Jerusalem must never cease since there is a guarantee of eventual success mentioned elsewhere in this book. • The only purpose of a Muslim Village is to preserve the faith of the believers. Thus, the Village would not be armed except with the weapons needed to defend it against robbers, bandits, rapists and thieves! It would have no capacity to defend itself if attacked by the State. In addition, the Village would encourage Hindus, Christians and others to reside with Muslims in the Village on the condition that they are not hostile to Islam and they agree to abide by the public norms of conduct of the Village. In this way, non-Muslims would themselves be able to dispel the rumor-monger and the ‘doubting Thomas’ concerning the peaceful non-threatening nature of the Muslim Village. But the Muslim Village, despite not being armed, would still have to develop the means of ensuring the safety and collective security of all villagers. This cannot be a Village in which people have to live like prisoners with iron bars on every window of their homes, and with expensive security and

burglar-alarm systems installed in every home. Security in the Village should be such that even a woman can walk in and around the Village at night in complete safety and security. This security of the Muslim Village would make a tremendous political statement to the rest of the beleaguered world. The entire guidance, which emerges from the Qur’ān and Sunnah and which must be applied to the task of establishing the microMuslim communities in Muslim Villages, needs to be extracted and classified. This is precisely the task that our teacher of blessed memory, Maulana Dr Muhammad Fadlur Rahman Ansari (rahimahullah) has accomplished in his magnificent work entitled ‘The Qur’ānic Foundations and Structure of Muslim Society’. He has also articulated the concept of Islamic spirituality with great care and with quite some detail, and in so doing he has answered critics who had not even emerged at the time that the book was written. But ‘spirituality’ cannot be achieved unless there is a prior moral struggle for the achievement of moral purity. One of the major achievements of his book is its detailed exposition and classification of the Islamic moral code and the beautiful explanation and guidance that it provides of the methodology of Tazkiyah (i.e. moral purification) and of Dhikr (i.e. the fragrance which only true love can deliver when it embraces the heart and provokes, in the privacy of the heart, a constant remembrance of the beloved). “The Qur’ānic Foundations and Structure of Muslim Society” constitutes a textbook, workbook and a navigator for the survival of Muslims in the stormy seas of the present age. It can be used as a manual that would guide Muslims as they now seek to establish authentic Muslim communities in remotely-located Muslim Villages that are disconnected from the Gog and Magog worldorder and hence facilitate withdrawal from modernday godless decadent secular society. What is the process for moving into a Muslim Village? Those wishing to migrate to a Muslim Village should choose one within the Muslim world in which they can legally reside easiest of all. Hence a Pakistani should not seek to live in a village in Yemen and then seek guidance from me how to get a residence permit to reside in Yemen. I cannot assist with such matters. Secondly, they should look for the signs by which they can recognize Continued on page 31 >>

COMMENT

South Asia Tribune I Thursday 23 February 2012

Another fabricated enemy! BBC documentary entitled The Power of Nightmares, which shows that the threat from Al Qaeda has been vastly overblown, in that documentary Jason Burke said “There is no such thing as “al Qaeda”, there is no one on earth who calls himself a member of “al Qaeda”. “al Qaeda” is a term made up by the U.S. government to be applied to anyone killed during in the occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan”. “False flag terrorism” occurs when elements within a government stage a secret operation whereby government forces pretend to be a targeted enemy while attacking their own forces or people. The attack is then falsely blamed on the enemy in order to justify going to war against that enemy. Any tragedy that occurs these days is followed by a ‘knee jerk’ reaction by the jerks of the world, BLAME THE MUSLIMS! No matter where, no matter how, there must have been Muslims involved. This ‘mentality’ serves the interests of both the United States and Israel in allowing them to continue with their Islamophobic agenda. Recently in Britain Muslim police officers have rebelled openly against the Government’s anti-terrorism strategy, warning that it is an “affront to British values” which threatens to trigger ethnic unrest. The Muslim officers believe the Government is wrong to blame Islam as the main driver of terrorist activity. Adil Hadi al Jazairi Bin Hamlili, an Algerian citizen described as a “facilitator, courier, kidnapper, and assassin for al-Qaida”, was detained in Pakistan in 2003 and later sent to Guantánamo Bay. But according to Hamlili’s Guantánamo “assessment” file, one of 759 individual dossiers obtained by the Guardian, US interrogators were convinced that he was simultaneously acting as an informer for British and Canadian intelligence. Former Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf, in his book In the Line of Fire, stated that Sheikh was originally recruited by British intelligence agency, MI6, while studying at the London School of Economics. He alleges Omar Sheikh was sent to the Balkans by MI6 to engage in jihadi operations. Musharraf later went on to state, “At some point, he probably became a rogue or double agent”. Former Justice Dept. prosecutor and terror expert, John Loftus, revealed that the socalled Al-Muhajiroun group, based in London had formed during the Kosovo crisis, during which Fundamentalist Muslim Leaders (Or what is now referred to as Al Qaeda) were recruited by MI6 to fight in Kosovo. During the investigation of the London attacks the British police and American intelligence sources were able to determine that Aswat had received on his portable telephone a score of calls from the four suspects in the July 7th London attacks. Amine El Khalifi, a Moroccan citizen who has lived in the U.S. for more than 12 years, the man had been under investigation for about a year. According to the Associated Press, a counterterrorism official says the FBI gave the man an inoperable gun and inert explosives. CNN reports that a Moroccan man was arrested shortly after 12:30 p.m. after he accepted a suicide vest from undercover officers. In late 2010, the FBI admitted to giving out intentionally defective bombs to the Portland Christmas Tree Bomber,the Wrigley Field Bomber and several others.

A day before Kurt Haskell Delta 253 Passenger, Exposes Government False Flag Operation During Underwear Bomber Sentencing, in his ﬁve minutes statement Kurt Haskell said I witnessed Umar dressed in jeans and a white t-shirt, being escorted around security by a man in a tan suit who spoke perfect American English and who aided Umar in boarding without a passport. The airline gate worker

initially refused Umar boarding until the man in the tan suit intervened. The event meant nothing to me at the time. I am convinced that Umar was given an intentionally defective bomb by a U.S. Government agent and placed on our ﬂight without showing a passport or going through security, to stage a false terrorist attack to be used to implement various government policies. After incredible testimony from Kurt Haskell, in regards to the Underwear Bomber event being a false ﬂag, the mainstream media

began to promote another incomplete version of the story. The fallout from Kurt’s testimony is incalculable. But it’s not his words alone that have caused so much damage to the reputation of the media and the FBI, there is a genuine historical pattern of these types of false flag operations, and the public seems be growing weary of it. Considering all this, it is certainly a coincidence that the FBI and U.S. Capitol Police have arrested Amine el-Khalifi, a 29 year old Moroccan man on Friday who was allegedly attempting to detonate a vest of explosives after a shooting spree. In a Washington Post article we are told: “Amine el-Khalifi, 29, was picked up while

carrying an inoperable MAC-10 automatic weapon and a fake suicide vest provided to him by undercover FBI agents posing as alQaeda associates, U.S. officials said.” [Note the alleged terrorist has a complete lack of knowledge of firearms: he is unaware the machine gun is non-functional and will not fire. Khalifi also cannot fabricate an explosive vest himself, it must be provided for him by the FBI...does it make sense to put a bomb

in the hand of a mentally challenged person, a person incapable of making a bomb by themselves, and then arresting them for it? Also note the use of the word ‘fake’ when used in conjunction with ‘suicide vest’. It appears we were meant to believe the Underwear Bomber’s explosives were real according to the mainstream press (even though Kurt reminded us the government’s own experts said it would have never worked). This must be another coincidence that this one is fake and openly admitted so, the day after Kurt’s blockbuster revelation “U.S. Attorney Neil H. MacBride said the complaint alleges that Khalifi ‘sought to blow himself up in the U.S. Capitol Building.’ He said Khalifi ‘allegedly believed he was working with al-Qaeda and devised the plot, the targets and the methods on his own.’ [Are we are expected to believe a man who lacks the understanding of a firearm and its functionality is capable of devising ‘the plot, the targets and the methods on his own.’?] “Lisa Monaco, assistant attorney general for national security, said: ‘Today’s case underscores the continuing threat we face from homegrown violent extremists. Thanks to a coordinated law enforcement effort…Khalifi’s alleged plot was thwarted before anyone was harmed.” [Are we being sold a new meme that stresses that the public is no longer in any danger from these events? Is everything under control now?] “Khalifi ‘allegedly expressed agreement with a statement by this individual that the ‘war on terror’ was a ‘war on Muslims’ and said that the group needed to be ready for war,’ [Are we being sold the Muslims vs. USA meme?] Is this another fabricated enemy and an attempt at damage control? Can the timing be a coincidence? It certainly appears as if authorities are being painted in a positive light considering The Washington Post’s article and the timing of the incident. What luck that of all 365 days of the year Khalifi chose the day following the end of Underwear Bomber’s trial and Kurt Haskell’s statement to stage his attack. And what luck in such a way, with the vest and gun not being operable so no one could get hurt. Maybe America’s luck is changing for the better.

South Asia Tribune I Thursday 23 February 2012

India conﬁrms participation in sixnation snooker event

NEWS

Continued from page 32 >>

Cook lauds his team that stood up to the challenge what we can do now,” he said. Misbah believes that all that is needed is a turnaround. “We are really confident because we are putting some good performances but we just can’t finish them and go over the victory line. We need to turn these good performances into victories but I am confident that this form suites us

and we can do good and come back and perform better.” Misbah stressed on the importance on this Twenty20 series: “This is a very important series for us [with the World Twenty20 around]. On this tour we won the Tests and they won the ODIs and now this is like the decider.”

India lose to Sri Lanka by 51 runs to languish at bottom

India have conﬁrmed their participation for the six-nation International Snooker Championship being staged in Karachi, Pakistan from March 2-5. Former Asian Champion Yasin Merchant and Muhammad Faisal Khan will represent India in the championship, Pakistan Billiards and Snooker Association (PBSA) announced on Tuesday. Iran is the other country having conﬁrmed their entry in the event. PBSA has requested Interior Ministry for NOC for the issuance of visa to the Indian team.

Virat Kohli (66) and Suresh Raina (32) and a late counterattack by Irfan Pathan who made 47 off 34 balls with seven boundaries. Sri Lankans were well served by Nuwan Kulasekara ﬁrst up who claimed 3 for 40, including the scalps of Sachin Tendulkar and Gautam Gambhir, and Thisara Perera who took 4 for 37. Kulasekara’s effort earned him the man-of-thematch award. Sri Lanka now forge ahead of Indians on the points table though the latter were able to cross 231 and avoided conceding a bonus point. Lankans now have 11 points from

five matches while Indians have 10 from six games. Australia have 14 points from five games. India’s chase couldn’t have begun on a worse note as stand-in skipper Virender Sehwag slashed at a wide delivery from Lasith Malinga and the catch ballooned up for third man fielder to complete the job. Sachin Tendulkar (22) kept everyone interested during his brief stay. He once punched Lasith Malinga through covers and then flicked him through mid-wicket, both of whom were shots of highest pedigree. But then he tried to leave a Kulasekara delivery and succeeded only in dragging the ball on to his stumps.

The Boom-Boom might lead the Green Team Team India is clearly the favourites, considering the current strength of their team. They have won the Asia Cup on six different occasions in 1984, 1988, 1990, 1991, 1995 and 2010. The Indian side won 22 matches out of their total 36 appearances at the event.

The second most victories are by the Sri Lankan side, they have succeeded at the event on four different occasions. The Sri Lankan team won the contest back in 1986, 1997, 2004 and 2008. They have won 29 matches out of the total 40 played during their ten appearances at the Asia Cup.

Muslim Village Continued from page 29 the kind of village that would qualify for protection in this age of tests and trials. Among those signs are: * The Village should not have a Bank.; * Cellular phones should not be usable in such a Village; * The Village should have its own independent supply of water; * The Village should have the capacity to produce its own food; etc. What do people do in the Muslim villages for work? Unlike city life, the MV life is pretty basic and hence cheap. Houses will be cheaply built, food will be produced locally and energy will be generated from natural, renewable sources. Villagers would have to produce their own, pure food. So economic activity would be primarily organic permaculture. Home Industries would be encouraged to allow parents to be with their children while working. Those who have the skills could persue their professions in a nearby town or city using the village as a base. There would also exist an Islamic market for trading of goods and services. The establishment of Muslim Villages Living in the modern age. So long as Muslims are free to worship Allah Most High, to preserve themselves and their families in Islam, and to freely propagate Islam in society, they have a duty to continue to reside in society regardless of whether it is founded on democracy or dictatorship. However, when freedom to propagate Islam is restricted to only that cosmetic Islam that is approved by those who rule the world, and

when, in addition, Muslims see their children being lost to Islam despite their best effort to preserve them in Islam, and this because of the evil inﬂuence of an essentailly godless and decadent world, then their duty is to take whatever steps are necessary to preserve faith in Islam. The blessed Messenger of Allah Most High was quite explicit when he warned of a time to come when a man would have to ﬂee to the mountainsides where rain falls, with some sheep and goats, in order to preserve his faith! There are so many in the world today who would adamantly argue that it is wrong for Muslims to seek refuge for themselves and their families in a remotely-located Muslim Village even though they live in an age when their children are being lost to Islam before their very eyes. Such people have a status equivalent to cattle. They have ‘eyes’ and yet cannot ‘see’, ‘ears’ and yet cannot ‘hear’, ‘hearts’ and yet cannot ‘understand’! But there are others who have eyes with which to see and to thus recognise the gravity of the unique and unprecedented crisis that has overtaken all of mankind all around the world today. My own response, therefore, is that each individual must be allowed the freedom to choose and his choice must be respected. My choice is to build the remotelylocated Muslim Village. Thus establishment of a remotelylocated Muslim Village is essentially a means of protection from hostile forces and should not be interpreted to imply an abandonment of responsibility for responding to the challenges of society. with love, Imran N. Hosein

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South Asia Tribune I Thursday 23 February 2012

The Boom-Boom might lead the Green Team towards victory at the event The Asia cup is absolutely one of the most awaited cricketing events of the 2012 season. The top Asian teams will have a chance to prove their brilliance in Bangladesh next month. The 11th edition of the Asia Cup is scheduled from March 12- 22, 2012 as conﬁrmed by the Asian Cricket Council on December 15th, 2011.

A total number of four teams qualiﬁed for the event this year are, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. Hong Kong and United Arab Emirates are the two sides that have not qualiﬁed for the tournament this year since their last appearance in 2008. Continued on page 31 >>

SAT

Sports

Cook lauds his team that stood up to the challenge

England’s one-day skipper Alastair Cook is so pleased with the 4-0 clean sweep over Pakistan that he does not know how much to thank his players. “It was a great comeback after the Test series. I said at the start of the series, if we’re going

to turn this round we’re going to need people to stand up and be counted. What happened in India, when we lost 5-0, gave us a chance to put that to be and say ‘this is what we need to do if we want to improve’. I couldn’t have asked any more from our

team, the way we’ve responded from India, really thought about how we wanted to play — and delivered the goods here,” Cook said. “Pakistan had won 14 out of 15 one-dayers in a row. For us to win 4-0, in subcontinent-

like conditions, is a fantastic achievement,” added Cook who went on to laud Kevin Pietersen for catching the headlines instead of him. “KP will take all the headlines for an amazing innings, but it’s great to see Craig [Kieswetter] come in when we’re 60 for 4 — in a new position for him — and look as comfortable as he did. For him to come in and do that certainly brought a smile to my face as well, because we know

England Thursday after a oneday series whitewash by the tourists. Pakistan skipper Misbah-ul Haq put on a brave face before the start of the Twenty20 series against England yesterday by announcing that the conﬁdence level of the team is high despite the 4-0 drubbing in the One-day series. “Our conﬁdence level is good after Tuesday’s performance.

we’ve got some good characters in our dressing room.” We are conﬁdent and not dispirited, Misbah says Pakistan captain Misbah ulHaq said his side are desperate to redress the balance in a Twenty20 international against

We have to start with the same combination as we had in the last match, Umar Akmal is good on conﬁdence, I am also high on conﬁdence after Tuesday but we can do changes as the match situation demands, so lets see Continued on page 31 >>

India lose to Sri Lanka by 51 runs to languish at bottom Sri Lanka move into second place on tri-series table with 51-run victory over India at the Gabba in Brisbane An outstanding display of seam bowling from Nuwan Kulasekara and Thisara Perera helped Sri Lanka beat India by 51 runs in their oneday international tri-series match in Brisbane Tuesday. After Sri Lanka scored 289-6, man of the match Kulasekara took 3-40 and Perera 4-37 as India were bowled out for 238 in 45.1 overs, their second loss in three days following their defeat by Australia at the Gabba on Sunday. Sri Lanka, who beat Australia in Sydney last Friday, moved into

The target of 290 was too stiff for the Indians under lights despite a good 96-run fourth wicket stand between Continued on page 31 >>

second on the tri-series points table following the win and are now on 11 points, three behind the Australians

and one ahead of India. Chasing Sri Lanka’s imposing 289 for six, Indians suffered another top-

order collapse and folded up for 238 in 45.1 overs to give the islanders their second successive victory.

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