Dawa | SilverScorpio.Com

Pak’s ambivalence in cracking down on Saeed clear : NYT

September 20, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

New York, Sep.19 (ANI) : Pakistani authorities may have filed cases against Lashkar -e-Taiba (LeT) chief Hafeez Mohammad Saeed, the alleged mastermind of the November 2008 Mumbai terror attacks, but Islamabad’s actions are being considered as a mere ‘hogwash’.

The New York Times, while reporting the actions taken against Saeed, said the ambivalence of Pakistani authorities in cracking down on the LeT’s fouder leader was clear.

The newspaper highlighted that the Pakistan government has never been serious regarding putting a check on Saeed and his covert terror activities being run under the LeT’s charity organization Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD).

“Even after he was placed under house arrest in December, the government took steps to soften the blow, allowing him, for instance, to hold a defiant news conference before his confinement began,” it said.

While the Pakistan government has been maintaining that it is seriously carrying out the probe regarding the 26/11 massacre, and tried to show the same to the international community especially the US by booking Saeed under the anti-terrorism act, its ‘bluff’ was laid bare when Saeed’s lawyer disclosed that the case registered against his client were ‘very weak’.

“I have gone through both the FIRs against Saeed thoroughly. The charges against my client are very weak. He has expressed his views like any other Pakistani,” Saeed’s lawyer AK Dongar told a private television channel.

Pakistani authorities also revealed that they have not received any instructions for arresting Saeed despite the registration of two cases against him. (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: act, ambivalence, ANI, arrest, blow, bluff, case, channel, charity, charity organization, check, client, community, conference, confinement, dawa, December, defiant, Dongar, Firs, fouder, Government, Hafeez, hogwash, house, house arrest, instance, Islamabad, Jamaat-ud, jud, Lashkar, Lashkar-e-Taiba, lawyer, leader, LeT, massacre, mastermind, mohammad, Mohammad Saeed, Mumbai, New York, New York Times, NEWS, newspaper, November, NYT, organization, Pak, Pakistan, Pakistan government, pakistani authorities, private television, probe, registration, run, Saeed, Sep, Taiba, television, television channel, terror, terror activities, terror attacks, times, US, York Sep

US Ambassador meets Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Update- US Ambassador)

September 19, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

New Delhi, Sept 18 (ANI): The United States Ambassador to India, Timothy J Roemer, today met Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh at his residence.

The meeting took place after Roemer met Union Home Minister P. hidambaram.

Speaking to reporters, after a meeting with Chidambaram, Roemer said bringing the culprits to justice and going after Saeed were important to both India and the United States.

“Swift and mighty punishment for the six Mumbai suspects in Islamabad, is important for United States and is important for India. And going after Saeed is very important and dismantling the infrastructure of LeT in that region is extremely important to the United States and to India,” said Roemer.

The meeting took after reports of two FIR’s against Saeed came late last night.

He has been charged under Pakistan’s Anti-Terrorism Act for making anti-state speeches where he urged activists of the Jamaat-ud-Dawa, the frontline organisation for LeT that he heads, to wage a ‘jehad’.

Saeed has also been charged for heading a charity collection drive during the Ramazan month according to the police.

Earlier, Roemer had called on Pakistan to take action against Saeed.

“There are five, probably six, suspects currently being held in Islamabad in connection with the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks. It is extremely important that these six people be brought to justice and put behind bars and receive sentences commensurate with their crimes against India, US and the world,” a news channel quoted Roemer, as saying

“I hope that in future the action on 26/11 includes people like Hafiz Saeed. Recently he was put into an Interpol red flag list,” he added.

The remarks follows Chidambaram’s visit to US, where he had briefed several ministers under the Barack Obama administration about Islamabad’s inaction against perpetrators of the Mumbai carnage.

The attacks, which drew widespread condemnation across the world, began on 26 November 2008 and lasted until 29 November, killing at least 173 people and wounding at least 308. Among the dead were 28 foreign nationals from 10 countries.

Ajmal Amir Kasab, the only attacker who was captured alive, has disclosed that the attackers were members of LeT, which is considered a terrorist organization by the Government of India, the United States, and the United Kingdom, among others.

Interpol has also issued a Red Corner Notice against Saeed, and Zaki -ur- Rehman Lakhvi (another mastermind of the 26/11 attacks). The notice was issued after a Mumbai court issued non-bailable warrants against both terrorists. (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: act, action, administration., ajmal, ambassador, Amir Kasab, ANI, anti, anti terrorism act, attacker, barack, Barack Obama, carnage, channel, charity, Charity Collection, Chidambaram, collection, condemnation, connection, corner, Court, culprits, dawa, Dr. Manmohan Singh, drive, fir, flag, Flag List, frontline, Government, Hafiz, hidambaram, home, inaction, India, Infrastructure, Interpol, Islamabad, Jamaat-ud, jehad, justice, lakhvi, LeT, list, manmohan, Manmohan Singh, mastermind, meeting, meeting took place, Minister P, month, Mumbai, New Delhi, NEWS, night, notice, November, Obama, organisation, organization, Pakistan, perpetrators, place, police, Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan, prime minister manmohan, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, punishment, Ramazan, red, Red Flag, region, rehman, residence, roemer, Saeed, Sept, Singh, Singh Update-, State Speeches, swift, terror, terror attacks, terrorism, Timothy J. Roemer, today, U.R., union, Union Home Minister, United Kingdom, United States, update, US, visit, world, zaki

US Ambassador Roemer calls for action against Hafiz Saeed

September 19, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

New Delhi, Sept 18 (ANI): Pressurising Pakistan, the United States said it wanted swift and mighty punishment against the perpetrators of the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks.

Speaking to reporters, after a meeting with Union Home Minister, P. Chidambaram, the United States Ambassador to India Timothy J Roemer said, bringing the culprits to justice and going after Saeed were important to both India and the United States.

The meeting took after reports of two FIR’s against Saeed came late last night.

Saeed has also been charged for heading a charity collection drive during the Ramazan month according to the police.

Earlier, Roemer had called on Pakistan to take action against Saeed.

“I hope that in future the action on 26/11 includes people like Hafiz Saeed. Recently he was put into an Interpol red flag list,” he added.

The remarks follows Chidambaram’s visit to US, where he had briefed several ministers under the Barack Obama administration about Islamabad’s inaction against perpetrators of the Mumbai carnage.

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: act, action, administration., ajmal, ambassador, Amir Kasab, ANI, anti, anti terrorism act, attacker, barack, Barack Obama, carnage, channel, charity, Charity Collection, Chidambaram, collection, condemnation, connection, corner, Court, culprits, dawa, drive, fir, flag, Flag List, frontline, Government, Hafiz, home, inaction, India, Infrastructure, Interpol, Islamabad, J. Roemer, Jamaat-ud, jehad, justice, lakhvi, LeT, list, mastermind, meeting, minister, month, Mumbai, New Delhi, NEWS, night, notice, November, Obama, organisation, organization, P., P. Chidambaram, Pakistan, perpetrators, police, pressurising, punishment, Ramazan, red, Red Flag, region, rehman, roemer, Saeed, Sept, State Speeches, swift, terror, terror attacks, terrorism, Timothy, U.R., union, Union Home Minister, United Kingdom, United States, US, visit, world, zaki

Popular sculpting statue in Sikkim

September 3, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Gangtok, Sep 3 (ANI): An art school is preserving the oldest form of traditional and religious art of statue making, influenced by Buddhist teaching in Sikkim.

The Traditional Arts School for Thangka Painting at 5th mile, a half an hour drive from state capital Gangtok, is under the supervision of Ecclesiastical Affairs Department, Government of Sikkim. The school is exclusively for the monks (boys).

Monks from different monasteries located throughout the state come to the institute and learn the art free of cost.

The school was started as a separate branch of Enchey School, which was a monk school then in 1909 for teaching the art of statue making to monks at the time of Chogyal (King).

However during 1950s, the school came under the Ecclesiastic Affairs Department.

Ndar Lama, an instructor at the Vocational Arts School, Gangtok, revealed that the art of making the statues came from Bhutan.

However, to popularise the art among local monks, the state government felt the need to set up one institute in Sikkim, Lama said.

“The art of making this mud statue came from Bhutan. Earlier, Chogyal (King) used to call the instructors from Bhutan and they used to make the statues. In fact, most of the statue in big monasteries here was made by the Bhutanese. Even I learnt the art from one Bhutanese person. But now the government of Sikkim felt the need to open one such vocational training institute even in Sikkim,” Lama added.

Students at the school said that they hope to teach the art to the future generation so as to keep the Buddhist culture alive.

“After learning the art of statue making, I will go to the monastery and teach the art to our future generation so as to keep our Buddhist culture and art of statue making alive,” said Dawa, a student.

Besides teaching the art, the school also helps the monks in becoming self-reliant. (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: 1950s, affairs, affairs department, ANI, art, Art School, arts, Bhutan, bhutanese, branch, buddhist, Buddhist Culture, capital, Chogyal, cost, culture, dawa, department, drive, Ecclesiastic, Ecclesiastical, Ecclesiastical Affairs, Enchey, fact, form, Future Generation, Gangtok, generation, Government, government of sikkim, hour, institute, instructor, king, lama, learnt, making, Mile, monasteries, monastery, monk, monks, mud, Ndar, need, painting, person, popular, popularise, Religious Art, school, Sep, Sikkim, state, state government, statue, statues, student, supervision, teaching, Thangka, time, traditional, training, vocational, vocational training

Interpol to assist Indian Government, set to issue notice against Hafiz Saeed

August 25, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

New Delhi, Aug.23 (ANI): The Indian Government has reportedly approached Interpol and requested it to issue a Red Corner Notice (RCN) against Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD) chief and 26/11 mastermind Hafiz Saeed.

Sources said that they expect the RCN to be issued some time next week, possibly by Tuesday.

The request from New Delhi is reported to have been made in the wake of a Pakistan court ordering the release of Saeed from nine months of house arrest on grounds that there was insufficient evidence to detain him in connection with his role in the 26/11 massacre in Mumbai that claimed nearly 170 lives and maimed more than 300.

Officials in New Delhi are reportedly of the view that Saeed should be chargesheeted and prosecuted for masterminding the Mumbai carnage on the basis of the six documents of evidence that they have handed over to the Pakistan Government through diplomatic channels.

Government sources said that the CBI, which acts as the nodal agency for all dealings with Interpol, has already written to the world police body, based on the 26/11 chargesheet, to get an RCN issued against Saeed who was let off by the Lahore High Court as Islamabad didn’t press charges against him.

Interpol issues an RCN against any accused after it receives all information and evidence against him from the country in which the crime has been committed.

The RCN will be issued on the basis of the non-bailable warrant issued against Saeed by a Mumbai court earlier and also all the evidences gathered against him by the Mumbai police.

According to the Mumbai police, Saeed is among the 35 people who provided training to all the terrorists who executed 26/11.

Pakistan has defended its refusal to act against Saeed by saying that India has not given evidence against him. (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: agency, ANI, arrest, Aug, bailable, basis, body, carnage, CBI, chargesheet, connection, corner, country, Court, Crime, dawa, detain, diplomatic channels, evidence, evidences, Government, government sources, Hafiz, High, house, house arrest, India, Indian, Indian Government, information, insufficient evidence, Interpol, Islamabad, Jamaat-ud, jud, Lahore, lahore high court, massacre, mastermind, masterminding, Mumbai, Mumbai Court, Mumbai Police, New Delhi, Nodal, nodal agency, notice, Pakistan, Pakistan Court, Pakistan government, police, rcn, red, refusal, release, request, role, Saeed, time, training, Tuesday, view, wake, warrant, week, world, World Police

Pak refuses to arrest Saeed saying ‘not enough proof’ of his involvement in 26/11

July 29, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Lahore, July 28 (ANI): Pakistan has denied arresting Jamaat-ud-Daawa (JuD) chief Hafiz Saeed, in connection with the November 2008 Mumbai terror attacks.

Interior Advisor Rehman Malik said there is ‘not enough proof’ of Saeed’s involvement in the 26/11 carnage, so the alleged mastermind could not be put behind bars.

Malik said Islamabad has asked New Delhi to provide details of Indian citizens convicted in the Mumbai attacks, The Daily Times reports.

It may be noted that a full bench of the Lahore High Court ordered the release from house arrest of Saeed, the prime accused of the November 2008 Mumbai attacks, on the basis of a habeas corpus petition filed by his lawyer. The high court said that it had not received substantial evidence to continue his detention.

The Lahore High Court also ordered the release of another Jamaat-ud-Dawa leader, Colonel (retired) Nazir Ahmad.

Saeed was put under house arrest on December 11 last year, and his release was made after five months and 20 days.

Pakistan Attorney General had earlier told the Lahore High Court, that the government had enough proof against Saeed to warrant extension of his arrest, but could not produce that evidence in court. He had also said that Saeed had undeniable links with the Al Qaeda. (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: advisor, Ahmad, al-Qaeda, ANI, arrest, attorney, attorney-general, basis, bench, carnage, colonel, connection, corpus, Court, Daawa, daily, dawa, December, detention, evidence, Evidence In Court, extension, five months, general, Government, habeas corpus, Hafiz, High, house, indian citizens, interior, involvement, Islamabad, Jamaat-ud, jud, July, Lahore, lahore high court, lawyer, leader, malik, mastermind, Mumbai, Nazir, New Delhi, November, Pak, Pakistan, petition, proof, rehman, rehman malik, release, Release From House Arrest, Saeed, Substantial Evidence, terror, times, year

India, Pak foreign secretaries burn midnight oil to find common ground

July 15, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Sharm-el-Sheikh (Egypt), July 15 (ANI): Foreign Secretaries of India and Pakistan – Shiv Shankar Menon and Salman Basheer – burnt the midnight oil on Tuesday to try to work out some kind of framework to lay the ground for the resumption of talks between the two countries.

Mandated by their respective Prime Ministers’ – Dr. Manmohan Singh and Yousuf Raza Gilani-to work out the modalities before the two heads of government meet on Thursday (July 16). Menon and Basheer interacted with each other without the assistance of aides late into the night.

The 90-minute meeting took place soon after the Indian delegation landed here from Paris after attending the French National Day celebrations there.

According to senior officials, the discussions between the two were good and detailed, and both agreed to meet again on Wednesday on the sidelines of the XVth Non-Aligned Summit that opens in this Red Sea resort today.

There were suggestions of some movement being made by both sides on the issue of terrorism and the possibility of a joint media appearance by the Prime Ministers’ of the two countries after they hear from their respective foreign secretaries.

Menon and Basheer are believed to have discussed the progress made by Islamabad in its probe into the 26/11 strikes and the steps taken to dismantle the terrorism infrastructure on its soil.

Menon and Basheer’s discussions are also believed to have covered Pakistan’s flip-flop over the arrest and release of Sayeed and the withdrawal of petitions challenging his release from the Supreme Court.

Ahead of the meeting between the two foreign secretaries and the two Prime Ministers’, Indian External Affairs Minister S M Krishna has demanded a “visible response” and undertaking from Pakistan on bringing the perpetrators of Mumbai terror attacks to justice.

Prime Minister Gilani, who also arrived here on Tuesday, has said that he will approach his meeting with Dr. Singh with an “open heart and a positive mind.”

But he refused to comment on the Punjab provincial government’s decision to withdraw the petitions that challenged last month’s release from house arrest of Jamaat-ud Dawa chief Hafiz Mohammed Sayeed.

Tuesday night’s talks come four days after Pakistan handed over a fresh dossier on its probe into the Mumbai terror attacks to India.

The dossier, handed over to the Indian High Commission officials in Islamabad on Saturday, identifies 13 new suspects and gives an update on Pakistan’s investigations into the November 26 attacks, sources said.

After Prime Minister Singh’s disclosure on Saturday that ISI chief Lt. Gen. Ahmed Shuja Pasha had met some Indian High Commission officials in Islamabad, speculation are rife about the powerful spy agency’s influence on the talks process.

At present, the Indian side is unwilling to hazard a guess on whether the ISI will be a part of the talks.

There is, however, a hope on the Indian side about some kind of commitment being made by Pakistan to bring the Mumbai terror accused quickly to justice and to stop the use of Pakistani soil for terror acts against India.

The Pakistani side is of the view that the composite dialogue process should not be held hostage to one case. (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: agency, ahead, Aligned, ANI, appearance, arrest, assistance, case, commission, commitment, Court, dawa, day, decision, delegation, dialogue, disclosure, dossier, Dr Singh, Dr. Manmohan, Dr. Manmohan Singh, Egypt, external, External Affairs Minister, flip-flop, foreign, framework, French, Gilani-to, Government, ground, guess, Hafiz, hazard, heads of government, heart, High, hope, hostage, house, India, India and Pakistan, Indian, indian delegation, influence, Infrastructure, isi, Islamabad, issue, Jamaat-ud, July, justice, kind, Lt. Gen. Ahmed Shuja, mandated, manmohan, Manmohan Singh, Media Appearance, meeting, midnight, Midnight Oil, mind, Minister S M Krishna, ministers, minute, Mohammed Sayeed, month, movement, Mumbai, national, National Day Celebrations, night, non, Non Aligned Summit, November, oil, open-heart, Pak, Pakistan, Paris, part, pasha, place, possibility, Prime Minister Gilani, Prime Minister Singh, prime ministers, probe, process, progress, Punjab, raza, Red Sea, Red Sea resort, release, resort, response, resumption, Salman Basheer, Saturday, sayeed, Secretaries, Shankar Menon, Sharm-el, sheikh, shiv, Shiv Shankar Menon, side, Singh, soil, speculation, spy, summit, supreme, terror, terror attacks, terrorism, Thursday, today, Tuesday, update, use, view, Visible Response, Wednesday, withdrawal, work, XVth, yousuf

Pak Punjab Govt has ‘confidential evidence’ against Saeed, withdraws case

July 14, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Islamabad, July 14 (ANI): The government in Pakistan’s Punjab province has decided to disassociate itself from the Jamaat-ud-Dawa chief Hafiz Muhammad Saeed case and filed a plea for its withdrawal.

On Monday, the provincial government informed the Supreme Court that it has challenged the release of Saeed due to certain “confidential evidence” against him.

According to Punjab Advocate General Raza Farooq, Saeed was put under house arrest on the directive of the federal government, which failed to provide solid evidence to maintain his house arrest.

Therefore, Farooq said the Punjab Government has decided to disassociate itself from the case and a petition for withdrawal has been filed with the Supreme Court.

Farooq on Monday told the three-member bench hearing pleas against a Lahore High Court (LHC) decision to release Saeed and Colonel (retired) Nazir Ahmed that Saeed was detained under Section 3 of the Maintenance of Public Order Ordinance 1961.

However, Section 3 was not mentioned in the detention order. The three-member bench consisting of Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, Justice Muhammad Sair Ali and Justice Jawwad S Khawaja, asked the Punjab AG to satisfy the apex court, the Daily Times reports.

The AG said there was sufficient evidence against Saeed, but it could not be made part of the case record because it was confidential.

Farooq also submitted that it was binding on the government to implement resolutions adopted by the UN.

He said the detention of Saeed had become necessary, as the UN had levelled allegations that Saeed was linked to Al Qaeda and was allegedly involved in some terror-related incidents at an international level.

The Pakistan and the Punjab Governments, through their petitions, requested the court to set aside the LHC decision of ending the detention of Saeed and Col (retired) Nazir Ahmed.

The petitions claimed the LHC had not considered the sensitivity of the case, especially in light of the prevailing security situation. (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: Advocate, Advocate General, ahmed, al-Qaeda, ali, ANI, apex, apex court, arrest, bench, case, Case Record, Chief Justice Iftikhar, chief justice iftikhar muhammad chaudhry, Col., colonel, Confidential Evidence, Court, daily, dawa, decision, detention, directive, evidence, farooq, general, Government, govt, Hafiz, hafiz muhammad saeed, hearing, High, house, house arrest, iftikhar muhammad chaudhry, Islamabad, jamaat, Jamaat-ud, Jawwad, July, justice, justice iftikhar muhammad chaudhry, Justice Muhammad Sair, Khawaja, Lahore, lahore high court, level, lhc, light, maintenance, Monday, Muhammad Chaudhry, Muhammad Saeed, Nazir, order, ordinance, Pak, Pakistan, part, petition, Petitions, plea, province, provincial government, Public, Punjab, punjab government, Punjab Govt, punjab province, raza, record, release, S Khawaja, Saeed, sair, section, security, sensitivity, situation, supreme, times, withdrawal

Pak diplomatic circles not expecting ‘major breakthrough’ during Indo-Pak secretaries meet in Egypt

July 10, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Islamabad, July 10 (ANI): Pakistan’s diplomatic circles are not expecting any major ‘breakthrough’ during the meeting of foreign secretaries of India and Pakistan on the margins of the Non-Aligned Movement summit in Egypt next week.

Diplomatic sources said that the failure of Pakistan to address India’s demand on Mumbai probe would certainly have an impact on the meet, which would be followed by a meeting between Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh and Yousuf Raza Gilani.

“The situation is quite dicey, signals from India are not particularly positive,” The Dawn quoted diplomatic sources, as saying.

They opined that the talks between the foreign secretaries would be very important as they would ‘set the tone’ for the PM’s meet.

While Pakistan is trying hard to convince India that it is sincere in its probe regarding the Mumbai attack, the Indian leadership has made it clear that resumption of the stalled peace talks solely depend on Islamabad’s action against the perpetrators of the 26/11 carnage.

In an apparent bid to pacify India, the Pakistan government filed an appeal in the Supreme Court against the release of Jamaat-ud-Dawa chief Hafiz Saeed and appointed a judge in the Anti-Terrorism Court-II, in which the trial of the five accused of the Mumbai terror strikes is going on, but India has blamed Pakistan of sending ‘confusing signals’.

“The Indians have been telling us that they wanted to see the prosecution of the accused in Mumbai attacks, but our contention is that this would take quite some time and that their position is untenable,” sources added.

But they still believe that the meeting between Manmohan Singh and Gilani could result in something substantial.

“Politicians are capable of pulling off surprises,” they said. (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: action, Aligned, ANI, anti, appeal, attack, bid, breakthrough, carnage, Confusing Signals, contention, Court, dawa, dawn, demand, dicey, diplomatic circles, diplomatic sources, Dr. Manmohan Singh, Egypt, failure, gilani, Government, Hafiz, impact, India, India and Pakistan, indian leadership, indo-, Islamabad, Jamaat-ud, judge, July, leadership, manmohan, Manmohan Singh, meeting, movement, Mumbai, non, Non Aligned Movement Summit, pacify, Pak, Pakistan, Pakistan government, peace, peace talks, perpetrators, position, Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan, probe, prosecution, raza, release, resumption, Saeed, Secretaries, Singh, situation, something, summit, supreme, terror, terror strikes, terrorism, time, tone, trial, week, yousuf

Pak government to file separate petition challenging Saeed’s acquittal

July 5, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Islamabad, July 5 (ANI): Following the Punjab government’s decision to challenge the Lahore High Court’s (LHC) verdict of releasing the Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD) chief Hafeez Muhammad Saeed and Colonel (retired) Nazir Ahmad, both of whom are accused of masterminding the 26/11 Mumbai carnage, now the federal government has also decided to file a separate petition against the verdict.

The Pakistan government is likely to file the petition on Monday, July 6.

“We are filing the appeal because we are not satisfied with the order of the LHC. The federal government’s challenge was almost ready, but it could not file the petition on Saturday as the representative of Punjab government was not available on time,” The Dawn quoted the Deputy Advocate General, Shah Khawar, as saying.

On June 2, a full bench of the Lahore High Court had ordered Saeed’s release from house arrest on the basis of a habeas corpus petition filed by his lawyer.

The high court said that it had not received substantial evidence to continue the detention of Saeed, the prime accused of the November 2008 Mumbai attacks.

The court also ordered the release of another JuD leader Colonel (retired) Nazir Ahmad.

Saeed was put under house arrest on December 11 last year, day after the JuD, the political wing of the Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) was declared a terrorist group by the United Nations (UN). (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: acquittal, Advocate, Ahmad, ANI, appeal, arrest, basis, bench, carnage, challenge, colonel, corpus, Court, dawa, dawn, day, December, decision, Deputy Advocate, detention, evidence, federal government, general, Government, group, habeas corpus, Hafeez, High, house, Islamabad, Jamaat-ud, jud, July, June, Khawar, Lahore, lahore high court, Lashkar, Lashkar-e, lawyer, leader, LeT, lhc, masterminding, Monday, muhammad, Muhammad Saeed, Mumbai, Nazir, nazir ahmad, November, order, Pak, Pakistan, Pakistan government, petition, Punjab, punjab government, release, Release From House Arrest, representative, Saeed, Saturday, Shah Khawar, Substantial Evidence, terrorist group, time, toiba, united, verdict, wing, year

JuD expanding operations, recruiting in PoK

July 1, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Lahore, July 1 (ANI): The banned Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD), the political wing of the Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT), is expanding its operations, and carrying out recruitment drives in the Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK), police has said.

According to a secret report submitted to the Pakistan government, the JuD is planning to set up mosques, schools and dispensaries in the region and has already bought a vast piece of land in the Dulai area of Muzaffarabad.

The Inspector General of Police (IGP) of the region, Javed Iqbal said that the authorities were closely monitoring the JuD’s activities.

However, the Information Minister Qamar Zaman Kaira, denied any such ‘secret’ report being shared with the government.

“No such report has come before the government claiming these organisations have revived their activities,” The Daily Times quoted Kaira, as saying. (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: ANI, area, authorities, daily, dawa, dispensaries, Dulai, Government, IGP, information, information minister, Inspector General, iqbal, Jamaat-ud, javed, jud, July, July 1, kaira, Kashmir, Lahore, land, Lashkar, Lashkar-e, LeT, minister, mosques, muzaffarabad, organisations, Pakistan, Pakistan government, piece, pok, police, qamar, Recruiting, recruitment, Recruitment Drives, region, report, times, toiba, wing, zaman

JuD has links with Al-Qaeda: Pak Attorney General

May 30, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Islamabad, May 30 (ANI): Pakistan Attorney General Sardar Latif Khosa has said that the Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD) has links with Al-Qaeda, and at least one of the culprit involved in the November 2008 Mumbai attacks is associated with the JuD, The News reports.

Presenting secret documents before the Lahore High Court (LHC) with regard to the house-arrest case of JuD chief Hafiz Mohammad Saeed, Khosa said the documents were related with the national security, and therefore is being tabled in a closed door session.

Saeed’s counsel AK Dogar, however, objected to close door proceedings of the court and demanded that the documents should be presented in an open session and in the presence of Saeed.

Earlier, the LHC preserved its verdict in the Saeed detention case saying it would be made public later.

It may be noted that Khosa recently told the LHC that the government had ‘enough material’ against the JuD leaders to prove that they have been involved in terror activities, but it could not produce it before a court of law. (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: al, al-Qaeda, ANI, attorney, attorney-general, case, counsel, Court, culprit, dawa, detention, Dogar, door, general, Government, Hafiz, High, house arrest, Islamabad, jamaat, Jamaat-ud, jud, Khosa, Lahore, lahore high court, latif, law, lhc, material, May, mohammad, Mohammad Saeed, Mumbai, national security, NEWS, November, open session, Pak, Pakistan, presence, presenting, qaeda, regard, Saeed, sardar, secret documents, security, session, terror, terror activities, verdict

At least 30 dead, over 150 injured in Lahore bomb blast

May 27, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Lahore, May26 (ANI): A powerful bomb blast rocked Lahore on Wednesday killing over 30 people, besides injuring about 150 people and destroying over 40 vehicles.

According to reports, the blast took place in a building situated on Mall road adjacent to the Lahore High Court building. It was so powerful that several window panes of the court building were blown away.

Three buildings were completely destroyed in the blast and 30 dead bodies were reportedly found till reports last filtered in.

Gunshots were also heard in the area after the blast.

The attack was apparently aimed at the Lahore High Court, where Jamat-ud-Dawa (JuD) chief Hafiz Saeed was due to be produced today.

Sources said many people are still trapped in the rubble of the buildings, that have collapsed completely in the blast.

Casualties are expected to rise as rescue and search operations are still on.

Security forces have cordoned off the area and shifted injured and bodies to hospitals.

Meanwhile, security forces claimed to have arrested a person near the incident site allegedly involved in the blast . (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: ANI, area, attack, blast, blown away, bomb, bomb blast, building, casualties, Court, dawa, dead bodies, gunshots, Hafiz, High, hospitals, incident, Jamat-ud, jud, Killing People, Lahore, lahore high court, mall, Many People, May, person, place, rescue, road, rubble, Saeed, search, search operations, security, security forces, site, today, Wednesday, window, window panes

Nepalese Sherpa conquered Everest for 19th time to create environmental awareness

May 25, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Washington, May 25 (ANI): A man from Nepal conquered Mount Everest for a breathtaking 19th time on May 21 to create environmental awareness.

Apa reached the summit of the world’s highest peak as part of Eco Everest Expeditions, aiming to educate climbers about their impact on the Himalayas and highlight the affects of climate change on the region.

“I want people to see that our mountains are really fragile and vulnerable to what we do as humans,” CNN quoted Dawa Steven, leader of the expeditions, as saying.

Dawa Steven said that apart from the impact of warming temperatures on the Himalayas there are more direct impacts from climbers.

“There’s a big problem with human waste on the mountain. Toilet bags have been introduced on expeditions in the last two years, so it can be transported back down the mountain again,” he said.

The expedition is also encouraging mountaineers to bring down trash that they find on the mountain with a “Cash for Trash” program; Eco Everest offers 100 rupees for each kilo of trash brought back down.

The expedition teams also use parabolic solar cookers harnessing the strong sunlight of the mountain region.

“They’re really good, you just point it at the sun and about 30 minutes later you have a pot of boiling water. If I can use it in the harsh environment of base camp Everest then anyone can use it back home,” Dawa said. (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: 30 minutes, ANI, anyone, apa, awareness, base, Boiling Water, camp everest, Cash, change, climate, climate change, climbers, cnn, dawa, eco, environment, everest expeditions, expedition, expedition teams, Expeditions, harsh environment, himalayas, home, impact, kilo, leader, man, May, Mount Everest, mountain, Nepal., nepalese, part, peak, pot, problem, program, region, rupees, sherpa, solar cookers, steven, summit, Sun, sunlight, time, toilet, toilet bags, trash, warming, Washington, waste, water, world

Nepalese Sherpa climbs Everest for 19th time to create environmental awareness

May 25, 2009 By admin 1 Comment

Washington, May 25 (ANI): A man from Nepal conquered Mount Everest for a breathtaking 19th time on May 21 to create environmental awareness.

“I want people to see that our mountains are really fragile and vulnerable to what we do as humans,” CNN quoted Dawa Steven, leader of the expeditions, as saying.

Dawa Steven said that apart from the impact of warming temperatures on the Himalayas there are more direct impacts from climbers.

“There’s a big problem with human waste on the mountain. Toilet bags have been introduced on expeditions in the last two years, so it can be transported back down the mountain again,” he said.

The expedition teams also use parabolic solar cookers harnessing the strong sunlight of the mountain region.

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: 30 minutes, Boiling Water, camp everest, climate change, climbers, cnn, dawa, eco, everest expeditions, expedition teams, harsh environment, himalayas, kilo, Mount Everest, Nepal., nepalese sherpa, rupees, sherpa, solar cookers, sunlight, toilet bags

Flushing out Taliban from Swat may not solve Pak problems : Report

May 17, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Washington, May 17 (ANI): Pakistan is virtually fighting for its survival in the Swat Valley, as the Army there is engaged in heavy battle against the Taliban and other extremists, but even if it succeeds in flushing out militants from the region, country’s crises might not siege there.

A report in the Politico said that problems facing Pakistan is deep rooted within the country, and only flushing out the militants from the North West Frontier Province (NWFP) would serve no purpose.

The report said that the Taliban and Al-Qaeda are definitely interrelated in Pakistan, and to make the matter worse there are several off-shoots of these two major terrorist organizations such as Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), Lashkar-e-Janghvi, and Jaish-e-Mohammed.

These groups also have the support of larger ‘humanitarian’ organizations working within the country, as we have seen in the case of Jaamat-ud-Dawa (JuD), the ‘social’ face of LeT.

These military plus humanitarian associations are not just acting in the Swat valley, but are in fact present throughout the country including the federal capital Islamabad.

And, to add to all this Pakistan has nuclear weapons, which is dangerously close of falling into the hands of the militants.

So, there is an immediate need for Pakistan to reassess the situation, the report concluded.(ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: al-Qaeda, capital islamabad, crises, dawa, extremists, frontier province, humanitarian associations, Humanitarian Organizations, Jaish, Lashkar-e-Taiba, militants, Mohammed, north west frontier, nuclear weapons, NWFP, Pakistan, report said that, swat valley, Taliban, terrorist organizations

Pakistani troops kill 55 militants

May 16, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Islamabad, May 15 (ANI): Pakistani troops have killed 55 militants in various parts of Swat valley during the last 24 hours.

“Fifty-five miscreants have been killed in various areas of Swat during the last 24 hours while three security forces personnel embraced martyrdom and 11 others were injured,” Pakistani military said in a statement.

The statement further said that it has arrested an important Taliban commander, Dawa Noor.

According to the Dawn, Noor was involved in ‘terrorist activities’ in the Sultanwas and Daggar areas of Buner district and had been inciting residents against security forces.

The on-going operation against Taliban militants was launched on May 7. (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: ANI, Buner, commander, Daggar, dawa, dawn, district, Fifty-five, Islamabad, martyrdom, May, militants, military, miscreants, noor, operation, pakistani military, Pakistani troops, security, security forces, statement, Sultanwas, swat, swat valley, Taliban, taliban commander, terrorist activities, valley

Tibetans in India condemn Chinese death sentence for riots

April 16, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Dharamshala/New Delhi, Apr 16 (ANI): Tibetans refugees living in India came out strongly against death sentences awarded to two Tibetans for their alleged role in the spate of riots that rocked Lhasa in 2008.

To express their solidarity with the convicted fellow Tibetans, the office bearers of the Students for Free Tibet (SFT) addressed a press conference here on Wednesday.

Members of the SFT have submitted a petition urging the Chinese Government to stop the execution and also the ill treatment being meted out to the Tibetan prisoners in Lhasa.

At the press conference, Tenzin Cheoying, President, SFT read out the contents of the petition.

“We appeal to your esteem office to give urgent attention to the cases of Lobsang Gyalsten and Loyak – sentenced to death, Tenzin Phuntsok and Kangtsuk – sentenced to death with two year suspension and Dawa Sangpo sentenced to life imprisonment given by Lhasa People’s Intermediate Court on April 8,” said Tenzin Cheoying.

“We do not believe that these trials were conducted according to the international judicial standards. We the Minister of Justice Wu Aiying to review all four death sentences with immediate effect and allow these cases to be impartially investigated with further trials to be conducted openly and with due regard to international legal standards,” added Tenzin Cheoying.

Further, he said that the recent verdict passed by Lhasa People’s Intermediate Court is a blatant attempt to stop the Tibetans from speaking against the Chinese’s regime.

He also appealed to the Chinese Minister of Justice to provide the names and whereabouts of thousands of Tibetans still detained for their suspected role in the last year’s event.

“We also demand that all cases related to the events of March and April 2008 are suspended until a full and independent enquiry into events around these states is held. And a full list of names and whereabouts of the 1200 and more Tibetans still detained in relations to the last year’s event,” added Tenzin Cheoying.

He mentioned that through this petition, the Tibetans in-exile want to implore upon the Chinese Government to stop the execution. He also appealed to the international community to put pressure on China.

Meanwhile, Tibetans residing in New Delhi also staged a peaceful protest rally.

Carrying Tibetan flags and shouting ‘Free Tibet’ slogans, the protesters marched through the streets to condemn the death sentence pronounced by the Chinese administration.

“We have staged this peaceful protest at Janta Mantar because four Tibetans were given death sentence in China. The Chinese Government passed down four death sentences, one life imprisonment. Two was immediate death sentence and two death sentences in within two years time,” said Kunchok, member, Tibetan Youth Congress, New Delhi.

Earlier, China’s official Xinhua news agency had confirmed that two Tibetans have been sentenced to death for their role in riots in Tibet’s regional capital of Lhasa last year.

They were found guilty of ‘igniting fatal fires’ during the riots. (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: administration., agency, Aiying, ANI, Apr, April, attempt, attention, Blatant Attempt, capital, Cheoying, China, Chinese, chinese government, chinese minister, community, conference, Congress, Court, dawa, death, death sentence, Death Sentences, dharamshala, Due Regard, effect, enquiry, esteem, event, execution, fellow, free, Government, Gyalsten, ill-treatment, implore, imprisonment, Independent Enquiry, India, Intermediate Court, intermediate-, Janta, Judicial Standards, justice, Kangtsuk, Kunchok, lhasa, life, life imprisonment, list, list of names, Lobsang, Loyak, Mantar, March, member, minister, Minister Of Justice, New Delhi, NEWS, office, official, petition, Phuntsok, president, press, pressure, protest, rally, regard, regime, riots, role, Sangpo, sentence, SFT, solidarity, spate, Students For Free Tibet, suspension, Tenzin, tibet, Tibetan, Tibetans, time, treatment, urgent attention, verdict, Wednesday, whereabouts, xinhua, year, youth

Darjeeling CPI-M candidate faces GJM protests

April 7, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Siliguri (West Bengal), April 6 (IANS) Pro-Gorkhaland activists Monday greeted the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) candidate for West Bengal’s Darjeeling seat with black flags when he went to file his nomination for the Lok Sabha polls.

Activists of the Gorkha Janamukti Morcha (GJM), which is fighting for a separate Gorkhaland carved out of Darjeeling and other areas of north Bengal, waved black flags with ‘Go Back’ written on them when CPI-M’s Jibesh Sarkar arrived to file his nomination papers.

‘A few GJM protesters with black flags demonstrated at Tindhariya in Kurseong, while the CPI-M nominee was on his way to file nominations. However, we could rescue him and helped him proceed,’ police sources said.

The Darjeeling seat has become hi-profile with the GJM deciding to support the candidature of Bharatiya Janata Party’s Rajya Sabha leader Jaswant Singh, who is slated to file his nomination April 9.

Dawa Narbula of the Congress also filed his papers during the day.

The election to the seat is scheduled for April 30.

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: activists, April, bharatiya, bharatiya janata party, Black Flags, candidate, candidature, communist, communist party of india, communist party of india marxist, Congress, cpi, CPI-M, darjeeling, dawa, day, Election, gjm, Gorkha, Gorkhaland, IANS, India, Janamukti, Janata, Jaswant, Jaswant Singh, Jibesh, Kurseong, leader, lok, lok sabha polls, Monday, Morcha, Narbula, nomination, nomination papers, nominee, north bengal, party, police, police sources, pro, protesters, Rajya Sabha, Sarkar, seat, siliguri, Singh, Tindhariya, way, west bengal

JuD chief Hafiz Saeed challenges his detention in Lahore High Court

April 5, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Lahore, Apr. 5 (ANI): Challenging their detention, Jamat-ud-Dawa chief Hafiz Muhammad Saeed and his three associates have filed a petition in the Lahore High Court.

Saeed, Colonel (r) Nazeer Ahmad, Abdul Rehman and Ameer Hamza filed the petition under Article 199(1bi) of the constitution, the Daily Times reports.

The leaders of the banned organization have asked the court to determine if they were being held in custody in accordance with the law, their counsel AK Dogar said.

Dogar claimed that the detention of his clients, which was ordered by the Home Department on January 9 and again on March 9, was without lawful authority and of no legal effect.

In the petition, Dogar submitted that Hafiz Saeed had been earlier arrested during the Musharraf regime, but was released by the orders of the LHC.

There was no on the record allegation against the petitioner or his organization, he added.

Furthermore, the counsel noted that the LHC had also observed that Dawa had never been involved in any terrorist activities in Pakistan, and no FIR had ever been registered against Dawa or any of its detained members.

“Dawa was an independent organization with no links with Lashkar-e-Tayyaba,” he stated.

Dogar requested the court to issue a habeas corpus direction, which would require the respondents to present the petitioners before the LHC. (ANI)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: Abdul Rehman, accordance with the law, allegation against, ameer, article 199, dawa, Dogar, habeas corpus, hafiz muhammad saeed, Hamza, independent organization, jud, lahore high court, Lashkar, lawful authority, lhc, musharraf regime, nazeer, petitioner, Petitioners, terrorist activities