Lahore High Court directs Govt. to use all means to defend terror suspect Dr.Aafia

Lahore, Jun.6 (ANI): The Lahore High Court (LHC) has directed the federal government to use all its diplomatic means to defend Aafia Siddiqui, who is currently in detention in the US for having alleged links with Al Qaeda.

LHC Justice Ijaz Ahmad Chaudhry also asked the Foreign Office to write a letter to the American court and bring all documents and materials, which would prove Siddiqui’s innocence, to its knowledge, The Daily Times reports.

The court’s directive came during a petition filed by one Javed Iqbal Jaffree, who submitted that Siddiqui was kidnapped along with her three children from Karachi in 2003, and that the government should be directed to seek her release from the US custody.

Siddiqui, a trained neuroscientist, has been charged by the US for allegedly shooting at her American interrogators in Afghanistan in July 2008.

Aafia faces up to 20 years in prison on the attempted murder charges and life in prison on the firearms charge. (ANI)

Faisal Shahzad: terrorist or criminal? The debate rages on

New York, May 5 (ANI): The debate over whether terrorists should be treated at par with criminals or whether they should be considered enemy combatants has erupted once again following the arrest of Times Square bomber Faisal Shahzad and the reading out of his Miranda rights as is constitutionally guaranteed to every criminal in US.

The White House has said that Shahzad was first grilled by law enforcement agencies in an exception to Miranda. Shahzad remained cooperative through the interrogation said officials.

However, those who believe that terrorists should not have the same entitlements as other criminals were unimpressed by this rationale.

“The Supreme Court has held there”s no constitutional obligation to give him Miranda rights,” Representative Pete King told the New York Daily News, referring to the right to remain silent and get a lawyer.

White House spokesman Robert Gibbs scoffed at the idea investigators were passing up valuable intelligence. “The insinuation somehow that that is not the case,” Gibbs said.

And he mocked politicians who downplayed the fact that Shahzad is American. “Some of the comments have been curious,” Gibbs said.

“One of the comments was, ”I know he”s an American citizen, but still…” A unique viewpoint,” he countered.

King is among those who hold an opposing view, he argued that if a terror suspect is found not guilty, authorities could simply let him go.

“You can”t always be operating in a time of war on the presumption that you might be wrong, especially when you”re not inflicting any permanent harm on the guy,” King said. (ANI)

FBI””s worst fears of frequent isolated strikes becoming a reality

New York, May 5 (ANI): American law enforcement officials have said that Times Square bombing suspect Faisal Shahzad””””s simple but potentially devastating plot represents one of their worst fears – small, frequent strikes instead of a massive assault.

“In the eyes of terrorists, New York is America and they want to come back to kill us,” the New York Daily News quoted New York””””s Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly, as saying.

Former NYPD Commissioner William Bratton agreed.

“This is more worrisome because [it''''''''s] harder to detect and prevent,” he said.

Police officials and federal investigators said that they were chasing every possible terror-related lead linked to 30-year-old Shahzad, who was nabbed on Monday, minutes before flying out of New York.

They said that Shahzad built his makeshift bomb in a Connecticut garage after undergoing explosives training in a remote Taliban-run region of Pakistan.

“The timers, the wires, the M-88s, the propane tanks, the gasoline containers and the gun locker filled with fertilizer. The whole lethal assembly turned the Pathfinder into one big hurt locker,” Commissioner Kelly said.

Shahzad was arrested shortly after the plane””””s doors closed about 11 p.m. He was pulled off the plane, which was allowed to head to the runway, only to be summoned back so two more passengers could be questioned. They were later released.

Passengers said police were so discreet they didn””””t know the three were removed until they saw a TV report in the airport lounge while waiting to reboard.

Officials believe the mixup in letting the terror suspect board the flight was the airline””””s fault.
A spokeswoman for Emirates declined to comment on the accusation. (ANI)

Times Square would-be bomber received terror training in Pakistan

New York, May 5 (ANI): Faisal Shahzad, the 30-year-old Pakistani origin terror suspect who has been accused of planting an explosive device in a parked SUV at New York’s Times Square, has told investigators that he received bomb-making training during a five-month trip to Pakistan.

He disclosed that the training was imparted to him in Waziristan, a tribal region close to the Afghan border and a Taliban bastion. He also admitted that he was the one who carried out the failed attack.

Connecticut resident Shahzad said he was the only individual involved in the foiled bombing attempt.

Authorities apprehended Shahzad while he was trying to flee New York for Dubai on an Emirates flight.

US Attorney General Eric Holder told a news conference in Washington that Shahzad’s act was a “terrorist plot aimed at killing Americans.”

Despite Shahzad”s claims that he acted alone, authorities “will not rest until we have brought everyone responsible to justice,” the New York Post quoted him, as saying.

“Based on what we know so far, it is clear that this was a terrorist plot aimed at murdering Americans in one of the busiest places in our country,” he added.

Holder claimed that Shahzad, a naturalized US citizen, had admitted to the crime and was talking to authorities.

“The investigation is ongoing,” he said without elaborating further.

According to the charges, Faisal bought the SUV on April 24 for 1,300 dollars, using thirteen 100-dollar bills.

When the cops secured the car, they found a set of keys inside — one of which opened the front door of his Bridgeport home, the other was for an Isuzu owned by him.

Using a pre-paid cell phone, Faisal called a fireworks store in Pennsylvania and received several calls from Pakistan, according to court papers.

Meanwhile, authorities in Pakistan raided four different locations and have rounded up at least ten suspects, some of whom may be related to Shahzad.

Pakistani police told NBC News that Shahzad travelled from the US to Karachi on July 3, 2009, and returned to New York on August 8, 2009.

During that time, he is believed to have travelled to Peshawar, a city in the region bordering Afghanistan.

According to New York Post, the explosive device found inside the SUV had alarm clocks connected to a 16-ounce can filled with fireworks, which were intended to detonate gas cans and set propane tanks afire in a chain reaction.

Cops said the bomb could have produced “a significant fireball” with enough force to kill pedestrians and destroy nearby buildings.

Prosecutors object Rana’s plea seeking more details

Federal prosecutors here have objected to terror suspect Tahawwur Rana’s demand for specific details about his involvement in Indian and Danish terror plots, saying the government has already provided “more than sufficient” information to prepare his defence for trial.

In a 12-page response to Rana’s pre-trial motions, the government said it has provided and will continue to provide “extensive discovery” relating to Rana’s conduct, including his interactions with co-defendant David Headley and his own actions taken to assist Headley in carrying out conspiracies.

“Thus, based on the adequacy of the indictment and the extensive pretrial disclosures undertaken by the government, the defendant has more than sufficient information from which to conduct his own investigation and prepare his defence.

“Accordingly, the Court should deny the defendant’s motion for a bill of particulars,” the government’s response submitted in the US District Court here said.

Prosecutors said a defendant has a “constitutional right to know the offence with which he is charged, but not to know the details of how it will be proved”.

Rana’s lawyer Patrick Blegen had in February filed motions asking prosecutors to provide a “bill of particulars” – specific details about the “material support and resources” that the superseding indictment allege the Pakistani-Canadian had provided to terrorist plots in India and Denmark.

Blegen had said the government should identify the material support and resources that Rana and co-conspirators allegedly provided regarding terrorism in India. He said he needed the information to adequately prepare for trial.

Responding to the motions, prosecutors said the information already provided to Rana includes copies of recorded conversations and emails between Headley, Rana and other participants in the conspiracies; complete video-taped post-arrest statements of Rana and Headley, reports relating to Headley’s proffer, Headley’s testimony before the grand jury, evidence obtained through grand jury subpoenas and evidence seized during search warrants executed at multiple locations.

“To date, the government estimates that it has provided over 20,000 documents, in addition to the various recordings and draft transcripts,” the motion said.

Prosecutors said Rana simply looks past the specific allegations of the superseding indictment and says little about the extensive discovery that has been provided, claiming that the superseding indictment lists only “broad categories”.

“By seeking more particularity, the defendant essentially is requesting the government to point to the particular evidence of each allegation. This is not a proper purpose of a bill of particulars,” it said.

A bill of particulars is not necessary in this case not only because the superseding indictment provides far more detail than necessary to apprise the defendant of the charges against him, but also because the government is providing extensive discovery relating to such charges, the response said.

Blegen said he is seeking the information so that Rana is “sufficiently apprised” of the scope of the government’s allegations and is “adequately prepared” for trial.

Rana has pleaded not guilty to charges that he provided material support to the Mumbai terror strikes as well as a plot to attack a Danish newspaper

US hunts for citizens training with Al Qaeda, other terrorist groups

Los Angeles, Mar 6 (ANI): The Obama Administration has no count of Americans training overseas with Al Qaeda or other terrorist groups, but is gathering information with Pakistan and other governments to identify and locate people holding US passports who are receiving terrorist training then legally returning to commit violent acts, according to a top US diplomat.

Speaking to the Pacific Council on International Policy in Los Angeles, Ambassador to Pakistan Anne Patterson gave a “nightmare scenario” in which people holding US passports receive terrorist training then return legally to the US to commit violent acts.

“They can easily infiltrate back into the United States and, frankly, we don’t know what to do about them. We think there are more out there than we know about. We just have to keep working at it,” FOX News quoted Patterson, as saying.

Patterson said the US is gathering information with Pakistan and other governments to identify and locate such people.

Earlier, National Intelligence Director Dennis Blair reaffirmed what officials have learned from Nigerian terror suspect Abdulmutallab and had warned that al Qaeda’s pool of suicide bombers may include US citizens and that the terror group may be targeting Americans overseas for attacks.

Testifying before the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, Blair said that while the United States has ramped up its efforts against al Qaeda, it is becoming increasingly difficult to identify the group’s immediate plans.

Blair told the Senate Intelligence Committee Tuesday that an al Qaeda attempt against the United States “is certain,” when asked about the possibility of it happening in the next three to six months. (ANI)

Pak terror suspect swallows sim-card in Liberia

Monrovia (Liberia), Sep.4 (ANI): One of the six Pakistanis, who was trying to enter Liberia on ‘fake’ US passports but was arrested, swallowed his mobile phone sim- card while being apprehended.

Liberian Defense Minister Brownie Samukai said the men were nabbed at the international airport earlier this week while trying to sneak into the country.

Samukai said the purpose of their intrusion was still not clear, but it is believed that they were planning to carry out serial terror attacks across the country.

Samukai, however, did not disclose details about the detained men. He also refused to give information on what Liberian authorities believe the men were trying to do and where the men are being held or what charges they may face.

He said one of the suspects removed his phone’s SIM card and swallowed it as he was being arrested, PKonweb reported.

Liberia is one of the few countries in Africa, and the only country in West Africa, without roots in the European Scramble for Africa.

It was founded as a colony by the American Colonization Society in 1821-22.Liberia was created as a place for slaves freed in the United States to emigrate to in Africa, on the premise they would have greater freedom and equality there. (ANI)

Mumbai terror suspect awarded 14 day judicial custody by Rawalpindi court

Rawalpindi, Aug.21 (ANI): An Anti Terrorism Court here has awarded 14 day judicial custody to a Mumbai terror suspect and sent him to the Adiala Jail, where all the other alleged 26/11 suspects are locked.

The suspect, Jamil Ahmed of Battgram, was produced before the court by the Federal Investigation Agency’s (FIA) Special Investigation Unit (SIU) after which the court adjourned the hearing till September 3.

Battgram was arrested by the FIA earlier this month for alleged links with the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), the terror group which masterminded the November 26, 2008 Mumbai attacks in which about 200 people were killed and over 150 injured. (ANI)

Mumbai placed on alert after IB terror strike warning

Mumbai, July 15 (ANI): Security has been beefed up in Mumbai and neighboring districts following an Intelligence Bureau (IB) terror alert.

According to Maharashtra’s Minister of State for Home, Naseem Khan, vigil has been increased at railway stations and major financial institutions, based on the IB input. IB gives such inputs regularly to the state governments.

It is believed that the IB warned that at least seven places in Maharashtra, including a reputed bank in Mumbai and an important railway junction in Navi Mumbai could be targeted.

It described the threat as specific and the most serious in last two years, sources added.

According to police, the security cover has been increased at Church Gate, Dadar, Andheri and a few railway stations on the Central Railway’s Harbor line in Navi Mumbai.

The alert was forwarded on July 8 after security forces recovered photographs of targets in Maharashtra from a terror suspect who was detained in Jammu and Kashmir.

The information gathered from the interrogation was shared with Maharashtra police, sources said.

Sources said the IB alert did not specify the number of terrorists planning to carry out the attack. (ANI)

Hamas fires rocket into Israel, damages cars and property

Jerusalem, Feb.8 (ANI): Palestinian militants have fired a rocket from the Gaza Strip into southern Israel, causing damage but no injuries, a military spokesman says.

The Israeli Defence Force said two cars were set ablaze and destroyed while shrapnel damaged several others after a Kassam rocket fired by Palestinians early Sunday morning landed in a parking lot on a kibbutz in the Sha’ar Hanegev region.

The rocket did not cause casualties. It exploded in the Niram kibbutz near the city of Sderot, the Jerusalem Post quoted a spokesman, as saying.

Palestinian militants have fired about 40 rockets and mortar rounds since January 18 when Israel ended its 22-day military Gaza offensive. That offensive caused 1,330 Palestinian deaths.

Israel, which launched its assault on December 27 with the stated aim of stemming rocket attacks, has warned of “the severest riposte” to any further rocket fire.

Meanwhile, IDF troops arrested a Palestinian terror suspect in a village northeast of Ramallah, in the West Bank on Saturday night. The man is being interrogated, IDF sources told the paper. (ANI)