Taliban founder shares dais with PC, netizens rap Govt.

Taliban founder shares dais with PC, netizens rap Govt.

PNS | New Delhi| 15 Nov 2013 ::  The presence of Mullah Abdul Salam Zaeef, one of the founding members of Taliban and once a close confidant of its former chief Mullah Mohammed Omar, in a function also attended by Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram in Goa on Sunday has created a flutter. The cyberspace was abuzz with netizens giving vent to their ire against the UPA Government after pictures of Chidambaram and Zaeef at the venue of the event went viral.

“Sushilkumar Shinde must have been busy at a music release function else he would have gone to welcome Mullah Zaeef at the airport,” said one Abhigyan on Twitter.

“How does this terrorist get Indian visa,” tweeted Sourabh Bharti. Officials of Ministry of Home Affairs, however, were tightlipped on the granting of visa to Zaeef, who is currently acting as Taliban’s contact point with the outside world. The Taliban leader delivered lectures at the Goa event on Saturday and Sunday.

Zaeef was a deputy Minister in the Taliban Government and was its Ambassador to Pakistan during the 9/11 attacks on the US. He was known for his vitriolic speeches in his Press conferences in Islamabad. After the US invaded Afghanistan and the Taliban lost power, he was captured in Pakistan in 2001. He was then sent to the infamous Guantanamo Bay prison where he was lodged till 2005.

Strangely, however, he later on managed to get off the list of terrorists prepared by the US. Intriguingly, Zaeef is said to have never apologised for his role in Taliban.

He was also not produced before any tribunal by the US forces. After landing back in Kabul, for several years he was under house arrest. Later, he emerged in the UAE and Saudi Arabia and was seen in several peace talks with the Western world and is still considered as Taliban’s ambassador.(Courtesy:The Pioneer)

Kenya mall hostage crisis continues, toll 59 .

Kenya mall hostage crisis continues, toll 59 .

New Delhi | Nairobi | 22 Sep 2013 :: Kenyan troops were locked in a fierce gunfight with Somali militants inside an upmarket Nairobi shopping mall on Sunday, in a final push to end a siege that has left 59 killed and 200 wounded with an unknown number of hostages still being held. Israeli forces joined Kenyan efforts to end adeadly siege by Somali militants at the mall, a security source told AFP.

"The Israelis have just entered and they are rescuing the hostages and the injured," the source said on condition he not be named.

The intervention came 26 hours after gunmen walked into the complex, tossing grenades and spraying gunfire at shoppers and staff.

Fifty-nine people are confirmed dead in an attack by Somali Islamist militants on a Nairobi shopping mall, Kenya's interior minister Joseph Ole Lenku said on Sunday.

Some 10 to 15 gunmen are still battling security forces inside Nairobi's Westgate shopping mall, he said.

"A number of attackers are still in the building, and range between ten to fifteen gunmen," he said.

"We believe there are some innocent people in the building, that is why the operation is delicate."

Somalia's Al Qaeda-inspired Shebab rebels said the carnage at the part Israeli-owned complex mall was in retaliation for Kenya's military intervention in Somalia, where African Union troops are battling the Islamists. Timeline: al Shabab attacks in Somalia, other nations

Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta said in a televised address to the nation late Saturday that he had "personally lost family members in the Westgate attack".(Courtesy:Hindustan times)

Slippery Indian Mujahideen leader Yasin Bhatkal arrested, to be brought to Delhi.

Slippery Indian Mujahideen leader Yasin Bhatkal arrested, to be brought to Delhi.

Nerw Delhi | 29 Aug 2013 :: Suspected terror mastermind and top Indian Mujahideen leader Yasin Bhatkal was nabbed from the Indo-Nepal border on Wednesday night, apparently giving India a bigger catch than Lashkar-e-Taiba bomb maker Abdul Karim Tunda this month.

 

Bhatkal, wanted in around 40 blast cases and carrying a reward of Rs. 35 lakh, is the biggest IM leader ever arrested and security agencies are hopeful of gaining crucial information on the outfit that was designated a terrorist group in 2010.

 

On the run for over five years in several countries including Nepal, Bangladesh and Pakistan, Bhatkal (30) was held along with his associate Asadullah Akhtar aka Haddi (26) while crossing into India at Raxaul Nahar Chowk (around 100 km from Patna) opposite Birgunj town of Nepal.(Courtesy:Hindustan Times)

LoC killings will delay Secretary-level talks: India.

LoC killings will delay Secretary-level talks: India.

File photo Indian security personnel near the Line of Control,
 Samba sector in Jammu and Kashmir. India on Tuesday told
 Pakistan that upholding sanctity of the LoC was the most
 importan Confidence Building Measure between the two countries.

NEW DELHI | PTI | 13 Aug 2013 :: Pakistan has suggested August 27-28 for the Wullar Barrage meeting between the water and power secretaries and September 16-17 for the Sir Creek issue.

India on Tuesday gave a clear indication that killing of five of its soldiers on LoC by the Pakistan Army will delay the India-Pakistan Secretary-level talks, asserting that dialogue can only proceed in an environment free of violence and terror.

It also asked Pakistan to uphold the sanctity of the LoC, saying it was the “most important Confidence Building Measure” between the two countries.

Pakistan should abide by its publicly-articulated commitment made by newly-elected Prime Minister to seek a relationship of peace, friendship and cooperation with India and should not allow its territory to be used against anti-India activities, an External Affairs Ministry spokesperson said.

He was responding to a query on Hafiz Saeed, the mastermind of the 26/11 terror attacks in Mumbai, leading Eid prayers at the famous Gaddafi stadium in Lahore.

Asked about India’s stand over the Pakistani proposal suggesting dates for Secretary-level talks, he said India did receive last month proposals for some Secretary-level dialogue which were to be hosted by Pakistan.

“... For peaceful dialogue to proceed we need an environment free of violence and terror. And certainly what has happened last week doesn’t fit into that. That said there was no timeline for the held definitely to held. We are considering these things and have factored-in all subsequent developments also. We will take a call in due time,” he said.

In its proposal, Pakistan has suggested August 27-28 for the Wullar Barrage meeting between the water and power secretaries and September 16-17 for the Sir Creek maritime boundary issue.(Courtesy:The Hindu)

Curfews Imposed in Indian-Held Kashmir.

Curfews Imposed in Indian-Held Kashmir.

Soldiers on Sunday in Jammu, in the Indian-controlled

 portion of Kashmir, after rioting on Friday left two

 civilians dead. Strains between India and Pakistan

 have worsened recently.

NEW DELHI | 13 Aug 2013 ::  Indian forces and local authorities on Sunday enforced curfews in several towns in the Indian-controlled portion of Kashmir after rioting on Friday left two civilians dead.

Shops were closed and traffic was all but nonexistent in the city of Jammu on Sunday, according to the police in the state of Jammu and Kashmir. Protests flared in parts of the state but only minor injuries to police officers and protesters were reported, the police said.

The clashes between Muslims and Hindus that erupted Friday after prayer services for the Id al-Fitr holiday marking the end of Ramadan added to the heightened tensions between India and Pakistan in the disputed region. Those strains have worsened over the past week after exchanges of gunfire and a still-murky attack on Tuesday, in which five Indian soldiers were killed.

India has blamed Pakistan’s army for the attack, a charge that Pakistan has denied. On Sunday there were more reports of gunfire.

The Bharatiya Janata Party, or B.J.P., declared a three-day strike for much of the region, and Arun Jaitley, a leader of the party, flew to Jammu on Friday to assess the situation. But state officials would not allow Mr. Jaitley to leave the airport, according to Indian news media reports, and he was forced to fly back to Delhi.

The B.J.P., the main opposition to the governing United Progressive Alliance, has criticized the Indian government for initially refusing to blame Pakistan for the deaths of the soldiers. The opposition party routinely criticizes the governing coalition for not being tough enough on Pakistan.(Courtesy:The New      York Times) 

India announces package for Jalalabad attack victims.

India announces package for Jalalabad attack victims.

In Jalalabad, India’s Ambassador to Afghanistan, Amar Sinha, announced compensation – described as ``token assistance’’ – of dollars 10,000 (about Rs. 6 lakhs) to the families of each of the victims.

In the midst of tragedy following the foiled attack on the Indian Consulate in Jalalabad, India warmed up to Afghanistan by announcing a generous package of compensation for Afghans who had fallen or were injured during the strike.

The bonding between New Delhi and Kabul contrasted sharply with the sudden dip in India’s ties with Pakistan, whose Deputy High Commissioner was summoned to South Block on Tuesday.

India sees Pakistani instigation behind the Jalalabad attack but the immediate provocation for summoning the Pakistani diplomat was the cross-border firing that killed five Indian troops patrolling the increasingly fragile Line of Control (LoC) between the two countries.

In Jalalabad, India’s Ambassador to Afghanistan, Amar Sinha, announced compensation – described as ``token assistance’’ – of dollars 10,000 (about Rs. 6 lakhs) to the families of each of the victims. He also announced a reward of $ 20,000 for the Afghan security detail that was on duty outside the Consulate when the attack took place. In addition, $ 2,000 were to be given to the Afghan soldier who gunned down one of the suicide bombers and stopped the attackers in their tracks.

During his visit to Jalalabad in eastern Afghanistan, Mr. Sinha met the Governor of Nangarhar Province as well as the families of the victims who died in the suicide attack.

While visiting the city hospital, the Ambassador announced that New Delhi would handover $20,000 to the local government for the treatment of those who were injured in the attack. Another $10,000 dollars would be given to the local government for the repair of the mosques, which were damaged by the bombings, which also killed a number of children who were returning after studying Koran.

The attack in Jalalabad illustrated the sharp upturn in civilian casualties in 2013. According to a report by the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), there has been a 23 per cent increase in civilian casualties in Afghanistan during the first half of 2013 when compared to a similar period last year. Jalalabad, a bustling commercial city, continues to remain restive with one more person dying on Tuesday following the detonation of a magnetic mine that had been attached to a police vehicle.(Courtesy:The Hindu)

Tough times follow Afghan refugees fleeing Taliban to Delhi.

Tough times follow Afghan refugees fleeing Taliban to Delhi.

One of the major problems that they face is lack of work permit.AP

New Delhi | 24 Jul 2013 :: Sharifa Jan fled Afghanistan for India last year when the Taliban killed her husband and threatened her six children. New Delhi's chaos baffled her but the city also provided a safe haven. But like thousands of other Afghan refugees and asylum seekers in India her security comes at a price: Jan's family is trapped in limbo. The Afghans don't have work permits. Many have trouble enrolling their children in school. They can't even get a local phone. ``If today there is no education, no good food and drink, no good living conditions, then what will they become in the future?'' Jan, 40, said of her children. ``They won't become anything.''

With their blue United Nations refugee cards, the Afghans do little more than just survive. The Afghan refugees `'need help and more attention,'' said M. Ashraf Haidari, deputy chief of mission of the Afghan embassy in India. Sayeed Habib Hadat, who has degrees in English and information technology, survives by working informally as a translator at pharmacies for Afghan patients.

``We just solved one of our problems, that is, our lives are saved. But here are a lot more problems,'' said Hadat, 28, who fled Afghanistan last year. His family has applied for resettlement in Australia in hopes they can finally start building their future. Australia recently vowed to resettle all refugees who arrive in the country by boat on the island nation of Papua New Guinea. The move is seen as a way to deter an increasing number of asylum seekers. Afghanistan is among the largest sources of asylum seekers reaching Australia.

There were more than 18,000 Afghan refugees in India as of December 2011, according to the foreign ministry. It is unclear how many more unregistered Afghans are living here. Last year the largest number of refugees worldwide - 2.6 million in 82 countries - were from Afghanistan, according to a report released by the United Nations in June. Afghanistan has been the main source of refugees for over three decades with numbers fluctuating from 500,000 in 1979 to more than 6.3 million at the peak of the conflict in 1990. Ninety-five percent of Afghan refugees are in Pakistan and Iran, where many of them live in squalid camps.(Courtesy:The Indian Express)

Ishrat Jahan encounter: PP Pandey approaches Supreme Court for quashing FIR against him.

Ishrat Jahan encounter: PP Pandey approaches Supreme Court for quashing FIR against him.

Absconding IPS officer PP Pandey was at the helm of affairs
 when Ishrat Jahan and three others were allegedly killed in cold blood.

New Delhi | 10 Jul 2013 ::  After failing to get relief from the High Court in the Ishrat Jahan encounter case, absconding senior Gujarat Police officer PP Pandey has approached the Supreme Court for quashing the FIR against him. However, Pandey's lawyer failed to appear before the Supreme Court on Tuesday.

Pandey was chargesheeted by the CBI accusing him of being part of the conspiracy to eliminate Ishrat Jahan and three others. The CBI failed to trace him after Pandey went on long leave. They approached the court to declare him an absconder.

Pandey was Joint Commissioner of Police when on June 15, 2004, Ishrat Jahan, Javed Shaikh alias Pranesh Pillai, Amjadali Akbarali Rana and Zeeshan Johar were killed in an encounter with the Gujarat police on the outskirts of Ahmedabad

.A day before the encounter, Pandey, along with suspended IPS officer DG Vanzara and IB officer Rajinder Kumar allegedly planned details of how the killing will take place. As head of the Crime Branch that carried out the operation, Pandey allegedly directly supervised actions of Vanzara and others, and even directed how the first FIR must be filed before the encounter.(Courtesy:IBN Live)