world news | Islamic country news| india pakistan news: September 2013

Wednesday, September 25, 2013

Bomb attack on police van kills five in Pishin

QUETTA: A bomb targeting police killed at least five people and wounded five others in Pishin district of restive southwest Balochistan province on Monday, police said.

The attack was staged in Pishin district, 40 kilometres north of Quetta, the capital of Balochistan province which is racked by a separatist insurgency and sectarian violence.

New Delhi: In a significant development, the Supreme Court on Monday ruled that Aadhar cards are not mandatory even as various state governments insist on making it compulsory for a range of formalities, including marriage registration, disbursal of salaries and provident fund among other public services.

Hyderabad: Indian Mujahideen co-founder Yasin Bhatkal was today sent in judicial remand by a local court till October 17 in connection with the February 21 Dilsuknagar twin blasts case.

Bhatkal was produced by NIA officials before the Court of First Additional Metropolitan Session Judge here amid heavy security, who sent him in judicial remand till October 17.

NEW DELHI: More than four months after a bench headed by then CJI Altamas Kabir had dismissed a PIL challenging the fatwas issued by Shariat courts running a parallel judicial system in the country, the Supreme Court on Monday restored it for hearing.

A bench headed by Justice C K Prasad restored the PIL filed by advocate Vishwa Lochan Madan for hearing on November 11 despite objections from the Centre, a decision that would force the government to articulate its position on Shariat courts and the fatwas issued by them.

PESHAWAR: The death toll from a double suicide bombing on a church in Peshawar rose to 81 Monday, as Christians protested across the country to demand better protection for their community.

The attack on All Saints church in the provincial capital of northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa after a service on Sunday is believed to be the deadliest ever to target the country’s small Christian minority.

As the offensive against the militants was stepped up, more hostages were rescued and Kenyan Police gained upper hand over the militants, said Kenyan Inspector General of Police David Kimaiyo in a tweet.

NEW DELHI: Reacting to accusations that he had funded a J&K politician to topple chief minister Omar Abdullah's government, former Army chief General VK Singh on Monday said those who levelled these allegations were anti-nationals as Army had to pay ministers in the border state "to bring people together".

In an interview to Times Now, Singh said "paying ministers" was nothing new in J&K. "It has been happening since independence and everybody would have known about this. It is not something invented by V K Singh. Funding ministers is to get people together in Kashmir," he said.

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu met with the U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on Monday on the sidelines of United Nations General Assembly meeting in New York.

The two discussed the ongoing crisis in Syria, as well as other developments in the Middle East and the ongoing changes in the region, in a meeting that lasted longer than scheduled, according to diplomatic sources.

The Kenyan foreign minister has told Al Jazeera that al-Qaeda is responsible for the ongoing siege of a mall in Nairobi that has killed at least 62 people.

In an exclusive interview on Monday, Amina Mohamed said al-Shabab was not acting alone and that it was part of an international terrorism campaign.

She told Al Jazeera's James Bays that about 20 gunmen and women were behind the attack, and that both the victims and perpetrators came from a variety of nationalities.

PESHAWAR: Violent protests paralysed life in the provincial capital and parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa as death toll from the twin suicide bombings at a church rose to 83 on Monday.

Demonstrations, mourning processions and movement of VIPs forced vehicles to remain off the road in Peshawar.

Enraged activists of the Christian community pelted vehicles with stones, blocked roads and held rallies on thoroughfares to vent their anger over Sunday’s suicide attacks on the All Saints Church.

ISLAMABAD: Condemning the suicide bombing at a Christian church in Peshawar, Pakistan’s Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan Monday urged the nation and all political parties to stand united and fight out ‘ulterior motives’ of the perpetrators behind the attack.

He reiterated resolve of the government to chase the culprits behind the twin suicide attacks with full might and bring them to justice.

FALLUJAH: Eight people, including seven policemen, were killed on Tuesday during attacks on two police stations and a local official's house northwest of Baghdad, officers and doctors said.

Militants attacked police stations in the towns of Rawa and Aana near the highway to Syria in Anbar province, and also killed the brother of a local official, the sources said.

Militants including those linked to Al-Qaeda frequently target Iraqi security forces and other government employees.

Islamabad: Maj.Gen. Ahmad Hayat has been appointed the Director General Analysis of Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), the Associated Press of Pakistan (APP) reported.

Several key postings were made in the Pakistan Army Monday.

Lal Masjid cleric acquitted in all cases

ISLAMABAD: Maulana Abdul Aziz, the chief cleric of Lal Masjid, was acquitted from his last case on Monday by a judicial magistrate of Islamabad, Mohammad Naveed Khan.

Since 2001, 27 different cases had been registered against Maulana Aziz, and the last one was registered on April 1, 2007 by the Kohsar police.

The first of the 27 cases against Maulana Abdul Aziz and his associates was registered on September 28, 2001, for delivering fiery speeches.

KARACHI: Sindh Governor Dr Ishratul Ibad Khan arrived at the Governor’s House here in Karachi Tuesday after a 10-day stay in the UAE. Immediately after his return, Ibad summoned a meeting to review the law and order situation in the city.

Ibad had departed for Dubai on Sept 13 amid speculation in the media that he had tendered his resignation following yet another row between his party, the Muttahida Qaumi Movement, and the ruling Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) over an operation that has seen a former MQM lawmaker and activists being arrested.

UNITED NATIONS: Iran's new foreign minister will join nuclear talks with his US counterpart and five other world powers later this week, the latest sign that long-standing tensions with the West might be easing.

The talks will be the highest level contacts between the US and Iran in six years.

New Delhi: Union Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde on Tuesday said former chief of army staff General V K Singh should name the ministers to whom money had been given from a secret defence fund for social schemes.

"He should name the ministers to whom money has been given. We can probe if details are given," Shinde told media here.

Chemical weapons disposal will cost $1 billion, take a year: Assad

President Bashar al-Assad said on Wednesday it would cost about $1 billion to get rid of Syria's chemical weapons under a U.S.-Russian deal reached last week.

In an interview on the Fox News television channel, Assad said his government would dispose of its chemical weapons arsenal and it would take about a year, Assad said.

An Egyptian police officer was shot dead on Thursday, state media reported, in clashes on the outskirts of Cairo as security forces tried to reassert control over an area where 11 policemen were killed in a militant attack last month.

Police and soldiers entered the town of Kerdasa at daybreak in the second operation this week to try to restore control over Islamist-dominated areas where hostility to the authorities has grown since the army deposed President Mohamed Mursi on July 3.

RAWALPINDI: An anti-terrorism court acquitted on Wednesday Rana Mohammad Faqir of the charge of attacking a convoy of former president retired Gen Pervez Musharraf in 2003.

And despite the acquittal, Faqir refused to leave the jail fearing that he would be abducted by security agencies, but he was persuaded by his family to come home.

The match was over as a contest in the 14th over of Sunrisers Hyderabad's chase. Saeed Ajmal had bowled his last over, remained wicketless and mostly ineffective. Shikhar Dhawan soon reached his second consecutive half-century in the Champions League Twenty20, setting up Sunrisers' comfortable victory over Faisalabad Wolves which eased them into the main competition.

An Al-Qaeda front group fighting in Syria on Sept. 18 overran the northern town of Azaz near the border with Turkey after fierce clashes with rebels, activists told AFP.

"The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS) has seized complete control of Azaz. They are in control of the town's entrances," said Abu Ahmad, an activist inside the town.

Tehran: Iran will not shut down its underground bunker of Fordow uranium enrichment facilities, the head of Atomic Energy Organisation of Iran has said.

Ali-Akbar Salehi Wednesday strongly rejected western media reports claiming that he discussed closing down Fordow nuclear site, used for high-grade enrichment activities, during the recent annual meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), reported Xinhua.

KARACHI: While Rangers and police continued targeted operations in Karachi, including Lyari, a key figure of the outlawed Peoples Amn Committee Zafar Baloch was shot dead Wednesday by unknown assailants on motorcycles in Lyari.

Tension and fear gripped the city’s south district, particularly Lyari and its adjoining areas, following the killing of Baloch. Law-enforcement agencies claimed to have adopted strict security measures to prevent any reaction to the violent incident in which a guard of the slain leader was also killed.

KARACHI: At least three people were killed and at least 15 injured when a hand grenade exploded near a Shia Imambargah in Karachi’s Landhi neighbourhood late on Thursday night, DawnNews reported.

Police officials confirmed that the target of the attack was Imambargah Sajjadia located in Landhi’s Majeed Colony.

Indian Muslims' Mushawarat deliberates on National and International issues

New Delhi :The Markazi Majlis-e Aamla (Central Working Committee) of the All India Muslim Majlis-e Mushawarat (AIMMM), umbrella body of Indian Muslim organisations and eminent personalities, held its second meeting of the year 2013 here today at it's central office.The meeting discussed milli, national and organisational matters.

The trigger-happy armed forces, protected by the notorious AFPSA, continue their killing spree in various places in the state of Jammu & Kashmir. Their latest victims are defenceless people in Shopian.

New Delhi: Days after sharing the dais with Gujarat Chief Minister and BJP PM candidate Narendra Modi, former Army chief General VK Singh is under scrutiny yet again. National daily 'The Indian Express' has claimed that General VK Singh set up a special unit in the Army which tried to topple the Jammu and Kashmir government. The Indian Express report claims that a secret Board of Officers inquiry has recommended that the CBI looks into the matter.

DAMASCUS, Syria : A roadside bomb struck a bus in Syria's central province on Thursday, killing 19 people, a local government official said.

The explosion in the village of Jbourin also wounded four people on the bus, according to the official from the governor's office in Homs province who spoke on condition of anonymity in line with regulations.

Pakistan's maritime security agency arrested 58 Indian fishermen after they allegedly strayed into the country's territorial waters.

"Despite several warnings the Indian fishermen remained inside our territorial waters leading to their arrest and seizure of boats," Commander Muhammad Farooq, Maritime Security Agency spokesman, said.

Nine boats belonging to the Indian fishermen were also confiscated, he said.

Top Afghan official defects to Taliban

A former Afghan legislator and District Governor has defected to the Taliban in the northern province of Sar-e-Pol, officials said on Thursday.

Qazi Abdul Hai served as a Senator during 2004-08 and was later made a District Governor in Sar-e-Pol.

Mr. Hai is believed to have defected to the Taliban with two bodyguards.

QUETTA: A blast in the Sariab area of Quetta on Thursday left three people injured, the police have said.

The injured people, who have not been identified, are being taken to the hospital, Express News reported.

The site of the blast and surrounding areas are being evacuated and a search operation will be led to ensure that no other explosives are in the area.

NEW DELHI: Kirk Edwards's blistering century followed by some impressive bowling helped West Indies A fight off India A's batting surge to register 45-run victory in the third unofficial ODI to clinch the series 2-1 at Chinnaswamy stadium in Bangalore on Thursday.

India A's chances to win looked good when skipper Yuvraj Singh (61) and opener Baba Aparajith (78) put up a decent 112-run partnership for the third wicket.

Pakistani authorities have tripled the security of disgraced nuclear scientist A.Q. Khan amid threats from the Taliban and “fears of a repeat of the Abbottabad raid” which killed Osama bin Laden, a media report said on Thursday.

Other than extraordinary security deployment at his residence, Mr. Khan is now being accorded protocol almost equal to that of the Prime Minister when he travels, the report added.

NEW DELHI: Nine people have drowned in India's capital during religious festivals that involve immersing statues of Hindu gods in a river, an official said Thursday.Police sources said the figure could be higher as rescue operations were still on.

Nigerian army claims 150 Islamists killed in raid on Boko Haram camp

A military strike on a Boko Haram camp in Nigeria's restive northeast last week killed 150 Islamists and 16 soldiers, an army official said today.

The army's claim of a major offensive against the Islamist insurgents on September 12 came after local media reported that Boko Haram had ambushed a group of soldiers in the same area, killing 40 and leaving dozens of others missing.

Five reported killed, 20 injured in firing by Afghan forces in SW Pakistan

ISLAMABAD :Five people were killed and 20 others injured in cross-border firing by Afghan forces in Pakistan 's southwest border area of Zhob Wednesday afternoon, local Urdu media reported.

Quoting unidentified sources from paramilitary Levis forces, Urdu TV channel Geo said that Afghan forces opened unprovoked firing in Qamar Deen area of Zhob, four km from the Afghan border in Pakistan's southwest Balochistan province.

Islamabad: Pakistan police have recovered a corpse of a man from a house here, and believes it belongs to the killer of Mumbai attack case public prosecutor, according to a media report.

The recent raid on the house of the relatives of Kashmiri separatist leader Asiya Andrabi here was distantly linked to it, according to the report.

Fighting between government forces and separatist rebels in the southern Philippines has resumed, witnesses said, as the standoff with the rebels in the city of Zamboanga entered its 10th day.

Military officials on Wednesday said that government forces now controlled 70 percent of the areas that had been occupied by the fighters of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), who seek an Islamic state in the southern Philippines.

MOSCOW: The Syrian regime has handed Russia new materials implicating rebels in a chemical attack outside Damascus on August 21, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said on Wednesday after talks in Damascus.

"The corresponding materials were handed to the Russian side. We were told that they were evidence that the rebels are implicated in the chemical attack," Ryabkov was quoted as saying by Russian news agencies after talks with Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Muallem late Tuesday.

Supporters of Bangladesh's largest Islamic party clashed with police Wednesday amid a nationwide strike called to protest a court's ruling that one of the opposition party's leaders should be executed for war crimes.

One man was killed when he was hit by a stone thrown by opposition supporters outside the capital, police said.

Bangladesh's Supreme Court on Tuesday sentenced Abdul Quader Mollah, a senior member of the Jamaat-e-Islami party, to death for committing crimes against humanity during the nation's 1971 independence war against Pakistan.

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif was conferred with highest Turkish Civil Award Republic Order in Ankara on Tuesday.

Turkish President Abdullah Gul conferred upon him the award at a special investiture ceremony at the presidential palace.

Speaking on the occasion‚ the Turkish president paid rich tributes to the prime minister for his contribution to bring further close the two countries.

MUZAFFARNAGAR/LUCKNOW: A local court on Wednesday issued arrest warrants against a BSP MP, BJP and BSP MLAs, besides several politicians and senior community leaders for allegedly inciting violence through inflammatory speeches here even as some of the accused politicians denied any role in instigating violence.

File photo of an Afghan policeman in Kunduz province, where assassins have gunned down a senior election official

The provincial Chairman of Afghan Independent Election Commission (IEC) was killed Wednesday in a drive-by shooting in northern Kunduz province, the latest in a string of targeted killings against government officials and local leaders in the war-torn country, said a provincial official.

At least two militants were killed as security forces repulsed an attack on a check post in Dattakhel Tehsil of North Waziistan tribal region on Wednesday, the military said.

One soldier was also wounded in the attack, security sources said.

An indefinite curfew was imposed on the Bannu-Miranshah Road following the incident.

AMRITSAR: Acting on suggestions and complaints of some faithful, Akal Takht - the highest temporal body of Sikhs - ruled on Tuesday that Guru Granth Sahib can't co-exist in houses that have bars or with things proscribed by the religion, such as tobacco, intoxicants and halal meat. The decision was taken at a meeting of the top Sikh clergy at the Akal Takht secretariat in Amritsar.

Tony Abbott was sworn in as Australia's new prime minister and promised immediate action to slow the stream of asylum seekers arriving by boats from Indonesia and to repeal an unpopular carbon tax levied by the previous administration.

He was the first of 42 government executives to be sworn in by Governor General Quentin Bryce at a ceremony at Government House in the capital Canberra.

KARACHI: Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) leader and former Sindh lawmaker Nadeem Hashmi has been freed from police custody and acquitted Tuesday from all charges including killing of two policemen in Karachi last week.

A Joint Investigation Team (JIT), formed to probe charges against the MQM leader, has submitted their investigative report to the Inspector General Sindh Police declaring him not guilty.

A menacing opening burst from Otago Volts' fast bowlers and a well-measured mauling from Brendon McCullum delivered them an eight-wicket victory over Faisalabad Wolves, who failed to compete in any discipline. All four Otago's quicks bowled out, but none conceded more than 6.5 an over and shared seven wickets between them.

A century-stand between Shikhar Dhawan and Parthiv Patel, both of whom scored effortless half-centuries, and a late cameo by Thisara Perera helped Sunrisers Hyderabad cruise to an eight-wicket win over Kandurata Maroons. Kumar Sangakkara and Lahiru Thirimanne also scored aggressive half-centuries to set up a strong target, but Kandurata's bowling and fielding crumbled against persistent attack from Sunrisers' batsmen to be left in a position from where they need to win both their remaining matches.

UNITED NATIONS (AP) Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon says he has been promoting a meeting between the prime ministers of Pakistan and India on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly's ministerial session which starts next week.

Ban told reporters Tuesday that when he visited Pakistan last month he strongly recommended to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif that he take advantage of the annual high-level meeting to meet his Indian counterpart, Manmohan Singh.

DHAKA: Bangladesh's top court Tuesday sentenced to death a senior Islamist opposition official for murder during the 1971 liberation war against Pakistan.

Abdul Quader Molla, 65, the fourth-highest leader of the Jamaat-e-Islami party, is the first politician to be found guilty by the country's Supreme Court after it rejected an appeal to acquit him of all charges.

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