Sunni Terrorist Fragments of Unstable Pakistan - 19 Jul 2014

[member_28705]

http://rt.com/news/184875-al-qaeda-india-kashmir/

The leader of terrorist organization Al-Qaeda, Ayman al-Zawahiri, says they have launched a new off-shoot in the Indian sub-continent. The new organization aims to create a Muslim caliphate in Burma, Bangladesh and parts of India.

READ MORE: Recipe for hate: Al-Qaeda publish car bomb ‘shopping list’ and suggest UK targets

The information was conveyed in a video message that the Islamist extremist movement posted on Wednesday. The footage, which was found in online jihadist forums by the SITE terrorism monitoring group, said Al-Qaeda would fight to revive the caliphate.

“We want Islam to return to the Indian subcontinent, which was part of the Muslim world before it was invaded. It will serve Muslims in Burma, Kashmir, Gujarat, Bangladesh, Ahmedabad and Assam,” Zawahiri said in the video, according to the New Delhi Television Ltd.

Islam is the dominant religion in Bangladesh, while India and Burma both have sizeable Muslim populations.

Zawahiri goes on to say that “establishing Al-Qaeda in the Indian subcontinent is the result of two years of work to unify the Mujahideen. The rise of this new branch demonstrates that jihad under the leadership of Amir of Believers, Mullah Omar [head of the Afghan Taliban] is expanding.”

The new group will be called “Qaedat al-Jihad” and will be led by Asim Umar, while Ustad Usama Mahmoud will be the branch’s spokesman. The main goals of the new off-shoot are to establish sharia law and free all “occupied Muslim lands” on the Indian sub-continent.

READ MORE: ‘This message is to you, Vladimir Putin’: ISIS threatens ‘to liberate Chechnya and Caucasus’

In June, Al-Qaeda reportedly released a video calling upon Muslims in Kashmir to follow the example of Iraqis and Syrians and revolt against the authorities. Kashmir has been the center of a dispute over territory between India and Pakistan since the 1947 Indo-Pakistani War.

This is for the first time that the Al-Qaeda has specifically targeted Kashmiris in the video that is titled “War should continue, message to the Muslims of Kashmir,” the Guardian reported.

Al-Qaeda has long had a strong hold in Pakistan due to the country’s porous borders with Afghanistan, where the terrorist organization was initially established. The country also harbored Al-Qaeda’s former leader, Osama bin Laden, who moved between various locations in the North Western Frontier Province.

Osama’s family spent the last six years of his life at a compound in Abbottabad, just minutes away from Pakistan’s elite military academy. Osama was shot dead by US Navy SEAL commandos in May 2011.

Al-Qaeda has been under pressure since the death of Bin Laden and is now facing a serious threat in Syria and Iraq from its breakaway faction Islamic State, formerly known as ISIS. Al-Qaeda announced last year that it had split with ISIS, citing its brutality towards Muslims and its declaration of an Islamic caliphate across Syria and Iraq.

Bad Bad News. Dilbu, do your anti-jinx thing man.

[Dilbu]

Meh. Let them come and get their 72s. Soiling shalwar is for Pakis. This is Indian Army they are dealing with.

[vivek.rao]

The Pakistan angle: Is ISI behind al Qaeda's move to create an India wing?

Has Pakistan’s Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) played a master stroke with the al-Qaeda’s new move of launching its new wing to reinvigorate its presence in the Indian sub-continent?
It’s the million dollar question that the Indian strategic and security establishment needs to ask itself and obtain clear answers. Significantly, Pakistan does not figure in the list of targeted geographical entities announced in the al-Qaeda video.
My suspicion is that the answer to this question is in the affirmative. Here's why.
Both al Qaeda and ISI desperately need diversionary tactics because of their respective strategic compulsions. The move of announcing a new force called “Qaedat al-Jihad” to take jihad to India, Bangladesh and Myanmar is convenient for both entities.
The al Qaeda has been badly overshadowed by the Islamic State (IS) over the past several months. IS had announced the creation of a caliphate a couple of months ago and did what no other jihadist outfit had ever dared to do – ask the al Qaeda to fall in line and announce its subservience to IS. Of course, al Qaeda never obliged.

[Mihaylo]

http://rt.com/news/184875-al-qaeda-india-kashmir/

The leader of terrorist organization Al-Qaeda, Ayman al-Zawahiri, says they have launched a new off-shoot in the Indian sub-continent. The new organization aims to create a Muslim caliphate in Burma, Bangladesh and parts of India.

READ MORE: Recipe for hate: Al-Qaeda publish car bomb ‘shopping list’ and suggest UK targets

The information was conveyed in a video message that the Islamist extremist movement posted on Wednesday. The footage, which was found in online jihadist forums by the SITE terrorism monitoring group, said Al-Qaeda would fight to revive the caliphate.

“We want Islam to return to the Indian subcontinent, which was part of the Muslim world before it was invaded. It will serve Muslims in Burma, Kashmir, Gujarat, Bangladesh, Ahmedabad and Assam,” Zawahiri said in the video, according to the New Delhi Television Ltd.

Islam is the dominant religion in Bangladesh, while India and Burma both have sizeable Muslim populations.

Zawahiri goes on to say that “establishing Al-Qaeda in the Indian subcontinent is the result of two years of work to unify the Mujahideen. The rise of this new branch demonstrates that jihad under the leadership of Amir of Believers, Mullah Omar [head of the Afghan Taliban] is expanding.”

The new group will be called “Qaedat al-Jihad” and will be led by Asim Umar, while Ustad Usama Mahmoud will be the branch’s spokesman. The main goals of the new off-shoot are to establish sharia law and free all “occupied Muslim lands” on the Indian sub-continent.

READ MORE: ‘This message is to you, Vladimir Putin’: ISIS threatens ‘to liberate Chechnya and Caucasus’

In June, Al-Qaeda reportedly released a video calling upon Muslims in Kashmir to follow the example of Iraqis and Syrians and revolt against the authorities. Kashmir has been the center of a dispute over territory between India and Pakistan since the 1947 Indo-Pakistani War.

This is for the first time that the Al-Qaeda has specifically targeted Kashmiris in the video that is titled “War should continue, message to the Muslims of Kashmir,” the Guardian reported.

Al-Qaeda has long had a strong hold in Pakistan due to the country’s porous borders with Afghanistan, where the terrorist organization was initially established. The country also harbored Al-Qaeda’s former leader, Osama bin Laden, who moved between various locations in the North Western Frontier Province.

Osama’s family spent the last six years of his life at a compound in Abbottabad, just minutes away from Pakistan’s elite military academy. Osama was shot dead by US Navy SEAL commandos in May 2011.

Al-Qaeda has been under pressure since the death of Bin Laden and is now facing a serious threat in Syria and Iraq from its breakaway faction Islamic State, formerly known as ISIS. Al-Qaeda announced last year that it had split with ISIS, citing its brutality towards Muslims and its declaration of an Islamic caliphate across Syria and Iraq.

Up until now, Pukis had a monopoly in providing terrorism services, with brick and mortars, men & material and also consultancy services. Out of nowhere, comes this supposedly rag tag army that is raking up success after success and stealing all the limelight and possibly market share. The powers that be in Pukistan, must be jealous of the new competition. The 'South Asia' chapter of AQ is Pukistan's way of telling the world that we are still a force to be reckoned with when it comes to terrorism. Notice that Muslims of XinJiang are absent from the list of Muslims they want to fight for. A clear give away that this is a Pukie maneuver.

At a high level, this is a purely corporate move by an established corporation that has suffered a few critical setbacks but is rising up to the challenge posed by a start-up. From us SDREs perspective, nothing changes.

-M

[Ranjani Brow]

In 2010 Wen Jiabao visits Phakistan, sign 13 agreements and a MOU worth $20 billion.
In 2013 Ganja visits PRC, sign 8 agreements and MoUs worth billions.
In 2014 Xi Jinping 'was' to visit Phakistan, deals worth $34 billions were to be signed.

Xi Jingping canceling his visit has cost Phakistan Trillion's of dollar in H&D.

[ramana]

This pretty much makes it evident that Ayman al Zawahri is most likely living in ISI building basement or some such place, duly guarded/protected by TSPA/ISI.


Al Qaeda announces India wing

Al Qaeda leader Ayman al Zawahri on Wednesday announced the formation of an Indian branch of his militant group he said would spread Islamic rule and "raise the flag of jihad" across the subcontinent.

A few points that may be tweeted to spread awareness.
- The new outfit motto is same as PAk Apostate Army: jihad-e-fistula.
- The new outfit means TSP lost confidence on Hafiz-e-Suar and his Massa penetrated LeT. Recall David Headley and Abu Jundal now cooling his heels in Indian jail.
- Also note the rise of new outfit an Ind Muj is wrapped up.
- And the tweet by Doggy Singh cautioning his Non State Actors/Enlightened/Psecular Ind Muslims not to follow the new outfit.

[Peregrine]

Phellow Phorumites : I not you kid!

Revival: Railways records impressive revenue

ISLAMABAD: For the first time in 40 years, Pakistan Railways (PR) managed to reduce its deficit and earn Rs6 billion in revenue in the outgoing fiscal year 2013-14. A sum of Rs40 billion has been allocated for PR for the fiscal year 2014-15 to bring improvement in its system, provide better and convenient travelling facilities to passengers.
Sixty new engines would be added by December this year while tenders had been issued to acquire another 75 engines with emphasis on coal-powered ones. Fifty of them would be coal-powered engines of 4,500 Horse Power, more powerful than the existing 3,000 HP ones.

Cheers

[Peregrine]

Duplicate Post - Deleted.

[member_22733]

What are coal powered engines? Are they the ones that feature in old Indian/wild-west movies? or a newer cheeni one painted in green (with red tip of course).

[Mihaylo]

What are coal powered engines? Are they the ones that feature in old Indian/wild-west movies? or a newer cheeni one painted in green (with red tip of course).

In short, coal powered engines are the ones you saw in Sholay. A 4.5 generation (behind) technology that Pakistan can now acquire pindigenously

-M

[partha]

Hu in their right mind would want to visit Pakistan now? Considering Hu will be visiting India in a couple of weeks time, it'll hurt Paki H&D. Burn baby burn. I think Pakistanis will be saying the same thing about India now. Burn baby burn...with one or two bum blasts during Hu visit. I'm sure security agencies will ensure that doesn't happen.

[Peregrine]

What are coal powered engines? Are they the ones that feature in old Indian/wild-west movies? or a newer cheeni one painted in green (with red tip of course).

In short, coal powered engines are the ones you saw in Sholay. A 4.5 generation (behind) technology that Pakistan can now acquire pindigenously

-M

LokeshC Ji & Mihaylo Ji :

One could stretch one’s imagination and as such it could might probably be possible that the 4,500 HP Locomotives are Diesel Powered but will haul “Coal” Loaded Trains.

Any case your guess is as good as mine!

Cheers

[partha]

Floods in Pakjab. Pakjab sinking. Literally. One more opportunity for the army to invade Isloo. "failure of government to effectively tackle floods"

[ramana]

After Ayman Al Zawahari claims AlQ for Indian sub-continent, ISIS claims TSP and Afghanistan!!!!

Poor RAPE caught between local and foreign shaitans!!!

[Anujan]

Much takleef among the people I know about the possibility that Chinese president may not visit. The takleef is "he was about to sign agreements for so much money!!! "

So the taller than ocean sweeter than tree is all about higher than mountain (of money)

[RoyG]

Sharif wants to gift mangos to modiji. Zia is rolling in his grave.

[Peregrine]

In addition to losing Oodles of Billions of US Dollals as Hu cancels his Visit, Clapistan has lost Boodles of Billions of Pak Lupees due to cost of Plotests :

Economic cost of protests: A whopping Rs547 billion, AGP informs Supreme Court

ISLAMABAD: As the political crisis drags into its third week, the federal government has revealed that the protests in Islamabad have led to losses worth Rs547 billion to the national exchequer.

Attorney General of Pakistan (AGP) Salman Aslam Butt, while submitting the government’s reply in the Supreme Court, said the protests have so far caused immense damage to the social, economic and political output of Pakistan, including an exchange rate depreciation of 4.3%, debt burden of Rs228 billion and stock value decline worth Rs319 billion.

Cheers

[Philip]

Captain Khan unhappy about the "lack of attendance at the match"? Who wants to see a has-been cheat of a cricketeer,whose political batting and bowling average has been below average too! As forhis batting partner,the cleric,he will be known for the company he keeps,with a "captain" who has cheated his own supporters and his countrymen by promising to wait until death unless the Sheriff abdicated.Chee,chee!

PereG,amazing,Pukis building new vintage steam locos! Will do wonders for its train tourism.

Comrade Hu has "flung dung" upon his Puki would-be hosts. He probably smelt something sulfurous when the Puki army "broke wind" and started revving the engines of its tanks.It would've been absolutely farcical if he had planned to meet the Sheriff and ended up meeting the army chief instead!

[SSridhar]

Sharif sending mangoes to Modi or expecting that Xi would go ahead with his visit are all clutching at straws in the wind. He is looking for words of support.

[RCase]

Modi should reciprocate the fruit diplomacy by sending (sour) grapes from Haryana and Delhi (H&D).

[Gagan]

Pakistan is not building new steam locos.
They are importing Chinese hand me downs. These are chinese steam locos that they have retired several years ago, which the chinese will refurbish and supply to Pak Railways
Not even allah knows how long these steam engines will last...

[Suraj]

A lot of progress has been made. In the 1990s they originally imported brand new cutting edge Adtranz/GE Blue Tiger diesel electric locos that were meant to effectively use up their excess forex reserves. Later they imported cheaper Chinese diesel-electric locos that were used to widen platforms utilizing dynamic friction. They have now graduated to used steam locos that'll provide proper hazy conditions needed to deter drone strikes.

[partha]

Coal for the engines will of course be supplied from the Thar coal extraction ponzi project which has estimated trillions of tons of coal in Thar desert enough to fulfill Pak needs for the next 500 years or something.

[A_Gupta]

Pakistan is not building new steam locos.
They are importing Chinese hand me downs. These are chinese steam locos that they have retired several years ago, which the chinese will refurbish and supply to Pak Railways
Not even allah knows how long these steam engines will last...

One would have thought that in the oh-so-dynamic Chinese economy, the retired steam locos would be quickly melted down as scrap, not being worth even the cost of storage....

[SSridhar]

. . . Chinese diesel-electric locos that were used to widen platforms utilizing dynamic friction.

[SSridhar]

X-posted from Internal Security thread.

Indians may reject Al Qaeda, but LeT link is troubling - Narayan Lakshman, The Hindu

Counterterrorism experts here [Washington], who parsed the announcement of al Qaida al-Qaeda boss Ayman al-Zawahiri that the terror group would be setting up a “wing” in the Indian subcontinent, suggested that while India’s pluralistic democracy would militate against their efforts, the possibility of al Qaida al-Qaeda tying up with Lashkar-e-Taiba could spell trouble for the government of Prime Minister Narenda Modi government.

The report above is brief and does not explain why American analysts believe in what they have said.

I wanted the following to be posted yesterday in the STFUP thread after reading the Al Qaeda announcement but refrained from doing so. I am doing it here now.

The Indian branch of AQ is a sinister plan by the ISI to make future terror attacks appear completely 'Made in India' and influenced by the general wahhabi, jihadi Islamist tendencies around the world and without any connection to STFU-TSP. It wants to remove the 'terror' subject off the India-Pakistan equation table and not to give that handle to India even as it maintains the terror pressure on us. As the Afghan denouement approaches, Mullah Omar and Zawahiri become important for Pakistan Army once again. The Pakistani Army has twin objectives now. One is the constant endeavour to defeat India and alter the balance of power in the Indian subcontinent. The next is to get the 'bad Taliban' monkey off its back. It might have decided that off-sourcing terror against India to Al Qaeda & IM could achieve both its goals and simultaneously wipe off the terror blame too from it. It is taking 'plausible deniability' to a new level. Its calculation might be that the US, the US-funded peacewallah constituency in India etc. can then reprimand India for seeing a Pakistani ghost in every shadow if India accuses Pakistan and put political pressure on GoI apart from the terror pressure too.

The question is how will LeT merge into Al Qaeda's India operations?

Currently, Al Qaeda and LeT are not partners even though there have been deep linkages between the two organizations. LeT is a member of IIF, Islamic International Front for Jihad against the Crusaders and the Jewish people. Just before 9/11 happened in circa 2001, the extremist Dar-ul-Uloom Haqqania madrassah in Peshawar (belonging to Maulana Sami-ul-Haq aka Maulana Sandwich for the positions that he prefers to assume during certain times) organized a meeting which was attended, among others, by Gen. Hamid Gul, former DG of ISI and Gen. Mirza Aslam Beg, former COAS, wherein a declaration was made to defend Osama bin Laden and attack the Western countries as a sacred duty of Muslims. LeT was part of that meeting too.

Hafeez Saeed and OBL go back to the Maktab-al-Khidmat days (with OBL's mentor Abdullah Azzam) in Peshawar during the Afghan Jihad. After Azzam's assassination, the Maktab became Jama'at-ud-Dawah and Hafeez Saeed became its head. In parallel, Hafeez Sayeed had started, along with Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi (known by aliases such as Chachaji, Abdullah Azzam et al) , Markaz-daw’a-wal-Irshad (MDI) in Muridke in 1985. MDI was started with the twin objectives of peaceful activities (such as running charities and prosletyzation) and Islamist jihad. In 1990, LeT was launched officially by MDI as its militant wing with Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi as its commander while Hafeez Sayeed remained in overall charge of the organization. Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi has directed LeT military operations, including in Chechnya, Bosnia, Iraq, and Southeast Asia. Lakhvi, in 2004, sent operatives and funds to attack US forces in Iraq. Lakhvi also directed an LeT operative to travel to Iraq in 2003 to assess the jihad situation there. After the 1992 Babri mosque destruction, LeT sent Azzam Cheema to India to set up Tanzeem Islahul Muslimeen which much later became Indian Mujahideen. Osama bin Laden handsomely funded the Muridke campus.

The aim of Markaz Dawa wa Al-Irshad (the Centre for Preaching and Guidance.) has been to reject democracy as a western concept of governance unsuited to and against Islamic principles. It disapproves of all sorts of democratic means of political expression like peaceful protests, demonstrations and sloganeering as un-Islamic. The organisation is also averse to electoral politics in Pakistan and elsewhere. The annual convention of MDI at Muridke is attended by political & military leaders of Pakistan including PMs, Presidents, COASs, ISI Chiefs, Admirals and Air Chiefs (serving & retired). There is no wonder that democracy never thrives in Pakistan.

LeT's connection with Al Qaeda was proved when Abu Zubaydah, a top Al Qaeda operative, was arrested from an LeT safe house in Faisalabad.

The trouble is that the Punjabi Taliban (the 'bad Taliban') hate the LeT for their connections with the Pakistani Army. They do not trust them at all and have kept them away from Al Qaeda operations in Afghanistan though there have been some sporadic instances of LeT taking part in some of them. Certainly, LeT & Haqqani have worked together under ISI leadership to target Indian embassy, consulates and Indian-assisted projects in Afghanistan.

While Osama had deep linkages with Pakistani Army, ISI, and almost all the Sunni terror organizations of Pakistan, Ayman-al-Zawahiri does not enjoy that kind of proximity. Can he exercise that kind of influence over these tanzeems? The ISIS is after all a breakaway faction of the Al Qaeda and is now threatening to expand into Khorasan, the traditional sovereign areas of Al Qaeda, the Taliban and the Pakistani terror tanzeems. Or, is it a surreptitious attempt by the Pakistan Army's proxy, the LeT, to take over Al Qaeda's leadership to shape events in a way that the Army would deem fit? Or, is the Al Qaeda signalling the Pakistani Army that it is willing to work along with it to fight a common ISIS enemy? ISIS is certainly bad news for the Pakistani Army as it will bury the idea of 'strategic depth' in Afghanistan. The Pakistani Army can feel squeezed between the eastern & western borders, something it had feared since 1947. Or, at least, claimed to have 'feared' in order to sustain its military state. The long-feared pincer move may come from unexpected quarters.

In any case, India has a huge problem on hand, what with Pakistan's decade old support now seeing fruits all over India, Pakistan using newer areas to inflitrate jihadists (through Sri Lanka, for example) into India, the uncertainty in Afghanistan, the rise of the even more vicious ISIS, a large number of Indians flocking to ISIS and then coming back to India to infect the rest, the Al Qaeda announcement (though to be fair to Al Qaeda, one must say that even from Osama's days, it has been targetting India), the instability, chaos and ungovernability of Pakistan etc.

[SSridhar]

Xi Jinping cancels his trip to Pakistan.

A massive blow to H&D.

[abhijitm]

May be that's the reason why no coup so far...Dimran waiting for Army to act. Army waiting for unkil's nod and unkil not nodding.

[url=xxxhttp://www.thenews.com.pk/article-158842-US-op ... n-Pakistan]US opposes extra-constitutional change in Pakistan[/url]

In a briefing, Marie Harf, Deputy Spokesperson of the US State Department said that Nawaz Sharif is the elected Prime Minister of Pakistan and the US opposes any efforts to impose extra-constitutional change to the democratic system.

[member_28397]

The Indian branch of AQ is a sinister plan by the ISI to make future terror attacks appear completely 'Made in India' and influenced by the general wahhabi, jihadi Islamist tendencies around the world and without any connection to STFU-TSP. It wants to remove the 'terror' subject off the India-Pakistan equation table and not to give that handle to India even as it maintains the terror pressure on us.

For every terror strike ISI is envisioning from these so called non state actors, Indian security agencies should covertly start setting up kill buttons for ISI families, for every terror strike dozen of ISI pigs and families should be taken care of.

[Philip]

It is merely postponed.There's so much of sh*t hitting the breeze globally,that the US/West can't deal with the simultaneous hotspots that are getting out of control.Afghanistan,Iraq,Syria,IS,Libya,The Gaza spat,not to mention European tensions over the Ukranian civil war and a new Cold War on the cards. For the jokers in Pukistan to start right now their own sideshow at this time,hilarious to watch,endangering basically no one except the Pukis,but threatening to unravel the planned retreat from Afghanistan,and setting up of a puppet regime there,simply adds too much to the table,groaning under the weight of the crises.will throw up

The NATO summit in wales where the leadership of the West will confabulate ,will throw up signals where the West's top priorities lie. Interstingly,the one place on the planet where there is relative peace is Asia. Touch wood that the contagion from the Middle east and Europe does not spread.It is the responsibility of Asian leaders not to fall into the trap of military blocs,especially India,which is being sucked into the US mil. alliance against China. The meeting between the Chinese "emperor" and Mr.Modi will be extremely significant as the opportunity is there for some blunt talking with the Chinese,who are the main sponsors of the TSP.

[kmkraoind]

Chinese President Xi Jinping cancels trip to Pakistan amid political chaos in Islamabad

The two countries are finalising plans to build an economic corridor between China's Xinjiang and Pakistan's Gwadar Port which is being developed by Chinese firms. China has announced $32 billion to be invested in next seven years in various Pakistani projects for infrastructure building and power During the September trip, Xi had planned to visit India and then Pakistan followed by Sri Lanka.
.........

Xi may announce big support for Indian infrastructure sector during his trip from September 17-19.

[anupmisra]

Nuclear Pakistan’s Spies Target India—and Their Own Prime Minister

Pakistan’s Inter Services Intelligence directorate is using terrorist brinkmanship to threaten India and undermine Nawaz Sharif. It’s time to stop this dangerous game.

LeT is very close to the Pakistani military’s Inter Services Intelligence Directorate or ISI. LeT would not have taken such a highly provocative action without at least some advance nod from the Pakistani spies in the ISI and the generals who command them. LeT’s leader, Hafeez Saeed, lives openly in Pakistan, frequently appears on television denouncing the United States, and is the darling of the ISI.

Zawahiri made the tape in his hideout in Pakistan, no doubt, and many Indians suspect the ISI is helping to protect him. Zawahiri has longstanding links to LeT and to Saeed.

Since he was elected in his own landslide victory last year, the army has become increasingly unhappy with Sharif. They are very upset that he has put the former army dictator Pervez Musharraf on trial for treason and did not just let him leave the country quietly.

The army also was unhappy with Sharif’s reluctance to take on Pakistan’s own militant extremists, the Pakistan Taliban. Sharif wanted to talk to the Taliban, the army for once wanted to fight.

The army and the ISI were effective in neutering Sharif’s predecessor Asif Zardari. In fact that was a key goal achieved by the Mumbai attack in 2008. They want to neutralize Sharif by any means possible.

In short, the Pakistani army and its ISI spies are once again playing with fire—with India, the LeT and Kashmir—in order to secure domestic gains against their civilian leaders.

The United States should also consider a unilateral step if another attack occurs, threatening to place Pakistan on the State Department list of states sponsoring terrorism. America would treat Pakistan as a pariah like North Korea. It certainly meets the criteria and has for decades.

[anupmisra]

Pakistanis arrested in Thailand over passport theft

Thai officials say they have arrested two Pakistanis accused of forging passports that were allegedly used by transnational crime networks.

[anupmisra]

Don't let the headlines fool you. Case against 56 for desecrating graves. Sounds like a set up.

A 'blasphemy' case has been registered against 55 Christians, 35 of them nominated, and a Muslim on the allegation of desecrating hundreds of Muslim graves at Chak 206-GB.

It is learnt that the Christians flattened the graves after being informed by a local politician that the graveyard land had been allotted for their community.

The applicant said several people came to the graveyard by tractors and demolished 400 to 500 graves on Tuesday last.

He said the armed men hurled life threats at the villagers on resistance.

[anupmisra]

Ahmed Shehzad — the traveling evangelist. Pakis being pakis.

Anyone who follows cricket in Pakistan would remember the disastrous tour of Australia in 2009-2010. Under the captaincy of Mohammed Yousuf, Pakistan lost all three Test matches, all five one-day internationals and the only T20 match of that tour.

batsman Mohammad Yousuf – a former Christian who had converted to Islam in 2005 – was more interested in Tableegh (religious preaching) than in playing cricket.

Yousuf as having spent the better part of his time running after Australian cricketers to preach to them the virtues of embracing Islam and how it had improved the quality of his life and how it would ensure them a place in heaven.

none of the Aussie cricketers converted

But his tableeghi stints did cost Pakistan the series – it was the most shameful showing of Pakistani cricket team in recent times

I do wonder what Shehzad was thinking, if he was thinking at all, when he approached Dilshan with his message.

Was he planning to secure a sports ministry in a TTP or ISIS-lead government in the future?

Was he trying to secure a corner plot in Jannat by converting a non-Muslim brother and show him the righteous path?

[SSridhar]

Modi-Nawaz Sharif meeting on margins of UN General Assembly unlikely
After Xi, now Modi. Obviously, the mangoes haven't worked.

A meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York later this month is unlikely given the current state of bilateral relations.

According to sources, there was no proposal from either side to have such a meeting on the margins of the UNGA and as of now it was also unlikely that India would suggest such a parley.

[A_Gupta]

Modi-Nawaz Sharif meeting on margins of UN General Assembly unlikely
After Xi, now Modi. Obviously, the mangoes haven't worked.

A meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York later this month is unlikely given the current state of bilateral relations.

According to sources, there was no proposal from either side to have such a meeting on the margins of the UNGA and as of now it was also unlikely that India would suggest such a parley.

Will Sharif's plane returning to Pakistan be permitted to land?

[Peregrine]

Chinese president cancels Pakistan trip, India visit still on

ISLAMABAD: Following consultations between the governments of China and Pakistan, the visit of Chinese President Xi Jinping to the country has been cancelled in light of the ongoing protests in Islamabad led by Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) and Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT).

“The visit stands cancelled which is most unfortunate,” Adviser to the Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs and National Security Sartaj Aziz told the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee which met at Parliament House today.

Aziz told the committee that until yesterday (Thursday), arrangements for the Chinese president’s visit were in tact and the government of Pakistan was trying to shift some of the meetings to Lahore due to the situation in Islamabad.

Senior government sources had also earlier confirmed the cancellation a day after confusion began as to whether the Chinese president’s visit, which was scheduled from September 14-16, had been called off or delayed.

A senior official close to President Mamnoon Hussain had confirmed to Dawn that the state banquet scheduled for September 15 in honour of the Chinese president also stood cancelled.

Senior officials from both countries had met at the Foreign Office in Islamabad on Thursday where they had decided to cancel the visit after discussing all its aspects including the situation in Islamabad.

The final decision from Pakistan’s end was taken by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif after consulting his foreign policy and security advisors.

The development comes as Imran Khan and Tahirul Qadri have themselves given assurances that there would be no attempt on their part to create an impediment for the Chinese president’s visit. Imran and Qadri have both paid tributes to the Chinese president and have said that China was Pakistan’s closest friend.

The Chinese president is still slated to travel later this month to India as well as Sri Lanka. This will be his first visit ever to South Asian countries after taking office as the president of China.

AP adds: Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang sidestepped a question about the postponement, saying the visit hadn't been formally announced.

The visit would've been Xi's first to Pakistan, a longstanding ally, since taking office last year.

He is scheduled to visit India in late September amid warming relations between the Asian giants. India and China have largely shelved a border dispute that led to a war in 1962.

Cheers

[sum]

AP adds: Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang sidestepped a question about the postponement, saying the visit hadn't been formally announced.

H&D intact onlee

[Comer]

Oh no LaWhore Loins participation in CL T20 is in doubt. How can Ahmed Shehzad do tabhleeghi now