Bharat Rakshak

PARIS: Jihadi fighters from Afghanistan and Pakistan are training militant groups in northern Mali, Niger’s President Mahamadou Issoufou warned Thursday, as world powers discussed military intervention.“We have information on the presence of Afghans and Pakistanis in northern Mali… They are believed to be working as instructors,” he told the France 24 news channel.“They are the ones who are training those who have been recruited across various west African countries,” said Issoufou, whose country shares a long and porous desert border with Mali.Mali, once considered a beacon of democracy in western Africa, has plunged into chaos since the collapse of Moammar Qadhafi’s regime in Libya last year scattered mercenaries and weapons across the Sahel.Tuareg rebels rekindled their decades-old struggle for independence in January and conquered the entire northern half of Mali virtually unopposed in March, after renegade soldiers who accused then-president Amadou Toumani Toure of failing to do enough to fight the rebellion toppled his regime.The Tuareg rebels fought alongside a previously unknown militant group called Ansar Dine (Defenders of Faith), which is believed to be backed by al Qaeda’s North African branch.Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) has been active for years in northern Mali, where it has launched attacks against government army positions, kidnapped foreigners and allegedly benefitted from drug running.France TF1 channel aired amateur footage shot in the fabled northern Malian town of Timbuktu that purportedly shows Abou Zeid, an Algerian considered one of the top AQIM leaders driving a pick-up truck.Issoufou said the militant groups are part of a global network spanning much of Africa and reaching all the way to Afghanistan.“I think all these organisations cooperate amongst themselves, whether the Shebab in Somalia, Boko Haram in Nigeria, AQIM in Algeria and in the Sahel in general, all the way to Afghanistan,” he said.“Our concern is that the Sahel not becomes a new Afghanistan.” The comments came as US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton sounded the alarm on Thursday over the continuing threat posed by al Qaeda even in the wake of the killing of its mastermind, Osama bin Laden.

krisna wrote:From dreams to drones: who is the real Barack Obama?
Pankaj Mishra

In an interview with the Arab News, Salahudin, the chairman of the amalgam of militant outfits United Jihad Council and Chief of Hizbul Mujahideen outfit, has said, “We (militants) are fighting Pakistan’s war in Kashmir and if it withdraws its support, the war would be fought inside Pakistan.”

But Sesame street was already in Bakistan in the days following 9/11. Proof seen in this poster: you can clearly see Bert standing behind Osama in the poster here:

arun wrote:US drone strikes 'raise questions' - UN's Navi Pillay

US drone strikes certainly raise questions but not necessarily limited to what Ms. Pillay has raised.

The biggest question is how come that there has not been a single incident where the Islamic Republic of Pakistan has demonstrated a willingness to protect its airspace from US drones ? . . .

Jhujar wrote:http://dawn.com/2012/06/08/afghans-paki ... ali-niger/
Afghans, Pakistanis training militants in Mali: Niger

PARIS: Jihadi fighters from Afghanistan and Pakistan are training militant groups in northern Mali, Niger’s President Mahamadou Issoufou warned Thursday,, . . .

Firstly, Indian is the one which is using terrorism and not attaching Pakistan directly but in disguise. Very soon America will attach on India from Pakistan. Pakistan is in American block and Indian is in Russian block. In this video Americans are just observing how good Indian army is so that when they attack they know their weaknesses.

Washington, June 8: India will host a conference on Afghanistan to discuss ways to boost international private sector investment in the war-torn country later this month, a top US official has announced.

This is probably for the first time post 2001 that India is hosting an international conference, of any kind, on Afghanistan, where the country has quietly invested more than $2 billion.

Curiously enough the announcement in this regard has come not from India, but from Obama administration’s point man on South and Central Asia ahead of the June 13 Strategic Dialogue between India and the United States.

“India also hosts on June 28th a conference to examine ways to boost international private sector investment in Afghanistan,” the Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia, Mr Robert Blake, said in his address to the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, a prestigious American think-tank.

This conference, Mr Blake said, will feature over 50 Afghan firms — with at least 10 of the companies owned by women — whose presence will spur direct business-to-business links between Afghan and international firms.

The New Delhi conference then will inform a July 8th Government summit in Tokyo that will develop strategies for Afghanistan’s economic development, the senior US official said.

Afghanistan, Mr Blake said, would be one of the key issues of discussion when the Secretary of State, Ms Hillary Clinton, holds talks with the Indian-delegation led by the External Affairs Minister, Mr S.M. Krishna, in Washington on June 13.

PESHAWAR: At least 14 people were killed and over 36 injured in a blast that took place in Peshawar on Friday, DawnNews reported.

The blast occurred in the city’s Gulbela area on Charsadda road targeting a bus of government employees. The bus was completely destroyed in the explosion.

Hizb-ul-Mujahideen chief Syed Salahuddin has vowed to turn the guns on Pakistan if it stops backing jihadis in Jammu and Kashmir who, he claimed, were fighting "Pakistan's war".

"We are fighting Pakistan's war in Kashmir and if it withdraws its support, the war would be fought inside Pakistan," said Salahuddin, who also heads the Muttahida Jihad Council, a grouping of terrorist organisations based in Pakistan.

He said he was "desperate and agitated" with the new approach adopted by Pakistan in the peace process with India.

The report said the Pakistani political leadership's new approach for normalising relations with India had "stunned" Kashmiri leaders.

"Kashmir has been the key issue but now it has become peripheral as all claims of supporting our struggle politically, diplomatically and morally are nothing but lip service," Salahuddin claimed.

He said he believed that militancy alone is the solution to the Kashmir issues.

"All those who were involved in the so-called peace talks eventually admitted that India is not serious and that it gained more and more time to implement its own design for the region," he claimed.

It said Hayat Khan arrested in a sting operation on Thursday following a number of complaints in the capital.

“The fake FBI agent grabbed millions of rupees. He is now under arrest,” , media reports quoted police official Suhail Akram as saying.

Khan, who also went by the alias Riaz Khan, claimed to have worked for the FBI and trapped his victims by offering to sell US dollars at a lower rate than on the market.

PESHAWAR: At least 19 people were killed and 20 injured in a blast on Charsadda Road in Peshawar on Friday.
Reports state that a bomb had targeted a bus of Civil Secretariat employees. Eyewitnesses said that up to 30 people were on board the bus when it was targeted.
The bomb disposal squad (BDS) reached the scene and began collecting evidence.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Information Minister Mian Iftikhar Hussain confirmed the death toll.
Speaking to the media outside Lady Reading Hospital, Hussain said, “11 people are dead here. The bodies of four men, six women and one young girl are at this hospital.”
He said that 10 injured were currently under treatment at the hospital, out of which five were in critical condition.
Confirming reports from Charsaddah Hospital, the information minister said that 8 bodies had been taken there.
“Since the rear of the vehicle was affected the most in the explosion, the bomb might have been planted there and detonated remotely,” said Hussain.
Condeming the attack, the minister said, “Spreading fear and indulging in terrorism is the only reason for such an act.”
“We are in favour of talks but if they (terrorists) refuse, we will be forced to take action against them,” said Hussain.

A whispering campaign of financial wrong-doing by Arsalan Mohammad Chaudhry, the son of Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry, the Chief Justice of Pakistan, has blown up into a full-fledged political scandal that is threatening to fracture the strained relationships between the judiciary on the one hand and the government and military on the other.

The code of conduct of judges as detailed by the CJP himself in 2009 clearly states that a judge may not hear cases in which a potential conflict of interest may arise. But the CJP has stated that this is a special case requiring his personal adjudication.{Why this uproar? All YYY khanspiracy onleee. After all isn't this a very paki thing to do?} He quoted verses from the Quran to prove that a father is not responsible for the acts of omission and commission of his adult children. Consequently, the debate veered away from the cold corpus of law and constitution to the passionate interpretations of the Quran and Hadith and the CJP placed a copy of the Quran on his desk in order to shape public perception of the rights and wrongs of the case.{A normal everyday paki code of conduct is suddenly being demonized. I ask you all is this fair?}

The military establishment has been smarting against the CJP since he started to ask hard questions of the role of the military agencies in strife-torn FATA and Balochistan where hundreds have died or disappeared. The military is not used to civilian or judicial accountability in any aspect of its work. The generals would like the CJP to back off or get lost. They would have a powerful motive to embarrass and weaken the CJP or provoke a revolt against him inside and outside the SC via exactly such a scandal through the aegis of Malik.

The PPP government would also like to see the back of the CJP. The regime has been hounded by the judges for the last three years and risks losing its president and prime minister at the altar of SC interventionism. Clashes between the government and the SC erupt every week.

If any such clash were to lead to constitutional gridlock - the chances of which are rising by the day - the military would get an excuse to step into the fray and sweep aside both of them in the "national interest". Certainly, by comparison with the pristine and secretive military, the civilians in the executive, judiciary and opposition are all reeking of bad odour in light of the current scandal.

Currently, the media and opposition are naturally arrayed behind the CJP. All manner of constitutional and political somersaults are being made in order to heap blame on the PPP and military and belittle the charges against Chaudhry Jr and delink them from the CJP. In a sense, supporters of the CJP have launched a pre-emptive strike to protect their chief from the fallout of the evidence against his son when it surfaces. But there is no certainty they will succeed in their mission once the documents see the light of day and shock people into asking hard questions.

KABUL, Afghanistan — Expressing both public and private frustration with Pakistan, the Obama administration has unleashed the CIA to resume an aggressive campaign of drone strikes in Pakistani territory over the last few weeks, approving strikes that might have been vetoed in the past for fear of angering Islamabad.

Now, said a senior U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity in discussing sensitive issues, the administration's attitude is, "What do we have to lose?"

The CIA has launched eight Predator drone attacks since Pakistan's president, Asif Ali Zardari, was invited to attend the May 20-21 NATO summit in Chicago but refused to make a deal to reopen crucial routes used to supply U.S. troops in Afghanistan, as the White House had hoped.

"Obviously, something changed after Chicago," said a senior congressional aide in Washington, speaking on condition of anonymity in discussing a classified program. "I am only getting the official story, but even within the official story there is an acknowledgment that something has changed."

Pakistanis view the drone strikes as an attempt to intimidate their civilian and military leaders into giving in to U.S. demands. If that's the strategy, it won't work, said experts and analysts in Islamabad, the Pakistani capital.

"They are trying to send a message: 'If you don't come around, we will continue with our plan, the way we want to do it,' " said Javed Ashraf Qazi, a retired Pakistani intelligence chief and former senator. It's "superpower arrogance being shown to a smaller state.... But this will only increase the feeling among Pakistanis that the Americans are bent on having their way through force and not negotiation."

A White House official said no political or foreign policy considerations would have prevented the CIA from taking action when it found Abu Yahya al Libi, Al Qaeda's No. 2 leader, who was killed by a drone-fired missile in Pakistan on Monday.

The US stepped up its drone campaign in Pakistan's tribal belt after authorities in Islamabad failed to act on intelligence about the involvement of North Waziristan-based militants in coordinated attacks in Kabul on April 15, a media report said today.

Upset over Pakistan's alleged inaction against those groups and identified targets in intelligence provided by Washington, the US acted directly and began pounding the militants with drones, the Dawn newspaper quoted military and intelligence sources as saying.

The report said the US had provided specific intelligence related to the Kabul attacks, including sites where the improvised explosive devices were suspected to have been manufactured for use in the terrorist assault.

The IED factories pointed out by the US were in North Waziristan, it said.

The US presented evidence of the involvement of the Haqqani network and the Taliban as well as the "collusion of some of their Pakistani affiliates", the report said.

Pakistan noted the concerns of the US but officials appeared hesitant in accepting that groups based in North Waziristan were involved in the attacks.

There was no "appreciable action by the Pakistani side" and "the US acted against some of those targets using drones", the report said.

An unnamed army officer, who was aware of intelligence cooperation between Pakistan and the US, rejected the allegations made by Washington.

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan says it will ‘soon’ reopen the Ground Lines of Communications (GLOCs) for Nato containers to re-enter Afghanistan and this could happen in a ‘week’s time.’

The United States too admits that GLOCs will open ‘soon’ but has refrained from giving a timeframe.

“Soon” appears to be the key word but neither side is willing to give the exact date when consultations presently being held in Islamabad, and through video links with Washington, will finally wrap up. When a senior Pakistani diplomat, monitoring the deliberations, was approached, he told The News, “We will open GLOCs soon. My hunch is in a week’s time,” which could be around June 14.

Earlier, when a senior official of the State Department was asked the same question, he told The News, “There is a “package deal” being discussed at high levels which includes Coalition Support Fund (CSF), but the deal is not yet quite concluded. We remain hopeful.”

He confessed that he was unaware of any ‘dates’ for either opening of GLOCs or the amount fixed for reimbursement of the CSF. “We would be delighted if Pakistan would announce sooner, rather than later, the opening of GLOCs. However, Pakistan has not yet conveyed to us any hints about a date,” he added.

Pakistan’s admission of opening up GLOCs in a week’s time came the same day, when in Kabul, US Defence Secretary Leon Panetta, made a statement that the US was reaching the limits of its patience with Pakistan over ‘safe havens’ for terrorists inside Pakistan.

In order to strengthen bilateral economic relations, India has allowed foreign direct investment from Pakistan, Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma said today.

Emphasising the need to increase economic engagement with the neighbouring countries, Mr. Sharma said: “We have allowed Indian investments in Pakistan and Pakistan’s investment, whatever is the amount, to come to India”.

He said that without engaging with Pakistan, South Asian economic integration would not be possible.

“We are clear that without engaging with Pakistan, South Asia Free Trade Agreement (SAFTA) cannot move forward,” he said in New Delhi.

ISTANBUL: Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar on Thursday said the democratic government in Pakistan would continue to closely work with the international community to create a world free from bigotry, extremism and terrorism.

She was addressing the ministerial meeting of the Global Counter-Terrorism Forum (GCTF) which was also attended among others by Turkish Foreign Minister Davutoglu and US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. The foreign minister said Pakistan along with its partners was working to devise innovative strategies to tackle the issue of global terrorism. She said the real challenge was to win the hearts and minds of people to address the issue in a comprehensive way and added that the democratic government of Pakistan was working hard to strengthen the criminal justice system.

pankajs wrote:

krisna wrote:From dreams to drones: who is the real Barack Obama?
Pankaj Mishra

Has this piece been published in any of the mainstream American paper? Did he try to get this published at his favorite NY Times where he is a frequent contributor? Or was it written with a particular audience in mind? Who is the real Pankaj Mishra?

Just being declared no-b@ll does not mean Obama can't develop b@lls later in his life.

vijayk wrote:
Look at all his unending love for Pakis.

These scoundrels are very smart. Pankaj, Arundhoti etc. write India bashing articles in the NY Times or New Yorker covering yindoo right wing, castiesm, RSS, Modi bashing t appeal to US liberals because they know once they start yindoo/india bashing funds will flow from liberals. When they have to bad mouth amrika, they go to Gulf News, European left wing. The money flows from there too when they see amrikan bashing.

Dilbu wrote:India to allow FDI from Pakistan: Sharma

pankajs wrote:Hizb chief warns Pakistan against withdrawing support on Kashmir

"We are fighting Pakistan's war in Kashmir

Jhujar wrote:Pak-China friendship beyond the confines of time limits: Zardari
.............

CRamS wrote:

vijayk wrote:
Look at all his unending love for Pakis.

These scoundrels are very smart. Pankaj, Arundhoti etc. write India bashing articles in the NY Times or New Yorker covering yindoo right wing, castiesm, RSS, Modi bashing t appeal to US liberals because they know once they start yindoo/india bashing funds will flow from liberals. When they have to bad mouth amrika, they go to Gulf News, European left wing. The money flows from there too when they see amrikan bashing.

What is it among --- like PM, ARoy, and assorted scum like them that make them completely overlook TSP crimes against India? I mean it takes some amount of self loathing to have morphed into these kinds of demons. What describes such a psychological state of mind? These same pukes as you point out ooze with bilge and hatred writing about India and Hindus.

There may be legal issues, for sure racial contempt as is typical of US wont in the manner in which it conducts its murderous campaigns against non whites and justifies it in the name of doing their God's work, and PM could have made his points, but do point out TSP's colossal perfidy that has brought about this state of affairs. TSP is not an innocent victim like the Vietnamese, the contrast is like night and day.

In addition to the point you make on the choice of publications, an additional factor could be that mainstream nationalist newspapers in the west will never publish anything that holds a mirror on their face and shames them. Their so called "liberalism" is at best manifested in a narrative that highlights the west's supreme might, their self righteous stand on "human rights" with a does of abstract condescending introspection of their dark side. So no US publication will ever use nor accept words/phrases like "white nationalism" or "Christian extremism" to portray their abhorrent conduct, while the same same phrases and worse will be used profusely to denounce any kind of self respect or independence that Indian/Hindu leaders would exhibit. And in doing the same, scum like PM will be gladly allowed to puke such music in their publications, but when the mirror is turned around, not a chance.

Baikul wrote:

Jhujar wrote:Pak-China friendship beyond the confines of time limits: Zardari
.............

In other reports, Pakistan bending over timelessly.

Charlie wrote:Fridin Friday

19 killed, 20 injured in Peshawar blast .........{Snipped} ............

arun wrote:Meanwhile .........................

X Posted from the Pakistan Role in Global Terrorism thread.

The Islamic Republic of Pakistan’s higher than the Himalaya’s and deeper than the oceans friend the Peoples Republic of China expresses concern about Mohammadden Terrorists targeting them operating in the Islamic Republic:

China concerned about Uyghur rebels operating in Pakistan

...two of its swimmers received confirmation to participate in the Olympic Games. The international body for aquatic sports, FINA, has selected Anum Bandey and Israr Hussain of Pakistan on the basis of their performance in the 14th FINA World Championships, held in Shanghai last year.

The allotment has been made on the ‘Universality Places,’ berths reserved for countries whose athletes are unable to qualify for the Games.

arun wrote:
I am unable to understand how a country like Pakistan that loudly proclaims that Mohammaddenism is a “Religion of Peace” and one presumably qualified to do so given that it is an ”Islamic Republic”, a “Citadel of Islam”, a “Safe Haven for the Mohammaddens of the Indian Sub-Continent” and an “Ideological Muslim State” sees regular bouts of Mohammaddens slaughtering each other on their Sabbath and expects Non-Mohammaddens to accept that theirs is a Religion of Peace .

Meanwhile KUNA is reporting the death toll had climbed to 21:

Death Toll In Peshawar Explosion Rises to 21

18 civilians including women and children were killed

Me: Jake, you are an idiot!
Jake: hey!! Apologize! My H&D are at stake.
Me: OK. Jake, I am sorry that you are an idiot.

MUMBAI: Pakistan's state-run broadcaster had asked All India Radio (AIR) for the historic speech in which Pakistan's founder Muhammad Ali Jinnah had addressed the Constituent Assembly on 11 August 1947, three days before the creation of Pakistan.

A report released by BBC today states that AIR does not have any recordings of the speech in which Jinnah had said people could follow any religion without state interference. "You are free; you are free to go to your temples, you are free to go to your mosques or to any other place of worship in this state of Pakistan. You may belong to any religion or caste or creed, that has nothing to do with the business of the state."
{if this is true who came up with this BS }

Pakistani officials said they had first contacted BBC for the speech. Pakistan Broadcasting Corporation director general Murtaza Solangi told Press Trust of India that the British broadcaster was unable to locate it in its extensive archives. He then turned to All India Radio, which operated stations across the subcontinent before Partition.

"I had received a call from Pakistan Broadcasting Corporation asking for a recording done on a certain date, but we don't have the tape with us," AIR director general LD Mandloi told BBC.

"We will inform the Prasar Bharati [Indian government broadcasting authority] and it is up to them to take it forward and inform Pakistan," he said.

"This[Jinnah] speech is very important for people who want to direct the country[Pakistan] to the goal of a modern, pluralistic, democratic state," Solangi earlier told PTI.

Solangi said that in 1947, radio stations in what is now Pakistan did not have proper recording facilities and hence they do not have a copy of the historic

Pakistan’s accident rate regarding airplane crashes is probably the highest in the world but Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has never published the accident-related data.

RAWALPINDI: Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani Friday said that Pakistan is a peace loving nation and focus of its armed forces always remained on defending and serving the country.

"We are a peace loving nation and harbor no aggressions towards anyone but at the same time we value our freedom and independence more than anything else."

He made these remarks while addressing participants of launching ceremony of book on Major Shabir Sharif Shaheed's heroic life as military officer, held at General Headquarters (GHQs) here.

The COAS said that armed forces are fully prepared to ensure sovereignty and dignity of the country.

Appreciating the role and sacrifices of young officers of Pakistan Army during the war against terrorism, he said,"The young officers have set examples for us and we should acknowledge the dedication of our brave soldiers who are taking pride by laying their lives for the nation."

He said the ratio of martyred officers and soldiers is 1-10 which reflects their resolve and commitment.

From Lalit K Jha New Delhi/Washington, Jun 8 (PTI) Pakistan and China are among the countries invited for the regional investor's meet on Afghanistan to be held in New Delhi on June 28 to discuss ways to boost international-private sector investment in the war-torn country. Official spokesperson in the Ministry of External Affairs Syed Akbaruddin said in New Delhi that though it is largely a private sector meet, India will also invite government entities for the conference aimed at exploring and promoting investments in Afghanistan on long-term basis. "Yes, I would like to confirm that all countries which were participants of the Istanbul process are being invited and that includes Pakistan too," he said when asked if Pakistan was also invited for the meet. This is the first international meet to be held by India involving the private sector. Significantly, the Indian initiative was also announced earlier in the day in Washington by Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia Robert Blake. This conference, Blake said, will feature over 50 Afghan firms – with at least 10 of the companies owned by women – whose presence will spur direct business-to-business links between Afghan and international firms. The New Delhi conference then will inform a July 8th government summit in Tokyo that will develop strategies for Afghanistan's economic development, he added. Afghanistan, Blake said, would be one of the key issues of discussion when Secretary of State Hillary Clinton holds talks with the Indian-delegation led by the External Affairs Minister S M Krishna, in Washington on June 13. The meet - Delhi Regional and International Investor's Meet on Afghanistan - organised jointly by Indian and Afghanistan government along with CII is also expected to be attended by regional and international organisations, senior government representatives, international financial institutions, private and public sector Investors.

The UK Border Agency has arrested a Pakistani after customs officers at Heathrow Airport found two kilogrammes of heroin hidden in a wedding dress, on a flight from Karachi.

The US commander of Nato forces in Afghanistan has apologised over the deaths of civilians in an air strike this week, flying personally to the scene to deliver his condolences.