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04 uS general offers 3 options for post-2014 military presence in Afghanistan WASHINGTON speCial CORRespOndent
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la ReuniOn: a man struggles against the wind on friday in the western part of french overseas’ island of la Reunion, as cyclone dumile approached the region. AGENCIES
uK hands over Pakistani al Qaeda suspect to uS NEW YORK inp
An alleged Pakistani al Qaeda operative accused of planning attacks in the United States, Britain and Norway was extradited to America. The British Home office on Thursday said that Naseer was a resident of Manchester in Northern England and was extradited to America where he is accused of terrorism offenses. His case is now a mat-
Prof. Khurshid concerned over paradigm shift in military doctrine ISLAMABAD inp
Jamaate islami Naib Amir and former Senator Professor Khurshid Ahmad expressed serious concern over the radical change in the military doctrine in Pakistan, shifting focus from external threats to internal threats “While there is no denying that terrorism has become a serious challenge, the counter-terrorism strategy suggested by the Parliament in the form of two resolutions (October 2008 and May 2011) and a detailed report of the Parliamentary Committee on National Security (2009) has been totally neglected by the government,” Ahmad pointed out. He emphasised that the suggested paradigm shift in the military doctrine must be carefully reviewed to assess how far it follows the guidelines of the Parliament and to what extent it represents a departure from them. Prof. Khurshid expressed fear that the government was failing in its duty to lay down clear parameters for the military doctrine in light of the constitution and resolution of the Parliament, leaving vital matters to the Armed Forces whose professional input was essential, but the final decision, he said, ought to be made by the civil authority as laid down in the constitution.
Saturday, 5 January, 2013
ter for the US authorities. Abid Naseer, 26, flew out of Britain from luton Airport near london under US custody. He is due to face a federal judge Monday on charges of joining a failed al Qaeda plot to bomb the New York. Naseer was originally arrested in 2009 along with 10 other Pakistani men over a suspected Manchester bomb plot. They were released without charge after prosecutors cited inadequate evidence, and ordered to be deported. Despite Naseer being an al
Qaeda operative who posed and still poses a serious threat, he could not be returned to Pakistan as his safety there could not be guaranteed, said an immigration judge. Two months after his release in July 2010, Naseer was arrested again on a US warrant linked to the New York case. According to American prosecutors, Naseer was a go-between for three men convicted of traveling to Pakistan for militant training, then plotting an attack to set off suicide bombs in New
York City’s subway in 2009. The plotters admitted to communicating with an al Qaeda organiser in Pakistan named Ahmad. US authorities say Ahmad was in turn communicating with Naseer, who likewise visited Peshawar. Federal prosecutors said in a statement that upon returning to the United Kingdom, Naseer sent messages back and forth to the same email account that ‘Ahmad’ was using to communicate with the Americanbased al Qaeda cell.
Granting visa to Miandad doesn’t change dawood’s status: govt NEW DELHI aGenCies
The government on Friday made it clear that the issuance of visa to former Pakistani cricketer Javed Miandad, a relative of underworld don Dawood ibrahim, does not reflect any change in the status of the Mumbai serial bomb blasts case’s mastermind as far as india is concerned. Miandad’s son Junaid is married to Mahrukh, the daughter of Dawood, who is wanted in india in connection with the 1993 Mumbai bomb blasts
case. “There has not been any change as far as Dawood ibrahim is concerned. His position remains exactly the same,” a top government source said. The remarks came amidst criticism by BJP and Shiv Sena over the issuance of visa to Miandad. The source said Miandad, whose son married the fugitive terrorist’s daughter, was not on india’s negative list and added that he was given a visa in April 2011 also. However, he did not come last time. The former Pakistani captain has
been granted an indian visa that will allow him to watch the final one-day match of the ongoing limited-over cricket series between the two countries in New Delhi on January 6. However, Miandad cancelled his visit this time as well. According to indian security agencies, Dawood is believed to be staying in Karachi where he had fled to after the serial bomb blasts. Asked why he gave visa to Miandad, home minister Sushilkumar Shinde shot back “i have not given visa. My officer or my mission must have given”.
HE United States could keep between 6,000 and 15,000 troops in Afghanistan after the 2014 NATO withdrawal from the country, an American news channel reported in the light of options proposed by top US Commander in Afghanistan. Citing American officials the CNN said US commander Gen. John R. Allen has submitted three options to Pentagon. The plans have been created with input from Defense Secretary leon Panetta’s office, the Joint Staff, the US Central Command, and the White House - would give President Barack Obama options based on what he is looking to do in Afghanistan. The plans are awaiting official approval from Panetta. Meanwhile, The New York Times, quoting unnamed US officials, reported each of the three plans contains with it a risk factor An
mobile phones are weapon of terrorism, says rehman malik ISLAMABAD app
Federal interior Minister Rehman Malik Friday said that mobile phones were now a weapon of terrorism as all improvised bombings were conducted through them. Speaking in the Senate and later outside the Parliament House, he said elections will not be delayed and will be held on time as per the constitutional provisions. The minister said that mobile phone services were suspended in different cities on Chehlum of imam Hussain after taking all the provinces into confidence. “Mobile phones are now a weapon of terrorism as all improvised bombings were conducted through them.” He said that suspension of mobile phone services helped avoiding blasts. The minister suggested that legislation should be done to ban illegal mobile phone SiMs sell as it has become a weapon of committing terror, adding the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has been written a letter in this regard.
option of 6,000 troops would probably pose a higher risk of failure for the American effort in Afghanistan, 10,000 would be medium risk and 20,000 would be lower risk, a US official said, according to a report in the newspaper. Explaining the options, a CNN account said the low-end option calls for 6,000 to 6,500 troops that would be strictly for counterterrorism operations: hunting down Taliban and al Qaeda members and cells still operating around the country. This plan would require mostly Special Operations Forces, with a limited number of support troops and only a very small amount of training assistance for Afghan forces. The mid-range option, involving around 10,000 troops, would still have the main focus on counterterrorism operations, but it would have a bigger training footprint for Afghan forces, with most of the focus on Special Operations troops and a limited amount of conventional troop training. While the
15,000-troop option would bring in a greater number of conventional troops for training Afghan Security Forces, as well as a bigger support element in addition to the counterterrorism forces. American defense officials say planning for the post-2014 troop presence is still not complete, but it is very close. Currently, the US has 66,000 troops in Afghanistan. The US expects next week’s visit of Afghan President Hamid Karzai to involve conversations discussing these options. A senior Defense official told CNN the United States is expecting the Afghan government to allow legal protections for US troops who remain in Afghanistan after the NATO mission ends in 2014. According to the channel, the iraqi government refusal to extend legal protections for US troops after the end of the war in iraq was a major reason the United States left the country with no residual military training force.
FO refrains from verifying Mullah Nazir’s death ISLAMABAD Online
Refraining from verifying the death of Taliban warlord Mullah Nazir in a US drone strike in South Waziristan, the Foreign Office spokesman on Friday said the issue of drone attacks had been raised at with the United States. in his weekly briefing to the press, FO spokesman Moazzam Ali Khan reiterated the stance that Pakistan condemned US drone attacks on its soil, adding that the matter was raised in talks between the senior leadership of both countries. Calling Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar’s visit to Saudi Arabia successful, Khan said the relations between the two countries were exemplary. To a question about iran’s nuclear installations, the spokesman said the matter could be resolved in a peaceful
manner. Khan said the issue could not be solved with the imposition of sanctions. Speaking about a conference of clerics being planned in Afghanistan, the spokesman said Pakistan was in contact with Afghanistan over dates for the conference. He said Pakistan supported reconciliation process in Afghanistan. Khan also said President Asif Ali Zardari would not be attending the third Pakistan-india cricket match in india.
India moving toward more female police officers NEW DELHI aGenCies
india’s interior minister has ordered each police station in New Delhi to beef up the number of women officers to facilitate complaints from women. it is the latest in a string of changes that follow the fatal gang rape of a student that shocked the nation. interior Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde on Friday said each police station in Delhi should have 10 female constables and two female sub inspectors. “We will be posting these women very soon according to this order by diverting staff from other places and making them available in Delhi,” police spokesman Rajan Bhagat said.
Currently, females make up 7% of police forces, he said. New recruits will be selected in the next three to four months, and training will take an additional nine months, he said. Bhagat denied that the new directive was implemented solely because of the rape, but its implementation is aimed at helping women. The directive is necessary because “we need overall more women in the police station as other women feel more comfortable with female officers,” he said. “if all women complaints are attended to promptly situations like that of the gangraped medical student may have been avoided.” The interior minister also said he is working with security officials to
strengthen laws regarding rape and assault. in the state of Haryana, about 80 miles northwest of Delhi, officials will make public the profiles of rapists online. The state will publish the names, addresses and case numbers of convicted rapists on a website that anyone can access. “in doing so, we hope to curb crime against women,” said laik Ram Dabbas, director of the state crime records bureau. The police expect to approve the measure and the website could be active this month, Dabbas said. “By making these names and profiles public we think crime can be curbed, as in india people are sensitive to public embarrassment
and once the public is aware of such people roaming around their area they will become more careful,” Dabbas said. The men accused in the gang rape that led to the death of the 23year-old indian woman were formally charged with murder, rape and kidnapping in a New Delhi court Thursday. The attack on the woman, who died last week from her severe injuries, has appalled and enraged many indians, prompting widespread debate over the way the country handles sexual assaults and the treatment of women in indian society. Numerous protests have taken place, new laws have been proposed and senior lawyers in the
court district where the accused men have been charged say they will not represent them. Police submitted charges against five suspects before a new fast-track court in Saket, a southern district of New Delhi, said Suman Nalwa, deputy police commissioner of a special unit for women and children. He said authorities were waiting for the outcome of a bone marrow test before deciding whether a sixth suspect in the attack, believed to be a minor, will be charged as a juvenile or an adult. The results of the test, intended to determine the suspect’s exact age, should come soon, Nalwa said. The trial will begin this week once all the evidence is gathered, he said.