LHR 28-05-2013_Layout 1 5/28/2013 5:31 AM Page 20
19
Tuesday, 28 May, 2013
series of car bomb explosions leave at least 66 dead BAGHDAD AGeNCIeS
a
series of car bomb explosions in Baghdad on Monday left at least 66 people dead. Many others were wounded in the attacks that targeted mainly the Shia district of the Iraqi capital. The attacks come amid the growing political and sectarian tension in Iraq, raising fears of the return of the sectarian violence of 2006 and 2007 in which thousands were killed. Iraq has been hit by a wave of bloodshed that has killed more than 350 people in the past two weeks alone. There was no immediate claim of re-
sponsibility for Monday’s bloodshed, but the attacks bore the hallmarks of alQaida’s Iraqi arm. The group, known as the Islamic State of Iraq, frequently uses car bombs and coordinated blasts in an effort to undermine Iraqis’ confidence in the Shiite-led government. The day’s deadliest attack happened when two bombs exploded in the eastern Habibiya neighborhood, which is near the sprawling Shiite district of Sadr City. That attack killed 12 killed and wounded 35, according to police. Twin blasts also struck an open-air market in the predominantly Shiite alMaalif area, killing six and wounding 12 others, two police officers said.
Another car bomb exploded in the busy commercial Sadoun Street in central Baghdad. It killed five civilians and wounded 14 others, two other police officers said. Among the wounded were four policemen who were in a nearby checkpoint. The street is one of the major hubs in the capital for clinics, pharmacies and shops. Firefighters were seen struggling to extinguish the flames from the debris of the car bomb as police sealed off the area. Several shops were partially damaged or burned. Elsewhere, police said a car bomb went off in the capital’s eastern New Baghdad area as they were waiting for explosives experts to dismantle it, killing a
civilian and wounding nine others. In the northern Sabi al-Boor neighborhood, police said eight civilians were killed and 26 wounded when another car bomb exploded in a market. Meanwhile in the southwestern neighborhood of Bayaa, another car bomb explosion in a market killed six civilians and wounded 16. In northern Baghdad’s Kazimiyah district, a car bomb blew up near a bus and taxi stop, killing four and wounding 11 others. And in Baghdad’s central Sadria area, a car bomb went off in a market and killed three civilians and wounded 11. In the eastern Jisr Diyala area, a car bomb killed 5 and wounded 12. And in the
northern Shaab area, a car bomb killed four and wounded nine. Car bombs also struck the eastern Baladiyat neighborhood, killing four and wounding 11, and the northern neighborhood of Hurriyah, leaving five dead and 14 wounded. In Madain, about 20 kilometers (12 miles) south of central Baghdad, a car bomb killed three and wounded nine. Medical officials confirmed the causality figures. All officials spoke on condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to release information. Although violence has decreased sharply in Iraq since the height of insurgency, militants are still capable to carry out lethal attacks nationwide.
pakistani prisoners in India denied consular services KOLKATA ONlINe
CHAMAN: A health worker administers polio drops to a child during a vaccination campaign on Monday. INP
15 pakistani ambassadors receive ‘pack-up’ instructions ISLAMABAD INP
Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has directed 15 ambassadors and high commissioners posted in various countries to prepare themselves for return to Pakistan, a Britain-based website quoted its sources as saying on Monday. The decision has come forward after the briefing by Foreign Affairs Secretary Jalil Abbas Jilani to Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leaders regarding the country’s foreign policies and Pakistani ambassadors around world. According to reports, Jilani had provided initial briefing to the top leadership of PML-N, the party with the biggest mandate post May 11 elections. During the briefing, the Foreign Ministry official told the PML-N leadership that some ambassadors were selected for the post on basis of political influence and personal recommendation, while retired military officers had been posted in six countries. The reports disclosed some names who were likely to return to Pakistan include Wajid Shamsul Hasan (UK), Salman Bashir (India), Masood Khan (Pakistan’s delegate to United Nations), Jamil Ahmed Khan (UAE) and Nawabzada Aminullah Khan Raisani (Oman).
pakistani women who married each other seek UK asylum
singh’s special envoy calls on nawaz MONITORING DESK
MONITORING DESK Two Pakistani girls who married each other under new British laws have applied for political asylum in the UK, claiming their lives would be in danger if they returned to Pakistan after their civil marriage in Leeds earlier this month. Rehana Kausar and Sobia Kamar tied the knot at a registration office in Leeds, looked on by a handful of friends and the couple’s solicitor. The couple had told the Registrar that they had known each other for around three years after moving to Britain from Pakistan on student visas. According to a local Birmingham newspaper, the relatives of the couple have said that the girls received threats from their relatives in Pakistan as well as the UK. Kausar is a master’s degree holder in economics from Punjab University. Both Kausar and Komal are students of business and healthcare management. They met for the first time in Manchester and have been inseparable ever since. “It’s no one’s business as to what we do with our personal lives. The problem with Pakistan is that everyone believes he is in charge of other people lives and can best decide about the morals of others but that’s not the right approach and we are in this state because of our clergy who have hijacked our society which was once a tolerant so
ciety and respected individuals freedoms,” Kausar said. British human rights campaigner Peter Tatchell said, “I am delighted for these two women. They are obviously deeply in love and that’s a wonderful thing. How can anyone object to love? It is sad that Komal and Kausar can only have a civil partnership in Britain and not in their homeland of Pakistan. Gay couples in Pakistan should be able to marry just like their heterosexual friends and family. Even if some Pakistani people don’t agree with lesbian relationships I hope they will accept that two women should have the right to love and marry each other. The right to marry is a human right. It applies to everyone, gay and heterosexual. No government should deny anyone the right to marry the person they love.”
Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s special envoy Satinder Lambah on Monday called on Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) President Nawaz Sharif, who is set to become the prime minister, and discussed ways to take forward the dialogue process to address all the issues of concern between the two countries. Lambah travelled to Lahore as a follow up of Singh’s conversation with Nawaz on May 12 to greet him on his party’s victory in the general elections there. The Indian Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) said that during the meeting, “They took the opportunity to discuss ways to take the dialogue process forward to address all issues of concern to the two countries and to advance peace, friendship and cooperation between the two South Asian neighbours.” Lambah also conveyed Prime Minister Singh’s “greetings and good wishes for his tenure as Prime Minister of Pakistan. Mian Nawaz Sharif conveyed his deep appreciation for Prime Minister Singh’s message.”
Published by Arif Nizami at Plot # 7, Al-Baber Centre, F/8 Markaz, Islamabad.
Two Pakistani prisoners being held in Alipore central jail and implicated by the CID in the Khadim abduction case on Monday alleged that they had been denied consular access for over a decade. The state government has already written to the Ministry of External Affairs seeking details as it appeared improbable that there was any truth to their claim. Indian IGP Prisons Ranveer Kumar said, “The MHA has informed us about a May 28-June 2 window to allow all Pakistani prisoners lodged in Bengal prisons to be send to Tihar for the consular access. The claims made by the two prisoners were brought to our notice. But we find it intriguing that since the two had spent a prolonged period in Tihar and were convicted, they never got consular access. We’ve written to the MHA for further information on these two prisoners. Hinging on it will depend whether we allow them to go there. Consular access is mandatory for all Pakistani prisoners lodged in Indian jails.” The two prisoners Tariq Mahmood, 45, and Isaq Ahmed, 52, are facing trial in the Khadim abduction case. This case has already led to a life term for Aftab Ansari and four others and acquittal of 17 people by a special court in May 2009 - nearly eight years after footwear baron
Partha Pratim Roy Burman’s abduction in July 23, 2001. Tariq and Isaq were in Tihar Jail facing trial in another case then. It was only in 2012, the duo were brought to Kolkata to face the Khadim abduction trial. Of the 107 witnesses, only 21 have testified so far in this case. Bikash Chandra Guchait, the state defence lawyer, representing the duo, said, “Tariq and Isaq has already moved court seeking permission for their Tihar visit. The court has allowed that. They will face trial on June 4.” Furthermore, Guchait said, “They are Pakistani fishermen who were arrested by Mumbai police and then charged with several cases, including the Khadim abduction.” There is a Supreme Court mandate to expedite the ongoing Khadim trial. Tariq and Isaq have spent 11 years in Indian custody already. Guchait also pointed out that another Pakistani undertrial Arshad Khan was allowed to go to Tihar Jail for the consular access. “From what I understand, the Pakistani consular officials try to ascertain from them on the charges for which they’ve been implicated and their Pakistani nationality claims,” he added. The IGP, however, said, “This is done regularly. We have allowed all Pakistani prisoners consular access before and will do so. Only in these two specific claims, we need to verify facts for understandable reasons. That is what we are trying to do.”
plane suspects remanded in custody after UK court appearance LONDON AGeNCIeS
Two men who allegedly threatened to blow up an aeroplane travelling with 308 passengers from Lahore to Manchester, were remanded in custody on Sunday. On Friday, RAF Typhoon fighters were scrambled to meet the Pakistan International Airlines flight mid-air as it was diverted towards Stansted after the pilot called for assistance. Taxi driver and supermarket employee Tayyab Subhani, 30, and restaurant worker Mohammed Safdar, 41, appeared at Chelmsford magistrates court charged with endangering an aircraft The pair were arrested after armed police boarded the flight at
Stansted. Both were travelling home after attending Safdar’s mother’s funeral, the court heard. The defendants have been charged with making threats that the “crew and passengers would be killed and the aircraft blown up before landing, which was false, misleading or deceptive”. During the hearing, the defendants, who were both born in Burnley, Lancashire, spoke only to confirm their names and addresses but their lawyers said they would deny the charge. Endangering an aircraft carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment. The magistrate, Sarah-Jane Davies, refused bail. Safdar – a married father of three – and Subhani, both from Nelson, Lancashire, will next appear at Chelmsford crown court on 5 August.