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Afghan leader tells ISLAMABAD, Oct 17: Ruling Afghan Taliban supreme leader Mullah Mohammad Omar today told his men they were fighting a Jihad, or holy......more Rumour
in Arab world WASHINGTON, Oct 17: A couple of days after last month’s attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, a rumour began to spread in the ....more Bush
creates panel to WASHINGTON, Oct 17: Seeking to prevent terrorism in cyberspace, President George W Bush ordered the creation of a Government board....more Hizbul
flays US ban ISLAMABAD, Oct 17: Pakistan-based Kashmiri militant group, Hizbul Mujahideen has strongly criticised the US for its ban on ........more |
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Pak’s pro-Taliban
leader ISLAMABAD, Oct 17: Pakistani authorities have registered a complaint of treason against a leading pro-Taliban Muslim leader, police said today, but .....more US
Congress approves WASHINGTON, Oct 17: The United States (US) Congress has approved the lifting of economic sanctions against Pakistan, clearing the way for US . ....more World
gripped by anthrax WASHINGTON, Oct 17: Fear of bioterrorism gripped the world today as a string of anthrax attacks in the United States triggered hoaxes and false. ......more UN
discusses future UNITED NATIONS, Oct 17: With stress on delivering humanitarian aid to war-ravaged Afghanistan, UN Security Council has begun.......more |
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Afghan leader tells Taliban will defeat "infidel" ISLAMABAD, Oct 17: Ruling Afghan Taliban supreme leader Mullah Mohammad Omar today told his men they were fighting a Jihad, or holy war, and would defeat the "big infidel", the Afghan Islamic Press (AIP) said. "The Taliban should show patience and steadfastness," he said in an address that was heard by his Taliban fighters on Wednesday morning when all switched on their battlefield walkie-talkies to listen, the private Pakistan-based AIP said. "It is Jihad against the infidel like the one we waged against the Soviets," he was quoted as saying. "I am confident that, with the grace of Allah, we will force to his knees and defeat the big infidel," he said, speaking on the 11th day of US-led attacks aimed at flushing out Saudi-born militant Osama Bin Laden and punishing his Taliban protectors. All commanders in the field heard the speech via their walkie-talkies, which they have been ordered to keep open at all times. The Taliban’s voice of Shariat Radio was knocked off the air by a US strike shortly after the start of the US-led attacks on October seven. The reclusive spiritual leader of the Taliban, who rarely appears in public and has been seen by only two non-Muslim westerners, urged his men not to fear death. "Death will definitely come one day. We are not worried about death. We should die as muslims," he said. "We will succeed whether we live or die," Omar said in a defiant speech apparently intended to show that he was still alive after 11 days of withering strikes on militia installations and cities across his war-ravaged country. "It does not matter whether we die today or tomorrow. The goal is martyrdom," said Mullah Omar, who is believed to have fled his powerbase in the southern city of Kandahar. Mullah Omar himself has already suffered losses in the war. A 10-year-old son along with the spiritual leader’s stepfather were killed in a strike on one of his compounds in Kandahar on the first night of the attack, officials have said. "We are confronted with a big infidel. This is a test. The people are suffering but this is test which we shall pass, god willing," said Mullah Omar, who lost one eye in the guerrilla war against the 1979-89 Soviet occupation. "At this time our enemies are infidels and no muslim can accept (dictates) of infidels. The mind of a Muslim can never accept to bowing before infidels," he was quoted as saying in the speech. Officials confirmed the broadcast. "I am confident we will succeed. Keep your spirits up, be patient and steadfast." (REUTERS) |
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Rumour in Arab world blames Jews for Sept 11 attack WASHINGTON, Oct 17: A couple of days after last month’s attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, a rumour began to spread in the Arab and Islamic world that a vast international Jewish conspiracy lay behind them. According to this conspiracy theory, which surfaced a few days after the attack, some 4,000 Jewish employees of the World Trade Center received advanced warning not to go to work on Sept. 11. According to the theory, commandos working for Israel’s Mossad Secret Service hijacked the planes aiming to provoke a US revenge attack against the Arab world. Although the story may sound far-fetched to most, and the long stream of Jewish funerals and obituaries following Sept. 11 prove it false, it has been accepted as fact by sectors of ordinary people in some Muslim countries, spread by hardline newspapers, clerics and the internet. Some American Jewish leaders feel the Bush administration needs to debunk the myth. "Nobody is challenging this gross lie. Nobody is getting on Arab TV stations and saying it is a lie, it’s absurd and it’s a libel," said Abraham Foxman, Executive Director of the Anti-Defamation League. David Harris, Executive Director of the American Jewish Committee, agreed. "Perhaps the Bush administration doesn’t want to confer legitimacy on these canards by even acknowledging their existence. Sadly, this story has taken on a life of its own. It has even reached non-Muslim countries like Greece and South Africa where Jewish communities have frantically contacted US, asking for help in refuting these charges," Harris said. "At this point it would be very helpful for the Bush administration and other countries not only to condemn this canard but to call it by its real name, which is raw, unadulterated anti-semitism," he said. But James Zogby, Chairman of the Arab American Institute, said: "This is a cruel as well as a bizarre story but once things like this get started and spread on the internet, it is so difficult to snuff them out." "This and other similar stories function as a form of wish-fulfillment by people who wanted so badly not to accept that Arabs were responsible," he said. In Iran, the hard-line Resalat newspaper last week quoted "experts" as saying the attacks were so complicated they had to have been carried out by the Israeli Government and the Mossad. In Kuwait, where some speakers on television have ridiculed the report, some people have even added embellishments, saying Jews were advised by New York rabbis to sell their holdings in the stock market the day before the attack and did so. Public opinion data on Arab views toward the Sept. 11 attack is sparse. One poll conducted a week after the hijacking and published in the Lebanese newspaper An Nahar found that 31 percent of respondents thought Israel was behind the hijackings while only 27 per cent thought Saudi-born militant Osama Bin Laden was responsible, as the United States has charged. Historian Richard Levy, an expert on anti-semitism at the University of Illinois, Chicago, said such conspiracy theories have flourished after years during which Arab Governments have encouraged crude Jewish conspiracy theories. "They have encouraged their peoples to explain politics and history by means of myth, lie, and fear. This sort of demagogy will come back to bite them," he said. "If I were a Pakistani who has internalized what my successive Governments have been telling me for years about the awesome power of the Jews and their Israeli pawns, I might well find Bin Laden more attractive and inspiring than my so-called leaders," Levy said. Yossef Bodansky, a Congressional consultant on terrorism and author of a book about Bin Laden, said some Arab leaders have stoked anti-Jewish feeling as a way of diverting internal dissent and sidestepping calls for democratization. "Since there has never been any consideration of democratization in any Arab country, it became imperative for Arab Governments to come up with satanic enemies of the state in order to legitimize the current state of affairs," he said. But Clovis Maksoud, former Ambassador of the league of Arab states to the United Nations and the United States, told Reuters: "This (rumor) was disposed with a long time ago. It has been marginalized. I don’t think anybody takes that seriously. It is a remnant of the paranoic approach. "The funny thing is that some of the people who were saying that were indicating that no Arab can do that." Asked about recent western TV interviews with ordinary Muslims from as far apart as indonesia, Pakistan and the Gulf who repeated the rumors, Maksoud, now Director of Center for the Global South, said: "Well that is because the e-mail has spread all sorts of things in repeating it, but no mainstream arab person takes that seriously at all. "The Governments definitely don’t do that. Of course there are people who are so frustrated. It might be repeated as you would find many crackpots all over on all sorts of issues, not only on this one here." Shibley Telhami, who holds the Anwar Sadat chair for peace and development at the University of Maryland, wrote in an op-ed in the San Jose Mercury Oct 14: "This is not about the objective reality of where the blame lies, it is about entrenched perceptions: The public in the region blames the powers that be, and sees Israel as the most powerful state in the region, an occupier of Arab lands, and the United States as the anchor of that order. "Conspiracy theories abound in the Middle East, the favorite explanation for every ill: even the Sept. 11 attack is sometimes blamed on an Israeli conspiracy to discredit the Muslim world." (REUTERS) |
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Bush creates panel to prevent cyberterrorism WASHINGTON, Oct 17: Seeking to prevent terrorism in cyberspace, President George W Bush ordered the creation of a Government board to find ways to protect computer networks critical to the US Government and private sector. The White House last week said the panel, known as the President’s Critical Infrastructure Protection Board, would be chaired by Richard Clarke, Bush’s new Special Adviser for cyberspace security. The focus on cyberterrorism follows the Sept. 11 hijacked plane attacks on New York and Washington, which have forced the US Government to search for ways to protect against a variety of possible assaults on the United States. In a 10-page executive order yesterday, Bush said he aimed to prevent disruptions of key information systems and "thereby help to protect the people, economy, essential human and Government services, and national security of the United States." "Protection of these systems is essential to the telecommunications, energy, financial services, manufacturing, water, transportation, health care and emergency services sectors," added the order released by the White House. Bush ordered the White House office of management and budget to develop Government polices on how best to secure information systems other than at the Pentagon and the intelligence agencies, where he gave this responsibility to the Defense Secretary and to the Director of Central Intelligence. The Board, whose membership will include officials from the departments of state, defense, the treasury as well as a host of other Government agencies, was ordered to reach out to the private sector and to local Government as part of its work. (REUTERS) |
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Hizbul flays US ban on 2 militant outfits ISLAMABAD, Oct 17: Pakistan-based Kashmiri militant group, Hizbul Mujahideen has strongly criticised the US for its ban on Harkat-ul-Mujahideen and Jaish-e-Muhammad and said such action made little difference as Washington did not wield any control over the outfits. "The US decision regarding the Harkat-ul-Mujahideen and Jaish-e-Muhammad is deplorable because these two groups are fighting against illegal Indian occupation and have no link with terrorism," Hizbul chief, Saeed Salahuddin told reporters yesterday in Muzafarabad, capital of Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK). The US administration by listing the Harkat-ul-Mujahideen as terrorist organisation and ordering the freezing of Jaish’s accounts last week has ended up increasing the list of the its enemies, he said. "Such bans made little difference to the militant outfits because US did not wield any control over the militant outfits," Pakistani daily `The Dawn’ quoted him as saying. Salahuddin also flayed US attacks in Afghanistan and said they had failed to achieve their target and should solve the problem through political and diplomatic means. The US action in Afghanistan hurt the feelings of the muslims across the world and evoked strong reaction against america, he said, adding the US must also take action against state terrorism along with individual terrorism. Salahuddin, who also headed an umbrella organisation, United Jehad Council (UJC), had maintained silence since last month’s terrorist attacks in US and this is the first time that it has come out with a statement against the US. (PTI) |
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Pak’s pro-Taliban leader accused of treason ISLAMABAD, Oct 17: Pakistani authorities have registered a complaint of treason against a leading pro-Taliban Muslim leader, police said today, but his party officials said such a move would not deter their anti-US campaign. Police told Reuters that a complaint of treason had been registered by the local authorities against Maulana Fazlur Rehman, head of the pro-Taliban Jamiat-e-Ulema Islam (JUI) party, on October 14, after he tried to "incite" people against the Pakistani Army and the police. Rehman, under house arrest for more than a week for leading violent agitation against the US strikes on Afghanistan’s ruling Taliban, was briefly allowed to attend a meeting on the anniversary of the death of his father on Sunday. It was there that he reportedly made the remarks, the cause of the complaint. Police from the town of Dera Ismail Khan told Reuters that Rehman remained under house arrest but there were no orders to arrest him formally. Rehman’s brother and another cleric have also been named in the complaint, called a First Information Report (FIR), the basis for any further legal and investigative proceedings. There was no immediate comment from the Government on whether it would follow up on the complaint. The other two named have not been arrested and police sources said they have no immediate orders to take such action. "We think the Government is itself trying to inflame the sentiments of the people by charging Maulana of treason," said JUI’s vice president Hafiz Hussain Ahmed from the southwestern city of Quetta, scene of violent anti-US demonstrations since the start of US air strikes on Afghanistan on October seven. "These cases will not stand in our way," he added, referring to strikes and rallies JUI, along with other Muslim parties, are holding daily in different cities and towns of Pakistan. "We have so far not directly threatened the Government, nor have we started any civil disobedience ... But things can spin out of control if the first two tiers of the leadership of the party are not allowed to lead the workers," Ahmed added. President Pervez Musharraf has pledged Pakistan’s support to the US-led campaign against terrorism despite strong opposition from Pakistan’s hardline Muslim groups who perceive the US attacks on Talibans as aggression against Muslims. Musharraf has so far managed to contain the fury of these groups but his Government admits that its resources were already stretched out to try to maintain law and order. Realising the delicate situation, Musharraf has repeatedly expressed hopes the military campaign will be short and lead quickly to installation of a broad-based Afghan Government to replace the Taliban. Interior Minister Moinuddin Haider yesterday warned that a long US war in Afghanistan would strain Pakistan’s ability to control domestic unrest. (REUTERS) |
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US Congress approves lifting of sanctions on Pakistan WASHINGTON, Oct 17: The United States (US) Congress has approved the lifting of economic sanctions against Pakistan, clearing the way for US assistance to the country in the wake of the latter’s support to its ongoing war against terrorism in Afghanistan. The approval came when the US House of Representatives yesterday overwhelmingly voted in support of legislation to remove the sanctions imposed after the military coup in Pakistan in 1999. With the senate already having endorsed the legislation on october four, it now goes to President Bush for his signature, before being effected as a law. The legislation would enable the President to expeditiously waive sanctions imposed last year against the Pakistan’s Ministry of Defence for violations of the missile technology control regime. The President will, in future, also be able to waive the sanctions, sidestepping the mandatory 45-day waiting period under existing law. Further, the legislation removes restrictions that prevent assistance to nations in arrears on their payments of official debt to the US. The US recently rescheduled some of Pakistan’s debt. The legislation allows immediate flow of assistance to Pakistan, instead of waiting until the rescheduling takes effect after 30 days. It received solid support from key house leaders. International Relations Committee Chairman Henry Hyde, an Illinois Republican, said the passage of the legislation was an "appropriate response to the emergency situation confronting our nations and to the difficulties facing Pakistan as it assists US to stabilize their region". Even Tom Lantos, the top democrat and a known supporter of India, was not far behind in his support, saying that US needed to demonstrate its commitment to help Pakistan secure a better future as long as that country was committed to fighting terrorism. Hardly weeks after the September 11 attacks in the United States, the Bush administration moved to lift several prevailing sanctions against India and Pakistan. Despite the strong support, a few members of the Congress did express reservations. While some had budgetary concerns, others like Frank Pallone, a former India Caucus Chairman, was skeptical of providing military assistance to Pakistan when it was not directly participating in the US military campaign in Afghanistan. However, some members have reservations about waiving sanctions beyond the current fiscal year. The legislation extends the waiver until 2003. There are also concerns over Congress giving up its oversight powers to Pakistan over the 100 million dollars in economic aid the President has pledged and an additional 500 million dollars in economic assistance the President is likely to announce soon. (UNI) |
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World gripped by anthrax panic as cases on rise WASHINGTON, Oct 17: Fear of bioterrorism gripped the world today as a string of anthrax attacks in the United States triggered hoaxes and false alarms. Public authorities in Europe, Asia and the Americas cautioned against unnecessary panic as police investigated the latest cases. Early test results seemed to indicate hoaxes, with the only confirmed cases in the United States, without dimming fears that terrorists would respond to the US attacks on Afghanistan with a bioterror offensive. The fear was greatest in the United States, where 13 people have been confirmed as having been exposed to anthrax, with four contracting the disease. But US authorities have been inundated with thousands of reports. Police have begun cracking down on pranksters and mischief -makers as they investigate the real cases of contamination. Postal authorities remain on the highest state of alert for suspicious packages. Mail delivery and pickup in the US Congress has been halted indefinitely as a result of a letter found to contain anthrax received by senator Thomas Daschle, the majority leader. Letters sent to media organisations and a Microsoft office in Reno, Nevada, also have been found to contain anthrax spores. Elsewhere, police kept busy today investigating possible cases of anthrax contamination, including at US missions abroad. A new anthrax alert was triggered in Osaka, Japan, where the US consulate general received a suspicious-looking letter with white powder in it, officials said. "They received a letter with white powder of some type ... It looked suspicious and they handed it over to police," US Embassy Press Officer Alan Holst said in Tokyo. One letter was delivered to Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi’s residence, but was later found to contain food starch, and several major media organisations in Tokyo also received suspicious letters. The US consulate in the Canadian city of halifax was briefly evacuated yesterday after an unidentified white powder was found in the building. The anthrax scare also hit the US consulate in Rio De Janeiro, where two people were given antibiotics after they handled an envelope containing powder. Authorities in New Zealand sealed off two post offices today as emergency workers in special protective gear investigated suspect content of mail. In Bagota, Colombian police were awaiting test results on three letters suspected of containing anthrax and those who handled them. A package containing white powder also triggered a panic at a post office at mexico city international airport. Bolivia activated its emergency response system after two suspicious envelopes were sent to a local business and the bureau of the Spanish news agency EFE. No anthrax has been found in either of them. Initial checks elsewhere have so far revealed no anthrax, and no cases of infection were confirmed in Europe, although frightened people have been taken to the hospital. (AFP) |
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UN discusses future role in Afghanistan UNITED NATIONS, Oct 17: With stress on delivering humanitarian aid to war-ravaged Afghanistan, UN Security Council has begun considering issues like nation-building and establishing a broad-based Government after the collapse of the Taliban regime. "The first task is to establish corridors for delivery of food aid that would be safe from the air strikes by the United States and its allies. The world body has been using trucks and donkeys, where vehicles cannot go, to deliver the humanitarian aid," members of the world body said. It estimates that some 7.5 million people out of a 21 million population face severe food shortage and possible starvation if the aid does not reach them in time. After Taliban is defeated, the UN would have a major role in bringing about agreement among warring tribes who thoroughly distrust one another, the members said. The efforts for intervention will be made under the leadership of former Algerian Foreign Minister Lakhdar Brahimi who is now Secretary-General’s Special Envoy to the country. Brahimi said the world body should proceed cautiously in taking on a new peacekeeping operation in Afghanistan. According to diplomats, members said that Tajiks, Uzbeks and Hazaras would have a role in the new establishment, the members said. There was an exchange of view on the humanitarian, political and military situation in Afghanistan and a preliminary discussion about the possible role of the UN once the US-led strikes are over, Council President Richard Ryan of Ireland said after a closed-door meeting. The members demanded that Taliban stop threatening the aid workers and cease obstructing aid for the Afghan people. They also called on Taliban to contribute to the alleviation of hardships of the Afghan population. Gravely concerned about the humanitarian situation, the Council urged member-states to contribute to the UN emergency humanitarian appeals for Afghanistan and asked neighbouring countries to intensify their cooperation with the world body to respond to the refugee crisis. Members commended the efforts of humanitarian workers in the region, and reiterated importance of ensuring the safety and security of such workers at all times, Ryan said. (PTI) |
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