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American lawmakers want Haqqanis on terror list
Guerrilla commander has directed brazen attacks against US forces in Afghanistan
Palestine stakes claim for full
UN statehood
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American lawmakers want Haqqanis on terror list Washington, September 23 “I request that the State Department list the network as a foreign terrorism organisation”, said Senate Intelligence Committee Chairwoman Dianne Feinstein. Feinstein in a statement said that the Haqqani network “met all the standards of the blacklist as it has been conducting attacks against US targets and personnel in Afghanistan and “poses a continuing threat to American, Afghan and allied personnel and interests”. Another leading senator Carl Levin, Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee demanded at a Congressional hearing why was there an inordinate delay in designating the network as a terrorist organisation. “....This step is long overdue,” Levin said. “I hope the State Department will move quickly to designate the Haqqanis’ as a foreign terrorist organisation,” Levin said as he and other lawmakers urged Defence Secretary, Leon Panetta, and Admiral Mike Mullen, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, to take steps to ensure that the Haqqani network is not able to attack Americans. Foremost is the threat posed by the militant extremists launching attacks against Afghan and coalition forces from sanctuaries in Pakistan, particularly the Haqqani group in North Waziristan and the Afghan Taliban shura in Quetta, he said. The sharp comments from the lawmakers came after US military chief Admiral Mike Mullen charged that the Haqqani network “acts as a veritable arm of Pakistan’s military intelligence agency”. Levin, the Chairman of the Committee, said the ability of the network to launch attacks over the border from Pakistan was unacceptable. The top Republican on the committee, Sen John McCain called for slowing down the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan to maintain the advantage of the surge of troops last year.
— PTI
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Guerrilla commander has directed brazen attacks against US forces in Afghanistan Islamabad, September 23 Yet, from his safe houses and mountain redoubts, the guerrilla commander has directed some of the most brazen attacks against US forces in Afghanistan, and is now seen as one of the most dangerous warlords in the Taliban insurgency. Washington, with ever more strident accusations, thinks he is getting help from Pakistan’s shadowy but powerful ISI intelligence agency. Sirajuddin, the head of a group his father founded in the 1980s, says he’d look forward to a US ground attack. “The United States will suffer more losses (in North Waziristan) then they suffered in Afghanistan,” he told Reuters by satellite phone from an undisclosed location. Still, he doesn’t take chances, especially with drones overhead a constant worry, 57 drone strikes have peppered the region so far this year, according the New American Foundation, a think-tank that keeps a database of such attacks. Some 55 members of his family, including his brother, have been killed in such attacks. According to the New American database, at least a quarter of the drone attacks since 2008 have targeted the Haqqanis. I always avoid travelling in a motorcade of armed fighters, as it puts your life in danger,” he said, adding that is also why he doesn’t wear a turban, standard head-dress for all male Afghans, or carry a gun. Yet he is far from being a desperate fugitive on the run. He acknowledges that Haqqani fighters now number around 15,000, making it probably the largest force among the Taliban warlords. He also moves easily across the border to areas of eastern Afghanistan where the Haqqanis are entrenched. He even mediates disputes among the Taliban and takes part in their meetings in Afghanistan. — Reuters
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Palestine stakes claim for full UN statehood United Nations, September 23 Just before he addressed the 66th session of the United Nations General Assembly this morning, Palestine Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas met UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and submitted an application for the admission of Palestine on the basis of June 4, 1967, borders with Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its capital as a full member of the UN. "I call upon Mr Secretary-General to expedite transmittal of our request to the Security Council and I call upon the distinguished members of the Security Council to vote in favour of our full membership. "I also appeal to the states that have yet not recognised the State of Palestine to do so," he said in his address to the UN General Assembly. Abbas said he was ready to return to the negotiating table with Israel saying Palestine's efforts were not aimed at isolating or deligitimising Israel. The application for statehood for Palestine comes despite efforts by the US to dissuade Chairman Abbas from going ahead with his proclaimed plans. India was among the first non-Arab states to recognise Palestine Liberation Organisation and its aspirations to statehood. Recently, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had written a letter to Abbas extending India's solidarity with the Palestinian people and the decision to support a resolution for creation of Palestine state in the UN when it comes up. "India has always supported the Palestinian people in their pursuit of legitimate goals and for development with dignity and self reliance. I assure you of India's full support in the United Nations," Singh wrote.
— PTI
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Saleh back from Saudi Arabia, calls for truce
Sanaa, September 23 Saleh’s surprise return from Riyadh, where he had been receiving medical treatment for wounds sustained in a June 3 bomb attack on his Sanaa compound, was celebrated by tens of thousands of his supporters who gathered at Sanaa’s Sabiin Square, near his palace, for the weekly Friday Muslim prayers. The 69-year-old Saleh, who has since January faced massive street protests demanding he step down, however did not himself make an appearance at the prayers as was his tradition prior to the attack. “The people love Ali Abdullah Saleh. The people want you Ali Abdullah Saleh,” his supporters chanted. Anti-Saleh protesters at Sittin Road, north of Sabiin Square attending a funeral of 40 people killed in the violence, meanwhile, also welcomed the return of Saleh, saying they now wanted him brought to trial. “We thank Saudi Arabia for returning Ali to us so we can bring him to trial inside the country,” said one of the activist. —
AFP
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Mullen’s accusations unfortunate: Kayani
Islamabad, September 23 In a statement issued by the military this evening, the powerful army chief described Mullen's remarks as "as very unfortunate and not based on facts". He added: "This is especially disturbing in view of a rather constructive meeting with Admiral Mullen in Spain." The Pakistani military had maintained a studied silence as several US officials linked the Inter-Services Intelligence agency to the Haqqani terror network and called on Islamabad to take action against the Taliban faction based in the North Waziristan tribal region. Kayani responded a day after Mullen accused the ISI of supporting the Haqqani network in carrying out a string of deadly terror attacks, including an assault on the US Embassy in Kabul on September 13. The Pakistani military statement said: "On the specific question of contacts with the Haqqanis, (Kayani) said that Admiral Mullen knows fully well which all countries are in contact with the Haqqanis. Singling out Pakistan is neither fair nor productive." The statement did not name the other countries that are in contact with the Haqqani network. Kayani categorically denied US accusations of "proxy war and ISI support to Haqqanis" and said the "blame game in public statements should give way to a constructive and meaningful engagement for a stable and peaceful Afghanistan, an objective to which Pakistan is fully committed". — PTI
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Sirajuddin Haqqani does not carry a gun or wear a turban as he moves stealthily through the Waziristan wilderness along Pakistan’s border with Afghanistan, hoping to avoid detection and getting hit by a US missile.
United Nations, September 23
