W O R L D

‘JuD transferred money out of bank accounts’
New York, December 15
The Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD), which was labelled a terrorist organisation by the UN Security Council for its links to the Mumbai carnage, has been able to transfer money out of most of its public bank accounts, negating the impact of the crackdown by Pakistan, a media report said yesterday.

Pak cracks down on another ‘shady’ outfit 
The federal government has launched a crackdown against another religious outfit Al-Amin Trust (AAT), sealing its 24 offices and freezing bank accounts across the country, sources told Daily Times on Sunday.

Justice delivered to Sikh woman in US
New York, December 15
A Sikh woman who suffered racial, religious and sexual harassment on the job has obtained justice by standing up to her employer. An amount of more than a quarter million dollars has been awarded to her and eight others.

Abhisit Vejjajiva elected Thailand’s new PM
Bangkok, December 15
Opposition leader Abhisit Vejjajiva was today chosen as Thailand’s third Prime Minister in four months in a bid to end months of political turmoil

Protesters attack a car coming out of Parliament with rocks after the voting for the country’s Prime Minister in Bangkok on Monday. — AP/PTI

Police guards removed from JuD chief’s house
Islamabad, December 15
Just days after launching a crackdown on the Jamaat-ud-Dawah after the UN banned it, the Pakistani authorities have released four detained workers and removed police guards deployed at the home of a senior leader of the organisation, Maulana Abdul Aziz Alvi.

Iraqis rally behind Zaidi
Baghdad, December 15
The Iraqi journalist who threw his shoes at US President George W. Bush in a supreme insult has suddenly become the talk of Iraq. The little known Shi’ite reporter said to have harboured anger against Bush for the thousands of Iraqis who died after the 2003 US-led invasion, had previously made headlines only once, when he was briefly kidnapped by unknown gunmen in 2007.

Saudi men read a newspaper with the headline “Bush ‘shoed’ during Iraq visit” in Riyadh on Monday. — Reuters

Pak trying to cover up Ajmal links: Reports
Islamabad, December 15
Pakistani authorities and residents of Ajmal Amir Iman’s village have apparently launched efforts to cover up their links with the lone gunman arrested for the Mumbai terror attacks, days after his father admitted that the young man as shown by the media was his son.

‘JuD transferred money out of bank accounts’

New York, December 15
The Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD), which was labelled a terrorist organisation by the UN Security Council for its links to the Mumbai carnage, has been able to transfer money out of most of its public bank accounts, negating the impact of the crackdown by Pakistan, a media report said yesterday.

The dismantling of the Islamic charity linked to the Mumbai terror attacks is being seriously hampered by Pakistan’s difficulties in tracking and seizing millions of dollars the group is believed to have stashed in bank accounts in Pakistan and abroad, the Wall Street Journal said yesterday.

The public lead-up to the UN action gave the group ample time to transfer money out of most of its public bank accounts, an unidentified Pakistani finance ministry official was quoted by the US Journal as saying.

The official estimated that the group has moved hundreds of thousands of dollars, “may be millions” in recent days.

“If we don’t take away money, it can reopen any time,” the official told the paper. “The money in Pakistan is hidden now. We won’t find it.” Jamaat officials, who last week invited mediapersons to tour their complex outside Lahore and see some of their social-service programmes in action, have been unavailable to comment since Thursday’s clampdown; many were either detained or being sought by the Pakistani authorities, the Journal said.

As of Friday afternoon, the Journal said, at least one Jamaat-ud-Dawa account remained open for supporters to deposit donations, “at least for the moment.” People who wished could still deposit money at a Lahore branch of Bank Alfalah Ltd., a small lender part-owned by investors in Abu Dhabi, said the bank’s operations officer, who, the paper said, would give his name only as Ali.

The Pakistani bank official said neither Jamaat nor the government had asked him to shut the account, which was in the name of Markaz Jamat-ud-Dawa. Markaz means the “headquarters of” in Urdu.

Other bank officials, including at its main office in Karachi, didn’t respond to requests to comment, the Journal said.

In Pakistan, Europe and the US, Jamaat has asked donors since 2005 to deposit funds at Bank Alfalah in the name of a separate charity, Idara Khidmat-e-Khalq, which the US State Department identified in 2006 as an alias for Jamaat, the Journal quoted counter-terrorism officials. — PTI

Pak cracks down on another ‘shady’ outfit 
Afzal Khan Writes from Islamabad

The federal government has launched a crackdown against another religious outfit Al-Amin Trust (AAT), sealing its 24 offices and freezing bank accounts across the country, sources told Daily Times on Sunday.

According to a notification, issued to all the provinces, the federal interior ministry ordered the sealing of all AAT offices as well as seizing its licensed weapons. However, no arrests were made nor any weapons recovered, 
they added.

The AAT has four offices in Karachi and 20 in 15 other cities. Authorities suspected that the outfit was involved in financially supporting Taliban in the tribal areas. Officials said AAT was the new name of the banned Al-Rasheed Trust (ART), which was established in 1996 by Mufti Rasheed Ahmed. After Rasheed's death in 2003, Mufti Abdul Raheem took over the reins. ART was renamed as AAT when the previous government banned it. “All our offices have been sealed and bank accounts seized,” AAT spokesman Muhammad Abdullah told reporters.

Abdullah said the AAT ambulance service had also been stopped. He said the organisation was engaged in welfare and relief activities. “We are still trying to figure out why the government has taken this step,” he said.

“We will appeal in the court to challenge the imposition of the ban because we were never involved in any immoral activity and our relief and other activities in Pakistan are being affected following this step.” The AAT had a nationwide network and ran many organisations, including Islam Welfare Foundation, Pakistan Blood Bank and Al-Aziz ambulance service. Though Abdullah denied any link to the ART, he said AAT drew inspiration from ART.

Harassment Case
Justice delivered to Sikh woman in US

New York, December 15
A Sikh woman who suffered racial, religious and sexual harassment on the job has obtained justice by standing up to her employer. An amount of more than a quarter million dollars has been awarded to her and eight others.

Sukhbir Kaur's former employer, a privately held discount retailer National Wholesale Liquidators (NWL), which sells home utilities and electronics at discounted and wholesale prices, agreed to make changes to their employment policies and pay damages to nine harassment victims, including Kaur, according to a news release issued by the Sikh Coalition.

''The settlement sends a strong message to private employers that discrimination against the Sikhs is illegal and will be harshly punished,'' the release said. Kaur's lawsuit alleged that in 2004, an NWL store manager harassed her because ''she was a Sikh, a woman and an Indian''. The manager told her to remove her turban because she ''would appear sexier without it.'' When she refused the manager's repeated advances, he told her that she was not permitted to use the bathroom. The NWL failed to take appropriate action to address and correct the harassment, even after Kaur complained. Instead, she was fired.

The issue was first brought to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)’s attention in July 2005, when the Sikh Coalition filed a charge of discrimination on her behalf with the EEOC. The EEOC, subsequently, conducted an investigation and found that many South Asian workers at the NWL in Queens, a New York borough, were being harassed. — UNI

Abhisit Vejjajiva elected Thailand’s new PM

Bangkok, December 15
Opposition leader Abhisit Vejjajiva was today chosen as Thailand’s third Prime Minister in four months in a bid to end months of political turmoil as pro-Thaksin supporters of the previous administration blocked access to the Parliament here.

Abhisit, a 44-year-old Oxford-educated economist, has the onerous task of bringing stability to the economy which is trying to come out of stagnation after anti-government protesters took over the international and domestic airports last month leading to their closure for a week. It led to more than $85 million losses a day, badly denting tourism sector.

“I think it would be good if the government leader would also lead the economic team,” Abhisit was quoted as saying by the official TNA. He expressed optimism that he could improve and restore confidence among investors within two to three months.

The Democrat Party leader was elected as Thailand’s 27th Prime Minister beating former national police chief Pracha Promnok of the Puea Pandin party leader by 235-198 votes in a special session of the Parliament. Abhisit’s victory was officially announced by the House Speaker Chai Chidchob.

Pracha was backed by the MPs loyal to former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, convicted of corruption charges and now a fugitive at an unknown location.

The new Prime Minister is expected to be formally named later in the day today. Hundreds of police personnel were deployed outside Parliament for the session as some demonstrators gathered outside the House to protest the vote outcome. — PTI

Police guards removed from JuD chief’s house

Islamabad, December 15
Just days after launching a crackdown on the Jamaat-ud-Dawah after the UN banned it, the Pakistani authorities have released four detained workers and removed police guards deployed at the home of a senior leader of the organisation, Maulana Abdul Aziz Alvi.

Chaudhry Imtiaz, the Deputy Commissioner of PoK capital Muzaffarabad, told the Dawn newspaper that police guards had been removed from Alvi's residence but he had been asked not to leave the area without informing the administration.

Alvi, who heads the PoK chapter of the Jamaat, was put under house arrest in his Karyan village on Thursday night.

Iraqis rally behind Zaidi

Baghdad, December 15
The Iraqi journalist who threw his shoes at US President George W. Bush in a supreme insult has suddenly become the talk of Iraq. The little known Shi’ite reporter said to have harboured anger against Bush for the thousands of Iraqis who died after the 2003 US-led invasion, had previously made headlines only once, when he was briefly kidnapped by unknown gunmen in 2007.

TV reporter Muntazer al-Zaidi remained in detention today, accused by the Iraqi government of a “barbaric act.” His employer, independent al-Baghdadiya television, demanded his release and demonstrators rallied for him in Sadr City in Baghdad.

Supporters of anti-American Shi’ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr called for his release in Basra, the southern city that controls Iraq’s oil exports. Meanwhile, larger groups of Sadrists also protested in Baghdad’s Sadr City and in the Shi’ite holy city of Najaf. In Najaf, witnesses said demonstrators threw shoes at a passing American convoy.

“Thanks be to God, Muntazer’s act fills Iraqi hearts with pride,” his brother, Udai al-Zaidi, told Reuters television, demanding that the Iraqi government free him. “I’m sure many Iraqis want to do what Muntazer did. Muntazer used to say all orphans whose fathers were killed are because of Bush.”

Zaidi shouted “this is a goodbye kiss from the Iraqi people, dog,” at Bush in a news conference the US president held with Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki during an unannounced farewell visit to Baghdad yesterday.

The journalist then flung one shoe at Bush, forcing him to duck, followed by another, which sailed over Bush’s head and slammed into the wall behind him. Throwing shoes at someone is the worst possible insult in the Arab world. Zaidi was dragged struggling and screaming from the room by security guards and could be heard shouting outside while the news conference continued after momentary mayhem.

The Iraqi government said Zaidi had carried out “a barbaric and ignominious act” that did not correspond to the role of the media. “He tried to attack the visiting president,” the media centre of the council of ministers said in a statement.

“At the same time that we condemn this ignominious act, we call on the television channel of this reporter to deliver a public apology for this act which sullies the reputation of all Iraqi journalists and the whole media.”

Al-Baghdadiya television demanded Zaidi’s immediate release, “in accordance with the democratic era and the freedom of expression that Iraqis were promised by US authorities.” It said any harsh measure taken against the reporter would be reminder of the “dictatorial era” that Washington said its forces invaded Iraq to end.

Zaidi, now in his late 20s, spent more than two days blindfolded, barely eating and drinking, after armed men forced him into a car as he walked to work in November 2007. He said at the time that the kidnappers had beaten him until he lost consciousness, and used his necktie to blindfold him and bound his hands with his shoelaces.

Colleagues of Zaidi say he resented President Bush, blaming him for the bloodshed that ravaged Iraq after the invasion. It did not appear that he had lost any close family member during the sectarian killings and insurgency, which in recent months have finally begun to wane. — Reuters 

Pak trying to cover up Ajmal links: Reports

Islamabad, December 15
Pakistani authorities and residents of Ajmal Amir Iman’s village have apparently launched efforts to cover up their links with the lone gunman arrested for the Mumbai terror attacks, days after his father admitted that the young man as shown by the media was his son.

Pakistani security and intelligence agencies have deployed a large number of personnel in plainclothes at Faridkot in Okara district of Punjab province, from where Ajmal hails, with journalists visiting the area having to face angry protests.

Footage of the intelligence operatives has been aired by Geo News channel. The News daily reported that journalists who visited Faridkot on December 6 were surrounded by over 100 people, some of them armed with lathis, who pressurised the reporters not to interview anybody or do any filming in the area.

Ghulam Mustafa Wattoo, the mayor of the local council who has been at the forefront of efforts to deny Iman’s links to the village, warned the scribes that they would be responsible for the “consequences” if they went against the wishes of the people.

One person tried to snatch the camera and wallet of a foreign journalist. A TV channel team was assaulted by some persons who snatched their mobile phones and digital videotapes. Asim Rana, who was in charge of the team, said villagers cannot take out tapes from the camera “with such expertise.” “It clearly shows that some people from the (security) agencies are among the villagers, who are running the whole show,” he added.

Nepal dismisses Pak lawyer’s claim of Ajmal’s Kathmandu arrest

Kathmandu/Islamabad: Nepal today dismissed the claim of a Pakistani lawyer that Ajmal Amir Iman was handed over to “Indian agencies” after he was nabbed by the police in Kathmandu two years ago.

“We don’t have any such information,” Home Ministry spokesperson Nabin Kumar Ghimire said today.

“We have no information of either arresting or handing over such a person to Indian authorities,” Ghimire said over phone.

The denial came following the claim by Pakistani lawyer, C.M. Farooque, who said that Iman alias Ajmal Kasab had gone to Kathmandu before 2006 on a “business visit” when he was arrested by the Nepal Police and later handed over to “Indian agencies”. — PTI