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JuD, other groups active again: Pak
Obama admn keeping New Delhi ‘informed’
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Drone strikes: US to involve Pak
Nepal ends Indian priests’ monopoly
Lankan army kills 44 Tigers
Indian American hotelier sentenced for fraud
Nepal meets Prachanda,
seeks support
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JuD, other groups active again: Pak
Lahore, May 13 Sources in the home department of Punjab province said reports had been received from intelligence agencies that the banned groups had become active again and were collecting funds for the internally displaced persons (IDPs). “We will not allow this and an advisory has been issued to all divisional commissioners, district coordination officers, regional police officers and district police officers in this regard,” an official told PTI. According to the home department's advisory, all the officers have been directed to closely monitor relief activities in their respective areas to ensure that no banned group actively collects funds. The advisory said it is the duty of citizens and government organisations to extend help to the displaced people. “But there is a need to keep an eye on those collecting funds and arranging for relief...especially through organising camps,” the advisory said. Officials have said the total number of persons displaced by fighting in places like Buner, Dir and Swat is nearly one million.
Ruling Pakistan People's Party foreign affairs committee chairman Munir Ahmed Khan said the figure is expected to reach 2.5 million in the coming days. The Lashker-e-Toiba was renamed as JuD after the Pakistan government outlawed it in the wake of a terrorist attack on the arliament in 2001. The JuD was banned last year in the wake of the Mumbai terror attacks after the UN Security Council declared it a front organisation for the LeT. The JuD claims it is engaged in public welfare projects and has nothing to do with terrorism. JuD chief Hafiz Muhammad Saeed was detained by Pakistani authorities in December last year and is currently under house arrest. —
PTI
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Obama admn keeping New Delhi ‘informed’
President Barack Obama's administration is keeping New Delhi "fully informed" as it shapes its strategy for dealing with the terrorist threat emanating from Pakistan, a senior U.S. official told lawmakers on Tuesday. Richard C. Holbrooke, special envoy on Pakistan and Afghanistan, also acknowledged that the deployment of 21,000 additional U.S. troops in Afghanistan could further destabilise Pakistan by forcing militants east. In testimony to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Holbrooke declined to say what the U.S. expects from India, noting that since the country is in the midst of an election he was hesitant to make comments that could be "misunderstood." But explaining the sharpened U.S. focus on the region, he said the men who "killed Benazir (Bhutto), who did Mumbai, who attacked the cricket team in Lahore, who attacked the United States" are in western Pakistan. The leaders of Pakistan and Afghanistan were in Washington last week for meetings on the Obama administration's so-called AfPak policy. Holbrooke said "at all steps in the process, we keep the Indians fully informed." He added: "They are not only an interested party, they are arguably 'the' interested party, although many other countries, including, most notably, China and Iran, have borders with Afghanistan and have also have interests." Asked by Sen. Russ Feingold, Wisconsin Democrat, whether he was sure that the troop buildup in Afghanistan will not be counterproductive vis-a-vis Pakistan, Holbrooke said he was not. He noted that if U.S. troops are successful in Helmand and Kandahar they could end up creating "a pressure in Pakistan which would add to the instability." He said he had raised these concerns as soon as the troop discussions began at the White House. "I'm only sure that we are aware of the problem, that we are working intensely with the Pakistani army, that they are aware of it... But everyone who's observed the situation from the outside has come to the same conclusion... and that is that there are not enough forces in the West," the envoy added.
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Drone strikes: US to involve Pak
Washington, May 13 In an apparent response to strident demands from Pakistani leaders for the drone technology and that the country be involved in Predator missions, the US military has launched a programme of drone strikes against the Taliban and Al-Qaida in Pakistan that for the first time gives its officers significant control over routes, targets and decisions to fire weapons, the Los Angeles Times reported today. — PTI
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Nepal ends Indian priests’ monopoly
Kathmandu, May 13 As per the new regulation framed by Ministry of Culture and State Restructure, any person, who is qualified, can become the priest without any nationality bar, according to sources at the Pashupati Area Development Trust (PADT). "The government has decided to fill the vacancy for the posts of chief priest and priests of Pashupatinath temple by issuing a notice in national dailies to appoint them on the basis of free competition," Parmananad Shakya, member secretary of PADT told PTI. Now any one, including Nepalese and Indian nationals, who are qualified can apply for the jobs, he said. Local religious activists, however, rejected the Ministry's decision saying it was "illegal and impractical". Maoists' government last year sacked three Indian priests serving at the temple and replaced them with Nepalese nationals, triggering widespread protests across the country. Prime Minister Prachanda, who is also the patron of the temple, was forced to reverse the decision by issuing a statement in the Parliament. —
PTI
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Lankan army kills 44 Tigers
Colombo, May 13 Army beat back a ferocious sea-borne suicide attack by Sea Tigers in which three fast moving boats attempted to hit troop positions on the shore to cause maximum casualties. “Several soldiers were wounded in the attack. Our Naval boats and shore-based guns foiled the attack forcing the Sea Tigers into their own area,” a military spokesman said. The army later recovered a 55-ft long Sea Tiger boat carrying 1,500 kg of high explosives in Karayamullivaikkal. —
PTI
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Indian American hotelier sentenced for fraud
Washington, May 13 Gurdeep Nagra, 39, a Canadian citizen of Indian origin living in Brattleboro, Vermont, was sentenced last week in a US District Court on charges of conspiracy to make false statements to obtain a bank loan and for employing people residing illegally in the country. Nagra was indicted in January 2008 with employing and harbouring illegal aliens and making false statements in his application for residency in the United States, according to a release from the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The false statements charge related to Nagra’s signing of two contracts and the use of a double set of invoices in the construction of the Hampton Inn and the use of inflated receipts in obtaining refinancing for the Quality Inn, both in Brattleboro. The employment of alien charges related to the use of a cleaning crew for the hotels. The crew was largely or completely made up of illegal aliens. —
IANS
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Nepal meets Prachanda,
seeks support
Kathmandu, May 13 Former deputy Prime Minister Madhav Nepal (56) has been projected as the Prime Ministerial candidate by the second largest communist party UML, which has the backing of 15 political parties, including the Nepali Congress. Prachanda and Nepal discussed the issue of government formation to end the current political impasse in the country, said Shanker Pokharel, central member of the CPN-UML. As the Maoists blocked the Parliament proceedings for the fifth consecutive day today, Nepal asked Prachanda to end the deadlock in the Constituent Assembly to pave way for the formation of a new government, he said. In his response, Prachanda asked Nepal to support the Maoists in pressurising the president to withdraw his move to reinstate Army chief Rukmangad Katawal. However, the talks between the leaders of the two communist parties were “positive”, Pokharel told PTI. The Maoists have indicated they need some time to resolve the issue, he said. Meanwhile, a news report today said the ethnic Indian Madhesi parties with a crucial strength of 83 lawmakers in the 601 member Parliament, agreed “in principle” to support a coalition led by Nepal. —
PTI
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