W O R L D

33 killed in Pak blast
At least 33 persons, including five women and two children, were killed and over 90 others injured on Tuesday when a powerful car bomb went off outside the home of a senior PML-N leader in Punjab province. The attack targeted the residence of senior adviser to Punjab’s Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif Zulfiqar Khosa, who was not at home at the time of the blast, district police chief Mubarak Ali Athar said.

David Headley a pro at switching sides
Washington, December 15
David Coleman Headley was arrested twice before on drug charges but was released early as he was a "good informant" in unearthing of some of the major drug cartels. Court records indicate that Headley - earlier known as Dawood Gilani - was arrested twice on drug charges and on both the occasions his sentence was reduced 

CJ: Mush must be tried for unlocking Swiss money
Former military ruler Gen Pervez Musharraf must be tried for withdrawing corruption cases against Asif Zardari and unfreezing $60 million of graft money from Swiss banks. This was observed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry on Tuesday without mentioning any name during hearing in petitions challenging the constitutional validity of the National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO).

Suicide bombing kills 8 in Kabul
Kabul, December 15
A suicide car bomber struck a heavily guarded neighbourhood today near the home of a former Afghan vice-president and a hotel favoured by Westerners, killing at least eight persons and wounding dozens, officials said. The Afghan Interior Ministry said the target of the bombing was unclear, but security officials at the scene said the bomber was going after the home of former first vice-president Ahmad Zia Massoud.
A victim is taken away from the site of a bomb blast in Kabul on Tuesday. — Reuters

Rana lauded LeT on Mumbai attacks
Chicago, December 15
Terror suspect Tahawwur Hussain Rana complimented members of Lashkar-e-Toiba, saying they did a “good job” during the terror attacks in Mumbai last year, US prosecutors have alleged. According to a 10-page memo filed by the US prosecutors in a court here yesterday, Rana asked co-conspirator David Headley to “pass along a message for me” to a LeT member , whom Rana had given the name ‘Khalid bin Waleed’.

‘Obama’s friendly smile deceptive
Havana, December 15
Fidel Castro says President Barack Obama's "friendly smile and African-American face" are hiding Washington's sinister intentions for Latin America. In a letter to Hugo Chavez that the Venezuelan President read at the close of a summit of leftist Latin American nations yesterday, Castro said the US "empire is on the offencive again" in the region.

33 killed in Pak blast
Afzal Khan writes from Islamabad & PTI

At least 33 persons, including five women and two children, were killed and over 90 others injured on Tuesday when a powerful car bomb went off outside the home of a senior PML-N leader in Punjab province. The attack targeted the residence of senior adviser to Punjab’s Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif Zulfiqar Khosa, who was not at home at the time of the blast, district police chief Mubarak Ali Athar said.

Officials in the local hospital put the death toll at 33, including five women and two children.

Over 93 persons, including two relatives of Khosa, were also injured in the blast, which flattened part of the politician’s home and eight to 10 shops.

Two survivors and three bodies were pulled out of the rubble at the market, two hours after the explosion that occurred at about 2.45 pm local time.

“Apparently the explosives were loaded in a car (which) hit the gate of my residence in Dera Ghazi Khan,” Khosa, who was in a village near Islamabad at the time of the attack, told reporters. He said a mosque and several shops near his home were destroyed.

Khosa’s son Dost Muhammad Khosa, a minister in the provincial government of Punjab, said two of his cousins were injured in the attack.

Dost Muhammad described the bombing as a “direct attack on his family.” Zulfiqar Khosa said the attack had come “out of the blue” as he had not received threats from anyone.

The explosion caused a massive crater and blew out the facades of several shops and residential buildings. The blast and debris from buildings damaged several vehicles in the market. Authorities brought in heavy machinery to remove the rubble.

Mobile phone footage aired on television showed panic-stricken people running helter-skelter moments after the blast as a plume of smoke rose into the sky.

DIG Athar said additional policemen had been brought in to tighten security in Dera Ghazi Khan.

Today’s blast was the latest in a series of suicide attacks and bombings across Pakistan that have killed over 500 people since October, when the army launched an offensive against the Taliban in South Waziristan tribal region. However, it was the first attack targeting a senior leader of the opposition PML-N.

President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani condemned the attack in Dera Ghazi Khan, saying such cowardly acts would not deter the government’s resolve to fight terrorism. Gilani said action against terrorists would continue till their complete elimination. 

David Headley a pro at switching sides

Washington, December 15
David Coleman Headley was arrested twice before on drug charges but was released early as he was a "good informant" in unearthing of some of the major drug cartels. Court records indicate that Headley - earlier known as Dawood Gilani - was arrested twice on drug charges and on both the occasions his sentence was reduced and he was able to leave the jail early as he turned out to be a good informant to drug enforcement agencies and helped them in unearthing some major drug cartels.

"He wasn't tough to crack. Before the day was out, Dawood "David" Gilani decided to save his own skin, agreeing to betray his drug-dealing partners by helping US drug agents set up a sting," the Philadelphia Inquirer said, referring to his arrest in 1988 on charges of possessing two kilos of heroin. “It was the beginning of a complicated, off-and-on relationship as a confidential informant with the Drug Enforcement Administration — one that lasted more than a decade," the paper said.

"In fact, Gilani was so helpful as a DEA informant in the late 1990s on heroin imported from Pakistan, according to records, that prosecutors made a rare move: They ended his probation years early, allowing him to travel freely. Within weeks, investigators say, he began training with terrorists in Pakistan," the paper said.

Headley was again arrested in New York in 1997, smuggling drugs into the country. This time, he again got off with a lighter sentence by testifying against his partners.

"Once again (after his recent arrest), Headley immediately switched sides. Prosecutors say he admitted taking trips to jihadist camps and performing surveillance and photo reconnaissance for terrorist plots in Denmark and India, including preparations for the deadly 2008 Mumbai attacks," the newspaper said. — PTI

CJ: Mush must be tried for unlocking Swiss money
Afzal Khan writes from Islamabad

Former military ruler Gen Pervez Musharraf must be tried for withdrawing corruption cases against Asif Zardari and unfreezing $60 million of graft money from Swiss banks. This was observed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry on Tuesday without mentioning any name during hearing in petitions challenging the constitutional validity of the National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO).

On court’s insistence former Attorney-General Qayyum Malik informed the 17-member full court that the request for withdrawal of cases in Switzerland was made under instructions from Musharraf. The court was also told that the government of Pakistan spent over Rs 2 billion in pursuing corruption and graft cases against Zardari and his slain spouse Benazir Bhutto.

“The individual who was responsible for the withdrawal of cases will be sent to jail or will have to incur a fine of rupees two billion spent on the cases,” Justice Chaudhry remarked.

Musharraf struck a deal with Bhutto under which he pardoned the corruption cases through NRO and in return received tacit support from her to his re-election when she dissociated herself from combined opposition’s move to resign en bloc from assemblies in order to deny credibility to the election.

The apex court earlier summoned Qayyum to explain why he wrote a letter to Swiss authorities for the withdrawal of cases against Asif Zardari. Acting Attorney-General Shah Khawar was also asked to name the individual who authorised the withdrawal of the Swiss cases.

Meanwhile, the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) provided details of the Swiss account holders in the Supreme Court according to which President Zardari owns accounts in seven banks amounting to Rs 59 million. The list also includes the names of former premier Benazir Bhutto, Jehangir Ebadi and Nusrat Bhutto.

Separately, the government also reversed its stance on a statement issued by the federation lawyer Barrister Kamal Azfar, which implied that the GHQ’s and the American CIA’s involvement could derail democracy in Pakistan. It allowed Azfar to withdraw his remarks after he explained that these reflected his personal views and not that of President Zardari or the government. 

Suicide bombing kills 8 in Kabul

Kabul, December 15
A suicide car bomber struck a heavily guarded neighbourhood today near the home of a former Afghan vice-president and a hotel favoured by Westerners, killing at least eight persons and wounding dozens, officials said. The Afghan Interior Ministry said the target of the bombing was unclear, but security officials at the scene said the bomber was going after the home of former first vice-president Ahmad Zia Massoud.

He is the brother of legendary anti-Taliban hero, Ahmad Shah Massoud, who was killed by Al-Qaida two days before the attacks on September 11, 2001.

“Of course we were the target,” said Shah Asmat, an aide to the former vice-president. “Before, the Taliban killed Massoud. Now, they tried to kill his brother”.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai, during a speech he was delivering at a conference on corruption, said two of Massoud’s guards were among those killed in the explosion.

In a statement released later, Karzai strongly condemned the terrorist attack. He instructed government officials to thoroughly investigate the incident and identify those responsible.

“This terrorist attack, which killed and wounded innocent civilians, was an attack on humanity and Islam,” Karzai’s statement said.

Ministry of Interior spokesman Zemeri Bashary said four men and four women died in the midmorning blast. He said about 40 others were wounded. — AP 

Rana lauded LeT on Mumbai attacks

Chicago, December 15
Terror suspect Tahawwur Hussain Rana complimented members of Lashkar-e-Toiba, saying they did a “good job” during the terror attacks in Mumbai last year, US prosecutors have alleged. According to a 10-page memo filed by the US prosecutors in a court here yesterday, Rana asked co-conspirator David Headley to “pass along a message for me” to a LeT member , whom Rana had given the name ‘Khalid bin Waleed’. “In the world, if there had been...a medal for command, top class,” the documents quoted Rana as saying.

It further adds that Headley then interrupts Rana and informs him that he already had passed that message and “I (Headley) took your (Rana's) name when I said it”. Rana responded “there is no doubt, it is a very befitting name for him. Very good. Good job”.

Prosecutors added that “far from advocating non-violence, Rana’s own statements reveal his support for the brutal killing of 170 people...It is quite clear that Rana is no Gandhi”.

Headley has been charged with conspiring in the 26/11 Mumbai attacks. Rana, through his lawyer Patrick Blegen, has denied that he was involved in the attacks that killed 167 people. Blegen was not available immediately for comment on the prosecutors' charges. — PTI

‘Obama’s friendly smile deceptive

Havana, December 15
Fidel Castro says President Barack Obama's "friendly smile and African-American face" are hiding Washington's sinister intentions for Latin America. In a letter to Hugo Chavez that the Venezuelan President read at the close of a summit of leftist Latin American nations yesterday, Castro said the US "empire is on the offencive again" in the region.

He blamed Washington for a military coup that toppled leftist President Manuel Zelaya of Honduras in June and criticised a US agreement with Colombia that allows US troops greater access to seven of that country's military bases. "They are obviously the real intentions of the empire, this time under the friendly smile and African-American face of Barack Obama," Castro said.

The 83-year-old former Cuban President heaped praise on Obama when he first took office, calling him intelligent, sincere, serene, courageous, honest and well-meaning. He later endorsed Obama's winning of the Nobel Peace Prize. But Castro has turned on Obama, saying in an opinion piece in state media last week, that the US President's acceptance of the Nobel prize after deciding to send 30,000 more soldiers to Afghanistan was "a cynical act". — AP