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UK plans to suspend passports of suspected jihadis
Obama prods Myanmar on elections
IS footprints growing in Pakistan
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Pak security ‘linked’ with Afghanistan
Pakistan’s adviser on National Security and Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz (R) greets Afghan President Ashraf Ghani at Chaklala airbase in Rawalpindi on Friday. AP/PTI
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special to the tribune
shyam bhatia in london The head of a leading London-based human rights agency has queried Prime Minister David Cameron's plans to suspend the passports of suspected jihadis and prevent them from returning home to the UK. Counter terrorism measures announced by Cameron in a speech before the Australian parliament in Canberra would result in the cancellation of suspect jihadis passports who would also be prevented from returning to the UK unless they first gave themselves up at the border, pending future close supervision or even a trial. These proposals which form part of the Counter Terrorism Bill due to take effect from early 2015 are expected to affect an estimated 500 British nationals who have travelled to Syria and Iraq to fight with Islamic State (ISIS). Most are of either Arab or South Asian ethnic origin, supplemented by a sprinkling of white converts to radical Islamic theology. London-based anti terrorism experts, who have asked not to be named, say if British Special Forces are deployed in Iraq and Syria they will be given carte blanche to shoot on sight any suspected jihadis they come across in the course of their duties. Meanwhile, Cameron's plan to suspend passports of suspected jihadis has been questioned by Shami Chakrabarti, director of campaign group Liberty, who said such measures could in effect leave some people "stateless." "It's wrong in principle and wrong for practical security as well to dump your citizens like toxic waste into the international community," she was quoted as saying in a radio interview on Friday morning." But the British premier has won support from others who say would-be terrorists need to be made aware of what is at risk. Chris Phillips, a former head of the National Counter Terrorism Security Office, was quoted by the British media as saying: "This is sending out the message to people that are thinking about going out there: 'Look don't do this, take your personal responsibility, we fought very hard for our freedoms in this country, but you don't have the freedom to commit murder overseas'. Another terrorism expert, Lord Carlile, the former independent reviewer of terrorism legislation, was quoted by the BBC as saying, "These measures sound as though they will be found to be legal, they will be found to be proportionate, they will be within the European Convention on Human Rights, because they do not ban a UK citizen from entering the United Kingdom if they have no other nationality, they place restrictions on it. "We can't prevent them from coming back full stop if the only citizenship they have is British. But it is perfectly reasonable for countries to work together to ensure that radical activity is limited." Counter terrorism measures
* UK Prime Minister David Cameron in a speech before the Australian Parliament said the cancellation of suspected
jihadis' passports would prevent them from returning to the UK unless they first gave themselves up at the border, pending future close supervision or even a trial *
These proposals which form part of the Counter Terrorism Bill due to take effect from early 2015 are expected to affect an estimated 500 British nationals who have travelled to Syria and Iraq to fight with Islamic State.
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Obama prods Myanmar on elections
Yangon, November 14 Standing next to Myanmar's democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi, Obama said the law barring her from becoming president "doesn't make much sense". Obama held talks with fellow Nobel laureate Suu Kyi at her lakeside villa in Myanmar's commercial capital Yangon, after arriving from the capital Naypyidaw where he discussed the nation's troubled reform process with President Thein Sein. Speaking at a joint press conference he warned Myanmar's reforms since shedding outright military rule in 2011 were by "no means complete or irreversible" and called for "free, fair and inclusive" elections in the nation, where Suu Kyi and her party are set to contest crucial polls next year. Suu Kyi, who has publicly stated her desire to be president, is barred from the top office by a constitutional clause ruling out anyone with foreign spouse or children from the presidency. Her late husband and two sons are British and the democracy champion is seeking an amendment. Using strong language, Obama took up the issue telling reporters that "the amendment process needs to reflect inclusion rather than exclusion." "I don't understand the provision that would bar somebody from running for president because of who his (someone's) children are." Suu Kyi, whose National League for Democracy (NLD) party is widely expected to sweep polls in late 2015, branded the contentious clause as "unfair, unjust and undemocratic" adding "it is not right to discriminate against one particular citizen". The issue is currently being debated in parliament, where 25 per cent of the seats are ring-fenced for the military. "The majority of our people understand that this constitution cannot stand as it is," if democracy is to be achieved, the democracy figurehead added. The pair spoke in the garden of Suu Kyi's villa in a reprise of their landmark meeting in 2012, which saw the US leader throw his political might behind Myanmar's transition from junta rule. After talks with his counterpart Thein Sein late yesterday Obama expressed cautious optimism for the once-cloistered nation that balanced out earlier warnings on the risks of "backsliding" on the transition. "We recognise change is hard and you do not always move in a straight line but I'm optimistic," Obama said. During his two-night trip to Myanmar the US leader has also raised alarm over the direction of reforms, however, citing the cramping of freedom of expression, ongoing conflicts and the treatment of Myanmar's minority groups - especially the Muslim Rohingya. — AFP
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IS footprints growing in Pakistan
Islamabad, November 14 Wall-chalking welcoming the Islamic State (ISIS) appeared on City Road, Cantt Road, Dera Ismail Khan road and Miran Shah road in Bannu district. There were similar reports from other parts of the country about the presence of support for the extremist group, The Dawn reported. Bannu borders North Waziristan, known to be the Pakistani Taliban nerve-centre where the Pakistani military is carrying operation Zarb-i-Azb against Taliban militants. Earlier, pamphlets believed to be from the IS were also distributed in various parts of Peshawar and the Afghan refugee camp, but were later seized. The ISIS first started making inroads into Pakistan and Afghanistan in September this year as former Guantanamo detainee, Abdul Raheem Muslim Dost, was made the chief of its 'Khorasan' (the old name for Afghan, Pakistani, Irani and Central Asian territories) belt. ISIS propaganda booklets were reportedly distributed in parts of the Afghan-Pakistan tribal belt and in some Afghan refugee camps in Peshawar. Operating mostly in Nuristan and Kunar provinces of Afghanistan, Rahim and other militant commanders had previously announced their allegiance to Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. A senior Afghan Mujahideen commander confirmed that Rahim had been appointed as the IS chief of Khorasan belt and he has kicked off a campaign to muster support from jihadist fighters in Afghanistan and Pakistan. — PTI Spreading tentacles
* Wall-chalking welcoming the Islamic State appeared on City Road, Cantt Road, Dera Ismail Khan road and Miran Shah road in Bannu district *
There were similar reports from other parts of the country about the presence of support for the extremist group *
“We welcome the head of Syrian Daish Group Abu Bakkar Al Bagdadi and pay him tributes,” said a graffiti in Urdu |
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Pak security ‘linked’ with Afghanistan
Islamabad, November 14 Relations have been harmed by regular accusations from both countries that the other is harbouring anti-government insurgents who cross the porous border and mount deadly attacks. The trip is Ghani's first state visit to Pakistan. A tweet from Pakistan's Major General Asim Bajwa, head of the military's public relations wing, said Ghani's trip took place amid a positive atmosphere and that border cooperation was "in focus". "Security, stability a shared goal. Our security inextricably linked." Pakistan Foreign Office spokeswoman Tasnim Aslam said discussions between Ghani and Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, who took power last year, would be wide-ranging. "Peace and stability, everything to do with bilateral cooperation, political engagement, economic cooperation, the training programme - everything is on the table," she said. One of Pakistan's chief concerns is the growing influence of its arch rival India in Afghanistan as NATO troops pull out this year. India has trained hundreds of Afghan security officers under a bilateral agreement. — Reuters
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Dacoits protest against ‘extortions’ by Pak police Islamabad: In an unusual protest, scores of dacoits wielding arms in southern Pakistan's Sindh province took out a procession against alleged "extortions" by local police, media reported on Friday. The outlaws have a stronghold for years in Ghotki district of the province and have been looting public, Pakistan Today reported. The robbers alleged the police were depriving them of their "hard-earned" money.
PTI Comet craft starts drilling; location still sought Berlin: Mission controllers say a European probe is pushing ahead with efforts to drill into a comet, though they're still trying to pin down where exactly the probe is. The Philae lander on Wednesday became the first spacecraft to touch down on a comet and has since sent its first images from the surface of the body, known as 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko.
APp Indian-origin cab driver thrashed in New Zealand Melbourne:
A 45-year-old Indian-origin taxi driver in New Zealand was viciously attacked and his teeth knocked out by an unidentified man in an alleged case of robbery. The incident took place in the North Island city of Hamilton.
PTI
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US President Barack Obama asked Myanmar today to hold "free, fair and inclusive" elections as he threw his weight behind a bid by opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi to change a constitution that bars her from the presidency.
Pakistan's military told new Afghan President Ashraf Ghani that the security of the two countries was "inextricably linked" on Friday as Ghani kicked off a two-day trip aimed at rebuilding damaged ties between the two countries.
