Posts Tagged ‘Banned’

Security breach: Distance terror planning from prison cells

A secret survey carried out by an intelligence agency has revealed that terrorists continue to use mobile phones to maintain contact with the outside world – especially with banned outfits like the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) – in a bid to garner financial support and plan more such attacks. The discovery surfaces despite increased security efforts by authorities after reports of further attacks on more prisons particularly Adiala Jail Rawalpindi, Central Jail Faisalabad and Kot Lakhpat Jail Lahore.

The investigation also revealed that various scanning devices in prisons across Punjab were out of order and walk-in gates unmanned, The Express Tribune has learnt.

According to extracts from the intelligence report, Qari Waqas – an affiliate of TTP’s Tariq Afridi group, detained in Camp Jail, Ferozpur Road Lahore – has contacts with activists of the TTP in Khyber-Pakhtunkhawa (K-P). The communication link was established primarily to arrange finances for prisoners.

In another intercepted telephonic conversation, communication links between a prisoner of the Adiala Jail and a terrorist of the TTP were unearthed.

While the prisoner enquired if any of their accomplices were able to escape during the Bannu jailbreak, his TTP counterpart said that none of their accomplices were among the escapees and added that most of the escaped prisoners belonged to the Mehsud clan.

The TTP terrorist further disclosed that their next target will be Adiala Jail because most of their accomplices were imprisoned there, an intelligence agency operator who intercepted the call revealed.

Another report revealed that terrorists are also planning attacks on Central Jail Faisalabad and Central Jail Kot Lakhpat, Lahore.

In light of the secret survey report, seven jails of Punjab have been declared “most sensitive” and Punjab’s home department has demanded assistance from Rangers in each of the seven jails.

These jails have been declared most sensitive because they house nearly 250 terrorists. As many as 48 terrorists are presently imprisoned in Kot Lakhpat Jail Lahore, 90 terrorists in Adiala Jail Rawalpindi, 17 terrorists in Faisalabad Jail, 16 in Dera Ghazi Khan Jail, 20 in Bahawalpur Jail, 49 in Multan Jail while nine are lodged in the Mianwali Jail.

The report also revealed that the arms and ammunition in possession of the prison guards were not up-to-date and did not meet the basic requirements. There was also a significant lack of proper arrangements by the management to ensure mobile patrolling around the jail premises.

According to the report, mobile phone facilities were not only enjoyed by ordinary prisoners but were also used by high-profile terrorists who carry out jailbreak planning with their accomplices and parent banned outfits through these devices.

The report added that none of the respective district police officers have prepared any contingency plans in this regard.

In a bid to beef up security, joint teams have been constituted and representatives of Punjab’s home department will lead these teams in association with DSPs.

These joint teams will point out loopholes and security lapses in prisons and will present their recommendations to the provincial home department.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 4^th, 2012.

Vogue bans too-skinny models from its pages

In this Feb. 15, 2012, file photo, models have their make-up finalized under runway light before the J. Mendel Fall 2012 collection is modeled during Fashion Week, in New York. – AP

NEW YORK: Vogue magazine, perhaps the world’s top arbiter of style, is making a statement about its own models: Too young and too thin is no longer in.

The 19 editors of Vogue magazines around the world made a pact to project the image of healthy models, according to a Conde Nast International announcement Thursday.

They agreed to “not knowingly work with models under the age of 16 or who appear to have an eating disorder,” and said they will ask casting directors to check IDs at photo shoots and fashion shows and for ad campaigns.

The move is an important one for the fashion world, said former model Sara Ziff, who was discovered at 14 and has since founded The Model Alliance, dedicated to improving the working conditions of models and persuading the industry to take better care of its young.

“Most editions of Vogue regularly hire models who are minors, so for Vogue to commit to no longer using models under the age of 16 marks an evolution in the industry,” she said. “We hope other magazines and fashion brands will follow Vogue’s impressive lead.”

American, French, Chinese and British editions of the fashion glossies are among those that will start following the new guidelines with their June issues; the Japanese edition will begin with its July book.

“Vogue believes that good health is beautiful. Vogue Editors around the world want the magazines to reflect their commitment to the health of the models who appear on the pages and the well-being of their readers,” said Conde Nast International Chairman Jonathan Newhouse in a statement.

Models’ health — and especially their weight — has been a lightning rod the past few years, especially after the death of two models from apparent complications from eating disorders in 2006-07, but the focus, until now, has been on runway fashion shows.

The Council of Fashion Designers of America adopted a voluntary initiative in 2007, which emphasizes age minimums and healthy working environments during New York Fashion Week, and London Fashion Week designers sign a contract with the British Fashion Council to use models who are at least 16.

The primary fashion organizations in Italy and Spain banned catwalk models who fall below a certain Body Mass Index level, and earlier this year, Israel’s government passed an anti-skinny-model law.

Still, there is persistent criticism that the fashion world creates a largely unattainable and unhealthy standard that particularly affects impressionable young girls.

“We know that there is an impact for young girls — and boys, by the way — of what is put in front of them in terms of media,” said Elissa J. Brown, professor of psychology at St. John University and founder of The Partners Program, a specialized therapy program for children and adolescents.

A change in what they see on the pages of prestigious fashion magazines could change the image of what they would strive for, she said.

It wouldn’t hurt for parents to take a look at healthier looking models, too, she added. “I’m a mother and I hear other mothers talk about the parts of their bodies they don’t like in front of their daughters instead of talking about health. If the message becomes about health, it could have a tremendous impact.”

The Vogue guidelines are largely similar to the CFDA’s — no surprise since US editor-in-chief Anna Wintour was instrumental in crafting them.

“CFDA is pleased to see all the Vogue magazines unite in support of model health,” CFDA CEO Steven Kolb said. “This increased level of support makes the message of ‘Health is Beauty’ even stronger.”

Conde Nast, in its announcement, recognized that fashion models serve as role models for “many women,” and the publisher wants to ensure that the models in its pages “are well cared for and educated in ways that will encourage and help them to take care of themselves, addressing as many of the pressing issues relating to ill-health in the industry as can realistically be tackled.”

Ziff said the age restriction is important for other reasons, too.

“The use of underaged models is linked to financial exploitation, eating disorders, interrupted schooling, and contributes to models’ overall lack of empowerment in the workplace,” she said. “We simply believe that 14 is too young to be working in this very grown-up industry, and we’re glad that Condé Nast International is making this commitment.

In addition to agreeing not to knowingly work with models under 16 or with eating disorders, the Vogue pact says the magazines will help “structure mentoring programs” for younger models and raise awareness of the problem of model health. The magazines said they would encourage healthy working conditions backstage and encourage designers “to consider the consequences of unrealistically small sample sizes of their clothing, which limits the range of women who can be photographed in their clothes, and encourages the use of extremely thin models.”

Conde Nast publishes other magazines, including Glamour and Allure, but a spokeswoman said there are no current plans for these guidelines to be adopted across the company.

Runway model Coco Rocha applauded the changes.

“I’ve long been a vocal supporter of setting reasonable standards in the modeling industry,” she said in an email. “Not every model appears in Vogue, but every model and every magazine looks up to them as the standard (bearer). I can only imagine this will be a solid step in a direction that will benefit models for generations to come. “

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Via DAWN.com

Malik gives Lyari criminals 48 hours to surrender

Interior Minister Rehman Malik. — APP File Photo

KARACHI: Interior Minister Rehman Malik on Thursday gave a deadline of 48 hours for the criminals fighting in Lyari to surrender as the troubled area of Karachi remained tense and continued to portray the image of a battlefield on seventh consecutive day of the “grand operation,” DawnNews reported.

Speaking at a press conference along with Chief Minister Sindh Qaim Ali Shah, the interior minister warned the miscreants to get ready for stiff action if they fail to surrender before end of 48 hours deadline.

A meeting on law and order situation in Karachi was co-chaired by the chief minister Sindh and the interior minister earlier.

Briefings by the Inspector General Police Sindh and the Director General Rangers and intelligence agencies were given to the participants.

He said that the Rangers along with police will take part in the ongoing operation against the criminals by the deadline end. “A joint operation of police and rangers is inevitable in Lyari,” he added.

The minister said that provisional check posts for the Rangers will be stationed tonight.

He said that the houses will be set ablaze if any rocket launchers recovered from there.

Rangers and police have been directed to take over all exits and entry points to ensure that no weapon is allowed to go in or the criminals are not allowed to leave Lyari or do any other action detrimental to the peace of the area.

The minister said Taliban and banned outfits were also fighting against the security forces in Lyari.

He said that a strict line of action has been formulated against the miscreants. “Four helicopters equipped with machine guns will be observing the operation on ground. Latest satellite system will also be used for the surveillance,” he added.

The minister vowed that Karachi will be prevented from becoming another Swat.

Moreover, the interior minister announced Pakistan Police Medal for SHO Nawaz and Sitara-e-Shujahat for the DSPs and Pakistan Police Medal for SSP for demonstrating courage and leading role by them during the grand operation.

SSP CID Chaudhry Aslam, who is leading the operation in the area and survived during bomb attacks has also been given Sitara-e-Shujahat for his highly dedicated and professional courage demonstrated by him.

Considering the difficulties being faced by the residents due to the present ongoing targeted action, the chief minister ordered immediate provision of relief to the residents of Lyari.

Meanwhile, the locality remained tense and continued to portray the image of a battlefield with reports of at least 38 people including six security officials having been killed and over 100 others being wounded during the past week of the operation there.

The Karachi Board of Secondary Education has also postponed all examinations of classes nine and ten in the area.

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Son’s release ends months of pain, says Asif’s father

Asif was jailed in November after being found guilty of conspiring to cheat and conspiring to accept corrupt payments. -File photo by AP

SHEIKHUPURA: The father of disgraced Pakistan cricketer Mohammad Asif said his son’s release from prison on Thursday had brought an end to six months of pain for his family and backed the paceman to return to the game.

Asif, 29, was, freed from jail in Britain, after serving half of a 12-month sentence over a spot-fixing scandal and was taken by his friend Mohammad Haroon to his house in suburban London.

“Asif was very happy at his release and his first words were ‘thanks Almighty,’” Haroon, a cricket coach and Asif’s mentor, told AFP by phone from London.

He said Asif would hold a press conference soon, after consulting his lawyer.

Asif was jailed in November after being found guilty of conspiring to cheat and conspiring to accept corrupt payments over deliberate no-balls bowled during the Lord’s Test against England in August 2010.

In the Pakistani village of Machikay, some 40 kilometres (25 miles) from the eastern city of Lahore, Asif’s family voiced relief at his release.

“I have spent these six months in pain but I am sure that it’s over now,” his father Hasan Deen, a farmer, told AFP.

“I have not talked to him for seven months but I am happy that his difficult days are over.”

Pakistan’s captain for the infamous Lord’s Test, Salman Butt, is still serving a 30-month term while bowler Mohammad Aamer was released in February this year after completing half of his six months in a youth prison.

All three players were also banned by the International Cricket Council (ICC) for violating the players’ code of conduct, but Deen backed his son to make a strong return to the game.

“My son is a lion and lived as a lion even in the jail. He has not played for two years but I am sure that if he comes on the field he will shock everyone with his bowling,” said Deen, busy supervising the wheat crop on his fields.

Asif’s lawyer Ravi Sukul said Asif had begun an appeal against his criminal conviction and will soon proceed with an appeal against his seven-year ICC ban in the Swiss-based Court of Arbitration for Sport.

Asif’s brother Ashraf said the whole village was eagerly anticipating his return and insisted he was an innocent party in the scandal.

“We strongly believe that Asif didn’t do anything wrong, because he was so good at cricket that he was trapped by some people,” said Ashraf.

“I am sure that he will play again.”

Deen said he felt no anger towards his son despite his involvement in one of the most shameful episodes in the history of Pakistani cricket.

“I am not angry with him, why should I be? He will be welcomed back home and if he wants to play cricket I will not stop him,” said Deen.

Agent Mazhar Majeed was jailed for 32 months for his role in orchestrating the plot to bowl no-balls to order.

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Brazil cracks down on lucrative wild animal trade

A Brazilian Mico-estrela, black-tufted marmoset (Callithrix penicillata) –rescued from wild animals traffickers – remains in a cage at a recovery center for wild animals (CETAS), 80 km north of Rio de Janeiro on April 17, 2012. – AFP Photo

 RIO DE JANEIRO: Blue-and-yellow macaws from Amazonia, green parrots, monkeys, turtles, anacondas and pumas: wild animal trafficking is a very lucrative business that spares no species in Brazil, including those facing extinction.

“According to our estimates, 38 million wild animals, 80 per cent of them birds, are poached from the forest every year in Brazil and nearly 90 per cent died during transport,” said Rauff Lima, a spokesman for the non-governmental organization Renctas (National Network to Fight Trafficking of Wild Animals).

But Renctas says the traffickers don’t worry about the losses as the sale of a single specimen can earn them a profit in an industry now worth nearly $2 billion a year, the most profitable illegal trade after arms and drugs.

In 2001, the organization released the first national report on wildlife trafficking.

In that year, the last wild Little Blue Macaw – considered one of the world’s most endangered species – disappeared from the northeastern state of Bahia and today only 70 others remain in captivity around the world.

“They are held by private collectors who acquired them illegally,” Lima told AFP.

On average, federal police seize 250,000 wild animals per year and the Brazilian environmental agency Ibama captures another 45,000 during controls that have been significantly stepped up in recent years.

At Cetas, the Rio Wildlife Screening Center, which is linked to Ibama, veterinarian Daniel Neves cares for 1,600 animals, many of which were rescued in starving or sick conditions from Brazilian poachers.

Located in a wooded area some 75 kilometers (45 miles) from downtown Rio, Cetas resembles a zoo. Macaws are homed in a vast cage, or “flight corridor,”where they can move relatively freely ahead of their future release.

Nearby, some 700 bird cages are stacked up precariously on top of each other.

The animals “remain in quarantine until their health improves,” explained Neves. “The aim is to release them into the wild but we succeed for only 20 to 30 percent of them.”The macaws could be sent to zoos but these are already overcrowded, according to the veterinarian, who says Brazil should pass legislation to make animal adoption easier.

“It’s a real problem because they (the macaws) are no longer able to fend for themselves in the wild,” Neves told AFP.

Brazil, Latin America’s largest country with a land area of 8.5 million square kilometers (3.2 million square miles), is considered to have the greatest biodiversity on the planet.

It has 530 species of mammal, 1,800 bird species, 680 different kinds of reptiles, 800 amphibian species and 3,000 varieties of fish.

According to the environment ministry, 627 species now face extinction, a threefold increase in 15 years.

Hunting animals is banned in Brazil, as is holding any wild animal in captivity except in the rare cases of authorized breeding.

With increasing help from Brazil’s intelligence services, police have succeeded in tightening the noose on the traffickers, choking off some of the profits from their illegal trade.

To buy a green parrot on the black market or a tucan poached from the wild costs less than 100 dollars while it is worth ten times more in a legal store.

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Via DAWN.com

Sindh home ministry announces bounty on Lyari gangsters

Police officials take an identified man into custody in Lyari. – File Photo

KARACHI: Sindh home ministry on Tuesday announced bounty on most wanted criminals of the troubled Lyari neighbourhood of Karachi, DawnNews reported.

According to a notification issued by the ministry, head money of Rs 2 million on Uzair Baloch, Rs 3 million on Baba Ladla, Rs 1.6 million on Ibrahim Katchi, Rs 1.5 million on Rashid Rekha and Rs 2 million on Zaman Mehsud has been declared for capturing them dead or alive.

On the other hand, the government of Sindh has offered surrendering option to gangsters belonging to the banned People’s Aman Committee (PAC) who are putting up tough resistance in the ongoing “grand operation” for last five days.

Sindh Information Minister Shazia Marri has said that the option was up for grabs for the criminals who would put down their arms and cooperate with the government.

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Giants of Turkish football embroiled in match-fixing scandal

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A woman wears a mask of Aziz Yildirim, the chairman of Fenerbahce football club. The match-fixing probe, under which managers from major clubs will be in the dock, has rocked Turkish football to the core. – File photo by AP

ANKARA: Top sides Galatasaray, Fenerbahce, Trabzonspor and Besiktas are among several teams set to appear before the country’s Professional Football Disciplinary Board (PFDK) over alleged match-fixing which has rocked Turkish football.

Turkish football federation (TFF) chief Yildirim Demiroren told a televised press conference on Monday that the PFDK would deliver its verdict within 48 hours after hearing all the defence statements.

“Football must be kept distant from any kind of speculation,” said Demiroren.

The TFF have also amended several articles of the football disciplinary law, to correct “disproportionate” penalties, Demiroren said.

One of those amended is Article 58, which had ruled that even attempts at match-fixing could result in a team being dropped from the league. The new version replaces that punishment with a 12-point deduction.

Demiroren downplayed the scandal which focuses on some 22 matches implying that results were not affected by the alleged fixing.

The PFDK’s internal process however is independent from an ongoing trial process involving nearly 100 Turkish club managers and players, including first division Fenerbahce boss Aziz Yildirim.

The investigation, which was launched in early 2011, led to a wave of arrests last summer after police became convinced that at least 19 first and second division matches were fixed during the 2010-1011 season.

Fenerbahce, the giant Istanbul club which won the 2011 Turkish League championship, has seen no fewer than 13 of its members charged, from its 59-year-old boss Yildirim to Brazilian-born player Gogcek Vederson, along with trainers, therapists and even the team’s Turkish-Portuguese interpreter.

Prosecutors are demanding jail terms of 147 years for Yildirim on corruption charges.

The unprecedented court case in Turkish football began in February, and another hearing of the trial continued on Monday at an Istanbul court as Yildirim stormed out of the courtroom in protest.

“The game is not yet over,” Yildirim said in a statement posted on the website of Fenerbahce club, ahead of the hearing.

The probe, under which managers from other clubs will also be in the dock including those from Besiktas and Trabzonspor, has rocked Turkish football to the core.

The TFF has banned Fernerbahce from the 2011-2012 Champions League, and Besiktas was forced to return the Turkish Cup it won last year.

But the president of the federation, Mehmet Ali Aydinlar, and his two deputies resigned in January after the federation failed to agree on further sanctions for the clubs involved. Aydinlar was replaced by Demiroren.

In a recent development, Turkey’s Fenerbahce dropped a case it filed against UEFA and TFF over their dismissal from this season’s Champions League.

But the club did not explain why it withdrew the case filed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).

On Monday, Demiroren said his federation had nothing to do with Fenerbahce’s decision which he said was made by its own will.

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2008 Mumbai attacks: India’s refusal to allow cross-examination challenged

An eight-member commission comprising defence lawyers, prosecutors and a court official was allowed to travel to India on March 15 to gather evidences for the prosecution of seven suspects linked to the 2008 Mumbai attacks. However, the defence lawyers were barred from cross-examining the four prosecution witnesses in the case. The counsel for the commander of the banned Lashkar-e-Taiba Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi, who is also accused in the case, Khawaja Haris Ahmed told the Anti-Terrorism Court – 1 (ATC-I).

ATC-I Special Judge Shahid Rafique adjourned the case hearing till May 5.

Lakhvi’s counsel argued that under international laws they have the right to question witnesses in the case, which include Chief Investigation Officer Mumbai Ramash Mahale; Rama Vijay Sawanth, the magistrate who recorded the confessional statement of Ajmal Kasab (the only attacker captured alive by the police); and Dr Shaliesh Mohiti and Dr Ganash Dhondiraj, who conducted post-mortems of 166 people killed in the attack.

However, Ahmed maintained that the Indian Special Public Prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam, who was deputed to facilitate the Pakistani judicial commission, stopped the defence lawyers from questioning the witnesses. Nikam had claimed that both the governments had already agreed in November 2010 that no cross-examination of witnesses will be carried out by Pakistani lawyers, said Ahmed.

“In the eye of law, the proceedings and recording of the statements of the Indian prosecution witnesses without examination by Pakistani lawyers had no legal bearing in Pakistan’s trial court,” Lakhvi’s counsel argued. He said that both Indian and Pakistani prosecution had not submitted any such agreement, adding that if such an agreement existed it holds no legal value, as the defence counsel cannot be deprived from the right to cross-examination.

The defence counsel urged on the court not to admit the statements of the Indian witnesses review records.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 29^th, 2012.

US found Zia ‘most patriotic liar’ on nukes, reveal declassified memos

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Photo of former Pakistani military ruler Mohammed Zia ul-Haq. “Either he (Zia) really does not know or is the most superb and patriotic liar I have ever met,” US diplomat Vernon Walters wrote to the State Department, as revealed in secret US diplomatic memos declassified Thursday.—File Photo

WASHINGTON: US officials concluded in the 1980s that Pakistan was lying about its nuclear program but muted criticism due to Islamabad’s support against the Soviets in Afghanistan, declassified documents showed.

The memos released Thursday reveal some of the behind-the-scenes drama between the United States and Pakistan during Ronald Reagan’s presidency, foreshadowing current-day debates in the uneasy war partnership.

The documents included an account of a secret mission in June 1982 by a US envoy who confronted Pakistani military ruler Mohammed Zia ul-Haq with a letter from Reagan and said the United States had “incontrovertible” proof that Pakistan was seeking nuclear weapons.

The emissary, veteran US diplomat and translator Vernon Walters, said that Zia was “extraordinarily courteous, relaxed” and explained that he had no knowledge of nuclear weapons development but would check with his subordinates.

“Either he really does not know or is the most superb and patriotic liar I have ever met,” Walters wrote to the State Department.

The documents, some obtained after requests under the US Freedom of Information Act, were released to the ,National Security Archive at George Washington University,, which made them available to AFP in advance.

Pakistan tested an atomic bomb in 1998, days after tests by neighbouring India. The United States banned assistance to Pakistan in 1990 – soon after the Soviets left Afghanistan – after concluding that it was developing nuclear weapons.

But Reagan exempted Pakistan from a law requiring sanctions, named after then senator Larry Pressler, even though the memos said that officials knew that the country was moving toward nuclear weapons.

The documents showed that the Reagan administration was genuinely concerned about Pakistan’s nuclear program, fearing it would trigger instability, and repeatedly warned Zia that Congress could cut off assistance.

“There is overwhelming evidence that Zia has been breaking his assurances to us. We are absolutely confident that our intelligence is genuine and accurate,” then secretary of state George Shultz wrote in a November 1982 memo to Reagan.

But Shultz recalled the “essential role” played by Zia in Afghanistan, where US and Pakistani agents funneled weapons to Islamic guerrillas who successfully fought a Soviet invasion.

“A rupture of our relationship would call into question a central tenet of this administration’s foreign policy – strong support for our friends,” Shultz wrote, calling the Afghan effort “the most visible evidence of the US commitment to counter Soviet military thrusts worldwide.” The memos said that as far back as 1982, US intelligence detected that Pakistani agents were seeking suspicious items from countries including Belgium, Finland, Japan, Sweden and Turkey.

Years later, such efforts were discovered to be the work of scientist Abdul Qadeer Khan, the father of Pakistan’s nuclear bomb. He is also accused of running a vast international black market of nuclear goods.

One secret assessment said that Pakistan was already believed to have enough for one nuclear weapon by October 1985 with assistance from China.

The US memos acknowledged that Pakistan was unlikely to comply with US pleas on its nuclear program in light of its concern over India, which has fought three full-fledged wars with Pakistan since independence in 1947.

The documents said that the United States was also urging “restraint” from India, which had strained relations with Washington during the 1980s.

Despite the criticism of its nuclear program, the United States resumed assistance to Pakistan to the tune of nearly $20 billion after it again offered support in Afghanistan following the September 11, 2001 attacks.

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UN finds cluster bombs in Sri Lanka

A cluster bomb unit. – File Photo by AP

NEW DELHI: A report from a UN mine removal expert says unexploded cluster munitions have been found in northern Sri Lanka, appearing to confirm, for the first time, that the weapons were used in that country’s long civil war.

The revelation is likely to increase calls for an international investigation into possible war crimes stemming from the bloody final months of fighting in the quarter-century civil war that ended in May 2009. The government has repeatedly denied reports it used cluster munitions during the final months of fighting.

Cluster munitions are packed with small ”bomblets” that scatter indiscriminately and often harm civilians. Those that fail to detonate often kill civilians long after fighting ends.

They are banned under an international treaty adopted by more than 60 nations that took effect in August 2010, after the Sri Lankan war. The nations that haven’t adopted the treaty include Sri Lanka, China, Russia, India, Pakistan and the US, which says the bombs are a valid weapon of war when used properly.

The Associated Press obtained a copy Thursday of an email written by a UN land mine expert that said unexploded cluster bomblets were discovered in the Puthukudiyiruppu area of northern Sri Lanka, where a boy was killed last month and his sister injured as they tried to pry apart an explosive device they had found to sell for scrap metal.

The email was written by Allan Poston, the technical adviser for the UN Development Program’s mine action group in Sri Lanka.

”After reviewing additional photographs from the investigation teams, I have determined that there are cluster sub-munitions in the area where the children were collecting scrap metal and in the house where the accident occurred. This is the first time that there has been confirmed unexploded sub-munitions found in Sri Lanka,” the email said.

During the final weeks of the war, tens of thousands of civilians and Tamil Tiger rebel fighters were trapped in a tiny section of Puthukudiyiruppu as attacking government forces closed in on them.

Lakshman Hulugalla, a Sri Lankan government spokesman on security matters, said the military had not used cluster munitions in the war against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam.

”We are denying that information,” he said.

The UN did not immediately respond to an AP request for comment.

Alan Keenan, Sri Lanka project director for the International Crisis Group, said the revelation ”makes more clear than ever the need for a thorough and independent investigation of alleged violations of the laws of war by both the government and the LTTE, which only an international body can provide.”

Poston’s email, dated Tuesday, said mine clearers in Sri Lanka had not been prepared to deal with the bomblets, and are now relying on the experience of deminers who had worked in Lebanon, where Israel used cluster munitions in its 2006 war.

One deminer with experience in Lebanon was asked to clear the area and train other teams in how to handle the bomblets, according to the email. The local mine clearing office is adopting the Lebanon standards, and Unicef was informed of the need to educate the local population about the dangers of the unexploded munitions, it said.

The army’s demining unit also was informed of the discovery, the email said.

”Cluster sub-munitions are extremely dangerous items of (unexploded ordnance) and can explode with the slightest movement or touch,” the email warned.

UN officials first reported the use of cluster munitions in the conflict zone in February 2009, saying they appeared to hit in an area around a hospital that was pounded by artillery fire for more than 16 hours. The government denied possessing the weapons and the UN said it accepted that denial.

A report last year by a UN panel of experts found credible allegations of war crimes by both Sri Lankan government forces and the rebels. The experts said there were unconfirmed reports the army had used cluster bombs against civilians in a No Fire Zone the government had set up.

Witnesses reported hearing large explosions followed by multiple small explosions that would be consistent with such munitions. The expert panel said some injuries were also consistent with cluster munitions, and called for further investigation of the issue.

A New York-based human rights group said it would have been disastrous to use such weapons among the hundreds of thousands of civilians crowded into the Sri Lankan war zone.

”If there is evidence that cluster weapons were used, it would show yet again, the government’s constant attempts at deception and underscore our demand that there should be an independent international investigation into all allegations of laws-of-war violations,” said Meenakshi Ganguly, South Asia director for Human Rights Watch.

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US embassy fears attack during bin Laden anniversary

The hideout of Osama bin Laden is pictured after his death by US Special Forces in a ground operation in Abbottabad on May 2, 2011.—AFP (File Photo)

ISLAMABAD: The US embassy in Islamabad on Thursday banned its staff from restaurants and markets in the Pakistani capital for several days either side of the anniversary of Osama bin Laden’s death.

The former al Qaeda chief was killed in a US forces raid in Abbottabad on May 2 last year and the embassy fears militants may mark the one-year anniversary with an attack.

“Due to security concerns, the US embassy has restricted its employees from going to restaurants and markets in Islamabad April 27 – May 5,” a warning on the embassy website said.

“We recommend that US citizens in Islamabad during this period take similar precautions.”

Bin Laden’s three widows, their eight children and a grandchild are still being held in Islamabad after being detained in the Abbottabad raid.

They were originally supposed to be deported last week but the move was delayed because legal formalities were not complete.

A US official speaking on condition of anonymity said the warning was issued in response to information about a specific threat.

But Pakistan’s deputy interior minister Imtiaz Safdar Warraich told AFP he had no information about a threat.

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MQM, ANP, PPP stay away from moot: Demand for city’s deweaponisation

KARACHI, April 25: Expressing deep concern over recurring violence in Karachi, peace activists and civil society representatives demanded an across-the-board and transparent deweaponisation drive in the city to flush out drug and land mafias and armed groups whether they belonged to any political, religious or ethnic party.

This was manifested in a peace declaration adopted at the end of a conference on deweaponisation organised by the National Organisation for Working Communities (NOWC) in collaboration with Oxfam Novid.

Representatives of three major political parties — the Pakistan People’s Party, Muttahida Qaumi Movement and Awami National Parety — stayed away from the meeting, while the Citizens-Police Liaison Committee chief Ahmad Chinoy made a keynote presentation.

Taking cognizance of the recent events, the final declaration also noted the regrettable failure of the coalition government in curbing bloodletting, which not only resulted in a loss of human life and property but also caused irreparable loss to the economy.

Taking serious notice of the proliferation of weapons of all sorts and questionable failure of the law-enforcement agencies in checking this traffic, the conference also held the provincial government and ruling coalition partners and their opponents responsible for the prevailing state of affairs.

Noting that nothing concrete had been done to restructure the local police and to free it from political interference, the gathering also demanded that legislators move beyond the passage of resolutions condemning killings and violence, and come up with legislation in this regard.

They also called for making the intelligence gathering network robust and well equipped to deal with criminals.

It was also of the view that increasing unemployment, marginalisation of the minority communities, a breakdown of trade union activities, ethnic and sectarian hatred further accentuated violence and worsening law and order situation in the city.

It also demanded that all those organisations and pressure groups that advocated ethnicity and sectarianism be immediately banned.

LG govt system
It was of the view that a vibrant and party-based local government system and community policing were essential for peace and development in the city.

The NOWC, therefore, demanded holding of LG elections without any further delay. It said the LG system was essential for democratic dispensation to entrench itself and provide the common man a role in decision making.

It also demanded that there should be only one municipal body for the city and cantonment boards and other such bodies be merged with the city district government, whose elected council should take all decisions about the development of the metropolis.

It was of the view that community policing should be introduced to weed out corruption in the police and make it more responsive to the people’s security needs.

It was noted that the presence of various mafias in the city was the result of faulty foreign and domestic policies.

It was noted that the mafias gained strength after the 1979 Afghan war. The presence of the so-called Taliban was connected with that phenomenon. Land and drug mafias and gunrunners were also connected with each other and had made serious inroads into the various political parties. “This meeting therefore demands that all political parties must purge such elements from their ranks and in fact join hands against them to make Karachi violence free. People also wish that economic development should take place in other cities as well to provide employment opportunities for those who migrate to Karachi on regular basis.”

The declaration also demanded that for creating more employment opportunities the cottage industry should also be promoted and for that purpose easy loans be provided.

It said the firm view that the law and order situation and targeted killing was the prime concern of the people as police did not intervene in clashes among groups and the media generally did not report their names or the cause of the clash.

Ranges acted in a partisan way and were not ready to leave the city because they had vested interests. It was, therefore, imperative to enforce transparent and across-the-board deweaponisation of the city and flushing out of all armed groups, be they part of the land, drug mafia, or politically, religious or ethnically motivated groups and parties. It was a wrong and counterproductive policy of blaming one community for all the ills and there must be a change of mindset in this regard.

This meeting also noted that malfunctioning of public utilities such as the Karachi Electric Supply Company, Karachi Water and Sewerage Board and others was also causing tension and law and order problems in the city.

It, therefore, demanded that these organisations be told to ensure improvement in their system and services.

Similarly, it also demanded that a respectable public transport system, including road transport and circular railways, should be ensured on a priority basis. “People are very disappointed with the media and believe that the media promotes retrogressive representation of women. Concerns for security are multiplying specially for women.”

It called for immediate corrective measures in this regard.

Youth also suffered a great sense of frustration due to class-based division, and education system for the rich in private expensive schools. “This meeting demands review of this situation. This meeting also demands that labour and student unions be allowed to play more effective role. It will help in gradually eliminating ethnic, sectarian and other conflicts.”

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Via DAWN.com

Quetta in focus: ‘Terrorists killed in encounter belonged to LeJ’

QUETTA: Two terrorists killed in an encounter near Hazara Town on Monday have been identified as key members of the banned outfit Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ).

The group has claimed responsibility for a number of attacks targeting Shia Muslims in the province.

“They belonged to LJ and were identified as Hafiz Naseer and Hafiz Wazir Ali alias Ali Sher Haideri, the spokesperson of the banned outfit,” city police officer Amir Mohammad Dasti told The Express Tribune on Tuesday, adding that the government had earlier announced a bounty on Hafiz Naseer.

According to police, the LJ spokesperson had introduced himself as Ali Sher Haideri to the media while claiming responsibilities for several sectarian target killings in Quetta.

“Several cell phone numbers of media outfits were recovered from them,” an official told the media.

According to official sources, a DNA sample of the terrorists had also been sent to Islamabad to confirm their identities while their bodies were being kept at a morgue in Bolan Medical College (BMC) Teaching Hospital. The relatives of the suspects had identified the bodies as Ali Murad, a resident of Mach and Gul Jan, a resident of Dalbandin.

Earlier, Chief Minister Nawab Aslam Raisani announced half a million rupees for the police party which took part in the operation, in addition to promising them a promotion to next rank.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 25^th, 2012.

Eurovision puts Azerbaijan in human rights spotlight

Azerbaijani opposition supporters hold posters and flags during a protest rally in Baku on April 22, 2012. Azerbaijani opposition parties rally against Europe’s decision to stage next month’s Eurovision song contest in the Caucasus nation despite its poor human rights record. — Photo by AFP

BAKU: Standing on a peninsula that reaches out into Baku’s Caspian Sea bay, the sparkling new Crystal Hall is a symbol of Azerbaijan’s hopes and ambitions for next month’s Eurovision song contest.

As well as building the ultra-modern venue at breakneck speed, the ex-Soviet state has hung out Eurovision flags across the capital as public anticipation grows ahead of an event watched by an estimated 125 million viewers.

“Naturally, a country which hosts this contest is given an opportunity to introduce itself to the whole world,” said Tahir Mammadov, a member of the working group organising the event in Baku, promising a spectacular show spiced up with elements of traditional Azerbaijani folklore.

But campaigners hope that it will also draw international attention to alleged human rights violations in Azerbaijan, an oil-rich, mainly Muslim but officially secular state led by strongman President Ilham Aliyev.

“Human rights are being systematically violated in Azerbaijan,” said Giorgi Gogia of Human Rights Watch, alleging that 70 people including seven journalists were currently in jail for political reasons.

Rights groups say that freedom of expression is being suppressed and dissenting voices silenced as the authorities seek to enforce stability in a country that went through war and political turmoil after the Soviet collapse.

Local activists have set up a campaign called Sing for Democracy in an attempt to ensure that politics joins pop at centre stage in media coverage of the contest.

“Eurovision must be yet another tool to promote Azerbaijan’s European integration, first of all through the improvement of the situation with human rights,” said Rasul Jafarov of Sing for Democracy.

The authorities have been infuriated by Western media reports which focus on democratic failings rather than economic successes in a country that has gained strategic importance by pumping oil to European markets and providing transit routes for the Nato-led campaign in Afghanistan.

“Freedom of speech, democratic principles and human rights are fully respected in Azerbaijan,” said Mubariz Gurbanly, a senior official from President Aliyev’s governing New Azerbaijan party.

Aliyev said earlier this month that a “dirty campaign” was being waged to discredit Azerbaijan through the media in what officials claim is a conspiracy masterminded by the country’s Armenian enemies.

Baku and Yerevan have been locked in conflict since Armenian forces seized the region of Nagorny Karabakh from Azerbaijan in a 1990s war that killed 30,000 — an emotionally-charged issue that led Armenia to boycott this year’s Eurovision.

“Thanks to its financial resources, the Armenian lobby is securing the publication of negative materials about Azerbaijan,” said Gurbanly.

He added that “Islamophobes” were also responsible for some critical reports.

“They simply do not like the fact that Eurovision is being held in a majority-Muslim country,” he said.

Azerbaijan’s energy-fuelled economy has boomed since Aliyev came to power in 2003, succeeding his father Heydar, an ex-KGB officer and Communist-era boss.

Aliyev was re-elected by a landslide in 2008, and a referendum victory the following year abolished a two-term presidential limit, offering him the possibility of ruling the country of 9.1 million people far into the future.

Opposition protests, which were effectively banned for several years and broken up by riot police when they did take place, were recently permitted to resume on the outskirts of Baku but have failed to attract mass support.

Azerbaijan is set to become a key link in the EU’s Southern Gas Corridor pipeline project, and officials believe that Eurovision will also sprinkle some stardust on the country’s image.

“We are sure that when they (Eurovision fans) see Azerbaijan, they will love it,” said organiser Mammadov.

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Via DAWN.com

Lady Gaga’s new tour costumes unveiled

US pop diva Lady Gaga waves upon her arrival at Gimpo International airport in Seoul, South Korea, late Friday, April 20, 2012. Lady Gaga arrived here one week before kicking off her third world tour with a Seoul concert. – AP Photo

SEOUL: Four of the outfits Lady Gaga will wear for her upcoming concert in South Korea were unveiled Monday, including a leotard fashioned from guitars and a giant piano keyboard headpiece.

The US star will also show off the Giorgio Armani designed costumes in four other venues during her “Born This Way Ball” global tour kicking off in Seoul, said Shinsegae International, Armani’s South Korean business partner.

The pop diva arrived in South Korea Friday, a week before her Seoul performance which kicks off a tour of Asian venues and 21 European cities.

The new wardrobes, in line with the singer’s signature extravagant style, include a black bodysuit made of hundreds of glittering vinyl tubes sewn together with metal studs and glass pieces.

This handout released by Shinsegae International, Armani’s South Korean business partner, on April 23, 2012 in Seoul shows a sketch of a costume designed by Italian designer Giorgio Armani for US pop diva Lady Gaga’s “Born This Way Ball” global tour. – AFP Photo

Another skimpy outfit is made of nets and fringes decorated with scores of crystal pieces and and sharp spikes.

Lady Gaga, who is well known for outrageous styles and provocative performances, will also wear a long, skin-coloured latex tunic punctuated with triangular structures over her chest and face.

South Korea banned those aged under 18 from the much-anticipated concert – her second in the nation – after it was rated unsuitable for younger audiences.

Religious groups have rallied against the event, accusing the singer of advocating homosexuality and pornography.

This handout released by Shinsegae International, Armani’s South Korean business partner, on April 23, 2012 in Seoul shows a sketch of a costume designed by Italian designer Giorgio Armani for US pop diva Lady Gaga’s “Born This Way Ball” global tour. – AFP Photo

“The state-of-the-art outfits were made of materials… that epitomise the futuristic concept of this tour,” Shinsegae said, adding the costumes will also be shown in Hong Kong, Singapore, Australia and New Zealand.

Lady Gaga, whose real name is Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta, is famous for the hit songs “Bad Romance” and “Poker Face”.

This handout released by Shinsegae International, Armani’s South Korean business partner, on April 23, 2012 in Seoul shows sketches of costumes designed by Italian designer Giorgio Armani for US pop diva Lady Gaga’s “Born This Way Ball” global tour.- AFP Photo

The singer is expected to do 110 shows this year following up the success of her album “Born This Way”, which has sold nearly six million copies worldwide since it was released in May 2011.

The professional provocateur, named one of top 100 most influential fashion icons by the US magazine Time, has wowed fans with shocking wardrobes ranging from a dress made of raw meat to a frock entirely made of plastic bubbles.

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Hollande beats Sarkozy in French vote, both in second round

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French President and UMP party candidate Nicolas Sarkozy, second from left in front, and his wife Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, left, smile as they exit a polling station in the first round of French presidential elections in Paris. -AP Photo

PARIS: Socialist champion Francois Hollande stamped his authority on the French presidential race Sunday, winning the first round of polling and setting up a May 6 run-off with incumbent Nicolas Sarkozy.

Hollande won between 28 and 30 per cent of the vote in the first round, to Sarkozy’s 24 to 27.5, according to estimates compiled from ballot samples by several polling agencies and obtained by AFP from multiple sources.

That made Sarkozy the only incumbent French president to lose a first round-vote in the history of the Fifth Republic, which came into being in 1958.

Official results were not to be made available until polls closed in major urban centres at 8:00pm (1800 GMT), but the tendency was clear and the mood at Sarkozy’s campaign headquarters was resigned and sombre.

“It’s a very good first round score. Dignity paid off,” said Socialist spokeswoman Aurelie Filippetti, welcoming Sunday’s result in the more upbeat venues of Hollande’s party headquarters.

Ten candidates were in the race — Hollande and Sarkozy being trailed by far-right flag-bearer Marine Le Pen, hard-left firebrand Jean-Luc Melenchon, veteran centrist Francois Bayrou and a handful of outsiders.

Le Pen came third with between 17 and 20 per cent, beating bitter enemy Melenchon, who scored between 10.5 and 13 per cent. Bayrou won between 8.7 and 10 per cent, according to the estimates seen by AFP.

Turnout was high at at least 80 percent: down on the 84 per cent turnout of 2007 but up significantly on the 72 per cent of 2002 and belying fears that a low-key campaign would be capped by mass abstention.

The left has not won a presidential election in a quarter of a century, but with France mired in low growth and rising joblessness, opinion polls had long predicted that the left would beat the right-wing incumbent.

Hollande says Sarkozy has trapped France in a downward spiral of austerity and job losses, while Sarkozy says his rival is inexperienced and weak-willed and would spark financial panic through reckless spending pledges.

The eurozone debt crisis and France’s sluggish growth and high unemployment have hung over the campaign, with Sarkozy struggling to defend his record and Hollande unable to credibly promise spending increases.

“I have never missed a vote, but this time I feel little enthusiasm for the election,” said 62-year-old retired high school teacher Isabelle Provost as she emerged into bright Paris sunshine after casting her ballot.

“Economically there is little difference between the two main candidates,”she said, echoing the sentiment of many others of the right and the left.

Hollande voted in his stronghold, the country town of Tulle in the central Correze region, where he is the local member of parliament and heads the regional council. He was warmly greeted by officials and voters alike.

“I am attentive, engaged, but first of all respectful,” he told reporters.

“The day ahead will be a long one, this is an important moment.”Sarkozy and his former supermodel wife Carla Bruni cast their ballots in Paris’ plush 16th district, a stronghold of his right-wing UMP party.

Hollande was to make a speech in Tulle minutes after polls close and official results estimates are announced on the prime-time 8:00 pm television news. Sarkozy was to speak in Paris at around 9:00 pm.

Opinion polls and campaigning were banned from midnight on Friday, and will resume on Monday in the build-up to the May 6 run-off, which Hollande is predicted to win by around 55 per cent to 45.

Sarkozy and Hollande face a two-week scramble for the line, including a head-to-head televised debate that could be the incumbent’s last chance to change his fortunes.

Privately however, Sarkozy’s top supporters had begun to admit that if Sarkozy failed to regain the momentum and slip ahead of Hollande on Sunday, he would have too much ground left to make up.

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Via DAWN.com

Boeing 737-200 banned in several countries

LAHORE – The Bhoja Airlines plane that crashed near Chaklala Airbase, killing all the passengers on-board, was a more than 40 years old version of the Boeing.The ‘obsolete’ version Boeing 737-200 has either been banned or phased out in many countries of the world.It includes the United States, while the EU has banned many airlines from Africa and Asia, which still use this …

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