Seven killed in Iraq attacks

 

Seven people including a tribal chief were killed on Saturday in attacks west of Baghdad and in the capital itself, police and medics said.

 

A roadside bomb at Amariyat al-Fallujah in Anbar province killed Sheikh Najem Mustafa al-Hafez, head of the Aweissat tribe, along with his brother, his wife and their two-year-old son, police lieutenant Jabbar Hamad said.

 

Hamad said Hafez was well-known for his hostility to insurgents and his loyalty to the police and army.

 

A doctor at Fallujah hospital 60 kilometres (37 miles) west of Baghdad confirmed that the facility had received four bodies after the incident.

 

The hospital also received the remains of two people killed when a magnetic bomb attached to their car in the city exploded.

 

In the capital, an interior ministry employee named as Haidar Shamki was killed when unidentified gunmen opened fire on his car in east Baghdad, a ministry official said.
 

New clashes in eastern Saudi kill one

RIYADH: Saudi police exchanged fire with “masked gunmen” at a protest in the Shiite-populated east, killing one of them, state reported early Saturday, in the second fatal clashes in the oil-rich region in 24 hours.

“Security forces following an unauthorised gathering in the (Shiite) town of Al-Awamiya in Qatif district came under fire from masked gunmen,” the official SPA news agency quoted a police spokesman as saying.

Police “responded, sparking an exchange of fire that resulted in the wounding of one of them, who died later.”

An activist told AFP that Said was “shot dead by security forces as they dispersed a protest against the killing of another man” on Thursday.

“Eight armoured vehicles belonging to Saudi security forces intervened to disperse the protest,” the activist said.

Munir al-Medani, also 21, died of his wounds on Thursday after being shot by security forces in the Al-Shwaika neighbourhood of Qatif during a Shiite demonstration for reform in the ultra-conservative Sunni Muslim kingdom, activists said.

Saudi authorities said that Medani too died in an exchange of fire between security forces and “masked men.”

Demonstrators also took to the streets of another Qatif town — Al-Rabieya — on Friday to protest against Medani’s death, activists said.

“Hundreds of demonstrators waved pictures of those killed and detained as they condemned the shooting (by Saudi security forces) on peaceful protests,” one activist told AFP.

Activists and witnesses said that Medani’s death came when security forces opened fire on a Shiite procession marking the birthday of the Prophet Mohammed — a celebration forbidden in Saudi Arabia — which turned into a demonstration for reform and the release of Shiite detainees.

Said’s death raises to seven the number of protesters killed since demonstrations erupted in the Eastern Province last March.

Prominent Shiite cleric Sheikh Hasan al-Saffar criticised the use of force against protesters saying: “This will not solve the problem but will only further complicate it,” in a speech published on a Shiite websites.

“Blood in Muslim states has become cheap and human rights are violated as blood runs in several countries. Prisons are filled with detainees and torture is still practised against prisoners in most Islamic states,” Saffar said.

The region has been rocked by a series of uprisings that unseated autocracts in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya in 2011.

Yemen’s President Ali Abdullah Saleh is due to quit on February 21 under a transfer of power deal while pressure is mounting on the Syrian regime to end its deadly crackdown on pro-democracy protest.

The immediate trigger for the protest movement among Saudi Shiites was a Saudi-led military intervention in neighbouring Bahrain to help its Sunni rulers crush Shiite-led pro-democracy demonstrations last March.

Activists say that Saudi authorities have arrested nearly 500 people since the protests started. Many have been released but dozens remain in custody, among them human rights activist Fadel al-Munasif and writer Nazir al-Majid.

In January, Saudi authorities published a list of 23 men wanted on suspicion of involvement in the disturbances.

Later the same month, the interior ministry announced that security forces had arrested nine people suspected of involvement in the wounding of three policemen in the Eastern Province.

Most of Saudi Arabia’s estimated two million Shiites live in the province, where the vast majority of the OPEC kingpin’s huge oil reserves lie. They complain of marginalisation in the Sunni-dominated kingdom. AGENCIES

Malik says ready to brief Senate on Balochistan package

TrendPK.com

ISLAMABAD: Interior Minister Rehman Malik says he is ready to brief the House over progress made so far regarding implementation of Aghaz-e-Haqooq Balochistan package.

Speaking at Senate today (Friday), Malik accused foreign interference of creating unrest in Balochistan.

Many countries of the world don’t want Balochistan to be part of Pakistan, he said.

He said neither army nor paramilitary frontier corps are deteriorating law and order situation

Any third power is behind the unrest, he added.

He said that 85 percent implementation has been made on Aghaz-e-Haqooq Balochistan package.

He said no airbase would be allowed to be used for NATO supplies. TrendPK

SC takes up plea against likely dismissal of Kayani, Pasha

TrendPK.com
ISLAMABAD: Supreme Court (SC) has taken up an application against the potential sacking of Army Chief Kayani and the ISI Chief Pasha as maintainable, TrendPK reports Tuesday.

A three-judge SC bench headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Iftikhar Muhammed Chaudhry heard the petition concerning the objections leveled by the Registrar regarding the potential dismissal of Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani and Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) chief Lieutenant General Ahmed Shuja Pasha from their offices.

The Chief Justice Chaudhry remarked the appeal against the order of the registrar is heard at the chamber; but, keeping in view the import of the matter, the appeal has been put forward before a bench to elicit the opinion of the Attorney General.

The Attorney General of Pakistan Maulvi Anwarul Haq said he has done away with some of the objections; and the arguments regarding the maintainability of the plea should be left to the parties to the case.

The court ordered to present the appeal before any bench for hearing. TrendPK

Egypt speeds up preparation for presidential vote

 

Egypt s military leader has told electoral officials to speed up preparations for presidential elections after a new eruption of street protests demanding that the ruling generals move more quickly to hand power to an elected government.

 

The military rulers had previously promised to hold presidential elections for their successor by the end of June. But Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi, the head of the ruling military council, on Monday asked election commission officials “to quickly finish legal procedures for presidency nominations,” according to Egypt s state-run news agency MENA.

 

Election Commission Chief Abdel-Moez Ibrahim told The Associated Press that based on Tantawi s orders, nominations for president would be accepted March 10, a month earlier than the original date. He didn t give a date for elections, but it was an indication that the vote may be held about a month ahead of schedule.

 

The ruling council pledged “to hand power to an elected civilian authority in a democratic, transparent and honest way.”
Relations between the pro-democracy movement behind Egypt s uprising last year and the ruling generals who took power from ousted President Hosni Mubarak have grown increasingly hostile, punctuated by bouts of rioting, clashes and killings. The protesters have long called for an immediate transfer of power to a civilian authority and accuse the generals of bungling what was supposed to be a transition to democracy.

 

Egypt has already held parliamentary elections which were the freest and the fairest in decades and propelled Islamists to dominance.

 

The protests against the military rulers erupted anew after a deadly riot at a soccer stadium in Port Said on Thursday, when 74 people were killed. Protesters accused the police of doing nothing to stop the violence and that set off a new cycle of clashes that has killed 13 people in five days. One protester was killed Monday in Cairo, said Dr. Malek el-Assal at a field hospital.

 

On top of the domestic turmoil, Egypt is also embroiled in a new crisis with the United States, which is threatening to cut off $1.5 billion in annual aid because of a crackdown on Egyptian and foreign nonprofit groups promoting democracy and human rights. The ruling military accuses the groups of using foreign funding to foment unrest.

 

The crisis escalated on Sunday when authorities referred 43 employees of nonprofit groups, including 19 Americans, to trial. On Monday, they released names of the 19 Americans who will be tried, including the son of U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. Out of the 19, only six are in the country.

 

In Washington, State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said Monday that several more activists have joined the ones who sought shelter at the U.S. Embassy in Cairo as the crisis developed. She said the embassy is extending an invitation to all who are affected “to give them some time to consider their options with their lawyers.” She did not say how many activists are at the embassy.

 

Washington has reacted angrily to the case, which started with raids last month on the offices of the groups. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton has warned it could jeopardize U.S. aid to Egypt, which amounts to more than $1 billion a year.

 

The U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Susan Rice, said the Americans involved in the dispute have been working to build a more democratic society in Egypt and “have done absolutely nothing wrong.”

 

She told “CBS This Morning” that U.S. officials have been in close touch with the Egyptian government, including “in the last days and hours.” She said the situation “has serious consequences for our bilateral relationship.”

 

Laws requiring local and foreign civil society groups to register with the government have long been a source of contention, with rights activists accusing authorities of using legal provisions to go after groups critical of their policies. Offenders can be sentenced to prison if convicted.

 

Legally, the Social Solidarity Ministry must approve any foreign funds funneled to local or foreign civil society groups in Egypt.

 

The investigation into the work of the nonprofit groups is closely linked to the political turmoil that has engulfed the nation since the ouster one year ago of Mubarak, a U.S. ally who ruled Egypt for nearly 30 years.

 

The military rulers charge that the groups fund and support anti-government protests and claim “foreign hands” are behind the opposition to their rule. They frequently depict the protesters as receiving funds from abroad in a plot to destabilize the country.

 

In unrest on Monday, witnesses and field hospital doctors said police escalated their crackdown on protesters starting at dawn. Armored vehicles with police swept through streets near the Interior Ministry in downtown Cairo, shooting at protesters with birdshot and tear gas, witnesses said. One protester was killed and nearly 200 were injured by birdshot.

 

During a heated parliament session, a lawmaker held an empty case of bullets to show police was firing at protesters despite top security officials  denials.

 

At midday, volunteers formed human cordons at the entrances of streets leading to the ministry, which the military had already blocked with concrete walls to prevent renewed clashes. The Interior Ministry oversees the hated police and has been a frequent target of protests.

 

Qatar to give 500mcf gas per day to Pakistan

 

Pakistan and Qatar on Monday have signed agreements to collaborate in multiple areas mainly import of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) from the Gulf state and cooperation between the two governments on security.

 

Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani and his Qatari counterpart Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jabor Al Thani witnessed the signing ceremony of two Agreements and four Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) as the representatives of Pakistan and Qatar s respective ministries inked the documents, at the Amiri Diwan here.

 

Minister for Petroleum and Natural Resources Dr Asim Hussain and Qatar s minister for energy Dr Muhammad bin Saleh Al Saada signed the MoU on import of LNG.

 

Pakistan is interested in importing 500 million cubic feet per day of LNG from Qatar that produces 77 million tonnes per annum of LNG. The imported LNG will be initially provided to the power houses in the country to generate 2,500 mega watt of electricity.

 

The Qatar s minister for energy is visiting Pakistan this month to hold talks with the respective ministers to evolve the mechanism of undertaking investment in various sectors which according to the Qatari Prime Minister could go upto five billion dollars.

 

The MoU on security cooperation between the Interior ministries of Pakistan and Qatar was signed by Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar and Qatar s minister of state for Interior. Both also inked an agreement on cooperation in legal field between the two governments.

 

The agreement in the field of Auqaf and Islamic Affairs was signed by Minister for Professional and Technical Training Riaz Pirzada.

 

The two countries signed an MoU between Pakistan s Ministry of Water and Power and Qatar s Ministry of Energy for cooperation in hydropower development.

 

Chairman Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) Shakil Durrani and Qatar s energy minister Muhammad Al Saleh Al Saada signed the document.

 

A bilateral agreement was signed on Mutual Administrative Assistance for the Proper Application of Customs Law and Repression, Investigation and Enforcement of Customs Offenses between the governments of Pakistan and Qatar.

 

Pakistan s ambassador to Qatar Muhammad Sarfraz Ahmed Khanzada signed the document. Both also signed an MoUto cooperate in the field of organizing exhibitions between the two countries. –APP
 

Egypt clashes continue amid anger against army

CAIRO: A second day of clashes with Egyptian police left five more people dead as anger against the ruling military boiled over amid fury at the recent deaths of 74 people in football-related violence.

Marchers took to the streets across the country to demand that the generals cede power immediately after a night of violence in several cities.

Two protesters died in Cairo of tear gas inhalation after being rushed to hospital unconscious from outside the interior ministry, where clashes raged into Friday night.

Another two protesters died in violence in the northeast canal city of Suez, according to a security source.

Meanwhile the official Mena news agency reported that a soldier injured while guarding the interior ministry building, succumbed to his wounds in hospital.

In another hit to the the already-suffering tourism sector, two American women and their Egyptian tour guide were briefly kidnapped by armed Bedouins in the Sinai peninsula, before being released unharmed after several hours, security officials said.

The kidnappers stole watches, phones and money from a tour bus on its way from the historic St Catherine’s monastery to the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh before snatching the two tourists and their guide, the officials told AFP.

The health ministry said 1,051 people were also injured on Friday.

Thick clouds of tear gas blanketed the road to the ministry in the capital.

Protesters, many of them organised supporters of Cairo’s main football clubs known as Ultras, held up a huge banner to the police that read: “Those who didn’t deserve to die have died at the hands of those who don’t deserve to live.”

Many of the dead in Wednesday’s football riot in the northern city of Port Said were thought to have been Al-Ahly supporters, set upon by partisans of the local Al-Masry side after the Cairo side lost 3-1 as police on duty stood by.

The Ultras played a prominent role among anti-regime elements in the uprising that overthrew president Hosni Mubarak a year ago. Some commentators and citizens have suggested pro-Mubarak forces were behind the massacre, or at least complicit.

Rocks and stones flew in all directions as police vans in Cairo repeatedly charged before retreating. At one point, police clubbed protesters who were just metres (yards) away from the ministry headquarters.

Across the street, a building housing the Tax Authority was on fire, state television reported without providing details.

A soldier injured outside the interior ministry building on Thursday died in hospital on Friday, the state MENA news agency reported.

In nearby Tahrir Square — nerve centre of the mass rallies that forced Mubarak from power — thousands chanted slogans against the military junta that took power when the president quit.

In Suez, where two demonstrators were also killed on Thursday, police fired birdshot and tear gas to disperse protesters, an AFP reporter said.

Under a volley of rocks and stones, ambulances ferried the injured out of the central Al-Arbaeen Square at the opposite end of the Suez Canal to Port Said where Wednesday night’s stadium deaths enraged the nation.

Thousands also took to the streets to denounce the junta in Egypt’s second city of Alexandria and in Port Said.

Gunmen carrying automatic weapons stormed a police station in east Cairo, freeing the detainees before setting fire to the building.

And in the city’s Dokki neighbourhood, a group of men attacked a police station, retrieving weapons from the building.

The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) blamed the unrest on “foreign and domestic hands targeting the country.”

In a statement on Facebook, it urged “all political and national forces of this great nation to take a national and historic role and intervene … to return stability.”

Wednesday’s clashes between fans of home team Al-Masry and Al-Ahly marked one of the deadliest incidents in football history. Witnesses said that the security forces did little to prevent the rioting.

After the final whistle, victorious Al-Masry fans invaded the pitch, throwing rocks, bottles and fireworks at Al-Ahly supporters, causing panic as players and fans fled in all directions, witnesses said.

On Friday, Egypt’s prosecutor general slapped a travel ban on the head of the Egyptian Football Association Samir Zaher — a day after he was sacked — and on ex-Port Said governor Mohammed Abdullah, who resigned following the clashes.

“This happened as security services stood by and did nothing, like they did in previous events, and perhaps they even contributed to the massacre,” wrote Ibrahim Mansur, a columnist for the independent daily Al-Tahrir.

Egyptians have become increasingly angry with the junta, which they accuse of failing to manage the country and of human rights abuses.

For months, they have taken to the streets to demand the overthrow of the SCAF and its chief, Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi, who was Mubarak’s defence minister for two decades.

The SCAF has pledged to cede full powers to civilian rule when a president is elected by the end of June.

But widespread suspicions that the military aims to retain some powers after the transition were fuelled by comments from former US president Jimmy Carter after he met the generals repeatedly last month.

“When I met with military leaders, my impression was they want to have some special privilege in the government after the president is elected,” Carter said. AGENCIES

Malik warns banned outfits

 

Replying to a point of order of Sheikh Waqas Akram that banned organizations were holding public rallies in various cities despite the fact such activities were banned under Anti-Terrorism Act, the Interior Minister Rehman Malik said banned outfits were organizing rallies under different names.

 

He informed the National Assembly that strict action would be taken if any evidence was found that a banned organization held a public rally in the capital territory.

 

The minister said banned organizations were collecting funds under different names and underlined the importance of proper legislation to curtail their activities.

 

He said a bill dealing with the activities of banned organizations had been pending with the Senate Standing Committee for the last two years.

 

Rehman Malik said law enforcement agencies needed more empowerment to take proper action against the banned organizations, adding the passage of that bill was necessary to have strict check on the activities of banned outfits.

 

He said recommendations of all political parties would be accommodated in making a comprehensive legislation in this regard.

 

Earlier Sahibzada Fazal Karim also raised concern on ongoing activities of banned organizations. He demanded foolproof security arrangements for public gatherings on 12th Rabi-ul-Awwal.
 

Tunisian forces kill two in clashes with armed group

TUNIS: Tunisian forces killed two gunmen and captured a third after clashes on Wednesday night with what appeared to be a group of Islamists smuggling weapons in the east of the country, several security and government sources said.  

Five Tunisian security forces were also wounded in the fighting near the industrial port city of Sfax, 237 kms (147 miles) southeast of Tunis, and police and military had cordoned off the area, security sources said.  

The clashes were the first to take place in Tunisia since elections in October ushered in a government dominated by moderate Islamist group Ennahda and two secular partners.   

Tunisia’s interior ministry forces were shaken by the revolt that ousted Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali and brought down his police state a year ago and secularist groups have accused Ennahda of being too soft on armed militants and religious extremists.   

Mohammed al-Tunsi, a National Guard official, had said the three gunmen appeared to be Salafis, ultra-conservative Islamists, but Interior Minister Ali Larayed, a senior member of Ennahda, told reporters on Wednesday night it was too early to identify them.   

He described the incident as “dangerous” and promised more details on Thursday.  

Larayed said a large stash of assault rifles and ammunition had been discovered in the vehicle the three men were travelling in. The gunmen abandoned their car and hid in the surrounding countryside where they exchanged fire with police and military for several hours while a helicopter buzzed overhead.  

A spokesman for President Moncef al-Marzouki told state television he believed the gunmen were part of a 20-strong gang that smuggled weapons through Tunisia.  

Tunisia, the birthplace of the Arab Spring protests that swept the region in 2011, has made a relatively smooth transition to an elected constituent assembly that will draft a new constitution for the country.   

However, protests and strikes have continued in the centre of the country, where unemployment remains high, and security forces are under pressure to do more to rein in Salafis who have asserted themselves since the uprising and to secure the borders with Algeria and Libya. AGENCIES

Lahore: FIA arrests MS PIC Jaafar Saleem

Federal Investigation Agency arrested Medical Superintendent of Punjab Institute Cardiology Jaffar Saleem from Lahore while the agency is conducting raids for arrest of Chief Executive PIC Dr Azhar.

 

Notification of termination of Dr Azhar as chief executive has been issued, however, he will continue working as professor of cardiology in PIC.

 

After directions of Interior Minister Rehman malik, a team of FIA officials reached Lahore yesterday from Islamabad and today they arrested MS PIC and started conducting raids to arrest CE PIC.
 

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