Rights group urges probe into unmarked Kashmir graves

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SRINAGAR: A human rights group in Indian-administered Kashmir urged authorities on Wednesday to launch a probe into 2,700 unmarked graves of people believed to have died as a result of the region’s revolt against Indian rule.

The International People’s Tribunal on Human Rights and Justice (IPT) has in the past three years uncovered the unidentified bodies buried in villages near Pakistan-administered Kashmir.

The independent Srinagar-based group, which calculates 8,000 people have gone missing in the 20-year separatist insurgency, released a report entitled ‘Buried Evidence’ documenting the ‘unknown, unmarked, and mass graves’ containing at least 2,900 bodies.

About 180 graves held two or more bodies, said the report, which surveyed 55 villages through interviews with gravediggers, graveyard managers and residents, and first information reports filed by the police.

‘These graves include bodies of extrajudicial, summary, and arbitrary executions, as well as massacres committed by the Indian military and paramilitary forces,’ the IPT said.

‘The Government of India and the Government of Jammu and Kashmir must commit to, and enable, independent and transparent investigations into unknown, unmarked and mass graves,’ it urged.

International human rights groups have in the past called for a probe into whether the unmarked graves held bodies of civilians who have ‘disappeared’ as Indian security forces struggle to contain the Muslim-majority region’s revolt.

A police officer who spoke on condition of anonymity said most of the bodies were likely those of militants killed in fighting with Indian forces.

Last year police admitted there were more than 200 unmarked graves in one location but insisted they contained dead rebels and not civilians.

Police said it was not possible to identify every militant killed during gunbattles in Indian-administered Kashmir.

The IPT report said that more than 8,000 people have gone missing in the region, mostly after their arrest by Indian security personnel.

Indian officials contend many of the missing had crossed over to Pakistan to join the insurgents.

The report also examined the deaths of 50 ‘militants’ killed during shoot-outs with security forces, and concluded 47 of the dead were civilians.

Supreme Court to take up petitions against NRO

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ISLAMABAD: After having failed to get parliamentary protection, the NRO beneficiaries are pinning their hopes on the Supreme Court which has fixed Dec 7 to begin hearing of petitions challenging the controversial law promulgated by former military ruler Gen (retd) Pervez Musharraf to grant amnesty to politicians, bureaucrats and holders of public offices involved in corruption and criminal cases.

During the proceedings, the Supreme Court will not only interpret different provisions of the Constitution relating to fundamental rights, but will also lay to rest the hotly debated controversy whether the benefit already reaped are closed and past transactions or the cases would reopen automatically at the point where these had been left; without a formal application by the prosecution.

To get assistance from the government the court has summoned Acting Attorney General Shah Khawar to appear before it on Dec 7.

The court is seized with two petitions, one moved by former PPP stalwart Dr Mubashar Hassan and the other by retired bureaucrat Roedad Khan, both stating that the NRO violates the fundamental rights of the people, especially Article 25 (equality of citizens), is against political justice and also contravenes the United Nations Convention against corruption of which Pakistan is a signatory.

On August 12, a two-judge bench comprising Justice Shakirullah Jan and Justice Raja Fayyaz Ahmad which had taken up the case of Fazl Ahmed Jat had requested the chief justice to form a larger bench to hear the petitions against the NRO since interpretation of certain provisions of statutes were involved, which had a bearing on a large number of cases.

Considering the request, Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry directed the SC office to fix all the petitions and connecting matters involving examination or interpretation of the National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) 2007 on Monday before a larger bench.

The composition of the larger bench is expected to be decided by Friday.

Now the beneficiaries will anxiously spend this week wondering what future holds for them when the Supreme Court will start hearing the matter.

Minister of State for Law Afzal Sindhu recently released the names of 8,041 NRO beneficiaries; of whom 34 were politicians and most of the others bureaucrats.

Of the 8,041 people, 3,478 cases (3,320 in Sindh) were registered against them on charges of corruption, financial bungling and misuse of authority.

The Supreme Court office has already issued notices to the petitioners and the respondents, besides separate notices to counsel appearing for the petitioners and respondents through the Advocate on Records.

Since some convicts and prisoners had also prayed for the benefit of the NRO, they have also been issued notices through superintendent jails concerned.

The chief justice has also ordered to club a pending review petition against a judgment in the case of Asfandyar Wali Khan.

Former President Pervez Musharraf had promulgated the NRO on October 5, 2007, to give immediate relief to late PPP leader Benazir Bhutto by giving indemnity in all cases, registered against her by the Nawaz Sharif government.

The NRO which provides amnesty to public office-holders charged in different corruption and criminal cases between 1986 and 1999 was given protection under the November 3, 2007, Provisional Constitution Order (PCO), but a 14-judge Supreme Court bench while deciding the judge’s case on July 31 held that instead of undoing different ordinances, 37 in all including the controversial NRO, the present government should be given 120 days to get them regularised by parliament. That deadline expired on November 28.

Iran releases detained British yacht crew

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LONDON: Iran has confirmed the release of five British yachtsmen seized in the Gulf last week, the Foreign Office said Wednesday, adding it understood their racing boat is being towed to international waters,

‘The Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs have confirmed that the five yachtsmen have been released,’ said a Foreign Office spokesman, shortly after Iranian media reported their release.

‘We understand that they are being towed to international waters and will be met by a representative from the sailing company,’ he added.

The Britons’ yacht, Kingdom of Bahrain, apparently drifted into Iranian waters last Wednesday while they were en route from Bahrain to Dubai for the start of a race.

The group — four young yachtsman and an older sports journalist, were believed to have been held on Sirri Island, a small island in the Gulf off the coast of Iran near where they had been sailing.

The sailors’ boss has said the boat may have drifted into Iranian waters due to a damaged propeller.

On Tuesday Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s chief of staff Esfandiar Rahim Mashaie warned they would be dealt with ‘firmly’ if found guilty of illegal entry into Iranian waters.

British Foreign Secretary David Miliband spoke with his Iranian counterpart Manouchehr Mottaki on Tuesday to press for the release of the five — Oliver Smith, Oliver Young, Sam Usher, Luke Porter and journalist David Bloomer, a dual Irish-British national.

Porter’s parents Beverly and Charles voiced relief.

‘It was just a pure misunderstanding. It appears now that they had technical problems with the boat. The boys never meant to be there in the first place. Thankfully, Iran have seen it that way,’ said his mother.

His father was asked to describe his emotions over the last few days: ‘A rollercoaster would be the right word.’

Pakistan has become safe haven for al Qaeda: Obama

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Washington, December 02: Defeated by the US-led international forces in Afghanistan, al Qaeda leaders have established a safe haven in Pakistan, President Barack Obama has said.

“After escaping across the border into Pakistan in 2001 and 2002, al Qaeda’s leadership established a safe-haven there,” Obama said in his Afghan-policy speech at the West Point Military Academy in New York.

Although a legitimate government was elected by the Afghan people, it has been hampered by corruption, the drug trade, an under-developed economy, and insufficient Security Forces, he said.

“Over the last several years, Taliban has maintained common cause with al Qaeda, as they both seek an overthrow of the Afghan government. Gradually, the Taliban has begun to take control over swaths of Afghanistan, while engaging in increasingly brazen and devastating acts of terrorism against the Pakistani people,” the US President said.

Shortly after taking office, Obama said he approved a long-standing request for more troops.

“After consultations with our allies, I then announced a strategy recognising the fundamental connection between our war effort in Afghanistan, and the extremist safe-havens in Pakistan.

“I set a goal that was narrowly defined as disrupting, dismantling, and defeating al Qaeda and its extremist allies, and pledged to better coordinate our military and civilian effort,” Obama said, adding since then, the US has made progress on some important objectives.

“High-ranking al Qaeda and Taliban leaders have been killed, and we have stepped up the pressure on al Qaeda world-wide,” he said.

“In Pakistan, that nation’s Army has gone on its largest offensive in years. In Afghanistan, we and our allies prevented the Taliban from stopping a presidential election, and – although it was marred by fraud – that election produced a government that is consistent with Afghanistan’s laws and Constitution,” he said.

After 9/11, Obama said, within a matter of months, al Qaeda was scattered and many of its operatives were killed.

“The Taliban was driven from power and pushed back on its heels. A place that had known decades of fear now had reason to hope,” he said.

Jumblatt Agrees with Hezbollah’s Political Manifesto

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Lebanese daily As-Safir quoted Progressive Socialist Party (PSP) leader MP Walid Jumblatt as saying that he agrees with most of the clauses set in Hezbollah’s new political manifesto, which was announced on Monday, such as “the essential and strategic threat represented by Israel’s presence since its inception in 1948; the importance of the Resistance’s track record between 1968 and 2006; dialogue, instead of confrontation, between Arabs and Iranians; the need to improve inter-Arab relations; the US position and its protection of Israeli interests without taking into consideration Arab aspirations.”

Jumblatt also said that he believes that political sectarianism is the main “flaw” of Lebanon’s political system, adding that “until political sectarianism is abolished, consensus democracy is the best way forward.”

He stressed that the gradual elimination of sectarianism in key positions allows minorities, whether Muslim or Christian, to play a role in Lebanon’s politics.

On Monday, Hezbollah Secretary General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said abolishment of political sectarianism was the “basic condition” for the establishment of a true democracy in which the majority rules and the minority opposes.

“Political sectarianism is blocking the development of the Lebanese political regime and standing as an obstacle in the face of a democracy where the majority rules and the minority opposes,” Sayyed Nasrallah said while reading his party’s new manifesto.

Speaker Nabih Berri’s recent proposal to put an end to political sectarianism has drawn a huge debate among the country’s factions.

Suicide bomber targets Naval Headquarters, three injured

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ISLAMABAD: Three security personnel were injured when a suspected suicide bomber tried to attack the Naval Headquarters in Islamabad on Wednesday,

Security officials at the main entrance of the headquarters of Pakistan Navy located at Margalla Road in Islamabad intercepted a suspected suicide bomber when he tried to enter the building. According to DawnNews, the bomber then blew himself up, injuring three security personnel.

15th Zee al-Hajjah, the Birthday Anniversary of Imam Ali-un-Naqi al-Hadi(A.S.)

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Imam Ali-un-Naqi al-Hadi (A.S.), the Tenth Holy Imam of the Shi’ites in the world who defended and safeguarded the Islamic Sharia from the innovations spread by the ruling Abbasid caliphs was born in the holy city of Madinah on the fifteenth day of the month of Zee al-Hajjah in the year 212 A.H.

On this Happy and Joyous event we extend our Heartiest Greetings and Felicitations to all the lovers and followers of the Holy Ahlul Bayt(A.S.) in the world.

Ahmadinejad: No One Can Isolate Iran

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Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Tuesday night that Iran is a country that cannot be isolated in any way because it enjoys unique characteristics. “No one can isolate Iran because global interactions and Iran’s unique characteristics in the Middle East will not allow such a move,” Ahmadinejad told Iran’s IRIB Channel One in a live interview.

“In an era when everyone wants globalization, talking about isolating countries indicates one’s lack of awareness or arrogance,” he added. “The Middle East is the most important region in the world from the economic, geographical, cultural, and historical perspectives,” Iran’s president stated. “Any state that wants to play a major role in global interactions must first of all have an effective presence in the Middle East,” Ahmadinejad said. Talk about isolating Iran “belongs to the past,” he noted

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Iran releases five British yachtsmen

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Officials in Tehran have freed five British yachtsmen who had illegally entered Iran’s territorial waters, Iranian media reported.

The five Briton, released on Wednesday, were detained on Nov 25 in southern Persian Gulf waters by Iran’s Revolution Guards Corps, a statement released by the IRGC said.

The IRGC interrogated the detainees and it became clear that they had inadvertently strayed into the Iranian waters.

UK Foreign Secretary David Miliband had earlier acknowledged that there legal justifications for the detention and dismissed speculations the issue was tied to Iran’s nuclear stand-off with the West.

He said the five were travelling from Bahrain to the United Arab Emirates to take part at a sporting event.

Miliband held talks with Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki late on Tuesday and called for formal consular access to the men and their speedy release.

Iranian officials insist they were arrested kilometers away from the route they had claimed, near the Iranian island of Siri.

Iran’s Bushehr Nuclear Plant Succesfully tested

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The long-delayed nuclear power plant in Bushehr has been tested successfully, a senior Iranian nuclear official said Tuesday. Continue reading →

Iran says to protest over IAEA nuclear resolution

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TEHRAN: Iran said on Tuesday it intended to take unspecified legal action over an IAEA rebuke of its nuclear activities and would provide Iranians with enough gasoline in order to trump any further UN sanctions.

The IAEA board angered Iran last week when it censured it for covertly building a second uranium enrichment plant near the holy city of Qom, in addition to its main IAEA-monitored one at Natanz, and calling for a halt to construction.

Tehran said on Sunday it would build 10 more uranium enrichment sites in retaliation for the vote by the 35-nation board of the UN nuclear watchdog, which had rare Russian and Chinese backing.

‘(Foreign Minister Manouchehr) Mottaki will declare the Islamic Republic’s appreciation or opposition to the (position of) members of the governing body in separate letters,’ Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast said at a news conference reported in official news agency IRNA.

He said Iran would complain to the countries that supported the resolution but that it would not cause a change in Iran’s relations with Russia and China, often seen as allies.

‘We will confront the resolution legally,’ he said, according to student agency ISNA, without giving more details.

The United States and its allies fear Iran’s nuclear energy programme could allow the Islamic Republic to develop nuclear weapons, thought Tehran says it has no such intention.

Iran has resisted a deal with Western powers that would see its low-enriched uranium sent abroad for processing into uranium for making fuel.

Though Russia has said it was ‘seriously concerned’ at the announcement of 10 planned new sites, it said this week it still planned to start up Iran’s first nuclear power station in March.

‘I don’t think Russia will face any problem. That’s what’s agreed upon,’ Mehmanparast said, reiterating that ‘all our nuclear activities will be under IAEA supervision.’

Western countries are threatening more UN sanctions on Iran which could targets its imports of gasoline. Though one of the world’s biggest producers, Iran does not have refining capacity to meet current domestic demand.

Iran says it will expand its own production and plans to cut costly subsidies in a bid to reduce public consumption.

‘Our plan is still being pursued, we must be on our own and provide our fuel ourselves,’ Mehmanparast said.

Iraqi journalist turns tables on shoe thrower

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PARIS: A protester who presented himself as an Iraqi journalist in exile hurled a shoe Tuesday at the colleague who one year ago found fame hurling his own footwear at then US president George W. Bush.

Television reporter Muntazer al-Zaidi was in Paris to promote his campaign for the ‘victims of the US occupation in Iraq’ when a fellow Iraqi critic turned the tables on him, shouting: ‘Here’s another shoe for you.’

The thickset man with an Iraqi accent made a brief speech in Arabic during the question and answer session, defending US policy and accusing Zaidi of ‘working for dictatorship in Iraq,’ before throwing his shoe.

The missile was thrown hard at Zaidi’s head, but he managed to dodge it and it bounced harmlessly off a curtain erected behind the speakers by the event’s hosts, the Foreign Press Welcome Centre in Paris.

Zaidi’s brother grappled with and slapped the man, whom witnesses later described as an asylum-seeker they know only as ‘Khayat,’ before venue staff and bystanders separated them and the aggressor was hustled away.

‘When I used this method, it was against the occupation. I did not use it against a compatriot,’ Zaidi complained. ‘I always knew the occupier and his lackeys would stop at nothing to get to me.’

Following the commotion, the news conference continued with Zaidi taking questions about his famous assault on Bush on December 14 last year, which was shown around the world and made him a hero in the Arab world.

Zaidi, a journalist for Iraq’s Al-Baghdadia television, threw his shoes at Bush during the US leader’s final visit to Iraq, protesting the six-year-old occupation with a cry of: ‘This is the farewell kiss you dog.’

He was seized on the spot by Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki’s bodyguards and alleges he was tortured for three days: beaten with iron bars and chairs, tied up with cables and subjected to a mock drowning.

The 30-year-old member of Iraq’s Shia majority was jailed for nine months and was flown out of Iraq by his employers shortly after he was freed.

At his appearance in Paris, organised by the Arab Press Club, he said he is staying in Geneva for medical treatment for broken teeth, stomach complaints, fractures and torn back ligaments that he suffered.

After his treatment, he said, he would like to return to Iraq to found a charity to support those he called the ‘victims of the US occupation’ of his country, in particular the widows and orphans left by American attacks.

Zaidi’s shock action was rebroadcast repeatedly around the world and made him an instant hero among Iraqis and others who felt that Arab honour had been violated by the US occupation of Iraq.

Introducing his guest at the packed Paris press conference, the president of the local Arab Press Club, Kamal Tarabay, said Zaidi’s ‘audacious gesture’ made him a ‘hero of the resistance against the occupier.’

Some of those present applauded him, but several Arab reporters complained that while his protest was legitimate for an activist, a journalist should have behaved more professionally.

Zaidi was unrepentant, insisting that given the opportunity he would do the same again to Bush’s successor, US President Barack Obama ‘whatever the colour of his skin, his origin or his religion.’

Asked about the huge sums and even offers of marriage made by admirers during his jail term, Zaidi said he had asked his family to refuse all gifts ‘until I find a way that they can be passed on to the people of Iraq

Six houses destroyed, nine militants arrested in Khyber

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KHYBER: Security forces arrested nine militants, destroyed six houses and three explosive-laden vehicles during an operation in Bara Tehsil of Khyber Agency, on Wednesday.

According to security sources, the operation against militants in Bara Tehsil has been going on for the last nine days.

A curfew has also been imposed in the area.

Sources also said that at least 65 militants have been killed and 96 arrested during the last nine days of this operation.

Obama sends 30,000 troops to Afghanistan, eyes pullout

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WEST POINT: US President Barack Obama ordered an additional 30,000 US troops into Afghanistan on Tuesday night, but balanced the buildup with a pledge to impatient Americans to begin withdrawing US forces in 18 months.

Obama unveiled his plans in a long-anticipated, high-profile speech broadcast from the US Military Academy at West Point, New York, in what could become a defining moment of his presidency and a political gamble that may weigh heavily on his chances for a second White House term.

The president said his new policy was designed to ‘bring this war to a successful conclusion.’

The troop buildup will begin almost immediately —the first Marines will be in place by Christmas —and will cost $30 billion for the first year alone.

‘We must deny al-Qaida a safe haven,’ Obama said in articulating US military goals for a war that has dragged on for eight years.

‘We must reverse the Taliban’s momentum. … And we must strengthen the capacity of Afghanistan’s security forces and government.’

The speech represents the beginning of a campaign to restore support for the war effort among an American public grown increasingly pessimistic about success —and among some fellow Democrats in Congress wary of or even opposed to spending billions more dollars and putting tens of thousands more US soldiers and Marines in harm’s way.

‘It is from here that we were attacked on 9/11, and it is from here that new attacks are being plotted as I speak,’ Obama said.

A new survey by the Gallup organisation, released Tuesday, showed only 35 per cent of Americans now approve of Obama’s handling of the war; 55 per cent disapprove.

The escalation —to be completed by next summer —is designed to reverse significant Taliban advances since Obama took office 10 months ago and to fast-track the training of Afghan soldiers and police toward the goal of hastening an eventual US pullout.

‘After 18 months, out troops will begin to come home,’ he said flatly.

The size and speed of the troop increase will put a heavy strain on the military, which still maintains a force of more than 100,000 in Iraq and already has 68,000 in Afghanistan.

‘The 30,000 additional troops that I am announcing tonight will deploy in the first part of 2010 the fastest pace possible so that they can target the insurgency and secure key population centers,’ Obama said.

The increased troops, Obama said, ‘will increase our ability to train competent Afghan security forces, and to partner with them so that more Afghans can get into the fight. And they will help create the conditions for the United States to transfer responsibility to the Afghans.’

Nato diplomats said Obama was asking alliance partners in Europe to add 5,000 to 10,000 troops to the separate international force in Afghanistan. Indications were the allies would agree to a number somewhere in that range.

The war has even less support in Europe than in the United States, and the Nato allies and other countries have about 40,000 troops on the ground.

Obama also leaned heavily on Nato allies and other countries to join in escalating the fight.

‘We must come together to end this war successfully,’ the president said. ‘For what’s at stake is not simply a test of Nato’s credibility. What’s at stake is the security of our allies, and the common security of the world.’

Obama’s nationally broadcast speech ends three months of exacting deliberations that won praise from supporters and criticism from opponents. Former Vice President Dick Cheney said Obama was ‘dithering’ in making a decision on commanding Gen. Stanley McChrystal’s September request for 40,000 new troops —10,000 more than Obama now plans to send.

Obama underscored his commitment to stabilizing Afghanistan and scouring corruption out of the government of President Hamid Karzai. Obama vowed to prevent Afghanistan from again becoming a safe haven for al-Qaida boss Osama bin Laden and his terrorist organisation.

Obama rejected critics’ arguments that the Afghanistan war was doomed like the long American war in Vietnam was, saying any comparison ‘depends upon a false reading of history.’

He said that unlike Vietnam, the US has been joined by a coalition of 43 nations in Afghanistan and is not facing a broad-based popular insurgency.

The president argued that the most important difference with Vietnam is that ‘the American people were viciously attacked from Afghanistan, and remain a target’ for al-Qaida extremists.

Most of the new forces will be combat troops. There will be about 5,000 dedicated trainers in the 30,000 troops, showing the emphasis on preparing Afghans to take over their own security.

And the president is making clear to his generals that all troops, even if designated as combat, must consider themselves trainers

November 2009 – least bloody month in Iraq

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November was the least bloody month in Iraq since the 2003 US-led occupation, official figures showed Tuesday.

According to AFP, official data compiled by the ministries of defense, interior and health indicated that a total of 122 people died last month, comprising 88 civilians, 22 policemen and 12 troops.

The figures are markedly lower compared to October, when violence killed a total of 410 people across Iraq. “We are delighted with the decrease in the number of victims of terrorism but we will only be happy when we eliminate all threats,” Ali Mussawi, an advisor to Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, told AFP.

In addition to those who died in attacks in November, 332 civilians were hurt along with 56 policemen and 44 soldiers. The previous lowest monthly death toll was in May, when 155 people were killed, including 124 civilians.

Iran condemns Swiss minaret ban

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Iran describes the Swiss referendum banning the construction of minarets in the country an “Islamophobic act” and a blow to the religious freedom declared in the West.

“We consider such acts as inappropriate … a move that is against the western claims of democracy and religious freedom,” Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast said on Tuesday.

Speaking at his weekly press briefing in Tehran, Mehmanparast said “surprisingly some of the actions of the West have Islamophobic roots.”

A clear majority of 57.5 percent of the Swiss population and 22 out of 26 cantons (provinces) on Sunday voted in favor of the ban on the construction of minarets — a distinct architectural feature of Islamic mosques from which Muslims are called to prayer.

The country’s largest party, the nationalist Swiss People’s Party (SVP) and the Federal Democratic Union joined forces to convince people that the minaret posed a threat to Switzerland’s future.

In their campaign posters, allowed under freedom of speech despite their Islamophobic depiction, the Swiss flag is seen covered with missile-like minarets next to a menacing figure of a woman cloaked in a black burqa.

Switzerland is home to some 400,000 Muslims and only four minarets.

The government acceded to the vote, saying, “The Federal Council (government) respects this decision. Consequently the construction of new minarets in Switzerland is no longer permitted.”

Amnesty International said last week that “the ban on the construction of minarets would breach Switzerland’s obligations to uphold freedom of religion.”

“A change in the constitution which would provide for the blanket ban on the construction of minarets must be soundly rejected. Such a move is important as it will reinforce the equality of rights for all people living in Switzerland,” said Europe and Central Asia Programme Director at Amnesty International, Nicola Duckworth.

Iran– 5 British Nationals Arrested in Persian Gulf

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The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) has arrested five British nationals for trespassing Iran’s territorial waters in the Persian Gulf, a senior IRGC commander announced on Tuesday.

“Confrontation with alien forces and arresting them is a responsibility of the IRGC,” IRGC Navy Commander Alireza Tangsiri told FNA in the port city of Bandar Abbas in southern Iran.

Noting that the incident has not yet been relayed to the media, the commander stressed that more details on the issue will be released soon.

Meantime, Britain announced that Iranian authorities had seized five British sailors after their racing yacht strayed into Iranian territorial waters.

The group was sailing a 60-foot Volvo racing yacht from Bahrain to Dubai last Wednesday when they were “stopped by Iranian naval vessels,” the British Foreign Office said in a statement. “The yacht was on its way from Bahrain to Dubai and may have strayed inadvertently into Iranian waters. The five crew members are still in Iran.”

Later on Tuesday, Britain said that there was no discussions underway with Iran after the Islamic Republic detained the five Britons.

“There is certainly no confrontation or argument. As far as we are aware these people are being well treated, which is right, and what we would expect from a country like Iran,” Foreign Secretary David Miliband told BBC Radio 4.

“We understand that the Iranian government is investigating the incident, which is perfectly reasonable, and then we would look forward to it being promptly sorted out.”

Saudi Wahhabis release a Shia Doctor after short arrest

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Saudi police in Madinah, West of Saudi, released on Tuesday a Shia physician after 24 hour detention as a result to disputes with religious police at the Baqi’ cemetery.

Sources informed Rasid that religious police at the Baqi’ cemetery detained three Shia citizens: Dr. Musa Al-Zahir, Hussain Abdulatif and Abbas Al-Janoobi, all of which are Qatif residents.

All three detainees are from Awamia and they were in a visit to Madinah after returning from Hajj.

Al-Abdulatif and Al-Janoobi were released shortly after their arrest whereas Dr. Al-Zahir was only released after bail.

Shia pilgrims from the heavily Shia Eastern Province visiting Madina are often clash with Sunni religious police at the Baqi’ cemetery over doctrinal differences concerning the rituals surrounding commemoration of the dead.