Terrorists target Lahore’s Ahmadi worshippers; 70 dead

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JNN 28.05.10 LAHORE: Gunmen attacked worshippers from the Ahmadi community in two worship places of Lahore on Friday, taking hostages and killing at least 70 people, officials said.

The gunmen opened fire shortly after Friday prayers and threw what could have been grenades at two Ahmadi worship places in residential neighbourhoods in Pakistan’s cultural capital.

Sajjad Bhutta, deputy commissioner of Lahore, said at least 70 people had been killed in the twin attacks on worship places in Garhi Shahu and Model Town. A total of 78 were injured.

The death toll at Garhi Shahu was higher, Bhutta said, because three attackers blew themselves up with suicide vests packed with explosives when police tried to enter the building.

Police are still searching the area as two attackers were still at large.

Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani strongly condemned the attacks, expressing “deep sorrow and grief over the loss of precious lives”.

Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif said the incidents would generate greater resolve to combat extremism.

“It’s a reminder to the nation that Pakistan will achieve its destiny only after we get rid of the worst type of extremism and fundamentalism,” he told a news conference. “The entire nation will fight this evil.”

He said one attacker had been arrested. Police in Model Town confirmed one gunmen had been arrested and another killed.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility, but suspicion quickly fell on the Pakistani Taliban.

“It’s too early to say who is behind these attacks,” said a Lahore-based security official. “But my guess is that like most other attacks, there would be some link to the Taliban or their associated militants.”

Punjab’s Law Minister Rana Sanaullah said the arrested attacker was a teenage Pashtun. This, he said, indicated a link to the tribal area of Waziristan and strongly hinted at a Taliban link.

“The prayer leader was giving a sermon when we heard firing and blasts. Everybody stood up and then two gunmen barged into the place of worship and sprayed bullets,” Fateh Sharif, a 19-year-old student, told Reuters from Model Town.

“They had long beards. They were carrying rucksacks.” Bhutta said a suicide vest laden with explosives was recovered from the Model Town worship place, where some attackers escaped. One fired at a television van before the area was made safe.

“He was young, clean-shaven. He sprayed bullets at our van while fleeing the scene,” Rabia Mehmood, a reporter told Reuters.

ATTACKS LAUNCHED AFTER PRAYERS

Witnesses said the assaults were launched shortly after prayers.

“I saw some gunmen run towards the Ahmadis’ place of worship and then I heard blasts and gunfire,” Mohammad Nawaz, a resident, told Reuters.

The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) said it had warned of threats against the Ahmadi community centre in Lahore for more than a year and demanded “foolproof security and protection” from the government.

It expressed concern over “the increasing sectarian dimension” of militancy in Pakistan, which it called “a big security threat to the entire society”.

Friday’s shootings were the worst attacks in Pakistan since March 12 suicide attacks seconds apart killed 57 people in Lahore while targeting the Pakistani military.

Nine attacks have now killed more than 220 people in Lahore over the past year, a historical city, playground for the elite and home to many top brass in Pakistan military and intelligence establishment.

A Momin Martyred By Banned SSP Terrorist Firing

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JNN 28.05.10 A Momin Shehzad Hussain was Martyred by the UnProvocative firing of Banned SSP Terrorists , on returning  from there Rally ,which was held on Masjid Siddiq Akbar , On there way back to this locality , they first chanted Slogans infront of the houses of the Shia Residents of the Area ,to Provoke the Shia residents of the Habib Bank Quarters , Orangi Town Ship 11 1/2 , and then fired straight on the people standing in the area , which resulted in fatal injuries to other, and one of them could not scumb to the bullet wounds , shot by the terrorists which were among the participants of the rally .

This Brutal and Terrorist Act is highly condemned by all the Leaders and the People of Shia Community , who have asked the Government to immediately arrest these terrorist , and bring them to justice , as this all was done in the presence of the Police and Rangers , who were escorting the rally.

Jafaria Alliance Pakistan hierarchy in meeting with the Government functionaries two days earlier ,  had already alarmed the government of the nefarious design of these Organisations , who are trying to create Panic and chaos , in the Economic Hub of Pakistan , Karachi, by there acts of  Terrorism to promote the design of there masters , who want to disintegrate and destabilize Pakistan , by fanning Sectarianism in the country.

The Government should take a serious action on this Act of Terrorism , as just doing lip service , will help the terrorist to go ahead in there nefarious design , who’s link have already been confirmed with the enemies of Pakistan and Islam .

Al-Azhar University at the Crossroads

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The grand structure of the thousand-year old al-Azhar University and Mosque stands majestically across the Nile River in the Egyptian capital Cairo. Like the Nile, it is the symbol of Egypt. Al-Azhar was built in 359 AH by the Shi’ite Muslim Fatemid dynasty that claimed descent from Hazrat Fatema az-Zahra (peace upon her) the immaculate daughter of Prophet Mohammad (blessings of God upon him and his progeny). Hence, Azhar is a derivative of Zahra which means the Radiant in Arabic. Over two hundred years later after its foundation al-Azhar along with Cairo and the whole of Egypt fell to the Kurdish invader Salaheddin Ayyoubi, who despite his expelling of the Crusaders from Bayt al-Moqaddas, persecuted Shi’ite Muslims and weakened the status of al-Azhar as the leading centre of Islamic teachings. Like the Mongols, who ravaged the eastern Islamic lands and destroyed the written heritage of Muslims, the Ayyoubids also burned hundreds of thousands of books in Cairo and other cities because of their prejudice towards the followers of the Prophet’s Ahl al-Bayt or Blessed Household. Thereafter, al-Azhar turned into a centre of Sunni teachings, especially following the fall of Muslim Spain to the Christians that made the scholars of Andalusia flock to Egypt. Gradually, over the centuries, al-Azhar emerged as a centre of different sciences but it was soon to lose its independent status. In 1954, Egyptian ruler, Jamal Abdun-Nasser, seized the control of al-Azhar and ended its independence by placing it under direct control of the state with the power to appoint and dismiss its Dean. Ever since al-Azhar has became a tool of ruling Egyptian regimes.

However, despite state control al-Azhar’s international fame has remained as students and scholars from various countries come to Egypt to learn. It started branching into other fields of science in the early 1950s before the state takeover, especially when the then Dean Sheikh Mahmoud Shaltout founded the colleges of medicine, technology and science. His other measure was setting up of a special centre of learning for female students at al-Azhar. Another important measure of Sheikh Mahmoud Shaltout was to strengthen Islamic unity by recognizing the Ja’fari or Shi’ite Muslim jurisprudence as one of the five mainstream schools of Islam. It is also interesting to note that in the 1920s and 1930s the then Dean of al-Azhar, Sheikh Hasan al-Bishri, had a long correspondence with Lebanon’s famous Shi’ite Muslim scholar, Allamah Seyyed Abdul-Husain Sharafeddin al-Muwavi, which resulted in the publishing of the famous book, al-Muraja’at that has been translated into English as the “Right Path”. It is a very fascinating Sunni-Shi’ite dialogue with convincing proofs for strengthening Islamic unity, and has been translated into major world languages.

Last March, following the death of Dean Mohammad Tantawi, the Egyptian government has appointed Ahmad at-Tayyeb as the new Dean. The change comes at a crucial time when President Hosni Mubarak who has ruled Egypt for almost the past three decades with American support and by crushing all opposition, is grooming his son Jamal to take over the presidency. It is also unfortunate that al-Azhar, despite its Islamic prestige, never objected to the policies of President Mubarak including his over dependence on the Americans, his relations with the illegal Zionist entity, his building of the steel wall on the borders of the Gaza Strip to deny access to the outside world to the besieged Palestinians, and his banning of the popular Islamic Brotherhood party and other Islamic groups from actively participating in the country’s political process. As a result, al-Azhar has seen the eroding of its credibility, both among the Egyptian people and in the Muslim. It would be interesting to see what policies the new Dean will follow, especially when Mubarak is facing tough challenges to his rule from all quarters with calls for change and not dynastic rule by the Egyptian Muslims.

Observers, however, consider Sheikh Ahmad at-Tayyeb as an apolitical person more interested in scholarly pursuits and solidarity among Islamic schools of jurisprudence. According to Secretary-General of the Tehran-based World Assembly for Proximity among Islamic Schools of Jurisprudence, Ayatollah Mohammad Ali Taskhiri, the new Dean of al-Azhrar opposes extremist or Takfiri/Salafi ideas that brand other Muslims as infidels. But Ahmad at-Tayyeb has taken illogical and irrational stances, perhaps on government orders or under pressure from extremist groups inside and outside al-Azhar. In an interview with the Saudi/Wahhabi funded al-Arabiyya TV channel, he said al-Azhar counters any effort for spread of Shi’ite Muslim teachings in any Muslim state. This is not surprising in view of the fact that last year Saudis provided 86 million dollars to al-Azhar. It should be recalled that the late Sheikh Tantawi had explicitly aired his views against Wahhabism, saying there is no such denomination in Islam. Thus it would be interesting to see how the new Dean confronts Wahabbi/Salafi ideas, especially in view of the tendency towards the teachings of the school of the Prophet’s Ahl al-Bayt among Egyptians who centuries ago used to be Shi’ite Muslims. This revival has alarmed both the Egyptian government and the Saudis who are pressuring Sheikh Ahmad at-Tayyeb Wahabbi to bow to their dictates at the expense of Islamic solidarity.

Mashal: Palestinians won't abandon their rights

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In response to the US plan of settling the Palestinian refugees in other countries permanently, senior Hamas official, Khaled Mashal, has noted that: “We would never abandon our rights.”

According to IRIB, the Head of the Political Bureau of the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement, Hamas, Khaled Mashal, in the nationwide congress of the Popular Front of the Liberation of Palestine held in Yarmouk refugee camp in Damascus on Wednesday said the people of Palestine would never abandon their rights especially the right to return to their homeland.

In the ceremony held in the presence a number of Palestinian combatant groups and several leading cultural and religious figures in Syria, Mashal added that the Palestinians would continue resistance.

The Hamas official said the Israeli regime cannot declare war against the region or even against Gaza because it knows well that we will turn Gaza into the graveyard of the Zionist forces.

Iran FTZ exports rise 36-fold

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JNN 27.05.10 Iranian Commerce Minister Mehdi Ghazanfari says exports from the country’s free trade zones (FTZ’s) have grown 36-fold over the past few years.
He said the role of free zones in the nation’s economy needs to be revisited.
“There are two different standpoints on free zones”, Ghazanfari was quoted by IRNA as telling reporters.
“In one point of view, free zones are regarded as a launch pad for exports; from the other vantage point, free zones are seen as playing a role in re-exporting goods.”
Based on the second viewpoint, some countries boost the inflow of investment funds by rendering proper commercial services, and re-export Iranian commodities to other nations around the world, a role that Iranian free zones are deprived of, the commerce minister added.

He underlined Iranian free zones should play a more active role in re-exporting goods

Pakistan lifts ban on YouTube

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JNN 27.05.10 ISLAMABAD: Pakistan unblocked popular video sharing website YouTube late Wednesday after banning it in the wake of public outrage over “blasphemous” content.

“YouTube has been unblocked, but the links to sacrilegious content would remain inaccessible inPakistan,” Khurram Mehran, Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) told AFP.

Earlier interior minister Rehman Malik said Pakistan was to lift a ban on Facebook and YouTube in the next few days.

The PTA banned access to Facebook and YouTube and other links, and restricted access to Wikipedia, last week over what it called “growing sacrilegious content”.

Malik said Wednesday pages containing blasphemous material would remain blocked but the ban on popular sites including Facebook and YouTube would be lifted in the next few days.

“We discussed this matter in the cabinet meeting today. I told my colleagues that blocking the websites was not the right thing,” Malik told AFP.

“I said that only particular pages that contain blasphemous material should be blocked, not the entire website,” said Malik, adding that in next few days both Facebook and YouTube would be unblocked.

A government statement later said the federal cabinet “strongly condemned” the sketches of Prophet Mohammed and ordered that such material should not be accessible in Pakistanover the Internet.

“The cabinet strongly condemned the blasphemous caricatures on a specific website and directed the Ministry of IT (Information Technology) to ensure that such blasphemous material is not allowed to appear on the Internet in Pakistan.”

When a Facebook user decided to organise an “Everyone Draw Mohammed Day” competition to promote “freedom of expression”, it sparked a major backlash among Islamic activists in the South Asian country of 170 million.

Islam strictly prohibits the depiction of any prophet as blasphemous and the row sparked comparison with protests across the Muslim world over the publication of satirical cartoons of Mohammed in European newspapers in 2006.

Several thousand Pakistanis took to the streets at the behest of religious groups to protest.

In the wake of the Prophet Mohammed controversy, Pakistan blocked hundreds of web pages to limit access to “blasphemous” material, banning access to US-based Facebook and YouTube — the two most popular websites in the country.

A court in the eastern city of Lahore ordered the block on Facebook until at least May 31, when it is scheduled to hear a petition from Islamic lawyers.

Although none of the protests has mobilised the masses, sporadic demonstrators have continued to vent anger in Karachi and other cities.

Pakistan also briefly banned YouTube in February 2008 in a similar protest against “blasphemous” cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed

Mosque at Ground Zero (9 11 World Trade Center site )gains 1st approval

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JNN 27.05.10 After a heated four-hour meeting, a New York community board has endorsed a plan to build a mosque and Islamic cultural center close to Ground Zero of the World Trade Center attack.

Community Board 1, which represents the area of lower Manhattan that includes Ground Zero, voted 29 to 1 on Tuesday to back the proposal, with 10 abstentions, the Associated Press reported.

Supporters, including Manhattan borough president Scott Stringer, say the proposed center, called Cordoba House, would show tolerance for all religious groups and the space would encourage a moderate interpretation of Islam.

By supporting the multi-faith community and cultural center, the board “sent a clear message that our city is one that promotes diversity and tolerance,” Stringer said in a statement, AP reported.

However, some critics of the plan consider it to be an affront to the victims of the attack to build a Muslim religious space so close to Ground Zero and have said it would be a monument to the terror attacks.

“The pain never goes away,” C. Lee Hanson, 77, whose son Peter was killed in the attacks told The New York Times. “When I look over there and I see a mosque, it’s going to hurt. Build it someplace else.”

The vote, although only a recommendation, is seen as an important barometer of community sentiment since the organization wishing to build the mosque must also obtain approval from the Landmarks Preservation committee because the building it has bought and intends to modify was built in the 1850s and is under consideration to be classified as a “historic landmark.”

Yemen releases 200 Shia Houthi fighters

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The Yemeni government has released about 300 detainees belonging to the Shia Houthi fighters in the north and separatists in the south of the country.
Official Saba news agency reported Tuesday that 200 Shia Houthi fighters detained in Sa’ada Province and 98 separatists arrested “for participation in unrest in certain provinces of the south” had been released.
The releases came as part of an amnesty initiative introduced by Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh on Friday. The initiative is expected to apply to a total of 800 southerners and 2,000 fighters in the north, AFP reported.
The president, who has called on “all those released to be good citizens and to respect the constitution and law” had previously proposed the creation of a unity government which includes opposition parties.
The Shia Houthis accuse the government of corruption and discrimination against the Shia minorities in the north, while Yemen’s Socialist Party has also been struggling to re-establish south Yemen as an independent state.
The conflict between the Yemeni government and the Shia Houthis peaked last November when Saudi Arabia joined forces with Sana’a to launch a major crackdown on the Shia fighters.
However, Yemen has been experiencing relative peace since the government and the Shia Houthis signed a ceasefire in February.

The Yemeni government has released about 300 detainees belonging to the Shia Houthi fighters in the north and separatists in the south of the country. Official Saba news agency reported Tuesday that 200 Shia Houthi fighters detained in Sa’ada Province and 98 separatists arrested “for participation in unrest in certain provinces of the south” had been released. The releases came as part of an amnesty initiative introduced by Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh on Friday. The initiative is expected to apply to a total of 800 southerners and 2,000 fighters in the north, AFP reported.The president, who has called on “all those released to be good citizens and to respect the constitution and law” had previously proposed the creation of a unity government which includes opposition parties. The Shia Houthis accuse the government of corruption and discrimination against the Shia minorities in the north, while Yemen’s Socialist Party has also been struggling to re-establish south Yemen as an independent state. The conflict between the Yemeni government and the Shia Houthis peaked last November when Saudi Arabia joined forces with Sana’a to launch a major crackdown on the Shia fighters. However, Yemen has been experiencing relative peace since the government and the Shia Houthis signed a ceasefire in February.

Pakistan; Shia community starts Long March towards Quetta on 4th July

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(JNN) News Agency , The leaders of Pakistani Shia Community on Sunday warned that they would start a Long-March towards Quetta from across the country and besiege the Governor and Chief Minister house on July 4th, if their demands would not fulfill.

Addressing the meeting and protest rally organized by Shohda-e-Balochistan Organizing Committee to condemn the genocide of Shia Muslims in Balochistan, Tehreek-e-Jaffaria Chief Allama Syed Sajid Ali Naqvi, Majlis-e-Wahdat Muslimeen Secretary General Maulana Raja Nasir Abbas, Allama Ameen Shaheedi, PML-Q leader Marvi Memoon, Maulana Afzal Haideri, Shia Conference Balochistan leader Ashraf Zaidi and others have condemned the genocide of Shia Muslims in Balochistan.

The leaders pointed out that law and order situation in Balochistan was out of control from the provincial government and demanded of the federal government to immediately sack the Balochistan Government over their failure to control the genocide of Shia Muslims in Balochistan Province.

Shia leaders demanded of the government to take stern action against perpetrators involved in the incidents of target killings of Shia Muslims in Balochistan especially in Quetta and Mastung.

They warned that Shia community would march towards Quetta and besiege the Governor and Chief minister house on 4th July, If the government will not taken the action against the terrorists and not fulfill the demands of Shia community till June 20th.

Allama syed Sajid Ali naqvi said that conspiracies had been hatched from the very beginning against the Shia community, while act of barbarism against shia community in Quetta and Mastung were highly condemnable.

He said that Shia c ommunity was played a significant role in development of Pakistan and had never become a part of any conspiracy hatched against the country.

He said that they had raised voice against the incidents of target killing on every platform but the incidents of target killing were still on the rise and government was silent over  the genocide of Shia Muslims in Pakistan.

He warned that we could stop the other way of protest, if the target killings of Shia people would not stopped.

Majlis-e-Wahdat-e-Muslimeen Leader Allama Raja Nasir Abbas said that those who violated the constitution of the country should be brought to justice and added that the rulers had badly failed to ensure the safety and security of the people.

“Agent s of Israel, India and Uniuted States were started the conspiracies to harm Pakistan, but we will foil their evil designs against the country,he added.

Criticising the Balochistan Government, Raja Nasir Abbas said that Balochstian Government was miserably failed to provide security to the people particularly Shia community and added that if action was not taken against the terrorists  and their patrons involved in the target killings of Shia community till June 20, then the people belonging to Shia community from across the country would initiate  long march towards Quetta and besiege the Governor and chief Minister house on 4th July.

The participants of the both meetings also adopt many resolutions seeking termination of Balochistan Government forthwith and immediate arrest of perpetrators and action against banned outfits.

Israel Can’t Take My Ice Cream Stick from Me Anymore 1982 when Israel invaded Lebanon.

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1982 when Israel invaded Lebanon. I was nine years old and my father had promised to give me half a Lira (Lebanese pound) to buy ice cream. But the footage showing Israeli tanks crossing the border into south Lebanon was enough to deprive me of my treat for the rest of the day and deprive southerners of their freedom for the next 18 years. I’m not sure about the relevance of this lead to the rest of the article, but I think this retrospection is as useful as looking at the post 2000 withdrawal of Israeli occupation forces from most of south Lebanon.

The pullout was not just an event; it was a historic precedent. True, Israel withdrew from Jordan and Sinai after Amman and Cairo were coerced to sign agreements with the triumphant, undefeatable, and arrogant Zionist state.

THEY FLED UNDER RESISTANCE STRIKES, NOT IN LINE WITH UNSCR 425
However, this was not the case in Lebanon. After 18 years of occupation and war of attrition waged by the resistance, Israel decided to cut its losses and escape, yes escape. “It wasn’t a withdrawal and it wasn’t a retreat…We ran away, pure and simple,” Col. Noam Ben-Tzvi, the last commander of the Israeli occupation forces western sector in south Lebanon, told Haaretz last week. Ben-Tzvi was not in denial; he did not attribute the withdrawal to Israel’s implementation of UN Security Council resolution 425 that stipulates Israel withdraw from Lebanon after its first invasion in 1978.

“Hiding behind UNSC resolutions has always been an Israeli policy,” Lebanese political analyst Michel Samaha told Al-Manar Website. “Then Prime Minister Ehud Barak and his Foreign Minister David Levy were maneuvering with the military leadership and they went to negotiate with UN S.G. Kofi Annan to cover the Zionist state with another international resolution that binds it to implement resolution 425 on the one hand and set new conditions on Lebanon. However the strikes of the resistance and its operational performance in the south forced Israel’s political and military echelons to make a dramatic 24-hour pullout before issuing a new UN resolution,” Samaha added.

LARSEN INVENTED THE BLUE LINE
Still, Israel sought to persuade the international community that its withdrawal was in line with the Truce Line as stipulated in the Truce Agreement signed between Lebanon and Israel in 1949. “Annan and then US Secretary of State Madeline Albright conspired to send Terje Rød-Larsen to delineate a Blue Line instead of implementing resolution 425. The aim was to make the pullout look like a full withdrawal according to the Truce Line. So Larsen invented the Blue Line and the Lebanese government cried foul because of the many gaps that kept Lebanese areas, including strategic spots and water sources, under occupation,” Samaha said.

“Our main concern was to determine the international border, but the Israeli enemy had changed the landmarks in several border areas,” Ret. Gen. Amine Hotait, who was the head of the committee to verify the Israeli pullout, told Al-Manar Website. “We started our mission based on official maps, but the Israelis made use of the so called ‘rolling borders’ and sought to delineate a new line that served its avarice, so it demanded a delineation based on more advanced methods. The United Nations adopted the Blue Line but we refused to recognize it as the international border since it missed at least 13 points. After tough negotiations we managed to gain back ten points, and three points remained outstanding: Rmeish, Odayseh, and Metula,” Hotait said.

From a legal point of view, the Blue Line is of no value and does not establish any right for any party. “The idea of the Blue Line was terminated when the Lebanese committee concluded its mission,” the retired general explained.

THE ISRAELI WITHDRAWAL HAD ITS IMPLICATIONS
Speaking to Al-Manar Website, expert in Israeli affairs Helmi Moussa said that some Israeli leaders still have their regrets because the withdrawal was unilateral and without agreement. “The existential threat is cumulating in Israel because of this pullout, especially that their home front has since then become a target for rocket attacks, when prior to the withdrawal they only had to sacrifice 25 to 30 soldiers on yearly basis to preserve their home front security,” Moussa, who writes for the Lebanese daily Assafir, said.

ISRAEL IS WEAKER THAN A SPIDER WEB
The Israeli pullout could not have materialized if it were not for the support of Iran, Syria, and the popular and official positions in Lebanon, particularly during the first term of President Emile Lahoud with PM Salim Hoss and then during Lahoud’s second term with PM martyr Rafiq Hariri. Nevertheless, the internationally backed Israeli move cleared the way for Tel Aviv to demand a similar pullout of Syrian forces from Lebanon and engage in “peace” talks. Israel’s incomplete pullout and its constant threat to Lebanon rendered the years-long pressure on Syria a failure. In 2005, Hariri was assassinated in Beirut and the Syrian leadership decided to speed up the pullout in that same year.

In 2006, Israel waged war on Lebanon with the aim to crush Hezbollah once and for all and to get even with the party’s Secretary General Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah who – in his famous speech in Bint Jbeil May 25, 2000 – described Israel as an entity ‘weaker than a spider web.’

“Sayyed Nasrallah’s speech in Bint Jbeil established three fundamental principles: First, he described Israel as an illusion and fixed the notion that Israel can be defeated while stressing the necessity to mobilize forces to confront and win over this enemy. Second, the resistance did not act as a party independent from the Lebanese but acted on their behalf because he did not ask for power sharing in return for the sacrifices and the victory; this is why Hezbollah was embraced by the people of Lebanon en route to the 2006 victory. Third, the resistance does not replace the state or its institutions, and this is why, unlike other revolutions throughout history, triumphant Hezbollah did not go on a vendetta spree against those who had collaborated with the Israeli occupation; it left this mission to the Lebanese authorities,” Ret. Gen. Amine Hotait told Al-Manar Website.

SLA AGENTS AND MOSSAD NETWORKS
The failed 2006 war proved Israel’s networks of Mossad agents in Lebanon were useless, and by 2010 dozens of these spy networks were dismantled.
“What’s been said recently about the fate of Antoine Lahed’s South Lebanon Army (SLA) and their suffering in occupied territories highlights another aspect of Israel’s weakness and failure to protect its agents as they promised them. In fact this negatively affects the performance of Israel’s Mossad (mainly in Lebanon) which constitutes the backbone of Israel’s security,” Helmi Moussa said.

“Shortly before the pullout, the Israeli enemy had grasped two facts: First, they cannot rely on their agents as the Israeli leadership predicted the SLA’s breakdown; surprisingly enough, this army of collaborators broke down much faster than Gabi Ashkenazi and his staff had expected. Second, the political and military leaderships were helpless vis-à-vis the sophisticated resistance which dealt the Israeli occupation army and the SLA very severe blows. This same helplessness was the main reason why the so called ‘Four (Israeli) Mothers’ Movement’ came to being and eventually pressured Tel Aviv to take the decision of immediate withdrawal,” Michel Samaha told Al-Manar Website.

MY ICE CREAM STICK THAT ISRAEL CAN’T TAKE AWAY FROM ME AND MY CHILDREN ANYMORE
Today Israel is still threatening Lebanon with war, carrying out large scale exercises to prepare its home front, and making replacements within the top military brass. The resistance leadership has expressed full readiness to deal Israel another blow should it decide to wage war. Syria and Iran have also warned Tel Aviv against making another “foolish mistake”. Until the next war begins and ends, Israel would continue to be the fake entity that destroyed armies and occupied countries in a matter of days, but then defeated at hands of a few determined men and women in Lebanon.

I’ve seen it in 2000 and I’ve lived it in 2006 and I know that what I had seen in 1982 is forever gone. Ever since liberation was fulfilled, I’ve never missed a Resistance and Liberation Day without having an ice cream stick, and today I’m seeing that my children follow suit.

Sayyed Nasrallah: Israeli bomb us, we bomb them, Israeli kill us, we kill them

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*** Sayyed Nasrallah: We believe we’ll achieve victory in next war and we’d change the face of the region
*** Sayyed Nasrallah: We don’t want war but we’re not scared of it
*** Sayyed Nasrallah: It is not likely Israel would wage a war against Lebanon
*** Sayyed Nasrallah: We are the ones who dictated the timing, scenario, and conditions for the enemy’s defeat and escape from Lebanon
*** Sayyed Nasrallah: Israel used to wage wars knowing that its home front was safe but this has ended in the wake of the 2006 war
*** Sayyed Nasrallah: In Any Next War, Only Israelis Fleeing From Occupied Palestine May Be Safe.                                                                                                     *** Sayyed Nasrallah: We believe we’ll achieve victory in next war and we’d change the face of the region
*** Sayyed Nasrallah: We don’t want war but we’re not scared of it
*** Sayyed Nasrallah: It is not likely Israel would wage a war against Lebanon
*** Sayyed Nasrallah: We are the ones who dictated the timing, scenario, and conditions for the enemy’s defeat and escape from Lebanon
*** Sayyed Nasrallah: Israel used to wage wars knowing that its home front was safe but this has ended in the wake of the 2006 war
*** Sayyed Nasrallah: In Any Next War, Only Israelis Fleeing From Occupied Palestine May Be Safe (JNN) News Agency , Hezbollah marked the tenth anniversary of the Resistance and Liberation Day Tuesday at the Sayyed Al-Shouhada compound in Beirut’s southern suburb. Official, religious, military, and popular figures attended the ceremony in which Hezbollah Secretary General Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah delivered a speech for the occasion and tackled recent developments in Lebanon and the region.

The Hezbollah chief set a new formula that will be adopted in any new war with Israel saying that Hezbollah will attack Israel-bound ships if the Zionist entity imposed a sea blockade on Lebanon. “When the world will witness how these ships will be destroyed in Palestine’s regional water nobody will dare to go there just as they will block (others) from coming to our coasts,” his eminence told thousands of supporters.

Sayyed Nasrallah’s comments came amid a five-day drill in Israel- dubbed “Turning Point 4”- which was launched on Sunday to test the home front  preparedness against possible missile strikes in any future war.

At the beginning of his speech, Sayyed Nasrallah paid tribute to the martyrs “who sacrificed their lives to realize this victory, namely Sayyed Abbas Mousawi, Sheikh Ragheb Harb, and Hajj Imad Moghniyeh.”  His eminence also thanked south Lebanon residents “who took part in municipal elections despite of the simultaneous Israeli maneuvers.” Iwould like to thank all the Lebanese who fulfilled the three-of-four phases of the elections and I ask Almighty Allah that the fourth round due Sunday in the north would smoothly,” his eminence said.

THEY SAW WITH THEY OWN EYES WHAT THEY USED TO RIDICULE
The Hezbollah chief divided his discourse into three parts: “The conflict with the enemy, the future, and position and formula which I am committed to and which will be added to the many formulae of confrontation with the enemy.”
Sayyed Nsrallah recalled that the 1982 Israeli invasion of Lebanon was part of a broader US-Israeli scheme. “In 2000, this scheme was thwarted. However they always have other schemes and they will go on plotting until they fall.”
He said that one of the plots was to build Israeli settlements in south Lebanon, “but thanks to the martyrs and particularly the self sacrifice martyrs, this never materialized. We all remember how the first year of the occupation was rife with Jihadi operations against the occupation in several regions and by more than one party and movement.”

The S.G. also reminded how some sides in Lebanon and the Arab world used to ridicule Hezbollah as of 1982 when its leaders spoke about the victory to come. “When Sayyed Moussawi said in 1991 that Israel has fallen and that it will move out of Lebanon humiliated, some used to mock at him. But the year 2000 came and the resounding victory came along, and now I ask all the Lebanese and the entire world: Who would have thought that Israel would withdraw from Lebanon humiliated? What was mocked by many has happened for real and all of you saw it.”

Sayyed Nasrallah said that some Arabs had been colluding against Lebanon before the 2000 pullout. “May 26 is another day and another different shape of the region. The Zionists realized this and Arab leaders as well. Israel revealed that some Arab official sides contacted Israeli counterparts to urge the Zionist entity not to withdraw with conditions. This is not strange because we know that in 2006, some Arabs contacted Israel and urged them not to stop the war so that Hezbollah and Lebanon would not come out victorious.”
ARMY-PEOPLE-RESISTANCE FORMULA YIELDED VICTORY
The Secretary General stressed that the formula that yielded victory was “the army, the people, and the resistance.” He said that Israel’s home front that used to be safe in most of the post wars, was no longer safe. “This era has ended,” his eminence stressed. “Today the Israelis, through their maneuvers, are trying to pacify their home front by trying to convince the people that they are strong and ready for any new war. Other argue and criticize the drills saying: Let’s see what the maneuvers will result in when rocket shower all of occupied Palestine.”

Sayyed Nasrallah explained that the Scud Missile transfer, “which I don’t deny or confirm,” was raised so the US Congress pays Israel $250 million for their ‘Iron Dome’ which is yet to be proven feasible. Others believe that the Israelis are afraid to wage war and they are concerned about its outcome. This is why the Israeli rhetoric reflects a tendency to calm things down in the north.”
“Israel used to wage wars knowing that its home front was safe. This has ended in the wake of the 2006 war. We have our home front and they have theirs. They bomb us, we bomb them. They kill us, we kill them. This is their strategic weakness today,” his eminence said.
EVEN CLINTON WARNED ISRAEL ABOUT ITS FUTURE
As for “the future”, Sayyed Nasrallah’s second point, the Hezbollah chief cited US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s speech at the AIPAC conference to address the Israelis on the one hand, and some Lebanese journalists who are still questioning the feasibility of the resistance facing Israel.

“Clinton said: In the face of these unforgiving dynamics of demography, ideology, and technology, it becomes impossible to entrust our hopes for Israel’s future in today’s status quo. These challenges cannot be ignored or wished away. Only by choosing a new path can Israel make the progress it deserves to ensure that their children are able to see a future of peace, and only by having a partner willing to participate with them will the Palestinians be able to see the same future. We cannot be blind to the political implications of continued conflict. There is today truly a struggle, maybe for the first time, between those in the region who accept peace and coexistence with Israel and those who reject it and seek only continued violence. The status quo strengthens the rejectionists who claim peace is impossible, and it weakens those who would accept coexistence. That does not serve Israel’s interests or our own. Those willing to negotiate need to be able to show results for their efforts,” Sayyed Nasrallah read.

His eminence continued to quote Clinton as she spoke about technology. “She finally says: we must recognize that the ever-evolving technology of war is making it harder to guarantee Israel’s security. For six decades, Israelis have guarded their borders vigilantly. But advances in rocket technology mean that Israeli families are now at risk far from those borders.” Sayyed Nasrallah elaborated by saying that manufacturing and acquiring missiles was not a complex process as it used to be. “It is not even costly; however it requires a political decision. Their patriots and their Iron Dome will not be effective against our missiles. The technological development today makes every town and every settlement within the Zionist entity under threat; this is what the Israelis cannot tolerate. Clinton was trying to puch the Israelis into striking a deal or a settlement. I believe that their arrogance and racism will push them into the abyss. Therefore, to those who claim they are intellectuals I tell them: that was Clinton, the US Secretary of State speaking. Those were the Americans telling the Israelis that if you don’t help us to make a settlement, a Jewish state will never exist in the future and you will never find anyone to strike a deal with you. We believe in the future that Clinton was preaching about.”
ISRAEL-BOUND SHIPS WILL BE ATTACKED IF LEBANESE PORTS WE BESIEGED IN ANY FUTURE WAR
Sayyed Nasrallah assessed the current situation based on the May, 2000 withdrawal.
“We are committed to the following position: After trusting in Allah, we have to be convinced that we are protecting our country with the will of our people and our national determination. The Lebanese government is making all necessary contacts to push away any danger Lebanon might be under. This is good and we agree with this, however, we should not bargain on this. The real bargain is on our national capability to defend and confront in the battlefield.”

The Hezbollah Secretary General concluded his discourse with the new equation that the resistance will be committed to. “We will tell the Israelis to be afraid of us. If the war, which we do not want, yet we are not scared of broke out, it will change the face of this region – and Clinton agrees with me. We previously said that the Israeli home front has become exposed and vulnerable and we know everything about it, therefore we know where to strike. In 2006, and even before this date, there were times when the Israelis besiege our shores. Israeli vessels used to deploy in Lebanese waters and besiege our shore; so today we add the sea to the terrain. I am not announcing that we possess a new weapon, but in 2006 we destroyed the Saar 5 vessel. What I am saying is that if you besiege our shore and our ports in any coming war, all of your military and commercial ships heading to Palestine will be under the fire of the Islamic Resistance across the Mediterranean. We are talking about the Mediterranean but we have not mentioned the Red Sea yet. We are determined to enter this new domain God willing. No one will dare sail to any port in occupied Palestine. However, if a ship with Israelis on board was leaving occupied Palestine, we might let it pass. They military power used to scare others, but not today because our hearts are as solid as a rock. Let us flip the picture around. Let us make Israel afraid and then seek for someone to reassure it. For those who are still calling for disarming the resistance I tell them that this rhetoric is behind our backs because it is useless. We shall confront the next war, we shall win and we shall change the face of this region,” Sayyed Nasrallah concluded.

The office of Grand Ayatollah Makarem Shirazi: Online answering to religious questions in English

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The office of Grand Ayatollah Makarem Shirazi announced a special time for answering to English users for online answering to religious questions. According to (JNN) News Agency –  The office of Grand Ayatollah Makarem Shirazi announced a special time for answering to English users for online answering to religious questions.

In order to facilitate for the users to access their answers easily and rapidly, department of the Estefta’at of His holiness’s office has prepared for honorable imitators thispage to gain their answers directly (by chat).

The scholars are available for English users’ everyday at 10 – 12 PM GMT +3:30.

Floods kill 115 in southern China

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BEIJING: A torrent of floods caused by heavy storms have killed 115 people in southern China, with 21 people still missing as weather reports show rains beginning to subside.

Emergency rescue teams have been dispatched across southern China to help the 685,000 people evacuated as a result of the flooding, which has caused £1.53 billion in damages, a statement on the Ministry of Civil Affairs website said.

But one official said the worst may be over.

“The rain was pretty severe earlier, but now the weather is improving,” said the official surnamed Chen who answered the phone at the Hunan Water Bureau information office. Like many Chinese officials he would give only his surname.

China’s rainy season, which began this month, follows the worst drought in a century for southern China’s Yunnan, Guizhou, Guangxi regions.

The drought affected 61 million people, leaving millions without drinking water and 12 million acres barren since last year.

The floods hit 13 provinces, including Guangdong, Sichuan and Zhejiang, and damaged more than 80,000 homes and affected more than 10 million people, said a statement posted on the State Flood Control and Disaster Relief Headquarters website.

China’s huge land mass means severe storms can cause floods in one region, while other parts of the country can experience drought.

Letter from CDHRAP to Amnesty International on Discrimination Against Shias

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Regarding the human rights conditions in Saudi Arabia , the committee for the Defense of Human Rights in the Arabian Peninsula (CDHRAP) respectfully urges you to raise concerns about religious freedom and related human rights.                                                                                                                                   JNN( News Agency), The chair of the Committee for the Defense of Human Rights in the Arabian Peninsula Mr. Mohammad Abul Azeem al-Hussain sent a letter to the Amnesty International urging it to raise pressing concerns about religious freedom in Saudi Arabia and to press the Saudi Arabian authorities to release the religious prisoners in Saudi Arabia .

The complete text of the letter follows:

Dear Amnesty International ,

Regarding the human rights conditions in Saudi Arabia , the committee for the Defense of Human Rights in the Arabian Peninsula (CDHRAP) respectfully urges you to raise concerns about religious freedom and related human rights.

The Saudi government continued to commit abuses against members of the Shi’a minority.

Despite Saudi government claims undertaking some limited reform measures , the Saudi government marginalizes and systematically discriminates against the Shia community in the country through implementation the policy of discrimination , and persists in banning all forms of public religious expression other than that of the government’s own interpretation of one school of Sunni Islam and even interferes with private religious practice.

The members of the Shi’a Muslim community suffer systematic political, social, cultural as well as religious discrimination.

In this letter , I would like to draw your attention to three specific cases.

1- Munir Baqir Ebrahim Al-Jassas, 30 years , a Shi’a human rights defender in Awwamiyah of al-Qatif , was still held in solitary confinement for seven months the intelligence service in Al-Dammam .

Al-Mahbahith al-‘Amma (General Investigations) of al-Qatif summoned Munir Baqir Ebrahim Al-Jassas on November 7, 2009, and held him in solitary confinement under the charge of criticizing the ill-treatment of Saudi government against Shiites through his website “Tahara” .

Some members of al-Mahbahith al-‘Amma raided Al-Jassas’s house  and confiscated his personal possessions .

Al-Jassas has had no access to legal assistance following his arrest , and has not been kept informed of charges against him .

2-  The citizen (Reza Abdul Aziz al-Ghasham ) 23 years , from the town of al-Mobarraz in al-Ahsa , was detained on 8 June 2008 when some members of al-Mahbahith al-‘Amma raided his bookshop , arrested him under the charge of trading Shi’a religious books.

Saudi authorities called his wife and subjected her to a long investigation. His father Sheikh Abdul Aziz al-Ghasham (a prominent Shiite religious scholar , Imam al-Montazar mosque in al-mobarraz town of al-Ahsa ) visited him for one time , and saw the signs of torture on his son’s body.

His family was not informed of the reasons of his arrest , also was denied family visit.

3- The Government continued to detain nine of Shi’a citizens ( Hani Abdul Rahim al-Saygh , al-Qatif / Sihat ; Abdullah Ahmad al-Jarrash , al-Qatif  / al-Qala’a ; Hussain Moghayis , al-Qatif / al-Bahari ; Abdul Karim Hussein al-Nemer  ,  al-Dammam , al-Ahsa ; Sayyid Mostafa alQassab , al-Qatif  / Mayyas ; Sayyid Fadhel al-Alawi , al-Qatif / al-Jaroudiyah ; Mustafa Ja`far al-Mo`llim , al-Qatif / al-Jaroudiyah ; Ali al-Marhoon , al-Qatif / al-Jaroudiyah ; Salih Mahdi Ramadhan ,  al-Qatif /al-Jaroudiyah ) in al-Ha’ir prison over thirteen years . They have been arrested as suspects in the aftermath of the 1996 bombing of the U.S. military installation at al-Khobar bombing without charges or trial.

The Saudi authorities actions against the mentioned detainees infringe on internationally guaranteed rights of freedom of expression and religion . Universal Declaration of Human Rights protects the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion .

These actions breach also the Saudi Law of Criminal Procedure which its third Article stipulates that:

No penal punishment shall be imposed on any person except in connection with a forbidden and punishable act, whether under Shari’ah principles or under the statutory laws, and after he has been convicted pursuant to a final judgment rendered after a trial conducted in accordance with Shari’ah principles.

Also the Law of Interrogation Authority and Public Prosecution in Article 3 which says : Monitoring and inspection of prisons, detention centers and any places where criminal sentences are executed, as well as hearing complaints of prisoners and detainees, insuring the legality of their imprisonment or detention and the legality of their remaining in prison or the detention centers after the expiry of the period, taking necessary steps to release those imprisoned or detained without a legitimate cause and applying the law against those responsible for such action .

We urge you to press the Saudi Arabian authorities to release the remaining religious prisoners in Saudi Arabia on humanitarian grounds .

Top Shia cleric Grand Ayatollah Sistani calls for "Unity"

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(JNN) News Agency, BAGHDAD — Iraq’s most influential Shiite cleric assured leaders of the Sunni-backed coalition that narrowly won the March election that no group will be excluded from the new government, representatives of the Iraqiya list said Sunday.

The 83-year-old Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani is revered by Iraq’s majority sect and carries great weight with the country’s Shiite politicians, who have dominated the Iraqi government since the U.S. invasion in 2003 that overthrew Saddam Hussein’s Sunni-dominated regime.

“Al-Sistani stressed national unity and … the importance of forming the government as soon as possible,” said Ayad Allawi, a secular Shiite who heads the Iraqiya coalition.

Speaking to reporters in Najaf after the meeting, Allawi said the cleric emphasized the next government should serve the people without “excluding and marginalizing any group,” in an apparent reference to the minority Sunnis, who have felt politically sidelined since 2003.

Al-Sistani also told Iraqiya leaders that he has “no veto” on which politicians serve, said a senior Sunni politician with Iraqiya, Tareq al-Hashimi.

Allawi’s list won the March 7 vote by two seats over Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s Shiite-led coalition. Neither bloc won a majority to form a government, although al-Maliki has come close by joining forces with another Shiite coalition. Allawi insists his bloc should get the first crack at forming a government.

Pakistani Shia Ulema Under Attack; Pakistani Shia Ulema: Main target of Quetta bomb explosion was Shia scholar Allama Najfi

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* 7 children, 3 women among those injured
* Shia Ulema Council says main target was Shia scholar Allama Najfi             (JNN)News Agency , Quetta, Pakistan: Two people were killed and 15 others, including women and children were injured in a bomb blast at the Quetta Airport Road.

In a statement issued soon after the blast, the Shia Ulema Council said  that the main target was renowned Shia scholar Allama Najfi who remained unhurt.

Official sources said unidentified men had planted an explosive device in a rickshaw, which was parked on the main intersection of the Airport Road. Two people including the rickshaw driver and a passenger died on the spot and 15 others, including three women and seven children who were on their way to a wedding in a passenger van were injured.

Police officer Mohammad Riaz said that it was possible that the passenger in the rickshaw, who died in the blast, was carrying the bomb, which exploded prematurely.

The bodies of the two men who were killed in the blast, as well as the injured were taken to government Sandman Hospital Quetta. Hospital sources said that three of the injured children were in a critical condition. Police and Frontier Corps rushed to the site soon after the incident and cordoned off the area.

Obama Gov't. in Serious Mishap on BP Laxity

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As the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico continues to assume alarming proportions, US officials are trading barbs and criticizing each other for lack of efficiency to tackle the issues that has led to an environmental catastrophe.

Louisiana’s Governor Bobby Jindal blamed energy giant BP and the federal government for failing to act fast and swift enough to protect the state’s coastlines from a massive undersea oil leak. He said that the US Coast Guard and BP were slow to make decisions and delayed supplying necessary clean-up equipment even as oil washes onto the state’s fragile marshland. Jindal, whose words were echoed by a number of local officials, said he was frustrated by the slow pace, stressing that the delays were unacceptable. Oil from a blown-out BP well in the Gulf of Mexico has been gushing into the sea for over a month. Already, oil had tarred 65 miles of the Louisiana’s coast.

In fact the involved companies have shown nothing but laxity to impede the progress of oil into the marshlands; a phenomenon that puts maritime life in the jeopardy of annihilation. Experts on coastal issues including environmentalist and academics have serious doubts about the plans to contain the detrimental effects of the oil leak. The US government has warned in case that BP does not abide by its commitment it will cancel contract with this company. Oil giant BP has faced mounting pressure to control a massive oil slick in the Gulf of Mexico after the US government threatened to take over the response to the month-old disaster. US Secretary of the Interior, Ken Salazar, said that if the government finds that BP is not doing what it is supposed to do, it will be pushed out of the way. Salazar underlined that BP is legally responsible for dealing with a ruptured pipe that has been gushing oil into the gulf from the wreckage of an offshore rig. He lashed out at BP for missing deadline after deadline as its latest attempt to cap the environmentally devastating leak was hit with further delays. The BP-leased Deepwater Horizon rig exploded on April 20, killing 11 workers, and sank two days later. Ever since, hundreds of thousands of gallons of oil, if not millions, have been spewing each day into the sea. The government of Barack Obama is now under the pressure of the public that calls for putting an immediate end to this environmental catastrophe. Republicans, despite affinity with the oil circle, attacked Obama for not being able to handle the issue. Former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin, who was governor of the oil-rich state of Alaska, accused Obama of being lax in his response to the disaster and suggested this was because he was too close to the lucrative offshore oil drilling industry.

Ahmadinejad: World in Need of Justice-based System

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Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, in a meeting with new Serbian Ambassador to Tehran Alexander Tacik stressed on Sunday that the world is in need of a justice-based and humanitarian system.

According to IRNA, he said that the world is entering a new era, and that all systems, thoughts and notions of the last 60 years have practically come to the end of the road due to their wrong view about man and the world and due to their unjust manner.

Underlining Tehran and Belgrade’s significant role in the establishment of a new world order, President Ahmadinejad said Iran and Serbia can have constructive and useful cooperation with each other in establishing new world orders on the basis of justice and humanity.

Dr Ahmadinejad further pointed out the Iran and Serbia’s memberships in such international bodies and circles as the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) provides a proper ground for the consolidation of cooperation and coordination between the two countries in the international arena.

On the bilateral ties, the Iranian president said there is no impediment to the further expansion of Iran-Serbia ties, and called for bolstering cooperation between the two countries in different bilateral and international levels.

Tacik, who submitted a copy of his credentials to President Ahmadinejad, underlined Iran’s central role in regional and international developments, and said “Serbia is willing to promote its ties with Iran in all fields.”

Tehran Declaration an Opportunity for Interaction and Dialogue

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President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Turkish Prime Minister Rajab Tayyeb Erdoghan, in a telephone conversation last night discussed the latest developments on the Tehran Declaration for nuclear fuel swap inked last week by Iran, Turkey and Brazil. According to IRIB, Dr Ahmadinejad hailed the Declaration as a new era in political and international equations that has created an excellent opportunity for moving toward interaction and dialogue for all parties involved. He stressed that in international interactions all countries should be able to use peaceful nuclear energy and nobody should have any atomic weapon. The Turkish prime minister, for his part, presented a report on his consultations and measures he had taken on the Tehran Declaration, stressing that Turkey will do its best to make it a good opportunity for the international community. The Islamic Republic of Iran has always sought a new atmosphere based on constructive cooperation and justice-based interactions in world equations through consultation and cooperation with friendly countries including Brazil and Turkey. The Tehran Declaration is a matter of importance due to the fact that it has created an opportunity for international cooperation within the framework of the rights of world nations. However, the US and its western accomplices have taken a hostile attitude toward the Tehran Declaration, in fact a stance diametrically opposed to the will and expectations of the world community. In other words, it is a shock in diplomacy as indicated by Iran’s Majlis Speaker Ali Larijani. The United States, the world’s most dangerously nuclear-armed power, is again trying to manipulate the UN Security Council to issue another set of illegal sanctions against Iran claiming that Tehran Declaration was not enough work to remove what it claims as ambiguities regarding Iran’s peaceful nuclear activities. US hypocrisy once more proved that Washington is trying to create an atmosphere of deception and fault-finding instead of respecting the will of the international community. In view of this, political observers believe that the Tehran Declaration has prepared a suitable ground for fuel swap that will provide necessary fuel for the Tehran University Medical Research Reactor in addition to opening a new chapter for interaction and consultations at the macro-politics level. Thus, Iran’s Majlis speaker has refuted any selective approach toward the Tehran Declaration and stressed support for the declaration only if all its articles were observed. He also made it clear that if opposite is the case, the Iranian parliament will reconsider the country’s goodwill stance regarding Iran-IAEA cooperation.

MQM wants ‘decisive action’ against mafias

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ISLAMABAD: The Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) has urged the government to set up Rangers’ posts in troubled areas of Karachi on a ‘permanent basis’ and take ‘decisive action’ against mafias operating in the city in order to stop targeted killings in future.

“We have identified some 40 sensitive areas where pickets of Rangers are needed to be set up on a permanent basis till the time the government takes a decisive action against criminal, land and encroachment mafias,” Federal Minister for Overseas Pakistanis and convener of the MQM Coordination Committee Dr Farooq Sattar told Dawn after meeting Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani with a party delegation here on Saturday.

Dr Sattar claimed that the prime minister had assured them that the government would take ‘decisive action’, but did not give any timeframe for it. “Let’s see when the government realises the need for it (action),” he added.

The demand for a decisive action has come from the MQM at a time when Awami National Party (ANP), mainly representing the Pakhtuns, and some other groups have started blaming the MQM for the violence in the city.

Dr Sattar is of the view that “land and encroachment mafias” are responsible for 80 per cent incidents of target killings in the city. He admitted that there was a possibility that some elements belonging to these mafias had taken refuge in political parties.

“We have told the prime minister that the time now has come to take necessary actions against criminal mafia,” Dr Sattar said, adding they had reminded the prime minister that the officials of law-enforcement and intelligence agencies in their recent briefings to the prime minister had identified the elements behind the target killing incidents that took place in Karachi every now and then.

The MQM leader said they had expressed their concern over the fact that the law and order committee formed by Sindh Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah in January, this year, had failed to hold any meeting. “We have urged the prime minister to take steps to end such target killings on permanent basis,” he said.

When asked to explain the term “decisive action”, the MQM leader without identifying any party or groups, said there was a need to take action against the members of land and encroachment mafias and those involved in drug business in Karachi.

Dr Sattar dispelled an impression that the recent incidents of target killings were ethnic based. “Had it been so, the violence should have been in the whole city. It is not the case. The trouble is only in the jurisdiction of some 15 police stations,” he added.

Dr Sattar said they also discussed the forthcoming budget during the meeting. He said the MQM wanted more allocations in the health and education sectors. Moreover, he said, the MQM also wanted to have a mass transit system for transportation in Karachi.

According to an official handout issued after the meeting, the two sides condemned the recent Karachi killings and called for identifying those elements, creating differences within the parties.
BUDGET: Mr Gilani said next year’s budget would be finalised in consultation with all the coalition partners. He said regular meetings with parliamentarians had greatly helped him reassess the requirements of the public and the functioning of the state institutions at all levels. He expressed confidence that in the light of these meetings the allocation of funds and implementation of projects/schemes, would be better managed and planned during the next financial years.
The prime minister said he would invite all the provincial chief ministers to a meeting with the entire finance team to finalize the issue of value added tax (VAT). He said in order to meet the increasing demand of the country the government had to look into new avenues to generate funds and to streamline financial matters.

The prime minister asked the MQM delegation to meet the finance advisor to give him all the proposals regarding forthcoming budget. He observed that the special packages for any region could only prove to be beneficial when all the stakeholders were on board. He urged that all the stakeholders should get together while finalizing mega projects of their respective areas so that its implementation could be executed within the prescribed time.

Mr Gilani said the government was already making every effort to overcome energy shortage, poverty, illiteracy, unemployment, inadequate health facilities, rural and regional backwardness. However, he added, it was a gigantic task and a challenge for the public representatives for which the spirit of nationalism and concerted efforts above party lines and political affiliation were required.

Mr Gilani stressed the provincial governments would have to work diligently and build up their capacity to bring about the change in the lives of the people. The PM said he would visit Orangi Town during his next visit to Karachi to see various projects.

The MQM delegation consisted of MNAs Syed Tayyab Hussain, Salahuddin, Khawaja Sohail Mansoor, S.A. Iqbal Qadri, Shaikh Salahuddin, Sufyan Yousuf, Dr Nadeem Ehsan, Waseem Akhtar, Abdul Rashid Godil, Dr Muhammad Ayub Sheikh, Syed Asif Hussain, Iqbal Muhammad Ali Khan, Sajid Ahmad, Dr Nahid Shahid Ali, Kishwar Zehra, Fouzia Ejaz Khan, Imrana Saeed Jamil and Shagufta Sadiq.

American moms thank Iran hospitality

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JNN 23.05.10  The mothers of the three Americans caught trespassing Iranian territory have expressed gratitude for Tehran’s hospitality during their stay in the country.

“We would like to express our sincere thanks to the Iranian government for allowing us to visit Shane, Sarah and Josh in Tehran. We greatly appreciate the kindness of the Iranian officials who did so much to help us during our all too brief stay,” read a joint statement by Nora Shourd, Laura Fattal, and Cindy Hickey on Saturday.

The three American women, who were speaking to reporters upon their return from a trip to Iran, said they were “extremely relieved” to see for themselves that their children were in good health and being well-treated while in Iranian custody.

Shane Michael Bauer, Joshua Felix Fattal, and Sarah Emily Shourd were arrested on July 31, 2009 after crossing the Iranian border from Iraq’s Kurdistan region.

They were later charged with espionage after Tehran Prosecutor General Abbas Jafari-Dolatabadi found “compelling evidence” that the three had actually been cooperating with the US intelligence services.

The US government, along with the families of the three Americans, has denied the claims, insisting that they were mere hikers who had accidentally crossed the Iranian borders.

On Thursday, the American mothers reunited with their children in Iran, after the Tehran government issued visas for them on compassionate grounds and in accordance with the Islamic codes of conduc

UK forces accused of helping Taliban

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JNN 23.05.10 Most of the Regional Command in the South of Afghanistan will be shifted from the UK to the US, as British forces are accused of having links with the Taliban.

Based on new arrangements, British forces in the south that includes Kandahar province will be placed under American control as part of a radical restructuring plan being drawn amid a new phase of war against the Taliban.

US forces who are preparing themselves for a major strike on the Taliban in the volatile province of Kandahar are reluctant to see the British control the province.

British newspaper, The Independent, said that command in southern Afghanistan will be split in half, with UK troops answering to a US general from June 1.

According to some reports, the changes are made as the British have reportedly cooperated with the Taliban in recent years and allowed Afghan farmers to cultivate opium freely.

The reports say that the British forces were even involved in the process of drug trafficking itself.

Mullah Abdul Salam, a former Taliban official who has joined the Afghan government, publicly accused the British of assisting the Taliban.

He said the British command in the region at one point did not block a Taliban assault when they attacked Afghan forces under Abdul Salam’s command.

The former Taliban member said that in 2008, Afghan President Hamid Karzai expelled two European diplomats from the country because of their links with the Taliban.

The expulsion order was made after the pair — Michael Semple, an Irish EU official with extensive Taliban contacts, and Mervyn Patterson, a UN official from Northern Ireland — travelled to the town of Musa Qala in northern Helmand to meet Afghan powerbrokers, days after the Taliban fighters were driven out by British troops.

A source in Kabul said that the accusation against the men was made after President Karzai of Afghanistan was told that the pair were attempting to broker a deal with the Taliban behind his back.

Unnamed Afghan officials initially claimed that the pair had visited Taliban leaders, paid them, and may even have supported the militancy.

Saturday, 22 May 2010 15:16 IAEA Chief Supports Tehran Statement

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The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Chief, Yukiya Amano, has supported Tehran Statement regarding nuclear fuel swap.

According to Press TV, in a meeting with the Romanian Foreign Minister, Teodor Baconschi, the IAEA chief reassured that the joint statement of Iran, Brazil and Turkey will significantly help solve Iran’s nuclear issue.

Amano, in this meeting, emphasized that he is expecting to receive a letter about the practical details of Iran’s nuclear fuel exchange within the next week.

Iran announced on Friday that it intends to inform IAEA on the precise details of Tehran Statement.

Last Monday, Iran, Turkey, and Brazil signed a statement in Tehran, based on which Iran agreed with nuclear fuel exchange in Turkey’s soil, with due consideration of a few conditions.

Based on this statement, Iran delivers almost 1,200 kilograms of low-enriched uranium to Turkey in return for receipt of 120 kilograms of nuclear fuel needed by Tehran research reactor.

Tehran Statement has been highly welcomed by many countries, including Russia, China, and a number of figures such as UN chief.

OIC Summit Supports Tehran's Statement

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Iranian Foreign Minister, Manouchehr Mottaki said that the OIC foreign ministers have supported Tehran’s statement at the closing resolution of the OIC Foreign Ministerial Meeting.

According to IRNA, prior to his departure for Tehran, the Iranian foreign minister told reporters that the support of OIC secretary general and its members during this summit for Tehran’s statement regarding the nuclear fuel swap was significant and this issue shows Iran’s logical approach towards nuclear issues.

Mottaki also reiterated that Iran’s 12-point proposal to the OIC summit which included issues like confronting terrorism, peace, international security and sanctions, was also approved in the summit.

Further in his remarks, the Iranian foreign minister pointed to the decision to establish an Islamic human rights commission in the OIC and said that it Iran and Saudi Arabia are set to present the results of their bilateral talks over this summit to the next OIC Foreign Ministerial Meeting.

The 37th OIC foreign ministerial summit was opened in the Tajik capital, Dushanbe on 18th of May with the presence of 57 member delegates.

Tehran's Friday Prayers

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Tehran’s interim Friday Prayers Leader, Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati, has said with the issuing of the Tehran Declaration, Westerners have very little to say.

Speaking to a massive crowd of Friday prayers worshippers and the faithful in Tehran, Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati referred to the joint declaration by Iran, Turkey, and Brazil, and emphasized that those who accused Iran of developing nuclear weapons, have now realized that the country which is serious about nuclear disarmament, and is working to get rid of all nuclear weapons, is the Islamic republic of Iran, not the United States of America. Ayatollah Jannati added: “According to the founder of the Islamic republic, the late imam Khomeini, America is the first country to have committed a nuclear crime in the world”.

In further remarks, Tehran’s interim Friday Prayers Leader said according to the Tehran Declaration, 1200 Kilograms of low enriched uranium will be delivered to Turkey, under the supervision of the Islamic republic of Iran, and the International Atomic Energy Agency, and that the West must supply Iran with 20 percent enriched uranium, to be used for medical applications, in exchange.

Tehran’s interim Friday Prayers Leader added: “if the Westerners do not uphold their end of the bargain, Turkey must return all of the low-enriched uranium consignment to Iran immediately”.

Ayatollah Jannati went on to stress every country’s right to use nuclear energy for peaceful purposes, and pointed out that in the Tehran declaration Iran’s lawful right to peaceful nuclear energy has been explicitly acknowledged, and the declaration explicitly says the West does not have the right to threaten Iran, or go against the principles of the joint declaration.

5 low intensity explosions hit Lahore again

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JNN 22.05.10 LAHORE: Five low intensity bomb explosions hit Pakistan’s cultural capital Lahore late Friday but caused no casualties, police said.

“These were low-intensity bomb blasts. Nobody has been hurt, we have surrounded the area,” Shafiq Gujar, a senior police officer told AFP by telephone.

“The blasts occurred seconds a part. These were just to create panic,” he said and added that a small amount of local made explosive were used in these bombs.

Top US intelligence official resigns

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Dennis Blair, the US Director of National Intelligence, has announced his resignation after frequent clashes with White House officials.

His resignation came as he was put under pressure from the White House, ending a tumultuous 16-month tenure marked by intelligence failures and spy agency turf wars.

In a message Thursday to his work force, Blair said his last day would be May 28.

“It is with deep regret that I informed the president today that I will step down as director of national intelligence,” Blair said.

The administration has been interviewing candidates for the job for several weeks now. The likely candidate to replace Mr. Blair is James R. Clapper Jar a retired Air Force lieutenant general and the Pentagon’s top intelligence official, the New York Times reported.

In addition to Clapper, other likely candidates to replace Blair include John Hamre, undersecretary of defense from 1993 to 1997; Chuck Hagel, a former senator who co-chairs Obama’s Intelligence Advisory Board; Michael Leiter, Director of the National Counterterrorism Center; and Lee Hamilton, co-chair of the September 11 Commission, Reuters reported.

In his 16-month tenure as the DNI, Blair had angered the White House several times.

He was widely criticized in the case of the failed Christmas Day bomber, Abdulmuttalab, in which the White House laid particular blame on the National Counterterrorism Center, an agency supervised by Mr. Blair.

A recent Senate report on this plot was also particularly critical of the NCTC’s failures to piece together the information that could have prevented Abdulmuttalab, a young Nigerian man who nearly detonated a bomb on a trans-Atlantic flight on Dec. 25, from boarding the plane.

Dennis Blair is the first high-ranking member of the Obama national security team to leave.

Musharraf plans return to Pakistan and politics

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JNN 21.05.10 WASHINGTON: Pakistan’s former military ruler Pervez Musharraf said Thursday he planned to return from exile and re-enter politics, and did not rule out a new bid for the presidency.

Musharraf, who has mostly lived in London since losing power following 2008 elections, visited Washington this week and met quietly with prominent Pakistanis at a ritzy hotel to discuss his future plans.

In an interview with CNN, Musharraf said he intended to return to politics, although he was coy when asked about the time-frame.

“I certainly am planning to go back to Pakistan and also join politics. The question already of whether I am running for president or prime minister will be seen later,” he said.

Officials in Pakistan earlier said Musharraf had applied to register a new party with electoral authorities, setting the stage for a political comeback.

“There are security issues. Maybe my wife and my family is more worried than I am but there are security issues which one needs to take into consideration and that is why I’m not laying down any dates for my return,” he said.

“But I do intend launching and declaring my intentions formally, sooner than later,” he said.

But Musharraf could face a criminal trial if he returns to Pakistan for detaining judges in 2007 as he attempted to cling to power.

Musharraf is also wanted for questioning over allegations in a UN-led investigation that he could have done more to prevent the December 2007 assassination of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto.

Musharraf disagreed with the UN report, saying, “I think all the security was provided” to Bhutto.

“In fact, it was me who warned her about the threat to her,” Musharraf said.

Musharraf said he had previously stopped Bhutto from going to the venue where she was later killed.

“A lot of political aspersions were cast on me that her movements are being restricted. But she decided to go again,” Musharraf said.

Musharraf said that he fully supported the military campaign ordered by Zardari and Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani in the lawless northwestern tribal areas.

The operation has won wide praise in the United States, where officials were long suspicious that elements of the Pakistani establishment during Musharraf’s rule played a double-game of supporting extremists.

But Musharraf joined the government in criticizing the US deployment of unmanned drones to kill wanted extremists in remote parts of Pakistan.

Musharraf mused that Faisal Shahzad, the Pakistani-American accused of trying to set off a car bomb in New York’s Times Square, was angered by the drone campaign.

“I wonder whether this Faisal Shahzad incident… has he been affected by indiscriminate bombing by the drones?” Musharraf said.

Musharraf also backed the Pakistani government in banning Facebook over a furor about a page hosting caricatures of the Prophet Mohammed (PBUH).

“I am a great supporter of Facebook,” Musharraf said.

“And that is why my Facebook was launched and it’s going on very, very successfully,” said Musharraf, whose Facebook page has attracted more than 200,000 fans.

Asked by CNN whether the Pakistani decision to block Facebook was the right move, Musharraf said that “in Pakistan and in the Muslim world generally” there is extreme sensitivity over casting “negative aspersions” on prophets.

“One has to look into, to obviously take some measures, because people were agitating,” Musharaff said.

“These are sensitive issues,” he added. “And for the sake of independence of media, liberty of speech, we cannot hurt sensitivities of millions of people.

“We must not do that. I am against that,” he said.

The Pakistani authorites blocked Facebook on court order after caricatures of the Prophet Mohammed (PBUH) appeared on a Facebook page created by an anonymous member who said he was acting to promote freedom of speech.

Facebook has expressed disappointment at being blocked and said it was considering whether to make the offending page inaccessible in Pakistan.

Karbala Seminar in Turkey

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An international seminar on the event of Karbala will begin today, May 20, in the city of Sivas in the Central Anatolia region of Turkey.

Ahlul Bayt News Agency (ABNA.ir), The seminar will discuss different aspects of the vent of Karbala and the lofty character of Imam Hussein (AS).

Seven Iranian scholars will be present at the four-day seminar which is organized by the Jumhuriat University. Scholars and writers from Turkey and other Islamic countries will also percolate at the event.

The Iranian Cultural Center in Turkey has announced that it is ready to contribute to the seminar, a move welcomed by the organizers.

The international seminar on the event of Karbala will conclude on Sunday, May 23.

Imam Hussein (AS) and his 72 faithful companions were martyred in Karbala on the day of Ashura in the year 61 after Hijra (680 A.D.)

Malaysia hosting World Islamic Economic Forum

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TEHRAN — The 6th World Islamic Economic Forum (WIEF) kicked off in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on Wednesday.

The 6th World Islamic Economic Forum (WIEF) kicked off in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on Wednesday.

Bearing the theme ‘Gearing for Economic Resurgence’, the three-day forum will look at the role of Islamic banking and finance in paving the way for a more stable global financial system.

The event has brought together some 2,000 participants comprising world leaders and members of the global business community to attend the Forum to discuss ideas and strategies on global issues affecting trade and business and to network with each other on cross border business opportunities.

The World Islamic Economic Forum is a global conference that acts as an international business platform where the business sectors of the Muslim world meet for business opportunities and together with the government leaders, act as a hub where policy proposals on economic development can be formulated.

Iranian Finance and Economic Affairs Minister Seyyed Shamseddin Hosseini, heading a delegation, has attended the forum, the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting reported

Westerners should change their views about Muslims

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John L. Esposito is one of America’s leading authorities on Islam. Now, in this brilliant portrait of Islam today– and tomorrow– he draws on a lifetime of thought and research to provide an accurate, richly nuanced, and revelatory account of the fastest growing religion in the world.

According to Ahlul Bayt (A) News Agency – ABNA.ir – John L. Esposito is one of America’s leading authorities on Islam. Now, in this brilliant portrait of Islam today– and tomorrow– he draws on a lifetime of thought and research to provide an accurate, richly nuanced, and revelatory account of the fastest growing religion in the world.

Here Esposito explores the major questions and issues that face Islam in the 21st century and that will deeply affect global politics: Is Islam compatible with modern notions of democracy, rule of law, gender equality, and human rights? How representative and widespread is Islamic fundamentalism and the threat of global terrorism? Can Muslim minority communities be loyal citizens in America and Europe? The book also turns the mirror on the US and Europe, revealing how we appear to Muslims.

Recent decades have brought extraordinary changes in the Muslim world, and in addressing these issues, Esposito paints a complex picture of Islam in all its diversity-a picture of urgent importance as we face the challenges of the coming century.

John L. Esposito is University Professor of Religion and International Affairs at Georgetown University and Founding Director of the Prince Alwaleed Bin-Talal Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding. He is the editor of The Oxford Encyclopedia of Modern Islam and The Oxford History of Islam, and author ofUnholy War, What Everyone Needs to Know about Islam, and many other acclaimed works.

Azerbaijan Stops Demolishing of Shia Masjids After Warning of Shia Leaders

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The problem with Fatimeyi Zahra Mosque has been solved, Caucasus Muslims Organization (CMO) head said.

The construction of “Fatimeyi-Zehra” mosque will be completed, spokesperson for the Caucasian Muslims Office Rahima Dadashova told reporters.

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has ruled that the Fatimeyi-Zahra Mosque on the outskirts of Baku will be subordinated to the country’s leading religious authority, RFE/RL’s Azerbaijani Service reports.

Aliyev’s ruling on May 14 means control of the mosque will go to the Muslim Spiritual Board of the Caucasus, preventing its demolition.

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev signed an order to transfer the mosque to the Caucasus Muslims Organization (CMO).

Caucasus Muslims Organization (CMO) head, Sheikh-ul-Islam Allahshukur Pashazade appealed to Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev concerning Fatimeyi Zahra Mosque, Caucasus Muslims Organization press-service said.

The decision to pull down the Fatimeyi Zahra Mosque , located in settlement 33 of Yeni Gunashli in the Surakhani district, was made by Local Economic Court on the basis of the claim of Surakhani District Executive Power.

Caucasus Muslims Organization makes every effort to preserve the relationship between religion and state, Pashazade said.

On May 12, Iranian Shia cleric, Grand Ayatollah Makarem Shirazi threatened to issue a fatwa against Azerbaijani officials if the mosque was destroyed. The “Ahlul Bayt News Agency (ABNA.ir)” quoted him as saying that a warning had been sent to the Azerbaijani leadership.

Also Ayatollah Zeyn-ol Abeddin Ghorbani, the Friday prayer Imam of Rasht province and representative of Imam Khamenei in Gilan – Iran, severely condemned the act of demolishing Shia Mosque and in address to Azerbaijan’s president Ilham Aliyev, he announced: “I am sending you an ultimatum, you may appear in the ash heap of history, like Mohammad Reza Shah and Saddam Husein.”

Great Shia personality; Grand Ayatollah Sayed Muhammad Mufti al-Shia Moosavi Expires + pic

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Ahlul Bayt News Agency (ABNA.ir), HOLY CITY OF QOM, Iran: Ayatollah Al-Uzma Syed Muhammad Mufti al-Shia Moosavi Ardbaili passed away on Wednesday in holy City of Qum in Iran. He was 82. The late Ayatollah was considered amongst the famous religious teachers and he authored dozens of religious books and translated hundreds of books.

There will be closed holiday in religious Madaris during these days. A statement issued from the headquarters of the Maktab-e-Tashih says that Ayatollah Mufti Al-Shia Urdbaili spent all his life in serving the religion. The gap created by his demise could not be filled.

His funeral ceremony will be start today (20.5.2010) at 17:30 from Imam Hasan Askari (as) mosque to holy shrine of Hadrat Masumah (sa).

Memoir of Ayatullah Mufti Ash-Shia Al-Mousavi

Translated by Ghulam Shabbir on the direction of Allama Syed Hussain Muqqadasi

In the name of Allah the merciful, the beneficent

Praise be to Allah who created pure and perfect man in between knowledge and those who possess knowledge, by his generosity regarded scholars the end of hope of hopeful person & on the basis of his justice preferred the pen of one who knows and acts accordingly to the blood of martyrs and termed them as blessings to all of his creatures. He bestowed preference to the memory of those who served for Shariat to the memory of nameless people and gave them all such things, which non-else has ever been given.

I bear witness that Allah is one and there is no partner unto Him; nor is there any god except him.

No doubt Muhammad (PBUH&HP) is His servant and His prophet corroborated by Rooh-al Quds and Aql-e-Kul; one who was the most gentle & consummate man, took pity on all weaklings, poors, indigents, orphans and all other destitutes.

Knowledge is one of such things as has been applauded and appreciated in Islam and Muslims have been urged to attain it. Quran bears many verses in this regard, which stress upon the importance of knowledge, its attainment and applause of scholars.

The creator of universe ordered for deliberation, and prudence, and has eulogized the man of understanding (olulalbab) and not only this but only those who are possessed of knowledge are said to be God-fearing.

As is stated:

“Those of His servants only who are possessed of knowledge fear Allah”

Surah xxxv/xxviii (The originator)

“Say, Are those who know and those who do not know alike? Only the men of understanding are mindful” (The companies/ix, Surah/xxxix)

Likewise several hadiths from Holy prophet (PBUH&HP) and His vicegerents Aaimma Masoomeen (A.S.) have been reported.

Hazrat Imam Jafar Sadiq (A.S.) quotes Holy Prophet (PBUH):

“A learned has such preeminence on adorer as the full moon on fourteenth has on all the stars and no doubt the scholars are heirs of prophets.”

All these hadiths state the significance of knowledge, the dignity and degree of scholars, subordination to them, the patronage of scholars in proclaiming the laws of religion, their being trustee of Allah, the angels spreading wings for them, birds in the sky & fish in water craving mercy for them. Even Imam (A.S) regards scholars as his assistants and attorneys.

He (A.S) states further:

“Among the fuqaha (theologians) one who guards himself against sensuality, concupiscence, refrains from least and greed, is amendable to Lord’s orders; people must follow such theologian.”

Likewise Maktab-i-Ahlebait (school of prophet’s descendants) has never been without the teacher and the student even for a single day. Right from the early days of Islam to this day it has extended the best service to Islam. The conspicuous proof is the emergence of four thousand scholars in various fields of knowledge from the great school of Hazrat Iama Jafar Sadiq (A.S).

The branch of knowledge which has been the most stressed upon and for which people have been urged to attain is Fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence) because in it lies the system and order of this world and the benefit of the world hereafter; as it is the law of Shariat (the divine law) and he who acts upon it is successful both here and hereafter.

Maktab-i-Ahlebait is particular in that there has always been opportunity for Ijtihad i.e. interpretation and reinterpretation of Islamic laws. That is why in every era there emerged unprecedented scholars, the most pious men of the time, ulema and fuqaha (theologians).

This booklet comprises of brief biography of Hazrat Ayatullah al Uzma As-Syed Muhammad Mufti Ash-Shia, Al-Mousavi (Dama Zilluhul Aali) and his family. Further, about his teachers, his own teaching services rendered in Hawza and his general welfare works have been mentioned. May Allah’s graciousness be always with us to write more, in future, on various other aspects of his great personality (Aameen)

Brief Biography

His Good Name

Muhammad-bin-Muhammad Taqi bin Murtaza bin Naqad Ali bin Mir Ali Raza bin Hussain Al-Mousavi. He was born on 10th of Rajab-ul-Murajab 1347 A.H. in Ardbail (known as Dar-ul-Irshad) – a city of Iran.

Ayatullah al Uzma As-Syed Muhammad Taqi Mufti Ash-Shia Ardbaili was his father who died in 1361 A.H. He was considered one of much followed theologians. He was also leader of his city. His Risala-i-Amalia (journal) was published on 18th of Zilhajj 1336 A.H under the title of “Shajara-tut-Taqwa”. The second journal “Zakhirat-ul-Uqba” was published in 1344 A.H. he had been the pupil of Akhund Khurasani, Syed Kazim Yazdi, and Syed Muhammad Isfahani Fasharki.

His Grandfather

His grandfather’s name was Ayatullah al Uzma Syed Murtaza Khalkhali Ardabaili. He too was one of the venerable Maraje Uzzam. On his return from Najaf-i-Ashraf, he laid the foundation of great Hawza-i-Ilmia in Ardbail, which produced several Ulmas. Students, not only from Iran, but also from various other countries like Badkoba, Sherwan, Siliyan, Ierwan, Nakhchwan, Lankran, and Aazarbaijan came to this Hawza to seek knowledge. He was the pupil of Sahib-i-Karamaat and Sheikh Ansari (R.A). He left this world on 1317 A.H.

His respected Uncle

His uncle, Faqih-i-kamil Syed Ahmed Mujtahid, the pupil of Sheikh Hassan Mamqani and Fazil Sharbiani, was one of those precedent theologians who saved their city against the wickedness of enemies.

His second uncle, Syed Musa Faqih Murtazavi who was great worshipper and a pious man, had the degree of Ijtihad (interpretation and reinterpretation of Islamic laws) from great maraje like Ayatullah al Uzma Syed Abu Al-Hassan Isfahani, Muhaqqiq (researcher) Naeeni and Muhaqqiq Iraqi.

His respect worthy mother

She was the daughter of Syed-ul-Ulama As-Syed Baqir Al-Ardbaili Al-Najafi who was awarded ijaza-i-ijtihad (Permission for interpretation and reinterpretation of Islamic laws) by Syed-ul-Ulama great Marje As-shaikh Muhammad Taqi Ash-sherazi in 1335 A.H. He was son of Ayatullah Syed Habib Ullah Al-Athari Ardbaili who was the grandson of Mujtahid-i-Akbar Syed Hussain and nephew of Muhaqqiq Karki al-Aamli. He was Shaikh-ul-Islam in the regime of Sultan Tahmasab Safawi in Ardbail.

His Progeny

The sustainer of the world bestowed him seven sons. Three of them are scholars:

1.Hujjatul-Islam Aaqai Syed Muhammad Taqi (R.A)

2. Hujjatul-Islam Aaqai Al-Haj Syed Muhammad Zaki (R.A)

3. Siqa-tul-Islam Syed Abul Fazl (R.A)

His pedigree

His lineage reaches to Syed Ibrahim Al-Asghar surnamed Al-Murtaza the son of Imam-I-Hamam Musa bin Jafar (A.S) who has been talked about in the books of genealogies.

His dynasty

His family is one of those the most ancient and learned families whose members reside in cities like Najaf-i-Ashraf, Tehran, Ardbail, Khalkhal, Qazween & Rasht. This family has always been exerting for the attainment of knowledge & wisdom. There have been several theologians, scholars, authors & poets in this noble family who have been leading the masses as a prelate (Mujtahid) in their spiritual and worldly problems. This is why the pages of the books of tazkira and rijal are full of their excellence learning & compositions.

His conduct & attentions

In 1361 A.H, on the day of Hazrat Imam Muhammad Taqi (A.S)’s martyrdom, his father departed in Ardbail, who left the whole city in affliction and people arranged Majalis-i-Aaza for forty days and on 40th day much honoured & preferred Ayatullah al uzma Syed Younis Ardbaili attired him the spiritual apparel with his own hands and put Amamah (a religious turban) on his head after which he left for Mash’had Al-Muqqadas.

In 1363 A.H, he performed the duties of imamat in his father’s mosque (which is known as Masjid-i-Bazar & masjid Syed Ahmed) on the consent of his worthy uncle Syed Musa faqih. Although he was quite young yet people used to participate in his Jamat (gathering for prayer) with pleasure and zeal, for his amiable nature and belonging to praise worthy dynasty and the mosque used to fill with Namazis to its full capacity. Not only this but very often people used to take his ablution water as a benediction and solicited him for Dua (prayer); he was of the rank of his ancestors in religious affairs.

He was known for his continence, abstinence & decency in his family and the city where as among the learned (ulama) and the seekers he was famous for the mode of equity and man of wisdom.

Acquisition of knowledge

He showed quick, sharp and brimful mind in the acquisition of knowledge. He got his education of ‘Moqaddemaat’ from distinctive ulmas (teachers) of Ardbail and his father’s pupils. He learnt ‘Rassail’ from Ayatullah Shaikh Ghulam Hussain Gharvi and ‘Makasib’ from his worthy uncle Ayatullah Syed Musa Faqih Murtazavi.

Left for Qum

In 1367 A.H, he left for Hawza-i-ilmia Qum for further education. For Dars-i-Kharij in Fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence) he joined the lectures of Ayatullah al uzma Brojurdi who was delivering his lectures on Salat (prayer) in those days.

For discussion on ‘Baye’ (buying & selling) he took lessons from Ayatullah al uzma Syed Muhammad Hujjat. He participated in the class of Ayatullah al uzma Roohullah al-Musawi Al Khomeini (R.A) for discussion on principles of Fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence). Debate on Taharat (cleanliness) was learnt in the classes of Ayatullah al uzma Syed Muhammad Muhaqqiq Damad (R.A). To have an insight in the enigmas of philosophy, haiyyat & tafseer he attended the bountiful lectures of Allama Syed Muhammad Hussain Tabatabai (R.A), along with this he himself delivered lectures on high level on “Rasa’il”, “Kifaya”, “Makasib” & “Manzooma”.

In summer vacations when he came back in his own country, he used to guide the people & helped them in their religious problems. He was also used to perform Imamat in his ancestral mosque.

Migrated to Najaf-i-Ashraf

Zeal for the acquisition of knowledge did not end and his thirsty nature for knowledge and cognizance led him leave for Najaf-i-Ashraf in 1374 A.H. and he attended the lectures of following chosen, excellent highly esteemed ulamas (scholars) and Maraje Uzzam:

1.Marjae Aaliqadar Ayatullah al uzma Syed Mohsin Hakim (R.A)

2. Marjae Aaliqadar Ayatullah al uzma Syed Mohammad Shahroudi (R.A)

3. Marjae Aaliqadar Ayatullah al uzma Syed Abul Qasim Khoie (R.A)

For quite a long period he attended the lectures of Ayatullah al uzma Sheikh Hussain Hilli (R.A) on Asool (principles) & Fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence) and he sought maximum learning from him. For more than ten years he remained under his guidance and kept on writing his lessons till the day when he was talked of one of the keen pupils of Sheikh Hussain Hilli (R.A). He has compiled a complete lesson of esteemed teacher on Asool (principle)& urwah (path).

In 1388 A.H, after performing Hajj and taking leave of Ayatullah al uzma Sheikh Hussain Hilli (R.A), he started teaching Fiqh & Asool. At the same time he began research and composition.

Back in his country

A delegation of venerable personnels reached in Najaf-i-Ashraf Ardbail in 1379 A.H and requested Marjae Aaliqadar Ayatullah al Uzma Syed Mohsin Hakim to send Aaqae Mufti ush Shia as his attorney to explain divine code of life to the people in Ardbail. Hence, in view of their constraints and requisition Ayatullah al Uzma Hakim (R.A) sent him to Ardbail. However, he never wished that Mufti ush shia should ever leave Najaf-i-Ashraf. Aaqae Mufti ush shia left Najaf-i-Ashraf for Ardbail on 16th of Zeeqaadh 1379 A.H. and arrived on 24th Zilhajj.

As soon as the people came to know of his advent, particularly great ulamas and khutbaas (preachers) they came out at a distance of twelve Farsakh (Miles) to welcome him and gave him a magnificent reception.

In 1380 A.H., when Marjae Aalam-i-Tashayyo Ayatullah al Uzma Brojurdi departed for the world hereafter, people of Aazarbaijan under the guidance of Aaqae Mufti ush shia started to follow Ayatullah al Uzma Syed Mohsin Hakim (R.A) and they always turned to him in all their problems and masail-i-shariat.

After his one and half year stay in Aardbail he went again to Najaf-i-Ashraf to restart his learning activities.

Compositions

He has all the speeches delivered on Asool & Fiqh, which he wrote while attending the lectures of his teachers in Najaf-i-Ashraf and Qum. The detail is as under:

In Hawza-i-Ilmia Qum

The book on bae (Buying & selling) by Hazrat Ayatullah al Uzma Syed Muhammad Hujjat (R.A).

The book on Salat (prayer) by Hazrat Ayatullah al Uzma Syed Agha Hussain Brojurdi (R.A).

The book on Taharat (cleanliness) by Hazrat Ayatullah al Uzma Syed Muhaqqiq Damad (R.A).

He wrote “Mabahis-i-Ilfaz”& discussion on “La jabar wala tafweez bal amar bain al amrain” in Dars-i-Asool by Hazrat Ayatullah al Uzma Syed Roohullah Al-Mousavi Al-Khomeini (R.A).

In Dars-i-Manzooma & Asfar by his great teacher Allama Taba Tabaie (R.A) he wrote his theories as marginal notes in his books.

Hawza-i-Ilmia Najaf-i-Ashraf

“Salat ul Musafir wal Jama’ah” & some important things about Hajj by Hazrat Ayatullah al Uzma Syed Mehmood Shahroodi (R.A).

A complete composition of Asool-i-Fiqh by Hazrat Ayatullah al Uzma Syed Abul Qasim khoie (R.A)

A complete composition of Asool-i-Fiqh by Hazrat Ayatullah al Uzma Sheikh Hussain Hilli (R.A) and “Bae-o-Khiyaraat” in Fiqh, “Taharat” a discussion of urwat-ul-wusqa

A tract on “La Zarar wala Zaraar”

Sharah Kifayah

A treatise on doubted apparel

A Pamphlet about “Ilm-i-ljmali” (Brief knowledge)

Qaida “Iqrar-o-Raza’a” and several other magazines on important discussions along with summaries in a book titled “Fiqh-i-Mabsoot”

This is an argumentative book in which important things of Fiqh have been discussed in the light of Qawaid-i-Asoolia, Quranic verses, sayings of Masumeen (A.S) & Asool-i-Amlia. He also wrote on “Ilm-i-Ikhlaq” & “Ilm-i-Nafs”. He also wrote marginal notes on “Asfar” & several other books.

His Risala-i-Amlia – “Towzeehul Masa’il & Masa’il-i-Mustahaddisa”, Minhaj-us-saleheen” are in two volumes. He wrote valuable books on “ Manasik-i-Hajj” and “marginal note on Urwah”.

His status among scholars

He obtained ljaza-i-ijtehad (license for interpretation and reinterpretation of Islamic laws) & ljaza-i-Riwayat (to narrate) from great Ulamas, Mashaikhs and Mujtahideen. The writing of these ijazas is evidence of his abilities. He is known as mark of equity, abstinence, research & keen observation. This small treatise does not allow me to quote all such statements but only as a specimen one line from the letter of Ayatullah al uzma Syed Mehmood Shahroudi (R.A) is mentioned here which he wrote on 26th Zeeqaad 1390 A.H when he was leaving for Iran:

“I deem him quite essential in Najaf-i-Ashraf in all possibilities as Hawza-i-Ilmia needs him and others like him.”

Social services

He has played an important role for the welfare of the deprived & wretched people of society and showed bountiful magnanimity in building Institutions for public good, schools & mosques. Similarly he permitted some Momineen for the disbursement of obligations of revealed law (wajoobat-i-shariah) in the interest of the destitute & the poor.

His morals

He has good morals, is tender hearted, has almost all virtues and is like his proceeding ulamas in “Ser-o-Salook”. His majlis (sittings) are never without Zikr-i-Khuda”, “Rawayat”, “Hadith-i-Ahl-i-bait (A.S) Fiqh Masa’il & Asool.

He is quite unprecedented in treating the destitute with attention and ceremony, in knowledge, clemency virtue, piety & veracity.

In his conversation and “Masa’il-i-Shariah” he speaks with depth of thought and constancy.

Deported from Najaf-i-Ashraf

In 1396 A.H. Iraqi authorities adopted the policy of deportation of hundreds of intrepid of Imam-i-Zamana (A.S) from Hawza-i-Ilmia Najaf – the then centre of ulams and Mujtahideen-i-Shia & Maadan-i-uloom-i-Aal-i-Muhammad (A.S). They issued orders of expulsion of the teachers and the students of Iran, India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Turkey & other countries, and this order was issued so that the enemies of Haq-o-Imamat i.e. Allah and Imam may express pleasure on the annihilation of auspicious Hawza Najaf-i-Ashraf – the pride of Shia & Muslim Ummah.

Hence, the government started arresting people. Aaqae Mufti Ush Shia (R.A) was also arrested. First along with many others, he was in (Khan An Nisf) prison, which is midway from Karbala to Najaf. Then, all alone, he was confined in a small cell. There after shifted in the prison of Najaf-i-Ashraf. Later, the agents brought him home and ordered to leave the country within two hours.

Hence, with his family he proceeded to Iran, and stayed in adjacency of Bargah-i-Hazrat Masooma (A.S) to start teaching, writing and solving the problems of the people.

He was made principal attorney of the head of Hawza-i-Ayatullah al uzma Hazrat Syed Abdul Aala Sabzwari (R.A) in connection with the selection of attorneys and representatives in Islamic countries after the death of Ayatullah al uzma Khoie (R.A). He was also consulted in important matters. This is, conspicuous demonstration on his abilities and trust.

Ayatullah al uzma Sabzwari (R.A) remembers him in these words:

Moassesa Imam Muhammad Taqi (AS)

Saudis to CUT-OFF Wahhabis ‘Chaotic Fatwas’ Radical Islamic decrees out of hand in Saudi Arabia, religious authorities say.

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Radical Islamic decrees out of hand in Saudi Arabia, religious authorities say.

Saudi authorities are planning to regulate the issuance of Islamic rulings by limiting the number of Wahhabi religious personalities allowed to formulate religious decrees.

The plan is currently being discussed by the Higher Council of Religious Scholars and could be implemented as early as next month.

“If the Saudi authorities regulate the fatwa industry, it will reduce the amount of extreme fatwas and it will send a positive message to those who are irresponsible and unaccountable with their fatwas,” Dr. Khalil Al-Khalil, a former Saudi member of parliament and an expert on Islamic trends, told The Media Line. “It will send them a message that they are not doing the right thing.”

Islamic scholar Sheikh Ahmad Bin Abd Al-Aziz Bin Baz told Al-Arabiyya that the issuance of fatwas, or religious scholarly opinions, in the Saudi kingdom had gotten out of hand to the extent there was a need to regulate and unify them.

The Saudi authorities are mainly concerned about extreme fatwas that are being disseminated via mass-media forms such as the Internet and satellite television.

Radical messages in extreme fatwas often receive much attention in western media as legitimizing terror attacks against non-Muslims.

Media experts warn that these broadcasts can have a huge impact, especially since the target audience is young and impressionable.

“[Those issuing fatwas] know very well that the people here are connected with the government and the state regulations, and no one wants to be seen in conflict with the Saudi authorities,” Al-Khalil added. “It will make those who are extreme think twice before issuing a fatwa.”

Opposition groups within are saying that allowing only a select few to issue Islamic religious opinions stifles pluralism of opinion and goes against the spirit of Islam.

Critics of the planned regulation further point out that hundreds of Arabic-language satellite stations are beyond the reach of the Saudi government, rendering the moves ineffective, as Saudis will continue to be exposed to extreme messages through the Internet and other media forms.

Al-Khalil himself believes that regulating fatwas, despite the advantages, is not only impossible to implement but is also contrary to the spirit of Islam.

“It will not be successful in any place in the world,” he said. “They want to formulate a group at the national level and the local level who will be authorized to issue fatwas. They will employ specific individuals, who will have the right to issue fatwas and this is an impossible mission.”

Al-Khalil explained that this contradicted the very nature of Islam, which allows people to choose for themselves who is qualified to issue a fatwa.

“Who will choose those people, and based on what qualifications and what orientations?” Al-Khalil asked. “You can choose for yourself but you can’t choose for everyone in your state. We know that usually selection of authorized individuals in any field in life is based on politics and the mood and not on expert qualification.”

Contrary to much popular belief, fatwas are diverse in content and are a guideline for endless mundane matters, such as how a Muslim should shake hands, if a Muslims can consume caffeine, whether it is appropriate for a man to grow his hair, whether Muslims should play football, and many more.

But Western media in recent years has often depicted fatwas as associated with edicts on warfare and death sentences.

A fatwa can be issued by anyone who is seen to have sufficient Islamic scholarly training for the task, usually a Muslim with high standing in his community.

Those in favor of regulating these edicts say there is ‘fatwa chaos’ where anyone can issue opinions, which often serve narrow interests, be they related to politics, security, commerce or a social interest.

“The function of a fatwa in Islam is not a court verdict,” Al-Khalil stressed. “A verdict is binding when the process is complete and it has to be implemented, but fatwas from religious authorities are different.”

“It’s just an effort to give advice,” he said. “It’s not supposed to be a binding verdict that must be implemented. The state or the leader can choose to implement that fatwa and then it becomes obligatory by law, but if it’s issued by an individual, formal or informal, it’s just advice or a religious opinion and it’s not obligatory.”

Pak Army Major arrested in New York Bomb Plot

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20.05.10 A Pakistani army major has been arrested in connection with the failed bombing earlier this month in New York’s Times Square, The Washington Post reported on Wednesday.

If the report, which quoted Pakistani law enforcement sources, is confirmed it would represent the first time someone in Pakistan’s military establishment has been implicated in the botched car bombing plot.

Chief suspect Faisal Shahzad, a Pakistani-born US citizen whose father was a senior official in Pakistan’s air force, made his first court appearance on Tuesday in New York and did not enter a plea over the May 1 incident.

Shahzad, 30, was arrested apparently trying to flee the country on a flight to Dubai 53 hours after street vendors alerted police to smoke coming out of the vehicle in New York’s theater district on a busy Saturday night.

The Washington Post said the extent of the Pakistani major’s alleged involvement remained unclear, but that unnamed law enforcement sources told the paper he had met Shahzad in Islamabad and had cell phone contact with him.

According to the newspaper a second suspect being held by the Pakistani authorities acted as a liaison between Shahzad and the Pakistani Taliban —blamed by the US for being behind the attempted Times Square attack.

Pakistani law enforcement sources told the paper Shahzad met the suspect three times last summer and at one meeting gave him an undisclosed sum of money for the attempted bombings. Unnamed US officials told the newspaper the amount was 15,000 dollars.

US officials say Shahzad is connected to Pakistani Taliban insurgents and President Barack Obama sent two senior national security aides this week to Islamabad to join the investigation.

Federal agents last week also arrested three Pakistani men in the northeastern United States and said they were suspected of funneling money to Shahzad. However, they were not charged with terrorism.—AFP

Seventeen dead in Karachi Target Killings

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JNN 20.05.10 KARACHI: Seventeen people became victims in renewed start of target killings in the city on Wednesday.

Police said the incidents of target killings took place in Sir Syed Town, Kuti Pahari, North Karachi, Abul Ispahani road and other areas.

Meanwhile, President Awami National Party Shahi Syed, heading a delegation, called on Sindh Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah to discuss the issue of target killings.

The chief minister took strict notice of the killings started during the last 24 hours and called for effective steps to maintain law and order.

He assured the ANP delegation that killers involved in target killings would soon be arrested and awarded exemplary punishment.

He directed the law enforcing organisations and administration to bring the criminals to book

Pakistan had most IDPs in world in 2009

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JNN 19.05.10 The UN says Pakistan had the highest number of internally displaced people in the world in 2009.
According to a recent study by the United Nations, over three million Pakistanis are homeless, mainly due to attacks by militants and Islamabad’s large-scale military operations that are being carried out to put down the insurgency.

“The military operations of governments and armed non-state actors caused most displacement, and many people were displaced more than once,” the UN report said.

The Pakistani military recently launched a series of operations to clear the tribal areas of militants.

In addition, nearly 4,000 people have been killed in bombings and other attacks by militants throughout Pakistan since July 2007.

Meanwhile, the UN has warned that aid programs for the displaced people would have to be cut back due to the poor international response to an appeal earlier this year.

The world body appealed for more than a half a billion dollars, but donors have only pledged a quarter of that amount so far.

Clinton: Deal made on Iran sanctions

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JNN 19.05.10  The US claims to have made an agreement with all veto-wielding permanent members of the UN Security Council on a draft sanctions resolution against Iran.
“We have reached agreement on a strong draft with the cooperation of Russia and China,” US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said, referring to talks with permanent members of the UN Security Council Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States plus Germany.

Clinton told the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee that the draft would be presented to all 15 members of the Security Council on Tuesday –one day after Iran announced a nuclear declaration following trilateral pro-diplomacy talks with non-permanent UNSC members Brazil and Turkey.

Russia and China have long resisted the US campaign for sanctions and urged other powers to seek a diplomatic solution to the standoff over Iran’s nuclear program. Both countries welcomed the nuclear declaration issued by Iran, Turkey and Brazil.

“We attach importance to and support this agreement,” Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ma Zhaoxu said on Tuesday.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev also welcomed the declaration as “the politics of a diplomatic solution.”

Moscow has stressed that it would never support sanctions meant to “strangle Iran” or harm the Iranian people.

Iran’s partners in the trilateral talks are both non-permanent members of the UN Security Council (UNSC) opposed to the US-led campaign for slapping tougher UN sanctions on the Islamic Republic.

Despite the declaration that paves the way for the realization of a nuclear fuel swap proposal, the US has rebuffed the Iranian announcement, saying that it will continue efforts to impose a fourth round of sanctions on the Islamic Republic, which it accuses of pursuing a covert military nuclear program.

Tehran rejects the Washington-led accusations, arguing that as a member of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) it has the right to a civilian nuclear program.

Water level in landslide-hit lake rises to 361-foot

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HUNZA: The dwellers of six villages have vacated their houses in the wake of alarming situation in the landslide-hit Ataabad Lake.

According to reports, boat service has also been halted in the artificial lake because of the growing water level, which has exceeded 361 feet with further increase of three feet, Geo reported Tuesday.

The vacated villages are: Sultanabad, Hussainabad, Khizarabad, Khanabad, Mayonabad, and Sikandarabad.

On the insistence of affected people, the administration restored boat service for a day so that the people could reach their homes. However, another landslide hit the lake, forcing the administration to suspend the boat service again.

Meanwhile, Speaker Gilgit Baltistan Wazir Baig said that the water level in the lake is rising all the time, due to which boat service has to halt to prevent any untoward incident.

However, he said the lake is unlikely to disburst for another 10 to 15 days.

Response to Tehran nuclear deal

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The nuclear declaration signed on Monday by Tehran, Ankara and Brasilia has mostly been welcomed at home and abroad, including at the United Nations.
However, a few Iranian lawmakers have expressed reservations about the deal, saying any deal must be approved by the parliament.

Some countries on the 5+1 group (the permanent members of the UN Security Council and Germany) have backed the deal but some others have responded cautiously to the agreement.

The exchange would take place in Turkey under the supervision of the International Atomic Energy Agency and Iran.

The deal calls for Iran to exchange 1,200 kilograms of its low-enriched uranium for 120 kilograms of 20 percent enriched nuclear fuel to power the Tehran research reactor, which produces radioisotopes for cancer treatment.

According to the agreement, Iran must notify the IAEA about the deal “in writing” by May 24.

Iran seeks interactions with West

Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) Director Ali Akbar Salehi said on Tuesday that Iran wants to interact with the West.

The Western countries should be aware that interacting with Iran would serve the interests of both sides, Salehi stated.

He also mentioned that the proposal for a nuclear fuel exchange was presented during a meeting in Vienna last year.

Iran accepted the proposal but insisted it wanted objective assurances before sending its low-enriched nuclear fuel outside of the country, he added.

And Tehran will definitely seek objective assurances for all agreements, he added.

234 MPs back nuclear deal

In addition, 234 lawmakers issued a statement on Tuesday expressing their support for the nuclear fuel deal signed by Iran, Turkey, and Brazil.

However, MP Hassan Qafouri-Fard said on Tuesday that any agreements signed by Iran and other countries must be approved by the parliament.

Qafouri added that Monday’s agreement is just a statement.

MP Ahmad Tavakoli said on Monday that the nuclear deal would not serve the national interests.

The agreement should be called the “transferring nuclear fuel” agreement not the nuclear “fuel swap” agreement, he told the Fars News Agency on Monday.

The agreement calls for Iran to ship all 1200 kilograms of its 3.5 percent enriched uranium to Turkey, despite the fact that the West has not provided any assurances for Iran so far, he added.

Supreme National Security Council Secretary Saeed Jalili said on Tuesday that the West had made efforts to use the issue of the nuclear fuel exchange as a tool to threaten and pressure Tehran.

However, he said Tehran was able to gain the support of Turkey and Brazil in its nuclear row with the West through its clear logic.

Jalili, who was involved in the nuclear talks with Turkey and Brazil on Monday, attended a Majlis session on Tuesday to brief lawmakers on the latest discussions on Iran’s nuclear activities.

According to the nuclear fuel swap agreement, Iran has the right to enrich nuclear fuel and to seek cooperation for constructing nuclear power plants and research reactors, Jalili explained.

Sarkozy: Iran deal a ‘positive step’

French President Nicolas Sarkozy welcomed the nuclear fuel swap agreement, saying Paris is ready to discuss it with other members of the 5+1 group.

“The president of the republic believes that the transfer of 1,200 kilograms of low enriched uranium from Iran is a positive step,” a statement issued by Sarkozy’s office on Tuesday said, according to AFP.

The statement, however, added that the agreement “must be accompanied by a halt” in Iran’s uranium enrichment activities.

Iran’s agreement to transfer nuclear fuel to Turkey is a “positive step” if the Islamic state follows through on its promises and stops other uranium enrichment, the French president said.

China supports nuclear deal

China said on Tuesday it hoped the deal would lead to a peaceful resolution of the Iranian nuclear impasse, according to the Singapore daily The Straits Times.

“We attach importance to and support this agreement,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Ma Zhaoxu said. “We hope this will help promote the peaceful settlement of the Iranian nuclear issue.”

UN: Iran atomic deal ‘encouraging’

The nuclear fuel deal brokered for Iran by Turkey and Brazil is “encouraging,” Martin Nesirky, the spokesman for UN chief Ban Ki-moon, said on Monday.

Russia says deal may not be enough

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev cautiously welcomed the deal on Monday, but warned that it may fail to fully satisfy the international community.

“A question is whether the amount of swap operations will be sufficient and satisfy all members of the international community,” Medvedev said at a news conference after talks with Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych, adding that additional consultations were needed to determine that.

“A separate question is will Iran itself conduct enrichment,” he said. “As far as I understand from some Iranian official statements, it will continue such work. In that case, the international community’s concerns could remain.”

IAEA demands written confirmation of deal

The International Atomic Energy Agency called on Iran to submit a written confirmation of its uranium exchange agreement with Brazil and Turkey.

“We’ve received the joint statement issued by all three countries, and we are interested in receiving a written confirmation saying Iran agrees to the terms of the agreement,” a spokesman for the IAEA said.

U.S. says Iran proposal leaves ‘serious concerns’

Iran’s announced agreement to swap nuclear fuel with Turkey leaves “serious concerns” about Iranian intentions and doesn’t fully address international demands, an Obama administration spokesman said.

The full details of the plan must be laid out “clearly and authoritatively” to the United Nations nuclear agency before it can be considered by the international community, White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said in a statement.

Hunza flood could affect 40,000 people

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      ISLAMABAD: Flooding from a lake in northern Pakistan risks affecting 40,000 people with residents from up to 34 villages already evacuated to safety, a top disaster management official warned Tuesday.

The artificial lake emerged on January 4 as a result of a massive landslide that killed 20, left about 25,000 people stranded and blocked the Hunza river in a remote Himalayan region about 750 kilometres (450 miles) north of Islamabad.

“We are preparing for a caseload of 40,000 that could be affected by flooding,” Nadeem Ahmed, chairman of national disaster management authority, told a press conference in the capital.

There were 4,000 people in the villages of Gulmit, Ayeenabad and Shishkat, where water had submerged some areas and from people have moved to safer areas, he said. Only a few of the displaced are going to government-provided tents.

“Most of the people had gone to live with their relatives or sheltered in school buildings, very few have opted to live in tents but the government is providing rations to all of them,” Ahmed said.

Flooding would put at risk 13,500 people downstream and about 25,000 people upstream who were “less threatened”.

He said evacuation had been completed in up to 34 villages downstream, but was not able to release a total number of people.

“There was some distress as people were compelled to abandon their homes, but it was necessary for their safety,” he said.

Ahmed said food, non-food items and generators had been stockpiled in the area and a distribution system set up. The United Nations has been asked to provide sanitation facilities in the area.

Pakistani soldiers and army engineers had deployed to provide assistance to civilian administration and seven helicopters would be in the area to evacuate any stranded people.

“An early warning system has been established in the area and people would also be warned via SMS if there is any danger,” he added.

The official said that a ferry service to connect the people stranded due to lake formation had been stopped today because of rain forecast.

Water in the 332-feet (101-metre) deep and 16-kilometre (10-mile) long lake was rising by one meter (yard) daily.

“The water could start flowing downstream through spill ways in the next five to six days. Our aim is that there should be no loss of life, though many houses and buildings would be submerged,” Ahmed said.

India hails Iran's fight for right

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JNN 18.05.10 Indian External Affairs Minister S. M. Krishna says his country wants a developed and prosperous Iran, lauding Tehran for standing up for its rights.

“India praises Iran for fighting for its interests,” Krishna said in a meeting with Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in the Iranian capital Tehran on Tuesday.

“We are both developing nations and we should make use of each other’s capabilities and experiences in order to make progress,” he added.

The Indian minister further called the G15 summit in Tehran successful and effective.

The Iranian president, for his part, referred to the common perspectives of Tehran and New Delhi, and stressed that “common cultural and historical backgrounds as well as regional interests require the two countries to expand cooperation to control the current regional conditions.”

“The global situation is changing rapidly and the powers which dominated the economic and political sectors are now facing a defeat,” Ahmadinejad further explained.

The Iranian president also had a separate meeting with Venezuelan Foreign Minister Nicholas Maduro where both sides stressed expansion of bilateral and multilateral relations.

Pakistani Tribal Girl's Silent Jihad

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Her silent jihadJNN 18.05.10 It is a matter of great national pride when your country tops headlines in the international news media. But Pakistanis only seem to make the news for actions that leave their compatriots blowing down their heads in utter shame and disappointment. Ajmal Kasab and Faisal Shahzad, for instance, have truly disgraced the country, and it remains a sad reality that we don’t get to hear stories of Pakistanis who show courage and determination in times of distress.

Thankfully, a recent article published by the BBC is a rare exception that deserves to be shared with the world, and especially with the Pakistani youth who are discontented with the way their country is portrayed abroad.

The article tells the story of Meena, a young girl from Pakistan whose own brother and father beat her because they wanted her to be a suicide bomber. The article claims that there is no proof that her account is accurate, but the police consider it crucial information in the fight against terrorism.

Meena is only 13 years old and comes from a rural, uneducated background. She miraculously managed to escape the nightmare that her pro-Taliban brother and father made her go through every day. They wanted her to stay in the confines of their home and obey their every order. Worse, they threatened to mutilate her if she went against their word.

Meena describes the heinous activities of her brother to help the Taliban carry out terrorist acts throughout Pakistan and Afghanistan. She also recalls the horrific story of her younger sister whose youth and innocence were snatched away when her brother forced her to become a suicide bomber. It was heartbreaking to read how the wailing protests of her mother fell on deaf ears as her sister was taken away in a car with the burden of not only the bomb that was attached to her tiny frame, but also of the gruesome mission looming ahead of her.

Fortunately, Meena managed to escape from her traumatic life when one day she followed a pet goat to a nearby stream just when a helicopter gunship attacked her house and turned it into rubble right in front of her eyes. Uncertain of the fate of her family members, she kept on walking until she reached a nearby town.

Her story is inspiring, if not unusual. There are probably hundreds of girls like her who go through such nightmares every single day. Anne Frank’s story of courage and motivation in the face of adversity may have inspired many, but, unfortunately, we rarely get the opportunity to hear other such life stories. The reality is that there are far too many Anne Franks living a life of obscurity in our world today, and each and every one of their stories would be a source of inspiration for us.

Meena’s story deserves our attention not because it is unique, but because of her determination and courage to come forward and make her experience public. I admire her for taking a bold stand against the Taliban and having the audacity to question their motives. Her doubts about the Taliban might not impress us, but we have to understand the background that she comes from: the men in her family did their best to brainwash her and make her believe that suicide bombing is an act pleasing to God.

Unlike too many other young Pakistanis, Meena made the effort to think rationally, despite her lack of education and exposure to the world. She easily could have fallen through the cracks and have given in to her brother’s ideology. She could have been any one of those nameless suicide bombers who blow themselves up in the name of God. But she broke through that false ideology. She had faith in God’s message of peace and tolerance and in the real meaning of jihad.

Meena has certainly fulfilled her duty as a Pakistani, and in doing so she gives us the conviction to do the same. She wasn’t bestowed with luxuries or even a supportive family, but she had a strong faith and character that kept her going despite her traumatic life. We should take a page from Meena’s book and harness our education and achievements to promote a positive image of Pakistan and to make our voices heard.

It is the responsibility of each and every Pakistani individual to make the most of his or her life to improve the country’s increasingly tattered image. We can do it by the power of our pen and the impact of our words; yes, this is our jihad and we can do it without guns and bombs.

China welcomes Iran nuclear declaration

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JNN 18.05.10 China welcomes a nuclear fuel declaration Iran released in talks with Brazil and Turkey, signaling that it may oppose a US-led drive to impose sanctions on Tehran.

The presidents of Iran and Brazil and the Turkish prime minister issued a landmark nuclear declaration in the Iranian capital Tehran on Monday.

Based on the declaration, Iran will ship around 12 hundred kilograms of its low-grade fuel to Turkey, giving Iran enough objective guarantees to exchange it with higher enriched uranium based on a proposal discussed with the West in 2009.

Reacting to the declaration, Beijing said it hoped the deal would lead to a peaceful resolution of the Iranian nuclear dispute.

“We attach importance to and support this agreement,” Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ma Zhaoxu said on Tuesday.

“We hope this will help promote the peaceful settlement of the Iranian nuclear issue through dialogue and negotiations,” he added.

The US and its European allies have been trying to impose another round of sanctions against Iran at the UN Security Council. They have been seeking Beijing and Moscow’s support to push through the embargoes.

However, the new declaration released by Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Barzil’s President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and Turkey’s Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan seems to have turned the tables as Russia has also welcomed the declaration.

Western powers came close to ending their nuclear dispute with Tehran in October 2009, when representatives from the International Atomic Energy Agency, Iran, Russia, the United States and France gathered in Vienna to discuss a nuclear swap deal.

The US-proposed UN-backed proposal required Iran to send most of its Low-Enriched Uranium (LEU) abroad for further processing and conversion into fuel rods.

Iran agreed to the IAEA-backed proposal but said it needed guarantees that the other side would deliver the fuel.

The new nuclear declaration released with Turkey and Brazil gives Iran the assurance that Ankara is to hold Iran’s LEU and return it if Tehran does not receive the higher enriched uranium from either France or Russia in a specific time period.

Mental disorders climb in US Army

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18.05.10New figures released by the Pentagon show a significant spike in the number of US soldiers diagnosed with and treated for serious mental disorders.

For the first time, more US soldiers are hospitalized for serious mental disorders from their military service than for injuries and battlefield wounds, according to new medical data released by the Pentagon.

In 2009, there were 17,538 US soldiers put into hospitals for mental health problems compared to 17,354 for battle wounds and injuries sustained during military service.

The revelation cast a harsh spotlight on the problems that have been simmering for years in Washington since the invasion of Iraq and Afghanistan that have left numbers of soldiers frustrated. Many of them, who are now veterans of two wars, have found themselves incapable of even leading a normal life when they come home.

Numbers head back — not only with physical injuries from Afghanistan and Iraq but also with psychological problems, including post-traumatic stress syndrome, drug abuse, depression, anxiety and difficulty readjusting to civilian life, Press TV reported.

Meanwhile , both the Pentagon and the US Department of Veterans’ Affairs have voiced grave concerns over the operating costs of treating those suffering from mental disabilities. The treatment appears to have busted the Pentagon budget with Pentagon chief Robert Gates saying: “it is costing way too much.”

The US Secretary of Defense also admits that the healthcare costs are ‘eating the Defense Department alive,’ and much of it involves expensive military psychiatrists and psychologists, who have had to be hired to deal with it.

Multiple deployments of the troops and heavy pressure upon the forces in places, in which the population is not very friendly, are all contributing to the spike in mental health disorders, according to the Pentagon medical report.

“People don’t want to concentrate on the stress, this shows the logical result of that years-long policy”, Carl Osgood of the Executive Intelligence Review told Press TV correspondent Mike Kellerman in Washington.

Pentagon figures also indicate that one out of every 10 US Marines is hospitalized for mental disorders with similar numbers in the Navy and Air Force.

Ten percent of those returning soldiers will end up in medical treatment centers for mental problems; those are the lucky ones that don’t kill themselves.

“There will be more soldiers this year to commit suicide than did last year, and last year was the worst year since the Army started tracking the statistics, so that is just the most serious marker of the overall decline of the mental health situation.” Carl Osgood added.

The US Army, which has undertaken the bulk of the ground missions in Afghanistan and now has nearly 140, 000 of its troops in Afghanistan and Iraq , had 10,222 mental health hospitalizations last year, which added up to 90 percent of all army hospitalizations.

The rising number of mentally unstable former soldiers is playing havoc with their social life when they come home.

“This has been the reason for the number of murders committed by veterans, because they basically went off the deep end” said Mr. Osgood.

The latest suicide rate figures in the US military are the highest since the closing days of the Vietnam War in the mid 1970s.

Mental health care accounted for 40 percent of all the days spent in hospitals last year by members of the US military and 5 percent of those stays lasted more than a month.

The US military has recently complained about the $ 3000 a day cost to treat a mentally wounded soldier.

The Pentagon hospital bill has mushroomed to a level never seen before.

Chavez praises Iran nuclear declaration

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JNN 18.05.10 The Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez says trilateral nuclear meeting between Iran, Brazil and Turkey was a big blow to imperialism and hegemony.

Chavez made the remark in a phone conversation with his Iranian counterpart on Tuesday.

“Venezuelan Revolution will back Islamic Republic’s efforts to fight against Imperialism and reform oppressive structures,” Chavez said.

The Venezuelan president further expressed his deep sorrow for not attending the G15 summit despite previous arrangements.

“It was quite hard for me not to take part in such an important summit,” he asserted.

Ahmadinejad, for his part, referred to the deeply-rooted ties between Iran and Venezuela and said, “both countries should boost mutual collaboration at various levels” by proposing new projects in all fields of technology.

The Iranian chief executive further highlighted that Iran and Venezuela have common approaches towards various global issues and Tehran and Caracas “will stay together to fight against Imperialism.”

On Monday, Iran, Brazil and Turkey issued a nuclear declaration whereby Tehran is to ship 1200 kg of its 3.5 percent enriched uranium over to Turkey in exchange for 120 kg of 20 percent enriched uranium.

Composed of countries from North America, South America, Africa and Asia, the G15 focuses on cooperation among developing countries in the areas of investment, trade, and technology.