Former Pak minister Shahbaz Bhatti’s killer arrested

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan police have arrested a Taliban militant allegedly involved in the killing of former minister for minorities’ affairs Shahbaz Bhatti, who was shot dead for speaking against the blasphemy laws.Around two weeks ago, Hammad Adil was arrested in a raid, along with Muhammad Tanveer, an alleged Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan ringleader.

They were caught with the help from intelligence agencies from their hideout in Phulgran in Islamabad’s suburbs and a car laden with explosives was also seized from their possession, media reports said on Tuesday.

These two were suspected of planning the attack on Mr. Bhatti with the help of another accomplice Omer Abdullah.They waited for the former minister in a car outside his residence and opened fire,” said a police official.

Adil was among the planners while Tanveer provided him with the AK-47 and other weapons used in the assassination. In March 2011, Bhatti was gunned down in Islamabad. During the interrogation, Adil told the police that he planned to murder Mr. Bhatti as he had spoken about amending the blasphemy laws and supported ‘blasphemers’, The Express Tribune reported

Former Pak minister Shahbaz Bhatti’s killer arrested

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan police have arrested a Taliban militant allegedly involved in the killing of former minister for minorities’ affairs Shahbaz Bhatti, who was shot dead for speaking against the blasphemy laws.Around two weeks ago, Hammad Adil was arrested in a raid, along with Muhammad Tanveer, an alleged Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan ringleader.

They were caught with the help from intelligence agencies from their hideout in Phulgran in Islamabad’s suburbs and a car laden with explosives was also seized from their possession, media reports said on Tuesday.

These two were suspected of planning the attack on Mr. Bhatti with the help of another accomplice Omer Abdullah.They waited for the former minister in a car outside his residence and opened fire,” said a police official.

Adil was among the planners while Tanveer provided him with the AK-47 and other weapons used in the assassination. In March 2011, Bhatti was gunned down in Islamabad. During the interrogation, Adil told the police that he planned to murder Mr. Bhatti as he had spoken about amending the blasphemy laws and supported ‘blasphemers’, The Express Tribune reported

Russia against use of force in Syria resolution

Damascus: Moscow insisted today that a new Security Council resolution on Syria not allow the use of force, while the Arab country's main opposition group demanded a swift international response following the UN report that confirmed chemical weapons were used outside Damascus last month.  Meanwhile, a car bomb exploded at a crossing point along Syria's volatile border with Turkey, Syrian activist groups said. At least 15 people were wounded in the explosion at the rebel-controlled Bab al-Hawa crossing, they said.  In Moscow, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Russia "spoke clearly" about rejecting the use of force when the agreement on Syria abandoning its chemical weapons was worked out in Geneva between US and Russian envoys. 

But if signs emerge that Syria is not fulfilling the agreement or there are reports of further chemical weapons use, "then the Security Council will examine the situation," Lavrov said, suggesting the issue could be reconsidered. 
He spoke at a news conference with French counterpart Laurent Fabius. France and the United States say a military option remains on the table and are pushing for the UN resolution to reflect that.  The meeting in Moscow came a day after UN inspectors submitted their report on the August 21 chemical weapons attack that precipitated the heightened tensions over Syria.  It was the first official confirmation by impartial experts that chemical weapons were used in the attack near Damascus, which killed hundreds. 

Although the report confirmed chemical weapons were used, it did not say who used them, and Lavrov and Fabius differed sharply on their interpretations.  "The report exposes the regime," Fabius said. "On the basis of the information of our external agents, we consider that the report proves the responsibility of the regime for the chemical weapons attack of August 21."  The US, Britain and France jumped on evidence in the report, especially the type of rockets, the composition of the sarin agent, and trajectory of the missiles, to declare that President Bashar Assad's government was responsible. Russia, a staunch ally of the Syrian regime, disagreed. 
Lavrov said the Russian side has "serious reason to suggest that this was a provocation" by the rebels fighting Assad's forces. 

Russia against use of force in Syria resolution

Damascus: Moscow insisted today that a new Security Council resolution on Syria not allow the use of force, while the Arab country's main opposition group demanded a swift international response following the UN report that confirmed chemical weapons were used outside Damascus last month.  Meanwhile, a car bomb exploded at a crossing point along Syria's volatile border with Turkey, Syrian activist groups said. At least 15 people were wounded in the explosion at the rebel-controlled Bab al-Hawa crossing, they said.  In Moscow, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Russia "spoke clearly" about rejecting the use of force when the agreement on Syria abandoning its chemical weapons was worked out in Geneva between US and Russian envoys. 

But if signs emerge that Syria is not fulfilling the agreement or there are reports of further chemical weapons use, "then the Security Council will examine the situation," Lavrov said, suggesting the issue could be reconsidered. 
He spoke at a news conference with French counterpart Laurent Fabius. France and the United States say a military option remains on the table and are pushing for the UN resolution to reflect that.  The meeting in Moscow came a day after UN inspectors submitted their report on the August 21 chemical weapons attack that precipitated the heightened tensions over Syria.  It was the first official confirmation by impartial experts that chemical weapons were used in the attack near Damascus, which killed hundreds. 

Although the report confirmed chemical weapons were used, it did not say who used them, and Lavrov and Fabius differed sharply on their interpretations.  "The report exposes the regime," Fabius said. "On the basis of the information of our external agents, we consider that the report proves the responsibility of the regime for the chemical weapons attack of August 21."  The US, Britain and France jumped on evidence in the report, especially the type of rockets, the composition of the sarin agent, and trajectory of the missiles, to declare that President Bashar Assad's government was responsible. Russia, a staunch ally of the Syrian regime, disagreed. 
Lavrov said the Russian side has "serious reason to suggest that this was a provocation" by the rebels fighting Assad's forces. 

Chandy to take up Madani issue

Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy will speak to his Karnataka counterpart Siddaramaiah Sep 21 about Muslim leader Abdul Nasser Madani, lodged in a Bangalore jail. 

"He will be meeting chief minister of Karnataka when he is in Bangalore on the 21st of this month and the issue of Maudany, facing trial and in a jail in Bangalore, will be discussed," a close aide of Chandy told IANS.

Following this decision, Peoples Democratic Party (the party founded by Madani) has decided to call off its planned Sep 25 hunger strike before the state secretariat here, said its leader Poonthura Siraj. Madani is in custody since August 2010 for his alleged involvement in the 2008 Bangalore bomb blasts. Two people died while 20 were injured after a series of blasts went off July 25, 2008, in the Karnataka capital. Madani secured parole for a few days in March this year to attend his daughter's wedding and then returned to the jail.
-IANS

Chandy to take up Madani issue

Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy will speak to his Karnataka counterpart Siddaramaiah Sep 21 about Muslim leader Abdul Nasser Madani, lodged in a Bangalore jail. 

"He will be meeting chief minister of Karnataka when he is in Bangalore on the 21st of this month and the issue of Maudany, facing trial and in a jail in Bangalore, will be discussed," a close aide of Chandy told IANS.

Following this decision, Peoples Democratic Party (the party founded by Madani) has decided to call off its planned Sep 25 hunger strike before the state secretariat here, said its leader Poonthura Siraj. Madani is in custody since August 2010 for his alleged involvement in the 2008 Bangalore bomb blasts. Two people died while 20 were injured after a series of blasts went off July 25, 2008, in the Karnataka capital. Madani secured parole for a few days in March this year to attend his daughter's wedding and then returned to the jail.
-IANS

In politics to make poor dream big, says Rahul

Baran (Rajasthan): Accusing opposition parties of bias towards the rich, Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi Tuesday said his mission in politics was to make the poor dream big, and laws on food security and rural employment were measures towards realisation of their goals. Addressing a rally here after presiding over functions aimed at improving irrigation and power supply in poll-bound Rajasthan, Rahul Gandhi sought to identify his party with the poor, the youth and the aspiring classes.

"We want that the poorest of poor are able to see the biggest dream. We want women should be able to see biggest dreams. Otherwise, there is no interest in politics for us. That is why I am standing here," Gandhi said to applause from the audience. This was his second rally in the state in seven days. In his about 20-minute speech, he repeatedly referred to welfare legislations passed by the United Progressive Alliance government, including on food security, rural employment guarantee and land acquisition, and accused the opposition of creating hurdles in their passage.

He said the opposition agrees with the Congress on the need to build infrastructure, including roads, bridges, railway lines and power plants, but not on the concern for the poor. "They (opposition) say well-placed people should walk on these roads, should board planes and the common man goes hungry and keeps looking at swanky cars. We say that the biggest dream should be seen by the poor. Whether it is a poor labourer, he should be able to say that my son will fly the aeroplane," he said.

He contended the reason behind poverty is not unemployment, but frequent health problems and diseases.  
Noting the Congress government in Rajasthan was giving free medicines to the poor, he said the scheme will be implemented in the whole country. "Ask the labourers, how much they spend on treatment of diseases. Not only here, (this scheme) will be implemented in the whole country," Gandhi said. Gandhi said that India was country of youth and most of them were poor.

"They have a lot of dreams. If they want to find employment, want to start a business, the government needs to hold their hand," he said, adding the food security bill will help the youth realise their dream. The Congress vice president made no mention of Bharatiya Janata Party's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi, whom the opposition party wants to project as his main rival in the run-up to the 2014 Lok Sabha polls. Widely seen as the prime ministerial candidate by Congressmen, Gandhi presided over functions to lay the foundation stone of the Parwan River Dam Project and Super Critical Power Plant in Chhabra and also to inaugurate three units of Chhabra Plant and a sub-critical unit at Kalisindh. Gandhi was accompanied by Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, former union minister C.P. Joshi, Corporate Affairs Minister Sachin Pilot, and several other senior leaders.
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In politics to make poor dream big, says Rahul

Baran (Rajasthan): Accusing opposition parties of bias towards the rich, Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi Tuesday said his mission in politics was to make the poor dream big, and laws on food security and rural employment were measures towards realisation of their goals. Addressing a rally here after presiding over functions aimed at improving irrigation and power supply in poll-bound Rajasthan, Rahul Gandhi sought to identify his party with the poor, the youth and the aspiring classes.

"We want that the poorest of poor are able to see the biggest dream. We want women should be able to see biggest dreams. Otherwise, there is no interest in politics for us. That is why I am standing here," Gandhi said to applause from the audience. This was his second rally in the state in seven days. In his about 20-minute speech, he repeatedly referred to welfare legislations passed by the United Progressive Alliance government, including on food security, rural employment guarantee and land acquisition, and accused the opposition of creating hurdles in their passage.

He said the opposition agrees with the Congress on the need to build infrastructure, including roads, bridges, railway lines and power plants, but not on the concern for the poor. "They (opposition) say well-placed people should walk on these roads, should board planes and the common man goes hungry and keeps looking at swanky cars. We say that the biggest dream should be seen by the poor. Whether it is a poor labourer, he should be able to say that my son will fly the aeroplane," he said.

He contended the reason behind poverty is not unemployment, but frequent health problems and diseases.  
Noting the Congress government in Rajasthan was giving free medicines to the poor, he said the scheme will be implemented in the whole country. "Ask the labourers, how much they spend on treatment of diseases. Not only here, (this scheme) will be implemented in the whole country," Gandhi said. Gandhi said that India was country of youth and most of them were poor.

"They have a lot of dreams. If they want to find employment, want to start a business, the government needs to hold their hand," he said, adding the food security bill will help the youth realise their dream. The Congress vice president made no mention of Bharatiya Janata Party's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi, whom the opposition party wants to project as his main rival in the run-up to the 2014 Lok Sabha polls. Widely seen as the prime ministerial candidate by Congressmen, Gandhi presided over functions to lay the foundation stone of the Parwan River Dam Project and Super Critical Power Plant in Chhabra and also to inaugurate three units of Chhabra Plant and a sub-critical unit at Kalisindh. Gandhi was accompanied by Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, former union minister C.P. Joshi, Corporate Affairs Minister Sachin Pilot, and several other senior leaders.
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West can’t force itself on us: Syria

Damascus: Syria's foreign ministry Tuesday said that the US and its allies cannot force their will on Syria even as the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) welcomed the US-Russia agreement on checking the use of chemcial weapons in the country. In a statement carried by the state-run SANA news agency, the foreign ministry said talks about the political and constitutional legitimacy in Syria is an "exclusive" right of the Syrian people, Xinhua reported. "In a new confirmation about the size of their involvement in the Syrian crisis and their feverish resolve to impose their will and agendas on the Syrian people, the foreign ministers of the US, France and Britain have tried to promote their contradictory stances through trying to reconcile between their support of terrorism and their allegations about supporting the political process in Syria," the ministry said.

A day earlier, Britain, France and the US agreed to seek a "tough" UN resolution against Syria over its use and stockpile of chemical weapons. During talks in Paris, French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius, US Secretary of State John Kerry and British Foreign Secretary William Hague also announced a "major international gathering" next week in New York to seek further support for the Syrian National Coalition, the main Syrian opposition abroad. "In order to negotiate a political solution, we need a stronger position," Fabius said. Meanwhile, in Jeddah, Secretary-General of the OIC Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu Tuesday welcomed the agreement between the US and Russia over chemical weapons in Syria. In a press statement issued after the release of the report of the UN inspection team on the use of chemical weapons against civilians in Syria, Ihsanoglu reiterated his organisation's firm stand in condemning the use of chemical weapons.

He stressed the need to punish any party that has anything to do with the production or transfer, development or use of chemical weapons in Syria  He stressed that the use of these weapons in Syria Aug 21 should be regarded as a war crime and a crime against humanity. Ihsanoglu confirmed the need to make the Middle East a zone free of all weapons of mass destruction, including nuclear weapons.  Japan too Tuesday condemned the use of chemical weapons in Syria after a UN report confirmed that sarin gas was used in an attack in August near the capital Damascus.

Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida said at a press conference in Tokyo that Japan strongly condemned the use of chemical weapons in Syria, Xinhua reported. He said Japan would closely watch developments at the UN and responses by the Syrian government on the US-Russian agreement on Syria's chemical weapons. On Sep 14, US Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov announced they agreed on a framework toward complete destruction of chemical weapons in Syria. The accord asks the Syrian government to submit within one week a listing of its chemical weapons stockpiles and to allow access to international inspectors. Kishida also called for a stop to violence in the country and starting a political dialogue between relevant sides in Syria.
-IANS

West can’t force itself on us: Syria

Damascus: Syria's foreign ministry Tuesday said that the US and its allies cannot force their will on Syria even as the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) welcomed the US-Russia agreement on checking the use of chemcial weapons in the country. In a statement carried by the state-run SANA news agency, the foreign ministry said talks about the political and constitutional legitimacy in Syria is an "exclusive" right of the Syrian people, Xinhua reported. "In a new confirmation about the size of their involvement in the Syrian crisis and their feverish resolve to impose their will and agendas on the Syrian people, the foreign ministers of the US, France and Britain have tried to promote their contradictory stances through trying to reconcile between their support of terrorism and their allegations about supporting the political process in Syria," the ministry said.

A day earlier, Britain, France and the US agreed to seek a "tough" UN resolution against Syria over its use and stockpile of chemical weapons. During talks in Paris, French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius, US Secretary of State John Kerry and British Foreign Secretary William Hague also announced a "major international gathering" next week in New York to seek further support for the Syrian National Coalition, the main Syrian opposition abroad. "In order to negotiate a political solution, we need a stronger position," Fabius said. Meanwhile, in Jeddah, Secretary-General of the OIC Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu Tuesday welcomed the agreement between the US and Russia over chemical weapons in Syria. In a press statement issued after the release of the report of the UN inspection team on the use of chemical weapons against civilians in Syria, Ihsanoglu reiterated his organisation's firm stand in condemning the use of chemical weapons.

He stressed the need to punish any party that has anything to do with the production or transfer, development or use of chemical weapons in Syria  He stressed that the use of these weapons in Syria Aug 21 should be regarded as a war crime and a crime against humanity. Ihsanoglu confirmed the need to make the Middle East a zone free of all weapons of mass destruction, including nuclear weapons.  Japan too Tuesday condemned the use of chemical weapons in Syria after a UN report confirmed that sarin gas was used in an attack in August near the capital Damascus.

Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida said at a press conference in Tokyo that Japan strongly condemned the use of chemical weapons in Syria, Xinhua reported. He said Japan would closely watch developments at the UN and responses by the Syrian government on the US-Russian agreement on Syria's chemical weapons. On Sep 14, US Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov announced they agreed on a framework toward complete destruction of chemical weapons in Syria. The accord asks the Syrian government to submit within one week a listing of its chemical weapons stockpiles and to allow access to international inspectors. Kishida also called for a stop to violence in the country and starting a political dialogue between relevant sides in Syria.
-IANS