Turkey's Kuveyt Turk investment fund, which operates under the
principles of Islamic sharia law, plans to open its first German branch
in October. The first branch in Germany will be opened in Frankfurt with the
assistance of Ernst & Young and the Norton Rose law firm. More
branches are due to open in the near future in other German cities,
particularly Berlin, the Financial Times Deutschland reported.
Sharia
law bans a fixed or floating payment or acceptance of specific interest
or fees on loans. The bank also buys houses and then resells it to
clients for a higher price. Such banks already operate in Britain, where
the Muslim community nears 3 million people. Germany has one
of the largest Muslim population in Western Europe. About 3.5 million
Muslims live in Germany with 70% of them originally from Turkey.
NEW DELHI - Nine Indian air force personnel were killed on Thursday when two Russian-designed military helicopters apparently collided in mid-air, the military and police said.
Air force spokesman Wing Commander Gerard Galway said the two Mi-17 helicopters were “flying in close formation” over a firing range in the western state of Gujarat when they crashed. “It is likely it wa#s a mid-air collision,” Galway told AFP, confirming that all nine on board the two aircraft had died. Galway said an inquiry would establish exactly how the accident occurred.
An air official who did not want to be named said the two helicopters were practising firing over the range near a military airbase in Jamnagar district when the accident happened. Jamnagar police chief Harikrishna Patil told AFP by telephone from the accident site that the aircraft appeared to have collided before they came down in cotton fields near a village. “One of the helicopters also caught fire after hitting a high-tension power cable,” he said.
President Vladimir Putin congratulated the Russian Hajj Mission on
its 10th anniversary, and said that Islam has become integral to
Russia’s religious, cultural and social fabric. “Traditions of Islam are based on eternal values of kindness,
mercifulness and justice. Millions of people in our country practice
this ancient religion,” Putin wrote in a telegram published on the Kremlin’s website. The
letter was forwarded to the participants of the anniversary meeting,
which took place in Grozny, the capital of the Republic of Chechnya, on
Thursday.
Putin also saluted the Muslim community for being active
participants in the country’s public life, developing broad charity
initiatives and strengthening family values. The wider Muslim community
is opposed to all forms of religious intolerance and extremism, the
Russian President wrote. “I want to stress that the state’s
estimation of fruitful activities of Muslim organizations is very high
and the state guarantees its citizens the opportunity to follow the
norms of their religion including the pilgrimage to the holy places of
Islam,” he said, adding that the Hajj Mission has made numerous
strides in resolving issues related to Russian believers’ pilgrimages to
Mecca, Saudi Arabia.
An article by Khaled Ahmed under the caption, “General Kayani’s War”, published in The Express Tribune on August 26, 2012 is no more than a fictitious story against Pakistan’s Chief of Army Staff General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani. While showing illogical approach, the writer has tried to prove as if war against terrorism is Gen. Kayani’s personal war, being fought on behalf of the US. He rejected Gen. Kayani’s statement that war against terrorism was “Pakistan’s war…and Pakistan’s trouble was internal.” By distorting facts, Khaled Ahmed presumed that in the country, people think that it is America’s war “in which Pakistan was playing a self-damaging ancillary role.” According to him, “most TV anchors reacted angrily, stubbornly clinging to the narrative made current by General Kayani’s own subordinates in the ISI.” Confused in his own thoughts, the writer has ignored the principles of realpolitik and background of the war on terror. The fact of the matter is that after 9/11, a number of small states such as Uzbekistan, Philippines, Yemen, and most of the Arab states decided to support the US war against terrorism because they were less powerful as compared to the United States. By acting upon realistic approach, President Gen. Pervez Musharraf also decided to join this war because Pakistan was facing acute economic and financial crises including hostile factor of India. In case of refusal, the then Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage had threatened to take Pakistan back to the Stone Age. Perhaps, Khaled Ahmed does not know that we are living in an unequal world order. In this regard, unlike the small countries, the US-led major western countries have the decision-making power in the UN Security Council, IMF and World Bank. In these terms, these developed states have a favourable bargaining leverage vis-à-vis the weak countries. Even with or without the assent of the Security Council, these western countries can attack any country or can impose sanctions on less developed nations. Invasion of Afghanistan, Iraq and military action against Libya including economic sanctions against Iran can be cited as an example in this respect. Although during the Mushrraf era, being a developing country, having weak bargaining leverage Islamabad joined this ‘different war’ against militancy after 9/11, yet the writer Khaled has indicated baseless approach by mentioning that even at present Gen. Pervaz Kayani is fighting America’s war. In the past few months, Pakistan’s TV channels are continuously engaged in conducting controversial debate regarding the NRO judgment implementation case, being heard by The Supreme Court of Pakistan. Now, this debate has intensified in the electronic media. Quite contrary to the concocted story of the writer, TV anchors and any official of the ISI did not blame that Gen. Kayani is waging America’s war. In his irrational approach, the writer, Khaled Ahmed has neglected the ground realities in his article. In this respect, he must know that while playing a double game, the US has entangled Pakistan in this new style war. In this context, American CIA, Indian RAW and Israeli Mossad have established their spy-network in Afghanistan from where well-trained militants are being sent to Pakistan to conduct subversive acts in various cities of the country, assaults on Pakistan’s security check posts and in the province of Balochistan where they also assist separatist elements. Posing themselves as Pakistani Taliban, especially, RAW-backed Indian Muslims have joined the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and other extremist outfits. These are the elements which have been conducting suicide attacks, bomb blasts, targeting killings, sectarian violence and assaults on the security forces in order to destabilise Pakistan as it is the only nuclear country in the Islamic world. Besides other recent subversive activities, TTP also claimed responsibility for attack on Kamra Base, which was foiled by the valiant personnel of Pakistan Air Force and Special Service Group (SSG) of Commandoes of Pak Army. Such sorts of terror attacks are arranged by the hostile agencies to target Pakistan’s strategic interests. While targeting Gen. Kayani, the writer misperceived that Kayani once told that he was “wedded to the doctrine of strategic depth in Afghanistan to better confront India in case of conflict.” In fact, Gen. Kayani never issued such a statement. In his recent meeting with the ISAF commander Gen. John Allen in Rawalpindi, Chief of Army Staff Gen. Ashfaq Pervaiz Kayani only pointed out that peace and stability in Afghanistan were crucial to Islamabad’s long-term interests. However, Khaled is silent about the fact that India which has got strategic depth against Pakistan is further strengthening its grip in Afghanistan. Citing a number of developments in Pakistan, such as release of Raymond Davis, closure and opening of NATO supply routes, prospective military operations in North Waziristan and so on, Khaled Ahmed has misguided the general public that all the decisions are made by the civil government under the dictates of army. And “General Kayani is thus the most powerful man in the country.” Reality is that all these decisions were made by the civil authorities. It could be judged from the recent statement of Gen. Kayani in relation to the operation in North Waziristan. After his meeting with Gen. James N. Mattis, Commander US CENTCOM, on August 17, Chief of Army Staff Gen. Ashfaq Parvez Kayani categorically dispelled the speculative reporting in foreign media, regarding joint operations in North Waziristan. He reiterated, “We might, if necessary, undertake operations in NWA, in the timeframe of our choosing…when directed by the civil government”, and “it will never be a result of any outside pressure.” In his unjustified hostility against army chief and ISI, the writer also set aside the facts about the memogate case, saying, that going to the Supreme Court in this respect was a mistake. In this connection, it is brought to the knowledge of Khaled Ahmed that on June 12, this year, the memo judicial commission’s report submitted in the Supreme Court, found out the truth about seeking American intervention to pre-empt a military coup after the May 2-kill Osama raid. The report established that the memorandum was authentic and Pakistan’s former ambassador to United States, Husain Haqqani was its originator and architect. Now, reality behind memogate case has been proved as mentioned in the reply of Gen. Kayani and former DG ISI Gen. Shuja Ahmed Pasha, submitted to the apex court. The writer seems ignorant that when the crisis deepened between the civil and military leaders in relation to the memogate issue, some political parties and media anchors were spreading rumours that martial law could be imposed in the country. But no such attempt was made by Gen. Kayani. Notably, on March 6, 2008, Gen. Kayani had clearly remarked, “The army would stay out of the political process.” He is still acting upon the principle of non-interference in political affairs. While taking note of critical situation in the country, and stressing upon national unity, Gen. Kayani especially stated on June 9, 2011, “Any effort to create division among important institutions of the country is not in national interest…the people of Pakistan whose support the army has always considered vital for its operations against terrorists.” The writer has totally neglected the services of Army performed during earthquakes, floods etc. and sacrifices of its personnel during Swat and Malakand military operations. Still, Army is coping with militants in some tribal areas so as to protect the lives of the people by sacrificing its soldiers. There is no doubt it is nation’s war against terrorism which Pak Army is fighting against the foreign supported terrorists. While fulfilling the designs of external elements, the writer, Khaled Ahmad who has created a fictitious story in his article to tarnish the image of Gen. Kayani, and ISI is definitely an agent of CIA or RAW. By Sajjad Shaukat He writes on international affairs and is author of the book: US vs Islamic Militants, Invisible Balance of Power: Dangerous Shift in International Relations
The funeral of Dagestani Muslim spiritual leader Sheikh Said Afandi. (RIA Novosti/Abdula Magomedov)
A Russian State Duma deputy is suggesting the murder of a Muslim
leader from the Russian Republic of Dagestan was organised to
distabilize the country and incite inter-religious conflict. Liberal Democratic Party MP Yaroslav Nilov says, “There is an
ongoing fight against Russia. [The killing of Sheikh Said Afandi] it is
one of the attempts to stir up a conflict between religions.” Nilov
is the chairman of the State Duma Committee on Public Associations and
Religious Organizations, and says the situation is being whipped up from
abroad for geopolitical reasons. He told Interfax that some foreign
special services and “world decision-making centers” are financing and
using radicals in Russia.
“Certain individuals who promote radical Islam get sufficient financing for undermining activities,” Nilov pointed out. Sheikh Afandi, the leader of the Sufi Muslims in Dagestan, and six of his followers were killed on Tuesday by a female suicide bomber
who blew herself up in his house in the village of Chirkei.
Investigators consider Afandi’s religious activity as the primary motive
for his death. Following the tragedy, State Duma Speaker Sergey
Naryshkin called on people and law enforcers not to give in to
provocations in connection with the sheikh’s murder.
The terrorist attack became “a blow to the spiritual foundations of the state and believers' feelings," he said. “All
together, law enforcement agencies and ordinary citizens should –
within the framework of the law – suppress any encroachments upon or
faith and people who defend its ideas,” the Duma chairman stressed. Sheikh
Ravil Gainutdin, Chairman of the Russian Council of Muftis, says the
murder of the theologian may lead to bloodshed in the republic.He said
he is concerned this terrorist attack may put an end to the "process of
dialogue between Muslims, which has just begun," cites Interfax.
"Dagestan
people now need a lot of strength, wisdom, and God-fearing to keep the
situation in a legal realm, prevent a civil war, and prevent conflicts
from dividing Dagestan's society," he underlined.
A group of US soldiers planning to take over their base, blow up targets around the country, wrest control of the government and kill the president – it could be a Hollywood blockbuster, but it’s a developing story in the southern state of Georgia. Four US(Z) Army soldiers from the Fort Stewart base in southeast Georgia are charged with killing a former comrade and his girlfriend in a bid to prevent the couple from informing on a militia group of which they were all members. One of the soldiers has agreed to cooperate with the prosecution in exchange for a lesser charge, while the rest are charged with malicious murder, felony murder, criminal gang activity, aggravated assault and using a firearm while committing a felony. The case's prosecutors paint a vivid picture of the group’s plans and actions. Taking over the sprawling Fort Stewart base, bombing a fountain in nearby Savannah, bombing a dam and poisoning the apple crop in Washington State, and, eventually, toppling the US government and killing the president – these were the goals of the group, which called itself F.E.A.R., an acronym for Forever Enduring Always Ready. “This domestic terrorist organization did not simply plan and talk,” said prosecutor Isabel Pauley. “Prior to the murders in this case, the group took action. Evidence shows the group possessed the knowledge, means and motives to carry out their plans.” According to the prosecution, the group is the brainchild of one Pvt. Issac Aguigui, who allegedly sought out soldiers who were in trouble or disillusioned. Members could easily identify each other by distinctive tattoos resembling the anarchy symbol. Little information is available about the man behind the plan, however. Gossip website Gawker.com identified Aguigui as a page during the 2008 Republican Convention. Prosecutors say that during a videotaped interview with military investigators, Aguigui called himself “the nicest cold-blooded murderer you will ever meet.” Aguigui’s pregnant wife died last year – and though he was never charged with her death, prosecutors say the judge finds it "highly suspicious.” The $500,000 of insurance and benefits Aguigui received after his wife’s death financed the group’s activities. At least $87,000 went towards the purchase of semiautomatic rifles and bomb components. An undisclosed amount was spent on the acquisition of land in Washington State for the group's use. While it’s unclear how easy it was to join the group, there seems to have been only one way to leave it. Former soldier Michael Roark, also a member of the militia, was killed just two days after leaving the Army. He and girlfriend Tiffany York were killed by other F.E.A.R. members, allegedly on the orders of Aguigui, who called them “loose ends” and believed they would betray others, prosecutors say. The pair was taken to the woods under the pretense of going to shooting practice, and both were then shot in the head. The Army seems to have had some knowledge of the gang's activities, going so far as to charge four soldiers with the slayings of Roark and York in March. But the charges were never acted upon, and were later dropped. Moreover, Fort Stewart spokesperson Kevin Larson said, “Fort Stewart-Hunter Army Airfield does not have a gang or militia problem.” He added, however, that Army investigators are still working on the case.
PESHAWAR - An operation to clear Indian and Western backed Taliban imposters from Bajaur on Monday
left 36 dead including three soldiers and two members of a government
supported peace committee, officials said. Armed forces had launched
the operation to clear the village of Batwar of TTP terrorists who
had crossed over from the neighbouring Kunar province of Afghanistan. “During
the clash, 31 militants were killed while three security personnel
embraced Shahadat (martyrdom)”, a senior official of the paramilitary
Frontier Corps told AFP. “Two members of the peace committee also
embraced Shahadat while five security personnel got injured,” he said.
Most
of the area has now been cleared of TTP terrorists, but the operation still
continues to flush out the remaining fighters, another official said. It
was not possible to confirm the death toll independently because the
far-flung district is inaccessible to media and aid workers. Bajaur
is one of seven semi-autonomous tribal agencies, where American and Indian backed
militants have carved out strongholds used to plot attacks on the
country, which has lost more than 3,000 soldiers in the fight against
these insurgents.
On August 23, 2012 global nuclear experts went into shock after reading the Indian national auditors’ report on India’s nuclear safety and declared Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB), a weak regularity body. Interestingly, the AERB was constituted through an executive order in 1983 and reports to the Chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC). The locals residing in the vicinities of the nuclear plants have demanded the relocation of plants away from the populace area. In this connection they are soon going to launch proper protests against AEC and central government.
He exposed that AERB, which supervises safety issues at India’s 22 running nuclear plants, has no power to make rules for enforcing compliance. It can only impose penalty in the cases of nuclear safety oversight. The penalty would be in the shape of a fine of maximum Rs. 500 as a deterrent in cases. In other words, Indian nuclear safety can be compromised in Rs. 500 only. Indian Comptroller and Auditor General have also confirmed the auditor’s report and warned a Fukushima or Chernobyl-like disaster, if the nuclear safety issue is not addressed by the government. As one of a good neighbour, I number of times in my articles tried to draw IAEA and Indian nuclear authorities’ attention about the weak and poor safety arrangements at all Indian nuclear plants. Unfortunately, “Mr. B. Raman”, former Additional Sectary of RAW instead of further advising its government to improve upon the security and safety arrangement, declared my article, “Credibility of Indian Nuclear Programme” as a classic example of propaganda against Indian Nuclear Programme. Hope, this time my brother is not going to declare the Indian auditor report fabricated one. It is mentionable here that AERB was constituted through an executive order in 1983 and present report to the Chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC). Therefore, “The legal status of the AERB continued to be that of an authority subordinate to the Central Government, with powers delegated to it by the latter.” Therefore, no subordinate detachment or a body can inspect her parental organization or headquarter in true letter and spirit. Whereas, according to IAEA, independent regularity authority is one of the needs of the agency to inspect the security and safety arrangements at nuclear plants. In this connection Indian auditor very rightly pointed out that a number of countries such as Australia, Canada, France, Pakistan and the US have conferred legal status to their respective bodies. Report also mentioned “out of the 168 standards, codes and guides identified by AERB for development under various thematic areas, 27 safety documents still remained to be developed. The report said off-site emergency exercises highlighted the inadequate emergency preparedness to deal with situations involving radiological effects from a nuclear power plant which may extend to public areas. It is also a matter of concern that approach road to the plant site of Tarapur Atomic Power Station was highly congested, which would pose serious problems in dealing with any future emergency. The current report is not the first one; earlier on February 28, 2012 an expert committee appointed by the Tamil Nadu government on submitted its report on the safety aspects of the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project (KKNNP) to Chief Minister Jayalalithaa, marking a crucial stage in the debate over the project. At the same time, the State government invited the People’s Movement against Nuclear Energy (PMANE) representatives for talks on next day i.e. Feburary29, 2012. However, on above mentioned report visible clashes has been noticed between government sponsored scientists and private but straight former scientists who were really worried about the lives of the local living around the project. In this regard M.R. Srinivasan, a former chairman of Indian Atomic Energy commission and member of experts committee while talking to the media reporters said that “Let the government have a cool view of the report,” but ” I have not taken back my words on the issue despite that few government officials are satisfied over the issue.” He further explained that on February 20, after visiting the nuclear plant and holding talks with PMANE representatives in Tirunelveli, Dr. Srinivasan had said the state-of-the-art safety features incorporated in the reactor had made it a ‘third generation plus’ reactor. S. Iniyan, Director of Centre for Energy Studies, Anna University, D. Arivuoli, Professor, Department of Physics, Anna University and former IAS office L.N. Vijayaraghavan are the other members on the committee. Meanwhile, Mr. Udayakumar has sent a legal notice to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for insinuating that the anti-Kudankulam protests were funded by United States and the Scandinavian non-government organisations. Advocate M. Radhakrishnan, who sent the notice on behalf of Mr. Udayakumar, said the Prime Minister had made a “false statement with an intention to harm his client’s reputation”. Nevertheless, number of incidents of gas leakages, Uranium theft cases, murder of nuclear staff and scientists have already been reported and registered. Precisely, commenting the major incident in nukes pants, theft cases of enriched Uranium, murdering and harassing of nuclear staff by intelligence agency and leakage of gases are in increase. Reportedly, because of poor safety and security arrangement on May 14 2010, another incident of poor radiation security green place radiation experts have identified eight hotspots in New Delhi Mayapuri area which have 5000 times the natural background radiation defined as safe by the department of atomic energy. In this incident one individual died and eleven others were injured. The nukes experts always have shown strong concern over Indian poor safety and nuke arrangements on the nuke plants and handlers. In this reared New Delhi never paid heed to IAEA concerns over nukes safety and security. Almost 160 cases of theft, loss and misplacement of radioactive source have been registered in the local police. Again recently a radiographer boarding a train in New Delhi carrying an industrial gamma radiography exposure device was stolen from him and never found. In April 2007 a radiography Camera stolen from Jadadishphir near Lucknow could not be found till to date. In November 2009, fifty five employees consumed radioactive material after titrated founded its way into the drinking water cooler in Kaiga Nuclear plant in Karnataka. The leakage of 4-14 tones of heavy water from the pipes at madras atomic processing plant in Tamil Nadu. Six workers have been exposed to high doses of radioactive radiation. Indian police found dead body of the nuclear scientist, Lokanathan Mahalingam from Kali River in Jun 2009. The scientist was in possession of highly sensitive / classified information. On 29 December 2009, a fire broke out at the BARC, killing two scientists identified as Umang Singh and Partha Bagga. Anantha Narayanan, a scientific working in the computer department of Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research, Kalpakkam is missing since Feb 2010. A 48 year old Madhadevan lyer, scientist of the BARC was found dead in his official residence in Feb 2010. Mr. Thirumala Prasad Thenka, a scientist of Raja Ramanna Centre for Advance Technology (RRCAT) committed suicide by hanging himself on 12 Apr 2010. On 28 April 2010, Delhi Police traces Cobalt – 60 to DU Chemistry Department. Coming back to the current report, the most serious problems relate to ensure the safe use of radiation in medical and industrial facilities across India. In this context, the AERB was ordered by the Supreme Court in 2001 to set up radiation safety directorates in 35 administrative areas, but by July 2012 it had achieved this in only two. The concerned agency had also failed to frame rules for cost recovery from licenses and was therefore bearing almost the entire cost of the consent process for permitting and inspection. The consent system itself has been “weak”, resulting in “a substantial number of radiation facilities operating without licenses.” The report said that 91% of X-ray facilities were not registered with AERB and were therefore unregulated. The AERB has never set out standard inspection periods for radiation facilities and the comptroller’s report noted an 85% shortfall in inspections at industrial radiography and radiotherapy units, compared to IAEA norms. For diagnostic radiobiology facilities the shortfall was “over 97%”. There is no detailed inventory of radioactive sources to help ensure safe disposal and no “proper mechanism” to check the safe disposal of radioactive waste. It is also worth mentioning here that the Indian state nuclear establishment has not drawn on the services of the IAEA to peer-review its regulatory system and comment on its effectiveness. In the end, the comptroller very rightly concluded that the government should ensure the regulator is “empowered and independent” and that this is specified in law. Inspection regimes should be set out based on risk analyses and checks should be undertaken either by IAEA or in terms of the norms prescribed by the UN atomic agency. Auditor report also reminded me the unforgettable miseries of Bhopal Union Carbide Pesticide Plant, when over 8000 innocent people killed and more than 5000 suffered with serious injuries as a result of gas leakage in 1984. The affected individuals of Bhopal have still not been compensated and keep on crying for their rights even in the highest courts. In short, auditor report confirms that Indian government particular Chairman Atomic Energy Commission has never been serious in removing bugs of safety at nuclear plants .Moreover, Indian scientists and authorities are lacking expertise in handling sensitive and dangerous material related to nukes and gases. World community should ask India to stop further expansion of their nuclear and Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) programme. (Note; Major part of Indian auditor’s report has been incorporated in unique form with a view to present the facts in original shape) By Zaheer-ul-Hasan The writer can be approached through zameer36@gmail.com
Overtly, US high officials state that they seek stability in Pakistan, but covertly, they continue to destabilise this country through multi-faceted subversive activities of the American CIA, Indian RAW and Israeli Mossad. With the assistance of these secret agencies, Indo-Israeli lobbies which are working in Europe, and especially, penetrated in the US administration including their media manipulate any major terror event of Pakistan in order to show to the international community that this country’s nuclear weapons are not safe as militants can possess them. Although recent terrorists’ assault on Kamra Base was successfully foiled by the personnel of Pakistan Air Force, yet a baseless report, published in the New York Times on the same day said that suspected militants attacked a major Pakistani Air Force base where some of the country’s nuclear weapons were considered to be stored in the early hours of the militants’ attack. The report also presumed, “The base is part of Pakistan s nuclear stockpile, estimated to include at least 100 warheads.” US Defence Secretary Leon Panetta also stated on the same day, “There is a danger of nuclear weapons of Pakistan, falling into hands of terrorists.” Notably when militants had attacked on Pakistan’s Naval Airbase in Karachi on May 23, 2011, US-led some western countries including India and Israel, while exploiting the situation had accelerated their campaign against the security of Pakistan’s nuclear weapons. Particularly, on May 25, last year, Indian Defence Minister AK Antony misperceived that India was concerned about the safety of Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal after a group of terrorists laid siege to a heavily guarded naval air base.” He explained, “Naturally it is a concern not only for us but for everybody.” In fact, US and other hostile countries which feel jealousy in relation to Pakistan’s atomic assets, should better have concerns about India’s nuclear weapons which are quite insecure.Indian past record proves various kinds of security lapses regarding various nuclear plants and the related sensitive materials. In July 1998, India’s Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) seized eight Kg. of nuclear material from three engineers in Chennai. It was reported that the uranium was stolen from an atomic research center. On November 7, 2000, International Atomic Agency (IAEA) disclosed that Indian police had seized 57 pounds of uranium and arrested two men for illicit trafficking of radioactive material. IAEA had revealed that Indian civil nuclear facilities were vulnerable to thefts. On January 26, 2003, CNN pointed out that Indian company, NEC Engineers Private Ltd. shipped 10 consignments to Iraq, containing highly sensitive equipments entailing titanium vessels and centrifugal pumps. In February 2004, India’s Ambassador to Libya, Dinkar Srivastava disclosed that New Delhi was investigating that retired Indian scientists could possibly be engaged in “high technology programs” for financial gains during employment in the Libyan government. In December 2005, US imposed sanctions on two Indian firms for selling missile goods and chemical arms material to Iran in violation of India’s commitment to prevent proliferation. In the same year, Indian scientists, Dr. Surendar and Y. S. R Prasad had been blacklisted by Washington due to their involvement in nuclear theft. In December 2006, a container packed with radioactive material had been stolen from an Indian fortified research atomic facility near Mumbai. In June 2009, India’s nuclear scientist, Lokanathan Mahalingam missed from the scenario and after a couple of days; his dead body was recovered from the Kali River. Indian police concocted a story that Mahalingam had committed suicide by jumping into the river. It is a big joke to hide some real facts behind his death because wisdom proves that if an educated person decides to commit suicide, he will definitely adopt a soft way to eliminate his life. Afterwards, Dr. Haleema Saadia said that death of the scientist is a conspiracy. However, events of nuclear theft, smuggling and killing have become a regular feature of Indian atomic plants which still continue in one or the other way. It is regrettable that by setting aside the Indian irresponsible record of proliferation, the US signed defence agreement with India on July 20, 2009 as part of the deal about civil nuclear technology, agreed upon by the two countries in 2008. Thus, New Delhi is officially allowed to obtain the US sophisticated arms and nuclear weapons for its armed forces. In this regard, America had also pressurised IAEA to sign an accord of specific safeguards with India. It permits New Delhi a broad atomic cooperation, while superseding the IAEA in relation to transfer of nuclear equipments and technologies. These arrangements also entail enrichment and reprocessing items under the so-called cover of IAEA. For this purpose, Washington also contacted the Nuclear Suppliers Group in order to grant a waiver to India for starting civil nuclear trade on larger scale, while New Delhi has not signed the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). And India has already been getting nuclear material and arms of all kinds from Israel, Russia, and other European countries. It is mentionable that while acting upon their unilateral approach, US-led west is displaying pin-drop silence over the continued wave of separatism and insurgency in India’s more than seven states including terror acts at other places. In case of Maoist insurgency, it has increased to a greater extent. On September 21, 2009, even Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had admitted that the Maoist “insurgency is the single biggest threat to India’s security. On the other side, despite the repeated assurances of Pakistan’s military and civil leadership that Pakistan’s nuclear weapons are well-protected and are under tight security arrangements, having well-coordinated command and control system, a deliberate propaganda campaign against the safety of these weapons keeps on going particularly by the US and India. Besides, some European countries also make much hue and cry regarding the safety of Pakistan’s nuclear assets by ignoring Indian illegal proliferation. It indicates their double standards in the Sub-continent. Nonetheless, Pak ‘nukes’ are more secure than those of India. By Sajjad Shaukat He writes on international affairs and is author of the book: US vs Islamic Militants, Invisible Balance of Power: Dangerous Shift in International Relations
WARNING – GRAPHIC IMAGES: The NATO run mainstream media
claims the Syrian military was responsible for a massacre in the town
of Daraya, however the residents of Daraya have a different point of
view.
The British Daily Star has reported in their article, “SAS HUNT BIO ARMS,”
that, “nearly 200 elite SAS and SBS troops are in or around Syria
hunting for Assad’s weapons of mass destruction.” The Star also claims
that the SAS are accompanied by British MI6, USZ CIA, and both French and
American soldiers. This after USZ’s Barack Obama made comments claiming
the USZ would military intervene if Syria so much as “moves them [unconfirmed WMDs] in a threatening fashion.”
Like Iraq, the West has provided no evidence that such weapons even
exist, let alone prove that the weapons have or even would be used
against terrorists operating across Syria. And like in Iraq, another
false pretext is being developed through leaks, and limited hangouts in
an attempt to prime the public for a desperate intervention designed to
bolster the West’s collapsing terrorist front.
The West also categorically lacks any semblance of an international
mandate to act militarily within Syria – meaning that if SAS soldiers
are in Syria, they are in egregious violation of international law.
Image: The symbols for nuclear, biological, and
chemical weapons. The West is the undisputed champion of deploying each
of these weapons of mass destruction against their enemies – from
nuclear bombs upon Japan, to depleted uranium and white phosphorus upon
Iraq, to Agent Orange all across Vietnam – it stands to reason that
these weapons would eventually end up in the hands of the their proxies
as well.
USZ, British, French, and Gulf State-backed Al-CIA-Da militants have
been attempting to infiltrate and violently overthrow the government of
Syria, as well as terrorize the population into submission in a brutal,
year and half long terror campaign. In July and August, NATO-backed
terrorists attempted to seize Syria’s two largest cities, Aleppo and
Damascus only to be dealt severe losses and a rebound of Syrian forces
enjoying increasing public support for ending the violence.
The spokesman in Afghanistan has rejected reports that the son of the
founder of the powerful Haqqani militant network has been killed. Zabiullah Mujahid said in an email sent to reporters late Saturday that Badruddin Haqqani is "alive and healthy" in Afghanistan. The statement conflicts with assertions by a senior Taliban commander that a U.S. drone strike in Pakistan killed Haqqani. His death would mark a major blow to the organization founded by his
father, Jalaluddin Haqqani, viewed by the U.S. as a powerful enemy in
neighboring Afghanistan. Pakistani intelligence officials have also said
they are 90 percent certain Haqqani was killed in Tuesday s strike. The email calls the reports false rumors and says Haqqani is occupied with his responsibilities in Afghanistan.
Travellers walk with their belongings towards
the Egyptian side of the Rafah border crossing
on August 10, 2012. (AFP Photo/STR )
Egypt has decided to reopen its border crossing with Gaza after
closing it on the back of a militant attack in the Sinai Peninsula, that
killed 16 Egyptian soldiers earlier this month. The crossing is Gaza’s only connection with the outside world since
Israhell started its blockade of the territory in 2007, when Hamas took
power. "The Egyptian side has informed us that the Rafah crossing would open all days of the week, without more details," said Ehab Al-Ghsain, spokesman for the interior ministry in Gaza, as quoted by Reuters.
Following
the attack Egypt allowed only a small number of Palestinians to cross
the border. Since, the humanitarian situation appears to have worsened
in Gaza, with Hamas officials warning of a potential health crisis
there. The reopening of the border-crossing is likely to improve
relations between the new Egyptian government and Gaza’s Hamas rulers –
which worsened following the deadly attack on August 5. Hamas denied suggestions that Palestinian gunmen took part in the assault. The incident, claiming the lives of 16 Egyptian servicemen, prompted Cairo to boost its military presence in Sinai.
The
move prompted concern from Israhell, accusing Egypt of violating the 1979
peace accord between the two countries.The deal stipulates that Egypt
is only allowed to have lightly armed policemen in the area bordering
Israhell. The treaty also states that significant military moves by Egypt
must be coordinated with Israhell. Egypt’s new defense minister has
backed the country’s increased military presence in the Sinai Peninsula
during his first conversation with his Israhelli counterpart, Egyptian
officials said Saturday. Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi told Ehud Barak that
the tanks are needed to fight terrorism and assured him that it was
only a temporary measure.
The BBC has sensationally censored a news story and a video showing
Syrian rebels forcing a prisoner to become a suicide bomber, a war crime
under the Geneva Conventions, presumably because it reflected badly on
establishment media efforts to portray the FSA as glorious freedom
fighters. The video, a copy of which can be viewed above (the original BBC
version was deleted), shows Free Syrian Army rebels preparing a bomb
that is loaded onto the back of a truck to be detonated at a government
checkpoint in the city of Aleppo.
The clip explains how the rebels have commandeered an apartment
belonging to a Syrian police captain. The rebels are seen sneering at
photos of the police captain’s family while they proclaim, “Look at
their freedom, look how good it is,” while hypocritically enjoying the
luxury of the man’s swimming pool. The video then shows a prisoner who the rebels claim belonged to a
pro-government militia. Bruises from torture on the prisoner’s body are
explained away as having been metered out by the man’s previous captors.
The BBC commentary emphasizes how well the rebels are treating the man,
showing them handing him a cigarette.
However, the man has been tricked into thinking he is part of a
prisoner exchange program when in reality he is being set up as an
unwitting suicide bomber. The prisoner is blindfolded and told to drive
the truck towards a government checkpoint. “What he doesn’t know is that the truck is the one that’s been rigged with a 300 kilo bomb,” states the narrator. The clip then shows rebels returning disappointed after it’s revealed
that the remote detonator failed and the bomb did not explode. The BBC narrator admits that forcing prisoners to become suicide bombers “would certainly be considered a war crime.”
New York Times reporters who shot the video claim they had no
knowledge of the plot. A longer version of the clip is posted on the New York Times You Tube channel. The title of the clip glorifies the rebel fighters as “The Lions of Tawhid”.
Within hours of the story being published, it was subsequently sent down the memory by the BBC. Attempts to reach the original article URL are greeted with a 404 Not Found page. In addition, a You Tube version of the same video originally posted
on the official BBC News 2012 channel was also removed. Although the You
Tube page for the video states that it was removed after a “copyright
claim by British Broadcasting Corporation” this is a bogus reason,
because the video was not uploaded by a third party, it was posted on
the official BBC channel, as the screenshot below proves.
“Copyright claim” is a bogus reason for the video’s removal because it
originally appeared on the official BBC News Channel, and was not
uploaded by a third party. It seems clear that the only reason for the video to be removed would
be because senior BBC news editors felt the story reflected badly on
the propaganda campaign to characterize the Syrian rebels as venerable
and proud freedom fighters, when in reality as we have documented they have been guilty of massacres, kidnappings, torture and other acts of brutality.
This represents a clear effort to hide evidence of Syrian rebels, who the Obama administration recently pledged to support with taxpayer dollars, engaged in war crimes. In addition, the fact that the rebels, under the direction of Al-Qaeda fighters, are building bombs and carrying out terrorist attacks is something the NATO-aligned media is keen not to emphasize. This is by no means the first time the BBC has been caught
manipulating the news in an effort to propagandize for western military
involvement in Syria. Back in May we exposed
how the BBC has used a years-old photo of dead Iraqi children to depict
victims of an alleged government assault in the town of Houla.
The photographer who took the original picture, Marco Di Lauro,
posted on his Facebook page, “Somebody is using my images as a
propaganda against the Syrian government to prove the massacre.” Di Lauro told the London Telegraph he was “astonished” the BBC had failed to check to authenticity of the image. Should the copy at the top of this article also be deleted, an
alternate version of the BBC video with added commentary under fair use
is embedded below.
*********************
Paul Joseph Watson is the editor and writer for Prison Planet.com.
He is the author of Order Out Of Chaos. Watson is also a regular
fill-in host for The Alex Jones Show and Infowars Nightly News.
