Muslims protest after IHK shrine deal
* One killed, 15 injured as forces, protesters clash in Srinagar
SRINAGAR: Hindus in Indian-held Kashmir on Sunday suspended two month of protest after the government agreed to temporarily provide land to a Hindu trust, while one person was killed when security forces fired on Muslims protesting against the decision.
Authorities re-imposed a curfew in many areas of Kashmir after briefly relaxing it earlier in the day, as protesters clashed with police in the summer capital Srinagar.
According to the BBC, the decision to allow the land to be used for the Hindu pilgrimage was made in a meeting between a government panel and the Amarnath Yatra Sangarsh Smeeti on Sunday.
Under the new deal, 40 hectares of land will be available to the Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board every year but only during the pilgrimage.
“The shrine board will now exclusively use the land during the pilgrimage period,” said Leela Karan Sharma, the head of a Hindu group that was leading the protests in Hindu-dominated Jammu.
Protests: Agitated Muslims staged huge protests as soon as the news of the deal was made public. Indian paramilitary troops and police used firing, tear gas and baton-charge to disperse the protesters, which resulted in the death of one person and injured 15 in the outskirts of Srinagar.
The protesters argued the land transfer was being done to change the demographics in the valley but India says it has never encouraged Hindus to settle in the region.
Dr Saleem Iqbal of Mahraja Hari Singh Hospital confirmed the death and said three of the injured were in a critical condition.
Meanwhile, authorities have imposed a strict curfew in Jammu, saying that hardliner groups, who have threatened to kill a leader of the Amarnath Yatra Sangarsh Smeeti, were spotted in the area.
Kashmiri separatists have rejected the latest deal. “We reject this deal. But it is not a major issue for us as we are pre-occupied with our freedom struggle,” a statement quoted senior separatist Masarat Alam as saying.
Missile strike kills six in Miranshah
PESHAWAR: A missile fired from an unmanned aircraft hit a house in North Waziristan, killing six suspected foreign militants and injuring as many locals, residents and officials said.
The incident occurred in the Ghundi Kili village, 15 kilometres east of Miranshah, at around 3pm. The residents said injured were passers-by.
Meanwhile, locals found the bullet-riddled body of an Afghan refugee at Tal Pul, 25 kilometres south of Miranshah. The body’s left leg was also amputated. A note found on the body read deceased Sher Baz had been working for an intelligence agency for the past 20 years. He was kidnapped two days ago.
Taliban divided over ceasefire
ISLAMABAD/MINGORA: The Taliban were divided on Sunday in their response to the government’s decision to suspend the military operation against them during Ramazan.
“It’s a joke. It isn’t a matter of holy or unholy. All months are holy. If they want to end fighting, it should be permanent,” Muslim Khan, Taliban spokesman in Swat, told Reuters. In an apparent act of defiance, the Taliban bombed the abandoned house of PML-Q leader Haroonur Rashid.
But TTP spokesman Maulvi Omar welcomed the government’s offer and said his group would release six soldiers. A complete ceasefire was observed in Dara Adam Khel on Sunday.
Tribesmen torch Taliban houses in Bajaur
KHAR: Tribesmen in Bajaur Agency’s Salarzai tehsil on Sunday formed a private army (lashkar) of around 30,000 people against the local Taliban. A local jirga decided to form the lashkar in the wake of the increasing presence of the local Taliban in the area. The lashkar torched 14 houses, including the house of a local Taliban commander. Tribal elder Malik Munsib Khan, who heads the lashkar, said tribesmen would continue their struggle until the Taliban were expelled from the area, adding that anyone found sheltering Taliban militants would be fined Rs one million and his house would be torched. The tribesmen also torched two important centres of the Taliban in the area and gained control of most of the tehsil. The action came hours after the government announced to stop the ongoing military operation against the local Taliban in Bajaur during Ramazan.
Mangal Bagh flees Landi Kotal ahead of operation
LANDI KOTAL/JAMRUD: A joint operation by the Frontier Corps (FC) and the Khasadars forced Lashkar-e-Islam (LI) chief Mangal Bagh to leave Landi Kotal on Sunday. The political administration had given a deadline to the LI to vacate the area by 11am on Sunday. The authorities closed the road leading to Torkham and imposed a curfew in Jamrud. Bagh fled for Gagrina in Bazaar Zakhakhel an hour before the operation. The FC fired at the mountains around a mosque that had been captured by the LI in Khyber. The forces took over the mosque after the LI vacated it. Meanwhile, in a clash between the LI and FC at Jamrud, an LI gunman and one security personnel were killed. Online quoted Political Agent Khyber Agency Tariq Hayat telling a private news channel that 10 LI activists were arrested from the Peshawar-Torkham road.
95 killed in Kurram Agency clashes
* More than 200 injured as Taliban-backed Bangash tribesmen attack Toori tribe
* Tooris retaliate with support of local tribal militia, capture opponent headquarters in Bugzai
* Taliban launch suicide attacks on tribal militia
PARACHINAR: At least 95 people were killed and more than 200 injured in fresh clashes between the warring Toori and Bangash tribes in Kurram Agency on Sunday.
According to sources familiar with the developments in the area, the Bangash tribe was supported by local Taliban militants.
Bangash tribe attacks: Despite a unilateral truce announced by the Toori tribe, militants of the Bangash tribe and the local Taliban launched an attack on their opponents from their Bugzai headquarters late on Saturday.
Toori tribe retaliates: Supporters of the Toori tribe and a local tribal militia retaliated and besieged the Bugzai area, trigging a fierce battle. The tribal militia attacked positions of the Bangash tribe with heavy weapons to force them to stop fighting.
Suicide attacks: The Taliban also launched suicide attacks on the tribal militia, killing 12 tribesmen.
Eight other tribesmen and 77 Taliban were also killed during the fighting, locals said.
After the hours-long battle, Toori tribesmen were reported to have occupied Bugzai - the headquarters of their opponents.
The local tribal militia also seized a large cache of weapons including suicide attack jackets from the positions abandoned by the Bangash tribe and the local Taliban.
According to local sources, at least 70 tribesmen and more than 129 Taliban were wounded in Sunday’s fighting.
The injured have been shifted to hospitals in Kotal, Hangu, Sadda and Parachinar.
The Toori tribe had earlier announced a unilateral ceasefire on the appeal of a jirga. Recent reports from the area had said the rival groups had intensified attacks on each other’s positions in several parts of the area.
Fresh sectarian clashes that began in Parachinar several days ago have left scores of people dead and wounded. Residents of the area said they had been suffering because of a shortage of food and medicine, as the government closed down the central highway leading to the area.
Vote for Zardari to save federation: PM
QUETTA: Pakistan People’s Party Co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari is the most suitable candidate for Pakistan’s president because he had played a key role in keeping the federation of Pakistan united after Benazir Bhutto’s assassination, Prime Minister Yousauf Raza Gilani told a delegation of Balochistan Assembly members on Sunday. Later, talking to reporters at the Chief Minister’s Secretariat, he said the PPP-led government would end the military operation in Balochistan, recover the ‘missing persons’ and help the province overcome its economic problems. He also said he would direct the Home Ministry to address complaints against the Frontier Corps (FC) and would ask the State Bank governor to listen to the province’s demands.He denied he had arrived in Quetta to appease disillusioned members of the Balochistan government. He also said Balochistan had ‘a significant role’ in the ouster of General (r) Pervez Musharraf.
PML-N to lose Punjab without PPP vote: Wattoo
LAHORE: Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif may not be able to secure a vote of confidence without the Pakistan People’s Party’s (PPP) support if the party withdraws its provincial ministers, Adviser to the prime minister on Industries and Production Manzoor Wattoo said on Sunday, according to Geo News. The channel quoted Wattoo as telling a press conference in Lahore that his visit to Lahore was not aimed at ‘conquering the Punjab’.
‘National unity government key to all problems’
* PPP Co-chairman Asif Zardari says his top three priorities ‘poverty alleviation, poverty alleviation, and poverty alleviation’
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Co-chairman and presidential candidate Asif Ali Zardari believes that a government of ‘national consensus’ is the only solution to the problems faced by the country.
“A government of national consensus is the need of the hour and after my election as president, my party will work for political and national unity,” Zardari said at a chance meeting with this correspondent at the PM’s House on Sunday. An upbeat Zardari appeared confident the government would handle economic, political and security challenges. “When the going gets tough, the tough gets going,” he said with an optimistic smile.
“We need to strengthen the federation and this is possible only when we create national unity,” he said when asked about his party’s strategy vis-à-vis Punjab. However, he said the PPP would formulate a strategy to form governments of national consensus in the centre and the provinces. “It’s a fleeting moment and the politicians must seize the opportunity to save the nation and the federation.” He agreed that the situation in Balochistan and NWFP was alarming and said: “It’s not an easy task but it’s our responsibility to steer the country out of all crises.”
Priorities: Asked what would be his top three priorities, Zardari said: “Poverty alleviation, poverty alleviation and poverty alleviation.”
Source: Daily Times.