Terrorists turn on sufi saint’s shrine

PESHAWAR, March 5: The shrine of Pashto mystic poet and saint Rehman Baba was bombed early on Thursday morning in Hazarkhwani area, badly damaging the structure.

The massive blast jolted people out of deep slumber in the nearby villages. Officials speculated that the bombing was aimed at frightening women off the shrine.

The shrine’s watchman had received a threat from suspected militants on his cellphone three days ago.

The high-intensity bombs almost destroyed the grave of the saint poet and gates of a mosque, canteen and conference hall in the spacious Rehman Baba Complex.

Police said the bombers had planted explosives around the pillars of the tomb to pull down the mausoleum.

Visibly shaken disciples of the saint, apprehending that the badly damaged structure of the shrine might come crashing down any moment, brandished sticks to force visitors to clear out.

Police said their suspicions fell on Lashkar-i-Islam chief Mangal Bagh.

“We have been able to give them a black eye and this is their way of getting back at us. It’s pure desperation,” a senior police official told Dawn.

Bomb disposal squad personnel said that five explosives, each weighing around five kilograms, were planted at the shrine.

The explosives were packed in containers which had been jointly connected and detonated simultaneously.

“The entire area was covered with thick smoke and dust after the blast,” Sardar Khan, president of the volunteers of the shrine association, told Dawn.

“A major portion of the grave was blown up and the building badly damaged, but luckily no one was present there,” he said.

Some “Taliban-like people” having long hair and beards used to come there and ask the caretaker why he had not barred women from visiting the shrine.

“Once two Taliban came and said that saying prayers in the complex mosque was haram. I told them to get lost,” the chief volunteer said.

He said that apparently the militants had entered the complex by scaling the boundary wall from the rear side and planted the explosives beneath the four main pillars and one in the grave by connecting them through an electric wire.

NWFP Minister for Culture and Tourism Syed Aqil Shah said although the complex was under the authority of the archives department, he would take up the matter of repairs and reconstruc tion with the chief minister.

The caretaker said three watchmen used to perform duty on rotation. This meant that only one guard was present at any given moment.

A watchman said that he was preparing for Fajr (morning) prayers when he heard a loud blast. “I was puzzled and couldn’t decide as to what I should do,” he said. “I had no weapon to resist any attacker.” Caretakers and other employees said that they had time and again informed officials of the archives library to beef up security at the complex, but to no avail.

Malik Wazir, a member of the Rehman Baba Adabi jirga, said it was impossible for one watchman to keep an eye on all visitors spread over such a vast area.

He suggested that there must be at least three watchmen armed with weapons in each shift.

The nearby Akhun Baba graveyard had become a safe haven for vagabonds and no one could safely pass through the Rehman Baba Road after evening.

The tomb was a part of the spacious complex housing a conference hall, library, mosque, canteen, guest house, shrines of some other saints.

Construction of the complex began on Nov 17, 1991 and finished in 1994 at an estimated cost of Rs15 million.

Source

Lord, do not make anyone lonely in sorrow like i am alone in grief for my beloved!
Never will there be on earth a martyr like me, nor a beloved like you be found!

(Rahman Baba)

"There was gambling for fate on the day of creation. Some lost, Rahman, and some won good luck."
Rahman Baba


Enemies of Pakistan are at it again. After blowing up girls schools in North West Pakistan, forcing traffic to drive on right hand side instead of left in Malakand, digging up the grave of a minority sect leader and hanging the already dead person in the public square in Swat, militants have now started blowing the resting place of those who are already dead.


Pashto’s language’s famous poet Rehman Baba’s mausoleum was severely damaged by militants in the early hours of March 5, 2009.

Believe it or not; probably like some of our readers, I am now reluctant to open newspaper to avoid reading any bad news about Pakistan. It hurts. It simply hurts. This is such a bitter pill ‘jo na ugli jaaye hai na nigli jaaye hai’ (which I can neither swallow nor throw out). I have now become numb to bad news and I try to avoid it but then every few days a bigger and worse bad news like the one above comes by which I have to write about. This is despite the pain I feel in writing these sentences.

According to Dawn newspaper:

The shrine’s watchman had received a threat from suspected militants on his cell phone three days ago. He told police that the attack took place to crack down on the tradition of women making pilgrimages to the site of the grave of Rehman baba; a 17th century poet, revered for his message of love and peace.


The high intensity device almost destroyed the grave of the Rehman Baba and the gates of a mosque, canteen and conference hall situated in the spacious Rehman Baba Complex. Police said the bombers had tied explosives around the pillars of the tombs, to pull down the mausoleum.

The entire area was covered with thick smoke and dust soon after the blast,’ said the president of the volunteers of the shrine association of the complex, Sardar Khan, who was busy in removing rubble of the damaged portions. He told Dawn that he was the first one to reach the shrine after the blast. ‘I saw major portion of the grave was blown up and the building was badly damaged but no one was present there,’ he said and added that he informed the local police and some media persons about the incident.


The tomb was a part of the spacious complex housing a conference hall, library, mosque, canteen, guest house, small shrines of some other saints, Tawoos Baba, Syed Sattar Bacha and Syed Sultan Bacha.

The work on construction of the complex was initiated on November 17, 1991 and completed in 1994 with an estimated cost of about 15 million rupees.

Rehman Baba’s full name was Abd-ur-Rehman and he lived 1632 to 1707 AD. He enjoys the same fame in Pushto as Shirazi does in Persian.

I, along with our editorial board as well as our readers sincerely hope and pray for peace in Pakistan and hope to get our lovely country back from the clutches of these ‘zaalim’ people who could do acts like the ones shown in photos here.


All things Pakistan

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No matter how fast i run or how far i go it wont escape me, pain, misery, emptiness.

North Korea orders military to be combat ready
Monday, March 09, 2009
SEOUL: North Korea has ordered its military to be combat ready, state media said early Monday, ahead of joint US-South Korean manoeuvres that Pyongyang has characterised as a prelude to war.

In a statement carried by the Korean Central News Agency, the Korean People's Army (KPA) described the exercises starting Monday as "unprecedented in the number of the aggressor forces involved and in their duration."

"The KPA Supreme Command issued an order to all service persons to be fully combat ready," the statement said. "This is a just measure for self-defence for protecting the sovereignty and dignity of the nation."

"A war will break out if the US imperialists and the warmongers of the South Korean puppet military hurl the huge troops and sophisticated strike means to mount an attack," it said.

The North added in a separate statement that it would cut off North-South military ommunications during the exercises, saying that maintaining normal channels would be "nonsensical."

The communist North has repeatedly accused Seoul and Washington of using the annual exercises, which this year will last until March 20, as a pretext to launch an attack on it -- a claim denied by the United States and the South.

The joint exercise will involve a US aircraft carrier, 26,000 US troops and more than 30,000 South Korean soldiers.

The exercises come at a time of high tensions with the South and growing pressure for the North to end its nuclear weapons programme and drop plans to test its longest-range missile.

North Korea has said it is preparing to fire a rocket for it says will be a satellite launch, although Seoul and Washington say the real purpose is to test a missile that could theoretically reach Alaska.

In a separate statement, the General Staff of the Korean People's Army said it would retaliate "with prompt counter strikes by the most powerful military means" if there was an attempt to intercept its satellite.

The North has previously warned that the "slightest" conflict during the exercises could rapidly escalate and fears of a border clash have grown since Pyongyang on January 30 scrapped peace accords with Seoul and warned of war.

The United States has responded to the communist state's comments by urging Pyongyang to tone down its rhetoric.

North Korean generals last week met with the US-led United Nations Command on easing tensions ahead of the joint exercises, in the first such talks in almost seven years, but reportedly used the opportunity to criticise the latest exercises

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The fear of the lord is the beginning of wisdom.

Chinese ships harass Navy vessel: US

Date: 3/9/2009 6:59: 00 PM

Five Chinese vessels maneuvered dangerously close to a US Navy ship in the South China Sea on Sunday, approaching within 25 feet of the unarmed surveillance ship, the Pentagon said.

"This was a reckless, dangerous maneuver that was unprofessional" and violated international law, Defense Department spokesman Bryan Whitman told reporters.

The State Department said it had protested to Chinese authorities over the incident which occurred on Sunday in the South China Sea, about 75 miles (120 kilometers) from Hainan Island.

"The (US) embassy in Beijing lodged a protest with the Chinese at the weekend," said State Department spokesman Robert Wood on Monday.

"We felt our vessel was inappropriately harassed. That was the point of our protest to the Chinese government."

The Chinese ships surrounded the USNS Impeccable, and after two ships came within 50 feet (15 meters), waved Chinese flags and told the Americans to leave the area, the Defense Department said in a statement.

The tension on the high seas took an odd turn at one point when the Americans sprayed water at the Chinese boats and the Chinese crew responded by stripping to their underwear.

"Because the vessels' intentions were not known, Impeccable sprayed its fire hoses at one of the vessels in order to protect itself.

"The Chinese crewmembers disrobed to their underwear and continued closing to within 25 feet," said the Pentagon statement.

The Chinese dropped pieces of wood in the path of the American ship and two vessels moved directly in front of the USNS Impeccable, forcing it to take emergency action to avoid collision, it said.

The USNS Impeccable is a surveillance ship that gathers "underwater acoustical data," Whitman said.

The incident followed "increasingly aggressive conduct by Chinese vessels" in the past several days, the Pentagon said.

The Chinese ships included a navy intelligence ship, a government fisheries patrol vessel, a state oceanographic patrol vessel, and two small Chinese-flagged trawlers, it said.

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Devil-may-care

Monday, March 16, 2009

ANTANANARIVO, Madagascar: Madagascar’s president said on Sunday that he would never resign in response to opposition pressure, setting the stage for prolonged political unrest.

A military spokesman said the army had no plans at this stage to intervene in the power struggle between President Marc Ravalomanana and opposition leader Andry Rajoelina, who proclaimed himself president on Saturday and appointed his own prime minister.

’I will never resign,’Ravalomanana told a church service attended by about 5,000 supporters outside his presidential palace.

’We have to follow the democratic process,’ he said, adding that he was ready to hold a referendum on the way forward for his nation of 20 million people.

Several thousand opposition supporters attended another church service in the downtown square that has become the focal point for anti-government demonstrations.

The African Union said it was concerned at escalating tensions in Madagascar, a poor Indian Ocean island known for its rare wildlife but riven by political upheavals. It reiterated appeals to the rivals to find a negotiated solution.

More than 100 people have died in political violence since January.

Ravalomanana has lost the backing of much of the military mainly because of anger that he ordered soldiers to fire at demonstrators. Ravalomanana’s army chief of staff agreed to cede power last week to Andre Ndrianarijaona, who is believed to be sympathetic to the opposition leader but has so far remained out of the political power struggle.

Reacting to Rajoelina’s claims that he now controls the military, army spokesman Noel Rakotonandrasana said soldiers would only approach the presidential palace if it was necessary to free roads blocked by pro-presidential supporters.

’Our main mission is first and foremost to re-establish order. And for that, we won’t take orders from anyone,’ he told The Associated Press.

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The fear of the lord is the beginning of wisdom.

Death toll in Jamrud mosque suicide attack could reach 70

Updated at: 1554 PST, Friday, March 27, 2009


JAMRUD: A suicide bomber attacked a packed mosque near Bhegari check post at prayer time on Friday, killing 48 people and wounding dozens more, the top local administration official said.

The bombing took place in the town of Jamrud in the restive Khyber tribal region, which is located on a key road used to ferry supplies to Western troops across the border in Afghanistan.

"Forty-eight bodies have been pulled out of the debris and many others may still be trapped under the rubble," Tariq Hayat Khan, the top administration official in Khyber, told Geo news.

"More than 80 people were wounded. There may be many more dead… may be at least over 70," Tariq said.

"The bomber was present inside the mosque and blew himself up when Friday prayers began," he said.

The injured were rushed to Sherpao, Lady Reading and others hospitals in Peshawar where emergency had already been declared.

http://www.geo.tv/3-27-2009/38375.htm

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SC restores Shahbaz Sharif as CM Punjab

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court of Pakistan has issued a stay order on Tuesday against the disqualification of Pakistan Muslim League-N President Mian Shahbaz Sharif. Mian Shahbaz Sharif has been restored as Chief Minister of Punjab immediately following the issuance of the stay order.

The apex court bench, headed by Justice Tassaduq Hussain Jilani, heard Sharif brothers’ eligibility case. According to the verdict, Shahbaz Sharif's government has been restored and he will continue serving as chief minister till the Supreme Court passes a final verdict into Sharif brothers’ eligibility case.

The court on February 25 disqualified Nawaz Sharif and his brother and Punjab chief minister Shahbaz Sharif from contesting elections and holding public office, a decision which caused widespread protests and flung the country into weeks of political chaos.

The government on March 19 filed appeals against the decision and has since reinstated Supreme Court chief justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry in a package of measures designed to defuse the standoff.

"The supreme court has suspended the February 25 decision," Syed Zafar Ali Shah, a lawyer and leader in Sharif's Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N) party, told reporters outside the court.

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ISLAMABAD: A blast has occurred near check post of Frontier Corps (FC) in Jinnah Super Market, Islamabad on Saturday, Geo News reported.

Four to five people are reported injured in the blast which was followed by an exchange of fire between security men and unidentified attackers.

The armed attackers have taken refuge in a nearby house, Geo News correspondent said.

Four injured have been brought to Poly Clinic Hospital where doctors declared their condition out of danger.

The incident has set off panic among area residents.

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The Me you have always known, the Me that's a stranger still.

CHAKWAL: At least thirty persons died and hundreds injured in a suicide bombing at the over crowded Imambargah here.

According to initial information, the suicide bomber blew himself up during an annual Majlis Aza being held at the Sarpak Mohalla Imambargah in the vicinity of City police station here. Some 2000 to 2500 persons were attending the Majlis, when the blast occurred tearing away the bodies of the faithful into pieces.

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The color of blood in my veins is green,I am a proud Pakistani.

US and Russia hold nuclear talks

US and Russian negotiators are meeting in Rome to begin work on a new treaty to curb nuclear weapons.

The talks are the first step towards replacing the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (Start-1), signed in 1991, which runs out at the end of the year.

Presidents Barack Obama and Dmitry Medvedev agreed to the talks at their first meeting earlier this month.

But there are areas of disagreement and meeting the December deadline will be difficult, correspondents say.

In particular, Moscow has expressed concern at US plans to build an anti-missile system in central Europe.




"One should bear in mind that the lower we go in terms of the numbers of warheads, the more serious issues linked to missile defence and the strategic potential of other nuclear powers appear," Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov told the Russian news agency Interfax.

Russia has also said it would like to see a cut in delivery systems, such as rockets and submarines, not just warheads - an area not covered by existing agreements.

But both sides want to reduce their nuclear arsenals, the BBC's Duncan Kennedy in Rome says.

The US in particular believes it will give them greater moral and political force against countries with nuclear ambitions such as Iran and North Korea, he adds.

Both presidents want the new deal to improve on an agreement by their predecessors in 2002 to cut deployed warheads to between 1,700 and 2,200 on each side by 2012.

They have asked their negotiators to report on their progress by July.

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Devil-may-care