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Friday, April 10, 2009

Who killed the Baloch leaders? Zaviews Friday Special

Demonstrating against the killing of political activists in Balochistan

KARACHI Riots have broken out in Karachi as well as Quetta, Khuzdar and other areas of Balochistan after the bodies of three Baloch political activists were located by the police near Turbat late on Wednesday.Baloch National Movement (BNM) President Ghulam Mohammad Baloch, Lala Munir, also of the BNM, and Sher Mohammad Baloch of the Baloch Republican Party (BRP) were found dead in a mountainous area 40 kilometres away from Turbat.The three were picked up by unidentified armed men from the chamber of Advocate Kachkol Ali in Turbat on April 3, 2009. ‘I was right there when three cars full of men dressed in civilian clothes showed up outside my chamber.’‘On that day, the Anti-Terrorist Court (ATC) Turbat had dismissed all cases against Ghulam Baloch, Lala Munir and Sher Mohammad Baloch and there were no more cases against the three.’ The activists had been accused of sparking political unrest in Quetta and Karachi in relation to the Baloch nationalist movement and the increasing number of missing persons cases. In the past few months, Baloch politicians and nationalists have alleged that members of nationalist groups have been abducted by government agencies.‘The unidentified men stormed into my office and began tying the three up,’ says Advocate Ali. ‘A scuffle followed and one of the lawyers there started resisting. They tied him up but he was released once the men ascertained his identity,’ he says. ‘I believe they were killed soon after they were picked up.’‘All three of them were shot in the head and the conditions of their bodies indicate they were killed soon after they went missing,’ adds BNM’s acting president Asa Zafar. According to a report, the dead bodies were at least six days old.It is notable that Ghulam Mohammad Baloch was also a member of the 10-member committee constituted by Hyrbyar Marri to ascertain the identities of Balochistan’s missing persons as well as to negotiate the release of UNHCR’s Quetta director John Solecki. Ghulam Baloch was abducted from the advocate’s chamber on April 3 and Solecki was released the very next morning.‘After the government of Pakistan denied knowledge of the 1,109 missing as demanded by the Balochistan Liberation United Front (BLUF), this committee was constituted to ascertain the numbers and the identities of the missing,’ a cousin of Ghulam Baloch says.‘Only two days before Ghulam was taken away from Advocate Ali’s chamber, a United Nations committee had met Khairbux Marri. On that same day, Ghulam Baloch spoke to the press and said the committee was making headway in its attempts to secure Solecki’s release.’Asked as to what prompted Solecki’s abductors, whose demand was justice for Balochistan’s missing, to release the UN official when a committee member aiming to secure that very release had also gone missing, Asa Zafar said: ‘We are a political party. We do not know any of Solecki’s abductors and what happened with Ghulam Baloch is nothing but a conspiracy against our party and against the people of Balochistan.’‘When Solecki was abducted, a crackdown had started against Baloch nationalist groups. Ghulam had told me on several occasions that he was being threatened with death,’ Ameen Baloch, BNM’s representative in Karachi, adds.‘It is possible that Ghulam Baloch was deeply involved in some of the investigations regarding the missing and had uncovered something crucial.… Maybe that is why he and his colleagues were killed,’ Ghulam’s cousin suggests.But BRP’s Riaz Badeni says that ‘Solecki’s is a separate subject altogether.’ His opinion is echoed by BRP Karachi chapter's leader Shahnawaz Baloch, who argues that there is no connection between the abduction and the subsequent killing of the three activists and Solecki’s release. ‘It is only elements from within the government who have orchestrated the attacks,' he says.For his part, Advocate Ali argues that a new tactic is transpiring, which involves the abduction and extra-judicial killing of people. ‘The abduction of Ghulam, Lala Munir and Sher Mohammad was a downright insult of the ATC’s decision,’ he adds.According to the advocate, after the April 3 incident, he tried to register an FIR against the chiefs of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), Military Intelligence (MI), Intelligence Bureau (IB) and the Frontier Corps (FC), but no case was registered. ‘I was shooed away by the police,’ he says. Meanwhile, Provincial Minister for Irrigation Aslam Bizenjo expresses outrage at the death of the Baloch activists. ‘[The perpetrators] want to disrupt peace in Balochistan,’ he says. Bizenjo alleges that this is the work of government agencies and claims that he, along with several other members of the provincial assembly, will be registering an official protest. While protests and rioting continues, a three-member tribunal, comprising Balochistan High Court judges, has been constituted by Balochistan's Chief Minister Nawab Aslam Raisani to investigate the activists’ death. The Balochistan High Court has also taken a suo motu notice in this regard. It has summoned the provincial home secretary, police chiefs of the Turbat and Panjgur districts and the concerned area's Station House Officer (SHO) on April 16 while taking notice of the incident.Earlier, Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) President Ali Ahmed Kurd announced a boycott of courts in Balochistan for three days as well as a boycott across Pakistan on April 13 to condemn the killings. He had demanded that the killers be arrested and produced before the courts.

College Too Expensive? Try YouTube

It might seem counterintuitive to look for higher education alongside Avril Lavigne music videos, but the video-sharing site has become a major reservoir of college content.The Google Inc.-owned YouTube has for the last few years been forging partnerships with universities and colleges. The site recently gathered these video channels under the banner YouTube EDU http://www.youtube.com/edu). More than 100 schools have partnered with YouTube to make an official channel, including Stanford, MIT, Harvard, Yale and the first university to join YouTube: UC Berkeley.There are promotional videos like campus tours, but the more interesting content is straight from the classroom or lecture hall. Many schools have posted videos of guest lecturers, introductory classes and even a full semester's course.At a time when many are finding college unaffordable and the ranks of the unemployed are swelling, free higher learning can sound like a good way to spend some free time.

Envoy Suggests Pakistan Deserves U.S. 'Bailout' More Than American Companies

After watching the U.S. government dole out hundreds of billions of dollars to mismanaged corporations and risk-taking Wall Streeters, Pakistan's envoy to the U.S. said Washington should re-think its priorities — and send some of that money his way.A Reuters report quoted Ambassador Husain Haqqani telling a Washington think tank Thursday that Pakistan would be a more deserving recipient of the bailout cash than American companies."A company at the verge of failure is quite clearly able to get a bigger bailout than a nation that has been accused of failure," Haqqani said. "That's something that in this town needs a review."Haqqani said investments in Pakistan's schools and infrastructure to help battle Al Qaeda and home-grown terrorists would be worth the money, Reuters reported.Pakistan and neighboring Afghanistan, where the U.S. is re-focusing efforts to fight the resurging Taliban and terrorism, deserve more than "some failed insurance company or some car company whose achievement is that they couldn't make cars that they could sell," he said, though he didn't name specific companies, Reuters reported.The U.S. government has dished out hundreds of billions in bailout cash — through the $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program and other programs — to the likes of Citigroup and Bank of America, insurer AIG and floundering automakers General Motors and Chrysler.Obama has promised Pakistan $7.5 billion over five years to shore up anti-terror efforts, and Reuters reported that Haqqani said Pakistan will ask for its own "Marshall Plan" — up to $30 billion in aid from its allies at the "Friends of Pakistan" meeting in Tokyo on April 17.

Kallis, De Villiers steer South Africa to triumph

CAPE TOWN Jacques Kallis and AB de Villiers shared a century partnership to set up a comfortable 25-run win for South Africa in the third one-day international against Australia at Newlands on Thursday.Kallis (70) and De Villiers (80) laid the foundation for a South African total of 289 for six, putting on 114 off 131 balls for the third wicket. Australia made a reasonable start, reaching 66 for one before their innings stalled against the slow bowling of Johan Botha and Roelof van der Merwe. They slumped to 114 for five and were effectively out of the game with less than 20 overs remaining. But Callum Ferguson (63) and James Hopes (63 not out) gave their innings respectability with a sixth wicket stand of 97 before Australia finished with 264 for seven. The win gave South Africa a 2-1 lead in the five-match series, which continues in Port Elizabeth on Monday. Kallis was solid in making his 70 off 87 balls before a powerful pull off Brett Geeves picked out Hopes at midwicket. 

French clubs under pressure, Manchester City sunk in Hamburg

Germany celebrated a winning double in the UEFA Cup quarter-finals on Thursday as English Premier League moneybags Manchester City were left clinging onto European survival.City slumped to a 3-1 first leg defeat against high-flying German side Hamburg despite having taken a 35-second lead.Hamburg's Bundesliga rivals Werder Bremen were also casting an eye on the semi-finals after seeing off Udinese of Italy 3-1 at home.Ukraine came out on top in their double-edged duel with France as Shakhtar Donetsk beat former European champions Marseille 2-0 at home while Dynamo Kiev grabbed a precious 0-0 away draw against Paris Saint Germain.In front of 57,000 fans at the HSH Nordbank Arena, Stephen Ireland put Manchester City in front after just 35 seconds, only for defender Joris Mathijsen to equalise shortly afterwards.City goalkeeper Shay Given kept his side in the game with some magnificent saves, but a handball by Micah Richards allowed Piotr Trochowski to stroke his side in front from the penalty spot.Jose Paolo Guerrero struck late on to put his side firmly in the driving seat prior to the return leg in Manchester on April 16.

Microsoft ordered to pay $388 million in patent case

A federal jury ordered US software giant Microsoft to pay $388 million to Uniloc for infringing on an anti-piracy software patent. Microsoft announced it would seek an overturn of the verdict.A federal jury ordered US software giant Microsoft on Wednesday to pay 388 million dollars to Uniloc for infringing on an anti-piracy software patent held by the Singapore and US-based company.The award was made by a jury hearing the case in a district court in the US state of Rhode Island.The jury ordered Redmond, Washington-based Microsoft to compensate Uniloc, which has its US headquarters in Irvine, California, for infringing on a patent for a security algorithm held by Uniloc.The complaint against Microsoft was filed by Uniloc Singapore Private Ltd and Uniloc USA Inc. in October 2003.Uniloc had accused Microsoft of infringing on its patent in its Windows operating systems, which power most of the world's personal computers, and in Office programs.Microsoft said it would seek to have the verdict overturned."We are very disappointed in the jury verdict," said David Bowermaster, a Microsoft spokesman."We believe that we do not infringe, that the patent is invalid and that this award of damages is legally and factually unsupported," he said. "We will ask the court to overturn the verdict."Microsoft had previously won the case but Uniloc convinced an appeals court to overturn the judge's ruling, arguing that the case was influenced by the testimony of an expert witness who had conflicts of interest.Microsoft shares lost 0.16 percent in after-hours trading to 19.16 dollars after rising 2.29 percent on Wall Street on Wednesday.

Swat valley peace talks break down

A religious leader who negotiated an agreement that ended fighting between the Taliban and security forces in Pakistan's Swat valley has said he is pulling out of peace talks.Sufi Muhammad said on Thursday he was withdrawing because the government had been too slow to introduce sharia (Islamic law) in the region.He has left the Swat valley to set up a protest camp at his old headquarters in Malakand province.His statement calls into question the durability of a controversial peace effort in the valley, where fighting has forced thousands of residents to flee.Asif Ali Zardari, Pakistan's president, has said he will sign an order introducing sharia in the region only once peace has been fully restored.

Thousands of al-Sadr supporters protest US occupation

Thousands of supporters of anti-American cleric Moqtada al-Sadr turned out to protest the US-led occupation of Iraq on the sixth anniversary of the toppling of a Saddam Hussein statue in a Baghdad square that symbolised the end of his regime.Thousands of supporters of anti-US cleric Moqtada al-Sadr on Thursday protested the occupation of Iraq, six years after the toppling of a Saddam Hussein statue symbolised the fall of his regime.Crowds lined the streets leading to Firdos Square in Baghdad, where Saddam's giant bronze sculpture was wrestled to the ground with the help of US Marines in 2003, an iconic image that signalled the end of his dictatorial rule.Many of the demonstrators chanted "No no America, Yes Yes Iraq" as others carried placards adorned with pictures of Sadr, the radical Shiite leader who became a key figure and symbol of resistance after the US-led invasion.Some protestors waded through mud to reach the head of the procession after Baghdad was hit by a rare bout of rain, which peaked during the morning demonstration.A twin-headed effigy of Saddam and former US president George W. Bush, who ordered the 2003 invasion, was burned at the site of the fallen statue. In a specific gesture of contempt for America, a giant Stars and Stripes flag was laid on nearby ground so that people could stomp over it.However, a message read out by Sadr's spokesman Salah al-Obeidi, directed at new US President Barack Obama, was conciliatory.

Anti-terror police chief quits over security blunder

London Mayor Boris Johnson says he has accepted the resignation of Britain's top anti-terrorism police chief, Bob Quick, after Quick was photographed with a sensitive document on ongoing counter-terrorism operations clearly visible.Britain's top anti-terror police chief has tendered his resignation following a security blunder, London Mayor Boris Johnson said Thursday.Johnson told BBC radio he had accepted Assistant Metropolitan Police Commissioner Bob Quick's resignation with "great reluctance and sadness," after the blunder triggered premature anti-terror arrests Wednesday."I have this morning with great reluctance and sadness... accepted Bob Quick's resignation as head of counter terrorism," he said, adding that Assistant Commissioner John Yates would take over from him.Quick was photographed Wednesday as he arrived at Prime Minister Gordon Brown's Downing Street office for talks on police reform with a sensitive document clearly visible.It contained details about a planned operation, including that there were 11 suspects -- 10 of them of Pakistani origin and in Britain on student visas, and one British born -- and where the raids would take place.Police arrested 12 people in evening raids across northwest England, which media reports said had long been planned but were hastily rescheduled after it emerged the briefing notes detailing the operation were visible in the photo.Manchester police said several hundred officers were involved in the raids, which saw eight premises searched as part of an ongoing investigation that also reportedly involved the domestic intelligence agency MI5.The Times newspaper said there were plans to attack a nightclub and shopping centre complex in Manchester, and that the arrests were due to have taken place early Thursday.Britain has been on high security alert ever since the July 2005 attacks in London, which killed 56 people including four suicide bombers, and failed car bomb attacks in London and Glasgow in June 2007. 

Thai protesters target Asia summit

Anti-government protesters in Thailand have said they will try to disrupt a summit of Asian leaders gathering at a beach resort near Bangkok, as they continue efforts to force the resignation of the Thai prime minister.Around 700 so-called "red-shirt" protesters gathered in the resort of Pattaya on Friday saying they planned to target a hotel where the summit is taking place.The protesters are supporters of Thaksin Shinawatra, the exiled former prime minister ousted in a bloodless 2006 coup.They say the current prime minister, Abhisit Vejjajiva, came to power illegally and have staged three days of mass protests involving tens of thousands of protesters calling for him to stand down and hold fresh elections.Abhisit has rejected the protesters demands and has ordered increased security in Pattaya for the summit, where representatives from the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) and other regional powers are gathering for a three-day summit.About 8,000 police have been deployed around the summit venue, with protesters kept several kilometres from the meeting.

Japan to toughen sanctions on North Korea

Japan is pushing for a "strong" statement on the North Korean rocket launch at a summit of Asian leaders this weekend. China said on Wednesday it did not want to discuss North Korea's rocket launch at the meeting.Japan is pushing for a "strong" statement on the North Korean rocket launch at a summit of Asian leaders this weekend, a diplomatic source said Friday.The diplomat, who asked not to be named, told AFP that Japan had proposed a text of the statement to Thailand, which is hosting this year's summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) with its allies.South Korea supported the Japanese initiative but the North Korean embassy in Bangkok signalled its opposition to any statement on the April 5 rocket launch, the source said."We have to see how China will react," said the diplomat, noting however that Beijing had defended North Korea's right to peaceful use of space and refused to condemn its ally.China has also said that the United Nations should not overreact and that the most pressing concern was to restart stalled nuclear disarmament talks with the communist North."It's up to Thailand now to include a statement (on North Korea)," said the source, who is involved in preparatory meetings for the summit.

Obama seeks $83bn more for US wars

The US president has asked congress for $83.4bn for military and diplomatic operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.Barack Obama said 95 per cent of the money he was requesting would go to support US military operations in Iraq and the effort to defeat al-Qaeda and the Taliban in Afghanistan."The Taliban is resurgent and al-Qaeda threatens America from its safe haven along the Afghan-Pakistan border," Obama told Nancy Pelosi, the speaker of the House of Representatives, in a letter released by the White House.The special measure also includes $3.6bn for the Afghanistan National Army.Obama is also requesting $350m in new funding to increase security along the US-Mexico border and to combat drug gangs, and another $400m in counter-insurgency aid to Pakistan.The US president's request, which includes money to send thousands of extra troops to Afghanistan, would push the cost of the two wars to almost $1 trillion since the September 11, 2001 attacks against the US, according to the Congressional Research Service.However, the White House acknowledged that Obama had been critical of similar legislation used by the administration of George Bush, his predecessor, to fund the wars.

CIA to close down secret prisons

The CIA is to close down its global network of secret prisons, where "war on terror" suspects were subjected to harsh interrogation techniques, Leon Panetta, the agency's director, has said.Private contractors would also no longer be allowed to interrogate prisoners held by the CIA, Panetta said in a letter to CIA employees on Thursday."CIA no longer operates detention facilities or black sites and has proposed a plan to decommission the remaining sites," Panetta was quoted as saying in the letter by the Reuters news agency.Panetta also said that the CIA had told the US congress that it had captured no new prisoners since he became director in February and the "black sites" were now all empty of prisoners."I have directed our agency personnel to take charge of the decommissioning process and have further directed that the contracts for site security be promptly terminated," he said.

Interior ministry claims high turnout of 74 percent

Algerians have voted in a presidential election that is expected to confirm Abdelaziz Bouteflika, the incumbent president, in office.Turnout for Thursday's elections was greater than expected, suggesting many had spurned calls by some of Bouteflika's opponents to boycott the vote.Bouteflika's ability to retain the support of Algeria's people matters to the outside world as the country has the world's 15th-biggest oil reserves and accounts for 20 per cent of the EU's gas imports.Hours before polling closed, Noureddine Yazid Zerhouni, Algeria's interior minister, said that 48.89 per cent of eligible voters had cast their ballots."These are extraordinary figures," said Zerhouni, whose ministry is scheduled to announce the final results on Friday.Traditional opposition groups had warned the vote would be rigged and called on voters to stay away.Al-Qaeda in Islamic Maghreb, a local offshoot of al-Qaeda, has also called for a boycott.

Day of mourning for earthquake victims

Italy marks a day of mourning on Friday, as survivors from a devastating earthquake prepared to attend a mass state funeral in L'Aquila for the nearly 300 victims. Pope Benedict XVI is also expected to visit the region after Easter.Italy marked a day of mourning on Friday, as survivors from a devastating earthquake prepared to attend a mass state funeral in the epicentre city of L'Aquila for the nearly 300 victims.Flags flew at half mast across Italy as top government and Roman Catholic Church leaders joined mourners for the service, which is to be held according to both Catholic and Muslim rites and will be held in the open air.Italy's ANSA news agency reported that there will be between 100 and 150 coffins at the mass. Some of the other victims out of the at least 281 people reported dead were retrieved by loved ones and have been buried from Wednesday.There will then be burials at the local cemetery on a nearby hillside.The exceptional Good Friday funeral mass with full state honours is being held after the Vatican granted special permission for the mourners to take communion, normally not part of the liturgy on the Friday before Easter Sunday.The earthquake struck on Monday, turning a large part of L'Aquila into a disaster zone and flattening some surrounding villages. Local churches have been badly hit and priests have held masses in tent camps for survivors.Tens of thousands of people have been forced to leave their homes as numerous strong aftershocks have continued to shake the region -- located in an earthquake-prone part of the Appennine mountains in central Italy.There has also been public anger over alleged delays in the rescue effort and apparent poor quality construction which has been blamed for increasing the death toll. Prosecutors have opened an inquiry into building standards.As he toured the disaster zone on Thursday, Italian President Giorgio Napolitano blamed "widespread irresponsibility" for the collapse of many modern buildings and called for an "examination of conscience" by those responsible.The Italian government has estimated three billion euros (four billion dollars) will be needed to repair or rebuild some 10,000 buildings damaged in the quake as those made homeless wonder what they can do next.

Iran 'open to nuclear talks'

Iran's president has said he is open to talks with Western powers on his country's nuclear programme, as he inaugurated the country's first nuclear fuel production plant.Speaking at a ceremony in the central city of Isfahan on Iran's National Nuclear Technology Day on Thursday, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said he was open to negotiations based on "justice and respect"."In the management of the nuclear part of the world we would like to take part actively ... with logic and with law," Ahmadinejad said, referring to recent moves by Barack Obama, the US president, that suggest the US is open to dialogue with Iran over its nuclear project.But Ahmadinejad also accused the West of using the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) as a "mask of peace to confront [Iran] and stop its advancement"."Negotiations in an atmosphere of threat are not something that any free person would accept. The Iranian nation has always been ready for negotiations," he said.

US navy bears down on pirate boat

US military chiefs are bolstering their forces around the Horn of Africa to help tackle Somali pirates holding a US captain hostage in a drifting lifeboat.Gen David Petraeus said reinforcements would arrive within 24 to 48 hours and that a warship already in the area was "literally right near" the lifeboat.FBI experts are helping negotiate the release of Capt Richard Phillips.He was captured in a struggle on his ship, Maersk Alabama. Pirates seized the ship but the crew fought them off.The vessel has now set sail for the Kenyan port of Mombasa under armed guard.

Furore in Balochistan over killing of nationalist leaders

Angry protesters

QUETTA A police constable was killed and at least 12 other people were injured in firing on Thursday as Balochistan slid into violence after the bodies of three Baloch nationalist leaders were found in Turbat.The decomposed bodies of Baloch National Movement (BNM) chairman Ghulam Mohammad Baloch, Lala Muneer Baloch and Sher Mohammad Baloch of the Baloch Republican Party (BRP) were found in Pedarak, near Turbat, late on Wednesday night.Kachkol Ali, an advocate and former leader of the opposition in the Balochistan assembly, had alleged at a press conference four days back that the three leaders had been whisked away by security officials from his chamber on April 3. They had gone to the court to attend the hearing of a case against them.Baloch political groups and bar associations gave a call for a general strike on Friday and Saturday and a wheel-jam strike on Sunday to condemn the killings. Lawyers will boycott courts till Saturday. Nationalist parties also announced seven-day mourning in Balochistan and other parts of the country. Police took the bodies to Turbat after receiving information about them. ‘The bodies appear to be four to five days old,’ a police official said.Political workers, students and supporters of nationalist parties took to the streets early in the morning in Quetta, Khuzdar, Kharan, Nushki, Turbat, Mand, Panjgur, Gwadar, Kalat, Mastung and Dera Murad Jamali. A complete strike was observed in the towns.The Balochistan University and all other educational institutions were closed till Sunday.