UK Border Force seizes heroin worth millions

LONDON: Millions of pounds worth of heroin woven into hand-made rugs and carpets was discovered by Border Force officers in a consignment being shipped from Peshawar in Pakistan via Abu Dhabi.

Border Force officials became suspicious of the 46-piece consignment at Manchester Airport after a sniffer dog alerted its handler to one of the carpets. After investigations officers have found over 50 kilograms of heroin woven into the carpets. The seizure has shocked the border and customs officials who have said that the smugglers are becoming more and more sophisticated in their methods and can go to any length for their heinous purposes.

The drugs were discovered on April 24th but the examination of the consignment continues. Following the discovery two people were arrested on suspicion of drug importation offences in London by the National Crime Agency’s (NCA) Border Policing Command. Both are believed to be Pakistan, a source told Geo.

According to Border Force officials the haul is among the largest drug seizures made at the Manchester Airport. The Border Force has termed the seizure a result of impressive vigilance and hard work of the officers given the lengths criminals go to avoid detection.

If the sniffer dog had not spotted the carpet then, officers fear, the streets of Britain would have seen millions of Pounds worth drugs on the streets. The source said that the drugs are believed to have been coming from Afghanistan via Pakistan.

Imran out to support third force: Sethi

LAHORE: Senior analyst Najam Sethi said PTI chairman Imran Khan had decided to support the third force as some people in his party were advising him short-cuts.
Speaking in Geo News programme ‘Aapas Ki Baat’ on Sunday, Sethi said apparently Imran wanted to protest rigging in elections. “He moved the election tribunal and realised the process will take two years and then moved the Supreme Court which again sent him to the tribunal. He wanted verification in four constituencies and if rigging proved, he would declare the whole election a fraud and demand fresh polls. He wants the government to call new elections and its ouster if the government refuses it, so that new elections are held in a fair way,” he observed.

He said the timing of the move was intriguing as it would complete one year of the government. “However, there is some trouble as Tahirul Qadri will join him. Contrary to Imran, Qadri talks of a change of the system. Imran earlier supported democracy and Geo but now he has changed and blamed Geo for his defeat but he cannot explain it. There are also tensions between Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and the military leadership over the Musharraf case, Pak-India relations and talks with the Taliban. They are not on the same page. Then tensions arose between the army leadership and Geo and it appears the army is not willing to relent,” he added.

The noted analyst said some people were advising Imran Khan to exploit the differences between the prime minister and the army leadership, loadshedding and rigging in elections and launch a movement to bring the government on the back foot, even if violence occurred. “It is a dangerous situation,” he added. To a question, Sethi said Imran was targeting Geo to please the third force. “Geo has differences with the military leadership over Pak-India trade, friendship and Aman Ki Asha. Geo also had a difference of opinion with the military leadership on Musharraf’s trial. If some people are angry with the prime minister, they are also annoyed at Geo. The channel was a big target in the attack on Hamid Mir,” he elaborated.

To a question on talk of martial law in drawing-room debates, he said the prime minister should also think about it and remove misunderstandings with the military. To another question, he said it was difficult to remove an elected government. “The prime minister should act to defuse tensions with the military as it is also not good for the economy which is of prime importance today. The judiciary and the media should also not be weakened,” he added.

CIA’s Pakistan drone campaign carried out by US air force: Report

LONDON: A report published in ‘The Guardian’ reveals that a US air force unit in the Nevada desert is flying the CIA’s drone strike programme in Pakistan.

The report published in ‘The Guardian’ is based on a documentary ‘Drone’ in which former drone operators claimed that personnel from the US air force were flying the CIA’s Predator missions in Pakistan.

The documentary identifies the 17th Reconnaissance Squadron operating from a secure compound in Creech air force base in the Mojave Desert as the unit conducting CIA drone strikes in Pakistan.

The National Security Council and CIA declined to comment when approached by ‘The Guardian’ while the Pentagon did not respond.

A former US Predator operator, Brandon Bryant told the film he had decided to speak out after senior officials in the Obama administration gave a briefing last year in which they wanted to “transfer” control of the CIA’s secret drones programme to the military.

Bryants claims were corroborated by six other former drone operators who worked alongside the unit but none of them were prepared to go on the record.

CJ wants separate force for courts’ security

 

LAHORE: Chief Justice Tassaduq Hussain Jillani has called for establishing a separate force for the security of courts in the country. He directed the Punjab police to prepare a feasibility report on the construction of security walls at courts in seven days and ordered starting the installation of foolproof screening equipment at the courts’ doors.
He was chairing a meeting at the Supreme Court Lahore Registry here on Saturday to discuss security in the superior as well as lower courts of Punjab.

He said no secret information about any terrorist activity should be ignored and all judges, lawyers and litigants should be provided complete security in courts. He said that the implementation of his orders should be visible in seven days.

Lahore High Court Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial, IG Punjab Khan Baig, Home Secretary Azam Salman and other senior police officials were also present in the meeting.

Also, the Planning & Development department presented a report on the construction of walls, the IG Punjab Khan Baig a proposed security plan for the courts in the province and DIG Operations Rana Abdul Jabbar briefed the chief justice about the security of the Lahore courts. The Additional IG Special Branch told the meeting that the number of policemen has been increased for the security of the courts.

Our correspondent adds: Chief Justice Tassaduq Hussain Jillani has said it is unfortunate that in Pakistan education has not been accorded top priority. Speaking at the ground-breaking ceremony of Shaikh Ahmad Hassan School of Law, Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS), here on Saturday he said education was one of the major factors for the socio-economic development of a society. He said no country could achieve sustainable economic development without improvement in the field of education.

The chief justice said even today only 1.9 per cent of the GDP was being spent on education in Pakistan, whereas the UN’s minimum benchmark was 4.5 per cent of GDP. In this backdrop, the contribution of the private sector to the realm of education was a welcome development, he added.

Justice Jillani said the existence of an efficient justice delivery system resulted in establishing a belief in the general public that their rights would be protected. “On the other hand, the absence of rule of law gives rise to a collective sense of despair and injustice which creates a negative impact on the development of society,” he added.

A society plagued by inner fissures, lawlessness, uncertainty and corruption is headed only for decay, he said adding that the rule of law, which is one of the most vital characteristics of an effective judicial system, finds its place in the eight essential components of good governance as defined by the United Nations.

An effective judicial system has a close nexus with good governance, maintenance of peace and socioeconomic development in society, he added.

He said he was confident that the law and policy programme which had been launched by LUMS would achieve its goal, namely, offering excellent professional education and research facilities and playing a positive and productive role in bringing about social change reform in the legal system, promoting social responsibility, stimulating intellectual dialogue and debate, providing informed input to regulators and policymakers besides strengthening the legal profession and judicial institutions by ensuring rule of law and good governance.

Later, the CJ inaugurated the Ahmad Hassan School of Law and congratulated LUMS Vice Chancellor Dr Sohail Naqvi, chair and faculty members of the Ahmad Hassan School of Law and all those who provided assistance in this noble cause.

Chief justices of the Lahore High Court and Balochistan High Court were also present on the occasion.

Military force to ’liberate’ rebel-held ports: Libya

TRIPOLI: Libya's parliament has ordered a special force be sent within one week to "liberate" all rebel-held ports in the volatile east, officials said on Monday, raising the stakes over a blockage that has cut off vital oil revenues.
The conflict over oil wealth is increasing fears that Libya may slide deeper into chaos or even splinter as the fragile government fails to rein in dozens of militias that helped oust Muammar Gaddafi in 2011 but now defy state authority.
The rebels, who have seized three ports and partly control a fourth in the OPEC member country, said they had dispatched forces to central Libya to deal with any government attack.
The two sides seem to be heading for confrontation after a North Korean-flagged tanker finished loading crude worth $30 million at rebel-held Es Sider port despite a government threat to bomb the ship.
Libyan naval forces have surrounded the tanker outside Es Sider port, a navy spokesman said. A rebel spokesman denied this.
Even without any major military action, the escalation kills any hope of restoring oil exports soon. A wave of protests at oilfields and ports has reduced output to a trickle, undermining state authority as oil is the main revenue source supporting the budget and basic food imports.
The head of parliament, who has quasi-presidential powers, ordered the formation of a force made up of regular soldiers and allied militias to take back the ports, which previously handled a total of more than 700,000 barrels of oil per day.
The operation will start within one week, parliament head Nuri Ali Abu Sahmain said in a decree published by spokesman Omar Hmeidan. "The force will be set up to liberate the ports and end the blockage," Hmeidan told Reuters.
Prime Minister Ali Zeidan, who said on Saturday the Morning Glory tanker would be bombed if it tried to export oil, is now in a much stronger position with the parliament throwing its weight behind military action.
DEFIANT REBELS:
Libya has been trying to rebuild its army since Gaddafi's overthrow, but analysts say it is not yet a match for battle-hardened militias that fought in the eight-month uprising that toppled him.
Still, the force will be drawn from cities such as Misrata that are home to fighters who saw battle in the civil war, according to the decree.
Misrata forces were sent earlier this year to assist with clashes deep in Libya's south.
Abb-Rabbo al-Barassi, self-declared prime minister in the rebel movement, called on "all honourable men" in the east to join his forces, a rebel television station quoted him as saying.
The rebels, made up of former oil security guards, said they had sent forces by land and sea to central Libya to confront any government attackers. The east and west are connected by a coastal highway road.
"We have sent land forces to defend Cyrenaica to the west of Sirte and we also have boats patrolling regional waters," Essam al-Jahani, a member of the rebels' leadership team, told Reuters.
Cyrenaica is the historic name for eastern Libya, for which the rebels demand political autonomy and a share of oil revenues like under King Idris, who preceded Gaddafi.
Sirte, Gaddafi's birthplace, is a coastal city that forms a stronghold for Islamists and militias in central Libya.
FULL CONFRONTATION UNLIKELY:
While the navy opened fire on a Maltese-flagged tanker trying to approach Es Sider in January, analysts say a full military confrontation with the rebels would be unlikely.
Any bloodshed might boost calls for a federal state like under Idris, sharing power among the three historic regions Cyrenaica, Tripolitania in the west and the southern Fezzan - or even for secession.
The protesters are led by a former anti-Gaddafi commander, Ibrahim Jathran, who until summer was in charge of protecting oilfields and ports until he turned against the government.
Jathran's campaign seeking more rights for Libya's underdeveloped east has won him some sympathy, but many people dismiss him as a tribal warlord with no political vision.
Libya's top Islamic clerics urged militias who had helped topple Gaddafi to assist the government in trying to stop the tanker, according to a statement read out on television.
The United Nations' special envoy to Libya, Tarek Mitri, told the UN Security Council on Monday that the loading of oil onto the North Korean-flagged vessel "constitutes an illegal act and violates Libya's sovereignty over its ports and natural resources".
On Sunday, Tripoli said the navy and pro-government militias had sent boats to stop the 37,000-tonne tanker from leaving.
The vessel arrived at Es Sider on Saturday. It is unusual for a tanker flagged to secretive North Korea to be in the Mediterranean. Shipping sources said it was a flag of convenience to keep the ship's ownership secret.
State-run National Oil Corp, which says the tanker is owned by a Saudi firm, said it would sue anyone trying to buy the oil.
In a rare bright spot, NOC managed to restart the southern El Sharara oilfield after a protest ended there, a spokesman said.
It is now pumping 150,000 barrels per day (bpd) but might reach full capacity at 340,000 bpd by Tuesday afternoon.