Why does Qadri want to land in the capital, asks Nisar

 

ISLAMABAD: Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan on Sunday questioned the intentions of the Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) chief Dr Tahirul Qadri for landing in Islamabad while he had planned to proceed to Lahore.
“There should be no doubt that no one will be allowed to conduct any march on Islamabad in the guise of a rally or sit-in,” Chaudhry Nisar said in a statement from his office after a high-level meeting called to discuss security matters relating to Dr Tahirul Qadri.

The minister said due to severe security threats, it was the responsibility of the government to safely guide Dr Qadri and his companions to Lahore.The minister said everyone was allowed to take part in political gatherings but lawful action would be taken against those intending to destablise the government through unconstitutional means.

Nisar said that currently the attention of all the security institutions was towards the war against terror, and it was beyond understanding why Tahirul Qadri wanted to create a disturbance at this critical moment.

It is understood that once Dr Qadri lands in Islamabad, he will be immediately dispatched to Lahore by air. He will have to face some questioning about allegations of money laundering at the airport by the officials concerned before proceeding, the sources said.

The government has decided to keep the federal capital an ‘out of bounds area’ for processions and any huge rally that could be termed a ‘long march’. The government in close and extensive consultations at the high-level has reached the conclusion that Islamabad being the seat of power of the federal government must be protected against any agitation since such activities become a symbol of the erosion of the authority of the administration.

APP adds from Lahore: A spokesman for the Home Department Punjab said Dr Qadri was facing a security threat.He said after the military operation in North Waziristan, terrorists had announced attacks on important political and religious leaders and added that there was also a threat of terrorism at the Benazir Bhutto International Airport Islamabad and other airports.

The spokesman said terrorists could also target the slow moving convoy of the PAT on the GT Road. He said that leaders of the Tehrik-e-Minhajul Quran had been informed about the security threats.

Army, Rangers, LEAs cover capital

Teams assigned beats to patrol Islamabad territorial limits; troops secure Adiala Jail; Interior Ministry to oversee patrolling teams; foreign embassies and UN staff asked to limit their movement

By Shakeel Anjum

ISLAMABAD: The law-enforcement agencies (LEAs) are ready to counter TTP attacks after the Pakistan Army launched the Zarb-e-Azb operation in the TTP-dominated areas in North Waziristan Agency, security agency sources said.

Troops have been deployed in and around Islamabad and Rawalpindi and they will work under the Ministry of Interior.“Possible targets of terror outfits have been tightened covering all aspects of security, including sensitive buildings in the Red Zone, by deploying extra troops at different vital points on the Margalla Hills and adopting foolproof security measures in and around Adiala Jail, Rawalpindi,” officials responsible for the security of the twin-cities, said when asked.

“Insufficient and unprofessional police can’t deliver at the crucial time of attack, especially at the most sensitive buildings including Adiala Jail, so the authorities have decided to depend on the paramilitary forces backed by troops to professionally protect and counter possible attacks or terrorism,” the sources maintained. They further said the Red Zone, Islamabad, Cantonment areas and Adiala Jail were well-protected and secured by deploying extra forces.

“Coordination between intelligence and security agencies is very vital to achieve positive results against terrorism and the security planners have ensured effective coordination between the agencies,” the sources averred.

The authorities have made a strategic plan of patrolling Rawalpindi and Islamabad by joint forces, keeping in view the sensitivity of the area, the sources said, adding that the Rangers and Elite Force of Rawalpindi will help the Islamabad police in the protection of the federal capital.

Joint teams of the Rangers, Islamabad Police, Elite Force of Rawalpindi and Islamabad and Punjab Police will patrol Islamabad following the given schedule as Shift-1, 6:00am to 2:00pm; Shift-2, 2:00pm to 10:00pm; and Shift-3, 10:00 pm to 6:00 am.

The patrolling team will follow specific routes. Team A will patrol from PM House to Ataturk Avenue, team B from F-6 Super Market to Garden Road, team C from F-7, E-7, F-8 Jinnah Super to Kaghan Road, team D from G-6, G-7 Melody to Polyclinic, team E from G-8, G-9, G-9 Markaz to Imambargah G-9, team F from F-10, F-11, E-11 Silver Oaks to Golra Darbar, team G from G-10, G-11 District Complex to G-10 Markaz, team H from I-8, H-8 Faizabad to NPCC Bazaar, team I from H-10, H-11, Sabzi Mandi to NUST, team J from Taramri Chowk to Rawal Chowk, team K from Faisal Mosque to Khanna Bridge, team L from GEO Chowk to F-10 Chowk and team M will patrol from Serena Hotel to Peshawar More.

The Central Control System will monitor the patrolling of joint teams. Agencies add: As many as 30 commandos have been deployed at Adiala Jail amid a security threat after the Karachi airport attack.

The commandos are performing their duty along with 50 Rangers. According to the Adiala Jail Superintendent Malik Mushtaq the commandos will patrol round the jail. He said jail security was also being monitored with the help of CCTV cameras. Foreigners and the United Nations (UN) staff have been advised to limit their movement in Islamabad amid the threat of terrorist attacks.

The alert has been issued by the Interior Ministry in response to the intelligence reports of possible terror attacks.

The staff of UN and other foreign missions has been advised to limit their routine activities for the next three days and stay away from Jinnah Super, Kohsar and Super Market. They have also been asked to stay in the federal capital till the next directives.

Fighters push south towards Iraqi capital

BAGHDAD: Fighters were pushing towards Baghdad Thursday after capturing a town only 90 kilometres (56 miles) to its north, in a lightning three-day offensive the Iraqi government has failed to stop.

Fighters from the Iraq and the Levant seized the town of Dhuluiyah, a municipal councillor, a police colonel and witnesses told by telephone.

The nearby Muatassam area has also fallen to militants, the municipal council member and witnesses said.

ISIL spokesman Abu Mohammed al-Adnani promised that the battle would "rage" on Baghdad and Karbala, the SITE Intelligence Group said Wednesday.

"Do not relent against your enemy... The battle is not yet raging, but it will rage in Baghdad and Karbala," Adnani said, according to a SITE translation of an audio statement.

On Wednesday, the militants were repulsed in heavy fighting when they tried to enter Samarra, to the north, bypassing it and heading to Dhuluiyah.

Army Staff Lieutenant General Sabah al-Fatlawi said soldiers and "elite forces" backed by air strikes defeated a "fierce attack by ISIL members," and that troops were regrouping to counter attack.

ISIL militants have spearheaded a major offensive that began early Tuesday and has since overrun the entire northern province of Nineveh and significant parts of Kirkuk to its southeast and Salaheddin to its south.

Fighters push south towards Iraqi capital

BAGHDAD: Fighters were pushing towards Baghdad Thursday after capturing a town only 90 kilometres (56 miles) to its north, in a lightning three-day offensive the Iraqi government has failed to stop.

Fighters from the Iraq and the Levant seized the town of Dhuluiyah, a municipal councillor, a police colonel and witnesses told by telephone.

The nearby Muatassam area has also fallen to militants, the municipal council member and witnesses said.

ISIL spokesman Abu Mohammed al-Adnani promised that the battle would "rage" on Baghdad and Karbala, the SITE Intelligence Group said Wednesday.

"Do not relent against your enemy... The battle is not yet raging, but it will rage in Baghdad and Karbala," Adnani said, according to a SITE translation of an audio statement.

On Wednesday, the militants were repulsed in heavy fighting when they tried to enter Samarra, to the north, bypassing it and heading to Dhuluiyah.

Army Staff Lieutenant General Sabah al-Fatlawi said soldiers and "elite forces" backed by air strikes defeated a "fierce attack by ISIL members," and that troops were regrouping to counter attack.

ISIL militants have spearheaded a major offensive that began early Tuesday and has since overrun the entire northern province of Nineveh and significant parts of Kirkuk to its southeast and Salaheddin to its south.

 

Capital police baton-charge relatives of missing persons

 

ISLAMABAD: Seven civil society activists and five cops were wounded when the police resorted to a baton charge and teargassed the protesters. They were calling for the recovery of missing persons at the D-Chowk and tried to storm the Red Zone.
The Elite Force and Anti Riot Force (ARF) participated in the operation against the agitating people.Amna Masood Janjua and 11 others have been arrested, sources said. They said the police refused to obey the order of the area magistrate and assistant commissioner for using force against the agitating persons twice but they insisted they do so. They said the police resorted to a baton-charge and tear-gassing of the mob to stop it in accordance with the decision of the top administrative officers.

The clash between the police and the protesters took place when the protesters started marching towards the Parliament House. The police tried to stop them at the D-Chowk but they tried to move forward through another route, which resulted in a clash after an exchange of harsh words. Some journalists and cameramen were also injured during the clash.

Police sources said 12 protesters, including two women, had been arrested. They said the Section 144 was imposed and any kind of protest and gathering in the Red Zone was prohibited.

They said the ban on gatherings and public meetings will remain intact in future in the Red zone. They said a case would be registered against the protesters who violated the law. Sources in the district administration said on the orders of Islamabad’s newly-appointed DC, the entry of Amna Janjua was banned in the area since morning. Instructions to this effect were passed to police via wireless, they said.

Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif took serious notice and expressed his displeasure over the crackdown by the Islamabad Police on protesters headed by Amna Masood Janjua and ordered their immediate release.

In a statement, the prime minister said that in a democratic society, peaceful protest is the right of every citizen and no one has the right to brutally torture the innocent peaceful protesters. He ordered for the immediate release of the people and directed to take strict action for the officials involved in this unhappy incident.

The Islamabad DC released all activists arrested by the police following the PM’s order.Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan has ordered an inquiry into the incident. He has also suspended two sub divisional police officers (SDPOs), the ASP (City) Yasir Afridi and ASP (Secretariat) Iram, terming them responsible for the incident and asked the DC, who is believed to be responsible for the incident, to conduct an inquiry into the incident.

Wave of pro-Russia sentiment hits Crimea capital

SIMFEROPOL: "Crimea, rise up!" shouted the protesters who rallied in their hundreds on Saturday in the capital of Ukraine's flashpoint peninsula, waving Russian flags in a region that is slowly edging away from the control of Kiev's new government.
Masked and helmeted pro-Russia militia patrolled outside Simferopol's regional parliament building and flexed their muscle nearby on the streets of the city. Some wore uniform and wielded assault rifles but none sported any insignia.
Groups of pro-Russian militants, apparently unarmed but displaying a distinctively military sense of discipline, supported the militia in their deployment.
The Russian-speaking southern Crimea peninsula has been in flux since a bloody three-month uprising in Ukraine swept Moscow's allies from power and brought in a pro-West leadership, angering giant neighbour Russia whose parliament on Saturday approved the deployment of troops in the ex-Soviet country.
Gun-toting militia believed to be under the control of Moscow seized government buildings in Crimea and took control of key airports in the region, prompting Kiev to denounce a Russian "armed invasion" a dramatic statement that did nothing to ease tensions.
"Russia! Russia!" and "fascism will be defeated!" were some of the slogans in the day-long rallies Saturday.
In the front row of demonstrators was a man wearing military fatigues and a woolly hat, constantly taking on his mobile phone.
The previous day, this "retired army officer" had presented himself as a spokesman for a group of what he said were civilians who later moved in on the nearby airport along with other militia.
The procession walked past the interior ministry, where the Ukrainian flag had not been taken down yet but the pro-Russia camp was also firmly in control, adding to a sense of chaos in the southern city.
Crimea, where Moscow has stationed part of its navy for 250 years, was transferred to Ukraine by the Soviet leadership in 1954 but the mainly Russian-speaking territory has always remained close to its neighbour.
At Armyansk, the land chokepoint which commands access to the Black Sea peninsula, hundreds of pro-Moscow Cossacks from a nearby Russian town manned an improvised checkpoint.
But in the streets of Simferopol, not everyone was in agreement. "They are bastards. I wonder who is pulling the strings but they need to be arrested. They are all armed," said a 76-year-old retired officer, clenching his walking stick.
Many of the residents congregating in front of the parliament building to voice their support for Russian rule, though, argued that the militiamen whoever they were acted as a rampart against chaos.
"If they weren't around, it would be much worse. It would be like Kiev," said Andrei, a young student, in reference to clashes that left dozens dead in the Ukrainian capital last week and precipitated the dramatic political change in the country.
"We are very happy the Russians were able to do all this," said 16-year-old Ekaterina Petrosevich, who had no doubt Moscow was supporting the militia.
"The most important thing is that it all took place without shots being fired and blood being spilled," she said. "I want us to be a part of Russia."