Can Afghanistan Taliban absorb blow to Quetta Shura?

The Afghanistan Taliban is under pressure with 7 of 15 members of its top leadership council, the Quetta Shura, recently arrested. But still in place are senior leaders who might step up and other senior Taliban councils responsible for different parts of the country.

By Anand Gopal

Afghan army commandos stand on a sand bank as a US army Apache helicopter flies above them on February 24, 2010. While the recent capture of Quetta Shura leaders was in Pakistan, the organization runs operations have a wide reach, including within Afghanistan.

Kabul, Afghanistan: The Afghan Taliban now faces what may be its biggest test in recent years, with 7 of 15 members of its leadership council, the Quetta Shura, recently captured by Pakistani authorities.

From its perch in Pakistan, the Quetta Shura is said to act as a nerve center for all of the Afghan Taliban’s operations, formulating military and political strategy, appointing field commanders, and managing a shadow government.

Yet still in tact are a roster of experienced leaders who can take their arrested comrades’ place as well as several subcommittees that each oversee sections of the country.

This report on the Taliban’s leadership structure is based on interviews with two Taliban figures who claim to belong to the council and with Afghan intelligence officials.

A wide-reaching organization

The Quetta Shura’s is described as assigning and replacing field commanders in Afghanistan, overseeing the Taliban’s parallel government in Afghanistan, and fielding complaints from Taliban members. In some cases the Taliban’s control over some parts of Afghanistan is so strong that nongovernmental organizations working there – such as the United Nation’s World Food Program – have first sought permission from the Quetta Shura to enter the region.

In addition to the top council, the Taliban relies on a number of other shuras to oversee the insurgency. All of these councils answer to the supreme body in Quetta, and membership in the different councils or shuras sometimes overlaps.

Mullah Abdul Qayoum Zakir, the movement’s leading military commander and a member of the Quetta Shura, who was arrested in Pakistan’s recent crackdown, headed two such bodies.

Like the top council, these two shuras are based in Quetta, Pakistan, and are responsible for military affairs in southern and western Afghanistan, including resistance to the ongoing United States-led offensive in the town of Marjah.

A third council is based in the North Waziristan town of Miram Shah, where insurgent leader Sirajuddin Haqqani directs the Taliban’s operations in the southeast, according to former insurgents and Afghan intelligence officials. Mr. Haqqani is considered one of the most dangerous foes of the Western forces, and has been behind a number of high-profile attacks in recent years.

[A Pakistani Taliban commander in North Waziristan was killed in a suspected CIA missile strike in northwest Pakistan, officials told the Associated Press Thursday. Mohammed Qari Zafar, wanted for a deadly 2006 bombing of the US consulate in Karachi, was among at least 13 people killed Wednesday when three missiles slammed into a compound and a vehicle in the Dargah Mandi area of the North Waziristan on the border with Afghanistan, two Pakistani intelligence officials said. ]

A fourth shura, based in the Pakistani city of Peshawar, serves as the hub for Taliban operations in the eastern and northern parts of Afghanistan. Maulavi Abdul Kabir, the Taliban’s governor of Nangarhar Province when the group was in power, headed this body, according to Afghan and US intelligence officials. Maulavi Kabir was also caught in the Pakistani sweep.

Can the leadership spring back?

Some Taliban figures who do not belong to the Quetta Shura still hold important roles. One example is Qudratullah Jamal, who deals with fundraising and outreach to other groups and potential donors and is believed to be based in Pakistan. Another is Hafez Majid, who has headed a number of military committees over the years.

While the recent crackdown may put pressure on the Taliban, the movement has survived the loss of senior leaders before.

In early 2009, Pakistani authorities announced that they had captured Ustad Yasir, at the time the Taliban’s chief of military operations. His current whereabouts are unknown. In 2007, Pakistani officials captured Mullah Obaidullah, then considered the movement’s No. 2. Other senior leaders have been killed on the battlefield in Afghanistan.

The current sweep, however, marks the first time so many members of the leadership have been apprehended at once.

INDIAN GOVERNMENT MUST STOP REFINERY EXPANSION UNTIL HUMAN RIGHTS ARE ADDRESSED

Amnesty International

Indian authorities have given local communities scant or misleading information about the potential impact of a proposed alumina refinery expansion and mining project to be operated by subsidiaries of UK-based company Vedanta Resources in Orissa, Amnesty International said in a new report published on Tuesday.

There has been no process to seek the community’s informed consent.

The Amnesty International report, Don’t Mine Us out of Existence: Bauxite Mine and Refinery Devastate Lives in India documents how an alumina refinery operated by a subsidiary of UK-based FTSE 100 company Vedanta Resources in Orissa, is causing air and water pollution that threatens the health of local people and their access to water.

“People are living in the shadow of a massive refinery, breathing polluted air and afraid to drink from and bathe in a river that is one of the main sources of water in the region,” said Ramesh Gopalakrishnan, Amnesty International’s researcher on South Asia. “It is shocking how those who are most affected by the project have been provided with the least information.”

Villagers wash in the river Vamsadhara at Chattarpur.

Adivasi (Indigenous), Dalit, women and other marginalised communities in the remote part of Orissa where the refinery is located have described to Amnesty International how authorities told them that the refinery would transform the area into a Mumbai or Dubai.

The Orissa State Pollution Control Board has documented air and water pollution from Vedanta Aluminium’s refinery in Lanjigarh, Orissa. Amnesty International found that the pollution threatens the health of local people and their access to clean water yet there has been no health monitoring.

“We used to bathe in the river but now I am scared of taking my children there. Both my sons have had rashes and blisters,” a local woman told Amnesty International. The organization recorded many similar accounts from people living around the refinery.

Despite these concerns and the environmentally sensitive location of the refinery near a river and villages, the government is considering a proposal for a six-fold expansion of the refinery. Neither the Indian authorities nor Vedanta have shared information on the extent of pollution and its possible effects with local communities.

The Orissa Mining Corporation and another Vedanta Resources subsidiary also plan to mine bauxite in the nearby Niyamgiri Hills. The proposed mine threatens the very existence of the Dongria Kondh, an 8,000 strong protected indigenous community that has lived on the Niyamgiri hills for centuries. The hills are considered sacred by the Dongria Kondh and are essential for their economic, physical and cultural survival, yet no process to seek the community’s informed consent has been established.

A Dongria Kondh man told Amnesty International, “We have seen what happens to other Adivasis when they are forced to leave their traditional lands, they lose everything.”

“The people of Orissa are among the poorest in India and their health is being threatened by pollution from the refinery. Their voices are being ignored by Vedanta Resources and its partner companies as well as by Orissa’s government. There has been inadequate consultation with local people about the changes on the ground and yet it’s their lives and futures which hang in the balance,” said Ramesh Gopalakrishnan.

Amnesty International is calling on the Government of India and Vedanta Resources to ensure that there is no expansion of the refinery and mining does not go ahead until existing problems are resolved. Amnesty International is also calling for full consultation with local people and for the Indian authorities to set up a process to seek the free, prior and informed consent of the Dongria Kondh.

Report of human rights abuse in IOK presented to British Parliament

Associated Press of Pakistan

LONDON (APP): All Parties International Kashmir Coordination Committee has presented the report of human rights abuse in the Indian Occupied Kashmir to the members of the British Parliament and urged the United Kingdom to play a pro-active role in resolving the issue.The APIKCC President Dr Misfar Hassan in his communication to the British lawmakers said the report of inquiry has been prepared by an independent people of good public standing including lawyers, human rights activists and other members of the civil society.The report, according to Dr.Hassan, is a narrative of the victims who have and continue to suffer at the hands of the Indian occupational forces in Kashmir.

He pointed out the Kashmir issue was left unresolved by the last British government in India and it continues not only to consume massive amounts of human lives but there are other implications such as poverty, disease, maternal and infant mortality and particularly the damage to the ecological environment of the globe.

“Just to say that the conflict left unresolved in 1947 is now knocking at the doors in Britain in various shapes and one of the worst effect one can think of is the threat of terrorist activities.

“I personally feel that it is the time we all need to take the issue seriously owing to the dimensions just described and fulfil our responsibilities towards resolution of the conflict and help people of Jammu Kashmir to exercise their right of self determination to ensure safety of the British people and the regional and global peace.”

Dr.Hassan reminded the British legislators of their moral obligations to the humanity in general and to the safety of the British people in particular.

“I am only writing to remind you as in your role as representatives you have greater responsibilities and in this particular case you need to give a wake up call to the International community to play a proactive role for global peace.”

Can Washington please grow up?

By John Hughes

Provo, Utah: America is one of the most stirring examples of democracy in action anywhere on the globe. But the way our legislators behave, it is no wonder some non-Americans find it totally perplexing.

Take the current political situation in Washington: Barack Obama ran his winning presidential election campaign on a platform of “change.” His Democratic supporters roared back: “Yes, we can.”

His Republican opponents ran their campaign on a sort of “We-too-can-change” platform. Their supporters murmured back: “Yes, we hope you can, but not too fast.”

Centrist independents, who now hold the balance of power between the two traditional parties, and who after a year into the new presidential term had hoped for bipartisanship and unity in the face of crisis, must be mighty disappointed.

The Democrats, after trying to rush an improbably comprehensive liberal agenda into being in Year 1 of President Obama’s term, have found out that “No, they can’t.”

The Republicans, after losing the White House and both Houses of Congress, have determined that their attitude toward anything the spendthrift Democratic majority in Congress proposes will be “No, you won’t.” The strategy apparently is to block Democratic-initiated programs with the hope that disillusioned voters will return a Republican majority to Congress later this year, and even hobble Obama’s bid for reelection. The danger for Republicans is that disaffected voters might blame the Republicans more for disruption than the Democrats for lack of accomplishment.

Much of the electorate is left fuming over (a) millions of jobs lost, (b) a mind-boggling national debt their children and grandchildren will be left paying off, (c) big bank presidents awarded annual salaries in the multimillions for questionable performance, and (d) a political logjam in Washington.

The national mood is not helped by cable TV commentators of the more lurid character suggesting that the administration is leading the country to Armageddon, or senior White House officials terming those who disagree with them “retarded.”

As has been traditional over the years, US political parties, both in and out of power, have tended to be more supportive of incumbent presidents on foreign policy than domestic policy. It is generally considered bad form to display disunity on foreign policy to foreign audiences, but acceptable to be in disarray on domestic challenges at home.

In sending more troops to Afghanistan, Obama is largely following President Bush’s war policy. His tough talk on Al Qaeda and terrorism meets with support from most Americans. He has escaped serious criticism on questionable handling of the closure of Guantánamo defense facility, on interrogation of the Christmas Day bomber, and the now-abandoned plan to try key Al Qaeda terrorists in courts a stone’s throw from the scene of the 9/11 disaster. Perhaps it is because his attorney-general, Eric Holder, is seen to have been the initiator of such moves.

While Obama’s Cairo and Istanbul “outreach” speeches to the Muslim world were well crafted and well received, his outstretched hand has yet to be gripped by the Arab world, or by difficult non-Arab clients like North Korea and Iran, to which he has also similarly offered engagement. North Korea already has developed nuclear-capable weaponry and Iran has proven rocket capability, with the ability to produce a nuclear warhead not far behind.

North Korea has proved adept at fending off US, European, and Chinese attempts to abandon its nuclear weapons program. Iran, a traditional wily negotiator, must surely have been impressed by North Korea’s example and probably hopes to emulate it.

Though China is America’s banker, its relationship with the Obama administration is prickly as it seeks recognition as a world power.

In these and other international challenges, Obama counts on bilateral support at home. It would be helpful if Republicans and Democrats could achieve similar bilateral concord on the serious domestic challenges facing the nation.

John Hughes, a former editor of the Monitor, writes a biweekly column.

India: The Anti-Black Mass Culture In Kerala

By Joe MS
Countercurrents.org

The recent ‘jest ‘of film star Jayaram against the Tamil as black skinned , buffalo like and therefore less human has been taken as just a joke by the cultural scene of Kerala. Not only that sympathy was expressed for the poor victim that he is, inadvertently cracking an innocent joke and thereby exposing himself to the ire of ‘violent’ Tamil,even solidarity was expressed with the right to crack such jokes by the ‘ordinary folks’. The latent ideological and cultural premises hidden behind this whole controversy needs to be enquired into to understand the reality. The natural outburst of violence against Jayaram for the upholding dignity of the Tamil has been understood by the ‘superior’ Malayali culture as typical of them who are inferior, passionate, emotional, devoid of political education , filmy so on and so forth. The intellectual community of Kerala was not less.

The height of irony was the sigh of relief heaved by Sebastian Paul, the(retired? )left liberation theologist, in his newspaper article in Madhayamam (dated 12th February), for the subsumption of controversy as the fight against Jayaram has subsided in Tamilnadu. Here he presumes that Jayaram only made a joke and absolved him of all sins( because of the kinship called Malayali fraternity), and that the Tamils reacted violently and unnecessarily , which is nothing but parochialism. This is no wonder. At the level of mass culture, cracking of jokes and the wit mania , epitomised by mimics culture , and internalised by Malyalee to fill the philosophical void in his competitive life, is simply racist,. Popular culture as practiced in Kerala, is naked racism, which would have called forth acts of reprimand even from a capitalist state in the west.. And all such jokes insulting the physically challenged to the people of subaltern culture has escaped criticism of the left-oriented Kerala

.For the left any act of subversion which questions the status-quo of Sanskrit-Brahminical cultural dominance is smacking of parochialism and jingoism and therefore not progressive. This is due to parroting of historical materialism without understanding its real potential, for liberation and blind application without understanding the Indian context. Yes, it is true Marxism has the huge prowess to help in transforming and liberating a society. But only if applied with ingenuity.

The so-called post revolutionary mainstream culture of Kerala culture constituted by mainstream leftist too, has always been Brahmanical, pro-Sanskrit, pro-Hindi, patriotic and as a corollary posed against all discourse hostile to the dominanant discourse. The making of Sebastian Paul, despite being claimant to the revolutionary status of marginalised section with in the Christian communityre, shares the same outlook in aping the hierarchical configuration of the Siriyan hegemony, especially in its nurturing of caste system, And his stint with parliamentary leftism , would have instilled its theoretical approach in him, which abounds in ‘bhadralokism’. The mainstream Malaya lee’s canonical identity has been cultivated , and ideologically rooted in a kind of anti Dravidiansim , the pioneers of whom were naturally leftists. India is a country in which epidermically determined racism is still a reality, despite claims to the contrary from the left. The scientific rigour exhibited by their intelligentsia in disproving the historical accuracy of Aryan-Dravidian divide, only as a colonial construct and discourse ,and the scant disregard for the efficacy of such a dichotomy at least in the cultural domain, is inspired by ulterior motives .

The need for a secular Dravidian myth, subversive and libertarian, was exemplified by the practice of Periyar The emotionality of romanticism in the mythicization of Che proved positive and progressive for the world. So there is nothing wrong in the Dravidian myth cultivated by Periyar, celebrated and manifest in the counter cultural practice of Keemayana, extolling the virtues of Ravana, the villain of the brahmanical lore, Ramayana. But all these efforts were sidelined by the left in their nation building enthusiasm and theoretical gratitude , engraved in the unconscious, due to the organic link to Brahmansim,(maybe existing as a scholastically oriented secular atheistic practice, in effect working as detached denouement in a genetically ordained socially stratified scenario,) to the aestheticised obscuranticism of Gandhian ideology. It has informed their outlook and practice, the result was , the mainstream culture of Kerala, of which the left takes pride in, which is Brahmanical , skin-based; marginalises , dalit and adiviasis, and nakedly practice slavery to the people of dark-skin vagrants seeking job there. Jayaram is only the tip of the iceberg. (See the naked practice of Brhamanism in the nexus between Jayaram, kamala Hassan and N.Ram(the icon of such leftist culture exemplified in his secular atheistic, devoid of cultural rationality, despite their mutually absent save real acquaintance, facilitated through the working of social capital)The radical left, constituted by the self same class forces, despite some originality in introspection and nobility, stops short of owning up a Dravidian spirit. The endless masturbation of the post-modern brigade, with European born anti Euro-centric theory, results in only sharing the crumps of state benevolence..

Another incident which bears testimony to the Savarna hegemonic oeuvre of intelligentsia in India is the muted response/silence/participation of the urban intelligentsia in the recent perpetration of genocide on the ‘Dravidian race , by the powers that be in the subcontinent. Kerala , despite being , the bordering state, and which can boast of its intellectuals as a community, and which parrots an Immanuel levinas to Badiou, did not even take notice of such happenings , and shared the mainstream view. This is because the cultural sphere of Kerala , ploughed as it is by Marxism, is organically linked to the right , as the intellectual praxis here is without the radical rupture with in consciousness,, and practically amounts to economism. The Malayali identity is largely built and defined as contradictory to , distinct from, and as a counter-point to the Tamil(read black skinned), ridiculed as linguistically chauvinistic .Thus it was genetically integrated in to the Sankritised terrain.The inherent tribalism , immediately inferred by Malayalee , to the angry nationalist outburst of Tamils to Jayaram’s invectives , will be termed as jingoistic parochialism( see Nehru’s invective on Tamil movement as ‘Kattu Mirandi’).The anti-Brahmanic cultural content in the struggles of periyar, his anti-casteist , anti-Hindi position etc. were never looked at with respect by the right and left intelligentsia . In fact Periyar’s Dravidian rationality provides avenues for a counterculture , with its Dravidian lore, a libertarian site on which to wage the struggle of subaltern, oppressed culturally, thereby assimilating the multitudinal streams antagonistic to the dominant culture into its fold, and creating a space towards a radical rupture, extremely necessary to break from historic and ideological oppression, and to create a new proletariat , liberated from ideological subjugation of Brahmanism. Like Black bolshevism, propounded by Harry Haywood .in the US, what India need is a Marxism dialectically linked to a Dravidian cultural rationalism with its emancipatory potential.

UK fatalities in Afghanistan and Iraq

BBC News

The number of British military personnel killed on operations in Afghanistan since 2001 stands at 265 after a soldier from A Company, 4th Battalion The Rifles, was shot near Sangin, Helmand province, on 25 February.

Of all those killed, 33 have died from accidents, illness, or non-combat injuries. Others have yet to be assigned a cause of death. Details of fatalities are in the table below.

Read Complete Article here : http://simseat.newsvine.com/_news/2010/02/26/3952709-uk-fatalities-in-afghanistan-and-iraq

Gen. Patraeus praises Pakistan’s efforts in war against terror

US Central Command Commander Gen. David Petraeus has praised Pakistan’s efforts to confront violent extremists and honoured the sacrifices being made every day by the Pakistan military, the government and the people in their fight to restore peace and stability.

Gen. David Petraeus during his visit to Pakistan met President Asif Ali Zardari, Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani, Gen. Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, Chief of Army Staff and several other officials.

He also visited Pakistan Military Academy Abbottabad and addressed students there, said a US Embassy press release issued here on Wednesday.

During his meetings, Gen. Petraeus briefed the Pakistani leadership on the progress being made by the Afghan, US and international forces in the battle against extremism in Afghanistan.

He promised continued support for the Pakistan military for combating extremists and anticipated that vigorous progress by Pakistani security forces in the coming months will lead to major improvements in conditions in both Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Gen. Petraeus was impressed by the progress Pakistan’s security forces made throughout the country in places like South Waziristan and Swat to defeat anti-government militants.

He reinforced the United States’ long-term commitment to Pakistan and expressed his appreciation for the leadership role Pakistan in achieving the mutual goals of a peaceful and secured region. It is pertinent to mention here that Gen. Petraeus has visited Pakistan five times during the last twelve months.

Australia warns Israel over Dubai killing link

by Talek Harris Talek Harris

SYDNEY (AFP) - Australia summoned the Israeli ambassador on Thursday and delivered a stark warning on ties after three Australian passports were used by suspected Mossad assassins who murdered a top Hamas commander.

An image taken from hotel surveillance shows Hamas militant Mahmud al-Mabhuh (circled) checking into a Dubai hotel shortly before his murder in January 2010. Australia summoned the Israeli ambassador on Thursday and delivered a stark warning on ties after three Australian passports were used by suspected Mossad assassins who murdered the top Hamas commander.

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said Australia “will not be silent on the matter” after a woman and two men, holding apparently fake Australian passports, were named among 15 new suspects in the Cold War-style killing of Mahmud al-Mabhuh.

“If Australian passports are being used or forged by any state, let alone for the purpose of assassination, this is of the deepest concern and we are getting to the bottom of this now,” Rudd told public broadcaster ABC.

“We will not leave a single stone unturned.”

Foreign Minister Stephen Smith told ambassador Yuval Rotem that Australia’s friendly ties with Israel were at risk if investigations showed it was involved in tampering with the passports.

“We have made no conclusion about what to us — from our preliminary investigation — seems to be a serious abuse of three Australian passports either through forgery or identity fraud,” Smith told reporters.

“But I made it crystal clear to the ambassador that if the results of that investigation cause us to come to the conclusion that the abuse of Australian passports was in any way sponsored or condoned by Israeli officials, then Australia would not regard that as the act of a friend.”

The comments pile further pressure on Israel over the seemingly well-planned hit on al-Mabhuh, who was found dead in his luxury Dubai hotel room on January 20. He had been electrocuted and strangled, according to his brother.

Israeli ambassadors in four European countries have been summoned for talks and the European Union has also voiced outrage over the use of fake passports after an earlier list of 11 people was released.

Dubai police strongly suspect Mossad, Israel’s secret service, of carrying out the hit and have called for the arrest of the spy agency’s chief. Related article: Dubai hunts new Western suspects

The 15 new suspects range from people who provided logistical support to those who played a leading role.

Israel has sought to play down the row, saying there is no evidence of its involvement. It has rejected the calls for the arrest of Mossad’s chief as “baseless” and “absurd”.

One of the passport-holders, Australian-born Adam Korman, who works in a Tel Aviv shop, expressed shock at being named as a suspect and said he had been the victim of fraud.

“It’s identity theft — simply unbelievable,” Korman told the Ynetnews.com website.

The mother of Joshua Daniel Bruce, another suspect listed along with Nicole Sandra McCabe, said the photograph, signature and date of birth on the passport released by Dubai police were not those of her son.

Sarah Bruce said Joshua was “unaware of everything” when she spoke with him briefly by phone in Jerusalem, his home for the past seven years.

“I am fearful (for his safety), but hopefully everyone will see that it is fraud. It’s not his photo in the pictures they’re flashing around everywhere,” Sarah Bruce said.

Smith said Australian security officials were working round the clock on their probe and demanded cooperation from Israel, which he described as a “long-standing friend”. Australia officially recognised Israel in 1949.

Al-Mabhuh masterminded a number of attacks on Israeli targets including the kidnapping of two soldiers.

Britain’s Sunday Times newspaper, quoting unnamed sources, has reported that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu authorised the Mossad mission and met members of the hit squad shortly before their departure.

60 MINUTES OF TERROR

By Deepika Jaitley

On 15^th February 2010 India’s Eastern Frontier Rifles Force came under attack at their Headquarters at Shilda 75 kms from Midnapore. Taken by complete surprise the force lost 24 enlisted men in the 60 minutes for which the attack continued. More than 50 weapons were looted besides other destruction. This daring armed attack was claimed by the Maoist rebels fighting Indian security forces in the troubled North Eastern region. According to the Maoist leader Kishanji this was in retaliation to Operation Green Hunt. Operation Green Hunt is an operation by Indian security forces against the jungle bases and sanctuaries of the Maoists. Maoists have launched many attacks but this one was the most daring and marks an escalation in the struggle.

Read Complete Article here : http://deepikascorner.wordpress.com/2010/02/25/60-minutes-of-terror/

Hidden Hand Of The Law

Mumbai’s ‘patriotic don’ could be behind the recent killings, with official backing, reports RANA AYYUB

Shootout The Bhendi Bazar area of Mumbai after the failed attack on Asif Dadhi on February 13

HE SAYS he has murdered at least seven of the accused in the 1993 Mumbai blasts while they were out on bail. It’s an open secret that in 1998 – allegedly at the behest of Indian intelligence agencies – he also had Nepalese MP Mirza Dilshad Baig killed. His name is Chhota Rajan. Baig, with reported links to the underworld, was becoming an eyesore for the IB. To eliminate its target, the IB is said to have used its favourite trump card, the Chhota Rajan gang. Rajan’s association with the IB grew after he escaped death at the hands of assassins hired by former mentor Dawood Ibrahim in Bangkok in 2000. Subsequently, he started wiping out members of the ‘D Company’, establishing his image as a ‘patriotic don’.

Fast forward to the present. On February 7 this year, Jamin Shah, Mirza Dilshad Baig’s successor and owner of a Nepalese television network, was shot dead. On February 11, Shahid Azmi, prominent human rights and criminal lawyer, was gunned down. On February 13, Asif Khan alias Asif Dadhi was shot but escaped narrowly. A known associate of Chhota Rajan, Bharat Nepali has taken responsibility for both murders, while the attackers of Asif Dadhi have not yet been identified, sources in the Mumbai Police say that it bore the handiwork of a ‘Dawood rival’. They also claim that criminal gangs are attempting to “prove their patriotism” by targeting people who could be dubbed anti-national, thus acting in the interests of intelligence agencies. In some cases, the relationship between the gangs and the agencies is said to be closer: Members of Chhota Rajan’s gang claim that earlier attempts on Jamin Shah’s life were made at the behest of Military Intelligence.

Business as usual A file photograph of Chhota Rajan

IN A chilling phone call to Jamin Shah’s news channel the night he was murdered, Bharat Nepali warned, “anyone who goes against India will meet the same fate”. Four days later, Shahid Azmi, the lawyer of Faheem Ansari, co-accused in the 26/11 and the 7/11 Mumbai terror attack cases, was murdered. Azmi had managed to disprove several police allegations against Ansari. Bharat Nepali claimed responsibility for this attack as well. Chhota Rajan’s closest aides admitted in a conversation with TEHELKA that Nepali had been staying in Tilak Nagar, Mumbai, a few metres from Rajan’s residence, in the run-up to Azmi’s murder.

While Police Commissioner Rakesh Maria declined to comment, a senior police officer stated, on condition of anonymity, that, “It’s no coincidence that those claiming responsibility for Shahid Azmi’s killing – Ravi Pujari, Bharat Nepali or Santosh Shetty – are either ex-Rajan men or are working at his behest.” For their part, on February 16, the police detained three associates of Nepali, two of whom have worked with Rajan.

Bharat Nepali, common link in the attacks on Shah and Azmi, was inducted into the mafia by Rajan after they met in Bangkok in 2000. He was present at Rajan’s hospital bed after an attempt on the don’s life. For some time now, Rajan is supposedly being coaxed by the agencies to make a return. He is hesitant as the MCOCA case against his wife Sujata Nikalje is still alive. Perhaps for this reason, though he is said to have arranged the murders, he is loath to claim credit.

rana@tehelka.com

Procedural irregularities in by-polls witnessed

By Amir Wasim

ISLAMABAD: A group of independent election monitors reported seeing heavy police presence and intelligence operatives occasionally “interfering” in the voting process at some polling stations during the by-election in NA-55 on Wednesday.

Police stand guard outside a polling station during a by-election in Rawalpindi.-AFP

In their preliminary report, the Free and Fair Election Network (Fafen) observers also reported “significant procedural irregularities” and failure of election officials to enforce regulations and laws.

In most of polling stations, security officials were present inside polling stations and booths. Many presiding officers said security officers were present inside the premises without their permission and on the orders of the local administration.

The observers also noticed “intelligence officials entering polling stations and asking questions about the number of votes cast.”

Under electoral rules, even at sensitive polling stations, police are only authorised to maintain order outside. They can only enter polling stations or booths when requested by the presiding officer. At some polling stations, security officials accompanied Fafen observers and even supervised their interactions with the officials. At some stations, police officers were assisting election officials in counting and handling election materials.

Over 30 polling stations were set up in privately schools and buildings, which was not in line with the electoral rules.

The observers as well as some mediapersons reported that the election officials under “close supervision of security officers were hesitant particularly in opening the counting process for pubic scrutiny.”

At 12 polling stations, ballot books had counterfoils filled before the ballots had been removed, indicating the possibility of “fraudulent votes.”

Similarly, the observers reported from 12 polling stations that the number of CNICs of voters as written on the counterfoils of the ballot books did not match with the corresponding entries on the electoral rolls “again raising the possibility that fraudulent voting might have taken place.”

At 19 polling stations, dubious thumb impressions marked on counterfoils of ballot books at the same angle with phasing out ink print were observed. In case of genuine voters, each thumb impression is marked in fresh, dark ink and may be at varying angles.

Armed civilians were observed inside eight polling stations. Public representatives and officials were present inside six polling stations.

At one polling station, an unidentified man was acting on behalf of a female presiding officer and was positioned at a place from where he could view voters stamping their ballots.

The workers of almost all the parties were campaigning in violation of election laws that barred the same within 400 yards of polling stations. At 13 stations, campaigning and canvassing was being done inside.

The installation of cameras in polling stations, apparently for security reasons, is a certain case of breach of voters’ privacy.

In at least one polling station, a security camera was installed on top of the secrecy screen where voters stamp the ballot.

Indian Terror Cell Targeting Muslims

THE SPECIAL CELL of the Delhi Police was formed in 1986 as a counter-terrorism force. It shot into prominence in the late 1990s, claiming to have killed many terrorists and to have solved several cases. In time, some of its officers began to figure in extortion cases and dubious encounters. Says noted lawyer Prashant Bhushan: “Unfortunately, whenever the courts have found that they [the Special Cell] have been framing people by fabricating evidence, they have not suggested any action to be taken. Unless they are punished very severely by law, police officers will keep on framing innocents as terrorists.” Tellingly, over the last four months, lower courts in Delhi have acquitted nine “terrorists” arrested by the Special Cell. Four such “terrorists” were arrested after an encounter in southwest Delhi in March 2005. Police claimed they had averted a major terrorist attack on the Indian Military Academy (IMA), Dehradun. Five years later, all four men were acquitted. BRIJESH PANDEY profiles the four terrorists who never were.

‘It Took Time To Sink In That The Stigma Is Gone’

ILAWAR KHAN, Maulana at Imdad-ul-Uloom Madrassa
MASOOD AHMED, Imam at Baghwali Masjid

Living in fear Dilawar Khan was told he’d be taught a lesson he wouldn’t forget

• Both men arrested by the Special Cell for plotting a suicide attack
• Branded as Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorists planning a suicide attack on the Indian Military Academy, Dehradun
• Arrested solely on the basis of statement by alleged Lashkar terrorist Hamid Hussain
• Jailed for five years
• Court acquits them of all charges in January 2010
• Judge demolishes entire Special Cell case against both men

THE SIGHT of an approaching policeman is enough to send shivers down the spine of Maulana Dilawar Khan and Imam Masood Ahmed and for good reason too. Dilawar, a teacher at the Imdad-ul-Uloom Madrassa in northeast Delhi’s Welcome area, and Masood, an Imam at the Baghwali Masjid barely 200 metres away, were called to the local police station in March 2005 and then told to visit the Delhi Police Special Cell’s office at Lodhi Colony in south Delhi for routine questioning. It would be five years before either was seen in public again.

Branded as Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorists plotting a suicide attack on the Indian Military Academy in Dehradun, the duo languished in jail for five years before a Patiala House Court judgement set them free last month for want of evidence. The court also criticised the Special Cell for its lapses in investigation and for misusing its powers.

Dilawar and Masood were arrested solely on the basis of a statement by Hamid Hussain, an alleged Lashkar member, who claimed that a consignment of explosives meant for Pakistani terrorists had been kept in Dilawar’s custody. Hamid identified Masood and Dilawar and police claimed to have recovered a grenade and a Chinese pistol with 24 bullets from them.

Dilawar recalls the questioning by the Special Cell. “I was too dazed to comprehend what was going on… all they asked me was if I knew Hamid. When I said no, I was tortured and asked the same question repeatedly. I kept on denying. I was told I would be taught a lesson I wouldn’t forget. They also forced me to sign on a blank paper.”

Masood has a similar story. “First I was asked to identify Hamid and then I was asked to explain the plot. I had no clue what to answer.”

Matters swiftly got worse. “We were paraded like animals in front of cameras. The [Special] Cell officers were jostling with each other to stand next to ‘the terrorist’ so that they could also figure prominently in the picture. They also asked me to pose for the camera,” says Dilawar. “My faith in God was tested at that moment. What did I do to deserve this?”

Deserted by friends and relatives immediately after their arrest, Dilawar and Masood patiently waited for their case to come up for trial. The judgement took a long time in coming, but when it was delivered on January 8 this year, it acquitted them of all charges and demolished the entire Special Cell case. Additional Sessions Judge Dharmesh Sharma said, “The evidence given by the prosecution does not inspire confidence,” adding that there was no evidence that Dilawar was living in the house police arrested him from. Picking further holes in the police case, Justice Sharma said Inspector [Special Cell] Ramesh Lamba, who was part of the team that allegedly raided the Welcome area and picked up Dilawar and Masood within half-an-hour of each other, “did not utter a single word about the recovery” of arms from Dilawar’s house.

“What was most surprising was the statement of Inspector Ran Singh who stated that after the arrest [of Dilawar] the Special Cell team went back to their office… [before returning to arrest Masood from almost the same spot],” adds Justice Sharma “This is in contradiction with the statement given by the Special Cell officers. It is not believable that if the police party had gone to arrest both the persons in the same locality, it opted to include Ran Singh in one and not the other.” Indicting the police further, the judge says: “It is also very doubtful that Hamid Hussain was at all involved in identifying” the accused since “his name was not mentioned anywhere in the daily [police] diary”.

Life has come a full circle for the maulana and the imam. “When I came out of jail, I felt I am in a strange world. It took time to sink in that the stigma of being branded a terrorist has gone,” says Dilawar. Masood only smiles and keeps thanking God. But their euphoria was shortlived. The very next day, some policemen visited Dilawar’s house, asking him to visit the local police station. “I can’t tell you how scared I felt. In a split second, the entire trauma of the last five years flashed before me,” says Dilawar whose lawyer, anticipating unnecessary harassment, advised him to keep away. “Despite the fact that I have been given a clean chit, the fear of being picked up again remains. I think this fear will go only with my death,” he says ruefully.

‘Career Ruined By Case Full Of Holes’

HAROON RASHID, Mechanical engineer

• Arrested on May 16, 2005 from Indira Gandhi International Airport on his way back from Singapore
• Charged with being the main financier of a Lashkar-e-Taiba module
• Spends five years in jail
• Court acquits him of all charges in January 2010

HAROON RASHID had no idea that his plan to go to Singapore for a job would backfire so badly. A mechanical engineer from Bihar, Haroon had quit his job at Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) in December 2004 to join Singapore based company, initially for a 22-month preparatory course. When he returned to India on May 16th, 2005 for a visit home, he was picked up by the Special Cell from the Indira Gandhi International Airport, New Delhi. He was charged with financing a conspiracy to carry out a suicide attack on the Indian Military Academy (IMA), Dehradun.

According to the Special Cell, Delhi Police, Haroon had twice remitted a total of Rs 49,000 from Singapore through Western Union Money Transfer on January 10th and 15th, 2005, to his brother Mohammad Yunis, who had subsequently passed it on to Shams, one of the three killed in an encounter in an apartment in Uttam Nagar in March 2005. Apparently, Haroon had also confessed that he used to get money from his Pakistani mentor Abdul Aziz. They also claimed to have 76 pages of e-mail transcripts from Haroon, under the pseudonym ‘Farooq’, in which he had sent coded instructions to other terrorists for future action. The police termed Haroon’s arrest as a major breakthrough.

But when Haroon Rashid’s case came up for trial, a very different picture emerged – that of abuse of power at the hands of Special Cell officers entrusted with the task of preventing terrorist attacks.

According to MS Khan, Haroon’s lawyer, “He was from a very poor family and hence had to take Rs 1 lakh as loan from his uncle to go to Singapore. On reaching there, when he found out that he would not need so much money, he sent Rs 49,000 back to his brother, so that part of the loan could be repaid. How was he to know that this remittance will mark him as a Lashkar financier?”

The case presented by the Special Cell fell apart in the court. Yunis denied giving any money to Shams, the slain terrorist. The police could not produce any independent evidence linking Haroon to any Lashkar operative. Even the muchtouted e-mails recovered from Haroon could not withstand the scrutiny of cross-examination.

“Inspector Kailash had deposed in the court that on 18th May, 2005, that he had cracked the password of the e-mail which Haroon had been using to contact his handler in Pakistan, and had taken the printouts on the same day,” said MS Khan, “But Inspector Badrish Dutt of the same Special Cell admitted that on May 13th , 2005 (five days before the claimed breakthrough happened), Haroon had already given him the password of his email account. Badrish deposed that Inspector Kailash was also present during the interrogation. This clearly proves that the police fabricated the email records in those five days.”

The court was scathing about Inspector Kailash’s silence and lies in the court. Even the 76 pages of printouts supposedly taken on May 13 were neither produced in the court nor attached to the chargesheet. They weren’t even mentioned in the police diary.

Haroon Rashid was acquitted by the court but if his advocate is to be believed, the fear of being picked up again remains high. And it will be quite a while, before his faith in the police is restored.

‘Who Will Return My Youth, Sir?’

IFTEKHAR MALLICK, Biotechnology student in Dehradun

• Charged with planning to attack the IMA, Dehradun
• Picked up from his house; landlord not informed
• Special Cell claim Lashkar had funded his education
• Inspectors who’seized’ evidence against Iftekhar never visited Dehradun

THINGS ARE finally looking up for Mohammad Iftekhar Ahsan Mallick, five years after he was jailed on charges of being a Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorist plotting to carry out a suicide attack on the Indian Military Academy (IMA) in Dehradun.

Iftekhar, 26, was a secondyear biotechnology student at Dehradun’s Dolphin Institute of Biomedical & Natural Sciences when he was picked up from his house by the Special Cell of Delhi Police on March 7, 2005. At a news conference, the Special Cell claimed to have recovered a diary containing inflammatory passages from the Quran, a note that spoke of avenging the 2002 Gujarat riots and a pass to an IMA parade. Police also said Iftekhar had been in touch with the slain Pakistani terrorist Shams who had motivated him to attend Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) meetings in his native Bihar. It was said Iftekhar had been referred to as “Shahid” in Shams’ diary and that the Lashkar had sponsored his education.

Iftekhar kept pleading his innocence but to no avail. It was left to Additional Sessions Judge Dharmesh Sharma to point out the Special Cell’s lapses in investigation while acquitting Iftekhar of all charges. Justice Sharma termed it “most surprising” that Ramesh Sharma, Inspector of the Special Cell had deposed that Inspector Kailash Singhal Bisht had visited Dehradun and seized the IMA pass from Iftekhar only for Bisht – who wrote the seizure memo – to admit during cross-examination that he had never gone there at all. On being asked how he recovered the pass and wrote out the seizure memo, Bisht could offer no explanation.

Damningly, Iftekhar told the court that he had been forced by the Special Cell to write out the note about avenging Gujarat. He admitted to having written out passages from the Quran but said they were not inflammatory in any way.

Justice Sharma also found it surprising that Iftekhar’s landlord, Bhagat Ram Gulyani, was not contacted at the time of the arrest and seizure of evidence. Nor was there any other public witness.

On cross-examination, it came to light that inspectors Sanjay Dutt and Badrish Dutt, who allegedly seized Iftekhar’s diary and the note seeking vengeance, had never visited Dehradun. What’s more the Special Cell officers kept contradicting each other about the note allegedly written by Iftekhar. One inspector said it was written in Hindi while another said it was in English.

The court also said there was no independent evidence to substantiate that Iftekhar was a Lashkar member or knew any of the militants killed in the March 2005 Uttam Nagar encounter in southwest Delhi. Even the disclosure statements of the other accused did not mention Iftekhar even once. Mere possession of an IMA pass did not indicate any motive; moreover, the pass was five months old and the parade had already been held.

The ordeal has finally ended for Iftekhar. With his sister about to get married, 2010 promises to be a much better year for the former student.

But the fear of police remains ever present.

WRITER’S EMAIL
brijesh@tehelka.com

Al-Qaida leader in Yemen threatens new US attacks

CAIRO – A senior operative of the al-Qaida network in Yemen – the group that claimed responsibility for the failed Christmas Day attack on an American passenger jet over Detroit – has threatened more attacks on the United States.

The U.S. has become increasingly worried about militants based in Yemen since al-Qaida groups there and in Saudi Arabia merged last year to become al-Qaida in the Arabian. The group has openly targeted U.S. and other Western interests in Yemen, and – as demonstrated by the Dec. 25 attack – abroad.

Qasim al-Raimi, a top military commander for al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, warned Americans in an article published in an online militant magazine that the group “will blow up the earth from below your feet.”

“You have attacked us in the midst of our household, so wait for what will attack you in the midst of yours,” al-Raimi said, according to a translation of the message from the SITE Intelligence Group, which monitors militant Web sites.

The United States is increasingly worried that Yemen is becoming a significant terrorist staging ground, amid signs that lower-level al-Qaida operatives have been moving into the country from the Afghanistan-Pakistan border region.

Washington has pressured Yemen’s government to crack down on the network, and the Pentagon has earmarked some $150 million in military assistance to Yemen to help combat the threat.

Al-Raimi claimed in the article that U.S. efforts have backfired, and only succeded in pushing more Yemenis into the militant fold. “You united us with our people, made our catastrophe one,” he said.

Al-Raimi is one of 23 militants who broke out of a prison in San’a in February 2006 and is at large. Yemeni authorities have said they believe he was involved in the July 2007 suicide bombing that killed eight Spanish tourists and two Yemenis visiting a temple in central Yemen.

He escaped a Yemeni military strike in December 2009 that killed a deputy commander and at least 30 other suspected militants.

Worries over al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula’s growing presence are compounded by fears that Yemen could collapse into turmoil from its multiple conflicts and increasing poverty and become another Afghanistan, giving the militants even freer rein.

Israel under pressure over Hamas killing in Dubai

MOHAMED HASNI

Israel came under fresh diplomatic pressure Thursday as Australia became the latest country seeking answers over the use of western passports in the Dubai killing of a top Hamas militant.

Australia summoned the Israeli ambassador to discuss the latest development in the investigation into the killing, which Dubai’s police chief has said was most likely carried out by Mossad agents.

Australia “will not be silent on the matter,” said Prime Minister Kevin Rudd after three Australian passport-holders were named among 15 new suspects linked to last month’s Cold War-style killing of Mahmud al-Mabhuh.

“If Australian passports are being used or forged by any state, let alone for the purpose of assassination, this is of the deepest concern and we are getting to the bottom of this now,” Rudd told public broadcaster ABC.

“We will not leave a single stone unturned.”

Al-Ittihad newspaper reported Thursday, citing a police source, that three Palestinians are being questioned over the killing.

“The number of Palestinians being questioned in connection with the killing of (Mahmud) al-Mabhuh has risen to three,” the newspaper cited a high-level police source as saying.

Dubai police have previously announced that they have in custody two Palestinians, who were deported from Jordan.

The source did not provide details on the detention of the third Palestinian, the newspaper said.

“The source confirmed that one of those (previously-detained) Palestinians has been proven to have been involved in Mabhuh’s killing,” Al-Ittihad said.

A statement Monday from Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said there was no evidence to link Israel to the killing of Mahmud al-Mabhuh, who was found dead at a luxury Dubai hotel on January 20.

But the country’s envoys have already been called in over the affair by four European countries — Britain, France, Germany and Ireland — because of the use of such passports seemingly issued by these countries.

In many cases, the documents appeared either to have been faked or obtained illegally.

Australian Foreign Minister Stephen Smith, who summoned Israeli ambassador Yuval Rotem for an explanation Thursday, said initial investigations showed the Australian passports were probably “duplicated or altered”.

They had not yet reached any conclusions, Smith added.

“But I made it crystal clear to the ambassador that if the results of that investigation cause us to come to the conclusion that the abuse of Australian passports was in any way sponsored or condoned by Israeli officials, then Australia would not regard that as the act of a friend.”

The other 15 new suspects being sought are six British, three French and three Irish passport-holders, Dubai investigators said in a statement.

Wednesday’s announcement by Dubai police brought the total number of people being sought to 26. All had used Western passports.

Five of the 15 new suspects were women and 14 had used credit cards, issued by META Bank in the United States, to book hotel rooms and pay for air travel, Dubai police said.

The new suspects had travelled to Dubai from six different European cities and Hong Kong.

On Wednesday, Britain and Ireland were contacting the holders of passports named by Dubai police.

Media reports in Israel said as many as 10 of the new suspects had used the identities of Israelis holding double nationality. Six Israelis with dual British citizenship had already been identified.

Dubai police initially released the names and photos of 11 suspects who had entered the UAE on European passports: six from Britain, three from Ireland, one from Germany and one from France.

The emirate’s police chief, Lieutenant General Dahi Khalfan, has already said he is “99, if not 100 percent” sure that Israeli spy agency Mossad was behind Mabhuh’s death.

On Saturday he said that Dubai had evidence, including wiretaps, of the agency’s role.

He also said last week that some of Mabhuh’s killers used diplomatic passports, that appeared to have been falsified or stolen, belonging to ordinary citizens shocked to learn of their being linked to the case

“Friendly nations who have been assisting in this investigation have indicated to the police in Dubai that the passports were issued in an illegal and fraudulent manner,” said Wednesday’s statement.

Mabhuh, who masterminded a number of attacks on Israeli targets, was electrocuted and strangled to death, according to his brother.

Britain’s Sunday Times newspaper, quoting unnamed sources, has reported that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu authorised the mission and met members of the hit squad shortly before their departure.

75 caught for taking bribe in Delhi police stations

NEW DELHI: Seventy-five police personnel posted in police stations were arrested in the city in the past three years for their alleged involvement in cases of corruption and bribery.

In the first 45 days of this year itself, a senior police official said, two personnel were caught on charges of bribery in two cases and were placed under suspension after registering cases against them.

While 32 policemen were arrested in 24 cases of corruption and bribery in 2007, the figures decreased the next year when 17 persons were caught in 15 cases.

Last year, however, the numbers again increased with the arrest of 24 people in 18 cases.

“A total of 75 personnel deployed in police stations were caught on charges of corruption and bribery in the past three years,” a senior police official said. All of them were placed under suspension.

The official said surprise checkings are being undertaken by senior officials on regular intervals to ensure that there is no practice of corruption.

Close to 2,000 personnel with doubtful integrity were put under a secret list by Delhi Police in the last three years and were not given any sensitive assignments.

“There are some black sheep in the department. We don’t say that all policemen are honest. So we keep a record of those with doubtful integrity and keep a close watch on their activities,” the official said.