UNITED NATIONS, Aug 2: Thirty five Al Qaeda and 10 Taliban members have been removed from a UN terror list after an exhaustive review of 488 cases, the chairman of Al Qaeda-Taliban committee said on Monday.
“As a result of the review of 488 names, 45 were delisted,” Thomas Mayr-Harting, the chair of the UN Security Council panel that maintains a blacklist of individuals and entities linked to Al Qaeda and the Taliban, told journalists.
Responding to a question, Richard Barret, co-ordinator of the committee, said that former Pakistani ISI chief Gen (retd) Hamid Gul was never on the list or proposed to be on the list.
He said those removed, following requests from governments, include 10 individuals who had been associated with the Taliban as well as 14 individuals and 21 entities linked at some point to Al Qaeda…
Last week, five of the 10 Taliban removed from the list were named as Abdul Satar Paktin; Abdul Hakim Mujahid Muhammad Awrang, a former Afghan envoy to the UN; Abdus Salam Zaeef, author of “My life with the Taliban”, and two officials who are now deceased.
Individuals on the list are subject to asset freezes, a travel ban and an arms embargo.
Mr Mayr-Harting said 433 names – 132 Taliban and 311 from Al -Qaeda – were confirmed on the list, although a final decision for 66 among them is still pending.http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/the-newspaper/national/hamid-gul-not-included-in-blacklist%2C-says-un-official-380
2. Taliban warn media against ‘biased reporting’
LANDIKOTAL: Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan spokesman Azam Tariq on Monday asked reporters and journalists to be impartial in their profession.
“The media should avoid creating rifts in the ranks of mujahideen who are fighting a holy war,” the TTP spokesman said while addressing media organisations on phone from an undisclosed location on Monday.
He said that the US commander in Afghanistan, General David Petraeus, was dictating the government and forces in Pakistan to secure US interests here. Pakistan has become a part of the NATO plan, which would further create problems for the country, he added.
Tariq said the government and other institutions in Pakistan were protecting NATO’s interests in the region. He vowed that the TTP would continue its resistance against such forces until the Pakistan government parted ways with the US-led NATO forces.
He also said that the TTP and the people of Pakistan were aggrieved on the damage caused by floods throughout the country, which have claimed the lives of the poor people. He added that despite the floods, the group’s activities were in full swing.
Tariq said that the US-led forces were facing a humiliating defeat in Afghanistan and added that the Taliban would stand victorious in Afghanistan against the evil forces of the US and NATO. He also said that their skirmishes with security forces were going on in different parts of South Waziristan and Orakzai agencies.
He paid tribute to Faisal Shahzad for his “bold activities” in the US and said he had rendered great sacrifices to uphold the cause of Islam. “America is not safe on its own land,” Tariq added.http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2010 8 3story_3-8-2010_pg7_11
3. 26 killed: Bloodshed in Karachi after murder of MQM legislator
KARACHI, Aug 2: Violence triggered by the murder of Raza Haider, a senior leader of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement and member of the Sindh Assembly, here on Monday claimed at least 26 lives till midnight, according to officials at the police surgeon office.
Mr Haider was gunned down, along with his police guard, in the Jama Masjid in Nazimabad, where he had gone to attend the funeral of the mother of a friend.
“The number of attackers and the mode of their transport are not clear, but initial investigations suggest that there were more than two people who came on a motorcycle and they were probably backed by armed men in a car,” said an officer at the Nazimabad police station.
“They first shot at the legislator’s guard Khalid Khan and then entered the mosque and fired at Mr Haider who was in the ablution room.”
Both of them were hit by two bullets fired from a close range. The bullets hit them in the head and on the upper part of the body. Police said that AK-47 rifle and 9mm pistol were used in the attack and the spent bullets were found at the scene.
As the bodies were taken to the Abbassi Shaheed Hospital, the city descended into near anarchy. Scattered violence, including arson attacks and intense firing, in different areas claimed at least 26 lives.
Over 20 vehicles and a number of restaurants and shops were set on fire.
The Jinnah Postgraduate and Medical Centre received 13 bodies and Civil Hospital and Abbassi Shaheed Hospital two each. The other bodies were taken to different hospitals in the city. Some of the injured died in hospitals.
The MQM leadership came up with serious allegations against the Awami National Party, an ally in the PPP-led coalition government in Sindh.
Faisal Hussain Sabzwari, MQM’s deputy parliamentary leader in the Sindh assembly, said the ANP leadership was in nexus with extremist elements and mafias.
“Arrests of a number of targeted-killing suspects and extremist elements from their (ANP) strongholds are indicators of fault lines,” he added.
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4. Sipah-i-Sahaba responsible: Malik
ISLAMABAD: Interior Minister Rehman Malik has blamed the Sipah-i-Sahaba for the murder of Muttahida Qaumi Movement legislator Raza Haider. He was on the hit list of the proscribed outfit, Mr Malik said in an interview with a private TV channel, adding that ‘sectarian terrorists’ also planned a suicide attack on the funeral of the Sindh MPA.
He said law-enforcement agencies were on alert, but at the same time he appealed to the MQM to advise its leaders to keep a low-profile and to void attending the funeral. http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/the-newspaper/front-page/sipahisahaba-responsible-malik-380
