Over 15,000 hate mongers arrested in 18 months

ISLAMABAD: The counter-terrorism authorities have arrested over 15,000 hate preachers as part of a crucial exercise to swiftly execute the National Action Plan (NAP), a move federal government claimed to ‘de-radicalise the society’ for maintaining constant peace in the country.

Law enforcement agencies rounded up 15,259 clerics, religious teachers and prayer leaders under charges of ‘delivering hate speeches and possessing hate/anti state material’ following the newly formed laws to cope with terrorism and extremism under the NAP, revealed official progress report obtained by Geo News (ASKKS Programme)/The News, showing progress made by the federal government under the NAP in past eighteen months. 

Tens of thousands of arrests were made on the basis of intelligence reports gathered by counterterrorism department and special branch of provinces as well as by the operators of intelligence bureau in thousands of combing operations being conducted across the country. “We want to get rid of extremismâ€"de-radicalise the society. It’s only way to wage a successful war against terrorism and extremism,” said Religious Affairs Minister Sardar Yousaf. 

“Come what may, actions against all extremists under NAP will go on,” he declared while talking to Geo News/The News.

More than 14,869 cases were filed against hate preachers, clerics, religious teachers, prayer leaders and dozens of religious scholars, official data exclusively obtained by Geo News/The News further revealed.

The counterterrorism forces arrested 11,169 clerics and hate mongers who were later sent to courts for facing terrorism charges in 10,648 cases in Punjabâ€"a province claimed to find its security forces active in swiftly executing the NAP.

The police and Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) forces arrested 2,845 clerics in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa in last one and half year. Later over 2,693 cases were filed against these accused religious leaders who are now facing multiple charges under a newly formed plan to deal with extremists and hate mongers in the province which witnessed 70 percent drop-down in terror attacks during this period.

Sindh police got managed to file 1,133 cases against 775 hate mongers who were spreading extremism in society through their speeches and lectures in mosques and madrassahs during this period. Official documents suggested that Balochistan province showed lethargic response when it comes to handling extremists involved in delivering hate speeches and possessing hate materials in the province. Around 108 cases were registered while 100 clerics were arrested by the law enforcement agencies in the province.

The Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) police arrested 32 clerics that belonged to different schools of thought since the NAP started. Later 119 cases were registered against these hate mongers in the federal capital.

The government of Gilgit-Baltistan filed 33 cases against 40 clerics/religious teachers who were violating loud speaker laws in the area. Majority of arrested clerics are said to be having affiliation with Sunni and Shia community over there. The law enforcement agencies also filed 126 cases against 200 religious school teachers and prayer leaders in Azad Jammu and Kashmir.

Official data further revealed that around 6,000 cases were registered against shopkeepers who were selling either hate materials or anti state materials. Over 3,200 cases were registered against owners of shopkeepers in K-P, 1085 in Punjab, 13 in G-B and 66 cases were filed against those who hold hater materials in AJK. Over 1,200 books and hundreds of other instruments linkage to extremism were confiscated by the police in Balochistan.

Under new NAP laws, the ICT and provinces have got geo-tagged over 62,600 mosques across the country. Islamabad and Punjab have completed mapping exercise of all madrassahs while mapping exercise of Sindh (80%), K-P (75%), Balochistan (60%) and Fata (85%) is going on and will be completed by end of this year. The law enforcing agencies have also completed geo-tagging of 2,926 minority worship places across the country.

“Arrests of religious teachers and clerics continued. We have taken up this issue with high upsâ€"but thousands of arrests go on as usual,” said Abdul Qadoos Mohammadi, the spokesperson for Wafaq-ul-Madaris Pakistan. Many other issues like registration of seminaries and opening of accounts remain another sticking point, he added. 

Former NACTA Chief Hamid Ali Khan says, "It's a long and complicated battle. Arresting hundreds or thousands of clerics is not the solution. Extremism needs a holistic and comprehensive approach. The entire society and state have to fight together. It means creating a tolerant society, interfaith harmony, compassion and humanity. It involves defeating mindset, ideologies network and financing of extremist groups and winning hearts and minds of people. Its way forward is to bring Madressah reforms, modernise curriculum, education reforms and constructive role of media and civil society in particular." 

 â€"Originally published in The News

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Three-day conference of Pakistani envoys begins in Islamabad

ISLAMABAD: A three-day conference of Pakistani envoys began on Monday at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Islamabad.

According to the media reports, nine Pakistani envoys in US, UN, India, China, Moscow, EU, Afghanistan, Geneva and Austria were attending the meeting.

The envoys who have been invited are Ambassador Jalil Abbas Jilani (Washington DC), Ambassador Masood Khalid (Beijing), High Commissioner Abdul Basit (New Delhi), Ambassador Maleeha Lodhi (UN New York), Ambassador Ayesha Riyaz (Vienna), Ambassador Naghmana Hashmi (Brussels / EU), Ambassador Abrar Hussain (Afghanistan), Ambassador Tehmina Janjua (UN/Geneva) and Ambassador Qazi M. Khalilullah (Moscow).

At the conference, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif will express his vision for regional and global peace.

Nawaz Sharif will highlight the immense potential of CPEC projects in terms of investment opportunities as well as reduction in unemployment and poverty.

The Envoys' Conference is a regular feature in which Pakistan's representatives in various regions brief the government on important developments in their respective areas of accreditation, and challenges and opportunities arising out of such developments, stated the FO’s press release.

The envoys also present their recommendations towards existing foreign policy with a view to review, adapt and recalibrate policy in accordance with the prevalent strategic, political and economic trends. Last year's Envoys' Conference had focused on connectivity, and regional issues and developments.

 

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Three-day conference of Pakistani envoys begins in Islamabad

ISLAMABAD: A three-day conference of Pakistani envoys began on Monday at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Islamabad.

According to the media reports, nine Pakistani envoys in US, UN, India, China, Moscow, EU, Afghanistan, Geneva and Austria were attending the meeting.

The envoys who have been invited are Ambassador Jalil Abbas Jilani (Washington DC), Ambassador Masood Khalid (Beijing), High Commissioner Abdul Basit (New Delhi), Ambassador Maleeha Lodhi (UN New York), Ambassador Ayesha Riyaz (Vienna), Ambassador Naghmana Hashmi (Brussels / EU), Ambassador Abrar Hussain (Afghanistan), Ambassador Tehmina Janjua (UN/Geneva) and Ambassador Qazi M. Khalilullah (Moscow).

At the conference, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif will express his vision for regional and global peace.

Nawaz Sharif will highlight the immense potential of CPEC projects in terms of investment opportunities as well as reduction in unemployment and poverty.

The Envoys' Conference is a regular feature in which Pakistan's representatives in various regions brief the government on important developments in their respective areas of accreditation, and challenges and opportunities arising out of such developments, stated the FO?s press release.

The envoys also present their recommendations towards existing foreign policy with a view to review, adapt and recalibrate policy in accordance with the prevalent strategic, political and economic trends. Last year's Envoys' Conference had focused on connectivity, and regional issues and developments.

 

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Karachi to have 10,000 12MP CCTV cameras soon, says IGP Sindh

KARACHI: Karachi needs 100,000 CCTV cameras and funds have been approved for the project’s first phase wherein 10,000 will be installed at 200 locations, the provincial police chief said on Sunday.

These cameras will have a resolution of 10 to 12 megapixels and also capable of capturing night vision footage, IGP AD Khowaja told The News.

The official said 60 locations had been chosen for areas falling in East district including Ferozabad, Tipu Sultan, Sharea Faisal, Gulistan-e-Jauhar, Aziz Bhatti, Gulshan-e-Iqbal, Airport, and Model Colony where the cameras would be installed.

In the Central district, 30 locations have been selected in the areas of Samanabad, Gulberg, Jauharabad, Azizabad, Yousuf Plaza, Rizvia, Gulbahar, Nazimabad, Liaquatabad, Sharifabad, and Super Market.

Similarly, 30 locations have been chosen in the West district’s areas of Baldia, Madina Colony, Saeedabad, Ittehad Town, SITE-A, SITE-B, Pak Colony, Shershah, Orangi Town, Iqbal Market, Surjani, Gulshan-e-Maymar, Peerabad, Pakistan Bazaar, Manghopir, and Mominabad.

In the South district and the police’s City Division, 80 locations have been selected in Clifton, Boat Basin, Gizri, Darakhshan, Sahil, Kharadar, Mithadar, Risala, Mauripur, Moachko, Docks, and Jackson.

The IGP said these cameras would be operated by the command and control unit at the Central Police Office.

“The Sindh police had 2,300 installed cameras at different locations of Karachi earlier, but their resolution was only 2 megapixels which were of no help in identifying at crime scenes,” he said. “Besides, after their installation, they were never maintained so many of them malfunctioned.”

However, the provincial government in a recent meeting finalised the proposal for the new cameras with a resolution of 10 to 12 megapixels and approved funds for the first phase.

The police chief said the locations that had been chosen included schools, religious places, entrance and exit points of government and private offices, commercial areas, VVIP movement routes, and places with a high rate of target killings, muggings, and other crimes.

“The chief minister has assured that funds would be released soon,” he added.

The official said with the new cameras, police would be able to acquire video evidence. 

“Initially the project will cover major spots all over the city, but its main concentration will be the main sensitive and commercial zones including government installations and red zone areas. In addition to this, the system will also monitor vehicles plying on the city’s roads and those entering and leaving the city.”

The surveillance system will cover National Highway, Super Highway, RCD Highway and Coastal Highway.

The cameras will also be able to store footage and have the feature of zooming in and out.

“The objective behind the installation of a surveillance system in Karachi is to help in deterrence of terrorist activities and street crimes, monitor vehicular traffic, increase VVIP security, and to improve the overall public safety.

Linking cameras

In a recently held meeting, plans were discussed that focused on coordination and linking of private cameras in the city and at banks and other financial institutions with the Sindh police's Central Command Centre, with an aim for improving the monitoring, investigation, and controlling of crimes.

The meeting reviewed at length the launching of a pilot project to monitor the entrance and exit points and the surroundings of banks and other financial organisations on the major thoroughfares of Karachi.

As per the plan, a survey of the city would be carried out to ascertain the points where strict surveillance was needed.

A study will be conducted on the number of streets and roads connecting different areas and major thoroughfares for a comparative analysis with deployment of police for monitoring and quick response action.

- Originally published in The News

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Custom officials foil smuggling bid at Karachi airport

KARACHI: Custom officials on Monday foiled a bid to smuggle out of the country more than two kilograms of gold and foreign currency worth Rs 310,000. 

Officials arrested three suspects during a search operation at the Jinnah International Airport.

During the search, 2.35 kilograms of gold worth Rs 1.6 million along with foreign currency worth Rs 3,142,000 was also recovered from the suspects.

The recovered gold and money has been seized under the Customs Act, 1969 and a FIR was lodged for further investigation.

 

 

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Custom officials foil smuggling bid at Karachi airport

KARACHI: Custom officials on Monday foiled a bid to smuggle out of the country more than two kilograms of gold and foreign currency worth Rs 310,000. 

Officials arrested three suspects during a search operation at the Jinnah International Airport.

During the search, 2.35 kilograms of gold worth Rs 1.6 million along with foreign currency worth Rs 3,142,000 was also recovered from the suspects.

The recovered gold and money has been seized under the Customs Act, 1969 and a FIR was lodged for further investigation.

 

 

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Clinton accuses Trump of scapegoating Muslim soldier's parents

CLEVELAND HEIGHTS, OHIO: US Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton accused Donald Trump on Sunday of scapegoating the parents of a Muslim soldier killed in Iraq, after the Republican nominee took issue with remarks the soldier's father made at the Democratic National Convention.

Trump, in an ABC interview that aired on Sunday, questioned why Ghazala Khan, mother of US Army Captain Humayun Khan, stood quietly by her husband, Khizr Khan, as he took the stage at last week's Democratic convention in Philadelphia.

Trump suggested the mother might not have been "allowed" to speak.

Speaking at a church service, Clinton said Trump had been insulting to a family who had sacrificed so much. She also used the episode to contrast her own religious faith with that of Trump, who has spoken of religion on the campaign trail infrequently.

"I don't begrudge anyone of any other faith or of no faith at all, but I do tremble before those who would scapegoat other Americans, who would insult people because of their religion, their ethnicity, their disability," Clinton said in remarks at the Imani Temple Ministries, an African-American church in Cleveland Heights, Ohio.

"It's just not how I was raised, that's not how I was taught in my church," said Clinton, who grew up as a Methodist. "Tim Kaine and I are people of faith," she said, referring to her vice presidential running mate, who is a Catholic.

Top Republican lawmakers House Speaker Paul Ryan and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell also condemned Trump's remarks in separate statements, although they did not mention their presidential candidate by name.

"Many Muslim Americans have served valiantly in our military, and made the ultimate sacrifice. Captain Khan was one such brave example," Ryan said.

"His sacrifice - and that of Khizr and Ghazala Khan - should always be honored. Period." he said.

Earlier on Sunday, Ghazala Khan took up her own defense in an opinion piece in the Washington Post, saying her husband had asked her in advance whether she would want to speak at the convention but that she had decided she would be unable to do so on stage because of her pain over the 2004 death of her son.

"Donald Trump said that maybe I wasn't allowed to say anything. That is not true," she wrote. "When Donald Trump is talking about Islam, he is ignorant."

In a statement issued on Sunday evening by the Trump campaign, Trump's running mate, Mike Pence, said that he and the Republican nominee "believe that Captain Humayun Khan is an American hero" that his family, like other families of fallen soldiers, "should be cherished by every American."

But Pence added that Captain Khan had died defending the country against terrorism and that Trump's policies would reduce the likelihood that other families would face the kind of heartbreak the Khans had.

Khizr Khan, a US citizen of Pakistani origin and a Muslim, spoke about his war hero son at the Democratic convention and took issue with Trump's call for a temporary ban on the entry of Muslims into the United States.

Khizr Khan invited the Republican nominee to read the US Constitution and visit the graves of American soldiers from many backgrounds at Arlington National Cemetery.

In the interview aired on Sunday morning on ABC's "This Week," Trump cast doubt on why Khan's wife did not speak.

"She was standing there, she had nothing to say, she probably, maybe she wasn't allowed to have anything to say. You tell me," Trump said.

Trump also tweeted that he had been "viciously attacked" by Khan at the convention. "Am I not allowed to respond?" he asked. The candidate also tried to change the subject to the war itself: "Hillary voted for the Iraq war, not me!"

On Twitter, Republican strategist Ana Navarro called Trump's comments about the Khans "gross" and labeled him a "jerk."

Trump's campaign manager, Paul Manafort, said he sympathizes with the Khan family but that their loss is not the issue at hand.

"The issue really is radical jihad and the risk to the American homeland," he said on CBS, defending Trump's proposal to suspend immigration from some geographic regions.

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