Taliban video shows handover of US soldier Bowe Bergdahl : These are the hardest of the hard core."

http://yospace-cds1.reuters.com/u/pass~drmnoneWithFilename/1/f/~video_mp4~6103-1/1/m/z/o/8/u/8d8b/reuters04/file.mp4 http://tarani.info/index.php/%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AD%D8%A7%D8%AC-%D9%85%D9%84%D8%A7-%D9%81%D9%82%DB%8C%D8%B1%D9%85%D8%AD%D9%85%D8%AF-%D8%AF%D8%B1%D9%88%DB%8C%D8%B4/28960-%D9%85%D9%80%D9%80%D9%80%D9%80%D9%80%D9%80%D9%80%D9%80%D9%80%D9%80%D9%80%D9%80%D9%80%D9%80%D9%80%D9%80%D9%80%D9%80%D9%80%D9%80%D9%80%D9%80%D9%80%D8%B1%D8%AD%D8%A8%D9%80%D9%80%D9%80%D9%80%D9%80%D9%80%D9%80%D8%A7-%D9%82%D9%87%D8%B1%D9%85%D9%80%D9%80%D9%80%D9%80%D9%80%D8%A7%D9%86%D8%A7%D9%86%D9%80%D9%80%D9%80%D9%80%D9%80%D9%88-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AD%D8%A7%D8%AC-%D9%85%D9%84%D8%A7-%D9%81%D9%82%DB%8C%D8%B1-%D9%85%D8%AD%D9%85%D8%AF-%D8%AF%D8%B1%D9%88%DB%90%D8%B4 ...English flashes up: “Don’t come back to Afghanistan.” The former Guantánamo detainees will be kept for a year in Qatar, the Gulf state which brokered the exchange. John Boehner, the Republican Speaker of the House of Representatives, said the... By John Aglionby in London Freed soldier's hometown cancels rally amid anger over swap Wed, Jun 04 20:39 PM EDT By David Alexander and Phil Stewart KABUL (Reuters) - The political uproar over the prisoner swap that won the release of U.S. Army Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl from Taliban captivity intensified on Wednesday when his hometown canceled plans for a rally celebrating his return amid allegations that he deserted. The Taliban released video of their handover of Bergdahl to U.S. special operations forces in eastern Afghanistan near the Pakistan border on Saturday, showing the U.S. soldier seemingly dazed and anxious about the unfolding events. Bergdahl's release after being held for nearly five years in Afghanistan provoked an angry backlash in Congress among lawmakers over the Obama administration's failure to notify them in advance. Some of Bergdahl's former comrades have charged that he was captured after deserting. Heather Dawson, the city administrator of Hailey, Idaho, said that town officials had called off their June 28 rally to celebrate Bergdahl's release because they would be "unable to safely manage the number of people expected." The small mountain community had been under pressure to cancel after claims by some of Bergdahl's former Army comrades that he had deliberately abandoned his post. That anger helped fuel congressional criticism of the Obama administration's handling of the deal to free Bergdahl in exchange for the transfer of five senior Taliban members from Guantanamo prison in Cuba to Qatar, where they were to remain for a year. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid accused critics of the agreement of seizing upon what should be a moment of unity to "play political games," but Senator John McCain, a top Republican who was a prisoner of war in Vietnam, condemned the deal. "This was clearly a terrible idea," he said. "These are the hardest of the hard core." TALIBAN RETURNING TO FIGHT? U.S. lawmakers complained that the Obama administration did not give Congress 30 days notice required by law before transferring Guantanamo prisoners. They also expressed concern that the five were senior leaders who may return to the fight. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel called Bergdahl's family on Wednesday for the first time since his release, speaking with them for about 10 minutes. He assured them the Pentagon's focus was on their son's health and return to his family, a senior official said. The White House, surprised by the angry backlash, has taken steps to try to address congressional ire over its failure to give lawmakers proper notice, offering apologies and briefings. But they have also expressed frustration over the reaction. "It’s been disappointing to see the politicization of the United States military’s mission to leave no man left behind," one Obama administration official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. Hagel said critics should wait for all the facts to be known before rushing to judgment on Bergdahl. The administration arranged briefings for members of Congress on Wednesday and next week. The White House did not inform members of Congress, except for Reid, before the prisoner swap because they were concerned about leaks. "We have no idea what they were thinking," one Democratic lawmaker said. Administration officials said they decided the notification issue did not apply in Bergdahl's case because of the need to act quickly because of his deteriorating health, the suddenness with which the deal came together and the need for secrecy. DETERIORATING HEALTH A U.S. intelligence analysis of videos of Bergdahl during his captivity taken in 2011 and 2013, and other intelligence, indicated that his health had deteriorated substantially over that period, one U.S. official said on condition of anonymity. The official said that was one of the drivers of the decision to push ahead with an exchange. It also followed Obama's announcement last week that virtually all U.S. forces would be out of Afghanistan by the end of 2016, ending more than a decade of engagement prompted by the al Qaeda-led Sept. 11, 2001 attacks on the United States. The Taliban video showed a Blackhawk helicopter landing in a barren valley in eastern Afghanistan. As a handful of U.S. special operations troops got out, two Taliban approached, one holding a makeshift white flag of truce and the other leading Bergdahl. The American team stepped briefly forward, exchanged a greeting and then led Bergdahl back to the helicopter, quickly searching him before putting him aboard, the video showed. The transaction lasted less than a minute. Bergdahl disappeared from his outpost in Afghanistan on June 30, 2009, leaving behind some of his gear. One person familiar with the U.S. military’s investigation of his disappearance said it concluded he walked off the base, but it was not able to determine with certainty that he deserted. General Raymond Odierno, the Army chief of staff, said on Wednesday the Army would conduct a full review of his capture at the appropriate time. The State Department said it would look into reports by the Associated Press that the family of an American woman who disappeared in Afghanistan in 2012 with her Canadian husband had received two videos of the couple last year asking the U.S. government to help win their release from the Taliban. Caitlan Coleman was pregnant at the time of her disappearance along with her husband Joshua Boyle, the AP said. The family decided to make the videos public in light of the publicity surrounding Bergdahl's release. (Additional reporting by Laura Zuckerman in Hailey, Idaho, Patricia Zengerle,; Susan Cornwell and Mark Hosenball in Washington, David Brunnstrom in Brussels and; Jessica Donati and Hamid Shalizi in Kabul; Editing by David Storey and Grant McCool) === Qatar pays the price of overreach ...Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani (Getty) Has Qatar’s luck run out? Just a year ago the...son, in an attempt to demonstrate that Qatar is the most progressive among Gulf states...has been forced to manage the backlash. Qatar’s star has appeared to wane as the geopolitics... Roula Khalaf

New alliances: Gardezi family joins PPP, Qasim moves to PML-Q

New alliances: Gardezi family joins PPP, Qasim moves to PML-Q By Our Correspondent Published: December 25, 2012 Wattoo says that Mehmood’s efforts in south Punjab and his own in central Punjab will produce a surprise result for the party in the elections. PHOTO: NNI LAHORE: The Gardezi family from Bahawalpur announced their decision to join Pakistan Peoples Party on Tuesday and vowed to give their opponents a run for their money in the upcoming elections. Former PML-N MPAs Syed Salman Gardezi and Syed Irfan Ahmed Gardezi joined the PPP. Sajid Hussain Bukhari, the former tehsil nazim of Bahawalpur, also left the PML-N to join the PPP on Tuesday. The three men held a press conference at the Governor’s House with PPP Central Punjab President Mian Manzor Ahmed Wattoo and other senior leaders of the party. Wattoo said the PPP welcomed the newly appointed Governor Makhdoom Ahmed Mehmood. He said Mehmood was a seasoned politician who would strengthen the party in south Punjab. Wattoo said the gates of the Governor’s House would be open to the PPP’s workers. He said the PPP would gradually show its cards as it got closer to the election.He said Mehmood’s efforts in south Punjab and his own in central Punjab will produce a surprise result for the party in the elections. Sources within the PML-N said the Gardezi family had joined the PPP because their rival, MNA Riaz Hussain Pirzada, had joined PML-N. According to a PML-Q press release, former PML-N ticket holder from PP-22 Chakwal Pir Nisar Qasim has joined PML-Q along with many of his supporters. Qasim expressed complete confidence in the leadership of Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain and Chaudhry Parvez Elahi. Describing Elahi’s term as chief minister as a golden era for the Punjab, he said now the province had been rendered bankrupt by the PML-N, crime had increased, the Sharif brothers refused to listen to their own parliamentarians. He said most PML-N members of the assemblies were unhappy and many PML-N parliamentarians would quit the party once elections were announced. Elahi said with Qasim joining the PML-Q, the party would become even stronger in Chakwal. Published in The Express Tribune, December 26th, 2012. =========== Two PML-N MNAs among three Jehlum politicians jump over to PPP By Web Desk Published: January 20, 2013 Raja Afzal (C) announcing his decision to join PPP flanked by senior PPP leaders Feryal Talpur (L) and Khurshid Shah (R). PHOTO: MOHAMMAD NOMAN/EXPRESS KARACHI: The pulling and pushing between political parties for the best candidates continues with two Members of National Assembly of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) announcing on Saturday that they were joining the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), Express News reported. Former MNA and Senator Raja Afzal along with his two sons MNAs Raja Asad and Raja Safdar announced their decision to join the PPP in a press conference at Bilawal House on Saturday evening after a meeting with PPP chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari. Speaking on this occasion‚ PPP leader and women’s wing head Faryal Talpur said that the PPP was a large party and number of political leaders wanted to join it before the elections. Senior PPP leader and federal minister for religious affairs Khurshid Shah was also present for the announcement. =========== Punjab governor’s sons have joined PPP: Gilani By Web Desk Published: January 20, 2013 File photo of Punjab Governor Makhdoom Ahmed Mehmood. PHOTO: EXPRESS/ FILE RAHIM YAR KHAN: Three sons of Punjab Governor Makhdoom Ahmed Mehmood have joined Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), announced former prime minister Yousaf Raza Gilani on Sunday, reported Express News. Addressing a rally in Rahim Yar Khan along with the Punjab governor, Gilani welcomed Murtaza Mehmood, Mustafa Mehmood and Ali Mehmood to the party. Murtaza is an MPA, while Mustafa is an MNA. Makhdoom Ahmed Mehmood earlier belonged to Pakistan Muslim League ­– Functional (PML-F) but had resigned from the party when President Asif Ali Zardari offered him the post of the governor. The governor, addressing the rally later, claimed that he did not need any protocol as he was the peoples’ governor. He said that the doors of the Governor House are always open for the people of Punjab. “I promise you that the current government will give power to you to help you get developed,” he told the people. ============= Bahawalpur province: ‘Makhdooms and Gilanis cannot decide our fate’ By Kashif Zafar Published: January 23, 2013 Nawab Salahuddin Abbasi said the BNAP had supported the PPP after late Benazir Bhutto promised to create a Bahawalpur province. PHOTO: AFP/FILE BAHAWALPUR: “We will not let any Gilani or Makhdoom determine the fate of Bahawalpur province,” Nawab Salahuddin Abbasi, leader of the Bahawalpur National Awami Party (BNAP), said on Tuesday. He was addressing a press conference at the house of party’s President Muhammad Farooq Azam Malik. Abbasi said the BNAP had supported the PPP after late Benazir Bhutto promised to create a Bahawalpur province. He said now that the PPP had almost completed its tenure, it was backing out from the commitment. He said he had declined an offer to be made governor and change his stance. The nawab said that Governor Makhdoom Ahmad Mehmood had made a two-and-a-half-month deal with the government and betrayed the people of Bahawalpur. “We will not let them add Multan and Dera Ghazi Khan to the Bahawalpur province.” The nawab said that the government could neither deceive the people of Bahawalpur nor force them to change their perspectives and compromise. He said the BNAP will participate in the upcoming general elections. He said the Sharif Brothers should live up to their commitment and play their role in the creation of the Bahawalpur province. He hoped that they would not betray the people as the PPP had. The nawab claimed that before Mehmood, the PPP had offered him the Punjab governorship. But, he said, he had refused to make any deal that would require him to compromise the rights of the people of Bahawalpur. He said his party’s demands were legitimate and that they would not stop until the Bahawalpur province was created. He said the party would also reject any changes made in the recommendations of the commission formed to creation new provinces. The nawab announced that he will stand for two National Assembly seats from Bahawalpur and one from Rahim Yar Khan. Former federal minister and BNAP President Muhammad Farooq Azam Malik said that the issue of creating the Bahawalpur province was completely different from the creation of other provinces. “There is no problem with our boundaries and resources. Mehmood’s father, Makhdoom Hassan Mahmood, had served as chief minister of Bahawalpur state before it was disbanded in 1956. Published in The Express Tribune, January 23rd, 2013. ====== Zulfiqar Khosa's son joins PPP By Web Desk Published: January 23, 2013 A file photo of Saifuddin Khosa. PHOTO: EXPRESS ISLAMABAD: Son of Pakistan Muslim League – Nawaz (PML-N) senior leader Sardar Zulfiqar Khosa joined Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) on Wednesday. Saifuddin Khosa made the announcement during a press conference in Islamabad with other PPP leaders. While speaking to media, Saifuddin said he was positive about serving the country well while being a part of the PPP. ========

The many faces of PML: Brothers Humayun and Haroon jumping ship to secure seats?

By Abdul Manan Published: February 5, 2012 Sources say PML-N willing to ‘sell’ seats for Senate election. LAHORE: Pakistan Muslim League (Likeminded) is likely to disintegrate as its two senior leaders – Humayun Akhtar and his younger brother Senator Haroon Khan – met with PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif on Saturday and pledged their allegiance to the party while presenting some of their demands, sources told The Express Tribune. According to sources, PML-N refused Akhtar a ticket to contest in elections from Lahore, but was asked to prepare from Faisalabad division, where his sugar mill is located in Sumandri. Although Akhtar has agreed, he requested Sharif to ask Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif to sanction development schemes for his new constituency. The meeting with Sharif was arranged by Senator Ishaq Dar and was held at Rawind. Sharif’s political secretary confirmed the meeting, but said only current politics were discussed. Sources said that Haroon Akhtar demanded a Senate ticket as a technocrat, for which he has been asked to wait, but speculated that the PML-N might fulfill his demand. Background of the meeting Sources in both parties told The Express Tribune that before the start of the current sugar crushing season, both brothers have donated Rs50.5 million to the party funds on behalf of the sugar mills association. They said that the brothers have considerable influence in the association. However, Akhtar told The Express Tribune that he has handed over Rs100 million to Shahbaz Sharif for flood relief efforts, presenting it on behalf of the sugar mills association. He said their meeting with Sharif was to finalise an agreement on seat adjustments for the Senate election. To a query regarding the surety of his seat, he said he could not comment on it till the agreement was signed. Sources said that Dar advocated Haroon’s case of being given a technocrat seat in the Senate, which has been deferred for some time due to his maternal uncle Farooq Khan, who is being considered for a Senate seat in the general cadre. Punjab’s PML-N senators Sources said that out of a total of 11 retiring senators from Punjab, the PML-N has a share of six and one was recently inducted in the non-Muslim seat. The break-up of PML-N’s senators is: four of general, and one each of lady, technocrat and non-Muslim. A prominent official of PML-N told The Express Tribune that if Haroon Akhtar fails to get a Senate ticket, then his maternal uncle Senator Farooq Khan will most probably get it. Farooq Khan is the richest industrialist from Faisalabad division and has served as a PML-N senator in 1997. Sources said the PML-N was willing to sell its seats for huge sums as it contests for the Senate elections. Out of PML-N’s four general seats, two are likely to be awarded to Senator Ishaq Dar and Sardar Zulfiqar Khan Khosa and the rest would be ‘sold.’ Bishop Alexander John Malik and Michael Nazir are the two top contenders for Senate seats of non-Muslims, while Haroon Akhtar is eyeing the technocrat seat. PML (Likeminded) PML (Likeminded) is a dissident group of the PML-Q in upper and lower houses and in some seats in the Sindh Assembly. Akhtar is its president while his younger brother Haroon is its active member in the Senate. Although Akhtar is the president of PML (Likeminded), he has been inclined to support PML-N at each and every step. However, a large faction of the PML (Likeminded) did not agree with their stance and preferred to start talks of an alliance with Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)’s leadership. Of the two factions, one is led by Akhtar, while the other was led by PML-Q MPA Hamid Nasir Chatha and Khurshid Kasori. Kasori has joined the PTI against the wishes of his colleagues who wanted an alliance instead.

Verbal skullduggery: Temperatures rise as MQM, PML-N trade charges

It was virtually impossible to separate the personal insults from the political invective.
ISLAMABAD: Verbal sparring between the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) and the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) descended to historic lows of ugliness on Wednesday when leaders of the two rival parties dragged out skeleton after skeleton from their family cupboards while trading charges of corruption and poking fun at each other’s foibles.

By the end of Wednesday’s skirmish – the third consecutive and most virulent day of political jousting – it was virtually impossible to separate the personal insults from the political invective. While one leader accused their rival of being alcoholic, the other retorted with jeers about donning a toupee and getting a hair transplant.

In tit-for-tat attacks outside parliament, the second tier leaders of the two parties mounted scathing attacks on the personal lives and family relationships of Nawaz Sharif and Altaf Hussain. The focus of the PML-N diatribe was the self-imposed exile of MQM chief Altaf Hussain and his allegedly troubled family life. Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, the leader of the opposition in the National Assembly and a prominent member of the PML-N, fired the first salvo, threatening to reveal what the former spouse of Altaf Hussain had deposed in a British court while seeking a divorce from him. He claimed that the MQM leader owned property worth billions and was often found in a woozy state. Chaudhry Nisar openly ridiculed Altaf for offering to challenge Sharif to a public debate on national issues. “We know he (Altaf) is not conscious most of time when he speaks…he is not somebody we should take seriously,” he said when asked to comment on Hussain’s challenge to Nawaz. “But for a debate with us Altaf will have to return to the country and I’m sure he cannot,” said Chaudhry Nisar in a mocking tone.

He then made allusions to Altaf’s troubled marital life and his mental condition. “During the debate we can produce a certificate from a London rehabilitation centre where Altaf was treated for a mental disorder,” Chaudhry Nisar added.

The MQM did not hold back any venom either. Its federal lawmakers Haider Abbas Rizvi and Waseem Akhtar were even more vicious as they thundered that they knew “whose daughter had run away with whom” and charged that “dance parties” were held in Lahore “in every house” and “prostitution was widespread”.
The two MQM parliamentarians did not spare the daughters of the Sharif family and resorted to crude and ‘uncivilised’ language to castigate their party’s rivals. “We know whose daughters have been flirting with whom…and we are also aware of what was recovered from Nawaz Sharif’s bedroom after a military coup in 1999,” one of them said.

Currently, the MQM is in a three-way tussle with major political parties. It has taken on the ANP in Karachi, it is engaged in a political row with the PPP and is busy in a vicious verbal battle with the PML-N.

The MQM wants the ruling PPP to restore the old local body system, opposes the restoration of commisionariate system and does not want the introduction of RGST. It has already withdrawn its members from the federal cabinet and has threatened to sit on the opposition benches if its demands are not met.

Meanwhile, Muttahida Qaumi Movement chief Altaf Hussain, has directed members of the MQM Rabita Committee as well as all office-bearers and members of the provincial and national assemblies to refrain from giving any statements or reacting to the “personal attacks” made by PML-N leaders.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 30th, 2010.
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