Tuesday, July 06, 2010
Total solar eclipse on July 11 not to be seen in Pakistan
Eclipse Type = Total Eclipse Saros = 146 (animated GIF)
Greatest Eclipse = 19:33:31.6 UT Date = 2010 Jul 11 J.D. = 2455389.316
Greatest Eclipse Lat = 19.7S Lng = 121.9W Duration = 05m20s (320 s)
Sun Alt. = 47° Sun Azm. = 13° Path Width = 258 km
Magnitude = 1.05802 Gamma = -0.67877 ∆T = 66.3 s — σ = ±1s [±0.0°]
Eclipse Overview = 2010-07-11.gif Canon Plate = 477PDF Document Atlas = +2001—+2020
Polynomial Besselian elements for: 2010 Jul 11 20:00:00.0 TDT (=t0)
n x y d l1 l2 µ
0 0.0740680 -0.7170260 22.0356998 0.5344230 -0.0116560 118.6143189
1 0.5572516 -0.1366579 -0.0053410 -0.0000908 -0.0000904 15.0000696
2 -0.0000276 -0.0001121 -0.0000050 -0.0000124 -0.0000123 0.0000000
3 -0.0000090 0.0000024 0.0000000 0.0000000 0.0000000 0.0000000
tan f1 = 0.0045988 tan f2 = 0.0045759
At time t1 (decimal hours), each Besselian element is evaluated by:
a = a0 + a1*t + a2*t2 + a3*t3 (or a = ∑ [an*tn]; n = 0 to 3)
where: a = x, y, d, l1, l2, or µ
t = t1 - t0 (decimal hours) and t0 = 20.000 TDT
Updated at: 2045 PST, Tuesday, July 06, 2010
KARACHI: The total solar eclipse on Monday, July 11, 2010 would not be visible in Pakistan, says a release of Pakistan Meteorological Department here on Tuesday.
The total eclipse will be visible from South Pacific Ocean, Chile and Argentine. While, partial eclipse will be visible from South Pacific and South America.
Eclipse beings 22:10 (11th July) PST
Total begins 22:16 (11th July) PST
Total ends 01:51 (12th July) PST
Eclipse ends 02:57 (12th July) PST
http://xjubier.free.fr/en/site_pages/solar_eclipses/TSE_2010_GoogleMapFull.html
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Ultimate eclipse photo: Easter Island, here I come
11:00 1 July 2010
Art
Events
In a series of illustrated blog entries for Culture Lab, journalist and photographer Dan Falk will be describing his attempt to capture the "ultimate solar eclipse photograph" this July. This is the first in the series.
It's one of the most compelling spectacles in all of nature: a total eclipse of the sun, a surreal event in which the sun disappears behind the moon and a small part of the Earth is plunged into midday darkness.
I've seen three solar eclipses so far, and each has been a unique experience, but the one coming up on 11 July 2010 promises to be like nothing else I've ever witnessed. It's all about location: this summer's total eclipse can be seen only from the South Pacific Ocean, the extreme southern tip of South America and a few tiny, remote islands - including the most isolated inhabited spot on Earth, Easter Island.
Easter Island is famous for its remoteness as well as the remnants of its intriguing ancient culture, including those giant carved stone heads, known as moai. We've all seen photographs of those enigmatic moai, but never with a total solar eclipse as a backdrop. My visit to the island will be a chance to capture - if I may be permitted to indulge in a hopeful, boastful superlative - the "ultimate solar eclipse photograph".
A solar eclipse happens when the moon passes exactly between the sun and the Earth, with the moon's shadow falling on our planet. As the Earth turns, the shadow traces out a long but quite narrow path, known as the "path of totality". If you're willing to travel, you can see a total eclipse from somewhere roughly once every 18 months. But from any one specific location, solar eclipses are incredibly rare, occurring about once every 300 years.
Needless to say, this is the only opportunity anyone alive today will have of seeing a total eclipse from Easter Island. According to Xavier Jubier's handy eclipse calculator, the last time a total solar eclipse was visible from Easter Island was more than 13 centuries ago, in 656 AD, and the next time islanders get to see one will be 314 years from now, in 2324. Incidentally, anthropologists believe the island was only settled in about 900 AD, which means no one has ever seen a total solar eclipse from the island.
A solar eclipse can last anywhere from mere seconds to a maximum of just over seven-and-a-half minutes. My first solar eclipse, which I witnessed from Baja California, Mexico, in 1991, was one of the longest of the 20th century, with a duration (as viewed from that location) of about six minutes and 50 seconds. This summer's eclipse, as seen from Easter Island, will last about 4 minutes and 50 seconds. That may sound like a good length of time, but when you're trying to operate a couple of cameras and fiddling with tripods and exposure settings, it goes by very quickly.
Of course, I won't be alone there. A number of passionate "eclipse chasers," along with tourists eager to witness this remarkable event, will have the island's few hotels filled to capacity. (I booked several moths ago, with a California-based agency called A Classic Tours.) A number of professional astronomers will be there as well, including a team led by Jay Pasachoff of Williams College. I'm told that a documentary crew from National Geographic Television will also be on hand.
Luckily, I've had some practice photographing eclipses, having shot the three I mentioned. I had some trouble with clouds at the Mexico eclipse in 1991, but got lucky with clear skies in Curacao, in the Netherlands Antilles, in 1998, and again in Salzburg, Austria in 1999. In Curacao, I managed to get a reasonably good telephoto image of the eclipsed sun itself (below).
eclipse1.jpg
But that is not the kind of image I'm hoping to obtain this time around. Instead, I'm looking for something analogous to the wide-angle view of the total solar eclipse above Salzburg that I captured in 1999 (below).
The reason is simple. That first photo, though pleasant enough, looks exactly like everyone else's photos of that eclipse - indeed, like any photo of any eclipse. In contrast, the Salzburg photo, which includes the distinctive foreground landscape, is unique (or nearly so). This time - if all goes well - instead of Salzburg's castle and cathedral, I'll have Easter Island's moai sculptures as the dramatic foreground scene.
eclipse2.jpg
Perhaps I should add: I intend to pull this off without any kind of digital manipulation. Obviously, with Photoshop, one could pretend to have witnessed a total eclipse over the Eiffel Tower, or from inside your local Starbucks for that matter. But where's the challenge in that? My goal is to capture a single, unique scene, just as it appeared to the unaided eye.
With less than two weeks to go, there is still a great deal of work to do. I am carefully studying maps of Easter Island and descriptions and photographs of the landscape. Upon arrival, I'll have several days to scope out the perfect site: somewhere where I can catch the eclipse with those iconic moai at the bottom of the image.
The technical details of the eclipse itself - the exact altitude and azimuth of the sun, the local time of the beginning and end of the eclipse - will determine the choice of lens needed to get the perfect shot. I intend to shoot with several camera and lens combinations during the brief span of totality, with both a digital SLR and a traditional 35-mm film SLR. Amid that rush, however, I hope to take a few moments to simply savour the spectacle with my own eyes.
I've been looking forward to this remarkable natural event for more than a decade. It's an incredible, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Fingers crossed for clear skies on Easter Island on 11 July! I'll keep you updated here on CultureLab, where I hope to finally premiere the photograph I've been dreaming about.
Dan Falk is a science journalist, author and photographer. More of his astrophotography can be found on Flickr and he tweets at @danfalk.
Monday, July 05, 2010
Toronto hosts heat wave, power outage, royal visit
Power was gradually being restored to parts of Toronto Monday evening after a fire erupted at a transformer station in the city's west end, knocking out power to 240,000 Toronto Hydro customers.
"We are working on getting everybody back on," said Daffyd Roderick, a spokesman for Hydro One, which supplies power to distributor Toronto Hydro.
He couldn't say when power would be fully restored or what caused the fire that sparked the failure, which happened at around 4:45 p.m. ET during an extreme heat alert and caused traffic chaos at the height of the city's afternoon rush hour.
Roderick said Hydro One is working on getting all of the big circuits that connect its transformer stations up and running after losing about 900 megawatts of electricity inside the affected area.
The fire happened at the Manby Transformer Station on Kipling Avenue in the Etobicoke section of Toronto.
Hydro One said equipment at the station caught fire and that the cause of the blaze is under investigation. No injuries have been reported at the station, the power company said.
Six Toronto Hydro substations fed by Hydro One are out of service as a result of the outage, Toronto Hydro said.
Power is being restored through a process called backfilling, which is when hydro agencies draw on other sources of power and re-route the power around the out-of-commission transfer station to get it to customers, the CBC's Muhammad Lila reported.
"Hydro One has told us that pockets of power are going to be coming and going," he said.
Helpful numbers
* Hydro One: report a power outage 1-800-434-1235.
* Toronto Hydro: power outage hotline 416-542-8000.
* Toronto Police Service: non-emergency services 416-808-2222.
* Toronto Transit Commission: 416-393-4636.
* Greater Toronto Airport Authority: departures schedule Terminal 1: 416-AIRPORT (416-247-7678); Terminal 3: 416-776-5100.
Commuter chaos
A map posted on the Toronto Hydro website soon after the outage showed large swaths of the city had been affected.
According to the map, the area where outages occurred stretched from Renforth Drive in the west to Yonge Street in the east, and from the Gardiner Expressway in the south to Highway 401 in the north.
The blackout hit on a day when temperatures in the city rose to a muggy, sweltering 34 C and disrupted many commuters.
According to the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC), subway service was down from Jane to Kipling stations on the Bloor-Danforth line during the outage and had to be replaced with shuttle buses. There were also minor delays reported along the Yonge-University-Spadina line at Union Station.
By 7:30 p.m. ET, subway service was restored, TTC chair Adam Giambrone said.
A pedestrian directs traffic at King Street and University Avenue in the downtown core. A pedestrian directs traffic at King Street and University Avenue in the downtown core. (Guin Orvis/CBC)
Streetcars and buses although still running were delayed because of the many downed traffic lights.
At the height of the outage, stranded commuters filled the streets as police — and sometimes pedestrians — directed traffic.
Pedestrian Aseel El-Baba took it upon herself to direct traffic at King and Wellington streets in downtown Toronto for about an hour before police arrived.
"I saw two near car accidents, and I thought, 'OK, I have to do something'," she told CBC News. "The first five minutes were scary, but I got used to it."
Police told her she was a safety risk and urged her to leave the intersection, she said.
The power went out briefly at Pearson International Airport, but the airport authority's website showed few flight delays.
Capt. Mike Strapko of Toronto Fire Services said firefighters had to rescue some people who got trapped in elevators when the power failed.
Giant fireball reported
Stephen Michalowicz of the local news website Torontoist reported seeing a "giant fireball" near the Kipling Avenue facility.
Queen Elizabeth attended a state dinner at the downtown Royal York Hotel, which was among the buildings that lost power. The 7:30 p.m. dinner, hosted by Prime Minister Stephen Harper, proceeded despite the outage.
Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/toronto/story/2010/07/05/toronto-hydro.html#ixzz0srRAK498
----
Toronto hosts heat wave, power outage, royal visit
click here
July 05, 2010 8:36 p.m.
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TORONTO - A power outage that left large swaths of Toronto in the dark as the city sweltered Monday also turned out the lights on Prince Philip.
A fire at a west-end transformer station sapped some 1,000 megawatts from the city, which is hosting the royal couple amid a heat wave.
Prince Philip was presenting the Duke of Edinburgh Awards, a program that encourages youth to participate in community service, among other areas, at the Royal York Hotel when the lights went out.
The emergency power kicked in and Prince Philip soldiered on, presenting the awards in the dimly lit room, joking with parents in the audience.
The outage had threatened to darken a dinner with the Queen, Prince Philip and Prime Minister Stephen Harper, but full power was restored to the hotel just in time.
Some didn't seem too concerned that the power outage came when the royal couple was in town.
"They're just people like the rest of us," said Scottish tourist Sandy Horsburgh, who was at the top of the CN Tower when the lights went off.
Hydro One said the cause of the fire, which turned the lights out in pockets throughout the city at 4:42 p.m. ET, was under investigation. There were no injuries.
Hydro One spokesman Daffyd Roderick said about 240,000 customers were without power at the height of the outage.
Power was fully restored by about 8:30 p.m. ET, Roderick said.
Toronto Hydro appealed to customers to wait at least 15 minutes after power was restored before turning air conditioning back on to avoid overloading the grid.
The Independent Electricity System Operator reported on its website that power demand in the province was at 24,567 megawatts at 5 p.m. — exceeding the day's predicted peak of 24,351.
The outage was substantial enough to cause blips on the provincial grid, with reports of the lights flickering as far away as Ottawa.
Rishi Ghuldu helped direct traffic when he got off work early because of the power failure.
"When I came out I saw it was a lot of chaos and I thought I should actually help out by directing traffic and making the pedestrians cross the road safely," he said.
The Barrick Gold employee spent about an hour at a couple of intersections on Bay Street until a police officer asked him to move on.
"He said if someone were to get hurt they could actually sue me so he asked me to leave the spot," Ghuldu said.
Hiba Abdou noted that the power outage came on the heels of an eventful period for the city — the G20, the royal visit and "now this."
"Who knows what's next."
Toronto and most of Ontario are in the grip of a heat wave, with temperatures in the mid-30s. Humidex values are expected to be in the 40-degree range during the next few days.
At the height of the outage Sherway Gardens, a large shopping mall in the west end, was in the dark as was the Toronto stock exchange in the financial district.
Two subway stations in the west end were affected. The city's streetcars, which draw from a different power source, were not hit by the outage.
"We are working on getting everybody back on," said Daffyd Roderick, a spokesman for Hydro One, which supplies power to distributor Toronto Hydro.
He couldn't say when power would be fully restored or what caused the fire that sparked the failure, which happened at around 4:45 p.m. ET during an extreme heat alert and caused traffic chaos at the height of the city's afternoon rush hour.
Roderick said Hydro One is working on getting all of the big circuits that connect its transformer stations up and running after losing about 900 megawatts of electricity inside the affected area.
The fire happened at the Manby Transformer Station on Kipling Avenue in the Etobicoke section of Toronto.
Hydro One said equipment at the station caught fire and that the cause of the blaze is under investigation. No injuries have been reported at the station, the power company said.
Six Toronto Hydro substations fed by Hydro One are out of service as a result of the outage, Toronto Hydro said.
Power is being restored through a process called backfilling, which is when hydro agencies draw on other sources of power and re-route the power around the out-of-commission transfer station to get it to customers, the CBC's Muhammad Lila reported.
"Hydro One has told us that pockets of power are going to be coming and going," he said.
Helpful numbers
* Hydro One: report a power outage 1-800-434-1235.
* Toronto Hydro: power outage hotline 416-542-8000.
* Toronto Police Service: non-emergency services 416-808-2222.
* Toronto Transit Commission: 416-393-4636.
* Greater Toronto Airport Authority: departures schedule Terminal 1: 416-AIRPORT (416-247-7678); Terminal 3: 416-776-5100.
Commuter chaos
A map posted on the Toronto Hydro website soon after the outage showed large swaths of the city had been affected.
According to the map, the area where outages occurred stretched from Renforth Drive in the west to Yonge Street in the east, and from the Gardiner Expressway in the south to Highway 401 in the north.
The blackout hit on a day when temperatures in the city rose to a muggy, sweltering 34 C and disrupted many commuters.
According to the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC), subway service was down from Jane to Kipling stations on the Bloor-Danforth line during the outage and had to be replaced with shuttle buses. There were also minor delays reported along the Yonge-University-Spadina line at Union Station.
By 7:30 p.m. ET, subway service was restored, TTC chair Adam Giambrone said.
A pedestrian directs traffic at King Street and University Avenue in the downtown core. A pedestrian directs traffic at King Street and University Avenue in the downtown core. (Guin Orvis/CBC)
Streetcars and buses although still running were delayed because of the many downed traffic lights.
At the height of the outage, stranded commuters filled the streets as police — and sometimes pedestrians — directed traffic.
Pedestrian Aseel El-Baba took it upon herself to direct traffic at King and Wellington streets in downtown Toronto for about an hour before police arrived.
"I saw two near car accidents, and I thought, 'OK, I have to do something'," she told CBC News. "The first five minutes were scary, but I got used to it."
Police told her she was a safety risk and urged her to leave the intersection, she said.
The power went out briefly at Pearson International Airport, but the airport authority's website showed few flight delays.
Capt. Mike Strapko of Toronto Fire Services said firefighters had to rescue some people who got trapped in elevators when the power failed.
Giant fireball reported
Stephen Michalowicz of the local news website Torontoist reported seeing a "giant fireball" near the Kipling Avenue facility.
Queen Elizabeth attended a state dinner at the downtown Royal York Hotel, which was among the buildings that lost power. The 7:30 p.m. dinner, hosted by Prime Minister Stephen Harper, proceeded despite the outage.
Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/toronto/story/2010/07/05/toronto-hydro.html#ixzz0srRAK498
----
Toronto hosts heat wave, power outage, royal visit
click here
July 05, 2010 8:36 p.m.
Be the first to comment
Print article
Text size
TORONTO - A power outage that left large swaths of Toronto in the dark as the city sweltered Monday also turned out the lights on Prince Philip.
A fire at a west-end transformer station sapped some 1,000 megawatts from the city, which is hosting the royal couple amid a heat wave.
Prince Philip was presenting the Duke of Edinburgh Awards, a program that encourages youth to participate in community service, among other areas, at the Royal York Hotel when the lights went out.
The emergency power kicked in and Prince Philip soldiered on, presenting the awards in the dimly lit room, joking with parents in the audience.
The outage had threatened to darken a dinner with the Queen, Prince Philip and Prime Minister Stephen Harper, but full power was restored to the hotel just in time.
Some didn't seem too concerned that the power outage came when the royal couple was in town.
"They're just people like the rest of us," said Scottish tourist Sandy Horsburgh, who was at the top of the CN Tower when the lights went off.
Hydro One said the cause of the fire, which turned the lights out in pockets throughout the city at 4:42 p.m. ET, was under investigation. There were no injuries.
Hydro One spokesman Daffyd Roderick said about 240,000 customers were without power at the height of the outage.
Power was fully restored by about 8:30 p.m. ET, Roderick said.
Toronto Hydro appealed to customers to wait at least 15 minutes after power was restored before turning air conditioning back on to avoid overloading the grid.
The Independent Electricity System Operator reported on its website that power demand in the province was at 24,567 megawatts at 5 p.m. — exceeding the day's predicted peak of 24,351.
The outage was substantial enough to cause blips on the provincial grid, with reports of the lights flickering as far away as Ottawa.
Rishi Ghuldu helped direct traffic when he got off work early because of the power failure.
"When I came out I saw it was a lot of chaos and I thought I should actually help out by directing traffic and making the pedestrians cross the road safely," he said.
The Barrick Gold employee spent about an hour at a couple of intersections on Bay Street until a police officer asked him to move on.
"He said if someone were to get hurt they could actually sue me so he asked me to leave the spot," Ghuldu said.
Hiba Abdou noted that the power outage came on the heels of an eventful period for the city — the G20, the royal visit and "now this."
"Who knows what's next."
Toronto and most of Ontario are in the grip of a heat wave, with temperatures in the mid-30s. Humidex values are expected to be in the 40-degree range during the next few days.
At the height of the outage Sherway Gardens, a large shopping mall in the west end, was in the dark as was the Toronto stock exchange in the financial district.
Two subway stations in the west end were affected. The city's streetcars, which draw from a different power source, were not hit by the outage.
Sunday, July 04, 2010
Senior Lebanese Shi'ite cleric Fadlallah dies
BEIRUT | Sun Jul 4, 2010 3:39am EDT
BEIRUT July 4 (Reuters) - Lebanon's Grand Ayatollah Sayyed Mohammed Hussein Fadlallah, one of Shi'ite Islam's highest religious authorities, died on Sunday at the age of 74, a medical source at a Beirut hospital said.
Fadlallah had a wide following among Lebanese Shi'ites and was a supporter of Iran's Islamic Revolution. He was the spiritual leader and mentor of the Shi'ite militant group Hezbollah in the first years after it was formed in 1982.
BEIRUT July 4 (Reuters) - Lebanon's Grand Ayatollah Sayyed Mohammed Hussein Fadlallah, one of Shi'ite Islam's highest religious authorities, died on Sunday at the age of 74, a medical source at a Beirut hospital said.
Fadlallah had a wide following among Lebanese Shi'ites and was a supporter of Iran's Islamic Revolution. He was the spiritual leader and mentor of the Shi'ite militant group Hezbollah in the first years after it was formed in 1982.
Friday, July 02, 2010
New US commander pushes faltering Afghan war effort
02 Jul 2010 15:43:07 GMT
Source: Reuters
* U.S. approves $33 billion funding for troop surge
* Three foreigners killed in raid on U.S. firm's office
* Petraeus hints at change in air support policy (Updates with Petraeus arrival; date of command ceremony)
By David Fox
KABUL, July 2 (Reuters) - The United States' top field commander arrived in Afghanistan on Friday to take charge of the faltering war, pledging to tackle the nine-year-old Taliban insurgency with a strategy he successfully pioneered in Iraq.
General David Petraeus landed a day after his appointment was confirmed by the U.S. Senate and just hours after the U.S. House of Representatives approved $33 billion in funding for a troop surge he hopes will turn the tide of the war. [ID:nN01180444]
An amendment demanding an exit timetable from Afghanistan failed, but got 162 votes -- the biggest anti-war vote in the House on Afghanistan to date.
Petraeus's appointment could be a last throw of the dice for Washington to end an increasingly costly conflict that is draining Western budgets as they emerge from one of the worst global recessions in history.
A formal change-of-command ceremony will be held on Sunday.
The surge will bring to 150,000 the number of foreign troops in Afghanistan just as the new strategy takes root. It entails tackling the Taliban in their strongholds while relying on the government to simultaneously improve local governance and development. <^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
For more on Afghanistan click [ID:nAFPAK]
or see http://link.reuters.com/syx62d
Afghan blog: http://blogs.reuters.com/afghanistan/ ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^> The Taliban showed on Friday just how capable they are of operating outside their traditional strongholds by launching a daring commando-style raid on the office of an American company that provides logistical support for U.S. government aid in relatively peaceful Kunduz, in the north. [ID:nSGE66108Z]
A Briton, German, Filipino and two Afghans were killed in the pre-dawn attack, provincial officials said, as well as the six insurgents who mounted the raid. Also on Friday, the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) that Petraeus now commands said two service members had died after separate insurgent attacks in the south and east.
TURN THE TIDE
Petraeus, who wrote the U.S. army's field guide on waging a counter-insurgency, used the tactics to help turn the tide of the Iraq war and the strategy was introduced to Afghanistan earlier this year by former commander General Stanley McChrystal.
McChrystal was sacked last week after he and some aides disparaged(To speak of in a slighting or disrespectful way; ) senior administration officials in a magazine profile.
While Petraeus has pledged to continue with the same strategy, he told NATO chiefs in Brussels on Thursday that some operational tactics would be reviewed -- including air strikes on suspected Taliban hideouts. [ID:nLDE6600X0]
The issue came to a head last year after a series of air attacks killed scores of civilians -- including 140 in one incident -- but McChrystal's arrival was credited with vastly reducing collateral damage.
Petraeus said on Thursday that any tactics that raised the possibility of more soldiers being killed needed to be reviewed.
More than 1,800 foreign troops have died in Afghanistan since the Taliban were overthrown in 2001 -- including more than 100 last month, the bloodiest since the war began.
"I have a moral imperative as a commander ... to bring all force that is available when our troopers -- and, by the way, our Afghan partners -- are in a tough position," he told NATO chiefs.
The last two weeks have thrown an especially harsh light on the war effort, with new reports of corruption in President Hamid Karzai's government and the change in command of foreign forces.
Doubts have also been raised over the commitment of the government to push governance and development alongside the military drive, and also the ability of Afghan forces to take over responsibility for security.
At the same time, Karzai has been wooing the Taliban with a series of modest peace overtures, all have which have been rejected by the hardline Islamist movement, which insists all foreign forces must leave before they will end the insurgency. (Additional reporting by Susan Cornwell in Washington; Editing by Nick Macfie) (david.fox@thomsonreuters.com; Kabul newsroom: +93 799 335 284) (If you have a query or comment about this story, send an e-mail to news.feedback.asia@thomsonreuters.com)
Source: Reuters
* U.S. approves $33 billion funding for troop surge
* Three foreigners killed in raid on U.S. firm's office
* Petraeus hints at change in air support policy (Updates with Petraeus arrival; date of command ceremony)
By David Fox
KABUL, July 2 (Reuters) - The United States' top field commander arrived in Afghanistan on Friday to take charge of the faltering war, pledging to tackle the nine-year-old Taliban insurgency with a strategy he successfully pioneered in Iraq.
General David Petraeus landed a day after his appointment was confirmed by the U.S. Senate and just hours after the U.S. House of Representatives approved $33 billion in funding for a troop surge he hopes will turn the tide of the war. [ID:nN01180444]
An amendment demanding an exit timetable from Afghanistan failed, but got 162 votes -- the biggest anti-war vote in the House on Afghanistan to date.
Petraeus's appointment could be a last throw of the dice for Washington to end an increasingly costly conflict that is draining Western budgets as they emerge from one of the worst global recessions in history.
A formal change-of-command ceremony will be held on Sunday.
The surge will bring to 150,000 the number of foreign troops in Afghanistan just as the new strategy takes root. It entails tackling the Taliban in their strongholds while relying on the government to simultaneously improve local governance and development. <^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
For more on Afghanistan click [ID:nAFPAK]
or see http://link.reuters.com/syx62d
Afghan blog: http://blogs.reuters.com/afghanistan/ ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^> The Taliban showed on Friday just how capable they are of operating outside their traditional strongholds by launching a daring commando-style raid on the office of an American company that provides logistical support for U.S. government aid in relatively peaceful Kunduz, in the north. [ID:nSGE66108Z]
A Briton, German, Filipino and two Afghans were killed in the pre-dawn attack, provincial officials said, as well as the six insurgents who mounted the raid. Also on Friday, the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) that Petraeus now commands said two service members had died after separate insurgent attacks in the south and east.
TURN THE TIDE
Petraeus, who wrote the U.S. army's field guide on waging a counter-insurgency, used the tactics to help turn the tide of the Iraq war and the strategy was introduced to Afghanistan earlier this year by former commander General Stanley McChrystal.
McChrystal was sacked last week after he and some aides disparaged(To speak of in a slighting or disrespectful way; ) senior administration officials in a magazine profile.
While Petraeus has pledged to continue with the same strategy, he told NATO chiefs in Brussels on Thursday that some operational tactics would be reviewed -- including air strikes on suspected Taliban hideouts. [ID:nLDE6600X0]
The issue came to a head last year after a series of air attacks killed scores of civilians -- including 140 in one incident -- but McChrystal's arrival was credited with vastly reducing collateral damage.
Petraeus said on Thursday that any tactics that raised the possibility of more soldiers being killed needed to be reviewed.
More than 1,800 foreign troops have died in Afghanistan since the Taliban were overthrown in 2001 -- including more than 100 last month, the bloodiest since the war began.
"I have a moral imperative as a commander ... to bring all force that is available when our troopers -- and, by the way, our Afghan partners -- are in a tough position," he told NATO chiefs.
The last two weeks have thrown an especially harsh light on the war effort, with new reports of corruption in President Hamid Karzai's government and the change in command of foreign forces.
Doubts have also been raised over the commitment of the government to push governance and development alongside the military drive, and also the ability of Afghan forces to take over responsibility for security.
At the same time, Karzai has been wooing the Taliban with a series of modest peace overtures, all have which have been rejected by the hardline Islamist movement, which insists all foreign forces must leave before they will end the insurgency. (Additional reporting by Susan Cornwell in Washington; Editing by Nick Macfie) (david.fox@thomsonreuters.com; Kabul newsroom: +93 799 335 284) (If you have a query or comment about this story, send an e-mail to news.feedback.asia@thomsonreuters.com)
Khosa’s ‘removal’ puts PML-N’s political future at stake
Friday, July 02, 2010 E-Mail this article to a friend Printer Friendly Version
* Nationalists, lawmakers from S Punjab contacting Khosa family for a separate province
* PML-N leaders believe they will be isolated from national politics if South Punjab becomes province
* May launch re-conciliatory move with Khosas
By Afnan Khan
LAHORE: The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz’s decision to remove Dost Muhammad Khosa from a key ministry over allegations of misconduct has jeopardised the party’s own future, as a number of nationalist parties and parliamentarians from southern Punjab have started contacting the Khosa family for the formation of a separate province.
On the other hand, mainstream parties such as the PML-Quaid were already pushing for the formation of a separate province in southern Punjab at the provincial and federal levels, while sources have told Daily Times that noted PML-Q lawmakers have also contacted the Khosa family to discuss the matter.
However, the issue is being viewed as a threat to the PML-N leadership, which seemed to be avoiding a debate in the provincial assembly on the issue by ‘wasting time’ supposedly allocated to a motion proposed by PML-Q MPA Imbisat Hamid. The PML-N MPAs allegedly “wasted” a lot of time by making speeches in favour of PML-N leaders Nawaz and Shahbaz Sharif on a point of order.
Isolation: PML-N sources told Daily Times that their leaders believed that they would be isolated from national politics if South Punjab became a separate province because the area is the PPP’s strongest hold in the province, as the prime minister and the foreign minister and many other senior PPP parliamentarians, belong to southern Punjab.
The sources added that the PML-N has also realised the situation and they might be launching a reconciliatory move between the Sharif and Khosa families in order to avoid a direct threat to the future of the party, as it could be restricted to the northern part of the province.
They said the PML-N realised that the Khosa family was one of the strongest political families of South Punjab and it would be a great blow to the party if they decided to split, and it is obvious that they might be offered a key position, such as chief ministership, if they supported the establishment of a new province.
The situation is likely to give a boost to the upcoming signature campaign and the move for the establishment of a new province in South Punjab, and a number of MPAs, especially those from the south, are likely to support the motion vigorously.
The sources from progressive and nationalists parties told Daily Times that the latest rift between the Sharifs and the Khosas after the removal of Dost Muhammad has proved a morale booster for smaller parties such as the Labour Party, Seraiki National Party and the Seraiki Party, while leaders of these parties have also started holding meetings to develop a future strategy for the strengthening of the campaign.
PML-Q spokesman Kamil Ali Agha told Daily Times that the unjust policies of the PML-N leadership were angering their own people. He said fair distribution of resources and an equal say in decision-making is the right of the people from southern Punjab, which is not possible without giving them more autonomy. He added that this is what the PML-Q has been struggling for.
Agha said the recent cabinet reshuffle by Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif has revealed that the PML-N leadership did not trust its own people and there was a dearth of competent people who could run the ministries.
He said the transfer of the powers of local government ministers to the CM had made it clear that the PML-N leadership was not sincere in holding local body elections any time soon.
PML-Q MPA Mohsin Leghari told Daily Times that the provincial government was supposed to hold local body elections within six months after the end of the previous local bodies’ tenure. He said the current tenure will expire in August, but there is no sign of holding the local body polls, despite the fact that the provincial government had promised to hold a debate over the issue in the provincial assembly, seminars and public meetings to inform all stakeholders about the elections and the LG system.
Commenting on Khosa’s removal from his ministry, Leghari said he considered the incident another discriminatory act against a prominent politician from South Punjab.
Labour Party Pakistan’s South Punjab-based leader and political analyst Suhail Javed told Daily Times that the Khosa family was significantly influential in Punjab and it would be a big blow to the PML-N if the family decided to split from the party despite the fact that chances of such a move are very thin.
Nationalist parties: He said all key political parties supported the demands of nationalist parties about the creation of a separate province, yet the PML-N is reluctant to do so because they are afraid of losing strength in Punjab as a result of the separation.
He said Seraiki leaders such as Taj Muhmmad Langa demanded the creation of a separate province consisting of Dera Ismail Khan, Mianwali, Khushab, Rahim Yar Khan, Rajanpur, Dera Ghazi Khan, Multan, Bahawalpur and other linking districts, however key parties are talking about separating only a few districts such as Multan, Bahawalpur, Rajanpur and DG Khan.
* Nationalists, lawmakers from S Punjab contacting Khosa family for a separate province
* PML-N leaders believe they will be isolated from national politics if South Punjab becomes province
* May launch re-conciliatory move with Khosas
By Afnan Khan
LAHORE: The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz’s decision to remove Dost Muhammad Khosa from a key ministry over allegations of misconduct has jeopardised the party’s own future, as a number of nationalist parties and parliamentarians from southern Punjab have started contacting the Khosa family for the formation of a separate province.
On the other hand, mainstream parties such as the PML-Quaid were already pushing for the formation of a separate province in southern Punjab at the provincial and federal levels, while sources have told Daily Times that noted PML-Q lawmakers have also contacted the Khosa family to discuss the matter.
However, the issue is being viewed as a threat to the PML-N leadership, which seemed to be avoiding a debate in the provincial assembly on the issue by ‘wasting time’ supposedly allocated to a motion proposed by PML-Q MPA Imbisat Hamid. The PML-N MPAs allegedly “wasted” a lot of time by making speeches in favour of PML-N leaders Nawaz and Shahbaz Sharif on a point of order.
Isolation: PML-N sources told Daily Times that their leaders believed that they would be isolated from national politics if South Punjab became a separate province because the area is the PPP’s strongest hold in the province, as the prime minister and the foreign minister and many other senior PPP parliamentarians, belong to southern Punjab.
The sources added that the PML-N has also realised the situation and they might be launching a reconciliatory move between the Sharif and Khosa families in order to avoid a direct threat to the future of the party, as it could be restricted to the northern part of the province.
They said the PML-N realised that the Khosa family was one of the strongest political families of South Punjab and it would be a great blow to the party if they decided to split, and it is obvious that they might be offered a key position, such as chief ministership, if they supported the establishment of a new province.
The situation is likely to give a boost to the upcoming signature campaign and the move for the establishment of a new province in South Punjab, and a number of MPAs, especially those from the south, are likely to support the motion vigorously.
The sources from progressive and nationalists parties told Daily Times that the latest rift between the Sharifs and the Khosas after the removal of Dost Muhammad has proved a morale booster for smaller parties such as the Labour Party, Seraiki National Party and the Seraiki Party, while leaders of these parties have also started holding meetings to develop a future strategy for the strengthening of the campaign.
PML-Q spokesman Kamil Ali Agha told Daily Times that the unjust policies of the PML-N leadership were angering their own people. He said fair distribution of resources and an equal say in decision-making is the right of the people from southern Punjab, which is not possible without giving them more autonomy. He added that this is what the PML-Q has been struggling for.
Agha said the recent cabinet reshuffle by Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif has revealed that the PML-N leadership did not trust its own people and there was a dearth of competent people who could run the ministries.
He said the transfer of the powers of local government ministers to the CM had made it clear that the PML-N leadership was not sincere in holding local body elections any time soon.
PML-Q MPA Mohsin Leghari told Daily Times that the provincial government was supposed to hold local body elections within six months after the end of the previous local bodies’ tenure. He said the current tenure will expire in August, but there is no sign of holding the local body polls, despite the fact that the provincial government had promised to hold a debate over the issue in the provincial assembly, seminars and public meetings to inform all stakeholders about the elections and the LG system.
Commenting on Khosa’s removal from his ministry, Leghari said he considered the incident another discriminatory act against a prominent politician from South Punjab.
Labour Party Pakistan’s South Punjab-based leader and political analyst Suhail Javed told Daily Times that the Khosa family was significantly influential in Punjab and it would be a big blow to the PML-N if the family decided to split from the party despite the fact that chances of such a move are very thin.
Nationalist parties: He said all key political parties supported the demands of nationalist parties about the creation of a separate province, yet the PML-N is reluctant to do so because they are afraid of losing strength in Punjab as a result of the separation.
He said Seraiki leaders such as Taj Muhmmad Langa demanded the creation of a separate province consisting of Dera Ismail Khan, Mianwali, Khushab, Rahim Yar Khan, Rajanpur, Dera Ghazi Khan, Multan, Bahawalpur and other linking districts, however key parties are talking about separating only a few districts such as Multan, Bahawalpur, Rajanpur and DG Khan.
Thursday, July 01, 2010
+45 dead in suicide bombings @Data Darbar (Data Gunj Bakhsh) in Pakistan
Q+A: Who is behind the Lahore attacks and why?
By Chris Allbritton
ISLAMABAD | Fri Jul 2, 2010 3:56am EDT
ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Two suicide bombers struck the biggest Sufi shrine in Pakistan in the eastern city of Lahore on Thursday night, killing at least 41 people and wounding more than 175, officials said.
It was the second major attack in a month in the city, capital of the heartland Punjab province where many militant groups are becoming increasingly active, following twin attacks on a minority sect that left more than 80 people dead.
Below are some questions and answers about the latest attack in Lahore and who might be responsible.
WHO MIGHT BE BEHIND THE ATTACK?
Militants drawn from Punjab who have joined ranks with Taliban in their northwestern bastion -- some of the most feared groups in the country -- and are likely to be high on the list of suspects.
These militants, sometimes called the "Punjabi Taliban," are especially troublesome because they pose a threat to stability in Punjab, Pakistan's most economically important province and the country's traditional seat of power.
Sunni Muslim Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ), a notorious al-Qaeda-linked organization which has forged ties with the Taliban, is one of the most well-known groups.
LeJ emerged as a sectarian group in the 1990s targeting minority Shi'ite Muslims but later graduated to more audacious attacks, and is suspected of being behind the truck bombing of Islamabad's Marriott Hotel in 2008 which killed 55 people. Analysts say the group was behind last year's brazen attack on the army headquarters in Rawalpindi, in which more than 20 people were killed.
HOW IS THIS ATTACK DIFFERENT?
It's the first attack on a major shrine in Punjab, the country's heartland, and the first attack on a major Sufi shrine - although there have been attacks on Sufi shrines before in Baluchistan, Islamabad, Peshawar and Swat.
It's not the first attack on a religious site in Lahore. Almost exactly a month ago, twin teams of suicide bombers attacked two mosques in Lahore belonging to Ahmadis, a minority sect who believe they are followers of Islam and that Mohammad was not the final prophet, but whom most Muslims consider to be a heretic sect.
But this attack is likely to hit Pakistanis harder because the Data Gunj Bakhsh shrine is the most popular in Pakistan and most Pakistanis adhere to the Sufi strand of Islam. It's a direct attack on the religious identity of the majority of the country.
WHY ARE THEY ATTACKING RELIGIOUS SITES?
The attackers, assuming they're part of the constellation of radical Sunni groups operating in Pakistan, are violently opposed to differing views of Islam. Shi'ites, Ahmadis and Sufis are all considered heretics or apostates to most of the militant groups, and thus worthy of being killed.
At the same time, mosques and shrines are popular gathering places for Pakistanis and often have poor security, making them soft targets. Attacking mosques sends a powerful message in deeply religious Pakistan, showing that no place is safe and that the government and security forces are powerless to protect people, weakening their already shaky credibility.
WHAT WILL THE RESPONSE BE?
The Punjab government has been slow to recognize the growing threat of militant groups such as LeJ based in there. After the Ahmadi attacks, several provincial officials ruled out any kind of military operation against militant groups along the lines of the army's push into the frontier areas to the west and northwest along the Afghan border to root out the Taliban.
Reprisals for the twin Ahmadi bombings was muted because they are a reviled minority group. But an attack on a popular religious shrine will mean the Punjab government, led by the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), the main opposition party in parliament, will now be under immense pressure to act.
Punjab officials say they already have 4,000 young men under watch who have to notify police officials if they leave their villages. But analysts have said this is just "rounding up the usual suspects" and not going after the heads of the militant groups. That may be about to change, although the risks to the PML-N and the security forces are great.
The PML-N draws followers from the same pool of supporters of Islamist groups, and moving against them could mean losing votes in future elections. Also, given the strength of the militant groups in Punjab and the level of support they enjoy among the people, there are fears the government forces might lose.
(Writing by Chris Allbritton, editing by Miral Fahmy)
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/SGE6600KY.htm
01 Jul 2010 20:00:56 GMT
Source: Reuters
* Second major attack in the city in recent weeks
* Dead bodies scattered all over
* 'Sickening poison of extremism will be driven out'
(Raises death toll, adds colour, details)
By Mubashir Bukhari
LAHORE, Pakistan, July 1 (Reuters) - Three suicide bombers struck a Sufi shrine in Pakistan's eastern city of Lahore on Thursday, killing at least 35 people and wounding more than 100, officials said, the second major attack in the city in a month.
Hundreds of devotees were visiting the shrine of the Persian Sufi saint, Syed Ali Hajwairi, commonly known as Data Gunj Bakhsh, in the heart of the city when the attacks occurred. Muslims in Pakistan visit shrines and mosques in large numbers on Thursday nights and Friday.
One of the attackers blew himself up at the gate of the sprawling, marble shrine while two other attacks took place in the basement of the shrine where people were washing for prayers.
Khursro Pervez, a senior government official, said at least 35 people were killed and 125 wounded.
Militants linked to al Qaeda and the Taliban have unleashed a wave of attacks across Pakistan in revenge for military offensives in their bastions in the northwest of the country near the Afghan border.
While most of the reprisal militant attacks have taken place in the northwest, militants have also stepped up attacks in the heartland of the country, mainly the central province of Punjab. Lahore is the capital of Punjab.
Officials have blamed attacks on the "Punjabi Taliban", a term used for militants drawn from Punjab who have joined ranks with Taliban in the northwest.
More than 80 people were killed in twin attacks on the mosques of the minority Ahmadi sect in May.
The shrine at Data Darbar is one of the most famous in Pakistan, attracting hundreds of devotees every night, with Thursdays being the most popular nights. The complex includes a mosque and a police station in the basement.
Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani said the attack on the shrine showed that "terrorists have no consideration for any religion, faith and belief". (Additional reporting by Mohsin Raza, Kamran Haider, Augustine Anthony and Chris Allbritton; Writing by Zeeshan Haider; Editing by Chris Allbritton and Myra MacDonald)
(For more Reuters coverage of Afghanistan and Pakistan, see: http://www.reuters.com/news/globalcoverage/afghanistanpakistan)
----
LAHORE: Three suicide bombers have killed 37 devotees and wounded another 175 at Data Darbar Shrine here late Thursday night, DCO Lahore Sajjad Bhutta and Commissioner Khushro Pervez told media.
25 among injured devotees are said to be critical in condition, hospital sources said adding that emergency has been put in place in all city hospitals.
Two attackers blew themselves up inside the shrine while the third one outside it before hurling hand grenades, he added.
Relief and rescue activities are underway at the blasts site.
A hand grenade has been found near Wazoo Khana of Shrine while police has cordoned off the area.
All the injured, some of them in critical condition, have been shifted to nearby hospitals where emergency has been clamped.
Data Darbar has five doors out of which four were closed. The only door kept open had a body scanner installed with it and it is still unknown how the bombers made their way inside the shrine.
There were a large number of devotees at shrine due to Thursday while ‘Langer’ was happening at the time of explosions.
Following the triple suicide blasts, furious mob also staged protest and pelted security forces with stones, which police took under control by resorting to baton charge and firing teargas.
Police also claimed recovery of two heads and bodies of alleged suicide bombers, adding that three 10 kg suicide jackets were used to carry out suicide blasts.
The situation is under control, police sources confirmed to media.
Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani, strongly deploring the triple suicide bombing at Data Darbar, has issued directives to law enforcement agencies to probe into heinous crime for submission of a report.
Also, Quaid Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) has strongly condemned suicide bombings at Data Darbar, calling government for bringing to involved elements to justice.
Elderly men, women and young children were also among killed and injured, witnesses and rescue workers told media.
---
Triple suicide attacks kill 40 at Data Darbar
* 175 injured as three suicide bombers blow themselves up inside shrine
* Death toll likely to rise
* 10-15 kilogramme explosives, ball-bearings used in each bomb
Staff Report
LAHORE: Over 40 people were killed and another 175 injured when three suicide attackers blew themselves up inside the shrine of Lahore’s patron saint Syed Ali Hajwairi popularly known as Data Gunj Bakhsh, late on Thursday night.
The death toll was expected to rise further as the compound was jam-packed at the time of the blast due to the special prayers that are offered every Thursday night in the shrine.
Eyewitnesses told Daily Times that a suicide bomber blew himself up in the basement of the building at about 11pm when thousands of visitors, including women and children, were present in the compound.
In the ensuing panic, people started running towards the upper part of the compound and towards the main exit doors. Five minutes later, another suicide bomber detonated himself inside the crowd on the upper portion of the compound. A third bomber blew himself up near the main gate of the shrine.
“At least 35 people were killed and 175 injured in the blasts,” Lahore Commissioner Khusro Pervez said.
At least 25 of those wounded in the attacks are in critical condition, he said.
After minutes of the attacks, rescue officials reached the scene and started the rescue operation.
A heavy police contingent and officials of the bomb disposal squad also reached the spot. Lahore District Coordination Officer Sajjad Bhutta and Capital City Police Officer Aslam Tareen were supervising the rescue efforts.
Police immediately cordoned off the entire area and started a search operation, while officials from bomb disposal squad also checked the entire shrine for explosives.
Police say the bombers had used 10 to 15 kilogrammes of explosives in each blast along with ball-bearings.
Rescue officials shifted more than 175 injured to city’s various hospitals.
Police sources confirmed that the city administration had been receiving threats about such an attack for the last one year. Police had beefed up security at the shrine, but the attackers managed to enter the compound undetected.
President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Syed Yousaf Raza Gilani have strongly condemned the attack. Both leaders have expressed deep grief and shock over the loss of precious human lives in the attack.
By Chris Allbritton
ISLAMABAD | Fri Jul 2, 2010 3:56am EDT
ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Two suicide bombers struck the biggest Sufi shrine in Pakistan in the eastern city of Lahore on Thursday night, killing at least 41 people and wounding more than 175, officials said.
It was the second major attack in a month in the city, capital of the heartland Punjab province where many militant groups are becoming increasingly active, following twin attacks on a minority sect that left more than 80 people dead.
Below are some questions and answers about the latest attack in Lahore and who might be responsible.
WHO MIGHT BE BEHIND THE ATTACK?
Militants drawn from Punjab who have joined ranks with Taliban in their northwestern bastion -- some of the most feared groups in the country -- and are likely to be high on the list of suspects.
These militants, sometimes called the "Punjabi Taliban," are especially troublesome because they pose a threat to stability in Punjab, Pakistan's most economically important province and the country's traditional seat of power.
Sunni Muslim Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ), a notorious al-Qaeda-linked organization which has forged ties with the Taliban, is one of the most well-known groups.
LeJ emerged as a sectarian group in the 1990s targeting minority Shi'ite Muslims but later graduated to more audacious attacks, and is suspected of being behind the truck bombing of Islamabad's Marriott Hotel in 2008 which killed 55 people. Analysts say the group was behind last year's brazen attack on the army headquarters in Rawalpindi, in which more than 20 people were killed.
HOW IS THIS ATTACK DIFFERENT?
It's the first attack on a major shrine in Punjab, the country's heartland, and the first attack on a major Sufi shrine - although there have been attacks on Sufi shrines before in Baluchistan, Islamabad, Peshawar and Swat.
It's not the first attack on a religious site in Lahore. Almost exactly a month ago, twin teams of suicide bombers attacked two mosques in Lahore belonging to Ahmadis, a minority sect who believe they are followers of Islam and that Mohammad was not the final prophet, but whom most Muslims consider to be a heretic sect.
But this attack is likely to hit Pakistanis harder because the Data Gunj Bakhsh shrine is the most popular in Pakistan and most Pakistanis adhere to the Sufi strand of Islam. It's a direct attack on the religious identity of the majority of the country.
WHY ARE THEY ATTACKING RELIGIOUS SITES?
The attackers, assuming they're part of the constellation of radical Sunni groups operating in Pakistan, are violently opposed to differing views of Islam. Shi'ites, Ahmadis and Sufis are all considered heretics or apostates to most of the militant groups, and thus worthy of being killed.
At the same time, mosques and shrines are popular gathering places for Pakistanis and often have poor security, making them soft targets. Attacking mosques sends a powerful message in deeply religious Pakistan, showing that no place is safe and that the government and security forces are powerless to protect people, weakening their already shaky credibility.
WHAT WILL THE RESPONSE BE?
The Punjab government has been slow to recognize the growing threat of militant groups such as LeJ based in there. After the Ahmadi attacks, several provincial officials ruled out any kind of military operation against militant groups along the lines of the army's push into the frontier areas to the west and northwest along the Afghan border to root out the Taliban.
Reprisals for the twin Ahmadi bombings was muted because they are a reviled minority group. But an attack on a popular religious shrine will mean the Punjab government, led by the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), the main opposition party in parliament, will now be under immense pressure to act.
Punjab officials say they already have 4,000 young men under watch who have to notify police officials if they leave their villages. But analysts have said this is just "rounding up the usual suspects" and not going after the heads of the militant groups. That may be about to change, although the risks to the PML-N and the security forces are great.
The PML-N draws followers from the same pool of supporters of Islamist groups, and moving against them could mean losing votes in future elections. Also, given the strength of the militant groups in Punjab and the level of support they enjoy among the people, there are fears the government forces might lose.
(Writing by Chris Allbritton, editing by Miral Fahmy)
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/SGE6600KY.htm
01 Jul 2010 20:00:56 GMT
Source: Reuters
* Second major attack in the city in recent weeks
* Dead bodies scattered all over
* 'Sickening poison of extremism will be driven out'
(Raises death toll, adds colour, details)
By Mubashir Bukhari
LAHORE, Pakistan, July 1 (Reuters) - Three suicide bombers struck a Sufi shrine in Pakistan's eastern city of Lahore on Thursday, killing at least 35 people and wounding more than 100, officials said, the second major attack in the city in a month.
Hundreds of devotees were visiting the shrine of the Persian Sufi saint, Syed Ali Hajwairi, commonly known as Data Gunj Bakhsh, in the heart of the city when the attacks occurred. Muslims in Pakistan visit shrines and mosques in large numbers on Thursday nights and Friday.
"Dead bodies are scattered all over the courtyard of the shrine," Reuters photographer Mohsin Raza said from the scene. "There is blood everywhere. Two of the dead were my friends. It's very horrifying," he said in a choked voice.
One of the attackers blew himself up at the gate of the sprawling, marble shrine while two other attacks took place in the basement of the shrine where people were washing for prayers.
Khursro Pervez, a senior government official, said at least 35 people were killed and 125 wounded.
Militants linked to al Qaeda and the Taliban have unleashed a wave of attacks across Pakistan in revenge for military offensives in their bastions in the northwest of the country near the Afghan border.
While most of the reprisal militant attacks have taken place in the northwest, militants have also stepped up attacks in the heartland of the country, mainly the central province of Punjab. Lahore is the capital of Punjab.
Officials have blamed attacks on the "Punjabi Taliban", a term used for militants drawn from Punjab who have joined ranks with Taliban in the northwest.
More than 80 people were killed in twin attacks on the mosques of the minority Ahmadi sect in May.
The shrine at Data Darbar is one of the most famous in Pakistan, attracting hundreds of devotees every night, with Thursdays being the most popular nights. The complex includes a mosque and a police station in the basement.
Farahnaz Ispahani, spokeswoman for President Asif Ali Zardari, condemned the attack. "This sickening poison of extremism will be driven out of our nation and we will not be cowed."
Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani said the attack on the shrine showed that "terrorists have no consideration for any religion, faith and belief". (Additional reporting by Mohsin Raza, Kamran Haider, Augustine Anthony and Chris Allbritton; Writing by Zeeshan Haider; Editing by Chris Allbritton and Myra MacDonald)
(For more Reuters coverage of Afghanistan and Pakistan, see: http://www.reuters.com/news/globalcoverage/afghanistanpakistan)
----
LAHORE: Three suicide bombers have killed 37 devotees and wounded another 175 at Data Darbar Shrine here late Thursday night, DCO Lahore Sajjad Bhutta and Commissioner Khushro Pervez told media.
25 among injured devotees are said to be critical in condition, hospital sources said adding that emergency has been put in place in all city hospitals.
Two attackers blew themselves up inside the shrine while the third one outside it before hurling hand grenades, he added.
Relief and rescue activities are underway at the blasts site.
A hand grenade has been found near Wazoo Khana of Shrine while police has cordoned off the area.
All the injured, some of them in critical condition, have been shifted to nearby hospitals where emergency has been clamped.
Data Darbar has five doors out of which four were closed. The only door kept open had a body scanner installed with it and it is still unknown how the bombers made their way inside the shrine.
There were a large number of devotees at shrine due to Thursday while ‘Langer’ was happening at the time of explosions.
Following the triple suicide blasts, furious mob also staged protest and pelted security forces with stones, which police took under control by resorting to baton charge and firing teargas.
Police also claimed recovery of two heads and bodies of alleged suicide bombers, adding that three 10 kg suicide jackets were used to carry out suicide blasts.
The situation is under control, police sources confirmed to media.
Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani, strongly deploring the triple suicide bombing at Data Darbar, has issued directives to law enforcement agencies to probe into heinous crime for submission of a report.
Also, Quaid Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) has strongly condemned suicide bombings at Data Darbar, calling government for bringing to involved elements to justice.
Elderly men, women and young children were also among killed and injured, witnesses and rescue workers told media.
---
Triple suicide attacks kill 40 at Data Darbar
* 175 injured as three suicide bombers blow themselves up inside shrine
* Death toll likely to rise
* 10-15 kilogramme explosives, ball-bearings used in each bomb
Staff Report
LAHORE: Over 40 people were killed and another 175 injured when three suicide attackers blew themselves up inside the shrine of Lahore’s patron saint Syed Ali Hajwairi popularly known as Data Gunj Bakhsh, late on Thursday night.
The death toll was expected to rise further as the compound was jam-packed at the time of the blast due to the special prayers that are offered every Thursday night in the shrine.
Eyewitnesses told Daily Times that a suicide bomber blew himself up in the basement of the building at about 11pm when thousands of visitors, including women and children, were present in the compound.
In the ensuing panic, people started running towards the upper part of the compound and towards the main exit doors. Five minutes later, another suicide bomber detonated himself inside the crowd on the upper portion of the compound. A third bomber blew himself up near the main gate of the shrine.
“At least 35 people were killed and 175 injured in the blasts,” Lahore Commissioner Khusro Pervez said.
At least 25 of those wounded in the attacks are in critical condition, he said.
After minutes of the attacks, rescue officials reached the scene and started the rescue operation.
A heavy police contingent and officials of the bomb disposal squad also reached the spot. Lahore District Coordination Officer Sajjad Bhutta and Capital City Police Officer Aslam Tareen were supervising the rescue efforts.
Police immediately cordoned off the entire area and started a search operation, while officials from bomb disposal squad also checked the entire shrine for explosives.
Police say the bombers had used 10 to 15 kilogrammes of explosives in each blast along with ball-bearings.
Rescue officials shifted more than 175 injured to city’s various hospitals.
Police sources confirmed that the city administration had been receiving threats about such an attack for the last one year. Police had beefed up security at the shrine, but the attackers managed to enter the compound undetected.
President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Syed Yousaf Raza Gilani have strongly condemned the attack. Both leaders have expressed deep grief and shock over the loss of precious human lives in the attack.
Fake Degree Crisis-Parliament & PIA; PPP;PML-N
PIA sacks 200 employees for holding fake degrees
Updated at: 2015 PST, Thursday, July 01, 2010 ShareThis story
KARACHI: Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) has terminated the services of its 200 employees for holding fake degrees.
According to the spokesman of the National Airline, the employees were sacked for submitting fake degrees for getting jobs.
Sources have learned that 750 employees of the National Flag carrier were identified in 2008 who had submitted fake credentials for obtaining jobs. However, they had been given two years to complete their education.
After the expiry of the deadline, PIA sacked 200 such employees who failed to complete the required education
Updated at: 2015 PST, Thursday, July 01, 2010 ShareThis story
KARACHI: Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) has terminated the services of its 200 employees for holding fake degrees.
According to the spokesman of the National Airline, the employees were sacked for submitting fake degrees for getting jobs.
Sources have learned that 750 employees of the National Flag carrier were identified in 2008 who had submitted fake credentials for obtaining jobs. However, they had been given two years to complete their education.
After the expiry of the deadline, PIA sacked 200 such employees who failed to complete the required education
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