Mr Singh said the NRIs may have voting rights soon BBC Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) may be able to vote in the next general elections, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has said. Mr Singh said it was a “legitimate desire” of Indians living overseas to have a say in who governs the country. He was speaking at the annual meeting of NRIs, held in the capital, Delhi. The meeting is attended by 1,500 delegates from more than 40 countries. Four years ago, the government launched an overseas citizenship scheme for the 25 million-strong Indian diaspora. It allows people of Indian origin who … Continue reading Indian expats may be able to vote

Al-Qa’ida trains 20 more plane bombers Other young Muslim men like Abdulmutallab are prepared in Yemen for terror attacks By David Usborne and David Randall Reuters Muslims leave Friday prayers in Sanaa, Yemen. The unstable country has turned into another region in which al-Qa’ida can recruit more potential terrorists like Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab told US investigators that about 20 other young Muslim men were being coached in Yemen to blow up planes using a technique identical to the one he employed, CBS News has reported, quoting a British intelligence source. The broadcaster said it had also established … Continue reading Other young Muslim men like Abdulmutallab are prepared in Yemen for terror attacks

UK to ban controversial Islamist group – CNN // -1) {document.write(‘January 10, 2010 — Updated 2029 GMT (0429 HKT)’);} else {document.write(‘January 10, 2010 3:29 p.m. EST’);} // ]]> // Cleric Anjem Choudary accuses British soldiers in Afghanistan of “murderous crimes.” Islamist group proposed march through town where war dead brought home Ban would prevent Al-Muhajiroun from having meetings, raising money Group, also known as Islam4UK, led by British cleric Anjem Choudary Home secretary would use powers granted by Terrorism Act to introduce ban // London, England (CNN) — Britain is set to ban a Muslim group that recently caused outrage … Continue reading UK to ban controversial Islamist group

Escape from evil Sunday, January 10, 2010 The tale of the six boys in Swat who were kidnapped by the Taliban and consequently escaped from captivity highlights the extent to which young militants are themselves often victims rather than villains in the story of violence unfolding before us. The boys, most of them in their early teens, say they were abducted and attempts were made to brainwash them into a belief that the security forces were evil and needed to be targeted through ‘jihad’. Accounts of this nature give us an important insight into the mechanisms of militancy and the … Continue reading Escape from evil mullahs

By Anjum Niaz “I don’t blame the Americans for being picky. They can’t afford to have crazy people from across the globe come in and try to bomb them. There’ll be more canine bomb-detection teams on domestic flights in the US.” – File Photo. God forbid if you came under the American radar as a ‘person of interest!’ While you won’t be dragged off to jail, you’d certainly have the CIA and FBI watch your every move. One slip and you could be in prison. And God forbid if the Americans declared your country a “country of interest”. Well, it … Continue reading View from US: ‘Country of interest’

By Hajrah Mumtaz While the ungodly in those days were Soviets, it is hardly surprising that the jihadi definition of ‘the enemy’ expanded over subsequent years and now appears to refer to practically everyone. — Photo by AFP Fostering a civilised society that is tolerant and open to self-examination is no easy task. As Mr Musharraf found to his consternation, ‘enlightened moderation’ is not a simple matter of telling a people that from now on, this is how they must behave. So the project to modernise Pakistan, to somehow convert this violent and perverse society into a peaceful and tolerant … Continue reading Reforming the unrepentant mullahs

Indian migrant workers stranded in Afghanistan eat lunch at a Sikh temple in Kabul, January 10, 2010. — Reuters KABUL: Dozens of Indian labourers have been forced to take refuge in Kabul’s Sikh temple after job agents who promised lucrative jobs in the unstable capital disappeared, leaving the men penniless and without passports. Billions of dollars in Western military contracts have turned Afghanistan — long a source of refugees fleeing chronic conflict — into an unlikely magnet for migrant workers willing to risk their lives for a more lucrative pay packet. Around 200 stranded men were crowded into the Karte … Continue reading Stranded Indian workers seek shelter in Afghan temple

By Nadeem F. Paracha ‘Can’t be us’, becomes the mantra. Has to be some Christians/ Jewish/ Hindu or other such ‘anti-Islam’ abomination. On the day of the devastating terrorist attack on the Ashura procession in Karachi, the MQM chief, Altaf Hussain, pleaded for a complete boycott of those political parties and personnel who he believed were supporting the Taliban. Leaders of other secular political parties such as the PPP and the ANP and members of the liberal intelligentsia too have been expressing their concerns about certain political and TV personalities who are said to be mouthing loud, sympathetic sentiments for … Continue reading Can’t be us, or can it?

Mir Mohammad Ali Talpur The people see Gwadar’s so-called development and the VVIP fanfare as a move for further opening up Balochistan for permanent demographic changes and militarisation The luckless Gwadar is running through a gauntlet of lethal blows being delivered by dispensations of both the military and the elected, who only have eyes on the lucrative returns rather than the needs and aspirations of the people. It suffers from a chronic run of bad luck and there is very little hope of it ever prospering in these conditions. The government has a passion for inaugurating this port; the odds … Continue reading Luckless Gwadar

Andleeb Abbas As they say, a nation gets the leaders it deserves. As voters, either we are cynical and indifferent or do not believe that change can come and thus do not even bother to vote, or we are led away by the shallow declarations and staged actions of these leaders and choose them over and over again ‘Renewal’ has assumed strange meanings. In more sane terms when things get old due to ‘wear and tear’, they need a repair/renewal process to make them capable of meeting the requirements. However, as we witnessed last year, this concept has been turned … Continue reading Tear and wear – As they say, a nation gets the leaders it deserves