[8am] Residents of Kandahar Province have raised allegations claiming that certain local Taliban ...Arabic for students... leaders are operating private prisons, where they reportedly detain former officials and military personnel.
In conversition with Hasht-e Subh on Wednesday, August 23rd, Kandahar Province residents asserted that Taliban members have incarcerated local employees and former government military members within their own makeshift detention facilities.
These actions by the Taliban are believed to be driven by personal animosities, land disputes, and other undisclosed motivations, as stated by Kandahar Province residents.
Local sources have also reported that the Taliban, in addition to the private prisons, have detained several Kandahar Province residents in government-run penitentiaries without apparent charges. These cases have gone unaddressed by the Taliban for several months.
As of the time of writing, no official statements regarding these allegations have been released by the Taliban.
This development coincides with recent revelations from the United Nations ...a formerly good idea gone bad... Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA). According to their latest report, since the Taliban’s assumption of power, over 424 instances of arbitrary detention and imprisonment of former defense and security officials have been documented, along with 144 reported cases of torture.
Long human interest story about some Afghan soldiers who found a way not to be hunted to extinction by their new rulers.
[AlJazeera] In remote Nuristan province, some who lost their jobs after the Taliban takeover are now working in artisanal mines to support their families amid a struggling economy.
[AFRICANEWS] Russian military officials including Moscow's deputy defence minister arrived in Libya on Tuesday after receiving an invite from pro-Moscow military strongman Khalifa Haftar ...Self-proclaimed Field Marshal, served in the Libyan army under Muammar Qadaffy, and took part in the coup that brought Qadaffy to power in 1969. He became a prisoner of war in Chad in 1987. While held prisoner, he and his fellow officers formed a group hoping to overthrow Qadaffy, so it's kind of hard to describe him as a Qadaffy holdover. He was released around 1990 in a deal with the United States government and spent nearly two decades in the United States, gaining US citizenship. In 1993, while living in the United States, he was convicted in absentia of crimes against the Jamahiriya and sentenced to death. Haftar held a senior position in the anti-Qadaffy forces in the 2011 Libyan Civil War. In 2014 he was commander of the Libyan Army when the General National Congress (GNC) refused to give up power in accordance with its term of office. Haftar launched a campaign against the GNC and its Islamic fundamentalist allies. His campaign allowed elections to take place to replace the GNC, but then developed into a civil war. Guess you can't win them all. Actually, he is, but slowly... Haftar, who backs the country's eastern administration, is close to Russia's private Wagner mercenary group, whose troops guard military and oil infrastructure in the country.
"This is the first official visit of a Russian military delegation to Libya," Moscow's defence ministry said.
It said the visit, led by Deputy Defence Minister Yunus-bek Yevkurov, was organised after talks with Libya at the Army-2023 expo and Moscow Conference on International Security earlier this month.
"During the visit, it is planned to discuss prospects for cooperation in combating international terrorism and other issues of joint action," it added.
The meeting came amid renewed focus on Russia's activities in Africa, after Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin announced in a video published Monday that his group was making the continent "freer".
Wagner maintains a strong military presence in Africa, where it has partnered with several nations, including Mali and the Central African Republic
Posted by: Fred ||
08/24/2023 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[15 views]
Top|| File under: Arab Spring
#1
Am surprised it took Haftar this long to invite the Russians.
[GEO.TV] With continuous fall in the exchange rate, Pak authorities have been left with no other option but to request the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to review the Fund’s condition of keeping the difference between interbank and open market dollar rates not more than 1.25%, it emerged on Tuesday.
Amid massive fluctuations in the currency market in recent days, the Ministry of Finance and the State Bank of Pakistain (SBP) were silent over the depreciation of the rupee against the dollar.
However, if you can't say something nice about a person some juicy gossip will go well... many official sources claimed that the newly-appointed Minister for Finance Dr Shamshad Akhtar is currently busy getting briefings from different ministries before finalising a prescription to fix the economic ills.
The caretaker prime minister has selected two economic experts, Dr Shamshad Akhtar and Adviser on Finance Dr Waqar Masood, to deal with the economic challenges.
The IMF’s Standby Arrangement (SBA) programme of $3 billion placed a continuous structural benchmark under which the average premium between the interbank and open market rate will be no more than 1.25% during any consecutive five business-day period.
"This flawed structural benchmark has changed dynamics of the currency market as the open market rates will start driving the exchange rate against the earlier practice that interbank used to be the driving force behind the exchange rate fluctuations," top official sources confirmed while talking to The News.
Now the open market has witnessed a nosedive in rupee value against the dollar and the rate hovered around Rs310 to Rs315 depending upon those who possessed valid traveling documents, including passport, visa and air tickets and those who are just buying dollars owing to speculations.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/24/2023 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[19 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan
[GEO.TV] Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar resolved to not surrender before radicalisation, extremism and intolerance under any circumstances while praising the Pakistain Army's sacrifices to protect the nation.
The prime minister's remarks came during a presser held at the Governor House in Bloody Karachi ...formerly the capital of Pakistain, now merely its most important port and financial center. It is among the largest cities in the world, with a population of 18 million, most of whom hate each other and many of whom are armed and dangerous... , where he asserted the government's plan to counter terrorism-related challenges a day after 10 military personnel were martyred in Wazoo.
Flanked by Sindh Governor Kamran Tessori, PM Kakar said that such acts of terrorism cannot weaken Pakistain's resolve in the fight against terrorism.
He added that those behind such acts mistakenly believe that the war on terrorism will exhaust the nation.
"Wars are not fought by individuals, but nations," he maintained.
PM Kakar emphasised Pakistain will neither forget the sacrifices of its deaders nor refrain from making further sacrifices in the war on terrorism.
Expressing the nation's firm resolve, he said Lions of Islam will be relentlessly pursued.
Stressing on efforts being made towards owning the fight against terrorism, the premier clarified that the nation is not doing so through donations, but with the taxes being paid by Paks.
He said those rendering their lives on the Line of Control (LoC), Waziristan and other areas are our sons, who are playing a commendable role in meeting internal and external challenges.
PM Kakar said the security personnel, who protect the nation by putting their lives on the line, do not offer their services or sacrifices for the sake of any remuneration, but the respect and honour for their service constitute their true reward.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/24/2023 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[19 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan
[GEO.TV] Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Syed Asim Munir has said that terrorists, their affiliates and abettors — working on the behest of a hostile agenda to destabilise Pakistan — will be hunted down until their surrender to the state, according to a statement issued by the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) on Wednesday.
The army chief made these remarks during his interaction with officers and troops deployed in the Sherwangi area near Asman Manza in South Waziristan district, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) today, where six brave soldiers had embraced martyrdom a day earlier while fighting gallantly against terrorists, the military’s media wing added.
The COAS appreciated the troops' unflinching resolve in fighting the menace of terrorism. “Shuhada are our pride and their sacrifices will not go in vain till the return of complete peace and stability in Pakistan.”
During the visit, Gen Munir was also given a detailed briefing on the prevailing security situation including ongoing intelligence and counter-terrorism operations.
Earlier upon arrival, the COAS was received by Commander Peshawar Corps, the ISPR added.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/24/2023 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[12 views]
Top|| File under: Pak Taliban (TTP)
#1
Unauthorized terrorists not the approved ones.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
08/24/2023 12:53 Comments ||
Top||
[GEO.TV] An anti-terrorism court (ATC) in Lahore on Wednesday allowed the local police to interrogate and arrest Pakistain Tehrik-e-Insaf ...a political party in Pakistan. PTI was founded by former Pakistani cricket captain and philanthropist Imran Khan. The party's slogan is Justice, Humanity and Self Esteem, each of which is open to widely divergent interpretations.... (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan ...aka The Great Khan, who who convinced himself that playing cricket qualified him to lead a nuclear-armed nation with severe personality disorders... — who is currently serving a three-year sentence in Attock jail after being convicted in the Toshakhana reference — in a case related to the attack on Jinnah House (Corps Commander House in Lahore Cantt) during the May 9 mayhem.
The riots were triggered almost across the country after the PTI chairman’s arrest in the £190 million al-Qadir Trust case on May 9 which led to the deaths of at least eight people and injured several others, prompting the authorities to arrest thousands of PTI workers.
During the protests, the miscreants attacked the civil and military installations including — Jinnah House and the General Headquarters (GHQ) in Rawalpindi. The military called May 9 "Black Day" and decided to try the protesters under the Army Act.
Lahore police get green signal to arrest Imran Khan in Jinnah House attack case
In an application to the ATC, inspector general of police (IGP) investigation, Lahore sought permission to interrogate and arrest the former prime minister — who was removed from the office last year in April via a no-confidence motion — in the case related to the attack on the military installation which the court "approved".
Imran Khan is currently confined in the Attock jail.
The ousted premier was arrested from his Zaman Park residence in Lahore soon after being convicted in the Toshakhana case on August 5. A district and sessions court in the federal capital convicted the former prime minister for corrupt practices related to the state gift depository — allegations which he denies.
The 70-year-old cricketer-turned-politician was accused of misusing his premiership to buy and sell gifts in state possession that were received during visits abroad and worth more than 140 million Pak rupees ($635,000).
Rejecting Khan's petition seeking inadmissibility of the case, Additional and Sessions Judge Humayun Dilawar sentenced the former prime minister to three-year imprisonment.
In his short order, ADSJ Dilawar said: "The charge against the accused has successfully been proven that [the] accused has committed [the] offence of corrupt practices by making and publishing false statements/ declaration in respect of assets acquired by way of gifts from Toshakhana and disposed of during the years 2018-2019, 2019-2020 and making and publishing a false statement and submitting false and incorrect declaration in material particular relating to Form-8 for the year 2020-2021."
Posted by: Fred ||
08/24/2023 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[16 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan
[IsraelTimes] Energy Minister Israel Katz says additional natural gas exports will boost state revenue and improve ties with Egypt, while domestic energy needs will not be affected
Israel on Wednesday gave approval for the expansion of natural gas exports to Egypt from the Tamar reservoir off the country’s Mediterranean coast.
"The step will increase the state’s revenues and strengthen the diplomatic relationship between Israel and Egypt," said Energy Minister Israel Katz.
Katz said he authorized the expansion of gas exports to Egypt from the Tamar reservoir following the recommendation by Petroleum Commissioner Chen Bar Yosef and after ensuring that the supply of gas to the Israeli economy is guaranteed and meets the country’s energy security needs.
Katz signed a permit to allow for additional natural gas exports of about 3.5 billion cubic meters (bcm) annually over the next 11 years from the Tamar gas reservoir located some 90 kilometers (55 miles) west of Haifa in northern Israel. About one-third of the additional natural gas produced from the Tamar rig will be allocated to the domestic market, according to the ministry.
Overall, natural gas production from the Tamar field from 2026 will increase by 60%, or 6 bcm annually.
US energy giant Chevron operates and holds a 25% stake in the Tamar gas field. Other partners in the Israeli gas reservoir include Isramco, which holds 28.75% of the rights in Tamar; Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala Energy, which holds 22%; Tamar Petroleum, which holds 16.75%; Dor Gas with 4%; and Everest with 3.5%.
Both Israel and Egypt have emerged as gas exporters following major offshore discoveries over the past 15 years, as Europa ...the land mass occupying the space between the English Channel and the Urals, also known as Moslem Lebensraum... is determined to wean itself off dependence on Russian gas imports, while domestic demand for energy supply has been growing.
In Israel, growing domestic energy needs have sparked heated discussions over the allowance of natural gas exports. Back in June, Israel’s budget director, Yogev Gardos, said there was an "immediate need for the examination" of export policy and warned that exporting too much "could endanger Israel’s energy security" and lead to higher electricity prices, according to a letter he sent to the Energy Ministry’s director-general.
Israel’s natural gas operations have in recent years put the country on a path to energy independence — and have shielded it from the worst of the energy crisis sparked by the Russian war on Ukraine — in a region with few natural resources.
The Leviathan natural gas field, the nation’s largest, started pumping on December 31, 2019, after natural gas started to flow in 2013 at the nearby Tamar, the second largest, which holds some 10 trillion cubic feet (tcf) of natural gas, half of the amount held in Leviathan.
Israel has been exporting gas from the Tamar field to Jordan since January 2017, and the Leviathan field started exports to Egypt in January 2020. The Leviathan deals are considered to be bigger and more significant for the economy.
In June 2022, Israel, Egypt and the European Union ...the successor to the Holy Roman Empire, only without the Hapsburgs and the nifty uniforms and the dancing... signed a memorandum of understanding that will see Israel export its natural gas to the bloc for the first time. According to the agreement, Israeli gas will be supplied via Egypt’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) plants to the EU.
Chevron last year signed a memorandum of understanding with state-owned Egyptian Gas Holding Company (EGAS) to explore cooperation on the transport, import, liquefication and export of natural gas from the East Mediterranean to Egypt.
Earlier this month, Katz visited visited the Leviathan natural gas production platform expressing his intention to support more natural gas exports.
"Everyone in the region and the world are interested in contacts with Israel because of the natural gas," said Katz. "Our ability to export natural gas in a controlled way constitutes a powerful geopolitical instrument which bolsters the State of Israel’s status in the region and the world."
[IsraelTimes] The leaders of armed Paleostinian factions in the Hamas, a contraction of the Arabic words for "frothing at the mouth",-ruled Gazoo ...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with an iron fist by Hamaswith about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about oppression and disproportionate response... Strip are taking heightened precautions over concerns they could be targeted by Israel following several recent deadly terror attacks, according to Arabic-language media reports.
Sources in the "resistance" tell the al-Araby al-Jadeed news site that Paleostinian figures in Leb ...an Iranian colony situated on the eastern Mediterranean, conveniently adjacent to Israel. Formerly inhabited by hardy Phoenecian traders, its official language is now Arabic, with the usual unpleasant side effects. The Leb civil war, between 1975 and 1990, lasted a little over 145 years and produced 120,000 fatalities. The average length of a ceasefire was measured in seconds. The Lebs maintain a precarious sectarian balance among Shiites, Sunnis, and about a dozeen flavors of Christians. It is the home of Hezbollah, which periodically starts a war with the Zionist Entity, gets Beirut pounded to rubble, and then declares victory and has a parade. The Lebs have the curious habit of periodically murdering their heads of state or prime ministers... have also adopted enhanced security measures, saying they take the Israeli threats seriously.
In comments to the pro-Hezbollah al-Akhbar daily, a source warns of a "major escalation" if Israel carries out any assassinations.
[An Nahar] The discussions between Hezbollah and Free Patriotic Movement Despite its name a Christian party allied with Hizbullah, neither free nor particularly patriotic... chief Jebran Bassil are "serious" and have reached "many common denominators," informed sources said.
"The issue of the president is in its final stages, which means that an agreement has been reached on (Suleiman) Franjieh’s nomination," the sources told the Nidaa al-Watan newspaper in remarks published Wednesday.
"The discussions are now focused on Bassil’s conditions, which are not exclusively public and in the interest of the Lebanese and Christians like the FPM chief is announcing," the sources added.
Quoting opposition sources, the daily added that the "price" that Bassil will gain "will not be limited to administrative decentralization and the sovereign fund."
"There are discussions over a full package that contains partisan demands for the FPM chief, seeing as under Franjieh’s tenure he will be a partner in posts such as the army commander and the central bank governor," the sources added.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/24/2023 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[16 views]
Top|| File under: Hezbollah
[NPASyria] Recently, Suwayda Governorate in southern Syria has witnessed a number of scenarios regarding the military aspect including convoys of militias affiliated with the Syrian government forces heading deep in the desert of Suwayda, the formation of local military councils, and the threat of the revival of the Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that they were al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're really very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear western pols talk they're not really Moslems.... (ISIS) in the area. These incidents left everyone baffled and wondering about the triggers behind them.
After years of being a hotbed for smuggling narcotics, the desert in the east of Suwayda has morphed into a conflict zone between two parties. One party wants to secure its border along the desert, and the other advances armed forces to maintain its control over the area.
Suleiman Abdulbaqi, leader of the Ahrar Jabal al-Arab movement in Suwayda, told North Press that the military movements that occur in the desert are carried out by "Iranian-backed and Afghani militias in addition to Lebanese Hezbollah militias along with the Syrian government forces and militias affiliated with the Military Security."
Ahrar Jabal al-Arab was founded in February 2022 by a group of activists, led by Sheikh Suleiman Abdulbaqi. It calls for a democratic, fair and civil state, revealing the fate of the arrestees, and combating corrupation and drug-smugglers.
In Syria?? That way lies madness, though one understands the heartfelt desire.
Presently, those factions attempt to station in the desert that expands all the way to the Jordanian border.
"Ramping up forces in the area comes in a bid to keep it under their controlled, being a passageway for smuggling drugs and weapons to Jordan," Abdulbaqi said.
The forces in the desert are establishing outposts and bringing reinforcements. Not long ago, they brought military convoys to their posts in eastern Suwayda, Abdulbaqi added.
Late in July, thousands of Iranian-backed Lions of Islam entered the desert, according to a previous statement by Abdulbaqi to North Press.
Early in August, a circulated footage showed a group of people from Suwayda claiming to join the Military Council led by Brigadier General Manaf Tlass, which includes defectors from the government forces.
Manaf Tlass is the cousin of former Syrian Minister of Defense, Mustafa Tlass, and one of the highest-ranking military figures who was serving within the ranks of the Syrian Elite Republican Guard. He was the first commander of the Elite Republican Guard to defect from the Syrian forces and declare support for the opposition.
Hafez Qarqut, a writer and politician, said to North Press, "The Military Council tried to communicate with defected members who are originally from Suwayda to enlarge its own popular incubator across Suwayda."
However, we can't all be heroes. Somebody has to sit on the curb and applaud when they go by... Qarqut reckons the influence of the Military Council over Suwayda will be limited and related to international decisions and actions.
"There will be no actual activation of the Military Council’s role without international support, no matter the large numbers it recruits," Qarqut added.
USING ISIS
The presence of military factions in Suwayda’s desert sparked concern and fear among the local population, particularly fear of using ISIS to attack Suwayda.
Abdulbaqi pointed out that the area currently occupied by these factions were previously ISIS forts.
Abdulbaqi rules out the presence of ISIS Death Eaters. However, we can't all be heroes. Somebody has to sit on the curb and applaud when they go by... he speculates that some ISIS Lions of Islam operate under the guise of Iranian-backed militias.
He highlighted that these remnants are now being utilized by the Syrian government and its affiliated militias, either for launching attacks on Suwayda or intimidating its residents. The threat posed by ISIS continues to persist in the eastern desert of Suwayda.
Abdulbaqi stressed "even though the people of Suwayda constantly fight against gangs, the regime is likely to resort to utilizing them. Currently, efforts are underway to strengthen the regime’s military militias and remaining members of gangs in order to solidify its presence in the region."
In December, 2022, the Suwayda Governorate witnessed widespread public protests rejecting the political and economic situations in the governorate. The protests then turned into festivities between the protesters and the security forces, which resulted in casualties and material damage.
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
...Arabic for 
...Self-proclaimed Field Marshal, served in the Libyan army under Muammar Qadaffy, and took part in the coup that brought Qadaffy to power in 1969. He became a prisoner of war in Chad in 1987. While held prisoner, he and his fellow officers formed a group hoping to overthrow Qadaffy, so it's kind of hard to describe him as a Qadaffy holdover. He was released around 1990 in a deal with the United States government and spent nearly two decades in the United States, gaining US citizenship. In 1993, while living in the United States, he was convicted in absentia of crimes against the Jamahiriya and sentenced to death. Haftar held a senior position in the anti-Qadaffy forces in the 2011 Libyan Civil War. In 2014 he was commander of the Libyan Army when the General National Congress (GNC) refused to give up power in accordance with its term of office. Haftar launched a campaign against the GNC and its Islamic fundamentalist allies. His campaign allowed elections to take place to replace the GNC, but then developed into a civil war. Guess you can't win them all. Actually, he is, but slowly...
Wazoo
...aka 
...the land mass occupying the space between the English Channel and the Urals, also known as Moslem Lebensraum...
...an Iranian colony situated on the eastern Mediterranean, conveniently adjacent to Israel. Formerly inhabited by hardy Phoenecian traders, its official language is now Arabic, with the usual unpleasant side effects. The Leb civil war, between 1975 and 1990, lasted a little over 145 years and produced 120,000 fatalities. The average length of a ceasefire was measured in seconds. The Lebs maintain a precarious sectarian balance among Shiites, Sunnis, and about a dozeen flavors of Christians. It is the home of Hezbollah, which periodically starts a war with the Zionist Entity, gets Beirut pounded to rubble, and then declares victory and has a parade. The Lebs have the curious habit of periodically murdering their heads of state or prime ministers...
...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that they were al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're really very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling 
