Financial Times: Beijing intervenes to help stabilise banks

High quality global journalism requires investment. Please share this article with others using the link below, do not cut & paste the article. The Chinese government will boost its stakes in the country’s largest banks, as it attempts to shore up slumping financial stocks and to restore investor confidence.

Central Huijin, the domestic arm of China’s sovereign wealth fund, will purchase shares in Agricultural Bank of China, Bank of China, China Construction Bank and Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, the official Xinhua news agency announced on Monday. Xinhua added that the purchases by Huijin – its first such public intervention since a similar decision at the onset of the financial crisis three years ago – would “support the healthy operations and development of key state-owned financial institutions and stabilise the share prices of state-owned commercial banks”.

The announcement came too late for the Chinese stock market, which had closed at a 30-month low, but had an immediate effect on late trading in Hong Kong. ICBC’s Hong Kong-listed shares, which had been down 3 per cent, rallied to close up 1 per cent. Analysts said the sharp rebound may have partly reflected short covering. Chinese bank shares have fallen 30 per cent during recent months.

“They [Huijin] are trying to signal to the market that they feel confident,” said Sanjay Jain, a Chinese bank analyst with Credit Suisse. “And of course valuations are depressed, so it’s not a bad idea to buy at these levels for a long-term strategic investor.”

Although Chinese growth has so far held up well, the European debt crisis and fears of a double-dip recession in the US have cast a shadow over the country’s economic prospects. With inflation running near three-year highs and debt levels swollen by heavy spending, economists doubt that Beijing can launch another massive stimulus programme, as it did when the global financial crisis struck in 2008.

Beijing also allowed the renminbi to record its biggest one-day gain in years on Monday. It rose 0.6 per cent against the dollar, squeezing traders who have been betting that the currency will weaken in tandem with a slowing economy.

The motivation for the sudden appreciation appeared to be diplomatic. The US Senate is poised to vote on Tuesday on legislation that would punish China for deliberately undervaluing the renminbi.

The government, by means of Huijin, is already the majority shareholder in all of the country’s important banks. The Xinhua announcement gave no details about how many more shares the fund intends to buy.

Investors have turned against China, driving down commodity prices and dumping Chinese bank shares. Global investors worry that bad debt levels will soar because of a lending spree that began in 2008. To short Chinese bank shares in Hong Kong has become a popular play for investors betting that the world’s fastest-growing major economy will soon slow.

Source: http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/2caa65ec-f329-11e0-8383-0144feab49a.html#axzz1aRxTVMtq

Cairo killings raise heat on military: FT

Cairo Protesters Against the Massive Killings

Dressed in black, Teresa Youssef crouched sobbing and banging on the wooden coffin adorned with a large photograph of a young man, outside the morgue at the Coptic Hospital in Cairo.

“Get up, Mina,” she cried, to the 20-year-old in the coffin who was killed by a bullet which burst his lungs. “He was a lion. He had no weapon but he defended us when we were attacked.”

Mina Danial was one of some 25 people, mostly Coptic Christians, killed on Sunday evening when Egyptian military police used force to disperse a demonstration by thousands angered by the burning of a church in the south of the country. The violence, in front of the television building in downtown Cairo, was the bloodiest in the country since the popular uprising which ousted Hosni Mubarak, the former president, in February.

By Monday morning 17 bodies lay in the morgue of the Coptic Hospital, some with bullet wounds, others with smashed heads and limbs after armoured vehicles, driven by military police, ploughed into demonstrators to disperse them.

“They shot at us and the armoured vehicles shook the ground under us as they crushed people,” said Ms Youssef, one of the demonstrators. “We tried to pull our friends out by their feet but we could not.”

The violence in central Cairo has shocked Egyptians and brought renewed calls for the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, which has ruled the county since the fall of Mr Mubarak, to speed up the transition to elected rule. The council on Monday ordered an investigation into the violence, while Pope Shenouda, the head of the Coptic church, alleged that unknown individuals infiltrated the demonstration to provoke the army to attack the Christians.

In the current atmosphere of mistrust, many Egyptians believe remnants of the former regime are intent on derailing the revolution. Others put the blame on the army.

“The military council is the main reason for what happened last night,” said Ahmed Maher, head of April 6, one of the youth groups which launched the revolt against the former president. “They are using the same tactics used by Mubarak to address sectarian problems [by failing to take action against Muslims who burnt down the church in Upper Egypt.] State television was essentially inciting against the Christians. We need to transfer authority to an elected government as soon as possible.”

The military council initially said it wanted to leave power after six months, during which parliamentary and presidential elections would be held.

It now appears the generals will be in power at least until the end of 2012, when a new president is due to be elected. Although the army is still popular and many Egyptians view the council as the last remaining protection against chaos, their management has come under mounting criticism.

Analysts say the generals’ lack of political experience and their authoritarian inclinations are at the root of the problems in Egypt, rather than a conspiracy to cling to power. The end of dictatorship has unleashed demands and pent-up anger from many sectors of Egyptian society.

Workers and civil servants have staged strikes for higher pay and ultraconservative Muslim groups have emerged. Sectarian tensions have risen, with more attacks against churches. The normally quiescent Christians have also been emboldened to demand their rights.

The military has used increasingly authoritarian methods to maintain its grip, referring thousands of civilians to military courts for summary trials and reviving Mr Mubarak’s hated emergency law and widening its scope.

On Sunday night, the security forces entered the offices of two independent television channels overlooking the demonstration to take them off air. Hisham Kassem, a political analyst, said the violence could have been prevented if the authorities had taken action against those who burnt the church in Aswan that sparked the demonstrations and against the provincial governor who made statements to the press which appeared to justify the attack.

“We do not have trained people in the army or the police capable of dispersing demonstrations peacefully,” he said.

“The solution has to be preventive by applying the law, not by using the methods of Mubarak. There is no joking with these [sectarian] issues. The country could go up in flames and history will place the blame with the council.”

Source: http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/b6ab5c00-f35c-11e0-b98c-00144feab49a.html#axzz1aRxTVMtq

World News - Torture at Afghan prisons commonplace: UN

KABUL: Afghanistan’s intelligence agency and police force have been “systematically” torturing detainees including children at a number of jails, in breach of local and international laws, a United Nations report said on Monday.

Scores of people told the UN that the National Directorate of Security (NDS) and the Afghan National Police had physically or mentally abused them, using beatings, electrocution and toenail removal, according to the report.

But the head of the UN in Afghanistan, Staffan de Mistura, said that torture was neither institutional nor government policy, and praised the ministry and intelligence agency for allowing access to their prisons for research.

The Afghan government rejected many of the allegations, but conceded there may have been some abuse, and added that steps were being taken to prevent further problems.

Interviews with 379 pre-trial detainees and convicted prisoners were conducted at 47 different facilities by the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) from October 2010 to August 2011.

The report said 324 of the detainees were accused of crimes related to the war.

There was systematic torture found at five NDS “facilities”, the report said, and “multiple, credible allegations” of torture at two others. There were also some allegations from 17 other facilities that the UN said it was still investigating.

Almost half of those interviewed were suspected insurgents, 20 percent were arrested while carrying explosives and 11 percent were failed suicide bombers.

UNAMA said almost half of those it interviewed at NDS facilities experienced interrogation techniques that constituted torture. Of those in police facilities, more than a third of the 117 suspected insurgents or those believed to be assisting militants told UNAMA they had been subjected to torture or inhumane treatment.

Beyond physical mistreatment, which included sexual humiliation, many prisoners also said they had been held beyond the maximum duration allowed by law and denied family visits.

The United Nations said Afghanistan’s difficult security situation did not justify any mistreatment.

False claims, or insurgent propaganda?

The intelligence agency said in an official response that “reference has been made to some issues that are not in conformity with work principles of the NDS,” and specifically rejected some allegations of mistreatment.

“Torture methods such as electric shock, threat of rape, twisting of sexual organs etc. are methods that are absolutely non-existent in the NDS,” an official government response said.

The statement suggested some insurgent prisoners might be making false claims to discredit the government. However it also said several officials had recently been dismissed or suspended, and the agency was “keen for reform and improvement in the field of interrogation”.

UNAMA said it had designed its study to take into account concerns from the Afghan authorities that detainees might give false accounts to discredit security agencies and further insurgent propaganda.

The Interior Ministry accepted there were cases of poor treatment of detainees in police custody, but said they were in the minority and it was committed to punishing violators and ensuring police were trained to protect human rights.

“It is evident … that the outcome of the report cannot be totally rejected/denied due to some existing problems,” it said.

The report follows a similar UN investigation into alleged torture that prompted NATO to halt transfers of prisoners to several southern Afghan jails in July.

Those findings raised questions about the capacity of Afghan security forces at a time when they are meant to be taking on greater security responsibilities ahead of a planned withdrawal of all foreign combat troops by the end of 2014.

Source: http://tribune.com.pk/story/271012/torture-at-afghan-prisons-commonplace-un/

China plans new economic zones in Xinjiang border towns

BEIJING: China announced on Saturday that it plans to use subsidies and tax incentives to build two new economic zones in the far western region of Xinjiang, to open up the landlocked west and boost trade with Central and South Asian neighbours.

In a detailed policy outline posted on the central government’s website (www.gov.cn), the State Council, or cabinet, aims to “basically complete” infrastructure for economic development zones (EDZ) at Kashgar and Khorgos.

China aims to complete infrastructure for economic development zones at Kashgar and Khorgos.

Xinjiang is strategically vital to China, accounting for one-sixth of the country’s land mass and rich in oil, gas, coal and other mineral resources. It borders Russia, Kazakhstan, Pakistan, Mongolia, Kyrgystan, Tajikistan, Afghanistan and India, and is a politically sensitive region as many Uighurs, a Turkic-speaking Muslim people native to Xinjiang, resent Chinese controls on religion, culture and language.

Electronics, textiles, metallurgy and renewable energy manufacturing would be key areas for development in Kashgar, an oasis in south-western part of Xinjiang, the statement said, while Khorgos would focus on chemicals, farm products and pharmaceuticals.

“By 2020, the two economic zones would see a great leap in competitiveness in these industries and overall economic strength,” the statement said. Khorgos, already an entry point of the landmark Turkmenistan-China natural gas pipeline, has also won government approval to become an import point for and automobiles.

The government also plans to encourage Chinese and international airlines to open new routes to neighbouring countries and speed up construction of rail lines linking Xinjiang with Uzbekistan and Pakistan, the statement said.

Source: http://tribune.com.pk/story/269661/china-plans-new-economic-zones-in-xinjiang-border-towns/

Lal Masjid deputy cleric likely to face the chop

LAHORE: Maulana Aamer Siddique, the second-in-command (Naib Khateeb) at the Red Mosque (Lal Masjid) in Islamabad, is believed to be in the process of being expelled from his post in the coming days as a penalty for visiting Iran, sources familiar with the matter told The Express Tribune.

Siddique has now been receiving death threats while being labeled a “Shia-sympathiser”, The Express Tribune learnt. Maulana Abdul Aziz (chief cleric of the Red Mosque), whose brother Maulana Abdul Rasheed Ghazi, was killed in the operation against Red Mosque militants named “Operation Silence” in July, 2007 is believed to be behind the decision for his removal.

Siddique’s visit to Iran was brought to the forefront by Aziz during his Friday sermon, saying that the visit had hurt the sentiments of the community. In a fiery speech, Aziz allegedly invoked JUI (F) activists, students of the madrassas and activists of the Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan (SSP), all groups belonging to the Deobandi School of Islamic theology.

Consequently, Siddique is now all set to be expelled from his existing responsibilities and a formal announcement is likely to be made by Aziz shortly, sources further revealed. Aziz and his wife Umme Hassan, the woman said to be the brains behind the Red Mosque burqa brigade, expressed serious reservations about Aamer’s visit and have asked him to join an Imambargah instead, sources added. The couple refused to meet Siddique and snubbed him when he finally had an opportunity to clarify his position, labeling him an outsider.

Siddique assumed the responsibility of Naib Khateeb on May 17, 2009, replacing Ghazi Abdul Rashid after his death and was also one of the main activists who played a pivotal role in Aziz’s release.

The cleric was part of a ten-member delegation who visited Iran on the invitation of the Iranian Shia council where he is said to have visited the grave (mausoleum) of Ayatollah Khomeini, an act that has deeply enraged his elders. Talking to The Express Tribune, Siddique said he visited Iran on the invitation of the Iranian Shia council along with nine other members, adding that he had been receiving death threats and believed his life to be in danger.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 11^th, 2011.

 Source: http://tribune.com.pk/story/271382/lal-masjid-deputy-cleric-likely-to-face-the-chop/

Unanimous NA move on power crisis

ISLAMABAD: After a six-day debate, the National Assembly unanimously decided on Monday to set up a special house committee to examine the causes of power shortages and recommend remedies even though the government said there were hardly any outages now after it tackled the recent crisis that provoked nationwide protests.

A motion adopted by the house on a proposal from the PML-N, to which the PPP agreed, authorised Speaker Fehmida Mirza to name the committee soon in a consensus that came despite bitter uproars over two unrelated matters and in a marked contrast to daily PML-N walkouts during the previous fives days of the debate and sit-in outside the presidency to protest against intense power cuts, or loadshedding, in the past week.

The day’s uproars were a controversial political role adopted by former Sindh home minister Zulfikar Ali Mirza over the affairs of Sindh province and allegations by the government-allied Muttahida Qaumi Movement of persecution of an estranged wife of a PML-N lawmaker and son of Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif.

The speaker, who chaired the proceedings for the first time after absence for the past few days due to an official visit to Malaysia, kept her usual poise in the face of some highly critical remarks of two MQM members against Dr Mirza, her husband, who got support for his challenge to the MQM over the affairs of Sindh despite last week’s return of the party to the PPP-led coalition.

After Water and Power Minister Naveed Qamar, who asked for an early cut-off date for the recommendations of the special committee while winding up the debate with an explanation of a turnaround in power generation within days to over 14,000MW from a suddenly dropped level of 7,000MW and the government’s future plans, the speaker asked all parties in the house to give her names of their nominees for the body so it could present its report at the start of the next session of the house due to begin on Nov 14.

“Today we can say there is none (of), or hardly any power outages anywhere in the country,” the minister remarked while explaining the government’s handling of the situation blamed on a combination of problems that he said had been tackled with improvement in river inflows to hydro-electric dams, a partial payment of arrears worth Rs11 billion to two private power companies to ensure oil supplies to them and restart of two nuclear plants, one of which had tripped and other closed for refuelling.

But he made it clear the present relief was temporary and said there was still need to enhance capacity because the demand would rise to between 17,000-19,000MW in summer.

“All our problems have not gone away,” he said while warning against complacency, and noted what he called “lack of governance” within the power distribution companies, which he would have to fend for themselves with reformed managements after the planned dissolution of the Pakistan Electric Power Company in the next 10 to 15 days.

Among projects for the future, he cited the Diamer-Bhasha dam on the river Indus, whose foundation stone is due to be laid on Oct 18, encouragement of privately-run wind power projects, some of which he said should start generation within 18 months before the present government runs out its five-year term in 2013, and coal-fired projects to be run initially with imported coal and later with coal extracted from the Thar area in Sindh.

The implementation of all these projects and the ideas that the new house committee might come up with, he said, would help the country not only to close the present gap between supply and demand but also go beyond to see national growth “in leaps and bounds”.

Earlier, the MQM marked its return to the house after the absence of some days it took for a reconciliation with the PPP by sparking the first uproar of the day when its member Asif Hasnain accused the PML-N’s provincial government in Punjab of punishing what he described as an estranged wife of PML-N lawmaker Mohammad Hamza Shahbaz Sharif by instituting criminal proceedings against her and influencing an anti-terrorism court.

MQM parliamentary leader and Minister for Overseas Pakistanis Farooq Sattar added fuel to the fire by taking up the issue even more vociferously, and inviting more PML-N shouts, despite an advice from PPP chief whip and Religious Affairs Minister Khurshid Ahmed Shah to avoid raising members’ personal matters, before the speaker adjourned the house for Maghreb prayers.

PML-N parliamentary leader Sardar Mehtab, who led the protests from his party, was once heard saying “we don’t want to hear this ‘bakwas’ (foolish talk)” as he asked the chair to switch off Mr Sattar’s mike, which was done more than once.

Tempers on both sides seemed to have cooled down when the house reassembled after the break for prayers, but more was to come at the fag end of the sitting after a PML-N member, Shirin Arshad, asked why the government was not taking action on some charges made by Dr Mirza with an oath of the holy Quran, only to provoke an angry outburst from MQM’s Waseem Akhtar, who said the former minister should be arrested under the Maintenance of Public Order ordinance for allegedly threatening law and order in Karachi.

And after a member of the government-allied Awami National Party, Bushra Gohar, used some words of praise for Dr Mirza by saying he had substantiated his charges with some proofs and another PML-N member, Ms Qudsia Arshad, said “I salute Zulfikar Mirza”, another retort came from MQM back-bencher, Sajid Ahmed, who said “all those who tried to liquidate the MQM themselves perished and the MQM is still there”.

From the PPP benches, only veteran party parliamentarian Zafar Ali Shah expressed support for Dr Mirza by advising members against making allegations against persons who cannot respond in the house.

No remarks from either side were expunged before the house was adjourned until 5pm on Tuesday.

Source: http://www.dawn.com/2011/10/11/unanimous-na-move-on-power-crisis.html

ved) � h t � hb� rs, a Coptic priest said, while an AFP correspondent saw bodies with gunshot wounds at the hospital.

The grand imam of Al-Azhar, Ahmed Tayyeb, the Sunni religious head, called for crisis talks between Muslim and Christian leaders “in a bid to contain the crisis”, state television said.

Some commentators warned of civil religious strife, but others said the clashes were fuelled not only by sectarian strife but also by anger towards the security services and the military council which succeeded Mubarak.

Government-backed provocation was also blamed.

Users of social networking sites such as Twitter said the initial clashes outside the state television building on the Nile were provoked by “thugs” at the scene, while the broadcaster was accused of fanning anti-Coptic sentiment.

On Monday, the authorities announced the hanging of a man sentenced to death for shooting six Copts last year.

Copts complain of systematic discrimination, but since Mubarak’s fall, tensions have also mounted between the military – initially hailed for not siding with Mubarak – and groups which spearheaded the revolt.

Source: http://www.dawn.com/2011/10/11/egypt-probes-deadly-sectarian-clashes-first-victims-buried.html

PPP leaders discuss SC verdict

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan People’s Party leadership discussed on Monday the Supreme Court’s verdict on the law and order situation and target killings in Karachi and decided to ask all political parties, particularly those in the ruling coalition, to expel militant elements from their ranks.

A meeting of PPP leaders, jointly presided over by President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani at the Presidency, discussed the political and economic situation, energy crisis, law and order and relations with coalition partners.

“It was decided that all coalition partners will be taken on board in the light of the Supreme Court’s verdict,” PPP leader and Leader of the House in Senate, Nayyar Bokhari, told Dawn after attending the meeting.

The Oct 6 SC judgment cited a report of the Special Branch of police which said the Pakistan People’s Party, Muttahida Qaumi Movement, Awami National Party and some religious organisations and banned outfits had “militant wings” which were involved in criminal activities and collection of ‘bhatta’ (extortion money) in Karachi.

“All coalition partners are independent to take their own decision, but we have asked them to implement the Supreme Court’s orders relating to militant wings,” Mr Bokhari said. However, he said that some of the court’s orders were actionable and some were not. Some of them are being implemented by the government.

Former law minister Babar Awan said he had briefed the president on “specifically actionable” parts of the judgment.

“Restoration of peace in Karachi is a common cause of all stakeholders and the government is fully determined to do it in furtherance of the Oct 6 SC verdict,” he said.

President Zardari expressed satisfaction that all government agencies concerned were cognisant of the need to implement the SC verdict and that some steps in this respect were being taken.

Prime Minister Gilani briefed the meeting on the economic situation and relations with coalition partners.

According to presidential spokesman Farhatullah Babar, the president informed the participants about his meeting on Saturday with Sindh Governor Dr Ishratul Ibad and Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah, who had briefed him on the steps being taken by the provincial government to implement the Supreme Court verdict.

Water and Power Minister Syed Naveed Qamar updated the meeting on the supply and demand position of electricity and the steps being taken to meet the energy challenge.

He said remedial measures had eased off the power crisis and an increase in generation by 4,500MW had reduced outages. He said that as a long-term measure, the foundation stone of the 4,500MW Diamer-Bhasha project would be laid early next week.

“The president emphasised the need to solve the energy problem on a permanent basis and said the power situation in the country must be improved and should not be allowed to become an issue of power politics,” Mr Babar said. Commerce Minister Makhdoom Amin Fahim briefed the meeting on his recent visit to India and its decision to withdraw objections to the EU-proposed trade concessions for Pakistan.

The law and order situation in Balochistan was also discussed. The meeting was also attended by Defence Minister Chaudhry Ahmed Mukhtar, Religious Affairs Minister Khursheed Ahmed Shah, Textile Industry Minister Makhdoom Shahabuddin, Senator Mian Raza Rabbani, Senator Jahangir Badar, Senator Faisal Raza Abidi, Nazar Muhammad Gondal, Raja Pervaiz Ashraf, Qamar Zaman Kaira, Faryal Talpur, Rukhsana Bangash, Fouzia Wahab, Fouzia Habib and Mehreen Anwar Raja.

Meanwhile, Awami National Party President Asfandyar Wali Khan called on President Zardari at the Presidency on Monday and discussed with him the political situation and matters relating the coalition set-up.

Source: http://www.dawn.com/2011/10/11/ppp-leaders-discuss-sc-verdict.html

Taseer murder case: Ex-LHC chief justice to defend Mumtaz Qadri

LAHORE: Lahore High Court’s former chief justice (retd) Khawaja Muhammad Sharif will defend Mumtaz Qadri, the self-confessed murderer of slain Punjab governor Salmaan Taseer, before the Islamabad High Court.

Qadri has filed an appeal against his death sentence given to him by an Anti Terrorism Court in Rawalpindi on October 1.

Justice Sharif submitted his power of attorney on behalf of Qadri in the court on Monday and will appear before the bench on Tuesday (today), revealed Justice Sharif’s son Khawaja Bilal.

The divisional bench of the Islamabad High Court, comprising Chief Justice Iqbal Hameedur Rehman and Justice Riaz Ahmed Khan will hold the proceedings. Bilal told The Express Tribune that his father was dealing with Qadri’s case on a top-priority basis. It was further revealed that Justice Sharif would not seek any adjournment on Tuesday since he had already sent his power of attorney to ensure that on the first date of hearing, he could argue the case.

Qadri, a constable of Elite Police Force, confessed to murdering the governor at every forum — from the district magistrate to the trial court.

He tried to justify his act by saying that he had killed Taseer for supporting blasphemy convict Aasia Bibi, who was Christian by faith and whom Taseer had believed had been wrongly convicted of committing blasphemy.

Terror in the courts

Qadri’s trial has remained a controversial one, with violent protests being held across Pakistan against the verdict.

Additionally, ATC Judge Pervaiz Ali Shah who passed the death sentence for Qadri was transferred to Lahore on Friday amid protest from religious groups.

Shah was also transferred to Child Protection Court Bureau in Lahore, merely a month after he was posted to Rawalpindi due to security risks.

The judge had been unable to perform his duty due to the hostility of a certain group of lawyers and other religious groups who had been asking the authorities to hand Shah over to them.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 11^th, 2011.

 Source: http://tribune.com.pk/story/271446/taseer-murder-case-ex-lhc-chief-justice-to-defend-mumtaz-qadri/

Egypt probes deadly sectarian clashes, first victims buried

CAIRO: Egypt’s military rulers ordered a speedy probe into clashes which killed 25 people, mostly Coptic Christians, as the cabinet held crisis talks and thousands attended the funerals of 17 victims.

The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) “tasked the government with quickly forming a fact finding committee to determine what happened,” in a statement read on state television Monday as world leaders urged restraint.

It called for “all measures against all those proven to have been involved, either directly or by incitement”.

Both the ruling military council and the cabinet held crisis talks, a day after the clashes in Cairo left 25 dead, most of them Copts, and more than 300 people injured, according to health ministry figures.

The SCAF, which took power when President Hosni Mubarak was ousted in February, stressed it “continues to bear national responsibility to protect the people” until it hands over to an elected civilian authority.

Thousands of people attended a service at the Copt cathedral here late Monday for the funerals of 17 demonstrators.

Live television showed the coffins being brought in a procession from the Copt hospital in downtown Cairo where autopsies were carried out.

The coffins, each bearing the victim’s name and flowers arranged in a cross, were lined up in the cathedral for the funeral service before being taken out for burial.

White House spokesman Jay Carney said US President Barack Obama was “deeply concerned” about the violence.

“Now is a time for restraint on all sides so that Egyptians can move forward together to forge a strong and united Egypt,” he said.

“As the Egyptian people shape their future, the United States continues to believe that the rights of minorities – including Copts – must be respected, and that all people have the universal rights of peaceful protest and religious freedom.

“These tragic events should not stand in the way of timely elections and a continued transition to democracy that is peaceful, just and inclusive.”

A “deeply saddened” UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon urged the Egyptian military authorities to defend “all faiths” in the country.

The Congregation for Eastern Churches at the Vatican slammed the “senseless violence”, with Cardinal Leonardo Sandri telling Vatican Radio he hoped it “would not lead as well to a climate of precariousness and difficulty” for Copts.

Egyptian military prosecutors began questioning 25 people accused of involvement in the clashes, state news agency MENA reported, after a security official said 40 were arrested overnight.

Copts had been protesting against an attack earlier this month on a church in the southern city of Aswan when the violence erupted.

Egypt’s Coptic Orthodox Church led by Pope Shenuda III accused “infiltrators” of triggering the street battle on the Nile waterfront.

“The Christian faith denounces violence. Strangers infiltrated the demonstration and committed the crimes for which the Copts have been blamed,” a Church statement said after Shenuda met 70 Church leaders.

“Copts have suffered repeated problems without accountability for the aggressors,” it said, calling on authorities to “solve the root causes of the problems”.

European leaders in Luxembourg expressed alarm at the Cairo clashes.

“It is very important that the Egyptian authorities reaffirm the freedom of worship,” British Foreign Secretary William Hague said.

“We can only call on the Egyptian government to get to the bottom of these incidents as soon as possible and bring those responsible to justice,” Chancellor Angela Merkel’s spokesman Steffen Seibert told journalists.

And EU foreign policy Chief Catherine Ashton urged Egypt to move towards elections “with a desire to see all people part of those elections and to protect the people, whoever they are, wherever they come from, whatever belief and faith they have.”

A curfew was imposed overnight Sunday-Monday in parts of the Egyptian capital.

In a late-night address, Prime Minister Essam Sharaf appealed to Egyptians “not to give in to sedition” and warned the country was “in danger”.

At least five of the dead were mown down by a speeding army vehicle which swerved to hit protesters, a Coptic priest said, while an AFP correspondent saw bodies with gunshot wounds at the hospital.

The grand imam of Al-Azhar, Ahmed Tayyeb, the Sunni religious head, called for crisis talks between Muslim and Christian leaders “in a bid to contain the crisis”, state television said.

Some commentators warned of civil religious strife, but others said the clashes were fuelled not only by sectarian strife but also by anger towards the security services and the military council which succeeded Mubarak.

Government-backed provocation was also blamed.

Users of social networking sites such as Twitter said the initial clashes outside the state television building on the Nile were provoked by “thugs” at the scene, while the broadcaster was accused of fanning anti-Coptic sentiment.

On Monday, the authorities announced the hanging of a man sentenced to death for shooting six Copts last year.

Copts complain of systematic discrimination, but since Mubarak’s fall, tensions have also mounted between the military – initially hailed for not siding with Mubarak – and groups which spearheaded the revolt.

Source: http://www.dawn.com/2011/10/11/egypt-probes-deadly-sectarian-clashes-first-victims-buried.html

Lyari peace committee to be revived, says Mirza

KARACHI: Former Sindh home minister Dr Zulfikar Mirza announced on Sunday that the Lyari peace committee, popularly known as People’s Amn Committee, would be revived and said it would now play a more active role for people’s welfare.

Addressing a press conference in Lyari, he challenged Interior Minister Rehman Malik to visit Lyari and ban the committee. He said the committee had voluntarily closed its offices on his instructions and “no-one can ban the Amn committee”.

Dr Mirza said Bilawal Bhutto Zardari would contest the next elections from Lyari.

Answering a question, he said he had submitted his resignation from the Sindh Assembly to President Asif Ali Zardari and Sindh Information Minister Sharjeel Memon was a witness. He advised the government to accept the resignation, otherwise he would climb the table of the assembly speaker and get it accepted.

He said he was disappointed with the verdict of the Supreme Court in the suo motu case on Karachi killings. He said the government would not send a reference against any party to the apex court on the basis of his disclosures.

However, if the government at all decided to send a reference, he said, it would be presented through the fake doctorate degree-holder, Babar Awan. “Let the chief justice summon me as I want to submit more facts before him and my disclosures should be taken seriously.”

The former minister said the Amn Committee has come into being only three years ago and he was prepared to own all crimes allegedly committed by it during this period.

But he asked if Altaf Hussain would also accept the responsibility for all the heinous crimes, including kidnappings, target killings, etc., allegedly committed by the MQM since its inception 24 years ago.

He said Benazir Bhutto was impressed by Imran Khan when he took up a case against the MQM in a British court.

Dr Mirza challenged Altaf Hussain to return to Karachi and said he would talk to him face to face at Nine Zero. “I am not a coward to flee from Karachi. I am a son of the soil, my family lives here and will continue to do so as this city is ours.”

He said: “Karachi has become a hub of automatic and sophisticated weapons, but who is buying these weapons being smuggled into the city.”

He gave a clean chit to the Jamaat-i-Islami and said it was not involved in extortion because during his tenure as home minister no such case had come to light against the party.

Levelling serious allegations of corruption against his former PPP colleagues in the government who had become millionaires since holding offices, he said he was under tremendous pressure for hiding cases of their corruption.

Dr Mirza extended an apology to the nation for spending three-and-a-half-years with those `thieves` and vowed to provide evidence of corruption of the government to the judiciary and the army.

“I will continue to collect evidences of corruption and appear before the media once a week or a fortnight to expose corrupt elements,” he added.

The former minister also said that the existing PPP was not the one founded by Zulfikar Ali Bhutto or led by Benazir Bhutto.

He pledged to work to revive the People’s Party of Shaheed Bhuttos.

He criticised Sindh Home Minister Manzoor Wasan and accused him of being involved in corruption and said he (Wasan) wanted the posting of SHOs of his own choice in Karachi which sparked an argument with Additional Inspector General of Police Saud Mirza.

He recalled that during his tenure as home minister of Sindh he had gone to London with evidences against Altaf Hussain, but Pakistan’s High Commissioner to the UK didn’t allow him to present them before a court.

“Now I will take three suitcases full of evidences of wrongdoings of the MQM and its chief Altaf Hussain to London to file a case against him,” Dr Mirza said.

Waving what he called ‘documentary proofs’, he also spoke about alleged corruption of MQM and PPP ministers and the Sindh governor. Without naming anyone, he said he was receiving indirect threats but he feared no-one except God.

Dr Mirza said he would not indulge in any conspiracy to break Pakistan.

He criticised the policy of reconciliation of President Asif Ali Zardari and said the PPP’s agreement with the MQM to bring it back to the government was an unholy alliance which would not be acceptable to the people of Pakistan.

He also shared with newsmen what he termed documentary proof of alleged corruption of a provincial minister belonging to the MQM.

He appealed to the army and judges to take notice of corruption of the present regime.

Dr Mirza said if he became the home minister again he would issue another at least 0.5 million arms licences.

Source: http://www.dawn.com/2011/10/10/mqm-leadership-some-ppp-ministers-criticised-lyari-peace-committee-to-be-revived-says-mirza.html

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The researcher recommended recreational activities for children inside IDP camps so that they could remain busy making fun away from the terrorism related news.

Meanwhile, Dr. Irum Irshaad, provincial president of Pakistan Association of Clinical Psychologists and associate professor at Psychology Department of University of Peshawar, said over the last 10 years, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) was on the rise among the people, especially women and children, in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa areas adjacent to conflict-hit tribal areas.

She told Dawn on Monday that data of patients with PTSD in the province had yet not been collected but research at Jalozai Camp for internally displaced persons and her patients showed that the disorder was on the rise.

Dr Irum said terrorism and insecurity had a negative bearing on the minds of the people, especially women and children.

“Women face gender discrimination when it comes to treatment for psychological problems,” she said, adding that more men had enrolled for treatment at her private clinic in Hayatabad than women.

She said women were generally considered to be `just acting ill` in the gender-biased society ignoring treatment for serious mental illnesses, adding that economic pressure and displacement due to conflict was coming out in the form of behavioural changes.

“Economic burden and breaking up of joint family system are common causes of psychological problems,” Dr Irum said, adding that increase in intolerance in society was an outcome of such problems.

According to her, local families, which have accommodated displaced relatives from Waziristan, Bajaur, Swat and other restive areas, have shown behavioural changes.

“Hospitality, which is considered a value in Pakhtun society, is stretched with the people feeling stressed due to economic burden and insecurity,” she said.

Dr Irum said provincial government should invest in improving mental health facilities and rehabilitation centres in the province since such facilities were almost equal to none.

“One mental Hospital that is adjacent to Peshawar Prison is in such a condition that one remains depressed for days after visiting it,” she said, adding that observance of human rights and tolerance can help attend to psychological problems.

Source: http://www.dawn.com/2011/10/11/tribal-women-blamed-for-inducing-fear-among-children.html