SRINAGAR: "Acts of terrorism" by Taliban extremists in Pakistan are un-Islamic, a hard-line Muslim politician campaigning for Kashmir's independence from India said Saturday.Referring to Thursday's spate of bomb attacks in Pakistan's northwestern cities, in which 15 people were killed, Syed Ali Geelani told reporters that, "such attacks are forbidden in Islam as innocents are killed. "Islam is a religion of peace and such attacks defame the religion," said the 79-year-old Geelani, who supports a two-decade insurgency against India's rule over half of Kashmir.Geelani, who heads a hard-line faction in the region's main separatist alliance, the Hurriyat (Freedom) Conference, called on the Taliban to lay down their arms and hold peace talks with Pakistan's government. "Taliban leadership needs to give up violence and adopt peaceful means to get their demands addressed," Geelani said, warning that killings of "innocent people cannot be tolerated."Like many separatists seeking an end to India's rule over part of Kashmir, Geelani is opposed to negotiations with New Delhi until it recognises Kashmir as a disputed territory.
BEIRUT: Thousands of people converged Saturday on central Beirut to mark the fourth anniversary of the assassination of Lebanese former premier Rafiq Hariri.Waving Lebanese flags and carrying pictures of the slain leader, men, women and children gathered under sunny skies in Martyr's Square where members of the parliamentary majority were to address the crowd. The rally comes as final preparations are underway in The Hague for the launch of the international tribunal set up to bring Hariri's killers to justice. It also comes as the country prepares for legislative elections in June that will pit Western-backed political parties against a Hezbollah-led alliance backed by Syria and Iran.Hariri died in a massive car bombing on February 14, 2005 that also killed 22 others. The assassination was widely blamed on then Lebanese power-broker Syria, which has denied any involvement. The attack on the Beirut seafront was one of the worst acts of political violence to rock Lebanon since t...
Comments