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.
Friday, August 14, 2009 MUMBAI: A 26-year-old woman died Thursday of H1N1 swine flu in the southern city of Bangalore, raising India's death toll from the virus to 20, authorities said.The death was the first reported in India's information technology capital, the Press Trust of India reported.Meanwhile in Pune, the worst-affected in India, two more victims of the virus died Thursday, raising the death toll in that western city near Mumbai to 12, the report said. The victims were an 11-month-old boy and a 75-year-old old woman.US media reported movie halls, schools and colleges were ordered closed Thursday for three days to a week in Mumbai, the commercial and financial capital of the country, as fear of the pandemic spread.Prajakata Lavangare, a spokeswoman for the government of Maharashtra state of which Mumbai is the capital, said similar orders were issued in Pune, which is also located in the state.The woman who died in Bangalore was identified only as Roopa, a teacher in...
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