Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird and the Honourable Ed Fast, Minister of International Trade and Minister for the Asia-Pacific Gateway, today hailed a Canadian company’s winning bid for an important iron-ore mining contract in Afghanistan.
Kilo Goldmines, a Toronto-based company, has been awarded one of the four concession blocks of the Hajigak iron-ore deposit in Afghanistan’s Bamiyan province, as announced by the Afghan Ministry of Mines.
This major step forward in Afghanistan’s extractive industry development will help generate much-needed revenues and jobs, contributing to Afghan livelihoods and to the sustainability of the country’s economy.
“Afghanistan is blessed with vast natural resources, but its human history has sadly prevented it from turning that potential into prosperity,” said Minister Baird. “Canada will continue to support Afghanistan’s ambitions to develop its economy and become a regional hub for the trade and transit of goods and energy, to secure its territory, and to build a brighter future for the Afghan people.”
“Canada is strongly committed to helping Afghans rebuild their country, and this investment by Kilo Goldmines will create jobs and prosperity for Afghans and Canadians alike,” said Minister Fast. “As the first significant engagement of a Western firm in the Afghan mining sector, this project will enable hard-working Canadians from Canada’s world-class mining sector to help Afghanistan develop its mining infrastructure, which will lead to further growth and opportunities in both the Afghan and Canadian economies.”
Minister Baird will attend the International Conference on Afghanistan in Germany this week. For photos, audio and video, please visit Minister Baird Attends Security and Prosperity Conferences.
ISRIA
Sunday, December 4, 2011
Emergency declared at hospitals for Ashura
QUETTA: Emergency has been declared at different hospitals in Quetta city for Ashura Day and all facilities have been made available.
More than 100 ambulances would remain present at different points and doctors and paramedical staff would be available at the hospitals round the clock.
This was stated by Provincial Secretary Health Asmatullah Kakar while speaking to Newsmen here Sunday.
He said on the special directives of Chief Minister Nawab Aslam Raisani steps have been taken to ensure presence of doctors and staff at the hospitals. Doctors showing negligence would be dismissed form service he added.
He said emergency wards have been established at civil hospital, BMC hospital and others with 100 beds each. He said medical equipment have also been provided at the hospitals and Medical Superintendents would monitor them.
He asked the people to cooperate with the hospital administration on Ashura day. (PPI)
The News
More than 100 ambulances would remain present at different points and doctors and paramedical staff would be available at the hospitals round the clock.
This was stated by Provincial Secretary Health Asmatullah Kakar while speaking to Newsmen here Sunday.
He said on the special directives of Chief Minister Nawab Aslam Raisani steps have been taken to ensure presence of doctors and staff at the hospitals. Doctors showing negligence would be dismissed form service he added.
He said emergency wards have been established at civil hospital, BMC hospital and others with 100 beds each. He said medical equipment have also been provided at the hospitals and Medical Superintendents would monitor them.
He asked the people to cooperate with the hospital administration on Ashura day. (PPI)
The News
Saturday, December 3, 2011
Pakistan: Protect Shi'a Muslims, say rights group
03-12-2011
New York, (HRW): The Pakistani government should urgently act to protect Shia Muslims in Pakistan from sectarian attack during the Muslim holy month of Moharram, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said today. In recent years, Sunni extremist groups in Pakistan have been implicated in a number of deadly attacks on Shia during Moharram, which in 2011 began on November 26.
Concerns are greatest for possible attacks on Shia processions marking Ashura, the 10th day of Moharram, which this year is on December 6. Ashura processions have been attacked each of the past two years. In December 2010, a grenade attack on a Moharram procession in the city of Peshawar killed one person, a child, and wounded 28. In December 2009, a suicide bomber killed 30 and wounded dozens of mourners at a Moharram procession in Karachi. On February 5, 2010, a double-bombing of a follow-up Shia procession killed 25 and wounded over 50.
“Shia in Pakistan should be able to participate in Ashura processions without fear of attack,” said Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch. “Pakistani authorities need to address the severe danger faced by the Shia population with all necessary security measures. They can start by arresting extremist group members responsible for past attacks.”
Human Rights Watch has recorded at least 18 sectarian attacks on Shia in 2011. Since Pakistan’s return to constitutional rule in 2008, hundreds of Shia have been killed across Pakistan by alleged Sunni extremists. Human Rights Watch research indicates that at least 275 Shias, mostly of Hazara ethnicity, have been killed in sectarian attacks in the southwestern province of Balochistan alone since 2008.
On November 29, Mohammad Danish Alam, a Shia teacher at Balochistan University, became the latest victim of an apparent sectarian killing when he was gunned down by unidentified men in the Zarghoonabad suburb of Quetta, Balochistan’s capital. Local police reported that Alam, a science and information technology lecturer, was on his way to the university on his motorcycle when gunmen opened fire and killed him.
On October 4, gunmen on motorbikes stopped a bus carrying mostly Hazara Shia who were headed to work at a vegetable market on the outskirts of Quetta. The attackers forced the passengers off the bus, made them stand in a row, and then opened fire, killing 13 and wounding 6 others.
On September 19, near the town of Mastung in Balochistan, gunmen forced about 40 Hazara who had been traveling to Iran to visit Shia holy sites to disembark from their bus. They shot 26 dead and wounded 6. Although some of the Hazara escaped, gunmen killed another three as they tried to bring the wounded to a hospital in Quetta. Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, a Sunni militant group, claimed responsibility for this attack.
Pakistani and international human rights organizations, including Human Rights Watch, have made numerous calls to Pakistan’s authorities to hold those responsible for the attacks to account. While authorities claim to have arrested dozens of suspects, no one has been charged in these attacks.
“The ongoing targeted killings of Shia send a chilling message to all Pakistanis that their government won’t necessarily act to protect them,” Adams said. “The government’s failure to break up the extremist groups that carry out these attacks calls into question its commitment to protect all of its citizens.”
Some Sunni extremist groups are known to have links to the Pakistani military and its intelligence agencies. Groups such as the banned Lashkar-e Jhangvi operate with impunity even in areas where state authority is well established, such as Punjab province and the port city of Karachi. In Balochistan, where local militants challenge government authority, and elsewhere across Pakistan, law enforcement officials have failed to intervene or prevent attacks on Shia and other vulnerable groups.
Human Rights Watch called on Pakistan’s federal government and the respective provincial governments to apprehend quickly and appropriately prosecute those responsible for Alam’s killing, the September 19 and October 4 attacks, and other crimes targeting the Shia population.
“Pakistan’s civilian and military leaders should recognize that their tolerance for extremist groups is killing their own citizens,” Adams said. ”They need to stop appeasing extremists and start holding them accountable.”
The Muslim News
New York, (HRW): The Pakistani government should urgently act to protect Shia Muslims in Pakistan from sectarian attack during the Muslim holy month of Moharram, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said today. In recent years, Sunni extremist groups in Pakistan have been implicated in a number of deadly attacks on Shia during Moharram, which in 2011 began on November 26.
Concerns are greatest for possible attacks on Shia processions marking Ashura, the 10th day of Moharram, which this year is on December 6. Ashura processions have been attacked each of the past two years. In December 2010, a grenade attack on a Moharram procession in the city of Peshawar killed one person, a child, and wounded 28. In December 2009, a suicide bomber killed 30 and wounded dozens of mourners at a Moharram procession in Karachi. On February 5, 2010, a double-bombing of a follow-up Shia procession killed 25 and wounded over 50.
“Shia in Pakistan should be able to participate in Ashura processions without fear of attack,” said Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch. “Pakistani authorities need to address the severe danger faced by the Shia population with all necessary security measures. They can start by arresting extremist group members responsible for past attacks.”
Human Rights Watch has recorded at least 18 sectarian attacks on Shia in 2011. Since Pakistan’s return to constitutional rule in 2008, hundreds of Shia have been killed across Pakistan by alleged Sunni extremists. Human Rights Watch research indicates that at least 275 Shias, mostly of Hazara ethnicity, have been killed in sectarian attacks in the southwestern province of Balochistan alone since 2008.
On November 29, Mohammad Danish Alam, a Shia teacher at Balochistan University, became the latest victim of an apparent sectarian killing when he was gunned down by unidentified men in the Zarghoonabad suburb of Quetta, Balochistan’s capital. Local police reported that Alam, a science and information technology lecturer, was on his way to the university on his motorcycle when gunmen opened fire and killed him.
On October 4, gunmen on motorbikes stopped a bus carrying mostly Hazara Shia who were headed to work at a vegetable market on the outskirts of Quetta. The attackers forced the passengers off the bus, made them stand in a row, and then opened fire, killing 13 and wounding 6 others.
On September 19, near the town of Mastung in Balochistan, gunmen forced about 40 Hazara who had been traveling to Iran to visit Shia holy sites to disembark from their bus. They shot 26 dead and wounded 6. Although some of the Hazara escaped, gunmen killed another three as they tried to bring the wounded to a hospital in Quetta. Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, a Sunni militant group, claimed responsibility for this attack.
Pakistani and international human rights organizations, including Human Rights Watch, have made numerous calls to Pakistan’s authorities to hold those responsible for the attacks to account. While authorities claim to have arrested dozens of suspects, no one has been charged in these attacks.
“The ongoing targeted killings of Shia send a chilling message to all Pakistanis that their government won’t necessarily act to protect them,” Adams said. “The government’s failure to break up the extremist groups that carry out these attacks calls into question its commitment to protect all of its citizens.”
Some Sunni extremist groups are known to have links to the Pakistani military and its intelligence agencies. Groups such as the banned Lashkar-e Jhangvi operate with impunity even in areas where state authority is well established, such as Punjab province and the port city of Karachi. In Balochistan, where local militants challenge government authority, and elsewhere across Pakistan, law enforcement officials have failed to intervene or prevent attacks on Shia and other vulnerable groups.
Human Rights Watch called on Pakistan’s federal government and the respective provincial governments to apprehend quickly and appropriately prosecute those responsible for Alam’s killing, the September 19 and October 4 attacks, and other crimes targeting the Shia population.
“Pakistan’s civilian and military leaders should recognize that their tolerance for extremist groups is killing their own citizens,” Adams said. ”They need to stop appeasing extremists and start holding them accountable.”
The Muslim News
Tight security for Ashura in Balochistan
By: Bari Baloch | Published: December 04, 2011
QUETTA - Strict security arrangements have been made in different districts of Balochistan, including the provincial capital, for Ashura.
According to officials, about 5,500 personnel will be deployed around Majalis and procession routes on Muharram 10 while Rescue workers and volunteers will discharge their duties during 9th and 10th of Muharram.
“As many as 60 special posts have been established throughout the city to cover the religious procession,” a senior police official said, adding that about 200 Levis Force personnel had been deployed to assist the police in and around the provincial capital.
He went on all routes and streets would be sealed on 9th Muharram.
Sources said over 32 closed-circuit cameras had been installed in the city to monitor the situation. “Muharram procession will also be given aerial surveillance,” they added.
They said special checkposts would be set up in the sensitive areas, including Mariabad, Hazara Town and Aalmdar Road to avert any untoward incident.
Sources said the government had already imposed a ban on pillion-riding in the provincial capital besides warning of taking stern action against those found in wall-chalking and misuse of loudspeakers in the metropolis from 1st of the holy month.
Balochistan Home Secretary Naseebullah Bazai told a meeting that all hospitals of the city had been put on high alert and Edhi ambulances were also on standby position to cope with any emergency situation.
Emergency has been declared in the state-run hospitals, including Bolan Medical Complex Hospital and Civil Hospital of Quetta, while holidays of doctors have been cancelled.
Foolproof security arrangements have also been made in other towns of Balochistan, including Naseerabad, Sibi, Machh and Mastung and a large number of personnel of law enforcement agencies have been deployed to thwart any untoward incident.
THE NATION
QUETTA - Strict security arrangements have been made in different districts of Balochistan, including the provincial capital, for Ashura.
According to officials, about 5,500 personnel will be deployed around Majalis and procession routes on Muharram 10 while Rescue workers and volunteers will discharge their duties during 9th and 10th of Muharram.
“As many as 60 special posts have been established throughout the city to cover the religious procession,” a senior police official said, adding that about 200 Levis Force personnel had been deployed to assist the police in and around the provincial capital.
He went on all routes and streets would be sealed on 9th Muharram.
Sources said over 32 closed-circuit cameras had been installed in the city to monitor the situation. “Muharram procession will also be given aerial surveillance,” they added.
They said special checkposts would be set up in the sensitive areas, including Mariabad, Hazara Town and Aalmdar Road to avert any untoward incident.
Sources said the government had already imposed a ban on pillion-riding in the provincial capital besides warning of taking stern action against those found in wall-chalking and misuse of loudspeakers in the metropolis from 1st of the holy month.
Balochistan Home Secretary Naseebullah Bazai told a meeting that all hospitals of the city had been put on high alert and Edhi ambulances were also on standby position to cope with any emergency situation.
Emergency has been declared in the state-run hospitals, including Bolan Medical Complex Hospital and Civil Hospital of Quetta, while holidays of doctors have been cancelled.
Foolproof security arrangements have also been made in other towns of Balochistan, including Naseerabad, Sibi, Machh and Mastung and a large number of personnel of law enforcement agencies have been deployed to thwart any untoward incident.
THE NATION
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