U.S. Charges Two Men with Illegal Lobbying for Pakistan

Two Pakistani-American men were charged Tuesday with being on the payroll of Pakistan’s ISI and illegally lobbying the U.S. government over the issue of Kashmir on behalf of Pakistan, according to reports. The men are charged in connection with a front group in the United States that Pakistani intelligence has allegedly operated for 20 years, funneling money to lawmakers and lobbying Congress and the White House.

One of the men charged, Syed Fai, lives in Virginia and was arrested on Tuesday. The other, Zaheer Ahmad, is in Pakistan and is being sought. Fai is the director of the Kashmiri American Council, which the FBI alleges is financed by the Pakistani military to lobby U.S. lawmakers against India’s control over much of Kashmir. The FBI alleges that “Fai and his council received more than $4 million from the Pakistani government since the mid-1990s. The FBI said that in 2009, the council’s projected budget called for $100,000 in contributions to members of Congress,” according to the Wall Street Journal. Ahmad is alleged to have organized contributors to the council in Pakistan, who would then be reimbursed by Pakistan’s military.

The allegations come at a tense moment in U.S.-Pakistan relations, which have deteriorated since the May raid that killed Osama bin Laden and the diplomatic stand-off over the arrest of a CIA contractor in Pakistan earlier this year.

Mapuche Juvenile Processed Under Antiterrorism Law

 On Saturday, April 30th, a Mapuche juvenile (either 16 or 17, depending on the report) was detained and, ultimately, arrested and processed for four crimes under Chile’s Antiterrorism Law. Specifically, the youth was processed for having violated the arson, association (with terrorists), attempted terrorist murder and armed robbery sections of the Antiterrorism Law.

Although the investigation is still pending, the Temuco Court of Appeals met on May 3rd and granted the youth his freedom. This decision upheld what the lower court had granted and came despite arguments from the Chilean prosecutor seeking continued detention as the proceedings continue.

The arrest and processing were controversial for a number of reasons, one of which is because, according to José Venturelli, the European Secretariat of the Ethical Commission Against Torture, the arrest and processing violates the commitments made by the Chilean Government to the Mapuche with respect to terrorism charges. In addition, according to Venturelli, the arrest appears to be in violation of international law.

Thus far, the media coverage of the event has been scarce and this site is aware of no comments made by any Chilean Government officials on this issue at this time.

In addition to being processed under the Antiterrorism Law, there were also allegations made by Jorge Huenchullan — the werken of the community where the arrest took place — of abuse and coercion at the time of the arrest. At the time of this writing, those allegations have neither been corroborated by other witnesses, nor denied by the Chilean Government.

Strengthen of Nigeria Borders

Jonathan said that Nigeria will strengthen its borders with neighbors.

ABUJA—PIQUED by expanding occurrence of trans-border offense and terrorism around Nigeria, President Good luck Jonathan yesterday said that the country would take specific steps to make stronger security cooperation with neighboring countries.

He also added that the move was to check trans-border crime and terrorism in the West African sub-region.He expressed his distress at reports of an attempted revolution in Niger, and said the sub-region would not be familiar with such interference in Niger or anywhere else in West Africa.

Jonathan was speaking to President Mahamadou Issoufou of Niger Republic at the opening of bilateral talks between designations of the two nations at State House.Jonathan said that the Terrorism and trans-border crime create a serious security threat to all our countries, so we will strengthen border patrols and other areas of cooperation with our neighbours, to guarantee the safety of our citizens.

On food security for the two countries, the President told President Issoufou that Nigeria had plenty of gas and was going to establish plants to produce fertilizer suitable for the different types of soil in the country, and invited Niger to communicate with significant officials to make sure that appropriate fertilizer was produced for their country.

China to climb anti-terrorism collaboration with Pakistan

To ensure regional peace and stability (IANS) China would step up its anti-terrorism cooperation with Pakistan, Xinhua reported Wednesday.

Foreign ministry spokesman Ma Zhaoxu told that China and Pakistan have copied tremendous cooperation in anti-terrorism. He added these words while vowing that China will carry on making stronger its collaboration with Pakistan and jointly breaking down on the 'three evil forces' of terrorism, independence and radicalism.

Foreign ministry spokesman praised the achievements of Pakistan that has made so far in fighting terrorism and also said that the country is a significant frontline state in the international fight against violence and has made terrific contributions in the region. 

China blamed the terrorists who trained in Pakistan for an attack in its far-western Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region that killed six people and 15 injured, on Monday. State-run Xinhua news agency confirmed a collection of religious extremists led by 'culprits trained in overseas terrorist camps' were behind the weekend attack on civilians in the Xinjiang region. 

The early investigation has shown that the heads of the group had educated the skills of producing explosives and firearms in overseas camps of the terrorist group 'East Turkistan Islamic Movement' (ETIM) in Pakistan before entering Xinjiang to organize terrorist activities, the government of Kashgar city said in an online statement.

The Challenge of Terrorism to India's Infrastructure and Economy - II Expo & Conference

Security Watch India’s, The Challenge of Terrorism to India's Infrastructure and Economy - II - Expo & Conference is first-of-its-kind exposition and conference for those responsible for protecting others from the threats posed by international terrorism and sub-state violence. In October 2011, it will bring together world’s leading expertise and cutting-edge technology to one of the world’s largest homeland security market – India. In addition, it will provide a unique opportunity to access world’s latest, most innovative and highly relevant ideas that to the professionals, who are involved with this dynamic and ever-changing task of providing homeland security, to help them deliver against this menacing challenge.

This two-day conference & expo will be a novel learning experience for security experts to exchange ideas and expose themselves to emerging understandings and practices in their specific sub-fields. While the central focus of the conference will be challenges of business continuity and urban terrorism, issues like modernization of Indian security infrastructure, mass transit protection and critical infrastructure security will also receive considerable attention.

The exposition complimenting the conference will not only be the showcase of state-of-the-art technologies from around the globe for security professionals from the Indian Government and the private sector to familiarize themselves with. It will also be a unique opportunity for developers of these technologies to understand and adapt according to what can soon be the biggest market for their technology on the planet.

SWI has been a catalyst for thought leadership in the field of Indian Homeland Security for the last two years. Its events, held regularly in every part of the world, are recognized as foremost learning opportunities for security professionals and are held in high esteem. This event is the flagship event of Security Watch India and represents culmination of a two-year long discussion that SWI has carried forward involving all stakeholders in various parts of the world.

Pune Terrorism: Indian Group Now Suspected

Pune police wait for the chemical analysis reports to establish which group was responsible for Saturday’s bomb blast in Pune However Riyaz Bhatkal and his brother Iqbal Bhatkal, founder-members of the Indian Mujahideen (IM), have emerged as prime suspects.

Sources said the modus operandi of the blast looks the handiwork of IM led by Riyaz Bhatkal, held responsible for at least 11 blasts across India since 2005. The blasts stopped in 2008 when Mumbai crime branch busted the module and arrested its leading members. ‘‘Bhatkal has been masterminding various blasts since 2005. But it was only after the Mumbai police busted the ring that his and Sadiq Shaikh’s names cropped up. Until then, all investigating agencies had been speculating the hand of Lashkar-e-Taiba,’’ said an officer on condition of anonymity. 

In 2008, when crime branch arrested 21 IM members, the prime accused, Riyaz Bhatkal, his brother Iqbal Bhatkal, and their associates, Mohammed Ali, Amin, Irfan and Abu Rashid remained at large. Among the 21 arrested, most are well educated and from well-off families. Top among them were the computer engineer Mohammed Mansoor Asgar Peerbhoy and MBBS doctor Anwar Bagwan. During interrogations, the accused revealed that all the operations were carried out under Bhatkal, a small time extortionist in Kurla.

Sources said the Bhatkals were born in Bhatkal village in Mangalore, and grew up in Kurla, Mumbai, where they ran a leather-tanning business. In Kurla, they stayed at Pipe Road, a stone’s throw from the place that once housed the banned organisation SIMI’s head office. It was there that the two brothers became strong SIMI members and ran the office until the Maharashtra government sealed it in 2001.

To escape the police, Riyaz came in contact with Naseer Aydeet, a member of the Fazlu Rehman gang. After the fall of the gang, Riyaz and Naseer decided to start their own gang named RN (R for Riyaz and N for Naseer).

Their names cropped up after the 7/11 blasts, but they had already fled Karnataka. While the two brothers are on the run, their family members are underground, police said. It’s learnt they went to UP where they recruited youth from Azamgarh to send them to Pakistan for training. Bhatkals are accused of hatching conspiracies ranging from recruiting youth, training and selecting targets and even supplying RDX.

The same group was responsible for sending e-mails by hacking into WiFi systems in Sanpada, Chembur and Khalsa College, Sion before the Ahmedabad and Delhi blasts.

Northern Ireland-terrorism 'increasing threat' to Britain

The threat from Northern Ireland-related terrorism to large Britain has increased, the government's new counter-terrorism strategy says.
The strategy concentrates on global terrorism and potential threats to the Olympic Games.

Support for dissident republican terrorists in NI remains low, it says.
But it notes the frequency of attacks within Northern Ireland has risen significantly from 22 in 2009 to 40 in 2010, and 16 attacks so far this year.
It claims many more attack has been successfully disrupted.

Whilst the level of the terrorist threat within Northern Ireland is rated as rigorous, in Great Britain the threat level is considered substantial, meaning there is a strong possibility of an attack.

The Home Office says it will work with the Stormont government to make sure any changes are compliant with the legal system in Northern Ireland.

The strategy states that important additional funding has already been given to the PSNI to build its capabilities to investigate and disrupt terrorist attacks over the next four years.

It adds that an important percentage of security service operational resources will remain devoted to Northern Ireland-related terrorism.