Contents · The commander, Nabi Hanfi, was not present at the time of the attack, said Wajid Khan, a local government administrator. Hanfi has been battling the Pakistani Taliban

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Contents Suicide car bombing targeting militant commander kills 15 people in northwest Pakistan..... 2

Pakistan Taliban say US drones must stop before peace talks ................................................. 3

Pakistan's top police bomb disposal unit starved of money and men ...................................... 4

‘ہے یجار شنیآپر خالف کے جنگجوؤں 03 سے 03’ ............................................................................. 7

Pakistan to release four Indian prisoners .................................................................................. 8

یتیبدن شرکت عدم ںیم یبول یک حقوق یاتینشر ...................................................................................... 9

Afghan Salafi Leader Announces Presidential Bid ................................................................. 11

Bulgaria's Socialist-backed government survives no-confidence vote ................................... 12

'Golden handshake' vote divides Swedish MPs ...................................................................... 12

South Sudan: Will Democracy Prevail in the National Assembly or Dictatorship? ................. 14

PM O’Neill backs Constitutional reform .................................................................................. 16

Iran parliament endorses president Hassan Rouhani's diplomatic outreach ......................... 17

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Suicide car bombing targeting militant commander kills 15 people in northwest Pakistan

By Associated Press, Updated: Thursday, October 3, 11:11 AM

PARACHINAR, Pakistan — A Taliban suicide bomber rammed a car packed with

explosives into the compound of a rival militant commander in northwest Pakistan on

Thursday, killing 15 people, a government official said.

The commander, Nabi Hanfi, was not present at the time of the attack, said Wajid

Khan, a local government administrator. Hanfi has been battling the Pakistani Taliban

in the Orakzai tribal area where the bombing occurred.

Gunmen first fired shots at Hanfi’s compound in Balandkhel village, and then the

suicide bomber detonated his vehicle, said Khan. The blast killed 15 people and

wounded six others, he said.

Pakistani Taliban spokesman Shahidullah Shahid claimed responsibility for the attack,

saying five militants targeted Hanfi because he formed a militant group to fight them.

―Mullah Nabi had been our target, and he will remain on our target list,‖ Shahid told

The Associated Press by telephone from an undisclosed location.

A local tribal leader, Malik Nek Marjaan, said the Pakistani government has been

supporting Hanfi’s group in its battle against the Taliban.

The government has backed anti-Taliban militias throughout the northwest. But many

of the militia members have been killed in attacks.

The Taliban have been waging a decade-long insurgency that has killed thousands of

people in an attempt to impose Islamic law in Pakistan and end the country’s

unpopular alliance with the United States.

Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has pushed peace talks with the militants as

the best way to end the insurgency. But the Taliban have demanded the government

release all militant prisoners and begin withdrawing troops from the tribal region

before they will participate in negotiations.

Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be

published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/suicide-car-bombing-targeting-

militant-commander-kills-15-people-in-northwest-pakistan/2013/10/03/040f681a-

2be6-11e3-b141-298f46539716_story.html

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Pakistan Taliban say US drones must stop before peace talks

Published October 02, 2013

Miranshah (Pakistan) (AFP) – The Pakistani Taliban on Wednesday insisted US

drone strikes in the country's northwest must stop before they will consider peace

talks with the government.

The main Pakistani political parties last month backed a government proposal to seek

negotiations with the militants, who have been waging a bloody insurgency against

the state since 2007.

The main umbrella Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) faction responded with a list of

preconditions, including a government ceasefire and the withdrawal of troops from

the tribal areas along the Afghan border where the militants have hideouts.

TTP spokesman Shahidullah Shahid told AFP any ceasefire must include an end to

US drone attacks in the tribal areas, which have been targeting suspected Taliban and

Al-Qaeda militants since 2004.

"A ceasefire alone is not sufficient. The stoppage of drone strikes is essential,

otherwise -- if drones continue to strike -- we will not accept the ceasefire," Shahid

said.

The Pakistan government publicly criticises the strikes as counterproductive and a

violation of sovereignty, but Washington considers them an effective tool in the fight

against Islamist militancy. The TTP's demand adds a new challenge to the already

bleak prospects for talks, hit hard by three attacks in a week in the northwestern city

of Peshawar, which killed 142 people -- the vast majority civilians.

The scale of the violence shocked Pakistan and prompted vehement denials of

responsibility from the TTP central leadership.

Past peace deals with the Taliban have quickly broken down and been sharply

criticised for allowing the extremists time to regroup before fresh attacks.

http://www.foxnews.com/world/2013/10/02/pakistan-taliban-say-us-drones-must-stop-

before-peace-talks/

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Pakistan's top police bomb disposal unit starved of money and men

By Katharine Houreld

PESHAWAR, Pakistan | Wed Oct 2, 2013 10:28pm BST

(Reuters) - A technician from Pakistan's top bomb disposal unit packed some aging detonator

cord confiscated from the Taliban into a plastic water bottle and reached for a roll of sticky tape.

With his low-cost, improvised - and extremely dangerous - device he demonstrated

how he destroys militant bombs, but also revealed desperate shortages of money and

equipment for bomb disposal experts.

Twelve years into the war on militancy, Pakistan's police are chronically under-

funded. This year's federal budget gave the military about $6 billion and the police

$686 million, a lopsided allocation mirrored in the disbursement of foreign aid.

While the United States has given Pakistan about $30 billion since 2001, the police

have got a tiny fraction compared with the military. A little of that reached the

country's top police bomb disposal unit in the city of Peshawar.

Peshawar, the historic gateway to the Khyber Pass and Afghanistan, has been a target

of the militants time and again.

The city's bomb squad has defused more than 5,000 devices since 2009, from child

suicide bombers to big trucks packed with explosives. Shafqat Malik has led the unit

for four years.

"When I joined, we just had a few wire clippers," Malik said as he patted a panting

Labrador, one of the unit's sniffer dogs.

Technicians would poke at bombs with six-foot-long sticks to try to defuse them, he

said.

Now, Malik's unit has 10 sniffer dogs, 20 bomb-disposal suits and four remote-

controlled bomb-disposal robots from Britain. The United States donated vehicles and

investigative kits. Both countries have trained Pakistani officers.

But it doesn't stretch far. Two of Pakistan's four provinces suffer almost daily

bombings. District-level bomb units have little training and almost no equipment.

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Shortages mean members of Malik's squad often fall back on improvised equipment

or material seized from the Taliban, although it's often old or unstable.

"ZERO BUDGET"

Between defusing bombs, Malik's 38-man squad is supposed to secure VIPs, the

courts, churches, police headquarters, government offices and airports, any rallies or

high-profile funerals and foreign missions. They also investigate blasts, testify in

court and train new officers.

During the week, Malik sleeps in his office, underneath a "Keep Calm and Carry On"

poster from friends at Scotland Yard. A flamboyant figure often in the news, he is

frequently filmed standing in plain clothes next to officers defusing bombs in

protective suits.

"It helps calm them down," he said, grinning. When one officer defused a boy

wearing a suicide-bomb vest, Malik rushed over to embrace the child. The press

thought he was hugging the 12-year-old, Malik said, but he was actually searching for

the trigger wire the nervous technician had forgotten to cut.

His officers have intercepted bombs smuggled into courts in computers and bombs

mailed to senior policemen in diaries. But hundreds are missed. At least 139 people

were killed in Peshawar over a recent eight-day spell, in attacks on a market, a bus

and a church.

The squad's main problem is that they only get basic police salaries and there is no

structure for promotion. Without danger pay to entice more men to train as bomb

technicians, 70 percent of 130 positions are vacant. The job is dangerous: a dozen

men have been killed in the last five years.

They are hard to replace. Malik says bomb technicians need 10 years of policing,

rock-steady nerves and special training.

Nearly a quarter of his 38 men will hit 60 and retire next year. Others will leave for

better positions. One man says he is resigning to work as a bomb disposal expert in

Dubai, where salaries are better and the danger lower.

"We have zero budget," said Malik, watching a skinny officer struggle into a heavy

protective suits and stagger out during a demonstration. "You have to be a madman to

do this job."

POLICE NEGLECTED

The neglect of Peshawar's shrinking bomb disposal unit reveals a wider problem: vital

law enforcement agencies are starved of resources, training and responsibility.

Most money pours into the military, although a 2008 RAND study, "How Terrorist

Groups End", found police action ended 40 percent of 268 groups studied and military

action accounted for seven percent. Most of the rest ended in a deal.

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But the police, often criticised as incompetent and corrupt, get a small fraction of

foreign, mostly U.S., security aid.

As a consequence, police are under-equipped and poorly trained. Most cannot secure

a crime scene and often miss forensic evidence.

After a blast in a Peshawar suburb last year, police at the scene accepted residents'

explanation that a gas cylinder had gone off. But when Malik arrived he found a

single sliver of shrapnel from a mortar bomb.

He ordered a search. Police found 117 bombs under a pile of manure along with 65 kg

(143 lb) of military-grade explosives. Untrained officers had missed the clue.

The government can only stamp out attacks if it invests in the police, said Samina

Ahmed, head of the Islamabad office for the International Crisis Group think-tank.

"The police have been starved of resources and authority for so long it's not surprising

they find it hard to do their job, even when they are allowed to," she said.

The provincial government responsible for Peshawar said the police got $224 million

this year, in addition to federal funds, and a spokesman said the police would get

whatever resources they needed. Authorities were discussing more sniffer dogs and

even closed-circuit television cameras, he said.

Despite such assurances, police say they have become demoralised since the new

government was elected in May. Officials are deliberating over talks with the

militants, leaving officers unsure of strategy.

Most disappointing of all, political leaders no longer attend the funerals of senior

police killed in the line of duty, said one officer who declined to be identified.

"In my mobile phone are two dozen people who are dead. I can't delete them," he said

angrily. "These politicians can't even be bothered to honour their deaths."

But the bomb unit struggles on. After militants raided a jail in July and freed 250

prisoners, Malik and his men defused 37 bombs and a suicide bomber the gunmen left

behind.

"You know the Hurt Locker?" Malik asked, referring to the Oscar-winning film about

a U.S. bomb technician. "It's the Hurt Locker every day here."

(Additional reporting by Amjad Ali; Editing by Robert Birsel)

http://uk.reuters.com/article/2013/10/02/uk-pakistan-bomb-squad-

idUKBRE99118620131002

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BBC Urdu

‘جنگجوؤں کے خالف آپریشن جاری ہے 03سے 03’

GMT 13:17 PST 33:17 , 3103اکتوثش 3جوعشات آخشی ولت اشبعت:

جشل گشهت ے کہب کہ و سوص عے جبسی آپشیشي هیں فوج ے دط عے ثبس جگجوؤں کو ہالک کشدیب

ہے

پبکغتبى ے ثھبستی فوج کے اى دعوؤں کی تشدیذ کی ہے جظ هیں اط ے کہب ہے کہ کشویش هیں الئي آف

صی ہوئی ہے اوس ثھبستی فوج پچھلے و دوں عے اى جگجوؤں کے کٹشول عے ثڑی تعذاد هیں دس اذا

خالف آپشیشي کش سہی ہے۔

ثھبستی ’همبهی هیڈیب کے هطبثك پبکغتبی فوج کے شعجہ تعلمبت عبهہ آئی ایظ پی آس ے ایک ثیبى هیں کہب

عہ )دساذاصی( فوج کی جبت عے لگبئے گئے الضاهبت ثے ثیبد اوس عشاعش جھوٹ ہیں۔ اط لغن کب کوئی وال

۔‘ہیں ہوا

ثھبست کے صیش اتظبم کشویش هیں لیفٹیٹ جشل گشهت عگھ ے ثذھ کو پشیظ کبفشظ کشتے ہوئے

دعوی کیب تھب کہ ثھبستی فوج کو حبلیہ ثشعوں هیں دساذاصوں کے عت عے ثڑے گشو عے همبثلہ ہے۔

عیکٹش هیں گھے جگالت هیں پب لے تیظ عے چبلیظ جگجوؤں ے الئي آف کٹشول پبس کش کے کیشى ’

۔‘سکھی ہے۔ ثھبستی فوج گضشتہ و دوں عے اى کے خالف آپشیشي کش سہی ہے

ثشطبوی خجش سعبں ایجغی سائٹشص کے هطبثك جشل گشهت ے کہب کہ و سوص عے جبسی آپشیشي هیں

فوج ے دط عے ثبس جگجوؤں کو ہالک کشدیب ہے۔

خجشیں غلظ ہیں کہ پبکغتبی فوج ے گبؤں یب ثھبستی فوجی چوکی پش لجضہ کش ثھبستی هیڈیب پش آے والی"

لیب ہے۔ ہوبسے عاللے پش لجضے کب عوال ہی پیذا ہیں ہوتب۔ جگجوؤں کب ثھبستی چیک پوعٹ پش لجضے کی

"خجشیں ثکواط ہیں۔

لیفٹیٹ جشل گشهت عگھ

تبکہ اپے عبتھیوں کی هذد کش عکیں جو اط هگل کو دط هضیذ جگجوؤں ے دساذاصی کی کوشش کی ’

۔‘ولت الئي آف کٹشول عے دو عو عے تیي عو هیٹش اذس هوجود ہیں

ہن آپشیشي هیں جلذ ثبصی ہیں کش سہے کیوکہ جلذ ’لیفٹیٹ جشل گشهت ے هیڈیب عے ثبت کشتے ہوئے کہب

۔‘ثبصی کب هطلت ہے فوجیوں کی جبیں خطشے هیں ڈالب

ثھبستی فوجیوں کب پہال عبهب اى ’عبں ایجغی اے پی کے هطبثك جشل گشهت ے کہب اهشیکی خجش س

۔‘جگجوؤں عے چوثیظ عتوجش کو شبلہ ثھٹب کے خبلی گبؤں هیں ہوا

اھوں ے ثھبستی هیڈیب هیں آے والی خجشوں کی تشدیذ کی کہ پبکغتبی فوج ے گبؤں یب ثھبستی فوجی

عاللے پش لجضے کب عوال ہی پیذا ہیں ہوتب۔ جگجوؤں کب ثھبستی چیک ہوبسے’چوکی پش لجضہ کش لیب ہے۔

۔‘پوعٹ پش لجضے کی خجشیں ثکواط ہیں

اھوں ے کہب کہ هبضی کے ثشعکظ اط ثبس کئی پوائٹظ عے دساذاصی کی گئی ہے۔

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واضح سہے کہ ثھبستی جشل کی جبت عے کی گئی پشیظ کبفشظ کے هطبثك یہ آپشیشي اط ولت جبسی

تھب جت پبکغتبی اوس ثھبستی وصسائے اعظن یو یبسک هیں هاللبت کش سہے تھے۔

ثھبستی جشل کی جبت عے کی گئی پشیظ کبفشظ کے هطبثك یہ آپشیشي اط ولت جبسی تھب جت پبکغتبی

اوس ثھبستی وصسائے اعظن یو یبسک هیں هاللبت کش سہے تھے۔

ے اعظن اط ثبت پش هتفك ہوئے تھے کہ اهي ثبت چیت هیں اط هاللبت هیں ثھبست اوس پبکغتبى کے وصسائ

پیش سفت کے لیے کشویش هیں الئي آف کٹشول پش ہوے والے حولوں کو سوکب ضشوسی ہے۔

اط هاللبت کے ثعذ ثھبستی لوهی عالهتی کے هشیش شو شکش هیي ے هیڈیب عے ثبت کشتے ہوئے اط

دساذاصی کب رکش ہیں کیب تھب۔

هاللبت کے ثبسے هیں صحبفیوں کو ثتبیب کہ هاللبت هیں یہ طے پبیب ہے کہ اط علغلے هیں اھوں ے اط

دووں هوبلک کے ڈائشیکٹش جشل هلٹشی آپشیشض )ڈی جی این او آپظ( هیں هاللبت کشیں گے۔ هاللبت هیں

یہ ثھی کہب گیب کہ الئي آف کٹشول پش فبئش ثذی کو دوثبس ثحبل کیب جبئے گب۔

الوام هتحذ کی جشل اعوجلی عے خطبة کشتے ہوئے ثھبست کے وصیشاعظن هي هوہي عگھ اط عے لجل

ے کہب تھب کہ پبکغتبى اوس ثھبست کے ثہتش تعلمبت کے لیے ضشوسی ہے کہ پبکغتبى کی عشصهیي ثھبست

کے خالف دہشت گشدی کے لیے اعتعوبل ہ ہو۔

http://www.bbc.co.uk/urdu/india/2013/10/131002_loc_india_claim_rh.shtml?print=1

October 2, 2013 15:52 IST

Pakistan to release four Indian prisoners

Dil Bagh Singh, Sunil and two other Indians have completed their terms but are still

being held in jail.

Four Indian prisoners, languishing in different Pakistani jails on charges of ―illegal

stay‖, are set to be freed after a federal review board ordered their release.

Dil Bagh Singh, Sunil and two other Indians have completed their terms but are still

being held in jail.

An Interior Ministry official on Tuesday informed the review board comprising two

judges of the Supreme Court that the government is taking steps to repatriate the

prisoners who had completed their sentences.

―Verification of nationality is required for the release of the foreign prisoners. And the

process is underway,‖ the official said.

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It could not immediately be ascertained when the Indians would be released.

Meanwhile, a provincial review board comprising three judges of the Lahore High

Court turned down the Punjab government’s request to extend the detention period of

a prime suspect involved in the 2009 attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team.

Police on Tuesday produced Zubair alias Naik Muhammad before the review board

and sought a month’s extension in his detention. Police were of the view that his

release could pose a threat to law and order in Punjab.

The detainee’s counsel opposed the government’s request, saying the allegations

against his client were baseless.

After hearing both sides, the board declined the government’s request to extend the

detention.

http://www.thehindu.com/news/international/south-asia/pakistan-to-release-four-

indian-prisoners/article5192920.ece?css=print

BBC Urdu

نشریاتی حقوق کی بولی میں عدم شرکت بدنیتی

عجذالششیذ شکوس

ثی ثی عی اسدو ڈاٹ کبم، کشاچی

GMT 31:36 PST 05:36 , 3103اکتوثش 3ثذھ آخشی ولت اشبعت:

ہےپی ٹی وی کے ثولی هیں ششیک ہ ہوے کب فبئذ کظ کو ہوا یہ کہب لجل اص ولت

عیٹ کی اطالعبت و ششیبت عے هتعلك لبئوہ کویٹی کب کہب ہے کہ پبکغتبى ٹیلی ویژى )پی ٹی وی( کب

عشی لکب اوس جوثی افشیمہ کے خالف عیشیض کے ششیبتی حموق کی ثولی هیں ششکت ہ کشب ثذیتی هعلوم

ہوتب ہے۔

کے ششیبتی حموق ٹیي اعپوسٹظ اوس یبد سہے کہ پبکغتبى کشکٹ ثوسڈ ے جوثی افشیمہ کے خالف عیشیض

عشی لکب کی عیشیض کے ششیبتی حموق جیو عوپش کو دے دیئے ہیں۔

عٹیڈگ کویٹی کب اجالط ثذھ کے سوص اعالم آثبد هیں عییٹش کبهل علی آغب کی صذاست هیں ہوا جظ هیں

یبتی حموق حبصل پبکغتبى ٹیلی ویژى کے حکبم عے اط ثبت کی وضبحت طلت کی گئی کہ اہوں ے شش

کشے کے عول عے خود کو الگ کیوں سکھب۔

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عییٹش کبهل علی آغب ے ثی ثی عی کو دیے گئے اٹشویو هیں کہب کہ کویٹی کے عبهے اثھی تک جتے

ثھی حمبئك عبهے آئے ہیں اى هیں پی ٹی وی کی طشف عے ثذیتی کب عصش صیبد دکھبئی دے سہب ہے

جول کشے کے لئے تیبس ہیں ہے۔کیوکہ کوئی ثھی رهہ داسی ل

اہوں ے کہب کہ اط هشحلے پش و یہ ہیں کہہ عکتے کہ ششیبتی حموق کے عول هیں پی ٹی وی کے

حصہ ہ لیے کب فبئذ کظ کو ہوا لیکي اط پوسے هعبهلے کب تفصیلی جبئض لیب جبسہب ہے اوس اگلے اجالط

ے کے لئے عییٹ کے چیئشهیي عے دسخواعت کی هیں پبکغتبى کشکٹ ثوسڈ کے گشاں چیئشهیي کو ثال

جبسہی ہے۔

عیٹیش کبهل علی آغب ے کہب کہ عیکشیٹشی اطالعبت و ششیبت ے کویٹی کو ثتبیب کہ پی ٹی وی کو ایک

خبص سلن کی حذ تک ششیبتی حموق کی پیشکش کشے کب اختیبس دیب گیب تھب لہزا یہ عوال عبهے آیب ہے کہ

اسے کے اختیبسات کیوں اوس کیغے علت کئے گئے ۔ایک خودهختبس اد

اہوں ے کہب کہ اصل عوال یہ ہے کہ ایک لوهی اداسے ے ششیبتی حموق حبصل کشے کے عول هیں

حصہ کیوں ہیں لیب ؟۔

عییٹش کبهل علی آغب عے یہ عوال کیب گیب کہ کیب اعٹیڈگ کویٹی اط ثبت کو ثھی پیش ظش سکھے گی کہ

یل کو ششیبتی حموق کیوں دیئے گئے جو پہلے عے پبکغتبى کشکٹ ثوسڈ کب همشوض ہے؟ تو ایک ٹی وی چ

اى کب جواة تھب کہ یمیب کویٹی ثہت عے عبسے عواالت کب جواة جبب چبہے گی تبہن کویٹی کب صیبد تش صوس

اى هعبهالت پش ہوگب جي کب تعلك پی ٹی وی کے هفبد عے ہے۔

http://www.bbc.co.uk/urdu/pakistan/2013/10/131002_cricket_rights_fz.shtml?print=1

Reuters

$25 million in cash smuggled out of Pakistan daily, official says

By Katharine Houreld

ISLAMABAD -- The head of Pakistan's central bank has told legislators he

believes $25 million in cash is being smuggled out through the country's airports

every day, a senator said on Wednesday.

Senator Nasreen Jalil told Reuters that the central bank governor singled out

smuggling as one reason the Pakistani rupee had been falling in foreign exchange

trading.

Jalil said governor Yassen Anwar told a committee of parliament's upper house that

he intended to try to stop the smuggling of large sums but that controls were weak.

Jalil chairs the Senate Standing Committee on Finance.

"Hundi and hawala through which money flows out of the country is totally illegal but

we do not have the systems and political will to stop it," said Jalil, referring to the

informal money transfer systems that circumvent anti-money laundering laws.

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Anwar had been questioned by the committee after the rupee sank to a record low of

110 against the dollar last week. In the capital Islamabad, some currency traders were

not offering dollars for sale last week.

Jalil said the shortage had eased and the sharp decline was linked to a loan of $59

million due to be repaid to a foreign donor. On Tuesday, the rupee regained some

ground to 95 to the dollar.

One reason dollars were in such high demand was the tendency of wealthy Pakistanis

to convert money into dollars and send it back into Pakistan from abroad, tax lawyer

Ikramul Haq said.

Since remittances are exempt from taxes and tax authorities cannot legally question

the source of remittances, this would help wealthy Pakistanis evade tax, Haq said.

Only 0.57 percent of Pakistanis paid income tax last year, according to the Federal

Board of Revenue. Pakistan has one of the lowest tax-to-GDP ratios in the world,

leaving public services woefully underfunded.

The wealthy do not pay their share while poor Pakistanis are disproportionately hit by

direct taxes on fuel, food and phone use. A study last year found that nearly 70

percent of Pakistani lawmakers did not even submit file tax returns.

Expanding the tax base was a key condition of Pakistan securing a $6.7 billion loan

last month from the International Monetary Fund.

http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/10/02/20784146-25-million-in-cash-

smuggled-out-of-pakistan-daily-official-says?lite

October 02, 2013

Afghan Salafi Leader Announces Presidential Bid

by RFE/RL's Radio Free Afghanistan

Afghanistan's most prominent Salafi leader has resigned from parliament to contest

the April 5 presidential election.

Abdul Rab Rasul Sayyaf announced his resignation and candidacy on October 2.

He said that Ismail Khan, Afghanistan's current energy minister and a former warlord

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from western Afghanistan, will run as his first vice president.

Sayyaf currently heads the Daawat-i-Islami group. He was one of the top anti-Soviet

Islamist guerrilla leaders in the 1980s.

Sayyaf became a close ally of Saudi Arabia after converting to the kingdom's official

religion, the Salafi sect of Sunni Islam.

He is accused by Afghan and Western human rights organizations of gross human

rights violations during Afghanistan's civil war in the 1990s.

http://www.rferl.org/content/article/25124260.html

Bulgaria's Socialist-backed government survives no-confidence vote

BY THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

OCTOBER 2, 2013

SOFIA, Bulgaria - Bulgaria's Socialist-backed government has survived its first no-

confidence vote called for by the opposition over its investment policies.

The 240-member parliament on Wednesday rejected the motion in a 111-86 vote with

20 abstentions. The remaining 23 lawmakers were absent.

During its first four months in power, the government of Prime Minister Plamen

Oresharski has faced street protests sparked by a controversial political appointment

seen as part of the government's dependence on shady business interests.

The political bickering in Parliament, which echoes the political division in the

Balkan country, has added to the woes of the ailing economy and scared off potential

investors. According to Bulgaria's central bank, the foreign direct investment in the

first eight months of 2013 is 33 per cent lower than in the same period last year.

http://www.montrealgazette.com/news/Bulgarias+Socialistbacked+government+survi

ves+noconfidence/8986490/story.html

'Golden handshake' vote divides Swedish MPs

Published: 2 Oct 2013 12:04 CET |

Updated: 2 Oct 2013 17:37 CET

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An unusual cross-bloc alliance emerged in Sweden's Riksdag on Wednesday in a

vote on controversial changes to the generous severance pay packages offered to

MPs when they leave parliament.

The vote, which took place Wednesday afternoon, reforms a system that limits

payouts to parliamentarians who lose or quit their jobs and which everyone agrees is

too generous.

Under the current system, an MP who has been in parliament for 12 years and has

turned 50 can receive up to 40,000 kronor ($6,300) per month until he or she turns 65.

But MPs who enter parliament after next year's general election will have to make due

with less: income support for no more than two years, and only if they server for at

least eight years in the Riksdag. Former MPs who are still out of work after two years

will be able to apply to have the payments extended each year, but at a lower level.

And they will also have to prove they are actively seeking a new job.

At issue on Wednesday's vote, however, was whether the changes should also apply

to incumbent MPs who are re-elected in 2014.

Ahead of the vote, the two bigger of the government's four coalition parties - the

Moderates and the Liberals (Folkpartiet) - crossed enemy lines and to vote with the

leftist Social Democrats in favour of allowing current MPs to receive payments

calculated according to the current system.

However, the measure prompted opposition from an array of smaller political parties

from across the political spectrum who said the unholy trinity is putting Swedes' faith

in politicians at risk.

"This question concerns people's faith in parliament. We set our own salaries which

are paid for by other people's money, so we have to be careful," Centre Party MP

Anders W. Jonsson told the TT news agency as parliamentarians assembled on

Wednesday to put the proposal to the vote.

His party was joined by the Green and Left Parties, as well as the far-right Sweden

Democrats. The Christian Democrats are similarly critical, but want to propose a

system where MPs pay a certain sum of money to contribute to the severance package

pay outs - derogatorily referred to as parliamentary "parachutes" in Sweden.

"Today's system of an income guarantee costs 60 million kronor ($9.4 million) a year

- that is far too much," said Christian Democrat MP Tuve Skånberg, whose party also

wants a new deal to cover incumbent as well as incoming parliamentarians.

The Moderates, Liberals, and Social Democrats disagreed.

Moderate MP Lars Elindersson said it was not reasonable to expect sitting

parliamentarians to accept a worse deal than the one they were given when they

accepted elected office.

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The new proposal states that an MP should have access to a two-year "parachute" but

in order to quality for the "golden handshake" the parliamentarians must have

remained in service for at least eight years.

The guarantee gives outgoing MPs an income of about 85 percent of their salary - or

50,000 kronor a month.

The size of the income guarantee then decreases on a sliding scale in correlation to

how long an MP held elected office. Its size increases depending on how old the MP

is.

According to the system, former MPs lose their right to the severance pay when they

find a new job.

http://www.thelocal.se/50558/20131002/

South Sudan News Agency

South Sudan: Will Democracy Prevail in the National Assembly or Dictatorship?

BY PETER GAI MANYUON, 25 SEPTEMBER 2013

OPINION

Many people did not expect the appointment of the newly appointed Speaker of the

national Legislative Assembly as legitimate, other people are viewing the choice as an

interest of pleasing individuals. Hon Magok Rundial was given an opportunity

without the constitutional procedures of democratization that should exercise by the

Members of Parliamentarians. Within the assembly itself, the parliamentarians are not

computable with the idea of bringing Magok to be the head of the national Legislature

of the Republic of South Sudan, but, due to the issues surrounding the choice, the

parliamentarians accepted Magok to lead then; it is an interesting.

There were many hopes and aspirations on who to be elected by the MPs in the

National Assembly but that does not come as the reality because the National Speaker

is supposed to be elect by 2/3 majority of the parliamentarians as per the Transitional

Constitution of the Republic of South Sudan 2011 is concerned.

The question is who manipulated the democratization of the members of Parliament?

Is there respect for the rule of law and human rights in the Assembly? Many people

across the entire South Sudan does not agree on the appointment of the newly Speaker

because there was no election conducted, everything was manipulated by the

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Presidency due to the reasons known to them. The question is, will South Sudan be

free from crisis at this very time when people are becoming concerned of their rights

and aspirations?

Moreover the National Members of parliament were very much concerned after the

President of the South Sudan General Salva Kiir made a decision appointing Comrade

Wani Igga as his Deputy; they were having hopes that things might be done

democratically in the new nation which did not happened afterward. Basically in this

country since the President call Magok as his deputy, many people term it as way of

making politics stagnant in the National Assembly and in the Republic of South

Sudan.

All South Sudanese were aware that those of former Minister of Justice John Luk was

interested in the position and he also mobilized most of the Mps to vote for him, but

under way things did not materialized with him because President interest with

Magok Rundial. People in person like me begin to wonder of what happen between

John Luk and the President of the Republic because beginning from 2005 up to early

this year; they were very serious friends that cannot move differently in politics.

During the election of 2010 John Luk lost the parliamentary seat of Akobo to John

Juch who is currently in the parliament as the Member of Parliament representing

people of Akobo County. Hence in 2011 Present appointed John Luk as Member of

Parliament, he was among the sixty (60) people who were appointed by the President

using Republican decree. Moreover John Luk works for the Interest of the President

up to the time he gave President many powers that have paralyzed the politics of

South Sudan up to date. I think Luk might be very disappointed at this particular

period of time because it seems like President have forgotten what he did when he

was the Minister of Justice in the new nation.

However, since the inception of the government of South Sudan from 2005 to date,

nothing have change from the leadership of the former Speaker Igga, and I hope

nothing will happen under the current leadership of the newly appointed right

honorable Speaker Magok. The way am viewing current issues in this great nation,

nothing will come as the miracle other than worsening the situation of the National

Parliament because I don't think whether Assembly can Persecute the culprits who are

involved in the serious scandals of the Resources of this nation.

Magok is man of yes, as many people said in the Media, he will not identify what is

good and wrongs in the system. His aim is to get recognition that, one day one time,

he will say he was one a speaker of South Sudan and that is all. His interest is salaries

and title; I know he will not bring in people to support the President in the coming

election of 2015 because his popularity is less than 1% in the entire Nuer Community

and in South Sudan context. By the time he was appointed people were wondering

about the person by the name of Magok Rundial because it was the first time for the

people to hear of his name in the National Assembly including me myself as the

author of this article. Even by the time I was with citizen Newspaper and Television

in 2012, when I was a first Reporter of the CTV, I never seen Magok in the

parliament raising a motion in the interest of the entire South Sudanese people. He is

not also among the popular Members of Parliament that are known nationally like

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Hon Bashier Badi who is representing the people of Marindi in the National

Assembly.

People are wondering on the way President of the Republic of South Sudan impulse

Magok Rundial as the newly speaker for the National Legislative Assembly. Since the

time he was put there after the President threaten the Parliament when he said, if they

don't fulfill the interest then they might move on the street for survival that mean he

declare the closure of the Assembly incase MPs does not complied with the President

Order.

Conclusively; South Sudan as the new nation need serious monitoring and evaluation

(M&E) for us to prosper to another level, otherwise nothing will move on in the

current Parliament that am seeing. There is no democratization in place, no respect for

the rule of law and governance in all government Institutions, what a mess is this

great Nation leading to?

The Author is the Independent Journalist and Columnist for Juba Monitor

http://allafrica.com/stories/201310020154.html

Islands Business

PM O’Neill backs Constitutional reform

Thu 03 Oct 2013

PORT MORESBY, PNG --- Papua New Guinea Prime Minister Peter O’Neill has

urged the Constitutional Review Commission to seriously consider a reform proposal

by New Ireland Governor Sir Julius Chan.

During debate on amendments to the Constitution in parliament last week, Sir Julius

suggested it might be time now for Papua New Guinea to consider a move away from

the Westminster parliamentary system of government.

Sir Julius suggested that a federal government system may be best suited to a country

as diverse as PNG, with the prime minister being elected directly by the people during

the general election.

Since independence, prime ministers have been elected by a vote taken by MPs in

parliament after the elections.

Sir Julius, one of PNG’s founding fathers, has been campaigning strongly for a move

to federalism, and urged parliament to seriously consider a system that was fair and

representational for a country like PNG.

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Sir Julius’ views were heeded by O’Neill, who has written a letter to Tambul-Nebilyer

MP Benjamin Poponawa, the chairman of the Constitutional Reform Commission,

urging him to start a consultation process.

O’Neill said Sir Julius believed the change he was suggesting would consolidate

political stability, a vital ingredient for growth and development.

―I fully share his views because if we are to progress as a nation, we must continue to

find ways to improve and consolidate what we have,‖ he said.

―We must never be afraid of change that will bring stability and prosperity for the

future.”

http://www.islandsbusiness.com/news/papua-new-guinea/3073/pm-oneill-backs-

constitutional-reform/

Iran parliament endorses president Hassan Rouhani's diplomatic outreach

Reuters | Oct 2, 2013, 05.42 PM IST

The backing from the assembly, controlled by political factions deeply loyal to

supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, is a further sign that Rouhani has the support

of the Iranian establishment.

DUBAI: Iran's parliament strongly endorsed president Hassan Rouhani's diplomatic

bid to dispel mistrust at the United Nations last week during a visit which ended with

an historic phone call with President Barack Obama, Iranian media said.

The backing from the assembly, controlled by political factions deeply loyal to

supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, is a further sign that Rouhani has the support

of the Iranian establishment, though there are some rumblings from hardliners.

Khamenei, the most powerful figure in Iran, has yet to publicly comment on

Rouhani's trip.

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Rouhani briefed parliamentarians on his trip, including discussions on Iran's nuclear

dispute with the West and regional relations, the student news agency ISNA said late

on Tuesday.

A group of 230 parliamentarians, out of the total of 290, signed a statement

expressing their support of Rouhani for presenting the image of a "powerful and

peace-seeking Iran which seeks talks and interaction for the settlement of regional and

international issues", Fars news agency said.

While Rouhani's visit to New York has boosted hopes of a diplomatic breakthrough in

talks to resolve the 10-year-old dispute over Iran's nuclear program, Israeli Prime

Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dismissed it on Tuesday as a ruse concocted by a "wolf

in sheep's clothing".

The United States, Israel and other countries accuse Iran of using its nuclear program

as a veil for efforts to try to develop the capability to produce weapons. Iran says the

program is for peaceful energy purposes only.

Iranian foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said Netanyahu and "the Zionist

lobby" were trying to hinder negotiations.

"We will not let Netanyahu determine the future of our talks," Zarif wrote on his

Facebook page.

The next round of nuclear talks between Iran and six world powers is set to take place

in Geneva in two weeks.

Rouhani told the UN general assembly last week that Iran was willing to engage

immediately in "time-bound" talks on the nuclear issue.

Hardline rumblings

Inside Iran, even as conservatives fall in line behind Rouhani who secured a landslide

election win in June with promises of moderation in foreign policy, there were signs

that some feared the president was going too fast, too soon.

Parliamentary speaker Ali Larijani praised Rouhani's address to the UN general

assembly, ISNA said. But Larijani, a champion of the conservative establishment,

made no specific mention of Rouhani's phone call with Obama.

The head of the powerful Revolutionary Guards said on Monday the call had been

premature, a signal of unease and the possible beginning of resistance to the relative

moderate Rouhani from Iranian hardliners.

The Guards chief and other hardliners have argued the United States must now take

concrete steps such as easing the stringent sanctions that have driven inflation above

40 percent and led to a sharp fall in the value of the Iranian rial.

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"Either America takes a big step by breaking up sanctions, and that is the result of the

success of the heroic flexibility of the supreme leader, or it continues with its

unreasonable and illogical claims which will make apparent American lies," Fars

quoted hardline member of parliament Alireza Zakani as saying.

Others have presented Obama's statement that the United States was not seeking

'regime change' in Iran as a sign of the strength of the Islamic Republic.

"They have understood this truth that the Islamic Republic is unbreakable and it is

better to accept interaction based on appropriate and just rules, instead of

confrontation," Fars quoted deputy Revolutionary Guards commander Hossein Salami

as saying.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/middle-east/Iran-parliament-endorses-

president-Hassan-Rouhanis-diplomatic-outreach/articleshow/23415485.cms

Editorial Board

Chaudhry Mukhtar Ahmed Director/Executive Editor

Chaudhry Pervaiz Akhtar RO/Editor

Talha Haroon YPA/Co-Editor