IF MODERATION IS A
TIMES GLOBAL
US closer to designating Pak terrorist state In 1st UN speech,
Islamabad Readies Tit-For-Tat Measures, May Block Access For Nato Supplies To Afghanistan
Chidanand.Rajghatta
@timesgroup.com
P
akistan has indicated it
might go for broke aga-
inst the US with ties bet-
ween the two countries rea-
ching a new low. Enraged at be-
ing called out by President
Trump for nurturing terror
groups, Islamabad is believed
to have devised a three-option
toughest diplomatic policy,
including an extreme case sce-
nario where it will block ac-
cess for US and Nato supplies
to land-locked Afghanistan.
Actions prior to this will
include, according to media, li-
miting diplomatic ties with
USand reducing mutual coo-
peration on terrorism-related
issues and non-cooperation in
US strategy for Afghanistan.
Pakistan has also warned that
it would not buy any more F-16
jets from the US, and would le-
an towards China. Small pro-
Knife-wielding
US college
student shot
dead by cops
Atlanta: Campus police shot
a Georgia Tech student who
they said was advancing on of-
ficers with a knife. Scout
Schultz, 21, refused to put
down his knife and kept mo-
ving towards the officers on
Sunday outside a dormitory,
the Georgia Bureau of Investi-
gation said.
The fourth-year computer
engineering student used the
name Scout and claimed to be
bisexual, nonbinary and in-
tersex in a Pride Alliance pro-
file. He preferred the pronouns
they and them rather than
him or her. WSB-TV re-
ported that the item involved
appeared to be a metal, flip-
open, multi-tool knife. Offi-
cers provided multiple verbal
commands and attempted to
speak with Shultz who was not
cooperative and would not
comply with the officers com-
mands, the agency said.
Lynne Schultz said her ol-
dest child was a brilliant stu-
dent despite medical issues,
including depression, and
had twice attempted suicide.
Attorney L Chris Stewart said
Schultz was having a mental
breakdown and didnt know
what to do. He said police
overreacted by killing him. AP
Iconic Rolling
Stone mag is
up for sale
New York: Rolling Stone, the
iconic 50- year-old magazine of
music and counterculture, is
putting itself up for sale amid
an increasingly uncertain out-
look, its founder said. Jann
Wenner who started Rolling
Stone in 1967 as a hippie stu-
dent in Berkeley, California
and now runs it with his son
Gus told The New York Ti-
mes that the future looked to-
ugh for a family-run publisher.
One of the most influential
magazines covering rock mu-
sic, Rolling Stone has also be-
en a home for experimental
writers such as the gonzo jour-
nalist Hunter S Thompson.
But the magazines reputa-
tion and finances were
badly damaged when it retrac-
ted a 2014 story about an alleged
gang rape at the University of
Virginia, with a review finding
that Rolling Stone did not un-
dertake basic journalistic pro-
cedures to verify the facts. AFP
Snow leopard now no longer endangered
Christine Hauser
T
he snow leopard is no
longer an endangered
species, but its popula-
tion in the wild is still at risk
because of poaching and hab-
itat loss, conservationists
said this week.
The International Union
for Conservation of Nature
said on Thursday that new da-
ta taken through 2016 prompt-
ed the reclassification of the
snow leopard from the endan-
gered list to the vulnerable cat-
egory. The difference means,
simply, that the animals have
THE TIMES OF INDIA, NEW DELHI | TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 2017
BEN AFFLECK SAYS IN JUSTICE LEAGUE FILM, LONER
BATMAN WILL WORK ALONG WITH OTHER PLAYERS
blem for Pakistan: Washing-
ton is not about to blink.
After giving Pakistan a tas-
te of the kind of financial vul-
nerability it is under by ban-
ning operations in the US of
Habib Bank, the countrys lea-
ding financial institution, for
regulatory violations, the
Trump administration has in-
dicated it has more weapons
up its sleeve. Among them:
Stripping Pakistan of the sta-
tus of a non-Nato ally, cutting
off all aid, imposing travel ban
on suspected ISI personnel in
the US operating undercover,
and finally, formal designation
of Pakistan as a terrorist state.
Withdrawal of non-Nato al-
ly status and designating it a
terrorist state would limit wea-
pons sales and probably affect
billions of dollars in IMF and
World Bank loans, along with
access to global finance, the Fi-
nancial Times has reported.
Pakistan partisans in the
JuD candidate third in key bypoll;
outfit plans to fight 2018 elections
Lahore: Mumbai terror at-
tack mastermind Hafiz Sae-
eds Jammat-ud-Dawa will
foray into Pakistans politi-
cal scene by contesting the
2018 general elections, a se-
nior member of the outfit sa-
id, a day after its candidate fi-
nished third in a crucial by-
poll for Lahore seat.
Last month, Jamaat-ud-
Dawa, a front for the Lash-
kar-e-Taiba militant group
that carried out the deadly
2008 Mumbai attack, anno-
unced that it was launching
the Milli Muslim League.
Sheikh Yaqoob, a JuD-
backed candidate who was
defeated by ousted prime mi-
nister Nawaz Sharif s wife
Kulsoom Nawaz from a parli-
amentary seat that fell va-
cant after he was disqualifi-
ed by the Supreme Court, sa-
id the new front will field
candidates in every constitu-
ency of the country in next
year's election.
Yaqoob could not contest
the bypoll on Sunday from
Milli Muslim League as the
Election Commission of Pa-
kistan was yet to register it
as a political party.
Yaqoob was placed in 2012
on a US treasury sanctions
list of those designated as le-
aders of terrorist organisa-
tions, The New York Times
reported. We have got a very
good response in NA-120. It
was our first election and pe-
ople have welcomed us, said
UK attack suspects from Iraq, Syria
Naomi Canton
London: The bomb attack on
Londons Parsons Green sta-
tion, which left over 30 people
injured on Friday, was alleged-
ly facilitated by two refugees
from Syria and Iraq.
Although police have not
confirmed their identity, sour-
ces said one of the suspects
was Yahyah Farroukh, a 21-ye-
ar-old from Damascus. The
Metropolitan Polices coun-
ter-terrorism command ar-
rested Farroukh on Saturday.
Farroukhs Facebook page
states he is from Damascus
and was studying at West Tha-
mes College since 2013. Accor-
ding to reports, Farroukh was
arrested on the basis of a
CCTV footage, which showed
him carrying a bag that re-
sembled the one used to carry
out the attack. A spokeswo-
man at West Thames College
AP
BUT STILL AT RISK
gone from very high risk to
high risk of extinction in
the wild. The teams lowest es-
timate was that about 4,000 live
in the wild.
Afghanistan-bound Nato supply trucks cross Killa Abdullah in Pakistan
US have long argued the count-
ry was too big to fail and app-
lying too much pressure on it
would push it into Chinas
arms. But, the US appears to
have reckoned that the count-
ry is already firmly in the Chi-
nese camp, and Beijing can do
little to stave off a financial
meltdown if Washington deci-
AFP/Getty Images
Hafiz Saeeds JuD, a front for
LeT that carried out the 2008
Mumbai attack, launched the
Milli Muslim League last month
Yaqoob, who contested as an
independent candidate.
We are here to stay in the
political field. People want a
party that talks about ma-
king Pakistan strong against
its enemies India, United
States and Israel and at the
same time help them in sol-
ving their basic livelihood
problems, he said.
The JuD formed Milli
Muslim League at the time
when Saeed was put under
house arrest in Lahore. Sae-
ed and his four aides Ab-
dullah Ubaid, Malik Zafar Iq-
bal, Abdul Rehman Abid and
Qazi Kashif Hussain were
placed under house arrest in
Lahore on January 30 under
anti- terrorism act.
The JuD has been decla-
red as a foreign terrorist or-
ganisation by the United Sta-
tes in June 2014. PTI
Police officers arrested a man who worked at the shop (in pic)
in connection with the London station attack on Saturday
said, We have been asked that
all calls about this are directed
to Metropolitan Police. Lec-
turers at all higher education
colleges in the UK are obliged
by law to follow Prevent strate-
gy, which means they have to
be trained to spot signs of ra-
dicalisation and they must act
But the snow leopard can
still face a decline of 10% or
more over the next three gen-
erations in its habitats, which
are mostly mountainous areas
of Central Asia, including
Kyrgyzstan and Pakistan. It
still faces a high risk of ex-
tinction, the conservation
group said, from habitat loss
and degradation, declines in
prey populations and poach-
ing for illegal wildlife trade,
among other reasons.
It is essential to continue
and expand conservation ef-
forts to reverse its declining
trend and prevent this iconic
LADY GAGA POSTPONES HER EUROPEAN LEG
OF WORLD TOUR DUE TO HEALTH STRUGGLES
AFP
things get too hot at home.
Pakistan bravado in threa-
tening to cut off US access to
Afghanistan comes ahead of a
possible meeting of its new
PM Shahid Khaqan Abbasi
with vice-president Mike Pen-
ce in New York on sidelines of
the UN General Assembly. Pre-
sident Trump appears to have
little time or patience with a
country whose proliferation
activities are being recalled
again following North Koreas
aggravations in the nuclear
and ballistic missile sphere.
Even the state department,
whose bureaucrats have long
des to put the squeeze on a co- advocated a cautious line on
untry whose elites have grea- Pakistan fearing its collapse
ter affinity for London and and a loose nukes scenario,
New York than for Beijing. appear to have fallen in line
Talk of a western visa ban with the White Houses get-to-
terrifies Pakistani military ugh policy stemming from Isla-
and political elites such as Gen mabads perfidy regarding
Musharraf and Nawaz Sharif, using terrorism as a policy in-
who owns prime property and strument. Some who recall
camp out in the west whenever being beguiled by late nights
Ousted PMs wife
wins Lahore seat
sing in the ECP data. This ma-
Omer Farooq Khan TNN
kes some 29,000 votes contro-
Islamabad: Deposed PM Na- versial. Governments machi-
waz Sharif s wife Kulsoom Na- nery, including state-run PTV,
waz won one of the most hotly was used in the build-up to
contested bypolls in Pakis- polls, Rashid said. Sheikh Ya-
tans history when she overca- qoob, backed by banned terror
me resistance from Pakistan outfit Jamat-ud Dawa, came
Tehreek-i-Insaf candidate third with a mere 4,268 votes.
Yasmin Rashid, defeating her This score was unimpres-
by less than 14,000 votes, accor- sive but it was still more than
ding to unofficial esti- the votes polled by Pa-
mates on Monday. kistan Peoples Partys
Sharif had recor- Faisal Mir, who got only
ded a victory by over 2,692 votes. It signals a
40,000 votes from the se- deep crisis for one of
at in 2013 and observers Pakistans two main po-
said this was warning litical parties.
enough that his control Yaqoob wanted to
over his bastion of La- contest on the plat-
Kulsoom Nawaz
hore was crumbling. form of Milli Muslim
PTI, however, has League, the new politi-
disputed the results and said it cal front of JuD launched af-
would petition the Election ter Sharif s disqualification,
Commission of Pakistan aga- but the EC refused to register
inst making an official anno- it as a political party. An ana-
uncement of the results. We lyst said, If Pakistans top
will not back out until our 25 electoral body had recogni-
petitions in the ECP are sett- zed the Milli Muslim League,
led. Im going to take the ECP it would have meant allo-
to court, Rashid threatened. wing a militant organisation
In a turnout of an abysmal to contest elections. The mo-
36%, Kulsoom bagged 61,254 ve could also have set a prece-
votes against Rashids 47,066, dent for other militant gro-
said polling agents. ups in Pakistan to establish
The voter record was mis- their own political parties.
AFP
terrorism. Both men are belie-
ved to have spent some time at
the home of elderly British
foster carers Ronald Jones, 88,
and Penelope Jones, 71. The co-
uple has fostered at least 268
children, including refugees
from conflict zones, in the last
four decades. The couple was
named Members of the Most
Excellent Order of the British
Empire (MBE), an honorary
recognition awarded by UK,
for their services to children
and families in 2009.
Assistant commissioner
Mark Rowley, national lead for
counter-terrorism policing,
upon it and refer such cases said, There are now two sear-
when they come across them. ches continuing at addresses
The 18-year-old, held at Do- in Surrey and we are getting a
ver port, is believed to be an greater understanding of the
Iraqi refugee orphan who mo- preparation of the device.
ved to the UK when he was 15. UK police have up to 14 days to
He was arrested on suspicion question the suspects before
of commission and prepara-
tion or instigation of acts of
they have to charge or release
them from custody.
skins are thick and whitish,
patterned with dark rosettes
and spots. Their bones and
other body parts are used in
traditional Asian medicine.
Emerging potential
threats include mining and
other infrastructure develop-
cat from moving even closer to ment that would affect their
extinction, the group said. habitats, the report said.
Conservationists warned The IUCN, in its report on
that the risks are not over for the snow leopard, noted the
the snow leopards, whose dis- population numbers could be
tinctive appearances make partly speculative, given the
them attractive to poachers. difficulties in collecting hard
Their tails are longer than data on the elusive and secre-
most cats to help them bal- tive species across all re-
ance on steep slopes. Their gions. NYT NEWS SERVICE
spent with military and civili-
an leaders over Johnnie Wal-
ker Blue Label the expensive
whisky beloved by Pakistans
elite in the dry country say
even forceful private conversa-
tions regularly disappoint,
the FT noted in a report, quo-
ting James Dobbins, special
envoy in 2013-14 saying, Its ve-
ry difficult to deal with an in-
terlocutor who says he agrees
with you but actually doesnt.
On Pakistani television,
some talking heads and an-
chors are now discussing the
imminent collapse of the co-
untrys economy if US puts
the squeeze. Pakistanis are al-
so stunned that many reports
now rank Bangladesh ahead of
it in several economic metrics,
including exports and foreign
exchange reserves. But the co-
untrys hardline nationalists
and fantasists believe China,
and perhaps even Russia, will
come to its rescue.
China opens
dual-use
road to Nepal
via Tibet
Beijing: China has opened a
strategic highway in Tibet to
the Nepal border which co-
uld be used for civilian and
defence purposes, a move
that Chinese experts say will
enable Beijing to make fora-
ys into South Asia, according
to a media report on Monday.
The 40.4km highway in
Tibet between Xigaze air-
port and Xigaze city
centre officially opened to
the public on Friday with a
short section linking the
national highway to the Ne-
pal border.
The highway will shor-
ten the journey from an ho-
ur to 30 minutes between the
dual-use civil and military
airport and Tibets second-
largest city.
State-run Global Times
quoted experts as saying
that the highway will enab-
le China to forge a route into
South Asia in both econo-
mic and defence terms and
is a forerunner to a railway
line connecting Nepal.
Geographically, any ex-
tension of the road and rail-
way connectivity to South
Asia is through India, Bhu-
tan and to Bangladesh.
Chinese officials have sa-
id in the past that the pro-
jects were feasible and could
become a trade corridor for
India and China if New Del-
hi came on board. PTI
AROUND THE WORLD
BANKSYS TRIBUTE TO BASQUIAT: A woman takes a photo of one of the two murals painted by
street artist Banksy near the Barbican Centre in London. The artist said the mural was a tribute to
Jean-Michel Basquiat ahead of a new exhibition celebrating the American artists work
Fuel pipe burst in
NZ disrupts travel
plan of thousands
A rupture in the main pipe-
line carrying jet fuel to New
Zealands largest airport has
disrupted the travel plans of
thousands of people and is
expected to cause further
cancellations next week. About
60,000 liters of fuel spilled from
the rupture. A Auckland airport
spokeswoman said 41 flights
have been cancelled since
Saturday due to low jet fuel
supplies. He said most flights
were still operating as normal.
military has stepped in to help
by offering a naval tanker and
truck drivers to transport fuel
and by cancelling a planned
military exercise with Singapore
to help preserve fuel.
FAULT, THEN
INDIFFERENCE
IS A CRIME
JACK KEROUAC
Trump lashes out
at bloated body
AFP
United Nations: US Presi-
dent Trump criticised the
United Nations for bloated
bureaucracy and mismana-
gement on his first visit on
Monday to UN headquarters,
calling for truly bold re-
forms so it could be a greater
force for world peace.
Ahead of his maiden spe-
ech to the UN General Assem-
bly on Tuesday, Trump hos-
ted a short event to boost sup-
port for changes to the UN. Trump retweeted a doctored
In recent years, UN has not video on Sunday showing him
reached its full potential be- swinging a golf club and hitting
cause of bureaucracy and Hillary Clinton with the ball. The
mismanagement, while the GIF also shows Clinton tripping
budget has increased by 140% and falling after being hit
and its staff has doubled sin-
ce 2000, Trump said. initiate effective, meaningful
Trump said the UN must reform. Guterres, however,
hold every level of manage- agreed that UN bureaucracy
ment accountable, protect was a problem that kept him
whistleblowers and focus on up at night.
results rather than on pro- Trump, who complained
cess. I am confident if we during his campaign about
work together and champion
truly bold reforms, UN will
emerge as a stronger, more ef-
fective, more just and greater
the US paying a disproportio-
nate amount of money to the
UN, made the point again on
Monday. We must ensure
force for peace and harmony
in the world, Trump said in
his four-minute speech.
More than 120 countries
that no one and no member
state shoulders a dispropor-
tionate share of the burden
and thats militarily or finan-
were invited to attend Monda- cially. The United States is
ys reform meeting after sig- the biggest UN contributor,
ning on to a US-drafted 10-po- providing 22% of its $5.4 bil-
int political declaration back- lion biennial core budget and
ing efforts by secretary gene- 28.5% of its $7.3 billion peace-
ral Antonio Guterres to keeping budget. REUTERS
Riz Ahmed is first
Muslim to win Emmy
Los Angeles: British Pakis- thats based on real world suf-
tan actor Riz Ahmed became fering, but if this show has
the first Muslim actor as well shown a light on some of the
as man of Asian descent to prejudice in our societies, Is-
win an Emmy award on Sun- lamophobia, some of the in-
day and spoke about the sys- justice in our justice system,
tematic issue of in- then maybe that is
clusion. something. I dont
The actor took ho- know if any one per-
me the trophy for the sons win changes so-
outstanding lead ac- mething thats a sy-
tor in a limited series stemic issue of inclu-
for The Night Of , in sion. In this industry,
which he plays Nasir thats something
Khan, the son of a Pa- that happens slowly
Riz Ahmed
kistani cab driver over time, he said.
from Queens who becomes a Ahmed, 34, praised Ed
murder suspect. Ahmed is Skreins decision to step
the second Asian actor ever to away from the part of an Asi-
receive the honour, following an character in Hellboy re-
The Good Wife star Archie boot to give chance to a more
Panjabi, who won the suppor- deserving actor. Born in Lon-
ting actress award in 2010. Ah- don to a British Pakistani fa-
med talked about the impor- mily, Ahmed was known for
tance of the Innocence Pro- his work in The Road to Gu-
ject and the South Asian Yo- antanamo and Mira Nairs
uth Action organisation. The Reluctant Fundamenta-
It is always strange rea- list before his breakout role
ping the rewards of a story in Nightcrawler in 2014. PTI
AP
Funs over: Chinas shared
sex dolls snuffed out
with string. Zeng charged
between $8 and $12 for the
Chinas rentable sex dolls have
been yanked off the market and
five-minute procedure.
the firm responsible for them Malaysia cans beer fest
has apologised, just days after after Islamist anger
the shared girlfriends began
strutting their silicon stuff.
Chinese retailer Touch said it
Malaysia has canned an annual
craft beer festival after an
Islamist party warned it would
will explore healthier and more turn the city into the biggest
harmonious ways to diversify centre of vice in Asia.T he
peoples sex lives. The firm Better Beer Festival, billed as
was fined and ordered to cease Malaysias biggest craft beer
its promotional activities. festival, was due to take place
on October 6 and 7.
Man under lens for cutting
noisy dogs vocal cords Man didnt want to drink
A Chinese man is being in- alone, breaks in with beer
vestigated for running a veter- Police said a drunken Penn-
inary clinic on the street that sylvania man who didnt want
cut the vocal cords of noisy to drink alone forced his way
dogs for a fee. Chinese media into a womans home and sat
released footage of the alleged down with two 12-packs of beer.
quack using scissors to remove Sean Haller faces charges of
anaesthetised dogs vocal cords criminal trespass and remained
while their jaws were held open in the York County jail.