The recent talks with Taliban and the change in the political scenario, have led the president of Afghanistan to change his mood. Keeping in mind the exit of US and NATO troops from the country, this leads speculation of change in the political leadership, in the country. Most of people think that after the exit of NATO troops from the country, Taliban will get more momentum in their attacks. After recent attacks in Kabul, the Afghan president speaks openly about the changes in the political scene. Hamid Karzai accuses US officials that they are behind some killing and blast in order to prolong their stay in the country.

This statement is a clear message to the non-Pashtuns that Pashtuns are an enemy of your country, and he wants to get the support of non Pashtun people in upcoming elections. Most of the people thinks that this statement is just to capture the attention of people by accusing the US officials in prolong their stay in the country. Almost more than 60% of the people living in Afghanistan are non-Pashtuns, and they believe that Pashtuns will take over the government once America leaves the country. In fact, they are the supporters of America and this statement was meant to capture the attentions of non-Pashtun people. They think that America and NATO are the best guarantee against the takeover of Pashtun Taliban’s.

Things are getting changed after the US officials admitted that they had held talks with the leadership of Taliban in Qatar. It has been a clear sign that the US and NATO want to leave the country. Hamid Karzai and the pro-American lobby in the country feel that America must take Afghan government in confidence before negotiations with Taliban. However, at some parts of the country, the Afghan police and the army took charge but they are not as strong as the NATO. They fear that Taliban’s will come again, and they will rule them for the next decades.

On the other side, things are getting worse for America as people are starting to raise questions against the American policy regarding terrorism. People feel that America is wasting its money and life of soldiers. It has been more than 10 years now, and they are unable to create peace in the country. Although they killed the most wanted person on the earth last year, but still they didn’t achieve the goals and objective they wanted to achieve.

Keeping all in mind, president Karzai and the USA officials have spoken freely on their issues. Mr. Hagel, the defense secretary, cancelled the joint press conference in Afghanistan with Karzai. He sent the message that this press conference was cancelled due to security reasons. He further told the media that now the American people are not sacrificing the life of their men and women for the people of Afghanistan.

In short, the negotiations with Taliban leadership besides the exit of the NATO and US troops from Afghanistan are major reasons behind the sour relationship between the Karzai government and the US officials.

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The family of slain Wall Street Journal reporter may finally have an answer to who killed the infamous reporter in a gruesome recorded beheading in Karachi, Pakistan. Officials in Pakistan arrested Qari Abdul Hayee for his alleged involvement in facilitating the kidnapping of Daniel Pearl, which eventually resulted in his death. Pearl was in Karachi to research a story about Pakistani militants and Richard Reid, the so-called “shoe-bomber”.

Pearl was kidnapped by militants and later decapitated. His killers sent a chilling video of his killing to U.S. officials. The video of Pearl’s death received condemnation all over the world. The video started off with Pearl seen declaring his Jewish heritage.

He said that his name is Daniel Pearl. He is a Jewish-American. His father is Jewish. His mother is Jewish. He is a Jew.”

The correspondent then went on to make statements that most analysts believe were made under duress. He spoke about how he had visited Israel several times with his family, and that a street in an Israeli town was named after his great-grandfather, one of its founders. The camera then turned over to members of the militant groups, who then claimed responsibility for the abduction of Pearl. The militants described themselves as members of the National Movement for the Restoration of Pakistan’s Sovereignty. They demanded the release of Pakistanis being held without due process at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba by the United States, as well as an end to the presence of U.S. troops in Pakistan, and the delivery of F-16 fighter jets purchased by Pakistan but never delivered.

Qari Abdul Hayee was arrested in a paramilitary operation targeting local militants in the port city of Karachi on Sunday, according to a senior government official who preferred to remain anonymous. He said that the covert operation was based on intelligence information received by security forces and that a significant number of weapons were recovered during the targeted raid.

Hayee is not the first man to be arrested in connection with the kidnapping and murder of Daniel Pearl. Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh, a British militant was recently sentenced to death for his role in Pearl’s murder by an anti-terrorism court in the Pakistani city of Hyderabad. Three other accomplices to the murder were awarded life sentences, a term that is normally equivalent to twenty-five years in Pakistan. Khalid Sheikh Muhammad, who was also arrested in Pakistan in 2003, confessed to killing the Wall Street Journal reporter. Interestingly, Muhammad, who is also a suspect for his role in the 9/11 attacks, has not been charged with Pearl’s murder as U.S. officials felt it might complicate his prosecution for the deadly attacks on the World Trade Center.

Pearl’s widow, Mariane Pearl welcomed the capture of terrorists involved in her husband’s death, saying that it should serve as a reminder that there is still “a vast and international network of terrorists.” At the time of her husband’s death, a pregnant Mariane Pearl had called upon the international community to take responsibility for fighting terrorists, and upon citizens to take a more active role in deciding their countries’ foreign policies. The fact that no one has been charged with the tragic death of Daniel Pearl in Karachi, Pakistan serves as a stark reminder that a lot needs to be done to make the world a safer place, but this arrest will bring some comfort to those who had gotten to know the budding journalist.

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Human. Pakistani. Law Student. Muslim.

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The Maryland chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-MD) is calling on Marylanders to contact several public officials in that state to request that they withdraw from participation in the upcoming Maryland Conservative Action Network Conference in Annapolis because the leader of a designated anti-Muslim hate group will speak at the event.

An action alert distributed by CAIR-MD calls on concerned citizens to send those officials a letter, which states in part:

"You are one of the few public officials who have chosen to speak at this conference. I believe your appearance with a hate group leader would be a disservice to your constituents and would bring disrepute to your office. I respectfully urge you to withdraw from this conference.

"The headline speaker at this event is Pamela Geller, one of the nation's most virulent Islamophobes. Geller's organization, Stop the Islamization of America (SIOA), is designated as a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), which also named Geller as a member of the 'anti-Muslim inner circle.'

"Geller has bragged online that she uses a Quran, Islam's holy text, as a doorstop. Two hotels, one in Texas and another in Tennessee, dropped scheduled events that featured Geller as a speaker. Her hate blog was cited by Anders Breivik, the terrorist who went on a killing spree in Norway.

"Geller has claimed that 'Hitler and the Nazis were inspired by Islam' and that Islam 'mandates' lies and deception. She has also posted images on her blog that include a fake photograph of then Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan in a Nazi uniform, another fake image of President Obama urinating on an American flag, and drawings purporting to depict Islam's Prophet Muhammad as a pig.

"One image posted by Geller, headlined 'Piss Be Upon Him,' showed one of the controversial Danish cartoons of the prophet covered in urine. ('Piss Be Upon Him' is designed to mock the traditional phrase 'Peace Be Upon Him' that Muslims use when mentioning any prophet of God.) In a 2010 blog entry, Geller posted a video claiming that Muslims engage in bestiality."

CAIR-MD is also encouraging concerned citizens to take part in a protest of Geller's presence at the Saturday event.

CAIR press release, 9 January 2013

See also "Kipke rejects group's call to boycott speech by 'Islamaphobe'", Maryland Gazette, 9 January 2013

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