Saturday, May 05, 2007

Middle East: "Pakistanis smash cars for Islam," Hizbullah "ready to defend Lebanon," Hamas "ready for combat"

The bad guys are keeping busy:

Al Jazeera: "Pakistanis smash cars for Islam":
Around 200 armed men have forcibly halted dozens of cars and smashed their cassette players in northwestern Pakistan in a bid to impose Taliban-style values.

A government official confirmed Saturday's incident but did not say if authorities planned any action against the men who also smashed mobile phones and ordered men to grow beards.

The men took up positions beside a road near Khar, the main town in the tribal region of Bajaur, where they stopped and searched passing vehicles, witnesses said.

"They smashed cassette players running music and mobile phones fitted with cameras," a driver, whose vehicle was searched, said.

The driver, who preferred anonymity, also said the armed men had urged clean-shaven tribesmen to grow beards.

Pakistan's lawless tribal belt is well-known as a hotbed of support for Taliban fighters in neighbouring Afghanistan.[...]

IRIB: "Hezbollah ready to defend Lebanon"
The Lebanese Islamic Resistance Movement Hezbollah has rebuilt its defences to face any new invasion from the Zionist regime, the Movement's Deputy Chief said in an interview with Al-Jazeera news channel.

"We have new (military) plans. We have completed ... our ground work in preparing our men, as well as our land, so that we would be ready if the 'Israeli' (government) thought one day of invading Lebanon again," Sheikh Naim Qassim said in excerpts of the interview aired on Saturday.

"We have evaluated the events of the second war on Lebanon ... and looked at the points of strength and weakness in a way that we would learn from the results of this war," he said referring to the Zionist regime's 33-day invasion to Lebanon last summer.

The full interview will be broadcast later on Saturday.

On Monday, an 'Israeli' probe accused Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and the regime's top army brass of "serious failure" in handling the invasion to Lebanon, prompting calls on Olmert to step down.
For a different view of Hizbullah, see this interview with Amir Taheri.

IRIB: "Be ready for combat: Meshal":
The Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement, Hamas' political bureau Chief, Khaled Meshal on Friday called on the inhabitants of West Bank to become ready for combat against the enemy.

"Be ready for combat. In fact we have entered a combat against bids such as building of Zionist settlements, Apartheid wall between the West Bank and occupied Palestine and abduction of 11,000 Palestinians by the Zionist regime," Meshaal addressed the Palestinian people in Yermouk camp in southern Damascus.

We will not quit our conditions about the exchange of abducted Palestinians with the Zionist soldier, Meshal said, adding that "the Zionist regime is forced to negotiate with us in this regard."

He also hailed the Lebanese Islamic Resistance Movement, Hezbollah which have troubled Olmert's future and made him face with a crushing report about the failures of the Zionist regime during its war against Lebanon.

Meshal called for end of sanctions against the Palestinian government.

"Attempts to topple the Palestinian democracy will fail," he underlined.

Meshal called on Arab states to be forerunner in breaking sanctions against the Palestinian nation.

"Don't wait for America's green light, otherwise the Palestinian people will not forgive you," Meshal advised Arab states.
Crossposted at Soccer Dad.

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