Saturday 14 February 2015

POINT TABLE ICC WORLD CUP 14-02-2015

Australia win

Finch, Marsh star in big Australia win

Mitchell Marsh's 5/51 decimated the England middle order in a stiff chase

The World Cup marked its return to Australia and New Zealand after a gap of 23 years and both sides feasted on their respective oppositions to get their campaign off to a rollicking start. Shortly after New Zealand registered an emphatic win over Sri Lanka at Christchurch, Australia inflicted a 111-run hammering on England in the second Pool A match of the ICC World Cup 2015 at Melbourne.

Over the course of 100 overs, the match witnessed many firsts. Steven Finn became the first English bowler to register a World Cup hat-trick while Mitchell Marsh recorded his first five-wicket haul. However, all that was pale in comparison to Aaron Finch's sixth ODI century, which fetched him the distinction of becoming the fourth Australian cricketer after David Boon, Geoff Marsh and Andrew Symonds to score a century on World Cup debut.

Finch's 135 powered Australia to 342/9, after which Marsh's 5/51 shot England out for England 231 as a capacity crowd at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, touching almost 100,000, witnessed a real treat. A lot depended on the kind of start the English batsmen provided, and once the top four were removed for less than 70, there wasn't much scope of staging a comeback. James Taylor (98) staged a lone battle with Chris Woakes (37), but England's collective failure with the bat once again proved to be their Achilles heel.

Mitchell Starc provided Australia with an early breakthrough with the wicket of Moeen Ali in the fifth over. Ali, who had hit Josh Hazlewood for two boundaries in the previous over, miscued a pull off a back-of-a length delivery from Starc to find Australian skipper George Bailey at mid on. Ian Bell looked good from the outset and played his trademark cover-drives. But regular wickets at the other end prevented England from getting even a single partnership going barring the seventh-wicket stand of Woakes and Taylor.

Bell and Gary Ballance took England to 49 before Marsh's introduction changed the course of the England innings. In his first spell comprising four overs, he removed Ballance, Bell and Joe Root, and then came back to dismiss England skipper Eoin Morgan and Jos Buttler to finish with a maiden five-wicket haul in ODIs. The English batsmen fell victim to some poor shot selection and it was evident from the way their top order got out. While Ballance was out chipping to Finch at short-midwicket, Bell and Root mistimed deliveries which were short of length.

Taylor was the only batsman who showed some resistance. His fifty off 61 balls gave England some much-needed stability during the middle overs. Taylor and Woakes took England past 150 without further casualties and although their brave effort accounted for some entertaining strokeplay, it wasn't enough to get England over the line. Woakes' dismissal was followed by two quick wickets of Stuart Broad and Finn and had it not been for Taylor holding the fort, the margin of loss could have been more embarrassing.

The 25-year-old marched towards his maiden century but agonisingly missed out on the landmark by two runs. The end of the game was surrounded by controversy though. Hazlewood appealed for a leg-before against Taylor, which was given in favour of the bowler. However, Taylor and Anderson ran with the former reviewing the decision after the call. According to the rules, once the umpire makes his decision, whatever happens from there on doesn't matter. The replay showed the ball missing the leg stump but the fact that Anderson was run out at the other end signalled the end of the innings, much to Taylor's disappointment.

Earlier in the day, once Morgan put Australia in, Finch along with Glenn Maxwell and Bailey, who shrugged off his poor from with a 69-ball 55, took the skin off the England bowling attack and racked up 105 runs in the final 10 overs. The first 15 overs witnessed a see-saw battle between the two sides. England's initial sloppy fielding and wayward bowling allowed Finch and David Warner to race to 57 inside eight over, after which Broad and Woakes hit back with three quick wickets.

The wickets of Warner and Steven Smith were always going to be big, considering the freakish form they've been in of late. But England, despite sending both of them back inside three overs, ended up conceding their highest total against Australia. Three wickets in three overs was the perfect platform required for England to cash in, but the resolute batting pair of Finch and Bailey thwarted the opposition. England stemmed the run flow but once Finch got to his fifty, the scoring rate went up. Finch reached the three-figure mark off 102 deliveries.

By the time Finch and Bailey's 146-run association ended, the side had already crossed 200 with 12 overs to go. Maxwell found perfect partners in Marsh and Brad Haddin, with whom he added 53 and 61 runs towards the fag end of the innings. Maxwell, coming off a rampaging century against India in the warm-up, began where he had left off in Adelaide. He reeled off 33 runs off 12 balls and registered his fifty off 30 balls. In the final over, Finn sent back Haddin, Maxwell and Mitchell Johnson for a hat-trick, making him the first English bowler to achieve the feat in a World Cup.

Brief Scores: Australia 342/9 (Aaron Finch 135, Glenn Maxwell 66; Steven Finn 5/71) beat England (James Taylor 98, Chris Woakes 37; Mitchell Marsh 5/51) by 111 runs.

India-Pakistan World Cup games

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Walk down memory lane: India-Pakistan World Cup games

Pakistan are yet to beat India in a World Cup match.

It seems like it was yesterday that the ultra-rich and the poor were bound by a common thread that spelt victory. A vast, diverse nation was united by emotions like relief and satisfaction, delight and national pride. India's peoples' collective desire to encourage success came through tellingly when the team beat Pakistan for the fifth time in a World Cup cricket match in 2011.

Of course, there are many memories of India-Pakistan cricket, including Test matches in both nations, ODIs at a lot of venues, including Sharjah, and T20Is, including the first two in the ICC World Twenty20 2007 in South Africa. But, given that the World Cup comes only in four years, it would be appropriate to sift them and focus on the matches under the Big Tent.

The most emotional of them all, personally speaking, was played in 1996. Of course, India had won in Sydney in March 1992 but the contest in 1996 was played in Bangalore where the atmosphere was electrifying. Everyone recalls the spat between Pakistan captain Aamir Sohail and Indian swing bowler Venkatesh Prasad but there was more in that match than just that.

With Wasim Akram pulling out of the game, Waqar Younis was Pakistan's lead bowler and Ajay Jadeja waded into him in the final three overs. India took 41 runs off those overs. The other strong memory I have of that match is Javed Miandad's slow walk back to the pavilion after being run out. It was almost as if his shoes were weighed down with lead.

Three years later, England got their first insight into the nature of fans from the sub-continent and those who traced their roots back to South Asia as Mohammed Azharuddin's team won a tight game at Old Trafford in Manchester. Azharuddin himself launched a late attack to give the Indians a good total to defend and Venkatesh Prasad responded with a five-wicket burst.

From our seats in the press box, we could only sense a hint of trouble between the fans of the two teams, especially second-and-third-generation members of immigrant families but we learnt much later that some uncouth fans burnt the Indian flag after the match and were hauled up the law officers.

When India beat Pakistan in Centurion in the 2003 World Cup, Rahul Banerji, my colleague from the now defunct website espnstar.com, and I were pulled to the terrace of our East Delhi apartment to watch fireworks light up the night sky. It was a veritable Diwali in March, the pyrotechnics doing justice to the strokeplay of a certain Sachin Tendulkar.

The 2011 semifinal in Mohali saw the bowlers scrape hard to win for India and this after Tendulkar was dropped quite a few times during his 85 and Pakistani paceman Wahab Riaz's five. Dhoni's wisdom in choosing left-arm paceman Ashish Nehra over R Ashwin won him praise for his assured captaincy.

There was one frame that etched itself on my mind and I have to thank Shahid Afridi and Zaheer Khan and their smiles for that. Afridi chipped Zaheer to mid-wicket and the ball dropped just short of the fielder there and he managed just a single. As Afridi completed the run, they both broke into a smile.

Despite the unprecedented hype that preceded the game, there was not a hint of acrimony on the field that some expected in the high-voltage clash. This was highlighted when Nehra did not claim a catch after flinging himself forward at deep mid-wicket. And skipper Afridi showed grace when he unhesitatingly said "I want to say sorry to the people of Pakistan".

I remember being in the studios of All India Radio and as I drove back home afterwards, it seemed that flag-waving fans, young and old, were at the India Gate and Connaught Place, showcasing an outpouring of emotion that had started as soon as the cricket ball found safety in Virat Kohli's hands to signal the completion of the match.

What new memories will Sunday offer?

ARMY playing a vital role in Development of Country

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ISIS establish in Pak says American General

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We are Prepare Future Leaders

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every Muslim Wish

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we teach our children Peace and Our Religion Also

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Muslims are Peace Lovers

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Happy Monday

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It’s Monday and for once it’s not so bad. To celebrate, let’s watch some adorable animals. This week, we have a dog catching a huge fish, a close-up movie of bees, an overprotective kitten, a goat playing chess, a dog doing mad skateboarding tricks and a tiger chilling in a fountain. Happy Monday and enjoy yourselves.

Beautiful Pet

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It’s Monday so let’s skip all of our afternoon obligations to watch animal videos in the privacy of our homes. This week, we have guilty dogs, smart dogs, a seriously happy triggerfish, an elephant playing the harmonica, a snowcatching cat and ten reasons you shouldn’t keep a cheetah in your guest room. Have a truly excellent day.

Saturday 5 July 2014

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Shandur festival starts tomorrow

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Shandur polo festival starts tomorrow

Shandur polo festival is going to start from Friday. — File photo

CHITRAL: The three-day Shandur polo festival will be held on the scheduled date on June 20 (Friday) despite boycott of the event by the Gilgit-Baltistan team.
Talking to Dawn, on Wednesday, Chitral deputy commissioner, Aminul Haq, said that the provincial government had decided to hold the event on its scheduled date keeping in view the enthusiasm of the game lovers and arrival of tourists to the venue in large numbers.
Mr Haq said that the festival might be a low profile affair this year due to boycott of the Gilgit-Baltistan team, but it would still provide the level of entertainment and joy the people had been waiting for, for so long.

Know more: GB boycotts the festival

Meanwhile, president of district polo association, Shahzada Sikandarul Mulk, dispelled the impression that the absence of GB team would render the event less interesting for the fans.
“Eight teams from across the district are participating in the event, which means that the fans will have four thrilling matches to watch and be entertained,” he said.
Meanwhile, the tourists have started reaching here to travel onward to the Shandur polo ground to witness the event.
The administrations of a number of leading hotels in the city, including PTDC hotel, told Dawn that they almost had all their rooms booked. However, they said a fraction of tourists had cancelled their bookings over the decision of the GB government not to send its team to the event.
Meanwhile, the district police claimed to have made foolproof security arrangement to ensure safety of the participants of the event. DPO Ghulam Hussain said under a special security plan, 1,200 personnel had been deployed at the venue and on the roads leading to Shandur.

Bad news for 'Good' Taliban?

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Zarb-i-Azb — Bad news for 'Good' Taliban?

The operation puts a question mark over the future of several militant groups — File photo

The North Waziristan military offensive is on.
As we all hope, it will change the militant landscape of the country besides having a far-reaching impact on the political and strategic dynamics of conflict in Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA).
So far, militants in North Waziristan were the ones least challenged by the state’s counter-terrorism efforts. The tribal agency is (or was) considered the last resort of militants, which is why a comprehensive military campaign was required to establish the writ of the government.
But when news of the offensive first broke, one thing many Pakistanis found themselves submerged in was questions:

How long, how large will this operation be?
What happens to the 'good Taliban', to those who reportedly wanted peace?
Will a successful operation mean an end to terrorism?

Below, I've sketched a picture of the security scenario which the ongoing operation might create. It may answer the questions above to some extent.

Comprehensive and all-out

It is an inbuilt compulsion in the North Waziristan operation that Pakistan should go after the militants comprehensively and objectively. It will make Pakistan’s position difficult both on international and domestic fronts if militants continue using the tribal territories for hiding and launching operations both in Afghanistan and Pakistan or elsewhere.
The airstrikes going on in North Waziristan are mainly targeting foreign militants but boots will be on the ground soon in the second phase of the operation.

Good and Bad now hard to distinguish

The operation will eventually lead to termination of all the peace treaties made by the government with some of the militant groups in the past and distinction between the good and bad Taliban will become blurred.
Most importantly, it will become harder for Haqqani militants to stay in the tribal agency as their argument of having sought shelter in uncontrolled territories will no longer be valid.
Even during the operation, distinguishing between the good and bad militants would be difficult.

Just a day before the launch of the military operation, the government was trying to resolve some issues with a so-called good Taliban commander Hafiz Gul Bahadur, who heads local Taliban’s council, Shura Mujahideen.

He had signed a peace agreement with the government in 2006.
Bahadur was not happy about military’s surgical strikes, before the launch of operation, and warned the government of revoking the peace agreement. A tribal jirga mediated and tried to convince Gul Bahadur to clear the region of foreign militants.

Also read: 'Analysis: Why Bahadur is so vexed'

Perhaps Gul Bahadur was among the few who were certain that the military was going to launch an operation in North Waziristan. He had asked the residents to leave North Waziristan before June 20. His announcement, which asked people to move towards the Afghan border instead of going to relief camps in Bannu, expressed his anger over pre-operation military strikes, which he declared a violation of the peace treaty.
Though considered a “good Taliban” commander, Bahadur is known to have provided sanctuaries to foreign militants from the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU), East Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM) and Al Qaeda. His friendly attitude towards anti-Pakistan militant groups and special affiliation with the ETIM was frustrating for the security establishment.

Sajna's future hangs in the balance

Apart from Gul Bahadaur, the future of Said Khan Sajna has also become uncertain.
Sajna was recently trying to emerge as a new good Taliban commander. He was planning to organize a new Taliban alliance to replace Mullah Nazir group, which is currently headed by Bahawal Khan. In 2007, Mullah Nazir successfully threw out Uzbeks from South Waziristan; Uzbeks militants again started pouring in after Nazir’s death in a drone strike in January 2013.

Though Sajna is trying his best to be bracketed with the good ones, his group’s network in Karachi has become a matter of trouble for him. His faction is involved in criminal and terrorist activities in Karachi.

The Gul Bahadur episode reflected that the government considers it important to make the anti-state militant groups including the TTP weak enough before 2015 so that the Afghan Taliban would not be able to use them as a bargaining lever and should continue to look towards Pakistan for political support.

Lots to decide for the Army

Eventually it is the military leadership that will have to decide the fate of the militant groups based in North Waziristan during the recently launched offensive.
On the face of it, it appears as if the security establishment has decided to eliminate or push the militant infrastructure towards the other side of the Pak-Afghan border.

Also see: 'Operation Zarb-i-Azb: Interactive map'

Now, when the operation has been launched, past peace deals with the militants have no legal and moral grounds. At the same time, allowing Haqqanis to live in and operate from Pakistan’s tribal belt will not be strategically suitable as it will raise questions about the ability of Pakistani troops to hold its own areas after clearing them of the militants.

TTP elimination not guaranteed

The military operation in itself is not a difficult task. Pakistan army has capabilities to reclaim and hold the area in a minimum time-frame.

The post-operation situation seems hazy and subject to different scenarios. For example, a full-scale operation in North Waziristan cannot guarantee the TTP’s elimination.

There are two reasons for that:
First, the TTP and its local and international affiliates have expanded their networks in other parts of the country, and the number of terrorist sleeper cells is increasing.
Secondly, the North Waziristan militants can relocate to Afghanistan like Fazlullah did after Swat operation. Some media reports suggest that the foreign and local militants from North Waziristan had already started fleeing to neighbouring Khost province of Afghanistan, even before the launch of the operation.
It is not yet certain if the North Waziristan operation entails a strategic shift in the government's approach. Questions abound plenty, and we'll need more time for more answers.

fighters head to Syria, Iraq

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Indonesia fears terror return as fighters head to Syria, Iraq

JAKARTA: Indonesians are joining the procession of jihadists to Syria and Iraq, sparking fears they will revive sophisticated militant networks when they return and undermine a decade-long crackdown that has crippled the most dangerous cells.
Support for groups like the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), Sunni radicals currently rampaging through northern Iraq, is growing among Indonesian with dozens believed to have joined the insurgency.
Analysts say the fighters will pose a new and serious threat to Indonesia when they return home with honed insurgency tactics and international militant connections, echoing the concerns of Western governments.
Britain and Australia have expressed fears that Syria and Iraq are breeding grounds for violent militants who travel there from the West to fight and pose a threat to national security on their return.
Indonesia, the world's biggest Muslim-majority nation, has long struggled with terrorism but a successful clampdown in recent years has seen the end of major deadly attacks–ironically fuelling interest in Syria and Iraq.
“There's not much going on with jihad in Indonesia for militants anymore, “said Taufik Andrie, a terrorism expert at the Institute for International Peacebuilding.
“There are just fragmented groups with no resources or support, so many are inspired by what's going on in Iraq and Syria,” he told AFP.
“When they return, they will be seen as high-profile Jihadi. Young people will come to them for training, to form new groups, to plan attacks, to teach how to fight and make bombs.

- Support for ISIL 'growing' -

Indonesia's anti-terror unit has acknowledged that support for ISIL is growing, judging by rallies, social media and the sermons of radical preachers.
The militants have crossed the border from Syria into northern Iraq and taken over key cities in lightning gains, bringing the Iraqi army to its knees.
Indonesia estimates that 60 Indonesians have travelled to Syria and Iraq to fight but experts say the figure is closer to 100 and growing fast.
There are no laws prohibiting Indonesians from joining foreign militant groups and Islamic organisations have openly held fundraisers for ISIL.
“The government must pass legislation to criminalise citizens supporting and travelling overseas to join terrorist groups,” Rohan Gunaratna, a terrorism expert at Singapore's S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, told AFP.
Analysts point to neighbouring Malaysia which has been more active, arresting a dozen men in April who were trying to leave the country to fight in Syria.
It failed, however, to prevent a 26-year-old Malaysian from leaving the country for Iraq, where he carried out a suicide attack that killed 25 soldiers.
Indonesians know well the threat of returnees -- many of the country's most notorious terrorists trained in Afghanistan in the 1980s and 1990s and came back with vast networks, bomb-making skills and access to funding.
Some were in the Al-Qaeda-linked Jemaah Islamiyah, which was behind the 2002 twin bombings that killed 202 people on the resort island of Bali as well as other blasts on hotels and churches. The Bali bombings were a wake-up call that galvanised the government. An elite anti-terror police unit was established which has eliminated the masterminds of the attacks in bloody armed raids.

- Syria reigniting jihadist interest

The country has had no significant bombings for around five years as the JI network crumbled, leaving only splinter groups and small cells with little capacity.
But the civil war in Syria has reignited interest in jihad as some Muslims believe it is the start of the Islamic equivalent of Armageddon.
“Some jihadists in Indonesia see ISIL as the embryo of an Islamic caliphate, which is their ultimate goal,” said Solahudin, author of “The Roots of Terrorism in Indonesia” who goes by one name.
The fighters, almost entirely young men, are being wooed online. YouTube pulled a video from two channels Thursday of five Indonesian men in balaclavas claiming to be in Syria, calling for their compatriots to join the fight.
Radical Islamic websites, such al-Mustaqbal and VOA Islam, are publishing pro-ISIL news stories, describing its takeover of Iraqi cities as the “liberation” of Sunni Muslims in Shia-majority Iraq.
Most Indonesians are Sunni Muslims and tensions with minority Shias have intensified in recent years. Terrorism expert Andrie said returnees would likely exacerbate sectarian clashes.
Governments are increasingly concerned over the flow of foreigners to the Syria conflict, with the New York-based intelligence Soufan Group estimating some 12,000 have done so in the past three years.
Last month, an American man killed 37 people in a suicide bombing in Syria while a Belgian man who had fought with ISIL in Syria killed four people in a gun attack on a Jewish Museum in Brussels.
This week, Australia said around 150 Australians had learnt the “terrorist trade” fighting alongside Sunni militants in Iraq and Syria.
And in Britain the government has banned ISIL, with its security minister saying terrorism related to Syria's civil war “will pose a threat to the UK for the forseeable future”.

TTP commander Killed

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Karachi Rangers kill alleged TTP commander during operation

KARACHI: Rangers personnel conducted an operation in Sultanabad area of Manghopir in Karachi on Thursday, allegedly killing a key commander and the local vice-emir of the proscribed Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), DawnNews reported.
Rangers personnel had cordoned off the area sealing all entry and exit points of the locality while conducting the search operation.
Although the official Rangers spokesperson declined to give confirmation of the identities of those killed during the operation, security sources said that the vice-emir of the TTP's Karachi chapter identified as Abid 'chotu' was killed during the Rangers' operation in Sultanabad area of Karachi's Manghopir area.
The other TTP commander killed during the operation was identified as Fakhruddin Mehsud, according to the sources.
Two security persons also sustained injuries during the operation. They were later shifted to a hospital for medical treatment.

Zarb-i-Azb

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Zarb-i-Azb: 20 militants killed, 150,000 civilians evacuated

Civilians, fleeing from a military operation in North Waziristan tribal agency, carry their belongings as they arrive in Bannu district on June 20, 2014. — Photo by AFP

BANNU: Pakistan's military gunship helicopters pounded militant targets in North Waziristan tribal region on Friday, killing up to 20 suspected rebels, as the number of civilians fleeing an expected ground offensive passed 150,000.
Nearly 100,000 people have left North Waziristan tribal area, on the Afghan border, this week after the military launched a long-awaited assault against Taliban hideouts.
The authorities eased a shoot-on-sight curfew on Wednesday to give civilians a chance to leave before troops began a full-blooded ground operation.
A senior security official told AFP that gunship helicopters targeted militant hideouts in an early morning raid in Kutabkhel area of Miramshah, the main town of North Waziristan, killing up to 20 militants.

Also read: Zarb-i-Azb: 232 militants killed, 20 hideouts destroyed

A local intelligence official also confirmed the attack and casualties.
The military offensive began last week after a bloody and dramatic attack on Karachi airport earlier during the month brought an end to months of largely fruitless government efforts to negotiate a peace deal with the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).
Washington has long demanded action against militant hideouts in North Waziristan, which has served as a rear base for insurgents battling US-led forces in Afghanistan.
The area, one of seven semi-autonomous tribal regions on the Afghan border, has been an important base for the TTP, which has killed thousands in bombings and gun attacks during its seven-year insurgency.
The fighting also triggered a huge exodus of civilians from North Waziristan into Bannu, Peshawar and Kohat and across the border into Afghanistan.
“Some 157,000 people have arrived in Bannu from different areas of North Waziristan,” Arshad Khan, director general of the Fata (Federally Administered Tribal Areas) Disaster Management Authority, told AFP on Friday.
Registration points and camps have been set up to deal with the influx of people in Bannu, but many prefer to travel on to stay with relatives in other areas.
Thousands of people including women and children were seen travelling to Bannu by foot on Friday morning.

Civilians, fleeing from a military operation in North Waziristan tribal agency, carry their belongings as they arrive in Bannu district on June 20, 2014. — Photo by AFP

Women were sitting along the roadsides as vehicles and passenger vans kept moving at a snail's pace in long queues.

Threaten Afghan Elections By Talban

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Taliban threaten Afghan election, warn voters to stay away

KABUL: Taliban insurgents threatened Monday to attack Afghanistan's run-off presidential election, warning voters to stay away from polling stations for fear of injury or death.

Afghans are due to go to the polls on June 14 to choose whether Ashraf Ghani or Abdullah Abdullah should succeed President Hamid Karzai.

The militants, ousted from power in Kabul by a 2001 US-led invasion, threatened to attack the first round of voting on April 5 but the day passed off with a high turnout and no major security incidents.

In a statement in English on their website, the Taliban said their fighters “are once again fully prepared to operate against the workers and polling stations in the second phase of these counterfeit elections”.

“Therefore, you (the masses) should remain far away from the polling stations on 14th June, 2014, lest you should be hurt or killed.”

On Friday, Ghani, a former World Bank economist, said if elected he would put his name to a long-delayed security pact with the United States that Karzai has refused to sign. Abdullah has also said he would sign.

Ghani's pledge came only days after US President Barack Obama said the 32,000 American forces in Afghanistan will be scaled back to 9,800 by early 2015 and complete a full withdrawal by the end of 2016.

Ghani faces an uphill task after finishing second with 31.6 per cent — behind Abdullah with 45 per cent — in the eight-candidate first round.

The Taliban last week denounced US plans to keep troops in Afghanistan until the end of 2016, threatening to wage war against the “occupation” until the very last foreign soldier pulls out.

The militants' statement Monday quoted Islamic scripture to urge people to shun the poll, and poured scorn on the “cruel, corrupt” candidates and their Western backers.

A US general warned Saturday that the Taliban would redouble efforts to disrupt the second-round vote.

“I think the enemy is going to make a push on run-off day,” said Major General Stephen Townsend, commander of Nato-led forces in eastern Afghanistan.

On Saturday, the Taliban freed the only US soldier in their custody, Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl, in exchange for five of their own senior figures held at Guantanamo Bay.

The swap has ignited a political row in the United States but also raised hopes for peace as the US prepares to leave Afghanistan.

Washington has defended the swap as critical to saving Bergdahl's life after five years in captivity but Republican lawmakers criticised it, saying the freed Taliban could still pose a threat to Americans.

Mullah Mohammad Omar, the spiritual leader of the Taliban, issued a rare statement praising the release of the Guantanamo five as a “big victory”.

India int-ruble in Afghanistan

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Indian aid worker abducted in Afghanistan

HEART: An Indian aid worker was Monday abducted by unidentified gunmen in Afghanistan's western Herat province, local officials and India's foreign ministry said.

Sayed Fazullah Wahidy, governor of Herat province, said the aid worker was kidnapped in the afternoon, adding “police have started the search operation for him.”

India's foreign ministry confirmed the incident, with spokesman Syed Akbaruddin posting on Twitter: “Indian national working with an NGO (non-profit group) in Herat province of Afghanistan has been kidnapped.”

The Indian mission was “pursuing the matter with local authorities,” he added, without giving any further details.

Indian TV channels said the official was working with a global non-profit group in the education sector.

The kidnapping comes close on the heels of an attack on the Indian consulate in Herat on May 23 by four heavily armed gunmen who were later repelled by security forces.

The consulate assault was the latest in a long line of attacks against Indian targets in Afghanistan.

Nine civilians, including seven children, were killed in August last year when suicide bombers targeted the Indian consulate in the main eastern Afghan city of Jalalabad, detonating an explosives-packed car.

In 2008, a car bomb at the Indian embassy in Kabul killed 60 people and the embassy was again hit by a suicide strike in 2009. And in 2010, two guesthouses in Kabul used by Indians were attacked.

India was one of the chief enemies of the hardline Taliban regime which ruled Afghanistan before its ouster in the wake of the September 11 attacks on New York and Washington.

Pakistan was the Taliban's main ally and there have been accusations in India that the Pakistani security forces were complicit in previous attacks on its missions in Afghanistan.

Afghanistan is due for a run-off presidential election on June 14.

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Indian aid worker abducted in Afghanistan

By AFP

Updated 32 minutes ago

Local officials and India's foreign ministry said that the aid worker was kidnapped by unidentified gunmen in Heart. – File Photo