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The 'real' Taliban (as opposed to the fake ones based in Pakistan who are heavily penetrated by suspect foreign intelligence operatives) now have shadow governors in all but three of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan. By CTV.ca News Staff Monday, 19 January 2008. KABUL, Afghanistan—The Taliban are claiming they control 70 per cent of rural Afghanistan and have instituted a shadow government with their own police, courts and rule of law. The boast comes in the days leading up to Barack Obama's inauguration as U.S. president, who is planning on dramatically ratcheting up America's military presence in Afghanistan. The Taliban's claim is being dismissed by many inside Afghanistan as empty rhetoric, but there is little denying that their presence is expanding. Khalid Pashtoon, a member of the Afghan Parliament, says there isn't enough NATO and Afghan troops to police the entire country. As well, the justice system is spread thin and some villager...

Antulay shoots mouth, says Karkare death suspicious Minority Affairs Minister AR Antulay found himself facing fierce criticism on Wednesday after raising doubts whether former Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) chief Hemant Karkare had been killed by elements unhappy with his investigations in cases involving “non-Muslims”. Karkare was independently investigating certain non-Muslims who were terrorists, Antulay said in an apparent reference to the Malegaon blast case in which Sadhvi Pragya Thakur and Lt Col Shrikant Purohit are allegedly involved. “Any person going to the root of the terror has always been the target” , Antulay said. The minister’s remarks came under immediate and sharp attack from the BJP and the Shiv Sena. “The Prime Minister must clarify whether these remarks are an ‘individual misdemeanor or the collective wisdom of the cabinet’,” said BJP spokesman Rajiv Pratap Rudy. Sena member Ananth Geethe demanded a clarification from Chidambaram. Later, in an apparent attempt to ...