Turkish incursion

Turkish incursion 

Turkeys recent incursion into Syrian territory is likely to further complicate matters i the Arab country even if Ankara has legitimate security concerns about Kurdish militias active across its southern border. Turkey lanced the military offensive on Saturday, targeting the predominantly Kurdish YPG militia present in northern Syria; the incursion has involved air strikes as well as gourd troops. Ankara is wary of armed Kurdish groups gaining ground in regions close to its own Kurdish population, fearing that such groups may lend support to separatist Kurd within Turkey, it has in fact accused the YPG of having links with the PKK, the Kurdish guerrilla group with which the Turkish state has fought a nearly four decade war. The incursion may have been speared by recent comments from "American Officials the US Backs the YPG" of the creation of border security force made up of Syrian Kurdish fighters to keep a check on the militant Islamic State group. Turkey is naturally loath to see Kurdish fighters across the border gain permanent territory. however, Ankara's own plans of creating a buffer zone several kilometers within Syria is also questionable, primarily because it violates the territory of a sovereign country. The Syrian government has criticized the Turkish incursion, mainly because a large number of Syrian rebels are reportedly part of the Turkish force.

Whether it is the American plan of creating a border force or Turkey's buffer zone idea, any venture that further muddies the already turbid waters of Syria should be avoided. Extremist groups such as IS are on te back foot in Syria, thanks to the Russian Iranian support lent to Damascus as well as US led coalition efforts, of which the Syrian Kurd's have  been a major component. Considering that levels of violence are down, it would be folly to open up more fronts in the Syrian theater. Instead all stakeholders must focus their efforts on making negotiations succeed, whether it is the "UN" led effort in Geneva, or the combined Russian, Iranian and Turkish effort in Astana, Any move that could further disturb the fragile situation within Syria must be eschewed. Moreover, the territorial integrity of Syria must be respected. all stakeholders whether it is the rulers in Damascus or the Syrian opposition, or their external backer must work towards a united Syria where the rights of all ethnic groups, religious communities and secs are respected and guaranteed,

DNA helps Police catch suspect Zainab case

"DNA helps Police catch suspect i Zainab case"

According to JIT report, seven girls were raped and killed by the same 23-year-old perpetrator 

KASUR/ LAHORE: The nearly two week long manhunt for the culprit behind the rape and murder of eight year old Zainab in Kasur came to end on Tuesday, as investigators revealed that the DNA from tissue samples collected from a 23-year old resident of the same vicinity as the victim had matched samples obtained from the crime scene. 

Relaying on the DNA profiles of 1150 men between the ages of 20 and 45 years, the investigators finally zeroed in on Imran ali, a resident of Road Kot and a laborer by profession. He was the 814th suspect whose tissue samples were sent for DNA resting. the police had earlier taken him into custody twice but then released him over health complaints. Dressing a room full of reporters in Lahore on Tuesday evening, a visibly pleased Punjab Chief Minister Shabaz Sharif, accompanied by the victim's father Haji Ameen, announced that law enforcement agencies had worked round the clock to track down the culprit. He added that be had gotten the suspects;s CNA rechecked in his presence, and had Imran undergo a polygraph test to make sure there was no margin of error. Special Branch SSP Muhammad Ifanullah Khan, a senior member of the JIT. Claimed that the suspect had been arrested based on information provided by Special Branch officials. 

According to the report prepared by the joint investigation team probing the grisly crime, the suspect was first identified from the available surveillance video footage. the report, available with Dawn, adds that the police had taken him into custody twice but then released him after learning about his epileptic episodes. Muhammad Sajid, a public relation officer at the DPO's office, told dawn that the suspect was first taken into custody on Jan 9 when Zainab's body was recovered. However, the police released him after he pretended to have heart problems and started vomiting during the interrogation. 

Mr. Sajid added that the police had then released him without obtaining tissue samples for DNA testing because that had wanted to avoid a death in custody. Imran was taken into custody once again on Jan 19, in the light of intelligence reports. this time around, the police collected his tissue samples before releasing him once again, because of his health condition, he was finally arrested on Jan 22 Monday at around 11 pm after police revived the report that matched his DNA with samples obtained in at least seven other similar cases. According to the JIT report, seven girls had been raped and killed by the same perpetrator, while two other victims had survived. 

The JIT report says that several residents of Road Kot had identified Imran as the most likely suspect. 

At the press conference held in Lahore, Haji Ameen thanked the Supreme Court Chief Justice, the army chief and the Punjab chief minister for their help in tracing our the culprit. 

Mr Sharif said that since the suspect had been identified, he would now forma committee that would..... continued