Ms Russia is Miss World '08, Ms India 1st runnerup

Miss Russia Kseniya Sukhinova has been crowned Miss World 2008. India's Parvathy Omanakuttan was adjudged the first runner-up at a glittering ceremony in Johannesburg, South Africa. Miss Trinidad and Tobago Gabrielle Walcott is the second runner-up. Among the other five finalists were Ms Angola Brigite Santos and Ms South Africa Tansey Coetzee.Parvathy impressed the jury with her looks and quick wit and was one the five finalists out of the 109 contestants at the Sandton Convention Center. However, she was finally beaten by Miss Russia.The final round was held in Sandton Convention Centre in Johannesburg and the country expects one billion-strong TV audience for the event aired on Zee Cafe.

India had high hopes on 21-year-old Parvathy to win the crown that last came to the country in 2000. India boasts of Miss Worlds like Reita Faria (1966), Aishwarya Rai Bachchan (1994), Diana Hayden (1997), Yukta Mookhey (1999) and Priyanka Chopra (2000).Wearing a charming white gown, Parvathy cat-walked confidently on the stage to answer her question in the final round. She was asked what being in South Africa meant for her. To this she compared the "similarity in the cultures" of India and South Africa and thanked the locals for their hospitality. She also compared legends Nelson Mandela and Mahatma Gandhi and how inextricably linked the two countries' fates have been.Earlier, a collective cheer went up in the audience when Paravathy’s name was announced at the end of a 15-name long list of semi finalists.

What to do when you get arrested

An important chapter in the manual gives detailed instructions about what to do if arrested. 'If any friend (jihadis are referred to as friends in the manual) gets into trouble he must remember one thing: Police or interrogators will give you the impression that they know everything about you, your organisation and other friends but, in reality, they know nothing so don't fall into their trap. You have to remain very composed, particularly when the interrogators threaten to harm your parents or sisters. They can use all kind of methods, but you are answerable only to God, so never betray your friends or the future plans of the organisation. Never give detailed answers and avoid unnecessary information. Try to confuse them about your friends. Never be afraid to die, even when interrogators threaten you with death or put you in front of a firing squad. These are mere threats and then, remember, you are a mujahid, and whatever you are doing is for the cause of your religion.'
Saeed's group, despite the ban on JuD's assets by the US Treasury Department, was openly soliciting funds for jihad through its weekly, Ghazwa. In an advertisement, the group sought Ushr from farmers. Islamic customs urge farmers to keep aside a 20th of his wheat crop for charity, Ushr. JuD said Ushr was needed to support jihad in Kashmir, Afghanistan and Iraq. 'Your Ushr will support mujahideen, their widows, their families, etc. It will also be used in buying weapons for mujahideen,' ran the ad.
In June 2008, Saeed was quite actively promoting the cause of jihad from his mosque in Lahore. 'Jihad is not terrorism. It is the biggest source of establishing peace on earth. The state of the world's affairs is changing rapidly because of the sacrifices offered by the Muslims. The Muslims must remain steadfast.'
This brief is largely drawn from the author's yet-to-be published Coming Blowback: How Pakistan is Endangering the World. He can be contacted at wjohn@orfonline.org
Image: An undated photograph of Maulana Masood Azhar, who was released during the Kandahar hijack episode. Photograph: Getty Images.

Notes from a terrorist's manual

An insight into the methodology of training suicide bombers can be gained from the 24-page Hidayatnama, or user's manual. 'To become a martyr,' the manual says, 'is the dream of every mujahid. It is a gift from God and will also send a message to the enemy that the mujahid would prefer to die in an interrogation cell rather than disclose any secrets which could harm other mujahids'.
The manual, seized from a suicide bomber in Pakistan, contains instructions for training and how to deal with interrogators if arrested. The first chapter begins with a stress on the need for 'collective restraint' and says 'every mujahideen should try not to divulge his personal problems to others in the organisation. Gathering information other than that required should also be avoided. Mujahideen should only move according to instructions from the centre'.
The second chapter focuses on 'personal constraint' and, advising jihadis to avoid keeping photographs and secret documents, warns 'you should try not to tell your family members about your whereabouts and also avoid meeting them as this could land you in trouble. Our relation is with God, whatever we are doing is for God, and all other relationships are meaningless. Therefore, try to avoid making friends and keeping in close touch with your relatives'.
Other chapters instruct the jihadis about keeping secrets, how to meet people in public places, and not to argue with the traffic police. One chapter details how to avoid using the Internet and mobile phones to communicate with each other. 'Every friend should avoid opening any Internet site that could land you in trouble or help others find out about your ideology or strategy like what happened with Al Qaeda. Always use a cafe for chatting or sending messages on the e-mail, but avoid sending e-mails from your own home or a friend's house. Similarly, first write your message on Note Pad or WordPad'.
Image: Zaki-ur Rehman Lakhvi, the alleged mastermind behind the Mumbai terror attacks.

Humanitarian cloak for terror's whiz kids

The military training, which was mandatory, and held quite openly before 9/11, trained recruits in 'infantry tactics and small arms -- from handguns to assault rifles; rocket-propelled grenade launchers and shoulder-fired Surface to Air Missiles like the Stingers'.
Pakistani expert Arif Jamal said the jihadis 'usually follow a basic military course of 21 days to get minimum training in Kalashnikov handling, hand grenades, ambushing. You come back to get advanced training only when you are planning to practically wage jihad. Even those who have minimum guerrilla training are better fighters than the Pakistani policemen.'
Some of the training, organised at the Umar Kuka camp and the Abu Bashir camp in Bahawalpur in Punjab, included physical exercises, theory and practice of making bombs, guerrilla warfare and escape and interrogation methods. Lashkar was the first terrorist group to introduce suicide attacks in Kashmir.
The recruits were also trained to 'use all means of communication including short messaging services on mobile phones, chatting through the Internet, central messaging through bulletin boards on the net and electronic messaging. In these training classes, recruits were told to communicate with each other through word of mouth instead of mobiles as often as possible. If mobiles were used, then the sets were to be dismantled once the conversation was over.
They also were told to make mobile conversations at crowded locations like commercial centres where 'it is difficult for the security agencies to isolate them and listen in to their conversation to detect their whereabouts.'
There is also evidence of Lashkar training its recruits in amphibious operations. Well-known American scholar Steve Coll (author of Ghost Wars), wrote in the New Yorker on December 1, 2008, that 'under the guise of humanitarian relief operations, Lashkar practiced amphibious operations on a lake at its vast headquarters campus, outside Lahore. Lashkar has rubber pontoon boats about 15ft long with a large outboard motor also useful for infiltrating militants into Indian Kashmir.' The terrorists who attacked Mumbai could also have been trained there.
Lashkar second-in-command, Abdur Rahman Makki, wrote in his book on suicide missions, Tareek-e-Islam Kay Fadayee Dastay, that 'it can be safely said that a fidayee action is not suicide, it is not killing oneself. It is only a style of fighting. Now-a-days, we hear of Lashkar-e-Tayiba mujahideen carrying out fidayee actions and returning safely by the blessing of Allaah Al-Mighty. The fidayee from Sargodha who carried out the 15 Corps Badami Bagh Srinagar fidayee action, Mujahid Salahud Din who led the fidayee attack at Srinagar airport and those who conducted the attack on the Delhi Red Fort, all returned safely after accomplishing their mission.'
Image: The Lashkar-e-Tayiba headquarters in Muridke, near Lahore.