The government promised to install body scanners across Britain’s airports after a botched attempt to bring down a Detroit-bound jet on Dec. 25 — allegedly by a terrorist who hid explosives in his underwear. But privacy groups bristled at the prospect of scans that can peer under clothes to reveal hidden items, likening them to a “virtual strip search.”

The lawmakers said the fears were over-hyped.

“Air passengers already tolerate a large invasion of their privacy,” the House of Commons’ Home Affairs Committee said in a report covering counterterrorism measures at Britain’s airports. “We do not feel that full body scanners add greatly to this situation.”

The report welcomed the introduction of the scanners and recommended that other security measures be adopted quickly, including new equipment to sniff out trace levels of explosives.

It noted that other types of scanners could be introduced in other parts of the airport, such as the approach to check-in, although it did not specifically recommend it.

The committee said more passenger profiling should be done — for example looking at unusual or suspicious patterns in ticket purchases and luggage carried — but warned that it “should not be perceived to be undertaken on crude racial or ethnic grounds.”

The government said it was pleased with the report’s endorsement of security scanners.

Yemeni officials have claimed that some of the foreign nationals detained have connections with Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, who attempted to blow up a transatlantic airliner on Christmas Day last year, and Anwar al-Awlaki, a jihadist cleric.

The Hindustan Times reports that Suhas Chaudhary’s .38 was not locked, which led to the accidental firing on Saturday. Police report that Chaudhary had just finished his shift of guarding the Taj Mahal Hotel. When he was getting into his vehicle, he removed his gun and accidentally pulled the trigger.

No one else was reported to be injured and neither President Obama nor Michelle Obama were at the hotel when it happened. The bullet grazed Chaudhary’s leg before hitting the ground. He was taken to hospital.

Mumbai police’s crime branch is part of the outer security ring of the president’s three-day visit to the country, which concludes Monday. Obama’s 10-day trip to Asia will then move on to Jakarta, Seoul and Yokohama before he returns to Washington.

A security officer examines a computer screen showing a scan from a RapiScan full-body scanner at Manchester Airport, Photograph by: Phil Noble, Reuters

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – As Mahnaz Shabbir thought about a coming flight, she grew worried about the full-body scanners used at some airports.

Kansas City International Airport will be one of 11 airports getting body scanners by this summer, federal authorities announced last week. The scanner coming to KCI would be installed at a security checkpoint serving Southwest Airlines.

Shabbir is concerned that the scanners might compromise the modesty teachings in Islam. Other religious groups, such as Orthodox Jews and conservative Christians, express similar views.

The question is whether religious teachings on modesty will be trampled in the march toward better security.

“In Islam, both men and women should dress modestly,” said Shabbir, who does diversity training. “Women covering their arms, chest and hair are part of being modest, even though some Muslim women may not cover their hair and even wear sleeveless tops.

“But the body scan is going underneath our clothing and going where nobody should be looking except your spouse and your physician. So when some strange person, even in another room, is looking at you, my thought is, ‘Oh, my gosh, who is looking at my body?’”

She also doesn’t want her children to be subjected to the body scan because “that is exposing them.”

“I don’t have an issue with going through additional security,” she said. “But I would rather have a pat-down, which would be done by a woman.”

As to whether a refusal to undergo scanning will make a Muslim more suspicious, Shabbir said that since 9/11, “Muslims already feel that we are viewed with more suspicion.”

The Fiqh Council of North America, which is affiliated with the Islamic Society of North America, recently issued a fatwa, or religious edict, stating that scanners violate Islamic law and suggesting instead that Muslims request a pat-down.

The edict states that the scanners are a violation of Islamic law that men and women not be seen naked by other men and women and that modesty is considered part of the faith.

Renewed interest in airport body scanners has come since a Nigerian hid a chemical explosive in his underwear on a Detroit-bound flight on Christmas Day.

The Transportation Security Administration is in the process of deploying 150 scanners nationwide purchased with federal stimulus money, and that number is expected to grow. There are 40 machines in use in 19 airports across the country.

The full-body scanners are designed to detect items that metal detectors can’t. The TSA said the scanners produce a picture resembling a fuzzy image; facial features are blurred, and screeners helping the passenger can’t see the image.

Security officers viewing the images are in another area and do not see the passengers, and the images are automatically deleted after they’re viewed, the agency said.

But the religious concern is that the images, although grainy, show outlines of breasts, buttocks and sex organs.

TSA officials say customers may request a personal pat-down.

Orthodox Jews also have reacted. In a letter to Congress, Agudath Israel, an Orthodox Jewish umbrella group, called the full-body imaging “offensive, demeaning and far short of acceptable norms of modesty” within Judaism and other faiths.

It said the devices should be used only on passengers who fail metal detectors.

Rabbi Steven Weil, CEO of the Orthodox Union, said the scanners violate Jewish laws on modesty. While Islamic interpretations discourage exposure to either male or female eyes, it is not a violation of Jewish law for men or women to be seen exposed by the same gender, meaning Jews can walk through scanners if men are screened by men and women screened by women.

“You have two competing values. You have the need for security and safety, and the need for human dignity and modesty,” Weil said.

Rabbi Daniel Rockoff of Congregation Beth Israel Abraham Voliner in Overland Park, Kan., said that although modesty is a value across the Jewish spectrum, in general, the Orthodox community places added emphasis on dress.

“Women are to dress modestly; many will wear skirts below their knees and sleeves that go beyond the elbow and maintain an emphasis on modesty,” he said. “They would be uncomfortable knowing that the posture that they normally assume is being compromised in this situation (using the scanners).”

A pat-down done in private by a member of the same sex would be more acceptable, Rockoff said.

“If there is a real concern, someone wearing baggy clothing and thinking someone is hiding something under their clothes, then they absolutely should use a body scanner,” he said. “You are talking about saving lives. Within Jewish law that would be permissible.”

Some conservative Christians also share concerns about the scanners. Bishop Jack Vaughn of the Evangelistic Center in Kansas City, Kan., said the Pentecostal tradition, of which his church is a part, teaches modesty, such as encouraging men and women not to dress seductively.

The definition of dressing modestly may vary from congregation to congregation, but modest dressing is the general principle, he said.

“In light of what a scan would reveal, I personally would not feel comfortable,” Vaughn said. “You don’t want to feel that you are being violated. I would be more comfortable with a pat-down.”

Buddhism and Hinduism seem to have fewer problems with the scanners.

“We are very logic-based, so we would consider the motivation and the rationale behind the need for scanners and that it is done with respect,” said Lama Chuck Stanford of the Rime Buddhist Center and Monastery in Kansas City.

In Hindu teachings, modesty is a value that applies to several aspects of life and dress is lesser in priority, said Suhag Shukla, managing director and legal counsel for the Hindu American Foundation.

“Modesty, most importantly, is a value that all individuals, regardless of gender, are encouraged to apply to their thoughts, attitude and action.”

The full-body scanners could be a source of discomfort for anyone, she said.

“Hindu scriptures, however, are also replete with examples of individuals sacrificing personally for the greater good,” she said. “In this case, safe air travel.”

Talking to reporters in Islamabad, Gates said that 12 RQ-7 Shadow unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) will be part of one billion dollar allocation for Pakistan from its Coalition Support Fund.

He said weapons and equipment will also be provided to Pakistan for the war against terrorism.

The Shadow UAVs will help build the Pakistan Army’s capacity for intelligence-gathering, said the U.S. defense secretary.

Gates did not reply to a question whether the U.S. would impose any condition as that the Shadow drones could not be used along Pakistan’s eastern border with India.

Defense analysts say that the Shadow drone is smaller than the pilotless plane the U.S. is using to hit militants in Pakistan’s tribal belt. But they consider it an important move for the U.S. to bolster the military ties with Pakistan and a key step for the final pullout of U.S.-led NATO troops in Afghanistan.

“It will have a very positive political impact. It will reduce the embarrassment of the political leadership,” said Talat Masood, a retired army general and defense analyst.

The Shadow is 11.2 feet (3.41 meters) long and has a wingspan of 14 feet (4.27 meters). The latest version of this drone has a range of about 110 km and an endurance of six hours.

The Pakistan Army already has less sophisticated and indigenously developed drones that it uses for surveillance and reconnaissance purposes.

Gates also said the U.S. will soon make a payment of 500 million dollars from the Coalition Support Fund to reimburse Pakistan for its expenses in the war on terror.

Islamabad has been complaining about delays in the reimbursement of its expenses. And President Asif Zardari and Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, in meetings with Gates on Thursday called for early payment of the fund. Zardari told the U. S. defense secretary that Pakistan has suffered 34 billion dollars since the U.S-led coalition in 2001.

FBI special agent Richard J. Kolko confirmed the arrests of the New Jersey suspects.

The arrests of two more Americans as would-be jihadists recently, as they were trying to board flights from New York City to Somalia, is a warning that the face of terror may be changing. Threats not only come from abroad; they can be homegrown.

Domestic terrorism is not new … as this area, home to the late Timothy McVeigh, is all too aware. And the two New Jersey men unmasked by an undercover New York City police officer and arrested as they headed toward hoped-for terror training were just the latest episode in domestic arrests that started with the Lackawanna Six shortly after 9/11.

So far, there have been 49 cases of radicalization and recruitment to jihadist terrorism within the United States, and 133 arrests. And so far, the would-be terrorists have proven, thankfully, inept.

But it only takes one. And America must not let down its guard.

“There is no long mile between the terrorist wannabe and the lethal zealot,” Rand Corp. analyst Brian Jenkins testified May 26 before the House Homeland Security Committee.

America’s Muslim-American community plays a huge role in maintaining our guard. It has indeed been helpful … the local chapter of the Muslim American Public Affairs Committee has been recognized for its work with the FBI … but there must be no let-up in community condemnation of terrorism and the organizations that support it.

Studies show that jihadism has not gained a real foothold in America. But the same studies show that support for jihad is stronger among impressionable young Muslims, and that should be a cause of Muslim community as well as national concern.

A Rand Corp. study released in May found that a spike in domestic terrorism during 2009, 13 in that year alone, was caused by young individuals who mostly recruited themselves … drawn to the cause by factors as varied as personal problems to a desire for prestige and to be seen as a warrior in a global struggle. The study predicted a rise in domestic terror attempts in the future, finding that a key factor has been the growth of Internet sites and chat rooms.

The report also contrasts the domestic terrorists of the 1970s, who favored symbolic violence, with today’s terrorists who aim for high body counts.

The Rand study follows a survey done three years ago by the Pew Research Center, which found that 76 percent of American Muslims were concerned about the rise of Islamist extremism worldwide and 61 percent were concerned about its possible rise in the United States.

That survey also found that 78 percent believed suicide bombing in defense of Islam could never be justified while 8 percent thought it could, and that 5 percent favored the views of al-Qaida.

But the numbers for Muslim-Americans younger than 30 were more troubling: 15 percent said suicide bombing could be often or sometimes justified. And the pollsters were surprised to find that only 40 percent of American Muslims believed Arabs were responsible for the 9/11 ttacks.

The more recent Rand study concludes that public reaction … both in downplaying any jihadist “glamor” and detecting problems … is a key component of homeland defense.

Overwhelmingly, the vast majority of Muslims here are happy in this country and decry the violence that occurs. As Jenkins testified, the 133 arrests so far only show “a tiny turnout in a Muslim-American community of perhaps 3 million,” and there are several thousand Muslims in our armed forces.

What we are seeing, he said, are “veins of extremism, handfuls of hotheads but no deep reservoirs…. Al-Qaida’s exhortations to violence are not resonating among the vast majority of Muslim-Americans.”

But who is most likely to dissuade young Muslims from acting? Muslim leaders can look in the mirror for that answer. They wield community influence, and also can gain more support from the average American for U.S. Muslims. Continued strong statements by the leadership of Muslim organizations, repeatedly condemning violence, are called for. There should be a well-conceived campaign to meet this goals … and continued strong denunciation of would-be jihadists and of violence when it does occur.

Airport officials thought to be investigating whether passports were genuine or fake

They were arrested along with five Pakistani nationals after they were allegedly seen swapping boarding cards, the officials said.

However, a spokesman for the Foreign Office said that no British nationals had been arrested.

According to a Pakistan immigration official, five British nationals were booked onto a flight to Manchester, believed to be operated by local airline Air Blue, while the Pakistani nationals were due to board a flight to Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

The ten had already completed immigration and security checks, including having their photographs taken, and were in the departure lounge when they were arrested, the officials said.

A Foreign office spokesman said there was no indication that the incident was terrorism-related, while other sources suggested the motivation for swapping boarding cards was more likely to be illegal immigration into Britain by the Pakistani nationals.

“We’re investigating their motives,” said a Pakistan interior ministry official.

BSF and Pakistan rangers perform beating the retreat ceremony at the Indo-Pak Wagah border in Amritsar

Islamabad, Nov 7 (IANS) Pakistan has shot down an Indian suggestion to do away with the aggressive posturing and boot-stomping during the traditional flag-lowering ceremony at the Wagah border post between India and Pakistan, an official said.

‘The troops will continue their daily parade as part of the flag lowering and hoisting ceremonies at Wagah border in the traditional enthusiastic style without any change as such,’ said Nadeem Raza, a spokesman for Pakistan Rangers (Punjab).

‘However, it has been decided to revive formal handshake between the officers representing the two sides.

‘No change has been introduced in the parade’s style otherwise, and the apprehensions expressed by the Indian Border Security Force (BSF) regarding the ‘hostile gestures’ by the Rangers are baseless,’ he added.

The Rangers were yet to receive a fresh request or proposal from the BSF about how to minimise the aggressive gestures during the drills, the spokesman said.

During a joint media briefing Oct 30 by Pakistan Rangers (Punjab) Director General Maj. Gen. Muhammad Yaqoob Khan and his BSF counterpart Raman Srivastava, the Rangers chief had said both countries had agreed to tone down the hostile gestures exchanged by soldiers at Wagah border during the flag hoisting and lowering ceremonies.

‘Though it was not on our agenda, on my counterpart’s request we have discussed it and decided to tone down the offensive gestures like fist gestures, hand touching, thumb-showing, staring etc. The soldiers from both sides will also shake hand with each other so as to have a cordial environment during the daily flag lowering ceremony,’ he had said.

Khan now said the drill at Wagah will ‘continue in its traditional way’.

‘These practices were not aggression and were just part of the drills,’ the Dawn Sunday quoted Khan as saying.

    A security manager of a private security company based in Islamabad, on condition of anonymity, told Xinhua that some of the companies have training facilities for their employees but most of the companies don’t concentrate on enhancing the security-related skills of its employees.

    ”Companies like ours always prefer to employ personnel of the armed forces and believe that they are already trained, but for non-armed man the companies have no training facilities. I think even the ex-army men need some training,” he said.

    Private security companies are supposed to train their guards or hire ex-servicemen, but in reality they are not following the serules, clients said.

    Moreover, dozens of companies don’t pay salaries to the guards on a periodic basis, while payment of some companies are too low to satisfy its employed guards who sometime perform duties for more than 10 hours a day.

    A 48-year-old guard of a private company told Xinhua that he hasn’t got his last month salary so far as they are paid, generally, after 54 days. He said that he is an ex-army man and a retired driver.

    He said he had gone through a month-long training after he joined the previous company but in the current company he got no training.

    Another guard, 50, who retired from Pakistani army said the company pays him a monthly salary of 6,000 Pakistani rupees (about71 U.S. dollars) while the company charges its clients much more.

    ”After retirement I joined a security company in Karachi then came to Rawalpindi. In the present company I don’t know even about the status of any contract, neither they signed any contract with me,” he said.

    Without any leave policy and with a low pay, he said he had to quit.

    However, an officer of a security company said the wages he pays his men are proportionate to what people are willing to pay to be protected as most are unwilling to pay too much.

    Most of the guards are employed after retirement of the government service and a large number of them age above 50.

    A guard, also a retired army man, said he is 50 plus and have to support his family and the majority of the guards have similar service background.

    Low pay, long-hour duty and no training negatively influence the morale of the guards who fail to satisfy the clients.

    ”I am continuously paying private security companies and changing guards, but now I feel obliged to arrange personal employees instead of hiring from a company as it failed me,” said a business man.

    In view of the perceived insecurity, fear of unseen happening and street crimes, the demand for guards of the private security companies is going up since 2009.

    The demand of the guards for houses, companies, NGOs, offices, shops and other businesses is continuously increasing roughly by 15 percent per month in the country, according to a recent survey. Total number of the guards is swelling rapidly.

    A security manager said that the number of guards in the twin city of Islamabad and Rawalpindi has reached to tens of thousand.

    Keeping the market demand in mind, some high-standard security companies have also raised their fees and altered their contracts, demanding more facilities for their guards and increasing the tenure of the contracts.

    Some of the companies have increased the monthly salaries of their guards, consisting of former army jawans and civilians, to 15,000 rupees (about 179 dollars), while the salaries for former special services group commandos have been raised to 25,000 rupees (about 298 dollars) or more. But the majority of them are still paying low salaries with no proper facilities for their guards.

    However, problems exist as a few companies have been involved in illegal operations. Recent crackdown against the unregistered companies in Pakistan is an evidence of it.

    The capital police during a raid in I-10 sector of Islamabad on Jan. 5 arrested the director of a private security company and seized huge quantity of illegal weapons.

    The director was arrested when he produced fake license during the checking process carried out by the police. The police also seized eight repeaters, two pistols, a 44-bore rifle and rounds from the company in the crackdown.

    Meanwhile, there is an increase in street crimes in major cities and people believe that guards of these companies are involved in these crimes. A local resident in Islamabad said a few of the guards were involved in street crimes and sometimes police do inquire guards on duty when a crime is committed.

    Police said the private security companies in Pakistan are operating under an administrative order issued by the Ministry of Interior in 1988 and the security companies are required to register themselves with the Securities & Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) under the Companies Ordinance, 1984.

    There are about 593 private security companies in the country, out of which 164 are registered in Islamabad that have several thousands guards. Given their huge numbers and growing importance, these security companies need to do more to meet the challenges in the country.