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Monday,
January 28, 2002, Chandigarh, India  
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Pak may
test-fire Shaheen-II UK Qaida
men have Pak connections Declare
Al-Qaida men PoWs: Powell
R-Day
celebrated with gusto |
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Lion of
Kabul roars no more
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Pak may test-fire
Shaheen-II Islamabad, January 27 Pakistan might test one of its Shaheen-II missiles or take advantage of Indian test and begin a series of tests for its Ghauri, Shaheen and Hataf missiles, reports here said today. Pakistan’s defence spokesman, Major Gen Rashid Qureshi, had claimed yesterday that Pakistan’s deterrence was fully in its place and said Islamabad also reserved the right to conduct the tests of its missiles. A report in the local daily Jang quoting sources said today that Pakistan might test Shaheen-II, if the international community did not take strong notice of Agni-II test-firing. Judging from the response of the international community, barring expression of regret by countries like Britain for the timing of the Agni-II test, the international reaction appeared to be not so adverse as expected by Pakistan. Another newspaper, Pakistan Observer said yesterday that Pakistan initially decided not to test Shaheen-II for fear of exposing its secret locations of missiles due to the presence of US troops in Pakistan airbases. Following India’s decision to test-fire Agni-II, President Pervez Musharraf called an emergency meeting of his military and civilian colleagues immediately to discuss the response. Other reports suggested yesterday that those consulted by Musharraf included, Dr Abdul Qadeer Khan, considered father of Pakistan’s nuclear bomb. Khan retired last year and was made Adviser to Musharraf. It said initially Pakistan has decided not to be provoked by the Indian missile tests and wait to see the international reaction. But if the international community maintained silence, it might go ahead and conduct a missile test, the newspaper said. Shaheen-II has an expected range of 2500 km. Another newspaper Nawai Waqt said the test firing of Agni, has paved the way for Pakistan to conduct more missile tests. Pakistan is said to be ready to conduct test of its ballistic missiles, which have been pending for a long time, it said. According to the report, under the Hataf series, Pakistan had produced Ghauri, Shaheen and Hataf-I but because of immense foreign pressure, it had to confine itself only to conducting two tests each of the Ghauri and Shaheen and one of Hataf-I. Following the Indian missile test, Pakistan has indicated that it might resume testing of various versions of its missile system, it said. Pakistan has already tested affective reach of the short-range Hyder-I Missile, but its first test flight is still to be conducted. Those institutions working on missiles have also been pressing the government to give permission to conduct more missile tests, it said. Meanwhile, President Musharraf has told Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee that he wanted to establish a “tension-free” relationship with India and expressed his readiness for a sustained dialogue with New Delhi to resolve the differences. “I would like to reiterate our readiness to engage in a serious and sustained dialogue with India to commence together a journey of peace and progress. Pakistan desires to establish tension free and good neighbourly relations with India,” Musharraf said in his message to Vajpayee on India’s Republic Day. It is significant that Musharraf chose to send two different sets of messages to President K.R. Nayaranyanan and Prime Minister Vajpayee on the occasion of Republic Day. LONDON:
Britain’s Times newspaper quoted President Pervez Musharraf yesterday as saying he planned to lead Pakistan for the next five years, steering his country to a “fine-tuned democracy”. It also quoted Musharraf as saying he was convinced that despite the threat of war with India, there would be no conflict to interrupt his plans to reintroduce democracy and eliminate Islamic extremism in Pakistan. “It is important for the future of the country and democracy that I remain there,” he told The Times in an interview in Islamabad. After parliamentary elections scheduled for October, Musharraf might seek endorsement for a new five-year term through a referendum and have the verdict ratified by parliament, The Times said. Most Pakistanis believed he would easily win public support in such a referendum, it said.
PTI, Reuters |
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UK Qaida men have
Pak connections London, January 27 The arrested men in Cuba include three Britons. Five more British Muslims who were rounded up in Afghanistan are due to be sent to Cuba. All eight of these have extensive Pakistani connections. US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has described the men rounded up to be taken to Cuba as the “hardest of the hardcore” terrorists. The arrests and the interrogation of these men have shown that Britain has become an even bigger centre for recruiting terrorists than was realised earlier. The leader of an Islamic group told IANS that almost all of the volunteers from Britain are Pakistanis. The leader who has often gone on record earlier did not want to be named because he said “the atmosphere is difficult.” The leader of one Islamic group, Al Madad, who was involved in large-scale recruitment, is now reported to have gone missing. He had said earlier that his group helped recruit more than 1,000 youths over five years. The extent of the recruitment drive was revealed also by The Observer, which reported on Sunday that a video showing Islamic extremists killing and mutilating non-believers is being circulated among mosques in Britain. The video is being circulated by groups with links to Al-Qaida, the paper said. Two of the British Muslims now at Cuba, Asif Iqbal (20) and Shafiq Rasul (24) left for Pakistan just days after September 11. Hundreds of others flew out in the days and weeks following, according to official sources. The videotape showing images of Islamic militants maiming and killing “infidels” was shown in mosques to “inspire” young people to join Osama bin Laden’s network, a report said. The video, smuggled into the UK only days before the September 11 attacks, was produced by the Salafist Group for Preaching and War (SSPC), an extremist Algerian organisation backed by Bin Laden and widely regarded as one of the most active and brutal, it said. A second video shows graphic footage of Taliban soldiers decapitating Northern Alliance opposition troops following a gunfight in Afghanistan, it said adding several other videos were being sold in Britain to raise funds for Islamic
‘cause’. IANS, PTI |
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Declare Al-Qaida men PoWs: Powell New York, January 27 Mr Powell’s defiant challenge is revealed in a four-page White House memo obtained by the Washington Times and published yesterday in advance of a National Security Council summit tomorrow. The proposal would radically transform conditions under which the prisoners are being kept and clarify their legal status. A source told The Observer: ‘The Secretary of State has for a while been monitoring with some international concerns over the treatment and status of prisoners.’ While the White House refused to comment on the memo yesterday, sources indicate that most of the President’s security team would oppose the suggestion.
The Observer, London |
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R-Day celebrated with gusto INDIA’S 52nd Republic Day was celebrated with gusto and enthusiasm abroad, marked by flag-hoisting functions and rendering of patriotic songs. In Beijing, Indian Ambassador to China Shivshankar Menon unfurled the National Flag and read out President K.R. Narayanan’s message at a function held at the Indian Embassy. The Republic Day reception was held on Friday, at which the chief guest was Chinese Vice-Foreign Minister Wang Yi. In Bangkok, the unfurling of the Tricolour by Indian Ambassador to Thailand Leela K. Ponappa and patriotic songs marked the R-Day celebrations. In the USA, the Republic Day celebrations were marked by flag-hoisting and the reading of President K.R. Narayanan’s message at the Embassy and Consulates. The Indian community in Washington organised receptions, community functions like music, dance and food fairs on the occasion. The day was celebrated with great enthusiasm in Russia. Braving freezing wind and snow hundreds of Moscow-based Indian families gathered in the Indian Embassy compound for the flag-hoisting ceremony. Republic Day functions were held in several Australians cities.
PTI |
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Another attack on Jerusalem, 102 hurt Jerusalem, January 27 Unconfirmed reports said one Israeli was also killed in the blast, while first aid officials said three to four of the wounded were in serious condition. The explosion in Jerusalem today took place in Jaffa road, close to the Sbarro pizzeria, where a Palestinian suicide bomber killed himself and 15 others last August, and close too to the spot where a Palestinian gunman killed two people and wounded dozens more last Tuesday. Most of the remaining wounded were said to be suffering from shock or post-blast trauma. Jerusalem police chief Mickey Levy himself suffered a heart attack shortly after the blast, and underwent an emergency by-pass operation. The blast — which Levy said was “apparently very powerful” — caused significant damage to the street, Jerusalem’s main traffic artery, damaging over 20 shops, and leaving debris and shattered glass from shop windows littering the road and pavement. The USA said over the weekend that Zinni would not be resuming his mission soon. The former Marine Corps General has made two visits to the region, but was unable to bring about a lasting ceasefire in the more than 16 months of Israeli-Palestinian confrontations. RAMALLAH: Israeli troops today killed a Palestinian member of the militant Islamic group Hamas at an army checkpoint near the West Bank city of Ramallah, Palestinian officials said.
PTI, Reuters |
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Lion of Kabul roars no more London, January 27 Afghanistan’s only lion was found dead in his cage by his keeper yesterday after refusing to eat any food for days. “He was very old, so he had to go some time,” said the mournful keeper, Sheraq Omar. Marjan, one-eyed, decrepit and at least 40 years old, become famous around the world after his plight in Kabul’s dilapidated zoo was highlighted in the international press. Cynics said the old cat generated far more attention than most of Afghanistan’s needy human population. One British tabloid led a fund-raising campaign for him that netted $ 2,25,000. In recent weeks Marjan had enjoyed probably the most luxurious time of his life, with regular gifts of meat and the care of keepers who were being paid for the first time in years. He had medical check-ups, was treated for parasites and given doses of vitamins. Certainly Marjan, whose name means coral in local Afghan languages, had seen his share of Afghanistan’s woes. A gift from Germany to Kabul zoo 38 years ago, he was a veteran of 22 years of civil war and the recent six weeks of US bombing that dislodged the Taliban. The zoo has been half-destroyed by the years of war, its depleted menagerie becoming a symbol of Afghanistan’s destruction. Even though Marjan has roared his last, keeper Omar said he hoped Marjan would be replaced by a breeding pair of lions.
The Observer, London |
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The commander of US forces in Afghanistan,
General Tommy Franks, has said he would not let the tense military
standoff between India and Pakistan make him give up using
military facilities in Pakistan.
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