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Friday,
February 1, 2002, Chandigarh, India  
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Tribal feud for Afghan town leaves 38 dead
Pak freezes assets of N-scientist |
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Riyadh’s help sought in ending ultras’ attacks Dubai, January 31 India has urged Saudi Arabia to use its good offices to stop Pakistan from sponsoring what it calls “cross-border terrorism” directed against it. The request was made by Najma Heptulla, deputy chairperson of the Rajya Sabha and special emissary of Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, when she called on Crown Prince Abdullah bin Abdulaziz in Riyadh . USA joins in anti-Sayyaf drive Zamboanga, January 31 The USA today launched joint military operations with the Philippines against Muslim Abu Sayyaf guerillas linked to Osama bin Laden’s Al-Qaeda, officials said. Amid tight security, Philippine military chief General Diomedio Villanueva formally launched the six-month campaign involving up to 600 US military personnel and 3,800 Filipino soldiers. China flays Bush on
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I-cards for asylum seekers in UK
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Tribal feud for Afghan town leaves 38 dead Kabul, January 31 The Pakistan-based Afghan Islamic Press (AIP) said 38 persons had been killed and the faction battling the forces loyal to the Governor of the province appointed by the fledgling interim government had gained the upper hand. Wali, who is also a son of the newly appointed Governor of Gardez, Padshah Khan Zadran, said the two sides were battling in the town with missiles, mortars and artillery. Zadran was appointed by the interim government in Kabul but the AIP said some tribal leaders and former mujahideen commanders had refused to accept the appointment. Fighting on the outskirts of Gardez, some 120 km south of the capital Kabul, erupted yesterday and pit Pashtun tribal forces loyal to Zadran against rival Pashtun forces under a commander called Haji Saifullah. The AIP and residents in Gardez said Saifullah’s forces had taken control of the Governor’s house. Residents said Saifullah’s forces had captured a fortress overlooking the town, the police headquarters and the Governor’s offices. Zadran’s forces appeared to be still holding the town jail. ALWAZAK: At least 10 people were killed north of the besieged Afghan town of Gardez when U.S. warplanes either struck a munitions dump or it exploded accidentally, villagers and officials said today. Residents of Alwazak village, around 50 km south of the capital, said a U.S. bomb or missile had obliterated a residential compound late on Wednesday night, killing 10 members of the Khaderkhal family. They said the attack had caused an old munitions dump to explode, but local commanders loyal to the Afghan interim administration said the munitions dump probably belonged to the Taliban and might have exploded as they attempted to move it. “Everything has been destroyed... what was our crime?” said Rahmedin, a resident in the area. But local commander Gulaider said: “We found some ammunition on the spot. We don’t know if that was the cause of the explosion or if it was a missile”. The area has been racked by factional fighting as rival warlords tussle for power.
Reuters |
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Pak freezes assets of N-scientist Islamabad, January 31 The decision to freeze the assets of Sultan Bashir-ud-Din Mehmood was taken on the recommendations of the UN Security Council which on January 24 issued an updated list of individuals and entities associated with Taliban or Al-Qaeda, the Dawn newspaper reported today. The action became mandatory for Pakistan after the UN Security Council resolutions, Pakistan Foreign Office Spokesman Aziz Ahmad Khan was quoted as saying by the daily. Earlier, the assets and funds of another alleged pro-Taliban nuclear scientist Abdul Majeed were also frozen. Mehmood’s family sources said his personal bank account had been frozen, the paper said. Investigations have revealed that Mehmood, who was arrested in October last following the September 11 terrorist attacks in the USA had been “conditionally” released by the government, it said, adding he had been asked to remain available on an hour’s notice, and a mobile telephone given to him for the purpose. During captivity, the nuclear scientist was interrogated by a joint team of Pakistani and US officials. The US officials comprised members of the FBI, the CIA and the country’s scientists, the report said. The US scientists also questioned Mehmood on the predictions in his book titled “Sun Spots and the Doomsday”, published in 1997. The book predicted cataclysmic events in 2002 in the subcontinent. Mehmood was the first project director of Kahuta Research Laboratories, the main nuclear installation of Pakistan, from 1973 to 1976. He also believed to have designed an indigenous nuclear reactor. A recipient of top Presidential award, Mehmood resigned from the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC) in January, 2000. Later that year, he founded an NGO called Ummah Tameer-I-Nau and established contacts with Taliban leaders to carry out relief work in Afghanistan.
PTI |
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Riyadh’s help sought in ending ultras’ attacks Dubai, January 31 The request was made by Najma Heptulla, deputy chairperson of the Rajya Sabha and special emissary of Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, when she called on Crown Prince Abdullah bin Abdulaziz in Riyadh. During their hour-long meeting, Heptullah, who is also president of the International Parliamentary Union (IPU), handed over a special message from Vajpayee to the crown prince and took the opportunity to explain to him the terrorist attack on the Indian Parliament. Heptullah, who is heading a four-member delegation as part of the Indian government’s diplomatic offensive against Pakistan in the Islamic countries, will also visit Sudan and Kuwait. Another Indian delegation, headed by parliamentarian Sikander Bakht, called on senior Omani officials in Muscat and handed over a letter from the prime minister to Sultan Qaboos bin Saeed. Heptullah, speaking to reporters at the Indian embassy later, described her talks with the crown prince as “cordial” and said they had helped the two sides to understand the destructive effects of terrorism. She said India looked to Saudi Arabia as the custodian of Islam and it was only right that New Delhi explained to Riyadh how terrorism was perpetrated in the name of Islam and Muslims. She emphasised that terrorist organisations should not use the name of Islam and Muslims to justify their activities and said they had no right to spoil the name of the religion that stood for peace. There is no place for terrorism in Islam, and political problems should be solved through negotiations, she said. The crown prince expressed concern over the border tension between India and Pakistan and called for bilateral dialogue to resolve all problems, she said. Heptullah, responding to a question, said India had always stood for the cause of Arabs and Palestinians. India’s relations with the Arab world dated even before Israel was founded, she noted, and emphasised that New Delhi’s support for the Arab cause had not changed in any way. She said India established full diplomatic ties with Israel only after the Palestinians and Israel signed a peace agreement after the talks in Madrid, Oslo and Washington.
IANS |
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USA joins in anti-Sayyaf drive Zamboanga, January 31 Amid tight security, Philippine military chief General Diomedio Villanueva formally launched the six-month campaign involving up to 600 US military personnel and 3,800 Filipino soldiers. The USA has said its troops will largely train the Filipinos in counter-terrorism operations and will not be directly involved in combating the Abu Sayyaf rebels in their southern Philippine strongholds. The campaign will see one of the biggest deployments of American troops since the USA began its campaign in Afghanistan to wipe out the Al-Qaeda terrorist network, blamed for the September 11 attacks on New York and Washington. The USA has linked the Abu Sayyaf group to Al-Qaeda and has condemned it for being a “terrorist” organisation. Heavily-armed soldiers were stationed at strategic spots throughout Zamboanga city. Abu Sayyaf guerillas at present hold US missionary couple and a Filipina nurse hostage in the nearby southern island stronghold of Basilan.
AFP |
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China flays Bush on ‘axis of evil’ Beijing, January 31 “The Chinese side does
not advocate using this kind of language in international relations,”
Foreign Ministry spokesman Kong Quan told a news conference. Kong told reporters that China believed all countries should be treated equally in international affairs. BAGHDAD: Vice-President Taha Yassin Ramadan has rejected Mr Bush’s charge that Iraq was a terrorist state as “stupid and indecent” and stood firm that Baghdad would not accept a return of UN arms inspectors. “It is not right for a President who is supposed to be leader of the greatest country to accuse this or that state of being a source of evil,” said the Iraqi official. TEHRAN: Irans President Mohammad Khatami has condemned the “bellicose, insulting and anti-Iranian” comments of Mr Bush. “These statements were bellicose and insulting towards the great people of Iran,” Mr Khatami stressed in a speech to a Cabinet meeting on Wednesday. Meanwhile, Iran’s “supreme” leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei called President George W. Bush “bloodthirsty” in a speech broadcast in part on state radio. “The (U.S.) President speaks like a man thirsty for human blood,” Khamenei told a gathering of journalists from various Islamic countries. “The world knows that the USA is the Great Satan.” Khamenei said Iran would continue to support the Palestinian cause without concern for U.S. threats. “Iran is proud to be at the receiving end of the anger of the most-hated Satanic power of the world,” the radio quoted Khamenei as saying.
Reuters, AFP |
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Israel kills two Hamas men
Gaza, January 31 The early morning raid and a subsequent Palestinian mortar attack were the latest incidents in a wave of violence that has all but buried US-led efforts to end more than 16 months of Israeli-Palestinian bloodshed. Israeli military sources said the gunmen detonated a mine planted on the road to the Gush Katif settlement bloc as a truckload of Thai workers passed, and then opened fire on troops in the convoy before the soldiers shot the two men dead. The sources initially reported that one Thai worker was lightly wounded in the ambush, but later said no one in the convoy was hurt. Hamas claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement, saying the gunmen belonged to its Izz el-Din al-Qassam military wing. “This operation shows the fragility of the Zionist security,” it said. Shortly after the attack, two mortar shells hit one of the Gush Katif settlements, injuring one Israeli, a settler spokeswoman and military sources said. Palestinian witnesses said Israeli forces entered the nearby Palestinian refugee camp Khan Younis after the mortar attack and detained 10 Palestinians at a Gaza Strip checkpoint.
Reuters |
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I-cards for asylum seekers in UK London, January 31 The cards, which feature photographs and are encoded with fingerprint data, “represent the next stage in our battle to cut down on fraud and illegal working,” a Home Office spokesman said. However, refugees’ rights groups said they hoped asylum seekers would not have to present the new cards in order to gain access to free state services such as hospitals and schools. “We would be concerned if they became cards which asylum seekers have to show to prove they are entitled to services,” said Refugee Council chief executive Nick Hardwick. “It would be very unwelcome if school secretaries and doctors’ receptionists suddenly start deciding who does and does not get access to their services.” In announcing the new system in October, Home Secretary David Blunkett said asylum seekers would henceforth be “tracked as well as supported” after they arrived in Britain. A total of 80,315 asylum requests were registered in Britain in 2000, most of them from central Europe, Afghanistan, Iran or Iraq. Around one million illegal immigrants live in Britain, according to Home Office sources.
AFP |
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