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Tuesday,
October
7, 2003,
Chandigarh, India  
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Pak not to be made full dialogue partner: ASEAN
In graphic: 9th ASEAN
Summit Pak, India to raise mission power Indian academy lodges complaint Army behind Pervez, says Armitage
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Army in Pak civil services Pak Sunni extremist leader, 4 others shot 12 suspected ultras held in Pakistan Top Taliban commander killed, says Afghan official
Iran hands over N-list to inspectors Man poisons reservoir, 64 ill
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Pak not to be made full dialogue partner: ASEAN
Bali, October 6 According to ASEAN sources, there was no proposal being considered by the grouping, whose clout in global economic affairs has increased considerably in the recent years, to make any new full dialogue partners. “We have no proposal to add new members to the list of full dialogue partners,” they added. Earlier Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee arrived here today to attend India’s second summit with the powerful 10-nation ASEAN, declaring the need to deal with increasing spread of terrorism and voicing concern over “unsatisfactory” progress of WTO negotiations. The issue of terrorism, the situation in Iraq, Middle East and Afghanistan, restructuring of the United Nations and steps to enhance economic cooperation with the South-East Asian regional grouping will be high on Mr Vajpayee’s agenda during his three-day stay here. The Prime Minister, who is heading a high-level delegation, including External Affairs Minister Yashwant Sinha and National Security Adviser Brajesh Mishra, will be meeting his Chinese counterpart Wen Jiabao, Indonesian President Megawati Sukarnoputri, Korean President Roh Moo-Hyun, Vietnamese Premier Phan Van Khai, Singapore Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong and Philippines President Gloria M. Arroyyo on the sidelines of the October 8 summit. The Prime Minister, who will also be visiting Thailand on the second leg of his two-nation tour, said “unsatisfactory progress on the Doha Development Agenda (of WTO) affects South-East Asia in the same way as it affects India”. Mr Vajpayee was accorded a red-carpet welcome as he flew into Ngurah Rai airport here and was received by Indonesian Agriculture Minister Bumgaran Saragik. A contingent of the Indonesian Army accorded Mr Vajpayee a traditional guard of honour. Mr Vajpayee will lead the Indian delegation at the India-ASEAN Summit on Wednesday, during which the two sides will sign three key documents, reflecting their commitment to fight the menace of terrorism and strengthen economic linkages by creating a free trade area. Meanwhile, picking up the thread from Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s landmark visit to China, the special representatives of the two countries will hold the first round of talks on the vexed border issue from a political perspective later this month. National Security Adviser Brajesh Mishra and senior Chinese Vice Minister in the Foreign Ministry Dai Bingguo will meet in the third week of October in Delhi, External Affairs Minister Yashwant Sinha, who is accompanying the Prime Minister, told reporters here. Meanwhile, in a move that may pose a serious challenge to the economic domination of China in the region apart from paving the way for large-scale interaction with ASEAN countries, India has decided to establish a rail link between New Delhi and Vietnamese capital Hanoi. — Agencies
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Pak, India to raise mission power Islamabad, October 6 Confirming media reports here, Indian High Commissioner to Islamabad Shishankar Menon said Pakistan had formally conveyed its consent to increase the staff strength at both the High Commissions to 55 as suggested by New Delhi few weeks ago. India has proposed to increase the strength in view of the growing demand for Indian visas specially after the resumption of the bus services between the two countries. The increasing rush, which amounted to over 200 visa applications a day, stretched the sparely staffed Indian High Commission. Problems also arose as the visa section here has virtually been winded up after Pakistan expelled almost all staff members from this section early this year during the tit-for-tat expulsions. Pakistan Foreign Office spokesman Masood Khan said Islamabad had agreed to the Indian suggestion with a hope that New Delhi would finally agree to restore the full strength of 110 members as existed till December, 2000. India had cut down its staff strength by half following the attack on the Indian Parliament in the same year. The strength dwindled to 47. Mr Menon said India in principle had agreed to Pakistan’s request to send its experts to see the Baglihar Hydro-Electric Project in Jammu and Kashmir. Pakistan has been asking for examination by experts and alleged that the hydro power project being built over the Chenab river at Baglihar in the state may have been violating the 1960 Indus Water Accord which granted riparian rights of three rivers flowing from Kashmir into Pakistan.
— PTI |
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Indian academy lodges complaint
Durban, October 6 Mr Ngcuka, currently under investigation for allegedly being an apartheid spy, reportedly told editors at a briefing recently that South Africa’s Deputy President Jacob “Zuma was ... in trouble because he had surrounded himself with Indians.” — PTI
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Army behind Pervez, says Armitage
Islamabad, October 6 “I said there was some question of some individuals in the security services who might not have the same affection, that is the same energy and the same regard, for these efforts as President Musharraf,” the Deputy Secretary of State told reporters in Islamabad after meeting with General Musharraf. “In no way do I have any sign that the military and the security forces as institutions are anything but 200 per cent behind the nation and behind the President.” Mr Armitage is in Pakistan with Assistant Secretary of State for South Asian affairs Christina Rocca for talks he said would address the hunt for the Al-Qaida and Taliban fighters believed to be hiding in Pakistan’s tribal border belt. Mr Armitage said he had “in depth” discussions with General Musharraf on a “whole strategic relationship... not simply one based on the global war on terror.” — AFP
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Army in Pak civil services Islamabad, October 6 The process of inducting top army and other services officials in the civil services started soon after Gen Pervez Musharraf took over the reigns of the government following overthrow of Nawaz Sharif government in a coup. There have been 14 ambassadors and high commissioners from the military ranks since 1999. As many as 27 senior defence officials have been given prized grade of 22, while 66 officers adjusted in grade 21. The paper said 33 officers were serving as Officers on Special Duty (OSD). The range of areas where the defence service officials were working virtually cover all ministries, including communications, health, local bodies, industrial production, highways and housing, among others. A close look at the figures shows that 13 military officials serve in the cabinet division, five in the Commerce Ministry, 53 in defence production
division and 24 in the Foreign Ministry. There are 88 officers working in the Interior Ministry. Similarly, 26 officers work in the Kashmir Affairs and Northern Affairs Ministry. In the Foreign Affairs Ministry, 13 Lt Generals and Major Generals were appointed as Ambassadors in different countries. These include Lt Gen (Retd) Asad Durrani, Vice Admiral Khalid Alam Khan and Air Marshal Muhammed Farooq Qari. Likewise, Maj Gen Agha Masood Hasan was appointed Director General Pakistan Post and Vice Admiral Taj Mohammed Khattal Chairman of the Port Qassim Authority.
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Pak Sunni extremist leader, 4 others shot
Islamabad, October 6 Tariq, who won last year’s national assembly poll as an independent from prison and later became a supporter of Prime Minister Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali, was ambushed on the Kashmir highway while he was driving down to attend the assembly session from his home constituency of Jhang. The assailants, riding a Pajero intercepted his car and sprayed it with bullets killing Tariq and his associates on the spot. His death was announced by Interior Minister Faisal Saleh Hayat in the assembly, which was then prorogued as a mark of respect. — PTI
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12 suspected ultras held in Pakistan Islamabad, October 6 The suspects were in custody and the authorities were questioning them, said the minister, Mr Faisal Saleh Hayyat. The government had originally said no arrests were made during the raid on Saturday in
Diamir, 400 km north of Islamabad. —
AP
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Top Taliban commander killed, says Afghan official
Spin Boldak (Afghanistan), October 6 News of the death of Mullah Abdul Razzaq Nafees, a member of the 10-strong Taliban shura (council) formed in June, came just days after the Taliban confirmed that Mullah Abdur Rahim, its top military commander in southern Afghanistan, had been killed. Mr Abdul Razzaq Achakzai, a senior Afghan military commander, said Nafees was killed in a clash with US-led coalition and Afghan forces about 10 days ago in the central Uruzgan province. “He was among the many Taliban killed in that fighting,” he said. “The Taliban are persistently showing signs of weakness,” Mr Achakzai told Reuters in the town of Spin Boldak, close to Pakistan border. Mullah Abdul Samad, a Taliban intelligence officer, neither confirmed nor denied the report but said they had had no contact with Nafees for the past two weeks. “At present, we don’t know whether he is dead or alive,” he told Reuters. Omar had appointed Nafees to the 10-man Taliban leadership formed to intensify the “jihad”, or holy war, against US-led coalition troops and Afghan forces. The one-eyed Omar, whose whereabouts are unknown, last week appointed Mullah Wakil Ahmed, elder brother of Rahim, as commander of the Taliban rebels in southern Afghanistan. US Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage yesterday played down the attacks, saying they showed the Taliban was frightened. — Reuters
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Iran hands over N-list to inspectors Teheran, October 6 “We have already given a list of imported parts that were bought through intermediaries, and we are in the process of finishing this list,” Iran’s representative to the IAEA, Ali Akbar Salehi, said.He said Iran had purchased some parts through middlemen so it “does not know of their origin”. The IAEA has asked Iran to come up with a detailed list of its nuclear-related equipment, notably pieces used for the building of centrifuges for uranium enrichment. On previous inspection visits, IAEA teams had found traces of highly enriched uranium, raising suspicions that despite its denials, Iran has a secret weapons programme.
— AFP |
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Restore
sovereignty to Iraqis, says Putin New York, October 6 Unless that is done, the USA could face the possibility of a prolonged violent and ultimately futile war like the one that mired the Soviet Union in Afghanistan, Mr Putin told an American newspaper in an interview.
— PTI |
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Man poisons reservoir, 64 ill
Beijing, October 6 Cao, a laid-off worker, admitted to poisoning the water in hopes of boosting sales of his goods, Xinhua quoted the police as saying today. He and his wife began selling the water purifiers in July, but business was slack. “His business would improve if the water supply was polluted, he believed,’’ the report said. Cao bought 20 bottles of a pesticide named “3911’’ and threw 500 ml into the reservoir, which supplies 9,000 families in the county, on September 30, it said. About 64 residents were poisoned and 42 of them were sent to hospital. On Saturday, the last six victims were released from hospital and the water facility was reopened. Xinhua quoted a local health official as saying that the small amount of pesticide diluted in 1,000 cubic metres of water would do no great harm to humans, but made the water smell terrible. Mass poisonings are not uncommon in China. In 2002, a man killed at least 42 persons, many of them children, by slipping rat poison into food at a rival’s shop in the city of Nanjing. — Reuters
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Kalam to visit UAE this month Dubai, October 6 The visit, the first by an Indian President to the UAE, is in the final stages of preparation, Mr Swami, here to attend the International Safety and Security Conference, told reporters in Abu Dhabi.
— PTI |
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