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Pak should do more to end terrorism, says UK Window on Pakistan Arun Nayar calls off wedding with
Liz Hurley: report
Sharp reaction to Taslima’s new book |
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Pak should do more to end terrorism, says UK London, November 2 “There has to be evidence of real change (in tackling this issue) before the dialogue starts”, a senior British official told a group of visiting Indian journalists here. Terming as “very positive” the recent proposals by India to improve relations with Pakistan, he said this was an “encouraging step” and would help maintain the momentum started by the peace initiative of Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee on April 18 this year. Asked about promises made by Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf on the issue of taking the country on the path of democracy, the official said “the movement towards democratisation in that country is disappointing”. On whether India should at any future date be talking to President Musharraf or Prime Minister Jamali, the official said “the question of who talks to whom is an issue on which we don’t want to express a view”. But he felt that President Musharraf has to be “involved” in any engagement at the political level between Indian and Pakistani leaders. Observing that there was a “great deal of sympathy” for the Indian position, the official said “UK expects Pakistan to take “meaningful action” on the issue of cross-border terrorism. On its part, India should then move in a direction where talks with Pakistan could take place, the official said. Britain felt that “official tolerance” of activities of terrorist groups in Pakistan was not in the interest of that country. He was asked about reports of official patronage being given by Pakistan to terrorist groups like Jaish-e-Mohammad and Lashkar-e-Toiba as also Islamabad turning a blind eye to re-grouping of the Taliban and Al-Qaida elements mostly in the tribal areas bordering Afghanistan. Pakistan had repeatedly conveyed to Britain that it was doing all it could and that there was no official support for cross-border infiltration, the official said. “We are continuing to tell Pakistan that more has to be done in this regard”, he said. Asked about the Kashmir imbroglio, he said “we are aware that there is no easy solution. It will take time. But one should not start while looking at what will be the outcome. The process has to go on and the confidence-building measures have to continue.”
—PTI |
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Window on Pakistan The arrest of Mr Makhdoom Javed Hashmi, president of the 15-party Alliance for the Restoration of Democracy (ARD), has once again demonstrated that self-proclaimed President Pervez Musharraf has little respect for whatever is left of moderate politics. Mr Hashmi is a member of Pakistan’s National Assembly, but the government has not even informed the Speaker. The charge against him is that he has received a letter from some army officer, alleging dissatisfaction among the officers, and that he has been spreading hatred against the army and causing anarchy thus helping India. Mainline political parties have criticised the arrest. Fifty lawmakers from the opposition, who marched to Parliament House to protest, were not allowed by the police to enter Parliament House. The media had protested vehemently. Nation described the arrest as “a disturbing development, which would surprise those who felt the Musharraf dispensation had shown restraint in its four years. Mr Hashmi had himself told the press that a case was being prepared against him after he released a letter written purportedly on a army headquarters’ letterhead that called for an inquiry into the Kargil affair and into the allotment of plots to army officers. It is hard to believe that he had deliberately tried to create dissension in the army ranks or bring the institution to disrepute.” The ARD is one of the two major opposition groupings challenging the Generals’ arbitrary amendments to the Constitution in the form of the Legal Framework Order. Efforts to negotiate have failed as General Musharraf refuses to give up the position of army chief. The opposition wants him to be at best a constitutional head. The Assembly is non-functional for now. The result is that more than a year after the National Assembly and the Senate were elected, President Musharraf is unable to address a joint sitting of Parliament. Mr Hashmi is a former federal minister and the acting President of the PML(N) of Nawaz Sharif. His views on army rule are widely known and many people share his opinion that the army’s sole function is to safeguard the geographical frontiers of the country, not to meddle in politics. Mr Hashmi maintains, like many others, that the political government should not have been overthrown in October, 1999. Nation also wrote that till the army took active part in politics, it was to face criticism and the fact was that all vital decisions were taken by General Musharraf and his corps commanders. Dawn was equally critical, as were other newspapers like Frontier Post, Jang and Khabrain. Dawn called it a disservice to Pakistan and its crisis-ridden politics. It wrote, “Hashmi’s arrest cannot but expose the government to the charge that it is trying to intimidate the opposition and force it to toe its line. Arresting the ARD leader in a hurry only makes the government’s position seem very shaky. By detaining Mr Hashmi, the government has made the national scene grim. It should blame only itself if it finds the opposition hardening its stance.” Dawn also demanded the immediate release of Mr Hashmi for political stability. It was left to Mr Malik Shahnawaz Khar, a seasoned public figure, to take the government to task. He wrote in Nation, “Arresting Hashmi in the late night hours from the Parliament lodge is a perfect example of democracy, ‘army style’. The arrest was in complete violation of the law; you cannot arrest a Member of Parliament when the House is in session without the permission of the Speaker. The arrest of Mr Hashmi seems to be the beginning, the worse is to follow, as the ‘khaki government’ or the real government will try to strengthen its grip over the country, but the people of Pakistan will like to know why all this is happening? The answer is simple — because the army intelligentsia failed to ‘properly’ rig the election and to get a two-third majority. Now, the entire system has to be bludgeoned into submission.” Mr Khar aptly summed up the situation when he wrote, “The arrest of Mr Hashmi has opened a Pandora’s box, further discrediting the image of the army amongst the masses. That is why it is an open secret that within the army ranks, there is dissent, as the people have begun to look at uniformed soldiers with disgust. The Pakistani army or any army in the world can only remain a sacrosanct cow as long as it remains within the barracks.”
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Arun Nayar calls off wedding with Liz Hurley: report London, November 2 The News of the World in a front page report said, 37-year old Nayar, a Mumbai-based businessman, owning an internet firm, Directions Software Solutions, called off his wedding with Liz, 38, as he got cold feet after rows over her expensive lifestyle. According to the tabloid, his finances took a severe dent in July when he had to pay his Italian model wife Valentina Pedroni an estimated £ 625,000 divorce settlement. At the same time the tabloid quoted a spokeswoman for Liz saying "Liz and Arun are still happy together." Arun reportedly told his friends he hated being treated as a "kept man". Liz is devastated, the report said. "Proud Arun Nayar's cash problems have led to him jilting one of the sexiest women in the world," the tabloid stated. For a while Liz Hurley — a millionaires many times over — can splash out on virtually anything she wants. Arun has been left counting the pennies, the report said.
— PTI |
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Sharp reaction to Taslima’s new book Dhaka, November 2 The 415-page book entitled ‘Ka’ details the doctor-turned writer’s intimate relations with several famed writers. It also refers to the tense ties between Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia and the leader of opposition Sheikh Hasina. Published by a Dhaka-based house, the book is the writer’s third autobiography, the first two being “Amar Meye Bela” (My Girlhood )and “Uttal Hawa” (The Untamed Wind) which were banned by the Bangladesh government on charges of obscenity. A leading poet termed as “total lies and concocted” what Nasreen had written in her latest book about her relations with him. Apparently she wanted to sensationalise her book, he added.
— PTI |
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Iran Foreign Ministry summons UK envoy Tehran, November 2 The state news agency IRNA said the ministry had told British Ambassador Richard Dalton that Blair’s comments were “illogical”. The Iranian Foreign Ministry’s Director General of Western European Affairs, Ebrahim Rahimpur, said Mr Blair’s reported comments last Thursday were part of his bid to “avoid questions” over the war in Iraq as well as domestic problems. The furore was a response to reported comments by Mr Blair that military action against Iraq had produced positive results, including greater Iranian cooperation with the international community.
— AFP |
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Bush’s security breached Southaven (Mississippi), November 2 Mr Bush was in his limousine ready to leave the arena when the woman crashed into the same side of the building, near the exit the President’s motorcade was to use. Mr Bush was one level below, down a ramp about 75 yards away. Employees of the DeSoto Civic Centre said the driver was screaming as her car headed toward the building. They ran away, scared that it was an attempted car bombing. “The President was never in any danger whatsoever,” White House spokesman Trent Duffy told reporters.
— Reuters |
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