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Opposition
warns Pervez on Kashmir Pakistan
air force inducts BVR missiles
USA
‘helping’ India, Pak normalise ties Pakistani
with Lashkar links sentenced |
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2 youths
held for terror links
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Opposition warns Pervez on Kashmir Islamabad, December 18 Opposition parties warned General Musharraf against entering into any “bargain over Kashmir” and said setting aside the UN resolutions on the issue of Kashmir would be “a dangerous step”. “We won’t allow Musharraf or any ruler of Pakistan to bargain over Kashmir with India,” warned Qazi Hussain Ahmed, chief of the religious opposition alliance Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA). “No one can dare to dissociate Pakistan from UN resolutions,” Qazi told IANS. General Musharraf had said in an interview with Reuters that Pakistan was ready to drop its long-standing demand for the implementation of UN resolutions over Kashmir and meet India “half way” in a bid for peace. “We are for the Security Council resolutions, however, now we have left that aside... If we want to resolve this issue, both sides need to talk to each other with flexibility, coming beyond stated positions, meeting half way somewhere,” he was quoted as saying. Qazi, whose six-party MMA is the main opposition in Pakistan, said, “For the past half century, Pakistan has been striving for the implementation of UN resolutions, and now how can an individual give such a statement?” Qazi was recently elected MMA chief after the death of alliance president Maulana Shah Ahmed Noorani. “You can expect anything from a dictator... and this man (Musharraf) is used to making irresponsible statements,” said Mr Saddiqul Farooq, spokesman for the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), adding that his party would raise the issue in parliament. “He’s all out to appease his foreign masters,” Mr Farooq said. General Musharraf, who escaped an attempt on his life last Sunday, said in the interview that the present scenario represented a “very real opportunity” to make peace but warned India not to throw away the chance by spurning offers for talks. In January, Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee is expected to visit Islamabad for a summit of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC). General Musharraf said Mr Vajpayee should not miss out on an opportunity to discuss Kashmir.
— IANS |
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Pakistan air force
inducts BVR missiles Islamabad, December 18 “It is a step towards adding the Beyond Visual Range (BVR) missiles to our arsenal for defensive purposes and to address the strategic imbalance in the region,” Pakistan daily Dawn quoted PAF officials as saying. The officials claimed that the missile was developed by the National Engineering and Scientific Commission (NESCOM), which works in close collaboration with the Pakistan Missile Organisation and the Air Weapons Complex. “Three successful tests of H-4, with the latest conducted this year, produced satisfactory results leading to addition of arsenal in the fighter jets,” they said, adding that the missiles were the modified version of the South African T-Darter BVR missiles. The PAF claimed to have H-2 BVR missiles, which could hit targets up to 60 km. Reports of Pakistan seeking the BVR technology appeared in the South African media. In the face of protests from India, the South African Government blamed “rogue” elements to collaborate with Pakistan to develop the BVRs. The PAF officials said the H-4 missiles, which was an infra-red device and comparable to that of the AA11, AA12 and Python 4 missiles of the IAF, would be fitted on to the PAF’s Mirage aircraft until the induction of new plane JF-17 Thunder, jointly developed by Pakistan and China in 2006. They said European and the US suppliers were currently not willing to share the technology with Pakistan but the PAF was managing with whatever technology at its disposal.
— PTI |
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USA ‘helping’ India, Pak normalise ties Washington, December 18 Asked whether the USA had any suggestions to “maintain the momentum with regard to normalisation” of the Indo-Pakistan relations, he said Washington had publicly acknowledged these steps (which they had taken) and welcomed them. “I would say that we are both publicly and privately actively engaged with both parties to help them move in the direction that they have, on their own, chosen as in their mutual best interests, and we will continue to do that.” “The Secretary (Colin Powell), I believe, spoke on Sunday with External Affairs Minister Yashwant Sinha of India and the Deputy Secretary Richard Armitage spoke with the Foreign Minister of Pakistan, Mr Khurshid Mahmud Kasuri,” he said.
— PTI |
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Pakistani with Lashkar links sentenced in USA New York, December 18 Mohammad Aatique, 31, was first to be sentenced among a group of 11 persons indicted in Pennsylvania and Virginia in July for training with assault rifles. Aatique, an electrical engineer by profession, had pleaded guilty to going to Pakistan after September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks to train with Lashkar.
— PTI |
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4 Palestinians shot dead in West Bank Jerusalem, December 18 Earlier, Palestinian hospital sources had reported that Israeli soldiers shot dead a Palestinian and injured a second during the incursion, which they said involved some 70 jeeps and armoured vehicles, and was still continuing early today. Israeli sources confirmed the earlier death, and also said that three armed Palestinians had been shot dead later when they were seen on the roof of a building. They said one of the three had been shot when he opened fire on the Israeli forces. Two other men then emerged onto the same roof and started firing at the troops, before being killed in their turn, the Israeli sources said. Palestinian hospital sources said the man killed earlier was Alaadin Dawayeh, 25, a bakery worker. They said he was hit by no less than 15 bullets. Another Palestinian was shot and wounded, the sources said.
— AFP |
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2 youths held
for terror links Singapore, December 18 Muhammad Arif Bin Naharudin, 20, and Muhammad Amin Bin Yunos, 21, were arrested by the Internal Security Department in Singapore on October 23 and 25, respectively. Orders of Detention under the Internal Security Act were issued against them on November 9.
— UNI |
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