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Kashmir
can’t be sidelined, says Pervez US Sikhs
remember Uday Singh 3
militants to die for Pak church attack
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African
activist insists she was raped
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Kashmir can’t be sidelined, says Pervez Islamabad, January 23 “Kashmir cannot be sidelined. This has been accepted in the agreement between myself and Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee,” he said referring to the joint statement issued after his meeting with the Indian leader on January 5 in Islamabad. “So all that I say is we have reached a start point. We are at the start point. This is a very good beginning. We need to move forward towards an end. A move forward will be when the dialogue moves forward and addresses all issues including Kashmir. I am very hopeful that with sincerity and resolve on both sides we will address all issues,” General Musharraf said addressing the World Economic Forum in Davos last night. The General said for the first time “there is a realisation that we need to address all issues, including Kashmir, to bring peace and harmony to the region. This is my hope for the future.” General Musharraf said he believed the way forward was to initiate a composite dialogue which included Kashmir and all other issues To a question, General Musharraf said the biggest challenge faced by Pakistan was sustaining the economic development in the country. The other challenge, General Musharraf said, was to contain sectarianism and religious extremism in the country. “Sectarian and religious extremism must be eliminated from our society. That is what is sapping our energies and impede our progress.” He also said Pakistan initiated stringent measures to prevent nuclear proliferation by questioning the top scientists of the country. He said investigations were being carried out to find out whether for personal gains somebody did something wrong. “There are aspersions on some Pakistani scientists but they are not alone. There are aspersions on scientists of other countries and those belonging to the underworld. This needs to be investigated,” he said.
— PTI |
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US Sikhs remember Uday Singh Chicago, January 23 The ceremony was held at the Sikh Religious Society in Palatine. “Even as we mourn, we are honoured that one of our own could serve this country so bravely,” said Sukhchain Singh, administrator of the society. The 21-year-old Uday Singh died on December 1 during an attack on his patrol in Habbaniyah, west of Baghdad. He was the first India-born serviceman to die in combat in Iraq. The Sikh community filled the Palatine gurdwara to express their support for the grieving family and to share their memories of him. Political leaders, including Lieut-Governor Pat Quinn of Chicago, and military representatives also attended. Uday Singh was cremated in Punjab and some of his ashes were immersed in rivers there. The rest were buried at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia. He had been honoured with two Purple Hearts, a Bronze Star and citizenship. Uday Singh trained as an armour crewman and served as a gunner. “My son made the ultimate sacrifice; he did what he had to do for his adopted country,” said Manjit Kaur, mother of the soldier. “I thank the army for its efforts. Sikhs are all a community of warriors,” she said. Uday came from a tradition of military service. His grandfather was a brigadier general in the Indian Army and his great grandfather served with the British Army in Iraq during World War-I. He was born in Jaipur and had stayed at many military bases. His father, Lieut-Col Preet Mahinder Singh, served in the Indian Army. The memorial service had two parts — a military portion and a religious portion. The military portion was led by Brig-Gen Steve Best and included a rifle salute, an honour guard playing a videotape of Singh’s comrades in arms speaking at a memorial service held at Fort Riley, Kansas, where Uday trained. The second part was filled with prayer and hymns in the Sikh tradition.
— IANS |
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3 militants to die for Pak church attack Islamabad, January 23 The three men were captured shortly after the August 9, 2003, attack on the grounds of a Presbyterian hospital in Taxila, a small town about 40 km northwest of here. The women were all nurses at a hospital adjacent to the church. They died as they were leaving the church when the attackers hurled grenades at the congregation. One assailant also died in the assault. A police official in Taxila, Jan Mohammed, told AP by phone that the judge ordered three other defendants free for lack of evidence. The Taxila hospital is supported by the Presbyterian Church USA and the Presbyterian Church of Pakistan. It was founded in 1922 and treats mostly poor Muslims, specialising in eye diseases. The attack was one of several against foreigners and minority Christians in the months following Gen. Pervez Musharraf’s decision to ally himself with the USA in the wake of the September 11, 2001 attacks in America.
— AP |
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Ann Miller dead Los Angeles, January 23 A one-time childhood dance prodigy, she reached the peak of her film career at MGM in the late 1940s and early ‘50s with “On the Town,” “Easter Parade” and “Kiss Me Kate.” She remained a dazzling
topper in her 60s and earned millions on Broadway and touring with Mickey Rooney in “Sugar Babies,” a razzmatazz tribute to the era of burlesque.
— AP |
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African activist insists she was raped Durban, January 23 The alleged rape victim’s lawyer Gabriela Palacios said her client “never said that her complaint of rape was untrue. She only said she is withdrawing the charges to put an end to the matter.” Palacios claimed that the media had distorted the original statement issued last evening because her client had not in any way said she had “unconditionally” withdrawn the charges. The 27-year old woman claimed that she was raped by a South African High Court Judge in a hotel room in Mumbai during the recently concluded World Social Forum. The woman was yesterday quoted as saying “I hereby wish unconditionally to withdraw the allegation of rape against Mr Desai.”
— PTI |
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