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Accept India, Pak, Israel as N-powers, says Kasuri Madarsas breeding grounds of Deport Sikh militant to India, orders court Saudi media flays
tonsuring of Indians
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Mossad chief’s cellphone stolen
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Accept India, Pak, Israel as N-powers, says Kasuri Islamabad, March 11 “Pakistan and India in particular and Israel to some extent, there is a known fact that they are recognised powers,” he said at a seminar on foreign policy organised by the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Q (PML-Q). The minister said this reality should be accepted if the purpose of the international attention was non-proliferation. Mr Kasuri suggested there should be some multilateral arrangements if the Nuclear Proliferation Treaty (NPT) was a hindrance in accepting Pakistan, India and Israel as nuclear powers. “Some method should be found whether it is through the multilateral arrangements or any other method, if the NPT cannot be amended,” he said. Replying to a question about India’s effort to become a permanent member of the UN Security Council, Mr Kasuri said in line with its principled position, Pakistan was opposed to creating any more centres of privileges in the UNSC. He, however, said the present UNSC structure was built upon a situation that prevailed after the World War II, but the ground realities today have now changed. He said it should now be ensured that the UNSC structure represented the current reality. The minister said if there was a need of a regional representation in the UNSC, the regional group should nominate a country. The country would then be aware of the fact it was representing a region, he added. On Pakistan’s nuclear programme, he said it was linked to the national security and, thus, could not be compromised. “Pakistan will never compromise on its nuclear capability, it will not rollback or freeze its nuclear programme. The nation should be rest assured that nuclear capability, which enjoys national consensuses, is in safe and professional hands.” On top scientist A.Q. Khan’s admission that he leaked nuclear technology, he said the Pakistan Government has never proliferated and will never do so. “We are a responsible country and we understand our obligations.” Mr Kasuri stressed the resolution of the Kashmir issue, that also take the aspirations of the Kashmiri people into consideration, was must for a durable peace in South Asia. He said the need of the hour was to focus on the peace process that has been initiated by Pakistan and India. “We (Pakistan) are serious and prepared to show flexibility but it has to be reciprocal,” he said.
— PTI |
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Madarsas breeding grounds of terrorists: Powell Washington, March 11 He said the USA had held several discussions on the issue with the countries concerned and was in the process of introducing education programmes which would shift the focus of these madrasas to providing useful education. “... we have talked to those countries that were the principal sources of funding for the madrasas — such as Saudi Arabia and others — and their support for these madrasa programmes that do nothing but prepare youngsters to be fundamentalists and to be terrorists, and are not preparing them with an education that would be useful,” Mr Powell said. He was responding to Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur statement in the House Appropriations Subcommittee that unless education of the future is imparted in these madrasas, to which young people are drawn because of food aid, they would result in multiple cloning of militants throughout the region. The USA is working with Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf and other countries on the issue and trying to put in place programmes to shift the focus of these madrasas to providing an education that is useful, Mr Powell said.
— PTI |
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Deport Sikh militant to India, orders court San Francisco, March 11 The 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals ruled yesterday that Kulvir Singh Barapind, who was arrested and detained in Los Angeles in 1993 on charges of having a phony passport, should be returned to stand trial. Barapind was the deputy chief of the Khalistan Commando Force, one of the main secessionist groups operating for a decade in Punjab. He claimed his prosecution was politically motivated, that there was not enough evidence against him and that he should remain in the USA because he would be politically persecuted and tortured upon return because of his religious beliefs. Barapind is accused of targeting civilians who violated the religion’s strict codes in 1991 and 1992.
— AP |
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Saudi media flays
tonsuring of Indians
Dubai, March 11 The Jeddah-based Arab News described the tonsuring of ticketing clerks after raids on travel agencies as “appalling and sad because it happened in Saudi Arabia, the birthplace of Islam, the protector of all human rights”. The implementation of Saudisation rules is one thing, Saudisation is the law and the law must not be ignored. But dragging off ticketing clerks and shaving their heads is quite another, the paper said in an editorial today. “Those responsible may well say that they were doing their patriotic duty by arresting non-Saudi travel agency employees, but they achieved the exact opposite. They have done great damage to the image of our country in the eyes of the foreign community here and the international community abroad,” it said. Arresting innocent expatriate workers, as if they were criminals and shaving their heads have nothing to do with Saudisation. “But it has everything to do with violating the very basics of human rights: security and dignity,” it wrote. If anyone is to blame for not implementing Saudisation in a business, it should be the proprietor, the Arab News said. They should be taken to task if they are flouting the law. The newspaper feared that the appalling treatment of expatriate workers could damage Saudi interests at a time when it is trying to gain entry into the World Trade Organisation. It would also undermine the country's efforts to rebuild its image after attacks in the Western media. “What is ironic about all of this is that this incident has happened at a time when the Kingdom has just approved the establishment of its first human rights watchdog. Will this be the body’s first case?” the paper asked.
— UNI |
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Astronauts lose bone mass in space: study Houston, March 11 The study, conducted by the Journal of Bone and Mineral Research, points to a serious health risk for astronauts assigned to the longer moon and Mars missions which US President George W. Bush proposed in January. It revealed how bone loss increases the risk of injuries and highlighted the need for additional conditioning exercises and other measures to prevent bone mineral loss. The research team for the study, published on Monday, was taken from Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, and University of California, San Francisco (UCSF). |
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Mossad chief’s cellphone stolen Jerusalem, March 11 Israeli police spokesman Gil Kleiman said yesterday that Mossad chief Meir Dagan’s phone had not been found, and no suspects had been arrested. Israeli military censorship lifted a publication ban yesterday. The phone was taken from Dagan’s car in Tel Aviv last month, the police said. It was unclear if the theft was random, or intended to obtain security information.
— AP |
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Islamabad, March 11
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Paedophile buried victims alive