London, February 19
Iran’s influential hardline spiritual leaders have issued a fatwa, sanctioning the use of atomic weapons as a “countermeasure” against other nuclear powers.

The fatwa, which for the first time questions the theocracy’s traditional stance that Sharia law forbade the use of nuclear weapons, signals Tehran’s stiffening resolve on the nuclear issue, The Sunday Telegraph reported today.

According to a senior cleric, it is “only natural” to have nuclear bombs as a “countermeasure” against other nuclear powers, thought to be a reference to America and Israel.

The pronouncement is particularly worrying because it has come from Mohsen Gharavian, a disciple of the ultraconservative Ayatollah Mohammad Taghi Mesbah-Yazdi, who is widely regarded as the cleric closest to Iran’s new President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

Ayatollah Mesbah Yazdi’s group opposes virtually any kind of rapprochement with the West and is believed to have influenced President Ahmadinejad’s refusal to negotiate over Iran’s nuclear programme.

The comments will be seen as an attempt by the country’s religious hardliners to begin preparing a theological justification for the ownership — and, if necessary, the use — of atomic bombs.

The fatwa was first reported by Rooz, an Internet newspaper run by members of Iran’s fractured reformist movement, which picked them up from remarks by Mohsen Gharavian reported on the media agency IraNews.

Rooz reported that Mohsen Gharavian, a lecturer based in a religious school in the holy city of Qom, had declared for the first time that “the use of nuclear weapons may not constitute a problem according to Sharia”.

He also said: “When the entire world is armed with nuclear weapons, it is permissible to use these weapons as a countermeasure. According to Sharia, too, only the goal is important.”

Mohsen Gharavian did not specify what kinds of “goals” would justify a nuclear strike, but is thought that any military intervention by the USA would be considered a sufficient ground. — PTI

Lagos, February 19
Deadly protests over cartoons of Prophet Mohammad spread in Africa, killing 16 persons in Nigeria a day after claiming 11 lives in Libya.

Many of those who died in northern Nigeria were Christians, killed after a Muslim protest over the cartoons turned violent and rioters torched churches, shops and vehicles, police and local officials said.

It was the bloodiest protest so far over satirical cartoons, first published in a Danish newspaper, that Muslims regard as blasphemous.

“They went on the rampage, burning shops and churches of the Christians. The protesters killed the others. Some were even killed in the churches,” said Joseph Hayab, Northwest secretary of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN).

The row over the cartoons also forced two ministers out of their jobs in Europe and East Asia after 11 persons died in the Libyan town of Benghazi in clashes on Friday between the police and protesters who had tried to storm the Italian consulate.

Italian Reforms Minister Roberto Calderoli who had the cartoons made into a T-shirt which he wore on television resigned after he was widely blamed for the violence in Libya.

In Tripoli, the General People’s Congress fired Interior Minister Nasser al-Mabrouk Abdallah and police chiefs in Benghazi, saying “disproportionate force” had been used. — Reuters

London, February 19
The Danish cartoonist whose depiction of Prophet Muhammad sparked worldwide violence has broken his silence, saying he has no regret for his action and that freedom of expression and the Press were vital to a democratic society.

In an interview to Glasgow Herald newspaper through a list of written questions and published in The Observer today, Kurt Westergaard claimed he had no regrets about his actions, despite the $ 1 million bounty put on his head last week by a Pakistani cleric, which has forced him to go into hiding. Speaking through an intermediary, the artist appeared to suggest he was being protected by the Danish secret service.

Asked if he had expected the controversy the caricatures would spark, he replied simply: “No, no.” And when asked if he regretted drawing the cartoon or its publication, he said again: “No.” He said “terrorism” was the inspiration for the drawings.

Two ministers — in Italy and Libya — were forced out of their jobs yesterday after the row intensified over the cartoons, which were published in Denmark in September and then reappeared last month in several newspapers across the world who claimed they were asserting their right to freedom of expression.

Meanwhile, the Danish editor in charge of publishing the cartoons said they were printed in response to self-censorship on issues regarding Islam and that giving in to pressure not to run them would have been “incompatible with a secular democracy”. — PTI

London, February 19
After their successful protest against misuse of the image of Goddess Durga in Greece, Hindu leaders in the UK and across the world are now incensed over the insensitive portrayal of Lord Shiva in a French film.

Ramesh Kalidai, Secretary General of the Hindu Forum of Britain claimed the film ‘Les Bronzes 3: Amis Pour La Vie (The Tanned 3, Friends Forever),’ which set record ticket sales for an opening weekend in France and is the French equivalent of the ‘Carry on’ films, shows the main characters swearing, laughing and tearing up images of Lord Shiva.

“These latest insensitive caricatures of Hindu gods demonstrates extreme intolerance and disregard of Hindu practices and the portrayal of such deities in any context other than the most reverential one is totally unacceptable,” Kallidai said in a statement today.

He said, “to mock the worship of the Hindu religion, as this French film does, does little to increase understanding of our different cultures or even help all communities to live together in a harmonious way, so I would urge people to write to (distributors) Warner Brothers to complain about this blatant exploitation of the Hindus’ most revered prophet.”

The Hindu community were angered in the past by depiction of gods for commercial gain, including pictures of Lord Krishna on shoes and deities on toilet seats. — PTI

Beijing, February 19
Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf today began an official visit to China during which he is expected to brief the Chinese leadership about the Indo-Pak peace process and reassure it on the safety of better security for its citizens in the wake of the killing of three engineers.

The Pakistani leader, who arrived here today on a five-day visit, will seek firmer political, economic and military backing for his regime, besides discussing strategic and nuclear cooperation and the fight against terror. Pakistan and China are expected to sign about 12 agreements and MoUs tomorrow. — PTI

Islamabad, February 19
The Alliance for the Restoration of Democracy (ARD) has called an al- party conference (APC) here on February 27 to discuss the prevailing political situation in the country and to finalise future strategy regarding launching of anti-government movement.

This was announced by ARD Chairman Makhdoom Amin Fahim while briefing reporters about the decisions taken at an emergency meeting of the heads of the component parties of the alliance here on Saturday.

PML-N Chairman Raja Zafarul Haq, ARD Secretary-General Iqbal Zafar Jhagra, Vice-President Tehmina Daultana, Information Secretary Syed Zafar Ali Shah, PML-N Information Secretary Siddiqul Farooque, ARD coordinator Malik Hakmin Khan and JWP Senator Amanullah Kanrani were also present on the occasion.

Mr Fahim said that all political parties, excluding the ruling party and its allies, would be invited to the APC. “We will announce schedule for public meetings and rallies against the government throughout the country,” he added.

Mr Fahim said the ARD would fully participate in the protest rally of the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal (MMA) against the publication of blasphemous cartoons by European newspapers. He said the government had no courage to lodge a strong protest with the countries where these cartoons were published.

Mr Fahim alleged that the army which was responsible to defend the country and its people was busy in killing its own people in Balochistan and Waziristan.

Kathmandu, February 19
Rejecting King Gyanendra’s appeal to come together for reactivating the stalled democratic process in Nepal as “meaningless” and “artificial”, the pro-democracy seven-party alliance today staged a major rally to protest his autocratic rule.

In his appeal for the first time after the seizure of power last year King Gyanendra said: “We call on all willing political parties to come forth to fully activate, at the earliest, the stalled democratic process in the greater interest of the nation.”

But senior leaders of the alliance, who addressed the rally vowed to continue the fight against the King’s direct rule and rejected any possibility of compromise with him.

“It is meaningless offer”, said CPN-UML leader Subhash Nemwang, adding there was nothing new in the King’s call for dialogue and questioned whether it was his genuine effort.

“It is an artificial appeal that does not mean anything for us. If he is really serious about resolving the problems then he should have directly approached us and not made such a vague appeal,” Khadga Prasad Oli, Deputy Leader of the Communist Party of Nepal said.

The parties also held prayer meetings to mourn the death of two political activists during peaceful anti-poll rallies on February 8. — PTI