Islamabad, November 4
Amidst a raging controversy in some parts of the world over the veil, a Pakistani court has ordered women lawyers not to wear 'hijabs' in courtrooms, saying they could neither be identified nor assist the court well in such attire.

Ordering women lawyers not to wear veils in courtrooms, Peshawar High Court Chief Justice Tariq Pervaiz Khan, in a landmark observation, said, “You (women lawyers) are professionals. You should be dressed as requisite for the lawyers.

“We (the judges) cannot identify women lawyers wearing veils and doubt that veiled lawyers appear in court several times seeking adjournments for other lawyers' cases,” Mr Justice Pervaiz has been quoted by the Daily Times as telling a veiled lawyer Raees Anjum, who was seeking adjournment of a case.

The court could barely hear Anjum's name when she was asked to make her presence for a case she was seeking an adjournment for.

Anjum had to repeat her name several times because of her veil and this led to the Chief Justice's observation that women lawyers should not wear veils to courtrooms.

“I was embarrassed when the Chief Justice asked me not to wear a veil in the courtroom,” Anjum told the Daily Times reacting to the judge's comments.

“I feel more confident in my hijab (veil). I am a progressive Muslim woman who has the courage to follow her faith while living and working in this conservative society.

“Hijab reflects a woman's modesty,” she said, adding that several women judges in the NWFP and all MMA women MPAs wore veils. —PTI

Baghdad, November 4
Iraq's former military strongman Saddam Hussein faces a likely death sentence tomorrow amid fears that the verdict could provoke violent reprisals from his remaining Sunni Arab supporters.

As a precautionary measure, Iraq yesterday cancelled all military leave and put the country's embattled armed forces on alert to thwart any outbreak of violence before or after the ruling in the ousted leader's trial.

"All military personnel are on alert. Leave has been cancelled and we are on alert for any possible emergency. Those on leave should report to their units," said the Defence Ministry spokesman, Maj Gen Ibrahim Shaker.

More than three-and-a-half year after Iraqis cheered the fall of Saddam's massive statue in central Baghdad, the ousted dictator's own end appears to have come near with the verdict expected to be a death sentence.

None other than Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki himself has hinted that the former military strongman will be executed. "It won't be long," Maliki said last month, displaying a better grasp of the political significance of the drama than the niceties of due process or the independence of the judiciary.

"An execution order on this criminal despot and his criminal aides will be passed soon," he said. "His execution will remove the playing card on which those who want to be back in power are betting." Maliki might have jumped the gun, but a few would indeed bet on anything other than a death sentence when Saddam and his seven co- defendants return to the cramped courtroom of the Iraqi High Tribunal in Baghdad tomorrow. — AFP

Seoul, November 4
North Korea today said that Japan should not bother to attend the six-nation talks on ending its nuclear weapons programme because it was just a territory of the USA. Pyongyang agreed on Tuesday to return to the talks involving the two Koreas, Japan, China, Russia and the USA after staying away for a year in protest against a US crackdown on its international finances.

Talks are expected to resume next month.

''It would be much better for Japan to refrain from participating in the six-party talks and less attendants would be not bad for making the talks fruitful,'' a North Korean Foreign Ministry spokesman was quoted as saying by KCNA news agency.

''It is the view of the DPRK that since the USA attends the six-party talks, there is no need for Japan to participate in them as a local delegate because it is no more than a state of the USA and it is enough for Tokyo just to be informed of the results of the talks by Washington.'' North Korea has feuded with Japan over the abduction of at least 13 Japanese in the 1970s and the 1980s, and criticised Japan for raising the issue at the six-way talks.

Tokyo has been active in implementing UN sanctions after the North launched ballistic missiles in July and in moving to apply additional UN measures after Pyongyang conducted its first nuclear test on October 9.

The escalation of tension, including speculation that the North may be preparing for a second nuclear test, relented when envoys from North Korea, the USA and China met secretly in Beijing on October 31 and agreed to restart the talks. Pyongyang's number two official yesterday said Washington was being given a face-saving offer from his government when the North agreed to return to the talks and that it was now the United States' turn to show good faith by working together on lifting the financial crackdown.

''The result of the six-party talks depends on the attitude of the USA,'' the President of the North's Assembly, Kim Yong-nam, was quoted as saying by South Korea's Leftist Democratic Labour Party, whose delegation is visiting Pyongyang. — Reuters

Islamabad, November 4
Pakistan's National Security Council Secretary Tariq Aziz has held talks with his Indian counterpart S K Lambah in a Gulf country, as part of the ''back-channel'' interaction, media reports here said.

Mr Aziz has since returned to Islamabad and reported the details of his talks to President General Pervez Musharraf, the daily ''The News'' reported.

The two interlocutors are understood to have also discussed the visit of Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to Pakistan, but no agreement on the dates was reached.

Meanwhile, Pakistan's Foreign Secretary Riaz Muhammad Khan has been making hectic preparations for his visit to New Delhi towards the end of next week for talks with his Indian counterpart Shiv Shankar Menon, amid hopes that his visit could put the composite dialogue process stalled in July after the Mumbai train blasts, back on the track.

Mr Aziz also briefed Foreign Minister Khurshid Mahmood Kasuri on his talks with Mr Lambah. The minister is scheduled to visit New Delhi for a private sojourn soon after Mr Riaz Khan’s return from there for a wedding reception.

Meanwhile, India’s High Commissioner-designate to Pakistan Satyabrata Pal has reached Islamabad where he is expected to present his credentials to President Musharraf next month. He will also be going to New Delhi next week to attend the metting between the Foreign Secretaries of the two countries.

In a brief chat at the residence of Sri Lankan High Commissioner Gen Weerasooriya here yesterday evening, he said he had ''no clue'' to the schedule of Dr Manmohan Singh's visit to Pakistan.

On the Indo-Pak Joint Mechanism against Terrorism, he said this would be discussed at the Foreign Secretary-level talks. He also pleaded ignorance about any agreement on the Siachen issue. — UNI