Islamabad, January 5
Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf has directed caretaker Prime Minister Muhammadmian Soomro to speed up the pace of the investigation into the assassination of former premier Benazir Bhutto.

Musharraf expressed concern over what he called the “slow progress” and asked Soomro to extend full cooperation to the Scotland Yard team to complete the investigation as early as possible, Dawn newspaper quoted sources as saying.

The President’s comments came while he was presiding over a meeting to discuss measures taken to maintain peace during ‘Muharram’ and the February general election.

Soomro, provincial chief ministers, the Army Chief, Gen Ashfaq Pervez Kiyani,the interior minister, the heads of security and intelligence agencies and senior officials attended the meeting.

Musharraf asked the authorities to “exert efforts to improve the law and order situation”.

He stressed the need for ensuring peace during ‘Muharram’ and said all possible efforts should be made to protect life and property.

The meeting was informed about the deployment of army and paramilitary forces on internal security duty in aid of the civilian authorities in various parts of the country.

US not aware of Qaida’s involvement

Washington: The US today said it was not aware of any report in which Osama bin Laden or Al- Qaida has taken responsibility for the assassination of former Pakistan premier Benazir Bhutto.

"We have not seen this report, if that's out there. And we'll certainly look for it," White House deputy spokesman Tony Fratto said of reports of Al- Qaida having claimed the responsibility for slaying of Bhutto.

Immediately after her murder, the Pakistan government had blamed Al- Qaida for the attack by claiming that intelligence agents intercepted a message of congratulation from a Qaida-linked militant leader Baitullah Mehsud.

Meanwhile, the United States again hailed the role of President Pervez Musharraf in the war on terror saying that it is important for Washington to have leadership in Islamabad -- whoever that may be -- which is committed to fighting terrorism.

"But as for President Musharraf, I don't think there's any question that he has been a very strong hand in fighting and a strong ally in fighting Al- Qaida and Taliban elements in Pakistan."And that's an important relationship for us to have the leadership in Pakistan, whoever it is, to be committed to fighting extremism," Fratto said.— PTI

U.S. efforts to bring together Benazir Bhutto and Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf in an effort to form a power-sharing alliance have been criticised as “profoundly unwise” by a South Asia scholar in Washington.

“It was profoundly unwise for the Bush Administration to attempt to midwife a partnership agreement between Pervez Musharraf and Benazir Bhutto,” said Michael Krepon of the Henry L. Stimson Center.A core assumption behind this effort “that Musharraf remains essential in any transition strategy for Pakistan ’s future – is mistaken.” Bhutto was assassinated while leaving a political rally in Rawalpindi on December 27.

“When a military strongman in Pakistan produces a big mess, the strongman doesn’t clean up the mess. Instead, he leaves the stage to allow others to clean up the mess. It is, therefore, essential that the United States proceeds wisely during the troubled times that Pakistan now finds itself in,” Krepon suggested in an analysis.

Noting that the USA needed Pakistan, and Pakistan needed the USA ,Krepon predicted, “If the forces of extremism prevail in Pakistan, its relations with all of its neighbours such as Iran, Afghanistan and India will become inflammed.”

In a separate analysis of the situation in Pakistan, Richard N. Haass at the Council on Foreign Relations said Pakistan was heading into a period of instability.Haass was a principal adviser to Secretary of State Colin Powell.

Haass said “we need to anticipate considerable drift, by which I mean you will have constant political jockeying and skirmishing, lower economic growth, and probably a messy security situation.”

Pakistan has received over a billion dollars in U.S. aid since it became an ally in the U.S.-led war on terror in 2001.The New York Times recently reported that most of that money was being spent by Pakistan on building up the military to counter India.

“Too much of what motivates Pakistani military officers is preoccupation with India, when the reality is that India is not a strategic challenge to Pakistan," Haass said."On a day-to-day basis, the real threat to Pakistan’s sovereignty, to its viability, and to its security and prosperity, comes from within.”

The Pakistan People's Party (PPP) has accused intelligence agencies of pre-poll rigging and has demanded that President Pervez Musharraf and army chief Ashfaq Kayani should stop the Inter-Services Intelligence and all other agencies from meddling in the electoral process.

The PPP’s election cell has released a report on alleged pre-poll rigging, which, it says, is the same report that Benazir Bhutto was to submit to the US senators the day she was assassinated.

The 45-page report alleges that military intelligence(MI) officials in Balochistan are engaged in abducting and threatening the PPP's candidates and are intimidating the voters as well.The report states that MI officials are harassing the political opponents of former federal minister Yar Muhammad Rind to pave the way for his victory.

The PPP alleged that a party candidate for the National Assembly from Dera Bugti was unable to file his nomination papers because MI officials abducted him.It added that Major Adnan arrested Sarfaraz Bugti, a PPP candidate for the provincial assembly, from Dera Bugti, to ensure victory for Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) candidate Tariq Masoori.

Many South Asians were among the record number of Democratic voters who propelled Barack Obama to a historic win in the Iowa caucuses on Thursday.

“With about 2,20,000 Democrats voting -twice the number as in 2004 and more than the three-decade history of the Iowa caucuses - we are certain that Indian-Americans turned out in force,” Subodh Chandra told the Tribune. Chandra was recently elected by the residents of Cleveland, Ohio, to serve as one of their voices for Obama at the Democratic National Convention in August.

The son of a black Kenyan father and white Kansan mother, Obama stunned political pundits and electrified supporters on Thursday by winning the most support of Democratic voters in Iowa, a predominantly white state. Perhaps more shocking was the fact that Hillary Rodham Clinton, a former first lady, was relegated to third place in the race behind former John Edwards of North Carolina.

South Asians for Obama (SAFO), a grass-roots group, played a key role in winning South Asian support for the Illinois Democrat. Chandra said telephone calls from SAFO volunteers were well received by Indian-Americans across Iowa and we know we changed a lot of votes.

Hollywood actor Kal Penn, whose recent credits include The Namesake, also toured Iowa where he urged Indian-Americans, especially college students, to support Obama. Preeta Bansal, former solicitor general of New York state and currently a partner at a major New York City law firm, also offered her personal testimonials on behalf of Obama to families and community groups in Iowa.

The Obama campaign embarked on an unprecedented get-out-the-vote effort aimed at maximising participation by the South Asian community, said Hrishi Karthikeyan, who co-founded SAFO. “Several members of the community were on the ground in Iowa, working as campaign staff, as outside volunteers, and through Iowa-based community groups,” Karthikeyan told the Tribune, adding, “The warmth, hospitality and energy we witnessed from the South Asian community in Iowa - including those who had never caucused before - reflected the growing enthusiasm for Obama’s message that produced a record number of new caucus-goers last night.”

Obama’s supporters said there were plenty of reasons why the Indian-American community should support him. “Unlike our current President, who seems to be deliberately ignorant, senator Obama understands the world better than any other candidate because he is of the world,” said Chandra, referring to the senator’s biracial, multicultural background.

Chandra predicted that Obama would build stronger relations with India and rest of the world and show our children by his own example that they too can grow up to be President in this great country, without irrelevant considerations like name or ethnicity being a factor. Chandra had been raising money to fund Obama’s campaign.

Karthikeyan said, “Obama’s election is a powerful symbol not just to our community-but to the country and the world-that America values and thrives as a result of its rich diversity.”

The effort to woo the South Asian community has not stopped in Iowa. SAFO has turned its attention to New Hampshire where the next big contest will be held on Tuesday. A group of volunteers was in Nashua, New Hampshire, on Friday knocking on doors and making phone calls to ensure that it experiences a similar phenomenon of overwhelming turnout, Karthikeyan said. “Although last night’s victory is a significant accomplishment, we still have much more work to do in our effort to mobilise the South Asian American community in this campaign,” he added.

South Asian support for Obama was also bolstered by groups like non-partisan community-based organisation Iowa Asian Alliance. Rita Arora, vice-president of the group’s eastern chapter, facilitated caucus-training sessions to educate the community about the often-confusing caucus process.

Ann Lata Kalayil, co-chair of Obama’s AAPI National Leadership Council, said: “Many South Asian Americans around the country are proud to be part of this movement, as we did phone banking, political education, and get-out-the-vote activities.”

Chandra noted that many South Asian Americans tend to support candidates without looking more deeply at the question of whose life experience best represents our own hope and aspirations.

“I hope successful South Asian American efforts to help senator Obama win Iowa and other early states will help our community overcome that inertia -because senator Obama, unlike any other candidate, is basically one of us,” Chandra said.

Toronto, January 5
Canadian prosecutors today denied offering reduced sentence to the lone convict in the 1985 Air India bombing on perjury charges if he reveals information on his accomplices.

They, however, maintained that any “pre-trial bargaining” would remain confidential. The Globe and Mail Daily yesterday reported that British Columbia government had told Inderjit Singh Reyat that he would receive a sentence in the range of two to five years in exchange for valuable information about others involved in Kanishka airliner bombing that killed 329 people, mostly of Indian origin.

Reyat, who was described by the Air India trial judge as an “unmitigated liar”, is currently serving a five-year sentence that will end on February 9 and faces a maximum of 14 years in jail if he is found guilty on perjury charges.

Geoff Gaul, the Crown spokesman, denied media reports that the prosecutors offered Reyat a reduced sentence if he informs on his co-conspirators.

“No deal has been offered,” he said.

“It is privilege information whether there was a pre-trial bargaining and discussion between defence and Crown lawyers,” Gaul said.

Canadian law permits pre-trial bargaining as a legitimate component of the criminal justice system in the country.

The Supreme Court of Canada has long asserted the need for prosecutorial discretion in such matters and stressed that the Crown must possess a fair deal of discretion in the criminal justice system. — PTI

Nairobi, January 5
Kenya’s President Mwai Kibaki said today that he was ready to form a national unity government to end Kenya’s bloody turmoil but the opposition brushed the offer aside, saying he must step down and negotiate.

After a week of political violence and tribal clashes since the disputed December 27 election, Kibaki said he would accept a unity government “that would not only unite Kenyans but would also help in the healing and reconciliation process”.

But the opposition said the offer changed nothing and only internationally mediated talks would end a crisis that has killed at least 300 people and forced 250,000 from their homes. “My position has not changed. We want a negotiated settlement. Our starting point is that Kibaki is there illegally. He should not come to the negotiating table as President,” opposition leader Raila Odinga told reporters.

Kibaki’s office issued his offer after he met the top US Africa diplomat, Jendayi Frazer. President George W. Bush sent Frazer to Nairobi on Friday to try to help end the crisis. — Reuters