W O R L D

Russia withdraws posts from western Georgia
Moscow, September 13 Under the EU brokered truce, Russia today withdrew its five military posts ahead of schedule from western Georgia, including from the vicinity of the former Soviet Caucasian republic’s Black Sea port of Poti and Senaki airbase. Russian troops move along a road outside the Georgian town of Zugdidi on Saturday. — Reuters

Capitol Hill should not rush with deal: Democrat lawmakers
Even as the Bush Administration is asking Congress to speedily approve a US-India civilian nuclear agreement, three Democrat lawmakers are urging colleagues on Capitol Hill not to rush.

Khaleda Zia to contest Dec polls
Released from prison, former premier Khaleda Zia agreed to run in the upcoming parliamentary elections in December after discussions with chief adviser Fakhruddin Ahmed late last night.

PPP ministers rejoin office
Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) ministers in the Punjab cabinet today returned to their offices in Lahore after a gap of about a week, resting for the time being speculations of an imminent break up of the PPP-PML-N coalition.

Move on deposed CJ’s house condemned
Leaders of the lawyers’ movement have condemned government’s fresh bid to get deposed Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry vacate his official residence in Islamabad and vowed to resist it.

Afghan guv killed in blast
Kabul, September 13
An Afghan provincial governor, who was also a former cabinet minister, was among four persons killed in an apparent Taliban suicide bomb attack near Kabul today, the Afghan police said.

Russia withdraws posts from western Georgia

Moscow, September 13
Under the EU brokered truce, Russia today withdrew its five military posts ahead of schedule from western Georgia, including from the vicinity of the former Soviet Caucasian republic’s Black Sea port of Poti and Senaki airbase.

“Under the agreement reached between the President of Russian Federation DA Medvedev and President of French Republic N Sarkozy on September 8, the Russian peacekeepers have withdrawn their posts along Senaki-Poti line and have pulled out from the territory of Georgia. This has been done two days ahead of the deadline set in the agreement reached between DA Medvedev and N Sarkozy,” the Russian foreign ministry said in a statement.

Earlier, the Russian TV channels showed Russian troops wrapping up their posts and leaving in army convoys from the buffer zone inside western Georgia set up by them along the breakaway republic of Abkhazia.

The Russian foreign ministry said in a statement that Moscow expects similar honest attitude of the Georgian leadership and the European Union towards their obligations under the Medvedev-Sarkozy agreements.

The obligations, it said, include the EU guarantees of non-use of force against Abkhazia and South Ossetia and recalling of the Georgian military back barracks by October 1.

Under the revised truce agreement signed on September 8 to ensure Russian pullout from Georgia proper, EU is to deploy its 200 observers in the buffer zones along Abkhazia and South Ossetia by October one to enable full Russian withdrawal from Georgia’s ‘undisputed’ territory within 10 days.

Russia has recognised independence of the breakaway Georgian regions and has established diplomatic ties with them in the wake of Tbilisi’s pro-US regime’s abortive bid to re-capture South Ossetia and plans to deploy over seven thousand regular troops in Abkhazia and South Ossetia. — PTI

Capitol Hill should not rush with deal: Democrat lawmakers
Ashish Kumar Sen writes from Washington

Even as the Bush Administration is asking Congress to speedily approve a US-India civilian nuclear agreement, three Democrat lawmakers are urging colleagues on Capitol Hill not to rush.

The lawmakers, led by Congressman Edward J. Markey, a longtime foe of the nuclear deal, said in a letter to House Foreign Affairs Committee chairman Howard Berman, “The Bush administration is lobbying hard to rush consideration of this unprecedented nuclear deal. This tactic is unwise and inappropriate, because serious questions remain about whether the deal is consistent with the law of the land - the Atomic Energy Act and the Hyde Act. The nonproliferation issues at stake in this deal are too important to be glossed over in a rush to beat the clock. Congress should spend the time needed to dissect the details of this agreement before taking any votes.” The other signers of the letter are Congresswoman Ellen O. Tauscher of California and Congressman John Spratt of South Carolina.

The Hyde Act, the law passed by Congress in December 2006 to set requirements for any nuclear trade agreement between the US and India, requires that Congress have at least 30 days to consider the deal before holding a vote on approval. According to the current schedule, Congress is scheduled to go out of session making it impossible to meet this 30-day requirement.

The lawmakers said “honoring President Bush’s request for Congressional approval of the Nuclear Cooperation Agreement this year could only be accomplished by waiving US law through an unorthodox procedure.”

The lawmakers said they were strongly opposed to “rushing consideration of the proposal to adhere to an imaginary clock.” They told Berman “to insist that this unprecedented agreement be subject to full and complete review by the Congress, even if that necessitates deferring any vote on the agreement until the next Congress.”

Late on Wednesday, President George W. Bush sent a complete package on the deal to Congress for an up or down vote. The Bush Administration has doubled down to get the deal wrapped up before the end of the year. Sources close to the discussions on the Hill said Congress’ decision to take up the matter could be known as soon as this weekend. These sources said the Bush Administration was “pulling out all stops” to get the deal done on its watch.

The three lawmakers, meanwhile, noted: “many questions remain concerning whether or not the so-called 123 Agreement, the India-IAEA Safeguards Agreement, the Nuclear Suppliers' Group waiver, and the various Presidential certifications and reports, meet the requirements of, and are consistent with, the Atomic Energy Act and the Hyde Act.” They said the NSG waiver for India that was approved on September 6 “clearly does not incorporate the restrictions and conditions on the US nuclear trade mandated by the Hyde Act, such as the requirement that nuclear cooperation be immediately halted if India conducts a nuclear test.” They urged Berman to “take all necessary time to carefully review the President's submission, hold hearings, and seek answers to any outstanding questions.” The lawmakers also asked that steps be taken to bring this proposal into full conformity with the Atomic Energy Act, the Hyde Act of 2006, and international standards and practices.

Meanwhile, the US-India business lobby is keen to get this deal wrapped up so the US firms can begin nuclear commerce with India.

Khaleda Zia to contest Dec polls
Ashfaq Wares Khan writes from Dhaka

Released from prison, former premier Khaleda Zia agreed to run in the upcoming parliamentary elections in December after discussions with chief adviser Fakhruddin Ahmed late last night.

Zia, head of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), and freed on Thursday on bail after a year in jail, also agreed to meet her arch-rival Awami League chief Sheikh Hasina to settle their deep and long-running differences that resulted in 16 years of acrimonious and often violent confrontations.

This would be the first meeting between the two iconic leaders in over 10 years. The decisions came after a marathon meeting between Zia and interim ministers at her home deep into Friday night, which included a 10-minute telephone conversation with the chief adviser (interim Prime Minister).

“The meeting was aimed at uniting the country’s political parties to hold a meaningful election for the welfare of the country and its people,” said interim commerce minister Hossain Zillur Rahman. “We know there is a huge lack of (mutual) trust, but we have to move forward ... it’s natural that there’ll be rivalry between parties but the national interest must get priority.”

Zillur told reporters Zia assured the government of her party’s participation in the elections. Hasina, on parole in the US, had also dropped strong hints to the government of Awami League’s participation in the December polls.

Zia also agreed to maintain stability and promised to avert violent confrontations that had marked the tenures of the BNP and the AL in the last 17 years, which eventually played a significant role in leading to the declaration of the ongoing state of emergency. “We have had long discussions on post-election stability, and Khaleda Zia stressed on ensuring a level-playing field for all,” Zillur said.

But, Zillur said the BNP chief did not give assurances of democratising the BNP itself or legislating the wide-ranging reforms undertaken by the current government.

PPP ministers rejoin office
Afzal Khan writes from Islamabad

Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) ministers in the Punjab cabinet today returned to their offices in Lahore after a gap of about a week, resting for the time being speculations of an imminent break up of the PPP-PML-N coalition.

The PPP ministers had stopped attending their offices following the PML-N’s decision to pull out of the coalition at the centre ahead of the presidential election in which it had put up its own candidate to challenge PPP co-chairman Asif Zardari. This was followed by an exchange of tough statements by both sides in which senior leaders of the PML-N asked the PPP to quit the Punjab coalition.

The PML-N has been complaining about efforts by Governor Salman Taseer and adviser to the Prime Minister Manzoor Wattoo of conspiring to destabilise Shahbaz Sharif’s government in Punjab. Both Taseer and Wattoo had intensified their contacts with leaders of pro-Musharraf PML-Q, apparently to try a realignment of forces against the PML-N in the province.

PML-Q president Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain, his cousin and leader of the opposition in the National Assembly Pervez Elahi and former speaker Hamid Nasir Chathha led the parleys with the Governor and Wattoo to explore the possibility of joining the PPP in Punjab and at the centre.

Move on deposed CJ’s house condemned
Afzal Khan writes from Islamabad

Leaders of the lawyers’ movement have condemned government’s fresh bid to get deposed Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry vacate his official residence in Islamabad and vowed to resist it.

Chaudhry Aitzaz Ahsan, president of the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA), and Athar Minallah, Chief Justice’s spokesman, met Justice Iftikhar at his residence and declared that the government had no legal right to force him to vacate his house.

Aitzaz said Justice Iftikhar was still the legitimate CJ of Pakistan. He regretted that President Asif Zardari chose to take oath of office from Justice Hameed Dogar whom an overwhelming majority of the legal fraternity refuse to recognise as the CJ.

Afghan guv killed in blast

Kabul, September 13
An Afghan provincial governor, who was also a former cabinet minister, was among four persons killed in an apparent Taliban suicide bomb attack near Kabul today, the Afghan police said.

Logar province governor Abdullah Wardak, who fought alongside US troops during the overthrow of the Taliban in 2001, died on a dirt road outside his home in Paghman, 20 km west of the capital.

The police gave varying accounts of the attack. Senior Kabul police officer Ali Shah Paktiawal said Wardak was killed when a remote-controlled device was detonated next to his car.

Logar police chief Ghulam Mustafa Mohseni said Wardak had been killed in a suicide attack. ''The governor was leaving his house for office,'' Mohseni said on the phone from Logar.

''The suicide bomber was waiting near his residence. As the governor came out with his driver, he was targeted and killed.'' Mohseni had no further details.

Paktiawalsaid Wardak's driver and two of his body guards were also killed in the blast, which he said was the work of ''Afghanistan's enemies''. — Reuters