Tuesday, August 4, 1998
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W O R L D | Tuesday, August 4, 1998 |
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PPP files graft case
against Nawaz |
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 Protesters riding on donkeys chant slogans to condemn the Pakistani government for increasing prices, on Sunday, in Lahore. The government imposed taxes to meet the financial crisis after nuclear tests. — AP/PTI |
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Taliban
ready to capture Mazar-e-Sharif |
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PPP files graft case against
Nawaz LAHORE, Aug 3 (ANI) — Benazir’s Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) has filed a case against the Prime Minister and the country’s top accountability officer for allegedly causing the state a massive loss of revenue in the import of luxury vehicles. The reference has been filed with the Accountability Commission against Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, Accountability Bureau Chairman Saifur Rehman and Commerce Minister Ishaq Dar for allegedly causing a loss of Rs 20 crore to the state exchequer by reducing duty on the import of luxury cars. “The copies of the reference have also been sent to the Chief Justice of Pakistan and the Chief of the Army Staff,” a Benazir aide, Mr Munir Khan, has said. Mr Khan said during 1996-97 and 1997-98, duty at the rate of 325 per cent was imposed on the import of luxury cars, which included BMWs and Mercedes. “However, in the new federal budget, presented in June, this duty was reduced to 125 per cent. The reduction was made by the rulers to benefit Mr Saifur Rehman and his business associates, at the cost of the public exchequer,” the reference said. Accordingly, Mr Khan claimed, Mr Rehman’s business concern imported 400 luxury cars at the reduced rate of 125 per cent. He further claimed that two foreign vessels unloaded their cargo of 409 luxury cars at the Karachi port recently while another vessel was expected shortly, which would bring the total number of luxury cars shipped into the country over the month to 672. “The import of such a large number of luxury vehicles at the reduced rate of duty has not only caused a great loss to the public exchequer, but also raised serious questions as to why such a huge amount of foreign exchange was spent on the import of luxury cars at a time when the country is in serious financial trouble,” the reference said. “Obviously, the rate of duty was reduced from 325 per cent to 125 per cent by and with the consent and complexity of the above named persons, which amounted to corruption and corrupt practices under Section 3 of the Accountability Act, 1997,” it added. KARACHI (ANI): Former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto has called for a new government in Pakistan to handle the country’s worsening ties with neighbouring India. “The Indian war hysteria cannot be ignored, neither can the deteriorating situation in Kashmir be overlooked”, The Nation newspaper yesterday quoted the Opposition leader as saying. Mrs Bhutto was referring to the escalation of crossfire between Indian and Pakistani troops across the Line of Control, which divides the Kashmir in two parts ruled by both sides, for the past few days that has seen over 50 killed. “A new government should quickly be installed in Pakistan to handle the situation”, she demanded. “I sympathise with the bereaved families who have had some of their members killed in the crossfire”, she said, blaming the Nawaz Sharif Government for the deaths “due to its lethargy and incompetence in dealing with a situation fraught with all kinds of dangerous eventualities.” “Such a situation cannot be allowed to last indefinitely. The country’s security and sovereignty are far too precious to be handled ineptly”, she pointed out. She charged Mr Sharif with scandalising her government’s deal with France to acquire Mirage warplanes, which she felt, could have solidified Pakistan’s air defence system. “The need of the hour is to strengthen national unity and steer the country clear of the international isolation it finds itself in. A flurry of diplomatic activity is needed to achieve this objective but this can only be done by a leadership with vision and foresight rooted in popular support”, Mrs Bhutto argued. Mr Nawaz Sharif as the
head of the administration, she claimed, had neither and
“has therefore become a liability.” |
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Gohar: chances of Indo-Pak conflict high LAHORE, Aug 3 (PTI) — Pakistan Foreign Minister Gohar Ayub Khan has said chances of conflict between Islamabad and New Delhi are high and warned that any Indian adventurism would be responded befittingly. "If India continued aggression on the Line of Control (LoC), we would reply them with a befitting response," he said quoting a Pushto proverb "counter a pinch with a punch". Responding to a question about a report that he was kept out of the Pak-Indian Prime Ministers meeting in Colombo due to his hard-line attitude, Mr Gohar said Premier Nawaz Sharif has already explained that his meeting with Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee would be one-to-one. Talking to newsmen here on his return from Male yesterday the Pakistani Foreign Minister said: "If it was a move by Indians, they failed because Gohar Ayub was present over there and he represented will of his nation with his full worth". "I have drawn the
conclusion that Pak-India talks would always remain
fruitless therefore, Pakistan has to adopt a hard-line
attitude," Mr Gohar Ayub said. |
2 US warships in China BEIJING, Aug 3 (PTI) — Two warships of the US naval forces have docked at Qingdao port in East China as part of the confidence building measures to boost cooperation between the armed forces of the two countries, Xinhua news agency said. The flagship of the US Seventh Fleet, the USS Blue Ridge and the guided-missile destroyer, USS john S. McCain, arrived yesterday on a four-day visit at Qingdao, which is also the headquarters of the North Sea fleet of the Chinese naval forces. “The visit will add a new chapter to exchanges between the US and Chinese naval forces”, said the commander of China’s Northern Fleet, Zhang Defa. China and the USA had earlier signed a military maritime consultative agreement which aimed to promote safety in naval and air operations and avoid accidents at sea involving the two armed forces. The present move, experts said, was intended to avoid a clash over Taiwan by engaging in confidence-building measures to boost cooperation between the armed forces of the two nations. Meanwhile, China has sought to remind US President Bill Clinton about granting it the permanent most-favoured nation (MFN) status, a promise made by him during his June trip here, and urged Washington to lift all curbs on high-tech exports to Beijing. “China is waiting for Mr Clinton to keep promise,” official China daily Business Weekly said. “Although President Clinton expressed on June 19 that he would suggest granting China permanent MFN status after his visit to China, the Chinese people will have to wait to see whether his promises will come true,” the paper said. The US Congress, like every year, has voted in favour of granting China MFN status — but only for another year. China also urged the USA
to lift all curbs on high-tech exports including nuclear
power technology and computers to Beijing to reduce the
huge trade deficit which is expected to hit $ 60 billion
this year. |
Taliban ready to capture Mazar-e-Sharif MOSCOW, Aug 3 (PTI) — The Taliban forces have overrun the main base of Uzbek warlord general Abdul Rashid Dostum in Shibargan and are now poised to capture his stronghold in Mazar-e-Sharif close to the CIS border in north Afghanistan, Radio Moscow reported today. Dostum’s Uzbek forces, said to be one of the best organised constituents of the anti-Taliban "Northern Alliance" headed by Afghan President Burhanuddin Rabbani have fled from the Shibargan military air base in Jausjan province after setting fire to their planes, the radio quoting Taliban spokesman Abdul Mutmin said. "There is no more a clear cut frontline since the opposition forces have been scattered," Mr Mutmin said. According to unconfirmed reports, Dostum’s capital Mazar-e-Sharif is in the grip of confusion and panic as Taliban forces are advancing towards the city, Radio Moscow said. Kabul Radio, monitored in Tajikistan, claimed that in Balkh province and some other places, the Taliban forces were only a little distance away from Dostum’s capital and a number of field commanders had taken the side of the Kabul regime. Moscow is said to be in close contact with its allies in Tashkent and Dushanbe who had in March decided to set up an "anti-extremis troika" to combat Islamic fundamentalism and extremism in the central Asian region. Local commanders in the key district of Balkh, only 60 km west of the city, have joined the militia’s ranks and raised white flags, the symbol of allegiance to the purist movement. Sheberghan, 120 km west of Mazar-e-Sharif, was native stronghold and military operations base of opposition warlord general Abdul Rashid Dostum. Taliban-run Shariat radio said gains had placed the army "on the threshold of victory" in their aim to capture the remaining one-third of Afghanistan. The Taliban took Kabul in
September 1996. They briefly held Mazar-e-Sharif in May
1997 but were forced out with heavy casualties after
opposition commander who helped them suddenly changed
sides again. |
Russian army faces HIV risk MOSCOW, Aug 3 (IPS) — The number of soldiers found to be infected with the HIV virus has quadrupled in the last year and a half in Moscow’s military district alone, say army officials. The cause is partly down to the general ill-health of the Russian population, reflected in the condition of the nation’s young draftees. The rest is blamed on the rise of drug abuse among the country’s abused and hungry soldiers. According to Moscow military district prosecutor Mikhail Kislitsyn, since the beginning of 1997, 128 cases of HIV were reported in the district compared with just 32 from 1993 to 1996. The district covers 18 regions in central Russia. Of the 160 servicemen officially diagnosed as HIV positive, 18 per cent are officers or non-commissioned officers — and 12 per cent of those are thought to have contracted the virus while serving in the army, he says. “This means that drugs are being supplied to servicemen within the army, which they then inject using infected needles,’’ he explains, adding that there had been a noticeable decline in the general health in the army during the past five years. He blamed the falling standards on doctors in the conscription commissions who accept many who were unfit. This was largely because of the increasing numbers of young men dodging the draft. The doctors now took on unfit conscripts just to boost the figures. Mr Kislitsyn fears for the future. “I am convinced that the number of hiv infections in the army will grow unless we take fundamental measures at the draft stage,’’ he warns. This year, extra care is being taken with any draftees who claim they are unfit to serve. Mr Kislitsyn says that following a medical inspection of some 12,000 conscripts in the Moscow military district for 1998, 822 were sent to be treated for various medical conditions, 636 were found to be malnourished, and 14 were “immediately sent home’’. He admits that
Russia’s 2,000 conscription offices are currently
facing serious problems. The situation is not being made
any easier because the offices are now undergoing
reforms. |
Clinton prepares for testimony WASHINGTON, Aug 3 (AFP) — President Bill Clinton came home after a weekend of relaxation and fund-raising to prepare his testimony in a sex scandal that threatens his presidency. Mr Clinton seemed relaxed, buoyed by his fund-raising among movie stars and other wealthy Democrats in the Hamptons. But he is expected to be plunged back into the scandal as he prepares for his August 17 testimony before a federal grand jury. Republican Senator Orrin Hatch, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, urged the President yesterday to “pour his heart out to the American people.” Special prosecutor Kenneth Starr is seeking to prove Mr Clinton obstructed justice by asking others to lie about an alleged affair he had with White House intern Monica Lewinsky. Speaking on NBC television
yesterday, Mr Hatch said Mr Clinton needed to come clean
in the matter. |
Brutality, murder at ‘deadliest
jail’ THE governor and attorney-general of California have been accused of presiding over a prison scandal involving the murder of inmates and incidents of mass brutality, rape, and racism by guards. The guards’ union is said to have blocked two investigations in an orchestrated cover-up of the abuses. Three guards have invoked their constitutional right not to give evidence at a top-level inquiry in Sacramento into Corcoran state prison, known as the “deadliest jail in America.” Seven prisoners were shot dead by guards between 1989 and 1995, and 43 were injured. The FBI is investigating a rape and a mass beating of black inmates by a group of guards called the Sharks because of their sudden and unprovoked attacks. At the inquiry, conducted by seven committees of politicians in the state assembly, a former canteen manager told how guards, some off-duty, conducted mock limbering-up exercises wearing black gloves and with their uniform name tags taped over as they waited for a bus bringing black inmates. When the inmates arrived, they were forced through a gauntlet of warders who beat them with batons and kicked them. Work documents were falsified to place the guards elsewhere, and one of the organisers was later promoted. The rape was allegedly set by guards after a small, frail prisoner kicked a female warder. He was put in a cell with a 17-stone prisoner known as a sexual predator. This prisoner, nicknamed the Booty Bandit” admitted repeatedly raping his diminutive cell mate and was rewarded with new tennis shoes and extra food, the inquiry heard. No disciplinary action was taken. Last year a special team from the state correction department spent months investigating the rape at Corcoran, an isolated maximum-security jail in the heart of California’s central valley. But guards were improperly advised by their union — a major donor of funds to Republican Governor Pete Wilson — that they need make no statements. As law enforcement officers they were legally obliged to report any crime. As a result, the investigating team was unable to identify the perpetrators. The state attorney-general’s office looked into “gladiator” contests allegedly staged by the guards in which members of rival prison gangs were pitched against each other in savage fights. Again, investigators met a “code of silence” and reported that their inquiry was “an exercise in futility”. But senior politicians argue that the governor and the attorney-general, who both face possible civil laws suits, did not press the inquiries vigorously enough, and delayed any investigation of Corcoran for two years. The hearing is expected to uncover more examples of brutality and cover-ups in a state prison system that is a national scandal. Corcoran and another
“super-max” prison, Pelican Bay, had more
shootings of inmates in the last decade than any other
prison system in America, according to Steven Martin, a
lawyer and prison investigator. |
King Fahd in hospital DUBAI, Aug 3 (PTI) — Saudi King Fahd has been hospitalised for the second time in less than six months, the official news agency said. He was admitted to King Faisal Specialist Hospital at Riyadh for a check-up which was described as routine, the Saudi press agency said. “The custodian of the
two holy mosques King Fahd Bin Abdul-Aziz Al-Saud arrived
in Riyadh yesterday from Jeddah for medical tests at King
Faisal Specialist Hospital,” the agency said. |
| Global monitor Iraqi mines kill, maim over
4,000 5 Leftists killed ISI enters film
trade Pope in pop video 92 refugees saved 8 shot dead Dam issue Call to end
N-tests Rape to be probed Schwarznegger
bereaved |
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