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| Monday, January 3, 2000, Chandigarh, India  
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Pak plays down hijacking Jinnah founded ISI too |
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| US plane violates Cuban air space HAVANA, Jan 2 — Cuba and the USA scrambled fighter jets over the Florida Straits when an American pilot buzzed Havana illegally to drop anti-Communist leaflets calling President Fidel Castro an “old dinosaur.” Rushdie death threat re-emerges First millennium baby ‘has health problems’ Over 100 prisoners freed in Pak 10 officers held for Lanka blast Ex-Beatle discharged Chandrika may go to USA for treatment
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Over 300 rebels die in Chechnya raids MOSCOW, Jan 2 (PTI,AFP) — At least 300 rebels have been killed in Russian air strikes overnight on targets in southern Chechnya as fierce fighting continued in the breakaway republic’s capital Grozny, Radio Echo Moskvy reported today. Seven field commanders, including 24-year-old dreaded warlord Arbi Barayev, were also killed in the fresh attacks on one of the mountain villages in the Serzhen-Yurt region, military sources were quoted by NTV channel saying. Barayev is believed to have personally killed over 160 Russian prisoners of war and reportedly beheaded four employees of Grenger Telecom, a UK firm. Amid fighting to gain control over besieged Grozny, the rebels, posing stiff resistance to federal troops, blasted two reservoirs filled with ammonia and chlorine today, NTV said. The television said poisonous clouds were looming over rebel positions in Grozny, bringing lives of thousands of civilians still sheltering in basements of ruined buildings, under risk. Meanwhile, buoyed by acting President Vladimir Putin’s visit to Gudermes in Chechnya, pro-Moscow Chechen workers were working round-the-clock building a new government building. “After Putin’s visit, Chechens and residents of Gudermes have no doubt in the Russian Government’s earnest intention to uproot all bandits in Chechnya, Itar-Tass quoted local administration head Malika Gezimiyeva as saying. WASHINGTON: Russia has used tactical Scud missiles in its offensive in the breakaway republic of Chechnya, the Pentagon has said. “We can confirm that,” a Defense Department official told AFP yesterday but refused to provide any details, saying that “we cannot go beyond that”. The launching of three Scud missiles against targets in Chechnya was detected on Friday by the North American Aerospace Defence Command (NORAD), which relayed the information to the Centre for Year 2000 Strategic Stability, where US and Russian officers monitor missiles launches. But the range of the missiles was below 500 km and did not set off alarm bells at the Centre, which is primarily concerned about intercontinental missiles, officials said. Moscow warned Chechen separatist rebels on Thursday that more powerful weapons would be used against them, if they continued to put up resistance in Grozny and elsewhere in the war-torn republic. “We possess much more powerful means of destruction than we have so far used,” said Gen Anatoly Kornukov, head of the Russian Air Force. He added that these weapons could be used to destroy rebel strongholds in the mountainous south of the republic. Although Kornukov did not specify the type of weapons he had in mind, defence analysts in Moscow suggested the General was referring to either powerful aerosol bombs or a 30-barrel heavy launcher that fires unguided missiles with aerosol warheads. MOSCOW: The Russian military said today Chechen rebels opposing them in the regional capital Grozny had detonated several bombs with toxic substances, but its troops were not affected, Itar-Tass news agency said. The agency, quoted the Russian military command as saying that the bombs, supposedly containing chlorine and ammonia, had been detonated overnight and early today in Grozny’s eastern suburbs. It said a greenish cloud caused by the explosions was now hanging over the rebel-held city centre, where many civilians were trapped. It is the third time the Russians have accused the Chechen rebels of a chemical attack since they began their operation to try to take control of Grozny a week ago. The Russian military says it is well equipped to face chemical attacks. NTV Television reporting from the outskirts of Grozny said the cloud could be clearly seen over the city. |
Pak plays down hijacking ISLAMABAD, Jan 2 (PTI) — Pakistan is apparently playing down the Indian Airlines plane hijacking drama to avoid the finger of suspicion pointing towards it in view of its suspected complicity in the incident that came to an end at the Kandahar airport on Friday evening. Islamabad, which went hoarse from the day one of the hijacking that it had been stage-managed by the Indian intelligence agency RAW, went into an embarrassed silence on Friday after the five hijackers emerged from the aircraft and disappeared with a Taliban “hostage” declaring they were heading towards the Pakistani city of Quetta. The state-controlled media mainly concentrated on the aspect that the Taliban government handled the hijacking in an appreciable manner even as senior UN official Eric de Mul, who played a crucial role in the whole episode, was completely ignored when he returned here yesterday. There were only two Pakistan-based Indian journalists waiting for him at the Islamabad airport. Incidentally, the same De Mul had been swamped by the Pakistani media when he had returned here midway through the crisis on December 28, and the authorities had made it a point to inform all the journalists about his arrival. With the nationality of the hijackers now clearly established after they took away with them two Pakistani militants released by New Delhi in exchange for the hostages along with the third — a Pakistan-born British national — the Foreign Office here came up with a timid reaction while reiterating its condemnation of the hijacking. Foreign Office spokesman Tariq Altaf, however, said Pakistan condemned the act even if the hijackers were Pakistani nationals. “We have no sympathy for such desperate acts without regard to the nationality of the perpetrators,” he said. Military ruler Gen Pervez Musharraf had also outrightly rejected during an interview with CNN the possibility that the hijackers might be Pakistani nationals, and had alleged that the whole drama might have been stage-managed by India with some “ulterior motive” against Pakistan. Gen Musharraf’s newly-appointed Adviser on National Affairs Javed Jabbar also made a u-turn within a day saying that while he was happy at the release of the hostages, “I reserve comments about the actions of the Indian government until all the facts are established independently.” Only a day ago, Mr Jabbar had declared that India had launched a “four-pronged attack” against Pakistan and that the “RAW-sponsored hijacking” of the plane was part of this strategy. The Pakistani theory of the hijacking being an Indian drama fell flat on its face when the hijackers demanded the release of two Pakistani nationals who were in Indian jail for militancy in Kashmir and they reportedly reached Pakistan after the end of the episode. Even the father of Maulana Masood Azhar, the top Harkat-ul-Ansar ideologue who was released on the demand of the hijackers, has openly declared from his hometown in Bhawalpur in Pakistan’s Punjab province that his son was going to return home. Reports suggested that massive preparations were on to welcome him back in Bhawalpur after a gap of six years. Hijackers ‘not Pakistanis’ ISLAMABAD, Jan 2 (PTI) — Pakistan has denied that the hijackers of the Indian Airlines plane are Pakistani nationals and accused New Delhi of levelling "baseless and false" allegations against Islamabad. "Levelling of baseless and false accusations against Pakistan is part and peculiar element of Indian tactics," Pakistani Foreign Office spokesman Tariq Altaf alleged in a statement yesterday, reacting to External Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh’s remarks. Mr Altaf said Pakistan had made all possible efforts for safety and welfare of the hostages and claimed that India’s allegation that some Pakistani nationals were on board the plane had been proved wrong. Regarding the allegation of presence of arms on the plane, he said: "The flight had originated from New Delhi and also had stopped at Amritsar. The arms could have been delivered on these spots." |
Jinnah founded ISI too ISLAMABAD, Jan 2 (UNI) — The role of Mohammed Ali Jinnah in the first 13 months of the creation of his country may come in for a fresh critical review after a new book claiming that the founder of Pakistan himself had ordered the formation of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) to keep watch on “anti-state” politicians. The latest book authored by Pakistani journalist Munir Ahmed says that Mr Jinnah was the first leader of the country to assign a political role to the ISI. This role, the author claims, was institutionalised in 1975 by the then Prime Minister Mr Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. If Mr Munir Ahmed’s findings in the work “Political role of intelligence agencies in Pakistan” are correct, it can be assumed that Mr Jinnah had envisioned a role for the armed forces in the governance of the country right from its creation. He notes that politicians were accused of corruption and anti-state activities right from the beginning. Mr Jinnah dismissed the Congress Government of Dr Khan Saheb in 1947 and a few months later he dismissed Sind Chief Minister M.A. Khuru on charges of corruption. In the 13 months of his life in Pakistan, he was thoroughly disgusted with politicians — even his own right-hand man Liaquat Ali Khan. Hence, his possible preference for the armed forces. Munir Ahmed writes that since then the ISI and other intelligences agencies have become the real rulers of Pakistan. Victories and defeats in elections are manoeuvred by them. Mr Sharif was toppled because of the ISI, just as was Ms Benazir Bhutto before him, he adds. |
US plane violates Cuban air space HAVANA, Jan 2 (Reuters) — Cuba and the USA scrambled fighter jets over the Florida Straits when an American pilot buzzed Havana illegally to drop anti-Communist leaflets calling President Fidel Castro an “old dinosaur.” A major confrontation was avoided yesterday, however, as the Small Cessna 172, piloted by a Vietnamese-born, 51-year-old “strident anti-Communist”, was guided back to Florida unharmed after dumping hundreds of pamphlets on the Cuban capital. It was the first unauthorised flight into Cuban airspace since Havana shot down two planes flown near the Caribbean island by the Miami-based exile group, Brothers to the Rescue, in 1996. Four pilots were killed in that incident. “For this plane to arrive today out of the blue is shocking,” a US official told Reuters. “Fortunately, everybody behaved properly, and a shootdown was avoided.” The single-engine Cessna flew low across the 90-mile sea division to avoid radar detection as it invaded Cuban airspace shortly before 1300 hrs GMT. The small, single-sheet leaflets were quickly collected by the Cuban police, as on similar occasions in the past when planes flown by US-based Cuban-American exiles dropped propaganda. Yesterday was the 41st anniversary of Castro’s January 1, 1959, revolution, which is given more importance by the ruling Communist party than New Year’s celebrations. The leaflet finished with action points urging Cubans to take to the streets in a general strike, protest outside strategic military centres, occupy state media buildings and coordinate with anti-Castro forces within and outside Cuba. |
Rushdie death threat re-emerges MORE than 500 Iranians have pledged to sell their kidneys to raise money for the murder of author Salman Rushdie under the death decree issued against the author 10 years ago. The bizarre fundraising plan was reportedly devised by Islamic militia in the holy city of Mashhad, with backing from officials in the elite Revolutionary Guards. Details of the plan were given by the daily newspaper Kayhan, which carries Islamic fundamentalist opinion. The newspaper reported that 508 persons including six Muslims from outside Iran, had promised to sell one of their kidneys. Under Iranian law, people are allowed to put their own organs up for sale. A state organs bank supervises the process. Kayhan said more information about the kidney project would be made available on the Internet in an attempt to attract international support. In 1989 the late Ayatollah Khomeini issued a fatwa urging that Mr Rushdie be killed because of alleged blasphemy in his novel “The Satanic Verses”. Last year the Iranian Government declared it no longer sought to harm the author, allowing Mr Rushdie to emerge and begin living something approaching normal life after almost a decade in hiding. But the struggle between President Khatami and the Islamic puritans trying to keep the late Ayatollah Khomeini’s vision of a strict Koranic state alive continues with undiminished force, and the fate of Mr Rushdie — try to kill him, or leave him alone — remains entwined with the domestic ideological battle. Shortly after the Khatami government dissociated itself from the fatwa, a conservative Islamic foundation, Khordad-15, put a bounty of US$2.6m on Mr Rushdie’s head, later raised to US $ 2.8 m. They have repeatedly stated that the fatwa remains in force. Another reward, of one billion riyals, just under US $ 325,000, was offered by the Association of Hizbullah Students at Tehran University. In 1998 Kayhan reported yet another bounty — a small village on the Caspian coast of northern Iran offered tracts of land, a large orchard, a house and 10 carpets for anyone who killed the writer. Muslims worldwide who accept the religious correctness of Ayatollah Khomeini’s 1989 fatwa, issued on the basis that Mr Rushdie’s novel was blasphemous, would prefer the issue to quietly fade away. Following the Khatami government’s disavowal of the fatwa, Mr Rushdie said: “It looks like it’s over”. “It means everything, it means freedom.” British Airways lifted its ban on carrying the writer; India, his country of origin, gave him a visa; and London and Tehran pressed ahead with restoring diplomatic ties. But nagging doubts over how safe Mr Rushdie really was, and how secure the Khatami government was, remained. The crucial test for President Khatami, elected in 1997, and his allies comes in parliamentary elections in February. — Guardian |
First millennium baby ‘has health problems’ AUCKLAND, Jan 2 (AP) — New Zealand’s, and perhaps the world’s, first baby of the millennium is suffering from health complications and has been moved to another hospital for special treatment, a hospital official said today. The boy, which has not yet been named, was born at 12:01 am (1101 GMT) on January 1, and was possibly the first baby of 2000. So far, no claims of earlier births have been made by the island nation of Tonga, which hit midnight an hour before New Zealand. Hospital officials, on the instructions of the parents, were not releasing details of the infant’s health problems or even where he was being treated. The troubles were discovered right after birth, and he was moved yesterday. ‘‘The little boy is not well,’’ said Rachel Haggerty, general manager for Auckland’s Waitakere Hospital, where he was born. ‘‘He is at another hospital receiving treatment. He’s currently quite stable.’’ The birth was the first of a string that hit New Zealand in the first minutes of the millennium. News reports said six babies were born in the first 20 minutes of the New Year yesterday. The country’s first girl of the millennium, Topou Fetuani, was born at 12:10 am (1110 GMT) yesterday at Auckland’s National Women’s Hospital. |
Over 100 prisoners freed in Pak KARACHI, Jan 2 (ANI) — More than 100 prisoners involved in minor cases have been released in Malir district on the orders of the Chief Executive, Gen Pervez Musharraf, to enable them to celebrate Id with their families. An official said the number of prisoners to be freed throughout the country would be in thousands. As many as 72 prisoners were released on Friday, while 35 others were released yesterday. Sindh Home Secretary Nisar Ahmad Siddique had issued an order on December 29 to Karachi Commissioner for the release of 300 prisoners. The order read: “The figures provided by the superintendents of Karachi central jail and Malir district jail reveal that more than 300 prisoners are confined in these prisons. They are detained under preventive laws and many of them have spent sufficient time in jails. The conditions in jails, as you are aware, are quite alarming, as the jails are overcrowded. Similarly, about 100 undertrial prisoners are confined in these jails for long. Farid Khan, who was released from Malir prison, said he was a laboratory assistant in Civil Hospital, Quetta, and had come to Karachi to meet his friend. “But unfortunately I was picked up by a police mobile without letting me know the charges. I am happy that the authorities have freed me on the orders of General Musharraf. I will now celebrate Id-ul-Fitr with my family”, he said. He had nobody to arrange for his bail. |
10 officers held for Lanka blast COLOMBO, Jan 2 (PTI) — Sri Lankan investigators have held 10 senior officers of the Presidential Security Division responsible for the breach of security which led to the LTTE suicide bomb attack on President Chandrika Kumaratunga at an election rally on December 18. “There was a serious breech of security and there are people who should be held responsible,” Chief Investigator Indra de Silva was quoted by the Sunday Times here as saying. Meanwhile, intelligence officials established the identity of the two suicide bombers whose heads were recovered intact after the blasts. The woman suicide bomber identified as Niro, a 26-year-old Black Sea Tiger cadre from LTTE-controlled Karupattimruippu in north-eastern Mullaithivu. The other suicide bomber, who struck at the UNP rally, has been identified as Sukath, a 25-year-old male LTTE cadre from eastern Trincomalee, who came to Colombo in 1997. |
Ex-Beatle discharged LONDON, Jan 2 (Reuters) — Former Beatle George Harrison has been discharged from hospital to being a belated New Year at home with his family after begin stabbed in a life- and-death struggle with an intruder, hospital officials said. Mr Harrison left Harefield Hospital in north-west London yesterday evening, but asked the hospital staff not to release the news until today. “He’s gone home with his family and he is expected to make a full recovery,’’ a spokesman for the hospital said. |
Chandrika may go to USA for treatment COLOMBO, Jan 2 (UNI) — Sri Lanka President Chandrika Kumaratunga, who escaped death in a suicide bombing has been asked to travel to the USA for specialised treatment to restore vision in one eye, a press report said today. Ms Kumaratunga, who returned home from London last Thursday after treatment, was told by doctors that it could be six months before she could open her right eyelid, the Sunday Island newspaper said. In a report by the paper’s London correspondent, the newspaper said that doctors in London indicated that she might seek further treatment in the USA. Ms Kumaratunga, 54, in her first television interview since surviving the December 18 suicide bomb attack here, told the BBC she was likely to permanently lose the use of her right eye. There had been speculation here of President Kumaratunga leaving for Arizona for further treatment, but there was no official word from the authorities. Meanwhile, an investigation into the bomb attack has shown that her elite presidential security unit was responsible for the serious security breaches. |
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