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Saturday,
April 27, 2002, Chandigarh, India  
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National govt possible, says Musharraf
Israel defies Bush call, raids W. Bank town
PEARL CASE |
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US House votes to split INS Washington, April 26 The US House of Representatives has voted overwhelmingly to dismantle the embattled Immigration and Naturalization Service to create two new agencies to handle separately enforcement and immigration services.
BBC settles bias suit with scribe Khaleda coalition wins civic poll Dual citizenship by year-end?
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National govt possible, says Musharraf Islamabad, April 26 General Musharraf, who is straining all his nerves to win a five-year extension to his presidency through the April 30 referendum, is facing staunch opposition from the mainstream political, religious and lawyers’ organisations. General Musharraf, in an interview with daily Dawn published today, said there was “no scope” for national reconciliation until Ms Bhutto and Mr Sharif were driven out of politics. “In future, may be a conciliation for a national government is possible”, he said, adding that he was determined not to let the two former prime ministers to return from exile. Interestingly, General Musharraf, who has become extremely controversial ever since he announced the referendum, did not rule out the possibility of holding another referendum after five years to prolong his rule. “I’ll look into the possibility keeping in mind the environment prevailing at the time. I’ll keep national interest supreme. I’ll see whether people want me or not. I am a great believer in self-analysis. I’ll proceed according to the ground realities,” General Musharraf said replying to a question on another referendum in five years. Asked whether he preferred to hold another referendum to extend the tenure of the government if he got along well with the future Prime Minister, General Musharraf said it would be for the Supreme Court to decide whether such an option was available under the Constitution. “Under the Constitution, only the President can hold a referendum,” he added. The Pakistan Supreme Court is currently hearing petitions questioning the legality of the referendum as well as the legality of Musharraf’s presidency. He also ruled out the possibility of bringing in a new Constitution as demanded by Muttabhida Qaumi Movement (MQM) chief Altaf Hussain who recently said such a step was necessary to keep the unity and integrity of Pakistan. General Musharraf said the present Constitution was accepted by all provinces and would remain intact. PTI |
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WINDOW ON PAKISTAN IT is indeed a unique experiment in democracy, which Gen Pervez Musharraf is conducting in the hapless state of Pakistan. Seventy million voters, who have attained the age of 18 — about half of the electorate — can vote anywhere they wish to. There are no voter lists at 85,000-odd booths, which the military regime has set up for the benefit of those who would go by the wish of the ruling military dictator. All that a voter has to show that he is a Pakistani. And, one could vote any number of times as the ink mark as reports in the press, can be removed easier than normal ink. This institutional rigging has perhaps no parallel except in some Latin American countries where the USA directs and monitors elections of ruling military juntas. The same is happening in Pakistan while the khaki ruling leadership calls it a true democratic exercise which eliminates the “corrupt and bogus political leadership that has plundered Pakistan”, the country’s middle class, the lawyers, the journalists, teachers and, of course, politicians (with the exception of Imran Khan) have termed it as the biggest fraud. What one has to do is to put a stamp on the only candidate, General Musharraf. Pakistan’s Supreme Court, now hearing a petition by leading lawyers, has not minced words that the 1973 constitution does not allow a referendum to elect a President, yet a verdict is awaited. Political leaders, demonstrating lawyers and the rest of the country are hoping that the highest court might throw a spanner into the game-plan of Musharraf. Nevertheless what is encouraging for Pakistan’s fragile polity where military dictators have been the rule rather exception since Gen Ayub Khan in 1958, is the loud and clear protest. The top political leaders and former Prime Ministers who head two major political parties, People’s Party of Pakistan and Pakistan’s Muslim League, have made the loudest protests. The General is so scared that he has not permitted rallies anywhere except at in certain places in
Sindh. People are anxiously waiting for permission to hold a public meeting in Lahore for the past fortnight. Interestingly the rallies, which the military and the administration organised for the benefit of the General, have been lacklustre. At two major rallies in Lahore and Multan, telecast on Pakistan TV; crowds were huge, but not responsive. In fact, after the Lahore rally, Musharraf wanted to call off the exercise, terming it a waste. He was surprised that even after announcing goodies the people just sat smug. As Indian leaders know that crowds can be collected, but people cannot be forced to cheer a leader thrust upon them. This has made the General go for the media and attack it. What he has done to The News and The Frontier Post is well known. But despite ad threats to withdraw
advertisement, the newspapers have stood up to the bullying. The Nation in an editorial on April 26 said: “ The President’s allegation at a convention, that “former political leaders sitting abroad are financing the creators of confusion and uncertainty in the country”, allegations that a critical media is sponsored have been surfacing all too frequently of late, which leads one to believe that the President’s earlier statement at Abbottabad that “some newspapers are spreading lies” and even earlier the Punjab Governor’s rabble-rousing against the press at
Faisalabad, are no coincidence. Dailies like Dawn, Friday Times, and Jung have been equally critical. Perhaps General Musharraf, who is desperately trying to create a political constituency of his own, should heed what Napoleon said that he feared three critical newspapers more than the entire enemy. Pakistan’s people accepted Musharraf as a bold General when he reversed its pro-Taliban policy and pulled up extreme religious groups on US pressure. They were when he moved to more moderate tolerant politics. They also welcomed his crusade against corruption. But no rigged khaki democracy, they have declared. |
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Israel defies Bush call, raids W. Bank town Qalqilya (West Bank), April 26 The army said troops had detained at least 15 Palestinians “suspected of carrying out terrorist activities against Israeli citizens” in the sweeps through Qalqilya and the villages of Beita, Silta-Dhar and Jaba’a. Witnesses said about 15 tanks and armoured personnel carriers pushed into Qalqilya and that soldiers conducted house-to-house searches after declaring a curfew. “We don’t intend to stay there,” Defence Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer said during a tour of Israeli positions in the West Bank. Israel was acting on intelligence information on the presence in Qalqilya of “terrorists and suicide attackers”. The operation was launched only hours after talks Bush held at his Texas ranch with Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah, who warned the President that Washington risked “grave consequences” for its Middle East interests if it did not moderate its support for Israel’s military crackdown on the Palestinians. Bush urged Israel to bring its sieges of Yasser Arafat’s headquarters in Ramallah and Bethlehem’s Church of Nativity to a peaceful end and to complete a pullout from West Bank areas seized in a campaign launched on March 29 after suicide attacks had killed scores of Israelis. But he also said Palestinians must do more to end the violence. In Bethlehem, Israel allowed nine Palestinians aged 14 to 20 to leave the church on Thursday along with the bodies of two men shot by Israeli troops. The army said it released eight of the nine after questioning on Friday but one was still being detained on suspicion of anti-Israeli activity. Dozens of gunmen wanted by Israel have been holed up at the shrine, built over the site revered by Christians as the birthplace of Jesus, for three weeks. Another round of Israeli-Palestinian negotiations over the fate of the 230 people inside, including gunmen, clerics and civilians, ended inconclusively on Thursday. “There are still around 20 boys, most of them between the ages of 14 and 15, still inside,” said Abdel Hayye Abu Srour (16) one of those allowed to leave the church on Thursday. “The running water ran out early in the siege and we now use water from a well in the courtyard. But the water is not clean. There are six sick people, either diabetic or suffering from heart problems.” Israeli troops surrounded Arafat’s Ramallah compound at the start of their offensive. Israel has pulled back from most of cities but the Qalqilya raid marked the second time its forces had gone back into the town since leaving on April 9. Sharon has said he will keep Arafat confined until he hands over four militants wanted by Israel for the killing of ultra-nationalist tourism minister Rehavam Zeevi in October. Israel dismissed a Palestinian move on Thursday to defuse the situation when an ad hoc military court in Arafat’s compound sentenced the four men to prison terms of up 18 years. But in an interview published in The New York Times on Thursday, Sharon hinted he was considering letting Arafat leave Ramallah and move to the Gaza Strip. Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat dismissed that suggestion. UNITED NATIONS: Responding to one of the Israeli demands, the United Nations has added two military officers to its Jenin fact-finding mission as the world body and Israel held an inconclusive meeting and agreed to extend their talks into second day. The officials on both sides declined to give details after their meeting yesterday, but UN officials said Secretary General Kofi Annan still expected that there would be no further delay and the team, now in Geneva, would be in the region by tomorrow. The names and nationalities of the two military officers, who would assist retired US Maj-General William Nash, were not released. General Nash was appointed as military adviser to the three-member mission, headed by former Finnish President Martti Ahtisaari. Diplomats said Israel wanted addition of counter- terrorism and military experts to the panel as it alleged that its forces had gone into Jenin to crush terrorists and their infrastructure and also wanted guarantee that the panel would only report facts and present no conclusions. Israel says the mission has excess of humanitarian officials which it apparently fears might be of disadvantage to it.
Reuters, PTI |
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PEARL CASE Islamabad, April 26 The prosecution had appealed for the transfer in view of the threatening gestures and abusive language used by two of the accused against Advocate-General Raja Quereshi and a witness in the open court. It alleged that the judge of the anti-terrorism court Abdul Gafoor Memon was unable to control and regulate the proceedings. US journalist Daniel Pearl was kidnapped and murdered in January and was last known to have been in Karachi. The four accused who are being tried include the prime accused Omar Saeed Sheikh, who belongs to the terrorist outfit Jaish-e-Mohammad. Omar is also accused of the attack on the Indian Parliament in December last year. The Advocate-General had said the accused were making threatening gestures in the court, referring to eye contact, body language and hand movements made by the defendants. He alleged that the accused were threatening the prosecution witnesses and were not being stopped. He said, “My life is in danger. The trial is being held in the prison but such threatening gestures are direct threats.’’ This is the second time that an appeal for the transfer of the case has been made in the Sindh High Court. Meanwhile, the chief prosecutor in the murder trial today put the hearing on hold until next week till the Sindh High Court rules on having Memon replaced. All the four accused have been formally indicted by the court but they pleaded not guilty.
UNI |
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US House votes to split INS Washington, April 26 Spurred by a series of blunders by the agency in the wake of the September 11 attacks, the House, in a 405-9 vote, passed a Bill yesterday abolishing the INS. The measure will do away the INS replacing it with two agencies, one to enforce laws and block unqualified people and the other to make it easy for legal immigrants to obtain citizenship. The proposed agencies will remain under the control of Attorney General John Ashcroft’s control at the Justice Department. The INS came under critical congressional scrutiny after the agency sent notice of previously approved visa extensions for two of the 19 September 11 hijackers months after the attacks. At the time of the terrorist attack, many of the 19 hijackers were staying illegally in the USA, although all of them had entered with valid visas. “I am convinced it is time for reform,’’ said House Democratic Leader Dick Gephardt, a Missouri Democrat. “This is not the end of the journey,” Mr Ashcroft said. “This is an important first step essential to the journey’s end, but not sufficient to get us there.” The White House is expected to back the measure.
UNI |
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BBC settles bias suit with scribe London, April 26 Fiftyone-year-old Sharan Sandhu, who joined the BBC as sub-editor in 1990, had told an employment tribunal she had been repeatedly passed over for promotion between 1991 and 1999 because of her colour and gender. She had told the employment tribunal in Central London that she had to endure a “boys’ club culture” at Bush House, the BBC headquarters, in which non-white staff had been deliberately restricted to junior posts. A mother of three, she said 11-hour shifts for working mothers had made life intolerable. The BBC said it did not accept her career had been affected by gender or race discrimination.
PTI |
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Khaleda coalition wins civic poll Dhaka, April 26 Fisheries Minister Sadek Hossain Khoka was elected Mayor of Dhaka. Mizanur Rahman Minu, a lawmaker from BNP was re-elected Mayor of the northwestern city of Rajshahi. In Khulna, local party leader Shaikh Tayebur Rahman was re-elected.
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Dual citizenship by year-end? New York, April 26 Delivering a lecture organised by the Indo-American Lawyers’ Association Agnihotri said as per the latest information obtained from New Delhi, the issue is still to be approved by the Cabinet, after which legislation would up introduced. “The proposal has been sent by the Home Ministry to the Law Ministry for its advice.
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