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Tuesday,
May 28, 2002, Chandigarh, India  
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USA doubts Musharraf’s intentions THROUGH EYES OF PAK PRESS |
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2 ministers dropped
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USA doubts Musharraf’s intentions A State Department report has commended Pakistan for its “unprecedented levels” of cooperation in support of war against terrorism, but has raised a question-mark about the implementation of President Musharraf’s pledge to root out terrorism in all its forms. The report on “Patterns of Terrorism 2001” released in Washington last week takes note of the various steps President Musharraf has taken to crack down on terrorist organisations and extremists, including the arrests of leaders of terrorist organisations, and says Pakistani support for Kashmir militant groups designated as Foreign Terrorist Organisations waned after September 11 last year. But the report adds: “Questions remain, however, whether Musharraf’s “get tough” policy with local militants and his stated pledge to oppose terrorism anywhere will be fully implemented and sustained.” According to the report, while South Asia remains a central point for terrorism directed against the USA, all countries in the region have supported the coalition effort against terrorism. “All countries in South Asia have strongly supported the coalition efforts against terrorism,” the report said. “The challenge from here is to turn that support into concrete action that will, over time, significantly weaken the threat posed by terrorists in and from the region.” The report records that in South Asia, two countries, India and Nepal, have been more a target of terrorism than a base for terrorism against the USA. India was the target of terrorism throughout the year under review, but “unstintingly” endorsed the US military response to the September 11 attack and offered to provide the USA with logistic support and staging areas. On Sri Lanka, the report notes that there are “fragile indications” of a possible settlement, but the USA will maintain the LTTE on its Foreign Terrorist Organisation list until the group renounces terrorism as a political tool and no longer poses a terrorist threat. Meanwhile, the USA in the sternest message to Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf to date, has told Islamabad that the only thing that mattered was “results” in terms of ending infiltration of terrorists into Kashmir, a UNI report from Washington said. At a joint press conference with French President Jacques Chirac in Paris, President George Bush said more than Pakistan’s missile tests the key issue was decisive action by Musharraf to end the flow of terrorists into Kashmir. “I’m more concerned about making sure that — insisting, along with other world leaders, including the President of France, — that President Musharraf show results in terms of stopping people from crossing the Line of Control, stopping terrorism. What’s more important than the missile testing is that he perform,” the American President said. Echoing Mr Bush’s sentiments, Secretary of State Colin Powell said while he appreciated General Musharraf’s assurances to end cross-border terrorism, “the only thing that’s really going to matter is that the action across the Line of Control does stop”. “And I hope he (Musharraf) is doing everything in his power to make sure that this is the case,” Mr Powell said in an appearance on CNN. Both Mr Bush and Mr Powell expressed disappointment with Pakistan’s testing of missiles. This is the second time in as many days US officials have put the onus of easing tensions between the two nuclear-armed countries on Pakistan. Meanwhile, Mr Powell cautioned both sides against entertaining the notion that by their actions they could drag in US troops currently in the region. “The point I’m making is that they (US troops) could be in danger, and I don’t want either side to believe that they’re going to get pulled into this one way or the other, either that they can be put at risk by one side, or because they could be put at risk by one side, the other side thinks that gives them greater freedom of movement.’’ |
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THROUGH EYES OF PAK PRESS The bomb blast in Karachi which killed French submarine technicians has had the effect of shaking up the military dictatorship in Pakistan into action against the Jehadis and suddenly dozens are being arrested and, out of the blue, even the dismembered body of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl has been found. It demonstrates quite forcefully that if the USA and the coalition against terrorism wants they can make General Musharraf to act decisively against the terrorists of his own creation. It could only have happened because foreign investigative agencies took a hand. Terming as “encouraging” President Musharraf announcement that he would seek foreign assistance in this (terrorism) field, The DAWN says editorially: “The government must now seriously consider formalising such links with foreign agencies to benefit from their expertise. The people of this country have heard enough stirring sermons about stamping out crime and terrorism with an iron hand. With the death toll in acts of terror mounting by the day, it is time for the government to finally act. “It is also clear that the crackdown on extremist groups in the aftermath of September 11 has not deterred those bent on pursuing a violent course of action. If anything, the number of sectarian killings is once again on the rise following a brief lull following the crackdown. The reason is simple. In the past, such outrages have been followed by a string of empty boasts from those at the helm about immediate action to bring the perpetrators to book. However, even in the most high-profile cases, few culprits have ever been caught and punished. This has only served to embolden the terrorists. Pakistan urgently needs to shed the image of a country where terrorists can strike at will, with little risk of being apprehended. “However, the murder of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl in February and the slaughter of French naval experts have sent a chilling message across the world. The message is clear: notwithstanding Islamabad’s crackdown on some extremist parties, foreigners should visit this country at their peril. Indeed, how can a country be safe for foreign visitors when it is not safe for its own people?” The Dawn underscores the underlying malaise in Pakistani society thus: “Without doubt, the new wave is a challenge to the Musharraf government. It owes it to the people of Pakistan to prove by deeds and not by mere words that it is capable of rooting out terrorism. The brains behind the terrorist wave remain at large and unknown to us. Some extremist parties may have been outlawed, but their deadly activity proves that they are very much alive and capable of striking at will. That the target of the latest attack were the nationals of a western country tells a lot about those who are behind this crime. It is shocking that our intelligence agencies should have failed to keep potential suspects and groups under surveillance. “Why can’t the plethora of intelligence and law enforcement agencies that are there penetrate these terrorist networks and smash them? A viral outbreak can be controlled by tackling at the source. In the case of terrorism, too, it is the brains behind it that need exposure. Arresting some ground operatives here and there hardly helps matters. One hopes that the agreement signed with some American intelligence agencies for training Pakistan sleuths in modern investigative methods will prove of help in tracking down the criminals behind the present wave of terror.” Daily Times maintains: “If May 8 tragedy has any lesson, it is this — the government should complete the job it started against extremism. There will be some who say Pakistan should withdraw its support form the US-led war on terror to avoid a backlash from religious extremism. Unfortunately, however, things are seldom in black and white and there are no simplistic solutions to the kind of convoluted problems faced by Pakistan. Therefore, it is not realistic or right to be like ostriches and hope to escape the consequences of our own deeds.” In its editorial it says: “To yield to extremists and blackmailers, whether religion or ethnic-inspired, is not the way to go because a policy of appeasement is exactly what has brought us to this pass. Indeed, appeasement will only encourage the ultra-religious elements to press for more political space rather than accept less because that has been their practice in the past. In fact, if anything, we need to move ahead and dismantle some of their underpinnings inherited from the Zia-ul-Haq era, like the Hadood laws, the blasphemy ordinance, the Qisas and Diyat laws etc. We should also stop playing hide and seek with the law of riba and get rid of it altogether. Where the others create tension within the community, the latter is a sore in international relations. “Therefore, there is a case for cracking down on fundamentalism in all its manifestations irrespective of what the US wants or doesn’t want. Thus President Pervez Musharraf should move on from where he started in January and make his objective not just dealing with ultra-religious terrorism but extirpating it altogether. If anything, the government needs to show more courage than it has shown against the extremists. “For President Musharraf to pledge to turn Pakistan into a modern country once again is not enough. Nor should he confine himself to symbolic gestures and to nudging some of his ministers to make intrepid statements against conservatism. If Pakistan is to be changed for the better, the government will have to adopt a brave, bold and coherent socio-economic-legal strategy to get the result. The Nation makes the point in its editorial that “While the USA and Canada had already declared Pakistan a non-family station for their diplomatic missions, European countries are now actively considering to follow suit. While one was hoping the government would create a congenial atmosphere to encourage more foreign airlines to operate from Pakistani destinations, the incident has demoralised those already doing so. “Terror can only be condemned but there are always reasons behind it. Just as the Arab world is shaken by Isreali repression of the Palestinians, and enraged by US support of Israeli repression of the Palestinians, in Pakistan, anti-Americanism simmered since the US bombing of Afghanistan. ADNI
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2 ministers dropped
Ottawa, May 27 John McCallum, who previously was the Secretary of State for International Financial Institutions, replaces Eggleton as Defence Minister, and was sworn in immediately yesterday. Mr Chretien, apparently trying to rid his Cabinet of the most scandal-tainted ministers, also moved Minister of Public Works and Governmental Services Don Boudria, whose controversial family stay in a Quebec chalet rocked Ottawa last week, down to the House leader position. Ralph Goodale, who had held the House leadership position, now becomes the Minister for Public Works. Ms Eggleton became mired in controversy back in January over remarks about when he knew Canadian troops had handed over Al-Qaida prisoners to the US troops. The opposition seized the moment, calling repeatedly for his resignation. A parliamentary committee later cleared Mr Eggleton of allegedly misleading the House of Commons with his statements that included two different dates on when he learned of the troops’ role in the taking of prisoners. AFP
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Coup leader gets asylum
Bogota, May 27
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