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Wednesday,
August 21, 2002, Chandigarh, India  
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Rogue militants may still be crossing LoC Pervez’s remarks reflect real situation: Sinha
Charge sheet two
suspects, cops told
Armitage told to take up Gujarat violence |
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Scrap jirga justice: Amnesty PA cops take over Bethlehem Iraqi bid to woo China
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Rogue militants may still be crossing LoC Islamabad, August 20 “The possibility is there...it’s like the Afghan border, only much worse,” General Musharraf told AFP in an exclusive interview at his official residence outside Islamabad late yesterday. “Militants going across (a possibility)? Yes, sympathisers. A possibility of individual small groups going across is there, because when 700,000 Indian troops can’t block the borders, how can they expect us to block it?” However, Musharraf said there had been no large-scale or government-sponsored movement of Islamic rebels over the de facto border since he pledged to halt the incursions earlier this year. “There’s no massive activity, no government-sponsored activity,” he said. “The possibility (of incursions by small individuals) cannot be ruled out because this is a porous border, it’s a very difficult terrain. The possibility exists.” “There is nothing happening, and I’ve given an assurance to the world that nothing is happening on the Line of Control,” he insisted in the interview. Musharraf said India had failed to match his steps towards an easing of tensions and expressed frustration at New Delhi’s refusal to agree to dialogue, for which he has been calling for months. “Now we are expecting a response from India. This is a step-by-step movement forward towards discussing and solving the Kashmir problem,” he said. “Now I’m not going to take 10 steps when India doesn’t take one even. Nothing gained. We stop at that.” “When Mr Armitage (US Deputy Secretary of State) was here we even spoke of about a two or three weeks (period) where a sign would be visible whether anything is happening on the LoC. “We were told that the situation (at the LoC) was far better. But there is still no dialogue.” Bin Laden in Pak:
President Musharraf said he accepted that Osama bin Laden and the Taliban’s spiritual leader Mullah Omar could be hiding in Pakistan’s western border tribal belt. But the military ruler said in the interview that it was more likely they were sheltering in Afghanistan. “I won’t entirely rule it out,” he said of the chances that the leaders, who have eluded the 10,000-strong coalition of international troops, were being helped by sympathisers in the semi-autonomous tribal belt that borders Afghanistan. Musharraf said there was a chance that Omar had crossed the porous mountain border area into Afghanistan. “I wouldn’t negate it altogether, the border is very porous, inhospitable country, movement cannot be seen entirely. US magazine Newsweek reported last week that Bin Laden and 1,000 al-Qaida operatives evaded the US military deployed in Afghanistan by escaping with the help of Pakistani tribal guides. Two guides told Newsweek they witnessed Bin Laden’s escape, saying he passed through the caves of Shahikot from Tora Bora.
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Pervez’s remarks reflect real situation: Sinha Kathmandu, August 20 The two ministers came face-to-face when they sat with other SAARC ministers for informal discussions to prepare the agenda for their two-day meeting, beginning tomorrow morning. Meanwhile, Pakistan said it had not sought any meeting between the two ministers on the sidelines of the Council of Ministers’ meeting.
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Charge sheet two suspects, cops told Karachi, August 20 An anti-terrorism court directed the police to submit the charges against the two — Mohammad Imranbhai and Mohammad Hanif Ayub — on July 27 when the case will be taken up public prosecutor Habib Ahmed said. “The court directed the police to submit the charge sheet on July 27, in the consulate blast,” he said. The police were expected to file the charges today, but they asked for more time, he said. “The two (men) were not produced in court as they have already been sent to jail after they made confessional statements before the magistrate,” Ahmed said. Imranbhai and Ayub last week confessed to their involvement in the suicide car-bomb attack outside US Consulate on June 14. Twelve Pakistanis were killed in the attack. Pakistani Rangers announced on July 8 that they had arrested three
people. The third suspect, Mohammad Ahmed Danyal, has now been ruled out as a suspect in the blast but is still being detained for other “terrorist” activities, police said. All the three belong to a group called the Harkatul Mujahideen al-Alaami, an offshoot of the banned Kashmiri militant outfit Harkatul Mujahideen. Meanwhile, the trial of three men accused of plotting to assassinate President Pervez Musharraf has been adjourned, the prosecution said today. Prosecutor Abdul Waheed Khan said he had sought a one-day delay in
proceedings to allow his team to present new evidence. Prosecutors allege the three were responsible for coordinating the blast outside the US Consulate. They were joined by Wafeem Akhtar, a paramilitary policeman being held separately on suspicion of collaboration in the alleged plot to assassinate President Musharraf. The men were captured in Karachi last month and have allegedly confessed to plotting to kill the Pakistani President in April.
AFP |
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Armitage told to take up Gujarat violence Washington, August 20 In a letter to Armitage, the commission, which advises President George Bush and the U.S. Congress, voiced grave concern that none of the senior U.S. officials who visited India recently thought it right to take up the violence in Gujarat that has claimed at least 1,000 lives since February-end. “Clearly it is important that the
USA speak out publicly against such religion-based extremist violence, all the more so in view of our country’s war on terrorism,” said the letter by the commission’s chairperson Felice D. Gaer. The commission recently held a Congressional hearing on Gujarat and heard testimony from the families of the victims, non-governmental groups and South Asia experts like Bob Hathaway, who is in charge of the Asia Programme in the Woodrow Wilson Centre, a reputed think-tank in Washington DC. Although some
US Administration officials have commented in response to questions by reporters about the “horrible violence in Gujarat” and
about their expectation that the Indian Government would “do the right thing, as far as we know no senior U.S. Administration official has expressed concern over the killings or called for accountability for those responsible”. In
Pakistan, Mr Gaer said: “We urge you to similarly speak out publicly against attacks on Christian targets, reportedly by Islamic extremists. Pakistan’s Government should forcefully combat such violence, punish its perpetrators, and work more effectively to foster an atmosphere of tolerance and respect for the rights of everyone, regardless of religion or belief. “Unlike in the case of the terrible murder of American journalist Daniel Pearl, the Pakistan Government has not demonstrated a similar resolve to find and bring to justice those directly responsible for attacks against Christians.” The letter expressed the hope that Armitage would underline the commission’s conclusion that discriminatory religious legislation in Pakistan (notably, the blasphemy and anti-Ahmadi laws) promoted religious intolerance that in turn encouraged acts of sectarian and religiously motivated violence.
IANS |
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Scrap jirga justice: Amnesty New York, August 20 Its new report shows “clearly that the government has allowed tribal councils, or jirgas, to abuse a whole range of human rights,” says Amnesty. “If the government is serious about its duty to protect human rights, it must ensure that jirgas cease to abuse people’s rights. If this cannot be ensured, they should be abolished,” Amnesty says. The report details several cases, among them, one in June 2001, when a jirga in Thatta district “settled” a nine-month old feud over a murder by giving two young girls from the side of the murderers to the side of the victim. The 11-year-old daughter of one accused was made to marry the 46-year-old father of the murder victim and the six-year-old daughter of the other accused was married to the eight-year-old brother of the victim. All sides accepted the “compensation” package, but the girls were not asked their opinion and no criminal prosecution was initiated.
“The state does not generally take action when jirga decisions lead to murder, rape or other abuses,” Amnesty asserts. Many tribal leaders are parliamentarians, members of the civil administration or have family links to the administration. “In their official capacity they talk about human rights for all, yet in their constituencies they participate in tribal courts. This is largely because the official justice system is seen to be ineffective and expensive, Amnesty maintains.
IANS |
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PA cops take over Bethlehem
Bethlehem, August 20 Under the “Gaza, Bethlehem First” plan agreed on Sunday, Israeli forces moved out of the autonomous town, which had been re-occupied in mid-June along with almost all of the West Bank after a spate of suicide bombings. Both sides said the move was the first step in a gradual withdrawal aimed at easing tensions, alleviating the plight of the Palestinian population at large and eventually reviving the comatose peace process after almost two years of fighting. The plan was the most significant security measure in almost a year, foreseeing a progressive Israeli withdrawal from land it has re-occupied during the ‘intifada’, or uprising, if the reformed Palestinian security forces could ensure an end to attacks. The withdrawal started despite sharp clashes earlier yesterday and was completed as the killing continued in Gaza and in the northern West Bank town of Tulkarem, where a Palestinian militant was killed this morning. Israel feared that a single suicide bomber slipping through a roadblock to Jerusalem, just a few miles to the north, would leave this initiative, like all its predecessors, in tatters. Palestinian officials said about 100 Palestinian police personnel had arrived in a convoy of about 12 jeeps from nearby Jericho, the only main West Bank town not re-occupied by Israel. GAZA CITY: The Ezzedin al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of the radical Hamas group, on
Tuesday claimed responsibility for the killing of an Israeli soldier in Gaza Strip. In a statement, the group said the attack was in revenge for the killing by the army two weeks ago of one of its members, Hossam Hamdan.
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Abu Nidal
‘shot himself’ Ramallah, West Bank, August 20 Sources in Abu Nidal’s group, the Fatah-Revolutionary Council, said he shot himself because he was suffering from cancer and was addicted to painkillers. The Palestinian Al-Ayyam newspaper said he had died three days ago.
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Iraqi bid to woo China Beijing, August 20 The talks are expected to cover US threats to launch a military campaign to topple Saddam Hussein’s regime. China’s Foreign Ministry announced the dates via the official Xinhua news agency, adding only that Sabri and his hosts would discuss “bilateral relations and other issues of common concern”. China and Russia, both veto-holding permanent UN Security Council members, maintain good relations with Iraq, and are opposed to any strike on the sanctions-hit country. BERLIN: An Iraqi opposition party said on Tuesday it was occupying the Iraqi embassy in Berlin and police confirmed an incident at the embassy. A group calling itself the Democratic Iraqi Opposition of Germany issued a statement in German saying it was launching a “peaceful and temporary” action to press its demands for an end to the rule of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein. “In the name of the Iraqi people and their legitimate leadership, the Iraqi opposition, we declare that the liberation of Iraqi soil begins today. We are taking over the Iraqi embassy in Berlin and with this the first step in the liberation of our beloved fatherland.” A German police spokesman confirmed an operation.
AFP, Reuters |
KIM COMES OUT OF ISOLATION AGAIN ARCHBISHOP IN PAEDOPHILE SOUP COPTER CRASH TOLL RISES TO 105 |
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