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Saturday,
August 24, 2002, Chandigarh, India  
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US concern at Pak statute changes USA restructures $ 3 b Pak debt
Benazir to contest from two seats Abu Nidal conspired in Lockerbie bombing
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Pile of Taliban
documents found
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US concern at Pak statute changes
Washington, August 23 “We are concerned that his recent decision could make it more difficult to build strong democratic institutions in Pakistan,” Deputy Spokesman Philip Reeker said. Musharraf, the army chief who overthrew an elected government in a bloodless coup in October 1999, announced several “irreversible” constitutional changes yesterday, declaring that he did not need parliamentary approval. Among the most controversial is the establishment of a powerful National Security Council, on which four military chiefs and eight civilian politicians would sit to oversee government and “foreign policy decisions and national issues”. Reeker noted that US Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage would stop over Saturday in Islamabad where he would raise the issue with Pakistani leaders. AFP Vasantha Arora (IANS) adds: President George Bush has described President Pervez Musharraf as an “ally of the USA in the war against terror”. “It is also important for Musharraf to allow the return of democracy to Pakistan,” Bush told newsmen while visiting Oregon Thursday. At the same time he praised Musharraf for understanding the importance of keeping the Al-Qaida terrorist network on the run. “He’s still tight with us in the war against terror. And I appreciate his strong support,” Bush said. Bush was, however, confident that US officials would make sure that Musharraf is aware of the importance of restoring civilian rule. “Obviously, to the extent that, you know, our friends promote democracy, that’s important,” the President said. US officials say in addition to raising the constitution changes with Musharraf, Armitage will press him to make good on pledges to curb the infiltration of militants across the Line of Control into Kashmir and to close down extremist training camps. At the regular State Department briefing Reeker said the U.S. is expressing. Congressman Frank Pallone has criticised the Bush administration for its inaction in pushing Pakistan closer towards democracy. Describing as “outrageous” Musharraf’s latest announcement of 29 constitution amendments giving him more powers, Pallone said in a statement that “Musharraf’s actions Wednesday put the military leader one step closer to his ultimate goal of restructuring the Pakistani government and protecting his dictatorship.” Pallone, who is founder chairman of the Congressional Caucus on India and Indian Americans, Thursday expressed deep concern over the latest actions by Musharraf, who he said is “yet to be rebuked in any way by the Bush administration and the State Department. Pallone urged the Bush administration to send a strong message to the Pakistani leader to say that his so-called reforms were totally unacceptable to the USA
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USA restructures $ 3 b Pak debt Islamabad, August 23 The debt agreement came two days after Pakistani leader Gen Pervez Musharraf made constitutional changes that critics said threatened the south Asian nation’s return to democratic rule. US President George W. Bush yesterday praised General Musharraf as a stalwart ally in the war on terrorism. The debt covered in the deal is the US portion of $12.5 billion of bilateral debt the Paris Club group of donors agreed to reschedule last November after Pakistan abandoned its support for the former Taliban regime in neighbouring Afghanistan. The agreement was signed by US Ambassador to Pakistan Nancy Powell and Pakistan’s Finance Ministry. It covers debt outstanding as of the end of November last year, arrears and accrued interest. The debt includes loans from USAID, the US Eximbank and for agriculture and defence, a statement issued to reporters at the signing ceremony said. In addition, it said, Pakistan would work closely with the US administration to secure cancellation of $1 billion of US debt under a commitment made by Mr Bush to General Musharraf in February. Finance Minister Shaukat Aziz said the relief would effectively reduce the present value of the bilateral debt to the USA by 28-30 per cent. “This agreement augers well for Pakistan,” he told reporters. “It will help reduce debt and give us space to spend money on poverty reduction.” Ms Powell said the USA agreed to the deal because of the strong economic reforms pursued by General Musharraf’s government and to help it cope with the shock caused by the September 11 attacks on New York and Washington. “The terrorist attacks on the USA provided uncertainty throughout the world and strained many economies, including Pakistan’s,” she said. “I trust that this debt relief would provide momentum to Pakistan’s economic recovery by allowing the government additional fiscal space to focus its energies and budget resources on development priorities,” she said.
Reuters |
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Benazir
to contest from two seats Islamabad, Aug 23 She filed her nomination papers yesterday in absentia from her home constituency in Larkana-1, as well as her mother’s constituency, Larkana-4. Both the constituencies have traditionally favoured members of the Bhutto family. Sources in her Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) said the exiled leader’s younger sister, Sanam, could contest from Larkana-4 if the former’s nomination papers were to be rejected under the new rules brought in by the Musharraf government. While filing Bhutto’s nomination papers, her lawyers also attached the copies of her degree certificates. Copies of her BA degree from Harvard and MA degree from Oxford have been attached. Under the new rules brought in the government, only candidates with a degree are qualified to contest the polls.
PTI
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Abu Nidal conspired in Lockerbie bombing
Dubai, August 23 “Abu Nidal announced during a restricted meeting of the leaders of (his) Fatah Revolutionary Council (FRC) that the reports attributing the Lockerbie attack to others was incorrect. We are behind what happened,” former FRC spokesman Atef Abu Bakr told the Arab daily Al-Hayat, in comments to be published tomorrow. Abu Nidal threatened to kill anyone who leaked the information, Abu Bakr told the daily. The militant, held responsible for more than 900 deaths, told his followers that reports implicating Arab intelligence agencies or Islamic parties in the devastating mid-air explosion of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland were false. Until now, the Lockerbie bombing has always been blamed on Libya, although Abu Nidal was said to have rented his services out to Moamer Kadhafi in the 1980s and 1990s. With his country reeling from international sanctions, Kadhafi agreed in 1999 to turn over two suspects in the Lockerbie attack to a special Scottish court in the Netherlands. Libyan intelligence agent Abdel Basset Ali al-Megrahi is now serving a life sentence in a Glasgow jail, while the other suspect was acquitted. Iraqi intelligence chief Taher Jalil Habbush announced yesterday that Abu Nidal had shot and killed himself after being discovered living illegally in Baghdad and facing interrogation for anti-Iraqi activities. AFP
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Putin meets Kim the recluse Vladivostok, August 23 Putin, speaking after almost four hours of talks with North Korea’s reclusive Kim Jong-il, said the new link would help revitalise Russia’s depressed and underpopulated Far East. Moscow stands to reap billions of dollars in transit fees once North Korea opens its part of the railway and South Korean goods start pouring to Europe across Russia. The press-shy Kim, who rarely travels outside his hermit state where he is wrapped in a mystical personality cult, was ushered away from his talks with the Kremlin leader avoiding any confrontation with the press. “Russia has helped and will continue to do its best to contribute to a settlement on the Korean peninsula,” he told journalists. “There are positive elements (in the talks between Seoul and Pyongyang) and, in any case, North Korea’s goodwill is obvious.” Kim, who enjoys god-like status at home where he is known as the “dear leader”, hates flying and arrived in Russia, as last year, by armoured express.
Reuters
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600,000 evacuated in China Chenglingji (China), August 23 At least 16 persons have died and 27,000 homes have collapsed, the China Daily said, giving the first official statistics on how badly the current flood crisis has already hit the region. More than 8.4 million persons have been affected in the region, which has seen water levels in the Dongting lake and the rivers which feed it surge above danger levels, the Ministry of Civil Affairs told the newspaper. Additionally, 415,000 hectares of crops had been damaged, the report said. Dongting basin is one of China’s most important rice-growing areas. More than a million people are working around the clock to shore up flood defences around this Dongting lake, China’s second-biggest fresh water lake, which acts as a major catchment for the Yangtze river, other official reports said. Around 10 million persons are feared to be under threat, including the populations of Changhsa, Hunan’s capital, and the massive Indus trial city of Wuhan in neighbouring Hubei province, which sits on the Yangtze. Hunan’s government has declared a state of emergency, and the International Red Cross on Wednesday warned donors to be ready to send tents, blankets and other aid if the situation worsened. AFP
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Pile of Taliban documents found
Bagram (Afghanistan), August 23 Intelligence officials are now studying the “trailer-load” of papers discovered near Kandahar, Lieut-Col Roger King told reporters here. “US Special Operations Forces operating near Kandahar uncovered and began the destruction of a very large and unstable cache of weapons and ammunition,” said King. “The cache consisted of 1,400 107mm rockets, 200 mines, 15 recoiless rifles and assorted small arms and ammunition. “In addition to the weapons and ammunition forces also found a large cache of what appeared to be Taliban documents. The documents were turned over to intelligence for study.” AFP
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THIEVES
STEAL DICKENS WORKS Three first editions of “A Christmas Carol”, worth around 20,000 to 30,000 pounds each, were taken from a locked cabinet using a glasscutter at the Dickens House Museum in the centre of the city yesterday. But attempts during last Thursday’s raid to cut glasfrom a cabinet containing copies of Dickens’ Pickwick Paper failed. Museum curator Andrew Xavier said in addition to three first editions, another later edition of “A Christmas Carol” was stolen. Reuter
CHOLERA
KILLS OVER 1,000 PROOF
OF SPACE ROCK SMASHING EARTH TWO
GAZA INTRUDERS SHOT |
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