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Monday,
August 26, 2002, Chandigarh, India  
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Shahbaz, Kulsoom to
contest from Lahore
$ 3b probe against
ex-ISI chief dropped
Pak ‘secretly buying’ N-equipment Bhopal victim’s novel protest at Earth Summit Grenades thrown at protesters |
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Police finds missing girls’ clothes Yangtze threat to Wuhan Terrorist lab found: paper
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Shahbaz, Kulsoom to
contest from Lahore
Islamabad, August 25 As the EC decided to extend the last date of nominations from August 24 to 26 following protests from political parties over the confusion created by a 30-page cumbersome nomination form, large groups of candidates filed nominations today all over the country. While the polling would take place on October 10, the scrutiny of nominations would begin on August 27. In a move to checkmate the pro-Musharraf National Alliance, PML (N) has decided to field Kulsoom against Mial Azhar, the leader of PML (QA) in Lahore, party sources said. Azhar along with former Prime Minister Mustafa Jatoi heads the government-backed National Alliance. He would contest from NA seat No.118 in Lahore against Kulsoom. The party could also give the seat to the religious party alliance called MMA if there is an agreement. Shahbaz is also expected to contest from Lahore. Prominent among the people who filed the nominations included self exiled former Premier Benazir Bhutto who filed her papers for NA for two seats from her hometown, Larkana. Bhutto’s fate would be decided on August 27 when the Sindh High Court resumes hearing on her petition. Meanwhile, the Pakistani military is not willing to spare adequate number of soldiers for general election in October, citing border tensions with India. With about 80,000 polling stations to be set up across the country, the army has indicated it will not be able to spare the 240,000 troops needed to guard them. The Election Commission has written to the Defence Ministry, saying at least three soldiers are required at each polling centre. But defence ministry sources say only a limited number of troops can be spared as tens of thousands of soldiers are deployed along the border with India. The police have informed the poll panel that they can only spare around 100,000 men. “At least 25 armed policemen must be deployed at every polling station to maintain law and order,” says a government official. PTI, IANS
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$ 3b probe against
ex-ISI chief dropped
Islamabad, August 25 The National Accountability Bureau (NAB), which earlier convicted former premier Benazir Bhutto and a naval chief in corruption cases, put off the probe against Nasir for “unknown reasons,” a report said. “Yes, investigations were going on against Nasir but no case was pending against him,” a colonel at the NAB’s office told local daily Dawn. The NAB’s action to drop proceedings against Nasir has been criticised by the PPP. “This has shown once again that serving and retired officers of the army have been kept beyond the purview of accountability,” PPP spokesman Faratulah Babar said. The official failed to give any reason why the investigations against Nasir had been put off and not pursued by the NAB as it had been doing in the cases of corruption against Opposition politicians, particularly Ms Bhutto and her spouse. The NAB official also refused to disclose the nature of the investigation pending against Nasir, who was also the head of the country’s prime intelligence agency during the tenure of former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, it said. Nasir was accused of indulging in corrupt deals while he was the Chairman of the Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB). He held the post after his retirement and is alleged to have committed large-scale irregularities through 20 land deals. He relinquished the charge of the ETPB on July 16, 2001 much after the Musharraf government took over power in 1999 and is reported to have fled the country. The NAB chairman said it was seeking the extradition of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto to face corruption charges in a Pakistan court, reports The News. “The extradition of Benazir Bhutto is in process,” said Munir Hafiez. “Benazir’s extradition is not a special case and the application is routine,” Addressing a press conference, the NAB chief referred to corrupt politicians contesting the October election and said if the Election Commission put up the issue before it for check-up, it would definitely assist the EC in pointing out corrupt politicians. However, he said that until a politician was not convicted by an accountability court, he could not be banned from contesting the election. Giving figures of corrupt politicians taken to task, he said that the NAB had been investigating against 24 PPP, 30 PML(N ) and 33 other politicians. No leader of the PML(AQ) was found involved in corruption, he said in reply to a question. About corruption by Benazir Bhutto and her spouse, Asif Ali Zardari, he said they are involved in 10 high profile cases of corruption known under the titles of ARY Gold, Polo Ground, illegal Appointments in PIA, Drug Smuggling Case, BMW Case, etc. Hafiez said that the NAB was not reopening any case against the Sharif family, but cases would be initiated in case they returned to the country. PTI, ANI
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Pak ‘secretly buying’ N-equipment
London, August 25 The Sunday Times said British intelligence agencies had increased surveillance of Pakistanis in the country, including diplomats involved in procuring military equipment, following reports that special high-grade metals had been smuggled to Pakistan. The metals, including high-strength aluminium used in making centrifuges that convert uranium ore to bomb-grade uranium 235, are believed to have reached a Pakistan’s uranium enrichment plant at Kahuta, near Islamabad. “This is not the kind of aluminium you use for soft drinks cans, it has a very limited number of applications,” the paper quoted a source as saying. The Foreign Office is said to be infuriated by the clandestine transfer of the metals as Pakistan had given an assurance that it was not shopping in Britain for weapons of mass destruction or equipment need to make them. Britain’s domestic intelligence agency, M-I5, had increased its surveillance of Pakistani activities in Britain. The report said at least one consignment of 47 tonnes of high-strength aluminium worth 150,000 pounds was sent to Pakistan by a British firm. Customs and excise officers found the aluminium was secretly shipped to Khan Research Laboratory in Kahuta, Pakistan’s main nuclear weapon research facility. A.Q. Khan, widely regarded as the brain behind Islamabad’s nuclear programme, founded this laboratory in 1976. M-I5 operatives visited the Blackburn-based company that sold the aluminium and warned that Pakistan and other states might try to circumvent an export ban. Despite this alert, the aluminium was smuggled through Felixstowe port, the report said. Two people now face prosecution for alleged evasion of export controls. IANS
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Bhopal victim’s novel protest at Earth Summit Johannesburg, August 25 Bee, who lost most of her family members in the gas leak that killed hundreds that very night, is one of the activists taking part in the Global Peoples Forum organised by the Civil Society to run parallel with the 10-day summit. She hopes to be able to hand the broom over to the head of multinational company Dow Chemicals - which took over Union Carbide — as a symbolic move to suggest they should sweep away the mess his company left behind in Bhopal. Union Carbide owned the Bhopal pesticide plant, which emitted tonnes of lethal methyl iso-cyanate (MIC) gas in the heart of the central Indian city on the night of December 2-3, killing 1,750 people instantly. The death toll has since climbed to several thousands and left many more maimed for life. Activists say the victims have not been adequately compensated for their suffering. Dow Chemicals later took over Union Carbide’s assets, but refused to accept responsibility for its liabilities in respect of Bhopal. As the head of the Gas Peedith Mahila Stationery Karamchari Sangh (Gas-Affected Women’s Stationery Workers’ Association) in Bhopal, Bee promotes the cause of women who were most seriously affected by the gas leak. “Now 18 years later, we are still finding children being born without lips, noses or ears. Sometimes hands are missing, and women have severe reproductive problems. The result is that women are discriminated against through no fault of their own,” Bee told a gathering at the Brixton mosque here. “On August 15 we launched the ‘Jaroo Maro Dow’ (Hit Dow with a Broom) campaign in India. This is to remind Dow Chemicals that it has a lot of mess to clean up in Bhopal. It has to clean up contamination, take responsibility for long-term medical care, economic rehabilitation of the people and answer criminal charges that it has inherited from the Union Carbide,” said Bee. She was joined by Satinath Sarangi, who was so moved by the Bhopal deaths that he gave up his studies at Benaras University to go and help there as a volunteer. He ended up establishing the Sambhavna Clinic in Bhopal.
IANS |
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Grenades
thrown at protesters Johannesburg, August 25 The police said they made one arrest and fired three stun grenades to disperse 700 leftists who tried to stage a banned march last evening in central Johannesburg, some 20 km (12 miles) from the summit venue. “Members of the public order police warned the demonstrators that the march illegal and formed a human barrier to prevent the march from proceeding,” police Director Henriette Bester said in a statement, adding there were no injuries. “Ms Bester said infants in pushchairs were in the march, which had been banned. About 10,000 extra police and troops are on duty in South Africa’s economic capital for the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) that formally starts work tomorrow and runs until September 4. Reuters |
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Police finds missing girls’ clothes
London, August 25 The police did not say what garments they discovered or where they found them. Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman, both 10, vanished from their hometown of Soham, near Cambridge, on August 4, prompting weeks of front-page headlines and a nationwide outpouring of worry and grief. Meanwhile, hundreds of mourners gathered yesterday at a Soham church service in memory of murdered 10-year-olds Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman as a minute’s silence was observed at sporting events across the UK. Some of the most poignant of the tributes came from Holly’s friends in her majorette troupe. One, Gemma Rutterford, wrote: ‘Dear Holly, keep on dancing along side of us at all our displays. Soham Fenland Majorettes will never forget the fun and happiness we all shared together. It will never be the same without you. I will never forget you.’ The letter was tied to a silver majorettee’s baton. AP, The Guardian
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Yangtze
threat to Wuhan Dongting Lake (China), August 25 After Wuhan, the crest will drive into the Poyang Lake — not much smaller than the Dongting’s 2,700-sq-km (1,000-sq-mile) expanse — which is already more than 1.10 metres (3.6 ft) above the danger level. But officials in the Poyang region said they did not expect major flooding despite forecasts of heavy showers.
Reuters |
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Terrorist
lab found: paper Kabul, August 25 “Some containers and documents have been found by the police authorities,” said Major James Kelly, a spokesman for the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Kabul. “Reports suggest possibly 16 types of chemicals.” Mr Kelly said he had been handed Afghan intelligence reports about the discovery, which was made yesterday. Mr Kelly said the building had apparently been occupied at one stage by a Saudi Arabian NGO.
Reuters
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5 DIE AS COPS FIRE AT ARMY FARM TENANTS WARRANT MUST TO SEARCH CAR: HC |
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