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Wednesday,
September 25, 2002, Chandigarh, India  
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PM flays Pervez’s poll remarks Tight security for
Pak poll monitors Notice to Pak EC on Sharif’s nominations
Pak protest over Blackwill remarks Strike call in Pak may
invite jail term |
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Rich ‘should share wealth’ India flays Israeli retaliation Rare manuscript of Adi Granth found ULFA leader sentenced to seven years
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PM flays Pervez’s poll remarks
Male (Maldives), September 24 “There have been no independent elections in Pakistan so far and so they cannot believe that independent elections can be held anywhere else,” Mr Vajpayee, who is here on a four-day official visit, told Doordarshan when asked about General Musharraf’s comment on elections in Jammu and Kashmir. “Nobody can digest the Pakistani propaganda now,” he said, adding that there was no need for India to “show off or dramatise” the democratic process. General Musharraf yesterday accused India of making false claims about voter turnout in the elections in Jammu and Kashmir and described the process a “sham”. The Prime Minister said both India and the Maldives were jointly fighting terrorism and expressed New Delhi’s readiness to train Maldivian personnel in combating the scourge if they so desired. On SAARC, he said, “We want to strengthen relations among member countries, particularly in the area of trade. There is great scope for co-operation in this area.” Describing India’s relations with the Maldives as “historical, close and special,” he said, “We are trying to build on that.” Meanwhile, the Maldives today fully backed India’s initiative for a comprehensive convention against Terrorism within the United Nations and also called for strengthening of the SAARC convention against the scourge. This was conveyed by Maldivian Foreign Minister Fataullah Jameel during a 40-minute meeting with Mr Vajpayee. Reinforcing Maldives’ strong position against terrorism, he said “there is no justification for any act of terrorism.” The Maldives views it as a global problem and challenge, External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Nirupama Rao told reporters here. On UN reforms, he said the criteria for expansion of the UN Security Council should be determined quickly and this should “‘reflect the current realities”. PTI
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Tight security for Pak poll monitors
Islamabad, September 24 Mr Irshad Khan yesterday issued written directives to the federal and provincial governments to provide necessary facilities, including security, to international observers to facilitate their visits to polling stations and to witness the election process, media reports said here today. He said international observers were welcome to observe the pre-poll arrangements, voting process and counting of votes by the presiding officers at the close of the elections. Observers could also witness the preparation of preliminary results by the returning officers, he said, adding that the Election Commission was also arranging briefing sessions for the foreign monitors. Entry passes would also be issued to the observers to ensure free access to the polling sites. The fresh directive followed the decision of the European Union to reduce its observers’ team from 164 to 70, citing security concerns in the light of attacks on foreigners in Pakistan. It had initially nominated its largest ever poll monitoring team of 164 members headed by Irish parliamentarian John Cushnahan, but had cut it down later. Mr Cushnahan had become the rallying point of all mainstream political parties, including those led by exiled former Prime Ministers Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif, which had poured in complaints of pre-poll rigging by the military regime. The team had also met hardline religious parties and cricketer-turned politician Imran Khan and had recorded their allegations of official interference in the election process and their complaints of selective application of rules in accepting and rejecting nomination papers. PTI
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Notice to Pak EC on Sharif’s nominations Islamabad, September 24 The High Court yesterday accepted a miscellaneous application filed by counsel for the Sharifs for early hearing of the petitions of wife Kulsoom and brother Shahbaz. Admitting their petitions the court also directed the Election Commission to produce records on the acceptance of their nomination papers and subsequent rejection by the Tribunal concerned. The two, who live with Sharif in exile in Jeddah had filed their nomination papers in absentia to contest for the National Assembly (NA) and the Punjab Provincial Assembly. Kulsoom, who led the Pakistan Muslim League - Nawaz (PML-N) in the aftermath of October 1999 military coup and subsequent confinement of her husband in prison has filed her papers for two NA seats from Lahore whereas Shahbaz, who was nominated recently to head the party was seeking election to the NA and the PA from Lahore.
PTI
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Pak protest over Blackwill remarks
Islamabad, September 24 “We strongly reject what the ambassador has uttered in his interview (with an Indian channel),” the foreign office said in a message to the US State Department. Last week Mr Blackwill was quoted as saying, “Infiltration is certainly going on — absolutely. Our judgement is that it was up in August and September and we condemn it”. “Our view is that President (Pervez) Musharraf gave a commitment to the international community to end cross-border infiltration permanently. And we expect him to meet that commitment.” A senior official at the foreign office also said that Pakistan’s Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Inamul Haq, who is visiting the USA, had also conveyed his displeasure over the remarks. Islamabad has repeatedly asserted that it is not pushing infiltrators across the Line of Control (LoC), the ceasefire line that divides Kashmir between Pakistan and India. “This will further pollute the atmosphere,” said the foreign office official quoting the letter handed over to the US embassy. An official of the US embassy in Islamabad confirmed that the mission had received a “protest” letter from the Pakistani foreign office. “We have conveyed it to the State Department,” said the official while refusing to comment on Ambassador Blackwill’s statement. IANS
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Strike call in Pak may invite jail term
Islamabad, September 24 The new law is being introduced on the direction of President Pervez Musharraf, whose Secretariat had written to the Ministry of Law and Justice, asking it to introduce new provisions to ensure a smooth election campaign, the News reported today, quoting a summary by the Ministry of Law, Justice and Human Rights. An official said the new provision would aim at ensuring discipline and a trouble-free election campaign by eliminating the possibility of giving strike calls, a feature of electioneering in the past. Leaders who give strike calls will be jailed for five years, besides paying compensation for any damage to property due to the strike, states the new ordinance, which has been submitted to the Federal Cabinet. UNI
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Rich ‘should share wealth’
Paris, September 24 “The chasm between the ‘haves’ and the ‘have-nots’ is so pronounced and deep that it hurts the human consciousness. If only the ‘haves’ could share a part of their bountiful possessions with the deprived, their lot would considerably improve,” Human Resources Development Minister Murli Manohar Joshi said. He was speaking at a function where the UNESCO Prize for Peace Education, 2002, was presented to Lucknow-based City Montessori School in India. The award carrying a cash prize of $ 30,000 was given away by UNESCO Director General Koichiro Matsuura. Stating that India followed a unique philosophy in which the entire world was treated as one family, Mr Joshi said that Mahatma Gandhi propounded the principle of trusteeship in which neither the nations nor the individuals were the possessors of wealth and property. “Unless the world understands this, we will never be able to get rid of inequality and deprivation and all our ideals of peace and happiness will remain a dream”, he said. PTI
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India flays Israeli retaliation
United Nations, September 24 “The retaliatory measures would prove “counterproductive” and could only jeopardise efforts towards peace rather than contributing to the security of Israel,” India’s Ambassador to the UN V.K. Nambiar said. Intervening in the debate on the situation in the West Asia in the Security Council yesterday, Mr Nambiar said Mr Arafat remained the legitimate leader of the Palestinian people and “any attack on him would seriously undermine ongoing efforts to find a solution to the conflict.” PTI
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Rare manuscript of Adi Granth found
London, September 24 The manuscript found in the Library’s Oriental and India Office Collections has been shown to date from the middle of the 17th century. It was earlier thought to be an ordinary 19th century copy of the monumental work, a release has said. The manuscript is one of the 20 oldest known copies of the scripture which was compiled in 1604 and the oldest known version outside India. It is the only known manuscript outside India that dates from the lifetimes of one of the 10 Sikh Gurus. The find will be of great significance to the 21-million strong Sikh community worldwide, who view the Adi Granth as the spiritual embodiment of their ten Gurus. There are over 500,000 Sikhs in Britain and nearly one million speakers of the Punjabi language in which Guru Granth Sahib is written. Punjabi is the most widely spoken language in Britain after English. The 400th anniversary of the compilation of Adi Granth will be celebrated in 2004. PTI
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ULFA leader sentenced to seven years
Dhaka, September 24 First Assistant Metropolitan Sessions Judge Abu Sayeed Diljar sentenced Chetia, Babul Sharma and Luxmi Prasad, after completion of hearing in the case. The leaders of the banned outfit were present in the court when the verdict was pronounced. The ULFA leaders are already serving six-year jail term in Bangladesh for a number of crimes, including illegal entry into the country, possession of forged passports and unauthorised foreign currency of 16 countries. PTI
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