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Friday,
September 27, 2002, Chandigarh, India  
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US planes attack Basra airport, radar damaged
USA plans to train Saddam’s opponents Mass anti-Musharraf protest by Christians
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Islamabad, September 26 At least 33 “dangerous” activists of terrorist outfit Harkat ul-Mujahidin al-Alami are active in Pakistan’s restive city of Karachi despite a joint crackdown by local authorities and US forces and weeks of arrests. US defence official in Pak for talks Parties ask Deuba
to restore peace
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US planes attack Basra airport, radar damaged Baghdad, September 26 “American crows (planes) launched...last night a new aggression when they attacked the international airport,’’ Iraq television said, quoting an official statement. “The raids led to the destruction of the main radar system at the airport as well as damaged the main service building.’’ U.S. and British aircraft police two no-fly zones in northern and southern Iraq set up after the 1991 Gulf War. The zones, which Baghdad does not recognise, were imposed to protect a Kurdish enclave in the north and Shi’ite Muslims in the south from possible attacks by the Iraqi Government. United Nations: The USA and Britain have completed drafting a new resolution on Iraq which gives about two months to President Saddam Hussein to comply with 16 resolutions adopted by the Security Council since the Gulf war even as Washington continues consultations with other members on the draft. If finally Iraq is given two months, any military action will come only early next year, something which military analysts are predicting. Reports suggest that US Secretary of State Colin Powell is working on the capitals to finalise the draft. American diplomats have been quoted as saying they do not expect Russia to be a major problem, as they can persuade it to abstain if it does not agree with the wording, provided they are able to manage nine votes needed for the resolution to be adopted by the 15-member council. Analysts say China is also unlikely to use veto, but France has yet to come on board. France favours a two-resolution approach — the first only asking Iraq to comply with all previous resolutions, and if it does not, the second resolution authorises the action. MOSCOW: President Vladimir Putin on Thursday called for a political solution to the Iraq crisis through existing U.N. resolutions, a move which could undermine U.S. demands for tough international action against Baghdad. “We favour a rapid resolution of the situation around (Iraq) on the basis of existing U.N. Security Council resolutions, and in accordance with the principles and norms of international law,’’ he said at a Kremlin ceremony. Resumption of U.N. inspections for chemical, biological and nuclear weapons for the first time since 1998 would”answer the concerns of the international community’’, Mr Putin told the new Iraqi ambassador after receiving his credentials. The Russian leader made his comments the day after his foreign minister dismissed suggestions Russia, which has a veto in the U.N.Security Council, had moved closer to the USAand Britain in agreeing on a tougher stand to ensure Iraq met all demands of arms monitors. Mr Igor Ivanov told the media that only specialists could judgewhether Iraq had weapons of mass destruction, and dismissed as a “propaganda furore’’, a British report detailing the threat posed by President Saddam to the international community.
Reuters, PTI |
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USA plans to train Saddam’s opponents Washington, September 26 US President George W Bush could sign a new presidential
directive, authorising the training as early as this week, followed by congressional notification of his intent to provide training and equipment already authorised under the 1998 Iraq Liberation Act, The Washington Post quoted the US administrative officials as saying. In the first phase, the USA will choose “a thousand recruits from names submitted by Iraqi opposition groups”, of those who could assist US units on the ground as well as provide guards and supervisors for Iraqi government troops in prisoner of war camps, officials said. In the second training phase, additional recruits would be prepared to occupy forward positions inside Iraq where they would “light” targets for laser-guided weapons during US air strikes and to undertake other support tasks.
Reuters |
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Mass anti-Musharraf
protest by Christians
Karachi, September 26 But sadness at the deaths at the hands at two unidentified gunmen was mixed with fear, and widespread anger at the government of President Pervez Musharraf for not protecting them. "Down with Musharraf,’’ a group of about 200 protesters wearing black armbands chanted as they marched through the narrow lanes of the Christian slum of Essa Nagri in Karachi. “Hang the culprits who killed innocent Christians.’’ Yesterday two gunmen burst into the office of a Christian charity, tied up and gagged the employees before shooting them in the head at point blank range with a pistol. Six of them died instantly, one died later in hospital while an eighth man was in a coma today. All were Pakistanis. Pakistan’s 1.6 million Christians — about one percent of the population — are often among the mainly Muslim country’s poorest people, many working as cleaners or menial workers. "We are second-class citizens in Pakistan, we don’t have any rights, no protection,’’ said Faris Ayub, one of the protesters. "Our families are not secure here. I will leave this country as soon as I will get a chance.’’ Christian leaders announced three days of mourning, beginning on Thursday. In Karachi, shops, schools and churches were closed in Christian-dominated areas, with extra police standing guard outside many venues. Church leaders yesterday said they were hoping to stage a joint funeral service for most of the victims, most likely at the weekend, although the fact that some were Protestant and others Catholic could complicate matters. Today, it was time for anger and fear as well as grief. "They don’t consider us human beings and only Muslims are allowed to live in this country,’’ said Ayub, a male nurse, who said he feared more attacks. Interior Minister Moinuddin Haider vowed yesterday to track down the killers, who made a clean getaway after the attack. But Liaquat Munawwar said he and four other members of the Christian charity MASS were prepared to take drastic action if something was not done quickly. "If the government fails to arrest the culprits within the next three days, we will commit suicide in front of the governor house,’’ Munawwar said. Meanwhile, Investigations into the execution of seven Pakistani Christian charity workers in their office in the city of Karachi are focussing on three earlier murders in which victims were tied to chairs and poisoned, police said on Thursday. The police has named no suspects so far for Wednesday’s attack. It is pursuing several angles, including the possibility that Islamic militants wreaking revenge for the crushing of the Taliban were behind the latest attack. A senior police officer requesting anonymity said there was “no breakthrough yet.” A Christian leader in Pakistan has appealed to United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan to pressure the Musharraf government to ensure safety of minorities in accordance with the 1950 Nehru-Liaqat pact. Pakistan Christian Congress chief Nazir Bhatti in a letter said the 1.5 crore Christians in Pakistan were living in fear from extremist Muslim groups as well as Islamic laws, especially the ones dealing with blasphemy.
Reuters, AFP, UNI |
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33 Harkat ultras ‘active’ in Karachi Islamabad, September 26 Pakistani officials told a US delegation here that the outfit, suspected to have masterminded yesterday’s slaughter of seven members of a Christian charity, posed a grave security threat to the country. The outfit comprised “dangerous and frustrated” elements who were eluding the local intelligence as well as the US Federal Bureau of Investigation, according to the Interior Ministry. The News daily today quoted Pakistani officials as saying that they suspect involvement of this group in yesterday’s incident as well as recent attacks on Christians and westerners in the country. The Interior Ministry officials told the American delegation led by Under-Secretary for Defence (Policy) Douglas J. Feith that the group had the potential to carry out massive destruction within the city on a vast scale as it was equipped with deadly weapons, rocket launchers and detonators. The delegation was here to hold talks with Pakistani authorities on defence co-operation as well as security related issues. The 17-member US delegation visited the Interior Ministry here yesterday to discuss terrorism-related issues. The US officials were apprised of the steps taken to curb the activities of this group which is also accused of making bids on the life of President Pervez Musharraf. They were also told about the supply of deadly weapons to this group by a tribal leader in the North Western Frontier Province, bordering Afghanistan. So far 24 activists of the militant group have been arrested in Karachi. The Pakistani officials, the newspaper said, suggested providing local authorities modern technology and training and consider gradual withdrawal of US intelligence personnel from the country as their presence was being made an election issue by hardline Islamic religious parties.
PTI |
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US defence official in Pak for talks Islamabad, September 26 Pakistan, a key ally in Washington’s war on terror, can expect spare parts for US-supplied warplanes and greater cooperation in military training and intelligence from the Pakistan-US Defence Consultative Group talks which last until Friday. But analysts say Washington will stop short of supplying hardware — such as additional F-16 fighters. The decision to revive the US-Pakistan meeting is seen as a reward for Pakistan’s cooperation with the US-led war on terror and military action in Afghanistan since last year. Two days of preliminary talks took place on Tuesday and yesterday, but officials are keeping tight-lipped about the progress. The USA blocked delivery of two dozen F-16 aircraft to Pakistan, because of Islamabad’s nuclear weapons programme.
Reuters |
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Parties ask Deuba
to restore peace Kathmandu, September 26 “We are trying to make the irresponsible government shed its apathy and cynicism and realise its accountability to create a favourable atmosphere for holding the poll,” the parties said in the charter. “If the government cannot convince the political parties that the election could be held without any obstacle then the government should find an alternative to election by reaching consensus among all the major political parties,” they said. Mr Deuba, on his part, assured the Opposition that elections would be held at the stipulated time and the government was determined to make necessary security arrangements for the poll by mobilising all its security machinery.
PTI |
13 DIE AS TRAIN DERAILS WITHDRAW FBI AGENTS, USA TOLD PML (N) ACCUSES PERVEZ OF RIGGING |
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