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Tuesday,
October 8, 2002, Chandigarh, India  
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Nepal parties hope to end
impasse TRIBUNE EXCLUSIVE Kulsoom Nawaz’s plea dismissed Pak campaigning draws to a
close Second test of Shaheen
today
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Laden warns of more
attacks 10 Palestinians die in Israeli
strike
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Nepal parties hope to end impasse Kathmandu, October “I don’t think so,’’ Mr Madhav Kumar Nepal, general secretary of the Communist Party of Nepal, told reporters when asked if political parties were heading for a confrontation with the King. “There is a need to have a good understanding among all political forces here. We should find a way out according to the spirit of the constitution,’’ he said after the first round of talks at an all-party meeting. The King dismissed Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba and assumed power on Friday after the Prime Minister said threats by Maoist rebels to sabotage the election, which was to be held over two months from November 13, were too grave and he asked for the vote to be delayed for a year. It was the first time a King had assumed direct power since the end of absolute monarchy and the establishment of parliamentary democracy in 1990. Mr Deuba’s dismissal triggered another round of political turmoil in the impoverished country that was already battling the Communist insurgency and trying to heal the scars of last year’s palace massacre that brought Gyanendra to the throne. Analysts said the latest crisis, if not rapidly resolved, could further ravage the economy. The Maoist revolt, aimed at setting up a one-party, Communist republic, had scared off tourists, hit growth and wrecked infrastructure. A Nepali Congress spokesman echoed Mr Madhav Kumar’s views that his party would not be in a confrontation with the king as long as the monarch’s moves were constitutional. The Nepali Congress, the Himalayan country’s largest party, joined the all-party meeting after other parties agreed to exclude the ousted Deuba — who was expelled from the party in May in a row over when to call the election. The party meeting followed talks between the King and political party leaders yesterday establishing an interim government this week that would take over power from the King. Political parties were yet to respond to the King’s call for them to nominate people for an interim government that would be responsible for security and oversee elections. King Gyanendra set a five-day deadline that ends on Wednesday for the parties to make their nominations.
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TRIBUNE EXCLUSIVE With the holding of general elections the first round of what promises to be a long and hard fight for democracy is over. What goes to the credit of the PPP and PML(N) is that despite the enforced absence of their leaders from the country they have not lost morale or given up the struggle. The use of the administrative machinery from federal secretaries to provincial governors and District Nazims has failed to dampen the fighting spirit of the opposition. Some of the former legislators of the PPP and PML (N) were made to desert their parties, but the vast majority in the case of the former and a considerable number belonging to the later have withstood the pressure. Another success achieved by the Opposition is that both the ARD and MMA continue to oppose any amendments in the constitution by the military government. The Opposition might have emerged with a bleeding nose from the bout but the government has simply failed to knock it out. Unless the agencies which have a long experience in rigging manage to jump a last-minute surprise, the Opposition is expected to constitute the largest single bloc in Parliament. The battlefield now shifts to the newly elected National Assembly and to the Senate for which elections are to be held on October 12. The newly elected members would be keen to be sworn in without unnecessary delay. The Opposition members will prefer to take the oath under the constitution as it existed before October 10, 1999, but if required to take it under the amended constitution incorporating the LFO, the might do so only under protest. The members of the assembly will also want the Speaker to be elected and the party or coalition of parties wielding majority called upon to form the government. The National Assembly will also want an urgent revival of the constitution to have its powers restored. On the other hand, General Musharraf could delay the convening of the Assembly till he has ensured the appointment of his confidants to the posts of the Speaker and the Prime Minister. As the powers that be try to impose their favourites on the elected members, resentment is bound to grow and extend even to the ranks of the king’s party which contains quite a few aspirants for the post of Prime Minister. As the National Assembly can perform its functions only after the full, and not partial, restoration of the constitution any delay in the restitution of the basic document is bound to give birth to distrust and bickering. An oath taken under the amended constitution would not bind the members to fight for the cancellation of the amendments that require the formation of the NSC and re-introduction of 58(2)b. There will also be demands that the President seek re-election in accordance with the provisions of the constitution. Thus with the birth of an elected Parliament a basis would be laid for confrontation between the representatives of the people and a President drawing mandate from a referendum universally considered to be rigged and having no constitutional status. The struggle for full-fledged democracy will thus enter a new and highly dramatic stage after the elections. In a long drawn out struggle, the loss of a single battle does not matter as long as the losing side maintains the fighting spirit and can make use of the chinks in the opponents’ armour to strike the blow. The fact that the military government has presented constitutional changes as a fait accompli to Parliament would not go well with the elected deputies. Junejo considered to be a humble and docile politician, started taking decisions independently of his benefactor and patron once he became the Prime Minister. Mian Nawaz Sharif who sided with General Zia against Prime Minister Mohammed Khan Junejo later rebelled against his mentor Ghulam Ishaque Khan and repealed 58(2)b. Having assumed greater powers than General Zia and Ishaq Khan and providing army a constitutional role General Musharraf has provided a patent causus belli to Parliament. |
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Kulsoom Nawaz’s plea dismissed Islamabad, October 7 The court’s three-member Bench, comprising Chief Justice Sheikh Riaz Ahmad, Mr Justice Nazim Hussain Siddiqui and Mr Justice Qazi Muhammad Farooq, did not allow them to contest poll by dismissing their appeals on technical grounds. The Bench remarked that although the case was on merit, no order that might affect the electoral process could be passed at the moment.
UNI |
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Pak campaigning draws to a close Islamabad, October 7 The thrust of the campaigning was to motivate people to turn up in large numbers to vote to prevent rigging. Campaigning for the landmark elections being held under the scrutiny of international monitors will end midnight tomorrow and the Election Commission has already warned that it would take serious note of any campaigning beyond the stipulated period. According to international media reports, former Premier Benazir Bhutto will address her Pakistan People’s Party loyalists tomorrow via a satellite link-up from London, where she is in self exile. The address will be telecast at the historic Minar-e-Pakistan site in Lahore city at sunset. Campaigning for the 342-member National Assembly and the Provincial assemblies of Punjab, Sindh, North West Frontier Province and Baluchistan will end by evening tomorrow. The election for the 100-member Senate will be held on November 12.
PTI |
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Second test of Shaheen today Islamabad, October 7 President Pervez Musharraf has approved one more test of Shaheen that would be carried out at 8.30 am tomorrow from the Sonmiani test site near Karachi, highly placed sources were quoted as saying. The missile would be aimed to hit a set target near Sandhak, an area close to the Pak-Afghan border. The approval for the second test followed a similar test on Friday last of the Hatf-IV, renamed as Shaheen-1. A team of scientists headed by Samar Mubarak, chairman of National Engineering and Scientific Commission, has already reached the test site, local daily ‘the News’ said today. It claimed that the new terminal-guided system missile will have solid fuel with a range of 800 km and could reach all Indian defence sites. The test would be witnessed by Vice-Chief of Army Staff, Muhammad Yousaf, and other high-level defence officials. Pakistan on Friday last test-fired a medium range surface-to-surface ballistic missile Shaheen-1, which could carry nuclear warheads and hit targets within the range of 750 km.
PTI |
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Laden warns of more attacks Cairo, October 7 “By God, the youths of God are preparing for you things that would fill your hearts with terror and target your economic lifeline until you stop your oppression and aggression” against Muslims, said the voice in the audiotape broadcast yesterday. It wasn’t immediately clear when the tape was made. The short message was broadcast with a picture of Bin Laden in the background. Bin Laden said his message was addressed to the American people, whom he urged to “understand the message of the New York and Washington attacks which came in response to some of your previous crimes.” “Those who have initiated (the attacks) are the ones who brought injustice,” he said. Qatar-based Al-Jazeera has become known for its broadcast of audio and videotapes of Al-Qaida leaders.
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10 Palestinians die in Israeli strike Gaza City, October 7 The missile strike came at the end of the four-hour incursion. Residents said people came out into the streets when they heard the tanks pulling out, but two Israeli helicopters remained overhead, and one of them fired the missile. Doctors said 10 persons were killed in the raid, including eight in the missile attack. Abed Ouda, 29, said he was parking his car when the missile struck. “I heard a huge explosion,” he said, “and people were wounded and bleeding on the ground in front of my car.” Dr Mohammed Abu Dalal of Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis appealed for more doctors and supplies to help treat the large number of injured. After midnight, about 40 Israeli tanks, backed by helicopters, entered Khan Younis and shelled houses on the main street, witnesses said. The Israeli military had no immediate comment on the missile explosion. Israeli military sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the army operation in Khan Younis was limited in nature and was not a large-scale invasion. Meanwhile, Islamic militant group Hamas today vowed to avenge the killing of Palestinians. AP, Reuters |
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Cairo, October 7
