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Monday,
November 11, 2002, Chandigarh, India  
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Pak Cabinet, NSC meeting today ARD for indemnity
to military govt USA knew of Pak- N.Korea ‘deal’
War with Iraq about oil |
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Archbishop in a fix India more close to Russia in defence ties Sinha reaches Seoul
Punjabi teachers seek recognition Boycott of Lanka Parliament ends Lanka Govt, rebels hold talks Fatah-Hamas talks begin
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Pak Cabinet, NSC meeting today Islamabad, November 10 Confirming the meeting, Interior Minister Moinuddin Haider told reporters in Karachi last night that the issues relating to the delay over government formation would be discussed and “crucial decisions” would be taken. Mr Haider, for the first time, also hinted that the government was considering the option of calling for another general election if no solution was found. “If political parties did not arrive at a settlement before convening of the National Assembly session then it would be unavoidable for the government to make another reference to the people,” he said. Meanwhile, Information Minister Nisar Memon said the meeting tomorrow could decide on convening the National Assembly session probably on November 15. The NA session was initially convened for November 8 but was postponed later. Political parties in Pakistan have failed to form a government even one month after the General Election which were held on October 10 and had given a hung verdict. Mr Haider’s comments on re-election followed the refusal of anti-Musharraf coalition, comprising 15-party Alliance for Restoration of Democracy (ARD) and the six religious party alliance, the Muttahida Majlis-e Amal (MMA) to climb down on their demand that General Musharraf should step down and seek a re-election.
PTI |
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ARD for indemnity
to military govt
Islamabad, November 10 “We are not vindictive. Nobody will have any reservations about the indemnity,” said the chief of the 15-party ARD, Nawabzada Nasrullah Khan, who held extensive talks with the six-party alliance of hardline religious parties, the Muttahida Majlis-e Amal (MMA), on forming a coalition government. Stating that the ARD and the MMA stuck to their stand for the restoration of the 1973 constitution without incorporating the controversial amendments of President Pervez Musharraf, Mr Khan said the Musharraf regime, like the previous military regime of Zia-ul Haq certainly needed indemnity for all its acts. The ARD and the MMA would be willing to agree to the same condition to facilitate the army to return to barracks, he was quoted as saying by local daily ‘Dawn’ today. Meanwhile, MMA’s prime ministerial candidate, Maulana FazlurRehman, yesterday said misconceptions between former premier Benazir Bhutto’s Pakistan Peoples Party Parliamentarians (PPPP) and his alliance had been cleared following his telephonic talks with her spouse Asif Ali Zardari. The PPPP, which is a part of the ARD, had angered the MMA earlier because of its leaders’ reported talks with the Musharraf government to clinch a deal over the formation of a new government.
PTI |
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USA knew of Pak- N.Korea ‘deal’ Washington, November 10 And America's dependence on Islamabad in its fight against the Al-Qaeda network is a major explanation for the reticence. The theory is that Pakistan may have supplied North Korea with technology for its nuclear weapons material in return for ballistic missiles and missile technology from Pyongyang. According to the analyst, there can be little doubt about the genuineness of the theory. The alleged technology swaps probably went on before President Pervez Musharraf came to power. But Dr. Ted Galen Carpenter,Vice-President for Defence and Foreign Policy Studies at the Washington-based CATO Institute, says in an interview that he (Musharraf) would've had plenty of influence over the decision to enter into the deal. "These things may have happened before he became Pakistan's dictator, but let's remember, in the years before he launched his military coup against the elected government, he was the head of Pakistan's military," he explained. "And the notion, given Pakistan's politics, that something this sensitive could take place without the leadership of the military being fully aware of it and approving it, is nonsense. There is no question that if this went on, General Musharraf knew of it and approved of it." Said the expert: "I think it's very likely. There does appear to be credible evidence that Pakistan provided centrifuges and other technology that would've been very useful to North Korea in a nuclear weapons development programme. I know that General Musharraf has denied that Pakistan was involved in any way, but we've had similar denials, let's say, from the Chinese when it comes to technology exports to rogue states over the years and yet American intelligence agencies have been able to establish that China has been directly involved. “I suspect we have the same kind of evidence with regard to Pakistan and so these denials really do not have credibility." However, given the close partnership between Pakistan and the USA in the war against Al -Qaeda, US officials haven't said much about the possible Pakistan-North Korea connection. But according to Carpenter, it's likely the US Administration does believe the technology transfer took place. "I think the Administration suspects that Pakistan is guilty on this issue, but the Administration also believes that the USA needs Pakistan in terms of dealing with the Al-Qaeda terrorist network, " he added. "The USA does not want to do anything to destabilise Pakistan or lead to the overthrow of the Musharraf government. Hence, the pressure on Pakistan is going to be subtle and private. We're not going to have a public row with Islamabad." Not long after the revelation from North Korea and the allegations about Pakistan came out, the Washington Post published an article by one of the paper's columnists, accusing Pakistan of being "a nuclear enabler,the most dangerous place on earth," and "a base from where nuclear technology, fundamentalist terrorism and life-destroying heroin are spread around the globe." Carpenter said that while the article was obviously not written by a friend of Pakistan's, its premise could not be dismissed. "Many of those charges are," in his opinion, "in fact valid. I think we do have to worry a lot about Pakistan's nuclear arsenal, how secure it is, what the Pakistani nuclear scientists are doing - are they giving assistance to other want-to-be nuclear weapons states?" But Carpenter has another serious complaint against White House. "The USA seems to spend all of its time worrying about Iraq and the possibility of Iraq getting its hands on nuclear weapons and then passing those weapons on to terrorist organisations. I think the USA ought to worry about two far more likely possibilities, namely, that Al-Qaeda or other terrorist groups could get nukes off the shelf, if you will, from the Russian mafia or from rogue elements within Pakistan. I think those two scenarios are infinitely more likely than Iraq deciding to arm terrorist organisations with weapons of mass destruction." Not long ago, in fact, two Pakistanis were arrested on charges of trying to trade drugs for missiles that they allegedly intended to sell to the Al-Qaeda. Carpenter says their may be many more such schemes that remain undiscovered. He added that "I think that's one example that we may find of rogue elements. What I worry about are the ones we don't know about. I'm sure there are others going on. We know that at least two Pakistani nuclear scientists were in contact with the Al-Qaeda in the months leading up to September 11. We don't know how much information was passed, what the Al-Qaeda would be able to do with that information. Other questions arise - has fissile material been transferred to the Al- Qaeda or other terrorist organisations? God forbid, would an in tact nuke, perhaps, have been passed to one of those organisations?" Carpenter believes the reason General Musharraf has not cracked down on these types of activities has to do with the intense political forces at play within Pakistan. Indeed, the recent elections there brought the country to a stalemate. But the expert says it may not make too much difference which of Pakistan's parties end up leading a coalition government. "It's a very unequal contest," the ananlyst observed. "The reality is that this is mainly theatre. The parties aren't going to have significant power, Parliament's not going to have significant power. You have a rather thinly disguised dictatorship in Pakistan. This is not a democratic system, not even by a fairly liberal definition of the term." ANI |
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War with Iraq about oil
San Francisco, November 10 “The Bush administration is not interested in weapons inspections,’’ activist Medea Benjamin of the San Francisco-based groups United for Peace and Global Exchange told the San Francisco Chronicle. “It is interested in going to war against Iraq. This is a war for oil,’’ he added. Benjamin, a former Green Party US Senate nominee, charged that the USA threatened nations that did not support the UN’s resolution with loss of access to Iraqi oil after a possible military conflict with Iraq, or with loss of future aid, the Chronicle reported yesterday. San Francisco has emerged as a hotbed of activism against the Bush administration’s Iraq aims. The city last month hosted its largest peace rally since the Vietnam War, drawing a crowd of 80,000, according to organisers. The newspaper also reported that Richard Becker, San Francisco representative for the sponsor group of recent large peace demonstrations, said the USA seeks a “colonial regime’’ that would “turn over Iraq’s oil to US oil companies.’’ Benjamin, who recently disrupted a presentation to Congress by Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, will join a round-the-clock protest in front of the White House starting on November 17, and Becker’s International ANSWER Coalition is planning three days of protests on the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday weekend in January in Washington, D.C., according to the San Francisco Chronicle.
Reuters |
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Archbishop in a fix London, November 10 On February 27, Rowan Williams assumes his post as the new spiritual leader of the world’s 70 million Anglicans. He will be taking over from Archbishop George Carey, who retired last week. Conservative evangelicals have not waited for William’s official installation to go after him on the issue of sexuality. They have demanded he affirm traditional church teaching, which forbids sex outside of marriage, and that he promise not to ordain those who fail to conform. Williams, now the Anglican Archbishop of Wales, has ordained a man he knew was in a homosexual partnership. “I can and I do state what is the majority teaching of the church, as I am bound to do. But I cannot go beyond this and say that I believe what I do not believe,” Williams said in a letter to Reform, a conservative evangelical group which pressed him to give up the Canterbury post. That does not satisfy the Rev William Taylor, rector of St. Helen’s, Bishopsgate, a lively evangelical parish in central London. “It is impossible for a person to believe one thing personally and to act out another as an officer of the church, exercising discipline against people who believe the same thing as you and whom you have encouraged into ministry,” Taylor said. WASHINGTON: America’s Roman Catholic bishops meet in Washington this week, hoping to put nearly a year of sex scandals behind them by approving a revised policy to get rid of molesters in the clergy. Abuse victims worry that the plan, which seems likely to pass, retreats from church leaders’ earlier promises. The dominant issue will be the sex abuse crisis that has put the church in spotlight. The week’s major task is to vote on a rewrite of the reform rules that the bishops issued in Dallas. The proposed policy sets up a process for trying priests accused of sex abuse and removing those found guilty from church work, sometimes from priesthood itself. However, the Vatican demanded changes before it would feign off on the policy. The Holy See was mainly interested in safeguarding the rights of accused priests.
AP |
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India more close to Russia in defence ties
Moscow, November 10 “It is noteworthy that Russia sells China only that military hardware, which the Russian armed forces already have. While India receives more modern weapon systems, developed jointly with the Russian design bureaux,” ‘Kommersant’ daily said. Explaining the logic behind India’s “privileged status”, it said “obviously, the reason for this lies in Russia’s military-political doctrine, according to which, unlike China, India is not considered a potential rival in the long-term perspective.” India and China have 30 per cent share each in Russia’s defence exports and this ‘bi-polar’ approach “insures” Moscow from a sudden change of political conjuncture in any one of these countries, according to the daily. “Besides this, being the main exporter of hi-tech weapons to the two largest (populated) states of the world, locked in rivalry for leadership in one region, Russia gets an opportunity to control the balance of forces in South-East Asia,” ‘Kommersant’ noted. However, quoting Defence Minister Sergei Ivanov’s recent statement in Khabarovsk (Russian Far East) that the survival of Russian military-industrial complex depends on arms supplies to China, the daily underscored the significance of the military-technical cooperation with Beijing.
PTI |
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Sinha reaches Seoul Seoul, November 10 Mr Sinha will be co-chairing a round table on ‘Media and Democracy’ with the Czech Republic tomorrow, official sources said. Mr Sinha, who is leading the Indian delegation to the three-day meeting, will attend the convening group foreign ministers’ meeting and a dinner hosted by South Korean Foreign Affairs and Trade Minister M. Choi Sung Hong later in the evening. During his stay here, Mr Sinha will have bilateral talks with his South Korean counterpart as well as some other foreign ministers. Mr Sinha is expected to meet the US delegation as well as with former US Secretary of State Madeline Albright.
PTI |
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UK Sikhs arrive in Pakistan Lahore, November 10 Special trains from India have brought hundreds of Sikhs to Pakistan for the annual celebration in past years. The Sikhs who arrived on Sunday plan to visit religious sites in Nankana Sahib, near Lahore, and in the northern city of
Hasanabdal, where a temple claims to mark Guru Nanak’s birthplace in 1469, Dr Sardar Gulab Singh said. AP |
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Punjabi teachers seek recognition Singapore, November 10 Trust chairman Santokh Singh said majority of teachers were teaching the language on a voluntary basis without any additional allowance from the ministry. He said teaching of the mother tongue was important as not many young Sikhs could read Punjabi well. The Sikh community had set up 14 education centres in Selangor to teach the language to more than 3,000 students, he said after the opening of the national-level course for Punjabi language teachers by Land and Co-operative Development Deputy Minister Dr Tan Kee Kwong here yesterday. Mr Santokh Singh said previously, there was a Punjabi school, SRJK (P) Tatt Khalsa, which was financed by the government, but it was closed in 2000 due to shortage of students. According to a Star Online report from Petaling
Jaya, he said efforts to set up a Punjabi primary school were hampered by two factors. “There were less than 15 students in one class and the absence of qualified teachers,” he said. It is hoped that the course would help create more trained Punjabi language teachers in the country, he said. About 200 Sikh teachers from throughout the country attended the course, which was being held for the first time. UNI |
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Boycott of Lanka Parliament ends Colombo, November 10 “We called off our boycott of parliament after the Prime Minister gave us the necessary assurances,” said Mr ALM Athaullah, leader of the dissident faction of the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC). The Opposition had claimed Mr Wickremesinghe had lost his majority with the SLMC boycott. The Muslim party is crucial to the premier’s government, which has a slender two-seat majority in the 225-member parliament. Muslims have long complained of harassment by the Tamil Tigers in areas under rebel control and the dissident SLMC lawmakers had asked for a separate Muslim administrative unit and special security in the multi-ethnic eastern province.
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Lanka Govt, rebels hold talks Colombo, November 10 It was the two sides’ first meeting since they held a second round of peace talks in Thailand last weekend and appointed a joint committee of nine members from each side. The talks were being held in neutral territory in
Omanthai, about 215 km north of the capital, Colombo. Fernando, who heads the government team, was accompanied by representatives of Sri Lanka’s armed forces and the police. Jon
Westborg, Norway’s ambassador to Sri Lanka, was facilitating the meeting.
AP |
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Fatah-Hamas talks begin Cairo, November 10 |
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‘Devdas’ wins 3 music awards New York, November 10 Ismail Darbar won the best music director award for his compositions in “Devdas”, while his musical score “Dola Re” in the film was adjudged the best song of the year. The awards, based on the opinions expressed by non-resident Indians (NRIs) were presented at an enchanting evening of music, songs and dances here. The award for the best female singer went to Kavita Krishnamurthy for “Eli Re Eli” in “Yaadein”, while Shreya Goshal was selected for the best new talent of the year. Sonu Nigam bagged the best male singer award for ‘Dil Chahta Hai’ and ‘Tanhayee’. Nigam also won the award for the best male artiste in pop category for his performance in ‘Yaad’. The highlight of the evening was the presentation of the “lifetime achievement award” to Yesudas for his contribution to the industry in a career spanning 40 years. After receiving the award, he sang to his songs at the insistence of the audience. Rahul Sharma got the award for the best debut music director for his compositions in ‘Mujhse Dosti Karoge’. “These awards have special significance as they are based on the views of fans who ultimately decide the fate of any performance, movie, song or album,” CEO of Bollywood awards Kamal Dandona said. “The popularity of the Indian music is growing and the awards present the NRIs an opportunity to express their views,” he said. Sunidhi Chauhan was adjudged the best female artiste in pop category for her performance in ‘Pehla Nasha’ and the king of bhangra Malkiat Singh was adjudged the best Bhangra artiste. Asha Bhosle’s ‘Aap Ki Asha’ got prize for the best pop album and ‘Lift Karade’ was adjudged as the best remixed album. For the best dance video, the prize went to ‘Scope 2’ of Devang Patel who delighted the audience with his performance. But it was Sonu Nigam who struck the chord with the audience who clapped, whistled and danced during his half-an-hour performance which came towards the end of the show.
PTI |
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BNP ACTIVIST DIES IN CUSTODY BLAST AT REFUGEE CAMP BIGGEST GATHERING OF BOY-GIRL TWINS |
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A
US expert on South Asian affairs says Washington should change
its policy towards Islamabad to facilitate an early return of
civilian regime. (
