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Thursday,
January 16, 2003, Chandigarh, India  
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ABM system for India ‘could threaten’ Pak Pakistan minister advances US trip UN inspectors search Saddam’s palace
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Campaign to save Bhullar from noose
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ABM system for India ‘could threaten’ Pak
Washington, January 15 “A missile defence system would shift the balance in India’s nuclear standoff with Pakistan,” Strategic Forecasting (Stratfor) said in a South Asia situation report. As part of their increasing defence cooperation, India and the USA begin the latest round of talks in New Delhi on cooperation in missile defence. The Indian side at the two-day dialogue is being led by Dr Sheel Kant Sharma, Joint Secretary (Disarmament), while the US delegation is headed by Mr David Trachtenberg, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defence. Although the missile defence systems under development still were far from perfect, the technology was advancing to make defence against a small handful of missiles feasible in the foreseeable future, the report said. So while for the USA, deployment of such a system might serve to thwart the limited capabilities of small “rogue” powers such as North Korea and not be able to shield US from the still-formidable Russian nuclear arsenal or even the smaller Chinese arsenal, in India’s case “decent” ABM system would suffice to decisively shift the balance with Pakistan, the report said. Although the USA abandoned the ABM treaty last year and began deploying the first elements of a missile defence system, no one claims the new ABM system would be able to shield the USA from the Russian or Chinese arsenal, it said. “If the USA gets serious about transferring the ABM technology to India, then it could seriously threaten Pakistan, generating unpredictable results.” However, it would not be an immediate trigger for a nuclear war, Stratfor said, adding that “Pakistan still has options that could circumvent an ABM system.” If an Indian surface-to-air missile network and first strikes on Pakistani airfields ruled out that option as well, then Pakistan still could deploy nuclear weapons by military or guerrilla ground forces, the report said. But given that Pakistan had a first-strike policy and India did not, a good Indian ABM system would have a major effect on Pakistani strategic planning, Stratfor said, pointing out that Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf had recently all but credited Pakistan’s first-strike policy with averting an Indian invasion and an all-out Indo-Pakistan war. UNI
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Pakistan minister advances US trip Islamabad, January 15 Amid increasing criticism of his government’s failure to prevail on the USA to exempt Pakistanis from the scrutiny of INS Prime Minister Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali said yesterday he was despatching Mr Kasuri to Washington on January 18 — 10 days before schedule, to press the US authorities to spare Pakistanis from the fresh registration process. “We are constantly in touch with the US authorities about the new registration law and there has been some progress in this connection,” the Jamali told reporters here last night. He said he had directed Mr Kasuri to advance his US visit in view of the urgency of the matter. Pakistan’s ambassador to the USA had been working to ease the situation, he said. Mr Jamali’s directive to Mr Kasuri came a day ahead of the byelections to 10 National Assembly seats. The Jamali Government has increased its majority in the assembly from one to over 10 but survived due to defections from the PPP. PTI
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UN inspectors search Saddam’s palace
Baghdad, January 15 Witnesses said an inspection team in seven cars drove to the vast al-Jamhoury Presidential Palace in central Baghdad for the second inspection of one of Saddam’s palaces since the experts resumed work on November 27. The UN Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission (UNMOVIC) experts were granted immediate access to the facility and one of their cars blocked its main entrance. Saddam’s main office is at the palace but it was not clear if he was there. Parliament Speaker Saadoun Hammadi arrived at the palace gate but he turned back after Iraqi guards told him that an inspection was in progress. He did not speak to reporters, who were also kept out of the compound. The inspections team left the palace after an over three-hour search, although some inspectors departed after two hours. Palace employee Wissam Essawi said inside the complex the experts inspected the residential quarters of palace employees, “service buildings’’ and the headquarters of a retired army officers’ commission. Inspections of presidential palaces were a source of major confrontations between Iraq and UN inspectors in the 1990s. Reuters
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Give team more time: Annan
United Nations, January 15 But Annan, in answer to questions, said the U N Security Council would have to face up to its responsibilities and take action if disarmament failed. “If disarmament were to succeed that is the end of the story,” Annan said. “Otherwise the council will have to face up to its responsibilities and take the necessary action.” Reuters
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N. Korean patrol up: USA
Panmunjom (Korea), January 15 He described the activity as “not alarming, just unusual.” Margotta said the North Koreans had increased patrols in the Joint Security Area, which encompasses Panmunjom. He said they had also occupied a guard tower on the northern side that hadn’t been used in years. “It’s usually triggered by a heightening of tensions,” Margotta said of the activity. He was referring to the crisis over North Korea’s nuclear weapons development. He said the US-led UN Command, which oversees the southern half of the Demilitarised Zone, had not increased its own activity. “We have the ability to monitor everything they do without stepping up our operations,” Margotta said. AP
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Campaign to save Bhullar from noose
London, January 15 Bhullar, a Khalistan activist in the 80s, sought asylum in Germany in 1994. But before his appeal could be approved he was deported to India where he was accused of conspiracy to murder Congress politician Maninder Singh Bitta in 1993. He was convicted in 2001. The Supreme Court upheld the conviction by a two-to-one majority in April last year and the death sentence was confirmed last month. Those campaigning on his behalf claim that he is innocent and that the conviction was based on a confession made to a police officer under torture. They note that not one of 133 witnesses called at his trial identified him. In particular, they point out, that the presiding Judge at the Supreme Court, Mr Justice M.B. Shah, acquitted Bhullar, saying that the conspiracy charge fell flat because none of the accused named in the confessional statement had been convicted or tried. They claim that this is the first time that the Indian Supreme Court has upheld a death sentence on a split judgement. Tuesday’s protest in London consisted of demonstrations by Sikhs carrying banners and placards outside the German Embassy and the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO). ANI
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