W O R L D

India, Pakistan may exchange lists of items under SAPTA
Islamabad, August 26
Pakistan and India may exchange additional lists of items for tariff concessions under the South Asia Preferential Trade Arrangement (SAPTA) in October this year to enhance the volume of bilateral trade as the SAARC countries gear up to finalise the South Asia Free Trade Area (SAFTA).

Pakistan cable operators may lose licences
Ban on Indian TV channels to continue
Islamabad, August 26
Asserting that the ban on Indian TV channels would continue despite the week-long strike by Pakistani cable operators, the government today threatened to cancel their licences if they continued to black out foreign and local channels.

Landowner parades maid naked Multan, August 26 A landowner stripped his female maid naked and paraded her through the village bazaar to punish her for requesting a day off work, a leading Pakistani newspaper reported today.

USA for biometric technology in passports
New York, August 26
Biometric technology that scans faces, fingerprints or other physical characteristics to confirm people’s identities is about to get its biggest, most public test at US border checkpoints.

USA may not press for UN resolution on troops to Iraq
United Nations, August 26
The USA is likely to drop the idea for another Security Council resolution asking more countries to send troops to Iraq, in the face of a growing demand for a share in the decision-making process.

BRIEFLY

UN High Commissioner for Refugees Ruud Lubbers holds a flower on Tuesday during a silent march by UN employees in memory of UN Special Representative in Iraq Sergio Vieira de Mello and other UN staff members killed in Baghdad on August 19. Sergio Vieira de Mello's funeral service will be conducted on Thursday in Geneva. —Reuters

	Indian team to visit Pak today for talks on air links August 26, 2003
	Jamali-Pervez differences surface August 25, 2003
	Annan for UN-mandated force in Iraq August 24, 2003
	UN reviews Afghan security after Iraq attack August 23, 2003
	Annan rules out UN forces for Iraq August 22, 2003
	20 die in Jerusalem bus blast August 21, 2003
	USA to give six cargo planes to Pakistan August 20, 2003
	US troops kill Reuters cameraman August 19, 2003
	Maoists reject Nepal Govt proposal August 18, 2003
	Uganda dictator Idi Amin dead August 17, 2003

India-Pakistan talks on overflights begin today
K.J.M. Varma

Islamabad, August 26
After resuming the bus services between the two countries last month, Pakistan and Indian officials would begin two-day talks here tomorrow to resume direct air links and overflights.

A five-member Indian delegation of civil aviation officials, led by Director-General of Civil Aviation Authority Sathinder Singh, would holds talks with their Pakistani counterparts on resuming direct flights from Lahore to New Delhi and Karachi to Mumbai as well as re-opening of each other’s skies to overflights.

While officials on both sides see little difficulty in resuming direct flights, which were stopped in January, 2002, following the military and political tension that followed the attack on the Indian Parliament, there were apprehensions that the talks may hit a snag on the resumption of overflights.

In the run-up for the talks, Pakistan yesterday maintained that it would insist on guarantees from India not to resort to unilateral measures like banning overflights which, it says, resulted in large-scale disruption of flight services on both sides.

“Now that we have the technical-level talks, we would ensure that such unilateral withdrawal does not take place in future. We must have a mechanism in place,” Pakistan’s foreign office spokesman Masood Khan told reporters here yesterday. India has so far not hinted about its stand on Pakistan’s demand.

In his briefing, Khan also differed with the Indian stand to link the resumption of rail and air links.

“There is no direct linkage between air and train links. There is no automaticity to resume air links and Samjhautha Express,” he said while referring to recent remarks by Foreign Secretary Kanwal Sibal stating that India would await the outcome of the talks on overflights before deciding on the resumption of rail links.

The issues relating to air and train links was “qualitatively” different, Khan said.

Ahead of the talks of the aviation officials, Pakistan has proposed talks to resume the train service Samjhautha Express and offered to send a delegation to New Delhi.

Pakistan railway officials even openly speculated that the talks for the resumption of rail links could begin in the second week of September. Top officials of the Pakistan Railways also claimed that all arrangements to resume the train services had been completed.

Tomorrow’s technical-level talks were the first of their kind after India and Pakistan resumed bus services last month.

Besides, Mr Satinder Singh, other Indian officials who would take part in the talks tomorrow included Mr A.V. Chaturvedi of Ministry of Civil Aviation, Mr Shirin Lalwani of Air-India and Mr Sunil Kishen of the Indian Airlines.

Mr Vikram Misri, Secretary, Political, of the Indian High Commission, would also take part in the talks. The Pakistani side at the talks would be headed by the Director-General, Civil Aviation Authority. — PTI 

India, Pakistan may exchange lists of items under SAPTA

Islamabad, August 26
Pakistan and India may exchange additional lists of items for tariff concessions under the South Asia Preferential Trade Arrangement (SAPTA) in October this year to enhance the volume of bilateral trade as the SAARC countries gear up to finalise the South Asia Free Trade Area (SAFTA).

The decision of adding more items to the lists for concession was taken following request from the SAARC secretariat to the governments of two countries, a Pakistan official here said.

The lists would be exchanged by officials of the two countries following efforts to finalise the draft of SAFTA, in Kathmandu in October to allow free trade among the member countries, Pakistan daily ‘Dawn’ quoted officials here as saying. The SAARC Summit is scheduled to be held in Islamabad early next year.

Recently, Pakistan announced its willingness to give tariff concessions on 74 items under SAPTA. The list was expected to be expanded. India has already granted the most favoured nation status to Pakistan even though Islamabad has not reciprocated it so far.

In the recent months, Pakistan has shown considerable haste in finalising its list of items for tariff concessions for India under SAPTA as New Delhi linked to progress in SAPTA and SAFTA to the holding of SAARC summit in Islamabad early next year.

Under SAPTA, Pakistan has so far given concessions on around 240 items at sixth-digit level to India, while Islamabad received concessions on around 370 items at sixth-digit level from New Delhi under the same arrangement.

“There is still room for giving duty concession to India under SAPTA on 440 more items at sixth digit level,” the officials said.

At present, there are only 686 items at sixth digit level on the positive list for trading with India. Of these, only 240 items are allowed for duty concession to India under SAPTA, they said. — PTI 

Pakistan cable operators may lose licences
Ban on Indian TV channels to continue

Islamabad, August 26
Asserting that the ban on Indian TV channels would continue despite the week-long strike by Pakistani cable operators, the government today threatened to cancel their licences if they continued to black out foreign and local channels.

Claiming that the cable operators had not approached the government, Information Minister Sheikh Rashid said on his arrival in Karachi from Saudi Arabia last night that “it is up to them if they want to observe strike. We will talk to them if they approach us. However, if they continue their obduracy, we shall cancel their licences and issue new licences to other parties,”

Defending the continuing ban on Indian channels, he said the Indian Government imposed restrictions on Pakistani channels following last year’s military tension and Islamabad followed suit.

Cable operators across Pakistan began a week-long strike on August 24 to protest against the ban on Indian TV channels and blacked out local as well as international channels as part of their protest.

Private Pakistani channels like ARY, Geo and Indus were uniformly removed off air on Monday evening and cable operators in Lahore, Karachi and Peshawar targeted international channels like CNN, BBC and Fox.

Meanwhile, spokesman for the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) Salim Gill Sheikh was quoted as saying by the local daily, The News, that restoration of Indian channels would not be allowed. The government would not be cowed by the cable operators’ strike and would not change its decision, he said.

While Rashid said that the government was ready to hold talks with cable operators, Sheikh ruled out talks.

Every country takes steps for the protection of its industry and Pakistan had done the same, he said, adding that subscribers would force the cable operators to end their strike.

“It is surprising that Pakistani cable operators are making a demand against the interests of their country and asking for steps to protect the Indian industry. This is impossible.” he said.

The issue of lifting the ban on Indian channels also came up during the recent talks between visiting Indian Parliamentarians and President Pervez Musharraf, but the delegation was told categorically that Pakistani policy on this matter would not change, Rashid said. —PTI 

Landowner parades maid naked

Multan, August 26
A landowner stripped his female maid naked and paraded her through the village bazaar to punish her for requesting a day off work, a leading Pakistani newspaper reported today.

The police arrested the eastern Pakistani landowner who also forced the 27-year-old woman to drink water from his shoes. The woman was punished after she asked for a day off work because she was sick, according to The News.

The police in Karana, some 220 km southwest of Islamabad, told Associated Press the incident occurred about one week ago.

The father of the woman filed charges against the landowner.

According to the police, the woman’s husband had died earlier and she was living with her parents.

Violence against women in Pakistan’s deeply conservative rural areas is common. Male landowners, who are powerful in the Pakistani society and who dominate the feudal society in rural communities are often accused of badly treating their workers. — AP

Pak I-Day rally turns unruly

New York, August 26
Crowds struggling to march with Mayor Michael Bloomberg in the Pakistani Independence Day parade here turned unruly with the mob pushing the Mayor around.

Fearing for his safety, Bloomberg’s security personnel surrounded him and moved him out of the throng of unruly marchers. The mayor allowed them to settle the issue and then marched on.

One person was charged with disorderly conduct in the incident which occurred just as the parade was about to start.

Organiser of the parade, Tariq Khokar said trouble began when two Pakistani officials and their bodyguards tried to push their way to the front.

Bloomberg’s senior adviser Vincen La Padula, who was also caught in the middle of the fracas, said all parades start with jockeying to march with the Mayor. But “unfortunately, sometimes there is a little pushing and shoving.” — PTI

USA for biometric technology in passports

New York, August 26
Biometric technology that scans faces, fingerprints or other physical characteristics to confirm people’s identities is about to get its biggest, most public test at US border checkpoints.

Yet significant questions loom about whether the US and foreign governments can meet an October 26, 2004, deadline set by Congress for upgrading passports and visas to include biometrics. “This is the mother of all projects — there’s no question about it,’’ said Joseph Atick, chief of Identix Corp., a maker of biometric systems.

With fingerprint and face scanners due to be in place at air and sea ports by the end of this year and biometric visas and passports beginning to get into the hands of travellers next year, US officials hope to keep the wrong people out while letting the right people in without delay. — AP

USA may not press for UN resolution on troops to Iraq

United Nations, August 26
The USA is likely to drop the idea for another Security Council resolution asking more countries to send troops to Iraq, in the face of a growing demand for a share in the decision-making process.

Washington is not prepared to cede any authority and would like the troops from other counties to function under its overall command. India, France and Russia are among the countries that have said they would send troops only under UN mandate.

“We have not yet made determination,” Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage told reporters, hinting at the possibility of new resolution.

Secretary of State Colin Powell had travelled to the UN last Thursday to lobby for the resolution but failed to convince other members of the council that they drop their demand for a share in decision making.

Even as negotiations were going on at the United Nations, Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said the USA could afford whatever military level was needed for its security.

The USA is interested in broadening the coalition and wants other nations to share the financial burden, help in training military and police forces and assist in humanitarian tasks, but has made it very clear that it would not cede any authority. —PTI 

BRIEFLY

AIR FORCE CHIEF RESIGNS
BAGOTA: Colombian Air Force chief Gen Hector Fabio Velasco has announced that he is stepping down as force commander and President Alvaro Uribe has accepted his resignation. General Velasco, 62, who had been in the armed forces for four decades, had made several attempts to resign since mid-2002. — AFP

3 PLEAD GUILTY IN HOLY WAR CASE
ALEXANDRIA (USA): Three men accused of being part of a local holy war network that trained to support the Pakistani terrorist group Lashker-e-Toiba have pleaded guilty to conspiracy and gun charges. One of the men, 27-year-old Yong Ki Kwon, admitted in the federal court on Monday that he trained with firearms in northern Virginia in preparation for possible fighting missions with Muslims abroad. — AP

FOUND INNOCENT AFTER 17 YEARS IN JAIL
ST. LOUIS: A man who served 17 years in prison for three rapes has been freed after DNA tests proved he wasn’t guilty. Circuit Judge Jimmie Edwards on Monday apologised to Lonnie Erby (49)for the wrongful conviction, noting that the science of criminal investigation has improved since 1986. — AP

EXPLORER DIES AT 93
LONDON: Sir Wilfred Thesiger, traveller, writer and one of the last solitary explorers of a shrinking planet, has died at age 93. Thesiger, who grew up in Africa and lived most of his life among the African and Arabian peoples, whom he loved and admired, died on Sunday in a hospital, according to a death notice in The Times newspaper. — AP

INFANT 'BUYS' VILLA IN SHANGHAI
HONG KONG: A days-old baby boy is the proud new owner of a villa worth nearly $ 100,000 in Shanghai, a news report said on Tuesday. The infant is the youngest house buyer in the city - where about 3 per cent of property is purchased in the names of children to avoid crippling inheritance tax. — DPA

22 WOMEN THROWN INTO SEA, 6 DIE
TAIPEI: Human traffickers threw 22 Chinese mainland women into the sea on Tuesday to escape pursuing Taiwan police boats, leaving six drowned and four missing. Despite some women’s protests that they could not swim, the human smugglers ordered them into the sea near Tunghsiao on Taiwan’s west coast, before escaping in speed boats. — DPA