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Thursday,
August 28, 2003, Chandigarh, India  
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Musharraf threatens to dissolve parliament Islamabad, August 27 Pakistan today asked for “abiding commitments” from India on overflights on the first day of technical level talks to resume air links in which both sides concentrated on understanding their stated positions.
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Washington, August 27 As President George W. Bush prepares for possible meetings with Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and President Pervez Musharraf during the UN session next month, US relations with Pakistan are under strain because of Musharraf’s failure to end cross-border terrorism against India, according to analyst John E. Carbaugh. Pak gave Iran nuclear help, says report Pak denies hand in Mumbai blasts Russian minister killed in blast
Columbia report blames NASA culture Washington, August 27 The destruction of space shuttle Columbia and the death of its seven astronauts were caused by a culture in the USA. Edit: NASA blasted Maoists end truce
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Musharraf
threatens to dissolve parliament Islamabad, August 27 If the Opposition parties did not accept the Legal Framework Order (LFO) to legalise various amendments, then last year’s elections would stand null and void and the parliament and assemblies would have to be dissolved and fresh elections held, General Musharraf told reporters last night during a tour of the Sindh province. General Musharraf’s comments come amidst speculation about open differences between him and Prime Minister Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali in dealing with the Opposition agitation. Mr Jamali reportedly wanted General Musharraf to make some concessions to mollify the Opposition, while the President has stuck to his stand to not quit as chief of the army. “The Opposition which paralysed the parliament for over 10 months has no choice but to accept the LFO or face fresh elections”, he said. General Musharraf reiterated that he would not quit as army chief as demanded by the Opposition and said that he was allowed by the supreme court of Pakistan to amend the constitution. The remarks are also seen as a pressure tactic prior to the President’s negotiations with the leaders of the six-party alliance Muthhaida Majlis Amal (MMA), expected soon, in a bid to end the prolonged political logjam. General Musharraf said the amendments included reduction of voter age to 18 and an increase in the seats for women in parliament. “If the LFO was rejected, these decisions would lose effect”, he said. Reacting to General Musharraf’s comments, MMA Leader Fazlur Rehman said the General’s remarks created more complications for the government than the Opposition. “Musharraf will be worst sufferer in case the system is wrapped up”, he told reporters in Lahore last night. General Musharraf also said former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif could never return to power as both were not qualified to contest the elections and lead their parties under the LFO. Branding them as “plunderers”, he said both the leaders, who were exiled abroad, had no place in Pakistan. Asked whether Pakistan would send troops to Iraq, General Musharraf said at present there was no such move. He said all aspects of the issue would be considered and a final decision in this respect taken by the parliament and the people of Pakistan. —
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Pakistan asks for ‘abiding commitment’ on overflights Islamabad, August 27 At today’s meeting, Pakistan officials sought an abiding commitment from India to adhere to international treaties, while emphasising the early resumption of air links, state-run Pakistan Television reported. Indian officials declined to speak saying they would prefer to wait till the talks ended tomorrow. However, according to reports, the reference to the “abiding commitment” referred to the issue of resumption of overflights. Pakistan sought guarantees from India that it would not ban the overflights in future. While India’s five-member delegation was headed by Mr Satender Singh, Director General of Civil Aviation Authority, the Pakistani counterparts were led by the Additional Secretary of Defence, Lieut-Gen Mohammad Ashraf Choudhary. Judging by the remarks to the media by the Pakistani officials, the two sides have not made much progress on overflights. Pakistani officials also hosted a dinner tonight in honour of the Indian delegation. The talks will resume tomorrow. India had snapped air links with Pakistan in the wake of the December 13 terrorist attack on Indian Parliament. Director-General Civil Aviation chief Satendir Singh headed the five-member Indian delegation at the talks while the Additional Secretary (Defence), Major-Gen Arshad Chaudhry, led the Pakistani delegation which included senior officials from the Civil Aviation Ministry and the Pakistan International Airlines. The Indian delegation included officials from the Ministry of Civil Aviation, Indian Airlines, Air-India and the Airports Authority of India. Mr Vikram Misri, secretary political at the Indian High Commission, also participated in the talks. The talks would conclude tomorrow. On May 2 this year, Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee received a telephone call from his Pakistani counterpart Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali during which the Indian Premier offered to resume civil aviation links on a reciprocal basis. — PTI, UNI
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US-Pak relations under strain, says expert Washington, August 27 “An increasing number of Bush Administration officials are pressing for a tougher US stance with Pakistan,” Carbaugh says, quoting “sources.” Carbaugh cites the views of many scholars who have expressed concern over Pakistani policies. “Let us remember,” writes Selig Harrison, Director of the Asia Programme at the Centre for International Policy in Washington, “that Pakistan was the chief political and financial sponsor of the Taliban in Afghanistan from the beginning.” “Without a Taliban regime in Kabul, Afghanistan never would have become a safe haven for Al Qaida. Pakistan was, therefore, more than a little responsible for the September 11 attack. Even after that attack, Islamabad turned against the Taliban only in response to intense pressure from the USA. The Pakistani forces were ineffectual in sealing the border with Afghanistan when US troops had Taliban and Al Qaida fighters on the run in late 2001, yet the Musharraf government refused to give the USA the right of hot pursuit into Pakistani territory. As a result, terrorist units regrouped in Pakistan’s border provinces and to this day continue to harass US forces in Afghanistan,” says Harrison. Moeed Yusuf of the Brookings Institution goes so far as to say that had it not been for Pakistan’s limited help in Afghanistan, the country would have been a major target in Washington’s war on terror. —
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Pak gave Iran nuclear help, says report Washington, August 27 Though Iran did not name the foreign source of its nuclear facility in admissions to the IAEA, officials familiar with the
nuclear watchdog’s report and diplomatic sources had identified it as Pakistan, Washington Post reported. Pakistan had already been accused of providing key help to North Korea for making nuclear weapons. Iran had admitted to the IAEA for the first time that it had received “substantial” foreign help in building a secret nuclear facility south of Tehran that was now beginning to enrich uranium, a key ingredient in making nuclear weapons. Evidence collected by the IAEA, said the newspaper, implicated Pakistani companies as suppliers of critical technology and parts. The IAEA, in a confidential report, said Iran had only partially complied with demands to open its nuclear programme to scrutiny, spurring fears that it was secretly developing nuclear weapons. “Iran,” said the IAEA report, portions of which the Washington Post claimed to have seen, “has demonstrated an increased degree of cooperation. But...there remain a number of important outstanding issues, particularly with regard to Iran’s enrichment programme, that require urgent attention.” —
PTI Pak denies hand in Mumbai blasts Islamabad, August 27 “India is a big country, and instead of blaming Pakistan it should investigate the matter, and before investigation should not prejudge its outcome,” Foreign Minister Khurshid Mahmud Kasuri said, reacting to allegations made by Deputy Prime Minister L. K. Advani in Mumbai yesterday. To a question, Mr Kasuri did not rule out the possibility of
involvement of some elements opposed to the thawing in Indo-Pakistan relations in the blasts. —
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Cable operators call off stir Islamabad, August 27 “We have lifted the ban on GEO, ARY Digital, Indus Vision, CNN, BBC and Fox News after a senior officials assured us that the government will consider our demand to allow us to show the channels, including the Star network,” Tahir Khan, vice-president of the Cable Operators Association of Pakistan (COAP), was quoted as saying in the media here. Khan said he received reports that more than 98 per cent members of the association boycotted the Pakistani and foreign channels across the country, including Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK). Besides the assurance that it would reconsider its decision to lift the ban on Indian recreation channels, Pakistan Information Minister Sheikh Rashid also agreed to meet the COAP office-bearers later this week to discuss the problems faced by them. The cable operators numbering 1,000 across Pakistan have resorted to unprecedented blackout of Pakistani private channels along with foreign channels like BBC, CNN and Fox to demand the lifting of ban on Indian channels. —
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Russian minister killed in blast Moscow, August 27 Magomedsalikh Gusayev, Minister for Information and Ethnic Policy was killed when two unidentified assailants attached a magnetic bomb to the roof of his moving car when it slowed down at a traffic crossing, ITAR-TASS reported, quoting FSB security service sources. Gusayev died on the spot, while his driver suffered serious injuries. The Russian federal government has described Gusayev’s assassination a “political murder” and an attempt to destabilise the situation in the volatile republic bordering Chechnya. —
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UN adopts resolution to protect aid workers United Nations, August 27 The USA, however, forced other members to remove all references to the International Criminal Court (ICC) and the language that could be taken to mean that it could prosecute perpetrators of such crimes before agreeing to support the resolution. Mexico’s draft version had referred to the ICC. Washington objected to the original language that would have made any attack on humanitarian personnel a war crime, including acts committed in what it called the “fog of war”. However, it agreed to the retention of the language that makes intentional crimes against humanitarian workers and peacekeepers war crimes and calls for the prosecution of the perpetrators. Addressing the council prior to vote, Secretary-General Kofi Annan warned against impunity for those who commit crimes against humanitarian workers and peacekeepers. “There must be action,” he stressed. Last week’s “vicious” attack on UN headquarters in Baghdad with all its tragic consequences, he said, had brought the vital issue of security to the forefront of the priorities. Annan regretted that again and again, peacekeepers and unarmed civilians, who have voluntary gone to help fellow men and women, had been “deliberately” targeted by armed factions seeking to make a political point or a military gain or to intimidate the international community. —
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Columbia
report blames NASA culture Washington, August 27 National Aeronautics and Space Administration, driven by schedule, starved for funds and burdened with an eroded, insufficient safety programme, investigators said yesterday. “The board believes that if these persistent, systemic flaws are not resolved, the scene is set for another accident,” the report said. —
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Maoists
end truce Kathmandu, August 27 “Our party wants to make it clear that there is no justification for the ceasefire, the code of conduct and the process of talks for now,’’ the rebels’ chief, who is known as Prachanda, said in a statement released to media. —
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