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Wednesday,
September 3, 2003, Chandigarh, India  
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Pak heading for anarchy, says India, Indonesia vow to fight terrorism 2 Sikhs shot
in UK Prayer to mourn Mumbai blast victims Two years later
fater the blast, the World Trade Center site is a bustle of activity
— hard-hatted workers dig tunnels, throngs of tourists take pictures and the roar of heavy machinery fills the air. But the plans to replace the twin towers, destroyed on September 11, 2001, are far from settled. This is a composite of seven
photographs, assembled to show a wide view of the site on August 26, 2003.
— Reuters
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Pak heading for anarchy, says oppn chief Islamabad, September 2 “The status of General Musharraf at present is no different from that of the Viceroy during the British rule. Though all orders were passed by him and were binding, the people of the sub-continent never accepted them as legitimate,” Nawazada Nasurullah Khan, Chief of the 15-party Alliance for Restoration of Democracy (ARD), said. “We did not accept General Musharraf as President even when he met us. We had held talks with him to persuade him to vacate the occupation of the country,” Mr Khan said in an interview to local daily ‘The Dawn’ today. The alliance parties of the ARD included, the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), and the Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N), headed by former prime ministers Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif respectively. Ninety-year-old Khan, regarded for his staunch opposition to military rule, said General Musharraf’s reluctance to give up power heralded a serious political crisis. “I think we are heading towards anarchy, complete destruction. The future of the democratic system is bleak. This is no way to run the system. If such dictatorial methods are not resisted, and democratic norms and values are allowed to be trampled, we are doomed,” he said. He also likened the ARD struggle to the freedom struggle against the British rule. He said the political parties in the country had lost faith in the judiciary and refused to challenge the LFO in the Supreme Court.
— PTI |
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Pak gets EU aid Islamabad, September 2 “The EU has approved financing of 31 million Euros for 51 projects under the European Initiative for Democracy and Human Rights (EIDHR) to support democracy, good governance and the rule of law and to promote the building of sound and durable democratic societies,” The News today quoted the European Commission, the EU’s executive arm, as saying in Brussels yesterday. The package of 51 projects is meant for several countries and three projects have been exclusively approved for Pakistan with a declared aim of supporting democracy, good governance and human rights situation in the country. The projects were selected under the fifth call for proposals given in 2002. As many as 580 proposals were received, out of which 51 were selected for funding, he said.
— UNI |
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India, Indonesia vow to fight terrorism Singapore, September 2 Indian External Affairs Minister Yashwant Sinha and his Indonesian counterpart Hassan Wirajuda arrived at an agreement to this effect during a meeting in the Indonesian city of Yogyakarta yesterday after the first India-Indonesia Joint Commission meeting, the Indonesian national news agency Antara said. “We are currently still discussing the draft of the agreement,” it quoted Mr Hassan as saying. Mr Hassan said he hoped the draft agreement could be finalised immediately to form a legal basis for anti-terrorism efforts in the two countries. “The meeting discussed the real threat of terrorism and jointly condemned all acts of terrorism such as the recent bombing in the J.W. Marriott Hotel in Jakarta and the bombing in Mumbai,” a joint statement, condemning the terrorist attacks that plagued both the countries recently, said. In the joint statement, India also agreed to Indonesia’s proposal to explore the possibility of providing training and capacity building on human rights matters. Both countries agreed to increase cooperation in the area of promotion and protection of human rights. They also agreed to begin discussions on the delineation of the Exclusive Economic Zone to determine the sea boundary between the two countries. The issue of terrorism dominated this first Joint Commission meeting in which the two countries came to the conclusion that they needed to improve information exchange between them as part of the war against terror. India will host the second meeting of the commission next year.
— UNI |
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2 Sikhs shot in UK London, September 2 Amarjit Singh (50) and his 35-year-old nephew Raginder Singh, both hoteliers, were killed in broad daylight outside their Forest View Hotel in East London last Friday. A spokeswoman for the Scotland Yard said the hoteliers had asked two groups of Asian men to move cars from a private parking space at the back of their hotel. One of the groups left but three men returned and began vandalising a van belonging to the two. When they went out to investigate, they were shot and killed on the spot.
— PTI |
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Prayer to mourn Mumbai blast victims Silicon Valley, September 2 The event, attended by more than 250 people of all faiths, including Sikhs, Christians, Muslims and Jews, featured hymns, scriptures, reflections, prayers and special music, followed by a candle lighting ceremony on Sunday to celebrate the oneness with those who have been victims of terrorism. “We must understand that terrorism is colour blind and we must work to eradicate this scourge,” said Yogi Chug, spokesman for the Federation of Indian-American Associations of Northern California (FIA), which organised the event. “We mourn the loss of those who have lost their lives as a result of the perpetrators of the terror blasts in Mumbai. We will use our collective strength to address this recent tragic crisis in India, the USA and other parts of the world where terrorism has taken its toll,” said Romesh Japra, FIA president and noted cardiologist in the Bay Area. The twin blasts in the Mumbadevi and Gateway of India areas in south Mumbai on August 25 killed 52 people and injured many others.
— PTI |
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Houston to have Gandhi’s statue Houston, September 2 The ground-work for the installation of the statue will be inaugurated by Houston’s Mayor Lee P Brown, on October 2, 2003, in the city’s centrally located landmark - The Hermann Park, which is frequented by millions of tourists every year. Sculpted in India by renowned sculptor, Ram Sutar, the statue is a gift to the citizens of greater Houston by the Indian Government as a gesture of goodwill and friendship. “The Indian community is an active and important part of the city, and the statue will serve both to re-enforce the ties between India and Houston and remind the Houstonians of the admirable work of Gandhi”, Mayor Brown says. “The statue would be a symbol of peace for Houstonians to enjoy for years to come”, he says. “It is identical to the one that was unveiled by Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and former US President Bill Clinton in Washington in September 2000”, Mr Krishna Vavilala, Chairman,India Culture Center, says noting the local Indo- American community will bear the costs of the granite pedestal on which the statue will be installed. The India Culture Center, in cooperation with the Houston Indo-American community, is required to deposit with the Houston Municipal Art Foundation the conservation endowment fee of 10 per cent of the value of the artwork before the statue installation can begin. Once this statue is unveiled in December 2003, Houston will stand proudly along with other cities like Washington, DC, New York, Chicago and Atlanta to have the privilege of honouring the greatest apostle of peace and non-violence.
— PTI |
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Bashir gets 4-year term for treason
Jakarta, September 2 Chief judge Muhammad Saleh said Bashir “has been proven to take part in subversion with the aim of overthrowing the government.” But, he added: “There is not enough evidence to say that the defendant Abu Bakar Bashir is the leader and organiser of subversion with the intention of overthrowing the government.” The five judges, who took turns reading the verdict, said there was no proof that Bashir headed the Jemaah Islamiyah terror group but added that he was part of its struggle.
— AFP |
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TWO MQM WORKERS SHOT IN KARACHI BLAST AT BAGHDAD POLICE STATION 15 MISSING AFTER LANDSLIP ENVOY WHO DEALT WITH HITLER DEAD |
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