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Friday,
October
3, 2003,
Chandigarh, India  
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Armitage, Rocca put off Pakistan visit Pak army kills 12 Al-Qaida ultras Another Bali bomber gets death sentence |
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US soldier killed near Baghdad Sikh American leaders meet White House officials India to sign trade deal with Asean members |
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Armitage, Rocca put off Pakistan visit Islamabad, October 2 Mr Khan said Pakistan had been informed about the postponement of Armitage and Rocca’s visit. But “he will be coming, very shortly, may be in the next few days,” he said. The two officials were scheduled to visit Pakistan, Afghanistan and a number of central Asian Republics during their proposed tour. Mr Khan said the sudden postponement of their visit had nothing to do with a major operation launched by the Pakistan army to crack down on Al-Qaeda militants holed in Pakistan-Afghanistan borders. “The postponement is purely due to scheduling issue. We spoke to the US government and they said they will convey new dates shortly,” he said. Mr Armitage and Ms Rocca had been scheduled to spend Friday in Kabul, before returning Saturday to Islamabad where they were to meet General Musharraf. “Both the Afghan and the Pakistani legs of the trip have been postponed,” Mr Khan said. He also denied Mr Armitage’s observations that all army ranks were not behind General Musharraf in the fight against terrorism. “The President is the head of the armed forces. All security agencies are answerable to him and they follow his directions faithfully,” he said. —
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Pak army kills 12 Al-Qaida ultras Islamabad October 2 According to senior Army official Maj Gen Ameer Faisal about 12 Al-Qaida militants were killed in a gunfight that broke out after troops laid seige to a suspected Al-Qaida base within five km of the border in South Waziristan tribal agency. The captured militants, mostly foreigners, were paraded blindfolded with hands tied behind their backs in front of journalists from the foreign media during a trip organised by the Army to the scene of the operation. Defence spokesman Maj Gen Shaukat Sultan said the offensive was launched early this morning on receiving information that several Al-Qaida men were hiding there. Pakistan has deployed some 60,000 troops along its long and porous border with Afghanistan to check the movement of Taliban and suspected Al-Qaida militants. “We believe that some Al-Qaida men have taken shelter in South Waziristan tribal belt after carrying out attacks in Afghanistan`s Paktika province,” General Shaukat Sultan said. He said Pakistani forces were tracking the suspects and launched the operation after confirming their presence. The operation is going smoothly and the North West Provincial government headed by hardline Islamist alliance, Muthahida Majlis Amal, has been informed, he said adding that no foreign troops were involved in the activity. Asked about the reaction of the local population, he said the local tribesman had been taken into confidence. “The tribesmen have told us that they will not give shelter to any Al-Qaida suspect,” General Sultan said. He said the Al-Qaida elements were creating law and order problems for the locals. Pakistan says it has deployed some 60,000 troops along its long and porous border with Afghanistan to check the movement of Taliban and suspected Al-Qaida militants but the Afghanistan government has squarely blamed Pakistan’s inaction for the resurgence of Taliban. Afghan authorities accuse Pakistan of not taking sufficient steps to block attacks inside Afghanistan from Pakistani territory. The operation followed observations by US Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage yesterday that President Pervez Musharraf was generally supportive of the crackdown against Al-Qaida and Taliban but it was not the case with all the Army and security officials in Pakistan. “I personally believe that President Musharraf is genuine when he assists us in the tribal areas and he has from inside of the border, but I do not think that affection for working with us extends up to down the rank of Pakistan Security Community”, Armitage said in Washington. —
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Another Bali bomber gets death sentence Bali (Indonesia), October 2 Mukhlas, alias Ali Gufron, shouted “Allahu Akbar” (God is greatest) as the verdict was announced. He was the fourth key suspect to be convicted for the October 12, 2002, bomb attacks and the third to be sentenced to death. He was accused of overall responsibility for the blasts, which killed 202 people. “We hereby declare the defendant has been proven legally and convincingly guilty of collectively plotting crimes of terrorism and possession of firearms without permission. We impose the death sentence,” said Presiding Judge Tjokorda Rai Suamba. Mukhlas has remained defiant throughout his trial and refused to cooperate with investigators. The Denpasar district court sent the first two key suspects, Amrozi, Mukhlas’s younger brother, and Imam Samudra, to death row. A third brother, Ali Imron, was given a life sentence after he cooperated with the authorities, showed remorse and urged family and followers not to imitate him. Mukhlas, dressed in white skullcap, grey Muslim shirt, and dark trousers, smiled at reporters as the police with automatic rifles escorted him from an armoured vehicle into court at the start of the session. There were a few spectators on hand, but Jan Laczynski, an Australian who has been present at other trials, said in Indonesian as the suspect passed, “Death for you today, Mukhlas.’’ —
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US soldier killed near Baghdad Baghdad, October 2 Yesterday night’s attack was the third fatal ambush on the US forces in the space of a few hours. The soldier belonged to the 4th Infantry Division. It brought to 84 the number of US soldiers killed in guerrilla-style attacks since US President George W. Bush declared major combat over on May 1. The US military had earlier reported a 1st Armoured Division soldier was killed and one was wounded in a gun attack while patrolling Mansur district of Baghdad yesterday night. In Tikrit a US woman soldier was killed and three soldiers were wounded by a roadside bomb blast that hit a military convoy on Wednesday. —
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Sikh American leaders meet White House officials Washington, October 2 The meeting was arranged by the efforts of the Sikh Council on Religion and Education (SCORE), a national civil rights and education organisation addressing the concerns of Sikh Americans. “We wanted to convey to President Bush that we as Sikh Americans want to participate fully in his efforts to make America strong and to bring this nation together during these testing times,” said SCORE National Chairman, Dr Rajwant Singh. Satinder Singh Rekhi, CEO of a large consulting company from Sacramento, California said, “We believe that the time is right for the Bush Administration to appoint a Sikh to a high ranking position in the government. There are a large number of qualified Sikhs in the fields of medicine, education and business. The Sikh community needs to develop a relationship with the White House and today’s effort was a good beginning and it has to be carried on.” |
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India to sign trade deal with Asean members London, October 2 The framework agreement had been negotiated over the past year and would be signed next week at the Asean summit in Bali, Indonesia, Mr Sinha told the Financial Times in an interview published today. India is also close to signing bilateral trade deals with both Singapore and Thailand. “We are getting much more deeply engaged in South-East Asia,” Mr Sinha told the newspaper here on his way back from New York. “This will certainly boost our trade and economic relationship with the region,” he said. “If we have regional trading arrangements with Asean, they will become beneficiaries of lower tariffs with India,” Mr Sinha added. —
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Conference to address problems of Gulf NRIs Dubai, October 2 Addressing a meeting at the Indian consulate here, Secretary in the Ministry of External Afairs J. C. Sharma, who is currently touring Gulf countries to enlighten NRIs about the second Pravasi Bharatiya Divas to be held from January 9 to 11, said the ministry would take steps to see that problems of Indian workers in the Gulf were addressed at the conference. The meeting at the Indian consulate was organised in association with the Indian Association, Dubai. —
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Hollywood women charge Arnold with groping Washington, October 2 In interviews with The Times, the women described their surprise and discomfort when Schwarzenegger allegedly misbehaved with them. Schwarzenegger is the leading Republican candidate in California’s election for the post of Governor. “Did he rape me? No,’’ said one woman, who described a 1980 encounter with Schwarzenegger. “Did he humiliate me? You bet he did.’’ According to the newspaper, none of the women who discussed their encounters with the former body builder said they filed any legal action against him. Schwarzenegger’s campaign spokesman, Sean Walsh, said the candidate has not engaged in improper conduct toward women. —
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