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Pak not averse to mediation on
Kashmir: Pervez
Kerry, Bush trade barbs over Iraq
Hostage crisis revives Labour divisions over war
US hostages killed following
cleric’s fatwa
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Car bomb blast claims 5 lives
Indian among 6 held in human smuggling case
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Pak not averse to mediation on
Kashmir: Pervez
New York, September 22 When asked in an interview with Xinhua, if he would like the US as a mediator, General Musharraf said, “This is a bilateral negotiation, we are trying to give bilateralism a chance.” But General Musharraf added that Pakistan had no problem on expanding the talks to a multilateral status and said it would not mind mediation by any other country. “The role that they (the mediators) can play is to ensure that the Kashmir issue will be substantively discussed and solved,” he said. “China is a very important country in the world, Pakistan will very much like China to play a substantive role in bringing peace to South Asia, and peace to Kashmir,” he added. “If China wishes to use its influence towards resolution of the dispute of Kashmir, it will be welcomed by Pakistan and it can do it,” he said. On the impending meeting with Dr Manmohan Singh, he said he was approaching it with “an open mind.” “We would not discuss solutions for substantive issues as the aim is to create and develop understanding,” he added. “I am going with an open mind, the basic issue is to create and develop understanding. We are not going to discuss solutions for substantive issues,” General Musharraf said. He hoped the meeting on the margins of the UN General Assembly would chart out a course for future progress and confidence-building measures. The Pakistan President said he would discuss the methodologies for the future progress of dialogue.
— UNI |
Kerry, Bush trade barbs over Iraq
Jacksonville (Florida), September 22 The two rivals in the bitterly fought US presidential election traded barbs yesterday, over who can best handle Iraq's democratic transition, after Bush demanded that the United Nations should step up its help to the war-wracked nation. Six weeks from the November 2 election, Bush told the UN General Assembly, "The UN and its member nations must respond to (Iraqi) Prime Minister (Iyad) Allawi's request and do more to help build an Iraq that is secure, democratic, federal and free." Bush did not mention the election in his speech, but took up the battle afterward, telling reporters that Kerry "has taken so many different positions on Iraq that his statements are hardly credible at all."
— AFP |
Hostage crisis revives Labour divisions over war
The fate of British hostage Kenneth Bigley was rapidly turning into a disaster for Mr Tony Blair, who was attacked last night by Labour MPs for refusing to negotiate with terrorists to save his life.
Many believe the crisis, which has graphically brought home the violent struggle in Iraq, could become a defining moment for Mr Blair and his government. The Prime Minister will face growing demands, led by former Foreign Secretary Robin Cook, for the early withdrawal of British troops from Iraq because of the continuing violence. Anti-war protestors are planning to stage protests at fringe meetings on Sunday at the opening of the conference to demand British troops to be pulled out from Iraq. Unions and leftwing Labour MPs are also tabling an emergency motion on the main floor of the conference calling for a debate on Iraq and for troops to be withdrawn after the election of a new Iraqi Government next January. Mr Blair had hoped to use the conference as the springboard for Labour's general election campaign, refocusing the government on its domestic agenda, including the radical proposals for improving the public services. However, as the hostage crisis deepens, Labour criticism of the Prime Minister's support for Mr Bush on the war resurfaced last night. Mr Alan Simpson, chairman of 'Labour Against the War', said Mr Blair should have forced Mr Bush to release the two "high grade" Iraqi women prisoners held by the Americans. "I join the family of the hostages in Liverpool saying, "release these women. We would rather have three free people than one dead man," said Mr Simpson, the Labour MP for Nottingham South. Mr Blair yesterday was clearly stung by the personal criticism levelled by the family of Mr Bigley who called a press conference yesterday, after the hostage takers had beheaded one of the two American hostages held with Mr Bigley. They accused Mr Blair of spending more time launching a new train with Sir Richard Branson than working on Mr Bigley's release. Senior Labour MPs said such criticism was unfair, but the impact could be lasting and damaging. As the deadline set by the hostage takers neared, there were signs of a shift by the Foreign Office, which distanced itself from the US Administration in an appeal on the Arab TV station al-Arabiya by an Arabic-speaking British diplomat, Mr Dean McLoughlin. He was authorised to emphasise to the hostage takers that the Americans were holding the women, not the British. He said, "The British forces in Iraq have no Iraqi female prisoners, not one." That marked the first clear attempt by the British Government to disown the actions of the US Government. By arrangement with The Independent, London |
US hostages killed following
cleric’s fatwa
Abu Dhabi, September 22 “In a tragic and horrific scene, the killers slaughtered the two American hostages in a repulsive way,” Al-Ittihad newspaper said, in reference to the beheading this week of Eugene “Jack” Armstrong and Jack Hensley by the Al-Qaeda linked Tawhid wal Jihad (unity and holy war) group. The pair were taken away from their Baghdad home last Thursday along with Briton Kenneth Bigley, who also faces death. “This outrageous act is in direct response to Qaradawi’s fatwa and incitement which permits the killing of American civilians,” the daily said. Egyptian-born Qaradawi, who is based in Qatar, has called on Muslims to fight all Americans in Iraq, even civilians, one of his top aides said in Cairo early this month. “Every single American who is in Iraq is an invader who must be fought,” Qaradawi was quoting as saying by his office director, Essam Talima.
— AFP |
Car bomb blast claims 5 lives
Baghdad, September 22 US soldiers riding armoured vehicles cordoned off the area and firefighters doused water on burning cars. At least 10 cars were destroyed, one of them flipped upside down. “I was just standing here talking and then I heard two huge explosions,’’ said Humam Abdul-Hadi, who owns an electrical goods store near the bomb site. He said an ice cream restaurant had taken the brunt of the blast.
— Reuters |
Indian among 6 held in human smuggling case
Manila, September 22 The Singaporean, identified as Tay Choon
Hee, was held as the courier of the alleged human-smuggling operation. The other five, two Chinese, two Indonesians and an Indian, were held for possessing forged travel papers. The two Indonesians and the Indian arrived at Manila airport yesterday from Jakarta and Singapore, respectively, and were booked to fly to Los Angeles and Vancouver, the Bureau said. Tay and two Chinese women later arrived from Singapore en route to Los Angeles but the Bureau held all six of them. The Indonesians had fake US visas on their passports while the Indian had a New Zealand passport under another name with fake stamps.
— AFP |
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