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Pak for ‘sincerity’
and ‘flexibility’ on Kashmir issue
Pak to test-fire N-missile soon
Ghinwa rejects tie-up with Zardari
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Diana had a secret abortion: tabloid
UN panel's options on increasing permanent seats
Minister in clash with Blair over benefit cuts
NRI doctor faces inquiry in UK
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Pak for ‘sincerity’
and ‘flexibility’ on Kashmir issue
Islamabad, November 28 “We need sincerity, flexibility and courage to achieve results on Kashmir,” Pakistan’s Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Makhdum Khusro Bakhtyar said in a statement issued here. Mr Bakhtyar, who accompanied Pakistan Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz during his recent visit to New Delhi, said talks between Aziz and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh were “very constructive.” “These talks helped in improving the atmosphere, understanding each others’ perspectives and ensuring the continuity of the composite dialogue,” he said. He said Prime Minister had a frank and comprehensive exchange of views with the Indian leadership on SAARC and bilateral relations. During bilateral discussions, he said, the focus remained mostly on the resolution of Jammu and Kashmir issue, adding the Prime Minister emphasised its centrality and that movement on all issues had to be in tandem with it. The dialogue process and confidence building measures have to move in tandem, he said. He said it is imperative that progress on Kashmir and CBMs should move in unison. Resolution of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute will be the biggest CBM, which can rid the region of tension and usher in an era of stability and cooperation. Also flexibility is a two-way street and cannot be unilateral, Mr Bakhtyar said adding all sides will have to cover distances to meet half way. He said Pakistan has proposed a gas pipeline project but the country would go ahead with the project with or without India. He recalled that Mr Aziz in his interaction with Indian businessmen had emphasised that in order to expand trade between the two countries a conducive atmosphere would have to be created.
— PTI |
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Pak to test-fire N-missile soon
Islamabad, November 28 A scientist confirmed the planned test, but refused to say when it would take place. It would be Pakistan's second major missile test in the past six weeks, following the October 12 launch of a Ghauri V missile. The Ghauri V has a range of 1,500 km. The official said Islamabad has informed neighbouring countries, including India, about the planned test. Also today, Deputy Foreign Minister Makhdum Khusro Bukhtyar said in a statement that Islamabad "wants to sustain the dialogue process with India and make it result-oriented so that all outstanding issues between Pakistan and India can be resolved." Bukhtyar said the resolution of the Kashmir issue would be the biggest confidence-building measure, "which can rid our region of tension and usher in an era of stability and cooperation."
— AP |
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Ghinwa rejects tie-up with Zardari
Pakistan, November 28 She further said those who were protesting on the uniform issue were responsible for strengthening the army rule. Talking to newsmen at the Press Club here on Saturday, she said that the PPP had been in power on two occasions but had failed to deliver the goods, therefore, any question of reconciliation with it did not arise. Ms Ghinwa said that Nawaz Sharif was the product of the late Gen Zia-ul Haq and the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal had been created by army. Answering a question, she expressed dissatisfaction over proceedings of the Mir Murtaza Bhutto case and referred to a Supreme Court tribunal headed by Justice Nasir Aslam Zahid which had concluded that shots had not been fired from the convoy of Mr Bhutto and firing had taken place from one side only. The PPP-SB leader added that the report had held police responsible on certain counts such as shifting of those injured to hospital and use of excessive force. When asked whether she still believed that Mr Zardari had directly or indirectly been involved in Mr Bhutto's assassination, she declined to reply and said it was up to the investigators to investigate the case. However, she deplored that so far the investigators had failed to expose the culprits. About jirga system in Sindh, she said that it was good for settling land and water- related disputes but a jirga should not be allowed to take up criminal cases involving violence, rape, honour killing or murder. |
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Benazir denies secret deal with Musharraf
London, November 28 “Yes, much is being said about a secret deal by vested quarters. These speculations are wrong. Asif was unconditionally freed without a quid pro quo,” she told the Daily Nation.
— PTI
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Diana had a secret abortion: tabloid
London, November 28 At the time, the Princess was having an affair with wealthy art dealer Oliver Hoare, the book claimed. It said Diana wanted to keep the baby and told friends wistfully: “Suppose it’s a girl.” But distraught as she was, she knew “what she had to do.” Diana was separated from Prince Charles at the time but not divorced. The author quotes one of her principal sources, an Earl's daughter, as saying: “How could she have a baby? She couldn’t do that to William and Harry. The scandal would’ve been too much.” The revelations, backed up by other sources, throw fresh light on her erratic behaviour at the time, which has often bemused Royal observers, the book said. Lady Colin Campbell refuses to name the Earl’s daughter, but ‘The Mail on Sunday’ claimed it is Lady Victoria Waymouth, who died two months ago, and was a close friend of the Hoares. The daughter of the 9th Earl of Hardwicke, Lady Victoria talks in the book of the anonymous calls Diana made to Hoare’s home which led to his wife calling the police. But she says these were made after Diana became almost unhinged by her worry over the pregnancy and misery over the abortion. The book notes how a tearful Diana made arrangements for the abortion and used as cover for her absence an appointment with her former financial adviser and close friend Joseph Sanders, who died last year. In an interview with 'The Mail on Sunday, ‘Sanders’ ex-wife Anita said her husband had told her about the abortion and his role in keeping it quiet after she guessed what had happened. “Diana would ring Joseph every day, sometimes in the middle of the night,” Sanders said. “They were very close and Joseph idolized her. He was discreet and wouldn’t tell me everything Diana said. But I guessed what had happened and got it out of him.” Sanders, who also supports another allegation in the book, that Diana may have had an affair with an aristocrat, said: “Of course, she could never have had baby, it would have been madness.” The book stops short of naming the father of the child. But it claims the notorious nuisance calls she made to Hoare in 1994 began only after she got pregnant. “Day and night, day after day, night after night, she would sit on that telephone, calling Oliver's house, 30, 40, 50 times.” The police was called to investigate the calls after a complaint from Hoare's wife, Diane, and although they were traced to Diana's private lines at Kensington Palace no action was taken. The couple's marriage survived the crisis — as did Hoare’s friendship with Prince Charles.
— PTI |
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UN panel's options on increasing permanent seats
New York, November 28 The panel report, to be released next week, does not recommend giving new permanent members veto power which currently five permanent members -- the USA, Britain, Russia, France and China -- enjoy, The New York Times said today, quoting the diplomats who have seen the report. The recommendations are expected to generate an intense debate, as they are unlikely to satisfy the member states. The Times said the report suggests expanding the Council, which currently has five permanent and 10 non-permanent members, to 24 with six members each from Americas, Africa, Asia and Europe under two alternate formulas. At present, non-permanent members are elected for a two-year term and five of them retire each year. One of the two suggested options, the paper said, would create a new tier of eight semi-permanent members with renewable four-year terms and one additional conventional two-year term member. The other suggests expanding the number of permanent members to 11 from 5 and the number of those elected to two-year terms by three. Neither option, however, extends granting veto power beyond the existing five countries - a point that is sure to sharpen the debate in the General Assembly, which seems certain to continue into the next summer. India is among the main contenders for a permanent slot in the expanded Council. India along with Japan, Germany and Brazil have formed what is known as group of four and decided to support one another's case for a permanent seat and press their case among the member-nations. Without directly opposing India becoming a permanent member, Pakistan has been leading a group of nations, including Italy, which favour expansion only in non-permanent category.
— PTI |
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Minister in clash with Blair over benefit cuts
TONY Blair has become locked in a dispute with the newest member of his Cabinet over welfare payments to the sick and the disabled.
Downing Street is considering setting a time limit on the period during which anyone, however badly disabled, can continue to claim incapacity benefit, estimated to be costing £ 7.7bn a year. The idea is being vigorously opposed by the new Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, Alan Johnson, who was appointed to the job less than three months ago with a remit to help reduce the number of persons claiming benefits. A meeting on Thursday between Mr Johnson and the Cabinet Office minister Ruth Kelly, representing the Prime Minister, ended in a deadlock. Mr Blair has made cutting the cost of incapacity benefit one of the main points of his domestic agenda; the money saved is to be used to increase pensions. He mentioned it in his speech to the Labour party's annual conference when he listed what he called "10 pointers to what a third-term Labour government would do for hard-working families". Ms Kelly, who has been tipped for promotion after the general election, has told friends she now suspects that her chances of being elevated to the Cabinet depend on whether she can deliver what the Prime Minister wants. There are 2.7 million Britons claiming incapacity benefit, and it has long been a New Labour mantra that many of them would rather be working if the opportunity were there. The government has embarked on an expensive programme to assign each claimant a personal adviser to assist in the hunt for work, with penalties for those who fail to co-operate. The number of new claimants has also been reduced, enabling the government to claim that they have "stabilised" the numbers, which trebled while the Conservatives were in power. But Mr Blair and his advisers are pushing for a faster reaction. Long-term incapacity benefit is worth more than the income support, and is unusual in that the payments go up over time. It is currently £ 54.50 a week for the first 28 weeks. After that, it rises to £ 64.35, and after a full year it is £ 72.15 a week. One option put forward by Downing Street is that there should be only one rate. Another is that after a fixed period, claimants would be taken off incapacity benefit and put on to income support instead, at less cost
— By arrangement with The Independent, London. |
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NRI doctor faces inquiry in UK
London, November 28 Dr Saroj Adlakha, who runs her own practice in Kings Heath, Birmingham, is being investigated by Prof Sir Liam Donaldson, the Chief Medical Officer; the health trust that registers general practitioners in her area; and the General Medical Council which governs the conduct of all doctors in this country. Dr Adlakha was filmed on video shot covertly by an undercover reporter of 'The Sunday Telegraph.' She admitted on video that she had arranged for a woman to travel to Barcelona in order to have her healthy 31 1/2 week foetus terminated. She is now off work pending an investigation, the report said today.
— PTI |
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In video: Kashmiri leaders from India and Pakistan meet in Canada to
discuss peace prospects. (
