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Baglihar: Pak sets terms
for talks
Thatcher’s son pleads guilty to coup charges
12 Pak workers kidnapped
Germany, Japan seek Pak support for Council seats
NASA launches
comet-crasher
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‘Behzti’ author defends her play
London, January 13 A Sikh author, who went into hiding after her play sparked violent protests in England, today defended her work as one that explored how people can enter a "prison of hypocrisy" and hoped it could still be staged. Gurpreet Kaur Bhatti's play Behzti (dishonour) triggered a riot at the Birmingham Repertory Theatre on December 19 as a crowd of some 400 Sikhs lashed out at its depiction of murder and rape in a gurdwara, or Sikh temple.
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Baglihar: Pak sets terms for talks
Islamabad, January 13 It was essential that the work on the project be stopped before any bilateral negotiations were held, Pakistan Foreign Office spokesman Masood Khan told state-run PTV last night. Media reports here also quoted officials of Pakistan Foreign Office as saying that Islamabad would only attend another round of talks with India on the Baglihar issue if the work on the project was stopped. Khan was quoted by The News as saying that India was unwilling to stop the work on the project because it could have “political compulsions” for the Congress-led government. “This is an old argument coming from New Delhi, which cites ‘political compulsions’ as a reason why it cannot abandon work on the Baglihar dam. “The Indian side says that if work on the Baglihar dam stops than its implications will be felt on several other dams that are being built all over India,” he said. Khan said the Indian argument was a “complete fallacy” and drew “fallacious parallels” without elaborating when and how India conveyed its “political compulsions.” Meanwhile, the SAARC summit is likely to be curtailed by a day with India suggesting February 6 and 7 for holding the meet in Dhaka which was earlier postponed due to the tsunami disaster, official sources here said today. India has informally conveyed the two dates, February 6 and 7, to Pakistan, which is the outgoing Chairman of the seven-nation grouping, the sources said. Other members of the grouping had also given their consent to the dates and an official announcement in this regard was expected soon, they said. The summit was originally scheduled to be held from January 9 to 11 but was postponed in the wake of the tsunami tragedy that struck three member countries — India, Sri Lanka and the Maldives. Bangladesh said on December 30 that Prime Minister Khaleda Zia had decided to postpone the summit. In view of pre-occupation of the leaders with the tsunami relief efforts, it had been proposed to curtail the duration of the summit to two days from three days, the sources said. The meeting of the Foreign Ministers of the SAARC countries — India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, the Maldives, Bangladesh, Nepal and Bhutan — would be held a day before the summit, they said. Dhaka: Meanwhile, diplomatic sources told UNI that the new schedule had been proposed by India to current SAARC Chairman Pakistan and host Bangladesh. Dhaka is learnt to have no objection to the new schedule.
— PTI, UNI |
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Thatcher’s son pleads guilty to coup charges
Durban, January 13 51-year-old Sir Mark, who denied any knowledge of the plot, admitted in a Cape Town court to breaking anti-mercenary legislation in South Africa by agreeing to charter a helicopter, which mercenaries planned to use in their attempted takeover. But, Sir Mark, who agreed a plea bargain with prosecutors, maintained that he did not know the helicopter’s alleged purpose, instead believing it was to be used as an air ambulance, according to his lawyers. “There is no price too high for me to pay to be reunited with my family and I am sure all of you who are husbands and fathers would agree with that,” an emotional Sir Mark said outside the court. Cape High Court judge Abdullah Motala ordered Sir
Mark, a businessman, to pay the US$ 5,05,000 fine in a deal that lets him leave South Africa to be reunited with his wife and two children in the USA. If he were unable to pay the fine by the deadline of January 15, he would incur a five-year prison sentence, with his four-year suspended sentence on top of that. However, Sir Mark promised to pay the fine by the deadline. Sir Mark, who has lived in South Africa since 1995, was arrested on August 25 and released on bail. He was charged with violating anti-mercenary laws and barred from leaving the country pending investigations.
— PTI |
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12 Pak workers kidnapped
Multan (Pakistan), January 13 Paramilitary troops were called in to find the Water and Power Development Authority employees, who were seized yesterday in central Rajanpur region, on the border of the southern province of Sindh and the southwestern province of Baluchistan. Fourteen members of a team surveying an irrigation canal were returning to their base when two gun-toting tribesmen grabbed them, a spokesman for the utilities company said. Two workers managed to run away, spokesman Mubashara Bajwah said. The police said they had asked the paramilitary frontier corps for help. “However the kidnappers have not made any ransom demand or any other conditions so far,” Rajanpur district police officer Maqsood-ul-Hassan said. The area where the men were seized is around 10 km from the Sui gasfield in Baluchistan, where rocket attacks by tribesmen and clashes with troops have left at least eight persons dead since Friday. The plant, Pakistan’s largest natural gas facility, has cut off supplies to power stations and factories.
— AFP |
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Germany, Japan seek Pak support for Council seats
Islamabad, January 13 Informed sources said Foreign Minister Khurshid Mehmood Kasuri, who is scheduled to visit Tokyo in February, would be briefed by the Japanese Government to drum up Islamabad’s support on the matter. Japan, Germany, India, Brazil and South Africa are aspirants for permanent membership to the Security Council. UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan is expected to submit a report on the issue shortly. The report is being finalised internally by the world body. The sources said Japan was seeking the permanent seat on the plea that it contributed 20 per cent of the total UN budget. Germany wants this status because it says it is one of the major countries of Europe who provide adequate financial support to third world countries. India and Brazil want permanent membership to the council on the claim of being regional powers. However, when contacted Foreign Office Spokesman Masood Khan said Pakistan had, in principle, decided not to support any country. “In fact we are calling for doing away with the system of permanent seats and are urging for semi-permanent seats on rotational basis,” he said. Moreover, he pointed out, ever since five new aspirants had made a bloc, there was no question of supporting them on the issue. |
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NASA launches
comet-crasher
Cape Canaveral, January 13 The Delta 2 rocket took off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station at 18:47 GMT with a spacecraft the size of a small car tucked inside its nose cap. The probe, named Deep Impact, was put on a path to encounter Comet Tempel 1 on July 4 more than 82 million miles from earth.
— Reuters |
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‘Behzti’ author defends her play
London, January 13 Gurpreet Kaur Bhatti's play Behzti (dishonour) triggered a riot at the Birmingham Repertory Theatre on December 19 as a crowd of some 400 Sikhs lashed out at its depiction of murder and rape in a gurdwara, or Sikh temple. Writing in today's edition of The Guardian, Bhatti said it was not fear that had kept her silent since her play was cancelled, but practical issues about her own safety and that of those closest to her. "I have been deeply angered by the upset caused to my family (who have been harassed) and I ask people to see sense and leave them alone," she said. Bhatti wrote that she wholeheartedly stands by the play, adding that the threats of physical harm and hate mail, which forced her into hiding, have "stirred only tolerance and courage within me". The play was cancelled for security reasons after some of the theatre's windows were smashed and its doors stormed by Sikhs who said the play insulted their religion. Bhatti denied a claim by one theatre boss that she blocked plans to stage her play after it was cancelled and denied changing any part of the play because of pressure. She said she hoped to have the play performed again. "I will, when the time is right, discuss the play's future with relevant parties."
— AFP |
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