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Pak to take up Patriot issue with USA
Pak army ordered to fire at ‘intruding’ US troops
Pak to clear mines on
Muzaffarabad-Srinagar road
Bush criticises Russia on reforms |
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Charles, Camilla wedding a legal nightmare
North Korea to return to talks
Shi'ites list Jaafari for Iraqi PM's post
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Pak to take up Patriot issue with USA
Washington, February 22 A US defence team began briefing Indian officials in New Delhi on Monday on the Patriot missiles. In Washington's diplomatic circles the visit is seen as a prelude to the sale of the advanced anti-ballistic missiles to India. ‘‘It's a serious development and comes into conflict with the existing nuclear deterrence in the subcontinent,’’ said a South Asian defence expert familiar with the system. Since May 1998, when both India and Pakistan tested their nuclear devices, there existed an undeclared balance of power in the subcontinent based on the fear that a clash between the two nuclear-armed neighbours could lead to the destruction of both. But the Patriots, which could bring down an incoming missile, could seriously tip the balance in India’s favour, making Pakistan vulnerable. ‘‘If the Patriots are delivered to India, it will seriously imbalance Pakistan’s strategic capabilities and can trigger an arms race in the subcontinent,’’ said the South Asian defence expert. ‘‘The Pakistanis will need to do some soul searching to determine what effect it will have on their strategic defence,’’ said the expert. When asked what Pakistan could do to meet the threat posed by the expected sale of Patriot missiles to India, the expert said: ‘‘Pakistan will have to acquire counter-capability. This new development will tip the balance in India’s favour unless it is redressed.’’ ‘‘They will take up the issue with the Americans,’’ said the expert when asked what could be Pakistan's immediate response. Sources in Washington said the Bush Administration gave clearance for a classified technical presentation of the system to India as part of the ‘‘Next Step in Strategic Partnership’’ agreement initiated by the two countries last year. The sources said the decision to give a ‘‘classified briefing’’ about the Patriot system to India was taken during the first phase of ‘‘Next Step in Strategic Partnership’’ that concluded in October. The partnership envisages cooperation in what is known as the ‘‘quartet issues’’ - civilian space and civilian nuclear fields, hi-tech trade and missile defence. The conclusion of the first phase of the ‘‘Next Step in Strategic Partnership’’ was marked by the USA partially easing export controls on supply of equipment and technology for India’s space and nuclear programmes. The Patriot is a long-range, all altitude and all weather air defence system to counter tactical ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and advanced aircraft. The missile’s range is 70 km and it can climb to an altitude greater than 24 km. The minimum flight time - time needed to arm a missile - is less than three seconds and maximum flight time - time needed to reach a target - is just three-and-a-half minutes. India will be the sixth country with which Washington has shared this technology after Israel, Japan, Germany, Saudi Arabia and Taiwan.
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Pak army ordered to fire at ‘intruding’ US troops
Islamabad, February 22 “Pakistan has issued new rules of engagement, permitting its army to fire at US forces that cross the border from Afghanistan without coordinating first,” the Daily Times newspaper said on Tuesday in a report from Washington.
The report is based on a “deep background” column in the magazine ‘American Conservative’ by former CIA officer Philip Giraldi, who is now an international security consultant and writer on intelligence matters.
“President Musharraf has been receiving angry reports from his military that US forces have been engaging in hot pursuit across the border in violation of bilateral agreements,” the article said.
The Pakistan President is also said to be unhappy about the recent abrupt withdrawal of Predators and other surveillance resources from Pakistan for transfer to Iraq for use against Iran, the report said.
Quoting high-level Pakistani sources, it said President Musharraf and his army chiefs “expended a great deal of political capital” in their support of the Al-Qaeda hunt, clashing frequently with hostile tribesmen along the border.
“President Musharraf has had a difficult time explaining to his own supporters in the military, and to the Pakistani public, why he continues to be so supportive of US policies in the region,” it said.
— IANS |
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Pak to clear mines on
Muzaffarabad-Srinagar road
Islamabad, February
22 "Once given the go-ahead signal, we will start the lifting of mines from the very next morning. The process is only subject to clearance by higher authorities," a local commander in PoK, Brigadier Naushad Ahmed, told reporters.
The commander spoke to reporters at a spot along the Line of Control in the Chakothi sector, 61 km south of the state capital Muzaffarabad.
The spot, at an altitude of 3,545 feet, overlooks the footbridge over the water channel that marks the dividing line in Kashmir.
Some Indian Army bunkers and the road to Srinagar, which winds through the mountains on the other side of the LoC, were also visible to the naked eye from that spot. "There are some modalities which remain to be finalised.
As soon as they are finalised, the issue of mine lifting will be decided at the level of DG military operations of both countries," Brigadier Ahmed said. "Both the troops are facing each other and will start mine lifting simultaneously under the agreement," he added.
— UNI |
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Bush criticises Russia on reforms
Brussels, February
22 Three days ahead of his visit with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Bush added his voice to growing worldwide criticism that the Kremlin is trying to consolidate power and squelch
dissent. ‘‘We must always remind Russia that our alliance stands for a free press, a vital opposition, the sharing of power and the rule of law,’’ Bush said in an address to Brussels’ diplomatic and academic elite. He also suggested that a Russian failure to meet those goals could affect its hopes of entering the World Trade
Organisation. Later, Bush addressed criticism -- from Europe and even from some in his own Republican Party -- that he is too personally friendly with Putin to confront him over recent moves to seize control of Russia’s oil industry and meddle in the Ukrainian
election. ‘‘I've got a good relationship with Vladimir; I intend to keep it that way,’’ Bush told reporters during a photo opportunity with French President Jacques Chirac. ‘‘But as well, I intend to remind him that if his interests lie West, that we share values ... and those values are
important.’’ Bush also dined with Chirac, one of his chief antagonists over the Iraq war, in a session U.S. officials described as their best meeting yet. Chirac framed the dispute over Iraq as a temporary bump in a relationship dating back to the Revolutionary
War. Bush opened his European tour here with a speech that was part olive branch and part laundry list of demands. He pressed European allies still smarting over the Iraq war to embrace his cause of spreading democracy to the Middle East and other world trouble
spots. Bush called on Israel to freeze settlement activity and ensure that Palestinians get contiguous territory on the West Bank, while pressing Palestinians to put down terror groups and fight
corruption. Bush also refused to rule out use of force to stop Iran’s nuclear programme while stressing the need for more
diplomacy. Yet in return he offered no concessions publicly on two of the thorniest issues hanging over his visit: European pleas that he take a greater role in their negotiations with Iran, and U.S. opposition to a European plan to lift a 15-year embargo on arms sales to
China. Bush is set to meet with Putin on Thursday in Slovakia. By arrangement with the Los Angeles Times-Washington Post News Service |
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Charles, Camilla wedding a legal nightmare
London, February 22 As the two divorcees battle to gain public approval for their nuptials, the question of where and how the heir to the throne ties the knot is proving a legal
nightmare. “We are not amused,” is very much the impression emanating from Queen Elizabeth over her eldest son's union with the matronly figure forever accused of destroying Charles' marriage to the glamorous but ill-fated Princess
Diana. First of all, red-faced courtiers had to switch the venue for the April 8th civil ceremony after a mix-up over marriage
licences. The ceremony has had to be moved from the exclusive confines of Windsor Castle, west of London, to the local town hall just down the road, past the pubs and burger
bars. That was because one overlooked condition for granting a licence for the couple to marry at the castle would be to allow commoners to stage weddings there
too. No way, decreed the royals who then faced another shock. By law, members of the public are entitled to attend town hall
weddings. Adding to the embarrassment for the House of Windsor, constitutional experts have been arguing that members of the royal family are not allowed to marry in a civil ceremony in England.
— Reuters |
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North Korea to return to talks
Seoul, February 22 It was the first statement by the reclusive Kim since North Korea explicitly declared for the first time this month that it had atomic weapons and was pulling out of talks with South Korea, China, Russia, the United States and Japan on its nuclear
programmes. “We will go to the negotiating table anytime if there are mature conditions for the six-party talks thanks to the concerted efforts of the parties concerned in the future,” Korean Central News Agency quoted the leader as telling Wang Jiarui, head of the Chinese Communist Party’s liaison
department. The six parties have met for three rounds of the talks aimed at ending Pyongyang’s nuclear However, a fourth round planned for late last year never materialised.
— Reuters |
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Shi'ites list Jaafari for Iraqi PM's post
Baghdad, February 22 Jaafari, a religious Shi'ite and head of the Islamist Dawa Party, had faced competition from inside the alliance from former exile Ahmad Chalabi, once favoured by the
Pentagon. But Chalabi withdrew and the 140-member alliance unanimously approved of Jaafari, alliance sources
said. Jaafari still faces a challenge from incumbent interim Prime Minister Iyad Allawi, but Allawi's list won only 14 per cent of the votes in the last month's elections.
— Reuters |
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