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Musharraf’s visit step towards peace: Pak media
Let peace process continue: Punjabi Conference
Moderates hail outcome
PM to attend Asia-Africa Summit
Big B for better marketing of Indian films
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Action planned for North Waziristan
NASA chief has plans for moon, Mars
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Musharraf’s visit step towards peace: Pak media
Islamabad, April 19 The hardline Nation daily and its sister Urdu publication Nawai Waqt accused Gen Musharraf of succumbing to pressure and said Pakistan’s “change of heart and mind” on Kashmir has led to the division in the Hurriyat. “Unlike the Agra summit, Gen Musharraf’s three-day visit to India has brought results and pushed the normalisation process forward,” English daily Dawn said in an editorial, taking note of the assertion by the President and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh that the peace process is “irreversible”. It said the two countries have also not failed to realise that lasting peace between them was not possible without the resolution of the Kashmir issue. The News in its editorial described the outcome of the meeting as expansion of “vocabulary of peace” between Pakistan and India. “Starting with a tentative ceasefire and a slow moving composite dialogue, the two countries have arrived at an ‘irreversible peace’ through a series of confidence-building measures,” it said. Urdu daily, Jang said Gen Musharraf should be credited for his courage and statesmanship that “forced” India to realise that Kashmir was a “dispute”, but observed that the significance of a number of CBMs announced by the two countries cannot be ignored. ‘Khabren’ said the talks between Gen Musharraf and Mr Manmohan Singh could be termed as an important progress towards peace. However, it said both sides would have to budge from their stated positions to resolve the Kashmir problem. Referring to India’s stand that borders cannot be redrawn, The Nation said: “If the LoC were not acceptable to Islamabad, as it is frequently given out, one wonders how it could agree to express ‘satisfaction’ over the peace process.” “And if durable peace is not possible without the resolution of the Kashmir issue in accordance with the wishes of the people, how progress could be claimed towards that end.” Another contradiction in Pakistan’s policy that emerges from New Delhi is “they (two leaders) determined that the peace process was now irreversible while we have repeatedly maintained that unless the Kashmir issue, which is the real bone of contention, is resolved, the peace process cannot be sustained,” it said while accusing the Pakistani leadership of putting the “core dispute of Kashmir on the backburner.” ‘The Dawn noted that the meeting took place while the two countries played cricket. “This gave the peace process popular legitimacy that should augur well for the future.” It, however, said there was no room for complacency. “The challenges ahead are powerful. There are fanatics and chauvinists on both sides, and it will take courage and statesmanship on the part of the two governments to stick to the peace process.” The News said the joint statement highlighted the route the two countries are taking for normalising ties. “Even the absence of a breakthrough on the Kashmir issue or any other issue falling in the ambit of bilateral negotiations during Gen Musharraf’s visit fails to mar the spirit of bonhomie it has created between the two countries.”
— PTI |
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Let peace process continue: Punjabi Conference
Lahore, April 18 Only a handful of Indians could arrive on the first day of the conference as both the governments in Pakistan and India had briefly stopped issuing visas because of President Pervez Musharraf’s visit to India, organisers said. Mr Tarlochan Singh, Chairman, Minority Commission in India, said only people could put pressure on the governments of both countries to resolve the Kashmir dispute. “I do not think that the core issue will be solved quickly. If the present atmosphere of peace and harmony between the two countries continues, then the tension of the core issue will be less. If the public wants the core issue to be solved then the two government will be forced to do something fast about that,” he said.
— ANI |
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Moderates hail outcome
Islamabad, April 19 Expressing cautious optimism over the joint statement issued at the end of Mr Musharraf's visit to India, former Premier and PPP chairperson Benazir Bhutto said "we still have to see whether the noble sentiments are implemented." "We will watch carefully that there is no disconnect between what is said and what is actually being done on the ground," Ms Bhutto, who lives in self-exile in Dubai, said in a press note by her party here. Ruling PML-Q President Chaudhary Shujaat Hussain termed the outcome of Manmohan-Musharraf meeting as a positive development for regional peace. "Success of talks (between Musharraf and Manmohan) manifested the two leaders were sincere in their efforts to resolve the Kashmir issue. Their resolve to work for a lasting peace in the region by seeking a negotiated settlement of the issue, spoke of their wisdom and vision for South Asia," he told official APP news agency over the phone from Berlin, where he is
undergoing medical treatment. Mehmood Farooq Sattar, Deputy Convenor and Parliamentary leader of Sindh-based Muthahida Qami Movement (MQM), which is a major constituent of the ruling the PML-Q, said the concrete steps taken by both the leaders to normalise the ties was a "good omen".
— PTI |
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PM to attend Asia-Africa Summit
Jakarta, April 19 The Prime Minister will be joined by External Affairs Minister K Natwar Singh at the two-day Asia-Africa conference beginning April 22 on 'Reinvigorating the Bandung Spirit: Working towards a New Asian-African Strategic Partnership.' The meet is being held to mark the 50th anniversary of the Bandung Summit which was the first major move by the Third World to assert itself and saw the birth of the Non-Aligned Movement. At the summit the leaders will launch the New Asian-African Strategic Partnership as a testimony to the commitment of Asian-African nations in working together.
— PTI |
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Big B for better marketing of Indian films
New York, April 19 During the retrospective period, Bachchan attended an event to promote his new film "Waqt," addressed a news conference, interacted with audience and formally became a goodwill ambassador for UNICEF to propagate social causes. Asked why Indian films have not made their presence felt among mainstream audience in the Western world despite their reasonable popularity in several parts of the world, the star quipped that the reasons are language and marketing. ''It is the language problem. English is a universal language. They (Hollywood movie producers) have a very good marketing system,'' he said. — UNI |
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Action planned for North Waziristan
Islamabad, April 19 This was stated by the Commander of the coalition forces in Afghanistan, Lt-Gen David Barno, while talking to journalists at the US Embassy here on Monday. Referring to a meeting of the Tripartite Commission of the USA, Afghanistan and Pakistan held earlier in the day, he said: “We collectively feel that there is a need to undertake an operation in North Waziristan. That’s an area where I think the Pakistani military is about to undertake a military operation to keep pressure on terrorist networks. “We are in the middle of beginning a spring offensive and the Pakistani forces are busy moving troops to North Waziristan to continue to put pressure on terrorist networks,” he said. General Barno, who completed his tenure in the region after having been posted in October 2003, said he visited Pakistan frequently during his 18-month stay to hold meetings with senior military and intelligence officers. He said that besides Afghanistan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, his areas of responsibility included Pakistan as head of the combined forces in Afghanistan. Replying to a question about incidents of firing between Pakistan and Afghan troops along the border, General Barno said the number of such incidents had reduced significantly as Pakistani liaison officers deployed at the coalition operational headquarters in Afghanistan shared information on activities of forces on both sides of the border. General Barno warned that remnants of Taliban and Al Qaida were planning to stage some high visibility attack over the next six to nine months that would “get them back on the scoreboard” after suffering major strategic defeats last year. “There are continuing threats out there. The enemy operations taper off during winter and make resurgence during spring which has been a pattern over the last few years.” The US General said though the popular support for the Taliban and their remnants in Afghanistan had decreased the terrorist threat was still there. “Terrorists are not going to go away and the only way to combat them is to put pressure on them and disrupt their operations. We will continue to see attacks in Afghanistan. The war is not over.” He said the number of NATO troops in Afghanistan would be increased from their current strength of 8,500. |
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NASA chief has plans for moon, Mars
Washington, April 19 ‘‘We could probably go to Mars for what we spent on Apollo’’ in today's dollars, he said. ‘‘It is a journey, not a race,’’ Griffin said. If the country put aside ‘‘a few billion a year,’’ the Mars plan would be ‘‘very affordable.’’ President Bush announced his space exploration vision last year. Critics complained that Mars is so much farther away than the moon that it would pose daunting financial and technological barriers. The Apollo moon programme of the 1960's cost about $ 150 billion in current dollars, but some estimates of the cost of going to Mars have ranged upward of $ 500 billion. At the same time, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's share of the federal budget has shrunk from a high of 4 per cent during the space race between the USA States and Russia to as little as 1 per cent. Those priorities would have to be reversed if Mars is to become a realistic goal. In wide-ranging remarks before reporters in Washington, D.C., Griffin also expressed frustrations with current plans to replace the aging space shuttle with a new Crew Exploration Vehicle. Plans call for de-commissioning the shuttle in 2010, after it finishes assembling the International Space Station. Over its 24-year life, two shuttles and two crews have been lost in accidents. But the current NASA schedule doesn't envision bringing a new vehicle online until 2014. Griffin, a former NASA engineer who was most recently head of the Space Department at John Hopkins University's Applied Physics Laboratory, said he is concerned about ‘‘a five-year gap in the ability of the US to access space with human crews.’’ — By arrangement with the Los Angeles Times-Washington Post |
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