Lahore, December 3
In a significant development, Bhai Sham Singh, former president, Pakistan Sikh Gurdwara Parbhandak Committee (PSGPC), while dubbing the present incumbent Bhai Mastan Singh as an agent of Pakistan's ISI, said he did not recognise him ( Bhai Mastan) as the president of the only Sikh religious body in that country.

While talking to The Tribune at a dinner hosted by Pakistan's Punjab Chief Minister Mr Pervaiz Elahi in honour of Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh on November 29, Bhai Sham Singh, who remained president of the PSGPC for five years after it came into existence, said Bhai Mastan Singh had been imposed as the president of the PSGPC by the ISI and no Sikh of Pakistan had been relishing it.

"How can the affairs of the Sikh religion be conducted as per the wishes of the ISI through Bhai Mastan Singh," he asked adding that most of the Sikhs were disappointed over the appointment of Bhai Mastan Singh as the PSGPC chief.

Bhai Sham Singh was accompanied by Mr Bishan Singh, vice-president of the PSGPC. Bhai Mastan Singh, in his early thirties, was appointed as the president of the PSGPC about two months ago.

Bhai Sham Singh alleged that though they were not able to raise their voices against the appointment of Bhai Mastan Singh as the PSGPC chief in public due to the involvement of the ISI, they would not allow him to run the affairs of the Sikh religion in Pakistan as per his whims.

To a query, he said the final resting place of palki (golden palanquin) offered at Gurdwara Nankana Sahib by the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee should be decided by the Sikh high priests. He, however, added that he would participate in the Sarbat Khalsa if it was organised by the Akal Takht to decide about the final resting place of the palki.

Bhai Mastan Singh, when contacted, said the PSGPC had started performing under his command and hence he had been facing opposition from certain quarters. He added that he was not nominated as he was elected as president where Bhai Sham Singh had also exercised his franchise. He said that recognition or no recognition to his presidentship of the PSGPC by Bhai Sham Singh would not affect him in achieving goals for the Sikh Panth.

London, December 3
Britain sought to break a deadlock over world trade liberalisation at talks among finance ministers today, but prospects of anything more than a declaration of good intent looked slim.

In a move that troubled the French in particular, Britain’s Gordon Brown, chairing the London meeting, called for an end to subsidies for farmers in rich countries — aid and tariffs that were worth about $280 billion a year.

“Agriculture is not the only dossier,” French Finance Minister Thierry Breton said, restating Paris’ line that trade talks covered services, industry and intellectual property.

Brazilian finance minister Antonio Palocci said his country was ready to give ground on industrial tariffs as long as the United States and the European Union did the same on agriculture and Brown said India was willing to compromise too.

Proposals for changes to farm support were insufficient, Palocci said. In one of many trade disputes, Brazil had been demanding compensation from the United States for subsidising cotton exports, which depressed prices and squeezed Brazilian farmers.

The ministers and central bankers also discussed the outlook for the world economy and the high cost of oil at Friday’s meeting.

“Everyone stated the global situation was encouraging in 2005 and 2006 despite oil prices which had weighed on growth in 2005,” Breton told reporters.

Turning to the affairs of the less well-off, ministers met Palestinian finance minister Salam Fayyad, who said the Palestinian Authority needed $200 million just to meet basic needs from now to February.

Brown’s main aim today was apparently to secure some kind of political statement of support for a deal in Hong Kong on the Doha round of further trade liberalisation.

The G7 meeting was also devoted to discussing risks facing the world economy, such as huge US deficits, weak growth in Europe, where the European Central Bank had just raised interest rates, and China keeping its currency too low, making cheap Chinese exports even cheaper.

US Treasury Secretary John Snow urged Beijing to let its yuan rise versus the dollar to ease pressure on American exporters, but would not comment on a report that China would revalue by 7.2 per cent in the New Year.

Germany’s new finance minister Peer Steinbrueck told his G7 counterparts that he intended to cut his country’s fiscal deficit and reform the public pension scheme, Canadian Finance Minister Ralph Goodale said.

“I was struck particularly by some of the comments by the new German minister, who was describing the things that needed to be done in Germany,” Goodale said.

“Many things in Steinbrueck’s remarks in terms of dramatically improving the fiscal situation sounded like a repeat of what Canada did in the 1990s — to take control of the deficit, to bring it down, to eliminate it; the long-term security of the pension system,” Goodale said, adding Germany wanted to boost consumer confidence. — Reuters

Muzzafarabad, December 3
Several groups of Non-Resident Indian Sikhs have started relief operations in the quake-ravaged regions of Pakistan Kashmir. Sikhs from America have set up makeshift camps and are also organising community meals for the people living in remote villages of Muzaffarabad, the epicentre of the October 8 earthquake.

The American Sikhs have raised as much as 40 million rupees in aid for the quake victims, majority of whom are still living out in the open in biting cold and snowfall. The amount will be distributed to the affected people both in cash and kind.

Pritpal Singh, coordinator American Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee, said they had under the aegis of the “Gurudwara Relief fund” also distributed medicines and blankets to the displaced people.

“I am very grateful to those who have helped us disburse all aid we had collected in North America in the name of Guru Nanak Relief Fund. We will try our best to see that all our displaced brothers and sisters here are settled back in their homes. We will continue running these camps and try and fulfil their needs,” said Singh.

Amir ul Azim, a Pakistani resident, thanked the Sikh community for providing them with the much-needed aid.

“All Pakistanis are thankful to the NRI Sikh community for providing us with tents. It is a very important role that the Sikh community has played to provide us with relief. We have been given not only refuge but also enough food provisions,” said Azim.

Aid officials fear sickness, as a result of dropping temperatures, will cause a second wave of death. However, a UN spokesman said there are deaths in the region every winter from cold-related ailments, but it would be a tragedy for a second wave of fatalities from the cold now, after the quake.

Pakistan has also won pledges worth more than six billion dollars from world donors for relief and reconstruction operations in the quake-hit zone. But most of that is earmarked for long-term reconstruction, while the UN, and other bodies have said that funds are short for a six-month emergency operation to keep survivors alive through the winter. — ANI

Islamabad, December 3
Stepping up cooperation to check narcotic traffic, India and Pakistan yesterday agreed to sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to give proper “direction and substance” to their current efforts to curb drug trafficking through their borders.

“To enhance cooperation between the two countries and to give proper direction and substance to this cooperation, a draft was discussed and agreed upon, in principle, for signature on a mutually convenient date,” a joint statement issued at the end of the two-day talks between heads of the Counter Narcotics Agencies of the two countries said.

Indian delegation at the talks was led by the Director-General, Narcotics Control Bureau, K.C. Verma and Pakistan was led by DG, Anti Narcotics Force, Khalid Amir Jaffery.

During the talks the two sides recognised each others efforts in fighting drug trafficking and appreciated the need for “furthering their efforts through enhanced mutual cooperation,” it said.

“There was convergence of views on issues of the mutual concern and the two sides affirmed their resolve for regular exchange of information in drug related issues.

Realising the sensitivity to transit-trafficking of the drugs, both sides emphasised their deep commitment for forging closer cooperation between their drug and law enforcement agencies.” — PTI

Vancouver, December 3
Ripudaman Singh Malik, millionaire businessman and one of the two acquitted in the 1985 Kanishka bombing case, has demanded compensation from the government for his arrest and prosecution, a media report has said.

In a letter written to the Attorney-General of British Columbia, Malik, who was acquitted by the Supreme Court, said the government should compensate him for wrongful persecution in the case.

The Attorney-General, Mr Wally Oppal, confirmed that his department had received the letter, the report in Vancouver Sun said.

Malik and mill worker Ajaib Singh Bagri were acquitted in March of conspiracy and murder charges relating to the bombing of Air-India flight 182 and a bombing at Tokyo’s Narita airport.

Meanwhile, former Ontario premier Bob Rae was appointed to lead a new public inquiry into the deadly 1985 Air-India bombing disaster and has until March 31, 2007, to submit his report.

The order by the Liberal government on December 1, set out areas for the Rae inquiry: Was the response by Canadian agencies sufficiently coordinated and, if not, have the problems been fixed? Are the laws on financing terrorist activities adequate? — PTI

Washington, December 3
The White House has said that the USA is the world leader on human rights, despite an outrage in Europe over reports of secret CIA prisons where terrorism detainees may have been mistreated.

“When it comes to human rights, there is no greater leader than the USA and we show that by holding people accountable when they break the law or violate human rights, and we show that by supporting the advance of freedom and democracy and supporting those in countries that are having their human rights denied or violated, like North Korea,” White House press secretary Scott McClellan said yesterday.

“We show that by liberating people in Afghanistan and Iraq — some 50 million people — no one has done more when it comes to human rights than the USA. I think the American people understand.”

President George W. Bush’s administration has refused to address the question of whether it operated secret sites that may be illegal under European law, citing the constraints of classified information. Secret prisons and many harsh methods of interrogation would be illegal on US soil.

“The President had made it very clear that we do not torture, he would never condone torture or authorize the use of torture,” McClellan said. “If someone doesn’t abide by our laws, they’re held accountable. That’s the difference between us and others.” — AP