W O R L D

PM asks US to force Pak abjure terrorism
Washington, February 28
Ahead of President George W. Bush’s visit to Pakistan later this week, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has said the USA should use its “influence” on Islamabad to convince it that using terrorism as an instrument of state policy has no place in the world.

JKLF criticises Kashmiri leaders
London, February 28
The London-based Jammu-Kashmir Liberation Front has questioned the wisdom of some Kashmiri leaders in not responding to talks convened by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. "We fail to understand what Kashmiri leaders have in mind.

80,000 troops fighting Al-Qaida: Musharraf
Washington, February 28
President Pervez Musharraf has claimed that 80,000 troops were operating against the Al-Qaida terror network and slammed as “ridiculous” a list given by Afghanistan containing details of Taliban militia members reportedly active in Pakistan, saying it contained “dead numbers.”

Terror threat rose after Iraq war: global poll
London, February 28
Most people in 33 out of 35 countries worldwide believe that the US-led war in Iraq has increased the threat of terrorism, a survey for BBC World Service radio suggested today.

Taliban terror crippling Afghan schools Ghulam Rasul was leaving school when two gunmen walked in and opened fire. The 17-year-old died instantly. As other students and teachers fled in terror the shooting continued. Saddam trial resumes                             Baghdad, February 28 The trial of ousted Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein and his seven former aides resumed this afternoon in Baghdad with all defendants present. Former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein listens to one of the prosecutors in Baghdad on Tuesday. Prosecutors are reading documents which will allegedly link Saddam and his seven co-accused to the deaths of 148 Shi'ites from the town of Dujail in reprisal for a 1982 attempt on his life there. — Reuters photo

Bird flu could last 5 years in UK: expert
London, February 28
Bird flu could become endemic in Britain and last up to five years, the government's chief scientific adviser said today. ''I would anticipate that avian flu will arrive at some point in the UK,'' Professor David King said.

India, Pak to review air services
Islamabad, February 28
Top officials from India and Pakistan will hold talks next month to review the bilateral air services agreement, to further commercial cooperation and iron out differences on tariff and non-tariff barriers.

Indian origin woman oldest to contest SA polls
Durban, February 28
A 77-year-old grandmother of Indian origin has become the oldest politician to contest tomorrow's South African local government elections, the second such since the advent of new democracy in the post-Apartheid era.

Qaida man escapes US detention
Dubai, February 28
A website often used by militants posted a video tape in which a purported Al-Qaida escapee from a US airbase in Afghanistan vowed to fight Americans in Iraq and the USA.

PM asks US to force Pak abjure terrorism
Sridhar Krishnaswami

Washington, February 28
Ahead of President George W. Bush’s visit to Pakistan later this week, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has said the USA should use its “influence” on Islamabad to convince it that using terrorism as an instrument of state policy has no place in the world.

Making it clear that India wanted Pakistan to be a prosperous and moderate Islamic state which is in the interest of New Delhi and the world, the Prime Minister said he would like to work for a relationship with Islamabad that is on the line of the USA-Canada ties.

In an interview to Charlie Rose aired on the Public Broadcast System in the USA, he replied in negative when asked if the USA’s relationship with Pakistan was an issue for India.

“I sincerely hope that whatever influence the United States has with Pakistan, it will convey to Pakistan that using terrorism as an instrument of state policy has no place in the world,” the Prime Minister remarked.

He said if only Pakistan lives up to the commitment it had given to the former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee that its territory will not be used for terrorist activity against India, “the sky is the limit” for cooperation between the two countries.

His remarks came as Bush prepared to travel to India and Pakistan. He will be reaching New Delhi tomorrow on a three-day visit to India and flying to Pakistan on Saturday.

During the interview, the Prime Minister replied to questions relating to Indo-USA ties, India's ties with China and the country’s stand on Iran’s controversial nuclear programme. — PTI

JKLF criticises Kashmiri leaders

London, February 28
The London-based Jammu-Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) has questioned the wisdom of some Kashmiri leaders in not responding to talks convened by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

"We fail to understand what Kashmiri leaders have in mind. On one hand they demand they want to be involved in the peace process and on the other hand when opportunity comes their way, they refuse to sit down," Dr Shabir Choudhry, JKLF leader said here last night.

"We strongly support expansion of the dialogue process and leaders of different Kashmiri parties be made part of the process. In view of this, we support Indian Prime Minister's efforts to invite different Kashmiri leaders for discussion; and moreover his effort to hold a round table conference on the issue of Kashmir," he said.

Choudhry said Pakistan must stop exploitation and uprooting the people of Jammu and Kashmir. "Stop changing the demography of the area by violating State Subject notification and settling people from Pakistan in to Gilgit and Baltistan," he said.

Regarding the controversial Basha Dam, Choudhry wondered why the dam was not built "inside Pakistan."

Other JKLF office bearers, Abbas Butt, Sarwar Hussain and Asim Mirza were also present at the press conference. — PTI

80,000 troops fighting Al-Qaida: Musharraf

Washington, February 28
President Pervez Musharraf has claimed that 80,000 troops were operating against the Al-Qaida terror network and slammed as “ridiculous” a list given by Afghanistan containing details of Taliban militia members reportedly active in Pakistan, saying it contained “dead numbers.”

Amid growing doubts about his and the army’s role in the hunt for Osama, Musharraf was asked by US TV network ABC yesterday if Pakistan was going after the Al-Qaida chief aggressively enough.

“We are not using the army only to track down Osama. I mean, this kind of a misperception should be removed. We are using the army against Al-Qaida and Taliban... Now in the process, if you get word on him, very good. But we are not certainly focusing entirely only on tracking Osama bin Laden and (his deputy) Ayman al- Zawahri,” he told the channel.

He said 80,000 troops were fighting Al-Qaida and Taliban in Pakistan’s mountainous border with Afghanistan but added it was unknown whether Osama was in Pakistan.

About a list containing information on key Taliban figures handed over by Afghan President Hamid Karzai during his recent Pakistan visit, Musharraf said: “...President

Karzai gives me a list of numbers, ridiculous kind of numbers that they are here and they are talking and we find that two-third is a waste of time.”

“Two-thirds of them are dead numbers and I’m quoting this with full authority...Now the other one-third is, we are trying to track down these numbers,” he said.

Asked about terrorist training camps in Pakistan, Musharraf conceded, “Let’s be very clear. Certainly there are people here” but added: “I have been telling Karzai and the United states, ‘Let us fence the border and let us mine it.’” — PTI

Terror threat rose after Iraq war: global poll

London, February 28
Most people in 33 out of 35 countries worldwide believe that the US-led war in Iraq has increased the threat of terrorism, a survey for BBC World Service radio suggested today.

An average of 60 per cent in 33 nations agreed that the March 2003 invasion had increased the likelihood of terrorist attacks, with just 12 per cent believing the opposite. A further 15 per cent thought it had no effect.

The survey of 41,856 people by Canadian pollsters GlobeScan and the US Program on International Policy Attitudes (PIPA) also claimed there was overall support in 20 countries for US forces to withdraw in the next few months.

Greatest criticism of the move came from Argentina (74 per cent), with strong opposition from Spain (65 per cent) and Germany (61 per cent). — AFP

Taliban terror crippling Afghan schools
Kim Sengupta writes from Lashkar Gar, Helmand

Ghulam Rasul was leaving school when two gunmen walked in and opened fire. The 17-year-old died instantly. As other students and teachers fled in terror the shooting continued. Two more persons were hit.

The attack at Kartilaya High School in Lashkar Gar was just one in a series which is crippling Afghanistan's education system. At least 165 schools and colleges have been burnt down or forced to close so far by a resurgent Taliban and their Islamist allies.

Five years after the end of the Afghan war and Tony Blair's famous pledge that "this time we will not walk away", it seems the Taliban and Al Qaida are back with a vengeance, and one of their main targets is the country's education system.

The campaign is intended, say educationalists and human rights groups, to terrorise families into keeping children uneducated, unemployable, and a recruitment pool for the Islamists.

Teachers are the main targets. Some have been beheaded, others shot in front of their classes. One was killed while attending his father's funeral.

They have declared that only madarsaas (Muslim religious schools) meeting their approval will be allowed to operate.

The attack at Kartilaya High, which has 4,200 pupils, about half of them girls, was in the centre of Lashkar Gar, the provincial capital of Helmand, where a massive British force is now being deployed.

The school is 15 minutes drive from an American base, now being taken over by the British, and just 500 metres from an Afghan police post. Police did not turn up for half an hour after the shooting. The Americans failed to turn up at all. The killings of teachers are normally preceded by a warning "night letter" from the Islamists ordering schools to be shut down. Retribution is taken if there is a failure to comply.

By arrangement with The Independent

Saddam trial resumes

Baghdad, February 28
The trial of ousted Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein and his seven former aides resumed this afternoon in Baghdad with all defendants present.

Chief judge Rauf Rasheed Abdel Rahmn rejected requests by the defence team for the trial to be postponed and for the judge and chief prosecutor to be dismissed.

Saddam’s lead lawyers then walked out of the courtroom and were replaced by court-appointed lawyers. — AFP

Bird flu could last 5 years in UK: expert

London, February 28
Bird flu could become endemic in Britain and last up to five years, the government's chief scientific adviser said today.

''I would anticipate that avian flu will arrive at some point in the UK,'' Professor David King said.

''We also have to anticipate that it will be here for five years plus. We are talking about the possibility of this disease being endemic here in the UK,'' he said.

The bird flu virus has spread from Asia to Africa and Europe and caused the death of millions of birds and more than 90 people.

It reached France earlier this month amid criticism that the British government had not done more to tackle the threat and demands for poultry either to be kept indoors or vaccinated.

Britain's farm minister Margaret Beckett said yesterday the country was well prepared to react swiftly to any outbreak of bird flu.

Britain has questioned the benefits of vaccination and Beckett reiterated fears that vaccines might mask rather than eradicate the disease, although she said the government's policy was under review. — Reuters

India, Pak to review air services
K.J.M. Varma

Islamabad, February 28
Top officials from India and Pakistan will hold talks next month to review the bilateral air services agreement, to further commercial cooperation and iron out differences on tariff and non-tariff barriers.

Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry today said the civil aviation officials of both countries would meet in New Delhi on March 7-8 to review the existing bilateral air services agreement.

A Pakistani delegation headed by retired Gen Muhammad Asharaf Chaudhry, Additional Secretary of Defence, would travel to New Delhi for talks with their counterparts, a ministry statement said.

The officials would discuss the possibility of setting up air links between more cities and increasing the number of airlines flying the routes, it said. — PTI

Indian origin woman oldest to contest SA polls

Durban, February 28
A 77-year-old grandmother of Indian origin has become the oldest politician to contest tomorrow's South African local government elections, the second such since the advent of new democracy in the post-Apartheid era.

Lutchmyamma Naidoo is contesting the elections for the Independent Democrats (ID), a party headed by the fiery politician Patricia De Lille of Cape Town.

Naidoo, who has three children and 18 grand-children, will be standing for a seat in the country town of KwaDukuza, about 75 km north here.

A veteran local community worker, Naidoo is confident of winning ."I am confident because I am fighting for the people who live in low-cost housing. I want them to get better service delivery and this gives me enough strength to overcome the age factor," said Naidoo, popularly known as “Botoo"” because of the big red dot she wears on her forehead.

"People get surprised when I say I am contesting the elections. But I tell them they need someone who will fight for them and not someone who will use the position to further their own nests," she said. — PTI

Qaida man escapes US detention

Dubai, February 28
A website often used by militants posted a video tape in which a purported Al-Qaida escapee from a US airbase in Afghanistan vowed to fight Americans in Iraq and the USA.

‘’We did not think it was this easy, to leave like this. We thought there were military positions...,’’ said Iraqi, who said he escaped with three other Qaida members he identified with aliases Abou Nasser, Abou Yehya and Abdullah al-Shami. — Reuters