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Pak says it has no control over ISI, MI
US House adopts resolution on Mumbai blasts
US war veterans back N-deal
Bush vetoes stem cell Bill
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Pak says it has no control over ISI, MI
Islamabad, July 20 In a sworn affidavit filed before the Sindh High Court (SHC) yesterday, Defence Secretary General (Retd) Tariq Waseem Ghazi said his ministry had no operational control over the ISI and MI and, therefore, it could not enforce the court's direction on both the agencies in detention matters. He was responding to the court's order over the detention of Munir Mengal, the head of Dubai-based TV channel 'Voice of Baloch'. Mengal was reportedly whisked away by intelligence personnel on his arrival in Karachi recently. The Pakistan Army has also informed the court that it too had no control over the two intelligence agencies, even though they were headed by top Generals of the Army. On July 11, Assistant Judge Advocate General of Pakistan Army, Lt Col Mohammad Iqbal Sahboo, had submitted similar written remarks in connection with half a dozen petitions challenging disappearance and detention of political and religious leaders. The SHC bench comprising Justice Maqbool Baqar and Justice Muneeb Ahmed adjourned the hearing on the petition when the petitioner's counsel Rashid A Rizvi sought time to go through the affidavit of the Defence Secretary. In his affidavit, the Defence Secretary said ISI and MI, which were only under the administrative control of the Defence Ministry, were tasked to locate and produce MunirMengal before the court, but both agencies maintained that he was neither apprehended nor was held in their custody as he was not wanted in any case. Ghazi further submitted that both agencies had conveyed to the ministry that the task of locating or recovering missing persons did not fall under their purview and they did not have the mandate to check in such cases. Petitioner Abera Mengal, wife of Munir Mengal, had claimed in a petition that her husband, upon his arrival in Karachi from Dubai on April four, was cleared by the immigration authorities but arrested by some law enforcement agencies. —PTI
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US House adopts resolution on Mumbai blasts
Washington, July 20 Several Congressmen who spoke on the resolution yesterday said these incidents would only strengthen India-US cooperation against terrorism. ''We in the United States came through a civil rights movement gereration ago that was inspired by the spirit of non-violence, which was led in India by Mahatma Gandhi. Our own Martin Luther King and Coretta Scott King visited India to learn about non-violence, and we all know what a tremendous impact it had on succeeding in advancing civil rights in our own country. We will be forever in debt to India for that magnificent contribution to our own social progress in the United States.'' She also mentioned how the world owes a debt of gratitude to India for its hospitality to his Holiness, the Dalai Lama. And how the government of India has been a friend to all who are concerned about human rights. — UNI
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US war veterans back N-deal
Eight groups representing millions of retired US armed forces personnel have announced their support for the US-India civil nuclear deal saying it will serve the future security interests ofAmerica.
The show of support from the veterans - former members of U.S. armed forces and their families - is the most significant so far for passage of this agreement for national security reasons. The groups have over 9,000 chapters and posts across the US and are present in every congressional district. In an advertisement published in Roll Call, a prominent Capitol Hill newspaper, the group notes India “can help American security interests in the region in a way no other nation can.” The Indian American Security Leadership Council, founded by Ramesh V. Kapur of Massachusetts, paid for the ad. In an interview with The Tribune, Mr Kapur said bipartisan support for the deal was partly due to thefact that “Republicans have the fear of God, and Democrats have the fear of national security.” Describing the nuclear deal as the “glue that will cement our two countries,” Mr Kapur, who was instrumental in winning Massachusetts Democratic Senator John Kerry’s support for the agreement, said he was hopeful that both Houses of Congress would soon approve it. The ad focuses on national security concerns in the US. “Our nation faces potential future threats from a militarily aggressive China, from the potential of regional nuclear weapons falling into anti-American hands, to an Iranian or North Korean nuclear threat,”it says. The veterans also noted that they know “first hand what it means to defend America.” “Because of history, size, location and commitment to democracy as well as its opposition to terrorism,India can be an important part of America’s security in the region,” they say. Noting further that a strong India will help deter war, the veterans said they want “peace and security for America and our freedom defended, and if we can do this by deterring war, which a strong India can help us do in this region, so much the better.”
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Bush vetoes stem cell Bill
Washington, July 20 The veto fulfilled a Bush promise made to social conservatives whose votes his Republican Party will need in November to help keep control of the Senate and House. ''It crosses a moral boundary that our decent society needs to respect, so I vetoed it,'' Bush said. The issue also splits the party before the mid-term poll as it is already struggling with Bush's low approval ratings and bitter divisions over other issues, such as immigration.
— Reuters
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