W O R L D

Bush asks Pervez, Karzai to join in terror hunt
Washington, September 28
In the midst of war of words between Pakistani and Afghan Presidents Pervez Musharraf and Hamid Karzai, US President George Bush has said his country needed to work with them to “strategise together” to defeat terrorism.

US President George W. Bush is flanked by Afghan President Hamid Karzai (right) and Pakistan President Parvez Musharraf at a meeting in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, on Thursday. — AFP photo

‘Pak not doing enough against madarsas training extremists’
Washington, September 28
A day after Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf accused his Afghan counterpart of not wanting to confront the ground reality in his country, it was the turn of Hamid Karzai, who slammed the former for “not doing enough” to stop some madarsas in Pakistan breeding extremists.

Top US honour for Dalai Lama
Washington, September 28
President George W Bush has signed into law a Bill to present the Dalai Lama a Congressional Gold Medal, the highest honour bestowed by the US Congress. The decision to honour the Buddhist leader, who is widely revered in the mountainous region ruled by China, caused outrage in Beijing when the House of Representatives passed the measure two weeks ago.

Bush asks Pervez, Karzai to join in terror hunt
Sridhar Krishnaswami

Washington, September 28
In the midst of war of words between Pakistani and Afghan Presidents Pervez Musharraf and Hamid Karzai, US President George Bush has said his country needed to work with them to “strategise together” to defeat terrorism.

“We’ve got a lot of challenges facing us. All of us must protect our countries. But at the same time, we all must work to make the world a more hopeful place,” he told Musharraf and Karzai at a dinner meeting yesterday.

“And so today’s dinner is a chance for us to strategise together, to talk about the need to cooperate, to make sure that people have got a hopeful future,” Bush said at the White House.

“The main thing I was looking forward to talking about is how the United States government and the people of the US can help these two countries provide a foundation for hope,” he said.

He said the three countries would continue to hunt for Al-Qaida supremo Osama bin Laden.

“We will continue to make sure that extremists such as Osama bin Laden, that wants to ... hurt my friend here (Musharraf), as well as upset the democracy in Afghanistan, is brought to justice,” Bush remarked.

Calling both Karzai and Musharraf “personal friends” of his, the American President said the two were “strong leaders who have an understanding of the world in which we live.”

Karzai and Musharraf have been accusing each other of not doing enough in the fight against terrorism.

A White House statement issued after the dinner said Bush, Musharraf and Karzai had a “constructive” exchange on the common challenges facing the three nations.

“The leaders agreed on the need for common action to achieve common objectives. They committed to supporting moderation and defeating extremism through greater intelligence sharing, coordinated action against terrorists, and efforts to enhance the prosperity of the peoples of Afghanistan and Pakistan” the statement said.

The dinner was also attended by US Vice-President Dick Cheney, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley and the Ambassadors representing Kabul and Islamabad in Washington.

“The President was pleased to have both President Karzai and President Musharraf to dinner at the White House. The holy month of Ramadan is a more than appropriate time for the three leaders to come together to share a post-sundown meal” the statement said.

At the dinner Bush asked both Musharraf and Karzai to share their views on the current situation in the region and the common challenge posed by extremism and terrorism.

“President Musharraf discussed initiatives he is pursuing in the Federall Administered Tribal Areas to improve governance, develop the region economically, and enhance security. President Karzai discussed ongoing efforts to enhance security, improve governance, and accelerate development throughout Afghanistan” the statement added. — PTI

‘Pak not doing enough against madarsas training extremists’

Washington, September 28
A day after Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf accused his Afghan counterpart of not wanting to confront the ground reality in his country, it was the turn of Hamid Karzai, who slammed the former for “not doing enough” to stop some madarsas in Pakistan breeding extremists.

Karzai’s remarks in an interview to CNN, asserting that the use of extremism as an “instrument of national policy” is not in the best interests of Pakistan, comes just ahead of the Pak-US-Afghan dinner meeting at the White House.

“He is right to say that I know the facts (about what is happening in Afghanistan). I indeed know the facts, but I also know a lot of facts in Pakistan.

“And that’s why I am pleading with President Musharraf that, for the sake of security for all of us and for our allies, it is extremely important to place serious attention and take action against some of the places called madarsas that are not madarsas, but are training extremists full of hatred for the rest of the world,” Karzai said.

Karzai argued that Musharraf was not doing enough at all to stop that kind of religious training and that the “sanctuary” for extremists inside Pakistan will have to go.

“Not doing enough at all and I want all of us to take more action,” he said.

“If on the one hand Afghan people are asking for more schools, better education, more help, they cannot be ones to destroy themselves. Somebody else must be doing it and that someone else is the sanctuary in Pakistan to terrorists.

“That sanctuary has to go,” he emphasised.

Karzai once again said the leader of the Taliban Mullah Omar is in Quetta, Pakistan and in the process brushed aside Musharraf’s emphatic statements that he is not there.

Meanwhile, according to an AFP report in an interview on Canada’s public broadcaster, Musharraf said Karzai was more concerned with himself than his own country.

Musharraf criticised Karzai while acknowledging to CBC News the difficulties in forging an effective partnership with the Afghan leader.

“We should work together, but I’m afraid he’s not being honest about everything,” said Musharraf in interview aired late Tuesday night. “He’s concerned more about himself than about Afghanistan.” — PTI

Top US honour for Dalai Lama

Washington, September 28
President George W Bush has signed into law a Bill to present the Dalai Lama a Congressional Gold Medal, the highest honour bestowed by the US Congress.

The decision to honour the Buddhist leader, who is widely revered in the mountainous region ruled by China, caused outrage in Beijing when the House of Representatives passed the measure two weeks ago.

At the time, Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang denounced the decision, which he said “seriously interferes with China’s internal affairs and damages China-US relations.”

Bush signed the Bill yesterday.

The Chinese Government considers the Dalai Lama a political troublemaker who works from his exile in India to push for Tibet’s independence.

The proposal to honour the Dalai Lama with a Congressional Gold Medal was co-sponsored by 73 of the 100 Senators. It said the Dalai Lama “has struggled for half a century to better the lives of the Tibetan people.” — AP