W O R L D

Pak got $1.1 billion from USA for fighting terror
Islamabad, November 15
Pakistan received about $ 1.1 billion last year from the USA for the logistical support it provided for the counter-terrorism operations, including its own military operation mainly in Waziristan and other tribal areas along the Durand line. According to a recent report of the Asian Development Bank, Pakistan received about $ 1.1 billion from the USA for logistical support.

Mufti harps on self-rule in J&K
New York, November 15
Self-rule could lead to solution of the Kashmir issue and present a way out to preserve sovereignty of India and Pakistan, People’ Democratic Party leader Mufti Mohammad Sayeed has said. This, he said, is the only way out to “eliminate the source of ethno-territorial conflict” in the sub-continent and integrate the region with the fast moving global economy.

Most Iraqi ministry hostages freed
Baghdad, November 15
State television Iraqiya said most of the staffers taken hostage at a Higher Education Ministry building had been freed in operations by security forces in Baghdad. Iraqiya quoted an Interior Ministry spokesman as saying operations were continuing to free the remaining hostages.

WOMAN POWER: Indonesian Muslim rally against US President George W. Bush's planned visit in Surabaya, east Jaya on Wednesday. — Reuters

Pak passes Women Protection Bill
Islamabad, November 15
The ruling Pakistan Muslim League today secured approval of the Protection of Women Rights Bill by the National Assembly.

Star family gets bigger,
20 more identified
Washington, November 15
Astronomers have identified 20 new stellar systems in the Earth’s local neighbourhood, two of which are the 23rd and 24th closest stars to  the Sun.

BOND IS BACK: Actor Daniel Craig arrives with a guest for the world premiere of the latest James Bond move “Casino Royale” at a cinema in London. — Reuters

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Pak got $1.1 billion from USA for fighting terror
Khaleeq Kiani
By arrangement with the Dawn

Islamabad, November 15
Pakistan received about $ 1.1 billion last year from the USA for the logistical support it provided for the counter-terrorism operations, including its own military operation mainly in Waziristan and other tribal areas along the Durand line. According to a recent report of the Asian Development Bank, Pakistan received about $ 1.1 billion from the USA for logistical support.

And according to a report of the Congressional Research Services (CRS), updated on October 26, the USA disbursed about $ 3.7 billion to Pakistan for counter-terrorism operations during January 2002 to August 2005. Another $ 900 million would be provided to Pakistan during the current year and $ 739 million next year.

The next year’s amount is likely to be reduced by $ 150 million to about $ 590 million, owing to a reduction sought by the US House Appropriations Committee ostensibly for domestic budgetary reasons, not related to Pakistan.
The US Senate Appropriations Committee, said the report, called for redirecting of the requested ($ 739 million) US economic aid to Pakistan towards development and democracy promotion programme. More so because the Democrats have gained ground in both Houses and are critical of Bush policies.

Pakistan’s official budget documents give no details of these receipts.

The report said Pakistan was provided with $ 300 million in 2005 and would get a similar amount during the current year under the foreign military financing alone. A total of more than $ 15 billion in US economic and military assistance went to Pakistan from 1947 through 2005.

The Bush Administration offered a $ 3 billion five-year aid package to Pakistan for becoming a frontline ally. Annual instalments of $ 600 million each split evenly between military and economic aid, began in 2005. In his autobiography, President Musharraf wrote that the CIA had paid millions of dollars to the Pakistan government as bounty money for capturing Al-Qaida operators from tribal areas bordering Afghanistan. About 359 of them were handed over to the USA. The whole affair was dropped from the Urdu version of President Musharraf’s book following the Bush Administration’s clarifications that the US law did not permit payment of bounty money to governments for capturing or providing information about person with head money on them.

The updated version of the report on Pakistan finalised by the CRS on October 26, 2006, said: "Rewards for participation in the post-September 2001 anti-terror coalition somewhat eased Pakistan's severe national debt situation, with many countries, including the USA, boosting bilateral assistance efforts and large amounts of external aid flowing into the country."

This challenges a government claim in Pakistan that the debt reduction was secured through home-grown economic policies and rescheduling of debt with the Paris Club ahead of 9/11.

It said the national economy of the poor country gathered significant momentum helped in large part by the government’s pro-growth policies and by post-2001 infusions of foreign aid.

Mufti harps on self-rule in J&K

New York, November 15
Self-rule could lead to solution of the Kashmir issue and present a way out to preserve sovereignty of India and Pakistan, People’ Democratic Party (PDP) leader Mufti Mohammad Sayeed has said.

This, he said, is the only way out to “eliminate the source of ethno-territorial conflict” in the sub-continent and integrate the region with the fast moving global economy.

The Mufti told a seminar on “Kashmir — The Way Ahead”, jointly organised by two US think-tanks, the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) and the Stimson Centre, for a sustainable solution of the problem, an “innovative institutional arrangement having political, economic and security character” has to be put in place. — PTI

Most Iraqi ministry hostages freed

Baghdad, November 15
State television Iraqiya said most of the staffers taken hostage at a Higher Education Ministry building had been freed in operations by security forces in Baghdad. Iraqiya quoted an Interior Ministry spokesman as saying operations were continuing to free the remaining hostages.

Al Furat, a television station controlled by a major Shia political group, said 25 hostages were still missing.

Officials initially said 100 or more men had been taken hostage, but a government spokesman said later yesterday that 20 had been released within hours and the kidnappers were holding around 50 hostages.

Gunmen in Iraqi police uniforms took hostage male staff and visitors from the building in a daylight raid that was among the most serious mass kidnapping in more than three years of violence since the 2003 US-led invasion. Women were left behind after having their mobile phones confiscated.

Some of the released hostages said they were driven to Sadr City, a Shia militia stronghold in eastern Baghdad, Higher Education Minister Abd Dhiab said. — Reuters

Pak passes Women Protection Bill

Islamabad, November 15
The ruling Pakistan Muslim League (PML) today secured approval of the Protection of Women Rights Bill by the National Assembly.

The Bill repeals the controversial Islamic Hudood Ordinance of 1979, which is considered highly repressive against women.

Under the Hudood Ordinance, a rape victim was required to produce at least four male witnesses to prove her ordeal or face charges for adultery.

However, one of the main amendments, passed by the assembly today took rape out of the sphere of the religious law and placed it under the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC). It will now allow convictions to be made on the basis of forensic and circumstantial evidence. — UNI

Star family gets bigger, 20 more identified

Washington, November 15
Astronomers have identified 20 new stellar systems in the Earth’s local neighbourhood, two of which are the 23rd and 24th closest stars to  the Sun.

The discovery made by a group, called the Research Consortium on Nearby Stars (RECONS), will be published in the Astronomical Journal next month.

“Our goal is to help complete the census of our local neighbourhood and provide some statistical insights about the demographics of stars in our galaxy, their masses, their evolutionary states, and the frequency of multiple star systems,” says 
RECONS Project Director Todd Henry of Georgia State University in Atlanta.

“Due to their proximity, these systems are also excellent targets for exoplanet searches, and ultimately, for astrobiological studies of whether any planets that are found could support life,” he added.

The 20 newly reported objects are all red dwarf stars, which comprise 239 of the 348 known objects beyond our Solar System within the 10-parsec boundary in which the group conducted the survey, suggesting that red dwarfs likely account for at least 69 per cent of the Milky Way's residents.

“Red dwarfs are among the faintest but most populous objects in the Milky Way. Although you can’t see a single one with the naked eye, there are swarms of them throughout the galaxy,” Henry says.

The researchers say they hope to discover some more stellar systems within 10 parsecs in the future.

“We expect to announce more systems within 10 parsecs in the future. The pool of nearby stars without accurate parallaxes is nowhere near drained,” notes Henry.

The purpose of the survey is to discover and characterise overlooked stars and brown dwarfs in the vicinity of the Sun. — ANI