London, April 3
A life-size wax statue of Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan was inaugurated at the world-famous Madame Tussauds museum.

Shah Rukh Khan is the third celebrity after Amitabh Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai, from Bollywood to have his replica in the museum. Amitabh Bachchan’s wax statue is reportedly watched by 25 lakh visitors to the museum every year.

Among the Indian leaders figuring in the Museum are former prime ministers Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi.
Madame Tussaud’s was set up by wax sculptor Marie Tussaud.It is is a major tourist attraction in London.

Emphasising that the Indo-Pakistan dialogue process should be result-oriented, Pakistani premier Shaukat Aziz has said he will meet Manmohan Singh in New Delhi on Wednesday morning. He said certain important bilateral issues needed to be addressed immediately.

Talking to Pakistani journalists travelling with him to New Delhi from Islamabad aboard his special aircraft, the Prime Minister said the thrust of his discussion with his Indian counterpart would be on making the dialogue process result-oriented. High on the agenda would be the issues of Kashmir, Siachen and Sir Creek, he added.

The two leaders last met on the margins of the 13th SAARC summit in Dhaka in November 2005. Aziz is representing Pakistan at the 14th SAARC summit, which opened on Tuesday.

Noting that relations between India and Pakistan were headed in the right direction, Aziz said: “There is a will on both sides to move ahead, and step by step we are heading where we should.” Agreeing that there was need for speeding up the peace process, he observed: “When you have a long history of issues and trust deficit, you have to tread carefully.”

He said the two governments were doing what they could for a conducive atmosphere for progress on all issues.

The Prime Minister termed his upcoming meeting with the Indian premier a part of the process to have contacts at the highest level and build rapport on various issues.

“Pakistan desires peace and our goal is to have a peaceful settlement of disputes through negotiations, dialogue and diplomacy, and this includes the Kashmir issue,” he said.

“Our wish is that Kashmiris live in peace and any settlement is in line with the wishes and aspirations of the Kashmiri people.”

Aziz was non-committal when asked if any breakthrough was expected at the defence secretary-level talks on the Siachen issue later this week.

“Let us not prejudge what will happen. All this is part of a process that should be looked at as a positive development.”

He maintained that the two countries were making progress in many ways, particularly in terms of trade and interaction.

“If trade grows, there is nothing wrong in that provided it is in line with the positive list which has been expanded to about 1,200 items.”

He made it clear that Pakistan would consider India's demand for transit facility for its exports to Afghanistan only after there is an improvement in relations. Aziz said the SAFTA issue would definitely be discussed in the talks.

The Prime Minister said he would meet Afghan President Hamid Karzai on the sidelines of the summit. Karzai repeated his charge in New Delhi that Pakistan was trying to colonise Afghanistan.

New York, April 3
Chennai-born Sukanya Krishnan, who has won several awards for her television news coverage for mainstream media, added another feather to her cap by winning the New York Emmy Award in the on-camera: programme host/moderator category for the current year.

Krishnan, 32, has worked for several television channels and among the major stories covered by her included the impeachment proceedings of former President Bill Clinton.

A versatile television personality, she has done a variety of jobs from shooting, writing and editing news stories behind the camera to reporting on the air in front of the camera.

Earlier, she had won the Indian American Political Awareness Committee “Creating A Voice Award,” and received a distinguished broadcast journalist commendation from the office of the city comptroller for her reporting on the immediate aftermath of the September 11, 2001 terror attacks in the US.

Krishnan, who is fluent in English, Tamil and Spanish, was also honoured last year by the Federation of Tamil Sangam of North America.

She has also stared in the hit television series “The Sopranos,” where she played a reporter covering the mob.

The Supreme Judicial Council today adjourned hearing of Presidential reference against the suspended Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry till April 13.

Barrister Aitzaz Ahsan, the leading lawyer assisting the non-functional Chief Justice in the reference, gave his arguments for open trial in the SJC proceedings, which were continued for an hour. He argued against in-camera hearing of the reference.

Barrister Wasim Sajjad appeared before the SJC on behalf of the government.The Attorney General Makhdoom Ali Khan and former minister of law Khalid Ranjha gave arguments as government counsels.

Outside the court, lawyers and senior leaders and activists of opposition parties staged a massive demonstration in support of Iftikhar and demanded withdrawal of the reference. Stringent security arrangements had been made and the city was virtually sealed particularly in the high security area around the court and other top government buildings
Lawyers also staged rallies across the country while the Punjab Bar Council decided to make it a permanent feature daily and force complete shut down on Thursdays till their demands are accepted.

Earlier, Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry reached Supreme Court along with his lawyers Barrister Aitzaz Ahsan, Hamid Ali Khan and Justice (Rtd) Tarique Mehmood to appear in the Supreme Judicial Council hearing of presidential reference against him.

Barrister Aitzaz Ahsan, leading lawyer assisting the non-functional Chief Justice in the reference said he would argue for an open trial of Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry in the hearing, as people should know the truth of charges against the non-functional Chief Justice.

Aitzaz Ahsan said he would also discuss the constitutional status of the Supreme Judicial Council and would argue whether the appointment of the acting Chief Justice is constitutional.