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No headway in Siachen talks 40 killed in Pak clashes DEO kidnapped by Maoist group
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Protesters disrupt work in newspaper offices Six Benches
to hear cases of suspended Pak CJ Pak to initiate action against Islamist cleric Bhutto-Pak govt talks in
final stages
Bush criticises Democrats for war bill 7 killed, 25 hurt in Lanka blast Earthquake in Sumatra island UN seeks probe in Darfur violence Superman’s costume fetches $115,000
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No headway in Siachen talks
Islamabad, April 7 However, the two sides decided to continue the talks to find out a solution of the Siachen and other issues, said a brief statement issued in the garrison town of Rawalpindi after the two-day deliberations, which were held within the framework of the ongoing composite dialogue process. Indian Defence Secretary Shekhar Dutt and his Pakistani counterpart Kamran Rasool led their respective delegation at the talks, which focused on a number of new initiatives to resolve the dispute over the 24,000-foot-high inhospitable glacier, where armies of the two countries have been facing each other since 1984. “The talks were held in a pleasant atmosphere and both the sides agreed to bring a lasting peace in the region by resolving Siachen and other issues,” said the statement. However, it did not say whether Pakistan’s detailed plan, which Foreign Secretary Riaz Muhammad Khokhar had handed over to his Indian counterpart Shiv Shankar Menon in New Delhi last November, also figured at the talks. Foreign Minister Khurshid Kasuri had recently told Pakistani media that the plan addressed concerns of both sides. It was learnt that the talks could not progress after Indian officials refused to agree to a Pakistani proposal for a withdrawal of troops to 1984 positions. The last Defence Secretary-level meeting between the two countries on the Siachen issue was held in May, 2006, in New Delhi but had ended without making much headway.
— UNI
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40 killed in Pak clashes
Islamabad, April 7 The trouble started yesterday after fighting broke out between Sunni and Shia Muslims in Parachinar, the capital of the tribal Kurram Agency, 290 km west of here. At least 40 people were killed and more than 43 injured in the clashes, state-run PTV said. The army has been called and a curfew imposed in the city, an official said. “The army, backed by Cobra helicopters, has now taken full control of the city and firing has also been stopped,” local administrator Sahibzada Muhammad Anees told Geo TV from Parachinar on phone. He said that two helicopters hit positions of both sides from where the shots were being fired. Anees said that the army and paramilitary forces had started joint patrolling, adding that there would be no relaxation in curfew. “We have issued shoot-at-sight orders today and anyone trying to violate the curfew will pay the consequences,” Anees said. — PTI
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DEO kidnapped by Maoist group Kathmandu, April 7 According to a police source in Saptari, four armed activists of JTMM kidnapped Joshi from his official quarters in
Rajbiraj, district headquarters of Saptari, at around 3 am. Owning responsibility, JTMM Saptari district coordinator Shyam said his team abducted
Joshi as latter refused to give donations. The group has sought Rs 5 million as ransom for his release. The abduction was carried out to pressurise the government to
allow only native Terai residents to participate in the upcoming constituent Assembly election,
he added. |
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Protesters disrupt work in newspaper offices Kathmandu, April 7 They disrupted work in offices of two national daily newspapers, The Himalayan Times (English) and Annapurna Post (Nepali), for about one-and-a-half hours protesting against the publications for dismissing four staff members.
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Six Benches to hear cases of suspended Pak CJ
Islamabad, April 7 A large number of petitions have been filed by different parties, including those questioning appointment of non-Muslim Das as the Acting Chief Justice (ACJ) following suspension of Chaudhry by President Musharraf, his power to head the five-judge Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) hearing charges of misuse of power against Chaudhry and the authority of the SJC itself. The case relating to Chaudhry's alleged manhandling by police following which the entire top brass of police here was charged with contempt of court would also be heard by one of these benches. According to the cause list issued by the fixture department of the Supreme Court today for the next week, all six benches comprising Justice Das and 14 other judges would hear the cases from April 9. The fixture department has already mentioned on the top of cause list that "no application for adjournment through fax will be placed before the court. If the counsel is unable to appear for any reason the advocate-on-record will be required to argue the case." — PTI
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Pak to initiate action against Islamist cleric
Islamabad, April 7 Reacting to the announcement of Maulana giving a month’s deadline to impose Shariah law and notice to music store owners to close down, Sherpao questioned the credibility of the cleric of the Lal Masjid. He said by such announcements, the credibility of all the religious institutions of the country had become questionable. “When Maulana says that if the government launches attack he will send suicide bombers, what message is someone giving? The credibility of all the religious institutions in the country is also being eroded because people from outside would question as to what is happening at all these institutions,” Sherpao said. He said by threatening to launch suicide attacks, the Maulana was portraying a negative picture of seminaries as producing suicide attackers and extremists. The government has blocked the website (www.lalmasjid.org) of the Lal Masjid that was being used to advocate its radical Islamic ideology. Earlier, the government had banned an FM radio transmission from the mosque being used for propaganda purpose.
— PTI
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Bhutto-Pak govt talks in
final stages
Islamabad, April 7 The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) was in contact with the government and the results will be soon in front of everyone, Railway Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed told reporters in Lahore yesterday, referring to assertions by PPP leaders that he was spreading a disinformation campaign against Bhutto.
— PTI
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Bush criticises Democrats for war bill
Crawford (Texas), April 7 “I recognise that Democrats are trying to show their current opposition to the war in Iraq,” Bush said in his weekly radio address from Crawford, where he is on a break of his own. “They see the emergency war spending bill as a chance to make that statement,” Bush said. “Yet for our men and women in uniform, this emergency war spending bill is not a political statement, it is a source of critical funding that has a direct impact on their daily lives.” In response, Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean said Bush was sticking to a “my way or the highway” approach to governing. “It is time for the President and Republicans in Congress to stop trying to bully their way through this and work with Democrats to end the war,” Dean said in his party’s weekly radio address. —AP
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7 killed, 25 hurt in Lanka blast
Colombo, April 7 The Defence Ministry said the explosion occurred when the Sri Lanka Transport Board (SLTB) bus was going travelling to Vavuniya from Mannar at Piramanalankulam. Five people, including a soldier died on the spot while two more civilians succumbed to their injuries in Vavuniya Hospital, a Defence Ministry official said over the phone.
— UNI
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Earthquake in Sumatra island
Jakarta, April 7 A strong 6.3-magnitude quake, as measured by the United States Geological Society, hit Sumatra on March 6, killing about 70 persons.
— AFP
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UN seeks probe in Darfur violence
New York, April 7 At least 15 cases of sexual assault, including rape had occurred. Girls as young as 13 were targeted and at least two pregnant women suffered violence, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights said in its report on the December 2006 attacks in Jebel Marra, Darfur. “Soldiers came in cars heading toward the hills. Three were in green military uniform and the fourth was in civilian clothes. All four of them were armed and all of them raped me,” the report quotes 13-year-old victim as saying. While some women were raped in the villages, others were abducted, taken away, raped and later released. “Based on testimony gathered, it appears that rape during the December 2006 attacks was used as a weapon of war to cause humiliation and instill fear into the local population. The attacks were indiscriminately aimed at a population of the same ethnicity as some rebel groups and also resulted in civilian death and displacement,” the High Commissioner, Louise Arbour, said in a statement. Along with other recommendations, the High Commissioner called on the government to investigate the attacks. — PTI
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Superman’s costume fetches $115,000
San Francisco, April 6 The rare Winkie costume was used by an actor portraying a guard protecting the Wicked Witch of the West in the much beloved ‘Wizard of Oz’. It was within its estimated price range of $100,000 to $120,000, but the ‘Superman’ costume from the 1978 movie soared past its $50,000 to $70,000 estimated price. By contrast, the costume worn by actor George Reeves in the 1950s television series ‘The Adventures of Superman’ brought in $129,800 in 2003. A Batsuit from 1995’s ‘Batman Forever’ brought $63,250 and an alien creature costume from 1979’s ‘Alien’ $126,500.— Reuters
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