Islamabad, July 24
Top Pakistani Taliban commander and former Guantanamo Bay detainee Abdullah Mehsud today blew himself up to avoid arrest by Pakistan military during a raid in Balochistan along the Afghanistan border.

Mehsud led the local Taliban militia in south Waziristan following his release by Pakistan in March 2004, soon after the US sent him back from the detention centre for terror suspects.

He was among the most wanted militant leaders in Pakistan especially for his involvement in the abduction and killing of two Chinese engineers in 2004.

Mehsud blew himself up with a hand grenade when troops surrounded his hideout around 8.30 am at Zhob, 300 km north of Balochistan provincial capital Quetta.

Two of his brothers and an aide, also stated to be a Pak-Taliban commander, were taken into custody during the raid that took place after security agencies were tipped off.

Mehsud had apparently come to visit Taliban sympathiser Sheikh Ayub Muthakhel, a top leader of the Jamat Ulema Islam, headed by Fazlur Rehman, the secretary general of Islamist Alliance Muthahida Majlis Amal.

The 32-year-old one legged Taliban leader was also believed to be behind the recent attacks against Chinese in Peshawar and Balochistan.

The success for Pakistani military came after a verbal spat between Washington and Islamabad over warnings of direct military strikes by the US in militants bases in Pakistan’s tribal areas.

Mehsud was captured while fighting along with the Taliban in 2003 and was detained in Guantanamo. — PTI

Melbourne, July 24
Australian Prime Minister John Howard today denied pressurising the immigration minister into cancelling the visa of Mohammed Haneef or leaking information to the media to taint the Indian doctor, charged with supporting a terrorist group.

Haneef was granted bail by a Brisbane magistrate last Monday but a few hours later immigration minister Kevin Andrews revoked his visa.

Although Andrews cited character issues, deputy prime minister Mark Vaile has admitted the revocation of Haneef’s visa was to keep the him in Australia while his case is under way.

Howard said he had discussed Haneef’s visa with Andrews and senior members of cabinet, but had left it to the minister to decide on a course of action.

“He exercised his discretion and we didn’t seek to direct him. But often in these situations ... the minister will seek the views of his colleagues and then go away and make his or her decision, there’s nothing unusual about that” Howard said.

Opposition Labour party has also failed to escape criticism for its handling of the Haneef case, with party lawyers accusing Rudd of kotowing to the Howard Government over the case.

Howard insisted his government was not behind a series of leaks intended to tarnish the defendant. “I haven’t leaked any information. No member of the government, to my knowledge, has leaked any information.”

The Prime Minister ridiculed Queensland premier Peter Beattie's call for a senate inquiry into the case, saying it was a matter for the courts.

“If (the police) do something that’s wrong, well the courts will take account of that,” Howard said adding “but for people in my position or Beattie’s position to be running a partisan campaign on this, is quite wrong and it’s unhelpful to the fight against terrorism in this country.” — PTI

The government has decided to set up its own network of religious schools - Dar-ul-Ilm - to impart religious and contemporary education to destitute children, with the aim of turning them into productive and valued citizens.

The decision made at a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz at PM House here reflected an implicit acknowledgement of the failure to implement madrassa reforms in the face of stiff resistance by religious groups running seminaries, many of which are suspected by the US and its allies as breeding grounds for extremism and militancy.

It was decided at the meeting that qualified teachers would be engaged under the programme to impart both religious and contemporary education, and there would be an additional special focus on vocational training. Free boarding and lodging would be provided to students at these institutions and a special fund would be created for the purpose. Leading religious scholars, it was decided, would be consulted to finalise the key features of Dar-ul-Ilm.

Most of the existing madrassas are called ‘Darul Ulum’ and run as affiliates of JUI of Maulana Fazlur Rehman. 

London, July 24
Planning a trip to the United Kingdom? Get ready to undertake medical examination. Yes, visitors from India could be compelled to take tests for tuberculosis before coming to the UK if the British government’s proposed scheme in this regard is implemented.

“Currently we have a pilot project with seven countries — the countries in which TB is most prevalent — in which we test people before they receive their visas. This is a scheme which is now being evaluated and I think we will probably roll it out to more countries, like China and India,” the Daily Mail reported on Tuesday, quoting government whip Baroness Royall of Blaisdon as saying.

Around 400 patients die from the disease every year, mainly due to late diagnosis, the daily reported, stating that in 2005 there was an 11 per cent rise in TB cases compared with 2004.

The move is an attempt by the Labour government to curb the rising incidence of the disease which usually affects the lungs and spreads by an infected person coughing or sneezing.

Though the scheme is likely to prove unpopular with immigrants arriving in Britain to see relatives or to work as skilled temporary workers, peers said that “everybody coming to the UK for more than six months and all visitors from countries known to have high TB levels should be tested”.

In fact, health experts had attacked ministers last month for the government’s failure to act after it was revealed that “Britain is the only western European nation experiencing a sustained rise in TB cases”. — PTI

Moscow, July 24
Russia has lifted the ban on Indian rice and has started issuing quarantine import certificates from July 20.

On June 5, Russia's phytosanitary watchdog Rosselkhoznadzor had imposed a total ban on rice imports from India after it found pesticides and other impurities in several consignments. Russia lifted its ban after the commerce secretary G.K.Pillai, during his Moscow visit earlier this month, had parleys with the Agriculture Ministry officials here and assured them of tightening control on the Indian end, sources said.

Moscow had claimed that last year up to 12 per cent rice imported from India did not meet the Russian phytosanitary norms. — PTI

Tamil Tigers have begun stepping up violence by killing at least 15 security personnel on the day that marks the 24th anniversary of the 1983 anti-Tamil riots in the country on Tuesday as the government warned of terrorists attacks against civilian and economic targets.

In a claymore mine attack targeting a bus carrying off duty soldiers heading for Colombo, at Ceddikualam in the northern Vavuniya district, 11 soldiers were killed and eight others were injured, the military said. Four para military personnel known as home guards were killed earlier in the day also in Vavuniya district.

These attacks come just hours after the government issued a warning to the general public asking them to be vigilant following intelligence reports indicating that two trucks packed with C 4 explosives had been sent to Colombo by the LTTE.

Public fears have been compounded by the detection on Sunday, at a crowded market place, of a timed explosive device weighing 8 kg placed in a bag.

The explosive was detected after the police was tipped off by an alert member of the public.

The head of the LTTE's political wing S.P.Thamilselvam said last week that the rebels would step up attacks against the government which would include attacks on economic targets after the security personnel successfully gained control of the entire province driving the rebels to their northern stronghold.

At a time when the Government of Nepal has decided to increase the security for Maoist chairman Prachanda, his partymen in the interim government have rejected the government’s security.

On Sunday evening, all five Maoist ministers, sent back the army personnel from the Nepal army’s Bhairab Nath Battalion, provided by the government for their residential quarters at Pulchowk, saying that they were provided without getting their permission.

Minister for information and communication, Krishna Bahadur Mahara, local development minister Dev Gurung, minister for physical planning and works Hisila Yami, minister for forest and soil conservation Matrika Yadav, and minister for women, children and social welfare Khadga Bahadur Biswokarma expressed wrath against the government’s decision to guard their residential quarters by the army personnel.

“It was shocking as well as suspicious on the part of the government to send soldiers from the battalion involved in the killing and disappearance of many civilians in the recent past. Hence the soldiers were sent back” he said.