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Musharraf not to quit
Power-sharing pact with Bhutto after poll:
PML-Q CIA-ISI nexus promoted Islamic
radicalistaion: Bhutto |
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Pak not to allow US strikes in its territory
Lal Masjid Rocket fire kills 10
Terrorist dry runs possible
Oscar-winner German dies at 54
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Musharraf not to quit
The presidency has said that President General Pervez Musharraf will not resign because of the adverse verdict of the Supreme Court of Pakistan reinstating Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry.
President’s spokesman Major Gen Rashid Qureshi (retd) told reporters that Musharraf had no role in the framing of the reference against the Chief Justice. He argued that the President had acted as a constitutional conduit. Qureshi was asked if the President would step down following the reinstatement of the Chief Justice after the Supreme Court had quashed the reference filed by the President. Qureshi explained that the President was never a party to the matter. He said the reference was prepared by the ministry of law. “It was further analysed by the Prime Minister’s secretariat and was forwarded to the presidency after they found it valid,” Qureshi said, adding: “The President had passed it on to the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) as he was bound to do so by
the Constitution.” He said whatever was done by the President in this regard was in accordance with the law and the Constitution.
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Power-sharing pact with Bhutto after poll:
PML-Q Islamabad, July 25 In an interview with a private TV channel, Mushahid Hussain said talks between the government and PPP chairperson Benazir Bhutto were underway. However, no final decision had so far been made, he added. Mushahid said the Constitution would be followed on issues regarding the election of the President as well as on the uniform. Meanwhile, the PML-Q has decided to launch a massive electoral campaign for the forthcoming general election and has convened a parliamentary board meeting in August. A strategy to conduct the campaign was devised at a meeting presided over by President Musharraf. Chief of the PML-Q Chaudhary Shujaat Hussain was called for consultation from London and asked to cut short his trip. The President reportedly made it clear in the meeting that he would not be available for conducting public rallies once the elections were announced. The PML-Q would be on its own and must devise an effective strategy to carry out its election campaign. Musharraf said the elections would be held on time. The PML-Q is currently busy in finalising the list of candidates for the upcoming poll. Meanwhile, PPP sources clarified that the party was engaged in talks with Musharraf envoys to ease out military intervention from politics. The agenda for these talks focussed on four points, including restoration of 1973 Constitution excluding the 17th Amendment, an independent Election Commission, release of all political leaders and free, fair and transparent elections in the country with a level-playing field for all the stakeholders. “Our aim to pursue talks with General Musharraf was to give safe passage to the armed forces for returning to barracks so that the process of transfer of power from the military to civilian rule could be completed,” a senior PPP leader said here.
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CIA-ISI nexus promoted Islamic
radicalistaion: Bhutto Islamabad, July 25 In an article in the Guardian, Benazir attacked the alliance between the inter-services intelligence of Pakistan and the central intelligence agency of the USA supplying weapons and training to the mujahideen. Speaking at a reception in her honour by three members of the House of Lords in London, she warned the world community that a “parallel state structure” had evolved in Pakistan, which was a threat not only to Pakistan, but to the entire world. She also blamed General Pervez Musharraf for using the “Islam card”. She said that the radical elements were getting a lot of money that was being used to recruit “foot soldiers” to carry out terrorism across the globe. Speaking at the function, former British finance minister Lord Lamont urged the UK and the USA to help restore democracy in Pakistan. He also urged Benazir Bhutto to return to her homeland and work for democracy. In her article she wrote that the military dictatorship of Zia-ul Haq had diverted funds from the social sector to military intelligence while the government relinquished its responsibility in providing education, health, housing and social services to the people of Pakistan. She said, “the political madrassas did house, clothe and feed the children but they also provided the poison of hatred and they provided paramilitary-type training, as well as turned the places of religious worship into a cover for training militants and promoting terror. The people of Pakistan and, indeed, the people of the Muslim world question how the international community can support democracy in Afghanistan while supporting dictatorship in Pakistan.”
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Pak not to allow US strikes in its territory
Pakistan will not allow the USA or any other foreign force to launch a search or strike operation in its territory even if it is established that Osama bin Laden is present here, foreign minister Khurshid Mehmood Kasuri has said.
"If the USA has any actionable information, it must convey that to us, " Kasuri said while talking to CNBC. He said Pakistan troops had the capability to launch its own operation as it had done in the past when thousands of alleged terrorists were either captures or killed. He said no country had done as much as Pakistan to fight terror. "We will continue to be on the side of the international community in war on terror because it is in our national interests," Kasuri observed adding:"But any foreign intervention or military operation is unacceptable." He said the people of Pakistan would react to any violation of country's sovereignty on any pretext. He said a multi-pronged strategy was being devised to deal with militants because curbing extremism was in Pakistan’s own interest. “Cooperation with the international community is imperative. There are 7.2 million Pakistanis living abroad, therefore, the country cannot live in isolation,” he said. The minister said that collective thinking in the USA was that Pakistan’s cooperation in the war on terror was vital, adding that foreign dictates would not be accepted. He debunked US media campaign advocating direct American strikes in Pakistani territory while hunting down Taliban and Al-Qaida terrorists. "This will be a huge blunder because its backlash in Pakistan will be disastrous for our relations with the USA," he said. Kasuri said more troops had been deployed in the North Waziristan Agency to ensure peace and tranquility there.During peace agreements in the agency security forces had not been withdrawn. He said that various development activities were going on in tribal areas. “Road networks, schools, hospitals are being built to provide more facilities to the people living in tribal areas.
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Lal Masjid
Islamabad, July 25 He replaces chief cleric Maulana Abdul Aziz who has been under detention since he tried to escape military operation in the guise of a woman clad in a burqa (veil). Abdul
Aziz faces several charges, including fomenting armed resistance, killing and
kidnapping. Earlier, Maulana Ashfaq was the Imam at Bilal Masjid here at Covered Market. He has a Masters degree in Islamiyat and is a proficient Arabic language speaker. He is quite respected among religious groups. He said he had temporarily accepted the job to restore normalcy and would revert to his own mosque once normalcy was restored in Lal Masjid. He denounced suicide bombing as un-Islamic and emphasised that Jihad could be launched by the state and not by individuals as was done by the Lal Masjid clerics.
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Peshawar, July 25 The rockets hit two houses, a mosque and a shop in Bannu, a troubled city in North West Frontier Province at about 2 a.m. (local time), said Khwaja Mohammed, a city police official. Mohammed said the wounded included five police officers. A doctor at the main hospital in Bannu said the bodies of nine persons killed in the attack were brought there, while a resident said the death toll was higher because relatives had kept some of the bodies. Both asked not to be named because of sensitivities surrounding the attack. Mohammed described the attack as "terrorist activity," but said it was too early to say more about who was behind it. — AP
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Terrorist dry runs possible
Washington, July 25 The unclassified alert was distributed on July 20 by the transportation security administration to federal air marshals, its own transportation security officers and other law enforcement agencies. The seizures at airports in San Diego, Milwaukee, Houston and Baltimore included “wires, switches, pipes or tubes, cell phone components and dense clay-like substances,” including block cheese, the bulletin said. “The unusual nature and increase in number of these improvised items raise concern.” Security officers were urged to keep an eye out for “ordinary items that look like improved explosive device components.” “There is no credible, specific threat here,”
TSA spokeswoman Ellen Howe said yesterday. “Don'tpanic. We do these things all the time.”
— AP
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Pervez felicitates Patil
Islamabad, July 25 “It gives me great pleasure to extend to you warm felicitations on your election to the high office of the President of the Republic of India,” Musharraf said in his message to Patil, who was today sworn in as the first woman President of India. “I sincerely hope that your assumption of this august office would contribute to enhancement of mutual trust and confidence between our two countries,” he said. Musharraf said he was convinced that in the coming years “our bilateral relations will continue to gain in strength in the interest of peace, progress and prosperity of our people.”
— PTI
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Indian-origin Mayor leads flood rescue efforts
London, July 25 Large parts of Britain continue to be under several feet of water, causing an estimated loss of nearly £3 billion. Environment secretary Hilary Benn told the House of Commons yesterday that the "emergency is still not over". A tired-looking Gill said on Tuesday evening that he had been busy making sure that all support systems were in operation in Gloucester, which was one of the worst affected towns. He said availability of clean drinking water was the biggest problem facing the community. "I am sure this situation will pass soon. The main problem we face is of drinking water. But it is heartening to see that there is great community spirit among the people. They are helping each other, and old people. Gloucester is known for its community spirit", Gill said. In May, Gill became Gloucester's 527th Mayor and the first Mayor of the Indian origin. Official sources told IANS that flooding along parts of the river Thames was expected to worsen over the coming hours. On Tuesday, floods claimed the first life when a man drowned into the swollen Great Ouse river in the Bedford town
centre. — IANS
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Oscar-winner German dies at 54
Berlin, July 25 He succumbed to stomach cancer on Sunday in Walbeck near Leipzig where his mother lived. Muehe underwent a stomach operation soon after returning to Germany from the academy awards ceremony in Los Angeles. The oscar for “The Lives of Others” marked a triumph for Muehe, a succesful theatre artist in communist East Germany and a popular television and film star after the Berlin Wall fell in 1989. The actor fought a, highly public, legal battle last year with his ex-wife, actress Jenny Groellmann, accusing her of having worked as an informant for the stasi. Groellmann, who was suffering from cancer at the time, disputed the charge but died before the lawsuit could be settled. — AFP
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