Islamabad, August 26
Refusing to abide by the recent Supreme Court judgement, President Pervez Musharraf has said that exiled former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif would not be allowed to return to Pakistan to take part in the general elections slated for later this year.

"The government will neither allow the Sharif brothers to come back nor would they be given a free hand if they choose to return. If Nawaz Sharif is not honouring his 'exile' deal, the government will put him behind bars or send him back to Saudi Arabia," 'The News' quoted Musharraf as saying here.

Considering petitions filed by the deposed Premier and his brother Shahbaz Sharif, the apex court had ruled on Thursday that they were free to return to the Islamic nation after seven years in "forced" exile.

Musharraf yesterday held an emergency meeting of the ruling party MPs at the residency here amid reports that Sharif might return home possibly by next month to lead Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz's campaign in the general polls in Pakistan.

The President told the elected representatives that the government would raise the issue of Sharif brothers' return in violation of the agreement with Saudi Arabia. "The Sharifs are bound to abide by the 'exile' agreement and the Saudi government will be approached in this connection."

Sharif, who was ousted in a military coup in 1999, has denied entering into any deal with the government, which required his family members to stay out of the country for at least 10 years. But the government insists that he had signed the 'exile' pact in exchange for a presidential pardon.

However, Musharraf told the ruling party heavyweights that self-exiled former Premier Benazir would only be allowed to return to the country after general elections. "There's no possibility of her return before the polls." — PTI

Washington, August 26
Former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto has said that in the event of the much touted ‘deal’ with President Pervez Musharraf failing to materialise, she might join hands with PML-N leader Nawaz Sharif if he agrees to part ways with the Islamist Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA).

Bhutto said she was negotiating with Musharraf against the wishes of many in her party because of the confidence of the international community and the armed forces in him.

“If our negotiations with Musharraf fall apart, we can always turn to the other political party,” she told The Washington Post and Newsweek.

“(But) Nawaz Sharif and I had a falling out over the MMA. I think they (MMA) are the supporters of extremist groups. Nawaz wanted an alliance with them and I did not. As long as he is with them and they are in the government, we will go as a third force,” the Pakistan People’s Party leader said.

The Pakistan People’s Party chief, however, said that time for negotiations was “running out and both sides will know shortly where each stands”.

“Many in my party have been urging me to distance myself from Musharraf.”

“But I am trying to convince them that the international community and the armed forces have confidence in Musharraf and, therefore, we need to work out a solution (with him).”

Bhutto said she was facing pressure from two sides - those in the party who believe in dialogue and those who think that time is running out and that she cannot continue talking “unless there are upfront confidence-building measures.”

The 54-year-old who is living in self-exile for the past eight years said Musharraf had been told that there cannot be an extension on his tenure as chief of army staff but said he would still control the military as the commander and chief.

“He has said he would respect the Constitution. Even if the president is not the army chief of staff, he would still appoint the heads of the military, so he would still control the military as the commander in chief,” Bhutto said.

Bhutto said she had been demanding “a balance of power”, electoral reforms, lifting of the ban on a twice-elected Prime Minister for running for a third term, as well as immunity for all holders of public office prior to 1999 or 2000.

She said that “there are still issues that stand between her and Musharraf one of which being the power of the President to sack Parliament which was used in the 1990s to destabilise democracy”. — PTI

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s National Security Council secretary Tariq Aziz is in London for a final round of talks with Bhutto in order to win her support to get Musharraf re-elected.

Sources said Tariq would inform Bhutto that the President is ready to shed his uniform after the presidential poll and in exchange Musharraf would seek the PPP’s support for amendments in the constitution to remove hurdles in the path of his re-election from the current assemblies. — ANI

“The judiciary is no more the same after July 20," Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry has said apparently referring to the Supreme Court's verdict quashing the presidential reference against him.

"People's expectations from the judiciary have risen very high", the Chief Justice said while addressing the Fifth Roll Signing Ceremony of the Advocates of the Supreme Court here, adding "the judiciary is under an obligation to come up to these expectations keeping in mind the demands of justice, law and the Constitution".

He said all the institutions should be allowed to work independently. The legal fraternity have proved their mettle by displaying exemplary unity, discipline and faith, he added. The CJ said he was receiving an average of over 600 complaints daily seeking protection against violation of fundamental rights which reflects the extent of injustice and excesses suffered by the people. The Supreme Court is trying its best to come up to the expectations of the people but dealing with such a large number of cases is a tough job. The high court and the lower courts should also apply the respective laws to decrease the burden on the Supreme Court as people from the far-flung areas approached the court for redress, he said.

Houston, August 26
America's largest Sikh civil rights organisation, the Sikh Coalition, has strongly opposed new turban screening procedures put in place by the Transportation Security Administration earlier this month.

"Telling screeners to search people in turbans is the same as telling them to search black people or Arabs or Muslims. The policy allows screeners to single out travellers on the basis of their religion. The message this sends to the public is that people who wear turbans are dangerous," said Amardeep Singh, executive director of the Sikh Coalition.

"That attitude challenges the spirit of religious pluralism on which our country was built," he said.

TSA officials told the Sikh Coalition that the new Standard Operating Procedure includes a guidance recommending that America's 43,000 airport screeners pull aside turban-wearing travellers for secondary screening, based solely on their headgear.

The turban is the only form of religious garb specifically identified by the TSA as an example of headgear that could lead to secondary screening at security checkpoints. Other examples include cowboy hats and berets.

The TSA's policy accounts for no difference between the turban, a religious requirement, and fashion headgear. — PTI

Moscow, August 26
India and Russia are expected to discuss crucial defence and security issues during national security adviser M.K. Narayanan's two-day visit here beginning tomorrow.

The issue of increase in prices of the Russian defence supplies is also likely to figure in the talks between the two sides during Narayanan's stay here.

Narayanan is to hold talks with Russian defence minister Anatoly Serdyukov and his counterpart - acting secretary of the National Security Council Valentin Sobolev.

The officials on both sides are tight-lipped about Naryanan's agenda in Moscow, saying the visits of national security advisers ahead of regular India-Russia summits to set the sensitive security and defence agenda are a usual affair.

However, this time several irritants have emerged ahead of the November talks between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and President Vladimir Putin, including Russia's demand to revise the prices negotiated in already concluded defence deals due to cost escalation caused by the drop of US dollar and unprecedented rise of rouble.

A Russian team was in New Delhi earlier this month to continue negotiations and Narayanan's talks with defence minister Serdyukov could break the deadlock.

Defence secretary Shekhar Dutt discussed this issue prominently during his three-day Moscow visit in May and defence minister A.K. Antony is reported to have written in confidence to his Russian counterpart about India's fresh proposals. — PTI

Washington, August 26
The United States has condemned the terror attacks in Hyderabad that killed 42 people and has said that it will continue to work with India to eliminate terrorist threats.

"We are saddened to learn of the attacks. The Indians are our friends and allies. Inciting violence and committing violence against innocent people is never acceptable," a State Department official told PTI.

"Those who engage in terrorist activities seek only to foster fear and limit freedom. We will continue to work with the Indian people to eliminate terrorist threats," the official added.

Meanwhile, Muslim Indian-American leaders, many of them hailing from the Hyderabad, have condemned the blasts in an e-mailed statement and termed them as “cowardly crimes against humanity”. They have appealed to the Indians to stay united and foil the evil designs of the perpetrators of bombings who wish to polarise the country.

The leaders whose names appear on the statement are Manzoor Ghori, chairman of Indian Muslim Relief and Charities, Dr Shakhir Mukhi, president of American Federation of Muslims of Indian Origin, Dr Javed Akhtar, president of American Muslims Physicians of Indian Origin, Dr Khursheed Mallick, Indian Muslim Education Foundation of North America, Saeed Patel, national coordinator, NRIs for a Secular and Harmonious India and others. — PTI

Teheran, August 26
Iran vowed today to use a new 2,000-pound "smart" bomb against its enemies and unveiled mass production of the new weapon, state television reported.

Teheran first announced development of the long-range guided bomb on Thursday, saying it could be deployed by the country's ageing US-made F-4 and F-5 fighter jets.

"We will use these (bombs) against our enemies when the time comes," defence minister Mostafa Mohammad Najjar said on state television today.

The broadcast included a brief clip of a fighter jet reportedly dropping one of the bombs, which destroyed a target on the ground.

The defence minister continued his threats as state television showed him unveiling a mass production line for the weapon in Teheran.

"We will use this weapon where we want to hit enemy's strategic and defence targets," Najjar said. "This will be used against our enemies, against those who violate our land and air space."

Emanuel Winston, a Middle East analyst at the US-based Freeman Centre for Strategic Studies, said on Thursday that Iran's smart bomb claim sounded "plausible" but cautioned that missile development would be more dangerous given the limited range of the country's aircraft.

Najjar was more aggressive, saying the bomb "remarkably increases Iran's defence capabilities." Teheran often announces new weapons for its arsenal, but the United States maintains that while the Islamic Republic has made some strides, many of these statements are exaggerations. — AP

London, August 26
A British entrepreneur is offering a made-to-order edition of his diamond-encrusted book for a whopping £ 3 million.

Roger Shashoua, voted one of Europe’s top 500 entrepreneurs, has added over 600 flawless diamonds to the cover of his book, “Dancing With The Bear”.

The “oligarch cover” makes it the world’s most expensive book. Russian tycoons are the target readers for the diamond-encrusted book.

Shashoua, who has described how he made a fortune of £ 100 million through business in post-Soviet Russia in the book, hopes the concept may be adopted by Russian ex-pats in London.

“There is so much money floating around in Russia that it seemed entirely logical to produce a book designed for the Russian market,” the BBC quoted Shashoua as saying.

“I am just happy that conspicuous displays of consumption can now be associated with writing, rather than fashion accessories. I can only hope that oligarchs will read the book, rather than just keeping it locked away,” he added. — ANI