W O R L D

Presidential Election
Talks with Bhutto, Sharif begin
President General Pervez Musharraf's troubleshooters have gone to London with a package that envisages removing the uniform even prior to the Presidential election, The Tribune has learned on good authority.

Sharif to return before Ramzan
Islamabad, August 27
Unperturbed by President Pervez Musharraf's assertion that he would not be allowed to enter Pakistan despite a Supreme Court ruling, exiled former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has said he would return home along with his brother before Ramzan.

Tunnel to link Pakistan with China
The government has decided to construct a new road tunnel in NWFP to link Pakistan with China and Central Asian states. The 4.5-km- long tunnel project, Malakand Road Tunnel, will cost Rs 8.8 billion.

Greek fires: 7 charged with arson
Athens, August 27
Seven persons have been charged with starting forest fires in Greece that have claimed the lives of over 60 persons and caused a national catastrophe, a firefighters’ spokesperson said today.

Nobel Prize-winner and presidential candidate Rigoberta Menchu (left) is greeted by a supporter during the close of her campaign in Guatemala City on Sunday. Menchu is aiming to be Latin America's first female indigenous president in the upcoming September 9 elections. — Reuters

Uranium Sale to India
Australia dismisses proliferation fears
Melbourne, August 27
Australia today dismissed concerns raised by a former UN weapons inspector on exporting uranium to India, saying it did not think the sale would free up the country's other reserves for weapons development.

Beant Singh Case
Sikhs protest against death penalty
Brussels, August 27
Some 500 Sikhs staged a protest outside the European Commission headquarters here against the death sentences handed out by a court in India recently in the Beant Singh assassination case.

14,000 Indians untraceable in Malaysia
Kuala Lumpur, August 27
Indians account for the highest number of foreign tourists who could not be traced after the expiry of their visas in Malaysia, the home ministry said in Kuala Lumpur. About 25,400 visitors had failed to return to their home countries and out of these about 14,000 had been identified as Indian tourists, the Star newspaper reported.

Presidential Election
Talks with Bhutto, Sharif begin
Afzal Khan writes from Islamabad

President General Pervez Musharraf's troubleshooters have gone to London with a package that envisages removing the uniform even prior to the Presidential election, The Tribune has learned on good authority.

The Presidential emissaries are believed to have begun direct and indirect negotiations with both exiled Premiers, Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif.

Inside Pakistan the main interlocutor is leader of the opposition, Maulana Fazlur Rehman.

The package was fixed up in a top-level meeting in Camp Office last Tuesday, which was attended by the Chaudhry cousins, Hamid Nasir Chatha, top aides and security chiefs. The Prime Minister was conspicuous by his absence.

The central issue being discussed revolves around the new formulation evolved in the Presidency to forge a national reconciliation involving mainstream parties. Its salient features include Musharraf's willingness to quit the army post provided he is accepted as President for the next five years even while with truncated powers.

The President would not insist on getting elected from the present Assemblies given the commitment that the new Assemblies would vote for him. The power to dissolve the Assembly under Article 52-B would be withdrawn.

There would be general amnesty for all political leaders. The ban on Bhutto and Sharif would be removed. In return, the constitutional hurdles in Musharraf's candidature would also be removed.

The two exiled Prime Ministers have convened meetings of the Central Executive Committees of their respective parties, the PPP on August 28 and PML-N next day. The immediate focus is on the PPP against the backdrop of Bhutto's insistence on performance of the terms of the deal clinched on January 24, in the first meeting in Abu Dhabi and fine-tuned later on July 27, in the aftermath of the post-March 9 events that have eroded Musharraf's hold on power.

The President's emissaries are trying to dissuade Bhutto from taking any desperate steps that may further complicate the situation. To Sharif the message is designed to delay his return till an arrangement satisfactory to both sides is evolved. The Sharifs, however, are in a more belligerent mood. Unlike Bhutto who is prepared to work with Musharraf, Nawaz is seeking a pledge by the General that he would not contest the next election. The Chaudhary cousins prefer aligning with Fazl's JUI

The President has also been confronted with deepening dissension within the coalition. During discussion on national reconciliation, the Chaudhary cousins reportedly argued that a national reconciliation could be evolved only by a non-controversial figure who should replace Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz. The President asked them to convince Aziz and they did so later.

The Prime Minister declined to resign and sought an urgent meeting with the President who backed off shifting the onus of making the suggestion on Chaudhary cousins. Aziz later flew to Lahore where he declared that would continue in his office after the elections as well. Shujaat responded immediately that no decision had been taken to that effect. Knowledgeable sources said Jamali's statement on the events was close to the truth.

Sharif to return before Ramzan

Islamabad, August 27
Unperturbed by President Pervez Musharraf's assertion that he would not be allowed to enter Pakistan despite a Supreme Court ruling, exiled former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has said he would return home along with his brother before Ramzan.

“We will return to our homeland. If we compromise, we will face a situation similar to that of 1971 when Pakistan lost a major portion of itself for not respecting the mandate,” the deposed Premier told media over the telephone from London.

Musharraf had said on Saturday that the Sharif brothers would not be allowed to come back to Pakistan despite an apex court verdict which permitted them to return home. He said if they returned, they would either be arrested or sent back to Saudia Arabia.

However, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz chief admitted that he was in contact with Saad Hariri, son of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, who met the two brothers in late July when the Sharif family was on a visit to Scotland.

“It doesn't matter if I admit that we are in contact with Saad,” he said, declining to comment on reports that Hariri had met him after Musharraf reminded the Lebanese leader of his role as a ‘guarantor’ in the ‘exile’ deal after the Sharif brothers filed petitions seeking permission to return home.

Hariri had reportedly played a major role in getting the Sharif family out of the Attock Fort on December 10, 2000, where he was kept after his ouster in a military coup led by Musharraf in 1999. — PTI

Tunnel to link Pakistan with China
Afzal Khan writes from Islamabad

The government has decided to construct a new road tunnel in NWFP to link Pakistan with China and Central Asian states.

The 4.5-km- long tunnel project, Malakand Road Tunnel, will cost Rs 8.8 billion. The road will provide an alternative economic route from Pakistan to Central Asian states and China, through Afghanistan.

The communications division on Monday comprehensively briefed the planning and development division, the provincial government and all departments concerned during a central development working party (CDWP) meeting. The CDWP will give concept clearance of the project.

Officials said Pakistan wanted better economic relations with Central Asian countries. The road will link Pakistan to Central Asian countries as well as far-flung areas of Western China.

Greek fires: 7 charged with arson

Athens, August 27
Seven persons have been charged with starting forest fires in Greece that have claimed the lives of over 60 persons and caused a national catastrophe, a firefighters’ spokesperson said today.

They were among 10 persons arrested since the fires began raging through southern Greece on Friday, spokesperson Yannis Stamoulis told a press conference.

A further 26 persons have been charged with offences linked to a series of fires that have blighted the country since early July, he said.

Anti-terrorist prosecutor Dimitris Papagelopoulos said he was opening a preliminary investigation into the cause of the fires.

Greek authorities fear the blazes have been started deliberately. The media is speculating that criminal gangs are seeking to use the fires to clear forest and allow development to take place.

The government has offered a reward of up to $ 1.36 million for information leading to the arrests of arsonists.

Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis, who faces a general election in three weeks’ time, has vowed that all devastated forests will be replanted.

Ancient Olympia: Firefighters backed by aircraft prevented the birthplace of the ancient Olympics from being consumed by flames as Greece's worst wildfires in memory blazed across the country and the death toll climbed to 60.

New fires broke out faster than others could be brought under control, with 63 new blazes yesterday. Walls of flames have swallowed villages, forests and farmland over three days, leaving behind a charred landscape dotted with gutted homes and the carcasses of burned animals.

"Fires are burning in more than half the country," said fire department spokesman Nikos Diamandis. "This is definitely an unprecedented disaster for Greece." Desperate residents appealed through television stations for help from a firefighting service already stretched to the limit and many blamed authorities for leaving them defenseless. The government declared a state of emergency on Saturday.

Throughout the night, more villages were evacuated. The fire department said 42 major fires were still blazing out of control.

The authorities have suggested arson caused many of the blazes, and several people had been arrested. The government offered a reward of up to $ 1.4 million for anyone providing information that would lead to the arrest of an arsonist. — AFP, AP

Uranium Sale to India
Australia dismisses proliferation fears

Melbourne, August 27
Australia today dismissed concerns raised by a former UN weapons inspector on exporting uranium to India, saying it did not think the sale would free up the country's other reserves for weapons development.

Hans Blix had said Australian uranium sales could make it easier for India to use its own uranium to create bomb-grade material, which would lead to heightened tensions in the region. Safeguards would be needed against that risk, he said.

Foreign minister Alexander Downer said he did not think the sale would free up India's other resources for weapons development, ABC radio reported.

Dismissing the proliferation fears expressed by Blix, Downer said the same argument could also be advanced for other countries Australia exports to.

"If the argument is we shouldn't export uranium to any country that has nuclear weapons, I don't think that's right," he told the ABC.

"I think they'd have nuclear weapons anyway, whether we exported uranium or not," Downer said.

Blix, the former UN chief weapons inspector, said in an interview to 'The Age' today that he supported Australian uranium exports to India, but only for energy production.

The veteran Swedish diplomat, who was here to address a UN function, led UN weapons inspections in Iraq in the lead-up to the 2003 war. After the invasion, he criticised the US and Britain for exaggerating the case for war over weapons of mass destruction. — PTI

Beant Singh Case
Sikhs protest against death penalty

Brussels, August 27
Some 500 Sikhs staged a protest outside the European Commission headquarters here against the death sentences handed out by a court in India recently in the Beant Singh assassination case.

Protesters from various European countries, including Belgium, France, Germany, the UK and Holland, carried placards in English and French saying, "Abolish death penalty".

A delegation of protesters also presented a memorandum to the Commission.

The Sikhs who gathered at the demonstration said they want to bring to the EU's attention the recent death sentences awarded to Balwant Singh and Jagtar Singh in the murder case of the former Punjab Chief Minister.

"We want the EU to put pressure on India to abolish the death penalty," a protester said. — PTI

14,000 Indians untraceable in Malaysia

Kuala Lumpur, August 27
Indians account for the highest number of foreign tourists who could not be traced after the expiry of their visas in Malaysia, the home ministry said in Kuala Lumpur.

About 25,400 visitors had failed to return to their home countries and out of these about 14,000 had been identified as Indian tourists, the Star newspaper reported.

Since the Malaysian government had introduced the visa-on-arrival facility last year in conjunction with the Visit Malaysia 2007 campaign, about 8.32 lakh foreign tourists had arrived in the country. — PTI