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Sehba may be covering candidate for hubby Mush
Pervez denies US pressure Duma clears Zubkov as new PM
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Fukuda in race
Tokyo, September 14 Japan’s leadership race narrowed to a two-way contest today with a party elder, who emphasises the need for closer ties with Asian neighbours, emerging as the new favourite to succeed Shinzo Abe. New Student Aussie Visa Padmanathan not detained: Thailand One held for 20 troops’ killing
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Sehba may be covering candidate for hubby Mush First Lady, Sehba Musharraf, is likely to stand-in for President Pervez Musharraf as presidential candidate to guard against the possibility of the Supreme Court declaring him as ineligible to be a candidate, ruling PML chief Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain has disclosed. Appearing in a late night TV talk show on Thursday, Shujaat said Sehba would be the covering candidate for Musharraf. He discounted earlier speculations that he would contest the election if Musharraf was disqualified. Shujaat, however, expressed the confidence that the court would favour Musharraf. His optimism was also shared by Attorney General Qayyum Malik who said the President is eligible to contest in uniform adding that it is expected that the Supreme Court would not give a verdict against Musharraf. Shujaat denied that he and the MQM had launched an offensive against the superior judiciary under a nod from the President, but insisted that the Supreme Court must not overrule Parliament which is supreme and had allowed Musharraf to retain the army post. He acknowledged having remarked that “whenever we initiate an option, we see the Chief Justice blocking our way” adding that he was only stating the fact. “But, I hope all this will be over within next few days which are very crucial otherwise the dissolution of the assembly or even the imposition martial law may be the only alternative options,” Shujaat said. Relations with US marred by mistrust
Pakistan-US relations are passing through a difficult phase due to growing mistrust among the people of Pakistan about US polices, Zamir Akram, a senior foreign office adviser of Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz. Addressing a seminar titled ‘Pakistan-US relations in the post-9/11 scenario’ organised by the Institute of Strategic Studies Islamabad here. Akram said at present there was a downward slide in relations as Pakistan was being told what it should do in terms of war on terror. He said there were concerns within the country that the next US administration might not pose favourably to Pakistan. He said Pakistan viewed its relations with the USA in a strategic sense but the USA approached this relationship in a tactical manner on need basis. He said the Pakistan-US relations were confronting two problems. “One is the threat of sanctions and the second is the threat of direct military action inside Pakistan,” he said. He termed the present US approach towards Pakistan as a lethal combination of arrogance and stupidity, which would not serve well to achieve goals. ISSI director general Dr Shireen Mazari said the US-Pakistan relations had two important parameters - the bilateral relationship based on bilateral issues and cooperation/divergence and the impact of broader US policies in the South Asian region. She, however, said the former had always been premised on the latter and therefore the Pakistan-US ties had never been stable and enduring.
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Pervez denies US pressure
Islamabad, September 14 “No one is dictating us ... (or) pressurizing us. We are taking action in national interest,” the general said in an interactive programme on PTV last night. Most of the participants in the programme wanted to know whether Pakistan’s foreign policy was influenced by the US or the West. Musharraf said that such a misunderstanding was being created by certain “vested” interests. “There is no such thing”. “We are not weak. We have a stature in the region, in the Ummah (Muslim world), we are a nuclear and a missile power of 160 million,” he said. He said Pakistan had often taken decisions at international forum that did not correspond to those of the US, as they were not in national interest.
— PTI
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Duma clears Zubkov as new PM
Moscow, September 14 Putin, who had nominated Zubkov as new Prime Minister on Wednesday after dissolving the government led by Fradkov, had sought the nod of State Duma, the lower house of Parliament, for the appointment as per Constitution. Zubkov, seen as a likely successor to Putin when he steps down next year, bagged 381 votes in the 450-strong house with 47 voting against his appointment, mostly the Communists. Eight members abstained. Zubkov, who like his patron Putin, was brought up in the Soviet traditions, has a clear understanding of the Indo-Russian relations and attaches great importance to the development of ties between the two nations, according to diplomats.
— PTI
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The Moscow Times, an English-language daily, said Admiral Vladimir Masorin may have angered the Kremlin by accepting a US award in August without advance permission. The paper said Masorin had not followed the established practice of asking defence minister Anatoly Serdyukov before accepting the Legion of Merit at a ceremony in Washington. Defence ministry and Kremlin spokesmen refused to comment on the reports, saying they had not yet seen a decree ordering Masorin's departure. A defence ministry spokesman played down any suggestion of a connection between the US award and Masorin's reported departure, saying other top military had accepted similar honours in the past. Russia's navy will now be run by Admiral Vladimir Vysotsky, commander of Russia's northern Fleet. — Reuters
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Fukuda in race
Tokyo, September 14 Yasuo Fukuda (71), a former chief cabinet secretary and who is seen as a safe pair of hands, appeared to be edging ahead of former foreign minister Taro Aso after behind-the-scenes political horse-trading. The jostling came as Abe, who stunned the country on Wednesday by announcing his resignation, prepared for a second night in hospital where he has been put on a drip after losing about 5 kg in recent months. Almost as soon as he declared his candidacy, Fukuda won the backing of the finance minister who withdrew his own bid. But he faces a fierce battle with the outspoken Aso to take the helm of the world’s second largest economy. The party will vote on September 23. Its new leader automatically becomes the next prime minister as the LDP controls the powerful lower house.
— AFP
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New Student Aussie Visa Sydney, September 14 “We feel betrayed as we structured our courses so as to be eligible for a permanent residence visa on the completion of our course. At the marketing events organised by universities, they clearly state that students would be eligible for permanent residency if they studied particular courses,” said Yashwant Desai, who is enrolled in the Master of Science in Internetworking at the University of Technology, Sydney (UTS). “It is really unfair. It will be difficult to find a six-month course so we’ll have to look for a one-year course, which will cost a lot more,” says Dinesh Kakra from UTS. Students, who started their courses in 2006 and 2007, will be evaluated under the new rules that came into force on September 1, not the rules that applied when they commenced. A new visa category has been introduced for overseas students, who are unable to immediately qualify for GSM on completing their studies. They will get a temporary 18-month visa with no work or study restrictions, but the main applicant must be under 45, have met the two-year study requirement in the last 6 months, have a suitable skills assessment in the nominated occupation and meet the English language threshold. — IANS
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Padmanathan not detained: Thailand Bangkok, September 14 Prime Minister Gen Surayud Chulanont said his government had no information about Padmanathan’s detention here as he met External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee in the Thai capital. “We have been informed that the person concerned (Padmanathan) is not yet detained. We are informed that he is not in possession of the Thai authorities. We are depending on that”, Mukherjee told newsmen when asked about reports of the LTTE leader’s detention here this week. Padmanathan, who is alleged to have financed the former Prime Minister’s assassination, was reported to have been detained in Thailand earlier this week. Immediately thereafter, the CBI had asked the Thai Interpol to confirm the report. The issue figured in the talks that Mukherjee had with his Thai counterpart Nitya Pibulsonggram here. — PTI
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