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Bhutto admits secret meeting with Mush
Bookies favour Musharraf in poll
Pak frees opposition detainees
Pak oppn agitates, govt says a landmark ruling
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Sharif Deporation
Nepal Poll
Gang murdered Asian on night of race hate
Student fires shots in US school
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Bhutto admits secret meeting with Mush
"... there were these widespread reports that we met secretly. And whenever we've had an opportunity to meet, we've had a good rapport, a good exchange of ideas," Bhutto said in interview with CNN's Wolf Blitzer. Asked if she had met secretly with Musharraf, Bhutto said, "well, we were supposed to keep it secret, but it's kind of an open secret now." She said, "I have been trying to reach an understanding with General Musharraf to bring about a transition to democracy, and I was quite hopeful a few weeks ago, but now I'm getting a little worried, because time is running out." "Unless General Musharraf can take concrete steps to show that we are moving forward towards democracy, it might be very difficult for us to reach an understanding," Bhutto, who plans to return Pakistan next month from self-exile, said. She charged some leaders with creating obstacle in her talks with Musharraf and said "there are people around him who don't want this understanding, who don't want him to make the political concessions that are necessary to facilitate the path towards democracy." "I had asked him to take some steps for fair elections. Those remain unimplemented. There were certain other commitments," she said, adding "the time is running out and there's pressure on my party to join other political parties and resign from Parliament unless an accommodation is reached with Musharraf." The former premier was asked if she had assurance from Musharraf if she would be allowed to stay in the country. She replied, "General Musharraf has not given this assurance, but I know I can't be handed over to any third country. So the choice is either to let me be free or the choice is to try and lock me up." "I'm in a different boat than Nawaz Sharif. He was sentenced for treason and tax evasion. I haven't been sentenced for any crime. And, secondly, Nawaz Sharif got the Saudis to stand guarantee for his release and said he wouldn't return for 10 years. I was offered the same deal, but I refused," she said. "...I want to go back and bring change. People want democracy," she said. Expressing fear for life, Bhutto said Osama bin Laden and other terrorists would like to go after her. "...they would like to go against me. There's a lot of threats because under military dictatorship an anarchy situation has developed which the terrorists and Osama have exploited. They don't want democracy. They don't want me back.... And they don't believe in women governing nations," she said making the point that her family has had a tragic history of assassinations. Bhutto said, "...I have raised the issue of my security with General Musharraf, and I've asked him to provide me the security that I'm entitled to as a former Prime Minister. I hope that he will provide me the security, because I have been a target of terrorists in the past.
— PTI
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Bookies favour Musharraf in poll
Islamabad, September 28 The odds of five to one are in favour of Musharraf, while odds of one to 40 are on Amin Fahim, presidential candidate put up by the Benazir Bhutto-led Pakistan People’s Party, and Wajeehuddin Ahmad, who is supported by the lawyers community. Bookies have received bets worth crores of rupees on who will be the next president and what crucial decisions would be taken in the near future, Geo TV reported.
— PTI
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Pak frees opposition detainees
Islamabad, September 28 The activists were held at the weekend after threatening to stage protests against the re-election of military ruler President Pervez Musharraf on October 6. Among those freed last evening were Javed Hashmi, acting chief of exiled former premier Nawaz Sharif’s party, and Raja Zafarul Haq, another leader of the party.
— AFP
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Pak oppn agitates, govt says a landmark ruling
Islamabad, September 28 A clearly relieved Pakistan government today said the “landmark” judgement would put to rest "any ambiguity and questions" that were being raised regarding the eligibility of Musharraf for contesting the presidential election and urged all to accept it with dignity.
"Justice triumphs. The President honours and respects the judgement of the court," a presidential spokesman said. Lawyers’ representatives and opposition party activists shouted slogans against Musharraf and the judges who voted for the dismissal of the petitions. About 100 slogan-shouting protesters threw tomatoes and eggs at the court's front gate. "It is a shameful verdict and was sent by the President House," a senior lawyer and member of the Supreme Court Bar Association Ali Ahmed Kurd told reporters. Akram Sheikh, the lawyer for JeI, said he would again approach the court seeking review of today's verdict by a full bench.
— PTI
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Pak SC issues notice to Aziz
Islamabad, September 28 A four-member Bench, headed by Chief Justice Iftikar M Chaudhry, asked Aziz, interior minister, top police and aviation officials to file their response to the contempt petitions filed by Sharif's nephew Hamza Sharif alleging that the government has deported the PML-N leader despite court orders and sought a judicial order for his return. Issuing the notices, Justice Chaudhry said the court would ascertain whether Sharif had been sent to Jeddah on his own or deported and whether the exit seal was stamped on his passport. After deportation, the government has claimed that Sharif was sent back on his own will which was questioned by Hamza Sharif, who alleged his uncle was forcibly deported. Though Sharif was armed with a SCorder directing the government not to obstruct his homecoming in anyway, he was deported on the ground that he went on exile on a signed deal with Saudi Arabia under which he and his family would remain in exile in Jeddah for 10 years. — PTI, TNS
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Nepal Poll
The meeting of the seven-party alliance in the interim Parliament failed to reach at any political solution as the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoists), a major constituent in the Parliament, stuck to their demand for proportional electoral system for the upcoming Constituent Assembly election slated for November 22. According to a senior political leader, top leaders, including Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala, Maoist chairman Prachanda, UML general secretary Madhav Kumar Nepal and Unity Centre general secretary Prakash, held rounds of informal talks but failed to arrive at any consensus regarding proportional representation-based election system. The leaders have also not clarified when they would hold another round of the meeting. The demand for proportional electoral system is being made when the Election Commission has urged for quick resolution of the differences. As per the EC’s election schedule, parties need to provide the closed-list of their candidates for 240-seat proportional-based electoral system for Constituent Assembly on September 30. Likewise, on October 5 they have to file nomination for candidates for direct election. According to interim constitution, November Constituent Assembly election will be held on mixed system - half will be elected directly and half proportionally. Maoists halt publication
of leading dailies The Maoist affiliated trade union on Thursday night stopped the publication of Kantipur and The Kathmandu Post due to which Nepal’s leading dailies failed to hit the stands on Friday morning. The disruption of publication of newspapers came on the day the country is celebrating the “Right to Know” Day. On Wednesday, the Maoist-affiliated All Nepal Communication and Printing Publication Workers’ Union had prevented Kantipur publication from publishing advertisements to pressurise the media-house to fulfill their demands.
— ANI
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Gang murdered Asian on night of race hate
London, September 28 As news of the death spread in the mixed-race estate in Preston, white and Asian men clashed in an armed brawl that left police to pick up “weapon upon weapon” from the streets. The three youths charged, Kieran McKerney, 18, his brother, Liam, 19, and Lee Moore, 20, all from the Callon estate, deny murdering Shezan Umarji on July 22 last year. The jury at the Preston Crown Court was told on Thursday that the victim was no innocent bystander but a participant in the night’s events who, with another Asian man, had attacked the three men with a wooden bat or bottle and followed up this “mindless dispute” by pursing them to the McKerney family home, where they kicked in the front door. William Waldron, QC, for the prosecution told the jury that it was an inescapable fact that race played its part in the events. Waldron said Umarji was stabbed or slashed 14 times, one “grievous” wound slicing through his jugular vein. A second stabbing that sliced 16 cm into his chest, passing through his heart, would have been enough to prove fatal, the jury was told. Waldron said: “The Crown say he met his death at the hands of these three defendants.” — PTI
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Student fires shots in US school
Oroville (US),
September 28 A Butte County Sheriff’s dispatcher said an
emergency call came in from Las Plumas High School just after 9 am (local time). There were no injuries resulting from the incident at Las Plumas High School, said Sang Kim, a spokesman for Butte County. He said all hostages had been released. A message posted on the Oroville Union High School District web site says all six schools in the district are shut.
— AP
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Washington, September 28