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Lawyers' leader files papers
Benazir ready for alliance with Sharif
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A unified oppn can supersede Musharraf
Gunmen kill 11 relatives of Iraqi scribe
Indian denied visa to attend film’s screening
Indians top suicide list in S.Arabia
3 Indians freed in Malaysia
39 Indian fishermen detained by Pakistan
Sibal arrives in Washington
Russian Prez poll on March 2
Flaw causing OCD found
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Lawyers' leader files papers
Ali Ahmed Kurd, a firebrand leader of lawyers' movement, on Monday filed nomination papers in police custody for Rawalpindi's two National Assembly constituencies to challenge former federal minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed.
The police brought Kurd to the Adiala jail, where he filed his papers. Later he was sent to his home town Quetta and put under house arrest. Kurd, a lanky middle-aged lawyer, was arrested along with top leaders of the lawyers' movement, including Aitzaz Ahsan, shortly before the imposition of emergency on November 3 while addressing a news conference decrying reports that the government is bracing for an assault on the judiciary. He was kept in solitary confinement and, according to chief of Pakistan human rights commissioner, Asma Jehangir, he was tortured in jail. Meanwhile, former Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) president Munir A Malik is still not out of danger while being treated for renal failure during his imprisonment. The government has ordered his release but he is being kept in intensive care unit of the capital's main hospital, the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS). A large number of people kept visiting the hospital throughout Monday to see Malik. In a brief chat, Malik said he is still determined to fight for the restoration of the judiciary and the constitution of Pakistan. "The lawyers' movement will offer every sacrifice to restore the 1973-Constitution of Pakistan and chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry and all other judges of the Supreme Court," said Munir. Munir had undergone dialysis twice on Sunday after his arrival in the
PIMS.
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Benazir ready for alliance with Sharif
Larkana, November 26 It was the second time in two days Bhutto had lodged nomination papers for the January 8 vote, as under Pakistan law candidates can stand for more than one seat. “We are ready to forge an alliance with all moderate political parties,” she told reporters in Larkana, her family’s ancestral home deep in rural southern Pakistan. “We welcome Nawaz Sharif’s return to Pakistan. It will strengthen the democratic and political culture.” Sharif, like Bhutto a two-time former premier, returned on Sunday to a hero’s welcome from his supporters in Lahore.Bhutto herself flew home last month after eight years abroad, and the two are working on a joint strategy against President Pervez Musharraf.That may include boycotting the elections but a final decision on that will not be taken until after the close of Monday’s deadline for registration. “We are concerned that elections will be rigged but we don’t want to leave the field empty,” she explained, as supporters chanted
outside. Bhutto said an alliance of moderate parties was also being pushed by the US, for which Pakistan is a crucial ally in the fight against the Taliban and Al-Qaeda.
— AFP
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A unified oppn can supersede Musharraf
The re-entry of exiled premier Nawaz Sharif has the potential of qualitatively upsetting the existing power equation in Pakistan.
Sharif’s return has injected new dynamics to the entire political scenario as together with Benazir Bhutto, he holds the key to the future course of events. If they join hands, they will put Musharraf and his allies under severe strain. No wonder then that the General wanted both of them to be out of sight till after the general elections. The increasing isolation of Gen Musharraf and unravellings of his game plan, make him look recklessly authoritarian in a desperate bid to cling to power. His foes are equally resolved to block his path to another era of absolute power. The lawyers, judges, civil society activists, journalists and students have refused to be deterred. They have carried the torch of resistance to a point where the political leadership can steer it to a fruitful finish. The emergency continues to exact a terrible toll on its prime targets - the constitution, the judiciary and the media. Last week, the Election Commission announced the election schedule and, like in case of presidential poll, gave little time to the opposition to plan its response. The electoral process is designed to deflect attention from Musharraf’s sham election, the imposition of martial law, purge of judiciary, the media curbs and arbitrary amendments that have consolidated his stranglehold on power in anticipation of the inevitable moment when he quits his army post. Bhutto is confused despite knowing well that the dye is cast to inflict a crushing defeat on her in order to chastise her western backers of illusions of her popularity. She has joined the electoral process under ‘protest’ while keeping open the boycott option, particularly if all other opposition parties stay out of the fray. In this game Musharraf holds the key cards and can be persuaded only by the US to deal some to the PPP as well. In this threesome charade Bush’s preference is too obvious. But Sharif and Imran Khan are very clear that unless the present autocratic edifice erected by Musharraf is dismantled, no other politician has any chance in the power equation. Musharraf's game plan to prolong his power can be disrupted at this stage when people are already mobilised. A united struggle by the opposition at this stage promises an outright chance of success.
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Gunmen kill 11 relatives of Iraqi scribe
Baghdad, November 26 “Four gunmen entered my family house in Shab area. Two of my sisters, their husbands and seven children were killed yesterday morning,” Kawwaz said. He accused Shiite militiamen of carrying out the killings, saying they “stormed the house when the family was having breakfast.” Kawwaz, who has lived in Germany for the past 20 years, operates the Internet website, Shabeqat Akhbar al-Iraq (Network of Iraqi News). “Earlier, I was accused of being pro-US and so had to flee to Germany and now I am accused of being a Saddamist,” said Kawwaz, a Shiite. According to the report on the website, which is known for its strong stance against the US military occupation of Iraq, the gunmen bombed the house after killing the family members. “The gunmen were heavily armed and started shooting randomly. They killed all family members and later bombed the house,”the report said.
— AFP
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Indian denied visa to attend film’s screening
Islamabad, November 26 Yousaf Saeed, who met several musical greats across Pakistan while making ‘Khayal Darpan’, said, “There is no visa provision yet for research or study between India and Pakistan. I had to pull all sorts of strings before I could get a special visa for eight months (to shoot the documentary).” The film was screened in the southern Pakistani port city on Saturday by Safia Beyg, a famous vocalist who runs the NGO Sampurna that promotes classical music. Saeed was denied a visa to attend the screening. ‘Khayal Darpan’, Saeed said, is an attempt to make people see if classical music can survive in Pakistan. “The legendary classical music ustads, who had migrated to Pakistan, have passed away. The loss is so great that it can only be repaired if strenuous efforts are made,” he said. Saeed, who won a scholarship from the Asian Scholarship Foundation in Bangkok to research and shoot the documentary, interviewed Ustad Baray Ghulam Ali, Ustad Chotay Ghulam Ali, Ustad Salamat Ali Khan and Roshan Ara Begum. Though his documentary focuses on vocal music, since Indian classical music is dominated by the vocal tradition, it has not ignored developments in instrumental music in Pakistan. “The future of classical music is not that good in India, but promoters of classical music are making efforts by reintroducing classical music at the school and college levels,” he pointed
out. — PTI
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Indians top suicide list in S.Arabia
Dubai, November 26 As many as 203 Indian workers were among the 266, who took their lives last year, the health ministry report said, adding nearly 295 foreigners were murdered during the same period. Expatriates accounted for 77 per cent of suicides in the Gulf country last year with Indians (203) taking 43 per cent, followed by Bangladeshis (155), Pakistanis (141), Yemenis (102) and Egyptians (97), the Arab News reported. The largest number of suicides is in the age group of 30-39 and they represent about 44.3 per cent of the total, followed by those aged 20-29, which accounts for 33.6 per cent, the report said. As many as 63 per cent foreign workers ended their lives by hanging while 12 per cent jumped from a high place.
— PTI
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3 Indians freed in Malaysia
Kuala Lumpur, November 26 The three men, founders of the NGO Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf), were given a “discharge not amounting to acquittal” by sessions court judge Zunaidah Idris after prosecutors failed to obtain a copy of their speeches in Tamil, the language in which they had allegedly uttered the seditious words. The three can be re-arrested later. “They charged us with sedition when we spoke the truth,” P. Uthayakumar, one of those freed, told reporters outside the court. The three were arrested on Friday and charged under the Sedition Act for their speech on November 16. Sedition is punishable by three years in prison and a
fine. — PTI
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39 Indian fishermen detained by Pakistan
Islamabad, November 26 The seven boats with their crew members were apprehended about 25 nautical miles inside Pakistan’s exclusive economic zone
(EEZ) yesterday by the Maritime Security Agency and Pakistan Marines, officials claimed. On reaching Karachi, the fishermen were handed over to the Docks police station for further legal action, state-run APP news agency said.
— PTI
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Sibal arrives in Washington
Washington, November 26 The other members of the Indian delegation are the Prime Minister’s Special Envoy for West Asia, Chinmoy Gharekhan and the Joint Secretary at the Ministry of External Affairs dealing with West Asia and North Africa,
Manimekalai. — PTI
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Russian Prez poll on March 2
Moscow, November 26 The date for the regular presidential polls was formally announced today by chairman of the federation council Sergei Mironov as per the constitutional norms. The upper House unanimously voted for holding election on first Sunday of March 2008. The formal announcement of the election has cleared the ground to kick-start the presidential campaign. Fans and foes of President Putin are taking their election campaign to the Internet, battling for votes on blogs and websites — a measure seen as freedom from the constraints imposed on Russia’s broadcast
media. Putin’s allies are also trying to woo Russia’s young urbanites, who have been surfing the Net for years and are frequent guests to the
blogosphere. — PTI
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China celebrates first ‘home-grown’ moon images
Beijing, November 26 Chinese premier Wen Jiabao, visiting the scientists, who guided the lunar probe Chang’e 1 into the space and around the moon, proclaimed the mission a success after it began to send back images, according to Xinhua news agency. “The full success of our country’s first lunar exploration mission is helping to turn China’s 1,000-year-old dream of reaching the moon into a reality,” Wen said. In 2003, China became the third country to put a man into the space using its own rocket after the former Soviet Union and the USA. It then sent two astronauts on a five-day flight on its Shenzhou VI rocket in October, 2005. China plans to launch its third manned rocket, Shenzhou VII, into the space in October 2008, and may send an astronaut on a space walk, a Shanghai paper said. But other Asian powers have also announced plans for moon missions. Fears of potential military rivalry in the space with the US have mounted since China blew up one of its own weather satellites using a ground-based missile in January. Chang’e 1, named after a legendary Chinese goddess who flew to the moon, blasted off on a Long March 3A carrier rocket on October 24 from the southwestern province of Sichuan.
— Reuters
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Flaw causing OCD found
London, November 26 Scientists from the Brain Mapping Unit at University of Cambridge in Britain have carried out a study and found the changes by tracking the effects of the gene that causes the condition on brain structure, ‘The Times’ reported here today. According to lead researcher Lara Menzies, “Impaired brain function in the areas of the brain associated with stopping motor responses may contribute to the compulsive and repetitive behaviours that are characteristic of OCD. “These brain changes appear to run in families and may represent a genetic risk factor for developing the condition. The current diagnosis of OCD is subjective and therefore the knowledge of underlying causes may lead to better diagnosis and ultimately improved treatments.” The team used magnetic resonance to scan the brains of 31 OCD patients, comparing them with 31 first-degree relations who were unaffected by OCD-sisters, brothers, parents, and children-and 31 unrelated healthy people. The volunteers also completed computerised tests that are designed to assess their ability, once they had become established in a pattern of repetitive behaviours, to stop performing them. Both the OCD patients and their close relations did worse on the computer task than the control group, they found. When the performance on this test was compared with MRI scans, it was found that performing poorly was associated with decreases of grey matter in brain regions important in suppressing responses and habits. The results of the study have been published in the latest issue of the ‘Brain’ journal.
— PTI
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