 |
|
|
Sharif rules out tie-up with Benazir Bhutto
Decision to contest
poll
Poll claiming Musharraf’s popularity fake
|
|
|
Medvedev Putin’s successor
Kohli denies Hannah murder charge
Nepal’s cabinet minister, others quit in protest
Malaysian PM defends crackdown
Indian doc assaulted in Scotland
Indian students drown
|
|
Sharif rules out tie-up with Benazir Bhutto
Islamabad, December 10 “We have been (saying) very strongly from the very first day that if any boycott is to take place, it must be unanimous. Any partial boycott will be disastrous for the opposition,” Sharif said a day after his party decided to take the plunge into the electoral arena and contest the January 8 parliamentary polls. The PML-N, which had been pushing for a boycott, changed its stance after it failed to convince Bhutto’s Pakistan People’s Party and the faction of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam led by Maulana Fazlur Rehman to abstain from the elections. “After having failed to convince them (Bhutto and Rehman) for a boycott, we came back to the All-Parties Democratic Movement and made this very strong recommendation that we must participate in the elections to block (President Pervez) Musharraf’s unconstitutional actions,” Sharif told Dawn News channel. Asked if he would form an electoral alliance with the PPP, Sharif ruled out any pre-poll alliance with any party, including the PPP. “We are not going into any electoral alliance with any party. We will be contesting the elections ourselves and we have no intention of forging any alliance with any other party,” he said, adding the PML-N could have seat adjustment with “certain parties”. Sharif said he had not been in touch with Bhutto, who is currently in Dubai to meet her family, since last night’s meeting of the APDM that decided to allow the opposition alliance’s constituents to decide independently whether to boycott or participate in the polls. He, however, kept the door open for further contacts with Bhutto. “There was hardly any time to get in touch with her, she is in Dubai. Let her come back, let’s see how we perform in these coming days in the election campaign...If there is any need to get in touch with each other, we will do so,” Sharif, who today formally kicked off his election campaign, explained that the PML-N decided to contest the polls after it failed to finalise a charter of demands with the PPP to ensure free and fair elections. The two parties also could not agree on a deadline for the government to fulfil the charter of demands, he said. “In our meeting with Bhutto in Islamabad a few days ago, it was very clearly understood and agreed that we will announce a cut-off date (for fulfilling the demands) before the elections,” he said. The charter of demands “didn’t materialise” and Bhutto “said we have to give the deadline after the elections”, Sharif said. “So I don’t know what will that mean - giving a deadline after the elections?” Sharif said the “number one item” on the PML-N’s agenda is the reinstatement of judges of the superior judiciary who were sacked for not endorsing the emergency imposed by Musharraf. “And if this demand is fulfilled by Musharraf before the elections, we will be very happy. But if it is not, we will keep struggling till we get the judges restored to the position of November 2 (before the imposition of emergency),” he said. — PTI
|
|
Decision to contest poll Lahore, December 10 The move came a day after a meeting of the APDM decided to leave the option of participating in or boycotting the January 8 parliamentary polls to its 33 constituents. The decision to expel PML-N and other parties who contest the polls was announced by APDM’s new convener Mehmood Khan Achakzai. The decision was made at a meeting of APDM constituents held at cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan’s home in Lahore. The meet was attended by Jamaat-e-Islami chief Qazi Hussain Ahmed, former ISI chief Hameed Gul and leaders of several Pakhtun nationalist parties. The Jamaat chief said Nawaz Sharif had turned his back on the APDM by deciding to contest the polls. The APDM, he said, would not give legitimacy to the regime led by President Pervez Musharraf by participating in the “fraud elections”. The constituents of the APDM - a total of 25 smaller parties, including four members of the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal will join forces with the lawyers and mobilise people for a movement against dictatorship, Qazi Hussain Ahmed said. The members of the APDM will also withdraw their nomination papers by December 15, he said. The PML-N rejected the APDM’s allegations about turning its back on the alliance, with party spokesman Ahsan Iqbal pointing out that the grouping had decided that all parties would be free to choose whether to participate in the polls. Iqbal said the APDM stood “for certain principles and the movement for those principles will continue”. The PML-N decided to contest the polls as it has “nationwide stakes and a good chance of giving a fight to Musharraf”, he said. Besides, the PML-N, several other members of the APDM like the Awami National Party (ANP) and Maulana Fazlur Rehman’s faction of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam have decided to contest the polls. — PTI
|
|
|
Poll claiming Musharraf’s popularity fake
A public opinion poll widely circulated by the Pakistan government publicists recently that suggested a sharp rise in President General Musharraf’s popularity since he stepped down as army chief, has proved to be fake. The poll purported to have been conducted by a US-based organisation, had a serious flaw -the so called organisation named in the poll does not exist. A press release issued last week claimed that according to a survey, conducted by the US-based International Public Opinion Polls (IPOP), 74 per cent of those surveyed had said Pervez Musharraf would get a boost in popularity as civilian president. The comprehensive directory of polling and survey research organisations in the USA does not list any organisation by the name of IPOP. Other than the alleged Pakistan survey, IPOP has never conducted any other poll according to its website, information confirmed through an Internet search. The IPOP website (www.ipublicpolls.com) carries no organisational details of IPOP. The PDF version of the poll posted on the website stated that IPOP was located in Boston, Massachusetts, and its zip code was 02106, which does not exist on the US Post Office’s website. The press release also claimed that the survey was conducted in Pakistan’s major cities via internet and telephone. Given the relatively limited access to the internet and landline telephone service in Pakistan, the methodology cited remains suspect. The IPOP poll also came up with the finding that 55 per cent of those surveyed wanted Pakistan’s political parties to take part in an election under civilian President Pervez Musharraf. Another survey conducted by a Pakistani private TV channel on popular reaction was also manipulated, allegedly by government publicists. Aaj TV reported that about 66 per cent of those polled on internet actually condemned government actions against TV channel. However, its site was hacked and it was claimed that 65.5 per cent approved government’s step to close down private channels and place legal curbs on them.
|
|
Pachauri, Gore get Nobel
Oslo, December 10 “We congratulate the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) and Al Gore on receiving this year’s Peace Prize,” Ole Mjoes, who heads the five-member Nobel committee, said before handing over the award in a
flower-decked Oslo city hall. “We thank you for what you have done for mother earth and wish you further success in a task that is so vital to us all. Action is needed now. Climate change is already moving beyond human control,” he added.
— AFP
|
|
Kohli denies Hannah murder charge London, December 10 Kohli appeared at Winchester Crown Court where he denied murdering Foster four years ago in Southampton. He fled to India shortly after Foster’s body was found and was later identified by the investigators as a prime suspect in the murder case. After the Indian police failed to apprehend Kohli, Foster’s parents personally went to India and made a public appeal for information of Kohli’s whereabouts. During their 10-day visit, Foster’s parents held a series of press conferences and opened a telephone ‘hotline’ asking the public to provide any information they might have about Kohli’s whereabouts. Kohli was arrested five days after their arrival in India on July 15, 2004, in West Bengal’s Darjeeling district while trying to flee to Nepal. On July 28, 2004, Kohli admitted to having raped and murdered
Foster in an interview to a private television channel. Confessing to his crime, Kohli said he was forced to kill Foster after raping her because she refused to cover up his crime. In August 2004, he retracted his confessional statement saying it was “not by my own will”.
— PTI
|
|
|
Nepal’s cabinet minister, others quit in protest
Nepal's already faltering peace process received another major blow on Monday after a cabinet minister and three parliamentarians representing restive south (Terai region/Madhesh) tendered their resignation from the cabinet and the interim parliament respectively. Minister of Science and Technology and a senior leader of the Nepali Congress Mahanta Thakur and three parliamentarians representing constituencies in Terai - Hridayesh Tripathi of the Nepal Sadbhavana Party (Anandidevi), Mahendra Raya Yadav of the ruling Communist Party of Nepal-United Marxist and Leninist (CPN-UML) and Ram Chandra Raya of the Rastriya Prajatantra Party tendered their resignation to the speaker on Monday. They also announced that all of them decided to quit the party membership as the government and the ruling seven-party alliance failed to maintain law and order situation across Terai and address the genuine demands raised by the people from this region. Besides, Rastriya Janashakti Party spokesman Sarbendranath Sukla, Nepali Congress leader Anish Ansari, Brishesh Chandra Lal, Ram Chandra Kushwaha and UML leader Shri Krishna Yadav have also announced their resignation from their respective parties. Organising a press meet in Lalitpur, a neighbouring district of Kathmandu this afternoon, Thakur said they would set up a new Madhes based-party within two weeks and launch a "bold but peaceful agitation" in Terai for the sake of their fundamental rights. The Madhesi lawmakers are striving to unite to give a democratic outlet to the Madhes crisis, Tripathi said. He also claimed that other Madhesi lawmakers representing various political parties are also ready to step down from the parliament and join their group. The resignations come at a time when the dissident faction of the NSP-A led by Rajendra Mahato and the agitating Madhesi People’s Rights Forum are launching a joint agitation for Madhesi rights. It may be recalled that following the promulgation of interim constitution in early 2007, around two dozen armed outfits have been launching violent agitation in the central and the eastern Terai demanding the region’s autonomy along with right to self-determination where over 80 people, including 28 Maoist cadres have lost their lives.
|
|
|
Malaysian PM defends crackdown
Kuala Lumpur, December 10 Badawi said he would not “sacrifice his sense of accountability to the greater public, especially in the face of police intelligence about planned fighting or other violent intents.” “If the choice is between public safety and public freedom, I do not hesitate to say here that public safety will always win,” Badawi said while delivering the Khazanah Global Lecture Series here. His comments came a day after police detained 21 opposition members and lawyers for staging “illegal” rallies. Last week 31 ethnic Indians were arrested on charges of attempted murder of a policeman when they assembled for a rally against their alleged marginalisation which was banned by the government. “Malaysians must never, ever, take their peace for granted and they must continue to be responsible to each other,” he said. “If we are to evolve into a society that can peacefully live with media freedom, public debates or public show of expression, the value and the burden of responsibility must lie with the ordinary people, not just with those who manage the country,” he said. “In this age of relative affluence and stability, we sometimes forget that there are many groups within the country — each with their own set of demands, each with their own set of sensitivities,” he noted. — PTI
|
|
Indian doc assaulted in Scotland
London, December 10 Arun Rai, 49, who graduated from Ranchi University, has been working at the practice owned by Dr Singh and Partners in the Clydebank Medical Centre, Glasgow, for the last three years. Rai was assaulted while examining a patient in his chamber last week and is currently recovering. He suffered severe bruising and cuts after being pushed to the ground and repeatedly battered on the head and face. A female colleague heard his screams and rounded up several members of staff who rushed into the room to help. Alan McDevitt, secretary of the Glasgow Local Medical Committee, said: “The room was fitted with an emergency security button but Dr Rai was did not have a chance to use it. He is a pretty big guy so the attacker must have used a lot of force. “Arun is obviously very shaken and staff at the centre is also very upset. They are in tears just thinking about it. It’s totally unacceptable that anyone should be subjected to such an unprovoked attack, let alone a GP doing his job in the middle of the afternoon. “It will take Arun a while to get back to work. The fact that this happened in broad day light with a lot of people around obviously makes doctors feel more vulnerable.” Frank McDade, 45, a resident of Clydebank, appeared at Dumbarton Sheriff Court in connection with the attack. He was charged with assault to severe injury and another assault charge. “It is unacceptable that doctors providing care and treatment to patients should be subject to such an attack. A strong message must be sent that violence will not be tolerated and strict sentences should apply.”
— IANS
|
|
Indian students drown
Melbourne, December 10 The pair, a man and a woman in their early 20s, were swimming near south-west of Melbourne, when they were swept away in a rip, the police said. “The pair had been wading in water with two other friends and were dumped by a wave and taken about 50 m out to the sea,” the Victoria police spokeswoman Katherine Jess said. The man was pulled from the water by a surf lifesaver and a paramedic, according to a media report. They tried unsuccessfully to revive him, it said. The body of the woman was located about 30 m from the shore soon after following a search, the police said. The victims have not yet been formally identified.
— PTI
|
|
|
| HOME PAGE | |
Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir |
Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs |
Nation | Opinions | | Business | Sports | World | Mailbag | Chandigarh | Ludhiana | Delhi | | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | Suggestion | E-mail | |
