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Sharif demands Mush resignation
Election only way to strong democracy: Brown
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Mush still best bet for US: Prez hopeful
Fresh tensions grip Sindh, Karachi
Colombia hostages’ release put off again
Maoists get re-entry in Nepal cabinet
LTTE-army clash kills 25 rebels
Richa crowned Miss India USA
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Sharif demands Mush resignation
Lahore, December 31 Musharraf is the root cause of all problems in Pakistan and the country would be “doomed” if he did not step down, Sharif said. Sharif, who said his PML-N party had reversed its decision to boycott the upcoming general election as a mark of solidarity for assassinated premier Benazir Bhutto, reiterated that he would not work with Musharraf in any future government. “Free and fair elections cannot be held under Musharraf,” he told a news conference here. “We will contest the elections despite reservations (about rigging).” Asked if he would consider working with Musharraf if the PML-N came to power, Sharif shot back: “This is the man guilty of abrogating and subverting the constitution and the law of land, this is the man guilty of unconstitutionally removing the judiciary from the Supreme Court and the High Court. “You want me to work with such a man? I think the nation needs to get rid of this man, I think I would be antagonising the people if I were to work with this man.” The PML-N, he said, had three demands—Musharraf should quit, a government of national consensus should be formed and free and fair polls should be held. Sharif also vowed to work for reinstating the judges of the superior judiciary who were sacked for not endorsing the emergency imposed by Musharraf last month. Accusing the President of trying to delay the polls, he said the PML-N wants the election to be held on
January 8. — PTI
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Election only way to strong democracy: Brown
London, December 31 “A strong, representative democracy in Pakistan will defeat terrorism and extremism, show the path to a more stable, prosperous future, and stand as a lasting memorial to the life’s work of Benazir Bhutto. We owe it to her memory to strive together to achieve that goal.” he wrote in Pakistan daily Jung. Britain reportedly offered help for the police investigation into Bhutto’s killing amid confusion about the exact cause of her death.
— UNI
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Mush still best bet for US: Prez hopeful
Washington, December 31 “It is in our best interest for there to be some stability. Right now Musharraf, despite some of the concerns we have about him, represents at least some level of security, more so than if he were ousted immediately”, former Governor of Arkansas Mike Huckabee said. “I don’t think it’s in the US’ best interest to try to get rid of him. I think Kayani being now in charge of the military is a good thing because, clearly, he’s stable, he has a sterling reputation both as a military commander and as a person who is not so political, but I think will give an even hand to the military, which is something Pakistan has needed” he said on meet-the-press programme on NBC.
— PTI
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Fresh tensions grip Sindh, Karachi
Islamabad, December 31 Rumours about the death of top MQM (Muttahida Quami Movement) leader Farooq Sattar in a bomb blast created widespread tension in Karachi, the capital of
Sindh. The rumours were swiftly dismissed by MQM leaders and Mayor Mustafa Kamal as baseless. Despite the prompt action by the authorities, there were reports of protests from parts of Karachi, which is a stronghold of the
MQM. Fear also gripped the busy M.A. Jinnah Road in Karachi when unidentified gunmen opened fire in the area at noon. Witnesses said the gunmen, who were in a car, fired shots near the Jamia Cloth Market, prompting closure of most shops in the area. Security forces have launched a hunt for the gunmen. The tensions came just as Karachi was limping back to normalcy after four days of violence and heightened tension. A group of persons also opened fire in Hyderabad city in Sindh this morning and forced shops to shut down. The incident occurred despite army troops and paramilitary Pakistan Rangers personnel being deployed in the city, TV channels reported.
— PTI
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Colombia hostages’ release put off again
Bogota, December 31 First scheduled for Thursday of last week, the mission to free two Colombian politicians and a child born to one of them in captivity has been postponed from day to day as the rebels have failed to divulge their whereabouts. Early this month, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, said it would hand the long-term hostages over to Chavez or one of his envoys. Venezuela sent helicopters to neighbouring Colombia to pick up the captives but nothing has been heard from the four-decade-old rebel army since then about where it is keeping Consuelo Gonzalez, Clara Rojas and her son Emmanuel, who was fathered by a guerrilla fighter and is thought to be four years old. Chavez warned over the weekend that the mission may be scuttled if it cannot be carried out in the days to come. The International Committee of the Red Cross, which is helping coordinate the mission, late yesterday called on the FARC to cooperate. “This is an exclusively humanitarian call for the FARC to divulge the coordinates as soon as possible,” Barbara Hintermann, head of the Red Cross in Colombia, told reporters. Rough terrain and bad weather in the jungle stronghold where the hostages are thought to be held might be to blame for the delay, said Chavez.
— Reuters
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Maoists get re-entry in Nepal cabinet
Immediately after reaching 23-point agreement among the seven-party alliance, Nepal’s Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala appointed five Maoist leaders as cabinet ministers and promoted two state ministers to cabinet level.
According to a statement issued by the Prime Minister’s Office, Koirala has appointed Maoist leaders Krishna Bahadur Mahara, Dev Prasad Gurung, Matrika Yadav, Hisila Yami, Ramesh Lekhak and Gyanendra Bahadur Karki and Hisila Yami as cabinet ministers. Mahara, Gurung, Yadav and Yami were ministers in the cabinet before resigning en masse on September 18 following a row in the ruling alliance over declaring Nepal a republic and changing the electoral system. Yadav quit a month earlier as party’s Madhesi leaders locked horns. He, however, blamed the PM for being indifferent towards good-governance as the reason behind his resignation. Lekhak and Karki got promotion to the cabinet rank. Bhushal is new entrant and a Maoist nominee for Nepal’s ambassador to France. After the French government did not sent agremo on her name, the Maoists picked her as cabinet minister. The PM, however, is yet to decide on two nominations of the Maoists for state ministerial berths. The number of the council of ministry has reached 23 with the Maoists’ entry. Out of them, 19 are cabinet rank and four state ministers. The new ministers are scheduled to take their oath of office at 2 pm on Monday, before the cabinet meeting.
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LTTE-army clash kills 25 rebels
Colombo, December 31 Several army personnel and LTTE militants were injured in the fierce clashes in the area, the Media Centre for National Security (MCNS) said today. “Sri Lanka Air Force have bombed a militant training camp located in Mulaithiuvu this morning. The fighter jets launched from Katunayake air base have bombed the rebel camp around 7:15 am local time,” it said. The target has been identified as a training base, which conducts both recruit and refresher training for the LTTE cadres, it said, adding the target was accurately
hit. — PTI
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Richa crowned Miss India USA
New York, December 31 Richa will now represent USA at the 17th annual Miss India Worldwide pageant, organised by India Festival Committee (IFC), on Feb 23 in Johannesburg, South Africa.
— IANS
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