The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

	Mush okayed US drone attacks on Qaida targets New York, March 24 President Pervez Musharraf, who once rebuffed US proposals to step up anti-terror combat operations inside Pakistan, has reportedly approved attacks by American pilot-less planes on Al-Qaida targets along its restive mountainous border with Afghanistan. The 'Newsweek' magazine quoting US officials and Pakistani sources said the embattled President has given "tacit" approval to the US attacks and that the strikes have been stepped up as officials here fear that the new civilian government will be hostile to such an offensive. Also, the magazine said the attacks gave Washington virtually unrestricted authority to hit targets in the border areas. The approval, which could raise hackles in Pakistan which is in the midst of transition to democracy, comes weeks after Musharraf threw a challenge to anybody to come to Pakistan's mountains saying they will "regret the day." Since January, missiles, reportedly, fired from CIA-operated Predator drones have hit at least three suspected hideouts of Islamic militants, including a strike on March 16 in Toog village in South Waziristan that left 20 dead. The Newsweek quoting US officials and Pakistani sources said the recent wave of Predator attacks are at least partly the result of understandings the US officials reached with Musharraf and other top Pakistanis. — PTI
	Zardari acquitted in ex-judge, son murder case Karachi, March 24 A Pakistani court today acquitted PPP Chairman Asif Ali Zardari in the double murder of a retired judge and his son in 1996, citing lack of evidence. Zardari, against whom four murder cases have been registered in the past, was named a co-accused in the murder of former Justice Nizam Ahmed and his son Nadeem Ahmed, who were killed outside their residence in Karachi on June 10, 1996. The PPP leader’s legal counsel Shahdat Awan said the acquittal came as no evidence was provided by the prosecution. Special public prosecutor Naimat Ali Randhawa also admitted that “there was no evidence in this case and Zardari’s defence was strong”. The killing of Justice Ahmed was attributed to a dispute over a plot of land, whose commercialisation was opposed by him. Judge Soofia Latif, however, said cases against the other accused, Bilal Sheikh, Babar Sindu and Akhtar Pirzada will continue and the next hearing has been scheduled for March 26. Zardari has also been acquitted in a murder case involving former chairman of Pakistan Steel, Sajjad Hussain, in 2004. The murder cases of Mir Murtaza Bhutto and Alam Baloch are still pending before the sessions courts of Hyderabad and Karachi respectively. In recent days, Zardari has been cleared in a number of corruption and criminal cases filed against him by previous governments. He took charge of the PPP after the assassination of his wife, party chairman Benazir Bhutto, on December 27 in Rawalpindi. — PTI
	Surrey Palace case also terminated Afzal Khan writes from Islamabad The Government of Pakistan is estimated to have squandered about a million pounds, pursuing the Surrey Palace case against PPP co-chairman Asif Zardari for almost seven years. The price of the Rockwood estate, bought in 1995 by Zardari presumably for £ 4.35 million, is now said to be worth over $ 7 million. Under the settlement arrived at between Zardari and the government as part of the bargain envisaged in the National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO), the latter has conceded that it will cooperate with the former to enable him to obtain any of the asset (now no more under litigation) without any claim on its part. The government gave up all its claims on the so-called Surrey Palace sales that proceeds on Thursday and instructed its lawyers in the UK to withdraw the case which had instituted against Asif Zardari in the Queens Court for recovery of the said proceeds. Baseer Qureshi of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) and advocate Shehzad, who arrived here early last week, issued the instructions on behalf of the government following which an agreement to the effect was signed between the lawyers of Zardari and those representing the Government of Pakistan. Attorneys of the two parties -- Saunders LLP on behalf of Zardari and Edwards, Angell, Palmer and Dodge on behalf of the government of Pakistan signed and submitted the agreement to the court on Thursday. The court is likely to decide the matter on Tuesday, March 26. After having consistently refused for almost nine years to accept that he had bought the Rockwood estate, Zardari admitted in 2004, to owning the so-called Surrey Palace when the Pakistan authorities staked government’s claim on it in the British courts alleging that it was bought with questionable funds. The Rockwood Estate includes a 20-room mansion and two farms on 365 acres of land.
	Scarlett’s mother goes into hiding London, March 24 The mother of murdered British teenager Scarlett Keeling, has gone into hiding in Goa saying she feared for her safety. The 43-year-old Fiona MacKeown yesterday said that she wanted court protection after “stirring up a hornet’s nest” in Goa by accusing police officials, politicians and local drugs mafia of a cover-up, The Daily Telegraph reported today. The battered body of 15-year-old Scarlett was found on the beach resort of Anjuna in Goa on February 19. She was allegedly raped and then killed. Yesterday, a pathologist’s report stated the teenager had drowned after being “forcibly submerged” in water for five to 10 minutes. The report contradicted initial police findings that she had accidentally drowned. MacKeown, who was accused of negligence after leaving Scarlett with friends at the time of the murder, has repeatedly criticised the police and sought a CBI probe. “We’ve been warned by a lot of locals to be careful. We’ve been stirring up a big hornet’s nest here. We’ve heard that some people aren’t very happy with us. The beach is deserted, half the shacks have been closed, a lot of people are losing business,” the mother of nine said. Her lawyer, Vikram Varma, said he was preparing a request to be filed for her protection in the Goa High Court this week and would ask for the case to be handed over to CBI. Earlier this month, Samson D’Souza, a bartender and Placido Carvalho, an alleged drugs dealer, were arrested on suspicion of drugging, raping and murdering the teenager. Scarlett’s Indian boyfriend Julio Lobo has criticised Mac Keown for failing to protect her daughter. — PTI
	Canada may face snap polls on immigration changes Toronto, March 24 A proposed amendment to Canada’s immigration policies has triggered the possibility of fresh elections in the country. Though China is the top source of immigration to Canada, India is likely to overtake it this year. The amendment, which will give the government sweeping powers to regulate immigration, is included in the budget implementation bill. Parliament will vote on it early next month. While all three opposition parties accuse the immigration minister of trying to assume draconian powers through the amendment, the minister says “nothing could be further from the truth”. On the contrary, the minister - Diane Finley - says the amendment bill allow her government to clear the backlog of about 9 lakh applications for immigration. She told Canadian TV on Sunday the amendment was aimed at cleaning up the immigration mess left by the previous Liberal Party government. Finley said her Conservative Party was ready to face a fresh election if the combined opposition defeats the amendment. “We have to make it easier to get more people here faster. We have a backlog right now that the previous government ballooned from 50,000 to 8 lakh. It has since grown to 9 lakh,” she said. Since the proposed amendment gives her powers to block anyone’s entry and decide how many immigrants from a particular country are allowed in each year, the minister tried to allay fears by saying that new measures will, in fact, speed up immigration of family members. Currently, Canada gets about 2.50 lakh immigrants each year, with family members accounting for about 30 per cent. If the amendment is passed, new immigration measures will come into force from February-end. The pro-immigrant Liberal Party has not yet decided how it will vote on the amendment. “We have not yet decided how we are going to vote,” Liberal MP Ujjal Dosanjh told IANS. But the New Democratic Party (NDP) has already introduced an amendment that seeks to remove proposed changes in immigration policies. The issue is likely to heat up before parliament reopens March 31. Major immigrant communities such as Indo-Canadians and Chinese Canadians, who traditionally support the Liberal Party, will voice their concern about the new policy.
	Crackdown on Tibetans in Nepal Bishnu Budhathoki writes from Kathmandu The Nepal police today cracked down the ongoing protest against Chinese authorities, unleashed by the Tibetan refugees and monks, who have been sheltering in Kathmandu under support of the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), and arrested several of them. The police suppressed the demonstrators by beating them with bamboo sticks and dragged some of them into police vans. Over 200 Tibetan refugees and monks were trying to demonstrate near the offices of the United Nations in Kathmandu demanding that the UN should investigate the recent crackdown in Tibet by Chinese authorities. Meanwhile, expressing serious concern over the arbitrary arrests and detention of several hundred individuals recently in Kathmandu, the UN Office for High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) Nepal said the police violated individuals’ basis rights to freedom of movement and rights to peaceful assembly and expression. Issuing a statement, the OHCHR said, “Nepal has international law obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights to uphold these rights. Government cannot suppress demonstrations merely on the basis of disagreement with the political opinions expressed.” It has also said the government must ensure that it acted only in the circumstances authorised under the international and Nepali law. “Such arrests constitute a form of unlawful discrimination. Moreover, the practice of widespread arrests without charges is against the spirit of a democratic society governed by human rights and the rule of law,” said Richard Bennett, representative of the OHCHR. However, police officials claimed that the demonstrators were arrested as they tried to break through the police line. During the scuffle with the police a few protesting refugees sustained injuries. Tibetan refugees have been carrying out demonstrations in the Nepali capital against what they call brutal crackdown on pro-independence protesters in Tibet by the Chinese government. Last week, the police had briefly arrested around hundred of Tibetans while they were staging anti-China protest in Kathmandu. Meanwhile, national and international human rights groups have slammed the police action against protesting Tibetan refugees and urged the government of Nepal to respect international human rights accord. However, the Nepal government has clearly said it would not allow any activities against China in Nepal.