The entire Constitution Avenue was sealed off on Tuesday to protect major government buildings, including the Parliament House ahead of lawyers’ long march. Huge containers and barbed wires have blocked all roads leading to the avenue.

Paramilitary Rangers have been deployed along the avenue and atop sensitive buildings that apart from the parliament include President house, Prime Minister house, the Supreme Court building and the civil secretariat.

A top-level meeting at the interior ministry, presided over by Rehman Malik, devised a comprehensive plan to contain demonstrations away from the avenue.

Malik directed the officials to take “extraordinary security measures” for the June 12 long march.

The adviser directed the administration to work out comprehensive security and traffic plans to ensure normalcy in the capital.

Malik refuted allegations that his disclosure of seizure of two cars full of explosive material and arrest of six alleged terrorists was designed to scare the participants of the long march.

He said apprehension of a terrorist act was real but vowed to take all possible security measures during the march.

Meanwhile, the government announced that all government offices will remain closed for two days on June 12 and 13.

The government has denied reports that it has scrapped its peace deal with the Taliban as militants have reneged on their promise to stop violence.

Prime Minister's adviser on interior affairs Rehman Malik clarified his Monday's statement and said he was misquoted when he reacted to reports regarding fresh violence in Swat.

He said he had simply stated that the militants were not fulfilling their part of the deal that might trigger government authority to scrap the agreement.

Referring to NWFP home minister's statement on the subject, Malik acknowledged that the Swat deal was struck between the provincial government and the Taliban, and the federal government had no business to unilaterally annul it.

Muolvi Umar, spokesman for the Pakistani Taliban, said Pakistani cities would be once again thrown into violence and chaos if the agreement were scrapped unilaterally.

Malik also reiterated that the law enforcing authorities had intercepted two gangs of suicide bombers and recovered huge amount of explosive material from two cars.

Six persons, including three potential bombers and three handlers have been arrested, he said.

PPP co-chairman Asif Zardari has reportedly signaled his willingness to undertake the process of impeachment of President Pervez Musharraf if he continues to refuse to step down, party sources here said.

PPP spokesman Farhatullah Babar told Dawn TV that Musharraf seems adamant to quit despite verdict against him in February 18 polls. He said the only option left is to impeach him.

“He is the source of instability and unless he quits the scene, he would continue to create uncertain conditions in the country,” Babar observed.

“He is the problem and not part of the solution,” he added. Law minister Farooq Naek said Zardari would take a decision on the impeachment after he returns from Saudi Arabia.

He said the coalition partners would make an assessment of the prospect of success of the impeachment motion before initiating it.

In London, PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif said his party was ready for impeachment but the ball was in Zardari’s court. He said Musharraf would not survive a day if all coalition partners showed political will.

Imran Khan, chairman, Tehrik-e-Insaf, also spoke to the media after a meeting with Nawaz Sharif in London. He criticised Asif Zardari as the sole hurdle in the reinstatement of deposed judges and impeachment of Musharraf.

Khan believed that Zardari was being blackmailed under the national reconciliation order (NRO) that pardoned his corruption cases.

The constitution reforms package his party had proposed was designed to indemnify all unconstitutional acts of Musharraf, including the NRO and promulgation of provisional constitution order under which Musharraf sacked 60 judges and reconstituted superior courts.

Khan said he was a petitioner challenging the validity of the NRO and was prepared to withdraw the case if Zardari agreed to restore the judges.

Khartoum, June 10 
A Sudanese airliner carrying 217 people burst into flames after landing at the Khartoum airport on Tuesday and the local media said up to half the number of passengers were feared killed.

Sudanese television showed a film of the aircraft ablaze in the darkness while emergency workers played water hoses on the burning fuselage.

The airliner, identified by Sudanese television as an Airbus, was carrying 203 passengers and 14 crew, it said.

“The plane was coming from Amman and Syria. It landed safely at Khartoum airport and they talked to the control tower, which told them where to taxi. At this moment an explosion happened,” aiport director Yusuf Ibrahim told Sudanese television.

“Whether it is a technical reason, we don’t know yet.” He said a large number of passengers had survived. “We don’t know yet if there are still passengers inside who have died.”

At least one bus had ferried passengers away from the plane, an airport engineer told Reuters, and medical sources said some people were taken to hospitals
in Khartoum.

The emergency escape chutes could be seen deployed at the side of the aircraft. Ambulances arrived on the scene. The blaze appeared to be consuming the fuselage and cockpit area.

Dubai, June 10
Oman will deport nearly 3,500 Indian workers who have overstayed in the country even after the expiry of their visas or resident permits.

The ministry of manpower published a list of 3,497 Indians in a newspaper asking them to cooperate with the authorities to facilitate their repatriation, failing which they would have to pay a fine and face legal action.

In November, following a request from the Indian embassy, the Oman government had agreed to allow illegally residing Indians to leave the country without paying any fines but subject to normal checking of their antecedents.

“Two lists, one with 5,541 names of persons who came with employment visa, and another with 2,603 names of persons who had come on visit visa, have been submitted to the government, seeking permission for their repatriation,” Anil Wadhwa, Indian ambassador to Oman, said.

The Indian embassy has urged the overstaying workers to cooperate with the ministry and embassy to facilitate their repatriation. — PTI

Washington, June 10
Seeking quick implementation of the civil nuclear agreement, the US has said it would be “tragic” for India if it forgoes this opportunity for a strategic partnership with the US.

“...we believe it is essential to quickly implement the landmark civil nuclear agreement with the United States and bring India into the international nuclear non-proliferation mainstream,” US under secretary of commerce for international trade Christopher Padilla said here on Monday.

“It would be tragic for India to forgo this opportunity for a strategic partnership with the United States,” he said.

Washington has been insisting that India needs to complete the processes required for the deal, saying time was running out in the light of the presidential elections later this year.

New Delhi needs to firm up a safeguard agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and secure changes in the guidelines of the 45-member Nuclear Suppliers’ Group (NSG) to enable international nuclear commerce with it. But stiff opposition from Left allies has tied the government’s hands in moving fast on the deal.

Addressing a heritage foundation seminar, Padilla said, “The benefits for India are clear, and we hope that India’s government will choose to move forward as quickly as possible to fully realise the potential of this historic agreement”. — PTI

London, June 10
In a span of 67 years, Lt Teddy Bacon must have faced several health problems, but his watch, lost way back in 1941, was working perfectly despite being underwater all these years.

Almost seven decades back, the young Lieutenant lost his gold watch when it slipped off his wrist into the harbour in Gibraltar while he was throwing line to shore from his ship HMS Repulse.

Bacon, who is almost 90, did try to find it but gave up on seeing the watch again after two divers failed to retrieve it.

But, after 67 years, this resident of Tarvin, Cheshire, was reunited with the Bulova Automatic when this widower and father of four received it via post.

"To say that I was stunned could be a major understatement. It truly was a miracle that I had been reunited with that watch after a lifetime,” the Telegraph quoted him as saying.

He added: "Now I wear it every day and it keeps perfect time, even after all those years in the water. It is absolutely excellent and I consider it a long-lost friend." It was in 2007, that the watch was retrieved while the harbour was being dredged.

It was a detailed entry in a logbook by the deputy harbour master in 1941 that made the staff to send the watch back to the address left by Bacon.

Bacon spent $55 for this watch when he bought it in Azores while going to Singapore as part of a fleet sent to counter the Japanese invasion. — ANI

World Bank spearheads tiger conservation drive
WASHINGTON: The World Bank launched a joint project with Hollywood and conservation groups to help reverse the dramatic decline of wild tigers, in what is seen as the single most important act to save the big cat. The Tiger Conservation Initiative would begin with dialogues with countries having tiger populations to assess financing needs of conservation, identify funding sources and mobilise resources to protect the animal, officials said. — AFP

UK a hotbed of radical anti-Israeli views: Envoy
LONDON: Britain has become the centre of radical anti-Israeli views, with extremists having "hijacked" the debate over the Jewish nation, claims Israel’s envoy to Britain. "Britain has become a haven for disingenuous calls for a 'One state solution', a euphemistic name for a movement advocating Israel's destruction", Israel’s ambassador to Britain Ron Prosor was quoted as saying by The Daily Telegraph of Britain on Tuesday. — PTI