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Modi will not be given visa, says US
India to push for extradition treaty with Bangladesh
Haneef to seek compensation
First Pak Sikh graduates from Punjab University
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Zardari wants Sharif back in coalition
PPP co-chairman Asif Zardari has said he wants Nawaz Sharif back in the coalition but the PML-N chief said he feels “hurt and let down” by the way Zardari reneged on verbal and written agreements.
Tarai Army chief shot dead
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Modi will not be given visa, says US
Washington, August 30 The US decision was conveyed in a letter to Congresswoman Betty McCollum. The conference is being held in New Jersey this weekend. On July 8, the Democratic lawmaker had petitioned the state department against issuing the visa for Modi and a reply to this was sent by Mathew Reynolds, assistant secretary of state for legislative affairs. “The department of state is extremely sensitive to your concerns and we are cognizant of human rights abuses Modi has committed,” Reynolds has said in his reply that has been circulated by the CAG, a diverse spectrum of groups and individuals in the US and Canada that have come together in response to the Gujarat 2002 riots to demand justice. “We have thoroughly searched the department records and located no current non-immigrant visa applications for Modi. However, if we receive an application, we assure you it will be adjudicated in strict accordance with the Immigration and Naturalisation Act,” an official said. Commenting on the letter, Hyder Khan of the CAG said “the current response from the state department has virtually made Narendra Modi a persona non-grata to the US." It has been pointed out that about 32 lawmakers have so far written the letters to the state department expressing concern over the human rights abuses in Gujarat, asking denial of the US visa to Modi, the CAG said.
— PTI
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India to push for extradition treaty with Bangladesh Dhaka, August 30 The extradition treaty and mutual legal assistance on criminal matters to deal with the security issues are among the proposals put forth by New Delhi, home secretary Madukar Gupta, said before parleys. At the two-day talks, other issues to figure include the security and border management. These issues are of prime concern to India in wake of evidence put forth by New Delhi in presence of prominent northeastern militant leaders in Bangladesh. Asked about the extradition treaty, Gupta said “We will discuss it at the meeting and let you know the outcome tomorrow when the talks conclude.” “We have a broad range of issues, including the security and border management, and we will discuss all those in our meeting,” Gupta said. Officials said they were expecting the two sides to come with solutions on a number of outstanding matters concerning both the countries.
— PTI
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Melbourne, August 30 As the Australian police dropped its 13-month probe into the bungled case yesterday, Haneef said investigation had left his entire family “in darkness” and his reputation destroyed. Haneef, who was arrested on July 2 last year and spent nearly a month in custody, said the Australian Federal Police (AFP) had taken too long to clear his name. The investigation had “shattered” his family, he said. The doctor said he was sceptical that the Australian police had been seriously investigating the case since dropping the charge against him in July last year as he had not been contacted by the AFP since leaving Australia upon his release. The doctor's lawyer Rod Hodgson said Haneef would be seeking the compensation. "I have spoken to Haneef and he is obviously concerned that his reputation has been impugned over the last 13 months by the AFP continuing to refer to him as a suspect," Hodgson was quoted as saying by ABC News. “And we have made no secret of the fact that he will be seeking the compensation for the immense damage to his career, his family and his reputation.” — PTI
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First Pak Sikh graduates from Punjab University
Islamabad, August 30 Juswinder Singh, who passed his Bachelors in Arts (honours) programme, now plans to do his Masters in Business Administration in finance from the same university. Singh said he was proud of being the first Pakistani Sikh in the country's history to get a four-year degree from the Punjab University and demanded that seats be reserved for religious minorities. Bilateral relations between India and Pakistan should be strengthened as this would give an opportunity to Pakistani Sikhs to pursue education in India, Singh told the Daily Times newspaper. Singh, who hails from the Federally Administered Tribal Areas, was admitted to the University in 2004 on a seat reserved for students from the tribal belt. He demanded that the government frame a policy for admitting minorities seeking admission to the varsity. The Punjab University has reserved seats for children of army personnel, teachers and varsity employees and those who excel in sports and debate. "They also have reserved seats for students coming from FATA, Waziristan and Balochistan, but no seat has been reserved for minorities," he said. Singh said he enjoyed his time at the varsity and faced no discrimination throughout his stay. "No one discriminated against me because of my religion and appearance during my four years at the university," he said. — PTI
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Zardari wants Sharif back in coalition
PPP co-chairman Asif Zardari has said he wants Nawaz Sharif back in the coalition but the PML-N chief said he feels “hurt and let down” by the way Zardari reneged on verbal and written agreements. However, Sharif did not rule out a rapprochement but set some conditions for that, including revision of schedule for presidential election; implementation of all agreements regarding restoration of deposed judges; reversal of current move to reappoint and administer oath to some of them; annulment of 17th Amendment and revocation all unconstitutional acts. In separate interviews, Zardari disclosed that he called Sharif twice during the last two days, apparently seeking his cooperation in his uncontested election. He said he continued to regard Sharif as his elder brother and was trying to find some way to bridge the rupture between the two parties. “I am sorry about what had happened between us but we have not lost everything. We can still continue our political cooperation because we have not refused to restore the deposed judges,” Zardari told The News. Sharif felt disappointed that the present dispensation appeared to be an extension of the Musharraf government after a glorious struggle by the people against the military dictator. He said ridding the country of the dictator was not the ultimate goal of the coalition that was formed to follow the letter and spirit of democracy by reinstating the judges, ensuring sanctity of the institutions, establishing the rule of law, healing the wounds of Balochistan, resolving the FATA crisis, stabilising and building the economy, and giving hope to the people of Pakistan. He did get emotional though when asked whether he felt cheated by the PPP. “I feel let down. Dismayed, disappointed.” He said, “I never thought one can violate agreements so blatantly... it was a shock.” Even while narrating the history of many agreements he avoids using any negative comments about his erstwhile coalition partners. “Mudslinging will only strengthen non-democratic forces.” There are some who blame Nawaz for keeping the focus on the impeachment and the judges’ issue at the cost of the economic crisis and the prevailing situation in FATA. “The judges issue and scrapping of the 17th Amendment could have been over in a couple of days, in fact we were the ones who said these issues should not be dragged on. “Governments are not run by only looking at one issue at a time, you have to handle numerous equally important and high priority issues at the same time,” said Nawaz, shaking his head. When asked where in hindsight he thought he did not play it well and should have walked away earlier, Nawaz, sure of the rightness of his stand and disappointed at the turn of events, laughed a mirthless laugh: “We did not want to walk away even now. We had no choice.” The coalition came into being over certain common objectives and we gave our coalition partner a lot of time, he said, even though we knew that some people had started criticising us and saying we had got into some underhand deal with the PPP. We decided to give him one more chance, he said, “because no one can solve the present problems of Pakistan alone.”
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Tarai Army chief shot dead
The Nepal Police killed chairman of the underground outfit Tarai Army (TA) John, aka Kaushal Sahani, along with his bodyguard Mahanta Sahani at Raghunathpur-1 in Rautahat early Saturday morning.
According to Shiva Puri, local correspondent of The Kathmandu Post in Rautahat district, a police team from Garuda, led by Inspector Shyam Adhikari, set a stakeout nearby John’s house anticipating his arrival late Friday evening. TA activist Rampirya Sahani, arrested last night, had given the information about John. Inspector Adhikari said John and bodyguard Mahanta were gunned down as they did not heed to the surrender call. Other TA activists fled after the two were shot dead. The police recovered two pistols and ammunition from the site. Enlisted as the most-wanted criminal, John was accused of perpetrating September 2, 2007, blasts in Kathmandu. He was also charged with setting afire a passenger bus at Bara on January 18, killing nine persons. Besides, he was accused of various other crimes, including murder, abduction and extortion in various parts of Tarai.
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