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Zardari okays Sharia
for Swat
US may increase air strikes
LTTE seeks permanent ceasefire'
Thai protesters end three-week siege
Buddhist sect roots for women
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UN flays N Korea rocket launch
Cruise holiday turns tragic for Indian couple
NY hospital shaves off Sikh’s beard; pays $20,000
‘Make Gurmukhi compulsory’
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Islamabad, April 14 Zardari signed the Nizam-e-Adl Regulation after Parliament approved the measure earlier on Monday, Geo TV quoted senior North West Frontier Province (NWFP) Minister Bashir Ahmed Bilour as saying. The regulation will see the imposition of Sharia laws in the Malkhand division of the NWFP that comprises seven districts, including Swat, where the writ of the Taliban largely runs. Zardari had given his nod for the February 16 deal between the NWFP government and Taliban-linked radical cleric Sufi Mohammad but balked at acceding to it in face of growing international pressure. “We respect the mandate of the provincial government and congratulate the people,” Geo TV quoted Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani as saying after the house cleared the measure, following a walkout by Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) members. Speaking earlier on Monday after the pact was tabled in the National Assembly, Gilani said this had been done as the government wanted to build national consensus on the measure. “We did not want to by-pass the house as Parliament is sovereign,” APP news agency quoted Gilani as saying. “We want that our hands should be strengthened and that the whole nation is behind us,” he added. “The president gave his consent (to signing the accord). He gave a go ahead to have an agreement with the local authorities. The agreement was done with our consent,” Gilani maintained. Observers here saw the statement as Gilani’s bid to downplay reports that the Swat accord had become a hot potato for Zardari, who had tossed this into Parliament’s court, instead of ratifying it. At the same time, it is a fact that Parliament was not consulted when Zardari gave his nod for the accord. According to The News, “Zardari does not want to be held responsible for any negative fallout if this deal backfires in future, as then Parliament will be responsible.” Many Western nations, including the US, termed the deal a “retrograde” step as it was seen as bowing before the Taliban and getting in return too little for giving up too much. The deal appeared to have come unstuck last week with Sufi Muhammad winding up his peace camp and leaving Swat to protest Zardari’s delay in acceding to the accord. He then clarified the pact was intact but was dependent on Zardari signing it. Gilani, The News noted, “was also said to have been caught off guard when he received the copy of Nizam-e-Adl from the presidency to table it before Parliament as he, too, like rest of the politicians, was expecting the President to sign the agreement.” What apparently tipped the balance was Parliamentary Affairs Minister Babar Awan, who advised the President against taking responsibility for the deal. — IANS
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US may increase air strikes
Washington, April 14 "Not only will Pakistan see greater domestic turmoil as a result of the passage of this law, but the new regulation will further aggravate tensions between Islamabad and Washington, complicating Western efforts to combat the Taliban insurgency in Afghanistan," Stratfor said. "The United States may even move to expand its unilateral airstrikes and covert operations deeper into Pakistani territory," he said, adding that the signing into law the peace deal with Pakistani Taliban would virtually convert the Swat Valley into a Taliban territory. "The Nizam-i-Adl Regulation becoming law without the militants laying down their arms is thus far the most significant example of the Pakistani state's retreat in the face of a powerful jihadist insurgency," Stratfor added. Observing that this development will only boost the confidence of the Taliban and their transnational allies in Pakistan and beyond, Stratfor said: "The Swat area effectively will become an emirate from which a wider Talibanization campaign can be launched." Meanwhile, there was no official word from the Obama Administration. — PTI
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LTTE seeks permanent ceasefire'
Colombo, April 14 The LTTE, which is now confined to the 20-sq-km 'No Fire Zone' in Pudukudiyirippu in Mullaitivu, termed the two-day pause in military operations announced by the Government in view of Sinhala and Tamil New Year as an "eyewash". Condemning the move as a "political drama" aimed at "deceiving the international community and the Tamil people", the LTTE claimed that the Sri Lankan army was continuing indiscriminate shelling and gunfire on civilians. "We call for a politically and militarily meaningful ceasefire with humanitarian considerations. The LTTE seeks an unconditional and permanent ceasefire conducive for peaceful negotiations," pro-LTTE website TamilNet.com reported, quoting a statement from the Tiger rebels. "The ceasefire would be meaningful and constructive with the facilitation of the International Community," it said. — PTI
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Thai protesters end three-week siege
Bangkok, April 14 “We have to stop because we need to look after the lives of our supporters,” said Jatuporn Prompan, one of the leaders of the red-shirted protesters loyal to former premier Thaksin Shinawatra who still commands widespread loyalty among the rural poor. “Overall, I don’t think this is the end of the story. This crisis still has a long way to go,” said Danny Richards, senior economist at the Economist Intelligence Unit in London. “But in terms of this protest in itself, Abhisit has managed to remain in control, and I think you’d have to say he has avoided a major crisis of confidence in his government.” Standard & Poor’s downgraded its local currency sovereign rating for Thailand and said political tension would remain high, whichever side was in power. “We believe that investor confidence has been damaged significantly as a result of the latest developments while, in the near term, inbound tourism will also be affected negatively,” said S&P credit analyst Kim Eng Tan. Abhisit was made to look foolish after the “red shirts” forced the cancellation of ASEAN summit in the resort of Pattaya on Saturday, an event the prime minister had trumpeted as proof that Thailand was returning to normal. The violence has damaged Thailand’s crucial tourist industry at a busy holiday time. Several countries have issued advisories on travel to Thailand. However, a festive spirt returned today, as people came out onto the streets to soak each other with water, a tradition of Songkran, the Thai New Year. The government announced the three-day holiday would be extended for the rest of the week, although financial markets will open as normal on Thursday. It said the extension was “in the interests of public safety” and would enable public facilities to be restored. Little trouble was reported elsewhere in the country. Meanwhile, Four protest leaders surrendered to the government today, national police chief Pacharawat Wongsuwan told reporters. .
— Reuters
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Kathmandu, April 14 More than 200 monks, volunteers of the sect have assembled here to discuss ways to promote and conserve the heritage. Letting women play a bigger role in this programme is one step the sect wants to take. The Drukpa, that have now come out into the open after centuries, is advocating for more nuns and female practitioners. “Many forms of Buddhism had stopped giving importance to women. They seemed to be afraid of letting them speak freely and because they seemed to think it was against the teachings of the Buddha,” his Holiness Jigme Pema Wangchen told the media. Wangchen, the present Gyalwang Drukpa and head of the 800-year-old lineage of Mahayana Buddhism, said he advocated breaking the traditional man-made boundaries. “Many spiritual leaders accused me of destroying the lineage when I invited nuns last year to perform the traditional masked dance at my monastery in Ladakh. I want to break the boundaries, which are man-made,” said the XIIth Gyalwang Drukpa. The Drukpa - also known as the dragon yogis - have so far established more than five Buddhist nunneries in the Himalayas with approximately 500 nuns. The spiritual head was in Kathmandu where the Tibetan Drukpa lineage is hosting its maiden Annual Drukpa Council (ADC) from April 8-16. Over 2,000 practitioners and more than 50 Buddhist masters from 67 countries are participating in the event. During the ADC celebrations, on April 11 Jigme Chenine Khantro, a 20-year-old princess from Nangchen, province in China was ordained a nun. The nuns of the Druk Amitabha mountain in Nepal are being given education in both Tibetan and English and they are learning practical skills also by operating a coffee shop, gift shop, etc. – PTI
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UN flays N Korea rocket launch
United Nations, April 14 The unanimous condemnation, in the form of a Presidential statement, came yesterday after days of intense negotiations among the 15 member Council, in particular the veto-wielding permanent members; with Russia and China on one side and Britain, France and the US on the other. North Korea had launched a long-range rocket on April 5 which it said was for the purpose of sending a communications satellite.
— PTI
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Cruise holiday turns tragic for Indian couple
Kuala Lumpur, April 14 The 49-year-old missing man was identified as Noojady Shetty while his wife 47-year-old Kasturi Nithyanda Shetty has been admitted to a private hospital. Both of them reportedly fell about 20m into the sea yesterday, local media reports said today. No further details about the couple were available. Star Cruise is a very popular ship among tourists especially from India and the ASEAN region. Rescue efforts by the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency and Marine Operations Force were still going on.– PTI
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NY hospital shaves off Sikh’s beard; pays $20,000
New York, April 14 The Westchester County Healthcare paid the amount to the family of Pyara Singh Sahansra, who was suffering from Azheimer’s disease. Sahansra’s family had previously spoken with the hospital staff about Sikhs’ religious practice of keeping long hair when he was in the long-term care of the medical facility in 2007. However, a nurse, who was not instructed about the Sikh practices, cut Sahansra’s beard, eyebrows and moustache, “violating his religious principles”. — PTI
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Islamabad, April 14 Leaders of the community, including Mahinder Singh and Meheet Kaur from Nankana Sahib, Mohabat Singh from Buner, Gullband Singh from Peshawar and Beena Singh from the tribal areas, said there are over 2.5 million Sikh students in schools across the country who are not being taught Gurmukhi. They said Gurmukhi is being taught in only three schools in Pakistan; one in Nankana Sahib, and two in Peshawar. The Sikh leaders told the Dawn newspaper at Gurdwara Punja Sahib in Hasanabdal, where they had gathered for the Baisakhi festival, that it is necessary for the government to introduce Gurmukhi as a compulsory subject for Sikh students. The Evacuee Trust Property Board, which maintains Sikh shrines across Pakistan, and the Pakistan Sikh Gurdwara Parbhandak Committee established the school in Nankana Sahib where Sikh children are taught Gurmukhi as a separate subject.
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They have followers in millions spread across the world, but Drukpa, a 800-year-old Buddhist sect, feels the world really does not know much about them.
More than 200 monks, volunteers of the sect have assembled here to discuss ways to promote and conserve the heritage.
Islamabad, April 14
