A 14-member bench of the Supreme Court of Pakistan on Wednesday issued a notice to former President Pervez Musharraf to appear on July 28 to defend his actions of November 3, 2007.

The notice that may ultimately lead to Musharraf’s trial on charges of subversion of the Constitution, dismissal and incarceration of 60 judges of superior courts, imposition emergency, came during hearing of a petition by two judges who were appointed on ad hoc basis but were not confirmed.

Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry had expanded the earlier bench hearing the case to 14 when larger issues were raised during arguments. All judges on the bench never took oath of allegiance to Musharraf under the Provisional Constitution Order (PCO) promulgated on November 3, 2007.

Domestic pressure has been mounting for the trial of Musharraf on civil, constitutional and criminal charges including murder of Baloch nationalist leader Akbar Bugti, cover-up, if not involvement, in the assassination of former premier Benazir Bhutto and ordering May 12, 2007 and October 18. 2007 massacres in Karachi.

The bench is now seized of questions relating to validation of all actions of November 3, 2007, after Musharraf imposed emergency, suspended the Constitution, promulgated the Provisional constitutional Order (PCO) for massive purge of the superior judiciary and enforcing total media gag by closing all TV channels.

The judges on the bench have made stinging observations about capitulation of the judiciary before every military dictator, the permission granted by it to military rulers including Musharraf to amend constitution in one of which he validated his own actions. These were later endorsed by the Supreme Court led by a plainet chief justice Hameed Dogar and stuffed by handpicked judges.

Although the Dogar court also rejected a make-believe review petition closing the entire case, the bench has ruled that it can revisit the judgment.

Musharraf is currently living in London and has hitherto enjoyed protection from military establishment against trial on criminal and other charges that now appears to be weakening.

In a significant development, the United States on Wednesday also declined to extend any support to Musharraf saying it is an internal matter for Pakistan.

“Pervez Musharraf is now history and that the US will not come to defend him,” US special envoy to Pakistan and Afghanistan Richard Holbrooke said while talking to newsmen here on Wednesday. Holbrooke told a questioner that it is an internal matter for Pakistan whether to initiate Musharraf’s trial or not.

“The US respects Pakistan’s judiciary and also supports free press,” he added.

Washington, July 22
The American Senate has voted to terminate further production of US Air Force’s top-line but expensive F-22 ‘Raptor’ stealth fighter jets, giving in to President Barack Obama’s threat to veto the entire defence bill if lawmakers granted $1.75 billion for the controversial project.

The 58-40 vote, which stripped $1.75 billion for an additional seven F-22s for the USAF from the fiscal 2010 budget of $680 billion, reversed an earlier Senate committee decision to fund the defence programme.

The crucial vote gave the White House and Pentagon a key policy victory over Congressional supporters of the F-22, many of who represent states where jobs are tied to the production of the jets.

Obama had threatened to veto the entire defence budget if it included funds for the F-22. Defence Secretary Robert Gates had also argued that the additional jets were not needed nor wanted by the military.

“At a time when we’re fighting two wars (in Iraq and Afghanistan) and facing a serious deficit, (expanding the F-22) would have been an inexcusable waste of money,” Obama said after the vote.

“Every dollar of waste in our defence budget is a dollar we can’t spend to support our troops or prepare for future threats or protect the American people,” he said. — PTI

The LTTE announced on Wednesday that Selvarasa Pathmanathan, alias Kumaran Pathmanathan, alias “KP”, has been appointed it’s new leader and he will lead the group into the “next steps of our freedom struggle,” a statement from the headquarters of the LTTE emailed to newspaper offices in Colombo said.

“The Executive Committee of the LTTE wishes to officially let our beloved Tamil people and the international community know that Selvarasa Pathmanathan, who had been appointed as the Head of International Relations by our National Leader, will lead us into the next steps of our struggle according to the vision of our esteemed leader,” the statement said.

However, Military spokesman Brigadier Udaya Nanayakara said the LTTE can appoint who ever they like to what ever positions but such appointments will have no impact in Sri Lanka and the group will have no right to operate here.

Velupillai Prabhakarana who was killed in a conformation with the government troops in northern Sri Lanka in June is referred to as the National Leader of the LTTE .Since his death there has been speculation as to who would take control of the remnants of the organisations.

The statement sent out in the name of the executive committee of the LTTE with no hint of where it originated from but with the names of Suresh (Amuthan) and Ram said the LTTE had set up a head office for its liberation movement and formulated various sector based working groups and an executive committee in order to take the struggle forward vigorously.

“If the Sinhala nation and those countries that support it consider that the Tamil people’s struggle has been defeated through the capture of the historical homeland areas of the Tamil people and the massacre of thousands of Tamil civilians, we shall shatter that illusion,” the statement warned.

Pathmanathan was the chief arms procurer for the LTTE and is wanted in many countries for illegal arms trade and other illegal activities and the Sri Lankan government has sought the assistance of foreign nations to help apprehend him.

Phuket (Thailand), July 22
Raising the pitch for concerted and joint fight against terrorism, India today pressed for "cooperative regional approaches" to defeat the scourge and early adoption by the UN of an international convention against terror.

"International terrorism, transnational crime and disaster mitigation are all areas which require cooperative regional approaches and could be considered as part of our common effort," External Affairs Minister SM Krishna said while addressing the East Asia Summit of Foreign Ministers.

"I would like to point out that tackling of international terrorism requires concerted and cooperative approach," he said.

In this context, he said the early adoption of Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism by the UN General Assembly would go a long way in dealing with the menace.

The summit emphasised the need to strengthen cooperation among the countries of the region in combating terrorism and extremism. The meeting strongly condemned last week's bombings in two Jakarta hotels and termed the attack as "unjustifiable".

Reminding the world about the Mumbai attacks, Krishna said terrorism was a threat to open societies and underlined the necessity of exchange of information and intelligence.

"The threat to our countries from the menace of international terrorism has, unfortunately, increased in recent times. The terrorist attack on our financial capital, Mumbai, in 2008, leading to the loss of hundreds of innocent Indian and foreign lives shook not just our region, but the world as a whole, for the complete disregard of human decency," Krishna said. Emphasising that terrorism threatens democratic and open societies," Krishna said "International solidarity is necessary in order to combat this scourge effectively".

Referring to the 2003 Bali Joint Declaration of ASEAN nations to cooperate in combating international terrorism, Krishna said "In the light of such terrorist attacks, it is appropriate that we exchange information and intelligence and develop more effective counter-terrorism initiatives, to enable sustainable development of our region."

Referring to the region, Krishna said seven and a half years after US troops arrived in Afghanistan following the attacks of September 11, 2001, the war there is "more deadly than ever".

On the ongoing multi-dimensional and unprecedented economic crisis, Krishna said it is clear that a global crisis of such magnitude, dimensions and reach requires coordinated global response. — PTI

New York, July 22
Milan has been named the world’s top fashion city in an annual survey that ranks Mumbai at the 16th place and New Delhi at 17th.

Milan ended New York’s five-year reign as the top fashion capital in the Global Language Monitor’s (GLM) annual global survey.

Following Milan and New York are Paris, Rome and London.

Last year, Mumbai was at the 22nd place and New Delhi at 24th. Hong Kong and Sao Paulo had broken into the ‘Top 10’ this year, the GLM said.

“The global economic restructuring has affected the fashion industry just as it has touched everything else,” said Millie L Payack, a director at the GLM.

“The catwalks were still crowded though with the lights dimmer, the hype a bit more restrained, and recessionists, of course, thriving,” Millie said in a statement.

Other Asian cities in the top 30 are Hong Kong (7), Dubai (11), Tokyo (12), Shanghai (15), Singapore (20) and Bangkok (27).

This ranking was based on GLM’s predictive quantities index, a proprietary algorithm that tracks words and phrases in print and electronic media, on the Internet and throughout the blogosphere. The words and phrases are tracked in relation to their frequency, contextual usage and appearance in global media outlets. — PTI