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Pashupatinath temple reopens
Maoists deny
involvement in attack
Tough times ahead for coalition govt in Nepal
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Osama introduced Sharif to Saudi royals: Ex-ISI officer
5 dead as ferry sinks
Zardari appoints 13 judges to SC, HCs
No anti-India rhetoric on Pak Defence Day
MQM chief for trial of dictators
Six civilians killed in NATO raid
16 ethnic Indians held
Trade, Tipaimukh dam to top Indo-Bangla talks
Attack on Lankan cricketers funded by SL elements: Gilani
Major reshuffle in Pak bureaucracy
Australia wants to develop strategic ties with India
A man goes berserk, shoots wife, son and grandson
Hindu extremist chief held in Nepal Lanka orders top UN official to leave
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Pashupatinath temple reopens
Kathmandu, September 6 The former rebels protested the government’s action of appointing Indian priests to perform puja at the shrine and demanded that they be removed from the post and Nepalese should be appointed in their places through “open competition.”
The Maoists also held a meeting in which the Struggle Committee Chief Rishi Sharma and Maoist-appointed chief of the Pashupati Area Development Trust Parmananda Shakya demanded that an independent selection committee be formed to appoint qualified priests by calling applications. The UNESCO-listed temple, which was closed temporarily on Friday after two Indian priests were thrashed by Maoists, opened its doors for the public at 4 am as hundreds of worshippers queued up to offer prayers at the temple. The Indian priests, Girish Bhatta and Raghavendra Bhatta, both 32 and hailing from Karnataka, were assaulted, their clothes torn and their sacred thread cut by a group of 40-50 Maoists, who stormed the temple on Friday protesting their recent appointment. Security guards checked each and every devotee today to prevent any Maoist infiltration into the temple again. “The temple has been opened and people are allowed to worship at the shrine,” said Shushil Nahata, Member Secretary of the Pashupati Area Development Trust (PADT) that looks after the temple affairs. “The situation is calm now and there are no demonstrations,” he told PTI. Meanwhile, Maoist spokesman Krishna Bahadur Mahar claimed that their cadres were not involved in Friday’s incident. “They are the local people, who beat up the priests and the blame has been put on Maoists,” he claimed. Nahata said the office of the Pashupati Area Development Trust is being re-opened by breaking the locks put by the Maoists. “We are breaking the locks put by the Maoists last week to start the office work,” he added. He dismissed reports in some section of the media that the two new priests wanted to return home. “This is totally false and baseless news report,” he said adding the Indian priests are discharging their duties at the temple. “We will provide security to them,” he added. Meanwhile, Nepalese Foreign Minister Sujata Koirala today termed the attack as a “deplorable act” and warned that such incidents could hurt the age-old friendly relations between India and Nepal. The Indian government had condemned the attack on the two priests as an “unprovoked and criminal” act. —
PTI
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Tough times ahead for coalition govt in Nepal
The days of CPN-UML coalition in Nepal seem numbered. The recent political developments in the country have made things worse for the 100-day-old coalition government led by Prime Minister Mahdav Kumar Nepal. Just two days after Nepal Congress president Girija Prasad Koirala expressed resentment against the Prime Minister for expanding the cabinet by inducting ministers from Madhesh-based parties without taking his consent, seven lawmakers from the Madhesi People’s Rights Forum-Democratic (MPRF-D) gave the PM a severe blow announcing that they no longer supported the UML-led coalition. The seven lawmakers, who were dissatisfied with their party leader and Deputy Prime Minister Bijaya Kumar Gachchhadar and Prime Minister Nepal for not appointing them as ministers, made this announcement at a press conference yesterday. Around 100 days ago, Nepal was elected as the new Prime Minister of Himalayan nation. He replaced Maoist chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal, alais Prachanda, by securing 358 votes in parliament. The number has been moving down since then and has come close to the figure required for simple majority in 601-member parliament. On Thursday, former Prime Minister and Congress president Koirala, who has been annoyed with the Prime Minister for not appointing his daughter and Foreign Minister Sujata Koirala as the Deputy Prime Minister had said the government’s fate depended on Nepal’s performance. MPRF-D lawmakers have also urged their party leadership either to walk out from the government immediately or they would join another faction of the MPRF led by chairman Upendra Yadav. The MPRF-D lawmakers making the announcement are: Pramod Gupta, Mohammad Wakil Musalman, Asha Kumari Sardar, Ramananda Mandal, Lalita Shah, Kausal Kumar Raya and Nilam Burma. Talking to The Tribune, MPRF-D chief whip Ram Janam Chaudhary said the party would seek clarification from those who made such announcement by going against the party decision. “The party will take disciplinary action against them if they fail to justify their move,” he said, adding, that “it will not push the coalition into crisis”. Two members from the Rastriya Janamukti Party have also withdrawn support from the government alleging that it has lost concentration for drafting new constitution in time.
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Osama introduced Sharif to Saudi royals: Ex-ISI officer
Lahore, September 6 Khwaja, who was close to Sharif in the late 1980s and early1990s, made the claim in an interview with PTI here. “During his first visit to Saudi Arabia as Chief Minister of Punjab in the late 1980s, no one from the royal family had given Sharif importance,” he said. “Thereafter, on Sharif’s request, Osama bin Laden introduced him to the royal family and that helped him in getting closer to the Saudis,” said Khwaja, who was a squadron leader in the Pakistan Air Force before joining the ISI in 1985. “A close aide of Sharif family and I arranged at least five meetings between Sharif and bin Laden in Saudi Arabia. “During a meeting with bin Laden as Prime Minister in the 1990s, Sharif asked him to provide employment to Pakistanis in Saudi Arabia and undertake development projects in Pakistan,” said Khwaja, who was dismissed from service by late military ruler Gen Zia-ul-Haq in 1988 for reportedly writing a letter in which he disagreed with Zia on certain policies. Khwaja’s disclosure came in the wake of a series of revelations by former ISI and Intelligence Bureau officials about payoffs to politicians by intelligence agencies and the role of the ISI in making or breaking governments. “Nawaz Sharif had always despised and discarded his well-wishers and bin Laden, (former ISI chief) Hamid Gul and I are included in that long list,” Khwaja said. Khwaja said Sharif got annoyed with him when he asked him not to toe the US line while serving as premier. “Leave America and join hand with Islamic forces, I argued. Sharif said no, I cannot,” he said. During the past two weeks, Pakistani politics has been rocked by “revelations” made by a number of former army and intelligence officers, including former IB chief Brig (retired) Imtiaz Ahmed, commonly known as ‘Billa’ (cat), former ISI chief Lt Gen (retired) Asad Durrani and former army chief Gen (retired) Mirza Aslam Baig. These revelations include the distribution of money among politicians by the ISI to form an alliance against slain former premier Benazir Bhutto’s Pakistan People’s Party in the early 1990s. Officials have also claimed earlier reports that the Muttahida Quami Movement was involved in efforts to create a separate homeland called Jinnahpur were false. This controversy erupted in 1992, when Sharif was the premier. — PTI
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5 dead as ferry sinks
Manila, September 6 In the latest tragedy to hit the Philippines' notoriously dangerous maritime transport industry, survivors reported mass panic as the Superferry 9 began tilting sharply well before dawn. "They told us to stay calm but we could see no sign of rescue. Not for two hours," survivor Manuel Malicsi told radio station RMN. Nine hundred people on board were rescued but five were confirmed killed and by late today afternoon 63 passengers or crew members remained unaccounted for, the Philippine Coast Guard said in a statement. "We are searching all possible areas (for the missing people)," coast guard chief Admiral Wilfredo Tamayo said in a radio interview. Navy ships (and) airforce aircraft are still scouring the area." Tamayo offered hope for the relatives of those still missing, saying some may have drifted away in life rafts or been picked up by private boats that took part in the rescue. — AFP
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Zardari appoints 13 judges to SC, HCs
In an apparent move to fill the huge vacuum created in the superior judiciary in the wake of Pakistan Supreme Court's July 31 verdict purging the courts of judges appointed by former military ruler Gen Pervez Musharraf, President Asif Ali Zardari has announced the first list of judges in the Supreme Court and high courts. The President elevated two high court judges to the Supreme Court and appointed 11 additional judges in the Peshawar and Balochistan high courts. A presidential spokesman said the appointments had been made on the basis of recommendations by Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani and Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry. About 110 vacancies were created as a result of the SC ruling that Musharraf's actions of November 3, 2007, including imposition of emergency and dismissal of about sixty judges by promulgating the Provisional Constitution Order (PCO), was unconstitutional. The vacuum has seriously impeded court business in the country. The new judges elevated to the Supreme Court are Justice Khilji Arif Hussain, who is a sitting judge of the Sindh High Court, and Justice (retd) Rehmat Hussain Jaffery, a former judge of the SHC. They have filled the vacancies created by resignation of two PCO judges, Khokhar and Bhuttar. The appointments restore SC strength to 17, including 16 judges and the Chief Justice. Justice Khilji Arif Hussain, a practising lawyer, has served as member of the Pakistan Bar Council and the Sindh High Court Bar Association. Justice Rehmat Hussain Jaffery shot to prominence in 2000 when he handed down life sentence to former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in the plane hijacking case. Though the SHC had upheld the sentence, the Supreme Court quashed the conviction on July 18 this year. Advocate Tariq Mehmood, a top leader of the lawyers' movement who served as judge of the BHC, said though the judges were not known much, their appointment in the given circumstances seemed a good choice.
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No anti-India rhetoric on Pak Defence Day September 6 Significantly, in speeches and messages by Pakistani leaders there was no mention of India that had attacked Lahore on this day in 1965 in retaliation for Pakistani incursions into Jammu & Kashmir. In the past the day used to be marked by anti-Indian rhetoric. In a message on the occasion, President Asif Ali Zardari said Pakistan was confronted with a new kind of security threat by militants and extremists and all such designs against the country’s integrity would be foiled. “We will eliminate the militants and those who have challenged the foundations of the state. Let there be no doubt or mistake about it,” he emphasised. Zardari said: “September 6, 1965 was a memorable day when Pakistan's valiant armed forces backed by the people of Pakistan foiled the aggression against the country. Now it is fighting extremists who are on the run. Swat and Malakand have almost been cleared of them, while displaced families have begun returning to their homes to live in peace and with dignity. This huge success in the battle for the integrity of Pakistan has been made possible by the sacrifices rendered both by armed forces and the people.” Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani underlined the “imperative need for reviving the spirit of sacrifice of the 1965 war to confront the present-day menace of terrorism. We will use all our capabilities to its optimum and overcome the challenges which we face today.”
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MQM chief for trial of dictators
Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) chief Altaf Hussain has called for trial of all Pakistani dictators who subverted the Constitution under Article 6 and their supporters, “including those from the judiciary”. In a telephonic address from London to an Iftar dinner for journalists here on Saturday evening, Hussain said parliament should have concentrated on resolving basic problems confronting the people instead of wasting months on discussions on Article 6, which deals with high treason. Hussain rejected allegations that the MQM wanted to set up a separate state ‘Jinnahpur’ and said the facts were different from the ‘propaganda’. He said the people of Punjab should side with the truth and join MQM as it was the only party which could save Pakistan. He called upon President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani to convene an all-party conference on Balochistan to win back the support of estranged Baloch leaders. He also called for formation of a reconciliatory commission on Balochistan. The Muttahida chief said the government should accept the just demands of Baloch nationalist leaders in the larger national interest. He acknowledged that the MQM was part of the government when Baloch leader Akbar Bugti was killed but claimed that he had strongly denounced it. Reiterating his demand for setting up a 'Truth and Reconciliation' commission on the model of South Africa, Altaf said: “We should accept the mistakes committed by us instead of repeating them. The MQM is also ready to accept the mistakes committed by it in the past.”
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Six civilians killed in NATO raid
Kunduz, September 6 The driver of one of the trucks and his son were killed separately by the Taliban, Governor of Kunduz province Mohammad Omar said. “According to our findings, 56 persons were killed. Fortyeight men were identified as armed, while the rest were civilians,” said Omar. — AFP
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16 ethnic Indians held
Kuala Lumpur, September 6 The police arrested 16 persons who were among those who tried to hold a candlelight vigil at the Independence Square to protest against the act by a group during a protest over the relocation of a 150-year-old Hindu temple to a Muslim-majority neighbourhood. P Uthayakumar of the Hindraf, who was detained under the controversial Internal Security Act for more than a year and released recently, was among those who were arrested for holding the protest without permission. The police said the protesters were carrying banners and roses and had refused to disperse when asked them to do so. “Those arrested were held at the Dang Wangi police headquaters,” the police said. Meanwhile, the youth wing of the Malaysian Indian Congress has demanded that former Chief Minister of Selangor state Mohd Khir Toyo retract his comments on the incident. — PTI
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Trade, Tipaimukh dam to top Indo-Bangla talks
Dhaka, September 6 This is his first official trip to the neighbouring country since the installation of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's Awami League to power eight months ago following the December 29 general elections in Bangladesh. Officials said bilateral concerns, including the contentious issue of the hydroelectric Tipaimukh dam whose construction by India was opposed by the opposition BNP here, are expected to be taken up during Moni's talks with her Indian counterpart SM Krishna. Political and foreign analysts said the installation of the Awami League and the Congress party to power in the two countries created a congenial ambience to settle the longstanding issues through constructive negotiations because of the historic links between the two parties since the 1971 Bangladesh war. Trade deficit is one such major issue. Business analysts said Bangladesh looked for stepping up its exports to the landlocked seven northeastern states and close the trade imbalance if the barriers were removed. The two countries also share over 50 common rivers and there had not been any progress in distribution of waters of the seven other rivers, including the Teesta, though the landmark 1996 Ganges Water Treaty during the previous tenure of Hasina. The proposed Tipaimukh dam on the Barak river in Manipur dominated the centrestage of Bangladesh-India-relations during the past several months, though New Delhi assured Dhaka nothing would be done under the project that could affect Bangladesh. Officials said India was keen to “bridge differences with Bangladesh” on sensitive matters like Tipakimukh and move ahead on trade and transit. Trade, investment, sharing waters of common rivers including the Teesta, border management, connectivity and security issues were other topics likely to figure prominently during the talks, they said. Official sources said the two sides were likely to focus on enhancing connectivity and giving a fresh momentum to expanding economic engagement that would help in reducing “trust deficit” to resolve complex issues like border management, infiltration and illegal migration and terrorism. — PTI
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Attack on Lankan cricketers funded by SL elements: Gilani
Islamabad, September 6 Gilani said he had asked Rajapaksa to share more information about the funding so that Pakistan can send a team from the Interior Ministry to go into the issue further. “In Libya, the Sri Lankan President told me that they have clues that the attack on the Lankan team was funded from Sri Lanka. I told him that if he was willing to share these clues, we could send our officials from the Interior Ministry,” Gilani told reporters after visiting Minister for Religious Affairs Hamid Saeed Kazmi at a hospital here. Six players and 20 others were injured when the convoy of the Sri Lankan cricket team was attacked by a group of terrorists outside a stadium in Lahore on March 3. Gilani also said his government was pursuing a long term and multi-pronged strategy to root out terrorism from the country. After the successful military operation in Swat and Malakand, the government is working on an exit strategy, he said. “The army will stay in the area till peace is completely restored. The option of building a cantonment in Swat is also on the table,” he said. Gilani said the government is firm on its principled stand on Jammu and Kashmir and will keep on supporting people in the region. To another question, he said package of political reforms was a longstanding demand of the people of Gilgit and Baltistan. The people in Northern Areas are given internal autonomy and sovereignty in their affairs and now they have authority equal to other provinces, he added. The Prime Minister said he took into confidence the President and Prime Minister of Pakistan Occupied Kashmir on the new status of Gilgit and Baltistan province. — PTI
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Major reshuffle in Pak bureaucracy In a stunning move, Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani has reshuffled virtually the entire top brass of bureaucracy, replacing several federal secretaries and promoting an unprecedented number of officials to the highest grade-22 meant for civil servants. About a dozen federal secretaries, who have been on extension beyond retirement age, have been replaced and their contracts terminated. A total of 51 officers were also promoted to grade- 22. Gilani's move was billed as the biggest ever shake-up of the top bureaucracy. The secretaries of interior, information, industries, privatisation commission, labour, and special secretary of finance are among those who have been replaced with the newly promoted officers. The controversial Interior Secretary Kamal Shah, who was already on extension, has been shown the door, and replaced by a seasoned civil servant Qamar Zaman. Similarly, post-retirement contract of Information Secretary Ashfaq Gondal has been abruptly terminated and Mansoor Sohail has been promoted and named secretary in his place. An official announcement said on the recommendation of the Central Selection Board, the Prime Minister had ordered promotions and postings of 51 grade-21 officials to the next grade. Thirtyfive of them belong to the elite District Management Group (DMG) , seven come from police service (PSP), four from Audit and Accounts and five from the Foreign Service. The announcement sent a wave of shock and surprise in the federal bureaucracy and many senior officers described the decision as a mixed bag of merit -- ill-conceived, with some of the moves laced with nepotism and outright favouritism. Although eyebrows have been raised over quite a few promotions, and particularly postings at key positions, perhaps the most shocking for many was the move to replace Khalid Mirza, who was regarded as a highly competent and fearlessly independent head of the Competitive Commission of Pakistan. Javed Akhtar, a little-known official of the Finance Ministry, has been brought in his place. Khalid Mirza was reportedly punished for raising objections to the way the government succumbed to pressure from the sugar cartel, while fixing sale price and ignoring plea for investigation into the entire same. The critics said the present government was removing every possible check or scrutiny of the governance. Mirza's contract as head of an autonomous panel designed to check cartelisation and monopolies was due to expire in July next. Responding to lot of flak from media and other circles, Gilani on Saturday slightly amended his orders and extended Mirza's term for one month. The replacement of Dilshad Rao as Secretary Election Commission was also criticised because the Election Commission is an independent constitutional body and only the Chief Election Commissioner has the authority to appoint or transfer his officers. In the Foreign Ministry, Khalid Khattak, Haroon Shaukat, Zamir Akram, Jalil Abbas Jilani and Masood Khan have been promoted to grade-022. Masood is an ambassador in China, while Jilani, currently ambassador in Australia, was originally assigned to Paris, but became victim of a controversial appointment of a junior civil servant by President Asif Zardari. It generated a huge controversy in the country and provoked a virtual revolt in the Foreign Office that opposed the appointment of a junior non-diplomat on a coveted post. Jilani is moving to Brussels next month.
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Australia wants to develop strategic ties with India
New Delhi, September 6 "We understand that energy security is important for India... (But) we have a longstanding position about uranium sales and nuclear non-proliferation treaty (NPT)," she told PTI in an interview here while explaining why Australia will not supply nuclear fuel to India. Australia has taken a position that it will not supply uranium to a country, which has not signed the NPT. "We do have this longstanding in principle position about sale of uranium to non-NPT countries... That is not policy that is the focus in relation to India, that is general policy," said Gillard during her just concluded visit here. Australia has refused to give uranium even though it supported grant of waiver to India by the 45-nation Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) last year. Gillard, however, said there is good prospect of cooperation between India and Australia on energy security. "We are a nation that has big coal reserves and Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG)," Gillard elaborated. The Australian Deputy Prime Minister said her country wanted to develop strategic ties with India and that her visit here was in that context. Movement on this front could be expected when Prime Minister Kevin Rudd undertakes a visit here in the next few months. Asked why the quadrilateral format of security cooperation among India, Australia, the US and Japan had fizzled out, she said "there was no enthusiasm from any of the nations to continue in that particular form" of partnership. "We want to build direct relations with India, direct friendship with India, to build into a strategic partnership, for India to be in the front rank of the nations with whom we have strategic partnership and a strong relationship. Our focus is on doing that," said Gillard. There have been reports that Australia developed cold feet on the four-nation cooperation after China raised questions over it. Identifying areas of cooperation, Gillard said security is one of the key elements which will cover the threat of terrorism also. — PTI
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A man goes berserk, shoots wife, son and grandson
Holden (US), September 6 The shootings appeared to stem from an ongoing dispute between 50-year-old Dennis Carter Sr and his wife, Donna Carter, who had a restraining order against him, said Livingston Parish Sheriff’s Office Chief of Operations Perry Rushing. Police were called to the home in Holden, about 48 km east of Baton Rouge, around 10:30 pm (local time) yesterday. Donna Carter, 49, and Dennis Carter Jr, 26, were dead inside. Dennis Carter Jr’s wife, Amber Carter, was badly hurt and their son, Mason Carter, 2, was found dead outside. Rushing said it appeared Amber and Mason Carter managed to escape out a second-floor window but it was not clear if Dennis Carter Sr shot them inside or followed them outside and shot them there. All of the Carters lived at the house in Holden except Dennis Carter Sr, who used to live there but had more recently been living in nearby Hammond. Another 16-month-old boy was in the house during the shootings but appeared to be unharmed, Rushing said. The boy was related to the Carters but Rushing was not sure how. —
AP
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Hindu extremist chief held in Nepal Kathmandu, September 6 NDA chief RP Mainali and four other leaders were arrested from Jhapa and Morang district along with weapons, SP of Regional Police Office Biratnagar, Debendra Subedi said. The NDA is a Hindu extremist organisation accused of bomb attacks in churches, mosques, and various other places across the country, in which over dozens of innocent people, including a priest and school principal, were killed. Mainali, who was released on bail after being arrested once, was on the most-wanted list of the police. The police had intensified the search for Mainali and other NDA operatives after the Dhobighat church bomb blast in May that claimed three lives and wounded dozen others.
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Lanka orders top UN official to leave
Colombo, September 6 James Elder, an Australian passport holder, has been working for UNICEF in the country since July 2008, and had a residency visa valid until 2010. “His visa has been cancelled for his propaganda support to the Tigers,” a government spokesman said. Elder, who is also UNICEF’s spokesman, regularly spoke to the media on the plight of the children caught in the war betwen LTTE and the Sri Lankan Government. He had also raised concerns over the fate of the children during the final phase of the civil war that rendered over 2.9 lakh people homeless. AFP quoted Immigration official PB Abeykoon as saying that Elder’s visa had been cancelled as of September 7 and he had been ordered to leave immediately. “But the UN appealed for more time and we have extended his visa until September 21,” Abeykoon was quoted as saying. —
PTI
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Kathmandu, September 6
