Baghdad, September 15
Muntadhar al-Zaidi, the Iraqi journalist who threw his shoes at then US president George W. Bush, today said he had been tortured with electric shocks while in custody.

Speaking to reporters after his release, al-Zaidi said Iraqi security forces also beat him, held his head under water to simulate drowning, then left him in the cold all night in the 24 hours after his arrest in December.

"At the same time Iraqi Prime Minister (Nuri al-Maliki) was saying he would not sleep until he made sure I was safe, I was being tortured in all sorts of ways," al-Zaidi said.

"I demand an apology from al-Maliki for hiding the truth about my torture in custody," he said.

Al-Baghdadia, al-Zaidi's employer, greeted the journalist's release with a massive celebration with traditional music and flowers.

Al-Zaidi had been scheduled to be released after serving nine months in prison on Monday, but paperwork delayed his release, al-Baghdadia satellite channel reported.

The journalist was initially sentenced to three years in prison for assaulting a foreign leader by hurling his shoes at Bush at a news conference and shouting, "This is a farewell kiss from the Iraqis, you dog", but that sentence was subsequently reduced to one year on appeal, then to nine months for good behaviour.

Al-Zaidi said he had thrown his shoes at Bush for "the injustice that fell on my people, and how the occupation humiliated my country by placing it under its shoes".

"The occupation divided us and made our homes places of constant mourning. Our streets and parks became our graves. This was my only response for a murderer who comes after years of killings and humiliation to boast of victory and democracy. It was the suitable response when all standards had been violated," the journalist said.

Al-Zaidi's protest made him a hero in Iraq and across the Arab world.

Former military ruler Gen Pervez Musharraf enjoys protection from prosecution because of the guarantees provided by "foreign and domestic" powers, President Asif Ali Zardari disclosed here. Talking to media people at an iftar-dinner he hosted here on Monday night, Zardari confirmed that Musharraf"s exit was the result of a “deal” arranged by international powers with interests in South Asia and domestic forces. He didn’t identify these players but said that they were ‘guarantors’. 

Asked if the president army chief Gen. Ashfaq Pervez Kayani was also among the guarantees, Zardari cryptically retorted without clearly denying or confirming:"How does Kayani's name crops up on this subject?" President Zardari indicated that Gen (retd) Musharraf would live a peaceful and secure life. But Zardari asserted that Musharraf had assured foreign guarantors that he would play golf instead of taking part in active politics. “It is now clear he is violating the assurance,” he said.

When asked about prime minister’s statement that the trial of Pervez Musharraf under Article 6 of the Constitution is not doinble, the president said this question should be put to the prime minister. “I am the President of Pakistan and will not make any comment on the prime minister’s statement,” he added. The president said the Pakistan People’s Party always opposed dictators and never accepted Pervez Musharraf as president. “The PPP has taken revenge through democracy and removed the dictator from the presidency,” he added.

When asked about the media reports of rampant corruption , the president said anti-democratic elements have always been trying to dub politicians as corrupt with a view to promoting their own vested interests. “The stories of corruption against politicians were part of the campaign against the politicians and they were being defamed through such stories,” he added.

The president said he would ask the prime minister to establish a Truth and Reconciliation Commission to promote the process of national healing and unity. “The Truth and Reconciliation Commission should be headed by Asma Jehangir,” he said referring to the celebrated human rights campaigner.

On the political significance of the presence of his daughter Assefa Bhutto Zardari in the reception and during foreign tours, the president said Bilawal Bhutto Zardari is the chairman of the PPP and will actively participate in politics.

Replying to another question, he said the PPP government would fulfill its constitutional tenure of five years. The president said Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani is the chief executive of the country and he only advises him as the PPP co-chairman.

To another question, he said there were similarities in the assassination of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, Shahnawaz Bhutto, Murtaza Bhutto and Benazir Bhutto. “Anti-democratic forces were involved in the assassination of Bhutto family. We were not against individuals but the thinking that creates such kind of incidents,” he added. 

September 15, Los Angeles
Hollywood actor Patrick Swayze, best-known to Indian audience for his role as the good-hearted American doctor Max Lowe in the 1992 movie ‘City of Joy’, died after a long battle with pancreatic cancer. He was 57.

The ‘Dirty Dancing’ star died on Monday in a Los Angeles hospital, with his wife Lisa Niemi and family by his side, said his publicist, Annett Wolf. The three-times Golden Globe nominated actor, who stole millions of hearts with his turn as the rakish dancer Johnny Castle in cult classic ‘Dirty Dancing’.

Swayze, the son of a choreographer and a trained dancer himself, immortalised the line “No one puts Baby in a corner” in the 1987 movie, which continues to be one of the most successful romances in Hollywood history.

The actor, who was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer last year, had vowed that he will fight till the very end and had continued to shoot for the TV drama ‘The Beast’, while undergoing treatment.

“I am proud of what I am doing? How do you nurture a positive attitude when all the statistics say you’re a dead man? You go to work,” the actor had said. Swayze’s fame intruded on his final months as he wrestled with what he called the “reckless reporting” that regularly pronounced he was near death. Such coverage amounted to “emotional cruelty, when hope is so precious,” he had said.

The actor, who was voted the ‘Sexiest Man Alive’ by People magazine in 1991, reaffirmed his heartthrob status with the blockbuster romance ‘Ghost’ opposite Demi Moore. He played Sam in the movie, who returns after his death to meet his lover Molly for one last time.

“Patrick you are so loved by so many and your life will forever shine in all of our lives and in the words of Sam to Molly ‘Its amazing Molly the love inside you take with you’ I will love and miss you Patrick,” Moore wrote in her emotional tribute to her ‘Ghost’ co-star on Twitter. — PTI