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13 killed in suicide attack in Peshawar
Gandhi a man of all times: US
Israelis told not to visit India
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No rift between Prez, defence chief: Lanka
Qureshi defends US aid bill
Blast kills 15 in Iraq mosque
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13 killed in suicide attack in Peshawar
Islamabad, October 16 Targeting the city for the second day in running, the bomber rammed his explosive laden car into the police station. In 12 days of wanton violence, the terrorists have carried out numerous suicide bombing, blasts and attacks, including the storming of Army Headquarters in Rawalpindi and three synchronised attacks on law enforcement establishments in Lahore yesterday leaving a trail of 174 deaths. The security agencies have warned of more such strikes in coming days and said they were aimed at scuttling the army’s impending major assault on their stronghold of south Waziristan. NWFP senior minister Bashir Bilour said 13 persons were killed. Three policemen, two women and a child were among the dead, officials said. “It was a suicide attack. The leg of the bomber has been found,” NWFP information minister Mian Iftikhar Hussian told reporters at the site of the attack. “The CIA office and police were the targets of the bomber but many civilians were killed and injured,” Hussain said. The security forces continued their pounding of Waziristan using fighter jets and artillery guns to soften the Taliban defences in the area. However, the army has refused to give the timing of the offensive. An emergency was declared in all hospitals in Peshawar, where the authorities have been on high alert for the past few weeks in the wake of a wave of deadly attacks. —
PTI
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Washington, October 16 “While much has been said about the great works of Gandhi’s life, it is important we never forget that without Gandhi the fates of what is now world’s largest democracy India, and the oldest democracy, the US, would likely be far different,” said Congressman Eni Faleomavaega in his speech on the floor of the House. The resolution on Gandhi to recognise his 140th birth anniversary was introduced by Faleomavaega and several of his colleagues in June this year. “Though his life was cut tragically short by an assassin’s bullet, his legacy is seen in the over 1.5 billion people who inhabit the free and independent countries of the Indian subcontinent and by our own embrace of the principles of non-violent political action, unity and religious tolerance within the US,” he said. Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen said Gandhi developed the distinctive philosophy of non-violence which influenced so many great figures of history, from Nehru to Reverend Martin Luther King Jr to Aung San Suu Kyi. “But of equal significance, especially to us in this Chamber today, Mahatma Gandhi inspired the American civil rights movement that hailed one of America’s most remarkable social and political transformations,” Faleomavaega said. Noting that in world affairs, the person who arguably affected change more than anyone else, more effectively was Mahatma Gandhi, Republican Ros-Lehtinen said: “As a recent biographer noted, fundamentally, Gandhi was a man of vision and action, who asked many of the most profound questions that face humankind as it struggles to live in a community.” — PTI
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Israelis told not to visit India
Jerusalem, October 16 Its Counter-Terrorism Bureau (CTB) said the threat of possible attacks against Israeli nationals had become “significantly more severe” since a stark travel advisory was issued last month. It said there was a “concrete” threat of attacks on Chabad centres and synagogues throughout India, including Goa, as well as on sites frequented by Israelis and Westerners. Israel’s Channel 10 reported that the new warning was based on fresh intelligence received by Israeli officials indicating that a ‘global jihad’ group had teamed up with the Pakistani terror cell responsible for the 2008 Mumbai massacre and was planning an attack. The CTB strongly advised Israelis in India to avoid places that are not visibly secured with armed guards. The bureau also issued a separate advisory against visiting Jammu and Kashmir. — PTI
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No rift between Prez, defence chief: Lanka
Media speculation about a possible rift between President Mahinda Rajapakse and former commander of the Sri Lankan army General Sarath Fonseka, the man who successfully carried out the war to annihilate the Tamil Tigers, has resulted in the government issuing a statement saying that such reports were “baseless” and “untrue.” The General was removed from his post as the Commander soon after the LTTE was defeated and appointed as the chief of defence staff, a higher post but without the clout that his previous position carried. Now speculation is rife that he may be planning to enter politics and challenge the incumbent President. The buzz got louder after General Fonseka told a gathering at a function in Colombo that it might be his last speech while still in uniform. Many interpreted the speech as a hint that General Fonseka was entering politics and could be a possible contender for the post of President if an early presidential poll is called. The government too went on offensive with several government ministers’ stating that there was no individual in the country who could challenge President Rajapakse. On Friday evening, the Media Centre for National Security issued a statement quoting military spokesman Brig. Udaya Nanayakara in which he denied there was any rift between General Fonseka and the government, saying that General Fonseka is still the senior-most officer serving in the army.
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Qureshi defends US aid bill
Foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi on Friday defended the controversial Kerry-Lugar Bill in parliament stating the joint explanatory statement attached to the Bill had addressed concerns of all stakeholders, including the military. US President Barack Obama on Thurday signed the Bill into law, which will inject Pakistan’s social sector with a record $7.5 billion aid over the next five years, with a pledge to extend it for another five years.
Earlier sponsors of the Bill, Sen. John Kerry and Congressman Berman issued a joint statement clarifying all objections raised by the opposition and army over the language and contents of the conditionality that they say impinged on the country’s sovereignty and were too intrusive. The government initially touted the Bill as a personal triumph of President Asif Zardari’s diplomacy but relented in the face of stiff opposition at home, including an unprecedented public rebuff from army commanders.
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