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US for restoring Karzai govt’s credibility Pak retreats on graft amnesty order Pak raises bounty on 19 Taliban
ultras to ’84 Riots |
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Cooperate on N-issue: IAEA chief to Iran Afghanistan declares H1N1 emergency Merkel: No climate change pact without India, China 17 killed in Karachi train collision
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US for restoring Karzai govt’s credibility Anxious to bridge the yawning credibility gap in the recently reappointed administration in Kabul, the Obama administration is working behind the scenes to persuade Afghan President Hamid Karzai to work with his main election rival in a so called post-election “compact.” Karzai was assured of a second term on Monday after Abdullah Abdullah abandoned his campaign for a November 7 run-off election claiming the vote apparatus was heavily rigged in the president’s favour. President Barack Obama spoke to Karzai on Monday and emphasised that the “American people and the international community as a whole want to continue to partner with him and his government in achieving prosperity and security in Afghanistan.” Eager to clear the allegations of corruption and weak governance that hang over Karzai, Obama said he had “emphasised that this has to be a point in time in which we begin to write a new chapter based on improved governance, a much more serious effort to eradicate corruption, joint efforts to accelerate the training of Afghan security forces, so that the Afghan people can provide for their own security”. “Although the process was messy, I’m pleased to say that the final outcome was determined in accordance with Afghan law,” Obama told reporters at the White House. He said Karzai told him he understood the significance of the moment, but, the US president said, “as I indicated to him, the proof is not going to be in words; it’s going to be in deeds. And we are looking forward to consulting closely with his government in the weeks and months to come, to assure that the Afghan people are actually seeing progress on the ground.” A US source in Kabul told “The Tribune” the US and the international community have been discussing the prospect of a “compact” or a “contract with the Afghan people” to bolster the Karzai government’s legitimacy. The source, who spoke on the condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the discussions, said it would be up to the Afghans if they want a coalition government involving Karzai and Abdullah, a former foreign minister in the Karzai administration, but that the US was not pushing for this at this time. The source said the US could very soon discuss plans for such a contract with the Afghan people with Karzai. If the election’s third-highest vote-getter, Ramazan Bashardost, challenges Karzai’s legitimacy in court it could further undermine the government in Kabul. While this has not yet happened, it is a possibility the US and its international partners are also keeping a close eye on. On Monday, State Department spokesman Ian Kelly danced around questions from reporters on whether the US had a credible partner in a new Karzai administration. “I think what we’ve seen is a process that was very difficult, that was conducted according to laws that were laid down by the government and legislature of Afghanistan. And these were the first-ever totally Afghan-run elections,” Kelly responded, when asked for a second time whether he thought the US has a credible partner in Kabul. On whether he was not prepared to say that such a partner exists, Kelly offered, “We’re prepared to work with this partner who was elected according to Afghan laws in an election that was conducted by Afghan institutions. And we have a big stake in Afghanistan. The international community has a big stake in Afghanistan. And we stand ready to support them as they go forward.”
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Pak retreats on graft amnesty order Intense political pressure has forced Pakistan's ruling PPP to abandon a move to get Parliament to endorse a controversial National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) that scrapped graft cases against President Asif Ali Zardari, raising questions about his future. Then President chaired a meeting attended by Prime Minister and some senior federal minister besides Raza Rabbani, chairman of the Parliamentary panel currently working on repeal of 17th Amendment in order to clip presidential powers. Earlier, he went into intense consultation separately with top leaders of coalition partners, including Maulana Fazlur Rehman (JUI), Asfandyar Wali Khan (ANP) and Dr Farooq Sattar (MQM). The meeting was held against the backdrop of MQM chief Altaf Hussain’s sensational statement that his party would oppose the NRO and that he had advised the President to make even extreme sacrifice to save the democratic system from being derailed. Most analysts said Altaf indirectly confirmed media reports that he had advised the President to step down. The daylong activity in the National Assembly, the media and the President House made it clear that the government lacked numbers to get the NRO through Parliament. A significant meeting between the Prime Minister and army chief Gen Pervez Kayani spurred speculations that the government is under pressure from the army as well to blink from its rigid stance and desist from pressing the NRO in parliament. Kayani reported referred to ongoing military operation in Waziristan and unabated tide of violence and suicide bombing in the country hoping the government would not exacerbate the delicate situation by escalating tensions on the NRO. Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani speaking in the National Assembly on Tuesday described the decision as a response to the will of Parliament that appeared to be not in favour of introducing the NRO. He said all beneficiaries of the NRO would now face the courts to clear themselves from corruption and other charges. Eminent jurist and leader of Lawyers’ Movement Chaudhry Aitzaz Ahsan welcomed the government decision as wise and pragmatic in view of the fact that it lacked majority in parliament. He said some of top figures in the government would be immediately affected and their cases would reopen in the court. “However, President Asif Zardari enjoys immunity while in office and cannot be prosecuted during this period,” he said. About cases of about 3,700 MQM activists who involved in criminal charges including murder, extortion etc, Aitzaz said they had taken advantage before February 4, 2008, when the NRO expired. Their cases would reopen in court if the petitions challenging the legality of the NRO is granted by the Supreme Court. Altaf said none of MQM activists was involved in corruption and declared that his party would not object if their criminal cases are reopened in the courts for scrutiny. The advice was also given by PML-N Quaid Mian Nawaz Sharif, MQM chief Altaf Hussain and other coalition partners. The MQM played a vital role for the reversal of the decision of bringing the NRO to parliament. Earlier, there was ruckus in the National Assembly when major opposition parties - the PML-N and the PML-Q - and Fata members protested over the government move to bring the NRO to parliament. When contacted and asked about the future strategy of the PPP to deal with the deadline given by the Supreme Court in its verdict on July 31 for validating the law by November 28 or let it lapse, Farhatullah Babar said: “At the moment, I cannot say anything about what comes next. The decision was taken not to present the NRO in parliament and it is final.” However, Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Dr Babar Awan said the government would follow the policy of national reconciliation, which was carved out by Benazir Bhutto.
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Pak raises bounty on 19 Taliban
ultras to $5 m
Islamabad, November 3 The rewards for the Taliban rouges gallery were announced with the government splashing black-and-white advertisement in Urdu on the front page of the mass-circulated The News daily. Bounty of Rs 5 crore was offered for Hakimullah Mehsud, who took over as head of the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan after his predecessor Baitullah Mehsud, was killed in a US drone attack in August. Bounties of Rs 2 crore were offered for other Taliban commanders Mohammad Raees Khan Mehsud, Maulvi Azmatullah Mehsud, Mufti Noor Wali Mehsud, Mufti Noor Saeed, Maulvi Shameem, Ameerullah, Naseeruddin, Shah Faisal, Sher Azeem, Jaleel and Ismael. The rewards of Rs 1 crore were offered for militant leaders Azmatullah Batani, Arfeshaheen, Mohammad Anwar Kandapur, Abdullah Shah, Abdul Wali and Khan Saeed. “Anybody who provides concrete information on or catches them dead or alive will be given a cash reward by the government. The names of informers will not be revealed,” it said. The advertisement, which began with a quotation from the Quran, described the commanders of the banned Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan as “hard-hearted” people. “They are terrorising people every day and innocent members of the Mehsud tribe are dying and their children are becoming orphans,” the advertisement said.
— PTI
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’84 Riots A leading human rights group on Monday described the failure of successive Indian governments to bring to justice those responsible for the anti-Sikh backlash that followed the assassination of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi 25 years ago as a “severe blot on India's legal system and democracy.” New York-based Human Rights Watch noted that angry mobs, instigated by leaders of the Congress Party, committed serious human rights violations and killed, forcibly disappeared, and tortured thousands of Sikhs. None of the architects of this counterinsurgency strategy have been brought to justice, the group noted. “Delhi was a scene of carnage, yet 25 years later the victims are still waiting for justice,” said Meenakshi Ganguly, senior researcher on South Asia at Human Rights Watch. “Instead of bringing prosecutions, even when they know who was responsible, officials have done everything they could to bar the way.” Indira Gandhi was assassinated by her Sikh bodyguards in New Delhi on Oct. 31, 1984. "The Sikh separatist movement is a classic case of human rights abuses leading to a cycle of violence that spins out of control," Ganguly said. "Both the militants and the security forces committed horrific crimes, justifying them by pointing to the abuses of the other, and yet those who suffered most were ordinary civilians." The rights group said for two-and-half decades, victims and their families seeking justice have been confronted by government opposition and obfuscation, including prolonged trials, biased prosecutors, an unresponsive judiciary, police intimidation, and harassment of witnesses. It noted no senior government officials or politicians have been prosecuted despite evidence of their role in the atrocities. In fact, most recently, the Congress Party dropped two candidates in the 2009 elections, Sajjan Kumar and Jagdish Tytler “because of allegations of involvement in the 1984 Delhi attacks. The party appointed Kumar's brother, Ramesh, as a candidate instead. In April, the CBI gave Tytler a clean chit. “The victims of the 1984 massacres have waited for the law to take its course and, sadly, they are still waiting,” Ganguly said. "India needs to change its enduring culture of impunity before its citizens will place trust in the rule of law in other conflict areas, like Kashmir and Naxalite-affected states."
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Cooperate on N-issue: IAEA chief to Iran
United Nations, November 3 “This is a unique and fleeting opportunity to reverse course from confrontation to cooperation and should, therefore, not be missed,” he said yesterday at the UN General Assembly. In his last address before stepping down as the chief of the IAEA, ElBaradei asked the international community to stick to the path of multilateral dialogue and not to follow the road of unilateral action, which had led to a “senseless tragedy” in Iraq. “We must engage those with whom we have differences in dialogue rather than seeking to isolate them,” he said. “We must act within the framework of international institutions - in this case, the IAEA and the Security Council - and empower them, rather than bypass them through unilateral action.” ElBaradei regretted that the Iraq war happened on his watch, which was done on “false pretext”. The IAEA chief also criticised the global community for not paying sufficient attention to the organisation's development side.
— PTI
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Afghanistan declares H1N1 emergency
Kabul, November 3 The government has also advised the public against gatherings such as weddings in enclosed areas, after Afghanistan had its first death attributed to the virus last week. Nearly 350 positive cases of H1N1 have been detected among foreigners and Afghans and several hundred more people are suspected to be infected, a public health ministry spokesman said. The positive cases, 271 reported among expatriates and the rest among Afghans, reflect a dramatic rise in infections registered in recent months, the spokesman said.
— Reuters
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Merkel: No climate change pact without India, China
Washington, November 3 “There can be no agreement without India and China. No doubt about it, in December, the world will look to us, to the Europeans and to the Americans. And it is true, there can be no agreement without China and India,” she said to a round of applause while adressing a joint section of the US Congress. “But I'm convinced, once we in Europe and America show ourselves ready to adopt binding agreements; we will also be able to persuade China and India to join in,” she said. The first German Chancellor to address a joint session of the US Congress in 50 years, Merkel also called for building a stable partnership with India, China and Russia. Noting that the world of is both freer and more integrated than ever before, Merkel said: “The fall of the Berlin Wall, the technological revolution in information and communication technology, the rise of China, India and other countries to become dynamic economies — all of this has changed the world of the 21st century into something completely different from what we knew in the 20th century.” Noting that the NATO remains the crucial cornerstone of common security for US and European allies, Merkel called for building a stable partnership with Russia, China and India.
— PTI
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17 killed in Karachi train collision
Karachi, November 3 Officials said the Karachi-bound Allama Iqbal Express rammed into the Super Parcel Express near Jumma Goth railway station this morning. Senior railways official Yusuf Soomro said the accident occurred because the driver of Allama Iqbal Express missed a signal and hit the cargo train from the rear. DSP Railways Aftab Memon said the accident appears to have happened because of the “negligence of the driver and that is why the passenger train rammed into the freight train coming from the opposite direction”. Other officials also said the collision took place due to a “mix-up” over signals. The first two coaches of the passenger train were severely damaged, resulting in deaths and injuries among passengers, including women and children. Soon after the collision, people from nearby areas rushed to the site of the accident and helped police and rescue service personnel in pulling bodies and the injured out of the train.— PTI
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