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Won’t quit: Zardari
SC disposes appeals of Pak Prez
Obama writes to Pakistan on terror
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Benazir Killing
Rani Jhansi’s letter found in British Library
Ft Hood shooter was on ‘jihadi mission’
Quake jolts Canada
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Won’t quit: Zardari
A defiant Asif Zardari has told central executive committee of his Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) that he would not quit presidential office and face all conspiracies being hatched to oust him. “No matter what our opponents say and no matter how much the party leadership is subjected to a campaign of vilification, the party will not be deterred and will continue its forward march in the service of the people,” the beleaguered president was quoted by his spokesman Farhatullah Babar as saying at a meeting of the party’s central executive committee held to review the political situation amid criticism by political opponents and a section of the media. Without naming anyone, Zardari said: “Some people write our obituaries almost daily but the more they write our obituaries, the more they are disappointed and frustrated. I salute the party, its workers and the people. We have stood together in the past and will stand together in the future as well.” The meeting, which continued till past midnight, discussed a number of issues, including the controversial National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) that has also been opposed by coalition partners-Muttahida Qaumi Movement, Awami National Party and Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-F. The PPP had first decided to present the NRO in parliament but had to reverse the decision when the coalition partners refused to support it. Sources in the PPP said the meeting mainly focused on the NRO, the law introduced by former president Gen Pervez Musharraf (retd) providing immunity to ruling elite, politicians and bureaucrats. The fate of the NRO is still hanging in the balance and there is a possibility that corruption cases against Zardari’s handpicked men in the government that had been dumped under the NRO may be reopened. The President enjoys immunity from any proceedings on criminal charge until he is holding the office. During a meeting held earlier in the day, President Zardari and Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani were reported to have discussed important political and organisational matters. The CEC meeting held after three and a half months was put off twice apparently because of the fast changing political scenario in the country. Eminent jurist and PPP leader Chaudhry Aitzaz Ahsan who was suspended from the CEC meeting early this year for his role in the restoration of deposed judges was not invited despite multiple speculations triggered by his three-hour session with President last week. This correspondent has learned from reliable sources that during the meeting Zardari offered Ahsan to become attorney-general. Aitzaz Ahsan spelled out certain conditions before accepting the offer and made it clear that he would not defend any member of the present government who may be hit by the repeal of the NRO. Babar said the President was of the view that the PPP had formed the government with coalition partners at the Centre and in all provinces. It had thrown out dictatorship, restored presidency to democratic forces and embarked upon a course of political and economic reforms and reconstruction. The President said: “The PPP had achieved electoral victories with the support of the people and not by anyone as charity”. He said the vilification campaign against the party was aimed at weakening it politically and warned that those hoping to weaken “us politically are living in a fool’s paradise”.
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SC disposes appeals of Pak Prez
Islamabad, November 17 In the first appeal, the President had sought release of his assets frozen by the Ehtisab Bench of the Lahore High Court and pending before the court since 1997. Zardari’s counsel Abu Bakr Zardari informed the court that the case has already been settled under the NRO and that the former military ruler Gen Pervez Musharraf had released the assets last year. The other appeal was filed by the Sindh government against transfer in 1997 of a criminal case by the Sindh High Court from an Anti-Terrorist Court to a lower trial court. The Sindh government’s Prosecutor General Sindh Shahadat Awan appeared before the bench and informed it that the case had been decided in favour of the respondent.
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Obama writes to Pakistan on terror
US President Barack Obama has written to President Asif Ali Zardari expressing hope that he would rally the nation’s political and security institutions in a united campaign against extremists threatening Pakistan and Afghanistan. National Security Adviser General Jones delivered a letter from Obama to President Zardari during his visit to Islamabad last week. President Obama's message came at a time when President Zardari is believed to be facing a serious political crisis at home amid tense ties with military establishment, signs of disillusionment among key coalition allies and media reports of his past financial transactions. The New York Times quoting an unnamed official reported that the Obama administration was leaning on Pakistan to step up its fight against the Taliban and Al-Qaida. Citing anonymous sources, the Times reported that Gen James L Jones, Obama’s national security adviser, was sent to Islamabad with a letter for President Asif Ali Zardari. “His (President Obama’s) message, officials said, was that the new American strategy would work only if Pakistan broadened its fight beyond the militants attacking its cities and security forces and went after the groups that use havens in Pakistan for plotting and carrying out attacks against American troops in Afghanistan, as well as support networks for Al-Qaida,” the report said. In the letter, the newspaper reported, Obama said he expected Pakistan to do more to fight the extremists threatening Pakistan and Afghanistan. “General Jones also delivered a letter from Obama to Pakistan’s President Asif Ali Zardari, in which Obama said he expected Zardari to rally the nation’s political and national security institutions in a united campaign against extremists threatening Pakistan and Afghanistan, said an official briefed on the conversations who spoke on condition of anonymity because the talks were confidential,” the NYT report said. Obama is expected to announce some troop increases in Afghanistan along with clearer limitations on US goals for the war after he returns from Asia late this week. The announcement is expected either just before or just after the thanksgiving holiday on November 26.
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Benazir Killing
Islamabad, November 17 Reports received from New York said the commission discussed in detail circumstances surrounding Benazir Bhutto's murder, the subsequent attempts at cover up by washing the scene of murder, the extent of security provided by the government and reasons for not carrying out autopsy of her body. According to sources, Musharraf told the commission that he advised Benazir against homecoming on apprehensions of threat to her life in the country. A Pakistani TV channel reported that the former President requested the commission to keep the contents of the meeting under wraps.
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Rani Jhansi’s letter found in British Library
London, Novemer 17 “This is a letter written by an iconic talisman for the nationalist narrative in India. The letter is part of a collection of documents known as the Bowring Collection,” Deepika Ahlawat, research curator for the Victoria and Albert Museum's Maharaja exhibition currently being staged in London told BBC. “The collection is named after Lewin Bentham Bowring, a civil servant working in India who gathered a remarkable collection of documents, photographs and ephemera relating to the maharajas,” she said. In the letter, the Rani of Jhansi describes the fateful events on the night her husband died. Ahlawat said: “But under the Doctrine of Lapse then being imposed by the EIC, any Indian kingdom whose ruler died without an heir, or who was guilty of misrule , was subsumed into Company territory”. Lakshmibai wrote that her husband adopted a suitable heir before his death by performing all the necessary rites for her adopted son, Damodar Rao, to be accepted as the next Raja of Jhansi. But Lord Dalhousie did not recognise the adoption and threatened to annex Jhansi. In 1857, the Rani joined the rebellion against the British and personally led her troops in battle.— PTI
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Ft Hood shooter was on ‘jihadi mission’
Washington, November 17 "This man was on a mission, on a mission that he believed was from his God, a jihadist mission," Congressman Michael McCaul from Texas said in the House of Representatives. Citing the information he received from soldiers who survived the November 5 massacre, the Congressman pointed out that Hasan shouted 'Allah ho Akbar' before opening fire. "It is a common terminology in the jihad world to say 'Allah Akbar' before you shoot and kill others," McCaul said. — PTI
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Toronto, November 17 The epicentre of the tremor was 260 km south-southwest of the port of Prince Rupert, a regional transport hub on the British Columbia mainland with a population of around 12,000. “There is no tsunami danger from the quake, which measured 6.6 according to the US Geological Survey,” Carol Kelesha, Mayor of Queen Charlotte village in the mainland, said. The quake hit at 2100 IST at a depth of 10 km and was followed seven minutes later by an aftershock at the same depth with a 5.7 magnitude, she said. “It was significant enough to make me feel I was in a train. This morning’s earthquake has not resulted in any widespread damage,” the mayor was quoted as saying by ‘The Globe and Mail’ daily. — PTI
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