Putting up a stout defence of the beleaguered President Asif Ali Zardari, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani has ruled out any government action to reopen $60 million graft case against him in Swiss courts as directed by the Supreme Court. He also rejected the demand for the resignation of President Zardari on moral grounds in the aftermath of the Supreme Court verdict, declaring as illegal the National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) and reopening all corruption cases, including those of Zardari that were pardoned under the NRO.

Regarding other ministers and bureaucrats who benefited from the ordinance, Gilani said their fate would be decided by the courts.

“It will tantamount to double jeopardy to ask him to resign on the grounds of cases for which he has already undergone 12 years’ imprisonment,” Gilani said while talking to reporters after addressing an inter-faith Christmas dinner here on Friday.

The prime minister said he had also been sentenced to five-year imprisonment in a case prepared by the National Accountability Bureau for giving jobs to people and had served almost a life-term in jail, but he had never complained against the perpetrators.

When asked about reopening of the Swiss case, he said the Swiss government had put the onus on the Pakistan government to first initiate the case here.

He wondered why the names of former president Pervez Musharraf and prime minister Shaukat Aziz were not being mentioned, although they had authored the NRO and failed to prove any case despite spending Rs 4 billion on investigations.

The prime minister said the PPP and PML-N had reached a consensus in 2006, during negotiations over the Charter of Democracy, that all past cases were politically motivated.

Replying to a question regarding his plan to disband the bureau and set up an accountability commission, he said: “I have sent the draft of the proposed accountability law to PML-N chief Mian Nawaz Sharif for his input so that it can be approved by parliament at the earliest.

“We did not defend the NRO in the court because we knew its fallout and are in the process of sorting out the matter.”

The prime minister denied any rift between himself and the president over a cabinet reshuffle. “It is my prerogative to constitute the cabinet, while Mr Zardari runs the party. Hence there is no question of any differences.”

Prime Minister Gilani played down a controversy over denial of visas to Americans. “Visas in genuine cases will be issued soon.” The cases related to armed forces and diplomats would be granted after usual scrutiny.

Replying in a lighter vein to a question about arrest warrants for Interior Minister Rehman Malik, he said: “Who will arrest him? He is the one who arrests people.”

London, December 19
About 2,500 passengers were trapped overnight in the undersea Channel Tunnel linking France and Britain on Saturday after four trains broke down due to freezing weather conditions, rail operator Eurostar said.

Angry travellers arriving in London on Saturday morning said they had been left with no power, air conditioning, food or water.

Some complained their journeys from Brussels and Paris, which should take about 2 hours, had taken up to 15 hours.

Eurostar said the breakdowns occurred when the high-speed trains moved from cold outside temperatures into the warmer tunnel.

Temperatures at the French port of Calais, where the tunnel is located on the French side, were as low as 2°Celsius accompanied by snowfall. In the French capital Paris, temperatures were down to -4°C.

A rescue locomotive and a shuttle train were used to move passengers out of the 51 km (32 mile) tunnel, the longest undersea subway in the world, which conveys about 40,000 people a day between Britain and continental Europe.

Passengers accused Eurostar of doing little to help them. “There was very, very poor communication from the staff… It was a nightmare,” said a passenger, Lee Godfree, who was returning to Britain with his family from Disneyland Paris. — Reuters

Washington, December 19
A Sikh graduate student, working as a part-time pizza delivery person, was thrown into a swimming pool and brutally assaulted in West Texas, according to the Sikh Coalition, a community advocacy group.

When the young man, whose identity has been withheld for his protection, brought pizzas for delivery into a home, four men took the pizzas and started eating without paying, while hurling racial epithets and threats.

"I'm going to **** you up in Iraq, I'm going to **** you up in Afghanistan, I'm going to **** you up over here," they were quoted as saying by the Coalition in a media release. But it did not say when the incident took place.

The four men then grabbed the Sikh student and threw him into a swimming pool. The four attackers surrounded the pool, kicking him in the head and body. Every time he tried to escape, they would stomp or hit at him. For 20 minutes, he swam for his life trying to escape. He eventually seized an opportunity to flee and barely made it to his car with two men in pursuit, the community group said.

Though the local police were called shortly after the attack, they failed to respond adequately, the community group alleged. The police classified the incident as a misdemeanor, which means the attackers may not have to serve any jail time, it said.

The local police also did not file the incident as a hate crime, the group said: "It is clear from the attackers' references to 'bin Laden' and 'go back to Afghanistan' and the fact that they kicked off his turban shows that this assault targeted not only him as an individual, but his Sikh identity."

However the Department of Justice (DOJ) is currently investigating the matter as a possible federal hate crime. But after being contacted with the local police department, it refused to prosecute the attackers for hate crime, the Sikh Coalition said. — IANS

Dubai, December 19
Three members of an Indian family allegedly committed suicide by hanging themselves in their apartment due to financial trouble.

The three — a 38-year-old woman, her 22-year-old son from an earlier marriage and her 20-year-old sister — died in their house in Karama area in an apparent suicide pact on Wednesday. But her husband who also tried to hang himself, escaped with minor injuries, the Khaleej Times reported.

Financial problems were cited as the reason for the mass suicide, Brigadier Khalil Ibrahim Al Mansouri, Director of the General Department of Criminal Investigation of Dubai Police, said.

Police rushed to the building opposite Lulu Supermarket at Karama in Dubai where they found the three members of the family dead and the man of the house still breathing. He was rushed to the hospital.

The police found a letter which said the family members were ending their lives out of despair due to financial problems.

Police said that forensic experts had collected evidence and the preliminary evidence points to a suicide pact. Later, a senior Dubai Police official also ruled out any criminal intent behind the collective suicide, saying it was a pact motivated by the husband. — PTI