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Extradition treaty with US exists, says Pak
Suicide attack kills 89 in Pak
Indian-origin scientist gets Order of Canada
UN panel denied access to military brass
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Gilani vows to restore 1973 Constitution
Mayon world’s most dangerous tourist attraction
Tibetan ‘Living Buddha’ jailed by China
Gwadar Port Bill approved
US: Failure to share info would not be tolerated
Baitullah aide arrested
NKorea vows to achieve N-free Koreas
‘Americans blame UK for rise of Islamic extremism’
South Africans smoke vulture brains for lottery luck
Couples ‘cope better’ with shocks
Balls of fire discovered in sky
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Extradition treaty with US exists, says Pak
Reversing earlier denials, Pakistan on Friday acknowledged that it had an extradition treaty with the United States.
“We have an extradition treaty with the US,” foreign office spokesman Abdul Basit said at a media-briefing. He added that the two countries had an accord for return of fugitives as per the 1973 notification.
A spokesman for the US Embassy, Richard Snelsire, clarified that the treaty was signed during the British Raj. “We don’t have an extradition treaty with independent Pakistan,” he said. Recalling that a treaty existed between Britain and the US, he said it was up to the Pakistan government to interpret. Sources said Pakistan was invoking the old accord to secure return of president of Punjab Bank, Hamesh Khan, who is allegedly involved in a credit scam worth Rs nine billion. Pakistan sought INTERPOL’s assistance to arrest Khan but the US authorities are still hesitant to hand him over to Islamabad. The arrest of five Americans in Pagoda in December has also kicked up a debate on the existence or otherwise of such an agreement. Experts believe that the case pertained to repatriation, and not extradition, because they were not involved in any criminal activity in the US. The US-Pakistan accord has roots in a treaty between the US and the UK (1932), which was then applicable to all colonial territories. Pakistan inherited it after coming into existence in 1947 and subsequently through a notification in February 1973 the US was included among the countries with which it had the treaty. The spokesman, in a briefing earlier this month, had denied the existence of a formal treaty. In the past Pakistan put aside extradition procedures while surrendering terrorists Rams Yourself and Mir Animal Kais, giving an impression that the two countries lacked a formal agreement. Former President Gen Perez Mascara had also turned down a US request for extradition of Ahmed Omar Seed Sheikh, who was wanted in the murder of journalist Daniel Pearl. In 2001, Pakistan sought extradition of former Navy chief Admiral Manorial Has from the US on the basis of the 1932 treaty. However, Has returned voluntarily after extradition proceedings began. Meanwhile, Basit accused India of dragging its feet on normalising ties with Pakistan despite the Sharm-al-Shiekh summit, where the two sides had ‘agreed’ to de-link the suspended composite dialogue from progress on terror. “Sharm-al Sheikh summit was a significant development. Unfortunately, India continues refusing to move forward. The ball is now in India’s court,” he added.
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Suicide attack kills 89 in Pak
Peshawar/Islamabad, January 1 The attack occurred at Shah Hasankhel village, located 25 km from Lakki Marwat in the southern part of North West Frontier Province. A large crowd was watching a volleyball game between two local teams when the bomber struck. At least 89 bodies and 83 injured were taken to a hospital in Lakki Marwat, Geo News channel reported. In a separate attack, a tribal elder associated with an anti-Taliban militia and five others were killed when the vehicle they were travelling in was targeted with a roadside bomb in the restive Bajaur region. The bomber drove his car onto the field and detonated the explosives, district police chief Ayub Khan said. Over 20 nearby houses and several shops collapsed and several persons were feared to be stilled buried in the debris, he said. The attack might have been in retaliation for efforts by residents of Shah Hasankhel to keep the Taliban out of the area. “The village was a stronghold of militants and the local people set up a militia and expelled militants from the area. The attack seems to be a reaction (by the militants)," Khan said. The explosion also triggered a fire that was controlled late in the night. The residents joined security and emergency service personnel in conducting rescue operations and digging out people from the rubble. Some of the injured were taken to Bannu and Peshawar cities. Police chief Khan said over 300 kg of explosives could have been used in the attack. Mushtaq Marwat, a member of a pro-government “peace committee” that cooperated with security forces to drive militants out of the area, said the blast destroyed numerous houses and several shops. A mosque where members of the peace committee were meeting was damaged, he said. The committee had received several threats from militants after they were driven out of Shah Hasankhel about three months ago, Marwat said. No group claimed responsibility for the attack but police officials said they suspected the Taliban were behind the assault as local residents had cooperated with security forces in the operation against militants. Today's attack was the latest in a series of devastating suicide bombings across Pakistan that has killed over 500 persons since October last year. Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani condemned the attack and said such terrorist acts would not weaken his government’s resolve to fight terrorism till it was completely eliminated. Tribal elder Malik Gul Shah Ali Khan and five others, including a minor boy, died when the vehicle was targeted with a remote controlled bomb in Salarzai sub-division of Bajaur Agency this morning, officials of the local administration said. In Hangu district of the North West Frontier Province, two militants were killed while planting a bomb, police said. The militants were planting the bomb beside a road when it went off with a loud bang. Both men were killed instantly. Meanwhile, at least eight militants were killed in US drone attacks in the troubled North Waziristan tribal region, a Taliban stronghold. — PTI
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Indian-origin scientist gets Order of Canada
Toronto, January 1 Born in Allahabad, Kumar is an alumnus of Allahabad University where he did his masters in zoology. After his higher studies in Britain, he worked from 1971 to 1973 at the All-India Institute of Medical Sciences where he set up the first biomechanics laboratory. Before landing in Canada in 1974, he was an assistant director at the Central Labour Institute in Mumbai. Kumar is among 57 prominent Canadians who have been given the nation's highest civilian award for their excellence in various fields. Bestowing the highest Canadian award on Kumar, Governor General Michaelle Jean said he has been honoured for "his contributions to the field of rehabilitation ergonomics, in Canada and abroad, notably in his research and teachings on the causation, prevention and treatment of musculo-skeletal injuries". Kumar, who joined the faculty at the University of Alberta in Edmonton in 1977, has done path-breaking research, published and taught on ergonomics, occupational health and lower back pain for three decades. He retired from the Canadian university two years ago and moved to Fort Worth in Texas to join the faculty at the University of North Texas. "I feel honoured as well as humbled by the award. It is Canada's highest honour...the feeling has not yet sunk in," Kumar told IANS on phone from Texas. "I am an inter-disciplinary scientist and my research covers various disciplines from engineering to medicine to biology. My work involves orthopaedic research, occupational health, rehabilitation health etc," he said. — IANS
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Bhutto Probe
Islamabad, January 1 The UN inquiry commission had submitted a written request some time ago for access to senior military officials, including Kayani, former ISI chief Lt Gen Nadeem Taj and ex-Military Intelligence head Lt Gen Nadeem Ejaz Mian. After thorough consultations within the government, the UN panel headed by Ambassador Heraldo Munoz was informed in writing that access to military officials could not be granted, Dawn News channel reported quoting an unnamed top government official. There was no official word on the development. The UN panel had sought access to the serving Pakistani military officials shortly after it interviewed former President Pervez Musharraf in New York in November last year. Acting on a request from the Pakistan People's Party-led government, the UN appointed a three-member inquiry commission to determine the facts and circumstances of Bhutto's assassination on December 27, 2007. The panel is not expected to name suspected culprits and any criminal investigation will be up to Pakistani authorities. According to the terms of reference of the commission, the UN had demanded that it should enjoy complete cooperation from the Pakistan government. — PTI
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Gilani vows to restore 1973 Constitution
Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani has reiterated his government’s resolve to restore the 1973 Constitution in its original form and vowed to do away with the restriction on a person becoming Prime Minister for the third time. Speaking in Gwadar at an inter-provincial meeting, the Prime Minister said that constitutional amendments made by dictators would be scrapped. Former military ruler Gen. Pervez Musharraf imposed the ban on third time premiership, targeting PPP chairperson Benazir Bhutto and PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif. Gilani said those who violated the Constitution needed to be punished. He also promised to ensure arrest of former military ruler Gen. Pervez Musharraf in case any court ordered so on charge of murder of nationalist Baloch leader Nawab Akbar Bugti or in any other case. He said Nawab Akbar Bugti was a great supporter of the federation and had worked with the Quaid-i-Azam and those responsible for his murder must be prosecuted. Apparently, responding to Musharraf's recent interviews in which he claimed he enjoys support of the people of Pakistan and dared him to return and test that claim. "I challenge him to come here and contest a by-election to prove his worth to the people," he said. The Prime Minister said he wanted strengthening of institutions, not of individuals. "I am not seeking to reinforce prime ministerial chair which has never been loyal to any body," Gilani said. He termed the announcement of a consensus National Finance Commission (NFC) award a “dividend of democracy” and reflection of the commitment of the nation to strengthen the federation. He said democracy had achieved something which any dictatorship could never do. He said the ’73 Constitution was an achievement of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and it strengthened the federation. The Prime Minister said the Gwadar port would usher in an era of progress and prosperity for Balochistan. He said he wanted to set up a National Vocational and Technical Education centre in Gwadar to train local people who would be given preference in all jobs. The educational requirement for appointment in Coast Guards would be lowered to the middle level to enable more local people to get jobs. The prime minister announced that 20,000 jobs would be given to people of Balochistan which would help alleviate poverty and empower local people. He said work on an international airport in Gwadar would be completed on schedule. The Gwadar port would succeed only if it was connected to the rest of the country and the finance minister should expedite release of funds for the purpose. He called for speeding up work for import of 110 megawatts electricity from Iran. He announced that a girls college with a hostel would be built in Gwadar.
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Mayon world’s most dangerous tourist attraction
Manila, January 1 Joey Salceda, Governor of Albay province, which includes Mayon, said on Wednesday that some visitors were evading security patrols to enter the 8 km danger zone for a close look. "There are enough thrill-seekers, and when you combine them with some enterprising local guides, they find their way in," he said. The volcano has erupted 48 times since 1616, most destructively in 1814, when 2,200 persons died. —
PTI
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Tibetan ‘Living Buddha’ jailed by China
Beijing, January 1 The court in the western town of Kangding sentenced Phurbu Rinpoche, the 52-year-old head of the Pangri and Yatseg nunneries in Kardze county, to seven years in prison on the charge of illegally occupying government land and to an additional year for possession of bullets, sources said. Rinpoche, who is the fifth incarnation of a revered Buddhist teacher known by the title of Burongma, was arrested in a raid on May 18, 2008, in the wake of unrest linked to the 50th anniversary of the Dalai Lama’s flight into exile and the beginning of the Chinese rule in Tibet. The local government viewed the case of Rinpoche, who was identified as a reincarnation when he was seven-month-old, as one of the biggest causes of “instability” in the region. “It seems they couldn’t make the charge about a gun stand up so they used the bullets. As for illegally occupying land, this land was given to the Living Buddha himself to build an old people’s home so there is no question of it being illegal,” an unnamed relative of the monk was quoted as saying by The Times newspaper. “The story of this religious leader is symptomatic of Beijing’s heavy-handed treatment of Tibetans,” Woeser, a leading Tibetan activist was quoted as saying in the media. The report said the judges might have been wary of handing down a longer sentence amid fears of renewed anti-Chinese unrest as he commanded thousands of disciples in Tibet as well as in other areas of China. — PTI
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Gwadar Port Bill approved
The federal cabinet has approved the Gwadar Port Authority Bill and announced Rs 1 billion as initial compensation for the affected persons of the Karachi blast and arson. The cabinet made history when it met on Pakistan Navy ship PNS-Babur in the Arabian Sea in the port city of Gwadar. Chaired by Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani the meeting was an apparent bid to address the years of grievances of the people of Balochistan whose youth have been increasingly alienated to the extent of launching an armed struggle for independence. The cabinet also approved Rs 1 billion for the rehabilitation of the IDPs of Dera Bugti which has been major conflict area and had experienced a military operation during Musharraf era. The Gwadar Port Authority Bill envisages a panel comprising 15 members, including seven each from Balochistan and the public-private sector with the chief minister Balochistan as its chairman. The cabinet condemned Tuesday's Karachi bombing attack on a Shia mourning procession and the subsequent devastating binge of loot and arson that burned hundreds of shops in country's biggest wholesale market. It approved initial compensation of rupees one billion in this context. Meanwhile the Taliban claimed responsibility on Wednesday for the suicide attack on an Ashura procession which killed 44 persons in Karachi and injured 60 others. The terrorist organisation threatened more attacks over the next 10 days. The claim was made by one of the country’s most wanted commanders of Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). “We carried out the suicide bombing in Karachi,” Asmatullah Shaheen, a top militant commander based in South Waziristan, told news agencies by telephone from an undisclosed location. “We will carry out more such attacks and also target government installations,” he said. The government announced a Rs10 million bounty for Shaheen when it published a list last month of 19 most-wanted TTP warlords, for whom it offered combined rewards equivalent to five million dollars.
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US: Failure to share info would not be tolerated
Washington, January 1 "As we often do, given how good our intelligence professionals are; the failure to share that information is not going to be tolerated," the official said, hours before US President Barack Obama was to receive preliminary reports of the reviews he had ordered in the aftermath of the failed December 25 bombing attempt. Acknowledging this as a systematic intelligence failure, Obama had termed it as unacceptable. "When our government has information on a known extremist and that information is not shared and acted upon as it should have been, so that this extremist boards a plane with dangerous explosives that could cost nearly 300 lives, a systemic failure has occurred," Obama said in his first reaction to the December 25 incident. Preliminary reports have indicated that several intelligence agencies of the US had information about the suspect Nigerian national in bits and pieces; but in the absence of more information; none of them found it appropriate to share with others. Officials of the Obama Administration say, had that been done, that could have given a wider picture to them, which could have prevented Nigerian national Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab from sneaking in deadly explosives inside the plane. "It's essential that we diagnose the problems quickly and deal with them immediately," the official said. His close aides said today Obama has been working on this issue and spending quite a bit of time on it during his year-end vacation in Hawaii. Even as the preliminary report is yet to be received, the official gave an indication of the things to come in coming weeks. The official said the Obama Administration would take steps to make sure that there is a systemic capability drawing on all the available technology to make sure that different pieces of information and different databases for information are matched up in such a way as to ensure that all this information that comes in is used in the most effective way to maximise the picture of any developing information. International collaboration is going to be another important part of the effort of the Obama Administration to ensure that such a thing does not happen in the future. The US has also announced the dispatch of a team of senior officials to various parts of the world so as to review the process and technologies of screening passengers at various international airports, from where planes fly for India. The State Department is also expected to announce a new visa policy next week, the official said. The State Department is being accused of not cancelling the visa of the Nigerian suspect even after his father went to the US Embassy in Nigeria to inform officials about his son's plan. The US Embassy, though immediately issued a cable on this, the State Department insists that it did not have enough information to revoke the visa of Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab; the Nigerian who has been charged with attempt to blow up the US-bound plane on December 25. Without prejudging the review process, the official said accountability would be an important part of it. "We obviously want the reforms that are put into place to be driven by facts and we'll certainly have accountability measures driven by facts, as well," the official said. — PTI
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Baitullah aide arrested
The Punjab police in a joint operation with intelligence agencies have nabbed a militant Khalilullah believed to be the Punjab chief of the banned Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan.
Khalil is said to be the right hand man of late Baitullah Mehsud and on the US list of most-wanted terrorists. He allegedly masterminded the twin suicide bombings at Iqbal Town’s Moon Market, one of the most crowded markets of Lahore. The police found explosive material and sensitive documents in the place where he was living. According to the police, the cantonment division police and agency personnel had raided an outhouse of Malik Nazir in the suburban Manawan locality 12 days ago and detained Khalil and a 17-year-old boy Usman, alias Shahbaz, who was trained as a suicide bomber. On information provided by Khalil, the police captured eight more terror suspects, three of them from Tandlianwala in Faisalabad district. During interrogation, the suspects disclosed that they were to attack the flag-lowering ceremony at the Wagah border with India two days later.
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NKorea vows to achieve N-free Koreas
Seoul, January 1 "It is the consistent stand of the DPRK to establish a lasting peace system on the Korean Peninsula and make it nuclear-free through dialogue and negotiations," the message said, referring to the country by its official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. Pyongyang's January 1 statement, examined annually for clues to the regime's policies for the coming year, also said it will strive to develop good relations and friendship with other countries, while calling for an end to hostile relations with the USA. North Korea traditionally marks New Year's Day with a joint editorial by the country's three major newspapers representing its communist party, military and youth militia force. The editorial was carried by the North's official Korean Central News Agency. The North's commitment came as Washington is trying to coax Pyongyang to return to the international disarmament talks. The two countries agreed on the need to resume the negotiations during a trip to Pyongyang by President Barack Obama's special envoy in early December, but North Korea did not make a firm commitment on when it would rejoin the talks. — AP
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‘Americans blame UK for rise of Islamic extremism’ Washington, January 1Accusing Britain of being a “menace to the outside world”, Americans have blamed their closest ally in Europe for the rise of Islamic extremism amid growing anger over the UK’s perceived failure to tackle extremism. Senior policymakers in the US point to the recent attempt to bomb a transatlantic jetliner by Nigerian man Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, who is thought to have become radicalised in London. They said it was another evidence that one of the biggest threats to the US security came from Britain, where the capital had been dubbed “Londonistan” by critics. According to a report in the Daily Telegraph, they also criticised the “ghettoisation” of British Muslims, compared with the “assimilation” of Muslims in America. — PTI
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South Africans smoke vulture brains for lottery luck
London, January 1 In fact, according to them, within 20 to 30 years the birds could be hunted to extinction for their use in "muti" or traditional medicine. Rolled into a cigarette or inhaled as vapours, vulture brains can also help at the horse races, boost an exam performance or lure more clients to a business, believers say. Scelo, a healer in Johannesburg's muti market, was quoted by the British newspaper as saying, "Vultures are scarce. I only have one every three or four months. Everybody asks for the brain. You see things that people can't see. For lotto, you dream the numbers. "We make the brain dry and mix it with mud and you smoke it like a cigarette or a stick. Then the vision comes." He prescribes mainly vulture heads, which he claims bring visions of the future, endowing users with the bird's excellent vision that helps them fly out of nowhere to descend on carcasses. Seven of the nine species of vulture are already considered endangered. And, Steve McKean, a wildlife researcher, said: "Traditional use as it is currently happening is likely to render vultures extinct in southern Africa on its own within 20 to 30 years." — PTI
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Couples ‘cope better’ with shocks
Toronto, January 1 According to a study by University of British Columbia, spouses help in dealing with health, financial and other shocks. After examining data from the Canadian Survey of Labour and Income Dynamics, researchers Giovanni Gallipoli and Laura Turner found that in marriages "main-earners" (husbands) tend to transfer income and compensate "second-earners" (wives) while they in turn, provide conditional time and care in time of need. "The insurance the second-earner provides to the main-earner in the marital contract serves as an important mechanism to help smooth out household income in time of health and disability shocks to the main-earner, as a way to support the future earning potential of the husbands," they said. — PTI
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Balls of fire discovered in sky
London, January 1 The Japanese Suzaku Space Observatory has captured the unusual features that were detected in the Jellyfish Nebula (IC 443), 5,000 light years away, The Astrophysical Journal reported. "This is the first evidence of a new type of supernova remnant one that was heated right after the explosion," said team leader Hiroya Yamaguchi at the Institute of Physical and Chemical Research in Japan. The remnant of a supernova usually cools quickly due to rapid expansion following the explosion. It gradually heats up again as it sweeps up tenuous interstellar gas over thousands of years. The astronomers found evidence in the Suzaku spectrum that indicated large amounts of silicon and sulphur atoms from which all electrons had been stripped away. This requires temperature higher than 17 million degree Celsius and so could only have been created immediately after the supernova explosion. "Suzaku sees the Jellyfish's hot heart," team member Midori Ozawa said. Remnants from giant fireballs unleashed by a supernova are still glowing at temperatures 10,000 times hotter than the Sun thousands of years after the event, they added. The phenomenon was picked up in the x-ray spectrum. — PTI
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