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Mehsud dead: PTV
Pakistan Taliban commander Hakimullah Mehsud during a news conference in South Waziristan
in this May 24, 2008, file photo. — Reuters
Gilani rules out clash with judiciary
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Hasina vows to bring back Mujib’s six fugitive killers
National anthem ‘disrespected’ at S-Asian Games
Media again under threat in Lanka
‘Harmony’ website to boost Oz-India ties
Now, Germany mulls ban on burqa
China denounces US arms sale to Taiwan
Moderate quake hits China
Ist India-born businessman in Canadian Senate
Indian sentenced to death
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Mehsud dead: PTV
Chief of Tahrike Taliban Pakistan (TTP) Hakimullah Mehsud died of wounds he sustained recently during a drone attack, state-run Pakistan Televsion (PTV) reported on Sunday. "Mehsud died in Orakzai are where he was being treated after being injured apparently in an missile attack by a US drone on January 14," PTV said quoting official sources. However, Army spokesman Maj Gen Athar Abbas said he could not immediately confirm the report. "We are investigating it while using our agents," he said. But interior minister Rehman Malik told newsmen here that reports of Hakimullah death have been received from people of the area. "We are, however, trying to reconfirm these reports from other sources." The PTV reported that Mehsud was buried in Mamumzai area of Orakzai agency soon after his death. Mehsud had succeeded as TTP chief after his cousin Baitullah Mehsud who was also killed in a drone attack last summer. Analyst said if reports of Hakimullah's death are true, it would mean a serious set back to the Taliban who are already in a disarray under pressure from the Pakistan army since it launched offensive in South Waziristan last November. "They have lost their strongholds and would now be facing new leadership challenge besides finding it difficult to regroup," defence analyst Lt Gen Talaat Masu (retd) said. Pakistani intelligence officials have said that Mehsud was targeted in a US drone strike in South Waziristan on January 14, triggering rumours he had been injured or killed. Mehsud issued two audiotapes after the strike denying the rumors. There has, however, been a marked reduction of suicide attacks ever since these reports appeared in the media. Hakimullah had the reputation of being a "mobile leader" who always remained on the move. He proved more ferocious militant than even Baitullah and suicide attacks against sensitive army and police targets besides markets and educational institutions rose substantially under his command. The TTP had also refuted reports of Baitullah's death but confirmed after Hakimullah was chosen. The next senior leader in the organisation is Waliur Rehman who is likely to succeed Hakimullah though without benefit of his ability to keep all factions united under one command.
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Gilani rules out clash with judiciary
Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani yesterday said the current controversy over appointment of judges will be resolved amicably in consultation with the judiciary. “There is no clash between institutions,” Gilani said while responding to newsmen’s questions after visiting a training school in the capital. “I have personally maintained very good relations with the Chief Justice and other members of the superior judiciary and there is no ground for confrontation,” he added.
The Prime Minister was speaking to journalists after a surprise visit to a girls' school in Islamabad. Media reports have noted that the Governor Punjab Salman Taseer has been sitting over recommendations for appointment of new judges in the Lahore High Court. Chief Justice of Khawaja Sharif of the Lahore High Court this week observed during hearing of a case that he had sent names for appointment of judges more than two months ago but these have not been approved so far. Legal experts say that the Governor has to pass on the recommendations to the federal government for approval by the President. He acts only as a post office but has been withholding the file because he wants to fill the vacancies by pro-PPP judges. For this purpose he is waiting for elevation of Justice Sharif to the Supreme Court to fill the vacancy created by retirement of Justice Khalil Ramday. Chief Justice of Pakistan, Idftikhar Chaudhry, wants Justice Sharif to continue to head the Lahore High Court and instead has recommended that the next senior judge in the LHC Saqib Nisar be moved up instead of replacing Sharif as chief justice as is desired by the Governor. The President also turned down a proposal by the CJ Iftikhar Chaudhry to appoint Justice Ramday as ad hoc judge of the Supreme Court. These issues have complicated relations between the President and the judiciary already made sour by court’s ruling to annul the National Reconciliation Ordinance that has reopened corruption cases against President Zardari and other key figures in the government. Justice Chaudhry dispelled impression of any clash with the government in an observation on Thursday saying the Supreme Court would not do anything to derail the democratic system. Prime Minister Gilani said judiciary, politicians and other institutions have matured and that the current government is here to complete its term. He assured that the appointment of judges to superior courts will be expedited. During the visit he attended a Pakistan Studies class and announced that teacher training programs will be launched soon to improve the level of education in the country. Gilani expressed dissatisfaction over education system and said the teachers are more in need of training than the children.
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Hasina vows to bring back Mujib’s six fugitive killers
Dhaka, January 31 She promised to bring back home her father's six fugitive killers, who were among 12 convicted of carrying out the August 15, 1975, putsch in which Bangabandhu along with most of his family members was killed. Five of the 12 sentenced to death were executed after midnight on Wednesday. One of the convicts had already died in Zimbabwe eight years ago. Hasina said she would have died unhappy were she not able to see the execution while the “entire nation also waited 34 years to see it”. Her comments came as Bangladesh intensified a diplomatic campaign, also engaging Interpol, to bring back six killers and called on foreign countries to help track them down and extradite. The six are former Lt Colonels Khandaker Abdur Rashid, Shariful Haque Dalim, AM Rashed Chowdhury, SHBM Noor Chowdhury, former captain Abdul Majed and army risaldar Moslehuddin. Officials have said at least one of them, Noor Chowdhury, the man who sprayed bullets on Bangabandhu along with the already executed Bazlul Huda, had taken refuge in Canada. Canada, which had already launched the process for Noor Chowdhury's extradition, might now reject Bangladesh's call to deport the Toronto resident in the wake of the execution of the five, media reports said. Canada does not have the provision of death penalty in its justice system. The 59-year-old Chowdhury has been challenging a Canadian deportation order on the grounds that he would be hanged if he returned to Bangladesh. Canada, which abolished capital punishment in 1976, requires foreign nations to guarantee that any suspect extradited by it will not be subject to the death penalty. However, Law Minister Shafique Ahmed and prosecution lawyers said, “Chowdhury and other absconding former army officers would have the opportunity to appeal against their conviction.
— PTI
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National anthem ‘disrespected’ at S-Asian Games
Dhaka, January 31 During the brief ceremony yesterday at the badminton court, Indian players were left surprised after the national anthem was played abruptly and ended within few seconds in a complete breach of protocol. "Flags of the six participating countries in badminton were raised together this was in complete breach of protocol. As per convention, a country's flag is raised and national anthem follows. After the flag raising ceremony, national anthems of all the countries were played one after another," said an Indian official present at the ceremony. "It started abruptly and at first, I could not make out whether it was our national anthem. It ended in seconds and only then I realised it was India's national anthem." When contacted, technical officials said they were not aware of the matter and would inquire. "We will speak to the concerned person and check the CD containing the India national anthem. We will get it corrected to avert further embarrassment during a medal distribution ceremony," said an Indian official. Asked about the incident, Bangladesh technical delegate and secretary of the Bangladesh Badminton Federation Ahmed Rana said, "We are not aware of this. But we will inquire and get it corrected." There was much more embarrassment in store for the organisers at the badminton venue, where they goofed up with the national anthem of Nepal as well. The old national anthem 'Shreemaan Gambhir' which was suspended after the people's movement in 2006 was played during the opening ceremony yesterday shocking the players and officials from the country. Nepali players participating in the games have criticised the incident saying it was an insult to the nation as the new national anthem 'Sayoun Thunga Phool ka' should have been played. Meanwhile, a blame game has started between National Sports Council (NSC) and the Nepali embassy in Bangladesh over the matter. NOC general secretary Jiwan Ram Shrestha blamed the chef-de-mission and NSC general secretary Hari Babu Chaudhary for not informing the organisers about the change in the anthem. Nepali Ambassador Pradeep Khatiwada, on the other hand, said the Embassy had not provided the anthem and organisers were trying to cover their blunder by shifting the blame on to the embassy.
— PTI
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Media again under threat in Lanka
Colombo, January 31 Curbs on the media had gradually eased after the defeat of the LTTE in May this year during which time reporting on military issues was highly controlled but since then the reins on the media were eased to some extent. But in the past week, things seem to be taking a turn for the worse once again. Chandana Sirmalwatta, the Editor of the Lanka newspaper, was taken in for questioning for apparently reporting on alleged malpractices that took place during the presidential elections. Another journalist and cartoonist Prageeth Eknaligoda who worked for an anti- government news website has been reported missing since January 24. The government has also decided to withdraw the media accreditation issued to reporter Karin Wenger of the Swiss public radio station DRS which is believed to have been due to certain uncomfortable questions she raised at a press conference from government ministers about the alleged rigging during the poll. There are also reports of threats and intimidation of journalists who supported defeated opposition candidate Gen Sarath Fonseka. Meanwhile, the Paris-based media rights group, Reporters Without Borders, has written to President Rajapaksa to put a stop to arrests and intimidation of journalists working for privately-owned and foreign media. “Post-election violence could cast a lasting stain on the start of Rajapaksa’s second term and bodes ill for the political climate during the coming years,” Reporters Without Borders said.
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‘Harmony’ website to boost Oz-India ties
Melbourne, January 31 The Oz-India harmony website has been established by Ipswich in conjunction with Indian IT services company Dhanush InfoTech, which recently set up its regional headquarters in the city suburb of Springfield, southwest of Brisbane. People of both nations could use the harmony forum as a platform to voice their feelings by posting good and positive comments and experiences, Ipswich Mayer Paul Pisasale said. Negative events involving Indians have overshadowed many positive personal and business relations between the two countries, he said, referring to the attacks on Indians in Australia. “The website is about making sure that we tell a lot of great stories of Australia-India relations. All this negative stuff that's happening has to be nipped in the bud. It doesn't reflect what Australia is all about. Australia is a wonderful country that embraces multiculturalism.” Pisasale said. Over 100 incidents of attacks on Indians, particularly students, were reported in 2009 in Australia and the assaults have continued this year unabated.
Twentyone-year-old Nitin Garg, who was stabbed to death by unidentified assailants while he was on his way to his part-time job in a restaurant here, was the first victim of such assaults this year. The Australian government had given a dossier on the attacks to India, which showed that nearly half of the assailants had been juveniles. Under pressure from India, Australia has also set up a high-level ministerial group to comprehensively study the slew of attacks on Indians.
— PTI
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Now, Germany mulls ban on burqa
Berlin, January 31 After a French parliamentary commission ruled earlier this week that the enveloping garment worn by some Islamic women is unacceptable and recommended a ban in schools and public offices, former Social Democratic parliamentarian Lale Akgun urged for a similar ban in Germany. “The burqa is a full-body prison that deeply threatens human rights. It would be an important signal for Germany to ban the
burqa. A burqa ban should include schools, universities, and high-security zones such as banks and airports,” she told the Frankfurter Rundschau daily. However, fellow party member Dieter Wiefelspütz rejected the suggestion. “We have a different understanding of freedom than the French," he told the paper, adding that an enlightened Islam could not be forced. Green party leader Cem Ozdemir said the debate overlooked the real conflict of integration, stressing that the number of women who wear burqa in Germany is low.
— RIA Novosti
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China denounces US arms sale to Taiwan
Beijing, January 31 Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi said the planned US weapons sale to Taiwan, which Beijing claims as its territory, constitutes "crude interference in China's internal affairs, and harms China's national security and peaceful reunification efforts." As soon as the Obama administration said it planned to sell Black Hawk helicopters, Patriot Advanced Capability-3 missiles and other weapons to Taiwan, China retaliated by suspending military exchanges and threatened unprecedented sanctions against American defence firms involved in the deal. "China firmly opposes such a move which runs counter to the US commitment to support the peaceful growth of the cross-Strait relations," he said. — PTI
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Moderate quake hits China
Beijing, January 31 The quake measuring 5.0 on the Richter scale struck Sichuan province at 0306 hrs IST with its epicentre near the city of Suining, Xinhua news agency quoted Sichuan earthquake authority as saying. Suining, a city with a population of 3.8 million, is 140 km east to Chengdu, capital of Sichuan. China's national seismological network said the epicentre of the quake was between Suining and Tongnan County of Chongqing Municipality, with a depth of about 10 km. More than 30 local seismologists and officials have reached the quake-hit area to carry out further
investigation. An 8.0-magnitude earthquake hit Sichuan in May 2008, leaving nearly 87,000 persons dead or missing and more than five million others homeless. Chinese state media said last week that authorities would complete more than 90 per cent of reconstruction in quake-devastated Sichuan province this year.
— PTI
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Ist India-born businessman in Canadian Senate
Toronto, January 31 Kochhar is among five outstanding Canadians who have been nominated to the Senate by Harper, whose Conservatives party is now closer to taking back control of the Upper House with the new appointments. The government is still three seats shy of absolute control of the 105-member Senate. Born in India, Kochhar received his engineering degree at the University of Texas and migrated to Canada in 1967, becoming a Canadian citizen in 1974. He is the president and founder of the Vimal Group of Companies in Toronto. Working for Inter Continental Hotels and Howard Johnson Hotels, he was responsible for project management of major hotels around the world. — PTI
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Indian sentenced to death
Kuala Lumpur, January 31 Judicial Commissioner Mohd Yazid Mustafa passed the death sentence on Athiseshan on Friday saying that the prosecution had proven the case beyond doubt. Athiseshan was arrested in July 2008 after he arrived at the airport from New Delhi with a bag carrying drugs.
— PTI
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Movie on Haiti quake Bovine tax on illicit affair 
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Chief of Tahrike Taliban Pakistan (TTP) Hakimullah Mehsud died of wounds he sustained recently during a drone attack, state-run Pakistan Televsion (PTV) reported on Sunday.
