Kabul, April 10
Taliban militants launched a pre-dawn attack on an Indian road construction camp in eastern Afghanistan today, burning vehicles and equipment and sending the crew fleeing, the authorities said.

No deaths or injuries were reported in the attack in Khost province's Domanda district, the Interior Ministry said in a statement. Suspected Taliban, who are active in the mountainous eastern region bordering Pakistan, descended on the camp around 2 am local time.

Such raids seek to discourage foreign involvement in Afghanistan and destabilise the central government, which is struggling to bring development to the impoverished countryside and extend its mandate outside the capital, Kabul.

It wasn't clear whether the camp was targeted due to Indian involvement, although militants have launched a number of attacks on Indian interests in Afghanistan over recent years.

A total of 75 people were killed in suicide car bombings outside the Indian embassy in Kabul in July 2008 and October 2009, while at least six Indians were killed in an attack on a Kabul guest house in February. Taliban insurgents have claimed responsibility for the attacks, although New Delhi has claimed Pakistan may have provided support in the embassy attack.

Elsewhere, two members of a nomadic tribe were killed by a roadside bomb on Friday in the southern province of Kandahar, the ministry said. No details were given.

NATO said a joint Afghan-international force captured an explosives expert and several other suspected militants in a raid on a compound west of Kandahar city on Friday night. It did not say whether any bomb-making materials were recovered.

Also today, NATO said it still had no information on what caused the crash of a US Air Force Osprey in which three service members and a civilian contractor were killed. It was the first crash of the costly tilt-rotor aircraft in a combat zone, the US military said. — AP

Islamabad, April 10
Pakistan today said no meeting has been scheduled between Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani and his Indian counterpart Manmohan Singh on the sidelines of the Nuclear Security Summit in Washington, dismissing media reports that there could be a brief encounter.

Foreign Office spokesman Abdul Basit said Gilani and Singh will be in the same room during the Nuclear Security Summit hosted by US President Barack Obama and they might even come face to face and "shake hands" though no bilateral meeting has been scheduled.

Earlier, the Dawn newspaper had reported that Singh and Gilani may have "a brief encounter" in Washington on the sidelines of the April 12-13 Nuclear Security Summit.

Noting that Pakistan wants a meaningful dialogue with India for lasting peace on the basis of "sovereign equality and mutual respect", Basit said Islamabad was awaiting New Delhi's response to a roadmap for normalising relations.

The roadmap was handed over to India by Pakistan Foreign Secretary Salman Bashir during the Foreign Secretary-level talks in February.

Sources in the Foreign Office told PTI that the roadmap included a proposal for engagements between the political leadership of the two countries, including meetings between the Foreign Ministers and Prime Ministers, as Pakistan believes little headway can be made through contacts at the level of officials like the Foreign Secretaries. — PTI

Islamabad, April 10
Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani today assured the world community that Pakistan's nuclear arsenal is in “safe hands” as he embarked on a visit to the US to attend the Nuclear Security Summit hosted by President Barack Obama.

“I assure the world, I assure the people of Pakistan that the nuclear capability, the nuclear programme is in safe hands,” Gilani told reporters at the Chaklala military airbase in Rawalpindi before boarding a special flight to the US.

Noting that the summit had been convened as the world has concerns about nuclear safety, Gilani said Pakistan's “nuclear programme is in experienced hands and we have experience of over 30 years”.

He said he has the entire nation’s support on nuclear issues and that he had briefed the national security committee of parliament about his participation in the summit. The parliamentary panel had “totally endorsed” the government’s stance on nuclear issues.

Gilani will also hold a number of bilateral meetings on the sidelines of the Nuclear Security Summit.

Asked if he would also meet his Indian counterpart Manmohan Singh, Gilani said a meeting has not yet been scheduled.

Gilani's delegation includes Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi. Before his departure, Gilani held consultations yesterday with Pakistan Army Chief Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani to prepare for the Summit. — PTI

Islamabad, April 10
Pakistan today launched its biggest ever army exercise involving 50,000 soldiers to train them to prepare for the threat of a conventional war with India in the Cholistan desert along the country’s eastern border.

The Azm-e-Nau (New Resolve)-3 exercise started with the demonstration of “dispersal techniques” by troops in a “battle-like situation”.

The exercise is the culmination of a year-long training process initiated in light of army chief Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani’s directive to observe 2009-10 as the “year of training”.

About 50,000 troops and air force elements will participate in the war game that will continue till May 13.

To provide troops the feel of a battleground, soldiers have been divided into Blue Land and Fox Land, with the latter representing Pakistan’s adversary.

A heavy anti-tank battalion of Blue Land demonstrated the dispersal techniques in the Cholistan desert.

Supporting units, including tanks, infantry, artillery, anti-aircraft units, engineers and signals, are taking part in the exercise. Army officials before the launch of the manoeuvres said the exercise was aimed at training troops for a conventional war along the eastern border with India.

The Pakistan Air Force’s ongoing High Mark 2010 exercise will be fully integrated with the army war game.

Azm-e-Nau 3 will be Pakistan’s biggest army exercise since the Zarb-e-Momin of 1989. — PTI

He may have lost his bid to become Sri Lanka’s president, but the country’s former army commander General Fonseka has secured a place in Parliament after winning a seat in last Tuesday’s general election.

Fonseka, who could not campaign in person day as he was in custody for allegedly violating military law while severing in the army, had his wife Anoma campaigning on his behalf along with members of the Marxist People’s Liberation Front.

And even though the party from which he contested was routed in the election, Fonseka along with four others managed to secure seats in the 225-member legislature.

This would mean that Fonseka, a man largely credited with leading the military campaign against the LTTE, would be entailed to come to Parliament on sitting days even though under detention and could become a source of embarrassment to the government depending on what he decides to say in the House.

Under the country’s laws, a person can be disqualified from holding a parliamentary seat only if he was convicted for a crime that carried a penalty of over seven years in prison.

Two separate military tribunals have been hearing charges against Fonseka but they have run into obstacles from the inception with Fonseak’s lawyers challenging their composition as well as their legality.

J Arulpragasam, the father of international rap singer Maya Arulpragasam who is known by her stage name MIA, was among those who contested Sri Lanka's general elections from the northern Wanni district as a candidate of a former militant group, the Eelam Revolutionary Organisation of Students (EROS).

Arulpragasam, who is known as “Arular”, a former militant and was exiled in London, returned to the country a few years ago to engage in politics. He only secured 136 votes.

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Elizabeth Taylor plans ninth marriage
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Indo-Canadian minister quits
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