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Nepal stalemate continues
Times Square Bomb Plot
China extends detention of 21 Indian diamond traders
Pak must act against Mumbai attackers: US
Pak to buy bigger ships from China
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Pak, India should withdraw troops from
Siachen: Zardari
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Nepal stalemate continues As expected, the Legislature-Parliament on Friday failed to elect the new Prime Minister on second consecutive round as the major decisive forces, mainly the CPN-UML and Madhes-based parties, remained indecisive on the choice. Even after holding series of marathon parleys with the stakeholders concerned, neither the Unified Communist Party of Nepal-Maoists chairman and prime ministerial candidate Pushpa Kamal Dahal, alias Prachanda, nor his rival Ram Chandra Poudel from the Nepali Congress, were able to persuade them and garner their support of simple majority in the run-off poll. The CPN-UML, the third largest party in the parliament, which had forced its party chairman Jhalanath Khanal to withdraw from the prime ministerial race in the first round held on Wednesday though he was about to obtain more than comfortable majority with the support of Maoists, reiterated that it would never take part in the voting process. Rather it has insisted both Maoists and Nepali Congress to get ready to amend the existing legal provision and arrange mandatory provision for the formation of government through national consensus instead of electing the Prime Minister through simple majority to ensure the peace and constitution drafting process. Whereas the four Madhes-based parties, which have recently revived their Madhesi Front, also took their usual rigid stance of opting neutral position collectively saying that they would not support any of the candidate in the prime ministerial poll fray. A meeting of the Madhesi Front that holds 82 seats altogether in the parliament has also floated a 16-point demand before the Maoists and Nepal Congress candidates separately and said they would support that candidate who would assure them to address their longstanding demands like declaring the entire Terai as an autonomous province along with right to self determination, special reservation for the Madhesi people in all state organisations etc. But none of the parties fielding their candidates in the prime ministerial run-off poll were able to fulfill their demands immediately. Finally, Speaker Subas Nembang started the House proceeding at 6.45 pm, almost six hours behind the schedule on Wednesday and tabled both proposals, which were subsequently rejected by the House. Out of 572 participants, Prachanda received just 241 votes, whereas 113 members stood against and 218 members from the UML, Madhesi Front and small parties maintained neutral position. Similarly, the House rejected Nepali Congress candidate Poudel as he failed to garner simple majority. Poudel bagged just 123 votes whereas 241 members voted against him and 214 preferred to remain neutral. Interestingly, both Prachanda and Poudel received one vote less than that they had bagged previously. Meanwhile, the Speaker has scheduled to hold the third round of poll fray on August 2.
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Times Square Bomb Plot
London, July 23 Shahzad can be heard saying: "Today, along with the leader of Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan Hakimullah Mehsud and under the command of Amir al-Mumineen Mullah Mohammed Omar Mujahid (may Allah protect him), we are planning to wage an attack on your side, inshallah." A federal grand jury last month indicted Shahzad in the Times Square bombing attempt on 10 counts, including attempt to commit international terrorism and use a weapon of mass destruction. Six of the charges against Shahzad, 30, carry a maximum life sentence if convicted, including two that bring a mandatory life sentence, according to a Department of Justice statement issued after his indictment. "The facts alleged in this indictment show that the Pakistani Taliban facilitated Faisal Shahzad's attempted attack on American soil," said Attorney General Eric Holder. Shahzad received explosives training and money from people believed to be associated with Tehrik-e-Taliban, a militant extremist group in Pakistan, according to the indictment and a previous criminal complaint. Shahzad, a Pakistan-born naturalised American citizen, is accused of attempting to set off the botched vehicle bomb in Times Square. He was arrested two days later while trying to flee to Pakistan on a flight from New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport. — IANS
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China extends detention of 21 Indian diamond traders
Beijing, July 23 Indian diplomats here said a court in Shenzhen, where the Indians were detained along with 33 other foreigners, extended their detention period at the request of investigators. The 21 traders from Gujarat and Mumbai were accused of smuggling diamonds worth Rs 34 crore from Hong Kong. Officials of the Indian Embassy here as well as those from the Indian Consulate in Guangzhou were in touch with the Chinese authorities and also the detained traders to secure their release. According to the Chinese law, those committing criminal offences can
be held in prolonged detention without trial. The issue figured in talks External Affairs Minister S M Krishna had with his Chinese counterpart Yang Jiechi during his visit here in April. Since then, families of the traders have been allowed to meet them. As concerns mounted over their prolonged detention, there is a sense of disquiet among the officials about the future course of action in view of the Chinese government’s reluctance to discuss the issue other than asserting that it was a legal matter which was being dealt according to law. Indian officials are hesitant to press for the release of traders against the backdrop of the stubborn way the Chinese government convicted Akmal Sheikh, a Pakistan-born British businessman arrested for drug-trafficking, and Stern Hu, an executive of Australian mining giant Rio Tinto, disregarding appeals from the British and Australian governments. There is hesitation even to press for an early trial because matters could get worse if the traders are given tough sentences. The families of the detained traders, meanwhile, complained of harsh conditions at the detention facility. The traders, who are followers of Jain religion, complained of improper access to vegetarian food.
— PTI
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Pak must act against Mumbai attackers: US
Washington, July 23 "There are things, clearly, that Pakistan must do," State Department spokesman Phillip Crowley told reporters Thursday when asked if recent statements by US officials that Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) is as dangerous as Al Qaeda reflected a new get tough with Pakistan policy. "And certainly, continuing to investigate and bring to justice those who are responsible for the Mumbai attack is an important element," he said. "It's important to Pakistan. It's also important to India." "And we will continue our conversations with Pakistan on the things that it needs to do not only for the benefit of Pakistan but the region as a whole," Crowley said. But he suggested that statements equating the threats from LeT, blamed for the 26/11 attacks, and Al Qaeda and another Mumbai attack could provoke a war in the region, did not reflect a change in US policy to make Pakistan act against these terror groups. "We have a US policy," he said. "It is to fully cooperate with Pakistan on terrorism and to continue to work closely to help Pakistan battle the insurgency that now is a threat to Pakistan itself." "We've seen significant progress by Pakistan over the past year," Crowley said noting, "It's an area that was a part of the Strategic Dialogue that our governments just had in Islamabad." "We'll continue to work on this," Crowley said. He said the sanctions imposed Friday by the Treasury Department against three key leaders and financiers of the Haqqani network were not in lieu of State Department action against the Pakistan-based group. The new top US commander in Afghanistan, General David Petraeus, and the Senate Armed Services Committee chairman Carl Levin have both urged putting the Haqqani network on State Department's the Foreign Terrorist Organization list. — IANS
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Pak to buy bigger ships from China
Beijing, July 23 Pakistan hopes to buy bigger ships with more firepower from China, such as 4,000 ton class frigates, Pakistan Naval Chief Admiral Noman Bashir said today. He said Pakistan Navy is very satisfied with the performance of the F-22P frigate it bought from China. Two of the four F-22P frigates it ordered are already in service in Pakistan Navy, with the third one scheduled to be commissioned on September 15 this year. It is also expected that all the four ships will be in service by 2013. "We are very happy with the performance, and some technology is as good as in Western countries," Bashir was quoted as saying by the state run China Daily today. Pakistan has proposed to develop strategic maritime cooperation with China in both military and commercial sects, such as in fishery, economic development zones, and cargo, he said. "The friendship between China and Pakistan is greater than the Himalayas and deeper than the Ocean. We already made progress in air force and other areas, now we should further and expand the cooperation in Navy, a broadly-based relation," he said He also said Pakistan's strategic geographical location in the Arabian Sea and its long coastline could contribute to the missions of Chinese navy, particularly in the context of energy need from the Persian Gulf. — PTI
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Pak, India should withdraw troops from Siachen: Zardari Islamabad, July 23 Zardari made the remarks while addressing members of the media during a gathering at the Chief Minister's House in the southern city of Karachi. The time has come to demilitarise the Siachen glacier because of the high cost of the troop deployments, he said. He claimed that the Indian Army's expenditure on troops deployed on Siachen was more than that of Pakistan. Despite this, Pakistan had suggested to India that both countries should withdraw their forces from the region, he said. Referring to the lack of headway in the Foreign Minister-level talks between the two countries on July 15, Zardari contended that India's domestic politics were responsible for glitches in the parleys. However, Zardari said Pakistan was hopeful about the resumption of "meaningful dialogue" with India. Addressing another gathering at the same venue, Zardari said Pakistan had hired an international firm to work as arbitrator to resolve differences with India on the sharing of river waters. Since India had not come up with a viable solution to the water issue, Pakistan opted for international arbitration, he said. — PTI
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President Asif Ali Zardari today said Pakistan and India should withdraw their troops from Siachen as the military deployment on the glacier has become a burden on the national exchequers of the two countries.
Zardari made the remarks while addressing members of the media during a gathering at the Chief Minister's House in the southern city of Karachi. The time has come to demilitarise the Siachen glacier because of the high cost of the troop deployments, he said.
