ISI chief Lt Gen Ahmed Shuja Pasha has cancelled his UK visit ostensibly in protest against Prime Minister David Cameron’s remarks about Pakistan’s role in war against terrorism, private TV channel Geo News reported amid calls from politicians and the media that President Asif Ali Zardari should also drop plans for planned visit to the UK.

Politicians, law makers and analysts have expressed strong sense of resentment and shock over Cameron’s remarks during speech at Bangalore India asking Pakistan to stop exporting terrorism to neighbours and other countries. The British premier did not directly blame the Pakistan government but said that no one was in any doubt that terrorist groups operated in Pakistan and Islamabad needed to make ‘real progress’ to eliminate them.

Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani tried to softpedal the remarks but said such statements “could affect the war against terrorism.” Gilani, however faced a barrage of protest calls from members of the Senate who called for a tough response from the Pakistan government to what they described as British premier’s attempt to appease. Senators also saw in the statement as a warning to Pakistan in the wake of WikiLeaks disclosures circulating allegations of ISI’s complicity in Taliban’s attacks on Nato forces.

Foreign Office officials indicated that Britain’s High Commissioner is likely to be summoned to the Foreign Office any time where Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi would hand over a demarche seeking a full explanation on Cameron’s comments.

Qureshi said the “comments are surprising”. “Pakistan’s achievements and successes against terrorism cannot be negated or belittled…We take serious exception to any suggestion that falsifies facts and tends to put the entire onus of terrorism on Pakistan. This is totally unacceptable,” he said in a statement.

Foreign Office spokesman Abdul Basit, at his weekly media briefing, described David Cameron’s remarks as biased and unrealistic. “These remarks evidently lack objectivity and are contrary to the facts on the ground,” the spokesman said, adding that the government was saddened by the statement.

In his media comments, Cameron indicated that he intended to have a ‘candid discussion’ with President Asif Ali Zardari during his upcoming visit to the UK.

Speculations swirled in Islamabad that the presidential visit to the United Kingdom might be called off, but officials decided after a prolonged debate at the Foreign Office to only summon the high commissioner. “The visit is on and the president will go to the UK as planned,” an official said.

Although no official announcement has been made as yet, President Zardari is scheduled to reach London on August 3 after completing his visit to France. Sources said the People’s Party intended to use the visit to formally launch Bilawal Bhutto as its chairman.

President’s sister Faryal Talpur, her aide Rizwan Qureshi and PPP-UK leader Chaudhry Riaz are overseeing the arrangements.

According to the sources, discussions were also held at Pakistan’s High Commission in Britain on calling off the visit, but the decision was left to the Foreign Office.

“There was definitely pressure on President Zardari to call off the UK trip, but the President insisted on going ahead with the plan,” diplomatic sources said, without specifying where the pressure came from. 

Even after moving to the Supreme Court challenging the verdicts of lower courts, French national Charles Gurumukh Sobhraj, who has been behind bars for almost seven years on a murder charge, failed to prove himself innocent.

Almost after four years, the Supreme Court on Friday finally upheld Patan Appellate Court’s decision to award life sentence to 66-year-old Sobhraj in connection with his involvement in the murder of an American woman in 1975.

Announcing the verdict, a division bench of Justices Ram Kumar Prasad Shah and Gauri Dhakal endorsed the verdict made by the lower courts - Patan Appellate Court and Kathmandu District Court. Government prosecutors have obtained Sobhraj’s former girlfriend’s confession to the Indian police that he had murdered the American backpacker, Connie Joe Bronzich, in Kathmandu.

The apex court has also directed the concerned authority to seize his all properties. He has also been convicted for possessing fraudulent travel documents and fake passport.

Meanwhile, Sobhraj’s wife Nihita Biswas, who is in her early 20s, and her mother Sakuntala Thapa, who has been pleading on behalf of Sobhraj, expressed their resentment against the verdict.

While talking to journalists immediately after the verdict, Biswas tried to defend her husband saying that he was innocent but the “corrupt judges took such decision by accepting bribe”.

Sobhraj’s mother-in-law said, “We will knock on the doors of the anti-graft body and international court in search of justice.”

Nicknamed “the serpent” and “the bikini killer” for his skill at deception and evasion, he was arrested from Kathmandu during his second visit in 2003 and serving life sentence in the central jail.

Tehran, July 30
Iran today said it was ready for immediate talks with the United States, Russia and France over an exchange of nuclear fuel and added that it was also against stockpiling higher enriched uranium.

The comments by the Islamic republic's atomic chief Ali Akbar Salehi came as Washington decided to fan out across Asia, Middle East and the United Arab Emirates asking its partners to levy tighter sanctions against Tehran.

"We are ready even in the next few days to start negotiations with the other parties" over the fuel swap, Salehi was quoted as saying by Mehr news agency.

He said talks on this issue with the so-called Vienna group comprising the United States, Russia and France would be held in Vienna, where the UN atomic watchdog IAEA is based.

The Vienna group has raised questions about a proposal forwarded by Iran, Brazil and Turkey concerning a fuel swap. — AFP

China opposes tough EU sanctions against Iran

Beijing: China on Friday opposed tough new sanctions on Iran by the European Union over Tehran's controversial nuclear programme as it underlined the need for dialogue and negotiations to resolved the standoff. China said the standoff over Tehran's enrichment programme should be resolved through negotiations. — PTI