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Arrest Gaddafi, says international court
MQM opts out of Pak coalition govt
Pakistani Taliban splits
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Pak expels British military trainers
Firebrand Michele Bachmann launches White House bid
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Arrest Gaddafi, says international court
Tripoli, June 27 The court approved warrants for Gaddafi as well as his son Saif al-Islam and Libyan intelligence chief Abdullah al-Senussi on charges of crimes against humanity. ICC prosecutors allege they were involved in the killing of protesters who rose up in February against Gaddafi’s 41-year rule.
Celebrations erupted in Benghazi after the ICC ruling. People honked their car horns, waved flags, fired shots into the air and flashed victory signs in the street Gaddafi has “absolute, ultimate and unquestioned control” over Libya’s state apparatus and its security forces, presiding judge Sanji Mmasenono Monageng said in reading out the ruling. She added that both Gaddafi and Saif al-Islam “conceived and orchestrated a plan to deter and quell by all means the civilian demonstrations” against the regime and that al-Senussi used his position of command to have attacks carried out. The Gaddafi's government denies targeting civilians, saying it was forced to act against armed criminal gangs and Al-Qaida militants. Gaddafi's administration had no immediate reaction to the ICC ruling. Speaking on Sunday, government spokesman Moussa Ibrahim said the court was guilty of double standards and followed a Western political agenda. "The ICC has no legitimacy whatsoever," Ibrahim told reporters. "NATO has been committing crimes against humanity in Afghanistan, in Iraq, in Libya now. They have never even considered investigating the killing of many civilians in Iraq, many civilians in Afghanistan, many civilians in Libya." In Benghazi, in eastern Libya, the rebel National Transitional Council (NTC) said the arrest warrants made any attempt at negotiating with Gaddafi irrelevant. "We are extremely happy that the whole world has united in prosecuting Gaddafi for the crimes he has committed," NTC spokesman Jalal al-Galal told Reuters. "It is premature to talk about any negotation. After this warrant, it is all irrelevant. We cannot negotiate with war criminals. The world has confirmed what we have been saying all along. He's a war criminal, and he should be tried for it." Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao said China had had contact with both sides in the Libyan conflict. "We hope that the issue of Libya will be resolved through political peaceful means to reduce the humanitarian harm, in particular the harm to innocent civilians," said Wen, speaking through a translator during a news conference with British Prime Minister David Cameron. Anti-Gaddafi rebels, based in the western mountains region southwest of Tripoli, made their biggest breakthrough in weeks to reach the town of Bir al-Ghanam, where they are now fighting pro-Gaddafi forces for control, their spokesman said. The advance took them about 30 km north from their previous position and closer to Tripoli, Gaddafi’s power base. Meanwhile, Tunisia’s state news agency TAP reported late on Sunday that Libyan Foreign Minister Abdelati Obeidi was on the island of Djerba, in southern Tunisia, where he was “negotiating with several foreign parties.” It gave no details on the talks. Libya’s rebel leadership, in the eastern city of Benghazi, said last week it was in indirect contact with Gaddafi’s government, via foreign intermediaries, about a possible peace settlement. — Reuters
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MQM opts out of Pak coalition govt
Islamabad, June 27 "The Muttahida Qaumi Movement MQM's Rabita Committee (highest decision making body), parliamentarians and legislators came to the conclusion that it is not possible for the MQM to work with this government because of its undemocratic and dictatorial actions," senior MQM leader Farooq Sattar said. The party has 25-members in the 342 member National Assemly. Though the move is a blow to the federal government, it is not expected to collapse as the ruling PPP recently forged an alliance with the PML-Q to bolster the ruling coalition's numbers in Parliament. Sattar announced his party's decision at a news conference in the southern port city of Karachi, saying that the move was made after consultations with the party's workers and lawmakers. The PPP-led government had a "dictatorial attitude" and used "force and pressure" against both its opponents and allies, he alleged. MQM lawmakers in the national and provincial assemblies will sit on opposition benches, he said. — PTI
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Pakistani Taliban splits
Islamabad, June 27 Fazal Saeed Haqqani, a commander in the Kurram tribal region, separated from the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan and formed the Tehrik-e-Taliban Islami, Geo News channel reported. Haqqani told the media that he had taken this step to protest suicide attacks on mosques and civilians. The channel quoted its sources as saying that Haqqani earlier led TTP fighters in Kurram Agency and had step up training centres in several areas. In the past, Haqqani’s associates kidnapped people and kept them in their training centres. They would then kill their captives or release them after being paid ransom, the channel reported. Observers said the move by Haqqani could be part of efforts by the government and security forces to engineer a split in the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, which is led by Hakimullah Mehsud. There was no word from the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan on the development. — PTI
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Pak expels British military trainers
London, June 27 The Ministry of Defence here confirmed that at least 18 military advisers, deployed as part of a £15 million programme to train the paramilitary Frontier Corps, have been withdrawn from Pakistan. Most are already back in the UK, the Guardian newspaper reported. Their removal is seen as an indirect casualty of worsening relations between Pakistan and the US over the May 2 Navy Seal raid in Abbottabad, which was conducted without Pakistani consent. Although British relations with Pakistan are warmer, the embattled army, stung by a barrage of public criticism, is keen to demonstrate its independence from all western allies, the daily said. Since bin Laden’s death, Pakistan has sent home at least 120 US military trainers, most of whom were engaged in training the Frontier Corps. The British team, a mix of seasoned officers and NCOs, had been stationed at a British-funded FC base near the capital of Balochistan, Quetta. The training scheme began last August and was scheduled to run until at least summer 2013. The MoD hopes to redeploy the team once the tensions abate. The daily reported that in an email statement, a spokeswoman said the trainers had been withdrawn “on a temporary basis” at the request of the Pakistani government in response to “security concerns”. “The training teams will continue their own training and will be ready to redeploy at the first possible opportunity,” the spokeswoman said. The 60,000-strong Frontier Corps, which is deployed along the length of the 1,600-mile border with Afghanistan, has long been in the frontline of Pakistani efforts to combat Taliban militancy and flush al-Qaeda from its tribal havens. But its troops are considered under-trained and ill-equipped, and Pakistan’s western allies have in recent years prioritised a multi-million pound effort to bolster their skills and equipment, the report said. — PTI
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Firebrand Michele Bachmann launches White House bid
Waterloo, June 27 "I seek the presidency not for vanity, but because I think America is at a crucial moment," Bachmann, a darling of the archconservative "Tea Party" movement, said in a speech to some 200 supporters in the key heartland state of Iowa. The outspoken Minnesota lawmaker, 55, pointed to the swelling US national debt, soaring gasoline prices, historically high unemployment and took aim at Obama's signature health law, the target of conservative voter anger. — AFP
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The International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant for Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi today, and rebels trying to oust him said their forces had advanced to within 80 km of the capital Tripoli.
The court approved warrants for Gaddafi as well as his son Saif al-Islam and Libyan intelligence chief Abdullah
al-Senussi on charges of crimes against humanity.
Waterloo, June 27
