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Protests cloud Egypt poll
Pakistan buries its dead amid fury over NATO strike
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Pak to boycott Bonn meet on Afghanistan
Yemen sets date for presidential vote
Arabs impose sanctions on Syria
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Protests cloud Egypt poll
Cairo, November 27 The parliamentary election that gets under way on Monday and Tuesday is the first step on the ruling army council's timetable towards a transfer to civilian rule, now promised for July. Some Egyptians yearn for stability after a week of bloodshed that has killed 42 persons and wounded over 2,000, preferring for now to let the generals run a nation whose prolonged political turmoil has thrust the economy deeper into crisis. But the demonstrators want the council to make way for a civilian interim administration immediately. They reject its choice of 78-year-old Kamal Ganzouri to form the next cabinet. Activists had called for a mass rally in Tahrir to pile pressure on the generals, and by mid-afternoon there were thousands in the square, hub of the unrest that toppled Mubarak. Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi, head of the council, said the army would ensure security at the polling booths. "We are at a crossroads. There are only two routes, the success of elections leading Egypt towards safety or facing dangerous hurdles that we in the armed forces, as part of the Egyptian people, will not allow," he declared. Protesters outside Parliament said the objection to Ganzouri was not his age, but the policies he pursued as prime minister under Mubarak from 1996 to 1999. "Two-thirds of the ministers that Ganzouri appointed in his day are now in Tora prison," they said, referring to Mubarak-era officials accused of corruption and other offences who were put on trial after an uprising swept Mubarak from power in February. Alarmed by Egypt's latest bout of unrest, the United States and the European Union have condemned the "excessive force" used by the authorities and urged a swift handover to civilian rule. Some protesters favour Mohamed ElBaradei, former head of the UN nuclear watchdog, who has offered to drop his campaign for the presidency and to lead a government of national unity. ElBaradei is respected among pro-democracy campaigners and has a high international profile, but many Egyptians view him as out of touch because he spent much of his career abroad. His statement came after violent protests which erupted against appointment of new interim government head Kamal Ganzouri, have cast doubt over the November 28 elections to the parliament's lower house. Mohamed Badie, leader of the once-banned Muslim Brotherhood, which hopes the election will catapult it into a strong place in mainstream politics, offered Ganzouri qualified support, depending on the powers and makeup of his cabinet.
— Reuters
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Pakistan buries its dead amid fury over NATO strike
Pakistan today buried troops killed in a NATO cross-border air attack that has pushed a crisis in relations between the United States and an ally it needs to fight militancy towards rupture.
Pakistan on Sunday lodged formal protest to the Afghanistan government over use of its territory for the attack. Pakistan told Kabul that such acts were unacceptable and beyond the NATO mandate. It asked Afghan government to ensure that these are not repeated. “The protest underscores that the use of Afghan territory against Pakistan by NATO/ISAF is also a violation of ISAF’s mandate for operations in Afghanistan,” said a statement issued by the Foreign Office. Pakistan had asked the Afghan government to “take necessary measures to ensure that such acts are not carried out from its territory against Pakistan,” the statement said. The incident was the latest perceived provocation by the United States, which infuriated Pakistan’s powerful military with a unilateral US Special Forces raid that killed Osama bin Laden in May. US and NATO officials are trying to defuse tensions but he soldiers’ deaths are testing a bad marriage of convenience etween Washington and Islamabad. NATO helicopters and fighter jets based in Afghanistan ttacked two Pakistan military outposts on Saturday, killing the oldiers in what Pakistan said was an unprovoked assault. “This was a tragic unintended incident,” NATO ecretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said in a statement, dding that he fully supported a NATO investigation that was nder way. “We will determine what happened, and draw the right essons.” That is unlikely to cool tempers. Many Pakistanis believe heir army is fighting a war against militants that only serves estern interests and hurts their country. “The tabs Pakistan in the back, again,” said a headline in he Daily Times, reflecting fury over the attack in Pakistan, a regional power seen as critical to U.S. efforts to stabilise neighbouring Afghanistan. Television stations showed the coffins of the soldiers draped in green and white Pakistani flags in a prayer ceremony at the headquarters of the regional command in Peshawar attended by army chief General Ashfaq Kayani. About 500 members of Jamaat-e-Islami, Pakistan’s most influential religious party, staged a protest in Mohmand tribal area, where the NATO attack took place. “Down with America” and “Jihad is The Only Answer to America”, they yelled. Pakistan’s army, one of the world’s largest, may see the NATO incursion from Afghanistan as a chance to reassert itself, especially since the deaths of the soldiers are likely to unite generals and politicians, whose ties are normally uneasy. Meanwhile, the incident continued to receive strong condemnation across the country with most political leaders urging a review of Pakistan’s cooperation with NATO in the war on terror. PTI chairman Imran Khan urged the government to pull out of ‘US-led’ war on terror that has played havoc with Pakistan’s social, political and economic life. Several leaders and analysts called for stronger response over the attacks and proposed a halt in intelligence sharing with the US and NATO forces. (With inputs from agencies)
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Pak to boycott Bonn meet on Afghanistan
Islamabad, November 27 The decision to boycott the crucial conference to be held on December 5 to discuss ways to end the conflict in Afghanistan was made during an emergency meeting of the Defence Committee of the Cabinet chaired by Premier Yousuf Raza Gilani, ‘The News’ daily reported today quoting its sources. Foreign Ministers of over 90 countries are likely to attend the Bonn Conference that is expected to discuss key issues like the withdrawal of foreign forces from Afghanistan and negotiations with the Taliban. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton had planned to meet Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar on the sidelines of the conference. “Pakistan’s absence from the conference would be a major setback to the US-led efforts for bringing the Taliban to the dialogue table,” the report claimed.
— PTI
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PM Putin nominated to reclaim presidency
Moscow, November 27 “I am grateful to (President) Dmitry Anatolyevich Medvedev and to the United Russia congress for nominating me and asking me to run for president of the Russian Federation. Of course, I gratefully accept this offer, thank you,” Putin told a party congress here here. “I am grateful to (President) Dmitry Anatolyevich Medvedev and to the United Russia congress for nominating me and asking me to run for president of the Russian Federation,” Putin said. Putin’s expected return to Kremlin could keep him in power through 2024 and make him Russia’s longest ruler since the Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin. Putin was constitutionally barred from standing for a third consecutive term in 2008 and was succeeded by Medvedev, while he became prime minister. Medvedev agreed to switch roles with Putin at the United Russia annual party congress in September. While Putin’s backers say he offers stability, liberal opponents accuse the former KGB agent of authoritarianism. “There is no more successful, experienced or popular politician in Russia than Vladimir Putin,” Medvedev said in a speech praising his mentor. Referring to his tandem with Putin and United Russia, Medvedev said: There is no other team than ours. There simply is not.” The ruling United Russia party, which is being led by Medvedev to the next Sunday's State Duma (lower house of parliament) polls, seems to be little jittery as the forecasters ahead of the December 4 vote predict the loss of absolute majority of 315 seats in the 450-strong house enjoyed by it in the fifth Duma. Both government funded VTsIOM and private Levada Centre pollsters have predicted around 53 per cent votes for the ruling party and three opposition parties, including the Communist Party digging into its pie make their presence felt in the State Duma, which for last eight years had become Kremlin's rubber stamp to approve unpopular reforms of the medical and education system.
— PTI
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Yemen sets date for presidential vote
Sanaa, November 27 The agreement would make President Ali Abdullah Saleh the fourth dictator pushed from power this year by the Arab Spring uprisings, although it has been rejected by many protesters because it would grant the reviled leader immunity from prosecution and does not include far-reaching political changes like those brought about by the uprisings in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya. The US-backed Gulf Arab proposal signed on Wednesday in the Saudi capital Riyadh calls for Saleh to pass power to his deputy within 30 days, after a new government sworn in by the vice president passes a law protecting Saleh and his associates from prosecution. Presidential elections also are to be held within 90 days, well ahead of the original date in 2013. It came after months of resistance by the leader of 33 years despite massive protests calling for him to step down. Saleh had agreed to sign the deal at least three previous times only to back out at the last minute. Vice-President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi said yesterday that the vote will be held on February 21 and no party has the right to annul or change the decree, SABA reported. He made the announcement after Saleh gave him “the constitutional authorities to carry out dialogue with the parties that signed the Gulf initiative.”
— AFP
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Arabs impose sanctions on Syria Cairo, November 27 Qatar said that if Arab nations failed to resolve the crisis, other foreign powers could intervene. Nineteen of the Arab League's 22 members voted for sanctions that include a travel ban on senior Syrian officials, freezing Syrian government assets, halting trade dealings with the central bank and stopping Arab investment. "The decision should be executed immediately, starting today," Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim al-Thani told a news conference after he chaired a meeting of Arab foreign ministers in Cairo. The Arab League has for decades avoided taking action against its members but has been spurred into action by the scale of blooshed during Syria's crackdown against protesters and the failure by Damascus to implement an Arab peace plan. Arabs have said they want a regional solution and do not want foreign intervention in Syria. But France became the first major power to seek international involvement last week when it called for "humanitarian corridors" to protect civilians. But the Qatari minister said foreign powers could intervene if they did not consider Arabs "serious" in their bid to end the crisis. "All the work that we are doing is to avoid this interference," he said. Hundreds of people, including civilians, soldiers and army deserters, have been killed in Syria this month, possibly the bloodiest since the unrest broke out in March inspired by uprisings that overthrew leaders in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya. — Reuters
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Qureshi joins Imran’s party
Former Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Sunday joined the Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf (PTI) of Imran Khan and vowed to oust Asif Zardari out of the Presidency.
Accusing President Zardari of pursuing a policy of servility and compromising country’s sovereignty and independence, Qureshi alleged that Pakistan’s nuclear programme is not safe in Zardari’s hands.
Qureshi announced his decision while addressing a public rally in Ghotki (Sindh) in the presence of Imran Khan who earlier invited him to join him in the struggle to save Pakistan from corrupt and incompetent rulers. Qureshi criticised Zardari calling him a “pharaoh’ and accusing him of betraying the ideals and vision of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto and Benazir Bhutto. He said Zardari has turned the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) into a Zardari League and aligned with killers of
Benazir.
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