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US-Pak ties still raise tough
questions, says Hillary
Constitution is supreme: Pak CJ
Bombs, attacks kill 23 in Afghanistan
Liberals claim lead in Libya vote count
Despite protests, Lanka to send troops to India for training
UK likely to ease student visa curbs
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Pak extremist groups protest reopening of NATO routes
Lahore, July 8 Workers and leaders of the Defa-e-Pakistan Council, formed last year by Jamaat-ud-Dawah chief Hafiz Mohammed Saeed, assembled at Nasser Bagh and set off for Islamabad in buses, cars and motorcycles. Saeed and other DPC leaders are leading the long march and the protestors are expected to reach the federal capital tomorrow. The organisers said the protestors would reach Gujrat district of Punjab province later today. After halting for the night at Gujrat city, the march will resume tomorrow morning. The number of participants is expected to swell the march reaches Muridke and Gujranwala, where the JuD enjoys considerable support. Addressing the protestors, Saeed said the government had sold Pakistan's sovereignty and autonomy for aid from the US. He claimed the US and its allies were suffering losses of billions of dollars a day in Afghanistan. He demanded that the US should withdraw its forces from the region, vacate all Pakistani airbases and stop drone attacks in the tribal belt. Saeed claimed the US had paid Pakistan back for reopening the supply routes by carrying out a drone strike that killed over 20 people. He further claimed the DPC would force the government to change its decision to reopen the supply lines. Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-S chief Maulana Sami-ul-Haq and Jamat-e-Islami head Munawar Hasan also addressed the protesters. As the protestors reached Shahdara, former ISI chief Hamid Gul was taken to a nearby hospital after he complained of chest pains. Officials said he was out of danger. In a related development, senior adviser to the Prime Minister on Interior Affairs Rehman Malik said the government would not block the long march but leaders of banned groups in the DPC would be arrested if they tried to enter Islamabad. He said everyone, including the DPC, had the right to organise protests but the government will not allow anyone to take the law into their own hands. The DPC organised the long march after the government last week reopened supply lines to Afghanistan, which were closed last year after a cross-border NATO air strike killed 24 Pakistani soldiers. Pakistan decided to reopen the routes after the US apologised for the NATO attack. Speaking to reporters in Lahore, ruling Pakistan People's Party vice chairman Yousuf Raza Gilani described the leaders of the DPC as "old jihadis" and said pressure from the grouping would not affect the government. "These are the same people who had gone for jihad when the former Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan. We did not open or close the supply routes on their say so. We did what was in the interests of the country and the people. The government is at the helm of affairs and it will make the decisions, not the DPC," former premier Gilani said.
— PTI
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US-Pak ties still raise tough questions, says Hillary Tokyo: The US-Pakistani relationship remains challenging for both despite the reopening of Pakistani land routes to supply US troops in Afghanistan, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Sunday. The supply route deal removed one headache, but ties are likely to remain strained by other differences. These include Pakistan's opposition to US drone strikes aimed at militants on its territory and Washington's allegations that Islamabad condones, or even assists, anti-American militants.
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Constitution is supreme: Pak CJ
In a veiled warning, Pakistan Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry said the Constitution, and not the Parliament, is supreme in matters involving the law.
Addressing a ceremony of newly-enrolled advocates for the Supreme Court at the Karachi registry, he referred to a misconception regarding the supremacy of Parliament, saying the apex court was empowered under Article 8 to strike down any law which was in conflict with the Constitution. The CJP's remarks came after the reported government move to clip court's authority and provide immunity to legislators, ministers and other top functionaries by amending laws pertaining to the contempt of court and dual nationality. He said even in the United Kingdom, the doctrine of supremacy of Parliament was declared by its highest court to be out of step with the times. "It's time, after 65 years of our independence, that we free ourselves from the shackles of intellectual servility to colonial norms and start adhering to our Constitution." We should only examine our own Constitution to ensure that the will of people prevails. This is the essence of a democratic system, he said. Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry said the Constitution was supreme and it was mandatory for all Pakistanis as well as foreigners living here to respect it. The CJP said the conviction of former PM Yousuf Raza Gilani proved that every individual, irrespective of his position, was subject to the law, adding that action against the chief executive had been taken because he had not implemented the court's orders. Justice
Chaudhry, citing Article 190 of the Constitution, said all executive and judicial authorities were bound to act in aid of the Supreme Court.
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Bombs, attacks kill 23 in Afghanistan
Kabul, July 8 A surge in Afghan and coalition forces during the past two years routed Taliban fighters from many of their strongholds in the south, but the insurgents stepped up their attacks this summer to take back key areas. The civilians, including women and children, were killed in a trio of blasts in Arghistan district, along Afghanistan's border with Pakistan. Kandahar province spokesman Ahmad Jawed Faisal said one bomb exploded when a minivan ran over it today morning. A second went off when other civilians riding a tractor arrived to help the wounded. A third explosion occurred about two hours later when a civilian vehicle hit a roadside bomb in another area of the district, killing two women. At least 10 other civilians were injured in the three blasts. The policemen were killed while responding to a gun battle being waged against insurgents early today at a checkpoint in the Musa Qala district of neighboring Helmand province. Daoud Ahmadi, the spokesman in Helmand, said a group of Taliban fighters attacked the police checkpoint at about 3 am. Afghan police called for reinforcements, but on the way, one of the police vehicles hit a roadside bomb, killing the five policemen. Ahmadi says three other policemen were wounded in the four-hour gun battle against the insurgents.
— AP
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Liberals claim lead in Libya vote count
Tripoli, July 8 If the trend is confirmed, Libya, unlike neighbouring Tunisia and Egypt whose strongmen were also toppled in last year's Arab Spring, will buck the trend of electoral success for Islamist movements. "Early reports show that the coalition is leading the polls in the majority of constituencies," secretary-general of the National Forces Alliance (NFA) Faisal Krekshi said. The alliance which groups more than 40 small parties is headed by Mahmud Jibril who played a prominent role as rebel prime minister during last year's popular revolt that toppled dictator Gaddafi and ended his four-decade rule. The leader of one of Libya's main Islamist parties, also basing his assessment on their vote count observers, acknowledged the rival coalition had the edge in the country's two largest cities. "The National Forces Alliance achieved good results in some large cities except Misrata. They have a net lead in Tripoli and in Benghazi," said Mohammed Sawan, who heads the Justice and Construction party. "But it is a tight race for us in the south," added Sawan, a former political prisoner and member of Libya's Muslim Brotherhood, which launched the party. The bulk of Libya's population and registered voters are concentrated in the capital, which lies in the west of the oil-rich desert country, and in the eastern city of Benghazi.
— AFP
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Despite protests, Lanka to send troops to India for training
The Sri Lanka Government said it would continue to send its troops for training to India despite protests in Tamil Nadu to stop such training sessions.
"India is the single largest overseas training base for Sri Lankan troops and this has been the case for the past decade or more", Cabinet spokesperson Kehiliya Rambukwella said. At any given time there are between 100 to 2,000 security force personnel under training in various parts of India. Rambukwella said the development in Tamil Nadu was clearly political in nature and it would not affect military coordination between the two countries. Indian National Security Adviser Shiv Shankar Menon, who was in Colombo two weeks ago, pledged more military cooperation between the two countries during talks held with the government in Colombo.
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UK likely to ease student visa curbs
London, July 8 Education and industry leaders petitioned Cameron with figures that international students bring £8 billion annually to the British economy, The Sunday Times quoted a source at 10 Downing Street as saying: "The Prime Minister understands these arguments and is definitely considering a change of policy". Cameron is likely to reverse policy and remove international students from official immigration figures, a measure that may relax some of the restrictions. Due to the curbs, many international students have reportedly been deterred from considering Britain as a destination to study. Some universities have already reported a fall in applications from India. — PTI
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