W O R L D

Rebels use captured tank to attack military airbase
Aleppo, August 2
Syrian rebels turned the gun of a captured tank against government forces on Thursday, shelling a military airbase used by war planes in the battle for Aleppo. President Bashar al-Assad's troops, meanwhile, bombarded the strategic Salaheddine district in Aleppo itself with tank and artillery fire supported by combat aircraft while rebels tried to consolidate their hold on areas they have seized.
Rebels from the ‘Tawheed Brigade’ in Tal Rifaat, north of Aleppo, prepare to leave for battle against the Syrian army in Aleppo on Thursday. — AFP

Pak sacks law officer for doing ‘seva’
Islamabad, August 2
The Pakistan Government has fired a top law officer who earned the ire of lawyers by washing dishes and polishing shoes while performing voluntary service at Hindu and Sikh shrines in India to promote inter-faith harmony. Khurshid Khan, a Deputy Attorney General based in the northwestern city of Peshawar, was de-notified and replaced by another lawyer while he was on a private visit to Nepal and Bhutan to perform 'sewa' at places of worship.

Rebels use captured tank to attack military airbase
Syrian quagmire Damascus district under govt attack, 35 killed

Aleppo, August 2
Syrian rebels turned the gun of a captured tank against government forces on Thursday, shelling a military airbase used by war planes in the battle for Aleppo.

President Bashar al-Assad's troops, meanwhile, bombarded the strategic Salaheddine district in Aleppo itself with tank and artillery fire supported by combat aircraft while rebels tried to consolidate their hold on areas they have seized.

In the capital Damascus, troops overran a suburb on Wednesday and killed at least 35 persons, mostly unarmed civilians, residents and activist organisations said.

The fighting for Syria's two biggest cities highlights the country's rapid slide into full-scale civil war 17 months on from the peaceful street protests that marked the start of the anti-Assad uprising.

World powers have watched with mounting concern as diplomatic efforts to find a negotiated solution have faltered and violence that has already claimed an estimated 18,000 lives worsens.

More than 180 people were killed in Syria on Wednesday, 133 of them civilians and 45 of them members of Assad's forces, according to the opposition Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

The rebels' morale was boosted when they turned a government tank's gun on the Menakh airfield 35 km north of Aleppo, a possible staging post for army reinforcements and a base for military aircraft and helicopter gunships.

"We hit the airport using a tank that we captured from the Assad army. We attacked the airport a few times but we have decided to retreat at this time," a rebel fighter named Abu Ali told Reuters. — Reuters

Russia to oppose resolution on Syria at UN

Moscow: Russia said on Thursday it would not back a Saudi-drafted resolution on Syria at the UN General Assembly, saying the document was unbalanced and would encourage rebels to keep fighting the government of President Bashar al-Assad. The UN General Assembly was expected to vote on the resolution drafted by Saudi Arabia, which is openly supporting the rebel forces seeking to oust Assad. A Russian Foreign Ministry statement called the text "one-sided and unbalanced" and said Moscow would not support it in its current form.

Pak sacks law officer for doing ‘seva’

Islamabad, August 2
The Pakistan Government has fired a top law officer who earned the ire of lawyers by washing dishes and polishing shoes while performing voluntary service at Hindu and Sikh shrines in India to promote inter-faith harmony.

Khurshid Khan, a Deputy Attorney General based in the northwestern city of Peshawar, was de-notified and replaced by another lawyer while he was on a private visit to Nepal and Bhutan to perform 'sewa' at places of worship.

Attorney General Irfan Qadir too confirmed that Khan had been replaced by another lawyer. He did not cite any reason for Khan's removal. "Deputy Attorney General is not a permanent post. It's assigned for three years," Qadir said.

Khan, currently in Kathmandu, cut short his planned tour and decided to return to Pakistan. He told The Express Tribune on phone that he had been removed from his post.

The law officer has been in the limelight since he began his "sewa campaign" at Jogan Shah Gurdwara in Peshawar. — PTI 

‘Haqqanis enjoy financial, logistic support from Pak’ 

Washington, August 2
As ISI chief Lt Gen Zaheer-ul-Islam held crucial talks with his CIA counterpart David Petraeus, a damning report by a prestigious US military academy has said that the dreaded Haqqani Network receives financial and logistic support from the Pakistani military.

The report on financing of Haqqani network by Combating Terrorism Center of the US Military Academy in West Point, New York, also said the Afghan Taliban-linked group has a massive network of "mafia"-style financing operation that relies on extortion, kidnapping, smuggling and ties to legitimate businesses.

It, however, noted that the relationship between the Haqqani network and the Pakistani spy agency ISI is not that smooth as being seen from the outside world and very often there is friction between the two.

"There is difference between having a relationship and being under control," said a senior Pakistani religious figure with close ties to the network. "They have a relationship with the ISI, but they are not under their control." While both the Pakistani Embassy here and the CIA did not divulge the details of the meeting between Islam and Petraeus, it is believed that the latter pushed the Pakistani spy chief to take more strong action against the Haqqani network.

The US identifies Haqqani network, allied with Al-Qaida and Taliban, as one of its most potent enemies in Afghanistan. "In addition to private donors, the network has continued to receive financial and logistical support from the Pakistan military, and continues to maintain close operational ties with the ISI," the report said. — PTI

Kayani calls for transparent ties with US

Islamabad: Pakistan Army chief Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani on Tuesday called for transparent ties with the US based on mutual trust as he met American commander in Afghanistan, days after the two sides struck a deal ending a seven-month blockade of NATO supply routes. "The Pakistan-US relationship should be based on mutual trust, respect and transparency," Kayani said during a meeting in Rawalpindi with Gen John Allen, chief of the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan. 

Assange’s mom fears death penalty for him in US

Quito, August 2
The mother of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, who is lobbying Ecuador to grant him asylum, says she is worried her son could face execution if extradited to the United States.

Christine Assange met yesterday with President Rafael Correa, who is considering whether to grant political asylum to Assange. The Australian campaigner took refuge in the Ecuadoran embassy in London in mid-June to avoid extradition to Sweden.

Swedish investigators want Assange to answer questions about allegations of rape and sexual assault made by two women in August 2010 after WikiLeaks began releasing classified US documents.

"I feel as a mother that he is not capable of the charges, not even the charges, the allegations against him," his mother said in an interview with AFP at the Carondelet presidential palace after she met with Correa.

"There is absolutely no doubt that this is a political persecution, by the Swedish prosecutors and the police, with interference of the government," she said. — AFP