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Benazir likely to ISLAMABAD, Dec 19: Self-exiled former Pakistan Premier Benazir Bhutto is likely to return.....more
US Electoral College WASHINGTON, Dec 19: The U.S Electoral College today confirmed the election......more
A year of consolidation PARIS, Dec 19: Relations between India and France witnessed an upward movement.....more |
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Arabs paid Rs 5 trillion ISLAMABAD, Dec 19: As the mystery over the "sudden release" of deposed Premier Nawaz Sharif by military ruler General Pervez Musharraf continued, Pakistan Muslim Leauge has claimed that Saudi Arabia and other Muslim countries paid five trillion Pakistani rupees for his safe "passage" to the Gulf country. "Five trillion (Pakistani) rupees have been paid by Saudi Arabia and other Islamic countries as economic assistance to secure release of Nawaz Sharif," acting president of the PML Javed Hashmi told reporters in Peshawar yesterday. ......more
UN resolutions DUBAI, Dec 19: Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee has said that the UN resolutions on self determination in Kashmir have lost their relevance as ....more |
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Benazir likely to return by next spring ISLAMABAD, Dec 19: Self-exiled former Pakistan Premier Benazir Bhutto is likely to return to the country by the next spring amidst speculation that the military regime is contemplating putting in place an interim set up, media reports here today said. The military regime has been in touch with Bhutto and a deal is likely which may lead to the release of her jailed husband Asif Ali Zardari and a date for general elections, ‘Pakistan Observer’ newspaper reported. Another daily ‘The News’ said a senior leader of her Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Khurshid Shad in a statement suggested that Bhutto was considering returning home in the next spring, irrespective of the way in which the present regime dealt with the former premier. Senior PPP leaders, including vice chairman Makhdoom Amin Fahim, have left for Dubai to meet Bhutto and to discuss all modalities about her return, the daily said. The PPP Central Executive Committee (CEC) had already recommended return of Bhutto to fill the political vacuum in the country created in the wake of deposed Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s exile to Saudi Arabia, the paper said. The Observer quoting military sources said Bhutto had bee approached by a senior military official working in the Pakistan High Commission in London some time back. (PTI) |
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US Electoral College confirms Bush victory WASHINGTON, Dec 19: The U.S Electoral College today confirmed the election of George W Bush as the next President of United States, with Bush obtaining 271 votes, one more than the required 270 vote majority. Votes were cast by appointed electors in open session. Results were sealed and sent to Washington where they will be officially confirmed in January. Bush would be sworn in as a 43rd President of United States on January 20. A few hard-line democrats were hoping that there would be at least three defections, in which case Vice President Al Gore would become President. However, that did not happen. There was one defection of sorts when a white voter in the district of Columbia pledged to Gore left her ballot blank as a protest against the capital not having congressional representation. However, she signed the form giving the capital’s three pledged votes to Gore, leaving it to the authorities to determine whether they should go by the blank ballot or by the signed statement. The next formality — and it is only a formality — is on January 6, when Congress will count the votes and officially proclaim bush to be the President-elect. There was some suspense earlier when Gore’s running mate, Joseph Lieberman, said that Gore was "not encouraging" defections but when asked whether Gore and he would refuse to serve if there were defections in the Bush camp — only the Bush, Lieberman laughed and said: "that is not likely to happen." In the senate it is 50-50, and on most occasions members cross the floor, for, unlike in parliamentary democracies, they are chosen by the local voters and there is no party high command. Normally, meeting of the Electoral College is a mere formality, not meriting media attention. But this year, after one of the most hotly contested presidential election in American history, the voting was more than symbolic. Earlier, president-elect Bush met with the man wall street trusts most, Alan Greenspan, chairman of the Federal Reserve and discussed the Republican tax cut proposals. Greenspan is said to feel that the time is not ripe for it. First lady Hillary Rodham Clinton invited Mrs Bush to late morning tea. Mrs Bush told Hillary that she is sort of familiar with the place because she has visited the White House when her father-in-law was President. She has also attended with her husband functions for Governors held at the White House. In another development, media in Florida obtained permission under Florida law to count the votes cast for Bush and Gore. They said the process would take four months, after which the world would know who really won the election in Florida. (PTI) |
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A year of consolidation and expansion in Indo-French ties PARIS, Dec 19: Relations between India and France witnessed an upward movement during the year gone by with Paris unequivocally supporting New Delhi’s claim for a permanent seat in an expanded UN Security Council and joining hands with New Delhi to combat the menace of international terrorism. The upward momentum in the bilateral relations reached its crescendo with the five-day state visit of President K R Narayanan to France during which paris declared its support for India’s membership in the UN Security Council. "By doing so France became the first nuclear power or P-5 country to express support to India’s claim," Indian Ambassador to France Kanwal Sibal, told PTI. Progress was also made in other areas especially cooperation in tackling terrorism. "France not only welcomed India’s cease-fire initiation facilitated the union in supporting India’s stand in Kashmir while strongly condemning terrorist acts in the region early this year," Sibal said. Apart from the political side, the defence sector saw the clinching of the deal to acquire 10 additional mirage-2000 H jets for the Indian Air Force (IAF). The negotiations were dragging on for years as the French were quoting exhorbitant prices. At the same time during the third meeting of the Indo-French High Committee on defence co-operation, India sought French help in reviving its submarine production line and for building an Air Defence Ship (ADS) as part of its long term defence co-operation with Paris. The agreements also translated into naval co-operation when India’s state-of-the art warship ins Mysore participated in a joint exercise with French naval vessels in Toulon, South of France. In return, France will send one of its nuclear submarines to participate in the international fleet review organised by the Indian navy off Bombay’s coast February next year. On the French side, the notable high level visits to India were by French Foreign Minister Hubert Vedrine and Defence Minister Alain Richard. In May, Industries and Commerce Minister Murasoli Maran led a 26-member business delegation to France and addressed the 10th session of the Indo-French Joint Committee on economic co-operation. Maran also presided over the "destination India" event jointly organized by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) and the MEDEF, the French Enterprises Association in Paris. Though Indo-French trade went up by 23 per cent with India’s exports to France touching a record 1 billion dollar last year, French investors still lacked confidence over ongoing economic reforms in India, a fact which was admitted even by Maran. However, both sides agreed that India, with its rich intellectual capital, can be an outstanding partner for France in setting up joint ventures to tap opportunities in marketing it products and services to the entire European Union region. This view was further strengthened when French industrial houses, for the first time expressing their desire to hire about 10,000 Information Technology (IT) professionals, mostly from India to meet the shortage. While the US, Japan and Germany took the lead in grabbing the Indian talent, the French, with their usual conservative approach, hesitated for a while. Information and Technology Minister Pramod Mahajan during his September visit tried to allay the French fears of triggering an anti-immigrant feeling in the country. The Indian minister, who was leading a 20-member business delegation, said both sides could work out proposals to send Indian professionals on a company to company basis, which will not allow them to work anywhere else. The first meeting of the Indo-French Joint Working Group on Information Technology did raise the issue but there has been no response so far from the French side over Mahajan’s proposal while their rigid visa rules makes it impossible for Indian professionals to work in France. (PTI) |
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Arabs paid Rs 5 trillion for Sharif’s release ISLAMABAD, Dec 19: As the mystery over the "sudden release" of deposed Premier Nawaz Sharif by military ruler General Pervez Musharraf continued, Pakistan Muslim Leauge has claimed that Saudi Arabia and other Muslim countries paid five trillion Pakistani rupees for his safe "passage" to the Gulf country. "Five trillion (Pakistani) rupees have been paid by Saudi Arabia and other Islamic countries as economic assistance to secure release of Nawaz Sharif," acting president of the PML Javed Hashmi told reporters in Peshawar yesterday. Stressing that the decision of Musharraf to dislodge Sharif was neither accepted within the country nor by the outside world, Hashmi asked the military regime to make public the details of the deal made with Sharif’s. Stating that Sharif was the hero of Muslim world for conducting the nuclear tests, Hashmi claimed "the military Government was under tremendous pressure from the Muslim states and leaders to release him." He also dispelled rumours about the split in PML and said "eight or 10 leaders are expressing differences and it is negligible." This statement has given a new angle to the ongoing ruckus over the sudden release of Sharif. Musharraf regime is already facing opposition from hardliner Jamaat-e-Islami over this issue. (PTI) |
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UN resolutions on Kashmir have lost relevance: PM DUBAI, Dec 19: Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee has said that the UN resolutions on self determination in Kashmir have lost their relevance as they have been time-barred. The United Nations had passed the resolutions 50 years ago and a series of developments since then had made the resolution irrelevant, the Prime Minister said in an interview to the Jeddah-based "Malayalam News" published today. "Five decades ago India was willing to implement the UN resolutions, but Pakistan had at the time refused to withdraw from occupied Kashmir as the first step to implement the resolutions," Vajpayee said. "Pakistan’s aggression against India in 1965 and 1971, support to terrorism in different parts of India, cross border violence against India and also the changes in the population profile of Jammu and Kashmir had further made the UN resolutions redundant," he said Moreover, it should be remembered that for the last 50 years, Kashmir has participated in local and general elections in India acknowledging its status as one of the state of the Indian Union, Vajpayee said. But still India is committed to resuming peace talks with Pakistan if Islamabad stops cross border terrorism and creates a congenial climate for dialogue, he said. Vajpayee said India has declared ceasefire in Kashmir during Ramzan and was willing to talk to all parties and groups in Jammu and Kashmir, adding that New Delhi will make a draft for these talks and mull further steps considering the ground situation after the month of Ramzan. Saying that cross border terrorism has posed a threat to India’s internal security and secular structure, he said New Delhi was trying to confront these through democratic tools and was confident to overcome the forces of militancy. Vajpayee said his Government was committed to secularism and democracy as India’s cultural ethos are rooted in the tradition of religious tolerance and secularis. On the entry of foreign publishers in India, he said his Government would take a final decision only after carefully considering all the pros and cons of such a move. There have been apprehensions expressed in various quarters on the impact of such a move, he said, adding that however, there are no restrictions for distribution or sale of foreign publications which are available on the web. Vajpayee said Indian expatriates can participate in the elections through postal ballot, though the facility cannot be extended to those who have accepted other nationalities. He said India was proud of the 3.5 million expatriate Indians working in the Gulf who have earned recognition by virtue of their discipline, honesty and technical skills. They have stood by their motherland in the hour of need and India would also render all assistance to the Gulf Indians in return, he said. (PTI) |
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