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differences with China: US WASHINGTON, July 13: The United States today said it still harboured serious differences with China over security issues in South Asia and expressed concern over Beijing’s nuclear assistance to Pakistan.......more Musharraf consulted ISLAMABAD, July 13: Notwithstanding the official denial here....more Can a commando, a poet ISLAMABAD, July 13: Pundits and columnists, astrologers and analysts have picked over every.....more Italian authorities launch HOSHIARPUR, July 13: Italian authorities have launched a search for the.......more |
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Indo-Pak
relations cannot be held hostage to Kashmir issue: PPP ISLAMABAD, July 13: On the eve of Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf’s visit to India, Benazir Bhutto led Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) expressed reservations over his plans to have Kashmir centric summit talks with Indian leaders saying Indo-Pak relations cannot be held hostage by the single issue of Kashmir.......more US blacklists 23 nations WASHINGTON, July 13: The United States blacklisted 23 countries — including allies Israel, Greece and Saudi Arabia — for failing to tackle trafficking in people, which it called a modern-day form of slavery.........more Senate confirms WASHINGTON, July 13: Decks have been cleared for Robert blackwill to take over as the new US ....more |
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We still harbour differences with China: US WASHINGTON, July 13: The United States today said it still harboured serious differences with China over security issues in South Asia and expressed concern over Beijing’s nuclear assistance to Pakistan. National Security Advisor to the President Condoleezza Rice acknowledged China as an emerging world power, but said Washington had differences with it over security issues in South Asia. It is no secret that the US is also concerned about Chinese proliferation in the region, she said, replying to a volley of questions on relations between the two countries after the spy plane row, at a luncheon meeting of the National Press Club. Bilateral relations that soured after the row, were improving, Ms Rice said, adding that President Bush had plans to visit Beijing in October after attending the APEC meeting at Shanghai. Differences persisted on the human rights front too, and Mr Bush had expressed concern over the continued detention of US citizens of Chinese origin, she added. At the same time, the US would not overlook the tremedous transformation taking place in Chinese society, where people are becoming increasingly responsible for their lives. If China emerges a strong economic power with focus on liberalised economy, it is good for the world, Rice said. Referring to the new set of sanctions against Iraq, she said all countries barring Russia had agreed to the proposal. Mr Bush would take up the issue with Russian President Bladimir Putin when they meet on the sidelines of the Genoa economic summit later this month, Rice added. (UNI) |
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Musharraf consulted militant groups ahead of India visit ISLAMABAD, July 13: Notwithstanding the official denial here, Pakistan President General Pervez Musharraf had an unpublicised meeting with militant groups last week during which they reposed their confidence in his decision to hold talks with Indian leaders and agreed to join a ceasefire if the summit achieves a "positive breakthrough." The assurance by representatives of the Jehadi outfits fighting in Kashmir was "handed" over to Musharraf at a meeting between him and representatives of the United Jihadi Council (UJC) last week, a newspaper report said here today. UJC, a conglomerate of 14 Pakistan-based Jehadi groups fighting in Kashmir, is led by Hizubul Mujahideen leader Sayeed Salauddin. Besides Hizbul, it includes Harkat-ul-Mujahideen and 12 other minor militant groups committed to Deoband School of Islamic militancy. Lashkar-e-Toiba, which is also active in Kashmir and studiously opposed the Indo-Pak summit is not part of UJC and decided to step up attacks during Musharraf’s three-day India visit. Quoting sources, the report said it would be considered as a major breakthrough, if India accepts Kashmir as a disputed territory. "Musharraf was also assured that Jihadi organisations would accept ceasefire in the Valley if India accepted Kashmir as a disputed territory and agreed to respect the wishes of Kashmiri people," the nation daily said adding they urged him to press for the inclusion of Hurriyat Conference in a tripartite dialogue. According to the newspaper report, Hizbul spokesman Saleem Hashmi declined to confirm the meeting. When contacted today, he was not available to comment on the report. Hashmi also told the newspaper that Jihad groups believed India was forced to hold talks with Pakistan due to "years of armed struggle" by Mujahidden groups. The meeting and its details were not made public by either side. The meeting also assumes significance as Lashkar, which is considered to be "extreme" among the militant groups, had criticised Musharraf for not consulting the militant groups and the families of militants who were killed in Kashmir. Meanwhile, Ilyas Kashmiri, the ‘chief commander’ of the Harkat-al-Jehad-e-Islami, has said "all Indian cities including New Delhi are on Mujahideen’s target and Mujahideen will soon target New Delhi." "Mujahideen do not believe in talks and from today we announce fresh strikes in India," he told reporters on Wednesday adding that two commanders of his outfit, Muhammad Bashir alias Sher Khan and Abdul Razzaq alias Abu Tariq, were arrested by the Delhi police on July 6 on the charges of carrying explosives. Both were on an organisational trip and fabricated charges had been framed against them, he alleged and claimed his outfit had a countrywide network in India and was in a position to target any of the installations. Kashmiri said Mujahideen had never been in favour of talks but on the other hand, they would not block the talks. He said India could have resolved the Kashmir issue in line with Tashkent or the Simla Agreements but it did not honour its promises. (PTI) |
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Can a commando, a poet make peace in Kashmir? ISLAMABAD, July 13: Pundits and columnists, astrologers and analysts have picked over every aspect of this weekend’s Indo-Pakistan summit, but they have overlooked a key element: What will General Pervez Musharraf be wearing when he lands in New Delhi tomorrow? Subdued civvies or glittering general’s gear — either way the significance of the Pakistani President’s apparel will not be lost on the Army of journalists and photographers covering his arrival. Musharraf prefers to play the statesman’s role in a shiny double-breasted suit, which he dons for most of his trips abroad, leaving his favoured military garb and medals in the closet at home. But when he is receiving guests at his official residence in Islamabad or addressing the nation on television, he wears one of an apparently endless variety of military uniforms, bedecked with badges and stripes. And for such a high-impact moment — the arrival of Pakistan’s President and military chief in the Indian capital — the temptation to stress the soldier over the statesman may prove too much for the chesty general. Or he could compromise, surprise everyone and throw on a sherwani, the long black coat which has become a kind of official ceremonial dress for Pakistani men. Former President Muhammad Rafiq Tarar, unceremoniously dumped by Musharraf last month, never left home without one. As President, self-appointed "Chief Executive" after the 1999 coup, military supremo and the boss of just about every major decision-making body in Pakistan, there is no shortage of hats Musharraf can wear. The President’s sartorial dilemma underlines another odd thing about his landmark trip to India, that a former commando and armoured division artillery commander would be invited for peace talks with a professional orator and poet in the form of Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee. It could be said that no negotiating table would be small enough to bring men of such divergent pasts together. Yet it is in this precarious balance that peace in Kashmir will hang when the two leaders come face to face for talks on Sunday. Musharraf was decorated for gallantry in the 1965 war with India. His academic career included a stint at the Royal College of Defence Studies, United Kingdom, where a report described him as "capable, articulate and extremely personable", a man of "undeniable quality". At home with his wife, the bespectacled and moustachioed general likes to show his soft side to visiting journalists by posing for photographs cuddling his fluffy little dogs. But whether the general and the politician can see eye to eye at tomorrow’s summit is still a matter of intense debate. Perhaps the one thing they really have in common is a desire to be numbered among the great men of history, and only an agreement on Kashmir will assure them of such distinction. (AFP) |
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Italian authorities launch
search for Malta HOSHIARPUR, July 13: Italian authorities have launched a search for the wreckage of the Maltese boat which sunk off the Sicily coast on the night of December 25, 1996, drowning more than 280 people from India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Malta boat tragedy probe mission chairman Balwant Singh Khera today said the Indian embassy in Rome had informed him that the official search to retrieve the boat wreckage and remains of the victims of the mishap was launched on June 25. An Italian journalist had recently video-filmed parts of the wreckage, forcing the authorities to launch the search which could yield material evidence of the tragedy. Mr Khera said the Italian authorities wished to know from the countries concerned as to how mortal remains of the victims be handled as it might be difficult to establish their identity, nationality, ethnicity or religion after the passage of five years. He said the Italian authorities also wanted to know if office bearers of the probe mission or relatives of the victims would like to be present at a mass funeral planned for the victims as and when their bodies were retrieved from the ocean bed, and whether the mission or the relatives would be able to bear expenses of transporting the remains to their native countries in case some bodies are identified. Of the nearly 200 Indians who perished in the tragedy, a majority hailed from the Doaba region of Punjab. Meanwhile, one Ravinder Kumar Puri of Garhdiwala, whose son Rajan Puri lost his life in the tragedy, has filed a claim suit in an Italian court, Mr Khera said. The probe mission, he said, faxed the authorisation of Mr Ravinder Puri to a prominent Italian lawyer who filed the suit on June 15 in a court in Siracusa. The Italian lawyer has sought interim compensation, pending a court decision, according to Mr Khera. The lawyer, Mr Khera said, pleaded before the court that the death of the younger Puri was certainly connected with the crime, in which 13 accused have already been chargesheeted. They include El Hallal Yousef, captain of ship Yiohan which was carrying the victims and Augerino Dionisio, a member of the Maltese boat crew. The tragedy occured when illegal human cargo was being transferred from the ship to a boat and the latter hit the hull of the ship in choppy icy waters of Sicilian channel in the Mediterranean sea. (UNI) |
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Indo-Pak relations cannot be
held hostage ISLAMABAD, July 13: On the eve of Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf’s visit to India, Benazir Bhutto led Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) expressed reservations over his plans to have Kashmir centric summit talks with Indian leaders saying Indo-Pak relations cannot be held hostage by the single issue of Kashmir. In an interview to Doordarshan here, PPP’s spokesman, Farahtullah Babar, today said his party was against making Kashmir issue the only focus of Indo-Pak relations. He also said his party believed that all Kashmiri leaders, not just Hurriyat leaders, should be represented in any talks aimed at discussing the resolution of the Kashmir issue. While stating that his party would welcome any positive outcome of Agra summit, he said any agreement signed by Musharraf in India is subjected to the review of Pakistan’s National Assembly. On the India-Iran gas pipeline project, Babar said Pakistan should seize the opportunity and sign the deal, adding the project offers immense potential for Pakistan to recover from its poor financial condition. (PTI) |
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US blacklists 23 nations for human trafficking WASHINGTON, July 13: The United States blacklisted 23 countries — including allies Israel, Greece and Saudi Arabia — for failing to tackle trafficking in people, which it called a modern-day form of slavery. Secretary of State Colin Powell released the report, mandated last year by Congress with a view to withholding US aid from nations who fail to address the issue by 2003. "It is incomprehensible that trafficking in human beings should be taking place in the 21st century. Incomprehensible, but it’s true — very true," Powell said at a news conference yesterday. "Our report should make it abundantly clear that trafficking is going on all over the world in both developed and developing countries, even within the United States," he said, calling it an "abomination against humanity." At least 700,000 people around the world fall victim to the practice every year, Powell said. Between 40,000 and 50,000 of them end up in the United States, the report noted. Powell said most victims are women and children who have been duped or coerced by criminals. "Deprived of the most fundamental human rights, subjected to threats and violence, victims of trafficking are made to toil under horrific conditions in sweat shops and on construction sites, in fields and in brothels," he added. In the first annual "victims of trafficking and violence protection act," Israel was in the lowest category, "tier three," as a destination, mainly for women, for trafficking from former Soviet States, Brazil, Turkey, South Africa and Asia. In a sign this key US ally could end up getting a waiver, however, the State Department said the Israeli Government had "begun to take some steps" to combat the problem. Greece, a transit and destination point, "has not yet acknowledged publicly that trafficking is a problem," it said. In Saudi Arabia, some expatriate workers were "forced into domestic servitude and sexual exploitation," it added. Another US ally in tier three was South Korea, a source of women forced into the sex industry primarily in the United States but also in other western countries and Japan. The others in tier three were Albania, Bahrain, Belarus, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Democratic Republic of Congo, Gabon, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Lebanon, Malaysia, Pakistan, Qatar, Romania, Russia, Sudan, Turkey, United Arab Emirates and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. Undersecretary of State for Global Affairs Paula Dobriansky, said "corrective measures" were also needed in the United States, which did not rank itself in the report. Powell said a US task force would be set up "to safeguard the vulnerable, to punish the traffickers, to care for their victims and to prevent future trafficking". The report cites 47 countries in "tier two," which includes countries that failed to meet minimum standards, but were trying to. This included China, France and Japan. Countries put in "tier one," ranked because they had a significant number of victims, got into the top category by prosecuting those behind the illegal trade, protecting the victims and sponsoring or coordinating prevention campaigns. Britain, Canada, Germany and Hong Kong were in this section, along with Austria, Belgium, Colombia, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, Switzerland and Taiwan. Under the law, the President can exempt any country from sanctions if punishing them is seen as counter-productive to fighting the problem — or against US national interests. The President decides whether to stop non-trade, non-humanitarian aid on the basis of the 2003 report. Those already barred from such aid would lose educational and cultural exchanges, or US backing for international loans. (REUTERS) |
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Senate confirms Robert Blackwill as Ambassador to India WASHINGTON, July 13: Decks have been cleared for Robert blackwill to take over as the new US Ambassador to India with the senate confirming his nomination. He was confirmed by the senate yesterday along with Wendy J Chamberlin, who goes to Pakistan as the new US Envoy, and 10 other ambassadorial appointments. The nomination of Blackwill, a career diplomat who "understands the important place" India holds in President George W Bush’s foreign policy agenda, was cleared by the senate foreign committee on July 11. A senior foreign policy adviser to Bush during his presidential campaign, Blackwill has done a stint as special assistant to George Bush sr for European and Soviet Affairs. An arms control expert, he is reckoned to be a close associate of national security adviser condoleezza rice. He is credited with playing a significant part in advocating a large India focus when Bush’s campaign platform was drafted last year. All that now remains for all ambassadorial appointees is to be sworn in and then proceed to their respective posts. There had been some fears that the sudden and unexpected change in the leadership of senate from the republican to democratic could create some problems with the nomination of some of the Bush appointments but those fears have proved to be groundless. However, observers said the change is to be reflected in judicial appointments. Any idea of packing the courts with conservatives opposed by the bar association will now have to be abandoned, they added. (PTI) |
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