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bleak end of the road for Afghan widow JALOZAI REFUGEE CAMP (PAKISTAN), Sept 30: Noorbibi is sitting in her only possession, a donated tent in the middle of thousands of similar tattered tents in the poor ........more Spies, smugglers, politics CHAMAN, PAKISTAN, Sept 30: They used to call it the great game. It pitted spies, adventurers and...more Bangladesh election: NEW DELHI, Sept 30: Even as Bangladesh votes for a new Government....more Saudi rules out RIYADH, Sept 30: Saudi Defence Minister Prince Sultan Bin Abdul Aziz has said the.......more |
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Laden location sketchy - WASHINGTON, Sept 30: The United States is receiving conflicting intelligence reports.........more DHAKA, Sept 30: About a million security personnel and election officials were .....more Britain
to allow thousands LONDON, Sept 30: In an effort to tackle black money and curb illegal entry, Britain plans to allow "tens of thousands .........more |
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Refugee camp bleak end of the road for Afghan widow JALOZAI REFUGEE CAMP (PAKISTAN), Sept 30: Noorbibi is sitting in her only possession, a donated tent in the middle of thousands of similar tattered tents in the poor neighbourhood of a rundown refugee camp. The widow from Kabul is one of the rare few to cross into Pakistan in recent days, fleeing from war-ravaged Afghanistan ahead of anticipated US attacks if the ruling Taliban refuse to hand over Osama Bin Laden, prime suspect in the September 11 attacks on New York and Washington. Noorbibi is the head of an extended family of 21, including her three daughters, who used their life savings to take a bus close to the border and then paid smugglers to sneak them across. The border has been closed by Pakistani officials who fear an influx of one million Afghan refugees, adding to more than two million already in the country — including more than one million in north west frontier province, home to several camps like Jalozai. But Noorbibi would not be stopped and would pay what it took to reach safety. "We tried to cross twice but were turned back, then someone named Afridi took us across for 300 rupees (4.60 dollar) a person," she said. "They threatened if we did not pay they would take us back. "We had to sell our belongings, everything we had," Noorbibi said, motioning around a bare tent that was filled with her daughters, half a dozen grandchildren and nothing else. The part of the Jalozai camp in which Noorbibi is housed is filled with refugees who have fled over the past year to escape a devastating drought in Afghanistan. It is visibly less well off than another part of the camp that was set up two decades ago on a dried-out riverbed to help refugees from the soviet invasion of Afghanistan. "This is not a proper place, it is makeshift, it does not have proper water, proper sanitation," said Yusuf Hassan, Regional Affairs Officer for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. Jalozai is full of barefoot children running around with skin diseases, and there are freshly dug small graves in the cemetery on the edge of the sprawling camp. There are no jobs, and many were just sitting in their tents like Noorbibi. "We don’t have food, we don’t have a house," she said. The old part of the camp now has mud huts, while the newer part is made up of fly-filled tents that give no protection against temperatures that can soar to 45 degrees celsuis (113 Fahrenheit) in the summer and slip below freezing in the winter. There has been no rain and winds blow streams of dust through the camp. Hassan said the next step would be to register Noorbibi and her family so they can be given food rations. She said she has no idea what will happen to her family now, although eventually she would like to return to Kabul. "If there are no problems, i would go back. I need peace," she said. (REUTERS) |
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Spies, smugglers, politics thrive at Afghan border CHAMAN, PAKISTAN, Sept 30: They used to call it the great game. It pitted spies, adventurers and soldiers from victorian Britain against spies, adventurers and soldiers from Tsarist Russia, gentlemen amateurs playing out a lethal contest for imperial influence among the muslims of Central Asia. Today some of the players’ names have changed, but the game is on again as President George W Bush prepares his global war against terrorism and Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers brace for an attack for their refusal to hand over Saudi-born dissident Osama Bin Laden. A soft-spoken, turbanned young man just inside Pakistani territory watched the crowd surging to and from the border crossing leading from Pakistan’s desert province of Baluchistan to Kandahar in Afghanistan. "I’m from the Taliban," he said. "I cross back and forth every day. My job is to identify anyone hostile to our movement, anyone who speaks against us and Islam." He was a security agent, and apparently comfortable with the description, even proud of it. What did he do when he uncovered a dissident? "We take them to the relevant department," he said without further elaboration. Weren’t people entitled to hold their own opinions, and express them? "No. Mullah Omar (the Taliban leader) has issued Islamic directives, and they are all people need. They do not need to hold any other opinions at all." People who said there wasn’t enough food in Afghanistan, or who said they were frightened of a showdown both with the west and the Taliban’s opponents on the battlefield, the Northern Alliance, were liars. There was plenty of food, and plenty of work. What about the several thousand displaced people, many of them women and children, stranded between the Taliban and the Pakistan border at Chaman, now closed to refugees? "We don’t have the means to look after them. After all, they should stay and fight with us, not leave for other countries." The Taliban informer’s views were not supported by many of the "commuters", Pashto-speaking Afghans who travel to Pakistan to find work and to trade in cut-price smuggled cameras, television sets and radios. Zahir, 17, from Sharinau village in Afghanistan, had a shop in the market on the Afghan side of the 500-metre "no man’s land" between the two countries’ border posts. He moved to and fro, selling electronic goods. He visited Kandahar, a Taliban stronghold, every week. "Kandahar city is more than half empty," he said. "People take their women and children to safety here in Pakistan, and visit Kandahar to look after their properties." There was food in the shops, but prices had risen sharply and few people had the cash to buy. And jobs? "There’s nothing, nothing at all." Khudaidad, 27, from Boldak, was looking for work as a labourer in Pakistan. "Look at my feet. See..." he held up one foot, oddly twisted, the toenails slowly growing back. "Last year, the Taliban held me for a year. They jailed me for five months again this year, they beat me and pulled out my toenails," he said. "I don’t like them. I’m scared of them." (REUTERS) |
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Bangladesh election: Hindu voters a "disenchanted" lot NEW DELHI, Sept 30: Even as Bangladesh votes for a new Government tomorrow, a large section of Hindu minority in the country are "disenchanted" with both the major contenders for power due to continued "grabbing" of their property using a "draconian" law, and are gearing up for large-scale protests demanding its repeal. "The votes of the ten million Bangladeshi Hindus will be crucial in the closely-fought elections. We are a harassed lot and are determined to pronounce our verdict this time", says Rabindra Ghosh, president of the Hindu-Boudha-Christian Oikkya Parishad, a minorities organisation in Bangladesh claiming a membership of five lakhs. The vested Property Return Act enacted this April after amending the Enemy Property Act of the erstwhile Pakistani regime is only the beginning of legalising the ommissions and commissions under the "patently discriminatory" Parent Act, Ghosh told PTI here. The Enemy Properties Act was enacted in 1965 during the Indo-Pak war by the then Pakistan Government under Ayub Khan who identified the Hindu minorities as "enemies" and using the act, dispossessed them of their properties. Ghosh says the grabbing continues even this day using the same act albeit under a new name and its abrogation has been a longstanding demand of the Hindus. "The new act is just a half hearted tokenism and an attempt by Sheikh Hasina to appease the Hindu minorities before the general elections. The influential Muslims continue to be its end beneficiaries". (PTI) |
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Saudi rules out attack on Muslims from its soil RIYADH, Sept 30: Saudi Defence Minister Prince Sultan Bin Abdul Aziz has said the kingdom will not allow foreign troops to use its territory to launch attacks against Muslims and Arabs, a newspaper reported today. The kingdom "will not accept the presence of any foreign troops on its territory to fight Arabs and Muslims," he was quoted in Okaz daily as saying at a reception in the northwestern province of Qassim province. Prince Sultan pointed out that the kingdom, Washington’s main ally in the region, has no defence agreement with the United States or any other country. "We will not accept any soldier to remain in our country to fight Muslims or Arabs," he stressed. A highly placed Saudi military source already denied yesterday that the kingdom would allow the US to use its air bases to launch attacks against Osama Bin Laden, prime suspect in the September 11 terror attacks and his Afghan hosts. US President George W Bush said Friday that Saudi Arabia — thought to have been reluctant to help — was "cooperating with US in terms of any military planning we might be doing." Prince Sultan said all foreign troops, called by the kingdom after Iraq’s 1990 invasion of Kuwait, were withdrawn following the liberation of the Emirate in 1991. "Currently, there is no non-Saudi soldier in our country," he said. But the minister added that "40 American, British and French fighters" have used a Saudi base to patrol a no-fly zone over southern Iraq "because we do not trust the Iraqi regime." (AFP) |
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Laden location sketchy - US has
conflicting WASHINGTON, Sept 30: The United States is receiving conflicting intelligence reports about Osama Bin Laden’s whereabouts that are complicating the Bush administration’s efforts to track down the man it blames for this month’s terrorist attacks, according to The Washington Post today. Bin Laden may have slipped out of afghanistan and made his way to Somalia, Chechnya or Pakistan’s northwest frontier, officials were quoted as saying. Although the CIA is taking the reports seriously, officials say they still believe Bin Laden is in Afghanistan, where he has been allowed by the country’s ruling Taliban militia to move among mountain redoubts and operate terrorist training camps for the past six years. Even if their assumption is correct, the Bush administration’s apparent inability to establish Bin Laden’s whereabouts illustrates the difficulties it faces as it tries to hunt down the alleged mastermind of the September 11 attacks against New York and Washington. The post said the contradictory reports also suggest that, just as the administration has been promising, the campaign against Bin Laden and his Al Qaeda network is emerging as one of murkiness and confusion. Bush pinned the blame for the attacks on Bin Laden, a wealthy Saudi-born fugitive, and demanded that the Taliban, a group of Islamic fundamentalists that has sheltered him for five years, turn the 44-year-old Bin Laden over or risk attack. The Taliban has said it asked Bin Laden to leave, but that, according to local traditions of hospitality, he could stay as long as he wants. The United States has deployed ships, troops and planes around Afghanistan, causing an exodus of people from its towns and cities. Taliban fighters have prepared for war. Yesterday, the White House released a photo of Bush huddled around a map of Afghanistan with his top advisers and CNN reported it had seen a White House memo supporting the overthrow of the Taliban, which has controlled most of war-fractured Afghanistan since 1996. Bush, in his weekly radio address, stopped short of calling for the Taliban’s overthrow, but drew a distinction between the Afghan people and their rulers, saying: "We condemn the Taliban and welcome the support of other nations in isolating that regime." "We did not seek this conflict, but we will end it. America will act deliberately and decisively, and the cause of freedom will prevail," Bush said. US media have reported that elite US troops already were operating in the land-locked central Asian nation and on a Gulf television station said some had been captured by Afghan security forces. Citing a military source within Bin Laden’s Al Qaeda organization, Qatar’s Al-Jazeera television said five special forces members — three Americans and two Afghans with US citizenship — were caught as they scouted near the Iranian border. They were armed and carried maps of Al Qaeda sites, Al-Jazeera said. The station, which has a wide audience in the Arab world, said it stood by its story. But the account was denied by the Taliban, questioned by Afghan opposition forces and ignored by the Pentagon. A senior Bush administration official told Reuters: "I believe it is inaccurate." Should the United States take military action to roust Bin Laden from Afghanistan, the task could be formidable because he has effectively turned the mountainous country into a huge staging ground for his Islamic crusade, according to a russian memo to the United Nations, dated last March and obtained by reuters ysterday. The memo listed 55 camps, offices and residences that make up part of what it called the "terrorist infrastructure of Osama Bin Laden" and included underground military facilities, a new airport and barracks serving as bases for as many 7,000 fighters. The report by the Russians, who have promised to support Bush’s war on terrorism, said Bin Laden’s forces were multi-national and included Chechens presumably training to fight the Russian military in Chechnya’s separatist rebellion. Despite the difficulties that loom for the US campaign, American support is strong, according to newsweek poll released yesterday. (REUTERS) |
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DHAKA, Sept 30: About a million security personnel and election officials were being deployed at polling centres across Bangladesh today, a day before over 75 million people go to polls tomorrow to install the eighth Parliament. Armed troops escorted officials travelling by bus, bicycle and boat to polling stations across the country ahead of October one polling to elect 300-member Jatiya Sangsad (national parliament). Awami League headed by Sheikh Hasina and Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) led by Khaleda Zia are the main contenders for the power and they alternatively ruled Bangladesh since 1991. Hasina and Zia are contesting from five constituencies each, but neither face each other and none is contesting from any of the eight constituencies in the capital Dhaka. Both are among 37 female candidates from different parties and as independents contesting from 47 constituencies. Because of the untimely death of a BNP candidate in south eastern Coxs Bazar district on Friday, voting will now take place in 299 out of total 300 constituencies. Fresh schedule for Coxs Bazar - 3 constituency will be announced later. There is no official figure on the Government expenditure on the polls, but a vernacular daily, Prothom Alo, put it at about 17 million US dollars. While the authorities admitted that around 100 people were killed in pre-poll violence, press reports and human rights organisation put the number at about 200. In the last one week only around 50 people were killed. President Shahabuddin Ahmed and head of the caretaker Government Latifur Rahman called a series of high-level meetings yesterday to review the latest law and order situation, officials said. Ahmed has instructed the top security men that preparations be made such so that peaceful atmosphere is ensured in all the polling stations and people can cast votes freely and fearlessly, bss news agency quoted him as saying. According to latest information sheet supplied by Election Commission, a total of 1935 candidates are contesting the polls. A total of 52 parties are in the fray. In 1996 elections, 81 parties contested and total number of candidates was 2574, including 284 independents. Analysts said the total number of candidates this time has come down because of formation of several alliances. Meanwhile, the prospects of fair elections in the Chittaging hill tracts is seemed little doubtful as a prominent group is not only boycotting the election, but also vowed to resist it. Parbattaya Chattgram Jana Sanghati Samity (Cht people solidarity council) supreme leader Jyotirindra Bodhipriya Larma, who signed peace agreement with the Government of Hasina in 1997, is enforcing two-day hartal (general strike) today and on the election day tomorrow. The action, he said was to protest Government’s inability to correct voters’ list which he said is full of fictitious names. The authorities, however, said under no circumstances would they allow such thing to happen. (PTI) |
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Britain to allow thousands of economic migrants LONDON, Sept 30: In an effort to tackle black money and curb illegal entry, Britain plans to allow "tens of thousands of economic migrants" to enter legally, a leading weekly reported today. Home Secretary David Blunkett is expected to announce the country’s first ‘Green Card’ system which will allow up to 40,000 people every year, on Wednesday, the Sunday Observer reported. Quoting an official close to Blunkett, the report said "at the moment many of the jobs are filled by illegal immigrants, meaning that they get very low wages, undercut British workers and have no health and safety protection." "We want to undercut the gangs who feed off the black economy" the official said. It is believed that such gangs may be behind the entry of people linked to terrorist organisations around the world. "Thousands of people want to work in the UK by claiming asylum," said one official source. "It is only by expanding and reforming the current work permit system that legitimate and controlled migration can replace the system abused at the moment. This will be a body blow to the people traffickers." It is possible for foreign nationals to work in Britain now only if an employer applies for them to do so. The new system will allow individuals to apply for work as long as they can show they are filling gaps in the employment market. Advertisements asking people to apply for the new permits will be placed in foreign newspapers and the Government has not ruled out lottery applications similar to those in the United States, where permits are handed out for unskilled jobs on a first come, first served basis. The system will be split into four categories, with strict controls on the numbers who can enter under each scheme. The first will be the ‘highly skilled entry programme’. Graduates, people with qualifications in medicine or veterinary science and financial experts will be allowed to apply for work. It is thought that between 5,000 and 10,000 people will come into this category. A second group will be overseas graduates and post-graduates already studying here. Thousands will be allowed to stay to find work, home office sources said. Next is a category for foreign workers who will be allowed to apply for jobs where there is a labour shortage. An official gave the example of the catering and building trades around London. Guidelines on the types of jobs these entrants may seek will be agreed with representatives of the trade unions and employers. A quota to be set each year will restrict this total to around 10,000. The final category will be unskilled seasonal workers allowed in to work on farms or in tourism. These people - up to 15,000 a year - will be issued only with temporary permits. (PTI) |
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