Musharraf urged back to barracks after poll

ISLAMABAD, Oct 9: Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf was urged to keep his pledge of handing power to a civilian Government after next week’s election, amid general disbelief that he really plans to retire to the barracks.

The October ten parliamentary vote officially marks the return to civilian rule in Pakistan, ending three years of military leadership under Musharraf who deposed the last Prime Minister, Nawaz Sharif, in a bloodless coup.

"It is in the international community’s interest to encourage the military to withdraw to the barracks and restore democracy," said a article in the Statesman, accredited to the International Crisis Group (ICG) think-tank.

It described the President’s election strategy as forming "military rule in civilian guise."

The article warned the United States against believing that only the military could govern Pakistan, hold back Islamic extremism and fight terrorism.

Musharraf repeated at the weekend his intention to withdraw.

"After the elections, the Prime Minister will be fully in charge and empowered to govern the country," Musharraf told a cabinet meeting on Saturday in remarks carried by the state APP news agency.

"I am confident that...A new political culture of tolerance, accommodation and responsibility will emerge replacing the culture of complete political polarization and conflict as we witnessed in the past decade," he added.

However, Musharraf’s behaviour in the runup to the election has left analysts, commentators and ordinary Pakistanis expecting a weak Parliament forced to compromise with the General.

He has made constitutional changes barring two key opponents from contesting the poll and giving him the power to dissolve Parliament, extended his rule in a referendum dismissed by opponents as a sham and secured a formal role for the military in politics through a National Security Council which he will head. One of the largest political parties contesting the election, the Pakistan Muslim League Quaid-e-Azam (PML-QA), is widely perceived as a tool used by the military to dilute the power of parties which strongly oppose Musharraf.

"As long as armed forces remain bogged down in politics and play a partisan role in the political debate a normal democratic process cannot develop roots in our beloved homeland," wrote former Pakistan diplomat Bashir Malik in a commentary appearing in the news broadsheet.

Musharraf’s interpretation of democracy came under fresh attack in the English-language press.

"He wants the army to have a critical say in governmental decision making," said the Daily Times in an editorial.

"And he wants to have it at gunpoint. All this is alien to democracy. That is why his proposition is wrong."

Musharraf has been a key ally of Washington in its campaign against the Afghan Taliban regime and the Al Qaeda network.

As well as struggling to contain violent Islamic groups in Pakistan, Musharraf has had to handle a tense military stand-off with nuclear neighbour India over the disputed Kashmir region.

Despite the criticism of his democratic record, Musharraf enjoys broad support in Pakistan, partly for his handling of the economy and partly because of the tarnished reputation of main political parties accused by Musharraf of rampant corruption.

No single party is expected to win a majority in the National Assembly Lower House of Parliament, and political analysts expect weeks of back-room deal making before a coalition is formed. Compromise could be key to parliament’s survival.

"On the eve of elections and in their aftermath, the parties in search of power and the common people in their struggle for survival should seek compromise and not confrontation," said former provincial home secretary Kunwar Idris in the Dawn daily. (AGENCIES)

Blair scrambles to save N Irish Govt

LONDON, Oct 9 : Britain’s Prime Minister Tony Blair faces a frantic 48 hours trying to salvage the Northern Ireland peace process as a spy scandal threatens to torpedo the power-sharing Government.

Blair was holding crisis talks with key players on both sides of the Irish border today after Northern Ireland’s first minister David Trimble gave him an ultimatum — Kick Republican Sinn Fein ministers out of the Belfast Government or see the whole structure collapse.

Trimble, the head of the Protestant Ulster Unionist Party, said if Blair did not act by early next week he would withdraw from the executive, effectively demolishing it.

The crisis, the worst since the 1998 Good Friday Government, erupted on Friday when police raided a Parliamentary office of Sinn Fein — political allies of the Irish Republican Army —following reports that an IRA spying operation had infiltrated the Belfast headquarters of British Ministers.

Trimble said today the only way forward was to "get rid of the private Army" and disband the IRA.

"I would like the Government to tackle the cause of the instability and that means bringing it home to the Republican leadership that four-and-a-half years after the agreement was made it is about time they implement it," he added on BBC radio.

Friday’s raid, denounced by Sinn Fein as a political smear, followed a year-long investigation into claims the IRA had penetrated the inner sanctums of British power in the province.

A 44-year-old former Government messenger appeared in court in Belfast yesterday accused of having information "likely to be of use to terrorists".

Blair is keeping an open mind for now. He was meeting today morning with Mark Durkan, head of the moderate nationalist SDLP who is Trimble’s deputy in Government, and later with Irish Premier Bertie Ahern.

Sinn Fein leaders Gerry Adams and Nartin Ncguinness will fly in early tomorrow — before Blair flies to Russia to pursue his diplomatic campaign to build up pressure on Iraq.

Trimble, who says the allegations of an IRA spy ring operating at the heart of British power in the province render Sinn Fein unfit for Government, has demanded that Blair table a motion proposing their exclusion from the executive.

Blair’s Northern Ireland Secretary, John Reid, told reporters Britain had a range of possible options.

"I think it would be only sensible to hear all the views before deciding on how we proceed," he said after Trimble left Blair’s Downing street office yesterday.

Most of them look unpalatable.

Blair, who has invested immense political capital in the Good Friday Agreement, will not want Trimble to walk away, for fear the entire peace process starts to crumble. But for the same reason, analysts say, he is unlikely to press for Sinn Fein’s expulsion.

That leaves two choices — early elections which could result in an even more polarised executive, or suspension with Britain resuming day-to-day running of the Government.

Britain has briefly suspended the devolved Government in response to crises three times since power was transferred to Belfast from London in December 1999. Each time the ploy has given breathing space for politicians to resolve the impasse.

But this time opinion in the rival camps seems so far apart few can see how they can find enough common ground to return to Government together in the near future.

Most analysts agree there is little prospect of a return to all-out war by the IRA but fears remain that those on the violent fringes could exploit any political vacuum.

"At the moment it isn’t easy to see how we can find a way through," Reid conceded. (REUTERS)

CIA says cannot be deterred

WASHINGTON, Oct 9: The Central Intelligence Agency has told US Congress that Saddam Hussein is unlikely to attack first with weapons of mass destruction but may use them if he concluded that an American attack on Iraq could no longer be deterred.

The Iraqi leader may even resort to assisting Islamic terrorists, it said in a classified report given to some senators last week.

"Should Saddam conclude that a US-led attack could no longer be deterred," he might take extreme step of assisting Islamic terrorists in conducting a Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) attack against the United States would be his last chance to exact vengeance by taking a large number of victims with him," the agency said in the report now made public.

CIA Director George Tenet, in a letter to senators said that according to "credible reporting," Al-Qaeda’s "backers sought contacts in Iraq who could help them acquire wmd capabilities.

"Iraq’s increasing support to extreme Palestinians, coupled with growing indications of a relationship" with Al-Qaeda "suggest Baghdad’s links to terrorists will increase, even absent US military action."

"We have have solid reporting of senior level contacts between Iraq and Al-Qaeda going back a decade. Credible information" also indicates that Iraq and Osama bin Laden’s terror network "have discussed safe haven and reciprocal non-aggression."

According to many lawmakers, the CIA’s detailed, unvarnished view of the threat posed by Iraq is central to how they will vote (on giving the President the authority to go to war against Iraq). Yet, an increasing number of intelligence officials are concerned the agency is "tailoring its public stance to fit the administration’s views," the Washington Post said.

"There is a tremendous amount of pressure on the CIA to substantiate positions that have already been adopted by the administration," said Vincent Cannistraro, former head of counterterrorism at the CIA.

Tenet last night issued a statement meant to dispel assertions that his letter to senators contained new information that would undercut the case President George W Bush made in his speech (for a preemptive attack on Iraq).

"There is no inconsistency between our view of Saddam’s growing threat and the view as expressed by the President in his speech. Although we think the chances of Saddam initiating a WMD attack at this moment are low — in part becuse it could constitute an admission that he possesses WMD — there is no question that the likelihood of Saddam using wmd against the US or our allies in the region for Blackmail, deterrence or otherwise grows as his arsenal continues to build," he said.

Asked why the items in the letter were not released before, he said he did not want to provide "Saddam a blueprint of our intelligence capabilities and shortcomings, or with insight into our expectations of how he will and will not act." (PTI)

Straw in Iran to press for Iraq action

TEHRAN, Oct 9: British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw arrived in Iran today on a tour to seek support for a tough UN resolution to halt Iraqi President Saddam Hussein’s suspected weapons of mass destruction programme.

Straw landed in Tehran after a 48-hour middle east tour through Egypt, Jordan and Kuwait where he received a cool response from Arab leaders opposed to military action against Baghdad.

"There is not a single Government in the whole of this region which is not fully aware of the evil nature of the Iraqi regime and wishes to see Saddam Hussein disarmed," Straw told reporters before leaving Kuwait for Iran today.

"That conviction, which I knew to be true before I came, has been wholly reinforced by my visit to the region."

Iran, where moderate President Mohammad Khatami runs the Government but conservative clerics control the armed forces, judiciary and broadcast media, also rejects a military strike on Iraq but has urged Baghdad to obey UN resolutions to disarm.

Distrust of Saddam runs deep in Tehran due to the bitter eight-year war the two countries fought in the 1980s. But Iran is also staunchly opposed to further military action in the region by arch-foe the United States.

"We hope that no war takes place in the region. Washington should put aside its unilateral policy and respect world opinion, but Iraq should also respect UN resolutions," Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi said on Monday.

In Kuwait, Straw stressed that Iraq must understand its limited choices — allow UN Inspectors to end its alleged programme of weapons of mass destruction or "the use of force. We prefer the first."

"Are we committed long term to the stability of this region? yes we are," he said when probed on Arab fears of regional chaos if Saddam is deposed in a US-led attack.

Kuwait Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Sheikh Mohammad Al-Salem Al-Sabah told reporters that Straw had made no specific request to deploy additional forces in Kuwait. Britain has eight tornado warplanes and some 450 troops deployed in Kuwait as part of the US-led operation to enforce a no-fly zone over southern Iraq.

Straw’s diplomatic offensive received a cool response yesterday in Egypt, where Foreign Minister Ahmed Maher said the international community should focus on getting weapons inspectors back into Iraq quickly.

Straw’s visit to Iran his third visit to the Islamic republic in less than a year. In recent decades Britain has had a tortuous relationship with Iran, a key regional power and the second largest producer in the organisation of petroleum exporting countries.

Accusations of spying, tit-for-tat expulsions of diplomats and the death threat issued by former Supreme leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini against British author Salman Rushdie have peppered diplomatic relations between London and Tehran since the 1979 Islamic revolution.

But unlike Washington, which broke ties with Tehran in 1980 and this year labelled iran part of an "axis of evil", Britain has followed a European Union effort to engage Iran, particularly since Khatami’s landslide 1997 election win.

Straw’s visit comes just two weeks after the two countries took a major step towards re-establishing full diplomatic relations when Tehran finally accepted London’s ambassador nomination after a seven-month wrangle over the initial nominee.

Despite the warmer ties between London and Tehran, suspicion over British intentions still run high in some Iranian circles.

"Public opinion here displays no confidence in British officials and the diverse sections of our society see them as crafty enemies," the hardline Jomhuri-Eslami newspaper said in an editorial yesterday.

"The Iranian people hate the english and their mission as a messenger boy for the Americans," it said.

Iran barred Christiane Amanpour, CNN’s Chief International Correspondent, from entering the country with journalists accompanying British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw, British diplomats said today.

Iranian officials gave no reason for excluding Amanpour, who is half Iranian and half British. (AGENCIES)

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