PPPP asks Musharraf to hold talks with political parties

ISLAMABAD, Oct 22: Former Premier Benazir Bhutto’s PPPP has proposed immediate talks between the military regime and leaders of political parties to resolve differences over crucial issues like continuation of Pervez Musharraf as President and constitutional amendments brought in by him.

The Musharraf Government should initiate talks with mainstream parties about the General’s political future, his controversial constitutional amendments as well the electoral rules barring political leaders from contesting polls, Pakistan People’s Party Parliamentarians leader Makhdoom Amin Fahim told reporters.

Calling on the regime and political parties to adopt a flexible attitude to evolve a broad-based understanding on important issues which have vitiated the political atmosphere, he said any consensus arrived at the talks should be accepted by all parties in the larger national interest.

He said the crisis otherwise could lead to imposition of martial law by the regime which could further aggravate the crisis.

The Government also should not delay transfer of power unnecessarily as it would lead to uncertainty, he was quoted as saying by daily ‘Dawn’.

Asked whether his party is now prepared to work with Musharraf as President, Fahim said when the party had taken part in the elections organised by the General, it could also work for the restoration of democracy in accordance with the rules of the game set by it.

According to the recent conditions set by Bhutto on Government formation, it appears that PPPP is willing to accept Musharraf as President provided he relinquishes his post as Chief of Army and not press for the implementation of his controversial Constitutional amendments.

"I don’t want to involve myself in a debate whether Musharraf is a legitimate President or not. We are proceeding towards a civil rule. The Parliament is a sovereign body which has power to `do and undo’. Let the House discuss Constitutional package and other such issues," he said in an interview to `The Nation’.

He said a national government could still be formed if an understanding is reached between the Government and the political parties that were opposed to his continuation. "The head of a national government could be decided through talks among political parties".

Saying that the bitter experience of the past necessitated that the hatchet should be buried, he said fresh initiatives be taken to remove all tensions between the Government and political parties.

Though democracy is not being restored in its pure form, fahim said yet whatever was being offered should not be refused.

Political parties should not fight with each other on "the name of the child even before it is born. Everybody should first see what musharraf was going to deliver in the name of democracy," he said.

On PPPP’s stand on forming a Government in cooperation with the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal, he said though his party had reservations about aligning with religious parties, the results of the elections had changed its thinking.

Cooperation with them was also desirable for a better working of Parliament, he said. (PTI)

Court blocks Sri Lanka Govt bid to check President

COLOMBO, Oct 22: Sri Lanka’s Supreme Court today shot down a bid by Parliament to reduce the powers of President Chandrika Kumaratunga who is opposed to the Government’s peace process with Tamil Tiger rebels.

In its decision conveyed to the legislature today, the court called for a nationwide referendum if Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe’s Government pushes ahead with the controversial statute amendment.

The Government proposed taking away the President’s power to sack the legislature on completing one year after the last general election — December 5 for the current Parliament.

The last Parliamentary election resulted in Sri Lanka having the legislature run by a rival party to the President’s. Kumaratung a had been elected at a direct election in December 1999 to a six-year term.

A Government spokesman said today the coalition was not interested in holding a nationwide referendum on what is known as the 19th amendment and instead would consider going for a snap poll.

The crisis within the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) was threatening the stability of the United National Party (UNP) Government of Wickremesinghe.

The UNP has a slender two-seat majority in the 225-member Assembly. The withdrawal of the 12 SLMC members, or even a few of them, could seriously undermine the Government.

The political instability could hurt the ongoing Norwegian-backed peace bid with Tamil Tiger rebels, which was revived when Wickremesinghe took power, official sources said. The Government and the rebels are due to hold a second round of talks in Thailand later this month.

Kumaratunga has opposed the cohabitation Government’s handling of the peace process.

The Supreme Court also called today for a referendum on another constitutional amendment that sought to give immunity from prosecution to members of an independent constitutional council.

Officials said the court decision was a blow to the prospects of early establishment of independent bodies to run the civil service, police, the judiciary and the elections department.

Members of the constitutional council had wanted immunity for actions taken in setting up the independent bodies and prevent an avalanche of suits from disgruntled officials who fail to secure appointments to the proposed independent bodies. (AFP)

New draft on Iraq doesn’t meet Russia’s criteria: Ivanov

MOSCOW, Oct 22: Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov today sharply criticised the new US draft of a United Nations Security Council resolution on Iraq, saying it does not meet the criteria that Russia considers important for resolving the crisis, news reports said.

Ivanov’s statement, made to Russian reporters, was the Kremlin’s first official reaction to the US proposal presented yesterday to the other four permanent members of the Security Council.

"The American draft resolution, which was presented yesterday, does not answer the criteria (for resolution of the Iraq crisis) which the Russian side laid out earlier and which it confirms today," Ivanov was quoted as saying by the news agency Interfax.

Russia has opposed the United States’ push for a resolution that would carry an automatic military response if Iraq is found to be not cooperating with inspectors.

Russia has repeatedly called for the return of weapons inspectors to Iraq as soon as possible under the terms of existing resolutions, but has said it is open to considering new resolutions that would aid inspectors’ work.

The Kremlin will support a resolution "that would not contain terms about the automatic use of force," Ivanov said, according to the Itar-Tass news agency.

Ivanov said that he discussed the new draft today in telephone calls with US Secretary of State Colin Powell and French Foreign Minister Dominique De Villepin, Interfax said.

Ivanov made his statement several hours after meeting with Hans Blix, the head of the UN International Weapons Inspectors team.

Blix said that he thought a war could be avoided if Baghdad were able to persuade the world that it did not have weapons of mass destruction.

"I think that if Iraq helps create confidence that there are no weapons of mass destruction, then I think there will be no war," Blix said upon his arrival in Moscow.

After the meeting with Ivanov, Blix said the most important consideration about a new resolution is that it would be adopted unanimously.

"I hope that whatever they do, they will do it by unanimity," he told reporters.

Blix said he would like to see the inspectors go to Iraq as soon as possible, but that it was advisable for them to wait for the expected UN Security Council resolution rather than receive new instructions after they had started work.

He said it was important for the inspectors to travel to Iraq to provide a clearer picture of the state of its weapons programmes.

Some countries, including the United States and Britain, have said that Iraq has made strides in developing weapons of mass destruction that pose a grave threat to mankind.

"They may have evidence, I am not brushing it aside, but in our archive there is no clear-cut evidence. There are many questions, however, that we would like to have answered by them (the Iraqis) and there are also many places we would like to visit," Blix said.

He said an advance team for the inspectors would arrive in Iraq a week to 10 days after Iraq formally gives its consent. The resolution might contain a clause giving Baghdad a week to accept.

After the advance team arrives, the first group of about a dozen inspectors could arrive in another week to 10 days, he said. (AP)

Journalist’s family accuses Pak of harassment

ISLAMABAD, Oct 22: Relatives of a US-based Pakistani journalist today accused the Islamabad Government and military intelligence officials of harassing them to force him to stop writing against the Government.

Shazia Mansoor, a cousin of Pakistani journalist Shaheen Sehbai told a news conference that several family members had been accused by police of involvement in a "fictitious" case of armed robbery supposed to have taken place two years ago.

"Sehbai was critical of all Governments but never was his family and innocent relatives harassed, threatened, jailed and persecuted in such a manner as General (Pervez) Musharraf is doing," she said in a statement.

Sehbai, a former editor of the English-language newspaper the news, has long been a vehement Government critic.

He resigned from the news in March, accusing Musharraf’s Government of putting pressure on his Editor-in-Chief to sack him, a charge the Government denied.

He later set up a weekly English-language web site South Asian Tribune, also heavily critical of the Government.

Mansoor, who is expecting a child and brought two baby daughters with her, told reporters that officials of Pakistan’s military intelligence were harassing her and other members of the extended Sehbai family to force them to speak against him.

She was also accompanied by her mother. She said her husband had been arrested in the city of Rawalpindi, charged with armed robbery, and denied bail because of pressure by military intelligence.

Government officials declined comment, while a military spokesman said he would comment later.

As Mansoor spoke, she spotted a man among the reporters who she accused of being an intelligence agent.

"This man pushed me out of the police station when I went to meet my detained husband," she shouted.

The man refused to identify himself and was asked to leave the National Press Club by angry journalists.

Former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto said in a statement the alleged harassment of Sehbai’s family "exposed the hollowness of the claims of press freedom of the military regime".

The independent Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) also expressed its concern over the reports.

"Recently Government policies towards press freedom have taken a change for the worst," HRCP president Afrasiab Khattak told Reuters. "The victimisation of Shaheen Sehbai’s family shows the Government is going to the extreme to curb free voices." (AGENCIES)

Musharraf not to ask any party to form Govt

ISLAMABAD, Oct 22: In a move that could further complicate formation of a coalition Government in Pakistan, the Musharraf administration has said the President would not nominate any party to form the Government unless he was asked to do so by the newly elected Parliament.

"The constitutional clause that empowers President to nominate Prime Minister stands suspended," Federal Law Minister Khalid Ranjha was quoted as saying by the state-run APP newsagency.

Instead, the Pervez Musharraf Government preferred that the Parliament itself elect a new Prime Minister, he said.

Ranja’s comments come amid hectic efforts by the political parties to form a coalition Government as no party secured majority in the October 10 general elections.

The Government’s decision also comes at a time when Pakistan Peoles Party Parliamentarians (PPPP) of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto has asked Musharraf to initiate talks with the political parties to decide a host of issues which included future of Musharraf’s presidency, his controversial constitutional amendments and failure of the political parties to secure proper majority to form the the Government.

Ranjha also ruled out Musharraf initiating any talks with the political parties, saying "any visible effort on the part of the Government would send a wrong signal."

About criticism that Government deliberately delayed the convening of the Parliament session, he said the first session of the new Parliament will be convened after completion of the electoral process that includes election on the reserved seats for women and minorities.

Ranjha said the Restoration of the Constitution Order (RCO) would be issued prior to the first session and dispelled the impression that the first session was being delayed till election of the senate, which would be held on Nov 12.

"Senate is not relevant to the convening of Assembly meeting," he said, adding that it has no role in the election of the Prime Minister.

When asked who will preside over the first session of the Parliament, Ranjha said the Election Commission should decide the matter. He said the Government would discuss the issue with the Election Commission as it is the custodian of the electoral process in the Parliament.

Ranjha also said that Musharraf’s Legal Framework Order (LFO), which incorporated the new electoral rules and constitutional amendments brought in by him, was now part of the constitution. But the Parliament could amend it if it desires so, he said.

"Parliament is a sovereign body and has every authority to make changes in the constitution," he said.

Ranjha also said the newly elected members would take oath under the 1973 constitution.

About the allegations of rigging by some quarters, he said these were not true and added that instead of accepting deffeat, the losing parties and candidates always file election petitions.

This time also there were perhaps as many election petitions as the number of seats in the assemblies, Ranjha added. (PTI)

Ivanov, Powell to discuss Iraq resolution

MOSCOW, Oct 22: Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov is to discuss the present impasse over the UN Security Council resolution on Iraq with the US Secretary of State Colin Powell in Mexico later this week as Moscow has rejected the ‘revised text’ tabled by the Bush administration.

US Under Secretary of State John Botton told reporters in Moscow after meeting Ivanov that the issue of Iraq was raised by the Russian Foreign Minister. He, however, declined to divulge any details.

"Though this issue was touched upon by the Russian Foreign Minister, but the negotiations on the new text of the resolution were not part of my mission," Bolton was quoted as saying by Itar-Tass.

Just hours before bolton called on Ivanov, Russian news agencies quoting unnamed "well-informed sources" said Moscow was "disappointed" at the so-called watered down "revised text" of the resolution proposed by Washington.

"Even though we still need to study all the clauses of the draft resolution in detail, what catches the eye is that, on the whole, there is little difference in the principal issues between the new draft and the previous Anglo-American proposals, which russia and other permanent members of the UN Security Council found unaccetable", the sources in Moscow were quoted by Itar-Tass, Interfax and Ria Novosti.

"Such developments provoke disappointment, especially taking into account the fact that the US official representatives have been doing a lot of talk about the readiness to consider the stances of other nations and to reach a mutually-acceptable compromise", said the sources. (PTI)

Lankan election possible after court ruling

COLOMBO, Oct 22: Sri Lanka faces the prospect of a snap election and the possibility of peace talks being held up after a court ruled today that the Government must hold a referendum if it wants to amend the constitution.

The Supreme Court ruled that the Government had to call a referendum if it proceeded with an amendment to limit the President’s power to dissolve Parliament.

The Government has already rejected that and said it could go to the polls, throwing up a period of political uncertainty just as the Government and Tamil tiger rebels have started their first direct talks in seven years to end a war that has killed 64,000.

There was no immediate comment from the Government after the widely leaked ruling was read out by Parliament Speaker Joseph Michael Perera, saying changes to clip President Chandrika Kumaratunga’s powers had to be passed by two-thirds of Parliament "and approved by the people at a referendum".

"The government is studying the judgment," said spokesman Gairuka Perusinghe.

Constitutional Affairs Minister G L Peiris said last week the Government would consider an election if the Supreme Court ruled for a referendum.

It was not clear how an election would help the Government, which could pick up seats but was not expected to win overwhelmingly.

"Elections will not help them as it is highly unlikely they will get the two-thirds majority," said political analyst Paikiasothy Saravanamuttu of the Center for Policy Alternatives.

"When they go through their options they don’t have many but to try to get along with the President," he said.

Kumaratunga is elected separately from the Government and has been critical of Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe’s efforts to end the war with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). (AGENCIES)

US signals patience ebbing on UN-Iraq talks

DOWNINGTOWN, PA., Oct 22: The White House today signaled that US patience was limited in the negotiations over a new UN resolution on Iraqi disarmament, a day after Washington unveiled a new draft resolution.

"We will continue to work in the United Nations," White House spokesman Ari Fleischer told reporters on air force one as US President George W Bush traveled to Pennsylvania. "It is coming down to the end. The United Nations does not have forever, and we’ll continue to work it and see when we get an agreement, if we get an agreement, how to proceed."

Anxious to get quick approval for any future action against Iraq, the United States yesterday gave the other four permanent Security Council members a new draft resolution, but no decisions were reached.

The new US proposals, which included several compromises, gave hope for a breakthrough after a monthlong deadlock among the Council’s five permanent members with veto power — the United States, France, Britain, Russia and China.

"For the sake of having an international body which is effective, the United Nations must be resolved to deal with this person," Bush, referring to Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, said at a Pennsylvania Republican campaign rally.

"If the United Nations can’t make its mind up, if Saddam Hussein won’t disarm, we will lead a coalition to disarm him for the sake of peace," Bush said.

As US diplomats continued to lobby the United Nations on Iraq, Fleischer said the United States continued to favor a single resolution, mandating Iraqi compliance with disarmament and inspection terms. Such a resolution would pave the way for military force if Iraq failed to comply.

"They’re at a point where they’re going to get an agreement or not soon," Fleischer said.

Fleischer shrugged off criticism from Russia that the new US draft resolution was unacceptable.

"I think you can anticipate, as we’ve seen throughout this multi-week process, a series of statements, sometimes which are not supported by what is said in private," Fleischer said.

Fleischer played down comments by Bush on Monday suggesting that if Saddam were to comply with all UN resolutions, that may satisfy US policy seeking "regime change" in Iraq. He referred to the issue as "the mother of all hypotheticals."

"The objective is for Saddam Hussein’s Iraq to disarm, to stop threatening its neighbors, to stop oppressing minorities," Fleischer said. "In the event Saddam Hussein gives the order and under his leadership and direction disarms Iraq, gives up its weapons of mass destruction ... (and stops) using hostility as a way to deal with his neighbors, stops repressing minorities ... Give me a call."

Asked whether the issue was a question of policies and not personnel, he said, "that’s a good way to put it." (AGENCIES)

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