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Vajpayee joins world NEW YORK, Sept 12: Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee joined leaders from 91 countries in paying homage to the victims.........more Saddam
well sheltered BELGRADE, Sept 12: If America wants to remove President Saddam Hussein it will have to go in and get him, according........more IAF to be first air force IRKUTSK (RUSSIA), Sept 12: The Indian Air Force will soon become the world’s first air force to.....more Iraq says will repel any BAGHDAD, Sep 12: Iraq warned the United States today it was ready to repel any invasion with every....more |
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US should not
supply F-16s to Pak: Kanwal Sibal NEW YORK, Sept 12: India today expressed confidence that the United States would not supply F-16 .......more Vajpayee joins NEW YORK, Sept 12: Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee joined leaders from 91 countries in pay........more US to rejoin UNESCO UNITED NATIONS, Sept 12: The United States will rejoin the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural .......more Bush warns UN inaction UNITED NATIONS, Sept 12: Making a strong bid for international support to his plans for an attack...more |
Vajpayee
joins world leaders for homage NEW YORK, Sept 12: Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee joined leaders from 91 countries in paying homage to the victims of the September 11 terrorist attacks on the US and watched an eternal flame lit in memory of the dead that included over 100 Indians. In a twilight ceremony at battery park here yesterday, Vajpayee along with the world leaders whose nationals had perished exactly a year ago, stood under their respective flags as Mayor Michael Bloomberg lit the ‘eternal flame’ at the sit of the collapsed twin towers of the World Trade Centre. The leaders then slowly filed past the flame which will be part of a permanent memorial to the 2,801 people who died in the attacks. Each leader was given a candle which was lit after the ceremony in the memory of their nationals killed in the dastardly attack. Among those who lost their lives were 100 Indians most of whom worked in financial companies or were computer experts. The leaders are in New York for the annual UN General Assembly session. The leaders held the candles as "America, the beautiful" was sung. They were not lit at that time because of strong winds blowing at the ground zero, which occasionally raised small sand storms. Present among the leaders was afghan president Hamid Karzai who had escaped an assassination attempt only a few days back. Earlier in the day, during a meeting between them, Vajpayee had expressed relief at his escape. President George Bush, who had attended several remembrance ceremonies during the day, was not present and was represented by Secretary of State Colin Powell. Powell and United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan flanked bloomberg as he lit the ‘flame’ which would burn in perpetuity in the memory of those killed and a reminder that terrorism needs to be fought at all levels and at all times. The flame was lit as the sun went down at "sphere memorial," a sculpture which was on top of a fountain in the center of the World Trade Center Plaza with the illuminated statue of liberty as the backdrop. Before the ceremony, air force jets in formation flew over the park. The solemn ceremony marked the end of day-long functions held across the country to commemorate the day which changed the life in the United States forever, brought heightened sense of security and compromised some of the civil liberties. The day saw a high-level of security especially in New York where world leaders have gathered for the United Nations General Assembly session with law enforcement officials guarding bridges, tunnels, high rise buildings and major landmarks. The local police force was strengthened with addition of national guards, teams of special operations officers, FBI agents and bio-terrorism experts. Fighter planes patrolled the skies and coast guard kept vigil around harbours. In New York, the day began with predawn processions of bagpipes and drums from five boroughs converging on the ground zero where names of all 2,801 people who perished when the towers collapsed were read out by leaders, including powell and former Mayor Guiliani. Silence was observed at the time the planes hijacked by terrorists hit the towers and when the towers collapsed trapping hundreds, including fire fighters and police officers who had rushed in to rescue of the people as fire spread. Prayers and concerts were held to mark the day and fire companies whose personnel had died in the attack, held their own private ceremonies. Thousands of relatives of the victims laid wreaths and scattered flowers at the site to pay homage of their loved ones, some whose remains have not been found. But the ceremonies did not disrupt the normal life as schools and businesses were open and transport plied as usual. However, work stopped for a while as workers observed a minute’s silence. The ceremony at the ground zero was broadcast live and traffic in times square slowed and at times came to a halt as people paused to look at huge television screens projecting it. Terrorists had hijacked four long distance passenger jetliners on Sept 11 last year and crashed them into twin towers and pentagon. The fourth had crashed as passengers struggled with the terrorists to take control of the plane. The first tower was hit at 0846 (1816 ist) and second at 0903 (1833 ist). The first tower collapsed at 0959 (1929 ist) and second at 1029 (1959 ist). Meanwhile, the UN Security Council reminded the members states that it was their "mandatory obligation" to fight terrorism. "We were attacked as a world community," Secretary General Kofi Annan said, referring to the fact that nationals of 92 countries had died in the attack. During the brief council meeting and earlier at a commemoration, diplomats and employees of the world body renewed their pledge to work for world peace and amity and fight terrorism everywhere. Colin Powell, who received messages of sympathy and solidarity from several world leaders, stressed the need to unitedly fight terrorism. "We are all in this together," he said. The brief ceremony ended with a minute’s silence. In a consensus statement, the Council urged all states and regional and sub regional groups to "build on their cooperation." Powell said every day somewhere in the world, terrorist are being arrested and cells broken up. Their financial "bloodlines" are being severed and their plans are being disrupted. In a ceremony organized by the United Nations, Ambassadors and officials commemorated the anniversary with short speeches, poems and expression of personal feelings. At an interfaith prayer meeting, people of all faiths joined in paying homage to the victims. (PTI) |
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Saddam well sheltered from bombing, says engineer BELGRADE, Sept 12: If America wants to remove President Saddam Hussein it will have to go in and get him, according to a Yugoslav construction engineer who helped build Iraq’s deep underground bomb shelters. "Conventional weapons can hardly reach him and I don’t believe the U S can get rid of him that way," he told in an interview this week. The engineer was one of the lead team from the former Balkan Federation contracted to build the Iraqi defence infrastructure in the 1980s. He spoke on condition of anonymity. "Saddam’s shelters can resist a direct hit by a TNT bomb of 2,000 km, or a 20 kiloton explosion as close as a kilometre away," he said. A year after 3,000 people were killed in the September 11 attacks on america, President George W Bush is seeking support from allies to remove the Iraqi leader and the alleged threat posed by a mass-destruction arsenal he is said to possess. The grey-haired engineer, who has visited almost all the defence construction sites in Iraq, said it would be extremely hard to kill Saddam by bombing alone. Saddam’s shelters are buried under a minimum of 30 metres of stone and very difficult to destroy, the engineer said. They are a copy of those built for Yugoslavia’s late Marshal Tito, the Communist dictator who ruled through the cold war until his death in 1980 and cultivated close ties with Iraq, Iran, India, Egypt, Libya, Cuba, North Korea, China and others. "So far, they have successfully passed three tests," the engineer said of the shelters, referring to the 1991 Gulf war against Iraq, the 1992-95 Bosnian war and NATO’s 78-day bombing of Yugoslavia in 1999. The engineer said his personal contacts with Saddam secured jobs for firms from the old Yugoslav Federation of six republics to build military installations in Iraq in the 1980s. They built the entire system of underground command posts, air-raid and tank shelters as well as underground hospitals across Iraq, he said. The shelters are like those constructed for tito in several locations around the former Yugoslavia, equipped with a mix of Russian and American technology. Their design is assumed by now to be familiar to the U S military, which has peacekeeping forces in both Bosnia and Kosovo. Some can accommodate up to 500 people and provide enough air, food, water, fuel for a month, the engineer said. "But if all exits are closed, they can survive for only 96 hours." (AGENCIES) |
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IAF to be first air force with new generation of fighter jets IRKUTSK (RUSSIA), Sept 12: The Indian Air Force will soon become the world’s first air force to induct state-of-the-art SU30 MKI fighters powered with thrust vectoring engines that provide "unprecedented manouvreability," by the end of this month. Talking to PTI at a ceremony marking the completion of assembly of the first batch of the ten SU-30 MKI multirole fighters, Chief De Signer of Lyulka-Saturn Aircraft Engine Design Bureau Viktor Chepkin said "as of today not a single air force in the world, including russia and us, have fighters with thrust vectoring." "All the contemporary fighters have jet engines with fixed nozzles, while AL-31F engine nozzles can take a 360 degree turn providing unprecedented manouverability to SU-30 MKI," he said. After completion of formalities Russia will airlift the last two of the first batch on board a ‘Ruslan’ cargo plane and the first squadron of SU-30MKI jets is expected to be commissioned by the end of this month. Russia began supplies of SU-30 MKIs in June this year. The new generation engine fitted on MKI - which aviation experts call ‘power plant’, has 1:8 mass-thrust ratio. Chepkin said with the progress of technology transfer to Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL), this engine would be fully built in India eventually. President of Irkut Aircraft Corporation Alexy Fyodorov said the completion of first 10 SU-30MKI was a challenging task for his plant, since the fighter has been equipped with "ultimate" avionics and other equipment made in Russia, India, Israel and France. "The biggest challenge was to integrate them all on SU-30MKI platform," Fyodorov said. In November 1996 India had signed 1.8 billion-dollar contract for purchase of 50 SU-30 fighters. Russia has already supplied 18 basic versions of SU-30, which would be upgraded to MKI after 2003. Russia began supplies of SU-30MKI in June. By the middle of next year another 12 fighters would be shipped to India and the final batch of 10 fighters would be delivered by the end of next year. In 2004 HAL would start the production of SU-30MKI at its Nasik Plant under a USD 3.3 billion license deal signed two years ago for the production of 140 SU-30MKI over a span of 15 years. (PTI) |
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Iraq says will repel any attack with knives, stones BAGHDAD, Sep 12: Iraq warned the United States today it was ready to repel any invasion with every weapon at its disposal, even kitchen knives, sticks and stones. Speaking only hours before U.S. President George W. Bush was due to address the U.N. General Assembly on Iraq, Iraqi Foreign Minister Maji Sabri said Iraq still hoped to avoid any attack. "But if we are attacked, we will choose our own means by using everything at our disposal, even sticks, kitchen knives, our hands and stones," he told Reuters in an interview before leaving for New York to attend the General Assembly meeting. "We shall never let those zionists invade our country," he said. Washington accuses Iraq of being part of an "axis of evil" seeking weapons of mass destruction, and Bush’s speech comes amid mounting speculation that the United States is preparing to attack Baghdad to topple Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein. Bush will deliver a toughly worded challenge to the United Nations in his speech, saying it must force Iraq to disarm or risk irrelevance. Implicit in Bush’s message will be that the United States stands ready to act on its own, but aides involved in preparing his speech said Bush would not be delivering an ultimatum, essentially giving the United Nations a last chance to act. U.N. arms experts, who began work in Iraq after the 1991 Gulf war over Kuwait, left Iraq in December 1998 ahead of a U.S.-British campaign to punish Baghdad for its alleged failure to cooperate with them. Sabri said Iraq was ready to accept weapons inspections in line with U.N. Resolutions, restating Iraq’s position that the inspectors’ return must be part of a comprehensive solution that includes lifting of sanctions imposed for Iraq’s occupation of Kuwait in 1990. The United Nations insists weapons inspectors return unconditionally and be allowed full access to Iraqi facilities. "We look to the return of inspectors within the (U.N.) Security Council’s resolutions, and if the return is done in accordance with these resolutions and to serve the purpose of the United Nations, we have no problem with that," Sabri said. Under the U.N. resolutions, the crippling 12-year-old sanctions on Iraq will be lifted once Baghdad destroys its weapons of mass destruction. Iraq has said for years that such weapons have been destroyed and has branded U.S. and British claims that it is rebuilding its banned weapons programmes as "lies". "The return of inspectors is part of one resolution and there are other resolutions...And we want all these resolutions implemented not only one part," Sabri said. Sabri said Washington was manipulating the issue of weapons inspections as a pretext for launching military action and extending its influence in the Middle East that would ultimately give it control of the region’s oil. "The matter has nothing to do with weapons of mass destruction. The aim is to control this region and to weaken all Arab countries and make Israel number one (as) the ruling and dominating force in this region. "The United States wants to control oil of the region, controlling Iraqi oil, Saudi oil and Gulf oil so as to be the first power to decide economic growth rate," he said. Iraq has the second largest oil reserves in the world behind Saudi Arabia. (AGENCIES) |
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US should not supply F-16s to Pak: Kanwal Sibal NEW YORK, Sept 12: India today expressed confidence that the United States would not supply F-16 fighter planes to Pakistan as that would lead to further tension in the region. Pakistan is an ally of the US in the fight against terrorism but we are sure no responsible country will supply military Hardware to Pakistan, which is sponsoring cross-border terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir , Foreign Secretary Kanwal Sibal told reporters here. His comments came in the wake of Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf’s statement in an interview in which he asked the Bush administration to resume arms sales to Pakistan, which were suspended after it conducted nuclear tests in May 1998. The Foreign Secretary said there was certainly a contradiction in the US stand on the issue of terrorism. On one hand, Pakistan is an ally of the US in the global fight against terrorism, while on the other Islamabad is supporting infiltration and cross-border terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir , he said. This, he said, was a contradiction which the US would have to resolve itself. It is a diplomatic challenge for them (US). Mr Sibal, who was in moscow prior to reaching here to join the Prime Minister’s delegation, said India and Russia had decided to set up a Joint Working Group (JWG) on terrorism. New Delhi had formed such a group with many other countries to combat the menace. He said the Russians fully understood India’s position on Jammu and Kashmir and wanted Pakistan to stay away from the coming Assembly elections. India and Russia had also agreed to cooperate in harnessing energy for peaceful purposes. India had agreed to invest 1.7 million dollars at Sakhalin in Russia to tap the area’s energy potential. Mr Sibal said it was natural for India to brief other countries during bilateral meetings on Pakistan’s involvement in terrorist activities in India. External Affairs Minister Yashwant Sinha, at a luncheon meeting with his French counterpart dominque de villepin, explained to him how Islamabad was trying to subvert the poll process in Jammu and Kashmir. The French Minister said his country would continue to press Pakistan to stop supporting the anti-India activities of terrorist groups. We will continue to work with the international community to prevail on Pakistan to stop cross-border terrorism , he said. Mr Villepin also pointed out that no country was condoning Pakistan for its role in encouraging terrorism. He also told Mr Sinha that France was not supplying any weaponry to pakistan despite repeated requests. (UNI) |
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Vajpayee joins world leaders for
homage NEW YORK, Sept 12: Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee joined leaders from 91 countries in paying homage to the victims of the September 11 terrorist attacks on the US and watched an eternal flame lit in memory of the dead that included over 100 Indians. In a twilight ceremony at battery park here yesterday, Vajpayee along with the world leaders whose nationals had perished exactly a year ago, stood under their respective flags as Mayor Michael Bloomberg lit the ‘eternal flame’ at the sit of the collapsed twin towers of the World Trade Centre. The leaders then slowly filed past the flame which will be part of a permanent memorial to the 2,801 people who died in the attacks. Each leader was given a candle which was lit after the ceremony in the memory of their nationals killed in the dastardly attack. Among those who lost their lives were 100 Indians most of whom worked in financial companies or were computer experts. The leaders are in New York for the annual UN General Assembly session. The leaders held the candles as "America, the beautiful" was sung. They were not lit at that time because of strong winds blowing at the ground zero, which occasionally raised small sand storms. Present among the leaders was afghan president Hamid Karzai who had escaped an assassination attempt only a few days back. Earlier in the day, during a meeting between them, Vajpayee had expressed relief at his escape. President George Bush, who had attended several remembrance ceremonies during the day, was not present and was represented by Secretary of State Colin Powell. Powell and United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan flanked bloomberg as he lit the ‘flame’ which would burn in perpetuity in the memory of those killed and a reminder that terrorism needs to be fought at all levels and at all times. The flame was lit as the sun went down at "sphere memorial," a sculpture which was on top of a fountain in the center of the World Trade Center Plaza with the illuminated statue of liberty as the backdrop. Before the ceremony, air force jets in formation flew over the park. The solemn ceremony marked the end of day-long functions held across the country to commemorate the day which changed the life in the United States forever, brought heightened sense of security and compromised some of the civil liberties. The day saw a high-level of security especially in New York where world leaders have gathered for the United Nations General Assembly session with law enforcement officials guarding bridges, tunnels, high rise buildings and major landmarks. The local police force was strengthened with addition of national guards, teams of special operations officers, FBI agents and bio-terrorism experts. Fighter planes patrolled the skies and coast guard kept vigil around harbours. In New York, the day began with predawn processions of bagpipes and drums from five boroughs converging on the ground zero where names of all 2,801 people who perished when the towers collapsed were read out by leaders, including powell and former Mayor Guiliani. Silence was observed at the time the planes hijacked by terrorists hit the towers and when the towers collapsed trapping hundreds, including fire fighters and police officers who had rushed in to rescue of the people as fire spread. Prayers and concerts were held to mark the day and fire companies whose personnel had died in the attack, held their own private ceremonies. Thousands of relatives of the victims laid wreaths and scattered flowers at the site to pay homage of their loved ones, some whose remains have not been found. But the ceremonies did not disrupt the normal life as schools and businesses were open and transport plied as usual. However, work stopped for a while as workers observed a minute’s silence. The ceremony at the ground zero was broadcast live and traffic in times square slowed and at times came to a halt as people paused to look at huge television screens projecting it. Terrorists had hijacked four long distance passenger jetliners on Sept 11 last year and crashed them into twin towers and pentagon. The fourth had crashed as passengers struggled with the terrorists to take control of the plane. The first tower was hit at 0846 (1816 ist) and second at 0903 (1833 ist). The first tower collapsed at 0959 (1929 ist) and second at 1029 (1959 ist). Meanwhile, the UN Security Council reminded the members states that it was their "mandatory obligation" to fight terrorism. "We were attacked as a world community," Secretary General Kofi Annan said, referring to the fact that nationals of 92 countries had died in the attack. During the brief council meeting and earlier at a commemoration, diplomats and employees of the world body renewed their pledge to work for world peace and amity and fight terrorism everywhere. Colin Powell, who received messages of sympathy and solidarity from several world leaders, stressed the need to unitedly fight terrorism. "We are all in this together," he said. The brief ceremony ended with a minute’s silence. In a consensus statement, the Council urged all states and regional and sub regional groups to "build on their cooperation." Powell said every day somewhere in the world, terrorist are being arrested and cells broken up. Their financial "bloodlines" are being severed and their plans are being disrupted. In a ceremony organized by the United Nations, Ambassadors and officials commemorated the anniversary with short speeches, poems and expression of personal feelings. At an interfaith prayer meeting, people of all faiths joined in paying homage to the victims. (PTI) |
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US to rejoin UNESCO after 18-year absence: Bush UNITED NATIONS, Sept 12: The United States will rejoin the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) after an 18-year absence as a sign of its "commitment to human dignity," US President George W Bush said today. "As a symbol of our commitment to human dignity, the United States will return to UNESCO," Bush said in an address to the UN General Assembly. "This organization has been reformed and America will participate fully in its mission to advance human rights, tolerance and learning," he said. Washington withdrew from the Paris-based UN agency in 1984 to protest the way the organization was managed and plans for it to impose a " new world information order" that it feared could restrict press freedoms. A senior US official, speaking to reporters on condition of anonymity, said the United States still had concerns about UNESCO but that they were relatively minor and could be addressed. "We felt that this was the right time to come back in," the official said. (AFP) |
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Bush warns UN inaction against
Saddam UNITED NATIONS, Sept 12: Making a strong bid for international support to his plans for an attack on Iraq, US President George W Bush today demanded that the UN confront Saddam Hussein "if it wants to survive" and warned that inaction would lead to its losing relevance. "Saddam Hussein’s regime is a grave and gathering danger" to the world and if he was allowed to develop nuclear weapons, the international community’s ability to confront him "will narrow," Bush said in his address to the UN General Assembly (UNGA) session shortly after its inauguration. He warned that "if the UN does not act, it will become irrelevant." Citing 16 UN resolutions of the Security Council which "Saddam Hussein has violated," he said the world body must help "build a republic that represents all Iraqis - a Government based on respect for human rights, economic liberty and internationally supervised elections." Significantly, he did not confine his demand for implementing those resolutions, a list of which had been released by the White House hours before the speech. "Liberty for the Iraqi people," Bush said, "is a great moral cause, and a great strategic goal. The people of Iraq deserve it; the security of our nations requires it." "The US," he said, "supports political and economic liberty for a unified Iraq," and suggested that democracy in iraq would spread to the rest of the Muslim world. In an apparent reference to US determination to act against Saddam Hussein unilaterally if the rest of the nations "ignore his violations of Security Council resolutions," Bush said that the UN must stand for the common security and for the permanent rights and hopes of mankind. "By heritage and by choice," he said, "the United States of America will make that stand. Delegates! you have the pwoer to make that stand as well." He also pledged support for "an independent, democratic Palestine living side by side with Israel in peace and security." In an indirect reference to the US call for a new leadership for Palestinians, Bush said: "The Palestinians deserve a Government that serves their interests and listens to their voices." (PTI) No unilateral action against Iraq UNITED NATIONS, Sept 12: UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan challenged US President George W Bush’s policies on Iraq and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in his opening address to the UN General Assembly on Thursday. Annan stressed that while any country had the right to fight back when attacked, only the United Sations could authorize the use of force in cases that go beyond straight forward self-defense, according to his prepared text. His office took the unusual step of releasing his speech late on Wednesday. He addresses the 190-member Assembly minutes before Bush speaks on Thursday morning. Aides said he gave US officials a copy in advance. The United States responded to last year’s Sept. 11 attacks with a war to oust Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers who had sheltered Osama bin Laden’s Al Qaeda network, thought to be behind the suicide-hijacks that killed over 3,000 people. Bush and his top aides have since spoken of extending their "war on terror" to Iraq, accusing it of seeking weapons of mass destruction for possible use against the US or its allies. Iraq denies the charges and no evidence has emerged linking Baghdad to the attacks on New York and Washington. Without referring directly to US talk of a pre-emptive strike on Iraq, Annan said: "When states decide to use force to deal with broader threats to international peace and security, there is no substitute for the unique legitimacy provided by the United Nations. "I stand before you today as a multilateralist by precedent, by principle, by charter and by duty," he said. Taking another stance at odds with US priorities, Annan renewed a call for an early international peace conference on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict — an idea which Washington itself proposed in May, but has since dropped. Bush will explain why he thinks iraq threatens the world and challenge the United Nations to respond. He is to say washington would act if the world body failed to do so. Bush will face an audience of world leaders who have opposed any war on Iraq, or at least voiced misgivings. Annan, in his address, said: "The more a country makes use of multilateral institutions — thereby respecting shared values, and accepting the obligations and restraints inherent in those values —the more others will trust and respect it, and the stronger its chance to exercise true leadership." UN Umbrella He said UN member states were more willing to act with authorization from the 15-member UN Security Council than without it. "Even the most powerful countries know that they need to work with others, in multilateral institutions, to achieve their aims," Annan said in a swipe at a US administration that has often seemed impatient with a multilateral approach. Many European, Arab and other nations have voiced dismay at a US drive to topple Iraqi President Saddam Hussein — with or without fresh Security Council approval — in a bid to halt his alleged attempts to acquire weapons of mass destruction. Annan, who said this month it would be "unwise to attack iraq," also told the General Assembly Iraq was defying Security Council resolutions and should readmit IN Weapons Inspectors. Accounting for Iraq’s nuclear, chemical, biological and ballistic missile programs is key to suspending UN sanctions, imposed 12 years ago when Baghdad invaded Kuwait. "If Iraq’s defiance continues, the Security Council must face its responsibilities," Annan declared, in a formula that clearly does not rule out UN-authorized military action. The Bush administration won unstinting UN support for a struggle against terrorism after the Sept. 11 attacks. But it has annoyed many countries by spurning global initiatives such as the Kyoto Protocol on greenhouse gases and treaties against biological weapons, nuclear testing and landmines, by opposing the new international criminal court and by failing to pay 1.2 billion it owes to the United Nations. The United States has also come under fire from many of its European and Arab allies for echoing Israel’s insistence that the Palestinians must change their leaders and stop all violence before progress can be made on the political front. Annan, however, said a widely accepted vision of a two-state solution to the conflict, could be reached "only if we move rapidly and in parallel on all fronts." On Afghanistan, Annan said President Hamid Karzai’s Government needs help to extend its authority throughout the country. "Without this, all else may fail," he said. He urged donors to keep their pledges to help rebuild the war-shattered nation. "Otherwise the Afghan people will lose hope — and desperation, we know, breeds violence," he said. (AGENCIES) Sharif’s brother disqualified from elections LAHORE, Sept 12: Pakistani authorities today rejected a bid by Shahbaz Sharif, the leader of the major opposition party the Pakistan Muslim League (PML-N) and brother of former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, to contest October elections, officials said. An election tribunal rejected Shahbaz’s candidacy saying he was a defaulter on a bank loan and was therefore not eligible to run under the rules, they said. He is the second main opposition leader to be thrown out of the election race after former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, whose nomination papers were rejected from all three seats in Southern Sindh province. The election tribunal also tossed off nomination paper of Nawaz Sharif’s wife, Kulsoom Nawaz on the grounds that her documents lacked proper attestation. "Neither the papers were duly attested nor the signatures verified," the two-member election tribunal said. The Sharif family, living in exile in Saudi Arabia since December 2000, is accused of defaulting on repayments of loans amounting to millions of dollars obtained for their industrial units in Pakistan. Sharif’s nomination was accepted by the election commission last month but he formally withdrew today in what he called solidarity with Bhutto, his former bitter rival and leader of Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP). While the top leaders of PML-N and ppp are out of the race, their parties have been cleared to contest the October 10 elections, the first under military ruler Pervez Musharraf who seized power by toppling Sharif in a coup three years ago. (AFP) |
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