Security tightened in Islamabad after attacks

ISLAMABAD, Nov 13: Security was today tightened in Islamabad as authorities widened an investigation into who was behind the launching of six rockets at US and UN facilities in the middle of the busy Pakistani capital.

No one has claimed responsibility for the attacks, which the United States has linked to UN sanctions set to take effect tomorrow against Afghanistan’s ruling Taliban movement, while some Pakistani officials have blamed India, the traditional scapegoat for such incidents.

Extra police were posted at the entrances to the diplomatic enclave which houses most of the Embassies, and from where two of the rockets were launched, missing the US Embassy and apparently passing over the Canadian and Iranian Embassies.

A Pakistani guard at an American Cultural Centre was the only injury.

"It’s a barbaric way to send a message if that’s what it is," White House spokesman Joe Lockhart said in Washington.

UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan urged Pakistani authorities to bring to justice the perpetrators of the "cowardly terrorist" rocket attacks.

Sanctions on Afghanistan

The attacks came two days before US-inspired sanctions were to be imposed on the Taleban unless Afghanistan deports Saudi-born dissident Osama Bin Laden to face charges he masterminded the bombing of two US Embassies in Africa last year that killed more than 200 people.

A US intelligence official, noting the attacks targeted UN offices, told Reuters in Washington: "It’s looking like it’s probably related somehow to the UN sanctions issue."

The imminent UN sanctions have already caused protests in Afghanistan. The UN office in Kandahar was stoned during a demonstration by 50,000 people on Wednesday, but a UN official said regular Sunday UN flights into Afghanistan would operate normally.

"As of now, those flights will go ahead with people going in and out," said Stephanie Bunker, a spokeswoman for the UN office which oversees aid for Afghanistan.

The sanctions will impose financial and aviation restrictions but will not stop humanitarian aid.

The White House stressed that the sanctions would go ahead as scheduled if the Taleban did not deport Bin Laden.

"What is clear is our resolve in fighting terror around the world and our resolve to continue a policy of dealing directly through sanctions with those who promote terror," Lockhart said.

The Taleban’s supreme leader, Mullah Mohammad Omar, condemned the attack. In a statement faxed to Reuters in the Pakistani town of Peshawar, Omar said, "the Islamic emirate of Afghanistan has always condemned terrorism and continues to condemn it."

Security meeting

A security officer at one Western Embassy said a meeting would be held with Islamabad police today to look at ways to step up security.

The police announced an immediate crackdown on vehicles equipped with tinted glass. Two of the three vehicles from which the rockets were launched had tinted glass, which made it difficult to see the homemade rocket launchers bolted inside.

"We will not spare any vehicle with tinted glass and immediately impound it", Nasir Durrani, the senior Superintendent of Police for Islamabad, told reporters.

The US Embassy issued a warning to Americans "to exercise extreme caution and limit travel outside their homes for security reasons". (REUTERS)

White House officials cast new doubt on Clinton visit

WASHINGTON, Nov 13: For the first time in some months now, White House officials appeared to cast some serious doubt whether President Clinton will visit South Asia at all under present circumstances.

At a press briefing, National Security Adviser Sandy Berger was cagey. Persistent questioning by the media whether it is possible for Clinton to go only to India in view of the coup in Pakistan, and in the face of reported warnings by General Musharraf’s Special Envoy Yaqub Khan against dropping Islamabad from iternary elicited nothing much on the same question.

White House Press Secretary Joe Lockhart said that he had no schedule to announce for the President.

Lockhart was more forthcoming, saying the President has indicated he would like to travel to South Asia. He would like to visit these areas. But there are things that need to happen before a trip like that would become viable. And when the conditions are ready, we will let you know.

Asked what are the things?. Lockhart said there are a number of things on the issues of non-proliferation that we talked about last year in the wake of testing in India and Pakistan. And there are a number of other areas.

I am not going to get into a menu here. We have talked directly with the Governments. I think they know what our feelings are. And when we are ready to announce a trip, we will announce it, White House Press Secretary said.

Last year, diplomatic observers said, the US had thrown a huge list to Indian and Pakistani officials to pave the way for Presidential visit. The list included signing and ratifying the test ban treaty, the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, no more fissile material production, no more missile testing, no deployment of missiles, no nuclearisation of missiles, Indo-Pakistan dialogue to settle Kashmir.

The list seeemed growing by the day with the P-5, G-9 Security Council, Chinese and everyone else being brought in and spokesmen vying with each other to enlarge the list.

Then came the cold shower of realism as a result of the Jaswant Singh-Talbott talks, but President Clinton has now reported to Congress that there is little progress in Indo-US dialogue though officials had earlier reported some progress.

National Security Advisor Berger said: I would not advise the President from this podium (press conference). Obviously, the President has wanted to visit the region and he continues to want to do so. A coup in Islamabad complicates the situation but at this point no decisions have been made.

Diplomatic observers said that the word complicate is now the favourite expression of the administration in discussing India and Pakistan. The President has used it many times in the Indo-Pakistan context. (PTI)

India targets exports worth 60 bln dlrs through IT: Pant

SILICON VALLEY (US), Nov 13: The Government of India has chalked out a multi-pronged strategy for the development of the IT sector in the country for annual export earnings of 60 billion dollars by the year 2008 from software and computer and telecom hardware.

India needs to further consolidate its position as the leading provider of offshore IT services and therefore our emphasis is on developing strategy and policies which facilitate and enable entrepreneurs on one side and deployment of public and private resources on the other, Deputy Chairman, Planning Commission, K C Pant said.

Addressing a meeting of Indo-US entreprenures on ‘future of ecomnomic reform process in India’ at Silicon Valley here on Wednesday, Pant said Government had provided Rs 100 crore towards setting up a venture capital fund for the IT industries, for which all legal formalities had been completed.

The Government was encouraging Indian software companies to invest abroad for acquisition of software/IT companies in order to increase India’s market presence abroad, he said.

Reserve Bank of India (RBI) had approved up to 50 per cent of their foreign exchange earnings in the past three years subject to a maximum of 25 million dollars for Indian companies to undertake investments abroad, Pant said adding proposals to liberalise this limit further was being considered.

Inviting foreign participation in the IT sector through joint venture route or through setting up of units in India, Pant said India was formulating a policy to achieve the target of a 50 billion dollar worth of annual export of IT software and IT services by the year 2008.

Another 10 billion dollars of revenue is being targeted by India through computer and telecom hardware exports, he said adding India must create products as well as shrink-wrapped software packages for the global markets.

In order to realise a goal of IT for all by 2008 in India, we would require rapid spread of IT awareness among the citizens, propagation of IT literacy, networked Government and IT led economic development, Pant said.

He said that the country was also working on a drive for setting up a world class info-infrastructure with an extensive spread of fibre optic network, Satcom networks and wireless networks for seamlessly interconnecting the local informatics infrastructure and national informatics infrastructure.

Stating that Government was providing a corpus of Rs 100 crore towards setting up a venture capital fund for the IT industry, Pant said a number of other venture capital funds particularly from Unit Trust of India (UTI) and Satyam were in the pipeline.

Pant said the Cabinet had already approved a bill for establishing the legal framework for facilitating E-commerce in India and the bill would be introduced in Winter session of Parliament. (PTI)

Chinese cities being threatened by a wave of juvenile crime

BEIJING, Nov 13: If the popular Chinese press these days is anything to go by, the country’s cities are being threatened by a wave of juvenile crime.

Reports in some of China’s popular newspapers, such as ‘Beijing Youth Daily’ and ‘China Youth Daily’, have shocked their readers by accounts of hanging, rape, hit-and-run cases and cold-blooded murder.

All the more shocking to many Chinese is the fact that many of the crimes were committed by teen-agers for no real reason — or even just for kicks.

China’s judicial authority reports that the rate of juvenile crime in the country has increased by 0.6 per cent over the 1991-99 period, and that juvenile delinquents now comprise 35 per cent of the total number of prisoners in the country.

To combat this deterioration of public order, the National People’s Congress recently promulgated the "law on prevention of juvenile delinquency".

To coincide with the introduction of this law on Nov 1, a 10-day-long exhibition, "for tomorrow", is ongoing in Beijing organised by the Ministry of Public Security and the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Youth League.

In the first couple of days of the exhibition at the city’s military museum, busloads of primary and middle school students arrived at the Austere building to be marched through the sometimes gory exhibit by their teachers.

In its first week, the ‘for tomorrow’ exhibition attracted 50,000 visitors from many of the capital’s schools.

In the pre-reform era, up until 1978, the crime rate was low and incidences of reports about it even lower. With greater social freedom, incomes and vices, more crimes are being committed and reported these days.

Indeed, students at the exhibit stood open-mouthed before photographs of gory crime scenes and shocking accounts of criminal cases.

One case involved a 15-year-old boy who, with the aid of his classmate, hung his mother after she refused to pay his gambling debts.

Another 16 year-old, after being jilted by his girlfriend, stole a car and knocked down couples who were walking hand in hand.

A 14-year-old boy went next door and stabbed his neighbour to death after watching a violent crime movie. He later said that he killed "just to see if the police could catch me".

"The exhibition is a good start to make society aware that our children’s futures are in jeopardy because of various bad influences now within reach of our young people," says Zhang Liqun, chairman of the China’s Juvenile Crime Study Society.

Zhang says he disturbed by the fact that many juvenile crimes were committed for seemingly reason. He cited the case of an undergraduate, who killed his roommates as they lay in their beds only because they were snoring.

"I can hardly believe it," says a 13-year-old visitor. "Killing people for snoring — he must be crazy."

Zhang, 82, feels sorry for under-age criminals and believes that juvenile delinquency is largely preventable.

He thinks the trend shows up society’s weaknesses and says parents and teachers need to respond more realistically to the needs and interests of young people, instead of just cramming their minds with information needed to pass examinations.

"Neglect of character, not education, is one of the main problems," says Zhang.

The number of juvenile delinquents under 14, some of whom are regarded as good students, has increased dramatically across the country, especially in urban areas.

Shanghai police reported that nearly one in three of all the city’s crimes are committed by juveniles. Most offenders, police officers find out, come from homes with serious relationship breakdowns.

Zhang also believes that pornography, gambling and drugs are factors that help fuel the rise in juvenile crime.

"Teen-agers are curious about so many things — they are mature physically but not psychologically nor emotionally. So they are very vulnerable to social evils," he explains.

One shocking case that came to Zhang’s attention involved a gang of 12 teen-agers aged between 14 to 16. After watching a violent crime and pornographic movie, the thugs went out and raped an 18-year-old girl, reports say.

Although there are no authorised casino or topless dancing houses in China, slot machine-like video games and smuggled blue movies can be seen by virtually anyone who cares to pay to enter a seedy street-corner club.

The newly established juvenile crime prevention law addresses youth crime in broad terms, for example by making it illegal for dance halls and video game houses to open in school zones.

The law also bans the sale of cigarettes to those below 18 and making at least one member of a divorced couple responsible for their child’s education.

"The law not only protects children by distancing them from vices, but also puts more responsibility on those adults who have children," says Guo Jianan, deputy director of the juvenile crime prevention study institute under the ministry of justice.

"All in all, crime prevention greatly depends on adults’ awareness of crime," Guo adds. (IPS)

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