Deadlock over Musharraf’s Presidency, IFO continues

ISLAMABAD, April 10: The second round of talks between Pakistan’s ruling and opposition parties to reach an agreement on the political future of President Pervez Musharraf and his controversial constitutional amendments have failed after the military ruler refused to accede to their demand that he quit as chief of army.

The talks held between the ruling pro-military Pakistan Muslim League-Q (PML-Q) and the Islamist Alliance Muthahida Majlis Amal (MMA) failed to narrow the differences as the supreme council of the MMA in its meeting yesterday reiterated its demand that Musharraf quit as army chief and denounced his constitutional amendments empowering him with powers to dismiss Parliament as illegal.

The failure to work out an understanding was viewed here as significant as the PML-Q, backed by Musharraf held talks with only MMA on the twin issues totally ignoring the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and Pakistan Muslim League-(N), headed respectively by exiled former Prime Ministers Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Shairf. Both the parties denounced the talks as a move to divide the opposition.

The PML-Q and MMA talks, however, ended in a deadlock after MMA, in its meeting yesterday decided that it would not support the Legal Framework Order (LFO), which incorporated Musharraf’s amendments.

A resolution passed at the meeting also said that the six-party alliance, comprising Pakistan’s Islamic parties would not support Musharraf unless he quit as chief of army.

Stating that the Government stand on LFO was unconstitutional, immoral and undemocratic, MMA’s president Maulana Shah Ahmad Noorani told media yesterday that his party would not accept LFO until it was ratified by parliament with required two-thirds majority.

Besides conferring more powers, the LFO also legalised the election of Musharraf as President, through a Referendum.

As the deadlock with the opposition persisted, Musharraf began meeting legislators of the PML-Q and its allied parties in groups to druew support for himself.

Meanwhile, Musahrraf was quoted as telling the local daily ‘the nation’ that "yes I agree with you and there would no objection from my side if the Jamali led Government wants some changes in LFO that may restrict President’s power only dissolve the Government instead of the Parliament."

He, however, declined to quit as chief of army saying it was important for him and the country. "I do not believe in hypocrisy. So I would like to make it clear to all that I am not going to make any pledge about leaving the office of the army chief," he said.

Musharraf’s immediate priority appears to be to address the joint session of the Parliament, which appeared to be a difficult proposition as opposition parties, which holds a large presence in the national assembly and the senate threatened to disrupt it.

"Musharraf is an unconstitutional President and he could not address the elected Parliament," MMA leader, Fazlur Rehman said.(PTI)

Poor countries seen overlooked at IMF meet

WASHINGTON, Apr 10: Aids, education, debt relief and other hot topics for poor countries are likely to be pushed to one side at this weekend’s world bank meetings as rich nations ponder the global economy and rebuilding Iraq.

A world bank report for discussion at the meetings said "bluntly speaking" many poor countries will not meet the United Nations goals of cutting poverty in half by 2015.

But non-governmental groups, developing country and world bank officials fear tackling poverty will be buried under talks about how to rev up the sluggish economy and rebuilding Iraq.

"In terms of priorities everybody is concerned about the war," world bank president James Wolfensohn said this week.

The official agenda includes talks about how to better monitor progress toward the UN goals and about giving poor nations more say on the world bank and International Monetary Fund boards.

This is a subject close to the hearts of developing country officials who dislike how bank and IMF policies are often dictated by rich countries with larger board votes.

"The most important thing for us at these meetings is to increase the voice of the developing countries in these institutions," said an official from one developing country.

African countries only have two seats on each executive board while the United States, Japan, the United Kingdom, France and Germany all have individual seats. Poor nations would like more seats but with the attention of rich countries elsewhere they do not expect that any time soon.

"Perhaps it won’t happen now," another developing country official said. "but this is out of the pandora’s box now. Nobody can put it back."

the U.N. millennium development goals aim to wipe out extreme poverty and hunger, ensure all primary school age children have access to education, empower women, reduce child mortality, beat hiv/aids and other diseases and ensure environmental sustainability by 2015.

But the goals are way off track.

The world bank estimates about a billion people in the developing world still have no access to safe drinking water while each minute a woman dies in pregnancy or childbirth, with 99 per cent of maternal deaths in developing countries.

The education target is the closest to being met but is still in need of more funding.

"At the moment the G7 spends less than the cost of a stealth bomber each year on aid to education," said Oliver Buston, policy advisor for the aid agency, Oxfam.

Around 1 million children around the world, including an estimated 400,000 in Bangladesh, participated in the "world’s biggest lesson" on Wednesday, an event organized by NGOs to draw attention to the global crisis in education.

NGOs have also expressed concern that there will be no attempt at this year’s world bank and IMf meetings to drum up more money from rich countries for debt relief.

"You would think as the HIPC (heavily indebted poor countries) program is failing this badly the fact that they’re not going to the boards and saying it is, looks like they’re sweeping it under the rug," said Rick Rowden, a policy researcher for jubilee USA, a debt-reduction charity.

The world bank has admitted that HIPC has moved along much more slowly than originally expected with only eight countries having completed the program.

But Wolfensohn said on monday the initiative won’t be on the agenda this weekend even though the program is going to need more money. "The concern is that at some point we’ll want to come back and take another look at the whole thing," he said. "but not at this meeting."

some observers say it is right that the focus of the meetings should be on the global economy and Iraq.

"At the immediate moment, the problems have to do with Iraq and the global economy," said ted truman of the Institute for International Economics. "If those things can be done right and constructively, then those other issues can be addressed."

but others said that if poverty is to be successfully vanquished, now is the time to start work.

"The Iraq issue is a short term issue and in a few months hopefully it will be a matter of the past," said a world bank source. "but poverty is a long time issue." (AGENCIES)

Iraqi looters ransack homes of top aides of Saddam

BAGHDAD, Apr 10: Gangs of looters, many of them armed, roamed the streets of Baghdad today, ransacking offices and Government buildings as US troops looked on and breaking into the houses of top aides of Saddam Hussein.

Looters drove tractors, pick-up trucks and trailers — and even a large bus — up to a large villa belonging to Tareq Aziz, Saddam’s Deputy Prime Minister.

They stole everything from furniture and paintings to chandeliers and curtains, and stripped the electrical wires from the Villa’s main switchboard.

Aziz’s library was also ransacked. Among the volumes left behind by looters were the complete works of Saddam in Arabic, a book on geopolitics by former US President Richard Nixon, and the mafia novels of Mario Puzo, author of "The Godfather".

Many of the looters were from the Saddam city area, home to about two million impoverished Shi’ite Muslims.

Asked why he was robbing the house, one man wordlessly pointed to his open mouth to indicate he was hungry.

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said it was concerned about the looting of hospitals.

"The hospitals themselves have come under attack for the purpose of looting. There are lots of people carrying weapons around and they make it very difficult for civilians in need of medical care to actually reach the hospitals," ICRC spokesman Roland Huguenin-Benjamin in Baghdad told CNN.

A house in southern Bahdad belonging to Saddam’s notorious cousin Ali Hassan Al-Majid — known as "chemical ali" — was also robbed.

Majid, who earned his nickname for overseeing the use of poison gas against Kurdish villagers in 1988, was put in charge of the defence of Southern Iraq by Saddam. US forces say he may have been killed in a bomb attack in Basra at the weekend.

One man, who said he was an Iraqi poet and gave his name as Abu Eyaih, carried off two of Majid’s walking sticks. He said he was taking the sticks as a gesture of contempt towards Majid, who sometimes walked with the aid of a stick.

"I’m not here to loot the house of this criminal ali hassan Al-Majid. I took these two things as a symbol to humiliate him," he said.

"I am feeling sad that some Iraqis are looting furniture and equipment of public buildings. They don’t belong to Saddam, they are the property of the Iraqi people. We should keep them where they are for the new Government to use when it assumes power."

The Ministry of Trade was set ablaze by looters, and flames could be seen pouring out of first floor windows of the building, close to the east bank of the Tigris river. The Finance Ministry was also engulfed in fire on Wednesday.

A nearby Interior Ministry building housing an office for identity cards was also in flames, as people carted off furniture and computers.

Several diplomatic buildings were robbed, including the German Embassy, the French cultural centre, and the house of the Finnish Ambassador — where one looter staggered out carrying an air-conditioning unit. (AGENCIES)

Free of fear, Iraqis may bring Saddam his nemesis

LONDON, Apr 10: As Saddam Hussein’s rule disintegrates, a tip from an Iraqi mole could lead western forces to his hiding place and allow them to seal victory by killing him.

Free of fear, opponents or erstwhile allies might be willing to poinpoint the Iraqi leader’s whereabouts for U.S-led forces to deliver a "decapitation strike", defence and intelligence experts said.

Defence analyst Mike Mcginty of the Royal United Services Institute said: "The weaker the regime’s grip, the stronger the human intelligence will be.

"Special forces can operate in Baghdad. There are safe places for them to go and if they are very lucky, they might be able to kill him, take out the body and show it on television."

Whatever the military say, U S-led forces cannot rest until the Iraqi leader is taken out. Two attempts on his life have failed to produce the corpse that would signal victory for Washington.

"What you have to do to liberate the Iraqis is to kill Saddam. You will have taken away the ultimate threat," said Andy Mcnab, a former British Special Air Service (SAS) commando once captured fighting behind Iraqi lines in the 1991 Gulf war.

Mcnab, whose tale of a covert raid that went disastrously wrong became the international bestseller "bravo two zero," said,"the ideal would be to get special forces in there.

"The CIA will be throwing money around left, right and centre. Eventually the leadership of the military may say ‘enough’ and do a deal with the Americans. People have become more realistic and said it is lost."

The last thing Americans want at the end of the Iraq war is a worldwide manhunt for a new enemy to rival Osama Bin Laden, suspected mastermind of the September 11, 2001 attacks.

Hence the decision to target Saddam so directly.

The war began on March 20 with the Americans trying to "decapitate" The iraqi leadership with a precision cruise missile attack.

Then, this week, a U.S B-1 Bomber was sent in at 12 minutes’ notice to drop four satellite-guided bombs to try to kill Saddam, its crew told,"this is the big one."

Now, analysts believe, it could be third time lucky.

"It is very, very unlikely he is going to escape," said Charles Heyman, editor of Jane’s world Armies.

He said a highly placed intelligence tip-off could spell the end as his grip on power weakens.

"There are all sorts of people trying to save their own skins," he said. "A Hitler-type bunker solution (in which the German world war two leader killed himself rather than face capture) would be a lot tidier. It would also help if they could get DNA from the body."

Past U.S. assassination attempts do not bode well for Washington.

CIA plots to eliminate Cuba’s Fidel Castro with poisoned cigars, an infected diving suit and exploding clam shells proved so embarrassing that President Gerald Ford forebade future assassination attempts.

Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi survived a bomb dropped on his tent in the Libyan desert. Mohamed Farah aideed eluded the CIA in Somalia. Congolese Prime Minister Patrice Lumumba escaped several CIA plots.

Bin Laden was personally targeted as long ago as 1998 when then-President Bill Clinton secretly authorised the CIA to use lethal force against him and his aides. Bush said he wanted the Saudi-born exile "dead or alive."

And however much the British and U.S. military have insisted the conflict is not about one man, few believe them.

"That is the military hedging their bets. They have learnt their lessons from Osama Bin Laden," said Heyman.

Colonel Christopher Langton, defence analyst at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, said special forces could now be well placed to deliver the coup de grace.

"Human intelligence will be improving on the ground and it will help special forces to target more accurately. But some of the intelligence will be corrupt as people will be coming forward to try and protect their own backs. The effort to sift the wheat from the chaff will have to be extensive." (AGENCIES)

China reports five more SARS deaths, 38 new cases

BEIJING, Apr 10: The death toll due to the outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) touched 85 in China today with two deaths being reported in the Mainland and three in Hong Kong.

The killer disease claimed one life each in central province of Hunan and southwestern province of Sichuan, while 10 new cases were reported in the Mainland taking to 1,290 the total number of persons having been afflicted by the epidemic, according to latest SARS statistics released by China’s Ministry of Health.

However, the ministry claimed that 1,025 out of 1,290, i.e, 79.4 per cent of SARS patients, have recovered and been discharged from hospitals.

Meanwhile, in Hong Kong, the death toll reached 30, where three persons, including a 73-year-old woman died of the disease today, the Department of Health reported.

Besides, 28 new cases were reported, even though 12 SARS patients were discharged from hospitals today, taking to 154 the number of persons having been completely recovered from the disease.

Meanwhile, senior Chinese officials claimed the outbreak was now under control and urged foreign Governments not to block normal contacts between China and other nations.

"We believe that the epidemic is well under control in China and many patients have been released from hospitals. The rate of infection has been decreasing," Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao told reporters when asked to comment on Malaysia’s ban on Chinese tourists citing the outbreak of SARS in China and Hong Kong.

"We understand some measures taken by some countries in preventing the spreading of SARS," he said adding "China hopes that related nations will evaluate the situation scientifically according to the statistics provided by the Chinese Ministry of Health and maintain regular cooperation and exchanges with China".

Earlier, speaking at a press conference, Vice Minister of Health Ma Wiaowei said Chinese Government has taken active measures to combat SARS and that relevant departments have disseminated the latest report on the disease to the who as well as to the media.

"There’s no doubt about the Government’s transparency," he said, adding that the Chinese Government is trying to offer more information to the public.

Yesterday, the World Health Organisation (WHO) had said that it wanted to conduct an in-depth investigation in Beijing and in guangdong province and expressed "serious concern" over "inadequate reporting" by China on the SARS outbreak.

The WHO, in a report submitted to the Chinese Government, had also raised concerns about inadequate facilities to cope with the disease in rural areas and economically weak provinces. (PTI)

17 killed in fighting between rival Afghan militias

MAZAR-i-SHARIF, AFGHANISTAN, Apr 10: Seventeen people, mostly soldiers, have been killed and 13 injured in clashes between two rival militia forces in northern Afghanistan, local commanders and the un said today.

General Sabor, Deputy of northern warlord Atta Mohammad, said 17 people were killed in the fighting that erupted Tuesday afternoon in Maimana, capital of Faryab province, 220 kilometres southwest of here.

Local commanders said the conflict was between the forces of Mohammad’s Jamiat-i-Islami and the Junbish-i-Milly-i-Islami of Deputy Defence Minister Abdul Rashid Dostam.

"The conflict started when some soldiers of Atta Mohammad wanted to transfer weapons to Maimana," General Hashin Habibie, Commander of the 200th Army Division, told AFP.

Sabor, who visited the city after the clashes, however said the fighting was started by Junbish soldiers.

"The reason for these clashes is that the Junbish soldiers started to attack General Faroq," a Jamiat commander, he said.

"Now Maimana is quiet but the people of Maimana have demonstrated over the clashes and they are waiting for a representative of Kabul to come and remove these two groups from Faryab province," he said.

UN spokesman Maneol De Almeida E Silva told a press conference in Kabul that the fighting left 13 dead and began "following the killing of a high-ranking commander of Jamiat in the Maimana city."

"UN and Non-Governmental Organisations were forced to lose their offices because they happened to be in the line of the fighting of the different factions," he said. (AFP)

ICRC says Baghdad hospital looted

GENEVA, Apr 10: The International Committee of the Red Cross said that a Baghdad hospital was ransacked today and that others had closed their doors because of the street violence and looting.

Spokeswoman Nada Doumani said the Al Kindi hospital was attacked by a group of armed looters who had stripped it of everything, including beds, electrical fittings and medical equipment.

"Al Kindi has been looted by an armed group. Security in the city is very bad and people are not daring to go to the hospitals," she told Reuters.

"Small hospitals have closed their doors and big hospitals are inaccessible," she said.

ICRC teams in the Iraqi capital, where US forces still face resistance from some supporters of President Saddam Hussein, were unable to visit any of the hospitals concerned, but they had cross-checked the information about what was going on there, she said. (AGENCIES)

Annan sees no functioning Govt in Iraq

UNITED NATIONS, Apr 10: UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan said today it appeared there was no functioning Government in Iraq and establishing law and order must be a top concern for the US-led forces in the country.

Annan, speaking to reporters a day after a cheering mob in Baghdad tore down a statue of Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein, said he had viewed images of looting but also saw scenes of jubilation in the streets.

"But of course, when you think of the casualties, both military and civilian, the Iraqis have paid a heavy price for this," he said.

"From what we have seen in the reports, it appears there is no functioning government in Iraq at the moment," Annan said. "We have also seen scenes of looting, and obviously law and order must be a major concern."

Under international humanitarian law, the responsibility for maintaining order rests with the invading US, British and Australian forces once they have taken control, he said.

The Secretary-General said he expected UN Weapons Inspectors to return to Iraq after the war as their mandate from the Security Council to verify Iraqi disarmament remained in force.

Under Previous Council resolutions, disarmament is a condition for the Council to lift UN sanctions, including a ban on oil sales, imposed on Baghdad after its 1990 invasion of oil-rich neighbor Kuwait.

The 15-nation council remains deeply divided since the United States and Britain went to war with Iraq without UN authorization three weeks ago, including over the question of whether inspectors should return after the fighting has ended.

Apart from the United States, all council members including US military partner Britain Want inspection teams from the UN Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission led by Hans Blix and the International Atomic Energy Agency headed by Mohamed Elbaradei to return to complete their work. (AGENCIES)

Bush vows Iraqis will regain control of Iraq

WASHINGTON, Apr 10: President George W Bush promised war-battered Iraqis today they will get back their country when Saddam Hussein’s die-hards are gone and that the US occupation will last until Iraq has a new Government.

The United States bowed to Turkish concerns and agreed to reign in Kurdish fighters in the northern Iraqi oil town of Kirkuk. Turkey fears the Kurds will try to set up an independent state in northern Iraq along Turkey’s southern border.

"We’ve been in contact with officials in Turkey as well as free Iraqis in the north and I think it is fair to say that American forces will be in control of Kirkuk," White House Spokesman Ari Fleischer said.

Secretary of State Colin Powell told the Los Angeles Times the United States will seek UN endorsement of a US-backed Iraqi interim authority that is intended to serve as a transition between military authority in Iraq and the civilian administration.

But Powell, like Bush and other top US officials, resisted a leading UN role for Iraq even as UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan complained about looting and said "it appears there is no functioning Government in Iraq at the moment."

Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair taped video messages for the Iraqi people on Tuesday at Hillsborough Castle in Northern Ireland and they were broadcast to Iraqis from a US air force plane flying over Iraq. Powell dismissed German, Russian and French calls for a "central" UN role.

"I’m not quite sure what that means. They just say central and then they go on to their next meeting," Powell said. (AGENCIES)

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