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| August 03, 2007 | Friday | Rajab 18, 1428 |
Updated round-the-clock, with major updates after 10:00 PST (05:00 GMT)
Pakistan court orders release of politician Javed Hashmi ISLAMABAD, Aug 3 (Reuters) Pakistan's Supreme Court ordered on Friday the release of firebrand opposition leader Makhdoom Javed Hashmi who was sentenced to life in jail for defaming the army. The decision for the release of Javed Hashmi, de facto leader of the opposition Pakistan Muslim League led by exiled former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, came a day after Sharif petitioned the court seeking his return to the country. “The sentence is suspended and he (Hashmi) should be released immediately on bail if he is not wanted in any other case,” said Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry who headed a three-member bench. Jubilant supporters chanted slogans outside the court building as they heard the court decision. Javed Hashmi, one of Musharraf's most outspoken critics, was arrested in 2003 for circulating an unsigned letter to reporters purporting to come from the army. The letter criticised Musharraf's support for the U.S.-led war on terror and called for an investigation into the 1999 Kargil conflict. A court later convicted Hashmi and sentenced him to 23 years in prison.(Posted @ 13:05 PST)
India, US unveil nuclear deal NEW DELHI, Aug 3 (AFP) India and the United States unveiled on Friday the text of an operating agreement for their controversial civilian nuclear technology deal, with key provisions on fuel supplies and safeguards.The agreement spells out how a plan for Washington to share nuclear technology with New Delhi will work, including thorny issues like reprocessing rights and a fuel reserve for India. “The United States will support an Indian effort to develop a strategic reserve of nuclear fuel to guard against any disruption of supply over the lifetime of India's reactors,” the text says. The deal also seeks to address Pakistan's concerns, ruling out the use of any transferred nuclear material for nuclear explosive devices or for military purposes. The Indian governent hailed the accord last week before its publication pointing out it was only about cooperation in civil nuclear energy, not the balance of power in the region. But Islamabad warned Thursday that the accord threatens regional stability, saying it would allow its arch rival to produce more atomic bombs. Pakistan and Hindu India have fought three wars since independence 60 years ago and they carried out tit-for-tat nuclear detonations in 1998 that alarmed the world. The whole accord has to win the approval of the US Congress and the Indian parliament. However, India first has to negotiate a “safeguards” agreement with the IAEA and gain the support of the 45-member Nuclear Suppliers Group. (Posted @ 12:45 PST)
Five Pakistanis, Nigerian executed in Saudi RIYADH, Aug 3 (AFP) Saudi Arabia said Friday it beheaded five Pakistanis and one Nigerian for drug smuggling and armed robbery. (Posted @ 23:38 PST)
Four US soldiers killed in Iraq; brothers buried BAGHDAD, Aug 3 (Reuters) Four U.S. soldiers were killed in Baghdad, the U.S. military said Friday, underlining U.S. The military said a roadside bomb killed three soldiers on patrol in eastern Baghdad Thursday during operations targeting militants. Eleven others were wounded. A fourth soldier died in combat in a western district. (First Posted @ 10:25 PST Updated @ 23:18 PST)
One missing as children's boat capsizes in Scotland LONDON, Aug 3 (AFP) A search operation began Friday and one person was reported missing after a boat carrying children capsized on a loch on an island in northwest Scotland, coastguards and police said. The incident took place on Loch Carnan on South Uist, in the Western Isles. A helicopter and coastguards with a lifeboat were involved in the search, the Northern Constabulary said in a statement. (Posted @ 22:50 PST)
Dozens of Taliban killed in strike, civilian casualties feared KANDAHAR, Afghanistan, Aug 3 (AFP) An airstrike on a large Taliban gathering in Helmand province’s Baghran district killed dozens of rebels, the defence ministry said Friday, with at least 30 civilians wounded and unconfirmed reports of many more killed. There were claims of around 200 civilians also killed or wounded in the attack. (Posted @ 22:32 PST)
Pakistan will never allow any country's troops at its soil: PM Aziz ISLAMABAD, August 03 (PPI) Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz declared in categorical terms that Pakistan being a sovereign country will never allow any other country to send troops to its territory for any purpose. He was responding to questions by newsmen after performing foundation stone ceremony of a 10-storey new Secretariat Block on the Constitution Avenue here Friday. Asked to comment on a spate of statements emanating from Washington threatening military action inside Pakistan's tribal areas, Aziz said such statements are unacceptable to Pakistan and we will not tolerate any interference of the sort from any quarter. He said Pakistanis are a proud nation and their integrity and sovereignty is sacrosanct. The Prime Minister said such statements represent part of the election campaign in the United States and came in response to questions without proper diligence. He said Pakistan has repeatedly stated that it will not allow its territory to be used by any individual or group to harm security of Pakistan or any other country. He said we are cooperating with many countries and we are fighting extremism and militancy in our own interest. Responding to a question about presidential elections he said these would be held between 15th of September and 15th of October this year and President Pervez Musharraf will contest the elections. About assemblies, he said these would complete their term and then general elections would be held. Shaukat Aziz said Pakistan Muslim League, PML(Functional), MQM and PPP (Sherpao) would contest elections from one platform and would not form alliance with any other party. To a question about release of Makhdoom Javed Hashmi, Aziz said the Government accepts all judgements of the judiciary. (Posted @ 22:14 PST)
Brown makes U.N. official his Mideast envoy LONDON, Aug 3 (AP) Prime Minister Gordon Brown appointed a senior diplomat as the new British envoy to the Middle East Friday to work in the region alongside Tony Blair, the representative for the international Quartet of peacemakers. Michael Williams, who has served as a Middle East envoy for U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon since May, will report to Brown and Foreign Secretary David Miliband, the Foreign Office said. Williams was special adviser to British foreign secretaries Robin Cook and Jack Straw between 1999 and 2005. He also served as a senior U.N. official in peacekeeping missions in Cambodia and the former Yugoslavia. (Posted @ 21:22 PST)
Bush signs bill to strengthen anti-terror effort WASHINGTON, Aug 3 (Reuters) U.S. President George W. Bush signed a bill Friday aimed at avoiding another Sept. 11-like attack by providing more money to high-risk cities and expanding air and sea cargo screening. The measure authorizes more than $4 billion in grants for rail, transit and bus security and provides money to help communities upgrade their communications. “There is still other work to be done,” Bush said as he signed the legislation. He cited the need to reform the “dysfunctional” way Congress oversees intelligence and counter-terrorism activities and the urgent need to expand the government's powers to eavesdrop on telephone calls and e-mail from abroad. The bill requires screening of all cargo on passenger planes within three years. Within five years, all U.S.-bound cargo must be inspected before it is loaded on ships. (Posted @ 20:52 PST)
French president arrives in US WOLFEBORO, Aug 3 (AFP) France's President Nicolas Sarkozy arrived in the northeastern US state of New Hampshire to spend his summer holidays in the upmarket lakeside town of Wolfeboro, a holiday rental company told AFP Friday. (Posted @ 20:45 PST)
Bush reassures Musharraf over attack warnings ISLAMABAD, Aug 3 (AFP) US President George Bush telephoned President Pervez Musharraf Friday to reassure him after US threats of unilateral action against Al-Qaeda on Pakistan’s soil, a statement said. “President Bush stated that the United States fully respected Pakistan's sovereignty and appreciated Pakistan's resolve in fighting Al-Qaeda and other terrorist elements,” the Pakistani foreign ministry statement said. “He said that such statements were unsavoury and often prompted by political considerations in an environment of electioneering. He agreed that such statements did not serve the interests of either country,” it added. The foreign office statement said President Musharraf also raised the issue of recent legislation on funding for Pakistan adopted by the US Congress on the implementation of the 9/11 commission's recommendations. He “expressed concern over elements that reflected negatively on the Pakistan-US bilateral cooperation and relations.” (Posted @ 20:40 PST)
Taliban, South Korea seek venue for hostage talks GHAZNI, Afghanistan, Aug 3 (AFP) South Korean officials and the Taliban struggled Friday to agree on a venue for talks to save the lives of 21 hostages. Taliban spokesman Yousuf Ahmadi told AFP there had been new telephone contact Friday with South Korean ambassador Kang Sung-Zu. “They told us that they are in negotiations with the Afghan and American governments to convince them to free Taliban prisoners in exchange for the South Korean hostages,” Ahmadi said. “The Korean government is not in a position to give a direct answer to the Taliban's demand that its prisoners be swapped for Korean hostages,” presidential spokesman Cheon Ho-Seon said. South Korea's Yonhap news agency meanwhile cited “informed sources” saying direct talks between South Korean officials and the Taliban were likely to be held later Friday. (Posted @ 20:38 PST)
Twenty-four hurt in occupied Kashmir market explosion SRINAGAR, occupied Kashmir, Aug 3 (Reuters) Twenty-four people, including five policemen, were wounded Friday when suspected militants threw a grenade in a crowded marketplace in occupied Kashmir’s Banihal town, 110 km south of Srinagar, police said. (Posted @ 20:34 PST)
PML, allies confident of victory in upcoming general elections: PM Aziz ISLAMABAD, Aug 3 (APP) Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz Friday said Pakistan Muslim League and its coalition parties have quality candidates and are confident to win the forthcoming general elections. He was talking to a group of MNAs and Senators at a lunch hosted by Anwar Ali Cheema here. The Prime Minister reiterated that PML and its coalition partners will contest the election from a single platform and the polls will be held on schedule. He said contacts between PML and various parties would have a healthy effect on the overall political atmosphere. The PML is not entering into any deals pertaining to the upcoming general elections, he added. Aziz reiterated that the general elections will be free, fair and transparent and domestic and foreign observers would be welcomed. The luncheon was attended by PML President Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain, some Federal Ministers, Senators and Members of the National Assembly. (Posted @ 20:24 PST)
Rashid welcomes Hashmi's release on bail ISLAMABAD, Aug 3 (APP) In an interview to a private television channel Minister for Railways Sheikh Rashid Ahmad Friday welcomed the release order of Makhdoom Javed Hashmi by the Supreme Court of Pakistan saying no political worker should remain in jail. To a question the Rashid said President Musharraf during the dinner at Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz’s had made it clear that Pakistan Muslim League would not have any influence or pressure to form elections alliance with other parties. He said the federal cabinet has unanimously supported the efforts of President Musharraf to evolve national consensus on the issues being faced by the country adding the cabinet has fully supported the contacts of President with politicians including Benazir Bhutto. Rashid said that President Musharraf has also made it clear that no foreign forces would be allowed to operate inside Pakistan saying Pakistan Army is capable of taking any action if so required. (Posted @ 19:24 PST)
President Musharraf vows to crush militancy ISLAMABAD, Aug 3 (AFP) President Pervez Musharraf at a meeting of chiefs in the garrison city of Rawalpindi Friday made a fresh pledge to eradicate extremism from Pakistan, a statement said. “Extremism and militancy are the biggest threat to security of our country and no effort shall be spared to eradicate this menace and ensure sustainability of economic progress,” the statement quoted Musharraf as saying. The president and other top military officers were briefed on the security situation in the tribal areas and other parts of northwest Pakistan, it said. The statement said that the meeting reviewed the “operational preparedness” of the army. Earlier, militants fired three rockets at a major army base in Miranshah, the main town in North Waziristan. Troops responded to the rocket attack with heavy weapons fire. There were no immediate reports of casualties. (Posted @ 19:16 PST)
Pakistani security forces kill four suspected militants in shootout MIRAN SHAH, Aug 3 (AP) Militants ambushed a military convoy in a remote northwestern tribal region of Pakistan Friday, triggering a shootout that left at least four suspects dead, officials said. No soldiers were hurt in the fighting in the village of Asad Khel, 50 kilometres south of Miran Shah, the main town in North Waziristan, said a security officer requesting anonymity. The official said the shootout erupted shortly after a roadside bomb went off as the convoy approached. ''It seems the militants wanted to target the military convoy, but the bomb exploded prematurely,'' said the official. The militants then opened fire on the troops, who returned fire. At least four militants were killed and an unknown number of others escaped, the official said. (Posted @ 19:08 PST)
Taliban refuse to allow medical team access to hostages GHAZNI, Afghanistan, Aug 3 (AFP) The Taliban Friday refused to allow an Afghan medical team access to 21 South Koreans and said it would free two who are gravely ill only if the government released two imprisoned rebels. The team of doctors and nurses had volunteered to treat the captives, most of whom are said to be ill after more than two weeks in captivity, and travelled to southern Ghazni province where the aid workers were kidnapped. “If they are concerned about their health, they must release two of our prisoners in exchange for the two hostages who are very sick,” said Taliban spokesman Yousuf Ahmadi. Ahmadi said Tuesday two of the 16 women in the group were suffering serious medical problems. “Their condition is very bad. We don't have enough medicines - maybe they will die,” he said. (Posted @ 18:06 PST)
Eighteen hurt as typhoon pounds Japan TOKYO, Aug 3 (AFP) A typhoon was churning off the Japanese coast Friday after injuring 18 people and forcing thousands of people to flee their homes, officials said. Typhoon Usagi cut across the island of Kyushu and the tip of the main island of Honshu overnight and moved into the Sea of Japan early Friday while slowly weakening, the Japan Meteorological Agency said. Television footage showed flooded rivers, uprooted trees and drenched people whose bicycles and umbrellas were blown away at the peak of the storm. The typhoon still packed winds of up to 72 kilometres an hour late Friday as it moved northward at 126 kilometres an hour along Honshu's northern coast, the agency said. (Posted @ 17:54 PST)
Helicopter crash kills pilot in southern Nigeria PORT HARCOURT, Aug 3 (AP) A civilian transport helicopter used in Nigeria's oil industry crashed Friday, killing the pilot, company officials said Friday. No passengers were on board when the craft went down about an hour after dawn in southern Nigeria, said an official of the company which owned the helicopter. (Posted @ 17:46 PST)
Benazir to risk arrest in return to Pakistan: spokesman Bashir Riaz LONDON, Aug 3 (Reuters) Former Pakistan prime minister Benazir Bhutto will fly home later this year to contest parliamentary elections despite the risk of arrest, her spokesman Bashir Riaz in London said Friday. “Next month or the following month Ms Bhutto will be travelling to Pakistan,” Riaz said in a telephone interview. Asked if Benazir was returning permanently from nearly a decade of self-exile, he said: “Yes, that's what I mean. That's a big event ... Her plan is very simple and straightforward: just to participate in the elections and lead her party.” Riaz said Benazir was prepared to run the risk of being arrested on her return. “Now, since it is an important election ... she is risking arrest, but definitely returning,” he said, adding he was not aware of any undertaking by President Musharraf to guarantee Benazir would not be detained on arrival. A decision would be made at the end of August on the date of Benazir’s return and where she would land, Riaz added. He said Benazir was travelling in the United States, where she was not immediately available for comment. (Posted @ 17:40 PST)
Pakistani tribesmen call for troop withdrawal MIRANSHAH, Pakistan, Aug 3 (Reuters) Around 2,000 Pakistani tribesmen rallied in North Waziristan Friday calling on the government to withdraw troops from the region. Holding black flags and wearing black arm bands, the protesters chanted anti-U.S. slogans and demanded the government stop what they called unnecessary military operations in the region. “The government says it has sent troops to Waziristan to maintain peace and order but in fact the peace of the region has deteriorated since the army was deployed here,” Qari Mohammad Roman, an imam of a major mosque of Miranshah, North Waziristan's main town, told protesters. On Friday, militants opened fire on a security forces convoy after it hit a roadside bomb in North Waziristan. “The security forces returned fire and four militants were killed,” an intelligence official told Reuters. There were no reports of casualties from the government forces' side, he added. (Posted @ 17:34 PST)
India monsoon floods toll tops 1,000 NEW DELHI, Aug 3 (AFP) The death toll caused by monsoon rains in India topped the 1,000 mark Friday with new victims reported from northern Uttar Pradesh state, officials said. Twenty-one deaths occurred overnight in three eastern Uttar Pradesh districts hardest hit by the heavy flooding, relief commissioner Umesh Sinha told AFP. The figures brought to 1,028 the number of people reported killed nationwide in the annual torrential rains that begin in June and last until September, according to figures from officials and media reports. Deaths were also reported in the states of Bihar, West Bengal and Assam. (Posted @ 17:00 PST)
Four hurt in Pakistan police station blast PESHAWAR, Pakistan, Aug 3 (AFP) A bomb exploded close to a police station in the northwestern Pakistani town of Lakkai Marwat, 160 kilometres south of Peshawar Friday, injuring four people including a police intelligence official, police said. The “low-intensity” bomb was planted in a bicycle shop located yards from the town’s main police station, local police officer Usman Ghani said. The owner of the shop, his son, a police intelligence official and a local cleric were wounded, he added. (Posted @ 16:55 PST)
Third Sistani aide killed in two months NAJAF, Iraq, Aug 3 (AFP) Sheikh Fadhil Aqil, a middle-ranking associate of Iraqi cleric Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani was shot dead overnight, the third ally of the religious leader killed in Najaf in two months, police said Friday. Aqil was killed in a drive-by shooting, local police chief Brigadier General Abdul Karim Mustafa said. (Posted @ 16:44 PST)
Fierce fighting between Lebanese army and militants NAHR AL-BARED, Lebanon, Aug 3 (AFP) Lebanese soldiers fought fierce battles Friday with militants holed up inside a Palestinian refugee camp, with eyewitnesses reporting fires raging in a small area still controlled by the militants. An AFP correspondent saw two Katyusha rockets being fired from within Nahr al-Bared camp north of Tripoli by the militants, with one projectile hitting a nearby power station. (Posted @ 16:32 PST)
Pakistan criticizes Obama for 'irresponsible' statement ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, Aug 3 (AP) Pakistan Friday criticized U.S. presidential hopeful Barack Obama for saying that, if elected, he might order unilateral military strikes inside Pakistan to root out terrorists. Top Pakistan officials said Obama's comment was irresponsible and likely made for political reasons related to the race for the Democratic nomination for next year's U.S. presidential election. ''It's a very irresponsible statement, that's all I can say,'' Pakistan's Foreign Minister Khusheed Kasuri told AP Television News. ''As the election campaign in America is heating up we would not like American candidates to fight their elections and contest elections at our expense.'' Also Friday, a senior Pakistani official condemned another presidential hopeful, Colorado Republican Tom Tancredo, for saying best way he could think of to deter a nuclear terrorist attack on the U.S. would be to threaten to retaliate by bombing Mecca and Medina. The Associated Press of Pakistan reported Friday that President Musharraf was asked at a dinner at Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz's house Thursday about the potential of U.S. military operations in Pakistan, and told guests Pakistan was ''fully capable'' of tackling terrorists in the country and did not need any foreign assistance. Deputy Information Minister Tariq Azim said no foreign forces would be allowed to enter Pakistan, and said Obama appeared to be ''not aware of our contribution'' to the fight on terrorism. In Pakistan's national assembly Friday, Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Sher Afgan said he would open a debate next week on recent criticism of Pakistan from several quarters in the United States, including Tancredo. It was a matter of ''grave concern that U.S. presidential candidates are using unethical and immoral tactics against Islam and Pakistan to win their election,'' Afgan said. (Posted @ 16:20 PST)
Two blasts rip through Philippines bus terminal, one dead MANILA, Aug 3 (Reuters) Two crude bombs ripped through a bus terminal in southern Philippines Friday, killing one and wounding an undetermined number, police said. Robert Kuinisala, police chief in South Cotabato province, said a man was killed instantly when the first device exploded at about 5:30 p.m. at the terminal in Koronadal City. Minutes later, a second bomb exploded inside a parked commuter bus, Kuinisala added. (Posted @ 16:20 PST)
Fifty dead, 148 missing after Sierra Leone boat capsizes FREETOWN, Aug 3 (AFP) At least 50 people are dead and 148 others are missing after a commercial boat capsized overnight in rough seas off northern Sierra Leone, a port official said Friday. “According to the report we received 50 people perished, two were rescued while 148 others remain unaccounted for,” the official told AFP. (Posted @ 16:00 PST)
Seven killed in clashes in Russia's Dagestan MOSCOW, Aug 3 (Reuters) Seven people were killed in three separate clashes between security forces and insurgents on Friday in Dagestan, Russian media reported. The dead included five insurgents, a local police official, and the commander of a unit of interior ministry troops, news agencies reported. (Posted @ 12:55 PST)
U.S. will not rule out military force to free South Korean hostages WASHINGTON, Aug 3 (AP) The United States is not ruling out military force to free South Korean hostages held by the Taliban in Afghanistan, Richard Boucher, assistant secretary of state for South and Central Asia, said Thursday. “All pressures need to be applied to the Taliban to get them to release these hostages,” he said. “The goal is to get these people released unharmed, to get them released peacefully and safely.” Meanwhile in Afghanistan, the Taliban captors have agreed to meet with South Korea's ambassador to Afghanistan but have not found a suitable place, said Waheedullah Mujadidi, head of a delegation negotiating with the Taliban. (Posted @ 10:50 PST)
Iraq: 30 bodies found; mass grave discovered Baghdad, Aug 3 (Reuters) Twenty-five bodies were found across Baghdad in the past 24 hours, as police found the bodies of five brothers, all day labourers, who had been kidnapped near al-Rashaad district, 40 km southwest of Kirkuk, a day earlier. A sixth brother, six years old, was found nearby unharmed. Meanwhile, U.S. soldiers discovered a mass grave on July 31 near the village of Muhbabiya in Diyala province that contained 17 bodies, including those of women, children and elderly people. In another incident, seven mortar rounds landed in the grounds of the Iraqi Islamic Party headquarters in the capital’s Yarmouk district, killing three people and wounding five, police said. (Posted @ 10:15 PST)
Obama, Hillary Clinton in new flap, over nuclear weapons WASHINGTON, Aug 3 (Reuters) Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama found himself embroiled in a new foreign policy flap with rival Hillary Clinton on Thursday, this time over the use of nuclear weapons. Obama ruled out the use of nuclear weapons to go after al Qaeda or Taliban targets in Afghanistan or Pakistan, prompting Hillary Clinton to say presidents never take the nuclear option off the table, and extending their feud over whether Obama has enough experience to be elected president in November 2008. (Posted @ 10:15 PST)
Israeli troops kill militant in West Bank raid NABLUS, West Bank, Aug 3 (Reuters) Israeli troops shot dead a Palestinian militant during a raid in the West Bank city of Nablus on Friday, Israeli army said. The militant was killed as he tried to escape when a special forces unit surrounded a house and called on him to surrender, an army spokesman said adding that .another militant was arrested. (Posted @ 10:00 PST)
British car bombings suspect dies in hospital LONDON, Aug 3 (AFP) One of the men wanted in connection with the failed June 30 car bomb attack at Glasgow airport succumbed to his severe burn injuries in hospital Thursday, police said. Kafeel Ahmed, 27, an Indian, was the driver of a vehicle, packed with gas canisters, which crashed into the front of the airport, setting the SUV and part of the building ablaze. (Posted @ 09:55 PST)
Three dead, 11 missing after tide sweeps away crowd in China BEIJING, Aug 3 (AFP) Three people were drowned and 11 others were missing after a sudden tide rose up over a crowded levee along Qiantang River river mouth in Zhejiang province in eastern China on Thursday. At least 30 tourists walking along the levee and swimming were initially swept out to the ocean , Xinhua news agency said but did not say if those killed and missing were Chinese or foreign. (Posted @ 09:45 PST)
Three Muslims shot dead in Thai south YALA, Thailand, Aug 3 (AFP) Three Muslims were shot dead by suspected militants in separate attacks in Thailand's insurgency-torn south during the last 24 hours, police said Friday. (Posted @ 09:30 PST)
Karachi Stocks down 7.36 points: KARACHI, Aug 03: At the close of trading, the KSE-100 index was at 13763.16, down 7.36 points. (Bureau Report) (Updated @ 16:05 PST)
Forex update: KARACHI, Aug 03: The Pakistani Rupee was traded at Rs 60.95 to the US Dollar in the open market. (Bureau Report) (Updated @ 16:05 PST)
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