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| April 01, 2008 | Tuesday | Rabi-ul-Awwal 23, 1429 |
Updated round-the-clock, with major updates after 10:00 PST (05:00 GMT)
Hoti takes oath as 13th CM of NWFP Peshawar, Pakistan, April1 (PPI) - ANP-PPP backed Amir Haider Khan Hoti was administered oath as chief minister of the North West Frontier Province by Governor Owais Ahmad Ghani on Tuesday. Earlier, he was elected unopposed as Leader of the House by the Provincial Assembly. He got 113 votes in the House of 126 members. The provincial cabinet would take oath on Wednesday. During the course of the assembly proceedings, the house slammed the recent statement of American CIA chief regarding attacks on Tribal areas without Pakistan government’s permission and passed a unanimous resolution against it. Thanking the members for unopposed election, Hoti said that his government would try to resolve all issues and problems through consensus.” We are neither extremist nor terrorist and believe in love, harmony. We do not want suicide jackets and guns, we want pen in the hands of our children”. (First Posted @ 18:18 PST Updated @ 21:26 PST)
Aitzaz Ahsan warns of conspiracies against Murree Declaration QUETTA, Pakistan, April 1 (PPI): President of Supreme Court Bar Association Chaudhry Aitzaz Ahsan Tuesday said that conspiracies are being hatched in the Presidency to sabotage the Muree accord. He warned that if PCO judges become a part of these conspiracies then they would face the wrath of the people and the lawyers. Addressing a Press conference, he said that restoration of deposed judges would not create any judicial crisis. (Posted @ 20:50 PST)
EU presidency calls on Mugabe to stand down BRUSSELS, April 1 (AFP) - Slovenian Foreign Minister Dimitrij Rupel, whose country holds the EU's presidency, called on Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe to step down on Tuesday, warning of “a coup d'etat” if he stayed. (Posted @ 20:46 PST)
US president arrives in Romania for NATO summit BUCHAREST, April 1 (AFP) - US President George W. Bush arrived in Romania Tuesday to take part in NATO's biggest ever summit involving some 60 heads of state and government. (Posted @ 20:40 PST)
Four soldiers killed, 56 wounded in Sri Lanka lightning strike COLOMBO, April 1 (AFP) - At least four men were killed and another 56 injured Tuesday when lightning struck a military training facility in eastern Sri Lanka, police said. The victims were on a training exercise when they were struck in the district of Polonnaruwa, 216 kilometres east of Colombo, police said. (Posted @ 20:04 PST)
OIC should be effective, proactive body of Islamic world: PM ISLAMABAD, April 1 (APP): Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani Tuesday emphasized the need to adopt a holistic approach to meet the internal and external challenges confronting the Muslim Ummah. Talking to OIC Secretary General, Prof. Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, at the PM Secretariat Gilani said that OIC has to re-establish its role as an effective and proactive body of the Islamic World. He hailed the new Charter of OIC and expressed confidence that this would go a long way in improving the overall functioning of the Organization and gear it to meet the challenges of the 21st century. Referring to the issue of Kashmir, the Prime Minister said that Pakistan appreciated OIC's efforts in highlighting the just cause of the Kashmiri people. The Secretary General said Kashmir issue remains at the top of the OIC agenda. He also discussed with the Pakistani leader the whole range of issues concerning the Muslims all over the world. (Posted @ 19:58 PST)
As gasoline nears $4 a gallon, Congress has questions about Big Oil's big profits WASHINGTON, April 1 (AP) - Senior executives of the five largest U.S. oil companies were to appear before a congressional committee Tuesday where they were likely to find frustrated lawmakers in no mood for small talk. “These companies are defending billions of federal subsidies ... while reaping over a hundred billion dollars in profits in just the last year alone,” complained Democratic Rep. Edward Markey, in previewing the hearing. The lawmakers were scheduled to hear from top executives of Exxon Mobil Corp., Shell Oil Co., BP America Inc., Chevron Corp. and ConocoPhillips, which together earned about $123 billion last year because of soaring oil and gasoline prices. (Posted @ 19:50 PST)
NATO strike kills three in Afghanistan KABUL, April 1 (AFP) -The NATO force in Afghanistan said Tuesday it killed three insurgents in a late night air strike in Panjwayi district in Kandahar province, but a government official insisted the men were farmers watering their crops. ISAF claimed the three were spotted placing home-made bombs on a road near an ISAF base but district governor, Shah Baran, insisted that the three were farmers irrigating their land. “Our investigations show that they were not planting mines. They were not Taliban; they were farmers who were irrigating their lands at the time of the bombing,” Baran told AFP. (Posted @ 19:18 PST)
Network of APHC offices in occupied Kashmir SRINAGAR, occupied Kashmir, April 1 (APP) An extra ordinary meeting of the executive council of the All Parties Hurriyat Conference was held at its headquarters in Rajbagh on Tuesday. It was presided over by the Chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and attended by Moulana Abbas Ansari, Abdul Ghani Butt, Shabbir Ahmed Shah, Bilal Ghani Lone, Fazl Haq Qureshi and Shaikh Abdul Aziz. The meeting reviewed the present situation in occupied Kashmir and resolved to open APHC offices in all districts to improve its mass contact network in occupied Kashmir. (Posted @ 18:40 PST)
Global discourse on Kashmir starts in Brussels ISLAMABAD, April 1 (APP) A global discourse on Kashmir began in the European Parliament Tuesday. It was jointly inaugurated by the Chairman of All Parties Group for Kashmir, James Elles and the Executive Director of Kashmir Centre Brussels, Barrister Abdul Majeed Tramboo. The participants stressed that Pakistan, India and Kashmiris have to work more effectively on new approaches to bring about a lasting solution of Kashmir dispute. They also urged India to stop human rights violations and respect the aspirations of Kashmiris, KMS reported. Among others, Elizabeth Lynne MP, Mushahid Hussain Sayed, Farooq Siddique, Agha Syed Hasan Al-Moosvi, Iqbal Zafar Jhagra, Dr Ghulam Nabi Fai and Mehmood Riaz participated in the discourse. (Posted @ 18:38 PST)
Suicide attack in Afghanistan kills two policemen HERAT, Afghanistan, April 1 (AFP) A suicide attacker blew up a car bomb inside a district police compound in southwestern Afghanistan’s Nimroz province’s Khash Rod district Tuesday, killing two policemen and wounding five, Nimroz deputy police chief Assadullah Sherzad told AFP. (Posted @ 18:30 PST)
Cricket: Shoaib Akhtar to fight ban in court ISLAMABAD, April 1 (AFP) Pakistan paceman Shoaib Akhtar said Tuesday he will fight a five-year ban imposed on him by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) for violating the players' code of conduct. “I am deeply disappointed and hurt. I will go to court and fight against the ban,” Akhtar told AFP minutes after a disciplinary committee imposed the ban. “I was demoted from central contract 'A' category, which was very hurtful and as a reaction I said something. I have apologised to the PCB, before the disciplinary committee and before everyone,” Akhtar said. “So I thought that they would take a lenient action, but this harsh decision has effectively ended my career. I still want to play for my country,” he said. Shoaib Akhtar refused to accept PCB Chairman Naseem Ashraf's claims that he was a negative influence on the team. “Ask the captain (Shoaib Malik), ask coach Geoff Lawson and they would vouch for me. I had played with high fever on the India tour (last year), which proved my commitment for the team,” Akhtar said. “I bowl fast so I am prone to injuries, but I have given my heart, soul and body to this team. I know some vested interest did not want me to be the part of the team, but I will be back.” (Posted @ 18:20 PST)
Govt to ensure supremacy of constitution: PM Gilani ISLAMABAD, April 01 (PPI): Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani Tuesday reiterated commitment of the government to ensure supremacy of the Constitution, sovereignty of parliament and rule of law in the country. Launching a documentary on late Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto he said the People's Party and its leaders Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto and Benazir Bhutto struggled and laid down their lives for the cause of democracy and rule of law and to empower the people at grass root level. The Prime Minister said the government considers media as its true opposition and expects from it a positive and constructive criticism to ensure good governance leading towards a welfare state. He paid rich tributes to late Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto who, he said, gave the country its Constitution that guarantees a strong federation and also gave the nation the nuclear programme that made the country’s defence impregnable. Other speakers included Water and Power Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf, Aftab Shaban Mirani and Dr. Azra Fazal. (Posted @ 18:18 PST)
Cricket- Shoaib Akhtar banned for five years ISLAMABAD, April 1 (AFP) Paceman Shoaib Akhtar was banned from playing representative cricket for five years Tuesday for violating the players' code of conduct, PCB chairman Nasim Ashraf said. The 32-year-old Akhtar appeared before a disciplinary committee earlier Tuesday charged with publicly criticising the country's board. He was already on two years' probation for hitting a teammate with a bat. “The board has lost confidence in Shoaib Akhtar and therefore felt that his presence in the field was damaging to the Pakistan team, for Pakistan players and for the image of Pakistan cricket,” Ashraf said. (First Posted @ 15:05 PST Updated @ 18:16 PST)
Muslim world needs to confront energy, food, water crises: Musharraf ISLAMABAD, April 1 (APP): President Pervez Musharraf Tuesday urged the Muslim world to optimise its potential and to collectively focus energies to avert the looming crises in energy, water and food sectors. Inaugurating the 13th General Assembly meeting of OIC Standing Committee on Scientific and Technological Cooperation (COMSTECH) he said the Muslim world faces the threat of being marginalised. President Musharraf told delegates from the 57-member OIC that “Comstech must specially focus on appropriate technologies to ensure energy, water and food security.” He also urged initiation of a dialogue with the United Nations and other forums to address the existing gap while also removing the misperceptions in the West about the Muslim world. President Musharraf welcomed the decision by the OIC summit at Dakar to restrict membership of the organisation to only those countries with a Muslim majority. Otherwise, he warned, these countries faced the risk of being marginalised and dominated by world actors. “We have to impress upon the West that extremism cannot be eliminated when economic inequalities continue to threaten national regional and global peace,” he stressed. The President also said the best way to counter extremism was to “reduce socio-economic disparities around the world.” On this occasion President Musharraf conferred the Comstech's award to Professor Ibrahim al Tayyab of Sudan in Mathematics and Professor Mohammad Mehdi Sheikh Jabari of Iran in Physics. (Posted @ 17:15 PST)
Hungary PM willing to quit to save coalition BUDAPEST, April 1 (Reuters) Hungary's Socialist Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsany is willing to resign if that will save the coalition government. “He has offered that if that is the price of saving the coalition he would be ready to quit,” a Socialist party source told Reuters Tuesday. On Monday the junior coalition party, the Alliance of Free Democrats, said it would leave the coalition on April 30 in a dispute over reforms. (Posted @ 17:00 PST)
Egypt opens Rafah terminal for a day to allow in Egyptians stranded in Gaza RAFAH, Egypt, April 1 (AP) - Rafah terminal on Egypt-Gaza border has been opened for a single day to let around 350 Egyptians stuck in Gaza Strip for the past two months to return home, officials said. (Posted @ 16:50 PST)
Somali gunmen kidnap British and Kenyan aid workers MOGADISHU, April 1 (AP) Gunmen fired on a car carrying foreign U.N. aid workers and abducted a Briton and a Kenyan as they travelled between Buale and Sikow in southern Somalia Tuesday, officials and witnesses said. A witness said he saw six armed men open fire on the car as it approached them on the road. (First Posted @ 13:35 PST, Updated @ 16:50 PST)
Rebel forces clash with Chad army NDJAMENA, April 1 (AFP) Fighting broke out between rebel and government forces in eastern Chad Tuesday, nearly two months after a failed bid to oust President Idriss Deby Itno, rebels and the government said. The clashes erupted around Ade town in hot, arid eastern territory bordering Sudan's Darfur region, said Ali Gadaye, spokesman for the main rebel group, the National Alliance (AN), led by General Mahamat Nouri. A statement from Chad's defence ministry confirmed the fighting and claimed that the rebel attack was by Sudan in violation of the March 13 peace pact made in Dakar. (Posted @ 16:35 PST)
Govt's motto to serve people, not to enjoy power perks: PM Gilani ISLAMABAD, April 1 (APP) Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani Tuesday said his government's motto was to serve the people rather than enjoying perks and privileges of power. “We assure that we are here to deliver and serve the people... and if we don't, then there is no question of being in power,” Gilani said in his first public appearance at the launching of documentary film on PPP leader Zulfikar Ali Bhutto at National Library. Gilani said his government would follow the principles of PPP that focussed on the rule of people. “We are taking forward the vision of our leaders Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and Benazir Bhutto who worked for providing strength to the common man,” he said. (Posted @ 16:25 PST)
Amir Haider Khan Hoti elected unopposed CM NWFP PESHAWAR, April 1 (APP) The NWFP Assembly here Tuesday unanimously elected ANP and PPP's joint candidate, Amir Haider Khan Hoti as Chief Minister of North West Frontier Province. As many as 113 members reposed their confidence in Chief Minister Ameer Haider Khan Hoti with no vote against. (Posted @ 15:25 PST)
Cricket- Shoaib Akhtar to learn fate after hearing ISLAMABAD, April 1 (AFP) Paceman Shoaib Akhtar is set to learn his fate later Tuesday after appearing before a disciplinary committee on charges of violating the players' code of conduct, officials said. Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Nasim Ashraf is set to announce the committee's decision at a press conference in the capital Islamabad at 4:45 pm. Akhtar, 32, criticised the PCB for dual standards on awarding central contracts in January this year. He is currently on two-years probation and if found guilty of violating the PCB code he could face a life ban. Leg-spinner Danish Kaneria also appeared before the committee. Kaneria criticised his demotion from category “B” to “C” in the central contract in a website column. (Posted @ 15:05 PST)
Deposed top judge presses for return, celebrates end of 'one-man rule' QUETTA, Pakistan, April 1 (AP) Pakistan's deposed chief justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry claimed Tuesday he was still the legal head of the Supreme Court and hailed the election defeat of President Musharraf's allies as the end of ''one-man rule.'' Iftikhar Chaudhry insisted his removal during emergency rule in November was illegal. The judges who refused to swear a fresh oath of office during the emergency ''claim that we are all the judges of the courts, and those people who took the oath ... are not legal and constitutional judges,'' he told a gathering of lawyers in Quetta Tuesday. He said the results of February parliamentary elections ''changed the country's culture.'' ''Who did this? This is done by you people and the people of the country. The message is clear that in future everything will be constitutional in the country and there will be no more one-man rule,'' Chaudhry said. (Posted @ 15:40 PST)
Two killed in militant attack in Pakistan MINGORA, Pakistan, April 1 (AFP) Militants ambushed a van carrying pro-government tribal elders in a northwestern region, killing two tribal leaders and wounding seven others Tuesday, police said. The elders were returning to Mingora, the main town in Swat. Separately four local government officials were wounded in a roadside bomb blast in Matta, another town in Swat, Tuesday. The officials were returning to their office from a visit to the area when their vehicle struck the bomb, police officer Akhtar Sharif said. (Posted @ 14:35 PST )
Sri Lankan military says 15 Tamil rebels killed in northern fighting COLOMBO, Sri Lanka, April 1 (AP) A fresh round of fighting along the northern front lines of Sri Lanka's civil war killed 15 Tamil Tiger rebels, the military said Tuesday. The battles broke out Monday in the Jaffna, Mannar, Vavuniya and Welioya areas, the military said in a statement. In the worst of the fighting, six Tamil Tiger rebels riding on a tractor were killed in an army attack in Vavuniya. Rebel spokesman Rasiah Ilanthirayan was not available for comment. (Posted @ 13:55 PST)
At least 53 Somali would be migrants drown off Yemen SANAA, April 1(Reuters) At least 53 Somalis have drowned off the coast of Yemen while trying to cross from Somalia to the Arabian Peninsula country, a Yemeni official said Tuesday. The captain of the vessel carrying about 145 migrants forced them to jump into the sea off Yemen's southern province of Abyan to swim ashore, the provincial official told Reuters. About 92 survived and were sent to refugee camps, he said. (Posted @ 13:50 PST)
Two foreign UN aid workers kidnapped in Somalia MOGADISHU, April 1 (AFP) Two foreign United Nations aid workers were abducted by armed men Tuesday in southern Somalia, a local government official and local elders told AFP. “Two foreign aid workers from the Food and Agriculture Oganisation (FAO) were intercepted by armed militiamen on their way to Buale,” local district commissioner Ibrahim Noleye said. “We believe they are being held hostage,” he added. (Posted @ 13:35 PST)
'No veto' for Russia on NATO membership: Bush KIEV, April 1 (AFP) Russia will not have any “veto” right at this week's NATO summit where the alliance will decide whether to accept new members, US President George W. Bush said Tuesday. “Russia won't have a veto over what happens in Bucharest,” Bush said at a news conference with Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko in Ukrainian capital Kiev. “And that's the right policy.” He said Washington “strongly supports” Ukraine's bid to join NATO. “Ukraine now seeks to deepen its cooperation with the NATO alliance through a membership action plan. Ukraine has made a bold decision and the United States strongly supports your request.” (Posted @ 13:35 PST)
Gunmen kill one soldier, wound four in southwestern Pakistan QUETTA, Pakistan, April 1 (AP) Gunmen killed one soldier and wounded four others in southwestern Pakistan Tuesday, police said. Police official Raja Fayyaz said the soldiers came under fire as they travelled through Quetta, the capital of Balochistan province. There was no claim of responsibility. (Posted @ 13:05 PST)
Police kill eight Maoists in eastern India PATNA, India, April 1 (Reuters) Indian police killed eight Maoist rebels in a midnight gunbattle in the eastern state of Jharkhand, police said Tuesday. (Posted @ 12:50 PST)
Taliban commander detained in southern Afghanistan KANDAHAR, April 1 (AP): Police arrested a senior Taliban commander during a clash with militants in southern Afghanistan that left three insurgents dead, an official said Tuesday. The militants, led by Taliban commander Mullah Naqibullah and dressed in police uniforms, ambushed a police convoy on Monday north of Lashkar Gah, capital of Helmand province, said the provincial police chief. The ensuing gun battle left three militants dead, and wounded two policemen and Naqibullah, who was taken into custody, the official said. This is the third time that authorities have arrested Naqibullah. (Posted @ 12:20 PST)
9 Kurd rebels, 3 Turkish soldiers killed in clashes ANKARA, April 1 (AP): Clashes between Turkish troops and Kurdish rebels have left nine rebels and three soldiers dead in the country's southeast, a news agency reported Tuesday. The clashes took place over the past five days in the southeastern province of Sirnak, bordering Iraq, Dogan news agency reported Tuesday. Ten soldiers were also wounded in the clashes, it said. (First Posted @ 09:10 PST, Updated @ 12:10 PST)
Israel planning to build 1,400 new homes on Arab land in Jerusalem, West Bank JERUSALEM, April 1 (AP): Israel is going to build 1,400 new apartments in the West Bank and the disputed part of Jerusalem, officials announced, despite objections by Palestinians and U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. Israel's construction announcements Monday came just after Rice left for Amman to meet Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. In the Jordanian capital, Rice said Israel should stop such construction projects, but to no avail. (Posted @ 11:10 PST)
Drug hitmen kill four in violent Mexican city CIUDAD JUAREZ, April 1 (AP): Drug hitmen tortured and killed four men, wrapping their heads in black garbage bags, as thousands of soldiers and federal police arrived to bolster security in the Mexican border city of Ciudad Juarez, local authorities said on Monday. The bodies --badly burned and handcuffed-- were shot between Sunday night and Monday morning and dumped on the street in different parts of the city, said the attorney general's office for northern Chihuahua state. (Posted @ 10:50 PST)
Olympic torch leaves on month-long global tour BEIJING, April 1 (AP): The Olympic flame headed to Kazakhstan on Tuesday to start a month-long global tour. The flame left on a chartered plane for Almaty, Kazakhstan after an elaborate kick-off ceremony held under tight security in host city Beijing's Tiananmen Square .Almaty is the first of 21 stops around the world before it returns to mainland China on May 4. (Posted @ 10:40 PST)
Thai PM hospitalised over food poisoning BANGKOK, April 1 (AFP): Thai Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej was hospitalised Tuesday in Bangkok, after suffering food poisoning during a regional summit in Laos, a spokesman said. Samak became sick Monday after visiting a market in the Laotian capital Vientiane, where he attended a summit of five Mekong River nations, a government spokesman said. The 72-year-old premier was taken to hospital, and would not attend his weekly cabinet meeting Tuesday, the spokesman said. (Posted @ 10:10 PST)
India's soccer captain refuses to join in Beijing Olympic torch run NEW DELHI, April 1 (AP): India's soccer captain Bhaichung Bhutia will refuse to carry the Beijing Olympic torch during its run through the Indian capital later this month in protest over the Chinese authorities' crackdown on recent protests in Tibet, a sports official said Tuesday. The captain, who is reported by Indian media to be the first athlete to refuse to run with the torch, faxed his decision to the IOA on Monday, said the official who spoke on condition of anonymity. AP-TK-01-04-08 0500GMT (Posted @ 10:05 PST)
At least 40 protesters convicted in secret Myanmar trials: Amnesty BANGKOK, April 1 (AFP): At least 40 protesters in Myanmar, including seven Buddhist monks, have been sentenced to prison after secret trials over last year's pro-democracy marches, Amnesty International said Tuesday. Officially, more than 3,000 people were arrested during the crackdown. The junta says the vast majority were released. But Amnesty said in a statement that at least 700 are still behind bars, and at least 40 of them have been sentenced to prison after secret trials. (Posted @ 10:00 PST)
75-vehicle pile up on Colorado highway: 1 killed, several injured FRISCO, Colorado, April 1 (AP): A pileup involving as many as 75 vehicles on snowy Interstate 70 shut down Colorado's main east-west route on Monday, killing at least one person and injuring several others, two of them in critical condition, officials said. A semi-trailer truck jackknifed and caused the original crash, said a state trooper. “We have up to 60 to 75 cars involved,” he said. (Posted @ 09:55 PST)
Georgia ready to send nearly 500 soldiers to Afghanistan under NATO TBILISI, April 1 (AFP): Georgia would be prepared to send nearly 500 soldiers to Afghanistan to back NATO, which it wants to join, Foreign Minister David Bakradze said Monday. “We are proposing that some 200 soldiers be included in the Dutch contingent and 120 soldiers join the French contingent: a relatively smaller number of Georgian soldiers would be deployed with the American forces,” Bakradze told AFP. Georgia would send “nearly 500 soldiers” to Afghanistan, he said. They could be deployed in late summer or early autumn. (Posted @ 09:50 PST)
Bush starts Europe tour in NATO aspirant Ukraine KIEV, April 1 (AFP): US President George W. Bush arrived in Ukraine Monday at the start of a tour to push NATO allies for more support in Afghanistan and reach a compromise with Russia on defence plans. At talks scheduled for Tuesday with Ukraine's pro-Western President Viktor Yushchenko, Bush was expected to stress US support for the country's plans to join the NATO military alliance. Bush will also “push hard” for the alliance to embrace Ukraine and Georgia as potential members during a NATO summit that starts Wednesday, US National Security Advisor Stephen Hadley said. (Posted @ 09:40 PST)
Israel army kills two Gaza militants: medics GAZA CITY, April 1 (AFP): Israeli forces on Tuesday killed two Hamas militants in exchanges of fire during a brief army incursion in the Gaza Strip, Palestinian medical sources said. The gunbattle erupted after several Israeli armoured vehicles and tanks attacked east of the town of Bir el-Balah in southern Gaza, the sources said. Two members of Hamas were killed in the exchanges of fire. (Posted @ 09:15 PST)
Three Turk security personnel killed in PKK clash DIYARBAKIR, Turkey, April 1 (Reuters): Three members of Turkey's security forces were killed and a number of others injured on Monday in a clash with Kurdish PKK rebels in mountains near the Iraqi border, security officials said. The clash occurred in Sirnak province. (Posted @ 09:10 PST)
N.Korea attacks S.Korea's leader Lee for first time SEOUL, April 1 (AFP): North Korea Tuesday launched its first verbal attack on South Korean President Lee Myung-Bak since he took office, saying his tougher policy towards Pyongyang would have “catastrophic consequences.” The lengthy and vitriolic attack, describing Lee, who took office in late February, as a US sycophant and a traitor, comes as tensions are rising between the two nations. (Posted @ 09:05 PST)
Aboriginal art stolen from Australian gallery CANBERRA, April 1 (Reuters): Seven historic paintings from Australia's first major Aboriginal art movement have been stolen in an overnight raid on an art gallery in Australia's northern city of Darwin, police said Tuesday. Gallery director Anna Malgorzewicz said the stolen paintings were not the most valuable in the gallery's collection, but were historically significant works. (Posted @ 09:00 PST)
Father drowns 3 children in Baltimore hotel bathtub PHILADELPHIA, April 1 (Reuters): A Maryland man estranged from his wife drowned their three young children in a Baltimore hotel bathtub over the weekend, police said Monday. The man called the front desk at the Baltimore Marriott Inner Harbor Hotel to say he had killed his children and was about to hurt himself, said a Baltimore City Police spokesman. Officers found three children identified as Anthony, 6, Austin, 4, and Athena, 2 dead. The man was arrested. (Posted @ 08:55 PST)
US cinema prodigy Jules Dassin dies in Greece ATHENS, April 1 (AFP): Veteran US moviemaker Jules Dassin, Monday in Athens at the age of 96. He was a film noir master who sought exile in Europe after being named during the anti-communist witch-hunts of the 1950s in the US. Born in Middletown, Connecticut in 1911, Dassin earned a reputation as an innovative director and was one of America's hottest young filmmakers of the 1940s with films such as “Brute Force” (1947) and “Naked City” (1948). But as an active Communist who never compromised on his beliefs, he was blacklisted at the height of the witch-hunts on leftists unleashed by Senator Joseph McCarthy and moved to Europe settling in Greece. (Posted @ 08:50 PST)
New agenda for new beginning By Dr Iram Khan
THE new prime minister has taken the oath of office. The post-election euphoria is now over. The time for serious business is here. Perhaps never before in the history of Pakistan has any prime minister faced bigger challenges.
But all hope is not lost and with the new government there is talk of a new beginning. This can definitely be a fresh start for a democratic dispensation. This writer would like to suggest some measures that the new government should be taking in its first hundred days.
Turn the president’s house into a library: We are no bibliophiles. Our literacy rate, the number of books published and per capita readership of newspapers is sufficient proof of that. However, this does not mean that we do not have centres of excellence or the country is without impressive libraries. Quaid-i-Azam Library in Lahore, one of the finest around, has been housed in a palatial building that once accommodated a club. Its conversion into a library has symbolic meaning and importance. I propose that the new chief executive should set a precedent by relocating the National Library of Pakistan to Aiwan-i-Sadr. The latter, situated in the heart of Islamabad and representing the spirit and mood of the city, is an ideal location for the library. Placing it at a pivotal point will give the library the prominence it deserves and will symbolise the furtherance of a tradition of scholarship and learning.
Move the PM to ‘modest’ premises: The prime minister currently lives in a Spanish/Portuguese-style villa hidden well behind the Federal Secretariat in the middle of nowhere. This newly built outhouse is reclusive though exclusive and creates the impression of someone living in solitary confinement. The prime minister represents the people of Pakistan and should ideally live amongst them, and if possible in a house similar to theirs. Think of 10 Downing Street in London which, at least from the outside, looks like the same house I lived in as a student in a relatively poor and run-down area of Manchester.
I would propose to the new prime minister that he leave the PM House and move to the ‘Minister’s enclave’, a well-guarded but less secluded locality. It is also in the hub of Islamabad and with scores of houses of similar design and size in that street, it also looks less exclusive. In an elitist society like Pakistan’s, no one expects the prime minister to sit on a prayer mat like Ayatollah Khomeini of Iran or live in a mud house like so many rural Pakistanis, but it is not unfair to expect him to live with other ministers. After all, he is the first among equals.
Dissolve the Prime Minister’s Secretariat: The Prime Minister’s Secretariat is an ever-growing necropolis of bureaucracy. It has centralised, in the name of coordination, many functions that should be performed at the ministry and department levels. The government’s weakening grip on power and decline in credibility are perhaps directly proportionate to the increase in directives being issued from this monolith. Ad hoc orders issued for gaining interim political mileage are followed and coordinated by the PM’s Secretariat to ensure their implementation. That sets the pattern for the chief ministers who also have their own separate secretariats. It so seems that otherwise no one pays heed to the orders of either the prime minister or the chief ministers.
It is pertinent to note that the PM’s Secretariat did not exist at the time of Z.A. Bhutto. In his days, the task of assisting the prime minister in office was performed by the Cabinet Division. The secretariat was created when insecure prime ministers wanted to be seen as well above their cabinet colleagues. Let the new prime minister rely on the Cabinet Division and dissolve the PM’s Secretariat.
Rationalise the privatisation programme: Pakistan has adopted privatisation as an essential component of its economic reform package. Unfortunately, this privatisation looks more like ‘piratisation’ or ‘internationalisation’ of government assets. There have been instances of rogue privatisation deals where public enterprises were sold to interest groups for peanuts. The abortive sale of Pakistan Steel — which was reversed by the Supreme Court — is an example of a dubious transaction that could have taken place under the umbrella of privatisation. I would propose that the new government should adopt a cautious policy towards privatisation and should divest prudently to local investors who can steer flagship Pakistani companies in the international arena.
Milbus: The incumbent army chief has recalled a large number of army officers working on civilian posts. While this needs to be appreciated, there is a need to do more. According to The Washington Post (June 27, 2007), the military reportedly runs a $20bn portfolio of businesses ranging from banks to real estate to bakeries. The new government should ensure that the armed forces of Pakistan are not engaged in business activities. No serving officer ought to be posted in any of its so-called welfare trusts; only retired officers may serve there. The tradition of army generals patronising and heading different business ventures should end.
According to Georges Pompidou, a former French prime minister and president, a statesman is a politician who places himself at the service of the nation. A politician is a statesman who places the nation at his service. The new prime minister has proclaimed that he will act as a servant of the people. We all wish him well but he needs to do more than just rely on his good luck.
The writer is a Visiting Fulbright Scholar from Islamabad currently based in the University of Florida, USA.
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