US to help Pakistan in fighting terrorism
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
NEW YORK: The United States is going to work with Pakistan to strengthen its ability to fight terrorism, according to a State Department spokesman. State Department spokesman Robert Wood said on Monday, “If you look at what happened on Saturday, this is an example of why we, the Pakistanis, the Afghans, need to work and redouble our efforts to counter extremism in this region. We’ll continue to work with the Pakistanis on trying to deal with the Taliban and Al Qaeda threat,” he said. Adviser on Interior to the Prime Minister Rehman Malik, was meanwhile quoted in the US as saying, “We do not need help. We are competent. We reject it.”
Pakistan, Afghanistan mull joint border force
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
WASHINGTON/KABUL: Pakistan and Afghanistan are discussing a possible joint force to combat militants along the their common border, Afghan Defence Minister Abdul Rahim Wardak said on Monday.
He told reporters at the Pentagon that Afghanistan had proposed a joint military task force to operate on both sides of the border.
“We should have a combined joint task force of coalition, Afghans and Pakistanis to be able to operate on the both sides of the border,” he said.
The proposal was sent to Islamabad about a month ago, he said. Pakistan Army spokesman Major General Athar Abbas told AP no formal proposal for a multinational cross-border force had been received by the army and that he was unaware of any discussion of the idea within the tripartite commission.
Co-operation:Also, Afghanistan and Pakistan agreed to have “widespread and honest co-operation” against terrorism, Afghan President Hamid Karzai’s office said, following a massive suicide attack outside the Marriott Hotel, Islamabad.
Karzai telephoned Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani late on Sunday to offer condolences for Saturday’s suicide attack, AFP quoted the Afghan presidential office as saying in a statement.
The statement quoted Gilani as saying that “now the need for a joint strategy in the war against terror is felt more than ever”.
Investigators hunt Qaeda cell after blast
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
ISLAMABAD: Investigators on Monday scrambled to track down an Islamabad-based Al Qaeda cell believed to have carried out the devastating bombing of the Marriott Hotel, security officials said.
Investigators said they believed the attackers constructed the massive 600-kilogramme truck bomb at a safe house in the capital, since most lorries entering the heavily guarded city are searched at checkpoints.
“Our focus at the moment is to track down the network in Islamabad which must have facilitated the movement and construction of the bomb,” a senior official involved in the investigation told AFP.
It was likely, however, that the explosives were smuggled into Islamabad in small consignments from militant strongholds in the Tribal Areas, the official added.
Explosives used in the bombing were like those used in two other major militant attacks, including one on the Danish embassy in Islamabad in June.
“We are collecting evidence. The explosives were similar to those used in the Danish embassy, which was claimed by Al Qaeda, and the attack on the ISI camp in Rawalpindi last year,” the official said.
The intelligence agencies and not the police would arrest the suspects, an intelligence official told Daily Times.
Forensic report: Sources privy to the developments said the forensic report was likely to be delayed as experts determine the nature of the explosives used in the attack, and that might create problems for the investigation team. The team might submit a report in two days however, they said.
US team: A three-member team of US experts visited the crime scene along with Pakistani investigators on Monday, and took photographs and collected samples.
Meanwhile, a team completed the search and rescue operation in the hotel and said the building was not likely to collapse.
Govt, KESC mull partnership on power projects
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
KARACHI: Sindh Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah has made an offer to the KESC’s new management that the government can become a partner in its power generation projects if the utility is ready to install coal-based power plants to overcome the power shortage in the city.
He made this offer during a meeting with the KESC’s new management held at the Chief Minister House on Monday, where the utility’s officials briefed the CM on the power situation in the Karachi. Shah advised them to set up power plants at Jhirrk and Sonda in district Thatta, where coal is abundantly available, an official handout said.
“WAPDA and the Sindh government can also become partners in some projects aimed at raising power generation capacity,” the chief minister said. He asked the KESC management to make adequate arrangements to minimize load shedding, while proper publicity of the load-shedding schedule should also be arranged so that people can arrange appropriate alternatives.
The chief minister said that there is general shortage of electricity in the country, particularly in Karachi. As a result, the development process affected on the one hand and domestic supply continues to be interrupted on the other and the people are being provoked. He stressed on the need to overcome the problems by enhancing power generation capacity and minimizing load shedding. He said that the government will fully support the new management in its endeavors, commitments and programs to improve production, supply and distribution of electricity to consumers of the city.
Senior advisor to Abraj Brigadier Mazharul Haq and KESC CEO Naveed Ismail informed the chief minister that there is shortage of around 400 MW and that the new management is making efforts to overcome the shortages, lapses and deficiencies. They said that KESC faces many problems, particularly theft by various means, including the kunda system. According to them, at least 180 MW power will be added by next summer, while 50 MW more may be added by burning natural gas.
The KESC management said that a 10-year plan has been chalked out to overcome power shortages and make the utility self-sufficient for power generation, so as to fulfill the power requirement in the Karachi.
Sindh Information Minister Shazia Marri presented the aspirations of the people of Karachi, who face much hardship due to load shedding. She stressed on the need for proper and timely release of information, achievements and load shedding schedules through the electronic media and newspapers. She commented that that an appropriate strategy should be evolved to meet the challenges and needs of power consumption in the future