George Habash dies in Amman


AMMAN, Jan 26: George Habash, the founder of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), died on Saturday in Amman at the age of 82, Jordanian and Palestinian officials said.

The Palestinian ambassador to Jordan, Atallah Khairy, said Habash was hospitalised in Amman 10 days ago with heart problems and died on Saturday shortly after 8 pm (1800 GMT).

Palestine President Mahmud Abbas paid tribute to the “historic leader” and ordered flags to be flown at half-mast for three days in the Palestinian territories in mourning for his death.

“The death of this historic leader is a great loss for the Palestinian cause and for the Palestinian people for whom he fought for 60 years,” Abbas said in a statement.

Habash stepped down as head of the PFLP in July 2000 after having led the faction which is a key component of the Palestine Liberation Organisation for more than 30 years.

He had been living in Jordan, the homeland of his wife, after an illness forced his retirement from political life.

The PFLP under Habash had hijacked airliners to Jordan and he called for the overthrow of Jordan’s monarchy in 1970 before the Black September clashes in which the Jordanian army expelled the PLO from the kingdom.

Habash was born in 1925 in the Palestinian town of Lydda, now in Israel and known as Lod, the son of a Greek Orthodox merchant family.

A charismatic, Habash was a fierce opponent of the policy of compromise of PLO chief Arafat, ruling out a normalisation of ties with the Jewish state and accusing him of making too many concessions.

He opposed Arafat’s 1993 Oslo autonomy deal and refused to return to the Palestinian territories after the launch of autonomy in 1994, while insisting on the right of return of Palestinian refugees to their homeland.

He graduated from the American University of Beirut in 1951 as a paediatrician, and the next year he founded the Arab Nationalist Movement.—AFP

Pakistan: Airstrike kills 12 suspected militants

PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) — A missile destroyed a suspected militant hideout in volatile northwestern Pakistan on Tuesday, killing 12 people, officials said. In other clashes in the area, militants killed a soldier and injured four more.
The fighting came a day after gunmen held dozens of students and teachers hostage for about five hours at a school in a nearby district.

The air attack occurred after midnight in Khushali Torikhel, a village in North Waziristan, a tribal region bordering Afghanistan, an intelligence and a government official in the region said. The two officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to media.

The intelligence official described the victims as "local Taliban."

Neither the government nor the Pakistani military had any immediate comment.

Islamic insurgents have stepped up attacks against government troops and officials in the rugged tribal regions, where scores of militants and troops have died in clashes in recent weeks.

The government frequently employs airstrikes to attack militants in areas which its ground forces and artillery can't reach.

In other fighting Tuesday, one soldier was killed in South Waziristan, a neighboring region along the border, the army said in a statement. Twelve insurgents were arrested in the area, it said.

And in another area of North Waziristan region, four members of the paramilitary Frontier Constabulary were injured when assailants fired several artillery rockets at a military base, said a local intelligence official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to make media comments.

The mounting violence in the northwest has contributed to the growing unpopularity of President Pervez Musharraf, who returned early Tuesday from a European tour.

The hostage drama in Bannu, on the border with the tribal area where Tuesday's clashes occurred, ended peacefully after five hours when the hostage-takers were allowed to flee to avoid bloodshed.

The incident further underscored the government's fragile grip on Pakistan's borderlands near Afghanistan, where crime also is rife.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2...pakistan_N.htm

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It’s coincidence: FO : Israel’s Barak met Musharraf in Paris

JERUSALEM: Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak held talks in Paris last week with President Pervez Musharraf even though their countries have no diplomatic relations, AFP quoted officials as saying on Monday.

The two men first met by chance at the Hotel Raphael where Barak was staying and spoke briefly, a spokeswoman from the Israeli Defence Ministry told AFP.

The following day, Musharraf invited Barak for a meeting and the two talked for about an hour, focusing on Iran’s nuclear programme, she said.

Barak and Musharraf discussed the possibility that Iran would develop nuclear weapons, AP quoted Israeli officials as saying.

Barak also expressed concern that instability in Pakistan could put the country’s nuclear arsenal in the hands of extremists, whereupon Musharraf assured Barak that the country’s nuclear weapons were safe, they said.

Israel and Pakistan have no official relations.

However, Musharraf and the now coma-stricken former Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon had shaken hands on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in September 2005.

Two weeks earlier, foreign ministers from the two countries met in the first such high-level encounter that aimed to help normalise relations.

Commenting on the reports of talks between Musharraf and Barak, Foreign Office spokesman Muhammad Sadiq said that the meeting had taken place by chance when Musharraf was leaving the hotel lobby and the Israeli defence minister was entering the hotel, according to a Daily Times staff report.

The spokesman said that President Pervez Musharraf shook hands with the Israeli defence minister in the lobby when he met him by chance.

When asked about talks between the two leaders, the spokesman said he was not aware of any second meeting. agencies/staff report

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Troops continue advance in Swat

MINGORA: Security forces took control of FC camps in Baidara, Bam Khela, Kuza Drush Khela, Bara Drush Khela and Chinyala while 15 local Taliban surrendered in Garh Bara Banda, in Swat valley on Monday. Residents hailed the security forces. Also, Matta policeman Habibullah’s headless body was found from Maskhara. Drush Khela Fort was also captured by the security forces, APP reported. Four troops were injured late on Sunday, Online reported. staff report/agencies

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UK links aid increase to polls

DAWN
By Our Special Correspondent

LONDON, Jan 28: Prime Minister Gordon Brown indicated on Monday that Britain’s enhanced assistance to Pakistan or for that matter that of the world would crucially depend on the forthcoming February 18 elections being held in a free, fair and transparent manner and a visible progress on the democratic front.

The British prime minister who was answering questions at a joint press conference here along with President Pervez Musharraf at the 10 Downing Street said an internationally agreed conclusion of the ongoing WTO (Doha) talks would hopefully be helpful in enhancing trade of the developing countries like Pakistan with the developed world.

He was asked if Britain would enhance its economic assistance to Pakistan and also provide Pakistan with enhanced access to its market in view of the worldwide recognition that the root cause of growing extremism in Pakistan and other poor Muslim countries was their poverty.

In his opening remarks, President Pervez Musharraf said he had fruitful talks with the British prime minister and he was thankful for Britain’s enhanced economic cooperation with Pakistan and its enhanced assistance in the social sectors.

He said he had also briefed Mr Brown on the progress so far made on the terror war front which he termed as a ‘challenge’ and added: “We are taking all steps to cope with the challenge.”

Thirdly, he said he had also informed Mr Brown about the steps being taken with regard to democratic transition and his own strong desire to hold free, fair and transparent elections on February 18.

The president said he had also apprised the British Prime Minister about the scenario he believed would unfold beyond the Feb 18 election and how the peaceful transition would take place followed by the setting up of a strong democratic government.

Answering a question, the president disagreed with a suggestion that Pakistan had so far failed to defeat Taliban and Al Qaeda and that it had done very little to reform the Madressahs and control radicalisation in the country.

He said Al Qaeda which was mostly foreign manned was now on the run and Taliban which was a local phenomenon had been controlled to the extent of 42 per cent and the link between the Afghan Taliban and Pakistani Taliban had been severed by enhancing border patrol, putting up fences on selected sites and imposing curfew within 3 kilometres of the border.

He said the Taliban menace cannot be controlled in a matter of five days. “It is going to take a long time and we have a long fight on our hands but so far we are winning the war.”On Madressahs, he said they numbered only 2 per cent of the total schools and that they were being reformed. “About 75 per cent of them have been registered and syllabus of government boards has been introduced in these schools, but they have not yet agreed to conduct examination held by the government boards, but we will keep pursuing the matter.”

While answering a question on British government’s policy to support India’s candidature for a UN Security Council seat, the British prime minister said that his country’s longstanding policy was to support the idea of expansion of the SC. “It is not a country-specific policy but our longstanding policy.”

Discussing a question on Kashmir, Mr Brown said he was happy to see the progress being made on the front and the reduction in militancy there.

Earlier, the two leaders had 90-minute working lunch.

When the president arrived at the 10 Downing, he was greeted by 1,000 to 1,500 flag waving and slogan chanting protesters who were shouting “Go Musharraf Go.”

The crowd was waving flags of the PPP, PML-N and Tehrik-i-Insaaf and was being led by Asma Jehangir of the HRCP, PPP’s local leaders and a delegation of the PPP sent from Pakistan by PPP co-chairperson Asif Ali Zardari to organise protests. The delegation included Chaudhry Abdul Majid, Chaudhry Yaseen and Chaudhry Latif.

Ghous Ali Shah of PML-N, Imran Khan of PTI, his former wife Jemima Khan and Lord Nazir Ahmed were also there with strong presence of their supporters.

Some 50 workers of PML-Q were also waving pictures of President Musharraf and shouting slogans of ‘We support Musharraf’.

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Baitullah is on his own, say Afghan Taliban

Bureau Report

PESHAWAR, Jan 28: The Taliban in Afghanistan have distanced themselves from Pakistani militants led by Baitullah Mehsud, saying they don’t support any militant activity in Pakistan.

“We do not support any militant activity and operation in Pakistan,” Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid told Dawn on telephone from an undisclosed location on Monday.

The spokesman denied media reports that the Taliban had expelled Baitullah Mehsud, the head of the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan.

“Baitullah is a Pakistani and we as the Afghan Taliban have nothing to do with his appointment or his expulsion. We did not appoint him and we have not expelled him,” he said.

A spokesman for Baitullah Mehsud has already denied the expulsion report in a Hong Kong magazine and said that the militant leader continued to be the amir of Tehrik-Taliban Pakistan.

“He has not been expelled and he continues to be the amir of Pakistani Taliban,” Baitullah’s spokesman Maulavi Omar said.

The Asia Times Online in a report last week claimed that the Taliban supreme leader Mullah Mohammad Omar had removed Baitullah from the leadership of the Taliban movement for fighting in Pakistan at the expense of ‘Jihad’ in Afghanistan.

“We have no concern with anybody joining or leaving the Taliban movement in Pakistan. Ours is an Afghan movement and we as a matter of policy do not support militant activity in Pakistan,” the Taliban spokesman said.

“Had he been an Afghan we would have expelled him the same way we expelled Mansoor Dadullah for disobeying the orders of Mullah Omar. But Baitullah is a Pakistani Talib and whatever he does is his decision. We have nothing to do with it,” Mr Mujahid maintained.

“We have nothing to do with anybody’s appointment or expulsion in the Pakistani Taliban movement,” he insisted.

Baitullah, who has been accused of plotting the assassination of Ms Benazir Bhutto, told Al Jazeera in an interview that he had taken baya’h (oath of allegiance) to Mullah Muhammad Omar and obeyed his orders.

But the Taliban spokesman said the oath of allegiance did not mean that Pakistani militants were under direct operational control of Mullah Omar.

“There are mujahideen in Iraq who have taken baya’h to Mullah Omar and there are mujahideen in Saudi Arabia who have taken baya’h to him. So taking baya’h does not mean that Mullah Omar has direct operational control over them,” the spokesman said.

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Commonwealth to review suspension after polls


WASHINGTON, Jan 28: The Commonwealth could review Pakistan’s suspension after the country’s parliamentary elections next month, the 53-nation group’s secretary general, Don McKinnon, said here on Monday.

An evaluation on the return of democratic government and the rule of law in Pakistan will be made by a Commonwealth ministerial team invited to the country after the February 18 elections, he said.

“The fact that they are inviting us to come back after the elections is a very strong point,” Don McKinnon told AFP in an interview in Washington.

During their trip to Pakistan, representatives of the Malaysia-led Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group, which decide on membership suspension issues, would “want to see what has happened” since the suspension.—AFP

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Thaksin ally elected Thai PM


BANGKOK, Jan 28: Thai lawmakers elected Samak Sundaravej, an ally of deposed premier Thaksin Shinawatra, as the nation’s new prime minister on Monday, restoring civilian leadership after 16 months of military rule.

The election of Samak cements a stunning political turnaround for Thaksin, who was toppled by the military in a September, 2006, coup and has been living ever since in self-imposed exile.

Samak, a 72-year-old veteran politician in his own right, has promised to bring Thaksin back to Thailand despite the criminal corruption charges facing him in the courts.

He won 310 votes in the vote by members of parliament, defeating opposition leader Abhisit Vejjajiva of the Democrat Party who won 163 seats.

A charismatic yet deeply divisive figure, he will take office and form his cabinet only once King Bhumibol Adulyadej has endorsed him, a formality that could take a few days.

Samak said his cabinet would be ready by Feb 6, and vowed to install a high-calibre team to bolster the economy.

“The person who will become finance minister is capable, knowledgeable, and professional. He is a party insider, but will be acceptable” to others, Samak said, while declining to reveal any names.

After the vote Samak headed off to a popular fresh market to buy groceries, telling reporters that “there will be no celebration. I will continue with my normal life”.

Abhisit warned Samak’s government against complacency. “The government has no time for a honeymoon because there are problems that need solving. Restoring confidence in the country will improve the situation,” he added.

Royalist generals in the military who led the coup that ousted Thaksin had spared no effort in trying to crush his political machine.

Junta-appointed authorities barred him from politics, banned his political party, and froze around two billion dollars worth of his assets. The self-made billionaire has been living in Britain, where he bought Premiership football club Manchester City. But Thaksin, who remains widely popular in Thailand, tapped Samak to rally supporters through the People Power Party (PPP).

It duly swept to victory in December’s elections, falling just short of an absolute majority in parliament, and now leads a six-party coalition with two thirds of the lower house’s 480 seats.

Analysts say that in important ways Samak will remain beholden to Thaksin, whose political clout and pocketbook remain a powerful influence.

“On day to day matters, Samak will have some autonomy, based on his experience, his own stature. But on the overall direction, obviously Thaksin will be the determinant of the major direction of a Samak-led government,” said Thitinan Pongsudhirak, a political analyst at Chulalongkorn University.

Samak, who overcame doubts about his record and his gruff manner by openly campaigning as Thaksin’s proxy, was elected to parliament in 1975.—AFP

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US administration not changing Pakistan policy

DAWN
By Anwar Iqbal

WASHINGTON, Jan 28: US Congress appears more sympathetic to the Pakistani opposition than the US administration, which showed little interest in their demands for the restoration of the previous judiciary in Pakistan and a UN-led probe into the murder of Benazir Bhutto.

But the warm reception two opposition delegations from Pakistan received on Capitol Hill this week, also reflects the changing mood of politics in America where Democrats are openly distancing themselves from the rulers in Islamabad.

The first to arrive in Washington was a Pakistan Tehrik-i-Insaaf delegation led by none other than its chief, Imran Khan. The PTI chief had two items on his agenda: seeking US support for the restoration of the judiciary and convincing the Americans that an election at this stage would further destabilise Pakistan.

Soon after his arrival, Mr Khan announced that he is not seeking to see Bush administration officials because Washington will have a new administration in a year and he sees no benefit in meeting an outgoing administration.

But it was not clear whether it was Mr Khan who refused to see them or it was the administration which was not very keen on meeting a PTI delegation.

Mr Khan’s reception on the Hill was the warmest ever the former cricketer has had in the US legislature. He met a number of senior lawmakers, but the meetings did not lead to any expression of support for PTI’s demands. Senate Majority leader Harry Reid did issue a statement after the meeting, urging the Bush administration to suspend financial aid to Pakistan if the Feb 18 elections are rigged but it made no mention of Mr Khan’s demands to postpone the elections or to restore the judiciary.

The PPP delegation, headed by its Information Secretary Sherry Rehman, had larger meetings and keener audience, both on the Hill and in the administration.

Top on their agenda was to seek US support for PPP’s demand for a UN-led probe into Ms Bhutto’s murder. They also demanded a greater United States involvement in ensuring that the Feb 18 elections are fair and free.

Those on the Hill strongly supported both the demands. Some even issued statements saying that they thought the UN involvement in the investigation would add credibility to the process and would have calming affect on the situation in Pakistan.

“It is imperative that the United States continues to work with our Pakistani counterparts in support of liberty and democracy,” said Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee, co-chair of the Pakistan Caucus on Capitol Hill after her meeting with the PPP delegation.

Sources in the administration, however, told Dawn that US officials listened patiently when Ms Rehman and other members of the delegation raised their demand for a UN-led probe and a greater US involvement in the electoral process but made no commitment.

Instead, they urged the delegation to look ahead and work with other parties to ensure that Pakistan is able to achieve a stable democratic setup after the elections.

The officials assured them that the US administration is committed to democracy and hopes that the upcoming elections will be “reasonably” fair.

Apparently, the US administration does not want to change its Pakistan policy so close to the US election, due in November, and wants the new administration to deal with a post-election situation in Pakistan.

Those on the Hill have a similar attitude but they are more sympathetic to political forces in Pakistan. During their meetings with the PPP delegation, the lawmakers made it obvious they support a democratic transition in Pakistan and want Washington to support “the Pakistani people rather than an individual,” as Senator Reid said.

They also indicated that if the Democrats win the 2008 presidential election, these views will also show in the policies of the new administration.

Since Ms Rehman was with Benazir Bhutto on that fateful evening when she was shot, US lawmakers and officials were both very keen on learning from her how the shooting happened and who she thought was responsible for her death.

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North Waziristan ceasefire extended

By our correspondent

PESHAWAR: Amid reports of underground talks with the government for durable peace, tribal militants battling security forces in North Waziristan Agency Monday extended their one-sided ceasefire till February 10.

The announcement was made by militants’ spokesman in North Waziristan Agency (NWA), Ahmadullah Ahmadi.

He called reporters from an undisclosed location and said the Shura or council of militants, headed by their central Ameer or commander Maulana Hafiz Gul Bahadur, held a crucial meeting somewhere in the same tribal agency and agreed to extend the ceasefire, as it helped restore peace to the militancy-hit tribal agency.

Quetta-Chaman highway reopened

CHAMAN: Quetta-Chaman highway reopened after successful negotiations between security forces and Ghibzai tribesmen here on Monday. Armed Ghibzai tribesmen blocked Quetta-Chaman highway and set ablaze several vehicles in protest against the arrest of their relatives by the FC in Gulistan early Monday morning. After negotiations, security forces released 26 tribesmen and returned vehicles which they had seized during search operation. Scores of armed Ghibzai tribesmen had entrenched in the area after security forces injured four of their relatives when they were crossing Pak-Afghan border. Brigadier Nasrullah Khan Niazi, Colonel Agha Hasib Haider represented the FC while Abdul Shakoor, Wali Muhammad and Faizullah headed the Ghibzai tribe delegation during the negotiation.

India to offer $1 bn aircraft deal to Lockheed Martin



NEW DELHI: India is set to award a one-billion dollar contract to Lockheed Martin for six Hercules transport planes in the biggest military aircraft deal with the US in five decades, an official said on Monday. A formal contract is likely to be issued next month to US-based Lockheed, which is also in the race for a 10-billion dollar contract to sell 126 fighter jets to the Indian Air Force, a defence ministry official said.

"The reserved RFP (request for proposal) will be issued anytime now," a top ministry source told AFP on condition that he was not identified by name or rank. Lockheed Martin has offered to configure the six Hercules according to India's needs and equip the 30-metre-long planes with missile and radar warning systems, other ministry officials said.

US for early naming of UN Afghan envoy



WASHINGTON: The United States said on Monday it was important to find someone to take a job as UN "super envoy" to Afghanistan now that British diplomat Paddy Ashdown has withdrawn himself from consideration. Ashdown said he would not take the post after Afghan President Hamid Karzai suddenly revoked his support. Ashdown was top international administrator in Bosnia from 2002 to 2005. US State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said "Ashdown would have been a highly experienced, extremely capable person to fill that role". He said it is "important that there be somebody to fill that role that President Karzai was talking to Lord Ashdown about".

Bush to seek $ 70 bn for Afghan, Iraq wars



WASHINGTON: The Bush administration will ask the US Congress next week for $ 70 billion to fund the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and related operations for part of the 2009 fiscal, the Pentagon said on Monday.

Pentagon Spokesman Bryan Whitman said the administration probably would not submit another war funding request before it leaves office next January. That would make key decisions on funding the wars one of the first tasks of the next president.

Of the total, the CBO estimated that $ 440 billion had been spent on the war in Iraq. The new request is likely to set up another battle with Democrats who control US Congress and have been highly critical of President George W Bush's handling of the Iraq war.

The Congress has yet to approve most of Bush's fiscal 2008 war funding request. The new request will come on top of the administration's request for the regular Pentagon budget for fiscal 2009, which starts on Oct 1, 2008.

But the two will be sent to the US Congress together next Monday as part of Bush's overall budget request. "We will ask for $ 70 billion in an emergency allowance to support the global war on terror in 2009," Whitman said.

The administration has not yet disclosed the planned size of the 2009 regular Pentagon budget. For the current fiscal, Bush requested $ 481.4 billion for the Pentagon and Congress provided about $ 460 billion. The Pentagon said this would not be possible for 2009, partly because the Congress has yet to approve most of the war funding requested for 2008. "We cannot present another one until we know what we're going to get from last year's request," said Lt-Col Brian Maka, another Pentagon spokesman. The administration has requested a total of nearly $ 190 billion in war funding for the 2008 fiscal, but the Congress has not approved that amount.

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Pakistan is ruled by three As - Army, America and Allah.