Disappointed over early return from Afghanistan: Prince Harry

LONDON: Prince Harry, pulled out of a 10-week tour of duty in Afghanistan for security reasons, wants a swift return to the frontline, he said an interview published Sunday, insisting he is not a hero.

But as the 23-year-old spent his first night on British soil since mid-December, the head of the British Army dealt his ambitions an immediate blow, saying he was unlikely to return to the fray in the near future.

Harry, third in line to the throne and a second lieutenant in the Blues and Royals regiment of the Household Cavalry, was met by his father, Prince Charles, and elder brother, Prince William, at a British air base Saturday.

The young prince said he was "slightly disappointed" about having to come home early, after a US website broke an embargo agreed between British media and the defence ministry not to publish his whereabouts for security reasons.

And he said he was now waiting to hear from his superiors about his future role but was still keen to rejoin his regimental colleagues.

"As far as I see it, yeah, I would love to go back and I've already mentioned it (to my commanding officer) that I want to go out very, very soon," he added.

But the Chief of the General Staff, General Sir Richard Dannatt, said while Harry's ambitions and enthusiasm were understandable, he could not see that happening for at least 18 months.

"He's just had a deployment, we wouldn't expect to send any young officer in the normal course of events who has just had -- albeit 10 weeks and that quite quickly -- for another tour," he said.

"So, actually the immediate prospect of Prince Harry going anywhere else is some way off in the future. It actually is hypothetical for the next 12 or 18 months whether he would or wouldn't deploy again."

In interviews soon after his return, Harry spoke matter-of-factly about his work calling in air strikes, patrolling and firing at insurgents in Helmand province, in southern Afghanistan.

"You do what you have to do, what's necessary to save your own guys. If you need to drop a bomb, worst case scenario then you will, but then that's just the way it is," he said.

"It's not nice to drop bombs... but to save lives that's what happens."

But he rejected the tag of "hero", amid fulsome praise for his work from British political and military leaders and the media.

"I wouldn't say I'm a hero at all. I'm no more a hero than anyone else. If you think about it there's thousands and thousands of troops out there," he said.

Two unconscious, badly injured soldiers -- one of whom lost an arm and a leg to a landmine -- were on his plane home, he told reporters.

"Those are the heroes," he said.

He also said that during his time at an operating base just 500 metres (1,600 feet) from Taliban positions, he felt secure because there was "no place safer" to be than in the presence of Gurkhas.

"Everyone is really well looked after here by the Gurkhas, the food is fantastic -- goat curries, chicken curries ... it's really good fun," he added.

In interviews carried out with British media in Afghanistan, Harry raised the possibility that William, 25, could be deployed, although that would go against a royal precedent for not sending the future king into battle.

The Sun newspaper on Saturday claimed that William -- an army officer who recently began training as a Royal Air Force pilot -- would serve with the Royal Navy in one of the world's troublespots later this year.

The defence ministry refused to comment, and Dannatt also refused to be drawn.

Britain has some 7,800 troops in Afghanistan as part of the 40-nation NATO-led coalition. Most are based in Helmand, where fighting against Taliban insurgents has been among the fiercest.

Harry raised concerns that Britain's mission there -- and in Iraq, where Britain maintains a 4,100-strong presence near the southern port city of Basra -- was misunderstood and under-reported.

Dannatt agreed, but said if anything, the blanket media coverage of Harry's deployment could help inform the public better about their aims.

http://www.thenews.com.pk/updates.asp?id=38955

Iran president set to begin historic Iraq trip

BAGHDAD: Mahmoud Ahmadinejad begins on Sunday a historic visit to Iraq -- the first ever by an Iranian president -- hoping to boost ties with Baghdad with which Tehran fought a bitter eight-year war.

Ahmadinejad took off from Tehran airport around 0430 GMT at the head of a large delegation including Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki, an AFP correspondent reported.

Ahead of the two-day trip Ahmadinejad said the trip is expected to be a "major step in deepening brotherly relations" between the two Muslim neighbours.

Speaking to reporters in Tehran on Saturday, he reiterated Iran's belief that the "insecurity, disagreement and tension" in war-ravaged Iraq were a result of a "plot" by the United States, the arch-enemy of Iran.

"It is the American practice to present others as guilty wherever they are defeated," he said, dismissing US allegations of Iranian meddling in Iraq. "Is it not funny that those with 160,000 forces in Iraq accuse us of interference?"

US President George W. Bush, in a scathing response, told his counterpart during a press conference in Texas with visiting Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen that

Iran must be told to "quit sending in sophisticated equipment that's killing our citizens." The US military in Iraq says that Iran is supplying weapons and training for anti-US insurgents. Iran denies the charges.

Ahmadinejad's visit to Shiite-majority Iraq is set to underline Western concerns about Iranian influence in the region that Washington alleges extends to aiding militants in Iraq and also destabilising Lebanon.

The trip is also a strong show of support by Tehran for the Shiite-dominated government of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki.

Ahmadinejad's visit also aims "to tell the US it is us and not you who have influence in Iraq. Do not think that you can do whatever you like over there," said Mohammad Sadegh al-Hosseini, an Iran-based expert on Iranian-Arab affairs.

"Iran is also going there to brush aside any ambiguities that it is responsible for instability in Iraq," he added.

http://www.thenews.com.pk/updates.asp?id=38956

Ahmadinejad’s visit to Iraq displeases Washington

WASHINGTON: While President George Bush’s trips to Iraq have been brief and surrounded by secrecy, a visit by Iran’s president this weekend is being heralded with much fanfare, raising US concerns it will erode American influence in the region.

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s visit on Sunday, at the invitation of the Iraqi government, will be the first by an Iranian president to Baghdad since 1979.

Bush used his own trip to the region last month to cajole moderate Arab allies to join a US drive to isolate Iran because of its nuclear programme and what Washington sees as stoking violence in Iraq.

“President Ahmadinejad’s visit is aimed at stealing America’s thunder ... the Iranians are masters of propaganda,” said Michael Rubin of the American Enterprise Institute, a conservative Washington think tank.

“It is his (Ahmadinejad’s) moment of triumph. It is his ‘Mission Accomplished’ moment,” Rubin said, referring to a visit by Bush to a US aircraft carrier in May 2003, two months after the invasion of Iraq, in which he addressed troops under a banner saying “Mission Accomplished.”

The significance of Ahmadinejad’s trip was further boosted on Friday when an Iranian Foreign Ministry official said that Tehran had been discussing a $1 billion loan to Iraq for projects to be handled by Iranian firms, which could be a big fillip for the shattered Iraqi economy.

Bush has never spent the night in Iraq and like his two previous visits, his most recent trip in September 2007, was kept secret until after his arrival.

The United States insists it does not view Ahmadinejad’s two-day trip, which begins on Sunday, as a provocative gesture, but has strongly urged Iraq, which fought an eight-year war with Iran in the 1980s, to use the visit to tell Tehran it must change its behavior.

“We very much would like to see Iran play a positive role in Iraq and obviously, there have been many questions raised by us and the Iraqis about whether their rhetoric of wanting to be good neighbours has actually been matched by their actions,” State Department spokesman Tom Casey said.

A senior Bush administration official said Ahmadinejad had always been an “extremely worrisome figure” and there were concerns he could cozy up too much to Iraq’s government.

“There is still significant evidence of Iran’s illicit meddling in Iraq ... This has to stop,” said the official, who spoke on condition he was not identified.

“But it is important to remember that this is a sovereign Iraqi decision (to invite Ahmadinejad) and we have faith that the Iraqis will be able to deal with his visit.”

Iran expert Karim Sadjadpour said while Bush’s tour was aimed at uniting Arab countries against Iran, Ahmadinejad wanted to show through his high-profile trip to Baghdad that Tehran was a major player and could not be sidelined.

“The US may have hard power in Iraq — they may have tanks and tens of thousands of soldiers and artillery — but Iran has soft power and has a lot of political and cultural influence,” said Sadjadpour of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, a Washington think tank.

Since the United States invaded Iraq in March 2003 and toppled President Saddam Hussein, Iran has been highly critical of the US role, saying it has stirred up violence and made the region less stable.

Washington counters it is Iran that has fomented sectarian bloodshed in Iraq but Iran denies the accusations and squarely blames the United States for the turmoil.

While Ahmadinejad hopes for political capital at home from the visit, especially before mid-March parliamentary elections in Iran, analysts said he would not want the Iraqi government to be seen as a “lapdog” of Tehran.

“That will create more problems with the neighbours. He will want to show his strength but not be seen as threatening them,” said Jon Alterman of the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington think tank.

The Iraq government is providing security for Ahmadinejad but US officials said Washington obviously would be closely monitoring his movements and wanted to ensure his safety.

The US ambassador to Iraq, Ryan Crocker, has met his Iranian counterpart several times to discuss Iraq security issues but the State Department said there were no plans for him to have any encounters with Ahmadinejad during the visit.

http://www.dawn.com/2008/03/02/int11.htm

__________________
Marwatone.

Shahbaz cleared of murder charges

Nirupama Subramanian

Baitullah charged in Benazir killing



ISLAMABAD: Shahbaz Sharif, brother of Pakistan Muslim League (N) leader Nawaz Sharif, is free to contest by-elections after an anti-terrorism court in Lahore court acquitted him of murder charges.

Mr. Sharif’s candidacy for the February 18 elections was rejected on the ground that he was facing charges of ordering police to kill three militant suspects when he was the Punjab Chief Minister between 1997-1999.

On Saturday, the court acquitted Mr. Sharif after he took an oath before the judge that he had not ordered the killings.

The petitioners — the murdered men’s families — accepted Mr. Sharif’s oath, and the court ordered the charges dropped.

Mr. Sharif has already been named the leader of the PML (N) in the Punjab Assembly. The party has the largest number of seats in the Assembly and is poised to form the government in the politically important and powerful province.

In Rawalpindi, police investigating the killing of Benazir Bhutto filed preliminary charges in an anti-terrorism court in Rawalpindi, accusing the Waziristan-based Taliban warlord Baitullah Mehsud of masterminding the assassination. Four suspects have also been named in the charge-sheet.

The judge issued a non-bailable warrant of arrest against Mehsud and the four others.

The spate of terrorist attacks in the country continues unabated underlining the challenges ahead for the new government.
Toll rises to 50

The death toll in Friday night’s blast in Mingora in the North West Frontier Province has risen to 50.

A suicide bomber attacked a funeral procession for a police officer who was killed earlier in the day along with three constables in a roadside bomb blast in Lakki Marwat. The suicide bomber mingled with the large number of mourners. Among those killed was the police officer’s son, who was one of the pall bearers

The country was still trying to make sense of his bloodbath when a suicide bomber struck again on Saturday morning in Bajaur tribal agency, killing two persons and injuring 21, mostly security personnel. The bomber rammed his explosive-filled car into a vehicle belonging to tribal police in a village near Khar, the main town in the agency. A civilian and a security official succumbed to injuries in hospital.

__________________
Devil-may-care

All eyes on Musharraf’s move

Nirupama Subramanian

ISLAMABAD: The much-awaited notification of the results of Pakistan’s February 18 national election came on Saturday, and all eyes are now on President Pervez Musharraf for the convening of the newly elected National Assembly.

Election Commission Secretary Kanwar Dilshad announced the notification of members of the National Assembly and members of the four provincial Assemblies at a late press conference.

The Election Commission will now begin distributing 60 reserved seats for women and 10 seats reserved seats for minorities among the various political parties on the basis of their performance in the elections.

Also, independent candidates get three days to join a political party.

“We should complete the entire process by March 5,” said Mr Dilshad. It is expected that retired General Musharraf will convene Parliament within a reasonable period of time thereafter.

The Constitution sets no time limit for the President to do so, and in 2002, General Musharraf delayed it for as long as it took to put together the Pakistan Muslim League (Q) coalition.

__________________
Devil-may-care

TEHERAN — Iran has allocated $1 billion in loans for infrastructure projects in Iraq, a senior Iranian official said ahead of a visit to Iraq by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.


The loans will pay for reconstruction projects conducted by Iranian companies, Deputy Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Reza Sheikh Attar told the official IRNA news agency late Friday.

"Iran’s $1 billion loan to Iraq was among the main issues discussed with the Iraqi side,” Attar said. He spoke as he ended a visit to Baghdad as part of a high-ranking delegation paving the way for Ahmadinejad’s visit to Iraq due to begin today.

"The loan will be allocated to infrastructural projects carried out by Iranian contractors using Iranian goods and equipment,” Attar said.

The Iranian president also plans to inaugurate two power lines during his trip, Deputy Energy Minister Mohammad Ahmadian said. He said one 400-megawatt transmission line would run from the Iranian port city of Abadan to the Iraqi town of Alharasa, and another from Iran’s Marivan to Panjwin in Iraq.

A third line supplying power to Khaneqin in eastern Iraq is already operational, Ahmadian said. Teheran has also signed a $150 million contract to build a 300-megawatt power plant in Baghdad, he said.

Ten other economic cooperation agreements will be signed between Iran and Iraq during Ahmadinejad’s visit, along with the $1 billion loan, which was first announced by Iranian officials last May.

"The political aim of the president’s visit is to materialise the idea of establishing durable peace borders between Iran and Iraq,” IRNA quoted Attar as saying.

Teheran is seeking to increase its regional influence and Iranian officials agree they play a strong role in Iraq, much as they do with the trade and aid they provide to Afghanistan on their eastern border.

Iran’s ambassador to Baghdad, Hasan Kazemi Qomi, said last August that Iran-Iraq trade in 2006 totalled $2 billion — 97 per cent of that going from Iran into Iraq. Iranian Commerce Ministry officials say they hope trade will soar to $10 billion in the next five years.

Iran says it also wants to build an airport in Najaf. It has also begun work on a railroad between the Iranian port of Khorramshar and Basra in southern Iraq, connecting both countries’ rail systems. Teheran says it is also conducting feasibility studies to build two pipelines to carry oil from Iraq.



http://www.islamicity.com/m/news_fra...erenceID=36582

__________________
Regards,
P.R.

DUBAI - Dubai Police have become one of the top police forces in the world, thanks to its remarkable track record in fighting crime and ensuring the security of the city’s residents, a press release quoted Dubai Police Chief Lieutenant-General Dhahi Khalfan Tamim as saying.


He made the remarks while delivering a lecture recently on the “History of Dubai Police” organised by Dubai Municipality’s Architectural Heritage Department in cooperation with the UAE Architectural Heritage Society at the Culture and Science Club in Al Mamzar.

Referring to the invaluable support extended to Dubai Police by His Highness Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, Lt-Gen. Dhahi said this support had helped the police force to make great strides in accomplishing the visionary plans of the emirate’s government.

He noted that Dubai Police officially came into being in 1956 and it grew with the emirate thereby achieving highest standards in combat readiness, expertise and training of the cadres.

Quoting statistics and figures, Lt-Gen. Dhahi underlined the fact that the police force has grown by leaps and bounds over the past few decades and become one of the most ideal government apparatus that is entrusted with some of the most difficult missions and challenging tasks


http://www.islamicity.com/m/news_fra...erenceID=36582

__________________
Regards,
P.R.

Russia's Medvedev set for presidency

Sun Mar 2, 2008 3:43pm EST

By Christian Lowe

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Dmitry Medvedev was elected as Russia's next president, early results showed on Sunday, after a vote that will preserve the power of his mentor President Vladimir Putin but which opponents said was unfair.

Medvedev, a 42-year-old former lawyer who has worked at Putin's side since the 1990s, will take over the trappings of the presidency from his patron in May but it was still unclear which of the two men would really be in charge.

Two hours after voting finished, a smiling Medvedev walked out of the Kremlin gates alongside Putin and the two men took to the stage at a celebratory concert on Red Square.

"The elections have taken place and our candidate, Dmitry Anatolyevich Medvedev, has a confident lead," the Russian leader said to chants of "Putin! Putin!" from the crowd. "The elections were in strict accordance with the constitution."

Medvedev, dressed in a black leather jacket and blue jeans, promised to stay true to his mentor's policies.

"We are choosing our path of development for a long time ahead and we have a chance to ... cement stability and carry on down the path we have been traveling down for the past few years," he said.

Defeated Communist challenger Gennady Zyuganov expressed concern about irregularities, though he did not challenge the overall result. Western monitors were preparing to issue a tough verdict on a vote they say offered people little real choice.

But Russia voters are enjoying the biggest economic boom in a generation and most see Medvedev as the best hope of prolonging their new prosperity.

He has asked the 55-year-old Putin to be his prime minister and promised to continue his mentor's policies.

"I think that he (Putin) will, at least at the beginning, be the key figure," said Sergei Markov, a Kremlin-linked political analyst and member of parliament.

Updated results from an exit poll by state-run pollster VTsIOM gave Medvedev 70.1 percent of the vote. Zyuganov was in second with 16.8 percent.

In the official count, Medvedev was leading with 66.50 percent after ballots from 30 percent of polling stations had been counted.

The outgoing president, barred by term limits from running in this election, will step down in May and move the short distance down the Moskva river to the prime minister's office in the government headquarters, known here as the White House.

The handover has been smooth for now but observers question how Putin and Medvedev will make their double act work in a country which is used to having a single, strong ruler.

Analysts warn a post-election honeymoon could soon run into problems over the economy too, with inflation rising and the budget dangerously vulnerable to a fall in the price for oil, Russia's main export.

ONE-SIDED

Medvedev's victory follows a one-sided campaign in which the former corporate lawyer refused to take part in televised debates and enjoyed lavish coverage on state television.

Election officials said they had no evidence of violations that would cast doubt over the result.

"This is a secret service KGB operation to transfer power from one person to another," ex-premier Mikhail Kasyanov, who was disqualified from the ballot, told Reuters. "It has nothing to do with elections".

Medvedev's victory has been seen as a foregone conclusion since the popular Putin -- credited at home with restoring Russia's might on the world stage and stamping out the chaos of the 1990s -- endorsed him for the Kremlin top job last year.

Investors are watching closely to see who will be in Medvedev's government, with the focus on whether Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin, seen as the architect of financial stability, will keep his job.

Russian gas giant Gazprom, of which Medvedev is chairman, was preparing to reduce supplies to pro-Western neighbor Ukraine over a debt dispute at 0700 GMT on Monday, in what some observers see as a show of strength.

Some observers believe the choice of Medevedev could be part of a plan by Putin for a shift in emphasis after 8 years in which the Kremlin has single-mindedly consolidated its power over the media, politics and strategic sectors of the economy.

Medvedev has emphasized the importance of using Russia's oil wealth to improve peoples' living standards, and said he wants to loosen the state's control over big corporations.

(Additional reporting by Chris Baldwin, Tanya Mosolova, Gleb Bryanski and Dmitry Solovyov in Moscow; Editing by Richard Balmforth)

© Reuters 2007. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content, including by caching, framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters and the Reuters sphere logo are registered trademarks and trademarks of the Reuters group of companies around the world.

__________________
Regards

Aarwaa

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

Chavez sends tanks to Colombia border in dispute

Sun Mar 2, 2008 3:46pm EST

By Saul Hudson

CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez moved tanks to the Colombian border and mobilized fighter jets on Sunday, warning Bogota could spark a war after its troops struck inside another of its neighbors, Ecuador.

Reacting to Colombia's killing on Saturday of a Colombian rebel inside Ecuador, a Venezuelan ally, Chavez also ordered the withdrawal of all his diplomats from Bogota in the worst dispute between the neighbors since he came to office in 1999.

"Mr. Defense Minister, move me 10 battalions to the frontier with Colombia immediately, tank battalions," Chavez said on his weekly TV show.

"The air force should mobilize. We do not want war. But we are not going to let them ... come and divide and weaken us."

Colombia's military said on Saturday troops killed Raul Reyes, a leader of Marxist FARC rebels, during an attack on a jungle camp in Ecuador in a severe blow to Latin America's oldest guerrilla insurgency. The operation included air strikes and fighting with rebels across the frontier.

Chavez, who had warned a similar operation in Venezuela would be "cause for war," said on Sunday he would send Russian-made fighter jets into U.S. ally Colombia if its troops struck inside his OPEC country.

Colombia denied it failed to respect Ecuador's sovereignty and said Saturday's operation was a response to fire from across the border.

"Colombia has not violated any sovereignty, only acted in accordance with the principal of legitimate defense," the government said in a statement.

"The terrorists, among them Raul Reyes, were used to killing in Colombia and invading the neighboring countries to hide. Many times Colombia has suffered these situations, which we are obliged to avoid to defend our citizens," it said.

Colombian President Alvaro Uribe has often jousted with neighbors over spillover from its four-decade conflict but has managed differences with pragmatism. Now the dispute among the conservative Colombian and his leftist counterparts has gone from aggressive words to action.

Uribe has complained before that FARC guerrillas take refuge in frontier areas, though neighbors say his troops are not doing enough to prevent violent spillover from the conflict.

The leftist anti-U.S. Chavez has been in a diplomatic dispute with his ideological opposite, Uribe, for months because of the Venezuelan's mediation with FARC rebels over their hostages. Uribe has accused Chavez of using the mediation to meddle in Colombian affairs.

On Sunday, Chavez accused Uribe of lying over the details of the operation that killed the rebel in Ecuador, where the leftist government of President Rafael Correa is a close Venezuelan ally. He called it a "cowardly assassination" of a "good revolutionary."

"I am putting Venezuela on alert and we will support Ecuador in any situation," Chavez said

ECUADOR WITHDRAWS AMBASSADOR

Ecuador has withdrawn its ambassador to Colombia in protest and also questioned if Uribe lied when he initially explained to his southern neighbor that the strike was in response to fire from rebels across the border against Colombian troops.

"He (Uribe) is a criminal. Not only is he a liar, a Mafia boss, a paramilitary who leads a narco-government, and leads a government that is a lackey of the United States ... he leads a band of criminals from his palace," Chavez said.

Colombia's government had no immediate reaction to Chavez' troop movements and comments on Sunday, although Uribe has in the past called for prudence in diplomatic disputes.

Chavez, a Cuba ally, sees himself as a leader of Latin America's left and says right-wing Uribe is an obstacle to uniting South America.

Michael Shifter of the Inter-American Dialogue thinktank in Washington and a critic of Chavez, said the Venezuelan was playing with fire even if the spat could distract from his domestic problems such as chronic shortages of some foods.

"There is a risk here as he reacts strongly and often overreacts, but this could backfire on him," Shifter said. "This is not going to achieve what he wants in terms of regional politics ... It maybe is a measure of how concerned he is about his own domestic support."

"I don't know how far he is going to go with this but it is a risky political action," he added.

(Additional reporting by Patricia Rondon in Caracas and Patrick Markey in Bogota; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)

© Reuters 2007. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content, including by caching, framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters and the Reuters sphere logo are registered trademarks and trademarks of the Reuters group of companies around the world.

__________________
Regards

Aarwaa

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

Musharraf accused of helping PML-Q

MULTAN: PML-N MNAs-elect Tehmina Daultana, Rana Mahmoodul Hassan and MNAs-elect-- Shahid Mahmood Khan and Haji Ahsan Uddin have called President Pervez Musharraf not to pressurise independent Parliamentarians for joining PML-Q as the days had gone when minority was turned into majority in 2002.

In a joint press statement Sunday, they alleged that the independent parliamentarians were being pressurised by President Musharraf to support the Q-League. They have given ultimatum to President Musharraf against his series of meeting with the PML-Q's newly elected parliamentarians even the independent MNAs and MPAs in President House, saying if Musharraf does not mend his way, party would take legal and political course to deal the matter with iron hands.

"The president has no justification to stay in power any more when his favourites have been defeated in the polls," they observed. Tehmina Daultana said the president had categorically stated earlier that he would quit in case his party lost the polls. "The election results clearly show that his party has not only lost the polls but was almost wiped out of the political scene," she added. She said pressurising the parliamentarians after calling them to the Presidency was a mockery of the office. She termed it a shameful act and a move against democracy.

"The election results were a referendum against President Musharraf and he must honourably quit. He (Musharraf) is using pressure tactics to deprive the PML-N of power in the Punjab," she charged. To a question about a coalition govt with the PPP in the Punjab, Tehmina said it would be decided by the leadership. However, she said the PML-N would support the PPP in the Centre and the same formula would be adopted in the Punjab. Rana Mehmoodul Hassan said the nation had rejected pro-Musharraf forces in a 'silent' revolution on February 18.

http://www.thepost.com.pk/NatNews.as...147640&catid=2

__________________
Marwatone.

Pervaiz Elahi proposed as new PML-Q president

LAHORE: The Central Working Committee of the Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) has proposed the name of former Punjab chief minister Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi as the next PML-Q president, according to sources.

The sources said the party’s internal elections would be held in the second week of May in which Elahi could be elected, unopposed with the consensus of the PML-Q general council, as PML-Q president.

Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain, the current PML-Q president, was first elected to the post on January 2003, after the then party president, Mian Muhammad Azhar, resigned from his office due to some differences with the party leadership and his defeat on two National Assembly (NA) seats in the 2002 general elections.

Shujaat was re-elected by the PML-Q’s general council on May 12, 2004, for a period of four years.

“All office bearers of the PML-Q shall hold their offices till the next elections and no person shall hold the same office more than twice,” the sources quoted the PML-Q’s constitution. Shujaat and Elahi have completed two consecutive terms as PML-Q president and PML-Q Punjab president, respectively.

No more Chaudhry: Shujaat, who also served as PML-Q Punjab president from 1997-99, has a chance to get elected on the same post, but the PML-Q central leadership wants a person - other than one from the Chaudhry family - on the seat. Shujaat lost on two NA seats in the February 18 general elections.

Humayun: The sources said former commerce and trade minister Humayun Akhtar Khan could be named as the next PML-Q Punjab president after the nomination of Hamid Nasir Chatta as PML-Q parliamentary party leader in the Punjab Assembly.

However, senior party leaders such as Mian Manzoor Ahmad Watoo, Khurshid Mehmood Kasuri and Mian Muhammad Azhar could also be considered for the PML-Q Punjab chief post. The sources maintain that Hamayun is a favourite.

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default...3-3-2008_pg1_2

Aitzaz is free

LAHORE: The Punjab Government on Sunday released Aitzaz Ahsan, President Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA), from home detention. The police contingent deployed outside his Zaman Park residence was also removed. Ahsan was arrested under 3 MPO on November 3, after the imposition of emergency in the country. “I am quite sceptical about my freedom, I am thankful to Allah Almighty, people of Pakistan and the lawyers who stood by me,” Ashan told reporters after his release. He said he intended to go to Gari Khuda Baksh to pay homage to Benazir Bhutto, after which he will go to meet Asif Zardari.

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default...3-3-2008_pg1_6

Aitzaz warns incoming parliament after release

LAHORE: Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) President Aitzaz Ahsan’s 120-day-long house arrest came to an end on Sunday when the provincial government decided not to extend the detention orders any further in the wake of expected change in the government. Soon after, the lawyer leader warned the incoming parliament to restore the judges, failing which “the lawyers and masses will take to the streets”.

The Punjab home department removed the police cordon and barricades placed outside Aitzaz’s Zaman Park residence. Home Secretary Khusro Pervez told The News that the government had decided to release Aitzaz Ahsan following the completion of the first phase of transfer of power.

Aitzaz Ahsan had been released earlier too for one day but then arrested and placed under house arrest. Aitzaz Ahsan was arrested soon after the promulgation of emergency on November 3, 2007, by President General Pervez Musharraf. Then, he was confined to Adiala Jail, Rawalpindi, for nearly three weeks before being brought to his Lahore residence and placed under house arrest. Immediately after his release, Aitzaz announced a black-flag week that would be held from March 9 to 15 for the lawyers and asked the civil society, political workers, students and citizens to add to the strength of the rallies, which will be taken out by lawyers across the country.

He gave the new parliament some breathing time and announced to delay the long march till March 9 so that the upcoming parliament could get time to fulfill the promises they had made about the restoration of judiciary and elimination of dictatorship from the country.

“The new government should be given some time to restore the judges, failing which the lawyers and masses will take to the streets.” “I am grateful to all civil society members for being so supportive and active on the issue of judiciary and against the detentions of lawyers and judges. We have delayed the long march to a certain time while we will be holding a black-flag week from March 9 to March 15 and I request all civil society members and students to participate in a number of protest rallies organised by different bars across the country during the week,” Aitzaz said.

He added that the lawyers would continue their struggle till the restoration of judiciary and release of detained and persecuted people while they also wanted the winning political parties to fulfill their promises and the mandate given by the people of Pakistan.

Aitzaz Ahsan said that President Musharraf had violated Article 6 of the Constitution of Pakistan and the lawyers wanted him to be tried for that. He paid tributes to the late chairperson of Pakistan People’s Party former prime minister Benazir Bhutto. He said that she always supported the restoration of judiciary.

He said that the public and lawyers had given the new Parliament enough time to come up to the expectations of the masses. They would resume a strong protest campaign if the parliamentarians broke their promises after coming into power, he said.

The participants included Justice Nasira Javed Iqbal, CCP member Hamid Zaman, Dr Yasmin Rashid, SAC activist Sufian Arshad, Campaign for Democracy and Rule of Law Pakistan (CDRLP) coordinator Advocate Abdullah Malik, wife of Aitzaz Ahsan, Bushra Aitzaz and others.

Aitzaz Ahsan, also a PPP leader, is scheduled to leave for Naudero today (Monday) afternoon. His requests during the detention for attending Ms Bhutto’s funeral had been turned down by the Home Department.

Aitzaz’s spokesperson Aftab, talking to The News, said that Aitzaz would leave for Naudero where he would pay homage to Benazir Bhutto. He will also address a press conference before leaving for Naudero, Ms Bhutto’s ancestral hometown.

Later, Aitzaz is expected to leave for Islamabad where he will meet PPP Co-Chairman Asif Zardari. Earlier, the leader of the lawyers movement for restoration of deposed judges was greeted by enthusiastic civil society members and political workers after his detention period ended. He later led a rally on The Mall.

Civil society members, lawyers, political parties’ activists and students joined in a protest rally against the suspension of judiciary and President Gen (Retd) Pervez Musharraf. The protestors marched from Aitzaz’s residence to The Mall and dispersed after burning Musharraf’s effigy and pledging to continue their support for the restoration of judiciary.

However, the absence of senior members of Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP), Women Action Committee and People’s Lawyers Forum from the rally was felt. Participants of the rally included a large number of Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf workers, Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) workers, Concerned Citizens of Pakistan members, Campaign for Democracy and Rule of Law in Pakistan (CDRLP) people and many others.

http://www.thenews.com.pk/top_story_detail.asp?Id=13321

US trainers in Pakistan, more to come

WASHINGTON: The Pentagon is planning to send about 100 US military trainers to Pakistan to assist a the Frontier Corps, The New York Times reported on Saturday. Citing unnamed US military officials, the newspaper said that small teams of US special operations soldiers had already been sent to Pakistan to train Pakistani counterterrorism troops. But a classified plan, now under review at the US Central Command, would increase the contigent of US trainers to about 100, the report said. “The US is bringing in a small number of trainers to assist Pakistan in their efforts to improve the Frontier Corps,” Elizabeth Colton, a spokeswoman for the US Embassy in Islamabad was quoted as saying.

Accompanying troops: A senior US military official said the trainers would initially be restricted to Pakistani bases. Britain is considering a similar training mission, according to the report.

FC training centre: Inter-Services Public Relations spokesman Major General Athar Abbas, while responding to the report, told Daily Times that in fact the FC had proposed to open a training centre in collaboration with the US. He said sharing training expertise was routine for the US and Pakistan. He said there was no official word on the proposal yet. He said the ISPR would issue a detailed reply to the NY Times report on Monday (today).

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default...3-3-2008_pg1_3

__________________
Marwatone.