4 Shiite Muslims killed in Pakistan

DERA ISMAIL KHAN, Pakistan (AP) — Gunmen fired on a vehicle carrying Shiite
Muslims in northwest Pakistan on Monday, killing four people before fleeing in what appeared to be a sectarian attack, police said.

An officer also died in the shootout while pursuing the attackers in the town of Dera Ismail Khan, area police chief Silahuddin Khan said. He said the attackers were riding on a motorcycle, and the slain men included two brothers and two of their friends.

"It seems to be a sectarian attack, but we are still investigating," Khan said.

He said the victims had a rivalry with an outlawed Sunni militant group accused of targeting Shiite Muslims across the country.

Pakistan has a history of violence between the main Muslim sects, Shiite and Sunni. The majority of the country's Muslims are Sunni.

Although most live together peacefully, extremists on both sides often target the other's leaders and activists.

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

Osama hiding in K2 area

DUBAI: Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden is hiding in the K2 mountains of northern Pakistan, according to sources cited by Al-Arabiya. Sources also said the US secret services were intending to drive him out in a major military operation encompassing the northern Pakistani tribal areas.

According to the Dubai-based network, in the past few days the US security and military officials had a top-level summit at a military base in Doha to plan an operation to hunt for the al-Qaeda leader.

Gen David Petraeus, the US commander in Iraq, and the US ambassador to Islamabad, Anne Petersen, were reported to have attended the summit. Reports say the CIA has located the Saudi terrorist in so-called "rooftop of the world", the area of Pakistan that borders Afghanistan to the west, in particular the chain of mountains of Nuristan and China to the north.

http://www.thenews.com.pk/top_story_detail.asp?Id=14945

Ghazan Marri issued Pakistani passport

LAHORE: The government has issued Pakistani passport to Baloch leader Nawab Khair Bakhsh Marri’s son Mir Ghazan Bakhsh Marri in London, Geo News quoted Interior Ministry sources as saying on Monday.

According to the channel’s sources, Ghazan, who is also the central leader of the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) and is settled in Britain, has been issued Pakistani passport under the National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO). The organisation targeted police and army officials, civilian infrastructure, markets and government-established structures.

The name Baloch Liberation Army first became public in summer 2000, after the organisation claimed credit for a series of bomb attacks. In 2006, the BLA was declared to be a terrorist organisation by the Pakistani and British governments. The terrorist organisation was headed by Ghazan’s brother, Mir Balaach Marri. Balaach Marri was killed on November 21, 2007, in Afghanistan.

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default...7-5-2008_pg1_6

Govt has dropped KBD project for good: Ashraf

LAHORE/ISLAMABAD: The government has dropped the Kalabagh Dam (KBD) project forever, as it is a controversial issue among the provinces, Federal Water and Power Minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf said on Monday.

He told a press conference at WAPDA House that Sindh and NWFP had passed a resolution against the dam’s construction. “Kalabagh Dam is a controversial issue and the government does not want to hurt the people of any province,” he said.

Load shedding: Earlier, addressing a ceremony to open bidding proposals for the installation of two separate 500 megawatts power projects at Faisalabad and Dadu, he said load shedding in the country would end by August 14, 2009. He said the government would utilise the power crisis to generate more electricity.

He said bids for another 1,200MW power project had also been invited and would be opened in the presence of media on June 30. “We are also trying to pursue hydroelectric power generation, as well as alternative energy systems such as wind and solar energy,” he added.

Ashraf said the government was undertaking all-out efforts to cope with load shedding by adopting a rational mechanism to generate more electricity through the private sector.

Two companies: Earlier, under the Private Power and Infrastructure Board, two companies were selected for generating 1,000MW electricity through thermal power plants.

Engro Chemical Pakistan had the highest bid for a power plant at Dadu, while Rupa Energy Private Limited had the highest bid for the Faisalabad power plant. After the technical proposals are approved, the bidders will apply to the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority for setting a tariff.

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default...7-5-2008_pg1_7

Israel has at least 150 atomic weapons: Carter

LONDON: Israel holds at least 150 nuclear weapons, former United States President Jimmy Carter said on Sunday. It is the first time a US president has publicly acknowledged the Jewish state’s atomic arsenal.

"The United States and Russia have more than 12,000 nuclear weapons, Great Britain and France have several hundred, and Israel has 150 or more. We not only have an enormous amount of weapons but also rockets to deliver those weapons to targets with pinpoint accuracy," he said.

While the existence of Israeli nuclear weapons is widely assumed, Israeli officials have never admitted their existence and US officials have stuck to that line for years. Carter said Washington should talk directly to Tehran to persuade it to drop its nuclear ambitions.

Years of US policy, including sanctions and a debate about the possibility of military strikes, have not persuaded Iran to abandon its ambitions to produce enriched uranium. President George W Bush has branded calls for negotiations with Iran's president as comparable to the appeasement of Adolf Hitler before World War Two. A former Israeli military intelligence chief criticized Carter's comments and said they would do more harm than good.

"It seems to me that in his last tour of the country and the region, he was apparently so offended that he thought it proper to say things which I think are irresponsible," said Aharon Zeevi-Farkash.

"The problem is that there are those who can use these statements when it comes to discussing the international effort to prevent Iran getting nuclear weapons," he said.

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default...-5-2008_pg7_63

Never-seen images of Mars sent by Nasa robot

WASHINGTON: A Nasa probe sent back never-seen pictures of Mars’ north pole on Monday after a near perfect landing in the most ambitious mission to date to find life-sustaining minerals on the Red Planet.

The first pictures from the Phoenix probe provided the first glimpse of the planet’s Arctic plains – a desolate landscape of stony, frozen ground.

The images also confirmed that the solar arrays needed for the mission’s energy supply had unfolded properly, and masts for the stereo camera and weather station had swung into vertical position.

A flat Martian valley floor shown on the pictures is expected to have water-rich permafrost within reach of the lander’s robotic arm.

“Seeing these images after a successful landing reaffirmed the thorough work over the past five years by a great team,” Goldstein told reporters.

After a nine-month journey from Earth, the Phoenix probe touched down in a relatively flat target area, according to Barry Goldstein, Phoenix project manager at the mission’s control centre at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California.

Radio signals received at 7:53pm Eastern Time (2353 GMT) Sunday confirmed the Phoenix Mars Lander had survived its difficult final descent and touchdown, officials said.

“For the first time in 32 years, and only the third time in history, a JPL team has carried out a soft landing on Mars,” National Aeronautics and Space Administration head Michael Griffin said in a statement. “I couldn’t be happier to be here to witness this incredible achievement.”

http://www.dawn.com/2008/05/27/top1.htm

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Marwatone.

Iran nuclear crisis refuses to go quiet

By Paul Reynolds




Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad inspecting centrifuges
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad says Iran's intentions are peaceful

The Iranian nuclear confrontation will just not go away.

The latest report from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) that Iran is not cooperating fully in the investigation of its nuclear activities leaves this potentially serious crisis open.

Iran is featuring heavily in the US presidential campaign, with the presumptive Republican nominee John McCain frequently suggesting that Democratic hopeful Barack Obama, who has proposed talks with Iran, is showing weakness.

The issue is likely to remain an important one for whoever is the next president - assuming the Bush administration does not take military action in its final months.

IAEA concern

The problem at the moment is not just Iran's refusal to suspend the enrichment of uranium, in defiance of UN Security Council demands and three rounds of UN sanctions.

The immediate concern of the new IAEA report is Iran's apparent reluctance to give its full cooperation in the investigation to sort out exactly what it has been up to in the past.

This effort is needed in order to satisfy the demands of the IAEA and the Security Council that Iran has given up all suspicious activities.

Iran says it has answered all questions and that its intentions are entirely peaceful.

In particular, the IAEA has been concerned about the acquisition by Iran, probably from the Pakistani nuclear scientist AQ Khan, of a 15-page document describing, as the IAEA puts it, "the procedures for the reduction of UF6 [uranium hexafluoride] to uranium metal and the machining of enriched uranium metal into hemispheres, which are components of nuclear weapons".

Iran has told the IAEA that this design document was received along with the P-1 centrifuge [machines that enrich uranium] documentation in 1987 and that it had not been requested by Iran.

The IAEA has a copy of the document but has not apparently been able to discuss its contents fully with the relevant people in Iran. It says the weapons design question needs "substantive explanations".

Until this is cleared up, the suspicion will be that Iran has been interested in nuclear weaponisation. And if it was once, it might be again.

In the meantime, a new attempt to get Iran to suspend enrichment will be made by the EU's chief foreign policy representative, Javier Solana. He hopes to go to Tehran soon with an improved offer of incentives if Iran does agree to suspension.

For its part, Iran is reported to be offering a joint venture on enrichment with foreign partners, but on Iranian soil.

Proliferation threat

The effect of all this uncertainly is being felt not just in the US presidential campaign.

The International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) has published a report that draws attention to the sudden interest in nuclear energy by 13 countries across the Middle East.

"This upsurge of interest is remarkable, given both the abundance of traditional energy sources in the region and the low standing to date of nuclear energy there," said IISS Director General Dr John Chipman.


Until this is cleared up, the suspicion will be that Iran has been interested in nuclear weaponisation


"Notwithstanding the legitimate energy and economic motivations behind this sudden region-wide interest in nuclear power, political factors also play an important role...

"The single most salient political factor... is Iran's development of dual-use nuclear technologies, which motivates at least some of its neighbours to seek fledgling nuclear capabilities of their own.

"If Tehran's nuclear programme is unchecked, there is reason for concern that it could in time prompt a regional cascade of proliferation among Iran's neighbours.

"A proliferation cascade would become more likely if Israel felt obliged to relinquish its long-standing doctrine of nuclear 'opacity' or ambiguity... as this would increase the pressure on Egypt and perhaps other Arab states to seek their own nuclear deterrents."

Former US President Jimmy Carter has said that Israel has 150 nuclear weapons.

Recently the US accused Syria of building a nuclear reactor "not intended for peaceful purposes". This site was bombed by the Israelis last September.

In addition, the existing nuclear-armed countries are also modernising their weapons. The UK is upgrading Trident, the US is planning the so-called Reliable Replacement Warhead and the Russian and Chinese have their plans.

All this adds to the sense that nuclear non-proliferation remains a key world issue and one that is straining at its belt.

And it will only get more difficult if the Iran question is not resolved.

But that does not seem likely in the near future.

Afghan bomb kills bus passengers

A roadside bomb has hit a bus in Afghanistan, killing eight passengers and wounding another, officials say.

The vehicle was on its way to Nimroz province, Younus Rasuli, deputy governor of Farah province, said.

The western provinces which border Iran are frequently attacked. Although militants mostly target military convoys, civilians are often killed.

There has been no indication so far of who was responsible - similar attacks have been blamed on the Taleban.

Afghanistan is witnessing a surge in violence, with the Taleban fighting the government of President Hamid Karzai and the tens of thousands of foreign troops deployed there.

Nimroz province, which borders Iran, is one of the few Afghan provinces which does not have a permanent presence of international troops and it has seen an increase in violence over the past few months.

It is thought the Taleban influence has been growing as fighters have moved across the border in Helmand, where they have increasingly been coming under pressure from international forces, says the BBC's Alastair Leithead in Kabul.

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Devil-may-care

Indonesia pulls out of OPEC

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Indonesia is pulling out of OPEC because it is no longer a net oil exporter, the Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources said Wednesday.

Purnomo Yusgiantoro told reporters it no longer made sense for his oil-producing nation to be a member of Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, and that it will quit after its membership expires at the end of the year.

"We are pulling out of OPEC," he said at a press conference, adding that Indonesia could rejoin the grouping at a later date if its oil production increases.

The country of 235 million people is Southeast Asia's only member of OPEC. But it has had to import oil because of decades of declining investment in exploration and extraction due to corruption and a weak legal system, which make oil companies wary of doing business in the country.

Last month, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said Indonesia needed to concentrate on increasing domestic production, which has dropped to less than 1 million barrels a day even as consumption rises.

OPEC was first formed in 1960 by founding members Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Venezuela. Indonesia joined in 1962. Currently, it has 13 members.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2...sia-opec_N.htm

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Nepal abolishes monarchy, declares republic

KATHMANDU: A constitutional assembly in Nepal on Wednesday voted overwhelmingly in favour of abolishing the Himalayan nation’s 240-year-old Hindu monarchy and declaring Nepal a republic.

In an historic vote that caps a peace deal between Maoist rebels and mainstream parties, politicians ordered unpopular King Gyanendra to step down and for his palace to be turned into a museum. “The sacrifice of thousands of Nepalese has been honoured today by us getting rid of the monarchy,” Maoist spokesman Krishna Bahadur Mahara told AFP.

A senior member of the 601-member Constituent Assembly, Kul Bahadur Gurung, said 560 members voted in favour and just four opposed. The remaining lawmakers were absent.

Nepal’s fiercely-republican Maoists, who fought for 10 years to oust the Gyanendra’s Hindu dynasty and create a secular republic, won the largest single bloc of seats in the assembly in the general elections last month.

Officials said Gyanendra would have 15 days to vacate his Kathmandu palace.

The republican declaration states that Nepal will become “an independent, indivisible, sovereign, secular and an inclusive democratic republic.”

“Nepal has turned into a democratic republic, all the existing laws and administrative functions that contradicts this idea will be invalidated from today,” it reads.

“All the privileges enjoyed by the king and royal family will automatically come to an end,” it says, noting that May 29 will henceforth be celebrated as “Republic Day.”

The Maoists have told Gyanendra and his son Crown Prince Paras to bow out gracefully and adapt to life as a “common citizen” or face “strong punishment.”

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default...9-5-2008_pg1_4

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Marwatone.

US soldier suicides the highest on record

Friday, May 30, 2008

WASHINGTON: The US Army have said that 115 soldiers on active duty committed suicide in 2007, the most in one year since the service began keeping records in 1980. Nearly a thousand soldiers attempted suicide.

The spike came in a year that saw the highest US casualties in Iraq and increased levels of violence in Afghanistan, but officials said the trend has continued into 2008.

Barack Obama, the front-runner for the Democratic presidential nomination, called it "a tragic reminder of the staggering and ongoing costs of the Iraq war, particularly on our troops and their families."

Army officials acknowledged that long and repeated combat deployments were a major source of stress in soldiers' lives, but they found no direct relationship between increased conflict and suicides.

"In terms of this current conflict we see a lot of things going on in the war which do contribute," said Colonel Elspeth Ritchie.

"Mainly it is the long time and multiple deployments away from home, the exposure to really terrifying and horrifying things, the easy availability of loaded weapons, and, of course, it's very, very busy right now," she said.

In a report, the army said the 115 confirmed suicides raised the suicide rate to 18.8 percent per thousand for the active duty army in 2007, or 16.6 percent if based on a larger pool that includes reservists on active duty.

The suicide rate among active service members was 17.3 per 100,000 in 2006, compared to 12.8 in 2005 and 10.8 in 2004. In 2001 the rate was 9.8 per 100,000.

The suicide rate for the US population, adjusted for the age group and gender, is 19.5 percent.

Loadshedding to be reduced: Wapda

Friday, May 30, 2008


ELECTRICITY generation is at its height level at present during the current year as oil-run power plants of Pakistan Electric Power Company (PEPCO) and the Independent Power Producers (IPPs) are producing electricity in accordance with their optimal capacity.

In a statement issued on Thursday, Wapda authorities said the duration of loadshedding throughout the country was expected to further reduce by the next week, as more hydel electricity would be available due to the improved levels in Tarbela and Mangla reservoirs.

Presently, PEPCO has to resort to five to six hours loadshedding daily in urban areas and six to eight hours in the rural areas.

The financial burden on the PEPCO is increasing now-a-days with an amount of more than Rs 193 billion owed by various departments till the end of April 2008 including Rs 41.815 by KESC, Rs 77.75 by FATA and Rs 14 billion by various federal as well as provincial departments, the authorities said. However, All available resources are being utilised to maximise the power generations, they added.

Zardari to set up new placement bureau

Friday, May 30, 2008
By Mian Abrar

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Peopleís Party Co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari has decided to form a Task Force on National Human Resource Development, like the Placement Bureau of the past, with Syed Ghulam Qadir Shah Jamote as its Chairman, sources told The News on Thursday.

Zardari is setting up this task force in the presence of another human development NGO run by Dr Nasim Ashraf, who is the PCB chief. Jamote, a renowned engineer who has also served as Director General Administration and Legal Adviser of the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), would look after the human resource development for all the government bodies, including ministries and attached departments, autonomous and semi-autonomous bodies, etc.

The sources added that the Task Force on National Human Resource Development was being formed on the lines of the Placement Bureau, which was introduced by late PPP chairperson Benazir Bhutto in 1988-89.

The force would also look into the issue of all sacked employees of the Southern Gas Company (SSGC), the issues of the PTCL employees and other such matters.The sources said the co-chairman also wanted to provide employment opportunities to orphans and families of those party workers who had laid down their lives in the struggle for the return of the democratic process to the country.

"There are thousands of families who have suffered due to the Shahadat of thousands of party workers in the movement. The party co-chairman wants all those to be accommodated. Moreover, other dedicated party workers would also be obliged," added the sources.

Zardari assures zero tolerance for terrorists

Friday, May 30, 2008

WASHINGTON: PPP Co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari on Thursday emphasised that the US-Pakistan relations should not be confined to security cooperation alone but be broad-based, telling a Washington newspaper that violent extremism could only be effectively curbed through a multi-faceted approach.

He also held out a firm assurance in an interview with The Washington Times that the new Pakistani government would not negotiate with terrorists but it definitely intended to engage the local tribesmen as part of its comprehensive policy to wipe out extremism in the long-term perspective.

Zardari pledged zero tolerance for the menace of "terrorism anywhere". "The US-Pakistan relationship must be more than a military marriage of convenience. It must be based on shared values and mutual respect.

"If the West commits to a sustained plan of economic and social development for our nation, helping us build an efficient economy, a school system that truly educates, and a health system that protects our people, the danger of terrorism and fanaticism within our borders will all but evaporate," he stated.

The top coalition government leader said ìthe US Congress realises that the key to the strategic interests of the United States in South Asia is the stability of the region, and the key to the stability of the region is a prosperous and democratic Pakistan. "We believe that the White House has now come to share this view."

Chemicals, rain add to China’s quake lake fears

Friday, May 30, 2008

DUJIANGYAN, China: Five thousand tonnes of dangerous chemicals and heavy rain are adding to the mix of threats from one of China’s “quake lakes” in danger of bursting their banks, a newspaper said on Thursday.

Illustrating the sense of urgency, the Finance Ministry said it was funnelling an extra 1 billion yuan into relief work on an estimated 35 quake lakes in addition to 400 million yuan already allotted to work on smaller, damaged dams.

About 5,000 tonnes of chemicals, including sulphuric and hydrochloric acid, were trapped downstream from the Tangjiashan lake and had to be moved to safe ground, the Beijing News said, citing local environmental authorities.

China has evacuated more than 150,000 people living below the swollen Tangjiashan lake, formed by the devastating May 12 earthquake, amid fears it could burst and trigger massive flooding. The official death toll from the 7.9 magnitude quake is already more than 68,500 and is certain to rise further, with nearly 20,000 listed as missing. Aftershocks on Tuesday toppled 420,000 houses, many already uninhabitable.

The chemicals, adding pollution to the threat of flooding, were stranded in different work sites downstream from the lake, the newspaper said. The Tangjiashan lake was created when landslides blocked the Jianjiang river above the town and county of Beichuan in mountainous Sichuan province, near the quake epicentre.

It has been raining at the site from early Thursday, hampering efforts by more than 600 soldiers to open a giant sluice to discharge floodwaters, Xinhua news agency said. Helicopters shipping in equipment were unable to take off. Some 1,000 People’s Liberation Army soldiers were making their way by foot to the lake, carrying more than 10 tonnes of diesel for bulldozers already there.

Alexander Densmore, a seismologist at Durham University in Britain, said any break in a quake lake would likely be sudden.

“These landslide dams pose a really significant risk in these mountain regions, and in these narrow valleys it doesn’t take much material to create a complete blockage,” he said by phone. Once a breach occurred, there could be an accelerating process leading to a sudden rush of water downstream.

“Once that process starts, it’s virtually impossible to do anything to decrease the water... When they fail, they tend to fail catastrophically,” he said of the quake dams. Given the topography of Sichuan, with the western mountain country giving way to plains around Mianyang, a major rush of water could spill downstream and possibly affect lower-lying areas of cities such as Mianyang, he said.

The region along the fault line is densely packed with dams, raising concerns that if either the quake lakes or the weakened dams burst, the rush of water could cause others to fail.

A massive relief effort, which involves providing food, tents and clothing for millions and the reconstruction of housing and infrastructure, including the many destroyed schools, is expected to take up to three years.

Donations from home and abroad had reached 37.3 billion yuan by Thursday, up 2.5 billion yuan from the previous day, the Information Office of the State Council said.

China did not confirm reports on Wednesday that it had requested aid from Japan.

“If the Japanese self-defence forces are ready to provide assistance, the specifics will be discussed at the defence departments of the two countries,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang told a news conference, adding that South Korean President Lee Myung-bak would visit Sichuan on Friday.

Thousands of injured have been transferred to other provinces and the capital for treatment. Song Liangwei, nine, had always dreamed of visiting Beijing, but not as a quake victim.


http://www.thenews.com.pk/default.asp

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Time is the longest distance between two places.

Musharraf slams resignation rumours

ISLAMABAD: President Pervez Musharraf on Thursday dismissed reports of his resignation, terming them baseless, and denied any differences with Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Ashfaq Kayani as part of a malicious campaign to promote unrest in the country.

Addressing a dinner reception hosted in honour of outgoing Punjab governor Lieutenant General (r) Khalid Maqbool, he said that, “The rumour-mongers wish to create differences between me and the army.” He was referring to a meeting held on Wednesday between him and Kayani, which a news report claimed had dealt with Musharraf’s resignation.

He said the speculative reports had caused billions of rupees in loss as stocks had plunged. This trend must not continue as it was damaging for the country’s economy and a threat to foreign investment, he added.

The president also paid rich tributes to outgoing governor Khalid Maqbool and lauded his contribution to national projects, particularly in the socio-economic sector. He also welcomed new governor Salmaan Taseer, and wished him well on his new appointment, APP reported.

Also on Thursday, presidential spokesman Major General (r) Rashid Qureshi termed the contents of a news report about the meeting between the president and the COAS as totally “false and based on conjecture”. He said it would have been better if the reporter concerned had gotten his information confirmed before getting it published. He said the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) had already issued a clarification about the meeting, which had been ‘routine’. Talking to Geo News, he alleged that the Jang group of newspapers was running a campaign against the president. He claimed the group was continuously disparaging the president.

Five-year term: He said that President Musharraf had no intention of resigning, saying he (Musharraf) would complete his five-year term. On President Musharraf’s exit from Army House, he said there had been no discussion between the president and the COAS on this issue. He said President Musharraf would continue to reside in the Army House until renovation work had been completed on the President House in Islamabad. He also refuted the claim of any change of commandoes in the President House, saying the president’s security staff had not been changed.

Earlier, in a telephonic interview with PTV, Qureshi said that neither the president, nor anyone else had ever talked about using Article 58 (2b), but the “rumour factories” had spread baseless information to misguide the people.

Army House: Separately, ISPR Director General Major General Athar Abbas said the meeting between Musharraf and Kayani had been ‘routine’ and was not linked to the posting of any officer or change of any unit. He was referring to the transfer of 111 Brigade Commander Brigadier Asim Bajwa — known in official circles as a Musharraf loyalist. “The posting of Bajwa is not an abrupt change, as the posting order of the officer was issued a month back,” he told reporters at Parliament House. He also expressed regret that the media had unnecessarily sensationalised the meeting between the president and the COAS.

According to an ISPR statement, Bajwa’s posting was part of a bulk posting order that included 478 officers.

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default...0-5-2008_pg1_1

Plane arrives at Chaklala airport

ISLAMABAD: Special security has been put in place in the twin cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi on Thursday in view of significant impending developments and special contingents have also been deployed at important installations as well as the Army House.

Former Army Chief General Mirza Aslam Beg claimed while talking to a private TV channel on Thursday evening that President Pervez Musharraf has decided to step down. He said that the president has been advised to move to the Presidency.

Meanwhile, highly placed sources revealed to The News that a special wide-bodied Air Bus A-310 plane has arrived here at the Chaklala base. It will take special passengers to a close neighbouring country. Packing at an important house in Rawalpindi is in full swing as the modalities have also been finalised for the exit of the significant family.

Sources close to the Presidency have denied any such arrangements, claiming that it was part of a rumour-mongering process to harm the country. “The president has no plans to quit and leave the country,” the sources added.

They said planes of those countries with whom Pakistan has defence ties normally fly in and out of the country. The decision regarding the exit would be taken up immediately after the return of Senate Chairman Muhammadmian Soomro from abroad as he has been asked to return home, cutting short his visit. Mian Soomro is on his way to Islamabad.

The sources pointed out that additional security arrangements have been made at all the major installations of the two cities to ward off any untoward situation in the wake of the departure of the important family.

http://www.thenews.com.pk/top_story_detail.asp?Id=15004

Pakistan on US ‘watch-list’

ISLAMABAD: The United States has placed Pakistan on a ‘priority watch-list’, which is likely to lead to economic sanctions and send a bad signal at a time when the country faces serious political and economic problems.

The action has been taken under ‘special 301 legislation’, which is used to put pressure on governments to consider the interests of multinational companies while making legislations.

Official sources told Dawn that the provision could be invoked against a country only when there was a perceived harm to interests of multinational companies due to non-existence of data protection of pharmaceutical companies.

The sources said that the decision had been taken in the wake of a petition filed by the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) with the office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR), stating that Pakistan had failed in 2006 to ensure protection for a certain pharmaceutical test and other data as required under Article 39.3 of the Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS).

On the basis of this and a few other alleged violations of the TRIPS agreement, PhRMA recommended that Pakistan be placed on the priority watchlist in 2007. However, the sources said the decision was delayed due to some measures taken by the government and Pakistan’s leading role in the war on terror and Washington’s willingness to extend support to the military-led government.

http://www.dawn.com/2008/05/30/nat6.htm

Qadeer says Pakistan has ‘gone to the dogs’

ISLAMABAD: Nuclear scientist Dr Abdul Qadeer Khan rebuked President Pervez Musharraf on Thursday, saying the country had “gone to the dogs” in the last 10 years.

In an unusually candid interview to a private TV channel, Abdul Qadeer Khan also complained of myriad health problems since he was put under house arrest. Speaking by phone from his Islamabad residence, Khan said that the test had proved skeptics in the West wrong that “we were not capable of doing anything”.

Yet hopes Pakistan could then make progress in economic development after becoming “self-sufficient” in national defence had not been realised, he said. “This has not happened. The last 10 years, the country has gone to the dogs,” he said. “People are hungry. You see the (rising) prices and all.”

Asked if he blamed Musharraf for the nation’s problems, he said: “The team leader is to be responsible for the failure of the team but all those who were with him did not assert themselves and do a proper job.”

AQ Khan said that there would be further revelations to come about the country’s nuclear proliferation scandal. He said that most of the facts about the scandal were widely known. But when asked what was yet to be revealed, he told the TV channel: “They will be out, there are some things – they will be out in time, when an appropriate time is there.” But he said that there were certain subjects he could not talk about because of the “national interest”.

He said that the government should be given time to cope with Pakistan’s many problems. He said that the restrictions on his movements had not been relaxed although he was allowed out of his house to visit the Academy of Sciences this month to mourn a former colleague.

Khan said was free to use the phone but soldiers still guarded his house in the capital and “only a very few people have been allowed to come and see me”. The scientist said his health had deteriorated because of his detention. He said he had suffered many illnesses including deep vein thrombosis and prostate cancer, for which he underwent surgery last year.

http://www.thenews.com.pk/top_story_detail.asp?Id=15009

Royal flag lowered as Nepal celebrates ‘rebirth’

KATHMANDU: Nepal basked in its rebirth as a republic on Thursday, lowering the royal flag at Kathmandu’s main palace a day after the 239-year-old monarchy was abolished and the king given two weeks to leave the royal compound.

The monarchy’s end came on Wednesday in a late-night vote by Nepal’s newly elected Constituent Assembly. It was the culmination of a two-year peace process that saw Nepal’s communist rebels transformed from feared insurgents into the country’s dominant political force.

“Turning Nepal into a republic is the biggest achievement of the people in the history of this country,’’ wrote Prateek Pradhan, the editor of the Kathmandu Post.

There were some scattered gatherings across Kathmandu, and a few hundred people gathered outside the pink concrete palace, chanting ‘Gyanendra is a thief, leave the country!’ They briefly clashed with police when they tried to march on the palace gates, and officers used tear gas to disperse the crowd.

Hours earlier, one of the final symbols of the monarchy disappeared as the royal flag, a red square decorated with a flag-waving lion, was removed and replaced later at the palace by Nepal’s national flag, a red banner of two triangles adorned with a sun and moon.

The removal of the royal standard was ‘a decision by the government to show that Nepal is now a republic,’ said a palace official who spoke on condition of anonymity because of palace rules.

There was no immediate reaction to the abolition of his throne from the dour 61-year-old former monarch, who remained silent in recent months as it became apparent that his days as king were numbered.

In every significant way, his throne had become meaningless in the two years since widespread protests against his royal dictatorship forced him to restore democracy.

http://www.dawn.com/2008/05/30/top9.htm

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Marwatone.

Autonomous judiciary must for stable govt system: Justice Iftikhar

Sunday, June 01, 2008

PESHAWAR: Vowing to continue struggle for the restoration of the deposed judges and the autonomy of judiciary in the country, the deposed Chief Justice of Pakistan Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry has said that autonomous judiciary is must for stable government system.

Describing the lawyers’ struggle for independence of judiciary as an exemplary and unprecedented in world, he hoped that it will end with the success and achievement of the desired objectives.

Lauding the role of media in supporting the lawyers’ struggle, he said, “ Media proved as voice of struggle of lawyers.

Strong and independent judiciary is the symbol of stable democracy and dictator dare not to take action against parliament in case of independent judiciary, he said.


http://www.geo.tv/6-1-2008/18774.htm

Dealers create artificial shortage of petrol

Sunday, June 01, 2008


LAHORE

Petrol pump dealers Saturday created an artificial shortage of petrol and diesel due to expected increase in POL prices in the City.

During a survey conducted by The News, it was found that the petrol pump dealers had closed their stations in the afternoon which remained closed till mid night as the government had revised the prices of petroleum products.

In the majority of the areas in the City, the motorists faced huge difficulties in filing their vehicles fuel tanks. The motorcyclists suffered more as after sharp increase in the petrol prices during the last couple of months, the motorcycle owners had reduced their fuel buying.

Following the artificial shortage created by the petrol pumps dealers, motorcyclists were found at petrol pumps arguing the staff to fill the petrol.

Talking to The News, Muhammad Abid, who was asking to fill petrol in his bike fuel tank at a petrol pump in Sadar area, said that it was failure of the government to check such hoarding. He said the government by increasing petrol prices was once again multiplying the miseries for the common man. Manzoor, a petrol pump employee at Dahrampura, said the owners had asked them to stop the sale. “The petrol is not finished at pumps but the owners want to increase their profit as they expected that the government has been increasing petroleum product prices”, he added.

When contacted, Majeed Malik, Chairman Pakistan Petroleum Dealers Association Punjab said that there was no shortage of petroleum products at all in the country. “Few persons disturbing the trade by creating such hoarding of petroleum products”, he added.

Fehmida Mirza says parliament is in danger

Sunday, June 01, 2008

By Tariq Butt

ISLAMABAD: National Assembly Speaker Dr Fehmida Mirza has said parliament will continue to be in danger till the approval of the constitutional package.

"Amendments of the past have converted the parliamentary system into a presidential one and it is necessary to scrap all such changes for the promotion of democracy," she told a group of reporters at a lunch she had hosted for them here on Saturday.

The speaker said the government should abolish whatever had been derailing the democracy in the past.

First, the legislature should consolidate itself and then focus should be on institution building, she said.

She did not answer a question relating to the constitutional requirement of the presidential (Pervez Musharraf) address to parliament.

Answering a question, Dr Fehmida Mirza said the heads of political parties had the right to take decisions outside parliament because people had mandated them to do so. When these will come to parliament, MPs can hold debates and take decisions on them, she said, adding it was the job of political parties to do preliminary work on proposed legislation.

The speaker said it was not mandatory to hold discussions on the Kalabagh Dam in the lower house before the project was cancelled. It was an old issue that had been used for political purposes, she said and pointed out that the three provincial assemblies had already passed resolutions against it.

The deprivation of the smaller provinces would have to be taken care of, she added.

She repeatedly said that Pakistan was an emerging, if not fragile, democracy and people had great hopes from the present parliament. It should be given time, she added.

Fehmida Mirza hoped that parliament would have to come up to the people's expectations. All the hurdles in the way of the parliamentary democracy would have to be removed. The democracy has started flourishing in Pakistan after eight years of dictatorship. "We should project positive, not negative, aspects," she said.

About the implementation of the rule relating to production of any detained MPs, she said she would act according to the law. However, she said politicians had learnt lessons from the past.

The speaker said that it was the responsibility of the heads of parliamentary parties to ensure the presence of their ministers in parliament. She said she too would keep a check on them so that they attended the parliamentary proceedings.

She prayed to Allah Almighty to give the legislature time to do many things that it had planned.

Dr Fehmida Mirza said even the speaker's house and the ministers' enclave also experienced power outages. She said politicians, MPs and media men should play their role for the supremacy of parliament.

The speaker said arrangements were being made for live coverage of the National Assembly proceedings and the parliamentary calendar was being prepared. She said she was getting the required gadgets and equipment for live coverage. She said close contacts and relationship between parliament and the media was necessary to solve people's problems. The political workers and the media, she said, rendered great sacrifices for the parliamentary democracy.

The speaker said the restoration of democracy after eight years of dictatorship was being lauded worldwide. She got this feeling when she recently attended the International Parliamentary Union conference in South Africa. It was a great honour for her and Pakistan when she chaired the conference, she said.

Dr Fehmida Mirza said the expunged portions of the National Assembly proceedings should not be published or telecast by the media. Responsibility should be shown in this regard, she said, adding that media should play its role in highlighting the problems and policy-making.

5.6 million unregistered cell phone SIMs blocked

Sunday, June 01, 2008

ISLAMABAD: Various cellular companies have blocked as many as 5.6 million unregistered SIMs in the country, Chairman Senate Standing Committee on Interior Senator Talha Mehmood told a press conference here on Saturday.

He said this after presiding over a meeting of the Senate body, which was informed by the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) Chairman Shahzada Alam that the rest of the illegal and unregistered SIMs would be blocked within the next three to four weeks.

The committee was told that there were still 1.86 million non-verified SIMs of Mobilink, 2.38 million SIMs of Ufone, 110,000 SIMs of Telenor, 195,000 SIMs of Zong and 0.5 million of Warid.

The committee directed the PTA to ensure the verification of all the unregistered and non-verified SIMs by June 30.

Senator Talha Mehmood directed the PTA to take strict action against franchises of cellular companies that were issuing SIMs without the verification of customers.

The PTA chairman told the committee that there were over 1,370 franchises of various cellular companies operating in the country.

So far, 500 franchises have been checked while 30 were issued strict warning for violating the rules and regulations, he added.

The committee directed the PTA to expedite the campaign against the franchises and ensure the activation of mobile SIMs after proper verification of customers.

PRCS sends 3,000 tents for China quake victims

Sunday, June 01, 2008

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Red Crescent Society (PRCS) on Saturday handed over the second consignment of 3,000 all-weather family tents to the Chinese ambassador for the quake victims.

Speaking on the occasion, Chinese Ambassador to Pakistan Luo Zhaohui thanked the PRCS for its generous support and hoped that the relief goods would help in alleviating the suffering of the victims.

"The help reflects that the Pakistani nation stands with the Chinese people in this hour of need and this will further strengthen the people-to-people relations," he said.

Pakistan Red Crescent Society Chairman Saeed Ahmed Qureshi said the PRCS expressed its sympathy with the government and the people of China, particularly the bereaved families and victims of the recent earthquake.

He said the PRCS was sending the tents to assist the victims while it had also sent 500 tents and a donation of US$50,000 to the Red Cross Society of China for the quake victims.

He hoped that the support would contribute towards the overall efforts of the Red Cross Society of China in alleviating the suffering of the victims.

Qureshi added that the International Federation of Red Cross and the Red Crescent Societies would directly airlift the tents from Islamabad to the quake-hit Sichuan province.

He said the PRCS had so far contributed Rs 60 million in cash and kind for the quake victims.

Flourmills go on strike in twin cities

Sunday, June 01, 2008

Rizwan Ehsan Ali


Rawalpindi
The Rawalpindi-Islamabad Flourmills Association (RIFA) decide to go on an indefinite strike from Saturday, unless the Punjab government agrees to increase the ex-mill price of 20-kilograme bag of flour from Rs365 to Rs415.

“That’s our final decision and we are not going to open our flourmills if the Punjab government persists with its price of Rs365,” Abdul Rehman, vice president of RIFA told ‘The News’.

District Coordination Officer Rawalpindi Jamal Mustafa Syed was not aware that the RIFA had decided to shut down the supply of flourmills on the ex-mill price of Rs365.

“They (officials of RIFA) were discussing about the strike in our yesterday’s meeting, but I am not aware that they have made up their minds to shut down the supply completely,” Jamal told ‘The News’.

All the 85 flourmills stopped the supply of 20-kg ‘atta’ bag on Saturday and it was feared that if the strike continues, it would certainly affect the consumers in the twin cities.

For the last one month officials of around 85 flourmills in Rawalpindi and Islamabad are negotiating with all the relevant authorities on the ex-mill price of 20-kg flour bag. However, all their meetings — both in Rawalpindi and also in Lahore — ended without any positive outcome.

“We have given them lots of time for negotiations, but now the things are going out of our hands and we have no other option but to close down the supply of ‘atta’,” Rehman said.

Sources said that officials of some relevant authorities tried their best to convince few of the big flourmill owners on Saturday in Rawalpindi and in Islamabad to resume the supply of ‘atta’ bags, however, all their efforts went in vain.

“We all are united on this issue and unless the officials do not do something about our genuine demands we are on strike,” Rehman said.

The flourmill owners demand the rise in the price of 20-kg ‘atta’ bag because the wheat they are procuring from various other cities of Punjab comes at a whooping price of Rs750 per 40 kilogram.

“How could they expect us to sell a 20-kg ‘atta’ bag for Rs365, it’s simply not possible for us,” Rehman said.

However, the official of RIFA said that they still do not want to create any ‘atta’ crisis in the twin cities and wanted to negotiate with the authorities. “But the problem is that nobody is listening to what we are saying,” Rehman said.

In the last three weeks or so, the RIFA officials have met the DCO a number of times, they have also held meetings with the officials of District Food Control and even went to Lahore to meet officials of Punjab Food Department.

“But what’s the outcome of these meetings?” asked Rehman, adding: “Nothing.”

Bush to leave positive legacy in Asia: Robert Gates

Sunday, June 01, 2008

SINGAPORE: President George W Bush will leave a strong and positive legacy in Asian security and his successor will maintain engagement in the region, US Defence Secretary Robert Gates said on Saturday.

Gates told a high-level security forum here that any speculation that the United States was losing interest in the region was preposterous.

“Actually I think this will be an area where there will be a strong and positive legacy in the future,” he told the forum, six months before the US presidential elections.

“Any speculation in the region about the United States losing interest in Asia strikes me as either preposterous, or disingenuous, or both,” said Gates, who will visit Thailand and South Korea after Singapore.

Doubts have emerged among some allies over US leadership in the region, which comes as power China continues its military build-up.

Describing the United States as a “resident power” in Asia with military bases and cooperation pacts with a web of partners, Gates said any future US leader will maintain Washington’s commitment to the region’s security. “I want to convey to you with confidence that any future US administration’s Asia security policy is going to be grounded in the fact that the United States remains a nation with strong and enduring interests in this region — interests that will endure no matter which political party occupies the White House next,” he said.

Gates told the forum — of defence and military officials and security experts known as the Shangri-La Dialogue — that there was a “significant improvement” in the US-Japanese and US-Indian relationship under Bush.

He also cited the example of progress in communication with China.

The two sides recently established a “Defence Telephone Link” between the Pentagon and the Chinese defence minister, he said, adding the US also started with Beijing a series of dialogues on strategic issues.

Regardless of controversies over the Bush administration’s security policies globally, Gates said that “actually here in Asia the overall legacy is a pretty straightforward and very positive one.”

“For those who worry that Iraq and Afghanistan have distracted the United States from Asia and developments here, I would counter that we have never been more engaged with more Asian countries,” Gates said.

“I can assure you that the United States — because of our interests and because of our values — will not only remain engaged, but will become even more so in the decades ahead,” he added.

The United States has permanent bases in Japan and South Korea and is beefing up its military presence in the Pacific island of Guam, where Gates stopped en route to Singapore. Guam, a US territory since 1898, is currently home to about 6,000 military personnel, but will soon become an even more important US base, with the relocation of about 8,000 Marines from Japan’s Okinawa island by 2014.

“Our Asian friends, whether or not they are formally allied to us, welcome our growing presence on Guam,” Gates said.

“As the island’s new facilities take shape in coming years, they will be increasingly multilateral in orientation, with training opportunities and possible pre-positioning of assets,” Gates said.

Japanese Defence Secretary Shigeru Ishiba, speaking at the same forum, underscored the importance of the Japan-US Security Alliance to the stability of the East Asian region. He said it was “one of the most solid alliances in the world” and contributes to the “regional public good.”


http://thenews.jang.com.pk/default.asp

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Time is the longest distance between two places.

India tops world murder count: report

Monday, June 02, 2008

NEW DELHI: India has earned the dubious distinction of being the country where maximum number of murders takes place in the world, three times more than its neighbour Pakistan and double the figures in United States.

There were more than 50 lakh incidents of crime reported in 2007-08, which included murder, rape and drug offences, a government report said.

There were 32,719 incidents of murder recorded in India, whereas there were 16,692 in the US and 9,631 in Pakistan, the report compiled by National Crime Records Bureau and released by the Union Home Ministry, said.

India was followed by South Africa, which registered 30,960 incidents of murders. Austria had recorded just 148 murders, whereas Israel registered 177 such incidents.

However, the rate (per lakh population) of murder and other crimes in India was much less compared to other countries. The murder and rape rate in India is three and four (per lakh population) respectively whereas South Africa recorded occurrence rates in the two categories as 65.27 and 115.8 respectively.

The number of rape cases was maximum in the US, which recorded 93,934 such assaults followed by South Africa 54,926 and India 18,359.

The data was compiled in 22 countries, which included Australia, Argentina, Austria, Bulgaria, Japan, Canada, England and Wales, Germany, Malaysia, New Zealand, Thailand and Sri Lanka besides others. In India, there were 44,159 incidents of sexual offence, 2,70,861 cases of serious assault and 22,814 robbery and violent theft-related incidents, the report said.

The maximum number of robbery related cases were reported in Japan which had registered 17,25,072 such counts.

The US topped the crime list with 2,31,13,708 total crime related incidents, whereas India registered overall 50,26,337 criminal cases.

Death toll in blast near Danish embassy in Islamabad rises to eight

Monday, June 02, 2008


ISLAMABAD: The death toll in a huge blast near Danish embassy in F-6 II area in the Red Zone of the federal capital Islamabad on Monday has reached to eight, while seven wounded said to be in a critical condition.

The car blast near the Denmark embassy damaged a boundary wall of the building, while nearby UNDP office premises were also damaged in the blast.

According to sources 10 to 15 kilogram explosives were used in the blast, which also shattered the vehicles parked in the area.

Huge clouds of smoke were seen over the area. The blast created four feet deep crater sources said.

Police have cordoned off the area to collect evidence about the incident.

Relief operations were underway and the wounded being transferred to hospitals.


http://www.geo.tv/6-2-2008/18821.htm

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Time is the longest distance between two places.

Bhutto Dealt Nuclear Secrets to N. Korea, Book Says

By Glenn Kessler
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, June 1, 2008.

Former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, on a state visit to North Korea in 1993, smuggled in critical data on uranium enrichment -- a route to making a nuclear weapon -- to help facilitate a missile deal with Pyongyang, according to a new book by a journalist who knew the slain politician well.

The assertion is based on conversations that the author, Shyam Bhatia, had with Bhutto in 2003, in which she said she would tell him a secret "so significant that I had to promise never to reveal it, at least not during her lifetime," Bhatia writes in "Goodbye, Shahzadi," which was published in India last month.

Bhutto was slain in December while campaigning to win back the prime minister's post.

The account, if verified, could advance the timeline for North Korea's interest in uranium enrichment. David Albright, president of the Institute for Science and International Security, a research organization on nuclear weapons programs, said the assertion "makes sense," because there were signs of "funny procurements" in the late 1980s by North Korea that suggested a nascent effort to assemble a uranium enrichment project.

Pakistan -- and, in particular, a nuclear smuggling ring run by Pakistani metallurgist Abdul Qadeer Khan, who was instrumental in developing a Pakistani nuclear bomb -- has long been suspected as a source of expertise for North Korea, but such high-level government involvement always has been denied.

In 2002, after observing a series of suspect North Korean purchases, the Bush administration accused Pyongyang of having a clandestine program to produce highly enriched uranium -- a charge that helped sink a Clinton-era deal that had frozen North Korea's plutonium-based reactor. North Korea insists that it had no such program, though it recently agreed to "acknowledge" U.S. concerns as part of an agreement to disable its nuclear reactor.

Nadeem Kiani, spokesman for the Pakistani Embassy, denounced Bhatia's account as "an absurd and baseless claim," adding, "It has no iota of truth and not even worth commenting."

Bhatia is a London-based investigative reporter who has written four other books, including one of the earliest accounts of India's nuclear program. Bhatia said he first met Bhutto at Oxford University in 1974 and kept contact with her until just weeks before she was killed.

George Perkovich, a nuclear expert at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, knows Bhatia and cited his book in Perkovich's own study of the Indian program. "He is very smart, a serious guy, and the work he did on the Indian nuclear program has held up really well," Perkovich said.

Selig S. Harrison, a specialist on South Asia and North Korea at the Center for International Policy who has read the book, said Bhatia "is credible on Bhutto. . . . He knew her very well and is a reputable Indian journalist."

In his book, Bhatia writes that Bhutto brought up the North Korea visit during a discussion in 2003 about her difficulties with Pakistan's military. "Let me tell you something," she declared, before telling Bhatia to turn off his tape recorder. "I have done more for my country than all the military chiefs of Pakistan combined."

At the time, Pakistan was in desperate need of new missile technology that would counter improvements in India's missiles. Bhutto said she was asked to carry "critical nuclear data" to hand over in Pyongyang as part of a barter deal.

"Before leaving Islamabad she shopped for an overcoat with the 'deepest possible pockets' into which she transferred CDs containing the scientific data about uranium enrichment that the North Koreans wanted," Bhatia writes. "She implied with a glint in her eye that she had acted as a two-way courier, bringing North Korea's missile information on CDs back with her on the return journey."

Bhatia said Bhutto did not tell him how many CDs she carried or who she gave them to in Pyongyang. His repeated efforts to persuade her to go on the record about the story were not successful.

Highly enriched uranium, a fuel for nuclear weapons, is produced by cascades of centrifuges that spin hot uranium gas. Albright, who has read Bhatia's account, said the CDs probably contained blueprints of the more than 100 centrifuge components as well as general assembly drawings. "It is tricky to assemble a centrifuge," he said.

Bhutto has always publicly said that Pakistan paid cash for the missile cooperation, though Albright has located one quote by Bhutto in 2004 making reference to computer disks being involved.


http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...053102122.html


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N-data leak allegation against BB rejected

WASHINGTON, June 1: The Pakistan embassy on Sunday took strong exception to a claim — revealed in a book and reported by The Washington Post — that former prime minister Benazir Bhutto personally smuggled nuclear data to North Korea in 1993.

“It is absurd and highly ridiculous,” said an embassy spokesman Nadeem Kiani while talking to Dawn. “Why would a prime minister do such a thing and then disclose it to an Indian journalist knowing that Indian journalists are not known for their love for Pakistan?” According to the book, “Goodbye, Shahzadi,” Ms Bhutto, on a state visit to North Korea in 1993, smuggled critical data on uranium enrichment to help facilitate a missile deal with Pyongyang. The information could have been used to make a nuclear weapon, the report suggested.

The assertion is based on conversations that the author, Shyam Bhatia, had with Ms Bhutto in 2003, in which she said she would tell him a secret “so significant that I had to promise never to reveal it, at least not during her lifetime.” “The book is written in a sensational style, the sourcing is weak,” said Mr Kiani. “Mr Bhatia has in the past also published speculative stories relating to Pakistan’s nuclear programme, the source of which has not always been authentic.” Mr Kiani noted that it was not appropriate to soil the memory of Pakistan’s “icon of democracy”.


http://epaper.dawn.com/ArticleText.a...6_2008_012_007

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