Indian terms for talks with Pak
By Aziz Haniffa

WASHINGTON, Oct 23 —India has reiterated to the USA that ‘‘meaningful talks’’ with Pakistan were not possible till Islamabad stopped its support to cross-border terrorism and fomenting insurgency in Jammu and Kashmir.

Mr Brajesh Mishra, Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister, indicated after his talks with senior US officials that it was irrelevant whether it was a civilian government or a ruling military junta which was in power in Islamabad. ‘‘Even when there was a civilian government, we kept on saying that unless cross-border terrorism is stopped, meaningful talks with Pakistan could not take place. The situation is the same even today,’’ Mr Mishra told a press conference.

Mr Mishra said he did not bring up with the USA the question of Washington pressing Islamabad’s military ruler, Gen Pervez Musharraf, to end Pakistan-backed cross-border terrorism, "but of course, they know our concerns and if they are doing it, we welcome it.’’

Mr Mishra said he had raised India’s concerns over the military coup in Pakistan in his talks with Acting Secretary of State Strobe Talbott and other officials and reiterated that Islamabad must end cross-border terrorism before any dialogue could be initiated.

He said he ‘‘expressed our concerns at the unconstitutional changeover in Pakistan and the security implications of it for India,’’ noting that ‘‘there have been three previous military rules in Pakistan, and we’ve had two wars during these military rules.’’

‘‘During the third one, terrorism was exported to India, first in Punjab, then in Jammu and Kashmir and other parts of the country. So, obviously, we have to be vigilant in the present circumstances.’’

Mr Mishra said, ‘‘It’s fair to say the USA has a much better understanding of our security concerns as a result of the change over.’’ But he refused to comment on the U.S. attitude towards the Pakistani coup in which Musharraf deposed the democratically-elected government of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on October 12. There have been charges in many quarters that the USA has been soft on the military junta.

‘‘We were told here that the United States of America is still insisting on early restoration of democracy in Pakistan. This is the way it has been said to us,’’ Mr Mishra said. ‘‘It would be very impolite on my part to characterise the attitude of the United States of America towards the changeover in Pakistan.’’

Assistant Secretary of State for South Asian Affairs Karl F.Inderfurth, had informed Congress this week that Washington would be pressing Musharraf to alleviate New Delhi’s concerns over cross-border terrorism, which the latter has said has to be addressed first before any olive branch extended by Islamabad can be entertained.

Mr Mishra pointed out that in the wake of the recent visit to Washington of Joint Secretaries Alok Prasad and Vivek Katju and the reciprocal visit to New Delhi of the US Coordinator for Counter-Terrorism Michael Sheehan, "we have an ongoing dialogue on cross-border terrorism with the USA’’

He said ‘‘there is a proposal to form a joint working group on counter-terrorism and there is going to be cooperation between the two countries on this subject’’.

Mr Mishra said there was absolutely no pressure during the discussions for India to sign the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) which was rejected by the U.S. Senate early this month.

While emphasising that pressure never works with India, he said, ‘‘I repeated our well-known position that the government will try to form a consensus on the question of the CTBT.’’

Earlier a senior State Department official acknowledged that the military coup in Pakistan and its implications for India and the region were the dominant topic of discussion between Mr Talbott and Mr Mishra at the nearly two-hour working luncheon Talbott hosted for the visiting Indian official, who Washington is well aware wields considerable influence with Mr Vajpayee.

The State Department official pointed out that the meeting with Mr Mishra was the first senior-level contact in Washington between the USA and India since the new government was formed in New Delhi, and was ‘‘an indication of the desire of both countries to quickly re-engage, now that the elections have taken place and the new government formed.

According to the official, who acknowledged that the proposed visit by President Bill Clinton to India early next year also was discussed, ‘‘both sides are looking forward to that event and both sides are pushing forward to take steps that we both can take to make that trip the most productive possible.’’ In this regard, the official acknowledged that there was a discussion of non-proliferation and security issues and ‘‘the fact that the Deputy Secretary of State Strobe Talbott would soon resume his discussion with Foreign Minister Jaswant Singh.’’

The US officials who attended the Talbott-Mishra working luncheon included Inderfurth, Director for South Asia at the National Security Council Don Camp, and Assistant Secretary of State-designate for Nonproliferation,Robert Einhorn.

The Indian officials were Ambassador Naresh Chandra, Deputy Chief of Mission T.P.Sreenivasan and minister, political, Francis Vaz at the Indian Embassy.

Mr Mishra also met Acting National Security Adviser James Steinberg at the White House and Gary Ackerman, New York Democrat, who co-chairs the Congressional Caucus on India and Indian Americans. — (IANS)

Dissent against Musharraf
From Shahid Ahmed Khan

ISLAMABAD, Oct 23 (PTI) — Voices of dissent have started surfacing against Pakistani military ruler General Pervez Musharraf with two separate petitions virtually challenging the army take-over in the Supreme Court and the Sindh High Court.

A petition, filed in the Supreme Court yesterday, challenged the vires of the provisional constitutional order issued by General Musharraf after taking over as the chief executive of the country earlier this month.

The petition, filed by a senior leader of Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and former Law Minister Syed Iqbal Haider under the provisions of the Constitution kept in abeyance, questions the validity of the provisional constitutional order and raises objections to the Chief Executive assuming office without taking oath of office.

Meanwhile, a constitutional petition filed before a Divisional Bench of the Sindh High Court has challenged the act of General Musharraf to keep the Constitution in abeyance through a proclamation of emergency.

An independent lawyer, Sohail Hameed, who filed the petition, made General Musharraf the respondent in his case.

It argued that the move to keep the entire Constitution in abeyance was "unconstitutional" as it also includes Islamic provisions which cannot be suspended by any order.

The petition put the court in a dilemma as it requested leading constitutional expert Sharifuddin Pirzada, who is not only one of the authors of Pakistan’s current Constitution but reportedly had advised General Musharraf before he made the proclamation of emergency on October 15, to assist the court in the next hearing.

The petition before the Sindh High Court was more direct in challenging the military ruler as the petitioner argued that Pakistan came into being on the desires of the Muslims of South Asia and army had no role in its creation as at that time it was busy in the World War II.

"The constitution represents the will and desire of the people of Pakistan. It is a respectable and sacred document that cannot be sabotaged," petitioner Hameed said.

But a question by the court that whether he meant to say that the act of the army was breach of the Constitution, he said it cannot be said because of the "doctrine of necessity" under which the Supreme Court had earlier justified army take-over in the country and which has become a part of the Constitution.

The PPP leader, on the other hand, mainly questioned the authority of the members of the legislature and judiciary in continuing in office despite the suspension of the constitution through proclamation of emergency in the country.

The emergency declared by General Musharraf kept the Constitution in abeyance and suspended the Fundamental Rights and Parliament without dissolving it.

Through a provisional Constitution order, issued by General Musharraf immediately after the proclamation of emergency, it was also declared that no court, including the Supreme Court, could issue any order against the Chief Executive or any other person exercising powers or jurisdiction under his authority.

Swearing-in of Pak Governors cancelled

ISLAMABAD, Oct 23 (PTI) — Pakistan’s military rulers are apparently faced with a legal deadlock which forced them to cancel the oath-taking ceremonies of the four governors appointed by the Chief Executive, Gen Pervez Musharraf.

The scheduled oath-taking ceremonies of the newly appointed governors last evening were hurriedly cancelled at the last moment in the provincial capitals of Karachi, Quetta and Peshawar after a legal lacunae was pointed out to the authorities, according to English daily Dawn.

The report said the functions were cancelled following an instruction from the army headquarters in Rawalpindi as the military authorities were discussing the matter with their legal advisers to find a way out of the impasse.

The authorities apparently found themselves in an unexplained position — whether the Chief Justice of the High Court was competent enough to administer the oath to governors under the Provisional Constitution Order (PCO) of the Chief Executive of which the Chief Justice himself has not taken oath, the report said.

General Musharraf had earlier kept the Constitution in abeyance through a proclamation of emergency in the country and issued a PCO number one declaring that Supreme Court or any other court cannot pass any order against him or any other person acting on his behalf.

Incidentally, a petition has been filed before the Supreme Court by a senior leader of the Pakistan People’s Party questioning the validity of the PCO and pleading with the court to declare that the promulgation of PCO and holding of Constitution in abeyance has cancelled the oath of office of all members of the legislature and judiciary and that they be asked to take an oath afresh under the PCO.

Another petition has been filed by an independent lawyer Sohail Hameed in the Sindh High Court, challenging Musharraf’s PCO order suspending the Constitution.