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Sunday,
March 31, 2002, Chandigarh, India  
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Violence won’t solve West Asia crisis: Annan
27 injured in Nepal blast WINDOW ON PAKISTAN Musharraf holds talks on referendum |
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Angry Arafat slams phone down on scribe US Ambassador,
staff leave Pak
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Violence won’t solve West Asia crisis: Annan United Nations, March 30 Opening an emergency meeting of the Security Council yesterday, Mr Annan asked Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat “not to lose sight of the fact that there is a path away from violence and war”. “Terrorism will not bring the Palestinians closer to the establishment of an independent state nor will the use of disproportionate lethal force against civilians bring peace and security to Israel”, he said hours after he returned here from the Arab Summit in Beirut. The meeting was called at the initiative of the Palestinians on Good Friday, a holiday for the world body, as Israeli troops stormed Mr Arafat’s headquarters. Mr James Cunningham, a US envoy, said Mr Arafat must not be harmed and asserted that he was the leader of the Palestinian people. “His leadership is now and will be central to any meaningful effort to restore calm,” he said. But he made it clear that he was opposed to any step being taken by the council at this stage. The Arabs at the meeting circulated a resolution calling for Israeli withdrawal from the Palestinian cities and halting “all acts of violence and terrorism.” Mr Cunningham told the 15-member council that terrorism had shattered recent hopes of peace despite the Arab Summit proposal. Palestinian envoy Nasser al-Kidwa laid the blame squarely on Mr Sharon, saying that he had raised tension in the region with his military action which was aimed at the destruction of the Palestinian Authority and the reoccupation of their land. He called it “another mad Sharonic step” but Israeli Ambassador Yehuda Lancry charged Mr Arafat’s Fatah organisation of carrying out terrorist acts. Mr Lancry repeated the Israeli assertion that the military assault was not intended to occupy territory but was targeted at terrorists.
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27 injured in Nepal blast Kathmandu, March 30 “It is a bomb explosion. Investigations are going on,” a police official told Reuters yesterday. A Defence Ministry statement said three soldiers and 24 civilians, including children, were wounded in the blast yesterday that occurred near a bridge in a residential area of Kathmandu during the morning rush hour. “People were rushing to offices and school when it happened,” said one witness. There were fresh blood stains on the ground at the bridge near a market in the Bhimsensthan area though the bridge did not appear to have been damaged, the witness said. Troops quickly cordoned the area off. A doctor at the city’s Bir Hospital said 22 of the wounded had been brought to the hospital, some in critical condition. “Some of them have abdomen injuries and others have fractured limbs,” he said. Elsewhere, soldiers shot dead 12 rebels in separate gunbattles over the past 24 hours, a Defence Ministry spokesman said. In Washington, US State Department spokesman Philip Reeker urged the Maoists to lay down their arms immediately, stop attacks on civilians and pursue their aims peacefully. The rebels, fighting to overthrow the constitutional monarchy, had stepped up their attacks in recent weeks and had called for a five-day nationwide general strike next week.
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WINDOW ON PAKISTAN The dexterous move by Gen Pervez Musharraf to hold a referendum to continue to occupy the office of President for the next five years has divided the country’s mainline political parties, the People’s Party and the Pakistan Muslim League. What they are worried about is that the President will have everything within his powers to see that both former Prime Ministers, Ms Benazir Bhutto and Mr Nawaz Sharif, are not allowed to enter Pakistan, much less contest elections. While General Musharraf has repeatedly made his intention public, the country’s Chief Election Commissioner has held some hope by declaring last week that the decision whether these leaders would be allowed to contest or not is to be taken by him and not by the President. Political parties know how the military dictator can scuttle such moves. The only party which has come closer to him is the Democratic Party with a strong base in the Frontier region of the country. Once led by legendary Khan Wali Khan and others committed to true democracy and peace in the subcontinent, this party has suffered heavily during the regimes of both Ms Bhutto and Mr Sharif. Some of its leaders were killed and others jailed, and during the Afghan crisis it had to lie low. Nevertheless, its marked political presence was always there. And since General Musharraf started cracking his whip on religious extremists with Afghanistan having returned to its old fold, the party leadership thought of thanking him. And the other is former cricketer Imran Khan and his fledging party. In addition, General Musharraf has also succeeded in lining up sections of the two main political parties behind his moves. But all this may not mean getting a clear yes from the people of Pakistan through the proposed referendum, which incidentally has the backing of the Americans. General Musharraf can win the support of the Nazims, the elected district heads of the administration under the scheme of establishing a guided democracy. But since these Nazims essentially belong to political parties, they cannot be totally pliable. Clearly, as many keen journalists associated with major newspapers like Dawn, The Nation, The News, The Frontier Post and the Friday Times have noted, General Musharraf has begun playing games to win as many sections of the people as possible. This could be dicey. Look at the way he has released over 1,300 activists of jehadi organisations. Extremist leader Maulana Masood Azhar, tops the list of 20 terrorists India wants Pakistan to hand over, has been confined to house arrest instead of jail where he was sent earlier. As if this was not enough, the military administration has cracked down on theatres, music concerts and artists in Lahore, the country’s cultural capital. Moderate political opinion, which has been showing support recently, has been very critical. Najam Sethi of the Friday Times has roundly condemned it in an editorial. He said “in a nauseating replay of hypocrisy, the Punjab police recently raided some theatres in Lahore and arrested many actors on a charge of indulging in “obscenity”. The needed “evidence” was provided by police officials. The police sat among the packed audience and it was soon discovered that the apocalyptic offence of fahashi (vulgarity) had been committed especially in the sexually arousing (to the police) nature of a sequence called “balti” dance. “The police then arrested the actors in its trademark brutish manner. People ran for cover, screaming in confusion and fear. The actresses were particularly distressed because of the anticipated rough embrace of the police who are the custodians of our honour.” The Urdu Press predictably displayed its high-pitched welcome to the clampdown on the entertainment industry. But some Urdu newspapers commented that obscenity on the Lahore stage was actually the result of General Musharraf’s “permissiveness”. This is not true. The comedy theatre of Lahore was born under General Zia-ul-Haq and has been kept alive by citizens who seek relief from the boring living conditions in the puritanical state of Pakistan. The plays of Lahore have attracted audiences for the past 20 years on the basis of their use of double-meaning dialogues, a practice that has continued from time immemorial all over the world. Even eminent persons like Mr Javed Iqbal, a former Chief Justice of Pakistan and son of poet-philosopher Mohammad Iqbal, had described the moves as a drive against the cultural freedom of the people. But General Musharraf is bent upon appeasing extremist elements. Alongside he has been cracking the whip on enterprising independent journalists and newspapers. This dubious policy will certainly not work for the benefit of democracy. Also, many Pakistanis think that India’s “belligerent” attitude towards General Musharraf is the only oxygen with which he can survive. He has already unleashed a high-voltage propaganda campaign against India to keep the people frightened and thus on his side. |
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Musharraf holds talks on referendum Islamabad, March 30 The high-powered meeting chaired by General Musharraf yesterday discussed his recent meetings with political leaders and the information provided by the intelligence agencies to decide on the time and date for the referendum, The Nation daily reported. “The Governors briefed the President about the political situation in their provinces and discussed the time for holding the referendum,” it quoted official sources as saying. The referendum is one of the political options left for General Musharraf to get himself elected for a five-year term. But no final decision has yet been taken on it, Federal Information Minister Nissar Memon told reporters in Lahore yesterday. Major political and religious parties have expressed strong opposition to his plans. Barring some pro-government political leaders, most of them expressed reservations about General Musharraf opting for a referendum at this stage, the daily said.
PTI |
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Angry Arafat slams phone down on scribe New York, March 30 “You are asking me (this question) when I am under complete siege. You are a wonderful journalist. You have to respect your profession. You have to be accurate when you talk with General Yasser Arafat,” he shouted at christiane Amanpour during the telephonic interview. “You are covering with these questions the terrorist activities of the Israeli occupation and the Israeli crimes. Be fair!” Arafat said. The CNN correspondent was repeatedly questioning him on US Secretary of State Colin Powell blaming the West Asia crisis on attacks against Israelis. The interview was given over satellite telephone as Arafat was holed up in a windowless room in his headquarters as Israeli tanks pounded the
building. Water and power supply to the building had been cut off. Earlier, Arafat said, “They have destroyed completely seven of our buildings”. They were using US weapons, he said. He scoffed at the US announcement that Israelis had promised that he would not be harmed. The focus should be on the “problem of our people, of our liberty, of our independent Palestinian state,” he said.
PTI |
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US Ambassador,
staff leave Pak Islamabad, March 30 The American Ambassador left Pakistan along with her two sons and a group of 100 diplomats’ families and non-essential staff, sources said, and added that she would return in due course of time. Another group of 150 Americans employees is expected to leave Pakistan as US officials believe militant groups may target more US nationals in this country. There is no possibility of the return of the other embassy staff in the near future. The USA has called back its staff from Pakistan twice in six months. Meanwhile, Pakistan prepared a multi-million-rupee security plan to protect foreign missions in the country from terrorist attacks. The plan included erection of huge fences around the entire diplomatic area, deployment of 150 regular policemen and a ban on traffic to the enclave.
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