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Pak denies ‘tacit approval’ to USA urges India, Pak
to stop arms race
Pak joins ASEAN Regional Forum Musharraf pledges to bust
Al-Qaeda sanctuaries
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Pak denies ‘tacit approval’ to fencing along LoC
Islamabad, July 2 “Neither there is any silent consent nor any open one. Rather we have repeatedly protested to India against it,” Pakistan Foreign Office spokesman Masood Khan told BBC Radio here. Mr Khan said Pakistan had kept the United Nations informed about the fencing. “We have also told India that erection of the fence was in violation of two regulations or two agreements.” “The fencing is a violation of the Karachi Agreement of 1949 under which India and Pakistan determined the ceasefire line, which specified that no kind of activity and alteration would be carried out around the ceasefire line,” Mr Khan said. “In the Simla Agreement, too, the two sides agreed not to alter the LoC. Therefore, we believe that erection of this fence is not correct,” he added. “At a stage when negotiations are going on between the two countries, we should only speak of confidence-building,” he said, referring to the reported remarks of Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee on fencing. India has officially clarified to Pakistan that the fence was being built in accordance with the Simla agreement to prevent the infiltration of militants. — PTI |
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USA urges India, Pak
to stop arms race Washington, July 2 “On the issue of missile tests, we clearly remain deeply concerned about the dangers that continue to be posed by both nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles in South Asia. We continue to urge Pakistan and India to take steps to prevent an arms race and to guard against possible nuclear use,” State Department Deputy Spokesman Adam Ereli said yesterday. Asked about reports that the A Q Khan network is again active in North Korea, he said “I don’t have any comment on it because it is a report. I don’t have any information to substantiate it. “Pakistan has made clear that it is committed to uprooting and removing the A Q Khan network, continuing to investigate its operations, its tentacles, to make sure that it is non-functional. And I think they have been doing a good job of that.” |
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Pak joins ASEAN Regional Forum Jakarta, July 2 Indonesia, the current Chairman of ASEAN, had sought and obtained an explicit assurance by Pakistan that it would not raise bilateral issues at the forum, External Affairs Minister K Natwar Singh, attending the ARF meeting, said in an interview to Jakarta Post. “This assurance paved the way for a consensus on Pakistan’s admission to the ARF, and I have every expectation that Pakistan will adhere to its commitment,” he said. The forum, which meets annually includes the USA, China, Japan, two Koreas, Russia, India and the European community along with 10 members of ASEAN. Pakistan Foreign Minister Khurshid Mehmood Kasuri was representing his country at the day-long meeting which followed two days of ASEAN ministerial meetings. Mr Natwar Singh dispelled fears that the presence of India and Pakistan at the ARF could create problems because of the existing differences between them on various bilateral matters. Pakistan Foreign Office spokesman Masood Khan described Pakistan’s admission to thr ARF as “very important”, and said, “we have been trying to forge closer relations with Southeast Asian nations and this will facilitate that.”
— PTI |
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Musharraf pledges to bust Al-Qaeda sanctuaries
Islamabad, July 2 “Al-Qaeda terrorists have been behind a number of terrorist incidents in Pakistan, including suicide bombing and targeting some sensitive installations. We will flush all terrorists out of Pakistan,” Musharraf said yesterday during a five-hour marathon meeting with new Prime Minister Chowdhary Shujaat Hussain and other top civil and military officials to review law and order situation. “The foreign extremists are not doing anything for the cause of Islam, but following their self-serving agenda,” he was quoted as saying by the official APP news agency. The President also vowed to bust Al-Qaeda sanctuaries in tribal areas of the country. Hussain said all out efforts would be made to maintain law and order for continued socio-economic progress of country. “Anyone trying to hurt the integrity, sovereignty and security of Pakistan would be dealt with sternly.” The meeting gave special attention to Karachi, where several incidents of bomb blasts and attacks took place recently. Also the two leaders reviewed the ongoing army crackdown against Al-Qaeda militants and their local backers in the Waziristan tribal agency bordering Afghanistan. Ministers for Finance, Interior, Information, Religious Affairs, provincial Governors and Chief Ministers, the Vice Chief of Army Staff and heads of law enforcement and intelligence agencies also attended the meeting.
— PTI |
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Pak reiterates ‘moral’ support to Kashmiris Islamabad, July 2 Hussain also told the PoK leaders that the government is deeply interested in the socio-economic development of the area and in improving the quality of life of people there.
— PTI |
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Indian agent held in Karachi Karachi, July 2 Identified as Sikandar Anam Raja, 45, was captured by the police this week in Karachi. Raja had been living in Karachi since 1980.
— AP |
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Saddam revealed little to jailers
New York, July 2 The ousted Iraqi leader did not say much to the interrogators about his weapon programmes and the insurgency in post-war Iraq during his nearly seven months in US custody, the newspaper said, citing interviews with senior US officials involved in his detention. Saddam was formally handed over to Iraqi justice on Wednesday, but the US military still guards him. He was brought to a special Iraqi court yesterday to face charges of crime against humanity. While in U S custody, Saddam made observations such as a principal reason for invading Kuwait was his belief that he needed to keep his army occupied, the newspaper said. On another occasion, Saddam related how his son Uday had beaten to death someone who had annoyed him by playing music too loudly, the Times said. Saddam said he had Uday imprisoned in solitary confinement to teach him a lesson, the newspaper said. However, it was unclear whether Saddam was referring to an incident in 1988, in which it was widely reported that Uday bludgeoned to death his father’s valet and food taster. Uday and Qusay, Saddam’s other son, were killed in a gun battle with the U S forces last July. The Times cited a U S official as saying that Saddam willingly discussed the roots of the Baath Party in the 1970s, but became uncooperative when the questions turned to illegal weapons or links to the Al-Qaida.
— Reuters |
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