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Rocca commends Pak role in war Pak refutes India’s charge of terrorist
News Analysis
Sonia third most powerful woman Naag Panchmi celebrated in Bangkok |
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Rocca commends Pak role in war on terrorism Senior State Department officials have given Pakistan high marks for its role in the war on terrorism and say Washington’s relationship with Islamabad must be “long term.” In a testimony before the House International Relations Committee on Thursday, Ms Christina B. Rocca, Assistant Secretary of State for South Asian Affairs, said from her many discussions with Pakistanis, “I know that nothing worries them more than the thought that the USA will lose interest in them once the immediate crisis has passed.” The National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States, which looked into intelligence failures leading up to September 11, 2001, emphasised the need to bolster Pakistan’s military capabilities. Acknowledging that this had been one of the Bush Administration’s priorities, Ms Rocca said, “We have sought generally to respond to Pakistan’s legitimate defence needs.” The primary purpose of this military assistance, she said, was to improve Pakistan’s ability to deal with Al-Qaida and Taliban remnants that have gathered along its 1,500-mile border with Afghanistan. “On September 10, 2001, we had no aid programme in Pakistan, little in the way of military-to-military relations, and only a limited intelligence relationship. By September 12 that began to change and did so rapidly,” Ms. Rocca said, adding that the passage of President George W. Bush’s requested aid package for Pakistan was “critical.” In June 2003, President Bush made a five-year commitment to Pakistan of $600 million per year. The aid, he proposed, would be evenly divided between military and economic assistance. The Bush Administration has largely overlooked Pakistan’s involvement with the terrorist groups and their leaders that are being hunted today. Under pressure from Washington, Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf has initiated a crackdown on some of these outfits. Noting that the attacks of 9/11 could be seen as a turning point in the war on terrorism, Ms. Rocca said General Musharraf and the government of Pakistan had “committed itself fully to support military operations in Afghanistan and, just as importantly, to move aggressively against terrorists within its own borders.” Ambassador Cofer Black, Coordinator for counter-terrorism at the Department of State, in his testimony acknowledged, “hundreds of Al-Qaida or Taliban remnants have been successfully apprehended with the cooperation of the Pakistani authorities.” Mr Christopher A. Kojm, Deputy Executive Director of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the USA, and team leader Susan Ginsburg, said if General Musharraf “stands for enlightened moderation in a fight for his life and for the life of his country, the USA should be willing to make hard choices too, and make the difficult long-term commitment to the future of Pakistan.” |
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Pak refutes India’s charge of terrorist camps in PoK
Islamabad, August 20 Pakistan Army spokesman Maj-Gen Shaukat Sultan while calling the charges ‘’baseless and unfounded’’ also said there were no terrorist camps operating in PoK and that cross-border infiltration had not risen in the past two months.
The spokesman was reacting to Indian Minister of State for External Affairs E Ahamed’s statement on August 18 that the Pakistani regime had not taken credible steps to dismantle the terrorists’ infrastructure in the country and that cross-border infiltration from Pakistan had increased during June and July. He said Pakistan was pushing forward the peace process with India sincerely and seriously and India fully understood the situation. The government wanted peaceful resolution of all disputes, including Kashmir, he added.
— UNI |
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White House marks 400th anniversary of Guru Granth Sahib
Washington, August 20 Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson welcomed the Sikhs by saying ‘’Bole So Nihal’’ as the guests responded to the greeting with a loud ‘’Sat Sri Akal”. “You have strengthened the USA and we can count on you to play an important role in making this country strong. Your religion was founded to bring justice, to defend the weak and oppose tyranny”, Mr Thompson added. ‘’I congratulate you on the 400th anniversary of the Guru Granth Sahib on behalf of President Bush who has high regards for your community,’’ A Sikh Council on Religion and Education (SCORE) statement quoted President George W. Bush’s cabinet member Thompson as telling the community members on Wednesday. Ten Sikhs were also invited by the White House in the morning to be present while President Bush was to leave for Minnesota for an election meeting. President Bush waved at the Sikhs and greeted them with a thumbs up, a council member said. A picture of the Sikhs waiving while President Bush’s helicopter was leaving has been posted at the official website of the White House. A commemorative coin depicting the White House on one side and the handwriting of Guru Arjan Dev, the compiler of the Sikh scripture, on the other was released and presented to Mr Thompson by Prof Darshan Singh. A special booklet was also released describing the history and the message of the Sikh scripture and which traced the 100-year-old history of the Sikhs in the USA.
— UNI |
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Trouble brewing in Baluchistan People’s stir reminiscent of East Bengal Rajeev Sharma Trouble is brewing in Baluchistan, Pakistan’s largest province, where a snowballing people’s agitation is starkly reminiscent of the late sixties’ East Bengal which led to the formation of Bangladesh in 1971. Four Baloch nationalist parties have condemned the partisan attitude of rulers, Army operations and establishment of new military intelligence in Baluchistan. Leaders of the National Party, a Jamhoori Watan Party, Baluchistan National Party and Baloch Haq Tawar would go on strike on August 27. Significantly, agitators were also protesting against the construction of Gwadar Port, a project of immense strategic importance for Pakistan. The Chinese are helping in the construction of the port which is tipped to act as an alternate to Karachi Port — the lifeline of Pakistan. Gwadar Port is being developed as a long-term strategic measure after the Indian Navy had throttled the Karachi Port during the 1971 war and dealt deadly blow to Pakistan’s war-fighting capabilities. Baloch leader Nawab Mohammad Akbar Khan Bugti has gone on record as saying that the Gwadar Port project is a plan to divide Baluchistan and bring destruction, instability and poverty to the Baloch people. Balochis have also been protesting against the use of their land for nuclear tests. The water level in Baluchistan has been falling and fear of perpetual drought in the next 10 years haunts its people. The Balochis’ main grievance is that Pakistani rulers have never bothered to redress their grievances. The people are poor and illiterate. The Balochis have never been given government jobs and representation proportionate to the Balochi population. History shows that whenever Balochis demanded their rights and honourable share in the economic resources, Islamabad has sent troops to crush them. From 1973 to 1979, about 15000 Balochi men, women and children were killed by the Pakistan Army and the Frontier Corps. This was followed by another operation against the Balochis in 2002 when 50,000 paramilitary troops surrounded Dera Bugti and cut-off electricity and telephone lines which affected the water supply during the months of June and July. The Balochis have also complained that while the gas generated from their Sui region warms houses in Punjab, their own province lacks electricity. Senator Sanaullah said in a recent interview with BBC that a sense of deprivation was very much prevalent in Baluchistan and they were striving for the rights of the people. That was why the Pakistan Oppressed Nation Movement (PONM) was formed in 1998 which sought political, administrative and other rights of using natural resources. The PONM on August 17 demanded an immediate halt to what it called unannounced military operation in Baluchistan besides restoration of 1973 constitution of the formation of two new provinces of Seraikistan and Sindhudesh in the country. |
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Sonia third most powerful woman
New York, August 20 US First Lady Laura Bush and Senator Hillary Clinton have been placed at the fourth and fifth positon by the magazine in the list of 100 most powerful women in the world that included Indonesian President Megawati Sukarnoputri (8) and Phillippines President Gloria Arroyo (9). In a brief profile of the 57-year-old Gandhi, the magazine said no other woman in recent times had been more widely revered in India than her. “Gandhi made headlines in May when, after the party (Congress) she led won India’s democratic elections, she declined to take over the Prime Minister’s seat,” it noted.
— PTI |
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Naag Panchmi celebrated in Bangkok Bangkok, August 20 It was a fascinating scene to witness the ‘Naag and Naagin’ being devoted to the local Chao Pharaya river, as per the Hindu traditions. Earlier, a religious function was also organised in the temple, which started with the ‘aarti’ performed by the head priest, Pandit Lalit Mohan. The head priest told TNS that Janam Ashtami was also celebrated in all parts of Thailand, especially in Bangkok, when most of the Hindus illuminated their homes and temples. There are about 50,000 Hindus, living in the country, who had migrated from different parts of India, including Pakistan, especially after Partition. |
77 Iraqis killed in Najaf
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Two hurt in
Nepal explosion
Kathmandu, August 20 |
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