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No deal, only dialogue: Mush
Step down offer too little too late: Sharif
Stir restored judiciary’s respect: Pak CJ
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Turban Issue Taliban frees all
hostages
Nepal govt inks deal with Madhesi group
10 Tamil Tigers killed in clashes
Chinese finance minister sacked
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No deal, only dialogue: Mush
The Bhutto-Musharraf deal appears to be running into snags because of stiff resistance from the ruling PML to some of the counter-proposals which require constitutional amendments. The President house reacted sharply to Benazir Bhutto's declarations about the deadline and certain commitments made by Musharraf emissaries. In a curt statement, his spokesman said the President rejected any deadline. He was engaged in a dialogue and not any deal and he would not accept any condition under pressure. Meanwhile, Nawaz Sharif has reportedly told his PML-N leaders that he would return to Pakistan on September 10. The presidency, however, reacted by saying Nawaz would not come. Information minister Mohammad Ali Durrani making a policy statement on behalf of the President said there was no deadlock in dialogue with Bhutto nor was there a deadline. He said the President would make an announcement about his uniform after the conclusion of the dialogue. President Musharraf on Thursday held a discussion with PML leaders and dispelled their apprehensions that he would cut any deal with Bhutto at their cost. In an apparent bid to restore credibility to her dialogue with Musharraf and take credit for forcing him to take off the uniform, Bhutto has been telling the media that he has agreed to seek re-election without uniform. His spokesman said the clause on the ban on two-time prime ministers would stay for the time being. The President bowed to objections by Shujaat and provincial chief ministers that lifting of such a ban would benefit Nawaz Sharif, besides Bhutto and send a wrong message to the PML-Q MPs. Already many are deserting in anticipation of the return of Nawaz. On the indemnity for politicians facing corruption charges and other cases, he said they would have to apply for remission to the President. Analysts said the rejection of many of Bhutto's proposals would restrict her ability to sell the deal to the party whose central executive committee would meet in London.
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Step down offer too little too late: Sharif
General Pervez Musharraf's offer to step down as Army chief is "too little, too late", former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has said. The PML-N chief said, “Musharraf does not qualify to be a presidential candidate, whether in or out of uniform.” In interviews to British newspapers including Telegraph and Financial Times, Nawaz Sharif said the General has lost credibility and the people of Pakistan want him out. He said Benazir Bhutto's attempts to deal with Musharraf were a setback and a clear violation of the charter of democracy she had signed with him. He said Bhutto had committed herself to enter “no deals with military dictators”. "She decided to go down a different path," he said, but added that Benazir's discussions with Musharraf were offset by “the overwhelming support of the people” for the end of military rule. Nawaz issued a warning to Washington not to “equate Mr Musharraf with Pakistan” unless it wished to give further impetus to Islamist extremism in the region.
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Sharif to return home on Sept 10
Islamabad, August 30 “A two-day meeting of the senior leaders of Pakistan Muslim League (N) in London has decided that Nawaz Sharif will return to Pakistan on September 10,” Saad Rafiq, a PML-N leader, said. Sharif, an arch-rival of President Pervez Musharraf, was ousted in a bloodless coup eight years ago and sent to exile to Saudi Arabia in 2000. He currently lives in London.
— PTI
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Sentences will be revived on return: Pak AG
Islamabad, August 30 Qayyum said both Nawaz Sharif and Shahbaz Sharif would be dealt with according to law if they returned. He said Sharif brothers’ prison sentences would be revived if they returned to Pakistan. He told ‘Dawn News’ after his return from Riyadh that Saudi Arabia had supported the agreement the Sharifs had signed to leave.
— PTI
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Stir restored judiciary’s respect: Pak CJ
Islamabad, August 30 He said the movement was not for him, but to restore the respect of the judiciary as an institution. He said the implementation of the Constitution in its true spirit was necessary for a prosperous and progressive Pakistan. The CJP said the responsibilities of the lawyers had increased manifold after the movement. The civil society had participated in the movement in overwhelming numbers, he said.So, it was now the lawyers' turn to give something back to the civil society by helping people's cases along. "The main problem is the delay in the disposal of cases ... Unfortunately, the common man faces this problem frequently at the lower courts’ level," he added. The CJP said that if lawyers and the judiciary understood their responsibility to society and tackled the issue of delay in justice, it would be a great service. The Supreme Court receives 600 to 700 human rights/public interest cases every day, he said, adding that this showed the trust and confidence the common man had in the judiciary. The lawyers should also discipline themselves and try their best to provide services to the common man, he added.
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Turban Issue
Dublin, August 30 The move comes after a Sikh who is training to be a part-time garda (police) officer was told earlier this month that he could not wear his turban on duty. Harpreet Singh, the president of the Irish Sikh Council, told AFP that members of his organisation were to meet Garda chief Noel Conroy next week after his return from holiday, though Conroy’s office could not confirm this. “For a Sikh, wearing a turban is not just symbolic, it is a mandatory article,” Singh said. — AFP
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Taliban frees all hostages
Ghazni, August 30 Seven of the aid workers were handed over to the International Committee of the Red Cross in two groups, after a dozen others were freed yesterday. The ordeal finally ended after South Korean negotiators struck a deal earlier this week with the extremist Islamic group. The hostages are "very, very happy and look healthy," ICRC official Irfan Sulejmani told AFP minutes after the last three South Koreans were picked up in a remote field in the dark of night. A man and two women were driven to Ghazni, where they would be handed over to a South Korean delegation in the offices of the Red Crescent Society, Sulejmani said.
— AFP
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Nepal govt inks deal with Madhesi group
Kathmandu, August 30 As per the deal with Madhesi People's Right Forum (MRPF), government has agreed to fulfil their 22-point demands including regional autonomy to the plains bordering India. “We have withdrawn the agitation and have launched the Constituent Assembly polls campaign from today itself,” MPRF chairman Upendra Yadav told reporters after the successful conclusion of the talks here. The MPRF called off their planned agitation scheduled to start from September following the agreement. The other demands of the group included representation of all marginalised groups including Madhesis and Dalits in all the state organs on proportionate basis and declaring all those killed during the Madhesi movement from January to March 2007 as martyrs, sources close to MPRF said. As per the deal, government is expected to initiate steps to return the land and property captured by Maoists in the Terai region, they said. The MRPF also demanded withdrawal of the cases filed against its activists during the agitation. Minister for peace and reconstruction Ramchandra Poudyal led the government talks team while MPRF president Upendra Yadav led the Madhesi group during the talks. The agreement was reached ahead of August 31 deadline of the MPRF to fulfil their demands. The organisation had earlier threatened to launch fresh agitation from September 6 if their demands were not met. — PTI
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10 Tamil Tigers killed in clashes
Colombo, August 30 Ministry of Defence said the troops manning the Forward Defence Lines (FDLs) at Muhamalai in the northern Jaffna peninsula confronted a group of LTTE cadres, who were attempting to infiltrate the military-held areas yesterday evening. ''Troops in the FDL area confirm that seven LTTE cadres were killed,'' the Defence Ministry claimed adding that the troops recovered LTTE military hardware and nine land mines during the subsequent search operation. In a separate incident yesterday, the LTTE cadres fired a volley of 81 mm mortar shells in a confrontation with the government troops manning the FDLs at Vavuniya. According to the Defence Ministry, the Army retaliated with small arms, 81 mm mortars and artillery fire, killing three LTTE cadres. “A soldier reported injured was admitted to the Anuradhapura hospital,” it said. There were no immediate comments from the LTTE.
— UNI
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Chinese finance minister sacked
Beijing, August 30 Hu signed a presidential decree of approval for 63-year-old Jin's replacement by Xie Xuren, Director of the State Administration of Taxation, the official Xinhua news agency reported. No reason was cited for the abrupt sacking of Jin, credited with overseeing China’s economic boom.
— PTI
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