Sharif must get LoC vacated: USA
WASHINGTON, July 9 — The USA has acknowledged Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s influence on guerrillas fighting in Indian Kashmir.

China flays US attempts to meddle in Tibet
BEIJING, July 9 — China has vehemently opposed a US proposal to mark July 10 as world Tibet day and described Washington’s stand on Tibet and Taiwan as interference in its internal affairs.

Israeli PM meets Mubarak for peace in West Asia
ALEXANDRIA (Egypt), July 9 — Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak today said his government had every intention of reviving deadlocked West Asia peace process and expressed his determination to follow in the footsteps of his mentor and former Premier Yitzhak Rabin.

Intrusion at Sharif's behest: Leghari
ISLAMABAD, July 9 — Former Pakistani President Farooq Ahmed Leghari has said that it was the Pakistani army which captured the Dras-Kargil heights and "it was done at the behest of Premier Nawaz Sharif."

Sharif has ‘scuttled’ Kashmir struggle

ISLAMABAD, July 9 (PTI) — A 15-party umbrella organisation of opposition parties in Pakistan has accused Premier Nawaz Sharif of scuttling the “Kashmir freedom struggle” by agreeing to withdraw infiltrators from Kargil at a meeting with US President Bill Clinton, and decided to step up its movement to oust the two-and-half-year old government at the earliest.

The Pakistan Awami Ittehad (PAI), including former Premier Benazir Bhutto’s Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) which launched its anti-government movement from Lahore today, claimed that the “Washington agreement” was “the most serious setback to the country after the fall of Dhaka in 1971.

“Experience has shown India will never hold a serious dialogue on Kashmir and hence the struggle by the Mujahideen was the best way to bring New Delhi to terms. But the Prime Minister scuttled their struggle by making an agreement with the U.S. President”, Secretary-General Hamid Nasir Chattha said here yesterday.

He also accused Mr Sharif of entering into some kind of ‘secret understanding’ with India because of which New Delhi was ‘protection’ him and ‘insisting’ that Sharif was not responsible for the Kargil operation. In an obvious reference to Indian Defence Minister George Fernandes’ comments that Sharif was not aware of the operation.

Nasir said all provincial organisations have been asked to start preparations for anti-government rallies in their areas and even those parties which are not part of alliance but are opposing the Washington statement would be invited to join the movement.

When Nasir’s attention was drawn to the government’s argument justifying Nawaz Sharif’s action as having saved the region from imminent war, he said, “The nation should be ready for a war. Unless you are ready for a war, nobody will give you your rights — not even legitimate ones.”

Pakistani opposition parties and religious groups have slammed Nawaz Sharif for entering the agreement with Clinton for withdrawal of Mujahideen from the Drass-Kargil heights. As per the statement issued after the meeting Mr Sharif was to take ‘concrete steps’ to restore sanctity of the Line of Control.

The Punjab unit of the PPP has also announced that it would organise separate anti-government rallies against what it termed as a “Kashmir sell-out.”

“Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has harmed national interest by losing to President Bill Clinton on the negotiating table what Mujahideens had gained in the Kargil-Dras sector.” PPP leader Khalid Kharal said in Lahore yesterday.

He also demanded immediate ouster of the government and said that a national government is the only alternative at the moment.

PM: No let-up in Army action

LONDON, July 9 (PTI) — Prime Minister A. B. Vajpayee has ruled out any let-up in army operations against Pakistani infiltrators in Kargil and asserted that intruders will be thrown out soon from Indian territory.

Replying to former Prime Minister V. P. Singh’s letter expressing “deep concern” over the developments in Kargil, Mr Vajpayee assured the former that the infiltrators would be thrown out soon.

“At this hour, the nation’s thoughts are with the jawans and officers valiantly fighting in the most difficult terrain,” Mr V.P. Singh, who is undergoing treatment here, had said in his letter.

Mr Vajpayee in his letter said that in this “hour of crisis” the entire nation had rallied behind efforts to throw out the armed intruders who had transgressed the Line of Control (LoC) in Kashmir.

The Prime Minister was responding to Mr V.P. Singh’s gesture of making a personal contribution of Rs 50,000 for families of soldiers killed in the recent fighting in Kargil.

He said though the Kargil intrusions had thrown up vital issue of lapses in national security, he would at the present moment not press for these.

“Though I have many questions to ask, I will do so after the infiltrators are thrown out. Today is the day of national unity, solidarity and determination,” Mr V.P. Singh said in his letter to Mr Vajpayee.

Ghauri ‘based’ on No Dong tech?

WASHINGTON, July 9 (PTI) — Former Pakistan Premier Benazir Bhutto bought North Korean technology and machinery to produce the Ghauri missile during a secret trip to Pyongyang months after it successfully test — fired the No Dong missile, media reports here said today.

“Benazir, then Pakistan’s Premier, secretly visited North Korea to secure No Dong technology. Pakistan’s intentions for the information became clear after the April 6, 1998 launch of the Ghauri, which like the Shahab-3, resembled the No Dong in size, shape and performance,” the Defence News reported.

The paper traced the links between Communist North Korea and Pakistan as far back to the late 1980’s when India was making progress with its Prithvi and Agni missiles and Pakistan felt the need to possess missiles to counter those.

It quoted the June, 1998, issue of Jane’s Intelligence Review saying the Pakistani officials were present in North Korea for No Dong’s first flight in May, 1993, to buttress its claim.

“The US Defence Department speculated in its 1997 report ‘proliferation, threat and response’ that Pakistan ended its effort to develop a two-stage Hatf-2 missile and began to look internationally for a counter to the looming threat posed by the Indian missile development,” it said.

“Pakistan’s affection first turned to China. In 1991, it received 30 Chinese M-11 missiles. At the same time Pakistan was nurturing ties with North Korea,” it said adding that similarities between No Dong, Ghauri and Shahab “point to the emergence of an underground network of missile proliferators.”

Sharif must get LoC vacated: USA

WASHINGTON, July 9 (UNI) — The USA has acknowledged Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s influence on guerrillas fighting in Indian Kashmir.

State Department spokesman James Foley yesterday said the USA believed that Mr Sharif and his government had control “over the Pakistani guerrilla fighters, who are on the wrong side of the Line of Control.’’

Asked whether Mr Sharif had “sufficient control’’ to evacuate them back to the Pakistani side, he said: “We believe that it is indeed possible, and we think it necessary for Pakistan to ensure that those forces that have crossed from its side of the Line of Control on to the Indian side be withdrawn.’’

China flays US attempts to meddle in Tibet

BEIJING, July 9 (PTI) — China has vehemently opposed a US proposal to mark July 10 as world Tibet day and described Washington’s stand on Tibet and Taiwan as interference in its internal affairs.

“Tibet is an inalienable part of Chinese territory and Tibetan affairs are the internal affairs of China and no foreign country has the right to interfere in them,” Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Zhang Qiyue had said.

Urging the USA to accept that Tibet is a part of China, Ms Zhang said the Chinese Government rejected the recent proposal in the US House of Representatives to designate July 10 as “world Tibet day”.

She said that a small group of US Congressmen had ignored facts and put forward the proposal to mark “world Tibet day” and made irresponsible remarks on the Tibet issue in an attempt to interfere in China’s internal affairs.

Meanwhile, China’s Parliament has also condemned moves by US Congressmen to enhance the defence capability of Taiwan, saying that it could weaken ties with Washington further.

A spokesman for the National People’s Congress (NPC) said a proposed US law advocating increased arms sales to Taiwan would further undermine Sino-US relations.

The spokesman also urged the US Congressmen to immediately stop interfering in China’s internal affairs and stop harming Sino-US relations.

Sino-US relations have already been hit seriously following the NATO attack on the Chinese Embassy in Yugoslavia in May which killed many Chinese citizens.

China regards Taiwan a renegade province that should be reunified with the mainland and opposes any official contact between Taipei and other nations that have diplomatic contacts with Beijing.

Israeli PM meets Mubarak for peace in West Asia

ALEXANDRIA (Egypt), July 9 (PTI) — Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak today said his government had every intention of reviving deadlocked West Asia peace process and expressed his determination to follow in the footsteps of his mentor and former Premier Yitzhak Rabin.

Mr Barak, who took over as the Prime Minister three days ago, travelled to Alexandria today, the first of his string of intensive diplomatic activities, to hold talks with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak on reviving the peace process.

Mr Barak said he was determined to turn every stone without risking Israel’s security and do whatever he could to resume negotiations with the Palestinians and Syrians.

Later the Egyptian President speaking at a joint press conference said he was optimistic that Mr Barak would try to revive the peace process.

Intrusion at Sharif's behest: Leghari

ISLAMABAD, July 9 (PTI) — Former Pakistani President Farooq Ahmed Leghari has said that it was the Pakistani army which captured the Dras-Kargil heights and "it was done at the behest of Premier Nawaz Sharif."

Pakistani army "captured" Kargil heights at the "behest of Sharif", Mr Leghari said yesterday adding, "in order to save himself. Sharif was now giving a false impression to Washington and the world that Pakistan army occupied Kargil without the government’s permission, thus creating tension between the two neighbours," media reports here said.

"Whatever the army has done so far is with the permission of the government and in future too, the army will behave accordingly," Mr Leghari, who now heads his own Millat party, said addressing a press conference in Lahore.

The former President also said the Prime Minister could have affected the cease-fire by some other means instead of "betraying the blood of Kashmiris" and added that, "the Washington declaration had brought down the morale of the Pakistani forces".

"Sharif has bartered away the blood and honour of Kashmiris to perpetuate his rule and sell sugar to India," Leghari said adding, "the nation and Kashmiri people will never forgive him."

Emma Thompson
LONDON: Oscar-winning actress Emma Thompson has showed off her “bump” as she made her first public appearance since announcing that she was pregnant. The British star, who won an academy award as the Best Actress for “Howard’s End” and another for her screenplay of “Sense and Sensibility”, said on Thursday that she still hadn’t come up with a name. She was accompanied at a screenwriting awards ceremony in Central London by her partner, actor Greg Wise. — AFP

Poll official quits
JAKARTA: A top official of Indonesia’s General Election Commission has resigned in protest against long delays in the vote count following last month’s parliamentary poll, officials said on Friday. Commission officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed that the body’s vice-chairman Harun Al-Rashed tendered a brief resignation letter on Thursday. — AP

Astronaut killed
OJAI (California): Former Apollo astronaut Charles “Pete’’ Conrad, who became the third person ever to walk on the moon in 1969, was killed in a motorcycle accident near the town of Ojai, California authorities said early today. He was 69. Conrad was a veteran of four space flights, but is best remembered for taking part in the second lunar landing on November 19, 1969, on the Apollo 12 mission. — Reuters