Tarar on way out?
ISLAMABAD, Nov 12 — Pakistan President Rafiq Tarar wants to quit his post and Chairman of the suspended Senate Wasim Sajjad might replace him, a local newspaper said today.

Pak press for fair, open trial of Sharif
ISLAMABAD, Nov 12 — Pakistan must hold a fair, open and transparent trial of former Premier Nawaz Sharif, accused of conspiring to kill the country’s military ruler, the Pakistan press said today.

Clear WB loan to India, Clinton urged
WASHINGTON, Nov 12 — An influential US Congressman has urged President Bill Clinton to waive restrictions on World Bank loans to India, saying otherwise Washington would be in an anomalous position by supporting the military-ruled Pakistan for grant of loans from the multi-lateral agency.

Malaysian poll on Nov 29
KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 12 — Malaysia’s snap general poll, expected to be Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad’s toughest electoral fight in 18 years, will be held on November 29, the Election Commission said today.

New land route for refugees
UNITED NATIONS, Nov 12 — The UN refugee agency has opened a second land route into East Timor and the authorities said there were 44,000 persons waiting to cross from the Indonesian-controlled West Timor.

Black whipped for kissing white girl
JOHANNESBURG, Nov 12 — A white South African former death squad policeman has been accused of whipping a seven-year-old black boy, putting him in hospital, for kissing his daughter, the police said today.

Russians take key Chechen town
Putin rejects Western protests

MOSCOW, Nov 12 — Prime Minister Vladimir Putin today declared that the Russian flag was again flying over a key Chechen town as Moscow faced further Western pressure on its seven-week offensive against the rebels.

Heightening diplomatic tension, Defence Minister Igor Sergeyev accused the USA of helping foment the conflict in Chechnya while Mr Putin pledged to make Russia’s armed forces more powerful.

“It is in the national interests of the USA that a guided, armed conflict smoulder constantly on the territory of the north Caucasus,” General Sergeyev said in televised remarks.

He was speaking after a meeting of the defence forces attended by Mr Putin.

“Concrete decisions will be taken to mobilise all resources to make the armed forces more powerful and effective so that they can meet tasks set by the state,” Mr Putin asserted. The state Duma, the Lower House of Parliament, has backed proposals to increase defence spending despite Russia’s dire economic crisis.

On the ground in Chechnya, operations to clear Gudermes, the republic’s second town, began early today as villages on the road to the capital Grozny were shelled and bombed intensively.

“The Russian flag has been raised over the town (Gudermes),” Russian news agencies quoted the Premier as saying. The town in eastern Chechnya would be the first major population centre reoccupied by Russian troops since they were forced from Chechnya after a 1994-96 war.

As Russia pounded the region, Western nations renewed their appeal to Moscow to halt the offensive, which has killed many civilians and caused more than 200,000 people to flee.

Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov, visiting Helsinki, braced for fresh criticism in planned talks with top western officials including the EU’s foreign policy supremo Mr Javier Solana and Mr Knut Vollebaek, the OSCE Chairman. They were expected to ask Russia to allow an OSCE mission to be stationed in Chechnya.

British Foreign Secretary Robin Cook said EU Foreign Ministers would consider issuing a joint appeal to Moscow to find a political solution to the Chechnya crisis.

The First Deputy Head of the General Staff, Valery Manilov, told NTV Television that the local Chechen population were welcoming his troops and helping them to reclaim control.

Russia has bombed and shelled towns and villages before sending in troops to secure them from the guerrillas, whom Moscow accuses of bomb attacks in several Russian cities.

Most of the 200,000 refugees have fled into the neighbouring impoverished province of Ingushetia, huddling in tent camps as the bitter winter begins to tighten its grip over the region.

Manilov said the tactics used in Gudermes might also be used for Grozny. “The question is to clear, free Grozny of terrorists and bandits. This can be done without a frontal, head-on storming of Grozny,” he declared.

Taking advantage of today’s clearer weather, Russian artillery and warplanes pounded the towns of Bamut, Star Achkhoi, Gekhi and Shalazhi, south-west of Grozny.

Eyewitnesses said two of the towns — Bamut and Star Achkhoi — were already empty. In the others, terrified residents sheltered in basements.

Reuters television footage showed a group of Chechens, mostly women, escaping over snow-clad mountains into the neighbouring former Soviet republic of Georgia.

“They bomb us every day. Why? Are we women and children also bandits?” asked one woman. “Innocent people are being killed.”

Russia has rejected Western criticism that the refugee problem represents a humanitarian catastrophe and says its campaign is essential to destroy the Islamic separatists.

UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan added to the pressure, saying in Tokyo that he was preparing to discuss relief aid to Chechnya with Russian officials.

US President Bill Clinton and other leaders from the 54-member OSCE will meet next week in Istanbul. Chechnya is likely to top the agenda although Russian calls it an internal matter. — Reuters

Pakistan-backed attacks intensified: Gen Malik

WASHINGTON, Nov 12 (PTI) — Pakistan-backed cross-border terrorism, infiltration and attacks on Indian posts in Jammu and Kashmir have intensified after the Kargil conflict, the Chief of the Army Staff Gen V.P. Malik has said.

Charging Pakistan with fighting “a proxy war” in Kashmir, General Malik said “today the majority of those fighting and indulging in violence in Kashmir are coming from outside. They are being supported with weapons and equipment from outside.”

He was speaking at the Henry L. Stimson Centre here yesterday. The gathering included officials from the US State Department and leading South Asia experts.

Asked whether there was a role for any outsider to try to resolve the Kashmir issue, General Malik said firmly “this is a bilateral matter and there is no role for outsiders”.

When more than one questioner suggested that the resumption of a dialogue with Pakistan would help, General Malik pointed out that two prime ministers of India: Mr I.K. Gujral and Mr A.B. Vajpayee, took the initiative to improve relations with Pakistan. Travel was made easier and other steps were taken.

Prime Minister Vajpayee went to Lahore and “there, some important aspects which were agreed upon related to nuclear weapons,” which he did not want to elaborate. Then came Kargil.

“Once bitten, twice shy”, he said, and added, referring to the coup in Pakistan: “We have to wait now. Wait and watch.”

General Malik said international terrorism, proliferation of small arms, narcotic-trafficking and violent Islamic fundamentalism were threats that needed to be addressed.

The Army Chief said with the western and northern borders to be safeguarded, India needed a credible minimum nuclear deterrent. However, he said there was no justification for misgivings about the transition of India and Pakistan to the status of nuclear states or for “raising the bogey” of Kashmir becoming a nuclear flashpoint.

He said “despite a naked aggression, India reacted in Kargil in a responsible, mature manner and with considerable restraint” though she suffered casualties while doing so.

Window on Pakistan
Fundamentalists under army rule

PAKISTAN’S military dictator, Gen Parvez Musharraf, has acquired the penchant of his immediate predecessors, both Ms Benazir Bhutto and Mr Nawaz Sharif, for visiting foreign countries to turn the focus of his countrymen towards outside countries. Domestic problems are too formidable. He had been to three countries during his foreign visits. This also tells something about Pakistan’s latest foreign policy twists.

What the General has been seeking from the Muslim countries is their support on Kashmir vis-a-vis India, besides trying to explain his constraints in controlling the far-right Muslim extremists in Pakistan and Afghanistan. He has sought these countries, help to tell America of his problems and the time required to solve them.

Saudi Arabia and Turkey are close allies of the USA and can be helpful. In addition, he has sought some financial help from the oil-rich sheikhdom to tackle the difficult fiscal situation and the balance of payments crisis. But General Musharraf should know that these close allies being used by the Americans in their West Asian gameplan would, by and large, go by the wishes of the US policy-makers. Free and frank discussions apart, these countries support religious fundamentalism, and much of this for export. How would they help contain the Taliban, the force which not only controls Afghanistan, but also threatens the Central Asian Muslim republics and India, besides Russia?

In fact, this extremist force — and one could see what was happening at their Muradke base near Lahore last week — has grown into a big genie. It controls much of Afghanistan and rules the roost in several areas of Pakistan. It is one thing to use the Taliban to further Pakistan’s Afghan policy and control that country. It is another thing to control it and finish it. The Taliban has not only tasted blood and power in Afghanistan — where initially the Americans helped it in many ways — but also emerged as a force to be reckoned with in several other countries. It is fighting on Pakistan’s behalf in Kashmir and in other Central Asian Republics. Iran, another neighbour has expressed its serious concern. But much more than that the USA wants Osama bin Laden to be arrested and tried for international terrorism. This medieval force would, however, not concede the US demand, and Pakistan right now is not in a position to hand over the Arab billionaire to Washington.

Back in Pakistan, these fundamentalists now supporting the new regime, would always demand their pound of flesh. This is to have a free hand to organise and lead their anti-India, anti-Iran and anti-Central Asian Republics campaign. it suits the new military ruler as far as Kashmir is concerned. But how about other countries, including the USA? Right now Pakistan is getting isolated in the Commonwealth, European Union countries and the former Soviet republics. It could live without them, but then the economic crisis has assumed alarming proportions. The rising prices, unemployment leading to violence and a huge international debt and, worse, the sectarian violence soaking the streets with the blood of the innocent are causing concern.

Some observers say that it is only Pakistan’s army which can control the fundamentalist forces and not the elected political bosses. Both Ms Bhutto and Mr Sharif failed miserably. How much the Pakistan army is infected by religious intolerance and fundamentalism is well known. General Musharraf can at best try and apply some cosmetic control. He too may not be wishing to end this menace which can help him to remain in the saddle. As a shrewd ruler, he would be knowing that his efforts to curb corruption and economic slidedown would not succeed. At some stage he would need these forces to remain in power.

— Gobind Thukral

Tarar on way out?

ISLAMABAD, Nov 12 (UNI) — Pakistan President Rafiq Tarar wants to quit his post and Chairman of the suspended Senate Wasim Sajjad might replace him, a local newspaper said today.

The Pakistan Observer reported today that the military government had restored protocol vehicle, which had been withdrawn from the Speakers and Deputy Speakers after the change of the government, to Mr Sajjad.

On Mr Sajjad’s likely elevation, the paper said the former chairman of Senate was abro ar refrained from commenting on the change at the helm in Islamabad.

The military coup has landed President Tarar in an embarrassing situation. Mr Nawaz Sharif had made him the President in 1997 because he was close to him. As President he had vowed to uphold the Constitution but under the military rule he had to administer oath to the new Cabinet Ministers under Gen Pervez Musharraf’s own constitutional order.

The military government’s decision to try Mr Sharif on charges of kidnapping and hijacking had further pushed President Tarar in a corner, the paper said.

Pak press for fair, open trial of Sharif

ISLAMABAD, Nov 12 (AFP) — Pakistan must hold a fair, open and transparent trial of former Premier Nawaz Sharif, accused of conspiring to kill the country’s military ruler, the Pakistan press said today.

"Due process must not only be followed, but be seen to have been followed," The Nation daily said in an editorial. Mr Sharif, who was ousted in a military coup last month, is expected to be soon arrested after he was accused of conspiring to kill military ruler General Pervez Musharraf.

The former Premier is also being investigated for kidnapping and attempting to hijack a plane and if convicted, he could face the death penalty.

"It would be in the fitness of things and enhance the credibility and for impartiality of the case if the trial is open, transparent and held under the ordinary laws of the land," The Nation said.

"Inevitably, in a case of this serious nature involving a former PM, the political dimension cannot be ignored, whatever the legal aspects of the affair," it said.

The Nation noted the case echoes the conviction and execution of another former Pakistan Premier 20 years ago.

On April 4, 1979, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, father of Benazir Bhutto, was hanged under the military regime of late General Zia-ul-Haq who ran the country for nearly 11 years.

"The case left a bitter legacy at the heart of Pakistan’s polity, a legacy which it has been difficult to shake off even so many years after the event," the paper said.

Othe papers noted there was little sympathy for Sharif in the country.

"It is hardly surprising that there is no palpable feeling of sympathy for the former Prime Minister and his clan among the people," the Frontier Post, a Peshawar-based national daily, said in an editorial.

"The Sharifs had come to be synonymous with the worst in power politics and criminality," the paper said, "they had lost credibility long ago."

The paper said more details about the case needed to be made public but that it appeared hard for Sharif to shake off what happened on the night of the coup.

"The accusation against the former Prime Minister and his associates marks the tightening of the noose," it added.

Clear WB loan to India, Clinton urged

WASHINGTON, Nov 12 (PTI) — An influential US Congressman has urged President Bill Clinton to waive restrictions on World Bank loans to India, saying otherwise Washington would be in an anomalous position by supporting the military-ruled Pakistan for grant of loans from the multi-lateral agency.

"It is in the national interest to allow World Bank funds to be loaned to India," Congressman Eni FH Faleomavega said in a letter to Mr Clinton.

"I sincerely hope you will soon issue the necessary waiver," he said, endorsing the views of his colleagues Benjamin Gilman and Sam Gejdenson, Chairman and Ranking Democratic member of the House International Committee, respectively.

"Should you not waive the restrictions against India, we will find ourselves in the anomalous position of supporting loans for Pakistan, a nation whose military has overthrown a democratically elected government," he said.

At present, the World Bank and other multilateral institutions are allowed by the USA and its allies, in violation of the bank’s charter, to give India loans to meet ‘basic human needs’, as defined by Washington.

Malaysian poll on Nov 29

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 12 (Reuters) — Malaysia’s snap general poll, expected to be Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad’s toughest electoral fight in 18 years, will be held on November 29, the Election Commission said today.

The commission said candidates in the 193 parliamentary constituencies would file nominations on November 20.

“Voting day has been fixed for Monday, November 29,” commission Chairman Omar Hashim told a news conference. Mr Mahathir had dissolved the parliament this week to clear the way for the first nationwide elections since he dismissed his former deputy Anwar Ibrahim and imposed capital controls in September, 1998.

By law, the poll has to be held within 60 days of the dissolution of the parliament, but it will be inconceivable in Muslim majority Malaysia to hold the vote during the fasting month of Ramadan, which starts on December 8 or 9.

Mr Mahathir’s 14-party Barisan Nasional (national front) coalition, which has held power since independence in 1957, is expected to win the elections but the Opposition, galvanised by Mr Anwar’s sacking and imprisonment, hopes to deny the coalition of the two-thirds majority needed to amend Constitution.

New land route for refugees

UNITED NATIONS, Nov 12 (AP) — The UN refugee agency has opened a second land route into East Timor and the authorities said there were 44,000 persons waiting to cross from the Indonesian-controlled West Timor.

International aid workers have said most of the 200,000 East Timorese still in West Timor are being blocked from returning home by gun-wielding militias. They said an estimated 15,000 pro-Indonesia militiamen are still active in refugee camps in the western half of the island.

The Indonesian authorities confirmed that 44,000 refugees were waiting on the western side of the border to enter East Timor, he said.

Speaking to reporters at the UN headquarters in New York yesterday, UN Commissioner for Refugees Sadako Ogata said the land corridors had been slow to open up because the “border region is where militias are strongest.”

She said 55,000 refugees who fled to West Timor had returned since an Australian-led peacekeeping force entered the territory in September.

Ogata said international humanitarian agencies have not yet uncovered evidence of killings on the scale they had initially expected.

Black whipped for kissing white girl

JOHANNESBURG, Nov 12 (Reuters) — A white South African former death squad policeman has been accused of whipping a seven-year-old black boy, putting him in hospital, for kissing his daughter, the police said today.

The boy, Paul Kekae, told the police in the small northern town of Warmbaths that he had kissed the hand of the daughter of Paul Van Vuuren, prompting the former policeman, now a farmer, to whip him with a sjambok or hide whip.

“The boy was in hospital and he had lacerations on his back, neck, arms and buttocks,” police Captain Petro Augustyn said.

Van Vuuren was to enter a plea in court today on charges of assault.

The Afrikaans daily Beeld carried a front page story and picture of the boy with thick, scabbed-over welts across his shoulder blades and neck.

Van Vuuren was quoted in the Beeld as saying that the issue had become “politicised” and that he had merely given Kekae three light blows from a riding whip after he was found with his pants down in a storeroom with Van Vuuren’s daughter.

“Paul’s mom asked me to give him a hiding. His mother gave him another hiding,” Van Vuuren said.

Ex-President dead
DHAKA: Former Bangladesh President Mohammad Ullah died here on Friday at the age of 79, the state-run radio said. Ullah was appointed the constitutional head of state in 1974 and had a brief tenure in office. He was sacked as Bangladesh went for a one-party state in early 1975. — DPA

Blast kills 7
BOGOTA: A car bomb that may have been built by the drug mafia has exploded here, killing at least seven and injuring 19. City Mayor Enrique Penalosa said the bomb had been fashioned out of at least 80 kg of explosives. Two men were seen parking the car containing the bomb in front of a shop shortly before the explosion, eyewitnesses said. The men were then seen driving away in a black vehicle. — DPA

Honoured
PORT EVERGLADES: The US Navy marked Veteran’s Day on Thursday by bestowing its highest civilian honour on movie giants Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg for their work on the World War II film, “Saving Private Ryan”. Under Secretary of the Navy Jerry Hultin awarded Hanks, the movie’s star, and Spielberg, its director, the distinguished public service award aboard the U.S.S. Normandy here. — Reuters

Unusual birth
CINCINNATI: In what may have been a record for such a case, a woman has given birth to a healthy baby nearly five months after its twin died in a premature birth, a hospital said. Ms Debbie Feitl spent 152 days in arrested labour before giving birth to a boy, Jared, four weeks ago, Good Samaritan Hospital spokesman Jeff Blunt said on Thursday. — Reuters

5 die in blast
FLINT (Mich): A boiler room explosion at a Michigan nursing home has killed five persons, fire officials said. The explosion that occurred late on Wednesday at the single-storeyed Clara Barton Terrace Convalescent Home here sent up flames and black smoke into the air and led to the collapse of part of the building into its basement, fire officials said on Thursday. — Reuters