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Saturday,
October 27, 2001, Chandigarh, India  
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Libya
ready to help find Osama Detained
Indians linked to anthrax?
WINDOW ON PAKISTAN India a
natural ally: Powell |
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Six
bodies pulled out from ‘Kursk’
China
PM’s India visit put off
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Libya ready to help find Osama Paris, October 26 “The head of the Libyan state has no intention of participating militarily in the struggle against the Bin Laden network but exchanges of information and police cooperation are conceivable,” Minister Charles Josselin told reporters in Paris. The maverick Libyan leader also repeated calls for an international conference to define terrorism, Josselin said. He said Gaddafi had expressed compassion for the American people after last month’s hijacked plane attacks on New York and Washington but had also slammed the USA with “harsh and severe words”. “He denounced what he called the arrogance of the USA and rejected the choices imposed by the USA on the rest of the world,” Josselin said. His visit ended yesterday. Gaddafi has in the past railed against US foreign policy but has recently toned down his rhetoric and this week described the September 11 attacks as “horrifying”. Libya is on a blacklist of countries that the USA defines as supporting terrorism. Washington bombed Tripoli in 1986 after accusing Gaddafi of involvement in the bombing of a Berlin nightclub frequented by US servicemen. Washington continues to maintain sanctions on Libya designed to curb foreign investment in its oil and gas sector. Josselin said a consensus on the definition of terrorism would be hard to achieve and said Gaddafi had also lambasted the United Nations for the “terrorism of the Security Council”. LONDON:
Britain on Friday said 200 elite commandos were ready for action in the U.S.-led coalition against Afghanistan. Armed Forces Minister Adam Ingram said another 400 commandos would be put “on high readiness” as Britain stepped up its contribution to President George W. Bush’s war on terrorism. Ingram told Parliament that an 11-strong armada, led by the aircraft carrier HMS Illustrious, would be switched from Exercise Swift Sword exercises which end off Oman this weekend to link up with coalition forces. “This powerful force totals some 4,200 personnel in theatre. It represents a major enhancement of the coalition’s capabilities,” Ingram said. “We are in this for the long haul and we mean it.” Prime Minister Tony Blair said it was vital for Britain to contribute ground forces. “It’s a huge responsibility to commit our armed forces, but in my view it is justified in circumstances where our people are at risk,” he told British Forces Radio. Blair said if Osama bin Laden and his Al-Qaida network, suspected of being behind the September 11 attacks were not stopped, there was no doubt they would “commit even worse outrages in the future”. Media reports suggested Bin Laden had obtained nuclear material which could be used in follow-up atrocities. “If these terrorists...are allowed to carry on building up their terrorist network, possibly acquiring chemical, biological and nuclear weapons of mass destruction, our world will be an insecure, unsafe place,” Blair said. An Omani defence official said the Gulf Arab state had “made it clear that no attacks will be launched from our territories”.
Reuters |
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Detained
Indians linked
to anthrax? New York, October 26 Ayub Khan and Mohammad Jaweed Azmath, both from Hyderabad, were pulled off a train near Dallas and detained as they were found carrying box-cutters similar to those used by the hijackers who destroyed the World Trade Center and part of the Pentagon building on September 11. The New York Times reported that the Hyderabadi duo had not explained their travels to the satisfaction of the investigators and FBI is trying to squeeze information from reluctant witnesses. They said they were going to Texas to open a fruit stall. Yesterday, the Wall Street Journal reported that a search at their residence in Jersey City found old issues of Time magazine and US News and World Report with cover stories on biological weapons and a gas attack in Tokyo. Their room-mate, Aslam Pervez, who once worked in Trenton and lived near the postal facility from where some of the letters suspected to have carried anthrax powder were posted, has also been detained. No links so far have been established against Khan and Azmath and the terrorist attacks, and investigators say they doubt if they were involved. Police officials in India were quoted as saying that they were helping the FBI look into how Azmath and Khan, who had little money when they moved to the USA in the mid 1990s, amassed enough to wire $ 54,000 to their families in 1999. Last week, Pervez was reportedly charged with lying to federal agents when they questioned him about more than $ 110,000 in cheques and money orders that moved in and out of his bank account, mostly during 1995 and 1996. Khan’s and Azmath’s movements on September 11 and 12, and the box-cutters they were carrying in a briefcase, are “certainly suspicious,” one law enforcement official told The Times. But “we can’t link them to anything, any particular suspicious flights or destinations,” he said. The Times said there might be an innocent explanation for the Hyderabadis trip to Texas. The news stand on which the two worked was sold to another company in late August, leaving Khan, Azmath and Pervez without jobs. The Times said that Khan’s real name is Gul Mohammad Shah. They said he and Azmath had obtained Indian passports by giving false information about themselves, but they added that that was not uncommon for people trying to leave the country.
PTI WASHINGTON: Traces of anthrax have been detected at a CIA mail handling facility, forcing authorities to close the building, a CIA spokesman said on Friday as the threat of the germ warfare agent burrowed further into US Institutions. Test results returned on Thursday confirmed there was a “trace amount” of anthrax in the mail facility, the spokesman, who asked not to be identified, said. Three persons have died this month and 11 others have infections of the rare disease in a spate of cases along the East Coast involving attacks with anthrax-laced letters.
Reuters |
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If Pervez
falls, USA to neutralise Pak N-arms Washington, October 26 Mr Joe
Biden, chairman of the powerful Senate Foreign Relations Committee, hinted this at a meeting of the Council on Foreign Relations in New York. Mr Biden was asked about an article in ‘The New York’ Times on the need to render Pakistani nuclear weapons ineffective if the Musharraf regime falls. Mr Biden (Democrat) replied: “Those discussions are under way with the Democratic Congress and the Republican members of Congress and the President on setting those priorities.” Mr Biden indicated a split between Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Secretary of State Colin Powell, with the suggestion that Mr
Rumsfeld, a known hawk, supported such a plan in Pakistan while Mr Powell opposed it. Mr
Biden, who said he had been in close consultations with Mr Bush, also set out his views on U.S. relations with India and Pakistan. “I think there has to be a clear understanding, both in Delhi and Islamabad, that we are interested, we are looking and we are watching. Secondly, I think a message should be delivered very strongly to the Indians — do not attempt to take advantage of the circumstances at this moment, it’s against your interests across the board.” But finally, he said, “we have to make clear to the Pakistanis that, notwithstanding the fact we need you very much right now, you are in a position where if you are going to continue to foment the terror that does exist in Kashmir, then you are operating against your own near term interests, because that very viper can turn on you.” Kashmir would become central to resolving tensions between India and Pakistan, he said. “The truth of the matter is, the whole world is looking at their problem now in Kashmir, not just us, the spotlight is on and the consequences for how they will be treated relative to all other nations in the world is very much up in the air right now, and they should be made constantly aware of how tenuous the circumstance is for both of them. In this case, particularly India, in my view, particularly
India.” IANS |
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WINDOW ON PAKISTAN PAKISTAN today is caught in a whirl of events over which it has very little control. The Musharraf regime, however, enjoys the feeling that it is calling the shots. But the fact is it is just a pawn in the hands of the only superpower — the USA. Nevertheless, no one stops the self-appointed President of Pakistan, Pervez Musharraf, from approaching the rich countries with a begging bowl when it is their frontline state’s duty to fight the battle against terrorists in Afghanistan. Clearly Musharraf is keen to get economic sops. Here too, he is not having his wishes fulfilled completely despite rushing his Finance Minister Shaukat Aziz to Washington. In fact, a few crumbs do not matter since the economy is in dire straits. It is true that America has moved fast and removed all sorts of sanctions, imposed in 1989 that had deprived Pakistan of cheap credit from multilateral sources worldwide. The sanctions scuttled its economic growth, which barely averaged 3.5 per cent during the 90s. These also created grave fiscal problems and the country had to borrow at higher rates from financial institutions. The result — it has now accumulated a foreign debt of $38 billion, besides another $34 billion from domestic borrowing. While the country’s total GDP is around $60 billion, it has a net loan burden of $72 billion. Thus the major problems are to pay foreign loans, pay Rs 175 billion as interest on domestic borrowings and collect enough taxes to keep the balance of payments favourable. This is no easy task, particularly when a corrupt regime has not allowed any fiscal reforms for long time. From January 1999 to December 2000, foreign debt worth $3.5 billion was reschedule and in January 2001, $1.4 billion rescheduled by its aid club member-states. Tax revenue comes to an average increase of around 13 per cent. So it is not sufficient to meet the country’s fiscal needs. Meanwhile, relief is available. One, the last tranche of loans worth $136 million was released quickly. The USA and Japan rescheduled loans worth $379 million and $ 550 million, respectively, while America granted $600 million to tide over the problems associated with the influx of Afghan refugees and economy. Similarly, a delegation of EU member-states doled out 20 million euros mainly to help Afghan refugees. The economic gains have figured around rescheduling of foreign loans worth around $1 billion to support BOP and influx of refugees and the expected package $2.5 billion. These do not make a big bargain against the economic fallout of war that Pakistan is to bear in the long-term. Pakistan has not been successful in reaping many economic gains primarily for two reasons as the USA itself has suffered a tremendous economic loss and recession has set in. It has to invigorate the economy by injecting around $100 billion and about $45 billion is required to rehabilitate New York attack victims. Another problem, according to some analysts, is that the Musharraf regime has to struggle against America’s long-term South Asian political agenda that conflicts with Pakistan’s national interests, particularly with reference to its relations with India and the “resolution” of the Kashmir “issue”. Moreover, the US war in Afghanistan is going to last long despite Musharraf wishing it otherwise. This would fuel anti-US sentiments in Pakistan, which are already showing up in the streets and will surely adversely affect the fragile economy. In such a scenario, the USA is hesitant to take extra steps to help the government either by writing off its bilateral debt of $3 billion or by asking Japan, Germany, and France, whom Pakistan owes $5.3 billion, $1.1 billion $1 billion, respectively. So far only Canada has taken the initiative and converted $320 million loan into a grant. The ground realities therefore, indicate that the USA is reluctant to steer Pakistan’s economy in any big way. The national economy has been directly hit as Pakistan being in the war zone and being America’s coalition partner in its war against terrorism. Since October 1, exporters have been paying an additional $500 per container on account of war risk premium, $185 rise in freight charges, and $125 for export shipment. In case, the war is prolonged, there will be substantial loss of exports and imports. The government has lowered the export target from $10.1 billion to $9.5 billion but businessmen fear that this target shall be lowered by $2.5 billion. Hence tax revenue will be hit on account of a fall in exports and imports. In 25 days of September, the tax revenue shortfall was Rs 5 billion. Some analysts feel that the war would not allow its target of Rs 440 billion to be achieved. |
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India a
natural ally: Powell Washington, October 26 Powell, during his testimony before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee yesterday, also talked of Washington’s improved relationship with Pakistan that would “grow and thrive” in the years ahead. Describing New Delhi as a “natural ally” of the USA, Powell said in India, he found strong support (for the war against terrorism) from Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee and Foreign Minister Jaswant Singh “who are anxious to do more”.
PTI |
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Paras named Nepal crown prince Kathmandu, October 26 The formal appointment of Prince Paras, announced on state television, underlined a shift away from his public image as a playboy prince since the bloody rampage by his cousin, the then Crown Prince
Dipendra. “His Majesty the King has named his son, Prince Paras, as the Crown Prince,” the state-run Nepal Television said, without giving any details. The king also named Paras’ wife,
Himani, as Crown Princess. The title of the Yubaraj Kumari (Princess) has been conferred on Purnika Rajya Laxmi Devi Shah, daughter of Crown Prince Paras. Paras, who has a daughter but no sons, is the last in line in the Shah dynasty which has ruled the Himalayan kingdom, for centuries, where succession passes through the
male. Gyanendra became king in June after Dipendra shot and killed his own parents and seven other members of the royal family before killing himself. Little is known about Paras, (29) beyond a reputation as a playboy prince whose behaviour and driving were the butt of public criticism. Paras was, however, praised by a member of the royal family who said he tried to intervene and stop Dipendra during the shooting spree in the palace. At one stage, Dipendra turned his gun on Paras, behind whom some women were hiding. “Had it not been because of Prince Paras, probably there would not have been so many survivors that day,” Captain Rajiv Shahi, a witness to the killings, told the world’s press days after the tragedy. Shahi is married into the royal family.
C.K. Lal, a Kathmandu-based columnist, said King Gyanendra needs a crown prince to attend official ceremonies and royal religious events. “It is an oddity to have an apparent heir to the crown who was not a heir-apparent. So the king had a problem... he had to announce the crown prince,” Lal told Indian TV channel Star News. Lal said Nepalis may have forgotten about Paras’ former reputation for a wild lifestyle because he had started to project a more positive public image.
Reuters |
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Six bodies
pulled out from ‘Kursk’ Moscow, October 26 Interfax news agency reported Prosecutor-General Vladimir Ustinov as saying six crew had so far been found in the rear of the submarine, which plunged to the bottom of the Barents Sea 14 months ago after two mystery explosions ripped open its bow. The cause of the disaster remains unclear. “Forensic tests are going on right now,” Ustinov was quoted as saying. He said it might take more than a month to pin down the men’s identities. The grim task of removing the bodies started on Thursday, when three crew were retrieved. Earlier this month, the wreck was raised, lashed to a giant barge and brought into
Roslyakovo, a dock near the Arctic port of Murmansk, in a meticulous operation lasting several weeks. Twelve bodies were pulled from the wreck a year ago. Officials from the Russian navy’s Northern Fleet said radiation levels inside the stricken vessel’s hull were normal and that the two reactors aboard the “Kursk” were in good condition, Interfax news agency reported.
Reuters |
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Israel agrees to
withdraw troops Jerusalem, October 26 Israeli security sources said the withdrawal from the city of bethlehem and the neighbouring town of Beit Jala was contingent upon whether calm prevailed in the areas where fighting had raged since israel’s incursion began last week. Mr Jibril Al-Rajoub, Palestinian preventive security chief for the West Bank, said US mediators at today’s meeting had proposed a “unilateral” Israeli withdrawal from the two areas and that another session would be held on Sunday to discuss a broader pullout. The USA has pressured Israel to end its fierce offensive, which was launched after last week’s assassination of a far-right Cabinet minister by Palestinian militants. Washington wants to calm the Middle East conflict while it forges an anti-terror alliance.
Reuters
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China PM’s India visit put off Beijing, October 26 Both sides are maintaining a close touch regarding Zhu’s India visit, whenever he makes it, an official of the Chinese Foreign Ministry said here. However, the Premier will go ahead with an official trip to Indonesia and attend an important regional meeting. Earlier, External Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh had to postpone his scheduled visit to China from October 11 to 13 following the US-led military strikes against Afghanistan.
PTI |
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