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Tuesday,
October 30, 2001, Chandigarh, India  
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‘Toxic
chemicals’ used in US attacks US
Muslims for halt to strikes Japanese
destroyers for Kabul; enacts US support Bill
NEWS ANALYSIS ISI
‘trained’ J & K ultras |
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US-Taliban meetings before strike Washington, October 28 US officials met at least 20 times over three years with representatives of Afghanistan’s ruling Taliban to negotiate the handing over of Osama bin Laden, the suspected mastermind of attacks on Americans, The Washington Post reported today.
Pak
N-scientist set free LTTE
bomber kills self, 2 others 45
bodies from ‘Kursk’ recovered
Nadeem granted
litigation cost
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‘Toxic chemicals’ used
in US attacks Kabul, October 29 But one deputy minister acknowledged that the war-shattered country did not have the facilities to test for chemical use. “We have some patients with superficial injuries with symptoms of chemical weapons,” Dr Wazir of Kabul’s Wazir Akbar Khan Hospital, told a news conference. Public Health Minister Mullah Abbas also said the hardline Muslim militia had proof that chemical weapons were being used. “Our findings prove that this is true. These bombardments have radioactive rays and chemical materials that also cause cancer,” he told the same news conference. Both men cited cases of chemical poisoning. None of the claims could be independently verified. Deputy Public Health Minister, Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanikzai, said the government did not having testing facilities and would welcome outside observers. “If there are more cases coming, we hope to be able to invite delegations to verify it and test it,” he told Reuters Television. Doctors said such cases had been reported in several hospitals across Afghanistan, and Stanikzai cited between 10 and 15 cases. “We can give details to people and doctors who understand for explanation. But we have several cases of acute diarrhoea and also cases of breathing problems. In some of the cases it happened that people died,” Stanikzai said. “We do not have sophisticated laboratories in Afghanistan to test the blood of people and analyse it,” he said, adding that the Taliban could not trust neighbouring countries to carry out the testing because they backed US-led attacks against them. Wazir described the case of a 10-year-old boy with superficial wounds, but with respiratory problems who died after six hours. He said a 50-year-old woman, who had minor injuries, had also died. “They were both toxic cases,” he said. “We don’t have the ability to make a diagnosis, but clinically we see symptoms as such.”
Reuters |
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US Muslims
for halt to strikes Detroit, October 29 A broad coalition of Muslim groups on Saturday urged the White House to “urgently reassess its action in Afghanistan, and to cease the bombing campaign and other military actions.” Criticising the military strategy as ill-conceived, a dozen groups argued that the campaign was victimising the beleaguered Afghan population and would worsen the plight of thousands of Afghans who are fleeing their homes. “Allowing thousands of innocent civilians to die in the harsh Afghan winter will only serve to weaken the global resolve to root out terrorism,” the groups said in a joint statement issued after a meeting in Washington. “The senseless starvation of women and children will fuel hate and extremism,” said the statement, posted on the Islamicity.com website. The signatories, which include the Washington-based lobby, Council on American-Islamic Relations
(CAIR) and the American Muslim Alliance (AMA), emphasised their support for US efforts to track down the perpetrators of the September 11 attacks on New York and Washington. “We have always supported the fight against terrorism in general terms,” said CAIR spokesman Ibrahim Hooper, adding, “but we reserve the right to differ on the tactics that should be used.”
AFP |
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Japanese destroyers
for Kabul; enacts US support Bill Tokyo, October 29 The legislation, which clarifies the role Japan’s military could play in the US actions without violating the nation’s war-renouncing constitution, was cleared by the Parliament’s Upper House. It had been approved by the more powerful lower chamber earlier this month. The previous law had barred Japan from engaging in any type of military action unless it was threatened or attacked directly. Under the new law, effective for two years and extendable for two more, Japan could dispatch military forces and vessels to provide rearguard logistical support, such as medical services and the provision of supplies, as well as humanitarian aid for refugees. The law, which requires the government to obtain parliamentary approval within 20 days after the dispatch of troops, bans transportation on land of arms and ammunition. The enactment of the legislation prompted Japanese Government officials to discuss and draw up a “basic programme” to dispatch troops as well as military warships and aircraft overseas. Japanese officials said Tokyo was “tentatively” planning to send a fleet of several military vessels including one of Japan’s four Aegis destroyers to the Indian Ocean by the end of November. The Japanese vessels were expected to engage in transporting supplies from US facilities in Japan and Guam to the British island of Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean, they said. The Japanese vessels could also be used to transport fuel, food and water from Japan to Diego Garcia, they said. The USA has been using jets from aircraft carriers and bombers based on Diego Garcia to strike against guerrilla bases and Taliban targets across Afghanistan. The most contentious issue for Japan was whether to dispatch a 7,250-tonne Aegis destroyer equipped with a sophisticated radar and capable of launching more than 10 missiles simultaneously to shoot down incoming targets.
Reuters |
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NEWS ANALYSIS THE gunning down of 18 Christians in a Catholic church in Bahawalpur during the Sunday service was shocking but not unexpected in an atmosphere charged with frenzied hatred created by pro-Taliban fundamentalists who have been protesting against American bombing of Afghanistan. It was not unexpected because fundamentalists claim their fight is for Islam and at one public meeting in Quetta a Jamiat-Ulema-Islam leader shouted that Jews and Christians should be killed. “Kill them wherever you find them,” he said. Bahawalpur is in Pakistan’s southern Punjab where the Jamiat-ul-Ulema-i-Islam has strong influence among extremist Sunnis. It is this part of Pakistan which has produced rabidly anti-Shia organisations like the Sipah-e-Sahabe and Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, both of which have their roots in Jamiat-ul-Ulema-i-Islam and have strong links with the Taliban. As is well-known, Taliban too, are the product of JUI madarsas. Although Christians, or for that matter all minorities in Pakistan, are treated as less than second class citizens especially after the introduction of a separate electorate system and the promulgation of blasphemy laws in 1985, this is the first time that gunmen have attacked a church and butchered worshippers. Christians become an easy target for the fundamentalists’ ire whenever Pakistanis are angry with the actions of the USA or Jews anywhere in the world particularly in West Asia. In 1992, even the demolition of Babri Masjid in Ayodhya provoked Muslim miscreants (not essentially fundamentalists) into
destroying Hindu temples and Christian churches in Punjab and Baluchistan. Members of these communities were killed and their property looted. It was suspected that the ruling Muslim League had a hand in this destruction. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s own brother Shahbaz Sharif was allegedly involved. The government promised to rebuild these places of worship but was soon warned that the government of a Muslim state was not
supposed to build temples or churches. The Sunday attack on the Bahawalpur church came when Christians had already been living under the shadow of fear of reprisals when the USA attacked Afghanistan. The Musharraf government had assured them that no harm would come to them. But they were not sure because the pro-Taliban
fundamentalists were claiming they were fighting an Islam against Christian crusade. They took this cue from an unguarded remark of President George Bush in which he described the war against terrorism as a crusade. Since 1985 when Gen Zia-ul Haq amended the 1973 Constitution to provide for a separate electorate and the
blasphemy laws were framed, all minorities have been living as threatened non-entities. Christians have come into conflict with fundamentalists by protesting against these laws. While all minorities have been reduced to the status of second-rate citizens, Christians and Ahmediyas have become special targets of the blasphemy laws. These laws provide for death penalty for offenders. The Sunday attack on the Bahalwapur church may be an indication that Osama bin Laden’s supporters are planning to punish General Musharraf for his support to the USA by creating a communal and sectarian chaps in the country. |
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ISI ‘trained’ J & K ultras New York, October 29 The ISI had turned a blind eye for years to the growing ties between Bin Laden and his harbourers — the Taliban — but since the September 11 attacks on the USA, Pakistan’s military government had withdrawn its support to Al Qaida as well as the militia, they said. American fears over the intelligence agency’s dealings with Kashmiri militant groups and the Taliban regime grew so much last year that the US Secret Service opposed a planned trip by President Bill Clinton to Pakistan out of concern of his safety, the New York Times quoted the officials as saying. There was fear that the Pakistani security forces were badly penetrated by terrorists and hence extremist groups, including Al
Qaida, would learn of the President’s travel route from sympathisers within the ISI and try to shoot down his plane. Mr Clinton overruled the Secret Service advice and went ahead with the trip, prompting his security to take extraordinary precautions. An empty Air Force One plane was flown into the country and the President made the trip in a small unmarked plane. Later, his motorcade stopped under an overpass and Mr Clinton changed cars, some former US officials were quoted as saying.
PTI |
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20 US-Taliban meetings before strike Washington, October 28 Citing sources close to the fruitless talks, the newspaper reported the discussions continued until just days before the attacks on New York and Washington on September 11, which the Bush administration blames on Saudi-born bin Laden. During the talks, the Taliban representatives repeatedly suggested they would hand over Bin Laden but did not convince US officials they were serious or could actually deliver on the promise to produce their “guest,” the Post reported. Meetings were held in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Germany and the USA and, at one point, led to a telephone conversation between a mid-level State Department official in Washington and Taliban leader Mullah Mohammad Omar. The USA began seriously pressing the Taliban to expel Bin Laden after the 1998 bombings of U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania that killed 224 people. Since last month’s hijacked plane assaults that killed about 5,000 people, the Taliban has rejected the USA demand it surrender Bin Laden. That rejection prompted the USA to launch a military campaign, now in its fourth week, to punish the Taliban for harbouring Bin Laden and to root out the militant and members of his Al Qaida network.
Reuters |
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Pak N-scientist set free Islamabad, October 29 Mehmud along with Abdul Majeed, a former Chief Engineer of the PAEC were only questioned in connections with the NGO founded by them to fund welfare programmes in Afghanistan, a Pakistan official spokesman had said a few days ago, denying reports that the two were detained. Today’s report, however, did not refer to Majeed, who was also taken in for questioning at the same time.
UNI |
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LTTE bomber kills self, 2 others Colombo, October 29 The police said the suicide bomber detonated explosives strapped to his body when security forces confronted him in the heart of the capital, killing himself, a policeman and two civilians. The suspected rebel was spotted in the vicinity of a function in which Wickremanayake was to participate, but wandered away after finding the security too tight, the police said. After being followed for about 200 yards, he was stopped in a lane for a body search by policemen, but he activated explosives strapped to his body, they said. A van carrying schoolchildren and a couple of other vehicles were damaged in the impact. Wounded children and passers-by were rushed to hospital, where five injured policemen were also admitted. The condition of five of those wounded was critical. The explosion took place just outside a residential apartment complex and the portion of the lane where the bomber was cornered, was strewn with bits of flesh.
PTI |
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45 bodies from ‘Kursk’ recovered Murmansk (Russia), October 29 Working around the clock in shifts, investigators scouring the dank and mangled hulk in the Arctic port of Roslyakovo found five bodies overnight to add to 40 already discovered since the sub was brought ashore. In addition, they were due to start unloading 22 cruise missiles which appeared to have survived intact. “People are hellishly tired, but nothing can make them leave the wreck,” said in Leonid Troshin, spokesman for the prosecutor general. The Kursk plunged to the bottom of the Barents Sea with the loss of all 118 crew in August, 2000, after two unexplained blasts ripped open its bow. Twelve bodies were recovered by divers last year, but most of the mammoth wreck was only raised by a giant Dutch barge this month and brought ashore. Mr Troshin said 25 of the sailors found since then had been identified and seven bodies flown out to relatives. Prosecutor-General Vladimir Ustinov, who is leading the investigation into the Kursk’s sinking, on Saturday, described the “hell” on board the boat caused by a fierce blaze that followed the explosions.
Reuters |
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Israel
pulls out from Bethlehem Jerusalem, October 29 “Our forces pulled out of the positions they had been occupying in the Bethlehem sector for about 10 days,” the spokesman said at 2 a.m. “The withdrawal was preceded by a meeting during which the two parties reached an agreement on Palestinian responsibility for maintaining calm in the region,” the spokesman added. A correspondent on the scene said the pullout was completed without any untoward incident.
AFP |
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Nadeem
granted litigation cost London, October 29 Nadeem, who is currently settled here, said today that he had received an official intimation from the London High Court that he would get “£ 920,080.83 towards reimbursement (legal) cost.” The House of Lords here had earlier turned down an appeal by the Government of India seeking a review of the London High Court decision against his extradition to stand trial in the Gulshan Kumar murder case. Lord Justice Rose and Lord Justice Newman of the London High Court on December 21 upheld the petition of Nadeem against the Bow Street Magistrate’s court which had ordered his extradition for standing trial in the case. The high court had ordered Nadeem be “discharged forthwith in relation to the offences in respect of which his return is sought by the Union of India.” |
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Milosevic faces
fresh charges The Hague, October 29 |
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