Daily News Pakistan

PESHAWAR: At least seven people were killed and 30 more were injured after a blast went off in Peshawar on Friday.

‘Seven people have died and 35 are wounded,’ Sahib Zada Anis, head of the northwestern city’s administration, told reporters.

Most of them were civilians, he added.

A doctor at the city’s main Lady Reading Hospital confirmed the casualties.

A military spokesman told Reuters that a building of the Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) was the possible target of the bomb attack.

The building was heavily damaged in the blast, with huge clouds of smoke spewing into the sky and debris littering the ground, witnesses said.

The road was littered with debris and tree trunks ripped off by the force of the explosion.

A security official at the scene said it was a bomb blast, but the nature of the attack was not immediately clear.

An AFP reporter saw at three bodies lying on the ground, but soldiers opened fire into the air preventing other people from approaching until army vehicles arrived on the spot and cordoned off the area.

Television footage showed scenes of panic at one hospital, with blood-stained men being admitted and relatives starting to gather outside.

‘It was the biggest explosion I’ve ever heard,’ said city resident Asad Ali.

The blast early Friday badly damaged much of the three-story building and was heard throughout the city. —Agencies/DawnNews

ISLAMABAD: President Asif Ali Zardari has forwarded to the Supreme Judicial Council, references against six PCO judges from the High Courts of Lahore, Peshawar and Sindh.

The judges of the high courts against whom references were sent today to the Supreme Judicial Council are Justices Syed Shabbar Raza, Hamid Ali Shah, Hasnat Ahmed Khan and Syed Sajjad Hussain Shah of the Lahore High Court.

Refences have also been forwarded against Justice Yasmin Abbasey of Sindh High Court and Justice Jehanzeb Rahim of the Peshawar High Court.

Spokesperson of the President former Senator Farhatullah Babar said that the references have been sent on the recommendations of the Chief Justice of Pakistan Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry. -DawnNews

PESHAWAR: A landmine attack and ambush killed 10 Pakistani troops near the Afghan border Wednesday, in a sign that violence is spreading away from the frontlines of a major anti-Taliban offensive.

Wednesday's deaths were reported in Mohmand, where the paramilitary Frontier Corps has been operating for well over a year against the Taliban, and after security officials warned that the militants are stepping up attacks elsewhere.

'Eight soldiers were martyred and two were wounded when their vehicle hit a landmine buried on the roadside,' Major Fazal ur-Rehman, spokesman for the paramilitary Frontier Corps, told AFP.

The attack happened on the outskirts of Safi town near the Afghan border in Mohmand tribal district, the paramilitary said.

'The soldiers were on a routine patrol. The landmine was buried by militants. The explosion damaged the pick-up,' said Rehman.

He said the incident was separate to a Taliban ambush that left two paramilitary personnel dead and eight others missing after militants attacked a another convoy nearby at Ghanam Shah on Wednesday.

Local official Rasool Khan said two security personnel, initially reported as missing, later made contact.

'A search operation is continuing for the remaining eight who are missing,' Khan told AFP by telephone from Mohmand.

Two bodies were recovered after the ambush and 10 rebels killed after attack helicopters shelled suspected militant hideouts in the area on Wednesday.

The United States has put Pakistan on the frontline of its war against Al-Qaeda and has been increasingly disturbed by deteriorating security in the country where attacks and bombings have killed about 2,500 people in 28 months. -AFP

ISLAMABAD: At least seven suspected militants were killed and nine injured as security forces pounded militant hideouts in the Makeen and Pash-Ziarat areas of South Waziristan.

According to official sources, Razmak forces targeted militant hideouts in South Waziristan late Monday, killing seven militants and injuring nine others.

Three soldiers were also injured during the clashes.

Locals said security forces set ablaze several houses, while conducting house-to-house search operations which were still underway.

Security forces also took control of the Makeen bazaar and clashes between security forces and militants were still continuing in the Ladha and Sararogha areas of South Waziristan. — DawnNews

PESHAWAR: A suicide bomber killed three people on Monday in the second attack in Peshawar in 24 hours as militants stepped up efforts to avenge a major offensive against the Taliban.

Police said the bomber got out of a rickshaw and detonated his explosives at a police checkpoint on the outer ring road of the northwestern metropolis, which runs into the Al-Qaeda and Taliban-infested tribal badlands.

Pakistan, which has suffered a wave of bombings since July 2007, has been rocked by a spike in bloodshed killing more than 350 people since last month and forcing troops onto the offensive in the tribal belt.

‘Three people were killed, including a police official. Two others were civilians,’ city police chief Liaquat Ali Khan told reporters.

‘The bomber was wearing a suicide vest filled with about six kilograms of explosives,’ he added.

The blast destroyed two private vehicles and left the rickshaw a mangled wreck, also damaging a police van at the small checkpoint where police erected barricades to search cars, an AFP reporter said, adding blood was splattered over the scene.

Suicide attacks and bombings frequently strike the sprawling city of 2.5 million people. In the deadliest attack in Pakistan in two years, a massive car bomb killed 118 people in a Peshawar market on October 28.

Doctor Zafar Iqbal at the city's main government-run Lady Reading Hospital said four bodies, including that of the bomber, were brought to the morgue.

‘We received four bodies, one police official and two civilians. The fourth body was that of the suicide attacker. It was unrecognisable,’ he told AFP.

The attack came 24 hours after a suicide strike in a crowded cattle market in Peshawar.

The death toll from that incident rose to 14 on Monday.

The Taliban claimed responsibility for that attack, saying it was avenging Mayor Abdul Malik's efforts to raise a militia to fight militants after he cut formerly close links to the Taliban movement in 2008.

The United States has put Pakistan on the frontline of its war against Al-Qaeda, increasingly disturbed by deteriorating security in the country where suicide attacks and bombings have killed more than 2,450 people in 28 months.

There was no claim of responsibility for Monday's bombing but Pakistan's security forces have been in the crosshairs of brazen Taliban attacks since unleashing a major ground and air offensive in South Waziristan on October 17.

Late Sunday, police shot dead a would-be suicide bomber who approached a checkpoint in the heavily guarded and leafy capital Islamabad, officials said.

Police said the man came from South Waziristan, where the home-grown Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) movement has carved out bastions and where the military has claimed a string of successes in its latest anti-Taliban campaign.

Pakistan's military and civilian government have blamed recent attacks in cities on TTP militants avenging both the military offensive and the killing of their leader Baitullah Mehsud in a US missile attack in August.

Around 30,000 troops are pressing a three-pronged offensive against TTP hideouts in South Waziristan, part of the tribal belt on the Afghan border.

Backed up by fighter jets and helicopter gunships, the area is a closed military zone and details are impossible to confirm independently.

Pakistan's military Sunday said that 20 insurgents had been killed in South Waziristan in 24 hours as troops tried to consolidate gains made over three weeks, taking the total insurgent death toll to 478.

WASHINGTON: The United States has been negotiating highly sensitive understandings with the Pakistani military about the security of Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal, investigative journalist Seymour Hersh reported in the latest issue of The New Yorker magazine.
The journalist wrote that during meetings with current and former officials in Washington and Islamabad, he was told that the agreements would allow specially trained American units to provide added security for the Pakistani arsenal in case of a crisis.
At the same time, the Pakistani military would be given money to equip and train Pakistani soldiers and to improve their housing and facilities, the report says.
The principal fear was that extremists inside the Pakistani military might stage a coup, take control of some nuclear assets, or even divert a warhead, Hersh notes.
The Pakistani nuclear doctrine calls for the warheads and their triggers to be stored separately from each other, and from their delivery devices.
The arrangement serves as a safeguard in case of a quickly escalating confrontation with India but also makes the weapons vulnerable during shipment and reassembly, the report points out.
‘We give comfort to each other, and the comfort level is good, because everybody respects everybody’s integrity,’ Hersh quoted Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari as telling him in an interview about the security relationship with Washington.
‘Our Army officers are not crazy, like the Taliban,’ Zardari went on to say. ‘A mutiny would never happen in Pakistan. It’s a fear being spread by the few who seek to scare the many.’
Meanwhile, former Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf acknowledged that his government had given US State Department non-proliferation experts insight into the command and control of the Pakistani arsenal and its on-site safety and security procedures, the report said. —AFP

ISLAMABAD: Troops combating militants in South Waziristan maintained their advance on Friday and moved into the hometown of the late Taliban chief, Baitullah Mehsud, and blew up his house.

The town of Makin was one of the main bastions of terrorists in the region.

A security official told Dawn that the success achieved so far had brought troops closer to completion of the first phase of the operation.

He said the link-up of forces in Laddah and Makin would be followed by a major search and clearance operation.

He said a large part of Makin town had been cleared, adding that an important road and junctions of Makin-Laddah-Sararogha and Makin-Ghariom-Sararogha had been blocked.

He also said that fierce clashes had taken place and the Taliban were fleeing, leaving behind weapons and ammunition.

According to ISPR, 24 terrorists were killed and one was captured on Thursday and Friday.

Security forces are consolidating and strengthening their positions around Sararogha and the Shakai– Kaniguram axis around Laddah.

In Bangai Khel, Totai Langar Khel and Kot Langar Khel, large quantities of arms and ammunition were seized and a suspect taken into custody.

About relief activities, the ISPR statement said that medical camps run by the army in Wana and Shakai were providing free treatment to local people from Monday to Friday.

It said that 7,922 cash cards had been distributed among the displaced families of Waziristan.

Our Kohat Correspondent adds: A security official was killed when militants attacked a checkpost near the Tora Warai fort in Hangu district on Friday night.

Troops returned fire with artillery but there was no report of casualty on militants’ side. The exchange of fire continued for hours.

Troops had killed four militants when the same checkpost was attacked a few days ago.

KARACHI, Nov 06: The Pakistani Rupee was traded at 84.30 to the US Dollar in the open market. (Bureau Report) (Updated @ 16:30 PST)

Spot Rates for public per unit of currency
 
Exchange Rates for Currency Notes
Bullion Rate in Rupees per 10 gms.


   
Countries Selling Buying Buying 
  T.T & O.D T.T Clean O.D/T.Chq 
U.S.A. 83.783.583.32
U.K. 139.01138.68138.36
Euro 124.52124.22123.95
Canada 78.5778.3878.18
Switzerland 82.3982.1981.97
Japan 0.92280.92060.9182
Saudi Arabia 22.3222.2722.21
Source:-APP   

Exchange Rates for Currency Notes

Countries Selling Buying 
  Rs. Rs. 
U.S.A 84.5482.49
S.Arabia 22.5421.98
U.K 140.4136.98
Japan 0.93210.909
Euro 125.76122.71
U.A.E 23.0221.09
Source: -APP


Bullion rates in Rupees per 10 grams
on November 6, 2009 

KARACHI 

Gold Tezabi (24-ct) Rs 29,485 
Silver Tezabi (24-ct) Rs 441.42 

NOTE: Rates from Lahore, Multan and Hyderabad bullion markets observed weekly holiday on Friday.—APP

 

ISLAMABAD: Investment in National Savings schemes is growing at a faster pace, and during the first quarter of the current fiscal year (2009-10), the institution achieved a net investment target of Rs60 billion.

Since November 2007, the National Savings secured investment worth Rs400 billion, registering a growth of 40 per cent, and with this, the Organisation has become a major source of revenue generation within the country.

National Savings Director-General Zafar M Shaikh, who took over the reigns three years ago, told Dawn target set by the government at Rs240 billion for the entire fiscal year would not only be achieved, but efforts were under way to surpass the target. Mr Shaikh said all-out efforts would be made to play the role assigned by the government to raise the level of much-needed revenue by the country.

With this high performance, the National Savings has turned into a financial institution, not only as a ‘house of collection’ of revenue for the government, but has emerged as a reliable source of investment by the public.

Despite this fact, the National Savings is still functioning under the bureaucratic clutches of the ministry of finance. Though proposals were under study to make the organisation an independent financial institution, no progress has been made during the last several years.

Encouraged by the public interest in the schemes, the National Savings Organisation has planned to launch three to four new schemes, namely Regular Income Certificate (RIC) and Special Savings Certificate having the profit rate of 12 and 11.67 per cent, respectively.

With more investment coming in, the rate of profit may increase as compared to the profit being offered by the commercial banks.

Other schemes of the Saving Organization include Defence Saving Certificates and Bahbud Saving Certificates. In addition, public were also benefiting from Saving Accounts, Special Saving Accounts, Pensioner’s Benefit Accounts.

In view of growing investments, the Organisation has decided to expand network of Saving Centres throughout the country.

The finance ministry has approved a project of National Savings under which all centres would be gradually automated.

ISLAMABAD: Gunmen injured an army brigadier and his driver in Islamabad on Friday, as they opened fire on their vehicle, sources told DawnNews television.

Brigadier Sohail and his driver came under attack by unknown assailants in the I-8/4 sector of the capital, the television channel said.

SSP Islamabad Police Tahir Malik told DawnNews that both the brigadier and his driver have been shifted to a hospital and are now in stable condition.

‘We have collected a pistol from the site of the attack and are looking for further evidence,’ Malik said.

‘Unknown attackers were waiting for Brigadier Sohail to leave his house and opened fire at his vehicle as soon as it entered the main road,’ eye witnesses said.

A doctor at the capital’s Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences hospital said the victims were in a stable condition.
‘Two army officers, including one brigadier were injured when unknown gunmen opened fire on their vehicle,’ Doctor Nasir Ahmad told AFP.
‘Both have firearms injuries but both are stable,’ he added.
The attack was the third targeting senior army commanders in the capital in around two weeks.
On October 22, a Pakistani brigadier on leave from a UN peacekeeping mission was shot dead in the capital Islamabad. There was a similar gun attack on another military jeep on October 27, but no one was wounded.

KARACHI: Special Investigation Unit of Karachi police has claimed to have arrested one of the TTP commanders from Sohrab Goth area of Karachi on Thursday afternoon. Police further claimed that weapons have also been recovered from his possession.
         
Raja Umar Khattab, SSP SIU told DawnNews that on secret information police conducted a raid on a petrol pump and apprehended one suspected Taliban commander.
The officer said the accused was shifted to investigation centre, where he was identified as Umar Khan, a Taliban commander, who was dealing in Qabal Gram area of Malakand.
Raja Umar said that the arrested Taliban commander was trying to refurbish his contacts with their supporters and others.
The officer said an operation has been launched in the Sohrab Goth and adjacent areas to arrest more Taliban, who could be residing in these congested areas.

ISLAMABAD: Security forces claimed killing at least 28 militants as operation Rah-i-Nijat continued in South Waziristan.
Five militants were also arrested while five soldiers lost their lives.
According to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), security forces were consolidating their positions on the Jandola-Sararogha Axis.
During a clearance operation, five soldiers, including an officer, died in a blast in the Sararogha area of South Waziristan.
At least 16 militants were killed while five were apprehended during an encounter in Mangora-Sar and Ghundai-Gar.
Security forces also secured the Ladha Fort and cleared the Bangel Khel area.
House to house search and clearance operations were underway on the Razmak-Makeen Axis. A huge cache of arms and ammunitions was recovered from the same axis. — DawnNews

ISLAMABAD: Dr Abdul Qadeer Khan has said that he is on the Exit Control List (ECL) and would like to be left alone as he was not under any threat from foreign agencies as claimed by the government.
Dr Khan, once hailed as a national hero, is now closely watched by the Pakistani authorities. Earlier this year, the Islamabad High Court declared the father of Pakistan’s nuclear programme a free man. For months, Dr Khan was forced to live under house arrest as he was suspected of nuclear proliferation. But even after the court’s order, the doctor says he is far from being a free man.
Interestingly, a secret document has emerged in which Dr Khan allegedly agreed to certain conditions on his security. The nuclear scientist’s attorney, however, alleges that several clauses were added to the agreement by the Chief Justice of the Islamabad High Court, after it was reviewed by him.
In a letter written to the Supreme Court, the pioneer of Pakistan’s nuclear programme complained that his movements were being restricted. Dr Khan also alleged that he was subjected to police brutality while he was under house arrest. Taking notice of the Khan’s plea, the court demanded a clarification from the Interior Ministry.
In reply, the Attorney General of Pakistan said that Dr Khan’s movements have been curtailed because of threats to his life from international agencies. Shah Khawar went so far to say that the name ‘Abdul Qadeer Khan’ does not appear on the Exit Control List.
Not surprisingly, Dr Khan did not agree with that statement. ‘It is a joke to say I am not on the Exit Control List,’ said Khan.
Dr Khan’s movements are so restricted that allegedly he was not even allowed to perform Umrah in Mecca. Experts believe that while certain restrictions have been lifted, Dr Khan will never be able to get the kind of freedom he desires.—DawnNews

ISLAMABAD: Electronic media managers from eight prominent television channels have evolved first-of-its-kind voluntary framework to standardize professional guidelines regarding coverage of terrorism.
According to a press release issued here on Thursday, representatives of KTN, Samaa, Dawn News, Dunya, Express News and Express 24/7, ARY, Geo and Aaj television met in Karachi to conclude a two-week long internal debate on how best to respond to viewer feedback on reporting incidents where large scale loss of human life has occurred.
The group, comprising key news decision-makers in their respective organizations, recognized that public’s abiding trust in the media placed a heavy responsibility on news-managers to further improve the quality of video news product.
Applying their collective experience and judgment, they agreed on harmonizing existing professional methods to perform the task of honest reporting in these times of extreme crisis and national danger.
Members of the group, a voluntary gathering open to all, agreed among themselves that formalization of policies on reporting and news gathering in terrorism-related cases was need of the hour.
The areas where the agreement was reached pertained to field and live reporting, viewer exposure to extreme and disturbing visuals, dead bodies, badly injured people, accounts of emotionally-distraught as well as eye-witnesses, and real-time decisions on releasing information during war or in the case of any hostage-situation.
The news managers decided that they will desist from showing graphic and disturbing images on the screen, and as and when required, utilize a delay mechanism in their transmissions. This will enable the channels to edit out undesirable footage. The news managers also developed a consensus on putting greater efforts to check information before flashing breaking news about bomb blasts etc.
The news managers also agreed to exercise extreme caution when covering incidents involving hostages. They decided that in such situations they will take all steps necessary to ensure that information being relayed through the channels does not, in any way, help the hostage-takers.
Better training for camera crew, safety orientation of reporters were other areas where the group agreed to implement swift measures in line with the potential and constraints of each channel. They also agreed to introduce strict safety measures for their crews covering disaster situations.
They also requested all TV channels to cooperate with them in following these voluntary guidelines, and welcomed suggestions to further improve their coverage.
The electronic news managers agreed among themselves that more discussions of this sort with their colleagues from other channels were required to further elaborate this framework.
The news managers reiterated that these voluntary guidelines drafted by them would further enhance the professionalism in Pakistani channels. They resolved to implement these decisions to the best of their abilities. The Pakistan Broadcasters Association (PBA) has already given its voluntary Code of Conduct on coverage of terrorism to the government. Since the electronic news managers have now agreed to voluntarily follow their own set of guidelines, they called upon the government to desist from imposing any guidelines formulated by official functionaries, as such guidelines would be seen as restrictions that would run counter to the spirit of freedom of expression.
They also called upon the government and the military to stop pulling channels off-air as such moves are counter-productive.
The top news managers also decided to hold such meetings on a regular basis with the aim to review such matters, and improve and revise these guidelines if and when the need is felt.

ISLAMABAD: All industrial units and CNG stations will remain closed two days a week on a rotation basis in Punjab and the NWFP during winter, according to a gas load management plan approved by the federal cabinet on Wednesday.
The special meeting of the cabinet held with Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani in the chair decided that CNG stations would remain closed for eight days a month in zones to be defined by the Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Ltd (SNGPL).
The decision was taken to overcome the shortage of natural gas, demand for which surges sharply in Punjab and the NWFP during winter.
Gas supply to CNG stations will remain suspended in the Lahore region on the first two days of the schedule. The Lahore region of SNGPL covers all areas from Kasur to Sheikhupura.
CNG stations will remain closed on day 3 and 4 in the Islamabad region, which includes Jhelum, Attock, Murree and Rawalpindi districts.
The shutdown plan in Gujranwala and Peshawar regions will be enforced on day 5 and 6.
The Gujranwala region includes Muridke, Kamoki, Sialkot, Sarai Alamgir and highways.
The Peshawar region covers all parts of the NWFP, except the Hazara division. Gas will not be supplied to CNG stations in Multan, Abbottabad, Faisalabad and Bahawalpur regions on seventh and eighth day.
An SNGPL official told Dawn that tentative date for implementing the plan was Nov 15 and it would continue till March 15 next year. He said that through the plan the company expected to save 25mmcfd of gas.
The CNG sector has rejected the plan. All Pakistan CNG Association chairman Gyas Paracha said the industry had not been taken into confidence on the gas load management plan.
‘It is an impractical decision which will only affect consumers,’ he said, adding that the association would protest against the decision.
Industrial sector
Lahore has been divided into two zones. Faisalabad and other districts of central Punjab have been placed in zone three and Multan, Gujranwala, Peshawar and Abbottabad are in zone four of the schedule.
The textile sector in Punjab has sought 300mmcfd gas to meet export orders, but the government has pledged 200mmcfd for export-oriented industries during winter.
According to government estimates, SNGPL will face a shortage of 1.10 billion cubic feet of gas per day in January.
‘Domestic geysers and heaters alone consume around 400mmcfd and 350mmcfd of gas, respectively, from November to March,’ an official of the petroleum ministry said.

ISLAMABAD: In a rare show concern for women without a dissent, the National Assembly unanimously passed a bill on Wednesday to provide for a higher punishment for their sexual harassment, expanding the definition of the crime to facilitate prosecution.
The Criminal Law (Amendment) Bill, which must be passed by the Senate as well to become law, amends both the Pakistan Penal Code and the Code of Criminal Procedure, increasing the punishment for the crime to up to three years in prison and a fine of up to Rs500,000 from up to one year and unspecified fine already provided in the PPC for a vague ‘insult (to) the modesty of a woman’.
The draft, fruit of a campaign by women activists, was introduced in the house early this year by then information minister Sherry Rehman, who won special plaudits from both sides of the house during speeches after the bill -- already approved by a 16-member standing committee on law with Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani cited as its minister-in-charge -- was passed without a debate.
However, some members from the both treasury and opposition benches voiced fears about the possibility of misuse of the new law, particularly in rural areas to settle scores -- though some others dismissed such concerns -- and called for an effective implementation, possibly with amendments in other relevant law and rules governing police.
The bill is the second passed by the present 19-month-old lower in three months, the first being a private bill adopted by it in early August -- and later by the Senate -- to provide for monetary and other relief to sufferers of domestic like women, children and other vulnerable persons such as the elderly and domestic servants.
It will be followed by another pro-women bill, designed to make provisions for their protection against harassment at workplaces, which was put on the agenda of the house on Monday but was put off because of an opposition walkout to protest against the controversial National Reconciliation Ordinance of former military ruler Pervez Musharraf that the government later decided not to bring for approval.
‘Harassment is one of the most common issues faced by the women of Pakistan,’ a statement of objects and reasons accompanying the new bill said. ‘They face intimidation in the marketplace, in buses, at bus stops and at workplace.’
It said this issue alone inhibited most women to move out of their houses for education, availing medical facilities and earning a livelihood.
The statement said that although the PPC already had some sections that ‘attempt to address sexual harassment to a certain extent, (their) the terminology is vague’ and open to interpretation.
It said the new amendment was ‘in the same spirit’ as of the PPC’s original section 509 and other relevant clauses providing protection to women but that it ‘elaborates and specifies what constitutes harassment of women in public, private and workplaces’.
‘This amendment will not only make public and work environment safer for women but will open up the path for more women to pursue livelihood with dignity,’ the statement said. ‘It will reduce poverty as more and more women will get the courage to enter the job market.’
The existing brief section 509 of the PPC on the subject of ‘word, gesture or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman’, defines the culprit as one ‘intending to insult the modesty of any woman, utters any word, makes any sound or gesture, or exhibits any object, intending that such word or sound shall be heard, or that such gesture or object shall be seen, by such woman or intrudes upon the privacy of such woman’.
The proposed new section 509 with modified title of ‘insulting modesty or causing sexual harassment’, additionally defines the culprit as one who conducts sexual advances, or demands sexual favours or uses verbal or non-verbal communication or physical conduct of a sexual nature which intends to annoy, insult, intimidate or threaten the other person or commits such acts at the premises of workplace, or makes submission to such conduct either explicitly or implicitly a term or condition of an individual’s employment, or makes submission to or rejection of such conduct by an individual a basis for employment decision affecting such individual, or retaliates because of rejection of such behaviour, or conducts such behaviour with the intention of unreasonably interfering with an individual’s work performance or creating an intimidating, hostile or offensive working environment.

ISLAMABAD: President Asif Ali Zardari continued consultations with aides and allies in a bid to repair ties with coalition partners, which were dented by his decision about tabling the National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) in parliament. 

He met Maulana Fazlur Rehman, chief of Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-F (JUI-F), and Governor Sindh Ishratul Ibad, a senior leader of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM).
The governor met the president in the day while the JUI-F chief called on him in the night along with a delegation of his party. The Maulana is reported to have been asked to try to bring back to the coalition parliamentarians from Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) who had also opposed the tabling of NRO before parliament.
Sources said Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani also attended the meeting along with a number of other leaders of Pakistan Peoples’ Party.
The JUI-F chief, who had earlier in the evening addressed a press conference and said that his party would oppose NRO if it was tabled in parliament, agreed to talk to Fata parliamentarians.
The MQM was the first party in the PPP-led coalition which opposed the NRO. MQM chief Altaf Hussain also urged the president to sacrifice his office in the larger national interest.
According to presidential spokesman Farhatullah Babar, the PPP had always defended democracy and would continue to do so in the future.
The spokesman quoted the president as saying: ‘PPP respected the viewpoint of some allied parties not to bring the NRO in the parliament. Our party is determined to protect democracy at any cost and would not let anyone destabilise it.’
Maulana Fazalur Rehman said the JUI-F was an ally of the government and would abide by all agreements between the allies. He praised the PPP and the president for trying to take the allies and coalition partners along with them on all important issues.
President Zardari said a committee comprising PPP and JUI-F members would be constituted to address matters pertaining to the alliance between the two parties.
Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Babar Awan will be the convener of the committee.
Other members of the committee are: Syed Khursheed Ahmed Shah, Rehman Malik and Qamar Zaman Kaira from PPP and Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Haidri, Azam Khan Swati and Senator Maulana Muhammad Khan Sherani of JUI.

KARACHI: Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves fell to $14.43 billion in the week that ended on Oct 24 compared with $14.48 billion the previous week, the central bank said on Thursday.
Reserves held by the State Bank of Pakistan were $10.86 billion, compared with $10.91 billion a week earlier, while those held by commercial banks were the same at $3.57 billion, said central bank spokesman Syed Wasimuddin.

Foreign reserves hit a record high of $16.5 billion in October 2007, but fell steadily to $6.6 billion by November last year – largely because of a soaring import bill.
An International Monetary Fund (IMF) emergency loan package of $7.6 billion agreed in November helped avert a balance of payments crisis and shore up reserves.
The IMF, which increased the loan to $11.3 billion in July, has disbursed over $5 billion.

Pakistani officials are due to meet IMF officials in Dubai from Nov 2 to Nov 12 for a third review of Pakistan’s economic performance.—Reuters

ISLAMABAD: In a move to wrest political initiative after a retreat on the controversial National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) he finally said had been dumped, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani told the National Assembly on Tuesday his government would seek early restoration of parliament’s powers, tackle people’s pressing problems and launch an austerity drive.

He said he had asked the chairman of a joint parliamentary committee to expedite recommendations for key constitutional amendments, including curtailment of presidential powers, and called an emergency meeting of his cabinet and provincial chief ministers to discuss ways to deal with problems like the prevailing sugar crisis, power cuts and falling paddy prices.

The prime minister also promised to seek passage of a resolution by the house to call for provision of jobs on merit, but did not say when nor elaborate on the necessity of such a move.

The prime minister’s speech was cheered by desk-thumping from all sections of the house, only a day after the opposition was up in arms over the NRO before an overnight leadership meeting of the ruling coalition, chaired by President Asif Ali Zardari, decided not to seek parliamentary approval for former president Pervez Musharraf’s decree, which facilitated the emergence of the present democratic setup but which was seen by critics as vehicle to legitimise corruption.

Several opposition members came to Mr Gilani’s desk to congratulate or thank him for his latest moves, in sharp contrast to Monday’s tense atmosphere when the opposition had walked out without listening to him.

‘On NRO, we have decided not to bring it to the house,’ he said about a bill approved by a house standing committee last week that the government had planned to introduce for parliamentary approval of the ordinance that provided for the withdrawal of criminal cases registered for political reasons or victimisation between January 1986 and Oct 12, 1999, with the declared aim to ‘promote national reconciliation, foster mutual confidence amongst holders of public office and remove the vestiges of political vendetta and victimisation’.

‘Let the court decide. Whatever the decision we will accept,’ he said about possible legal challenges to the beneficiaries of the Oct 5, 2007, ordinance, who include Mr Zardari vis-à-vis disputed corruption charges brought against him in the 1990s by the government of then prime minister Nawaz Sharif, though legal experts say he remains immune from prosecution so long he holds the office of president.

Mr Gilani, who had told the house on the opening day of its present session on Monday after an opposition protest walkout that the NRO was still being reviewed, said his coalition had not made it a matter of ego and decided not to seek its approval in accordance with ‘the sense of the house’.

He said his Pakistan People’s Party was sincere to implement pledges made in the Charter of Democracy signed by its assassinated leader Benazir Bhutto and Pakistan Muslim League-N leader Nawaz Sharif in 2006, including the repeal of the controversial Seventeenth Amendment that legitimised General Musharraf’s military rule and his assumption of the usually prime ministerial powers to dissolve the National Assembly and appoint armed forces’ chiefs, provincial governors and the chief election commissioner.

‘Even today I asked the chairman of the parliamentary committee (Mian Raza Rabbani) to put (its job) on a fast track,’ Mr Gilani said and promised to seek restoration of what he called a ‘balance between the powers of the presidency and parliament’ by getting the 17th Amendment and Article 58(2)b relating to the dissolution of the lower house repealed. ‘We will protect all institutions and make … (them) strong.’

Basically the prime minister rose to speak in connection with a protest day observed by both the PPP and the PML-N to mark the second anniversary of the Nov 3, 2007, emergency proclamation of General Musharraf, who used his extra-constitutional move in his capacity as army chief to sack 60 judges of the Supreme Court and four provincial high courts and give constitutional protection to the NRO along many other decrees.

Black armbands were worn by PPP and PML-N members as a mark of protest, but not by General Musharraf’s former loyalists of the Pakistan Muslim League-Q, who had joined hands with the PML-N in Monday’s anti-NRO protest, and of government-allied Muttahida Qaumi Movement.

PML-N members left the house for some time to walk up to the nearby Supreme Court in connection with the day after speeches by PPP chief-whip and Labour and Manpower Minister Khurshisd Ahmed Shah, leader of opposition Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan and PML-Q leader Amir Muqam.

More speeches, including one by Interior Minister Rehman Malik, came afterwards, consuming the whole of what was a private members’ day to exclusion of the listed agenda before the house was adjourned until 4pm on Wednesday.

Speaker Fehmida Mirza, taking exception to a newspaper report, denied in the house that she or her husband, Sindh Home Minister Zulfikar Mirza, had benefited from the NRO as was also done by PPP member Nawab Yousuf Talpur.

KHAR: Two women school teachers were killed Wednesday when armed militants ambushed their car in Pakistan’s troubled tribal region bordering Afghanistan, local officials said.

The women were travelling from the school they taught at in Khar — the main town in the northwestern tribal district of Bajaur — when insurgents bearing automatic weapons sprayed the vehicle with bullets.

‘Two women teachers were killed and two men were injured in the firing by militants,’ administration official Adalat Khan told AFP. Tribal police confirmed the incident.

Insurgents who oppose the education of girls have bombed and destroyed hundreds of northwestern schools in recent years.
Militants have recently stepped up activity in Bajaur, one of Pakistan’s seven semi-autonomous tribal districts straddling the Afghan border, which are considered a stronghold of Taliban and Al-Qaida-linked extremists.

Officials warned that the Taliban and their allies were increasing attacks in areas such as Bajaur to divert attention away from South Waziristan, the Taliban bastion where the military is conducting a major ground offensive.

A similar military assault in Bajaur starting in August 2008 ended in February with the army claiming success. But militant violence continues to rock the area.

Hundreds of extremists are believed to have fled into Pakistan’s semi-autonomous tribal areas to carve out safe havens after the ouster of Afghanistan’s hardline Taliban regime in a US-led invasion in 2001.— AFP

ISLAMABAD: At least nine suspected militants were killed and several others injured in the latest round of clashes during the military operation in South Waziristan.

According to official sources, security forces targeted militant hideouts in Nawazkot killing the nine suspected militants.

Security forces also destroyed an important militant base in the area.

Meanwhile, in North Waziristan’s Razmak tehsil, security forces destroyed the house of a local militant commander. — DawnNews

WASHINGTON: The Obama administration quietly decided last March to allow Pakistan to choose some of its own targets for drone attacks, according to the New Yorker, a prestigious US magazine.

Earlier last week, the magazine published a piece on the use of unmanned aircraft to target Al Qaeda and Taliban suspects in Fata. On Sunday, its author Jane Mayer gave an online interview to the readers, telling them that the Obama administration agreed to allow Pakistanis to select targets to calm down Islamabad’s protests over the drone attacks.

The change in US policy led to the killing of Pakistani Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud in August.

The journalist, who interviewed senior US intelligence officials for the interview, wrote that on Aug 5, officials at the Central Intelligence Agency, in Langley, Virginia, watched a live video feed relaying close-up footage of Baitullah Mehsud, the leader of the Taliban in Pakistan.

‘He could be seen reclining on the rooftop of his father-in-law’s house, in Zanghara, a hamlet in South Waziristan. It was a hot summer night, and he was joined outside by his wife and his uncle, a medic; at one point, the remarkably crisp images showed that Mehsud, who suffered from diabetes and a kidney ailment, was receiving an intravenous drip.

‘The image remained just as stable when the CIA remotely launched two Hellfire missiles from the Predator. Authorities watched the fiery blast in real time. After the dust cloud dissipated, all that remained of Mehsud was a detached torso. Eleven others died: his wife, his father-in-law, his mother-in-law, a lieutenant, and seven bodyguards.’

In her interview, Ms Mayer noted that the use of unmanned aircraft to kill militants had both good news and bad news. According to the CIA, they’ve killed more than half of the 20 most wanted Al Qaeda suspects. The bad news is that they’ve inflamed anti-American sentiment, because they’ve also killed hundreds of civilians.

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani on Tuesday defended the government's decision of not tabling the National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) in the parliament.

Speaking on the floor of the National Assembly, Gilani said the government has not made NRO a matter of ego and that the government remains committed to abolishing the 17th amendment and Article 58-2(b).

He further said that the NRO was not brought to the house due to the parliamentarians’ reservations. Gilani reiterated that the government is still committed to the Charter of Democracy (CoD).

Speaking about a number of crises in the country, Gilani said the government will soon be calling a meeting on sugar, electricity and gas shortages in the country, which would be attended by chief ministers and finance ministers. — DawnNews

RAWALPINDI: Thirty-five people were killed and 65 others injured when a suicide bomber blew himself up outside a branch of the National Bank here on Monday.

Most of those who died in the attack were serving or retired civil and military employees, pensioners and elderly citizens who had queued for drawing salary and paying utility bills.

The powerful explosion took place at 10.45am at the branch’s parking zone located outside a four-star hotel off The Mall road and near the State Bank. The place is just a few hundred metres away from the GHQ, where militants had carried out a deadly siege last month.

(AFP adds: 'The suicide bomber came on a motorcycle and blew himself up close to people gathered to get salaries. We found parts of a suicide vest and some body parts of the suicide attacker,' senior police official Aslam Tarin told reporters.)

Officials said two women, Fakharunnisa and Samina, a police officer and two employees of the ministry of defence, Tariq Javaid and Bashir Ahmed, were among the dead.

A senior police officer said preliminary investigation suggested that eight kilograms of high explosives had been used in the blast.

A bomb disposal squad official said a hand-grenade was also used in the blast. At least 36 pieces of the grenade found from the scene suggested that the bomber might have first used the grenade and then detonated the explosives.

At least 30 shops of a nearby shopping mall and more than two dozen vehicles were damaged and windowpanes of buildings smashed.

An emergency was declared in all hospitals in the cantonment and city areas. The place was cordoned off and commandoes were deployed. Rescue workers and ambulances from Rescue 1122 rushed to the scene and took the injured to hospitals.

An eyewitness, Ms Nasreen, told Dawn that she was coming out of the bank after paying a gas bill when the huge explosion took place. 'It was a terrible scene and bodies were lying scattered all over the place.'

Rescue workers said six bodies were badly charred, two of them beyond recognition.

The death toll may rise because some of the injured were in a critical condition.

Investigators obtained CCTV footages from nearby buildings. A source close to the investigation told Dawn that the investigators could not get any lead from the footages.

According to sources, police spotted a suspicious man with a motorbike in R.A. Bazaar area before the blast, but he escaped before police could catch him.

So far no group has claimed responsibility for the blast.

KARACHI: A passenger train collided with a cargo train on the edge of Pakistan's biggest city Karachi, killing at least 12 people on Tuesday and injuring more than 30 others, officials said.

'So far we have recovered the bodies of 12 passengers and rescued 38 injured people and sent them to hospitals,' Muzaffar Shaikh, a senior railway police official, told AFP.

He said the operation was not over and there were still some bodies and injured passengers trapped inside one of the carriages.

'My officials have seen a couple more bodies and are trying to take them out,' Shaikh said.

'We are also hearing the cries of a child and are trying to locate him.'

Hospital officials said they were receiving the bodies and injured people from the incident.

'We have received 10 bodies so far and more than 30 injured passengers,' Dr Seemi Jamali of Jinnah Hospital told AFP.

The accident took place at Juma Goth, in the suburbs of Karachi, when the driver of the Karachi-bound Allama Iqbal express ignored a traffic signal and collided with the goods train, senior railway official Aftab Memon said.

Most of the casualties occurred in one passenger coach of the train, which was coming from the eastern city of Lahore, he said.

LANDI KOTAL: Militants targeted a house with a mortar shell killing two people in Khyber agency’s Landi Kotal tehsil on Sunday.
 
Separately, militants blew up a government school for girls in Bara tehsil injuring four people and also struck a local councillor’s house in Jamrud tehsil.
According to official sources, the first blast occurred in the early hours of Sunday morning in front of the agency councillor’s house in Jamrud.
The councillor escaped the blast which partially damaged his residence.
The second explosion ripped through the 18-room government high school for girls in the Saipah area in which officials confirm four people were injured.
Militants have destroyed hundreds of schools, mostly for girls, in the country’s northwest in recent years with nearly 200 in the Swat valley alone. — DawnNews

Pakistan’s support today is central to winning the war on terror. Hence, American aid is meant to encourage the political government and, to a certain extent, the military to cleanse the country of the thousands of jihadis that have been in Pakistan since the 1980s.
The strategy might work to a degree in eliminating some groups. Indeed Pakistan’s support is critical in reducing the size and subsequently the threat posed by terror networks like Al-Qaeda. The current assessment is that the terror outfit has in fact reduced in size and is partly relocating to Africa.
But this is not an indicator that the battle has been completely won. To vanquish the faceless enemy, the US and its allies have to achieve the harder goal of winning hearts and minds without which the war on terror is not winnable. This is because terror networks are difficult to locate, especially when they have society’s support. The problem right now is that while people in Pakistan might be anxious regarding some Taliban groups on a killing spree in the country, neither they nor the state in its entirety have complete faith in America’s war on terror or its presence in the region.
While institutions of the state have problems due to the manner in which the US chooses to fight the war, a common perception is that the Taliban imposed the war on Pakistan due to the US presence. So, to many the Taliban and jihadis essentially represent a struggle against American imperialism in Afghanistan. What, of course, goes hand in hand with such perceptions is the view that 9/11 was an American conspiracy to invade Afghanistan, the key to Central Asia. These are interesting times when the religious right begins to look like the left.
The battle for hearts and minds is essentially a part of the exercise of making the war legitimate. Currently, the argument presented by some in Pakistan, including certain prominent televangelists, is that America’s war essentially represents a clash of civilisations and is being imposed on Pakistan by an illegitimate government on behalf of the US. Notwithstanding the general suspicion regarding the US, there are two issues that need attention when it comes to the debate on what a ‘just war’ is in the Muslim world.
Firstly, what is a just war in Islam? According to some, a just war is one which is fought for the defence of Islam or for extending the religion to other parts of the world. The thinking goes that since the war on terror has been imposed by the US by falsely accusing Al Qaeda for 9/11, the struggle against it is legitimate. It would certainly add to everyone’s knowledge if Pakistani authorities disclosed how Khaled Sheikh Mohammad, who was interrogated by Pakistani forces before being handed over to America, confessed to his involvement in the bombing of the World Trade Centre.
Those that oppose the war on terror create the same categories as those that support the war of the ‘bad’ Taliban versus the ‘good’ Taliban. The latter are those fighting American hegemony in South Asia or other parts of the world. The bad ones are those that attack Pakistan on the behest of the US or Indian intelligence agencies. It becomes imperative for all Muslims to fight the US, which is threatening the survival of the Islamic civilisation, while Pakistan is considered the citadel of Islam.
So, people are caught between their dislike for violence imposed internally and the message coming from certain quarters that this violence is actually caused by the American presence in the region. Consequently, the situation would improve after America’s withdrawal from Afghanistan and Pakistan. Such perspectives received greater support after Washington’s needless expansion of the war to Iraq.
But then there is no consensus on what a just war is. Over the years, the concept of jihad has been through several interpretations depending on the times. Today, there is no consensus amongst the community of believers regarding the legitimacy of war. One of the important issues pertains to the question of who has the authority to wage a war. Is it the state or the individual’s responsibility? This question is not easy to answer as it is directly connected with another equally complex matter regarding the nature and legitimacy of the state.
The fact is that most religious opinions on war involving the individual citizen pertain to times when scholars had responded to external invasions and considered their own governments to be lacking in legitimacy to represent the people. The current times, unfortunately, don’t appear very different. However, the issue requires further thought even if the US left the region.
This brings me to the second issue of what a legitimate Islamic state is, a matter that has a direct bearing on whether the public would support the war or not. For the US, the battle to win hearts and minds becomes even more problematic considering that people in most countries of the Muslim world are not happy with their governments. This is certainly true in Pakistan where there is a lot of confusion about who has the right to govern.
The rampant corruption of the leadership adds fuel to the fire of the arguments of those who believe and profess that democracy is not suited to an Islamic system of government. Some televangelists in Pakistan, who are gaining popularity amongst the educated middle-class youth, argue that democracy as a system is foreign to Islam and hence must be abolished. Naturally, a state established on what they consider the wrong principles does not have the right to decide on which side of the fence it wants to fight.
These self-appointed preachers present a specific view on the politics of the state as if there is no space for any other perspective. Indeed, there is an ongoing debate on the relationship between politics and religion. While the concept of caliphate was supported historically, modern Muslim scholars such as Al Razik and Abdullah An-Na’im talk about the possibility of the separation of religion and politics which would allow for newer methods of selecting a government.
A debate on the aforementioned issues is no guarantee that the situation would immediately turn around for the US in Afghanistan. But it may save the world from protracted conflict on other fronts. The clash of civilisations is an ugly phenomenon and discussion in Muslim societies will help world peace.
The writer is an independent strategic and political analyst.ayesha.ibd@gmail.com

PESHAWAR: Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani will on Friday give a go-ahead for an international appeal to raise $1.078 billion for rehabilitation and reconstruction in the battered Malakand division, a senior government official told Dawn.
‘The international financial institutions (IFIs) have completed the damage need assessment (DNA) and they say that we would need Rs86.215 billion for reconstruction and rehabilitation in Malakand,’ the official said.
The meeting will be chaired by Prime Minister Gilani and attended by members of the Strategic Oversight Council, which includes NWFP Chief Minister Ameer Haider Khan Hoti, Governor Owais Ahmad Ghani, Peshawar Corps Commander Lt Gen Masud Aslam, Chief Secretary Javed Iqbal and representatives of the federal government.
According to the draft DNA, livelihood & social protection alone would need Rs15.751 billion ($197 million), followed by housing Rs6.620 billion ($83 million), health Rs1.5 billion ($ 19 million) and education Rs5.4 billion ($69 million).
The DNA draft report, conducted by the World Bank and Asian Development Bank, says that Rs19.651 billion would be needed for transport in terms of rehabilitation and reconstruction of physical infrastructure, while a staggering Rs25.698 billion ($321 million) would be required for agriculture, livestock and irrigation in the private sector.
The IFIs would take the DNA to international donors, after approval by Prime Minister Gilani, to help kick-start the much-needed rehabilitation and reconstruction work in Malakand division from where over 2.4 million people were uprooted. So far, no work has been initiated for non-availability of funds.
Despite pledges by international donor agencies, even money for the early recovery plan has not been forthcoming and officials warn that the slow pace of work is already causing a lot of frustration and anger amongst the population in Malakand.
‘My biggest worry is that Malakand will relapse to militancy if we don’t follow through on our promises,’ the official said.
‘Until marginalised people feel like they are part of the process, I wouldn’t be surprised to see anarchy returning. At its heart, it is an economic issue and does not go away that easily,’ he remarked.
‘Sooner or later, if you don’t start showing something more tangible, there will be despair and despondency. People have expectations,’ he said. ‘But the problem is that money is not coming.’
To add to the woes of a cash-strapped NWFP, even the United Nations’ flash appeal for an early recovery failed to generate any funds.
The UN launched a flash appeal of $ 680 million in May, out of which, according to initial estimates, $54 million were to be earmarked for the early recovery plan.
The overall flash-appeal remains under-funded by 40 per cent, while out of the $54 million early recovery plan, the world body could barely generate a meagre $ 300,000. ’We have not received a single penny,’ the official said.
‘It is under-funded,’ spokesman for the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, Fawad Hussain, acknowledged.
But he added that a UN team was due to leave for Riyadh next week to finalise modalities to receive $100 million pledged by Saudi Arabia. The Saudi money is expected to arrive in mid-October and UN officials are optimistic that it will take care of the early recovery plan.
The UN secretary general will announce a 2010 flash appeal next month. To add insult to injury, besides funding, there have been bureaucratic delays by the federal government. The NWFP government has projected that it immediately needs Rs14.2 billion for the next six months, but there has been little or no help from the federal government in this regard.
The provincial government is diverting funds from other districts to build 65 schools in Swat. ‘This is being done at the expense of other districts which also need attention,’ the official said.
The USAID has also halted all activities in Pakistan pending a review by the State Department following demand by the government of Pakistan that funds should be channelled through government departments. This means that all major projects, including the Empower Pakistan which was budgeted at $750 million with larger component for the NWFP and Fata, has also been halted.
An official claimed that any sum above $100,000 had to be cleared by Richard Holbrooke himself pending a final review and decision on how to use the USAID funds.
‘Even if USAID programmes need to be redesigned, it should be done in a manner that the flow of money does not dry up,’ the official maintained. Officials warn that delays in kick-starting the rehabilitation and reconstruction process in Malakand will undermine all the good work done by security forces to cleanse the area of militants.
‘The security situation is better, but I can’t assure myself it will remain that way if we do not act fast. We don’t have the luxury of time,’ the official warned.

The portrait of Stalin was prominently displayed at the parade celebrating Beijing’s 60th anniversary. One of the world’s most tyrannical rulers, his picture still takes the pride of place in the office of the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) politburo in Kolkata.
Therefore, it was not surprising that CPI-M secretary-general Prakash Karat underplayed China’s recent intrusions and attributed Indian criticism to the ‘strategic alliance’ between India and America. Those who remain sentimental about Beijing are confusing China with the communism that represented the cleansing of thought, reformist ideals and the passion of the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Such people themselves have drifted away from the ideology of the true left. If they had any spark of intellectual honesty left in them, they would have tried to rescue communism from China and not use this ideology to justify their conquests.
Both the Communist Party of India and the CPI-M, which claim to represent the left, still have the same reverence for Beijing as they did when the Chinese undertook the Long March under the leadership of Mao Zedong. Then the goal was to build an agrarian economy from below. Capitalism, which the country has now adopted for development, did not fit into the scheme the Chinese were pursuing at that time. Out of capitalism grew the idea of superiority in arms. This is not the China of Mao Zedong’s dreams.
The way China is behaving towards India today invokes memories of the run-up to what happened in 1962. The forcible building at that time of the infamous Aksai-Chin Road and the murders of India’s border patrol men is a sad chapter in the history of India-China relations and something one hoped had been buried. But the recent incursions by Chinese soldiers into Arunachal Pradesh have been accompanied by boasts that they can take over the whole area in a couple of days.
This is hardly a manifestation of the Hindi-Chini bhai bhai equation. I thought China occupied in 1962 all the territory it claimed and declared a unilateral ceasefire. It did not even agree to the Colombo proposals which suggested the withdrawal of 12.5km from the positions the two sides held. India, even though the victim, complied with the proposals.
Over the years, talks between the two countries have not resulted in any firm borders either on the Ladakh or Arunachal side. But the middle sector, including Sikkim, has been recognised by China. Why has it now intruded into Sikkim and left its evidence in the shape of large red Chinese characters painted on rocks? This definitely indicates a change in Beijing’s thinking.
No sovereign country can take this kind of behaviour lying down. Nor can India condone China’s claim that Arunachal belongs to it. Arunachal Pradesh is an integral part of India and New Delhi has made it clear more than once.
The latest irritation has come in the shape of visas granted to people originating from Kashmir. Instead of the standard type, the visa has been attached to a separate piece of paper stapled on to the passport. This is designed to convey that China can lay down the law and get away with it as well. The result has been that students who were given the new type of visa could not go to universities of their choice in China because India did not recognise the visa given to them.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh continues to pursue a relationship of peace and goodwill despite these provocations. I concede that China is far ahead of us in military prowess. They have more conventional weapons as well as nuclear devices.
Yet, India is not the same as it was in 1962. It is economically an emerging giant.It may not have allocated as much money to defence as the dangers on its borders warrant. Jawaharlal Nehru also made the same mistake. He wanted to develop the country instead of having a large military arsenal. But if the desire is to articulate that power comes from the barrel of the gun, New Delhi may also be forced to reorder its priorities. Perhaps India should take a leaf out of Vietnam’s book. Here is a small country that has also suffered a border dispute with China but stood its ground and refused to kowtow.
Probably, there is something in what Nehru said in 1962 that the clash between China and India is a clash between two ideologies, two cultures and two different ways of viewing the world. One is the democratic with a live-and-let-live philosophy and the other represents authoritarianism and is without a free press, free judiciary or free vote.
We are not on weak ground, but what I cannot understand is the series of statements by the service chiefs one after another declaring that India could not take on China. The outgoing naval chief, Adm Suresh Mehta, said the country had neither the capability nor the intention to match China’s force. The new air chief, P.V. Naik, says the strength of India’s air force is one-third that of China’s. If we are ill-equipped in military strength, the chiefs can communicate this to the government, which is the right authority to take care of any inadequacies. Otherwise they not only demoralise the people, they also misguide the government.
India has a dearth of expertise where China is concerned. India by now should have encouraged the development of scores, if not hundreds, of experts capable of dissecting and analysing every Chinese move. Both Russia and Japan have, over the years, amassed sufficient information to help them deal with Beijing. India can learn from them. Force, however strong, cannot and should not have the last word.
The writer is a leading journalist based in Delhi.