Western officials in plot to dilute powers of President Karzai

Hamid Karzai, installed as President after the 2001 invasion that toppled the Taleban, has disappointed Western governments by failing to halt corruption.The West is considering a plan to undermine President Karzai of Afghanistan by forcing him to install a powerful chief of staff to run the Government, diplomats say.The proposal, being looked at by British and American officials, would leave Mr Karzai in the presidency, but reduce him to a figurehead role as “father of the nation”. Day-to-day control of the Afghan Government would pass to a chief of staff or chief executive with prime ministerial-style powers.Possible candidates include the well-respected interior, agriculture, defence and economy ministers.Mr Karzai, the US-backed candidate installed as President after the 2001 invasion that toppled the Taleban, has disappointed Western governments by failing to root out corruption and incompetence.His half-brother, Ahmad Wali Karzai, has been accused of involvement in the heroin trade — a charge that he strongly denies.Nevertheless, the Obama Administration believes that it cannot dump Mr Karzai, who is seen as likely to win re-election in August.Instead, Western nations, who hold a summit on Afghanistan in The Hague on March 31, are examining ways to transfer some of his powers to a newly appointed chief of staff.The Afghan Constitution follows the US model of a strong presidency. The Western plan would effectively dilute that power by establishing a prime ministerial-style system — long a demand of the Afghan Opposition — but without actually creating the role of prime minister.Diplomats concede that it would be too difficult to rewrite the Constitution to create the post of prime minister as this would require a Loya Jirga, or leaders’ assembly, that would take months of organisation.Islamic groups could also use the occasion to push for removal of constitutional provisions on democracy and women’s rights, favoured by the West. The president must endorse all laws under the country’s Constitution, a power that it seems highly unlikely that Mr Karzai would willingly give up.Instead prime ministerial-style powers would be exercised by a new chief of staff — a change that would not require constitutional reform.The US and Britain have considerable leverage over Mr Karzai because of the enormous amount of aid that they funnel to Afghanistan.
There is a precedent of sorts: Mr Karzai recently designated his Commerce Minister, Hedayat Amin Arsala, as Senior Minister in his Cabinet. But Mr Arsala later stood down to run against Mr Karzai in the August elections.
Leading candidates for the new post include Hanif Atmar, the Interior Minister; Mohammad Asif Rahimi, the Agriculture Minister; Abdul Rahim Wardak, the Defence Minister, and Mohammad Jalil Shams, the Economics Minister.Mr Atmar and Mr Rahimi in particular are considered highly capable, with Mr Atmar seen as one of the few Afghan political heavyweights who is immune to the temptations of rampant corruption in the political system.However, there was concern in the Kabul diplomatic community last night that the new post would be seen by a sceptical Afghan public as having been dictated by the West to what is in theory a sovereign nation.Richard Holbrooke, the US special envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan, in Brussels for talks with EU ambassadors, denied yesterday that the United States and its Nato allies wanted to sideline Mr Karzai.“It doesn’t reflect any views that I am aware of in the Government I work for and it’s certainly not a universal Nato plan or anything,” he said.
In Kabul, President Karzai’s spokesman Humayun Hamidzadeh called the proposal nonsense.The United States is also pushing to install a new deputy to the United Nations representative in Afghanistan.Kai Eide, a Norwegian who is the top UN official in the country, has been battling behind the scenes to block the appointment of Peter Galbraith, the son of the economist J. K. Galbraith. But UN sources say that Mr Galbraith, a trusted Holbrooke ally, will be named as the No 2 UN official in Afghanistan this week.

U.N. warns India against anti-Muslim prejudice

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - The U.N. human rights chief urged India Monday to counter suspicion against its Muslim minority following the Mumbai attacks and warned the country's strict anti-terror measures threatened human rights.

India is still on edge after gunmen killed 166 people in a three-day rampage on the financial hub last November.

Hundreds of Muslims were detained and questioned over the attacks, angering rights activists who said innocent people were caught up in the backlash.

"The horrific terrorist attack in Mumbai has also polarized society and risks stoking suspicions against the Muslim community," said U.N Human Rights chief Navanethem Pillay.

"Both internal and external terrorist threats have led to counter-terrorist measures that put human rights at risk," Pillay said in New Delhi during her India visit.

Religious and caste-based prejudices remain entrenched in Indian society, she said.

Secular India has a long history of tensions between its majority Hindus and minority Muslims that have exploded in deadly violence. More than 2,000 people, mainly Muslims, were killed in communal riots in Gujarat state in 2002.

After the Mumbai attacks, the government rushed through new laws in December to allow police to hold suspects for up to 180 days without charge and created a new FBI-style national police force, in what was seen as an attempt to soothe public anger.

But human rights experts at the time said India's main political parties ignored concerns the new legislation could be misused in the absence of an independent supervisory body to monitor its implementation.

Pillay also questioned India's human rights record in the troubled state of Jammu and Kashmir, where security forces have been battling a 20-year separatist insurgency that has killed more than 47,000 people.

Pillay said security forces have excessive emergency powers under the Armed Forces Special Powers Act, a law which lets them fire at civilians breaking laws in "disturbed" areas and make arrests without a warrant.

"In the past two decades, hundreds of cases of disappearances have been reported in Kashmir," Pillay said. "These cases must be properly investigated in order to bring a sense of closure to the families who for far too long have been awaiting news, any news."

Analysis: Democracy within parties

—Rasul Bakhsh Rais

Hybridism is an important feature of Pakistani politics, and largely explains the ability of military and civilian rulers to stay in power and justify their rule. They combine elements of democracy and authoritarianism, and present that hybrid as ‘genuine’ democracy

Family-based politics is one of main features of the political system of Pakistan, and also one of the factors adding to its political crises. It is this aspect of Pakistani politics that makes it dysfunctional and causes imbalance between the various institutions of the state. It is also a major source of political confrontations, the likes of which we are witnessing today, as it is the personal interests of the party boss or his vision for his party and the country that determine the party line and its policy orientations. Above all, this affects how politicians understand democracy and rule of law.

All political parties have a dynastic character. This includes the mainstream national parties as well as the ethnic-regional parties. Other, smaller parties that may appear free of the domination of a single family were, and are being, run by individuals in a dictatorial manner.

Pakistan cannot make the transition to democracy without a competitive party system, which fortunately started to develop in the colonial days. Parties are indispensable to how we translate the idea of popular sovereignty into representative governance. It is also true that the political parties of Pakistan, whatever their ideological and policy leanings, have a certain support base without which they could not have survived repeated attempts by the military to fragment and destroy them.

Each Pakistani party has a unique political identity as well as a recognisable ideological orientation, regardless of the degree to which it has faded. The country can be rightly proud of the multiparty structure of its politics, which is also a reflection of the multicultural character of Pakistani society.

However, these parties have not been able to meet the public’s expectations. Students and analysts of Pakistan’s politics generally refer to feudal culture, and family- and caste-based politics to explain political instability, confrontation and the failure of democracy in the country. The main weakness, thus, is the absence of democratic culture within the political parties of Pakistan. Regular military interventions for various reasons are another reason for the country’s enduring political crises, as they disrupted civilian rule and also caused decay of institutions and the political process.

Developing a party system with a good degree of internal democracy could repair the damage caused by military interventions. It is unfortunate that periods of civilian rule in the country under the main political parties have not been very different in attitude and behaviour from the military rulers. Both demonstrated two common traits: personalised rule and hybridism. First, party leaders in power have acted within the party like dictators, taking arbitrary decisions based on their own whims rather than the collective wisdom and opinion of the party rank and file.

Hybridism is an important feature of Pakistani politics, and largely explains the ability of military and civilian rulers to stay in power and justify their rule. They combine elements of democracy and authoritarianism, and present that hybrid as ‘genuine’ democracy. One the one hand, there is freedom of expression, open politics and protection of fundamental rights; and on the other, these freedoms have a marginal influence on decision making, policy formulation and administration. Party leaders of the PPP, the PMLN and the PMLQ have formed governments in the past without embracing democratic principles in running their parties or their governments, and the experience of the ethnic/religious parties is no different.

Parties in Pakistan are thus like family businesses, with the dominant families protecting their interests. This dynastic party system could transform itself like the Congress party in India; this could only happen if leaders felt secure enough to share power at different levels within the party structure and in the different tiers of their governments.

Beyond the party, personal/family domination damages governance, rule of law and democratic culture by reducing the country’s politics to a clash between egos and party interests. If any coalitions do get formed, they are based on political convenience rather than any ideological or policy compatibility. This leads to further destabilisation of the political system.

There are two other important dimensions of the undemocratic political party culture of Pakistan that foment political crisis: regular reneging on political commitments; and betraying pledges made to the electorate. Party leaders behave this way thinking that they can get away with it, since neither state institutions nor the electorate hold them accountable for their failures or misdemeanours.

The present crisis, too, is due to this traditional mindset of the supreme political bosses of the parties, especially those in power at the centre today. The harbour the delusion that they can keep the judiciary subordinate, pack the courts with party loyalists, then use these courts as instruments of political manoeuvring, and attack rival parties’ interests with impunity. This is what has resulted in the ongoing clash between the PMLN and the PPP in Punjab, in particular.

Traditional leaders like the PPP’s Asif Ali Zardari and his non-political advisors fail to recognise that Pakistani society has changed. There is, in fact, a generational change reflected in the vision and aspirations of the younger generation and the vastly expanded professional and middle classes; they now see themselves as real stakeholders in the affairs of state and society in Pakistan.

There is now a big gap in the cultural orientation and worldviews of the new Pakistani classes and the old-fashioned political leaders. Rooted in new social realities, there is an emerging democratic coalition that cuts across ethnic, regional and party lines. This movement simply wants a government subservient to the law; whosoever is in power should be constrained by and held accountable under the Constitution.

Victory of this non-partisan social movement may resolve the long-running crises of Pakistani politics, as party leaders may be forced to respect the law and accept constitutional restraints on the exercise of political power, and may realise that running parties like despots and manipulating the political system will only perpetuate confrontations.

Pakistan has entered a decisive phase in its politics, with a struggle between democracy and authoritarianism. There is hope, however, that counter-authoritarian forces are stronger than ever before and have gained enough momentum to overcome the old order and the authoritarian party bosses.

Dr Rasul Bakhsh Rais is author of Recovering the Frontier State: War, Ethnicity and State in Afghanistan (Oxford University Press, 2008) and a professor of Political Science at the Lahore University of Management Sciences. He can be reached at rasul@lums.edu.pk

Suicide Bomber Hits Police Station in Pakistan Capital

A suicide bomber targeted a police station in Pakistan's capital, Islamabad, Monday evening, killing himself and one officer.Officials say police tried to stop the bomber at a point before he detonated his explosives. It is not clear how many people were wounded in the attack.Militants have staged a wave of attacks over the past few years in Pakistan, including several in the capital. The government has recently signed two separate peace deals with Islamist groups in the tribal regions near the border with Afghanistan.The country marked its national holiday, Pakistan Day, on Monday. The holiday commemorates the 69th anniversary of the movement by Muslims on the Indian sub-continent to create a separate country.

US wants Afghanistan "exit strategy", meets NATO

BRUSSELS, March 23 - The United States said on Monday it had found an encouraging symmetry of views with its NATO and EU allies after outlining a strategy review meant to end a stalemate in Afghanistan.

U.S. Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan Richard Holbrooke discussed the review with Washington's NATO and EU allies after President Barack Obama said it would contain an exit strategy and greater emphasis on economic development.

Holbrooke stressed the need for a regional approach to the Afghan problem, including Pakistan, and of stepping up both civilian and military efforts, a NATO spokesman said.

He also underlined the importance of plans for a significant boost in size of the Afghan police force.

"I found a very encouraging symmetry of views between our NATO allies and other troop-contributing countries and the United States," Holbrooke told reporters after the meeting in Brussels.

"They put a heavy emphasis on increasing the police, the size of the police in Afghanistan," he said.

With violence rising ahead of elections in August, Obama has already committed an extra 17,000 troops to Afghanistan, but on Sunday he said military force alone would not end the war.

"What we can't do is think that just a military approach in Afghanistan is going to be able to solve our problems," he said in an interview with CBS TV's "60 minutes".

"So what we're looking for is a comprehensive strategy. And there's got to be an exit strategy ... There's got to be a sense that this is not perpetual drift."

Holbrooke, who met NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer on Monday before briefing the 26 alliance ambassadors, said the review would be completed "soon".

He told the BBC in an interview that the priority would be dealing with the situation in tribal regions along the border with Pakistan, which have been a haven for militants.

"That is the main message we want to get across. You cannot separate Afghanistan and Pakistan," he said.



MORE TROOPS, MORE RESOURCES, MORE ATTENTION

He also criticised the previous Bush administration for neglecting Afghanistan and vowed "more troops, more resources, more high-level attention".

"I can't promise you a timetable or guaranteed success in an area this difficult," he said. "But I can guarantee you that this administration is going to do everything it can to succeed in one of the most difficult situations in the world."

Some analysts say Washington is going to have to engage in dialogue with some Taliban elements, a point Obama and Vice President Joe Biden have conceded this month. However, in Afghanistan, other experts have dismissed that idea.

And Taliban-led insurgents such as the Haqqani network, which has admitted carrying out some of the most deadly attacks on civilians and foreign troops in Afghanistan, dismiss the dialogue proposals as a trick to weaken and divide militants.

In an interview with Reuters on Monday Sirajuddin Haqqani said no Taliban would engage with Washington or Kabul.

The deployment of 17,000 additional U.S. troops, on top of the 38,000 already serving there, is meant to help subdue a resurgent Taliban and stabilise the country.

Other countries have about 30,000 soldiers helping the Kabul government under NATO and U.S. command, but have mostly been reluctant to commit more forces.

NATO-led forces deployed in southern and eastern Afghan provinces bordering Pakistan are overstretched and many of the new U.S. troops will be sent to these areas to reinforce efforts to stem insurgent activity on the porous Afghan-Pakistan border.

On Monday, eight policemen were killed by Taliban insurgents while they were on patrol in southern Kandahar province in a district just inside the Afghan border with Pakistan, the Interior Ministry said.



BIG CHALLENGE

Obama said the "destabilising border" between Afghanistan and Pakistan was a big military challenge. Al Qaeda and Taliban leaders are believed to be hiding out there using the remote region as a staging ground for attacks in Afghanistan.

"This is going to be a tough nut to crack. But it is not acceptable for us to simply sit back and let safe havens of terrorists plan and plot," he said.

U.S. air strikes on militants on the Pakistan side of the border have raised tensions with Islamabad, and the deaths of hundreds of Afghan civilians caught in the conflict have turned ordinary people against foreign forces and the government of President Hamid Karzai in Kabul.

The issue has flared again, with Afghan officials launching an investigation into a new U.S. military operation in Kunduz which killed five Afghans that police officials said were civilians, but U.S. forces insisted were militants.

Peshawar police helpless against gangsters

PESHAWAR: By falling victims to criminals operating in the provincial metropolis, policemen have been giving a clear message to the public that the force has failed miserably to ensure security of life and property to Peshawarites.

There had been gestures from the top to low ranking officers on various occasions in the past that the force was struggling against the criminal gangs and militant groups that have been playing havoc with the peace of the city.

A recent incident, in which an official vehicle was snatched from a deputy superintendent of police (DSP-CIA) accompanied by his gunmen, has sent a negative message to the public and alarmed bells in the corridors of power.

Surprisingly, the officials supposed to protect public did not offer any resistance and preferred to surrender without firing a single shot.

Suchlike incidents might have happened in southern districts of NWFP and Swat, but in Peshawar - which houses the 11th Corps of Pakistan Army, besides the headquarters of Frontier Corps, Frontier Constabulary and Frontier Police - it proved that “criminals have gained utmost strength.”

Just two days before the shameful incident of snatching of car from a DSP and his armed guards on Ring Road, armed tribesmen traveling in around a dozen double-cabin pickups were seen patrolling the area. Most of them were armed with rocket launchers while a few were carrying AK-47 rifles. Many witnessed them walking near Ring Road-Bara Road intersection with rocket launchers on their shoulders. There was no uniformed man to challenge the heavily armed people, suspected to be militants.

This was the same area where an encounter took place almost three months back and police had gunned down a fleeing tribesman. The poor stands of IGP, CCPO and others forced the head of that police party, ASP Hayatabad, to transfer himself out to Punjab in the wake of frequent threats. A sub-inspector of the same party had to involve his elders to settle the issue with that tribal group after senior police officers did not extend any help to the cop.

A number of such measures have brought the morale of the low-ranking policemen down.

Since the law and order has taken an ugly turn in the late 2006, police and other security forces have taken several measures to secure their establishments. One can see barricades erected, walls constructed and new iron gates installed at the entrances to police and army headquarters owing to security concerns.

Many routes leading towards the Peshawar cantonment have been permanently blocked, while security cameras have been installed to observe suspicious movement in the vicinity.

No doubt these steps were aimed at protecting valuable assets. These defensive measures were enough to discourage the junior police officials and bother the public in one way or the other.

One would admit that militancy is not the problem of police and the military and paramilitary forces should handle it. But it is a fact that kidnappings for ransom, robberies, dacoities, car lifting and snatching is directly to be dealt by the police force.

People are surprised as to why police have completely failed to put an end or at least minimize the unprecedented incidents of kidnapping for ransom from the city and surrounding towns.

Criminals have not even spared women who are being picked by unidentified groups to receive ransom against their release or sell them at brothels.

The statistics collected by independent sources revealed that around 100 people, from the well-off citizens to poor cabdrivers, have been kidnapped from Peshawar and nearby towns during the first two and a half months of the year 2009. They could return after payment of ransom, ranging from Rs0.2 million to 30 million.

Like scores of kidnapped people, the snatched vehicle of the DSP is yet to be recovered. The force must be more careful after the incident as criminals can use the official van for terrorist attack on any key installation. Several official vehicles, after being stolen, were used in bombings by terrorists on a number of occasions in the city.

Nawaz Sharif's Revolution

Nawaz Sharif, take a chill pill
M Waqar
Well I have been talking about revolution in Pakistan since high school, but its really funny to hear this great word, "revolution'' from Mr Nawaz Sharif . His revolution is for himself not for Pakistan people, he wants a revolution so he can become Prime Minister and let's not forget that Nawaz was PM not once but twice, so what happen then, he had all the power and he could change Pakistan, he could get rid of what he is talking about now. It is obvious that Nawaz Sharif is playing a dangerous game using Punjabi ethnicity for his political gains in Pakistan and he is not alone, Imran Khan even wants to use Taliban for revolution. Nawaz Sharif in Jhelum, asked people to rise and "get ready to make sacrifices for a revolution" and "come out on the streets to change your destiny". Then he says, "PPP has been perfidious in getting me disqualified, and because I cannot wait until the next elections to trounce the PPP, you, the people, should help me do it.'' Nawaz is once again trying to revive Punjabi chauvinism in Pakistan. Obviously what Nawaz promises the nation, is not a revolution but merely a regime-change to his liking. Nawaz talks about NRO but he forgets about his agreement with dictator Musharraf, he talks about judiciary but forgets his attack on Supreme Court, he talks about media but forgets what he did to Rehmat Shah Afridi of Frontier Post, Jang Group and others, he forgets what he did to Junejo. He talks about democracy but he forgot it while making forward bloc. Where was his revolution when Nawaz spent his time at Surror Palace in Jeddah and then in England and poor Pakistanis were selling kids and kidneys? Sharif was indicted for criminal charges, and was allowed to go without facing the them. Now he is back, but he did not face his criminal indictments. Mr Shahbaz Sharif and Mian Nawaz Sharif both are convicted criminals, in a unconstitutional deal with the military dictator General Pervez Musharaf, both went into exile with a promise to stop participating in politics. Pakistani politicians have no moral values and principles, when Nawaz was PM, JI Amir Qazi Hussain Ahmad told his supporters that Nawaz and Pakistan could not co-exist, but for creating disturbance Qazi joined his hands recently. Democracy cannot work in Pakistan unless and until the country rid itself of the culture of dynastic rulers, feudal lords, capricious, greedy rich politicians and military generals who have monopolized and manipulated Pakistan for the last 61 years for their personal interests. These corrupt politicians have now the last chance to save Pakistan from collapsing if their intentions are honest and patriotic but if as always in the past, they are only interested in the thickness of their wallets; the country is doomed as it is surrounded by enemies within and around its borders.
Saved from: http://www.thefrontierpost.com/News.aspx?ncat=le&nid=1221&ad=22-03-200
Dated: Sunday,March 22, 2009, Rabi-ul-Awwal 24, 1430 A.H.

Water Day goes unnoticed in Frontier(PUKHTUNKHWA)

PESHAWAR: The 17th World Water Day (WWD) passed Sunday almost unnoticed as no function was held in the provincial capital to mark the day that is celebrated across the globe on March 22.

‘Sharing Water, Sharing Opportunities’ was the theme of the day this year. The importance of water could be gauged from the fact that the United Nations Conference on Environment Development, held in Rio de Janeiro in 1992, declared March 22 as the World Water Day. However, very few people, especially those at the helm of affairs, have realised the importance of water and thought seriously to preserve water reservoirs and protect this basic commodity from being wasted.

According to experts the third world war would be fought for water. Over the last 60 years, there have been more than 200 international water agreements and only 37 cases of reported violence between states over water. But still little efforts have been made to nurture the opportunities for cooperation that trans-boundary water management can provide or share the responsibility for managing the world’s trans-boundary waters for current and future generations.

In a country like Pakistan, water shortage has already started and its effects are visible not only on domestic consumers but also on agriculture yield and energy. The current wave of electricity loadshedding in the country is because of water shortage as the country’s largest dam — Tarbela Dam — has come to a dead level causing drastic reduction in power generation.

The country has been faced with water crisis right from 1948 when India started diverting water from the eastern rivers, which left rivers and canals in Pakistan high and dry. It took 12 years of hard work and the good offices of the World Bank to arrive at the Indus Water Treaty, and another two decades to complete all engineering works, including Tarbela.

However, the rulers are yet to come out of slumber and take serious steps for overcoming the water and power crisis in the country. More than three decades were wasted on politics played over building of big water reservoirs.

After the signing of a water accord in 1991, there arose internal disputes over water distribution, especially during the shortage period. According to the water accord, the distribution of water among the provinces included a considerable volume of water from storages, which were never built for want of consensus. Demand of water per capita is on the rise and the present situation is that water availability per capita is just on the borderline, which will soon fall below the base level, opines an expert.

On the other hand, the availability of good quality freshwater has been reduced due to pollution from human waste, industry and agriculture.

Though the figures are disturbing worldwide as everyday two million tons of human waste is being dumped in watercourses, situation in Pakistan, particularly NWFP, is more alarming.

Water pollution in the NWFP has gone to the extent that according to experts the water of River Kabul is even not suitable for agriculture, let alone human consumption like drinking and domestic use.

In Peshawar, sewerage water is being disposed of in canals passing through the city besides dumping of solid waste. Same is the situation of Swat River where all hotel waste is disposed of in the river polluting the water beyond consumption.

Untreated waste of Hayatabad industrial units is being dumped into nullahs that ultimately reach Kabul River.

But unfortunately the successive governments and concerned authorities are yet to realise their responsibility of saving water from pollution and waste.

Naming institutions after great party leaders

PESHAWAR: With little focus on genuine problems of the electorates, partners in the NWFP coalition government are preoccupied with renaming old or naming new institutions after their party leaders, built purely at the expense of taxpayers’ hard-earned money.Although the culture of naming buildings, playgrounds, hospitals, educational institutions, roads, etc, after leaders of political parties or national heroes traces back to the early days of the country’s birth: the names-giving spree of political parties gathered considerable momentum over the past few years.Each ruling party, both in the Centre or provinces, tries to outdo its predecessor in naming and renaming more and more public properties after its leaders in an apparent move to win a popular image among the masses although majority of people despise the practice.In some cases in the recent past, construction projects named after party leaders and founders were prematurely inaugurated due to fear of attempts by rival parties to claim it to the names of their leaders. One such recently-taken step by the incumbent provincial government is the construction of a new block at the Civil Secretariat in the name of late Khan Abdul Wali Khan, the seasoned Awami National Party (ANP) leader known for his straightforwardness and belief in practical work instead of running after reputation through nameplates.Besides the construction of the new block at the Civil Secretariat, the ANP government is also going to establish a university in Mardan, the hometown of Chief Minister Ameer Haidar Hoti. The university is named after the veteran Pakhtun leader Khan Abdul Wali Khan. The ANP cannot be singled out for the names-giving spree as its ally in the provincial government, the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), is also going all-out to stretch the list of institutions and public buildings being named and renamed after the former two-time prime minister Shaheed Benazir Bhutto.A hospital planned to be constructed in Peshawar city is named as Benazir Bhutto Hospital. A hostel housing the internally displaced persons (IDPs) from Bajaur in Risalpur area of Nowshera district is also named after the late PPP chairperson, while the campus of Malakand University in Upper Dir district has recently been approved as Benazir Bhutto Shaheed University for Science and Technology.The trend was the same when the government of religious parties in the name of Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) was in place in the province.
The Mufti Mahmood Hospital operational in the NWFP’s southern district of Dera Ismail Khan, the hometown of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman, was established when the JUI-F was in the driving seat of the provincial government from the year 2002 till late 2007. Mufti Mahmood was the former chief minister of NWFP and father of JUI-F leader Maulana Fazlur Rehman.The MMA government had also planned a flyover project in the city to be named as Mufti Mahmood Flyover. However, the project was shelved owing to security concerns just before the completion of the five-year term of MMA government. Durrani Media Colony for journalists on the outskirts of Peshawar and Akram Durrani Model School in Bannu district are two other public projects named after former chief minister Akram Khan Durrani.Hailing from NWFP’s southern district of Bannu, a hospital, named after father of ex-CM Durrani, is also operational there, while a school in Swabi district has been named as Fazle Ali Public School. Maulana Fazle Ali of the JUI-F was elected to the NWFP Assembly from Swabi and served as education minister in the previous provincial set-up. An education institution was named after Jamaat-e-Islami chief Qazi Hussain Ahmad in Nowshera district, the hometown of JI ameer.In addition, Fazle Haq College Mardan, Ghulam Ishaq Khan Institute for Science and Technology in Topi (Swabi) and Hayat Shaheed Teaching Hospital Peshawar are also named after political leaders, no doubt all the three institutions are rendering great services for the people of NWFP.
The Frontier Assembly had also passed a resolution for renaming the Peshawar International Airport as Baacha Khan Airport Peshawar.Remembering leaders like Abdul Wali Khan, Benazir Bhutto or Mufti Mahmood is no doubt a noble task as all the three figures rendered great sacrifices for the country and democracy, but the people want their successors to stick to their political philosophies and truly serve the masses instead of cashing names of their leaders for political gains.

Bajaur IDPs refuse to return

NOWSHERA: Internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Jalozai Camp Sunday refused to go back to their homes in Bajaur though peace had been restored in the agency.

Reacting to the government decision of sending back the IDPs to Bajaur, the IDPs took out a protest rally.

The IDPs threatened to take to road if their demands were not met by March 25, adding that their protest would continue till the acceptance of their demands including enforcement of Nizam-e-Adl Regulation in Bajaur; grant of Rs0.5 million to each family for rehabilitation and guarantee of peace. They said their houses were destroyed in the operation, besides most of their relatives were killed and injured.

Official sources said that almost 6,000 families, comprising 32,000 individuals, had been accommodated in the camp.

Earlier, an official of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees said the situations were peaceful in the agency and the affectees could return to their homes.

Geology students without field work opportunities

The students Geology at various universities, especially the Punjab Universities (PU), have been missing opportunities of field work in various parts of the NWFP because of the prevailing instability in the country. Nonetheless, cuts in grants to institutes of higher learning by the federal government is said to be another factor behind “limited” field work, which is undoubtedly the backbone of geological research.The students believe that the curtailment in connection with duration and destination of field work is badly affecting the standard of education.Unlike past, the universities now have been imposing more and more restrictions in connection with field visits which, according to the students and teachers, have marred the real spirit of the research based program.According to a senior faculty member, who wished to remain anonymous, the PU department of geology is the oldest seat of geological learning in the country which produced many eminent geologists.He said in geology the field work was considered a natural lab work, therefore, students in the applied courses were sent to 50 days guided excursion as a whole during 3 years BSc and for 90 days for theses work. He further said students were also paid daily allowance for it in the past, but, He added, the things had changed.He said the field work duration had been reduced to 30 and 20 days for BSc and theses work respectively.According to him, working conditions were no more favorable in remote areas, especially in several of the NWFP areas like Swat and some parts of Balochistan. He added meager funding to the universities by the Higher Education Commission (HEC) was also one of the important factors for shortening the field work. He said owing to security reasons most of the field visits were restricted to areas like Salt Range, Murree, Khanaspur and Abbotabad etc. He was of the view areas like Swat, Kohat and Bajur etc were some of the most suitable places for geological research in the country besides some parts of Balochistan.“However, under the prevailing circumstance it is impossible to carry out field work in such areas”, he added.The faculty member was also of the view that geological fieldwork involved some level of risk, however, he added, it could be greatly reduced by awareness of hazards and experiences.He further said owing to the prevailing circumstances more risk was involved in visiting these areas because of which field work was not being carried out there. However another faculty member said still there were suitable areas for field work if university allowed and provided finances.He said it was strange that field visits were not being arranged in areas like DG Khan, Rajanpur and some parts of Sindh province.According to a student, the curtailment in connection with duration was badly affecting the standard of education.A senior official of PU Institute of Geology commenting over the issue said the PU Vice Chancellor had been informed about the problems being faced in connection with field work. He said it was expected that the issue would be resolved soon.He, however, agreed that field trips to areas like Swat, Kohat and other areas of the NWFP and Balochistan were not being arranged owing to security risks involved.

2,300 years later, 'Alexander-mania' grips Macedonia

Much to the anger of Greece, the ancient conqueror is making a big comeback in Macedonia – he's arriving just in time for Sunday's election.

SKOPJE, Macedonia - As part of a stunning new homegrown ideology of history and identity based on Alexander the Great, this capital city's main square may soon boast a huge new statue of the ancient conqueror.
Two years ago, the national airport was renamed after Alexander, infuriating Greece.
In January, despite a recent Greek nixing of Macedonia's NATO bid over the airport name, the ruling nationalists here changed the name of its main roadway to Alexander of Macedon Highway.
In Macedonia, it is becoming all Alexander the Great, all the time. Ahead of Sunday's presidential elections, the ruling party's Alexander ideology is seen as fantastic, even by Balkan standards.
In an intense media campaign, locals are told that ethnic Macedonians are the proud direct descendants of Alexander, and thus a people responsible for spawning the white race of planet Earth, from the Caucasus "to the seas off Japan," according to a public service spot on national TV.
The "Alexander-mania," as critics call it, is partly a vote-getting strategy by the ruling party, known by its initials VMRO. Doubts exist as to whether party leaders actually believe the claims, but they are being sold as truth. The failure last spring to get a clear NATO invitation prompted fury in Skopje, and the Alexander campaign is seen as an effort to up the ante.
By pushing its thumb further into the already sore eye of Greece, both NATO and EU membership for the small, landlocked state remains in limbo. Macedonia is also distracted from reducing tensions with its sizable Albanian minority community following a brief ethnic war in 2001, diplomats say.
The dispute with Greece, largely unchanged since 1991, centers on a fight over the use of "Macedonia" as the country's name. Greece wants a name that doesn't include or at least deemphasizes "Macedonia," which Greeks say is their own. The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia says its name is its own sovereign business. Negotiations have been endless.
For years, Greek demands were seen as cock-eyed and petty in diplomatic circles. Yet Macedonia has been losing sympathy as it roars out heritage claims on Alexander.
"If the name is the condition of our survival, which it seems to be, we are very far from reaching our strategic aims: NATO and the EU," says former Macedonian Foreign Minister Denko Maleski. "The new way of thinking about history is keeping tensions alive. We are a new nation, liberal and international, suddenly veering into the 19th century."
A poll last month showed that 97 percent of ethnic Macedonians favored staying out of the EU if it meant compromising on the name.
"The name dispute is more than a bilateral issue between Skopje and Athens. It risks derailing the main strategy of both NATO and the EU for stabilizing Macedonia," says a recent report from the International Crisis Group.
Some diplomats frame Sunday's elections as a vote for a president who may push Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski for a name resolution versus a nationalist who would not. Right now, it appears that VMRO's George Ivanov, an architect of the Alexander discourse, is set to win big. The opposition is in disarray, and Macedonia could end up with a one-party state.
"The entire nationalism hysteria, which only few question as most media get huge sums of money through government advertising, serves not only as a distraction from serious problems ... but has created an atmosphere that makes compromise difficult. It reminds me a bit of the madness of Serbia in the '90s, though not on the same scale, when Serbs spoke of themselves as 'the heavenly people,' " says Ana Petruseva, managing editor of Balkan Insight, in Skopje.
Indee, Macedonia's bold claim to be the taproot of Western civilization is daily media fare.
Last summer, the government flew in members of Pakistan's Hunza tribe, considered lost descendants of Alexander, to tour the country. Startled and pleased Hunza were greeted at Alexander airport with flowers and treated like long lost cousins as they disported across the nation, cameras in tow.
Even "God" has gotten involved. A nine-minute TV ad starts with a petition from Macedonia to the heavens: "Our neighbors distributed thousands of books across the world, containing false history and portraying a wrong picture about Macedonia. ... Only you know our pain." The Almighty then responds: "From you, Macedonians, descendants of Macedon, I conceived the white race. All that stretches to the seas off Japan is conceived from your genes."
Sinisa-Jakov Marusic, a columnist for Balkan Insight, cheekily observed, "So there you have it! What better proof than God himself?"
Beyond theatrics, the new program deeply troubles many scholars and intellectuals here – who are being sidelined – for its promulgation of myth as truth. The new taxpayer-funded Alexander ideology has no serious texts.
Unlike Serbia's Kosovo story, based on centuries of poetry and legend, the Macedonian ideology is being both invented and presented at the same time. There is no outside scholarly consensus, no textual tradition; the result is a kind of history-free history. The top-down, debate-free imposition of the new history is itself seen as illiberal and authoritarian.
The new program deeply troubles many scholars here. "What is the content of 'Alexanderization?'" asks Irena Stefoska, a Byzantine scholar at the Institute of National History here. "Who knows? It is a new reading of history completely different from the previous, not done from an academic point of view, but from a purely political view."
Alexander is considered one of the greatest military leaders of all time. Born in the Greek city of Pella in 356 BC, his conquests extended to most of his known world by the time of his death at age 32. He opened up Greek civilization from the Mediterranean to India, and is regarded as the first to link Europe, Asia, and Africa.
"Alexander was the captain general of all the Hellenes. He spoke Greek. He went to war on behalf of the Hellenes. No one in the ancient, medieval, or modern world has disputed this," says Michael Wood, a historian and British filmmaker who has produced a work on Alexander and has another in the making.
"The Macedonian state claim has no basis in history; it is a state-sponsored myth. I tell my Macedonian and Greek friends to ignore it," Mr. Wood adds.
State archaeologists in Skopje and Athens, however, are busy unearthing ancient Hellenic artifacts, which are then presented as evidence of Alexander heritage. Advocates of this new history leap from the present day to ancient times, ignoring Ottoman, Slavonian, and Byzantine periods when the Balkan peoples migrated and mingled.
"The problem is that no one today can be the direct descendants of ancient civilizations," says Ms. Stefoska. "Macedonians are Slavs. Our Slavonic heritage is accepted by historians."
Several years ago, VMRO officials claimed that Macedonia's majority population had an ethnic Bulgarian or Slavic origin.
A chief fear here is a scenario of partition – of north Kosovo Serbs in the Mitrovica area joining Serbia proper, which could push Macedonian and Kosovar Albanians into a union, breaking up Macedonia.
So far, ethnic Albanians here have been patient over the Macedonia-Greece dispute. Albanian parties are in the ruling coalition. Yet the patience may not be unlimited, senior diplomats say.
Artan Grubi, head of an Albanian civil society organization, says, "Most Albanians will tell you they have nothing against building a Macedonian identity. But they don't want to suffer because of it. At the moment, the policies of this government are moving us further from Europe."

Holbrooke: western Pakistan key to resolving Afghanistan war

The US special envoy told allies at the Brussels Forum that the Talibanization of the region was a top concern.
NATO meeting – and Barack Obama's first presidential trip outside North America – US special envoy to Afghanistan Richard Holbrooke says that western Pakistan presents the chief problem in resolving an eight-year war that has divided allies and threatens the standing of an alliance ready to mark its 60th anniversary.
The Talibanization of west Pakistan, in the Swat region that borders Afghanistan, was the greatest surprise to envoy Mr. Holbrooke on his first fact-finding mission to the region last month. It was the top issue he relayed to Mr. Obama, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and National Security Adviser Jim Jones, Holbrooke told the Monitor on the sidelines of the Brussels Forum, a security meeting here.
"A year ago, I visited Peshawar [near the Khyber Pass] and I was asked about starting an Asia Society office there," Holbrooke said. "Last month, people were afraid to go outside after dark and walk their dogs. The change in the situation was stunning. Geopolitically Afghanistan hasn't changed; Pakistan has."
Holbrooke spoke at the Brussels Forum and meets here this week with NATO officials ahead of a much-anticipated Obama strategy for dealing with Afghanistan.
"The heart of the problem for the West is in western Pakistan," the envoy said. "But there are not going to be US or NATO troops on the ground in Pakistan. There is a red line for the government of Pakistan, and one which we must respect."
Holbrooke said the US had twice made "historic mistakes" by leaving – once after Soviet forces pulled out in the late 1980s, and again after the first campaign against the Taliban and Al Qaeda in 2003. The Obama team will take a "regional" approach to the Afghan crisis – and will focus on training and building up the Afghan police force, which he said is "an inadequate and deeply corrupt organization … the weak link in the chain." The New York Times reported days ago that Obama anticipates boosting the Afghan police to 400,000 from current training levels of 82,000 troops. Holbrooke said the 400,000 figure was "speculative" but implied it would be "quite large."
Sen. John McCain (R) of Arizona warned European policymakers at the forum that "minimalist" approaches would be ineffective, and urged US and Europeans to engage in "straight talk" with their publics about a war where "the going will be extremely hard." He later told the Monitor that "it will take a lot more than the 17,000 troops [now being sent] to take care of this job." He added: "a group ... on this side of the Atlantic, and on the other side, want to get rid of as many terrorists as we can," and leave. "We need a long-term commitment."
The US is looking for more troops from a Europe leery of sending them. On March 31, Secretary Clinton will hold a "big tent" meeting at The Hague to further sort out the new Afghan strategy.
Holbrooke stated in Brussels, "We are not coming to Europe to hammer on individual countries. But additional troops will be needed. The idea that the US will demand … that era is over."
The new strategy, Holbrooke says, will attempt to bring in all the regional players – including Iran and China.
Holbrooke said some $800 million spent on poppy eradication – a source of Taliban funding – was "the most wasteful and ineffective program I have seen in 40 years."
Holbrooke said western Pakistan was filled with jobless young men paid more to join the Taliban than to fight with the Afghan Army, and that the Taliban "give them guns," a prized possession.
He also said that the Taliban-linked leader in Swat, Maulana Fazlullah, has "set up 150 low-wattage FM stations … just like we saw in Rwanda," implying the stations are a key source of direction – and effective in convincing local populations that NATO is an occupation force. -

Pakistan among eight TB-hit countries: PCS

PESHAWAR: The Pakistan Chest Society (PCS) President Dr Arshad Javed Saturday Pakistan was one of the eight countries having a high prevalence of tuberculosis (TB), and vowed to continue the efforts to contain the disease.

Addressing a news conference here, he said almost a population of nine millions was suffering from the disease across the world.

He said the PCS and TB Control Programme should appraise the masses and speed up their efforts to eradicate the ailment.

He said the PCS, in collaboration with the TB Control programme, had arranged a symposium and staged an awareness rally on March 11 this year.

He added that around 29,000 patients in the year 2007 and 30,000 in 2008 were registered at TB control centres.

He informed the TB control programme had established 214 diagnosing centres in different parts of the NWFP, saying scores of the centres were providing free of cost medicines with the assistance of Health Department and TB control programme.

He warned that the disease could take a more dangerous shape, ie MDRTB, commonly known as resistive TB, if not properly treated.

He said the wrong use of medicines could deteriorate TB further. Dr Javed urged the government in general and the health department officials in particular to intensify efforts for eradication of the disease. He maintained that with the collaboration of the expert doctors and specialists, the PCS had formulated guidelines, which played a vital role in treatment of the MDRTB.

The government, he said, would also provide all kinds of medicines to TB control centres for the treatment of MDRTB, and would also appoint chest specialists for checking it.

Chief Justice Iftikhar takes charge of his office

ISLAMABAD :Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry on Sunday has taken charge as the Chief Justice of Pakistan after the retirement of Justice Abdul Hameed Dogar, Aaj TV reported.

According to the notification regarding the restoration of deposed judges issued by the Ministry of Law on March 17, Justice Chaudhry has to resume the charge of Chief Justice after the retirement of Justice Dogar who spent his last day as CJP on March 21.

According to the schedule announced by the Supreme Court Bar Association, Chief Justice of Pakistan Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry will reach the Supreme Court on March 24 accompanied by the members of the Executive Committee of the Supreme Court Bar Association of Pakistan (SCBA) and other lawyers.

According to a press release issued by SCBA, it has been decided that Executive Committee, Supreme Court Bar Association of Pakistan will go to the residence of Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry on March 24 to accompany him to the Supreme Court, where he will attend his office after restoration.

Today, political and civil society activists will gather besides lawyers at CJ residence at Judges’ Enclave Islamabad where Naheed Khan will hoist the national flag.

Allies 'Out Of Troops' In Afghan South

The military commander responsible for southern Afghanistan said yesterday that he is "out of troops" to provide security across the troubled region and that he expects a significant increase in violence this year as U.S. reinforcements arrive to push into insurgent-held territory.

Dutch Maj. Gen. Mart de Kruif, who commands 23,000 NATO troops, said his forces control about 60 percent of the populated areas in southern Afghanistan.

"There are absolutely pockets where we don't have control . . . and that is one of the reasons we need these additional boots on the ground," he said. "We are not stopped by the insurgency, but we just run out of troops," he said in a video conference with Pentagon reporters.

The influx of 17,000 U.S. troops to Afghanistan, with a large contingent going to the south, will allow a greater concentration of forces where most of the population lives, along rivers and in agricultural areas. This, de Kruif said, will lead within a couple of months "to what I think is going to be a significant spike in incidents."

The new troops will also aim to crack down not only on insurgent leaders, de Kruif said, but on the narcotics traders and weapons-makers who facilitate them.

In the south, an ethnic Pashtun heartland and a traditional Taliban stronghold, insurgents are increasing their use of roadside bombs, de Kruif said. The bombs, known in the military as improvised explosive devices or IEDs, are made increasingly of homemade explosives using large explosive charges and are triggered when vehicles roll over them, he said.

De Kruif said such bombs now cause some 70 percent of casualties among international troops. Two explosions in southern Afghanistan yesterday killed four Canadian soldiers and injured eight, the Canadian military reported.

De Kruif said he has seen no evidence that insurgents in Afghanistan are getting help with bomb-making technology from other countries, as has occurred in Iraq.

"We don't see any real signs of influence by other countries, like Iran, with the fabrication and the use of these IEDs," he said. "Most of the IEDs we find are from a relatively simple nature, and you can't compare the IEDs used here with the type of IEDs used in Iraq over the last couple of years."

To counter the makeshift bombs, Special Forces soldiers operating in the area are targeting the networks of bomb-makers. The military coalition is also increasing the use of detection systems to find the bombs before they detonate and bringing in greater numbers of mine-resistant vehicles.

Despite the prediction of heavier fighting to come, de Kruif said he was optimistic that a larger military force would allow for better security across southern Afghanistan as soon as next year.

"We can have a significant progress within three or five years," he said, one that would allow military forces to move from primarily a combat role to one mentoring and training Afghan security forces.

Suicide Car Bomber Kills 6 in Eastern Afghanistan

Afghan officials say a suicide bomber in a car blew himself up at a police checkpoint in eastern Afghanistan killing six people, including one policeman.

Nangarhar's governor, Gul Agha Sherzai, said at least four other people were wounded in Saturday's attack

Separately, NATO says one of its soldiers has been killed during a "hostile incident" in southern Afghanistan.

The military alliance says the soldier died Friday, but did not give details of the incident or the soldier's nationality.

The killing came on the same day that a top NATO commander in Afghanistan said the arrival of more U.S. troops in the coming months will trigger an increase in violence.

Dutch Major General Mart de Kruif told reporters on Friday that he expects an initial increase in insurgent attacks in the country's south, but that security will improve by 2010.

U.S. President Barack Obama last month approved the deployment of an additional 17,000 U.S. troops to Afghanistan.

Kruif commands NATO troops in the south, where violence has increased significantly due to a growing Taliban insurgency.

He says NATO forces are aggressively enhancing their abilities to locate makeshift bombs -known as improvised explosive devices or IEDs - used by militants. Kruif says troops are also focused on disrupting insurgent bomb-making networks.

Meanwhile, the Canadian military said two separate bomb blasts killed four of its soldiers and an Afghan interpreter Friday in the southern province of Kandahar.

Canada has lost 116 troops and an aid worker since deploying troops in Afghanistan in 2002. Some 2,800 Canadian troops are deployed in southern Afghanistan.

In other violence, Taliban militants clashed with police in western Farah province on Friday. Police say at least eight officers and six militants were killed. Elsewhere in Farah, police say a suicide bomber killed a police officer.

Canadian soldiers killed in Afghanistan

Four Canadian soldiers have been killed and eight injured in two separate blasts in the southern Afghan province of Kandahar, say Canadian officials.

The deaths bring the number of Canadians killed while serving in the conflict in Afghanistan to 116.

An Afghan interpreter was also killed in one of the attacks, and a second Afghan national was injured.

Canada has about 2,500 troops based in the south of Afghanistan as part of Nato's mission to fight the Taleban.

Canada's military mandate in the country is set to end in 2011.

Brig Gen Jonathan Vance, head of the Canadian forces in Afghanistan, said two soldiers and the interpreter died when a bomb went off near their patrol in Zhari district, west of Kandahar city.

The attack injured five Canadian soldiers and an Afghan civilian, he said.

Later, two other soldiers died and three were wounded by a roadside bomb in Shah Wali Kot district, northwest of the city.

Brig Gen Vance praised the soldiers for efforts and said their deaths did not indicate "a failure on the part of any person or of the mission itself".

"Success in war is costly," he said.

"We are determined to succeed so that Afghan lives improve. But the insurgents are equally determined to challenge and prevent Afghanistan from flourishing as the nation it so wants to be."

Troops increase

The attacks followed a day of violence in Afghanistan.
Earlier, officials in Jowzjan province in the north of the country said a district chief and several police officers had been killed by insurgents.

The US military said Afghan and international troops had killed 33 militants in separate clashes in Helmand and Logar provinces.

Also in Logar, three militants died when Afghan and US troops attacked a camp.

US President Barack Obama has approved the deployment of a further 17,000 military personnel to Afghanistan amid concerns about a resurgent Taleban.

On Thursday, the New York Times reported that the US was planning to more than double Afghanistan's national security forces - creating a force of about 400,000 Afghan troops and police officers - in an attempt to bring stability to the country.

India, Pakistan exchange fire across Line of Control

SRINAGAR: Indian forces resorted to ‘unprovoked firing’ on Pakistani positions across the Line of Control but there were no casualties in the rare clash between the rivals, the Pakistani military said on Saturday.

‘The firing started from the Indian side at around 10 p.m. (1700 GMT on Friday) and intermittent firing continued for several hours,’ said a Pakistani military official who declined to be identified.

A ‘strong protest’ had been lodged with India, the military said. There was no immediate Indian response.

Meanwhile, Indian army officials have said that an Indian soldier was injured when Pakistani troops allegedly fired at Indian army positions across the Line of Control, the Indian army said.

The incident broke five months of relative calm along the heavily militarised border.

According to the Indian army officials, Pakistani troops fired 1,500-2,000 machinegun rounds towards Indian forward posts in the Western Uri sector, an Indian army spokesman said.

The firing lasted five hours, ending early Saturday morning, the spokesman said, adding that Pakistani fire was ‘unprovoked’.

India in the past has accused the Pakistani army of providing covering fire for infiltrating militants.

Last year India accused Pakistani soldiers of crossing the Line of Control and killing an Indian soldier – allegations Islamabad denied.

Pakistan fires at Indian army positions: India

SRINAGAR, India— An Indian soldier was injured Saturday when Pakistani troops fired at Indian army positions across the de facto border dividing Kashmir between the rivals, the Indian army said.
The incident broke five months of relative calm along the heavily militarised border.
Pakistani troops fired 1,500-2,000 machine gun rounds towards Indian forward posts in the Western Uri sector, an army spokesman said.
The firing lasted five hours, ending early Saturday morning, the spokesman said, adding that Pakistani fire was "unprovoked".
India in the past has accused the Pakistani army of providing covering fire for infiltrating militants.
Last year India accused Pakistani soldiers of crossing the ceasefire line known as the Line of Control and killing an Indian soldier -- allegations Islamabad denied.
India and Pakistan have fought two of their three wars over mainly Muslim Kashmir, held in part by each country but claimed in full by both.
They agreed to a ceasefire along the Line of Control in 2003 and launched a peace process in 2004. Since then there have been sporadic clashes and both countries have accused each other of violating the ceasefire.
An insurgency against New Delhi's rule in Indian Kashmir has been underway since 1989 and left more than 47,000 people dead by official count. Islamabad denies helping the Muslim rebels.
The firing comes at a time of heightened bilateral tensions, sparked by last November's Islamist militant attacks on Mumbai that India has blamed on the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT).
New Delhi has also accused "official agencies" of Pakistan -- a reference to the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) spy agency and other bodies -- of involvement.
Both LeT and Pakistan have denied any role in the attacks which killed 165 people while Islamabad has blamed the assault on "non-state actors".

Balochistan to discuss ‘actions against Pakhtuns’ in Karachi

QUETTA: The Balochistan Assembly admitted for debate on Friday an adjournment motion to discuss what was called Muttihada Qaumi Movement’s coercive actions against Pakhtuns aimed at forcing them out of Karachi.

The session was presided over by Speaker Mohammad Aslam Bhootani. The motion was tabled by PML-Q’s Jaffar Khan Mandokhel who cited incidents of 1985, 1994, May 12, 2007, and July 2008 which forced Pakhtuns out of business in MQM-dominated areas in Karachi and drove thousands of them out of the city. He accused the Sindh government of keeping quiet on the issue in order not to offend its coalition partner.

Senior Minister Maulana Wasay supported the motion and said that targeting a particular ethnic group did not bode well for national integrity. The speaker allowed a two-hour debate on the motion on Saturday.

Earlier, the house approved a resolution moved by Minister for Irrigation Sardar Aslam Bizenjo, praising the federal government, political parties, media and civil society for resolving the judicial crisis in an amicable manner. It also appreciated the role played by Chief Minister Nawab Raisani in settling the issue.

Home Minister Mir Zafarullah Zehri assured that complaints about kidnapping of Nadra officials would be investigated.

Curfew in Landi Kotal after clashes

LANDI KOTAL: The Khyber political administration imposed a dusk-to-dawn curfew in Landi Kotal and adjoining areas on Friday after fierce clashes between troops and militants left 10 people dead and 41 injured.Officials said that a warehouse, about two dozen houses, a private school, a government-run rehabilitation centre and offices of a private TV channel were damaged.The clashes followed a rocket attack on an army base on Thursday night, and troops pounded militants’ positions on Friday.
A large number of people are reported to have left the affected area and moved to Jamrud and Peshawar. This was the militants’ first massive attack in the area close to the Afghan border.The militants first fired two rockets on the base and then a barrage of rockets and mortars were fired from three sides.Local people said that heavy artillery, mortars and rockets were used by both sides. Residential areas and commercial centres suffered severe damage.

50pc Bajaur students miss SSC examination

KHAR: Some 50 per cent of students missed the Secondary School Certificate (SSC) examination that began on March 17, as majority of schools in the militancy-hit areas of Bajaur Agency are yet to reopen after the military operation.

Though separate examination centres have been established at the Government Degree College for Boys and Girls at Khar, the agency headquarters, many a Class IX and X students failed to appear in the examination.

According to the agency education officer, Gul Rahman, a total of 2,000 to 2,200 students had to appear in the Class IX and X examination, but scores of them could not make it to the examination centres because their families had migrated to far-flung areas because of the operation against militants in the agency over the previous several months.

“We did contact each and every student wherever he was. But very few from Karachi or other distant districts of the country turned up at in the examination,” said Gul Rahman. He said the officials had given concessions to students of the affected areas and admissions were allowed to them just a day before the examination without charging any examination fee.

The officer said attendance was quiet encouraging as students from all the affected areas, like Inayat Killay, Bar Khlozo, Badan, Zorbandar, Loisam, Shagai, Nawagai and Chamarkand, were taking the examination.

The common people of the agency believe that the education authorities should give some relaxation in marking to the Bajaur students as the trouble in the area seriously affected their studies over the past six months.

Schools were closed and most of students had been shifted to peaceful districts or camps for the internally displaced persons (IDPs) due to operation in the area, said a Senior English Teacher (SET), serving in a higher secondary school in the agency. In such a situation, he said, how the students could manage to properly prepare themselves for the exam.

The agency education officer sees the situation with a different angle. He said the education department and non-governmental relief organisations should take steps to save the precious time of the students. He said the education department and non-governmental relief organisations had taken all possible measures to save the valuable time of the students.

Classes were arranged for the Bajaur students at the relief camps and schools in the down districts and those having interest in the studies continued it despite some problems, he added. “And this is the reason that a great number of students are appearing in the examination,” he remarked.

He said that arrangements had also been made for girl students and 70 girls were taking their examinations at the Government Degree College for Girls in Khar town. The overall educational situation in the agency is pitiable. All the educational institutions in four of the seven tehsils of the agency remained closed throughout the military operation. Some 41,000 of the total 90,000 students of public sector educational institutions were affected by the turmoil in Bajaur. Around 36 schools were destroyed during the military operations while nine were being used to accommodate personnel of the security forces.

In the areas where schools have been reopened, the students are studying on the mud tracks near the schools, which are under occupation of the security forces. Government Primary School Muslim Bagh is one of such schools, where the students are seated on the ground alongside a dirty road in the middle of a wheat field.

Even no arrangements have been made for the girl students, who along with their female teachers, could not continue their educational activities on roads and in the fields. The two-storey building of Government Primary School in Jar area is one such example. However, the agency education officer was committed to making alternative arrangements for students of the demolished schools and those occupied by the security forces.

Gul Rahman said with the exception of Tangi, schools in Barang, Utmankhel and Salarzai tehsils have already been opened, while the institutions in the restive tehsils — Mamond, Riyasat, Nawagai and Chamarkand — are speedily being reopened. “We are returning from the most critical situation to peace now and educational activities are gradually being resumed in the agency,” he remarked.

Khyber Agency: curfew imposed in Landikotal

PESHAWAR: Curfew has been imposed in Tehsil Landikotal of Khyber Agency.According to political administration, the curfew was imposed in the wake of ongoing clashes between security forces and militants which erupted last night.The curfew will remain in force till 7:00 AM Sunday.

Former US officials seek improved Russia ties

MOSCOW -- Some of the biggest names in U.S. diplomacy of the past decades met with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and other Kremlin leaders Friday, in an effort to improve frosty relations that experts say could threaten many U.S. foreign policy goals.

In some of his most upbeat comments about U.S. relations since President Barack Obama took office, Medvedev said his meetings with current and former U.S. officials in recent weeks "reflect the goal of our nations to significantly improve ties."

After greeting a delegation led by former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, Medvedev praised the American initiative, first announced by Vice President Joe Biden, to "press the reset button" on U.S.-Russia relations.

"The surprising term 'reset' ... really reflects the essence of the changes we would like to see," Medvedev said. "We are counting on a reset. I hope it will take place."

Kissinger, an architect of U.S. Cold War strategy toward the Soviet Union, said he and a group including former Secretary of State George Shultz and former Sen. Sam Nunn had discussed energy and other "strategic issues" with the Russian president.

"I'm happy to report that the differences were not so remarkable and the agreements were considerable," Kissinger said.

Kissinger also told Medvedev the U.S. group hoped the Russian leader's April meeting with Obama on the sidelines of the G-20 meeting in London would help improve ties.

"We believe in the generally optimistic attitude, and we hope ... that the meeting between you and our president will begin a new period in our relationship and will lead to concrete results," Kissinger said.

Kissinger also met privately with Prime Minister Vladimir Putin on Thursday, in a meeting shown briefly on state-run TV.

Experts say chilly bilateral relations have complicated efforts to limit the spread of nuclear weapons, ease tensions in eastern Europe and expand the war in Afghanistan.

Kissinger's group has pushed for drastic reductions in global nuclear arsenals. And reviving talks on limits to nuclear arms, especially the START I treaty, which expires in December, is at the top of the U.S. agenda.

But the broader aim appears to be repairing the damage to relations over the past eight years between Washington and Moscow, which are at their lowest point since the early 1980s _ a point highlighted by both Russian and U.S. officials in Moscow.

"I see we are in a race between cooperation and catastrophe," Nunn told reporters at a briefing.

"We are certain that the low point of this period of chill in our relations is behind us," Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov told reporters Friday. "The reset ... has really begun."

While the Kremlin has welcomed the U.S. initiatives, it has also sent signals that it is up to Washington to make concessions, not Moscow, if relations are to improve.

Ryabkov expressed confidence that Moscow and Washington can resolve deep differences over the proposed U.S. missile defense facilities in Eastern Europe and forge a new treaty to replace START.

But Ryabkov suggested it is up to Washington to give ground over missile defense. He said Moscow wants an equal say in evaluating threats, plotting responses and designing any missile shield in the region.

"We are ready for cooperation on missile defense, but not as a cart horse that is attached to a harness and pulls in a direction given by others," he said.

Ryabkov also said missile defenses and offensive weapons subject to cuts under treaties like START are "inextricably linked." He suggested Russia could hold back on an arms control pact if it is dissatisfied with U.S. moves on missile defense.

Washington says the missile shield based in Poland and the Czech Republic would protect against a potential threat from Iran. The Obama administration has told Russia that it could eliminate the need for such a system by using its influence on Iran to help ensure Tehran poses no threat.

But Ryabkov said Moscow sees no signs that Iran is trying to develop nuclear weapons, indicating the Kremlin does not plan to toughen its stance toward Tehran.

He welcomed Obama's address to the Iranian people _ a video released Friday from Washington that said the U.S. is prepared to end years of strained relations if Tehran tones down its bellicose rhetoric.

"We are moving along the path that we believe should lead to the disappearance of concern about Iran's nuclear program. The path proposed by the Russian Federation is the path of dialogue," he said.

It is not clear if Russia is adopting a tough position to give itself room to bargain, or whether it will refuse to make concessions in upcoming negotiations.

Russia concerned by deteriorating situation in Kabul

UNITED NATIONS : Russian Ambassador to the United Nations Vitaly Churkin said on Thursday Moscow is “seriously concerned” by deteriorating situation in Afghanistan. “Despite efforts of Afghan authorities and international military presences, the situation in the sphere of security continues to deteriorate in the country,” he told a session of the UN Security Council. “Terrorist activities of the Taliban, Al-Qaeda and other extremists are constantly mounting and undermining the basics of the Afghan statehood and impeding stabilization and restoration. Specific concern is caused by the fact that terrorists actually control several regions of Afghanistan and form parallel bodies of authority there,” Churkin said. “Today it is important as never for Afghan power structures and international military presences to break the negative security situation by joint effort,” the ambassador said. Drug trafficking remains the main source of financing the terrorists. “Despite certain recent positive changes in fighting Afghan drug threat, it is necessary to mount joint anti-drug efforts,” Churkin said. This week Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov visited Kabul to sign a bilateral intergovernmental agreement on the fight against illegal drugs. “The implementation of the agreement will enhance joint Russian and Afghan efforts to fight drug crimes,” the ambassador said, adding the special conference on Afghanistan scheduled for March 27 in Moscow will give a political impulse to the solution of the task. Russia “is interested in the development of Afghanistan as a democratic, stable and flourishing state,” Churkin said and recalled that Russia helped build 140 industrial, infrastructure, transport and communication objects in the country.

PAKISTAN.. Political crisis brought US back to the military

WASHINGTON: Chief of the Army Staff Gen. Ashfaq Kayani had an unscheduled meeting with US Secretary of State Hilary Clinton soon after the governor deposed the provincial government in Punjab on Feb. 25, US sources told Dawn.US special envoy for Pakistan Richard Holbrooke also attended this meeting, which, according to these sources, focused on the political situation in Pakistan.Before this meeting, the Obama administration had made it a point not to raise politics in its discussions with the army chief.A cursory look at Mr Kayani’s itinerary showed that military and security matters dominated the general’s agenda in Washington.During his week-long stay in the US, the general met Defence Secretary Robert Gates, Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Michael Mullen and the US Army Chief General George Casey.He also met CIA Director Leone Panetto, Director National Intelligence Admiral Dennis C Blair and Commander Special Operations Command Admiral Eric T Olson to discuss security matters.But he was not scheduled to meet those officials who deal with political matters because the Americans wanted to assure the new democratic setup in Islamabad that they were sincere to strengthening democracy in Pakistan.During Gen. Kayani’s stay in Washington, another important Pakistani delegation was also in town. It was headed by Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi and included the ISI chief and Director General Military Operations.As Mr Qureshi later said at a news conference, it was the first time that a minister was heading a delegation that included two senior military officials and the purpose was to convey the message that ‘all branches of the Pakistani government were united under the new political setup in Islamabad,’ as the foreign minister said.Ambassador Holbrooke also stressed this point when he told several US media outlets even before the foreign minister’s delegation arrived in town that this time the ISI chief was coming as a member of a delegation headed by a civilian.The point was further stressed at a reception Ambassador Husain Haqqani hosted for the foreign minister and the army chief on Feb. 23.The foreign minister was the guest of honour at the central table, dominated by US lawmakers and political officials. The army chief shared another table with US generals and senior defence and security officials.But attitudes in Washington changed on Feb. 25, when the Supreme Court verdict declared Nawaz and Shahbaz Sharif ineligible to contest elections or hold public offices and later the government imposed governor’s rule in Punjab.‘It was seen as a reckless move in Washington,’ said an insider. ‘The Americans hoped to see true democracy in Pakistan, not divisive power politics.’US policy makers felt that President Asif Ali Zardari’s policies could trigger street violence and may lead Pakistan to yet another military rule. ‘And they wanted to avoid both,’ said a source familiar with the US thinking on this issue. ‘So they decided to invite Gen. Kayani to the State Department and hear his views on the latest political developments in Islamabad.’
Informed sources in Washington say that the Americans did not consult Ambassador Haqqani before inviting the general, indicating the Americans did not want to share their concerns over the developments in Punjab with Mr Zardari’s representative in Washington.Later, the National Public Radio, one of the most respected media outlets in North America, did a programme on Mr Kayani, pointing out that the general ‘is the key to US strategy in the region.’The radio recalled that when Kayani became chief of staff just over a year ago, the appointment was met with high praise from US officials.The radio recalled that the US considers its relations with Pakistani military extremely important because of the insurgency of Taliban and al-Qaeda along Pakistan's border with Afghanistan.Diplomatic observers in Washington noted that the dismissal of the Punjab government caused US policy makers to think that such actions could endanger America’s main objective: fighting the Taliban and al-Qaeda militants with Pakistan’s help.‘So they decided to go back to their old ally, the military, to consult how to react,’ said one such observer.The Americans and the Pakistani military, however, agreed that while the army should play its role in strengthening the current political setup, ‘there’s no room for yet another military takeover,’ the observer said.‘And the impression the Americans got from Gen. Kayani was that he also did not want another military government in Islamabad,’ the observer added.
During the same visit to Washington, Gen. Kayani had assured US lawmakers that the army had no desire to take over the government.
During a meeting with leaders of the US Congress, the general pledged to keep the military out of politics.The most interesting assessment of Gen. Kayani’s views on this issue came from Admiral Mullen who told reporters on March 13, when Mr Kayani was busy reducing tensions between President Zardari and Mr Sharif, that the Pakistani army chief did not want to take over the government like his predecessor Pervez Musharraf did in 1999.‘I have had upwards of 10 interactions with Kayani. He wants to do the right thing for Pakistan. But he is in a very tough spot,’ Admiral Mullen said in an interview.The US military chief, however, said that while Gen. Kayani will not stage another coup, the military cannot allow the political crisis to deteriorate.Political observers in Washington noted that as the admiral had predicted, Gen. Kayani did not topple the government but he did play a key role in defusing the judicial and political crises threatening Pakistan.