IAEA to meet on Friday to discuss N-deal
VIENNA, July 31 (Agencies): As India hopes to resume nuclear commerce with the global community after a gap of 34 years, the IAEA Board of Governors meets in Vienna on Friday in a crucial session to consider for approval a key step for operationalisation of the Indo-US nuclear deal.
If the 35-member Board approves the India-specific safeguards agreement by consensus leading to the signing of an unprecedented document, it would pave the way for India's integration into the world of nuclear commerce.
Atomic Energy Commission Chairman Anil Kakodkar, who has already arrived here, will have a series of meetings to ensure a smooth sailing at the IAEA Board of Governors and the 45-nation Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG), sources said.
He is expected to hold talks with all NSG members also during his stay to bring them on board for giving India a "clean and unconditional waiver" ahead of the group's first meeting early next month. India is a member of IAEA but not the NSG.
Kakodkar said he would take part in all discussions including the negotiations that are underway on an Additional Protocol with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
The IAEA agreement will form the basis for approaching the Nuclear Suppliers Group for removal of restrictions on nuclear trade with India and the so-called bilateral agreement with US in the form of the 123 agreement which gives exemption to New Delhi for nuclear commerce with that country.
New Delhi is working on an India-specific 'Additional Protocol'. There is a possibility that the IAEA Board might insist that the India-specific 'Additional Protocol' is signed along with the safeguards agreement to enable operationalisation of inspection of the nuclear units declared by New Delhi as civil.
An Agreement on the 'Additional Protocol' is mandatory as per the Indo-US joint statement on the civil nuclear cooperation of July 18, 2005, which was issued during Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's Washington visit.
Additional protocol is just not another document but an instrument to operationalise and set forth a protocol to enable the agency to carry out its mandate as per the agreement, experts said.
For the first time India will be going for an India-specific additional protocol and since it is a de facto nuclear weapons state, INFCIR 540, which is meant for non-weapon state, may not be directly applicable to India, A N Prasad, former director of Bhabha Atomic Energy Agency, said adding there may be some exceptional conditions.
Meanwhile, the US is preparing a note to circulate among the 45 NSG member countries next week after tomorrow's IAEA meeting.
A draft of that note was supposed to have been given to Indian government for their opinion before finalising it, a US strategic planner said.
Twenty-six of the IAEA board members are also part of NSG. On July 18, New Delhi had organised a meeting to brief members of the IAEA board and NSG on the India-specific safeguards agreement.
The IAEA and NSG agreements are expected to lead to several bilateral cooperation pacts with countries such as France, Russia in the near future. Russia has explicitly said that for future reactors to be set up at Koodankulam in Tamil Nadu, the agreement with the IAEA is required.
Once New Delhi is out of the shackles of the embargo imposed 34 years ago following the Pokharan nuclear tests, there is scope for many such agreements to be reached to open nuclear commerce for India for imports as well as exports.
In other words, an IAEA agreement, though no doubt originating with the requirement set forth by the US to have a nuclear agreement with India, has much deeper implications in the international context.

Pakistan undecided on Indo-US N-deal ahead of IAEA meeting
ISLAMABAD, July 31 (Agencies): Pakistan today kept the suspense over whether to push for a vote at tomorrow's crucial meeting of IAEA Board of Governors when it considers the India-specific safeguards agreement for approval.
Apparently unsure of how much support Pakistan would get, its Foreign Ministry is yet to take a decision on any move to press for a vote amid reports that the US has impressed upon Islamabad not to put any roadblocks in the safeguards pact getting IAEA's clearance.
The International Atomic Energy Agency's(IAEA) Board of Governors is due to take tomorrow the India-specific safeguards agreement, a vital step to operationalise the Indo-US nuclear deal.
One reason for this, sources said, is whether Pakistan will be able to muster adequate support in the 35-member Board of Governors of the Vienna-based UN body.
There are very few Arab countries or other states that have traditionally been friendly with Pakistan in the Board of Governors. This has led to doubts about whether Pakistan could win if it pressed for a vote , the sources said.
Any loss in a vote pushed for by Pakistan would be embarrassing for the country, the sources said.
Pakistan is opposed to the Indo-US nuclear deal, describing a draft of the India-specific safeguards agreement as "discriminatory and dangerous".
Pakistan has also demanded a similar deal from the US, saying the agreement could alter the strategic balance in South Asia and trigger a fresh nuclear arms race.
"There should be no preferential (treatment), there should be no discrimination. And if they want to give civilian nuclear status to India, we would also expect the same for Pakistan too," Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani told a gathering in Washington on Tuesday.
Pakistan has been facing pressure from the US not to block the way of the operationalisation of the Indo-US nuclear deal at the IAEA.
This is believed to be one of the issues that came up for discussions during Gilani's meetings with top US leaders during his maiden visit to Washington.
Some reports have also suggested that a recent US move to upgrade Pakistan's F-16 fleet at a cost of USD 305 million is part of an arrangement to ensure that Pakistan does not oppose the safeguards agreement at the IAEA.
Pakistan has also pointed out that Indian nuclear facilities to be brought under safeguards have not been listed in the annexure of the agreement. It has demanded that IAEA's secretariat should have incorporated the facilities in the agreement before the Board of Governors met.

Alert sounded in Pak capital as army fights militants in Swat
ISLAMABAD, July 31 (Agencies): The Pakistan capital has been put on alert amid fears of terror attacks in the wake of a fresh army crackdown against Taliban militants in the troubled northwestern Swat valley bordering Afghanistan.
The alert was sounded as a precautionary measure after intelligence reports said terrorists might strike in the federal capital in retaliation for the operation against them in Swat, official sources said.
However, they said, there is "no serious threat" to Islamabad.
Inspector General of Police Syed Asghar Raza, who issued the alert, told Dawn newspaper that it was a routine exercise to "reactivate the police force".
The Constitution Avenue, which is home to Parliament, Supreme Court and Presidency, all government buildings, offices of law enforcement and intelligence agencies, foreign missions and the Diplomatic Enclave and places of worship are on "red alert". Other public places are on "high alert".
The deployment of security personnel in sensitive areas has been increased and police have set up check posts in and around Islamabad.
Patrolling by mobile police units has also been increased. Searches have been conducted at hotels, inns and bus stands.
Following the launch of a fresh operation against the Pakistani Taliban in Swat, located 160 kms from Islamabad, militant spokesman Muslim Khan had threatened that his group could unleash suicide bombers if the crackdown was not stopped. About 40 militants have been killed by the security forces since yesterday.
Meanwhile, an explosive-laden car meant for carrying out a suicide bombing was seized by police on the Peshawar-Islamabad motorway yesterday. Police said the car was stolen from Islamabad a few days ago.
Rockets and explosive-filled cylinders, which had been inter-connected with electric wires, were found in the car. The car was equipped with a tracking device and the owners, who hail from Sialkot, tracked it down.
Officials said when the car reached an interchange on the Motorway, the owners asked the company that fitted the tracking device to jam the engine. When the car stopped functioning, its occupants fled the scene.

Taliban now unleash terror in Pak's Punjab province
ISLAMABAD, July 31 (Agencies): After establishing their sway in parts of Pakistan's northwest, the local Taliban have begun making forays in the politically crucial Punjab province, calling for shutdown of internet cafes and cable TV networks and threatening to deface women who do not wear burqas.
Owners of internet cafes, TV cable networks and music and CD shops in Muzaffargarh city in southern Punjab have received threatening letters and emails from the Taliban, who warned them to close down their "un-Islamic and immoral" businesses within 15 days or face the consequences.
In the nearby city of Kot Addu, Taliban warned women who do not wear burqas that their faces will be defaced with acid.
Deputy Superintendent of Police Saif Khattak said about three dozen internet cafes and music centres in Muzaffargarh received emails and letters on July 18 which asked them to shut down as they were making "society immoral".
Similar threatening emails and letters were received by owners of all internet cafes, cable networks and music shops in Kot Addu on July 29, media reports said today.
The emails and letters, attributed to local Taliban chief Khalid Mehsud, gave the businessmen 15 days to shut their outlets and adopt some "Islamic business".
The letters and emails also warned that all women and girls who did not wear veils would face acid attacks.
Some of the businessmen in Muzaffargarh contacted police and informed them about the threat. But they were all so frightened that they were not ready to become complainants in the matter. Only one businessman came forward to be a complainant and police registered a case against unidentified people.
Internet cafes and music centres in the region now shut down at sunset and have put in place other security measures. News of the threats have spread in the region and a large number of women have stopped visiting local bazars.
One shopkeeper, who identified himself only as Bobby, told the Dawn newspaper that he had closed down his music shop in the main market of Kot Addu. "No business is (more) precious than life," he said.
Police officials in Kot Addu said they had no information on local Taliban chief Khalid Mehsud. Police have drawn up a list of 34 suspects, all members of a banned group, as they might be involved in issuing the threats.
In the restive North West Frontier Province, the Taliban have systematically targeted music and video shops in a series of bomb attacks since last year.
The once flourishing local video industry, which churned out dramas and video films in Pushtu, has been hit hard by the campaign.
Local musicians in the NWFP have also been affected by the campaign by the Taliban, who describe music and movies as "un-Islamic".
Though most of the suicide attacks blamed on the Taliban have occurred in Rawalpindi, Islamabad and parts of the NWFP, the militants have also carried out suicide strikes in Lahore, where they destroyed the office of the Federal Investigation Agency in March.

Burns presses for speedy Nuclear deal approval
WASHINGTON, July 31 (Agencies): Nicholas Burns, who played a key role in clinching the Indo-US nuclear deal, has pressed the IAEA, NSG and the Congress to swiftly put its stamp of approval on it to send a strong message to countries like Iran "to play by the rules" and for strengthening the non-proliferation regime.
"My conviction is that this deal strengthens the non proliferation regime...It makes India a stakeholder," said the former Under Secretary of State of Political Affairs.
"I am for this agreement because it is good for both countries.... The civilian nuclear deal is a symbolic centerpiece of the bilateral relations," said the former Bush administration official who played a key role in the passing of the Hyde Act in December 2006 by the Congress and in the negotiations leading to the conclusion of the 123 Agreement.
In his formal remarks, Burns argued that the nuclear deal is good for American businesses, for the environment and above all sends an "important" message to countries like Iran.
"If you play by the rules.... There will be benefits," the former senior official reminded Tehran during a panel debate on nuclear agreement at the Brookings Institution.
Burns, who stepped down in March and was appointed as a special envoy to US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on the deal, also stressed that the United States has in place "the right measures to protect" its interests by retaining the right to terminate the agreement.
He asserted that the 123 Agreement is "absolutely" consistent with the Hyde Act.

Indian High Commissioner calls on Zardari
ISLAMABAD, July 31 (Agencies): Indian High Commissioner to Pakistan Satyabrata Pal today met ruling-Pakistan People's Party chief Asif Ali Zardari today and discussed matters of mutual interest.
A brief statement issued by the PPP said Pal and Zardari discussed matters of mutual interests during the meeting late this evening that lasted about 45 minutes.
No further details were immediately available. Sources described the meeting as part of Zardari's routine interactions with the envoys of various countries.

NCP demands CBI probe into amassing of wealth by BJD ministers
KENDRAPARA, July 31 (Agencies): Alleging corrupt practices by some ministers and MLAs of ruling BJD in Orissa, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) has demanded a CBI probe into the "amassing of disproportionate wealth" by the politicians during the last two terms of Naveen Patnaik government.
NCP state president Bijoy Mohapatra said many ministers and MLAs of the ruling combine of BJD-BJP "have amassed wealth illegally and built their own fortune at the cost of poor tax payers."
"Instead of making tall claims of honesty and transparency, Naveen Patnaik should come clean by ordering a CBI probe into the movable and immovable assets of members of his council of ministers", he said.
The NCP leader was addressing a 'Parivartan Samavesh' at Kusunpur village of Kendrapara district yesterday,
Citing instances, Mohapatra alleged that a minister had recently spent about Rs 1.5 crore for his daughter's marriage.
"The rich mineral wealth, land and water are being literally auctioned in a clandestine manner in the name of industrialisation in the state", he alleged.
Though the intelligence wing of the police has levelled specific corruption charges against 17 IAS officers, the chief minister has not taken any action against them. Instead, low-ranking officials are being booked in vigilance cases, Mohpatra alleged.
The NCP, he said, would provide a list of corrupt ministers and MLAs compiled by the party.

Pak blames India, Afghanistan for unrest in FATA
ISLAMABAD, July 31 (Agencies): Facing intense US pressure to act against militants thriving in its restive tribal region, Pakistan has blamed India and Afghanistan for stirring trouble in its northwestern areas and Balochistan province.
Ruling Pakistan People's Party leader Rehman Malik, who functions as the interior minister and is a confidant of party chief Asif Ali Zardari, appealed to Pakistan's western allies, including the US, to stop India and Afghanistan's alleged activities.
"India wants to destabilise FATA (Federally Administered Tribal Areas). What India and (Afghan President Hamid) Karzai are doing must stop. They must stop this," he told reporters in Washington on Wednesday.
Malik, who was a member of the delegation accompanying Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani on his visit to the US, also blamed India for indulging in "baseless propaganda" against Pakistan though the country itself was a victim of terrorism.
"The time has come for us to reveal the facts and tell the world how outside forces are creating troubles in Pakistan," he said.
Asked to identify these "outside forces", he named India, Afghanistan's Northern Alliance, Chechens and Uzbeks who he said were using Pakistan to serve their vested interests.
Though Pakistan has always blamed foreign hands for stirring trouble in Balochistan and the North West Frontier Province, this is the first time since the February 18 election that a senior government official has blamed India for fomenting unrest in the country.
During his three-day visit, Gilani was pressed by the US leadership to go after the Taliban and al-Qaida militants who have found a safe haven in Pakistan's tribal areas bordering Afghanistan.

Indira Jaising elected to UN committee on women discrimination
UNITED NATIONS, July 31 (Agencies): India's Indira Jaising, an eminent Supreme Court lawyer and rights activist, has been elected to the UN's Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW).
Jaising, 68, secured the highest number of votes-149 out of 181 - in a keen contest.
This was the first time India had fielded a candidate for this 23-member committee and the State parties chose 11 candidates from 18 nominees in the field.
Jaising, who became the first woman to be designated as a Senior Advocate by the High Court of Bombay in 1986, has been elected for a four-year term beginning Jan one.
She fought several landmark cases focusing on human rights and protection of rights of women and was awarded the Padma Shree in 2005 for her service.
She has represented the victims of the Bhopal tragedy in the Supreme Court in their claim for compensation against the US giant Union Carbide Corporation.
Jaising also was the founder secretary of the Lawyers Collective, an organisation that provides legal help to the poor and the needy.
The CEDAW has independent experts charged with considering progress made in implementing the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women.
Also elected to the Committee were Magalys Arocha Domnguez (Cuba), who got the same number of votes Jaising, Nicole Ameline (France); Niklas Bruun (Finland); Xioaqiao Zou (China); Silvia Pimentel (Brazil); Victoria Popescu (Romania); Barbara Evelyn Bailey (Jamaica); Violet Awori (Kenya); Soledad Murillo de la Vega (Spain); and Rasekh Zohra (Afghanistan).

Olmert says he will quit in September
JERUSALEM, July 31 (Agencies): Israel's beleaguered Prime Minister Ehud Olmert today said he would step down after his party chooses a new leader in the September party primaries, bowing down to increasing pressure to quit following after graft charges cropped up against him.
"When Kadima (the ruling party)picks a candidate to replace me, I will step down," Olmert told a hurriedly convened press conference here.
Olmert's decision to resign from the top job effectively marks the end of his more than three decades of political career.
The Prime Minister, who was under pressure from party insiders, public and the opposition to quit after graft charges cropped up against him, said he will not participate in the party primaries to be held on September 17.
"In the future, my innocence will be proved, my name cleared but I won`t run in the upcoming (party) primaries," Olmert said.
Olmert has been under pressure to resign over a police inquiry into money he received from a businessman and the inquiry centres around allegations that a US citizen made cash donations to Olmert in 2006.
Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni and Transportation Minister Shaul Mofaz have been rallying for early primaries and received the required backing of the central committee members despite efforts from the Prime Minister's camp to halt the process.
Olmert's shaky coalition faced threats of withdrawal of support from the Labour party, the second largest party in the coalition, if he continued to lead the Kadima party. If Labour sticks to its ultimatum the government will be reduced to minority leading to fresh elections, something most of the coalition constituents would like to avoid.

NAM urges UN to resolve palestinian problem
Tehran, July 31 (Agencies): The non-aligned countries have ratified their implacable solidarity with the cause of the Palestinian people and advocated for UN resolutions to be fulfilled to stop Israel's violations in the occupied territories.
A declaration adopted in this Iranian capital by the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) Committee on Palestine rejected in the strongest terms the blatant genocide committed daily by the Israel army against the Palestinian civil population.
The forum, led by Cuba as president, was attended by 11 of its 12 members, eight of them foreign ministers.
The foreign ministers called for the application of UN resolutions on the creation of an independent Palestinian state with its capital in east al-Quds, and supported the hosting of an international conference to debate the issue seriously.
Cuban Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque stated that the Palestine question is, undoubtedly, the main cause of the prevailing complex situation in the Middle East, and while if unresolved, tension in the zone would be a predominant issue.
The Cuban diplomat termed as unjustifiable the "paralysis" of the UN in that entity and called for action to be taken without delay and to ensure world peace and security.
In a statement, Palestinian National Authority Minister of Foreign Affairs Riad Malki described as very fruitful the committee's deliberations over President Mahmoud Abbas' intention to start inter-Palestinian negotiations.
Malki said that the NAM agenda would back an understanding among several political forces of his people, particularly between the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) and the Al-Fatah, a group led by Abbas.

Al Qaeda's Iraq chief now in Afghanistan: Report
WASHINGTON, July 31 (Agencies): The top leader of Al Qaeda in Iraq has left the country for Afghanistan, the Washington Post reported Thursday.
Citing named sources in both the militant group and the Iraqi military, the report said an Egyptian known by the aliases Abu Hamza al-Muhajer or Abu Ayyub al-Masri had departed Iraq and was now in Afghanistan, having transited through Iran.
The group's local leader in Fallujah, Abdullah al-Ansari, told the daily that it was 'not known yet' if his departure was permanent.
Other members of Al Qaeda in Iraq, who were interviewed and named by the Post, denied that he had fled Iraq but confirmed the chief's travels to Afghanistan for meetings, possibly even with Osama bin Laden.
US military and intelligence officials widely believe bin Laden is hiding in Pakistan's border regions with Afghanistan.
The newspaper also cited an Iraqi intelligence officer in Anbar province, Colonel Hatim Abdullah, as saying based on interrogations of suspected members of Al Qaeda that al-Masri had left the country in June.

Politics on agenda when Bush visits Beijing for Olympics
WASHINGTON, July 31 (Agencies): Although US President George W. Bush has called the Beijing Olympics a sporting, rather than a political event, he does plan to raise political issues when he meets Chinese leaders while he is in Beijing for the games, a White House official said.
'We are looking for the Chinese at these games to show that they are making progress,' Dennis Wilder, senior director for Asian affairs in Bush's national security council, said Wednesday.
'...This is an opportunity for Beijing to show that it is widening the door of freedom of press, freedom of expression.'
Bush is to leave Monday on his ninth trip to Asia in nearly eight years in office.
Attending the opening of the Beijing Olympics and some of the sporting events is to be the highlight of the seven-day tour that also includes stops in South Korea and Thailand, Wilder said.
The presidential adviser said Chinese dissidents whom Bush met Tuesday had expressed concern that he was adding legitimacy to the Chinese government with his Aug 7-11 visit to Beijing.
Wilder argued, however, that Bush must have a personal and strong political relationship with China's leadership to have influence on the government.
'What we are looking for in China is not gestures,' Wilder said. 'We are looking for structural change. We are looking for long-term change. ... The ultimate goal here is to get the Chinese government to see that it is in their interest to free up their society.'
Bush is also to attend a church service in Beijing, highlighting a pet issue for him, improving religious freedom in a country that sanctions its churches and forcibly disbands unregistered churches.
Bush is to attend a registered church that trains pastors for underground congregations and afterward make a statement on his views on religious freedom in China, Wilder said.

Bahraini sponsor demands $8,000 to release three Indian workers
DUBAI, July 31 (Agencies): The Bahraini sponsor of three Indian workers has allegedly demanded 3,000 Bahraini dinars ($7,957.60) to release them so that they can home.
The three workers have now lodged a complaint with Bahrain's labour ministry and the Indian embassy, the Bahrain Tribune reported.
The three - Santhosh Kumar Dhason, 38, Paul Balraj, 40, and Sujivan Maria Dhas, 31 - all hail from the Kanyakumari district of Tamil Nadu. They have also alleged that their salaries for four months were pending.
According to the report, Dhason paid Rs.65,000 in India to get a Bahraini visa 23 months ago. His mother died in May this year but he was not allowed to go home. His wife and two children live in India.
Balraj had paid 300 dinars ($795.70) to get a visa but is also stuck even as his ailing wife in India is being looked after by their 15-year-old daughter and 13-year-old son.
Dhas, who had paid 850 dinars ($2,2254.60), was a shade luckier in the sense that he was given leave to go home after the death of his father in March this year.
The three have now been provided shelter at a worksite, which has no electricity. The Indian embassy has not been able to get in touch with the sponsor, according to the report.

NAM ministerial meet winds up in Tehran
TEHRAN, July 31 (Agencies): The 15th meeting of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) foreign ministers has wound up here, IRNA news agency reported Thursday.
A final statement and two documents on the Zimbabwe crisis and Iran's peaceful nuclear activities were released at the end of the two-day meeting late Wednesday night.
The conference ended its work with a speech by Iran's Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki.
In his address, Mottaki appreciated NAM's member states' support for Tehran's peaceful nuclear activities.
Addressing the conference Tuesday, Indian External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee defended Iran's right to 'peaceful uses of nuclear technology'.
In addition to its member states, 15 observer members and representatives of eight international and regional organisations attended the NAM ministerial meeting.

Islamabad on high alert as Pak army combats militants
ISLAMABAD, July 31 (Agencies): The Pakistan capital has been put on alert amid fears of terror attacks in the wake of a fresh army crackdown against Taliban militants in the troubled north-western Swat valley bordering Afghanistan.
The alert was sounded as a precautionary measure after intelligence reports said terrorists might strike in the federal capital in retaliation for the operation against them in Swat, official sources said.
However, they said, there is "no serious threat" to Islamabad. Inspector General of Police Syed Asghar Raza, who issued the alert, told Dawn newspaper that it was a routine exercise to "reactivate the police force".
The Constitution Avenue, which is home to Parliament, Supreme Court and Presidency, all government buildings, offices of law enforcement and intelligence agencies, foreign missions and the Diplomatic Enclave and places of worship are on "red alert". Other public places are on "high alert".
The deployment of security personnel in sensitive areas has been increased and police have set up check posts in and around Islamabad.
Patrolling by mobile police units has also been increased. Searches have been conducted at hotels, inns and bus stands.
Following the launch of a fresh operation against the Pakistani Taliban in Swat, located 160 kms from Islamabad, militant spokesman Muslim Khan had threatened that his group could unleash suicide bombers if the crackdown was not stopped. About 40 militants have been killed by the security forces since Wednesday.
Meanwhile, an explosive-laden car meant for carrying out a suicide bombing was seized by police on the Peshawar-Islamabad motorway yesterday. Police said the car was stolen from Islamabad a few days ago.
Rockets and explosive-filled cylinders, which had been inter-connected with electric wires, were found in the car. The car was equipped with a tracking device and the owners, who hail from Sialkot, tracked it down.
Officials said when the car reached an interchange on the Motorway, the owners asked the company that fitted the tracking device to jam the engine. When the car stopped functioning, its occupants fled the scene.

Top Pak babus keeping fingers crossed over
who will be the scapegoat over ISI U-turn
ISLAMABAD, July 31 (Agencies): If Interior Adviser Rehman Malik's yesterday's statement that 'heads would roll in the aftermath of the ISI drama' is to be given credence, the Pakistan establishment will be looking for the official, from among the secretaries working with the federal government, who was really behind the move. After Malik's declaration, the babus in Islamabad are keeping their fingers crossed, while closely watching who would be made the scapegoat for the ISI U-turn.
Informed circles say that all these secretaries acted only after they were directed by their political bosses to do so. The actual order came from PPP Co-chairman Asif Zardari.
If Malik was to find out scapegoats and roll their heads, the easy prey could be "either the interior secretary, cabinet secretaries or the principal secretary", or all of them who were actually involved in preparing the order that had to be withdrawn within a few hours of its issuance, The News quoted an unidentified Pakistan government official as saying.
According to the paper, who amongst the secretaries of cabinet, interior, defence and principal secretary to the prime minister, will be made a scapegoat for the blunder of shifting the intelligence agency under the interior ministry's control is to be seen in near future.
"Apart from the involvement of the ministries of interior, defence and cabinet, the Joint Services Headquarters (JSH) was also required to be consulted over the move to transfer the ISI's control to the interior ministry," said the official.
He said that the views of the defence ministry and the JSH would have been known had they been forwarded a proper summary. In this specific case, he said, the proposal was to be prepared by the interior ministry under the directions of the prime minister or the adviser according to the rules of business. It was required to be sent to the defence ministry from where it was supposed to go to the JSH. Then, it was to land in the Cabinet Division for the approval of the federal cabinet or the prime minister.
The official said that bypassing this route, the prime minister had the authority to order the Cabinet Division to prepare a case for his approval if there was an urgency to implement a decision. He may himself approve it or place it before the cabinet for its sanction.
The prime minister often conveys his orders to different ministries through his principal secretary, but at times he himself phones the secretaries and calls them to his office to do certain official things.
What was haphazardly followed in the case was that the Cabinet Division notified the change of control of the ISI in consultation with or at the behest of the interior ministry, meaning Rehman Malik or Syed Kamal Shah, throwing aside the other necessary channels. The defence paraphernalia was not taken on board.

Council of Ministers express optimism about SAARC Summit outcome
COLOMBO, July 31 (Agencies): Foreign Ministers of the eight SAARC nations - Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka - today expressed optimism about the outcome of the 15th SAARC Summit to be held here on August 2 and 3.
"I have very positive expectations from the summit and it will be a successful summit," said Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi.
Qureshi also confirmed that he will be meeting his Indian counterpart Pranab Mukherjee on the sidelines of the summit, and both would be reviewing the current state of bilateral relations.
Bangladesh Foreign Minister Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhary told ANI that: "It will be an outstanding summit and we will be able to deliver for the people of SAARC nations."
The two ministers were speaking ahead of the 30th session of the Council of Ministers, which got underway at the heavily guarded Bandaranaike Memorial International Conference hall (BMICH) here, with India's External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee handing over the chair to his Sri Lankan counterpart Rohita Bogollagama.
Although key regional economic issues are to be discussed at the ministerial level meeting, terrorism is likely to override all other issues as most of the participating countries mainly India, Pakistan and Afghanistan have recently witnessed some of the deadliest terrorist strikes.
The meeting of the Council of Ministers will review the implementation of the decisions and recommendations of the 14th SAARC Summit held in New Delhi in April 2007.
During the two-day meeting, the Ministers are expected to deliberate extensively on issues of urgent regional concern, especially food security, energy cooperation and climate change.
The meeting will finalise the agenda for the August 2-3 SAARC Summit.
The Ministerial meet is taking place in Colombo amidst tight security.
The Sri Lankan Government has deployed 19,000 additional security personnel to provide protection for visiting leaders.
Elite commandos of Special Protection group have already reached here. They will give protection to Indian Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh when he arrives here on August 1.
So hyped up is the security threat that domestic flights to northern Jaffna are to be suspended during the Summit. Sri Lankan Civil Aviation Authority Director General Parakrama Dissanayake confirmed this.
Sri Lankan defence forces have been placed on high alert for possible attacks by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) during the summit. The military is also on alert.
The Sri Lankan air defence system now covers key installations in and around Colombo as well as approaches from northern jungles where the Tigers have their bases.

Sri Lanka to suspend domestic flights to Jaffna during SAARC
COLOMBO, July 31 (Agencies): Domestic flights to northern Jaffna are likely to be suspended during the 15th South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) Summit.
SAARC leaders are meeting in Colombo between August 1 and August 3.
Sri Lankan Civil Aviation Authority Director General Parakrama Dissanayake said that during these days, flights by domestic carriers between Colombo and Jaffna would be suspended for security reasons.
Meanwhile, a heavy security blanket has been imposed across Colombo for the summit.
Sri Lankan defence forces have been placed on high alert for possible attacks by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) during the summit. The military is also on alert.
The Sri Lankan air defence system now covers key installations in and around Colombo as well as approaches from northern jungles where the Tigers have their bases.

Now Pak says int'l organisations to bear Rs 700 cr UN probe into Benazir murder
LAHORE, July 31 (Agencies): International organisations will bear all the expenses (approximately Rs 700 crore) of the UN probe into the murder of former Pakistan prime minister Benazir Bhutto, said the country's Advisor on Interior Affairs Rehman Malik.
Earlier, the Pakistan government had said that it was ready to bear all the expenses to be incurred in the UN probe.
In an interview with a local TV channel, Malik said that the investigation commission would have the power to call and question anyone, reported the Daily Times.
A foreign hand could not be ruled out in Benazir's murder, he said and added that the present government would not let Benazir's case become part of the past, and that government wanted an independent and just investigation.
On the occasion, Malik also accused India of involvement in disturbing the law and order situation in Pakistan and demanded it to break contact with Baitullah Mehsud.

WTO talks failure is 'pause' not 'breakdown': India
GENEVA, July 31 (Agencies): India on Wednesday blamed the rich nations for their rigid stand on subsidies but said collapse of global trade talks in Genava should be considered as a 'pause' and not a 'breakdown' of World Trade Organization(WTO) negotiations. Commerce and Industry Minister Kamal Nath said that India sought strong safeguards for its farmers from heavily subsidised imports from the developed nations which themselves have resorted to restricting trade for helping their agriculture sector.
Nath said except on special safeguard mechanism, the trade ministers had converged on several other contentious issues. These convergences should be kept on the table. "I would urge the Director General to treat this as a pause and not a breakdown and to keep on the table what is there," he said.
Nath said the developing countries have to guard themselves against import of subsidised products. Gruelling negotiations by 30 trade ministers ended in a failure on Tuesady after the US, India and China found themselves in deadlock over the trigger point for levying duties in case of import surges of farm products.
Nath, who remained extensively engaged in the core group of seven nations, said that he represented not only India's interest but concerns of over 100 developing and least developed countries. "I thought we cannot put at stake the livelihood security of one billion people in various (developing) countries," he said. Nath said WTO "is not a buffet that you can pick up what you want and go."

IAEA set to advance US-India atom pact despite qualms
VIENNA, July 31 (Reuters): UN nuclear watchdog governors are expected tomorrow to approve an inspections plan for India needed for its atomic trade deal with the United States, despite qualms about rewarding a non-proliferation outsider.
The deal would open to India the world market in nuclear fuel and technology for civilian uses after an embargo of three decades prompted by New Delhi's testing of atomic bombs and refusal to join the global Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).
The draft before the International Atomic Energy Agency's 35-nation governing board would place India's declared civilian nuclear energy plants - 14 of 22 existing or planned reactors - under regular IAEA surveillance.
If the plan is adopted, India must then win an unprecedented waiver from the 45-nation Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) allowing trade in sensitive nuclear materials with an non-NPT state, and ratification by the U.S. Congress for the deal to take force.
The first NSG meeting on India is expected on Aug. 21-22.
Washington and New Delhi are lobbying sceptical members of the slow-moving NSG hard to help clinch the deal, with time fast running out before US politics pause for November elections.
Western powers tout the deal as nudging giant India towards the non-proliferation mainstream and fighting global warming by increasing use of low-polluting nuclear energy in burgeoning developing economies, reducing high oil and gas costs as well.
Sceptics, including smaller European and developing nations, Canada, New Zealand and disarmament groups fear it will fray loyalty to an NPT already challenged by a push for nuclear power, led by Iran, in the volatile West Asia.
Those pros and cons will colour debate at the Vienna IAEA meeting. But diplomats said approval of the inspections scheme - probably by consensus - was not in doubt because, however limited, it would mark a net gain for non-proliferation.
"Board members have had ample time to study the agreement and ask questions of India and the (IAEA inspectorate)," US Ambassador Gregory Schulte told reporters yesterday.
"The agreement is a sound one, based on the IAEA's approved safeguards system," he said, adding that "Friday will constitute
a major step forward in the wider effort to erase differences" between the world and its most populous democracy.
Some European and other Western diplomats on the board said Indian and IAEA briefers did not entirely resolve concerns about fuzzy wording suggesting inspections might not be permanent and giving India leeway to boost its off-limits atom bomb programme.
They cite a "corrective measures" clause hinting India could halt inspections if atomic fuel imports were cut off in response to another nuclear test blast, although India is observing a voluntary moratorium crucial to the commerce pact.
"This plan doesn't make the separation between civilian and military reactors leak-proof. You really can't separate civilian and military nuclear know-how including sensitive technologies like uranium enrichment," said one Western diplomat.
"There won't be any champagne toasts after the approval. There's not much enthusiasm for this," a senior non-Western diplomat said. "But the general view is that subjecting most of India's reactors to safeguards is positive as a whole."
A European diplomat, echoing others, said: "The bigger debate will take place in the NSG where there is real concern about giving special treatment to a country outside the NPT, sending the wrong signal to Iran and others."
Diplomats said India's pursuit of an unconditional exemption at the NSG faces demands by some Western members for a binding Indian pledge of no more nuclear tests and an inspection regime more intrusive than the current basic plan.

US says Pakistani spies forewarn al Qaeda allies
ISLAMABAD, July 31 (Reuters): The United States has accused members of Pakistan's main spy agency of tipping off al Qaeda-linked militants before US missile attacks on targets in Pakistani tribal lands, Pakistan's defence minister said.
Defence Minister Ahmed Mukhtar openly acknowledged American mistrust of Pakistan's main military spy agency, the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), in remarks aired today on Pakistani television.
"They think that there are some elements in the ISI at some level that when the government of Pakistan is informed of targets, then leak it to them (militants) at some level," Mukhtar told Geo in Washington, having accompanied Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani on a maiden visit to the United States.
"This is an issue on which they were a bit annoyed."
The disclosure of American displeasure by a minister in the four-month-old civilian government of American could embarrass President Pervez Musharraf and the Pakistani military, and reawaken concern about the stability of the nuclear armed state.
The US no longer gives Pakistan advance notice when it targets militants in tribal areas.
The News, a Pakistani daily from the same media group as Geo, reported that Bush had asked who was controlling the ISI.
The ISI is the main intelligence arm of the military, which directs its operations, though under the law it reports to the prime minister.
Pakistan's security apparatus consists of the ISI, and Military Intelligence, which deals solely with military matters, and their civilian cousins, the Intelligence Bureau, Federal Investigation Agency, and the police Special Branch.
Pakistan is going through a transition to civilian rule after 8 years of military-led government, and the new leaders want to streamline reporting lines.
Last Saturday the government issued a decree saying the ISI and the Intelligence Bureau would be placed under the Interior Ministry, but backtracked the next day with a clarification that raised doubts in sections of the media about its own competence.
The coalition government has still to find its feet, and is fraught with internal tensions while also dealing with a economic and energy crisis, and analysts say it would be unwise to get into a confrontation with the military.
Past civilian rulers, including Nawaz Sharif and the late Benazir Bhutto, appointed men of their choice as head of ISI, but each time it led to differences with the army, which has led the Muslim nation for more than half the 61 years since it was carved out of the partition of India.
US ally Musharraf stepped down as army chief last November, and promoted General Ashfaq Kayani, who had been head of the ISI, to succeed himself, and also chose the current ISI chief, Lieutenant-General Nadeem Taj.
After abandoning support for the Taliban government in Afghanistan after al Qaeda's September 11, 2001 attacks on US cities, Musharraf ordered a clear out of the ISI's Afghan desk dealing with the Islamist militia, but has has defend the agency from periodic criticism that it retains links.
Gilani, whose Pakistan People's Party has its own history of mistrust with the army, spoke up for the ISI calling it a "great institution" and saying he found reports that some members of the ISI were sympathetic to the militants to be unbelievable.
The New York Times reported yesterday that a top Central Intelligence Agency official confronted Pakistani officials earlier this month with evidence of ISI ties to militants, and involvement in a suicide car bomb attack outside the Indian embassy in Kabul that killed 58 people, including two senior Indian diplomats.

Nepalese delegation to leave for Colombo to attend SAARC Summit
KATHMANDU, July 31 (UNI): Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala will be leaving for Colombo, the Sri Lankan capital, today to attend the two-day 15th SAARC Summit beginning August 2.
The 35-member Nepalese delegation includes Finance Minister Ram Sharan Mahat, Foreign Secretay Gyan Chandra Acharya and Prime Minister's daughter minister without portfolio Sujata Koirala.
The Maoists and UML had opposed the participation by Prime Minister Koirala during the SAARC summit, saying the caretaker prime minister should not take part in the important regional summit. These two parties were campaigning saying the president should lead the Nepalese delegation.
After discussing with Koirala, they agreed on his participation.
"We agreed to send Koirala to the SAARC Summit after the government realised its mistake in failing to consult other political parties before taking the decision," said UML General Secretary Jhala Nath Khanal after the meeting.
The Maoists had called on Sri Lankan ambassador to Nepal Sumit Nkandala to stop Prime Minister Koirala from attending the the SAARC Summit. However, Nkandala is learnt to have told the Maoist leaders that non-participation by a country will lead to the cancellation of the Summit and Sri Lankan government has to incur a huge loss.