Pakistan releases 100 Indian fishermen held past jail term

KARACHI, Aug 30 (Dawn): Pakistan on Monday released 100 Indian fishermen imprisoned for fishing in its territorial waters, officials said, after lobby groups said they were being detained beyond their jail terms.
Another 342 fishermen will also be released in the coming week after serving their sentences, deputy superintendent of Landhi prison Shakir Shah told AFP.

Pakistan and India frequently seize each other's fishermen, accusing them of violating their respective zones in the Arabian Sea.

Two lobby groups for Pakistani fishermen had filed a case seeking the release of the Indian fishermen in Pakistan's Supreme Court, and it was still being heard when the authorities made the sudden decision to release them.

“We informed the Supreme Court that the detention of those Indian fishermen who had completed their sentences was unlawful,” said Shujauddin Qureshi, a spokesman for the Pakistan Institute of Labour Education and Research.

“We are surprised that the government released the fishermen while the petition is still pending before the court.”

Hundreds of Indians and Pakistanis are languishing in prisons on both sides of the border on charges of spying or illegal entry.
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Three killed, five wounded in southern Thailand

YALA, Aug 30 (Dawn): Driveby shootings and suspected insurgent violence in southern Thailand killed three people and wounded five in the past 24 hours, police said on Monday, the latest unrest in the region bordering Malaysia.

A bomb hidden under a pickup truck of a security volunteer exploded in Narathiwat province on Monday, wounding three people.

That came a day after a twoyearold boy was killed in a driveby shooting while on a motorbike with his father, who was wounded. A couple was also shot dead as they drove to a market in Pattani province. And a bomb in southernmost Yala province wounded a pregnant fruit seller.

More than 4,100 people, both Buddhists and Muslims, have been killed in six years of unrest in Thailand's southernmost provinces as ethnic Malay Muslims fight for autonomy from the country's Buddhist majority.

Local Muslims largely oppose the presence of tens of thousands of police, soldiers and statearmed Buddhist guards in the rubberrich region, which was part of a Malay Muslim sultanate until annexed by Thailand a century ago.

About 80 per cent of the three southern provinces of Pattani, Yala and Narathiwat are Muslim.
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Pak court dismisses Lakhvi's bail plea

ISLAMABAD, Aug 30 (Agencies): A Pakistani antiterrorism court today dismissed a bail petition filed by LashkereTaiba operations commander Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi, who is currently in jail in connection with the 2008 Mumbai attacks case.

Lakhvi is among the seven suspects, who have been charged with involvement in the Mumbai carnage, which India says was carried out by Pakistanbased LeT.

Judge Malik Muhammad Akram Awan of the Rawalpindi based antiterrorism, which is conducting the incamera trial, dismissed Lakhvi's bail application on the ground that it could not be maintained, sources said.

Lakhvi's lawyer Khwaja Sultan, who has been accused by the prosecution of filing numerous petitions to delay the trial, told Agencies that his client would now approach the Lahore High Court for bail.

"We will decide on the date for filing the application in the High Court after getting the antiterrorism court's detailed order," Sultan said.

Sultan claimed that bail should be granted to Lakhvi as the prosecution had been unable to produce any solid evidence linking him to the 2008 Mumbai attacks.

He contended that the prosecution's case was based only on the confessional statement of Ajmal Kasab, the lone terrorist convicted and sentenced to death by an Indian court for his role in the attacks.

The prosecution had produced five policemen who testified that Lakhvi was a top LeT commander but had been unable to give any proof linking him to the Mumbai incident, he claimed.

The prosecution had challenged the bail application, saying there was enough evidence to nail Lakhvi.

The next hearing in the Mumbai attacks case is scheduled for September 18.

At that hearing, Judge Awan is expected to take up two applications filed by the prosecution – one seeking voice samples of the seven accused and another for an Indian magistrate and police official to testify via video conferencing.

Defence lawyers have opposed both applications, saying they are not permissible under Pakistani laws.

Lakhvi was arrested last year for his involvement in the 2008 Mumbai attacks.

After the attacks, India has put the Composite Dialogue process with Pakistan on hold. New Delhi has linked its resumption to Pakistan's action against terrorism emanating from its soil against India.
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Visa row won't affect SinoIndia military ties: China

BEIJING, Aug 30 (Agencies): Seeking to downplay the visa row with India, Chinese experts today said military ties between the two countries are strong and powerful and will not be "compromised" by incidents like Beijing's refusal to permit a top Indian Army officer to visit the country.

Days after a row erupted between the two countries over China's refusal to grant visa to Northern Commander Lt Gen B S Jaswal as he is incharge of "sensitive" Jammu and Kashmir, Chinese official media carried reports about the denial of visa today.

Two official English dailies China Daily and Global Times carried reports with comments from experts attached to official think tanks.

"The relations and trust between the two countries are very powerful," Rong Ying, deputy director of the China Institute of International Studies told the China Daily.

Rong blamed the Indian media for "sensationalising" certain issues between the two countries at the expense of facts.

"The Indian press should be more objective and sensible when reporting both countries' relations, especially about concerned disputes," he said.

Such reports also reflect a misunderstanding of "the complexity of SinoIndian relations," he said.

Li Daguang, a military specialist with the University of National Defence, also told the Daily that "the defence exchanges between China and India will not be stalled and so far as I know, the exchanges between the two countries are ongoing and deepening."

India has put off all its military exchanges with China in protest till visa issue is resolved. However, Chinese Defence Ministry said that it has not halted military exchanges with India.

There is no reaction from the Chinese Foreign ministry yet.

Fu Xiaoqiang, a professor on South Asia affairs at the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations, told the Global Times that border and military issues between India and China are quite sensitive, and both sides should handle them carefully.

"I don't think the latest visa row between the two countries will have a big impact on bilateral relations," Fu said.

"The rise of the two large countries will definitely bring some clashes. And it will take some time for China and India to establish full trust toward each other. But it is dialogue rather than confrontation that can improve mutual understanding," Fu said.
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Putin trusts Obama but doubts US policy in Georgia, Europe

MOSCOW, Aug 30 (Agencies): Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin on Monday said he trusted President Barack Obama, who earnestly wants to 'reset' relations with Moscow, but doubted the US policy in the region.

"I have a feeling that Obama is earnest. I don't know, what he can, what he cannot, I would like to see whether he succeeds or not. But he wants. I have a feeling that it is earnest position," Putin said in an interview published by Kommersant business daily.

He, however, added that continued arming of Georgia and reconfiguration of missile shield deployment in other European countries in place of Poland and Czech Republic generate doubt in the present US administration's 'reset' policy.

In his interview to Kommersant on the newlybuilt KhabarovskChita highway, with Putin in the driving seat of locallybuilt canary yellow Lada Kalina Sport, the Russian strongman said that in the high politics 'there was always an element of cheating' and his 2007 antiWest speech in Munich was 'plain truth'.

"We were told one thing, but altogether different thing was done. In the true sense we were cheated! In the course of (our) troops withdrawal from East Europe, NATO General Secretary told us that USSR should be in any case be assured that the NATO will not be expanded beyond the then existing borders. Tell me, where is all this? We were very primitively cheated," Putin said.

Putin, who is widely tipped to return to top Kremlin job in 2012, said that it was normal international practice to discuss, to whom the incumbent president would hand over charge after completing his term.

He said main thing was that the problem of 2012 should not veer Russia off the course of sustained development.

"Of course at such times we go through the moments of political struggle, which distract the society and the state from economy, but this is the price, which we need to pay for retaining a competitive society and state," Putin said.

He noted that presently Russia was undergoing a transition period in economy and political system after the collapse of Soviet economy tucked behind the Iron Curtain.

"Once we have a normal functioning economy, the political system will also change," he said.

Putin cracked down on the political dissenters in the country saying their rallies are a 'provocation' against the government.

"In today's modern world the opposition can air your view round the corner of public lavatory and the whole world will watch it.”

“If they want to air their opinion, they should call cameramen from East, West and Russia.”

“Give their statements with their banners with skull and crossed bones and walk away clanking their hoofs to sea (resorts)," Putin said when asked about the regular dispersal of dissenters' rallies on 31st of every month in defence of Article 31 of the Constitution granting freedom of assembly.

Putin said that by staging unsanctioned rallies, the opposition movements provoke the police to crack down on them.

"If their aim is provocation, they will always be successful. But if their aim is to inform the public, both international and Russian, there is no point in breaking the law," Putin said.

"If the aim is to make the authorities compromise and they will compromise, there will be other attempts at provocation, and this process will carry on indefinitely," Putin declared.

He said that he was not bothered about the drop in his rating, which was normal due to the hardships faced by concrete people in the wake of economic crisis.
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Somali govt appeals for help to fight militants

MOGADISHU, Aug 30 (Agencies): Somalia's government is appealing for more help in its fight against powerful militants who have recently intensified their attacks.

President Sheik Sharif Sheik Ahmed said on Monday it was unrealistic to expect the forces of an illequipped government to battle the al Qaedalinked group alShabab.

Ahmed compared al Shabab's attack on a Mogadishu hotel that killed more than 30 people last week to the violence against governments in Iraq, Yemen and Afghanistan.

He said the world must give Somalia's violence the same priority accorded to al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, which Washington considers to be a major threat.

AlShabab carried out twin bombings in Uganda during the World Cup final, killing 76 people
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Kerry urges world to extend more help

WASHINGTON, Aug 30 (Dawn): “The world isn’t keeping up with the challenge” posed by the floods in Pakistan, warns Chairman of the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee John Kerry. “Much more needs to be done by foreign governments and private citizens alike.”

In an oped piece for The Boston Globe on Sunday, Senator Kerry refers to his visit to the floodhit areas earlier this month to convey the scale of disaster.

“This is Pakistan’s Katrina,” he warns. “It’s not just that onefifth of the country an area about the size of New England is submerged. Nor is it that, with weeks left in the monsoon season, it could get worse. More than 1,600 people have been killed, 6 million are homeless, and more than 17 million have been affected in some way.

“Those chilling numbers don’t convey what I saw when our helicopter touched down in Multan on the Punjab plains. This is no isolated hamlet, but an ancient city, a district capital with a population of over 1.5 million. And it’s inundated with water.”

The senator also emphasises the need “to be transparent about how we are spending money in Pakistan and tailor our assistance to what Pakistanis want”.

The Pakistanis, he argues, “need to feel tangible benefits from US aid and see that we are spending our money to help them. Some remain suspicious of US efforts to channel money through the Pakistani government, which they view as corrupt or inadequate”.

The danger of the floods, he warns, extends beyond a very real humanitarian crisis.

“A stable and secure Pakistan, based on democracy and the rule of law, is in all of our interests. Pakistan has made enormous strides in combating extremism and terrorism at great sacrifice by its soldiers, police, and citizens. But its ability to keep up the fight requires an effective response to this crisis,” says the senator.

“Pakistan’s Katrina has put enormous pressure on the Pakistan government. It will take years and billions of dollars to recover. By helping Pakistan do it right, we can have a positive and lasting impact,” Senator Kerry concludes.
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US, Pakistan agree on mechanism

WASHINGTON, Aug 30 (Dawn): The United States and Pakistan have agreed to “put in place the right type of structure and mechanism” to avoid corruption, says Rajiv Shah, the administrator for the US Agency For International Development, while appealing for more funds for Pakistan flood victims.

Mr Shah says that while “it’s easy for the international community to focus on accountability and transparency”, it’s even more important to ensure that the “ownership in the process of reconstruction and funds management in reconstruction” stay in the hands of the affected country.

Briefing journalists during the weekend, he urged the international community not to allow their concerns for corruption to prevent them from helping the victims.

Mr Shah says that corruption was very much the subject of his conversations with government leadership when he visited Pakistan last week.

And the talks “indicated a strong willingness” in Pakistan to cope with this issue, he says.

“The scale and the scope of this natural disaster is astronomical,” says Mr Shah while explaining why he thought no concern should stop the world from helping Pakistan.

“In addition to the humanitarian consequences, which of course are tragic, the economic and social impact of this flood is going to be felt for a significant amount of time and also represents an area where there are urgent needs,” he added.

Mr Shah notes that the need for international help will intensify when the floodwaters recede and the reconstruction begins.

“I saw the tragedy firsthand, as much of the infrastructure, including bridge after bridge and the main arteries and main roads, were destroyed through the floods,” says the USAID chief.
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Afghan district chief killed in Jalalabad bombing

KABUL, Aug 30 (Agencies): A bomb blast in the eastern Afghan city of Jalalabad Monday killed a district chief and injured up to five others, an official and the interior ministry said.

“The explosion targeted the vehicle of La'al Poor district chief Sayed Mohammad Pahlawan at 9:15am this morning,” said Ahmad Zia Abdulzai, spokesman for Nangahar province, of which Jalalabad is the capital.

“He was on his way to the office of the provincial governor,” he told AFP.

He said the explosives had been placed in Pahlawan's car and detonated by remote control, adding that the injured included three of his bodyguards.

The vehicle exploded just 15 metres from the Nangahar governor's office, he said.

Jalalabad is more than two hours drive east of Kabul, and has seen a recent escalation in violent incidents as Talibanled insurgents spread their footprint in reaction to an increased presence of foreign forces.

The United States and Nato have almost 150,000 troops in Afghanistan battling to quell the insurgency, which is at its most intense in the southern provinces of Kandahar and Helmand.

The interior ministry condemned the killing of Pahlawan as an “unIslamic and inhumane act by insurgents”.

It said that five other people had been injured in the blast.

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Gunman kills six in Slovak capital

BRATISLAVA, Aug 30 (Dawn): A gunman killed six people and wounded 13 others in the Slovak capital Bratislava on Monday, Slovak media reported.

“There were 13 injured and six casualties, four women and two men,” news agency TASR quoted Dominika Sulkova from the national rescue service as saying.

Police declined to comment, saying they would provide information later. The Devinska Nova Ves district of Bratislava where the shooting took place was sealed off by police roadblocks, television TA3 reported.
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India, SA share special relationship: Anand Sharma

JOHANNESBURG, Aug 30 (Agencies): No other country in the world shares the special relationship that exists between India and South Africa, Minister for Commerce and Industry Anand Sharma has said.

“I would like to find another parallel. I have honestly tried to but I don’t find one,” Mr. Sharma said during a dinner here last evening at the start of the fourday ‘India Show’ that will see a host of business and cultural events across the city.

“There could not have been a greater honour for me to be a part of your struggle that connects us together to the two icons who are shared heroes. No two countries have shared heroes (like) Mahatma Gandhi and Nelson Mandela. Nelson Mandela is as much our hero as Gandhi is yours. In fact (Gandhi) is more yours, but also ours,” the Minister said as he recalled the shared history of struggle and sacrifice.

Commenting on a dance show of all regions of India that preceded the dinner at which highlydecorated Indian chef Hemant Oberoi prepared a range of Indian dishes, Mr. Sharma said India had shown the world that it had accepted what was best for centuries in terms of culture and cuisine.

Echoing Mr. Sharma’s view, South African Minister for International Relations and Cooperation Maite NkoanaMashabane said, “outside South Africa, there is no other place that we call home than Mother India. I can testify to that, because I spent five and a half years of my life there (as High Commissioner). Every time I land in New Delhi, I just feel like I am coming back home.”

NkoanaMashabane said 2010 had been an auspicious year for both countries on the sporting front as South Africa hosted a spectacular FIFA 2010 World Cup for the first time on African soil, while India will be hosting for the first time the Commonwealth Games at the beginning of October.

“We will be there, with or without our vuvuzelas, to help India celebrate.”

The Minister said in the coming months we will have to accelerate our trade and economic ties.

“I know that you would want to have exceeded USD 10 billion mark in the next two years in terms of our trade. I know that you also want to accelerate the talks and discussions on SACU (Southern African Customs Union) relations with India and to move towards the successful conclusion of that so that we can expand our trade ties,” he said.

These issues will also be on the table when 15 captains of trade and industry from each country meet at the first meeting here on Tuesday of the revived CEO’s Forum that was relaunched during President Jacob Zuma’s state visit to India two months ago, he added.

Nearly 60 exhibitors would display diverse range of products at the India Show.
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