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Pak, US Troops Exchange Heavy Fire KABUL: Pakistani and US-Afghan forces on the Pak-Afghan border near Angoor Adda in South Waziristan exchanged heavy machinegun fire on Thursday night, the News quoted sources as saying. Details of loss to human lives or property could not be ascertained. Officials said that a rocket launcher shell, fired from across the border, fell into the Pakistani territory. The fire was reutrned, which resulted in the exchange of heavy machinegun fire from both sides for more than an hour.
All communication links between Angoor Adda and the rest of the country were suspended throughout Friday, while roads leading to the troubled area were closed for a few hours for all kinds of traffic. Local people said the situation on the Pak-Afghan border was extremely tense amidst reports that a number of Afghan families were preparing to cross into Pakistan due to the presence of the force and round-the-clock surveillance by US helicopters.
Pakistani officials disclosed that fresh contingents of scouts and armed forces have been dispatched to Angoor Adda to control the situation. It was learnt that Pakistani tribesmen also joined the armed forces to retaliate against the firing from across the border. One US soldier was wounded or dead in alleged firing by a scouts' personnel three days back, which, officials from both sides had said, was the result of misunderstanding. Musharraf Takes Up Bombing with Bush: In Islamabad, President Pervez Musharraf made telephonic contact with US President George Bush and Secretary of State Colin Powell on Friday expressing his concern over the inclusion of Pakistan's name in the list of suspected countries and air raids by the US forces in Pakistani territory. Musharraf told Bush that Pakistan is acting as a frontline ally of the US against terrorism. Therefore, Pakistanis residing in the US should be exempted from the registration law. The issue of bombardment of US aircraft in Pakistan's territory also came under discussion and Colin Powell assured Musharraf that such incidents would not be repeated. Meanwhile, Interior Minister Faisal Salsh Hayat has challenged a US military statement that the US forces are allowed to pursue attackers of its forces in Afghanistan into Pakistan."There is no room or legal sanctions for any cross-border operation by US forces to pursue fugitives into Pakistani territory. "There is no question of allowing any hot pursuit into our territory." US Insists on Right to Hot Pursuit: However, US military officials in Afghanistan have once again said that they reserve the right "to cross into Pakistan" in pursuit of Al Qaeda and Taliban fugitives. "US forces reserve the right to pursue enemy attackers across the border to evade retaliation," Capt Alayne Cramer, a spokeswoman for the US forces at the Bagram Air Base near Kabul, said. "Yes, we can enter Pakistan, that's the policy," said Cramer, talking to Dawn by telephone from her base. "But we have deliberately not crossed the border in hot pursuit, the closest we came was on the 29th of December," she added. Kiwis Wrap Up ODI Series (Go To Top) SYDNEY: Dismal performance by batsmen once again let down the Indians and they lost the fourth one dayer against New Zealand at Queenstown on Saturday to hand over the series to them. A five-wicket haul by Andre Adams helped the home side to an easy seven-wicket victory in just 26 overs. (Details) Bihar Opposition on the War Path(Go To Top) PATNA: Opposition parties in Bihar on Saturday threatened to intensify agitation against the recent killing of three students by police. The BJP took out a march in Patna protesting against what it said police crackdown during a shutdown on Friday. The BJP, which is the main opposition party in Bihar, is agitating against the State Government after police allegedly gunned down three students in a fake encounter in Patna last weekend. The State has witnessed widespread violence during the past few days. The BJP-led National Democratic Alliance in the Central Government has decided to intensify the agitation by carrying a series of protests across the State in the next few days. "NDA (National Democratic Alliance) today decided that a committee of NDA will meet the Governor on 6th January ... a series of sit-in protests and fasts will take place in the different districts on 7th. On eight, the day of rituals of three who were killed in police firing, a condolence ceremony will be organised and on 11th January, all the legislators of NDA will march towards Governor house," Sushil Kumar Modi, senior BJP leader and leader of the Opposition in Bihar Assembly, told reporters. The ruling RJD Government has accused the Opposition parties of inciting violence to gain political mileage ahead of crucial provincial and general elections in the country. No Let-up in Cold Wave(Go To Top) VARANASI: Jan 4 The cold wave continues unabated across north India with at least 63 reported dead in Uttar Pradesh alone during the last three days. Most of the victims are the poor, homeless and the aged. So far the maximum number of deaths have been reported from Sonbhadra district where nearly 14 people have died. (Details) Singapore President Nathan Confers with Vajpayee (Go To Top) NEW DELHI: Jan 4 Singapore President SR. Nathan, on an eight-day official visit to India, called on called on Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee during the day and discussed the menace of terrorism. Foreign ministry spokesman Navtej Sarna said the two countries discussed the issue of cross-border terrorism from Pakistan and the recent bombing of a night club in Bali. Nathan had earlier during the day said that Singapore and the South-East Asian countries looked forward to cementing ties with India, at both economic and political levels. Nathan will also visit Bangalore, Hyderabad both booming economic centres and Chennai before returning on January 11. Singapore is India's largest trade and investment partner among the ASEAN nations. Trade turnover between the two countries was 2.2 billion dollars and investment approvals 1.33 billion dollars in 2001-2002. Chinese Spaceship Completes Mission(Go To Top) HONG KONG: China's fourth unmanned spacecraft, expected to be the last before a manned space shuttle is launched, has successfully completed all of its missions, a report from Beijing said Saturday. The Shenzhou IV spaceflight, which blasted off from north-west China on Monday, had gone "quite well" and had fulfilled all its scheduled missions, especially those related to astronaut survival in space. However, the engineer said, the flight can only really be deemed successful after the spacecraft returns to earth and lands with "precision and safety." China Daily said the Shenzhou IV went into space with all the prerequisites for a manned flight and even had spare clothes that astronauts might need to change into. Balloon From Across the Border (Go To Top) MADH (Rajasthan): Jan 4 Authorities in the border village of Madh in Rajasthan on Friday found a balloon carrying anti-India messages. Intelligence officials said the balloon had flown in from neighbouring Pakistan and have traced its owner to be a shopkeeper from Faislabad city. The balloon carried Urdu text. On translation the text was found to be saluting Pakistani forces and also claimed the disputed Kashmir region to be a part of Pakistan. The balloon was first found by a village boy, Ramesh Kumar, who handed it over to the local officials. Kumar claims that the balloon was laced with some chemicals. His claims are yet to be certified by the authorities. "I caught this balloon when it landed into our village from across the border. I rushed and took it to the labourers who were working nearby. When we opened it some kind of a foul smell came out and I felt very suffocating," Kumar said. The village tehsildar or land officer added that the ballon was now in the custody of the police. Incidents of such balloons straying into Indian skies with the winds have been reported in the past. Villagers say even pigeons are caught carrying titbits of propaganda or secret messages. India accuses Pakistan of carrying out subversive activities and pumping in even fake currency in its bid to destabilise India, a charge Islamabad denies. Manali Carnival Wins Many Hearts (Go To Top) MANALI: Hundreds of tourists are thronging a five-day winter carnival currently under way in Manali in Himachal Pradesh. More than 30 teams with around 900 artistes from all over the country won the hearts of the audience with their performances setting an example of cultural unity. The carnival began with a cultural procession attended by participants from Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Pune.(Details) -ANI |