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Pak asks US to back off from internal affairs

         Islamabad: Pakistan has warned the US not to interfere in its internal affairs as well as the judicial process. The country's foreign office on Friday said that such interference would not be tolerated. Reacting to a statement made by the US State Department spokesman Richard Boucher and to a demarche by the US embassy here a few days ago regarding the trial of PML-N leader Javed Hashmi, Foreign Office spokesman Masood Khan said: "The US statement is not only unwarranted and misplaced, but is tantamount to interference in the internal affairs and the judicial process of Pakistan." Khan said Pakistan's protest was conveyed to the US embassy in Islamabad Friday, The News reported. The spokesman also reminded Washington of its policies which, lately in the name of national interest, were a clear departure from its own laws and international norms.

          "It was also conveyed to the US embassy that the US government had taken several steps to protect its national security, including detentions as well as trials in camera, constituting a departure from its own laws and international norms. But Pakistan has not commented on these cases or the procedures adopted to handle them." He added: "We hope that the US will desist from issuing statements on the internal matters and the judicial process of Pakistan." Quoting diplomatic sources, the paper also said that the country's Ministry of Foreign Affairs had served its own demarche to Larry Robinson, political councillor at the US embassy. Robinson represented his government when he served Pakistan with the earlier demarche.

Bosnian involved in Madrid train attacks surrenders (Go To Top)

          London: A Bosnian man wanted by the Spanish authorities in connection with the March 11 train attacks has turned himself in to police. Sanel Sjekirica, 24, announced his intention to surrender to the Spanish police in an interview given in Sweden on Wednesday. He arrived at the Madrid-Barajas airport aboard a KLM commercial flight from Amsterdam, and was immediately taken into custody by plain clothed police officers. The bomb explosions on four trains took place on March 11, resulting in the death of 191 people and injuries to over 1000 more. The then Spanish Interior Minister Angel Acebes was quoted by an international news agency as saying that the militant Basque separatist group ETA had carried out the attacks on the commuter trains. Acebes, however, revealed later revealed that an Islamic tape had been found with detonators in a stolen van recovered near Madrid. The van was found in the town of Alcala de Henares from where three of the four trains had originated. The other train passed through the town.

Pak Air Force to induct Chinese JF-17 aircraft by 2006 (Go To Top)

          Islamabad: The Pakistan Air Force will induct eight JF-17 (Thunder) aircraft jointly manufactured by Pakistan and China by the middle of 2006. Disclosing this development, Air Vice-Marshal Shahid Lateef, the director of the JF-17 project, said: "The JF-17 aircraft is superior to the existing fleet of F-16 aircraft now with the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) as far its overall potential and capability is concerned." "We are in dire need of enhancing combat capability of the Pakistan Air Force (PAF).We will gradually acquire self- sufficiency in manufacturing JF-17 aircraft in Pakistan," he was quoted by The News as saying. He said that by mid-2006 Pakistan would manufacture 16 aircraft, out of which eight would be for China Air Force. "This is the third prototype JF-17 aircraft to be manufactured as the second aircraft was manufactured only for ground tests, therefore, presently only two aircraft are flying," he added. He also said that Pakistan has requested China to prepare an avionics package for Pakistan according to its requirements.

Daniel Pearl murder suspect arrested (Go To Top)

          Lahore: Two suspected militants, including a man wanted in connection with the abduction and murder of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl, have been arrested in separate raids by the Special Intelligence Unit SIU) of the Punjab Police. Malik Tasaddaq, 28, was arrested in the Punjab province on suspicion of involvement in Pearl's killing, claimed the Punjab Inspector General Police, Saadatullah Khan. Pearl was kidnapped January 23, 2002 in Karachi and was later killed in captivity. According to the News, Tasaddaq and Nadir Khan, who were detained in a separate raid in Punjab, allegedly belong to the defunct Lashkar-e-Jhangvi. The North West Frontier Province police wanted Nadir, 30, for his alleged role in the killing AIG Traffic Police Farooq Haider and Anwar Ali Akhundzada, general secretary of defunct Threek-e- Jafria. Four militants have already been convicted of kidnapping Pearl, but seven other suspects, including those who allegedly slit his throat in front of a video camera, remain at large. Nadir and Tasaddaq each carried a reward of Rs. one million for information leading to their arrest.

Police bust illegal arms factory in Meerut (Go To Top)

          Meerut: Police in Meerut have bust an illegal arms factory, ahead of the national elections beginning next week. They have also arrested one man in this connection. The police, after getting a tip-off, on Friday recovered 12 party manufactured pistols, some cartridge and other acessories required to make a weapon. Ram Yadav, the police officer in- charge, said that the man arrested admitted that the illegal arms were made on the demand by politicians. "We raided the place and recovered about 12 partly manufactured pistols, some cartridges and other instruments. A person, Tilak who has been arrested said that he was making illegal arms on the demand from politicians," he said. Tilak, the accused said that the illegal arms were very much in demand during elections.

          Uttar Pradesh, which contributes the maximum number of lawmakers to the parliament, is the country's most politically sensitive. Local mafia often use unlicensed weapons to threaten voters and rig elections. Illegal arms-manufacturing is particularly thriving in the state, which has gained the epithet of the crime capital of the country. Though elections in India are conducted by the Election commission, rigging is often reported, where criminal gangs intimidate voters.

BSP leader shot dead (Go To Top)

         Gorakhpur: The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) leader Ram Bharat SIngh was on Saturday shot dead in Sajnawa Sub- division in Gorakhpur. According to sources, four unidentified men armed with pistols came on motorcycle and fired indiscriminately killing Ram Bharat Singh and injuring one of his relatives. Police however negated election related violence and cited an old personal enmity. Meanwhile, police has launched a search operation to trace the killers.