Awaz Apni

CNews NEW YORK: The United States has allowed Pakistan consular access to Aafia Siddiqui, a Pakistani neuroscientist, who is being held without bail in New York after a federal court Tuesday charged her with attempting to kill F.B.I. agents and other US personnel last month while in Afghan custody, according to well informed sources. Faqir Saeed, a counsellor at the Pakistan Embassady in Washington, is arriving here later Saturday to meet Ms. Siddiqui, who was transferred to New York from Afghanistan on Monday. The exact time for the meeting will be set after consultations with the U.S. authorities, the sources said. Ms. Siddiqui, who has a bullet wound, is awaiting bail hearing on Monday afternoon. Her lawyer, Elizabeth Fink, denied the charges that Judge Ellis of United States District Court read out during her appearance on Tuesday. The criminal complaint claimed that Ms. Siddiqui, who was behind a curtain at the police station, managed to grab a U.S. soldier’s rifle and fire two er...

CNews WASHINGTON: Deputy spokesman of US State Department Tom Casey said has said that the United States would not necessarily oppose a short postponement in the election if all parties agreed it was necessary.However, he said, "We believe it's important that the political process, the process of developing Pakistan's democracy, continue."The Bush administration is counting on Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf going ahead with upcoming parliamentary elections despite Benazir Bhutto's assassination in the hope they will cement steps toward restoring democracy.Proceeding on or about on schedule with the Jan. 8 election through which Bhutto hoped to return to power is the biggest immediate concern in sustaining an American policy of promoting stability, moderation and democracy in the volatile nuclear-armed nation, U.S. officials said.Although Bhutto's death complicates American efforts to broker reconciliation between the opposition and an increasingly unpop...

Soomro to take oath as caretaker PM today (Posted at 0610) ISLAMABAD: The National Assembly of Pakistan has been dissolved on the expiration of its term of five years. President General Pervez Musharraf has appointed Senate Chairman Mohammadmian Soomro as caretaker prime minister. Soomro takes oath under the Provisional Constitution Order (PCO) today (Friday). President General Pervez Musharraf will administer the oath. The president will administer the oath to caretaker prime minister today at 10:00 am. President Musharraf announced his decision at a dinner he hosted in honour of the outgoing Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz and his cabinet here at the Aiwan-e-Sadr on Thursday. Among various members of caretaker cabinet, Senator Nisar Memon would be sworn in as information minister, Senator Dilawar Abbas as petroleum minister, Dr. Salman Shah as minister of finance, Lt. Gen (Rtd) Hamid Nawaz minister of interior, former secretary defence Saleem Abbas Gillani as minister of defence, former...

Elections before Feb 15: President Musharraf (Updated at 1640) ISLAMABAD: President General Pervez Musharraf said that the general elections will be held before February 15, 2008.He also announced to take off his uniform before taking oath as the president for the second time."General elections in the country would be held by February 15 next year," Musharraf was quoted as saying after chairing a meeting of the National Security Council. "The tenures of the national assembly and provincial assemblies were ending on different dates and after studying the option whether to hold elections on separate dates, it was decided to go for holding the election simultaneously on or before February 15, 2008," it quoted him as saying. Musharraf said he was "committed to holding general elections and the transition to full democratic civilian rule in the country," it added. State television also reported that Musharraf renewed his pledge to quit as army chief before taki...

General elections to be held in February: Shujaat (Updated at 1450) ISLAMABAD: Government will hold elections in February and the state of emergency imposed by President Pervez Musharraf will be lifted very soon said President Pakistan Muslim League (PML) chief Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain announced Thursday.He made this announcement while addressing a joint press conference along with parliamentary leader of MQM Farooq Sattar and federal minister for Babar Ghauri.“ The election might be delayed for few weeks if necessary,” he said. “We are making all out efforts to lift the emergency as soon as possible,” Shujaat said. He called upon the allied parties to start preparations for the election. Joint committee of PML and MQM has been formed to launch election campaign, he informed. Lawyers boycott courts in Karachi (Updated at 1515) KARACHI: Karachi lawyers on Thursday continued boycott of the court proceedings against imposition of emergency in the country and condemned the measures taken...

WASHINGTON: Strict U.S. controls over equipment and a failure to provide other equipment, such as spare parts, has impeded Pakistan’s ability to hunt down Taliban and al-Qaeda, a US newspaper reported citing Pakistani officials. According to a report published in a US daily Pakistani officials said Pakistan received 1300 pairs of U.S.-made night-vision goggles that enable them to see and fight al-Qaeda and Taliban insurgents in the dark. The sophisticated goggles were supplied by the Bush administration at a cost of US $6.4 million.But every three months, the troops had to turn in their goggles for two weeks to be inventoried, because the U.S. military wanted to make sure none were stolen, U.S. and Pakistani officials said. Militants perceived a pattern and scurried into the open without fear during the two-week counts.Pakistani officials say that strict U.S. control over equipment and a failure to provide other equipment, such as spare parts, has impeded their ability to hunt down Tal...

CNews WASHINGTON: Three veteran US senators on Wednesday urged Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf to ensure the safety of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto after the deadly attack on her homecoming parade. In an unusual letter to the key US anti-terror ally, Senators Joseph Biden, Joseph Lieberman and Patrick Leahy warned that the suicide bombings, which killed 139 people, reflected risks faced by all candidates in January's elections. "We extend our condolences to you, to the victims' families, and to all of the people of Pakistan," the senators wrote in the letter. "We believe this devastating attack serves as a stark reminder of the need for effective security mechanisms for the protection of all candidates and their supporters (particularly, although not exclusively, Ms. Bhutto and members of her party)." The senators called on Musharraf to provide the level of security to Bhutto offered to any former Pakistani prime minister. They suggested ...

President, PM condemn Karachi bomb blasts CNews ISLAMABAD: President Pervez Musharraf and Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz have strongly condemned two bomb blasts that occured near Karsaz Roundabout in Karachi on Thursday night in the procession being taken out to welcome Benazir Bhutto, Chairperson of Pakistan Peoples Party. The president and the prime minister in their separate messages said they had been deeply shocked by the dastardly act. President Musharraf said he condemned this attack in the strongest possible words. He said this was a conspiracy against democracy. He prayed for eternal peace of the departed souls and fortitude to the bereaved families. The president appealed to the nation and especially the people of Karachi to exercise patience and calm in this hour. The president said the government would take every step to trace the culprits and award them exemplary punishment. He expressed deep sympathy with the wounded and prayed for their early recovery. He said the governmen...

CNews WASHINGTON: Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz said Sunday that President Pervez Musharraf would quit army office and have a single office which will be the civilian president of Pakistan after being sworn in as such. Interviewed on a US-based news television, Aziz also insisted that President Musharraf would abide by a promise to shed his army uniform following a recent election that was boycotted by opposition parties. He said former premier Benazir Bhutto is free to return to Pakistan even if past corruption charges may return to haunt her. As Bhutto prepares to return home from self-exile on Thursday, Aziz said "she is free to come and, you know, the laws of the land will apply to her, like any other citizen of Pakistan." "The people have had a strong reaction to removal of corruption cases against Miss Bhutto," Aziz said, while insisting that her case differed from that of another former prime minister, Nawaz Sharif. The prime minister told the news TV that Mush...

CNews TEHRAN: Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, urged Arab nations on Saturday to boycott a Middle East peace meeting in the United States. "The United States took the initiative for this meeting to save the Zionist regime (Israel), which received a beating at the hands of Hezbollah," during the war last year, Khamenei told a crowd of hundreds of thousands at Iran's Grand Mosque. "Every conference that has been organised in the name of peace has harmed the Palestinians," he said, in a speech to mark Iran's celebration of the Eid al-Fitr holiday that follows the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan. "As the Palestinians themselves are not participating in this conference, how can the others (Arab states) do so," he asked, as the crowds chanted slogans against America and Israel.

CNews WASHINGTON: Pakistan's rugged tribal zones are the alleged hideout of Osama bin Laden and home to an array of militant factions -- and if history is any judge, subduing them will be a bloody struggle. Three days of some of the deadliest clashes since the fall of neighbouring Afghanistan's Taliban regime in 2001 have left around 200 militants and 45 soldiers dead, along with an unknown number of civilians. Al-Qaeda has regrouped in the pine-dotted region, according to the United States, while militant sources say bin Laden's son and possible successor, Hamza, has recently arrived there. At its heart is a nexus between mainly Arab Al-Qaeda agents and local tribesmen who either support the Taliban or directly take part in attacks on security forces in both Afghanistan and Pakistan. A recent bout of militant infighting that claimed 300 lives in South Waziristan exposed some of the shadowy dealings in the region. Pakistani pro-Taliban rebels took on other militants led by ...

CNews WASHINGTON: The White House reiterated that Pakistan's president, Pervez Musharraf, had been a helpful ally in fighting terrorism and Pakistan offered sacrifices in the war against terrorism; accordingly, Washington will continue cooperation with Musharraf government. The White House released its new homeland security plan Tuesday, which it said "incorporates lessons learned from exercises and real-world catastrophes." "This strategy is a national strategy and not simply a federal strategy," Frances Townsend, President George W. Bush's homeland security adviser, told reporters at the White House. "We have enjoyed some of our biggest successes with our allies in Pakistan," Townsend said. She said the arrests of many top Al-Qaeda leaders have been made possible only with the cooperation of Pakistan. Townsend said Pakistan extended its cooperation to Britain to foil Al-Qaeda terrorist designs. Asked how the new report differs from an earlier Nat...

CNews WASHINGTON: Pakistan's rugged tribal zones are the alleged hideout of Osama bin Laden and home to an array of militant factions -- and if history is any judge, subduing them will be a bloody struggle. Three days of some of the deadliest clashes since the fall of neighbouring Afghanistan's Taliban regime in 2001 have left around 200 militants and 45 soldiers dead, along with an unknown number of civilians. Al-Qaeda has regrouped in the pine-dotted region, according to the United States, while militant sources say bin Laden's son and possible successor, Hamza, has recently arrived there. At its heart is a nexus between mainly Arab Al-Qaeda agents and local tribesmen who either support the Taliban or directly take part in attacks on security forces in both Afghanistan and Pakistan. A recent bout of militant infighting that claimed 300 lives in South Waziristan exposed some of the shadowy dealings in the region. Pakistani pro-Taliban rebels took on other militants led by ...

WASSHINTON: The US military said Tuesday it expected Al-Qaeda to continue its "re-emergence" in sanctuaries in Pakistan's tribal areas from where it supported attacks in Afghanistan. Sanctuary was provided to Al-Qaeda and Taliban rebels after Islamabad signed a peace deal with militants in a desperate attempt to quell the unrest in its federally administered areas in September 2006, a US military official said. The militants called off the deal in July this year after Pakistani security forces raided a radical mosque in Islamabad where rebels had massed. Dozens were killed in those raids. "This area remains a support and sanctuary area for the insurgency as results of those peace accords," US Major Tim Williams, future operations intelligence planner, told reporters at Bagram Air Field, the main US base in Afghanistan. He said the Islamic rebels were likely to maintain their presence in those areas despite apparent efforts by Pakistani army to root them out. ...