Andhra Pradesh CM killed in chopper crash

A powerful south Indian politician has been killed in a helicopter crash in a densely forested area in Andhra Pradesh state, a cabinet minister said Wednesday.

Y S Rajasekhara Reddy, the chief minister of Andhra Pradesh state, and four senior colleagues who have been missing for more than 24 hours were found dead in an area known as a stronghold for Maoist militants.

‘It is a great loss for the people and the Congress party,’ the minister told AFP, asking not to be named because the news had not been officially announced by the government.

Reddy was a major powerbroker in Indian politics and has been energetically pursuing tie-ups with international investors to turn his state into India's second-largest software hub after Bangalore in neighbouring Karnataka state.

The helicopter went missing more than 24 hours ago, sparking a massive land-and-air search operation.

The air force found the mangled wreckage early Thursday and commandos were lowered to the spot to identify the five bodies, a senior air force official said in New Delhi.

The helicopter was found at the top of a hill 74 kilometres from Kurnool, a dense forest area in Andhra Pradesh.

He is survived by his wife, Vijaya Lakshmi and two children

Pakistan asks India to maintain N-test moratorium

The Foreign Office has urged New Delhi to continue to observe moratorium on nuclear tests and said Pakistan is concerned over reports about India planning new nuclear tests.

‘We hope that the unilateral moratorium on nuclear testing effective since 1998 in the region will continue to be observed. We are obviously disturbed by media reports that India might be considering to conduct additional nuclear tests,’ Foreign Office spokesman Abdul Basit said at his weekly briefing on Thursday.

Mr Basit said: ‘We are against an arms race in South Asia and accordingly we have proposed a restraint regime in the region, which among other things also includes a regional nuclear test ban treaty. Our proposal is still on the table.’

The fears that India may be heading towards yet another nuclear test started after leading nuclear scientist K. Santhanam, who also remained associated with RAW, claimed this week that the 1998 Pokhran thermonuclear explosions were not fully successful and further testing was required to validate the yield.

Observers took the revelation as an attempt to build the case for more tests. The statement by Foreign Office, diplomatic circles here believe, does not address only India, but also attempts to caution Washington about aggressive designs of India with which it has a civilian nuclear cooperation agreement.

The spokesman rejected Indian army chief Gen Deepak Kapoor’s claim that Pakistan was exceeding the degree of deterrence by advancing nuclear technology and strengthening its arsenal.

‘Our policy is to maintain credible deterrence at the minimum possible level.’ However, Mr Basit refused to say what constituted Pakistan’s deterrence threshold. The contours of deterrence, he said, could not be discussed in public.

INDIAN DOSSIER
Mr Basit described the latest dossier given by India to Pakistan on the Mumbai terror attacks as a ‘rehash’ of information provided earlier.

This implied rejection of the dossier which largely dealt with Jamaatud Dawa chief Hafiz Saeed’s alleged role in terrorism.

The dossier which, according to India, contains ‘cogent and credible evidence’ relies largely on statements given by the three detained Mumbai attack accused — Kasab, Sabahuddin and Fahim Nasari, accusing Hafiz Saeed of having supervised the training of terrorists and motivating them through his sermons for attacks against India.

Mr Basit stressed that the trial of those arrested in Pakistan in connection with the Mumbai attacks was progressing and the government was committed to bringing the perpetrators to book.

He regretted Indian unwillingness to resume dialogue with Pakistan on the pretext that there was little progress in the prosecution of Mumbai accused and the will to arrest and interrogate Hafiz Saeed was lacking.

The spokesman said: ‘We can get into public rhetoric |or polemics but at the end of the day, whether we like it or not, we have to come to the negotiating table and, from our viewpoint, sooner the better.’

Airliner with Indian FM on board lands in Karachi

A Delhi-bound Emirates airline flight from Dubai, with Indian External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna and 100 other people on board, landed at Quaid-i-Azam International Airport late on Thursday night in emergency when it ran short of fuel.

According to aviation sources, the flight landed at about 10.45pm after it was denied landing at Delhi airport because of bad weather. They said that after refuelling the plane left for Dubai at 11.35pm.

No one disembarked from the plane during its 50-minute stay, although a protocol officer of the Foreign Office had gone to the airport because of the presence of a foreign dignitary.

Green signal for Karachi Circular Railway

The Executive Committee of the National Economic Council decided on Thursday to revive the Karachi Circular Railway as a modern commuter system at a cost of Rs128.5 billion.

The committee suggested dualisation of railway tracks with the provision of two dedicated tracks along the main lines from Karachi City station to Drigh Road.

The system will have advanced technology to provide facilities of international standard to around 700,000 daily commuters.

The Karachi circular railway, which was set up in the mid-60s, was shut down in 1997 when Pakistan Railways suffered huge losses.

Information Minister Qamar Zaman Kaira told newsmen that tenders would be floated for the project and a third-party valuation would be carried out to ensure transparency.

He rejected a perception that there were differences in the committee over the project and said that a study had been conducted by the Japan International Cooperation Agency and the World Bank.

Official sources said Japan’s ministry of economy, trade & industry would arrange funds for the project through the Japan Bank of International Cooperation.

They said Japan had commissioned a soft loan at a nominal mark-up with a long-term payback time and a grace period of 10 years.

The circular railway will be operated by a semi-autonomous body, the Karachi Urban Transport Corporation.

The Pakistan Railways will have 60 per cent share in the corporation, Sindh government 25 per cent and the City District Government of Karachi 15 per cent.

The Environmental Protection Agency has already approved the environmental impact assessment of the project.

A resettlement plan to clear encroachments from tracks and land of the circular railway has also been approved.

Karachi Nazim Syed Mustafa Kamal welcomed the decision and said an operation would soon be launched to remove encroachments.

Lahore goes on strike against load shedding, oil raise

he traders here are on complete shutter-down strike Saturday against the price hike, load shedding and recent increase in petroleum prices today in the metropolis.

Anjuman Tajiran Pakistan and other trade organizations gave a strike call for complete shutter down and announcement was made urging all the traders to keep all commercial and business centers closed today.

All trade centers at Mall Road, Hall Road, Bandth Road, McLeod Road, Anarkali, Ferozpur Road will remain closed; while, the trade leaders announced to take out protest rallies and stage public gatherings at Hall Road, Mall Road and Kot Lakhpat.

Meantime, Lahore traders have put up banners and posters with slogans against government and Wapda written on them, at Mall Road and all adjoining markets against the unjustified raise in power tariffs, load shedding and hike in petroleum prices.

NJP aimed at indiscriminate provision of justice: CJ

Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Iftikhar Muhammed Chaudhry Saturday said a system based on justice is vital for the good governance, as without it, the progress will remain a dream unfulfilled.

Addressing the inaugural session of conference for implementation on the National Judicial Policy, he said the establishment of democratic institutions could not be materialized without justice.

The CJP said the new judicial policy is aimed at providing people with justice without any fear or greed, adding the policy will further strengthen the independent judiciary and will hammer out such a roadmap that will facilitate speedy justice.

He added the judicial policy will help end to corruption, adding everybody including the rich and the poor is equal in the eye of judiciary.

“We will have to establish strict self-accountability system,” the CJP remarked urging the judges to focus on not taking too long in disposing of the cases.

However, he said the biggest hurdle in fast disposing of the cases is shortage of judicial staff, adding the government should help the judiciary in this connection, as myriads vacancies are lying vacant in banking courts and services tribunal.

CJP Chaudhry maintained, “Our prevalent judicial system has Islamic teachings as the basis and national progress will remain a dream un-materialized without the economic progress.

Blaze breaks out at NATO terminal in Peshawar

The fire has once again broken out at the supply terminal of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)’s allied forces located on Ring Road here early on Thursday, Geo news reported.

The firefighting sources said that the rescue efforts, to bring the fire under control, are underway for some time.

The fire brigade crew was called straightaway in hurry after one of the containers parked, at NATO supply terminal, caught sudden fire meanwhile, two fire tenders are engaged in taming deadly blazes, sources said.

The fire will be soon brought under control, the fire brigade sources claimed.