Haqqani fears his life is in danger

Pakistan's former ambassador to the US Husain Haqqani. — File photo

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s former ambassador to the United States, Husain Haqqani, said he feared he would be killed if he were to leave the official residence of Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani.
In an exclusive interview with The Daily Telegraph, Haqqani said he had only left the prime minister’s residence on three occasions and with a heavy security escort.
“I’m a guest of the prime minister with whom I have had a long-standing political association. There are clear security concerns given the hysteria generated against me. Staying at the prime minister’s house is the safest option,” Haqqani said.
“My good friend Salman Taseer was killed by a security guard because he heard in the media that the governor had blasphemed. I’m being called a traitor and an American lackey in the media with the clear encouragement of certain powerful quarters even though I’ve not been charged legally with anything,” he told The Daily Telegraph.
Haqqani further said that the allegations that were being levelled against him were unfounded and were a part of a “psychological war” against the government by “certain powerful quarters”.
“The president and prime minister are firmly standing behind me and the government is not going anywhere. This is psychological warfare against the government,” he was quoted by The Daily Telegraph as saying.
Earlier in November, Haqqani had resigned from the position of Pakistan’s envoy to the US, days after American businessman Mansoor Ijaz accused him of being behind a memo which said that the military was plotting a coup and appealed to the Pentagon to help ward it off.

China: Bird flu death not from human-human spread

BEIJING: The strain of H5H1 bird flu that killed a Chinese man cannot spread among people, a health agency said on Monday, appealing for calm after the country’s first reported case of the disease in humans in 18 months.
Genetic analysis indicated the virus spread directly from poultry to the victim, who died Saturday in the southern city of Shenzhen, the Shenzhen Disease Control Center said in a statement reported by the official Xinhua News Agency.
”Though it is highly pathogenic to human beings, the virus can not spread among people,” the statement said, according to Xinhua. ”There is no need for Shenzhen citizens to panic.”
H5N1 rarely infects humans and usually only those who come into close contact with diseased poultry. Scientists are closely watching the virus for any signs it is becoming more easily transmissible from human to human.
A 39-year-old bus driver surnamed Chen developed a fever December 21 and was hospitalized December 25, according to an earlier statement by city and provincial authorities.
The provincial health department said Health Ministry experts confirmed on Saturday that he was infected with H5N1.
Xinhua said health authorities still were trying to figure out where he was infected.
The Guangdong health department has said 120 people who had close contact with Chen have not developed any abnormal symptoms.
The World Health Organization says globally 336 people have died from 573 confirmed bird flu cases since 2003.
Of these, 40 cases were in China, 26 of which were fatal.
Chen’s death was a week after two dead birds tested positive for the virus in Hong Kong, which is just across a river from Shenzhen.
More than 19,000 birds at a Hong Kong market were slaughtered and imports and sales of live poultry were banned for three weeks after a chicken carcass tested positive for H5N1.
Lab tests later confirmed that an Oriental magpie robin found dead on December 17 was also infected.
China’s last reported human case of H5N1 was in June 2010. A pregnant 22-year-old woman from central Hubei province died after being exposed to sick and dead poultry

President calls for expediting urea supply

KARACHI: President Asif Ali Zardari on Tuesday directed the authorities concerned to expedite offloading and transportation of imported urea currently clogged up at the Gwadar port, so that the availability of the commodity in far flung areas could be ensured, its rising price controlled and the imported stocks protected from the impact of extreme weather.
He also directed the National Fertilizer Marketing Ltd. (NFML) to speed up the process of transportation and distribution while ensuring transparency in the distribution process.
The president issued the directive during a briefing, held at the Bilawal House, on the current position of supply and prices of urea and rice in the province.
He was informed that so far 700,000 tonnes of imported urea had arrived at the Gwadar port and 480,000 tonnes had been offloaded. The president asked for all efforts to resolve the operational limitations as any adverse change in the weather might cause damage to the imported urea at the port.
He was also informed that the Trading Corporation of Pakistan (TCP) had offered support to NFML for the transportation of 200,000 tonnes of urea to an upcountry destination at the rate and terms set by the marketing company. The issue of the province-wise share in the distribution of urea also came under consideration.
In the briefing, it was stated that according to the Rice Exporters Association of Pakistan (REAP), roughly 500,000 tonnes of Irri-6 rice was at present available in the market.
It was also noted that TCP at present was not involved in local procurement, price mechanism or export of rice and that it would intervene only if required by the government to do so.
President’s spokesman Farhatullah Babar told the media that in a separate meeting that followed the briefing, President Zardari reviewed the position of communication network that was partially or completely destroyed in the July 2010 high floods.
Mr Babar said the meeting was informed that as a result of the floods, extensive damage was caused to the National Highway network throughout the country badly affecting roads, bridges, culverts, retaining walls, causeways etc.
It was also informed that approximately 800 kilometres — around 6.6 per cent of the total 12,131 kilometres — of the National Highway network was either completely or partially destroyed and 46 bridges sustained damage.
The National Highway Authority (NHA) chairman informed the president that NHA had completed the ‘Damage Need Assessment (DNA)’ and provided details to donor’s (Asian Development Bank), the leading agency in the communication/transport sector.
The president was also informed that the damage was assessed and put at around Rs18.38 billion while the estimated cost of restoration was put at Rs22.41 billion excluding the cost of social and environment impact safeguards, cost of land, cost of design and escalation etc.
He was told that Chinese consultants had started design surveys and that the design of the south section would be completed by the current month; the design of the north section would be completed by Feb; and the construction work would commence by the first week of March.
The president directed NHA to assist the Chinese consultants and contractors working on these projects, provide them with the historical data and also ensure their security.
Those who attended the briefing and meetings included Chief Minister Sindh Syed Qaim Ali Shah, provincial ministers, federal secretaries and NHA and TCP chairmen.
Representatives of the Chinese consultants and contractors were also present.

Kallis, Peterson dominate Sri Lanka on first day

CAPE TOWN: Jacques Kallis and Alviro Petersen hit centuries as South Africa dominated the first day of the third and final Test against Sri Lanka at Newlands on Tuesday.

South Africa were 347 for three at the close after being sent in to bat.
Kallis, playing in his 150th Test match, was on 159 not out. He and Petersen (109) put on 205 for the third wicket, a record for South Africa against Sri Lanka.
It was a triumphant return to his home town for Kallis after making the first ‘pair’ of his career during South Africa’s defeat in the second Test in Durban. He was in imperious form as he reached his half-century off 37 balls and his century off 114 deliveries with 17 fours.
His scoring rate slowed later in the day and by the close he had faced 215 balls and hit 21 fours and a six.
It was Kallis’ 41st Test century, his ninth at Newlands – and his first against Sri Lanka. He joined Gary Kirsten, the current coach, as the only South Africans to hit centuries against all nine possible Test opponents.
Petersen scored a century on his debut against India in Kolkata in 2009/10 but made only three half-centuries in eight subsequent appearances and was replaced as captain Graeme Smith’s opening partner by Jacques Rudolph at the start of this season.
Rudolph was shifted to number six in the batting order to make way for Petersen, who was rewarded for strong domestic form.
Petersen took full advantage of his recall with an authoritative innings which included 13 fours and a six.
He saw two partners leave early, with both Smith and Hashim Amla falling to fast bowler Dhammika Prasad, who replaced the injured Dilhara Fernando.
There was an anxious wait for Petersen, who was stuck on 99 during the tea break. But he went to his century in the first over after the resumption, off 165 balls, before playing a loose drive to be caught by Sri Lankan captain Tillekeratne Dilshan at cover off the left-arm opening bowler Chanaka Welegedara.
With the series tied at 1-1, Dilshan gambled by sending South Africa in.
Hopes that a green-tinged pitch would help his fast bowlers were soon shown to be mistaken, while early morning cloud soon cleared on what became an ideal day for batting.
After their early successes, the Sri Lankans seldom looked likely to take a wicket and they squandered their allocation of reviews when umpire Richard Kettleborough twice gave Kallis not out when Chanaka Welegedera appealed for leg before wicket decisions.
On both occasions the umpire was shown to be right.
Prasad struck with his first delivery of the match when Smith attempted a forcing shot off the back foot and edged the ball into his stumps.
He had a second success when Amla played across the line and was leg before wicket. But Prasad proved expensive and finished the day with figures of two for 85 from 14 overs.
Both teams made two changes. For Sri Lanka, Prasad replaced Fernando, while Lahiru Thirimanne was selected as an opening batsman ahead of Tharanga Paranavitana.
Rudolph’s move to number six was at the expense of Ashwell Prince, while opening bowler Vernon Philander replaced Marchant de Lange after recovering from the knee injury which kept him out of the second Test.
Kallis became the sixth player in the world to appear in 150 Test matches.

Why’s it so hard to say ‘sorry’?

I WAS in the United States when the deadly Nato attack on two Pakistani border posts killed 24 soldiers.
When asked by a radio interviewer to explain the furious reaction in Pakistan, I responded by asking him how Americans would have reacted had a similar number of their soldiers been killed by Pakistani troops.
I went on to suggest that US politicians from both parties would have demanded immediate retaliation. They would certainly have rejected a Pakistani offer to investigate such an incident, and the public and the media would have put huge pressure on the Obama administration to bomb targets in Pakistan.
The truth is that both countries are now so suspicious of each other that neither is willing to accept the other’s version of events. But by refusing to participate in the American inquiry, our generals have made it clear that they are not interested in reaching the truth, but in scoring points.
The report produced by the American inquiry into the incident makes it clear that to a large extent, the Nov 27 tragedy was entirely avoidable. Neither side transmitted crucial information to the other because of the trust deficit between them. And even when it became clear to the American side that their soldiers had attacked a Pakistani security post, it took 45 minutes for the information to reach senior officers who immediately ordered a halt.
However, to read criminal intent into this chain of events is to enter the world of self-delusion and paranoia. What could the Americans possibly gain by deliberately killing Pakistani soldiers? Many conspiracy theorists assert that Washington wanted to “teach Pakistan a lesson”.
A lesson about what, though? That they have overwhelming military superiority? Surely that point was driven home in the May 2 raid in Abbotabad that took out Osama bin Laden without our bloated military and security apparatus even being aware of the two-hour long American presence.
Even our jingoistic TV chat show hosts would recognise the fact that the Americans need Pakistani cooperation to conduct the war in Afghanistan. As the long queues of Nato container trucks currently lining roads leading out of Karachi will attest, the US needs the supply routes through Pakistan to supply its troops. In addition, Pakistan permits American planes to use its airspace. Other areas of cooperation include intelligence sharing and the use of the Shamsi airbase.
Given all this, why would the Americans jeopardise an already prickly relationship with its reluctant ally by deliberately killing our soldiers? This interpretation of the events of Nov 27 makes absolutely no sense.
But what also makes no sense is the American refusal to apologise. What would it cost Obama to just say sorry so both sides can move on? After all, the official inquiry report does contain a pretty damning list of procedural flaws and tactical errors committed by American troops and their commanders.
True, the report does allege that Pakistani soldiers mistakenly engaged a joint Afghan-US patrol close to the border; but it also makes it clear that Pakistan had not been informed of the operation, so our soldiers apparently mistook them for intruding Taliban fighters. This led inexorably to the tragic chain of events that has caused a deep — and possibly irreparable — rupture in our relations with Washington.
Given the high stakes involved, why don’t the Americans just apologise? In England, I notice that even when somebody accidentally bumps against a pedestrian on a pavement, both apologise repeatedly. Even if a person is not at fault, he’ll still say ‘sorry’.
The Americans have already expressed their regrets over the incident. Why can’t they just take the small step necessary to turn this into a formal apology? As they have already offered to pay compensation to the families of the dead soldiers — an offer rejected by our generals — it isn’t that an apology would have any financial implications.
An apology often disarms the other person. The other day, a driver accidentally reversed into our car, causing a small dent.
But before I could berate him for his stupidity and demand the cost of repairs, he accepted it was entirely his fault, and apologised. After that, I found it hard to stay angry, and left, advising him to be more careful in the future.
An American apology would allow both sides to press the reset button on their relationship and salvage a measure of cooperation, if not cordiality. It would also enable US and Pakistani military representatives to sit down and exchange information about the precise location of security posts, and of patrols carried out on both sides of the border. They could also work out better and quicker communication protocols.
Thus far, mistrust has prevented an open exchange of information, but having seen how deadly this can prove to be, it is high time for greater openness. Unfortunately, both sides are insisting on behaving like sulky kids: each feels wronged and refuses to take the steps necessary to bridge the gap.
One would have thought that being a superpower, America would have the self-confidence to apologise without feeling diminished. But sadly, it seems wisdom does not necessarily go hand in hand with power.
Pakistan’s relationship with America has always been a transactional one. There is no common ground that unites them. Only self-interest has bound them together in a series of alliances over the years. The Pakistan military, in particular, harbours a number of grievances against its American benefactor, and has succeeded in disseminating them widely, thanks to its close links with sections of the media.
Our powerful generals have made their displeasure known by a series of steps, including the embargo slapped on the transit of Nato supplies, the shutdown of the Shamsi airbase, and a halt in coordination between the two sides at the Pak-Afghan border.
We also boycotted the Bonn conference on Afghanistan.
Now, the ball’s in the American court. The easy way out would be to just say ‘sorry’ and move on.

Afghan Taliban confirm ‘initial agreement’ to open overseas office

KABUL: The Taliban on Tuesday confirmed they had come to an “initial agreement” to open a political office overseas as part of peace talks with the United States.
In a statement published on their purported website ‘Voice of Jihad’, the Taliban said they had held “preliminary talks with relevant sides, including Qatar” to open an office outside Afghanistan.
“We are right now ready…to have a political office overseas, in order to have an understanding with the international (community), and in this regard we have reached an initial understanding with Qatar and relevant sites,” spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said in an emailed statement.
The statement reiterated the stance that all foreign troops must leave Afghanistan to end the war.
The Taliban have also asked for the release of prisoners held by the US at the Guantanamo Bay military prison.
The Taliban office is seen by Western and Afghan officials as key to moving forward with secretive attempts to reach a negotiated end to a decade of war in Afghanistan.

Hu warns Chinese culture being “Westernised”

BEIJING: Chinese President Hu Jintao has warned that “hostile” powers are seeking to “Westernise” the country and called for greater efforts to enhance China’s cultural influence overseas.
Hu’s remarks published in the latest edition of Communist Party magazine Seeking the Truth come after Beijing ordered the culture industry – taken to include the media – to lift its game as China pushes its “soft power” abroad.
“Hostile international powers are strengthening their efforts to Westernise and divide us,” Hu wrote in the article, noting “ideological and cultural fields” are their main targets.
“We must be aware of the seriousness and complexity of the struggles and take powerful measures to prevent and deal with them.”Hu also called for greater efforts to develop Chinese culture to meet the “growing spiritual and cultural demands of the people” in China.
“The overall strength of Chinese culture and its international influence is not commensurate with China’s international status,” Hu said. “The international culture of the West is strong while we are weak.”
Hu’s comments are the latest in a series of directives from Communist Party leaders seeking to tighten their control over the Internet and media industry.
For the past decade Beijing has been encouraging state-run media to be more competitive and less reliant on state subsidies, which has led to more critical reporting and racier programming as outlets compete for readers and viewers.
But the trend towards more free-wheeling reporting, the growth of reality television programmes and the explosion of microblogging sites has undermined official efforts to control public opinion.
It has also unnerved authorities who have seen previously obedient media outlets criticise their decisions and defy orders to toe the Communist Party line.
In October, Communist leaders ordered stricter control of social networking sites and better supervision of the media to “improve positive publicity” and guide public opinion on “hot and hard social issues”.
The following month the country’s media watchdog said that advertisements would be prohibited during television dramas from this year, as it looks to exert more control over television and woo back viewers lost to the Internet.
Beijing has also earmarked 45 billion yuan ($7.2 billion) to fund the expansion of state-owned media groups including CCTV, Xinhua and China Radio International, according to previous reports.