Extracts.
Pakistan Opposes Extended US Operations. Foreign Minister Abdul Sattar on Sunday expressed concern about an extended US operation in neighbouring Afghanistan, and confirmed that Islamabad had asked Washington to hold back on bombing to keep the Northern Alliance from taking Kabul. Sattar also said that Afghanistan's King Zahir Shah, who was overthrown in 1973, would be acceptable to Pakistan as head of a broad-based government once the Taliban are ousted. "I think the longer this operation lasts, the greater the damage, collateral damage," Sattar, speaking from Islamabad, told ABC's "This Week" programme. "And the larger the number of Afghan refugees that enter Pakistan, the greater will be the worry and concern in Pakistan." Sattar also said reports that Pakistan had asked the United States to hold back on bombing front-line Taliban forces to stop the Northern Alliance from taking Kabul were "substantially true". "At this time for the minority ethnic group in the Northeast to march down to the south, capture Kabul, will destabilise an already volatile situation," he said. Sattar said Pakistan supported UN efforts to create a process to build a broad-based multi-ethnic government after the war. He said that Afghan King Zahir Shah would be acceptable to Pakistan as head of such a government in spite of his association with the Northern Alliance. "We have nothing against the Northern Alliance," he said. "The question really is that there should be a balance, namely that the ethnic communities should be represented in the future government." The minister said that Pakistan would support the presence of UN foreign forces in Kabul if needed to make a multi-ethnic government work. But they did not have to be exclusively Islamic forces, he said. "If the government needs the presence of foreign forces under the umbrella of the United Nations, I think it should be the duty of one of us to help them," he said. "Whether they are all Islamic forces or not is a different matter." Concerning the region of Kashmir that is fiercely contested by Pakistan and India, Sattar said that the United Nations could help strike up a dialogue between the two nations. "The United States, along with other members of the Security Council of the United Nations, can help recommence a dialogue between Pakistan and India, so that we can attempt to arrive at the solution acceptable to the people of Kashmir," he said. US Secretary of State Colin Powell is due to arrive in Islamabad on Monday for talks with Pakistani officials which will include the subject of Kashmir. **** US Warplanes Raid Kabul, Other Cities of Afghanistan Sunday. US warplanes Sunday morning launched air strikes for seven straight day on Afghanistan's ruling Taliban, according to reports from Kabul,capital of Afghanistan. The reports quoted the Taliban Information Ministry as saying that US aircraft had bombed and fired missiles in attacks at Kabul and four cities -- Mazar-e-Sharif, Kandahar, Jalabad and Kabul. In a related development, a major part of Kabul's communication links with the rest of world has been seriously disrupted by US bombing campaign which started on October 7. **** China Steps up Mail Inspections after Anthrax Scare in US. Chinese quarantine departments have issued orders to step up inspections on overseas mail after several letters suspected to contain the deadly anthrax bacterium were discovered in the United States, the Beijing Youth Daily reported Sunday. Routine regulations on the quarantine and health inspections on express mail will be strictly enforced, while inspection of sample items, gifts and non-commercial items will be stepped up, the report said, citing the State Administration for Entry-Exit Inspection and Quarantine. All other incoming and outgoing express mail would be subject to random checks, it said. The United States was gripped by mounting fears of bioterrorism after one man died and several others tested positive for anthrax, while envelopes containing suspicious substances were sent to several organizations. **** Twelve Americans Tested Positive for Anthrax. Eleven Americans have been tested positive for anthrax since a Florida photo editor died of the inhalation anthrax early this month. Totally, 12 anthrax positive results were reported in the United States in a short period of less than half month. Among them, eight were from The Sun, a Florida-based supermarket tabloid published by American Media Inc. and one from NBC News in New York City. The newest three positive results for anthrax were found Sunday on a New York police officer and two laboratory technicians involved in the NBC anthrax investigation. A letter sent from Malaysia to Microsoft's Nevada office in southwest U.S. was confirmed Saturday containing anthrax spores, and four of the six people who contacted the letter were tested negative. The other two people's testing results will be available on Monday. In Washington, Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson said he considered the anthrax cases in Florida, New York and Nevada, to be instances of bioterrorism And Attorney General John Ashcroft said it was premature to tell whether there is a direct link between the anthrax cases with Osama bin Laden's terrorist network. **** Al Qaeda Group Vows to Hit US and British Interests. Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda group vowed on Sunday to hit US and British interests in retaliation for US-led strikes against Afghanistan, warning Americans and Britons to avoid planes and skyscrapers. In a statement broadcast on Qatar's al-Jazeera television, Qaeda spokesman Sulaiman Bu Ghaith also told US and British "infidels" to leave the Gulf, or else "fire will flare underneath their feet". In Washington, a White House spokeswoman said the Bush administration dismissed the threats as "propaganda". Earlier, Bush said in a radio address that the US government was taking "strong precautions" to protect Americans at home and abroad from more terror attacks. Bu Ghaith's comments were the second set of warnings al Qaeda made to the United States in the past week. "We tell (President George) Bush and others in the US administration that the storms will not stop, particularly the storm of hijacked planes, until the strikes against Afghanistan end and until Palestinian land is liberated," Bu Ghaith said. Bin Laden has tried to use the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and UN sanctions on Iraq to rally Muslim support for his anti-Western campaign. "We also advise Americans and Britons, especially Muslims, children and all those who oppose US policy, not to ride planes or live in high buildings," he said. Qaeda Slams Muslim, US leaders The United States and Britain launched military raids on Afghanistan last week against bin Laden and his Taliban protectors. Washington has named the Saudi-born militant as its prime suspect in the September 11 suicide plane attacks on US cities which killed nearly 6,000 people. Bu Ghaith, a Kuwaiti known for outspoken criticism of his own pro-Western government and other Arab states, told Bush, his father George Bush, and the prime ministers of Britain and Israel that they would pay dearly for killing Muslims. He did not elaborate. "Bush and his father and (Britain's) Tony Blair and (Israel's Ariel) Sharon are on the top of the list of criminals who have committed the most heinous crimes against Muslims," Bu Ghaith, who sports a thick and bushy beard, said. "The blood of these Muslims will not be spilled in vain." The Qaeda spokesman also slammed leaders of Muslims countries for not condemning the strikes against Afghanistan and said they were illegitimate. He was apparently referring to a statement issued by the world's largest Muslim body, the Organisation of Islamic Conference, this week which denounced the attacks on US cities but not the raids on Afghanistan. "We salute the Muslims who have gone out and demonstrated against this strike, but the Muslim leaders have no legitimacy and they do not represent the Muslim umma (nations)," Bu Ghaith said. "There are thousands of youth who are ready to die." Anti-US demonstrations have raged in several Muslim countries, but most Muslim governments have either backed the US-led attacks or remained silent. Earlier, Taliban spiritual leader Mullah Mohammad Omar said in a statement that the world's Muslims had to decide between supporting Afghanistan and the United States. He also reiterated that bin Laden would never be handed over. **** Security Tightened for Safety of APEC Meetings: Spokesperson. China has strengthened security measures to ensure the safety of all involved in the upcoming meetings of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), Zhang Qiyue, spokeswoman of the China Secretariat for APEC 2001, said Sunday. Zhang said at a news briefing here that relevant departments have allocated more than 10,000 security guards for the protection of key conference venues, hotels and other related facilities in Shanghai. According to Zhang, during the meetings, China will tighten air traffic control and surveillance in certain air space, and increase patrol of the waters near Shanghai. All necessary security measures have been taken "not only for the economic leaders of the APEC economies but also for all" involved in the meetings, Zhang said. She said that the Chinese government attaches great importance to the APEC meetings. Chinese President Jiang Zemin and other senior leaders have paid close attention to the preparatory work. "All has been ready" for the opening of the meetings, Zhang said, adding that with the joint efforts made by all involved, it can be expected that the 2001 APEC meetings "will be spectacular". Starting from tomorrow, the fourth senior officials meeting will be held, followed by dual ministerial meeting, APEC CEO summit, APEC Business Advisory Council meeting, and the APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting. ***** Jacobabad of South Pakistan Closed as Demonstrations go Violent. Major roads leading to Jacobabad, southern Pakistan, had been closed, and anyone trying to reach the city was being checked thoroughly, according to reports reaching Sunday. The police fired teargas and warning shots to disperse angry demonstrators who were protesting U.S.-led airstrikes against neighboring Afghanistan and its use of the local airport. Reports said a total of 349 powerful demonstration leaders were arrested by the authorities. The demonstrators in their thousands collected outside a hotel in the central part of the city and began moving toward Jacobabad Air Base. Heavily armed police who had virtually sealed off the city patrolled the streets where angry demonstrators responded by throwing stones and shouting. A jeep filled with paramilitary troops also was attacked. U.S.-led forces began the second week of airstrikes against Afghanistan Sunday for its refusal to hand over Osama bin Laden, the prime suspect of the 9.11 terror attacks in the United States. However, the ruling Taliban of Afghanistan rejected U.S. demand for turning over bin Laden the second time Sunday. Stating that that it would not "hand over anybody" to the U.S., the Taliban said the U.S. had not provided "solid evidence" that bin Laden was behind the terror attack. **** China to Issue White Paper on Poverty Reduction in Rural China. China will issue a white paper on its development-oriented poverty reduction program Monday morning. The white paper, entitled "The Development-Oriented Poverty Reduction Program for Rural China", will be released by the Information Office of the State Council. The 20,000-word white paper consists of five parts, namely, the course and achievements of the aid-the-poor program, policy guarantee for the aid-the-poor program, major contents and channels of the aid-the-poor program, the aid-the-poor program for the special groups among the impoverished, the aid-the-rural poor program in the early period of the 21st century. ***** Cambodia's Royal Air Cambodge to Stop All Flights. The Royal Air Cambodge of Cambodia would stop all its flights from October 16, 2001 because of heavy loss, the police at the Phnom Penh Pochentong International Airport said Sunday. The Royal Air Cambodge, the largest airline in Cambodia, is a joint venture with the Malaysia Airline, whose flights fly from Phnom Penh to Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, Ho Chi Minh City, Guangzhou and Hong Kong. Its flights to Ho Chi Minh City suspended a month ago. Since the Cambodian airline began its operation in 1994, it has seen a loss totaling over 30 million US dollars. The decision to close its business is made partly because of a decrease of passengers since the September 11 terrorism attack on the US. _________________________________________________ KOMINFORM P.O. Box 66 00841 Helsinki Phone +358-40-7177941 Fax +358-9-7591081 http://www.kominf.pp.fi General class struggle news: [EMAIL PROTECTED] subscribe mails to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Geopolitical news: [EMAIL PROTECTED] subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] __________________________________________________
