Alonso edges Vettel as championship hots up

SINGAPORE: Fernando Alonso produced a masterful drive Sunday to win an incident-packed Singapore Grand Prix ahead of a charging Sebastian Vettel to put the world championship title race on a knife-edge.

Starting from pole position, the Ferrari star led from start to finish for the second race in a row to take the chequered flag in 1:57.893, just 0.2 seconds ahead of the Red Bull tyro.

It was a measured performance from the two-time world champion Spaniard, who outpaced his title rivals under floodlights for his fourth win of the season and the 25th of his career.

In hot and humid conditions but on a dry track, the other Red Bull of Mark Webber came third to keep him atop the championship standings, with McLaren's Jenson Button in fourth.

But it was another disastrous day for Lewis Hamilton in the other McLaren, failing to finish his second Grand Prix in a row after colliding with Webber on lap 36, dealing his championship hopes a potentially devastating blow.

Nico Rosberg in the Mercedes came fifth, with Rubens Barrichello in a Williams sixth, Robert Kubica's Renault seventh and Adrian Sutil's Force India eighth.

“It was very good stuff. The race was very long and with the safety car problems I just tried to control the gap as much as I could and not take a risk,” said Alonso.

“The win means a lot. It means a lot in the championship and means we can be competitive at any track.”It leaves the championship finely poised with four Grand Prix to go, starting in Japan next month.

Webber leads with 202 points ahead of Alonso on 191, Hamilton on 182, Vettel a point further adrift and Button on 177.

“I'm very happy with third place. It's been a difficult week for me, probably the toughest of the year for me,” said Webber.

“To get third, I had to stay composed and not panic. Fernando is still hanging in there for the championship and I need to get rid of him somehow.”Vettel also remains in contention and is confident his car can perform at the final four Grand Prix.

“We now need to keep our heads down and try as hard as we can,” he said. “But it's looking good for us. Japan, Korea, Brazil, Korea and Abu Dhabi we have a strong car.”

The front row of the grid was always going to be decisive on the tight Marina Bay street circuit where overtaking is difficult, and Alonso made the most of starting on pole, as he did in Monza two weeks ago.

Driving with aplomb on a track that demands precision, nerve and confidence, he came through the opening corner scramble in prime position ahead of Vettel.

The top five off the grid went through the first lap in the same position, with Alonso first, followed by Vettel, Hamilton, Button and Webber.

But disaster followed for Vitantonio Liuzzi's Force India, which collided with Nick Heidfeld in the Sauber and the safety car deployed on lap 3.

Webber took the opportunity to pit early and switch from soft to hard tyres, with the Australian coming out in 11th.
Alonso was steady at the front and had a three-second advantage on Vettel by lap 20.

Hamilton was the first of the championship front-runners to pit, on lap 29, with Alonso, Vettel and Button all following him in.

When they came out Alonso had a 1.2 second lead on Vettel, with Webber up to third as his early pit stop strategy paid off.
But then the safety car came out again when Sauber's Kamui Kobayashi and Hispania's Bruno Senna hit the wall.

It was a sensational restart with Hamilton trying to pass Webber on the outside, and they made contact, with the Briton coming off worse.

Webber survived but Hamilton was forced to retire, throwing his steering wheel to the ground in disgust. Minutes later and Michael Schumacher and Heidfeld collided. Heidfeld's race was over and Schumacher had to pit for a new front wing.

Alonso and Vettel went wheel-to-wheel at the front but the experienced Spaniard held on to win here for the second time in three years. -AFP

Iran provides $100 mln worth of aid

KARACHI: The Iranian Government and its people have donated dollars 100 million worth of assistance and 20 (twenty) consignments weighing 1000 tonnes of required items for flood affectees of Pakistan.

This was stated here Sunday by the out-going incharge of the flood relief activities and Red Crescent Society of Iran, Abbas Babai while addressing a press conference at the Karachi Press Club.

“Another consignment of 1000 tonnes carried by 300 trucks will also arrive by road very soon for the flood victims,” he said.

He said that all the efforts were being made to facilitate relief efforts in southern and northern parts of Pakistan.

Babai said that on the call of the Supreme leader of Islamic Revolution grand Ayatollah Syed Ali Khamenei, the Iranian Red Crescent Society kicked off its programme to render relief services for flood affected people of Pakistan.

He further elaborated that first camp was established at Makli, 10 kms from Thatta, with the capacity of 270 tents. Totally, so far, 190 relief workers of the Red Crescent Society have worked and treated 10,000 patients with the assistance of 21 medical camps.

Moreover, the public and government relief consignments including tents, carpets, blankets, mineral water, kitchen sets, pulses, flour, rice, edible oil, washing liquid and hygiene sets in different intervals arrived in Pakistan, he added.

The affected people covered with all the supplies included that in Badin, Sujawal, Thatta, Jamshoro, Bargha, Moro and Sehwan Sharif, Mehar, Rahim Yar Khan and other areas, he added.

Suspected US missile attacks kill seven

DERA ISMAIL KHAN: Suspected US drone aircraft carried out two missile strikes against a house and a vehicle near the Afghan border in northwestern Pakistan on Sunday, killing seven alleged militants, Pakistani intelligence officials said.

The US is now suspected of conducting 19 such attacks this month, the most intense barrage since the strikes began in 2004.

Most have targeted Datta Khel, part of the North Waziristan tribal area that is dominated by militants who regularly stage attacks against Nato troops in Afghanistan.

In the first strike Sunday, a drone fired three missiles at a house in Lwara Mandi village in Datta Khel, killing three suspected militants, said the intelligence officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media.

Minutes later, a drone fired two missiles at a vehicle in the same area, killing four suspected militants, the officials said.

The exact identities of the seven people killed in the attacks were not known, but most of this month's strikes have targeted forces led by Jalaluddin Haqqani, a commander who was once supported by Pakistan and the US during the war against the Soviets in Afghanistan.

Haqqani has since turned against the US, and American military officials have said his network, now effectively led by his son, Sirajuddin, presents one of the greatest threats to foreign forces in Afghanistan. Another militant commander, Hafiz Gul Bahadur, and his forces also hold sway in North Waziristan.

The US wants Pakistan to launch an army offensive against insurgents in North Waziristan, but the government has resisted. Analysts believe Pakistan wants to maintain its historic relationship with the Haqqani network, which could be an ally in Afghanistan after foreign forces withdraw.

Without a Pakistani offensive, the US has had to rely on CIA-operated drone strikes to target the network, which also has bases in eastern Afghanistan.

The 19 missile strikes this month have killed around 90 people, according to an Associated Press tally based on Pakistani intelligence reports.

US officials do not publicly acknowledge the missile strikes but have said privately they have killed several senior Taliban and al-Qaida militants in the region, which is largely out of the control of the Pakistani state.

Pakistan often criticizes the attacks as violations of the country's sovereignty, but the government is widely believed to help the US carry out the strikes. Criticism of the strikes has been more muted in recent months. -AP

Twelve dead in crash of Polish bus: Police

BERLIN: At least 12 people were killed and dozens injured Sunday when a bus carrying Polish tourists crashed on the highway southeast of Berlin, police said.

Arne Feuring, president of police in Frankfurt an der Oder, told the news agency DAPD that seven of the wounded were in critical condition, while another 27 suffered injuries that were not life-threatening.

Feuring said authorities believe the bus, carrying 49 Poles on their way home from a vacation in Spain, crashed into a car that was merging on to the highway and then slammed into a pylon of an overpass.

The merging car's 37-year-old driver was among the injured, he said. An investigation into the accident has been launched. German officials said they were organizing an information point for Polish relatives of the victims. -AP

US should withdraw Aafia’s sentence: Farooq Sattar

KARACHI: The Muttahida Qaumi Movement on Sunday announced that it would take out a protest rally on Tuesday to condemn the sentence awarded to Dr Aafia Siddiqui in the United States.

A US court found Siddiqui guilty of attempted murder of US military officers in Afghanistan in 2008 and jailed her for 86 years.

Speaking to media representatives at the residence of Fauzia Siddiqui, Aafia’s sister, MQM leader Farooq Sattar said the sentence has shocked the entire nation.

Sattar demanded that the US frees Dr Aafia after pardoning her.

He said a team from the MQM would meet the US ambassador to Pakistan on Monday and demand for Dr Siddiqui’s release.

Earlier, MQM chief Altaf Hussain had also called on the US government to withdraw the sentence and release Dr Aafia.

Various groups in Pakistan have criticised the sentence against Aafia Siddiqui.

Syed Ali Geelani rejects Indian govt’s offer

SRINAGAR: The separatist leader who has organised months of protests in Indian-administered Kashmir dismissed Sunday an offer from the India government for fresh talks and a security review in the state.

The proposals were put forward by Home Minister P. Chidambaram after he led an all-party mission last week to the Muslim-majority region, which has been shaken by pro-independence protests and strict curfews since June.

“It is a time-gaining exercise and unrealistic. It is aimed to hoodwink the international community,” Syed Ali Shah Geelani told reporters in Srinagar.

“If rulers in New Delhi believe that by releasing a few students and providing ex gratia relief to the families of martyrs they can reduce the alienation (of Kashmiris), they are wrongly mistaken,” he said.

Chidambaram's eight-point plan was the first major initiative by the government to end clashes between stone-throwing crowds and security forces in which 107 civilians have been shot and killed.

The home minister said a group of “interlocutors” would be appointed to reach out to Kashmiris in a bid to calm the protests, the largest since a separatist insurgency erupted in 1989.

Most of those killed have been young men and teenagers shot by police and paramilitary troops firing live ammunition and rubber bullets.

Chidambaram said the state government would be told to free 255 protesters jailed for throwing stones at security forces.

Authorities will also consider reducing the security presence in the heavily militarised Kashmir valley, and will review some areas of emergency military law imposed in the region.

Rights groups have long pushed for repeal of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act, which gives security forces the power to open fire, detain suspects and confiscate property.

“We think these steps should address the concerns of different sections of Jammu and Kashmir, including (those of) the protesters,” said Chidambaram.

Moderate separatist said they were discussing their response to the government package.

Kashmir is divided between Pakistan and India, which both claim the region in full.

The dispute over the region has triggered two of the rival nations' three wars since partition of the subcontinent in 1947.

SC to resume hearing on 18th Amendment case tomorrow

ISLAMABAD: All eyes will be focusing on the 17-judge full bench of the Supreme Court on Monday which after a break of almost two weeks will resume hearing of petitions to determine the contours of its authority of reviewing the mechanism of appointing superior court judges introduced by parliament through the unanimously adopted 18th Amendment.

Headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry, the proceedings were adjourned for Eid holidays when Salam Raja was arguing in favour of the new mode of appointments. The lawyer will resume his arguments on Monday.

The most significant feature of the hearing will be the appearance of Senator Raza Rabbani within this week to answer questions raised during the proceedings about the amendment.

The court is hearing 25 petitions against various aspects of the amendment, but the focus is on setting up of a parliamentary committee to endorse recommendations of a judicial commission for appointing judges and its impact on the independence of judiciary.

Some petitions oppose the renaming of the NWFP as Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and an amendment to Article 17 empowering the party heads to have a final say in cases of defection.—Staff Reporter

HEC finds six more degrees fake or invalid

ISLAMABAD: The Higher Education Commission has so far verified educational degrees of 439 lawmakers and held 55 degrees as fake or invalid, informed sources told newspaper.

Fresh in the list of those found to be holding fake or invalid degrees include member of the National Assembly Mazhar Hayat (NA-138), members of the Punjab Assembly Shaukat Aziz (PP-4), Irshad Ahmad Khan (PP-254), Rana Abdul Rauf (PP-279) and Shabina Riaz (reserved seat), and member of the Sindh Assembly Jam Saifullah Khan Dharejo. Those who have been given clean chit by the HEC recently include Senators Javed Ashraf Qazi (PML-Q), Tahir Hussain Mashadi (MQM) and Gul Mohammad Memon, Gul Mohammad Lot (PPP); MNAs Kishan Chand Parwani, Dr Darshan, Dr Mahesh Kumar and Sardar Jafar Khan Leghari; members of the Punjab Assembly Dr Ghazala Raza Rana, Mohammad Hafeez Akhtar Chaudhry and Shahid Khalil Noor; and members of the Balochistan Assembly Mohammad Nawaz, Sultan Mohammad, Ghazala Gohar, Jai Parkash; and member of the Sindh Assembly Ghulam Mohammad Shahani. The ruling PPP continues to top the list of fake and dubious degree-holding lawmakers with 16, followed by PML-N and PML-Q. Sources in the Election Commission said that the fifth hearing of the cases of lawmakers accused of holding fake or invalid degrees would be held on Sept 30. They said MNA Ahmadan Khan and members of the Balochistan Assembly Yar Mohammad and Shama Parveen Magsi would appear before the committee headed Mohammad Afzal Khan, the nominated officer of the Election Commission. They said the hearing would take place also on Oct 4 and Oct 11 and the process of initial hearing to enable legislators to express their viewpoint would be completed by the end of October.

Mid-east peace talks at stake as settlement curbs end

JERUSALEM: The fate of Middle East peace talks hangs in the balance as Israel gears up to resume West Bank settlement construction with a 10-month partial moratorium on building ending on Sunday night.

Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas has vowed to walk out of the talks if construction resumes, telling the United Nations on Saturday that “Israel must choose between peace and the continuation of settlements.”

But Israel has made it clear the moratorium, enacted under heavy US pressure as a gesture to entice the Palestinians into direct talks, will not be extended.

And while officials have indicated that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would accept a quiet compromise, with limited construction, his hardline coalition including members of his own Likud party was unlikely to concur.

“The cabinet decision is expiring and on Sunday night the building needs to resume. We don't need any special decisions or announcements,” Sport and Culture Minister Limor Livnat of Likud told public radio on Saturday.

“The building needs to restart – there are some 2,000 (housing) units that are already approved,” she said.

Another Likud MP, Danny Danon, was planning on laying the symbolic cornerstone of a new neighbourhood in Revava settlement in the northern West Bank on Sunday to mark the end of the freeze.

“Cement trucks, bulldozers, and other earth-moving equipment are already in place in Revava, and the activists plan on marking the last hours of the freeze by laying the foundations of a new neighbourhood,” a statement from his office said.

“We have decided that the best way to end the freeze is to begin building,”said Danon, calling on Netanyahu to “resist the pressures of (US) President
(Barack) Obama.”

The deadline for the end of the freeze is widely accepted as midnight on September 26, 10 months after the original cabinet decision to impose it expires, although a military order sets the date at September 30.

Either way, the next days could prove crucial to the fragile peace process, with the future of negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians at stake.

The United States on Saturday engaged in last ditch efforts to prevent the collapse of talks.
Abbas met US peace envoy George Mitchell following a meeting with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Friday night as contacts continued behind the scenes.

“We are doing everything we can to keep the parties in direct talks,” State Department spokesman Philip Crowley said in a message on his Twitter account as Mitchell and Abbas met in a New York hotel.

Israel’s Defence Minister Ehud Barak and lawyer Yitzhak Molcho, Netanyahu’s point man on the talks, were also in New York, Israeli radio reported.

The peace talks resumed on September 2 following months of US shuttle diplomacy. The last round of direct talks collapsed when Israel launched its devastating offensive against the Hamas-run Gaza Strip in late 2008.

In a bid to resolve the settlements row, US officials have reportedly suggested a three-month extension to the moratorium during which time the two sides could agree on borders, which could neutralise the settlements dispute.

But Livnat told public radio it was “illogical” to expect the issue of borders that had defied years of earlier negotiations could suddenly be resolved in three months.

The international community considers Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, including annexed east Jerusalem, to be illegal. The settlements issue has long been among the thorniest in the peace process.

Some 500,000 Israelis live in more than 120 Jewish settlements across the West Bank and east Jerusalem, territories expected to form the bulk of a future Palestinian state. – AFP

Bomb blast kills two Nato troops in Afghanistan

KABUL: Two Nato service members were killed in a bomb blast in southern Afghanistan on Sunday, the military alliance said.

Nato said the troops were killed by an improvised explosive device, but provided no further details. The nationalities of Nato deaths are not generally released until after the next of kin have been contacted.

This year is already the deadliest of the war, with more than 530 international forces killed.

Nato also said it launched an air strike late Saturday in Kunar province, along the Pakistan border, that targeted a senior al-Qaeda commander who coordinates a group of Arab fighters in the area, saying he routinely helped them travel into the region.

It did not say whether the commander was killed in the attack, but said his compound was destroyed. It said collateral damage was kept to a minimum, but did not provide further information.

Ed Miliband elected new leader of UK Labour Party

LONDON: Britain’s opposition Labour Party elected young lawmaker Ed Miliband as its surprise new leader, after he narrowly defeated his elder and better-known brother in a close run contest to replace ousted prime minister Gordon Brown.

The siblings shared an emotional embrace Saturday after Miliband, 40, squeezed out David Miliband, the 45-year-old former foreign secretary, in a ballot of legislators, party activists and about 3.5 million labor union members.

Miliband pledged to reunite his wounded party, deposed in May after 13 years in office by the Conservative Party-led coalition government, and promised a role for his beaten brother who struggled to hide his disappointment as he watched his younger sibling make a victory speech.

The Labour Party said Ed Miliband took 175,519 votes to David Miliband's 147,220, after second, third and fourth choice preferences of those who voted for three other beaten candidates were allocated in a final runoff. Results showed that backing from labor unions had been decisive in the younger Miliband’s victory, and that his elder brother had won more support among legislators and ordinary party members.

The winner, a former adviser to Brown and previously the country's energy and climate change secretary, acknowledged he must restore public faith in his party following its defeat in Britain's national election. Miliband who became a legislator in 2005 and took charge of the election manifesto said the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq in particular had dented trust in the Labour Party.

''My message to the country is this I know we lost trust, I know we lost touch, I know we need to change. Today, a new generation has taken charge of Labour, a new generation that understands the call to change,'' Miliband told activists at a rally in Manchester, northern England.

Former education secretary Ed Balls, the third placed candidate in the contest, said contenders were told of the result backstage shortly before the decision was announced publicly. ''David and Ed hugged straight away,'' Balls said.

As he addressed activists, the younger Miliband offered a tribute to his brother, who had long been expected to succeed Brown, but previously refused calls to oust the ex-leader ahead of the May election.

''David, I love you so much as a brother and I have such extraordinary respect for the campaign that you ran,'' Miliband said, watched by partner Justine Thornton, a lawyer who is pregnant with the couple's second child.

Both men selected the other as their second choice candidate, voting results showed. Addressing his elder brother directly in his speech, Ed Miliband said: ''We all know how much you have to offer this country in the future.''

In an e-mail to campaign staff, David Miliband urged his supporters to rally behind his brother. ''I passionately want Ed to have a united party,'' Miliband wrote in the message, according to legislator Keith Vaz, a member of his team.

The three other defeated candidates, Balls, ex-health secretary Andy Burnham and Diane Abbott, a veteran leftist, all pledged their backing to the winning Miliband.

Party stalwarts urged the Miliband brothers to avoid the animosity of their respective mentors Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, whose feuding marred the party's final years in office. ''These are brothers. They're blood brothers. They can't afford to fall out in the way we had with Tony and Gordon, and neither can we,'' said ex-Home Secretary David Blunkett.

Brown addressed activists ahead of the announcement and took responsibility for the party's election defeat.

''I take the whole fault on my shoulders alone,'' the former prime minister said.

Prime Minister David Cameron offered his congratulations to Ed Miliband in a phone call, but had earlier dismissed the challenge from both Milibands in an interview. He said neither man had alternative remedies to fix Britain's fragile economy.

''They're both part of the team that got us into this mess. In this long leadership debate I haven't heard a single suggestion about how we might deal with the deficit,'' Cameron was quoted as telling the Daily Telegraph.

Ed Miliband was criticized during the campaign for setting out policies advocated by the party's leftist labor union backers, including a sharp rise in Britain’s minimum wage, higher taxes for top earners and a more punishing levy on banks. Opponents have dubbed him ''Red Ed,'' seeking to portray the new chief as a left-wing radical.

Miliband must quickly draw up an alternative to a five-year austerity plan being outlined next month by Treasury chief George Osborne, who is seeking savings of 30 billion pounds ($44 billion) per year in order to clear the country's debts.

The new leader will make a major address to the party's annual rally on Tuesday, and will seek to build on recent opinion poll gains. – AP

Ed Miliband elected new leader of UK Labour Party

LONDON: Britain’s opposition Labour Party elected young lawmaker Ed Miliband as its surprise new leader, after he narrowly defeated his elder and better-known brother in a close run contest to replace ousted prime minister Gordon Brown.

The siblings shared an emotional embrace Saturday after Miliband, 40, squeezed out David Miliband, the 45-year-old former foreign secretary, in a ballot of legislators, party activists and about 3.5 million labor union members.

Miliband pledged to reunite his wounded party, deposed in May after 13 years in office by the Conservative Party-led coalition government, and promised a role for his beaten brother who struggled to hide his disappointment as he watched his younger sibling make a victory speech.

The Labour Party said Ed Miliband took 175,519 votes to David Miliband's 147,220, after second, third and fourth choice preferences of those who voted for three other beaten candidates were allocated in a final runoff. Results showed that backing from labor unions had been decisive in the younger Miliband’s victory, and that his elder brother had won more support among legislators and ordinary party members.

The winner, a former adviser to Brown and previously the country's energy and climate change secretary, acknowledged he must restore public faith in his party following its defeat in Britain's national election. Miliband who became a legislator in 2005 and took charge of the election manifesto said the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq in particular had dented trust in the Labour Party.

''My message to the country is this I know we lost trust, I know we lost touch, I know we need to change. Today, a new generation has taken charge of Labour, a new generation that understands the call to change,'' Miliband told activists at a rally in Manchester, northern England.

Former education secretary Ed Balls, the third placed candidate in the contest, said contenders were told of the result backstage shortly before the decision was announced publicly. ''David and Ed hugged straight away,'' Balls said.

As he addressed activists, the younger Miliband offered a tribute to his brother, who had long been expected to succeed Brown, but previously refused calls to oust the ex-leader ahead of the May election.

''David, I love you so much as a brother and I have such extraordinary respect for the campaign that you ran,'' Miliband said, watched by partner Justine Thornton, a lawyer who is pregnant with the couple's second child.

Both men selected the other as their second choice candidate, voting results showed. Addressing his elder brother directly in his speech, Ed Miliband said: ''We all know how much you have to offer this country in the future.''

In an e-mail to campaign staff, David Miliband urged his supporters to rally behind his brother. ''I passionately want Ed to have a united party,'' Miliband wrote in the message, according to legislator Keith Vaz, a member of his team.

The three other defeated candidates, Balls, ex-health secretary Andy Burnham and Diane Abbott, a veteran leftist, all pledged their backing to the winning Miliband.

Party stalwarts urged the Miliband brothers to avoid the animosity of their respective mentors Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, whose feuding marred the party's final years in office. ''These are brothers. They're blood brothers. They can't afford to fall out in the way we had with Tony and Gordon, and neither can we,'' said ex-Home Secretary David Blunkett.

Brown addressed activists ahead of the announcement and took responsibility for the party's election defeat.

''I take the whole fault on my shoulders alone,'' the former prime minister said.

Prime Minister David Cameron offered his congratulations to Ed Miliband in a phone call, but had earlier dismissed the challenge from both Milibands in an interview. He said neither man had alternative remedies to fix Britain's fragile economy.

''They're both part of the team that got us into this mess. In this long leadership debate I haven't heard a single suggestion about how we might deal with the deficit,'' Cameron was quoted as telling the Daily Telegraph.

Ed Miliband was criticized during the campaign for setting out policies advocated by the party's leftist labor union backers, including a sharp rise in Britain’s minimum wage, higher taxes for top earners and a more punishing levy on banks. Opponents have dubbed him ''Red Ed,'' seeking to portray the new chief as a left-wing radical.

Miliband must quickly draw up an alternative to a five-year austerity plan being outlined next month by Treasury chief George Osborne, who is seeking savings of 30 billion pounds ($44 billion) per year in order to clear the country's debts.

The new leader will make a major address to the party's annual rally on Tuesday, and will seek to build on recent opinion poll gains. – AP

Palestinian leader vows peace, urges settlement end

UNITED NATIONS: Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas vowed on Saturday to do everything possible to make peace negotiations with Israel succeed and avoided any direct threats to break off the talks over settlements.

In a speech to the UN General Assembly, Abbas said the Palestinians would “exert every sincere effort” to reach a peace agreement with Israel within a year.

He did not refer to Sunday’s expiry of an Israeli freeze on new settlement construction in the West Bank. But he made clear that Israel would have to cease all settlement activities if the direct negotiations with Israel were to succeed.

“Israel must choose between peace and the continuation of settlements,” he said.

Abbas has threatened repeatedly to break off the fragile negotiations with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over the settlements. The US-supervised talks are aimed at reaching a peace agreement within a year.

Netanyahu, whose rightist coalition government includes pro-settler parties, has so far deflected US President Barack Obama’s pleas to extend the freeze. He has also said renewed construction in the settlements might be on a reduced scale.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton met with Abbas on Friday in New York to persuade the Palestinians to remain in the talks.

It was not clear if Clinton and Abbas planned to meet again before the Palestinian leader
heads back to the Middle East.

EGYPTIAN WARNING

State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley said former Senator George Mitchell, US special envoy on the Middle East, met Abbas for 30 minutes in New York on Saturday.
“We are doing everything we can to keep the parties in direct talks,” Crowley said, declining further comment.

Israel has told the Palestinians to come to the negotiating table without preconditions.

Abbas told the 192-nation General Assembly the Israelis needed to take a number of steps in addition to halting settlements, including ending the blockade of the Gaza Strip and dismantling its West Bank barrier.

“Our demands for the cessation of settlement activities, the lifting of the siege and an end to other illegal Israeli policies and practices do not constitute arbitrary preconditions in the peace process,” he said.

“Israel’s implementation of these obligations and commitments will lead to the creation of the necessary environment for the success of the negotiations and will give credibility to the final agreement reached,” he said.

Egypt’s foreign minister, Ahmed Aboul Gheit, warned Israel it would bear the blame if the talks break down over the issue of settlements.

“If Israel fails in its commitment to continue freezing its settlement activities, then it would expose the negotiation process to failure and it would shoulder full responsibility before the region and world public opinion,” he said.

“Israel should also bear the responsibility for any negative consequences,” he said in his speech to the assembly. – Reuters

Muslim nations called to resist Islamophobia

UNITED NATIONS: Muslim nations must collectively resist growing Islamophobia in the US and Europe, the head of the world’s largest organization of Islamic countries told ministers from the 57 member nations gathered here this week.

Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu urged members of the Organization of the Islamic Conference to work with Western leaders to dispel misconceptions about their faith. They met on the edge of the UN General Assembly.

Ihsanoglu told The Associated Press on Saturday that he would be taking this message on the road next week to Chicago, where the OIC will host a major conference on Islam and Muslims in America at the American Islamic College.

Education, he said, is key in helping the West truly understand Islam.

He said his new book, “The Islamic World in the New Century: The Organization of the Islamic Conference, 1969-2009,” includes a whole chapter on the danger of growing Islamophobia in the West.

Islam has recently been under attack in America, especially with a controversy over a proposed Islamic center near the World Trade Center sites and threats by groups to burn the Quran in protest.

“The Muslim world is going through an unprecedented difficult and trying time,” Ihsanoglu told the ministers during their annual meeting on Friday. “We are facing daunting challenges and severe hardships. Islam and Muslims are under serious attack, and Islamophobia is growing and becoming more rampant and dangerous by the day.”

He said a ''pandemic of Islam vilification'' is sweeping through some parts of Europe and the United States, increasing misperceptions about Islam and eroding Muslims' human rights.

''We need an all inclusive effort of OIC member states to stem this menace,'' Ihsanoglu told the ministers. ''That is why I firmly believe that this question of Islamophobia should figure prominently on the agenda of all OIC member states whenever they deal with their Western counterparts.''

Ihsanoglu, who is from Turkey, has headed the OIC since 2005. The group is seen as a moderate, collective voice for Islam.

''The OIC is a strategic and crucial partner of the United Nations and plays a significant role in helping to resolve a wide range of issues facing the world community,'' U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said in a statement to the group when it met on Friday.

Member states reflect the reach of Islam across the Middle East, Asia, Africa and the Caribbean, and include Egypt, Libya, Yemen, Morocco, Afghanistan, Syria, Chad, Senegal, Niger, Sudan, Guyana and Surinam. – AP

Petroleum ministry blames Ogra for fuel shortage

ISLAMABAD: The petroleum ministry has held the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra) responsible for the recent fuel crisis in the country.

In a report submitted to the petroleum minister, the office of director-general for oil said that Ogra failed to perform its duty as a regulator as it did not take timely action to head off a crisis. Ogra’s ineffectiveness resulted in black marketing of petrol and diesel in many parts of the country.

Sources in the ministry said Ogra was supposed to take steps to ensure availability of petrol across the country not only by taking measures against hoarders and black marketers but also through timely imports to meet the shortage created by the shutdown of Parco due to floods.

“The Ogra teams did nothing other than to send show-cause notices to oil marketing companies (OMCs) during the crisis and to wait for the replies to such notices,” an official said.

Petroleum Minister Syed Naveed Qamar is expected to forward the report to the Prime Minister’s Secretariat because Ogra falls under the administrative control of cabinet division.

The report added that the petroleum ministry dispatched teams to various places to examine the availability of petrol at the designated retail outlets.

Meanwhile, the recent fuel crisis has served to sharpen the differences between the ministry and the regulator.

A ministry official alleged that senior officials of Ogra drew heavy salaries (up to Rs400,000 per month) but they hardly did anything for the benefit of the industry or the consumer.

“The situation was better when the OCAC was directly monitoring the supply situation in the country,” he claimed.

Officials of Ogra declined to comment over the report or the supply position in the country.

Qureshi likely to meet Krishna tomorrow

UNITED NATIONS: The foreign ministers of Pakistan and India are likely to meet on Monday on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly session.

Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi and Indian External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna, who are participating in the UN General Assembly’s annual debate, met ‘accidentally’ on Friday.

According to sources, Mr Qureshi exchanged pleasantries and thanked Mr Krishna for the help given to Pakistan through the UN for flood-affected people. He also said international response to help Pakistan had accelerated after last Sunday’s UN meeting, the sources said.

The chance encounter was their first interaction since their meeting in Islamabad in July.

The date and time for a formal meeting, about which speculations have been made both in Islamabad and New Delhi, have yet to be agreed upon. But diplomats here told Dawn the meeting would probably take place on Monday.

According to the Indian media, Mr Krishna has indicated New Delhi’s willingness to discuss all outstanding issues with Pakistan, including Kashmir. The Indian-held region has witnessed gross human rights violations and killings of more than 100 people over the last few months.

“Well, I was in Islamabad and we did talk and I have invited Excellency Qureshi to come to India and he has very graciously accepted my invitation,” the Indian minister was quoted as saying.

“I am looking forward to hosting him in Delhi… and the dates have to be worked out.”

A Pakistani diplomat, however, said Mr Qureshi had told his Indian counterpart that Islamabad sought a result-oriented meeting, not another photo opportunity.

“Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi has made it clear we don’t want a meeting for the sake of photo-op. We want a real substantive meeting,” he said.

At various meetings here, Foreign Minister Qureshi has said that resolution of the Jammu and Kashmir issue is imperative for South Asian security. He made it clear that Pakistan could not remain silent on the situation in the Indian-held territory.

On Friday, Mr Qureshi called upon the United States to offer its good offices to help Pakistan and India start talks on outstanding issues, including Kashmir.

Two activists injured on Sharea Faisal in Karachi

KARACHI: Two people were injured in an attack on political activists near airport late on Saturday night, police said, adding the attack suspended traffic on Sharea Faisal.

They said the activists of a party were hoisting flags near Star Gate when they came under fire from across the road.

“The activists were busy hoisting flags when they were attacked near Moon Arcade,” said SP Shah Faisal Town Shad Ibne Masih. “As a result two youngsters got injured and were shifted to Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre for treatment. They have been identified as Fathan Butt and Sohrab.” After the shooting, youngsters came out on Sharea Faisal and attacked the moving vehicles with stones.—Staff Reporter

Two killed in terrorist attack on Bahawalpur mosque

BAHAWALPUR: Two people were killed and seven others injured when masked gunmen attacked a mosque in Bahawalpur on Saturday morning.

According to eyewitnesses, the imam of Satellite Town’s Masjid Al Qamar was holding Dars-i-Quran in the courtyard when a motorcycle carrying three masked men pulled up outside the mosque at around 5.45am.

One of them stayed behind, one entered the courtyard while the third went upstairs and opened fire on people attending the Dars. The attackers escaped.

Abdul Majid Qureshi, a homoeopath, died on the spot and Jamil, a landlord, succumbed to wounds in the Bahawal Victoria Hospital.

Two of the injured were in critical condition.

Talking to Dawn, district police chief Babar Bakht Qureshi said it appeared that local people had carried out the terrorist attack with revolvers or pistols.

A large number of protesters blocked the city’s main artery, set tyres on fire and chanted slogans against police and the local administration.

Shops in the city’s commercial area were closed after the attack. Enraged people also took to the streets in several other areas of the city.

The Jamaat-i-Islami took out a procession from Al Haq mosque to Farid Gate.

Representatives of the traders’ association called for the arrest of the assailants within three days.

Finance div for resort to ordinances

ISLAMABAD: Finance officials on Saturday deliberated on a proposal to lend legal cover to unpopular financial decisions through a presidential ordinance instead of going to the parliament.

The finance ministry has decided to approach the government with a suggestion to bypass parliament in taking important decisions in accordance with assurances given to the International Monetary Fund. The matters include levying of reformed general sales tax, changes in the budget and imposing a flood tax.

The participants of the meeting, held at the finance ministry, were of the view that obtaining approval from parliament before implementing any major step would be a lengthy process that could displease the IMF.

The meeting, presided over by Finance Minister Dr Abdul Hafeez Sheikh, was attended by officials of the ministry and the Federal Board of Revenue. The finance secretary was out of the city.

It discussed implementation of the reformed GST from Oct 1 in accordance with a promise made to the IMF.

According to sources, two options for the enforcement of a revised budget, flood tax and reformed GST were debated — seeking the parliament’s approval or issuing ordinances.

Approval of the revised budget and the taxes through ordinances was termed more feasible and ‘hassle free’ compared to formal approval from parliament, the sources said.

They said the ordinances could be issued after Oct 8, after the current sessions of both houses of parliament were over.

The provincial finance ministers are arriving in the capital for two-day talks on the reformed GST scheduled from Monday.

“Almost all issues have been finalised and it is just a formality that all the provinces and the centre agree on the implementation of reformed GST,” Sindh Chief Minister’s Adviser Dr Kaiser Bengali said.

The finance ministry has decided that the reformed GST will be implemented in phases, starting with withdrawal of sales tax exemptions notified by the FBR to numerous sectors and items.

“The process of withdrawals will continue for several days to avoid a strong reaction from the business community,” sources in the FBR said, adding that amendments in the sales tax law would be made through ordinances.

The government has submitted an operational plan to the IMF for reducing the rising budget deficit, but the major changes made in the budget need approval of parliament.

However, the finance ministry meeting noted that laying the revised budget before parliament could trigger another round of controversies and the approval could be a time-consuming task.

While a stern reaction is expected from many quarters over the ‘flood tax’, the FBR has suggested that a cess be imposed for a limited period on all imports.

“Laying the proposal in parliament may ignite a debate on imposing tax on agricultural income and potential way to taxing the rich,” an FBR official said.

Sources said an ordinance might also be issued for imposing a 1.5 per cent flood disaster duty on non-essential imports.

The FBR estimates that the duty may generate up to Rs11 billion for helping the flood-affected people.