Govt, military fighting terrorism together: President

ISLAMABAD: President Mamnoon Hussain said that the government and military were ready to fight terrorism together.

The president emphasised that it was essential that hurdles not be placed in front of the government in its effort to eliminate terrorism from Pakistan.

Addressing a ceremony at the National Defence University (NDU), President Hussain said the country was passing through a difficult stage.

According to the president the challenges faced by Pakistan would be eliminated once development projects launched by the government were completed.

President, PM, army chief pay tributes to armed forces

 

KARACHI: Army chief Gen Raheel Sharif, President Mamnoon Hussain and Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif have paid tributes to the armed forces for successfully foiling the terror bid on the Karachi airport through a well-coordinated operation.

President Mamnoon Hussain and Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said security forces protected the national assets with great courage and valour. The prime minister talked to Interior Minister Ch Nisar Ali Khan and directed him to proceed to Karachi and hold meetings with officials of Rangers, army, police and the Civil Aviation.


The PM said security forces protected the national assets with great courage and valour.Gen Raheel Sharif paid rich tributes to all martyred and the injured for their supreme sacrifices. He directed the DG Rangers and corps commander Karachi to take stringent action against the terrorists.


Taking notice of the attack at the Karachi airport, the army chief spoke to the Karachi corps commander and DG Rangers on phone and asked them to monitor the operation. Gen Sharif said, “I salute all the troops who took part in this undefeated the troops who took part in this undefeated counter-terrorism operation.”


Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, patron-in-chief of the Pakistan People’s Party, has appreciated Inspector General of Police, Director General Rangers and Corps Commander Karachi for personally commanding their forces in the operation against the terrorists who attacked Karachi airport.


“Let us salute the members of law enforcing agencies and armed forces for display of bravery during their engagements with the ruthless and blood-thirsty terrorists armed with heavy weapons and suicidal vests,” he added.


Bilawal also praised Sindh Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah for personally monitoring the situation on the site and encouraging the morale of the law enforcers fighting the terrorist gang.He also paid rich tributes to the security personnel who laid down their lives for protection of the citizens, passengers and others adding nation takes pride in having such brave martyrs and salutes them.


Talking to media persons, DG Sindh Rangers Major General Rizwan Akhtar said the terrorists had come in two groups and they gained access to the terminal through the Cargo gate and Fokker gate.


He said no aircraft was damaged in the attack and all sensitive installations remained safe.At least 18 people including thirteen security personnel have been martyred and ten terrorists killed in an operation to clear Old Terminal of Karachi Airport from terrorists.


The terrorists attacked the airport after 11:00pm on Sunday with grenades and automatic weapons and gained access to the old terminal, he said.Afghan President Hamid Karzai strongly condemned the terrorist attacks and the other terrorist attack that targeted buses carrying Shia pilgrims in Balochistan.


“The government of Afghanistan believes that the continuation of such attacks is a testament to the fact that our region is facing a rising insecurity. We all must, therefore, have recognized by now that the use of extremism and violence as a tool serves no one’s interest,” Karzai office said.


“Having suffered so much from such acts of violence imposed on them, the people of Afghanistan once again call on Pakistan to sincerely cooperate in the elimination of this evil scourge to which the people of Pakistan are also unfortunately falling victim today, so that the region can achieve peace and prosperity.”


He said Afghanistan stresses once again on the need for an effective cooperation between the two countries, and believes that without comprehensive cooperation to fight terrorism and an end to the use of extremism as a tool, the region won’t be able to achieve stability, peace and prosperity.


Sindh Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah has announced monetary compensation for the victims of Karachi airport attack.He has announced Rs2 million for each martyred Rangers personnel and Rs1 million for each martyr of police and Airport Security Force (ASF). Each injured will get Rs100,000.


Ansar Burney Trust International Chairman Ansar Burney has condemned terrorist attack on Karachi airport and appreciated the great role of armed forces in foiling the terror bid. He said terrorist group TTP has claimed responsibility of Karachi airport attack.


“Attack on Pakistan army personnel is an attack on us, our homes, country and nation. Now may I request my nation that this is the right time to stand with Pakistan Army,” he said. Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting and National Heritage (IB&NH) Senator Pervaiz Rasheed has said that involvement of foreign hands in Karachi Airport attack could not be ruled out.


He said the militants launched the attack to paralyze Pakistan. He claimed that those who planned and funded the attack didn’t belong to Pakistan. Paying tributes to armed forces at a press conference here on Monday, the minister said that terrorists will be dealt with the same fashion.


He said Jinnah International Airport had started functioning after being cleared of militants.Punjab Chief Minister Muhammad Shahbaz Sharif has strongly condemned the attack of terrorists on Jinnah International Airport Karachi and paid tributes to the security forces over their successful operation against the saboteurs.


He said that Jawans of security forces have foiled the evil designs of terrorists by laying down their lives and safeguarded national assets through their courage and bravery. He said that security personnel have achieved martyrdom and the whole nation is proud of them.


He said that the Jawans of security forces have set a noble example of courage and valor by laying down their lives in the line of duty and their sacrifices will never go waste. He said that attack on Karachi airport is highly deplorable. He prayed for the early recovery of the injured security officials.


Former President Asif Ali Zardari also condemned terrorist attacks on Karachi airport and Taftan.He said there are no strong words for condemnation of this series of heinous attacks in which our brave soldiers and innocent civilians have been martyred and injured.

Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting and National Heritage (IB&NH) Senator Pervaiz Rasheed has said that theinvolvement of foreign hands in the Karachi Airport attack could not be ruled out. He said the militants launched the attack to paralyse Pakistan. He claimed that those who planned and funded the attack didn’t belong to Pakistan.

Paying tributes to the armed forces at a press conference here onMonday, theminister said that terrorists will be dealt with in the same fashion. He said the Jinnah International Airport had started functioning after being cleared of militants.—Agencies

Afghan President Karzai eyes active ‘retirement’

KABUL: When outgoing Afghan leader Hamid Karzai moves out of the presidential palace post-elections to take up residence next door, he will be relinquishing power but not influence, as he seeks an active public role in his "retirement" years.

Karzai is due to step down in the coming weeks after Saturday´s run-off election, paving the way for Afghanistan´s first democratic transfer of power. The elections are meant to signal a fresh start for Afghanistan after the 13-year rule of Karzai dominated by the US-led military intervention that followed the fall of the Taliban in 2001.Karzai´s relations with the US have collapsed, his regime is accused of massive corruption, and the country is still beset by the Taliban insurgency as NATO troops pull out and aid money declines.

But any prediction that the new president can turn the page decisively looks misplaced.

"The truth is that President Karzai built up such a vast patronage network that he has to stay influential to keep his people happy," said Bette Dam, a Dutch author who interviewed Karzai extensively for her forthcoming book on the president.

"He is looking for ways to continue (wielding) influence, and help his network of people to hold power. Many governors and government officials are in contact with him about how to achieve this."

Karzai, then aged only 44, became a global star when he was selected to lead Afghanistan after the ousting of the repressive 1996-2001 Taliban regime.

Charismatic, fluent in English, and dressed in a colourful cape and lambskin hat, Karzai wowed world leaders and convinced the United States that he was the perfect partner to tackle Islamist militancy after the 9/11 attacks.

’Tribal leader’
But such sentiments evaporated as the insurgency raged on for a decade, casualties mounted, billions of aid dollars were spent to limited effect, and Karzai launched increasingly bitter criticism of the US intervention.

Now, after serving the maximum two terms, he seems ready to take on a role somewhere between chief powerbroker and father of the nation.

"The US and others always thought Karzai was ´one of us´, and it is true that rather than a warlord, he is an English-speaking diplomat and a politician who can easily connect with the West," said Dam, an expert on the Pashtun tribal structures behind Karzai´s influence.

"But the way I got to know Karzai, he is more like a tribal leader with a lot of power deals to keep well maintained. He understands Westerners, but I wonder whether the West understands him and his tribal politics."

Karzai largely kept his vow to stay out of the ongoing election -- in public at least -- and it may be some time before his "retirement" plans become clear.

Much will depend on his successor -- either former foreign minister Abdullah Abdullah or ex-World Bank economist Ashraf Ghani, both of whom have worked under him but now have prickly relations with their former boss.

"We think he might want to be a ´emeritus professor´ type of figure," one senior US military figure who declined to be named told.

"We accept he is going to still be around, but we already moved on some time ago to looking at the new president."

Frankly, it will be a relief he is no longer in the palace.

After a series of bitter verbal spats with Washington, Karzai refused to sign an agreed text allowing a small force of US soldiers to stay in Afghanistan after 2014 to help with military training and counter-terrorism.

Ukraine readies for new president amid glimmers of hope

KIEV: Ukraine will swear in its new president Saturday, amid glimmers of hope for a solution to a crisis that has pitted it against its giant Russian neighbour.

Ukraine´s new leader, Petro Poroshenko, will take the oath in Kiev´s parliament the day after he met with Russian President Vladimir Putin, widely seen in Ukraine as the country´s nemesis, during World War II commemorations in northern France.

"The dialogue has begun, and that´s a good thing," Poroshenko said on Ukrainian television after the brief encounter.

He added that a Russian representative would travel to Ukraine for talks Sunday amid the first bilateral steps towards resolving their differences.

Putin and Poroshenko on Friday also jointly called for a ceasefire in the troubled southeast of Ukraine in a potential breakthrough in a crisis that has poisoned Moscow´s relations with the West.

Poroshenko, a 48-year-old billionaire, was elected with 54.7 percent of the votes in presidential elections on May 25.His inauguration ceremony will be attended by a range of foreign VIPs, including US Vice President Joseph Biden and European Council President Herman Van Rompuy.

Poroshenko will assume the presidency as the formal successor of Viktor Yanukovych, who was ousted in February after bloody street fighting in downtown Kiev and who is now living in exile in Russia.

Heavy task ahead
Ahead for Poroshenko lies the tough task of bringing his country closer to Europe, a crucial issue for many who took part in the movement that brought down the previous administration.

He must also try to end the recession that has plagued the country for the past two years, but above all he must unite his country even as it teeters on the brink of civil war.

A step in that direction may have been taken in France, when he shook hands with Putin.

The meeting, on the sidelines of the events in Normandy to mark the 70th anniversary of the D-Day landings, was the first between the two men since Poroshenko won Ukraine´s presidential election.

Moscow had previously said it was ready to work with the new president but stopped short of explicitly recognising him as the legitimate leader of the Ukrainian people.

US President Barack Obama, who also met with Putin in France on Friday, told NBC Nightly News that Russia has to recognise Poroshenko as legitimate if it wants to resolve months of crisis.

"Mr. Putin should be working directly with Mr. Poroshenko and the government of Ukraine to try to resolve differences between the two countries," Obama said.

Russia also needs "to stop financing and arming separatists who have been wreaking havoc in the eastern part of the country," Obama added.

Tensions in southeastern Ukraine have mounted in recent days with the government admitting on Thursday that it had lost control of three border posts that were being routinely attacked by the rebels.

On Friday, insurgents shot down a Ukrainian military cargo plane near Slavyansk, a hotbed of rebel activity. The crew reportedly managed to eject before impact.

Also near Slavyansk on Friday, one police officer was killed and two others injured in a mortar attack.

 

Poroshenko sworn in as Ukraine’s president, vows unity

KIEV: Petro Poroshenko was sworn in as Ukraine´s fifth post-Soviet president on Saturday, vowing to maintain the unity of his country amid a continuing crisis with Russia.

Poroshenko, a 48-year-old billionaire who won the presidential election on May 25 with 54.7 percent of the vote, took the oath in the Ukrainian parliament in Kiev.

"I am assuming the presidency in order to preserve and strengthen Ukraine´s unity," Poroshenko said in an address that alternated between Ukrainian and Russian.

Speaking to an audience that included US Vice President Joseph Biden, he promised the residents of the Donbass region, which is largely in rebel hands, that he would decentralise power and guarantee the free use of the Russian language.

But he also said that there would be no compromise with Russia on his pro-European stance and the status of the Crimean peninsula.

"Crimea has been and will remain Ukrainian," he said. "I put that clearly to the Russian leader in Normandy," he added, referring to his meeting with President Vladimir Putin at D-Day commemorations on Friday.

Ebola outbreak under control, says Guinea president

GENEVA: Guinea's Ebola outbreak is under control, but the death toll could rise above the current 74 because sick patients remain in hospital, the president said Wednesday.

"For the moment the situation is well in hand, and we touch wood that there won't be any new cases," President Alpha Conde told reporters during a visit to Geneva, home of the World Health Organization (WHO).

However he warned that with a number of people still in hospital suspected to be suffering from the deadly virus, the death toll may yet rise.

"There haven't been any new cases. But of those who remain in quarantine, there certainly will be some who will die," he said.

Working with the UN health agency and aid groups, Guinea remains on high alert against the virus, an incurable disease that can kill up to 90 percent of its victims.

On Tuesday, the health ministry said that 74 people had died so far this year in one of the worst ever outbreaks of the virus, with 121 confirmed cases. A larger number of people have been diagnosed with haemorrhagic fever, but not all those cases have been confirmed as Ebola.

No new cases have been recorded since Sunday, although four people are receiving treatment in the capital Conakry, and six in Gueckedou, in the south, which has seen one of the most serious outbreaks.

There is no vaccine or cure for Ebola, which can be caught from handling the blood or the bodily fluids of sick or dead forest animals.

Researchers in the United States have confirmed that the Guinea outbreak began after contact with bats caught for their meat in the country's southern forests, Conde noted.

It then spread in the hunters' communities and to health workers who initially failed to identify the risk posed by feverish patients.

To try and limit the outbreak, the government has advised Guineans to stop eating bats and avoid other "bush meat" when possible, and has also striven to apply infection-control measures by monitoring potential cases and those they have come into contact with.

The disease has spread to neighbouring Liberia, with suspected cases reported in Mali and Sierra Leone sparking fears it could spread throughout the region.

But in a sign of subsiding concerns, Senegal, which had closed its border with Guinea, reopened the frontier on Tuesday, Conde said.

The WHO has described the outbreak as one of the most challenging since the virus emerged in 1976 in what is now the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Ebola leads to haemorrhagic fever, causing muscle pain, weakness, vomiting, diarrhoea and, in severe cases, organ failure and unstoppable bleeding.

There is no vaccine or cure for the virus, which can easily spread among humans through contact with infected blood, bodily fluids and tissue.

Its spread can be stopped only by isolating suspected cases in ultra-clean conditions and quarantining those who have been in contact with them.

Ebola outbreak under control, says Guinea president

GENEVA: Guinea's Ebola outbreak is under control, but the death toll could rise above the current 74 because sick patients remain in hospital, the president said Wednesday.

"For the moment the situation is well in hand, and we touch wood that there won't be any new cases," President Alpha Conde told reporters during a visit to Geneva, home of the World Health Organization (WHO).

However he warned that with a number of people still in hospital suspected to be suffering from the deadly virus, the death toll may yet rise.

"There haven't been any new cases. But of those who remain in quarantine, there certainly will be some who will die," he said.

Working with the UN health agency and aid groups, Guinea remains on high alert against the virus, an incurable disease that can kill up to 90 percent of its victims.

On Tuesday, the health ministry said that 74 people had died so far this year in one of the worst ever outbreaks of the virus, with 121 confirmed cases. A larger number of people have been diagnosed with haemorrhagic fever, but not all those cases have been confirmed as Ebola.

No new cases have been recorded since Sunday, although four people are receiving treatment in the capital Conakry, and six in Gueckedou, in the south, which has seen one of the most serious outbreaks.

There is no vaccine or cure for Ebola, which can be caught from handling the blood or the bodily fluids of sick or dead forest animals.

Researchers in the United States have confirmed that the Guinea outbreak began after contact with bats caught for their meat in the country's southern forests, Conde noted.

It then spread in the hunters' communities and to health workers who initially failed to identify the risk posed by feverish patients.

To try and limit the outbreak, the government has advised Guineans to stop eating bats and avoid other "bush meat" when possible, and has also striven to apply infection-control measures by monitoring potential cases and those they have come into contact with.

The disease has spread to neighbouring Liberia, with suspected cases reported in Mali and Sierra Leone sparking fears it could spread throughout the region.

But in a sign of subsiding concerns, Senegal, which had closed its border with Guinea, reopened the frontier on Tuesday, Conde said.

The WHO has described the outbreak as one of the most challenging since the virus emerged in 1976 in what is now the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Ebola leads to haemorrhagic fever, causing muscle pain, weakness, vomiting, diarrhoea and, in severe cases, organ failure and unstoppable bleeding.

There is no vaccine or cure for the virus, which can easily spread among humans through contact with infected blood, bodily fluids and tissue.

Its spread can be stopped only by isolating suspected cases in ultra-clean conditions and quarantining those who have been in contact with them.

 

S Korean president ‘sorry’ for ferry disaster

SEOUL: South Korean President Park Geun-Hye apologised Tuesday for her government´s failure to combat systemic and regulatory "evils" blamed for the loss of about 300 lives in a ferry disaster.

Two days after her prime minister resigned over the tragedy, Park´s comments are another attempt to defuse growing public anger about the April 16 sinking of the 6,825-tonne Sewol.

"I don´t know how to apologise for the failure to prevent this accident, and for the insufficient first response," Park said in a statement to her cabinet that was broadcast on national television.

"I am sorry to the people and heavy-hearted that many precious lives were lost."

Park´s government has been widely criticised over perceived corruption and lax safety standards that may have led to the disaster, with claims that the ferry was overloaded and that the passenger list was inaccurate and incomplete.

Echoing words used by Prime Minister Chung Hong-Won when he fell on his sword on Sunday, Park blamed systemic and regulatory failings for one of South Korea´s worst ever maritime tragedies.

"I feel so regretful for having been unable to correct such long-running evils and letting an accident like this take place," she said.

Park accepted Chung´s resignation but ordered him to remain in office until the recovery operation was completed.

Earlier Tuesday, the president had travelled to Ansan, just south of Seoul, where she paid her respects at a memorial for the schoolchildren who died in the disaster.

Of the 476 people on board the Sewol, 325 were students from the same high school in Ansan. Only 75 of them were rescued.

But in a sign of the boiling anger felt by relatives of the missing and the dead, there were shouted demands for her floral tribute to be removed from the shrine, and reports the president had been jostled.

The confirmed death toll from the accident, which took place several hundred kilometres (miles) south of Ansan, stood at 193, with 109 people still missing.

Search mission spokesman Koh Myung-Seok said divers had worked their way through passenger cabins on the fourth and fifth levels of the submerged ferry on Tuesday, recovering four more bodies.

 

President Mamnoon downplays army-govt tiff

 

KARACHI: President Mamnoon Hussain on Thursday downplayed the apparent tiff between the army and the government, saying that prime minister will handle the situation once he returns from China after attending the 2014 Boao Forum for Asia.
“I know Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s mind. He will manage the situation. He will not allow any of the differences to magnify,” President Mamnoon told The News in an interview at the State Guest House — his abode in Karachi.

“The situation is certainly not grave as being painted by the media. An unnecessary hype has been created... the media should play a responsible role,” said the president while urging national unity and cohesion.

Hussain, the supreme commander of the Pakistani armed forces by virtue of his office, claimed that the army chief Raheel Sharif and Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif remain on the same page on all the important national issues. “I have exchanged views with the top army leaders, including the army chief, in recent days. The army continues to play a positive role and backs democracy,” he said.

Earlier this week, Chief of the Army Staff General Raheel Sharif, in a first of its kind statement, warned detractors against undermining the institution of the armed forces. “The Pakistan Army upholds the sanctity of all institutions and will resolutely preserve its own dignity and institutional pride,” the army chief had said on Monday while visiting commandoes at their base near Tarbela. General Sharif’s remarks created an uproar and triggered speculations that ties between the civil and military leadership remain strained over the handling of former army chief Pervez Musharraf’s trial on treason charges and the government’s initiative of holding talks with the local Taliban responsible for the killing of thousands of civilians and security personnel.

However, President Mamnoon believed that an unnecessary controversy had been generated out of the army chief’s remarks. “I agree that some statements were not needed and could have been avoided,” said Mamnoon in an apparent reference to the derogatory remarks made against Musharraf by Railways Minister Khawaja Saad Rafiq and Defence Minister Khawaja Asif.

The prime minister had categorically told his party leaders not to issue any statements against Pervez Musharraf as his case is in the court and remains sub judice, said Mamnoon praising what he called the prime minister’s political maturity and vision for the country.

“The prime minister does not believe in any personal vendetta… he is a mature politician and wants to focus only on putting the country’s battered economy back on the track and improving the law and order.”

Mamoon’s reconciliatory remarks are an indication that the civilian government is moving fast to control any possible damage in the civil-military ties. Mamoon, the soft-spoken and easygoing businessman from Karachi, is known for his closeness with Sharif. He stood by Sharif when many of the party stalwarts deserted their leader during the former military-led government.

“The army knows that Pakistani economy is facing a crisis-like situation and fully backs the government’s efforts for its revival… the army also supports the holding of talks with the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan,” Mamoon said.

He, however, admitted that the public opinion remains divided over the government’s talks initiative. “There are people who have suffered at the hands of the Taliban… they have seen their near and dear ones killed by terrorists. Therefore, they oppose talks… but still a majority favours this process.”

He said that the talks may result in brokering peace with some of the militant groups. This means that even if the government decides to launch an operation, then it would have to face a fewer number of militants, the president added.

Mamoon said that the country’s economic revival remains impossible without peace in the country, especially in the financial capital of Karachi.“The operation (against criminals and terrorists) in Karachi is going in the right direction, but we need more efforts by the Sindh government for its complete success,” he said.

“If there is peace in Karachi, the Sindh province will benefit the most… the provincial government should realise this,” he said.While giving details of the government’s efforts to boost growth and investment, Mamoon said that that China had promised $32 billion worth project financing and investments spanning over the next five years. “At least 22,000 megawatts of electricity will be generated through a mix of coal, nuclear and wind energy projects with the Chinese help.”

An economic corridor of roughly 4,000 kilometers will also be built connecting the Chinese city of Kashgar with Gawdar and Karachi, he said promising “extra security” to the Chinese investors.

President stresses national harmony to counter challenges

QUETTA: President Mamnoon Hussain on Wednesday stressed the need for promoting national harmony and close association among the provinces to foil nefarious designs against the country.

‘We Pakistanis, living in all federating units are brothers of each other and have to play our due role to make our country most respectable and developed among other countries of the world,’ he said while talking to journalists at the Governor’s House here. President Mamnoon said the country is facing the challenges of terrorism and economy, and the government would steer it out of all crises.

‘The major need of the hour is to curb terrorism and restore peace in the country, as no foreign and local investment could be attracted to any region, without restoration of peace and maintenance of law and order,’ he said, adding that peace dialogues with Taliban were underway and these would bear fruits in the shape of restoration of peace.

He said there was need to take steps to bring improvement in national economy and added a better economy puts the country on track of development. ‘Presently, economy has got domination on politics globally. Thriving trade and industrialization not only provide a large number of people with employment, but they also earn good name and respect for a country among all nations of the world,’ he said.

Mamnoon said that Governor Balochistan Muhammad Khan Achakzai, Chief Minister Balochistan, Dr Abdul Malik Baloch and other stakeholders had been given task to conduct peace talks with disgruntled Baloch nationalists to bring them into the mainstream.

Referring to Pak-China trade agreements, President Mamnoon said execution of the project of 4,000km long road from Tashkent to Gwadar and then to Karachi, and laying of railway track along it would boost the national economy.

The ongoing power generation projects in collaboration with China would generate 22,000MW electricity in the country, he said. It would not only help in ending load-shedding, but would also enable the country to export electricity, he added.

Rwandan president accuses France of direct role in 1994 genocide

PARIS: France has reacted with fury after the Rwandan president, Paul Kagame, renewed accusations of direct French involvement in the 1994 genocide, on the eve of ceremonies marking the 20th anniversary.

The French government announced that the justice minister, Christiane Taubira, would not attend the commemorations in Kigali after Kagame, in an interview with the weekly magazine Jeune Afrique, accused both France and Belgium of having a “direct role” in the genocide.A total 800,000 minority Tutsis and moderate Hutus were killed in the four-month killing spree triggered by the assassination of Rwanda’s Hutu president Juvénal Habyarimana.

The spirited French reaction highlights France’s tormented relations with Rwanda since Kagame, the former leader of the Tutsi rebels who swept to power after the genocide, became president.

Didier Reynders, the foreign minister of Belgium, the former colonial power in Rwanda, said he still intended to travel to Kigali to pay homage to the victims and their families. “We are not going to pay homage to the current Rwandan government,” Reynders said on Sunday.

The French foreign minister at the time of the 1994 massacres, Alain Juppé, said Kagame’s comments were a “falsification of history”.Kagame notably said that France had not “done enough to save lives” by mounting Operation Turquoise in the west of the country, and had not only been complicit but “an actor” in the massacre of Tutsis.

He pointed to “the direct role of Belgium and France in the political preparation of the genocide, and the participation of the latter in its actual execution”.Juppé said it was “intolerable that we are being designated as the main culprits.” He urged the French president, François Hollande, and the government to “defend without ambiguity the honour of France, and of its army and diplomats”.

France’s financial and military support of the Hutu authorities in Rwanda are at the root of Kagame’s suspicions. After two decades of mistrust, including a three-year break in diplomatic relations, there had been a tentative fence-mending in recent months. Last month France sentenced a Hutu former army captain, Pascal Simbikangwa, to 25 years in jail on genocide charges in the first such trial, and it has arrested a second suspect.

But Kagame shrugged off the verdict against Simbikangwa. “We’ll see what becomes of this sentence on appeal,” he told Jeune Afrique. —Courtesy The Guardian

Egypt’s Sisi says he will run for president

CAIRO: Egypt’s army chief Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said on Wednesday that he had quit the military to run for president, vowing to rid the country of “terrorism” nearly nine months after he toppled the elected leader.

Sisi, who was also defence minister, faces no serious competition in the election, likely before June, and is expected to win comfortably riding on a wave of popularity for his law and order message.

He declared his widely anticipated candidacy in a televised address.

“Today, I stand before you for the last time in a military uniform, after deciding to end my service as defence minister and commander of the armed forces,” he said, dressed in his field marshal’s uniform, sitting behind a wooden desk.

“With all modesty, I nominate myself for the presidency of Egypt.
“I will continue to fight every day for an Egypt free of terrorism,” he added. (AFP)

Indian SC proposes to appoint Gavaskar interim BCCI president

NEW DELHI: India’s Supreme Court recommended Thursday that batting legend Sunil Gavaskar takes over as interim president of the country’s cricket board in place of the embattled incumbent N Srinivasan.

A panel of judges also said the Chennai Super Kings and the Rajasthan Royals – the two teams at the centre of an ongoing probe into illegal betting and match-fixing – should be barred from the next edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) beginning next month.

“In the place of Srinivasan, we propose to appoint an experienced cricket player like Sunil Gavaskar to replace him and function as BCCI president,” Justice AK Patnaik said at a hearing in New Delhi.

“We are not removing anyone now, but Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals will not be allowed to participate in the IPL which commences on April 16,” added Patnaik, who is head of the two-judge panel.
 

The proposals came two days after the same court urged Srinivasan to stand down as president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to enable a “fair” investigation into allegations surrounding last year’s IPL.

The bench is looking at a damning report it commissioned into wrongdoing in last year’s edition of the annual Twenty20 tournament.

Released in February, the report concluded that Srinivasan’s son-in-law Gurunath Meiyappan could be guilty of illegal betting on IPL games.

Srinivasan is regarded as the most powerful man in world cricket and is due to take over in July as head of the International Cricket Council.

 

President for pragmatic approach to bridge doctors-patients gap

KARACHI: President Mamnoon Hussain has sought pragmatic approach to bridge the present gap between the number of patients and their accessibility to qualified doctors in the country.
Addressing the first convocation of Bahria University Medical and Dental College on Monday, he referred to the existent dilemma whereby Pakistani doctors have earned laurels across the world while a large number of Pakistanis themselves, especially in the remote areas, have little or no access to health care.
President Mamnoon Hussain acknowledged that many of the medical graduates and other qualified professionals, who are best of the country's minds, opt for abroad, due to limited opportunities and insufficient infrastructure.
"We need to reverse the trend," he said and sought coordinated efforts to address the situation at both individual and collective levels".
He said the government is aware of the issues that the doctors and other medical practitioners face in discharge of their duties and is undertaking every possible measure to address the problems.
President of Pakistan recommended, as a panacea, a strong and a robust partnership of public and private sector to meet the health care requirements of the people.
He said the present government also attaches top priority to health sector and supports all endeavours aimed at improving the quality of health care available to the people.
The President on the occasion advised fresh medical graduates in the country to focus on attaining post graduate degree in specialties relevant to the country's need.
"Attaining the fellowship of the College of Physicians and Surgeons should be your next milestone, after completing house jobs," he said.
He reminded these graduates of their responsibilities towards their country-men and women who still have little or no access to quality health care facilities.
"Let us all work to improve health care facilities in the private and public sectors with the help of government, philanthropists and private investment, especially for poor and needy patients," he said.
Vice Admiral (retd) Shahid Iqbal, Rector of Bahria University Medical and Dental College (BUMDC) in his welcome address said illiteracy and low education rates are among major challenges country is exposed to.
"And therefore in realization of its responsibilities Pakistan Navy besides defending and safeguarding sea frontiers of the country has established educational institutions of very high standards," he said.
These institutions, the BUMDC said, range from schools to universities providing primary to tertiary and basic to professional education.
The BUMDC Principal, Dr. Shaheen Moin referred to series of measures adopted for turning the institution into one of the country's top level medical college.
President Mamnoon Hussain conferred gold medals upon Dr. Sana Khalid and Dr Samreen Kausar for clinching 12 and 11 distinctions respectively in their MBBS degree programme.