Imran, Qadri, Rasheed, Chaudhry’s trying to derail democracy: Rafique

ISLAMABAD: Railways Minister Khawaja Saad Rafique criticized those individuals who had been organizing and calling for anti-government protests.

Speaking to reporters, Rafique said Imran Khan, Tahirul Qadri, Sheikh Rasheed and the Chaudhry brothers were trying to derail democracy.

“Let’s see who will lead the grand alliance,” Rafique said.

Rafique added that Sheikh Rasheed will not allow the alliance to be hijacked.

Responding to a question, Rafique said fool-proof security will be provided to Tahirul Qadri upon his arrival in Pakistan.

Trying to sell small arms, fighter jets to Saudi Arabia: Sartaj

LONDON: Adviser to the Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs and National Security Sartaj Aziz has said Pakistan wants to strike a balance between Saudi Arabia and Iran to ease tensions between the two countries.

In an interview with BBC's Urdu Service, Sartaj Aziz said Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif will visit Iran in May or June to discuss bilateral relations and world issues. When he was asked if Pakistan was sending arms to Syria, he said there was no specific agreement about Syria in the present circumstances.

Pakistan was following a neutral policy on Syria in line with UN resolutions. He said that sectarian divisions were very harmful for the Islamic world.

Sartaj further said Islamabad was making efforts to sell small arms and fighter aircraft to Saudi Arabia. He said it was strange that objections were being raised about it, though all world nations wanted to sell their weapons to other countries. He said there was no difficulty for Saudi Arabia to purchase weapons from any other country. There was no need for creating any doubts on the issue, he added.

Over Pakistan-Iran gas pipeline project, the advisor said that the project was intact, but due to sanctions the time limit for its implementation would have to be reset.

Rajapaksa says rivals trying to oust him with global support

PTI Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa has blamed opposition parties of trying to engineer his downfall with international support. 

 

Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa has blamed opposition parties of trying to engineer his downfall with international support saying his government “is being punished for ending terrorism”.

Campaigning for his ruling coalition in the two Provincial Assembly elections to be held next Saturday, the Sri Lankan President accused the opposition on Saturday of becoming a pawn to anti-Sri Lanka forces.

“They know they can’t win people’s hearts and win so they expect international support to topple the government,” Mr. Rajapaksa said in the southwestern town of Kaluthara.

“Madam (Navi) Pillay (UNHRC chief), U.S., U.K., all are moved against us by the Tamil diaspora,” he said on the UNHRC resolution to be voted on later this week in Geneva.

“We are being punished for ending terrorism. We did not fight Tamils, we only fought terrorism,” Mr. Rajapaksa stressed.

He appealed to the voters to send a powerful message to the international community.

“We will not tolerate any foreign interference and that will be the message,” he said.

The Sri Lankan President has opted to hold two Provincial elections both in the Sinhala-majority areas — the Western and Southern provinces, as a test of his popularity.

The U.S.-moved resolution is being dubbed by the government as action to try Mr. Rajapaksa in the international criminal court for alleged war crimes during the final battle with the LTTE.

Sri Lanka is facing its third U.N. Human Rights Council resolution in as many years, censuring the country on its lack of progress on human rights accountability and reconciliation with its Tamil minority after the civil war ended with the defeat of the LTTE in May 2009.

India had backed the previous two resolutions.

OSCE says monitors trying again to enter Crimea

VIENNA: The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe said its monitors would try again Saturday to enter Crimea, two days after being prevented from doing so.
"Yes, the mission will try to enter Crimea today again, they are now traveling by road to Armyansk checkpoint," OSCE spokeswoman Tatyana Baeva said, adding that the mission now numbered 54 military and civilian staff from 29 countries.