India says UN has no role to play in Kashmir

ISLAMABAD: The Narendra Modi government thinks the United Nations Military Observer Group (UNMOGIP) has no longer any role to play between Pakistan and India and has ordered it to vacate the government premises where they have been located free of charge for 40 years.

The free lunch is over, the UN has been told. Indian media reports say that the UN has been clearly told that “the UNMOGIP’s role has been overtaken by the Simla Agreement and the consequent establishment of the Line of Control. New Delhi is of the view that the UNMOGIP has no relevance or role to play whatsoever.”

The Foreign Office did not want to comment on media reports but the spokesperson told The News: “Even if true, such moves do not change the reality.”Meanwhile, an Indian official was quoted as saying: “They should stay in Srinagar and do what they want. In case they want to be stationed in Delhi, they should hire premises in a private property and not occupy the government property.”

It is only Pakistan that has time and again proposed to India to involve the UNMOGIP over disputes at the LoC as they are neutral observers and the ongoing blame game that follows skirmishes could come to an end.

But a strange philosophy governs New Delhi, where officially the UNMOGIP has offices in New Delhi and Srinagar with their mandate well known, but India refuses to involve them in any manner in disputes with Pakistan saying they do not want the third party involvement.

In keeping with the hawkish line that Modi has taken on Kashmir, it will not be long before the UNMOGIP office in Srinagar is also wrapped up.INP adds: According to Indian Express, the South Block has asked the UNMOGIP to vacate the bungalow — 1AB, Purana Qila Road — which has been serving as its office for the last four decades. The government accommodation — a Type VII bungalow, about 7,000 square feet — was allotted to the UN mission “free of charge”.

The UNMOGIP, established under a UN Security Council Resolution, was meant to supervise the ceasefire line established under the Karachi Agreement of July 1949.

When contacted, UNMOGIP’s Military Information Officer Major Tomas Malm, who is based in Srinagar, confirmed that the government has asked them to vacate the premises. “UNMOGIP’s response is to relocate to another location in Delhi,” he said. Asked if they have been told the reason for this directive, he said, “The Indian authorities’ reason is unknown to UNMOGIP.”Asked if the move reflected New Delhi’s stand towards the UNMOGIP, he said, “You have to ask the Indian government regarding their attitude towards us.”

PAF role crucial to make country’s defence invincible: COAS

SARGODHA: Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Raheel Sharif has said Pakistan Air Force (PAF) has a crucial role to make the country's defence invincible.

He was addressing the ceremony regarding induction of Fourth Squadron of F-16 planes into PAF fleet at Mushaf Airbase in Sargodha Wednesday.

The army chief said the induction of these aircrafts would further increase the professional capabilities of the PAF.

He said role of Mushaf Airbase is immensely important in the country's defense.

Lauding the cooperation of Royal Jordanian Air Force and the Kingdom of Jordan, the Army Chief said this initiative would strengthen the existing historic bonds between the two countries.

Earlier, Chief of Air Staff, Air Chief Marshall Tahir Rafique Butt in his address said addition of new squadron in the fleet will increase PAF's capacity in combating both internal as well as external challenges.

He thanked the prime minister for giving go ahead to complete this project despite financial constraints.

Pakistan urges increased UNGA role in UN chief' s appointment

UNITED NATIONS: Pakistan has called for enhancing the General Assembly's role in the selection and appointment of the United Nations secretary general saying that the world's top diplomat should have the confidence and support of all member states.

The position and the wide ranging role and responsibilities of the secretary general as statesman top diplomat advocate and chief administrative officer are important for the entire UN membership not just the Security Council... Ambassador Masood Khan told a UN panel on Friday while advocating improved coordination between the Assembly and the Council.

A candidate for Secretary general is picked in secret by the Security Council and then recommended for approval by the General Assembly. But each of the five big powers in the council Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States can veto a candidate killing his or her chances of going before the Assembly.

Speaking in a meeting of the Ad hoc Working Group on the Revitalization of the Work of the General Assembly, Masood Khan Pakistan's permanent representative to the UN underscored the need for evolving consensus in the process of UN chief's appointment requiring inclusiveness transparency and interaction.

The General Assembly should not be there to rubber stamp a decision already taken, the Pakistani envoy said, while speaking in a debate on Role and Responsibility of the General Assembly in the Appointment of the Secretary General.

Apparently the recommendation by the Security Council is not exclusive but well established practice would belie that interpretation he said. The challenge is to ensure that the recommendation and the appointment are not isolated acts but part of a process which is underpinned by participation and ownership of both the principal organs and of all member states. In fact he expressed the view that neither the recommendation nor the appointment can or should be made without proper consultation and interaction. This would require increased cooperation and coordination between the Assembly and the Council.

Referring to an Assembly resolution proposing sufficient time for interaction of candidates for the post of UN chief with member states Masood Khan said We can take a start by putting this provision into practice ahead of the next appointment of the Secretary General. In this context Masood Khan added.

The process of consideration of the candidatures by the Security Council should be guided and informed by this prior interaction and sense of the house in the General Assembly. A recommendation emanating from such a process and the appointment by the Assembly on that basis would have fulfilled the requirement of inclusiveness and ownership while also accomplishing this task with consensus and acclamation which is the desired and the best way of doing it.

Jang, Geo have played historic role for national stability: LHCBA Slams attack on Hamid Mir

LAHORE: The Lahore High Court Bar Association (LHCBA) has condemned the attack on Geo News anchorperson Hamid Mir, terming it an attack on the freedom of the press.

Addressing a press conference, bar president Shafqat Mahmood Chohan, vice president Amir Jalil Siddiqui, secretary Mian Ahmad and finance secretary Mian Iqbal said the Jang group and Geo have played a historic role in stability of state institutions, an independent judiciary and restoration of democracy.

They said lawyers will stand by the journalists who speak and write the truth fearlessly and serve the nation. They said media men suffered punishments, brutalities along with lawyers for the independence of the judiciary. They demanded early arrest of attackers of Hamid Mir and punishment.

On the occasion, Amir Jalil said Hamid Mir studied along with him at the university. Hamid Mir had never compromised on his principles. Secretary Mian Chachar said Hamid Mir was dauntless in speaking the truth, and the attack on him was a show of cowardice.

He said lawyers were with journalists and while a judicial commission had been established, any view can be expressed only after a report was presented by the commission. Mian Iqbal said the attack on Hamid Mir was an attack on the freedom of the press. They demanded that Pervez Musharraf should be sentenced after his trial. They pledged to resist unendingly if any despot tried to take such a step. He said if any tilt was shown in the Musharraf case, court will also be blamed for it.

ISI’s role crucial in national security: Gen Raheel

 

ISLAMABAD: In an effort to boost the morale of the beleaguered ISI in the wake of an allegation that some of its men were involved in the murderous attack on senior Geo News anchor Hamid Mir in Karachi, army chief Gen. Raheel Sharif on Tuesday said the premier intelligence agency was a ‘strategic institution’ that had been working to protect the interests of the motherland.
Gen. Raheel visited the ISI Headquarters where its Director General Lt. Gen. Zaheerul Islam gave him a detailed briefing on the internal and external security situation.The army chief commended the work done by the ISI to counter both the internal and external threats to the country.

Gen Raheel was also briefed on the intelligence input being provided to the law enforcement agencies against the miscreants.The army chief said the officers and men of armed forces had rendered marvellous services for protecting national security and never hesitated to sacrifice their lives to defend the motherland.

He also discussed matters of professional interest with senior officials of the agency.Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif visited Hamid Mir at the Aga Khan University Hospital (AKUH) in Karachi and ordered a high-level judicial probe into the incident.

The Chief Justice of Pakistan, Tassaduq Hussain Jillani, on Monday constituted a three-member judicial commission, comprising Justice Anwar Zaheer Jamali, Justice Ijaz Afzal Khan and Justice Iqbal Hameedur Rehman, to investigate the incident.

The chief justice approved the names of three judges for the judicial commission after a formal request from the government.Journalist Amir Mir, the brother of Hamid Mir, had blamed some members of the ISI for the attack. The Inter Services Public Relations — the military mouthpiece — however was quick to regret what it called the “baseless and misleading” finger-pointing at the ISI.

During a debate in the Senate on Monday, several opposition lawmakers demanded a detailed investigation into the incident and advised against criticising the national security institutions before reaching facts. They also urged the ISI to avail itself of this opportunity to clear its name by facilitating the judicial commission in probing the incident.

A PPP stalwart and Leader of the Opposition in the Senate Aitzaz Ahsan said though he had been critical of the ISI’s interference in the country’s political affairs, he believed no one should jump to accusations against an institution.

Aitzaz also threw light on the ISI’s role in training Mujahideen for Jihad against the then USSR in Afghanistan, Operation Midnight Jackal and its involvement in the electoral process vis-à-vis the Asghar Khan case.

“The ISI should take the allegations as a challenge and extend its assistance in the investigations,” Muttahida Qaumi Movement’s Senator Nasreen Jalil said.The upper house of parliament also adopted a unanimous resolution expressing deep concern over the series of attacks on journalists and urging the government to take steps to protect them.

At the beginning of the session, reporters covering the Senate proceedings walked out from the Press Gallery to protest the attack. However, they returned after both the treasury and opposition leaders promised to constitute a committee to look into a possible legislation for the safety and protection of journalists and their rights.

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

Shahbaz stresses on women role in progress of Pakistan

LAHORE: Chief Minister Punjab Shahbaz Sharif has stated that if the metro bus project could be launched in 11 months, the obsolete system could also be changed, Geo News reported.

Addressing the convocation of Lahore College of Women University here Monday, Shahbaz Sharif asked the girls to play their due role after completing their studies. He said the country could not progress if educated women spend time at home to drink coffee.

CM Punjab announced to open the doors of treasury for the university, which make its place in the first 500 universities of the world.

Shahbaz further said happiness could not be brought by playing drums, adding that hardworking was key to happiness.

 

Did Kareena ask Sanjay Leela Bhansali for Mastani role?

Kareena Kapoor Khan

 

While Deepika Padukone has been finalised in Sanjay Leela Bhansali's dream project, Bajirao Mastani, buzz is that Kareena Kapoor Khan had expressed her eagerness to play the female protagonist. The epic love story revolves around Peshwa Bajirao, an early 18th century Maratha general and Mastani, the beautiful and brave woman who became his second wife. And the filmmaker has been planning to make it for over a decade now.

Apparently, Bhansali isn't too keen to cast Kareena. More so after she opted out of Ram-Leela when construction work of his sets had already reportedly begun. Eventually, he cast Deepika Padukone instead as Leela opposite Ranveer Singh's Ram. Now that the film has become a hit, the filmmaker is more eager to cast his Deepika again in Bajirao Mastani. And industry talk is that he has conveyed to Kareena that while she can't be his Mastani, he can offer her the supporting part of Kashibai, Bajirao's first and older wife. Predictably, Bebo is said to have declined the role. Now, reports claim that Priyanka Chopra, who is playing Mary Kom in the biopic produced by Bhansali, has been cast as Kashibai.

Interestingly, Bhansali and Kareena have fallen out earlier too. The first time, she was upset when he cast Aishwarya Rai as Paro in his visually extravagant Devdas. Then he was angry with her for taking up Kyun Ki opposite Salman Khan, when he was planning to cast them together in Bajirao Mastani. Guess after she left Ram-Leela he is too upset with her to sign her up as his leading lady again.

Don’t know who will play my role in ‘Fantastic Four’: Jessica Alba

Alba, 32, played the role of the invisible woman in last two films but will not be seen in the upcoming reboot. She has been replaced by Kate Mara, reported Contactmusic. (Still)

Actress Jessica Alba says she does not care who plays her character of Sue Storm in the next installment of ‘Fantastic Four’.
Alba, 32, played the role of the invisible woman in last two films but will not be seen in the upcoming reboot. She has been replaced by Kate Mara, reported Contactmusic.
“I don’t have any sort of real attachment to anything like that. I’m like, the more the better, I don’t really have any idea. It’s not like I created the comic book. I think Stan Lee (the co-creator of ‘Fantastic Four’) should have a say in who plays Sue,” said Alba.
“I don’t read entertainment news so I’m not aware of it, but I love that comic book and it’s such a great story about family and staying together,” she said.
‘Fantastic Four’ is scheduled for release in June.

Amanda Seyfried scores lead role in Ted 2, replacing Mila Kunis

According to American media reports Hollywood actress Amanda Seyfried will be playing Mark Wahlberg’s new love interest in Ted 2.Seyfried will be replacing Mila Kunis to play the leading female in ‘Ted’ sequel; however, director Seth MacFarlane cleared the change is entirely for creative purpose. It is being said that Kunis, who ties the knot with Wahlberg at the end of Ted’s first instalment, may make a short appearance in the forthcoming film. Meanwhile, Wahlberg ...