The New Nation - Internet Edition

Lawmakers call Musharraf unfit, demand his quit

AP, Islamabad

Lawmakers in Pakistan's most powerful province on Monday accused President Pervez Musharraf of gross misconduct and demanded he step down, an opening salvo in the ruling coalition's campaign to oust the defiant former army chief.

The political battle unfolded as witnesses reported Pakistan's military rained bombs on militants in a tribal region along the border with Afghanistan in fighting that has killed dozens of people and forced thousands to flee in recent days.

The events underscored the volatility in Pakistan, a politically and economically struggling country whose help is seen by Washington as critical to winning the war on extremist groups.

Legislators in Punjab province's assembly voted overwhelmingly, 321-25, for the anti-Musharraf resolution, even drawing support from 35 members of the main pro-Musharraf party, the Pakistan Muslim League-Q.

Lawmakers from the national governing coalition chanted "Go, Musharraf, go!" and stood in support for the resolution, which called the longtime U.S. ally "unfit" to serve and accused him of violating the constitution, gross misconduct and economic mismanagement.

Though the measure carries no constitutional weight, it ramps up the pressure on the president.

Musharraf seized power in a 1999 military coup and dominated Pakistan for years, but he grew increasingly unpopular, especially after he removed dozens of judges and declared emergency rule last year. He has been largely sidelined since his foes won February's parliamentary elections.

The resolution calls on Musharraf to seek a vote of confidence by the federal and provincial assemblies or to resign. Otherwise the Punjab assembly will ask Parliament to impeach him.

The other three provincial assemblies are expected to vote on similar resolutions in the coming days, after which an impeachment motion would be brought up in Parliament.

Chaudhry Pervez Elahi, leader of the pro-Musharraf bloc in the National Assembly, predicted any impeachment process would take months and involve many twists. He said his party would stand by the president.

"We will defend him in every form," Elahi said.

Khawaja Asif, a top official in one of the governing coalition parties, predicted the upcoming provincial assembly votes will produce similar results to that in Punjab. "I personally feel that Musharraf's goose is cooked," Asif said. "Nobody wants to be in a sinking ship. They want to be on the right side at this crucial moment."

No president has been impeached in Pakistan's turbulent 61-year history, but the coalition argues it will succeed in getting the two-thirds majority required in a joint sitting of both houses of Parliament to strip Musharraf of the presidency.

Analysts say a vote to oust Musharraf could be close. The president also retains the right to dismiss Parliament and the prime minister, but such moves would be highly controversial and require support from the army, which has indicated it wants to stay out of politics.

In a statement Monday, the U.S. Embassy signaled that Washington is concerned about maintaining favor with Pakistan's new leaders whatever happens to Musharraf.

"We remain close allies in the war on terror and will continue our close ties with the democratically elected government of Pakistan," embassy spokesman Lou Fintor said.

Pakistan is under intense American pressure to root out Islamic militants in its tribal regions on the Afghan frontier - areas that are considered havens for insurgents attacking U.S. and NATO forces across the border in Afghanistan.

On Monday, Pakistani military forces dropped bombs and shot at suspected militant positions as part of an offensive that began last week in Bajur tribal region, witnesses said.

The army spokesman, Maj. Gen. Athar Abbas, said authorities were checking reports a close aide of al-Qaida No. 2 leader Ayman al-Zawahri was killed, but declined to comment otherwise on the operation. Bajur is considered a possible hiding place for al-Zawahri and Osama bin Laden.

Indian troops shoot dead five protesters in Kashmir

AFP, Srinagar

Five Muslim protesters were killed Tuesday when Indian security forces opened fire on two demonstrations in revolt-hit Kashmir, police and doctors said.

The protests came the day after Indian troops shot dead a leading separatist politician and four other demonstrators in the disputed valley, the scene of worsening violence. Three protesters were gunned down near Bandipora, a town about 65 kilometres (40 miles) north of Indian Kashmir's summer capital Srinagar. "Three people died when security forces opened fire at a protest," a police official said.

Two more protesters were killed in Lasjan, on the outskirts of Srinagar, said a doctor at Srinagar's main hospital. "They were killed in police firing," witness Ghulam Ahmed said, adding the two were part of a "big protest demonstration."

Kashmiri separatist leader Sheikh Abdul Aziz was gunned down by Indian security personnel on Monday during a protest near the Line of Control, which divides the Indian and Pakistani portions of the disputed region.

Afghan president urges military action in Pakistan

AP, Kabul

President Hamid Karzai said Sunday that airstrikes carried out in Afghan villages by U.S. and NATO troops are only killing civilians and that the international community should instead go after terror centers in Pakistan.

International forces serving under NATO and the separate U.S.-led coalition insist that the vast majority of those killed in air raids are militants. However, they also acknowledge that civilians are sometimes killed in bombing runs, though they accuse militants of firing on international troops from civilian homes they have commandeered.

Speaking under a tree on the grounds of the presidential palace, Karzai said the international community should take its fight across the border into Pakistan, where militants find safe havens in Pakistan's tribal region.

"The struggle against terrorism is not in the villages of Afghanistan," Karzai said. "The only result of the use of airstrikes is the killing of civilians. This is not the way to wage the fight against terrorism."

Afghan officials say U.S. or NATO airstrikes killed dozens of civilians in two incidents last month, including 47 people who were killed while walking to a wedding in the eastern province of Nangarhar on July 6.

Malaysian ruling party women declare 'jihad’ against Anwar

AFP, Kuala Lumpur

The women's wing of Malaysia's ruling party has reportedly declared a "jihad" or holy war to prevent opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim returning to parliament in a by-election this month.

"It is a jihad because this individual should not be given the chance to destroy the country's political stability and prosperity," women's wing deputy chief Shahrizat Abdul Jalil said according to The Star newspaper.

Shahrizat, a former cabinet minister, lost her seat in parliament to Anwar's daughter Nurul Izzah in landmark March elections that handed the opposition unprecedented gains against the ruling coalition.

"If we allow him to lead the country, he would lead us to destruction," she said as she launched the women's wing campaign for the August 26 by-election in Anwar's home state of Penang.

The United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) leads the coalition and represents the interests of Muslim Malays who are the majority in Malaysia, alongside ethnic Chinese and Indian minorities.

UN peacekeeper helicopter hit by gunfire in Darfur

AP, Khartoum

A helicopter used by the joint United Nations-African Union peacekeeping mission in Darfur was hit by gunfire Monday and forced to return to its airfield.

U.N. spokesman Noureddine Mezni said it was not immediately clear who fired, damaging the rear of the aircraft and its radio. There were no casualties.

Peacekeepers have frequently been attacked by armed gunmen. An ambush in July killed seven soldiers.

The force took over peacekeeping duties in January from a beleaguered African Union-only force, but is still operating with only about a third of its authorized 26,000 soldiers. It also lacks sufficient combat and rescue helicopters.

Fighting erupted in Darfur in 2003 when ethnic African rebels took up arms against the Arab-dominated central government, accusing it of discrimination. Up to 300,000 people have been killed and more than 2.5 million displaced.

Sudan's government is accused of unleashing janjaweed militias in a reign of terror against Darfur civilians. The government in Khartoum denies the allegation.

Japan's WWII PM wanted to keep fighting

AFP, Tokyo

Hideki Tojo, Japan's prime minister for much of World War II, wanted to keep fighting after the atomic bombings as he believed surrender was a disgrace, according to journal entries published Tuesday. Tojo, an army general, ordered the 1941 bombing of Pearl Harbor that brought the United States into World War II but was forced out as premier in 1944 as the tide of the conflict turned. He was hanged as a war criminal in 1948 by orders of an Allied court. In the run-up to Friday's anniversary of Japan's surrender, the Nikkei newspaper said it had discovered for the first time Tojo's diaries from the last days of the war. "Without fully employing its abilities even at the final moment, the imperial nation is surrendering before the enemies' propaganda," Tojo wrote, as quoted by the newspaper. "I never imagined the torpor of the nation's leaders and people," he wrote.

Bomb hits Pakistan air force vehicle, 14 dead

AP, Peshawar

A roadside bomb hit a Pakistan air force truck in a northwestern city Tuesday, killing 14 people as the military pounded insurgent positions in a nearby tribal region.

The blast hit the vehicle on a bridge on the outskirts of Peshawar, provincial police chief Malik Naveed Khan said. The truck was traveling between the city and the nearby air force base in Badaber. Interior Ministry chief Rehman Malik said al-Qaida-linked militants were likely behind the attack. He said Pakistan had been taking action against Taliban militants, but he did not say whether Tuesday's attack could be a response to recent military operations in the region.

"It is our firm resolve that we will root out terrorism from Pakistan, and all of our security agencies are working together to achieve this goal," he told The Associated Press.

The powerful explosion went off around 11 a.m. and tore a large hole in the bridge, reducing the Mazda truck to a smoldering wreck. The site was littered with debris, blood and also the mangled wreckage of a motorcycle.

Jordan's Abdullah first Arab leader to visit Iraq

Reuters, Baghdad

King Abdullah of Jordan on Monday became the first Arab leader to visit Iraq since the fall of Saddam Hussein in 2003, a landmark step towards reducing Baghdad's isolation among its Sunni Arab neighbors. Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's office released television footage showing the king embracing members of the Iraqi cabinet lined up to greet him. Abdullah and Maliki walked hand in hand along a corridor before sitting down for talks.

Washington has urged Iraq's Arab neighbors to do more to embrace Baghdad, whose Shi'ite-led government complains it gets the cold shoulder in an overwhelmingly Sunni-led Arab world. "The king of Jordan took a bold step when he visited Iraq today," Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshiyar Zebari said in a television interview following Abdullah's visit.