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Nation
& States
Israel wall ruling precedent: Pakistan
wants India to stop fencing border
What is India News Service, July 13, 2004, 1700 hrs IST
Pakistan on Monday declared that the ruling by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) against the
Israeli wall on Palestinian territory was a moral victory for the international community, and urged
India to dismantle its fencing along the Line of
Control in Kashmir.
Foreign office spokesman Masood Khan said Israel must
respect the ICJ ruling, instead of defying it. We believe dismantling the wall is the most advisable
course of action because it will be the biggest confidence-building measure to facilitate peace
process in the Middle East.? He dismissed the charge that Pakistan had not seriously taken up the Indian
fence issue in international forums.
Water pacts annulled: A special session of the Punjab assembly passed the Punjab Termination of Agreements
Bill, 2004, knocking down the very basis of the Supreme Court order on the construction of the
Sutlej-Yamuna Link canal.
The annulment comes after 23 years
with two staunch political rivals, the Congress and the Akalis, joining
hands to protect the state's riparian rights.
Immediately after the bill was passed, chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh,
accompanied by leader of the opposition Parkash Singh Badal and a team of legal
experts, went to Raj Bhavan to meet governor O P Verma to request him to give his assent to the bill, as the
deadline for compliance with the Supreme Court order was July 15. Neigbouring state Haryana has warned the
act would precipitate a constitutional crisis.
Quota for
Muslims: The Andhra Pradesh government today issued an order reserving for Muslims five per cent of
government jobs and admissions to educational institutions.
The order provides for inclusion of Muslims in backward classes. Currently, according to the Supreme
Court ruling in the Mandal case, only certain sections of Muslims classified as ??socially and economically
backward classes?? get the benefit of reservation.
Pakistan tightening anti-terror
laws: The Pakistan federal cabinet on Monday constituted a ministerial
committee to prepare recommendations for making
anti-terrorist laws more effective and comprehensive.
Wana fighting: A minor girl was killed and at least 14
people, including six members of Pakistan's security forces, were wounded as fierce clashes between
militants and paramilitary forces continued in the troubled South Waziristan region on Monday.
The three-day-long intense fighting between security forces and militants is taking a heavy toll on
civilians as a large number of families are moving away to safer places to escape the relentless
shelling.
At least six soldiers were wounded, two of them seriously, when an army vehicle hit a land-mine in
Azam Warsak near the Afghan border. The seriously wounded soldiers were flown to Peshawar.
Witnesses said the army vehicle was carrying water for soldiers when it hit the explosive device on the road.
Inter services Public Relations (ISPR) Director-General Maj-Gen Shaukat Sultan confirmed the
incident, but did not give exact figures of
casualties.
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Afghan troops abduct
Pakistanis: Afghan border security forces ?abducted? four levies staff across
the border on Sunday.
Constituency
issue: The Supreme Court directed that writ petitions filed by the former MPs Kuldip Nayar
and Inderjit, challenging amendments dispensing with
the domicile requirement, be posted before a larger bench.
A bench, headed by Justice K G Balakrishnan permitted the Election Commission last month to hold elections
to the Rajya Sabha for filling 65 vacancies from 14
States across the country.
Protection
racket: For the past several months, Indian taxpayers may have been subsidising the activities of
the Hizb-ul-Mujahideen in Jammu and Kashmir.
Investigations into last month's murder of the Indian
Railways Construction Company indicate that officials could be offering protection money to militants in the
valley.
Lankan
victory: Sri Lankan president Chandrika Kumaratunga today described the "decisive victory" of
the United People's Freedom Alliance at the provincial council
elections held on July 10 as "a clear
endorsement" of her government's policies.
Flood
relief: The army has been pressed into service to evacuate people in the flood-affected regions of
Bihar and Assam and to undertake relief measures on a
war footing.
Overall:
Pakistan wants India to stop fence work: It says the World Court ruling on the Israel wall should be a
lesson to India.
Punjab cancelled water pacts: It passed an act that could trigger a constitutional crisis.
Fighting continued in Wana: The Pakistan-Afghan border continued to witness battles between security forces
and militants.
Army rushed to flood-hit areas: It is trying to evacuate people marooned by the floods in Bihar and
Assam.
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