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Sharif upset over border clashes, calls for peace
Sharif upset over border clashes, calls for peace (IANS) / 9 August 2013 Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif expressed “sadness” on Thursday over the border clashes in Kashmir, and said India and Pakistan must take “effective steps” to restore normalcy on the frontier. Sharif told foreign ministry officials here that he was sad over the incidents involving Pakistani and Indian troops along the Line of Control (LoC) that divides Jammu and Kashmir between the two countries. ‘The prime minister said it was imperative for both India and Pakistan to take effective steps to ensure and restore ceasefire on the LoC,’ a foreign ministry statement quoted him as saying. Sharif’s comments came as Indian Defence Minister A.K. Antony earlier in the day formally accused the Pakistan Army of killing the five soldiers in Indian territory early Tuesday. Antony’s previous statement blaming ‘heavily armed terrorists’ and others in Pakistani military uniform led to a storm, with the opposition accusing him of trying to take away the blame from the Pakistan Army. Without referring to the death of the Indian soldiers, the statement said the clashes – two Pakistani soldiers were later wounded by Indians – had flared up tensions between India and Pakistan leading to ‘loss of precious human lives’. Sharif, who took power in June, emphasised that existing military-to-military channels could be more optimally used to prevent misunderstanding between the two neighbours. The present crisis, he said, should not be allowed to escalate. ‘Pakistan … is prepared to discuss steps with India for further strengthening of existing mechanisms both at the political and military levels,’ the statement quoted him as saying. This is the first major diplomatic crisis Sharif is facing and it comes ahead of a planned meeting between him and his Indian counterpart Manmohan Singh on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in September. Sharif said it was incumbent upon the leaders of India and Pakistan ‘not to allow the situation to drift and to take steps to improve the atmosphere by engaging constructively with a view to building trust and confidence’. He said he looked forward to his meeting with Manmohan Singh in New York, where he hoped to ‘discuss steps to further build trust and consolidate this relationship’. The prime minister reiterated Pakistan’s resolve to persist in its efforts to improve relations with India ‘through a constructive dialogue on all issues’. Those present at Sharif’s meeting included Information Minister Pervez Rashid and Advisor to the prime minister on National Security Sartaj Aziz. The Tuesday killings of Indian soldiers and the wounding of a sixth have led to calls in India that further talks with Pakistan must be called off. Continue reading
Al Qaeda terror threat escalates
Al Qaeda terror threat escalates Amanda Fisher and Nivriti Butalia / 4 August 2013 As the threat of Al Qaeda-linked terror attacks extends across the globe, with the German, French and British embassies in Yemen announcing closures on Saturday in addition to blanket US embassy closures, local residents and security experts are remaining sceptical about the danger in the UAE. Extra blockades in place at a checkpoint leading to the US embassy in the Yemeni capital of Saana on Saturday. — AFP The American State Department announced on Thursday that 21 embassies across the Middle East would shut down Sunday, while on Friday a global travel alert was issued warning US citizens to be cautious travelling through the Middle East and North Africa after it revealed it had intelligence Al Qaeda was planning an attack in the region this month. On Saturday, the German and British foreign ministries announced the closure of the Yemen embassies in Sanaa only for both Sunday and Monday, while the French government said its embassy would shut for today only, signalling the threat is centred in the country. Interpol also issued a global security alert, after it revealed a series of prison breaks in Iran, Pakistan and Libya could be related and Al Qaeda-orchestrated. A British Foreign Ministry spokesman told Khaleej Times the closure related only to its mission in Sanaa, as did a German Foreign Ministry spokesman, who cited security reasons. “This is the only closure of a German embassy that has been decided so far and communicated. Of course, we are constantly checking the security situation and we’re in constant exchange with our international partners and we’re ready to take further measures.” He would not be drawn on the security situation in the UAE or whether further closures at different embassies were likely. The British Foreign Ministry said in a statement that it was “particularly concerned” about security in the lead-up to Eid Al Fitr. MENEA Travel Security Services regional security director Julian Moro said the threat was “more of a logistics problem than anything”. “We don’t look at it as a sensational threat.” Speaking of the speculated role of Al Qaeda, Moro said the company’s terrorism risk ratings for countries had not changed as a result of the recent alerts, and the rating for the UAE continued to be low. “The terrorism risk varies greatly between the listed countries.” He urged people to put faith in capable authorities. “Individuals should look at this from the perspective that intelligence services are capable and continue to monitor the environment for genuine threats and by taking a conservative approach they are minimising the risk to their staff, citizens and visitors.” John Larson, a media-marketing consultant who has been in Dubai for the past 16 years, said he was not particularly worried about the threat — one that he had heard of through the web and word-of-mouth. “I’ve been here 16 years and there have been just so many alerts and terror threats and warnings, that one is just kind of used to it.” However, he said it did not hurt to be vigilant. “This is a heads-up, sure, and you don’t want to be foolish. But based on the accuracy of these warnings over the last 10-12 years… well, I wouldn’t not do anything that I was going to do anyway. So if I had a plane to catch, I would still catch it.” Meanwhile, Interpol is investigating whether recent prison breaks in the three Islamic countries of Iraq, Libya and Pakistan, were linked, given the suspicion Al Qaeda was behind some of the breaks through which many escaped prisoners have not yet been caught. It asked its 190 member-countries to be on alert for information connected to the incidents. Prison breaks took place in Pakistan on July 31 in a Taleban-led operation, and in Iraq at the Abu Ghraib prison overnight on July 22. Some 500 convicts, among them senior Al Qaeda operatives, escaped from Abu Ghraib. More than 1,100 inmates broke out of a prison on the outskirts of Benghazi on July 27. Interpol also noted that August was the anniversary of several violent attacks over the past years, including in Mumbai and Nairobi. news@khaleejtimes.com (With inputs from agencies) Continue reading
Six rescued from burning building
Six rescued from burning building Nivriti Butalia / 4 August 2013 Six construction workers were rescued when the under-construction building they were working on caught fire, stranding hundreds of commuters as Dubai Metro services halted for several hours. Smoke billows from the building under construction that caught fire in Downtown Dubai on shaikh Zayed road on saturday. — KT photo by Rahul Gajjar The all-male crew were working on the sixth floor of the building, located 200 metres away from The Dubai Mall metro station, early on Saturday morning, when the fire was detected. The commanding fire rescue officer said his men reached the location of the fire in a record four minutes, from the nearby Al Manara station. “We got the call at 5.54am and we were at the site at 5.58.” He said the six men were trapped in the building, on the same floor as the fire and blackened windows with smoke coming out of them were visible to the onlookers down below. “We faced obstacles getting to (the men), as the space was being used as a warehouse, so we had crates and boxes in our way, but we managed to rescue all six.” He confirmed no one was injured in the blaze. Meanwhile, Dubai Metro services between the Jafiliya and the Business Bay metro stations were interrupted for two hours due to the fire which broke out near the Burj Khalifa. The building is located right opposite a car showroom and a RAKBANK outlet. The Roads and Transport Authority rail operation director Ramadan Abdullah, who was at the site of the fire by 7am said this might be the first time Dubai Metro services were interrupted due to a fire. The extinguishing operation continued for about three hours and by 9am the situation was well under control with the fire put out. The metro services resumed by 10am. Due to the interruption in the metro services the usually desolate Business Bay metro station area was clogged with people and metro replacement buses. A flood of cabs from all five Dubai cab companies had been diverted to the area for people to carry on with their respective commutes. – news@khaleejtimes.com Continue reading
