SOUTH ASIA
Hazare Defends Corruption Allegations
Ralegan Siddhi: Social activist Anna Hazare Tuesday said all allegations against him and his team are baseless and false and he was disappointed with the statements by Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) V. Narayanasamy.
In response to the minister’s allegations against Team Anna members Arvind Kejriwal and Kiran Bedi, Hazare dared the government to act against him if he and his team members were anti-nationals. “Punish me if I’m guilty. We are not backed by any foreign hand. All allegations against us from the PMO are false and baseless. This is just a trick to divert attention from the Lokpal bill,” he said, adding,
“Narayanasamy said Anna lacked the will to fight corruption. He says we are anti-nationals. But I’m already fighting corruption tooth and nail. What more does he want me to do? This is not right.”
At the same time, Hazare asked the central government to show the proof of foreign-funding for my movement. “The PMO should reveal which foreign hand is behind me, such baseless statement is not expected from the PMO,” he said, adding, “I have been accused of not giving an account of the money which was collected at Ramlila Maidan (venue of his anti-corruption protest in Delhi). This is completely wrong. Account of every penny is there for everyone to see. We are in the clear. We have posted it online. We have even got the accounts audited. What more do they want.”
Hazare, in turn, demanded that the government and various political parties give account of the money they collected.
He dismissed the PMO’s claims that there was no evidence against Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in the Comptroller and Auditor General’s (CAG) report on coal blocks allocation and said: “Smoke is always accompanied by fire. They should investigate the allegations.”
Hazare said the government should make public the status of investigations against each of the 14 ministers who were accused of corruption and said there was sufficient evidence against them. “I have sent the file of evidence against the cabinet ministers to UPA (United Progressive Alliance) chairperson Sonia Gandhi as well. They should investigate cases against these ministers based on the evidence we have given,” he said.
Reiterating his call for a strong Lokpal, Hazare again questioned the will of the government to fight corruption. “The government is not serious about passing an anti-graft bill,” he said.
He also accused the government of trying to divert the attention from the real issues, saying “that is the reason why the PMO is making such comments against me. This is cheating the people again. The government has cheated and betrayed the people of the nation at all levels.”
SOUTH ASIA
Pakistani Anti-graft body wants travel ban on Nawaz Sharif, kin
Pakistan’s anti-corruption watchdog has asked authorities to place ousted premier Nawaz Sharif, his daughter and son-in-law on the Exit Control List to prevent them from leaving the country.
The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) sent a formal request to the ministry of interior. The interior ministry officials confirmed that the NAB wrote that names of Sharif, his daughter Maryam Nawaz and son-in-law Capt (retd) Muhammad Safdar should be put on the Exit Control List (ECL), which listed individuals not allowed to leave Pakistan.
The NAB argued that as the trial of the three nears its conclusion, it is feared that they would leave the country.
Earlier, a similar request to place name of finance minister Ishaq Dar on ECL was not accepted, allowing him to go to London and never return.
Sharif, 68, and his family this week filed an application with the accountability court seeking a fortnight’s exemption from personal appearance from February 19 onwards to let them go to London to see Sharif’s ailing wife. Three cases were filed against Sharif and his family last year, including Avenfield properties, Azizia & Hill Metal Establishment, and Flagship Investments.
Maryam and Safdar are accused only in Avenfield properties case. The NAB had filed two supplementary references against Sharif, his sons Hasan and Hussain regarding Al-Azizia Steel Mills & Hill Metal Establishment and Flagship Investment cases.
SOUTH ASIA
Pakistan “breaches obligations’ on nuclear arms reduction, UN court told
The Hague: Pakistan is violating its “obligations” to the international community by failing to reduce its nuclear arsenal, the Marshall Islands told the UN’s highest court on Tuesday.
The small Pacific Island nation is this week launching three unusual cases against India, Pakistan and Britain before the International Court of Justice.
Majuro wants to put a new spotlight on the global nuclear threat, its lawyers said yesterday, by using its own experience with massive US-led nuclear tests in the 1940s and 1950s.
“Pakistan is in breach of its obligations owed to the international community as a whole,” when it comes to reducing its nuclear stockpile, said Nicholas Grief, one of the island nation’s lawyers.
DeBrum warned that even a “limited nuclear war” involving the two countries would “threaten the existence” of his island nation people.
Pakistan and India have fought three wars since independence from Britain in 1947, two of them over the disputed Himalayan territory of Kashmir.
In 1998, the rival neighbours both demonstrated nuclear weapons capability.
The ICJ’s judges are holding hearings for the next week and a half to decide whether it is competent to hear the lawsuits brought against India and Pakistan — neither of which have signed the 1968 nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).
A third hearing against Britain — which has signed the NPT — scheduled to start on Wednesday will be devoted to “preliminary objections” raised by London.
The Marshalls initially sought to bring a case against nine countries it said possessed nuclear arms: Britain, China, France, India, Israel, North Korea, Pakistan, Russia and the United States.
Israel has never admitted to having nuclear weapons.
But the Hague-based ICJ, set up in 1945 to rule in disputes between states, has only admitted three cases against Britain, India and Pakistan, because they have accepted the ICJ’s compulsory jurisdiction.
Pakistan’s lawyers did not attend Tuesday’s hearings.
It did however file a counter-claim against Majuro’s allegations saying “the court has no jurisdiction to deal with the application” and insisting that the case is “not admissible”, said ICJ President Ronny Abraham.
SOUTH ASIA
Bangladesh to drop Islam as official religion following attacks on Hindus
New Delhi: Bangladesh is likely to drop Islam as its official religion following a series of attacks on people from other faiths in the country. The country’s Supreme Court is hearing a plea challenging the status of the official religion of the country to Islam.
Bangladesh, which was declared a secular country after its formation in 1971, was declared an Islamic country following a constitutional amendment in 1988.
According to a report in the Daily Mail, the plea has challenged the declaration of Islam as the national religion of the country.
The move is being supported by leaders from the minority communities like Hindus, Christians and Muslim minority Shiites.
Bangladesh has 90 per cent of Muslims, 8 per cent Hindus and remaining constitutes Christians and Muslim minority Shiites.
In last month, a Hindu priest was hacked to death following an attack on a temple in Panchgarh district. Two others were seriously injured in the attack. There have been several lethal attacks on writers and bloggers.
According to a report in the Independent, Islamist groups Jumatul Mujahedeen Bangladesh and Ansarullah Bangla Team are believed to have carried out at least seven attacks on foreign and minority people in Bangladesh in the past year.
