Arrested accused not accomplice of Baitullah Mehsud: Shahi

KARACHI: The president Awami National Party (ANP) Sindh Shahi Syed has said none can occupy even an inch of land sans police consent.

He said it is unethical to link the arrested ANP worker to banned Baitullah Mehsud.

Rain spell in Sindh ends: Met Deptt

ISLAMABAD: The spell of downpours has come to an end in Sindh, according to Meteorological Department. However, light drizzle is expected at some places in the next 12 hours.

The dry weather ix expected to prevail in other parts of the country.

During the last 24 hours, it rained with thunderstorm in most parts of Sindh and some areas in Southern Punjab, which was recorded at 19mm in Bahawalpur, 8mm in Bahawalnagar, 2mm in Faisalabad, 6mm in Mithi, 3mm in Garhi Dopattta, 4mm in Khanpur, 17mm Hyderabad, 13mm in Badin and 5mm in Karachi.

The Met Department said the expected maximum temperature in various cities are 37 centigrade in Islamabad, 40 in Lahore, 36 in Karachi, 38 in Quetta, 38 in Peshawar and 37 centigrade is expected in Muzaffarabad.

Interstate elements involved in Mumbai attacks: India

NEW DELHI: Indian Home Minister P. Chidamabaram has said cannot hold responsible the Pakistan’s interstate elements involved in Mumbai attacks until the court’s verdict in the case gets unearthed.

In an interview with Indian television channel, he said the terror strikes like happened in Mumbai on November 26, 2008 could never ever be carried out without assistance of interstate elements.

He said Ajmal Kasab, the lone surviving accused in 26/11 terror attacks, has confessed parts of charges leveled through charge sheet but not all.

Chidamabaram voiced doubts whether Pakistan would ever extradite Mumbai terror attack accused Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi and others charged in Pakistan in the 26/11 case.

"I doubt Pakistan would be ready to extradite them, but even if Pakistan prosecutes them and acts according to the law, that would be a step forward," Chidambaram added.

The Indian Home Minister, however, expressed the hope that the confession of Ajmal Kasab will ensure that Pakistan expedites the trial against the other 26/11 accused.

Obama, UKs Brown urge Afghan burden-sharing

LONDON : U.S. President Barack Obama and British Prime Minister Gordon Brown agreed on Friday it was necessary to share the military burden better with NATO allies in Afghanistan, Brown's office said. The head of the British armed forces, Jock Stirrup, said earlier that Britain was doing "much more than its fair share" of the fighting in Afghanistan compared with other NATO allies. Obama and Brown discussed Afghanistan in a phone call after Britain said it was sending 125 more troops to replace soldiers killed or wounded in an offensive against Taliban insurgents. "They agreed on the importance of better military and civilian burden-sharing with NATO allies," a statement from Brown's office said. Britain has temporarily boosted its contingent in Afghanistan to just over 9,000 to help provide security for next month's presidential election. It has the second largest foreign force after the United States. U.S. and British troops have launched major offensives against the Taliban in the southern province of Helmand. Nineteen British soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan this month, one of the highest monthly tolls since the 2001 U.S.-led invasion. QUESTIONS OVER WAR The toll has triggered questions in Britain over whether there are enough troops to complete the task, whether they are properly equipped and if they should be in Afghanistan at all. Obama and Brown agreed that despite the human cost, military operations in Helmand were making progress and were helping to provide much-needed security for the elections. "Going forward, there needed to be a continued balance between security, governance and economic development as part of a comprehensive approach, with increased training of Afghan security forces," the statement said. Obama and Brown also said it was important to work to make the elections as credible and inclusive as possible. British Defence Secretary Bob Ainsworth said he had decided to send 125 more soldiers to Afghanistan after commanders told him reinforcements were necessary to "maintain our operational tempo and consolidate the real progress we have made". A Ministry of Defence spokesman said the reinforcements were intended to maintain the British force at just over 9,000 rather than to increase it. The total British death toll of 188 surpasses the number of British soldiers killed in Iraq after the 2003 invasion. Brown has been dogged by accusations that a shortage of helicopters in Afghanistan is endangering British soldiers because they are forced to use roads where they regularly become targets for bombs set by Taliban insurgents. He denies it.

Georgia to ask Biden for weapons, observers

TBILISI: Georgia's president was expected to ask U.S. Vice President Joe Biden on Thursday for advanced U.S. weaponry, military aid and unarmed observers to monitor a cease-fire along the boundaries of two Moscow-backed breakaway regions.

The White House refused to comment Thursday on Georgia's interest in U.S. military assistance. Russia, however, reiterated its warning that it would lower or halt military cooperation with any country supplying Russian arms to Georgia, an apparent threat to Ukraine.

President Mikhail Saakashvili said he and Biden had spoken informally Wednesday at a dinner in the $40 million presidential compound's glass-domed dining room ahead of talks Thursday.

"I told you there was no such thing as a free dinner in Georgia," Saakashvili told Biden, an apparent reference to Georgia's requests for expanded military assistance.

The smiling Georgian leader, who referred to Biden as "Joe," called the discussions "very productive."

Biden seemed more reserved, calling Saakashvili "Mr. President." While citing U.S.-Georgia ties, he also expressed support for political reforms that Saakashvili announced earlier in the week to counter claims he has turned authoritarian.

"We're here to talk about your security, economy, your democracy and the steps you are taking for solidifying your democracy," he told Saakashvili.

Biden later spoke privately with major opposition leaders, including two of Saakashvili's chief rivals: Irakli Alasania, Georgia's former ambassador to the U.N., and Nino Burdzhanadze, former speaker of parliament.

The vice president also was to address parliament and meet with the current speaker, a longtime Saakashvili ally, before leaving Thursday evening.

The White House has avoided making any public commitment on aid, arms or observers, although it says it stands behind Georgia's application for NATO membership despite determined opposition from Russia.

The U.S. gave Georgia $1 billion in aid shortly after Russia defeated Georgia in a short war last August. But Washington has so far not supplied the Georgian military with arms to replace those lost in the war, amid warnings from Moscow that such a step would raise the risk of another conflict.

A spokesman for the Georgian Defense Ministry, David Nardaya, said he could not say how much military aid was being sought because the information was classified but described the weapons as defensive.

In Moscow, the government said it would not stand by while Georgia was resupplied with weapons.

"We will continue inhibiting rearmament of the Saakashvili regime and are taking concrete measures for this," Deputy Foreign Minister Grigory Karasin said, the ITAR-Tass news agency reported. He said this was in line with a presidential decree issued in January.

Ukraine supplied weapons to Georgia during last summer's conflict with Russia, and Belarus has expressed support for Georgia's claims to two Russian-backed breakaway regions at the center of last year's war. Both former Soviet republics have military ties with Russia.

Biden is on a four-day mission to Ukraine and Georgia to demonstrate U.S. support for the two countries, where Western-style democracies have struggled in the wake of peaceful revolutions and Russia's determination to have influence over former Soviet republics.

Judge accepts Ajmal Kasab confession

MUMBAI: An Indian judge accepted the confession of the lone surviving gunman from the shooting attacks in Mumbai, but said Thursday the trial would proceed anyway.

The young Pakistani gunman, Ajmal Kasab, unexpectedly confessed Monday to taking part in the November attack that paralyzed India's financial capital and killed 166 people.

The court had delayed a decision on whether to accept his confession and guilty plea, with prosecutors arguing that his statement was incomplete and accusing Kasab of seeking clemency. In response, Kasab said he was willing to be hanged for his actions.

Judge M.L. Tahiliyani decided Thursday to accept Kasab's confession, but he ordered the trial to continue because the accused did not address all 86 charges against him.

"The trial will proceed," he said.

Kasab's confession linked the attack to a shadowy but well-organized group in Pakistan. The statement bolstered India's charges that terrorist groups across the border were behind the well-planned attack, and that Pakistan is not doing enough to clamp down on them.

After the judge made his ruling, defense lawyer Abbas Kazmi asked to be recused from the case saying that his client had no faith in him.

"If he has no confidence in me, there is no sense in me continuing in the case," he said.

The judge urged Kazmi to remain on the case and told the lawyer and defendant to discuss their relationship during a recess.

Chief Prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam had tried to get Kasab's confession thrown out, saying it was neither complete nor accurate.

Kasab admitted spraying gunfire into the crowd at Mumbai's main train station, and described in detail a network of training camps and safe houses across Pakistan, revealing the names of four men he said were his handlers.

He denied killing four Mumbai policemen whose deaths remain touchstones of grief and anger in India.

Pakistan's Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi told The Associated Press on Wednesday that Islamabad was waiting for copies of the confession, but he said it would not impede the ongoing effort at dialogue between the two nuclear-armed neighbors.

The court has issued arrest warrants for 22 Pakistanis accused of conspiring in the attack.

US Senate restricts Pak aid to terror fight

WASHINGTON: The United States Senate has approved the Department of Defence Authorization bill according to which the US military assistance to Pakistan can be used only for its fight against the Al-Qaeda and the Taliban, reports ARY NEWS.

The bi-partisan amendment was introduced by Senators Robert Menendez and Bob Corker, amidst growing apprehension among US lawmakers that the American tax payers money given to Pakistan to fight against the Taliban and Al-Qaeda was being used to built up its army against India.

The Menendez-Corker legislative language would mandate a certification by the US Secretary of State and Secretary of Defence, before Pakistan is reimbursed with Coalition Support Funds, that the payment is both in the national security interests of the US, and will not affect the balance of power in the region.

"To this point, almost eight years and more than seven billion in American taxpayer dollars for Pakistan's military have not prevented the Taliban and Al-Qaeda from regrouping along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border," said Menendez.

"The fight against these extremists is crucial for our own security, which is why we have to certify that our support is in fact doing what we intend it to do and is not being used for other purposes. This is an issue of national security and of responsibility with taxpayer dollars, and it is important that passed the Senate," Menendez said.

"We appreciate the important role Pakistan has played in our fight to eliminate the terrorist safe havens within their borders, but we also owe it to our service members and the American taxpayer to ensure that the funds provided to Pakistan out of the Coalition Support Funds are in fact being directed toward those efforts and not misdirected," said Corker.