Shahbaz Bhatti's assassination is a bleak counterpoint to Cairo

Take the young people of so many Islamic nations struggling to secure their democratic freedoms. Take large, very powerful armies used to running or controlling the show. Take big pinches of poverty, frustration and religious fanaticism. Spice with visceral violence. Stir briskly – and what have you got? Welcome back to Pakistan. We may be hoping for good things in Cairo and praying for good things in Libya. But good things, ominously enough, don't happen in Jinnah's "Pure State" any longer.

Now here's one especially dismal thing among many others, because it tests principle as well as feeble political resolve. Shahbaz Bhatti, Islamabad's minister for minorities, is assassinated outside his home by four assailants who leave Taliban tracts behind them. Bhatti was a Christian, speaking out for an increasingly oppressed minority and ceaselessly advocating the repeal of Pakistan's blasphemy laws.

But a couple of weeks ago, while the world was watching Cairo and Tripoli, his own prime minister, Yousaf Raza Gilani, quietly abandoned any attempt to repeal Pakistan's blasphemy laws – and the death penalty for breaking them. The battling woman backbencher who'd pushed for abolition retreated. The ministries working on amendments threw them away. Blasphemy, as defined in the statute book by Pakistan's last military dictator but one, remains a capital offence.

So the Christian peasant farm-worker and mother of four, Aasia Bibi, whose case crystallises the whole sorry debacle, remains in prison and in fear for her life. So the governor of Punjab province, Salmaan Taseer, murdered by his own bodyguard for speaking out, remains unavenged. Remember how 90 lawyers put their hands up and volunteered to defend Taseer's killer for free. Remember how the elected government of the Pakistan's People Party, the party Taseer belonged to, did nothing but mumble. Remember how it promised reform then shuffled away. Don't forget, then, that Shahbaz Bhatti's murder comes as a direct consequence of the pusillanimity of an elected government.

It is the supposed bulwark of freedom, of democracy, of the supreme rule of law that we all like to hymn at suitably euphoric moments. But, at a time of true test, President Zardari and his ministers slide away.

Why does this debacle, in its way, seem so much worse than Islamabad's lurching efforts to subdue the Taliban and give the west the help it craves in the battle against terrorism? Because the issues are clear enough. Because there's no need to get tangled in Afghan blame games, nor rows about CIA agents and American imperialism. Because this crisis is all about Pakistan.

Zardari's PPP is the supposed torch-carrier of enlightenment and reform here: a force for change amid a gaggle of parties in thrall to religious zealotry, and a foe of the army's tendency to play Islamic cards itself when its hegemony is threatened. There's no possible doubt which side it ought to be on. There isn't even much doubt which side it took as the case of Aasia Bibi developed. But now frailty leads its leaders by the nose.

Why? Of course you can blame them for personal fear: Bhatti's death underlines the grim message of Taseer. Speak out and you may not live long. Taliban extremism claims more victims every day. But the real problem is that, across Pakistan, ordinary people taught by ordinary mullahs to reach extraordinary conclusions, have come to side with the blasphemy laws as well. They don't want repeal. They want matters to rest as they are. Crude democracy, in a way, wants Aasia Bibi punished – and so for Pakistan's 4% of Christians to live in constant fear. There are thousands of relatively liberal, more educated voices in play; but there are many more millions who see nothing wrong as lawyers queue to plead their sad case. A sentence out of place means death: killing those who find this law grotesque seems to mean instant heroism.

Who'll draw a line and turn the tide? No president, present or future, you can see. Not a feeble, flailing Zardari. Not his old adversary, Nawaz Sharif and his Muslim League. Not some general waiting in the wings. The difficulty is that there is no one, and no concerted body of opinion, who can join, let alone hope to win, this debate for what may come to symbolise the destiny of Pakistan. For tolerance, for restraint, for the ability to live side by side in a truly free world? If Cairo adds a spoonful of hope, Lahore, Karachi and Islamabad bring only the recipes of despair.

Gunmen kill Christian Pakistan government minister

ISLAMABAD — Assailants purportedly sent by al Qaeda and the Taliban killed the only Christian member of Pakistan's federal Cabinet Wednesday, spraying his car with bullets outside his parents' driveway. It was the second assassination in two months of a high-profile opponent of blasphemy laws that impose the death penalty for insulting Islam.

The killing of Shahbaz Bhatti, a Catholic in his 40s, further undermines Pakistan's shaky image as a moderate Islamic state and could deepen the political turmoil in this nuclear-armed, U.S.-allied state where militants frequently stage suicide attacks.

In pamphlets found at the scene of the shooting, al Qaeda and the Pakistani Taliban said they targeted Bhatti because of his faith and because he allegedly belonged to a committee that was reviewing the blasphemy laws.

Bhatti was ambushed early afternoon Wednesday outside his parents' home in the capital of Islamabad. The politician had just pulled out of the driveway when three men standing nearby opened fire, said Gulam Rahim, a witness.

Two of the men opened the door and tried to pull Bhatti out, Rahim said, while a third man fired his Kalashnikov rifle repeatedly into the dark-colored Toyota. The three gunmen then sped away in a white Suzuki Mehran car, said Rahim who took shelter behind a tree.

Pakistani TV channels showed the car afterward, its windows shattered by bullets. Officials said Bhatti was dead on arrival at an area hospital. Bhatti's driver was unharmed, they said, though there were conflicting reports about whether a young woman was also in the car.

Government officials condemned the killing in strong terms, including denouncing militancy, but made no direct reference to the blasphemy law controversy that apparently motivated the assassins.

"This is concerted campaign to slaughter every liberal, progressive and humanist voice in Pakistan," said Farahnaz Ispahani, an aide to President Asif Ali Zardari. "The time has come for the federal government and provincial governments to speak out and to take a strong stand against these murderers to save the very essence of Pakistan."

In January, Punjab province Gov. Salman Taseer was killed by a bodyguard who said he was angry that the politician opposed the blasphemy laws. To the horror of Pakistan's besieged liberals, many ordinary citizens praised the assassin -- a sign of the spread of hardline Islamist thought in the country.

After the killing of the Punjab governor, Bhatti also received death threats, said a friend, Robinson Asghar.

The leaflets at the scene of the shooting were signed by al Qaeda and the Pakistani Taliban Movement in Punjab province. They blamed the governmet for putting Bhatti, an "infidel Christian," in charge of an unspecified committee and said that "this is the horrible fate of this cursed one."

"With the blessing of Allah, the mujahedeen will send each of you to hell," said the note, which did not name any other targets. The committee it was apparently referring to was one said to be reviewing the blasphemy laws, though the government has repeatedly said no such committee existed.

Pakistani Christians reeled from the loss of their most prominent advocate. Christians are the largest religious minority in the country, where roughly 5 per cent of 180 million people are not Muslim. They have very little political power and tend to work in lower-level jobs, such as street sweeping.

"We have been orphaned today!" wailed Rehman Masih, a Christian resident of Islamabad. "Now who will fight for our rights? Who will raise a voice for us? Who will help us?"

It was not immediately clear why Bhatti, a member of the ruling Pakistani People's Party, did not have bodyguards with him.

Bhatti had been given police and paramilitary guards, said Wajid Durrani, a senior police official. He said Bhatti had visited his mother shortly before the attack, and that Bhatti had asked his official guards not to travel with him.

The blasphemy laws are a deeply sensitive subject in Pakistan, where most residents are Sunni Muslims and where austere versions of Islam -- more common in the Middle East than South Asia -- have been on the rise.

Human rights groups have long warned that the laws are vaguely worded and open to abuse because people often use them to settle rivalries or persecute religious minorities.

But in a sign of how scared the largely secular-leaning ruling party is of Islamist street power, party leaders haven't supported calls for reforming the laws. Instead, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani and others have repeatedly insisted they won't touch the statutes.

After the assassination of the Punjab governor, his confessed killer, bodyguard Mumtaz Qadri, was greeted with showers of rose petals from many lawyers who went to watch his initial court hearing.

Weeks afterward, another prominent opponent of the blasphemy laws, National Assembly member Sherry Rehman, dropped her bid to get them changed. The People's Party member said she had to abide by party leaders' decisions. She, too, faces death threats and has been living with heavy security.

The U.S.-based Human Rights Watch said after Bhatti's assassination that the government should stop appeasing militants.

No one has been put to death for blasphemy in Pakistan because courts typically throw out cases or commute the sentences. Still, some who are released are later killed by extremists or have to go into hiding. Others accused of blasphemy spend long periods in prison while waiting for their cases to wind through the courts.

The laws came under renewed international scrutiny late last year when a 45-year-old Christian woman, Asia Bibi, was sentenced to death for allegedly insulting Islam's Prophet Muhammad.

The family of Bibi -- a mother of five -- insists she was falsely accused over a personal dispute. There have been appeals from around the globe, including one from Pope Benedict XVI, to pardon her. But the government has said it is first waiting for a court ruling on her appeal.

Pro-Gadhafi forces fail to retake strategic city

Government opponents in rebel-held Zawiya repelled an attempt by forces loyal to Moammar Gadhafi to retake the city closest to the capital in six hours of fighting overnight, witnesses said Tuesday.

The rebels, who include mutinous army forces, are armed with tanks, machine guns and anti-aircraft guns. They fought back pro-Gadhafi troops, armed with the same weapons, who attacked from six directions. There was no word on casualties in Zawiya, 50 kilometres west of Tripoli.

Spain Government To Freeze Libyan Assets In The Country

MADRID (Dow Jones)--Spain Wednesday said it plans to freeze Libyan assets in the country, becoming the latest in a series of Western governments that have announced similar measures targeting businesses linked to the regime of embattled Libyan dictator Col. Moammar Gadhafi.

Spain's government couldn't immediately provide additional details on the asset freeze. According to unconfirmed media reports, the assets owned by the Libyan government in Spain are relatively small, compared with those in other Western countries, and they include a portfolio of Spanish properties and Aresbank, a small Spanish lender that underwent restructuring in recent years.

The move comes after Germany and Austria announced similar asset freezes Tuesday. Germany's freeze concerned about EUR2 million belonging to a son of Gadhafi's held at a German bank, a precautionary measure to make sure the funds didn't move prior to anticipated European Union sanctions kicking in as early as later this week.

Meanwhile, Austria's central bank reportedly froze about $1.6 billion in Libyan assets associated with Gadhafi and his family.

Also Tuesday, the U.K. government revealed that it foiled a plan last week by Gadhafi to move $1.38 billion worth of brand new Libyan banknotes out of the U.K.

Tuesday's freezes come on top of the $30 billion frozen since Friday by the U.S. after it announced sanctions on the Libyan government, which is fighting protesters calling for the end of Gadhafi's 42-year regime. The U.K. said Monday it had frozen about $1.6 billion in Libyan assets.

SKoreans to send Mideast protest videos to NKorea

South Korean activists vowed Wednesday to bombard North Korea with propaganda material that includes footage of Middle East protests and urges rebellion despite Pyongyang's threats to open fire in retaliation.

Friction between the Koreas is already high following Monday's start of annual South Korean-U.S. military drills, which North Korea has called a rehearsal for invasion that could trigger a nuclear war. The North's military has also warned that it would attack South Korean border towns if Seoul allows activists to send balloons carrying leaflets critical of Pyongyang.

North Korea, which closely controls the flow of information within its borders, considers the leaflets an attack on its government and regularly lashes out against the South for permitting activists to launch them.

On Wednesday, the Seoul-based Fighters for Free North Korea said it would send about 200,000 propaganda leaflets, 1-dollar bills and USB flash drives carrying videos on the recent wave of uprising against authoritarian rulers in Egypt, Libya and other Middle Eastern countries as early as Monday.

"We won't yield to the North's threat and blackmailing," Park Sang-hak, the head of the group, told The Associated Press by telephone.

Most ordinary North Koreans don't have personal computers at their homes, but Park said they could still use school and office computers to secretly watch the videos. He said the leaflets will urge North Koreans to rebel against their leaders and show news about North Korean human rights violations.

Park, who defected to South Korea in early 2000, said his group has sent about 3 million propaganda leaflets toward North Korea every year since 2004. Park said wind direction and other weather conditions would be the only things that could change his plans.

South Korea says it cannot prevent the propaganda from being sent, citing freedom of speech protections.

A small group of anti-war activists, meanwhile, rallied Wednesday in Seoul against the propaganda launches and the U.S.-South Korean military drills.

South Korean police have been placed on high alert over possible North Korean terror attacks since the military drills began. Police commandos and dogs were patrolling subway stations, airports and other major public facilities, while armored vehicles were deployed near the U.S. Embassy in Seoul, according to the National Police Agency.

The two Koreas - still technically in a state of war - agreed in 2004 to end decades of propaganda warfare across their heavily fortified border. But the North's alleged torpedoing of a South Korean warship and its artillery attack on a South Korean island last year led Seoul to resume propaganda radio broadcasts. Seoul also allowed a church to light a giant steel Christmas tree near the border that Pyongyang condemned as a psychological provocation.

South Korea's military has also floated balloons carrying about 3 million leaflets containing news about Egyptian and Libyan protests as well as daily necessities like soap, underwear, medicine and radios toward the North since the island bombardment in November, South Korean lawmaker Song Young-sun said last week, citing a private briefing by Defense Ministry officials. Defense Ministry and military officials said they couldn't confirm Song's claim.

Also Wednesday, Robert Einhorn, a U.S. special adviser for nonproliferation, told reporters in Seoul that the United States and South Korea are seeking a U.N. statement condemning North Korea's recently disclosed uranium enrichment program, which could give Pyongyang a second way to make atomic bombs.

Associated Press writer Haeran Hyun in Seoul contributed to this story.

PM mulling new initiative on Palestinian statehood

PA’s refusal to negotiate, as well as world pressure and regional changes, spurred Netanyahu to consider new plan.
Talkbacks (40)

The current instability in the region, coupled with the continued refusal of the Palestinians to negotiate, will likely lead to an Israeli initiative to move the diplomatic process forward, senior government officials said Tuesday.

The officials said that Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu was contemplating a phased approach “that will lead us on the path toward his formula of a demilitarized Palestinian state that recognizes the Jewish state.”

Palestinians try to create 'Facebook revolution'

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — The mass demonstrations sweeping the Middle East are touching the Palestinian territories, where West Bank and Gaza Strip activists are trying to organize their own "Facebook revolutions."

The Palestinian activists are inspired by the calls for democracy that toppled autocratic leaders in Egypt and Tunisia and threaten longtime rulers in Libya and Bahrain.

In recent weeks, activists using Facebook have brought hundreds of people onto streets of the West Bank, waving Palestinian flags and calling for change. Smaller gatherings have taken place in Gaza. The protesters hope to stage a massive demonstration in both areas on March 15.

Whether they can succeed is far from certain because of the unique situation of the Palestinians. In contrast to countries where crowds have rallied against a single, despised leader, the Palestinians face a series of intertwined problems, making it harder to rally around a common cause.

Palestinians seek an independent state in the West Bank and Gaza, areas wedged on different sides of Israel and ruled by rival governments. The Western-backed Palestinian Authority governs in the West Bank, where Israel's military still retains overall control. The militant Islamic group Hamas has ruled Gaza since 2007.

The Palestinian split has crippled efforts to negotiate an independent state from Israel. Repeated efforts to reconcile, including a Palestinian Authority proposal to hold new elections, have foundered.

The Facebook activists have divisions of their own. Some want the rival Palestinian governments to reconcile. Others demand they resign. Still others want to demonstrate against Israel's occupation.

Activist Hasan Farahat, 22, said there was enough common ground. "Everybody is sick of the situation. We want work, we want the right to speak freely. We want freedom," he said.

The governments see even the smallest demonstrations as a challenge to their rule.

On Monday, Hamas moved swiftly to break up a small demonstration in Gaza City where people called for Palestinian reconciliation. Hamas police arrested a protest organizer, seizing a tape from a German TV crew showing a security official slapping the man.

In previous protest attempts, Hamas security arrested activists and seized their phones and computers, according to the Gaza-based Palestinian Center for Human Rights.

The West Bank has seen about a dozen demonstrations, including two in Ramallah, where some 2,000 Palestinians demanded reconciliation. Others urged leaders to revoke interim peace agreements with Israel.

Palestinian Authority security forces initially broke up protests by beating participants. Now, organizers are threatened and sometimes arrested, they said.

India's hidden agenda in providing access to Pak

New Delhi, March 2: India has once again showed the not-so-friendly neighbours its large heartedness and has extended the olive branch to ensure peace in the region by allowing Pakistan access to question the witnesses of the Mumbai terror attacks.

India has agreed to the Pak request "in principle" to allow a commission from Pakistan to question the witness only on one condition; if Pakistan allows the Indian counterparts access to the Pakistanis accused in the deadly terror attacks.

Home Minister P Chidambaram in a press conference commented, “We have also sent them a request asking them if they would agree to a team from India to question the people who are suspects. We are awaiting an answer for the question that we have put.”

On being asked if India will respond similarly, if Pakistan turns down its request, Chidambaram said, “It does not mean one way or the other. We will take a view once we get a final and firm answer.” He added that India will oblige to Pakistan's request of providing documentary evidence to the terror attacks in the next few days.

OneIndia News

Increase in POL prices challenged

LAHORE, March 1: Increase in petroleum prices has been challenged before the Lahore High Court (LHC) through a civil miscellaneous application filed into an already pending main writ petition on the matter.

Advocate Mateenul Haq Chaudhry filed the application submitting that the notification regarding increase in POL prices by the federal government was unlawful, ineffective, ultra vires over the rights of citizens of Pakistan.

The petitioner said though a writ petition regarding increase of oil and petroleum lubricants was before the court, the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority and the federal government were going to implement the impugned notification about increase in POL prices by approximately 9.9 per cent.

He said the act of the respondents would impact the already crushed and downtrodden people of Pakistan.

NOC: The LHC registrar office has put a procedural objection on a petition challenging the requirement of no objection certificates (NOCs) before traveling abroad and asked the petitioner to affix impugned notification issued by the Interior Ministry in this regard.

Advocate Noshab A Khan challenged the requirement NOCs saying that the impugned decision by the ministry was a gross infringement of civil liberties.

Punjab gas crisis: President orders five-day supply to industry

KARACHI:
Amid a deepening natural gas crisis in Punjab, President Asif Ali Zardari on Tuesday directed the authorities to provide gas to the industrial sector five days a week from today (Wednesday).

In a meeting with a delegation of the All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (Aptma), led by its chairperson Gohar Ejaz, the president also reprimanded the Sui Northern Pipelines Limited (SNGPL) for cancelling five-day a week gas supply to Punjab.

The meeting at Bilawal House in Karachi was convened to take stock of the gas situation in the country. The gas shortage has led to the closure of industrial units in Punjab, triggering strong criticism from the PML-N government in the province.

The president said the gas supply issues in Punjab must be looked into urgently and the labourers’ complaints addressed forthwith.

“The Pakistan Peoples Party is a party of labourers and the problems of the working class must be addressed on a priority basis,” he said. The president said that the textile industry is critical to the country’s economy and it must not be allowed to suffer on account of gas supply problems.

President Zardari also formed a committee comprising government officials and representatives of leading businesses and stock exchanges to review the entire gas infrastructure in the country, and submit proposals for equitable availability of gas to domestic, industrial and commercial users.

According to presidential spokesperson Farhatullah Babar, the committee will be headed by the petroleum minister, and will comprise representatives of Aptma, federations of chamber of commerce and industry, and stock markets, besides managing directors of public sector gas supply companies. In the absence of Petroleum Minister Naveed Qamar, Petroleum Secretary Imtiaz Qazi will head the committee.

President directs officials to hold JEWG meeting

KARACHI: President Asif Ali Zardari on Tuesday directed the concerned officials to hold a meeting of the Pak-China Joint Energy Working Group (JEWG) on Thar Coal Project.

President’s directives for the Pak-China JEWG came after the Chinese government gave a proposal for financing of the project on soft credit terms by the Chinese financial institutions.

Briefing the newsmen, spokesman of President, Farhatullah Babar said the decision for holding the JEWG meeting was taken at a meeting on Tuesday by the President at Karachi. “The decision for the proposed meeting is aimed at reviewing progress on these mega projects in Sindh,” he said.

The meeting on mega projects in the province were attended by the province chief minister, provincial ministers and relevant federal and provincial government officials.

Farhatullah Babar said the meeting on the ‘Thar Coal Project’ was informed that bankable feasibility of the project has been completed and the project is ready for execution as soon as the financing is achieved and critical infrastructure completed.

The infrastructure projects linked with the Thar Coal include water supply for the coalfields, erection of power transmission lines to distribute power, disposal of effluent from Thar Coal, provision of road and rail link to the project site and the construction of an airport at Islamkot, Babar said.

He recalled that during the visit of Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao to Pakistan last December, Pak-China JEWP was formed.

He said the forum of JEWP should be used to secure Chinese financing for the project through that country’s financial institutions and directed the relevant agencies to immediately convene a meeting of this body for taking the project forward.

“In view of liquidity crunch it is imperative that the projects associated with the Thar Coal are executed on the basis of Public Private Partnership for which all the available resources will be used as public sector’s equity,” he said.

It was also informed in the briefing that the Sindh government has submitted proposal of its flagship Joint venture project with Engro for project financing under JEWG.

Military attacks eastern Libya; opposition takes back al-Brega

Tripoli, Libya (CNN) -- Opposition members successfully fought to regain control of Libya's eastern town al-Brega Wednesday after armed forces loyal to ruler Moammar Gadhafi tried to take over the town, a resident said.

The resident said there were casualties in the fight, but the number is unclear.

The clash took place the same day as military airplanes bombed military camps on the outskirts of Ajdabiya, a tribal leader said.

The tribal leader, who did not want to be identified for safety reasons, said youth in Ajdabiya were amassing and heading toward the conflict area to defend the town, which has been in the control of opposition forces in recent days.Some military bases in eastern Libya have fallen into the hands of protesters as more members of the military have abandoned Gadhafi's regime and joined demonstrations.

The developments in eastern Libya are the latest in a weeks-long conflict between Gadhafi's government and opposition forces who demand an end to his regime of four decades.

The capital city of Tripoli has remained under the control of Gadhafi's rule, though opposition forces have taken control of the eastern city of Benghazi and other cities amid the deadly unrest.

Meanwhile, international efforts to persuade Gadhafi to step down have ratcheted up. World leaders moving against him on financial and political fronts strengthened their rhetoric and moved military might into the region.

The U.N. General Assembly adopted a resolution Tuesday to suspend Libya from its seat on the 47-member chamber Human Rights Council. It was the first time the assembly had suspended a member of the council.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told the General Assembly that he welcomed the decision and urged the international community to investigate allegations of human rights violations in Libya. "The world has spoken with one voice," he said. "We demand an immediate end to the violence toward civilians and full respect for their fundamental human rights, including those of peaceful assembly and free speech."

He added that reports from the ground "are sobering," with deaths and ongoing repression.

"Arms depots and arsenals have reportedly been opened to gangs who terrorize communities. There are reports that government forces have fired indiscriminately on peaceful protesters and bombed the military bases in the east of the country," Ban said.

"The death toll from nearly two weeks of violence is unknown, but likely to exceed 1,000," with thousands more wounded, he added, using the same fatality figure he had used Friday.Libya's ambassador to the United States estimated Monday that the death toll was about 2,000.

In western Libya, reports have surfaced of ongoing clashes between government forces and armed opponents, Ban said Tuesday.

He noted "allegations of extrajudicial killings, arbitrary arrests, detentions and torture."

Though more members of the military have reportedly sided with the opposition, Gadhafi's supporters "appear to be holding a tight grip on western parts of the country, chiefly Tripoli," he said.

He warned of "serious indications" that the numbers of refugees and displaced persons were reaching crisis proportions and worried that the violence could disrupt distribution networks and lead to food shortages.

Saif al-Islam Gadhafi, the leader's 38-year-old son who has spoken on behalf of the regime during the protests, told CNN his talks with the opposition are in "chaos" because the opposition is divided, with no clear leaders.

U.S. officials made similar comments about the opposition forces. A U.S. official who wished to remain anonymous because the official was not authorized to speak on the record said it's "unclear who the leaders in the opposition are and that makes it difficult" for the U.S. to provide assistance.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told the House Foreign Affairs Committee that "Gadhafi must go."

U.S. President Barack Obama's administration is considering whether it should cut diplomatic ties with Libya, a senior U.S. official told CNN. "Whether to maintain relations or sever them is under review," the official said.

The amphibious assault ship USS Kearsarge and the amphibious transport dock USS Ponce were to be repositioned in the Mediterranean to "provide us a capability for both emergency evacuations and also for humanitarian relief," U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates told reporters. But, he noted, the U.N. Security Council has not authorized the use of armed force.

The government of Canada has frozen $2.3 billion in assets tied to the Libyan government; the assets were frozen after Canada enacted sanctions over the weekend, Canadian Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Lynn Meahan said Tuesday. A number of other countries, including the United States, have ordered an asset freeze.

Though some witnesses have accused pro-Gadhafi forces of firing on civilians from the air, Gates and Michael Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said they could not confirm the reports.

Clinton said imposition of a no-fly zone is under consideration, but Mullen said doing so would be "an extraordinarily complex operation."

U.S. Central Command leader Gen. James Mattis told the Senate Armed Services committee Tuesday that any effort to establish a no-fly zone over Libya would include eliminating Libya's air defenses.

The U.N. refugee agency reported that nearly 150,000 people had crossed Libya's borders into Egypt and Tunisia, and thousands more were arriving hourly at the borders.

Gadhafi retakes oil port in rebel-held east Libya

BENGHAZI, Libya — Forces loyal to Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi retook control of a key oil installation and port on the coast of the rebel-held eastern half of the country Wednesday and warplanes bombed an ammunition depot on the outskirts of a nearby town also controlled by the opposition, witnesses said.

Gadhafi's forces are escalating a counteroffensive after government opponents over the past two weeks seized control of the eastern half of the country and several cities and towns in the western half near the regime stronghold in the capital Tripoli.

On Tuesday, loyalists pushed back rebels from towns near Tripoli, where Gadhafi appears to be in full control. They also kept up military operations for a second straight day to try wrest back Zawiya, the city closest to the capital which is in the hands of government opponents. But rebels, backed by mutinous army forces and their weapons, have managed to repel those attacks and held on to Zawiya so far.

Ahmed Jerksi, manager of the massive oil installation in the eastern town of Brega on the Mediterranean coast, said pro-Gadhafi forces retook control of the facility at dawn without using force. Breqa is about 200 kilometres from Libya's second-largest city Benghazi, the nerve centre of the rebel-held east.

There are about 4,000 oil workers at the Brega facility and there had been at least one checkpoint around it which was guarded by a small contingent of armed rebel forces from the area. But there were no reports of clashes between the two sides.

"It's not an attack. We are OK," Jerksi told The Associated Press. "The government troops came in to secure the whole area. Our concern is to maintain the facility."

Other witnesses told the AP that a rebel force was marching on Brega.

Also Wednesday, warplanes bombed an ammunition depot on the outskirts of the rebel-held eastern city of Ajdabiya, about 65 kilometres northeast of Brega and 140 kilometres south of Benghazi on the Mediterranean coast.

Libyan forces have launched repeated airstrikes during the two-week revolt but all of them have been reported to target facilities that store weapons in areas controlled by the rebellion. However, some air force pilots have said they bailed out because they were ordered to bomb civilians. Gadhafi's son Seif al-Islam has repeatedly that airstrikes have been used against civilians though he has acknowledged bombing weapons depots.

Witnesses told the AP they saw two warplanes bomb the eastern outskirts of Ajdabiya at 10 a.m. local time. They also said pro-Gadhafi forces were advancing on the city of about 150,000 people, some 750 kilometres east of the capital Tripoli.

"I see two jets bombing now," said one witness who, like the others, spoke on condition of anonymity because he feared reprisals. Another witness said rebel forces were rushing to the western side of Ajdabiya to meet the advancing pro-Gadhafi force.

"We are ready to repel their attack," said the witness.

Gadhafi's regime retook at least two towns in the western half of the country near Tripoli in the past few days and threatened a third in recent days, while rebels repulsed attacks on three other key areas -- the city of Misrata east of Tripoli, the city of Zawiya west of the capital, and the mountain town of Zintan south of the capital.

One of those retaken by the pro-Gadhafi forces was the strategic mountain town of Gharyan, the largest in the Nafusa Mountains, which overlooks Tripoli, a resident said, speaking on condition of anonymity for fear of government retaliation.

The town fell after dark Friday in a surprise attack, and the government troops detained officers who defected to the rebels and drew up lists of wanted protesters and started searching for them, the resident added.

Gadhafi supporters also have said they were in control of the city of Sabratha, west of Tripoli, which has seemed to go back and forth between the two camps in the past week.

But witnesses in Zawiya, 50 kilometres west of the capital, said rebels repulsed a pro-Gadhafi offensive in six hours of gunbattles overnight between Monday and Tuesday.

In Misrata, 200 kilometres east of Tripoli, pro-Gadhafi troops who control part of an air base on the city's outskirts tried to advance Monday. But they were repulsed by opposition forces, who included residents with automatic weapons and defected army units allied with them, one of the opposition fighters said.

The opposition controls most of the air base, and one fighter in the city said dozens of anti-Gadhafi gunmen have arrived from farther east in recent days as reinforcements.

In Zintan, 120 kilometres south of Tripoli, residents said an attack by pro-Gadhafi forces Monday night was the second since the city fell in rebel hands late last month. But, they added, Gadhafi's loyalists were bringing in reinforcements.

Senior figures to attend Pakistan floods fundraiser

Cricketing legend Imran Khan will visit Dubai this weekend in a bid to raise awareness of Pakistani flood victims.

Khan will be joined by Sheikh Nahyan Bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, the UAE’s minister of higher education and scientific research, in an event held in association with UNICEF.

Sheikh Nahyan is one of the largest private foreign investors in Pakistan, and is also a recipient of the country’s highest civilian award.

Former Pakistani president Shaukat Aziz will also deliver a closing speech during the charity event, which will be held on 4 March at the Armani Hotel in the Burj Khalifa.

‘Floods expected every 20 years, says UN

ISLAMABAD: Catastrophic floods, similar to those recently witnessed in Pakistan and Australia that are normally anticipated once a century, can now be expected every 20 years instead, warn scientists.

On the other hand, recent studies show, water demand in many countries will exceed supply by an estimated 40 per cent within a single generation, with one-third of humanity having half the water required for life’s basics.

Climate change, which is one of the least attractive topics for policy makers, has emerged as a major challenge to livelihood of millions of people. There is dire need to involve reputed scientists to help countries brace for drought, flood and unsafe water problems looming on a 15 to 20 year horizon.

The anticipated crises create a fast-growing need for technologies and services to discover, manage, filter, disinfect and/or desalinate water, improve infrastructure and distribution, mitigate flood damage and reduce water consumption by within a single generation, households and industry- the biggest water user by far at 71 per cent worldwide.

“Climate change will affect all societies and ecosystems most profoundly through the medium of water but there is no other way to generalize the crises ahead. At unpredictable times, too much water will arrive in some places and too little in others,” says Zafar Adeel, Chair of UN Water, which coordinates water-related efforts of 28 United Nations organisations and agencies. He is also Director of the United Nations University’s Canadian-based Institute for Water, Environment and Health.

“Water is a local issue demanding responses tailored to specific locations. Sadly, most communities, especially in developing countries, are ill-prepared to adjust to looming new realities. Canadian expertise in water management is greatly needed.”

“Canadians, who were blessed with abundant resource of freshwater, can do well by doing good,” he adds. If the prediction of a $1 trillion water industry in 2020 proves correct (it is estimated today at $400 billion per year), it would be about one-fifth as large as today’s global $4.5 trillion construction industry.

“We need to brace for what could easily be humanity’s greatest short-term challenges,” says Margaret Catley-Carlson, a former senior official with both the Canadian government and at the United Nations, a renowned global authority on water issues, and a CWN director.

She cites US-led research that, by 2030, global water demand will be 40 percent greater than today’s “accessible, reliable, environmentally sustainable supply,” which constitutes a fraction of the absolute raw freshwater available in nature. Filling the gap with supply-side measures only, however, requires an estimated $200 billion per year; an approach that both raises supply and lowers demand would require $50 to $60 billion.

Says Nicholas Parker, Chairman of the Cleantech group: “What people don’t often realise is how much water there is in everything we make and buy, from t-shirts to beverages.”

“Virtual water” describes the volume “embedded” in a product during its production. A desktop computer, for example, requires 1.5 tonnes (1,500 litres) of water; a pair of denim jeans up to 6 tonnes; a kilogram of wheat 1 tonne; a kilo of chicken 3 to 4 tonnes; a kilo of beef 15 to 30 tonnes.”

Annual global trade in “virtual water” today is said to exceed 800 billion tonnes, the equivalent of 10 Nile Rivers.

And the financial world is looking ahead to the bottom-line impacts of a water-constrained world. Institutional investors managing tens of trillions of dollars are pointedly asking businesses for data about their vulnerability to potential water supply difficulties.

As many as 300 eminent scientists, policy-makers, economists and other stakeholders have gathered in Ottawa, Canada on Monday, February 28, 2011, for an international conference hosted by the Canadian Water Network, showcasing latest world research findings as well as proven news tools, ideas and best practices for optimizing water management in short-supply scenario.

“Canada’s relatively abundant water supply will surely be an asset in future as precious as oil was in the 20th Century,” says Mr. Parker. “It must be managed carefully to ensure it can be harvested sustainably in perpetuity, supporting the well-being of all members of the world community.”

Pakistan plans to impose 15 pct flood surcharge on tax

Pakistan will impose a flood surcharge of 15 percent on income tax in order to tackle the country's widening budget deficit, a government source involved in talks with the IMF said on Wednesday.

"Yes, we plan to impose the flood surcharge," the source told Reuters, declining to give details of when the surcharge might be levied.

Pakistan, whose tax-to-GDP ratio is around 10 percent, one of the world's lowest, is trying to show the IMF and other donors that it is working on ways to boost revenue.

The country is dependent on foreign aid, and riven with political instability and violence. On Wednesday, gunmen shot dead the only Christian in Pakistan's government, the second top official killed this year for questioning a law that mandates the death penalty for insulting Islam.

The struggling government, still contending with damage from disastrous floods last year, is desperate to raise money.

According to news reports, as well as the flood surcharge, it plans to increase a special excise duty by 150 percent soon after a National Assembly recess.

"The proposal to increase the special excise duty on nine luxury items has been with the National Assembly since last year," said another government source.

The two measures, according to media reports, would raise 46 billion rupees ($597 million) during the fiscal year 2010/11 (July-June) and increase the revenue target to 1,630 billion rupees ($19 billion).

The measures will be presented to an International Monetary Fund (IMF) team that arrived in Pakistan on Tuesday to conduct the fifth review and evaluate the country's performance for the possible release of a sixth loan tranche, delayed since August last year. The team is expected to stay until March 8.

The two measures could be an alternative to a key condition for the release of the sixth tranche: the implementation of a reformed general sales tax (RGST). The IMF and international donors are demanding Pakistan tax more of its economy.

Neither government nor IMF sources would comment on the RGST, which has stalled in parliament.

In December, the IMF approved a nine-month extension of Pakistan's $11 billion loan, which was due to end last year, to give authorities time to complete the implementation of key fiscal reforms.

The extension runs to Sept. 30, 2011.

Pakistan's widening budget deficit was 2.9 percent of GDP in the six months ending Dec. 31. In November 2010, Pakistan agreed with the IMF that it would keep its deficit at 4.7 percent for the 2010/11 fiscal year.

Pakistan’s only Christian cabinet minister shot dead in Islamabad

The killing of Shahbaz Bhatti, a Catholic in his 40s, further undermines Pakistan's shaky image as a moderate Islamic state and could deepen the political turmoil in this nuclear-armed, U.S.-allied state where militants frequently stage suicide attacks.

In pamphlets found at the scene of the shooting, al-Qaeda and the Pakistani Taliban said they targeted Mr. Bhatti because of his faith and because he allegedly belonged to a committee that was reviewing the blasphemy laws.

Mr. Bhatti was ambushed early Wednesday afternoon outside his parents' home in the capital of Islamabad. The politician had just pulled out of the driveway when three men standing nearby opened fire, said Gulam Rahim, a witness.

Two of the men opened the door and tried to pull Mr. Bhatti out, Mr. Rahim said, while a third man fired his Kalashnikov rifle repeatedly into the dark-coloured Toyota. The three gunmen then sped away in a white Suzuki Mehran car, said Mr. Rahim who took shelter behind a tree.

Pakistani TV channels showed the car afterward, its windows shattered by bullets. Officials said Mr. Bhatti was dead on arrival at an area hospital. Mr. Bhatti's driver was unharmed, they said, though there were conflicting reports about whether a young woman was also in the car.

Government officials condemned the killing in strong terms, including denouncing militancy, but made no direct reference to the blasphemy law controversy that apparently motivated the assassins.

“This is concerted campaign to slaughter every liberal, progressive and humanist voice in Pakistan,” said Farahnaz Ispahani, an aide to President Asif Ali Zardari. “The time has come for the federal government and provincial governments to speak out and to take a strong stand against these murderers to save the very essence of Pakistan.”

In January, Punjab province Governor Salman Taseer was killed by a bodyguard who said he was angry that the politician opposed the blasphemy laws. To the horror of Pakistan's besieged liberals, many ordinary citizens praised the assassin – a sign of the spread of hardline Islamist thought in the country.

After the killing of the Punjab governor, Mr. Bhatti also received death threats, said a friend, Robinson Asghar.

The leaflets at the scene of the shooting were signed by al-Qaeda and the Pakistani Taliban Movement in Punjab province. They blamed the government for putting Mr. Bhatti, an “infidel Christian,” in charge of an unspecified committee and said that “this is the horrible fate of this cursed one.”

“With the blessing of Allah, the mujahedeen will send each of you to hell,” said the note, which did not name any other targets. The committee it was apparently referring to was one said to be reviewing the blasphemy laws, though the government has repeatedly said no such committee existed.

Pakistani Christians reeled from the loss of their most prominent advocate. Christians are the largest religious minority in the country, where roughly 5 per cent of 180 million people are not Muslim. They have very little political power and tend to work in lower-level jobs, such as street sweeping.

“We have been orphaned today!” wailed Rehman Masih, a Christian resident of Islamabad. “Now who will fight for our rights? Who will raise a voice for us? Who will help us?”

It was not immediately clear why Mr. Bhatti, a member of the ruling Pakistani People's Party, did not have bodyguards with him.

Mr. Bhatti had been given police and paramilitary guards, said Wajid Durrani, a senior police official. He said Mr. Bhatti had visited his mother shortly before the attack, and that Mr. Bhatti had asked his official guards not to travel with him.

The blasphemy laws are a deeply sensitive subject in Pakistan, where most residents are Sunni Muslims and where austere versions of Islam – more common in the Middle East than South Asia – have been on the rise.

Human rights groups have long warned that the laws are vaguely worded and open to abuse because people often use them to settle rivalries or persecute religious minorities.

But in a sign of how scared the largely secular-leaning ruling party is of Islamist street power, party leaders haven't supported calls for reforming the laws. Instead, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani and others have repeatedly insisted they won't touch the statutes.

After the assassination of the Punjab governor, his confessed killer, bodyguard Mumtaz Qadri, was greeted with showers of rose petals from many lawyers who went to watch his initial court hearing.

Weeks afterward, another prominent opponent of the blasphemy laws, National Assembly member Sherry Rehman, dropped her bid to get them changed. The People's Party member said she had to abide by party leaders' decisions. She, too, faces death threats and has been living with heavy security.

The U.S.-based Human Rights Watch said after Mr. Bhatti's assassination that the government should stop appeasing militants.

No one has been put to death for blasphemy in Pakistan because courts typically throw out cases or commute the sentences. Still, some who are released are later killed by extremists or have to go into hiding. Others accused of blasphemy spend long periods in prison while waiting for their cases to wind through the courts.

The laws came under renewed international scrutiny late last year when a 45-year-old Christian woman, Asia Bibi, was sentenced to death for allegedly insulting Islam's Prophet Mohammed.

The family of Ms. Bibi – a mother of five – insists she was falsely accused over a personal dispute. There have been appeals from around the globe, including one from Pope Benedict XVI, to pardon her. But the government has said it is first waiting for a court ruling on her appeal.

Assassins kill Pakistani minister

Islamic fundamentalists have murdered the only Christian in Pakistan's cabinet for opposing the country's blasphemy laws.

Minister of minority affairs Shahbaz Bhatti, a Catholic in his 40s, was sprayed with bullets outside his parents' home in Islamabad.

The killing further undermines Pakistan's image as a moderate Islamic state and could deepen recent political turmoil.

In pamphlets found at the scene of the shooting, al Qaida and the Pakistani Taliban said they targeted Mr Bhatti because of his faith and because he allegedly belonged to a committee that was reviewing the blasphemy laws which at the moment carry the death penalty for insulting Islam.

Mr Bhatti had just pulled out of the drive when three men standing nearby opened fire.

Two of the men opened the door and tried to pull him out, as a third fired his Kalashnikov rifle repeatedly into the car. The killers then drove off.

The government condemned the killing but made no direct reference to the blasphemy law controversy that apparently motivated the assassins.

A spokesman for president Asif Ali Zardari said: "This is a concerted campaign to slaughter every liberal, progressive and humanist voice in Pakistan. The time has come for the federal government and provincial governments to speak out and to take a strong stand against these murderers to save the very essence of Pakistan."

In January, Punjab province governor Salman Taseer was killed by a bodyguard after the politician opposed the blasphemy laws. Many ordinary citizens praised the assassin.

The leaflets at the scene of the shooting blamed the government for putting Mr Bhatti, an "infidel Christian", in charge of an unspecified committee and said that "this is the horrible fate of this cursed one".

College girls’ function attacked; 35 students hurt

Tuesday, injuring 35 girls.

Ms Dilshad, the principal of the college, told journalists that Third Year students had arranged a farewell party for their seniors and they were taking photographs when they came under the terrorist attack. The inured were taken to the District Headquarters Hospital and Mardan Medical Complex and their condition was stated to be stable.

DHQ’s Medical Superintendent Dr Mohammad Tahir told this reporter that 19 of the girls were admitted to his hospital and 16 to the MMC. One student, with serious injuries, was shifted to the Lady Reading Hospital in Peshawar.

District Police Officer Zeeshan Haider told Dawn that two men who were on motorcycles hurled two grenades on the students after firing on the watchman who had tried to stop them. The watchman was injured.—Jamal Hoti

Grenade attack: Militants target girls college

PESHAWAR:
At least 35 female students were injured in a brazen grenade attack on a college in Mardan district of Khyber-Pakhtunkwa province, around 40 kilometers from the provincial capital, Peshawar.

Police said that the incident took place in jurisdiction of the Londkhawar Police Station, when two militants riding a motorcycle entered the Government Girls Degree College Landkhawar and lobbed two grenades on an ongoing college party. The blast also damaged the college bus parked nearby.

“Thirty-five students were injured in this attack,” District Police Officer Mardan Dr Zeeshan Raza told The Express Tribune.

Dr Raza said there were two attackers on a motorcycle and they managed to escape following the incident. The police official added that the miscreants also shot and injured Faras Khan – one of the victim’s father – when he tried to overpower the fleeing militants.

Following the incident, the police launched a search operation in the area, which was in progress till the filing of this report.

The attack came during a farewell thrown by third year students to their senior graduating class.

The injured were rushed to the Mardan Medical Complex, District Headquarters Hospital Mardan and Civil Hospital Landkhwar. Three students in critical condition were rushed to Peshawar.

Senior police officials and political leaders rushed to the scene of the attack and also visited the injured students at various hospitals where they were admitted.

Minister for Higher Education in Khyber-Pahkhtunkhwa (K-P) Qazi Asad termed the incident as worrying and said that the government will take steps to thwart such attempts in the future.

President strongly condemns murder of Minorities Minister

ISLAMABAD, Mar 2 (APP): President Asif Ali Zardari on Wednesday condemned the murder of Minister for Minorities Affairs Shahbaz Bhatti in strongest terms and vowed that such acts would not deter the government from eliminating extremism and terrorism.The President who is in Karachi immediately sought report of the incident.He condemned, what he termed as a “heinous act” and said government would continue to stand firm in its stance and would not bow to the extremists and terrorists.The President in a message to the family conveyed his heartfelt condolences and said the extremist elements were trying in vain to destabilise the country. However he expressed the resolve that such attempts would fail.
He prayed to Allah Almighty to bless the departed soul and for courage to the family to bear this loss with courage

President Zardari directs uninterrupted gas supply to textile industry

While taking serious notice of gas supply suspension to the textile industry in Punjab, President Asif Ali Zardari has directed the MD SNGPL to ensure five days a week uninterrupted gas supply to the textile industry in the province of Punjab.

According to the All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (APTMA) spokesman, the President has further directed the concerned authorities to divert gas supply to the export-oriented textile industry from the power plants of Independent Power Producers (IPPs) in order to keep the industry wheel running and generate employment in the country.

He said President has also assured the APTMA delegation that the condition of gas supply suspension would be lifted from the textile industry once and for all with improvement in gas availability in the country.

It may be noted that Chairman All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (APTMA) Gohar Ejaz led a delegation to President Asif Ali Zardari Tuesday on the suspension of gas supply to the textile industry in the province of Punjab.

Chairman APTMA Punjab Ahsan Bashir and President Khurarianwala Industry Association, Country’s leading cluster of textile processing mills, Azhar Majeed Sheikh were also present on the occasion.

According to the spokesman, Managing Directors (MDs) Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Ltd (SNGPL), Sui Southern Gas Pipelines Ltd (SSGPL) and Pakistan Electric Power Company (Pepco) were also present in the meeting.

It may be noted that President Asif Ali Zardari has already announced 2011 as the year of textile industry. The textile millers in Punjab were heavily disturbed over latest notification from the SNGPL, suspending gas supply to textile industry for five days a week. An Extraordinary General Meeting of APTMA on Monday had appealed President Asif Ali Zardari for intervention to the situation and ask the SNGPL authorities to withdraw anti-industry notification.

APTMA spokesman said that Chairman APTMA has appreciated the timely action by the President Asif Ali Zardari and expressed the hope that the industry would play its due role in the economic progress of the country with uninterrupted supply of gas to production units.

Chairman APTMA also said energy plays the role of lifeline in the growth of any industry and textile industry is grateful to the President Asif Ali Zardari for understanding the importance of the issue and resolving it immediately, added the spokesman.

Gaddafi loyalists advance to east

There have been scenes of chaos and drama here, as thousands of people, many of them migrant workers, try to flee Libya to safety across its western border with Tunisia.

In the no-man's land between the Libyan and Tunisian border posts, desperate arrivals are crushed against barriers controlling access to the Tunisian passport control and customs area after leaving the Libyan border post 50m (164ft) away, with a lone green flag fluttering over it.

Some are overcome by the weight of those pressing from behind and collapse.

They are lifted and lowered onto the Tunisian side gasping for breath, as Tunisian medical volunteers rush to assist them.

Tunisian border officials are working around the clock, stamping the passports of hordes of Egyptian migrant workers within seconds after quickly riffling through them.
'Extremely cold'

About 14,000 people flooded across the border on Monday alone, and that was before 1600 local time - many more arrived after that.

The flow on Tuesday was if anything even stronger, again dominated by vast numbers of Egyptians.

Once across the border, their ordeal is far from over.

Some people collapse exhausted after the ordeal of getting over the border

Thousands have spend the night sleeping out in the car park and on the approach roads to the border crossing point, huddling on with their possessions and wrapped in the thick blankets they carry with them. Nights here are still extremely cold, and there is intermittent rain too.

Tunisian NGOs and volunteers were here from the beginning, providing medical assistance, food and drinks for the arrivals.

But they have been swamped by the deluge of arrivals, especially since Wednesday when the exodus of Egyptian workers began to gather pace.

Now local resources and those of the international community have been completely overwhelmed.

International relief officials admit their efforts have been far outpaced by developments on the ground.

"The needs are much much greater than what is being provided," said Firas Kayal, spokesman for the UN's refugee agency, the UNHCR.

"The situation is significantly increasing. The numbers keep flowing. There has to be a massive international effort to ease the situations. Governments have to take action, right now."
Demonstrations

The UNHCR has helped the Tunisian army set up a tented transit camp that has mushroomed alongside the main road a few kilometres in land.

It should be shelter 10,000 people - a fraction of those now stranded in Tunisia trying to get home.

Egyptians stuck at the border have staged angry demonstrations chanting slogans criticising their embassy and the Egyptian army for not doing more to help them.

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Jim Muir: "There are thousands of people waiting desperately to cross that border"

Several thousand Bangladeshi workers are also stranded at the border, and are equally vocal in denouncing their own government and embassy for inaction.

The massive influx has caused strains for Tunisia, a country which has been going through its own convulsions and where thousands of jobless young men have been trying to flee to Europe by taking boats to Lampedusa, an Italian island which is the closest point reachable by illegal smuggling boats.

There have been angry demonstrations at the border by local Tunisian youths denouncing the flood of Egyptian migrants in particular.

Tunisian army forces have intervened to impose control and allow the flow to continue.

They also fired in the air to disperse local Tunisian smugglers who wanted too take money from the Egyptians on promises of smuggling them home on boats.

International agencies and the Egyptian government have been organising numerous flights and chartering ships to try to clear the massive backlog.

But despite their best efforts, the few thousand they have been able to evacuate are being rapidly replaced by more arrivals pouring across the border - and there are believed to be at least 25,000 others massed on the other side of the Libyan border, waiting their turn to cross

ANALYSIS-Could Libya war crimes talk just entrench Gaddafi?

* ICC referral could push Libyan leader further into corner

* Difficult balance between justice and peaceful compromise

* War crimes charges could become diplomatic bargaining chip


By Peter Apps, Political Risk Correspondent

LONDON, March 2 (Reuters) - Foreign powers hope threatening Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi with a war crimes trial at The Hague will help drive him from office, but some worry such talk might instead leave him thinking he has no way out.

The United Nations Security Council voted unanimously to refer Libya to the International Criminal Court following its crackdown on protesters. ICC chief prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo said on Monday attacks on civilians could be a crime against humanity and warranted a full investigation.

But -- just as with previous ICC probes into Congolese warlords, Sudan's president and Uganda's Lord's Resistance Army -- there is the lingering worry that prosecutions will make compromise and finding a solution harder.

Part of the problem, experts say, is that there is simply no real way to know what impact the threat will have on Libya's always somewhat erratic leader.

Israeli settlers hit back after army demolishes their West Bank homes

Hardline Israeli settlers have called for a "day of rage" on Thursday in protest at the army's demolition of an outpost in the West Bank. Settlers also launched attacks on Palestinian villages and blocked main roads in Jerusalem.

Havat Gilad, a hilltop settlement near Nablus built without government authorisation, was destroyed early on Monday, sparking clashes between activists and soldiers, in which the army fired rubber bullets and teargas canisters. The outpost's occupants vowed to rebuild the settlement.

Later, hardline settlers burned tyres and blocked roads in Jerusalem and smashed the windscreens of Palestinian cars in the West Bank. Homes and cars in two Palestinian villages were attacked on Tuesday in what settlers described as "price tag" action in retaliation for Israeli government measures against settlements.

Flyers calling for further action on Thursday were distributed. They urged a "day of rage following the pogrom on Havat Gilad and the ongoing destruction on the hilltops … no more silence".

Demolition of the outpost follows international pressure on the Israeli government to curb settlement building, to encourage a resumption of peace talks with the Palestinians. A UN security council resolution condemning settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem won the support of 14 out of 15 countries, including the UK. The US used its veto for the first time under President Barack Obama to block the resolution.

The Israeli government decided this week to dismantle all unauthorised outposts built on privately-owned Palestinian land, in a move which is likely to spark further clashes. However, it will simultaneously begin moves to make official unauthorised outposts built on West Bank land under Israeli control. All settlements in occupied territory are illegal under international law.

An Israeli soldier who lives at the Havat Gilad outpost held a press conference in Jerusalem to say that he would not return to military duty. "The [Israeli Defence Forces] sent troops to destroy my home and to shoot at my friends," he said. "I do not intend to return to the army until I finish rebuilding the ruins." The IDF said it viewed his actions as grave

Libya: thousands pour across border into Tunisia

Aid officials said they were facing a "migration tsunami" as more than 10,000 people streamed through the tiny border crossing of Ras Jedir.

Hamid Mohammed, a 45-year-old labourer, said: "They were arresting our friends – Tunisians and Egyptians – people they thought had helped the revolution.

"I saw six Egyptians killed by police. Just shot in the street like dogs.

"After that we knew that Tripoli was not safe for us."

Others had similar stories, explaining that their phone batteries or sim cards had been seized to prevent them taking photographs or telling their stories to the outside world.

UN bars Libya from human rights council

The United Nations General Assembly voted Tuesday to suspend Libya's membership in the Human Rights Council in the latest international effort to isolate Moammar Gadhafi's government for its violent attacks on civilian protesters.

The General Assembly voted by consensus on the council's recommendation to suspend Libya's rights of council membership for committing "gross and systematic violations of human rights." It also expressed "deep concern" about the human rights situation in Libya.

The vote does not permanently remove Libya from the council, but prevents it from participation until the General Assembly determines whether to restore the country to full status. The resolution was sponsored by Arab and African states.

The vote marked the first time a sitting member has been removed from the council.

In recent days, Libya has been hit by sanctions from the UN, the European Union, Canada and the United States

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton warned Tuesday that Libya is at risk of collapsing into a "protracted civil war" amid increasingly violent clashes between government forces and those opposed to Gadhafi.

Protective military air cover in Libya is a possibility, Clinton told Congress, although she acknowledged there would be drawbacks.
No-fly zone discussed

Testifying before a separate panel Tuesday, the top U.S. military commander in the Middle East said the military would have to take out Libyan air defences to establish a no-fly zone there.

Gen. James Mattis, head of U.S. Central Command, said a no-fly zone would deter attempts to bomb Libyans as they protest against the government.

The U.S. already moved naval and air forces closer to Libya on Monday and said all options were open, including patrols of Libya's skies to protect its citizens from their ruler.

However, other nations spoke against talk of a no-fly zone — including Russia, which must give its consent as a veto-wielding member of the UN Security Council.

Also on Monday, the International Criminal Court's chief prosecutor said attacks on civilians by forces loyal to Gadhafi could result in the Libyan strongman facing charges of crimes against humanity.

Luis Moreno-Ocampo said he hoped to decide within days whether to formally open an investigation that could lead to charges.

Oil price hike fuels anger in Pakistan

ISLAMABAD — Pakistan hiked oil prices by 9.9 per cent Tuesday, a move that threatens the stability of the fragile, U.S.-allied civilian government at a time of economic turmoil in the impoverished country.


Spikes in international oil market prices -- spurred by uprisings in Libya and other parts of North Africa and the Middle East -- forced the raise in Pakistani prices, said Jawad Nasim, a spokesman for the country's oil regulator. The price of a litre of petrol went from 72.96 rupees (US$0.85) to 80.19 rupees ($0.94).

Opposition parties and even some members of Pakistan's governing coalition immediately denounced the raise.

Haider Abbas Rizvi, a senior member of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement, said the price increase was unacceptable because it would further burden Pakistan citizens, who are already struggling to deal with double-digit inflation and chronic power shortages.

The MQM briefly left the governing coalition in January when the government tried to raise fuel prices, and Rizvi hinted that the party may once again defect to the opposition unless the ruling Pakistan People's Party reverses its decision in three days.

The ruling party backed off on that earlier increase to keep the MQM onboard and save its majority in parliament, upsetting the United States and international lenders whose billions are keeping Pakistan's economy afloat. The U.S. in particular has an interest in seeing Pakistan stay economically and politically stable because it relies on the country's cooperation to further its war aims in Afghanistan.

It was not immediately clear if the People's Party could afford to avoid another price hike this time.

Mohammad Sohail, an economic analyst, estimated the government had lost out on 17 billion rupees (US$200 million) by failing to increase gasoline prices since November. Even the 9.9 per cent increase on gasoline and other petroleum products wasn't enough to cover losses, he said.

Pakistan has a population of more than 180 million. Average income per capita is less than US$3,000, so a rise in petroleum prices can make a big dent in a citizen's pocketbook.

The International Monetary Fund has provided Pakistan with more than US$7 billion in loans to salvage its economy, but it has demanded the government take at times difficult steps to reform its economy.

But the economic reforms, notably a revised general sales tax, are unpopular. The ruling party has tried to pursue a policy of "reconciliation" in hopes of getting all parties onboard for economic changes, but it has had little luck so far, and its political opponents seem to sense its weakness.

Last week, the Pakistan Muslim League-N pushed the People's Party out of its coalition in Punjab, the country's most populous and wealthiest province. The PML-N is in charge of the government in the province but in the opposition on the federal level.

Officials with the People's Party could not immediately be reached Tuesday.

Also Tuesday, the bullet-riddled bodies of four tribesmen slain by suspected Taliban fighters for allegedly acting as U.S. spies were found in a northwest Pakistani tribal region, Pakistani intelligence officials and a resident said.

The bodies were found along a road near the Hamzani area of North Waziristan, a tribal region largely under the control of militant groups engaged in fighting U.S. and NATO forces across the border in Afghanistan. A note attached to the bodies accused them of acting as U.S. spies.

Local tribesman Syed Khan said he'd seen the bodies early Tuesday along a road near his home. Two intelligence officials confirmed the account on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to reporters on the record.

Taliban fighters have slain numerous tribesmen in North Waziristan whom they suspected of spying for the U.S., including passing along information that helps American missile strikes against militant targets.

Chaudhry Zaheeruddin resigns from Punjab Assembly

Chaudhry Zaheeruddin resigned as leader of the opposition in the Punjab Assembly on Wednesday.

Zaheeruddin’s decision comes after the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) ousted the ruling Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) from the provincial government.

The PML-Q leader said that the PPP had the right to nominate its own opposition leader in the house.

Zaheeruddin said he had informed the assembly’s speaker Rana Mohammad Iqbal about his resignation.

Meanwhile, Punjab Senior Minister Raja Riaz submitted an application to the speaker to allot opposition benches to the PPP ministers.

The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) last week expelled the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) from the Punjab government, after Punjab Governor Sardar Latif Khosa approved the removal of PPP ministers from the provincial cabinet.

Gaddafi says Libyans "love me"

(Reuters) - Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, facing a popular uprising and growing global pressure to step down, insisted on Monday that he was still beloved in his country and denied there were demonstrations against him.

"All my people love me. They would die to protect me," Gaddafi told ABC's Christiane Amanpour in an interview.

Amanpour said on ABC's website that the interview, conducted at a restaurant on a road on Tripoli's Mediterranean coast, was granted because Gaddafi wanted to get the truth out.

Laughing when asked if he would step down as suggested by top U.S. officials, Gaddafi seemed in denial about the strength of the uprising against his 41-year rule that has ended his control over eastern Libya and is closing in on Tripoli.

Amanpour said she asked him several times about reports of air bombing against protesters. "But Gaddafi said they did not happen and that they had only bombed military and ammunition depots," she wrote on the ABC website.

The 68-year-old leader urged the United Nations or any other organization to conduct a "fact finding mission" in Libya and questioned how nations could freeze assets, impose sanctions and implement a travel ban based on media reports alone.

"He seemed to be in complete denial about the protests against him, and that other big cities in Libya, particularly those in the east, had been taken by his opponents," Amanpour said in her report.

Gaddafi, who vowed to survive the uprising, blamed al Qaeda for encouraging young people to seize military arms.

He also accused Western countries of abandoning his government in its fight against "terrorists" and said he felt betrayed by the United States.

"I'm surprised that we have an alliance with the West to fight al Qaeda, and now that we are fighting terrorists they have abandoned us," Gaddafi said. "Perhaps they want to occupy Libya."

Gaddafi called President Barack Obama a "good man" but said he appeared misinformed about the situation in Libya.

"The statements I have heard from him must have come from someone else," Gaddafi said. "America is not the international police of the world."

Gaddafi's forces recapture town from rebels

Forces loyal to Moamar Gaddafi have seized the eastern town of Brega, the first indication of a concerted fight-back by the Libyan leader in the rebel-controlled east.

Anti-Gaddafi forces have been firmly in charge of eastern Libya up to Brega, and some areas beyond, since shortly after anti-government protests erupted in the middle of last month.

Brega, about 200 kilometres south of the opposition stronghold of Benghazi, is a major oil terminal and a major strategic asset for whoever controls it.

Rebel officers confirmed the town had been recaptured, while Al Jazeera reported warplanes bombed Ajdabiyah, a town in the same area where rebels control a military base and arms dump.

The battle is still going on. People in Benghazi are nervous and are preparing for what may be an attack on the city as Mr Gaddafi continues to reject calls to stand down and his forces try to regain areas held by the opposition.

There are reports that his troops have retaken Gharyan and Sabratha in the country's northwest

But on Tuesday rebel forces fought off elite units who tried to retake the town of Zawiya near Tripoli.

The United States says Libya could sink into civil war unless Mr Gaddafi ends his four-decade rule amid fears the uprising, the bloodiest yet against long-serving rulers in the Middle East, could cause a humanitarian crisis.

Western powers continue to argue over imposing a proposed no-fly zone over Libya, as the US moves two warships through the Suez Canal on their way to waters off Libya.

Two amphibious assault ships, USS Kearsarge, which can carry 2,000 Marines, and USS Ponce, entered the Suez Canal en route to the Mediterranean. The destroyer USS Barry moved through the Suez Canal on Monday.

Arab League foreign ministers are due to meet on Wednesday at an extraordinary session in Cairo and are expected to reinforce their condemnation of Mr Gaddafi.

Some delegates want the meeting to underline the League's unwillingness to see foreign intervention in Libya.

The repositioning of US ships and aircraft closer to Libya is widely seen as a symbolic show of force since neither the US nor its NATO allies have shown any appetite for direct military intervention in the turmoil that has seen Mr Gaddafi lose control of large swaths of his country.

Refugee emergency


Libya is no longer only an internal crisis but also a refugee emergency. At least 140,000 people have fled and thousands more are trying to get out.

Italy said it was sending a humanitarian mission to Tunisia to provide food and medical aid to as many as 10,000 people who had fled violence in Libya on its eastern border.

About 70,000 people have passed through the Ras Jdir border post in the past two weeks, and many more of the hundreds of thousands of foreign workers in Libya are expected to follow.

The UN refugee agency said the situation on the Libya-Tunisia border was reaching crisis point as desperate expatriate workers pour across, fearful of a bloody rearguard action by diehard regime elements.

Anger at authoritarian Arab regimes in the Middle East and North Africa raged from Algeria to Yemen and has spread to the previously unaffected Gulf states of Kuwait and Oman, unnerving financial markets around the world.

The UN General Assembly has also taken the unprecedented step of suspending Libya from the United Nations Human Rights Council.

The resolution, passed by consensus by the entire UN membership, accuses Libya of committing gross and systematic violations of human rights.

Lahore HC admits petition to make media reports part of Davis immunity case

The Lahore High Court (LHC) has admitted for formal hearing a petition to make media reports regarding double murder-accused CIA contractor Raymond Davis part of the case record.

Petitioner Advocate Muhammad Azhar Siddique stated that media reports regarding Davis' status should be made part of the record in the diplomatic immunity case so that the court's verdict takes various aspects of the case into consideration, the Dawn reports.

The applicant referred to various news reports in foreign media, with one report claiming that the United States had withdrawn from the optional protocol to Vienna Convention on Consular Rights proposed in 1963.

Siddique said former secretary of state Condoleezza Rice had informed UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan about the administrative decision to withdraw from the protocol in a letter dated March 7, 2005.

The applicant argued that since America intended to move the International Court of Justice, there was a possibility that either the US or Pakistan might take such an action that could ultimately oust the jurisdiction of this court on the matter.

Siddique filed another petition in the court to make the United States government a party in the Davis immunity case, to which Chief Justice Ijaz Chaudhry asked as to why it should be made a party to the case.

The court subsequently adjourned the hearing of the petitions until March 14. (ANI)