US wary over N Korea's rocket launch plan

SEOUL: North Korea's positioning of a rocket on its east coast launchpad ratcheted up tensions with Washington, which warned that pushing ahead with the April launch would violate a UN ban and have serious consequences.

Pyongyang says the rocket is designed to carry its Kwangmyongsong-2 satellite into orbit, an accomplishment timed for the eve of the inaugural session of North Korea's new parliament and for late founder Kim Il Sung's April 15 birthday.

But regional powers suspect the North will use the launch to test the delivery technology for a long-range missile, one capable of striking Alaska, or may even test-fire the intercontinental Taepodong-2 missile itself. Keeping speculation about the payload alive, North Korea reportedly has kept the top of the rocket covered.

In Washington on Thursday, White House press secretary Robert Gibbs reiterated comments made a day earlier by US secretary of state Hillary Clinton that any rocket launch would be “provocative'' and violate Security Council resolutions.

Clinton warned that the launch could jeopardize the stalled talks on supplying North Korea with aid and other concessions in exchange for dismantling its nuclear program.

Source: TOI

ISI must cut ties with extremists, US to Pak

US wants Pakistan to reform its notorious Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agency, shift its focus from India to Afghanistan and train its troops in counter-insurgency to meet the terrorist threat at home.

Pakistan army chief General Ashfaq Kayani "recognises that he has an extremist threat in Pakistan", Admiral Michael Mullen, chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, said in an interview with PBS broadcast late on Thursday.

"They've lost many, many citizens. And, in fact, if you look at the suicide bombings which have occurred over the last year or so, they've actually moved towards - and a couple of them have actually occurred in Islamabad."

"So he recognizes there's a serious extremist terrorist threat inside his country," Mullen said when asked how he would get Kayani to use his military forces not in anticipation of conflict with India, but more in pursuit of forces that want to destabilise Pakistan.

"Clearly, the Mumbai attacks in India put him in a position where he had to focus more on the Indian border, and he has," he said adding, "I mean, he's a chief who's got threats coming from both directions."

But giving "a lot of credit" to former Pakistan president Pervez Musharraf and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Mullen said "they actually de-tensioned that border during President Musharraf's time, and in fact the tourism started to flourish, there was trade which started to flourish across that border."

"And all that got suspended with the Mumbai attacks," he noted. "So General Kayani knows what he has to do. He needs to move more troops to the west and he needs to train them in counterinsurgency."

Kayani "certainly is aware of the concerns that I have with respect to his intelligence agency, ISI", Mullen said.

"They have been very attached to many of these extremist organizations," he said warning that "in the long run, they have got to completely cut ties with those in order to really move in the right direction".

"ISI fundamentally has to change its strategic approach, which has been clear to focus on India as well as Afghanistan," Mullen said. "And I don't believe they can make a lot of progress until that actually occurs."

Kayani, he said, had appointed in Lt Gen Ahmad Shuja Pasha, "one of his best guys", as the new director of ISI. "I'm encouraged with his views and I'm encouraged with how he sees the problem." But "it's going to take some time to get at it inside ISI".

Non-state actors will be dealt with sternly: Zardari

Washington/Islamabad US President George W Bush spoke to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari and all the three leaders agreed to avoid any action that would "raise tensions" in the region.

Bush in his telephonic conversation with Zardari in the backdrop of Indo-Pak tension over suspected involvement of Pakistan-based terror outfits in the Mumbai carnage urged Islamabad's cooperation in the on-going probe.

Bush "called prime minister (Manmohan) Singh of India and separately president (Asif Ali) Zardari of Pakistan. President Bush urged both ... to cooperate with each other in the Mumbai attack investigation as well as on counter-terrorism in general," White House spokesman Gordon Johndroe said. Bush spoke from his ranch in Crawford in Texas.

"All three leaders from the United States, India and Pakistan agreed that no one wanted to take any steps that unnecessarily raise tensions," Johndroe emphasised.

"... the calls he(Bush) had with both Prime Minister Singh and, separately, with President Zardari were encouraging the sides to cooperate, not only on the Mumbai investigation, but also on counterterrorism in general.

And I'll leave it at that," Johndroe said.

In Islamabad, a brief statement issued by the presidency said Zardari assured Bush that Pakistan will not allow its territory to be used by "non-state actors" for launching attacks on other countries.

Asked about the nature of the conversation between Bush and Zardari especially if the US President had spoken about the extradition of a militant who had confessed to the Mumbai terror attacks, Johndroe refused to get into the details.

"...reports out of Islamabad is that a ...Pakistani militant has confessed to ...Mumbai attack... Did the president talk about whether or not this individual should be extradited... (for) trial to India?" Johndroe was asked.

"... I'm not going to get into details. I don't recall that specific issue coming up -- specific element coming up" the White House Deputy Press Secretary replied.

The statement by the Pakistan presidency said, "President Asif Ali Zardari reiterated the position of the government of Pakistan that it will not allow its territory to be used by non-state actors for launching attacks on other countries".

Zardari said "anybody found involved in such attacks from the soil of Pakistan will be dealt with sternly".

Bush and Zardari discussed the situation in the region and bilateral relations, the statement said.

Bush's phone conversation with Zardari was the latest in a flurry of contacts between top US and American officials in the wake of the Mumbai terror attacks, which sparked tensions with India.

India has blamed Pakistan-based elements, including the Lashker-e-Taiba terror group, for the attacks that killed over 180 people. India has asked Pakistan to take action against these elements.

Pakistan has said it is waiting for India to share evidence and information on the Mumbai attacks so that it can push forward its investigation into the incident.

Source: http://www.indiavilas.com/redir.asp?l=http://c.moreover.com/click/here.pl?j1752539753