Webinfosys's Local News : No schedule yet for elections: Pakistan govt

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan's government said on Tuesday that it had not yet decided on the schedule for elections under a state of emergency, amid international pressure for them to be held in January as planned.

But Deputy Information Minister Tariq Azeem said the government wanted to respect the constitutional provisions which dictate the timeframe for the parliamentary elections as closely as possible.

"There is an emergency in the country at the moment, the constitution is held in abeyance and there has been no decision on the schedule of the elections yet," Azeem told reporters.

His comments came after state media quoted Premier Shaukat Aziz as saying the elections would be held "according to the schedule" and a spokesman quoted Musharraf as saying they would be "as close as possible to the schedule".

"No schedule has yet been given. We would like to stay as close as possible to the timeline provided in the constitution that says that once the assemblies complete their tenure or are dissolved then the next elections should be in 60 days," Azeem said.

The national parliament and provincial assemblies' current term expires on November 15, but officials say that under the state of emergency parliament is able to postpone its dissolution by up to one year.

Azeem also denied that Pakistan's attorney general had said that the assemblies would be dissolved on November 15 and the elections would be held before the Muslim holy month of Moharram, due to start by mid-January.

Attorney General Malik Mohammad Qayyum made the comments to reporters and other media outlets on Monday night. He was not immediately available for comment on Tuesday morning.

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Webinfosys's Local News : Woman gangraped in Konark, four held

BHUBANESWAR: Four persons were arrested for allegedly gangraping a 27-year old woman after dragging her out of a bus near the famous tourist spot of Konark in Puri district, police said on Tuesday.

"We have arrested four persons for the rape of a married woman after forcing her out of a bus on Sunday when she was returning to Puri after visiting Konark," Sub-divisional Police Officer (Nimapada) Durlabh Singh said over phone.

Over half-a-dozen others including staff of two private buses were also detained to ascertain whether the incident took place with their complicity, he said.

The detainees were being interrogated. The victim, accompanied by a man from Puri, was returning in a bus when two of the accused travelling in the same vehicle asked the driver to stop and dragged the woman out before raping her at a nearby secluded place, police said.

Two others, who probably followed the bus, joined the duo later and also raped the woman. The bus had left amid little protest from its passengers and staff.

Medical examination of the victim and the accused was conducted. Some condoms were found from the spot, the sources said.

The accused were identified as Santosh Swain, Gaurang Pradhan, R K Das and Devanand Parida and they hailed from Gop, Konark and Baliguali areas, the sources said.

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Webinfosys's Local News : Musharraf under pressure over elections

Pakistan's military ruler Pervez Musharraf promised to push ahead with elections amid international outrage on Tuesday over his emergency rule, with the United States demanding a return to democracy.

With images of police firing tear gas and beating protesters going around the world and warnings of a break in foreign aid, the president said January's planned polls would be held "as close as possible to the schedule."
US President George W Bush called on Musharraf, a key ally in the battle against Al-Qaeda and the Taliban, to end the state of emergency, quit as army chief and restore democratic rule.

"We expect there to be elections as soon as possible and that the president should remove his military uniform," Bush said.

"Our hope is that he will restore democracy as quickly as possible."

On Monday, dozens of lawyers were wounded and hundreds arrested in the first major show of public dissent since Musharraf imposed a state of emergency on Saturday, citing a crisis caused by Islamic extremist violence and hostile judges.

Officials said 1,500 people had been arrested since then.

"Police have detained potential troublemakers, law-breakers and those who defied a ban on rallies," interior ministry spokesman Javed Cheema said.

The biggest protest was in Lahore, where lawyers with bleeding head wounds were bundled into vans after police fired tear gas at around 1,000 protesters outside the high court.

In Karachi, police and paramilitary soldiers charged at lawyers, detaining another 100. Clashes were also reported in Rawalpindi, Multan and Peshawar.

In a sign of the raging uncertainty gripping the nuclear-armed nation, the government was obliged to deny rumours Musharraf had been placed under house arrest by his own armed forces.

UN chief Ban Ki-moon was "greatly concerned" at the situation and has urged Musharraf to free detainees immediately and restore democracy, his spokeswoman said.

As well as declaring emergency rule, Musharraf suspended the constitution, sacked the nation's chief justice and brought in media controls -- measures he said were needed to stop Pakistan committing "suicide."

The Supreme Court had been about to rule on the legality of his October 6 presidential election win, and government jitters over the verdict are widely thought to have precipitated the move.

The focus now is on January's parliamentary vote.

"Efforts are to stay as close as possible to the schedule of elections," presidential spokesman Rashid Qureshi quoted Musharraf as telling ambassadors in a briefing.

Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz was more categorical, telling state media the elections would be on schedule.
Former premier Benazir Bhutto -- who had been in talks on a power-sharing deal with Musharraf -- called on him to release the detained and stick to his election plan.

"I want elections to be held on time," Bhutto added. "Elections should be completed by 16 January."
Attorney General Malik Mohammad Qayyum told AFP the national and provincial assemblies would be dissolved on November 15 for polls by mid-January.

He said the government had no immediate plans to withdraw emergency rule, "particularly in view of the law and order situation in the disturbed parts of the country."

Qayyum said Musharraf would quit as army chief before he takes the oath of office for a second five-year term but gave no date. "The day the president is sworn in as head of the state he will be a civilian president."

The White House said Washington's aid to Pakistan was "under review," but strongly suggested there would be no reduction.

Pakistan is on the front line of the US-led "war on terror," and since the September 11, 2001 terror attacks in the United States it has been given more than 10 billion dollars in US military assistance.

However the European Union warned of "possible further steps" to be taken against Islamabad while Britain said it was "considering the implications" of emergency rule for development and other aid programmes.

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