Asia News Digest
Pakistan Will Not Roll Back Nuclear Program
Addressing a large number of ex-army men from Pakistan's Punjab province, Finance Minister and vice president of Citigroup there, Shaukat Aziz, categorically stated that Pakistan's nuclear program would not be rolled back.
"We will never roll back the country's nuclear program. Instead it will be further augmented to strengthen the defense of the motherland," said Shaukat Aziz, who had survived a suicide bomber's attack intended to kill him, on July 30, near Islamabad.
Aziz, who is "on leave" from Citigroup, is a favorite of Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf, and is slated to become the next Prime Minister of Pakistan in October. Aziz is also an American citizen. Since his arrival in Pakistan as Finance Minister, in 2002, Washington has been particularly helpful in bailing out Pakistan financially on a number of occasions.
At the same time, it is evident that Washington has kept up its pressure on Pakistan to give up its nuclear program, as a quid pro quo, for financial help. At the end of July, China agreed formally to help Pakistan build a 330 megawatt nuclear power plant in Punjab province.
Afghan Opium Production May Double This Year
Unnamed U.S. government sources told the Washington Times Aug. 4 that the opium traffickers in Afghanistan will produce somewhere between 5,400 and 7,200 metric tons of opium this year, leading to an increase of 50-100% over last year's 3,600 metric tons. The officials also said, that, at the rate land is being used to grow opium-poppies, the tonnage could double in 2005. The 2004 crop may produce from 540 to 720 metric tons of heroin to be sold on the European black market.
Afghan opium production is growing fast, but the numbers stated by these officials still seem exaggerated. The narco-traffickers would like to keep the narcotics price high, and for that reason alone, they do not utilize every piece of land available to them for poppy cultivation.
The rapid growth of opium production in Afghanistan is no secret. In fact, despite loudly expressed opposition from the U.S., it has not been "discouraged" at any point by the Bush Administration. At a hearing this summer, House International relations Committee Chairman Henry J. Hyde (R-Ill) said of the warlords in Afghanistan: "Their continued influence is due, in large part, to the consequences of high levels of poppy production, which are putting Afghanistan on the road to becoming a narco-state. As a result, there is very little progress to date in U.S. and coalition efforts against drug trafficking."
British Anti-Terror Police Detain Asian Muslims
British anti-terrorist police have detained 13 Asian Muslims for questioning, NDTV of New Delhi reported Aug. 4. Armed police officers raided homes across the country, arresting 13 men in their 20s and 30s on suspicion of being involved in the commission, preparation, or instigation of terrorist acts. Arrests were made in northwest London, Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire, and Lancashire.
The arrests occurred as British Prime Minister Tony Blair came under increasing pressure to elaborate on the nature of the terrorism threat in Britain. British officials told NDTV that MI5's involvement in the raid suggests that it was the result of an intelligence tip-off, rather than information gathered routinely by the police. The British officials, however, dismissed any link of the arrests to the terrorism alert in the United States.
The intelligence tip mentioned by British officials could have come from Pakistan. British police claim that the tip has led to the arrest of a senior al-Qaeda operative.
At the same time, British police have stepped up "stop-and-search" operations, using the Terrorism Act 2000. Muslim groups have regularly criticized the rise in stop-and-search operations, saying it was evidence of prejudice and "Islamophobia." Britain's Home Office Minister Hazel Blears claimed that the rise in searches of Asians to be seen in the context of the overall rise in the total number of searches.
Singapore Bashes Manila Over Iraq Troop Pullout
Living up to the arrogance of Her Majesty's colonial pedigree, the city-state of Singapore has joined the political bashing of the Philippines government for pulling out its forces in Iraq in exchange for saving the life of its overseas contract workers.
Singapore coordinating Minister for Security and Defense Tony Tan, declared in an interview with foreign reporters on Aug. 2, that no country should negotiate with terrorists, and that complying with their demands should not be part of foreign policy. Tan prattled on: "The Singapore government cannot and should never negotiate with terrorists. That would encourage more terrorists to take more of our people as hostages." He complained that giving in to terrorists only encourages more kidnappings. Singapore has 33 troops on the ground, among 150,000 or so, in Iraq, compared to the 155 Filipino troops who were pulled out.
U.S. Ambassador Returns to Manila Following Hostage Crisis
The rather imperial U.S. Ambassador to the Philippines, Francis Ricciardone, returned to Manila on Aug. 3, following his meetings in Washington on U.S.-Philippines relations. Ricciardone "had a series of productive meetings with Federal agencies, Congressional contacts, and high-ranking officials of the State Department," Ruth Urry, the U.S. Embassy's assistant information officer in Manila, told the Philippines Enquirer Aug. 4.
Ricciardone left the country on July 21 at the height of the controversy over the withdrawal of Philippines troops from Iraq, in exchange for the release of truck-driver Angelo de la Cruz, who had been taken hostage by militants.
N. Korea 'Threat to U.S. Pacific Coast' Story Hyped
The latest issue of Jane's Defence Weekly has a story claiming that North Korea has acquired long-range, submarine-launched Russian missiles (Soviet type R-27, NATO classification SS-N-6), using material from Russian submarines being sold for scrap. The range of these missiles can be from 2,500 up to 4,000 km. The Jane's report, which has not been reviewed by EIR, is being played up inside Russia. Some versions refer to the involvement of "Japanese middlemen," and also of Rev. Sun Myung Moon.
Is Australia Visit to N. Korea Feeler for Washington?
Australia's Foreign Minister Alexander Downer will visit North Korea on Aug. 17. Since the government of John Howard, the self-proclaimed "deputy sheriff" to the U.S. in Asia, does nothing without Washington's approval, it is clear that this is a feeler for some future Washington move on the Korea front. Downer will meet in Beijing with Chinese officials and U.S. National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice, and then travel to Pyongyang together with the Australian Ambassador to China.
Australia established relations with North Korea in 2000, and Downer visited Pyongyang that year.
Pakistan Pays Heavy Price for Backing U.S. in Afghanistan
A Russian-made Mi-17 Pakistani Army helicopter crashed in Pakistan's North Waziristan tribal area, situated along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, in the early hours of Aug. 5, killing 13 Pakistani soldiers. Islamabad reported "technical malfunction" as the cause of the crash. On the other hand, the Pakistan Army reported surprisingly heavy retaliatory gunfire in the area. It is most likely that the helicopter was downed by a rocket-propelled grenade.
The crash came a day after the second-ranking Pakistani Army general and a favorite of the Americans, Vice Chief of Staff Gen. Yusaf Khan, visited the tribal areas, where thousands of Pakistani soldiers have been moved, at U.S. behest, to search and destroy all anti-U.S., anti-Kabul groups functioning in the area. The objective is to capture al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden, or his deputy Ayman al-Zawahiri. Islamabad insists that Zawahiri was sighted in the area not long ago, hiding with a large number of "foreign" terrorists.
The Pakistani troops' virtual invasion of tribal areas, which were until now out of bounds to them, has created a frightening security problem in Pakistan. The fiercely independent Tribals, who are mostly backers of the "bad Taliban," may now hunt down Pakistanis. Over the next few months, it is almost a certainty that Pakistan will pay a heavy price for aligning itself with the Bush Administration's Afghan policy.
Mental-Health Crisis Found in Afghan Population
Exposure to trauma and mental-health symptoms of depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are prevalent among people in Afghanistan, but often go untreated, due to lack of resources and mental-health-care professionals, according a study reported this month in the Journal of American Medical Association (JAMA). The study was sponsored by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta.
As the overview of the study points out, "more than two decades of war and conflict, and three years of drought, have led to widespread human suffering and substantial population displacement in Afghanistan. The country's infrastructure has been destroyed or degraded, and vital human resources have been depleted."
Trubnikov Appointment to India Deemed Significant
The appointment of Vyachslav Trubnikov, former Russian First Deputy Foreign Minister, as Russian Ambassador to India, is "very important," said one of Russia's most prominent scholars in a discussion with EIR on Aug. 5. Trubnikov is a "very experienced person," and knows India extremely well. Trubnikov speaks Hindi.
This is "not any ordinary appointment," she said. "This is something special."
Trubnikov, the scholar said, served as the deputy to Yevgeny Primakov in the Russian foreign intelligence service, and, when Primakov resigned, became its head. Trubnikov has a deep background in foreign intelligence, she said.
He also knows the critical Afghanistan situation well, which is of great importance to both the Russian and Indian security. He was co-chair of the India-Russia Working Group on Afghanistan. The key thing is that he will work to bring India-Russia ties to a truly strategic level, not just on military issues, but also on economic and international cooperation matters.
It is too early to say whether Trubnikov will make the India-Russia-China strategic triangle a prime issue, the Russian India specialist said.
|