Embattled Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf hailed the start of a "new era of real democracy" in Pakistan and vowed yesterday to support an incoming government led by foes bent on diminishing his powers.
"The journey toward democracy and development we started eight years ago is now reaching its destination," said the former army strongman, who seized power in a 1999 coup. "A new era of real democracy has begun."
The US-backed leader was speaking at a military parade celebrating Pakistan's national day. Flatbed trucks rolled past his viewing stand displaying pieces of Pakistan's nuclear-armed arsenal: camouflage-painted Shaheen missiles about 12m long.
Military helicopters swooped past Musharraf flying huge Pakistani flags and spewing decorative, multicolored smoke while fighter jets flew overhead in heart formation.
Musharraf quit the military in November but retains sweeping presidential powers to fire parliament and the prime minister. The parties who defeated his allies in the recent elections are hoping to strip away some of his powers, as well as reverse his decision to purge the courts and review his US-backed terrorism policies.
"I hope the new government can maintain peace and the fast pace of socio-economic development in Pakistan," Musharraf said. "And I hope it will also continue our struggle against the curse of terrorism and extremism with the same force."
On Saturday, the party of slain opposition leader Benazir Bhutto named former parliament speaker Yousaf Raza Gilani as its candidate for the country's next prime minister, after routing Musharraf's allies to win the most seats in last month's polls.
Asked yesterday whether he would work with Musharraf or try to dislodge him, Gilani said, "I will follow the Constitution."
"The crisis our country is passing through is grave," Gilani told reporters after filing his nomination papers. "All political forces have to work together."
Bhutto's Pakistan People's Party is forming a majority coalition with the party of the prime minister ousted in Musharraf's coup, Nawaz Sharif, which came in second in the elections. Neither group took enough votes to govern alone.
The new administration faces massive challenges, including a wave of Islamic militancy, high inflation and electricity shortages. And a confrontation still looms between Musharraf and Sharif, who has been one of the most vocal in calling for the unpopular president's resignation.
A Chinese freighter that allegedly snapped an undersea cable linking Taiwan proper to Penghu County is suspected of being owned by a Chinese state-run company and had docked at the ports of Kaohsiung and Keelung for three months using different names. On Tuesday last week, the Togo-flagged freighter Hong Tai 58 (宏泰58號) and its Chinese crew were detained after the Taipei-Penghu No. 3 submarine cable was severed. When the Coast Guard Administration (CGA) first attempted to detain the ship on grounds of possible sabotage, its crew said the ship’s name was Hong Tai 168, although the Automatic Identification System (AIS)
An Akizuki-class destroyer last month made the first-ever solo transit of a Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force ship through the Taiwan Strait, Japanese government officials with knowledge of the matter said yesterday. The JS Akizuki carried out a north-to-south transit through the Taiwan Strait on Feb. 5 as it sailed to the South China Sea to participate in a joint exercise with US, Australian and Philippine forces that day. The Japanese destroyer JS Sazanami in September last year made the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force’s first-ever transit through the Taiwan Strait, but it was joined by vessels from New Zealand and Australia,
SECURITY: The purpose for giving Hong Kong and Macau residents more lenient paths to permanent residency no longer applies due to China’s policies, a source said The government is considering removing an optional path to citizenship for residents from Hong Kong and Macau, and lengthening the terms for permanent residence eligibility, a source said yesterday. In a bid to prevent the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) from infiltrating Taiwan through immigration from Hong Kong and Macau, the government could amend immigration laws for residents of the territories who currently receive preferential treatment, an official familiar with the matter speaking on condition of anonymity said. The move was part of “national security-related legislative reform,” they added. Under the amendments, arrivals from the Chinese territories would have to reside in Taiwan for
COORDINATION, ASSURANCE: Separately, representatives reintroduced a bill that asks the state department to review guidelines on how the US engages with Taiwan US senators on Tuesday introduced the Taiwan travel and tourism coordination act, which they said would bolster bilateral travel and cooperation. The bill, proposed by US senators Marsha Blackburn and Brian Schatz, seeks to establish “robust security screenings for those traveling to the US from Asia, open new markets for American industry, and strengthen the economic partnership between the US and Taiwan,” they said in a statement. “Travel and tourism play a crucial role in a nation’s economic security,” but Taiwan faces “pressure and coercion from the Chinese Communist Party [CCP]” in this sector, the statement said. As Taiwan is a “vital trading
RSS