400 killed in Syria since late December: UN

An estimated 400 people, an average of 40 a day, have been killed in Syria in the days following the arrival of the Arab League monitors in the country, a top UN official has said. UN Under Secretary General for Political Affairs B Lynn Pascoe yesterday briefed the 15-nation Security Council on the situation in Syria in a closed door meeting.

Pascoe's briefing came the same day a defiant Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad said he will not step down and blamed a foreign conspiracy for the country's nearly year-long bloody uprising. Later talking to reporters here, US Ambassador to the UN Susan Rice said the briefing the Council received was "alarming by any standard."

"The Under-Secretary-General noted that in the days since the Arab League monitoring mission has been on the ground, in fact, some estimated 400 additional people have been killed, an average of 40 a day, a rate much higher than was the case before their deployment," Rice said. Further, at least two of the monitors of the Arab League have also been "roughed up, harmed, harassed" while they were carrying out their work.

According to the United Nations, more than 5,000 people have been killed since the anti-government protests began last March. Syrian government, however, says 2000 security personnel were killed by armed terrorists.

She said the unabated violence is a clear indication that the Syrian government is not using the opportunity of its commitment to the Arab League to end violence but is instead "carrying out further acts of brutality against its population even often in the presence of those monitors."

Rice said Assad should step aside and pave the way for a democratic government in keeping with the wishes of the Syrian people. "Unfortunately, rather than take that approach, we heard the vitriol of President Assad's speech today and further belittling by him of the Arab League, which we found offensive."

In response to Assad's claims that the uprising in his country was the handiwork of a foreign conspiracy, Rice said for him to make such claims "is frankly an insult to the people of Syria who are dying on the streets at the hands of their own government as they try to bring about, through peaceful means, a more responsive government."

Rice said it is high time the UN Security Council passes a strong resolution that supports the Arab League and considers putting sanctions on the Syrian regime. Countries like Russia and China are, however, not in favour of imposing sanctions on Assad's regime, as they believe government rebels are equally to be blamed for the bloodshed.

Pak govt calls urgent parliamentary session over SC warning

Pakistan's ruling coalition leaders have decided to call an urgent session of parliament tomorrow in the wake of a warning from the Supreme Court that action could be taken against the President and Prime Minister for failing to reopen high-profile corruption cases.

The decision was made at a meeting jointly chaired by President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani at the presidency late last night. The heads of the parties in the ruling coalition led by the Pakistan People's Party proposed that a session of the National Assembly or lower house of parliament should be "urgently called to discuss the latest political issues", presidential spokesman Farhatullah Babar said.

The leaders agreed that the session of the National Assembly should be called on Thursday at 4 pm, Babar said. The leaders discussed the "current political situation with particular reference to the most recent developments", he said. "Before the session of the National Assembly, a joint meeting of the parliamentary parties will be held in the Parliament House to work out the strategy to be adopted during the National Assembly session," Babar said.

The meeting was attended by PML-Q chief Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain, Awami National Party leader Asfandyar Wali Khan, senior Muttahida Qaumi Movement leaders Farooq Sattar and Babar Khan Ghauri, and PPP leaders Khursheed Shah, Babar Awan and Raja Pervez Ashraf. Earlier, President Zardari cut short a visit to Karachi and rushed back to the federal capital following the warning issued by the Supreme Court.

Shortly after arriving in Islamabad, President Zardari held a one-on-one meeting with Prime Minister Gilani at the presidency late in the night, presidential spokesman Farhatullah Babar said. The apex court warned that action could be taken against both the President and Prime Minister for failing to act on a court order to reopen corruption cases that were closed under a graft amnesty issued by former military ruler Pervez Musharraf in 2007.

The amnesty was struck down by the apex court in December 2009.

Since then, the court has been pressuring the government to reopen corruption cases against Zardari and over 8,000 other beneficiaries of the amnesty. The government has refused to act on the court's directives to reopen cases of alleged money laundering against Zardari in Switzerland, saying the President enjoys immunity from prosecution.

U.S. fires 1st drone into Pakistan since strike that killed Pakistani troops; 4 militants dead

An American drone strike killed four Islamist militants in Pakistan, the first such attack since errant U.S airstrikes in November killed two dozen Pakistan troops and pushed strained ties between the two nations close to collapse, Pakistani intelligence officials said Wednesday.

The attack Tuesday took place in North Waziristan, an al-Qaeda and Taliban stronghold close to the Afghan border that has been pounded by U.S. strikes, the officials said. Three of the dead were Arab fighters, said the officials, who didn’t give their names because they were not allowed to be named in the media. The late-night missile launch broke the longest pause between strikes since the drone program began in earnest in 2009.

American officials say there had been no promise by Washington to avoid drone operations since the deadly Nov. 26 airstrikes along the Afghan border, but that the lull was part efforts to tamp down tensions with Pakistan, seen by many U.S. officials as key to a negotiated peace in Afghanistan.

After the American strike, Islamabad shut down vital supply routes into Afghanistan and forced the U.S. to vacate Shamsi Air Base in southwestern Baluchistan province. The U.S. used the base to service drones that targeted militants in the tribal regions close to Afghanistan.

While there has been some level of Pakistani acquiescence to the drone program, the attacks are extremely unpopular with the public, and their scope and frequency has been a source of friction between the two countries.

It was unclear whether the U.S. had given any indication that it would resume strikes, or whether the fresh attack would hamper American efforts to rebuild cooperation with Islamabad and reopen its supply routes.

The missiles struck a house around two kilometers from Miran Shah, the main town in North Waziristan, shortly before midnight locals said. “It was an unusually big bang. Since it was extremely cold I didn’t leave the house, but could see a house on fire,” said Qasim Noor, a 20-year-old college student. “In the morning, we saw a modest mud house had been destroyed.”

A U.S. official confirmed there had been a missile strike in the region. An American investigation into the November airstrikes concluded that a persistent lack of trust between the U.S. and Pakistan, and a series of communications and coordination errors on both sides, led to the attacks. Pakistani officials have rejected that probe and there has been little public sign that relations between the two countries are improving.

There were more than 60 drone attacks last year, significantly less than in 2010. The attacks have killed scores of militants, among them several mid- and high-ranking commanders. American officials don’t talk about the program in public, but privately say it has been vital in countering the threat from al-Qaida in one of its global hubs.

Human rights activists in Pakistan and abroad have reported significant civilian casualties as a result of the strikes. The U.S. says the strikes are accurate, but doesn’t publicly investigate the allegations.

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