RISALPUR, 28 March 2004 — Prime Minister Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali yesterday said that Pakistan could neither lower its guard nor make any compromise on its state of combat readiness.
He was speaking here at the graduation parade of Pakistan Air Force Academy.
The prime minister told the cadets that the challenges lying ahead call for a deep sense of responsibility and high level of proficiency in combat and engineering skills.
He said in this high-tech age, warfare is dictated by newly evolving doctrines and new strategies and tactics.
“We cannot afford to lower our guard, nor can we make any compromise on our state of combat readiness,” Prime Minister Jamali said.
Jamali urged the graduating cadets to keep themselves abreast with the latest advancement in their respective fields of specialty. “You can attain true success only through consistent hard work and selfless devotion,” he added.
Judge Grants Bail to Pakistani Journalist Accused of Treason
A judge in Quetta yesterday granted bail to a Pakistani journalist accused of treason after he worked with two Frenchmen reporting on the Taleban militia, a defense lawyer said.
The journalist, Khawar Mehdi Rizvi, was arrested in December along with reporter Marc Epstein and photographer Jean-Paul Guilloteau of L’Express magazine. Authorities claim the Frenchmen filmed Pakistani tribesmen posing as fighters of Afghanistan’s former ruling Taleban.
Rizvi has denied helping them make a fake video and his detention has been condemned by international press rights groups. He faces life in prison if convicted of treason.
The Frenchmen, who were convicted for a visa violation after traveling without permission to Quetta, which is near the Afghan border, were freed in January after serving seven days in jail and then returned to France.
Judge Hashim Kakar granted Rizvi bail yesterday after hearing arguments from the defense and prosecution lawyers in Quetta, the capital of Pakistan’s southwestern Baluchistan province.
Rizvi will not be immediately freed because the judge has asked him to submit a surety bond of 200,000 rupees ($3,500), said Muzaffar Ahmed, a prosecution lawyer.
