The US has ruled out any cut in its assistance to Pakistan in view of the recent revelation that Tehrek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) is responsible for the failed Times Square bomb attempt, as demanded by certain American lawmakers.
“Well, as Ms Hillary Clinton said in that very interview, we are satisfied with the cooperation that we have received from Pakistan in this investigation,” assistant secretary of state for public affairs P.J. Crowley said. “As she said, we have seen a sea change in change of attitudes within Pakistan over the last couple of years, but that we want and expect more from Pakistan going forward,” he said. A day before, special US representative Richard Holbrooke too had ruled out that there was any such move to cut the aid to Pakistan. In fact US President Barack Obama in 2009 had signed into law the Kerry-Lugar-Berman legislation that would provide $7.5 billion of civilian aid to Pakistan in the next five years.
—PTI
***
Man posts threats to Aiko, held
Tokyo : The Japanese police said on Wednesday they had arrested a man for allegedly posting an online threat to kill a royal family member, reportedly Princess Aiko, the eight-year-old daughter of the crown price.
Kengo Ezaka, a 26-year-old unemployed man, was arrested on Saturday, a police spokesman said. Local media said the man’s posting on Japan’s biggest Internet forum read: “I shall kill Aiko-sama (her majesty Aiko) by smashing her head with a hammer.”
The man reportedly told the police he had posted the threat to test the reactions of others online and did not think he would be arrested for it. Ezaka allegedly typed the threat on his home computer in Aichi prefecture, about 250 kilometres west of Tokyo, on April 30. “He forced members of the Akasaka police station to be on high alert and made it difficult for them to carry out their normal operations,” the police spokesman said.
Kengo Ezaka was arrested on suspicion of obstruction of business, referring to the operations of Akasaka police station, which watches over Crown Prince Naruhito’s vast walled residence in central Tokyo. The prince’s family has made headlines in recent years for their personal troubles.
—AFP