Lt Gen Sarath Fonseka is no ordinary general. He is the army commander in the Sri Lankan army and the man leading the military offensive in north Sri Lanka, which has virtually decimated Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, the world's most-dreaded guerrilla force today.
Lt Gen Fonseka, who left for Pakistan on Sunday on an official tour, is slated to discuss several issues including defence purchases, the Daily Mirror newspaper reported. During his stay, the visiting army chief is scheduled to meet President Pervez Musharraf, Pakistan Army Chief Gen Ashfaq Pervez Kiyani and several other defence officials.
The stage is now set for what is expected to be the most closely contested Presidential polls in Sri Lanka, with the incumbent Mahinda Rajapaksa and his main challenger Sarath Fonseka are exuding full confidence of emerging victorious.
"The President in his capacity of Commander-in-Chief of the Armed forces has confirmed the findings and the punishment handed down by the first court martial," a military official said.
General Sarath Fonseka, the defeated candidate in the recent Sri Lanka's presidential election and the country's former Army chief, has been arrested, BBC has reported.
Defeated joint opposition candidate Gen Sarath Fonseka rejected the Sri Lankan government's allegations on Thursday that he had attempted to assassinate President Mahinda Rajapakasa, terming it as "trumped up charges" to arrest him.
Sri Lanka's embattled President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, under immense pressure from the public and the Opposition to quit over the island nation's worst economic crisis, said on Thursday that the abolition of the executive presidency, a move that will curb his powers, will be considered by Parliament.
"Sri Lanka has a sovereign government and all its administrative matters (of the army) are with the President and commander in chief (Mahinda Rajapaksa) and defence secretary," Defence Spokesman and senior cabinet Minister Keheliya Rambukwella told PTI.
Official spokesman Lucien Rajakarunanayake said Rajapakse, who won re-election in presidential elections last month, signed a decree dissolving the national assembly with effect from midnight Tuesday.
Will Killinocchi prove a turning point in the battle being fought between the Sri Lankan army and the LTTE? If the LTTE loses the battle, it could mark the beginning of its end as an insurgent force, but not as a terrorist organisation. If the Sri Lankan army wins, it will be a Pyrrhic victory, says B Raman
The powerful bomb blast is believed to be triggered by a suicide bomber.
Even as the polity find ways and means to address the genuine concerns and fears of the society, the Sri Lankan State apparatus would have to unravel these mystery-questions with convincing answers, and a road-map to the future, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
Sri Lanka's new government on Sunday said it will probe whether longtime president Mahinda Rajapaksa sought military help to cling to power after he realised that he had lost the closely contested election.
"Just a handful of Indian youth have joined the ISIS. Some have also returned after being persuaded by their families," asserted the home minister.
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