Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
India rejects 'escalation' charge, asks Pak to do more
Rejecting Pakistan's contentions, External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee said on Tuesday that there had been no escalation of tensions on the part of India and that its military movements were routine winter exercises.
Telling Pakistan that "there is no need of creating an atmosphere or some sort of hysteria", the minister said that there was no tension as was borne by the fact that India was releasing some 67 Pakistanis detained for visa violations.
Moreover, like in the past, India and Pakistan will be exchanging information on nuclear confidence building measures on the New Year's Day, he told a news agency here. Mukherjee was clear about what India wants from Pakistan--dismantling of terrorist camps, taking action against those involved in terror attacks and handing over of fugitives of Indian laws like the chief of the banned Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) Masood Azhar.
Moreover, like in the past, India and Pakistan will be exchanging information on nuclear confidence building measures on the New Year's Day, he told a news agency here. Mukherjee was clear about what India wants from Pakistan--dismantling of terrorist camps, taking action against those involved in terror attacks and handing over of fugitives of Indian laws like the chief of the banned Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) Masood Azhar.Disagreeing with suggestions that India should recall its High Commissioner from Pakistan and put economic squeeze on Pakistan, he said while it cannot be "business as usual" with Islamabad, "I do feel still we should continue to put pressure diplomatically through international community to achieve our objectives."
About the investigation into the Mumbai terror attack, Mukherjee said that these were in the final stages and will be shared with Pakistan and others, Mukherjee said.
The minister told Pakistan, "Please fulfil your commitments and do the job you are expected to do."
Pakistan, he emphasised, will have to act on the evidence India gives to it. "And there has to be credible evidence that they are acting on it," he added.
He recalled that way back in January, 2004 the then President Pervez Musharraf and more recently President Asif Ali Zardari had given commitments Pakistan's territory would not be allowed to be used by terrorists against India.
"We are only asking that you fulfil these commitments you have made. Kindly dismantle the infrastructural facilities, dismantle the camps...upto now we have not seen any such thing," the External Affairs Minister said.
Pakistan, he emphasised, will have to act on evidence India gives to it. "And there has to be credible evidence that they are acting on it."
While maintaining his stand that India was keeping all options open, the External Affairs Minister recalled that he had stated in Parliament that war was not a solution.
India would continue to put pressure on Pakistan through diplomacy and "we would like to see what is the final outcome of it".
Refuting suggestions that diplomatic efforts had failed, Mukherjee said that New Delhi had been able to create awareness all over the world. "We shall have to make these efforts, howsoever strenuous they may be....we shall have to build up the pressure on Pakistan."
Mukherjee said Pakistan continued to be in denial mode and as of now India has not seen any action on its part on its demands. "If simply they deny and go into denial mode how does it help," he asked.
Asked about the number of terrorist camps in Pakistan, the minister disclosed that "the latest information" given by India to that country shows that the number was 30 plus.
"Sometimes they change their names, sometimes they change their locations but the persons are the same."
When asked if India would be satisfied by the Pakistan government putting to trial the fugitives it wanted, Mukherjee remarked that even the probe into the assassination of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto was not handed over to Pakistani authorities but to the UN.
"The question is how to address the terrorist activities that are hurting us and which are emanating from Pakistan... The question is how they can fulfill their own commitment," Mukherjee said.
"The crux of the issue is that the problem (of cross-border terrorism) has to be addressed and the sooner they do it, better it is for them and for us," he said.
Mukherjee particularly referred to Masood Azhar and Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD), front organisation of Lashkar-e-Taiba, and said that Pakistan should act against them in a convincing way.
On Azhar, the External Affairs Minister said the JeM chief was linked to internationally-recognised serious offence of hijacking but Pakistan was not handing him over despite his being "visible" in that country.
Instead of handing him over to India as per the international law, Pakistan was indulging in contradictions by first saying he had been put under house arrest and later denying his presence in Pakistan.
Similar was the approach on sending Director General of ISI to India in connection with probe into Mumbai attacks, a promise on which Pakistan went back, he pointed out.
Regarding JuD, which was banned by Pakistan after UN Security Council imposed sanctions on the outfit earlier this month, Mukherjee questioned how the group was still active, even for charitable works, despite the "ban".
Rejecting Pakistan's contention, he said there was no tension from Indian side because it does not consider the attacks in Mumbai and other places being linked to Indo-Pak ties.
"We are suggesting you (Pakistan) fulfill these commitments you have made (of dismantling terror camps). When these things are adequately addressed, I think what we are asking for will be responded.
"But upto now, we have not seen any such thing. Rather, what we have seen is an attempt to divert attention to create tension," Mukherjee said, asking Pakistan to "do the job you are expected to do".
Asserting that India has not created any tension, he said New Delhi has made it clear to the international community as well that it has no intention to create tension.
To a question on India reaching out to Pakistan's allies China and Saudi Arabia besides the US and others, he said New Delhi is in touch with the international community as part of its efforts to build pressure on Islamabad.
On Pakistan government's problems in meeting India's demands because of army and ISI, he said he would not like to comment on the complex situation prevailing in Pakistan.
"I am concerned only with the results. Whoever is responsible. In conversation with one of my interlocutors, I told him when there is a military ruler in Pakistan, we have attack on Parliament. When there is a democratic government in Pakistan, we have attack on Mumbai, unprecedented in its ferocity and audacity.
"Therefore, where is the respite. Internal politics of Pakistan, let it remain there, and let them handle it the way they want to. We want that in our relationship it should not be strained because of these elements. appropriate actions should be taken against them," he said. Read more...
Hasina's landslide restores democracy to Bangladesh
Bangladesh's charismatic leader Sheikh Hasina, who favours strong ties with India, has scripted a stunning victory trouncing rival BNP in the country's first polls in seven years, restoring democracy in the impoverished nation after two years of military-led rule.
Hasina's Awami League-led alliance clinched 258 seats of the total 300 seats in parliament leaving only 31 constituencies to her archrival Khaleda Zia's Bangladesh Nationalist Party-led four-party, according to "unofficial" results published by the Election Commission.
Five seats went to other small parties and independents while results of the four others were pending. The poll outcome was the worst showing by Zia's BNP, while it was the best by Awami League since the creation of Bangladesh in 1971 after it was liberated from Pakistan.
With the election process coming to an end, the army-backed administration said it would handover the power to the democratically-elected government within 10 days after the results were gazetted and oaths taken.
"The new government will be formed after the members-elect take oath as MPs, then the caretaker government will handover charge to the incumbent new administration," adviser to the interim-government M Anwarul Iqbal said.
Soon after the results emerged, a beaming 61-year-old Hasina, who lost power to BNP by a huge margin in 2001, asked her party to show restraint and not to stage any victory processions until the results were officially published.
She also urged her rivals to accept the results to end the years of confrontational politics.
Hasina is the daughter of Bangladesh founder late Sheikh Mujabir Rehman.
Monday, December 29, 2008
Pak tones down war rhetoric, favours ‘friendly ties’
Facing the heat from the US and other major countries, Pakistan on Monday toned down the war rhetoric and talked of the need to "de-escalate and avoid conflict".
In his first public statement since the Mumbai terror attack, Kayani, the Chief of Army, which is believed to have huge influence over affairs of the state in Pakistan, backed moves for de-escalation of tensions with India.
A brief military statement was issued after Kayani met Chinese Vice Foreign Minister He Yafei, who was dispatched here by Beijing to help ease the Indo-Pak stand-off, at the Army Headquarters in Rawalpindi near here.
"The Chief of Army Staff highlighted the need to de-escalate and avoid conflict in the interest of peace and security in the region," the statement said.
Pakistan's civilian leadership also continued its 'no war' stance, with Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani voicing opposition to any military action.
"We have never wanted war with anybody... We also want that our soil should not be used for terrorism," Gilani said as international pressure mounted on the country to avoid confrontation with India in the aftermath of the Mumbai terror attacks.
During a meeting with visiting Chinese Deputy Foreign Minister He Yafie, dispatched by Beijing to Islamabad to help reduce regional tensions, Gilani reiterated Pakistan's "firm resolve for maintaining good relations with all its neighbours".
Gilani said only "elements inimical to cordial Pakistan-India ties and terrorists had benefited from the situation that evolved" after the Mumbai incident. Pakistan desires the de-escalation of tensions and is hopeful its stance will be reciprocated by the Indian leadership, he added.
Stressing that there could be no parallel centres of power in the country, Gilani described Pakistan as a "responsible and peaceful" nuclear state and said it wanted good relations with its neighbours.
"We don't want any parallel government in the country and don't want the writ of the government be challenged," he said at the campus of the National University of Science and Technology here, without elaborating who he was referring to.
The US and UK have pressed Pakistan to take concrete action against those responsible for the November 26 Mumbai terror attacks. New Delhi has asked China, Saudi Arabia and Iran to use their influence on Islamabad to rein in terrorists operating from Pakistan.
The statements by Pakistani military and civilian leadership came as an Army spokesman confirmed that the two countries had been in touch through the Director General of Military Operations and this apparently had helped lower the tensions.
The DGMOs usually make contact on Tuesday on a routine basis but they spoke to each other over the weekend in an "extraordinary move", 'The News' daily quoted a top military official as saying.
"That was only possible with the consent of top military leaders of both the countries. Apparently, this helped lower the tension," the official said.
The DGMOs made contact after Pakistani officials said thousands of troops had been moved from the militant-infested northwestern tribal areas to the Indian border and leave had been cancelled for soldiers.
Post 26/11, high-tech coastal security system on cards
A month after terrorists sneaked into Mumbai in a hijacked Indian fishing boat and killed nearly 200 people, the much-neglected coastal security system of India is being revamped.
Following are the steps the government plans to take in an attempt to revamp coastal security:
PTI adds: The Union Home Ministry on Monday assured the coastal states that it will provide all assistance to secure the sea-front and asked the Shipping Ministry to come up with a proposal within ten days on registration of fishing boats and issuing identity cards to fishermen.
At a high level meeting , chaired by Secretary (Border Management) Jarnail Singh and attended by representatives of nine coastal states and four Union Territories, the Home Ministry assured that adequate funds would be provided to the states to procure high-speed vessels, high-tech naval equipment and all other security requirements.
"We have asked the Shipping Ministry to submit a proposal within seven to ten days on how to have all fishing boats registered with the police department, to maintain a list of their owners and issuing identity cards to fishermen operating in high sea," a Home Ministry official said.
The moves comes considering the fact that the coastal states -- Gujarat, Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Orissa and West Bengal -- and four UTs follow different policy for registration of boats and it was felt that there was an urgent need to have uniformity on the issue.
The meeting considered a performa developed by the Register General of India and whether that could be emulated for issuance of identity cards to the fishermen.
Several states, including West Bengal, sought the Centre's help in setting up of new coastal police stations and strengthening of marine wing of state police, sources said.
Sunday, December 28, 2008
Pak has not done enough: Western diplomats
The US and Britain have provided Pakistan evidence of the involvement of elements within the country in the Mumbai terror attacks but western diplomats believe Islamabad has "not done enough" in terms of acting on the intelligence.
In the wake of the Mumbai attacks, British and American investigators amassed a large amount of technical and human intelligence that was subsequently passed on to Pakistan, Western diplomatic sources told a news agency.
Sleuths from the US Federal Bureau of Investigation, who were given access to Amjal Amir Iman, the lone gunman captured during the attacks, were convinced he is a Pakistani national and that the terrorist strike was planned and coordinated by elements in Pakistan.
However, the diplomatic sources said they believed that the Pakistan government had not acted adequately on the evidence provided to it.
"The Pakistani authorities have not done enough on the intelligence shared with them," said a source.
The sources said the most clinching evidence on the involvement of Pakistani elements was provided by the British authorities. In fact, British intelligence operatives were so convinced of the Pakistani links to the attack that they did not take up an offer to question Iman alias Ajmal Kasab, sources said.
The US and British authorities have handed over intercepts of satellite and mobile conversations between the attackers in Mumbai and Pakistan-based elements who were guiding them.
Among the Pakistani handlers was Lashker-e-Taiba's operations commander Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi, who was detained during a raid by the military in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir on December 7. Lakhvi's current whereabouts are not known.
Western intelligence agencies have backed India's contention that Lakhvi planned and coordinated the November 26 attacks in Mumbai.
American investigators also played a key role in extracting details of calls made by the terrorists in Mumbai to their LeT handlers in Pakistan by using sophisticated technology to examine burnt and damaged cellular phones. These phones, which were damaged in gun battles between the terrorists and security forces, were provided to the FBI team by Indian law enforcement agencies, they said.
However, a report in a newspaper today quoted Pakistani intelligence sources as saying that the intelligence shared by the Western powers was not evidence that would "stand up in court".
They claimed Iman's confession could have been "obtained under duress" and is "not admissible in a trial". Thus the confession could not be the "basis of any proceedings against (Iman) or others from Pakistan".
The shared intelligence formed the basis of actions taken so far by Pakistan but it could not "be described as evidence", the sources claimed.
"If Islamabad is to put any Pakistani citizen on trial for the Mumbai attacks, it will require a list of Indian witnesses and their statements as well as all technical material, such as computer drives and mobile phones recovered from the alleged terrorists from Pakistan," the report said.
The report further claimed that "India's problem" is that it could not share evidence with Pakistan because of "inconsistencies in Indian public accounts" of the attacks and "the fact that some of the attackers and their local support network could have come from within India.”
India may see deflation next year: Bankers
Indian economy may go into deflation by the second quarter of financial year 2009-10, as there are fears of inflation going below zero per cent in the face of unprecedented fall in crude and commodity prices.
"If the current pace in inflation-decline continues, the figure (in WPI based inflation) may slide below two per cent by end-fiscal," HDFC Bank's Head of Treasury, Ashish Parthasarathy, said, adding "it may fall further to below zero per cent by Q2 FY'10".
Inflation almost halved to a nine-month low of 6.61 per cent from this year's peak of 12.91 per cent, giving more space to the RBI to signal further cuts in interest rates.
Deflation occurs in an economy when the negative inflation prevails for a long period. In the event of deflation, the Reserve Bank will have to enhance money supply and lower rates further "to support inflation", IDBI Gilts' Economist Amol Agarwal said. Citibank India's Chief Financial Officer Abhijit Sen echoed this view saying that the rapid decline in the headline inflation is likely to continue in the coming months.
"In my view, deflation is a remote possibility in this economy. However, if the inflation continue to fall to much lower levels, this would have an impact on the profitability of banks, as it would affect the credit demand," Sen said. The sharp decline in inflation has given a headroom for the Reserve Bank to slash its reverse repo rate by 0.5-1 per cent, he said.
"A lower inflation rate has offered the opportunity to the Reserve Bank to explore further monetary policy options including a cut in the short-term reverse repo rate," Sen said.
Wholesale prices-based inflation declined by 0.23 percentage points for the seventh consecutive time during the week-ended December 13 as manufactured goods and food items became cheaper due to the cascading effect of fuel price cuts amongst other factors.
"(The) declining inflation rate provides more leeway to the RBI to further slash interest rates. I expect a 100 basis points cut in both the repo (short-term lending rate) and reverse repo (short-term borrowing) rates," said Crisil's Principal Economist D K Joshi.
The Reserve Bank had hiked its key policy rates several times till October to hold off skyrocketting inflation rate that rose to a multi-year high of around 13 per cent early this year.
However, with inflation now on the decline, the Central Bank has shifted its focus from fighting inflation to supporting economic growth with a series of rate cuts.
It cut the Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR), the percentage of cash banks are required to park with the apex bank to 5.5 per cent from nine per cent and the repo and reverse repo rates to 6.5 per cent and five per cent respectively.
Abdullahs back In J&K
After an election that saw voters defy boycott calls and conquer the fear of the gun in the Valley, National Conference looks likely to
NC emerged as the single largest party overtaking the separatist-backed PDP in an election that saw a strong turnout of 60.5% in the face of a Pakistan-sponsored call for boycott, strengthening the credibility of India's democratic process.
The outcome was unanimously hailed as a victory of Indian democracy and a rebuff to what chief election commissioner N Gopalaswamy called the "fear factor".
NC promptly staked claim to form the next government, though it was not clear whether Farooq Abdullah was ready to pass on the baton to son, party chief Omar Abdullah, immediately.
Omar, widely speculated to take over the reins from his father, confirmed the party's plan to approach Congress for support even before the counting was over. "Yes, we will approach the Congress which is a like-minded party," he said.
Congress, which was in coalition with PDP before separating on a bitter note, appeared inclined to support NC. However, it may be required to handle those in the state unit who would like to see whether the Abdullahs could be pushed to support a Congressman as chief minister as the price for keeping their chief rival, the PDP, at bay.
Failing that, the state unit may ask the central leadership to insist on the post of the deputy chief minister. The terms of trade, however, are yet to be finalised.
The leadership, which reviewed the results, discussed the options at a meeting of the party's core group, will take the final call after holding discussions with representatives of the state unit.
NC, with 28, and Congress with 17 will have the majority in the 87-strong House.
NC survived a huge drop in vote share in both Valley and Jammu to finish ahead of PDP which - backed by proxy support from the separatists and the loyalty of its strongholds in southern part of the Valley - won 21 seats.
Just like its prospective partner, Congress saw a major erosion in its vote share.
The BJP, in contrast, pulled off a vastly improved performance, taking its tally from one to 11 -- its best-ever show. The party vote share recorded a jump of over 10%, thanks to the polarisation in the Jammu region over the Amarnath land controversy.
But while the BJP will remain consigned to the sidelines, Congress, the main victim of the saffron surge in Jammu, has emerged as kingmaker. The party was veering towards joining the government. The state unit is insisting on power-sharing.
There was not much clarity on who will lead the NC in the assembly. Farooq Abdullah, in response to questions, came up with the right responses, indicating that he was ready to step aside for Omar, a former Union minister and currently a member of Lok Sabha. "Why not? Omar is a young man. If he could serve better why not," agency reports quoted Abdullah Sr as saying in Srinagar just after results.
Farooq, a former chief minister who is a member of Rajya Sabha, also said, "I would be rather be in Parliament."
Congress leadership's estimate, however, was that Omar may have to wait in the wings for a while.
Omar seemed confident of Congress's support to NC's claim. "It is for them (Congress) to think whom they want as an ally, considering their past experience with PDP. During the previous PDP-Congress alliance, it was PDP which benefited while the BJP gained at the cost of Congress in Jammu," he said.
Congress chief Sonia Gandhi called the polls a triumph of Indian democracy.
CEC Gopalaswamy, expressing satisfaction with the polls, attributed the unexpectedly high turnout to lack of fear factor and good weather. He identified people's expectations of bijli, sadak and pani as another big contributory factor. "The 15-20% increase in turnout is because of the absence of fear factor and good weather.
The rest is because of bijli, sadak and pani," said the CEC. Read more...
No ultimatum given to Pakistan: Pranab
Calling for demolition of terror camps operating on Pakistani soil, India on Sunday reminded the neighbouring country of its commitment not to allow terrorist activities, but said no ultimatum has been given to Islamabad to act.
Stating that Pakistan had made a commitment that it would not allow its territory to be used for terrorist activities, External Affairs minister Pranab Mukherjee asked Islamabad to take steps and demolish terrorist camps there.
Denying any ultimatum being set for Pakistan to act, he said, "no ultimatum was set. There is no question of any ultimatum. Nobody has set any ultimatum."
Asserting that India would share whatever information Pakistan required once investigations were over, Mukherjee said Pakistan should admit that the terrorists involved in the Mumbai terrorist attack came from there.
"If all these things are done, then there is no problem at all," he said.
He said "not once, but twice Pakistan had made a commitment. Once by Musharraf and now by President Zardari. Where is the commitment? Where is the action against terrorists?" Mukherjee asked.
"We have evidence and gave the names, not once but ten times. Pakistan had earlier accepted that the perpetrators of Mumbai attack emanated from there. But now they are contradicting it," Mukherjee said here.
Regretting Pakistan's U-turn on Maulana Masood Azhar's arrest, he said "the Pakistan defence minister had earlier said that the Jaish chief was under house arrest.
"Now some others say he is not in Pakistan. who is telling the truth? It is Pakistan which has to tell that," Mukherjee said.
Stating that he had spoken to the foreign ministers of the US, Saudi Arabia and China, the minister said "merely creating war hysteria without taking any action would not serve any purpose."
Hung House in J&K again, NC hopes to form govt
The Congress and National Conference (NC) together won 45 seats and an alliance now seems increasingly on the cards. The Congress too seems more than open to the idea with senior Congress leader Karan Singh saying the parties are "ideologically compatible".
A resurgent National Conference on Sunday emerged the single-largest party in a hung Assembly in Jammu and Kashmir and is all poised to stake claim for forming the next government with Congress support.
Speaking exclusively to NDTV, Omar Abdullah said that the "poll verdict is less than what we expected". "In an ideal situation NC and Congress should form the government," he said, adding "We are in touch with the Congress informally."
NC, which has got 28 seats, exactly the same number it won in the 2002 elections, said it will approach "like minded" Congress, which bagged 17 seats, for forming the next government after the five-week seven-phased polls that recorded a high 61 per cent turn-out defying separatists' boycott calls and militant guns.
An NC-Congress combine can cross the magic half-way mark of 44 in a House of 87 but there are six independents besides the three-member Panthers Party from whom it could also count on for support.
The Congress too seems open to the idea with senior Congress leader Karan Singh saying the parties are "ideologically compatible". NC had 25 seats in the dissolved assembly. Congress lost three seats.
Back-channel talks have already begun between the two parties, sources said, adding Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi, who is said to have good equations with Omar, is expected to play a key role in forging a partnership.
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), which shared power with Congress on a rotational basis for last six years, came second with a tally of 21 seats, a gain of five over the 2002 elections.
Cashing in on the Amarnath land row, the BJP put up an impressive performance clinching 11 of the 37 seats at stake in Jammu region. The saffron party had only one seat in the last Assembly. The CPI-M could only win one of the two seats it had.
Thirty-eight-year-old Omar Abdullah, the scion of the Abdullah family, who steered NC for a shot at power, said his party would approach the Congress for forming the next government.
"Clearly, Congress is the most like-minded party to NC and we will approach them the moment we emerge the single largest party," said Omar, who made his debut to the state assembly winning the Ganderbal seat, which he had lost in 2002.
Congress gave the first signs of a possible support to a NC government when Union Minister Prithviraj Chauhan, who was the Congress observer in Jammu, said the party was only interested in giving the "most stable government" even if it meant staying outside power.
Former Chief Minister and Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad is believed to be keen on a tie-up with NC apparently because of bitter experience with PDP which pulled out of the coalition government forcing him to resign.
Omar's father and NC patron Farooq Abdullah virtually paved the way for his son to assume the top post when he shot back, "why not" when asked if the young leader could become the Chief Minister. Farooq, who won from both Hazratbal and Sonawar constituencies, said he would rather prefer to sit in Parliament and dismissed reports of differences with his son. Farooq is a member of Rajya Sabha.
Omar had also told reporters that Farooq was also projected as the chief ministerial candidate but the former Chief Minister had expressed reservations about heading a coalition government.
Party positions across state
Out of 46 seats at stake in Kashmir valley, NC got 20, a gain of two seats, while PDP bagged 19, an addition of three. Congress lost two seats to have a tally of three.
In the Jammu region which has 37 seats in all, the BJP got 11 as against one it had while the Congress lost two to notch a score of 13. NC got six seats losing three while PDP opened its account bagging two seats.
In Ladakh, where four seats were up for grabs, NC got two, one more than it got in 2002 and Congress gained one.
The NC made a clean sweep of the eight constituencies in Srinagar. Considered to be stronghold of separatists, the city recorded 20 per cent polling in the final phase of elections held on December 24. In 2002 elections, NC had bagged five city seats while two went to Independents and another was won by the Congress.
The PDP suffered a shock defeat in Batmaloo constituency where its former minister and general secretary Tariq Hameed Karra lost to Irfan Shah of NC by a margin of 2,500 votes.
PDP made a clean sweep of Pulwama and Shopian districts winning all the six seats (four in Pulwama and two in Shopian) and also did well in Anantnag and Kulgam districts winning six of the ten seats.
The most important victory of PDP came from Anantnag from where party patron and former Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed was elected for the first time. Sayeed, who entered the state assembly through bypoll held in 2004 from Pahalgam constituency, vacated by his daughter Mehbooba Mufti after her election to Lok Sabha, shifted to Anantnag this time and defeated NC provincial president Mehboob Beg.
PDP President Mehbooba Mufti won from Wachi and her father and party patron Mufti Sayeed bagged the Anantnag seat.
State Secretary of CPI(M) M Y Tarigami managed to retain Kulgam after a tough fight with the PDP nominee.
Friday, December 26, 2008
Salaskar's daughter wants death sentence for Ajmal Amir
The daughter of slain encounter specialist Vijay Salaskar, who was killed during the Mumbai terror strikes exactly a month ago, on Friday called for death sentence to Ajmal Amir Iman, the lone terrorist captured in the attack on November 26.
"It (killing of Vijay Salaskar) angers me. I feel that the worst death sentence should be given to him (Ajmal)," his daughter Divya Salaskar said reacting to the death of her father during the shoot-out with the terrorist.
Describing her father as her life's "control room", Divya said she had time and again fallen back on Vijay Salaskar if anything went wrong in her life.
"On my cell phone, his name is entered as 'control room'. So I knew that if I have someone as the control room, he will take care of everything for me. It (his killing) was a major setback. Just three or four hours earlier, we had our dinner together. How is it (his death) possible?" she wondered, recalling her father.
What angered her the most was the lack of weapons and protective equipment for the police officers and men, who were fighting the terrorists on the fateful day, Divya told a news channel.
"How can you face a terrorist with a small service revolver? If every policeman were given an AK-47 or an AK-56 in his hand, even the terrorist would have thought twice before striking in Mumbai," she said.
Meanwhile, Kavita Karkare, wife of ATS chief Hemant Karkare, who too fell a martyr during the Mumbai terror siege, told a meet on secularism in the metropolis that her family was quite religious and she personally believed that all religions preached peace.
Tatas get extra land for Nano at Uttarakhand
Tata Motors' delayed Nano project has got a boost with the Uttarakhand government providing the company an additional 45 acres of land at its Pantnagar facility.
"The state government has taken a decision to provide 45 acres of land to the Tata Group at Pantnagar, where it is already manufacturing Ace (mini) trucks and few parts of the Nano," State Chief Secretary I K Pandey said.
The decision was taken at a high-powered meeting held chaired recently by the state Chief Minister B C Khanduri, he added.
Tata Motors was given 955 acres of land for its Ace truck plant at Pantnagar by the previous Congress government. The company was promised a total 1,000 acres but has been allotted only 955 acres, Pandey added.
The allotment is expected to help the company in rolling out the world's least priced car at Rs one lakh, after delays due to the Singur imbroglio.
The company had to shift the mother plant to Sanand in Gujarat from Singur, where it was originally planned due to opposition from Trinamool Congress over land acquisition.
It had planned to invest Rs 1,500 crore at Singur but the investment was increased to Rs 2,000 crore, when it shifted to Sanand.
The Nano was originally planned to be commercially launched around Durga Puja this year but has been postponed to the last quarter of this fiscal. The company is planning to produce the Nano from its various locations, including Pune and Pantnagar till the mother plant at Sanand is ready.
Ghajini gets 100 per cent collections
Actor Aamir Khan's latest film Ghajini rocked the box office, taking in 100 per cent collections across the country on its opening day Thursday, an executive of the movie's India distributor said.
Aamir Khan, who was present at the trial run of the movie at a preview theatre in Mumbai Wednesday, reportedly said that "Ghajini" has created a record by becoming the first Bollywood movie in recent times for which the tickets had been sold in advance for all five days of the opening week across the country.
According to trade reports, in view of the unprecedented audience expectation for the film, the multiplexes are asking the distributors to increase the number of prints. The decision in this regard has not yet to be taken.
The movie has been released within the country with 1,400 prints. Reliance BIG Pictures has released 213 prints overseas.
Meanwhile, Ghajini raked in Rs 70 million during 650 paid previews at multiplexes in India on Wednesday. "Although the movie has not received uniform favourable reviews, the hype created around it has worked wonders and there is little doubt that the movie will turn out to be a superhit," said trade analyst V Verma.
Aamir is the best! - Mrs. Aamir Khan
|
Before the release of Ghajini it was Amir Khan who was doing everything to promote his film. Now, a day after its release, it seems his wife is out to share that responsibility and do her own bit for the film’s promotion.
Kiran Rao says, “It’s an excellent film. I like Aamir’s Ghajini look a lot. The way this film has opened, I can say with confidence that my husband is number one. Aamir has performed exceptionally well in the film. In fact the whole team of Ghajini deserves praise for giving an excellent performance."
Read more...
Pak diverting attention by creating war hysteria: Pranab
Home Minister Pranab Mukharjee on Friday accused Pakistan of diverting attention from the real issue of taking action against the perpetrators of terror on its soil by creating war hysteria.
He said that he had spoken to the foreign ministers of Iran and China and also requested Saudi Arabia to exert pressure on Pakistan to book those behind terror attacks on India.
Asserting that all democratic forces should unite to fight terrorism, Foreign Affairs Minister on Friday urged the world community to unite to take firm and expeditious action against the menace.
Mukherjee’s statement came after a meeting with the Saudi Foreign Minister Al-Faisal who is on a brief visit to New Delhi in the wake of November 26 attacks.
During the talks, India shared evidence about involvement of Pakistan-based elements in the most atrocious attack on Indian soil. The Saudi Minister was apprised about how 10 heavily-armed terrorists were trained in Pakistan and sent from Karachi to launch well-coordinated attacks in Mumbai in which over 180 people, including 26 foreigners, were killed.
The Indian foreign minister also retreated that Pakistani authorities should weigh up the evidence and take immediate actions against the perpetrators of the Mumbai attacks. He urged them to bring transparency in the investigations being carried by the Gilani led government.
Questioning Pakistan's alleged co-operation in the war on terror, Pranab pointed out that it has once again failed to assist India in handing over terror suspects.
The Saudi minister on his part said, “Terrorism is a cancer, we need to cut it out.” He also called for the United Nations to set up an international body to deal with Mumbai-like terror attacks.
During the Saudi foreign minister's visit here, New Delhi will also seek Riyadh's support in clamping down on the financing of terrorists, some of whom use Saudi charities and other fronts for generating funds for subversive activities, official sources said here.
.
Saudi Arabia has immense influence on Pakistan and India is seeking to utilise it to ensure that Islamabad ends cross-border terrorism.
After the Mumbai attacks, New Delhi has been in touch with Riyadh and the Royal government has indicated support to India's case, apparently convinced about its assertion.
India is urging the international community, particularly those having leverage with Pakistan, to build pressure on Islamabad.
Most of the countries, particularly the US, UK, France and Russia besides the 27-nation European Union, are convinced that the terror strikes in Mumbai were carried out by elements based in Pakistan.
Earlier, Mukherjee had warned Pakistan of not to test India's patience and deliver on promises it has made.
Unsafe for Indians to travel to Pak, says MEA advisory
The Ministry of External Affairs has said that it is unsafe for the Indians to be in Pakistan at a time when the relations between the two neighbours are tense.
It is for the first time in 30 years that such an advisory has been issued against Pakistan.
Responding to a question about arrest of alleged Indian nationals in Pakistan on suspicion of being involved in the Lahore blast, the official spokesperson said:
"There have been reports in the Pakistani media that several Indian nationals have been arrested over the last two days in Lahore and Multan, and are being accused of being terrorists.
Since it was also reported in the Pakistani media yesterday that the senior police officer in Lahore was unaware of the arrest in his city, it seems that this is the work of other agencies in Pakistan that operate outside the law and civilian control.
Indian citizens are therefore advised that it would be unsafe for them to travel or be in Pakistan."
Thursday, December 25, 2008
Russia not to supply missiles to Iran
Russia has denied that it has supplied advanced surface-to-air missiles, S-300, to Iran, saying that Moscow's defence cooperation with Tehran is "transparent, and fully complies with international law."
The reports of sale of long-range S-300 missiles "has nothing to do with anything that is going on or will happen," Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said here.
He was commenting on a report by Iranian national IRNA news agency, which claimed that Russia had supplied S-300 air defence systems to Tehran. The US too, citing intelligence reports, demanded an explanation from Russia amid concerns over Tehran's nuclear programme.
"I am very surprised by the fuss this story has caused recently. I think this is due to lack of interesting international news in the run-up to the holidays that many of our Western neighbours are celebrating," the minister said.
Ryabkov underscored that Moscow's defence cooperation with Tehran is "transparent and complied fully with international and Russian laws".
Earlier on Monday, the Russian federal service for military cooperation with foreign countries also issued a similar denial.
Although a "purely defensive weapon" the S-300 (NATO codename SA-20) SAMs have very powerful radars and if supplied to Iran, it can track every movement of the US aircraft in Iraq and the Gulf region the moment they take-off, Director of Moscow-based independent CAST think-tank Ruslan Pukhov said.
According to reports, Iran recently received 29 Tor-M1 air defence missile systems from Russia under a USD700 million contract signed in late 2005. Russia has also trained Iranian Tor-M1 specialists, including radar operators and crew commanders.
Chandrayaan finds minerals on Moon
The Moon Mineralogy Mapper (M3), a scientific instrument of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) onboard India's first lunar mission Chandrayaan-1, found iron-bearing minerals on the lunar surface, the US space agency said on Thursday.
"The mapper spectrometer has beamed images of the Orientale Basin region of the Moon, indicating abundance of iron-bearing minerals such as pyroxene. Using different wavelengths of light, the instrument has also revealed for the first time changes in rock and mineral composition," M3 principal investigator Carle Pieters said in a statement hosted on NASA website.
Data from the 7-kg mapper provides space scientists first opportunity to examine lunar mineralogy at high spatial and spectral resolution.
The Orientale Basin is located on the moon's western limb. M3 captured the data last week when Chandrayaan was orbiting the Moon at an altitude of 100 km.
"The imaging spectrometer provides us with compositional information across the moon that we have never had access to before. Our ability to identify and map the composition of the surface in geologic context provides a new level of detail needed to explore and understand the earth's nearest celestial neighbour," affirmed Pieters, who teaches at Brown University in Rhode Island.
The mapper was selected as a mission of opportunity through the NASA discovery programme. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory designed and built the instrument at Pasadena in California.
"M3 will also help in characterising and mapping lunar minerals for knowing the moon's early geological evolution. Its compositional maps will improve our understanding of the early evolution of a differentiated planetary body and provide a high-resolution assessment of lunar resources," Chandrayaan project director M Annadurai averred.
M3 is one of the 10 instruments onboard the unmanned Chandrayaan, conducting experiments while the spacecraft orbits over the moon next two years.
Five instruments were indigenously built by the state-run Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), while the remaining six payloads are of foreign origin, including three from the European Space Agency, two from NASA and one from Bulgaria.
Chandrayaan was blasted off Oct 22 onboard the 316-tonne polar satellite launch vehicle (PSLV-C11) from ISRO's Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota spaceport, about 80 km north of Chennai.
After traversing 384,000 km through the deep space for 18 days, the spacecraft entered the lunar orbit Nov 8 and its moon impact probe was lowered on the moon's surface Nov 14.
From the border, BSF chief says no need to worry
There has been an increase in Pakistan Army activity across the border but there's no need to panic, the BSF Director General M L Kumawat told NDTV on Thursday.
According to sources, the Karachi based 5 Corp is conducting war games on the Gujarat-Rajasthan border.
There is no new troop deployment on the border or LoC and it's not known whether the exercises were scheduled earlier or are in response to the situation.
Ground reality
Currently Pakistan has about one lakh twenty thousand troops on its eastern border with India. The Karachi based 5 Corp is conducting war games on the Gujarat-Rajasthan border.
After the ceasefire with India in 2003, Pakistan was able to move troops to its western border with Afghanistan.
It currently has about one and a half lakh troops along its 2,400 km long border. Just to put it in perspective. The distance from Delhi to Chennai is less than that about 2000 km. As many as 15 Infantry Brigades - roughly 38,000 troops - were moved to Waziristan and the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) last year. Pakistan Army is not experienced enough in CI operations and is also a reluctant fighter on its western border.
Peace pacts increase militancy
FATA -- Islamabad has historically held limited power over the semiautonomous tribal region made up of seven agencies of various Pashtun tribes. After the US attacked Afghanistan the Taliban and Al-Qaida moved to operate from this region.
There are about 80,000 troops here and they have suffered heavy casualties. Under President Pervez Musharraf several peace pacts were reached with tribal leaders. Analysts say that has been a virtual surrender of government power and increased militancy.
Militants threatened Peshawar
Pakistani military efforts to control extremism in the tribal areas has had an unintended consequence of causing the violence to seep into the bordering North West Frontier Province.
This area also harbours Al-Qaida and Taliban supporters and suicide attacks are on the rise. In June 2008, Pakistan's paramilitary forces led an offensive in the outskirts of Peshawar to push back militants threatening the provincial capital.
Attacks linked to insurgency
Pakistani military presence is also required in Baluchistan because of an internal insurgency. Pakistan often accuses India of being involved from Afghanistan in stoking the fire. The Baluch nationalist movement has reemerged in recent years with demands for a greater share of royalties for gas shipped to neighboring states. In 2006, a Pakistani strike killed Baluch nationalist leader Nawab Akbar Bugti setting off protests and failing to halt a simmering insurgency.
So, Pakistan military presence is twofold, Americans don't want any movement of Pakistani troops away from here because it will expose their forces in Afghanistan further.
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
Obama Topless
Barack at the beach.This appears in the new People magazine - the one with Oprah on the cover. A quote from the dude that works out next to Obama in Chicago and followed him into the locker-room dated January 2006: "He doesn't have enough fat on his body to make a butter pat." It would appear that 2006 was a good year for Obama - evidenced by the 1000 "butter pats" he has now. Barack insists he's "embarased by the pictures." Why? He looks healthy to me. The embarasment will come later - after years in public office. When, after years and years of the public "high life" he'll begin to sag. The man most think looks "Statesman-like" , will droop, wiggle & waddle.
62 per cent voting in J&K; highest turnout in 18 years
The last phase of polling in Srinagar has been a face-saving exercisefor both the J&K government and separatists. For the government the voter turnout is much higher than what it was in 2002, and for the separatists it's the lowest compared to the earlier six phases of polling. But one thing is for sure that the 2008 elections are seen as the most transparent electoral process in the history of J&K.
The voter turnout in Srinagar was 20 per cent. It was the highest in 18 years. It was just 5 per cent in 2002.
62 per cent was the overall turnout for all seven phases in J&K compared with 44 per cent last time.
If 2002 was the watershed election, 2008 is proof that the electoral process works even in the backdrop of two months of violence over the Amarnath issue that tore J&K apart.
"I am thinking we will cross the magic number. My thoughts are only of the task ahead,'' said Farooq Abdullah, patron, National Conference.
The focus is now on what happens in Jammu and Kashmir as Indo-Pak tensions grow after 26/11, and what impact another coalition could have on the state.
The Congress which could play kingmaker in a hung assembly is upbeat.
"Congress will form the government on its own. On its own, there are no chances of alliance," said Ghulam Nabi Azad, former chief minister, J&K.
Both the BJP and the Congress are saying that they will make substantial gains in Jammu.
The assembly poll results will also determine how much of a role did the Amarnath land issue play at the end of the day.
Whatever the results may be on Sunday, the voter turnout and violence-free poll have given Jammu and Kashmir another date with history.
Pak replaces Rangers, deploys Army along Indian border
Pakistan on Wednesday deployed its Army in place of the regular Pak Rangers along its border with India. The move would ratchet up tensions between the South-Asian neighbours several notches, and further add to fears of an outbreak of war between the nuclear armed states. The deployment of the Army has taken places in the Barmer sector of Rajasthan.
Diplomatic relations have gone into a tailspin between the two countries after a savage terror attack on India’s financial capital Mumbai, believed by India to have been perpetrated by Pakistan based terrorists.
Confirming the news, Additional Director general of BSF, Barmer, UK Bansal said today that, " There is a lot of activity along at the Pakistan side of India-Pakistan border near Barmer in Rajasthan and Pakistan Rangers have been replaced by the Pakistan Army.” The ADG also added that BSF is on full alert and is capable of handling any eventuality.
The deployment is an indication of the level of apprehension on the Pakistani side on an Indian attack. It should be noted that the last time when Pakistan Rangers were replaced by army was during Kargil war.
The State government of Rajasthan has ordered the residents of border villages to be prepared for relocation. According to sources, the order came after a meeting of state Director General of Police and Home Secretary with official of the Central government.
Earlier in the day, a top Air Force officer said that a large number of possible terrorist-based targets in Pakistan have been identified to be hit in the event of a war.
Air Marshal PK Barbora, Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief of the Western Air Command, told a gathering of journalists that as many as 5,000 targets have been identified. He, however, said that terrorists may have fled from existing camps to safer hideouts.
The Air Marshal made it clear that war was only the last option.
"Any developed nation does not go to war instantly...the matter should be solved first through diplomacy and then with an appeal to the international community and if all this fails, war is the last resort, Barbora, who commands the strategic J&K sector, said.
At an interaction with the Journalists Union of Assam, he said "we are ready for any challenge".
Ajmal Kasab to confess live on TV: Report
Apparently looking to call off Pakistan’s bluff in front of the international community, investigators are now looking at the possibility of a worldwide live broadcast of Ajmal Kasab’s confession on his role in the Mumbai attacks and also reveal details about his antecedents.
What has precipitated thinking towards such a bold step, as claimed by leading English daily, is Pakistan’s continuous rejection of all concrete evidences provided by India about the complicity of Pak based groups in the recent terror attacks.
Moreover, India has also revealed names of all the ten terrorists involved in the Mumbai attacks.
A high-level meeting was convened in New Delhi, yesterday, to look at the pros and cons of bringing Kasab live on TV and as per reports senior intelligence officials and home ministry officials are positively inclined towards the bold gambit.
However, the final decision lies with the Centre and reports claim that it will announce the date –when Kasab will be live on TV- shortly.
The development comes even as Kasab’s remand ends today and is due to be produced in court. Incidentally, he still has no lawyer as many of those who came forward to defend later though otherwise owing to the angry reactions from rightwing organisations.
This would be first such move of its kind by any country in which the live confession of a terrorist will be broadcast live across the world. To make the confession comprehensible, Kasab’s confession will also have English subtitles.
The move reflects Indian government’s frustration about the defiant attitude of Pakistan, even as India faced the worst ever terror strike. Moreover, the move also aims to further corner the Yousuf Raja Gilani government and prove before the international community that Pakistan has repeatedly failed to live up to its commitments against terrorism.
Indian authorities have been providing substantial evidence about the nationality of those who attacked Mumbai and their masterminds but Pakistan has been categorically rejecting to acknowledge the fact that all those involved in the incident were actually its citizens, who were especially trained for the purpose by militant organisations operating from its soil.
आतंक के मुद्दे पर पाक का भारत पर पलटवार
मुंबई हमले के बाद आतंकवाद के मुद्दे पर चौतरफा दबाव झेल रहे पाकिस्तान ने अब नया राग अलापना शुरू किया है। पाकिस्तान ने भारत में सक्रिय आतंकवादी समूहों को नष्ट करने और उसके द्वारा पाकिस्तान के खिलाफ दुष्प्रचार रोकने के लिए अंतरराष्ट्रीय समुदाय से भारत पर दबाव डालने को कहा है।
'द न्यूज' अखबार की वेबसाइट पर जारी एक रिपोर्ट के मुताबिक पाकिस्तानी विदेशमंत्री मलिक अहमद ने बुधवार को इस संबंध में पाकिस्तानी संसद में एक प्रस्ताव पेश किया जिसे सर्वसम्मति से पारित किया गया।
इस प्रस्ताव में भारत में सक्रिय आतंकवादी समूहों को नष्ट करने और पाकिस्तान के खिलाफ दुष्प्रचार रोकने के लिए अंतरराष्ट्रीय समुदाय से भारत पर दबाव डालने का आग्रह किया गया है। इसके अलावा प्रस्ताव में यह भी कहा गया है कि पाकिस्तान शांति और स्थिरता के साथ-साथ भारत के साथ व्याप्त तनाव भी खत्म करना चाहता है।
प्रस्ताव में कहा गया है कि मुंबई हमला भारत के खुफिया तंत्रों की विफलता का परिणाम है इसलिए उसे पाकिस्तान पर दोषारोपण नहीं करना चाहिए। प्रस्ताव पारित होने के बाद संसद की कार्यवाही स्थगित कर दी गई।
इसी बीच नई दिल्ली में भारत की ओर से कहा गया है कि सऊदी अरब के विदेश मंत्री प्रिंस सउद अल-फैसल के एकदिवसीय भारत दौरे के दौरान पाकिस्तान स्थित आतंकवादी ठिकानों को नष्ट करने के लिए भारत सऊदी अरब की मदद से पाकिस्तान पर दबाव डालेगा। फैसल की भारतीय विदेश मंत्री प्रणब मुखर्जी से मुलाकात होनी है।
उधर, पाकिस्तान के सीनेटरों ने आतंकवाद के खिलाफ लड़ाई में देश की भूमिका की समीक्षा करने और भारत के साथ बढ़ते तनाव को देखते हुए अफगानिस्तान सीमा से सेना हटाने का आग्रह किया है। दैनिक समाचार पत्र 'डॉन' के मुताबिक सीनेटरों ने कराची से 10 लोगों के एक गिरोह के मुंबई जाकर हमला करने के भारत के बेसिर-पैर के आरोप को खरिज कर दिया।
उधर, अमेरिका का कहना है कि मुंबई आतंकवादी हमलों से पाकिस्तान के दूर-दराज के इलाकों में तालिबान के खिलाफ जारी अभियान में गतिरोध उत्पन्न हो गया है। अमेरिकी ज्वांइट चीफ ऑफ स्टॉफ एडमिरल माइक मुलेन ने पाकिस्तान दौरे से स्वदेश लौटते हुए विमान में संवाददाताओं से कहा कि मुंबई हमला सोचा-समझा अभियान था।
उन्होंने कहा कि इस हमले के बाद से पाकिस्तान के कबायली इलाकों में तालिबानी आतंकवादियों के खिलाफ चलाए जा रहे अभियान में गतिरोध उत्पन्न हो गया है। मुलेन के मुताबिक मुंबई हमले से अफगानिस्तान की सीमा से लगे बैजूर में पाकिस्तानी सरकार तालिबानियों के खिलाफ अभियान चला रही थी।
अपने पाकिस्तान प्रवास के दौरान मुलेन ने पाकिस्तानी सेना प्रमुख जनरल अशफाक कियानी और किस्तान की खुफिया एजेंसी इंटर-सर्विसेज इंटेलीजेंस (आईएसआई) के महानिदेशक लेफ्टिनेंट जनरल अहमद शूजा पाशा से मुलाकात कर मुंबई हमले के संदर्भ में चर्चा की। मुलेन ने कहा, "मेरा पाकिस्तान दौरा सकारात्मक और अच्छा रहा। इससे अमेरिका-पाकिस्तान संबंध में निरंतरता बनी रहेगी।"
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
Pak claims no record of Ajmal in its national database
Pakistan, which faces accusations of being in constant denial mode after the Mumbai terror attacks, today claimed it had no record of Ajmal Amir Iman, the lone captured terrorist but promised to respond by tomorrow to his letter seeking legal assistance from it.
An examination of the National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA), Pakistan's national database, had provided no records on any national named Ajmal Amir Iman alias Ajmal Kasab, Interior Ministry chief Rehman Malik told reporters.
"As far as Ajmal Kasab is concerned, NADRA authorities do not have any records of his," Malik said after a meeting with visiting Interpol chief Ronald K Noble here.
Islamabad has not acknowledged that Kasab is Pakistani and has said it is waiting for proof of his citizenship. In an embarassment to the Pakistani government, former premier Nawaz Sharif said last week Kasab is of Pakistani origin.
"Pakistan's High Commission (in New Delhi) has received a letter said to be written by Kasab and we will get it examined by our experts. We will give a detailed response today or tomorrow," Malik said. Kasab has written that all the gunmen involved in the November 26 attack came from Pakistan.
In the letter, a copy of which was sent to Malik yesterday by the Pakistan High Commission, Ajmal had detailed the circumstances of his arrest and sought legal assistance from the Pakistan government.
Malik claimed that the Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT), the banned terrorist group blamed for the Mumbai attacks, did not "exist now" and the government would decide on proscribing its front organisation Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD) if investigations proved it was involved in terrorist activities. Read more...
Nobody wants war but situation worrisome: PM
Downplaying apprehensions of an armed conflict with Pakistan, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Tuesday said nobody is talking about a war but noted that the situation was worrisome.
Describing the terror strikes in Mumbai as an "attack on India's ambitions to become an economic power", he asked the world community to make Pakistan dismantle the "terror machine" existing on its soil.
"The issue is not war. The issue is terror and territory in Pakistan being used to provoke, to aid and abet terrorism.
I think that is the issue, the issue is not war. Nobody wants war," he told reporters outside Parliament when asked for his comments on the current stand-off with Pakistan in the wake of Mumbai terror attacks.
His comments were clearly aimed at putting to rest the fears of a war, a day after Pakistan Air Force conducted aerial manoeuvres in major cities to demonstrate its preparedness for military conflict.
Without naming Pakistan, Singh told a conclave of over 120 Indian Ambassadors and High Commissioners here that "non-state actors were practising terrorism aided and abetted by state establishments."
India is seeking peace and stability in its neighbourhood but the situation was "worrisome", Singh told the first-of-its-kind conference called to apprise envoys on how to present New Delhi's case across the world in the current scenario.
Referring to terror strikes in Mumbai, he said these were "an attack on the country's ambitions to emerge as an economic power" but "India would not accept a situation where terrorism is used as an instrument to cripple India's economy or the values it stands for."
Mumbai attack: US backs Indian proof of Pak hand
The US has endorsed the evidence gathered by Indian agencies about
the complicity of Pakistan's state actors in the terrorist
attack on Mumbai, in what can
result in stepped up international pressure on the Zardari regime to take action against the mentors of Lashkar-e-Taiba.
Top US intelligence official John Michel McConell is learnt to have expressed complete satisfaction with the strength of India's case against Pakistan, based on FBI's examination of call records of satellite and cellular phones used by Mumbai attackers and their Pakistan-based handlers.
McConell confirmed that one of the numbers logged on the satellite phone the terrorists used while navigating their way to Mumbai belonged to known Lashkar terrorist Abu Al Qama. Indian intelligence officials are familiar with the satellite phone that Qama uses. The US, using its leverage with Sharjah where Thuraya is headquartered, corroborated this fact, and also the fact that Qama was passing instructions to the attackers from Pakistani soil.
India's case about the Pakistan hand has also been borne out by the data the Americans retrieved, using their superior technology, from the damaged mobile phones used by terrorists while they were carrying out the massacres in Taj and Trident hotels. The phones had got severely damaged in the fire that broke out during the gunfight.
"We are committed to get to the bottom of this case," US officials are learnt to have told their Indian counterparts during their interaction spread over 48 hours.
The Americans are planning to confront the Pakistanis, still in denial mode, with the evidence that their own investigation has thrown up. Sources said the UK has also passed on electronic intercepts, described by a senior source as "one clinching piece of evidence", to India.
McConell, along with FBI officials who have been camping in India in connection with the probe into 26/11, has held meetings with home minister P Chidambaram, national security advisor M K Narayanan and senior Indian intelligence officials.
Indian experience with the US intelligence agencies has so far not been satisfactory, with the latter winking at evidence against Pakistan because of its dependence on Islamabad for success in Afghanistan. Indian agencies, however, feel that the response could be different this time because of the fact that Mumbai casualties included US nationals.
The FBI is mandated to take the probe to the logical culmination, which will include charging the names of Lashkar leaders and their collaborators in ISI that come up in the probe.
Monday, December 22, 2008
India hands over Qasab's letter to Pakistani envoy
India on Monday handed over letter written by Mumbai terror attack accused Ajmal Aamir Qasab to Pakistan High Commission.
He has sought a meeting with the Pakistani High Commission.
Ajmal Aamir Qasab, the lone terrorist captured alive in the 26/11 attacks had admitted to being a Pakistani citizen, and asked his government for legal aid.
Qasab had written a letter to the Pakistan High Commission, in which he admits to his role in the 26/11 attacks, and talks about his associates and handlers.
Pakistan has so far refused to acknowledge that the men behind Mumbai's terror strikes were from that country.
Qasab's letter could embarrass the Pakistani government which has maintained that the men behind the Mumbai terror strikes were not from Pakistan.
Qasab has named more than 4 handlers in Pakistan, including ex-Pakistani army officers who trained his module.
Anti terror squad quizzes 3 more army men in Malegaon blast case
After arresting Lt Col Srikant Prasad Purohit in connection with Malegaon blasts, the Maharashtra Anti terror squad (ATS) on Monday interrogated three more army personnel in connection with the case in Mumbai.
"Three of our personnel below the officer rank were interrogated by the Maharashtra ATS in connection with the September 29 blasts in Mumbai," army sources said here.
The personnel interrogated today include one Junior Commissioned Officer and two jawans, the sources said adding all the three have served with Purohit at one time or the other in the army and in Military Intelligence (MI).
The interrogation was done in Mumbai cantonment in the presence of Army officials, sources said.
Purohit, arrested in early November by the ATS, is the first army officer to have been apprehended for his alleged involvement in a terror case.
A couple of retired officers, including Maj Ramesh Upadhayay, have also been arrested by the ATS in the case.
The sources said there was no formal request from ATS to interrogate with the trio but "we are cooperating on our own with the ATS in the case as we want the truth to come out".
The ATS, the sources said, has not levelled any charges against these men.
"Our men have not been arrested and the ATS has not levelled any charges against them for their involvement in the blasts and the interrogation is part of ATS' investigations in to the case," they said.
Any more questions for Dravid?
Well, ‘The Wall’ finally stood tall. And tall in a way that it thwarted any attempt of his critics to penetrate or demolish it.
A century at a time when the world would not be missing even ONE chance to criticize him. Believe me when I say that I had no doubts about it. It was just a matter of time before the ‘Club 10000’ member did what he does best- frustrate the opposition and score for the nation with grace and elegance. He has given us, at least me, and himself, a respite, a sense of liberation. He is one cricketer, who seamlessly blends an old-world class approach with new-age professionalism.
It was emotional, truly. A chill went down my spine and I stood up to clap and salute this unsung Master. Before that my heart was pounding. Will he, won’t he? It was out of fear and not out of my trust in his capabilities. I feared his fading into history when he still has years of cricket in him. I have been an ardent fan of Dravid and his approach to his game for long now. For me it was special. It is not easy arguing with many and explaining to them that 10 years and 10000 runs in both formats cannot simply be fluke. When I find it difficult tackling his critics, imagine what he might be going through over the past months. I sighed as he played one off his pads to bring up the much, much needed century.
It wasn’t as if it was his first or anything. He has done it before and he will continue to do so for long. But what was special about this innings was the spirit of this warrior - the never dying spirit, the I-can-do-it and I-will-do-it attitude. He is a man who has never shirked the enormous responsibility that he has always been loaded with. He has never moaned, he has not cried. Instead, he has carried the load of the expectations of over a billion people with a smile.
And even now, the man of few emotions said, “It’s during this time that you realise that so many people want you to do well. Some of the people didn’t need to do that but still they supported me. I felt as if so many people have gone through the journey with me”. Now that is a true gentleman.
To overcome the worst phase of one’s career with a fighting century and displaying no emotions except raising his bat to applaud the salutation by the crowd and the dressing room, it can only be Dravid. He is not a player who would jump up in the air throwing his fist and smile as if advertising for a toothpaste brand. He knows how much he has contributed to his country, our country. He knew he could do it. It was just a matter of time.
But impressive as his statistics are, they can never represent the extent of his importance to India, or the beauty of his batsmanship.
BOI, BOB cut lending rates
after India's largest lender, State Bank of India (SBI) slashed its interest rates; two more public-sector banks-- Bank of India and Bank of Baroda today reduced their lending, deposit rates from January 1.
Both banks today reduced their prime lending rates by 0.75 percent each to 12.5 percent.
The reduction in PLR will provide relief to both the existing and new customers of these banks including education, auto and home loan borrowers, bank officials told reporters here.
The banks have also reduced their deposit rates in the range of 0.5-1 percent across various maturities.
Other state-owned lenders, which have cut their interest rates in the recent period include Union Bank of India and Canara Bank.
In the private sector, the country's largest housing loan financer, Housing Development Finance Corporation and leading private sector lender, Bank of Rahasthan had cut their lending rates last week.
BoR today announced a cut in its deposit rates except in the 91-120 days maturity.For 91-120 days maturity deposits, customers will now get 1.25 percent more interest effective from December 22, the bank said.
State Bank of India had announced a 0.75 percent cut in its prime lending rate and a 0.25-1 percent reduction in deposit rates last week.
With this, State Bank's PLR now stands reduced at 12.25 percent.
Terror infrastructure in Pak a threat to the world: Pranab
A first of its kind meeting of every Indian ambassador abroad was held in Delhi on Monday at a time when India is looking for international help in the crackdown on Pakistan.
In his strongest statement so far, External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee told over 120 Indian envoys that terrorist groups based in Pakistan are the biggest threat to the world's stability.
"This terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan is the greatest terrorist danger to peace and security of the entire civilised world. There has been some effort so far by the international community, but this is not enough," said Pranab.
"While we continue to persuade the international community and Pakistan, we are also clear that ultimately, it is we who have to deal with this problem. We will take all measures necessary as we deem fit to deal with the situation," he said.
I was completely devastated after Mumbai attacks: AR Rahman
AR Rahman and music are synonymous. The mellifluous magic that the maestro composes enchants the very being of listeners across the world. His soulful music is a balm in these chaotic times, when India wreathes in pain after repeated terror attacks on its integrity and bloodbath in the name of region and religion.
And now he has won the prestigious Golden Globe nomination for his compositions for the internationally acclaimed ‘Slumdog Millionaire.’
In an exclusive interview to Spicezee.com’s Swati Chaturvedi in ‘Kahiye Janaab’, AR Rahman shares his views on these turbulent times, his music and much more.
Swati: Being an artist, you are all the more sensitive to the problems that are plaguing the nation. What is your reaction to the terror attacks in Mumbai?
Rahman: I was completely devastated. The whole week was very bad. I had to finish a film. I finished the film and left for America. I was going through stress and extreme sadness. It took me almost a week to return back to my normal self.
Swati: Are you sad or angry after the attacks?
Rahman: Both. I am angry because it is inhuman to take lives. People who are responsible for our protection (read politicians) should not only inform and alert everyone, but also provide proper security. Rich or poor, every human being is entitled to proper security against such attacks. The good thing is that people are mature, they understand the problem and are not getting involved in the blame game. People are trying to tackle the problem intellectually. It’s important for educated masses to understand and work towards preventing such terror acts in the future.
Swati: You feel that the country is developing but do you think, somewhere the politicians are holding back the nation?
Rahman: No. India is a young country. Indians are strong and are progressing. Nobody can hold us back. I firmly believe that Indians are sensible and spiritual. Of late, the understanding has become better. We know what is true and what is false.
Swati: Your good friend Aamir Khan refrained from celebrating Eid. Did you celebrate Eid?
Rahman: No Eid this time. Even my wife called up and said that she doesn’t feel like celebrating Eid. There was so much sadness everywhere.
Swati: Of late, Islam is being labeled. What is the message of Islam for you?
Rahman: I became spiritual because of Sufism and it is a universal phenomenon. Sufism has followers from all religion. Because of Sufism, I have got success. India is a blessed place; even the Prophet has said this. Religion should not be labeled. Education is the message of Islam. Everyone should get proper education so that they gain wisdom.
Swati: How much does the political situation in the country affect your music?
Rahman: It actually kind of exhausted my energy. I had to take a break. I was in shock last week, but music is my medicine. Music transports and heals you. I feel that I am blessed and I want to share the same feeling with others. That’s why I don’t take hiatus from work because it is work that rejuvenates me. It is great to give something as beautiful as music to others.
Swati: Your song ‘Rubaru’ was very well received. Please tell us about it.
Rahman: ‘Rubaru’ means light and it is relevant in these dark days. Right now, there is so much confusion, negative feelings and anger. As an artist, what you can give is love and free hugs.
Swati: You have got stupendous success as a music composer. Which is personally your favourite album?
Rahman: My latest Nokia Connections album gave me a lot of creative freedom. I did what I wanted to do. The song collection in the album is diverse. There are songs, which have never been done before. I have used a different style. The internal feedback that I have received is very good. Let’s see what people have to say about it. The compositions include a song from old Tamil literature, a love song - Jiah se Jiah, Punjabi song – Dil and other tracks.
Swati: Your music is becoming more meditative with age. Your take on this…
Rahman: I became old when I was 12 due to the circumstances in my family. May be I am getting younger now.
Swati: What is your inspiration while composing a romantic song?
Rahman: Love is definitely a phenomenon that transports you into a different world. Love is such a feeling that is beautiful. Even if a person is coming to murder you, love can change that person.
The interview ended on such a ‘lovely’ note, the maestro even crooned ‘Jiah se Jiah’ love song.
Antulay issue rocks Parliament for third day
Minister A R Antulay on Monday kept up his defiant stance and rejected opposition charge that his statement on Maharashtra ATS chief Hemant Karkare's killing has weakened India's case vis a vis Pakistan.
"I knew that it was right, when I had made the statement. I gave the statement because it was right. Antuly never gave wrong statement," he told reporters while replying to a query on what he felt after Congress leader Digvijay Singh's backing to him.
Antulay refused to accept that his statements gave Pakistan a chance to weaken India's claims. He accused the media of twisting his statements saying, "the way unfortunately media presented my statements before the people by twisting them gave Pakistan a chance..."
He, however, refused to answer a question on whether there is any confusion in Congress with different party leaders giving different reactions to his remarks.
Describing himself a "soldier of Congress," the union Minister said," I am neither an office bearer of the party nor its spokesman. Better you ask this to them?"
The Union Minister also dismissed the charge that his remarks affected the all party unity on terror saying, "No, not all. This is entirely wrong".
"I told them (BJP)laughingly why you are repeating my name in stead of Sri Ram. I am not such a big person." he added.
The minister, however, stuck to his earlier statements doubting why the ATS chief Hemant Karkare and two other police officers went towards Cama Hospital and not towards Hotel Taj and Oberai and Nariman House, where terrorists had struck in a bigger way.
"I had raised two points. Who called Karkare when he was eating and why after visiting the Chhatrapati Shivaji terminus railway station he went Southwards where Cama hospital is located and not northwards where Taj and Oberai are located," he said answering to a query on whether he still sticks to the statements he made earlier.
Earlier in the morning, Antulay had said "Nothing is in anyone's hand", when asked whether his party was contemplating action against him on his remarks.
Antulay himself remained defiant dismissing the charge that his statement has weakened India's case vis a vis Pakistan.
"I knew that it was right when I had made the statement. I gave the statement because it was right. Antulay never gave wrong statement," he told reporters.
He accused the media of twisting his statements saying, "the way unfortunately media presented my statements before the people by twisting them gave Pakistan a chance."
Sources close to him said the minister would also like to clarify his position in the Lok Sabha, if permitted by the party.
Meanwhile, the BJP and its ally JD(U) spoke in different voices like two Left leaders also giving out different views.
BJP leader M Venkaiah Naidu described the Congress stand on A R Antulay's statement on ATS chief Hemant Karkare's death as a "trial balloon".
"Government is sending a trial balloon saying what is wrong in Antulay's statement. A former Pakistan PM is saying the terrorist (Amir Ajmal Kasab) involved in the Mumbai attack is from Pakistan.
"But a minister here is raising doubts. It (Antulay's statement) is an anti-national statement," senior BJP leader M Venkaiah Naidu told reporters in the Parliament complex here.
But an MP of the JD(U), an ally of the BJP, said he supported Antulay's demand for an inquiry into Karkare's killing. "This is a feeling of not only Muslims but also the entire country," he said and asked Congress party not to take any action against Antulay.
The CPI and CPI(M) differed in their approach towards Antulay.
Terming his remarks "unnecessary", CPI(M) politburo member Brinda Karat said that Antulay should not have made the statements.
CPI leader D Raja, however, said "If a senior minister raises any issue, the government cannot brush it away. The government must come out clear on these issues."
"He (Antulay) has raised some issues. He is a senior minister and handling a very sensitive portfolio. It is for the government to explain. Why Congress is speaking in different voices?" Raja asked.
NCP chief Sharad Pawar, on being repeatedly asked to explain his stand on the issue, said: "When investigation is already on into the issue, why should any one say something on it. I do not think anybody should speak in between."
Union Minister Ram Vilas Paswan had a word of caution against raking up the issue further.
"This issue should not be raked up in national interest. Antulay is from Maharashtra. There is Maharashtra government, which must have some knowledge on it."
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
