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Chattisinghpora
picket attacked Excelsior Correspondent SRINAGAR, Feb 6: Two days after the gunning down of six Sikhs here, militants attacked a police picket set up for protection of minority community in Sikh-dominated Chattisinghpora in Anantnag district last night. Elsewhere in Kashmir, four people were killed in separate militancy-linked incidents, a police spokesman said. He said militants last night fired at police guards posted at Chattisinghpora village, scene of last year’s massacre of 35 Sikhs by militants. The policemen, deployed for protection of minorities, returned the fire forcing the militants to flee, the spokesman said. He said a hunt was on to track down the attackers. The incident caused panic among the villagers. Soon after the shoot-out, the spokesman said some militants tried to force their way into the house of National Conference block president Ghulam Mohiuddin at Achabal in Anantnag. Policemen deployed there fired in the air in order to scare them. On Saturday, six Sikhs were killed when unidentified armed youths fired indiscriminately on a group of minority community at Mahjoornagar. The spokesman said militants shot dead two persons, Karimullah Khan and Bakshu Bajad, in Kupwara district’s Handwara area. A civilian was killed when he was caught in a cross-fire between militants and security forces at Nagbal in Tral area in Pulwama district. Ultras threw bombs at a shopping complex at Haigam in Sopore area of Baramulla district last night damaging the complex, the spokesman said. He said unidentified miscreants set ablaze a mill in Pulwama district last night. Police assisted by security forces smashed a militant hideout at Sathuharan forest in Badgam district and recovered some arms and ammunition. Meanwhile, SOG Srinagar has busted a network of Hizbul Mujahideen from Srinagar and adjoining areas by apprehending seven Pakistan-trained militants and effecting recovery of a huge quantity of arms and ammunition. Arrested militants have been identified as Sajad Haider Dar alias Mohd Ali alias Qasim R/o Balhama, district commander, Riaz Ahmad Dar alias Imtiaz alias Sher Dil alias Tipoo R/o Beerwah, platoon commander, Mohd Aslam Dar alias Aslam R/o Khushalsar Zadibal, harbourer ,Abdul Rashid Rather alias Mitha R/o Achabal, co-ordinator, Ghulam Mohd Bhat alias Madhosh R/o Balhama, publicity chief, Nazir Ahmed Dar alias Hussain R/o Shalimar, finance chief and Ghulam Hussain Dar alias Jahangir R/o Ahrabal, Shalimar, hitman. Hideouts of the militants were raided jointly by SOG, army and CRPF. Recoveries made from the hideout include one rifle grenade launcher, two AK rifles, two pistols, three rocket projectiles, one medium machine gun, 11 AK magazines, two pistol magazines, 312 AK rounds, 14 hand grenades, one wireless set, 16 rifle grenades, three training cassettes for militants, six kg RDX, one remote control device, 52 MMG rounds and 12 pistol rounds. All seven arrested militants were Pakistan-trained and involved in a series of militancy-related incidents especially grenade attacks in Srinagar, Pattan and Sopore. The group was planning more attacks on security forces pickets in Srinagar city. |
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Curfew relaxed for 2 hrs
in Old City Excelsior Correspondent JAMMU, Feb 6: Police arrested over 100 protestants from Simbal Camp this morning after a large number of people tried to march towards Jammu defying curfew restrictions while authorities relaxed curfew in the Old City for two hours this evening following improvement in the situation. A State Bank of India (SBI) employee Mohinder Singh of Narwal, who was killed in unprovoked police firing at Malik Market, Narwal yesterday, was cremated at Channi Rama cremation ground this afternoon amidst tight security arrangements. No untoward incident took place during the cremation. A complete bandh was, meanwhile, observed in Kathua and Poonch towns for the second consecutive day today in protest against the massacre of six Sikhs at Mehjoor Nagar, Srinagar on Saturday. Traffic on Jammu-Pathankote national highway remained closed throughout the day today due to blockades raised at Hatli Morh and Kali Bari by the agitated mob. Police said over 800 people, mostly youths, gathered in Simbal Camp this morning and tried to take out a march towards the City in their tractors and trolleys defying curfew, which had been clamped in the areas falling under the jurisdiction of Simbal Camp and Miran Sahib police stations early today in anticipation of violence . Shouting slogans against Pakistan, militants and National Conference Government, the mob made a determined attempt to break the police cordon. However, army, which was deployed in the area, didn’t allow the protestants to surge ahead. Later, over 100 people offered themselves for court arrest to register their protest against the massacre. Protestants were arrested and released after about two hours. Other people dispersed after the court arrests. Situation remained normal in all others localities like Nanak Nagar, Gandhi Nagar, Green Belt Park, Digiana and Narwal where mob had resorted to large scale violence and arson yesterday setting ablaze Government offices and vehicles. Army remained deployed in all these localities in strength and also staged flag marches to restore people’s confidence and maintain law and order. No untoward incident was reported from these areas today. Meanwhile, Mohinder Singh, an SBI employee hailing from Anantnag, who was killed in police firing at Malik Market, Narwal yesterday was cremated at Channi Rama cremation ground at 1500 hours today. Senior civil and police officials including Divisional Commissioner, Jammu Anil Goswami, IGP Jammu R V Raju and DIG Jammu Dr S P Vaid attended the cremation, which was held under tight security arrangements with troops and police maintaining a strict vigil in Narwal and adjoining localities. Authorities permitted only selected people to attend the cremation in a bid to ensure that procession didn’t turn violent. Still, a number of people (atleast 1000) managed to join the last rites of Mohinder Singh, who fell victim to police bullets while protesting the massacre of innocent Sikhs. Religious and anti-militant slogans rented the air as pyre of Mohinder Singh was lit by his family members in Channi Rama cremation ground. However, people dispersed peacefully after performing the last rites of deceased. Meanwhile, authorities announced a two hour relaxation in curfew in the Old City at 1700 hours today after cremation of Mohinder Singh passed off peacefully. But, very few shops opened in the City due to delay in the announcement of relaxation. Though the curfew was relaxed at 1700 hours, an announcement to this effect was made at 1800 hours giving very less time to the shopkeepers to re-open their establishments. No relaxation was given in the areas across Tawi bridge, which bore the brunt of yesterday’s violence. Even during the relaxation period, army remained deployed in the City and outskirts. Police said the relaxation period passed off peacefully with no untoward incident reported from any part of the Old City. Curfew was relaxed from Jewel Chowk to Janipura besides Canal Road, Talab Tillo, Bohri and Panjtirthi areas while no relaxation was given in the areas like Vikram Chowk, Gandhi Nagar, Satwari, Nanak Nagar and Narwal. Even after two hours relaxation period, authorities didn't enforce curfew. In Nanak Nagar, some people came out of their houses at about 1800 hours anticipating relaxation in curfew. However, they were sent indoors by army personnel. Our Poonch correspondent adds: A complete shutdown was observed in Poonch town for the second day today. Agitated people took to streets right in the morning and didn’t allow shopkeepers to open their shutters. Shouting anti-militant and anti-Government slogans, the people marched in a procession in the town, burnt tyres on City roads and disrupted vehicular movement. Police and para-military had been deployed in strength in the town to maintain law and order but no report of any untoward incident was received. Besides shops and business establishments, all Government offices, educational institutions and Banks also remained closed in the town as mob didn’t allow them to open. According to our Kathua correspondent, protestants again gathered in the town for second day this morning, held a demonstration and then marched to Hatli Morh and Kali Bari on Jammu-Pathankote national highway in a procession raising slogans against Pakistan’s ISI and its sponsored militants. Mob scattered on the busy highway and blocked traffic. Hundreds of vehicles were stranded on either side of the highway as protestants didn’t allow even a single vehicle to move on the road. Entire road was covered with burning tyres. People dispersed this evening after full day’s protests. A number of vehicles were also damaged on the highway, which was resented by the vehicle operators. Civil and police officials of Kathua were present on the highway alongwith a strong posse of police and para-military. |
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SPOTLIGHT From B L Kak The Prime Minister, Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee, does not appreciate what is termed as "a deliberate attempt" by Islamabad to twist facts vis-à-vis the widely-publicised telephonic conversation between him and the Chief Executive of Pakistan, Gen Parvez Musharraf. Even as the conversation took place last Friday after Gen Musharraf actually rang up Mr Vajpayee, Islamabad allowed the circulation of reports in Pakistani media that insisted that the Indian Prime Minister had called Pakistan’s Chief Executive. "These reports have no basis", sources in the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) told EXCELSIOR. According to these sources, before noon on Friday (Feb 2), a message was received in New Delhi from Islamabad, making it pretty clear that Gen Musharraf "is keen on talking to Mr Vajpayee on telephone today itself". Mr Vajpayee was promptly informed about the message from Gen Musharraf. Mr Vajpayee was not surprised, considering the fact that telephonic conversations between any two heads of Government are usually pre-arranged. The message from Islamabad came at a time when Mr Vajpayee had reportedly planned to dash off letters to various heads of Government to thank them for timely relief sent in for the victims in the quake-hit Gujarat State. According to the sources, Mr Vajpayee, at that point of time, was not averse to the idea of conveying his thanks to Gen Musharraf as well for Pakistan’s relief articles. The scenario suddenly changed immediately after the message came in from Islamabad about Gen Musharraf’s ‘plan’ to have telephonic conversation with the Indian Prime Minister. Following prompt consultations with Mr Vajpayee on the issue, a message was sent out asking Islamabad to rush information on two things, namely, the timing and the subject. Equally quick was Islamabad’s response to New Delhi’s query. The time was set for around 4.45 p.m. And the subject was: Tragedy in Gujarat as a result of the killer earthquake. "OK", went out the signal from New Delhi. This was immediately followed by a significant development. An attempt was sought to be made to make Mr Vajpayee ring up Gen Musharraf to convey thanks to him for Pakistani sympathy and relief for Gujarat victims. Equally significant was Mr Vajpayee’s reaction. It was conveyed to Islamabad that Mr Vajpayee had received telephone calls from many heads of State, including the US President, Mr George Bush, in connection with the Guajrat tragedy and, hence, he cannot be expected to ring up Pakistan’s Chief Executive. This was, interestingly, followed by the message from Islamabad, which informed New Delhi that Gen Musharraf’s telephonic call could be expected around 7 p.m. that day (Friday). Would Mr Vajpayee take the call, came the question from Islamabad. After New Delhi’s ‘yes’, the call from Gen Musharraf finally came in just after 7 p.m. The conversation, EXCELSIOR was officially told, was brief and limited to the tragedy in Gujarat. Intriguingly, however, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Islamabad appeared reluctant to concede the "fact" that it was Gen Musharraf who had initiated the phone call to Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee. No wonder, Government-controlled Associated Press of Pakistan (APP) ran the report, which insisted that Mr Vajpayee had called Gen Musharraf. The gesture, namely, the first-ever conversation between Gen Musharraf and Mr Vajpayee was, of course, appreciated. But, nonetheless, the word was allowed to be widely circulated across Pakistan that it was the Indian Premier who called the Chief Executive. India’s Foreign Office had strong reasons to sit up and pronounce that fact being sacred should not be distorted. As most newspapers in Pakistan reported for two consecutive days that it was the Indian Premier who called Pakistan’s Chief Executive to thank him for the condolences and humanitarian relief sent from Islamabad, Indian official agencies were left with no option but to make public: It was Gen Parvez Musharraf of Pakistan who had called Mr Vajpayee on Friday. |
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Attack aimed at
migration : Advani NEW DELHI, Feb 6: Sikh leaders today mounted pressure on the Centre for adequate security to protect the community from being targeted by militants in Jammu and Kashmir even as Home Minister L K Advani said the recent attacks on it were aimed at triggering a "second migration" from the Valley. Sikh leaders, led by SGPC president Jagdev Singh Talwandi, met Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Advani and External Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh and voiced apprehension if proper action was not taken in the next few days, the community might start migrating from the Valley. After meeting Vajpayee, Talwandi told reporters that the Prime Minister had assured the delegation that appropriate steps would be taken to protect the minorities in the State and instill a sense of confidence in them. Advani told reporters that the "recent attacks are to precipitate the second phase of migration from the Valley. First, it was Kashmiri Pandits and now it is members of another minority community." He said the Centre had sought report from the State Government on yesterday’s police firing on protesters in Jammu killing a Sikh. Dhindsa, who was part of a five-member Central team which visited the Valley after gunning down of six Sikhs by militants on Saturday, said the minority community in Kashmir was "very terrified". Dhindsa said a Central team would visit the Valley again before February 10 to apprise the frightened community of steps being taken by the Centre for their safety. Both Talwandi and Dhindsa launched a scathing attack on Pakistan for "creating hurdles" in bringing peace in the militancy-hit Valley. Earlier, the delegation met Advani and demanded adequate protection for the 60,000-strong community in the valley to prevent migration. The delegation also charged Pakistan with drawing up a design to cleanse the valley of Sikhs and sabotaging Vajpayee’s peace initiative. Besides Dhindsa, the other members of the delegation were Minister of State for Civil Aviation Chaman Lal Gupta, BJP Rajya Sabha member S S Ahluwalia, Lok Sabha member V K Malhotra and Minority Commission member Tarlochan Singh. Dhindsa said the delegation had apprised the Prime Minister about the views of Jammu and Kashmir Government over the continuation of ceasefire in the State. In Jammu, Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah said the ceasefire extended by the Centre was "meaningless" as it only tied down the hands of security forces. He said the State Government would take certain measures to instil confidence among the Sikh community in the wake of Pakistan hatching a "deep-rooted conspiracy for total ethnic cleansing in the Valley". He had asked Minister of State for Home and Divisional Commissioner, Kashmir, to visit each of the 129 Sikh inhabited villages across the Valley to revamp security. (PTI) |
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Musharraf ready to invite Vajpayee for dialogue NEW DELHI, Feb 6: Close on the heels of the first-ever contact over telephone with Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Pakistan’s military ruler Gen Pervez Musharraf has said he is ready to invite the Indian leader to Pakistan for talks to resolve the vexed Kashmir issue. "Vajpayee is the only moderate and he is surrounded by hawks. So, if we have to move in any substantial way, it can only be done in a dialogue between him and me," Musharraf was quoted as saying in an interview published today in Dubai-based ‘Gulf News’. Musharraf had called Vajpayee and conveyed his sympathies to the victims of the Gujarat earthquake last week. Asked for official reaction on Musharraf’s offer, an External Affairs Ministry spokesman said "I am not aware of any such proposal." He said Prime Minister, External Affairs Minister and the Home Minister have time and again clearly spelt out Indian’s approach to its relations with Pakistan. New Delhi has been maintaining that Pakistan has to create the right atmosphere for resumption of the stalled dialogue by stopping cross-border terrorism and sustained anti-India propaganda. "Our policy has been consistent. Our stand remains unchanged," the spokesman said. Musharraf said he was "absolutely willing" to invite Vajpayee but observed "when one initiates such an act, one has to be very careful that the initiative is accepted. Over the past week, Musharraf has been blowing hot and cold with conciliatory noises of normalising ties with India while accusing it of "oppressive" rule in Jammu and Kashmir and deliberately delaying peace initiatives. Asked if he would be willing to visit India if invited, the Pakistani leader said "yes certainly". Asked about Vajpayee’s recent remarks on Kashmir, Musharraf said he was encouraged by the Indian leader’s desire to take "bold initiatives" in this regard. "I see a change in the statements and attitudes of the leaders. I also see a change in the public attitude and the attitude of the media," he said adding if public opinion changed, the Indian Government would have more flexibility towards initiating a dialogue. The Pakistani leader said general elections in Pakistan would be held before the October, 2002 deadline stipulated by the Supreme Court. Meanwhile, Pakistan Supreme Court today asked the military regime to clarify its plans to hold general elections as it heard a petition against the 1999 coup, court officials said. In Islamabad, Chief Justice Irshad Hassan Khan told State Attorney Sharifuddin Pirzada to "seek instructions" on the restoration of democracy during opening arguments in the hearing. "Seek instructions from the Government when you are going to hold elections and restore democracy," he said. The petition, filed by members of the suspended Parliament, asks for a review of the May 12, 2000, Supreme Court ruling which validated the coup. The court has given military ruler General Pervez Musharraf three years from the night of the October 12, 1999 takeover to complete his reforms and revive democracy with general elections. Musharraf jailed Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, disbanded Parliament and suspended the 1973 Constitution, arguing the country was being wrecked by rampant corruption. Sharif was pardoned of lengthy jail terms for hijacking and tax evasion in December last year and exiled to Saudi Arabia. In his review petition before a full bench of 11 Judges, former Senate Chairman Wasim Sajjad said the principle of state necessity was wrongly implied in the Supreme Court’s earlier ruling. "The period of three years granted for the return of constitutional rule is the result of an obvious mistake," he said. "This period should be curtailed to the minimum. Either the assemblies should be restored or elections should be held." The situation did not warrant Army intervention and the court should not have validated the takeover, Sajjad said. Musharraf has said he will abide by the court’s deadline for democracy but has yet to fix an election timeframe despite pressure from the United States and Europe. The hearing will resume tomorrow. (PTI/AFP) |
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Militant, 2 civilians shot
dead Excelsior Correspondent JAMMU, Feb 6: Two army jawans were killed in a powerful blast at Mehrot, Surankote this afternoon while a hardcore militant and two civilians including a middle-aged woman were killed and another civilian was injured in separate militancy related incidents across the region today. Official sources in Rajouri said that militants triggered an IED explosion under an army vehicle at Mehrot in Surankote road at 12 noon today killing two army jawans on the spot. Militants instrumental in engineering the IED blast managed to escape. Deceased army jawans have been identified as Bishan Chargasia and Vikas Day. Army personnel reached the site of explosion and launched a massive search operation to track down the militants. However, no arrest could be made immediately. Official sources in Udhampur said a patrol party of army was attacked by the militants in Mahore this afternoon resulting into an encounter. Fierce exchange of firing followed in which one militant was killed after an hour. Sources said three more militants were reported to be trapped in the encounter which continued till late this evening when the reports last came in. Re-enforcement of troops has also reached the encounter site and efforts were on to eliminate the remaining militants. No casualty has been reported on army side. Troops have recovered the dead body of slain militant but couldn’t identify him. One AK-47 rifle, four magazines, 28 rounds and a wireless set was recovered from his possession. The slain ultra was suspected to be a foreign and an activist of Hizbul Mujahideen outfit, the sources said. Another army column was fired upon by the militants from atop a hill at village Jehand, about 40 kms north of Suhigarh in Bhaderwah tehsil of Doda district at 1100 hours today. Militants, however, missed the target but the bullet fired by them hit a civilian killing him on the spot. Army personnel took positions and returned the firing. Militants managed to escape in an adjoining forest area and remained untraced. Deceased civilian has been identified as Mohammad Tak, 27, son of Ghulam Mohd, a resident of village Jehand. Local people protested the killing of an innocent youth by the militants. Troops have launched an operation in the village to track down the militants. Another group of militants attacked village Maruta under the jurisdiction of Kalakote police station in Rajouri district last night and gunned down a woman Ghulam Fatima wife of Abdul Rashid. Militants escaped after killing the woman. Local people gathered in the village today and protested against the killing of woman. They shouted anti-militant slogans. Police and security officials visited the village this morning. Police suspected the hand of local militants behind the killing. A civilian Mohd Abbas son of Mohd Hanief R/o Balli, Gandoh in Doda district was injured when he was trapped in exchange of firing between militants and security forces. The injured was evacuated from the firing site by troops and hospitalised in serious condition. After a long gap, Pakistani troops resorted to firing on Indian positions at Mehta Post and Zero Point on the International Border in Arnia sector early today. However, no loss of life or damage was reported on Indian side. |
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28 security guards
arrested NEW DELHI, Feb 6 : In a major breakthrough, the Delhi Police today said, it has busted a fake arms licence racket in the Capital with the arrest of 28 security guards possessing weapons illegally, and an arms dealer. Additional Commissioner of Police (Crime) Qamar Ahmed told reporters that 28 illegal arms, 28 forged arms licences and 134 rounds were seized from the guards. Of the seized licences, 19 purported to have been issued by the Kohima District Collector (Nagaland) and nine by Additional District Magistrate in Udhampur in Jammu and Kashmir. The Anti-Extortion Cell of the Crime Branch was also on the lookout for another arms dealer, identified as Rajesh, the prime suspect in the case. Police teams have been sent to Etah and Mainpuri and a raid was conducted to arrest Rajesh. Teams will leave for Jammu, soon. Police will also go to Kohima, and some other places in Jammu and Kashmir for verification of these arms licence and the seal therein. More arrests in the case are possible, he said. Prima-facie, the guarantee of a job in security agencies to one holding a licensed gun has been the genesis of the racket, but other angles of the racket were being examined, the ACP said. The licences were prepared in Etah in Uttar Pradesh and provided to job seekers in Delhi for hefty amounts, he added. Acting on specific inputs, two persons — Avdhesh Singh and Nepal Singh — were picked up on January 30 from the Mehrauli-Badarpur Bus Stand. Two fake arms licences purported to have been issued by the Deputy Commissioner of Kohima in Nagaland and two double barrel guns of 12 bore and eight live cartridges were recovered from their possession. During the course of interrogation, these people disclosed that they procured the fake arms licences from Rajesh by paying him Rs 10,000 to Rs 15,000 each. On the strength of these arms licences, they purchased gun from Girish Gun House, Mainpuri in Uttar Pradesh. The owner of the Girish Gun House, Girish Chand Saxena, has been arrested for selling at least 16 guns to the accused persons. A few other gun houses and arms dealers who sold guns on these fake licences have also been identified. Investigation against them is in progress, the ACP said. Police suspect that the guards had acquired ammunition much more in quantity than what has been seized. It is being probed as to from where they procured the ammunition and to whom the ammunition were supplied. Mr Ahmed said the most alarming fact was that the guards were not trained in handling the arms. "They were amateurs in handling of arms now it has to be probed why and how they were employed without examining fire arms-handling skills." The arrested guards were employed by the Sterling Security Services, Citadel Security, Albatross Security, Bravo Security, Fair Fox Security, Rajput Security and Jugnu Security. (UNI) |
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‘No talks with Pak till terrorism stops NEW DELHI, Feb 6: India today asserted that Pakistan Chief Executive Gen Pervez Musharraf’s ‘earthquake diplomacy’ will not alter its stand on resumption of dialogue with Islamabad. Our stand remains consistent and unchanged, a spokesman of the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said while commenting on Greek Premier K Simitis’ remarks that ‘earthquake diplomacy’ could prove useful in breaking the logjam between India and Pakistan. Asked whether Gen Musharaff has invited Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee to visit Pakistan, he said I am not aware of any such proposal. He said the Indian position has been articulated on several occasions by the Prime Minister and External Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh that Islamabad should stop its support to cross border terrorism for creating conducive atmosphere for resumption of the dialogue. (UNI) |
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Schools to remain closed today Excelsior Correspondent JAMMU, Feb 6: All educational institutions including degree college will remain closed tomorrow, according to an official spokesman. He said the district administration will review the situation at 0800 hours tomorrow and take a decision on lifting of curfew. Exams of Jammu University, scheduled for tomorrow, have been postponed. |
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NEW DELHI, Feb 6: A high-level team of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) would visit trouble-torn Jammu and Kashmir from February 8 to 10 to discuss with the State authorities the issue of human rights violations. NHRC sources said that the team, headed by NHRC chairperson Justice J S Verma would discuss with the State Chief Secretary, Home Secretary, Director General of Police and other high officials the outstanding complaints of human rights violations received by the Commission on which the State Government’s report was still awaited. The Commission has not received reports from the State Government on 14 major complaints of human rights violation being considered by the full bench of NHRC besides hundreds of minor abuses. The NHRC team would take up the matter during its visit. Among such major complaints are killing of 35 Sikhs in Anantnag district, disappearance of a youth from police custody and many cases of custodial deaths. Moreover, Mr Justice Verma would stress on setting up District Complaint Authority in the State as a large number of custodial death cases were received annually. The NHRC which has brought out a manual on arrest, has directed all the State Governments to publish it in local languages to make people aware of their rights. However, the Jammu and Kashmir Government was yet to comply with the direction so the matter would come up for discussion during the visit, the sources said. The team, which consist of NHRC Special Rapporteur on Child Labour Chaman Lal and Secretary General N Gopalaswamy, would also discuss bonded labour and child labour. It would also meet representative of Non Governmental Organisations and general public. As the Jammu and Kashmir Government had already complied with the NHRC direction on its draft prison bill and incorporated changes in the prison manual, the Commission was satisfied on this count, the sources said. They, however, clarified that the visit had nothing to do with the recent killings of Sikhs in Srinagar as it was long pending routine visit. (UNI) |
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RAJKOT, Feb 6 : Pakistan Military Government should not take India’s one-sided ceasefire in Kashmir as a "signal" of any kind of weakness, Bharatiya Janata Party president Bangaru Laxman said here today. Talking to the newspersons at the Circuit House after touring the earthquake-hit areas, Mr Bangaru Laxman said the Pakistani military dictator’s message on the eve of the so-called "Kashmir solidarity day" shows that Pakistan has no intention of reciprocating India’s peace initiative. The statement, its language and the strident tone deserve strong condemnation by every peace-loving citizen of South Asia, he said and added that it is clearly intended to sabotage the chances of peace in Kashmir. It is a thinly-veiled call to the militant outfits to continue their campaign of violence in the Valley and an open admission that the military regime is giving moral, political and diplomatic support to the terrorist outfits operating in India, he said. He said it is in this context that one has to see the recent killings of the Sikhs in Kashmir. The BJP strongly condemn this heinous crime of the Pakistani-backed militants and blame Musharraf regime squarely responsible for this massacre. (UNI) |
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Over Rs 148 cr subsidy for Haj pilgrimage NEW DELHI, Feb 6: A whopping subsidy of Rs 148.36 crores has been approved by the Union Cabinet for this year’s Haj pilgrimage. The amount will be spent on transporting over 72,000 Indian Haj pilgrims, to Saudi Arabia for the Haj by Kampuchean and Saudi Airlines. The Government charges only Rs 12000 for the Haj round trips from each pilgrim, paying the remaining cost of the airfare itself. This decision was taken at the Cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, here today. It was decided that pilgrims’ share of transportation will be maintained at Rs 12000 for the current year also. The Government also decided to have eight embarkation points for the pilgrims in India. (UNI) |
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BEIJING, Feb 6: India and China are likely to discuss the whole gamut of bilateral, regional and international issues including the nuclear question and the Tibet issue during the second round of security dialogue in New Delhi on Thursday, official sources here said. "During this round of dialogue, both sides will exchange views mainly on international and regional security situation and other issues of common interest," a Chinese Foreign Ministry official said. Sources said the second round of security dialogue is the most serious political dialogue between the two countries since Chinese Foreign Minister Tang Jiaxuan visited New Delhi in July last year. "Both sides are expected to raise core issues that are bothering Sino-Indian relations," an official source told PTI. "Both China and India are developing countries and shoulder important responsibility in safeguarding regional and world peace," he said on the significance of the security dialogue, initiated during the ice-breaking visit to Beijing by External Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh in June, 1999. "We believe that we two countries will be able to further enhance mutual understanding, expand consensus and improve cooperation through this round of security dialogue," he said. The Chinese side will be led by Assistant Foreign Minister Wang Yi while the Indian side would be headed by T C A Rangachari, Additional Secretary in the Ministry of External Affairs. Leading Chinese security expert Dingli Shen said the dialogue was taking place at a fortuitous time right after the visit to India by senior Chinese leader Li Peng. "Also, given China’s recent commitment to strengthen missile export control, that irritant factor existing between Beijing and New Delhi is reducing," Shen, Director of International Programmes of Shanghai’s Fudan University, said. During the dialogue, India is expected to express its stand on the nuclear issue, sources said noting that China remains the only country among the permanent five members of the UN Security Council that seems reluctant in giving up its stand on a complete rollback of India’s nuclear weapons development programme. Though the Chinese response to the Agni-II missile test on January 17 was a cautious one, the Foreign Ministry’s statement made it clear that there was no change in China’s stand on nuclear question in South Asia. Despite China’s commitment to adhere to global non-proliferation regimes, India is concerned about the alleged Sino-Pakistani nexus on the nuclear and missile fronts. China, on the other hand, is expected to raise the Tibet issue and the reported granting of "refugee" status to the 17th Karmapa Lama by India, the sources said. Another issue could be the Bush administration’s decision to go ahead with National Missile Defence (NMD) system, to which China and Russia have jointly expressed serious concern. The Chinese side may also probe India’s response on NMD, the sources said. (PTI) |
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