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Pak
action vitiates atmosphere From B L Kak NEW DELHI, Mar 3: The Minister for External Affairs, Mr Jaswant Singh, has charged Islamabad with continuing to give official.......more
MEN
AND MATTERS From B L Kak The Defence Minister, Mr George Fernandes, is aggressively determined to ignore Pakistan's outbursts against the hike in India's defence allocation for....more......more J&K
Police chief on 'hit-list' From B L Kak NEW DELHI, Mar 3: A non-Indian intelligence agency has highly sensational inputs vis-à-vis the activities of the dreaded Taliban ....more |
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Chattisgarh
to move NEW DELHI, Mar 3: Chattisgarh Government would soon move the Supreme Court on the controversial BALCO deal....more It’s
more than Bamiyan NEW DELHI, Mar 3: With widespread appeals to the Afghan Taliban militia seem to be falling on deaf ears, an Indian archaeologist who sweated it out in....more Bollywood
is now BHOPAL, Mar 3: The Bollywood, which has always been enamoured by erotic themes, is now ‘excavating’ world heritage site Khajuraho, for.....more NEW DELHI, Mar 3: Out of the 24 new trains announced for the next fiscal year, at least two are ......more SC
upholds death NEW DELHI, Mar 3: In a rare instance, the Supreme Court has upheld the death....more |
Pak
action vitiates atmosphere From B L Kak NEW DELHI, Mar 3: The Minister for External Affairs, Mr Jaswant Singh, has charged Islamabad with continuing to give official patronage to obscurantist groups indulging in violence beyond the borders of Pakistan-precisely, in Jammu and Kashmir and elsewhere in India. Mr Jaswant Singh stated in the Rajya Sabha that there "is no evidence of any change" in Pakistan's sponsorship of cross-border terrorism in the State of Jammu and Kashmir or elsewhere in India. Responding to a question by Mr CM Ibrahim, Mr Jaswant Singh referred to Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee's recent widely circulated article titled 'Kumarakom Musings' and said that the Prime Minister had noted that the Government of Pakistan "is not doing enough to rein in terrorist organisations based on its soil that are continuing their killing spree, targeting both innocent civilians and our security personnel in Kashmir and other parts of India". Mr Jaswant Singh strongly defended the Prime Minister's statement: "India is willing and ready to seek a lasting solution to the Kashmir problem. Towards this end, we are prepared to recommence talks with Pakistan at any level, including the highest level, provided Islamabad gives sufficient proof of its preparedness to create a conducive atmosphere for a meaningful dialogue". The External Affairs Minister informed the House that barring several comments attributed to Pakistani leaders that have appeared in the Pakistani press on Mr Vajpayee's article, there has been no formal statement from Pakistan. Mr Jaswant Singh said that although Pakistan's Foreign Minister was quoted as having taken due note of the statement that was made by Mr Vajpayee, there was no evidence of any change in Pakistan's sponsorship of cross-border terrorism in J&K. Mr Jaswant Singh reiterated that India desired the establishment of good neighbourly relations with Pakistan. "We have reiterated out commitment to resuming the composite dialogue so as to build trust and confidence, establish a stable structure of cooperation and address outstanding issues", he said. He emphasised: "For this, self evidently, an appropriate atmosphere is needed". That the Vajpayee Government is not happy over the lack of initiative from Pakistan in this regard has become too evident to be missed with Mr Jaswant Singh's statement: "That is why we expect from Pakistan an abjurement of violence, ceasing promotion, encouragement and abetment of cross-border terrorism and a commitment to the Simla Agreement of 1972 and Lahore Declaration of 1999". The Minister of State for External Affairs, Mr Ajit Kumar Panja, said in reply to a question by Mr Ananta Sethi that despite the repeated expression by New Delhi of India's desire to establish good neighbourly relations with Pakistan, Islamabad continued its sponsorship of hostile propaganda and cross border terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir and other parts of India. Mr Ajit Panja warned that Pakistan's sponsorship of anti-India propaganda and cross-border terrorism as well as hostile and negative policies cannot foster an appropriate environment, which, he emphasised, was an obvious requirement for the resumption of meaningful talks with Islamabad. Answering a question by Mr Rumandla Ramachandraiah, Mr Ajit Panja admitted that Mr Jaswant Singh had, during his recent visit to Saudi Arabia, urged the Saudi Government to join hands with India in fighting the scourge of terrorism. Saudi Arabia and India, Mr Panja said, shared common concern over terrorism. The two sides have agreed, in principle, to work together to contain terrorism. Mr Panja informed the House that a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on cooperation in combating crime has been agreed to in principle and will be ready for signature as soon as the procedural formalities are completed by the Government of Saudi Arabia. Mr Panja said in reply to a question by Ms Vanga Geetha that the Governments of India and Nepal had reiterated their determination to work closely to fight the scourge of terrorism. The two Governments, he added, had renewed their commitment not to allow their respective territories to be used for activities directed against or prejudicial to the security of the other. China does not want to mediate between India and Pakistan, Mr Ajit Panja said in reply to a question by Mr Abani Roy and Mr Ramdas Agarwal. Mr Panja, however, made it clear, that China had favoured a resumption of dialogue between India and Pakistan. On the second round of India-China security dialogue held in New Delhi on February 8 this year, Mr Panja said that both sides underlined that the aim of the dialogue was to enhance mutual understanding, expand common ground in approach to international and regional security affairs and narrow down differences. Mr Panja confirmed that during the talks, India's concerns were conveyed to China on the issue of latter's nuclear and missile assistance to Pakistan. Chinese side, he also confirmed, reiterated that its cooperation with Pakistan on nuclear and missile technology conformed to existing international regime on non-proliferation. The Chinese delegation was also apprised of India's peace initiatives in Jammu and Kashmir, notwithstanding continued terrorist violence supported from across the border, Mr Panja said and added that the Chinese side had stated that it was completely opposed to all forms of terrorism. China, at the same time, did not wish to mediate between India and Pakistan. |
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MEN AND MATTERS From B L Kak The Defence Minister, Mr George Fernandes, is aggressively determined to ignore Pakistan's outbursts against the hike in India's defence allocation for the year 2001-2002. And Mr Fernandes cannot be faulted for a word or two he has had against Islamabad. Pakistan, though responsible for the hike, year after year, in the defence allocation of India, has reacted sharply to the increase of 14 per cent in the defence allocation in the Indian budget for 2001-2002. Pakistan, too, cannot be faulted for its anger against the increase, which, it has argued, will upset the military balance. Mr George Fernandes cannot be faulted for his expression of indignation over the Islamabad's statement accusing India of having embarked on a massive programme of expansion of its conventional capability without regard to regional stability. Has Pakistan cared for the regional stability? Hasn't Pakistan intensified its activity to build up its nuclear and missile capability? Should India simply watch Islamabad's frantic efforts to refurbish and replenish Pakistan's war arsenal? These and other questions have, obviously, been the product of Pakistan Foreign Office's adverse comments on the just announced hike of 14 per cent in the defence allocation in the Indian budget for the next financial year. Several other factors may have forced the Finance Minister, Mr Yashwant Sinha, to oblige his Ministerial colleague, Mr George Fernandes. But there is no denying that the massive acquisition of armaments by Pakistan as well as the deployment of the bulk of Pakistan's troops on the Indian border eventually led the Indian Finance Minister to pave way for the hike in the defence allocation. What is done cannot be undone by Mr Fernandes, considering the fact that Islamabad has no plans to even allow lowering its efforts to further enhance the spending on procuring highly sophisticated weaponry for Pakistani troops deployed across the Indian border, particularly on the other side of the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir. Indeed, Mr Fernandes has justified the choice of operations employed by the Finance Minister, Mr Sinha. Mr Sinha sharply raised defence spending for the second year in a row in a bid to modernise the world's fourth-largest military force. The defence spending during the next financial year will rise by nearly 14 per cent, building on a 28 per cent increase last year. The Government has allocated Rs 62,000 crores for defence. However, when adjusted against an inflation rate of 8 per cent, defence spending for the current year shows a real-term hike of around 7.9 per cent. The revised estimates, especially on the capital head, which caters for military hardware procurement, are lower than the allocations provided in last year's budget statement. Does this suggest that the Ministry of Defence has been unable to spend all the funds provided to it by the Finance Ministry? One thing has become clear-that is, the Government of India will continue with last year's practice of modernising the Armed Forces selectively. Observers attach importance to one aspect, namely, the focus on the Indian Air Force (IAF) this time. These observes point out that the increase in spending for the Army is "minimal" and shows a decline when adjusted against inflation. The Navy, it appears, has been treated well this time. Spending for the Navy is slightly higher than last year. The Navy will receive Rs 9,138.82 crores. The Army gets Rs 34,895.96 crores. This shows a real-term decline of 5.6 per cent over the revised figures of last year. The IAF receives a hefty Rs 15,172.72 crores, about 24.47 per cent of the total spending, and a steep real-term increase of around 24.3 per cent over last year. The budget figures highlight that the Armed Forces have the unique distinction of not being able to spend their budgeted funds. As unspent amount for 2000-2001, the Army has surrendered Rs 316 crores, the IAF Rs 602 crores and the Navy Rs 14 crores. These sums have been included in the allocations for the next financial year. Thus, it can safely be concluded that the unfinished acquisition plans of the previous year will spill over into the year 2001-2002. The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) gets Rs 3518 crores. According to observers, the increase in the IAF expenditure is ostensibly on account of the Defence Ministry's inability to conclude a long-pending deal for Advanced Jet Trainers (AJT). The deal for 66 trainer jets will cost the exchequer about Rs 5,000 crores, which will have to be paid over a period of time. The defence allocation works out approximately 2.6 per cent of the GDP, thus continuing the trend of spending less than 3 per cent of the GDP on defence. The only time when independent India spent more than 3 per cent of the GDP on defence was in the years after the Chinese aggression in 1962. The less than 3 per cent GDP allocation represents in percentage terms less than half of the respective allocations of China and Pakistan. Mr Yashwant Sinha's budget, it is argued by some analysts, is a clear indication of the Government's intention to continue policy of defence for deterrence. |
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J&K Police chief
on 'hit-list' From B L Kak NEW DELHI, Mar 3: A non-Indian intelligence agency has highly sensational inputs vis-à-vis the activities of the dreaded Taliban guerrillas in Jammu and Kashmir in the coming days and weeks. And if these intelligence inputs are to be believed, Taliban fidayeen (suicide squads) have managed to sneak into some pockets of Jammu and Kashmir. Intelligence inputs have, in this connection, specifically mentioned the sectors of Rajouri in Jammu region and Kupwara in the Kashmir Valley. The intelligence agency's report does not give any information about the number of Taliban guerrillas, who have clandestinely infiltrated into Jammu and Kashmir, particularly in the Rajouri and Kupwara districts. The report, on the other hand, contains specific references in relation to the priorities and plans of anti-India Muslim fundamentalists in "strategically and politically important" territorial sectors such as Rajouri and Kupwara in their "war against kafirs (infidels)". The district of Rajouri is flanked by equally strategic Poonch district in the north, Jammu district in the south, Udhampur district in the east and the Pakistan occupied Kashmir (Mirpur area) in the west. Hence, the undetected infiltration of the Taliban guerrillas-their exact number is not known-is not without any reason and purpose. Similarly, the entry into certain pockets of the Kupwara district by an unspecified number of Taliban fidayeen, the report says, is "also loaded with highly ominous signals, which may start unfolding themselves in the coming days and weeks". The Kupwara district is flanked in the east and south by Baramulla district and in the west and north by LoC (Line of Control) separating it from Muzaffarabad district in PoK. Significantly, the report contains information, though sketchy, about certain pockets the Taliban militia personnel have entered into. These are located in the tehsils of Handwara, Kupwara and Karnah. Contents of a portion of the report covering the Kupwara district run thus: "The Taliban intruders are not stationed at one place since their undetected entry into the territory. Therefore, names of the villages they have chosen have been avoided simply because of two factors-one, the intruders keep on moving from one place to another, and, second, the three tehsils of Handwara, Kupwara and Karnah comprise nearly 400 villages". In the case of Rajouri district, the report is said to have identified some pockets chosen by the Taliban guerrillas. They are: Thanamandi, Kalakote, Budhal, Darhal, Sunderbani and Manjakote. The report has yet another sensational revelation: Like the Lashkar-e-Toiba and Harkat-ul-Mujahideen as well as the Hizbul Mujahideen, the Taliban militia personnel assigned with the task of refurbishing the anti-India activity in J&K also have their own 'hit-list' containing names of various individuals and institutions for their bullets and bombs. The report says: "Obviously, the ISI personnel had a role to play in the preparation of the Taliban's hit-list". The anger of the ISI and of Muslim fundamentalists against the Indian Army and paramilitary personnel has already become an open secret. What seems to have become disturbing for the mandarins in Delhi's North Block is the renewed threat by the Pakistan-aided ultras to intensify strikes against the Jammu and Kashmir Police force and camps. The Union Home Ministry, EXCELSIOR was officially told, had noted with "great satisfaction" the commitment of the J&K Police personnel to preserving law and order and restoring confidence among the people in various parts of the State. In the process, however, the Director-General of the J&K Police, Mr AK Suri, has found his name in the 'hit-list' of Pakistan-backed terrorists. If a radio intercept is any indication, the J&K Police chief has become a needle in the flesh of jihadis. Hence, the possibility of some kind of offensive against him and other higher-ups in the State Police force is not ruled out. |
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NEW DELHI, Mar 3: Out of the 24 new trains announced for the next fiscal year, at least two are exclusively for Orissa, the official sources said today. The new trains proposed for the state are Kurla-Bhubaneswar via Sambalpur Weekly Express and Bhubaneswar-Palasa Intercity Express. A new DMU service between Kharagpur via Jaleshwar to Bhubaneswar will also be introduced. The stream Safari will boost tourism in the state. Conversion of the Visakhapatanam-Bilaspur Express into a daily train and extension of the Kacheguda Palasa express upto Bhubaneswar will also benefit the people of the state, the sources added. Besides, the Howrah-Yashwantpur (Bangalore) bi-weekly express and the Howrah Trivandrum-Nagercoil weekly express will pass through and halt at various places in orissa, the sources said. Out of the 192.01 crore provided to the South Eastern Railway for construction of new lines in the next financial year, Rs 112 crore has been earmarked for Orissa. For doubling of lines, the SE Railway will be given Rs 153.80 crore of which Orissa’s share is Rs 90 crore. About Rs 55 crore are allotted for electrification programme of the railway track passing through Orissa, the sources said. Fifteen crore would be spent for modernisation signalling and telecommunication works in many stations and segments of the SE Railway. Remodelling of stations to accommodate trains with 24 to 26 coaches would be done in Puri, Rourkela, Jharsuguda and some other stations, the sources said. (UNI) |
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SC upholds death sentence to 2 NEW DELHI, Mar 3: In a rare instance, the Supreme Court has upheld the death sentence awarded to two on charges of killing three children aged between one and nine and their parents on the basis of the evidence given by a seven year-old who survived the attack. "Even after bestowing our anxious consideration, we cannot persuade ourselves to hold that this is not a rarest of rare cases in which lesser alternative is unquestionably foreclosed," a bench comprising Justice K T Thomas, Justice R P Sethi and Justice B N Agrawal said yesterday. Justice Thomas, with whom the other two judges agreed through a separate judgement, said the trial court and the High Court have given very cogent reasons and quite elaborately for choosing the extreme penalty. "We could not persuade ourselves in holding that A-1 Suresh and A-2 Ramji should be pulled out of the contours of the extremely limited sphere," he said. On the dispute over a small land, suresh, with the help of his brother-in-law Ramji, killed his brother Ramesh, his wifed choppers. One of the children, seven-year-old Jitendra, who sustained serious injuries but survived, told the trial court that he saw his uncle Suresh and Ramji "acting like demons, cutting the sleeping children with axe and cr". Lalji, uncle of Ramesh and Suresh, and neighbour Amar Singh corroborated the acts of Suresh and Ramji but did not attribute any overt act to Suresh’s wife Pavitri Devi, who was present near the scene. The trial court convicted the three but the Allahabad High Court acquitted Pavitri Devi from the charges of "common intention" under Section 34 of Indian Penal Code as the witnesses did not corroborate the story of the child witness about any overt act done by her. Justice Thomas said "it is difficult to conclude that a person, merely because he was present at or near the scene, without doing anything more, without carrying a weapon and without even marching along with the other assailants, could also be convicted with the aid of Section 34 for the offence committed by the other accused." To fasten the liability of Section 34 on a person, it is a must that an act, covert or overt, has to be done by him in the commission of a crime, he said. "But if no such act is done by a person, even if he has common intention with the others for the accomplishment of the crime, Section 34 cannot be invoked for convicting that person," the three-judge bench said. However, it said to do a covert or over act, the presence of a co-accused was not necessary for him to be convicted under Section 34, Justice Thomas said. (PTI) |
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