Highest ever toll in a single day in Poonch
20 terrorists killed, 5 captured

Excelsior Correspondent

POONCH, Nov 2: Troops of Poonch Brigade, assisted by the Border Security Force (BSF) and police, today created a history in this border district by eliminating 20 terrorists and apprehending five others in a single day without suffering any casualty.

All slain and captured terrorists were Pakistanis and activists of Harkat-ul-Mujahideen (HuM), Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) and Tehreek-ul-Jehad (TuJ) outfits. A huge quantity of weaponry including a latest version of assault rifles were recovered from possession of the slain terrorists, army and police sources said.

This was for first time in over a decade long militancy in twin border districts of Poonch and Rajouri that 20 terrorists were killed and five other arrested alive in a single day. A total of five encounters took place during the day today in Sabjian and Mandi belt on the Line of Control (LoC) and, in all the case, the terrorists killed were infiltrating into Indian territory from Pakistan, the sources said, adding all intrusion bids were beaten back.

The fiercest of the operations took place at village Meghna in Sabjian area at a height of 12,000 feet from sea level at 0930 hours today. This operation was carried out jointly by the soldiers of Poonch Brigade under command of Garrison Commander WJB Sturgeon and Poonch Police.

A total of seven terrorists were heading towards Kashmir valley after infiltrating through LoC in Sabjian when they were trapped on basis of a specific information. A hide and seek battle between the terrorists and the security personnel continued till this evening in which all seven terrorists were eliminated.

No casualties were reported on security forces side in the day long operation.

Sources said the group of Harkat-ul-Mujahideen was carrying the latest consignment of weapons including a newly introduced version of AK rifles. Troops, who executed the operation, were in process of bringing the seized consignment to Poonch. Details of exact recovery in this operation were awaited as army jawans were expected to reach here only tomorrow morning.

Simultaneously, army soldiers carried out another operation at Baran Wali Dhok, about two kms inside LoC, in Mandi sector this morning. Heavy fighting took place between the terrorists and the army personnel. Operation concluded at 1800 hours today in which all six terrorists, who too were the infiltrators, were gunned down by army.

Four AK rifles, a Pika gun, a Mouser, two Under Barrel Grenade Launchers (UBGL) and ammunition, two sophisticated wireless set and explosive material were recovered from the scene of encounter. Besides, literature of Azhar Masood’s Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) outfit was also recovered from the spot, which indicated the slain terrorists’ affiliation with outfit.

Yet another group of five infiltrators was noticed by security jawans in Dhanawali Dhok of Sabjian this afternoon. This group was challenged barely 100 meters inside LoC and asked to surrender.

However, the sources said, the intruders tried to escape back to Pakistan but were gunned down instantly by army jawans. Five AK rifles and a large quantity of ammunition and explosives were recovered from the slain terrorists.

Two more ultras were gunned down in a joint operation by army and BSF’s 28 battalion at Tamra in Sathra sector of Poonch this evening. Operation at Tamra was still going on with five more terrorists trapped by army and BSF jawans.

Searches were on when the reports last came in with security jawans following the fleeing terrorists in a forest area. Two AK-56 rifles and ammunition were recovered from their poossession.

In another operation, army jawans succeeded in apprehending five Pakistani terrorists alive when they had taken shelter in a village after infiltrating from Pakistan in Loran area of Mandi sector this morning.

The terrorists were whisked away to an army camp for interrogation. Arms and ammunition have been recovered from them.

They said army had gathered a prior information that Pakistan army was going to infiltrate large groups of the terrorists from LoC in Poonch sector today. In view of these reports, troops were maintaining a strict vigil on LoC, which resulted into five successful operations.

Bodies of the terrorists have been shifted to local posts for identification.

Meanwhile, army today recovered two AK-56 rifles, nine magazines, 285 rounds, one Chinese pistol with 32 rounds, one grenade and eight detonators from village Khadori Sali Sui in Kalakot tehsil of Rajouri district.

In same area yesterday, three terrorists and two army soldiers were killed.

Two army jawans were injured in Pak firing in Bhawani area of Nowshera sector this morning. Injured jawans have been admitted to hospital.

List of dead terrorists

Of 20 terrorists killed, 11 had been identified till this evening. Identity of nine others terrorists couldn’t be established immediately.

They were Shah Nawaz alias Toofan, Abdul Hamid, Manzoor Ahmed, Dillawar Haq, Zaffar Iqbal, Mohd Akbar, Rehmat Bhat, Abdullah Bhai, Showkat Hussain, Billal Lodhi and Hassan Mohd, all hailing from Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK).

US carpet-bombs Taliban; on alert at home

RABAT (AFGHANISTAN), Nov 2: US B-52s today carpet-bombed front lines of Afghanistan’s ruling Taliban north of the capital Kabul ahead of a promised offensive by the Taliban’s civil war foes.

As the US administration said it would send in more special forces and fight through the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, California’s Governor spoke of a "credible" threat against major bridges there — including the famous Golden Gate.

In Pakistan, a newspaper editor said white powder in an envelope hand-delivered had tested positive for anthrax spores, the first case of its kind outside the United States.

Opposition commander Mustafah, watching from his roof near the front line, said he saw flames and smoke rise from positions used by the Taliban to shell the opposition-held Bagram air base.

"These attacks are spot on," another opposition commander, Rellozai, said from the roof of his front-line base as US bombs and missiles targeted Taliban positions.

The Northern Alliance opposition, which controls about 10 per cent of Afghanistan, has urged Washington to step up its air strikes on Taliban lines before a promised opposition offensive.

Washington’s strategy has focused on promoting a broad-based alliance incorporating the Northern Alliance, the majority Pashtun, from which the Taliban draw their support, and other ethnic groups across the impoverished country.

That effort suffered a major setback when the Taliban, targeted for harbouring Saudi-born fugitive Osama bin Laden, caught and executed veteran Mujahideen fighter Abdul Haq as he tried to rally support from moderate Pashtuns.

The Pakistani-based Afghan Islamic Press said on Friday the Taliban had arrested 25 followers of tribal leader Hamid Karzai, a supporter of ex-king Zahir Shah, and planned to execute some.

A Taliban minister in Kabul, quoted by the agency, said the Taliban yesterday attacked Karzai’s camp forcing him to flee to the hills after a battle in which two of his men were killed.

Hamid’s brother, Ahmed Karzai, said he had spoken to his brother, who was in Afghanistan on a mission similar to Haq’s.

"That is all lies, it is not true," he told Reuters in the southwestern Pakistani city of Quetta.

The Taliban, who have imposed their own strict interpretation of Islam on Afghanistan, say 1,500 people have been killed since October 7, when the US-led alliance launched an air campaign.

Washington says bin Laden masterminded September 11 hijack attacks which killed up to 4,800 people in the United States.

Bin Laden, in a letter released and certified as authentic by Qatar’s Al-Jazeera television station, urged Muslims to defend Islam against what he called a Christian crusade.

"Muslims in Afghanistan are being subjected to killing and the Pakistani Government is standing beneath the Christian banner," the letter said.

Bin Laden and the Taliban have enlisted the sympathy of Muslims in different parts of the world with calls for Jihad.

The Governor of the war-battered city of Kandahar, where rubble from flattened houses litters the streets, said the fundamentalist Taliban movement would survive even if US forces kill their leader, Mullah Mohammad Omar.

"There will be no panic," Mullah Hasan Rehmani told a news conference when asked about US raids that have targeted Taliban positions and those of the reclusive Mullah Omar in particular.

"We are Muslims, we are an organisation. These things do happen, but one person can be replaced by others," he said.

Residents in Kandahar speaking to foreign reporters on a Taliban guided visit — only the second since the start of the US raids 27 days ago — were filled with praise for Mullah Omar and bin Laden.

Foreign reporters saw Taliban fighters armed with rocket launchers and assault rifles scattered in the Kandahar area but no concentration of forces or weapons.

"We have a huge reservoir of weapons," Governor Rehmani said. "We are sure there will be no shortage of weapons.

In the volatile Pakistani city of Karachi, armed police guarded the US consulate before Friday Muslim prayers.

In Indonesia, the world’s largest Muslim nation, some 3,000 members of the Muslim-oriented Justice Party held an anti-US protest after Friday prayers in East Java’s capital Surabaya.

In the capital Jakarta, there appeared to be little anger.

About 2,500 people in the capital of Muslim Bangladesh protested against the US-led attacks and police stopped several hundred radical Muslims marching on the US embassy.

In Pakistan, anthrax, the bacteria that has killed four people in the United States, turned up at a newspaper office in the form of a press release envelope which contained white powder... And it has tested positive for containing anthrax pores,’’ Mehmood Sham, editor of Pakistan’s largest Urdu-language newspaper daily Jang, told Reuters by telephone.

The private Agha Khan University Hospital identified anthrax spores and staff were being put on medication, he said.

It was the first confirmed case of anthrax outside the United States, where 16 people have been infected since the bacteria began turning up in the mail in October.

An official close to the investigation and Western diplomats said there were two previous cases of anthrax in Pakistan, which has thrown its weight behind US strikes on Afghanistan, but that authorities did not want to spark panic over the first two.

US officials have been unable to trace the source of the anthrax, but say it might be linked to bin Laden.

Yesterday, Washington ruled out a military pause for Ramadan, which starts in mid-November.

"This is an enemy that has to be taken on and taken on aggressively and pressed to the end," US National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice said, after pleas from Muslim nations for a pause. "We can’t afford to have a pause."

The US Government warned of the risk of fresh attacks and put police on a state of high alert this week.

California Governor Gray Davis yesterday said he had "credible" information indicating the state’s major suspension bridges — including San Francisco’s Golden Gate bridge —could be bombed in a rush-hour attack between today and Wednesday. (REUTERS)

Mumbai serial blasts conspiracy
CBI implicates Dutt, 122 others

MUMBAI, Nov 2: Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has implicated all the 123 accused, including film star Sanjay Dutt, in the conspiracy leading to serial explosions here on March 12, 1993, in which more than 200 people were killed and several maimed.

In written arguments running into 896 pages, CBI has accused them of participating in the conspiracy to commit terrorist acts in India at the behest of Dawood Ibrahim, Tiger Memon and other absconding accused.

The arguments were submitted before designated judge P D Kode yesterday, who has directed the investigating agency to explain how every accused was linked to the conspiracy.

CBI alleged that arms and ammunition, transported from Pakistan, landed at Shekhadi and Dighi coasts in Raigad district of Maharashtra.

RDX was used for the first time in India in these explosions and it was transported in gunny bags and cardboard boxes. The stamp on a cardboard box bore the letters "Wah Nobel Pvt Ltd", the CBI said.

"Wah Nobel Pvt Ltd" manufactured various types of explosives and was located at Wah Cantonment near Islamabad in Pakistan, CBI alleged.

According to CBI, the landing at Dighi was organised by absconding accused Mohammed Dossa on January 9, 1993. In these landings, arms, ammunition and hand grenades were smuggled.

The next landing at Shekhadi on February 3 and 9, 1993 were organised by absconding accused Tiger Memon and the consignment consisted of RDX, rifles and ammunition, the court was told.

Based on confessions made by the co-accused and their passports, CBI alleged that nearly 25 accused were sent to Pakistan via Dubai for arms training at the behest of Tiger Memon and Dawood Ibrahim.

Security and other immigration formalities were avoided at Islamabad airport and the accused were whisked away to a far off jungle, where they were taught how to make car bombs, plant explosives and handle AK-56 rifles, besides hand grenades.

On the involvement of Sanjay Dutt in the conspiracy, CBI has harped on his statement of confession in which he has admitted to have possessed AK-56 rifle. This piece of evidence attracted section 5 of TADA (P) Act which banned possession of terrorist weapons in a notified area, CBI pleaded.

CBI had also dwelt upon the confessions of the co-accused to show that film producers Samir Hingora and Hanif Kadawala had gone to Sanjay Dutt’s bungalow to deliver weapons in January 1993.

Instruction given by the actor to the security guards to move outside his bungalow to facilitate delivery of arms was indicative of his intention to participate in the conspiracy, CBI submitted.

Sanjay’s statement of confession also showed alleged "guilt" in his mind because he had allegedly instructed his friend Yusuf Nullwalla on telephone from Mauritius to destroy the AK-56 rifle kept in his house, CBI pleaded.

Finally, the CBI focussed its submissions on the alleged planting of explosives in cars, jeeps and two wheelers in the garages of Tiger Memon’s building Al-Husseini at Mahim in Central Mumbai. Traces of RDX were also found there. (PTI)

Cop killed, militants trapped in Budgam

Excelsior Special Correspondent

SRINAGAR, Nov 2: Even as two residential houses gutted and a group of four Hizbul Mujahideen militants was trapped in Chewa village of Budgam district this evening, militants ambushed a district Police party, killing a head constable in Chadoura area of Budgam today. Meanwhile, bodies of two militants has been recovered in Gurez sector and Police has recovered a dead body from Nageen Lake. Meanwhile, unidentified gunmen fired gunshots on Rawalpora house of the separatist leader, Abdul Gani Lone, last evening.

Militants ambushed a small party of Police Station Chadoura, near Tujan village of Chrar-e-Sharif in Budgam district in the forenoon today. Even as Police fought back valiantly and forced the militants to withdraw, head constable Ghulam Mohammad of Khurhama Kupwara, got killed and two more sustained injuries. Militants decamped with the carbine of the head constable killed in the clash.

Informed sources at Budgam told EXCELSIOR that the 4-member party of Police Station Chadoura had visited Hayatpora-Malpora villages after an individual reported the theft of his horse and identified some suspects. Police boarded a private Tata Sumo, JK01D-8520, and proceeded to the hilly terrain for recovery and arrests. While the party was returning to Chadoura empty-handed, militants fired burts of automatic gunfire and deflated the Sumo’s tyres. No sooner did the head constable get off, apparently for surrender, exchange of fire took place between the two sides. The head constable sustained critical injuries and later died at SKIMS.

SPO Jalal-ud-din and two constables repulsed the militant strike and forced them to retreat. They decamped with the carbine of the head constable. SPO Jalal and driver of the civil vehicle, Fayaz Ahmed, sustained minor injuries. Complainant of the minor criminal case, Ghulam Ahmed Wani, also sustained some injuries.

A Hizbul Mujahideen spokesman claimed that militants of his outfit left three constables dead and four more injured and they escaped with the machinegun of a head constable.

Sources said that this evening, troops of Rashtriya Rifles 02 Bn and SOG Waripora swooped on a militant hideout at Chewa village inWadwan-Narbal belt of Budgam district. As per the specific information available with the security forces, four militants of Hizbul Mujahideen (including the top-wanted SPO-turned-militant Mudasar Ahmed Dar of Chatabug) were present in the village. During the operation, troops engaged the holed up militants in a fierce gunbattle and destroyed two residential houses. However, it could not be ascertained whether any militants or soldiers had got killed or injured in the operation that was going on till reports last came in at midnight.

Delayed reports from Gurez said that two Pakistani militants—both identified as Mohammad Haleem—died in an encounter with security forces in Nowshera Nar area, close to LoC, on Wednesday last. Two of their AK-56 rifles have been seized.

Here in the capital city, Police fished out dead body of one Dawood Ahmed Rather of Watrigam, Baramulla, from Nageen Lake today. Cause of death could not be ascertained immediately.

Gurudwara gutted

Reports from Baramulla said that a small Gurudwara gutted in a mysterious blast last night at Gundbal in Rafee-abad area. Even as residents believed that the blaze originated due to a burning candle, SSP Baramulla A.Q.Manhas said that cause of the fire was being ascertained. DIG, DC and SSP of Baramulla visited the spot today.

'Taliban getting military supplies from Pak'

WASHINGTON, Nov 2: US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said today Afghanistan’s ruling Taliban may still be getting military supplies from Pakistan and did not rule out Osama bin Laden’s Al Qaeda network having got some nuclear material from persons arrested in Pakistan.

Asked about the report that Pakistan is continuing to provide military supplies and other supplies to the Taliban and whether he plans to discuss this with President Pervez Musharraf during his proposed visit to Pakistan, Rumsfeld said "there is no question that countries bordering Afghanistan have long histories of relationships of contacts across borders."

"All I can say is I don’t doubt for a minute there are people in any number of countries who have relationships and dealings across the border that are not helpful to us," he said.

Rumsfeld, however, said "there is also no question but that Pakistan and the President of Pakistan and his Government are very much alive to this effort and that they have been enormously supportive and helpful (to the US).

"Therefore, to suggest that it is a conscious effort on the part of the Government (to help the Taliban with military supplies) would be a misunderstanding of the situation," he said adding "I will discuss this with the President of Pakistan if and when I go."

Rumsfeld was specifically asked whether the US has any knowledge that either the Taliban or Al Qaeda have obtained nuclear weapons or know-how from Pakistan, Rumsfeld replied he has seen those reports.

"The short answer", he said, "is we know and have certain knowledge that the Al Qaeda has over the years had an appetite for acquiring weapons of mass destruction of various types, including nuclear materials. That is a fact."

Terrorist networks acquiring weapons of mass destruction, he said, is a danger to the world because instead of killing many more thouands of people, they could kill many hundreds of thousands of people.

Rumsfeld was asked about reports that Pakistan Government had taken into custody at least one of its nuclear weapons technicians and scientists who have known ties to and sympathies for Osama bin Laden’s Al Qaeda.

As to the safety of Pakistan’s nuclear stockpile, Rumsfeld said "I am sure the President of Pakistan has attended to that."

Question: It has not been compromised?

Rumsfeld: Not at all. The United States is widening its support for groups opposing Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers and will not restrict its aid to the Northern Alliance, Rumsfeld said.

He said Washington was supplying arms and ammunition when he was asked if US forces were aiding opposition troops around the western city of Herat.

"We are trying to increase the number of forces that are opposing Taliban and Al-Qaeda forces; we are trying to improve their success," Rumsfeld said. (AFP)

SC bans smoking in public places

NEW DELHI, Nov 2: In a major boost to public health and a stinging blow to the cigarette industry, the Supreme Court today directed all states and union territories to immediately issue orders banning smoking in public places and public transports, including railways.

Hearing a PIL against smoking filed by Maharashtra Congress leader Murli Deora, a bench comprising Justice M B Shah and Justice R P Sethi also asked the Commissioners of Police of Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai,Kolkata, Bangalore and Ahmedabad to submit status reports of action taken against

The order banning smoking in public places would include hospitals, health institutes, public offices, public transports including railways, court buildings, educational institutions, libraries and auditoriums, the court said.

The order was passed by the bench after a suggestion to this effect was given by petitioner’s counsel, senior advocate Indira Jaising. Attorney General Soli Sorabjee, representing the Union Government, agreed with the suggestions.

The State Governments of Delhi, Goa and Rajasthan have enacted laws banning smoking in public places, while the Centre is in the process of enacting an anti-smoking legislation. The bill to this effect placed before Parliament by the Centre has been referred to a parliamentary select committee. Highlighting the ill-effects of smoking, the petitioner had sought banning of smoking in public places and also creation of an anti-tobacco fund to give medical help to the victims of tobacco. Deora, in his petition, has sought a direction from the court to the cigarette and tobacco product manufacturing companies to contribute for the creation of the fund.

Jaising, had during earlier arguments, highlighted the blatant violation of the advertisement code by cigarette manufacturers in putting bill boards on the roadside as well as in advertisements through other media.

She had contended that the statutory warnings, as per the advertisement code, had to be given in a certain size to keep the public aware of the harmful effects of smoking. However, generally the statutory warning was given in such small print that it evades readers’ attention.

The petitioner had also sought a direction from the court for banning sale of cigarettes and tobacco products to persons below the age of 18 years to check abuse by children.

The court adjourned the matter for six weeks to get report from the commissioners of police and also to hear other prayers of the petitioner. (PTI)

Pak proxy militants to stay in J&K

From B L Kak

NEW DELHI, Nov 2: Pakistan has trained and armed Islamic guerrillas fighting in Kashmir. And Islamabad is firm on its description of Kashmir as the central issue.

Reporting from Srinagar for New York Times Service, John Kifner has stated that with Kashmir an emotional, central issue since statehood, there is no sign that Pakistan is pulling back its proxy militants.

Describing the narrow twisting streets of the Maisuma quarter in Srinagar as a "hotbed of Kashmiri separatism", John Kifner has noted that it was hardly unusual in the Kashmir valley where a dozen or so people "are killed every day in a struggle over identity simmering for more than 50 years, now a proxy war between Pakistan and India".

The US publication, New York Times, has said that as the US tries to hold together its alliance against terrorism, it is running into a tough, international version of the dictum that "all politics is local", and not just in the once-obscure differences between Pashtun tribesmen and Afghanistan’s ethnic Tajik, Uzbek and Hazara minorities.

The geography, the publication says, is bookended by two struggles, intractable for more than half a century: Palestinian-Israeli conflict and Kashmir. Either could unravel the US effort. "History’s great game is reversed here", it states, "as the two rivals on the Indian subcontinent try to manipulate outside powers to their advantage, for instance the lifting of sanctions imposed for developing nuclear weapons".

On Kashmir, US Secretary of State, Gen Colin Powell, according to the publication, has been "squeezed between New Delhi and Islamabad". And John Kifner’s conclusion: "India and Pakistan cannot compromise. Each claims Kashmir is a matter of honour, and they have fought two wars over the region since the division of British India in 1947".

The New York Times has quoted the J&K Congress party president, Mr Mohammed Shafi Qureshi, as saying: "No Government of India can surrender a single inch of Kashmir. No Government in Pakistan can give up, because they have been feeding this tiger for a very long time".

If the write-up in the US publication is any guide, the Kashmir issue is "particularly delicate" for Pakistan President and military ruler, Gen Parvez Musharraf. The publication insists that he has reversed policies to back the US campaign against Osama bin Laden and the Taliban leaders "sheltering him", and is now under tremendous pressure from Islamic militants.

Gen Musharraf, as reported by Pakistan Television (PTV) on Friday, has emphasized that his Government’s "principled support" to the international effort for combating terrorism has helped Pakistan achieve four major national objectives-integrity and security of Pakistan, safety of its strategic assets, avoiding any damage to the Kashmir cause and rehabilitation of the national economy.

Asserting that Pakistan has not gone for any quid pro quo or sought any deal for supporting the Americans to combat terrorism, Gen Musharraf said that he was happy to note that there was a growing realisation that Pakistan should be fully compensated through new access to markets as well as generous bilateral and multilateral support. The US was considering to offer one billion dollars to Pakistan. Washington and its coalition partners have already committed 800 million dollar cash grant besides 600 million dollars for Afghan refugees.

Referring to his meetings with leaders from different countries who have visited Pakistan in the past weeks, Gen Musharraf said that he took satisfaction in the fact that there was a broad understanding and appreciation of Pakistan’s point of view on the current situation. He said that a consensus was also visible on the issue of future political dispensation for Afghanistan and the rehabilitation of the country and its people.

Lone escapes bid on life

SRINAGAR, Nov 2: Senior Hurriyat leader Abdul Gani Lone escaped an attempt on his life when suspected militants attacked his house here last night, one day after the State Government downgraded security at the residence.

Lone and his family members were in when an unspecified number of heavily-armed gunmen sprayed bullets at his Sanatnagar residence around 2110 hrs.

He told reporters here that no one was injured in the 30-minute gunbattle with his security guards with the ultras escaping under the cover of darkness.

Official sources said the firing was so intense that bullets hit the bedroom and other areas in the house. The room where the security personnel were put up bore the brunt of the firing, they said.

No militant group has claimed responsibility and the motive of the attack was also not immediately known, they said.

The strength of the security guards posted for his personal security were reduced by the Government after some of them were recalled on October 31, Lone said.

Officials, however, suspected the hand of Al-Barq militant group in the wake of reports that it had recently demanded Lone to handover immediately all assets of the organisation. The Hurriyat leader has, however, denied links with any militant groups in the past or present.

"I have no concrete proof as to who was behind the attack," Lone said while expressing surprise that the attack came a day after Government downgraded the security cover at his residence. "It is really fishy," Lone said adding he and his family members escaped by the grace of god.

Lone criticised Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah for scaling down his security instead of beefing it up despite being aware of the threats to him.

He accused intelligence agencies of India and Pakistan of engineering the attacks on politicians in the State.

"I am not among the politicians who toe the line of any agency," he said. (PTI)

US for branding LeT, JeM as terrorist bodies

WASHINGTON, Nov 2: In a boost to India’s campaign for action against Pakistan-based militant outfits, US’ top law enforcer has recommended to the State Department to declare Lashkar-e-Toiba, Jaish-e-Mohammad and some other groups as "terrorist organisations."

Attorney General John Ashcroft, in a communication to Secretary of State Colin Powell, said Lashkar-e-Toiba, Jaish-e-Mohammad and several other militant outfits, whose assets were frozen by the Bush administration after the September 11 terror strikes, should be branded as "terrorist organisations".

He said: "I hereby request that you designate as terrorist organisations certain groups that the President has identified in executive order.

"The executive order finds these organizations commit, or provide material support for, terrorist acts, and thus satisfies the statutory predicate for your designation."

Lashkar and Jaish had figured in the list of the organisations and individuals whose assets were frozen by President George W Bush for having "links" with terrorist mastermind Osama bin Laden or his Al-Qaeda network.

Designating the Jaish and Lashkar as terrorist organisations is a long-standing demand of India, so far resisted by the State Department which has, instead, placed them in the category of "other terrorist groups".

Rabita Trust of Lahore, alleged to be a front for fund raising for terrorists and of which Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf was also reportedly a board member, is among the outfits recommended for branding as terrorist organisations. (PTI)

Minor reshuffle of portfolios

NEW DELHI, Nov 2: In a minor reshuffling of ministerial portfolios, Minister of State in Prime Minister’s Office Vijay Goel has been divested of the charge of planning which has now been given as additional charge to Ms Vasundhara Raje.

Mr Shripad Yesso Naik and Mr Hukumdeo Narayan Yadav, Ministers of State in Charge of Shipping and Agriculture have exchanged their portfolios.

The reshuffle comes less than a month after the last cabinet expansion in which Mr George Fernandes and Mr Harin Pathak were re-inducted in the Council of Ministers. (UNI)

3 MoD officials held for spying

NEW DELHI, Nov 2: Busting a spy racket, Delhi Police has arrested three civilians working with the Navy for allegedly passing on sensitive documents to an official of the Pakistan High Commission here, police said.

Police said Mohammed Abdul Samad, an assistant in the Directorate of Marine Engineering at the Naval Headquarters, had been passing sensitive information to Gulam Shabbir Khan of the Pakistan High Commission.

Giving details, police said investigations revealed that Samad had introduced two more persons — Francis Prakash and Babul Nath Maurya to Khan.

On a specific information that Samad alongwith his accomplicee Prakash would come to deliver defence related secret documents to the Pakistani official, police laid a trap late last night and arrested the two and detained the Pakistani official, police said.

A case under the Official Secrets Act has been registered against the officials, they added.

The accused, during intensive interrogation, disclosed that their third associate Babul Nath Maurya was waiting for them near a bridge.

They said Maurya was in possession of defence related secret documents which they had to collect to pass them on to the Pakistan High Commission official, police said.

Police said Maurya was arrested and the secret documents were recovered from him.

Meanwhile, Gulam Shabbir Khan, the Pakistani High Commission official has been handed over to the Ministry of External Affairs and further investigation was on, police said. (PTI)

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