200 killed in anti-American protests
US bombs Taliban, looks for Anthrax

WASHINGTON, KABUL, Oct 14: US warplanes again pounded Afghanistan today, beginning a second week of air strikes against Islamic Taliban rulers and loyalists of Osama bin Laden, while US security agencies searched for those who have spread Anthrax to a growing number of US states.

Anti-American protests around the world were at their bloodiest in a northern Nigerian city where at least 200 people were killed in two days of religious clashes, residents said.

At the end of the first week of a US air campaign against bin Laden, his shadowy Al Qaeda network and the ruling Taliban, waves of planes struck targets around the Afghan capital Kabul and three other key cities.

The United States believes bin Laden masterminded the September 11 hijack attacks that flattened New York’s World Trade Center, damaged the Pentagon and killed nearly 5,400 people. President George W Bush has declared that the Taliban, which shelters bin Laden in Afghanistan, will share his fate.

With the United States on high alert for further attacks, US Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson said many Americans were rattled by the cases of Anthrax turning up around the country.

"There are a lot of people in America that are afraid, and understandably so, because bioterrorism has never hit America before," he said on the Fox news Sunday program.

"They don’t know about Anthrax, they don’t know about Botulism, things like this. So they’re afraid," he said.

Five cases of possible exposure to Anthrax are being tested in Florida, which could take the total number of known cases in the state to eight and in the nation to nine. An NBC News employee was infected in New York, and a second employee of the TV network is undergoing tests.

The bacteria was also discovered in a letter mailed from Malaysia to a microsoft office in Reno, Nevada.

Asked if he suspected terrorists were behind the recent spate of Anthrax cases, Thompson replied: "you’ve got to suspect that it’s possible."

He said sending Anthrax bacteria through the mail would "definitely" be terrorism, but added that Al Qaeda would not necessarily be to blame. Thompson said it could be carried out by someone with a grudge.

"We have no imminent threats of any chemical or biological attack at this time in America," he said.

US Attorney General John Ashcroft today said that some of the people responsible for the September 11 attacks were likely still in the country.

"I believe that it is very unlikely that all of those individuals who were associated with or involved with the terrorism events of Sept 11 and other terrorism events that may have been prepositioned and preplanned have been apprehended," Ashcroft told NBC’s "meet the press" program.

"We are doing everything possible to disrupt, interrupt, prevent, to destabilize any additional activity," Ashcroft said. "We are on alert."

Al Qaeda warned the United States and Britain to end the air strikes and get out of the Gulf or suffer more violent attacks and a "storm of hijacked planes."

Anti-aircraft fire erupted over the Afghan capital, Kabul, for an eighth night today as planes of US-led forces flew over the city, CNN television said.

Tracers from the anti-aircraft guns could be seen lighting up the night sky, but there was no sign the planes had begun bombing targets around Kabul yet.

Sporadic anti-aircraft fire erupted in the morning as a single plane screamed above the city. The fire from the ground was weak, indicating the city’s anti-aircraft defenses may have suffered severe damage.

Jets bombed military targets and the airport in southern Kandahar, the old royal capital and Taliban redoubt, causing a fire, the Pakistan-based Afghan Islamic Press reported. Herat airport in Western Afghanistan was also pounded in five raids from 3:00 local time 0430 hrs IST, it said.

In Jalalabad in the east, US warplanes dropped some bombs on a military base, witnesses and news agencies said.

The first strikes hit an army installation and wounded at least six people, the Afghan Islamic Press said. Two more bombs exploded on the outskirts, believed to be dotted with guerrilla camps.

The Taliban estimates that more than 300 people, mostly civilians, have been killed since air raids began on October 7 and yesterday the Pentagon acknowledged a 2,000-pound (900 kg) bomb had hit a house in Kabul after missing its target at the airport. At least one person died and four were wounded by the bomb.

"We regret the loss of any civilian life," the US Defence department said in a statement. "Preliminary indications are that the accident occurred from a targeting process error."

In the eastern village of Khorum, Taliban officials said as many as 200 people may have been killed when a simple collection of mud huts and livestock pens was flattened in an air raid on Wednesday.

"We are poor people, don’t hit us," an old man said. "We have nothing to do with Osama bin Laden. We are innocent people."

Taliban officials say 160 bodies have already been pulled from the rubble, and villagers from neighboring hamlets were still scrambling around looking for more when a group of reporters accompanied by the Taliban toured the area.

The Taliban intelligence chief said on Sunday his radical Islamic movement wanted opposition commanders to join them to fight US-led attacks on the country.

Qari Ahmadullah was quoted by the Pakistan-based AIP as saying that Taliban leader Mullah Mohammad Omar had issued orders not to seize weapons from opposition fighters who joined hands with his radical Islamic movement.

The Taliban control more than 90 percent of Afghanistan, the rest of which is held by the opposition Northern Alliance.

But senior Afghan opposition commander General Abdul Rashid Dostum said anti-Taliban forces were preparing a "fierce offensive" in the key northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif.

The US airstrikes have yet to target the large concentration of Taliban forces north of Kabul, which are blocking the advance of the opposition Northern Alliance.

Washington has promised Pakistan its military campaign will not give undue advantage to the opposition, mostly made up of minority Uzbek and Tajik ethnic groups.

U S Secretary of State Colin Powell arrives in Islamabad tomorrow to discuss the bombing of Afghanistan with military ruler General Pervez Musharraf, knowing many Pakistanis violently oppose US policy.

The call to arms by the Taliban and Al Qaeda has been largely rejected in the Muslim world, but anti-US protests continued.

Thousands of people fleeing to safe havens in military barracks in the Nigerian city of Kano reported an orgy of killings overnight by gangs of militants triggered by anti-US protests.

One of the worst hit areas was Zangon district on the city’s outskirts, a Muslim stronghold with a significant Christian minority. Those fleeing were Christians.

In Pakistan’s southern Jacobabad, one person was killed and 12 injured on Sunday when police fired in the air and used teargas against stone-throwing demonstrators protesting against the presence of US forces at the local airport, witnesses said.

In Indonesia, police arrested 65 anti-American demonstrators in Jakarta and would charge them with weapons offenses, sparking angry scenes outside police headquarters. (REUTERS).

Bush rejects new Taliban offer to handover Laden

WASHINGTON, Oct 14: US President George W Bush immediately rejected an offer today from the Taliban to discuss handing over Osama bin Laden if the United States stopped bombing Afghanistan.

"The President has been very clear, there will be no negotiations," White House spokeswoman Anne Womack said.

In Jalalabad, Afghanistan, the third most powerful figure in the ruling Taliban regime told reporters that the Taliban also would require evidence that bin Laden was behind the Sept 11 terrorist attacks in the United States.

"We would be ready to hand him over to a third country," one that would never "come under pressure from the United States," if those two conditions were met, Deputy Prime Minister Haji Abdu Kabir said.

The offer came exactly one week after Bush ordered military strikes in Afghanistan in his campaign to eradicate terrorism. The morning of the strikes, Bush rejected a similar offer from the Taliban.

Haji Abdul Kabir told reporters that the Taliban would require evidence that bin Laden was behind the Sept 11 terrorist attacks in the United States.

"If the Taliban is given evidence that Osama bin Laden is involved and the bombing campaign stopped, we would be ready to hand him over to a third country," he said and added that Taliban would never "come under pressure from the United States." Kabir urged the United States to halt the air campaign, now in its eighth day, and open negotiations.

"If America were to step back from the current policy, then we could negotiate," he said. "Then we could discuss which third country."

Before the start of the air campaign, the Taliban had demanded evidence of bin Laden’s involvement in the attack and had offered to try him before an Islamic court inside Afghanistan - proposals which the United States promptly rejected.

Even though Kabir’s statement did not mark a breakthrough, the fact that the Taliban was showing some flexibility at this time was significant in the wake of a week long punishing air strikes. (AP)

Al Qadea links Kashmir with current conflict

LONDON, Oct 14: For the first time, Osama bin Laden’s Al-Qaeda terrorist network has brought Kashmir into its current conflict with the US and its allies by demanding that they should stop supporting India on the issue.

In a videotaped statement telecast last night by Qatar’s Al-Jazeera television channel, Al-Qaeda spokesman Sulaiman Abu Ghaith threatened the US and Britain with more suicide attacks and cautioned Muslims against travelling by air and staying in high-rise buildings.

"These storms (of planes) will not calm until you retreat in defeat in Afghanistan, stop your assistance to the Jews in Palestine...Leave the Arabian peninsula and stop your support for the Hindus against the Muslims in Kashmir," he said.

While the reference to Kashmir by Al-Qaeda in itself is a new development in the current drive against terrorism, it does not surprise Indian security and intelligence agencies who have for long known about the involvement of bin Laden’s mercenaries in Jammu and Kashmir.

Home Minister L K Advani said in Agra yesterday that bin Laden and his outfit were closely associated with terrorist groups in Jammu and Kashmir as was evident from the recovery of bin Laden’s photographs from apprehended and slain terrorists.

Britain and the US termed the latest Al-Qaeda statement as just more propoganda.

The threats could "leave no one in any doubt of the organisation’s intentions to continue, conduct and incite acts of terrorism," the Downing Street said.

Prime Minister Tony Blair’s spokesman said the latest threats were irrefutable confirmation that bin Laden and his network had masterminded the Sept 11 attacks on the US.

"We totally condemn this latest Al-Qaeda statement," the spokesman said. "It follows the pattern of a number of such statements in the last few weeks".

The Al-Qaeda spokesman specifically threatened US President George W Bush, his father George Bush Sr as well as former President Bill Clinton. (PTI)

Bush plans post-Taliban Afghanistan

WASHINGTON, Oct 14: President George W Bush, despite his opposition to "nation-building," has begun to plan for a future Afghanistan Government if the Taliban regime should fall under US-led attacks, a US official said today.

The official confirmed Bush was taking part in National Security Council meetings that discussed early planning of a successor to the Taliban and dealt with issues such as creating a coalition Government, economic reconstruction and security.

Asked whether Bush was participating in such meetings, first reported by the New York Times today, the official said, "yes, I know about them."

Experts have said the United States must play a role in shaping a Government in Afghanistan to avoid a dangerous power vacuum in the country and Central Asia if the Taliban is overthrown.

US-led air strikes on Afghanistan began a week ago with the aim of crippling the Taliban military and disrupting the Al Qaeda network of Osama bin Laden, accused of masterminding the September 11 attacks on the Unite States.

Bush’s attention to a post-Taliban Government comes despite his long-held opposition to "nation-building," or establishing civil administration in a politically unstable country.

The New York Times today reported that Bush had discussed in at least two recent security council meetings how the United States and allies in its "war on terrorism" could help Afghans form a New Government.

The newspaper quoted a senior official as saying Bush wanted to avoid a recurrence of a Government that provided a safe haven for terrorism, which Bush accuses the Taliban of doing.

In his Presidential campaign, Bush criticized past US attempts at "nation-building" in Somalia and Haiti.

But he softened that opposition at a news conference on Thursday, saying the United States would be willing to participate in a possible UN effort to reconstruct an Afghanistan Government.

"It would be a useful function for the United Nations to take over the so-called nation building — I would call it the stabilisation of a future Government — after our military mission is complete," Bush said. "We’ll participate. Other countries will participate."

He said "all interested parties" in Afghanistan should have a role in a new Government, that future stability would guard against a resurgence of terrorism, and that eradicating drug trafficking should also be a priority.

The United States has kept some distance from the opposition Northern Alliance in Afghanistan, although it appears to have share intelligence. Experts say the alliance lacks the ethnic breadth to single-handedly replace the Taliban in ruling the country. (REUTERS)

'World appreciating Indian stand'
Wipe out roots of terrorism: PM

AGRA, Oct 14: Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee today charged Pakistan with changing the definition of terrorism according to its convenience and asked the international community to wipe out not only the symbols of the menace but its roots as well.

Addressing the national convention of BJP’s youth wing here on the second anniversary of the party-led Government at the Centre, Vajpayee referred to Islamabad’s acceptance of the October one attack on Jammu and Kashmir Assembly as an act of terrorism and asked "what about other similar incidents? will the definition change according to Pakistan’s convenience".

In an apparent reference to US air strikes on Afghanistan, Vajpayee said "it is not enough to merely recognise that terrorism is the greatest enemy of humanity or to wipe out just its symbol. It is equally important to wipe out the very roots of terrorism."

Asserting that his Government was "strong, stable and determined to crush terrorism with a heavy hand", he said the world was beginning to appreciate India’s stand on the issue and asked the people to remain vigilant about elements trying to foment trouble in the country following the US military action against Afghanistan.

The Prime Minister, however, said India was not in favour of a prolonged war in Afghanistan and wanted the misguided people there to retract from their destructive path. "It is important to build pressure on them and win them over," he said.

"We will continue to fight terrorism and crush it with all our might. We will endeavour to ensure the safety and security of all our citizens. There will be no compromise with terrorism," Vajpayee declared at the BJYM convention, seen by political analysts as the launch pad of party’s campaign for the upcoming UP Assembly election.

The Prime Minister asked the people to maintain peace and communal harmony and remain vigilant against rising fundamentalism and efforts to mislead people through provocative slogans.

"The whole country should stand united. Together we should solve our problems. Our defence forces are strong and vigilant and ready to face any threat. No one should be allowed to attack our sovereignty," he said.

Vajpayee said people are wise and can see through the ploy of some to foment trouble over the developments in Afghanistan.

"People understand the pains of terrorism which does not discriminate between religions as is evident from the killing of Muslims in Kashmir. Terrorism does not believe in religion. It merely uses it to gain a foothold," he said.

The Prime Minister expressed happiness over the cooperation extended by the opposition to the Government on the issue. "We will work in consultation with them and discharge our responsibility," he said.

He, however, asked the opposition not to oppose his Government or level corruption charges against it for the sake of doing it. "We are making all out efforts against corruption. The corrupt should be brought to book and punished. We will probe all such charges if they are substantiated," he said.

Vajpayee said it would be doing injustice to country’s image and future to level such baseless charges.

He pooh-poohed his Government’s critics who did not give more than a couple of months for its survival.

"The Government is stable and strong, dealing with nation’s problems and taking the right decision at the international level," he said.

Vajpayee said while the country’s progress was not up to expectations and aspirations of the people, the number of those living below poverty line had decreased and employment opportunities increased.

The Government, he said, had launched a crusade against poverty and the party’s youth cadre should ensure that information about Government’s schemes and policies reaches the people. "There is change. But it should be seen and experienced by the people."

Referring to the starvation problem in Orissa, he said while the foodgrain stocks were brimming, people were forced to eat poisonous fruits as they could not afford to buy even the subsidised foodgrain.

The Government, he said, had launched a ‘food for work scheme’ for such people to ensure that no one went to bed without food.

Expressing concern over non-and-improper utilisation of Central assistance to the States, he said the Government was determined to change the situation. (PTI)

Union cabinet expansion today

NEW DELHI, Oct 14: The Union Cabinet will be expanded tomorrow amidst strong indications that Samata Party leader George Fernandes is making a re-entry and possibly given the Defence portfolio he quit in the wake of Tehelka expose in March.

An almost sure reinduction into the Council of Ministers tomorrow is Harin Pathak, BJP MP from Gujarat, who quit last year after his name figured in a chargesheet in a murder case in his State.

While highly-placed sources indicated the possibility of Fernandes’ re-entry, External Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh, who is now holding additional charge of Defence, described Fernandes as the "right person" to take over the sensitive ministry in the present circumstances.

Tomorrow’s expansion is understood to be a limited exercise of inducting one member into the Cabinet and another as Minister of State but may involve reshuffle of some portfolios.

Despite sharp criticism from opposition parties on the possibility of reinduction of Fernandes even as the Venkataswami Commission on the Tehelka expose was still continuing its probe, Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee is said to be keen on bringing back Fernandes especially in the current security scenario after the Afghan crisis.

Fernandes, who is said to be restive being outside the Government, is considered in BJP and NDA circles as some sort of a difficult person while being outside the Government.

The sources also hinted Planning Commission Deputy Chairman K C Pant may not be disturbed from his present assignment.

Reports earlier said Pant, who enjoys a Cabinet rank, could be inducted into Defence Ministry and Fernandes placed in the Planning Commission so that the Government could avoid flak.

In significant remarks, the Prime Minister told his party’s youth wing convention in Agra that the process of inquiry into corruption charges should not take long.

Debunking suggestions of growing corruption, he said allegations should not be made for the sake of it and there should be ample proof to substantiate them.

Jaswant Singh was quoted as saying today that "I agree the portfolio should be given to my friend George Fernandes again. He is the right person to take over the responsibility in the present circumstances".

Fernandes’ case was also backed by Union Minister and senior BJP leader M Venkaiah Naidu who said "we have never had in the past such an honest and competent Defence Minister".

His new-found ally Trinamool Congress leader Mamata Banerjee also supported Fernandes’ reinduction saying the Venkataswami Commission has not found any evidence against him.

However, opposition to his re-entry came from his party colleague and Lok Sabha MP Prabhunath Singh who maintained Fernandes should not be reinducted till he was cleared of the charges levelled against him in the expose. Fernandes’ image had already suffered a blow when he had to quit following the expose into fictitious defence deals, Singh said.

CPI-M general secretary Harkishan Singh Surjeet was critical of the reported moves to bring back Fernandes into the ministry terming it as "ridiculous".

Vajpayee may utilise the opportunity to reshuffle some portfolios which may cover Sharad Yadav, who is said to be opposed to labour reforms, and Shahnawaz Hussain, who came under attack for his handling of the "hijack" fiasco earlier this month. (PTI)

Pir Panjal operation toll 8
10 more terrorists eliminated by Army

Excelsior Correspondent

JAMMU, Oct 14: Army killed two more terrorists in Pir Panjal heights today taking toll in the encounter to eight while eight other hardcore ultras were killed in two separate operations at Mehrot in Surankot and Tulibana on Budhal-Mahore border.

Defence sources said troops resumed their search operation in Mathyari dhok at 12,000 feet height from sea level in Pir Panjal range this morning to track down three terrorists of Al Furqan (changed name of Jaish-e-Mohammed outfit), who had escaped in an encounter with army and BSF yesterday. Six terrorists were eliminated by securitymen during day long operation yesterday.

In the resumed operation, army jawans shot dead two terrorists after a three hour long search operation this morning. The terrorists were trapped by army jawans in a dense forest and eliminated. Another terrorist again managed to escape and was being followed by army jawans.

Troops had to face a hostile weather in snow bound mountains of Pir Panjal in killing the group of terrorists which was heading towards Kashmir valley through Pir Panjal range after infiltrating into Indian territory from the Line of Control (LoC), the sources said.

Barring minor injuries to a jawan, no casualties were reported on army side in two days operation.

Identity of the terrorists couldn’t be established but all of them were stated to be Pakistanis. A huge quantity of weaponry has been recovered from their possession. Sources said exact details of the recovery would be available only after troops descend to their camp from the upper reaches.

Troops encountered another group of terrorists at village Mehrot in Surankot tehsil of Poonch district at 1530 hours. The terrorists were moving towards a forest area in search of a safe hideout when they were trapped by army and engaged in a fierce exchange of gun-battle for four hours.

Encounter resulted into elimination of Seven terrorists of Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) outfit. Sources indicated that two to three terrorists might have escaped during cross-firing.

Seven AK-47 rifles, three magazines, 37 rounds and one wireless set were recovered from the encounter site. Identity of slain terrorists hasn’t been established. There was also no report of any casualties on army side in the gun-battle.

Another encounter took place between security forces and terrorists at Tulibana, located on the border of Mahore-Budhal this evening. In the hour long encounter, one militants Abdul Ahad of Pakistan was killed while his two associates escaped.

One AK rifle and ammunition were recovered from the possession of Ahad, who was an activist of Harkat-ul-Mujahideen outfit. Two miliitants were killed on the LoC in Keri sector of Rajouri this evening.

SPO, VDC member shot dead in Doda

Excelsior Correspondent

JAMMU, Oct 14: A Special Police Officer (SPO) and a Village Defence Committee (VDC) member were gunned down by the terrorists at village Jasral, about 30 kms from Kishtwar in Doda district last night.

Official sources identified the victims as Vinori Lal son of Bhagat Ram, a SPO working with Baroti police post and Bansi Lal son of Beli Ram, a VDC member. Both of them were residents of village Chatral in Kishtwar tehsil.

Sources said the SPO accompanied by the VDC member Bansi Lal, who was running a shop at Chatral were together returning to their houses in Jasral village last night when they were intercepted by a group of four terrorists, who had laid an ambush a couple of kms short of Jasral.

As both VDC member as well as SPO were unarmed, the terrorists over-powered the duo and fired shots on them from point blank range. Both of them were killed on spot. The terrorists managed to escape.

Hearing the sound of gun shots, local people rushed to the scene and saw bodies of two youths lying in a pool of blood. A police party also reached the spot and shifted dead bodies for post-mortem. Bodies were handed over to their families today and cremated in the afternoon.

Security forces reached the village and started a search operation for the terrorists, who were suspected to be local activists of Hizbul Mujahideen outfit. No arrest could be made immediately. Local police have also started investigations in the case.

Few days back, the terrorists had shot dead two civilians Dev Lal and Kalyan Singh in Dossa near Bharti in Gandoh area of Doda district after kidnapping them from their houses. Killings of the civilians led to backlash from minorities leading to burning down of five houses of majority community including a Sarpanch. Minorities accused the Sarpanch of shielding terrorists.

Hurriyat keeps low profile

NEW DELHI, Oct 14: Support to Pakistan’s policy of toeing the United States has put the 23-party Hurriyat Conference in a quandary and its executive committee is unable to take any decision following threats from militant outfits.

Hurriyat insiders said a former Hurriyat Conference chairman had been receiving threats from militant outfits including Al-Umar Mujahideen, whose chief Mushtaq Ahmed Zargar was released in 1999 in exchange for passengers of the hijacked Indian Airlines plane.

The insiders said several letters had been sent to the immediate family members of the senior Hurriyat leader suggesting that they should persuade the moderate leader to "shut his mouth."

Hurriyat chairman Abdul Gani Bhat has also preferred to remain silent over the anti-US demonstrations held by various people following the air strikes on Talibans after he received threats to his life from Jammu and Kashmir Islamic Front (JKIF) for not supporting the hartal call given by various militant groups late last month.

Though a spokesman for JKIF denied any threats to Bhat, Hurriyat Conference insiders said the statement had "been extracted after a lot of pressure from Pakistan’s ISI on the outfit’s supremo Bilal Beig."

Other members of the Hurriyat Conference including Abdul Gani Lone and Maulvi Abbas Ansari have also preferred to remain silent.

JKLF chairman Yaseen Malik, who is away in the United States for a medical treatment, has also decided to adopt a taciturn policy this time as some of his mentors including Ghulam Nabi Fai, an anti-India lobbyist in the US, have maintained a low-profile ever since the September 11 attacks.

Malik, during his earlier trip, had held several meetings with Kashmiri expatriates, to drum up support for ongoing militant movement in Jammu and Kashmir.

The Hurriyat insiders said that fire-brand Jamaat-e-Islami leader and former Hurriyat Conference chairman Syed Ali Shah Geelani has also expressed his unhappiness over the functioning of the 23-party conglomerate.

Geelani, who has been making venomous speeches against the United States and showing a pro-Taliban approach, is actually leading the amalgam from front by toeing the militant outfits’ line of criticising Americans.

Kashmir analysts have termed the move as the "beginning of the end of Hurriyat Conference in the Kashmir valley" which would bestow legitimacy on the perception of Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah that the amalgam was only an extension of Pakistan’s High Commission.

The second rung leadership of the Hurriyat Conference also agrees with the fact that the conglomerate would have to face rough weather in future. (PTI)

Bhutto admits terrorism in Kashmir

New York, Oct 14 : Former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto has admitted that there is terrorism in Kashmir and that the menace has damaged the cause of Kashmir.

"Terrorist acts have damaged the cause of Kashmir," Bhutto was quoted as saying by Pakistan’s Independent NNI News agency.

She said her Government had resisted the "militarisation" of the movement in Kashmir. "I had put my foot down on creation of private armies and militias in Pakistan because such activities are unconstitutional and destabilising to the state."

Bhutto told the agency in Washington yesterday that money was sent from Saudi Arabia by private individuals to destabilise her Government as they felt that a woman’s rule was " Un-Islamic."

She said it was only after she was "thrown out" that things in Afghanistan went downhill.

The Taliban, she said, started as a stabilizing movement and initially brought peace to Afghanistan. The advice rendered to the Taliban leadership by her Government was heeded. But their radicalisation came later, Bhutto added.

Bhutto also admitted the links of her Government with Taliban chief Mullah Mohammad Omar but asserted that as long as her Government was in office, the Taliban did not exhibit the kind of behaviour that had since come to be associated with them.

There was no Osama bin Laden, "as he came to be", during her time and no private militias engaged in kind or activities that he had since been involved in, she asserted. She said the present situation had provided a good opportunity for Pakistan to clean up house. In the end, the best guarantee for a country’s security is a democratic order. Bhutto said the Madrassas, where the Taliban were trained or where extremist teaching was imparted, were not under the control of the ISI and did not receive their funding from Pakistani sources.

Pakistan’s national self-interest lay in a stable Afghanistan with a broad-based Government and said the past Pakistan policy on Afghanistan must be reviewed. To a question, she said that under the present circumstances, she had no intention of returning to Pakistan. (PTI)

Three civilianskilled in valley

Excelsior Correspondent

SRINAGAR, Oct 14: Three civilians were killed while security forces arrested a terrorist and recovered 15 kg of RDX from him in separate incidents across Kashmir valley today.

A civilian was killed and another injured when they were caught in a crossfire between militants and security forces at Hapatnar in Anantnag district of south Kashmir last night, he said.

He said unidentified gunmen shot dead a person at Wailoo in Kokernag area of Anantnag, while body of another was recovered from an orchard in Branwar village of Badgam district in central Kashmir.

Security forces apprehended a militant and seized some fake Indian currency notes from his possession in Karan Nagar area of Srinagar during the period, the spokesman said.

He said security forces busted a militant hideout at Daggapora in Anchar area on the outskirts of Srinagar last night and recovered 15 kg of RDX, one detonator, three police uniforms from the hideout.

He said security forces also recovered a pistol, a wireless set and some ammunition from Ziarat Mohalla in Tral town of Pulwama district yesterday.

Kashmir not a Hindu-Muslim issue: India

NEW DELHI, Oct 14: India tonight rejected Pakistan-backed Al Qaeda’s description of terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir as a Hindu-Muslim issue and asserted that such statements further strengthened New Delhi’s resolute determination to stamp out terrorism.

"The issue of J and K is at the core of India’s nationhood. Vast majority of our Muslim brethren are firmly opposed to terrorism. This is, therefore, not a Hindu-Muslim issue at all," an External Affairs Ministry spokesperson said.

The MEA spokesperson was reacting to Al-Qaeda spokesman’s remarks in a taped message to Al Jazeera television asking the US-led coalition to stop its alleged support for Hindus against Muslims in J and K.

"This was yet another indication of the role and involvement of Al Qaeda in promoting terrorism in various parts of world including India," she said.

"Such statements further strengthen our resolute determination to resist terrorism," she said.

"As far as the issue relating to J and K is concerned, we would like to underscore the fact that this is not a Hindu-Muslim issue," the spokesperson added. (PTI)

Trader robbed of Rs 1.75 lakh

Excelsior Correspondent

JAMMU, Oct 14: A trader Ajay Kumar of Bishnah was robbed off Rs 1.75 lakh by two unidentified cheat in Jammu and Kashmir Bank’s Gandhi Nagar branch yesterday.

Ajay Kumar, who runs a kerosene oil company at Narwal Pain, had gone to the bank to deposit cash. One of the cheat reportedly threw few currency notes on the floor and told the trader that the same had fallen from his bag.

As trader started collecting notes from the floor, the cheat alongwith his associate decamped with his bag, which carried Rs 1.75 lakh. Trader raised an alarm but the duo couldn’t be traced.

A police party from Gandhi Nagar police station led by SHO Gian Chand rushed to the bank and started a chase to track down the cheat. Identity of cash snatchers hasn’t been established.

SP's cook kidnapped

Excelsior Correspondent

JAMMU, Oct 14: A cook of SP Jail, Bhaderwah was kidnapped by the terrorists from near his house in village Ghnordi in Bhaderwah tehsil of Doda district today.

He has been identified as Romal Singh.

Police said Romal was over-powered by a group of three terrorists and held hostage at gun point this morning. Since then, his whereabouts couldn’t be ascertained.

Local police have registered a case and was making efforts to rescue Romal Singh from captivity of the terrorists. Police said Romal was working as a cook with SP Jail, Bhaderwah.

6 injured ingroup clash

Excelsior Correspondent

KATHUA, Oct 14: Six persons including a woman were injured in a group clash at village Jarmal in Nagri area of this district today evening. Three accused have been arrested by police while three others were absconding.

Police said the clash took place when accused tried to capture five acre of village land in Jarmal village. The villagers, who resisted the grabbing attempt, were attacked with weapons causing them serious injuries.

Five injured, who have been admitted to district hospital, were identified as Birbal, Shiv Ram, Suresh Kumar, Sarla Devi and Charan Dass. Another injured was given first-aid at local health centre.

A police party from Nagri police post led by SI Ajay Jamwal reached the scene of clash and arrested three accused—Dalip Kumar, Chaju Ram and Balbir Kumar. Three others accused fled away.

Terrorists have huge drug money
Terrorism in J&K is not freedom struggle: Swami

From B L Kak

NEW DELHI, Oct 14: Asserting that terrorism rarely solves problems, the Union Minister of State for Home, Mr ID Swami, has stoutly argued that Pakistan-sponsored terrorism from across the border has gone for naught in resolving any problem.

In an obvious reference to the Pakistan President and military ruler, Gen. Parvez Musharraf's repeated observation that a "freedom struggle" and not terrorist movement is going on in Kashmir, Mr ID Swami said: "This is not freedom struggle. We in India know what freedom struggle is. We know it more than anybody else because we fought for it nearly 100 years".

Stating that the global network of terrorists has acquired the competence, coordination and precision to shock and panic even the most powerful nation in the world, Mr Swami has said that regional conflicts and intra-state warfare have claimed more than six million lives and destroyed billions of dollars worth of property. His asserted that no other nation in the world had paid such a heavy price as India had done for fighting terrorism.

Why has India joined America in the war against terrorism? Mr Swami replied that India has to support this war to prevent a greater calamity befalling humanity. Mr Swami has placed himself on record as saying: "When freedom to live is denied or imperiled, it is imprudent to remain a mute witness. India has, therefore, opted not to be neutral in this fight against terrorism".

Mr Swami said that the countries such as Pakistan, Iran, Tukmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan that border Afghanistan "are talking against terrorism". Even China, normally a critic of America, he added, was unlikely to upset American plan to fight the war against terrorism. "The reason is simple and plain. It is not a fight against any faith. It is a might against the traitors", he argued.

Democracy, according to Mr Swami, had expanded rapidly in the 20th century. He regretted that dictatorship thwarted its expansion or undermined its effectiveness in many Muslim countries. He remarked: "What exist in many Islamic countries are military-influenced democracies".

Stating that terrorism thrives on poverty, the Minister of State for Home explained that landlocked Afghanistan, trapped in a medieval past, "is a bizarre sight of an impoverished people ruined by decades of war dictated by religious fundamentalists". According to Mr Swami, every human-welfare and development index shows that the well-being of the people of Afghanistan and Pakistan is on the decline.

Mr Swami made a pointed reference to religious schools and insisted that they posed a major problem. He also insisted that religious schools "institutionalise segregation of people on the basis of faith". "It is here the definition of right and wrong gets coloured. Here children are taught to hate people on the basis of faith and belief and to take revenge", he said.

Mr Swami pointed out that another factor which helped breed terrorism, "is the anger arising in the minds of people from events of the past over which the present has no control". This, according to him, is particularly true in the case of India-Pakistan and Israel-Palestine relations.

Having assessed that terrorists are flush with drug money, Mr ID Swami says: "Drugs find their way to many countries creating serious social problems. The amount of dirty money (not all is drug money) being washed through the financial system of the world is huge". It is, he has added, between 500 billion dollars and 1.5 trillion dollars a year. That is equivalent to up to 5 per cent of the gross world product.

Mr Swami also pointed out that terrorists had not only mastered the sheer complexities of global financial transactions but also perfected in moving their money in the world's major financial centres beating the strictest rules and regulations. According to Mr Swami, vast amounts of money are being used for raising groups for cross-border terrorism.

Mr Swami said that India was with the world community in the fight against terrorism. "This war has to be won or else a global calamity will befall humanity", he argued and declared: "India has both the will and strength to win its war against cross-border terrorism or the proxy war".

| home | state | national | business| editorial | advertisement | sports |
| international | weather | mailbag | suggestions | search | subscribe | send mail |