 |
| Thursday, January 18, 2001, Chandigarh, India   
|
Govt to decide who goes to Pak: Advani NEW DELHI, Jan 17 — In a categorical statement, the Union Home Minister, Mr L.K. Advani, has made clear to the All-Party Hurriyat Conference that its condition of issuing passports to each one of its designated team members was out of the question and travel documents would only be given to those whom it considered “appropriate”. “If that is your condition and because of this you don’t go to Pakistan then don’t go”, Mr Advani said in an interview to the Rashtriya Swyamsevak Sangh’s official organ “Panchajanya”. “Whether they go to Pakistan or not we are clear on our fundamentals. Last time, they broke off talks because we had declined to have tripartite talks”, the Union Home Minister pointed out asserting that “Tripakshiya baat cheet nahin hogi to nahin hogi baat khatam huyi (tripartite talks are not going to be held, and there ends the matter)”. Asked about his views on the issue of jehad in Jammu and Kashmir which was also being described as Islamic terrorism, Mr Advani said terrorism in itself was wrong and a dangerous phenomenon and if it was linked with religion then its dimensions assumed much more dangerous proportions. “We have decided that we would not allow terrorism or jehad to spread”, the Home Minister said adding, “We know it was much more easy to win a war compared to terrorism based proxy war”. Referring to the situation in Kashmir, Mr Advani said unless and until Kashmiri Hindus returned to the valley and began living peacefully the government will not consider the situation to be normal in the state. The Home Minister said during the past two years a large number of ISI agents had been nabbed or killed. This had not happened on such a scale before. The Intelligence Bureau had done good work in this regard, he pointed out. However, the menace could be tackled by creating public awareness of the dangers posed to the nation’s security through these anti-national elements, Mr Advani suggested. The Home Minister said vote bank politics had caused immense harm to the nation. He said till three years back, even a mention of the ISI was not considered proper but the situation had now changed. Illustrating his point further, Mr Advani said when the West Bengal Chief Minister, Mr Buddhadev Bhattacharya, came to meet him recently he mentioned ISI activities had stepped up and the number of mosques and madarsas was increasing in border districts of his state. On this, Mr Bhattacharya said he understood this and pointed out that while he would not be able to do anything about the past he would be careful in future as the issue was related to security, Mr Advani said.
Pak asks APHC to cancel tour NEW DELHI, Jan 17 — With India firmly rejecting even the “notion of tripartite talks” involving Pakistan and the All-Party Hurriyat Conference (APHC), Islamabad has advised the Hurriyat leadership to officially cancel their proposed trip and adopt a low profile for a short while. This was conveyed to former Hurriyat Chairman, S.A.S. Geelani, who had a meeting with the Pakistan High Commissioner yesterday. The Hurriyat said today that a meeting of its executive committee would be held soon during which the earlier decision to send a five-member team to Pakistan would be reviewed. The basic purpose behind the statement is to buy time and remain flexible as Islamabad is anxiously watching development in Washington where a new Republican administration a new take over on January 21. Both New Delhi and Islamabad would like to understand the South Asia policy of the new US administration under President George W. Bush before making another move. While Islamabad is somewhat hopeful that Washington would once again be on their side, Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee has been advised by his senior officials, advisers as well as by the RSS think-tank to wait for the Republican administration to take over. While details of the meeting between Mr Geelani and Pakistan High Commissioner Qazi Ashraf Jehangir are being kept under wraps, the former Hurriyat Chairman, who is an ardent follower of Pakistan, has deliberately and consciously told his close confidants to spread the word that he has expressed his inability to travel across the border on health grounds. Meanwhile, JKLF leader Yasin Malik, who is expected to travel to the USA soon, ostensibly for medical treatment, is likely to assess the situation in the changing international environment. UNI adds: The Hurriyat Conference on Wednesday strongly denied reports that senior leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani had opted out of the five-member Hurriyat delegation that is to go to Pakistan for talks with political and militant leaders. “The reports are utterly baseless and fabricated and seem to be with some vested interests,” a Hurriyat spokesman said. A report today said Mr Geelani who was undergoing medical treatment in the Capital had opted out of the five-member delegation that was constituted by the Hurriyat executive at its January 11 meeting in Srinagar. The spokesman said Mr Geelani was just under treatment for bronchitis and sinusitis and there was therefore no question of his opting out of the delegation.  Musharraf hopeful of early talks ISLAMABAD, Jan 17 (DPA) — Pakistan’s military ruler, General Pervez Musharraf, today hoped talks with India would be back on the track soon. State-run Pakistan Television (PTV) quoted General Musharraf as telling his civilian Cabinet ministers that Pakistan and India would soon sit for negotiations to resolve bilateral issues. “Pakistan is waiting to receive the All-Party Hurriyat Conference (APHC) delegation,” General Musharraf said. He hoped the visit would take place sooner than later, according to PTV. A five-member APHC mission is scheduled to travel to Pakistan from Srinagar, this month for talks with Pakistani officials and Pakistan-based Kashmiri leaders on Kashmir. General Musharraf’s optimism for talks with India comes at the heels of his meeting with a top Indian diplomat in Islamabad. “The commencement of the dialogue would bring about improvement in the prevailing environment,” a brief official statement following the meeting quoted the General as saying. |
||||||
|
End hostilities or face war: Farooq He was here to attend the golden jubilee celebrations of the Election Commission at Vigyan Bhavan. Asked whether the unilateral ceasefire, announced by Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee should be extended further, Dr Abdullah felt that India could not go “one way” without a positive response from the other. “How long we can go one way without a positive response from the other side,” he asked agitatedly. Maintaining that the attitude of Pakistan towards the ceasefire was “untenable”, Dr Abdullah said the international community must take note of the “hostile attitude of our immediate neighbour”, which was clearly reflected in the number of militant attacks in the valley and other places in the country after the ceasefire announcement. “They (Pak-backed militants) have gone to the extent of killing themselves,” he said pointedly referring to the abortive attempt by the suicide squads of the LeT to storm Srinagar airport yesterday. He believed that the Centre should “not just” call off the ceasefire. “How long we can go one way...But it (ceasefire) should not be ended in just once stroke. We have time till January 26 (when the ceasefire will be reviewed). We should use all our persuasive powers to ensure some positive response from the other side,” Dr Abdullah observed. |
 |
| Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir | Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs | Nation | Editorial | | Business | Sport | World | Mailbag | In Spotlight | Chandigarh Tribune | Ludhiana Tribune 50 years of Independence | Tercentenary Celebrations | | 120 Years of Trust | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | Suggestion | E-mail | |
