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| Saturday,
July 14, 2001, Chandigarh, India   
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Vajpayee’s assurance on
gurdwara issue World
media descends on Agra
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Kin to
give proof of Indian PoWs in Pak The only
Pandit at Qazi’s tea party TV
channels vie for slice of summit cake
M. B. Kaushal
redesignated by Cabinet SC notice to Sukh
Ram
Lack of funds hits tree plantation
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Vajpayee’s assurance on
gurdwara issue New Delhi, July 13 NCM Chairman Justice Mohammad Shamim while congratulating Mr Vajpayee on the bold initiative taken by him underlined the need to correct the picture in the Pakistani media about minorities being discriminated against in this country. “The forthcoming summit would be the proper forum for initiating a dialogue about upgrading the maintenance of the Sikh shrines in Pakistan as well as setting the record straight about the status of minorities in India,” Justice Shamim observed in a letter to the Prime Minister and Union External Affairs and Defence Minister Jaswant Singh early last month. Union External Affairs and Defence Minister Jaswant Singh acknowledged the receipt of the letter by the NCM Chairman “regarding the forthcoming Indo-Pak summit.” Mr Jaswant Singh conveyed it to the NCM that it would be the government’s endeavour to take up these issues in the Vajpayee-Musharraf summit. The Sikh community has been concerned about the upkeep of Gurdwaras in Pakistan, especially, the one at the birth place of Guru Nanak Devji in Nankana Sahib as well as his last resting place in Lahore coupled with the martyrdom site of Guru Arjan Devji. Union Chemicals and Fertilisers Minister Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa and NCM Vice-Chairman Tarlochan Singh have been invited to attend the lunch being hosted by Mr Vajpayee for General Musharraf in a five-star hotel here tomorrow. Mr Jaswant Singh assured Mr Tarlochan Singh yesterday that the issue of maintenance of Gurdwaras in Pakistan and facilitating pilgrims to visit these shrines will be taken up by Mr Vajpayee during his summit with General Musharraf. The Minister also drew pointed attention to the fact that this matter was taken up during the February 1999 Lahore summit between Mr Vajpayee and Mr Nawaz Sharif, who later was deposed as Prime Minister in a bloodless coup. The Sikh community maintains that these historical shrines in Pakistan should be properly maintained as these have been neglected since the trauma of partition. The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbhandhak Committee (SGPC) is keen on performing “kar seva” at all these gurdwaras by Sikh saints who have undertaken a similar ritual in all the Sikh places of worship in India. The expenditure on the “kar seva” will be borne by the Sikhs themselves. SGPC sources said that the Pakistan government has appointed a committee headed by a former chief of the Inter-Services Intelligence of Pakistan to “control” the functioning of gurdwaras in that country. |
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World media descends on Agra Agra, July 13 With hotels around the venue having almost full occupancy even in the lean tourist season, the managements are a happy lot, earning an unexpected record revenue. At Mughal Sheraton, the hotel chosen for media briefings by the Ministry of External Affairs, there is a rat race among the scribes for rooms. “We are providing lodging facilities to more than 300 scribes, including 52 from Pakistan,” Mr Y.K. Berry, the sales manager of the hotel, said. All national television networks have set up studios in this hotel, with Zee, ANI and Jain TV taking up the roof-tops with a view of the 17th century Mughal monument dedicated to love. NDTV of Star News, Aaj Tak and BBC have also set up studios in the hotel, while the state-owned Doordarshan has got a vantage point by hiring the banquet office at Dewan-e-Khas, where the official briefings of the summit will take place. To meet the demands of the media, the Ministry of External Affairs has set up 50 computer terminals at the media centre with Internet facility. “The hotel has got an additional 300 telephone connections, besides 30 ISDN lines, to facilitate direct telecast by TV channels,” Mr Berry said. Other media personnel have chosen hotels around the Mughal Sheraton, like Taj View, Hotel Kant and Amar on the Fatehabad road, where Palace Hotel and Amar Vilas, chosen for lodging Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee and President Pervez Musharraf, respectively, are located. Mughal Sheraton has come up with a novel idea to facilitate “busy” mediapersons who cannot go out for shopping during the summit. “We have set up a Meena Bazaar within the hotel. This would have all items which has made Agra famous — leather shoes, marble artecrafts and the mouth-watering pethas,” Mr Berry said, adding that there would be a 24-hour coffee shop. The erstwhile Mughal capital is virtually under police siege, throwing traffic and normal life out of gear. Security arrangements were fine-tuned on the Fatehabad road, where the three hotels designated for the stay of Mr Musharraf, Mr Vajpayee and mediapersons are located. As the mock cavalcade of Mr Musharraf and Mr Vajpayee sped down the road from the Indian Air Force base at Kheria, about 8 km from the hotels, all civilian movement came to a near standstill. “We are rehearsing the convoy arrangements for the movement of the dignitaries to achieve split-second precision and avoid any last minute hitch”, a top police official said. As a preventive measure, the police is making inquiries about the 35-odd Pakistani nationals visiting their kin in Agra. The weekly animal market on July 15 at Tora village near Hotel Jaypee has been cancelled, the police said. Mr Mohammed Sharik, a businessman, vented his frustration by saying that “this summit will achieve nothing but cause a lot of harassment to the general public.” “The only saving grace is that some of the roads are getting repaired and roundabouts beautified”, he added. All roads leading to the three hotels have been spruced up. All vehicles entering Agra are being registered by the police along with the names of drivers and persons travelling in them.
PTI |
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Kin to give proof of
Indian PoWs in Pak Agra, July 13 Encouraged by External Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh’s assurance that India would raise the
PoWs’ issue with visiting Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf during summit talks on July 15, the Missing Defence Personnel’s Relatives Association
(MDPRA) is going to present “substantive evidence” regarding PoWs’ in
Pakistani jails to the Indian Government tomorrow. “This is the last chance for India to secure their release from Pakistani jails. The visit of the Pakistani President presents the best opportunity to take up the issue,” said MDPRA spokesman Vipul
Purohit, whose father, Flt Lt Manohar Purohit, has been missing since December 9, 1971. Mr Purohit was just three months old then. But he still believes his father had bailed out of his Canberra aircraft in the Western Sector, though his family has not heard from him for the past 30 years. Asked about the evidence with the
MDPRA, Mr Purohit narrated the case of Major Ashok Suri. “Major Suri was believed to have died in the 1971 war, till he smuggled out a letter to his father in Faridabad. Ashok’s father died three months back waiting for the return of his son”, he said. “There must be several such cases. They may not be lodged in prisons as PoWs but on other charges. That is why Pakistani official Rashid Quereshi seeks evidence. And we will give that evidence about the 54 PoWs tomorrow,” Mr Purohit said.
PTI |
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The only Pandit at Qazi’s
tea party New Delhi, July 13 “The presence of the Hurriyat at the party will only legitimise the Hurriyat’s hollow claim of being the sole representative of the Kashmiris”, said Dr Agnishekhar, Convener of Panun Kashmir. When Pakistani High Commissinor to India Ashraf Jehangir Qazi hosts the “high tea party” here tomorrow, Bhushan Bazaz, president of Jammu and Kashmir Democratic Forum, will possibly be the only Kashmiri Pandit to attend it. Bazaz, son of legendary Kashmiri leader Pandit Prem Nath Bazaz, will, in fact, be one of the few Kashmiris to attend the party, besides Hurriyat leaders. |
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TV channels vie for slice of summit cake New Delhi, July 13 The Doordarshan and the
private channels, including Zee TV, TV Today (Aaj Tak), NDTV (Star
News), Jain TV, the BBC and the CNN, are laying special stress not
only on the quality of news content but also on the relay of signals.
Each of the Indian news channels are ensuring the presence of their OB
vans at the various venues of summit for the uninterrupted
coverage. The summit, which is turning out to be a mega event, in
terms of both coverage and interest of viewers, has also had its
effect on the channels from across the border. The state-controlled
PTV is here in full strength for the coverage and will in fact, be
relaying the signals live not only from Delhi and Agra but also from
Ajmer. While Doordarshan is offering live signals to private channels
free of cost, the established private news channels will be depending
on their own equipment to cover the various events live. In fact, Zee
TV, which runs the 24-hour Zee News channel, has specially acquired an
OB van to relay the signals from summit venues live. Other news
channels have also planned a similar coverage schedule and live
relays. Jain TV, Doordarshan and even Aaj Tak have set up special
studios at Mughal Sheraton in Agra to coordinate the live coverage of
the summit from there. The events which only Doordarshan will be
covering are the visit of President Musharraf to his ancestral home in
Neharwali Haveli, the Dargah at Nizamuddin, Taj Mahal and the Dargah
at Ajmer. It will also have a live telecast from July 14 and the
coverage of Musharraf events will be interspersed with discussions on
different aspects of Indo-Pak ties. The live coverage by BBC News
will be co-presented by Nik Gowing from India. Jill McGivering, Andrew
Whitehead, Zaffar Abbas and Adam Mynott will also contribute. Asia
Today, the flagship Asia news and current affairs programme on BBC
World, will be showing special editions dedicated to the summit. |
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Pervez’s sole relative in India Lucknow, July 13 Mr Ansari will be meeting the President after decades. Mr Ansari said General Musharraf would meet him and his wife in Agra at 5 pm on July 15.
UNI |
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2,000 cops on job Ajmer, July 13 |
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Shiv Sena to
hold protest Agra, July 13 In a statement, Shiv Sena area chief Saheb Singh said the Party would continue opposing the visit by distributing leaflets, burning the effigies of the Pakistani President.
PTI |
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Christians
to hold Mass for summit’s success New Delhi, July 13 In a letter to all Christians of the Capital and the area falling under his religious jurisdiction, Archbishop Vincent Concessao of Delhi said today: “I urge you to turn our anxiety to the Lord and pray fervently for a positive result of the summit.” Meanwhile, the National Council of Churches of India (NCCI), on behalf of the Protestant and Orthodox Churches of India, has appreciated the initiative of the Prime Minister to bring about the Agra summit. The NCCI hoped that the present initiative would rebuilt peace between the two nations.
UNI |
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M.
B. Kaushal redesignated by Cabinet New Delhi, July 13 The
redesignation, which has been approved by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet, comes in the wake of the ministry’s decision to streamline the internal security system in the country in a bid to effectively tackle the growing menace of subversives and terrorist groups, many of them enjoying the patronage of forces from across the border inimical to the security of the country. Mr
Kaushal, who belongs to the Union Territory cadre, was earlier the Police Commissioner of Delhi. He had earlier served at crucial positions in the Delhi police. As the special Secretary in the Ministry of Home Affairs, Mr Kaushal has been involved with several commissions sent to the trouble-torn Jammu and Kashmir. |
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SC notice to
Sukh Ram New Delhi, July 13 The notices were issued, among others, to the then financial member of the Price Negotiation Committee, Mrs Runu Ghosh, and the Managing-Director of Advance Radio Masts (Hyderabad), Mr P. Rama Rao. |
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Lack of funds hits tree plantation Hanumangarh, July 13 A budget of about Rs 40 lakh is required for the plantation of the saplings in the area from which trees have been axed. Due to lack of funds, no target has been fixed for plantation programme. According to official sources, trees spread over a land of about 1,500 hectares spread in Sriganganagar, Hanumangarh and Bikaner districts had been cut, but because of no budget in the current financial year the plantation is in the early stages. The sources say though the budget was demanded many times, no response has been received from the government. |
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