Wednesday, July 2, 2003, Chandigarh, India
Updated at 3:00 am (IST)

Exclusive Interview
‘Someone blocking defence procurement’
AJT procurement can be delayed by 3 years,
says George
New Delhi, July 1
Union Defence Minister George Fernandes is concerned about a situation being reached having the portends of bringing major procurement for the armed forces to a “standstill.” “I am willing to stick my neck out because I have a responsibility which I have to fulfil.

Only mad man can start N-war

Jat faces Jats, 8 booked
Phagwara, July 1
Panchayat elections have left trail of intense bitterness in Domeli village 16 km from Phagwara, and a stand-off was emerging between two communities. A visit to the village today revealed that the shops were closed due to panic and there was tension in this remote hamlet of Phagwara Block with heavy police force deployed there.

Summon Kalyan, says Muslim Board
New Delhi, July 1
The All-India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) today filed an application before the Liberhan Commission urging it to summon former UP Chief Minister Kalyan Singh to depose as witness in the wake of his allegations against Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Deputy Prime Minister L.K. Advani and HRD Minister Murli Manohar Joshi that they had “conspired” the demolition.

VHP’s climbdown

4 judicial officers suspended
Chandigarh, July 1
Four Judicial Officers, including an Additional District and Sessions Judge, were today placed under suspension by the Punjab and Haryana High Court during a full court meeting held this afternoon.

Pak troops pound Dras sector
Srinagar, July 1
Hours before Pakistani High Commissioner-designate Aziz Ahmed Khan crossed over into India to take charge of his assignment, troops from across the border fired more than 100 mortar and artillery shells on the Dras sector, killing a villager and disrupting life for the second day today.

Idols missing from Pak temples Amritsar, July 1 Many idols in ancient Hindu temples in Pakistan are missing and the government there has denied permission to install new ones in place of these. A desolate Katasraj Temple in Pakistan, once a famous pilgrimage centre of the Hindus. — Tribune Photo Rajiv Sharma