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Thursday,
July 17, 2003, Chandigarh, India  
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TRIBUNE SPECIAL Agartala-Dhaka bus from August
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Pak girl Noor progressing well
NCM demands retrial of Best Bakery case Gujarat: witnesses accuse police of inaction Fazlur Rehman keen to meet
PM, Advani Task force for krishi kendras soon Clue in pistol theft
case found Mayawati earns court’s wrath Centre backing my policies, says Mufti China pact historic, says Vajpayee
Cong backs Women’s Bill Army denies being prepared for Iraq Vivek Oberoi
fractures leg Man with cartridges
held at airport Rail concession
for devotees Saras flight put
off again
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TRIBUNE SPECIAL New Delhi, July 16 According to diplomatic sources here, the Pakistani Foreign Office has thrown its weight behind Mr Salhauddin Quader Chowdhury, presently Adviser to the Prime Minister on parliamentary affairs. The new Secretary-General of the OIC is to be elected by the 31st Islamic Conference of the Foreign Ministers to be held in Turkey in June 2004. The sudden upsurge in pro-Bangladesh sentiments in influential sections of the Pakistani establishment, the diplomatic observers feel, indicates that Pakistan has a plan to use OIC for its own objectives through Bangladesh. The Pakistani move comes at a time when Islamabad does not enjoy good relations with a number of important Muslim countries. With Afghanistan, it is in a state of war and with the Shia-dominated Iran, the Sunni-majority Pakistan has had a troubled relationship since the Taliban days. In this context, it is significant that Nawa-e-Waqt Chief Editor Majeed Nizami made an observation recently that “Bangladesh and Pakistan are one”. Managing Director of Bangladesh TV, Anwar Zahid said Pakistan, as a nuclear power, was the security guarantor of Bangladesh. The Pakistani move regarding Mr Chowdhury has evoked a wave of protests not only from Opposition parties but also fuelled resentment within the ruling Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP). The main Opposition party, the Awami League, has levelled serious charges against Mr Chowdhury, accusing him of being a war criminal, brutal repressor of minorities and involved in such activities as terrorism, drug and arms smuggling and rigging. The Awami League has also shot off a letter to Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, saying that the decision to nominate Mr Chowdhury had stunned it and was “unacceptable” and “insulting for Bangladesh and the Bengali nation” as he was a “collaborator” with the Pakistani occupation forces during the war of liberation. The Bangladesh Home Ministry has prepared a dossier on Mr Chowdhury which says that he is involved in hundreds of cases of killings, abductions, looting and arson. The report says that the minority communities in the Rauzan and Rangoonia areas of Chittagong as well as the Chittagong administration has become captive to the armed cadres of Mr Chowdhury and his brother Giasuddin Quader Chowdhury. However, the most damning condemnation of Mr Chowdhury was a report published in a Bangladeshi daily more than 31 years ago. “Dainik Bangla” in its issue of January 8, 1972, carried a report which stated: “Salahuddin Quader Chowdhury and his father Fazlul Quader Chowdhury used to torture hundreds of youths of Chittagong, including the son of a well-known leader Dr Salahullah. On 17 July, 1971, Salahuddin Quader Chowdhury in collaboration with the Pakistani occupying forces killed student leader Faruq. From 26 March 1971 till the surrender of the Pakistan army, one platoon of Pakistani soldiers used to remain deployed at Salahuddin Quader Chowdhury’s residence at Chittagong.” |
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Agartala-Dhaka bus from August New Delhi, July 16 The bus would be flagged off from the Tripura capital on the Indian side by Surface Transport Minister B C Khanduri while the Communication Minister of Bangladesh would launch it at Dhaka. The Kolkata-Dhaka bus, operational for almost four years, has become hugely popular, particularly with Bangladesh which has been pressing India for doubling the frequency of the Dhaka-Kolkata bus. The two countries also considered the possibility of an early launch of the Sealdah-Joydevpur passenger train service. In this connection, India proposed the convening of a meeting between Railway officials of the two countries. |
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Pak girl Noor progressing well
Bangalore, July 16 “Noor, who has been kept in the intensive thoracic unit is, expected to be “taken off the ventilator by tomorrow,” a doctor said. The two-and-a-half year old Noor arrived here with her parents Nadeem Sajjad and Tayyaba Nadeem on Saturday and was admitted to the cardiac speciality hospital. A five-member team led by Dr Rajesh Sharma, Paediatric cardiac surgeon, operated on her. Overwhelmed by the public and philanthropic organisations expressing their best wishes and financial support for his
daughter, Nadeem Sajjad today contributed Rs 50,000 to the Dosti Trust for providing aid to poor Pakistani children suffering from heart ailments. —
PTI |
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NCM demands retrial of Best Bakery case Lucknow, July 16 “I have already written a letter to Chief Minister Narendra Modi asking him to employ a private counsel so that the guilty persons did not escape from the hands of law,’’ said NCM Chairman Tarlochan Singh here today. Terming the acquittal of all accused as “unfortunate”, Mr Tarlochan Singh said such a thing should not have happened. “The Best Bakery case has given a wrong impression to the prosecution system in the country,’’ he said. He said the commission was monitoring the legal process involved in the case and would not allow anyone to tamper with the evidence. —UNI |
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Gujarat: witnesses accuse police of inaction Ahmedabad, July 16 The two-member state government-appointed commission, comprising Justice G.T. Nanavati (retd) and Justice K.G. Shah (retd), began the second phase of the hearing here. The hearing would continue till July 22. The commission heard four persons before recess, including two advocates, a deputy sarpanch and a hotelier. The commission will hear people from the Vejalpur police station area tomorrow. |
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Fazlur Rehman keen to meet
PM, Advani Deoband (UP), July 16 Maulana Rehman, who is here to address a gathering of religious scholars at the Darul Uloom, has sought a meeting with the two leaders to create a congenial atmosphere for the peace process, Maulana Mehmood Madni, general secretary of the Jamait Ulemai Hind, said. |
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Task force for krishi kendras soon New Delhi, July 16 The task force to be headed by Minister of State for Agriculture Hukum Deo Narayan Yadav would submit its report within three months, he said at the 74th Annual General Meeting of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) Society. The minister said farmers were not able to get the benefit of new technologies to the extent possible. Therefore, it is essential to strengthen and restructure Krishi Vigyan Kendras to help them serve small and marginal farmers in a more effective manner. Mr Rajnath Singh expressed the government’s determination to make good quality seeds available to farmers. For this purpose, a scheme is being formulated by the Agriculture Ministry. The Agriculture Minister also stressed the need to bring down the prices of various agricultural inputs, including seeds and fertilisers to bring about improvement in the standard of living of farmers. He said this was the top priority of the Government. Talking about WTO, the Minister said that no country can afford to remain away from the process of globalisation. However, he assured that the interests of the country’s farmers would not be compromised at any cost. |
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Clue in pistol theft
case found New Delhi, July 16 The TV footage, watched by officials of police and the Navy, allegedly showed a woman opening the screws of the small glass case in which the revolver had been kept, police sources said. The woman’s face, however, was not visible in the footage, they said. The sources said three police teams have been fanned out to Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana in the case. The pistol, kept for display in the Navy Gallery of the museum here, was found missing on June 28 creating a sensation. Initially believed to be the one handed over by the then Eastern Sector commander of the Pakistan army Lt-Gen A A K Niazi, the weapon later turned out to be that handed over by a commander of the Pakistani navy during the surrender. The theft of the weapon, which symbolised defeat of Pakistani troops during the Bangladesh war, represented a major security breach in the museum. —
PTI |
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Mayawati earns court’s wrath Lucknow, July 16 The Supreme Court today reprimanded the state government for its handling of Taj Heritage Corridor and handed over the case to the CBI. Earlier, the Lucknow Bench of the Allahabad High Court had issued show-cause notices to the state government asking as to why arbitrary decisions were taken for suspension and transfer of officials. The Chief Minister transferred four CBCID inspectors with adverse entries on their character rolls on May 19 for their failure to probe the Madhumita Shukla murder case. Ms Mayawati while handing over the transfer orders said these officials were given the punishment for their laxity in solving the murder case. The same day she suspended Director-General, CBCID, Mahendra Lalka and SP (CBCID) Amitabh Yash. The four Inspectors moved the Lucknow Bench of the Allahabad High Court against their transfer orders. The court in its order not only stayed the transfer order, but also reprimanded the Chief Minister for her style of functioning. The court asked whether chargesheets were issued to the plaintiffs before awarding adverse entries. In another case, Ms Mayawati transferred an SHO and four police officials from Haidergarh on March 1 immediately after the BSP candidate lost Assembly byelection to the SP candidate. The action of the Chief Minister was seen as a vindictive step. The five again got reprieve from the court with specific instruction that all of them should get field postings. The most glaring case was that of state government filing 147 cases against Samajwadi Party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav in cases related to misuse of discretionary funds when Mr Yadav was the Chief Minister of the state. The court stopped investigation and stayed arrest of Mr Yadav till August 19. The officials at the Law Department were not ready to speak out. One of the senior officials on the condition of anonymity said whimsical decision do not stand in court. These decisions, like 147 cases against Mr Yadav, may get political mileage but cannot earn the nod of the Judge, he said. |
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Centre backing my policies, says Mufti New Delhi, July 16 The Chief Minister, who yesterday met senior Congress leader Manmohan Singh and Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission K.C. Pant, said that the Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee endorsed the “healing touch” policy of his government. Asked about the possibility of the Hurriyat Conference taking part in the talks being held by the Centre’s interlocutor N.N. Vohra, Mr Sayeed hoped that the conglomerate would eventually take part in the talks initiated by the Centre. “It is a evolutionary process,” he said. Referring to recent changes in the Hurriyat Conference, he said that “moderate section” had come forward in the conglomerate. |
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China pact historic, says Vajpayee Kolkata, July 16 He, however, did not mention Pakistan. Mr Vajpayee acknowledged the Indo-China trade pact and other agreements signed between the two countries during his recent visit to Beijing as an “historic event” for unleashing a new era in the country’s economic, political and industrial development. The Bengal Chief Minister, Mr Buddhadev Bhattacharjee, who shared the platform with the Prime Minister, congratulated him for his sincere and noble efforts in resuming ties with China. This will not only enrich the country as a whole, but also Bengal as a gateway to China in the north-east will be immensely benefited, observed Mr Bhattacharjee. The Prime Minister arrived in the city late last night in a special plane from Pune after attending the funeral of former RSS chief, Rajendra Singh who died yesterday after a protracted illness. At the airport, Governor Viren J. Shah Mr Bhattacharjee, Mayor Subrata Mukherjee and several others received him. Two Union Ministers, Mr Tapan Sikdhar and Mr Satyabrata Mukherjee and Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee and Tathagata Roy, state BJP president, were also there. In the morning, Mr Vajpayee inaugurated the 150th anniversary function of the BCCI, the country’s oldest business chamber, near Salt Lake City. Addressing the functions Mr Vajpayee advised the Chief Minister to change their outlook and take an honest and sincere effort in developing the state. He regretted in the past few years, there had not been much development in Bengal and the state could not fully utilise the Central assistance. We have been pursuing the policy of strengthening the state and would continue to do so, announced the Prime Minister. Mr Shah and the Chief Minister also addressed the function. |
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Cong backs Women’s Bill New Delhi, July 16 Referring to yesterday’s meeting convened by the Lok Sabha Speaker on the issue, Congress spokesman Anand Sharma said unless a consensus was evolved on any amendments, the only way of ensuring power to women was through constitutional amendment and not by nominations by political parties. He said the party was of the view that the provision of one-third reservation for women should not be diluted. Mr Sharma said more meetings would be held before a consensus was evolved on the issue. Meanwhile, Congress President Sonia Gandhi is likely to host a meeting of Opposition Parties on Sunday to coordinate strategy for the monsoon session of Parliament. Asked about the participation of Mr Ajit Singh’s Rashtriya Lok Dal and the National Conference at the meeting, Mr Sharma said details would be known by tomorrow. |
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Army denies being prepared for Iraq New Delhi, July 16 The Army described as “factually incorrect and
baseless” reports which suggested about its preparedness to go to Iraq as part of the stabilisation force and that a division-level force had been identified to be sent there. “No formations were earmarked by the Army to go to Iraq at any stage. The views of the Army in this matter have consistently been the same as that of the Government of India,” the Army added. |
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Vivek Oberoi
fractures leg Kolkata, July 16 Oberoi suffered serious fractures in his left leg when he tripped while running in a zig zag fashion on being chased by the dummy of co-star Ajay Devgan on a motor cycle, police sources said. As the “Company” hero fell down, the motor cycle, which followed him closely, ran over his left leg. Ratnam, who was watching the sequence of the yet-to-be-titled film, developed chest pain almost immediately after the incident, the sources said. While Oberoi was rushed to Calcutta Medical Research Institute, Ratnam was admitted to the intensive care unit of B.M. Birla Heart Research Centre where an ECG was conducted. The condition of both was reported to be stable, hospital sources said. —
PTI |
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Man with cartridges
held at airport New Delhi, July 16 The police found Mohammed Siddiqui in possession of cartridges while he was about to board a plane for Chandigarh around 9 am today. The live cartridges, including 10 used cartridges were allegedly recovered from him, the police said. Sources said Siddiqui hailed from Tamil Nadu and was on his way to Chandigarh when he was nabbed. He was later interrogated by a joint team of police and intelligence agencies to ascertain as to why he was in possession of cartridges. |
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Rail concession
for devotees New Delhi, July 16 A circular issued by the Director, Railway Board, has extended the fare concessions to/from places located at least 300 km from Ernakulam. The concession is valid for second-class accommodation. Bookings can be done 60 days in advance when booking opens, both for onward and return journeys. |
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Saras flight put
off again Bangalore, July 16 The National Aerospace Laboratories (NAL), which is responsible for the project, has also sought additional funding from the government after failing to meet time and cost deadlines. “We have now rescheduled the flight for September-October from August. I do not want to commit a date at this point,’’ NAL Director B Ramachandra Pai told reporters here. —
UNI |
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