 |
|
|
‘Punjabi Taliban’: A growing threat to Pakistan
Crisis in Nepal
Twin embarrassment for UK PM
|
|
|
Duchess of York may lose her royal title
Malik has a narrow escape
Washington Diary
|
|
‘Punjabi Taliban’: A growing threat to Pakistan
Dera Ghazi Khan, May 30 This was highlighted by the twin attacks in Lahore on Frida, the capital of Punjab, which killed between 80 and 95 members of the Ahmadi sect. Initial investigations suggested a possible link to the Taliban operating from Waziristan. Security officials in the region say while there are no “militant strongholds” in the province for them to enable them to operate independently, as is the case in lawless northwest Pakistan, their presence in the area, especially in southern Punjab, cannot be denied. These militants are overwhelmingly members of banned organisations like the Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, Jaish-e-Mohammad and Sipah-e-Sahaba, long tolerated or even sponsored by Pakistan’s powerful military and intelligence establishment. But now they are starting to turn on Pakistan, thanks to the growing influence of the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and its ally Al-Qaida. “Those militants who were hiding in southern Punjab are now surfacing,” Interior Minister Rehman Malik said on Sunday in Lahore as he visited one of the attacked mosques. “We have information they could attack the Shi’ite community.” There are more than 20,000 madrassas, or schools, in Pakistan, he said, and 44 percent are in Punjab. The government has also banned 29 organisations and put 1,764 people on its wanted lists. Of them, 729 are from southern Punjab. All these outfits traditionally have roots in Punjab and underscore the risk militants pose to Pakistan’s economically most important province and its traditional seat of power. “These are the people who took part in the Afghan war and got training there,” said Mohsin Leghari, an opposition member of the provincial Punjab assembly. “This is the only thing they know, so it is no surprise if they develop links with the Taliban in the northwest,” said Leghari, whose constituency includes the tribal belt of Dera Ghazi Khan in southern Punjab. However, Leghari as well as security officials in the region denied that southern Punjab is a hub of militant activities. “This is all rumour-based information. It’s exaggerated,” said Ahmad Mubarik, the police chief of Dera Ghazi Khan. “This is not the hub of militants. I don’t think that is true.” But the recent surrender by Hanif Gabol, an alleged commander of the Taliban hailing from Dera Ghazi Khan, has once again highlighted the militants’ operational network in the region. Gabol has reportedly told police that he trained in Waziristan and led a group of about 25 men associated with the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, and was involved in dozens of terrorist activities. More ominous for Pakistan, these attacks in Lahore on Friday show that ties between Punjabi organizations and the TTP are not just increasing the southern groups’ capabilities, but also providing cover for the Pakistan Taliban to operate outside their traditional tribal strongholds on the border with Afghanistan. A security official in Bahawalpur, another town in southern Punjab and considered the headquarters of JeM, said there was no doubt that some of the dozens of madrassas there were involved in recruiting volunteers for the Taliban in the northwest. Analysts and officials said Punjab’s extreme poverty, as well as lack of education, makes people in the region more vulnerable to the lure of militancy. But they also say that the presence of Islamist militants is not new, and not directly linked to the rise of the Taliban. “There is a presence of militants in that area for sure. But it is a long-standing presence, and they were there even before the Taliban became Taliban,” said security analyst Ikram Sehgal. Sehgal said the militants in Punjab had a good infrastructure on the ground, with many organisations involved in various feuds, including sectarian violence. “The problem is that with the collapse of the Taliban in South Waziristan and Swat, and with them being pushed on the back foot in North Waziristan and Orakzai, there are chances they will try to reactivate these cells and make them effective,” he said.
— Reuters
|
|
Crisis in Nepal
Kathmandu, May 30 Leaders of the three major political parties — the main Opposition CPN-Maoist, the Nepali Congress and the prime minister’s Communist Party of Nepal (United Marxist Leninist) — met today but failed to reach an agreement to put into practice the May 28 deal. Embattled Prime Madhav Kumar Nepal had agreed to step down to secure Maoists’ support to extend by one year the Constituent Assembly’s term, which was to expire on Friday. The Maoist party had agreed to integrate the PLA combatants soon, disband the party’s Young Communist League (YCL) and return of properties seized by them during the decade-long civil war that came to an end in 2006. UCPN-Maoist vice-chairman Narayan Kaji Shrestha, who took part in the meeting today, said it focused on the peace and constitution drafting processes. The parties differed in their interpretation of the three-point agreement, which was signed on May 28 to extend the tenure of the Constituent Assembly, Shrestha was quoted as saying by The Himalayan Times today. Therefore the parties would discuss among themselves to make concrete decisions on the agreement, he added. Shrestha said a high-level meeting among the three major parties is planed for tomorrow afternoon. Top leaders, including Maoists Chairman Prachanda, vice-chairman Baburam Bhattarai, Nepali Congress vice chairman Ram Chandra Paudel, General Secretary Bimalendra Nidhi and CPN-UML chairman Jhala Nath Khanal attended the meeting. CPN-Maoist party, with nearly 40 percent of the parliamentary seats, has demanded that it lead a new national coalition to rescue the peace process that has been stalled. Meanwhile, the Nepali Congress has underlined its stand that the Maoists will have to transform itself into a “civilian party” before it can be allowed to form a national unity government. The parliamentary party meeting of the Nepali Congress held at Singha Durbar today concluded that the party will support a Maoist-led new coalition only after resolving all contentious issues as part of a package. It has asked the Prime Minister not to resign unless the Maoists agree to the number of PLA combatants to be integrated into the military, takes steps to disband the party’s armed youth wing, the Young Communist League (YCL) and return of properties seized by them during the civil war.
— PTI
|
|
Twin embarrassment for UK PM
London, May 30 Bamford, who has substantial business interest in India, had his nomination rejected by the House of Lords Appointments Commission after the tax authorities failed to support it. Earlier, the Conservative-led coalition government in Britain was rocked after Chief Treasury Secretary David Laws resigned over his expenses scandal. Laws, the Treasury Minister in charge of cutting public spending, quit last night after it was reported that he had diverted more than £40,000 of taxpayers’ money to his secret gay lover. His decision after 17 days in the jobs means Laws had the shortest Cabinet career in modern political history. The rejection of Bamford’s application comes as a blow to Cameron who had personally recommended him for ennoblement. It will raise further questions about the funding of political parties and the rewarding of donors with honours. Days before the list was published on Friday, Bamford wrote to Cameron withdrawing his name from the process. He said he wanted to concentrate on running his company. A spokesman denied his withdrawal had anything to do with his name being vetoed by the appointments commission. He said he was unaware that any concerns had been raised about his tax affairs. The Bamford family has donated generously to Tories. Bamford’s firm has given the party £1.5 million, while Bamford, 64, has donated £86,000, including £10,000 worth of helicopter rides to Cameron.
— PTI
|
|
Duchess of York may lose her royal title
London, May 30 In fact, Buckingham Palace officials want the 50-year- old Duchess, Sarah Ferguson, to revert to her maiden name even though she divorced Prince Andrew, the British Queen’s second son, long time back, the ‘Daily Star’ reported. “The duchess title is a courtesy title and there are many in the family who feel she has worn their courtesy pretty thin,” a Buckingham Palace official was quoted as saying. However, Ferguson would be allowed to keep a room at Royal Lodge, Andrew’s official residence near Windsor Castle, which the Duchess has already offered to quit the residence. But one family friend explained: “The Queen does not want to exclude her totally because that would only cause more heartache for her daughters. She does not want Beatrice and Eugenie to feel they’ve to back either family or their mom.”
— PTI
|
|
Malik has a narrow escape
A Civil Aviation Authority spokesperson said all four passengers in the Cessna aircraft escaped unscathed as the pilot controlled the plane. He said the runway had been cleared for air traffic. Malik ordered an inquiry into the incident.
— PTI
|
|
Washington Diary
“Everywhere, I saw signs of India’s dynamism. India’s trillion-dollar economy is churning out mass rapid transit systems, high tech office parks, and expressways at a pace unimagined only a few years ago. Delhi’s airport is about to open one of the largest and most modern terminals in the world, to match the longest (and newest) runway in Asia. The newest part of greater Delhi, including the high tech boom town of Gurgaon, finds Indian and American firms designing, marketing, and supporting the latest innovations in the world of technology and services,” Burns gushes. While in New Delhi, Burns met with National Security Adviser Shiv Shankar Menon and Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao. He said the level and candor of the dialogue on security developments in Asia, Africa and the Middle East reminded him a lot of conversations with some of America’s closest allies. Burns said the planeload of “Blue Beret” Indian peacekeepers he saw waiting to embark at the airport when he arrived reminded him of India’s “growing military reach and its role as a provider of security in the Indian Ocean and beyond.” The rise of India is important and positive for American interests. I can’t think of a global challenge today that doesn’t require Indian cooperation-climate change, counterterrorism, international economic stability, nuclear nonproliferation, economic growth and the list goes on. He also expressed his condolences to the families of the victims of the Maoist sabotage of a train track in West Bengal this week. Love not yet lost
Privately and publicly US officials say Obama has great respect for Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and often seeks him out for advice. Case in point being the recent bilateral meeting between Obama and Manmohan Singh at the recent Nuclear Security Summit in Washington. On Friday, Obama also spoke to Manmohan Singh ahead of a US-India strategic dialogue in Washington this week. As further proof of Obama’s commitment to India, officials point to the fact that Manmohan Singh was given the singular honour of being accorded this administration’s first state dinner at the White House. Little matter that historic occasion was overshadowed by two publicity-seeking gatecrashers. Obama now plans to visit India before the end of the year. While this visit is widely expected to take place in November, the White House has yet to announce dates. Such an announcement could come later this week, at the end of the strategic dialogue. Bruce Riedel, with the Brookings Institution’s Saban Center for Middle East Policy, says it it striking how India is dealt with as a rising global power and Pakistan as the epicenter of terror and a potential failed nuclear state in the National Security Strategy unveiled by Obama this week. “The contrast is remarkable,” Riedel says. Indian Americans up in arms
Members of the Indian American community are up in arms over the retroactive enforcement of new government of India rules regarding the surrender of Indian passports upon acquisition of citizenship of other countries. “The new rules impose undue and unnecessary burden on Persons of Indian Origin. In addition, I object to the prescribed fee as being unreasonably high,” says a petition being circulated within the community. According to a notice posted on the websites of Indian embassies and consulates, persons of Indian Origin who have acquired citizenship of other countries are required to surrender their Indian passports to the nearest Indian Consulate within 90 days of their acquisition of citizenship of those other countries. “I have no objection if the enforcement of the new rules takes effect from the date of issue. But retroactive enforcement and requiring People of Indian Origin who got citizenship of other countries years ago, could cause unimaginable hardship in thousands of cases. The minimum service fee of $175 for the surrender certificate is also unduly very high,” the petition says. It urges the Government of India to reconsider the retroactive enforcement of the new rules saying thousands of people who have acquired citizenship of other countries could suffer undue and unnecessary hardship for no fault of their own. It also calls for a reduction in the fee to “a reasonable amount of $25.” Sir Paul McCartney is one of them. The ex-Beatle will be in Washington this week to pick up the Library of Congress’ third Gershwin Prize. The library, located across the street from the US Capitol, will be hosting a press conference with McCartney on Tuesday. In a sign that the singer songwriter still has what it takes, organizers of the event say they have been inundated by requests from the media to cover the event. President Barack Obama will present the award to McCartney at a special tribute concert at the White House on June 2.
|
|
| HOME PAGE | |
Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir |
Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs |
Nation | Opinions | | Business | Sports | World | Letters | Chandigarh | Ludhiana | Delhi | | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | Suggestion | E-mail | |
Lahore, May 30
The US Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs, the third-highest ranked State Department official, who recently returned from a trip to India, took to the blogosphere this week to share his India experiences.
US officials are bending over backwards to allay concerns among some circles that President Barack Obama is not keen on forging a relationship with India.
The Obama administration literally cast its love for India in ink this week as Obama’s National Security Strategy paper devoted passages in praise of India and the US’ commitment to nurturing this very important relationship in Asia.
Few celebrities still cause goosebumps in this town accustomed to witnessing a parade of world leaders and international super stars.