JAMMU: Faced with the worst floods in Jammu and Kashmir in half a century, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah today said air-lifting of marooned people may begin tomorrow if weather improves even as South Kashmir remains completely cut-off.

"We have not been able to touch South Kashmir. One NDRF battalion has been air-dropped at Awantipur airport because we could not transport them from Srinagar. So, we are trying to send them to affected areas. Two more battallions have been sent to Pulwama," Omar said speaking to media persons here.


Emphasising that the state administrative machinery had swung into action soon after getting warning from the meteorological department, the Chief Minister said the magnitude of the problem was such that efforts were not proving to be sufficient.


"We just need one break of weather. Our helicopters are on standby at Jammu and Srinagar. As soon as we get that break from bad weather, we will start air-lifting people and providing them with relief material," he said.


The Chief Minister said the state is facing shortage of boats to rescue people marooned in over 300 villages which have been cut-off completely.


"We have arranged every possible boat, about 250-300, available in Srinagar and surrounding areas and put them into service. But one must understand the magnitude of the situation as about 300 villages are completely cut off," he said.


The Chief Minister said although every possible effort is being made to rescue people, bad weather and limited resources are major hindrance faced by the state administration.


"At some places, people did not cooperate. They did not pay heed to advice of state officers to relocate them. Now it has become difficult to rescue them because of bad weather and floods," he said.


The Chief Minister said the state needs medicines, blankets, tents and clean water and once water recedes efforts have to be made to prevent outbreak of any epidemic.


Omar said he was not concerned whether the Centre declares it a national calamity or not "as long as they fulfill promises made to us".


Thanking the forces for their efforts, Omar said army, airforce, NDRF and SDRF, state administrative officials have all pitched in the rescue measures. — PTI

Batala: Eight members of a family were killed and one was seriously injured after the roof of their house collapsed due to rains at Dhalla village near here, the police said on Saturday.

The incident occurred late on Friday night when the roof of the house collapsed following heavy downpour, the police said.

The deceased have been identified as Mangal Masih, his wife Tosha, their sons Vikram Masih, Thomas Masih, and Honey, daughter Manju and granddaughters Anju and Anchal, the police said.

Vikram’s wife Sarabjeet is serious and had been hospitalised, the police said.

This is the third incident of house collapse in the wake of heavy rains in Punjab.

On Friday six persons, including five members of a family, were killed in Amritsar after two houses collapsed.

Meanwhile, rainfall in most parts of the area continued on Saturday. — PTI

NEW DELHI/JAMMU: With moves being made for government formation in Delhi, the BJP may be veering round to the possibility of taking a shot at power with the party President Amit Shah virtually justifying such a course of action.

Home Minister Rajnath Singh maintained that the party will take a call once a formal proposal is received from Lt Governor Najeeb Jung while he ruled out his party indulging in any horse trading.


The state unit of the party is said to be divided on forming a government without facing fresh elections but sources said the high command was inclined to give it a shot.


A final decision may be taken on the issue at a meeting of the newly-constitute BJP Parliamentary Board that may be convened early next week, sources said.


Amit Shah told a television channel that BJP, the single-largest party, has the right to form a government as it has got the mandate in Delhi in both the Assembly and Lok Sabha elections and does not see anything immoral in seeking support for it.


"Our party got the mandate in the Assembly and Lok Sabha polls in Delhi, and we think that mandate stands. I do not find anything immoral in seeking support to form a government," Shah told Rajat Sharma in his 'Aap Ki Adalat' programme on India TV.


"Everybody wants to avoid fresh elections in Delhi," said Shah, adding that "BJP is the single largest party and it has the right to form a government." — PTI

IM operative Ejaz Sheikh held in UP

NEW DELHI: Indian Mujahideen (IM) terrorist Ejaz Sheikh, wanted in several cases, including a terror strike in Jama Masjid in New Delhi, was arrested Friday night from Saharanpur area of western Uttar Pradesh by the Special Cell of the Delhi Police.

"IM operative Ejaz Sheikh has been arrested. He was nabbed from Saharanpur last night. He was involved in several terror cases, including the Jama Masjid attack," Special Commissioner (Special Cell) S.N. Shrivastava told PTI.

Sheikh is a resident of Pune. He is considered a "technical expert" and a key member of Indian Mujahideen. He had been absconding since long and was apprehended by team of Special Cell last night following a specific tip off.

The arrest of Sheikh is yet another major setback to IM in the last two years.

In March this year, Tehseen Akhtar, alias Monu, the India operations chief of Indian Mujahideen was arrested from Indo-Nepal border by the Special Cell.

His arrest had come days after the same unit of Delhi Police had nabbed another top IM operative Zia Ur Rehman, alias Waqas, from Ajmer in Rajasthan along with three of his associates.

One of the most wanted terrorist of the country, Ahmad Siddhibappa Zarar, alias Yasin Bhatkal, and his key associate Asadullah Akhtar, alias Haddi, were arrested from Indo-Nepal border last year. — PTI

NEW DELHI: Accusing BJP of trying to form government in Delhi through "horse-trading", Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday said the Aam Aadmi Party will seek President's intervention to ensure that the saffron party does not get an invitation "under any circumstances" from the Lt Governor.

"How will BJP form government? Naturally, BJP wants to form government through horse-trading, by buying MLAs which is totally wrong.

"They want to buy MLAs using money power, at Rs 20 crore each," he alleged.

Kejriwal also questioned the basis over which the LG will reportedly invite BJP to form government in Delhi and termed it as a "deliberate" invitation to form government "dishonestly".

"The LG is saying that BJP will be invited to form government. On what basis are they going to prove (majority). This is a deliberate invitation to form government dishonestly. So we are meeting the President today and will request him to intervene in the matter. BJP should not get an invitation to form government under any circumstances," he said.

BJP is likely to be invited to form a government in Delhi with Jung sending a report to the President seeking permission to call the single largest party to take a shot at power, though it is well short of majority in the Assembly.

In his report, Jung gave a detailed analysis of the political situation in the city and underlined the need to have an elected government for Delhi which is under President's rule since February 17 following resignation of the AAP government.

AAP and Congress have come down hard on Jung for his move to invite BJP to form government and accused him of promoting "horse-trading".

Kejriwal also said that AAP MLAs have been asked to conduct sting operations if anybody from BJP approaches them for "horse-trading", tapes of which would be released ahead of the trust vote in the Assembly.

"We have told our MLAs that if BJP approaches you for horse-trading, don't refuse them, talk to them and record the conversation. If they ask you to resign, comply with them. When the LG invites BJP to form government and when the confidence motion is about to begin, we will release all the recordings an hour before it," he said.

Renewing the demand for fresh elections, another senior AAP leader Manish Sisodia said that if the BJP comes to power through "horse-trading", it will be very "dangerous" for Delhi as the party will only think of "making more money".

"The stand of our party is already clear. Re-elections must happen in Delhi because if BJP forms government through horse-trading, then it will not bother about inflation, corruption, sanitation, hospitals, bribery, etc.

"It will only think about making more money. Such a government will be very dangerous for Delhi. So elections must happen and a majority government should be formed," he said. — PTI

WASHINGTON: Pakistan's powerful army and the ISI are using "terrorist brinkmanship" to threaten India and undermine their own Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to secure domestic gains against their civilian leaders, a former CIA analyst has said.

"Pakistan's Inter Services Intelligence directorate is using terrorist brinkmanship to threaten India and undermine Nawaz Sharif," Riedel said.


On Wednesday, "to complicate the situation further, al Qaeda released a new videotape of its leader, Ayman Zawahiri, announcing the creation of an al Qaeda franchise in India", he wrote in the Daily Beast.


Amid growing concern in India over the formation of new al-Qaida franchise in India, Riedel said there was no doubt that al-Qaida leader Ayman Al Zawahiri made the latest tape in his hideout in Pakistan.


"Zawahiri made the tape in his hideout in Pakistan, no doubt, and many Indians suspect the ISI is helping to protect him. Zawahiri has longstanding links to LeT and to (Hafiz) Saeed," Riedel said, adding, "The domestic politics of Pakistan are central to this drama, and to this threat." A squad of heavily armed terrorists attacked the Indian consulate in Herat, Afghanistan right ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's inauguration, Riedel said.


"One of the goals of the Herat operation was to discredit Sharif, who has no control over the ISI or the Pakistani army," he said.


"Since he was elected in his own landslide victory last year, the army has become increasingly unhappy with Sharif.


They are very upset that he has put the former army dictator Pervez Musharraf on trial for treason and did not just let him leave the country quietly," he said.


Sharif had been urging deescalating the Indo-Pakistan rivalry and cutting back on the arms race, positions the army hardliners find threatening.


The US State Department publicly blamed Lashkar-e-Toiba, the group which attacked Mumbai in 2008 for Herat attack.


"LeT is very close to the Pakistani military's Inter Services Intelligence Directorate, or ISI. LeT would not have taken such a highly provocative action without at least some advance nod from the Pakistani spies in the ISI and the generals who command them," he said.


"LeT's leader, Hafeez Saeed, lives openly in Pakistan, frequently appears on television denouncing the United States, and is the darling of the ISI," he added.


"If there is another LeT attack like the one in Mumbai or the one in Herat, it will provoke the most serious crisis in years between India and Pakistan," he said and called for greater US-India cooperation to tackle such threats.


The army and the ISI were effective in neutering Sharif's predecessor, Asif Zardari. In fact, that was a key goal achieved by the Mumbai attack in 2008. They want to neutralize Sharif by any means possible.


"In short, the Pakistani army and its ISI spies are once again playing with fire— with India, the LeT and Kashmir—in order to secure domestic gains against their civilian leaders," he said. — PTI