Monday, June 7, 1999
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N A T I O N |
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spotlight today's calendar |
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5 ISI agents held in
Gujarat Pak plans come unstuck |
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Emergence of Hindutva
worries Muslims
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Two-fold purpose of Naga
leaders Pak isolating Kargil, says Hashim
Qureshi EC to use EVMs extensively Bodies to form front for small
states Child reunited with parents Blood donation for soldiers BASA members to boycott duty Cong ally in Assam splits Prasad is Gen Secy of Press
Association CBSE class X results today |
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5 ISI agents held in Gujarat BHUJ (Kutch), June 6 (UNI) — The Police arrested five of the six Pakistanis, who intruded into Kutch district bordering their country, on June 2, during a late night operation in the remote village of Nara in Lakhpat Taluka of this district. The police seized a huge cache of weapons and explosives from their possession, besides the identity card of one of the ISI agents. Official sources said the seizures included 24 kg of RDX, about 70 weapons — mostly pistols and revolvers — about 1000 cartridges, remote-controlled detonators and timer pencils and wireless sets besides bogus notes of Rs 10,000. The seizure also included the identity card of one of the arrested Pakistanis, Haji Sayed Sultan Shah Abdullah, describing him as an agent of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI). He was stated to be the Karachi-based agent of the ISI and was resident of Badin, Sindh. The other four agents were Nawaz Ali Jat, Usman Ali Mohammed Jat, Sachu Haji Ibrahhim Jat and Jamo. The sixth absconding "ISI" agent Hussian Kutchi Mandhra is carrying Rs 1.80 lakh worth of bogus currency notes. The six Pakistanis had intruded into the Indian territory via Kori Creek, off Koteshwar, close to the Indo-Pakistani marine border. They had come on a motor-boat owned by Jumman Haji Muhammed (58), a resident of Thatha district of Sindh province, who was arrested on June 3. After the arrest of Jumman Haji Muhammed in a combing operation, his interrogation led the state police to Nara village where the ISI agents were arrested with the cache of arms and explosives. It was the biggest haul of arms and explosives ever in Gujarat in which its carrier was also arrested simultaneously. These ISI agents were hiding in a nullah near Nani-Virani village. The police got suspicious when a man was found taking food for the infiltrators. Further investigations
are on and the police was searching for the sixth
Pakistani who is still at large, sources added. |
Pak plans come unstuck NEW DELHI, June 6 — Islamabad’s well laid plans, which triggered the current incursions into Jammu and Kashmir, seem to have come unstuck. The lack of international sympathy, infact the negative echo emanating especially from Washington, have put paid the effort to internationalise the Kashmir issue in 1999. By taking decisive military action, including air strikes to vacate the agression in the Kargil-Dras Sector and combining it with effective diplomatic initiative, India to a large extent has made up for its initial shoddyness, which included miserable failures on the intelligence front. For the first time in the past five decades Washington has viewed the situation in the subcontinent without the blinkered eye. It’s stand has a technological reason: its space satellites had picked up the movement of the inflitrators. Though NASA did not share this information with India’s ISRO (the two space agencies exchange notes, primarily on the weather scenario) this provided the clinching evidence about Pakistan role in creating yet another flashpoint in the globe while the western power are concentrating their might in Serbia. Satellite imagery apart, Pakistan’s hand was all too evident: the way the intruders had dug up and fortified position in the perpetually snowbound, rugged high mountainous terrain showed the backing of a well oiled military juggernaut. Besides, the weapons used for the assault carried Pakistan Ordnance Factory (POF) markings. And so did the endless rounds of ammunition. The proof of Pakistani munitions apart, ample evidence came from the discovery of dead bodies of Pakistan Army regulars in the Batalik sector. Without blinking, the Clinton Administration has asked Pakistan to get its men back to its own side of the LoC. The statement by Pakistan Foreign Minister, Mr Sartaj Aziz, questioning the legitimacy of the LoC too has met with Washington’s frown. Yesterday, there were reports from Pakistan that Mr Nawaz Sharif had talked about war being imminent today his Information Minister, Mr Mushahid Hussian was at pains to deny this report. Every hawkish Pakistani posture thus is being enunciated and thereafter being withdrawn through denials. While there is good news from Washington, the message from Washington is not without its complications. Mr Nawaz Sharif has been asked to "get these men out" from Indian territory. This message, viewed with the faux pas by Mr George Fernandes, who talked of "safe passage" for the intruders, indicates a complex situation. The armed forces do not understand the finer points of diplomacy. And in Kashmir, from 1949 onwards, India has the history of turning dove while the enemy was on the run. Meanwhile, the heavy casualties on the Indian side, including the loss of sophisticated aircraft, has made Pakistani’s Kargil misadventure a costly affair, both in terms of men and material, for India. Having turned down the offer of a June 7 visit by the Pakistan Foreign Minister, the onus now lies on India to indicate the date. The agenda is clear: the "latest conflict", thereby meaning the current engagement along the LoC is India’s concern. Pakistan may not be willing for this one-point agenda. Thus an uphill task lies ahead. The matter is complicated by the fact that External Affairs Minister, Mr Jaswant Singh, is due to visit China by the middle of June. Surely New Delhi will not like the focus of this visit to be digressed. Meanwhile, there may be
some merit in the warning sounded by AICC Foreign Affairs
Department Chairman, Mr K. Natwar Singh, who feels that
Pakistan may try to prolong the Kargil conflict till
September, when the United Nations General Assembly
meets. The Pakistan establishment, rebuffed in the
present round even by its traditional mentors in
Washington, may be looking to New York for the next round
of their gameplan on Kashmir. |
Emergence of Hindutva worries Muslims NEW DELHI, June 6 (PTI) — Four Muslim organisations have said that democracy and secularism in the country is under threat due to the "emergence of ideology of Hindutva" and asked Muslims to play an "effective role" in the coming Lok Sabha elections. Leaders of the "Jamaat-e-Islami Hind (JEIH), the All-India Milli Council (AIMC), the All-India Muslim Majlis Mushawarat (AIMMM) and the All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) met here yesterday at the initiative of former Union Minister and member of the 12th Lok Sabha Prof Saifuddin Soz to discuss the current political situation. "The leaders came to the unanimous conclusion that the emergence of the ideology of Hindutva as the major contestant for power is a grave threat to democracy and secularism and for the survival of the secular order," a press release issued by Prof Soz said today. They said the Muslims had to play an effective role in the coming Lok Sabha elections keeping in view the interest of the country, particularly the backward classes and the weaker sections of society. The leaders who attended the meeting were Soz, JEIH Amir Maulana Muhammad Sirajul Hasan, AIMC Secretary-General Qazi Mujahidul Islam Qasmi, AIMMM Vice-President Syed Shahabuddin, AIMMM General Secretary Maulana Shafi Moonis and AIMPLB Secretary Abdur Rahim Qureshi. The leaders decided to formulate an agenda which would cover the legitimate aspirations for the peaceful co-existence, empowerment and participation of all sections of society, including the backward classes, the scheduled castes, scheduled tribes and the minorities, the release said. They also decided to
discuss the agenda with all secular parties to maximise
their area of agreement and to emphasise the need for an
alliance of all secular forces "to arrest the
chauvinist upsurge." |
Voices for war and peace A FEW events in the past few days have highlighted the urgency for an immediate fine-tuning of the Indian politico-diplomatic thrust on the military front in the Kargil sector. That many voices, raising conflicting concerns do tend to confuse the brave jawans fighting it out on the icy tops of Chorbatla or Dras, has possibly escaped the attention of those now in New Delhi, stewarding the country’s defence efforts. The ‘safe passage’ offered to the intruders, the projected visit of Pakistan’s Foreign Minister, Mr Sartaj Aziz to India, and the recent operational briefing by the Director General of Military Operations, DGMO, and the IAF representative at a political party’s National Executive meeting, have raised a host of questions. Firstly, the safe passage issue. With the intruders falling back on all the fronts in Kargil, why is it necessary for us to let open the trap that we have set, and let the attackers escape? Now when it is time to regain the heights, (and to thereafter retain them in the future permanently, with the presence of Indian troops positioned in the winter too, if need be). This is neither good military tactics nor sanguine diplomacy. Even if for arguments sake we were to permit the safe passage, there would have to be a ceasefire first no matter how limited in scope, and this could have serious implications on the entire front. To state that there could be a safe passage without a ceasefire, is not to grasp the tactical, the technical or the strategic realities of the military planning in mountain warfare. Will the air strikes, the artillery, the small arms and the mortar fire, stop during the pull out by the intruders? Will our ground operations cease at the time, and if so, for how long and when? Who will monitor or conduct the pull out? Surely, not an outside agency like the United Nations and will this force be mandated or authorised by both the sides? This writer knows the Kargil front well since the 1971war. In this sector India captured the maximum number of Pakistani posts. One would only like to suggest that a sudden de-escalation of the level of the military operations on the ground, even if the stage-management of the ‘safe passage’ could be affected, is fraught with dangerous implications. One has heard of no conflict where in spite of taking casualties on a daily basis, the intruder is unilaterally permitted to get away across the Line of Control, that he has himself violated. These intruders could even occupy more advantageous positions and heights in their pull-back, and in the process also carry back critical information about Kargil, Dras and Batalik. Once battle has been joined, there can be no case for a sudden operational freeze on the ground for our troops, who might even get the wrong signals from such a decision. Tied in with the safe passage, is this whole question of the talks with Mr Sartaj Aziz. Should we sit down in parleys with him, before we have assured ourselves, that every intruder on Indian territory has been evicted? A diplomatic solution, before we have guaranteed to our satisfaction, the military posture on the LoC, to at least the status quo or ‘restoration’ level, would not be in our interest. The other concern that has raised many eyebrows is the briefing recently provided to a political party by the DM and others in New Delhi. I cannot but help in highlighting a contrast to this, during the 1971 Indo-Pakistan war when one was posted in the Military Operations Directorate, when right from the top in the DGMO to all of us at the critical working levels below him, not a single officer in the company of the Defence Minister or otherwise, ever made an operational briefing to any political party member. All our briefings to Mrs Indira Gandhi or Babu Jagjivan Ram, the then Defence Minister were made in the highly guarded and secure Operations Room of the MO Directorate, and where the Chief of the Army Staff was mostly present. We just cannot afford now, to divert the attention of the seniormost serving soldiers from the task of evicting the intruders to briefing people all over the place. All this while, the fierce fighting on the LoC in Kargil sector continues unabated. The close-quarter battle tactics, the weaponry and other arsenals used by us, appear to have been upgraded for greater effect. The ground and air strikes have been continuing without a pause in spite of inclement weather, at times, and our gallant soldiers now have the intruders on the run in most of the sub-sectors. There should be no let up in the military operations, even, if and when, the Pakistan foreign minister is holding talks in New Delhi, because diplomatic parleys are best conducted from a position of military strength after our strategic and tactical objectives have been achieved. It is pointless terming “safe passage” as a “movement backward” as a Ministry of Central Affairs spokesman has done, because in terms of military warfare anywhere in the world, these terms mean little or next to nothing. Here was the time, I think to have experienced and visionary soldier-diplomats who have packed in years of expertise and ‘feel’ for such a quasi-military-cum-diplomatic assignment within India and abroad, to have been at the centre of the action in our Ministry of Defence. Not only for the operational briefings to our own and the world media, but also for their valued and measured inputs into our defence planning at the highest level. Many other countries do employ this very effective mode. In any case that is what one had thought the National Security Council, and its expert groups were meant for. And while we are on the question of a suggestion or two, one also wonders if anyone has possibly requested Field Marshal Sam Maneckshaw for his views and inputs on the present imbroglio? Kargil has provided us a good change for displaying our cool diplomacy and military might, all fused in one, and hereafter it would suit everyone admirably, if the Defence Minister talked in the same voice as the Prime Minister of the country. The bitter fighting in the mountains is through and through a land battle, and it is only the infantry, (with the IAF playing a supportive role), that will evict the intruders. Pakistan’s efforts at realigning the LoC, must be nullified by stiff hand-to-hand combat, no matter what it takes. And lastly but not the
least. Shall we at least, first, ‘restore’ the
LoC to its original alignment, and then talk of parleys
and peace? Mixing diplomacy and battle plans in midstream
is not in our interest. |
Two-fold purpose of Naga
leaders KOHIMA, June 6 — When the top leadership of the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN-IM) ventured into Nagaland after years of exile it had a two-fold purpose. The leaders, Mr Isak Chishi Swu and Mr Th Muivah, President and Prime Minister of the ‘Peoples Republic of Nagaland’ wanted to test the ground reality. Both the leaders, who have been talking to the Government of India since 1995, what they called at the highest level, wished to demonstrate that if not all, at least most Naga tribes were behind their organisation. Secondly, they wanted to know the reaction of their cadres, their respective strength and willingness for a possible agreement with the Government of India. The NSCN (IM) brokered a ceasefire in 1997 with the government and those provided some respite to the beleaguered people. Here in Nagaland, guarded by heavily armed Naga army personnel they had a three-day meeting with the Naga tribal leaders, including house from Khaplang, Naga Hoho groups. But the outcome, was not all that happy for them. One, the leaders from rival organisations, who had gone on their own, spelt out their opposition. “We cannot give you the mandate to take any decision on behalf of the Naga people. We are just watching what you achieve”, Mr Yalie, leader from Khonoma, the birth place of famed Naga leader the late A.Z. Phizo later told this reporter, “I went there to understand the situation and there were many like me. It does not mean we support them”. What these NSCN(IM) leaders discovered to their dismay was that the Naga society, divided into 16 major tribes and some sub-tribes was disunited as ever. But the NSCN (IM) faction, considered powerful by some observers claims to represent the entire Nagalim, the name they gave to their land this April. Also, when they raised the demand for a greater Nagaland, besides testing the reaction of others, they wanted to make it more complex. They know that the boundaries of neighbouring states could not be just altered since some Naga tribes lived there. There was instant opposition to this demand. “To see all Nagas settled in one political unit is a lofty idea. They are terribly fractured otherwise. But who would ask the nagas in the neighbouring Myanmar or in India? There is no point weaving dreams, talking about impractical things and in the process lead only to more violence”, a keen observer of the Naga situation for years here said. He did not wish to be identified. But another purpose could have some success. These leaders, according to reports have been meeting cadres in good number. Also, they would like that if leaders not their cadres can come under their canopy. It is not clear what is the level of talks. It is okay they have met on a neutral ground. But what is the end result? They were sticking to their old positions. In Delhi, sources said the talks have entered the crucial stage. Then in that case this visit could provide some backdrop and food for thought. When these leaders will
move to Bangkok, perhaps, as secretly as they have come,
they would know better where they really stand. One fact
remains, road to peace is arduous and as difficult as
ever despite a cease-fire operative since August 1997. |
Pak isolating Kargil, says Hashim Qureshi NEW DELHI, June 6 (PTI) — Hashim Qureshi, who was charged with hijacking an Indian Airlines Boeing to Pakistan in 1971 and subsequently stayed there for a couple of years, has charged Islamabad with trying to isolate the Kargil region for "territorial accession". Qureshi, one of the founders of Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF), said in a statement faxed to PTI here from Amsterdam that Islamabad had "put one foot on the table (for discussions) and the other on the battlefield jeopardising the prospects of peace for the whole subcontinent." He called upon governments of India and Pakistan to end the skirmish in Kargil immediately, describing it as "utter nonsense". Qureshi, now chairman of Jammu Kashmir Democratic Liberation Party, said the "adventurism" in Kargil by Pakistan was "aimed at isolating the region which Pakistan has its eyes on for territorial accession, that is the valley, Doda, Rajouri and Kargil. "This strategy is purely aimed at the division of Jammu and Kashmir and is in keeping with the new policy of Pakistan to demand a plebiscite on a district-wise basis," he said. Qureshi said Pakistan was also "seeking to cut the Srinagar-Leh road, which would isolate Ladakh. It would increase Indian military logistical expenses and have an effect in the Siachen sector." He charged Pakistan with
trying to "excite and exploit the sentiments"
of Pakistani people by initiating the intrusion "on
the occasion of ‘youm takbir’ and divert their
attention from domestic economic problems and
"misgovernance". |
EC to use EVMs extensively NEW DELHI, June 6 — Encouraged by the positive feedback, the Election Commission today said it would put to use electronic voting machines (EVMs) extensively in major states during the forthcoming Lok Sabha poll. Announcing this here today, the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC), Dr M S Gill, said after the successful use of these machines in the Goa Assembly elections, whose results were declared today, the EVMs will be used extensively. Dr Gill said the Election Commission had nearly 1.5 lakh machines which were manufactured by a public sector undertaking. The EVMs have reduced the use of paper, logistics connected to counting and eliminated complaints associated with counting. He said the people were enthusiastic in using the EVMs and cited an instance in Andhra Pradesh, where during his visit, the people said they were keen that these machines be used. Although the CEC did not identify the states where the EVMs will be used, he said the commission officials had already started work on it and a plan was being drawn up. The EC which acquired these machines a decade ago for Rs 75 crore did not put them to use after its usage was challenged legally though the courts subsequently upheld the use of EVMs. During the last Assembly elections in the states of Madhya Pradesh, Delhi, Rajasthan and Mizoram, these machines were used in some constituencies and later in some Assembly byelections. To a question whether the current action in Kargil could cast a shadow on the conduct of the general election, Dr Gill said the EC was going full steam in its preparations. “I believe Indian democracy is so strong and well-established that it cannot be put off course or off-balance (by such a situation),’’ Dr Gill said. Dr Gill also refused to
indicate as to when the EC would announce the dates for
the next general election quipping, “We will make a
formal announcement in good time.” |
Bodies to form front for small states NEW DELHI, June 6 (UNI) — Various organisations fighting for smaller states in the country today decided to form a seven-member committee to extend electoral help to one another in the general election. Former Union Minister Ajit Singh will be the Chairman of the committee, which will consider how the group could help one another before and after the elections in exerting pressure on the government of the day. This was decided at a meeting held here at the residence of Mr S.K. Basumatari, member of the dissolved Lok Sabha. Mr Basumatari was chosen the working president of the front while Mr Suraj Mandal will continue to be the President. The leaders told newspersons that smaller states were the "ultimate answer" to the problems of underdevelopment in most parts of the country. All political parties had realised it and incorporated the idea in their manifestoes. According to the leaders, there was virtually no development in big states such as Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra, while it was visible in Punjab and Haryana after they were carved out as new states. The autonomous councils created to please local sentiments had not been of much use as they had their own limitations. Only full statehood could help in reaching the benefits of development programmes to the masses, they said. The front would hold a
meeting again on June 28, Mr Shankarlal Mahrotra
(Bundelkhand), convener of the committee, said. |
Child reunited with parents NEW DELHI, June 6 — A three-and-a-half year old girl, who had been missing for more than two months, was reunited with her parents after the girl’s photograph appeared in various newspapers. The police said that the girl, Nazma, who lives with her parents in a slum cluster in the Minto Bridge area in Central Delhi, had gone with them to attend a function in Gokulpuri in North East Delhi on March 26. While the function was on, Nazma went out on her own and soon lost her way. She reached the Loni border area 4 km away, where a factory owner, Riazuddin found her crying. Riazuddin took Nazma to the Loni police post where police personnel advised him to keep the child with him till the parents could be found. Nazma was only able to tell her name and was not able to say where she used to stay. Riazuddin continued to search for Nazma’s parents and he went to the villages near Loni border even as the girl’s father Abdul Salam, a mason, filed an FIR at Gokulpuri police station. Within hours of
Nazma’s photograph appearing in the newspapers on
June 4, Riazuddin took Nazma to Gokulpuri police station
and Nazma was reunited with her parents. |
Blood donation for soldiers NEW DELHI, June 6 — For the soldiers injured at the Kargil Sector, a blood donation camp was organised in the Capital today by former Indian Youth Congress President, Maninderjit Singh Bitta. Mr Bitta said the blood donation camp was held at Jhilmil Colony under the aegis of the Lions Club. "We will be holding several blood donation camps so that the soldiers who have shed blood for the motherland can have a speedy recovery and do not face problems due to paucity of blood," he said. The former IYC chief
said that such camps would be organised under the aegis
of All-India Anti Terrorist Front in Punjab, Haryana and
Madhya Pradesh. |
BASA members to boycott duty PATNA, June 6 (PTI) — over 3,200 members of the Bihar Administrative Service Association (BASA) across the state would boycott work from zero hours tonight to protest the alleged misbehaviour against an officer by RJD President Laloo Prasad Yadav’s nephew Nagendra Rai, association sources said. BASA officers would stay away from law and order duty for an indefinite period till their demands for immediate arrest of Rai and initiation of action against him under the Crime Control Act were met, Association President Baidyanath Prasad said. The boycott decision was
taken at a meeting of the association’s executive
body today, he said. |
Cong ally in Assam splits GUWAHATI, June 6 (UNI) — The United Minority Front (UMF), a key ally of the Congress in Assam, has vertically split. The split is seen as a big blow to the Congress which made a good showing in the last Lok Sabha elections with UMF support. Hardliners in the UMF ‘sacked’ its founder Golam Osmani from party presidentship last night. The rebel group, led by party General Secretary Hafiz Rahman Ahmed Choudhury, is opposed to any further electoral understanding with the Congress. In a counter move this morning, the moderate Osmani faction served a show cause notice on six rebels as a prelude to sacking them. Thus the party which has been holding the key to every electoral victory in Assam since 1984, is now divided. The two party MLAs also
have decided to join the hawks led by Mr Choudhury who
has called a party conference at Bongaigaon on June 12
and 13 to formalise the split. |
Prasad is Gen Secy of Press Association NEW DELHI, June 6 (PTI) — Dev Sagar Singh of the Financial Express was yesterday elected President of the Press Association, while K.V. Prasad of The Tribune was elected its General Secretary, a spokesperson of the association here said. Other office-bearers elected unopposed were George Verghese (UNI), vice-president, Vivek Saxena (Jansatta), Treasurer Kumar Rakesh (Rashtriya Sahara), Joint Secretary, respectively. The Executive Members
were — Ashwani Bhardwaj, Madhu Srivastav, S.A.H.
Rizvi, Ananth Bagaitkar and Prakash Bhargava, he said. |
CBSE class X results today NEW DELHI, June 6 (PTI) — The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) will declare its results of secondary school examination for class X tomorrow. The board for the first time will provide results on e-mail to schools located in different parts of the country and abroad, a release issued by the CBSE said here today. Results for regular candidates would be available in their respective schools, while private candidates could see results from their examination centres. Results of the patrachar stream would be available from Patrachar Vidyalaya, it said. It said the first chance compartment examination would be held on August 3. The last date of
submitting the applications for compartment examination
is June 28 and July 28 with fine, the release added. |
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| India’s numbers
surge TIRUCHIRAPALLI: With 30 births recorded every minute India will be the most populated country by 2050, Director of the Medical Services, Tamil Nadu, Dr Kamatchi has said. Inaugurating a state-level seminar on post-partum programme and medical termination of pregnancy here. Dr Kamatchi said the country was responsible for 16 per cent of the world population. He said fertility rate was reduced to 3.5 per cent in 1993 as compared to 6 per cent at the time of independence. He regretted that there was an over-dependence on female sterilisation and pointed out that there was a need to promote other methods, including spacing and male vasectomy. — UNI Project to herald
‘Golden Age’ Aid, job for
Sahu’s family Tourist lodge in
Bodh Gaya Satara’s
Rajmata dead |
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