S P O T L I G H T

Putin may visit India in Oct
MOSCOW, June 4 (PTI) — Russian President Vladimir Putin is expected to visit India in early October, Kremlin Press Service here said. Though October 3 is said to be the tentative date for the beginning of Mr Putin’s first India visit as the Russian President, the exact dates and schedule are expected to be finalised during the coming (June 21-25) Russia visit of External Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh.

Espionage case
NEW DELHI, June 4 (PTI) — Five persons including a woman, posing as a freelance journalist, have been identified in the espionage case of allegedly passing on sensitive defence documents to Pakistan’s Inter Services Intelligence (ISI), through agents in Nepal, official sources said here today. The woman identified as Ruchi Singh, who was booked by the Delhi police earlier last month under the Officials Secrets Act, was claimed to have confessed during interrogation that she was functioning as an agent of ISI in the country.

MQM’s allegation
ISLAMABAD, June 4 (PTI) — Pakistan’s self-exiled Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) chief Altaf Hussain has charged the country’s military regime and its agencies with conspiring a bloodbath by exploiting religion, to take control of Sindh, mainly its urban areas. After having failed in their attempts to crush the party, the (military) establishment is now exploiting religion to impose armed religious extremists in Sindh and Karachi”, he said in his address from London to party members and representatives of the suspended Parliament at the MQM headquarters in Karachi.