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Saturday,
May 19, 2001, Chandigarh, India  
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Lifting of
US sanctions against India on cards India
‘can become’ regional power Women
achievers honoured |
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India
hopes USA will follow Britain 4 Sikhs
visiting Canada disappear Pak guards
kill 3 Iranians Nawaz to
return home “shortly” |
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Lifting of US sanctions against India on cards Washington, May 18 Sanctions were invoked after India’s 1998 nuclear tests. Ms Iyer’s visit, coincidentally, came on the same day President George W Bush’s chosen official to head the US State Department’s South Asia office strongly opposed the sanctions regime. Ms Christinia Rocca, who has been nominated to be the next Assistant Secretary of State for South Asian affairs, has said US sanctions against India have got to go. She was appearing before a panel of Senators yesterday. “My personal perception is that the sanctions have to go. They’ve outlived their usefulness and we need to move forward from here and find alternate ways of addressing our security concerns, which remain real. And I can guarantee you that if confirmed I will certainly speak loudly on this issue and make my voice heard in the course of these reviews,” Ms Rocca said. “The Bush administration would continue the policy of substantive bilateral engagement, she said. “The past few years have seen the beginning of a transformation in our relationship with the world’s largest democracy. Now is the time to complete that transformation. India’s economic potential, following a decade of free market reform, is immense. We are India’s largest trading partner, but bilateral trade remains far below where it should be. If I am confirmed, I look forward to devoting time to remedying the situation,” Ms Rocca added. “We need to find a new framework and a new way in which to encompass our nuclear concerns and get rid of these sanctions, which really at this point, I believe, are just an obstacle to fully engaging with both nations.” Bush officials are currently reviewing all aspects of the US policy towards South Asia, and Ms Rocca says she plans to push the sanctions issue as soon as she gets a seat at the table. “I can guarantee you that if confirmed I will certainly speak loudly on this issue and make my voice heard,” she added. The Senate is widely expected to approve Ms Rocca’s nomination, and confirmation could come as early as the next week. She told lawmakers that she hoped the USA would broaden its relationship with India — especially where trade is concerned. Meanwhile, Ms Iyer, who arrived here yesterday, held bilateral meetings with her counterpart at the US State Department. It’s her first trip to the USA since becoming Foreign Secretary, and she sees good prospects for closer ties between Washington and New Delhi. The two delegations discussed a wide variety of regional and bilateral issues, including regional security, the next steps to implement the institutional dialogue and a preview of the June, 2001, working group meetings on
counter terrorism and peacemaking. “The new administration is taking a review of all sanctions and I would imagine that the decision would be taken soon,” Ms Iyer said. “I don’t think I can see eye to eye on the question of reduction of the nuclear arsenal, this is one of the points which was one of the items of the strategic framework, and this is also India’s position. We’ve always talked in terms of global disarmament. On this I can say we do see eye to eye,” Ms Iyer said. “For us, Kashmir is not the only issue. There’s a whole comprehensive dialogue we want to carry on with them. But on that issue, we’ve said that to have a dialogue, the environment has to be appropriate. Once that is there, and once the cross-border terrorism stops, and the atmosphere is appropriate, we will be ready to have a dialogue, a comprehensive dialogue, which we also initiated in 1998,” Ms Iyer said. “We do regard Lashkar-e-Toiba as one of the most dangerous terrorist organisations. And we would like — I think they have been declared illegal — in the UK as part of that list, and we hope sometime it may be done here too,” Ms Iyer added. The two delegations spent more than three hours discussing a range of bilateral issues, US State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said. Following the meeting, foreign Secretary Iyer told ANI that she was optimistic about a quick end to US sanctions. She expressed her optimism that the new administration would take a decision soon to lift sanctions against India. The USA and Indian delegations also discussed the two countries’ growing cooperation to fight terrorism. But Ms Iyer did not bring up the State Department’s continued reluctance to put groups like the Lashkar-e-Toiba on its list of foreign terrorist organisations.
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India ‘can become’ regional power Washington, May 18 The study by the Rand Corporation, considered Pentagon’s think tank, said if India were able to emulate China’s sustained economic dynamism, it would necessarily lay the foundation for an expanded political-military role. It said: “India has many advantages that could well enable it to become the region’s next economic success story.” “It has a vigorous high-tech sector supported by high-quality academic institutions; it enjoys a functioning legal system that can protect property rights; it will not face an aging population problem in the next two decades or a gender imbalance over the longer term; and, most important, it has a political system that is not threatened by opening up to the world,” the study said. The study said though “India faces a large task in privatising various state-owned industries, it does have the legal infrastructure in place for doing so.” “Unlike China, India need not be concerned that increasing links to the rest of the world and growing prosperity will place potentially fatal stresses on it political system; if anything, such forces could be expected to strengthen India’s democracy,” said the study. It believed “India will most likely continue to develop its nuclear deterrent capability vis-à-vis China — and while the Chinese will not like this, their options for dealing with it would appear to be limited.” “In any case,” the study said, “India’s goal will probably be merely to establish a credible deterrent against any Chinese attempt to use nuclear blackmail against India — a goal that may not in itself threaten any vital Chinese interests.” Arguing that the border issue between India and China is unlikely to flare up again unless one of the countries decided to raise it for other reasons, the study said, “One of the more likely possible causes of political-military rivalry would be continued Chinese pursuit of a significant presence in Burma (Myanmar).” It said: “The fact that several members of ASEAN have claims in the South China Sea that conflict with China’s could give India an advantage in this competition, but the predominant goal of the Southeast Asian states (with the possible exception of Malaysia) will probably be to balance China and India against each other to prevent either from obtaining too much influence.”
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Women achievers honoured London, May 18 Preethi Nair from London, who wrote and published “Gypsy Masala,” was honoured at a glittering Hilton Hotel reception on Thursday night, attended by British Prime Minister’s wife Cherie Blair, cricketer Imran Khan’s wife Jemima Khan and other high profile guests. Another prizewinner was author and actress Meera Syal, (36), who wrote and participated in the BBC Television series, “Goodness Gracious Me.” She won the chairman’s award for Outstanding Achievement. Thirtyseven-year-old Madi Sharma, whose Nottingham food business turns out 14,000 bhajis, naans and samosas every week, was named Entrepreneur of the Year. Another winner was 50-year-old Poppy Tanna, a campaigner for Asians with disabilities, who won the Social Award. Paralysed from the waist down after a head-on car crash in 1974, she was honoured for the work she has since performed to improve the welfare of other disabled women from the Asian community. “I was in a wheelchair and I thought I had an insight into the problems of disabled people,” she said in a statement at Thursday night’s ceremony. “In ethnic communities, disabled people tend to be hidden in back rooms. I wanted to be a role model to encourage other people to come out of those back rooms and make their voices heard.” Shahina Pardhan, the first female professor of optometry in Britain, won the Professions Category Award. Last year she helped to set up a charity
eye clinic in Pakistan. Yasmin Jetha, group director of information technology at Abbey National, was Corporate Business Woman of the year. She is responsible for 3,000 staff and manages an annual budget of £ 300 million. Other winners included Venu Dhupa, Executive Director at Nottingham Playhouse, who won the Culture Award, and Parminder Vir of Carlton Television who won the Media Award.
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India hopes USA will
follow Britain Washington, May 18 Foreign Secretary Chokila
Iyer, who held high-level talks with senior SU officials yesterday, made the comments at a press conference when asked about the latest SU position on sanctions and the “inexplicable delay” in branding the LeT a terrorist organisation in the USA. Saying the Lashkar issue did not figure at the talks, she said: “We do regard it as one of the most dangerous terrorist organisations. It was declared in the UK as part of the list (of terrorist groups). We hope sometime it will be done here too. To a question on sanctions, she said it did not come up for discussion. “The Bush Administration is taking a review of all sanctions, so we await further developments on that. The review is underway, so we hope it will be done soon.” On her assessment of Indo-US ties, she said they had gained momentum in the past two years under President Bill Clinton and “that momentum is going to continue with the present administration,” Ms Iyer, who is on a visit here, said at the end of day-long Foreign Office consultations. “We greatly appreciate the importance the Bush Administration has attached to India in its foreign policy,” which was signified by the visit of External Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh quickly followed by that of US Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage to New Delhi, she said. Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Marc Grossman represented US side at the talks. Ms Iyer said the two sides reviewed the whole range of bilateral relations and discussed the issues of mutual interest at the regional, international and multilateral level with the two sides expressing commitment to further strengthening bilateral cooperation in all areas. “We talked about all of our relationships with the countries around our region — neighbouring countries as well as our region,” she said. Asked if Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee’s visit to Iran was discussed, she said, “No, not really. We sort of mentioned the visit.” She said President George W. bush had accepted Mr Vajpayee’s invitation to visit India but the date of the visit was yet to be worked out. “We do hope the visit will take place soon.” Ms Iyer said the two sides also discussed other high-level visits which were agreed upon, in principle. “Dates of these visits will be finalised through mutual consultations.” State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said the bilateral talks were part of an “institutional dialogue” established in March 2000. It is now being vigorously pursued by the new administration.”
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4 Sikhs visiting Canada disappear Toronto, May 18 In Canada on the strength of personal sponsorship by Herb Dhaliwal Indo-Canadian Federal Minister of Fisheries and Oceans, one of them has already sought refugee status in Canada and the others are expected to follow the suit, press reports said. Embarrassed at their disappearance, Mr Dhaliwal finds himself in trouble with Immigration Minister Elinor Caplan. In case the visitors are not located and returned to India, Mr Dhaliwal may not be allowed to sponsor anyone for a year. The Sikhs, whose names have not been revealed, were expected to leave Canada May 9. Mr Dhaliwal’s office declined to comment, but reports say he sponsored the visitors on the request of the Khalsa Divan Society that manages Ross Avenue gurdwara in Vancouver, the largest and oldest Sikh shrine in Canada. He wants the society to ensure that the four Sikhs — who reportedly brought religious artefacts for the Baisakhi festival — are located quickly. “In the case of Khalsa Divan, you expect them to do their duty with due diligence,” Mr Dhaliwal is quoted as saying. “They are obviously very concerned about their credibility. The community says they expect people to abide by their obligations.”
IANS |
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Pak guards kill 3 Iranians Islamabad, May 18 Media reports said here today that prolonged exchange of fire took place yesterday between a group of Iranians, whom the Pakistan Frontier Corps officials described as dacoits and terrorists near the Pak-Iran border at Makran division in Baluchistan province. The News, a local daily, reported that a senior Frontier Corps official said the alleged dacoits who had taken position in the area attacked the corps team which was patrolling near the Pak-Iran border and fired from their vehicles with automatic weapons. It said that during the firing, three of the alleged dacoits sustained multiple bullet injuries and died on the spot, while two others were wounded critically and were shifted to a local hospital in Turbat where their conditions was stated to be serious. The Pakistan Frontier official told the newspapers that all five Iranians had trespassed on Pakistani territory for “dacoity and terrorist activities.” “We have recovered four sub-machine-guns (SMGs), one G-3 rifle and thousands of rounds of different calibre from their possession,” he said. The Frontier Corps also impounded the vehicle used by the dacoits, the official said.
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Nawaz to return home “shortly” Islamabad, May 18 “No power on earth can stop him from coming back, neither he needs a permission nor permit for it”, party spokesman Mushahidullah Khan said in a telephonic interview from Karachi.
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