Tbilisi, July 5
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton today reassured Georgia with a pledge of continued support and criticised Russia’s “occupation” of two breakaway Georgian regions.

On her first visit to the ex-Soviet country as secretary of state, Hillary told a group of women leaders that Washington would also keep pushing for further democratic reforms in Georgia.

“We continue to object to and criticise actions by Russia which we believe are wrong and on the top of the list is the invasion and occupation of Georgia,” Clinton said shortly after arriving in the capital Tbilisi as part of a regional tour.

“The United States supports the Georgian people, we support Georgian democracy,” she said.

Hillary was due to meet later with Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili, who will be looking for reassurances Washington has not abandoned support for his country amid a “reset” in relations with Moscow.

Tbilisi is hoping Clinton will take a hard line on Russia’s military presence in the rebel regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia and that she will reiterate US support for Georgia’s hopes of joining the NATO military alliance.

Hillary urged further reforms in Georgia, saying a vibrant democracy and economy were key for it to regain control of the rebel territories.

“The more vibrant, effective a democracy and economy Georgia becomes, a greater contrast there will be between South Ossetia and Abkhazia and the rest of Georgia,” she said.

Hillary was on the final stop of a tour of eastern European and Caucasus region countries that has also taken her to Ukraine, Poland, Azerbaijan and Armenia. — AFP

Islamabad, July 5
Pakistani authorities have formed special task forces to crack down on 17 radical groups, including the Jamaat-ud-Dawah and Lashker-e-Taiba, in the wake of the suicide attack on the Data Darbar shrine.

The Home Department of Punjab has set up the task forces comprising officials of the Crime Investigation Department, Special Branch and Anti-Terrorism Squad in several districts of the province, said a report by BBC Urdu.

The groups against which action will be taken include the JuD, LeT, Jaish-e-Mohammed, Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, Sipah-e-Sahaba, and Tehrik-e-Nifaz-e-Shariah Muhammadi, among others.

Nine of the groups belong to the hardline Deobandi sect, three are Shia organisations while three are influenced by the ideology of Ahl-e-Hadith.

The other groups on the list are Sipah-e-Muhammad Pakistan, Tehrik-e-Jafriya Pakistan, Millat-e-Islamiya Pakistan, Khudamul Islam, Islami Tehrik Pakistan, Hizb-ut-Tehrir, Jamiat-ul-Ansar, Jamiat-ul-Furqan, Khair-un-Naas International Trust, Islamic Students Movement (ISM) and the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA).

The BLA is a Baloch nationalist group and the ISM is a radical students’ organisation. However, the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan is not among the groups to be targeted by the task forces.

Interior Minister Rehman Malik has said the Taliban and Al-Qaida are working with the Lashkar-e-Jhangvi and Sipah-e-Sahaba in parts of the country, especially Punjab. The Sunni Tehrik also has been placed under observation by the Home Department.

About 4,000 people are currently under surveillance under the provisions of the Anti-Terrorism Act for alleged links with extremist groups.

They have to inform police stations in their areas about their movements.

The task forces have been advised to establish close contact with intelligence officers in the districts to exchange information on the 17 organisations that will be the focus of the crackdown.

An official of the Punjab Home Department told BBC Urdu that orders had been issued to launch crackdowns on the hideouts of these groups and arrest those connected with them immediately.

The task forces have also been asked to trace those who are financing these groups and their other sources of funding so that action can be taken under the Anti-Terrorist Act.

The task forces led by district police chiefs will report to the Punjab Home Department.

Pressure is mounting on the Punjab government to crack down on militant groups in the province in the wake of the attack on Data Darbar shrine in which 45 people were killed.

Several leading Sunni groups have also demanded that provincial Law Minister Rana Sanaullah should be sacked for his alleged links with the Sipah-e-Sahaba.

The Punjab government and Interior Minister Rehman Malik have engaged in a war of words over the sharing of intelligence on possible terrorist attacks.

Malik has insisted that a “clear and specific” warning was issued to the Punjab government that terrorists could target mosques or other places of worship before the suicide attack on Data Darbar. — PTI

Melbourne, July 5
An Indian student was attacked by a group of teenage boys who tried to snatch his money while he was walking home from his part-time job, amid Australian police's claim that assault cases against the community have come down following tough action against crime. Hervir Singh, a hospitality student, was attacked late at night in Ringwood area recently.

"Suddenly, four or five boys attacked me. They tried to snatch some money from me. I ran from there and then I called the police," he was quoted as saying by ABC.

Hervir said he was attacked while he was walking home from his part-time work. He said he was tempted to start carrying a knife to protect himself.

The incident came as Victorian Police Commander Trevor Carter, who is heading 'Operation Guardian', said that though the crime data is yet to be fully analysed, there is evidence that the number and severity of assaults and robberies have decreased.

"We're not seeing the sorts of violent crimes that we did previously, and that's right across the metropolitan area," he was quoted as saying by ABC.

"We're concentrating very much on those transport hubs. In those areas we're putting up to 100 police per night on top of what's normally there," he said .

Carter said the police has used new powers to search more than 1,000 people. "So far to date we've seized 27 weapons, and most of those have been knives," he said.

"We're also doing some work in those areas where we know the students go to work. So for instance if it's a service station or 7/11 store or they're driving taxis, we're actually out there giving them some advice about being safe. We've visited over 430-odd premises." — PTI