|
|
|
|
|
Fai’s arrest exposes ISI-terror links: India
K’taka mining scam puts BJP in a fix
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
R Nariman to be new Solicitor-Gen
Vastanvi’s fate to be decided today
Rao invites Suu Kyi to India
|
|||||||||||||
|
Fai’s arrest exposes ISI-terror links: India
New Delhi, July 23 People like Fai were still actively working in Britain and Brussels. However, with the arrest of Fai, it was going to become increasingly difficult for such individuals and groups to operate, government sources said. Fai has been charged with funnelling four million dollars from Pakistan’s spy agency ISI for benefiting political leaders with the aim of influencing the US policy on Kashmir. Describing the arrest of Fai as a ‘significant development’, the sources said the nexus between state agencies of Pakistan and individual like Fai ought to be broken. They said New Delhi had been aware of the anti-India activities of Fai since the early nineties. “We were pretty enlightened about his activities… other countries are slowly getting enlightened. Those days, Fai used to indulge in ‘fax terrorism’ sending fax messages to human rights activists and others. We had pointed out to the US how this individual was espousing the cause of militancy and separatism.” Asked if India had sought more details from the US on the activities of Fai, who headed the Kashmiri American Centre, the sources said the Indian Embassy in Washington was in touch with the US authorities. However, his activities were still being investigated by the US Justice Department. As a consequence of Fai’s arrest, the sources were confident that people like him in London and Brussels would be running for cover. When asked about Indian academicians, human rights activities and journalists who had enjoyed the hospitality of Fai, the sources said they obviously were facing embarrassment now. “If I were in their place, I would have avoided associating myself with Fai or his group, knowing his antecedents,” a senior official said. Pak downplays involvement Islamabad: Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani on Saturday sought to play down reports of the alleged links between the ISI and
Fai, saying he would comment on the issue only after the facts are established. Blaming non-state actors an alibi: PC
As long as the territory of a country is used by non-state actors to prepare for terror attacks, that country owes a legal and moral responsibility to its neighbours and to the world to suppress those non-state actors, Home Minister P Chidambaram said. “Sometimes, I think that the distinction between state actors and non-state actors is misplaced and intended to misdirect our efforts to deal with terrorist groups at the very source ,” he said at the meeting of the SAARC Interior/ Home Ministers here.
— PTI India, Pak to announce cross-LoC CBMs New Delhi: India and Pakistan are set to announce a series of cross-Line of Control (CBMs) to promote people-to- people contacts after a meeting between the Foreign Ministers of the two countries here on July 27. These CBMs could include increasing number of days for trading, opening more entry points for traders, improving communication links and increasing the frequency of the Srinagar-Muzaffarabad and Poonch-Rawalkot bus services, government sources said here today. However, there was no agreement on providing banking services to each other’s traders as of now. India was ready for such an accord but Pakistan has certain reservations. The sources acknowledged that Pakistan had conveyed to India that it would move from the positive list of items for trading to negative list by October, which, in effect, means it was granting the most-favoured nation (MFN) status to India. New Delhi had accorded Pakistan the MFN status years back and regarded non-reciprocity as one of the major reasons for not signing a bilateral investment treaty. External Affairs Minister SM Krishna and Pakistan’s new Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar will meet on July 27 to review the progress in the dialogue process, which was resumed in February after a hiatus of more than two years in the wake of the Mumbai terror attacks. Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao and her Pakistani counterpart Salman Bashir will meet a day earlier to finalise the agenda for the meeting between the two Foreign Ministers. “We desire a peaceful and stable Pakistan…we have told Pakistan that we are holding the talks with an open mind and a forward looking approach. We have adopted a step-by-step, incremental and graduated approach,” the sources asserted. However, they made it clear that there would be no compromise on India’s stand that the perpetrators of the Mumbai attacks must be brought to justice. “We want a transparent and expeditious trial of the 26/11 accused…we remain steadfast in our resolve to see this happen,” they added. Asked if the arrest of Kashmiri separatist Syed Ghulam Nabi Fai in the US could affect the India-Pakistan talks, the sources said: “This is something that happened in the US…talks will go on. I don’t see how the arrest can affect our talks here.”
|
|
K’taka mining scam puts BJP in a fix
New Delhi, July 23 Formally, party spokesman Syed Shahnawaz Husain took the stand. “What report? Has a report come? Have you seen the report? We have not seen any report.” That apart, the party is caught in a jam. While it is campaigning against the Congress on the corruption plank, its leaders realise that if they do not act against Yeddyurappa now, their campaign could lose steam. Already JD(U) president Sharad Yadav has declared: “There will be no justification for our campaign against corruption if we appear tainted.” Sharad Yadav said on record what most BJP leaders were admitting privately. If even after a damning report of Karnataka Lokayukta, they don’t get rid of Yeddyurappa, they will be left with no credibility to raise the corruption issue anymore. On the other hand, sources in the BJP also concede privately that it would be a difficult decision to take. Yeddyurappa is insisting that there is nothing new in Hegde’s charges. He wants his party to see whether there is anything new and more damning in this report. His supporters also point out that under the Karnataka Lokayukta Act, the report is not mandatory. It is not just Yeddyurappa alone. From all appearances it seems that Lokayukta Santhosh Hegde may indict four other ministers. This could bring the first BJP government in South tumbling down. On the other hand, sources argued that if the BJP realises that Yedyurappa’s continuation has become totally untenable, it may ask to him recommend dissolution of the Assembly and seek mid-term polls. That could give double advantage to the BJP. “For one we will then turn around and ask the Congress to make Sheila Dikshit in Delhi, also indicted by the Delhi Lokayukta, to pick up the gauntlet. Moreover this act may garner some sympathy for Yeddyurappa and he may have a good chance to return to power again,” they say.
|
|
Second goods train derails in 24 hrs in UP
Allahabad, July 23 The incident took place in the early hours at Allahabad city railway station, commonly known as Rambagh police station, falling under the North Eastern Railway (NER) zone. Eight bogies of the Bihar-bound train laden with cement derailed when they were being brought to the platform from the yard, causing disruption of traffic on the route. The railway track has also been damaged. However, no injuries were reported. Three bogies of a cement-laden goods train had derailed yesterday at exactly the same spot and traffic was restored a few hours later when railway officials had claimed that the tracks had been repaired. “We have taken a very grim note of the incident which has taken place less than 24 hours after a similar incident took place at almost the same spot. We will conduct a thorough inquiry and tough action will be taken against the erring officials,” NER General Manager K L Mittal told reporters at the spot of today's accident. “Nearly half-a-kilometer-long stretch of railway track has been damaged on account of the derailment. This has affected rail traffic on Allahabad-Varanasi route. Eight trains are being run through diverted the route,” he said.
— PTI
|
|
tribune special-part IiI
New Delhi, July 23 Nationally, over one-third of the 1,500 anganwaris surveyed in 2008 and 2009 didn’t have functional weighing scales for babies; more than half (60 per cent) didn’t have scales for adults - pregnant women and adolescent girls. The lowest availability was reported by the anganwaris of Punjab, Jammu and Kashmir, Bihar and Rajasthan. The new evidence has brought under question the veracity of children’s nutrition progress data being produced under the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS), with the Planning Commission’s first major review of goal delivery under the scheme, stating, “Child growth and nutrition data being generated by the states and the Ministry of Women and Child Development (WCD) doesn’t represent the grassroots reality. This mismatch is a major source of leakage of resources under the ICDS.” The scheme has failed to effectively deliver services critical to reducing high infant, child and maternal mortality rates (IMR, CMR and MMR). These services are - regular weight monitoring of beneficiaries, provision of nutrition, health education (NHE) and immunisation to beneficiaries, encouraging mothers to seek medical help if their children fall sick and de-worming children aged 0 to 6 years. Investigators interviewed beneficiaries from 19,500 households serviced by 300 ICDS projects in 1,500 AWCs across India and found that the scheme had some positive impact on normal children and those suffering moderate Grade-I malnutrition, but failed to improve the nutritional status of children with severe Grade II to IV malnutrition. Provision of supplementary nutrition to beneficiaries remains poor - 16 days a month for 0 to 6 year olds; 12 days a month for pregnant women and six days a month for adolescent girls. Under the ICDS, food must be given 25 days a month. Even the WCD Ministry admits, “The states are not meeting nutrition norms.” Assam gives supplementary nutrition for just two days a month and Uttarakhand for eight days. Weighing of children at birth is critical to reduce the IMR, but nationally the impact of the ICDS is marginally negative on this front implying that it hasn’t made progress in getting children weighed at birth. “The practice is significantly absent in the beneficiaries of Punjab, Himachal, West Bengal and Karnataka. Jharkhand is good,” the report says. Overall, only 46.5 per cent children were weighed at birth and 43.2 per cent were subsequently weighed every month. The report concludes, “Most services critical to attacking the IMR, CMR and MMR in both short and long runs have not been effectively delivered. Rather, services like pre-school education (PSE) that plays a subsidiary role have been better delivered. Service delivery for adolescent girls is the poorest.” ICDS report card
Govt to states: Set up nutrition councils New Delhi: Women and Child Development Minister Krishna Tirath today admitted that the high-level of malnutrition in the country was a matter of serious concern and asked state governments to set up nutrition councils at the earliest and conduct surveys to detect the actual levels of malnutrition among children. The minister was speaking at the end of the conference on ICDS which the government called to deliberate on the issue of universalisation of the scheme and improving delivery of services. As reported by The Tribune, the goal of universalisation of the ICDS is far from achieved. Nationally, only 41 per cent of eligible children, 38 per cent of eligible pregnant and lactating women and 10 per cent of eligible adolescent girls are being covered by the scheme.
— TNS
|
|
Border haat to boost ties with Bangladesh
Guwahati, July 23 The event is significant in the context of the Prime Minister’s upcoming visit to Bangladesh. “People living on both sides of the border will benefit from the haat,” Anand Sharma said while inaugurating the trade point. Initially, the two border haats as pilot projects, are to be opened at Baliamari (Kurigram district, Bangladesh)-Kalaichar (West Garo Hills, Meghalaya) and at Lauwaghar (Dalora) (Sunamganj district, Bangladesh)-Balat (East Khasi Hills, Meghalaya). These two border haats have been built at the total estimated cost of Rs 1.59 crore with Rs 79 lakh provided by the Department of Commerce and rest Rs 80 lakh by the Ministry of External Affairs. Commodities that will be allowed to be traded in these border haats include locally produced vegetables, food items, fruits, spices, minor local forest produce, products of local cottage industries, agriculture implements, garments, melamine products, processed food items, fruit juice, etc. The commodities traded will be exempted from the payment of customs duty. Trade will be done in local currency and/or barter basis. Estimated value of such purchases shall not be more than respective local currency equivalent of US $50, for any particular day. The Haat Management Committees (HMC) headed by the additional district magistrate concerned will manage the affairs of such a haat. The HMC will also have one representative each from the police, customs, border security agency and village/union level local government.
|
|
R Nariman to be new Solicitor-Gen
Sources said the government had decided to appoint him as the next Solicitor-General, a proposal to which he had given his consent. “The formal notification on his appointment will be issued next week after the Appointments Committee of Cabinet gives its seal of approval,” they said. Nariman (55), son of an eminent jurist Fali S Nariman, was in the race for the post after Subramanium resigned as Solicitor-General in the wake of Nariman Jr being appointed as special counsel to represent government in a 2G related case in the Supreme Court a fortnight ago, apparently without his knowledge. Nariman has been appearing in various constitutional and corporate cases in the Supreme Court and high courts. He argued for Mukesh Ambani’s RIL along with senior advocate Harish Salve in the dispute over the supply and pricing of gas from KG basin between the Ambani brothers.
— TNS
|
|
|
Vastanvi’s fate to be decided today
Vastanvi, who was elected as the “Mohattamim” of the seminary in Januray this year, found himself in trouble following his alleged controversial remarks about Gujarat CM Narendra Modi in which he reportedly praised the developmental works done by the CM. There were demands that he should quit his post. However, Vasta
|
|
|
New Delhi, July 23 According to government sources, the meeting between the two was quite warm and cordial. Suu Kyi said she was presently touring various parts of her country and after which she could consider flying abroad. Sources said Rao spoke to Suu Kyi about India's relationship with Myanmar, which recently got its first civilian government in years, and New Delhi's help to her country in various fields. — TNS
|
|
| HOME PAGE | |
Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir |
Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs |
Nation | Opinions | | Business | Sports | World | Letters | Chandigarh | Ludhiana | Delhi | | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | E-mail | |
New Delhi, July 23
Dehradun, July 23