Home   Contact Us                                                                             Dateline New Delhi, Tuesday, Dec 2, 2003

Archives

Indo-Pak talks on rail service on Dec 18-19

          New Delhi, Dec 2: India on Tuesday announced dates for the talks for resumption of train links with Pakistan. The move comes a day after New Delhi and Islamabad agreed to resume air links and allow overflights after a two-year halt, laying the ground for Prime Minister Vajpayee's travel to Pakistan next month for a regional summit. India cancelled the Samjhauta Express or "Goodwill Express" running between Delhi and Lahore in December 2001 after it accused Islamabad of Parliament raid. "Today we have proposed to Pakistan the dates of 18 and 19 December for holding technical level talks in New Delhi for the resumption of Samjhauta Express," Foreign Secretary Shashank told reporters in New Delhi. The only trans-border passenger train was by far the cheapest means of communication - the fare as low as Rs 166 from Delhi to Lahore - for the poor families torn apart by the 1947 partition. The train was introduced on July 22, 1976 as a result of the Simla Pact between India and Pakistan. Tuesday's proposal comes after the rivals began a ceasefire last week in Kashmir and on the Siachen glacier to the north.

          PIA seeks flights to Chennai: Meanwhile, Pakistan has applied for starting the Pakistan International Airline's operations to Chennai and to other available destinations in India. The Chairman of PIA, Chaudhry Ahmed Saeed, indicated this to the Nation from Karachi. "PIA's operations for new destinations would not be possible on January 1 and both the sides would take it up as next step," Saeed said. When asked whether India has also applied for any new destination in Pakistan, he said, "No, India hasn't applied for any new destination yet."

          Both the sides were operating 12 flights a week before the suspension of operations by India on December 31, 2001. PIA had no option but to suspend its operations to Far East due to a ban imposed by the India on the use of its air space. When asked about the estimated loss to the PIA because of the suspension of its operations to India and the Far East, Saeed said the estimated loss was equivalent to eight per cent of the total revenue of the PIA.

Shashank takes charge as Foreign Secretary (Go To Top)

         New Delhi, Dec 2: New Foreign Secretary Shashank who succeeded Kanwal Singh took charge on Tuesday. Kanwal Sibal retired on Sunday. Shashank was secretary in charge of desks looking after Europe, Africa and America. He has also worked as Secretary in Economic Relations in the Foreign Ministry. Shashank said his priorities would be to push India's economic diplomacy forward. "The challenges which are there in the immediate neighbourhood will go ahead with the confidence-building measures for economic cooperation. Moving towards the PTA (Preferential Trade Agreement), FTA (Free Trade Agreement) types of programmes which have been prepared for us and also the longer term vision for the Asian economic unity for cooperation with other African countries. Latin American countries and with other countries in the European Union and NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement)," he said. Shashank, who has been India's ambassador to Libya, South Korea and Denmark, was also political minister in the Indian High Commission in Pakistan in 1982. Shashank will hold office at least till July 2004.

India agrees on Gorshkov price (Go To Top)

          New Delhi, Dec 2: India has agreed on a price of almost 670 million dollars for a refurbished Russian aircraft carrier, Admiral Gorshkov, naval chief Admiral Madhvendra Singh said on Tuesday. "The price negotiation committee has concluded the price for Gorshkov deal. We have got a very, very fine deal and the papers will go to the government for a final investment decision," he told a news conference here. After long-running negotiations, Singh said the two countries had also settled on a price for the combat aircraft to go with the carrier, but did not give details.

Majority for MNF in Mizo Assembly (Go To Top)

          Aizawl, Dec 2: The ruling Mizo National Front (MNF) on Tuesday secured a simple majority by winning 21 seats in the 40- member Mizoram assembly, while the Congress secured 12 out of 38 seats the results for which were declared on Tuesday. Only one more result is yet to be declared. Counting for the Suangpuilawl constituency, which witnessed kidnapping of three candidates in the November 20 election, was not taken up as the Election Commission was yet to take a decision. Chief Minister Zoramthanga was returned victorious from both Champai and Kolasib constituencies.

30 killed in Himachal bus mishap (Go To Top)

          Shimla, Dec 2: At least 30 people were killed and 25 injured when a bus fell into river Ravi in Chamba district of Himachal Pradesh on Tuesday, official sources said here. The overcrowded Himachal Road Transport Corporation bus, with some passengers travelling on the roof, was on its way from Bharmaur to Chamba when it plunged into the river near Gaira, 30 km from Chamba, the sources said. Twenty-five bodies have been extricated so far from the submerged bus. Two passengers succumbed to their injuries in a hospital at Chamba. Some passengers are feared trapped inside the bus and efforts were being made to pull them out. The condition of some of the injured, admitted to the hospital, was stated to be "critical", the sources added.

18 cops wounded in Anantang grenade blast (Go To Top)

          Anantnag, Dec 2: Some militants threw a grenade into the police headquarters of a Kashmiri town on Tuesday, wounding 18 policemen. The grenade exploded on the lawns of the police building in Anantnag, 54 km south of Srinagar. Anantnag is near the forest hideouts of Muslim militants fighting Indian rule in the territory. "When we were about to leave, the grenade just burst near the gate of the office," an injured policeman said. In another incident, two soldiers and two members of the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba died in an overnight gunbattle in the neighbouring area of Shopian. Militant groups have said they will not observe a ceasefire agreed last week between India and Pakistan, which applies to the frontlines where their two armies face each other across the divided state. Pakistan denies allegation that it is sponsoring the 14-year revolt in Kashmir.

Salman case deferred till Dec. 9 (Go To Top)

          New Delhi, Dec 2: The Supreme Court on Tuesday deferred the hit-and-run accident case involving Bollywood heartthrob Salman Khan till next week. Khan stands trial over a car accident that killed a homeless bakery worker sleeping on a footpath last September. Dipesh S.Mehta, counsel for Khan, said the court would take up the matter on December 9. "Today was kept for final hearing but as there were elections yesterday, it was a miscellaneous day today. Therefore, the case has been adjourned for December 9 on a non-miscellaneous day," Mehta told reporters in New Delhi. The glamorous star, who has a huge fan following, faces charges of damaging property, driving under the influence of alcohol and driving without a licence though a severe charge of culpable homicide has been dropped by the high court. Thirty-seven-year-old Khan, who has acted in many blockbusters, is famous for his macho, swaggering on-screen image. Popularly known as "Destiny's child", Khan came into news earlier this year following a brawl with fellow actor Vivek Oberoi who accused him of threatening to kill him. Oberoi was apparently close to Khan's former girlfriend, former Miss World and actress Aishwarya Rai. Khan was also in the news in 2001 when he created a flutter outside Rai's residence in the night seeking an audience with her. He has also been under the shadow of law for alleged involvement in illegal hunting in Rajasthan.

Parliament pays tributes to Maran, adjourns for the day (Go To Top)

          New Delhi, Dec 2: The winter session of Parliament which began on Tuesday morning adjourned for the day after paying glowing tributes to Union Minister Marasoli Maran who passed away on Nov 23 in Chennai. Both Houses also condoled the death of three sitting and several former members, who died during the inter-session period. In the Lok Sabha, Speaker Manohar Joshi said Maran was an outstanding Parliamentarian who served as a member in various Parliamentary Committees. He brilliantly championed the cause of developing countries at WTO negotiations in Doha and staunchly protected their interests, the Speaker said. Rajya Sabha Chairman Bhairon Singh Shekhawat said Maran was in the forefront of Dravidian movement and played a key role in it. He was given the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1975 for his contribution to Tamil films where he worked in various capacities as director, producer and screenplay writer.

Mamata's portfolio gamble unlikely to click (Go To Top)
-by Gautam Ghosh

          Kolkata, Dec 2: Trinamul Congress chairperson Mamata Banerjee's strategy to create pressure on the BJP's leadership to get a portfolio of her choice appears to have received a jolt with the possibility of the saffron party performing better in the just-concluded Assembly polls in four states. Ms Banerjee had planned to enter into a hard bargain with the BJP over her portfolio in the event of the party putting up a poor show in the Assembly elections. However, the outcome of the exit polls, coupled with the Trinamul Congress' poor performance in Sunday's municipal polls in West Bengal, has made her position somewhat untenable.

          According to informed sources, Ms Banerjee's current predicament may be intensified in the event of the BJP unseating the Congress in at least two out of the four states which went to the polls on Monday. As per the exit poll predictions, the BJP is all set to wrest Madhya Pradesh from the Congress and is likely to win in Rajasthan by a slight margin, while putting up a tough fight in Chhattisgarh. The saffron party's comparatively better performance will only strengthen Deputy Prime Minister L.K. Advani's hands and may stand in the way of the Trinamul Congress leader getting any important portfolio in the NDA Cabinet as relations between the two continue to remain far from normal. The Trinamul Congress chairperson has consequently decided to keep several options open. First, she may not accept any portfolio in the event of the BJP leadership deciding to go for an early Lok Sabha election. Ms Banerjee feels an early election will provide her little time to undertake "any real good work for the people." Secondly, she will not accept any insignificant portfolio which may not do justice to her political weight. The Trinamul Congress leader has told her close associates in the party that she does not want to be a laughing stock in the NDA. Ms Banerjee does not mind remaining a minister without any portfolio till the next Lok Sabha polls as long as the BJP treats her as a "real ally."

          The Trinamul Congress chairperson's decision to join hands with defence minister George Fernandes for creating a kind of "pressure group" within the NDA has naturally not gone down well with the BJP's apex leaders. Ms Banerjee had earlier held a detailed discussion with the Telugu Desham party supremo and Andhra Pradesh chief minister Chandrababu Naidu on the possibility of forming a "Third Front" comprising parties other than the BJP, Congress and the leftists.

          Ms Banerjee's strained relationship with the BJP also came to the fore on the eve of the Delhi Assembly polls in which her party put up nominees in a couple of constituencies against BJP candidates. The Trinamul Congress leader, who was scheduled to address some election meetings in the capital in support of her party candidates, was persuaded by the Prime Minister's Office at the eleventh hour to cancel her visit. She, however, declined to withdraw her party nominees despite specific requests from the state and central BJP leaders.

          All this, sources said, clearly indicates that Ms Banerjee intends to maintain her party's independent political status and does not want it to become the BJP's appendage simply to get a "lucrative Cabinet berth." Her primary concern continues to be the CPI(M)'s ouster from West Bengal's ruling orbit and this has prompted her to join hands with the Congress in the winter session of the Assembly to launch a joint offensive to "expose the Left Front government's misrule."

Pak for withdrawing troops from POK if India does: Musharraf (Go To Top)

          Rawalpindi, Dec 2: Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf has said that he is ready to withdraw 50,000 troops from Pakistan's side of Kashmir if India pulls out its 700,000 from its side of Kashmir. Answering questions in BBC Radio program Talking Point, Musharraf said both Pakistan and India would have to bury the hatchet to establish lasting peace in the South Asian region.

          Clearly stating that there were no quick solutions, the Daily Times quoted him as saying that, "The steps both countries recently took are just a beginning towards long-lasting peace in South Asia." Musharraf was quick to dispel the notion that Pakistan was going to change its stance on the Kashmir issue. "No one can afford to compromise on issues where national interests were involved," he said. He said the final decision on settling the Kashmir dispute would be taken by Parliament, but the President would have his say, as he too was part of the government.

          He also rebutted Indian Deputy Prime Minister Lal Krishan Advani's charge of cross-border infiltration continuing, emphasizing that there was none. Musharraf said he would consider giving the country's biggest national award "Nishan-e-Pakistan" to Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee if any progress was made on the Kashmir issue. When his attention was drawn to Afghan President Hamid Karzai's accusation that reclusive former Taliban supreme leader Mulla Muhammad Omar was sighted in Quetta, he said if Karzai had such authentic information why did he not inform Pakistan?

Pakistan must end support to cross-border terrorism: US think tank (Go To Top)
-by Priscilla Hull

          Washington, Dec 2: A U.S thinktank on international relations has said Pakistan must end support to cross-border terrorism if the latest peace initiatives with India were to stand. The nuclear-armed neighbours have agreed to resume air links after a two-year halt, laying the ground for India's Prime Minister to travel to Pakistan next month for a regional summit.

          The agreement came six days after the nuclear-armed neighbours began a ceasefire in the disputed Kashmir region in a fresh bid to calm turbulent relations, and is the latest in a series of steps, most of them largely symbolic, by the countries this year. "I think it's a very good thing that India is prepared to delink somewhat, for the time being, the question of the ceasefire, from the question of infiltration. And so, there'll be a ceasefire, suspension of shelling and these kinds of activities, even if some infiltration continues and I think the Indians realistically expect that there will be some continuation. But, I think that India is absolutely right that this ceasefire and the positive consequences of this ceasefire cannot be very durable unless, something is done over time, about the infiltration and about the support for the militancy in Kashmir. It's essential that Pakistani support for the militancy stops. If it doesn't stop, then clearly, this ceasefire is not going to lead to a durable reconciliation between India and Pakistan," Robert Einhorn, member of the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CISM) said in Washington on Monday.

          Analysts say the recent agreement marked solid gains for the two sides, who were near the brink of a fourth war last year, but the countries were far from resolving the contentious Kashmir dispute at the heart of decades of enmity. Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee is due to travel to the Pakistani capital Islamabad for a summit of the seven-member South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation on January 4-6, but talks with Presidnet Pervez Musharraf seem unlikely.