India to relax visa norms for Pak businessmen

          New Delhi, July 8: Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee has been requested to ease visa norms for Pakistani businessmen for providing a fillip to bilateral trade. The visiting business team from Pakistan also presented to Vajpayee a joint memorandum prepared by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry and the Pakistan Chamber of Commerce and Industry. The memorandum contains suggestions to ease trade bottlenecks including visa norms, transport and communication facilities. Senator Illyas Bilour, co-president of the India-Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry, and 37 other Pakistani businessmen who met the Prime Minister in New Delhi on Tuesday, said Vajpayee has agreed to relax visa norms for fostering trade between the two nuclear neighbours. FICCI president AC Muthiah and secretary-general Amit Mitra were also part of this delegation.

50,000 rendered homeless by Assam floods

          Marigaon (Assam), July 8: Around 50,000 people in Assam lost their homes in flooding caused by heavy monsoon rains and were evacuated to safer areas, eye witnesses said. About 50 villages were submerged after a river burst through a mud embankment on Sunday night in Dhemaji district after a Hundreds of homeless people have set up makeshift shelters made of tarpaulin and tin sheets. The densely populated eastern parts of India and Bangladesh are regularly flooded during the monsoon season that lasts from June to September as the Ganga and Brahmaputra and their tributaries overflow because of torrential rains. Water Commission officials warned the Brahmaputra, which is flowing above the danger level mark, could cause more flooding in the state. Assam is regularly hit by floods during the monsoon season. Last year about 100 people were drowned and some 2.5 million of the state's 26 million people were displaced by floods.

Congress open to alliances (Go To Top)

          Shimla, July 8: The Congress on the second day of its conclave here declared that it is open to pre-and post-poll alliances with like-minded parties wherever necessary. Stating that the days of one-party rule were over, a Congress leader said the party was ready for alliances with regional parties. Anti-Congressism as an ideology is dead and so is the party's perception that it is the ''only national party.'' So there is a meeting ground for forging fruitful alliance, said another Congress leader. The Congress draft working paper says: ''Consistent with the decision taken in Pachmarhi in 1998, the Congress party is prepared, wherever necessary, to enter into pre-and post-poll alliances with other parties ...'' However, a senior Congress leader made it clear that though the Congress was ready to form alliances and was aware that it was not in majority in Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and West Bengal, it did not want to give an impression that the party was desperate to form alliances.

US downplays secret Kashmir conference (Go To Top)

          Washington, July 8: The US State Department is downplaying the significance of a conference on Kashmir held last week in Washington. The half-day conference, organized by the State Department's Bureau of Intelligence and Research, was not open to the public or the media and sparked speculation that the US might be exploring options for getting more involved in the Kashmir dispute. A State Department official said that perception was entirely false and that there was "no political significance" to the conference whatsoever. The event involved two panels of experts from India, Pakistan, the US and Britain, who discussed the current situation surrounding the Kashmir issue and prospects for dialouge in the future. The audience was composed of US government employees and academics from the US and South Asia. Attendance was by invitation only.

          The State Department official said that the conference was far from extraordinary, noting that the agency organizes many similar events on a range of topics. "Many foreign affairs issues are exceedingly complex," the official said, "and it is both prudent and appropriate to supplement the information gathered by the US government on these issues by meeting with experts from academia, business, non-governmental organizations, journalism, and elsewhere." The Bureau of Intelligence and Research organizes more than 100 conferences and seminars each year on a variety of issues, the official said, and this was not the first such conference on Kashmir. The event was "policy neutral," according to the official, and the only reason it was not open to the public was to encourage an "open exchange of views" amongst the participants.

          Among the panelists at the conference was Major General Dipankar Banerjee, a former Indian Army officer who spent time in command of the 8th Mountain Division in the Kashmir Valley. He is currently on a one-year fellowship at the United States Institute of Peace in Washington. Mr. Banerjee agreed that there seemed to be no agenda behind the conference and that it was simply a review of the current state of affairs surrounding the Kashmir issue. Despite media reports that the US has a so-called "Kashmir roadmap" up its sleeve, Major General Banerjee said he saw no evidence of such a plan at last week's conference. "The State Department's participants ... at no time spelt out anything like that or even attempted to lay down anything of that nature," he said. "This is clearly not a US government policy today." According to Mr. Banerjee, the US government employees in attendance seemed to understand India's concerns about third- party involvement in the Kashmir dispute. India's concerns about cross-border terrorism were discussed, Mr. Banerjee said, and he told the gathering that in his view, "the way cross-border infiltration and terrorism continue in Jammu and Kashmir cannot continue without the active involvement of the Pakistan forces manning the border." But he also predicted that if all goes well, there could be a dialouge between India and Pakistan by this autumn, a prospect which was undoubtedly welcomed by the State Department participants. Mr. Banerjee's only complaint about the conference was that there was no representation from the Kashmiri Pandit community on either of the panels.

          The State Department official said that Mr. Amitabh Mattoo, the Vice-Chancellor of Jammu University and Pandit, was invited to the gathering but chose not to attend. There have also been press reports that the Indian government was upset that officials from the Indian Embassy in Washington were not asked to participate. The State Department official said it is not customary to invite embassy personnel to these types of events. "We're well aware of the Indian government's position on Kashmir," the official said. "We talk to them all the time about this. We talk to the Pakistani government all the time about it." The Pakistani Embassy was not asked to participate in the conference either.

116 killed in Sudan plane crash, child only survivor (Go To Top)

          Dubai, July 8: A Sudanese airliner crashed early on Tuesday shortly after taking off from Port Sudan airport, killing 105 passengers and 11 crew members. The only survivor was a child, the Sudan News Agency reported. The Boeing 737 was on an internal flight to Khartoum when its captain reported trouble. Immediately after, the plane crashed in an empty area, about 5 km from the airport. The child escaped without any serious injuries and was recovering in a hospital, authorities said.

Weather-beaten Pak internet out of service (Go To Top)

          Lahore, July 8: A collapse in the internet system delinked Pakistan from the rest of the world from 3 p.m. onwards on Monday. Windstorm and rain in Karachi reportedly damaged the back-up satellite connections, thus affecting the service, reports the Nation. Earlier, there was a fault in the SMW3 cable. The non-availability of the service hit net users in general and business offices and newspapers in particular. Neither group browsed the web or used e-mail facility. Capt. Zahid, Member (Operations) PTCL, informed the daily on telephone from Islamabad that there was a temporary break in the internet service on Monday afternoon due to fault in the SMW3 cable. Eighty per cent of internet service suffered due to this reason. The remaining 20 per cent users had the service through satellite back-up system. The situation worsened after a windstorm and heavy rain in Karachi damaged the satellite back-up system too and the service collapsed completely at around 6.30 p.m., he explained. Full restoration of the service would take some time, it was said.

Pakistan closes embassy in Afghanistan (Go To Top)

          Kabul, July 8: Pakistan has closed its embassy in Afghanistan after a mob attacked and ransacked its premises Tuesday, sources quoting ambassador Rustam Shah Mohmmand said. Elsewhere in Kabul around 1,000 people led by central bank governor Anwar Ul-haq Ahady demonstrated against Pakistan's alleged "invasion" of Afghan territory. Others said they had climbed over the walls of the embassy in the up-market Wazir Akbar Khan residential district in north Kabul and smashed vehicle windows. The protesters who attacked the embassy later joined the main demonstration taking place in Pashtunistan square in central Kabul beside the central bank and presidential palace. The demonstration is against Pakistan's military operation in Afghan territory in the provinces of Nangarhar and Kunar, central bank governor Ahady told reporters.

Basu is 90, presented wax model (Go To Top)

          Kolkata, July 8: Jyoti Basu was presented with his wax statue, sculpted by Sushanta Roy, on Tuesday, his 90th birthday. The gift was formally brought to him by Transport Minister Subash Chakraborty. Meanwhile, schoolchildren lined up in front of Basu's home to greet him with roses. The ex-chief minister sat in a chair on the portico and accepted their greetings. The wax statue, measured five feet four inches, is draped in spotless white kurta, a dhoti and black pump shoes, exactly the dress which Basu wears. Basu has been India's longest serving chief minister. He ruled for 23 years and stepped down on health grounds in 2000. He continues to serve the CPI(M) as a member of the politburo.

Marxists upbeat over Advani rebuff to Mamata (Go To Top)
-by Gautam Ghosh

          Kolkata, July 8: The ruling Marxists appear upbeat over Deputy Prme Minister L K Advani's categorical rejection of Trinamul Congress' demand for imposition of President's rule in West Bengal "in order to save democracy." Advani's announcement on the Centre's "limited power" to interfere with the state's administration came as a jolt to Trinamul Congress chairperson Mamata Banerjee during the former's hurricane visit to the city on Sunday. Ms Banerjee has been harping on imposition of Article 356 of the Constitution to ensure free and fair elections in the state for quite some time. According to informed sources, Trinamul Congress is expected to re-draw its political strategy and depend less on the Centre to face the CPI(M)'s challenge in the Lok Sabha polls next year.

            Hailing Advani's observations regarding Ms Banerjee's demand for Article 356, a senior member of the state CPI(M) secretariat said, "The Deputy Prime Minister's remarks have vindicated our stand. Trinamul Congress' demand has been proved untenable and unjustified. There can be no question of Central intervention since law and order is a state subject." The Deputy Prime Minister's one-day visit created a piquant situation for the Trinamul Congress-BJP combine which had expected him to do some plain-speaking on the "CPI(M)'s terror" and give a categorical assurance to "restore the democratic process in the state." Advani, who last week received a verbal report from an NDA team after its visit to some terror-hit districts, declined to make any commitment about possible Central action to deal with the "CPI(M)'s terror tactic." Instead, the BJP's apex leader urged Trinamul Congress and BJP workers to "create a level-playing field to meet the Marxists politically." His assurance that the Centre would not fail to do whatever is permissible within the Constitution appeared both vague and disappointing to the opposition party workers still reeling under the terror unleashed by CPI(M) cadres at the time of rural polls in May.

           Both Trinamul Congress and the state BJP apprehend that Advani's stand will prompt the CPI(M) workers in rural Bengal to tighten their stranglehold on the opposition party supporters. The significance of chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee's closed- door meeting with the Deputy Prime Minister during his Sunday visit has also not escaped the allies' notice. Bhattacharjee, who has taken care to maintain a personal rapport with Advani, is believed to have conveyed to him not only the steps the Left Front government has taken to contain the ISI and extremist outfits but also the action "to restore normalcy in the post- panchayat poll scenario." The chief minister's deft move obviously took the wind out of Trinamul Congress' sail as evident from Advani's subsequent remarks at a meeting held at Ms Banerjee's office.

           The Deputy Prime Minister was also dismayed by the state BJP's chronic infighting which has inhibited its growth in the CPI(M)'s bastion. Rival BJP factions led by state party president Tathagata Roy and union minister of state for small-scale industries Tapan Sikdar met Advani separately to complain against each other. The Deputy Prime Minister also took care to attend a programme organised at the behest of disgruntled Trinamul Congress MP Sudip Bandopadhyay to indicate that the latter continued to be in his good book despite Ms Banerjee's success to stall his induction to the NDA Cabinet. Political observers believe that Advani's visit to the Trinamul Congress office on his way back to the airport was essentially a "balancing act" to keep both the leaders happy.

-ANI