Agenda for Indo-Pak talks by Feb17 (Go To Top)

         Islamabad: The agenda for the talks between Pakistan and India would be decided by February 17 to enable the Foreign Secretaries of the two countries to prepare a final draft of recommendations for their respective governments. Informed sources told the News that the Indian team for the preliminary talks would arrive on Sunday, and both sides are expected to lay the ground rules for a future composite dialogue, including a discussion on the core issue of Jammu and Kashmir and other bilateral matters. The Foreign Secretary-level talks are scheduled for February 18, and will be preceded by the Joint Secretary-level talks starting from February 16 in Islamabad. The talks, being termed "ice-breaking" in the diplomatic circles, came as a result of a meeting between President Pervez Musharraf and Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee on the sidelines of the 12th SAARC summit in Islamabad.

India's tour of Pak on schedule: Sinha (Go To Top)

          New Delhi: The Indian Government on Saturday said that the Saurav Ganguly-led Indian cricket team's tour of Pakistan next month will go ahead as scheduled. External Affairs Minister Yashwant Sinha made this announcement after a meeting at the Prime Minister's residence today. "After taking into consideration all aspects, it was decided that the two countries should go ahead with their cricket matches as proposed," Sinha said. Sinha's statement comes a day after the Pakistan Cricket Board said it retained the option of complaining to the International Cricket Council if India cancelled its tour.

          However, it's still unclear if the government's okay means that India will play a full tour or whether some matches allotted to Peshawar and Karachi will be rescheduled. Deputy Prime Minister L K Advani and Finance Minister Jaswant Singh also attended the meeting. Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Shahryar Khan welcomed the government's decision to go ahead with the tour saying it is a "positive move". The tour was never in doubt for the PCB, he said. In Kolkata, BCCI President Jagmohan Dalmiya, reacting cautiously to the latest development, said that the cricket board was awaiting a formal communication from the Centre about the go- ahead. "I'm waiting to get it officially from the government. "I'll react only after I receive the formal comunication," Dalmiya told a news agency. Dalmiya is scheduled to leave for London this evening for an important meeting of the International Cricket Council.

          The focus now returns to the players themselves. Reports say that some players are under pressure from their families not to go to Pakistan. Amid apprehensions of a possible security threat to the Indian players and the forthcoming general election in India, there was speculation over the past few days that the tour to Pakistan maybe called off. Earlier, it was stated that Vajpayee and Advani would be taking a final decision on the tour next week. Informed sources then said that Advani was constantly being updated by security agencies on the threat perception to the Indian players from terror groups in Pakistan.

Plea for chartered flight for cricket players (Go To Top)

          Lahore: Keeping the security concerns of the "Men in Blue" in mind, the Board of Control for Cricket in India's (BCCI) three-member security team, which is currently visiting Pakistan, has demanded a chartered flight for the players from Lahore to Multan. If the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) expresses its inability to oblige, sources close to the security team told Online News that the one-day international to be played at Multan could be cancelled. The Indian delegation is believed to have conveyed this view after reviewing the security arrangements in Multan with PCB officials, the Multan district administration and police officials on Friday. The Indian team also visited the Multan Police Club where they met the city's superintendent of police, Ashar Hameed, who briefed the visitors about the arrangements in Multan. The delegation later left for Faislabad via road to review the security situation there. Meanwhile, a PCB official has said that the Indian team seemed to be satisfied over the steps taken by the provincial governments for ensuring foolproof security to the Indian team.

Another Indian security group touring Pak (Go To Top)

          Karachi: Apart from the three-member BCCI team, another Indian security group is reportedly in Pakistan to gather intelligence on security issues, the News has reported. According to the paper, this "second" group has contacted Pakistan's intelligence agencies for details on various aspects of the proposed tour and, is expected to give its feedback to India's Home Ministry. A source, who did not want to be named, said that this second team could be operating with the knowledge of the Indian High Commission, which has been taking a keen interest in the security assessment for the Indian tour. India's High Commissioner Shiv Shanker Menon is also scheduled to attend the final meeting between the Chairman and officials of the Pakistan Cricket Board with the three-member Indian delegation in Lahore on Sunday before they return home and report back to the BCCI and the Indian government. The BCCI and the Indian Home Ministry has made it clear that any decision on the tour to Pakistan would only be made after receiving the Indian delegation's report.

Pak nabs Qadeer aide in nuke case (Go To Top)

          Islamabad: A businessman with close links to Dr. AQ Khan, the father of Pakistan's nuclear bomb, has been arrested after it was found that he was actively involved in the illegal transfer of nuclear technology to other countries. "Aizaz Jafri allegedly served as a front man for Mr. Khan in several business ventures, including hotels and restaurants in Islamabad. He is among the seven Pakistanis who have been arrested for their links with the disgraced scientist. The others are retired army officers and scientists at Pakistan's premier nuclear facility," the Daily Times, quoted one Zahid Hussain as saying.

          "Mr. Jafri is believed to have acted as a middleman in the international black market network in nuclear materials set up by Mr. Khan over the past two decades. Mr. Jafri manages a chain of hotels and restaurants, which are either fully or partially owned by the scientist, who is a central figure in the illicit trade in nuclear technology," Hussain added. "According to Pakistani officials, Mr. Jafri made frequent business trips to Dubai in recent years and the government is investigating his connections to Mr. Khan's other business interests in the United Arab Emirates. Mr. Khan holds millions of dollars in foreign bank accounts despite having received a monthly salary of just 1,200 pounds," the paper further quoted him, as saying.

Bush sends arms control official to check out Pak (Go To Top)

          Washington: US President George W Bush has reportedly ordered Steve Rademaker, the Assistant Secretary of State for arms control and missile defense, to reach Islamabad on February 19 for a round of strategic talks with the Pakistan government. According to the Nation, Rademaker will camp in the Pakistan capital for a couple of days. An official, who asked not be named, was further quoted as saying that Rademaker's visit was just one of many to be undertaken by American officials this month, as Washington is very keen to help Islamabad limit the damage that it has suffered from the illegal transfer of nuclear and missile technology. "I don't know about it, but some visits to Pakistan are on the cards, she said.

India, Pak are targets of nuke terrorism : US think tank (Go To Top)

          Washington: A study carried out by a leading US think tank has warned that both Pakistan and India could be potential targets for a nuclear terrorist strike in the near future. "India and Pakistan may have established regulatory bodies and agencies to deal with the safety and security of their nuclear materials, but they may not protect against every potential threat," argued Kishore Kuchibhotla and Matthew McKenzie of the Stimson Centre. Kuchibhotla and McKenzie were further quoted as saying by the Daily Times that in South Asia, the source material for nuclear terrorism could come from illicit transactions of poorly protected materials originating outside the region, as also from within the region.

          While fears of a nuclear exchange between India and Pakistan have receded, three other events could prompt an unintended escalation in South Asia. They are a terrorist use of radiological dispersal devices (RDDs), a terrorist detonation of a nuclear weapon and the accidental explosion of nuclear arms at military bases in either India or Pakistan. Based on the data available from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), both Kuchibhotla and McKenzie go on to conclude that India has reported several cases of stolen and lost sources over the last few years. According to them, there have been 25 reported cases of missing radioactive materials. Nearly 10,000 radioactive sources are used in India of which about 400 are "particularly worrisome". Data from Pakistan, however, is not publicly available.

           "All national leaders, including the leaders of India and Pakistan, have a grave responsibility to maintain a responsible stewardship over nuclear materials. However, carefully the South Asian leaders' work to avoid crossing the nuclear threshold, accidents can happen, they concluded.

Radioactive threat on New Delhi is real, say experts (Go To Top)

          Washington: If experts at the New York-based Stimson Centre are to be believed, India's capital, New Delhi, potentially faces the possibility of radioactive implosion in spite of existing safeguards. In their study, the experts warn that if radioactive material falls into the wrong hands with New Delhi as the target, an area of about two sq. km. or about 33 city blocks could be contaminated to a level that would require a clean-up. This could include, depending upon winds and the location of the detonation, prominent areas like Connaught Place, India Gate, and/or South and North Block. This can have serious impacts on India's economy and governance.

          Keeping weather conditions prevailing in the May-June period in mind, the experts have said that apart from New Delhi, this radioactive threat perception affects six other cities in India and Pakistan. They are Mumbai Bangalore and Chennai in India and Lahore, Karachi and Islamabad in Pakistan. The experts say that while the highest security levels are associated with nuclear weapons and their infrastructure, radioactive materials can also be found at many research laboratories and hospitals. Calculating the consequences of nuclear events with a highly sophisticated computer program used by the U.S. government, they further go on to warn that terrorist groups in these two countries, as elsewhere, may precipitate "casualties or massive disruption by means of radioactive materials."

          In the case of a dirty bomb attack on Karachi with the help of just 200 grams of Cobalt 60 (Co 60), the experts say that radioactive contamination would spread over much of the city and well beyond it (50 km or more). An RDD attack on Karachi would be a national catastrophe. In an inner zone, several hundreds of metres from the attack site, people would succumb to radiation sickness. Survivors could spread intense radioactive contamination further. There would ensue a massive exodus of people from Karachi, much of which would be contaminated by the Cobalt plume. The RDD attack would have massive ramifications for Pakistan's economic security.

          In their study, they say that unlike the fissile material used to produce nuclear weapons that is stored in comparatively few locations, radiological materials are widely used in medicine and industry. These materials, they fear are not as well guarded as they should be, and could be susceptible to theft from individuals who work inside, or outside, the facility. "The greatest threats posed by an RDD lie in its capacity to wreak psychological and economic havoc on a city, as well as its potential to produce escalation," they were quoted by the Daily Times, as saying. The researchers conclude that widespread availability of radioactive materials worldwide makes the threat of radiological terrorism plausible. Radioactive materials are stored and used throughout India and Pakistan for cancer therapy, food irradiation and medical product sterilization.

India will never use nukes against others: Kalam (Go To Top)

          Ranchi: President APJ Abdul Kalam on Saturday said the country's nuclear weapons capability was only a deterrent and they would never be used against any other country. "India is a peaceful country and will never use nukes against others," Kalam told a school student when he asked what was the purpose behind making weapons of mass destruction. Kalam further said "but we cannot sit idle when other countries have such weapons. The N-bomb has been made to protect our border or in other words for our defence''. The President met the student during his interaction with about 1000 children at Raj Bhavan here.

Poll dates by month-end (Go To Top)

          Tiruchirapalli (TN): The Election Commission is likely to announce the schedule for the coming Lok Sabha polls in the last week of this month. After assuming the charge as Election Commissioner, N Gopalaswami told reporters here that the CEC had planned a series of meetings with various State and Central government officials. Besides he would also consult state chief secretaries, electoral officers and directors-general of police in Delhi on Feb 16 and 17. The Commission would later hold discussions with the Union Home Secretary on February 19, followed by a meeting with political parties the next day, he added.

Murli Manohar Joshi retains Allahabad constituency (Go To Top)

          New Delhi: Human Resource Development Minister Murli Manohar Joshi said on Saturday he would contest the next parliamentary election from his old Allahabad constituency. "I have contested the election from Allahabad three times and won. So this time also I will fight the election from Allahabad," he told reporters at the inauguration of the 16th World Book Fair here.

Vaiko vows to support cause of LTTE (Go To Top)

          Chennai: A powerful leader, released on bail after being imprisoned for supporting a banned Tamil rebel outfit, on Saturday, said he would continue to support its cause. V Gopalaswamy or Vaiko, leader of the Tamil nationalist Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (MDMK) party, was arrested in July last year under a strict anti-terrorist law, Prevention of Terrorism Act (POTA) for supporting Sri Lankan Tamil rebel outfit LTTE. The Tamil rebels are fighting for a separate homeland for Sri Lanka's minority Tamils in the war-torn island. "They want to live in peace, dignity and honour. Even basic Human rights were denied to them. I am voicing my support to them, as their sole representative. LTTE (Liberation of Tamil Tigers' Eaalam) is there. Even UN secretary knows this truth. I cannot be hiding the truth," Vaiko told reporters in Chennai after holding a meeting of top leaders to chalk out strategies for the upcoming general election.

          Vaiko, who had been in jail for 18 months, was released on bail, last week by a POTA court. Though the POTA court had put stringent conditions for his bail, the Madras High Court on an appeal eased the conditions allowing him to pursue his political career. MDMK has joined the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK)-led alliance alongwith the Congress party after ditching the federal ruling coalition.

Militant with explosives arrested in Delhi (Go To Top)

          New Delhi: Police on Saturday arrested a suspected militant carrying four kilograms of explosives in New Delhi. Officials claimed that Ved Prakash was nabbed while he was going to hand over the explosives to his contacts as instructed by some Pakistan-based militants. Ashok Chand, deputy commissioner of police, said that Prakash was running a smuggling racket. "He has links with militant groups. This person, Ved Prakash, is basically into smuggling activities and is said to be a kingpin in cross-border smuggling," Chand said. The arrest comes barely two days after a blast rocked a crowded market place in the Capital. Though there were no casualties, the incident has sparked fears of increased militant activity. Analysts have warned that guerrillas could try and derail the latest peace process between India and Pakistan, scheduled to begin a composite dialogue pocess from Monday.

20 killed as gunmen go on rampage in Iraq (Go To Top)

          Baghdad: At least 20 people were killed on Saturday in an attack on a security compound and government building in the flashpoint town of Falluja, west of Baghdad. Fourteen police officers and three gunmen were among the dead, police said. The same compound was attacked two days earlier during a visit by the top US commander in the Middle East, Gen John Abizaid. He escaped unharmed. Up to 50 men took part in the latest raid which also left about 30 people injured, it was reported from the town. "Unknown men fired mortars, explosives and light machine guns from four directions," a police officer told newsmen. US troops have moved in to the secure the area. The town lies in an area known as the so-called Sunni Triangle, the heartland of the guerrilla campaign against the US-led occupation of Iraq.