Kashmir
options can be looked into: Saran
New
Delhi: Indian Foreign Secretary Shyam Saran on Wednesday
said that New Delhi could look at the various options put
on the table by Pakistan on the vexed Kashmir issue, but
made it clear that these must be based on ground realities.
"We are willing to look at various kinds of options that
might be there but these options must be based on ground
realities," Foreign Secretary Shyam Saran told reporters
at a press conference after a meeting between Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh and his Pakistani counterpart Shaukat Aziz
which last for about two-and-half hours.
Indo-Pak
nuke hotline on anvil (Go
To Top)
Islamabad:
India and Pakistan are seriously considering a proposal
to establish a dedicated nuclear hotline link at the Foreign
Secretary-level to ensure bilateral confidence and an averting
of any untoward nuclear-related incident. According to a
report in The Nation, the technical details for establishing
the hotline is under consideration. The paper further reported
that the Indian side has given the technical details of
such a link to Pakistan through diplomatic channels for
Islamabad to consider. The paper said it was decided that
the hotline between the Foreign Secretaries will be established
to inform each other about any possible "nuclear accident
or threat." Pakistan and India have hotline facilities between
the Director Generals of Military Operations (DGMO) of respective
Armies, which deal exclusively with the conventional side,
and is meant to keep each other informed about the movement
of troops.
27
Pak Hindus migrate to Jalandhar, adjoining areas (Go
To Top)
Jalandhar:
As many as 200 Pakistani Hindus have migrated to Jalandhar
and its adjoining areas allegedly due to religious persecution
in their country. Around 27 of them have reportedly come
without proper visas, which the Punjab police say, are under
investigation. The migrants say that they were ill treated
there and have more freedom here as compared to Pakistan.
They also claim that they were not able to carry out their
religious rituals freely in Pakistan. "There is more freedom
here. There were no temples, gurdwara's near our place.
There was no freedom. Everybody in our family has shifted
here, now all my relatives are here and we have much freedom
here as compared to that place in Pakistan",said Silver
Devi, a migrant from Pakistan. The migrants save their families
by working as a vegetable seller or by stiching clothes
for people or even being a scrap dealer.
'Absence
of democracy among Muslims cause of terrorism' (Go
To Top)
Islamabad:
The Director General of Al-Jazeera Satellite Television,
Wadah Khanfar has said, that the absence of democracy, dogmatism
and obscurantism prevailing in the Muslim society were the
root causes for terrorism afflicting the Islamic world.
The Daily Times in an interview quoted Khanfar as saying
that these facets of life coupled with the closed political
environment that exists in the Muslim society, were not
only the precise reason for the rise of terrorism in the
Islamic world, but, also the root cause for the Islamic
society finding itself in such a quandary. "The root causes
of what we are suffering from have grown during the last
few decades. Our societies have been closed. Our political
regimes have not opened up. The absence of democracy has
created an environment where many people reject reality,"
the paper quoted him as saying.
Zardari's
release, the first step towards reconciliation: Benazir
(Go
To Top)
Lahore:
Former Pakistan Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto has said
that the release of her husband, Asif Ali Zardari, from
prison after eight years, could be the first step towards
"a greater reconciliation" within Pakistani politics. In
a conversation with the BBC, which was reported by the Daily
Times, Bhutto said she was "very excited" that Zardari was
free and was "anxious to see him," adding that she had asked
him to join her abroad till a date was fixed for her return
to Pakistan. The paper further quoted Bhutto as telling
CNN that she wanted to return to Pakistan and hoped for
"facilitation" from the government. "I hope these public
statements made by General Musharraf's regime can lead to
a facilitated return to Pakistan. My country needs internal
stability. I believe internal consensus is necessary for
Pakistan's future and Asif's release is first step towards
reconciliation."
Musharraf
to meet Bush on Dec 4
Washington:
Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf will meet US President
George Bush in Washington on December 4. According to the
Daily Times, Musharraf will arrive in Washington on Friday
December 3 on his return home from a trip to Latin America
and will meet President Bush at 9:00 a.m. the next day.
Reliance
ownership issue may reach courts (Go
To Top)
New
Delhi: Reliance Vice Chairman Anil Ambani continued
his public silence over differences with his elder brother
Mukesh, but the two siblings are believed to be consulting
their legal experts. The much-anticipated statement from
Anil in response to the public declaration by Mukesh that
as Chairman and Managing Director he was the Group's boss,
did not materialise. In fact, the younger Ambani did not
turn up at a public function in Mumbai where he was slated
to speak. Sources in the two camps said that the brothers
were separately consulting legal experts, which indicate
that the battle may reach the courts.
India-South
Africa first test ends in draw (Go
To Top)
Kanpur:
The first cricket Test between India and South Africa
ended in a draw as the latter reached 169 for 4 in their
second innings at close on the fifth and final day here
on Wednesday. Brief scores: South Africa 510 for 9 decl.
And 169 for 4 in 64 overs (G Smith 47, A Hall 26, J Kallis
28 no, B Dippenaar 31 no; M Kartik 2-17, Harbhajan Singh
2-39). India 466 all out in 134.4 overs (V Sehwag 164, G
Gambhir 96, S Ganguly 57, R Dravid 54; A Hall 3-93, M Ntini
3-135).
