India Hands Over Evidence to Pak

With Pakistan repeatedly attempting to deflect diplomatic jabs pushing it into action against ‘terror elements’ inside its territories, New Delhi on Monday pinned Islamabad to the wall by summoning Pakistan High Commissioner Shahid Malik and handing over to him “material” proving Pakistani involvement in the Mumbai terror attacks.

The move is part of the diplomatic offensive by New Delhi to convince the international community and Islamabad to act against those responsible for plotting the audacious and concerted terror strikes in Mumbai.

All resident heads of missions are to be briefed within the next 24 hours while Indian Ambassadors will carry the effort forward in the countries they are assigned to.

India on Monday also shared the material with the visiting Chinese Vice-Foreign Minister, He Yafei during a meeting he held with Foreign Secretary Shiv Shankar Menon.

In continuum of India’s resolve to seek concrete action against cross border terror attacks, External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee is writing to all his counterparts providing them with details of the events in Mumbai and describing the progress made in the investigations.

Home Minister P Chidambaram is scheduled to travel to the US later this week to share evidence on the Mumbai terror srikes to rally support for India’s efforts to build pressure on Pakistan.

“Our goals are clear. We want the perpetrators to be brought to justice,” Menon told journalists.

Responding to queries on the involvement of those in the Pakistani establishment, Menon said: “It is hard to believe that something of this scale that took so long in preparation and of this nature that amounts to a commando attack could occur without anybody, anywhere in the establishment knowing this was happening.”

Soon after Menon handed over dossiers to the Pakistani High Commissioner, Mukherjee said the material was linked to “elements in Pakistan.”

He said India expected Islamabad to “promptly undertake further investigations” and put the results before the world.

“We would also hope that Pakistan will implement its bilateral, multilateral and international obligations to prevent terrorism in any manner from territory under her control,” he added.

The dossiers contain material obtained during the interrogation of Mohammed Ajmal ‘Kasab,’ the Pakistani national arrested for the Mumbai terror attack, details of the terrorists’ communication links with elements in Pakistan, recovered weapons and equipment and data retrieved from recovered GPS and satellite phones.

“What happened in Mumbai was an unpardonable crime. As far as the government of Pakistan is concerned, we ask only that it implement the bilateral commitments that it has made at the highest levels to India, and practise her international obligations. These are clear. It is my hope that the world will unite to achieve the goal of eliminating the threat of such terrorism,” said Mukherjee.

Simultaneously, the US said it would also present evidence of Pakistani involvement in the attacks in order to persuade Islamabad to take the investigation into the attacks “to its conclusion.”

Speaking to journalists, US Ambassador in India David Mulford said the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) would pursue the evidence gathered in Mumbai before taking the evidence to Pakistan.

“Under our law, if Americans are killed, the US itself has a duty to pursue all avenues to the bottom of it,” he added.

Guns Silence Gaza Peace Calls

Ignoring international calls for an immediate cease fire, Israel on Monday said it would not stop its crippling 10-day assault on Gaza until "peace and tranquility" are achieved in southern Israeli towns in the line of Palestinian rocket fire. Three Israeli soldiers died in a friendly fire incident.

Israeli forces have gained control of several high-rise buildings and attacked mosques in a campaign against Hamas militants that has already resulted in th deaths of 500 Palestinians including women and children.

Arab delegates met with the UN Security Council in New York Monday, urging members to adopt a resolution calling for an immediate end to the Israeli attacks and a permanent cease-fire. At the same time, diplomats and European leaders traveled the region in an effort to stop Israel's expanding ground and air offensive.

In the first serious clash in an urban area, Israeli troops and Hamas militants fought a gunbattle on the outskirts of the crowded Gaza City neighborhood of Shajaiyeh, Israeli defense officials said.

Military spokesman Brig. Gen. Avi Benayahu told Israeli TV the assault was going according to plan with forces sweeping through Palestinian rocket launching locations near the border.

Later, the Israeli military said three soldiers were killed and 24 others wounded Monday evening by friendly fire. It said an errant Israeli tank shell hit their position outside Gaza City, adding that initial suspicions that a Hamas booby-trap caused the casualties were ruled out.

According to reports coming out of the strip the local Shifa hospital was teeming with civilians.

Since the campaign began on Dec. 27 more than 550 Palestinians have been killed and 2,500 wounded, including 200 civilians. UN humanitarian chief John Holmes told reporters in New York on Monday that UN officials believe at least 500 people have been killed in the fighting and that as many as 25 percent are civilians.

Reports say some 80 Palestinians — some of them suspected Hamas members — and transferred several to Israel for questioning, said military officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not allowed to release the information.
The US Department says it was pessing for a cease-fire that would include a halt to rocket attacks and an arrangement for reopening crossing points on the border with Israel, said spokesman Sean McCormack. A third element would address the tunnels into Gaza from Egypt through which Hamas has smuggled materials and arms.

President George W. Bush emphasized "Israel's desire to protect itself."

"The situation now taking place in Gaza was caused by Hamas," he said.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy, who unsuccessfully proposed a two-day truce last week, met with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who lost control of Gaza to Hamas in June 2007.

Europe "wants a cease-fire as quickly as possible," Sarkozy said after meeting Abbas, urging Israel to halt the offensive, while blaming Hamas for acting "irresponsibly and unpardonably."

A European Union delegation met with Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni.

"The EU insists on a cease-fire at the earliest possible moment," said Karel Schwarzenberg, the foreign minister of the Czech Republic, which took over the EU's presidency last week from France. Rocket attacks on Israel also must stop, Schwarzenberg told a news conference with Livni.

As the bruising campaign entered its 10th day Monday, Hamas pummeled southern Israel with more than 30 rockets and promised to wait for Israeli soldiers "in every street and every alleyway."

(Agencies)

CM Conclave: Terror, Response on Agenda

A conclave of Chief Ministers, scheduled to be held in the national capital on Tuesday, will mainly consist of a hold "focussed discussion" on combating terrorism and attempt to evolve a strategy to improve intelligence sharing between states in a well coordinated manner.

Speaking to the media Union Home Secretary Madhukar Gupta said the idea was to "have a focussed discussion on terrorism and how the states and the Centre can join and share intelligence."

The meeting, to be addressed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Home Minister P Chidambaram, assumes significance as it comes in wake of the Mumbai terror strikes and the subsequent efforts initiated by the Centre to add muscle to the country’s response to terror.

Terming intelligence sharing the only preventive mechanism available, Gupta said the day-long meeting would mull over preemptive actions to be taken at the state level and how best the Centre could assist them in terms of money, manpower and weaponry.

Gupta informed that the Centre was prepared to increase the budget for police modernisation in states, he cautioned that the central funds should not be wasted on police housing projects but be used for priority needs like weaponry.

The Home Secretary said tomorrow's exercise will be followed by a meeting of chief ministers of seven states badly affected by the Naxal violence, termed as the single biggest threat to internal security.

Need for increasing police strength, setting up of a specialised police force and the issue of improving coastal security would also be discussed, he said.

The Centre is also expected to urge the states to fill up the over 1.3 lakh vacant police posts across the country apart fro stressing the need for involving the community to fillip the intelligence gathering mechanism.

Taint Mars Omar’s Coronation

Omar Abdullah, dressed in a traditional black sherwani, was sworn in as the Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir by Governor NN Vohra on Monday, the ceremony at the General Zorawar Singh auditorium at the University of Jammu was attended by a host of dignitaries including Congress president Sonia Gandhi.

At 38, Omar is the youngest ever Chief Minister in the state, a post that has been held by his grand father – Sheikh Abdullah and father – Farooq Abdullah - in the past.

Ten other ministers of the National Conference-Congress-led coalition government were also sworn in.

Senior Congress leader Tara Chand Sharma was sworn in as the deputy chief minister.

The newly constituted Council of Ministers includes five ministers each from NC and Congress. Also inducted in the ministry were three-time MLA and former JKPCC chief Peerzada Mohmmad Sayeed, Taj Mohideen, Nawang Rigzin Jora, Shyam Lal Sharma ~ all from the Congress, along with NC's six-time MLA Abdul Rahim Rather, Ali Mohammad Sagar, Mian Altaf and Surjeet Salathia.

The constitution of the ministry has raised hackles in the Opposition which now plans to corner the newly appointed chief minister over the inclusion of several ‘tainted’ names in his cabinet.

Sources suggest Omar tried to push for a ‘clean’ council of ministers but succumbed to pressure from allies Congress.

The names of at least two Congress leaders sworn in on Monday were implicated in the controversial Srinagar sex scandal, a call girl racket involving ministers, lawmakers, bureaucrats and police officers.

Omar’s coronation, coming after the biggest ever voter turnout in the seven phase polls that started in November, is being as the beginning of a new dawn of hope and optimism in J&K.

Omar was first elected to the Lok Sabha in 1998 and again for a second term in 1999. He has also had two stints as Union minister of state in the NDA government. He was re-elected as MP for a third time when he won the Srinagar Parliamentary constituency in the 2004 Lok Sabha polls.

Hasina Acquitted in Graft Case

A day before she is scheduled to be sworn in as the Prime Minister of Bangladesh, a Dhaka Court acquitted Sheikh Hasina in a graft case instituted against her by the outgoing caretaker government. Hasina’s exoneration came after the petitioner withdrew the complaint.

Hasina is to be sworn in to office on Tuesday.

The businessman who had filed the complaint indicated that he had been pressured and that the “incident was undesired and unexpected for me.”

This is the second such case. Azam Chowdhury, another businessman, had also lodged a complaint of extortion, but insisted that he had not mentioned her name. It was added to the charge sheet later.

Sheikh Hasina had six cases against her, including a murder charge.

Both Sheikh Hasina and her political rival, Begum Khaleda Zia, were charged with corruption and were jailed for several months. They had denied the charges, saying these were “politically motivated”

Pashupatinath Temple Controversy Rages

The controversy surrounding the Indian priests at the Pashupatinath temple in Nepal continued to rage on Monday with Prime Minister Prachanda saying the priests would be allowed to perform duties but a minister in his cabinet charging that the priests were guilty of corruption.

The Nepali culture minister said, "We found irregularities in the treasury and hence we are making it public. The Bhandaris are afraid of exposure and hence they are disrupting the proceedings but still we are talking to them."

Priests inside the temple told the media that they were not being allowed to perform worship rituals. Temple insiders, including Nepalis want Indian priests to be reinstated and want India to intervene on their behalf.

Maoists say that the matter is beyond court jurisdiction as the temple board is an autonomous body.

The temple and its surroundings area were declared a prohibited area as public anger continued to mount over the Maoists’ forced entry into the premises.

Rallies, demonstrations and press conferences have been banned in the vicinity..

The announcement came after fresh violence erupted in the area with angry locals and students protesting against the Maoist government’s decision to remove Indian priests and appoint Nepali successors.

Protesters burnt tyres and pelted stones at vehicles and blocked part of the way leading to the temple.

With the ruling coalition in Nepal sending out conflicting signals, New Delhi is yet to decide whether or not the developments should be viewed as anti-India.

With various organizations expressing solidarity with the ousted priests and the General Elections around the corner, New Delhi may soon intervene in the matter.

Central Troops in Kandhamal till Elections: SC

Firmly rapping the Orissa government for failing to ensure the safety of Christians, the Supreme Court on Monday directed the Orissa government to coordinate deployment of Central paramilitary forces in Kandhamal with the Union Home Ministry till the general elections scheduled for later this year.

A Bench, consisting of Chief Justice KG Balakrishnan and Justices Markandey Katju and P Sathasivam, passed the order after senior counsel for Orissa KK Venugopal said the Centre planned to withdraw the forces by January 15.

The Bench said the Centre should take an appropriate decision after analysing the law and order situation in the State. It further asked the Orissa government to order the payment of compensation for churches damaged in violence.

It posted the case, filed by Archbishop of Cuttack Raphael Cheenath, for further hearing after six weeks.

Earlier, Justice Katju told Venugopal: “You had failed in your duty to protect minorities.” When counsel maintained that necessary action was taken, he said, “You had done it much later after 50,000 Christians fled to the jungles. You can’t run your government like this. We can’t tolerate persecution of minorities. If your government is unable to protect Christians, you better resign. We are a secular country and no minority should feel insecure in our country.”

When Additional Solicitor-General Gopal Subramanian said the Central forces would be withdrawn in a phased manner only if necessary, Justice Katju told him: “You (the Centre) have a responsibility to protect the minorities. You have to ensure that they are safe.”

Some 150 churches and institutions were damaged in the communal frenzy that followed the assassination of a noted anti conversion proponent and VHP leader Swami Laxmanananda.

The State was offering a compensation of Rs. 40 lakh as against the demand for Rs. 3 crore. The estimate for repairs was Rs. 5 lakh to 6 lakh but the State was providing only Rs. 50,000 while no compensation was considered in some cases.

Venugopal said in cases where there was a dispute over land — whether the structure was an encroachment or it came up on forest land — compensation was kept on hold. Payment could be considered only if the structure had come up on land other than forest and government land.

Meanwhile a Catholic nun, who was raped on August 25 during the Kandhamal communal riots, identified two accused at the Choudwar jail in Cuttack on Monday. All 10 people arrested in the case were paraded before the victim.

Those identified by the victim included Mitu alias Santosh Patnaik, whom the prosecution has been projecting as the main accused. Mitu along with two persons was arrested from Kerala.

Weather Fogs Airline Traffic in Delhi

Fog continued to play spoilsport at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) on Tuesday morning, as a dense blanket of smog engulfed the facility disarraying scheduled flights and leaving passengers stranded. The meteorological department says the fog may clear around 1130 hours.

Nine domestic flights have been cancelled which include flights to Mumbai, Lucknow, Bhubaneswar and Bangalore.

The departure of seven domestic flights to Mumbai, Kolkata, Udaipur, Aurangabad, Bangalore and Chennai has been delayed.

The runway visibility is less 100 meters and general visibility is less than 50 meters.

The met office added that the fog will stay till January 8.

File Case against Stalin: EC

The Election Commission on Monday directed Madurai collector and returning officer of Thirumangalam constituency to file a case against local administration minister and DMK treasurer MK Stalin for allegedly distributing money while campaigning there on January 3.

The case will be filed under provisions of the Representation of the People Act.

Announcing the decision, chief electoral officer Naresh Gupta said cases had been filed against some AIADMK functionaries too for distributing money to voters on December 28.

The EC has also ordered notice to the DMK and the AIADMK following complaints of “corrupt practices” in Thirumangalam, where a bypoll is slated for January 9. The two parties have been directed to file their reply in two days.

Stalin, on the campaign trail in Thirumangalam, denies the charges saying: “We are strictly adhering to the model code and obeying the rules of the Election Commission. We have not violated any rules. We will submit our reply before the appropriate forum.”

The EC directive follows the airing of television footage purportedly showing Stalin paying cash to some people. DMK cadres, however, explained that making token payments to those paying respects was a tradition for all leaders.

When contacted, Thirumangalam returning officer S Ramachandran said he was yet to receive EC directives.

The campaign has been marred by violence and the lack of probity. The ruling DMK and the opposition AIADMK consider the by-poll to be crucial as it comes just ahead of the Lok Sabha elections and may be viewed as an indication of voter sentiment on various issues.

Nandi, Malda Polls Peaceful

The Nandigram Assembly by-election, held amidst unprecedented security arrangements on Monday, was by and large peaceful save a few incidents of clashes between rival parties. Nearly 85 per cent votes, including those of a large number of women were polled till 1700 hours.

The polls in Malda were also peaceful for most part, but Congress old timer ABA Ghani Khan Chowdhury leveled allegations of poll rigging against the CPI-M, Chowdhury’s niece Mausam Noor was in the fray on a Congress ticket.

At a few booths in Nandigram, polling was still continuing after the prescribed time limit owing to the long queues of voters.

“I have received five complaints from the CPI-M alleging either that their men were illegally prevented from exercising their franchise or that their electoral photo identity cards (EPICs) were snatched. Four electronic voting machines were found to be defective soon after the commencement of polls and these were replaced within an hour,” said Choten Lama, the district election officer and district magistrate.

According to a senior police official eight persons were arrested from different areas for creating nuisance.

The polling was relatively slow in the morning but gathered momentum as the day progressed.

With accusations flying thick, trouble erupted at booth no. 75 of Reyapara in Nandigram after a group of miscreants, allegedly backed by CPI-M, beat up a family of Trinamul Congress supporters.

The three women and an eight-year-old boy injured in the incident wee admitted to the local Reyapara Hospital.

Trinamul leader Subhendu Adhikari contended that CPI-M cadres beat up their supporters at Ranichawk and threatened their supporters with dire consequences when they turned up to vote at two booths in the constituency.

CPI-M was quick in its response with district secretariat member Ashok Guria saying his party did not dare field at three booths of Jalpai and Mirzapur areas owing to the death threats issued by the Trinamul.

“Since last night, the Trinamul has unleashed terror on our supporters residing at Sonachura, Kalicharanpur and Kendemari anchals. Our supporters under booths no. 168 to 176 were either beaten up or forced to stay in their houses during the polls,” he added.
CPI-M state secretary Biman Bose alleged that Trinamul Congress resorted to terror and intimidation to prevent many voters from voting in the Nandigram bypoll.

Trinamul chief Mamata Banerjee, on the other hand, said voters turned out in large numbers despite the CPI-M’s attempts to rig the elections.