India hits back after Sharif speech, calls Pakistan a breeding ground for terrorists

In a point-by-point reply to Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s address at the U.N. General Assembly, India accused Pakistan of trying to “shift responsibility” for firing at the Line of Control.

“The world knows that the primary reason for firing is to provide cover to terrorists crossing the border. It needs no imagination to figure out which side initiates this exchange,” the statement, filed by the Permanent Mission of India to the United Nations in New York, 

Officials had said that India’s response would come directly from External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj when she makes India’s address at the UNGA which is expected on Thursday at 10:30 p.m. IST.

Referring to Mr. Sharif’s statement on how Pakistan’s forces were fighting the terrorists that “killed its children”, India said, “Pakistan claims to be the primary victim of terrorism. In truth, it is actually a victim of its own policies of breeding and sponsoring terrorists.”

India took particular exception to Mr. Sharif’s reference to Kashmir as a land under “foreign occupation,” replying, “The occupier in question is Pakistan. In fact, India’s reservations about the proposed China-Pakistan Economic Corridor stem from the fact that it passes through Indian territory illegally occupied by Pakistan for many years.”

4-step peace plan

In a 15-minute address that made several references to Kashmir as a land under “foreign occupation”, Mr. Sharif said he had tried to “reach out” to India to resolve the issue. He then proposed that India and Pakistan begin with ending the firing at the Line of Control, “formalise and respect” the 2003 ceasefire and ask the United Nations Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan to verify it. Mr. Sharif proposed a “no use of force” agreement. Finally, he proposed steps to “demilitarise Kashmir” and “mutually withdraw troops from the Siachen.”

India didn’t respond to Mr. Sharif’s peace proposals in its statement, but said that Pakistan must keep its commitment to the Simla Accord, and its 2004 declaration on stopping support to terrorism. “On each occasion, it is India that has extended the hand of friendship. India remains open even today to engage Pakistan on outstanding issues in an atmosphere free of terrorism and violence.”

The Pakistan Prime Minister’s speech at the U.N. was unusual, as his four-point pitch for peace was made to India on the world platform, where other countries are normally not addressed directly. However, it indicates the Pakistan government’s desire to show the international community that it is keen on resuming dialogue.

Mr. Sharif’s speech came at the end of a week when he and Prime Minister Narendra Modi stayed at the same hotel in New York, and even attended the same conference on peacekeeping.

Yet despite speculation that there would be some contact in order to pick up dialogue threads, there were no talks between them. On Monday, the leaders did manage a wave at each other across the U.N. meeting hall at the peacekeeping conference chaired by U.S. President Barack Obama.

http://editpag.blogspot.com/

Read More

No upper caste CM if NDA wins in Bihar: BJP

The repercussions of RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat’s interview to Organizer, in which he called for a review of reservation, are still unfolding in Bihar, with the BJP vowing to make a backward class leader the Chief Minister if the NDA wins the Assembly polls.

Minister of State for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises and prominent Bhumihar leader Giriraj Singh said on Tuesday: “An upper caste [man] cannot become Chief Minister of Bihar; it is certain that if the BJP-led NDA comes to power, the next Chief Minister will be from either the OBCs or the EBCs.”

Both what was said and who said it is significant. Mr. Singh’s declaration is a fallout of a perceived backlash from these classes to Mr. Bhagwat’s interview, and the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and the Janata Dal (U) making political capital out of it.

On Monday, RJD chief Lalu Prasad referred to Mr. Bhagwat’s interview and said the polls were being fought between alliances representing the forward castes (NDA) and the backward castes (his grand alliance with the JD-U).

In choosing Mr. Singh, a prominent upper caste leader, to make this statement was to accord it an aura of consensus in a caste-sensitive State. The declaration, however, puts paid to the ambitions of at least half-a-dozen upper caste contenders for CM in the party.

Damage-control exercise: JD(U)

The BJP’s declaration that the NDA would make an OBC or EBC man the next Bihar Chief Minister if the NDA wins the Assembly polls there, was termed by the JD(U) on Tuesday as a damage-control exercise which was too little too late. “The truth about the BJP’s real inclinations is revealed by the way the party has distributed ticket, with 65 of the 160 seats given to the upper castes. Nobody is fooled,” JD(U) Bihar chief Bashishtha Narayan Singh told The Hindu.

The statement of Union Minister Giriraj Singh that an upper caste man cannot become Chief Minister proves that on the ground, caste equations still decide matters.

http://editpag.blogspot.in/

Read More

China launches 20th satellite for its BeiDou Navigation system

China on Wednesday successfully launched 20th new generation satellite which has among others a hydrogen atomic clock, moving a step closer to build its own Global Positioning System to compete with the US-operated GPS.

Launched from Xichang Satellite Launch Center in the southwestern province of Sichuan, the satellite was boosted by a Long March-3B carrier rocket, state-run Xinhua news agency reported on Wednesday.

It was the 20th satellite for the BeiDou Navigation Satellite System (BDS), and puts China one step closer to providing an alternative to the US-operated GPS, it said.

For the first time the satellite featured a hydrogen atomic clock. A series of tests related to the clock and a new navigation-signal system will be undertaken, according to a statement from the center.

Named after the Chinese term for the plough or the Big Dipper constellation, the Beidou project was formally launched in 1994, some 20 years after GPS.

Xie Jun, chief engineer of the Beidou project, earlier said that China plans to set up a complete “constellation” of 35 navigation satellites and expand their coverage to the entire globe by 2020.

The first Beidou satellite was not launched until 2000.

Nonetheless, by 2012, a regional network had already taken shape, which provided positioning, navigation, timing and short message services in China and several other Asian countries.

China is also keen to have its own GPS to ensure privacy for its military communications and missile launches reducing the dependence of US operated GPS.

China plans to expand the Beidou services to most of the countries covered in its Silk Road “Belt and Road” initiative by 2018, and offer global coverage by 2020, the report said.

http://editpag.blogspot.in/

Read More

Sharif, Modi wave at each other at UN peacekeeping summit

Reflecting a chill in bilateral relations, waving at each other was all that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif did today as they attended the UN peacekeeping summit.

Assembling for the Leaders’ Summit on Peacekeeping hosted by US President Barack Obama, Mr. Modi walked into the conference hall first and took his seat at the right-side of the horse-shoe shaped table in chamber hall.

Mr. Sharif walked in a few minutes later and took his seat right across from Mr. Modi at the left-side of the table. The two leaders did not immediately wave or smile at each other.

Just minutes before the programme was about to begin, Mr. Sharif waved at Mr. Modi, who on seeing Mr. Sharif waving at him, smiled back and responded with a wave. After a brief pause, Mr. Modi waved again to Mr. Sharif, who smiled back and nodded his head.

Apart from the wave, there was no other interaction or gesture between the two leaders.

Since they had reached the chamber just minutes before the summit was to begin, they took their seats and did not walk around the room to meet or greet any other leaders present. They clapped at the end of each other’s speech.

On Mr. sSharif’s side of the table was seated US President Barack Obama, Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and leaders from Rwanda, Ethiopia.

On Mr. Modi’s side were the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and leaders from France and Indonesia. Mr. Modi and Mr. Sharif were in the chamber for almost an hour and a half and the Indian leader left immediately after addressing the summit. He did not walk up to any leader to shake hands. Mr. Sharif left the summit about 10-15 minutes after Mr. Modi.

Before taking his seat next to Indian leader, Mr. Abe had walked up to him and cordially shook his hands.

Mr. Modi, sitting in his chair, also smiled back and shook hands with the Japanese leader.

Mr. Sharif and Mr. Modi were staying in the same hotel and the summit was the only platform where they were under one roof during their stay in the city for the UN General Assembly.

Mr. Modi and Mr. Sharif had last met in Ufa, Russia, in July on the sidelines of the BRICS and SCO summits. India-Pak ties are going through a chill particularly after last month’s cancellation of NSA-level talks following differences over the agenda proposed by Islamabad, and a planned meeting between Kashmiri separatists and Pakistan’s National Security Adviser Sartaj Aziz.

http://editpag.blogspot.in/

Read More

Brain drain can become brain gain: Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi today said that the 21st century is India’s century and attributed the sudden change in India’s fortune to the commitment, strength and pledge of the 125 crore people of the country.

“For some time now, people are saying that the 21st century is India’s century,” Mr.Modi thundered in an address to a strong crowd of 18,500 Indian-Americans at the SAP Center in San Jose, which is the hub of Silicon Valley. Asserting that he is giving every minute of his life in the service of the nation, Mr. Modi said he would live and die for the country.

Mr.Modi said that in the past 16 months, world’s perception about India has changed dramatically. The world is looking at India with a new vision and aspiration.

He attributed this change to the commitment, strength and pledge of the 125 crore people of the country.

Mr. Modi said he is confident of India’s success because 65 per cent of the population of the country are of less than 35 years — 800 million. “I can tell you with confidence that this country will not remain behind,” he said during his speech, which was marked with several round of thunderous applause. Mr. Modi said India is in a strong position today.

In just 15 months, India has scaled new height, has attained economic stability. In the past six months almost all rating agency have said in one voice that India is the fastest growing economy in large countries, he said.

Prime Minister Modi said that no one ever thought that brain drain can become brain gain. This is actually brain deposit,” he asserted, adding that it would serve its motherland at an appropriate time. “Now it is the time that every Indian can show people their strength,” he said in his hour-long speech.

Mr Modi recollected the contribution of the Gadar party in San Francisco in India’s independence movement. California has had a historic relationship and contribution in India’s development, he said.

“Today is September 27 here and in India it is September 28. September 28 is the birth anniversary of Bhagat Singh. I salute the martyr,” Mr. Modi said and asked the audience to chant with him Veer Bhagat Singh Amar Rahe.

“I am meeting Indian American a year after the Madison Square Garden event in New York. I am coming to California after 25 years. A lot has changed. Many new faces that I see. I can see here India’s vibrancy here,” he said.

"The world has changed its impression about India because of your talent in computers. With your talent, commitment, innovations you are forcing the world to change. If they do not change their view about India, they would become irrelevant in the 21st century," he said.

Attack on Congress

In a veiled attack on the corruption during UPA regime and a barb at the Sonia Gandhi’s son-in-law Robert Vadra, Mr Modi deprecated the culture of graft in the country and said he has provided corruption-free governance. He said corruption during the previous government’s time had triggered anger among people.

“In our country it doesn’t take much for allegations to come up against politicians... Someone made 50 crores, someone’s son made 250 crores, (someone’s) daughter made 500 crores, (someone’s) damaad (son-in-law) made 1000 crores...” he said.

Switching on to a question answer mode, he asked the audience “Is the country not disappointed?” The people replied “yes“.

“Is there not anger against corruption,” he asked. “Yes,” people shouted. Mr. Modi then asked, “I am standing before you. Tell me if there is any allegation against me.” “No,” people shouted. He then told the crowd that he is giving every minute of his life in the service of the nation and he would live and die for the country.

While Modi’s reference to sons and daughters of politicians being corrupt is seen as a reference to culture of corruption in the country, the reference to son—in—law is seen as a barb at alleged land deals entered into by Vadra with the some state governments.

http://editpag.blogspot.in/

Read More

Modi makes a big pitch for "Digital India"

‘Digital India’ is an enterprise to transform India in a scale unmatched anywhere in the world and it has the potential to make development truly inclusive, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said today.

“Digital India is an enterprise for India’s transformation on a scale that is, perhaps, unmatched in human history,” Mr. Modi said while speaking about his ambitious Digital India initiative before a gathering of Silicon Valley CEOs.

Mr. Modi, the first Indian Prime Minister to visit Silicon Valley in more than three decades, said his government wants paperless transactions.

“We would set up digital locker for every citizens to share documents across departments,” he said.

“After MyGov.in, we have just launched the Narendra Modi Mobile App. They are helping me stay in close touch with people,” he said amidst applause from the audience.

“I want our 1.25 billion citizens to be digitally connected,” Mr. Modi said, describing the steps taken by his government towards broadband connectivity.

“I see technology as a means to empower and as a tool that bridges the distance between hope and opportunity,” he added.

“In this digital age, we have an opportunity to transform lives of people in ways that was hard to imagine just a couple of decades ago,” the Prime Minister said, adding that the pace at which people are taking to digital technology defies stereotypes of age, education, language and income.

“We must ensure that technology is accessible, affordable and adds value,” he said, adding that his government is giving highest priority to cyber security, intellectual property.

“I see technology as a means to empower and as a tool that bridges the distance between hope and opportunity,” he said.

Recognizing that a Digital India could not be built without bridging the digital divide, he listed out the measures taken by his government to bridge this digital divide.

“From large corporate to young professionals in this great center of innovation, each can be part of India story,” he said.

“Building upon that vision, we conceive of Digital India, to fundamentally transform the way our nation will work,” the Prime Minister said.

Adobe CEO Shantanu Narayan, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and Qualcomm executive chairman Paul Jacobs were among those present at the event.

editpag.blogspot.in

Read More

Our march in step with U.N. vision Modi

Presenting his government’s domestic development agenda as completely in alignment with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Prime Minister Narendra Modi told a special summit of the U.N. on Friday that he came from a tradition that considered the entire world as one and the earth as our mother.

Reiterating the Indian position on climate change, the Prime Minister emphasized the concept of “common but differentiated responsibility,” which is part of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.

18-minute address

In his 18-minute speech, Mr. Modi outlined the various development targets that his government has set, and how special measures were being taken to ensure that they were environmentally sustainable.

“The SDG mirrors India’s developmental goals,” the Prime Minister said. According to him, whenever nations have been united in dealing with a crisis, they have been successful.

“Seventy years ago, the U.N. offered a new hope for humanity. Today, the time has come for us to seek a new direction,” he said, calling for reforms in the U.N.

“The U.N. Security Council needs to be made more broad based in order for it to have higher credibility.”

Pointing out that removing poverty is the biggest challenge before the world, the Prime Minister said it was the collective responsibility of all to work towards a “world that is peaceful, a system that is just and development that is sustainable.”

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday invoked Jana Sangh founder Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya to argue that his ideal of antyodaya, or the uplift of the poorest, and the U.N. Sustainable Development Goals were similar.

Addressing a special summit of the U.N., Mr. Modi listed the Indian schemes of financial inclusion, education and skill development, direct benefits transfer, and pension schemes for the vulnerable among the initiatives that would promote sustainable development in India.

He said, “It is not just about fulfilling the needs of the poor and upholding their dignity, nor about assuming moral responsibility for this, but realizing that the very goal of a sustainable future cannot be accomplished without addressing the problem of poverty.”

Mr. Modi also introduced an idea of the “Blue Revolution,” which he elaborated as a special effort to preserve the oceans and ensure the sustenance and prosperity of island nations, particularly the smaller ones that face the brunt of climate change. “We are committed to a sustainable path to prosperity; that is rooted in our culture,” Mr. Modi said, adding that, “we need to change our lifestyles in order to reduce energy dependency and consequently the impact on environment.”

http://editpag.blogspot.in/

Read More

After market crash, Xi Jinping finds world a changed place

NEW DELHI: Not too long ago, a packed Harvard audience, with a good many Chinese students attending, heard a keynote address on how China's rise to being the world's pre-eminent power at America's expense was pretty much inevitable and US's efforts to balance Pacific power equations weren't going to change things. 

Just months later, it seems a changed world as Chinese President Xi Jinping, hailed till recently by western media for accumulating the most power since the charismatic Mao, set foot in the US in the wake of bedlam in China's stock market that lost 30% value since its June high.

It was only the other day that Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi plainly told a high profile seminar in Beijing that relations with Japan were bound to improve - as they had with Russia - once the Japanese reconciled to the inevitability of China's rise. 

Indeed, the muscle flexing over the nine-dash line that left the Philippines bruised and Taiwan, Malaysia, Vietnam and Brunei watchful and wary seemed China's way of doing away with any pretense of the humility urged by leaders like Deng Xiaoping ("hide your brightness, bide your time"). 

As Xi assures US audiences that China will not devalue the yuan and allow market forces to steer the troubled currency, it seems time to ponder if Deng's lessons need to be persevered with a little longer.

In comparison, Prime Minister Narendra Modi begins his US yatra on a more confident note despite lack of success in negotiating the parliamentary blocks that have stalled important tax and land acquisition reforms. 

Modi is not having to reconcile claims to impending glory with changed circumstances. In fact, India is a much smaller speck in the US policy universe, and the situation has only changed somewhat after Modi's election created a buzz around him.

India's energetic diplomacy in Asia and elsewhere over the past year has emphasized its traditional posture of a stable power that is not a threat to anyone. Despite problems with some neighbours, India does not come across as a hegemonic presence as China does to a wide arc of nations. 

Modi's challenge lies in overcoming the perception that he has not done enough to check cultural chauvinists and that actions against certain NGOs are an assault on civil society. But he has the full-throat-ed support of Indian diaspora, long starved of a mascot capable of invoking national pride and modernism in the same breath.
 

It's not that Xi's China dream is over. As general secretary of the communist party - his far more relevant title than the arcane president - Xi would know how the remarkable interpenetration of the state by the party gives China's rulers an abundance of levers to influence economic and social life.

China's giant economy with its large domestic market will continue to be a magnet for global commerce. Its talented and nationalist middle-class remains a high quality asset. But the estimated $144 billion spent in shoring the capital markets shows the dragon can trip on its own success.

In 'Is the American Century Over?', political scientist Joseph Nye reassures his American audience that the US can, if it acts wisely, project its power - with some compromises - well into the current century. The Chinese stumble will seem reassuring.

http://editpag.blogspot.in/

Read More

Odisha girl wins award at Google Science Fair

Lalita Prasida Sripada Srisai, a class IX student from Damanjodi in Koraput district in Odisha won the ‘Community Impact Award’ at the prestigious Google Science Fair in California on Tuesday.

This student of DPS Damanjodi developed a low-cost bio-absorbent based water purifier which uses waste corn cobs as key ingredient. She has won the award in 13-15 years age group. The winners of the fifth annual Google Science Fair were announced live from Google Headquarters in Mountain View, California. As part of this award, Lalita received 10,000 US dollars as prize money. Lalita will be further supported for one year by the organisation to build on her project.

Students and staff of the school at Damanjodi celebrated the news of Lalita’s achievement. Speaking toThe Hindu, headmaster of DPS Damanjodi, Trinath Prasad Padhi was all praises for achievement of Lalita, who he claimed was also proficient in other extra-curricular activities like song and dance. “We have planned up a major function on the campus to honour Lalita, when she returns back”, he said.

Mr. Padhi said the water purifier developed by Lalita if produced in large scale would be a great help for the poor living in rural areas of south Odisha, who still do not have any access to pure water.

http://editpag.blogspot.in/

Read More

Parleys to ward off Patel protests

Hectic behind-the-scene efforts are on to ensure that the Patel reservation agitation does not cast a shadow on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the United States. Alarm bells in Delhi and Ahmedabad started ringing when a group calling itself the Overseas Patidar Action Committee (OPAC), and expressing sympathy with the Hardik Patel-led agitation in Gujarat, threatened to stage protests at the venues Mr. Modi was scheduled to visit.

Apart from his engagements in New York, Mr. Modi is also scheduled to address the Indian community in San Jose, California on September 27.

According to sources, a senior official from Gujarat posted in Delhi was tasked with the fire-fighting.

“Apart from the groups already in the U.S., several people went from Gujarat to speak to the Patel community in the U.S. to dissuade them from protests.

“The back-channel conciliation is being coordinated from Delhi,” said a source close to the developments.

Several Indian-American community groups since have given statements in favor of the Prime Minister’s visit.

Bharat Barai, founder of the Indian American Community Foundation (IACF) in the U.S. spoke to The Hindu confirming that there “had been serious apprehensions of protests” but said that “even if there is any protest now, it won’t have more than a 100 people at the most.”

He added that not just people from India, but Indian Americans have been working hard to defuse the crisis. “Even if there is a protest, it will be a feeble one,” he said.

Mr. Barai, who was the man behind the Prime Minister’s Madison Square Garden event last year, said the details of Mr. Modi’s community reception were worked out at an IACF meeting on September 5.

“In that meeting, Mr. Tejas Bakhia [leader of the OPAC] demanded that some of the money that had been collected for the Madison Square Garden event should be handed over to the families of those who died in the police firing during the agitation,” he said. Nine people died in Ahmedabad in August following firing by the police on protesters.

Mr. Barai also said that people supportive of the Prime Minister had said that they were willing to contribute privately to help the families of the victims of police action, but wanted the PM’s visit to be kept separate from domestic politics. The outcome of that meeting was a stalemate.

“I know most of the Indian community in Jersey have been holding meetings with them to ensure everything goes smoothly,” he said.

A meeting at Albert Palace in Jersey was also called to mobilize support for the PM’s visit. The event in San Jose is already sold out.

http://editpag.blogspot.in/

Read More

7/11 Mumbai train bombings death penalty sought for 8 convicts

The prosecution on Wednesday sought the death penalty for eight of the accused: Kamal Ansari, Tanveer Ansari, Faisal Shaikh, Ehtesham Siddiqui, Mohammad Ali Shaikh, Sajid Ansari, Naveed Khan and Asif Bashir Khan alias Junaid.

For the remaining four, namely Majid Mohammad Shafi, Muzzammil Shaikh, Suhail Shaikh and Zameer Shaikh, the prosecution sought life term "till the end of their lives" and not less than 60 years.

A special MCOCA court is likely to pass an order on sentencing 12 convicts in the July 11, 2006, Mumbai train bombings on September 30.

The prosecution submitted that the accused were not reformed and were not capable of reform in future. That they had no remorse and felt no repentance for their act.

Special Public Prosecutor Raja Thakare said the accused persons were "merchants of death" whose offence was intended to create in security in society.

Their ill-health, socio-economic backgrounds, education in jail and family condition could not be considered as mitigating circumstances, Mr. Thakare argued.

Accused and their role

The ATS chargesheet has named 13 people as accused in the Mumbai train blasts case.

Faisal Shaikh

Mumbai chief, Lashkar-e-Taiba

-Worked for Azam Cheema, LeT commander in chief, training in Pakistan

-Received arms training in Pakistan.

-On Cheema's orders, Shaikh sent his brother Muzammil, Dr Tanvir Ansari, Sohail Shaikh, Zameer Shaikh to Pakistan via Tehran

-Helped in getting hawala money for the execution of the 7/11 blasts through absconding accused Rizwan Daware and his brother, Rahil.

-Key conspirator along with Asif Khan Bashir Khan

-Housed and harboured Pakistani terrorists Salim, Sohail Shaikh, Abdul Razak, Abu Umed at his residence.

-7/11 conspiracy meetings were held at his Bandra residence

-Helped in assembling bombs in Mohammed Ali's house

-Planted the bomb which exploded at Jogeshwari station

Asif Khan Bashir Khan alias Junaid

Key conspirator

-Housed and harboured Pakistani terrorists at his Mira Road residence

-Procured rexine bags, utensils, ammonium nitrate, detonators

-Helped in assembling bombs in Mohammed Ali's house

-Planted the bomb which exploded in Borivali station

Mohammed Ali

Activist, SIMI

-Received arms training in Pakistan

-Bombs were assembled at his residence

-Attended 7/11 conspiracy meetings

Majid Mohammed Shafi

Resident, Kolkata

-Helped Pakistani terrorists Sabir, Abu Bakr, Kasam Ali, Ammu Jan,

Ehsanullah, Abu Hasan cross into India through Indo-Bangladesh border

-Ehsanullah brought RDX with him, which were later used in making bombs

Sajid Margub Ansari

Activist, SIMI

-Procured timer electric circuitry and other devices for 7/11

-Housed and harboured Pakistani terrorists Aslam and Haifzulla

-Helped in assembling bombs at Mohammed Ali's house

-Attended 7/11 conspiracy meetings

Kamal Ansari

Resident, Madhubani

-Recieved arms training in Pakistan

-Helped Pakistani terrorists Aslam and Hafizullah cross into India through Indo-Nepal border

Ehteshaam Siddiqui

Mumbai secretary, SIMI

-Harboured Pakistani terrorists Ammu Jan, Sabir, Abu Bakr, Kasam Ali, Ehsahnullah, Abu Hasan in a Mumbra house rented by Abdul Wahid Din Shaikh

-Surveyed local trains to plan the blasts

-Helped in assembling bombs in Mohammed Ali's house

-Attended 7/11 conspiracy meetings

-Planted the bomb which exploded at Mira Road station

Zameer Shaikh

Activist, SIMI

-Received arms training in Pakistan

-Surveyed local trains to plan the blasts

-Attended 7/11 conspiracy meetings

Muzammil Shaikh

Faisal's brother

-This computer engineer received arms training in Pakistan

-Surveyed local trains to plan the blasts

-Helped in procuring hawala money to execute the 7/11 conspiracy through absconding accused Rizwan Daware and his brother Rahil

-Attended 7/11 conspiracy meetings

Sohail Shaik

Activist, SIMI

-Recieved arms and ammunition training in Pakistan

-Surveyed local trains to plan the blasts

-Attended 7/11 conspiracy meetings

Dr Tanvir Ansari

Activist, SIMI

-Recieved arms training in Pakistan

-Surveyed local trains to plan the blasts

-Helped in assembling bombs in Mohammed Ali's house

-Attended 7/11 conspiracy meetings

Naveed Hussain

Call centre employee from Hyderabad, Faisal's friend

-Helped in assembling bombs in Mohammed Ali's house

-Attended 7/11 conspiracy meetings

-Planted the bomb which exploded at Bandra station.

Abdul Wahid Din Shaikh

Activist, SIMI

-Pakistani terrorists Ammu Jan, Sabir, Abu Bakr, Kasam Ali, Ehsahnullah and Abu Hasan lived in a Mumbra house rented by him

http://editpag.blogspot.in

Read More

Cabinet clears $2.5-billion deal for Boeing military choppers

Ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the U.S., the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) on Tuesday cleared a multi-billion dollar deal for 22 Apache attack helicopters and 15 Chinook heavy-lift choppers with American aviation giant Boeing.

“The deal for Apache and Chinook [helicopters] has been cleared,” government sources said.

The CCS met after a Cabinet meeting, the sources said.

Many in the defence sector had expected the deal, valued to be over $2.5 billion and pending since 2013 following finalization of cost negotiations, to be signed during the visit of U.S. Defence Secretary Ashton Carter in June this year.

The deal for Apache is “a hybrid one”, with one contract to be signed with Boeing for the helicopter and the other with the U.S. government for its weapons, radars and electronic warfare suites.

The U.S. has been pushing for this contract as it will further bolster American presence in the burgeoning defence market of India.

American companies have over the last decade bagged defence contracts from India worth around $10 billion, including for aircraft like P-8I maritime surveillance planes, C-130J Super Hercules and C-17 Globe master-III in the transport category.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will leave for the U.S. on Wednesday to attend the U.N. General Assembly.

The helicopter deal had survived over 10 price extensions from the American side with the last one being for a month as desired by India.

The contract will have clauses to place follow-on orders for 11 more Apaches and four extra Chinooks.

Both platforms, which have been in combat in Afghanistan and Iraq, had beaten off competition from Russia, which had offered its Mi-28N Night Hunter and Mi-26 heavy-lift copters.

The 22 Apache AH 64D Longbow helicopters are one of the most advanced multi-role combat helicopters, featuring all-weather and night fighting features, ability to track up to 128 targets in less than a minute and engage with 16, besides stealth characteristics, advanced sensors and beyond visual range missiles.

India will also be acquiring Hell fire missiles and rockets.

http://editpag.blogspot.in/

Read More

In New York, India to flag external source of terror

As Prime Minister Narendra Modi visits the U.S. to attend the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), India is likely to tell the international forum that there are hardly any cases of Indians joining the violent “pan-Islamist groups.”

Though a direct reference to the militant organisation, the Islamic State (IS), will be avoided, sources said India is likely to highlight the fact that “the source of terrorism faced by India is often outside the country.”

Mr. Modi will address the Sustainable Development Summit at the UNGA on September 25. External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj is already in the U.S. and she will deliver India’s statement in the General Debate in the morning session of the UNGA on October 1.

India also wants the draft on Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism to be finalised. “India has adopted a calibrated response to violent extremism that prevents disproportionate use of force by the government. There are only a few instances of Indians joining extremist groups like the Islamic State,” said a senior government official.

India will put across the point that it has never used “air power” against violent extremists.

India’s strength as a “liberal and plural democracy” would be highlighted, as would the government’s affirmative actions in strengthening the bond between different communities.

The government has been extremely cautious in dealing with the threat posed by the IS and has at all forums said that the group was not a threat to India.

Going by available records, 19 persons of Indian origin are understood to have joined the IS so far.

On Monday, the case of a woman intending to join the IS was detected. The Delhi University graduate and daughter of an Army man is presently being counselled by agencies. She was apparently attracted to the IS during her stay in Australia.

http://editpag.blogspot.in/

Read More

Army destroys papers on V.K. Singh’s intel unit a few days before his retirement

When present Union Minister Gen. V.K. Singh (Retd.).was just days away from retiring as Army Chief in 2012, the Army destroyed dozens of documents on a military intelligence unit that he had created and whose activities and funding had attracted widespread scrutiny.

According to documents perused by The Hindu, between May 22 and May 25, 2012, the Southern Army Command based in Pune moved very quickly to assemble two different boards of officers to carry out the complete destruction of all documents in its custody on Technical Services Division (TSD) — the controversial military intelligence unit Gen. Singh had set up in 2010. He retired on May 31, 2012 and later plunged into a political career with the BJP, and is now Minister of State for External Affairs in the Narendra Modi government.

The destroyed files included payments of military intelligence funds by TSD for several months of 2010 and 2011. One file contains a detailed month-wise bank statement of the unit. Another is on the claims by Colonel Hunny Bakshi, who was heading TSD. It also contains a file on temporary duty and claims of Col. Bakshi, and a separate file on the claims of Lt. Col. Servesh Dhadwal, who, too, was part of TSD. One of the files deals with foreign visits, presumably of TSD officers.

Also destroyed were a “statement of case for raising of Technical Services Division (TSD)”; details of the operational role, tasks, and charter of TSD; the channel of reporting of TSD; a request on policy for spending the secret fund; policy on usage of post-paid mobile connection; and some intelligence inputs.

According to a report by The Indian Express on August 4, 2014, an internal inquiry by Lieutenant General Vinod Bhatia, the then Director General of Military Operations, found that TSD had misused secret service funds to buy mobile phone interceptors without authorisation, to fund activities to destabilise the Omar Abdullah government in Jammu and Kashmir, to fund an NGO that tried to scuttle the chances of General Bikram Singh succeeding Gen. V. K. Singh as Army chief, and for foreign travel of its officers on their personal passports

The then Defence Secretary, S.K. Sharma, had refused to give his mandatory approval to the military intelligence budget, because of an abnormal increase in its spending, primarily caused by TSD activities.

Against this background, the conduct of the Army in the days running up to Gen.V.K. Singh’s retirement raises serious questions of impropriety.

More importantly, the actions could be in violation of Army regulations as well as the rules governing the classification and handling of classified documents.

The entire data on TSD, including money spent on its supposed purported sources and reimbursement to its officers for travel and other activities, came into the custody of the Southern Army Command after TSD’s havildar-clerk, Sham Das D, mysteriously appeared in Kerala to hand over a CD containing all the details to an official of the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI). The DRI official claimed that he was contacted by sources based abroad, offering to sell highly sensitive military secrets.

The DRI passed on the documents to a Major heading the detachment of the Southern Army Command liaison unit in Thiruvananthapuram. These files were written into a CD and sent to Pune, and further to the Army headquarters.

On May 22, Brigadier V.K.K. Chavan, BGS (Intelligence) of the Southern Command “for GOC-in-C” (general officer commanding-in-chief), told Col. Anoop Kumar, the commanding officer of the liaison unit: “Request destroy all the letters mentioned in Para 1 above and all connected corres/docu related to this sensitive case at your HQ and also at 2/4 Det loc Trivendrum to eradicate any chances of leakage of info.”

However, there seemed to have no such effort to reach out to the DRI to eradicate details that may have been in its custody.

The very next day, Col. Kumar convened two different boards of officers: one for destroying all documents that were held in Thiruvananthapuram, and the other for documents in Pune. They were told to “assemble at place, date and time to be fixed by the presiding Offr to recommend and destroy” office copy of the southern command liaison unit letter dated May 17, and two letters dated May 18. The boards will also destroy “all connected corres/docu related to the sensitive case,” the order said.

On May 25, the two boards met and decided on destroying all documents, including official communication between the liaison unit and the Southern Army Command. The documents destroyed by the two boards were identical and numbered up to 62 items by the boards. Most of them were documents from a TSD computer.

On May 25, Col. Anoop Kumar commanding officer of the southern command liaison unit, approved the “destruction of documents as instructed” by the southern command. He quoted relevant paragraphs from the Regulations for the Army 1987 and CHCD-2001 (Classification and Handling of Classified Documents) to approve the decisions of the boards held on the same day.

“However, it will be ensured that no documents are destroyed which may be of interest from historical, financial, statistical, instructional, legal or general points of view,” he said.

Col. Kumar’s claim runs contrary to the fact that the entire set of documents were recovered from a soldier who was under a court of inquiry for leaking them and they were the most important exhibit against him. And that the documents related to the financial dealings of a unit that was already under scrutiny at the highest levels.

http://editpag.blogspot.in

Read More