KABUL/WASHINGTON: US warplanes blasted Taliban front lines on Sunday, once again killing a number of civilians. Seizing the initiative after the Taliban captured and executed a popular Northern Alliance commander, waves of US bombers pummelled Taliban front line positions in Kabul and north of the capital overnight on Saturday and again on Sunday morning. Witnesses in Kabul said 12 civilians, including a man and his seven children eating breakfast, were killed on Sunday after some of the most sustained raids of the three-week air campaign. ``What shall I do now? Look at their savageness,'' wailed the wife of Gul Ahmad as the bodies of the children were pulled out from the smouldering wreckage wrapped in shrouds. ``They killed all of my children and husband,'' she said. ``The whole world is responsible for this tragedy. Why are they not taking any decision to stop this?'' Hers was not the only bereaved family at the start of a fourth week of US bombing raids. Sobs racked the body of one middle-aged Kabul man as he cradled the head of his baby, its dust-covered body dressed only in a blue diaper, lying on a mattress awaiting its turn to be wrapped in a tiny shroud for burial. On the same mattress lay the bodies of three other children, two little boys and a girl, none aged more than six, their cheap bright pink and green and orange sweaters layered with debris from their shattered mud-brick homes. Four of the dead from Gul Ahmed's family were crushed when the bomb broke apart their flimsy mud-brick home in the Kabul suburb, Qalaye Khatir, near a hill where the Taliban have an anti-aircraft gun emplacement and near the city centre. The bodies of the other six were torn apart by shrapnel from the direct hit. Two neighbours were also killed. Menfolk _ neighbours and extended family _ dug graves for the small victims of the 22nd day of attacks and were enraged. ``Your filming makes no difference. Nobody runs it. Just get lost,'' said one man to a Reuters reporter. The Taliban say hundreds of Afghan civilians have been killed by stray bombs or missiles. U.S. Officials call the figure exaggerated. But foreign reporters in Kabul alone have seen the bodies of several dozen people clearly killed by US strikes. North of Kabul, in territory held by the anti-Taliban Northern Alliance, villagers said one woman was killed and 10 people wounded yesterday when allied warplanes mistakenly bombed the tiny hamlet of Ghanikhel. There was no immediate comment on the report from the Pentagon. Meanwhile, thousands of armed men were preparing to cross into Afghanistan from Pakistan on Sunday to join the Taliban. The huge crowd of Pakistanis and exiled Afghans gathered in the small town of Lagharay in the tribal area of Bajaur, around 6 km from the frontier, carrying a dizzying array of arms from 19th century muskets to modern machine-guns. They said they wanted to help the Taliban, whose forces have many foreign fighters, including Arabs and Chechens that are among the fiercest in their militia. ``We must protect our brother Muslims,'' said one holy warrior. ``This is the first of the Muslim armies.''
Monday, October 29, 2001
Pak Christians pay for US attacks: 17 dead as gunmen storm church
BAHAWALPUR (PAKISTAN): Women wailed over the bodies of Christians lying in pools of blood in a church here on Sunday after masked gunmen on motorcycles drew up, shot a police guard and sprayed the congregation with Kalashnikov fire. The toll was 17, with three dying in the hospital. Thirteen of the victims were from the same family. ``This is terrorism,'' Senior Superintendent of Police Arif Ikram told Reuters, a view later echoed by President Pervez Musharraf. Army was sent to patrol the streets after the attack. Pope John Paul has condemned the attack as ``an evil act'' and said he was praying for the victims and their families. The Pope's office sent a telegram to the Pakistan Catholic Church ``expressing his absolute condemnation of this further tragic act of intolerance.'' The Christian community had been expressing the fear that it could become a target if unrest broke out in Muslim Pakistan over opposition to the US attacks on Afghanistan's Taliban militia. As some 70 Christians gathered for the Sunday morning services, six men on three motorcycles rode up to Saint Dominic's Church and pulled AK-47 assault rifles out of their bags, an eyewitness said. Shouting ``Graveyard of Christians, Pakistan and Afghanistan' and `This is just a start', they raced up to the church while the guards were asleep and opened fire, killing one. The police have been maintaining vigil at Christian churches since the September 11 attacks in the US. In what was clearly a planned attack, four gunmen then entered the church chanting `Allah-u-Akbar' while two waited outside to shoot anyone who tried to flee, a witness said. ``The method used and the inhuman tactics clearly indicate involvement of trained terrorists,'' Musharraf said in a statement, expressing his shock and sorrow. ``I would...like to assure everyone that we will track down the culprits and bring them to justice,'' he said. Christians account for about one per cent of Pakistan's 120 million population. ``It's a security failure,'' said Pakistan's Minister for Minorities Affairs, S K Tressler, adding that the Christians of the area had been receiving threats for the past few days. ``They (the administration) should have properly reacted to these threats,'' Tressler, a Christian, said. ``We have nothing to do with what's going on in Afghanistan. We are innocent people,'' cried one woman. ``This is terrorism related to Afghanistan,'' said Sharif Azhar, a member of the church's organising committee, adding that local authorities had been informed of a recent stream of threatening phone calls and letters against the Christian community. ``We are not supporting the attacks on Afghanistan. We have always supported the Muslims of Pakistan in their causes. We have nothing to do with Afghanistan. Why are we being targeted?'' said one member of the congregation, Piyarey Lal. In 1997, Muslim rioters in southern Punjab had attacked 13 churches and a school and burnt and looted hundreds of houses, saying some Christians had committed blasphemy by throwing torn pages of the Koran into a mosque. A 1986 law that makes blasphemy against Prophet Mohammad punishable by death has been used to intimidate religious minorities, including Christians, rights groups say. Around 2,500 people are said to be in jail facing charges for blasphemy.
Monday, October 29, 2001
Security forces storm Kashmir mosque to flush out militant
SRINAGAR: Security forces on Sunday stormed a mosque in Badgam district of central Kashmir to flush out a militant holed up in the shrine, official sources said. Intense gunfire broke out as personnel of the Special Operations Group (SOG), Jammu and Kashmir police, entered the mosque at Panzan village near Chadoora, some 18 kms from here, they said. The militant entered the mosque on Saturday after security forces laid siege to the village on getting information that some ultras were hiding there. SOG personnel had taken control of the the ground and first floors of the mosque, the sources said, adding the lone militant was holed up in the minar of the shrine. A special police officer was wounded in the exchange of fire, the sources said. The sources said security forces took the action after their repeated appeals to the barricaded ultra to surrender did not yield any result. Earlier, security forces ringed the mosque in a bid to flush out the militant. Amid conflicting reports about the number of militants holed up in the shrine, a senior BSF officer said the imam of the mosque and some village elders, who went inside the shrine to persuade ultras to surrender, informed them that only one militant was inside the mosque. A group of Hizbul Mujahideen militants took shelter in a mosque and a nearby house on Saturdayafter security forces zeroed in on their hideout. Earlier, a gun fight erupted between the ultras and security personnel in which a militant was killed. Militants fired at security forces early on Sunday morning and again in the afternoon as jawans tightened the cordon around the mosque. The firing in the afternoon lasted 15 minutes, the sources said.
Thursday, October 25, 2001
Ultras attack Army convoy in Doda; gun battle on
JAMMU : Militants today attacked an army convoy with rockets this afternoon on the Jammu-Srinagar national highway in Doda district of Jammu division, the official sources said today. Militants' launched rockets and fired indiscriminately on the Army convoy, ensuing a gun battle, they said, adding the encounter was continuing and traffic stopped on the highway. On a tip-off, a joint team of Army and police laid a cordon in Gool area of Udhampur district late on Wednesday night, the sources said, adding two security personnel were killed in the resulting encounter. In another exchange of fire between police and militants in Balaloonam area of Poonch district last night, a woman was killed, they added.
Wednesday, October 24, 2001
Anthrax scare at Bombay Mantralaya
By Chalomumbai Correspondent The anthrax scare hit Mantralaya, the secretariat building today as two envelopes containing a white powder landed up at the office of Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh and Deputy Chief Minister Chhagan Bhujbal on the sixth floor. Officials in Mantralaya said the dispatch was received at ''tapal (inward) section'' of the chief minister's office at 1130 hrs while a similar packet was found in Mr. Bhujbal's office around the same time. Joint secretary in the chief minister's office C V Oak said that the police had been summoned and the powder sent to the chemical analyzer at the Haffkine's Institute. A spokesman in the deputy chief minister's office said the five employees who handled the envelops have been sent to St. George hospital for medical examination.
Wednesday, October 24, 2001
Next phase of global campaign to tackle Kashmir terror: Advani
New Delhi The U.S. has promised to support India's fight against terror groups in Jammu and Kashmir in the next phase of the global campaign against terrorism, Indian Home Minister Lal Krishna Advani has said. Describing ongoing military strikes against Afghanistan's Taliban as "Phase I" of the U.S.-led campaign, Advani said: "In Phase II, they (U.S.) have promised support to India's fight against terrorism in Kashmir." In an interview with The Tribune newspaper published Wednesday, Advani emphasised that such support did not imply direct U.S. involvement in Kashmir. "I have said repeatedly that we shall have to fight our own battle. "The evil of cross-border terrorism needs a global response and India will cooperate with the U.S. in this regard. We have explained our position to President (George W.) Bush and (British) Prime Minister Tony Blair. They appreciate our problem. "But the global response on the questions of plugging the sources of arms and money flow and the drying up of drug money will help," Advani said, referring to steps taken by the U.S. and Britain to outlaw and freeze the assets of Pakistan-sponsored terrorist groups like the Harkat-ul-Mujahideen and Jaish-e-Mohammed. He acknowledged that such restrictions imposed by the U.S. and Britain could only be viewed by India as "symbolic gestures." "We will have to work out the dynamics of the situation," he said. Advani, however, emphasised that he had never advocated a policy of "hot pursuit" while countering militant groups with bases in Pakistan-held Kashmir. "All that I have mooted was the pursuit of a proactive policy on cross-border terrorism," he said. Earlier this week, Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf singled out Advani and Indian Defence Minister George Fernandes for their comments suggesting that New Delhi would use stronger methods to curb terrorism in Kashmir. "We no longer just react to happenings. We gather information, analyse it and act," Advani said. "We are well aware of the spread of (Pakistan's) Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) network in (our) border areas and across (India). "We have not only identified the sources of support but have also blocked these avenues. We have successfully eliminated 101 such (ISI modules in India)." Advani said the U.S. had allied itself with Pakistan in fighting the Taliban due to "geopolitical compulsions." "Pakistan should know the best, being the immediate neighbour (of Afghanistan). It will have all information as to what is where. So, we understand Pakistan's role as a new ally of the U.S.," he said.
Wednesday, October 24, 2001
India urges people not to panic over anthrax threats
NEW DELHI, Oct 24 (AFP) - Indian Home Minister L.K. Advani tried Wednesday to ease public concerns following a series of anthrax scares and said the government was ready to meet any eventuality. "Yesterday, the home ministry also received two envelopes ... maybe, nothing will be found but a probe is on... We are not taking any chances," Advani told India's Star News channel. Two letters containing a suspicious powder were received at India's home ministry on Tuesday, triggering a security alert, government officials said. One letter was addressed to Advani, the cabinet number two in the federal government. The home minister said an earlier anthrax scare in southern city of Madras had been declared a hoax. "After tests at a laboratory, I was told it was ordinary chalk powder," he said. There was also an anthrax scare at a chemical factory in suburban Bombay after its corporate office received Tuesday an envelope from Egypt containing a small amount of yellowish powder.
Wednesday, October 24, 2001
Anthrax scare wreaks havoc in Mumbai; 17 packets under testing
Mumbai, Oct 24 The anthrax scare is wreaking havoc in Mumbai with 17 suspicious mail packets already sent for investigation on Wednesday alone. The Haffkine Institute, the city's premier institute for communicable diseases, is examining the packets. In the latest incident, a Mumbai chemical company handed over to the institute a package received from Karachi that contained a white powder. On Monday, a pharma factory in suburban Mumbai was shut down after it received a packet from Egypt containing white powder. Though the two companies have regular dealings, the discovery of the powder sent alarm bells ringing, police said. According to postal officials, several people are refusing to accept junk mail out of fear that it may contain anthrax spores. On Wednesday, postal employees at the international mail sorting office wore masks and gloves provided by the authorities. Employees at local post offices too will be provided with protective gear, sources said. "Junk mail containing subscription offers for the Economist magazine is being discarded in large numbers," said an official of the postal department. A few people receiving junk mail are going to the police, with the bulk of them preferring to trash them unopened. The scare has galvanised the postal employees' union in Mumbai to demand protective gear like masks and gloves after mailroom employees in the U.S. contracted anthrax in letters sent by unknown persons. Some courier companies too are planning to issue protective gear to their employees.
Tuesday, October 23, 2001
No talks with Pak: PM
Prime Minister A.B. Vajpayee ruled out any fresh dialogue with Pakistan till it ended cross-border terroris.The PM said talks should be held for some 'benefit' and not mere 'propaganda'. Even today an attempt was made to blow up an aacirport near Srinagar. At this point talks with Pakistan will not prove beneficial, he said. Meanwhile, Pakistan warned India that it would commit a serious mistake if it launches any attack on the "so-called jehadi camps" in PoK.
Tuesday, October 23, 2001
Suicide attack at J&K airbase foiled
Security forces foiled a fidayeen attack on the Avantipur Indian Air Force (IAF) base, 35 km south from here, on Monday. Four militants of the suicide squad, an IAF guard and an unidentified person were killed in a brief gun battle. This is the first such attack on an air base in Kashmir in the 12 years of the proxy war there. The Lashkar-e-Tayyeba claimed responsibility for the attack. Avantipur is a base for combat aircraft. Sources said that four militants in police uniform drove up to the main gate of the airbase in a stolen Santro (JK01-E-1109) at 1.30 p.m. In an attempt to storm the base, one of the militants leaned out of the car and opened indicriminate fire with an AK-47 rifle on personnel guarding the gate. The securitymen returned fire, killing all the occupants of the silver-grey car. An IAF non-combatant doing guard duty at the gate was also killed in the exchange of fire. Another IAF man and a BSF jawan were injured. Besides the four terrorists, an unidentified fifth person was also killed. It appears that there were five militants, all of whom were killed. However, we have not been able to establish the identity of the fifth person, said Air Marshal V.K. Bhatia, Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Western Air Command, while briefing mediapersons in New Delhi. But sources in Kashmir claimed that the fifth person was not a militant but the driver of the driver of a Tata-407 which was caught in the crossfire. Abu Osama, spokesman of the Lashkar-e-Tayyeba, later told the media that four activists of a fidayeen squad had attempted the storming of the base. He identified them as Abu Omer Raina, Abu Sooban, Abu Shaheedain and Abu Hammad. Air Marshal Bhatia said papers recovered from the body of Raina suggested that he was a resident of Narowal village in the Mallaha area of Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir. We were able to thwart this attempt because of the high level of vigil we maintain at our airbases, Air Marshal Bhatia claimed. He said precautionary measures had been taken to ward off any missile attacks termed as stand-off attacks on the airbases. We try to ensure that no high-value assets are kept in the open, the Western Air Commander said. He described the situation as "under control". The Lashkar spokesman claimed that eight armymen were killed in the attack. This Pakistan-based outfit had last week threatened intensification of fidayeen attacks on security formations in Jammu and Kashmir to avenge what it termed as an Indian attack on Pakistani positions in the Akhnur sector.
Monday, October 22, 2001
India successfully launches three satellites into space
NEW DELHI (AFP) India Monday successfully placed three satellites into space, the United News of India reported. A Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle rocket carrying the satellites was launched from Sriharikota, 125 kilometres (80 miles) north of Madras, the capital of the southern state of Tamil Nadu, at 1023 local time (0453 GMT). One of the satellites was an Indian technology experiment satellite, which carries a camera for remote sensing experiments. The commercial arm of the Indian Space Research Organisation won a contract to launch the other satellites -- one Belgian and one German. By international standards, India's space programme runs on a shoestring budget of around 400 million dollars annually.
Monday, October 22, 2001
Two killed as militants attack police posts in Kashmir
SRINAGAR, Two people were killed when separatist Muslims militants attacked an Indian army patrol in Indian-administered Kashmir, police said Monday. A group of militants attacked the patrol overnight with AK rifle fire and grenades at Thanamandi, near Rajouri township, 480 kilometres (300 miles) south of Srinagar, Kashmir's summer capital. A soldier was killed and three others, who were seriously injured, were taken to Rajouri's army hospital. The army returned the fire killing a militant, police said. Three other militants who had taken part in the ambush managed to escape. Meanwhile, a group of heavily-armed militants attacked two counter-insurgency police posts in the neighbouring Ladra and Malani villages in the southern Kashmir district of Doda overnight, police said. Police returned fire, but there were no casualties.
Thursday, October 18, 2001
SC asks UP to probe Taj Mahal vandalism
New Delhi The Supreme Court on Tuesday took a serious view of the alleged vandalism resorted to by activists of BJYM, at the Taj Mahal recently and directed the chief secretary of UP government and director of Archaeological Survey of India to investigate the matter and report to court within two weeks about the steps taken to prevent such incidents in future. The direction was issued by a Bench comprising Justice M B Shah and D Raju when advocate Vijay Panjawani brought to court’s notice a report in the media showing the invasion of the unruly crowd into the Mughal monument. The court expressed anguish and observed that the monument does not belong to any particular community or party but to whole of India.
Thursday, October 18, 2001
Vajpayee to visit White House in November
TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE, California, Oct 17 (AFP) - Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee will visit President George W. Bush next month, as Washington extends a diplomatic balancing act between India and Pakistan and presses home its war on terrorism. Hours after Secretary of State Colin Powell wound up a mission to New Delhi and Islamabad which coincided with rising South Asian tensions, the White House said Vajpayee would make an official working visit to Washington on November 9. "President Bush looks forward to discussing ways to strengthen the anti-terrorism campaign and to foster regional stability in South Asia," spokesman Ari Fleischer said. "The visit is an important opportunity to reaffirm the United States' interest in building a broad-based partnership with India and to promote closer cooperation on a range of security and economic issues," he said. Powell's whistle-stop visit to South Asia was primarily an attempt to shore up support for US-led action in Afghanistan aimed at the ruling Taliban militia and Osama bin Laden, alleged mastermind of attacks on New York and the Pentagon. But he also found himself trying to cool rapidly rising tensions between the two rivals over the disputed Kashmir region -- which US officials are concerned could hinder the highly delicate task of safeguarding its anti-terror coalition. The United States has leaned much closer to India in recent years than Pakistan, an ally of Washington in the Cold War, when non-aligned New Delhi was more favourable to the Soviet Union. But Bush has piled intense diplomatic pressure on Pakistan, forcing it into a decision to back its operations in Afghanistan -- once more underlining the strategic importance of good relations with Islamabad. India insists it is not threatened by the developments -- but US officials have made every effort to soothe its sensitivities, a tactic which may partly account for the Vajpayee invitation. Only hours after Powell arrived in Islamabad late Monday, reports of an Indian strike against Pakistan border posts in Kashmir prompted Bush to urge both sides to "stand down." Powell repeated comments he made in Islamabad in which he said Kashmir was "central" to India-Pakistan ties and the "aspirations" of the Kashmiris needed to be taken into account in ending the dispute. But he cautioned that Washington sought to end "all terrorism" including attacks that target India in Kashmir that New Delhi argues are backed by Islamabad. Vajpayee later said he had "made it clear" to Powell that Kashmir was not the "central" issue in India-Pakistan relations. Pakistan has in the past called for US mediation in the dispute, the cause of two of the three wars the South Asian rivals have fought since independence from Britain, but New Delhi has resisted the idea. Vajpayee was last at the White House last year, when he returned a visit made by former president Bill Clinton to India, a visit which was seen as a validation of rapidly evolving economic, technological and strategic Indo-US ties.
Tuesday, October 16, 2001
India shells Pak posts, foils infiltration bid
JAMMU: Indian troops Monday night shelled Pakistani army positions, killing 12 terrorists, who were trying to cross over, and flattening 11 Pakistani posts across the Line of Control in Mendhar and Akhnoor sectors of Jammu and Kashmir, a defence spokesman said here. Using heavy weapons like machine guns, artillery guns, mortars and rockets, the Indian troops launched a successful punitive operation against Pakistani army, which had used Mendhar sector to push in militants and weapons, the spokesman said. "Twelve terrorists were killed because of the effective firing by the Indian soldiers," the spokesman said. "This is a punitive step against Pakistan army's repeated involvement in abetting terrorist activities across the Line of Control and international border in Mendhar sector," he said. He said Indian Army inflicted large-scale damage to Pakistani military bunkers, fortifications and other military facilities. Similar operations were also carried out in Akhnoor sector where the Pakistani army damaged a number of Indian electricity poles and transformers in recently. "We have taken effective punitive action. We have completely destroyed their posts," said Brig P C Dass of 16 Corps. He, however, added that Indian armed forces had not crossed the Line of Control. Pakistani troops opened heavy fire along the international border in Jammu division, killing a civilian in Gharkhal village of Akhnoor sector Sunday night. The stand-off between the two armies came even as US Secretary of State Colin Powell reached Islamabad for talks with Pakistani leadership before flying to New Delhi on Tuesday. Pakistani troops opened heavy fire along the international border in Jammu division, killing a civilian at Gharkhal village of Akhnoor sector last night. Today's flare-up broke a ten-month lull along the temporary border dividing the two countries, especially the operations using heavy weapons. In Washington, President Bush said he was looking into the report. "I think it is very important that India and Pakistan stand down during our activities in Afghanistan, for that matter forever," Bush said. Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee had hinted last week that India would take tough action to stem violence by Paksitan-based Islamic insurgents. A car bombing by suspected Muslim militants from Pakistan killed 40 people in Kashmir on October 1.
Tuesday, October 16, 2001
Al-Qaeda's remarks a 'serious challenge': PM
NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee on Monday termed as a "serious challenge" Osama Bin Laden's Al-Qaeda terrorist network dragging Kashmir into its current conflict with the US and said India has to fight the threat together. "If this (Al Qaeda's appeal to the US not to help Hindus against Muslims in Kashmir) is true, then it is a serious challenge. We will have to combat it together", Vajpayee said after a swearing-in ceremony at Rashtrapati Bhawan. Asked whether the government would step up security operations in Jammu and Kashmir, he said the issue is under constant consideration of the government and a decision would be taken whenever needed. He disagreed with the view that Pakistan was being benefitted by the situation arising out of the US attacks on Afghanistan. "In fact, Pakistan is in trouble. India's diplomacy is going in the right direction". To a query on the possibility of internal disturbances following the US action, he said the government was maintaining a strict vigil and did not not foresee a threat to internal security. "We are keeping a close watch. We are alert". The Prime Minister rejected the US description of Kashmir "as the most dangerous place in the world" saying "we do not agree with this" conjecture of US Deputy Secretary Richard Armitage. On Tuesday's visit of US Secretary of State Colin Powell to India, he hoped that both sides would have wide ranging exchanges on the current situation.
Tuesday, October 16, 2001
Military action in J-K inevitable: Fernandes
NEW DELHI: Asserting that the present action in Afghanistan has "exposed" the nexus between Pakistan, Taliban and Osama Bin Laden to promote terrorism, Defence Minister George Fernandes on Monday night said a step up in military operations against militants backed by them in Jammu and Kashmir is "inevitable". "A step up in operations against terrorists in J and K is inevitable. What we have to decide is the form, time and place," Fernandes, who was re-assigned the Defence portfolio, told. In a free-wheeling interview, he made it clear that "in the ultimate analysis India will have to carry on with its own fight against terrorism. There should be no no illusion about it". Fernandes, however, said the September 11 attacks in the US had traumatised the world which could pave the way for the major western countries to "stand by us". Cautioning against moves by Islamabad and Taliban to portray the present US-led military action as targeting the Muslims, even when they have been masterminding terrorist activities, he said "We are fighting the terrorists...A terrorist is a terrorist just as a criminal is a criminal". The Minister asserted that no religion should be identified with terrorism.
Sunday, October 14, 2001
Threat of attack at PM's house makes Delhi Police panic
New Delhi, Oct 13 Police in the Indian capital went into a tizzy after receiving anonymous threats that four cars with suicide bombers were heading towards the prime minister residence and office. According to a senior police official, four calls were received Thursday night that four Maruti Suzuki cars, occupied by suspicious looking armed men, were moving towards Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's home and office. Police said the calls were made every 10 minutes and also mentioned that the men in the cars could be Afghan nationals. The mention of Afghans was enough to make the police go on full alert. Senior police officials rushed to the spot and also informed the Special Protection Group (SPG) that protects the prime minister. Police surrounded Vajpayee's 7 Race Course Road residence and the entire South Block and North Block housing the Prime Minister's Office, the external affairs ministry, the home ministry and other ministerial offices. Additional police force was deployed in all these areas. Police mobile vans and motorcycles zipped through the city to locate the four cars. But after hours of a futile search, police declared the calls a series of hoaxes. A senior official said: "After midnight, we declared the calls a hoax. They were made from different public telephone booths." Police said they would remain on a general alert
Sunday, October 14, 2001
Plot to kill Amir Khan foiled, four killed
UMBAI: The Mumbai police on Saturday foiled a plan to kill film actor Aamir Khan and two others associated with the Bollywood blockbuster Lagaan by gunning down four persons allegedly owing allegiance to underworld don Abu Salem. Police said that the deceased - Sanjay Singh, Tanveer, Abdul Khan alias Bablu and Imran Khan - were reportedly instructed by Salem to kill Aamir Khan, Lagaan director Ashutosh Gowarikar and its financier Jhamu Sugandh for daring to refuse him the overseas distribution rights of the film. Acting on a tip-off, the Mumbai police crime branch team laid a trap near Patwardhan garden in Khar (West) early on Saturday and asked the four gangsters to surrender. When the four refused to comply and pulled out their guns, the policemen opened fire and injured them. They died on way to hospital. Following the encounter, Maharashtra deputy chief minister and home minister Chhagan Bhujbal assured security cover for Aamir and others. In the recent past, Abu Salem gang members shot at and injured film producer/director Rakesh Roshan after he reportedly denied the overseas rights of his blockbuster Kaho Na Pyar Hai to Salem.
Sunday, October 14, 2001
Advantage India in US campaign
EW DELHI: Indian officials say they are "heartened" by signs indicating that Pakistan is making an effort to pull out of the terrorism business and maintain that the US-led campaign is already paying dividends for India. The first sign, says a senior government official with some gallows humour, is last Wednesday's fire at the Pakistan Army headquarters in Rawalpindi. "We have now confirmed that the fire that burnt for five long hours reduced the administration and training directorates of the Pakistan Army to ashes but miraculously stopped short of the operations directorate." Indian intelligence officials say these two directorates house all files relating to the Pakistan Army's involvement in Afghanistan. These include the list of personnel seconded to the Taliban, as well as their training and service records. But the official maintains that the replacement of Lt Gen Mahmud Ahmad as the ISI chief has by no means eliminated those in the agency who have encouraged terrorism and provided it financial and logistical backing. Taking another tack, another top official revealed that Pakistan is now taking steps to dissociate itself from terrorist activities in the Kashmir Valley. The first signal was Gen Pervez Musharraf's acknowledgement that the October 1 blast in the J&K assembly premises was an act of terrorism. This was done during his conversation with Prime Minister Vajpayee last week and, in a sense, is a first for any Pakistani leader. The official says "we have confirmed reports that Pakistani terrorists are pulling out of the Valley along with the Afghans who had been asked to redeploy back in Afghanistan earlier". He adds: "Take this with the destruction in Afghanistan of camps being used to train terrorists for Kashmir and you can see what India has gained." He also points to the perceptible decline in the number of security forces' casualties in the Valley. But acknowledging a flip side to this, he says thousands of Kashmiri militants languishing in Pakistan are now being pushed back into the Valley. But if the Pakistanis stop cross-border support, India could wrap up the indigenous militancy swiftly, he adds. The official assessment is that die-hard Pakistani groups could still cause mayhem but Pakistan is being forced by circumstances to live up to its long-held claim that all it provides Kashmiri separatists is "moral and diplomatic support". According to the official, now that Pakistan has joined the coalition against terrorism, it has to go by that logic. Despite these signs, officials say it is a bit too early to assume that things will work along rational lines. "The situation is much too dynamic to make predictions like that," says one of the officials. "With the US taking a tough stand against terrorist attacks in our neighbourhood, there is understandable public pressure on the government to take a tough stand against Pakistani support for cross-border terrorism as well." While the government has formally played down suggestions that it undertake cross-LoC strikes, some senior officials say that nothing should be ruled out. As one official put it: "A lot has changed since September 11."
Sunday, October 14, 2001
Violent protests in India against US strikes, 80 injured
The US air strikes in Afghanistan today provoked angry protests in different parts of the country with stone-pelting protesters fighting running battles with police leaving at least 80 injured, 50 of them police personnel. Kashmir Police fired in the air and lobbed teargas shells as clashes between police and protesters erupted in several places in Kashmir valley on the first Friday since the US onslaught. Over 25 people were injured in Kashmir as police chased away the demonstrators who raised pro-Taliban and anti-US slogans. Hyderabad In Hyderabad, worshippers after the Friday prayers poured out on the streets denouncing the US bombing of Afghanistan. They rained stones on shops, buses and passers-by. At least 50 policemen, including three top officials, and five press photographers were injured in the stoning in the old city area, police said. Additional Commissioner of Police K Arvinda Rao and Joint Commissioner of Police C Ratna Reddy were among the injured. Tension gripped the city as police arrested five people in connection with the violence. Delhi Police disallowed Imam of Delhi's Jama Masjid Syed Ahmed Bukhari and his supporters to take out a protest march to the US embassy. A heavy police deployment was made in vulnerable areas in Delhi with Jama Masjid and its peripheral areas virtually sealed off. A protest was, however, held inside the Masjid with Imam telling a gathering that the US was "greatest terrorist of the world". Activists of left parties staged noisy demonstrations in different parts of the country protesting the US pounding of Afghanistan. Carrying placards denouncing the US action, activists of CPI-M, CPI, Forward Bloc and RSP marched to the American Center in the heart of the national capital as a heavy posse of police personnel stood by.
Sunday, October 14, 2001
Twelve hurt in Patna clash over bin Laden portrait
PATNA, India (Reuters) - At least 12 people were injured in a clash between Hindus and Muslims over the burning of a portrait of Saudi-born fugitive Osama bin Laden, authorities in Bihar said on Saturday. Bihar's Home Commissioner U.N. Panjiyar said the clash occurred after some 150 Hindus held a rally and tried to burn portraits of bin Laden and a leading New Delhi Muslim cleric Syed Ahmed Bukhari for a speech in which he called the U.S.-led bombings in Afghanistan an "act of terrorism". Members of the two communities clashed in the Phulwarisharif area, which is dominated by the Muslim community, in state capital Patna. "The attempt to burn the portraits met with resistance from a group of Muslim youths. Soon heated arguments resulted in stone pelting and even gun shots", Panjiyar said. He said 12 people were injured in the hour-long clash. A vehicle was damaged and three houses were ransacked. "The situation is now under control", Panjiyar said, adding para-military forces had been sent to the area. He said Saturday's rally was in retaliation to one on Friday held by Muslim youths who had shouted slogans in favour of bin Laden and burnt an effigy of U.S. President George W. Bush. Police fired teargas and used water cannons on Friday to disperse thousands of Muslims protesting against the U.S.-led strikes on Afghanistan. Muslims poured onto the streets of major Indian cities after Friday prayers shouting anti-U.S. slogans. They burnt effigies of Bush and the British flag, demanding an immediate stop to the bombings that began on Sunday. Panjiyar blamed anti-social elements in the two communities for the flare up and said the police were rounding up the mischief makers.
Sunday, October 14, 2001
India hails US ban on Kashmiri militant group
ndia on Saturday welcomed moves by the United States and Britain against a Pakistan-based militant outfit in Kashmir, but troops doubted move would halt the bloodshed in troubled region. "I welcome the ban imposed on the Jaish-e-Mohammad," Home Minister Lal Krishna Advani said in a speech to activists of his Hindu nationalist BJP party in the northern Taj Mahal town of Agra. The United States and Britain on Friday announced a block on funds to Jaish-e-Mohammad, along with those of 38 other suspected terrorists and their supporters. India has been urging the US-led international coalition against terrorism to take a wider view of terrorist acts rather than just focusing on Afghanistan, where the ruling Taliban regime is believed to be sheltering Osama bin Laden, the prime suspect for the September 11 attacks on New York and Washington. New Delhi believes Jaish-e-Mohammad's leader, Maulana Masood Azhar, is closely associated with bin Laden. And it says the group is responsible for a number of attacks in Indian-Kashmir including the October 1 suicide strike on the legislature building which killed 38 people. Jaish-e-Mohammad initially claimed responsibility for the attack, although it later said it was not involved. Despite New Delhi's comments, Indian security officials said troops felt the move would unlikely to significantly reduce the violence in Kashmir, India's only Muslim majority state, where more than 34,000 people have died in an insurgency by Islamic militants since 1989. "There are only 250 to 270 militants of Jaish active in Kashmir and 90 percent of them are foreigners," a senior Indian border guard official, Brij Nath Kabu, told reporters in Srinagar, Kashmir's summer capital. "Freezing assets or banning the group will not have any major impact on the ground situation in Kashmir," he said. "It will not reduce the violence as the very same militants of Jaish will join other outfits." Six prominent separatist Muslim militant groups are fighting security forces in Indian-controlled Kashmir for the state's secession from India. "This move (the freeze) is designed to reassure Indian public opinion that their apprehensions about US intentions are misplaced," said Amitabh Mattoo, a professor of international relations at Delhi's Jawaharlal Nehru University. "However, in real tangible terms, the ban is not likely to have any substantial difference to the militant group as it did not have assets in these two places (the US and Britain). The group has also changed its name," he said. Indian foreign ministry officials pointed out the change of name, reportedly to Tehreek-al-Furqan, would not fool the United States and Britain. Advani, the home minister, said there was a greater awareness worldwide that "terrorism is a curse to humanity" after the September 11 attacks. Pakistani police said meanwhile Saturday they had arrested an Islamist party leader with links to the group. The arrest of Abdullah Shah Mazhar, chief of the Tehreek-al-Furqan group, brings to four the number of extremist leaders arrested in Pakistan over the past week, but Mazhar is the first with any clear link to groups on the US lists. India accuses Pakistan of training, arming and funding Islamic separatist guerrillas in Kashmir, a charge which Pakistan denies.
Thursday, October 11, 2001
Colin Powell arrives in New Delhi Friday
Washington: U.S. Secretary of State Collin Powell will arrive in New Delhi Friday to diffuse what Washington views as growing tensions between India and Pakistan over terrorism in Kashmir. "Certainly, we have an interest in making sure that this crisis (over Afghanistan) doesn't become an object of dispute, conflict between India and Pakistan," state department spokesman Richard Boucher told mediapersons. Unnamed U.S. officials have been quoted as saying that Indian, itching to end terrorism in Kashmir, could attack Pakistan while the attention of Islamabad and Washington is focused on the strikes against Afghanistan. India blames Pakistan for the militancy in Jammu and Kashmir. "I would say that, so far, we have seen very strong efforts on both their parts to carry forward the work of the (anti-terrorist) coalition. We have seen obviously different things in different places and we would expect that," Boucher said "So far, we have been very pleased with the cooperation (extended by India and Pakistan) and I would say the trip is more to thank them for what they have done and to work on the further cooperation that we all need to do in order to continue this process of fighting terrorism over the long haul," Boucher added. "I would have to say this trip is about our relationships, our relationship with India, our relationship with Pakistan, our cooperation with India, our cooperation with Pakistan against terrorism, and the situation in Afghanistan. That's what we're going this time for," Boucher said. Asked whether the U.S. saw itself as playing "a larger role, sort of as a mediator, a broker, whatever, between India and Pakistan than it has in the past," Boucher said, "I would not say that is what this (Powell's) trip is about." "We have always made clear that we look for progress between the two (India and Pakistan). We have always made clear that we supported their efforts, such as the telephone conversation between the President of Pakistan and Prime Minister Vajpayee, that we supported their efforts to try to resolve the root causes of tension in the region, to try to reduce the tensions between these two governments," Boucher said. Commenting on reports suggesting that the U.S. had promised India that the Jaish-e-Mohammad would graduate from being an "other terrorist organization" to a full-blown foreign terrorist organization, he said "we have agreed to take a very close look at them in relation to the criteria for listing groups on the Foreign Terrorist List. We have expressed our strong condemnation of this attack on the legislature in Srinagar (on October 1). And they have claimed responsibility for it. "We have been concerned about the violent activities of this group, as has the Indian government. So we will be taking a very close look at them for a variety of reasons," Boucher said. The spokesman was asked to comment whether there were good reasons for believing the Pakistan government was sponsoring the Jaish-e-Mohammad this group. "How would that fit into your view of Pakistan? Would it then become a state sponsor of terrorism? How would you handle that?" he was asked. Boucher, in reply, said, "You are asking me a hypothetical question based on facts I can't confirm for you. I would note the Pakistani government issued an immediate and a very, very strong condemnation of the attack that took place in Srinagar."
Wednesday, October 10, 2001
Sanjay Dutt, conspirator in Mumbai blasts:CBI
Mumbai: The CBI on Monday contended in a designated Tada court that Bollywood actor Sanjay Dutt was an alleged conspirator of 1993 serial bomb blasts as he had acquired some terrorist weapons from members of Abu Salem faction of Dawood Ibrahim gang. Submitting arguments at the end of trial, special public prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam said Dutt had acquired three AK-56 rifles, 9 mm pistol, cartridges and hand grenades which were part of the consignment smuggled into India on January 9, 1993. The prosecutor alleged that the film actor had received these weapons at his residence on january 17, 1993, from Abu Salem’s associates to commit terrorist acts in India. In a related development, Dutt’s lawyers Satish Maneshinde and Farhana Shah moved an application seeking exemption for the actor who is in United States for a film shooting. They urged that Dutt could not get a flight to reach here. The judge was visibly angry over Dutt remaining absent during arguments. "It is in his own interest that Dutt should have been here," he observed. The prosecution has been asked to file its say on Dutt’s exemption plea on Tuesday. Prosecutor Nikam submitted that from Dutt’s confession three points emerged - his close association with notorious gangsters Dawood Ibrahim and Anees Ibrahim, his acquaintance with Tiger Memon (who had masterminded the serial explosions) and possession of terrorist weapons which formed part of the consignment used in the blasts. Nikam alleged that from Dutt’s confession it could be logically inferred that he was aware of the 1993 bomb blasts conspiracy. Prosecutor Nikam said it would be difficult to hold Dutt’s justification that he possessed terrorist weapons for the safety of his family in the aftermath of communal riots.
Tuesday, October 9, 2001
IAF ready to face any contingency: Air Chief
India on Monday offered to share its experience in high-altitude bombing with the United States and its allies in their attacks against terrorist camps in Afghanistan, which commenced on Sunday night. 'The operation requires innovativeness and we are no less innovative and can perhaps do it better,'' Chief of Air Staff Air Chief Marshal A Y Tipnis told the press persons. The air chief said Indian Air Force (IAF) is ready to face ''any contingency'' in the wake of the US attacks. 'We are prepared for various contingencies ... The threat (to India) is more of political in nature rather than military. However, at this stage, it would not be proper for me to elaborate,'' he said. The Air Chief was talking to reporters to the mediapersons at Palam Air Force Station after reviewing the parade at IAF's 69th anniversary. Attack and medium-lift helicopters were being fitted with improved weapon systems, dispensing systems (for flares etc) to reduce vulnerability and night vision devices. ''Prototypes are in the process of being installed and tested,'' he said. He also emphasized the need for Advanced Jet Trainer (AJT) aircraft. ''There is an urgent need for replacement of Mig-21 which is not an aircraft for stage-III (operational) training,'' he said. In a significant remark, he said care was being taken to avoid American components in its new acquisitions following the experience on account of sanctions in the wake of the Pokhran tests in 1998.
Tuesday, October 9, 2001
India elected to ISO council
India has been elected as a member of the ISO Council for the period 2002-2004. The Council is the highest governing body of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). The Council decides on policy issues relating to formulation of ISO standards, quality certification systems, identifying needs of standardization of developing countries, etc. It has 18 members who are elected from the General Body of the ISO, which has 139 member countries. ISO is the international body for promoting standardization and was founded in the year 1947. Bureau of Indian Standards is a founder member of the ISO and represents Indian interests on this international body. Member countries of the ISO are divided into groups depending upon the economic importance and India has been placed in-group II. Other countries, which were elected from Group II, were Canada, Korea, Spain and Sweden. Balloting for the ISO Council was held at Sydney, Australia during 14-19 September 2001. The Indian delegation was led by Mr. K.M. Sahni, Director General, Bureau of Indian Standards.
Monday, October 8, 2001
Bush assures Vajpayee JeM would be banned
NEW DELHI : US President George W Bush on Sunday spoke to Prime Minister Vajpayee informing him of the initiation of retaliatory strikes against the Taliban militia in Afghanistan and assured that Pak-based militant outfit Jaish-e-Mohammed would be banned while condemning terrorism across the world including the strife torn state of Jammu and Kashmir. Bush called Vajpayee shortly before commencement of the US led military action to track down prime suspect Osama Bin Laden, believed to have masterminded the terror strike against America on September 11, official sources reportedly said. Bush informed Vajpayee that US has decided to put JeM in the list of banned terrorist group and that a notification to this effect would be issued in this regard very soon, an External Affairs Ministry spokesperson is reported to have said. Earlier, in the first list released by Washington this month banning and freezing funds of 29 organisations, Pak backed Harkat-ul-Mujahideen figured in it. India has sought a similar action against Lashkar-E-Taiba, JeM and other terrorist outfits operating in J&K Kashmir and other parts of the country. In response to Bush informing Vajpayee that US Secretary of State Colin Powell would like to visit India in the third week of October, the prime Minister said, "We would welcome his visit and looked forward to having detailed discussion on the war against terrorism and current situation."
Saturday, October 6, 2001
Militant released by India after 1999 hijack linked to U.S. attacks
New Delhi. An extremist released by India in exchange for passengers of a hijacked Indian Airlines plane in December 1999 may be linked to the September terror attacks in American cities, a daily reported here Saturday. The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is investigating a possible financial link between Ahmed Omar Sayeed Sheikh, 28, and Mohammad Atta, suspected to be a key conspirator in the U.S. attacks, the Indian Express reported. Shiekh was one of the three extremists freed by the Indian government in 1999 in exchange for passengers of Indian Airlines flight IC-814, which was hijacked from Kathmandu, Nepal, to Kandahar in Afghanistan. He is reportedly involved in terrorist activities under various assumed names. The Express reported: "The FBI, after receiving information from Germany's internal security agency, is following leads that Omar Sheikh may have transferred money to Atta a month before the U.S. attacks." The U.S. agency was said to have alerted India's Central Bureau of Investigation that it was investigating Omar Sheikh. Shiekh is suspected to have transferred U.S. $100,000 from Pakistan to European countries where the America attacks were evidently planned. Sheikh is said to have travelled frequently between Pakistan and Afghanistan, and met Osama bin Laden in Kandahar in January 2000, just after his release. He has reportedly been spotted several times in Islamabad and Rawalpindi, with foreign militants. The British government, said the daily, had sent a request for information of Shiekh's whereabouts to India, in connection with the kidnapping of three British nationals - Kurjel Patridge, Cristopher Miles Crosten and Paul Benjamin Rideout - and U.S. national Bela Joseph Nuss in 1994, when Sheikh was a member of the Harkat-ul-Ansar. Reports suggest that he may have been used by Al Qaeda to create a coded e-mail network of terrorists across the world. Al Queda is headed by Saudi dissident Osama bin Laden, who is suspected by the U.S. to have masterminded the September attacks. Interrogations revealed that the kidnapping was aimed at the release of Maulana Masood Azhar - the head of the Jaish-e-Mohammad responsible for recent killings in Srinagar -- released from Jammu Jail. The bid failed and Sheikh was sent to Tihar Jail, from where he was released in 1999, along with Azhar.
Saturday, October 6, 2001
Muslim schoolgirls in Calcutta defy veils threat
CALCUTTA A Muslim girls school here Saturday defied a written threat that students over 15 must wear veils. The threat, issued Wednesday by the little-known Mujahid-e-Islam group, said the older girls at the Calcutta Muslim Orphanage Girls High School must cover themselves up by October 6 or they "will face serious consequences," police said. But the students attended school Saturday amid stepped-up police patrols and few girls were wearing veils. "The deadline of the letter ends today and we have decided to keep the school open and face the challenge," said a member of the school's managing committee. Some local Muslim leaders have also rejected the threat. "Such a diktat is against the Koran and Muslims of the city will not accept it," said Noorur Rahaman Barkati, imam of Calcutta's Tipu Sultan mosque.
Saturday, October 6, 2001
Vajpayee, Blair discuss global terrorism
NEW DELHI : British Prime Minister Tony Blair today held consultations with Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpyee on the evolving situation in Afghanistan amidst intense preparations for the US-led offensive against the Taliban regime and the Saudi-born terrorist mastermind Osama bin Laden. Blair, who arrived here late on Friday night by a special aircraft of Royal Air Force from Islamabad, met Prime Minister Vajpayee and exchanged views on the evolving global situation following the September 11 terrorist attack in New York and Washington. External Affairs and Defence Minister Jaswant Singh, National Security Adviser Brajesh Mishra and Foreign Secretary Chokila Iyer assisted Prime Minister Vajpayee during the talks. Blair's visit to India is of great significance considering Britain was one of the frontline states in the global campaign against terrorism. On Wednesday, the British premier had spoken to Vajpayee on telephone and condemned the suicide car bomb attack on the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly in Srinagar on October 1, which left at least 38 people dead and scores injured.
Thursday, October 4, 2001
Jet Hijacking a False Alarm
NEW DELHI, India (AP) - A reported jetliner hijacking Wednesday night that sent commandos storming onto the plane turned out to be a false alarm. The government blamed the mistake on a hoax phone call and confusion aboard the aircraft. Earlier, civil aviation officials said hijackers seized a Boeing 737 jetliner shortly after its departure from Bombay late Wednesday night, with 54 people on board. National security force commandos surrounded the plane early Thursday at Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi. Fire vehicles and ambulances ringed the runway, and a fuel tanker was parked in front to prevent the jet from taking off. Civil Aviation Minister Shahnawaz Hussain later called it a false alarm triggered by a call reporting a hijacking to an air traffic control station. Passengers gave conflicting accounts of what occurred, with some saying the pilot informed them it was a security drill. That prompted criticism from parliament. ``If this was an exercise, it should not have lasted more than an hour. This has put the whole nation in a state of anxiety and concern,'' said Chandrakant Kharge, a member of parliament from the ruling coalition. ``This was not a drill. Until 10 minutes ago we thought it was a hijack,'' Hussain said. ``It was only when the commandos entered the cockpit that even the pilots realized that it was a false alarm.'' The Alliance Air jet had departed Bombay and was headed for New Delhi when the caller reported the plane hijacked, Hussain said. After learning of the call, the pilot, Capt. Ashwini Behl, locked the cockpit door, thinking the hijackers were hidden among the passengers, Hussain said. The passengers, he continued, apparently thought the hijackers were in the cockpit. After the pilot landed the plane on an isolated runway at the New Delhi airport, passengers called waiting relatives by cellular phone, many of them unaware of reports of a hijacking. ``At 2:30 a.m., the pilot announced that a hijacking had taken place, but he asked us not to panic,'' passenger Arun Sathe told The Associated Press. Commandos then boarded the plane, he said. The passengers later were seen disembarking from the plane. Airports throughout India have been on red alert status - the highest - since the Sept. 11 terror attacks in the United States. ``We've been taking all precautions and we went through the full exercise. We took no chances,'' Hussain said. ``We have taken all hoax calls seriously.'' On Dec. 24, 1999, five hijackers seized an Indian Airlines flight carrying 178 passengers and 11 crew members after it left Nepal. After a weeklong standoff, hijackers left the plane after India agreed to release three prisoners. One passenger was killed. Alliance Air is a subsidiary of state-run Indian Airlines.
Thursday, October 4, 2001
Hand over Masood: Advani tells Pak
RINAGAR: Union home minister L K Advani on Thursday asked Pakistan to hand over Masood Azhar, chief of the Jaish-e-Mohammed outfit. The Jaish-e-Mohammed, a Pakistan-based militant outfit, had claimed responsibility for the attack on the state assembly on Monday that left at least 38 persons dead and scores of injured. Advani told reporters after a meeting of the unified command that Pakistan had directed its anger towards the Kashmiris because they had rejected the two-nation theory in 1947. He said that Monday’s attack was an attack on democracy and secularism. Talking about the proxy war launched by Pakistan on India, Advani said Pakistan had dissociated itself from Jaish-e-Mohammed but its rulers could not deny that Masood Azhar is in Pakistan. Let them hand him over to India for dispensing justice, the home minister said. He also said: ‘‘We would expect the US to include Jaish-e-Mohammed in its list of banned terrorist organisations.’’ He said: ‘‘We believe that international terrorism is a menace. It is a new kind of war. It is there and needs a global response.’’ About the terrorist attacks in the US, Advani said the US had blamed the Taliban and the Al-Qaida of Osama bin Ladan for them. In sharp contrast, the Jaish-e-Mohammad, a terrorist organisation based in Pakistan, had publicly owned responsibility for the attack on the assembly complex here on Monday, the home minister added. He said external affairs minister Jaswant Singh, who was in the US, had drawn the Bush administration’s attention to these facts. Besides, the Prime Minister had written a letter to the US president on what had happened in Srinagar emphasising that India had been bearing the burden of such terrorist attacks for more than a decade now and that its patience was wearing thin. Speaking in the state assembly here two days after the terrorist attack on the assembly complex which left 38 persons dead and scores injured, chief Minister Farooq Abdullah urged the Centre to wage a war against Pakistan to quell terrorism with force so that the bloodshed in Jammu and Kashmir could end. He said: ‘‘They (Pakistan) think they could change the borders. They could not take away even an inch of Kashmir during the last three wars....We have been tolerating terrorism here for the past 12 years, while the US could not wait even for a day, but decided to alert its troops and the air force to fight back the attacks on two of its cities,’’ he said In an emotionally surcharged atmosphere, the CM asked what was the fault of the innocent pedestrians who were killed in the blast near the assembly gate on Monday? What crime had the school girl (killed in the attack) committed when she was returning home from school on Monday afternoon? ‘‘Isn’t it sufficient proof to wage a war against Pakistan?’’ Farooq asked. He asserted: ‘‘If Pakistan wants my body, I will not hesitate to offer myself, but don’t kill innocent people.’’ He also lashed out at the Hurriyat Conference and said the government had provided security cover to its leaders who were responsible for ‘‘fanning’’ terrorism in the state. The CM asked the media to castigate the Hurriyat leaders, who preached violence in the state in the name of Islam and the so-called freedom struggle. Several opposition leaders also paid homage to the people killed in Monday’s blast and the terrorist attack on the assembly complex. They were speaking on a resolution moved by Speaker Abdul Ahad Vakil. Later, both Houses of the state legislature were adjourned sine die after obituary references. In New Delhi, Union minister Chaman Lal Gupta said the world community, particularly the US, should display ‘‘sincerity’’ to end global terrorism by pressurising Pakistan to end support to terrorists operating in the state. Strongly condemning the militant attack on the state assembly, Gupta said it was ‘‘yet another demonstration of the dirty face of terrorism and its perpetrators’’.
Thursday, October 4, 2001
Mumbai to Delhi Plane Hijacked
NEW DELHI: A Boeing 737 belonging to India's state-run Alliance Air, with 54 people on board, was hijacked just after take-off from Mumbai early Thursday, Union Minister of State for Civil Aviation Shahnawaz Hussain said. A passenger of the flight, who rang up The Times of India office using his mobile phone, said the flight was surrounded by securitymen and the fire service. The lights in the plane and the surrounding areas of the airport have been switched off. The flight crew did not inform the passengers about the situation. The plane is now parked at an isolated bay runway 27 of the airport. K S Jain, a passenger, phoned a reporter to say the passengers are safe. He said he did not know the number of hijackers on the plane. Appeals were being made to the passengers to remain calm, he said. Some sources said the hijackers were two in number and spoke broken English. The Star News said all the passengers were unharmed but that they remained aboard the jet, which was parked at an isolated area at Indira Gandhi International Airport. The plane was surrounded by police and commandos. Delhi Police Commissioner Ajai Raj Sharma has reached the runway where the plane is parked. Bomb disposal squad of the Delhi Police has also arrived at the scene. A high-level team headed by Union Home Minister L K Advani is meeting at the Civil Aviation Ministry headquarters at Rajiv Gandhi Bhavan here. The meeting which began shortly before 2:30 am is being attended by Civil Aviation Minister Syed Shahnawaz Hussain and top security and intelligence officials Union Minister of State for Civil Aviation Shahnawaz Hussain said a hijack distress call had been received by the Air Traffic Control (ATC) in New Delhi where the plane had landed at around 1 a.m. Hussain said the pilots of the comandeered plane had asked for engineers but could not offer more details. "We just got one message. The pilot did not give any more details. Our contigency plans are in place," the aviation minister said, adding that all the passengers on board the aircraft were "safe." Some relatives of the passengers were already at the airport enquiring about the situation. The minister said, "The passengers are safe, and we will not allow the plane to take-off,'' adding, "a contingency plan that was in place would be put into action''. An oil tanker has been placed before the plane so that it cannot take off. The aircraft, flight No. CD 7444, on its way to Delhi, was hijacked after passing Ahmedabad, initial reports said. The plane, with 54 on board, departed from Mumbai at 11:15 pm. Star News channel said the Intelligence Bureau had recently intercepted and decoded a message ``BBC'', which referred to Mumbai as the code ``22''. As per the decoded message, hijacks were to be carried out in flights originating from Mumbai. The Alliance Air is a subsidiary of the Indian Airlines. Police and fire vehicles have rushed towards the site.
Tuesday, October 2, 2001
31 Die in Car Bomb Attack in Kashmir
SRINAGAR, India (AP) - Gunmen set off a car bomb outside the state legislature in Indian-ruled Kashmir and then opened fire inside the building Monday, police said. At least 31 people were killed and 75 wounded in the volatile region's worst violence in two years. Two assailants rushed into the Jammu-Kashmir assembly building after the explosion and traded fire with security forces for seven hours before both were killed, police said. They said many of the casualties were victims of the car bomb, including the driver. State lawmakers have been meeting in another building nearby since the legislature was damaged by fire recently, and none was hurt, but seven employees still working in the building that was attacked were killed, police said. Nearly 100 others escaped unharmed. One of the Islamic militant groups fighting for the independence of Jammu-Kashmir claimed responsibility for the attack, whose victims included nine security officers and several civilians. The death toll was the highest in a single attack in the state since 1999, when 35 Hindus were massacred by militants during a pilgrimage to a cave they regard as holy. For 12 years, more than a dozen Muslim militant groups have been fighting for the independence of Jammu-Kashmir, the only state in mostly Hindu India with a Muslim majority. Tens of thousands of people have died. The Pakistan-based militant group Jaish-e-Mohammed claimed responsibility for the attack in a telephone call to The Associated Press in Srinagar. While police said the attackers stole a federal telecommunications department vehicle at gunpoint and released its driver shortly before the attack, the claim of responsibility said the assailants rented a cab and loaded it with explosives. Police said the three attackers drove the vehicle to the assembly building and blew it up at about 2 p.m. The driver was killed, but the other two assailants, dressed in police uniforms, got out and stormed into the building firing guns and throwing hand grenades. The car bomb blast shattered the windows of a nearby hotel and shops and left a dozen bodies lying in the street outside the legislature. The attack occurred as lawmakers were leaving their temporary assembly hall nearby, and most of the victims were civilians who had been waiting on sidewalks or in cars as police stopped traffic to let the legislators pass. The group that claimed responsibility for the attack was launched by Massood Azhar, a Pakistani who was one of three men freed from Indian jails in 1999 in exchange for the return of an Indian plane that had been hijacked to Afghanistan, and its passengers. India called on Pakistan to take action against Jaish-e-Mohammad. ``At a time when the democratic world has formed a broad and determined coalition against international terrorism, India cannot accept such manifestations of hate and terror from across its borders,'' the External Affairs Ministry said in a statement. Pakistan's foreign ministry condemned the attack, calling it an act of terrorism that was ``especially reprehensible as it appears to be aimed at maligning the legitimate struggle of the Kashmiri people for their right to self-determination.'' The Himalayan region of Kashmir was divided between India and Pakistan after they gained independence in 1947. Both countries claim it in its entirety, and they have fought two wars over it. Pakistan supports the Kashmiri militants but denies India's claim that it arms and trains the militants, who include some Afghan fighters loyal to Afghanistan's ruling Taliban militia. That has raised concerns about what will happen in Kashmir now that the United States is threatening to punish the Taliban unless they hand over Osama bin Laden, the prime suspect in the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
Monday, October 1, 2001
Militants storm J & K Assembly, 15 killed
In a deadly strike, militants today stormed the highly fortified Jammu and Kashmir Assembly after carrying out a suicide car bomb attack at its main gate killing 15 and injuring 40 others. Immediately after the car bomb exploded some militants entered the complex and were engaged in heavy exchange of fire with the security forces, official sources said. Besides the suicide bomber, others killed included two police personnel and a CRPF jawan, the sources said. Armoured vehicles have been moved in and the entire area has been cordoned off as heavy exchange of fire between holed up militants, whose number was not immediately known, and security forces continued, the sources said. Ministers, MLAs and senior officials appeared to be safe as they had left the complex just before the devastating attack took place at 2 P M. However, Speaker of the Assembly Abdul Ahad Vakil was still believed to be in the complex. The car bomb attack followed a powerful explosion at the main gate of the assembly, the sources said. The death toll could go up as most of the injured were in critical condition, they added.
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