Monthly Archives: August 2018

Karachi, April 16

Pakistan today claimed to have arrested two alleged RAW agents from the southern Sindh province.SSP Counter Terrorism Department Naveed Khawaja said the two were arrested from Thatta city during a raid on a tip-off, a report said.Khawaja identified those arrested as Saddam Hussain and Bachal who, he said, were working for the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) in the guise of fishermen in the area.At a press conference, the police officer claimed India had provided codes to Saddam and Bachal. The police claimed they seized photographs of sensitive installations from the possession of the “spies”, he said.Khawaja claimed the alleged agents were planning to disrupt the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project. — PTI

Agartala, April 16

The Tourism Ministry has sanctioned Rs 18-crore project for the Tripura government to create a variety of infrastructure along the India-Bangladesh border similar to that at the Attari-Wagah border with Pakistan, a state minister said.“Wagah-like infrastructure, including a mini-stadium, will be created at the Agartala (India)-Akhaura (Bangladesh) border to organise a Beating the Retreat ceremony like that at the Wagah border with Pakistan” Tripura’s Tourism Minister Ratan Bhowmik said. He said the Union Tourism Ministry recently sanctioned Rs 18 crore and 20 per cent of the sanctioned funds have already been released for the project.“Under the Tourism Ministry’s ‘Swadesh Darshan’ scheme, the Centre sanctioned Rs 99 crore for Tripura to implement several tourism projects in the state. The Rs 99 crore ambitious project includes building of a mini-stadium, open theatre, cafeteria and other infrastructure at the Agartala-Akhaura border at a cost of Rs 18 crore,” he said.The Tripura government’s Public Works Department (PWD) will execute the project.The Agartala-Akhaura checkpost is the second largest trading point between India and Bangladesh after the Benapole-Petrapole post with West Bengal.The Beating the Retreat ceremony, which marks the closing of the Attari-Wagah border near Amritsar every evening, is a military routine that the India-Pakistan border guards —the Border Security Force (BSF) and Pakistan Rangers — have jointly conducted since 1959.People travel specially to the border to witness the ceremony in which the flags of the two countries are lowered by security personnel with a number of aggressive gestures and a mutually coordinated performance.“To build a Wagah-like infrastructure at the Agartala-Akhaura border, official-level meetings between Bangladesh and India were held and the Bangladesh government has no objection to the project,” Bhowmik said.“However, the Bangladesh government has not yet taken any decision to make a similar infrastructure on their side at Akhaura. The Agartala-Akhaura border is not only a big trading point between India and Bangladesh. It is also an important tourist spot,” he added. — IANS

aish-e-Mohammed chief Maulana Masood Azhar. Reuters file photo

United Nations, April 14

Days after China blocked its bid at the UN to ban JeM chief Masood Azhar, India on Thursday slammed the use of “hidden veto” and demanded accountability, saying the world body’s general members are never informed of the reason for not acceding to requests for sanctioning terrorists.

“The procedures of unanimity and anonymity of the Al Qaeda, Taliban and ISIS Sanctions Committees need to be revisited. The procedures of unanimity and anonymity result in a lack of accountability,” India’s Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador Syed Akbaruddin told the UN Security Council in an open debate on ‘Threats to International Peace and Security Caused by Terrorist Acts’ here.

Against the backdrop of China last month again blocking India’s bid to ban the mastermind of the Pathankot terror attack Masood in the UN Sanctions Committee, Akbaruddin said each of the 15 members in the committee now have a veto.

Without naming China, he said none except these 15 members are told of who is it that has wielded the veto in a specific instance.

“The general membership of the UN is never ever formally informed of how and why requests for listing terrorists are not acceded to. Counter terror mechanisms such as the Sanctions Committees that act on behalf of the international community need to build trust not engender impunity by the use of this form of a ‘hidden veto’,” Akbaruddin said.

After the attack on the airbase in Pathankot in January, India had in February written to the UN calling for immediate action to list the chief of the Pakistan-based terror outfit Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) under the UN Sanctions Committee.

The Indian submission was considered by the Counter- Terrorism Executive Directorate (CTED) for technical aspects of the evidence provided.

The technical team then with the support of the US, UK and France had sent it to all the members, sources had said.

All were told that if there are no objections, the designation will be announced after the expiry of the deadline but just hours before the deadline, China requested the UN committee to keep on hold the designation.

When asked at a briefing earlier this month as to why China had put a hold on the listing request by India against Azhar, Chinese envoy and President of the Security Council for the month Liu Jieyi had said that any listing would have to meet the requirements, stressing that it was the Council members’ responsibility to ensure that the criteria were followed. —PTI

short by Arjun Bhatia / 10:45 am on 06 Apr 2016,Wednesday

Pakistan’s National Security Adviser Lt Gen (retd) Nasir Khan Janjua on Tuesday said India’s increased military spending and growing arsenal of strategic weapons is a threat to his country as well as regional peace. Addressing a conference titled ‘Pakistan’s role in promoting global peace and security’, Janjua urged India to join Pakistan for “investing” in peace.

Tribune News Service

Shimla, March 31

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) sub-zonal office Shimla that comes under the Ministry of Finance yesterday issued provisional order to attach the property and bank balance of Brig (retd) JK Narang worth Rs 2.29 crore under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002.In a signed press release issued here, the Assistant Director (ED), Shimla Bhupinder Sing Negi stated the ED has ordered the attachment of property in connection with the ongoing investigation being carried by the sub-zonal office Shimla under the PMLA and the CBI charge sheet filed in the CBI court here on October 18, 2012.

The government’s almost-impulsive about turns have made its Pakistan policy unpredictable and prone to gaffes. But there is some serious work happening underneath the surface of cultivated indifference and caution. As the India-Pakistan relationship is prone to many missteps, both governments have replicated the technique of springing a meeting from the closing years of the UPA-Zardari governments. This denies spoilers time to activate their standard technique of arranging bomb blasts just before a high-level Indo-Pak meet. The Pakistan Foreign Secretary’s sudden visit to Delhi and his prolonged conversation with his counterpart may be part of this piece just like Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj and National Security Adviser Ajit Doval met their counterparts virtually unannounced. Then Pathankot happened and the pace slowed down. But it was the result of the continuing conversation that India convinced Pakistan to send a probe team to Pathankot, although the outcome wasn’t what it had wished for. And the arrest of a former Indian Navy officer has diminished India’s moral high horsing. In the eyes of the international community, both seem to be fomenting violent discontent in each other’s land. The separate statements issued at the end of the talk between the Foreign Secretaries reflect this realism in Indo-Pak affairs. India called the talks “frank and constructive”, meaning both sides pulled no punches, and Pakistan highlighted the “cordial environment” which stands for courteous allowance to the other side’s views. What is noteworthy is neither side has criticised the other.From available indications, the talks might have paved the way for a structured meeting between the Foreign Secretaries. Provided there is no Pathankot or Dinanagar, this could herald the beginning of the composite dialogue, a format that discusses each and every issue of discord. Continued dialogue among officials with adequate political oversight should set the stage for the meeting between the Prime Ministers and Foreign Ministers, respectively, on the sidelines of two international conferences late this year. The Modi government has shown the gumption to take a leap in the dark. The coming days will test its talent to land on its feet.