HEAD LINE:

• Ajmal's nationality not proved: Pakistan
• Maya shoots down CBI probe, blames PWD rivalry(TOI)
• Engineer's murder: No need for CBI inquiry, sys Maya (HT)
• Electric shocks, 23 injuries on engineer's body; Maya blames it on 'PWD rivalry' (IE)
• BSP has 63 MLAs with criminal past (TOI)

LEAD:

Pakistan's civilian leadership on Sunday reiterated its desire for friendly relations with India and said it would not allow the country to be used for terrorist activities. It also kept up assertions that it was prepared to respond to any military strikes by India. PM Yusuf Raza Gilani said Pakistan "wants good relations with all its neighbours, including India and Afghanistan, and will never allow its soil to be used against any country by terrorists or non-state actors." Mr. Gilani said Pakistan condemned the Mumbai terror attacks in the "strongest terms" and recalled that the govt had offered to cooperate with New Delhi in the investigation. He was speaking in Naudero, the hometown of the assassinated Pakistan People's Party leader, Benazir Bhutto, in the Sindh province ahead of the first anniversary of her December 27 assassination. Significantly, Mr. Gilani sought world help in defusing the current tension between the South Asian neighbours. "We urge the world to help defuse the situation," he said. (HINDU)

• New Delhi is fast coming to the conclusion that the Terror attacks in Mumbai had the sanction of the highest levels in the Pakistan Army given the way events are unfolding one month on. While Indian suspicion was always along these lines, sources said, the ease with which the Pak Army has moved from one plan to the other shows a clear objective of ratcheting up the "security threat" on its borders with India to achieve a combination of aims. According to the Indian assessment, the first objective was to tell the West that it cannot take for granted the Pak Army's presence in NWFP and FATA. Second, to reinstate the institutional credibility of the military in Pakistan after the exit of Pervez Musharraf. And, third, to clearly reassert the military's supremacy over the civilian Govt on security issues. On all three counts, the Pakistan Army has made steady, tangible progress since the Mumbai attacks. (IE)
• New Delhi: Whether it's lack of political will or the political class's determination to hold on to the trappings of power, the exercise by Delhi Police to "trim'' VIP security, as desired by the Union home ministry, is turning out to be an eyewash. Out of 14,200 policemen, just about 100 barely 0.7% have been withdrawn! According to Delhi Police sources, some of the withdrawn policemen have been allocated to other VIPs. At present, 412 VIPs and VVIPs in Delhi are protected by this heavy contingent of cops. That means there are about 34 policemen for each protect. In contrast, after excluding cops on security and administrative duty, there is just one policeman on average for 600 'aam aadmi' Delhiites. The home ministry, it appears, has given general orders for pruning VIP security without going into a security review that would bring out how many netas are being given high security without a serious threat perception. And Delhi Police has obliged with the window dressing, thus completing the charade. (TOI)
• Lucknow: Rejecting the demand for a CBI probe into the murder of PWD engineer Manoj Kumar Gupta, Uttar Pradesh CM Mayawati targeted the Opposition for politicizing his death and refuted allegations that the incident was connected with her birthday bash donations. Arson, train delays, clashes with police, arrests and partial closure of markets marked the statewide agitation launched jointly by Samajwadi Party and Congress on Thursday. The epicentre of the protest was Auraiya. "There's no need for a CBI inquiry when UP police have already arrested Tewari and others,'' Mayawati said at a hurriedlyconvened press conference at her residence in Lucknow. "I have lived up to my promise and didn't hesitate to get him (Tewari) arrested when he was found to be in the wrong,'' she said. "But what about the previous Samajwadi Party and BJP govt that had allowed him to roam free before his induction into BSP in 2007?'' she asked. A preliminary investigation, she said, revealed there was rivalry over work contracts in which some PWD officials were also involved.(TOI)
• New Delhi: Congress heir app a re n t Rahul Gandhi on Thursday spoke to the son of slain engineer Manoj Gupta and offered his condolences, as UP simmered in the aftermath of the lynching in Auraiyya allegedly at the instance of BSP MLA Shekhar Tiwari. Sources said Rahul was keen that the incident does not smack of politics. It is because he has a running battle with UP chief minister and his tour would have made it a "Mayawati vs Rahul" politics. While he spoke to Pritish Gupta on phone to assure him of all help to ensure justice, he has deputed Union minister and close associate Jitin Prasada to visit the family in Lakhimpur. But the SP seems to be upping the ante, sensing in it a ripe opportunity to pressure Mayawati who has built a strong political lead over her rivals. SP general secretary Amar Singh asked Congressled Central govt to seek a report from governor TV Rajeshwar on the crime. The demand came after the CM refused to hand over the case to CBI. (TOI)
• New Delhi: Lok Janshakti Party leader and Union minister Ram Vilas Paswan has demanded the resignation of Uttar Pradesh CM Mayawati over the brutal killing of a state PWD junior engineer allegedly by a Bahujan Samaj Party MLA and his supporters. Paswan has urged home minister P Chidambaram to seek a report from UP governor on the law and order situation in the state and also sought a CBI probe into the killing. Talking to reporters, Paswan said the BSP regime had broken all records of killing dalits in the state. BSP has let loose a reign of terror all over the state, he alleged. "Har saal Mayawati bali leti hai apne birthday manane ke liye (Every year she takes a sacrifice to celebrate her birthday)," he said, recalling how on February 6, 2007, three persons were killed in Noida as they had allegedly failed to pay a bribe of Rs 3 crore.(TOI)
• Former Karnataka CM S., a prodigal party-hopper, is all set to rejoin the Congress. Mr Bangarappa on Thursday announced that he was "psychologically ready" to join his alma mater. "The Shimoga district Congress unit passed a resolution urging the party high command to admit me. Similarly, my party state unit too has been putting pressure on me to join the Congress. Next month, we are likely to complete the formalities," Mr Bangarappa told this newspaper. The Congress faces the threat of being decimated by the BJP, particularly in Shimoga district and in pockets of coastal districts. In an effort to stay afloat in these regions, the party desperately needs his presence. The Shimoga district unit had made it clear that it wants Mr Bangarappa as the party's candidate for the Lok Sabha elections. The district unit told the party's state leaders that forging an alliance with the Samajwadi Party will not help the Congress.(AA)

LEFT PARTIES

The Left parties are caught on the wrong foot over the killing of the PWD engineer by a BSP MLA in Aurraiya district of Uttar Pradesh. The Left parties, which have been trying to project the BSP chief Mayawati as a Prime Ministerial candidate of the proposed Third Front, have gone completely silent on the killing of the engineer. Even when the incident saw protests led by Left's former ally and Mayawati's arch-rival Samajwadi Party and demand of CBI probe by LJP, the Left parties, which lose no time in issuing statements had nothing to say. If some of the Left leaders, including that of the CPI, appeared to be sympathetic over the slain engineer's family, they preferred to keep the sentiments to themselves. "We are sympathetic," said a CPI leader, known for raising his voice for the "just cause", who refused to be identified. The CPI(M) general-secretary Prakash Karat, trying to catch on to the BSP bandwagon for the party's foray into the cow-belt, was unavailable for comment. So was party's politburo member Sitaram Yechury.(AA)

STATES

J&K

A day after Syed Ali Shah Geelani, the hardline face of separatists in the Valley, admitted that the 62 per cent turnout in the J&K Assembly polls was something he had "never thought would happen," the head of the moderate wing of the Hurriyat Conference, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, has echoed this and gone a step further. Calling for a need to "introspect and rethink," the Mirwaiz said that separatists lacked "rapport with the ground". "It is all about lack of rapport," Mirwaiz told The Indian Express. "All our leaders are stationed in Srinagar. (Syed Ali) Geelani sahib is from Sopore, Shabir Shah sahib is from Islamabad (Anantnag)... Then we have Bilal (Gani Lone) sahib, Professor (Abdul Gani Bhat) sahib... It is also important that they work in their respective areas. It is something Hurriyat has to rethink and concentrate on. Leaders have to take responsibility of their respective regions." (IE)

JHARKHAND

In a decision with far-reaching implications for the privatisation debate, the Shibu Soren Govt has decided to throw open Ghatkuri Hills, the second largest repository of iron ore in Jharkhand, to the private sector. In a controversial reversal of a 1969 Gazette notification reserving Ghatkuri for state-run PSUs, Soren's Govt has agreed to parcel out the mines among Monnet Ispat and Energy Ltd, Jharkhand Ispat Ltd, Prakash Ispat Ltd, Adhunik Alloys and Power Ltd, Abhijeet Infrastructure Ltd and Ispat Industries Ltd. These companies had earlier sought a share in the Ghatkuri mines but were turned down by the state govt on the strength of the above-mentioned notification. However, the govt later sent a proposal to the Centre seeking to allot the reserved area to the private investors, only to backtrack later. (IE)

KARNATAKA

Hukkeri (Belgaum District): The BJP is not only confident of winning the byelection to the Hukkeri Assembly Constituency but is also looking forward for a very huge winning margin. The party's candidate Umesh V. Katti, who hails for Bellad Bagewadi of Hukkeri taluk, who was regarded as one of the strongmen in the Janata Dal (Secular), delivered "shock" to the party by shifting his loyalty to the BJP overnight. Party-hopping is not new to Mr. Katti. After the split in the Janata Party, he sided with the Janata Dal (United). After some time, he hopped to the Congress and contested on its ticket in the 2004 Assembly elections but lost to the then political novice the former Minister Shashikant A. Naik of the BJP. After a brief honeymoon with the Congress, he joined the Janata Dal (Secular) wherein he was appointed party's state vice-president. (HINDU)

MAHARASHTRA

The statement of an Army man will serve as "substantial proof" in the court in the Malegaon blast case, according to the Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) of Maharashtra. "We have recorded the statement of one of the Army men we questioned. This will be used as evidence in the case," a senior ATS official told PTI here. "He will be a witness in the case. We have taken all precautions to ensure that the statement is admissible in the court," he said. The ATS had questioned three Army men, a Junior Commissioned Officer and two jawans, who served with Lieutenant Colonel Prasad Purohit already in custody in Military Intelligence. A resident of Pune, 37-year-old Col. Purohit allegedly procured RDX and attended several meetings in Deolali to conspire for the blast, the ATS has said. Names of some Army men cropped up during the interrogation of Col. Purohit and Sudhkar Chaturvedi, another arrested accused in the case. (HINDU)

TAMIL NADU

Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi on Thursday sent out a warning to the supporters of the LTTE, saying that the DMK govt would not hesitate to take action against those who voice support and act in favour of banned organisations. "The warning is applicable to all," the CM said in a statement. Responding to a question whether the DMK was supporting the LTTE in the Sri Lankan Tamils issue, Mr. Karunanidhi said the objective of his party was to ensure the safety of the Tamils in Sri Lanka. "The DMK is not supporting those who support the banned organisations in India. The DMK govt will not hesitate to take action against those who voice their support to such organisations," he said. (TOI)

UTTAR PRADESH

Like Shekhar Tewari, there are many BSP MLAs with criminal antecedents in Uttar Pradesh. CM and party boss Mayawati loves to say these legislators with a criminal past have "undergone a change of heart'', but BSP workers feel such criminalturned-politicians will prove costly for Behenji. Though Mayawati's poll plank was law and order, her party gave tickets to 131 candidates with criminal records in the 2007 assembly elections. Of the 131, 63 are now MLAs, including 33 with two or more criminal cases pending against them, including those of murder, rape, dacoity, rioting and kidnapping. Nine ministers in her cabinet are facing charges of corruption and other crimes. In terms of sheer number, the people's representative of Dhanapur, emerges on top of the list. Sushil Kumar Singh, the nephew of mafia don Brijesh Singh, has over 25 criminal cases slapped on him. Bikapur MLA Jintendra Singh comes next, with 12 cases. (TOI)

EDITORIAL

Tipping points: On Sunday we should in all probability know who will have the mandate to rule Jammu and Kashmir for the next six years. But even before the ballots are counted, the state's voters have registered a message to their yet-to-be-declared elected representatives. They turned out in record numbers to vote in a new state assembly, in all seven phases of a long drawn out election schedule. Taken in its entirety, the election has seen an average turnout of 61.5 per cent, high by any standard. Importantly, there has also been a sharp spike in voting in boycott-prone areas like Srinagar, up to 20 per cent in the 7th phase on Wednesday from 5 per cent in 2002. Coming after a summer of agitations over the Amarnath issue, with the Valley and Jammu appearing to have become sharply polarised, the voter turnout carries especial significance. By next week the political orientation of the party/coalition that will hold J&K will be known. But there is a message in the vote that goes beyond the identity of whoever the eventual victors may be. Sixty-plus per cent turnouts are a sign of change in parts of Kashmir where, in earlier elections, it was seen to be a sign of the state's success that ballots had been cast at all, and that this was done in relatively peaceful conditions. (IE)