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)
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)
Quiet Christmas in Kandhmal: It was Christmas and all was calm, finally, in Kandhmal, the Orissa district torn by communal carnage a few months ago. Small pockets of Christians celebrated the Yuletide amid unprecedented security. (TOI)
Govt promise on power tariff: The Delhi govt has promised to do its best to ensure that consumers are not burdened by an increase in power tariffs, with the claims of discoms likely to be scrutinized.(TOI)
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)
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)
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)
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)
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)
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)
London: Former US President Bill Clinton may be Secretary of State-designate Hillary's special envoy for India and Pakistan even as she is believed to be forming a "hit squad" of diplomats for the world's trouble spots. Hillary Clinton has suggested her husband Bill as an envoy for the Indian subcontinent, where the situation has turned volatile in the aftermath of the Mumbai mayhem, because of his troubleshooting experience, the 'Daily Mail' reported. Bill Clinton had used several envoys during his two-term in office, with Richard Holbrooke the best-known for his key roles in brokering peace deals in the Middle East and the Balkans. The diplomats who will form the spearhead of the US State Department as Hillary Clinton takes office on January 20, would be sent to all the troubled places across the globe to try to prevent conflicts from breaking out. Holbrooke is among the names being mentioned as a possible envoy either for Afghanistan or Iran. The name of Martin Indyk, a former US Ambassador to Israel, is also doing rounds for a diplomatic post, the British newspaper said. (TRIB)
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)