NEW DELHI, Oct 2 (UNI) Warning Pakistan " not to test our patience", India today asked Islamabad to cease forthwith its material and political support to terrorist groups in Jammu and Kashmir, but ruled out an immediate bombing of terrorist camps in the Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK).
The terrorist attack outside the Jammu state assembly complex yesterday indicated "credible links between terrorist groups operating in the valley and Osama bin Ladens Al-Qaida", the minister of state for external affairs Omar Abdullah told newsmen.
The attacks demanded that Jaish-e-Mohammed, which has taken responsibility of the suicide attack that killed 42 people, Lashkar-e-Toiba and Hizbul- Mujahideen should be included in the US list of terrorist organisation, he said.
There should be no delay in including these terror groups in the list because of their close connections with Osama bin Laden, the prime accused in the terrorist attacks on America.
While ruling out the option of going for hot pursuits inside the PoK, Mr Abdullah said "We would not like to do anything that could exasperate the situation.
But our patience will not last long.
Pakistan must understand that there is a limit to Indian patience." He made it absolutely clear that India will not remain a silent spectator in case the terrorists step up their violence in the state.
"A time comes when patience runs out," adding that "patience should not be mistaken as a sign of weakness." Referring to a just passed UN resolution on terrorism, the minister said that chapter seven of it clearly calls for freezing all financial support to terrorists and their supportive organisations.
"We call upon Pakistan to cease any passive or active support to militants" in accordance with the UN resolution.
Pakistans moral, material and political support to terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir is in direct contravention of the UN resolution.
Mr Abdullah, who later left for Maldives on a bilateral visit, said the latest intelligence report show that terrorists of 16 nationalities including those from Chechenya, Bosnia and Sudan were operating in Jammu and Kashmir, thus exploding Pakistan myth that the struggle there was indigenous.
Mr Abdullah said that external affairs minister Jaswant Singh discussed the issue of militancy in Jammu and Kashmir with the US president George Bush during his 40-minute long meeting.
He also delivered the prime minister letter to Mr Bush.
He expressed satisfaction over the concern of the international community over woresening situation in Jammu and Kashmir and was confident that problem of terrorism in the state would be focussed after its camapign against Al-Qaida ends.
The Indian government was confident that war against terrorism will not end with elimination of Osama bin Laden.
The US is on the forefront of this international coliation, but India is also in constant touch with other countries in fighting this scourage.
However, he made it clear that "we do not look for the US to solve our problem.
We are competent enough to handle it." He feared increase in violence in the state in the coming days.
There is a possibility of escalation of tension in Jammu and Kashmir after military strikes in Afghanistan.
Pakistan may like to divert the attention of its people from its domestic issues to Jammu and Kashmir.
Regarding Afghanistans future, Mr Abdullah said India favoured broad based government there, which must have the representation of the Northern Alliance.
Intelligentsia urges caution in Americas war against terror NEW DELHI, Oct 2 (UNI): India and Pakistan should take the lead in forging South Asian unity to counter hegemonic designs by the United States following black Tuesdays devastating terrorist strikes in New York and Washington, intellectuals from the two nations have asserted.
Speakers at a meeting organised under the aegis of the Pakistan-India Peoples Forum for Peace and Democracy here stressed the need for regional unity while criticising the US for acting in an arbitrary manner while waging its war against terror following the September 11 strikes on its soil.
The Forum invited speakers from both countries to air their views on the fluid international situation following the terror attacks in the US and its ramifications for India, Pakistan and indeed the South Asian region.
Mr Tapan Bose, human rights activist and secretary general of the Forum, who initiated the proceedings, flayed the US for acting as the self-appointed moral policeman and dictating terms to the rest of the globe.
In the world of realpolitik, real people and real issues are often forgotten.
Since the suicide plane attacks in the US, hectic diplomatic parleys have been underway to get in place an international alliance against terrorism.
President Bush declared after the attacks that the world was either with the US in the fight against terrorism or against it.
No one who sheltered terrorism or terrorists would be spared.
But he did not consult with countries before taking the decision, instead presenting them with a stark choice, he said.
Concurring with the growing opinion that the war was a facade for oil politics, Mr Surender Mohan, former Janata Dal leader, said economic interests could underlie the military effort.
This region(Central Asia) is rich in oil and gaining access to it is a big attraction for many countries, within the region and without, he said.
Mr Mubashir Hasan, academic and former finance minister of Pakistan, said South Asia was yet to learn to think and act in as a region.
Referring to Indias offer of all help to the US he said, Pakistan and India should have consulted each other and other countries in the region to try and evolve a consensus and response instead of buckling under pressure.
The other speaker from across the border, Mr I A Rehman, human rights campaigner from Pakistan, said in an either/or situation moral issues were lost sight of.
In the heat of the moment no one is asking whether the campaign is justified or not, he said.
Though a majority of world leaders have spoken in favour of a war aginst terrorism, there is a sizeable minority around the world which feels armed action is not the solution.
The menace of terrorism has to be tackled at various levels, social, economic political and diplomatic, he said adding that decisions concerning the globe had to be global.
Referring to it as the new enemy, Mr Hasan cautioned that terrorism, particularly biological and chemical, would change traditional geo-political and security concepts as it is nameless, faceless and without borders.
Misusing modern technology, the new enemy could inflict vicious damage, not only on adversaries, but on innocent civilians too.
Since it is invisible it needs no tactile headquarters and can avail the sophisticated technology available.
These power-bombs have grown and are interlinked, he said.
While the speakers were unanimous in condemning terrorism, they were equally opposed to the use of force to suppress it saying this would only harbour ill-will and lead to further vendetta and a never-ending spiral of violence.
In this context the Indian speakers rerferred to the recently imposed ban on the Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI).
All the speakers pointed to the looming refugee crisis which would assume disastrous proportions, if a concerted effort was not made to overcome it.
If the fight against terrorism is a global issue, then the refugee crisis is a global issue too, Mr Rehman stated.
The problem did not merely concern Afghanistan and Pakistan but would have ramifications at the global level too, he added.
Nation pays homage to Gandhi, Shastri tc " Nation pays homage to Gandhi, Shastri" NEW DELHI, Oct 2 (UNI) President K R Narayanan, vice-president Krishan Kant and prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee today led the country in paying homage to father of the nation Mahatma Gandhi on his 132nd birth anniversary.
Homage was also paid to late prime minister Lal Bahadur Shastri on his 97th birth anniversary today.
Congress president and leader of the opposition in the Lok Sabha Sonia Gandhi was among the first to visit Raj Ghat, the cenotaph of Mahatma Gandhi, and placed a wreath.
Mr Narayanan, Mr Vajpayee, home minister L K Advani and former prime ministers I K Gujral and P V Narasimha Rao, who spent some time there, also attended an inter-religios prayer organised on the occasion.
Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit, a large number of union cabinet ministers, MPs and people from various walks of life also visited the Raj Ghat to pay their homage.
Lok Sabha speaker G M C Balayogi and deputy speaker P M Sayeed, Rajya Sabha deputy chairperson Dr Najma Heptullah, union ministers L K Advani, C P Thakur, Tapan Sikdar and Satyanarain Jatiya and the Congress president were among dignitaqries who paid floral tributes at the portraits of Mahatma Gandhi and Lal Bahadur Shastri in the central hall of Parliament House.
Among others who paid floral tributes were Anil Shastri, Sunil Shastri, G C Malhotra and R C Tripathi, secretary generals of the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha respectively, Dr M P Jaisawal, Priya Ranjan Dasmunshi, Sudip Bandopadhyay, S P Gautam and Col.
Sona Ram Choudhary.
Two booklets in Hindi and English, containing the profiles of Mahatma Gandhi and Lal Bahadur Shastri, brought out by the Lok Sabha secretariat, were also presented to the distinguished gathering on the occasion.
Narendra Modi to be new Gujarat CM tc " Narendra Modi to be new Gujarat CM" NEW DELHI, Oct 2 (UNI) BJP national general secretary Narendra Modi would replace Keshubhai Patel as the new chief minister of Gujarat, party sources said here today.
Mr Modi would be elected as the leader of the Gujarat BJP legislature party soon, the sources added.
A meeting would soon be convened in Gandhinagar to decide the date of the meeting, the sources said.
Mr Modi had been sounded about it by the party high command a week back, they added.
Yesterdays consultations with Gujarat ministers and legislators were aimed to apprise him of the decision, the sources said.
Chief minister Keshubhai Patel, who has been camping in the national capital for the past two days, is understood to have sent in his resignation to Gujarat governor Sunder Singh Bhandari.
Gujarat leadership No question of flouting high command decision tc " No question of flouting high command decision " GANDHINAGAR, Oct 2 (UNI) A senior BJP functionary today dispelled apprehensions that there will be a revolt in the party if Mr Keshubhai Patel is replaced as the chief minister of Gujarat.
State BJP general secretary Gordhan Jhadafiya said I cannot state whether Mr Patel is going or Mr Narendra Modi is coming as the new leader.
All BJP leaders and workers are disciplined soldiers of the party who would accept the high commands directive, he added.
Replying to questions, Mr Jhadafiya, who belongs to Bhavnagar (Saurashtra) and is a Patel community MLA from Ahmedabad, said There wont be any revolt in the party over the leadership issue.
He, however,said Mr Keshubhai Patel has not resigned so far, nor is he going to submit resignation to governor Sunder Singh Bhandari today.
Mr Jhadafia, who is also the state BJP spokesman, told reporters here that, however, Mr Patel had merely written a letter to the party leadership expressing his desire to resign.
He said the chief minister is returning by flight late in the evening while former BJP chief Kushabhau Thakre will come here tomorrow when a BJP legislature party meeting is likely to be held.
Mr Jhadafiya said the proposed meeting is likely to take up the leadership issue as well.
At the meetings with the party leadership in New Delhi over the last few days, he claimed there was no discussion on the alternative leadership nor was any change in the state BJP apparatus discussed.
However, he admitted that the BJP leadership felt that Mr Patel should be changed and added that the partys overall performance was also discussed in these meetings.
Keshubhai resigns from BJP, assembly tc " Keshubhai resigns from BJP, assembly" NEW DELHI, Oct 2 (UNI) Gujarat chief minister Keshubhai Patel today resigned from the primary membership of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and sent his papers to party president K Jana Krishnamurthi.
He also resigned his assembly seat, surprising the top BJP leadership, party sources said.
Mr Patel had agreed to step down as the chief minister yesterday.
Today he formally handed over the resignation papers to his party chief.
Keshubhais move is likely to deepen the on-going political crisis in the state.
Mr Patel, who has been opposing the naming of Mr Narendra Modi as chief minister, told the high command that Mr Modi is neither an MLA nor an MP from Gujarat and should not be named as his successor.
Aaj Tak cameraman cremated NEW DELHI, Oct 2 (UNI) The mortal remains of Aaj Tak cameraman Gopal Bisht, who was aboard ill-fated chartered plane along with senior Congress leader Madhavrao Scindia and six others, were consigned to flames at the Nigambodh Ghat here today morning.
Mr Bishts 15 year-old son lit the funeral pyre at 1140 hrs amidst chanting of Vedic hymns.
Mr Bisht is survived by two sons and wife.
Many close relatives including his 10-year-old second son were present at the cremation ground.
Union information and broadcasting minister Sushama Swaraj, union ministers Ashok Pradhan, Bachi Singh Rawat, Maj.
Gen (retd.) BC Khanduri, BJP general secretary Narendra Modi, Congress spokesperson Jaipal Reddy, India Today editor Aroon Poorie, Aaj Tak chief Sanjay Pugulia were among a large number of people including leaders and journalists who attended the cremation.
They paid floral tribute to Mr Bisht before the body was taken to the cremation ground.
Besides 50-year-old Bisht and Scindia, three journalists, two pilots and another person were killed when the plane in which they were flying met with an accident near Mainpuri in Uttar Pradesh on Sunday.
The cremation of Indian Express special correspondent Sanjay Sinha will be held tomorrow at Nigambodh Ghat.
In the meanwhile, Delhi chief minister today declared that the state government will give away Rs 3 lakh to next of kin of each of the journalists killed in the accident.
Conversion to CNG will not improve air quality: experts tc " Conversion to CNG will not improve air quality\: experts" NEW DELHI, Oct 2 (UNI) The conversion of all public transport buses, autos and taxis to CNG mode, while allowing non-commercial vehicles to ply on other fuels like diesel and petrol, would not make much difference to the air quality level in Delhi, experts say.
The number of vehicles that have to be converted to CNG account for less than three per cent of the total vehicles in Delhi.
Even if all autorickshaws in Delhi were to run on CNG from October 200l, it would improve the air quality only marginally, says a recent study by the Tata Energy Research Institute (TERI).
Delhi has around three million vehicles at present, which is more than the number of vehicles operating in Mumbai or Calcutta.
A majority of these are private two-wheelers, motorcycles and cars.
In fact projections by TERI say that by 2010, the number of vehicles in Delhi is likely to touch five million, of which the number of buses, autos and taxis will be 500,000, barely one per cent of the total vehicular fleet.
Of the remaining 4.5 million, three million will be two wheelers while 1.5 million will be cars and goods vehicles, with the latter running on diesel and hence causing more pollution.
According to TERI, the level of pollution in Delhi is directly proportional to the number of vehicles in a particular city.
Delhi has been experiencing an exponential growth in the registration of motorised vehicles since the 1970s.
The growth of vehicles in Delhi has been higher than the growth of population, a study by the CRRI says.
Khushwant given go-ahead Public figures private, public life cant be separated: HC tc " Public figures private,public life cant be separated\:HC" NEW DELHI, Oct 2 (UNI) The private life of a public figure cannot be separated from his public life, the Delhi High Court ruled while allowing eminent litterateur Khuswant Singh to publish his autobiography Truth, love and a little malice.
The publication was stayed by a single judge bench of the High Court in 1997, following a petition by union minster Maneka Gandhi, alleging that the book contained certain defamatory references to the Gandhi family and her relations with her mother-in-law and the then prime minister Indira Gandhi.
It is difficult to segregate the private life of the public figures from their public life.
It is the burden of holding a public office, a bench comprising justices Devinder Gupta and S K Kaul said in a judgment recently, while vacating the stay on publication of Khuswant Singhs autobiography.
In their 71-page judgment, the judges quoting Miguel De Cervantes said: He, who publishes a book runs a very great hazard since nothing can be more impossible than to compose one that may secure the approbation of every reader, the author must choose what he writes and he must take the consequences thereof.
There is no such thing as a moral or an immoral book.
Books are well written, or badly written, said the court quoting Oscar Wilde and concluded that only the readers could decide the quality of a book.
Referring to the four year delay in publishing the book, the court said the readers would have got the opportunity to read it in 1997 itself but for the matter coming to the court.
Elaborating the principle of freedom of expression, the court said writings and comments by authors and publishers cannot be restricted in public interest as defined to include what is good for the public.
It must be used in the connotation of what was of interest to the public as submitted by Khuswant Singhs counsel C A Sundaram, the court said adding if it is to the interest of the public it would suffice.
Ms Gandhi had filed the suit after excerpts of the book were published in a news magazine in October 1997 and the single judge bench has stayed the publication in April 1997.
On September 18, the High Court had permitted Khushwant Singh to go ahead with the publication of his autobiography while dismissing Ms Gandhis application that termed the book an infringement of her privacy.
A division bench comprising justices Devinder Gupta and S K Kaul lifted the injunction on the publication of the autobiography Truth, love and a little malice- and imposed costs amounting to Ts 10,000 on Ms Gandhi.
The judges said that the right to privacy enshrined in article 21 of the constitution can be invoked only against the government and state action and not against private individual.
The remedy lay through action in law of tort after the document was made public and not before, they said.
Khushwant Singhs counsel S Y Chitale had said Ms Gandhi was a public figure and much had already been reported in the press about her relations with the Gandhi family.
Earlier, a single judge bench of the high court had placed an injunction on the publication on Ms Gandhis plea that her right to privacy was being violated by the document, especially a chapter on relations between the Gandhis and the Anands (Ms Gandhis maiden name).
He had restrained Khushwant Singh from writing or publishing anything about the private life of Ms Gandhi till the disposal of her defamation suit against him.
In a 36-page order, justice K Ramamoorthy made absolute an ex-parte injunction order passed against Khushwant Singh in December 1995.
He ruled that the writer and his publisher Ravi Dayal would not publish, circulate or sell the autobiography or any extract pertaining to the plaintiff (Ms Gandhi) and her family in the manner as reproduced in the October 31, 1995 issue of the India Today magazine.
Ms Gandhi had sued Khuswant Singh for damages following the publication of the excerpts of his autobiography in the fortnightly.
Claiming that Khuswant Singh had made derogatory remarks against her and her family, Ms Gandhi contended through her counsel Raj Panjwani that no one can publish anything concerning the private life of a person critical or laudatory without his or her consent.
Observing that the parameters of freedom of speech were well settled, justice Ramamoorthy said freedom of speech would not include writing about the personal lives of others without justification and which would not be of any value to the reading public.
Holding that the law in India does not permit scrawly writings by individuals just for the purpose of satisfying their impulses arising out of personal animosities, the judge added that people would expect from great writers like Khushwant Singh high thinking, high learning and higher living.
Though Ms Gandhis injunction application has now been set aside the suit for damages continues.
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