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Indian on US panel under fire for pro-Modi stand

     Washington: The storm over the US administration refusing a visa to Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi has taken a new turn with a prominent Indian American physician, appointed by US President George W Bush on the Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders Commission, coming under fire for apparently writing a pro-Modi letter to Bush's top political advisor, Karl Rove. According to the Daily Times, the letter written by Dr Akshay Desai to Rove asking the Bush administration to reverse its decision barring Modi from visiting the US has drawn flak from several multi-religious, multi-ethnic Indian American organisations, many of whom are asking for Desai's removal from the Commission. Desai had written that the US administration had fallen victim to a "systematic smear campaign,", adding that "Modi was a Hindu by religion and has been accused by some Muslim organisations of being anti-Muslim. India has over 800 million practicing Hindus and the previous Hindu-dominated BJP government of India and its leaders were and are very close to our administration." However not many have taken Desai's assertions very kindly, with one group saying that "Dr Akshay Desai spoke only for marginal populace who espoused a militant supremacist ideology known as Hindutva." Reverend Bernard Mallick of the Federation of Indian-American Christian Organisations of North America, in his letter said, that Desai should be removed, as his arguments were sectarian.

Ex-Nepal PM Koirala, 284 activists freed (Go To Top)

     Kathmandu: Former Nepal Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala and 284 other activists detained when the king seized power in February have been released, the Nepali Congress (NC) party said today. The king said he needed to assume direct power to defeat Nepal's Maoist rebel movement. Koirala has been prime minister three times and leads Nepal's biggest party, the Nepali Congress. For Koirala, as for other top political leaders similarly penalised under the king's state of emergency, house arrest has not only meant being confined at home. It also involved an almost total severance of communications such as phone lines and the cutting of their access to independent media.

Pak claims Indo-Israeli intelligence spying on nuclear assets (Go To Top)

     Lahore: Pakistan's Interior Ministry has directed provincial governments and authorities in Islamabad to increase security around the country's nuclear installations amidst alleged reports that Indian and Israeli intelligence were spying on them. The Daily Times quoted a BBC Urdu Service report as saying that Indian and Israeli intelligence had trained as many as 25 Afghans in Kabul and sent them on clandestine mission to Pakistan for gathering information on Islamabad's nuclear installations. The ministry has even written a letter to the home secretaries and Islamabad chief commissioner on March 5, warning them to be extra vigilant in view of this latest development, the report added. The ministry report said that another group of Afghans were also being imparted training in Afghanistan adding that two Afghans named Hazrat Ali and Haji Zahir has been sent to Pakistan with fake Pakistan currency and assigned duty to recruit agents for spying purposes. Though the ministry has directed the provincial governments to be on the alert for suspicious Afghans and send regular updates on their measures, Interior Minister Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao said that he was not aware whether the ministry had written any such letter.

Younis Khan to miss tomorrow's one-dayer (Go To Top)

     Kochi: Pakistan's in-form batsman Younis Khan, who gave a splendid performance in the just concluded Test series, will not play the first ODI against India since he is suffering from fever. Pakistan skipper Inzamam-ul-Haq announced this in Kochi on the eve of the first one-dayer. Inzamam said: "He was in great form and his presence would certainly have helped the team. But injuries are part and parcel of the game. It'll give the other boys a chance. I'm sure they will try and make sure we don't miss him too much." Vice-captain Younis Khan was in great touch in the test series, hitting a career-best 267 to help Pakistan clinch a series- leveling victory in the third and final Test. The batsman aggregated 508 runs in the tests, averaging 101.60 with two triple figure knocks and a 50.

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