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Taliban, Al Qaeda planning high visibility attacks: US

     Islamabad: The Commander of the US-led coalition forces in the Afghanistan Lt General David Barno has said that remnants of the Taliban militia and Al Qaeda terrorists still posed a threat despite the fact that popular support for them had decreased manifold, and were reportedly planning to stage some high visibility attacks in the next six to nine months, reports the Dawn. "There are continuing threats out there. The enemy operations taper off during winter and make resurgence during spring, which has been a pattern over the last few years. Terrorists are not going to go away and the only way to combat them is to put pressure on them and disrupt their operations. We will continue to see attacks in Afghanistan. The war is not over," the paper quoted him as saying. He, however, said that the coalition forces would effectively counter the terrorist threat and "get them back on the scoreboard". He further said that Pakistan was planning to launch military offensives against terrorist hideouts in North Waziristan, adding that the US, Afghanistan and Pakistan were all taking part in the offensive as part of the Tripartite Commission. "We are in the middle of beginning a spring offensive and the Pakistani forces are busy moving troops to North Waziristan to continue to put pressure on terrorist networks. We collectively feel that there is a need to undertake an operation in North Waziristan. That's an area where I think the Pakistani military is about to undertake a military operation to keep pressure on terrorist networks," the paper quoted him as saying.

Musharraf offers different solutions for Kashmir (Go To Top)

     Manila: Pakistan and India may seriously consider incorporating views like granting the whole of Kashmir independence, self-governance, autonomy, joint control and joint management in an effort to move forward on a dispute that has dogged bilateral ties for more than five decades. Disclosing this, Pakistan President General Pervez Musharraf said soon after his arrival here on a two-day visit, that the complicated issue of Kashmir needed to be comprehended in proper perspective. There are also other shades of opinion which must be taken into account to find a final solution, he said, adding that Kashmir dispute is an extremely complicated problem. "We (he and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh) have a sincere desire, boldness and flexibility to move forward (on Kashmir issue)," The Nation quoted him as saying. Musharraf categorically said that the Kashmir issue could not be resolved without the involvement of the people of Kashmir in the dialogue process. Stressing that conversion of the Line of Control into a permanent frontier was neither a solution to the problem nor it was acceptable to Pakistan and the people of Kashmir, he expressed the confidence that both sides would succeed in seeking a solution to this vexed issue through sincere efforts. In response to a question about the soft border, the President said it could help ease the lives of the people of Kashmir besides taking the process forward towards the resolution of Kashmir issue.

Pakistan detains 36 Indian fishermen and their boats (Go To Top)

     Karachi: Pakistan has arrested 36 Indian fishermen and impounded eight boats after they were found to have trespassed into Pakistani territorial waters in the Arabian Sea on Monday. Authorities of Pakistan's Maritime Security Agency (PMSA) said that the fishermen were arrested 34 km inside Pakistani waters during a routine patrol. They have since been handed over to the police for further investigations into their antecedents. "Maritime Security Agency of Pakistan navy apprehended these 36 Indian fishermen for illegally fishing in Pakistani waters, and they handed over them to us late in the night. Cases under fishery act 3/9 and 3/4 Control Act have been registered against them. They will be presented in the court today", said police officer Ali Mohammad at the Docks Police Station in Karachi. Pakistan and India frequently arrest each other's fishermen for trespassing in their territorial waters despite a recent thaw in relations. "We left Porbander on 16th (April) alongwith our boats. But we strayed and apprehended by Navy. They did not beat us but treated well and brought us here. We are 36 men alongwith eight boats", said Sanjay, an arrested Indian fisherman Pakistan has arrested 795 Indian fishermen and seized 127 boats since September. Last month, Pakistan freed 589 Indian prisoners, many of them fisherman, as a gesture of goodwill. Indian authorities on Saturday, April 16 released 156 Pakistani fishermen from jails in Gujarat coinciding with Musharraf's visit.

Sensex takes a plunge as TCS Q4 results go down 33 pct (Go To Top)

     Mumbai: The stock market took a sharp dip on Tuesday after one of India's leading software groups -- Tata Consultancy Services Limited (TCS) -- declared a 33 percent drop in its net profits in quarter four comparison to figures projected in the same perios during fiscal 2003-04. TCs announced a net profit of Rs 471 crore for the quarter ending March 31, 2005, which was Rs.238.30 crore less than what it had reported in the previous fiscal, when its net profits stood at Rs 709.30 crore. Total income for the reporting quarter has increased from Rs 2,578.4 crore to Rs 2,604 crore for the quarter ended March 31, 2005. The company has also declared a dividend of Rs 5 per share. The Sensex pared all its morning gains and settled in the negative territory as tech major TCS announced disappointing results. At the closing bell, the Sensex was at 6134, down 21 points while the Nifty settled at 1909, marking a loss of 18 points. HDFC, HDFC Bank, ONGC, Bharti Televentures and Hindalco were the major gainers and Satyam, RIL, TISCO, Wipro and ICICI Bank lead the losers pack.

     Technology stocks took a major beating after TCS announced disappointing quarterly numbers, leading to the weakness at the indices. Infosys clocked marginal gains. But all the other heavyweights were in the negative. TCS was down 8 per cent while Satyam and Wipro clocked losses of 3-4 per cent each. The auto scrips traded in the reverse gear, with most of them paring early gains. Hindustan Motors and Mahindra and Mahindra were under selling pressure and posted losses of over 2-3 per cent. The banking stocks witnessed mixed trends. Oriental Bank of Commerce and Bank of India have posted losses of over 4 per cent. SBI and ICICI Bank also lost ground, down 1 per cent. However, UTI Bank logged gains of 3.5 per cent while HDFC Bank and Indian Overseas Bank were up 1 per cent. Indian Overseas Bank is up 3 per cent, while HDFC Bank Ltd is up 2 per cent. Syndicate Bank, Vijaya Bank, and UTI Bank Ltd have also registered significant gains. Steel and metals stocks, which began the day on a positive note, witnessed selling pressure. Tata Steel lost ground and slipped over 2 per cent followed by Bhushan Steel and Ispat Industries, down 1 per cent.

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