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Home Contact Us Dateline New Delhi, Thursday, July 21, 2005

Manmohan leaves US after making his mark
by Smita Prakash

Washington: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was given a ceremonial send-off here on Wednesday night following the conclusion of his three-day state visit to the United States. He left for Geneva on his special aircraft Air India One for an overnight halt before leaving for New Delhi, where he will be reaching on Friday night. The American tri-service band including contigents of the US Army, Air Force and Navy preesnted the guard of honour to the Prime Minister. Dr. Singh's visit had a fair share of success and failure as he succeeded in securing the nuke deal with the United States but failed in getting any commitment regarding India's candidature for a permanent seat in the United Nations Security Council (UNSC). The Prime Minister described his visit as "great" and successful in terms of carrying forward the message of how India and US can work together to meet challenges of the future.

Earlier, speaking at a luncheon at National Press Club in Washington, Dr. Singh very firmly said US invasion of Iraq was a mistake. "In my sincere view, the invasion (by the US) was a mistake," said Dr. Singh when asked what he felt about the US attack on Iraq to topple the government of Saddam Hussain on charges of possessing weapons of mass destructions. Commenting on the Indo-Pak peace process, Dr. Singh said that for the peace process with Pakistan to move forward, there has to be end to terrorism. While speaking to Indian mediapersons here towards the concluding leg of his three day visit to the American capital, the Prime Minister reiterated that "in every forum that I attended, I laid emphasis on the necessity for and end of terror elements as a precondition for the peace process" with Pakistan. The Prime Minister also hailed India-US nuke deal under which US has agreed to supply technology and fuel to Indian civil nuclear facilities.

Reacting to former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's criticism of the deal, Dr. Singh said that the deal is in national interest and that BJP is misinformed on the matter. Giving a clear indication that it was not a sell out deal, in an interview to CNN's Wolf Blitzer on Wednesday, Dr. Singh cut down the assumption that India was being rewarded despite violating the NPT, saying 'India was never a signatory to the NPT so there's no question of violating it." Presenting India's fair track record of nuclear energy programme, the Prime Minister said that India had the nuclear capability and it had decided not to allow its proliferation and keep it limited to civilian use. "Our nuclear tests were a response to the reckless proliferation in the region, from North Korea to the A Q Khan phenomenon and others," he said. "Besides, we have had an impeccable record of non-proliferation, and the world must acknowledge our exemplary behavior, our weapons are under complete civilian rules." Dr. Singh, however, expected that US will support India's candidature for a seat in the United States Security Council (UNSC) when the time comes despite failing to get a solid commitment from the Bush Administration on the issue during the trip. Talking about his moves to improve India's foreign relations, he said, that "it is my belief that what I what I have achieved will get support from all quarters" and "we will move forward only with national consensus".

He added that "Parliamentary procedures often divert larger goals" but in the larger interest of the country he was sure that he would get parliamentary support for all initiatives he had taken with regard to new relationships he had forged with China, with Pakistan or with the U.S. The Prime Minister strongly refuted allegations that India had made too many concessions and obligations in comparison to what the US had committed. "It is not true that it is a one sided agreement", the Prime Minister said, adding "we will be called upon to undertake those obligations" only if the U.S. fulfilled its commitment and obligations. "Both countries have agreed on reciprocal commitments which will be addressed in a phased manner". He said that it was a "national decision" as the country's strategic and security interests were being considered and it is misconception that too much has been bartered away.

7/7 mastermind nabbed in Pakistan (Go To Top)

London: A British Muslim Haroon Rashid Aswad, said to be a key al Qaeda functionary and the mastermind behind the 7/7 London bombings, was among the 200 persons arrested in police raids across Pakistan on Tuesday night. Quoting Pakistani intelligence sources, The Sun reported that Aswad's phone number was listed on the mobile phones registered to all the four 7/7 suicide attackers, three of whom are said to be from Pakistan. Aswad reportedly lived in the same area of Dewsbury, where three of the four bombers came from. According to the paper, Aswad (35), who hailed from Dewsbury in West Yorks, was presumed killed in Afghanistan in 2002 while fighting with the Taliban against US troops but intelligence sources said that he was actually arrested during the raids on al-Qaeda terror suspects in Pakistan. Meanwhile, the police spoke to Aswad's family in the UK to check on his movements, but his relatives reportedly said that they had not heard from him for ten years. Though, Pakistani Information Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed reportedly denied that Aswad was among those arrested, sources said that he was nabbed from a religious school in Sargodha. "We strongly believe he has links with the bombers," said one intelligence source. Aswad first came to the attention of Western security forces when he attended an al-Qaeda training camp in Oregon in 1999. After the shoot-out in Afghanistan, Aswad survived and slipped into Pakistan where he is said to have become a major figure in al- Qaeda. He is believed to have met Osama Bin Laden.

London on 'amber' alert after minor explosions (Go To Top)

London: London went on alert again on Thursday, a fortnight after 7/7 as minor explosions using detonators sparked an immediate evacuation of three tube stations and the closure of three lines. According to the BBC, one person was injured at Warren Street and the police said that therir preliminary investigation suggested that the injured person might have been holding the rucksack containing the detonator. Large areas around Warren Street, Oval and one of the Shepherd's Bush Tube stations have been cordoned off. A route 26 bus in Hackney Road in Bethnal Green had its windows blown out by a blast, but there were no casualties or injuries. Police said armed officers had been deployed to University College Hospital after an incident. The whole of the Northern Line has been suspended, along with the Victoria Line and the Hammersmith and City line. A number of other stations were closed, including Westminster tube station, Waterloo station and King's Cross Thameslink. There were also reports that St Paul's tube and Oxford Circus tube station were closed. Prime Minister Tony Blair has cancelled events in the afternoon and will be attending a meeting of the Cobra committee along with Foreign Secretary Jack Straw. All the underground services are closed and the alert is declared in the city just after two weeks of the major 7/7 bombing, which claimed 50 lives. There were reports of smoke coming from two of the stations. There are no reports of any injuries. Though the incidents was unknown according to a spokesman for London Underground.

Ashes windfall, ten times more than Indo-Pak bonanza (Go To Top)

London: Michael Vaughan's England squad has been offered a 1.5 million dollar cash bonus if they win this year's five-match Ashes Test series that begins from today. The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has said that Vaughan, his players and the coaching staff could each pocket an extra 80,000 dollars over and above their ECB contracts and match payments if they win the series. According to the Sydney Morning Herald, the massive incentive is one of the biggest offered to a national side, as it is 10 times the sum that was given to the Indian team from its cricket board for beating arch-rivals Pakistan in a three-Test series last year. Cricket Australia has not offered a similar incentive, and a team spokesman said there would be no bonuses for the team even if it completed a ninth straight Ashes series victory. Instead Australia's motivation could come from its group of superstars, who are nearing the end of their international careers and will not tour England again. Shane Warne and Glenn McGrath, both 35, Justin Langer, 34, and Adam Gilchrist, Matthew Hayden and Damien Martyn, all 33, would be unlikely to feature in the 2009 Ashes touring party. Captain Ricky Ponting, 30, acknowledged the group were determined to say goodbye to England on the best possible note. "A lot of the players know that this might be their last Ashes trip to England.That's probably going to make it a more special one for them and make them even keener to perform as well as they can," the paper quoted Ponting as saying. While Australia could lose some of their greatest personnel after the 2007 World Cup, England expects to have their entire current team available for the next Ashes series, in Australia in 2006- 07. The average age of England's first Test team is 27, while Australia's is around the 31-year mark.

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